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- [00:00]
Pete Hegseth
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Alison Hines
Guaranteed Human.
- [00:05]
Bleacher Report Announcer
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- [00:37]
David Brody
Good morning, America. Welcome to American Sunrise.
- [00:42]
Terrence
Whether it's culture, we have breaking news
- [00:44]
Tracy Anthony
to share with you.
- [00:45]
Terrence
Politics.
- [00:46]
David Brody
President Trump is joining us live now from Florida.
- [00:50]
Terrence
We've got you covered.
- [00:51]
David Brody
This is what it looks like to be a patriot.
- [00:54]
Terrence
We have to protect the American family.
- [00:57]
David Brody
The American dream is still alive.
- [00:59]
Alison Hines
David.
- [01:00]
David Brody
I'm David Brody.
- [01:01]
Terrence
I'm terrence.
- [01:02]
Alison Hines
And I'm Dr. Gina.
- [01:07]
Steve Gruber
Breaking news from Real America's Voice.
- [01:13]
Terrence
We begin with breaking news as the Pentagon is set to hold its latest press briefing on the war operations in Iran. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kaine will update the nation on the war, which featured a number of Israeli attacks on, or Iranian attacks, excuse me, on Israel, as well as a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker overnight. In response, the United States and Israel launched new attacks on Tehran while you were sleeping. President Trump posting video of the obliteration on Truth Social. Let's bring in Allison Hans in West Palm Beach. David brody in Washington, D.C. lady and gentleman, good morning, David. So much to unpack from overnight.
- [01:56]
David Brody
There is no doubt about that. Let's get right to it with the congressman from North Carolina, Congressman Mark Harris with us. Hopefully we can get you in here. Congressman, excuse our etiquette if we have to get to the press conference. Tell us what you expect today. It's been over a month now. Started February 28th. Today's March. What is today? March 31st. So it's been about a month. It's been a month, yeah.
- [02:19]
Congressman Mark Harris
Well, thank you so much for having me. And yes, I am. I'm very anxious to hear this briefing and understand the latest update on where we are. I think we're continuing to see our American troops perform at incredible levels. I think they're meeting the goals of taking out these missiles, which were absolutely critical. I think that they're taking out the, the, the ability for Iran to make these missiles. That's a very important aspect of this conflict that we've been involved in. But I also think it's important that the president has made a priority that they've got to keep the, the Strait of Hormuz open. I think that's absolutely critical. I assume that could very well be what we're going to hear a little bit about today and about the Marines and 82nd Airborne here in North Carolina that have made their way to that area. So I think we should be able to hear some incredible information today about what's happening.
- [03:15]
Alison Hines
Representative HARRIS Absolutely. The Strait of Hormuz with oil at $100 a barrel. We have so many people that are concerned about the price of gas, and it's so important. But it's, it's interesting with the Strait of Hormuz because you have countries certainly in Europe that are really depending on this oil, and we as the United States could actually pull away. Why is it so important for us to be focused on that area?
- [03:44]
Congressman Mark Harris
Well, I think it's important for us to make sure that we are able to keep things moving here. Right now, my farmers, for instance, Here in the 8th district of North Carolina are really, really dealing with this issue of fertilizer. And being able to get shipments from over there are going to be absolutely critical to the corn crop, that all of those crops are being planted right now, and that becomes a major issue as well. So we've got to keep the strait open. President's been working overtime to try to get other countries in Europe to work with us to make sure that that strait remains open. So it's important to many aspects of our country, not only the oil, but when we think about the fertilizer and the role that it plays in farming, that's an important issue as well.
- [04:31]
Terrence
Congressman Harris, we appreciate you sticking around for a couple of minutes to talk to us here as we prepare to hear from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Here's a live look, ladies and gentlemen, of the podium at the Pentagon. We're expecting the secretary to arrive here, in short, also the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We're going to continue the conversation with David and Alison here until they arrive. David, one of the bigger questions that I think many Americans want answered today is the prospect of boots on the ground, and however that may look if and when it does happen. You just heard the congressman mention that the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, have already been deployed. Of course, we know that thousands of Marines are already in what's called theater. That's the military term they're in the area preparing for potential deployment. I think for many on either side of the aisle, that is the big outstanding question. Will there be boots on the ground? And that's the concern.
- [05:28]
David Brody
Yeah, it's a two step process. You bring the boots to the ground, which is what the President has already done. So he's committed. I think we're about to see this. I'll have to take a look at my. Yeah, here he comes. This is the Secretary of War. We'll get to my comments later. These are more important. Here's the Secretary of War.
- [05:55]
Pete Hegseth
Well, over the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit our troops fighting in Operation Epic Fury. We were in the ground or on the ground, excuse me, in CENTCOM on Saturday for about half the day for reasons of operational security. So those troops are not targeted, the places and bases will not be named. Suffice it to say, the trip was an honor. I had a chance to bear witness and I witnessed the best of America. I witness warriors, a brotherhood of men and women warriors, all active duty, Guard and Reserve, united in their love for each other, their shared purpose and their commitment to the mission. I witnessed sheer competency. I watched a private first class confidently calling out an enemy missile trajectory to a room full of officers. Everyone focused. The room was locked in. Two enemy missiles successfully shot down. I spoke to Air Force and Navy pilots on the flight line who every day both deliver bombs deep into Iran and but also shoot down drones defending their base. Many had just returned from the skies of Iran and Tehran. I put on a headset and spoke to one crew in the cockpit. Locked and loaded each and every day. I witnessed ingenuity, American ingenuity. I met the young army officer who figured out how to neutralize maneuvering enemy missiles, saving countless lives. His commander confirmed that the whoops and cheers erupted in the tactical operations center when his new approach was first successful. I met the Air Force intel analyst who refined target packages faster than the enemy can adapt. I actually gave him my card and told him to keep me posted on the ground. Truth, I did the same with his boss, a colonel with a heart the size of Texas and a beautiful deployment mustache to match. I witnessed lethality. I met a junior airman as the sun was going down and a chill was setting on the tarmac, who, when asked what they needed, she simply looked up at me with a sly smile on her face and said, more bombs, sir, and bigger bombs. We will happily oblige her. I met the army targeting team who found and sunk the pride and joy of the Iranian Navy the fighting position plastered with images of sunken enemy ships. And I witnessed urgency right when we landed. Another C17 landed just minutes after us. And within 30 seconds of the aircraft coming to a full stop, a team on the ground pulled up and the cargo was being uploaded, wartime speed to a man and to a woman on the ground, in the air, on the flight line, and in the talk, I heard, we want everything faster, higher op tempo, war time speed. The feeling was the exact opposite of the rotational units year after year in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we're so familiar with. In those wars, it was always about the next rotation, never knowing when the mission would end or exactly what the mission was. Year after year, not with epic fury, I witnessed urgency to finish the job, urgency to achieve mission success. Not looking at the next rotation, only moving as fast as possible to win. I got a chance to troop the line, to witness firsthand what we already know is true. Spoke to all ranks and all services, none of whom knew we were coming. It was not rehearsed or scripted. Sometimes we just wandered. What I witnessed was motivation. It was sheer mission focus. It was the American warrior unleashed. It was the kind of war fighting American spirit that comes with a clear mission against a determined enemy. A crew chief we flew with summed it up nicely. He said, it's been a busy few weeks, sir. Tough stuff. But I'm so honored to be called up. This fight is long overdue. We need to address it for our kids. We cannot pass the buck. Please thank the President from us. I heard that time and time again. I asked each young American, what do you need? And nobody said, better equipment. Nobody said, more comfortable living conditions. Nobody said, send me home. Well, of course, eventually, we want all those things. They do, too. But what those Americans said to me, young and old, officer and nco, male and female, black and white, was, let's finish the mission. Get us even more bombs. Bigger bombs, more targets. Let us finish this. In fact, Admiral Cooper noted this morning that the three Air Force captains shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire early in the fight weeks ago, they never left the theater. All dropped bombs over Tehran last night. These men and women live the Iranian threat every day. Incoming missiles and drones. And know what a world looks like, what the world would look like if Iran had the most dangerous weapons in the world, a nuclear weapon. As President Trump has said time and time again for years and in this administration, Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb. And they won't. These troops, they want to finish this fight for their kids and their grandkids. This is about history. This is about legacy. Success matters. And because of this president and these Americans, we're closer than ever before to winning. President Trump is doing what no other president had the guts to do. Previous presidents were all talk. He's all action on the battlefield. Because of the latitude the President has given us, American firepower is only increasing. Iran's decreasing. We have more and more options and they have less. Just one month. In only one month, we set the terms. The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that. And there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it. Yes, they will still shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down. Of Note, the last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran. They will go underground, but we will find them. We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers. Leaders forced to flee. No water, no power, no oxygen, no command and control. Their faith in their caves diminishing. The latest intel is clear out of centcom. Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages, and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders. Just last night, we had 200 dynamic strikes alone. Dynamic strike is a strike where a pilot leaves and during their flight they get a new target set based on real time intel given to them. A new launcher, a new location, a new troop formation. A dynamic target is one that changes while you're in the air because of improved intelligence. 200 dynamic strikes alone. In addition to the preplanned targets. The video the President posted last night of Esfahan, an ammo depot struck by US bombers. You see, you don't get to see many of those videos because as a reminder, Iran has still shut off the Internet to 99.9% of its population. But if Iran is wise, they will cut a deal. President Trump doesn't bluff and he does not back down. You can ask Khamenei about that. The new Iranian regime should know that by now. This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last. President Trump will make a deal. He is willing, and the terms of the deal are known to them. If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity. Standing here this morning in this briefing room, in my mind's eye, I'm actually looking out at the groups I met this weekend. The pilots, the logisticians, the intel analysts, the targeters, the sustainers, the flight crews, the air defenders, the base security, those maintainers who we walked up at sunset with the chill in the air on the flight line. May God watch over all of them each day and each night. May his almighty and eternal arms of providence stretch over them and protect them and bring them peace. In the name of Jesus Christ and amen. Mr. Chairman, over to you.
