The Tudor Dixon Podcast: Charlie Kirk Assassination: Free Speech, Political Violence, and America’s Future with Rob Chadwick

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Tudor Dixon Podcast – Charlie Kirk Assassination: Free Speech, Political Violence, and America’s Future

Date: September 12, 2025
Host: Tudor Dixon
Guest: Rob Chadwick, US Concealed Carry Association Principal Training Advisor, retired FBI Academy Tactical Training Unit Head

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Overview of the Episode

This emotionally charged episode of The Tudor Dixon Podcast addresses the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and prominent voice in the movement for free speech, faith, and family values. Tudor Dixon, visibly shaken, is joined by Rob Chadwick—a law enforcement veteran with decades of experience in FBI tactical operations—to unpack the meaning, context, and ramifications of the attack. Together, they discuss the rise of political violence, its impact on America’s discourse, and how conservatives should respond to this moment of threat and heartbreak. The episode is a call for resilience, courage, and the defense of civil dialogue in the face of intimidation and tragedy.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Opening Reflections and the Tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

• Tudor Dixon opens with personal grief and emphasizes the shock and sense of vulnerability in the conservative speaking community ([03:06]):

  "So many of us on a regular basis go to events like that...and we really don't think that what happened to Charlie Kirk...an assassination of a human life for speaking, will ever happen. But it did."

• Rob Chadwick offers condolences, stressing the importance of civil discourse as foundational to America ([04:57]):

  "We are a nation built on the freedom of speech...what you saw yesterday was an act of terrorism."

• Chadwick contextualizes the assassination as a deliberate act to frighten and silence, drawing parallels to historical moments of national trauma and recent attacks.

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2. Free Speech, Martyrdom, and the “Terrorism” Label

• Chadwick defines the shooting as terrorism:

  “Terrorism is defined as an act that is designed to cause fear and so dissension and undermine the fabric of a society...It’s exactly what we saw yesterday.” ([04:57])

• Both emphasize that silencing voices through violence or intimidation is antithetical to American values.
• Dixon:

  “We're not going to be silenced. We're not going to be quiet. They've tried to quiet us every way possible. And this is the worst.” ([08:20])

• Both highlight Kirk’s legacy of advocating for traditional family values, faith, and responsible public engagement.

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3. Why Kirk Was Targeted: Persuasive, Non-Violent Advocacy

• Chadwick objects strongly to media characterizations of Kirk as a “right-wing provocateur,” instead calling him a “champion of open discourse” ([10:08]):

  “It is outrageous to say that...what he was, was a champion of open discourse, the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion.”

• Dixon argues that Kirk's focus on reviving the family unit and traditional values was a particular threat to ideological opponents ([08:20]):

  “He could bring family back to this country. Because family cannot be broken...That scared the left so badly.”

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4. Analysis of the Assassination: Security, Planning, and Impact

• Chadwick provides a security expert’s perspective, explaining how heavily advertised events present vulnerabilities ([12:45]):

  “Whatever is predictable is exploitable...Very simple to figure out...where Charlie was going to be.”

• Downplays complex conspiracy theories, noting that moderate planning and discipline can enable such an attack; the method did not require high professional skill ([13:53])
• Both agree that leaving the rifle at the scene points away from a highly professional "hit" ([15:11]).

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5. The Threat to Civil Discourse and the Temptation to Retaliate

• Chadwick urges conservatives not to be provoked into anger or violence:

  “They want you to react. They want you to show your anger and your lack of judgment. Deprive them of that. The best thing you can do is take that stoic approach...” ([20:46])

• He shares a personal story about holding the line during the post-George Floyd D.C. protests, emphasizing the constitutional right to protest and the responsibility to uphold it—even for views one opposes.

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6. Navigating Grief, Anger, and Maintaining “Happy Warrior” Attitude

• Dixon references Greg Gutfeld’s observation that, “Republicans just don't radicalize well” and reflects on the temptation toward anger after such atrocities.
• Both agree that the conservative response must be rooted in love, faith, and patient dialogue:

  “His [Kirk’s] message was a message of love...Our fighting is so much different than theirs. It's not fighting with hate.” ([22:50])

• Chadwick recommends “radical stoicism”:

  “Drive people bananas by your lack of letting them provoke your reaction...your actions do not get to change who I am and what I believe in.” ([25:18])

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7. The Role of Media and the Assault on Institutions

• Both criticize the media’s role in fueling division and sensationalizing tragedy, with Dixon condemning networks for misleading coverage and “clickbait” narratives ([28:29]).
• Chadwick remarks on how media and hostile forces undermine institutions such as churches, schools, and law enforcement, echoing former Soviet psychological warfare strategies ([29:26]).

