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- [00:00]
Emily Finn
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
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- [00:35]
Emily Finn
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for tuning in to American Sunrise Early Edition. It is Thursday, October 2nd, and we have so many top stories to dive into this morning. It's shut down day two. Efforts to end the shutdown yesterday failed, and now Congress won't be back in session for at least another day, which means that shutdown day three is also guaranteed. And call it instant karma. As soon as we learn that New York State is giving illegal aliens no name commercial driving driver's licenses. The Trump administration freezes $18 billion worth of transportation funding for the Empire State for other infractions, including DEI contracting policies. Will the loss of the cold, hard cash finally bring New York to sanity? We're going to be discussing all of that. And in Portland, antifa gangs continue to run wild. They continue to control the downtown area, especially at night. We'll show you the latest from Portland. And a day after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers perhaps the clearest, most transparent and powerful speech by anyone ever in his position, the mainstream continues to desperately look for malcontents who were offended by his words. They aren't that successful. American Sunrise EARLY Edition starts right now.
- [01:55]
Jake Novak
Welcome to American Sunrise EARLY Edition, the show where faith, freedom and the values that built this nation take center.
- [02:05]
Jarrett Stepman
State your good deeds and bad deeds. That's how we're going to judge you.
- [02:08]
Jake Novak
Join host Jake Novak as he breaks down the stories that matter.
- [02:12]
Emily Finn
We will be letting the public know.
- [02:14]
Jarrett Stepman
Regularly what we have found.
- [02:15]
Jake Novak
American Sunrise EARLY EDITION with your host Jake Novak starts now.
- [02:26]
Emily Finn
All right, thank you so much for tuning in to American SUNRISE EARLY edition. I am Emily Finn filling in today for Jake Novak. We appreciate you waking up early with us. We do want to start today with Daily Signal senior editor and the author of the book Woke TP T woke to puss. I apologize. Tyler o', Neill, like octopus woke to puss. Tell us about your new book that you have coming out.
- [02:50]
Tyler O'Neill
Exactly. Thank you so much for having me, Emily, and for hosting this morning. So, yeah, my book is all about the left wing activist groups that staffed and advised the Biden administration, calling the shots in that administration, using the bureaucracy to force their ideology on the American people. And now these, these forces are still very much out there. Uh, actually, while we're talking in the government shutdown, there was, you know, the, the Trump administration is attempting to use the shutdown as an opportunity to, to call the size and scope of government. And so the Office of Management and Budget issued an order, issued a guidance, saying that many agencies might want to engage in reductions in force during this shutdown in order to make the government leaner, meaner, more efficient, and more good at achieving President Trump's priorities without also engaging in some of the WOKE activism that we saw on under the Biden administration. And so while they issued, after they issued that order, the largest union of government employees, the American Federation of Government Employees, filed a lawsuit to block that guidance. And so now, right now, we have one of these groups that is connected to the WOKE to post fighting in court to protect essentially the deep state from accountability that the Trump administration wants to bring.
- [04:26]
Emily Finn
Tyler, I do want to switch gears here for a moment. You know, you are the expert when it comes to the insertion of WOKE policies into everything governments and schools do. So what is your response to the Trump administration pushing back on woke DEI contracting policies in New York by freezing $18 billion worth of the state's infrastructure funding? Is this the right way to go about erasing the woke, or should they be doing something different here?
- [04:53]
Tyler O'Neill
Well, these, these are good steps forward when one of the strongest areas that the administration has control over is this issue of contracting. Now, you have to be careful because many of these contracts have been agreed upon by two different parties. So we have to see what the specifics are in each of the contracts to know if they're going to be able to fully be canceled. Some of the contracts that were canceled in the first round of DOGE ended up not having to canceled in the same way that the administration wanted to cancel them or had already been canceled. And there, there are technicalities here, but I am glad to see the administration taking aim at some of this excessive spending and especially holding these localities accountable when they're not using the funds appropriately and when they're not, when, when they're using them to push a WOKE ideology as opposed to just helping the people in their states and cities.
- [05:56]
Emily Finn
Tyler, I do want you to quickly weigh on, or weigh in rather, on the New York City mayoral race that's happening. Zoran Mamdani has been going Kind of viral right now with a clip of him saying, no, no, I'm not a communist, I'm a Democratic Socialist. And it just makes me think, you know, the federal government could be ridding woke policies through, you know, through funding kind of efforts here, but someone like that could be the next mayor of New York City.
