Jay Collins: Green Beret Running for Florida Governor | Planet Tyrus

Summary

Planet Tyrus Podcast Summary: Jay Collins – Green Beret Running for Florida Governor
Episode Air Date: July 9, 2026
Host: Tyrus
Guest: Jay Collins, Florida Lieutenant Governor and Gubernatorial Candidate

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Planet Tyrus podcast features a deep-dive conversation with Jay Collins, the current Lieutenant Governor of Florida, former U.S. Army Green Beret, and 2026 candidate for Florida governor. The discussion moves beyond campaign slogans to unpack Collins' inspiring life story—from a childhood in poverty, through military service and personal tragedies, to his transition into public office. The interview is interspersed with Tyrus’ sharp humor and unscripted wit, resulting in an engaging, candid, and at times moving, portrait of resilience, patriotism, and no-nonsense conservatism.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jay Collins' Origin Story: From Poverty to Public Service

[02:05–09:00]

• Collins shares his upbringing in rural poverty, raised by grandparents after his teenage mother struggled with addiction. He credits his grandfather (“my dad”) and mother for instilling hard work and resilience.
• "No father is not a bloodline. It's a title that's earned." – Tyrus [03:18]
• Collins describes pivotal moments: overcoming injury as a student athlete, losing his father in high school, and refusing to succumb to a path of bitterness or self-pity.
• "You become resentful, bitter, and your life becomes a walking excuse... Or you walk into the fire, and you definitely did that." – Tyrus [09:04]

2. Military Service and the Green Beret Mentality

[09:14–15:18]

• Collins recounts an unlikely path into the military: initial aspirations for the NFL, entering as an intelligence specialist, meeting his wife Layla (also in counterintelligence), and eventually volunteering for Special Forces inspired by 9/11.
• He details his deployment, decision to become a Green Beret, and the values that stuck with him: "When I saw those guys [Green Berets] in action... I was like, those dudes right there. That is what I want to be.” – Jay Collins [12:38]
• The tone is peppered with both pride and humility, with Collins often making light of his hardships.

3. Combat Injury & Recovery: Perseverance Beyond the Battlefield

[13:17–20:02]

• Collins vividly recalls being shot in Afghanistan, the aftermath, and performing surgery on himself under fire. His decision to prioritize comrades over evacuation highlights his leadership and self-sacrifice.
• On losing his leg: “I didn’t lose my leg. I do know where it is. It’s just not with me anymore.” – Jay Collins [13:39]
• He describes living with life-altering injury, enduring years of pain, and rejecting powerful prescription drugs for a spinal stimulator: “I was in so much pain, I didn’t know how to deal with it... The narcotics dull the pain, but they dull everything else... One day, I just said, I’m done with that. This is not a way to live." – Jay Collins [18:51]

4. Transition from Military to Civic Service

[21:11–25:21]

• After medical retirement, Collins credits nonprofits for helping his family during tough times and is motivated to "give back."
• He discusses efforts like the Breaking Bread Tour, which fed 100,000 people, and his direct jump into politics following the Afghanistan withdrawal: “I’m not in it for the title. I wanted to get in there and do things that other people wouldn’t.” – Jay Collins [23:18]
• Tyrus labels him the “Chuck Norris of Florida politics”—a badge both humorous and serious for Collins.

5. The Florida Model: Conservative Proving Ground & Policy Substance

[25:21–29:01]

• Collins explains Florida’s political transformation post-COVID, attributing it to Ron DeSantis’ “stepping into the breach” and pragmatic, relentless leadership.
• “We have a choice. To quote Reagan: It’s a time for choosing. We can choose to be like everybody else or choose to fight and win and lead.” – Jay Collins [26:41]
• Discussion includes Florida’s massive voter shift toward the GOP, population inflow, and the state's emphasis on freedoms.

6. Taxation and the American Dream

[29:02–31:40]

• Collins details ongoing and future tax reforms targeting property taxes and championing economic opportunity, with a focus on “deeds, not words" as his mantra.
• “The American dream can never be reduced to just getting by... We’re giving people their money back because we remember two important things: The freedoms come from God, upheld by our Constitution. And it’s not the government’s money, it’s yours.” – Jay Collins [31:26]

7. Veterans’ Issues: Service, Transition & State-Led Reform

[31:41–38:55]

• Collins prioritizes veterans, highlighting the challenge of transition from active service to civilian life: “The biggest gap...is the transition.” – Jay Collins [34:55]
• Details “Operation Reveille,” a plan to identify and help veterans disconnected from VA services, leveraging statewide community partnerships.
• Bold ideas: Advocating state control over VA resources, integrating public–private partnerships, and eradicating veteran homelessness: “Good enough is not good enough. We have to demand excellence.” – Jay Collins [38:34]

8. Public Safety, Border Policy & Law Enforcement

[38:55–44:44]

• Collins is uncompromising on public safety and border security, praising Trump-era policies and state-level toughness: “In Florida, if you threaten law enforcement, you play games with ICE, you’re going to get found, arrested... We don’t play games.”
• Warns about evolving threats like drone technology, cyber operations, and insists on preparing Florida’s first responders for emerging challenges.
• “If you don’t have safety, you don’t have security, you have nothing.” – Jay Collins [44:04]

9. Bipartisanship, Empathy & Leadership

[44:45–47:31]

• Collins and Tyrus agree on the importance of leading all constituents, regardless of party: “There are those who wanna win arguments and those who wanna win. I want to win.” – Jay Collins [45:01]
• Stories of canvassing only “blue doors,” engaging in honest conversations, and converting skeptics by focusing on actual bill content.
• “My conservative values will never bend...but that doesn’t mean I hate people who disagree with me. It’s a challenge to help them remember who we are, what we stand for, and why our values matter.” – Jay Collins [47:08]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On resilience:
  “You can lay in the dirt and cry. You can get up and dust off and get back to work, man.” — Jay Collins [13:25]