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8. The Broader Crisis: Erosion of Community, Institutions, and Boundaries

• Both discuss the deliberate dismantling of pillars of community (church, family, functional schools, effective police), especially in urban areas ([31:17]).
• Dixon:

  “We took whole communities and we ignored them and we took away any safety, protection. Then you took the police away...it's about destruction.” ([32:05])

• Chadwick:

  “…We've just lost our ability to say no. You can't tell an individual no anymore...We have supplanted the needs of society and cater to the needs of the extreme fringe few.” ([33:01])

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9. Processing Public Violence and Charting a Path Forward

• Dixon and Chadwick reference the escalation of political violence—listing recent assassinations and assassination attempts as a sign America is at (or beyond) a boiling point ([37:22]).
• Both reflect on generational change in American politics, comparing today’s zero-sum hostility to the collegial differences of previous decades.
• Chadwick:

  “We must get out of this zero sum game because it is a recipe for disaster. And our enemies, both domestically and foreign, are laughing all the way to the bank...We're the only ones that can put that out, though.” ([41:16])

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• "What you saw yesterday was an act of terrorism."
  — Rob Chadwick ([04:57])
• "We're not going to be silenced. We're not going to be quiet."
  — Tudor Dixon ([08:20])
• "Whatever is predictable is exploitable."
  — Rob Chadwick ([12:45])
• "The best thing you can do is take that stoic approach...We’re better than this. We’re better than you because we believe in the freedom of speech."
  — Rob Chadwick ([20:46])
• "We are the party that cares for you. We are the party of family...Our fighting is so much different than theirs. It's not fighting with hate."
  — Tudor Dixon ([22:50])
• "Embrace radical stoicism...control our actions. Be that stoic professional. Still stand for American values..."
  — Rob Chadwick ([25:18])
• "If you can tell people that speech is violence, then you can respond to speech with violence."
  — Tudor Dixon ([28:43])
• "We are all Americans. That’s the first and foremost."
  — Rob Chadwick ([27:19])
• "We're the only ones that can put that out, though."
  — Rob Chadwick on fixing the nation’s divisions ([41:16])
• "Don't let them win. Don't let them...Thank you."
  — Rob Chadwick ([42:22])
• "They may have broken our hearts, but they will not crush our spirit."
  — Tudor Dixon ([42:28])

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Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment & Key Topics | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:06 | Tudor Dixon’s emotional opening and introduction of Rob Chadwick | | 04:57 | Chadwick defines the assassination as terrorism, national reflection | | 08:20 | Dixon on silence, faith, and family as central to Kirk’s message | | 10:08 | Media coverage and the importance of civil debate | | 12:45 | Event security, predictability, vulnerability analysis | | 20:46 | Chadwick on the right way to respond: stoicism, resisting provocation | | 22:50 | Conservative movement's values, love vs. hate, Gutfeld quote | | 25:18 | “Radical stoicism” as new standard for engagement | | 29:26 | Erosion of civil institutions, the "playbook" of social division | | 32:05 | Urban violence, neglect of communities, defunding police | | 37:22 | Surge in political violence, generational change in politics | | 41:16 | Zero-sum politics, American responsibility for healing | | 42:28 | Closing calls to resilience, hope, and faithful action |

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Episode Takeaways

• The assassination of Charlie Kirk is viewed as a targeted strike against free speech and American values—an act of terrorism by all definitions discussed.
• Both Dixon and Chadwick advocate for a courageous but restrained response: continued advocacy, stoicism, and a refusal to descend into hate or violence.
• The episode critiques both the breakdown of traditional institutions and the divisive role of modern media.
• Emphasis is placed on the importance of reclaiming respectful debate, community values, and resilience as the antidotes to America’s current crisis.

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Final Words

This episode stands out for its blend of raw emotion, insider security analysis, and a plea for principled, faithful perseverance. It urges listeners—and by extension, the conservative movement—not to be cowed or corrupted by violence, but to honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk through unwavering commitment to free speech, civil discourse, and love-driven activism.

