James Fishback is running for Governor of Florida and says Florida needs to be first, not Israel

Summary

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Redacted News Podcast Summary

Episode: James Fishback is running for Governor of Florida and says Florida needs to be first, not Israel
Date: January 3, 2026
Host: Natali Morris (Redacted.inc)
Guest: James Fishback (Florida gubernatorial candidate)

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Overview

This episode features Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, whose campaign has gone viral for its bold stance against Florida’s Israel-first policies and for his unapologetic "America First" platform. Fishback discusses defending free speech, rejecting foreign influence in American politics (specifically AIPAC), his positions on foreign policy, and his vision for Florida’s future, particularly focused on civil liberties, economic opportunity, and transparency.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Viral Ad and the Israel Debate

• Fishback’s new campaign ad questions the criminalization of criticism against Israel, highlighting free speech concerns.
• Criticism of Florida Statute 1010.5, which defines antisemitism to include criticism of Israel, making Florida unique among U.S. states in penalizing certain forms of speech about a foreign nation.

Quote:
“Criticizing a foreign government or any government is always protected under our Constitution. Our founding fathers fought and died for that right and I'll never let anyone steal it from you.”
— James Fishback (01:36)

• Fishback positions himself as an "America First" candidate opposed to Florida's recent legislative measures penalizing anti-Israel speech or action (e.g., boycotts).

2. Free Speech as a First Principle

• Fishback emphasizes the importance of free speech, regardless of whether he agrees with the content.
• He recounts his high school debate experience as formative, stressing the value of exposure to opposing views for personal growth and collective progress.
• He draws a contrast between Florida’s leadership on pandemic-related speech and its suppression of criticism toward Israel.

Quote:
“It's a first principles issue. Are you on the side of free speech or are you not? And I got to tell you, I disagree a lot with what my progressive friends say, but I'll always defend their right to say it.”
— James Fishback (04:10)

3. Calling Out the "Uniparty" and Foreign Wars

• Fishback expresses frustration at both major U.S. parties' foreign interventionism, labeling them the "Uniparty."
• He argues for a non-interventionist America First position, opposing foreign aid and military entanglements not directly tied to U.S. national interest (examples: Ukraine, Israel, Iraq).

Quote:
“The illusion of choice, this dichotomy between Republican and Democrat is utterly meaningless. Republicans support foreign wars, so do the Democrats... I don't want our tax dollars or our men and women in uniform fighting pointless, forever wars in other parts of the world.”
— James Fishback (08:52)

4. Venezuela, Fentanyl, and Criteria for Intervention

• Fishback is pressed about his statement supporting “removing Maduro,” and clarifies his support for short-term, targeted strikes (not war or nation-building) when direct threats to American security exist.
• He distinguishes Venezuela’s role in trafficking fentanyl and criminal gangs into Florida as justification for exceptional action, contrasting it with the lack of success in nation-building elsewhere.
• The conversation covers the skepticism toward U.S. government justifications for war, referencing the public’s distrust post-Iraq and Afghanistan.

Quote:
“We have over 100,000 Venezuelan migrants living right here in Florida. Let's give them a country they can move back to so we can re-migrate them out of here whether they want to or not.”
— James Fishback (11:54)

• Fishback addresses the complexity of global drug trafficking, admits the U.S. intelligence community’s complicity, but argues that immediate, proximate threats must still be addressed.

5. Independence from AIPAC and Foreign Lobbying (24:25)

• Fishback commits to never accepting AIPAC or any foreign lobbying funds.
• Frames politicians who take foreign money as compromised and questions their true loyalties.
• Promises to prioritize Florida’s and America’s interests exclusively.

Quote:
“As our Lord and Savior commands. In Matthew, chapter six. You cannot serve two masters. I'm running for Florida governor to serve one, and that is the people of my state and American citizens, not Israel, not Qatar, not China, no one else but Americans.”
— James Fishback (24:40)

6. Florida as a National Blueprint—Policy Vision

• Fishback discusses Florida’s national visibility and the broader implications of state policy as a model for America.
• Commits to continuing DeSantis’s legacy on issues like education, pandemic policy, parental rights, and economic freedom.
• Pledges opposition to overdevelopment and supports environmental protection, nuclear energy, and affordable living.
• Details concerns about unchecked AI data centers using rural land and driving up energy prices.

Quote:
“Florida is our home. That’s my campaign motto. Florida is our home. Home, not their playground.”
— James Fishback (32:50)

7. Energy, Affordability, and Economic Policy

• Advocates for nuclear energy as a cost-saving, sustainable solution for Floridians, promising to fight legal challenges from environmental groups.
• Reiterates a focus on housing affordability as central to restoring upward mobility and family formation.
• Takes aim at HOAs, property insurance, and the H1B guest worker program as elements to reform.

