Real America’s Voice: Bolling! – September 5th, 2025

Podcast Host: Eric (with guest appearances from Donald Trump and others)
Main Guest: Raymond Lopez, Chicago Democratic Alderman
Episode Theme:
A wide-ranging conversation on jobs and economic numbers, escalating urban crime (with a focus on Chicago), controversial foreign investments, a major military rebrand from “Department of Defense” to “Department of War,” US foreign and security policy, and hostages/hostile regimes. The episode features both in-depth expert interviews and direct Q&A with returning President Donald Trump.

Episode Overview

This episode delivers unfiltered “honest views” on recent economic data, market moves, and job numbers, before pivoting to urban insecurity in Chicago with guest Alderman Raymond Lopez. The main event is an in-depth, live coverage of President Trump’s executive order renaming the “Department of Defense” as the “Department of War,” with discussion among top officials. The latter half features a substantive Q&A on hostage policies, immigration, crime, and global affairs, highlighting memorable exchanges and policy declarations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Recap & Jobs Numbers Criticism (00:04–02:31)

• Markets Recap: Dow down ~200 points; S&P down 20, Nasdaq down 73. Oil down to $62/barrel; gold strong; crypto (Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP) surged.
• Jobs Report Skepticism:
  • Only 22,000 new jobs reported (vs. 75,000 expected).
  • Host Eric fiercely critiques the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):

    “The Bureau of Labor Statistics is one of the easiest places to fudge statistics. It’s horrible science at best. It’s political at worst. I don’t trust any of the numbers that come out of the BLS.” (Eric, 01:10)

2. Foreign Investment & National Security Concerns (02:32–05:04)

• Epstein Files & Foreign Ownership of DC Hotels:
  • Focus on Saudi-linked arms dealer (Wafik Said) acquiring Capitol Hilton via al Shams Investments.
  • Sharp concerns about surveillance and national security risks with high-profile foreign ownership near the White House.

  • “Not just a real estate deal. It’s foreign influence at the doorstep of American power.” (Eric, 03:55)

3. Chicago Crime & Urban Policy: Interview with Alderman Raymond Lopez (05:04–12:25)

• Historic Democratic Leadership Criticized:

  • Chicago’s persistent crime problem under mayors Lightfoot and Johnson.
  • Voters drawn to “social justice warrior” platitudes over pragmatic public safety.

  “Chicagoans ... have forgotten what it means to have a real mayor ... They’ve fallen for the Okie doke twice now...forgetting that Chicago is a city of neighborhoods.”
  (Raymond Lopez, 05:04)

• Call for Federal/National Guard Help:

  • Lopez supports federal intervention and National Guard assistance to restore public safety:

  “Absolutely. Trump should be able to come in and help the city of Chicago alleviate some of the pressures of public safety ...”
  (Raymond Lopez, 06:48)

• Police Overextension & Lack of Political Will:

  • Police pulled from neighborhoods to “protect the bean, Buckingham Fountain, Mag Mile”—not available for actual crime-fighting.
  • “Acceptable limit of carnage” implied by city leadership.
  • Judges, revolving-door justice, and the voicelessness of crime victims.

• Cops, Suburbs, and ‘No-Go Zones’:

  • Officers regularly outnumbered and unsupported.

  “You have mayors … who would immediately throw any officer under the bus twice if they could ... [It] makes it very hard for a police officer to feel as though anyone has their back.”
  (Raymond Lopez, 10:41)

• Personal Notes & City Loyalty:

  • Light final questions: Cubs vs. White Sox (“White Sox, of course” – Lopez), support for the Bears, personal roots in Chicago.

4. Presidential Executive Action & Press Briefing: “Department of War” (14:51–46:12)

Key Highlights

• Renaming Department of Defense to Department of War:

  • Trump signs Executive Order (EO) restoring the department’s pre-1947 name.

