Senator Ron Johnson (3:14)

I mean, my guess is they can always count on the legacy media supporting them. And so they remain pretty arrogant, pretty confident that they seem to be winning the messaging war here. It's completely unreasonable. I mean, all we're talking about is a clean continuing resolution at Biden's spending levels. They voted for those. Their counteroffer again, that continuing resolution takes up to the beginning of Thanksgiving. Their counteroffer was a four week CR and they'd be asking $1.5 trillion of additional spending, just a mere 1.5 trillion. So it's completely unreasonable. But as I said, they are pretty arrogant in their feeling here. Now, unfortunately, these shutdowns never play out fairly. Even though they voted for these funding levels, they voted for clean CRS all the time. That's what they would always talk about if one our members kind of, kind of forced us into a short term shutdown. But now they're completely hypocritical and saying the exact opposite things that they said in the past and the press doesn't hold them to account.

Eric Boling (4:21)

So Senator, work through this with me. And I'm speaking for a lot of my audience members over the history of my career. I'm a libertarian. I'm for smaller government. No offense. I just think government, we can do better with our own money than government can do for us. Here's my issue. In 2019, when Covid hit hit Trump was president and he increased spending to help, you know, basically save the world to do what he could do. Obviously you have to spend more money with an emergency pandemic such as Covid. So he said, here's another, I think $2 trillion he spent just to make sure people were able to survive. Right. Things were shutting down. Got it. But it's supposed to be temporary. Biden comes in and not Only makes those that spending permanent increases. It another, I don't know, trillion, trillion and a half dollars. And now you say that became the norm, the base. How does this increased emergency spending that you guys get become the new base? And we're always spending more and certainly spending more than we're taking in.

Senator Ron Johnson (5:19)

Well, you do have the phenomenon of the unit party here. We got big spenders in our party as well. But you're right, we went from $4.4 trillion of spending in 2019 up to 6.5. And never look back, this year we'll spend over $7 trillion. By the way, just average deficits. Let me give you a quick little history. So George bush in his eight years, average deficit of $250 billion. That was a lot of money back then. We were all outraged by it. Then Obama came in with the Great Recession for his first four years, averaged almost 1.3 trillion deficits. That sparked the Tea Party movement. I'm part of that. We put restraint on him. He averaged $550 billion in deficits for his last four years. Trump took office, had Democrats, he had deals in the Senate. That average went up to 810. Then the year Covid is a $3.1 trillion deficit. And you're right, we should return to reasonable pre pandemic levels of spending.

Victor Davis Hanson (6:07)

Right.

Senator Ron Johnson (6:08)

Somewhere again with inflation probably would have been higher than 4.4 trillion. But I put together pre pandemic levels of spending somewhere between 5.5 and 6.5 depending on what year you pick. Instead, Biden continues to spend those levels. We average deficits of $1.9 trillion. So we went from 550 under Obama, 810 under Trump, Covid 3.1. And then we average 1.9. There's no justification for it. But part of the problem is the 535 member board directors here in Congress. That's what we really are. Many didn't even know how much we spent in total because we only appropriate 25% of the budget. 75% is automatic pilot. And by the way, it's a lot more than just Social Security, Medicare and even Medicaid. There's a trillion dollars of other mandatory spending pretty well every, every appropriation category that's undiscretionary. But they've just chosen to, you know, the big spenders here have chosen to call that mandatory. So it's never looked at. It's out of control.

Eric Boling (7:09)

Yeah. And so we sit here and go, you guys are fighting over additional trillion in spending, likely earmarked towards health care and a lot of illegals would be, would be tapping into that. Republicans say no. And it's almost like, okay, you're going something there. And, and everyone in D.C. is going oh, we did it. We negotiate. We, we, the process is working. Except as you point out, spending went up another. And we, we. I don't for whatever reason memorialize the trillion and a half or $2 trillion that Trump put in there to temporarily save the economy as a baseline. It's just, it's crazy. And it's like we're the clowns here are going oh great job. Now we're spending 7 trillion, taking in 5 1/2 trillion.

Senator Ron Johnson (7:50)

So I've often said it appears to be dysfunctional here and it is. But this is a well honed process by the part of the Union party. Again, I offered an eliminate shutdown act. We voted on that. Every Democrat vote against it. It's a very simple bill. All it does is it establishes automatic continuing rolling appropriations. That's it. Every two weeks just get another continuing appropriation until you get an appropriation bill for that department. Again, there's no advantage there. It just doesn't shut the government down. Spends at last year's level. Not only did all Democrats vote against it, but our appropriation chair lobbied against it with her committee. So I think 12 Republicans vote against that as well. Go figure. Again, they love using the shutdowns. Again, I'm not real nuts about the CR that ends right before Thanksgiving because that's part of the pressure point. So this is how the unit party does it. They put these deadlines right for let's say Christmas and then they drop a 2000 page omnibus spending bill that nobody's read, nobody will read it other than the few people who wrote it. Slip all kinds of things in there and just kind of dare you vote this thing down and we'll ruin your Christmas. And enough people always cave on our side and that thing gets passed and we're $37 trillion in debt. So this is a well honed process, totally dysfunctional, totally out of control mortgage our kids future. But that's what we've got.