• On purpose:
  “When I realized I couldn’t be an active dad... I just wanted to get back and run life on my terms.” — Jay Collins [21:38]

• On solutions:
  “If people can’t do their job, we will pull them out of office. If you can’t figure out how to hold things together, we’ll step in and show you what it looks like.” — Jay Collins [42:28]

• On Florida’s transformation:
  “Now our state has gone from basically a toss up to nearly 1.5 million voter advantage. We have to continue to fight and win. Tomorrow is never guaranteed.” — Jay Collins [25:56]

• On politics and leadership:
  “Politics wouldn’t be bad if you got rid of all the politicians.” — Jay Collins [23:59]

• On bipartisanship:
  “Sometimes we got screamed at... but you gotta be willing to step into the lion’s den, man. We are the American people. I served with people from all walks of life.” — Jay Collins [46:51]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Origin & Upbringing: 02:05–09:00
• Military/Becoming a Green Beret: 09:14–15:18
• Combat Injury & Recovery: 13:17–20:02
• Transition to Civilian Service & Politics: 21:11–25:21
• Florida as GOP Stronghold: 25:21–29:01
• Tax Reform & Economic Policy: 29:02–31:40
• Veterans Initiatives: 31:41–38:55
• Public Safety & Border Policy: 38:55–44:44
• Bipartisanship/Canvassing Stories: 44:45–47:31

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Tone and Takeaways

The tone throughout is blunt but optimistic, with both Tyrus and Collins rejecting political platitudes for straight talk, personal anecdotes, and humor. Collins comes across as driven, deeply patriotic, and grounded in personal experience, with a commitment to practical solutions and conservative principles. The episode provides a compelling argument for Florida’s model of governance, framed by Collins’ unique journey of perseverance and purpose.

Listeners are left with an authentic portrayal of a leader who has literally walked through fire—on and off the battlefield—and remains, as Tyrus puts it, “the Chuck Norris of Florida politics,” ready to win not just arguments, but meaningful change.

Transcript

[Narrator/Announcer]

This summer. Say I do.

[Jay Collins]

I am marrying a stranger like never before.

[Tyrus]

Am I crazy?

[Narrator/Announcer]

It's a whole new Married at First Sight on Peacock.

[Jay Collins]

Thank God.

[Narrator/Announcer]

I woke up in love with new experts.

[Tyrus]

My name is Dr. Lisa.

[Jay Collins]

My name is Paul Brunson.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Lord, couples, this could be the start of a very successful marriage. And more surprises. Or maybe not.

[Jay Collins]

Everything is just not enough. You're a little bit crazy. I don't know what's gonna happen. I want my fairytale ending.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Married at first sight streaming July 12th only on Peacock.

[Tyrus]

Florida is the conservative proving ground.

[Jay Collins]

We can choose to be like everybody else or choose to fight and win and lead.

[Tyrus]

They can't be responsible for it. And here you guys are working on to actually lower taxes.

[Jay Collins]

We're giving people their money back because we remember two important things. The freedoms come from God, upheld by our Constitution. And it's not the government's money. It's yours.

[Tyrus]

What it is, well, you know who it is. It literally says it on the wall. But I'm Tyrus, and this is Planet Tyrus podcast. Today I have a very special guest. Lieutenant Governor of Florida, former U.S. army Green Beret and 2026 Florida governor candidate. Very excited to have Mr. Jay Collins on today. He is Florida's 21st lieutenant governor. He. He was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis on August 12, 2025. And that was after Collins served in the Florida Senate representing the Tampa area. Mild stomping grounds. And so without further delay, we're going to bring the Lieutenant Governor on and talk about some stuff. I live in Florida, so as a potential voter, I'm going to hear what he has to say about great many things. He has a very interesting life. And let's roll. Lieutenant Governor, can you hear me? Boss?

[Jay Collins]

I got you. Tyrus, how you doing?

[Tyrus]

Oh, man, I'm doing phenomenal. Living the dream. How are you doing, sir?

[Jay Collins]

Man blessed. So vertical roaming around Florida. What more could you ask for?

[Tyrus]

You know, you have a very unusual story. You know, you're a Green Beret. You. You lost a leg, you came back, you kept serving people. You know, there's a word that's thrown around in politics a lot, toughness, which I never think really fits, but I think you're the actual definition of that. So can you take us a little bit to your origin story when you were growing up as a kid? What was it? Family? Was it situational that led you to a life of service?

[Jay Collins]

Yeah. So, you know, it's pretty interesting. Long before I was a military dude, I grew up in poverty you know, and I was born to a 16 year old kid. She had drug issues, she had some alcohol issues, and you know, she just wasn't ready to be a parent. My grandparents brought me in. Eventually they adopted me. They gave me hope and opportunity, a home and, you know, grew up on a farm, hard working, you know, my dad until his last day. My grandfather, who I call my dad.

[Tyrus]

Oh, I, I get it. We have a very similar thing. My mom was, was 15.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

So I always got completely guilty.

[Jay Collins]

I feel like I have to preempt it sometimes, you know, it's very confusing.

[Tyrus]

No father is, is not a bloodline. It's a title that's earned.

[Jay Collins]

That's exactly it, brother. Look, man. So he taught me hard work, grit. That man was up at the crack of dawn, working his tail off. Went to bed, got up, did it again. It was just that, that yeoman approach. He was a World War II vet. My mom, she did everything she could. He got out of school in the eighth grade. She was like a tenth grade dropout. Got her GED later, you know, my dad passed away in high school. My mom had a bit of a rough time. And you do what you got to do, right?

[Tyrus]

Right.

[Jay Collins]

I graduated high school, went off to college for a couple years. Thought I was going to be in the NFL. Realized that probably wasn't the dream. I wasn't tall enough, fast enough. I wasn't strong enough or good enough. And joined the army. Became an intel guy. Got shot, blown up eventually as a Green Beret. But you know, it's a little bit of where you come from. Growing up in poverty, man, you appreciate it. I didn't have to argue about what I wanted. We didn't have everything we needed. When you grow up on commodity cheese and on and off of food stamps, you just appreciate what you have. My kids, brother, they're never going to know where I came from. They're never going to know what that was like. I grew up in a trailer. They grew up outside the governor's mansion. Yeah.

