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- [00:01]
Hugh Hewitt
That music means it's time for the Hillsdale dialogue, the last radio hour of the week. The last hour of this helm news channel of my program during the week. And that means usually, as is the case this week, Dr. Larry Arn, president of Hillsdale College, joins us. Dr. Arne, welcome back. We enjoyed talking to Dean Spalding last week, but we know you've been busy. We all saw you, at least most of us saw you give the eulogy for Charlie Kirk to two weeks back. I'd like to begin there. Can you tell me how that came to be and how you decided to go about. It was very elegant, it was very eloquent and it was precise in timing. How did that all come together and why did they ask you to do it?
- [00:43]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Well, I met Charlie when he was 19 and 19 year olds are my specialty. So I, you know, he was becoming famous and I wondered if he deserved it. So I asked him some hard questions and he couldn't answer them. And he said, what do I do? And I said, I told him my favorite Lincoln story. Lincoln decided to learn how to prove a thing. So he went home, left his law apprentice work and memorized all the propositions in the books of Euclid. And I said to Charlie, that's real ambitious and you know, just trying to get ahead quicker than anybody else is not that ambitious. And Charlie took that to heart. And this, this all is a commentary on him. He's a very remarkable man. He started taking online courses. He would take them and pass the exam and text me to my cell phone, his holding his certificate. He did that 31 times. I think he took more than that. But I got 31 texts from him and I just watched him grow and learn. And it was very remarkable when he built a great institution. You know, he basically built it between the ages of 18 and 31 when he was killed. And he could run it like a charm. He was very close to Donald Trump. He moved around in the high centers of power and he kept learning. He took the time. Erica, his widow, wonderful woman, read from things she discovered in his journals. Three different stories. And those are all stories. Those are basically notes on our online course on Aristotle. Charlie not only took the course, he wrote out notes at night into a journal for a lot of things, including that. And so what a lovely man. And I loved him. And, and he treated me like his teacher. And so Erica called me the day after he was shot and asked me if I would speak at the memorial service. And I went out there and did it. And very Proud to do it. Long day, lots of speakers. I was second and shortest of them all. And it was a very honorable thing to do. I mean, it was, you know, it was a combination memorial service revival, Christian revival and conservative political revival. And all those features work together somehow. I don't know much about gospel music, but if, you know, if you, if you were there, you know, first of all, we entered that place at what, 8:15 in the morning, I think is when I walked in there. And for two hours, from about 9:15 until the thing started, these, these people, four main people sang. And I looked them up. I didn't know who they were. They were very good. And they get a million dollars a gig sort of gospel popular music, and they're good at it. And they did all that for free. So it was a heck of a show. I liked the speakers best who talked about Charlie. You know, it was such a big deal that there's a temptation for people who understand about power to talk about themselves. And some did that, but mostly they didn't. And some were really great. I thought Marco Rubio was very good. Yeah, so that's how that came to be. His widow asked me to do it and I'm having to do with her now various ways. I'm going to try to be helpful to her in memory of, you know, she's a great woman and her husband was, you know, he's. You know, it's funny, I don't have this experience with anybody else, but you know, I have a lot of students who've gone on to do great things and I've watched them grow up and enjoyed it. Charlie is like that, except he didn't come to Hillsdale College except remotely. But he did do it remotely and he learned a lot. He was a super young man.
- [04:55]
Hugh Hewitt
I only heard from Charlie on non political things when he would call to discuss a Hillsdale dialogue or text to discuss a Hillsdale dialogue. Nothing that I said, something that you had said. And he kept encouraging me to continue doing the Hillsdale dialogues because he was methodically making his way through the 800 plus dialogues that there are. And some of them would get him excited and it's fun. And that must be what you run into at Hillsdale. All the time. Young people are engaging with ideas and finding out that being curious is its own reward. When you addressed 70,000 people, had you addressed a crowd of that size before?
- [05:36]
Dr. Larry Arnn
No, not even close. I don't know, maybe 5,500 is the most. I think we can get 5,500 in our indoor commencement place. And that's. We've had it full. So that's probably the biggest ever, you know, and it's, you know, what's that like? Have you done that, Hugh?
- [05:57]
Hugh Hewitt
No, I've only talked about 10,000 people. Not bigger than that.
