Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (8:03)

You said in the past, I almost don't need to go through it. It's been said many times, but that you called the police force racist, said they were a major threat to public safety, called them wicked and corrupt. And now the report that you apologize to two dozen members of the nypd. What did you say to them?

Zoran Mamdani (8:20)

I apologized for the language that I used. And I spoke to them about the fact that I want to work with them to deliver public safety. Because what we're seeing in the city right now is we're asking officers to do nearly everything we can think of. We used to ask officers to focus on serious crimes. Now we're asking them to focus also on the mental health crisis, to focus also on homelessness. In one year alone, the NYPD receives 200,000 mental health calls.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (8:45)

Police officers that I spoke to, they don't want a behind closed doors apology. They want a broad public apology for the things that you suggested about them. Will you do that right now?

Zoran Mamdani (8:55)

Absolutely. I'll apologize to police officers right here, because this is the apology that I've been sharing with many rank and file officers and I apologize because of the fact that I'm looking to work with these officers and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the nypd, they put their lives on the line every single day.

Ben Shapiro (9:11)

So again, what's hilarious about all of this is that no one in the NYPD believes Zoramdani. No one. I have friends who are in the nypd, they do not believe him. They believe that he is mouthing these slogans in order to win over these so called moderate Democrats who are probably going to vote for Mamdani in the actual New York City election, which is happening the week after next. But the fact that he feels the need to back off of that is because the anti police position is such a luxury belief that even the Democratic Party can't actually sustain it for very long. They tried it in 2020, the Anti Police position, and it was really quite bad for them. It led to broad scale riots. It led to an increase in crime between the Ferguson riots of 2014 and essentially 2022. And so now they're being forced to back away from these crazy positions. But what does Zoran Mandani actually believe? Well, he actually believes the thing that he's apologizing for. He doesn't like the police. And if you think that he is going to give broader purview to the police to actually stop crime in New York City, you're out of your mind. Because what actually is Zoramdani? He is absolutely radical. And the signaling is how you can tell who to whom is he signaling. And the answer is the most radical parts of his base and the best part for him. The feature again, not a bug. Everyone keeps getting this wrong in the media. They keep pretending that Zoramdani's radicalism about the Middle east is actually somehow an inhibitor to his political success. Wrong. In New York City with the Democratic primary base, it is in fact an aphrodisiac. Already more from Zoran Mamdani, again the New York mayoral front runner. I don't know why the city has some sort of suicidal impulse, but there we are. First, our society works because of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. Americans should be able to speak openly about honesty, family, traditional values without retribution. 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CESAR Mamdani has made the claim that as mayor of New York, he is going to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel now, this is just a legal absurdity. It's a moral absurdity. Also, like a total moral absurdity arresting the elected leader of a democratic ally of the United States who just won a multi front anti terror war for the crime of winning that war based on a bunch of specious propagandistic crap that Zoran Mamdani and others traffic on TikTok. It's ridiculous. On a legal level, it's totally ridiculous. There are absolutely zero legal grounds by which the mayor of New York can order the arrest of a democratically elected foreign leader for winning a war in the Gaza Strip. Montani was asked about this by McAllen, but he doesn't back off of it. He doesn't back off at one iota. Why? Because the Democratic Party base, they want this signaling. They want the extremism, they want the Howard Zenification of American foreign policy.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (13:55)

You have said that you would arrest Netanyahu if he came to the United States. You've been very outspoken in your criticism of him. Do you stand by that? You would arrest him if he came here, if you were mayor?

Zoran Mamdani (14:04)

I've said that this is a city that believes in international law, and this is a city that wants to uplift and uphold those beliefs.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (14:11)

The Prime Minister doesn't stand by the International Criminal Court.

Zoran Mamdani (14:13)

It hasn't signed the treaty for the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court, however, has issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (14:19)

Netanyahu as it has crowns in the United States.

Zoran Mamdani (14:20)

Could you arrest him on as it has for Vladimir Putin? I've said that I believe that we should uphold arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court and that we should do so only in abiding with all of the laws in front of us. I'm not going to make a new law to ensure that we can actually do this.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (14:34)

Do you think that Commissioner Tish would allow you to arrest Netanyahu in New York City?

Zoran Mamdani (14:38)

I've appreciated Commissioner Tisch's leadership of the nypd, and I think that she's done a good job at lowering crime across the city.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (14:44)

But if she. Do you think that she would, she would go along with arresting Netanyahu in New York?

Zoran Mamdani (14:49)

I can tell you that I'm going to exhaust every legal option in front of me not to make new laws to do so.

Ben Shapiro (14:54)

Okay, so here's the deal. What he's saying there is that he's not going to arrest Netanyahu, doesn't have the legal basis to arrest Netanyahu, but he's going to continue to say that he's going to arrest Netanyahu on these specious grounds. Now, lest you believe that Zoramdani actually is just quote unquote, in favor of international law, or he is just sort of a peacenik, you know, he's just sort of one of those guys who's vibing in the park in 1968, smoking dope and talking about how actually the Viet Cong, they're not that bad, but you know, American soldiers kind of bad. Like, unless you just think that he's. That he is not, he is a full scale pro terror advocate. How do you know? Because in the same interview with Martha McCallum, he was asked about whether Hamas should disarm in the Gaza Strip. Now, no matter what you believe about what Israel has done in the Gaza Strip, if you are a person with any sense of decency at all, like just basic, pure moral decency at all, you should want Hamas disarmed in the Gaza Strip for the sake of Palestinians right now. Hamas isn't killing Israelis right now because Israel pulled back in the Gaza Strip. They will try again, obviously, just as they tried before and succeeded before. But right now, Hamas's tender mercies are being directed at other Palestinians. They are apparently killing dozens, if not hundreds of people a day in the areas that Israel pulled out of. This is the great irony of the international body basically telling Israel to pull out of the Gaza Strip, that, oh, how, how dare Israel be there. What, what a threat to Palestinians Israel is. So Israel pulls out and Hamas immediately starts consolidating control by literally pulling people out of their houses, lining them up, putting them on their knees and shooting them in the head. There are videos of this happening right now. And Zormandani has nothing to say about this. Not only does he have nothing to say about this, he's asked whether Hamas should disarm. Now, whether or not again, you believe that Israel should maintain military control of the Gaza Strip, whether you believe there should be an international force there, whether you believe in some sort of fantasy world in which the Palestinian Authority takes security control of the Gaza Strip after their complete inability to do the same in Judea and Samaria, the so called west bank, regardless of what you believe on this left, right or center, you should want Hamas to be disarmed. It is a terrorist group. It is a terrorist group that kills anyone who is not in favor of its complete theocratic control of an area that has robbed of billions of dollars in aid to build terror tunnels. They've murdered thousands of Palestinians and gotten tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip. And yet Zormandani was asked about Hamas disarming. And here. So remember, this is a guy who wants to arrest the elected prime minister of a democratic ally of the United States, but he has no words at all. In fact, he won't even answer a question as to whether Hamas ought to be disarmed in the Gaza Strip.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (17:29)

You've denounced Israel and the United States for the response to the slaughter on October the seventh. In fact, at times, you've called it a lasting stain, the response. And at times you have left October 7th out of your statements completely around this issue right now. You just talked about Israelis killing some Palestinians, but Hamas is killing Palestinians within Gaza, and they have not returned the bodies that they promised to return, including two Americans, Itai Chen and Omar Noutra, whose families we have interviewed over these months. So what is your response to what Hamas is doing now?