8. Grassroots Campaigning and the Path Forward

• Outlines campaign strategy: meeting voters face-to-face in all 67 Florida counties, taking hard questions, and building trust via transparency and dialogue.
• Encourages independents and dissatisfied Democrats to participate in the Republican primary to shift the state’s direction.

Quote:
"I'm never going to ask Floridians to blindly trust me. I'm only going to ask for the opportunity to earn their trust. And you don't earn trust through talking points. You earn trust by answering tough questions.”
— James Fishback (36:51)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We cannot, as has already been evident in Tennessee, Georgia and Philadelphia, we cannot allow these AI data centers to come in and to raise our electric bills.” (30:59)
• “A politician who takes money in the interest of a foreign government is forever tainted and compromised. Even if they don't think they are, they are. And it calls into question who their allegiance is actually being pledged to.” (25:16)
• “Affordability isn’t just about dollars and cents. It’s about your entire destiny, what you do with your life.” (35:35)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:33: Fishback’s viral ad about free speech and criticism of Israel
• 02:52: How Florida law criminalizes “antisemitism,” including Israel criticism
• 04:10: Defense of free speech as a foundational American right
• 08:47: The "Uniparty" and critique of endless foreign wars
• 10:54: Clarification on Venezuela stance—criteria for U.S. intervention
• 13:58: Skepticism of military interventions; argument over proximate threats vs. root causes
• 24:25: Fishback’s firm rejection of AIPAC and foreign lobbying money
• 27:17: Fishback’s personal background: debate, career, and political awakening
• 30:45: Concerns about AI data centers and impact on Florida’s environment
• 33:30: Nuclear energy as a solution for Florida, handling legal opposition
• 36:31: Grassroots campaign strategy and voter outreach

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Tone & Language

• Forthright, unapologetic, and conversational.
• Fishback frequently uses religious references, rhetorical questions, and personal anecdotes to connect with the audience.
• Natali Morris’s questions are probing yet respectful, modeling civil debate.

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Summary

James Fishback’s candidacy is defined by an assertive America First philosophy, opposition to foreign lobbying influences in Florida politics, and a robust commitment to free speech—especially as it relates to controversial foreign policy topics like Israel and Venezuela. He presents himself as an outsider willing to tackle both establishment Republican and Democratic positions, seeking to restore affordability, defend civil liberties, and serve as a model for national reform. This episode provides a comprehensive view of Fishback’s policy stances, campaign ethos, and the cultural debates defining Florida in 2026.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Interviewer Natalie]

Early birds always rise to the occasion for summer vacation planning because early gets you closer to the action. So don't be late. Book your next vacation early on VRBO and save over $530 on week long stays. Average savings $550 select homes only minimum 7 days stay required. James Fishback has gone viral for this new ad. He may just be the voice of the next generation of Republicans. He's running for governor in Florida. He is not an Israel first candidate. He is presumably a real American first candidate. Let's hear this ad and hear what that sounds like.

[James Fishback]

Is Netanyahu a war criminal? Did Israel commit genocide? If you say either of those statements in public, you could be convicted of anti Semitism. Criticizing a foreign government or any government is always protected under our Constitution. Our founding fathers fought and died for that right and I'll never let anyone steal it from you. My name is James Fishback and I'm running for Florida governor because Florida is our home, America is our birthright, and we can criticize. Who? Me? Please.

[Interviewer Natalie]

All right, well, independent thinkers are excited about that ad. They're excited to hear someone say this. That's why we wanted to talk to Mr. Fishback himself. Thank you so much for joining us.

[James Fishback]

My pleasure.

[Interviewer Natalie]

So Ron DeSantis has been an incredibly popular governor because he stands for a lot of liberties, but one in Florida. They have gone so far beyond just expressing support for Israel, but to penalize people who boycott Israel, who express any kind of division against Israel. University State Contracts can be denied on political speech. So it's important to say this, unfortunately. So tell us about this journey, how you got here, and how most of us may have missed these civil liberties that have been denied to Floridians.

[James Fishback]

Well, it all starts with a man named Randy Fine, who took the travesty that was October 7th, and it should be unequivocally condemned. Hamas is a terrorist organization. The innocent killing of civilian life on October 7 was wrong. But when we look at that travesty and say, use that as a pretext to steamroll our civil liberties in Florida, that is wrong as well. And so Randy Fine teamed up with Republicans and Democrats in the state House and passed a bill that would make it a crime, make it punishable, if you were to commit antisemitism. Now, I think most people are against antisemitism if you define it as the hatred of anyone based on their religion, whether that's Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. The problem is the definition of antisemitism in Florida state statute 10105 includes criticism of Israel. Now, granted, it is not punishable to criticize Sudan or China or Qatar or Saudi Arabia or any other country with one exception, and that is Israel.

