Try Not Pole Axing Our Guys In The Face!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Try Not Pole Axing Our Guys In The Face!"
February 23, 2026 — iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty, and Katie Green dive deep into the U.S. Men's Hockey team's electrifying victory over Canada—connecting the game's drama to themes of national pride, sportsmanship, and the enduring rivalry with our northern neighbors. The team also covers major news, including escalating cartel violence in Mexico, U.S.–Iran tensions, and a dissected analysis of a complex Supreme Court decision on tariffs. The signature blend of banter, sharp opinions, and humor is present throughout.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. U.S. Hockey Triumphs Over Canada

[00:27–07:18]

• The show opens with celebratory talk about the U.S. Hockey team’s dramatic win over Canada. Jack and Katie compare it to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice," underscoring its historic significance.
• Jack gushes over the game’s intensity and the U.S. goalie, Connor Hellebuyck:

  "He was standing on his head, as they say in the goaltending business… miracle save after miracle save. Diving backward, flailing his stick, and it arrives at the precise spot just as the puck’s going into the goal." (Jack Armstrong, 05:24)

• They discuss the Canadian reaction—how devastated their team was, the population disparity, and national pride.
• Katie jokes about how some women treat hockey like the “boy aquarium”—focusing as much on the players’ looks as on the sport.
• The conversation touches on the blurring lines, as many players compete together in the NHL but are national rivals in the Olympics.
• Jack highlights a memorable quote:

  "This ain’t a fancy skating contest. And hey, hey, try not to pole ax our guys in the mouth." (Jack Armstrong, 04:07)

• Discussion about Jack Hughes, his bloody mouth, and how intense the match was.

Notable Moment

• [10:05] — Broadcast replay of the final golden goal by Jack Hughes, whose postgame quote oozed patriotism:

  "This is all about our country right now. I love the USA. I love my teammates. It's unbelievable. The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong and we have so much support from ex players. I’m so proud to be American today." (Jack Hughes, 11:09)

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2. Locker Room Shenanigans & Political Cameos

[07:27–09:49]

• Trump called in to congratulate the team, creating a “before times” moment of non-political, old-school patriotism.
• Discussion gets quirkier as Katie and Jack puzzle over why FBI Director Christopher Wray was spotted in the locker room, “partying like he was one of the players.”
• Jack quips:

  "You want to get investigated? Do you open the door?" (Jack Armstrong, 08:40)

• Musings on political figures using the locker room for photo ops and the weirdness of government officials joining athletic celebrations.

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3. Larger Issues & Headlines

[13:00–17:07]

• Mexico’s Cartel Crisis:

  • Massive cartel violence erupts after the killing of "El Mencho," the Jalisco cartel leader.
  • U.S. citizens in Mexico are told to shelter in place.
  • The team speculates if Trump played a role in pushing Mexico toward this crackdown and whether this marks a turning point for the Mexican government.

• Iran & U.S. Military Strikes:

  • Rumors swirl of imminent U.S. strikes on Iran after Iran’s $425 million missile deal with Russia.
  • Katie notes:

    "It’s all we're going to attack—just how much, when is the only question now." (Katie Green, 14:47)

  • The lack of media focus on the possible outbreak of war is pointed out with some astonishment.

• Other News Bites:

  • U.S. has a looming sewage infrastructure crisis.
  • Brief, satirical mention of a “looks maxing” influencer being exposed as fake.
  • Studies about exercise, and a punchline from Babylon Bee: “American women's bobsled team comes in last after stopping to ask for directions.”

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4. Supreme Court Tariff Decision Explained

[17:22–27:02]

• The hosts tackle the Supreme Court’s divided ruling overturning Trump’s tariffs.
• Jack underscores:

  "[The Justices] all came to their conclusion by different ways... So, like, you know, husband and wife discussing going to Hawaii. One says it's too expensive, one says it's too hot. So you don't go. You came from two different angles." (Jack Armstrong, 24:11)

• The decision is described as unusually complex and fractured, with no solid majority rationale, making precedent murky.
• Discussion on the “major questions doctrine” and the dangers in vague congressional authorization.
• Criticism ensues over political hypocrisy—liberals supporting executive action under Biden but opposing it for Trump, and vice versa.