Eric Boling (9:14)

And very quickly, sir, about a minute or so, we're three weeks in. What's the one thing, how do you grease the wheel to make to get government reopened? Honestly, personally, I say stay shut down, but that's me. So what's it going to take?

Senator Ron Johnson (9:31)

Eric, I'm kind of with you. I would say right now in Wisconsin, people aren't really noticing this because it's being managed by a Republican president who's trying to make it painless. When Republicans are kind of more responsible for a shutdown and we're not this time. Democrat president will always make a shutdown unbelievably painful to the American public. That's not what's happening right now. So the problem is I think the military at some point in time will run out of pay air traffic controllers. It's one of the reasons I've proposed the Shutdown Fairness act. If you can stay shut down. Okay, fine, I don't have a real problem with that, but at least let's pay the people we are forcing to work. It's only fair. And we'll see what becomes of that.

Eric Boling (10:11)

Yeah. I tell you what, pull the congressman and senators pay. And I know you're donating your your paycheck, which is admirable, but it's when the the people who make the decisions start wondering when the next paycheck is coming that they tend to get their act together. Senator, really good to have you. I appreciate your time, sir.

Senator Ron Johnson (10:30)

Have a great day.

Eric Boling (10:31)

Senator Ron Johnson, State of Wisconsin Especially those packers pension deadline may have passed, but for millions of Americans, the real trouble is just beginning. If you miss the October 15th deadline or oh, back taxes, the IRS ramping up the enforcement against you likely right now, every day. What only makes you want things to go better, but they get worse. And here's the harsh reality. The IRS can charge a penalty of 5% per month, up to 25% of your total tax bill just for not filing. That's in addition to what you already owe. The good news, there's still time for Tax Network USA to help. Self employed or business owner doesn't matter. Even if your books are cooked, they're a mess. You got you. They've got you covered. Tax Network USA specializes in resolving financial chaos and getting you back on track fast with tools like property seizures, bank levies and wage garnishments. That's right. They can take your property. They can take your property and sell it. Think about that. The IRS is applying pressure at levels we haven't seen in years. Not too late to regain control. Your consultation is always 100% free. In one short call, a few simple questions, the experts at Tax Network USA can determine how much you can save. Call this number, 1-800-905-8000 or visit tnusa.com revtnusa.com Let Tax Network USA help before the IRS makes the next move on you. All righty, folks. You guys are killing it with. I just. I adore this. I absolutely adore you. Take a look at this very quickly. Made a couple of charts. That's not it, but that's okay. Close enough. We're 70 growing 73 times faster than any. There it is. 73 times faster than the YouTube pages. You see that little yellow line at the bottom? That's a brand new YouTube page. We are 73 times faster. That's it right there. Beautiful job. Now throw this QR code. If you don't mind. Ben, just, just put that code up here and show people. Drop the banner. There you go. Here's what you do. You hit that screen, right? To hit your camera. Put your camera, face it towards that QR code. It'll come up a little yellow button. You press the yellow button, you are subscribed. I will never charge you. I just need your subscription. Need your help. Help us grow. We're becoming a major player. The Edge, it's amazing. It's something completely different. I appreciate you. Thank you for watching, thank you for supporting and thank you for subscribing. We'll be back. Two and a half minutes.

Marine 250 Narrator (12:53)

For 250 years they've stormed beaches, broken lines and made history in blood and valor. From the black sands of Iwa Jiba to the streets of Belia.

Ted Nugent (13:08)

Get ready to move.

Marine 250 Narrator (13:10)

No enemy too strong, no mission too hard. No fight too far. The sad Real America's Voice takes you to the heart of the Marine Corps legend. Hosted by Steve Bannon with Ben Berkram and Amanda Head on the ground. Joined by battle tested veterans and military experts who live the brotherhood of the Corps. Explosive action, raw power, unshakable pride. This is Marine 250 from sea to shore. Coverage begins this Saturday at noon eastern only on Real America's Voice. Because freedom wasn't given, it was earned.

Headshop.com Advertiser (13:58)

Looking for your next go to Smoke Shop. Stop scrolling. I've got you. Headshop.com is the number one online smoke shop already trusted by over 100,000 happy smokers. Just like you. They've got it all. Dab rigs, vaporizers, glass bongs, smoking pipes, even thca flour. All in one place. Need a new daily driver? Grab a smooth glass bong or a classic smoking pipe. More of a concentrate fan. Their dab rigs, E rigs and wax accessories are designed for smoother, harder hitting sessions. And yes, they've even got legal THC flowers. Best part, every order ships fast and discreet. Which is why thousands of smokers keep coming back. So don't waste Time hopping between shops, shop the best in dab rigs, vaporizers, glass bongs, smoking pipes and thca flower. Right now@headshop.com the number one online smoke shop, headshop.com has what you need. Check it out today. Oh, and because you're listening right now, you get 10% off your next order when you use the coupon code HSHOP at checkout. Go to headshop.com now and and smoke smarter.

Eric Boling (15:10)

Own. RAV correspondent Bo Davidson joins us from Orlando, Florida, just there a couple days ago. Wonderful. Where Moms for Liberty National Summit is taking place. Bo, tell us about this really, really important event.