[Interviewer Natalie]

And I gotta tell you, or the United States. You can say United States.

[James Fishback]

I mean, our founding fathers, Natalie, they fought and died for our First Amendment right, a right to criticize our government. And yet that right somehow does not apply to the Israeli government. And whether you are supportive or against what is happening right now between Israel and Hamas, that is irrelevant. It's. It's a first principles issue. Are, Are you on the side of free speech or are you not? And I got to tell you, I disagree a lot with what my progressive friends say, but I'll always defend their right to say it. And if you want, after your own reflection, if you want to speak up in a college class or in high school, and you want to say that Benjamin Netanyahu, in your opinion, is a war criminal, or that Israel has, in fact, committed genocide in Gaza, that is your right to say it. And guess what the best part of this grand bargain called free speech and open debate is in America, if someone disagrees with you and they refute you, they provide evidence, they don't threaten to punish you. And so I'm running for Florida governor for a lot of reasons, but number one is to stand up for the free speech of folks across my state, especially those that I might disagree with.

[Interviewer Natalie]

Which is surprising to have watched this happen in Florida, because in Florida, you had the Right. To criticize the vaccine and government mandates under the pandemic. And Florida was a leader in that respect.

[James Fishback]

Respect.

[Interviewer Natalie]

And so to watch this happen in the margins. Now, I look at some of the comments on your video here. I think you have a lot of hasbara bots coming after you and saying, why do you even care about Israel? You're running for governor of Florida. Why are you saying that? And I feel like it's abundantly clear why you need to say that in the year 2025. What do you think of that?

[James Fishback]

I absolutely do. I'm not running to be Secretary of State or a diplomat to a foreign country, but I'm running to represent 23 and a half million people in a state that my family known for four generations. And I'm always going to defend their right to speak out against whatever the case may be. I'm grateful that Governor DeSantis has been a free speech governor when it comes to the vaccine mandates. When it came to the issues of COVID he defended the ability for folks to express real frustration about election integrity. And we have to continue that legacy of our governor on every single issue. There is no exception to the First Amendment. The First Amendment is clear as day that we cannot infringe on the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of speech. And so it matters because when you have a state that is actively trying to punish people for disagreeing with a foreign government, that is not a state in which you can have intellectual honesty, in which you can use open debate and free speech to pursue truth. I was a high school debate kid many, many moons ago, and I had a lot of opinions that I don't have today. And I don't have those opinions because my high school debate coach threatened to hit me. She did. But I had those opinions disabused because I was in an open debate with a lot of my classmates who were a bit more conservative than me at the time and got me to change my opinion on things through that process of evidence, of empirical analysis, of the back and forth of refutation. And we should all welcome that. I'm running for governor, do a lot, but free speech is one of them. And number two is helping the next generation be like Charlie Kirk, be open to debate. You can disagree with Charlie on a number of issues. I had my own personal disagreements with him on some issues. I respected the heck out of him. He was a friend of mine. But what he stood for was you using debate as a means of both truth seeking and unity. Because, Natalie, we can't come together As a country in a fake, superficial, kumbaya way, we need to sit across from one another, have some real tough discussions. And even if we don't agree, we should be able to shake hands with our fellow American and say, I still.

[Interviewer Natalie]

Respect the heck out of you right now. One of the things we saw in the 2024 red wave led by Donald Trump is that so many independents felt encouraged by the Trump platform, which was anti war, which was free speec, which was. I mean, that's what they thought, right? And so then the Trump administration comes into office and bombs Iran on behalf of Israel and shows unwavering support for Israel, even, you know, in the wake of what is quite damning. And independents feel very betrayed by that. And they're saying, well, then I guess I have to go back to Democrats. And so we see this flip flop is whoever's pro war loses the next election. And then, oh, that incumbent party is pro war too. Fooled us. And then we go back to the other and then we're flipping like this. And so what we need and what I think that independents are inspired by your ad is somebody who's saying, look, I'm not going to do this anymore. I'm going to talk to independents as well. We're willing to break with the party. That's the, that's the enthusiasm I see around you. What does that mean to you?

