Are you better off today than a year ago? Trump 2.0

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Hugh Hewitt Show: Highly Concentrated

Episode: Are you better off today than a year ago? Trump 2.0
Date: January 21, 2026
Host: Hugh Hewitt (Salem Podcast Network)
Guests: Brett Baier, Scott Bessant, Josh Holmes, Byron York, David Drucker, James Lilacs, Carolyn Levitt (clips)

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s second term, with particular attention to his unusual press conference highlighting administration accomplishments and controversies, such as immigration enforcement in Minnesota, escalating economic and foreign policy tensions (notably with Iran and the EU), and reflections on the current political landscape—including VP J.D. Vance’s first year and the challenges ahead for the GOP. The episode features in-depth analysis, memorable moments, political banter, and firsthand insights from top political journalists.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. The Anniversary Press Conference: Initial Reactions

[00:00–01:40]

• Hugh Hewitt introduces Brett Baier to discuss President Trump’s press conference, held one year into his second term.
• Brett Baier notes the president’s emphasis on accomplishments, focus on immigration enforcement (especially Minnesota), and teases regarding Greenland.
• Notable Quote: “I still to this day do not believe the US Military is going to be engaged in taking over Greenland.” — Brett Baier [01:40]

2. Foreign Policy Focus: Iran’s Human Rights Crisis

[01:40–03:49]

• Hugh Hewitt highlights the gravity of Iran's suppression, referencing 15,000 deaths and inquires about the US military option.
• Carolyn Levitt (Trump WH Press Secretary, clip): Explains US pressure stopped mass executions in Iran, but future uncertainties remain.
  • Notable Quote: “We let them know that if that happens, that will be a very bad day for them. And they decided not to do it.” — Carolyn Levitt [02:21]
• Brett Baier predicts military options remain on the table, particularly as Trump prepares for Davos.
  • Notable Quote: “You don’t know with Donald Trump. You really don’t. The president likes the dramatic ... it would be a very Godfather-esque move mid-speech at Davos to then move on on Iran." — Brett Baier [03:49]

3. Economic Shocks: Market Volatility & The Greenland/EU Tariff Threat

[04:13–05:18]

• Hugh Hewitt & Baier discuss sharp market declines, attributing them to tariff threats and European pushback.
• Scott Bessant (clip) highlights Senate debates about Russian oil tariffs, U.S. pressure on India and Europe’s ongoing purchase of Russian oil.
  • Notable Quote: “Europe buying Russian oil still, still for four years later, they are financing the war against themselves.” — Scott Bessant [05:18]

4. Political Messaging: Law and Order in Minnesota

[09:49–20:18]

• Hugh Hewitt, Josh Holmes (Ruthless podcast), and Carolyn Levitt dissect Trump's focus on crime and immigration in Minnesota.
  • President’s repeated mention of “10,000 criminals arrested” in Minnesota used as campaign messaging (Cut 19).
  • Notable Quote: “10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone.” — Carolyn Levitt [13:20]
  • Holmes criticizes local leadership and the “one-party domination” in Minneapolis.
  • Discussion of “sanctuary cities,” radical local government, and the city’s transformation.

Notable Moment

• Josh Holmes: “This president’s pace of play is legendary. He’s on to the next, he’s on to the next, and you never get the full litigation of what it is that we’re doing here.” [13:39]
• Holmes on Minnesota: “It’s embarrassing as a Minnesotan, it’s embarrassing.” [15:00]

5. The Vice President’s Year and Political Dynamics

[07:13–08:17, 24:47–25:53]

• Hugh Hewitt & Brett Baier review VP J.D. Vance’s first year (not mysterious, highly visible, family news).
• Byron York: Vance perceived as Trump’s heir apparent, sparking “mind-reading” among commentators.
  • Notable Quote: “Vance seems to have consolidated his position as the heir apparent. ... But he is clearly the leading candidate to replace this president.” — Byron York [25:14]

6. Snapshots of Minnesota’s Crisis—Local Voices

[38:17–45:19]

• James Lilacs (humorist/Substack writer; Minneapolis resident) shares firsthand local color following Trump’s criticism of Minnesota.
  • Notes discrepancy in perceptions: daily life feels normal, but high-profile crime and political negligence weigh on the city.
  • Notable Quote: “This is a shooting that happened after a couple of trained Aragua guys, the, you know, the Venezuelan wonderful fellows had attacked an ICE officer and the ICE officer had shot him. This is what had made them nervous. It’s getting worse.” — James Lilacs [40:30]
  • Reminisces about earlier, safer decades; downtown Minneapolis “demonstrably worse” post-2020 but not “dystopian.”
  • Schools and other urban woes now take a backseat in city priorities.

7. Broader Political & Electoral Implications

[16:42–17:54, 31:00–33:26]

• Midterm outlooks: Hewitt and guests review historical losses in president’s second midterms (Ike, Nixon/Ford, Reagan, Bush), warn of strong headwinds for Republicans in upcoming cycle.
  • Notable Quote: “From a legislative capacity, year one is as good as you’re ever going to do.... They’re really going to have to focus on the economy and really pull people along.” — Josh Holmes [17:07]
• Immigration: Enthusiasm among GOP voters for the crackdown on criminal aliens, but concern over citizens being “caught up” in enforcement.
  • Notable Quote: “How these things are done matters a lot to the American people. It’s why we’ve always been so big on our constitutional rights.” — David Drucker [32:52]