- [06:22]
Tyler O'Neill
Yes, unfortunately, all of the attention that's been focused on Mamdani has been helping him gain traction. And of course, you know, this is the catch 22 of engaging in politics, engaging in looking at what this person represents. Mamdani has a very effective way of taking a lot of that attention and, and coming across as affable with the people who are most likely to support him. So when we have, you know, a lot of well deserved scrutiny of his policies, of his previous statements, of the fact that he is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, these, these are really shocking developments to see a major party candidate for mayor in the Big Apple having these connections, having these policies, these things that he's standing for. But at the same time, a lot of New Yorkers are on the other, are on that side of the aisle. And so when you have someone like Mamdani who is sucking up all the oxygen in the race and he becomes the major issue, if you have enough of the New Yorkers, enough of the voters who actually, you know, are willing to consider this and aren't willing to write him off based on the fact that he's a member of the Democratic Socialist, based on the fact that according to as far as we'd like to see in the United States, he's far out over, outside the Overton window. You know, many Democrats are willing to give him a chance. And so I think what we're going to see in this election, it really looks like Mamdani is gaining more steam. And that is an indictment on the diploma Democratic Party. But it also really shows just how far off the reservation a lot of New York City has gone.
- [08:15]
Emily Finn
Yeah, absolutely. It just when it comes to not even just, you know, woke policies when it comes to safety. And that's also happening in Chicago as well, Tyler. There was that daring ICE raid in Chicago to get the trend. Aragua gang members that had taken over that apartment complex. Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker comparing President Trump to Vladimir Putin. No, don't worry. There wasn't much logic to it, but I'm sure someone working for Pritzker thought that would sound smart. But my question here is why do so many Democrats think that it's a good idea to Defend violent illegal aliens to demonize federal agents trying to protect citizens in their country. I mean, this, this talking point, this narrative just is not landing with the average, everyday, logical American. Tyler, are they being paid by, by our enemies to do this?
- [09:03]
Tyler O'Neill
Well, I haven't, I don't have a money trail as of now. I don't, I don't think they're necessarily being paid. I think what's happening is the people on the left, you know, in, when Trump won in 2017, they pulled out the stops to make it seem like he was an illegitimate president. And they, they opposed absolutely everything he ever did. In 2025, he wins by a much larger margin. And that leads the, the Democrats and the people on the left to say, well, what should we do this time? Should we oppose everything he does again, or should we actually engage and, you know, see where we should fall? And you've seen these, you know, these almost head fakes toward a more moderate position. But I think a lot of the driving force, unfortunately, in that party is back to this 2017 style. We have to oppose everything Trump. And the way that they do that has arguably been dangerous for our country. We have this rhetoric of comparing Trump to Hitler, comparing Trump supporters to Hitler, and you're seeing this violence growing on the left. And that's not to say, I mean, none of these Democrats want to see violence. They're not endorsing this, but their rhetoric is drawing attention in ways that are really, really dangerous. And so when you have this situation, Trump is championing the rule of law and getting illegal aliens out of this country. Democrats are finding any way they can to attack that, to demonize that, even though it's popular with the American people.
- [10:48]
Emily Finn
Tyler, before we let you go here, I do want to cover one last topic. You know, the mainstream media is in such a bubble about common sense and how almost all Americans want to keep the woke out of the military that they were clearly shocked by all this common sense uttered by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday. They're going out of their way just to find those, you know, some people here and there that will say that Hegseth was what he was talking about in his speech, criticizing his message. You know, Tyler, what percentage of Americans and members of the military who saw the actual speech, not just the way that it was, tried to be spun in the mainstream media, the actual speech, do you think they liked and supported it?