Bo Davidson (15:24)

Yeah, Eric, you know, Moms for Liberty started back in 2021. It was started by two women who were school board members. They saw what was going on in our schools. Obviously, we know what happened in the pandemic and a lot of parents were concerned. So they started Moms for Liberty. And Donald Trump was actually speaking at this conference last year. But there's a great lineup of people, including Benny Johnson, Byron Donalds, his Lovely Wife Erica, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, attorney General James Utmeyer, all speakers at this conference trying to empower parents. And I say parents because it's the moms and the dads and their respective roles in terms of reclaiming rights to empower their children to become better students, better citizens. We're talking medical liberty, we're talking religious liberty, we're talking freedom of speech. All these issues are important and they're being discussed right now at the Moms for Liberty Summit.

Eric Boling (16:12)

So I guess the essence is giving back parents power and right to dictate what their children are, among other things, what they're being taught in our schools. But how do they get to that? How do they get into this? Do they go to the school board meetings? Where's their inroad to bringing that power back to themselves?

Bo Davidson (16:30)

Well, that's where Moms for Liberty is actually great because they have legal, they have legal actions that they can submit. They have a whole legal team. In addition, yes, you can go to your school board meetings, of course, and put pressure there. There's legislative ways that you can do it. Interestingly enough, I interviewed a guy, Ryan Walters, Eric, that you may know. He was an Oklahoma school superintendent. He's now created an alliance that's an alternative to teachers unions. And I think that that's something I had not heard before, but they're giving teachers, teachers an alternative to these school, to these teachers unions that are so overtaken by Democrat politicians. So the fact that we have alternatives now, I think is a. Is an amazing thing. And that's something I just learned that happened just recently.

Eric Boling (17:08)

This is a relatively new group, right? Because I remember only a handful of years ago, and it really helped that Trump recognized them. How's that relationship?

Bo Davidson (17:18)

I think it's a great relationship. As I mentioned, he did speak last year. He considers, I think, this particular group very, very effective in terms of getting parental rights back. Now, of course, you know, Eric, we live in the free state of Florida, where Governor DeSantis has really, you know, put the pedal to the metal in terms of parental rights. We're here in the land of Disney. I know you spend a lot of time in Orlando. We've seen what Governor DeSantis has done with Disney as well. The thing to know is that I think that even the state of Florida has been a template for other states to follow. That's at the state level, but I think as we look at the national level and what President Trump is doing, we're seeing a lot of great legislation coming out right now. And in terms of changing the direction of our country, look at no further than girls sports. We have a number of female athletes here. Jennifer say the CEO of XXXY Apparel is here. These are all important steps. I think that Moms for Liberty can empower parents to do something right now and get involved at the grassroots level.

Eric Boling (18:10)

You know, Virginia, I'm guessing it's going to be one of their big states, one of their big focuses, because we remember Loudoun County, Virginia, where the parent, the school boards with the whole trans issues going on. It was a big uproar during the Biden administration, and now they're going to elect a new governor, a new lieutenant governor, and there's a lot of back and forth. In fact, the attorney general that wants to be the attorney general of the state of Virginia has already admitted that he texted about killing a former opponent of his. They're big players in the state of Virginia. Will they get some movement in counties like Loudoun County?

Bo Davidson (18:48)

I think so. You know, I was speaking with James Lindsay Earlier, Dr. James Lindsey, and we were hearkening back to Xi Van Fleet, if you know who that is, who came from Communist China and was talking about all the Marxist roots that have basically infiltrated our education system. A lot of it is happening in Virginia. So I think that is a race absolutely to pay attention to. There's been some very, very inflammatory things, obviously, said in that debate the other night. And I think, yeah, I think Moms for Liberty is right at the Heart of that scene. This is where they can be effective. It's school boards. It's your vice principal. My mom sent me a story today of something that's happening in Hernando, Mississippi where a school administrators voice support for someone who was convicted of sexual battery of a child. Now how do you fix that? Well, you sign up with groups like Moms for Liberty and you put pressure on these people. So because elections, Eric, have consequences. They matter. And if we're standing aside like idle sheep, nothing is going to change. But I think the pandemic woke us all up. We saw what was happening and I became a new father, Eric, not that long ago to a 20 month old boy. I've got to start thinking about this. This is something I never thought about before that I have to pay attention to right now. And this conference is eye opening for a lot of different reasons.

Eric Boling (19:55)

You know, there's, you mentioned a couple of them before. Great lineup of speakers. Again, can you just go through? And then Byron jumps out at me because living in the state of Florida, Byron Donalds and his wife Erica, all very, very conservative, great people.

Bo Davidson (20:09)

Yeah, likely future governor probably too. But we got Benny Johnson, we got Senator Ashley Moody, Byron Donald's the aforementioned, of course, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Pastor John Amanchuku, very familiar to RAV audiences. Dr. James Lindsay who I interviewed earlier and of course Florida Attorney General James Utmyer, who's done a lot in this state. So really good lineup of speakers and I think they're all speaking to thankfully here in the great free state of Florida of what can be done and what example can be followed by if you want to take control over your child's education. My mom was a public school teacher, Eric, for about 38 years. A lot has changed. Social media has changed that. The digital age competing with social media with screen time. And they're talking about digital age stuff here too in terms of screen time and what your kids should be watching. Thankfully, we've got a great partnership with Angel Studios where there's alternatives now. You don't have to watch some of the woke crap that we've been seeing. There's lots of alternatives now. And that's part of the cultural, the war that we're in as well.