[Tyrus]

You know, and it's, it's so funny because. Or it's such a point to where going through those times when you're on food stamps or you're having without and being aware of your surroundings and understanding that other kids have what you don't have. So there's always the kids at school also let you know when you don't have. Your clothes aren't like theirs and et cetera. But there is two paths with that. You become resentful, bitter, and your life Becomes a walking excuse. You want what other people have, but you don't do the work you would rather steal. So there is a path that you could go on and there's that other path where the only way I'm going to get out of this is by working hard and believing in myself. And those things I'm assuming was instilled to you by your parents because that's a tough road. And I guarantee, I'm sure there was moments where there was that you had to make those kind of choices. You know, fellows like, hey, we're all going to go do this, you know, can you take us through some of that stuff? Because there had to be some moments where you had to be a life changing decision.

[Jay Collins]

Tyrus. Yeah, that's exactly it, man. You grow up in poverty, there was alcohol around everywhere, there was drugs around everywhere. And you had a choice. You. You know, my family wasn't on the right side of the tracks, right? Like it just. They weren't a successful family. Everything got lost. It's all the makings of a great country song, right? When I was in the special forces qualification course, my sister died of a drug overdose. Just, it's just one of those things, you know, it teaches you this. But growing up, man, we didn't have anything. So when you're out there, I just decided that I wasn't going to be brought down. I saw honestly as a young kid, you know, going through all these things, I saw people hooked on the system. I had been told, you're not going to amount to anything, you know, you have no future. I heard this over and over and over. I saw where my parents came from and I made a decision. You know, clearly one day I think it was my. It was my sophomore year in high school. I just hurt my neck. The last year I was a freshman, came in, thought I was, you know, the big stuff and ended up ripping a lot of the muscles in my neck. And I realized that, man, what are you going to do if all this gets taken away? What little bit you have, what do you do with it? So I refused to quit. I broke my neck for functional theory, functional approach. Tore all the muscles loose. I found out I had a small birth defect in my neck where there was more cartilage. That likely saved my life. And after that, man, I just made a decision. When they decided to pull out and go do things, I came in and I focused on what mattered to me, where I wanted to go and how I wanted to do this. I had like a. I don't even know how low my GPA was, to be honest with you at this point. But I wasn't exactly an exemplary student. Right, Right. Wasn't paying attention to things that matter. And, you know, when my dad passed away my junior year, I remember it clear as, I'll get out, man. He was making strange sounds when he slept. And I didn't know really necessarily how to handle this. But you go in and you see that I gotta do something because I can see what's going on. So I cleared his mouth, rolled him, got him breathing, called 911, got him in the ambulance, drove to town. They got him stable, was able to talk to him that day, and he died the next morning.

[Tyrus]

Wow.

[Jay Collins]

Unfortunately, my mom had a really hard time. They had been together for years. She came from a very unique family. She had 20 siblings. So you can imagine what life was like for that.

[Tyrus]

That's unique. That's. That's. That's a lot of. It's a lot of mouths to feed.

[Jay Collins]

Right. And, you know, she really veered down that road. And there were times when I lived in my. I stopped in my truck. There were times I slept with my girlfriend's grandparents, and there were times I stayed at friends houses. But in the end, man, I just wanted to get out of high school, get on and live life on my terms. And I wasn't going to be caught. I wanted just to get free and have the opportunity to be me and do what I wanted to do, and I wasn't going to get stopped. That's really the decision I made. Those two events, the tipping point where I became, I guess, who I was going to be to a degree, you

[Tyrus]

know, and it ended up becoming your. Your DNA. It ended up becoming instilled in your DNA. Because, brother.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah.

[Tyrus]

You know that there are people who

[Jay Collins]

just get beat up in life, right?

[Tyrus]

Yeah. Well, there's two things.

[Narrator/Announcer]

You.

[Tyrus]

You can lay down and curl up in a ball, or you.

[Jay Collins]

Exactly.

[Tyrus]

Or you walk into the fire, and you definitely did that. And then on top of that, as if you hadn't been through enough, you end up becoming a Green Beret.

[Jay Collins]

Yep.

[Tyrus]

And was that. When did you decide that you want to become a Green Beret? That's a very specific. I mean, you had. I mean, you already been through. You already graduated from the school of hard knocks with honors. So it wasn't like you weren't prepared for anything. As much as the tragedy that you. That you went through, it also prepares you.

[Jay Collins]

Sure does.

[Tyrus]

And you have a different point of view. You also Know, life is precious and you can't really. You have to. When you have a chance, you take it. You learn to bet on yourself at a young age. So here you are, you've already accomplished a lot. You're in the military, and then you decide to become a Green Beret. Did they bring that to you? Was that something you volunteered for? Like, take us through that?

[Jay Collins]

Yeah. So I didn't really know what a Green Beret was until later in my military career, to be honest. I joined in 1996. I was in the National Guard for a little bit. They kicked me out when I wrecked my knee in college and joined to be an intel guy. I honest to God thought I was going to be James Bond. I wrecked my acl, mcl, busted up my knee pretty bad and just got to make a choice. They offered me a hospital, tech, admin guy or Intel. So I was like, all right, well, none of those sound great. That's tri Intel, James Bond, right?