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “You’ll find out.” — President Trump’s ominous answer on Greenland [00:34, paraphrased by Baier]
• “We let them know that if that happens, that will be a very bad day for them.” — Carolyn Levitt [02:21]
• “Europe buying Russian oil ... they are financing the war against themselves.” — Scott Bessant [05:18]
• “10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone.” — Carolyn Levitt [13:20]
• “It’s embarrassing as a Minnesotan, it’s embarrassing.” — Josh Holmes [15:00]
• “Vance seems to have consolidated his position as the heir apparent.” — Byron York [25:14]
• “The city was... a great, good place. And all of that’s happened... by the indifference of the people who know what needs to be done but refuse to do anything.” — James Lilacs [43:05]

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Significant Timestamps

• 00:34–01:40: Baier analyses Trump’s press conference
• 01:40–03:49: Iran, military options, Trump at Davos
• 04:13–05:18: Market decline reaction, tariffs, Scott Bessant on Russian oil
• 09:49–16:42: Minnesota football & politics, Trump’s focus on the state
• 18:41–22:02: Byron York on Trump’s endurance and the meaning of 10,000 arrests
• 28:50–34:40: David Drucker evaluation—GOP voter sentiment & independent unease, immigration, and Iran
• 38:17–45:19: James Lilacs on day-to-day Minneapolis life, urban crime, schools

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Tone and Language

The discussions throughout the podcast combine direct political analysis (often candid and blunt, especially from guests like Byron York and Brett Baier), sharp criticism of political opponents and local leadership (especially regarding Minnesota), and the occasionally sardonic, anecdotal humor of contributors like James Lilacs. The tone is conversational but informed by policy expertise and personal experience, engaging both the policy-wonk and the concerned citizen.

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Conclusion

This special Hugh Hewitt episode offers a panoramic view of America under Trump 2.0 at the one-year mark—juxtaposing White House priorities, foreign and economic tremors, and the political and social fracturing in places like Minnesota. With guests providing both national and on-the-ground perspectives, it’s a revealing look at the administration’s unique blend of brash messaging, policy blitz, and political calculation heading into a turbulent midterm season.

Transcript

[Hugh Hewitt]

Welcome to today's podcast sponsored by Hillsdale College, all things hillsdale@ hillsdale.edu. i encourage you to take advantage of the many free online courses there. And of course, a listen to the Hillsdale dialogues, all of [e-mail] or just Google, Apple, itunes and Hillsdale. Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt joined by Brett Baer, the host of Special Report, America's Ankerman. Brett, we had the most unusual of press conferences today. What did you make of that?

[Brett Baier]

Well, it was present laying out what he sees as accomplishments of one year. It was almost exactly one year to the minute that he got inaugurated into his second term as president. I think he spent a lot of time on Minnesota and justifying what he sees as communication, not focusing on the number of people, criminals taken off the streets in these ice operations. And you flipping through that at the beginning of the news conference, obviously a lot of questions about Greenland. And the one that gets most attention is, you know, what lengths will you go to get Greenland? And he said, you'll find out, you know, this ominous thing. And I think it all leads up to, you know, his Davos speech this week and meeting with those leaders. If I had to guess, it's all a matter of negotiations and deal making and he's got a plan to deal with Greenland. I still to this day do not believe the US Military is going to be engaged in taking over Greenland.

[Hugh Hewitt]

I agree with you on that. I want to play for you the question and answer on Iran, though, because it didn't come up until very late in the press conference. I did the awful metrics of murdering 15,000 people as a percentage proportion of your population. It's worse than Tiananmen Square, worse than 10, 7. It's worse than 9, 11. So here's President Trump, Brett, getting a question on that. Cut 27. Is the military option still on the table? And can you assure us that the killing in Iran has stopped? And when we got to the peace council, which members have to pay one.

[Carolyn Levitt]

So with Iran, are you from Iran?

[Hugh Hewitt]

No, I cover the right hands.

[Carolyn Levitt]

Where are you from?

[Hugh Hewitt]

I'm Palestinian American.

[Carolyn Levitt]

So with Iran, they were going to hang 837 people. And I let them be known that. And we let them know that if that happens, that will be a very bad day for them. And they decided not to do it. They didn't hang the people. I can't tell you what's going to happen in the future, but supposedly they've taken that off the table. But they were going to last week they were going to hang. On Thursday or Wednesday one they were going to hang I think 837 people and they didn't hang anybody. So we're just going to have to see what happens with Iran is the military operation.

[Hugh Hewitt]

So Brad, they interrupted him when the press corps usually does when he said there's a military option on the table and then the shouting started. What do you think? Is the military option still on the table?

[Brett Baier]

I do think the military option is still on the table and I do think that they are monitoring the situation and I wouldn't be surprised if there's more action depending on what the regime's response is. I mean we are moving an aircraft carrier battleship group right there and I think that it's very possible that it's still there depending on what the regime does.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Likelier that he does it when he's at Davos or unlikelier that he does it when he's at Davos if he's going to deliver a harder hit than they've ever had been hit before.

[Brett Baier]

You don't know with Donald Trump. You really don't. The president likes the dramatic and, and maybe there would be a chance that would happen. I mean it would be a very Godfather esque move mid speech at Davos to then move on on Iran. I don't think so but you never know.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Now Brett, today the markets had a very bad day. The dow is down 1 1/4 point, the S&P down 2% and the NASDAQ down 2.39%. What do you think that's in reaction to? You're not you and I don't do market forecasting but I do follow the news and markets. What do you what's that tell you?

