The Charlie Kirk Show

Episode: The Left's War on ICE + Voter ID for CA

Date: January 9, 2026
Host: Charlie Kirk
Guests: Blake Neff (co-host/contributor), Representative Ken Calvert (CA), various quoted public officials

Episode Overview

In this high-energy episode, Charlie Kirk and his team tackle two major topics at the intersection of policy, law enforcement, and the conservative grassroots movement:

1. The escalating conflict between progressive city governments and federal immigration enforcement agencies (ICE, CBP) in cities like Minneapolis, Portland, and Philadelphia.
2. California’s burgeoning grassroots movement to implement Voter ID laws, featuring an in-depth interview with Congressman Ken Calvert.

Kirk frames the discussion as a battle for the soul of the nation, warning of imminent "constitutional crises" over immigration enforcement and hailing the California voter ID campaign as a critical turning point for election integrity on the West Coast.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Progressive Cities’ Escalation Against ICE

(00:01:19 – 00:18:14)

Context and Trends

• Charlie and Blake Neff open by discussing national trends of local jurisdictions ramping up their confrontational rhetoric and policy against ICE.
• Minneapolis, Portland, and Philadelphia spotlighted as flashpoints where progressive officials are “delegitimizing” ICE, with threats of criminalizing the work of federal agents.

Rhetorical Escalation

• Local leaders compare ICE agents to “masked thugs,” “kidnappers,” and even “Gestapo.”

• Special focus on Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, described as a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) hire, threatening ICE with “you don’t want this smoke”—interpreted by Kirk as an unprecedented threat of armed standoff with federal law enforcement.

  “You don’t want this smoke.” – Sheriff Rochelle Bilal (Philadelphia) [04:29]

• Kirk and Neff warn of a leftist-engineered constitutional crisis, where municipalities may directly confront or arrest federal officers.

Analysis

• Kirk summarizes these moves as “anarcho-tyranny,” with city governments enforcing laws selectively based on their favored demographics or political causes, and refusing to cooperate with federal law.
• Neff asserts: “The goal is to basically say that ICE is a criminal organization, and they will treat them as a criminal organization. ... They want to engineer a constitutional crisis.” [02:32]

Handing of ICE Encounters and PR

• Discussion of protests and violence—particularly the recent cases involving ICE in Minneapolis and Portland, and the death of vigilante protester Renee Goode.
• Kirk and team allege that the Left desires violent confrontations to demonize ICE and force the federal government to back down, describing local activists as “dying to have happen ... a confrontation between police and ICE where there’s some sort of conflict and a cop gets shot by ICE.”

  “You have to make sure you assert ICE's legitimate authority ... Make sure that they are the ones who try to shoot somebody first.” – Blake Neff [08:01]

Portland Incident

• Charlie details the Portland CBP incident in which a suspect, identified as a “trend gang banger who runs a prostitution ring,” allegedly tried to “ram” an agent. Kirk lambasts local leaders for siding with criminals over ICE.

Broader Ideological Claim

• The hosts contextualize these events as extensions of a broad progressive project to delegitimize US sovereignty, promote open borders, and erode law and order for ideological reasons:

  “The Left is a force of entropy ... anti-civilization. They ultimately want to bring down the United States.” – Blake Neff [15:02]

• Conservative movement depicted as the “firewall for western civilization.” [17:41]

2. CA Voter ID Movement: Interview with Rep. Ken Calvert

(19:23 – 31:46)

Grassroots Momentum in Blue California

• California’s voter ID petition reaches over 1 million signatures—a milestone celebrated by Kirk and his guest, Rep. Ken Calvert. They call it a bottom-up, citizen-driven initiative aimed at overhauling the state’s “wild west” election laws.

  "This is the first step, is to get this voter ID done. ... It's not going to fix every problem, but it's a big step forward for the state of California." – Rep. Ken Calvert [22:54]

• The campaign seeks to gather 1.2 million signatures to ensure enough verified ones for the 2026 ballot (target is 873,000 verified). [21:54]

Problems with Current System

• Calvert denounces “motor voter” laws and claims noncitizen registration and voting is a systemic problem, especially due to lack of ID requirements.