[Tyrus]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Jay Collins]

So I jumped in, showed up. It was not James Bond, man. But God's plan is so much bigger than ours, dude. I didn't know what I didn't know growing up. I came from poverty. I had to learn strategy, communications, operations. I had to learn leadership. I saw some great ones and some really bad ones and I learned to differentiate the two. I did that for several years, ended up in the UK, got sent to Arizona for a school for 5 months. True story. Thought that I was going to go there, knock it out, get some money, and go back to the UK where I was stationed. I met my wife, Layla. She was a counterintel agent. You know, she was way closer to James Bond than I ever was. Just for the record. Yeah, but you know, it's. You find that person who's kind of your ride or die, right? You can see it. And this is crazy. The moment she caught my attention, it wasn't at a party, it wasn't at anything. It was out doing a land navigation course. Dead serious. She had dropped her scorecard and rather than quit, which she didn't need to do this, she was so focused on doing this right? And following through and getting everything done. She went back on her own. I was like, well, someone's got to follow her. No one did. So I went with her. We went back miles, then we came hauling back. Made the times. We graduated with honors. Amazing. But when you see somebody who is so dedicated to. To doing the right thing, I was like that person I need in my life. We ended up dating for two months, ran off to Vegas, got married, and we're still married to this day, 25 years later.

[Tyrus]

Wow. You should write a book on that.

[Jay Collins]

We might.

[Tyrus]

An instructional manual. Probably be for some of us out

[Jay Collins]

there, but, you know, when we got stationed back in the. In the United States at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it was pre 9 11. I was in jump school for September 11, 2001. And when we hit the ground and we realized what had happened hours after the event, it was a game changer. The whole world has shifted. So I wrapped up jump school in Fort Benning, went to Fort Bragg, and quickly got deployed to Tampa, Florida, of all places. Where I call home now. Right?

[Tyrus]

Yep. I lived in Tampa for a little while.

[Jay Collins]

Brother, I love it. And we saw people from socom, centcom, Green Berets, our tier one assets, and we saw the inner agency, and I saw them and I was like, I don't know who those guys are, but whatever they are, I'm going to do that. I wrapped up the deployment and volunteered to go to selection. Became a Green Beret. I couldn't have told you anything about what they did other than I'd seen Rambo and John Wayne, but I saw them and in real life, and I was like, those dudes right there. That is what I want to be.

[Tyrus]

So you accomplished that goal, and then you had a tragedy.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah, well, you know, it happens. It turns out getting shots bad for you.

[Tyrus]

Yeah. Apparently you're allergic to it.

[Jay Collins]

Well, look, man, you said it earlier, it's one of those lines. I lean on, you can lay in the dirt and cry. You can get up and dust off and get back to work, man. You know, And I want to make a clear, you know, line here. I didn't lose my leg, Tyrus. I do know where it is.

[Tyrus]

Yes.

[Jay Collins]

It's just not with me anymore.

[Tyrus]

Right.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah, yeah. It's okay. I live in Tampa. It's a city of pirates, man.

[Tyrus]

Right. But it's not like. It's not like you have it in a glass case in your living room. Like, yeah, you know, this goes with me when my time's up, you know, you put it up.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah. Yeah. No, you know, it was good. So I did get shot in Afghanistan circa 2007. It really is not awesome. So for those of you who don't know, now, you know, and I had that, an opportunity to make a choice. I could sit there and go off in the helicopter. I was a senior medic and, you know, a senior guy in the team where I could treat the other people, prioritize them and get them out on the bird. So I waved off medevac. All in all, I'd lost about a liter of blood. It was kind of leaky. We ended up doing surgery on myself in the field. I did a fasciotomy on my arm, like right here. Opened it up, saved my arm. I do have two hands, though, so that's pretty awesome. One leg. So you had.

[Tyrus]

You made a tough choice. You did and you did.

[Jay Collins]

But you know what?

[Tyrus]

I'm just.

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Tyrus]

The average person, once they went through that ptsd, massive depression, a bitterness, you know, because your life was going to be changed in terms of your of service forever after that, you know, was it. Was that a difficult period for you or, you know, you had your wife, you had your. You had your. The guys you served with, did you had a. You, I'm assuming, just based off your conversations, you had good people around you, or was there a period where you just didn't know what your next move was going to be?

[Jay Collins]

Yeah, to be honest with you, I got hit. I didn't get medevaced right away. I did the surgery, closed it up, stayed on the firebase for a couple days. I flew back. I had four more surgeries in tear and couch. I didn't even leave the country. Came back 30 days later and got back to work. I wasn't about to leave my guys. We were there, deployed at the ragged edge of freedom. And I'll be danged if I was going to let anybody get hit when I couldn't be there to do my part. Later on that trip, I got to be there the first time they tried to overrun a fire base. So I ate a mortar, fell off the rooftop. I landed, messed up my back, rounded out my T spine, like the bones up there, the spinal processes, and I blew out most of my lower back. But what do you do again? Man, you get up, you dust off. My leg was still attached. I had a bunch of rocks and crap all over my body armor. You open it up, clear it out, and you get back up and fight. So we did that. And the simple fact is I wasn't again. Again. I wasn't going to let somebody else get hit. I had no clue how bad I had been hurt. You know, that moment could have absolutely changed my entire life. For the negative, right? But the thing that can break you is the very thing that makes you who you're meant to be, right? God doesn't promise us it'll be easy, but we can get through it with him. It takes heat and pressure to temper steel. And the people around you are the ones in special operations, in sports, as a Green Beret, that you fight before and fight besides. I knew they were there. I knew they had my back. And it's easy to be strong and resilient with people like that around you. So we fought, we won. The day went back to Fort Bragg and I continued on my way. I didn't even worry about getting treated. I didn't even think it was that bad. My leg continued to rot off my body, Tyrus, for the next almost seven years. Finally, in January of 14, when they cut it off, the hair had fallen out, the toenails had fallen out. The skin was basically like blue. I was in a brace up to my hip to walk, run, jump, do things like a Green Beret does. And the pain was ridiculous. I was this constant burning, this just nasty pain that you couldn't get away from. But you can get used to that, right?

[Tyrus]

You can shut it off, you numb up.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah, yeah, that's right. But it was the explosions of that neuropathic pain, dude, it was like someone sucked the air out of your chest. It was an explosion, you just couldn't pay attention.