[Brett Baier]

Well I think that the reaction to the Greenland tariff threat and what you know the, the reaction from France and from the EU commission and you know saying let's send a financial bazooka the way of the U.S. i mean it hasn't happened yet but at least the talk is that and it jitters things. I think that the possibility of negotiation here is still very high.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Now Scott Bessant was making the rounds today about Greenland and Scott Bessant who is a superb guy who I don't know anything about had this to say. Cut number one on Fox Business this morning from.

[Scott Bessant]

Things are moving in a very positive way here on the 500% tariffs on the buyers of Russian oil. That is a proposal that that Senator Graham has in front of the Senate and we will see whether that passes. We don't believe that President Trump needs that authority, that he can do it under ipa, but the Senate wants to give him that authority. And just, just to be clear that we have Europe buying Russian oil still, still for four years later, they are financing the war against themselves. India started buying Russian oil after the conflict began, but President Trump put a 25% tariff on them and India has geared down and has stopped buying.

[Hugh Hewitt]

So, Brett Baier, he's talking to Marina Bartiromo here. And this is Blunt. Talk to Europe. You're financing the Russian war machine. I don't know that I've seen anyone be that blunt. Have you? No.

[Brett Baier]

And I think that that's some of the messaging that's going to come out from this Davos speech, much like the speech at the United nations, which was blunt about the UN and its ineffectiveness. I think you're going to get a very blunt speech from President Trump about putting the squeeze on Russia. I don't know if it's going to be J.D. vance in Germany, but it's going to be pretty significant. And I think that, you know, in the past that has led to Europe saying, okay, let's do a deal. Let's, let's make something happen. They're not in a great position as far as negotiating on a number of different fronts. And that has moved the needle before.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Absolutely not. Last question about the vice president's first year in office, the inauguration of his being sworn in. I wrote for Fox News this morning. He's done 100 appearances and he's given 50 interviews. He's not mysterious at all. I think he's done a good job as far as a vice president can do a good job. How do you assess J.D. vance's first year as the only other nationally elected official?

[Brett Baier]

Well, I think he's definitely, you know, backed up the president in a number of different ways. I think that there's, you know, the political wins we're going have to see. It's all, you know, shaping up for 2028. They had the second lady today saying that they're very excited that Usha is pregnant with their fourth child. So that's a big announcement heading into year two. And listen, he's well positioned. But there, there are cross currents here on a number of different fronts. And it depends on, you know, ultimately how President Trump looks at 2028.

[Hugh Hewitt]

I agree with that. Always good to talk to you, Brett. Thanks for calling in during a very busy news day. Special Report starts when the Hugh Hewitt show ends at 6pm Eastern Time. Don't miss it tonight because when there's a lot of news you want to watch, Brett kind of slice and dice it for you with reports from around the country as to how it's going down. And this is a big day.

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[Hugh Hewitt]

I'm Hugh Hewitt, joined by Josh Holmes of the Ruthless podcast. Josh, did you watch that game last night?

[Josh Holmes]

Did I ever, Hugh? Did I ever? What a story, you know, one of the most improbable national champions if you look at the history of Indiana football. But what a great story. What a great coach. Just an all around team.

[Hugh Hewitt]

The Mendoza family. Inspiring Americans like to be inspired. I believe that at the bottom of my soul. And it's an inspiring story that dad sits with mom because she can't stand up because she has Ms. And the kid comes out of nowhere and he's like too good to be true. Isn't he, Josh? Oh, totally.

[Josh Holmes]

Well, not only that, but that fourth and five play ends up breaking a tackle and taking it to the end zone. We're gonna be watching that 25 years from now. That's like goes down in the lore of college football like Vince Young running and all kinds of different things that like you just live on forever.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Now. A lot of people are happy about this. There are two people who are happiest that they won't. I suggest to you it is the offensive tackle who twitched and got a second one. Second and six. And that the second one is the guy who roughed the passer in the last. Those two Hoosiers are the most relieved Hoosiers in the Universe.

[Brett Baier]

No kidding.

[Josh Holmes]

Can you imagine Coach Signetti on that situation if it went the wrong way? Yeah, there would be some lonely barns in Indiana.

[James Lilac]

I know that.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Well, you know, you and your fellow worked out. You know, you and your fellows interact. The Hoosiers will get together every five, 10 years and those two guys are going to hear about it for the rest of their lives. Right. You almost cost us the Natty Now, Josh, I got some hard questions for you. First of all, when does Minnesota go find whoever's left in James? Matt, I can't. I don't even know which conference James Madison is in, do you? Are you.

[Josh Holmes]

Wait, is this a college football attack or a Minnesota attack?

[Hugh Hewitt]

I mean, developing a.

[Josh Holmes]

From the land.

[Hugh Hewitt]

It's developing.

[Josh Holmes]

It's a tough time. Tough time to be from the land down to 10,000 lakes. It's almost as difficult as to defending the Cleveland Browns. But you know, we're used to it.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Everything, every day, every year is a promise. But this is going to turn into an all, all points bulletin on things Minnesota because that's what the President turned his presser into. Were you watching it?

[Josh Holmes]

Yes, he did. I did. I did see that. And you know what? Look, I'm glad he is. This is a state that I love dearly. I'm from there. And it's unrecognizable what's happening downtown. This is what poor political leadership provides for you. I mean, nobody I know, nobody I grew up with, nobody I've interacted and I keep pretty close with a whole bunch of people back there have any idea what any of this is about.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Right.

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, you've got paid agitators, got a whole bunch of people where the premise, the very premise of the uprising against ICE Downtown is that apparently they're okay with $8 billion being stolen out of their back pocket. And they want a whole bunch of people who are actually convicted criminal as well as illegals to be continue living in the city. It's insane.