- [06:02]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Well, it's, it after a certain point, it doesn't matter how many there are. You know, first of all, I, you know, I had, Erica asked me to talk 10 minutes, so I was prepared to do that. I actually thought that I would talk about seven. But sometime 15 or 20ft before I got to the microphone, somebody told me, you know, one of the people running the show told me I only had three minutes. I said, hi. And then she sort of emphasized that. And I said, are you going to hit me? And she said no. And I said, do you want to go out there and do it? And she said no. And so I walked out there and there was a counter going. And I stopped at 2 minutes and 45 seconds. And, you know, I had thought about it a lot, and so I was ready to do it.
- [06:50]
Hugh Hewitt
I want to, I want to give you a compliment. I thought that your story about having a list of 10 or 11 young people that you carry around with you, that you keep of people of unusual promise and that Charlie was on that list is the kind of story that cannot be made up. It has to be true. The kind of tribute that cannot be completely conjured out of nothing. It's got to be real. And I'm wondering, have you been inundated by the other 10 asking if they're on the list yet, or is everyone just content not to know that they.
- [07:25]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Are, or are two of them? And I don't, I don't tell the others, I don't tell any of them who's on the list because, you know, I have a lot of students and I treasure them all. There are some of them that just seem to me very remarkable. And there are two who are on the list. And they both called me more than once to urge me to say that Charlie was the best of all my students. And I said, I'm not going to do that. And they said, why? I said, there are others. And, you know, that's, you know, I know how that goes, right. I studied with a couple of great teachers and I was pretty good, but a lot of people were pretty good. And that's the kind of like, who is the best student of Harry Jaffa? My candidate is Thomas G. West, if not he, Thomas Silver, who died young, you know, But I'M up there somewhere. And the point is you really better not to know where.
- [08:31]
Hugh Hewitt
Well, that is actually scriptural. When one of the apostles asked, can I sit on your right and on your left? The answer is a disquisition on not asking for that place. So it's something that's better not known. But I thought it was an elegant testimony to Charlie. Did he ever visit campus? I don't recall that yet.
- [08:51]
Dr. Larry Arnn
He did several times. Yeah, he came there's a guy named Bob Olson who's a friend of ours and he was in my remarks, but, you know, he got left on the cutting room floor as did three quarters of it. And he, he was one of the people pestering me about Charlie Kirk. And, you know, I, you know, there's a reason why I, I don't think that we ought to be flattering much of anybody and certainly not 19 year olds because they've got their growth before them. And anyway, he was bugging me about Charlie and how great Charlie was. And Charlie had started taking the online courses, but he dragged him to campus, came with him and that was a grand visit. That was fun. And I, and then that's, you know, I don't remember when that was some years ago. But I began to know Charlie more. I had contact with him regularly after that first time.
- [09:50]
Hugh Hewitt
I have a couple of questions about Turning Point after we come back from the break. Don't go anywhere, America. This is one of our Hills Dale dialogues. We'll return to Churchill next week in World War II, but one of our dialogues where we talk about recent events. So don't go anywhere on you do it. That's Dr. R and all things Hillsdale at Hillsdale. Eduardo.
- [10:11]
Scott Bertram
You know the Robertson family from the hit TV show Duck Dynasty. Now Hillsdale College offers you the unique opportunity to learn alongside the Robertsons as they dive deep into Hillsdale's online course, the Genesis Story. Every Friday on the Unashamed podcast, the Robertsons will share their insights and perspectives. Learning from Hillsdale professor of English Jones Justin Jackson. Take a trip down south to Louisiana for this one of a kind learning experience we call Unashamed Academy. Visit unashamedforhillsdale.com and enroll today. That's Unashamed. F O R hillsdale.com to experience the genesis story alongside the Robertsons. Hey there, it's Scott Bertram, host of the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. On this week's program, one of our favorite guests, Molly Hemingway, joins us, senior journalism fellow here at Hillsdale College, editor in chief of the Federalist FOX News contributor. We have a wide ranging conversation with her about the recent Comey indictment revelations in a letter from YouTube to Congressman Jim Jordan and much more. And Dr. Ben Whalen from Hillsdale's English department is back as we continue to talk about the Great Gatsby in this the 100 year anniversary of its release. All that this week on the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. Find it at podcast hillsdale. Edu or wherever you get your audio.
- [11:57]
Hugh Hewitt
Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt. Been more than three weeks since Charlie Kirk was assassinated. And Dr. Arne more than two weeks ago participated in his memorial service and we're talking about him. Last segment in this on THIS week, Silsdale dialogue. And we'll turn to a couple of things after the break. Dr. Ahren, what do you think happened to TP USA? I ran into the head of the TPUSA on the University of Connecticut campus at an event I did the Monday after your eulogy and everyone else's eulogy at Charlie's memorial service. And that young person told me they had doubled their membership in the two weeks since Charlie had been murdered and that they were full of energy and vitality. I hope that continues. I don't know that it will. What do you think will happen?
