Trump's State of the Union Test

Summary

The Charlie Kirk Show
Episode: Trump's State of the Union Test
Date: February 25, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Charlie Kirk covers the emotional aftermath of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, the political response at the state and federal level, and provides in-depth commentary and expectations leading up to President Trump’s State of the Union address. The show features interviews and discussions on immigration policy, law enforcement, fiscal policy, national sentiment, foreign policy challenges (especially Iran), and the intersection of politics and national pride. The tone is unapologetically conservative, urgent, and infused with patriotic energy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Angel Families and Immigration Policy

(01:09 – 09:19)

• Guest: Joe Abraham, "Angel Father" of Katie Abraham, whose daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant.
• Joe's Story: Katie, a 20-year-old student, was killed in a car crash by a Guatemalan national using a Mexican alias in Illinois. Joe describes how state policies and the lack of federal cooperation allowed this to happen, and the pain felt by his family.
  • Joe: "Katie unfortunately died on the scene. Another young woman died the next day, there were three injuries. And it turns out the person who struck the vehicle not only fled right away...he is an illegal alien, a Guatemalan national using a Mexican national alias." (02:19)
  • Illinois as a 'sanctuary state' is harshly criticized for poor vetting and lack of health screening: "Illinois allows folks to roam around the state unchecked, unvetted, unhealth screened. This guy has HIV in our communities, was let go to roam free." (04:37)
  • Blame placed squarely on Governor J.B. Pritzker and state leadership for "negligent" and "radical" policies.
  • Joe highlights a deep lack of compassion and engagement from Illinois officials: "Not one Democrat would talk to me. So look at the difference there. This guy is not compassionate. JB Pritzker. He's not a caring man. He's aloof. He's arrogant." (06:49)
• Contrast with Trump Administration: Joe describes being welcomed and comforted by Trump personally—standing in direct contrast to his treatment by state Democrats.
  • "Donald Trump has welcomed us to the White House more than once, has looked me in the eye, father to father, and said, this has been a mess. We're gonna clean it up." (06:49)

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2. Political Wins and American Pride

(09:23 – 17:10)

• Recent Developments:
  • Positive legal developments regarding a death penalty case ("motion denied, death penalty on track").
  • Erica Kirk invited to the State of the Union by President Trump.
  • U.S. Men's Hockey Team's gold medal win and subsequent patriotic celebration in Miami—used as a symbol of "unabashed masculine energy" and American pride:
    • “They’re still singing ‘God Bless the USA’... I think everybody needs to loosen up, have a moment of just pure, unadulterated national pride.” (13:22)
  • Team USA received an Air Force transfer to D.C., possibly to be honored at the State of the Union. This is celebrated as Trump "making good on promises" and supporting American athletes.
• Discussion reflects on media and liberal criticism of such patriotic displays, with panel pushing back on progressive discomfort with masculinity and nationalism.

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3. Immigration Courts and Mass Deportation Infrastructure

(10:46 – 13:22)

• Analysis of the Trump administration’s quiet efforts to reduce immigration court backlogs, a move that is called a "purge" in critical media coverage.
• Blake (co-host): “In the past year, the backlog...has fallen by 341,000. Maybe next year it’ll be half a million, 600K, a million...Once you're doing that, that is what allows ICE to just go and say, oh, you have an order of removal, we’re taking you, getting you out of the country. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.” (12:05)
• Notable Quote: "[Darren Margolin] was an immigration judge and he quit in 2024 because he said, 'I felt like a co-conspirator in treason regarding the Biden administration's policies.'" (12:38)
• Optimism about real-world enforcement ability as new judges are trained and brought online.

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4. Economic Policy, Messaging, and Fiscal Conservatism

(18:55 – 26:00)

• Guest: Kane from Citizen Free Press discusses what he wants to hear from Trump at the State of the Union.
  • "I want to hear about the national debt. I'd love to hear Trump talk about a spending freeze...Make fixing the national debt his legacy..." (18:55)
• Discussion on the challenge of conveying improvements in the economy given persistent effects of inflation and high interest rates.
  • Kane: "A lot more of America can get behind the fraud stuff..." (22:22)
• Talks about the political impact of banning congressional stock trading and targeting fraud in federal programs as popular economic policies.
• The group is enthusiastic but skeptical about the possibility of deep entitlement reform ("raise the retirement age" etc.), but agrees starting the conversation is important.
  • "I just want the conversations to start...let’s start talking about how we slowly raise the retirement age from 67 to 70 over 30 years." (23:06)
• The effect of interest rates on home affordability and middle-class economic sentiment is discussed.