Zoran Mamdani (18:07)

I think those are bodies and remains that should absolutely be returned. And I think that I have no issue with critiquing Hamas or the Israeli government because my critiques all come from a place of universal human rights. And my focus, however, is is right here in New York City and transforming the most expensive city in America into one that's affordable for each and every New Yorker.

Ben Shapiro (18:24)

But.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (18:24)

Okay, and I want to get to that. Absolutely. But do you believe that Hamas should lay down their weapons and leave the leadership in Gaza?

Zoran Mamdani (18:32)

I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure that's affordable for all. And as it pertains to Israel and Palestine, that we have to ensure that there is peace, and that is the future that we have to fight for.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (18:43)

But you won't say that Hamas should lay down their arms and give up leadership in Gaza.

Zoran Mamdani (18:47)

I don't really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international law. And that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, applies to anyone you could ask me about.

Ben Shapiro (19:00)

So just a pure moral equivalence between the IDF and Hamas. The idf, which has spent extraordinary amounts of blood and treasure and lives of its actual citizens in going house to house in the Gaza Strip, and the terror group that is currently murdering people, absent any Israeli control of these areas of the Gaza. And Mamdani, we're supposed to believe now, has no opinion. He has no. Wow. He just, you know, he has no opinion Now I mean, weird how his opinions just disappear the minute he is asked about whether Hamas, an actual honest to God terror group, ought to disarm. The opinions just go away. And if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Except he probably already nationalized it. Elise Stefanik, who of course is the congresswoman from New York, she put out a statement in response to a question from a reporter from the New York Times. Apparently this reporter, Emma Fitzsimmons, asked her, quote, I'm a reporter for the Times. I'm writing about Elise Stefanik's comments in response to Mamdani's Fox News interview. Mamdani's campaign said that her comments calling him a jihadist or Islamophobic. Please let me know if you want to respond. And so Stefanik responded publicly on X, quote, why, yes, Emma, I do want to respond. Please print in full. I call Zaran Mamdani a jihadist because he is Zaramdani is a raging anti Semite. Mamdani is the definition of a jihadist as he supports Hamas terrorists, which he did as recently as yesterday when he refused to call for Hamas terrorists to put down their arms. The same Hamas terrorist group that slaughtered civilians, including New Yorkers, on October 7, 2023, his Kathy Hochuls endorsed a jihadist communist who she has empowered to destroy New York City. It's why the New York State Democratic Party chair refuses to support him. It's why multiple Democrat members of Congress refuse to support him. It's why Chuck Schumer and Akeem Jeffries have still not endorsed him. Because Zorin is a jihadist who will destroy New York. Thank you. Well, yes, and the answer is yes. But again, that raises the question, why aren't Democrats just dissociating from him? Yes, he doesn't have the open endorsement of Jeffries or Schumer, but neither of them has said no, I don't think this guy should be the mayor of New York. I think it's bad that he's mayor of New York. If he becomes mayor, we'll have to work with him because we have no choice. But should he be mayor of New York? Absolutely not. None of them will say it. None of them will say it because they try to draft off the jet fuel. That is radicalism and nut jobbery inside the Democratic Party. Now, Mamdani did a mayoral debate yesterday with Andrew Cuomo, the former Democrat governor of New York, and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate. What the polls show right now is that Mamdani is the front runner but he's still in the mid 40% range that Curtis Sliwa is running in the teens and that Andrew Cuomo is running in the high 20s. So the basic theory goes that if you wish to defend, if you wish to stop Mamdani from becoming mayor of New York, basically Sliwa has to drop out and endorse Cuomo. My guess is that probably will happen sometime in the next week or so because there's really no upside at this point for Sliwa continuing the run. I like Curtis. I think Curtis is a nice guy. Curtis is a radio host. I've been on a show like all of. That's wonderful. Also, he has no shot of actually being the mayor of New York. And every vote for Sliwa at this point is a vote for Mamdani because it prevents Andrew Cuomo, the only real challenger in the city of New York, from being able to become mayor. How extreme is Zoran Mamdani? Again, it's not just that he is pro jihad Zoran Mamdani. I mean, again, he uses the COVID of quote, unquote, international law and human rights to defend the worst jihadists on planet earth, which you'll find to be a common trait among people who are, quote, unquote, defenders of international law, defenders of the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice or the United Nations. People who cite international law while defending those who routinely violate it. But Zormandani is also a Marxist. A Marxist who's going to wreck the city of New York. So in the debate last night, Zormandi said that he is, in fact, going to make bussing in New York City free, because nothing will make busing safer or cleaner than making it absolutely free. Quick. Name a government service that has not become more degraded as a result of being, quote, unquote, free, meaning fully funded by the taxpayers. You cannot. In any case, here is Zoran Momdani saying that the way he's going to pay for that free busing is with. Is with taxes. Now, again, the nice thing about the busing system in New York is not wildly expensive. It just isn't. And this idea that if you want to take buses in New York City, it's going to bankrupt you. Look at the cost structure on the New York City transit system. It has one of the strongest transit systems in probably the world, certainly in the United States. But Mamdani wants to bring that price down to zero. How? By taxing the only people who are generating revenue in his city, obviously.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (23:36)

But the question is how you'll make them free.

Zoran Mamdani (23:38)

We will fund the revenue that would have otherwise been brought in from fares. And that's something that we would do in partnership with with Albany. And I put forward two proposals. The first is to raise taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers by 2%. That would raise $4 billion. The second is to raise the state's top corporate tax rate to match that of New Jersey, which would raise $5 billion.