[James Fishback]

It means that the UNI Party is really the party in charge. The illusion of choice, this dichotomy between Republican and Democrat is utterly meaningless. Republicans support foreign wars, so do the Democrats. Republicans voted in support of the Iraq war, so did the Democrats. Both sides are shills for Ukraine, are shills for all sorts of foreign conflicts around the world that have nothing to do with us. Now, I am an America first conservative. That means I don't want our tax dollars or our men and women in unifor fighting pointless, forever wars in other parts of the world. I got to tell you, the Middle east is never going to be largely Democratic. Parts of Asia, South Asia are never going to be largely Democratic. We have to be real about that. And when we do decide to put our men and women in uniform into a conflict, it should be precise short term and have a very clear interest that is strategic to the United States. Ukraine was not that. Iraq was not that. So much of the foreign conflicts of the last 30, 40 years have not met one, let alone all three of those tests. And so I'm running for governor because there's a real frustration with the uniparty establishment that pushes for corporatism, that pushes for foreign wars, that wants our aid dollars to go overseas. I don't want our aid dollars to go to Ukraine, Israel, anyone. And it's not out of contempt for Ukraine or Israel. It is out of an unabashed, unapologetic love for our, our way of life.

[Interviewer Natalie]

Okay, I really like what you're saying there. Can you explain then this tweet that you put up about your statement on Venezuela? Because you have said that you support President Trump's goals in Venezuela and I'm not exactly sure what that means. You just explained that you support short term and precise military action. I haven't seen much of that in the last several decades out of the United States. So what is the template that you would consider a success towards our goals in Venezuela?

[James Fishback]

So I want to be clear. Our goal in Venezuela is not to nation build. It is not to send DEI bureaucrats and teach about gender ideology as we did in Afghanistan. Our goal is rooted first and foremost in self defense. Nicolas Maduro is a homicidal dictator who has killed Venezuelans and Americans alike. Natalie, this is a guy who exploited the Joe Biden, Kamala Harris open border to send trend to Aragua gang members who, who took over apartment buildings in Colorado, who trafficked fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs in our communities to poison Americans and raped and murdered our women. This is not out of a desire for a highfalutin goal of democracy far away. The effects of what Maduro has done deliberately is affecting folks most right here in my state of Florida. I see it. And we also have a very large migrant population that has come here in the last couple of years leaving Venezuela because of that dictatorship. So what I support, my statement last night is very clear. I do not support a forever war. I do not support nation building. I do not support anything longer than a short term operation to remove Maduro from power. For one reason and one reason only, this guy has been consistently been a threat to the United States. Unlike Saddam Hussein, unlike Vladimir Putin, unlike all of these other foreign conflicts in the Middle east has been a direct threat, not hypothetically, but empirically. And then secondarily, we have over 100,000 Venezuelan migrants living right here in Florida. Let's give them a country they can move back to so we can re migrate them out of here whether they want to or not. It's time for them to go. And so I am against foreign wars. I am against military intervention that leads to nation building. But as America first, then we have to recognize this old principle of the Monroe Doctrine. We have to own what happens in our hemisphere, principally because what happens in Venezuela is directly affecting communities right here in my state of Florida.

[Interviewer Natalie]

I guess I'm not quite clear on. You don't support regime change, but you do support Maduro being out of power. Now, in 2019, the Trump administration indicted the Bill Barr justice administration indicted Maduro. That didn't seem to do much. And then the Biden administration tried to create gas deals with Maduro. You know, so our foreign policy has not been consistent with Venezuela at all. You know, I would like to believe that this is something that the Venezuelan people can handle. And I hear what you're saying in that this type of corruption is insurmountable. But at the same time, we don't have a template for having done this well, and I just don't have the confidence that is any of our business. I think. And I'll just tell you what I think and then you can respond to this, please. That a strong national Guard, you know, defending our borders, defending our own coastline might be a better idea than going abroad and making amok of this again. Would you like to respond to that? And I don't. We're having a dialogue. I'm not telling you what to say or what to think. I hope that's clear.

[James Fishback]

No, Natalie, I appreciate the pushback. I do. And this is why it's so important that we have free speech and open debate. You and I are both criticizing the Venezuelan government. If we were criticizing the Israeli government, we could be in serious trouble right now. And so I'm glad that this is example of what the kind of things that need to happen with respect to free speech in our state is. So I'll give you one example. It there are drug cartels in Mexico right now that are producing fentanyl laced counterfeit pills that are taking the lives of 200Americans every single day. I've met with the angel moms, that young kid named Luca from Southern California. I met with his mom, Amanda. And this was a kid who went on Snapchat because he had a toothache after a root canal, thinking he was going to buy some weed. That Snapchat dealer ended up selling him what he thought was a Percocet on the illusion that it would take away the pain. And it turned out to be fully fentanyl. And Luca died that night. And his mother, the last time she saw him was in a body bag. Those are the kind of drugs that are coming across our southern border from Mexico, but also from Venezuela. And so if we had a clear way to eliminate that threat, whether that is in Mexico by bombing cartels with strategic strikes or it is in Venezuela, then we should absolutely take that opportunity because of the, the clear damage, the clear death and destruction it's having to our communities. We're losing 100,000 people to drug overdoses every single year in the United States. A lot of that blame goes to Mexico, a lot of that blame goes to China. But a lot of it also goes to Maduro, who's directly profiting off this narco trafficking. So if I want to be really specific about what this looks like, I think it's a strategic airstrike on wherever Maduro is hiding out. Take him out and allow the democratically elected government to hold elections within 30 days. Venezuela has proven itself to be a prosperous country. There are not armed militias as there are in Iraq or Syria. This is a real country with real people who are predominantly Christian. And I think they'll be able to take things from here. I would not have supported this four years ago because I think there was a real chance the Venezuelan people could have taken it on themselves. They haven't been able to. And also we're really seeing the drugs continue to pour out of Venezuela. We have to tackle that head on. America first means defending against American citizens here on our soil. And Maduro continues to pose a threat against that.