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Transcript

[Tudor Dixon]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Tudor Dixon]

Welcome to the Tudor Dixon Podcast. This one's a little bit different, guys, because we have all been through a real tragedy in the last few days and we are all really broken up about it. And interestingly, before that even happened, we had Rob on the schedule to come on this podcast. And it's like God plans things out for us, doesn't he? And I'm like asking God right now, get me through this, because I have really struggled the past few days with Charlie's death. But we have Rob Chadwick here with us today. He is the United States Concealed Carry association principal training advisor and just so happens to be a 30 year law enforcement veteran and the former head of the tactical training unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico. Rob knows all about this. He's trained elite teams, he's led SWAT operations, and he's served as the protection detail for six U.S. attorneys general. Rob, I said, I don't know if I can do this. And I really didn't know if I could do this. But you're like, so gracious. You talked me through this and got me to start recording because I knew that your message is so important because you know so much more about this than we do. And I look at what happened and I think, gosh, so many of us on a regular basis go to events like that and speak. And maybe we have security, a few guys like Charlie did, maybe we don't. And we really don't think that what's what happened to Charlie Kirk, that an assassination on speech for speaking, an assassination of a human life for speaking, will ever happen. But it did. So tell us from your perspective what happened.

[Rob Chadwick]

Tudor, let me start by saying thank you for this opportunity and I'm sorry. I know you and Charlie knew each other and many of your colleagues knew him. Well, I did not know or ever get a chance to meet Charlie, but I was a long time admirer of his, specifically his courage and grace in trying to foster what is most important in American society. And that is civil discourse, right? We, we are a nation built on the freedom of speech and, you know, hopefully mutual respect. And what I want people, you know, today on all days, right, of 911 remembrance day of the terrorist attack that happened to us almost 25 years, 24 years ago. I, of course, remember it well. I was a special agent assigned to the Miami division and will remember that day. Like many of the previous generation remember the day Kennedy was shot. And unfortunately, this next generation remember yesterday, the day Charlie Kirk was shot on, you know, basically broadcast everywhere. Everyone was talking about it. And I want people and I want your listeners and I want you to take this and sort of reframe because there is no doubt about it, what you saw yesterday was an act of terrorism. All right? Terrorism is defined as an act that is designed to cause fear and so dissension and undermine the fabric of a society and get you to change your behaviors through terrorist acts. Right? And that's exactly what we saw yesterday. It's exactly what we saw. You know, when. When the healthcare CEO is assassinated, I will never name these shooters, but you know, that, that, that assassinated, you know, the healthcare CEO up in New York. And then we had two political. One near assassination and one attempted up in Michigan. I believe there was the attempt at Governor Whitmer not too long ago. These are all designed to get us to change not only what we do and what we say, but who we are as an American people. All right? What we cannot do is continue to allow the fringe few, whether it's the far left or the far right, it doesn't matter, the fringe few, to dictate what is important and how we as an American people react. Okay? And Charlie Kirk, more than anybody I know, was that champion. I actually, as somebody who was a lot older than him, tried to emulate his style and his gracefulness and his graciousness in that respectful discourse. Right. Face to face, agree to disagree, never name calling, but also the courage to stand up for what he knew to be right, what he knew to be correct. And just a. You know, I would consider him an absolute martyr because that's what the definition of a martyr is, too. And so what we cannot do is allow us to be lured into that reaction that these people want. These fringe lunatics want us to be angry and divisive and violent. It's not who we are.

[Tudor Dixon]

Well, or they want us to be quiet. And I think that's the. That's the thing, that's the reason I'm doing this today, is that we're not going to be silenced. We're not going to be quiet. They've tried to quiet us every way possible. And this is the worst. I mean, we've been through years of silencing in the media, silencing on Social media, we've been through years of lawfare. We've seen now two assassination attempts on a president. But really, I think so many of us who just speak, who speak the truth and speak the gospel, and I think that was one of the biggest takeaways for me of this is that Charlie Kirk was out there every day preaching. It wasn't just politics for him, and I didn't always agree with his politics, but where his faith was, where his promotion of family, that I think that was what they feared the most actually was the idea that he could potentially bring family back to this country. Because family cannot be broken. Family is a bond like no other. It is so hard to break that family bond. And they have spent, the left has spent decades breaking the family bond and it took them that long. And Charlie Kirk has been doing this for 12 years. And in 12 years, he started to change the young men in this country to say, I want that bond, I want that family. I want a wife, I want children. And he was getting to the women. The women aren't there yet, I'll admit. I see that the women are taking a little bit longer. But he was getting the men to that point where they said, gosh, yeah, I want that traditional family. And that scared the left so badly. Then instead of debating him, instead of arguing with him, they went out and assassinated him.