Eric Boling (21:03)

You know, there's, there's a group like that, very conservative, you know, pro Trump. I call maga. Maybe I'm not right to call maga, but let's say they're, they're America first at the very least. Are they involved in election integrity at all? Because that would strike me with the size, a group that size and that much influence, they might get some movement in the right direction.

Bo Davidson (21:22)

I think you're probably right. I haven't seen that particular theme come up at this conference. Although we're only on day one, Day two could, you know, there could be a lot more happening in day two. I haven't heard a lot about election integrity, but my impression of what this group has done on a grassroots level is nothing short of incredible. I think of it like we think of TPUSA as mobilizing the high school and college kids. This is all about the parents and I think parents out there who have concerns about what's going on in their kids education, some of them may consider homeschooling. That's a very viable alternative. School choice. These are big issues that are happening right now. And I think for the better part of this conference, I think we're going to see a lot of different things discussed, but particularly focusing on school choice, religious liberty, vaccines. There's so many topics that are being discussed here over the next two days.

Eric Boling (22:11)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Charter schools too. Let's get, let's get parents and new parents like you have the ability to pick your school and let the government, instead of wasting our money in the public school system, send you some money. You figure it out and you'll do a better job. Bo. Always good folks get out there. It's a great conference. Orlando, Florida going through tomorrow. Great to see you both. Thank you.

Bo Davidson (22:31)

Yeah.

Eric Boling (22:32)

Oh, we lost them. Okay, we'll be back. Two and a half minutes.

Marine 250 Narrator (22:37)

For 250 years, they've stormed beaches, broken lines and made history in blood and valor. From the Black Sea, fans of Iwo Jima, to the streets of Fallujah.

Ted Nugent (22:52)

Get ready to move.

Marine 250 Narrator (22:53)

No enemy too strong, no mission too hard, no fight too far. The sad Real America's Voice takes you to the heart of the Marine Corps legend. Hosted by Steve Bannon with Ben Berkwom and Amanda Head on the ground, joined by battle tested veterans and military experts who live the brotherhood of the Corps. Explosive action, raw power, unshakable pride. This is Marine 250 from sea to shore. Coverage begins this Saturday at noon Eastern only on Real America's Voice. Because freedom wasn't given, it was earned.

Eric Boling (24:03)

All right, folks, there's Marine One landing. Trump is going to depart to get on Air Force One. Come down to West Palm Beach, Florida. All right, folks, buy gold and get free silver. That's right. For every $5,000 purchased from Birch Gold Group this month, in advance of Veterans Day, they will send you a free patriotic silver round that commemorates the Gadsden and American flags. Look, gold is up over 40% since the beginning of this year alone. Think about that. Birch Gold can help you own it and convert it into an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered IRA in physical gold. That's right. They own the real gold. You will own the real physical gold. Plus, they'll send you free silver honoring our veterans and qualifying purchases. If you're current or former military, Birch Gold has a special offer just for you. They're waiving custodial fees for the first year on investments of any amount with the A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of happy customers, many of which are my listeners. And by the way, I'm one of their customers. I do this myself. I wouldn't be telling you to do it if I didn't do myself. We love Birch Gold Group. I encourage you to diversify your savings into gold. Text the word America to the number 989-898 for free info kit and to claim your eligibility for free silver with qualifying purchases before the end of this month. Again, that word. Text America to 989-898. Do it today. Take a look at this round. Real quick. Before you go. Take a look at this round. They look at that round on camera. Rabbit. Ben, Here we go. Look, here it is. I'm holding it up. There it is free. It's an ounce of silver. An ounce of silver right there. All you have to do is call that text America 989-898 to Birchcold. It has been another busy week for President Trump. He flew to Israel for the release of the hostages from Gaza, then flew to Egypt for an international peace summit to the end of the Israel Hamas war. And then he bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to Charlie Kirk. Gave it to Erica Kirk, his wife, yesterday. Here to discuss all of this and more, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and host of the Victor Davis Hansen Show, Victor Davis Hansen. As we always say, if you're in the room with Victor Davis Hansen, you're in the room with the smartest man in the room, no matter who else is in the room with you. Victor, really good having you. Let's start on. Will Hamas, Iran, will this cabal hold this ceasefire and actually have a true, complete end to this war?

Victor Davis Hanson (26:39)

Not on their own volition. It'll just. There's three parties. There's the Arab moderates, so called, and Turkey, Egypt, the Gulf states and then there's Israel and then there's the United States and then there's Hamas out by itself. And Hamas has to be dismantled and we can control Iran with sanctions. And they have no air defenses for now. And Hezbollah is being rebuilt, but still neutered. Houthis are neutered. But one of those entities has to deal with Hamas and the other three, I mean the other two have to allow it to do it. So either it's going to be the Arab regimes, the so called moderates will have to deal with Hamas. I don't think they will. Or the United States will have to put troops or air power in there. I don't think we will. So it'll probably have to be Israel and that'll be contingent on the Gulf states, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey giving them an okay and us of course helping them with aid or whatever. But somebody is going to have to keep destroy the tunnels, keep Hamas leadership out of the picture and dismantle what's going on.

Eric Boling (27:50)

How do they do that? That Hamas has leadership roles within the Palestinian, I guess, government or whatever we're going to call it?