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5. Political Polarization, Media Culture, and Patriotism

(26:00 – 27:54)

• Don Lemon’s criticism of Trump and the hockey team is played and ridiculed.
  • Don Lemon: “I don't understand why anyone would want to be in the vicinity of this president…He doesn't care about this country.” (26:16)
  • Kane (on Don Lemon): "He's about as popular as month-old convenience store sushi." (27:12)
• The loss of "bipartisan patriotism" is lamented. Charlie’s team sees this divide as emblematic of a deeper cultural and political rift.

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6. Foreign Policy Hotspots: Iran and Beyond

(30:11 – 35:15)

• With rumblings of military action against Iran, the group debates if the Trump administration has made a public case for escalation or regime change.
  • Kane: “There’s a natural trepidation [about war]...but at the same time, it’s a trust. People really do trust [Trump].…If they [Iran] don’t [agree to a new non-nuke proposal], Trump doesn’t fool around.” (31:22)
  • Andrew: “Charlie was America First to his core…But at the end of the day, this is why we elected President Trump to lead the military, to lead this nation.” (32:19)
  • Blake: “If you are going to launch a regime change war…you need to be able to, in a handful of sentences, say why this is invaluable for America’s national interests…there’s a lack of a clear explanation…” (33:38)
  • Kane: “Regime change through airstrikes is not easy…there are hundreds of other mullahs [who] could replace them. These are difficult decisions, but we trust in President Trump.” (34:38)
• All agree on the need for clear messaging, no appetite for drawn-out foreign wars, but confidence in Trump’s decisiveness.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Joe Abraham on loss and state betrayal:
  “So I sit here with a life sentence thanks to my Illinois government, and Katie received the death penalty. She got death. That's it.” (05:31)

• Charlie’s perspective on activism and family:
  “You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Go start a Turning Point USA chapter…” (00:13)

• Blake on ICE enforcement:
  “Once you’re doing that, that is what allows ICE to just go and say…getting you out of the country. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.” (12:05)

• Kane on fiscal crisis:
  “Let’s start talking about how we slowly raise the retirement age from 67 to 70 over 30 years. Nothing quick, you know, so that people don’t freak out.” (23:10)

• On loss of bipartisan patriotism:
  “It’s really a shame that we can’t have bipartisan patriotism anymore. It’s just a shame. It’s a shame what they’ve done to the country.” (27:42)

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Important Timestamps

• Angel Father Joe Abraham Interview: 01:09 – 09:19
• White Pill/American Pride Segment: 09:23 – 16:39
• Immigration Court Developments: 10:46 – 13:22
• Fiscal Reform & Economic Messaging: 18:55 – 26:00
• Cultural Divide & Don Lemon Segment: 26:00 – 27:54
• Iran & Foreign Policy Discussion: 30:11 – 35:15

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Conclusion

This episode blends deeply personal stories of tragedy, political grievance, and national revival with concrete discussions about current policy and the future direction under Trump’s leadership. The hosts reinforce their movement’s urgent, activist spirit and preview critical issues for the State of the Union—immigration, economics, restoring American pride, and foreign policy—all through a combative, proudly patriotic lens. The show captures both grassroots heartbreak and high-level policy debate, aiming to mobilize and inspire its conservative audience ahead of a pivotal presidential address.

Transcript

[A]

My name is Charlie Kirk. I run the largest pro American student organization in the country, fighting for the future of our republic. My call is to fight evil and to proclaim truth. If the most important thing for you is just feeling good, you're gonna end up miserable. But if the most important thing is doing good, you will end up purposeful. College is a scam, everybody. You gotta stop sending your kids to college. You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Go start a Point USA College chapter. Go start a Turning Point USA High School chapter. Go find out how your church can get involved. Sign up and become an activist. I gave my life to the Lord in fifth grade. Most important decision I ever made in my life. And I encourage you to do the same. Here I am, Lord.

[B]

Use me.

[A]

Buckle up, everybody. Here we go. The Charlie Kirk show is proudly sponsored by Preserve Gold, the leading gold and silver experts and the only precious metals company I recommend to my family, friends and viewers.

[B]

All right, welcome back to the Charlie Kirk show. Hour two is underway. I'm here in D.C. ahead of the State of the Union. Blake's holding it down at Phoenix, Arizona. So there was a powerful event that happened yesterday. And again, President Trump, I thought, hit an amazing note when he said, I will not forget and, and he was referring to angel families. And a lot of us know the story of Lake and Riley in Georgia who was killed at the hands of an illegal immigrant. But there are so many stories that we don't care as much about and we need to. And here to help us is Joe Abraham. He's an angel, father to daughter Katie who was killed by an illegal immigrant. He joins us now. He was at the event yesterday. Joe, welcome to the Charlie Kirk show and thanks so much for taking the time to be with us. Please tell us your story and your family story. Sure.