- [15:37]
General Dan Kaine
Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and good morning everyone and thank you again for being here. As operations continue, I remain deeply grateful for the service and determination of 2.8 million members of our Joint Force, each of whom are serving something greater than themselves every day. Those deployed, and in many cases those at home who are deploying forward and bomber pulses, and others put themselves in harm's way and we owe them a deep debt of gratitude. I remain especially grateful for our fallen who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We'll never forget their valor and their determination to do something greater than themselves. And each day we continue to earn what they've given to us. This morning I want to share that yesterday the Joint Force had the honor of participating in the burial of Colonel Clarence Emmel Bud Anderson, who passed away in May of 2024 at the ripe old age of 102. He was laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery yesterday morning alongside his wife of 70 years, Eleanor, who he married on February 23, 1945. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 92. Bud, yesterday, a legend to our Air Force and fighter pilots everywhere, was honored with a combination flyby of F35s and a four ship of P51 Mustang. He was one of the most prolific flying aces of World War II and the highest scoring P51 Ace with 16 and a quarter kills in his squadron and in his group. And he served from 1942 to 1972 and his last combat tour was flying F104 Thunderchiefs over North Vietnam. For anyone that had the chance to meet Colonel Anderson, you knew what an incredibly special man he was. And that's true for each and every one of Our World War II vets who become fewer and fewer with each passing day. They are the greatest generation and give us the gift of an incredible example as we execute Operation Epic Fury today. And Colonel Anderson, we mourn for your loss and remember that smile on the right side as you went out to do our nation's business. I'd like to now share an operational update. Our Joint Force continues to focus on our military objectives as we systematically continue to degrade and destroy Iran's ability to project power and threaten stability beyond its borders. First, the Joint Force continues to destroy Iran's ballistic missile and UAS capabilities. We remain focused on interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed these programs. And this remains a truly joint effort prosecuted around the clock from air, land, sea, space and cyberspace. Long range bombers from U.S. strategic Command are coordinating with tactical fighter aircraft from our joint force launched from bases around the region and the continental United States, while simultaneously Navy fighters from the sea and sailors continue to project power from the sea, while army and marine artillery units continue to execute long range precision fires deep into enemy territory against high value targets. Meanwhile, on the defense side, our army and air defenders and aviators, as the Secretary talked about, remain vigilant, forming a shield to protect our forces and our partners intercepting missiles and drones. Together we continue to deliver precision strikes against key manufacturing nodes, component storage sites, research facilities deep within Iranian territory. And over the past 29, I'm sorry, 30 days we've struck more than 11,000 targets. Given the increase in air superiority, we've successfully started to conduct the first over land B52 missions which allow us, as we've said before, to continue to get on top of the enemy and as the Secretary talked about, switch towards more and more dynamic targets servicing mobile targets around the battlespace. We've continued to do the work against Iran's missile, drone and naval production facilities and we continue the multi domain pressure that we've talked about. Second, on the Navy front, we continue to assert dominance over the Iranian Navy. We remain focused on targeting their mine laying capability, their naval assets, and we've now, as I mentioned briefly last time, started to work attack helicopters and other close air support assets into the naval domain. CENTCOM continues to identify and work against naval depots and storage areas. And we've taken out again more than 150 ships, including all Jammaran class frigates inside their navy. Third, we continue to prosecute our campaign against our defense industrial base at scale. This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons, research and development labs and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability. I'd like to continue my theme of highlighting the incredible contributions of Americans to our joint force. Today I want to talk a little bit about a different front line, A line that doesn't have bunkers or guard posts, but is just as critical to our nation's security, our national assembly lines. Today I want to recognize a group of Americans who live at the beginning of our nation's combat power. The Americans who actually make our weapons both inside our defense industrial base, but even more broadly inside our national industrial base. In every military option, we could not and cannot do our jobs without the Men and women across our country who show up every day around the clock to a factory floor, a workshop, a laboratory, who build the weapons and capabilities we need to project American combat power at the time and place of our choosing. These great Americans, and I've had a chance to spend some time with them when I was in the private sector, are the core of American combat power. They're the machinists running high tech CNC machines, cutting raw blocks of metal into incredibly precise parts. They're the assembly workers painstakingly taking a kit of parts and turning that into a complex guidance system or precision munition, or a rocket motor, or building a jet or submarine, or that. There are quality assurance technicians who ensure that when a war fighter pulls a trigger, the weapon works every time. This can be and is tough and gritty work. It's not a quiet office and a desk with paper, and there's nothing wrong with that. But this is exactly the way this group of Americans likes it. I know this. I've seen it myself, and I remain deeply honored by that gift. It's often loud and dangerous work, demanding, requires absolute value, Focus for hours at a time with deep commitment to get it right every single time. It's hands on work where one uncaught mistake or deviation can put an American's life at risk. A single misplaced wire, a microscopic flaw in a weld, incorrectly calibrated sensor, could mean the difference between mission success or mission failure. The difference is measured in the lives of our sons and daughters who we put out around the field and on the field of battle. We rely on and trust in these great Americans. And it's not just their manufacturing skill, it's their innovative minds and their entrepreneurial spirit. From those who build exquisite capabilities down to the mom and pop machine shops all over this great country, they live at the beginning of and the core of America's combat capability. Constantly adapting, constantly improving, constantly learning. And there are examples of this throughout history and current days to include building things like the F117 stealth fighter, the B2 stealth bomber, making our combat capability undetectable over the enemy. To today's B21 and F47, it's work like in the shipyards of the east coast and northeast side of the United States that go out and build America's nuclear submarines that allow us to patrol around the world world at the time and place of our choosing. These innovators, these workers, these incredible Americans, don't get the same glory as a fighter pilot returning to a carrier deck at night or an Artilleryman sending rounds downrange. And yet they show up every single day. And without them, we could not do the work that we are tasked to do 24 7. They build the tools that we need to do our business. The skill, the commitment, the patriotism, the dedication poured into every piece of combat capability and hardware is seen and felt out at the edge of the force. As the Secretary talked about those young bomb builders out in the desert that he had the chance to see, you can see it, you can feel it, and it's real. And we're deeply grateful. So, to the American workforce out there, both inside our defense industrial base and in our national industrial. Thank you on behalf of the Joint Force. We carry the weapons that you build. We rely on the systems that you create. And the distance from that factory floor and that assembly line to the front line is incredibly short. Thank you. Keep it up. And to our adversaries out there, I remind you to beware of the American workforce. We continue to press forward in our military objectives. The Secretary and I remain deeply humbled by the spirit, tenacity, commitment and grit of our 2.8 million member strong joint force. I want to, as always, thank the force and their families and as always, remember our fallen we carry with them and their names every day. Sir, I'll turn it back over to you.
- [26:01]
Pete Hegseth
Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two things. He didn't note it, but in memory of Colonel Bud Anderson, the chairman himself flew his F16 to honor him recently. And thank you for highlighting the defense industrial base, the arsenal of freedom. It's worth noting no one has rebuilt that defense industrial base faster and with more purpose than President Trump in his first term. And now we're rebuilding the arsenal of freedom. Our defense industrial base is more vibrant today than it's been since World War II and growing rapidly. Contrast that with Iran, whose defense industrial base is nearly completely destroyed. Their ability to reconstitute the weapons of war they're using now that they're hiding in underground facilities and attritting over time, their ability to rebuild that is negligible. And I think that contrast is an enduring legacy of this as well. Right here.
- [26:49]
Alison Hines
Thank you for your time. We've had some signaling that the US Will retake control of the Strait of Hormuz. At that point, what military posture will be imposed to guarantee safe passage for our allies, deter our enemies, and demonstrate US Dominance in the region? And also, can you speak to how much America's adversaries, Russia, China, North Korea, how much they're supporting Iran's war machine at this point, with arms and intelligence and what we are militarily doing to punish the enemy coalition.
- [27:24]
Pete Hegseth
Appreciate both questions. On the Strait of Hormuz, there are many more vessels flowing through today than there were, as the President has arranged. The president has been clear to Iran, open it for business or we have options, and we certainly do. And when you look at what the chairman laid out with the Navy, with the Navy industrial base, with coastal Cruise missiles, with UAVs, with counter mine capabilities, we've been focused from the beginning on attritting and defeating those capabilities and limiting their options. There's lots we're doing as well, some of which is known, some of which is not known to set the conditions. And I think the President was clear this morning in his truth that there are countries around the world who ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well. It's not just the United States Navy. Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well. He's pointing out this is an international waterway that we use less than most. In fact, dramatically less than most. So the world ought pay attention and be prepared to stand up. President Trump's been willing to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this threat of Iran. It's not just our problem set going forward, even though we have done the lion's share of preparation to ensure that that strait will be. Will be open, which is an outcome the President's been very clear on. As far as Russia and China. We know exactly what they're doing, what they are or are not doing. We don't have to air publicly what all of that is, but where necessary, we're addressing it, we're mitigating it and or we're confronting it head on. I don't know if you have anything
- [28:52]
David Brody
you want to add.
- [28:52]
General Dan Kaine
No, sir, I think you covered it.
- [28:54]
Alison Hines
Do you have any timeline for operability in the strait?
- [28:56]
David Zier
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. David Zia, Real America's voice and I witnessed that enthusiasm on the lines in our submarine builders and ironworks. It's unbelievable. But I just wanted to ask you, what's the status of the delivery of any hardened bunkers for additional protection for our troops? And without getting too specific, what kind of measures are we taking to protect some of the larger, more strategic aircraft like the sentry and other.
- [29:24]
Pete Hegseth
Well, it's great, great question. I'll say. What I witnessed, where I went was a completely locked in discipline of bunker use and bunker Improvement. So from the beginning, as we stated very clearly, the first thing we did was set up a defense and make sure our defensive capabilities were maxed out before any of this even started. That included fortifications as much as possible, but it also included disbursement. If all of our people are in one place, you could imagine why that's a big problem. So dispersing is part of that defeat. Alongside that disbursement is more and more bunkers. And I can tell you, talking to base commanders, talking to our allies in Israel, talking to others, rapidly fielding that, and then improving those positions is a theater priority, no doubt, as are the air defenses and the layered air defenses. It's not just patriots and thads, it's fighters and defensive caps. It's other kinetic defeat systems. It's electronic warfare. So the defense of our. Of our troops and our assets is max. I will say on some of those other assets you talked about, air wings, airframes, there's some things adversaries are doing to provide info and intel that they shouldn't. We're aware of it, and ultimately we move things around and don't. One of the biggest principles you learn in the military is to not set patterns, predictable patterns. And so commanders are working hard to adjust in real time with those systems and make sure they're in the right places and not easily targetable. Gillian?