[Rob Chadwick]

Yeah, you hit. You're spot on, right. The reason they assassinated him was because he was so effective. It wasn't because he was this. Actually, I was disgusted this morning when I saw, I believe it was the New York Times. It was one of the New York papers and I'll have to figure out exactly which one it was. But one of the New York papers characterized Charlie Kirk as a right wing provocateur. And that is just. That's just not correct. I'm sorry, that's outrageous to say that what he was, was a champion of open discourse. The freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the freedom to debate our fellow citizens in a peaceful, respons, respectful manner. And that is powerful. When we see someone like, you know what, I don't disagree or I don't necessarily agree with him or her, but they make a. They make a persuasive argument in a respectful way. That is powerful, that is dangerous. And that is why he was removed. And I will tell you, his. His young, beautiful children, his wife, his entire family, I know that they are just devastated. They are just, just ruined over this. But they have so much to be proud of in that man. He. More for the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, American values than many, many people that I could even think of. I mean, it just. He is a hero and is now all time hero.

[Tudor Dixon]

And he preached a message of happiness, a message that there is a life out there on this earth that is good and there's a life beyond this. There is an eternal life as well. And that you can make the most of this life by following God and following God's teachings. And they, they just hated that. I really believe that they hated that because he didn't believe that you could change your gender because you can't. And the fact that he spoke that truth made people crazy. I mean, and now we're hearing today that some of the bullets on this gun had some trans, anti or pro transgender messaging on it. Or it's something. We're just hearing bits and pieces of what's going on. I think a lot of people are saying, how could this happen? You look at the diagr and for me, I look at this and I'm like, did somebody know where he would be? Because this shooter was on a roof that was very, I mean, very far from where he was. They had to be good at what they were doing. They knew how to get away, they knew what to wear. What is your. When you look at what happened, how did it happen?

[Rob Chadwick]

I want to start by saying that again, you hit it right on the head. This was an advertised, heavily advertised event, right? It was a, it's a part of his tour. And so I always tell people, you know, you can apply this to your life. I apply it to my life. People should apply this. Whatever is predictable is exploitable. Okay? So if I know where you're going to be, just like, just like the assassination in New York City, right? That was a heavily publicized event where all the shareholders or the executive officers were going to be. And we know that that assassin stalked the CEO because it was predictable. We knew exactly where he's going to be. Same thing with Charlie Kirk. Okay. Very simple to figure out. Well, he's going to be in this amphitheater and you could see the seating on. It's. He's going to be right there. And so I don't believe, you know, there's lots of conspiracy theories and I understand that. Right? It's lots of salacious.

[Tudor Dixon]

We want to know.

[Rob Chadwick]

We want to know.

[Tudor Dixon]

That's, you know, that's where the human mind goes. The human mind is like, I can figure this out, but we have no idea.

[Rob Chadwick]

We have no idea. And, and, and I will tell you. And, and, and, and it's, it's. Generally speaking, the most simple answer is usually the one that comes out. I tend to doubt. I don't know anything. Right. I'm not in the FBI anymore. I tend to doubt this was a professional hit or this was somebody who was determined actually put some planning into it, but with just a little bit of discipline, a little bit of forethought and a little bit of planning. That was a relatively easy thing to accomplish. I hate to say a 200 yard shot with a modern hunting rifle and a. In a sighted end, that's, that's all day long for the average shooter, especially from a position where they are stable. And it looked like this person was probably in a prone position, which is exactly as a former sniper. That's how you, that's the ideal position is mo most points of contact with the ground so there's no movement. And then you have that he had all day long to line up his sights and take the shot when he wanted to. And that's what happened. So I don't think it was necessarily this professional type of thing. It didn't take a high level of skill or sophistication. It took a little bit of discipline, a little bit of planning and obviously they had good information on where Charlie was going to be. And that is what is exploitable, unfortunately.

