Socialist Takeover? Democrats Avoid a Far-Left Disaster in Wisconsin

Summary

Podcast Summary: “Socialist Takeover? Democrats Avoid a Far-Left Disaster in Wisconsin”

Podcast: Brian Kilmeade Show
Host: Brian Kilmeade (FOX News)
Date: August 12, 2026
Episode Focus:
The episode unpacks recent Democratic primaries—focusing on Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan—where the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and left-wing candidates nearly captured key nominations. The episode pivots around what Kilmeade frames as a “near-miss” for far-left candidates in battleground states and the broader ideological drift of the Democratic Party, with recurring themes around law enforcement, American traditions, the Iran conflict, and shifting electoral coalitions.

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Episode Overview

The main thrust of this episode is a post-mortem on the recent Democratic primary in Wisconsin—where Brian Kilmeade and a roster of guests debate whether Democrats “dodged a socialist disaster” by narrowly denying Francesca Hong (a DSA-backed candidate) the gubernatorial nomination. The conversation branches into broader concerns about the direction of the Democratic Party, ideological shifts, impacts on upcoming general elections, and the repercussions in other states like Minnesota and Michigan.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Wisconsin Democratic Gubernatorial Primary — Near-Domination by DSA

• Main Discussion:
  • Francesca Hong, identified as a DSA candidate with far-left views (abolishing police, prisons, Senate, Thanksgiving, etc.), was leading with a 20-point margin but eventually lost narrowly to David Crowley after party establishment rallied.
  • Guest: Rep. Brian Steil (R-WI) discusses the panic-driven Democratic effort to rally behind the more establishment Crowley, emphasizing there's “not much daylight on policy” between Crowley and Hong.
• Kilmeade’s Take:
  • “It's so scary that someone like this could win in a battleground state, in a purple state. The people had it. You can't vote for her.” [04:07]
  • “Primary aftermath: we review how the Dems dodged a socialist disaster in Wisconsin but not in Minnesota...” [03:22]
• Quotes:
  • “The Democratic Party has been hijacked by liberal Democratic socialist activists, and Francesca Hong was the front of that.” – Brian Steil [20:41]
  • “Both... want to raise taxes on hardworking families here in Wisconsin.” – Brian Steil [21:44]
  • “Although Francesca Hong was a disaster, David Crowley's policies aren’t that different.” – Brian Steil [21:35]

2. Minnesota & Michigan — Successes for the Far Left

• Minnesota:
  • Despite establishment backing for Angie Craig, the far-left Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the nomination, raising questions about Democratic Party control and potential vulnerability in the general election.
  • Quote: “She wants to abolish police, border, Thanksgiving…and now she's the nominee!” – Brian Kilmeade [27:00]
• Michigan:
  • Discussion centers on Abdul El-Sayed’s primary win for Senate, with past anti-football, anti-fireworks, and anti-4th of July statements coming under scrutiny.
  • Quote: “He actually said fireworks suck... He also says football is toxic masculinity.” – Brian Kilmeade [69:36]

3. Democratic Party’s Ideological Divide

• Kilmeade & Guests:
  • Argue current Democratic primary winners are not “moderates,” and the label is only relative to even further-left options.
  • Trey Gowdy: “Politico... is now calling what used to be liberals and progressives moderates. Anyone is moderate compared to Francesca Hong, but there’s nothing moderate about them if you’re a conservative.” [42:07]
• Bernie Sanders’ Role:
  • Criticism of Sanders for allowing the far left to take over his movement.
  • Evan Barker: “I think Bernie... made a trade with people like AOC and Ilhan Omar... and now the party is completely off the rails.” [107:20]

4. Impact on General Election Landscape

• Establishment’s Weakening Grip:
  • Repeated failures by national Democratic leaders (e.g., Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries) to steer primaries successfully.
  • Notion that radicals are driving the agenda, risking broader electability.
  • Karl Rove: “This is not your grandfather's Democratic Party. It's been hijacked by radical activists with a socialist bent.” [28:48]
• Republican Strategy:
  • Advice to focus on “irrational” positions of opponents, hold them accountable for past statements and associations, and frame the elections around law, order, and American traditions.
  • Karl Rove: “Don’t let Democrats get away with disavowing past outrageous positions... It just portrays them as weird and out-of-touch.” [85:31]

5. Discussion of Far-Left Positions Seen as ‘Outlandish’ or Non-Negotiable

• Policy Positions Criticized:
  • Abolishing ice/prisons/police, open borders, anti-traditions (fireworks, football, Thanksgiving), defund the police, support for Palestinian causes, and resistance to American symbols.
• Debates over Law Enforcement:
  • Rejection of “abolish the police and prisons” as dangerous and unworkable.
  • Quote: “To stop rapes, you have well-lit streets?” – Brian Kilmeade, mocking Francesca Hong’s response [26:24].
• Anti-American Sentiment:
  • Various candidates’ hostility to established American holidays, traditions, and sports presented as “self-marginalizing.”
  • On Abdul El-Sayed: “This guy spent hours hating on what most Michiganders would enjoy in their pastimes.” – Mike Rogers (R) [84:11]

6. Issue: Law & Order, Voter ID, and Crime

• Policing and Crime:
  • Guests credit improvements in crime stats to support for police, expulsion of radical DAs, and stricter border measures.
  • Discussion over facts and effectiveness of policies like no-cash-bail.
• Voter Integrity:
  • Ongoing push by Republicans for incremental, commonsense reforms (e.g., voter ID), frustration with Senate inaction.
  • Brian Steil: “Change is often made incrementally... But I won’t rest until we get the full package.” [30:23–31:13]

7. Foreign Policy: Iran, the Red Sea, and the Economy

• Iran Conflict/Economic Pressure:
  • US pressure on Iran, breakdown of talks, military options considered as Iran “betting on US midterm swings.”
  • Rebecca Heinrichs discusses the region’s ongoing crisis, coalition-building, and impacts of sanctions and military decisions. [59:16–68:21]
• Quote: “We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now... But we can’t get merchant ships through.” – Brian Kilmeade [58:18]

8. Disaffected Democrats Speak Out

• Evan Barker (Democratic Operative, Author):
  • Details parting ways with the Democratic Party after seeing elite, out-of-touch attitudes and the “coronation” of Kamala Harris.
  • Critiques the party for alienating blue-collar and Jewish voters, being obsessed with identity politics, and abandoning “common sense.”
  • Quote: “They (Democratic elites) actively hate them—just normal American people.” [101:22]
• Talk of Third Parties/Independents:
  • Discussion about Joe Manchin’s new movement and the need for healthy competition.

9. Media & Messaging Advice

• Word Choice Matters:
  • Frank Luntz (cited): Use “free enterprise” vs. “socialism”—avoid “communist” as it turns off mainstream voters. [93:19–94:45]
• Don’t Default to Labels, Pin Down Specifics:
  • Republicans are counseled to make Democratic candidates “eat” their own words and associations rather than rely on broad, less-focused attacks.

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Notable Moments & Quotes (With Timestamps)

• On the risk from the socialist left:
  • “You would think they'd be getting 1% in the polls…Now they're winning. They're winning on the left.” [04:22]
• On Francesca Hong’s near-win:
  • “She would have destroyed Wisconsin to the point where Republicans could have voted for her.” [04:28]
• On Democratic candidates’ bizarre positions:
  • “Should we have a border, should we have a Senate, should we have a presidency, should we have police, should we have prisons? Do I need to even tell you the answer to those questions?” [102:32]
• On law enforcement:
  • “To stop rapes, you have well-lit streets.” [26:24]
• On Democratic establishment losing to radicals:
  • “Since when have you ever heard of Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries getting behind a candidate and they lose by 10 points?” [27:55]
• On social media & youth:
  • Trey Gowdy: “If you have an inherently dangerous product, you're going to bear responsibility for it, but you get a jury trial.” [52:31]
• On advice to candidates:
  • Karl Rove: “Don't let Democrats get away with disavowing past outrageous positions. Be specific and say, this is what he said. Don't let him escape from dangerous associations.” [85:31]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening/Show banter – [00:02–02:00]
• Wisconsin primary/DSA rise – [03:00–24:00]
• Minnesota race – [24:00–29:00]
• Interview w/ Brian Steil – [20:41–32:57]
• Interview w/ Trey Gowdy (far-left influence, Dem exit) – [41:27–55:15]
• Iran, Red Sea, Foreign Affairs (w/ Rebecca Heinrichs) – [58:33–68:21]
• Evan Barker Interview (Disaffected Dem perspective) – [95:17–111:01]
• Final wrap-ups and pop culture banter – [111:16–end]

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Conclusion

Tone & Takeaway: Lively, often incredulous, and at times mocking, the show is relentless in sounding alarms about the growing influence of the far left in the Democratic Party while claiming the general electorate remains moderate-to-conservative. Numerous guests—current GOP officials, former Democratic operatives, pundits—debate how Republicans should campaign, why Democratic radicals are breaking through, and what it all means for the 2026 (and 2028) general elections.

Summary:

• Democrats narrowly avoided nominating avowed socialists in key battlegrounds, but far-left positions are on the rise.
• The party’s leadership is losing control of its primary process, leading to more “irrational” candidates.
• Republicans are advised: campaign on “common sense,” focus on law and order, and pin radical candidates to their outlier statements.
• Guests warn of long-term dangers for the Democratic Party and offer inside perspectives from disillusioned former operatives.
• The episode articulates a Republican strategy for the fall and explores the realignment of the American electorate.

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Memorable Quote to Sum It Up:

“This is not your grandfather’s Democratic Party. It’s been hijacked by radical activists with a socialist bent... The radical Democrats want to drive this country off a cliff and conservatives want to maintain the freedoms and liberties that we have.”
– Rep. Brian Steil [28:48]

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Transcript

[Brian Kilmeade]

From the Fox News radio studios in midtown Manhattan, it's the fastest growing radio talk show. Brian Kilmeade. Now, I realize, Eric, why you want me here on time. Because when the whole thing opens up, all you see is a microphone. If you're not watching the stream is a television show. This used to just be a radio show that we'd have streaming once, I guess. But this is a TV show now. I mean, let's be honest. In fact, I always wonder why I don't look up more, because I'm just used to just doing the radio show and looking down. But when you open up the show with the music and you see no one there, then I realize why you guys get panicky a little bit. So I'm just coming up. It was crazy because I'm coming up from downstairs and as I'm leaving, you know, they, they want me to stay to the end of the show. Even though Ainsley's finishing up with, with a, with a conversation about avocados, which I hate to miss.

[Greg Gutfeld]

I mean, who would want to miss that, right?

[Brian Kilmeade]

So they go, Brian, can you say. I go, fine, you know, in case she has to bail out. All right, fine, you know, I'll say the end of the show. But then afterwards, Ansley says, brian, I got something to tell you. And she starts talking to me. She had three hours to talk to me, all right? But she goes, oh, wait. I go, what a second. What do you. You know, I got to run upstairs. So then I have to to been. In order to be polite, I have to let Ainsley finish. And now I have no time to prepare.

[Greg Gutfeld]

To be fair, you were chatting with us a little bit. You're trying to blame us on Ainsley, but. But I don't blame you. She's the sweetest human, so you can't walk away.

[Brian Kilmeade]

But you should talk to me earlier. If she wants to talk. I mean, I think that's crazy. To sit next to her for three hours and say, brian, I need to talk to you. You need to talk to me? I'm sitting there for three hours.

[Greg Gutfeld]

I think you should slip her note tomorrow morning at 6am saying, if you need to talk to me, please do

[Brian Kilmeade]

it before 9:00am I mean, it's different if I got caught in the elevator or something happens. But let's get to the big three,

[Francesca Hong]

number three for those who have anything

[Brian Kilmeade]

to say about the play. In the last game, I didn't see

[Francesca Hong]

the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference. I thought the play got called right Thankfully Sophie's ok. Was it egregious?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Absolutely. Yes. It was Coach Stephanie White of the Fever of Indiana. It's the Midwest meltdown. The never ending WNBA drama continues as Caitlin Clark's coach as a meltdown after admitting she didn't see the, the really, really, really rough bow on Sophia Cunningham which is why she was minimizing it. We didn't know whose fault is it that she didn't see the play before going to the press conference. Dare I say all 10 fingers should point to her.

[Brian Steil]

Number two, Iran has an incredibly high threshold for the pain that they're willing to inflict on their own population. They're betting that the midterms will bring a change in US policy. They know that the war is not popular here in the United States.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So that is Dan Hoffman. Iran breaks down. The Iran talks break down as two straits lockdown. Why? I think military strikes are next.

[Karl Rove]

Number one.