Ben Shapiro (23:56)

We're going to by the way, I'm just going to point out here again, I asked Comet, a project of Perplexity, one of our sponsors, what exactly the transit fares are right now in New York City. Apparently, as of October 2025, the standard fare for riding a New York City MTA local bus is is 2 Bucks 90 per ride. Express buses cost $7 per ride. And there are in fact reduced fair options for eligible groups like seniors and low income residents who may pay as little as a buck 45 per local bus ride. Ain't nobody going bankrupt because they are taking the New York City bus. I understand that everything sounds great when it's quote unquote free, but raising taxes in New York City, already one of the most overtaxed jurisdictions in the United States, that is a fool's errand. Zormadani, by the way, has also come out in favor of a gigantic quote unquote millionaires tax, which is just going to drive all revenue creators out of the city. This is how you empty out a great American city, by the way. You raise the cost of public services. You tax everybody who can pay the tax. All those people are mobile because they have money and then they leave and your tax base gets undercut. And in order to compensate for the worst public services, you then start raising debt. You then start taxing the people who remain and then they leave. And that's how you end up in a death spiral for a city. Meanwhile, Zorn Mamdani would also love to apparently decriminalize prostitution, because there's nothing that sounds better than bringing Times Square back to the hellscape that it was before Rudy Giuliani with women streetwalking, I can't. You know, New Yorkers, I guess that the theory of Democracy is every 40, 30 years or so, we just have to repeat the mistakes of the past and then relearn. Why? This was incredibly stupid. And I guess if you put an unbelievably smarmy face on all of this, people buy into it. This dude is a smarm machine. Zormandani is just a machine that generates nuclear levels of smarm. It really is incredible. Here is Zar Momdani, a man who cannot bench press 135 pounds, speaking to you like a substitute middle school teacher who watches too much. Rachel Maddow.

Zoran Mamdani (26:01)

And to follow the advice of district attorneys that we have here in New York City, the current Manhattan da, the former Manhattan da, the current Brooklyn da, the former Manhattan da. Having said that, prosecuting women for prostitution is something that actually leads to less safety. And what we need to do is provide an economy opportunity.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (26:17)

Mr. Mabani, just a quick clarification.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (26:21)

So no legalization.

Ben Shapiro (26:23)

How about decriminalization?

Zoran Mamdani (26:25)

I do not think that we should be prosecuting women who are struggling, who are currently being thrown in jail, and then being offered job opportunities. I think we should be actually providing those kinds of opportunities at the first point of interaction.

Ben Shapiro (26:38)

So, I mean, I don't understand even his theory, but at the first point of interaction, so what? You see a lady on the street, street walking, charging some john a bunch of money for, and suddenly you just walk up to her with, like, a job application. This is his theory. This is his great theory. Zoran Mamdani. By the way, it's not as though this stuff hasn't been tried again. Prostitution was effectively decriminalized in New York City for a couple of decades in the 70s and 80s. Just watch a movie from the 70s and 80s, and it didn't work out amazingly well. For quality of life in New York City, we get to more on Zoran Mamdani, the extremism in the Democratic Party that will not stop. First, as the weather cools, I'm swapping in the pieces that actually get the job done. Warm, durable, built to last, Quins delivers every single time with wardrobe staples that'll carry you through the season. So I've been checking out Quint lately. Honestly, their fall lineup is the stuff that I'm looking for, stuff that actually works for my life. We're Talking about real 100% Mongolian cashmere starting just 60 bucks. Solid denim that fits right. Leather and wool outerwear that doesn't fall apart after one season. I'm particularly eyeing that suede trucker jacket. It's a really, really nice piece. It works whether I'm at home, heading to the airport, heading over to a cooler area. Just casual enough, but still looks like, you know, you didn't roll out of bed. The best part is they work directly with ethical factories. They cut out the middlemen. So you're getting premium quality without that luxury markup. It's the kind of practical upgrade that makes sense. Whether you're constantly packing a bag the way I have been lately, or you're just looking for new options to spice up your wardrobe this season, the quality is fantastic. People are constantly asking what what I'm wearing. I know it's actually a real thing that happens in my life. And the answer is Quinn's Layer up this fall with pieces that feel as good as they look. Go to quinn.comshapiro for free shipping on your order and and 365 day returns now available in Canada too. That's q-u I n c.com Shapiro free shipping and 365 day returns. Quinn.comshapiro also, you can't always count on big institutions to prioritize your health. It's up to you to take charge. With liver health concerns on the rise across the United States every year, Dose for your liver is one of the simplest ways to protect and support yours. Unlike capsules or powders, Dose is a liquid supplement you take has a quick 2 ounces daily shot. It tastes just like a fresh squeezed orange juice. Your liver is one of the hardest working organs in your body. It's important to give it the help it deserves. Your liver acts like a filter. It works behind the scenes on over 500 essential functions every single day. Things like helping with digestion, energy production, fat metabolism, even storing those important vitamins. When it's running smoothly, you will feel better in your daily rhythm. Dose is formulated to support your liver's day to day function. Helps it handle unwanted elements so it can keep doing its job with ease. Zero sugar, zero calories, zero junk. It's a simple addition you can feel good about. And with clinical studies backing its impact on liver health markers, Dose is grounded in science, not guesswork. So why not give your liver the daily support it deserves? New customers can save 35% on your first month of subscription by going to dosedaily co/shapiro or entering Shapiro checkout. That's D O S E D A I L Y co Shapiro for 35% off your first month subscription. Meanwhile, Mamdani does have critiques of Andrew Cuomo. What are his critiques of Andrew Cuomo? Apparently, Andrew Cuomo is unqualified and also intolerant because he didn't visit a mosque during this campaign. So just to be clear about this, Zoramdani is not intolerant for believing that Hamas should not disarm or having no thoughts on it. And also for endorsing for the vast majority of his campaign, the idea of globalizing the intifada, which is a violent revolution. That doesn't make him intolerant at all. It doesn't make him intolerant when he puts out an Oct. 7 statement that doesn't mention Hamas in any way and then spends the vast majority of its time condemning the Israeli Defense Forces for defending their country. That doesn't make him intolerant in any way. Him hanging out with Hasan Piker, one of the great traffickers of violent revolution, while shocking his dog in America. You know, that, that, that apparently doesn't make him a. An intolerant person. What makes you intolerant, apparently, is if you don't go and visit a mosque, says Zoran Mamdani to Andrew Cuomo.

Zoran Mamdani (30:33)

He had more than 10 years and he couldn't name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited. And what Muslims want in this city is what every community and deserves. They want equality and they want respect. And it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city. And that, frankly, is something that is shameful and is why so many New Yorkers have lost faith in this politics.

Ben Shapiro (30:55)

Yeah, except, you know, with the Muslim.

Ben Shapiro (30:59)

Community for many, many years.

Zoran Mamdani (31:00)

Name a single mosque you went to.

Ben Shapiro (31:01)

When you were the governor.

Zoran Mamdani (31:03)

Can you name a single mosque you.

Ben Shapiro (31:04)

Went to in 10 years before you were ever here?

Zoran Mamdani (31:06)

They were before I was here, before.

Ben Shapiro (31:08)

You were even in state government.

Ben Shapiro (31:10)

I worked with the Muslim community. Imams presided over state of the states.

