← Kennedy Saves the World
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Hello and welcome to this very special episode of Kennedy Saves the World. It is happy hour. Let's get right to it. Brett Bear is here. Yes, it's Margarita Friday. Cheers.
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B
I need this. Thank you.
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A
Delightful.
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B
Very nicely done.
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A
Try them. It's a multi layered citrus margarita. So it does have a lot of lime juice, a little lemon juice and some fresh squeezed orange juice along with Reposado tequila. And I didn't use triple sec. I used Grand Marnier because I feel like you're too classy stepping it up. Yeah, exactly right. As you have with your new book, the Case for America.
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B
Nice transition.
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A
Look at that. Obviously, I really enjoy your books because you are a fan of history and you write about history from the point of view as someone who's very hungry to learn more, but also for people who aren't necessarily historians.
- [01:08]
B
Yeah, yeah. I'm trying to write all these books in a way that anybody can read them over a weekend at the beach, learn something, and then ideally, it makes it better to look back at where we've been as a country, because that's where we're going. This book was like a compilation. I wrote about six presidents. George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, fdr, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. And each one of them, in their own way, is unique and makes their own case for America in speeches and what they did as president. And I took those voices and then added them to voices present like Ken Langone and Condoleezza Rice, Tim Schreiber, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Arthur Brooks, Supreme Court justices and said, make your case for America like it's in front of a jury and. And then come up with a verdict. And ahead of the 250th. I think it's kind of a good blueprint of what we should do. Take a breath and realize where we live.
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A
When I got your book, it made me really happy because I feel like, and maybe I'm wrong about this and maybe it looks very different from where you sit in Washington as a journalist on Fox News, Premiere News Show Special Reports. It is weeknights at 6pm Eastern, three in the west.
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B
That's plug.
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A
I feel like we're not doing enough for 250. So when I got this book, I was like, good. This is a wonderful way to launch into this massive year, which should be a really big year for the country. And getting good perspective not only on where we've been, but also some of the turmoil that we've been through that those six presidents had to navigate. Where they must have thought they were in the most difficult era in American history.
- [02:51]
B
Totally. And you're right about, are we doing enough for 250? We have a lot planned, a lot of stuff that we're covering. But. But we haven't really as a country talked about it that much up until this point. So it is a good launch for that. I think we are so busy drinking from the fire hose of every day of the news and what's happening in Iran and what's next with this that I think we could take a breath. You're right. Each one of these presidents dealt with dark times. If you think about, you know, we almost don't get off the starting line unless George Washington's in the Constitutional Convention. We almost fall into a second civil war unless Ulysses S. Grant makes this grand bargain. Race riots, Vietnam protests, think about all simultaneously.
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A
By the way, think of all the
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B
things we've been through as a country. And part of this is to talk about we are resilient, we are unified, it's in the name United States, despite dissent. In fact, dissent is encouraged. We are, you know, a country of achievers, always striving for the next thing. Condi Rice said, you know, the best part, the case for America is really that we're not a perfect nation. We are striving to be perfect and ever striving. And I think that's really amazing from a woman who was born in Birmingham, Alabama in the segregated south and becomes the Secretary of State, standing with world leaders, thinking, only in America can this happen.
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A
Yes. And she's a huge football fan, which I've always really appreciated about her.
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B
She should have been NFL commissioner.
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A
I don't disagree with that.
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B
Yeah.
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A
So when you were covering King Charles visit to the United States, has the US developed our revenge bod? Are we the one that got away? And is there a little bit of wistfulness still for the British monarch?
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B
He was smooth.
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A
He was very smooth.
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B
He was really smooth, Funny.
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A
Were you surprised?
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B
I wasn't really surprised, but I was surprised at the level at which he seems comfortable in his own skin. First of all, that speech on Capitol Hill to a joint session was really amazing. If you think about, we're coming up to 250 celebrating the declaration of Independence, breaking away from his country. He gives the speech to a joint session of Congress where he gets both sides standing up, applauding. And essentially the message is, don't forget your American. You know, like American is unique and forward leaning and optimistic. And that's when you broke away from Us, that's what you became leading the world. And here's the King, the royal of England telling us, get back to who you are.