[Francesca Hong]

Yeah, it was a sound rejection certainly of dsa, certainly of, I mean the craziness that became Francesca Hong's apology campaign about. No, no, I don't want to cancel Thanksgiving.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yes, she ran on. That's what she ran on. That's what she's going to be known for. I don't want to cancel Thanksgiving anymore. Primary aftermath we review how the Dems dodged a socialist disaster in Wisconsin but not in Minnesota as we learn more about how much Elsie despises America's most passionate pastimes like fireworks and football. I'm not kidding. It's absolutely insane what we're talking about. You know there was a time when you talk about Obamacare, health care for all, saving Social Security, building up of the military, AI powered data centers. These are interesting, interesting partisan arguments. Some are interesting because they're bipartisan and that is seeming to be these power centers, these data centers. But when we're talking about abolishing the Senate, abolishing the presidency, abolishing prisons, abolishing crime, I don't know what to say to that. Those type of people who run for Office usually get 1%. Now they're winning, they're winning on the left and I'm watching this family fight go on. So the latest one is this, this, this Wong woman who, who came out over to run for governor of Wisconsin and she was up by 20 points. I'm talking about Forceska Hahn and she was running, she was up by 20 points. It looked like she was gonna win. That's without Bernie Sanders, that's without Elizabeth Warren, that's without AOC and all the power centers that usually fuel the socialist movement. So still she was up and she barely lost this race. She would have destroyed Wisconsin to the point where Republicans could have voted for her because Tom, Tiffany probably would. Had a better chance of winning the gubernatorial seat because he's a Republican. But it's so scary that someone like this could win in a battleground state, in a. In a. In a purple state. The people had it. You can't vote for her. I mean, so this woman does not win, but she says that her campaign will not be forgotten. Yes, that is true. We will never forget. Francesca Wong. Remember this. Cut 5. What is it about you, Abdul Al Said Mamdani, Even though you all are crushing in the polls, that makes you

[Brian Steil]

an anathema to the current Democratic leadership and its donors.

[Francesca Hong]

Well, first of all, look at what

[Brian Kilmeade]

happened when you're out here parading Liz

[Francesca Hong]

Cheney during a campaign. And of course, Mayor Mamdani and Dr. Syed is. And I just all happen to be people of color.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Exactly. We are so against Asians in America. We just don't like Asians in America. What an uphill battle if you're Asian in America. And El said people of color. No, El Said, we find out in his own words, hates football, hate fireworks, pro Palestinian. He's basically a DSA member who's spoken six separate times to the socialist people. He got blown out by Governor Whitmer as governor has nothing to do with his nationality, his religion, but they use it as a crutch. She also went on to say about her son, I guess she married a white person, which is terrible idea always. And she married a white person, which means her son is a little bit white. And. And she says she's still coming to grips with that. And this is a woman that almost won the Democratic nomination. Listen to her before we say goodbye to her. Just to listen. Cut six.

[Greg Gutfeld]

A lot of folks that I meet are single, single moms like me, restaurant owners who are going through Covid.

[Francesca Hong]

And I was actually trying to become

[Greg Gutfeld]

a sports journalist when I first went to college. So I learned then you have some

[Francesca Hong]

hot takes, sometimes bad takes on Twitter.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And I let my feelings out into the world. Yes, the feelings, which are your beliefs were let out in the world. What's her regret that you found out about them, not that she believes them. So it's all out there because Deleted tweaks. I couldn't believe this. I think there was 160 deleted tweets from El Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate over in Michigan going against Mike Rogers. 160 so this guy was panicking. And of course, the Reddit post by Graham Platner, you know about that. Once in a while you have a tweet that you might want to back. I get it. Sometimes you see a story and you'll respond to it, but these are stuff that you believe you just don't want people to know. Now on the other side, now that was the one story. So it looks like this guy Flanagan. Excuse me, in the, in the other race, Crowley ends up advancing 39.7 to 39.3. He will be the Democratic nominee. Now who's Crowley? The. This guy suspended his campaign in early July only to jump back in a few weeks later after Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez was forced to leave the race amid a campaign financing scandal. And then another scandal popped up with Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. He dropped out in his bid in July. So they go back to this guy Crowley. He was losing by double digits to Hong. But then there was panic among the Democrats and they came back into town, the socialists sat it out and in came the former governor Tony Evers, and dragged this guy across the finish line. I hope it means that Tom Tiffany wins. He's just a moderate Democrat, excuse me, Republican, in a battleground state like Wisconsin, it would make total sense. And this is set up for him to win. Now on the other side, the Michigan Senate seat, Mike Rogers has never looked so good. Resurface Comments from Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul Syed are basically devastating to him personally. He talks about football being toxic masculinity. This is a sport this guy played. And according to his staff. I don't know if this is true, but he was actually captain of. So he talked about this in his substack column that he just hates football. He says, on football I was free. And yet on the sidelines in locker room, I was fed a heavy dose of the worst kids of racist taunting. Dose of racist taunting. He unloaded on the NFL directly accusing the league of deep rooted racism. Oh, isn't that nice? His political theories on sports extend beyond American boundaries. In a separate 2021 Substack entry cited, the Midwestern El said explicitly tied his sports preference to far left ideology. European soccer, he says, also speaks to my politics. Compared to American sports leagues, the sports is also deeply egalitarian. So okay to have a guy whose parents are from another country like soccer, like I do, it's not unusual. But then saying how football is toxic even though you played it through high school, reportedly. And because he had a hard time in a locker room, do you Know anyone that hasn't had a hard time in a locker room in your life that played sports, you always do. You get through it, you understand it. And if you were captain of that team, believe me, you're not getting a hard time in the locker room. 90% of the time. You voted on that by your teammates. So the guy loves Ted Lasso. He says that's the way coaching should be. After a heartbreaking loss on an episode of Ted Lasso, he got his team around and they talked about regulation and it's okay to feel sad. He said those are the things coaches should be doing. This is a guy that you want to be your next senator. Okay? It's just the most bizarre primary season ever. So this guy, El Sayed, is now going to be front and center. Now on the other side in another race, another blow to the establishment really happened in Minnesota because you had this, you had this race between the far left lieutenant governor in Minnesota as well as you had Flanagan against Angie Craig. That Angie Craig, what I think is significant here was supported by Hakeem Jeffries, by Nancy Pelosi, by all the establishment Democrats. They wanted Angie Craig to win. Why? The lieutenant governor is radical number two. She's involved somehow and of course gonna be tarred and stained with all that corruption and fraud that took place in Minnesota. She was there with the governor. It got so bad that Governor Waltz, who fancies himself a presidential candidate, said, I'm not even gonna run for another term. But the lieutenant governor gets the nomination when with an easy win, a 20 point win. What a blow it must be Tokeem Jeffries. He must be saying, do I have any power at all? And if I ever become speaker, will I have anybody listen to me at all? They were mocking Kevin McCarthy and sometimes Speaker Johnson because he can't get everybody on the same page. That that's going to be. You're going to be in worse shape in my, in my view. So see what happens there. And then now we're going to see Jared Moskowitz is going to be primaried by Albert, by, by a, a DSA candidate over in Florida. So in terms of Abdul said, this comes out that he doesn't like fireworks. He says they suck.

[Brian Steil]

Right. Okay.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Doesn't want to celebrate the fourth of July. That's interesting. And now he doesn't like football. And then I also tell you that he is also somebody who blames prisons for the fact that prisoners are there. Cut a.

[Trey Gowdy]

We've got

[Brian Kilmeade]

policies like money bail, which basically force people into jail because they're poor. And beyond that.

[Karl Rove]

Right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

The broader question of how many people are left languishing in prison facilities who don't need to be there. Any and all efforts to get people out of jails and prisons and to keep people out of jails and prisons is policy that we need to be investing in, particularly right now. You know, it also heartens me. It shows you where the policies were in 2000, 2001. We're on this show saying, of course you gotta have. Gotta get rid of no cash bail. Of course you have to be able to hold people for a decent amount of time in order to build a case on them. It's impossible to arrest someone if you don't have a case done. But in 24 hours, you gotta let them go. But you gotta acquire evidence and things to that nature. So we're watching the same people commit the same crimes over and over again and victimizing countless numbers of people. But that's where we were in 2021. Now, these ridiculous statements that they make, look to look from a time that's gone by, even though it was just a couple of years ago, it shows you how the country where we're at right now, now people understand that criminals got to go to prison. And that's why that mayor over in San Francisco has been so effective. That's why the mayor in D.C. working with the president's been so effective. That's why crime is going down in most places across the country. They realize that at this point. But then if you listen to Abdul El Sayed, his past comments are impossible to justify. I mean, listen to him talk about football. Cut 14. Football is very much associated with a particularly masculine and oftentimes toxically masculine culture. And so much of it was about you wanted to be able to get back up and play for your team, and you really aren't allowed to show pain or vulnerability. That's part of the sport, really. That's called football. That's called toughness. That's what you try to instill in people. Look, if you're in pain, you turn your ankle and you're playing on it, it's gonna hurt you for the rest of the season. You come out. But to take a hard hit and get up and then take the next play, that's called building character. What does he not get about doing that? I mean, that's the type of softness you don't see anymore, that you see way too much now in sports. This guy's saying it out loud, so that's where he stands he's anti football, anti fireworks. I'm really thinking that Mike Rogers should just steamroll this guy just by being not pro maga, anti maga, just being a conservative talking about law and order, his days in the military, Mike Rogers, his days in the FBI, Mike Rogers his days and chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence. That to me is a healthy good matchup for Republicans and it might single handedly keeps in the seat. I saw that yesterday in the Cook Report they had in Maine the Troy Jackson who they say they lean now Democrat over in Maine. I have no idea why. This guy who's dating his cousin had a kid with his cousin, this guy who failed miserably in his effort to get the nomination to run for governor and was backing Graham Platner up until the last scandal which finished him off. I don't know why you think Susan Collins wouldn't survive against that. But if you factor in that and I think they got a legitimate shot in New Hampshire. I think that and who knows if what's gonna happen in North Carolina. Whatley could stage a comeback. We'll see how it goes. It also has a lot to do with the Iran war and we'll talk about that when we get and how it affects the economy. We've got new economic numbers in. We'll go over that too. Brian Kilmeitjo keeping you informed, engaged and always a step ahead. It's the Brian Kilmeat Show. Did you know FOX News has a wine shop? Did you also know you can get a head start on your Christmas shopping?

[Trey Gowdy]

That's right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Check one more gift off your list with the FOX News Wine Shop Advent calendar featuring 12 festive wines inspired by the holiday magic of Fox Square. You can reserve yours for just a $19.99 deposit. We'll deliver it free right to your doorstep in time for the holiday season. Quantities are limited so visit foxnewswineshop.com today. Radio that makes you think this is is the Brian Kilmeade Show.

[Francesca Hong]

And now let's talk about Donald Trump's out of control ICE force. We need to rip ICE apart and

[Greg Gutfeld]

stop them from terrorizing our communities. And I know this.

[Francesca Hong]

I know that we can fix our broken immigration system, secure the border and create a real power pathway to citizenship

[Greg Gutfeld]

that aligns with our values.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah, those that's the message. That's the anti Trump message we should get used to hearing. And that was came out yesterday and that was Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan talking about ice. Not popular Minnesota. But I'll tell you what if you want to see the crime stats drop, why the current crime stats drop, there are a few reasons. Number one, we stopped vilifying policemen and women. Number two is we started overcoming and getting rid of these woke DAs, many of which were put down there by the George Soros foundation. Starting to get rid of them. And number three, one of the reasons is we've gotten rid of a lot of the illegal immigrant criminals. They've been targeted the worst first and other people are out too by just abusing our system. And that's what's happening. You get in a lot of these would be criminals, some of which like the Lake and Riley attacker and had never committed a crime before, but it was the first time. But you start kicking these people out and you start stealing down the border. That's why I think has a lot to do with not only the fentanyl use dropping I think significantly 40%. And that was we did one of those talking points on the five last night. I'm just looking at the numbers there outside some murders in some cities where it went up slightly. Almost every, every stat is down because there's a sense of somebody in the White House. Look, mayors deserve credit. Police chiefs deserve credit. But there's some in the White House who said we're not going to vilify cops. We're going to support law enforcement. And all of a sudden the recruiting's gone up and the quality of candidates has gone up, too. When we come back, I have a chance to talk to Chairman Brian still. Brian Kill Me Show. Did you know Fox News has a wine shop? Did you also know you can get a head start on your Christmas shopping?

[Trey Gowdy]

That's right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Check one more gift off your list with the FOX News News wine Shop Advent calendar featuring 12 festive wines inspired by the holiday magic of Fox Square. You can reserve yours for just a $19.99 deposit. We'll deliver it free right to your doorstep in time for the holiday season. Quantities are limited, so visit foxnewswineshop.com.

[Trey Gowdy]

Breaking news, unique opinions, hear it all

[Karl Rove]

on the Brian Kill Me Show.

[Francesca Hong]

I know we don't have the final

[Greg Gutfeld]

results right now, but what I do

[Francesca Hong]

know is that we are ready to

[Brian Steil]

keep fighting because no matter who wins

[Brian Kilmeade]

this primary, we're going to continue to

[Francesca Hong]

fight for each other. We are going to collectively fight, reject

[Brian Kilmeade]

despair and we are going to unite. That's interesting. She run on anti despair so and finally achieve her goal of getting rid of Thanksgiving once and for all. That is the ridiculous candidate. Left wing candidate DSA candidate Francesca Hung, who barely lost to get the Democratic nomination in the primary last night over in Wisconsin. A guy knows Wisconsin well is Chairman Brian Stile, a Republican there, whereas Chairman of the Committee on the House Administration. Chairman, your reaction to the slight loss by Francesca Hong?