- [12:42]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Well, it's an important thing and I'm going to try to be helpful to it. Probably can. I'm seeing Erica soon. But I, you know, it first of all, it's going to be bigger and it's going to have a lot of steam. And the people there are believers in Jesus for the most part, almost all. And in the mission of Turning Point. So they'll attack it with energy. Charlie was a singular man. And so they'll miss that. And it would be, you know, a rare accident if it had all of his qualities in one person. But they'll, they're going to be important and good and they, you know, they come another thing is they come at a right time and they've helped provoke it being the right time, too, because a lot one thing that's going on in the country is people are lost. There's a, you know, this we're reading Churchill here next time we talk. And he's writing about a period in British history where there was despair in high places and there are despair all over the place in America. But there's also revival. And Charlie, you know what I respect about him so much is I know the labor he went to to turn himself into such a serious man. And that's seriousness, right, because he, you know, he would spend hours at a time with Donald Trump. And for a young man, that's got to be an especially, you know, intoxicating experience. Although neither Charlie nor Trump. Trump was a drinker and he kept his mind on ultimate things at the same time. And that's the mark of a statesman. Well, it was manifest in his work when he would go and do what he was doing at the moment of his assassination, which was to sit down with people and reason and give them a fair chance and reason back with them. And that's very powerful. And you have to be a serious man to be able to do that. And so they will continue to do that, and they will find people who are serious, I predict, because the service itself and many other things going on in society are signs of revival. And we need serious people. And we seem to be getting more.
- [15:14]
Hugh Hewitt
Of them and turning them now by revival. We'll talk about after the break the fact that it was 107 second anniversary this week and what has happened since then. But on Tuesday 10 7, I talked with Aviv Reddy Gore. It's over at my YouTube channel. People want to see it. He's a Jew in Israel who actually welcomes Christian revival in the United States because the American brand of revivalism tends to be very good for freedom. And he explained at length why that is. Do you agree with that?
- [15:44]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Oh, yeah, yeah. Christianity is, you know, Charlie and I, this is the main theme, right. Christianity is, you know, you have to first of all, if you understand the study of politics as it comes to us from the classics and up to today, you can step back from a regime, a way of political system and categorize it, think how it relates to others. Well, Christianity do that for Christianity. Judaism, which is a marvel, you know, one of the pillars of western civilization, it's 2,000 years older than Socrates, and it claims to be one God for everybody and to be a blessing for everybody. The covenant with Abraham, this will be a blessing to all the people on the face of the Earth. Then it and so that's just incredible. You look at religion at the time, it's familial and tribal. Here is universal. Also a God who is good. You know, one of the reasons the Romans destroyed the Carthaginians was they were deeply offended, as they ought to have been by the practice of the Carthaginians to sacrifice their babies to their gods. So this is good religion with ancient characteristics, too, some of them. Well, it sets up a polity, a classic political regime. God appoints the rulers, he gives the laws he approves or disapproves of the rulers. And it is the rulers, not for everybody in Judaism, but for the chosen people who undertake a very hard duty which they perform to this day for the world. That's one kind. The Athenian or Spartan, especially in the time before Socrates, this was changing some. By then their way was that the gods of the city were the ancestors of the leading families in the city. That's the kind of thing. And the law and revelation are the same thing. They're one thing. Jesus comes along and he does something still unprecedented. He claims to be the savior of all, the maker of all, the cause of all. And then he says, my kingdom is not of this world. Sometimes Christians, I've been in an argument with one of them lately. He, you know, he said his reply is the kingdom of Christ is everything. True enough. But it's not a kingdom in the way that we mean that ordinary word because the king's not here and he doesn't appoint rulers. And there's not a structure of governance in the New Testament. You can't find it in the way that it's all over the Old Testament of the Bible. So there you go. You're going to have one ruler and savior for all mankind, but you're going to have separate polities. And if you're going to have that, then there has to be freedom of religion.
- [19:05]
Hugh Hewitt
Amen.
- [19:05]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Christianity is also.
- [19:07]
Hugh Hewitt
Pause right there, doctor and we'll come back after break and pick up on that because it leads us right to 10 7. Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh. At the Hillsdale dialogue underway, all things hillsdalesdale.edu all prior Hillsdale dialogues are found at hughforhillsdale.com Dr. Ahn so that leads to the question about 10 7. What have IVrettiguor said on the second anniversary of 107 this week is he welcomed Christian revival. My question to him was what is going to happen in Israel? Are they going to forget the lessons of 10:7 in the way that I think America has forgotten some of the lessons of 9, 11. What do you think about that?