[Tudor Dixon]

Well, they found the weapon or they believe they found the weapon and that leads me to believe that it wasn't professional because I would imagine you don't leave your weapon behind. But I don't know. I mean, I really am asking you.

[Rob Chadwick]

I agree. You know, the fact that they found. My understanding again, is that they found a rifle wrapped up in a towel in the woods nearby. You know, I can guarantee you that the FBI, the atf, every resource available to the federal, state, local governments will be devoted to grinding on this. Right? There's one thing I guarantee you is that once the FBI gets their sights set on you, you were going to be found. The ATF is just the same, right? They, they will move heaven and earth as they should, because again, this is not just a murder. This is an act of terrorism. This is an attack against our country, against our values, against our fabric. I, I know the President is going to authorize and I know Director Patel will move heaven and earth to, to. To make sure that we apprehend this suspect. Bring them to justice, no matter what.

[Tudor Dixon]

As we mourn today, we also remember that nearly two years ago, terrorists murdered more than 1200 innocent Israelis and took 250 hostages. Today. It seems as if the cries of the dead and the dying have been drowned out by these crazy shouts of anti Semitic hatred. And the most brutal attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust has been forgotten. But this is not the case. As the world looks away, there is a light shining in this darkness. It's a movement of love and support for the people of Israel called Flags of Fellowship, and it's organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. On October 5, just a few weeks away, millions across America will prayerfully plant an Israeli flag in honor and solidarity with the victims of October 7, 2023 and their grieving families. And now you can be a part of this movement too. To get more information about how you can join the Flags of Fellowship movement, visit the fellowship [e-mail] that's ifcj.org go there now and join the movement.

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[Tudor Dixon]

What do you think the next steps are for the conservative movement? I mean, obviously we, we see Charlie as the leader of this grassroots movement for young people. And I think that turning point is obviously rocked. And we are all rocked. And I've heard people saying, okay, this event's not safe anymore. We'll cancel this event. We'll keep this event. Well, how do we, how do we manage this? And you've seen some people because the shooter has not been found. I think that there are people who are saying, I don't want to go out and do anything just yet because I have a family, I have kids.

[Rob Chadwick]

You know, and, you know, and that, and in the very short term, that's wise, okay? If there is another highly publicized event, you know, maybe you do share, but long term, you ask, what, what do we do? And what we do is we don't let them win. All right? We take the high road. Always, always take the high road. Even when it's painful, even when it's, you know, our gut inst. I was so angry last night, I had to walk for hours. I just went out for a long walk by myself to try to collect my thoughts and my initial, you know, like many of us, probably doom scrolling, right? And seeing all these despicable human beings posting these horrible, you know, I'll call them rage baiting type of posts about celebrating the death of this, this young father. That is a form of terrorism. Don't forget that. They want you to react. They want you to show your rear end. They want you to show your ang. Anger and your, you know, lack of judgment and poise, deprive them of that. The best thing you can do is take that stoic approach that, you know what? We're better than this. We're better than you because we believe in the freedom of speech. You disagree with me. I actually swore a oath to defend your right to do that. Right. I was. I was in D.C. when they were rioting right after George Floyd was killed. All right? I was. My unit was called up from Quantico to try to help quell that rioting that was going on in around Lafayette Park. And here are these people who are yelling and spitting and screaming, but the entire time reminding myself and all the other agents that were there, guys, these are American citizens. They're Amer. Most of them are American citizens. They have a right to peacefully protest. And I swore an oath to do that. And I think all Americans should respect that. Now, does it make me angry? Yes, it makes me angry. But I absolutely respect their right to do so. And if you can rise above that, that. That is the ultimate revenge, is to not react, not take the bait, so to speak.