Notable Quotes

• "The three liberal justices who had no problem with Biden doing exactly what we're talking about… all of a sudden have problems with too much executive power… it's practically asking the same question and them saying yes for Biden, no for Trump. They're ridiculous." (Jack Armstrong, 22:15)

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5. Tariffs, Economic Ramifications, and Political Theater

[27:02–29:39]

• Trump’s immediate response to the SCOTUS ruling: announcing a 10% then 15% tariff, possibly just to provoke or to test a different legal basis, mimicking Biden’s student loan workaround.
• The discussion pivots to the real-world economics:
  • Tariffs intended to retire debt don’t work as intended; trade deficits actually rose because other countries responded with subsidies.
  • Consumers and companies who overpaid (or went out of business) due to tariffs are unlikely to be made whole.
• Jack’s verdict:

  "Only the super giants will have the legal teams available... The little guy will get hosed. The idea we need bigger government to look after the little guy is one of the most dopey and perverse attitudes in the modern world." (Jack Armstrong, 29:16)

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6. Rapid-Fire: Cartels, Infrastructure, and Politics

[29:39–end]

• The Mexican government's bold targeting of El Mencho revives discussion on U.S. pressure and the overall effectiveness of tackling cartels.
• Satirical translations and confusion about the meaning of "El Mencho," with the team joking about its significance.
• Brief coverage of a New York Times column advocating for U.S. strikes on Iran, scrutiny of unchecked immigration in Britain, and John Cleese’s views on “Britophobia.”

  "Anybody who wants to screw our country... give him a hockey stick in the face." (Jack Armstrong, 32:59)

• Mailbag covers listener concerns about everything from Supreme Court safety to the lack of tangible results from infrastructure spending.
• An Epstein–Trump conspiracy theory briefly floated (and dismissed with skepticism).

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the hockey victory:

  "This is all about our country right now. I love the USA. I love my teammates. It's unbelievable." (Jack Hughes, 11:09)

• On sportsmanship and rivalry:

  "The Canadian hockey team, they just looked like their dog had been run over... They were really devastated by that." (Katie Green, 02:21)

• On U.S.–Canadian Relations:

  "We finally threw off the yoke of our oppressors to the North—Canada." (Jack Armstrong, 01:15)

• On Tariff Ruling Complexity:

  "It's among the most divided and non-understand, difficult to understand rulings I've ever come across." (Jack Armstrong, 19:58)

• On hypocrisy from both parties:

  "They're ridiculous... They thought the President can say you don't have to pay your rent...but Trump doesn't get to make the call on tariffs." (Katie Green, 22:15)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:27–07:18 – U.S./Canada hockey game in depth, sportsmanship, rivalry, and quirks
• 10:05–11:26 – Play-by-play and Jack Hughes’ postgame quote
• 13:00–14:05 – Cartel violence in Mexico
• 14:23–15:13 – U.S.–Iran potential strike news
• 17:22–27:02 – Supreme Court's tariff ruling discussion
• 27:02–29:39 – Tariff policy and real-world consequences
• 29:39–End – Mailbag, further headlines, and wrap-up

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Tone & Style

As always, Armstrong, Getty, and Katie Green keep things conversational, irreverent, patriotic, and sometimes biting—mixing deep dives into legal and policy analysis with everyday metaphors, jokes, and side remarks. The trio’s on-air chemistry allows them to pivot seamlessly from earnest commentary to satire and back.

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Useful for listeners who missed the episode: This summary covers all the major themes, encapsulates the hosts' takes, and provides enough color and direct quotes to feel like you were in the studio—no need to endure the ads or dig for content!

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast, guaranteed human

[Joe Getty]

broadcasting. Live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now, here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

So that music that we use only on Mondays to start the show with the like middle school. What is the message we're trying to say about a Monday?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, it's a message that I think the US Hockey team illustrated all too well over the weekend. Jack, life can be difficult. Life can be tough. Sometimes you don't want to take on the challenge. But if you work hard, you keep your mind on your task and have the best goalie in the planet, you'll achieve your goals.

[Katie Green]

Okay? Live from Studio C, senor, a dimly lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. And today, to kick off a brand new week, we're toiling under the title.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, you know what? I'm sorry. I went with the general manager, the US Hockey team. I forgot. You can play the buzzer if you want.

[Katie Green]

You forgot your own routine.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I know. I was so excited about it. Well, we finally threw off the yoke of our oppressors to the North Canada.

[Katie Green]

I don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

It was just an unbelievable hockey game and I like hockey.

[Katie Green]

Did you actually watch it? I did not.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wish I would have watched it later.

[Katie Green]

I wish I would have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I know. I watched the miracle on ice 46 years ago live, and this would have been an excellent parenthesis to it, but no, I didn't.

[Katie Green]

I've heard a bunch of commentators who are like lifelong hockey fans say it was one of the best hockey. Yeah. Games is there as matches. Which is a game. One of the best hockey games they'd ever seen. Just.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Knowing the result, I watched every single second of the game. Oh, really? And it was. It was unbelievable. I can't. I would have had a heart attack. See, it's probably good I watched it on the DVR because it would have killed me. It was just so incredibly exciting and stressful. I heard some of Canada's players were sore losers. They said, well, we were the better team. We should have won.