  “We won everything before that… Then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So we’re going Department of War.” (Donald Trump, 16:10)

• Rationale and Motivation:

  • Hosts and officials (General Pete Hegseth, Adam Bowler) echo that the new name is not just cosmetic but reflects a “restoration of the warrior ethos,” focus on victory instead of endless conflict:

  “Words matter. … restoring as you’ve guided us … restoring the warrior ethos, restoring victory and clarity as an end state, restoring intentionality to the use of force.” (Gen. Pete Hegseth, 17:58)

• Message to Allies & Adversaries:

  • Trump:

  “I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends … a message of strength. We’re very strong. We’re much stronger than anyone would really understand.”
  (Trump, 23:53)

• Victory & American Strength:

  • “We have the strongest military in the world … if we have to fight at all, you know, we solved seven wars ... And we’re going to get the other one done, too.”
    (Trump, 21:25)

• Low-Cost Rebrand:

  • No massive expenditures; phased in via routine changes (“We’re not going to be doing things like have been done in the past ...” – Trump, 27:24)

Notable Quotes

• “We're going to raise up warriors, not just defenders. So this War Department, Mr. President, just like America, is back.”
  (Hegseth, 19:07)

• “If they do put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shut down.” (on Venezuelan jets) (Trump, 45:49)

5. Hostage Negotiation Policy & Executive Order (46:43–55:39)

• New Hostage Policy EO:

  • Establishes legal grounds to sanction countries that detain Americans.
  • Asserts U.S. will not pay ransoms:

  “We don’t pay. And if you don’t pay, they find it to be not a lucrative business anymore.” (Trump, 47:47)

• Comparisons to Prior Administrations:

  • Trump's team boasts 72 hostages released (vs. “negative 20” under Biden).
  • Accusations that the Biden administration told families to keep quiet; Trump claims direct family engagement weekly.

• International Cooperation:

  • Trump thanks Belarus for releasing hostages, hints at progress on broader cases.

• Illustrative Story:

  • Discussion on Tina Peters’ prosecution for investigating alleged electoral fraud (Trump sees her as a patriot wrongfully jailed).

6. Q&A on Other National and International Issues

• Immigration & Deportations:

  • Strongly defends policies deporting illegal aliens, focusing on criminals and drug traffickers.
  • Praises ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facility in Florida for holding deportees.

• Drug Trafficking Deaths:

  “We’re losing half of [U.S. Civil War deaths] every year to drugs … 300-350,000 people died last year from drugs, and we’re not going to let that happen.”
  (Trump, 44:06)

• Recruitment “Surge”:

  • Claims dramatic reversal: military and police recruitment at record highs since his return to office.

  “Now everybody wants to go into the military.”
  (Trump, 34:23)

• Ukraine, India, Venezuela, North Korea:

  • “Peace through strength” as recurring motto.
  • “If we weren’t strong, those seven deals I told you about ... wouldn’t have happened. They happened for two reasons, trade and our strength.”
    (Trump, 26:23)

• Crime & Domestic Policy:

  • Reiterates opposition to “cashless bail,” praises D.C. crime reduction under National Guard/Military.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Chicagoans ... have forgotten what it means to have a real mayor in charge ... they keep voting for individuals ... who think are going to fix all the social ills while ignoring all of those broken window things ..."
  (Raymond Lopez, 05:04)

• “We’re going to go on offense, not just on defense. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality, violent effect, not politically correct.”
  (Gen. Pete Hegseth, 18:44)

• “We have the greatest military in the world ... and now, if we have to fight at all ... we're going to win like you've never seen.”
  (Trump, 28:14)

• “If they do put us in a dangerous position, they’ll be shut down.”
  (Trump, 45:49)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Market/Economic Recap & BLS critique: 00:04–02:31
• Foreign Investment Security Concerns: 02:32–05:04
• Chicago Crime Interview (Lopez): 05:04–12:25
• Trump Introduces ‘Department of War’: 14:51–23:39
• Department of War Q&A/Justification: 23:39–29:28
• Discussion of Policies: Drugs, Immigration, Venezuela: 29:28–46:12
• Executive Orders & Hostage Policy: 46:43–55:39
• Closing Q&A (Gaza, Tina Peters): 55:39–58:56

Takeaways

• The episode presents the “Department of War” rebrand as both signal and substance: a re-assertion of American power, offensive posture, and intent to “win” rather than manage crises.
• Interviews (esp. with Alderman Lopez) highlight frustration with Democratic urban leadership and openness to federal intervention on crime.
• Throughout, President Trump and his advisors double down on a message of restored national strength, aggressive policies on crime, immigration, and foreign threats, and skepticism of “weak” or bureaucratic approaches.
• The tone is assertive, populist, sometimes combative, often highly critical of prior (Democratic) administrations, but focused on “results” and “winning.”