The Woke Left Can’t Stand Her — Virginia’s Gubernatorial Candidate Winsome Earle-Sears Won’t Back Down

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Keeping It Real: Conversations with Jillian Michaels
Host: Jillian Michaels
Episode: The Woke Left Can’t Stand Her — Virginia’s Gubernatorial Candidate Winsome Earle-Sears Won’t Back Down
Release Date: October 22, 2025
Guest: Winsome Earle-Sears (Virginia Lieutenant Governor, Gubernatorial Candidate)

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Episode Overview

In this powerful episode, Jillian Michaels sits down with Winsome Earle-Sears—Jamaican immigrant, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, small business owner, and current Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. With candor and depth, the conversation traverses topics from the American immigrant experience to the vitriolic attacks Earle-Sears faces and her policy stances on immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, law enforcement, unions, and economic development. Both women tackle political double standards, media bias, and the ways in which culture wars distract from pressing societal issues. The episode is also profoundly personal, as Earle-Sears shares the impact of losing her daughter and grandchildren, and how tragedy shapes her resilience and leadership.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Winsome Earle-Sears: The American Story

[03:30–06:24]

• Jillian introduces Earle-Sears as a Jamaican immigrant whose father arrived with just $75 and a vision for opportunity in the U.S.
• Winsome relays that her father had to prove he wouldn’t be a burden on taxpayers before immigrating.
• Emphasizes legal immigration as beneficial: “He thought that America is where he would restart his life... he chose America because he figured this is...where the jobs and the opportunities were.” (Winsome, [05:08])

2. Immigration: Laws, Borders, and Crime

[07:29–09:14]

• Immigration must be legal and managed, with the “front door” metaphor for borders.
• Earle-Sears criticizes her opponent Abigail Spanberger for supporting open borders: “As a result...fentanyl came through, killing five Virginians every week. We had sex trafficking happen. We had every kind of trafficking happen.” (Winsome, [08:07])

3. Personal Identity, Double Standards, and Vicious Attacks

[11:25–17:40]

• Jillian remarks on Earle-Sears’s paradoxical position as the ideal for liberal identity politics, yet subject to vicious attacks for not conforming politically.
• Reads aloud hate mail Earle-Sears has received (with slurs redacted).
• Winsome’s response: “These are from the people who are tolerant. If this is what their love looks like, God help us. ... do good anyway, because it was never between you and them. It was between you and God.” (Winsome, [13:03])

4. Media Bias and Political Hypocrisy

[15:06–17:51]

• Discussing how media frames Republican women of color more harshly and ignores abuse when aimed at conservatives.
• “If the Republicans had done that to a black female who is Democrat, just call the race over. ...But apparently it's okay when the Democrats do it to a black female Republican. You see the double standard.” (Winsome, [16:23])

5. Policy on LGBTQ+ Rights

[20:34–22:10]

• Clarifies she would not pursue any policy to overturn marriage equality: “No, absolutely not...I want everybody to make the best of themselves, whatever that is. And as governor, I represent everybody.” (Winsome, [20:48 & 22:10])
• Critiques how the left weaponizes the issue and spreads misinformation about conservatives on LGBTQ+ rights.

6. Abortion: State Rights and Nuance

[28:40–33:57]

• Earle-Sears emphasizes her stance: letting Virginians decide via constitutional amendment.
• Criticizes her opponent’s position as extreme (up to birth), and says her own position allows for exceptions for rape, incest, and health of the mother.
• “My position is this: we've got to come together as the Commonwealth and figure out where we want to be on it. ...It's not going to be my policy, it's going to be the policy of the majority.” (Winsome, [28:40])

7. Unions, Right to Work, and Economic Policy

[40:33–44:19]

• Right to work defined as workers not being forced to join unions or pay dues.
• Explains, “That's not freedom, that's not liberty...I must be able to work without being forced to join a union.” (Winsome, [41:43])
• Connects big union money to political loyalty and lack of worker agency.
• Highlights how culture wars distract from these critical economic issues.

8. Law Enforcement, Safety, and Qualified Immunity

[46:17–50:31]

• Earle-Sears blames rising crime on anti-police policies and emphasizes the importance of qualified immunity for officers’ personal protection.
• “If you don't win, we're not staying because we'll lose everything.” (Winsome, quoting law enforcement, [47:54])
• 81 out of Virginia’s sheriffs support Winsome.

9. Homelessness, State Spending, and the Problem with Big Government

[50:31–52:29]

• Criticizes endless government programs and lack of accountability.
• “We have these liberals who want to be kind with my tax money.” (Winsome, [51:22])
• Proposes a tax form option for voluntarism: “Tell us how much more you want us to tax you, and we will send you a Golden thank you letter.” (Winsome, [52:29])

10. Reflections on Socialism, History, and Policy Lessons

[55:28–59:06]

• Draws on her experience growing up in Jamaica under socialism: state took over property, rich-poor chasm grew, economy collapsed.
• “Jamaica was now a socialist democrat country...businesses immediately fled...the state would now own everything.” (Winsome, [55:49])
• Argues Americans must learn from international history and avoid similar policy mistakes.

11. Personal Tragedy and Mental Health Advocacy

[70:26–77:32]

• In a deeply moving segment, Winsome recounts the loss of her daughter and two grandchildren:
• “Here I am in the church, and I'm looking at three caskets. ... that's why I'm saying, you want to live that way, live that way. ...But let's find a way to love each other... I don't know, let's agree to disagree.” (Winsome, [71:03])
• Talks about lessons in compassion and empathy she brings to her public service.

12. Closing: On Dialogue, Respect, and Pragmatism

[78:56–82:55]

• Calls for respectful, fact-based debate and working together for the good of all.
• “I can lose it by myself, but I can't win it by myself. We all play this role in making sure that we have the ability to have a Virginia that works for everybody. And my policies will.” (Winsome, [82:12])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Racist Attacks:
  “These are from the people who are tolerant. If this is what their love looks like, God help us.” (Winsome Earle-Sears, [13:03])

• On Double Standards:
  “If the Republicans had done that... the Republican Party would be done forevermore, never to be spoken of again. But apparently it's okay when the Democrats do it to a black female Republican.” (Winsome, [16:23])

• On LGBTQ+ Rights:
  “I am not about to take away anyone's rights. ...I want everybody to make the best self, the best of themselves, whatever that is. And as governor, I represent everybody.” (Winsome, [22:10])

• On Losing Her Daughter and Grandchildren:
  “Here I am in the church, and I'm looking at three caskets. Not one, not two, but three. ...Life is too short.” (Winsome, [71:03])

• On Abortion:
  “My position is this: we've got to come together as the Commonwealth and figure out where we want to be on it. ...It's not going to be my policy, it's going to be the policy of the majority.” (Winsome, [28:40])

• On Economic Policy:
  “That's not freedom, that's not liberty...I must be able to work without being forced to join a union.” (Winsome, [41:43])

• On Immigration and Law Enforcement:
  “We have to be a nation of laws, and if you commit the crime, you are going to do the time. It's that simple. ...You gotta go home.” (Winsome, [63:13])

• On Working Together:
  “I can lose it by myself, but I can't win it by myself. We all play this role in making sure that we have the ability to have a Virginia that works for everybody.” (Winsome, [82:12])

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Important Timestamps

• 03:30 – Winsome’s immigrant story and family background
• 07:29 – Immigration policy and border security
• 11:25 – Breaking identity expectations, hate mail examples
• 16:23 – Media’s double standard
• 20:34 – LGBTQ+ rights stance
• 28:40 – Abortion stance and constitutional amendment
• 40:33 – Right to work, unions, and economic liberty
• 46:17 – Law enforcement, qualified immunity, and safety
• 50:31 – Homelessness, funding, and government programs
• 55:28 – Lessons from socialism in Jamaica
• 70:26 – Personal loss: mental health, daughter and grandchildren
• 78:56 – Commitment to open debate, dialogue, and respectful disagreement

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Episode Tone & Language

The discussion is frank, emotional, and pragmatic, with both host and guest committed to “keeping it real”—calling out hypocrisy, misinformation, and the importance of fact-based dialogue. Despite differences in background and some beliefs, the tone is one of mutual respect and shared concern for policy over partisanship. Winsome Earle-Sears comes across as honest, resilient, and guided by her personal faith and life experience.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a deep dive into both the personal convictions and policy priorities of Winsome Earle-Sears, painting a nuanced portrait of what it means to lead fearlessly in today’s political climate. For listeners seeking a mix of political analysis, personal storytelling, and thoughtful debate on contentious issues, this is a must-hear conversation—one that insists the ultimate solutions must be pragmatic, fair, and rooted in shared American values.