[Katie Green]

Well, I don't know what that means.

[Jack Armstrong]

They were. They're right. They dominated the game. But there's only one stat that counts, and that's goals score.

[Katie Green]

Right. That. That's. You cannot say that as a competitor. I'm. I'm better. So I should have won. But you didn't is the thing. We have a contest in amount. In a certain amount of Time to decide for this particular moment. And we won. So I don't think I've ever seen in the Olympics a team as or an athlete because usually it's single single person sports as devastated as the Canadian hockey team was. Like, I've watched a fair amount of Olympics and like snowboarders and some. Some girl will come out of nowhere and win the gold medal and the person that's beat her several times and they're like, you know, high fiveing and hug, hugging each other and great match and great game or great jump or whatever because they all know each other. They compete again. The. The Canadian hockey team, they just looked like their dog had been run over. I think I've ever seen such a down. They were really devastated by that.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think the recent flaps with Trump and Trudeau and all of us factored in, I think there's an enormous amount of Canadian pride A in their game and B, they wanted to show the big bully to the south that hey on the ice were the champs. And it. It hur.

[Katie Green]

That they got beat both women and men in overtime.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, they've banned all sorts of American products up in Canada.

[Katie Green]

Maybe. Maybe that's it. Maybe I don't have a full appreciation of how upset Canada is with the United States.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think that's it. That's a lot of it.

[Katie Green]

The one thing they could argue on their side is we have the population of California and almost beat you. I mean, you have almost literally 10 times our population.

[News Reporter]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

And you barely beat us.

[Jack Armstrong]

So. Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Congratulations.

[Jack Armstrong]

Gotta put the puck in the net, boys.

[Katie Green]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Say this ain't a fancy skating contest. And. And hey, hey, try not to pole ax our guys in the mouth.

[Katie Green]

Oh, is that why the one guy lost his teeth? I saw the guy with no teeth.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah. The guy just absolutely would tin woodsman dim right in the face. Really? Yeah.

[Katie Green]

How did the crowd seem to be. Did the crowd did seem a pro pro USA crowd mostly, or.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, no, it was. It was both. It was both. Both fans. Band. Fan bases and fan groups were going crazy through the whole game. Just competing chants of Canada against usa usa. It was just electric. Oh, that's awesome.

[Katie Green]

So you watched it knowing the result and still enjoyed it. I'll have to do that then.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah. I was on the edge of my seat. That's knowing what happened.

[Katie Green]

That's awesome.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was crazy.

[Katie Green]

And you're saying the key is we have the best goaltender in the United States or at least did yesterday on

[Jack Armstrong]

the planet, bar none. Applications are closed. Yes. Yes.

[Katie Green]

That's one interesting thing about hockey. I don't watch a lot of hockey, but it does seem that unlike other sports, you can have one player that. That's the key. The goal, not the. The puck not going in the net is really the key to the whole thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

And yeah, yeah, Canada really outplayed the US really outplayed him. But Connor Hellebuck is his name. There's a Y in the middle, inexplicably, but he. He was standing on his head, as they say in the goaltending business. He just miracle save after miracle save. Only place, including one that if it was in the matrix, you'd think, all right, come on. Diving backward with flailing his stick. And it arrives at the precise spot it needed to just as the puck's

[Katie Green]

going into the goal.

[Jack Armstrong]

It was ridiculous. Ninja S, as they say.

[Katie Green]

And he plays for Winnipeg, a Canadian NHL team. A lot of these players play.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the Canadian. Canadian goalie plays in the U.S. yeah. Oh, really? I think.

[Katie Green]

No kidding.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huh.

[Katie Green]

Interesting. And a lot of these players play with each other on each side. So then they get back to regular hockey there and, you know, tomorrow night or whenever. So how was your weekend? My weekend was awesome. How was yours?

[Jack Armstrong]

I have had better not, not. Not great.

[Katie Green]

I know this is kind of a sexist angle on this Katie Green, but I.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sure.

[News Reporter]

Bring me on in for it. What's up?

[Katie Green]

I know a number of women who were treating the hockey like the boy aquarium because they found the hockey players quite handsome.

[News Reporter]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean that. But that's any hockey game. But yes, I. I had a few friends that were very excited to watch that game who know nothing about the sport, and I know that for a fact.