[Hugh Hewitt]

For the benefit of my AM 1280, the patriot audience and my audience in Duluth and for all Minnesotans everywhere, let's replay cut 19 for Josh Holmes of the Ruthless podcast.

[Carolyn Levitt]

All top of the line criminals. They're not going to be good. They're not going to be well behaved here. I could do, I could do thousands. We had over 3,000 in the last. Fairly short. Well, just in Minnesota. What's the number?

[Hugh Hewitt]

10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone.

[Carolyn Levitt]

10,000 criminal. And these are serious.

[Hugh Hewitt]

10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota. Caroline Levitt for the win from the Side from the Ashbrook Chair, the honorary Ashbrook Chair. She comes in and puts a knife in your heart, Josh. I mean, 10,000 criminals, that's a lot.

[Josh Holmes]

I know it well, it's a lot. But I, you know, look, I would wager to guess that every sanctuary city, every sanctuary state is gonna have extremely similar numbers. If I've been critical of the Trump administration in one regard, it's that I wish they would spend more time on each topic as it's going through the public consciousness. This president's pace of play is legendary. He's on to the next. He's on to the next, and you never get the full litigation of what it is that we're doing here. But when he spends time at a press conference going through the pictures, as you saw today, he's putting a fine point on what it is that ICE is doing there in the first place. And I think that that's just necessary because at some point, there's a bunch of middle of the road voters out there who are looking around, they don't like particularly conflict, and they're not, you know, they don't know who to blame for what's going on. But then you see the argument laid out before you. Is that cool? Are we cool with these people continuing to live in your communities? Of course you're not. That's what you have a government for, what you hope people take care of. And I'm glad the president is highlighting it now.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Josh, I, I've been going to Minnesota since you were in, in high school. I've been going for 26 years. Right. And, and I used to walk around St. Paul and they built the Ice Castle. One year I went and did a show there and I would do minutes two on ice and I'd walk around downtown Minneapolis, go to Symphony Hall. What has happened? It was a normal state. It was actually Minnesota. Nice. So what happened?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, well, I still think 90% of it is, Hugh, but you've got this downtown culture. You've got a city council that's basically lawless and it's tribal. And I mean that in the very definition of the way. I mean, this is, this is. You've got a Somali kodlok on a huge port of the governance of Minneapolis, and you have a governor and a mayor of Minneapolis that are entirely beholden to the furthest reaches of the left wing, not to mention the attorney general, who is not enforcing laws against anybody who doesn't vote for him. And I mean, this is, this is the price that you pay for having One party domination that has slid off the map in terms of having any responsibility whatsoever. And unfortunately, the whole world has got to see what it is that they've been up to at this point. It's embarrassing as a Minnesotan, it's embarrassing.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Now I got to also, is it going to slide over to the Vikings and the Gophers? Because even if Minnesota digs up some of that billionaire money to do their nil stuff and the Vikings get under the cap, who's going to want to live there after the President spends an hour and a half ragging on the Gopher State?

[Josh Holmes]

I mean, there's no amount of pain that can happen in a political, political sphere that I haven't been already inflicted by the Minnesota Vikings during the course of my fanship. It is whether it's wide left or an interception in the fourth quarter. I mean, I have seen it all on that front. The Gophers, look, it is the. It is what it is. They're trying to compete Indiana, maybe give them some hope.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Were you alive for admiration? Breaking my heart. No, you weren't, were you? You were even alive.

[Josh Holmes]

No, no, I'm in the years of Randy Moss and Chris Carter and Dante Culpepper and all that. But it all ended the same, and it continues to end the same. I'm just hoping at some point.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Exit question. We got two minutes. President Trump has finished year one. Do you expect year two to be better or worse? Because there's a midterm in here and we know in the midterm for Dwight EISENHOWER, Republicans lost 49 seats. In the midterm for Nixon, Ford, they lost 48. In the midterm for Reagan, they only lost five. And in the midterm for W, they lost 30. In the House, the Senate changed hands three. Out of those four times, what do you expect?

[Josh Holmes]

Yeah, I think you've got to quantify what's better and what's worse. Clearly, from a legislative capacity, year one is as good as you're ever going to do. And I think the majorities in the House dictate that it's probably not quite as ambitious of an agenda in terms of the politics. They're really going to have to focus on the economy and they're really going to have have to pull people along. All of the headwinds, the historical headwinds and everything else are blowing against them at this point, but they have a story to tell. And Democrats keep providing all of the fodder if you just stop and take inventory every once in a while. This is the alternative. And you see it playing out in Minnesota. You see it playing out all what they want to do to this country. Virginia, a perfect example, a new governor there and the things that they want to do. You got to highlight that stuff because the alternative is not irrelevant when you're talking about an election.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Absolutely. I tried to explain that to a TDS or yesterday. Josh Holmes of the Ruthless podcast. I hope your fellow colleagues on the Miles podcast spend a lot of time on the president's focus on your home.

[Josh Holmes]

State because I'm dying out here.

[Hugh Hewitt]

You are. You're out there alone on an igloo because on an iceberg, because that's where the igloo you chose to come from is. We love Minnesota. We just want to see, see it return to the icy roots from which it came. Welcome back, America. I'm Hugh Hewitt joined by Byron York. He is the senior political reporter for the Washington examiner, does a daily newsletter which you can get over@the dcexaminer.com Also Fox News contributor. Byron, that was quite the press conference by President Trump today, a year into his second term in office. How did you assess it?