[C]

Thanks for having me and allowing me to talk about Katie and Katie's life. So Katie was 20 years old. She was a third year student at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. And her and a friend in the, in the Glenview, Illinois area, that's where we live. Took the train down to Urbana, Illinois to visit some friends at the University of Illinois. Over the weekend of January, you know, 18th, they went down there. They were in an automobile on January 19 at a stoplight, idle, and they were rear ended at almost 80 miles an hour. Just decimated the Honda Civic they were in. The SUV just plowed right into them. No braking, no swerving. Katie unfortunately died on the scene. Another young woman died the next Day, there were three injuries. And it turned out the person who struck the vehicle not only fled right away. I mean, can you imagine? You decimate five lives and the first instinct you have is to flee. So it turns out he is an illegal alien, a Guatemalan national using a Mexican national alias. So sanctuary state Illinois, when they nullified federal law, did not put any type of a real process in place. On the front end, there were no guardrails. That's how negligent and how Illinois is so mismanaged by the governor, Pritzker on down General assembly, every state legislature, so there are no guardrails. Now on top of this in the country, using an alias and false documentations, identity theft or whatever you want to call it, he flees. They finally apprehend him two days after Donald Trump is in office on the 20th, shuts down the border. I truly believe if New York is and Biden were still running things, he would have never been apprehended. So thank goodness for Donald Trump coming in, shutting the border down, allowing U.S. marshals and border patrol to, to do their jobs. Unlike the prior administration, they apprehended him. Now it turns out in federal court he is, now that he's been incarcerated, is being treated for hiv. So understand this as well. Illinois did not only have zero minimal vetting checks because the federal enforcement officers knew he was using an alias. They knew he was not who he says he was. Illinois didn't bother to check 2. Did Illinois help this guy with any health screening? No, there was absolutely not. So Illinois allows folks to roam around the state unchecked, unvetted, unhealth screened. So this guy has HIV in our communities, was let go to roam free. Was he as reckless with his HIV as he was behind the wheel, drunk driving? I suspect he was. So Katie ends up paying a price, a predictable outcome of reckless, extreme, radical policies out of Illinois. And she pays the price. She's on some altar we don't even understand. She dies on some altar of J.B. pritzker and his lap dogs in the general Assembly. So I sit here with a life sentence thanks to my Illinois government, and Katie received the death penalty. She got death. That's it. And Illinois is right now trying to erase us, silence us, make us disappear. We're so inconvenient to their nonsense stories about how there are no illegals in the country that everyone is good and it just goes against human nature how they approach things. It's really rather disgusting and insidious.

[B]

Well, and Joe, you know, CNN, Ms. now refused to Air that ceremony that was honoring your families, that was honoring Katie and Lake and Riley and so many others before it. And I was reading your op ed here, and you sent a letter to J.B. pritzker with 11 questions. And he's, I believe, still not gotten back to you, it sounds like. But you write here, the pain our family has experienced in the last 12 plus months since Katie's death is beyond description. I wish I could explain it to people. The pain is so unbearable at times, it has me almost unable to function. I am haunted by the knowledge that I will never walk my daughter down the aisle. I'll never hold her children. I'll never see her again. I would give anything, anything in the rest of my days for just one more hour with her. It's very emotional to read that. Compare what you've seen from the state of Illinois and President Trump in that ceremony yesterday.

[C]

Oh, you can't even believe the difference. You know, JB Pritzker loves to talk about Donald Trump being authoritarian, this, that and the other. If my firsthand experience is Donald Trump has welcomed us to the White House more than once, has looked me in the eye, father to father, and said, this has been a mess. We're gonna clean it up. And JB Pritzker, compare him, ignored us. I was in the same committee room as he was, just 10ft away from him for eight hours. Didn't say what, didn't even look in my direction. He doesn't even probably know who I am, nor does he care. Jankowski, another woman who, who now is picking her successor. This Daniel Bis guy from Evanson. And you should see Evanson. It's like Chicago Junior, and apparently there's no kings. But in Illinois, you can decide who you're going to appoint to take over your seat. So she's walking by me as if I wasn't there. So there was not one Democrat who would talk to me. And this state is all in Illinois is all run by Democrats. So I need to talk to them. That's who's running this thing. And not one would talk to me. So look at the difference there. This guy is not compassionate. JB Pritzker. He's not a caring man. He is someone who's aloof. He's arrogant. Somehow I think he does it, you know, need the voters. He certainly doesn't. He's not accountable to the voters. He's to me, I think, you know, people are leaving Illinois in droves, and he's backfilling them with this free for all immigration policy. Because I think he needs warm bodies. Here's what I suspect, and I can tell you a story on that, too, if you'd like. I wonder how many ballots are tied to these illegal alien bodies. That's why I think he's arrogant and. And doesn't really need to answer to the voters.