Transcript

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[Jillian Michaels]

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[Winsome Sears]

Well, hello. Hi, Jillian. How are you?

[Jillian Michaels]

I am good, Lieutenant Governor.

[Winsome Sears]

Good.

[Jillian Michaels]

Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it.

[Winsome Sears]

Thank you for having me. This is awesome. I mean, I see you on tv, and then now I'm here with you, so likewise.

[Jillian Michaels]

And, you know, it's. It's interesting. Obviously, I have no affiliation with Virginia, and I discovered you by chance. Just flicking through my ex feed, and I come across this unbelievably articulate, intelligent woman. Believe you were talking to some high schoolers probably, and you were just explaining to them like, sorry, you guys are dealing with these issues. I'm gonna. I'm gonna botch how you said it. You obviously said it far more intelligently than I'm about to repeat it. But something. Something to the effect of the fact that when you were a kid, you weren't contending with these issues, but the fact that they're learning now to stand up for what's right and to stand up for what matters really struck me because it's a conversation I end up having with my own teenagers. And I thought, like, who is this lady? And I ended up learning, of course, that you're running for governor of Virginia. You are the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.

[Winsome Sears]

Yes.

[Jillian Michaels]

And when I looked into your accolades, I was blown away. So correct me if I've messed any of this up, but you are a Jamaican immigrant. Your father came here with a $75.

[Winsome Sears]

75, yes. Yeah. Came with a $75. And, you know, actually he doesn't remember if it was A$50 or A$75. So I'm spotting him a quarter. But I like to say he was so poor, he was just po. He couldn't afford the or. And you know why? I asked him, why did you come? Because it was a bad time for, you know, people look like me. And he said, because this is where the jobs and the opportunities were. So think about. He thought that America is where he would restart his life. And he could have gone to England because he was not a Jamaican citizen. He was a British citizen because we were a colony, just like America was, except you had your war a long time ago. But, yeah, he chose America because he figured this is. And. And why he would see opportunity is. You know, I don't know. But he did. And he came 17 days before Dr. King gave his I have a Dream speech. And by the way, before he came, he had to prove to immigration that he was not going to be a burden on the American taxpayer. And then when he came and got me when I was six years old, he had to prove that the taxpayers would not be responsible for me either, that he had the funds to take care of me. And so it's. I'm not talking about something I don't know anything about.

[Jillian Michaels]

Right. I completely understand. I did some work with the United Nations Refugee Agency, and in doing that work, I had to learn a lot about what it means to be a refugee, what it means to be an economic migrant. And I was educated on the fact that when you have people come over legally and you don't, you know, overrun the quotas, which overruns the infrastructure, they assimilate better. You can vet people. Are they going to be able to work? Are they going to be a drain on the economy, or will they work and contribute? Historically speaking, they pay more into the system than they take. They start more small businesses. You're a small business owner. They. Their kids do better in school. So his daughter, obviously, is very accomplished and is now running for governor of Virginia. And that says it all. But the difference in the way I've perceived it with regard to the Republican Party and the Democratic Party is doing it the wrong way versus doing it the right way. Am I. Am I wrong in that assumption?

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah. Here's the thing. You. You cannot disobey the laws of the country before you even. You're even here. The fact of the matter is. Gillian, don't you have a front door?

[Jillian Michaels]

Yes, ma'. Am.

[Winsome Sears]

Of course you do. And you are the one who makes the decision about who comes in and who doesn't. And by the way, you say, get off my lawn. I pay the mortgage around here. Well, it's sort of the same thing with the borders. Our borders are our front door. And we have to know who's coming into the country. Do you mean us good or do you mean us ill? Who are you? Are you running from a murder charge or are you running to something like liberty, like freedom? And as a result of my opponent, Abigail Spamberger, for instance, wanting to continue to keep the borders Open when she was in Congress. Right. Well, now people just came through, and fentanyl came through, killing five Virginians every week. We had sex trafficking happen. We had drugs trafficking. We had every kind of trafficking happen. And so you see now in our great society, what's happening is we have found the number three Ms. 13 gang leader right here in Virginia. We have found 4,000 criminals who are legally here who need to go home. We're talking about rapists and pedophiles and murderers. And my opponent, Abigail Spamberger, voted to keep all those people here. Why would we want that? No, they need to be in some form of deportation status back to their home country because they're even preying on the very people from their country. And so none of what my opponent believes makes any sense. She voted against the Lake and Raleigh act, which simply said this. Yes, Criminal. Yes.

[Jillian Michaels]

Insane for people like myself who honestly were former lefties. And what's crazy is everyone asks me, like, well, know, have you changed? I'm like, I, to be dead honest, I, I haven't. The world is changing around me. It's like the tide went out and a lot of my buddies went out with it. Like, when were we four defending guys like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who's a known trafficker, an MS.13 gang member, and beats the crap out of his wife. When was that our hero? I, I, I, I'm baffled, Lieutenant Governor, on a daily basis, which is why I am so desperate to see people like yourself in charge of a very important swing state like Virginia, because it matters. It matters for our safety. It matters for the health and happiness of my fellow Americans. And I, I don't want to go too far off peace here because I haven't finished listing all of the things about you that I am unbelievably impressed with. And, and I, I don't, I don't. That's not hyperbole. You are a Marine Corporal, correct?

[Winsome Sears]

Correct.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yes. When I learned that, I was like, wait a second, hold on. She's a what? And my friend was like, oh, you didn't know she was a Marine? I'm like, I lied. No, I did not know she was a Marine.

[Winsome Sears]

When did you come to. German electrician, actually. And a diesel mechanic. So you could smell me before you saw me. I think I'm the only blue collar worker in this race who can. And by the way, probably still the only lieutenant governor who can put on a pair of spikes and climb up those poles, those electric poles. It's all in the Belt action. You know, you gotta lean back.

[Jillian Michaels]

You are also the first woman of color elected to hold any statewide office in Virginia.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah.

[Jillian Michaels]

Okay.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah.

[Jillian Michaels]

You got a master's in organizational leadership.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah.

[Jillian Michaels]

All right, so let me be clear. You, you would be what I would have presumed, a liberal's dream. I, I, I mean, accomplished, hardworking, not afraid to get your hands dirty, educated. You served your country. We can check our D I box. I, I mean, you're a woman of color. They love that, they love identity politics. But for some reason, because you won't bend a knee, you have been viciously attacked. And I, I pulled up a couple of the attacks that I, I've seen online, and I, I hope you don't mind, I had to black out some of. They're so vicious and disgusting that I don't think YouTube would permit it. Guys, can we throw up one graphic? Number one, please go. Okay. I see. A black woman for Trump is like a snake loving a mongoose. Remove me from your mailing list now. N word. Hey, N word. You should keep your ugly B face off the Internet. In give me off your effing text and email list, you dumb effing C word. K yourself. I hope you D Y, E, you effing retard. I mean, I can't even read it. So, okay, these are the people who.

[Winsome Sears]

Love everybody more than Republicans. These are from the people who are tolerant. Yeah. If this is what their love looks like, God help us. God help us. This is what I. Because had I been, you know, a Democrat, would have been okay. It would have been okay. And yet, here's the thing. I'm the one who led a men's prison ministry for two years. Again, one of the best things I've ever done with my life. I'm the one who ran a women's homeless shelter. I was driving the women to their appointments, trying to find dentists to fix their teeth. I mean, I did these things because I saw it modeled for me at home. I mopped the floors of a soup kitchen. I did it because, well, you want people to eat in a very beautiful, a very clean environment. Why should just because you're homeless, you not have a decent place to eat, to live? So, you know, I don't. You know, Mother Teresa once said, do whatever you do, the good that you do will be thrown in your face. And she says, do good anyway, because it was never between you and them. It was between you and God. That's why I do what I do.

[Jillian Michaels]

I get that. And it's Very difficult to do the right thing. You pay for it. You pay for it. Literally, you pay for it figuratively. They put you through hell. They are putting you through hell. And you have handled it with such extraordinary grace. I want to show you one more graphic that I.

[Winsome Sears]

Or I want to see this graphic.