[Tudor Dixon]

You know, Greg Gutfeld said on the 5 after this was announced, he said, you know, Republicans, we just don't radicalize well. We just. That's not who we are. That's not our party. And I think his point was, you know, at this point, we're all really mad right now. I think we're all really devastated. You know, and I. And I had a similar experience to you. I was walking and I'm getting my kids ready for bed, and it's all going through my mind. And I was thinking, I'm really sad right now, just really heartbroken for his family, for our movement. But we're going to get angry because I know those are the stages. We're going to get angry. And you make such a great point. Angry isn't what Charlie would want. Angry wasn't his movement. Angry is their side. And I've been thinking about this all day. I'm like, his message was a message of love. And I know sometimes it was tough love, and sometimes, like I said, I didn't agree with. With what the message was at all. But the overarching message of, we are the party that cares for you. We are the party of family. Tell us why you don't believe in life. Tell us why you don't believe in gender. Why? Tell us why you don't believe in these things. And he listened and he let them tell him why. But the other side puts out these things in their yard and say, love is love. And There is no hate here. But it's like they've reversed that word. It's like they've taken love over and changed, brainwashed people to believe that hate is love. And I think it's because it's a movement where you have to have hate to keep going. It's a movement where you have to be a victim and there has to be an oppressor. And because the only way you can get those people on your side is that you cannot help yourself. You need us to help you. And Charlie's message was very different. It was. You have all of the resources right here. This is your country. You are the people. You are the disciples. You are the people that build the family. And they hated that. And I just keep thinking about how the devil is real and he is powerful and he wins battles, but we don't stop fighting. And our fighting is so much different than theirs. It's not fighting with hate.

[Rob Chadwick]

You're spot on. You mentioned radicalization, and Gutfeld is right. The right doesn't radicalize. I would challenge us, though, to embrace radicalism in a different way. I try to embrace radical stoicism, all right? Drive people bananas by your lack of letting them provoke your reaction. All right? We all learn as children we can't control people's actions. We cannot. And this is the United States. We're not supposed to. Right. What we can control is our reaction to their actions. All right? And as you mentioned, Jesus and the biblical teachings, look how just insane he drove the devil right by not rising to the bait. Right. Not acting as he thought he should. That is the ultimate revenge that we can play is. Is to control our actions. Be that stoic professional. Still stand for American values, still stand for that. Right? Hey, you know what? I can't stand what you're putting on social media, but I respect your right to do it.

[Christina Quinn]

It.

[Rob Chadwick]

I absolutely respect your right to do it. And I always will. And you're not going to make me angry enough, you know, to. To change my mind. You're not going to change me. Your actions do not get to change who I am and what I believe in.

[Tudor Dixon]

I had a friend reach out to me last night and said, I don't know if you knew Charlie or not. I didn't agree with what he said. I didn't like anything that he said, but I imagine that it's tough and I'm sorry, and nobody deserves to have this happen to them. And I thanked her, and she said, but honestly, how do you think we get through this? Because the country is at a boiling point, we're on different sides of the aisle. And I said back to her, this is how we talk. We say we disagree, but we still love each other.

[Rob Chadwick]

That's right. We are all Americans. That's the first and foremost, right? We always, you know, there's plenty of my family members that I deeply love and deeply disagree with, but I would do anything for them. Anything.

[Tudor Dixon]

Right.

[Rob Chadwick]

They're my family members. Right.

[Tudor Dixon]

I would do anything for the person who posts something horrible that I vehemently disagree with. And, and I've seen, and I, I have to say that this is not the left as a whole. And that would be unfair to say that because I have seen left wing influencers who have come out in tears and said this isn't what this is about. And you know, we're here to talk. We can't believe it, we're devastated. And so I, and I'm not belittling the fact that the media has created this problem and I fully support the blame on the media. I mean, my gosh, this happens. And you have MSNBC saying, oh, it was probably a celebratory shot from one of his supporters. It's like, I can't even comprehend how sick that is.

[Rob Chadwick]

It's a, it's, Remember the media is not the media of our grandparents.

[Tudor Dixon]

No, it's not.

[Rob Chadwick]

It is a pay for play. It is clickbait all the time, eyeballs. They are playing to their audience. They're in there, you know, the more they can be sensational, the more they get their struggling network to be mentioned. Right? Like that's what they want.

[Tudor Dixon]

And I think that's part of the problem with society today is that these, these radical news agencies decided that the only way they could compete with the message, the good message of the conservatives, the good message of joy and happiness and godliness was to try to damage society. Try to have the most radical message out there. And I honestly see this as a battle of good and evil. When you have these lies that they spew on a regular basis. Because, because someone said this to me yesterday. If you can tell people that speech is violence, then you can respond to speech with violence.

