Podcast Summary: Human Events with Jack Posobiec (December 18, 2025)

Podcast: Real America’s Voice
Host: Jack Posobiec
Date: December 18, 2025
Feature Guests: Dan Caldwell (Senior Foreign Policy Fellow, American Moment), R.C. Maxwell (Turning Point Action, Red State)

Overview of the Episode

This episode of Human Events Daily is a blend of personal reflection, political analysis, and cultural commentary as Jack Posobiec prepares to attend Turning Point USA's America Fest (AMFest) for the first time since the assassination of founder Charlie Kirk. The show honors Kirk’s legacy, dives deep into ongoing U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela and Syria, explores recent social media spats with wrestling figures, and previews the scale and spirit of the upcoming AMFest event. The tone is urgent and defiant, emphasizing perseverance and unity within the conservative movement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Remembering Charlie Kirk and the Significance of AMFest

• AMFest 2025 marks the first without founder Charlie Kirk, recently assassinated. Posobiec reflects on Kirk’s leadership, encouragement, and the importance of maintaining momentum after his loss.
  • “The worst possible thing that we could do for Charlie's legacy would be to stop, would be to quit, would be to surrender to the people who... did this unspeakable evil to him, to Erica, to their children, to the movement. Because we're not going to quit the same way that Charlie would never quit.” (08:55)
• Posobiec calls on the conservative movement to fill the void: “Next man up. That’s what this Amfest is about... Who picks up the microphone? I said it the day he was murdered. He said, who's picking up the mic? Everyone is. Every single person is.” (09:25)

2. Foreign Policy Deep Dive: Venezuela Crisis

• Analysis of U.S. military posture near Venezuela:
  • Dan Caldwell distinguishes between pressure for regime change and efforts to force behavioral reforms in the Maduro regime (16:14).
  • The U.S. is both deploying forces (as a credible military threat) and engaging in diplomatic overtures (16:45–18:45).
  • Both hosts touch on media manipulation and the role of “information operations” by the U.S. administration.
  • Caldwell highlights concerns about “regime collapse” vs. “regime change,” warning that the former could destabilize the region and pose new threats far beyond Venezuela (21:43).

3. Reflecting on U.S. Troop Deployments in Syria

• Posobiec questions the rationale for maintaining U.S. military presence in Syria more than two decades after 9/11: “Why do we still have troops in Syria, Dan? Why you do? What's going on? 911 was 24 years ago, and Syria didn't attack us on 9 11.” (29:27)
• Caldwell responds, labeling the Syria mission a “zombie mission” with no remaining vital national interest. He argues for full U.S. withdrawal, noting all initial objectives (destroying ISIS, undermining Iranian influence) have been achieved (29:28–31:43).
• Posobiec passionately critiques the lack of public attention to past covert operations in Syria, tying this to broader patterns in U.S. regime change policy (31:43–33:27).

4. Unintended Consequences & Regime Change

• The hosts preview an upcoming Human Events series dedicated to the history and aftermath of U.S. regime change actions, promising deep dives into Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, and others.
  • “When everyone talks about these potential military operations, diplomatic operations... you always have to ask yourselves the question that the Bush administration and then later the Obama administration never seemed to want to ask. What happens next? What comes next?” (23:40)

5. Cultural Commentary: Social Media Feud with Wrestling World

• Posobiec addresses an online feud with wrestling figures Mick Foley and Jim Cornette, sparked by Foley’s public break from WWE over its Trump ties and Cornette’s ensuing criticism.
• The exchange is laced with in-jokes, jabs at both men’s legacies in wrestling, and a challenge for Cornette to debate in person at AMFest (“That’s not a work, that’s a shoot… come face me on in Phoenix, Arizona. Come to the Amfest stage.”) (39:04–42:40)
• R.C. Maxwell joins to reflect on cancel culture, hypocrisy, and Cornette’s problematic history (“Jim Cornette… has to bend the knee in order to avoid cancel culture because of their own skeleton in their closet.”) (40:00–41:06)
• Banter continues about the cultural significance (or lack thereof) of these wrestling personalities amid a rising new generation of conservative voices.