[Tyrus]

A lot of times when someone has a life changing injury like that or is going through that, they look for medicine in other ways. And I always say, which a lot of people, when someone becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, a lot of times people kind of forget in the beginning it was a search for medicine. They were trying to feel better for whatever was going on inside them. Did that had to be there, you know?

[Jay Collins]

Oh, for sure. Tyrus, you're the first person who's ever asked that question. So kudos, brother. Look, when you're there, I was in so much pain, I didn't know how to deal with it.

[Tyrus]

Right.

[Jay Collins]

You know, they give you Percocet, then they give you this, then they give you that, then you're on Neurontin, you're on Lyrica, you're on Keppra. And they all have side effects. You know, a lot of those neuropathic medications, they mess with your brain. You can't think. You can't. I felt like I was underwater all day, every day. The narcotics dull the pain, but they dull everything else. Your body just starts to spiral. I just said, I'm done with that. One day, they wanted to put a Dilaudid pump in me, and I was like, absolutely not. This is not a way to live. I don't care if I'm in pain 24 hours a day. This is done. They actually put what's called a spinal stimulator in me. It was a little box they embedded in my lower right back. And then they ran wires up and down my spine. And what it did was basically run electrical current up and down there. And it worked like static, like on the old TV channels. The static noise. All I can tell you is it disrupted how the pain felt. I don't even know how to explain it. It was pfm. Pure magic, right? You know what the F stands for? And you just had to deal with it.

[Tyrus]

So you went from James Bond to the Terminator. Basically.

[Jay Collins]

I got some spare parts.

[Tyrus]

Right? It's okay. You know, it's funny because Governor Desantis, quote, calls you the Chuck Norris of Florida politics. Anyone being referred to in Chuck Norris in any way, to me, that is the. One of the greatest compliments a man could ever get. I would say John Wayne would be underneath, but, I mean, Chuck Norris is a pretty. Is a pretty impressive nickname. Now you've. You get through the military, what. That's a huge jump to go from service to politics. How did that even ha. Like, was that something? Because everything we talked about, you didn't ever strike me as a guy, was like, you know what? I want to be a part. You wanted to work with your hands. You wanted to give your part. You care. You know, so then you go from that to the. To the suit and the tie and. And. And talking to people. But at the same time, I understand why. Because you still wanted to be in service, so I. I get that. So was that. What was the. What was the connective tissue that brought you to politics from such a strong military background?

[Jay Collins]

Well, you know, after I requalified, it was nonprofits that were there for me. It wasn't the army. It wasn't the va it was nonprofits and people I didn't know from places I'd never been. They took care of my family, Tyrus. And you got to give back, right? Like, the gratitude I have to some of those people is beyond anything I could explain because they really helped motivate me. They gave me the tools. And I felt so guilty. Not because of being injured or any of that, but because I couldn't be an active dad. Because I didn't feel like I was living to my end of the bargain with my wife. And every time they would do something that separated me from them, it drove more frustration, anger, more guilt. And I just wanted to go back and run life on my terms. But when I requalified, I promised them I'd only do as many years as I could. And when it became so hard to keep up because there's only one standard. You meet it or you don't, I had to earn it. You know, I requalified in everything I had to do from shooting, moving, communicating, fast rope and repelling static line jumps, free fall, jumps, day, night, everything. Because you got to be qualified as a Green Beret. And I said, that's it. After five years, I got into the non profit sector. I wanted to give back in a new way. I actually ran a bike across America like Johnny Appleseed with brisket.

[Tyrus]

Oh, wow.

[Jay Collins]

We fed 100,000 people meals. We called it the Breaking Bread tour. That's actually, I think, where politics started to become a thing. I wanted to prove that words have meaning and we, the American people, have more in common than those things that separate us. We just get the nonsense out of the way. You know, these things that divide our nation. Our people have opportunity. They need leadership that remembers what our Constitution is, but it is the sacrifice and what we're serving for and why it's worth protecting. So I served 14 million meals after hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes. We gave back to veterans, first responders. But Covid in Afghanistan, man, that was a bridge too far. We saw the Biden administration destroy American families. We saw them muzzle our kids. I don't know if we're going to know the second, third, and fourth order issues that that caused developmentally for quite some time.

[Tyrus]

Yeah, I agree.

[Jay Collins]

Then we saw Afghanistan, man, we turned off the power and the lights and we fled in the middle of the night. Whether you wanted to be there for two years, 10 years, or 20, you enter the field of battle with honor. You leave with honor. What he did was a disgrace. We got calls from people in Afghanistan being hunted down and eradicated because he served alongside us. So I jumped into politics. I literally jumped in cold, called members of Congress, I'm going to quote Liam Neeson. I had a certain set of skills. So we figured it out. And it wasn't because I wanted to wear a suit. It wasn't because I gave A crap about a title. It's because I wanted to get in there and do things that other people wouldn't. Politics. It wouldn't be bad if you got rid of all of the politicians. If people would just focus on leadership, doing what matters and saying real stuff, it would be a lot more tolerable,

[Tyrus]

you know, because being referred to as the Chuck Norris of politics, which means it's not just a compliment, it's also a warning. It is, you know, to the other people. This guy is. He is you. You're playing for keeps and you're taking it certain. Now it says here that you were. One of your quotes, you have, you have said, and I find it very interesting, Florida is the conservative proving ground. And because Florida, in my lifetime and yours too, like Florida went from. It was kind of liberal, then it got kind of mixed. And then we saw with. With President Trump and stuff and DeSantis that it became read basically in a very short amount of time. Do you think that was just what was going on in the state to where the people were just like, we've tried it this way and the conservative way seems to work and you. And or is it because the politicians like yourselves, you didn't make promises you couldn't keep and you. And if it was something that wasn't getting done, it was because of opposition or was it just a combination of both?