[Katie Green]

Just came wherever the boy aquarium term the other day with the glass around a bunch of hot guys.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you're looking for a wispy soc major who cries easily, you're not going to find them on a hockey rink if your preference is run more toward men who are men. Manly men, which are rare these days. Rare. Ish. Yes. Certainly you'll. You'll find them. On the other hand, don't ask them about Chaucer, Okay? Hockey players don't exactly have a rep for braininess.

[Katie Green]

Wow. Huh? Well, you know, you were a hockey player, so I'll let you take that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. And I've. I've known a lot of hockey players.

[Katie Green]

Gotcha. And then Trump called in. We'll play that later. He called into the locker room, and that was super exciting. That was really, really cool. It had the the olden times feel to it, the whole thing, the before times. Because a lot of, a lot of players afterwards with I love this country USA and chanting the flags and all that sort of stuff. And no, it's, it's tough winning this what was going on in Minnesota, you know, crap. And the President called in and everybody was excited and cheering and he didn't have to get into politics. It was like the olden times there for a moment. Loved it won't last long. Then back into the modern times. Why was Cash Patel partying like a madman in the locker room with the players? Why was the director of the FBI in a hockey jersey chugging beers with 20 year old hockey players?

[Jack Armstrong]

What was going on? Sorry, you said the director of the Olympic Committee.

[Katie Green]

No, the FBI director.

[Jack Armstrong]

You said the commissioner of the NHL.

[Katie Green]

I mean, partying like he was one of the players, which is just interesting on a bunch of levels. Is he a friends with a coach or a player or did he just say you got to let me in on the FBI director? I mean, why is he there?

[Jack Armstrong]

You want to get investigated? Do you open the door? I don't know. That's a very.

[Katie Green]

And then there's a lot of he flew there on taxpayer money and blah blah, blah, blah, blah, that whole thing. But yeah, I just, it was just surprising because when he first showed him, I thought I had that cognitive dissonance thing like if you see your teacher at the grocery store, you can't recognize it because you only see them in the classroom.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Katie Green]

And he was there and I thought is that. I know who that is. That's. Yeah, he was jumping up and down and doing the whole shaking the bottle and the beer spraying everywhere and pouring on like he was one of players. The director of the FBI. This is kind of funny.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's one word for it.

[Katie Green]

I would like to know if he knows anybody though, or otherwise. We just decided that when the Olympics are going on, if you're a member of the federal government, you get to go be in the locker room and party.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's.

[Katie Green]

That's interesting. And there's the under Secretary of Agriculture having a good time with the hockey team. Having one just won the gold medal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of course they get Jamie Comey in in the locker room with like the winning tennis team wearing his tennis whites and his V neck sweater. I say done them sweater tied around

[Katie Green]

his neck, enjoying ao. Let's start the show officially. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It is Monday, February 23rd, the year 2026 where Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, let's drop the puck for the week precisely according to FCC rules regs at mark and it's Morensky now

[Jack Hughes]

Jack Hughes puts it around the car. United States with numbers. Back across it comes. Jack Hughes wins it. The golden goal for the United. For the first time since the 1980 miracle, the United States takes the ball. Jack Hughes needed Jordan Benedict.

[Katie Green]

A pretty exciting sounding crowd.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know what?

[Katie Green]

I'm gonna.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm gonna call in my authority as co host right now. Michael, I want to hear clip 13. This is Jack Hughes. He of the bloody mouth and missing teeth. Proud Jewish American for those asking questions. Just asking questions about the Jews and loyalty. You Nazi a holes. Jack Hughes.

[Katie Green]

Jack, the first gold medal for the United States in 46 years and you delivered it. Can you just describe the emotions of this moment right now?

[Jack Hughes]

This is all, this is all about our country right now. I love the usa. I love my teammates. It's unbelievable. The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong and we have so much support from ex players. I'm so proud to be American today.

[Katie Green]

Excuse me, but does it taint the gold medal win? What has been going on in Minneapolis? In your words then the microphone. Stick it in his toothless face.

[Jack Armstrong]

Excuse me, can I have my stick back for a minute? I'm going to need it.

[Katie Green]

Whack. Whack.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whack.

[Katie Green]

That's awesome. Fantastic.

[Jack Armstrong]

Heck yeah.

[Katie Green]

The President has invited both the men's gold medal winning team and the females to come to the White House. And he's going to have, I think maybe that guy or the goalie, one of the players he's going to have up there for the State of the Union address in that classic way that we do that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wait, wait, wait. Why would he punish them? Make them sit through the so too?

[Katie Green]

Well, he's going to introduce him and it'll be a good bipartisan moment because everybody will cheer like crazy for the. For the hockey guy, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

They didn't cheer for the little cancer kid who wanted to be a cop. The Democrats didn't.