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A
Yeah. And who we are also includes aristocrats like Henry Lee, who was not the most likely to stand up and say, let's break up and do our own damn thing.
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B
And it took balls. I mean, that's serious courage. Cause that's before anything. And at that point, it's an act of treason.
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A
Yes.
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B
They could have been hung for that.
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A
Do you agree with Walter Isaacson's assessment that the greatest sentence ever written is we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
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B
I do. Here's to Walter.
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A
Here's to Walter.
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B
Cheers.
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A
And to Tom.
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B
Yep, I do. And you'll notice it's the pursuit of happiness, not the guarantee of happiness. And we're always in pursuit. I think, you know, the biggest part of this book is freedom. And freedom is in essence, who we are. The fact that you can pick up from New York and you can go to Nebraska and start a new life and you can do it, you can do whatever you want in this country. You can. If you stay within the law. And the ability to do that, to speak freely, to challenge authority, to fail and get back up again and to be resilient.
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A
Yeah, it's a major thing. I went to. I knew you'd appreciate this because I went to a little bit of a Civil War reenactment and.
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B
Wait a second, this is recently.
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A
This is last night.
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B
Last night you went to a Civil War reenactment?
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A
It was really cool. It was truncated. And then of course, President Ulysses S. Grant stood up and spoke and the audience got to ask questions of President Grant, really. And I was like, Brett Baer would love this.
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B
I actually would have loved that.
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A
But it was. And he spoke about his failures and he spoke about giving up and not really thinking that he was ever going to be in a position to lead the Union army of the Potomac, that he was going to be facing off against the Confederate general that he looked up to, that, you know, was a hero in the hallowed halls at West Point. And yet he was able to do that through his own failure and reassessment. And it's such a uniquely American story.
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B
Totally. And each one of these presidents has a story of coming from something. You know, each person had something. Dwight Eisenhower came from abject poverty. Ronald Reagan, alcoholic father, you know, George Washington came from money, but he lost his family, his brother, and essentially became the father after his father died. You know, each one of them had a tough upbringing and no tougher than Ulysses S. Grant.
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A
Yeah. And no safety net. You know, they're flying high on the trapeze. I also found this Reagan quote in your book that I love because I want you to explain what this means to your sons and to younger people in this country who might have a very different idea of what freedom is from George Washington and FDR and Ulysses S. Grant and Eisenhower. Part of the quote is freedom is never more than one generation away from, from extinction. And it kind of, you know, when you really meditate on that, it sort of sends shivers down your spine.
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B
It's true.
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A
So have we met the generation who might be in danger of extinguishing that freedom that we hold dear?
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B
I mean, that's part of this book, is to shake everybody. Like, hey, we gotta fight for this thing. This is a day to day operation. We can't just walk away from it. It can't just be us sucked into our phones and, and social media. You got to make sure that this thing continues. And in order to do that, you have to look back and you. But our generation, our next generation, I should say. My kids 18 and 15, they've got to understand the responsibility that this country brings with it and it takes leadership.
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A
Is your older son off to college in the fall?
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B
He is, he's going to University of Virginia.
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A
How does that feel?
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B
You know, I am psyched about it. My wife is a little sappy every once in a while.
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A
It is bittersweet. It's a rough, rough thing between May and August or September, whenever he goes,
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B
we're psyched for him. Charlottesville is a wonderful place. We're going to be psyched to go visit. But it is. To cut the apron strings is a little, a little tough.
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A
Yeah, it is. And it's, it's interesting because at least with my daughters, I was so worried about my youngest because she is, she's a little bit more shy than her older sister, who is very gregarious, very outgoing.
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B
Where does she get that?
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A
I don't know. And she always says, like, I'm fiery like you, and I'm like, monetize it. But her little sister, like, she, she blossomed like she has shown in those years, kind of being an only child. And it's really interesting because we think we know how our family dynamic is going to change and then it evolves in a way that we can't anticipate. Do you think the same thing will happen with the coming generations who will eventually lead this country?