- [11:29]
Tyler O'Neill
Well, I'm not a member of the military, but I watched that speech, and what really appealed to me about that speech I have a young boy at home. And Pete Hegseth really hit the nail on the head when it comes to the main concern that moms and dads of military members and families of military members really have. And that's. They want. They want their sons, they want their daughters, they want their husbands and fathers to come home when they're serving in the military. They want the enemy to be the guy who dies, not the American citizen, their soldier, their boy, their man. And so what we're seeing here is Pete Hegseth is focused on the lethality of the armed forces. He's focused on bringing the US Military back into the position of strength that it needs to be to deter our enemies from engaging with us and to decisively win as quickly as possible. In the unfortunate case, if this comes to pass, God forbid that we enter another war. And so this is the sort of muscular military that we all know we need. And this is the sort of thing I've seen reporting that some members of the military were offended by some of the things he said happened in the last administration. Frankly, if. If we're seeing a military pushing drag queens and dei, and some people are offended by moving away from that. Those people. I'm sorry, the main thing of the military is this lethality, this focus on keeping those who serve our country alive and keeping Americans safe. That's what Hegseth is focused on. That's what we should be hearing from our Secretary of War.
- [13:22]
Emily Finn
Absolutely, Tyler. I could not agree with you more. Focused on keeping our country safe, focused on being the best at fighting. And I don't care if they talk about drag queens or any of that. Like, don't make that the focus. Tyler o', Neill, thank you so much for joining us and sharing all of your insight this morning.
- [13:39]
Tyler O'Neill
Thanks for having me.
- [13:40]
Emily Finn
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- [15:56]
Ben Berkwam
Talk to me about last night. Last time we left here was in the rain of Portland. All this, all this madness takes place between sundown and sun up, correct?
- [16:07]
Emily Finn
Yeah.
- [16:08]
Portland Local/Reporter
Yeah. So that's what happens. You know, it's like at your house, the cockroaches come out at night. The same thing happens here in Portland. All the violence typically happens at night. Antifa comes out at night. We were in there actually, right after I got off with you. We got invited inside the building. We were the only media, first and only media yesterday that got invited in. We're going to be cutting up all that footage later today and getting that out to you guys. But as soon as we got in there, the antifa and all these guys started showing up as soon as the sun went down. There were seven arrests last night. We were there for it. And it is, it's just the worst of the worst. And as we speak now, what happens is during the day now you got these liberals, these leftists, these NGOs that are coming out, they're setting up to provide legal aid for the illegals and for the criminals that got arrested last night. So there's this entire network, conservation, conspiracy network, whatever you want to call it, of organizations and individuals that are working to aid and abed and undermine this country from within. By the way, the same NGOs that were profiting off the invasion of America, are now working to protect illegal aliens and protect the criminals that are trying to undermine America from within.
- [17:16]
Ben Berkwam
I have no earthy idea why we're still allowing those folks to function. Anyway, Ben, hang on. We're going to come back to Portland, Oregon. Amazing footage from last night. Seven arrests. When we gonna roll them all up? Put the military on notice yesterday, folks. We have an invasion here in the United States of America and we're gonna deal with it.
- [17:35]
Emily Finn
And remember, Steve Bannon's War Room airs every Monday through Friday from 10am to noon Eastern time here on Real America's Voice. But it was a very different kind of evening in Utah earlier this week when Turning Point USA held its first event in the state since Charlie Kirk's assassination. Here's how Charlie Kirk show executive producer described to Tim Poole on the Charlie.
- [17:58]
Andrew Colvette
Kirk show that event, great showing and this was actually the largest evening event to date that we have ever done at Turning Point USA at a college. So there was over 6,000 people in attendance for this. And the crowd was fired up. You can see that if you're watching the stream. They, the energy in this room. Everybody was texting me, my phone was blowing up. They're like, it's insane. This is so great. And that was despite, by the way, some sort of bomb threat or suspicion of a bomb at a separate building. So it didn't affect this building. This building was on pure lockdown. And you know, there was, they, I think bomb squad kind of detonated some sort of device in a defensive measure. Haven't gotten confirmation on what exactly what that suspicious, you know, package was. But everybody's safe, everybody's home. We're grateful for that. So let's go ahead and play at least a couple of images here. Let's see here. I just love me a good Charlie Kirk chant. So Charlie Chant 91, please play. Yeah, it was just completely organic. The kids are fired up. We have more tour stops coming. We're not backing down, Tim. Hopefully you don't think we're told totally.