- [30:52]
Alison Hines
Thanks, Mr. Secretary. The US and Iran appear right now publicly to disagree about whether there are these negotiations ongoing. What impact does that have on military strategy? Does it have any bearing at all? And, General, the president wrote yesterday that the US Might destroy Iran's electricity generating plants and oil wells. Those are his words before ending this operation.
- [31:20]
Pete Hegseth
Is there a way to do either
- [31:21]
Alison Hines
of those things without, like, seriously jeopardizing
- [31:26]
David Brody
or seriously harming civilians?
- [31:30]
Pete Hegseth
So, on the talks, I can tell you, having been with Steve and Jared and the vice president and Marco and many others yesterday, they are very real. They are ongoing, they're active, and, I think, gaining strength. And we appreciate that. As I said in my remarks, we would much prefer to get a deal if Iran was willing to relinquish material they have and ambitions they have. Open this great. That's the goal. We don't want to have to do more militarily than we have to. But I didn't mean it flippantly when I said, in the meantime, we'll negotiate with bombs. Our job is to ensure that we compel Iran to realize that this new regime, this regime in charge, is in a better place if they make that deal. And so we'll continue. We're working hand in hand, but the primary effort is a deal. We want that deal to be accomplished, if at all possible. If not, then we're prepared to continue.
- [32:20]
Tracy Anthony
Mr. Secretary, what happened?
- [32:22]
Pete Hegseth
Mr. Chairman?
- [32:23]
General Dan Kaine
Yeah, thanks for the question. We're always thinking about those considerations and develop options to be able to mitigate those risks pursuant to the normal practices that we do in the military.
- [32:36]
Alison Hines
Thank you. Mr. Secretary. I know you slightly addressed this already, but just on the Strait of Hormuz. Is opening the Strait an essential objective to Operation Epic Fury, or is that the job of those other countries? And then second, secondly, without asking you to comment on things that you can't talk about, what is your message to Americans who love the president and strongly believe in him, but are very worried about this notion of boots on the ground?
- [33:02]
Pete Hegseth
Well, first, on the Strait of Hormuz, our core objectives from this podium, from day one, from me, from the chairman, from the president, from the vice president, from Secretary Rubio and others have been clear. Defense missile production and missile programs. So their entire missile program, defense, industrial base and production, ability to build a navy and power projection. So those have. And then, of course, wrapping it all is Iran's never going to have a nuclear weapon. So those have been very clear. Defeating the navy is a core part of ensuring they can't project that kind of power. But ultimately, I think the president's truth this morning lays that out very well, that this Strait of Hormuz issue, which we've set the conditions for success, and we will make sure Iran knows that very clearly, is not just a United States of America problem set. We've been willing to lead President Trump's lead the entire time, but it's not just us. So ultimately, I think other countries should pay attention. When the president speaks, he's proven that when he speaks, he means something. And he's pointing out, you know, you might, might want to start learning how to fight for yourself. It's something some of us have been saying for quite some time. You can't just have flags. You have to have formations. You can't just have a few ships. You have enough to affect change. Those things matter in a dangerous world with ascended adversaries. That's why the president, that's why the chairman's talking about our industrial base. That's why we're launching the Arsenal of Freedom Tour to revive our defense industrial base. President Trump doing it in a way that nobody else has. As far as President Trump and boots on the ground, I don't understand why the base, which they have already, they understand, wouldn't have faith in his ability to execute on this. Look at his track record of pursuing peace through strength, America first outcomes. What he's simply saying, and it's exactly true, and I've said from this podium, too, we're not going to foreclose any option. You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do to include boots on the ground. Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground, and guess what? There are. So if we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the President, United States and this department. Or maybe we don't have to use them at all. Maybe negotiations work, or maybe there's a different approach. The point is to be unpredictable in that. Certainly not let anybody know what you're willing to do or not do. But if anybody has internalized the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan as the first one, President Trump to call them out for what they are, he's not going to repeat those lessons. And I think I've been very clear about that from the podium.
- [35:34]
David Brody
Thank you.
- [35:35]
Alison Hines
Secretary Hexseth, question for you, and then a question for General Kaine. You said we're a month into the Operation Epic Fury. How long until the objectives are achieved? And is there a scenario where a deal is struck before the objectives have been achieved? And then for General Kaine, there's been lots of media coverage that suggested ground in the invasion is imminent. What other purposes might the soldiers and the Marines who have been deployed over to the Middle east serve in this conflict?
- [36:05]
Pete Hegseth
Well, just like the previous question, it's sort of Military 101. Don't tell your enemy what you're willing to do or not do, and don't tell your enemy when you're willing to stop. Especially an enemy that likes to hide in bunkers and try to hoard their missiles and hope you'll wait you out. So that's not a question I'm going to answer, or the President has said definitively, we have our own goals and guidance, and things were military objectives that we're moving toward and things that we look at. And as he's articulated, you know, he said four to six weeks, six to eight weeks, three. It could be any particular number, but we would never reveal precisely what it is because our goal is to finish those objectives and we're well on our way. And the chairman and I look at this every single day. It will be the President's determination and the President's determination alone, when those objectives are complete and when it serves the interest of the American people to cut that deal, to make sure that Iran doesn't have a nuclear capability and ultimately that our objectives, our interests are advanced. I don't know if you want to add anything.
- [37:06]
General Dan Kaine
No. Just to answer your question, Reagan, you know the range of military options that those forces can offer are extensive, not just limited to what you mentioned in terms of forces on the ground. And I wouldn't want to take away the President's decision space. But there are a multitude of things, not the least of which is Iran should note that they're out there and that they, they are a pressure point. And so they should carefully consider, I think, at the diplomatic level, not, not my job as a chairman, but at the diplomatic level, to consider what's in front of them.
- [37:41]
Pete Hegseth
Jerry?
- [37:44]
David Brody
Okay. Mr. Secretary, the US government and IC assessed for many years that Iran is protecting Al Qaeda senior leaders, including the current Amir Saif Al Idil. Does the US Assess that he's still in Iran? Has he fled to Afghanistan? Is he on a target list? And Mr. Chairman, based on CENTCOM figures and open source, Iranian daily missile barrages and drone launches have indeed dropped dramatically since the start of the war. But they're not at zero. And they seem to have maintained some level of low but stable numbers. Perhaps they've dropped a little bit more in recent days. How do we get that closer to zero? And what impact is Iran's degraded but still very real capability impacting current and future operations?
- [38:44]
Pete Hegseth
So I won't speak to a particular target. I'll just say that Al Qaeda remains our enemy, obviously. And there are a lot of people on our target list in Iran. And if they were to be harboring Al Qaeda, they would certainly fit that list.
- [38:57]
General Dan Kaine
Just quickly, you know, the mobile targets that they have that we continue to service as. The Secretary talked about the 200 hits that were done last night. That's one component of continuing to lower that. The second and more long term impact that we're having is the strikes against their defense industrial base at scale, which will not allow them to reload after that. So we do continue to see a trend down. They are still shooting, and we do continue to exert significant pressure against both sides of that system.
- [39:31]
David Brody
Do you still believe, you said previously
- [39:34]
Tom Simon
that the Iranian leadership would surrender?
- [39:36]
Terrence
You still believe that?
- [39:38]
David Brody
And is the United States still committed
- [39:40]
Pete Hegseth
to NATO's collective defense? And to Chairman Kaine, could you give us A sense of your thinking about the legality of striking desalinization plans.
- [39:49]
Steve Gruber
If the President were to order that,
- [39:53]
Pete Hegseth
I would just say that any, any mission that ends on our terms going to call it a surrender, call it a defeat, call it what you want, we remain committed to it. A conflict that ends on our terms and the President's terms, there's no doubt about that. And as far as NATO is concerned, that's a decision that will be left to the President. But I'll just say a lot has been laid bare, a lot has been shown to the world about what our allies would be willing to do for the United States of America when we undertake an effort of this scope on behalf of the free world. These are missiles that don't even range the United States of America. They range allies and others. And yet when we ask for additional assistance or simple access, basing overflight, we get questions or roadblocks or hesitations. And the President's pointing out you don't have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them. He's simply pointing that out. And ultimately it'll be his decision of what that looks like.
- [40:48]
General Dan Kaine
After this is complete, I'll just won't talk about any particular target. This really builds on Gillian's question, too, that I don't think I completely answered. But, you know, the Joint Force is the most professional force in the world, and we have numerous processes and system to carefully consider the whole range of considerations, from civilian risk to legal considerations with any target. And as targets come before us, we run them through the same process that we always do and always strike lawful targets in accordance with the normal procedures that we use.
- [41:20]
Alison Hines
Cameron King.
- [41:21]
Tracy Anthony
No quarter, no mercy for enemy combatants.
- [41:27]
Pete Hegseth
Thank you, sir.
- [41:29]
Alison Hines
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you. I appreciate it. On Sunday, President Trump said that Iran's first regime was all destroyed and the second one is mostly dead. The third regime that we're on right now has been much more reasonable in negotiations. Do you agree with that assessment and
- [41:42]
Pete Hegseth
why I would defer to the negotiating team there. They're the ones talking to him, but they're getting a back and forth on terms, which is, which is a productive development. We stand right there next to our negotiating team, always willing and prepared to put them in an even better position. Thank you very much. Thank you.
- [42:07]
Terrence
So you've been listening to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth along with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kaine, talking about the war operations in, in Iran. Let's bring in David and Alison to discuss a little bit more. There's a lot to take in here. I must admit. I don't feel like we learned a whole lot new. But I do believe there was a different sort of narrative that we heard the secretary of war saying that these other countries, that our allies can't just have flags. You have to have formations. He's basically saying that other countries need to learn how to fight for themselves. That kind of echoes President Trump's Truth Social from earlier this morning. We'll start with you, Alice, and your takeaways and then David, love to hear your takeaways from what we just heard.
- [42:52]
Alison Hines
Oh, absolutely, Terrence. I completely agree with you. I think what Pete Hegseth says, it's been laid bare, what our allies are willing to do. He went right out there and called those other countries out for basically stiffing us when we ask for help. So it's very clear that has been exposed during this period of time. And I thought that that was very overt and something that I took notice of and I think that other Americans are going to take notice of in the future.