[Byron York]

Well, you know, I was just chatting with Dwayne before coming on and we decided that Trump puts to rest any questions about his health and his endurance.

[Hugh Hewitt]

You're right. I hadn't thought about that. Dwayne didn't point that out to me, but you're right.

[Byron York]

Well, you know, in the first few months, certainly he still does it. But in the first few months of his term, Trump would say a lot, well, you think Biden could do that? There's no way Biden could do that. You know, he would talk for a very long time or have an extremely long day or something like that. That showed his endurance, which is pretty, pretty spectacular. And so I think that this, this was the definitive no, Biden couldn't do that performance.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Amen to that. Now, to the particulars, there is one line here. I think it also includes a off camera shout from Carolyn Levitt, the White House press secretary. I want to play for you cut number 19 when he's going through the pictures of the apprehended illegal aliens in Minnesot Twin Cities area. Cut them in 19.

[Carolyn Levitt]

All top of the line criminals. They're not going to be good. They're not going to be well behaved here. I could do, I could do thousands. We had over 3,000 in the last fairly short. Well, just in Minnesota. What's the number, Carol?

[Hugh Hewitt]

10,000.

[James Lilac]

10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone.

[Carolyn Levitt]

10,000 criminal and these are serious. Now, how can a place with 10,000 criminals, how can you have a state?

[Hugh Hewitt]

So, Byron, that is a great clip for the campaign. If you want to run on Law and Order, how can you have 10,000 criminals in the Twin Cities and be a state? What do you think? Does it work?

[Byron York]

Yes, it does. And how, how can it be that all the authorities in the state are fighting so hard to protect these criminals from federal law enforcement? It's really astonishing. Now, I'm sure somebody's going to question the 10,000 number, but it's a lot of people. We've been seeing ICE press releases of who they've captured, and there are a lot of people, and there are a lot of people who are actually serious criminals. So the, the sheer number of it just makes you think, how could it be that the entire elected power structure of the state is fighting the enforcement of laws against these people?

[Hugh Hewitt]

The first day I went on the air, Byron, with the hugo show was July 10th of 2000. And I began what was for 15, maybe 17, 18 years, an annual visit to the Twin Cities on behalf of AM 1280, the patriot, where I'm still on because it was a great local thing. It doesn't work so well for television, so I can't do it anymore. But I used to walk around St. Paul and what they would call Little Mogadishu. There's a Somalian neighborhood there. It was interesting. It was small. And I would go anywhere in the Twin Cities like Symphony hall, wander around downtown. It was a different. I don't have any idea what it's like now, but I don't think it's like what it was when I stopped going a decade ago.

[Byron York]

Well, they have a significant crime rate, and I think they also have a pretty radicalized population. And especially we've seen this everywhere in the United States. College educated, liberal white women seem to have become more and more radicalized. They are certainly part of this, quote, resistance to ICE that we're seeing in Minnesota. And, you know, basically we're also seeing the. In the defense of people who are in the country illegally, not only who have committed additional crimes while they're here, but also just for being in the country illegally. I think there clearly seems to be a consensus in this group that one should be able to enter the United States illegally and stay without any objection from the government. I mean, there's just a fundamentally different worldview in power in Minnesota. And that's kind of the foundation of this conflict that we're seeing.

[Hugh Hewitt]

And it will remain that way. And it might be a blue state, red state thing because they don't have this problem in Florida which cooperates with ice. Now, Byron, at the same time the president was giving his press conference, the markets closed and the dow is down 1.76% today. The S&P was down 2%. The Nasdaq was down 2.39%. That's a pretty big sell off. What do you think triggered that?

[Byron York]

Well, you know, remember back to all the worries about, about tariffs when, you know, after the president first announced them, I think it was early April of last year and Liberation Day and all the uncertainty about tariffs and the big hits that the stock market was taking and then the sort of relaxation that we've seen about tariffs. I saw Scott Bessant said on Fox Business the other day, he said, you know, tariff inflation is the dog that never barked. And you've seen a lot of, I think decline in the anxiety level about tariffs. Now what we saw here is the president threatening new tariffs against European Union trading partners. That was a hard fought agreement that was made last year with the president's new tariff policy. And Trump threatens to kind of throw it out the window for our European Union trading partners and they're vowing to fight back. So I think we just returned the 2025 style uncertainty there and the market's pretty frothy too.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Exit Question Byron York, I wrote today for Fox News about the president's first year, but also about the vice president's first year. He did 100 appearances. He did 50 interviews including one on this program. He's very accessible. He's not mysterious. The second lady is pregnant again. That's great news for the Vance's, but everyone seems to attribute to him things that he has not said and to guess what he's thinking. Have you ever seen anything like this, like the Vance mind reading ability in the commentariat?

[Byron York]

You know, I attribute this first of all, you're right. But I attribute this to the simple black and white objective fact that Donald Trump cannot be president again in the next term and that Vance seems to have consolidated his position as the heir apparent. Although it's not locked, you know, it's not in stone. But he is clearly the leading candidate to replace this president who's not going to run again. And so there's a fight sort of for the, for the direction of JD Vance that's going on and it's going to keep going on.