Ben Shapiro (31:16)

We worked in religious working groups, couldn't visit a mosque, anti Semitic group, etc. All right, gentlemen, you will visit the mosque or you will be labeled anti American. That's a hell of a take. That's a hell of a take from Zoran Mamdani. My goodness. And again, the Democratic party, he is their nominee and Democrats having a very tough time dissociating from him. Bill Ackman put out his thoughts on the New York City mayoral debate. He said, on Zormandani, it's now abundantly clear he's completely full of it. The whole thing is an act. Just look at that identical practice smile with which he ends each answer. After watching him recreate his fake smile, your skin will start to crawl. He does have a sort of Gavin Newsom lizard person feel about him. Zoran Mamdani. Mamdani exudes inauthenticity and smugness. He denies or disavows any of his previous public statements that he knows will now cost him both. The only takeaway is that he is an Extremely articulate and authentic actor. He can't trust one word out of his mouth. And that's before he gets to his policies, which make no economic sense. I mean, again, hard agree on that one. But this is the nature of the modern Democratic Party. The modern Democratic Party is moving in this direction at light speed. Which is why just a couple of nights ago, CNN did a town hall event with Bernie Sanders and aoc. Now what this really is is Bernie crowning AOC as Queen of the Movement. Bernie is too old to run for president again. He's starting to lose it. Bernie Sanders, I mean, he already. Let's be clear. I think that Bernie Sanders lost it when he was a teenager because he has been a complete useless leech on the ass of American society for the past multiple decades. The man is 84 years old and he has not produced a useful thing in his entire life. Not one useful thing in his entire. That's an amazing record, an unblemished record of uselessness from Bernie Sanders and counter productivity when it comes to forwarding the principles of the United States. But he has bequeathed, he has given birth to a bizarre socialist movement that has now taken over the heart of the Democratic Party. And he is touting AOC as his sort of heir apparent. Because the theory of the Democratic Party, at least in the Bernie iteration, is Bernie Sanders would have been the nominee in 2020 were it not for the fact that minorities did not like Bernie Sanders. They, they saw the, the old school Brooklyn Jewish accent. They didn't like it. They thought he was real white. And so a lot of minorities didn't like Bernie Sanders. Again, this is the Democratic theory of the case. It's been written about extensively. This is why Joe Biden was able to swing into action in 2020 and stop the Bernie Sanders nomination cold, despite the fact that Bernie had already won Iowa, New Hampshire, in South Carolina. Everything turned because the Democratic Party basically came together to stop him reliant heavily on minority votes. So the theory of Bernie & Co. Is what if we take Bernie's program and we pour that old wine into a new, more diverse vessel? That's the theory. And that is why AOC has turned from a punchline, which she actually is, because again, she's charismatic and she's good on TV and she has never said a thing of worth, ever. But AOC is now being turned into a legit figure because of Bernie Sanders, who is basically crowning her. And during this interview over and over, Bernie Sanders basically stepped in and protected AOC from any difficult question. So at one point, for example, Caitlin Collins of CNN asked AOC if she was going to challenge Chuck Schumer for his Senate seat in New York. And Bernie stepped in to protect her. White knighting for aoc. Here we go. Are you saying that Senator Schumer should.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (34:39)

Not be worried about a primary challenge from you?

Ben Shapiro (34:41)

I mean, no, Let me jump in on this one.

Ben Shapiro (34:45)

This is.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (34:45)

See, this is what we're talking about.

Bernie Sanders (34:47)

This is exactly what we're talking about. A country that is falling apart. We had a house housing crisis, a health care crisis, an education crisis, massive income and wealth inequality, a corrupt campaign finance system. And the media says, oh, you're going to run. What are you going to run for? Nobody cares.

Ben Shapiro (35:04)

So one more time, nobody cares.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (35:06)

The House speaker and President Trump and the vice president saying it.

Bernie Sanders (35:09)

All right.

Interviewer (Martha MacCallum) (35:09)

Pardon?

Bernie Sanders (35:09)

Well, of course they're saying it. Deflect attention away from the real issue.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (35:12)

Exactly.

Bernie Sanders (35:13)

And here, let me tell you what the real issue is. Let's see if CNN talks about it. We're living in the richest country in the history of the world, right? All right, you tell me why we're the only nation not to guarantee health care to all people. The only nation not to guarantee paid family and medical leave. Why we have a $7.25 an hour minimum wage, why we have 800,000 people sleeping out on the street while we have a president who denies the reality of climate change. Why we have oligarchs on top who have more and more power every day. Let's talk about that issue. Not her own political future. She'll decide that.

Ben Shapiro (35:50)

What a joke he is. Let's talk about too many rich people in America and there are too many poor people in America. Let's talk about how everybody needs healthcare paid for by someone, by a magic monkey somewhere that generates money. Let's talk about all of it. That's what we need to talk about. Don't ask any questions about whether she's going to run against the Senate minority leader. I will step in as an old white man and I will tell you why. You, Kaitlan Collins, a woman cannot ask this other woman a question about her political future because the relationship. Blah, blah, blah, blah. This is. He's trying to hand control of the Bernie movement to aoc. So again, that's why the white knighting routine. And again, here's the problem for aoc. She is a radical. She is a radical and she is a nut. And I know there are a lot of people on the right who look at this sort of thing. They Say, well, you know, but all the Democrats, they're standing in solidarity. And look, that's, that's a good quality they're standing with. If the Democratic Party follows Bernie Sanders and AOC and Zoran Mamdani down this primrose path, that is not a path to victory. Donald Trump has been president two times. I said it yesterday, I'll say it again. Republicans control the Senate, they control the House. They are likely to retain control of the Senate. It is increasingly likely they may even retain control of the House. In an off year election, Republicans control the majority of governors houses. The demographics of the country are moving in favor of Republicans because the Democrats declared solidarity with the Bernie Sanders movement. And if the Democrats hand leadership of the movement over to aoc, that is good evidence the party has gone completely bat loony. And they can do it. I mean, sure they can. And again, we live in a country that's a two party system. It's possible that if AOC becomes leader of the Democratic Party, she could be president, there's an economic collapse and AOC gets elected. But is that a good thing for the Democratic Party or for the United States? I don't think so. AOC is a bag of Vanity Fair slogans poured into a young, fresh face that that's what she is. So aoc, during this town hall, was asked about President Trump's ability to achieve the release of Gaza hostages. And she couldn't even give Trump credit for that. She called Trump an obstacle to peace, which is unbelievable because this is a lady who wept openly on the floor of Congress when Israel was given continued funding for Iron Dome, which again is the anti rocket system that prevents Hamas rockets from hitting civilians in Israel. She wept on the floor for abstaining from the vote. And here she is saying that Trump is an obstacle to peace. Good Lord.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (38:26)

There have been several ceasefire announcements and developments that have happened over the past two years. I think that the release of the hostages is a tremendous accomplishment and it is providing so much healing to so many people, Israelis and Palestinians, and it is a profound and important moment in this conflict. I also think that as President Trump was on the plane back to the United States, there's already indications and questions about whether this ceasefire will hold. And I pray that it does for, for, for everyone's benefit. I pray that it does. But I do believe we need to see if it holds.

Ben Shapiro (39:12)

Holds.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (39:12)

I don't believe that there's been a history of fidelity to these agreements. And so I think we have to ensure that we will see the terms held to.