[Katie Green]

Surely the Democrats won't sit on their hands for the hockey star if they show up. There's still a question of whether or how many people are going to show up. But we can talk more about that later. We got Katie's headlines on the way. State here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Katie Green]

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[Katie Green]

So many interesting things to talk about today. Lots going on. I'm looking forward to this. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Indeed. Let's figure out who's reporting what. It's the lead story with Katie Green. Katie. All right.

[News Reporter]

Well, the big headline is South America and Mexico in particular. ABC Mexico fears more violence after army kills leader of powerful Jalisco cartel. NBC powerful cartel unleashes wave of violence across Mexico after its leader's killing And CNN US Citizens urged to shelter in place after Mexico drug lord's killing sparks wave of violence.

[Katie Green]

What's dude's name? El Mencho.

[News Reporter]

El Mencho.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the number of literally on the way to the airport told go home, go, go or go to the hotel, get back to the hotel, hide in your room. Good gracious.

[Katie Green]

The most powerful cartel leader in Mexico shot dead by the government. El Mencho. Why now was Trump putting pressure on him or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lots, lots of pressure.

[Katie Green]

And the cartel reacts by just blowing crap up all around the country.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. You're not. This is not the rules. We agreed to say the cartel.

[Katie Green]

We'll talk more about this later.

[News Reporter]

Financial Times Iran agreed secret $425 million missile deal with Russia in bid to rebuild air defenses.

[Katie Green]

So Iran is going to buy rebuy their missile defense from Russia. So better strike now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, not very good gear either. But go ahead, give it a try.

[News Reporter]

Iran New York Times Trump considers targeted strike against Iran followed by a larger attack.

[Katie Green]

The key in that is that there are almost no sources now telling journalists that we might not attack. It's all we're going to attack. Just how much when is the only question. Now it's going to happen again. I'm shocked we're not having more conversation about this. It didn't even get mentioned in the tease on several of the Sunday morning toast shows. Yesterday wasn't even part of the tease war with Iran. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Plenty of snowstorm coverage. I guess so much.

[News Reporter]

USA Today the United States has a looming sewage nightmare. Said while the average lifespan of a WarStateWater system is 40 to 50 years, many of the plants and pipes across the entire nation could be twice that old or more.

[Katie Green]

Are they all expected to explode at the same time or something?

[News Reporter]

That would be a problem.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[News Reporter]

New York Post. You guys talked about this guy. I think it was during a One more thing podcast. Popular looks Maxing influencer has wig snatched off his head in humiliating public stunt.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, no.

[News Reporter]

Everything is fake on the Internet. Everything.

[Jack Armstrong]

They're like three or four different brands of stupid in that story. I mean, we just heard the headline,

[News Reporter]

study finds ultra marathons rapidly age your red blood cells.

[Katie Green]

Well, that's interesting. I've got a New York Times story. It says almost everything you ever hear about exercise is crap. New York Times story today. I'm going to get to story sounds like crap.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're crap. You're the horse. You rode in on his crap. Oh, that was way out of line. My God, man.

[News Reporter]

All right, now the Babylon Be American women's bobsled team comes in last after stopping to ask for directions.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's. Come on now. Stopping. A P also would have been a fine punchline.

[News Reporter]

Oh, yeah, that would have been better.

[Katie Green]

Now, the point of the New York Times article about almost all the exercise headlines you hear are crap. Is it just there? They take tiny parts of preliminary studies and exaggerate them into, you know, we finally got the answer on exercise, and it's just get some exercise of any kind and continue doing it regularly. Is the. Is the. Is the headline really whatever it is? Oh, we got lots of news to catch up on. How about somebody getting shot at? Mar A Lago and other stuff.

[News Reporter]

Armstrong and Gettysburg, you mentioned multiple times

[Katie Green]

foreign influence over the Supreme Court.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you have evidence of that?

[Katie Green]

And if not, will you investigate that? You're going to find out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Justices Forchuit and Barrett, are you surprised in particular by their decision today, and do you regret nominating them?