[Ray Solano]

Hi, this is pharmacist Ray Solano with an important tip to save you money on your prescriptions. Imagine affordable medication and programs that get rid of the root cause of chronic conditions such as elevated blood sugar, blood pressure and difficulty remaining remembering your keys or maybe even where your car is. PD Labs Pharmacy is a special compounding pharmacy providing service solutions and access to on site trained telemedicine staff available to answer your questions today. Many people have discovered personalized prescriptions tailored to you with powerful results such as feeling better. Check out our website pdlabsrx.com our nationwide coverage in 26 years in pharmacy allows us to offer medications at almost half the price of local pharmacies. Switch your pharmacy to PD Labs and experience the real service without the expensive bill. Call us at 888-909-0110. That's 888-909-0110 or pdlabsrx.com Remember, you have.

[Hugh Hewitt]

A choice in healthcare for at least two more years until the nomination is locked up, if he indeed locks it up. Byron York from the Washington Examiner, FOX News contributor. Follow him on X at Byron York. Follow me to the next segment. Hi, it's Hugh Hewitt. You've heard me talk a lot about consumer cellular, how you can switch your carrier and save money without sacrifice. That's because consumer cellular uses the same towers as the major carrier. You'll save money every month on your bill without having to sacrifice the quality of coverage. Right now, you get your second month free. Plus, folks over 50 get two lines of unlimited talk, text and data for $60 a month. That's in addition to the second month totally free, using promo code 2. And are you tired of your wireless company telling you you have to Talk to an AI robot, download an app or Verizon? Pay $10 to talk to someone when paying your bill? No thanks. Consumer cellular ranks 1 for network coverage and customer satisfaction. According to ACSI, whether you're switching online or over the phone, you'll be working with an actual human being based right here in the US so switch and get your second month free plus two unlimited lines of $60. If you're over 50, go to consumercellular.com hu promo hugh or call 108 or call 1800-411445-41800-411-4454. That's 1-800-411-4454. And don't forget, my code is Hugh. Welcome back, America. That music means David Drucker is in the house. He is with the Dispatch, senior political writer for the Dispatch. He's also a regular visitor here to the Hugh Hewitt show for many, many years. David, I've been covering politics on air since 1990, and a lot of anniversaries have come and gone and that. But this is the first anniversary of Donald Trump's return to power, and it's unique. How do you rate his first year back?

[David Drucker]

Well, I mean, I think we have to look at, you know, where he is with voters. I mean, that's just, that's my general lane, if you will. And look, I think if you look at the polling, Republican voters are happy. A lot of them believe that they're getting what they voted for and they're excited for more. And obviously, Democrats have the opposite view in independents. It's a mixed bag. Although his numbers with independents are down right now. You know what I would say? I'd say something a little bit maybe different to add to the conversation here, which is, you know, when I was, when I was interviewing voters during the 2024 campaign, there were some voters that listened intently to what President Trump had to say at his campaign rallies and said, yes, please give me that. And there were others that said, well, I don't want all of that. I only want some of that. And I bet you I'm not going to get all of that. I'm only going to get the sum that I want. And I think, you know, one thing that's been borne out over the past year is, is that the things he talked about doing, he's by and large either done or tried to do. And, and so in that regard, he's, he's not just sort of unique, but it's an interesting dilemma for certain, for a certain percentage of Republicans, not a large percentage, but, but, but a not necessarily insignificant percentage.

[Hugh Hewitt]

I want to play for you a cut of his just concluded press conference. David. Cut 19. Queue it up, if you would, Harley and Adam, because in it, in this cut, he talks about Minnesota. And the voice here, of course, is Carolyn Levitt, his press secretary. Cut 19 criminals.

[Carolyn Levitt]

They're not going to be good. They're not going to be well behaved here. I could do, I could do thousands. We had over 3,000 in the last, barely short. Well, just in Minnesota. What's the number, Carol?

[Hugh Hewitt]

10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone.

[Carolyn Levitt]

10,000 criminals. And these are serious.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Now, David Drucker, 10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone is a pretty big number. Are you startled by that?

[David Drucker]

I, I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I'm startled by it or not. We'll have to see if the numbers bear out. But let's say that they're. They, they bear out. There's a lot of support for the President' efforts to deport illegal immigrant criminals. The problem he's having politically is that citizens are getting caught up in that. I know this President spoke to that somewhat during the news conference and the videos. I think if everybody believed or knew that they were segregated to illegal immigrant criminals, wouldn't be that concerned. But there are a lot of other people getting caught up in this. And so that makes it just, again, a politically mixed bag for him.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Do you think it makes it a politically. I'd like to review for everyone the numbers. In 1958, the second midterm for Dwight Eisenhower, he lost 49 seats in the House. Under Nixon Ford, the second midterm in 1974, they lost 48 seats in the House. Ronald Reagan in 1986, only lost five seats in the House. George W. Bush in 2006 lost 30 seats in the House. So the low is five and the high is 48. They don't win. You don't win the second midterm. David, do you.

[David Drucker]

Not usually know? Now, Bill Clinton did have a good second midterm. Voters determined that the impeachment led by Speaker Gingrich was, was overreach. That's just what we know because of what happened. And so, look, when you're in control of the White House, you're always on defense. In a midterm election, that's just the way it is. It doesn't make Donald Trump unique. It doesn't make sense. You know, his policies uniquely rejected or anything of that magnitude. And of course, they haven't happened yet, so we'll have to see what happens. I just was, you know, in discussions about his immigration policies. That's where he has always been the strongest, and I think that's where he has the most room to be durably approved of, if you will.

[Hugh Hewitt]

All right.