[B]

No, I think that that's. I think a lot of us suspect the same, and we obviously see it because it ends up in the census data, it ends up in electoral college votes, it ends up in congressional apportionment. So whether or not there's ballot to ballot, illegal voting, it's still power that is being given to Democrats one way or the other. Joe, thank you so much for making the time. I know you've got travel and you wedged us in today, so I'm grateful to. I'm grateful for you standing up for your daughter, for angel families all over the country, for being bold and courageous. Thank you so much, and I'm so sorry for yours.

[C]

No, I appreciate you guys. Thank you. Keep up the hard work. Thanks so much.

[B]

Thank you. God bless you, Joe.

[C]

God bless.

[A]

If you're tired of watching this country drift away from the values that made it great, it's time to get involved. That's why I stand with amec, the association of Mature American Citizens.

[B]

Charlie loved this country, and he loved partnering with organizations that truly stand for what makes America great. One of our most trusted partners, amac, the association of Mature American Citizens, is doing something special in Charlie's honor. AMAC is offering free memberships to all ages. No credit card, no strings attached. Just a chance to stand for faith, family, and freedom. Join this movement. Go to AMAC US Charlie today. That is AMAC US Charlie today. It's been kind of a heavy show, Blake, and I think we need to. We need to cleanse the palate here and talk about some good things. All right, so another judge ruling. Ruling came down a motion. It basically suffice to say that they denied the defense's motion. And the death penalty is still very much in place and on track in this case. So that's one good news. Second good news. Erica Kirk, it has just been announced, will be at the State of the Union tonight. It's public, public information now. President Trump has invited her personally, and she will be attending. So that's going all over the Internet right now, which is great. And we have a hockey story that I'm gonna hit. But, Blake, you have a very, very good white pill.

[D]

Andrew, you can hit your party boy thing. I want a White pill for the whole. For America. And a big picture I want to highlight. Flag this big article. Well, not a big article. They're always short on Axios. Axios has an article this morning with a very sinister sounding title, Inside Trump's purge of U.S. immigration courts. You read it. Here's what the purge is. For literally decades, we've gradually built up this incredibly long backlog of cases in our immigration courts, which is obviously deliberate. While you're waiting for your day in court, you of course, have the right to just live in America, do whatever you want, work in America. And the Biden administration sent that into overdrive. They were giving people court dates, two years, three years, I believe, in one case, a court date 10 years out, and then releasing people into the country. And I know people are sometimes frustrated that things feel like they're going slow in the Trump administration or that things, you know, it'll be two steps forward, one step back. But this is a great example of how in the background, they're getting the job done. They're hiring dozens of new immigration judges and they've been training them up. And apparently this month is when they're finally getting into action. And that's important because as is already in the past year, the backlog of cases, the total number of cases they have to process has fallen by 341,000. And this next year, maybe that'll be half a million, 600, a million. And that's really important because when you adjudicate those cases, it goes really fast. Almost all of these you can handle in a matter of hours, if not, if not less. And once you're doing that, that is what allows ICE to just go and say, oh, you have an order of removal. We're taking you, getting you out of the country. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. You make it so much easier for ICE to just grab people, get them out. And it's so great here they just have these quotes where, like, you know, they put this guy, Darren Margolin, in charge of training up the new hires. He was an immigration judge and he quit in 2024 because he said, quote, I felt like a co conspirator in treason regarding the Biden administration's policies. Now he is taking leadership of the Executive Office of Immigration Review, and he is ramming this through. So I wanted to flag that for people to show there are stories that are not getting front page headlines, they're not getting covered on cnn, that we are getting the work done for mass deportations in the years to come. You just Purge those cases. Get it done. Big white pill for today.