[Katie Green]

I don't want to say whether or not I regret. I think their decision was terrible. I think it's an embarrassment to their families. You want to know the truth? The two of them? Yeah, I'm gonna start going to that more often when I disagree with somebody. You're an embarrassment, and your families should be ashamed. All right, that was right after we got off the air on Friday. So we were on the air when the big Supreme Court announcement came down. Hey, you can't do that whole tariff thing you're doing. The Supreme Court said 6 to 3, and then the three justices that voted against it, who are all conservatives, Trump kept alluding to foreign influence, like they're on the take from a foreign country or something like that. That's a heck of a thing to say. And then brutal. They ought to be embarrassed and all that sort of stuff. But so where I kind of felt like the story was over and that like, okay, I get it. And then last night I'm scrolling through my Twitter, everything like that. And Byron York of the Washington examiner, is that who he's with? Who is a hardcore right leaning writer. And then he was in a conversation with John, however you say his name from the New York Post, also a smart guy and not a Trump fan. They both said you've got to read the dissent. They said they both had gotten into the dissent by Thomas Alito and Kavanaugh.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

And they said you read the dissent and they make some really good points. So I didn't read the dissent. So luckily Joe almost went to law school and has.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, let's see, what's the. Yeah, I'm going to look at that. So.

[Katie Green]

Oh, and we left out the fact that Trump immediately slapped a 10% tariff on every country and then upped it to 15% on Saturday the next day.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. Having changed his mind overnight, I guess, because that's how we come up with policy these days. It's just delightful. Anyway, back to the case. So I'm struggling with exactly how to present this. Number one, because I don't want people's eyes to glaze over. Number two, the deeper I get into the details, the harder I have to work at it. And I am a man who craves leisure, not effort.

[Katie Green]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

I will tell you this, though, having come across an absolutely great analysis of it with a chart and letters and numbers and arrows and stuff. It is among the most divided and non understand, difficult to understand rulings I've ever come across. You had Roberts writing the Court's opinion, quote, unquote. Parts 1, 2a, 1 and 2b constitute the opinion of the Court. Joined by Justice. And this will all make sense in a second. Joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett and Jackson, A six justice coalition. Those sections focus on the statute, reading the text, examining the constitutional and concluding that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. Part 2A and 2 and 3, blah, blah, blah, were joined only by Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett making these portions of three justice plurality not a majority holding. And then you get into the actual who agreed with what. And it was like they got six together to agree that it was a nice sunny day when they heard the arguments and everybody else disagrees on everything else.

[Katie Green]

So would it be correct to say so? You got six Justices that say, no, he can't do that, but for different reasons.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, completely different reasons. And in some cases like the three sane justices and the three progressive maniacs, they disagreed quite distinctly, quite obviously on how they got to the decision. The three conservative justices saying it's clearly this and the liberals saying not only is it not that, but you shouldn't even bring that up. That's completely wrong. So just crazy. Oh, and it is absolutely worth mentioning before people's eyes do glaze over, the three liberal justices who had no problem with Biden doing exactly what we're talking about when it came to Covid mandates or student loan forgiveness or whatever, all of a sudd sudden have problems with too much executive power, blah blah blah in exactly the same way. I mean it's practically asking the same question and them saying yes for Biden, no for Trump. They're ridiculous.

[Katie Green]

Yeah. So they, they thought the President can say you don't have to pay your rent and you can't kick him out. The President gets to make that call during COVID but Trump doesn't get to make the call on tariffs.

[Jack Armstrong]

So very briefly you got Roberts wrote the decision, the concurrences. Gorsuch joined Roberts in full and wrote the second longest opinion. Blah blah blah. Barrett joined Roberts in full and wrote briefly to challenge Gorsuch's framing of the Major Questions doctrine. Kagan joined the six justice portion but not the Major questions plurality. Blah blah blah. Jackson joined the same portions as Kagan writes separately to rely on the legislative record. Blah blah, blah blah blah. The dissents. Thomas dissented separately to describe historical practice in which his views support the President's ability. Blah blah blah. Tariffs. Iepa. Kavanaugh wrote the longest opinion on the case and really thought provoking his dissent structures the case as the President acting pursuant to congressional authorization argues that regulate importation and adjust imports are not meaningfully distinguishable. Contends that the Nixon era trading with the enemy Tariff act, which was the predecessor to ipa, means the claimed authority was not unheralded. As somebody else said, argues the Major Questions doctrine and this is the key part that I think we can all understand. Major Questions doctrine says if, if this is a big deal, Congress needs to be specific in giving the executive branch the powers it gives. Don't, don't give me some vague and other stuff that you know might need to happen type language. You've gotta be specific. Kavanaugh argued the Major Questions doctrine has never been applied to a foreign affairs statute and should not be applied here. And he warns that applying the majority's new approach would likely have altered the outcomes prior decisions, including some Pretty big ones. So all way more disagreement than agreement in within the justices.