[David Drucker]

And so the, the surprise for a lot of voters is that more than just criminals are being caught up in these efforts. And people don't like that, and they don't like the idea of having to show their papers. And so on the one hand, potentially a lot of illegal immigrant criminals arrested. That's a good thing that should happen, and that will continue to happen. But how these things are done matters a lot to the American people. It's why we've always been so big on our constitutional rights. You can't just arrest a bad guy. You got to have a warrant, etc. Hugh, you're a lawyer. You know this better than me, but I mean, it matters to people in terms of how they look at this stuff.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Now, what also matters to them is affordability of buying a house, affordability at the gas station, affordability in the grocery store. He's done well, but he hasn't done well enough, I don't think, to make people believe it's appreciably different. But he's got time. This doesn't lock in until June. I think he's going to stay laser focused on the economy. But things like Iran keep coming up and I want to finish there. They murdered 15,000 of their people. On a proportionate basis, that's bigger than Tiananmen Square. It's bigger than 10, 7 in Israel, bigger than 9, 11 in the United States. Should he punish Iran? Will he?

[David Drucker]

Well, he. Well, I wouldn't, I definitely wouldn't rule it out. The president said he would do something if people died, if people were murdered by the regime. And so there's a, you know, there's some level of credibility issues there. But he's got time and, you know, let's see what he does. And I would just say the challenge for him when it comes to affordability is to get himself to a place where that's all he talks about and that's very hard for him to do. He likes to talk about a million things all the time. When it works for him, it really works in this situation. It's the kind of thing that doesn't. What he does on Iran, though, will be interesting to watch.

[Hugh Hewitt]

When you look at the Senate, John Houston is a target in Ohio. It's a pretty good candidate. Susan Collins a target in Maine. She's a wonderful candidate. Tough race in North Carolina between Roy Cooper, a formerly popular governor, and Mike Whatley. Then you go out to Minnesota, Texas, Alaska, Georgia, where John Oza, what's your Spidey sense on the United States Senate?

[David Drucker]

Well, look, I think of the election today. I think Republicans would retain control of the Senate even if they lost a couple of seats. But this thing is still a moving target. And of course, in 2022, I thought Republicans would flip control of the Senate and I was wrong. So I'm trying to be very careful, cautious here. We need to see how some of these primaries play out. I wouldn't sleep on Alaska and I wouldn't sleep on what goes on in the Texas primaries in terms of at least, very least, how resources are going to need to be directed on the Republican side.

[Hugh Hewitt]

I agree with that. If they nominate John Cornyn, It's a layup. That's why I'm for John Cornyn. And Dan Sullivan is about as good a senator as anyone could hope for for the state of Alaska. But they do have that unusual voting system ranked choice. So we got to have Dan Sullivan back to talk about that. David M. Drucker on X. Follow him from the Dispatch. Thank you, David. I'll be right back. American Stay tuned. Hi, it's Hugh Hewitt. You've heard me talk a lot about consumer cellular, how you can switch your carrier and save money without sacrifice. That's because consumer cellular uses the same towers as the major carrier. You'll save money every month on your bill without having to sacrifice the quality of coverage. Right now, you get your second month free. Plus, folks over 50 get two lines of unlimited talk, text and data for $60 a month. That's in addition to the second month totally free using promo code HU. And are you tired of your wireless company telling you you have to Talk to an AI robot, download an app or Verizon, pay $10 to talk to someone when paying your bill? Yeah, no thanks. Consumer Cellular ranks number one for network coverage and customer satisfaction according to acsi. Whether you're switching online or over the phone, you'll be working with an actual human being based right here in the U.S. so switch and get your second month free, plus two unlimited lines of $60. If you're over 50, go to consumercellular.com hupromohue or call 108 or call 1800-411445-41800-411-4454. That's 1-800-411-3454. And don't forget, my code is Hugh.

[Ray Solano]

Hi, this is pharmacist Ray Solano with an important tip to save you money on your prescriptions. Imagine affordable medication and programs that get rid of the root cause of chronic conditions such as elevated blood sugar, blood pressure and difficulty remembering your keys or maybe even where your car is. PD Labs Pharmacy is a special compounding pharmacy providing service solutions and access to on site trained telemedicine staff available to answer your questions today. Many people have discovered personalized prescriptions tailored to you with powerful results such as feeling better. Check out our website, pdlabsrx.com our nationwide coverage and 26 years in pharmacy allows us to offer medications at almost half the price of local pharmacies. Switch your pharmacy to PD Labs and experience the real service without the expense. Bill calls at 888-9-090110. That's 8889-090110 or PD Labs rx.com Remember, you have a choice in health care.

[Carolyn Levitt]

10,000 criminal. And these are.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Oh, we are joined. We are fortuitous in the selection of guests today. Josh Holmes from Minnesota in hour one. James Lilac, humorous extraordinaire, joins us now. James Lilac, substack.com I've posted his substack address. James, when the president got done with Minnesota, after 20 minutes, I think the Chamber of Commerce basically quit. You're not going to get anyone to go to Minnesota. 10,000 criminals arrested in the last two days.