- [19:41]
Emily Finn
That was Andrew Colvette, the executive producer of the Charlie Kirk Show. The Charlie Kirk show does air every Monday through Friday here on Real America's Voice from noon to 2pm Eastern time. Coming up, all the so called experts predicted a government shutdown would tank the stock market. But is that really happening? We're going to check the numbers for you in just a moment. And look out. It's a self driving Waymo on a golf course and it's out of control. Or is it don't believe what they're saying on social media about this incident until we tell you what really happened. You don't want to miss this story. American SUNRISE EARLY edition. We'll be right back. Stay with us. All right. Welcome back to AMERICAN SUNRISE EARLY edition. A beautiful shot of the White House this morning. Looks so great with the sun coming up. Really appreciate all of you tuning in and waking up early to start your morning with us here on Real America's Voice. We do want to talk about some dollars and common sense, as we always do at this time on AMERICAN SUNRISE EARLY edition, we are going to take a look at where the markets markets will begin today. It looks like we have a little bit of a mixed market. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ look like they are in the green for right now. Dow Jones a little bit in the red. Not too bad. But that's what is coming up in the market today. And we do want to take a quick look at Bitcoin as well. Looks like a very good day for bitcoin. All right. Now, because of the government shutdown, there will be no release of the September jobs report for Wall street to react to later this morning. But we did get the ADP private sector payroll report yesterday and it showed a net loss of 32,000 jobs for last month. A lot of those jobs were lost were government jobs. Larger corporations actually posted a gain of 40,000 new hires for the month. Now that weaker job data from ADP did come with a bit of a silver lining. It pushed bond rates lower and with lower bond rates come lower mortgage rates. We are now officially in the fall. And fall is the second biggest season for home buying in America behind the late spring and early summer. Mortgage rates really do make all the difference right now. The slight gain in mortgage rates late last week really quieted a surge in new home purchases that we saw the week before, keeping a close eye on that as well. It's another make America healthy again moment, this time at America's biggest brick and mortar retail chain. Walmart is eliminating synthetic dyes along with 30 other unnatural ingredients from its private food labels in house brands. Great value, market side freshness guaranteed and better goods will now undergo what is one of the largest retail brand overhauls ever, and the first for any major retailer. Walmart shares actually traded lower yesterday, but they are up more than 25% over where they were a year ago today. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. It is moving America. Sponsored by ArtilleryTea Co. Artilleryteco.com make sure to use the promo code LIBERTY for 20% off your order. Artillery Tea is all natural whole leaf. The tea bags are chemical free and each tea bag can be used twice. Artillery Tea company is family and veteran owned and operated and a portion of your purchase goes to help veteran and first responder charities. Again that website, make sure you go to artillerytco.com and use the promo code LIBERTY for 20% off your first order. Now those aggressive deals automakers were offering for EVs led to a very small, strong July through September quarter for both U.S. and foreign carmakers before it showed just as much of a gain for its more gas guzzling big SUVs and trucks as it did with EVs. GM's numbers showed it's still the number one vehicle seller in America as its market share in the US actually grew to 17.5%, the highest number since 2015. And Hyundai Kia continues to make a huge comeback in America and its sale through the summer were up 13% from a year ago. That's a nice recovery for the company. That was hit hard by the fact that hackers were easily breaking into Hyundai and Kia vehicles. That was easily until the company put a fix in two years ago. I remember reporting on that. That was a massive problem in Chicago. On the other hand, things are not going so well over at Volkswagen. The company had never shut down a factory in Germany until a few months ago and now it's starting to really get tough on its workers. Layoffs have already hit the company and on top of that, VW is now looking for any good excuse to fire the workers who remained. About 550 Volkswagen employees have been axed in recent months for issues like unexplained absences. Now, over the same period, about 2100 other staff received formal warnings and management expects the number of dismissals over misconduct expect to climb further before the year is out. Auto jobs in Germany used to be almost 100% secure. Not so much anymore. Getting back to Ford and the company's hotter sales for big SUVs, the 2025 Ford Expedition features exterior flood lighting designed for tailgating or camping. It's a big selling point for the vehicle, but maybe you're wondering how Ford engineers determined how much light was enough. In a rare look behind the scenes, Ford's team has just revealed the very non technical test it used to get just the right amount of illumination. A game of cards. Their goal was simple. If the engineers couldn't easily play a game of cards using just the zone lights for illumination, the lighting needed to be brighter. That's a real human test that even AI can't help you with. And here we have yet another example of why you shouldn't believe everything that you see and hear on social media. Now this video of a Waymo self driving car that went viral on the Internet is real. It's just that all the presumptions about it are all wrong. While this car does have self driving technology, it was being operated by a human at the time and it was on a golf course in Venice, California to be put on display for advertising purposes at a concert at the golf's clubhouse. Waymo's robo taxi fleet remains the largest in the United States. And just last month it announced plans in the to expand to Denver, Colorado as well as Seattle, Washington. Still ahead on American Sunrise Early Edition, the top story in America is still the ongoing government shutdown. We're going to talk to a guest about how President Trump can best use this shutdown to his and all of America's advantage. And New York State's years of unfair hiring practices. And encouragement for illegal aliens is finally getting a response. Response from Washington. Federal funds are frozen for key subway and other infrastructure projects. But will this scare New York straight? American Sunrise EARLY EDITION will be right back and we will discuss this and so much more. Stick around. Stay with us.