[Brian Steil]

Well, races in Wisconsin are often close. What we saw last night was another close race. But I think what happened is a lot of people zeroed in on how extreme the positions of Francesca Hong were, correctly so, but ignored how liberal and poorly managed Milwaukee county is by David Crowley. And so the home stretch of this election, election in Wisconsin is going to be discussing with the folks here in my state about how left David Crowley is and how terrible of a governor he would be. I think the American people broadly knew how dangerous Francesco Hong is. But the Democratic Party has been hijacked by liberal Democratic socialist activists, and Francesco Hong was the front of that. But the candidate who ultimately would win the Democratic primary, David Crowley, is really two sides of the same coin.

[Brian Kilmeade]

David Crowley dropped out, didn't he? And then they went back in when everybody else dropped out.

[Brian Steil]

Yeah, you're exactly right is the Democrats recognized that Francesco Hong was very likely to be the winner. They resurrected David Crowley, who only a couple weeks ago had dropped completely out of the race because his positions were so unpopular with the people of Wisconsin. They brought him back in because they were concerned that Francesca Hong would win the primary and be a disaster for everyone on the ticket. That was the known commodity, David Crowley, a little bit more unknown, particular on the national stage, but his positions are actually shockingly similar to Francesco Hong. Both of them, for example, want to raise taxes on hardworking families here in the state of Wisconsin. And so the Democrats were nervous. Francesco Hong would be a disaster. But David Crowley's policies aren't that different than Francesca Hong's positions. And again, I think it's the broader symptom that the Democratic Party has become dominated by these radical socialist liberals and the activist group inside the party. And we see that almost regardless of which candidate comes out of the primary.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Do you feel pound for pound, Madison is as wild, as wild left as New York City?

[Brian Steil]

I would tell you it's actually more left on a per capita basis. It's obviously a smaller city than New York City, but there are areas of Madison, Wisconsin that make New York City look moderate. The progressive core that gets a lot of attention in our nation's large, largest cities. For example, in New York, as you referenced, that elected Mamdani mayor, those same progressive corps exist in other areas across the country. Whether or not it's Ilian Omar supporters in Minneapolis, or whether or not it's Francesca Hong supporters in Madison, the siren call of socialism is attractive to a certain group of people in the United States. And it's why for the final 83 days, as we head into the 12 week stretch before the November 3rd election, our job is to go out and explain to the American voters how dangerous these socialist positions are of the new Democratic Party, that the Democratic Party is not the party of your grandfather. This is a new radical bent. And I think what we will show is that although there are supporters for this in small areas, Madison, Wisconsin, Minnesota, in New York City itself, the vast majority of Americans do not want to go down the dark road towards socialism.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Congressman Stiles with us. So when it comes to farmers in Wisconsin, it matters a lot. How have the tariffs affected them? How have the sparring with Canada as well as China affected the farmers?

[Brian Steil]

Well, I think in the short term they recognize the challenges that we face to get the long term win. Wisconsin farmers, like farmers across the country, want access to our international markets and want want countries across the globe to live up to their trade obligations. For a long time, President after President, regardless of party, looked the other way while foreign countries did not abide by their trade obligations. President Trump is putting the pedal to the metal to say other countries have to live up to their side of the trade agreements. At the end of the day, what I'd like to see is free, fair, but also reciprocal trade to make sure that China's buying US Agricultural products, to make sure that our farmers can ship their goods into European markets as we're taking their goods. And so I think a lot of the farmers recognize the long game to make sure that we're getting trade agreements that are to the benefit of American workers and American farmers, not just the short term gains that previous administrations were willing to play for.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So some of these beliefs that the socialists have are so bizarre, you would think they'd be getting 1 or 2% in the polls and you'd think they wouldn't even qualify for the debate stage. But now they're winning primaries, I think over 30 primaries. If you want an example, the DSA National Political Committee member, one of them joins us. You have the co chair. Absolutely. With a train wreck interview, you would think, with the New Yorker. And then you have Francis Gill on in Los Angeles. Listen to this. Cut 19.

[Karl Rove]

If my daughter is assaulted and raped, is there any agency that would seek to find her assailant and bring him to justice?

[Francesca Hong]

Of course, yeah, of course.

[Karl Rove]

What would it be if not police? And where would he be if not a jail?

[Francesca Hong]

So I guess I really, I really

[Greg Gutfeld]

want to avoid getting kind of caught into these hypotheticals. We're spending absolutely outrageous amounts of money

[Francesca Hong]

on police and policing, and we're not

[Greg Gutfeld]

spending money on things that actually make

[Francesca Hong]

people safe and feel safe, which is things like actually well lit streets.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So to stop rapes, you have well lit streets. And when asked, because she. They want to abolish prisons. They want to abolish. I mean, it's a fact. Get rid of the cops, get rid of prisons. They have no answer.

[Brian Steil]

Well, they have no answer because their positions are irrational. And that's why, when the spotlight gets a little brighter, candidates like Francesca Hong begin to crumble and become, in a way, a laughingstock on the national stage. I mean, she went so far. She wanted to not only abolish the border and police, she wanted abolish Thanksgiving. And so the Democrat socialists who are driving the car that all Democrats are in right now are running this thing off the cliff. And for the final weeks of this campaign, it's going to be incumbent upon us, the conservatives, Republicans who are running in swing states like my home state of Wisconsin, to go out and actually prosecute the case, to do exactly what you just played on that clip, to explain to the American people that if you go down the path towards socialism, it ends in a very dark place. Their positions are irrational. But we actually have to go out there and show that to the American people. Because often on the surface, things sound good. It's the same reason when Democratic socialists tell you that they're going to give free this and free that to people. It sounds good on the surface until you realize they're simply using your taxpayer dollars to pay for all these goods they'll claim they're going to tax the rich, they won't define the rich. And then eventually they're coming for everybody's money so that they ultimately get what they want, which is power.

[Brian Kilmeade]

No doubt about it, Speaker Johnson's those guys, hands full for a vote just because of slight margins. And then Speaker McCarthy ended up losing it because of some insurgents like Matt Gaetz lose the speakership. But I will tell you that if Keem Jeffries ever become speaker, if he gets the majority, he's going to have his hands full, too. He lost another race yesterday along with Chuck Schumer. They put their money on this. Angie Craig over in, over in Minnesota. And the lieutenant governor, Peggy Flynn, wins by 10. So since when have you Ever heard of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Keem Jeffries getting behind a candidate? And they lose by 10 points. Just like the she, he lost the Platner, the Platinum situation. They were going for Haley Stevens over in, over in Minnesota, excuse me, Haley Stevens over in Michigan. This is really a different time for the establishment on the left.

[Brian Steil]

Well, this is not your grandfather's Democratic Party. This has been hijacked by radical activists with a socialist bent. And so that is where the electorate is for the Democratic primary voter. But that's not where the American public is in. Showing the American public how radicalized the Democratic Party has been and using that as a contrast between the pro growth policies of the Republican Party is going to be an absolutely essential piece of this election. In many ways, this is a contrast for America to see. And the contrast could not be more clear. The radical Democrats want to drive this country off a cliff and conservatives want to maintain the freedoms and liberties that we have for ourselves and for future generations. The establishment is doing everything they can to keep the train on the track. But the radical socialists that have taken over for the Democratic Party and a Democratic primary in particular are actually showing themselves to be successful against the establishment of the Democratic Party. And I think as a result, Republicans will show themselves to be quite successful this fall if we get out there and share this information with the American people.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So what do you think the three things over in the House, Congressman style, you guys gonna be working on when you get back? I know you guys keep passing the Save Save America act, but it doesn't have any future in the Senate as of right. It doesn't even have enough. If you got rid of the filibuster, so do you. Would you be for paring it down and just having voter ID and maybe get incremental steps?

[Brian Steil]

Well, change is often made incrementally in Washington D.C. we need to get the full Save America act through and across the line. I won't be satisfied until we get there. But you're exactly right, the Senate seems to not be there. Getting more conservative Republicans elected in United States Senate is going to be absolutely essential till we get there. Are there things that we can do through reconciliation allowing us to move it through with 50 votes in the United States Senate? I'll take incremental progress, but I won't rest until we get the full package of election integrity reforms done that we need to get all the way across the line. And so the frustration that I and others in the House have with the United States Senate are significant. The long term fix is to elect more conservative Republicans. The short term play may re require us to move some of this through in an incremental way.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And I'll tell you why. Governor Mikey Sherrill supports the current ID laws in New Jersey and would be for strengthening them. Now we all know in the past Democrats have said we're for voter id, but not recently. She's the first Democrat. And by the way, there is voter ID to a degree in New Jersey and she was in the middle of that scandal where she says it was a data company error where a whole bunch of illegals got registered to vote, but she'd be forced strengthening id. And I'm just wondering if the goal is to make, make bring more integrity to our voting system. If you could get something passed like voter id, I think everyone would feel better.

[Brian Steil]

There's no doubt that we can make real and substantive change in this regard. In fact, the House passed voter ID legislation along with banning members of Congress from trading stock. And so there are opportunities here where we can make real and substantive reform. But often when the pedal comes to the metal, Democrats back away even from photo identification legislation. They'll say that they support it. But of course, when the bill comes to the floor to vote for it, they'll find excuses and back away. Democrats don't want almost any election integrity reforms to be pushed through before this election. And that's where when Democrats will give lip service to it. But of course, they'll do that when they're in positions like governor where they don't actually have to go and vote on the House or Senate floor. This is our challenge is to put these bills in front of voter in front on the floor and show the American people how radicalized the Democratic Party has become, which is beyond frustrating to me and countless others.

[Brian Kilmeade]

All right, thanks so much, Congressman style. Best of luck and we'll look forward to see you back in action in September.

[Brian Steil]

Thank you.

[Brian Kilmeade]

You got it. Of course, with his primary win yesterday. All right, when we come back, I'll take your calls, 1-866-408-7669 and get to some of your emails that you Some people listen to the podcast late and will write me when they listen. Some people listen on delay, some people hear the repeat. So whatever you wrote, I'll read out loud. Don't move the headlines, the stories behind

[Karl Rove]

them and the people who make them.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Only on the Brian Kilmeade Show. Did you know FOX News has a wine shop? Did you also know you can get a head Start on your Christmas shopping.

[Trey Gowdy]

That's right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Check one more gift off your list with the FOX News Wine Shop Advent calendar featuring 12 festive wines inspired by the holiday magic of Fox Square. You can reserve yours for just a $19.99 deposit. We'll deliver it free right to your doorstep in time for the holiday season. Quantities are limited, so visit foxnewswineshop.com today, The fastest three hours in radio. You're with Brian Kilmeade. This is very unusual, the way they approach this and the secrecy around it.

[Brian Steil]

Every 12 hours, it's a roller coaster which is no way to conduct sensitive diplomacy.

[Brian Kilmeade]

He's lost control of the situation.

[Brian Steil]

It is unprecedented and it is surreal, as Dan has just said, but it's also downright scary. This war has made the world less safe.

[Brian Kilmeade]

This is not about national security. It's about Donald Trump's ego.

[Brian Steil]

Donald Trump was embarrassed that he could not keep his Qatari playing.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So see some of the most ridiculous takes. If I could steal a word from that former Democratic gubernatorial candidate over in Wisconsin, this is some of the weirdest takes ever. We're talking about a threat that the Israelis relayed to President Trump's staff Secret Service that there could be a shoulder fire missile shot in Turkey, in Turkey when the plane flew over. And we're talking about Air Force One. So they said an abundance of caution. They put him on a different plane. They didn't tell the press. I thought it was an odd thing because you shouldn't fly the plane. You shouldn't put the press on it. If you can't put the president on it, I think the press matters. Plus you even had some of the staff on that plane, some of President Trump staffers. I think Marco Rubio was on that plane. Why'd you put him up to begin with? So I just, I found the whole thing a one day story. So Democrats use it to say chaos, things out of control. They're always trying to kill us, the Iranians. That's the problem. They killed 603Americans in the Iraq war. They took 52 hostages in 1979. They killed 241 Marines in the barrack bombings over in Beirut. Beirut, we've seen what happened in the coal, we see with the Cobar Towers. We see what happens all the time with the different hostages were taken in Beirut. Anytime you have Hamas or Hezbollah evolving with Americans, that's what happens. So the fact that they're targeting Trump again, ever since he killed Soleimani, he's been on their hit list. That doesn't show weakness. But if you want to know where we should go in the war, I think even though we're putting severe economic pain on Iran, and I love the fact that we have in almost every calculus, they are paying the big. They're paying the big price now economically. And you always think that economics could be the key to this whole thing, you know, falling apart for them. But the President says right now, we're not going to hit them militarily. We're going to make it so it's almost impossible to live with their misery index now at 91%. Chicken prices were up 190%. They lost 3 million jobs since this war started. Inflation is up 80%. Milk is up 150%. The economic, the economy shrunk by 5.4%. These are horrific numbers. But they think surviving is winning. That's the problem. So President Trump says even though they shut down, looks like both straits now, the one in the Red Sea and the one, the Strait of Hormuzzi. He's okay. Cut 20.