[Interviewer Natalie]

But. Well, I mean, I guess some of the research from the State Department shows that a lot of the drugs to Venezuela go to Africa and Europe. And now we are starting to get some components of fentanyl from India as well. So it seems like such a web to tackle with just one person. I suppose what I would want to ask you is I think that politicians need to understand right now is the American people don't believe justifications for war anymore and the burden of proof is high. I was shocked to see the Trump administration name fentanyl weapons of mass destruction, because I was like, shouldn't we retire that term given that it's code to us for war, lies. So I guess I wanna ask you, how do you think the American government can meet the burden of proof now that we understand that the web of drugs is wide and far, we need proof to know that we're killing bad guys and we just are not getting it. And so it's feeding an anti war faction. Right. And I think that that's encouraging. So that's maybe something I wanna ask about.

[James Fishback]

Well, I think you're spot on, Natalie. The frustration with war stems from Iraq it stems from 20 years nation building where Joe Biden pulled us out in disgrace. But I think Americans have rightly noted that there is a time and place for strategic strikes against our adversary. And I think most Americans, especially in the America first coalition, would support drone strikes against cartel members in Mexico who are trafficking in this poison. With respect to weapons of mass destruction. Probably could have been worded better given how that was used to push the slanderous lie that got us into Iraq by Colin Powell. But to tell you the truth, fentanyl is killing more people in a day than a nuclear weapon has killed Americans in the last 50 years, which is to say none. And yet fentanyl is killing 200American citizens every single day. That is a real threat. Those trend Iragua gang members who were deliberately released by the Maduro regime in 2022 and 2023, they definitely took over an apartment building, even though the fake news media tried to hide it. They later retracted it and actually reported on the fact that a Venezuelan gang was released from prisons in Venezuela by the Maduro regime that came here, took over apartment buildings, extorted people and raped and killed women. So that's a pretty high burden of proof. And I express the frustrations because I'm in that camp as well about what happened in Iraq, about what happened in Afghanistan, and obviously what happened with the so called Arab Spring, the Democracy Fest of 2011 that was lie and of course Ukraine. But I do think that there is a time and place to use strategic military action, not war, but not putting troops on the ground, strategic military action to eliminate a proximate threat and then letting the cards fall as they may. And again, this is not. Iraq has never really been a genuine democracy. Afghanistan hasn't even really been a genuine country, to tell you the truth. But Venezuela has a proven track record as one of the most prosperous countries in the Western hemisphere. Prior to Maduro and Chavez, they'll be able to revert back. There are no armed militias, so we're not suggesting that this is a war. The only thing I would support is President Trump doing a short term strategic strike to remove the Maduro regime and his generals that have already, that have already sent really bad hombres into our country to rape, to kill, to hijack buildings, and to poison our communities with drugs. We have a legitimate, clear, direct, undeniable national interest in stopping drugs and gang members from pouring into our country. And then lastly, I'll tell you, I grew up in Florida and so I know a lot of these Venezuelans who fled The Maduro regime, they're not like the Haitians. They're not like the Afghanis who come here and take advantage and act like parasites. They genuinely want to go back to their country. If this regime is removed, they can't get a passport.

[Interviewer Natalie]

Their infrastructure is imploded. They're.

[James Fishback]

Well, correct. And that's, and that's a direct result of the Maduro regime being utterly incompetent and having starved Venezuelan people and its infrastructure to line their own pockets. I do think this is, this is much different than what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although of course I know and acknowledge the skepticism. There is a high burden of proof. But ask the trend gang members and the folks that they terrorized in Colorado what the burden of proof is. Ask the angel moms all over Florida who have lost a loved one because of fentanyl. Where the proof is, there is a high burden of proof. You and I agree on that, Natalie. I think that burden has been met. It would not have been met in Afghanistan, not been met in Iraq, certainly not met in the money laundering scheme that is Zelensky and Ukraine, but it has been met here. The United States should do a short term strategic strike to eliminate Majority Bureau, to stop the flow of drugs and gang members into our country.