Ben Shapiro (39:22)

Do you give him credit?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (39:23)

Do you give him credit, though, for getting to this point where it did get those 20 hostages back home with their families in this particular development? Yes. But we also know that President Trump was an obstacle to peace previously as well.

Ben Shapiro (39:39)

He's an obstacle to peace, all right. Says the party that again is promoting the Hamas should not disarm candidate in New York City who Mayoc campaigns for. By the way, AOC also had some words for Republican men. She says that that Republicans are radicalizing and exploiting young boys. Again, if this is the direction the Democratic Party wants to move chiding young men for, you know, not being androgynous, then good luck to them. Here is AOC lecture. Keep lecturing the dudes. See how it works out for you.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (40:08)

And they are able to radicalize and target and exploit a generation of young boys in particular, away from healthy masculinity and into an insecure masculinity that requires the domination of others who are poorer, browner, darker, or a different gender than them. And that is why they are resonating online, because they are appealing to the most basest and worst parts of human nature to divide us.

Ben Shapiro (40:43)

The most basest parts of human nature. Ah, the wisdom of ma. I need to hear more about masculinity from AOC and Zoran Mamzani and Bernie Sanders. Just. I need to hear more about it. I think it's going to be fascinating. Well, meanwhile, she says that Republicans are successful online because they believe women are inferior, which, again, is a hell of a take here from. From aoc.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (41:07)

They have been successful because they have also been very clear, especially digitally, about what they believe that women are inferior, that do not, and they do not deserve equal rights. That they believe that LGBTQ Americans are subhuman.

Ben Shapiro (41:25)

Oh, goodness gracious. Goodness gracious. Well, the good news, at least for Bernie and aoc, is they found allies on the other side of the aisle in the form of Marjorie Taylor Greene. Again, I'm a little annoyed with people who suggest that, pointing out that Marjorie Taylor Greene is trying to lead an insurgency inside the Republican Party by gaining strange new respect from the left, that those are the people dividing the party. Marjorie Taylor Greene has spent the last multiple months attacking the President of the United States and getting massages from all the members of the left. But if you mention this, then you're, quote, unquote, breaking the unity. Here's Bernie Sanders endorsing Marjorie Taylor Greene. Always a good indicator that you've gone wrong somewhere.

Bernie Sanders (42:01)

There are some decent, honest Republicans and you know, in American society, we believe in democracy. You're a conservative Republican, not that we disagree. So what? It's called America. We have different points of view. I got to tell you though, if I may, one of the things that has concerned me very, very much is that we are seeing the Republican Party doing less of representing their districts and their states than just swearing allegiance to the President of the United States. Now, I never thought that I would say this, but you have somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene saying, you know what, I was elected by my constituents. That's who I am beholden to, not the President of the United States. So there are good Republicans out there. And if Trump would leave them alone for five minutes and not threaten them with a primary, if they stood up and did the right thing, I think we can make progress.

Ben Shapiro (42:59)

The reason, by the way he's praising Marjorie Taylor Greene is because she hates Israel and so does Bernie Sanders. That's the real reason that that is happening. In five seconds ago, he would have rapped on her for her conspiratorialism. Today, she's a hero. So when we talk about people who are attempting to split the Republican Party, Marjorie Taylor Greene again is one of those names. Now, the Democrats, they're having a tough time recruiting candidates who are not members of the radical left at this point. In one of the more hilarious turns in recent memory, Graham Platner, according to cnn, a Marine veterans turned oyster farmer who is now a rising Democratic Senate candidate in Maine. He was supposed to be the sort of bro response because there are lots of pictures of him out on the lake. And of course he has a military background. And there he is looking like a dude who fishes and spends his time doing man things. Well, it turns out that he once called himself a communist, dismissed all police as bastards, and said rural white Americans actually are racist and stupid, according to deleted social media posts reviewed by CNN's K File. That'd be Andrew Kaczynski, who does a pretty good job of digging. Most of the posts were made five years ago under Platner's then Reddit handle P Hustle. They were deleted ahead of his campaign launch in August. The post in some ways underscore Platner's reputation as an anti establishment outsider with unapologetically left wing views. But the labels and tone used in his writings could also prove costly in a state known for electing political moderates. So he came out, he said, that was very much me effing around the Internet. I don't want people to see me for who I was in my worst Internet comment or even, frankly, who I was in my best Internet comment. I don't think any of that is indicative of who I am today. Or really, I don't believe you. I think that that is quite actually indicative of what you think. So again, hilarious that the Democrats try to recruit a man's man, a moderate, to run against Susan Collins in Maine and what they come up with is a communist who hates white rural people. Slow clap for the Democratic Party. They're doing an amazing job already. Coming up Democrats, they've gone radical. So obviously the people they need to oust, they want to go after John Fetterman. Really, John Fetterman first, you know what I hate? Aside from the stupidity of political parties refusing to dissociate from their nut jobs, Running out of something I actually need and then having to scramble to reorder it. Especially when it comes to my health. Because consistency is the difference maker. That's exactly why I signed up as a Balance of Nature preferred customer. Every 28 days, my supplements just show up at my door without me lifting a finger. No Ms. Days. No oh crap, I forgot to reorder moments. 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Head on over to balance of nature.com use promo code SHAPIRO for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. Plus get a free bottle of fiber and spice. That's balance of nature.com promo code Shapiro. It is not, by the way, just that the Democratic Party is doing an amazing job in recruiting nut jobs to run for office and then burnishing them, touting them. They're also taking the only sane people left in their party and forcibly attempting to eject them. According to Axios, top Democrats in Pennsylvania are maneuvering to run against Senator John fetterman in a 2028 primary contest, threatening to tear the party apart in the biggest battleground state in the nation. Democrats have not flipped a GOP Senate seat since Fetterman did it in 2022. He was the last Democrat to flip a Senate seat. And he remains quite popular with Pennsylvania voters, in large part because Fetterman is the only rational Democrat, apparently, who's willing to say basically rational things at this point. For example, John Fetterman said a thing that Democrats apparently are not allowed to say. He said, Trump voters are not fascists and Nazis. I know this is like crazy stuff to Democrats, apparently. Here was Fetterman on News Nation saying this just the other night.

John Fetterman (47:10)

I refuse to call people Nazis or fascists or I would never compare anybody, anybody to Hitler and those things. And now that kinds of extreme rhetoric is going to continue. We're going to be more likely and resulting in extreme kind of outcomes and political violence and doing all these kinds of things.

Ben Shapiro (47:33)

I mean, like, this is just basic rationality. Fetterman also said in that same News Nation interview that extremism on the Democratic side is why they lost. They embraced every extreme cause.