[Karl Rove]

Iran is going fine. Going just absolutely fine.

[Brian Kilmeade]

We totally control the Strait of hormones. We have control over it. Nobody else.

[Karl Rove]

Only us.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Our Navy is unbelievable. And things are going great for our country. Yeah, I don't like where it is right now. And they want it to get closer and closer. The economy to be suffering to a degree more than it has to be, to get closer and closer to the midterms they're very familiar with, they did to Jimmy Carter, and they want to do it to someone they really despise, and that is President Trump. He's the only one to attack him economically, the only one to really shut down their economy. The only one to put all types of pressure, bomb out their military program, kill their chief, their chief of terror, Soleimani, and then take direct action with epic fury. The only one but they think by getting him back would be for them to lose the midterms and lose the majority in both places. And one way to stop that is to hit them hard. Now, you finish up that 20% of targets and the new targets that we've surmised from watching them try to rebuild in this short time, even though some of our allies will be hit and some interceptors are down. Go for it. Did you know Fox News has a wine shop? Did you also know you can get a head start on your Christmas shopping?

[Trey Gowdy]

That's right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Check one more gift off your list with a Fox News wine shop Advent calendar featuring 12 festive wines inspired by the holiday magic of Fox Square. You can reserve yours for just a 1999 deposit. We'll deliver it free right to your doorstep in time for the holiday season. Quantities are limited, so visit foxnewswineshop.com today from high atop FOX NEWS headquarters in New York City, always seeking solutions. Never for sewing division. It's Brian Kilmeade, everyone. So glad you're there. It's The Brian Kilmeade Show. 1-866-408-7669. We're here in midtown Manhattan, right around the country, around the world. Just found out the first lady of Manhattan of New York City, who was just such a delight, I've never heard her say a word, is not going to be allowed to have the NYPD go to Lebanon and Syria. Why? Because those countries are on the do not visit list. And just because she's going to visit, there's no reason for our cops to go into danger. I love that stance. This hour, going to be joined by Trey Gowdy. He's got a brand new book out. He's author of the Sound of Regret and the host of Sunday Night in America, former federal prosecutor and seems to be taking full advantage of that law degree, Rebecca Heinrichs at the bottom of the hour, senior fellow of the Husson Institute. But let's get to the big three.

[Francesca Hong]

Number three, for those who have anything

[Brian Kilmeade]

to say about the play. In the last game, I didn't see

[Francesca Hong]

the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference. I thought the play got called, right. Thankfully, Sophie's okay. Was it egregious?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Absolutely. Yeah, it was. And it's not my fault that you did not watch the play and then went to a press conference and then said it was no big deal. Fever Midwest meltdown. The never ending WNBA drama continues as Caitlin Clark's coach has a meltdown after admitting she didn't see the rough foul on Sophia Cunningham, which is why she minimized it. Whose fault is that? This league is not close to ready for prime time.

[Brian Steil]

Number two, Iran has an incredibly high threshold for the pain that they're willing to inflict on their own population. They're betting that the midterms will bring a change in US Policy. They know that the war is not popular here in the United States and

[Brian Kilmeade]

they're playing out the long game. Iran talks, talks break down as two straits are in lockdown.

[Trey Gowdy]

Why?

[Brian Kilmeade]

I think the military strikes should be next for us on them.

[Francesca Hong]

Number one, yeah, it was a sound rejection, certainly of dsa, certainly of, I mean, the craziness that became Francesca Hahn's apology campaign about. No, no, I don't want to cancel Thanksgiving.

[Brian Kilmeade]

This is crazy. The primary aftermath. We review how Dems dodged the socialist disaster in Wisconsin, but not in Minnesota, as we learn more about how much Elsie despises America's passionate pastimes that most of us like. In his own words with us right now is talk about likable. He's the other definition of likable. Trey Gowdy joins us now. Trey, great to see you.

[Trey Gowdy]

You too, Brian. How are you, brother?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Good, good. So congratulations on the book. I want to get to it, but first, on what we're seeing now in politics, I know that you were just there and it seems like yesterday, but you got to say that these candidates probably would have get 1 2% when you were in Congress. Now, these candidates for office, ones that want to abolish the Senate, abolish prisons, abolish the presidency, law enforcement, of course, abolish cops and ice, these were. They're within a whisker of getting this nomination. On the left, is this the beginning of the party switching or is this the wake up call for the Democratic Party?

[Trey Gowdy]

No, I think it's a separate party. I mean, but we have to be careful. Politico, which never ceases to do the bidding of Democrats, is now calling what used to be liberals and progressives moderates. And I guess anyone is moderate compared to Francesca Hong. So we gotta be careful. There's nothing moderate about even traditional Democrats if you're a conservative. It's just the DSA folks are like one step removed from a psychiatric hospital and they can't withstand cross examination. Ask them where you want the killers of Dylann Roof to go. Ask them where they want the killers of George Floyd to go. Ask them where they want the Boston Marathon bombers to go. They don't believe in prison, Brian. They don't believe in police. They don't like our country. You mentioned the guy in Michigan. He doesn't even like Michigan. There are parts of Michigan that he says he'll never go back to.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Mackinaw. I think that was. I think if I got that right, he didn't want to do that. And here's something else, Trey. I know you're more a golfer than football player, but this guy says he was a high school football player and he says he hates football. He, he. It's toxic masculinity, football in America. And he really hates the NFL. I mean, you would think, and not only that, that's not my opinion, that he doesn't Seem to watch when I, when he, when the game's on. I mean, listen to him talk about, listen to him talk about football. And this was something that he posted online. Here it is. Football is very much associated with a particularly masculine and oftentimes toxically masculine culture. And so much of it was about. You wanted to be able to get back up and play for your team. And you really aren't allowed to show pain or vulnerability. That's part of the sport. Is that terrible to show after taking a hard hit? You're not emotionally vulnerable. Isn't that the worst part of the sport?

[Trey Gowdy]

Look, you're better with geography than I am. Brian is Detroit and Michigan.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah, pretty sure.

[Trey Gowdy]

So, so, so they have a. NFL fans and college football fans. It is like a religion. Go tell Harold Ford Jr. That you don't like football. He's a Michigan nut. I don't know how these folks. I mean, I do know because it's a primary and only like the most motivated voters get out. We'll see how he does against Mike Rogers with his anti America look. Baseball is America's pastime, but football is America's religion with a little rich.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So you know what it's like when you try to get some opposition research on your opponent. El Said makes it easy. It just made a little harder because he deleted 160 posts. But he also cited. Criticized the 4th of July. He said fireworks suck and they're not good for the environment. We shouldn't use them. He also advocated for replacing the second amendment. All right, I'm not sure with what, but with what?

[Trey Gowdy]

With no self defense.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah, so I. It's the craziest debate ever. We used to debate Obamacare. How do you save Social Security? Why are we putting so much money into our defense? Those are the old arguments. You know, it's, you know, Republicans want a strong defense and they want. Democrats want strong social programs. I mean, these are the old wrestling matches, but those are, those are the. Those are old school these days.

[Trey Gowdy]

We got to be careful though, Brian, because we cannot fall into the trap of thinking the Angie Craigs of the world are now moderates, which is what. What Politico was calling what last year was a progressive. I mean, Bernie Sanders would not even endorse the lady in Wisconsin. So Bernie Sanders, I'm sorry, he's not a moderate Democrat. But Francesca Hong, who gets triggered by Thanksgiving. Wait till she finds out there are three NFL games on Thanksgiving. Then she'll really be triggered. She hates Thanksgiving. That's too much even for Bernie. Sanders, but he's not moderate. The Democrats that are winning are still not moderate Democrats. They're liberal. They're just not psychotic.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Right. And Chuck Schumer went all in for Craig, as well as Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi, and she lost by. And Craig lost by 10. So that.

[Trey Gowdy]

Welcome to the New Democrat Party. It is not an outlier. This is the party.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So I want to bring you to South Carolina, Darlene Graham. And it's going to be Darlene Graham and Ralph Norman in a runoff. Here she is yesterday, cut 11.

[Francesca Hong]

So I've already accomplished more in a

[Brian Kilmeade]

few weeks than many do in decades.

[Francesca Hong]

So I'm very proud of that. So when President Trump and others asked me to run for a full term

[Brian Kilmeade]

in the Senate, I prayed hard about it.

[Greg Gutfeld]

I knew I could not sit on the sidelines.

[Francesca Hong]

That's not how Lindsey and I were raised. That's not who I am. I'm a fighter. Here's what South Carolinians should know about me. I'm a conservative Republican. I'm not a career politician.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So she does not have the endorsement, unless you know better, of Senator Tim Scott or Governor McMaster. Will they go in for either candidate, Congressman Ralph Norman or Darlene?

[Trey Gowdy]

Do you know I can't speak for Governor McMaster, for whom I have a tremendous amount of respect, but as you know, Tim Scott is like a brother to me. Tim wanted to wait and watch and bear eyewitness to Darlene Graham. Look, we all love Lindsay, but Darlene is her own person. Lindsay love foreign travel. Travel for Darlene is going to Walmart and the grocery store. I would bet if I were a betting man, which I'm not, because my mom listens to your show. If I were a betting man, I would bet that Tim Scott will weigh in. And I think he's going to do it based on his eyewitness testimony of what he has seen over the last three weeks.

[Brian Kilmeade]

What about you?

[Trey Gowdy]

I cannot my employer. I love working with you, but anyone who watch my eulogy of Lindsey Graham probably can guess where I come down on this.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Understood.

[Trey Gowdy]

I would also add this, Brian. She beat three guys yesterday that have been in politics for a combined half a century, and the guy she's running against is run for. I'm not good with math, but four different offices, including two this year, and yet he believes in term limits. So I'm having a hard time reconciling. Reconciling all of that. I don't know how you can go from wanting to lead a state to Saying, I want to be one of 100 people in the U.S. senate. Unless you're just looking for a job in politics. But I won't be endorsing because I can't. But Tim Scott, I betcha he really likes his new Senator Graham colleague.

[Brian Kilmeade]

All right, so we'll look forward to that. He is allowed to endorse a candidate, right?

[Trey Gowdy]

Yes. And he does. Frequently. Yes, sir.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So. So, Trey, tell me. Tell me about your new book, the Sound of Regret. Where does it come from? Where? Where? Where in your mind trigger this real life?

[Trey Gowdy]

Brother, I wrote one book in my head, and the publisher said, that's three books. So round one was the Color of Death. And that kind of focuses on prosecutors and their relationship with victims, which is unique and lasts a lifetime. This one is same characters, but prosecutors and their relationship with witnesses. And if you want to know what regret sounds like, Brian, it is having to go tell a mom who trusted you with her son that her son was killed because he agreed to be a witness for you. That is. That is the worst day in a prosecutor's life. So is it fiction? Yes. Did I live it? Yes, for nearly two decades.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So as you go put this together, was it hard to relive that moment and then try to recall the conversation?

[Trey Gowdy]

Yes. I dedicated the book to the young man who helped me and to his mother, because the relationship between. You think about a young man of color trusting you when you say, look, I need you to help me in this case. I need you to be my witness, and the cops will take care of you. And then a street preacher or a hitman poses as a street preacher and executes you under the guise of taking him for a baptism. Brian executes him by a lake. And then I have to go tell Mrs. Sylvain, Samuel, that you trusted us and we let you down. That is the life of a prosecutor. You have highs, but you have some incredible lows. And I wanted to tell the real story. It's not what's portrayed on television. That's not reality. Reality is giving a young man a choice. Be labeled a rat and help me or go spend the next three decades in prison. Those are your options.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Wow. So that. That book, it's now out, correct?

[Trey Gowdy]

It is out. And pre orders are, you know, not, Brian, kill me level of good.

[Brian Steil]

But.

[Trey Gowdy]

But people are really kind, and. And they seem to like this genre.

[Brian Kilmeade]

There you go. The Sound of Regret was the number one. Your last book was number one bestseller on the fiction list, and you look to do that again. I'm sure it will. Trey, before I let you go, and I should really have prepped you for this, but I just wanted to see if you wanted to weigh in and give me an idea of where this social media on trial is heading. You have jury selection today in Oakland in a major federal case. They accused Meta of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to keep users, mostly young people, engaged in scrolling. I look like TikTok and some other social media like Google and YouTube are trying to give adequate settlements, but it looks like Meta is not. They can't stop it, so they're writing some huge checks even for them. Where do you think this is heading? As they expect to, of course, have Mark Zuckerberg on the stand again as a major witness.