[Interviewer Natalie]

I want to ask you about intelligence, though, because we have known at least since the 70s from journalists such as Alfred McCoy, his great whistleblowing book, the Politics of Heroin, the CIA's complicity in the drug trade. We know that we are not innocent. And so this is playing out like another. Saddam Hussein was an ally of the CIA. Oh no, he's the. We've seen this before, right. And so I don't know that we use the military to fix what we have already perverted through back intelligence channels. So my opinion about it, and please respond, is that you can't fix the, you know, you can't put a bandaid on this until you treat the infection. And we need to look at how much of our deep state has been complicit in the drug trade before we just go and take out a symbol of it. And that's, that's something that any rising politician has to be able to answer for. So what do you think of that?

[James Fishback]

I think you're absolutely right. Actually. I'm gonna give you this example. Say someone is carjacking someone and that the individual who is the culprit is a black male. And in that moment we're saying, no, don't shoot, he's got a gun, but don't shoot. Because of the root causes. I actually disagree with a lot of people in my party that there aren't root causes to black crime. I think there are. I think the number one is the lack of fathers in the homes, the epidemic of fatherlessness in the black community. So you can agree on both things, that there's a lack of fathers in the black community, and that is a root cause. But in the moment, the black guy who has a gun pointed at the woman who is carjacking needs to be shot dead to defend this woman and her kids. Just like the CIA and the Deep State have propped up, these regimes have gotten their hands over the last 50 years. Doesn't negate the fact that there is a proximate threat that needs to be neutralized. I want there to be a complete declassification of every CIA operation in South America, especially those working with the governments of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Nicaragua. Their involvement in narco trafficking and working both sides. Both sides of the aisle in Congress, but also both sides of these conflicts in our own hemisphere. That needs to happen, Natalie. But. But that should not take away from the fact that you have a homicidal dictator who isn't just killing his own people, but is killing our people by sending gang members to our country, sending drugs to our country. That is something we can deal with while also being very honest about the CIA and the Deep State's operation to infiltrate foreign governments and weaponize them against American citizens.

[Interviewer Natalie]

I want to keep talking to you. We will do this. And our viewers can see this later on the show. But for today, there's just one more question I'd like you to answer for our audience. It has to do with not being backed by aipac. Now, your opponent in the race next year will be backed by aipac. He has one of those red full screens. If we can put this on the screen later, how much he's taken from aipac. That seems to be a real liability moving into someone who wants to court the next generation of voters. But what kind of brick wall are you up against by refusing?

[James Fishback]

Well, wall is an interesting way to frame it. I guess.

[Interviewer Natalie]

So.

[James Fishback]

Yeah.

[Interviewer Natalie]

I didn't mean. Pun intended.

[James Fishback]

Pun intended. Well, let me say this. My APAC tracker is green. It will always be green. Because I will never take a dollar from any organization that lobbies in the interest of a foreign government. As our Lord and Savior commands. In Matthew, chapter six. You cannot serve two masters. I'm running for Florida governor to serve one, and that is the people of my state and American citizens, not Israel. Not Qatar, not China, no one else but Americans. So if that means AIPAC offering me money or a paid trip to Israel, I'm saying no. If that means Qatar, as they did earlier this year, offering me a paid trip, that means no. The only trip I'm going to be taking is Florida. Governor, my first trip will be to Brazil because they buy $19 billion worth of stuff from Florida every single year. I want to go there. I want to double that amount and create a thousand great paying jobs for high school grads so they can actually contribute to our state and earn a great income. And so as as all of this is shaking out, I think we have to be honest that a politician who takes money in the interest of a foreign government is forever tainted and compromised. Even if they don't think they are, they are. And it calls into question who their allegiance is actually being pledged to. I'll never take a dollar from aipac. I have never taken a dollar from aipac because I'm unapologetically America first.

[Interviewer Natalie]

Okay, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, I want to just learn a little bit about you. I appreciate your questions on foreign policy. You took the hot seat and you didn't run away. So I'm excited to know where you learned that. So we'll come back in just a minute. This episode is brought to you by Rumble Premium, the home of free speech and exclusive content from the videos that matter. With Rumble Premium, you get ad free viewing, access to to exclusive shows and premium features across the platform. We're talking about Steven Crowder's Mug Club, Tim Pool's Tim Cast, Russell Brand's raw commentary, and of course, redacted. Plus tons of other bold creators that you won't find anywhere else. Whether it's breaking news, real talk, or the content that challenges the narrative, Rumble Premium puts you in the front row. Support creators who actually say what they mean in a place that they can say it and mean what they say. Go to rumble.com premium redacted to join today. One more time. That's rumble.com premium because truth should not come with a filter. All right, James, now that we're sort of done with the foreign policy discussion, I. I just want to know where you came from. What is your background? Why do you want to get into politics? What gave you that bug?