- [19:47]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Well, they'll be less likely to do that than we are because the problem is very near and ever present.
- [19:54]
Hugh Hewitt
That's exactly what he said. We're a big country with a lot of oceans.
- [19:59]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Yeah, yeah, it's different, you know. And, you know, I, you know, what I hope for, by the way, is the political reform of Islam. There's an argument that it tries to be both a universal and a political religion. And that's a. And there's an argument even that that's in its roots, but that's a prescription for despotism. And you know, the great philosophers, modern and ancient, all wrote that you can't have one country for every person on earth because people differ a lot and they don't speak the same language, they don't live near each other. So if there's some principle of rule that comes from outside above, and nobody has any say over it, then whatever mortal man or woman is speaking for that is in utter control. So think of the poor people in Iran who don't like those mullahs or Gaza for that matter, what say have they in fact in what's happening in their country? And if they disagree, they better keep their mouth shut. So the political reform of Islam would be to understand that you don't get to govern. In other words, understand the natural law principle of freedom of religion, separation of church and state.
- [21:24]
Hugh Hewitt
Now that did happen in Turkey right after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The original impulse of the the reformers was to separate Islam from the government. And the government would be secular and Islam would be the majoritarian religion.
- [21:41]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Separation of church and state is not quite the right expression. A form of it comes from Thomas Jefferson. But the truth is religion is terribly important to politics. Whatever you think it will have much to do with politics. Whatever you think about God and our own regime is constant appeals to God, but to the laws of nature and of nature's God. That is to say, come to find out at the moral which is in this case is a synonym for the word political level. What reason tells us and what revelation tells us is the same thing. And so you rule in the name of that. And it's very good for America. You know, the founders of America are almost uniform on this point. It's very good for America for Christianity to thrive and that, you know, the two greatest and now maybe this is the third. It might be too soon to tell, but I suspect it is. Movement or crisis Turning point in American history is deeply affected by religious movements. Both the Great Awakening and the founding and the abolitionist, temperance, social reform Christian movements leading up to the Civil War. And now there seems to be some Christian revival underway in America. And I think that's a wholly good thing. And I also think that Christians need to understand that that doesn't give them being a Christian doesn't give them the title to govern anyone else except in the name of a moral law that is encoded in all good laws throughout human history. So that, you know, that's, that's the American solution. And it's the sense in which America is the most Christian country. It is, but you have to include the principle of religious freedom as crucial to that.
- [23:36]
Hugh Hewitt
Our, our friends on the left will pounce on that and say that you are proposing Christian nationalism. You're not. I just want to know you see that as much as I do. It's sort of the title of every other new hot book on the left is the Christian Nationalists Are Here to Get Us. We got a minute to the break. It's all hooey. I don't even know if it's, it's worth your time to respond to. Do you even bother with it?
- [23:58]
Dr. Larry Arnn
You know, I've been, In the last 10 days, I've been repeatedly attacked for being and for not being a Christian nationalist. And that's no proof of my opinion. My opinion is that if you understand Christianity, you understand that in a strict sense Christian nationalism is impossible because Jesus Kingdom is not of this world.
- [24:21]
Hugh Hewitt
Correct.
- [24:22]
Dr. Larry Arnn
And so. Yeah, but it's also true that the principle of freedom of religion is also a Christian principle because you have to volunteer to go to heaven.
- [24:35]
Hugh Hewitt
Yes, you do. Don't go anywhere, America. Two more segments of Dr. Arne as we close out this week at the Hugh Hewitt Show. Stay tuned. Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt. Dr. Larry Ahn is back. We will continue with World War II, the Gathering Storm, volume one of Churchill's six volume history of World War II next week. But Dr. Ahern, I wanted to keep our focus on Israel for a moment. A broad question before I come to the specific one in the last short segment, whether it'll work. What make you of Netanyahu over the two years since Israel was caught by surprise and the slaughter of 107 happened? How do you judge his leadership?
- [25:09]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Well, one of the few living people big enough to do that job, you know, they weren't ready and so he has some responsibility for that. But they have since then been amazingly, first of all brave and imaginative and they have done wonders and there's still many wonders left to do. And it's hard to imagine a time in the immediate or intermediate future where they can live in ease and comfort. But they seem to be up to the task and he seems to be up to the task. And I pray that he will continue to thrive.