[Jillian Michaels]

I think you can handle it, and I think we need to discuss it because they're smearing you with brushes that are honestly lies and that mischaracterize your position. And people see these things, and this is why I think it's important. Guys, can you throw up the second graphic for me here? So in this one, we see Spanberger just looking tall and lean and composed. May I speak? So, so lovely. When I actually watched your debate, she wouldn't even look you in the eye.

[Winsome Sears]

And.

[Jillian Michaels]

And here they have you as unhinged. And just to make sure it's like that, you know, we don't talk about any of your positions or any of your accolades or anything that you want to do for the people of Virginia. Here's what we run with. I'm with Trump. No abortion, no gay marriage. And that's what. That's what they say constantly, right? Ah, she's a bigot. And, you know, she. She wants to take away your. All of your reproductive rights.

[Winsome Sears]

So I'm.

[Jillian Michaels]

I'm gay. I think I'm the appropriate person. Maybe you and I could talk this through together and, and see, you know, do you. If you hate gay people, if you want to take away my marriage and, And. And my daughter and all of the things. Lieutenant Governor. So let's talk about. And I. One thing I want to point out, by the way, in. In digging into you before I reached out to your team, because I was like, I want to understand. Like, this is. This is interesting. Is this her position? VP Harris just came out and said that she didn't choose Pete Buttigieg because he was gay and she was worried that the country would not tolerate a black woman and a gay man as a team. Now I'm confused. Is your running mate a gay man?

[Winsome Sears]

You got it.

[Jillian Michaels]

You got it.

[Winsome Sears]

You see? Apparently crazy. It's okay for the Democrats, but it's not okay for me. And by the way, that cartoon where it shows me as that awful person, if the Republicans had done that to a black female who is Democrat, just call the race over. It's over. The Republican Party would be done forevermore, never to be spoken of again. But apparently it's okay when the Democrats do it to a black female Republican. You see the double standard. And where is the news media? Where is the media? Every time that they see Abigail, to say, Abigail, do you agree with this? Abigail, is it right? No, they do no such thing. And so the media, Jillian, they're complicit and they're to be blamed just as well because they put Abigail up. They always had this modifier for her that she was a moderate Democrat. Every single time they would mention her in the earlier times, they would say she was a moderate Democrat. And how would you figure that when some of her votes are sold to the left of aoc, that she's actually to the left of aoc? That's, you know.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yeah.

[Winsome Sears]

She voted for Biden. However many, what, 97% of the time with Pelosi, 98% of the time. Does that sound like a moderate to you? Exactly.

[Jillian Michaels]

One more thing I'd like to point out about Biden, which I seem to be the only one who remembers, is that all of us good lefties didn't like him because he was the guy that eulogized Strom Thurman like the ultimate segregationist. He was the guy that said he didn't want his kids to go to school in a racial jungle. He was the guy behind the 94 crime bill that put more people of color than any legislation before or after. And somehow he is the great white hope of that party. And how have they forgotten all of this? I just did.

[Winsome Sears]

Here's all you're getting. Remember that Obama also deported more illegals. Yep. And it's wrong.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yep.

[Winsome Sears]

But nobody's saying anything about that.

[Jillian Michaels]

Not a word.

[Winsome Sears]

And remember also Obama was the one that said, when they, the Republicans, when they bring a knife, we bring a gun to the fight. I mean, is anybody asking anything about that? And wasn't it Kamala also, Gillian, who said that when Oprah, remember when she was interviewing her after her debate with Trump, Oprah said, madam Vice President, I didn't know that you had a gun. And she said to Oprah, yes, I have a Glock, and if you're breaking into my home, I'm going to shoot you.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yeah. And Glocks are illegal in California, by the way. Just to be right, they're suing California over the Second Amendment because you can't have Glock in California. And yet I believe her home is in the Pacific Palisades.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah. And here's the thing, though. Here's the other thing. She stole. Kamala stole all of that from me because a whole year before, I said the exact same words on Bill Maher's show. Except I said it a little differently. I said, if you're breaking into my home first I'm going to pray for you and then I'm going to shoot you.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yeah, I like that better. That's nice. Yeah. I want to circle back. So you are a devout Christian. Correct. And it's my understanding, I have actually many Christian friends, that it is against the religion to be gay. And I respect that. Many of my friends, though, despite the fact that it is not the lifestyle style choice for them, would not want to. Even Charlie Kirk was like, I'm not going to push for any legislation that takes away the rights that accompany a federal marriage.

[Winsome Sears]

Exactly, exactly.

[Jillian Michaels]

Would you do that, Lieutenant Governor, if you became governor?

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah. No.

[Jillian Michaels]

Would you take away my. The, the rights that. That come to my family through a federally recognized mar.

[Winsome Sears]

No, absolutely not. And unfortunately, you know, in the heat of the debate, we were at the tail end, and I, you know, I'm just trying to keep up with what she was saying, you know, what is she saying now? And none of it was making any sense. And so that's why I was thinking, that's not discrimination. That's not good. And then I thought, wait a minute, I'm not discriminating. That's what I should say, because, you know, I was thinking of what she was actually saying when I was really trying to hear what she was saying. So I'm so glad that you brought it up so we can clear it up. I had already previously answered the question about gay marriage and all of that and whether I would discriminate, and I had already said no. And so when she brought it up again, I'm thinking, what are we talking about here? I'm not discriminating. So, yeah, I see this. But that's what happens in the heat of a debate from time to time.

[Jillian Michaels]

I see it constantly, though. I see this levied at conservatives and even Trump, Trump's mentor was gay. Trump has never once, not one time, said he was going to take away your right to marriage. It is part of their religion. You have to respect their personal beliefs. I respect your personal beliefs. You and I aren't going to agree on everything. I don't agree with my wife on everything. I don't agree with my.

[Winsome Sears]

I was just about to say that I don't agree with my husband on what, a hundred percent of the things. No, we don't agree. We're different people. But I am not about to take away anyone's rights. Remember, I'm from a third world country. It's not that way anymore. But I have seen what it looks like when you don't have any rights. The first things Americans talk about is, I know my rights. I just love that I know my rights. And so why, having seen what it looks like when you don't have rights, why would I now come to another country and take that away? I'm not going to do that. I want everybody to make the best self, the best of themselves, whatever that is. And as governor, I represent everybody. I mean, I did that when I was a delegate. I didn't ask, you know, did you vote for me? I didn't ask, you know, do you care about me? I mean, I don't know how else to say. I've already proven myself. When folks came into the Holy Shelter, I didn't ask them, are you a Christian? Are you gay? Are you straight? I didn't ask any of that. You need help. You need help. Whatever help it is, that's what I'm here for. I don't have a litmus test.

[Jillian Michaels]

It's that time. It's skims time. If, like me, you have had the hardest time with underwear that creeps up the center of your rear end so uncomfortable, or the panty lines that you see through clothes, or those inserts that come in certain bras that when you wash them, they roll up like little hot dogs. It's just. I'm sorry, but I. I know you. I'm talking about bras that give you the little armpit bulge right here, but don't give you the boost where you need it. I could essentially go on and on. I love skims the Fits Everybody T shirt bra, the Fits Everybody Boy short are my go to. I live in them, literally. And you can shop my favorite bras and my favorite [e-mail] after you place your order. Do me a favor and please be sure to let them know that I sent you. Just select podcast in the survey and be sure to select my show in the dropdown menu that follows. And just remember, Fits Everybody T shirt bra, Fits Everybody boy shorts. You're going to Love it. At skims.com, select podcast in the survey and be sure to select my show in the dropdown menu that follows that sound. That is the sound of an idea turning into income. If you got a business dream or even just a great product name in your notes, app Shopify can be the catalyst to make it real. So many of my personal companies and the companies I invest in use Shopify from Alaia Naturals to my own Jillianmichaels.com, shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses worldwide, powering about 10% of all E commerce in the U.S. they meet you where you're at. What if you can't design a website? Shopify's got you. They got beautiful ready to go templates that match your brand's vibe. What if you need a hand? I mean, you can use all of Shopify's AI tools that are built for commerce to enhance product photos, write product descriptions and even generate discount codes. What if no one's ever heard of you? Well, guess what? You can find customers with easy email and social media campaigns all in one place. And what if you get stuck? Well, there's an award winning 24. 7 support from real humans who've seen it all. So if you've been waiting for a sign, this is it. Build the store, launch the product, ship the first order, turn those dreams into and give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com Jillian go to shopify.com Jillian that's shopify.com/jillian.