[James Lilac]

That's 10,000. That's one for each one of the lakes that we have. Yes, but that's great, isn't it? I mean, it says somehow that actually the state is incrementally less safe. Now the people will dispute and say a lot of those 10,000 people they're talking about aren't criminals in the crime sense. They're criminals in the sense that they were here illegally, but they were circulated by Homeland Security the other week, a list of 30 people, bad hombres, bad, bad guys who've done awful stuff to women and children that they'd apprehended and gotten out. It's odd that there is this defense of the whole notion that these people should be sort of left in place or I don't know what exactly the protesters want to do with them, because they know that some of the people on whose behalf they are protesting are really, really who oughtn't to be here. And the crimes that people have suffered while these people have been here would not have happened if these people had not been deported long ago. I was reading a substack by a former colleague, good guy, who was talking about how strange it is to live around here with all of this going on, and yet your daily life is rather ordinary, which is true for just about everybody around here. He'd gone to the Mall of America with his kids and were having a great time. And still in the back of his head was thinking about what the city had become. And then his wife told him, there's been another shooting. And they contemplated whether or not they should leave the Mall. Now, I like, I say, I like this guy. I got no brief against him. He's a good fellow. But this is a shooting that happened after a couple of trained Aragua guys, the, you know, the Venezuelan wonderful fellows had attacked an ICE officer and the ICE officer had shot him. This is what had made them nervous. It's getting worse. It's Compacting, it's accelerating. There's been another shooting when the fact of the matter is, if the gang member that got shot had shot another gang member or had winged a child in the process of having some dispute over territory for child sex trafficking, nobody in Egan, in a far flung suburb would have considered leaving the Mall of America because of it. If it happens off stage, off camera to the rest of these people, that's kind of the sunk cost of living in a city. But when you actually go out and do something about getting rid of these people, there's the whistles blown, there's the flags, there's the guys with the rifles, there's all of this stuff. And I'm not sure exactly how it ends here.

[Hugh Hewitt]

James, you've lived how long in Minneapolis.

[James Lilac]

Since 1976 with a three and a half year tour of duty in Washington, D.C. holy smokes.

[Hugh Hewitt]

That's 50 years with a three and a half sentence time off for good behavior inside the beltway in those 50 years. Do you. Do you think it's a different place now than when you first moved there? In terms of fear factor? Yeah, it is.

[James Lilac]

In terms of fear factor? Well, yes and no. I mean, when I moved here, the city was in the 70s slump. In the 80s, it boomed. It was wonderful. It was great. Downtown was vibrant and robust, as they like to say. The buildings were packed, the stores were packed. It was a great place. The decline began in the 90s when we had a gang influx and we had the reputation of being Murderapolis, which was mostly because the gangs were shooting at each other and killing cops and the rest of it. And then they got their hands around that by a variety of ways. And it seemed to get an. It got better. The 90s receded in the mirror. The unsafe feeling that we had in the 90s was gone in the 20s and the tens. But after 2020, the distinction has been pronounced. Now it's better now than it was in 2020. There was a time after George Floyd that the police just simply backed off, did nothing stop nobody. Cars going through red lights, murder all over the place. Everybody knew it. But the city on itself, every neighborhood did not feel saturated with fear.

[Hugh Hewitt]

By reputation, I explained earlier, I went there at least annually in the aughts, and the team, Almost the first two decades of the Hugh Hewitt show got started on July 10, 2000, had a lovely time, walked around St. Paul at night, went to the St. Paul Opera across the green from the St. Paul Hotel, downtown Minneapolis, you know where the Symphony hall is. And I walked around there with the Northern alliance bloggers, we go, it's the safest place in America. Has that changed? That vibe gone?

[James Lilac]

Yeah, the vibe is. The vibe is. It definitely is. Part of it is that when you have less foot traffic in downtown, you're just going to have. The miscreants are going to be a little bit more obvious. There's a really vital entertainment district there. They get some spiky people who like to settle their disputes ballistically. But it is not a dystopia. It is not a place where there's gunfire in every, you know, every street corner downtown and it's just hollowed out and there are fentanyl zombies staggering about. It's not. It's not San Francisco, but it's demonstrably worse. And one of the reasons that it feels so tragic and so keenly felt is that it was so good. It was a great, good place. And all of that's happened has been happening not by design, but just simply by the indifference of the people who know what needs to be done but refuse to do anything.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Jacob Fry, how do you like your mayor sounding like John Calhoun in the nullification debates of the 30s, the 40s.

[Scott Bessant]

I know.

[Hugh Hewitt]

50S.

[James Lilac]

I know. It's extraordinary. And I have to remind you that he was the moderate choice. He was the guy that everybody sort of. That a lot of people held their nose and voted for because the alternative would have been 10 times worse. So, yes, when he gets up and talks about having the police fight ice and you see the police chief standing there like the Rock of Gibraltar with only his eyes going up, Spock like to indicate the curiosity of that sentiment. Yeah, I don't think it's going to come to that. For one thing, you know, they've lost a huge number of police who simply took advantage of the Family Leave act that's just been signed here. A new wonderful invitation to fraud. And they said, I'm out of here for X number of months. This isn't worth it. So, yes, once again, we're probably understaffed in terms of police. Just when we need the most.

[Hugh Hewitt]

James, 30 seconds. What has happened to the schools? You used to go and narrate the school concert, right, At Symphony Hall. You narrated it for the kids. Do they still do that?

[James Lilac]

Minnesota. They do Minnesota youth symphonies. I used to do that for 25 years. Right. The cream of the crop of all of the schools around here, putting their finest students. Some of the schools are still great. The place to which I sent my daughter a public school up the street for many years is still fantastic. But at this point, when it comes to fixing the schools, that's like third or fourth down the list right now in the Minneapolis imagination. If we solve everything else, we'll get to that and say, oh, right, we got that school problem too. Oh, the joy to be an urban center in the 21st century.

[Hugh Hewitt]

Lilacs is our Twin Cities correspondent, without whom we would be lost. Go and read him at jameslyx.substack.com I posted the link over at X. Thank you, James from Dystopia. That was Lilacs. Come right back to the Hugh Hewitt Show.