- [25:50]
Hugh Hewitt
You know, their conception, their conception of the threat didn't include Hamas, but he was. In a couple of weeks, we'll come to a part where Churchill's excluded from the last Baldwin government and he was deeply disappointed but he said unseen wings beat above my head, meaning he did not have to participate in the policy of appeasement which gripped the entire group of Brits who were in charge of the country at that point. So, so he was not tainted by it at all. Now the opposite of not being hello America.
- [26:19]
Mark Levin
I'm thrilled, thrilled to announce my new 10 part podcast series, Liberty and Learning with Mark Levin and Larry Arn. Join me and my dear friend Dr. Larry Arne, President of Hillsdale College, as we dive deep into the founding principles of our great nation. In these challenging times, understanding our history and the ideals of self government is more crucial than ever. We'll explore the core of America's current crises, the the changes in our government and what it means for our lives and liberties. From education to borders, citizenship to the separation of powers, we'll cover it all. Tune into Liberty and Learning with Mark Levin and Larry Arn of Hillsdale College. So subscribe now and join us on this wonderful journey to rediscover the principles that made America the freest, most prosperous nation in history. Don't miss it.
- [27:05]
Scott Bertram
Listen right now to Liberty and Learning with Mark Levin and Larry arn@podcast.com that's podcast hillsdale. Edu or wherever you find your audio. Hey there, it's Scott Bertram, host of the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. On this week's program, one of our favorite guests, Molly Hemingway joins us, senior journalism fellow here at Hillsdale College, editor in chief at the Federalist, Fox News contributor. We have a wide ranging conversation with her about the radio, recent Comey indictment, revelations in a letter from YouTube to Congressman Jim Jordan and much more. And Dr. Ben Whalen from Hillsdale's English department is back as we continue to talk about the Great Gatsby in this the 100 year anniversary of its release. All that this week on the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour. Find it at podcast hillsdale.edu or wherever you get your audio.
- [28:06]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Foreign.
- [28:13]
Hugh Hewitt
At all is to have everyone tainted by it. And of course Netanyahu wasn't in the government. He wasn't in charge for 20 months. Of the 30 months before 10, 7. Does that help him in maintaining his political life when they go back to the polls or do you expect him to withdraw?
- [28:32]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Goodness knows. I mean, Churchill writes we'll get to the book in volume three of this Second World War reading, he writes that wherever there are three Jews, there are two prime ministers and one leader of the opposition. So you know, from David Ben Gurion to Benjamin Netanyahu, no prime minister has been the leader of a party controlling an outright majority in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, they're always very divided. There is arguing. So I don't know what's going to happen about that. The mitigating thing is whether I don't know the details of exactly what he did to get ready for a possible attack from Gaza. But the truth is it's very hard and it will sometimes go wrong if you've got a problem right on your border and it can emerge at any time. And they were using a lot of electronic means to monitor that constantly. And they were very sophisticated and people write that they relied on that over much and they'll be more alert. You know, as Churchill loved to say, we will not repeat the mistakes of the past. We will make new mistakes. And nobody saw that coming. And there'll be other things like that. I wouldn't be surprised because it's very difficult, you know, because what they're doing is living on their side of the border, going about their lives. They're not plotting every day to go over there and kill all the Gazans. But over in Gaza's side, they are doing that. And then once in a while they think up something pretty clever and they do it. And that's hard to, you know, who would have thought that a bunch of people with box cutters would take flying lessons, not learning how to land planes and seize an airplane with several with box cutters and fly them into buildings and kill thousands of people? Nobody saw that coming. Now we're all ready for that, right? We got all kinds of things in, in place. And that means next time it'll be something else.
- [30:48]
Hugh Hewitt
It'll be something. You know, I pointed out to Habib, one of the lessons of 9, 11 we've forgotten is we thought that it was just 19 people with a tail of a few dozen back to Afghanistan, when in fact it's tens of millions of Wahhabists, not all of Islam. I'm talking about radical Islamists who want one unity, one polity, one rule via the Quran over everyone. And it's an extremely radical version of Islam that is not representative Islam. But we tend to minimize that problem after 25 years. At least that's my view. And Havid doesn't think that's going to happen to Israel because we're a big country with a lot of different problems and a lot of different arguments. Israel is a little country with 10 million people and enemies on all sides of it, and it focuses the mind. Do you, do you can agree with that assessment?
- [31:38]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Well, yes, certainly. But that has dangers of its own and it probably is not possible to guard against them perfectly, as October7 proves.