[Jay Collins]

Well, I think it's always a combinative approach, but, man, you've got to have a catalyst, right? Something's got to light that match for our nation. The powder keg was the Tea Party, the harbor, right? Tea and no taxation without representation. Covid, man, we saw government overreach again beyond belief. Generational loss of businesses. People were fleeing New York, New Jersey, California. They just didn't know where to go. But you know, when President Biden and all of his people, all of his lackeys were attacking, attacking, attacking, there was one person in Florida who stood up and said, none of that makes sense. Ron DeSantis stepped into the breach and he led. And it was amazing to see because when he did that, what happened? Other people started to marshal beside him. When they tell you one person can't make a difference, man, they're full of it. Now our state has gone from basically a toss up to nearly 1.5 million voter advantage. And you know what? We've got to be relentless. Never stop, keep pressing. We got to push to 2 million, then 2.5. We have to continue to fight and win. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. You've got to fight and win today, to get to tomorrow. And it was that leadership. The people had enough. And when we were worried about mass migration destroying Florida and turning it blue, it was actually political refugees who were like, look, I just left the People's Republic of California. I'm done. I want freedom. I'm coming to Florida. And that's really what happened here. And you've seen this great resurgence. You know, we have a choice. To quote Reagan, brother, it's a time for choosing. We can choose to be like everybody else or choose to fight and win

[Tyrus]

and lead, you know, because Florida has kind of become. It went from being considered like a hick state. So, like, it's on the front. It's on the. It's literally elections, you guys, elections are done. You know, it's not. Are they still making counting for the Mayo race in California? I think they are. I think it's, like, still out there. And Florida has tightened up. They learned their lessons from the Bush Gore situation, and that's all you can do is get better. Now, to say that you and Governor DeSantis have not had a successful run in Florida. You've made amazing improvements. You've been very focused on lower taxation. You know, the latest. The thing is, you're working on, I think it was like land tax or estate tax, property taxes and stuff. Those things to the average American might seem small, but it is a different. Especially when you lose a loved one or a family member. It is. And they, they want to pass something down to you. A lot of times what ends up happening is they can't afford the taxes, you know, and that, that, to me, is an outrage, you know, and it's. I don't think government was ever designed for this much taxation, you know, and clearly we see with all the taxation of the entire United States that there's so much fraud from government officials that it's clearly they're getting too big of a check. They can't be responsible for it. And here you guys are working on to actually lower taxes. Cut taxing is not just a slogan, but you're actually working for it. I, I, My family, we live in Florida. We do feel the, the, the difference. There's a reason why I don't live in New York or California besides the pack. I'm not big on socialism, but the taxation is just unbelievable. And you don't see any bang for your buck.

[Jay Collins]

That's right.

[Tyrus]

And. And I was not. And, and you are now running for governor.

[Jay Collins]

I am.

[Tyrus]

And are you. Is that on your platform? Is that something that you're going to continue to carry the torch? Because I think you have, your team has proven you guys can not just talk about it, but do it. And is that something you're going to continue to do?

[Jay Collins]

Yeah. So one of the, the slogans I've kept with me since I first worked in the special operations community is deeds, not words. I don't care what you say, man, get up, get in the game, play and win. Put the, put the points out there. You've got to win. And if you're not, then I don't care what you say. It doesn't matter. It's deeds, not words. And yes, absolutely, economic freedom, economic opportunity, it is what we dream of. The American dream can never be reduced to just getting by, just eking out a living, man. You see the left trying to frame this all the time. And in Florida, we just choose to be different. We do, we choose to do it the way we do it. And when you talked about it earlier, the conservative proving grounds. Look, we've done many of the things that you are seeing manifest across the country at the federal level and at other states, and I want it that way. You've got to be bold, conservative, you've got to be relentless, and you got to be willing to step in the gap and just eat it, face first if you have to, because you're protecting your people. We're protecting the country, brother. I love this nation. There is no thing like it. I have seen most of the world. America is, it was and it always has to be worth dying for, bleeding for, fighting for if necessary. But if we're going to do that, we're a republic. And in a republic, states have responsibility. States lead. Anything not clearly enumerated in the Constitution is a state right issue. And I'm going to press the game. I'm going to lead, I'm going to push. We're going to be very aggressive in leading as a state. So property tax, yes, we have no income tax. Soon we'll have very little property tax on your homesteaded property. In 27 will be 151st, $150,000 of your home. In, in 28, it'll be the first quarter of a million dollars of your home. And then five years later, it'll be the first $500,000 of your homestead will be tax free. That's the American dream. That's putting money right back in your pockets. And you look at states like California who want to have a wealth tax, who want to do this tax, that tax, we're giving people their money back because we remember two important things. The freedoms come from God, upheld by our Constitution. And it's not the government's money, it's yours.

[Tyrus]

That's a great answer now. And as a veteran, thank you for your service. And that's something that we all hear quite a bit. You know, people say they get thanked a lot, but many of the struggles, they come home and it's a lot of it is they find one of the things about men and women who serve in the military is they have purpose and they have goals. And then they go from that to coming home and not having purpose anymore. And I think that leads to, I think that is almost more dangerous and a bigger form of PTSD of just not knowing what to do with yourself anymore when you have been trained to have purpose. And one of my questions would be one thing. Government, businesses, or regular citizens, I always feel like we can do more for veterans. What are some things that you would like to see in place to give veterans coming home who have paid with blood, sweat and tears, have seen things that most Americans will never have to see, Some things for them to help them to be in position to find purpose? We don't see veterans on the side of the street with a sign, you know, and I know that's very near and dear to you, but if there's some things that you would do differently or some things that you would implement when you became governor.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah, absolutely. So when I came in as a state senator, Tyrus, I had a four year strategy for what I wanted to do in almost every bin within our economy and with our, within our system. There were things that I had seen that seemed nonsensical. There were things that, as a bit of an insider in the veteran community, I knew could be fixed. Most people wouldn't even understand it. Right. It's just not in their lexicon. So yes, absolutely, let's just strip it down. We have nearly 1.5 million veterans, 1.2 million spouses, 2.2 million voting age or adult children of veterans. That's an incredible footprint. We have 20 military installations, but within that 1.5 million people. Less than half have a connection to the va. Less than half. So one of my day one issues is what I call Operation Reveille. We are going to go find the other veterans who aren't connected to the va. We're going to work with churches, we're going to work with law enforcement, firefighters, we're going to work with nonprofits, and we are going to go county by county, city by city, until we find our people. And we let them know that in America and absolutely in Florida, we do not leave anybody behind. You're going to make sure that you have an opportunity to get what you had coming with the VA promised you, and we're here for you now. If you choose to opt out, man, that is okay, but it will not be because we didn't do our part. We're gonna get them lined up. The biggest gap in all of the military as you go into veteran status is the transition. And, man, I had 23 years. I was in charge of large formations. I was a Green Beret. I did pretty cool things around the globe. I had seen and done things and I felt like I had opportunity, but I was really kind of nervous, man. I didn't know if what I knew and how I knew how to do it had any forbearing any value in the private sector. I hadn't been there, you know, something as benign as getting health insurance. I'd never done it. I didn't know how dental insurance worked. I had no clue. I'd never done those things. So when I'm talking to Jobs and doing interviews, they're giving me all these benefits and I realize, man, I'm a day late, a dollar short, and I better learn really, really fast how we talk, how we resonate, how we think is different than those people. And as a state, I think that we can do a lot more by working with the federal government, working with our local communities, than we're going to establish as part of reveille Operation Reveille.