[Winsome Sears]

Morning Zoe. Got donuts.

[Jillian Michaels]

Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage?

[Winsome Sears]

Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you. Teach me. So Dana.

[Jillian Michaels]

Oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get.

[Winsome Sears]

The new iPhone 17 Pro on them.

[Jillian Michaels]

It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system system.

[Winsome Sears]

Wow, impressive. Let me try. T mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network. Nice.

[Jillian Michaels]

Jeffrey, you heard them. T mobile is the best place to.

[Commercial Announcer]

Get the new iPhone 17 Pro on.

[Jillian Michaels]

Us with eligible traded in any condition.

[Winsome Sears]

So what are we having for lunch?

[Jillian Michaels]

Dude, my work here is done.

[Commercial Announcer]

The 24 month credit is on experience beyond for well qualified customers plus tax and $35 advice connection charge credit sended balance due if you pay off earlier. Cancel Finance Agreement. IPhone 17 Pro 256 gigs $1099.99 and new line minimum 100 plus a month plan with auto pay plus taxes and fees required. Best mobile network in the US based on analysis by Ooklove Speed Test Intelligence.

[Jillian Michaels]

Data 1H 2025 Visit t mobile.com they don't care though. And and the problem is people don't take the time to do the homework. I deal with it 24. 7. I find myself to be A human fact checker at this point. And like, ah, you know, ICE is zip tying children like the ICE zip tie go on my computer, search for hours.

[Winsome Sears]

Where does zip tie?

[Jillian Michaels]

Nothing. Not one photo. Can't find a photo of a child in zip ties in custody with ice. Not one photo. Oh, they're deporting American citizens because they're people of color. I'm like, which citizens? Not one friggin American citizen. And instead it's like both children who are citizens but whose parents were here illegally were deported with their families but still maintain their citizenship and can come back anytime. It's insane. I, I had already known your position because I looked into it myself. But people don't do that which is just. And they know it. So that's what they do. They're like, hates gays. And everyone on the left goes, of course she hates gays.

[Winsome Sears]

She is. Is it any wonder that I pray all the time I'm thinking, lord, you know, I can't fix this. You gotta fix it, gotta help.

[Jillian Michaels]

I know. Okay, let's. Now this one is a bit more nuanced and to be honest, it's one that I have really seen both sides of. But it doesn't matter what we think personally, it matters to voters what's gonna happen. And obviously it has to do with abortion. And now that this is back in the hands of the state, what is your position on it?

[Winsome Sears]

So you know, I have always said, and I'm trying to tell folks, but you know, unfortunately if you don't want to hear, then you will never hear. And it doesn't matter what I say, but my position is this, we've got to come together as the Commonwealth and figure out where we want to be on it. Now I. It's not going to be my policy, it's going to be the policy of the majority. And by the way, there is a constitutional amendment that's going to be going around and the people are going to make that decision. Here's the thing. My opponent is the one who has the extreme policy when it comes to abortion because she wants abortion up until the hour, the very minute, Jillian, that the baby could be born. And then what? What do we do with this? We have an infant who was even in the process of labor and the mother makes a different decision to abort. Now what, what do we do? Do we leave the baby on the table to die? We don't. What do we do? And in fact, we had a governor, an actual governor of Virginia before us, Ralph Northam, who's A pediatrician, a surgeon, pediatric surgeon. He came on the radio and he said, here's what would happen if the baby were born alive. What we would do, he said, he said infant. He said what he would do is keep the infant alive until the mother decides what to do. Well, the baby is here, born, breathing on its own. What are you saying, Dr. Governor Ralph Northam. What do we do? And that's where we are. That's where my opponent is. And nobody's asking her to answer for it. Nobody's asking her.

[Jillian Michaels]

When they ask Democrats, they say, I believe in Roe v. Wade.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah.

[Jillian Michaels]

And I never understood, I was like, what does that mean? I believe there's no answer there. But when you do some digging, it means there's actually no time limit. And for some reason we think of Europe as being so wildly civilized, but the vast majority of Europe, I believe, outside of the United Kingdom and maybe Germany, have to fact check me on that one, is 12 weeks.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah.

[Jillian Michaels]

And I remember learning this when Desantis was backing a 15 week abortion ban and everybody was in not six weeks, but 15 weeks. And of course, when he, when he went to run for president, he, you know, backed a six week heartbeat bill and kind of pushed a little bit farther to the right to get the nomination. In, in my opinion. But nevertheless, I thought, you know, we're outreached about 15 weeks. The child can live outside of the womb at 20. And I, what I can't understand is how we are incapable as a country to show up and discuss these nuances. I, I appreciate, you know, like, it's, it is a very nuanced, heartbreaking conversation that is exceptionally complicated. It really is. And instead it's like, well, now you, you're, you're, you know, you're against women and, and my body, my rights, whatever. And there's for some reason no understanding that, hey, an OB GYN at 20 weeks is terminating one pregnancy and then saving another and taking care of a child in an incubator. Like, this is a very complicated conversation. And yet no one is outraged about the fact that in, in California, for example, there are no limits at eight months. You can decide. I don't, you know what? I don't want the kid. I, I, I think, nah, I, and I, I'm like, how have we gotten here? This was not a position of the Democratic Party. It was a position of no party. Surely common sense would say, just like it does in Europe and every other part of the civilized world, even the UK does have a limit. I think it's 25 or 26 weeks. We don't. You can have none. Like, it's kind of crazy in our country, like here, you know.

[Winsome Sears]

No.

[Jillian Michaels]

You know, we're going to ban it.

[Winsome Sears]

Oh, no.

[Jillian Michaels]

You can have an abortion up until the, The. The. The hour the child is born.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah, so. So my opponent even talked about an ectopic pregnancy during the debate. You know, she just lies and she lies. And I have always said also that the exceptions for the life and health of the mother and rape. And of course, they don't bring up any of that. They don't say anything about that. And that's why I just said, you know What? Go to spambergerlies.com because I can't keep up. And she's CIA. She. Twice. My words. You know, she knows how to do this. I mean, she has found stuff from when I was a child even, and made it look like I said it yesterday or, you know, and then she's just cut it. She's cut it and taken it out of context. This is the kind of. Governor, we want a CIA operative who lies. No, we can't have that.

[Jillian Michaels]

I, When I learned she was CIA, I thought, like, this is just. This is just flying past the radar. Nobody is alarmed.

[Winsome Sears]

Nobody says anything. Yeah. And I'm not saying all CIA. I'm just saying she in particular is pretty dangerous. But think about it. During the debate, she was rattled. We're just debating ideas. And you're rattled because the media had built her up to be this huge giant, this huge juggernaut, and we found, in fact, that she's a paper doll. She. She can't be governor. How are you going to defend us? How are you going to deliver for us? How are you going to attract businesses to Virginia so that they know Virginia is where they want to come and build so that we can have the jobs available for Virginians. How are you going to really go to bat for Virginians? She's not. And I thought also that maybe it was cowardice. Why she. You know, we haven't talked about it yet, but maybe we'll start now to get Jay Jones out of the race because he advocated for the murder, the murder of his political opponent and also the murder of his opponents, children who were 2 and 5 years old at the time, who, by the way, Jay Jones knew, saw them in the General assembly as they run around and advocated for their murder. And Abigail says she's disgusted. It's abhorrent. And you're done. Is that how you. He's saying murder, Abigail Is it okay with you? Because here's the thing, Jillian. I bet you if Jay Jones were to apply for a job, and you know, if she were governor, which she won't be because Virginians have common sense, but if she were, and he applied to her for a job and this came out, do you think she would give them job? Do you think Jay Jones would be hired? No, he would not. So if he's not good enough for you, Abigail, then he's not good enough to be our Attorney General. Jay Jones cannot be our attorney general.

[Jillian Michaels]

You know, I pulled up exactly what this man said. I'm going to have to bleep it because it's, it's so aggressive, it's gonna cause, cause problems. He said, if those guys die before me, I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves. He said Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.

[Winsome Sears]

The Republican.

[Jillian Michaels]

He said he also hoped that Gilbert's wife would hold her child as it died.

[Winsome Sears]

I, they said she was breeding little fascists. Oh, breeding little fascists. Oh, yes. You didn't hear the whole story.

[Jillian Michaels]

Oh, no. I'm also breeding one, though. So I, yes, I, I, My, my white son is a little fascist. And my black daughter is the, the house slave, apparently, that I purchased from Haiti. No one told her as I wait on this child hand and foot. But nevertheless, yes, I'm also myself breeding a young fascist.