[Trey Gowdy]

I think where it's headed is accountability, the notion that you get immunity even though you have a product that you know is dangerous for people, whether it's cigarettes, whether it's fill in the blank, whether it's a pharmaceutical. Social media for particularly young girls has been incredibly harmful. So our civil justice system compensates people who have been injured. And look, the social media folks need to clean up the way they do things. You cannot target teenagers who, by the way, we don't even let them sign contracts. Most of them can't even drive yet, but yet they can go on these death squads. And we give immunity to the companies? I don't think so. If you have an inherently dangerous product, you're going to bear responsibility for it, but you get a jury trial. Welcome to America. We're going to give you a jury trial. We'll let you. Like small government. Let's let 12 people decide.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So Meta has already paid 375 million in civil penalties, plus another 567 million for youth mental health treatment and prevention. 942 million combined. And then Meta, excuse me, Google and TikTok and everything else, Snapchat, are writing checks to avoid things like this. I don't know where it ends because Europe is lining up too, to sell. Do you. Do you, for example, expect. I mean, where does this stop? For example, what stop Mr. And Mrs. Johnson in Iowa from suing or anywhere? Someone in Utah and Texas.

[Trey Gowdy]

I think it stops with age limits. I think eventually the social media companies are going to stop making deposits at the bank because they are all billionaires, if not bordering on trillionaires. And I think at some point they're going to say, look, we don't let kids sign contracts. We don't let them marry, we don't let them make major life decisions. We're not going to let them get addicted to something that's going to lead them to have suicidal ideations. So I think the legislature usually lags behind. So the courts usually that's where the ideas pop up and then the legislation comes afterwards. Some countries are already banning social media for, for young kids. I mean, if you know it's harmful for them, like cigarettes, you're going to let kids go buy cigarettes? Going to let them buy alcohol? We don't even let them drive. We don't even let them drive a golf cart at my golf course. But yet you're going to let him go on a death scroll.

[Brian Kilmeade]

All right. It's hell to pay. At least we're sobering up. It took a while, but we're sobering up in society. We're leaving them out of schools. And now we'll, you know, hopefully leave him at home. Trey Gowdy, thanks so much. Pick up his book, pre order his book, the Sound of Regret. Thanks, Trey.

[Trey Gowdy]

Yes, sir. God bless.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Take care and check out his show on Sunday night. Back in a moment.

[Karl Rove]

The headlines, the stories behind them and

[Brian Kilmeade]

the people who make them.

[Trey Gowdy]

Only on the Brian Kilmeade Show.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Did you know FOX News has a wine shop? Did you also know you can get a head start on your Christmas shopping?

[Trey Gowdy]

That's right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Check one more gift off your list with the FOX News Wine Shop Advent calendar featuring 12 festive wines inspired by the holiday magic of Fox Square. You can reserve yours for just a $19.99 deposit. We'll deliver it free right to your doorstep in time for the holiday season. Quantities are limited, so Visit Fox News WineShop.com today,

[Karl Rove]

The talk show that's getting

[Brian Kilmeade]

you talking, you're with Brian Kilmeade.

[Karl Rove]

So what was that lady signing?

[Brian Kilmeade]

A new law that puts child predators

[Karl Rove]

behind bars, a new bill that castrates

[Brian Kilmeade]

kidnappers, legislation that makes lethal injection mandatory

[Karl Rove]

for anyone who listens to a Brian Kilmeade audiobook without headphones.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So that was Greg Gutfeld who gave me a heads up on the five that I was in his monologue. And you guys, what do you Google it every day to see if I pop up in the monologue?

[Greg Gutfeld]

I feel like the algorithms just feed me. This was really by chance that I happened to catch it. But yeah, see, you had that tip and you didn't even pass.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I know I didn't pass it on when he said to me, I'll go, you know what, I'll let that sit. But I guess you guys picked up on it.

[Greg Gutfeld]

But to be fair, they then give you a nice full screen of you. And with Teddy and Booker T. It was a nice full screen that was.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Okay, good. And any way you could. Any. Even if it's derogatory.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Agreed. So if you get a sudden bump in sales with your old book, you can thank Greg.

[Brian Kilmeade]

But you know, if people really want to get under Greg's skin, pre order United the States. The six crucial moments that forged the American miracle.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Don't do it for you. Do it to annoy Greg and do

[Brian Kilmeade]

it for America is to celebrate America 250. When we come back, I want to find out what the latest move should be in the war in Iran. We're at an interesting place right now. Rebecca Heinrich all over at senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. Also, some things are changing. Ukraine, she was just in Ukraine. We're going to share that. And some good news coming from Iraq. Yes, good news in Iraq. I don't normally say that. Don't move. You listen. The Brian Kilmeade Show. He's so busy, he'll make your head spin. It's Brian Kilmeade. Iran is going fine.

[Karl Rove]

Going just absolutely fine.

[Brian Kilmeade]

We totally control the Strait of Hormones. We have control over it. Nobody else.

[Karl Rove]

Only us.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Our navy is unbelievable and things are going great for our country.

[Karl Rove]

I don't trust Iran. Why are you saying I trust Iran? I'm the last person that trusts Iran. They've lied to me constantly.

[Brian Kilmeade]

We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now. They don't have control.

[Karl Rove]

We have total control.

[Brian Kilmeade]

We own it. And at some point maybe they'll do

[Karl Rove]

something and then they get blown away. But we right now we're in a very good position.

[Brian Kilmeade]

But right now we can't get merchant ships through the straits. So therefore Instead of getting 100 ships through, we're getting maybe 8 to 10 and we're doing it going through the other side of the strait, the Oman side of the strait, while Oman and Iran talk to each other about how they're gonna run it. Meanwhile, we'll never sign off on it. While yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, Gulf states came together and said they basically have come to the reality that they believe that they're never going to get back. Freeze transit to the Strait of Hormuz. What's the reality? Rebecca Heinrich joins us now, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. Rebecca, welcome back. President said he owns the strait. We do have a blockade on a blockade, but reality is we're not getting much transit through there.

[Francesca Hong]

Yeah. So Secretary Wright Bryan yesterday came out pretty Hard on X and other platforms, really trying to get skeptics to understand that, though we do not have all of the oil flowing through the strait that we want, we basically have levels that are good enough that's going to keep voters happy, it's going to keep the price of gasoline low enough, you know, to getting through the election. And that gives the administration some confidence to keep the current strategy in place for now. And then that clip you just played of President Trump where he was saying, like, look, essentially the Iranians may do something stupid, and then we may go through the military option, basically, that kind of seems a strategy. We're going to keep doing what we're doing, basically Project Freedom, usher ships to the strait. And then if the Iranians do something really foolish, again, striking a US Ship or trying to, then the United States may go the route that I think Trump really wants to do, which is a much more significant military opportunity.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I mean, what they would like to do is create as much turbulence as possible leading up to the midterms. They would like to see Donald Trump more than any other president, including Jimmy Carter, really makes sure he does not have the same power afterwards, after the midterm elections.

[Francesca Hong]

Yeah, that's basically the dilemma that we're in, because the Trump administration strategy is to manage the problem through the election. The Iranians totally know that. So they're going to make it as painful and embarrassing for President Trump and his team as they possibly can. Which is why I think you're seeing a change in the tone of President Trump. You saw Vice President Vance just a few weeks ago saying that he believed that the Iranians wanted a change of course, that they didn't want to pursue the same path they've had for 47 years. I mean, that's absurd. There's no evidence that demonstrates that we just had another credible assassination attempt or plan on President Trump's life while these negotiations were ongoing. So clearly, President Trump is now communicating the American people. He doesn't trust these guys at all.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So where do you think the state of the Red Sea is? The other strait, Bab El Mandeb strait, where the Houthis are beginning to create some turbulence.

[Francesca Hong]

Yeah. So the Houthis, just to keep in mind, the Houthis are just an Iranian proxy. So whatever the Houthis are doing, it's because they're basically being directed by the irgc. So when the Houthis are standing down, I suspect that that's due to heavy diplomatic pressure or they're being paid off by different factions in the region, different Gulf states, not to fire into the strait. If the Houthis are firing into the Red Sea, it means they' being paid by the IRGC and directed. This is why, Brian, any kind of sanctions relief like that, MOU was a disaster, even though it was short lived, only lasted three weeks, but it gave Iran about $5 billion of sanctions relief that they could use to fund proxy groups like the Houthis. And then this is the result.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So six people were killed over there. And the Houthi forces fired missiles at a commercial vessel doing that, the three of which were Pakistanis. How much does this have to do with their problem with Saudi Arabia? And just so happens it's happening at the same time as we have a problem with Iran. Or is it just coordinated?

[Francesca Hong]

I mean, I think it's coordinated. I mean, the Houthis, I mean, look, this is all the big picture is Iran wants to establish hegemony over the region, so over these Sunni states, including Saudi Arabia, which is why Saudi Arabia's passivity is what I would call it now describe it. I mean, Saudis are the ones that are pressuring President Trump to call off military strikes. They're getting cold feet in part because they think that the Trump administration isn't going to really do fully what is necessary to degrade the Iranians. And so Iranian proxies vis a vis the Houthis continue to give major problems against Saudi Arabia. But the Saudis are, they're going to keep putting up with these people long term unless the Saudis get some courage to back the United States doing what is necessary to put an end to the Iran regime.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So do you think that we should take military action against the Houthis if this continues? Because you can't have two straight shutdown.

[Francesca Hong]

Oh, absolutely. And you know, and I will say, since I'm just kind of beating up on the Saudis right now in their passivity, the Saudis, to their credit, really are trying to get a coalition together now to prevent the Red Sea from being closed, like the Strait of Hormuz is, because it's much easier to get a coalition now and prevent the strait from being closed than to try to reopen it once you have in mind. And all kinds of terrible, nasty things. So the Saudis have at least learned from that to. But, you know, the Saudis can't do this without the United States. And again, Brian, remember just earlier on in the Trump administration, Trump, President Trump was just really pummeling the Houthis until it was called off. He was convinced by some people around him to stop hitting the Houthis. I think that was a mistake. I mean, you gotta really degrade these guys as much as we possibly can.

[Trey Gowdy]

I know.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Now, in Iraq, some good news. Observers have seen indications suggesting the Iraqi federal government is beginning to crack down on the Iranian backed militias in Iraq. That we seem to have gotten through to this new prime minister. I don't know what kind of firepower he has and how much is in country, but do you expect something substantially to change?

[Francesca Hong]

So this seems like a quiet Rubio success. So it seems to me that, you know, Marco Rubio is kind of the fixer. When things aren't going well, we find out that there's these diplomatic breakthroughs that happen. And that to me is. Looks like that's what this was. I mean, if you can get the Iraqi government to essentially push out or crack down on Iranian influence in the region, I mean, that's one of the unintended consequences of President George W. Bush's deposing Saddam Hussein, is that you had the Iranians try to pull Iraq into their orbit because you didn't have a country opposing Iran. So if President Trump vis a vis Marco Rubio can get a pro US government in Iraq that's strong enough and has the guts to push the Iranians out, you basically redeem the bad outcome of the Iraq war, which was. Which would be an incredible thing for President Trump to achieve.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Remember when Barack Obama took over, there was quietness in Iraq. They actually had an election and the opponent won. And it was Barack Obama who said, no, I'd rather leave Al Maliki in there instead of allowing, even though he lost the election and he stayed in there and we pulled all our troops out and our result was isis. So we made a series of calamitous decisions there and let politics skirt its way in. So I'll see where it happens. I have a prediction. Rebecca, can I bounce it off you?

[Brian Steil]

Yeah.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I think the Iranians hit one of our ships, they hit one of our bases, and we're gonna be forced into action. There's a belief out there and the President hasn't pushed back hard enough. We don't have the munitions to go forward, we don't have all that we want, but we got plenty to go forward to go and finish them off. At least finish off the 20 plus percent of the targets we left off. Epic fury.

[Francesca Hong]

Can I say something on the munitions piece, Brian? We have time for that?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah.

[Francesca Hong]

So, yeah, on munitions, I've been talking to some people who know exactly what we have, and I just want to agree with you completely. So basically for our listeners, what we don't have enough of, that we want is the longer range, exquisite strike systems like Tomahawk, which you really need whenever the country that you're hitting has robust air defenses. And so we used a lot of those munitions the beginning of the war. But once we destroyed their defenses, we can now have gravity bombs, those bombs that are much easier to get closer to the target and drop. And we've got plentiful of those kinds of munitions, the other kind that we don't have much of, that we want more of as missile defenses, interceptors. But let me say that I have heard that part of the problem there is when we stop and start these, these, these military operations. That's not what Cooper wants to do. Cooper, I mean, I would suspect he would want a sustained military operation because you want to suppress anything the adversary can retaliate against. If you have stop and start, they can regroup and have more munitions so that you have to expend more, more, more interceptors. So even that problem, I think, can be mitigated. And, and then, you know, I keep seeing Hegseth put out more press releases that we're getting more contracts signed so the other defense companies can get cranking and make a lot more of these munitions that we need.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I hear you. And lastly, Russia, as they say, is using drones to probe air defenses on all of Europe, especially focused on Germany. How could a country struggling against Ukraine want to expand a war real quick?