John Fetterman (47:43)

And now a lot of the things, the extremism that people turn their back in 24, and that's how we kind of came up short. I mean, you know, I campaigned for thousands, thousands and thousands of miles across Pennsylvania for Vice President Harris. And it was going to be incredibly difficult. You could just feel the energy there. And people really have connected there at a very fundamental level. And that's what I tried to explain to my party and I'm trying to explain to the party right now. It's like, this is why we lost and this is where we need to be to continue to win for these things. And there are parts of extreme things emerging clearly on those things. And that's why I refuse to follow that, even if that is going to cost me support in parts of the base.

Ben Shapiro (48:29)

So, you know, again, basic rationality there from John Fetterman. And Democrats are running primary over it. It's, it's amazing, it's unbelievable. By the way, Fetterman was asked about this and he pointed out that he actually is among the least Trump aligned Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania. He voted with the President 6% of the time. He just takes publicly moderate positions. But when it comes to his voting record, he votes as a straight Democrat. The fact that Democrats are trying to oust him for saying Bad things, meaning, like saying things that are rational and reasonable, is amazing. Again, Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania twice in the last three election cycles, and what Pennsylvania keeps showing is that moderate Democrats can do okay there, but radical Democrats will not. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who's widely perceived as a more moderate Democrat, has a 60% job approval rating in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, John Fetterman is clocking in at a 46% approved, 38% disapproved, which, again, is a fine number. The Republicans Approve of him, 62 to 21. Democrats, 54 to 33% disapprove. Independents are evenly split, 43. 43. Which is kind of amazing for a guy who again, is, in fact, voting against President Trump nearly all of the time. So Democrats can do this. They can throw out the only moderates that they have in Congress. News Nation asked Fetterman why he's still a Democrat at this point. He said, because I vote with the Democrats, guys. That's why. Why, why are you a Democrat, though? And I don't say that being a wise guy. You support Israel, correct?

John Fetterman (50:08)

Yeah, well, I do. And that's been, that's been isolating to.

Ben Shapiro (50:13)

Look, you support Israel and the progressives don't.

Ben Shapiro (50:16)

Generally speaking, you are for a very rigorous defense against Putin in Ukraine, correct?

Ben Shapiro (50:22)

You want to stop them, right?

John Fetterman (50:24)

Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, I would fully support. In fact, I just, on social media, encourage President Trump to provide tomahawks to the Ukrainians. I mean, it's like he is probably the only person in the world that could end this terrible war. And I think, why can't we all agree that, that, that's, that's.

Ben Shapiro (50:42)

You're not a wild spender. You want to get the debt under control. So why are you Democrat?

John Fetterman (50:50)

That's.

Ben Shapiro (50:50)

Your party is against you on all three of those issues. And Bill O'Reilly is pointing out an obvious discrepancy. But the problem, of course, is that Fetterman actually is a big government Democrat, right? He campaigned on a sort of Medicare for all platform in Pennsylvania, and they're trying to throw him out because the Democrats cannot handle moderation inside their party, which is why Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia continues to defend Attorney General candidate Jay Jones after Jay Jones was caught in a text thread with a political opponent saying that he wanted the speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates murdered for being right wing. Here's Tim Kaine defending. Well, and look, the Republican gubernatorial candidate.

Bernie Sanders (51:32)

In Virginia has said some vile things.

Ben Shapiro (51:34)

And we haven't called on her to drop out of the race. The voters are going to make this decision.

Bernie Sanders (51:39)

The J. Jones tax were abhorrent and they are indefensible.

Ben Shapiro (51:44)

But I also have known Jay Jones for 25 years, and I put that.

Bernie Sanders (51:47)

Knowledge on a scale, and it weighs more than one really indefensible set of texts. But I'll tell you this, Jake.

Ben Shapiro (51:55)

It's interesting to know Jay Jones has earnestly and sincerely apologized and said he made a grievous error. What did you hear from J.D.

Bernie Sanders (52:04)

Vance? Did you he say any of these texts were wrong?

Ben Shapiro (52:06)

I didn't hear any condemning of the texts. I didn't hear him having any concerns about what was said. Hey, so again, like, this is the Democratic Party. They can't divide off from this stuff. They still refuse to let go of the trans issue. I mean, it's an unbelievable thing. The fact that they have decided this is sort of the litmus test for being a Democrat is saying that a boy is a girl. This is one of the reasons they're upset with Fetterman, is because he won't say. That is truly incredible. Here, for example, is California Democratic governor candidate Betty Yee with Piers Morgan explaining that transgender female athletes are women athletes, meaning like men who say they are women are women. I think transgender female athletes are women athletes, and they should be able to.

Ben Shapiro (52:49)

Really? So you, if you were governor of California, you would support biological males who identify as women competing in women's sport in the Olympics?

Ben Shapiro (53:03)

They are now identified as transgender female.

Ben Shapiro (53:07)

And you think that makes. And you think it's fair that they should then compete in women's sport?

Ben Shapiro (53:12)

I think they should be able to compete in women's sports, but I also think that there is still some discussion about whether they should compete in the same field. But I just want them to be able to participate.

Ben Shapiro (53:23)

Sure, I'm sure. Why?

Bernie Sanders (53:24)

Why?

Ben Shapiro (53:25)

Out of interest, why do you think we separate the sexes in the Olympics?

Ben Shapiro (53:30)

Well, because they do come with different attributes in terms of physicality. And so you accept that we separate.

Ben Shapiro (53:36)

The sexes because men have a physical advantage over women?

Ben Shapiro (53:41)

I know about an advantage in some sports, yes. And other sports, maybe not. Okay, so I guess Democrats can keep doing this and we'll see how it works out for them. Speaking of extremism, the government shutdown continues to drag on. It seems as though there really is very little incentive for either side to come to the table at this point. Both sides seem to think that they are winning. Democrats are happy with the government shutdown because it shows that they are resistant to President Trump in some way. Republicans are saying, why exactly should we give up the victories we just won in the one big, beautiful bill? Because you're throwing a hissy fit. According to the Wall Street Journal, both parties think they have the upper hand. Democrats and Republicans think they're on the stronger side of the argument and see little reason to budge. Both point to polling they say shows public opinion is on their side. Republicans say they're simply trying to do what Democrats have done for decades, pass a straightforward short term bill that continues funding at prior levels until a broader full year deal is reached. And they say Senate Democrats are being hypocritical. Democrats say they're comfortable with their message that there's a pending health care crisis and Republicans won't negotiate to fix it. Now, again, President Trump hasn't gotten deeply involved. If he feels that it's a ballast on his presidency, he'll probably get involved in some way and cut some sort of deal. But so far, doesn't seem like a lot of incentive structure here. One of the things Democrats did, Of course, since 2021, is force more people onto the Obamacare coverage via gigantic subsidies. The 24 million people on those subsidies, more than three quarters of Obamacare policyholders, live in states that voted for Trump. According to kff, a health research nonprofit, Republicans were united in opposing those ACA enhanced subsidies. Democrats are betting that Republicans are going to cave because many of the people who are on these subsidies are in their states. The first ACA deadline isn't actually until November 1st, so good shot that this shutdown lasts a couple of more weeks, at least a week and a half more. Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, he says that Democrats are making outrageous demands to reopen the government. All they have to do is just say yes and the government reopens today.