[Winsome Sears]

This is. So make this stuff.

[Jillian Michaels]

No, you can't. And, and you know what? We joke about it almost. I joke about it in this moment because it's, it's, it's so disturbing that you feel. You don't know how to respond. I, if I was to respond honestly, I, I, I, I have had to speak with some, some dear friends to contain how that kind of rhetoric brings out the very worst in me, how it makes me feel. And it is, it is scary. And it's, it's one of the things that I, I actually appreciate about my friends who are religious is they're like, jill, you don't, you don't need to accept the divinity element of religion if it, if it doesn't make sense to you at this time. But there are principles here you might find valuable, and those principles are your guidelines, no matter what. Because honestly, when I hear that, it does make me feel quite upset and equally aggressive. And it's like you can't become the thing that you despise the most. And I've leaned into some of those principles, but it's deeply disturbing. It's very, very alarming. And why this man is allowed to hold a position of power is I. I'm confounded. I'm confounded. Did your opponent not say something like, let your rage fuel your.

[Winsome Sears]

Something got effect? Yes, yes, yes. So before Charlie Kirk was murdered, she said to her supporter, she's on video. Let your rage fuel you. And so she dragged it out, right? And then after he was murdered, she kept saying it, let your son. What rage are you talking about, Abigail? What rage and fuel What? Abigail and to whom? Abigail? You see, this is a woman, Abigail Spamberger. She's a divisive person. She's all about control. And as I said, I used to think that she was cowardly, but I think now she's a calculating and cunning woman. She has lived a very curated life, a very careful life, almost as if she's planning step by step how she's gonna move in this political realm. I haven't lived that kind of life. I don't know very many people who have. And she goes to CIA. You can't really uncover anything because it's all secret. You don't know what anything is. And so you're left with believing what she says. But then she's showing you that really, she's very cunning, and we can't have somebody like that in the governorship. She will use her skills that she learned against us. She will say the things that she says that we know to be lies. She blatantly lied, for example, during the debate when she said that she was not going to make Virginia a sanctuary state. But you said it last week. You said that you were going to rescind the executive order that Governor Youngkin had and make Virginia. I mean, I think at some point you probably saw my eyes just. Wow. Yeah. What? You what? And then she says she's not going to get rid of right to work. And I just. What?

[Jillian Michaels]

Can you tell everyone what right to work is, Lieutenant Governor, just so they understand what you're talking about?

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah. So right to work is, for me, an issue of liberty. You know, right to work means that if you take this job, you're going to be forced to join a union. And if you're going to keep the job, you must pay union dues. That's it. And she, when she was in Congress, she not only voted for every single state to be forced to accept unionism, she also co sponsored the bill. She helped to write the bill. And for me, that's not liberty, that's not freedom. That's what we left in the old country. We Left that. And that's a tax. You're forcing me to use my very hard earned paycheck for a tax and then you're going to use my union dollars for political purposes. Which is why you see over $1.4 million was given to her by unions because they want to force every single vir to join a union.

[Jillian Michaels]

You just opened my eyes about something that's gone on in California for years. I always thought of unions as protection for workers. So as you're talking I'm sitting here going well, but don't they just protect the workers from unsafe conditions and unfair wages and make sure they get their benefits? And then I realized that the teachers union has so much power over Gavin Newsom, they give him so much money that that's why our kids were the last to go back to school in California during COVID The last out of every friggin state.

[Winsome Sears]

The last.

[Jillian Michaels]

And I, I didn't appreciate. So basically what you're telling me is by forcing, forcing people to join unions and pay dues, you then give unions power to fund politicians campaigns?

[Winsome Sears]

Yes, yes, yes. Let me tell you how bad this is. So in New Jersey, in the governor's race there, so Mickey Sherrill, who used to room by the way with my opponent, used to room in Congress, used to be the roommate, the person who she won against received $40 million from the union. Think about that.

[Jillian Michaels]

Wow.

[Winsome Sears]

Think about that. And that was in a primary. Where did that money come from? It came from Republicans who are also members of the union and Democrats. But Republicans don't want to vote that way. And so. But all their union money is used for one side of the political aisle. That's not freedom. And so if you want change, you're not going to get it. You're not going to get it with unions. It will always be whatever they want, every time they want it or they're going to strike. Well, you have public unions for example. And then what? I made the government open. Oh, that's another story. Maybe we don't want to go there but you know, we cannot have the right to work gone. I must be able to work without being forced to join a union. And there are 26 other states, Jillian, including Guam, who protect a worker's right. So we're not anti anything. I'm just pro worker. And the fact of the matter is when you look at those states that are doing well, those states are right to work protection states for workers.

[Jillian Michaels]

Right. Lieutenant Governor, it's embarrassing to me that I, I didn't know this. And I. As we're talking, I'm realizing that I don't know this because I've been so focused on culture war issues, which I know is a trap, by the way. I know it's a trap. I know it's a distraction, and it's meant to take your attention away from the things that really matter. You know, in. In my line of work, for example, we've got all these culture war issues. We're fighting with. With each other, but no one's paying attention to the fact that. That what is a union party in Washington has quietly given big chemical companies immunity for things like glyphosate. And I'm like, but we're sitting here fighting about the dumbest crap, and yet it's so insane, you feel like you have to. It's like, well, hold on now.

[Winsome Sears]

Hold on.

[Jillian Michaels]

Men cannot be in women's prisons. Do I really need to go fight this fight?

[Winsome Sears]

This is insane.

[Jillian Michaels]

There's a.

[Winsome Sears]

It's.

[Jillian Michaels]

It's like bananas, but.

[Winsome Sears]

But.

[Jillian Michaels]

But I'm. I'm like, all right, we've got a rapist who now says he's a woman that's going into female prisons to abuse these women. And it's like, okay, okay, let me go over here and. And fight this. But meanwhile, you know, our entire country is being poisoned by this chemical, and the chemical company has blanket immunity, and no one is actually talking about workers and whether unions are good for them or bad for them and in what ways. Or you are. But no one's paying attention because. Oh, hold on. You don't like gays, and you. You know, women have no sovereignty over their body whatsoever, and you're just a tribalist when it comes to Trump. Let's talk a little bit. I want to come back to some of that other stuff that's insane, because I do want to get to law enforcement and di. Talk to me about what Virginia needs. I'm a Virginian. What do I need? Give me the real issues, and let's table the culture war BS for a second. Give me more on this. I want to understand.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah, and see if they can keep us in the culture wars, then we don't get to the issues, which is, how are you going to protect me? How are you going to protect my family? So that when I dial 91 1, somebody comes to rescue me. And what the left has done is to turn us against the police. And listen, there are bad apples in every profession. There are bad lawyers, bad doctors, bad nurses. Here we bad politicians, probably more bad politicians than anything else. Well, what we do is we need to get rid of the bad cops, the bad teachers and everybody else and run with the ones who are honorable. Because here's the thing. I can't even talk to you about economic development if we're not safe and secure in our homes, if my inventory, as a business person isn't safe. If you can just see, you've seen the Walmart shopping carts. They just load them up and they go out the door with them. Now, you're not going to have employees very much longer, because if we let this go, the thieves are coming back. And this time they may hurt me as the employee. So my opponent has voted to defund them and get rid of their qualified immunity. And what that means is if you take this job in law enforcement and you go out on a call if anything happens, Jillian, you don't have immunity. What you have is, now they're going to sue you personally. You will lose your house, you will lose your bank account, you will lose every asset you have. Now, I have never worked for an employee, an employer, where I was personally sued, the company was sued, the company has liability insurance. But I was never in danger, let's say, if something happened. And that's why those in law enforcement and Department of Corrections personnel have said to me, if you don't win, which we will, because we have common sense. But if you don't win, we're not staying. We're not staying because we'll lose everything. Because again, she took money from AOC's PAC, which says, sign here and that you will defund the police. And then she voted for the justice and Policing act, which says we're going to defund the police again and get rid of their qualified immunity. So I have now more than 81 sheriffs who have endorsed me. That's never happened in Virginia history. Not even Governor Youngkin. And he'll quickly tell you the same thing. He had 50, I have 81. And by the way, they're Democrats, they're Republicans and independents. So that's what the people in Virginia are talking about. Number one, they want to be safe and secure. Number two, they want to make sure that as much of their tax money stays in their own pocket. Democrats, they want to continue to build government. The bigger the government, guess what? The more money it demands to build it. I want to build businesses. I'm trying to build economic prosperity. So that means you keep your money, you go and you buy another appliance. You know, you need a washing machine, you go Buy it. But guess what? The appliance maker stays in business. And then the appliance maker, one of the employees, because he has a job, he goes and buys a new car. And because he has the money, not the government, he has it. And then the car dealer gets a sale. And then one of the managers goes and buys maybe, I don't know, a house, because now he had, you know, whatever. When the people have the money, they make the economy go full circle. But when the government takes your money and spends it the way that they want, you know, Gillian, they have never seen these liberals, a government program that they didn't like. They know, if we want to get rid of this, well, let's spend the money here, let's spend the money there. They never say, well, goodness gracious, there are 10 government programs doing the very same thing. Why do we need 10? Who's doing the best? Let's get those and let's get rid of the rest. But they don't. They don't do that.