- [43:26]
David Brody
Well, look, not trying to poo poo it at all. He was talking about visiting the troops overseas over the weekend. But it was a bit of story time with Pete at the beginning. You know, we kind of bury the lead, if you will, though they would suggest that what the troops are doing on the front lines is the lead. You can make that argument. But it did feel a little bit like story time at the beginning, like he was reading from a novel, a couple of things. They're doing B52 runs over land for the first time. He said talks are gaining strength. I thought that was interesting in terms of how long until the objectives are achieved. To me, this is interesting because he wouldn't say. So we're keeping our options open. Well, hold on for a second. I believe, and I'm being facetious and rhetorical at the same time, I believe they had said four to six weeks. That was the timeline. It's always been the timeline. We're in week five now, so why not continue to say four to six weeks? He was asked specifically the secretary of War whether or not that timeline, the actual question was how long until the objectives are achieved. Well, if it's four to six weeks and we're in week five, that would suggest that it's two more weeks and then we're done. He didn't say that. I thought that was interesting. Let's bring in retired Navy SEAL officer. I'M sorry, Alison, go ahead. You want to say something?
- [44:47]
Alison Hines
I was just going to mention, I think that that was his point, was that he was saying we are going to be unpredictable. We're not going to give you time. It's not always going to be according to those dates.
- [45:07]
David Brody
No, I get that. But at the same time they had a timeline and they kept saying this timeline. I mean, if you're not going to put timelines out there, then don't put the timelines out there. They've already put the timeline out there. Four to six weeks. So every single press conference we've heard Hecset say four to six weeks. Four to six weeks. Four to six weeks.
- [45:24]
Hi Rez
Today.
- [45:24]
David Brody
You did not say that.
- [45:25]
Alison Hines
Okay, but to me, that's the question is, is this timeline for us, the Americans, or is this timeline for people, perhaps our enemies?
- [45:36]
David Brody
The timeline is for the objectives to be accomplished. I think that's what.
- [45:40]
Terrence
David, if you don't mind, I do want to bring in retired Navy SEAL officer and chief talent officer for Overwatch Mission critical. That would be Mike Cirella. You're going to bring him in momentarily. Mike, why don't you chime in on that? The fact that the administration, the Secretary of War isn't necessarily being specific about timelines, is that fair in your mind? Is that reasonable military practice?
- [46:05]
Mike Cirella
Absolutely. Reasonable military practice. Guys, we're gonna keep our enemy in the dark. What he's displaying here is we have resolve. No matter how long it takes, we're gonna get the job done. I think from a timing perspective, probably the key thing is Congress here is Trump move forward with notifying Congress. He's on a six week time, time crunch that he has that time clock. He's staring at it. But what I would argue is give the military more time because we have seen one of the most monumental just military operations in our era. Previous generations from World War II would look at what we've done in complete awe, with the low amount of casualties, how we've decimated a military. But we are talking about weeks compared to 47 years of evil and the largest state sponsor of terrorism. We are in the red zone. Let's continue because this will reshape the world as we know it and the potential of a peaceful Middle East. And this requires persistence. It requires resolve and commitment.
- [47:12]
David Brody
Mike, I get it that you gotta keep all options open. I understand that. But the truth of the matter is, can we just like have a truth serum injection here? This thing's not wrapping up in a week or two. I mean, if President Trump wants it to wrap up. It can wrap up. I mean, he can literally say, okay, we're done and the objectives have been accomplished. I get it. They can spin it or they can say it, but the truth of the matter is this is not going to be wrapped up in two weeks. Is that your assessment as well, from a military perspective? Because they got Carg island to deal with and there are going to be some booby traps. Hello, on Carg island, if they send ground troops in.
- [47:46]
Mike Cirella
David, you're correct. This isn't going to end in a week, guys. These are probably going to be sustained security operations in the Middle east for decades to come. But if you do want to end this as quickly as possible, then you go intense on the strikes, Hit their desalination plants, hit their energy infrastructure, hit Cargyl and destroy their financial jugular. That's the way you end this quickly. It's not exactly a clean exit, but if you want to put pain on the Iranian regime and give the highest probability to the people of Iran to rise up is put Iran into the dark and let them settle it themselves. But again, not the best exit for America.
- [48:24]
Terrence
Hey, Mike, just really quickly, it seems to me, as a layman, as someone who's not a military. Military expert, that what's being said from the administration and the reality is a little different. We continue to hear from the administration that they've really kind of dismantled. I think the term that was just used is Iran's defense, defense industrial kind of base. They've dismantled all the weapons making facilities and abilities. But still on a daily basis, we see Iran attacking other Gulf, Gulf area countries as well as Israel, which says to me, all right, well, they still have all these weapons. Even though you're saying you're destroying all of that, put that into perspective for regular, average, everyday Americans like me. Because I think there are a lot of people who see that and wonder, okay, well, what's really going on? You're saying one thing, but they're still attacking on a daily basis.
- [49:19]
Mike Cirella
Hey, Terrence, you bring up a great point. And I don't think any military professional would say that you can destroy, decimate a regime without putting troops on the ground, and we are not going to do that. We've seen what happened in Iraq, we've seen what happened in Afghanistan, but we have decimated their ability to project power regionally. Do they retain a residual capability with missiles to launch? Yes, but we've seen those. Those volleys come significantly down. So I think the point here is, you know, we have an opportunity to, to, to put a nail in the coffin by, by striking their infrastructure. And ultimately that's what we're doing now with B52s in hitting their war making capability. Guys in the military, we say amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics. War is about not only mass troops in the, in the architecture, the war, the, the machinery and technology they have, but it's the ability to produce it. If you strike their production in their supply chain, you limit any military. And if you look at past wars, that's what we did with Germany, that's what we did with Japan, is we struck their industrial military complex in order to prohibit or limit their ability to wage war.
- [50:34]
Alison Hines
Mike, that is such an amazing point. Thank you so much for being with us this morning and sticking around. We sincerely appreciate it.
- [50:42]
David Brody
Thanks Mike.
- [50:42]
Terrence
Thanks, Mike.
- [50:44]
Alison Hines
Also, RAV correspondent David Zier was at the briefing this morning and got a question in to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Let's take a look.
- [50:52]
David Zier
What's the status of the delivery of any hardened bunkers for additional protection for our troops? And without getting too specific, what kind of measures are we taking to protect some of the larger, more strategic aircraft like the Sentry and other.
- [51:08]
Pete Hegseth
That's great, great question. I'll say. What I witnessed where I went was a completely locked in discipline of bunker use and bunker improvement. So from the beginning, as we stated very clearly, the first thing we did was set up a defense and make sure our defensive capabilities were maxed out before any of this even started. That included fortifications as much as possible, but it also included disbursement. If all of our people are in one place, you could imagine why that's, that's a big problem. So dispersing is part of that defeat. Alongside that disbursement is more and more bunkers. And I can tell you, talking to base commanders, talking to our allies in Israel, talking to others, rapidly fielding that and then improving those positions is a theater priority, no doubt, as are the air defenses and the layered air defenses. It's not just patriots and Thads, it's fighters in defensive caps. It's other kinetic defeat systems, it's electronic warfare. So the defense of our troops and our assets is max. I will say on some of those other assets you talked about, air wings, airframes, there's some things adversaries are doing to provide info and intel that they shouldn't. We're aware of it and ultimately we move things around and don't. One of the biggest principles you learn in the military is to not set Patterns, predictable patterns. And so commanders are working hard to adjust in real time with those systems and make sure they're in the right places and not easily targetable.
- [52:35]
Alison Hines
And David joins us now along with the host of the right news show, Javier Negre, who was also at the briefing. Good morning, gentlemen. David, I'll begin with you. We're hearing that word predictable or unpredictability again with your question, your thoughts this morning.
- [52:55]
David Zier
Good morning Allison and everybody. Yeah, the briefings wrapped up here in the press briefing room. I thought there were some interesting things that came out of it. One was Pete Hagsett's confirmation that foreign adversaries may be giving intel on the location of some of these really invaluable assets like the E3 Sentry, AWACS and other, you know, which puts us in jeopardy here. But as Netanyahu said yesterday, most of the missions are complete and they're over the halfway point. So to put a timeline on this would probably be irresponsible. But I think they are making some significant headway. And then we have the UAE yesterday agreeing to join the force that will protect our ships and other countries ships in the Strait of Hormuz. I thought that was a significant development as well because securing that traffic which is down from 129 ships a day down to virtually none and 11 million barrels per day of oil taken out of the supply chain. That looks like we're going to get some, you know, a break in that. And Javier Negri joins us today and this is his first press briefing here in the Pentagon. What do you think?
- [54:15]
Javier Negre
It's because made a transparency exercise. We are not getting used to see the secretary of war of Spain giving that details about a war. I'm pretty sure that the war will continue as he said, until the Iranian people accept the deal as Spanish. I'm very worried about the position of my country because we are partners my country, Spain, Spanish government with the lefties. We are the partners of the terrorists of Iran. And yesterday we knew that the US The Spanish airspace is going to be closed for US Military aircraft. Which is makes me feel embarrassed because United States has to have like the good relationship with Spain. But the leftist prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez wants to make marketing attacking the US Government attacking President Trump because he's getting boats attacking and confronting because the difference between Spain and the decision of Italy today to close their airspace because in Italy they need one decision from the Congress in Spain is just a political decision and that's not fair. I want to give my support to President Trump because he's in the correct side of the history and he has to stop the war. He has to attack Iran because they finance a lot of terrorist attacks all over the world, including Spain.
- [55:43]
David Zier
Yes. Back to you, Alison.
- [55:45]
Alison Hines
Well, I'm going to throw it over to Terrence right now. I think he has a question for you.
- [55:50]
Terrence
Yeah, Javier, I want to follow up on what you said because you hit the nail on the head. Both Spain have, Spain and Italy have closed their air sprays to Ukraine US Aircraft which are trying to refuel and set the stage for trips to the Middle East. What does that say really across Europe? What message does that send to the United States in terms of support in future wars from those countries, from other supposed European allies?
- [56:18]
Javier Negre
It's an important message because the difference between Italy, as I said, is like Giorgio Menoni, Italian prime minister, she made the decision because she need the approval of the Congress. It's a legal thing. So she closed the airspace because she needed the approval of the Congress. The difference if the prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, he made the decision because he wants to be the enemy of President Trump to get voters, because in the polls he was destroyed because he has a lot of scandals for corruption, including his wife, including his brother, including his colleagues in the Socialist Party. And now he's trying to make distraction. He's trying to attack President Trump because he's a good marketing campaign because now it's all the time on the news. But I feel sorry about my Spanish people because maybe we're going to have tariffs, maybe we're going to have President Trump saying that he's going to ban my U.S. waiver. So I'm very worried about what action they are going to take against my country.