[B]

That's a white pill. I love the white. I love white pill, Blake. It's my favorite. Blake. And so when he comes up with these ideas, I'm like, we're gonna find time in the show, Blake. It's perfect. So I love that. And I'm a big immigration hawk, so God bless that. I love how the Axios calls it purge. What a joke. Okay, guys. All right. So here's my. Here's my white pill of the day. The US Men's hockey team is back on US Soil. They are still patriots. They're still sounding like the perfect note. And they had to get rerouted to Miami because of the weather in the northern part of the country. Well, and so what do you do when you're in Miami now? There's a lot of people, oh, you shouldn't be partying. And it's like, okay, loosen up. They just won the gold medal. They're. They're out in, you know, a. A town known for having a nightlife. Okay. And they're. Everybody's filming them. And guess what? They're still singing God bless the USA so here's 378 of the US men's hockey team in Miami last night singing God bless USA. 378. I love it. What do you guys think in the chats? Send us an email freedomarliekirk.com do you love this? Do you love this proud, exuberant patriotism from Team USA after they won the gold? I personally love it. I don't have a problem with Cash Patel enjoying the moment with them either. They invited him in. I think everybody needs to loosen up, have a moment of just pure, unadulterated national pride and relax. Like, stop being a hater. This is great. You may not like that take. I like it. I think it's great. And by the way, here's the other thing I'd say. Blake, here's the thing I would say. You know what they don't love? They don't love masculinity. They don't like an FBI director, like, pounding his chest, pounding the table, throwing back a beer. Okay, maybe you don't drink. That's fine. Charlie didn't drink. I get it. But listen, adults sometimes have a beer, especially after a huge win. They don't like the men's hockey team losing teeth and then draping themselves in the American flag and then going to a club in Miami because they get rerouted to a warmer climate with the Northwestern coming In I'm telling you, what they really have a problem with is unabashed masculine energy. Victory. We're not apologizing for it. And here's what else is great. President Trump promised and he delivered. 405 this is the men's hockey team getting picked up by the president for the State of the Union tonight. 405 look at Miami International Airport. This is where Team USA men's hockey team is on US Air Force 757 plane. This after landing here in South Florida. This is where they of course celebrated their Olympic gold medal.

[D]

A plane headed to Washington D.C. we

[B]

know the team potentially could make an appearance tonight at the State of the Union address.

[D]

All right. But Andrew, that's great. But Andrew, I've got something great for you. The real reason this is amazing is because hockey liberals are a real thing. Apparently there's thousands of them and they're absolutely flipping out. I wanted to flag this so some guy with a trans flag on X he posted. This one is personal. It's a scary time on hockey Twitter right now. We can't become hopeless. And the article is titled don't let them effing take it from you. And they are in full meltdown. So I can agree with you. This is a great celebration.

[B]

You just had to bring us down with that. I love it. Everything's political now. Hi, folks. Andrew Colvett here. I'd like to tell you about my friends over at Yrefi. You've probably been hearing me talk about why refi for some time now. We are all in with these guys. If you or someone you know is struggling with private student loan debt, take my advice and give them a call. Maybe you're behind on your payments. Maybe you're even in default. You don't have to live in this nightmare anymore. Yrefi will provide you a custom payment based on your ability to pay. They tailor each loan individually. They can save you thousands of dollars and you can get your life back. We go to campuses all over America and we see student after student who's drowning in private student loan debt. Many of them don't even know how much they owe. Yrefi can help. Just go to yrefi.com that's the letter Y. Then refi.com and remember why refi doesn't care what your credit score is. Just go to yrefi.com and tell them your friend Andrew sent you. Welcome to the show Kane from Citizen Free Press. I've been checking out your stack all morning, my friend. Thank you for Covering the Charlie Kirk trial right now with Tyler Robinson. It means a lot, and there's some great. We've had some great developments there, so thank you for that. And. But there's so much going on. Kane, we had kind of a heavy show. Blake will attest in the first. I say hour and a half, and we're doing white pill moments. No doomerism on this show right now. So we've got the State of the Union tonight. Kaine, what are you looking for? What notes do you want the president to hit? What do you think your readers at Citizen Free Press want to hear?

[E]

Yeah, those are good questions. You know me, dude. I want to hear about the national debt. I'd love to hear Trump talk about a spending freeze. When you watch Trump every day and have to sort of because of your job, watch all the press conferences like you guys do, like I do, you know, you hear a lot of the same themes repeated. And so I'm a little bit fearful that, you know, as a junkie, that I will have heard everything that I, that Trump's gonna talk about tonight in terms of emphasizing how the economy is better than people say, et cetera, et cetera. But you know me, you know the stack, you saw it yesterday, two headlines in green italics that where I linked to Scott Bessant when he was on Maria Bartiromo show on Sunday morning talking about the national debt. So I would love, you know, that is the part of what I hope for in, you know, in Trump 2.0 is having, you know, control of both Congresses, that maybe we could finally realistically take a look at the big three programs of Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, get those, start getting the conversations going about how to fix those programs. And also, well, and I threw it in as my second headline as a message to Trump yesterday, specifically to him, because I know he reads the site that, you know, that make that, make this his legacy, make, you know, fixing the national debt his legacy. And so that's what I'd like to hear.