[Jillian Michaels]

Why do you think? Can I, I mean, not, not to be conspiratorial, but I see that in California to such an obscene degree. And the state famously has lost, I think, something like $22 billion on our homeless crisis, yet there's been so much fraud with the NGOs that got the money. And these NGOs also donate to the governor's campaign and fund his spouses documentaries. And I'm like, is this, Is this, like, am I. Is this incompetence or is this nefarious?

[Winsome Sears]

If you had to, yes, positive.

[Jillian Michaels]

Guess.

[Winsome Sears]

It's about power. It's about power. And if I can keep giving you money, then you're going to continue to need me. But if some other person comes along and says, why do we keep funding these programs when they do nothing? They're accountable to no one. There is no transparency. Let's take the money from them. Well, now they say you're unkind. But here's the problem. We have these liberals who want to be kind with my tax money. Why. So you know what I'm going to do when I'm governor? I'm going to continue to make sure that you keep as much of the money you make in your own pocket. And for those who, well, have different thoughts, my form is going to say, check here on the form if you want to pay more in taxes. And then I'm going to have a line, a blank line that says, tell us how much more you want us to tax you, and we will send you a Golden thank you letter.

[Jillian Michaels]

I wonder how many will get that letter.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah, I'm giving them options.

[Jillian Michaels]

I like it. I like that a lot. You know, I, I don't find it to be at all, what's the word I'm looking for? Ironic that so many have fled from these blue states, myself included, to states that have no income tax, like Florida, Wyoming, Tennessee, Texas. And what's sad to me is that the capital is mobile. The people with the money have a greater ability to leave. And the people.

[Winsome Sears]

Yes.

[Jillian Michaels]

That don't. They're stuck. They're stuck. They're anchored to that job. They, you know, they're anchored to probably. I, I have the experience, family stuff and certain things that, that force me to go back to California more often than I would like. But, you know, you see this in New York with Mamdani. I, I was just having this conversation with Bill O'Reilly and I was like, do you give the people what they want? And he goes, well, if you do, a lot of innocent people are gonna die. And when he defunds the police, the people that can't get up and go. And the people that voted for these policies are then going to move to Florida because they, they don't like the mess they've made. And for some reason they don't associate the way they vote with the policies of the state. I, I see it in California all the time and I'm, I'm so disappointed. Just another sidebar, like, how is the alternative for California? Katie Poor, she almost makes you think you got lucky with Gavin Newsom. Why is there not a candidate like you in California or Byron Donald's in California, or Vivek Ramaswamy in California. So here I am speaking to a woman that I, I hope becomes the governor of Virginia. But all I can tell your constituents is that I've lived it in California. I know where Spanberger goes, because I've lived it. And they might be slick and you might like their hair and they might be articulate and they've got a great pedigree and it will ruin your life.

[Winsome Sears]

Yes, it ha.

[Jillian Michaels]

Gavin Newsom has ruined lives here. And it is not an exaggeration. His policies are ruining lives. People are not protected.

[Winsome Sears]

Listen, they all believe the same thing they all do on the left. And it's always about control. It's always about power. I've seen it as a 10 year old, for example, when I was growing up in Jamaica. And it's not pretty because we had a prime minister who came to power. I call him an Idiot. Because he destroyed Jamaica's economy. Jamaica. It took Jamaica 40 years, a whole generation to come back to some place of prosperity. And what he did, he said Jamaica was now a socialist democrat country. Where have you heard that, Jillian?

[Jillian Michaels]

That's Nazi Germany too. I mean, Nazi National Socialism. Just, just saying, like all of those crazy ass regimes are communist. Mao, Pol Pot.

[Winsome Sears]

I mean, but, but sure, yeah, no.

[Jillian Michaels]

It'S, it's a right thing.

[Winsome Sears]

But that's what, that's what Mamdani is saying. He is. That's what AOC is.

[Jillian Michaels]

I know.

[Winsome Sears]

And unfortunately.

[Jillian Michaels]

Crazy.

[Winsome Sears]

Yes, it's crazy. And what it did was it caused businesses to leave. Businesses immediately. Fl they understood they owned nothing. The state would now own everything. And if you were, you know, had a home and you were a landlord, you didn't own it. The state nationalized everything. We had no foreign reserves, no foreign currency. We had nothing. And Jamaica's economy went tanked when we were on a trajectory to be like one of the six little tigers. And as a consequence, I mean, there was the very rich and the very poor and nobody in between. I learned about economic principles long before I minored in economics. And it was a mess. I knew what the IMF meant when I was 10 years old, the International Monetary Fund, because we had to go Jamaica to go and get money, borrow from them. And the one thing you learn about the IMF is you borrowed money the first time. You're going to have to keep borrowing money because you're in such dire straits. And not only that, but I knew what the word propaganda meant when I was 10 years old. I mean, all these principles I understood. And here I'm seeing it. Come to America. Why can't we ever, as human beings learn from history?

[Jillian Michaels]

Because the kids don't know it. Honestly, Lieutenant Governor, they don't know it. So when capitalism isn't working for them, they can't afford a house, they can't afford kids. They feel like, you know, the politicians are bought and paid for. They feel like corporate America runs everything. The globalists are in charge. They want a revolution. This is how it always starts. But they don't have the knowledge that you do to say, hey, I get it, you're upset. Let's talk about unions, let's talk about this, let's talk about that. Let's talk about these other policies. Because the policies you're talking about lead to disaster. Again, I was just talking to Bill O'Reilly and he's like, you realize, Mom, Donnie is running on the exact same platform that Castro did. But nobody teaches these kids that. Nobody teaches them that. Nobody. And then all they do is say, they hate your gay friend. And that's it. That's it. And the kids are like, oh, you hate my gay friend. And I am a good person. And you are. You are a bigot. And I have the moral superiority. And they fall for it every single time.

[Winsome Sears]

And not only that, but the press falls for it. Because actually, this prime minister in Jamaica, he brought Castro over from Cuba because Cuba is only 45 minutes from Jamaica. They brought Russian money. They started building things. I mean, you talk about everybody being afraid. And I've seen when political violence happens, as I said, and the one I remember, there are states of emergency all the time, tanks in the streets all the time, everybody in fear, gunshots everywhere. And I saw plainclothes policemen shoot people and throw them in the back of the trunk. And we cannot have that. We had. What is the united. The independent state of Chad, where Tim Wallace was in Minnesota. Remember that? Have we lost our ever loving minds?

[Jillian Michaels]

Remember the summer of love? I mean, oh, my gosh. I just. I've seen it. And I am just, as you said, I'm completely confounded. I'm just hoping to God that people start doing their own homework. I'm hoping to God that they do. Because when you buy this rhetoric and this propaganda blindly, you're being misled and you're being manipulated. I want to actually talk a little bit about your position on law enforcement just a bit more and the way it pertains to ice, for example, because obviously in your Venn diagram, you know, you've got law enforcement and you are an immigrant, and you are what it. What I would imagine to be the gold standard case of a person who's immigrated to our country. And what's. What's even crazier is like, again, I say this like, I just. I miss. I miss what it meant to be a liberal. That's not around anymore. What it meant to be a liberal was to appreciate that immigrants were the life's blood of our country. My grandparents are immigrants. Nobody in my family is Native American. Unfortunate, but still the case. Everybody I know in my life is either the descendant of an immigrant or an immigrant, and they came here legally, and they do amazing things, and they appreciate the country in a way that people who were born here don't, because they take it for granted. But can you explain then? Because when. When people like us are like, no, no, no, you. You cannot come here illegally, and all of a sudden we're we're racists or bigots. We don't like black and brown people. Luckily, you can't be smeared with. Although I wouldn't be surprised if they smeared you with that one.