Victor Davis Hanson (28:01)

Well, you have to do what the opposite of what we've been doing. So when Israel hit gutter, everybody got angry at Israel, but Israel basically forced gutter to come to us and ask for a protectorate. And I think that the Trump administration said, yes, we'll protect you, but you're not going to host Hamas anymore. And then we said to Turkey, you're not going to host Hamas anymore. And we're going to debunk them. We're going to bar them, anybody connected with them with entry pressure. Our European allies do the same and make them Persona non grata all over the world and then deal with what's left of the Let Israel go down the list. If they rearm to say they have a list of three or four hundred of them and they'll just keep going down and eliminating them. But they cannot participate. They're killers. They will never rehabilitate.

Eric Boling (28:51)

Is Iran, are they showing the true self right now?

Victor Davis Hanson (28:56)

No, Iran is rebuilding, it's recalibrating. It's trying to reach out and say that now they might be moderate. Why they secretly build another facility. They're trying to get their air defenses from the Russians and the Chinese rebuilt. But it's going to be very hard for them because nothing static. The United States is becoming more and more powerful and so is Israel and they're never going to catch up and they think they are. So we have to continue to be vigilant, basically, if I could be so candid. They are hoping there's a change of leadership, that a new administration on the left will be in power and then they think they can. It's what one of the hostages said. As soon as Trump was elected, everything changed for the better for the hostages. Had he not been elected, they'd still be there. So that's their only, their only confidence that they think that Trump will not. He, he will be gone and Mario or Rubio, Marco won't be there or Vance won't be there and they can get another Biden or Obama administration to appease them.

Eric Boling (30:01)

My fear is that's the same thing that they are doing a lot of the business world is doing with Trump right now. Promising to bring manufacturing back to the United States and doing it so slow that they won't have to actually put a shovel into the ground until I do too. Until after he's, he's no longer president. Got quick thought on that.

Victor Davis Hanson (30:19)

Yeah, I do. I think Trump, when he says we have 8 to 12 trillion dollars in foreign investment, it doesn't matter what these other countries say, it matters what actually materializes. And some of them, like Japan for example, are going to wait us out until he's gone. And I think that same true of some of our businesses that say they're going to build these huge, you know, trillion dollar plants. And it's very important that we think beyond the Trump four years and who is going to follow him and can everybody unite behind that person and continue this very necessary agenda?

Eric Boling (30:57)

Very important, very important. Who takes over from here very quickly? Because on another topic, it feels like a bad decision to allow Qatar to get a military base in Idaho.

Victor Davis Hanson (31:09)

Yeah, it does. It just, I wish we knew what we know what the quos. I want to know what the quids are. What did they give up for that? Did they say to us, we're, we're not going to have any more Al Jazeera, we're not going to have any more Hamas people that we protect. We're not going to fund radical Islamic programs at Colombia and you know, $50 million a year point in the America. I don't know what we got for it, but we had to get something. And I think that something is connected with the big negotiations that I don't think Hamas will feel that.

Eric Boling (31:45)

Let's not forget, guys, let's not forget the leaders of Hamas when, when Israel started to fight back and you know, go at them and start searching them out, they were hiding in Qatar, and now Qatar is going to have a military base in Idaho.

Victor Davis Hanson (32:00)

I hope somebody, I think everybody realizes that they're, they are the double dealers. They play Iran off against the Saudis, they play us off against the Russians. They have Hamas. And I think the Trump administration is, we'd rather grab a hold of them and, and offer them something and control them. But if they're not going to control them and say, this is what you can do and this is what you can't, nobody likes you, everybody's sick of you. You know, you don't have any friends. Israel at any moment can really do damage to you, ruin your tourist industry, ruin your oil industry. They showed it. We can stop the Israelis from doing that, but we want something in return. And I hope that return is much bigger than what we gave off, which would be great.

Eric Boling (32:44)

I just don't like the part. And by the way, we'll let you camp out in our backyard.

Victor Davis Hanson (32:48)

That's the part I don't like it either. I just.

Eric Boling (32:50)

Do you think Trump is playing with fire again? I don't know what these negotiations are to, to offer Zelensky in Ukraine, Russian, the intel on Russian infrastructure, specifically Russian oil infrastructure, which we know Putin was going to protect that it's his lifeblood. He's going to protect that to the death. To offer that intel to Zelensky, it seems, is there. What's the political play here?

Victor Davis Hanson (33:17)

Well, the political play is that everybody knows the outline of the peace deal, and that is they're going to not going to get back Donbass, the Ukrainians are not going to get back Crimea, they are not to be in NATO, but they're going to be armed and they're going to be a deterrent power so they can't be absorbed by Russia. And Russia, it wants more as much land as they can get westward. So that justify this terrible miscalculation. It's cost them a million dead and wounded and missing. And Putin's got to go back to the oligarchs or the military and say, I got all of this land west of the Dombass and Crimea and it was worth all this death. And he doesn't think he's there yet, and we think he's there. So they're going to argue over where the DMZ is. But what I'm worried about is strategically, if he's going to hurt all of these hospitals and schools, strategically it's justified to hit him back. But it's a little bit. What's strategically justified is not the Same as what's geostrategically wise. And when you start violating the rules of the Cold War for whatever good reason that you start in a proxy war to hit the homeland of your nuclear rival with your weapons and using a proxy in the way that Khrushchev tried to use Cuba to do the same to us, whatever the reason is, you're in a new, your new frontier. It's dangerous.