- [57:29]
David Brody
All right, David Zier, Javier Negri, appreciate your time. Thanks for joining us on the Pentagon this morning.
- [57:36]
Terrence
Thanks, guys.
- [57:36]
David Zier
Thank you, Everett.
- [57:37]
Javier Negre
Thank you.
- [57:38]
David Brody
All right, we're back with the second hour of American Sunrise in two minutes. Stick around.
- [57:53]
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- [58:55]
David Brody
Coming up on the second hour of American Sunrise. Iran and its allies lash out, striking targets in Israel and other Gulf states. This comes as the Trump administration continues to consider potential ground operations. We're going to have the latest on the war in just a moment. I'm sorry. The military conflict. Plus, New York congresswoman and socialist firebrand AOC facing an ethics complaint after it was revealed she spent thousands of dollars in campaign cash on a doctor who provides ketamine based therapy. Those details later on. Also, I had new polling data showing an overwhelming number of likely voters feeling the financial sting as Iran keeps the vital straight of Hormuz closed, leading to an avalanche of economic stress. Have you been to the pump recently? I'm sure you have. So have I. We're going to break down the numbers, those stories and so much more as the second hour of American Sunrise starts right now. Good morning America. Welcome to American Sunrise.
- [60:02]
Terrence
Whether it's culture, we have breaking news
- [60:04]
Tracy Anthony
to share with you.
- [60:05]
Terrence
Politics.
- [60:06]
David Brody
President Trump is joining us live now from Florida.
- [60:10]
Terrence
We've got you covered.
- [60:11]
David Brody
This is what it looks like to be a patriot.
- [60:14]
Terrence
We have to protect the American family.
- [60:17]
David Brody
The American dream is still alive. I'm David Brody.
- [60:21]
Terrence
I'm terrence.
- [60:22]
Alison Hines
And I'm Dr. Tina.
- [60:28]
David Brody
Welcome back, everybody, to the second hour of American Sunrise. I'm David Brody coming to you from D.C. let's bring in Allison Hans, who's in for Dr. G in West Palm Beach. T. Bates in our Denver newsroom. Good morning to both of you. Alison, Another update from Pete Hegseth this morning and not too much news. I mean, a little bit, but still a lot of unknown. But maybe that's the point. They want it that way.
- [60:52]
Alison Hines
Yeah, I think so. I think it's a very unique situation where you have the secretary of war coming out and having these press conferences weekly essentially. And they're really, it's, it's new, them getting out there and presenting their story. And whether you agree with that or you disagree with that or the way that they're presenting the information. They definitely want to get to the jump and put their side out there.
- [61:23]
David Brody
Yeah.
- [61:23]
Terrence
I mean, we got some perspective, if you will. I'm not so sure there was a whole lot of new information or information that we didn't really know. Not a whole lot, just some added details. But guys do want to kind of move to this because we now do finally know who President Trump and his team have been negotiating with inside Iran. 47 says it's the country's parliamentary speaker who has been vehemently denying any ongoing talks with, with the US Administration. The president is even or that guy, excuse me. The Iranian leader has even threatened American soldiers saying, quote, waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever. As the fighting continues, American allies in the Gulf are reportedly urging President Trump to keep bombing Iran, saying that Tehran hasn't been weakened enough by the month long campaign campaign. Countries privately pushing the United States to finish the job supposedly include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. The White House is continuing to push Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The current DHS shutdown is now the longest in American history. On Monday, the White House called vacationing lawmakers in the House and Senate to task, particularly Democrats.
- [62:39]
Alison Hines
Democrats are holding our entire country hostage, picking and choosing which programs and agencies they want to fund just because they don't like this administration's policies. That's not how it's supposed to work. They voted seven times against funding DHS over partisan and political reasons. And so again, the president has stepped in to do the right thing at this moment in time.
- [63:00]
Tracy Anthony
But the president is also encouraging Congress
- [63:03]
Alison Hines
to come back to Washington, Washington to permanently fix this problem and to fund and reopen the Department of Homeland Security entirely.
- [63:13]
Terrence
Meantime, Palm Beach Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, now officially Donald J. Trump International Airport. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Monday renaming the airport in honor of the 45th and 47th President whose nearby Mar a Lago resort is the Trump families home away from the White House. Florida Republicans fought to rebrand the airport, saying it's a fitting way to recognize President Trump as the first president to reside in Florida. The cost of the reband, rebranding, excuse me, which will include airport signage and website updates, is estimated to cost between two and a half, 2.75 million and about $5.5 million. That's a quick check of your headlines. Now let's get the a quick check of your weather forecast with meteorologist Tracy Anthony. Tracy, good morning.
- [64:02]
Tracy Anthony
Hey, good morning. Terrence, we are talking severe weather. It's really ramping up as our weather pattern is starting to shift. So 25 million people at risk for strong to severe thunderstorms throughout the day today. So scenes like this already started yesterday evening in Iowa. We have several low pressure centers that are going to roll through the Central Plains and the Great Lakes regions, even into the Northeast. So brace for hail, wind and even tornado potential over the next couple of days. So this is going to be a multi day severe weather outbreak. And what's fueling it is record heat across the Central Plains. So we had a ton of heat records set throughout the month of March. Daily heat records were almost to 8,000 just across the country. So very impressive amounts of heat. But we do still have a winter side of things. So we're going to be picking up some fresh snow and some ice here across parts of the northern tier of the country. North Dakota, you were picking up some fresh flakes just yesterday. So the severe threat, though the next couple of days is what's going to be the big kicker. So, Terrence, just want to remind everyone you can download the Weather Nation app to get all your latest updates. That's going to be your best bet to stay weather aware here for the week.
- [65:18]
Terrence
Good information there. TT Appreciate it, Tracy.
- [65:21]
Alison Hines
Yep.
- [65:23]
Terrence
All right, let's get you over to David now. David, so much to talk about on Capitol Hill as well as what we just heard from the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth.
- [65:31]
David Brody
No doubt about it. T. Bates. All right. The Trump administration continuing to weigh its next steps in the ongoing conflict in Iran. The conflict continues to escalate after authorities report an Iranian drone struck a Kuwaiti flagged tanker carrying millions of barrels of oil in Dubai. The attack came as Iran continues to lash out at Israel and other Gulf states. We also heard from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in the last hour who said Iran actually has a much easier way out of this war. Here he is.
- [66:01]
Pete Hegseth
But if Iran is wise, they will cut a deal. President Trump doesn't bluff and he does not back down. You can ask Khamenei about that. The new Iranian regime should know that by now. This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last. President Trump will make a deal. He is willing and the terms of the deal are known to them. If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity.
- [66:39]
David Brody
All right. Joining us now with analysis is the editor in chief for just the news. That would be John Solomon, our good friend. John so what do you think? I mean we're in week five, we were told four to six weeks at the beginning of this. Every press conference was four to six weeks. Now they're not really saying four to six weeks or at least Hegseth didn't say today four to six weeks. I can't imagine this is wrapping up in a week or two. Absolutely impossible unless negotiations somehow take a turn for the better. Even though we're told that there's progress. But what do you think's going to happen here?
- [67:11]
John Solomon
John ON yeah, listen, I think this is on course for a mid May completion. If we have to go the full military route without a settlement or peace deal, that is. That forestalls some of our military action. They are thinning out. Last night they conducted a very important mission on a munitions depot that has been key to supplying Hezbollah and the hooties that takes out a major supply capability of Iran. After all the internal areas that have been providing the Iran military with its assets were destroyed in the last week. So systematically we continue to reduce Iran's capabilities day by day. Now they still are a menace. They can be a lethal menace. They can still blow up a tanker here and there. They can launch a few missiles here and there. But increasingly their missile supply dwindles. Their capability to make new missiles is less. And the less firepower they have, the more likely they are to make a deal. And I think that's the game that the US military is here Now. A second dynamic is that the Gulf allies, the Arab allies around Iran, which wasn't, which weren't that excited about the start of this military operation, are now all in and actually telling the president, go all the way. Don't stop until you've humbled, humiliated and dethroned Iran. And so the Iran has managed to make stronger allies for the the US in this regime. Now the Strait of Hormuz is the one stranglehold that Iran has. It's its most powerful weapon. It can get world prices up to six or seven or $8 gallon gallon. Six or $8 a gallon of gas soon. That's their play. The alternative is for the United States to ramp up, as I mentioned last week in cpac, alternate routes to get massive amounts of natural gas and oil to Europe quickly. That is underway. And if this has to stretch into May, you'll begin to see relief from for those countries that accept American oil and American gas and American lng, they'll make those moves. Those who want to hold out, not take US oil, well, they're going to see their prices keep going up. But I think this is probably on course for a mid May military operation. You could stop sooner, but the current strategic map shows that they can flatten almost everything and anything they want by the time mid May rolls around.
- [69:30]
Terrence
JOHN so much of our focus is on Iran right now, but there's also a lot happening on Capitol Hill specifically related to allegations of, let's just put it like this, tampering when it comes to the Biden administration. Take me behind the scenes on this. Just the news headline. I'm reading it here on your website. It says, Garland aware of Jack Smith's efforts to pierce legal privilege privileges in pursuing Trump memo suggests. The headline itself, I think speaks volumes. But the bigger question is, is anything really going to come of these investigations? Are heads gonna roll? Is anyone gonna be held accountable?