[Winsome Sears]

Can you call me a white supremacist? Actually, Stop.

[Jillian Michaels]

Really?

[Winsome Sears]

Who carried the bill in 2022? How can you.

[Jillian Michaels]

How, though? Just. You don't. How does that work? I'm confused. Yeah.

[Winsome Sears]

When you don't toe the party line, when you think for yourself, then, yeah, they call you names, because that's what grownups do, I guess. No, so I carried the bill in 2002. I think it was to protect us from the KKK. Because in Virginia, you know, by the way, here I am, I had to win the lieutenant governorship on my own. So in Virginia, the governor doesn't choose the running mate. No, I am elected independent of the governor. And so I had to go out and make the case for myself. I mean, we ran as a team, but they had to fill that little oval in for me separately. And you have had. Where the lieutenant governor was of one party and the attorney general of another, and still the governor of another. You know, that can happen. So I am then second in command in the former capital of the Confederate States.

[Jillian Michaels]

Right.

[Winsome Sears]

I mean, that's not laws for me. Better. Yeah. I mean, look, I mean, this is how good it is. Republicans put me as their nominee, and now I sit as Lieutenant Governor, second in command in the former capital of the Confederacy, and yet the Democrats call me a white supremacist. Right. I carry the bill to protect us from the kkk and to protect us from the. Of course, the kkk. They hate gays, they hate Jews, they hate black people, they hate Catholics. I think they hate themselves. But I am the one. I am the one that has been saddled with this name. Makes no sense when.

[Jillian Michaels]

When you look at the role that these governors are playing, whether it's Pritzker or whether it's Newsom, and I think I've seen Spanberger say, ah, you know, I don't see how it's beneficial for us to cooperate with ice. Would you have local law enforcement cooperate with ice? And if so, why?

[Winsome Sears]

So we have to be a nation of laws, and if you commit the crime, you are going to do the time. It's that simple. I must, as governor, protect the people of Virginia. You know, as the governor, your other title is commander in Chief. That means your, you know, you have command of the army as well, the National Guard, et cetera. And we have to get the Criminals off the street. And if you're doubly so criminal and you're illegally here, you gotta go home. You have to go home. And what we were finding is that ICE was not being notified that this criminal, who we, you know, have found that they're rapists, murderers, whatever it is, you know, they're being let go and they're back on the streets now. We've seen them, they go and commit crimes and they prey upon the very people who, they're part of that population. You know, if they're Venezuelans, then they go find the Venezuelans and then the rest of us do. And so what my position is we must help ice. I'm really concentrating on those who are criminals and they're illegally here and they're the really bad kind. You gotta go. I'm sorry, you gotta go. You know what we noticed with Karen Bass, the mayor of la.

[Jillian Michaels]

Oh, I can't wait to hear this.

[Winsome Sears]

He had two guns. Gillian, she didn't have not one. She had two guns and somebody knew it and they stole it from her. That's all they stole. You find that Democrats actually have guns.

[Jillian Michaels]

Only when something bad happens because their cities are unsafe. That's why they have guns. That's, that's the, that's the answer is because their cities are so insanely unsafe. That one, by the way, I believe when Castro died, she said, like, she said something like, like, you know, farewell Commandante El Jefe. Something insane. I know, I know I did. Forget it. We can't go down that path. One other point that I, that I would like to make to any, any moderate, any person whose vote is up for grabs over there is that when you have sanctuary cities, you force ICE raids, you're forcing ICE to go into the streets to get bad guys. That's when they're scooping up collaterals. Whereas if, am I, am I wrong? Whereas if you're right, if you're detaining the criminals, ICE goes and gets them from the jail and they're not picking up the hard working good people that hopefully we can find a way to give a path to citizenship. But what, what they seem to think is so empathetic is actually one of the worst things for the good immigrants in this country. And they're, they're utterly misguided. I, I, I want, I, I've kept you quite some time and there's a topic that I want to get to and it's, it's exceptionally sensitive.

[Winsome Sears]

Can I just say one thing before we leave Immigration, you know There are people who absolutely are desperately in need of safety, asylum. But Biden and his administration, and also my opponent, Abigail Spamberger, opened up the borders and everybody flooded in. And so now everybody arrives without any paperwork. We don't know who's who. We don't know. You said your name is what, John? Is it really David? Is it? We have no documentation. There is no proof. There is no nothing. And so those who really ought to be given asylum, we don't know because they created this mess. And look at what they're doing now, these liberals. Now they want to help and they want to come and save people. And this is what my opponent is doing, same way as she's doing with immigration and screwing it all up. She wants to mess up our energy policy here in Virginia because she's saying that she's going to help to bring down the bill, the electric bill of those who can't pay. But, excuse me, you all voted for something called the Virginia Clean Economy Act. And what it did was to immediately take power off the grid because you didn't want that source of power, whether it was gas or nuclear or whatever it was oil, you didn't want it. Or coal. You said only renewables, which is sun and wind. Well, as the governor said, the renewables suffers a catastrophic failure. Every day. The sun goes down and then what? The battery life is not that long. So when I flick that switch, Jillian, something needs to happen. The lights need to. To come on. We're not going down that road. And you know who's not playing these stupid games? Let me tell you. China, the CEO of Ford Motor Company said that he just came back from China and he was shook. He said he was humbled because he saw their AI working. He saw their robots working. There are whole factories. Not a. Not a soul was a human being. The lights weren't even on because they're robots. They don't need lights. If we don't get our act together and stop these stupid culture and civil wars, we are going to be lost. You've got Russia with these rogue nations, North Korea, everybody, they have their act together. They're watching us just eat ourselves alive over these civil moral. Whatever issues. Let's figure it out. And I love this song by Billy Joel. Go ahead with your own life and leave me alone.

[Jillian Michaels]

I love that. That is. It is a terrifying dystopian vision. And I. I think that, again, we're not paying attention. It reminds me of Game of Thrones. You know, you've got all these squabbling Goofballs fighting over nonsense. And winter is coming and no one is paying attention to the real threats because they're being drowned out on purpose.

[Winsome Sears]

And then here's the other thing. On economic policy, you know the game Monopoly? I and my cousins used to play it. And I had a cousin, I swear I hated him. He would own, he would. The. We all started with the same amount of money. The same number of fives, the same number of tens and ones, et cetera. And we rolled the dice. So we all started at the time, same, same spot. And the minute that he landed on property, he would buy it. And the rest of us, like fools, we would say, well, let's wait, because you never know what could happen. And he would end up, you know, putting houses and putting. And then we, we owed the man rent. And, and, and, you know, so I learned from that. I learned from that. Think about it. Yes, I know, but we all started with the same amount of money, the same opportunity, but we were always worried, well, you know, you're going to need $200 to get out of jail. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? But, yeah, yeah.

[Jillian Michaels]

Lieutenant Governor, I know you've experienced a personal tragedy, and I'm. I want to be very delicate with how I broach this, but I know it's also affected the way that you deal with mental health and you approach the well being literally, of your constituents. You lost your daughter, who I believe struggled with mental health issues for many, many years, and her two grandchildren, your two. I'm sorry, your two grandchildren as well. Are you comfortable talking to me a little bit about that and how it has shaped you as a person and your policy as a leader?

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah. This is why, you know, I think when you go to, when, when you. So here I am in the church, and I'm looking at three caskets. Not one, not two, but three. And I wasn't even gonna go. But this is where my faith helps me. And I don't know how other people would have gotten through it. I can just tell you that it was God who got me through. But, Jillian, I can tell you I don't know who was in those caskets. I, I don't know. I hope somebody looked because I didn't, because it was too hard for me to do that. And that's why I don't, I don't have time to fool around. Life is too short. And that's why I'm saying, you want to live that way, live that way. I want to live this way. I'm going to live this way. But let's find a way to love each other. We, you know, let's find a way to at least like each other. I don't know, let's agree to disagree. And I don't think that they're lost. I believe that they're more alive than we are because I believe in eternity and I believe, believe in God and I believe that they're looking into the face of God. They know what angels look like. And that there are some people, unfortunately, who every day join my club. It's not a club I would wish on anyone where your child goes ahead of you. They're supposed to bury you. And here's the thing, too. It's a sudden death. So they, you know, she, she got in the car and was having an episode and that was it. Everybody, everybody is gone. Gone to heaven. I never had a chance to say goodbye. And, you know, if somebody has cancer, for example, then you kind of know what's coming, especially if it's stage four and. Or this is your second bout with it. And the doctor says, well, there's nothing we can do. Well, you've had time to talk about the good days, the bad days, the forgiveness. You remember when this happened or remember this photo. Remember when you did this here you have the chance to say goodbye. But when somebody, the sheriffs show up at the proverbial two o', clock, three o' clock in the morning and they say to you, your daughter is dead, your other granddaughter is dead, and the other granddaughter is on life support, what do you, what do you do? So it's. That was in 2012. Now, Jillian, listen to me. You've read those nasty text messages. Do you know what one of Abigail Spamberger's supporters said to me at a recent event? Because she always has a ton of people just instigating and shouting hateful things at my event. I don't have that. I don't have time for that. I'm not going to pay somebody to do that. One of them said, I used AI and my children aren't really gone.