Eric Boling (34:42)

Yeah, yeah, we're going to leave it there. You know, my question is, why broadcast?

Victor Davis Hanson (34:46)

Right?

Eric Boling (34:46)

So you want to have, you want to have covert operations? I'm sure we do. I'm sure we've given them a lot of intel, but it didn't seem, I couldn't figure out why Trump would broadcast that on the stage.

Victor Davis Hanson (35:01)

I agree, I agree. And I think he's trying to put pressure on Putin and he thinks he knows Putin and Putin is going to give concessions a risk, doesn't have enough land.

Eric Boling (35:13)

Do you think, you know, the dog, the bite that the dog that's sleeping over there or not necessarily sleeping, but maybe this guy's not spoon. I'm not sure you want to mess with them that way. Victor Davis Hansen. Appreciate your time, my friend. Thank you, sir.

Victor Davis Hanson (35:23)

Thank you, Eric.

Eric Boling (35:24)

All right, folks, we'll be back. Two and a half minutes. Well, I love having my next guest on. He's a ball of American spirit. In fact, he's like a meteor barreling towards earth at breakneck speed. Let's get right to the one, the only Ted Nugent and the good. Hey, welcome Ted. Welcome, Mr. Ted. This, this is huge. We're bringing on because Turning Point USA is putting on an all American halftime show to counter Bad Bunny's performance at the NFL halftime show. Tell us a little bit, little bit about that turn. There it is right there. Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, Travis Tritt, Jason Aldean. Look at the John, Rich Lee Greenwood, amongst others. Really exciting stuff, Ted.

Ted Nugent (36:30)

Well, you know, I gotta tell you. Dream on. They wish that this was the halftime entertainment because this is real all American hell raising soul music, everybody on there. But the horrible thing about it, like everything on the Internet and the galactic interview insanity, none of that is true. It's not going to happen. God knows the world would be better if it did. But I understand TP and usa, they're putting on an alternative one to the Bunny Goofball and again, the NFL. I've never seen an NFL game in my life and I'm not about to start now. But ultimately, let me put it this way, Eric, here it is. October 2025 and everything is insane. But I can cleanse my soul every day with the mystical flight of the arrow. You've got to prioritize. Would that be a great halftime show or what?

Eric Boling (37:22)

I think this would be the better halftime show. Can't wait to find out how many viewers you guys draw away from the NFL. Bad Bunny. By the way, I just literally watched Bad Bunny. Don't get me wrong. I really don't care who they put up at halftime. I love Ted. Ted. I used to love some of the when it was rock and roll halftimes. Those were fantastic. I really don't care who they put up. They got their marketing ideas, the NFL does. Now they're going after Hispanic audiences. Okay, great. Knock yourself out. My problem is Bad Bunny is not a good American. My problem is Bad Bunny went to a WNBA game. The finals were last week. He went to WNBA game and stayed seated during the national anthem when everyone in the crowd was standing up. And that pisses me off.

Ted Nugent (38:07)

Well, and those are the kinds of anecdotal evidence that one needs to review to make such decisions and that the NFL can't make that. Truth, logic, common sense. Decent decision is a vote against those guys. But once again, Eric, it's October. I got all my friends, my sons, my daughters, they all love to go to sporting events. I'm not a spectator. I don't spectate. I do stuff. This is the greatest hunting season of my life. I'm doing these unbelievable Detroit Motor City rock and roll soul music gig around the country called Uncle Ted's Speakeasies. And that way I can be home every night with Chemain and my dogs. What's more important than that? So God bless the NFL people that love to watch those sports. I hope they have a good time. And I don't know anything about this Bunny dude, but I don't really care. I have.

Eric Boling (38:57)

You cracked me up, Mr. Ted Nugent. So how does this work? How much time. Do you know how much time you're going to have on stage? And you think about what's. You got to play Stranglehold. You got to go Stranglehold. I think you have to play Price Stormtrooping Wango Tango. What do you think?

Ted Nugent (39:12)

Well, everybody on that list wants to play Stranglehold. I promise you. He plays Cat Scratch Fever every night. Hank Jr. Plays cat scratch Fever every night. The great Toby Keith played Strangleholder every night because everybody needs real soul music at least once per performance. So, you know, I'm ready to play all my songs. I love My music. I love my music more than anybody loves my music. Jason Hartless on drums, Johnny Big on bass guitar. It's. It's. It's out of body, soulful, just so intense, so irreverent, so defiant, so groove, so Motown, so James Brown. So it doesn't matter what songs I play, where I play them, they all have a life of their own.

Eric Boling (39:54)

Wang dang Sweet from Tang.

Ted Nugent (39:57)

It's a love song. I'm the master of love song.

Eric Boling (39:59)

You are, and I know that. And. And we talked about this cat. Scratch your ears. You know, the kitty next door, the lady next door had a cat. And you know you like to play with the kitty. I understand. So we drum up some video of back in the day. Ted Nugent. Back in the day. Remember, I grew up watching Ted Nugent. We're gonna play a little bit of this. Ted. This is. Tell us about this concert. And Ted's gonna come in swinging on a vine in a second. Here he is. Tell us a little about what that concert was all about. You remember it well.