[Francesca Hong]

I mean, what they're, what Russia is trying to do. Anytime Ukraine does really well, Russia tries to scare NATO so that it stops supporting Ukraine. The best thing we can do is just steady force, continue to support Ukraine,

[Brian Kilmeade]

even though they're adding, I think, 50,000 North Korean troops, which is crazy.

[Francesca Hong]

Adversaries are collaborating.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Rebecca Heinrich, thanks so much. Always appreciate it. Thanks, Brian, and always great. Meanwhile, Stuart Varney's next to do a simulcast and then squeeze in some calls. So glad you're there.

[Karl Rove]

Now the Brian Kilmeat show joins Fox

[Brian Kilmeade]

businesses, Varney Co. With Stuart Varney live

[Karl Rove]

on your radio and on Fox Business, here's Brian Kilmeade.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Hey, welcome back, everybody. We're gonna do a simulcast with Stuart Varney. So in a matter of moments, he's gonna come back from commercial and you'll be able to watch me on FBN as well as see the stream which you get on Fox Nation. And also, this is one of the things you'll catch on YouTube YouTube.com hebron kilmeadeshow everyone's talking about the YouTube channel. And don't forget we also have a book coming out, United the States, the Six Crucial Moments, the Forge of the American Miracle, that is now available for you to pre order, but also just talks about another reason to understand how special it is for year 250. Steward Marty introduced me. Brian Kilmeade will magically appear there.

[Karl Rove]

The ladies.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Michigan Democrat senate nominee Abdul El Said has removed old videos from his YouTube

[Karl Rove]

channel where he urged people to stop

[Brian Kilmeade]

celebrating the 4th of July with fireworks. His team claims the old videos don't represent his current views. You buying that, Brian? No, absolutely not. He just doesn't want. It doesn't help his candidacy now that he's trying to beat a. A conservative Republican like Mike Rogers in a battleground state like Michigan. I mean, think about everything that he has said. He actually said fireworks suck. We shouldn't do it. Okay. Really? He also says football is toxic masculinity. And he had a hard time in the locker room even though he said he was captain of the football team. I'm Pretty sure in 97% of teams they vote you captain by the players. So he said they didn't like him because of the color of his skin in football. So he doesn't like the NFL, which Stewart, according to reports, is pretty popular. I mean, it's even selling out stadiums in Australia and London, everywhere. So good luck with that. I mean, what else did. What does this guy like about this country? Yeah, not much by the looks of it. Another one for you, Brian.

[Karl Rove]

I want you to listen to Dave

[Brian Kilmeade]

Portnoy what he had to say about DJ Carrington. White privilege statement.

[Karl Rove]

Dave goes at it. Watch.

[Brian Kilmeade]

It was a crazy thing to tweet. Maybe crazier than to try to act like it had nothing to do with the play. So I have no idea what she's talking about. I don't think anybody can have any idea what she's talking about. Bizarre. Brian, forgive her for being direct, but I think this is all about race and jealousy. What am I going wrong? Yeah, you're not really going wrong at all. And there was a great guy that was interviewing Dave Portnoy, goes by the name of Brian Kilmeade. So I was able to solicit that answer. But you don't have to pay any rights fee, Stuart. That's the kind of relationship you and I have. But you have mine all the time. Anyway, what he's trying to say is this. So we've seen that if you've been watching this channel, you've seen the hard foul. So the hard foul came couple of days after Sophie Cunningham came out and said, no offense, but trans men shouldn't be playing a women's sport. And there's just a firestorm has been created wherever she goes now, as if that's a radical statement. It is a rational statement, America. I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican. And Sophie Cunningham has been a target ever since. What also is happening is the Carrington who comes out and makes the hard foul tweets out white privilege. And then when people said, are you kidding me? What does white privilege have to do with it? She said, no, no, it was the reaction to the foul, that it was white privilege. Excuse me, Me. You tweeted it out in the locker room. So how do you even know the reaction from your hard foul after you got tossed from the game? So nobody's buying our explanation. Yesterday this thing took another turn when the coach of the Fever. The fever of the coach of Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark, when she comes out and says she was getting criticized because she didn't defend Sophie, she defended the hard foul of a player she used to coach. She used to coach Gary, folks. Two days later, she got such. She got booed on the court last night. So afterwards she gives a press conference at which time she screams and use expletives to say, I never saw the foul. That's why I defended my former player instead of my current player. And then one got emotional about it. Have you ever seen a group of coaches in management of a major sports league be more ill equipped to handle the spotlight? I. I have never seen a league run worse. You got it. I'm going to lighten the mood for a second. I've got another one for you. Men have talked them for years. Men have talked themselves out of using purses. But you've been using them for a long time. Don't deny it.

[Karl Rove]

Watch this.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I'm a guy with a man bag. My pockets are always jammed and stuff. Women have the patch because they do the shopping. Brian, you've got a man bag. That's true. You bring the man back.

[Francesca Hong]

Yeah. And he comes in, comes out, carries a man bag.

[Brian Kilmeade]

That's not a purse. I guess you were ahead of your time, Brian. What I'm trying to say is I got stuff. I got to carry stuff around, but I keep it on my body. This new thing with all these rich, famous athletes and celebrities, they're holding it like a purse. Like, Like I put it over my strap or I wear a backpack pack because I got stuff I got to bring. I'm just being practical. I prefer if I had a choice. I like the fanny pack. We could put your stuff here and zip it in. But nobody thinks that's cool. What I think is cool is you have a pack across with a strap or a backpack. I think I look cool like that. But bottom line is, Stuart, I just need stuff. I can't just leave home. I got to be prepared to do multiple things. So I can't just put everything in my pockets. But that's not a purse. I'm going to be genuine generous. I'm going to buy you a real good looking man bag and I'll call it Immerse. And you'll be able to write it off because it'll be work related. Because this is art, this is work.

[Karl Rove]

I know how it works.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Brian Kilmer. I do think you're all right, though.

[Brian Steil]

Personal.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Okay.

[Karl Rove]

All right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Thanks very much indeed. The 11 o'.

[Karl Rove]

Clock.

[Brian Kilmeade]

All right, so that's all true. So did you know that?

[Greg Gutfeld]

I did hear that. I heard you love the fanny pack. But the thing you don't say is when you put your backpack on, nine times out of ten your straps are all twisted. And I don't know how that doesn't drive you crazy.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I did not know that. So here's the thing. This new thing is crazy. It is very, I guess, metrosexual. You see, Jalen Brunson and Holland over in Norway, they've been paid to literally carry around what looks like a purse, the bags, which makes me look bad because I carry something from my iPad, you know, and some other things that I need. So it's not a purse. But now they're actually holding a bag. And believe me, these guys have staffs that walk around with them. They don't need anything. I'm sure that they were sweats. I mean, they don't have anything even for their pockets.

[Greg Gutfeld]

But if you're carrying like the Louis Vuitton duffel bag, it like completes the look. I mean, I think it looks. And they're literally just carrying it from what, their car to walking into the locker room, which also ridiculous.

[Brian Kilmeade]

They're getting paid a lot of money.

[Francesca Hong]

Money completely.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Don't you think so? I do.

[Greg Gutfeld]

As a quick aside, another merch item. The Kilmers. Yeah, the man bag. I think we need to order them.

[Brian Kilmeade]

We are working on a few things.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Right. Well, America, America, will you buy that?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Will you buy a Brian Kilme man bag. Think about that for a second without my face on it. Listen to Brian Kilmeade Show. Don't move. From the Fox News radio studios in midtown Manhattan, it's the fastest growing radio talk show.

[Trey Gowdy]

Brian Kilmeade.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Hi, everyone. So glad you're there. It's the Brian Kilmeade Show. Big hour coming your way. Evan Barker is going to be with us, author of Nothing Left, Confessions of a Democratic Operative, former Democratic campaign operator, operations and we'll have a lot to talk about there. There's a lot of former Democrats that are extremely upset at the direction of the party. We have, we have, we have Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein, Julian Epstein, man, big difference. Julian Epstein, who's a longtime Democrat, who said, I'm done with that party. James Carville said, if Hassan Piker continues to be a force, he can't be in the same party as him. He wants out. And we have a lot of other examples, including, you know, Doug Schoen and others who consider themselves moderates or just not crazy and want out of the party. And we got we in our primary season. I never remember such intensity. So before we get to call Robe, let's get to the big three.

[Francesca Hong]

Number three, for those who have anything

[Brian Kilmeade]

to say about the play in the

[Francesca Hong]

last game, I didn't see the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference. I thought the play got called. Right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Thankfully, Sophie's okay.

[Francesca Hong]

Was it egregious?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Absolutely. Yeah. Don't get mad at us because you missed the play. Fever Midwest meltdown never ending. WNBA drama continues as Caitlin Clark's coach had a meltdown after admitting she didn't see the rough foul on her fellow player Sophie Cunningham, which was why she minimized it.

[Brian Steil]

Really.

[Brian Kilmeade]

It's my fault or the press's fault that you didn't see the play but commented on it?

[Brian Steil]

Number two, Iran has an incredibly high threshold for the pain that they're willing

[Brian Kilmeade]

to inflict on their own population.

[Brian Steil]

They're betting that the midterms will bring a change in US Policy. They know that the war is not popular here in the United States.

[Brian Kilmeade]

That is Dan Hoffman, Russian expert and a Middle east expert, CIA guy. Iran talks breakdown is two straits locked down and we have just hit Iran back for attacking two ships yesterday. I just was able to see the explosion. It is pretty substantial.

[Brian Steil]

Why?

[Brian Kilmeade]

I think military strikes are coming back big time before Labor Day.

[Karl Rove]

Number one.

[Francesca Hong]

Yeah, it was a sound rejection certainly of dsa, certainly of, I mean, the craziness that became Francesca Hong's apology campaign about. No, no, I don't want to cancel Thanksgiving.

[Brian Kilmeade]

That's really not what Karl Rove would have a candidate run on. Not canceling Thanksgiving. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Primary after aftermath, we review how the Dems dodged a socialist disaster in Wisconsin, but not in Minnesota. And we get more revelations about what El said. Really thinks about America. Not much about at least our traditions and everything else around it. Let's bring in Karl Rove. Carl, welcome back.

[Karl Rove]

Well, welcome back to you. I must admit I was hoping Tyrus would be there. We had such a great program in your absence. You could have stayed out another week.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I mean, is that Allison, is this trip true that she says it's true. Is that true?

[Brian Steil]

We had a great program.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Now, would you.

[Brian Steil]

We hit it.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Sometimes you size up hosts and think that would be a good candidate. Do you think Tyrus would be a good candidate?

[Karl Rove]

Look, I don't want to get into the management issues. I'm just saying that Fox is fortunate to have a good backup.

[Brian Kilmeade]

No, no candidate as a politician, do you think Tyrus would be a good politician?

[Karl Rove]

Well, straight shooter, intimidating in physical, you know, strength. Yeah, absolutely. Nobody messed with that guy on the campaign trail.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Pretty sure even Hasan Piker. So yesterday it looks as though they're going your thoughts about what happened in Wisconsin yesterday in the governor's seat? It looks like a late surge stopped the socialists from winning. The one who wants to cancel Thanksgiving, the Senate, the police and just about everything else. Your thought about her loss?

[Karl Rove]

Well, it was very narrow. And yeah, the sitting governor came out in favor of Crowley. And I think Democrats in the state woke up and said, we can't allow this. But think about it. A handful of votes, less than 1% separated the two of them. That's 4 or 5,000 votes. I think the final count is going to be and he was saved by the absentee, the early absentee ballots that came out of Milwaukee county where he's the county executive. So Democrats dodged a bullet there. But you're right, they didn't dodge one in in in Minnesota where the lieutenant governor Flanagan was nominated for the Senate and she is, you know, there with the governor Walls and, you know, won a convincing victory. And no, the Democrats have got a problem. And it's just not one person in the form of El said, you've got Troy Jackson, they got Flanagan. They almost had Hong. I mean, their party's in trouble. Trouble.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So when you talk about too Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Blossom, all one for Craig. And not only did Craig lose, but lost by 10. So this is pretty substantial. And she's got fraud all over her. She's part of the administration that allowed fraud to run rampant for years. Governor Waltz thought it was so bad he decided, I'm not running anymore. I'm retiring after this. But now she's going to be the pick.

[Karl Rove]

Yeah, well, she's now started to say, well, it was his fault, that wasn't mine. He was in charge of the fraud issue, not me, and I'll fight for it. Fraud.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Okay, great. I'm sold. So what do you think Michelle Tafoya's chances are over in Minnesota? I mean, she's trailing by eight prior to the primary. Do you give her a shot in Minnesota? No one's won there as a Republican since 2006?