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B
Yeah, I do. I think that there is real hope there. I see a lot of things happening. I see engagement. I see. I mean, I see a return to religion, like young kids going back to church trying to find something, and that's a big deal. And I think that there is a hunger for something bigger. Like, they know that the phone and the social media is empty, and I think that there is a striving. So all we have to do is provide them the tools to say, hey, this is how we got here. You got to keep it going.
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A
Yeah. I mean, there are some people, Gen Xers, who are like, leave them in the wilderness and let them find their own tools. And there might be something to be said for that level of parenting. Don't go anywhere more. Kennedy Saves the World. Right after this, I want to talk a little bit about the Correspondence association dinner and just how quickly that went from being celebratory, collegial, you know, different media organizations reaching out, getting to know each other. And then all of a sudden, gunshots ring out. There's Secret Service agents rushing the. The main aisle in that ballroom. What went through your head?
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B
Yeah, I mean, this is a celebration of the First Amendment. And suddenly, you know, we're under the table. And it was. It happened so fast for me. My wife was two seats over, and she literally went under the table with Secretary Mullen's wife. So they were kind of huddled under there, so I knew she was safe. Secretary MARK WAYNE Mullen Homeland SECURITY Secretary was next to me. His agent jumped on top of him.
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A
Oh, wow.
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B
And pushed him down. And I was there sitting next to Suzanne Scott, our CEO. And I don't know whether it was because I was next to our CEO or whether it was just instinct. I started filming and said, what's the phoner line? You know, I think maybe I was doing that for her. I'm not sure. But, no, I. I actually did start thinking that way. Like, I've got to cover this.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And there was a second when the guys in tactical gear with the big long guns came out, pointing them at the camera, assault team, the CAT team, pointing them at the crowd, just looking for threats. But that first second they come out, you think, is that the good guys or the bad guys? And it was pretty wild, if you think about it.
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A
My fear was that the bad guys were already in the ballroom and not knowing where the gunshots came from. And when I heard the secret service agents come through those doors. I was like, oh, my goodness. The shots are coming from inside, and they're going to get them from the back of the room. And I was worried. They were at the front of the room.
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B
I know. And then you see him climbing on the tables, going from table to table, knocking over wine glasses, and I mean, it was chaos for, I would say, a good minute.
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A
I could not figure out how long it was that we were under the table. I was at Kash Patel's table.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And we were all under the table.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And he made sure all the women folk were safe, to his credit.
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B
That's good.
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A
But I was like, let's make sure we're covered. Like, that was. That was the important thing to me and that moment was making sure that we all had coverage under the table, surrounded by the chairs.
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B
And where was your man at this time?
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A
He was in the bar.
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B
In the bar?
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A
Yeah, he was. He couldn't get a ticket. It used to be a hot commodity.
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B
That's right.
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A
So I text him, I'm under the table. We're all okay. What happened? And he was like, what are you talking about? He had no idea.
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B
He said, why are you want a scotch and soda? What do you want?
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A
Is this a pre order? And then, you know, I'm leaving the ballroom and he texts me and he's like, they close the bar, grab a bottle. And I said, watch this. I grabbed three.
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B
Nice.
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A
They were already paid for.
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B
There you go.
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A
Yeah. Did I feel bad? I did not.
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B
No. It was traumatic.
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A
Yes. How quickly did you get out of there?
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B
So we had Fox security take us out through this back way to the place where Fox had a pre party underneath that room. And we thought, this is where we're going to stage to get out. And then suddenly, three more CAT team guys come in with long guns and say, you got to run. We're searching room to room. There might be another shooter.
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A
God.
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B
And so we were already. I had not heard that this was underneath. And we're like, what, run? There's. We're going room to room. There might be another shooter. So we're now running. My wife's in heels. She's. She's like, what is going on? We went through the kitchen, and then we went out, and then we found out there was no other shooter.
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A
And you don't know that in the
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B
moment, but in the moment, you don't
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A
know if it's like an Iranian hit squad. Do you have. If it's protesters who've Breached the perimeter. You have no idea.