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[Jay Collins]

required a transition program along all 20 major installations, aligning with the nonprofits that don't just check the box, that actually invest in our people. I want them connected to the community. I want them set up with opportunity. And what I want is for those people who sign that dotted line, who put their neck on the line, I want them to know that we're not going to leave them behind. We're going to give you an opportunity to lead, grow, and become, you know, comfortable in that space. But here's my ask. I want veterans to continue to do what they do best. Step up, step in and lead. That's what I want to see, veterans serving. Because, man, as a veteran, you have probably been to a country that was trying to kill you. You have solved complex problems with bubble gum and duct tape and you have come out the other side a little bit better, a little bit wiser. And you have friends from every race, every creed, every color, every demographic group, some who are rich, some who are poor, someone who had great families, and some like mine, where I didn't even know most of my family. And that's okay. You all serve the same cloth, the flag, our nation. And here in Florida, we're going to make sure we lead on those issues. There are individual things you can do, but those two things are the most important pieces we can do, because it all starts with that transition. I'm going to put pressure on the va. Tyrus, I think it's time to do some big, hairy, audacious goals. The bhag, as Jim Collins says, I think it's time to block, budget the money from the feds to the states. I want states to lead. I want veterans to vote with their feet. I want states like Florida to step in and take over the VA hospitals. I want them to combine that with our nursing homes and what we do as a state. The VA is so big, I think it should become more of a best practice, is pass that down and let the states be responsible for their people. Let them lead. That is how our government works best. That is what President Trump has been pushing. I love the. The fact that he is pressing forward to give states ownership and leadership. And when we do that, I promise you we can save money and make sure that with veteran homelessness, let's eradicate that. I think you take a lot of those VA hospitals, you use that footprint and you use it as a public private partnership. Let the government own the building, let for profit nonprofits come in and do what they do. You can't tell me that organizations like Tunnel the Towers, Gary Sinise, America's Fund, all these great orgs can't come together and help and veteran homelessness. They are experts in industry. You can put together wraparound care, healthcare, mental health, job opportunity, retraining skills to follow up to our oath to not leave people behind. Good enough is not good enough. We have to demand excellence, excellence in everything we do. And I think that strategy is something that veterans can get behind.

[Tyrus]

I feel you. It's inspiring. Just hear you say it now, I know another thing you're big on is public safety, and it's a major part of your message. When we look at drug trafficking, the border crime, what do you think the state should be doing right now instead of waiting for Washington?

[Jay Collins]

Well, first off, you got to give President Trump his thanks.

[Tyrus]

You got to tip his hat to him. And I, when he was on the Gutfeld show, I didn't know that night I was there, I was thinking, I was just making jokes. I didn't realize that I was going to be a part of making policy, because I had asked him the question if we could, if he would consider changing, recognizing drug dealers and countries that are shipping drugs in this country as terrorists, which would change the way we could deal with them and law enforcement could worry about what's happening in the States. He said, you know, it's a good idea. I might have to think about that. And I was sitting on my couch in Florida watching TV with my family, and lo and behold, there's a little boat shows up on the screen, breaking news. It gets blown up. And I remember my wife went, no. And I was like, did I? She's like, and to this day, she won't give me my, my roses for it. But, but that changed the entire game because now there, and it just happened a few nights ago, I think one of the biggest gang leaders, sex people, traffickers, drug dealers, just got blown up in his house. So, I mean, it's like the, the message is loud and clear, and I think the states can piggyback on that. Do you, are you seeing stiffer, stiffer crimes for bringing in drugs and things like that? And obviously Florida is, is works hand in hand with ice. That's not an issue in the great state of Florida because we're a law enforcement state, so. And we should be. And it's, it's really laughable. There's a lot of questions in there, but it's really laughable when, when you see how our, our men and women ICE are treated.