[Rob Chadwick]

Well, so never forget. And this is a lesson that I learned. It was profound to me as a brand new special agent in the FBI. A long time ago we had a former Soviet KGB colonel come and speak to my class. And he had run for decades from the 60s, 70s, 80s, the psychological operations to undermine the United States. And, and he told, he said, listen, this is a playbook Right. And I'm not saying this was a Soviet plot. Right. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is this influence that, that same playbook is being used because they go after the institutions. First you got to go after the churches, get rid of that. Then you go after the, the. The schools, undermine that. Then you got to go after the law enforcement. Right. What is left? Boy scouts, though. I was, I was a. I was a Boy Scout leader for my son who officer right now deployed. That was the best thing for that young man. It was an opportunity for him to be a leader, to fail safely to. To be with other boys his age. That institution has been nearly destroyed. Now, I'm not saying that they did nothing wrong. Right? But there are things and there are forces that want to absolutely destroy those institutions that are absolutely underpinning for our society. And most of them are gone. Law enforcement has suffered tremendously in the last few years. Who do you turn to? Well, now we have to take it upon ourselves to understand, all right, I still support the police 100%, but I have to acknowledge that it's going to take them twice as long to get to me now as it used to just five years ago. They're understaffed, under resourced, under trained, trained. So I have to become my first responder for my family, whatever that means. Right.

[Tudor Dixon]

If that also. That also for communities where law enforcement is critical on a daily basis. That also means that I have to try to go to war every day. And that has created war zones in this country that we ignore. We are all guilty of ignoring it because we hear about it on the news every Monday. This many murders in this city over the weekend. This many murders in that city over the weekend. And you are right, it started with, with removing the churches. They. They started that. As soon as they could remove fathers from the house and they could remove the faith, they could remove the church. The head of the family is gone. The church will fall. And churches fell in a lot of those communities. A lot of those communities were built up by faith. Once they got rid of the, the community church, they took over the schools. The worst schools in our nation are in urban areas where crime is high. That is not a coincidence. That is being ignored. Ignored by the left. I say that this is one of the biggest crises the United States has ever seen is that we took whole communities and we ignored them and we took away any safety, protection. Then you took the police away. To your point. Then you took the police away. What is there and why is this Something that they can go out and chant, defund the police. They can go out and trash Christianity. And nobody on our side has been as vocal about this. And I guess I argued with some of the ways that Charlie talked about this, but as I look back at how this has. These communities have been broken down. I think we just haven't faced the fact that there is something deeper. It's not just about votes. It's about destruction.

[Rob Chadwick]

No, you're right. I said this and I've been saying this for a long time now, and I think this is. It's really coming to a head now, at least I hope. We are in a real crisis spot in America. But long ago, decades ago, we lost our ability to say no to anything. Right? You can't tell an individual no anymore. You can't tell an individual no. You're not allowed to marry a fire hydrant or you know what, just completely.

[Tudor Dixon]

Can'T use a litter box at school.

[Rob Chadwick]

Right. You are not a cat. I don't care if you identify as a cat. That is strange, abhorrent behavior. You don't get to be so what we've done, unfortunately, is we have supplanted the need needs of society and cater to the needs of the extreme fringe few. I still support their needs. They are American citizens too. But what we have to understand is we can't cater to just that and ignore the middle. And the middle is, I'm talking like the 95% of us that are in the middle, I still believe can agree to disagree. Just want to go home to our families, just want to, you know, go to work and provide. It's that extreme fringe, though, fueled by social media, fueled by clicks and rage baiting, that is controlling the narrative today. And that's where and that we've just lost our ability to say no.

[Tudor Dixon]

Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on the Tudor Dixon Podcast.

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[Christina Quinn]

Too many ultra processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try this from the Washington Post. I'm Christina Quinn. I host Try this. Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges Follow Try this right now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it.

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[Tudor Dixon]

It'S just so hard to look at this country and see what we're seeing when it comes to violence today. And Charlie was talking about violence as he was in his last answer on his podcast the day before, talking about the stabbing in North Carolina. But I mean, you bring up a great point. We've had so many assassinations and assassination attempts. I mean, think about what is going on and it's all political in this country. You have two assassination attempts on President Trump. You have the assassination of the United Healthcare worker. You have the assassinations in New York. Just a Few weeks ago when they went into the NFL building and they shot people at Blackrock. Is it Blackrock was the.