[James Fishback]

My bug for just my passion for politics came in high school. I was on the debate team for all four years. And it was awesome because one, I had a stutter growing up. And so it turns out. If you go to a high school debate tournament every other weekend for four years straight, it'll cure you that pretty quickly. And, I mean, I was in sophomore year of high school in the lunchroom reading the Economist and Foreign affairs and Thomas Sowell and Glenn Greenwald. And so it was a really great experience to learn more about the issues that matter. And I never thought I would actually run for anything, genuinely. I think everyone joked as a kid, like, yeah, you might run for something. But I've spent the last 10 years as an investor investing in companies that do the crazy thing of hiring on merit as opposed to hiring on DEI. And sadly, the governor couldn't run. Governor DeSantis couldn't run for a third term. And I got a chance to meet with some of the candidates one on one, like Byron Donalds, and just recognize there wasn't a real vision that lined up with my form of Republicanism, which is America First. And I decided, look, if. If there's not going to be a candidate who's going to step up and espouse America first values, I'm going to run and we're going to take this all the way. And that means standing up for the values that set this country into motion. It means standing up for affordability, standing up against overdevelopment in our state, being pro environment, no offshore drilling in Florida, no drilling in the Everglades, and really creating a state that builds on Governor DeSantis's incredible conservative legacy.

[Interviewer Natalie]

But the governorship of Florida is a national. Even though it's only, you know, representing Florida, it is a really visible place to be. And so you're going to take some heat. You saw the way Governor DeSantis tried to in state laws where you just don't teach perverted stuff to young kids and then was framed as homophobe. I can't believe we've lived through that.

[James Fishback]

Right.

[Interviewer Natalie]

And so there's no real way to fight it. You're just going to have to take it. Are you. Are you ready for that kind of heat?

[James Fishback]

I am. I am. And the. It's not lost on me that this is not just an office that is visible to the 23 and a half million Floridians, but what we do here in Florida is a blueprint, blueprint for the rest of the country. We saw this in Covid. We saw that because our beaches, our schools, our churches were open, that folks went to Gavin Newsom in California and Gretchen Wetmer in Michigan and said, wait, why can't you do what Governor DeSantis is doing. The science is on his side, and you guys are lying to us. And so there is a real opportunity to make life better, as our governor did here in Florida, for our people, but also to set a standard for what America first looks like in a state for other states to copy. Justice Brandeis famously said in the 1930s dissenting opinion in the Supreme Court that states are like laboratories. That is the beauty of our federalist system, that two different states can pursue two different, radically different policies. And you can judge in real time which state is getting it right. Right. Clearly, Governor DeSantis got it right on Covid, on education, on parental rights, on disaster relief, and has shown the whole country how to tackle these issues head on.

[Interviewer Natalie]

In your introduction video, you talk about standing against AI data centers, which is something that every politician is going to have an informed opinion about, not just an opinion to the rest of the politician. We don't want your uninformed opinion. So where does that come from? And explain the dangers of not being an informed politician on that.

[James Fishback]

An AI data center is so big that it makes a Costco look like a 711 in comparison. It is this massive monstrosity that'll get built up on farmland where they used to grow citrus or herd cattle, and it'll be used to train the next generation of AI chatbots, ChatGPT6, Grok4, Sora, Gemini, all of that. I'm pro AI. I am pro technological advancement. But what I'm not for is I'm not for building up data centers that do two things. They threaten our environment and they jack up our electric bills. I traded natural gas futures at a hedge fund for several years. And so I know extremely well how electricity pricing works. And when you bring on new demand for electricity without increasing supply, everyone pays the cost. It is a clear cut example of corporate welfare. Natalie, to ask people, working people and seniors to have Sam Altman and Elon Musk and Jensen Huang ask people to pay for their electricity. And so I'm for AI. We need real protections, especially for miners. But we need to be very honest that an AI data center, whether it's in. In Pasco County, Hernando county, citrus, wherever it may be, that we have to protect our rural farmland, we have to protect our environment. And we cannot, as has already been evident in Tennessee, Georgia and Philadelphia, we cannot allow these AI data centers to come in and to raise our electric bills. This is not out of a hypothetical concern. This concern is real. And I want to bring new energy on the market. I want to bring down electric bills. You do that through nuclear energy. Not through solar, sure as heck. Not through wind. Not through offshore drilling here in Florida, which would threaten our environment and be a massive eyesore. That hurts our tourism numbers as well. But we've got to be honest about what the threats are. And I think this is part also not only of a larger theme of overdevelopment. It seems like our state is losing its identity. What used to be farmland is now a strip mall. What used to be a school or a church is now a liquor store or a weed dispensary. We have to get real about sprawl and urban development. Florida is our home. That's my campaign motto. Florida is our home. Home, not their playground.