[Karl Rove]

Yeah, I do. But she's got to prosecute the case. She's got the advantage of being an outsider. Here's a popular sports figure and you know, she's going to be a different kind of candidate and it's going to be interesting. Think about this. The top, top two jobs up in Minnesota today, the U.S. senate seat and the governor. There are four women, two Republicans and two Democrats running for them. And I, I think it's going to be a very interesting contest. The next three or four weeks are going to be really important. How does defoia introduce herself into the general election? And how does she go on the offense against Flanagan? And how does she appeal to, you know, basically Normie Democrats who say that woman's pretty far left and now she's going to be vulnerable on the issue that we care about, as every Minnesotan does, the use of our tax dollars to pay crooks and frauds.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah. So this is a primary situation. So now El Said is front and center because, you know, you could put make a case that it will decide the balance of power in the Senate if the Republicans can flip that seat. And Mike Rogers comes in. You know, Carl, he seems like your ideal type of candidate. You know, he is somebody that is not necessarily maga, but not anti maga. He's a conservative with a proven track record and great national security bonafides as well as an FBI background and military background who got really close last time. So why wouldn't we think he's going to win by four or five this time?

[Karl Rove]

Well, he's got to run a campaign. Each campaign is separate. Yes, he laid a good foundation last time around. And I say this as a friend of his. He's a terrific guy. And a wonderful candidate and was a substantial, thoughtful, capable member, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. And he's got to run a good campaign, better than he did last time around. Ran an okay campaign last time around. But my column this week in the Wall Street Journal is addressed to people like Mike and others who are running against these left wingers. And I'm going to lay out seven things that that they need to do, Republicans need to do to win these races against, against people like El said.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And I think that he wanted El said he thought he matched up better than with him. So he got what he wanted. Cut nine is Mike Rogers. Last night

[Brian Steil]

this guy spent hours hating on what most Michiganders would enjoy in

[Brian Kilmeade]

their pastimes and he should be held to account for that. These are views that he held that he was pretty strong about.

[Brian Steil]

But he knew that he had to delete them all for if people really knew who he was, they wouldn't vote for him. So you're right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

It's just a matter of making sure we have the resources and the people that are out there fighting what I think is the heart and soul of

[Brian Steil]

the country in this particular race.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And one thing that emerges, he doesn't like fireworks and he does not like football. He does not.

[Karl Rove]

Well, even more importantly for Michiganders, he doesn't like Mackinac Island. This is a favorite of Michiganders. It's an island at the north part of the peninsula and it doesn't allow cars on it. It's an island and so they only have horses and carriages. And he said I hate it. And they dug up that comment. And I think it's good because it's sort of, you know, this is number point, number three on my list of things that Republicans need to do. Don't let Democrats get away with disavowing past outrageous positions. And it's not only positions on the issues, but it's also positions on things like in a case of Hong Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day, she hated them both. And in the case of, of El Said, Mackinac island because it just portrays him as a weird out of the out of the out of touch guy. Now go after him on his, on the issues. That's point number four. And also go after him about his associations. Make him eat every comment that Hasan Piker has ever said and he'll say, well, I don't agree with that. Well, then why are you hanging around with a guy who says 9, 11, the United States deserved it? Why are you hanging around with a guy who says the use of rape by Hamas after October 7th doesn't change the dynamic for me. Why, why, why are you associating with a guy who has all of these obnoxious, just outrageous things about America that he says? Why do you. Why did you ever appear with him? Of course, because you agree with him. Don't, don't mislead us. Don't try and lie to us. You thought it was cool to hang out with a guy like that. And here's the other positions that you yourself have adopted in the past and make him meet those, too.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So I want you to hear what Julian Epstein said about what he's going to do now. Remember, longtime Democrat.

[Brian Steil]

Listen, Siad, for his part, you know, he says the only Jewish state in the world doesn't have a right to exist. And Schumer knows that.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Syed is a.

[Brian Steil]

Is, I think, a bigot. I think it's fair to say he's a bigot.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And you know, Griff, this is.

[Brian Steil]

Doesn't pain me to say it. I say it because I think Democrats have to take a position. I'm gonna be supporting Mike Rogers. I'm gonna be supporting Mike Rogers. I'm gonna be raising money for Mike Rogers because I think he's the normie candidate. I think he's the moderate centrist candidate. And I don't want to be part of a team that will have people like Syed in it.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Wish more people would say that.

[Karl Rove]

Well, that's awfully courageous on his part. And I bet you that there are a bunch of people in Michigan who want to say that it's up to Mike Rogers to make it possible for them to say it. And that is, is don't gaslight people by claiming things that aren't happening. Don't scream communists, because that's not going to win additional votes. Don't let them get away with disavowing past outrageous statements. Be specific and say this is what he said. Don't let him escape from dangerous associations. And also explain why their positions are so bad. For example, this guy is endorsed by the dsa or supported by the dsa, I should say. Well, say, look, the DSA wants to get. Says you shouldn't have a landlord or a mortgage. So they want the government to be in charge of deciding on your housing. And they don't want to give you. Have. You have the opportunity to buy a house, save and buy a house, and then let it grow in value over the years. And that's why socialism is bad. And then, you know, force of normal Democrats, other Democrats in Michigan, other Republicans, you know, Tom Barrett, who's running against a dsi, DSA back candidate, DSA candidate says, oh, I'm going to let my membership lapse so I can focus on the general election. Well, don't let him get away with that and ask other Democrats. Do you support the outrageous positions of my. Of my opponent? Do you support abolishing ice? Do you abolishing the prisons and defunding the police make them disassociate themselves from these lunatics?

[Brian Kilmeade]

So here's the thing, Carl. We've been talking pretty consistently for the last 15 years, 20 years, about what the trends were in politics, you know, whether it was Obamacare or saving Social Security, whatever it is. But we watched the craziness happen with the whole defunding the police, one of the craziest things ever. Some of the people behind it are acting like we're not going to remember it and basically apologizing for it. One of which I think everybody in the left is trying to make the next president, and that's AOC. Listen to her over the weekend, cut 15. Did the movement go too far with some of those positions?

[Greg Gutfeld]

I mean, you.

[Brian Kilmeade]

You briefly supported the idea of defunding the police.

[Francesca Hong]

I think that during this time and during, especially during COVID Covid, there was a huge opening of the overtone window. We were shut down. There was some of the highest unemployment rates that we have seen because of those shutdowns. And I think that the doors were really open in trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place. And I actually think that the discussions that had, that were had in that time were quite fruitful, really.

[Karl Rove]

Right. Yeah. Yes. Abolishing prisons and defunding the police is going to get us to a better place. Make her eat that for the next three years. I mean, please. The idea that this is a woman who could be president of the United States is just absurd to me. She can barely string together two sentences. And she thinks probably in her own mind that she has done a brilliant job now of divorcing herself from all of these crazy things that she said. But think about that. Oh, well, we had Covid and we had high unemployment. So that gave us the right to open the Overton window to wonderful ideas that would make us better, like defunding the police and abolishing prisons. Because everybody knows that that would just mean that people who didn't deserve to be in prison were out on the streets intermingling with us. And there's nothing so much As a crime. It's just, you know, it's, it's where you were. I mean, please, this is just nutty, just nutty. Let's be honest about it. It's absurd. And we ought to say. Oh really? You say that? What caused you to change your mind and what did what. And what do you think about people who still think we ought to defund the police and abolish prisons? Where are you on that today? The idea that she could be the Democratic nominee in 2028 is laughable. Maybe it's not laughable to Democrats denominator, but to make her president is laughable. Right?

[Brian Kilmeade]

And by the way, if she stands on a stage and beats you in a debate, you deserve to lose. I mean she does not do any studying. You know, there's times to, you know, you don't maybe as eloquent as you should be. But you know, the issues, this. She does not know any issues, period. She doesn't know the fundamentals about which she believes. She can't defend it. Not that I want your blood pressure to get higher, but I just wanna give you a little sense of some of the statements from Talarico to Francesca Hong to of course El said cut 14. Football is very much associated with a particularly masculine and oftentimes toxic, toxically masculine culture. And so much of it was about you wanted to be able to get back up and play for your team and you really aren't allowed to show pain or vulnerability. That's part of the sport.

[Francesca Hong]

Thanksgiving is also a time that's incredibly painful for many people in our communities.

[Karl Rove]

I often think when reclaiming symbols, I think about the American flag. The American flag is such a complicated symbol for most of us in many

[Brian Kilmeade]

ways, like Jesus, like the cross, it's

[Karl Rove]

been co opted and, and, and, and, and in some ways its true meaning has been betrayed.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I'm not sure if this is an episode of the Kardashians because I didn't know Jesus was as complicated as the flag. So Carl, this. Why is this guy Lynn leading?

[Karl Rove]

Especially Republicans have got a guy who went on a talk on a telephone town hall and one of the questioners said, why did you cheat on your wife? I mean, look, I live in Austin, Texas, so I'm used to these sort of Austin libs who do, who say things and do things like Tao Rico. No, the American flag is not a complicated symbol. It is the symbol of the greatest nation in the history of the world world which fought two world wars against totalitarianism and asked for nothing except a Plots of land to bury our. Our dead abroad. And I mean, please. And Friday night, this guy's running for the United States Senate in the state that. That featured Friday Night Lights. I want him to go out to spend every Friday night at a high school football game.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Thanks so much. K. Information you want. Truth you demand. This is the Brian Kilmeade show. Yeah, I went a little long with Call Ro, but I just got him going. I probably next time I mentioned, don't even do the big three when I have Mark because I have so much more to talk to him about. But it is crazy. Read his Wall Street Journal column because just there are buzzwords. Frank Luntz. This is Deluntz, another expert. There's certain words. We know what you mean. Just don't use them. For example, Frank once told me that the socialist thing he says in terms of a socialist word, it seems kind of a fun word. Socialists, hey, society help people in society. It's not abrupt. If you use the word capitalist, you'd think, of course, it's the opposite of socialist. True. But capitalists, you think about greedy bankers. He said the word you use is free. Free enterprise, freedom to pursue your goals, whatever they are. Free enterprise against socialism. Socialism, you try to say it. It lived the limiting. The limiting nature of socialism. And you bringing up the things in society that have not worked. So there's certain things. So Karl Rove says, don't say communists. That's interesting because communist is a little severe. But what they're saying essentially ultimately is for is communism. What they're leaving out, it always leads to brutality. Because when people go for freedom, the people in charge. Clamp down. From his mouth to your ears, it's Brian Kilmeade.

[Greg Gutfeld]

I know this is going to be controversial coming from me in particular.

[Brian Kilmeade]

We need to revisit the Electoral College.

[Francesca Hong]

We need to revisit the point of

[Greg Gutfeld]

expanding the court to 13 justices.

[Karl Rove]

Like we have 13 district courts.

[Brian Kilmeade]

We need to revisit if they so want statehood for puerto Rico and D.C. yeah, that is. Kamala Harris will change with the wind because she thinks that's where her party is.

[Trey Gowdy]

Is.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And that is not a surprise to my next guest, Evan Barker, the author of Nothing Left, Confessions of a Democratic Operative, former Democratic campaign operative who has worked on a myriad of campaigns. But the last one, I believe, was Kamala Harris. Evan, welcome. Congratulations on the book.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Hi, Brian. Thank you so much. No, the last one was not Kamala Harris. Just a quick fact check. But I did leave the party after watching her coronation in at the DNC in Chicago. So I actually left on day three of the convention before she even spoke. I was out the door, and I posted my resignation letter online and a TikTok video that I did not expect to go viral the next day.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So you said you went to bed and there was 60 followers on your TikTok account. And then when you woke up, it was like, what?

[Greg Gutfeld]

It was like millions. It was crazy. I did not expect it. So, yeah, I actually worked for the far left wing of the party. I worked with Jasmine Crockett, Abdul El Sayed. I worked for a fundraising firm, and our clients were Ilhan Omar and Corey Bush and Jamal Pullman. And so, you know, I was actually with AOC and Bernie the very first day they ever Met, back in 2018. So I kind of come from the far left. And this is the first dissident progressive. Tell all. I think I'm the first person from this movement that's ever written any kind of criticizing book about work.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And I know you got big backlash when you did, right? I mean, you got a lot of anger. You actually had to move.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yeah, I did. I did. Yeah. So we were living in San Francisco. I'm originally from the middle of the country, but I moved out to the bay area in 2019, met a guy out here, ended up staying, and we were living in San Francisco, and we had to leave town because my articles that I wrote criticizing the Democratic Party were being passed around in mom's chats, and my son was denied entry to preschool because some moms thought I was a threat to the community because I did end up voting for Donald Trump in 2024, and we were just invited to birthday parties. It was a very. You know, I still don't have a lot of friends. We moved. We moved 30 miles away from San Francisco. I still don't have a lot of friends, but I think. I think it's okay. I'm at a of peace with it these days, but at least, you know, I'm not as visible here where I live now.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So what was it about Kamala Harris? Is it the way she got the nomination is about her as a candidate? That bothered you? What was it then, had you leave the party?