- [27:22]
Jake Novak
Welcome to Real America's Voice. Real Minute, your quick look at the powerful stories of faith and freedom inspiring audiences across the nation. Angel Studios presents.
- [27:36]
Bo Davidson
I'm Bo Davidson with your Real America's Voice. Real Minute at Camp Ouigaway, a Christian summer camp filled with adventure and camaraderie, kids come together for experiences that challenge and inspire them. Between canoe races, campfires and heartfelt conversations, they form deep friendships and uncover new layers of their faith and identity. Each day at camp offers opportunities for personal growth, connection and unforgettable memories.
- [28:03]
Portland Local/Reporter
Come on, pick it up.
- [28:04]
Jarrett Stepman
Let's go.
- [28:04]
Emily Finn
I can't be the only one pumped.
- [28:05]
Jarrett Stepman
To go read a Bible in the middle of the woods for a week.
- [28:07]
Emily Finn
If you need a hand with packing, we're here to help.
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Tyler O'Neill
Thank God.
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Bo Davidson
A troubled teenager takes a leap of faith to attend Camp Ouigaway in this series directed by Alan Powell and a cast that stars Antonio Cipriano, David Koechner, Leigh Ellen Baker and Carlos Penavega. It has music from the same producers who created High School Musical and Camp Rock.
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Terrance Bates
Three, two, One More Time.
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Emily Finn
Why am I here? It's the question we're all asking ourselves.
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Bo Davidson
This action packed fun series will have you asking, why am I here. And what is my purpose? The series streams exclusively on Angel Studios platform. So the best way to see this new series is by joining the Angel Guild, a community of over a million members that have a vested voice in what series and films get greenlit by Angel. This means that a week away was voted on by members of the guild to move forward. So becoming a guild member is like being a member of the television academy and you'll get all the perks from the comfort of your own home. So head on over to Angel.com Rav to join the guild and watch A week away.
- [29:21]
Emily Finn
Today ahead on American Sunrise EARLY edition, it is shutdown day two. Efforts to end the shutdown yesterday failed and now Congress won't be back in session for at least another day, which means shutdown day three is also guaranteed. We are about to discuss plus, call it instant karma as soon as we learn that New York state is giving illegal aliens no name commercial driver's licenses. The Trump administration freezes $18 billion worth of transportation funding for the Empire State for other infractions, including DEI contracting policies. Will the loss of the cold hard cash finally bring New York to sanity? And joining New York in the illegal alien harboring insanity is Chicago, where ICE agents needed to rappel into a trende Aragua controlled apartment building from helicopters to get the gang members out. The video is absolutely insane. You have to see this. And of course, Chicago's mayor and Illinois governor are protesting it all. In Portland, antifa gangs continue to run wild. They continue to control the the downtown area, especially at night. We're going to take you there to see for yourself. And a day after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers perhaps the clearest, most transparent and powerful speech by anyone ever in his position, the mainstream continues to desperately look for puppets who will say they were, quote, offended by his words. American Sunrise EARLY EDITION continues right now.
- [31:00]
Jake Novak
Welcome to American Sunrise EARLY edition, the show where faith, freedom and the values that built this nation take center stage.
- [31:09]
Jarrett Stepman
Your good deeds and bad deeds, that's how we're going to judge you.
- [31:13]
Jake Novak
Join host Jake Novak as he breaks down the stories that matter.
- [31:17]
Emily Finn
We will be letting the public know.
- [31:18]
Jarrett Stepman
Regularly what we have found.
- [31:20]
Jake Novak
American Sunrise EARLY EDITION with your host Jake no Novak starts now.