Ben Shapiro (55:42)

Another day of American families feeling the.

Ben Shapiro (55:44)

Very real personal and economic strain of this reckless decision that our Democrat colleagues keep making. They want the United States government to remain closed and they seem not to care about the pain that it's causing. They have offered no plan. They have offered no strategy. They have offered no common sense path forward for ending this situation. And so many of you have asked all of us, how will it end?

Ben Shapiro (56:06)

We have no idea.

Ben Shapiro (56:07)

It's up to the Democrats and they have to decide it.

Ben Shapiro (56:10)

And judging by their outrageous behavior, the.

Ben Shapiro (56:13)

Democrats appear perfectly happy to keep the political theater going while real people suffer. So again, he ain't wrong about all of this. The truth is that when people look at shutdowns like this, all they can really think is, I don't Understand anything that's going on. Why don't you just keep the government basically running? If you want to have a big fight over spending, then government shutdowns typically are not the way to do it. I've yet to see a government shutdown fight that has ended in any major serious change that radically bends the cost curve in, in any way. This is why Stephen A. Smith received a bunch of plaudits the other night. He was part of a News Nation panel and he got annoyed at the government shutdown because he basically said, listen, you know, you got a bunch of Congress people on this stage, they keep talking about shutdown, no shutdown. Meanwhile, the national debt is out of control. People aren't getting paid. Like, why aren't you just basically decent at your jobs? Our debt is 37.8 trillion. Somehow, some way, the taxpayers been paying this, been throwing money because we all look at our check and it's been going to the government. And somehow, some way, you're supposed to be doing something constructive and productive enough to make sure that we don't have that kind of deficit. It isn't happening. A government shutdown is going to on right now. A man has to work on door dash when he's really an air traffic controller. Right. That we applauded. And we're up here talking about how much some money is going to cost. And the only person that don't have a check coming is him. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to take a break.

Bernie Sanders (57:48)

All right.

Ben Shapiro (57:51)

Again, it's performative, but Stephen A. Is performative. And I, I enjoy Stephen A. I will say now, again, does that solve any of our problems? No, but it shows kind of where people are on a generic level, which is, why can't you people just, like, do your basic job? And the answer is, in reality, the real answer is the government has too much power. When the government has this much power, when the government has the ability to suck trillions of dollars out of the American public, when the government so wildly exceeds its constitutional mandate that pretty much every issue is a federal issue, of course you end up with $40 trillion in national debt. By the way, here I call out again, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania being the rational voice in the room. He is one of the people who's refusing to shut down the government. He says, listen, if we lose a battle that is not a reason to shut down the government, we can always have a negotiation overspending, you know, at the next budget bill. Here is Fetterman being A rational human.

John Fetterman (58:42)

Yeah. Well, it's like, that's why, that's why shutting the government is really what the Democratic Party wants to do. And I follow country, then party, and it's the wrong thing for the country. In a period of chaos, I refuse to vote to shut our government down. I absolutely would love to have. I would love to have a conversation about extending the tax credits for health care. Absolutely. But I would remind everybody, too, this was designed by the Democratic Party party to expire at the end of the year.

Ben Shapiro (59:17)

I mean, he is. He is. Right. And again, this is probably why Democrats want to oust him. Joining us on the line is Eric Trump. He's the author of the brand new book Under Siege, My Family's Fight to Save Our Nation, already a gigantic bestseller, of course. Eric, thanks so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it, Ben.

Ben Shapiro (59:33)

It's great to be on, my friend.

Ben Shapiro (59:35)

So why don't we start by, by talking about, first of all, what is it actually like to be a member of the Trump family? I think that that is the thing that everybody in America is constantly asking. Yeah. So. So what is it like to grow up with Donald Trump as your father?

Ben Shapiro (59:46)

This is crazy as hell. I never thought I'd, you know, be in the real estate world the way I was. I never thought I'd be on, you know, seven seasons of Celebrity Apprentice. I never thought we'd be running for president, you know, three different times. Obviously winning in 2016. I think we won in 2020, and then winning again in 2024. I never thought I'd have to go through the crusade of being the most appening person in American history. And I never thought I'd be a number one bestseller selling author. Right. And kind of accomplish all of it. And so, you know, it's really been remarkable. But listen, the voyage has been amazing. And I love my father to death. He's my best friend in the entire world. And, you know, I stood by his side every single day as we went through all those things, whether it was in the business world on the Apprentice again or in politics. And we didn't have any friends. I mean, Ben, you knew this better than anybody. We didn't have any friends in the political world. And we went out there and we wanted to save this country. This country was going to hell on every front. We were losing religion, we were losing faith, we were losing the Constitution. We're losing, you know, First Amendment rights. We were losing Second Amendment rights. I mean, we were losing everything as a nation. And we went and we Fought like hell against all odds, and we somehow beat the greatest political dynasty in the history of, you know, probably the last century, which was the Clintons until now, and then came back to do it again, despite them trying to take us out at every turn. And it's a hell of a story.

Ben Shapiro (60:56)

Yeah, Eric, I think one of the things that is obviously apparent about President Trump, and certainly not apparent to the legacy media, but apparent to, I think, people who watch even relatively closely President Trump, is how close he is with his kids. I mean, there's been a lot of slander that's thrown at the President of the United States about him personally, about how. How he is and when he interacts with people. But you're one of the people who is closest with him. You've known him literally your entire life. And so tell us about what it is like to be again, the President's child. What. What is Donald Trump like behind the doors?

Ben Shapiro (61:25)

Well, this is. He's the most charismatic guy you'll ever meet. I think you've seen that personality, you know, behind closed doors. And he's tough as hell. He was tough when he had to be with us. And at the same time, he was amazing. I mean, every single morning before I went to school, honey, no drinking, no drugs, no smoking. You better get good grades. And by the way, never trust anybody. He would always add that last little one in never trust anyone. That probably benefited us pretty well in life, but he always expected us to have jobs. Listen, we're spoiled as hell, Ben, right? In the kind of conventional way. We always had a roof over our head. We always had a great meal. We always had the best educations, but if we wanted something, you better damn well go out and work for it. There was no handouts in the Trump family. There was no, you know, ferraris. At age 16, it's. We worked our butts off. I grew up on construction sites in the company and doing demo in H Vac. And if we wanted a bike, you go pay for your own bike. If you want a new fishing rod, you're gonna go pay for it. And, you know, he taught us great skills early on. You know, it made us appreciate the value of a dollar and just an amazing human being. I love him to death. And we fought together in everything we did. And when he finally told us, hey, kids, I'm gonna run for commander in Chief. I'm gonna run for President, he goes, I'm gonna do it. But, guys, let's do it. Let's do it. And we did it as a Family. I mean, I never forget him calling me and saying, honey, I need you to go on Megyn Kelly to talk about immigration. I looked at him, I go, you know, I don't know a damn thing about immigration. Right? Like, you know, I've spent my entire life building hotels. I don't know. I don't know a fricking thing about immigration. And, you know, we spoke from the heart. We did it with a lot of backbone. We wore through shoes. I mean, I probably did 10 events a day, every single day in every single swing state in the country. And we spoke from the heart, and we did it as a family. And that had never really been done in American history before.