[Katie Green]

So, like Byron York's thoughts on it was, with all that division, maybe they should have deferred to the President's judgment since they all came to their conclusion by different ways. I don't know. I don't know what I think of that. So, like we're, you know, husband and wife discussing going to Hawaii. Really want to go, but one decides it's too expensive. The other one decides, doesn't care about the expense, but decides it's too hot that time of year. So you don't go. Yeah, seems like overall the decision is not to go. You came from two different angles. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. The way precedent works, though, and especially Supreme Court precedents. Courts going forward, what are they going to say? They're going to rely on the it's too hot doctrine or the it's too expensive doctrine?

[Katie Green]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Deciding future cases that might be hot and cheap or expensive, but temperate to further beat on your. Your metaphor.

[Katie Green]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And. And friends, that was the, like, super simplified explanation of what was going on. So, yeah, Mommy and daddy screamed at each other for two hours, but then agreed that we couldn't have dessert. So, yeah, I don't know what to make of it, really.

[Katie Green]

Well, I would like to hear. Can we hear 28? Sarah Isger is one of my favorite legal minds. I'll probably listen to her. She and David French do a thing for the Dispatch called Advisory Opinions, where they look at various law decisions as two really smart lawyers. We don't have that. Okay, what now? We don't have that.

[Jack Armstrong]

We don't have 28.

[Katie Green]

I guess we won't talk about that. But anyway, I was wanting to hear what some of my other favorite legal minds think about the whole thing. So when Trump came out over the weekend and said, the Supreme Court. So the Supreme Court rules, you can't do this, he comes out and says, all right, well, we now have a 10% tariff on every country in the world. And then the next day raises it to 15. Oh, yeah, I said 10 yesterday. Today, I mean, it's 15. So was that just. You can't tell me what to do? And wanting to throw it into turmoil? Was that what that was?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, it was not at all like an angry toddler. I just want to make that infinitely clear.

[Katie Green]

Aside from that, is he. Did he go about it a different way? Is he using a different.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, okay.

[Katie Green]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Different authority, which is pretty rock steady, pretty dependable, I should say.

[Katie Green]

So he's just challenging it from a different direction, which is exactly what Biden did with the student loan stuff. They said that he couldn't cancel student loans in a certain way. So he went a different direction in which he somehow was able to pull it off.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Katie Green]

You know, while going out and claiming that he defied the Supreme Court and they can't tell me what to do, even though that's not what happened. He, he of course had to. Joe Biden, I'm talking about, had to follow what the Supreme Court decided and found a different legal maneuver.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right. So I found this very interesting and it's neither pro Trump nor anti Trump. It's just interesting. The idea was that we would collect these zillions of dollars worth of tariffs and one of the great things about that would be we would retire our A, we would lower our trade deficits and B, be able to pay off our debts and blah, blah, blah. The trade deficit actually ro last year because. And here's what progressives especially never take into consideration. It's the secondary effects, the follow on effects doctrine, which is you can change something, you can pass a law, but then you must ask yourself, how will people change their behavior because their environment has changed. And there are a hundred examples of how progressives like, you know, the moronic. They're not moronic, they're just dishonest. Unions in California, they're gonna pass this billionaires tax. Right. And they will collect all this money and there should be no billionaires. And we'll get lots and lots of money and they'll pay their fair share. Well, all right, how are billionaires gonna react? By getting their ass out of California, obviously. Obviously. And in the case of the tariffs, we raise these big tariffs. All the countries that depend on exports said, okay, we'll just have to help our domestic industries more. So we'll subsidize their fuel or ease up on regulation or give them direct grants or whatever so they can keep, they can lower their costs and keep exporting the United States in the face of the tariffs. So they just kept, kept doing it. Their governments just got a little more activist, sir.

[Katie Green]

There's a lot of talk over the week.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I'm sorry. So our trade deficit actually grew last year. Year. It's unbelievable.

[Katie Green]

There's a lot of talk over the weekend how, on how people get their money back who, you know, ended up paying more because of the tariffs. And there's all kinds of different situations for different people. The, the, those of us who just paid more for a microwave or a bicycle. Probably are out of luck. Yeah. Various companies. I don't know. If your company went out of business, you're probably screwed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, clearly. And only the super giants will have the legal teams available to and the money available to pay them to actually go after refunds. The little guy will get hosed. The idea that we need bigger government to look after the little guy is one of the most dopey and, and perverse attitudes in the modern world. It's not the way it works.

[Katie Green]

I do want to talk about what's going on in Mexico because that's damned interesting. The, the top cartel leader, what's his name? El Muncho, El Mencho. What's that mean? Do you know what that means in English?

[Jack Armstrong]

I won't say it out loud. I don't want a cartel reprisal.

[Katie Green]

Can somebody Google translate that for us? What's El Mencho? But anyway, he gets shot by the government, which they usually don't take on the cartels like that. And then they got an agreement. The cartel responds by just blowing stuff up all over the country.