[Jillian Michaels]

Oh, my gosh.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah. These are the kinds of people that support her. These are the kinds of people that say they love everybody more than Republicans. These are the people who say they're tolerant, except when you don't agree with them, they don't agree to disagree. And we can disagree without being disagreeable.

[Jillian Michaels]

Do you think that the system failed your daughter in that, you know, she had these mental health issues and to was allowed to slip through the cracks, or is this just a tragedy of life?

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah, I think I. You know, when she. It first happened to her, she was in college, and I had to go and get her. She had had a psychotic breakdown. And we didn't know the signs. We, you know, apparently bipolar. You know, we just thought sometimes that she was just being rebellious. We didn't know. You just don't know. And when we finally understood it, and we even had to have her take her medication in front of us and make her open, you know, her mouth so we could see that the medication went down. And, you know, when she was on her meds, she was the Dijon that we. We knew. But when she wasn't, it was. She was a whole different Persona. And that's the times when she became pregnant. And, of course, we had our wonderful grandchildren. I'm going to tell you something, Jay, and you're probably not going to believe, but the children were with us because they would normally. She would normally drop them off because I would go to Bible study, and the eldest would come with me, and the other one would. Would stay with her grandfather, my husband. And. And the. The day that she brought them over, the one child, Faith, was sitting on my hip, and she. Faith was five years old. And a voice said to me, what are you going to do? It filled the room. It filled the whole room and asked, what are you going to do if she dies?

[Jillian Michaels]

Oh, my gosh. Okay.

[Winsome Sears]

And it was just jarring. And I looked at my other daughter, who was sitting with Victoria, my granddaughter. She didn't look like she heard anything. And I looked over in the kitchen to see my husband and my. Their mother. And so Faith got up off my hip and looked at me and just said, grandma. Because she realized I was in another place. And so I just studied her. I studied the nose, the mouth. I studied because of what the. The next day, they were gone. Gone home. But here's the kicker. A whole month before they left, Faith, she's five years old now, she kept saying, grandma, Jesus is going to give us a big house. And I said, yes, Faith, I know. She said, no, he's going to give us a really big house. A really, really big house. And then she started drawing the houses. And then one night, I heard her praying. And she said, jesus, thank you for the big house you're going to give us. And I said, that's it. Something's going on, and I don't know what it is. And so the next day, my daughter came and picked her up. I said, are you guys moving? Because Faith keeps talking about Jesus is going to give you a big house. And she said, mom, I don't know what he's talking about. Well, that was it. She didn't know the word mansion because Christians believe that we're going to get a mansion, but she didn't know the word, so she kept saying a big house. A really, really big house.

[Jillian Michaels]

You know, I, I've lived in terror, to be honest, since my kids have come into my life, because my daughter came into my life when she was 2 and I was, you know, obviously there when my son was born. And I've thought about this nightmare a lot. I, I don't know why I hear these stories and I, I'm like, I don't think I could survive this. I, I, I, honestly, I, I've.

[Winsome Sears]

You, you can.

[Jillian Michaels]

I, I, Lieutenant Governor. I, I don't, honestly, I don't know. And I, I think to myself, like, if I lose both of them, I choose not to. If I lose one, I gotta, I gotta keep going because I have the other. Yes, but I, it is a, it is a horror that, that every day they go into the world. I literally am like, okay, God, you know, I, I, and like, I'm not religious but, but like there's something in me that's like, I gotta give this to something bigger than me. But there is a fear of this nightmare. And I say this simply because you have survived it. You have transmuted this devastation into strength and wisdom in a way that I don't know that very many humans on the planet could. And I think it is such an incredible testament to your character and who you are as a leader. And I am so grateful that you gave me this time.

[Winsome Sears]

Oh, thank you.

[Jillian Michaels]

We're very unlikely bedfellows. I, I, I, and yet, you know, you sit with a person who is kind of a traditional liberal, not a leftist, who's gay and who's got a mixed race family. And you, yeah, but you're a human.

[Winsome Sears]

Being, but you're made in the image of God.

[Jillian Michaels]

You think Spanberger would show up?

[Winsome Sears]

Up?

[Jillian Michaels]

You think she'd show up to talk to me? How much you want to bet? No, I'll bet you any amount of a Lieutenant Governor. I, I, I will extend that to, to Spanberger. I, it is, it is not the first time. And they never show up. They don't show up because you are a deplorable. I have, I have tried to be like, no problem, let's have an open conversation. I, I, I want to Hear, Go ahead. They don't show up. And yet her and I would have probably had more in common. And I, you know, traditionally speaking. And now of course, we're fundamentally disagreement about, about very common sense things and policies that affect Americans. But I, I'm simply saying, I think the fact that you showed up and you, you gave me this time, and I'm not even a frigging Virginian says.

[Winsome Sears]

I know some realtors. If you want to move, I might.

[Jillian Michaels]

Take you up on that, but only if you win. So let's see how it can people do to learn more about you, about your campaign, and to support you in this endeavor.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah, please go to winsomeforgovernor.com or you can text. It says see text. Win to 5, 8, 3, 4, 7. You know, Jillian, most of my money is coming from the grassroots. I'm talking about five and ten and fifteen dollars. And one day my accountant said a check came in for $4. Do you know, I looked at all those little checks and I, I'm sorry. I cried because I, I thought to myself, they have no money, but they want to give whatever they can. It was $4. And I, and I prayed over all of them. And then a week later, my accountant says, well, we got a check for $3.

[Jillian Michaels]

I'm going to write my check today. It'll be for a little more than $3.

[Winsome Sears]

Okay? So I'm going to give you a charge. Somebody once gave me a check and they said this is a donation. If it had more zeros, it would be philanthropic. So, Jillian, I want you to feel philanthropic today.

[Jillian Michaels]

Got it. You got it. Lieutenant Governor, I know what we're fighting for, and I have the means and it will be done. You're wonderful. Thank you. If there's anything I can do to be helpful, consider me a teammate. You know, put me in the game. If I can help in any conceivable.

[Winsome Sears]

Way, I'm gonna send you a ticket to my inauguration. That's what I'm gonna do. How about her? You better.

[Jillian Michaels]

I need two.

[Winsome Sears]

Okay. All right.

[Jillian Michaels]

I'll bring my kids, my wife.

[Winsome Sears]

I don't know.

[Jillian Michaels]

You, you, you, you think about it.

[Winsome Sears]

No, I'm giving you two. Bring the fam.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yes, ma'.

[Winsome Sears]

Am.

[Jillian Michaels]

Thank you very much.

[Winsome Sears]

Bring the fam.

[Jillian Michaels]

All right. Go do God's work.

[Winsome Sears]

Literally.

[Jillian Michaels]

Got you got a friggin state to save.

[Winsome Sears]

Yeah, we do. We, we. It's not just incumbent upon me. It's all of us working together. I can't do it by myself. I can lose it. By myself, but I can't win it by myself. We all play this role in making sure that we have the ability to have a Virginia that works for everybody. And my policies will. I mean, low taxes. Democrats are going to have to pay low taxes, too. We create jobs. Democrats have access to those jobs. We keep everybody safe. And we get the criminals who are illegally here gone. Democrats will be safe, too. My policies work for everybody. We have men who are not going to be in locker rooms with our girls with other men. Well, Democrats are safe, too. It works. Thank you.

[Jillian Michaels]

Thank you, Lieutenant Governor. Have a wonderful day. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed the podcast, please, like, comment, subscribe and share. And make sure to let me know what guests you want to see on in the future.