- [70:05]
John Solomon
John yeah, great question. So first, let's explain the headline. For a long time we've wondered, we know what now Jack Smith did. We know he went after 14, 15, 16 members of Congress, took their phone records, did other things to gain access to what is constitutionally protected congressional materials. The second thing we know is that they obtained the law records several of President Trump's lawyers, even though there's an attorney client privilege. So congressional privilege, legal privilege were pierced. It was pretty unprecedented, the scope of this. Now, keep in mind, nearly every lawyer that had their legal privilege prayers to every member of Congress that had their congressional privilege prayers, they were never charged with any wrongdoing. In other words, they were innocent. The question has lingered who knew what and when. And we now know from new documents that Senator Ron Johnson and Chuck Rousey provided last week that Merrick Garland was briefed in July and January 2023 at the start of the 2024 election cycle. That's when the kickoff of the presidential season starts, that they were doing these very things that they were going after members of Congress. Garland, according to the briefing memo, was told that these members of Congress and these lawyers had very good arguments for privilege, but the Justice Department was going to try to pierce them anyways. That is a very significant document. It means that Merrick Garland was at the head and at the approval site or at the approval poll position for a lot of the most controversial tactics that occurred. He was in the know. It wasn't as though the prosecutor was going on his own. And being a rogue prosecutor, that is a very important element. As we learn more and more about this, will heads roll? I think the first question is will John Brennan's head roll first? And I think Right now, the grand jury in Florida is in the final stages of deciding whether to charge John Brennan, going all the way back to the Russia collusion case. If that first chip falls, if the materials at the House and Senate just transmitted to the grand jury are enough to get an indictment, that is the beginning of, I think, a series of dominoes after that. There are some FBI personnel who are involved in the seizure of phone records of Susie Wiles, Cash Patel, and they could be next. And then I think you'd start to see a cascading case. And once a few people plead guilty, there's an opportunity to make deals and roll up to the top of the food chain in these four big scandals that we've been covering.
- [72:26]
Alison Hines
And John, would that be a conspiracy?
- [72:30]
John Solomon
Yeah. So the, the primary case, when they, after they roll up some cooperating witnesses, I think the first witnesses get, you know, singular cases. You lied in 2023, you're indicted, you did this, made a false application, you're going to get, once they get some cooperating witnesses, then the goal is a conspiracy case. The conspiracy would be to violate President Trump's civil liberties and those of his followers with unauthorized or unpredicated or improper investigation.
- [72:57]
Alison Hines
Thanks so much for joining us.
- [73:00]
David Brody
I really appreciate it. Hey, John, by the way, for sleeping in a suit, you look good, by the way. You just sleep in a suit all day long. You just break news left and right.
- [73:10]
John Solomon
Thanks, guys.
- [73:11]
David Brody
Thank you.
- [73:11]
John Solomon
Love your show. Take care, guys.
- [73:13]
David Brody
All right, thanks, Jim. Coming up, coming up, a new ethics complaint targets Congresswoman AOC raising questions about campaign spending and a ketamine based therapy. Dr. The details after the break.
- [73:50]
Terrence
Good Tuesday morning to you and welcome back to American Sunrise. It's now time to drain the swamp. And this morning we're flushing out New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. A watchdog group has recently filed a formal complaint about AOC's campaign spending. The complaint, which was filed with the Federal Election Commission and the House ethics officials, alleges that nearly $19,000 in campaign spending funds were spent on what was listed as leadership training and consulting. But that money may have actually gone to a doctor who provides ketamine based therapy. If true, critics say that could raise serious questions about whether campaign money was used for personal services, which, of course, would violate federal election rules. For more, let's bring in David Brody and Alison Hines to discuss. David, I actually had to do some research because I didn't know what ketamine treatment with ketamine treatment was used for. And apparently it's used to treat depression as well as chronic pain, symphronic pain. Excuse me. Issues. So kind of interesting how all of this is playing out. How do you think it will ultimately end for aoc?
- [75:03]
David Brody
I'm not quite sure. I don't think it's gonna probably amount to anything. But, yeah, I had to do some research, too, and add to that anxiety, stress, ptsd, all of that. So if you think about it, maybe it was a consulting actual gig, you know, as in Trump derangement syndrome. Maybe her staff needed this psychiatrist help to get through the Trump years. I don't know. But clearly this doesn't seem like a consulting fee as much as it does possibly more into the interpersonal situation. So I don't know, Alison. We'll see. But it seems could be Trump derangement syndrome related.
- [75:43]
Alison Hines
Possibly. Yeah. I'm not too worried about this story. I don't think it has too much legs. $19,000. It's weird that it was spent on ketamine. My concerns with AOC have to do with her personality and leadership and her smarts and the fact that she is even discussed as someone in contention for the White House. That scares the living bejesus out of me. And I think it's a question of her being exposed on many levels. And I hope that that happens in the next couple of years, because people are very gullible, and people follow personalities and popularity, and that's what really concerns me about this woman right now, that. That people will blindly follow someone like her.
- [76:38]
David Brody
Yeah, she's still in Germany. She's still in Germany, by the way, trying to answer that Taiwan question.
- [76:43]
Alison Hines
Horrible.
- [76:43]
David Brody
Go ahead, T. Right.
- [76:45]
Terrence
She was caught on the corner of Munich trying to ask people what they think about Taiwan to try to bring back an answer. This is one of those stories. It keeps her in the headlines. But I guess one could argue fortunately, unfortunately, it's not a substantive issue. Like she's not in the headlines because she's saying something smart, because she's got this interesting policy position. She's in the headlines because there are questions about how she's spending campaign money in ketamine treatment. So I think that speaks volumes. Still to come here on American Sunrise, a $1.5 million home stolen in a fake sale. How investigators say a group of fraudsters pulled it all off and why it could happen to any homeowner. The story is next.
- [77:43]
Steve Gruber
At Real America's Voice. We know that you want to be a part of something bigger. That's why we've teamed up with AMAC the association. Association of Mature American Citizens. To build a real community of folks who care about fate and our country's future.
- [77:59]
Alison Hines
There is no force on earth that can stop us from saving our country.
- [78:03]
Steve Gruber
Want to be a part of this movement? It's easy. Just scan the QR code on your screen right now. That's right. Grab your phone and scan the QR code to join the AMAC and Real America's Voice family today. By scanning the the QR code, you'll unlock exclusive content, connect with like minded Americans and be first in line for events that celebrate our shared values. So don't wait. Scan the QR Code, join us today and become part of a community that stands for faith, family and freedom.
- [78:34]
Alison Hines
Real rights.
- [78:35]
Steve Gruber
They come from God. With AMAC and Real America's Voice. Go ahead, scan the QR code now.
- [78:45]
Terrence
Welcome back, everyone. Getting you ready for the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It is set to ring here in about six minutes. Here's a quick look at pre market trading. As you can see, green from top to bottom. Looks like my commute into work. Green lights all the way through. We'll of course check back in and take it to New York and the floor for the opening bell here in just a little bit. For now though, let's get you over to David Brody. David, good morning, sir.
- [79:09]
David Brody
Good morning, T. Bates. I wanted to say something different, but I had nothing. So. T. Bates. Because that's who you are, David.
- [79:17]
Terrence
Just popped in my mind. I don't know. Plus, I like it. It's like my term of endearment for you.
- [79:22]
David Brody
Well, thank you. Well, I feel the same way about you, but I have no name for you. But I still like you, by the way. All right, let's just move on. We're following a stunning real estate fraud case out of California. So check this out. A homeowner lost a $1.5 million house in a completely fake sale. Totally fake Fake news. Authorities say the scheme used stolen identities, forged documents and a licensed real estate broker who controlled escrow and allegedly represented both sides. So prosecutors say the group secured nearly $975,000 in fraudulent loan funds, leaving multiple victims, including the homeowner. The buyer stuck with the mortgage and even the lender and title company. Three suspects, by the way, in custody. One remains at large. The investigation is ongoing. Joining us now with more is former FBI agent and current licensed private investigator, Tom Simon. Tom, good to have you back with us. I mean, what. How are the suspects able to use the escrow process to make this look legitimate. I mean, this is. This is, like, major warning stuff here for everybody.
- [80:32]
Tom Simon
Thanks for having me on. This is an amazing case from my perspective. At the eye of the storm is a realtor named Glenys Cardona who worked with three co conspirators to steal this home in Burbank, California, that was worth $1.5 million. So what she did was she orchestrated the sale from an unknowing from this unknowing owner to the stolen identity of an unwitting buyer, and she orchestrated it. So There was a $975,000 loan for this home sale from a lender and bolstered by forged documents, forged deeds filed with the county clerk's office. And so the trick is that she was the escrow agent for the transaction. So when the lender sent the money to escrow, Glennis and her co conspirators just split the money. So, as you said in the introduction, we have a homeowner who never consented to the sale of his house. We have an unwitting home purchaser who's now saddled with a million dollars in debt. And we have two lenders who aren't getting paid back for the money that they lent and a title company that unwittingly insured the transfer of this title from the seller to the buyer.
- [81:36]
David Brody
Okay, so time out here. I mean, what red flags? I mean, if any should have been caught by lenders or title companies or like. Like what you're in that situation. Like, what's. What are the red flags here? I mean, how do you. How do you help folks here?
- [81:51]
Tom Simon
Well, as soon as somebody's transferring the title of your home from your name to someone else's name, you need to keep an eye on the county clerk's office, who keeps an official record of the title of your home. The problem is most homeowners don't do that, which is why, obviously, we advocate a service called Home Title Lock that will monitor it for you and notify you if something goes sideways.
- [82:12]
David Brody
Yeah, so talk a little bit more about that, because Home Title Lock definitely helps victims in this situation. Take us through this a little bit in terms of what they do and how people can get more information here.
- [82:23]
Tom Simon
Sure. So my former colleagues at the FBI, you know, put this criminal case together, and the bad guys are going to end up going to prison. That's the way it always turns out. The problem is that process, that criminal process, does not restore the ownership of the home to the original victim, in this case, the homeowner. And so home Title lock. In addition to monitoring your home title, notifying you if something goes wrong, they have a US based restoration team that's going to spend a million dollars in legal fees if that's what it takes to get that home back into your name. And it's not going to cost you a dime.
- [82:54]
David Brody
Tom, tell us how widespread this is. Because, you know, we've talked about home title lock before in terms of it being vital. I mean, this is not just something that happens once in a blue moon. This seems to be increasing.
- [83:07]
Tom Simon
This is a giant crime problem. And it's in Covid actually made it worse because you can do a lot of monkey business with the deeds now, but in the comfort of your home, you don't even need to go into the county clerk's office. You can do a lot of it online. I come on your network a couple times a week to talk about these cases. There seems to be no end to these examples of these cases where this is happening.
- [83:28]
David Brody
Yeah, we got about 20 seconds or so. Where do people go to get more information?
- [83:32]
Tom Simon
Let them know they should go to home title lock. And if they use the promo code Sunrise, they're going to get a free trial and a title history report. We start by figuring out what's going on now with your title.
- [83:42]
David Brody
Okay. We are vital information. We really appreciate your time. And this is, I mean, talk about news you can use. This is what we're talking about here. Thanks again. Appreciate it, Tom.