[Jack Armstrong]

Schools are closed in like half of Mexico. This is serious.

[Katie Green]

Wow. Is this the moment that the finally, okay, the jig is up on your cartels getting to run the country? And is it how much of it is? Because Trump's saying, look, you got to deal with these cartels. We're going to do the same thing we did in Venezuela. We're going to come down there and we're gonna yank somebody out and take over the country or something. Yes. Katie, what is the El Mencho?

[News Reporter]

Apparently it's not a phrase with the direct English translation, but his first name is Namiso, which they said that's part of his name. But I just like Google. I typed it in. It said the Men show.

[Katie Green]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's Joseph. Yes.

[Katie Green]

El Mencho, which is Spanish.

[Jack Armstrong]

Spanish for the men show.

[Katie Green]

We got to do better on that. So there's got to be something. Somebody will figure it out on the text line or whatever by the time we get back with mailbags.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thanks.

[Joe Getty]

Here Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie Green]

The so called conservative columnist in the New York Times. Brett Stevens with a long thoughtful argument in the Sunday NYT on why Trump needs to take his shot at Iran. History will judge us poorly for. For not. Maybe we'll get into that a little bit later. And again there, according to journalists in the New York Times, there are no sources telling them that that not striking Iran is on the table anymore. We are going to hit Iran. It's just a matter of how hard, how long, when.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. I accidentally closed the tab, but I remember it well enough. It's from, of all people, the brilliant, the wonderful, the irreplaceable John Cleese of Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers fame. He's also an incredibly bright man and a great thing banker. He was responding to a post in Britain. They're dealing with rampant immigration from Muslim countries and the vanishing of their culture, as Marco Rubio was saying over there in Munich the other day. And, and Cleese responded to a quote by one of those organizations, I can't remember, it's the British Muslim Council, the BMC or something like that. He said, it strikes me that the BMC is Britophobic. And he was talking about anybody who rejects the values of Western democracy and the Enlightenment. Oh, you're an Enlightenment phobe. You know, I don't want to get into that idiotic name calling thing, but to call somebody an Islamophobe, for instance, or a transphobe because they have some issue with some of the, you know, the platform. Who backs down in the face of that? Don't completely phony. They're America phobes. Anybody who wants to screw our country.

[Katie Green]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Give him a hockey stick in the face.

[Katie Green]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

That's right. We got hockey. That's right. We got to get our teeth knocked out and then forge ahead or something or other. Anyway, go USA Mailbag. Woot. Woo. Morning, guys. Mark writes on the goo controversy. As much as I hate this lady for what she's done, I'm wondering what's the difference between what she did and what Apple Computers or a multitude of other corporations are doing profiting by working with the communist Chinese? There is a difference in the Olympics, I think.

[Katie Green]

Yeah, I think there's a lot of differences. Apple would make their computers here and all that sort of stuff if they could do it as cheaply. But I, I think that Goo chick, she, she'd be a giant, giant US star making gazillions of dollars. If she skated or skied for her

[Jack Armstrong]

country president, she'd be in Leavenworth. That's all I'm saying. I'm fine moving along. B Rights. I understand Trump's anger and frustration with our Supremes, but insulting them is not a good look. There are still people with feelings and a little diplomacy might be a little more effective. Concentrate on getting on what you can do to get the prices down, period. Yeah, plenty of truth to that. I appreciate him standing up for the Supreme Court Justice's feelings. I'm a little more worried about their physical safety since they're There do seem to be plenty of maniacs in the world who are willing to take a gun somewhere or burglary tools or whatever because, you know, somebody told them that the person involved was subhuman. Let's see, here's somebody complaining about We've got tariff rulings, Iran, cartel violence, hockey game, even Epstein is kidnapping no longer in the news. Nothing but snow in New York and New Jersey. Okay, fair enough. This is interesting. It's out of nowhere, but I appreciate it. David Rice, you remember Biden passed the $1.3 trillion infrastructure bill that did nothing. Bridges are failing, sewage lines are leaking and busting. So what the massive infrastructure bill do? Yeah, it funded leftist NGOs and companies. No infrastructure was fixed.

[Katie Green]

Not a.

[Jack Armstrong]

Not a much.

[Katie Green]

Anyway, you mentioned Epstein. There's a hack of an Epstein headline out of the Telegraph, and that nut job down at Mar? A Lago that got shot dead by the Secret Service was apparently all worked up about the Epstein was going to kill Trump because of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, we got a lot more on the way.

[Katie Green]

If you missed a segment, get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty?

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.