Ted Nugent (40:27)

What that concert was all about is going crazy and absolutely letting it rip. When in doubt, I whip it out. Nobody's had more fun with their career, no matter what that career might be, especially in music. Why not a loincloth? I'm the only guitar player that shoots his own stage clothes. I literally can shoot my stage clothes, and then down the road we can barbecue them. The point is, is that my band is so killer. My musicians at my side are such killers. And the audience knows that there might be a flaming arrow or a loincloth or coming out. I wrote a buffalo low on stage. A live South Dakota bull bison between my legs. A lot of people didn't understand that. But it's all about letting it rip when you play rock and roll. We. We consider every concert an audition to be James Brown's band. My. My musicians are so gifted, so dedicated. They have indefatigable Herculean work ethic. And they love rhythm and blues, soul music. James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Little Richard. My hero. So every night is the most important concert of our lives. And I've done 7,007 of them, and I can't wait for 7,008.

Eric Boling (41:38)

So Soul, that's where your genesis is. That's where your true north is. That's where you get your inspiration from. The soul. Back in the day, soul artists. Elvis famously said he grew up listening to gospel music. Gospel taught him how to sing. Gospel taught him how to write lyrics. And for you, it's it's more soulful music. And your music is just intertwined with the DNA of your music is. Is from that soul patch. So tell us about it.

Ted Nugent (42:03)

Well, Eric, I was born in Detroit, 1948. Les Paul had just electrified the guitar from a background instrument to the driving force of the best songs in the world. Little Richard showed us to do what with his left hand. I think it was his left hand playing the bass parts on the piano. And Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Dwayne Eddy and Lonnie Mac. These guys were milking frequencies and tones out of the guitars and amplifiers that were brand new. And being in the shadow of Motown with those mystical, miraculous grooves of Funk Brothers and listening to James Brown and his band and all these great soulful artists, even though it's a semi Caucasian version of an uppity soulful gospel blues song. But remember, the black artists finally threw off the shackles of the worst curse of mankind, of slavery and racism. They really did throw it off. When I was born, it slowly took place. And so that music was so emotional, it was so authoritative, so powerful, so infectious. So every rock and roll song you like was inspired by the Motown funk brothers. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave. All these masters of coming out of the cotton fields and just letting it run. Riff. Such defiant, irreverent, soulful, authoritative music. And in 2025, that's still the inspiration for the best bands out there. Night Ranger and Sticks and Mark Farner. These guys are still out there playing all these years later. Ted Nugent still playing rock and roll concerts because of that emotional, soulful, authoritative black influence. Know it.

Eric Boling (43:42)

You know, so you're. You're. You're the front man, right? Ted Nugent. You're frontman for Ted Nugent. You know, some of the other. The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, I'm thinking Aerosmith, Steven Tyler also have this real ballady, soulful, I guess, DNA running through their. Their musical blood as well. Do you talk to any of those folks anymore? Did you ever?

Ted Nugent (44:05)

I do. I have a great connection with Sammy Hagar, with Mark Farner, the Grand Funk Railroad, One of the most talented soulful artists in the history of the world. My damn Yankees buddies, Tommy Shaw and Sticks, Jack Blades over in Japan with Night Ranger. Right now. I keep in touch with Sammy Hager all the time. I talk to Ricky Medlock from Leonard Skynyrd. These are. These are people who can still form syllables and have a reasonable conversation. And I'm echoing their core musical, inspirational beliefs right now every word out of my mouth is the same inspiration for everybody, from Billy Joel to Steven Tyler to Sammy Hager to Martin, Mark Farner, all these unbelievable, soulful artists. They all came from that defiant, unprecedented black musical authority. We all want to be as tight as James Brown, have the cadence and lyricism and storytelling of Chuck Berry and Little Richard. I mean, stop and think of the lyrics back then. That's where I get Wang Dang Sweet Poon Tang. In fact, there was a blues song by, I think it was Howlin Wolf called Wang Dang Doodle. What do you think that might have been about? So there's a lot of inspiration out there that is. That coexists in all the music genres, but when you really play with heart and soul, it's got black influence.

Eric Boling (45:20)

I grew up watching you, Ted. I grew up listening to the who, and I think my first concert ever was the who in Chicago Stadium. Absolutely amazing. I saw the who a couple of clips on Instagram of the who in Seattle in September a couple of weeks ago, and, wow, it just. They brought it, like, unfortunately, Entwistle is dead and Moon is dead to the major members of the band. But Pete Towns is still there. Daltrey couldn't hit the high note anymore, but it was such a great performance. It's everlasting. Can you hit the high note, Ted? Do you still have the high note in here or no?

Ted Nugent (45:54)

You know, if I play Wango Tango, which is the greatest white guy's attempt at Little Richard, I'm the only white guy that ever got close to Little Richard, if even Paul McCartney on I'm Down. But anyhow, yeah, I can still hit those high notes because I'm a man that is influenced by the greatest philosopher of all times, Dirty Harry, when he said, a good man knows his limitations. So if I start out with the high screaming songs like Sammy Hager does every song, then I can hit those high notes. But again, I'm 77 this year. This is outrageous. And this is my hunting beard, so I look older than I really feel. But the music is so inspiring. I'm telling you, Eric, when we hit the stage every night, it's out of body. It's like a martial arts, like a Bruce Lee musicianship thing. It literally takes over your entire being. If you really believe in the music and what you're talking about. The who in 2025, Roger and Pete, they still believe in the music. They're so proud of those musical statements. So when we get up on stage, it's literally the mountaintop of the human experience. It's like being the greatest, well, dream welder in the world, which is more important than music. The greatest welder in the world. His welds will last forever. What a great testament to work ethic and dreams.