- [83:53]
Tom Simon
Thanks for having me on. Thank you.
- [83:55]
David Brody
All right, once again, home title lock. Let's head back to T. Bates in Denver for the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It is sponsored by our good friends at amac.
- [84:04]
Steve Gruber
The association of mature American citizens is
- [84:07]
General Dan Kaine
the conservative voice for Americans 50 and older.
- [84:11]
Steve Gruber
AMAC is fighting for the values that
- [84:13]
Pete Hegseth
you, you hold dear.
- [84:15]
Terrence
Join today.
- [84:16]
Steve Gruber
Together we can write the course of America.
- [84:20]
Terrence
The opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange set to ring here in less than a minute. The applause is already underway. You hear it and now you see it, which means the bell is moments away. And then we'll get an idea of how silky smooth this bell sounds. Hershey's. I was trying to make a transition to Hershey, which is at the podium this morning. Morning again. They're going to get us into the opening bell and then we'll get an idea of what the markets are looking like on this Tuesday of trading. Hershey is at the podium. All right, folks, so here we go. The bell is ringing. And here's how the markets are looking right now. Green in terms of the major indices, the dow, S P 500 and the NASDAQ are all up. Right now it looks like VIX is the only problem spot on the board. It is down. Everything else is in the green. We'll of course, continue to monitor all of this for you throughout the day and keep you updated if there's anything significant to report. Still to come here on American Sunrise, a new poll showing a commanding majority of Americans are feeling the economic impact stemming from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in Iran. We'll break down the numbers for you and discuss how Americans are reacting to this economic reality. That story is next.
- [85:55]
Alison Hines
Welcome back to American Sunrise. I'm alright. Hi, I'm Alison Hans. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. We invite you to join the conversation on Getter and rumble. Time now to take the political pulse of America, the beat today. Well, according to a new Rasmussen Report survey, more than three quarters of likely U.S. voters say they are concerned about Iran cutting off oil supplies through the Strait, including nearly half who say they are very concerned. And that concern isn't just theoretical. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical energy chokepoints in the world, with roughly 20% of global oil supply passing through it. Any prolonged shutdown could send gas prices surging, driving inflation higher and impact economies around the globe. In fact, about 3 in 4 voters believe a disruption there would have serious negative effects on the US Economy. And joining us now with analysis is the host of America Voice Live and the Steve Gruber Show. Steve, now I wanted to open this with this point, Steve, because I think it's important. I understand while people are worried about gas prices, I think we have to realize that the truth is that while the Strait of Hormuz is critical globally, the United States is far less directly dependent on that oil than Europe and Asia. And that's because we've moved much closer to energy independence. Your thoughts?
- [87:29]
Steve Gruber
That's true. You know, here's the problem with the price of oil, $103 as we speak. The problem is that the gas prices have risen considerably higher than they should have based on the price of oil. According to all the research I've done, which is considerable, the price of a gallon of gas goes up 25 cents roughly for each $10 a barrel of oil increases. So we've gone up, what, $38 from the low at 67 before the war started to about 103 today. So the price of gasoline should be up 85 cents. And yet in some places it's up a dollar 50. That leads me to believe that speculators and oil companies are making a lot of money today at your expense. That will push inflation and it will push prices up. But the problem is, because it's not mathematically natural what we're seeing here. It's being pushed by speculators and fear. And therefore, I think Donald Trump should use the red phone in the Oval Office and call the oil companies and say, what the hell are you doing in connection with that? The state of Hormuz had 11 oil tankers go through yesterday. From what I understand, 10, a couple of days before that. So if that's accurate, and we're going to assume that it is, then the amount of oil going through the state of Hormuz is Now at about 50% of what it was prior to the war. So only 10% of the world's oil supply is now being impacted, and yet prices continue to surge. What does that tell you? Somebody is making a pile of money. We might want to ask Nancy Pelosi if she got in on that early because, you know, she's a pretty good forecaster of the future.
- [88:56]
David Brody
That is for sure. By the way, why is the phone always red? But that's a separate issue. I don't know. That's where my mind went. All right.
- [89:03]
Steve Gruber
Hello, David? David, redphone. Hi, red phone.
- [89:07]
David Brody
Yeah, I got the red phone. Will you take my call at 3am Hillary won't. Hillary won't, by the way. All right, so let's talk about Trump's truth Social post. Should we put this up here on the screen and I'll just read it? Why the heck. Why the heck not? He's basically telling the UK and others to go get the oil. Here it is. I'll read it for everybody, since we haven't put it up yet today in the show, but he put this out in the last 30 minutes or so or an hour. All of those countries that can't get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in decapitation of Iran. I have a suggestion for you. You like, by the way, how I'm doing it, like, with like, like some attitude. Number one, buy from the U.S. we have plenty. And number two, build up some delayed courage. Go to the straight. Just take it. You'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself. The USA won't be there to help you anymore. Just like you weren't there for us. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done I love this part. Go get your own oil. President djt. That sounds like something you say in New York. Go get your own oil. I got your oil right here. Steve Gruber.
- [90:11]
Alison Hines
I love it.
- [90:12]
Steve Gruber
I got it right here for you, pal. Look, is he wrong? When. When the war started in Europe between Ukraine and Russia, they all demand. They didn't ask. They demanded America get involved. Send us money, lots of it. Billions of dollars. Send us military equipment. Not just a little bit, a lot of it. Piles of it. You know, missiles to intercept incoming Russian attacks, missiles to attack Russia, and so on and so forth. When we decide to take out Iran, the nation's the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis. Pick your Al Shabaab, pick your poison. They just turn their backs on us. In fact, Spain says we can't even use their airspace right now. Spain, I got a message for you. I hope you're not in trouble anytime soon. Donald Trump's not wrong. And the Democrats are screaming, oh, my gosh, he's upsetting world alliances. What alliance? What alliance are we upsetting? A missile was fired at Turkey yesterday. Here's my question to Spain. A missile was fired by the Iranian regime at Turkey yesterday. They intercepted. It didn't hit. But if missiles start hitting Turkey, and they say we want to trigger Article 5, what's Spain going to do then? Turkey's part of NATO. What's. What's Turkey? What's been going to do that? What's the UK Going to do? What's Germany going to do? That's Article five. If you've got missiles bombing into Turkey, which is foolish, by the way, what are you going to do? Look, the United nations is a failed operation, has been since after World War II. NATO has not proven to be much of a. Of an alliance in recent years. We've been footing the bill, providing the equipment and the manpower time and time again. Maybe he's not wrong to shake things up. Go get your own damn oil. Maybe he's not wrong about that, huh?
- [91:48]
Terrence
You know what? Let's continue to beat that horse, Steve. Because the reality is I'm going to go there. I think you're spot on. And I'm wondering if we're at a crossroads. President Trump has pretty much said, when you needed us, we're there for you. When we need you, you're nowhere to be found. You know, that's telling. Let's just be honest. It's telling. It speaks volumes.
- [92:14]
Steve Gruber
It does. And look, we've got some work to do in Iran still. They're not going to help us. But if they want to help, we heard that 20 countries are ready to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Well, then get there, work with us and get this done. Because that way we can supply not our oil. We get 2% of our oil from the Middle east, but it is a world commodity. So therefore, when the supply is impacted, the price is impacted here, just like any other worldwide commodity. That's the way it is. And. And look, Donald Trump has told NATO, you have to pay your 5% or we're not gonna play anymore. Stop sending us the bill. Stop demanding equipment from us. I mean, look, the UK can barely float a navy anymore. The UK couldn't defend that island anymore because they've had budget cuts and they've had overspending and they haven't done anything to build their navy or take care of their army. The only credible army in Europe anymore. Maybe France, maybe. And I say that with a. But, you know, a big underscore on that. They couldn't defend themselves, which is why they demanded our help with Ukraine. Because they realized, wait a second, guys. For 50 years, we haven't spent the money, we haven't recruited the people, we haven't invested in the technology, we haven't done what needs to be done to protect Europe. So we'll just rely on Big Brother. Well, Big Brother's sick about forking over the cash to his helpless, hapless little weasels in Europe. All right? So we're done with that. And you know what? I'm okay with a wake up call. Perfectly okay with it. Get your own oil. We've got plenty, thank you very much. You get your own now. We also need to continue to create more energy in this country, which the President is also doing, focusing on Alaska and Texas and Wyoming and all these places. California. The Defense Production act called into effect so that California can be forced. Forced to start producing oil again. You know, California once accounted for 40% of the oil in this country. And because of all the tree huggers and bunny lovers, they stopped doing that foolish behavior. It's time for the Defense Production Act. I'm glad he did that. He's making good steps here. As far as the war goes, I don't know where this goes. Let's cut to the chase here. Could go on for a week or two or two months. Nobody knows because those Iranian supplies are still unaccounted for of enriched uranium. Do we want troops on the ground?
- [94:24]
General Dan Kaine
No.
- [94:25]
Steve Gruber
But how else do you get the uranium? Some tough Questions to be asked and answered here.
- [94:29]
Alison Hines
Absolutely. Well, Steve, let's change gears now. A new lawsuit is taking aim at law enforcement's response to January 6th. Participants in the Capitol demonstration are now seeking damages, claiming police used excessive force, including chemical sprays and physical strikes against crowds on the grounds. Steve, how legally significant is this lawsuit? This is ridiculous.
- [94:57]
Steve Gruber
Legally significant, I don't know. But I do know that I saw in the videos that there were police up on the top of the Capitol Building firing rubber bullets at people. The video that still rings out to me is the guy that had his cheek torn wide open by a rubber bullet if it hit him in the face. And these are people. These are not armed people. They're people standing around in the crowd that got shot. Look, the only people that make money in all of these things, the lawyers. The lawyers always win. You know that they're going to win in this case. They're running billable hours right now. How viable is the lawsuit? That I'm not sure. But is it valid on its face? Yeah. When I remember the guy bloody here and they're throwing tear gas into the crowd and doing things that. It seemed provocative to me to stir the crowd up. The videos that I saw, it seemed provocative. Now, look, I am a backer of law enforcement. I don't know what was in their minds. I can't put you in that place. I don't know what they were thinking or what they were being told or what the orders were. But the lawsuit is legitimate. Yeah, probably most lawsuits are somewhat legitimate. And so I think this one is as well.