- [31:31]
Emily Finn
Welcome back to AMERICAN SUNRISE EARLY edition. Thank you so much for joining us this Thursday. I'm Emily Finn filling in today for Jake Novak. And joining us now to continue our discussions of the top stories of the day is Daily Signal columnist Jarrett Stepman. Jarrett, you know, as we've been reporting, it's Day two of the government shutdown. But so far, the sky isn't falling. The polls show even half of Democrats don't support the shutdown. And you say there's a way President Trump can really do some very good things while the shutdown continues. Jarrett, break it all down for us. What can we expect to see?
- [32:05]
Jarrett Stepman
Yeah, I mean, this shutdown, really, it's quite incredible that Democrats actually chose to go this route. I think that it's really the base of the party that drove the shutdown, not party leadership. And now they're trapped in a situation which the government shut down. A lot of the blame goes onto them and Republicans. Now, President Trump now has broad leeway to say, well, now we need to start removing programs, removing workers, removing bureaucrats that we can't pay. This actually gives a lot of power to OMB chief Russ Vogt, who, of course, is sort of the sharp knife of the government here. And every day that goes by, I would expect that we'll be seeing a lot of bureaucrats losing their jobs in Washington, D.C. which, of course, is what the Trump administration was trying to do to begin with. They wanted to see a reduction in the size of government. So this really is kind of like Doge 2.0 for the Trump administration. Again, quite remarkable that Democrats decided to pursue this route given that they were trying to stop Doge, they were trying to stop the cuts of the government. So really, strategically, it's a major blunder by Democrats, an opportunity for Republicans, even though they didn't want the government to shut down. A lot can be changed during this time. So crazy stuff.
- [33:20]
Emily Finn
Crazy stuff for sure. Jarrett, you know, I do want to switch gears here. This is another story that we have been closely reporting on throughout the morning here. It did seem like instant karma yesterday, just minutes after this very program discussed how New York Governor Kathy Hochul was issuing commercial real ID driver's licenses to illegal aliens without putting their names on the licenses. I mean, this was just craziness. We got this announcement from the Trump White House that the administration was freezing $18 billion in infrastructure funding. Now, Jared, that decision was made in connection to some other issues, namely DEI hiring and contracting programs. But still, this White House has taken this very seriously.
- [34:03]
Jarrett Stepman
Yeah, I love the fact that the Trump administration is willing to withhold funds. That's often, you know, money talks, especially when it comes to governments. A lot of states are, especially New York is quite dependent on the federal government. This issue about this license absolutely enrages me as somebody who's had to get just A driver's license, a regular driver's license in New York. How picky they are with every little document. I had to go in a few times because I didn't have quite the right document. And the fact that somebody can go in and basically say no name given, who isn't even a citizen of this country and be issued any kind of license is really quite an insult to anybody. It's insult to the citizens of the state, and frankly, it's ridiculous. And I can see why a lot of other states that are in this general agreement to uphold licenses aren't too keen about this, because, again, how can one even identify someone when they don't have their name on the license? So this is really an insult. Obviously, it's a SOP to illegal immigration. They want to keep that going. And New York has been very willing to be a sanctuary state in violation of the laws of this country.
- [35:12]
Emily Finn
Yeah. I mean, it was just so blatant, the photo circulating where it said no name. It was just, come on, how are you letting this happen? You know, Jarrett, it's not just New York City. The illegal alien issue is very visible in so many blue cities throughout the country. Chicago is also an example. We saw both the solution and the problem in the span of just a few hours earlier this week. Week first we saw ICE agents rappelling from helicopters to safely get into an apartment building filled with dangerous trende Aragua members. They were arrested. But then the politicians, including Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker, complained about the raid and the military tools used to carry it out. We got rid of illegal gang members and they complain about this. Jared, is there anything these blue state and blue city politicians won't do to protect illegal aliens?
- [36:01]
Jarrett Stepman
No. I mean, they are dependent on their far left base. They're dependent on the activist network that wants to make sure that America continues to be open borders, even if that means bringing in a lot of people who are outright criminals and gang members. And this has been reality. It's been the reality in city after city, whether it's Chicago or New York City, when you have massive numbers of illegal people coming into the country unaccounted for. In many cases, you're gonna bring along a lot of organized crime. And these are the people that are really scary to the average American. They should be. And they're not just along border towns. They've now embedded themselves in cities around this country. So good on the Trump administration for taking every step to get rid of these people who not only target those who they bring across the border in many cases, but they target many American citizens. So I think shame on Democrats around the country who've given sanctuary to these folks and try to portray this issue as something that and good on the Trump administration for breaking up these criminal gangs that have caused so much destruction for the average American.