Eric Boling (47:10)

It was inspiring seeing a lot of young people, new young drummer, new young keyboards and a violinist who came out and his young lady and she just crushed the violin in that song. Ted, Spirit of the Wild on the Pursuit Channel. You have your own show here. Tell us very quickly if we can find Ted.

Ted Nugent (47:28)

Well, I believe in conservation. Like right now. Take a look at my effervescent masculinity. I'm high on nature again today. Not just during the hunting season, but Shamayne and I produce Spirit of the Wild TV on the Pursuit Channel for 36 years. Over 650 episodes celebrating God's healing powers of nature. When you're a hands on conservation participant. And it will keep you bright eyed and bushy tailed and cleanse your soul. And that's why it's the number one hunting show in the history of conservation television. We're very proud of that. I think it's Chemain's queen of the forest that does it. That's really where all this power comes from.

Eric Boling (48:02)

There you go, There you go. Always great having you on Ted. Real proud to have you as a friend and also as a colleague. Techn everybody. Thank you brother.

Ted Nugent (48:10)

Godspeed Eric. God bless America and you too.

Eric Boling (48:13)

We'll be back. Two and a half minutes. Very quick, put up that chart real quick. Ben. This is amazing. You guys are killing it with the edge. This show is out of control. It's becoming a platform 73 times faster than the average YouTube page. Very quickly jump over to that QR code. You could do this two ways folks. You can take your phone, open up the camera, hit that QR code, drop the banner if you don't mind. There you go, little yellow line comes across. Press it, you've subscribed, it will never charge you for anything. Not about that. It's just the support. This way. I appreciate you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Or you can go YouTube.com EricBoling TheEdge YouTube.com EricBoling the Edge thank you. I appreciate your support. All right, let's do this very quickly. We had this voicemail a couple of days ago. Just hear a taste of it. Very quick.

Caller (49:06)

Go ahead then this is Barn from Louisiana again, which you never put me on tv. Oh, you were bragging on your damn president. Your president done A damn thing for the working company, working people. You'll be bragging on him. And goes up on this, goes up on that.

Eric Boling (49:24)

Come on. So that created a lot of voicemails. You guys probably sent me maybe 75, 100 voicemails responding to that. So let's pull a couple of them. Ben, what's the first one?

Bo Davidson (49:35)

It's just a viewer responding to this person.

Eric Boling (49:37)

Here we are.

Caller (49:38)

Eric Bolan. Mr. Boland, I appreciate your attempt to listen to any and all of them. God bless you and God bless your, you know, your listeners. But there's no way you can handle everything that everybody is calling into you. But I understand.

Eric Boling (49:56)

Thank you. Thank you very much. The point was, the guy, legitimate concerns. But I pointed out he said, your president. It's our president, my man. It's our president. He's president of all Americans, like it or not. There were so many. Let's play another one.

Podcast Announcer (50:10)

Hey, Eric, it's Angie from Farmington, Missouri. Hey, I just heard that crazy message from the guy that said you'd never put him up on tv. Thank you for sharing that so that we can all understand how deranged, as our favorite president would say, or maybe lunatic some people are in this world. But anyway, Eric, you're doing a great job. Don't listen to the noise. I've watched you since the early days of Fox, and I'm really glad that you're at RAV now, because that's the best place to be. So, anyway, keep on keeping on and keep on doing good, Eric. We really enjoy you in the afternoon, most of us.

Victor Davis Hanson (50:54)

Thanks again.

Eric Boling (50:54)

Most of us. That was a nice little touch at the end. Most of us can't make everyone happy, so to speak. I think we got time for one more, Ben. Let's do it.

Caller (51:03)

Hi, Eric. I just wanted you to know that that crazy bastard that called your show today was really me disguising my voice again. The reason I did that was because I wanted to motivate you and bring the best out of you. And if you'll notice, you were really on fire after I did that, so you don't need to thank me. I thank you. And you got great jeans. And let's get the job done.

Eric Boling (51:28)

All right, well, thank you, anyway. I'm pretty sure that wasn't you, my friend, because you call me a lot. This guy's funny. We put him up a lot because he keeps him tight. And he makes them tight. I appreciate your calls. That's the whole point. Keep doing it. Keep sending me the voicemails. I get through them as many as I can. And just really, really appreciate all you guys do, because I want to hear what you're thinking. I want to hear what's on your mind. I want to hear what's important to you. That's how we put the show together, put together the things that are important to you. You're very interested in the Victor Davis Hanson. I'm watching the chat light up about the Qatari base in Idaho. Is it a training base? Is it a war base? Is it a military base? We don't know, but we ask these questions. Have a great weekend. Have a safe weekend. The war room is coming up next. We will be all about it. We back up with you on Monday. Have a great night. Bye. This is an iHeart podcast.