- [96:11]
David Brody
Hey, Steve, let me go to this ballroom thing, as in the new ballroom that President Trump is giving everybody an update on. It's being built, obviously, at the White House. We're learning. Now, the US Military is building, apparently. And this is the President saying this a massive complex underneath the structure. Here's the President talking about it. Take a look.
- [96:31]
Congressman Mark Harris
Now, the military is building a big
- [96:33]
Pete Hegseth
complex under the ballroom, which has come out recently because of a stupid lawsuit that was filed. But the military is building a massive
- [96:44]
Congressman Mark Harris
complex under the ballroom, and that's under
- [96:46]
Pete Hegseth
construction, and we're doing very well.
- [96:48]
Congressman Mark Harris
So we're ahead of schedule.
- [96:49]
Terrence
That's part of it.
- [96:50]
Pete Hegseth
And the ballroom essentially becomes a shed
- [96:53]
Terrence
for what's being built under the military, including from drones and including from any other thing.
- [97:01]
David Brody
This is a president. This is a once in a lifetime president. This guy's got poster boards on Air Force One. I mean, this. He just cracks me up, this guy. He is. He's Phenomenal. Just phenomenal. Go ahead, Steve.
- [97:16]
Steve Gruber
Well, let me tell you, you know, back about 2009 or 10, the entire length where all the media tents are now, you know where Brian Glennon folks stand outside the White House. Now, that entire area was torn up by Barack Obama and they built a complex under that part of the. Of the grounds as well. So having something built under the. The new ballroom, not surprising at all. I'm not sure he should have confirmed it. I mean, rumors are rumors until you confirm it. You know, I'll just say that maybe not the same as he. Yeah, we've got this great thing we're building under here so we can defend against X, Y and Z. Maybe I wouldn't have confirmed it, but look, he does what he does and. And they are probably building a remarkable structure there so that, you know. Yeah, I can't wait to go there, David.
- [98:00]
Alison Hines
It's the oversized poster board. For me. It's just.
- [98:04]
David Brody
Hope the shrimp cocktail is good. Yeah, I hope so.
- [98:06]
Alison Hines
Steve Gervart, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
- [98:10]
David Brody
We appreciate it.
- [98:11]
Steve Gruber
Thank you, guys.
- [98:12]
David Brody
Shrimp cocktail in the underground bunker. I'm sorry.
- [98:14]
Alison Hines
Got it. Okay, think about this, Brody. In 2006, $20,000 equaled roughly 33 ounces of gold at spot price. And today's price is those 33 ounces would be worth about $165,000.
- [98:34]
Steve Gruber
Whew.
- [98:35]
Alison Hines
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- [99:46]
Steve Gruber
Let's spill some tea.
- [99:51]
Terrence
Let's Spill Some Tea is sponsored by Artillery Tea Company. It's a veteran owned patriotic tea brand delivering premium whole leaf tea in biodegradable sachets that brew twice as strong. Patriots. If you love great tea on your terms, you definitely want to check out the Patriots Brew Club for automatic shipments at your you control. You can cancel or you can swap flavors at any time with no commitments. You'll also get free shipping on every order. You'll get tier discounts up to 20% and free milestone rewards along the way. Brew strong, stay patriotic and head on over to artillerytco.com do so right now and click on the join the Patriots Brew club in order to get started. All right, let's get right right into what's in the cup today, and we're talking about a new release from real America's music. The song God Bless America celebrates our country's legacy of faith and freedom.
- [100:48]
Hi Rez
God bless America the land of the free say a lot of you standing with me God bless America the home of the brave Follow the USA God bless America Greatest country on earth don't care if you say it's the word God bless America the truth is and the lies Born here is where I die God bless America the land of the free say a lot of you standing with me God bless America the home of the brave all of the USA God bless America Greatest country on earth don't care if you say it's the word God bless America the truth and the lies Born here is where
- [101:16]
Pete Hegseth
I die Rap family Real America's music
- [101:20]
Alison Hines
has a new track to push to the top of the charts. God Bless America by High Res. Let's show the left we're proud to be Americans. Scan the QR code or search God
- [101:30]
Pete Hegseth
Bless America on itunes today.
- [101:46]
Terrence
All right, and there at the bottom of your screen, you see that QR code. Go ahead and scan that and download the song and the video and support my good guy. Hi Rez, the rapper and recording artist is here with me right now to talk more about the song you just heard there. First of all, congratulations. Love the song. And I was joking with my colleagues the other day. I said, look, I'm a hip hop head. I am a fan of hip hop. I'm a fan of rap music. And I appreciate this song more importantly from a cultural standpoint because it brings back conscious rap. I'm an 80s 90s early hip hop head. And that was. That was the era of conscious rap. And I feel like hip hop lost that and you're bringing it back to some degree.
- [102:27]
Hi Rez
For sure.
- [102:27]
Pete Hegseth
Yeah.
- [102:28]
Hi Rez
I mean, you kind of covered it in the intro as well. It's a record that's simply. I don't want to say simple, but it's simply about faith, family, freedom, conservative values at its core. I Hate to say that it's even political. I don't know how faith, family, freedom, God ever became a right wing thing. I don't feel that it should be mutually exclusive to that. Unfortunately, it seems like more of a left problem as far as they're the ones running away from it. But I would love for this record to transcend political parties. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening. But the record was to make young kids feel excited about patriotism and love of their country and love of God and family and conservative values in general and, you know, to not get sucked into what young kids are being taught in the school system and things like that.
- [103:11]
Terrence
What reaction are you getting? Obviously the record, as you like to put it, is climbing the charts, but what reaction are you getting personally as people hear it, as people continue to download it?
- [103:21]
Hi Rez
Yeah, honestly, I try not to read too many of the comments nowadays. You know, I'm a father, I have a second kid on the way. But when I do have time to scroll through it, you know, it's mostly love and appreciation and I hope that I'm not just reaching to the echo chamber. Like I said initially, I would love to transcend, you know, the message of this record, you know, beyond political parties. But yeah, it's overwhelming love and, you know, it's. I'm grateful for all the support.
- [103:48]
Terrence
Is there a sense of responsibility you feel when you're writing music and it's not just about this song, this question isn't just about this song, but in general, as you're expressing your art, do you feel a sense of responsibility? And I think I'm even asking that question more specifically because you just mentioned you have two children now. That changes things for most of us.
- [104:07]
Hi Rez
That is when it absolutely changed everything. For me, if you go far back in my catalog, I mean, I was, you know, I was a young, you know, teenage rock star, rock and roll, you know, making music about everything you would expect. I was lost in the culture of Hollywood and music and I lived in LA for many years and I was doing everything you could expect a young man to be doing. And, you know, thank God for my beautiful wife. Thank God for God for waking me up out of this kind of slumber that I was in, if you want to call it that. And yeah, as soon as I knew I was having children on the way, it was a real wake up call. It wasn't just a quick, let me just see what I could do and change. Maybe I'll go back to my old ways. You know, my first kid it was a daughter. So that changed everything for me. And I realized, wow, I want my music to be playable around my children. I want my children to respect and appreciate their father and be able to be proud of their father. And, you know, thank God that's what I'm doing right now. There's no cursing in the music anymore. And as you just mentioned, it's about faith and family and freedom. And I'm so, so grateful to be here right now.
- [105:07]
Terrence
Hi, Rez. I'm grateful that you're continuing to express your art in the way you are. Thanks so much. And I wish you continued success, my friend.
- [105:14]
Hi Rez
Thank you so much. Appreciate you.
- [105:16]
Terrence
Thank you. And remember, folks, you can scan the QR code to download this song on itunes, drive it to up the charts and let's see where it ultimately ends up. More American Sunrise coming your way in just a moment.
- [105:44]
Alison Hines
Welcome back to American Sunrise. I'm Alison Ontz. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. It's time now for the ONE to watch. And David, what are you keeping your eye on today?
- [105:55]
David Brody
Well, I mean, on a personal level, I'm keeping an eye on my gut, but that's separate. Here's guys. Here's the deal. I'm looking at this letter. What's that?
- [106:05]
Terrence
Probiotics help when you watching your gut.
- [106:08]
David Brody
Good to know. Thank you so much in our health segment today.
- [106:10]
Alison Hines
Okay.
- [106:11]
Mike Cirella
All right.
- [106:12]
David Brody
I'm looking at this letter President Trump posted on his Truth Social account. This is a letter we received from evangelical leader Franklin Graham. Check this out. The president posted the letter on his Truth Social account on Palm Sunday in which Graham assured him that his soul is secure. This referred to a comment that Trump made to reporters late last year. Remember, this guy's where he said he was not heaven. Here he was back in October. Look at this.
- [106:37]
Pete Hegseth
I don't think there's anything going to get me in heaven. Okay. I really don't. I think I'm not maybe heaven bound.
- [106:43]
Congressman Mark Harris
I may be in heaven right now
- [106:45]
Pete Hegseth
as we fly an Air Force One. I'm not sure, Abe, I'm going to be able to make heaven.
- [106:52]
David Brody
All right. So Graham's letter then to President Trump emphasized that only belief in Jesus gets you into heaven, not good works. And I think this is important, obviously, because President Trump in some of those comments, guys, was also talking about, you know, the important things he's doing for this country in terms of having that doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what any of us do. It's not about Our good works. Our good works are not going to get us into heaven. It's true, authentic, heartfelt, true belief in Jesus Christ that changes your life from inside out, where you have the Holy Spirit inside of you and you are a different person because of it. That's the bottom line.
- [107:31]
Terrence
Yeah. It's about relationship, and it's very simple. Do you profess that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and that he died on the cross for your sins, to absolve you of your sins? It's generally that simple. And then you continue to build a relationship with Jesus. But that profession is where it all starts, David. And again, I'm nobody pastor. I'm not trying to get out here preaching, but that. That's it. Go ahead, David.
- [107:55]
Steve Gruber
I'm sorry.
- [107:56]
David Brody
Yeah. I was going to say it's simple. It must be heartfelt. And only God knows that for sure.
- [108:01]
Alison Hines
Thank you both. I agree. Beautiful show. Beautiful way to end the show.
- [108:06]
Steve Gruber
Beautiful.
- [108:07]
Alison Hines
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all so much for joining us today. We had a fabulous time. Remember, War Room is up next. Go boldly now.
- [108:18]
Terrence
It really.
- [108:18]
David Brody
I'm going to salute. I don't know who I'm saluted.