- [37:07]
Emily Finn
They really have, Jared. And again, it's happening all throughout the country and specifically these Democrat run blue cities with all of this pushback. I mean, people have to wake up and they have to start voting these politicians out. I do want to get your take on this as well. There's been a concerted effort in the mainstream media to throw cold water on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's speech to all the top military brass on Monday. I'm sure that you saw this. I think everyone has seen clips of this, but I think a strong majority of Americans who did watch this, like actually watched the speech, didn't just see how it was spun in the mainstream media. They thought that it was excellent or at least filled with common sense. And you have a piece in the Daily Signal about the importance of what Hegseth said. Like I said, everyone has seen this. Tell us some of your key points.
- [37:54]
Jarrett Stepman
Yeah, I think this is vital for the future of our military. It's almost like bringing in a coach to a team that's been losing for a while or hasn't succeeded needs to change the culture. I think that what you see with the military is a decline in recruitment and retention over time, a serious lack of trust from the public, including a lot of military families who no longer wanted to send their sons and daughters into the military. Our military is very much dependent on that. It's an all volunte force. And what Hegseth is doing is rebuilding that confidence that the military is not a social experiment. It's there to protect the nation. It's vital. These people have to go to war. War is very serious business. And I think actually this is making it. He's making it clear to the American people and the people fighting our military that it is serious business. When we go in a fight, we go in to win. There's nothing else. There's nothing else besides the need for victory. I think that's really been lost in the last decade or two, really. And so this is about Chang changing an entire culture and making sure that the US Military in the future is the strongest in the world and gives the message to the young people who will have to defend our nation. We are on your side. We're going to give everything we can to back you and your war fighting needs and that's it. And I think that that's a great message. It's a way to revitalize the confidence of the military and the American people in their military.
- [39:22]
Emily Finn
I think it's the only message that we actually can have to keep the American people safe. You know, we were talking about this earlier that during the Biden administration. Right. That's when the military went so woke and you saw the drag queens and all of this stuff that they just weren't focused on. And what happened? Multiple wars were started all over the world. There was complete chaos, complete violence. Give us your take on how the Trump administration is handling foreign policy as a whole. I mean, obviously taking a really, really intense approach to revamping our military and starting to focus more on things that are going to help us militarily. But tell us your take on just the Trump administration as a whole when it comes to foreign policy.
- [40:08]
Jarrett Stepman
Yeah, I think they're doing a great job. And I think President Trump wants to create peace around the world. He's been very aggressive in his negotiations using American economic strength, which is our chief value that we've had certainly in the last century. No question. It's our economic might trying to create peace wherever possible, while at the same time rebuilding the strength in our military, rebuilding the manufacturing base of this country, getting us prepared in case we do have to go toe to toe with a serious peer rival like a Russia, like a China, which is I think he sees as our chief rival, and getting the United States back in a position in which if we have to go to war, we can go to war, but we will try to prevent those wars and use American strength and competitiveness economically to be the way that we overcome our challenges across the globe. And whether or not it's in the Middle east or it's in Asia or anywhere else. And I do like the fact that they focused quite a bit on the Americas in the Western Hemisphere, right in our backyard, going after gang members, going after Venezuela, which has funded this. I think that's a huge deal. I think that shows that this administration is focused on core US Interests. It's refocused on building a stronger military and trying to actually draw down the amount of conflicts that we may be engaged in around the world. I think that makes us stronger going forward and make sure that we have another American century in the 21st century that we don't get surpassed, that the American led system really continues. And so I think the Trump administration and President Trump has been the chief negotiator in a lot of this has done a good job of this. I think he's done an excellent job in pivoting from a direction that looked very bad, where we spoke a lot and spoke high and mighty as Biden did, but look to becoming weaker and weaker over time. And that's, that's only asking, that's only asking for trouble on the international stage.
- [42:01]
Emily Finn
Yeah, Jared, I think all of that was really well said. You know, I have always been saying that it took President Trump getting back into office for there to even be progress in negotiations. So really appreciate you sharing your insight with us this morning. Thanks for joining the show.