[B]

Well, you know, Charlie, the first clips that you'll see of Charlie on tv, it was all about the national debt. He was obsessed with it and remained obsessed with it. He was a fiscal hawk his whole life. And, you know, I would say, I would say that a balanced budget. Blake is skeptical. I know, I know Blake's skeptical, but a balanced budget would be a massive, massive accomplishment. I totally agree. We do have to go ahead.

[D]

I'm just, I think a way that he could maybe at least gesture towards that. The past six months We've had story after story of massive fraud in government, a massive fraud of federal programs, Medicaid, every federal program getting looted in Minnesota, in Maine, in Washington, in California. I think if you made that a big theme of his address about, oh, we're going to have a detailed auditing task force that will identify, arrest, stop the fraud, deport the people committing it, I think that would be a good way to at least make gestures towards the debt. Even if I'm skeptical this administration is ready to. They're not going to, I don't think they're going to take big steps on Social Security or any of those big items.

[B]

Well, you know, I go back to Cain and you're a financial guy. People don't know that your background is in finance. But the tweet from Mark Halperin that we actually made a lot of, we actually had Mark Halpern on the show to talk about it. Apparently, Fabrizio, one of the main pollsters for President Trump, did a whole presentation and he outlined these sort of, I would call them populist economic wins and how to message, how to get through. Because this sticky issue of the economy, people still don't feel the momentum. I mean, they came out, we're coming out of four years of Biden inflation and they're still not feeling that relief. So Fabrizio's got these ideas of like, you know, ban stock trading for Congress. Right. You get these scalps, these, these actionable wins that would start kind of piercing the noise and getting into the population, the voting population. What do you think about the economic messaging, Kane, specifically tonight?

[E]

Yeah, well, I read the Fabrizio stuff last week and it was, it was good. And he makes a good point about getting some wins, getting to what Blake said. He, Blake is right. Fraud beating fraud, polls. Really, really. Well, Mark Mitchell of Rasmussen has sort of talked about it. He had a piece up talking about how Trump was doing the best, actually doing the best poll wise, when Doge was in the was Doge was in the news. And then, you know, that maybe the missed opportunity in Minnesota was instead of concentrating on the, on the deportation and the ICE part, maybe concentrating more on the fraud part because, you know, a lot more of America can get behind the fraud stuff in terms of, you know, a bold move towards Social Security, which Blake also mentioned. Yeah, I don't expect that. I just want the conversations to start, you know, let's start talking about how we slowly raise the retirement age from 67 to 70 over 30 years. You know, nothing quick, you know, so that people don't freak out. Another, you know, a thought I have about why people don't really feel the economy getting better is to be honest, it's, it's interest rates. I've got my neighbors across the street who are stuck in their house. They, they're the greatest people. They've got four amazing young athletes under 10. They homeschool these kids and they're stuck in this tiny lot. Why? Because of interest rates. Their homes at 3% loan. And so anyway, I think that'll be huge. I put a headline in today about Austan Goolsbee, who used to be Obama's economic guru, about how he's still saying he won't lower rates. Thank goodness Kevin Warsh will be able to. So, and by the way, I watch CNBC on mute most of the day and you know, the 30 year mortgage has finally dipped under 6%. It's 5.99. Now granted, that's, that's still big. You know, those are still a big number compared to three and the three and a half percent. But it's going to get better and I think that'll help.

[B]

Well, so, yeah, I wouldn't mind.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Now there was a, there was a story out of Fox Business this morning that the purchasing power of home buyers is up over $30,000 under Trump, partly because of interest rates, but also partly because of rising incomes. And so as those interest rates continue to tick down, people are going to experience a little bit more flexibility. It's the, you know, I think the Zillow quote in there was it's the difference between having to settle and being able to actually choose a home you want to live in. So it makes a huge, huge difference for home buyers just to have even 30, $50,000 more money on the table to be able to buy a home. So, but continue, you were, you were

[E]

going to, well, whatever, I think that's going to help. I really think that'll help people's, you know, sentiment towards the economy. And look, I think that, you know, I think Trump is doing okay. I pay attention to Rasmussen approval. I don't really, I mean, I look at all the other approval numbers that come out, but I really pay attention to Rasmussen's Daily Tracker and you know, Trump slash Republican. Let's say it's J.D. vance in three years or in two years, you know, he can win. We can, we can pull it off in these numbers. You guys know that I'm not super optimistic about the midterms, right? Because what did, how many Did Trump lose in 2018? He lost almost 40 seats or he did lose 40 seats in the House. So the House is going to be very tough. I think we hold the Senate just because of the numbers. And, and you know, it's so vital for our movement, so vital that we, that you know, that we win in 2028. The JD wins. And last thing I'll say before I throw it back. I thought it was a great discussion on that Atlantic article that you guys had that, you know that if I have that in the stack from yesterday. If you care about America, you're obviously a Nazi. Like that's how far you know, that's just, it's just such ridiculous tribe from the Democrats. I hate these people. Anyway.