Ben Shapiro (63:07)

So, Eric, your book Under Siege is largely about the sort of lawfare that's been used against the president and against the president's family. You personally, as you say, you may be the most subpoenaed person in the history of the United States. I think when people hear about the targeting of President Trump, they don't actually understand the cost of what lawfare means. Like what. What it means that everybody who is even in 300 yards of President Trump basically had to go hire a lawyer and then spend years dealing with the constant pestering and horror of being dragged into a system for no reason other than your association with the president. Can you talk about what that was like on a personal level? Yeah.

Ben Shapiro (63:44)

In the hundreds of millions. I mean, we spent about $400 million just defending ourselves from every single sham. I mean, start. Start with the Russia hoax. When I get the call from the FBI saying, I hear you have secret servers in the basement of Trump Tower communicating with the Kremlin. Give me a break. Right? And then go to the dirty dossier where they're thinking, you know, they're talking about golden, you know, what's. And prostitution. That did not happen. This was paid for by Hillary Clinton. It was made up by Hillary Clinton. And then you get to impeachment number one, and then Kavanaugh and what they did to him, and then you get to impeachment number two. And then you get to the weaponization of every single attorney general and district attorney in the country, whether it be Letitia James or Alvin Bragg or Cy Vance or Jack Smith as special counsel or Robert Mueller. Right. Going through and trying to do anything they can to destroy your family, destroy your life. 91 criminal indictments. They were raiding our homes. They raided Mar Lago. They raided Melania's room. They raided Barron's room. They took attorney client documents. They literally leaked every single One of my father's tax returns, Every one of my tax returns, every one of Don's tax returns, about the top hundred corporate employees we have in the Trump Organization. The IRS leaked their tax returns to the New York Times. They took my father off the ballot of Maine. They took him off the ballot in Colorado. When that didn't work, they took him off of Twitter and they took him off of Facebook and they took him off of Instagram because they wanted to violate his First Amendment rights. When we opened up Truth Social, guess what the judges did? Every judge in the country in these far left jurisdictions, they put gag order on him after gag order on him. Ben. It was unrelenting. They wanted to kill us in every way, shape or form. And when that didn't work, they tried to kill my father and Butler. They tried to kill him again at the golf course in Palm Beach. You know, they did kill Charlie, who was a dear friend of mine, and he was a great friend of yours. They wanted to remove the conservative voice out of our society. They wanted me off that stage. They sure as hell wanted you off that stage. They wanted Charlie Kirk off that stage. They definitely wanted my father off that stage. Whether it was in a prison after 91 indictments, or if it was dead or if it was bankrupt or if it was embarrassed. You know, they wanted our family broken apart. That was the siege. And it wasn't just toward us. We might have been the tip of the spear. It was toward the American people. They wanted us all gone. They wanted us all off that stage. They wanted us voiceless. You saw that with the January 6th protesters, where you had grandmothers go through the Capitol, take selfies, and they destroyed their lives. I mean, they wouldn't give them hearings for years. They destroyed these people's lives. And it's not right. And so this was all of our fight. This was a conservative fight to restore dignity to this country. Our Constitution, our American flag, our national anthem, to end wokeness, to end dei, you know, to restore family virtue, to restore our standing on the world stage. It was all of our fight. We were just the tip of the spear.

Ben Shapiro (66:37)

So, you know, Eric, you go through all that, and I think it is an amazing exposure over the course of the last year. Book is. But. But I think the activity of the left is over the course of the last 10 years, while your president has been at the center of all of politics and all global attention, it has exposed so many institutions as largely rotted from the inside. And the question becomes how we actually restore credibility to a Lot of these institutions. Is it even possible to restore credibility to these institutions? Because, you know, the alternative is anarchy. But we also can't have institutions that have done to your family, to your father, and to the country what they've done over the course of the last decade.

Ben Shapiro (67:11)

I mean, it's kind of hard. I mean, you know, you have an unfaithful spouse, right? And you catch him over and over and over, you're going to have a lot of faith in that person, right? And that's what's happened. That's what happened with the FBI. That's what happened with the doj. Ben. This whole thing started when they spied on my father's campaign and all of us in 2016. Let's not forget about that, right? And when the FBI called me and said, I hear you have secret servers in the basement of Trump Tower, and I said, come over. You can dispel this myth in about three seconds. Congratulations. You know who never came over, and you know, who let that lie perpetrate, not only because it allowed Hillary to get an extra three votes, you know, a greedy woman to get an extra three votes, because that was their October surprise, as you remember, from Podesta. But it gave them cover as to why a bunch of imbeciles who knew nothing about politics, who didn't know the delegate game, who didn't know what an Iowa caucus was, was able to beat the biggest political family in America at the time at their own game, when they had a financial deficit of literally five to one. We funded our own campaign pretty much in 2016, versus Hillary, who raised, you know, one and a half billion dollars. Right? They let that. So it's hard to restore faith when over and over, when I get the call from my team at Mar A Lago saying, sir, there's 30 FBI agents who's storming Mar A Lago with a search warrant, and they're demanding that you turn off all security cameras right now. It's really hard to restore that faith when you have 51 intelligence officers come out, you know, and try and verify that the Russian laptop, hunter's laptop, the laptop from hell, was Russian disinformation. It's awfully hard to restore fate. And that's why when you see what happened to Charlie, right, and you have all these kind of, you know, theories spewing around, you know, it's hard. I mean, these institutions have a lot of making up to do, and it's gonna take them years, potentially years to restore the faith of those institutions because they've lied to the American people and they weaponize those institutions against the American people time after time. My father was just the guy that was probably on the tip of the spear, you know, exposing their corruption for exactly what it was.

Ben Shapiro (69:23)

Well, the book is Under Siege My Family's Fight to Save Our Nation by Eric Trump. The Ford is by the President of the United States. Eric, really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks so much for the fight that you and your family have been waging over the course of the last decade. And good luck with the book.

Ben Shapiro (69:37)

Thanks so much, Ben.

Ben Shapiro (69:39)

Alrighty. Coming up, the show continues for our members. We get into a bunch of Trump foreign policy. Fascinating things happening on the foreign front from Venezuela to Gaza, all the way on over to Japan. Remember, in order to watch, you have to be a member. If you're not a member, become a member. Use code Shapiro. Check out for two months free on all annual plans. Click that link in the description and join us.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (70:06)

Sam.