- [42:14]
Jarrett Stepman
Thank you very much, Emily.
- [42:15]
Emily Finn
All right. Coming up, Terrance Bates will join me to talk about what's ahead for the next two hours on American Sunrise. We'll be right back. Stick around. All right. Welcome back to AMERICAN Sunrise EARLY edition. Joining me now is the one and only Terrance Bates from the American Sunrise show, or as we call it on EARLY Edition, the big show. You know, I gotta read what Jake writes in here, Terrence, of course, I am familiar with American Sunrise and always loved seeing your smiling face on air in the morning. Terence, what are you looking forward to bringing us in the next two hours? I feel like the government shutdown has just been the biggest main focus of the morning.
- [43:21]
Terrance Bates
Oh, absolutely. It is going to continue to be the big story. And we, of course, have a countdown here in terms of how long this shutdown has been going on. Obviously, we are now in the second full day of the shutdown, so we'll continue to monitor that and also get you more reaction from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and from the White House. Also, we're going to be keeping an eye on President Trump's latest executive order specific to Qatar. Basically, he's warning anyone that attacks Qatar that they also will have to deal with the wrath of the United States. And it's very interesting that he would take that sort of hardline position on Qatar. So we'll be talking about that. And then we're also keeping an eye on the fact that despite the government shutdown, the Trump administration is still moving forward full steam ahead with all of its priorities, specifically public safety and ensuring that American cities are safe. Our Brian Glenn, as I said earlier at the White House, we'll be checking in with him and talking about his trip to Memphis yesterday. Memphis, of course, has been in the headlines because President Trump says he'll be sending National Guard troops to help secure that city. Brian was there with Pam Bondi as well as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth yesterday. So we'll get an idea from him just how that's all working out and how that city is doing a number of big stories that we're keeping in mind domestically. And just really quickly, we're also keeping an eye on a developing situation over in Manchester, England. At least two people are dead right now after a stabbing at a synagogue. And that's significant not only because those two people are dead, but today is also one of the holiest of days in the Jewish faith. It is Yom Kippur. And so on this day, someone stabbed two people at least. Well, stabbed and killed at least two people, several more injured. So that's a developing story, Emily, that we're keeping an eye on as well. There's a lot of news happening domestically and around the world. I'm out of breath. I'm going to take a sip of my gas station coffee here.
- [45:11]
Emily Finn
Oh, thank you so much, Terrence. This is this sounds like it's going to be a great show covering all of the all of the news of the day. You know, something that we've been covering throughout the hour on EARLY Edition. Here is Pete. You brought up Pete Hegseth and that Brian was, you know, in Memphis. And with him, the mainstream media has been covering Hegseth speech to the top military brass and, you know, trying to paint it out that, you know, that he wasn't exactly kind. I'm interested to see what Brian has to say, you know, being that he was just there with him a couple of days ago. Have you been seeing all of these headlines in the mainstream media, Terrence, trying to.
- [45:50]
Terrance Bates
Oh, I've been seeing headlines. I've been seeing the headlines that have been critical of Hegseth. And then unfortunately, I'm on social media, and so I have to read comments from people who are angry about it and feel betrayed. So kind of background. I grew up in a military community. I'm an army brat to a degree. And so of course, many of my friends then would be people who've got military experience, either having grown up or having served. And so it's been very interesting to watch the reaction to what Pete Hegseth had to say. But I think anyone that's reasonable and can reasonably look at this would say that Pete Hegseth is setting a standard for our military and that there's a return to standards. That word standard, I think is going to be critical in the conversation and in how we look at what Pete Hegseth had to say. And so it's going to be interesting to see first of all from a cultural perspective how his thoughts and how his policies are ultimately going to change the US Military but also interesting to watch the fallout in the civilian world as the civilian population looks at what Pete Hegseth is doing and what he said. It's going to be very interesting. I like what he had to say and I'm looking forward to our military returning to this fierce fighting, fighting force. Excuse me.
- [47:05]
Emily Finn
Yeah, absolutely. I think it's just great that our military is focused on their priorities again and I think that was the main takeaway from Hegseth speech. Terrence, thank you so much for joining us here on American Sunrise early edition. We'll see you in the next two hours. Jake will be back tomorrow. I had such a great time filling in. Thank you so much. Everyone who tuned in and watched the show. American Sunrise will be up here soon. This is an iHeart podcast.