[B]

Well, okay, since you kind of brought it up. And then by the way, Huffington Post said, if you're feeling uncomfortable being patriotic, you're not alone. But we got to hit Don Lamond. It's one of our favorite things to do on this show. He's going after the hockey teams here. 369.

[F]

Look, I don't understand why anyone would be, want to be in the vicinity of this president at all. Just being honest. If they called on the phone call, I would say no thank, no thanks. I don't. Do you want to take the call?

[D]

No.

[F]

Tell them to call someone else. I'm not interested in being part of this. I'm not interested in being part of this when he doesn't. He is not a patron. He doesn't care about this country. He doesn't care about the people of this country. He certainly doesn't. If you look at the citizens who are being rounded up. If you look at what he's doing to the economy, what he's done to health care. He doesn't care about this country. So why should I be smiling and kikiing. No, not interested. I'll go party and celebrate somewhere else. I'll wait till I get home to go and party and celebrate with my family and maybe like a real president, maybe we'll, maybe one day Barack Obama will come to our game.

[B]

Oh, of course, of course. Barack Obama. By the way, that's a 60 year old man talking like a little petulant child. Kane, your reaction to Don Lamont?

[E]

He's about as popular as month old convenience store sushi. I don't know, dude. I don't. I mean, by the way, there's some awesome video, there's some awesome hilarious videos about, about Don Lamont on Twitter going back about 10 years. Excuse me, on YouTube. Whatever. The guy's irrelevant. He speaks to his audience, you know, he's, he's there for our outrage. Just whatever. He, you know, he got fired from cnn. Sorry, dude. Like, not a fan.

[B]

It's just, it's really, it's, it's really a shame that we can't have bipartisan patriotism anymore. It's just a shame. It's a shame what they've done to the country.

[E]

It's the disease, right? It's the Trump brain worm. So whatever.

[B]

Kane, I have to spill the beans here a little bit. That picture that you see on your screen, if you're watching right now, is inaccurate. I have seen. There's facial hair, there's. You have a whole new look going on. Kane.

[E]

Show it.

[B]

I don't want to, I don't want to divulge too much here.

[E]

Show it. Show it.

[B]

Pull the. Well, I gotta pull it up now. I. Listen, I'll pull it up right out. But here, here's while, while we're doing this. Okay, hold on. I got it, I got it. We'll get it up just for you.

[E]

What it is, it's gonna be nine. Nine years on May 1st for this website. And running this website. I didn't realize that when I showed up in Detroit last summer, I lost like 20 pounds slowly by just basic attrition. Because, you know, you wait, let's say you wake up in the morning and you think, do I need food or do I need to check the headlines? And when your office is like 14ft away from your bed, like, you end up in the office. And then, and then, right, you work until. There you go. There's the front yard. Yeah, that's after a work.

[B]

So that's, that's a beard. That's a beard. Kate, I think you, you have a. You have an oddly shaped beard. I, I appreciate it. It's, it's, it's powerful. You're a man possessed.

[E]

Yeah. Thank you. Yes.

[C]

So that's.

[E]

My weight is back up. People will be happy to know that the last year and a half, I've been getting back in the gym three, four days a week. I sneak out of. Of the. Of CFP headquarters, get in the gym. You know, that beard is why I never appear on camera for the. I don't, you know, I don't even get showers until like 5 or 6 o' clock at night. Because, listen, you wake up. I don't want to say I wake up in a panic every morning, but you sort of wake up and, and you know, that like you missed headlines during the six hours while you're sleeping.

[B]

Yeah, Listen, Kane, you got to take care of your health, and you got that. Charlie was always big on the health. And personal hygiene is also very important. Okay, Two elephants in the room at the State of the Union. Kane, that's Iran in the Epstein files. What do you make of both, especially Iran? What are you seeing from CFP Nation, especially on Iran?