[Greg Gutfeld]

It was a death by a thousand cuts. I was starting to feel disillusioned before Kamala Harris, but I think that was kind of like the cherry on top. You know, I go to the dnc and I had taken some time to. Just a period of time sort of away from politics. After I had my son, I had A little baby boy in late 2022. And I go to the DNC and I'm giving myself a chance to feel reinspired by the party, be reinspired by her. I was hoping for an open convention, Brian. I was hoping that they would come in and that they would kind of allow this to be a time for them to reset and remake themselves and distance themselves from some of the failed policies of the Biden union years. And instead, when I got there, it was just the coronation of Kamala. It was the Kamala Bratz summer party. And, and I was disgusted. And I was like, oh, my God, this is even worse than I remember.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Right?

[Greg Gutfeld]

You know, this is even worse. Like, I gotta go, I can't do this anymore. You know, and I wasn't even expecting to vote for Trump. I was just gonna abstain. And, you know, but I did end up voting for him in 2024 because there was a.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And there was, there's some people, some people that have said that, gone through and said, well, the fact is he got a lot of blue collar workers. The fact is he, they seem to change. And you point out that the vice President, you know, J.D. vance, if anyone bought the book, was a bestseller for two years. Well, watch the movie. You see, he grew up in abject poverty. So you can't say, well, these rich guys have it all. The people that were liking him were the people the reason you were probably a Democrat. And yet even unions were open to Donald Trump.

[Greg Gutfeld]

JD And I have a similar background, actually, you know, I was raised in a blue collar union, mostly blue collar union work, construction workers, family. Actually, my grandfather was an elected official in the construction workers union in Missouri. And, you know, at the same time that I was going to visit all of these candidates and like AOC's office and interact with the, you know, the children of the wealthy elite that were running Democratic politics. You know, my mom and grandma were living in a mobile home. And so I think the class difference was a huge thing for me. And I saw, you know, people in my family slowly start to shift over time because the Democrats stopped speaking to them. They kind of turned their backs on them. And not only did they do that, but they actively hated them. They truly did. And Democrats hate hearing me say this. But part of the reason, you know, leading up to the whole my exit from the party, you know, I was at Tom Steyer's house in San Francisco, Brian, and it was right before the midterms in 2022, and I was listening to his new director lay out her strategy for the midterms. And she looks at the audience, it's all of these super rich donors, you know, in San Francisco. And they're clapping at her every word like drunken seals. And she looks at them and she says that there's absolutely no point in trying to win back people like my uncle, people like the men and the women in my family that were turned away from this party and that ended up going to the gop, that there was no point, they were gone forever. And that the future was going to be young people and people of color in Texas. And at that point, I remember I turned and I looked at my husband and I was like, wow, no wonder my family doesn't care about this party anymore. No wonder most of them has switched over. This is their attitude. They actively hate them. They hate just normal American people. And, you know, I just kind of. It was like a constant experience for me. And this part is coming to these slow realizations about what they really thought.

[Brian Kilmeade]

You know, this, you know, it also plays into what I noticed doing this show and doing Fox and Friends and everything. We used to talk about issues separating Democrats and Republicans, conservatives against liberals. Now I find myself separate, saying, this is common sense, right? It's just common sense. I don't even know what's conservative, what's common sense. It's like, you don't run into traffic and complain of getting hit by a car. There's not even hard issues. You know what I would say a great example is this. Data centers. That's a debatable issue. Okay, here's the positive, here's the negative, then you go stem cell research. Okay, we don't want to use aborted fetuses, but we do want the latest technology. These are, those are interesting debates. But when you talk about some of these issues about should we have a border, should we have a Senate, should we have a presidency, should we have police, should we have prisons? Do I need to even tell you the answer to those questions? That's how crazy this debate is these days.

[Greg Gutfeld]

It absolutely is. And, you know, that's kind of obviously. I know. I want Republicans to read my book. I'd also like Democrats to read my book, too. I don't know if they will, because my entire book is about confronting common sense, sense and the Democratic Party, you know, from the inside. Like, that is the whole. That is like, basically the thesis of this book is to try to get them to go back to being more common sense. And yes, I've left the Democratic Party, but I still think that it's good for us to have two healthy parties. It's good for this country, Brian.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yep.

[Greg Gutfeld]

That we don't have such a sick party. You know, that is, that is pushing these like very far left, abolished prisons, open borders, let's become socialist, communist, like that is not healthy or good for this country. And so, you know, I'm hoping that I can lead some sort of quiet revolution among people that are still willing to listen. I'm not sure how many of them actually are.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So now that we have this other theme, this anti Semitism that comes through with this definitely anti Israeli things. And so now you got this. El Said, who's the nominee over in Michigan and here's a little of what he thinks, thinks. Let's listen to his view on Israel. Well, I just think we need to treat Israel the way we would treat any other country who behaved the way that Israel is behaving. I understand that Netanyahu is a big reason why they've gotten so aggressive and frankly so bloodthirsty under his, his, his, his reign. But I also understand that it's impossible for us to say that we want a two state solution while we've been aiding, arming and abetting the very people who've been trying to foreclose on the possibility of a Palestinian, Palestinian state. So he goes on basically say AIPAC is the enemy. And that's really. You have a Democratic party now as it gives Israel 23% approval and most of them the attitude towards Israel when you see them protesting on October 8th, the day after. Yeah, before there was any movement to fix what's going on in Gaza, before you could even say genocide side, they were protesting against Israel October 8th.

[Greg Gutfeld]

I know, yeah, I did. That was such a, it's like I read about in the book and been just full. I have to say this, I have to say this. I did work for Abdul. I did not personally ever hear him say anything anti Semitic behind the scenes. But I completely disagree with him and not saying that there should be a two state solution. I'm not an Israel Palestine expert, but I, you know, I think that Israel has a right to exist. That being said, you know, I had friends that worked inside of the progressive movement and after October 7th they wrote to me because they knew that I was feeling disaffected about identity politics and sort of the left's obsession with oppressed versus oppressor narratives and they felt completely lost and they couldn't believe that people that they had helped elect would not condemn Hamas. And I just don't understand how, you know, I think it's fine to criticize aipac. I think it's fine to criticize any government actually. But I think it's different. It's another thing to do what they did after October 7th. And so I think that, you know, they are losing coalition groups and they don't understand that they might be pushing Jewish people out of the party a lot in the same way that they did, you know, like white working class people, like my family members. So Evan, that's what I think I see as happening. Yeah.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Evan Barker GUEST and if you're not watching the stream, just know that she has a book out called Nothing Left, Confessions of a Democratic Operative and wants to make her party better. But is it safe to say you've left the party?

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yeah, I'm an independent at this point.

[Brian Kilmeade]

You're an independent, by the way, Joe Manchin, you should call him because he's starting an independent political movement.

[Greg Gutfeld]

I like Joe. That'd be awesome. Yeah.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So, yeah, so he's out there so that you would, you would have a home that's there. So why is it. Because you said you were there when AOC met Bernie Sanders.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yeah.

[Brian Kilmeade]

You think it was a mistake, Evan, to let Bernie Sanders into the party at all? Because he never said I'm a Democrat.

[Greg Gutfeld]

No, I don't think it was. I don't. I think, I actually think Bernie, I think Bernie, the problem with Bernie is that he, he's just kind of allowed his movement to be hijacked by the far left as well. If you look at Bernie in 2015, he was not as crazy as he is today. He, he believed in immigration enforcement. He said that mass illegal immigration was a Koch brothers scheme to harm the working class. He was moderate on guns. He wasn't obsessed with identity politics. I think that he made a trade with people like AOC and with Ilhan Omar and those types of people. And also by the way, Bernie's a Zionist. Like he supports the Israel. I think he's a quiet Zionist these days.

[Brian Kilmeade]

He's really quiet. I've never heard of.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yes, he is. He is. But he actually, no, if you go back in 2018, he, he had a very different viewpoint on Israel than he does now. And so I think he's kind of been hijacked as well. He's been co opted And I think that he kind of very stupidly made this decision that he thought he could make his movement expand by allowing people like AOC and Ilhan to define his movement when in reality he's just made it so that his movement could never expand.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I always felt like they looked up to him. Him.

[Greg Gutfeld]

They did. But they really are the message bearers now. They're the ones that are moving it forward. And so I think, you know, if Bernie had stayed Bernie in 2016, I think it would have. It would be a very different Democratic Party. But that's not what happened. Like, all of these other progressives came in and they brought all of these other crazy ideas with them. And it completely, you know, first, I like to say, first the Democratic Party screwed Bernie and then the progressive screwed Bernie. Of course, Bernie allowed it to happen.

[Karl Rove]

Happen.

[Greg Gutfeld]

But yeah, I mean, he's changed as well. He has evolved. He. And I think that's part of the reason that my family members who supported him, Brian, ended up voting for Donald Trump. You know, in 2016, there were people that were supporting Bernie against Hillary and then went to Trump because he used to have more common sense positions.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So, Evan Barker, before I let you go, can you name three candidates that you hope emerge in 28 on your former party?

[Greg Gutfeld]

Well, it's hard because I like some on the Republican Party too, and Republican. I love Josh Hawley. We're both from Missouri. I think he's amazing. My former party, I don't know. That's a lot.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Do you hope Josh Hawley runs? Senator Holly runs?

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yes, I think he's great. I really, really like him. I think he gets it. I think he understands the populist thing. I think, I think he's a. I hope he reads my book someday. It would be very cool. But yes, Josh hawley, I think J.D. vance could be promising on the left. It's hard. I like Marie Gluson Camp Perez. She's in Washington, probably couldn't run for president. But she to me, represents what I would like the direction of the Democratic Party to go to in the future. But she's more common sense on a lot of issues. But at the same time, she focuses on economics. You know, she voted for border security and she voted against defunding ice. She voted against some of the trans stuff with minors. You know, she's gotten in a lot of trouble with her party. But I really, really like her and I identify with her. I would like to see more Democratic candidates like her.

[Brian Kilmeade]

You know, it's so interesting. You look at the resume. So if you look at Governor Bashir, who's in a Republican state and is successful, and Governor Shapiro, who's in a purple state and is successful, if they came out strongly against some of the extreme behaviors. I would say, okay, these guys are candidates, but instead Senator Kelly, too, they just meld in with them, refuse to condemn them. We're a big tent party.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Totally.

[Brian Kilmeade]

That, to me, is not what I would do if I want the Democratic nomination.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Yeah, I like Shapiro, too. I forgot about him. But, yes, I think you're right. I think they need to come out more for. Forcefully and. But the problem is, is a staff capture. I talk about this in my book, is that a lot of these establishment politicians that are more moderate, they're their staff members. People don't realize this, are actually aligned with people like Zo Run. And so they are often pressuring, and the consultants are pressuring their candidates to go more to the left on issues that they otherwise wouldn't.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yep, Evan, it is.

[Greg Gutfeld]

It's like they're captured on all sides.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Brian, so interesting. Yeah. So pick up her book, Nothing left. Confessions of a Democratic Operative. Evan, we'll talk again. Again, thanks so much.

[Greg Gutfeld]

Thank you. It was great to talk to you.

[Brian Kilmeade]

All right, back in a moment. Both sides, all opinions. It's Brian Kilmeade.

[Karl Rove]

A talk show that's real.

[Brian Kilmeade]

This is the Brian Kilmeade Show. One of the things I pride myself on is my relationships with players. For those who have anything to say about the play. In the last game, I didn't see

[Francesca Hong]

the play in real time. I went straight to a press conference. I thought the play got called. Right. Thankfully, Sophie's okay. Was it egregious?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Absolutely.

[Francesca Hong]

When you have a chance to watch that over and over and over on replay, you can see that I didn't have that in real time. I take personally any suggestions that I don't 100% always have my players back. I ride with them 10 toes down all the time.

[Brian Kilmeade]

All the time. All I can tell you is it didn't sound like it. And Caitlin Clark, in the past, I don't watch every press conference, but that is the coach of the Fever who got booed when she walked on the court. Because people in Indiana know basketball as good as any in the country. Men's, women's, doesn't matter. Boys, girls, it doesn't matter. You watch Hoosiers. That's real. And they know that that coach did not have his back. And I talked to Dan Dakich this morning. He was Division 1 coach in basketball, who's now a sports radio host, and he said, look, no matter what, you know, if. Even if you haven't seen the player, you always go to bat for your player instead. She went to bat for her former players. Fouls. A foul. That's the way she plays. She plays hard. It wasn't intentional. Of course it was intentional. And it was linked to of course with Sophie came out and said men, trans men should not be playing a women's sport. Since that time, nothing but turbulence. Her direction, that's when you need a coach to stand up. Caitlin Clark getting choked out on the court, that's where you need the coach to stand out. She has not done that. Team is really good, but she does not know how to control or understand the press. Did you know Fox News has a wine shop? Did you also know you can get a head start on your Christmas shopping?

[Trey Gowdy]

That's right.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Check one more gift off your list with the FOX News Wine Shop Advent calendar featuring 12 festive wines inspired by the holiday magic of Fox Square. You can reserve yours for just a 1999 deposit. We'll deliver it free right to your doorstep in time for the holiday season. Quantities are limited, so visit foxnewswineshop.com today.