• Ballot harvesting, mail-in voting, and voter roll maintenance identified as further vulnerabilities.

  “When you go to the DMV and get a driver’s license or ID, you register to vote. You do not need any citizenship to do that. ... It's 100% fact you do not need to prove any citizenship to get voter registration in California.” – Local CA Activist [26:49]

• Kirk and Calvert stress that making progress on voter ID is the necessary first step to restore integrity, but not a complete solution given other systemic issues.

• Strong polling support cited:

  “Even a majority of Democrats are in favor of voter ID ... it's like 70% overall here in California.” – Rep. Ken Calvert [28:06]

Calls to Action & Enforcement

• Listeners are urged to participate:

  "All of you people who email us had better have signed this petition, period." – Blake Neff [24:05]

• The law is modeled after Florida's reform efforts, touted as standard for voter integrity and turnaround.

• New enforcement mechanisms will include tip lines for reporting poll worker non-compliance. [29:28]

• Optimism and determination to overcome obstacles from Sacramento leadership, with acknowledgment of the deep challenge facing GOP candidates and activists.

3. International Segment: Protests in Iran

(33:51 – 40:10)

• The show briefly updates listeners about week-long, large-scale protests in Iran, following an economic crisis and currency collapse.
• Communications blackout, regime crackdown, and rising body count described. Cites pleas from Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah, for international help.
• Charlie and Blake agree the US should support Iran’s people rhetorically, but remain wary of military intervention:

  “He likes us not to get involved. And if we do get involved, it’s the lightest touch possible.” – Blake Neff [35:51]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You don’t want this smoke, because we will bring it to you.”
  – Sheriff Rochelle Bilal (Philadelphia, threatening ICE) [04:29]

• “The Left is a force of entropy. The Left is an anti-civilization. They want to bring down the United States.”
  – Blake Neff [15:02]

• “You can't ... make common cause with these people. ... They want to destroy the United States of America. You are standing in their way. We are standing in their way.”
  – Charlie Kirk [17:28]

• “This is the first step, is to get this voter ID done. ... It's not going to fix every problem, but it's a big step forward.”
  – Rep. Ken Calvert [22:54]

• “When you go to the DMV and you get a driver's license or an id, you register to vote. You do not need any citizenship to do that.”
  – CA Local Activist [26:49]

• “Even a majority of Democrats are in favor of voter ID ... it's like 70% overall here in California.”
  – Rep. Ken Calvert [28:06]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01:19 – 00:18:14 — Left’s War on ICE: Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Portland case studies; threats of constitutional crisis.
• 00:19:23 – 00:31:46 — Interview: Rep. Ken Calvert on California’s voter ID drive, obstacles, and next steps.
• 00:33:51 – 00:40:10 — Brief Coverage: Iran protests, economic collapse, and calls for US support.

Tone and Style

• Assertive, confrontational, unapologetically conservative
• Urgent calls to action (“Go sign it right now.”)
• Frequent allusions to existential national struggle; unwavering positioning against “the Left” and progressive policies
• Mix of policy analysis, grassroots organizing talk, and direct critique of political opponents

Takeaways for New Listeners

• The episode is a primer on the conservative movement’s framing of ICE enforcement as a constitutional flashpoint and the California Voter ID initiative as a linchpin for election integrity.
• Listeners are incentivized to join grassroots activism, especially in support of Voter ID in California.
• Kirk and his circle portray current progressive governance as fundamentally antagonistic to national order, law, and legitimacy, with a consistent appeal to defend “Western civilization.”
• The show briefly ties in international affairs, warning of potential pitfalls of foreign intervention while maintaining nationalist priorities.

For more details and ongoing campaign updates, listeners are encouraged to visit voteridca.org and charliekirk.com.