[E]

Well, yeah, that's a good question about what the people think. Obviously, a huge part of the America first thing is not to want to get involved in foreign wars. So there's a natural trepidation that exists and that's there, but at the same time, it's a trust. You know, there's a trust Trump vibe. People really do trust him. Look, remember when in Trump 1.0 when he sent cruise missiles into Syria and people freaked out for 24 hours. Oh, my God. And that's all it was, was, was a short little Reagan burst. If people, you guys aren't old enough, but Reagan took care of Gaddafi with some cruise missiles in the 80s. I remember it. And, and it was just, it was just, you know, 12 hours of bombing and we got our point across. So anyway, people trust Trump. So I don't think that people are radically freaked out, if you're asking, you know, I've had a lot of people sort of ask me, what are the odds? What do I see happening there? Look, I would say that, that Iran has been given fair warning. You know, Trump doesn't. Trump is well aware of that, of that, what they say about him on Wall street, the taco trade. And when it comes to these foreign policy things, Trump doesn't fool around. So I think Iran bet, you know, I put it in the stack yesterday. There's going to be meetings in Geneva, I think, on Thursday. Iran supposedly has a new proposal on getting rid of nukes, but if they don't do it, you know, this will be the last thing I'll say. You know, there was that Axio story yesterday that said that Trump's biggest, you know, his top general, Raisin Cain, maybe was showing a little bit of, of caution about bombing in Iran. And then Trump himself almost immediately put out a long message on Truth Social that you alerted me to, by the way, Andrew. And I hadn't seen Trump's response to that. And that was important. I think, you know, you can, you can figure out a lot by seeing how Trump is reacting to certain stories. So the fact that he, he, he said that, no, that raising Cain really wasn't worried and that Axios got the story wrong. I think it tells you that Iran should be worried, that the mullahs should be worried. And then I'll quickly say on Epstein, well, go ahead. If you want to respond on that, go ahead.

[B]

Well, yeah, I'm going to respond on that. Just quickly. I got asked by Politico about people invoking Charlie's name with this Iran strike. And I was very clear with him. I said, yeah, Charlie was America first to his core. He wanted a nation build in America. He didn't want foreign adventurism, none of it. But when it came to the first Iran strike, you heard a lot more chatter. There was a lot more people getting up in arms about it. And Charlie stood the course. He was adamant, hey, we do not want foreign adventurism. We do not want nation building abroad. We want nation building here at home. But at the end of the day, this is why we elected President Trump to lead the military, to lead this nation. At some point you have to say, this is their job. They need to do the best they can. They need to make the best decisions they can. And I think you're seeing that after Venezuela, which was incredible by any metric, what they did in Iran the first time. I think people understand Trump is a high violence, precision attack kind of guy when it comes to kinetic warfare. Now, do we want to avoid, you know, a regime change, drawn out conflict? Absolutely. Can they do that here? Question remains, we don't know. We don't know what's going to happen. And I think Blake made a good point yesterday when he said that, you know, we, we haven't really been sold on the case for this conflict yet either. Blake, I don't know if you have any thoughts there, because you're great on this.

[D]

Yeah, I think, honestly, if they need to make a case, State of the Union is as good a time as any. But I think as things stand out, I think this is what, what Charlie would be most frustrated about is if you are going to launch a regime change war, which I think at this point, strikes of the magnitude they seem to be planning would have to be. You need to be able to, in, you know, a handful of sentences say why this is invaluable for America's national interests and national security. And right now, I think if it were to happen, I think people would just be confused and they would say, why now? Why not a month ago? Why not last summer? Why not 10 years ago? What is special about this moment? And at that point, you're just banking on if it's super successful, that justifies itself. If it's super successful and there are no American deaths, then that's great. But if there's any casualties at all, that's where the lack of a clear explanation becomes a big albatross.

[E]

These are difficult decisions, right? I don't. None of us envy the president having to make these very difficult decisions, but regime change through airstrikes is not easy to. You have The Ayatollah hiding 300ft underground in bunkers, so you don't even know that a certain amount of bombing is going to get rid of them. And then you have to deal with the fact that there are hundreds of other mullahs to replace them. I mean, Iran is a fully structured theocracy now after 40 years. And it's not, you know, just getting rid of the ayatollah or a few others won't necessarily lead. So these are all difficult decisions. But we trust in President Trump. We trust. And I think the base completely trusts him. As you said eloquently. He. He's earned this trust.

[B]

Yeah. Well said. And by the way, today at 3:00pm CIA Director John Ratcliffe is set to join Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a classified briefing on Iran. All right, Kane, well done, my friend. Blake, well done in Phoenix. We'll see you guys tomorrow. Tonight's the State of the Union, and we'll be streaming it on Charlie Kirk show channels. Check us out there.

[D]

For more on many of these stories and news you can Trust, go to charliekirk.com.