[Interviewer Natalie]

So you mentioned that you are in favor of nuclear energy, which I think there's a lot of data that shows that that can be safely implemented, and it would pass on energy savings to Florida residents as well. What happens when you do that is you'll get litigated by environmental groups. Are you, are you a trained lawyer? Are you ready for that kind of thing? Because that stopped the Biden administration from drilling. It's. It's stopped so much progress. When the environmentalists take to the courts, how are you going to win?

[James Fishback]

Take the same playbook that Florida has successfully used under this governor. They tried to shut down Alligator Alcatraz. They tried to slow the pace of mass deportation of criminals from our state. And the governor said, we'll see you in court. We are happy to see anyone in court anytime because we have the winning arguments and we will take anything and everything all the way to the U.S. supreme Court on appeal, where we'll win on a six, three or depending how she's feeling that day, a five for all.

[Interviewer Natalie]

Right, so you're ready for it. Are you, Are you a trained lawyer? I don't.

[James Fishback]

I am not. My, my undergraduate studies were in economics, So I spent 10 years as an investor. But I think that the bigger question to look at is one of the 10th amendment of the United States Constitution, which makes clear that power that is not explicitly enumerated for the federal government falls on the states and her people. So the environmental groups want to make up stuff and talk about all sorts of nonsense, try to derail an agenda that would deliver nuclear energy and deliver up to a 50% cost savings on monthly electric bill. My message to them would be, we'll see you in court because you're on the side. That is one logically inconsistent, legally unsound, and also an affront to people who Just want to save money. I'm running, Natalie, because the number one issue in our state is affordability. Affordability starts with great paying jobs. That means ending the H1B scam. It also means not just buying your home, but affording your property tax bill, which is why I want to eliminate property taxes. It means tackling property insurance HOAs. It also means the monthly electric bill, getting that down. And this is not about the idea of numbers in abstract, the cost of this, the cost of that, Natalie, in 1960, half, half of 30 year old men were married and owned their home. Today, less than 15% of 30 year old men are married and owned their home. And when you talk about the number one, the number one obstacle to young men getting by and by extension young women getting by, they got to marry somebody. And owning a home is going to be cost. It is way too expensive to buy a home, to afford to stay in that home. And that is going to delay and deter marriage and family formation. That's why I'm running, because affordability isn't just about dollars and cents. It's about your entire destiny, what you do with your life. Life.

[Interviewer Natalie]

I mean, I think the data is irrefutable. Access to affordable energy rises, all prosperity levels. GDP goes up. People live better lives. It's amazing that that is still a controversial thing to say. And so yeah, I mean you want someone who wants you to live a comfortable life in office, right? Not, not like the Democrats who are saying just have less and we'll all do better now. So I guess the last question I want to ask you, since you've had this viral ad go, this, this new campaign ad go viral about Netanyahu, you still have a long ways to sustain yourself into the campaign cycle of 2026. How do you plan to do that other than just, you know, get a lot of sleep and take vitamin D.

[James Fishback]

A lot of sleep, vitamin D and a lot of caffeine. And you do it, Natalie, by showing up, up, you got to show up. I'm going to show to all 67 Florida counties and not to give a stump speech to, not to speak with the typical GOP establishment, country club Republican, coke brother funded talking points, but to go there and to take questions from the people of my state. I'm never going to ask Floridians to blindly trust me. I'm only going to ask for the opportunity to earn their trust. And you don't earn trust through talking points. You earn trust by answering tough questions. Even if folks disagree with me, I think they'll respect the fact that I'm always going to tell them the truth, and that's how I'll win this race. We had a long time till August. But the cool thing about Florida is that we are a state that is predominantly a red state. We have one and a half million more Republicans than Democrats. And so whoever wins the Republican primary is in a very good position to win the general. The my closing pitch to Republican voters is going to be, you must show up in the primary because if you don't, you've essentially elected by default who is going to be be our next governor. And to independents who are not yet registered to Democrats who might align more with our America first vision than the Democrat establishment vision, I encourage them to temporarily register as Republicans to come to our primary to vote for the candidate who will likely be our next governor. Won't be decided in November. It'll be decided on August 18th.

[Interviewer Natalie]

All right, well, we're gonna. We're gonna watch you. We're gonna keep our eye on you. I really appreciate getting to know you. I hope we get to talk again. And yeah, it's been really a pleasure to talk to you and talk to someone who is not afraid of dialogue. So good luck to you.

[James Fishback]

Thanks, Natalie. Merry Christmas.

[Interviewer Natalie]

You too.

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