6. Previewing AMFest: Scope, Energy, and the Spirit of Continuance

• Maxwell and Posobiec detail the scale of AMFest: 30,000 attendees, 400 media orgs, strategic and faith-based programming, and the absence of Kirk acutely felt among the staff and community (43:59–49:31).
  • Over 80% of attendees are first-timers, highlighting the event's growth and reach (48:50–49:31).
• Maxwell pays tribute to Erica Kirk’s leadership and resolve in the wake of personal tragedy, noting her presence and ability to rally the organization (“if she had not stepped up when she had, I don't know if Turning Point would have… weathered the storm of those first couple weeks.”) (54:20)

7. Perseverance, Faith, and the Movement’s Mission

• Both hosts reflect on the spiritual dimensions of loss and legacy:
  • Posobiec: “Charlie's a believer. We're all believers. Fine. Charlie physically has left us, but Charlie spiritually is still with us, and Charlie's spirit still lives on… as long as Turning Point is still going… then Charlie Kirk's fight is still with us. And that… will never die as long as we don't let it die.” (51:38)
  • Maxwell describes keeping Kirk’s words present as a daily motivator (52:59).
• The mission is reaffirmed: return America to God, preserve freedom, and carry Charlie’s legacy forward through grit and communal responsibility.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Charlie Kirk Tribute & Movement Motivation

• “You could take out Charlie, but now you got to deal with all the rest of us. That's how you honor Charlie's legacy.” — Jack Posobiec (09:05)
• “Next man up… Every single person is. So you go look and we're at Christmas season, right? Charlie's not going to be with his family this Christmas… We got a lot of work to do, folks. And so the answer here is that you need to come into this AMFest and then go out there and start working.” — Jack Posobiec (09:20)

Venezuela Analysis

• “You don't move all those assets into the region if you didn't want to have that optionality… My hope still is, is that the diplomatic track succeeds and that… Venezuela isn’t a major hub for drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.” — Dan Caldwell (16:45, 21:43)

On Regime Change Consequences

• “You always have to ask yourselves the question that the Bush administration and then later the Obama administration never seemed to want to ask. What happens next?” — Jack Posobiec (23:40)

“Zombie Mission” in Syria

• “It's this zombie mission that keeps going on and on, and there are people that keep finding reasons to to keep them there… there is absolutely nothing that requires troops to be in Syria.” — Dan Caldwell (29:28–31:43)

Wrestling Feud & Cancel Culture

• “Jim Cornette… has to bend the knee in order to avoid cancel culture because of their own skeleton in their closet.” — R.C. Maxwell (41:06)
• “Jim Cornette, I am the new breed. You are the old washed up breed. I am a shoot fighter in a worked world and I'm calling my shot right now. Any format, any platform. Let's go.” — Jack Posobiec (45:01)

On Erica Kirk’s Leadership

• “If she had not stepped up when she had, I don't know if Turning Point would have… weathered the storm of those first couple weeks… It was Erica who…and her strength carried everyone forward.” — Jack Posobiec (54:20)
• “We are 100% behind Erica. And you know, we know that Charlie's decision and his wishes…have Erica lead this organization…has been a great decision.” — R.C. Maxwell (54:00)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [03:19–10:15] — Opening Monologue: AMFest tribute, loss of Charlie Kirk
• [15:12–23:40] — Venezuela: U.S. military moves, diplomacy, regime-change deep dive (with Dan Caldwell)
• [29:28–34:10] — Why Are U.S. Troops Still in Syria? (Dan Caldwell)
• [37:41–44:55] — Wrestling Feud: Mick Foley, Jim Cornette, cancel culture (with R.C. Maxwell)
• [43:59–52:59] — AMFest Preview: Attendance, purpose, the Charlie Kirk legacy, Erica Kirk steps up
• [51:38–55:41] — Faith, spirit, and community: Persevering in the face of adversity

Episode Flow & Tone

The episode maintains Jack Posobiec’s trademark combative, insider tone—mixing personal conviction, camaraderie, irreverent humor, and deep-dive policy analysis. Emotional tributes to Charlie Kirk are balanced with sharp, sometimes playful, political and cultural commentary. The central message is one of perseverance, spiritual fortitude, and unity—both in honoring Kirk’s legacy and in meeting current sociopolitical challenges.

For Listeners

This summary offers a roadmap through a jam-packed episode: from poignant remembrances to geopolitical maneuvers, from inside-conservative culture wars to raucous wrestling banter, all underscored by calls to action and faith in the conservative cause.