[Rob Chadwick]

Yeah, that's right. In the NFL offices.

[Tudor Dixon]

Yes, yes. And you also have the two legislators in Minnesota who were shot at their homes. I mean, this is, this is beyond a boiling point now. And now you have Charlie in front of college students, which I just cannot imagine. I have a 16 year old daughter. I watched the video, it was sent to me. I was unprepared for what it was. I opened it up and I was physically ill immediately. I saw it. And you know, your mind goes, there's no way that he lived through that, but you still are holding out hope that he did. And all those young people, they sat there and they watched this happen. I saw it on my phone and I'm so damaged by it. And I can't imagine my girls sitting there and seeing this live. And his family.

[Rob Chadwick]

Yeah. I got a call this morning from my daughter. My youngest is on the road. She just graduated from college. Young person, wonderful, sweet, you know, young person who's, you know, by design, been sheltered from as much of this as I can possibly do. And she said, I saw what happened. I was scrolling through, looking at, you know, puppies and stuff. She, she sends me the best, happiest little videos to try to make my day. And, and it's one of the bright spots of my day. You get these stupid little videos that make you laugh. But she's scrolling through that and of course this is all that's out there right now. And she saw what happened at Charlie Kirk. She hadn't even, you know, didn't even know what was going on. And it, and it devastated her. And, and so I told her, I said, you and I are going to talk later today. I have seen a lot of things that I never got out of my head. There, there are strategies, you deal with it. But yeah, it is, it is crushing to see what has happened with the United States. You know, I grew up in the 80s and grew up as a, as a real fan of Ronald Reagan. He was the hero that we needed in the 80s. And yet I saw and admired his relationship to Speaker o'. Neill. The other side of the aisle. Right.

[Tudor Dixon]

Yeah.

[Rob Chadwick]

They would disagree vehemently. Right. And then go have a beer together. Together. That's what America is about. And we have lost that. You know, I served on Attorney General Barr's detail and I have tremendous respect for that man. He is a great patriot, incredible constitutionalist. And he served two terms. Right. He served Under George Bush. The. The original. The first. Not George W. George H.W. as one of the youngest, if not the youngest attorney general. General. And then again under President Trump. And the. And just in that span of time, Washington changed almost. It's almost unrecognizable. Just a really. Oh, yeah. There is no collegial exchange. And if there is, there's very few, and I thank them for it. But our lawmakers can't even speak civilly to each other, much less go have a beer and disagree and. And move the American people's business forward. It is a zero sum game.

[Christina Quinn]

Game.

[Rob Chadwick]

We must get out of this zero sum game because it is a recipe for disaster. And our enemies, both domestically and foreign, are laughing all the way to the bank. They are hoping and just. They've got their popcorn going watching this dumpster fire that is America right now. We're the only ones that can put that out, though.

[Tudor Dixon]

Absolutely. And you make such a great point. That was what Charlie's point was. Everybody should talk civilly to one another. So we continue forward. I know that we're sad and we're going to hit that angry point, but I appreciate you being on here today to remind us that you. Well, I guess my mom would say you catch more flies with honey. So you go out there and you be the happy warrior and you don't let this take down an entire movement. You don't let this take down faith. You don't let this take away your joy. Because Charlie wouldn't want that. And. And I thank you. Thank you for getting me through this podcast. Everybody will just really appreciate what you had to say today. Rob Chadwick, thank you so much for being here.

[Rob Chadwick]

Tutor. Thank you. And my last words would be, listen. Don't let them win. Don't let them. Yeah. Thank you.

[Tudor Dixon]

Don't let them win. Keep fighting. Never forget. I mean, on a day like this. Absolutely. That's the American way. That's what I said. They will not crush our spirit. They may have broken our hearts, but they will not crush our spirit. Spirit. Thank you. And thank you all for joining us on the Tutor Dixon podcast. For this podcast and others, go to tutordixonpodcast.com the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can always watch us on Rumble and YouTube. Make sure you go out there as a happy warrior and have a blessed day.

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[Christina Quinn]

Many ultra processed foods, you could be starving your gut microbes and they'll get hangry. That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try this from the Washington Post I'm Christina Quinn. I host Try this. Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges. So try this right now, wherever you're listening. Seriously, try it.

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