[Jay Collins]

Yeah, it's hot garbage in other states, man. It's unacceptable. But, you know, you've got to give. President Trump has flowers. Tip the hat, however you want to phrase it. One, he closed the border, right? Stop the, stop the leak, man. Turn off the plumbing. Stop letting the water in the, in the country. Thank goodness he did that. And then block, you know, pushing the power down to the states, saying, look, we expect you to lead an emergency. We expect you to step up. Every state's a border state, man. People have Come in everywhere under the Biden administration. We know it was a minimum of 1.1 million people dropped in our state without coordination, likely upwards of 2 million people we had no clue about illegal immigrants dropped off in our country. The threats, the risk, the math problems all get worse. We lose $6 billion a year because of illegal immigration. So, yes, you have to lead on those issues. 287. We stand alongside all of our law enforcement, from Border Patrol to ice, everybody in between, from the top to the bottom, federal, state and local. And I'll tell you, man, you got to give kudos to President Trump and his team on this. Again, I have seen more collaboration from the federal government, the state government, the local government in the last couple years than I have in my entire life around the system. It's amazing to see. But, you know, in Florida, if you threaten law enforcement, you play games with ice, you're going to get found, arrested, you're going to get prosecuted, and you're going to pay the price for what you did. We stand alongside them. We don't play games. But when it comes to tough on crime policies, brother, we don't do that, man. We are not going to play games. No Soros, nonsense here. If people can't do their job, we will pull them out of office. We've shown that. If you can't figure out how to hold things together, well, we'll step in and show you what it looks like. We don't need indoctrination. None of this DEI nonsense, none of the climate alarmism. We focus on facts, we focus on the people. We focus on winning. We're the American people. We have more in common than those things that divide us. You just got to hold people accountable, understand where those limits are and demand excellence moving forward. Our people in law enforcement, brother, they are community heroes, community leaders. They're owed the time, the tools, the training necessary to complete their mission and get back home to their families. But you want to know what scares me? The world's evolving so fast because of war overseas. In the Middle east, in Europe, everywhere, you see drones, drone swarms, cyber offensive operations. You see all of this evolving rapidly. It's only a matter of time before it comes to the cartels, before it seeps into cities, right? I used to get stressed out when you would see law enforcement or military not having the tools back when I served. It's the same way now. You got to make sure they have that. And, you know, in this race, dude, there are people in this race for governor who have a very Soft on crime approach. And you can never devolve back. You can never become like California. If you don't have safety, you don't have security, you have nothing. Look around the world.

[Tyrus]

No, you know what? And again, now the whole Chuck Norris nickname makes sense. Absolutely no nonsense. But there is a passion there because you're.

[Jay Collins]

That's right.

[Tyrus]

You're a family man. And you're thinking you want the same things, the same protections that you have in your household. You want to share them with every Floridian you know, and you want. And. And I don't think. And not one time have you said one disparaging thing about a Democrat. You're there to lead everyone. Everyone has different ideas. And I. I'm assuming that you're pretty open. If someone comes to you with a good idea, you don't give a damn how they vote. You know, preferably you like them to vote for you. But I'm saying if a Democrat comes to you and says, I have this idea, you're the type of guy that's gonna hear it out. You're there to the best. You know, you want the best ideas from the brightest people and you don't care where it comes. President Trump's the same way. You guys are very similar in that aspect in terms of willing to talk to anyone.

[Jay Collins]

It's about winning.

[Tyrus]

Yeah.

[Jay Collins]

There are two types of people in politics. There are those who wanna win arguments and those who wanna win. Man, I hate losing. Losing hurts my soul. It does everything inside me. I demand excellence. I want to win. I expect to win. So you can't be so arrogant that you push people's ideas aside. If you want to win, you got to do the little things. You got to put the effort in and you got to lead from the front. Look, when we went out and ran my Senate race, I had never been in politics. I didn't know my head from a hole in the ground. I didn't know consultants and all the games. I knew how our Constitution worked. I'd been on the ragged edge of freedom, and. And I went door to door to door. We didn't knock on a single conservative door, only blue doors and swing doors. And you know what? We won by 10 in a D plus 3. Because I didn't hide from it. I said, hey, I'm Jay Collins, man. I am pro God. I'm pro gun. I'm pro life. This is who I am, and this is what I believe. Sometimes we got screamed at hostile words. But there were also times when that happened. Those people would chase us down the street and they would have a conversation that was during the time of the don't say Gay bill, that actually didn't say don't say gay. Right. It was all branding by the. You know, by the other side of the aisle. And we would go back and forth. It was like a Seinfeld episode. And they would eventually get to the point of say something like, well, you don't want me to have my kids. You don't want me to be happy. It's like that. What are you talking about? I want you to.

[Tyrus]

It doesn't even make sense to me. Because if you didn't want them, they wouldn't have them. You wouldn't. You wouldn't announce it. You wouldn't be like, hey, I'm going to take your kids and sick. You would just show up and take them.

[Jay Collins]

Right. Like, that's not how this works.

[Tyrus]

No, it's not. It sounds good, though. It sounds good on msnbc, you know.

[Jay Collins]

That's right. So we'd have a conversation and I said, I bet this is about the bill. I carried the bill with me. And they would look at the bill and they would be stressed out, and you could see their face softening, and you would see this countenance change. And then they'd look at you and they'd say something like, this can't be the bill. I agree with everything in this. Well, congratulations, you're a Republican. Would you like a yard sign?

[Tyrus]

Yeah.

[Jay Collins]

You know what? They took the signs. They voted for me. They still vote Republican. You gotta be willing to step into the lion's den, man. We are the American people. I served with people from all walks of life. My conservative values will never bend. They will never break. But that doesn't mean that I hate people who don't agree with me. It's a challenge to help them remember who we are, what we stand for, and why our values matter.

[Tyrus]

Yeah. Because policy is one thing, the human condition is another.

[Jay Collins]

And that's right.

[Tyrus]

Yeah. We don't have to agree on policy, but we can be. We can be decent to one another. I think that's. And that's. I think. And that's definitely. You've shown it today. Hey, man, I wish you best of luck in the upcoming election. And I think based on just what I'm hearing, that's a pretty strong sell to me. I think. There was no bullshit in this conversation. You didn't give me one political answer, and I thank you for that, because I cannot stand talking to politicians. It's annoying. And you always. You're not really sure sometimes. We've met, we shook hands, seemed like a cool dude, but then sit down and talk to you. And you were exactly how you were today. As you were when I met you with no cameras on. And for that, man, I really appreciate you and wish you the best of luck and. And come back after the election and we'll talk about it.

[Jay Collins]

You got it, brother. Appreciate it.

[Tyrus]

Yes, sir. Thank you, man. Be well.

[Jay Collins]

All right. See you now.

[Tyrus]

You, too. All right.