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B
And I thought that those guys were going to, like, escort us, like, run out with us. We're running and there's no one there. And I'm like, wait, what happens if I'm running the wrong way?
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A
Yeah. I'd rather stay in the room with the good guys with the big guns.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Frankly, I had not heard that story. Thank God everyone is safe. Does it move the needle at all in terms of really quieting the political discourse?
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B
Unfortunately, I don't think it does. But, you know, maybe somebody in that room thinks differently about, oh, wait, there's been at least three probably more assassination attempts on this president.
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A
Yeah. Three that we know of.
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B
So maybe, just maybe we should dial back the rhetoric now. He could do the same.
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A
Yes.
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B
Let's just be fair about how he talks about opponents politically. But maybe it changes a little bit on the outskirts. I think that our whole country could stand to listen more and maybe focus a little bit more on the unity stuff ahead of 250.
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A
I agree completely. And I do. I still agree, and I always will, that there is so much more that binds us together.
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B
Yeah. You know, Arthur Brooks in this book says he'd have focus groups on politics, have way MAGA and super left together, and he wanted to see what they could talk about. And he'd say to the group, listen, we're going to talk about politics. And he could see everybody's ire get up and they're ready to fight. And they said, but first we're going to spend 10 minutes. We're going to talk about your families and what your kids do and teenager. And like, suddenly they start talking, everybody has some problem with their teenager, something happened, blah, blah, blah. And then everybody starts getting along, not knowing where their political lines are drawn. And his point is that it's this common love, this shared love, shared experience, and that America 250 could be that in one way to bring people thinking about something different.
- [17:46]
A
That's a great point. Because the love that we have for our family members, you know, the people that we feel protective for, we can extend that to our country. Like, that's okay. And it's okay to say, I want things to be different. I want some things to change, and I want them to change for the better because I love this country so much.
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B
Right.
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A
And I think that's a beautiful place to start. In closing, I know earlier this week on the Five, Harold Ford Jr. Led us into a stirring rendition of Ebony and Ivory that actually bled into your hour.
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B
It was quite Something.
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A
And he got everyone singing along. Everyone was singing, which I did not anticipate. It was one of those very spontaneous moments. How do you transition from the last 90 seconds of jackassery on the five where everyone's relieved? Like, woo.
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B
Shows Friday.
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A
Yeah. And you've got these like super heavy, world altering topics to cover. Right. At six.
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B
It's amazing. And that handover. I go around the country and I speak and they're like, love the handover from the Five. Especially when it's Greg, you know, And I never know what's coming. It's like a box of chocolates. Forrest Gump. But that one might have taken the cake because I was listening to Ebony and Ivory and I'm seeing the clock go.
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A
His face was the best thing I've ever seen.
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B
Six o', clock, 6:02.
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A
I'm like, yeah, I was doing the same thing. I'm like, 6:07. Like, no, it's fun. That was fantastic. How does. And you can be honest here. You're in a safe space. How does Brit Hume feel about Greg Gutfeld's homage to him?
- [19:24]
B
I have asked. He's like, it's not very good. Yeah. That's what he says. I should be doing the Brit Hume. Yeah. But I am going to play a compilation of Greg's best and I'm gonna play it in an interview with Britt and I think that that will be a viral moment in and of itself.
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A
Please let me know when that happens. I will. I mean, I follow you on social media. I love when you respond to people who sit things like that was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. You're not a smart person, Britt. And then you're like, thank you so much for watching. Hopefully you'll give us another chance. It's fantastic. And cheers to you on another book, may it be a bestseller.
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B
Thank you very much.
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A
Onward.
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B
Cheers.
- [20:06]
A
This has been Kennedy Saves the World. Thanks, Margarita. Happy hour with the one and only Brett Bear. I'm Kenneth. Listen ad free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts and Amazon Prime. Members can listen to this show ad free on the Amazon music app. Oh, go ahead and leave me a review while you're. While you're there, I'd love to hear what you have to say. You've been listening to Kennedy Saves the World on the Fox News podcast network.