- [31:52]
Hugh Hewitt
Another historian and journalist Eli Lake has made the comment not this week, but last that without question, and it's not even close, Donald Trump is the best president ever for Israel. Do you agree with that assessment?
- [32:09]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Yeah, well, I mean, hard to think of him doing any better. You know, Harry Truman wasn't bad.
- [32:15]
Hugh Hewitt
He recognized it, but he didn't send him any weapons. That was the argument of distinction there.
- [32:21]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Yeah, yeah. And you know, nor really could you expect him to. You know, the independence comes, I should, I haven't looked up for years the timeline, but it's pretty tight. The date of independence comes and the Arab states have armies on the border of Israel and they're going to invade and Harry Truman decides to recognize Israel. It was recognized by the United nations, for whatever that's worth. So I'm not sure about the timeline whether, because the decision to do it was, you know, controversial and took some thinking and I don't think it was long before the actual date.
- [33:05]
Hugh Hewitt
No, Truman needed the weekend. Truman agreed to, as I recall, recognize Israel. Then he needed a few days to persuade a few more people to go along in the General Assembly. They got enough people in the General assembly to agree and then the UN voted and then the Arab armies invaded and then Israel won. But it took two years, almost as long as this war. Until this war, the war for independence was the longest. Israel is not built for long wars. They're a reservist army. They're not a standing army. I've got, they've got a standing army, but it's not anywhere near big enough to fight this war on seven fronts. Stand by.
- [33:41]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Dr. Ock.
- [33:42]
Hugh Hewitt
I'm going to come back to ask you about optimistic or pessimistic about the wrap up of this. In our last segment is this week's Hillsdale Dialogue. Stay tuned. Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt. You've heard me say so you don't have to hear me say it again. I'm an optimist that these negotiations are going to work out and the hostages will be free soon. But I want to know if Dr. Arn is, do you think the Gazan war is going to come to an end and remain at an end for a significant period of time? Dr. Arne?
- [34:11]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Well, the future, though imminent, is obscure.
- [34:14]
Hugh Hewitt
Yes.
- [34:16]
Dr. Larry Arnn
Who knows Hamas, the leadership and who knows how many of them are still alive, by the way, but they're very wicked. You know, they sponsored rape and pillage and took videos of it on innocent people and women and children and tortured them and did videos of it and broadcast the videos. Those are pretty bad people. And so if they can work wickedness, they will. And the question is, what is their. How many of them remain? A lot of them are dead. And what is the spirit of the replacements? I'm not optimistic about that. So the real question is how much is their ability reduced? And it's extensive. And so I think the hostages will get out and there'll be relative peace to the extent that their power is compromised. And it may be. And looks to me like, you know, it's very. One. One thing that's fun to watch about Donald Trump is I can't get it out of my head anymore. I've been trained to believe that, you know, politics is different and harder than commerce, which is itself difficult and hard. But Trump is, you know, he's put together a bunch of really complicated deals. And so he's working on one right there, right now. He's got lots of features and lots of moving parts and lots of people involved. And he and his team seem to be very good at getting in a room with people and figuring out what their interest is and what will move them. And so he may just pull this off, and I certainly hope so.
- [35:59]
Hugh Hewitt
It's also a wonderful thing to be underestimated. And if he isn't the most underestimated president ever, w once said he was misunderestimated, and I think that applies to Donald Trump as well. Last question. Do you think he is underestimated by.
- [36:14]
Dr. Larry Arnn
His enemies, those who still hold him in contempt? You know, they hate many his enemies, hate him and regard him as formidable. And in one way, they sort of overestimate him then lately because they think he's the whole problem. But the larger problem is there's just a whole bunch of people who don't agree with them and try though they might, they've been unable either to persuade or to force them. And so he's. Yeah, he's. He. So a lot of people, you know, in the beginning, they certainly. I mean, there's some. There's an argument and some evidence they wanted him in 2016 because obviously they could beat him. That was a mistake. 2020, they thought they could. After 2020, they thought they could put him in jail and take his assets and eliminate him from politics.
- [37:05]
Hugh Hewitt
That was a bigger mistake. On that note, Dr. Arn will be back next week. We will be back in the gathering storm. Get your book out at chapter seven. We're beginning there. And we'll go as far as we can and we'll keep going. Thank you, Adam. Thank you, Harley. Thank you, Dwayne. Thank you, Dr. Arne. All things Hillsdale at Hillsdale. Edu. See you on Monday.