Ep. 1518 - Joe Biden Makes One Last Insane Power Grab Before Leaving For Good

Summary

The Matt Walsh Show: Episode 1518 - "Joe Biden Makes One Last Insane Power Grab Before Leaving For Good"

Release Date: January 20, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 1518 of The Matt Walsh Show, host Matt Walsh delves into the controversial actions of the outgoing Biden administration, particularly focusing on their attempt to unilaterally declare a new constitutional amendment. The episode explores the implications of this move, the shifting dynamics within American conservatism, and the broader cultural and political landscape as the nation prepares for Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the United States.

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Biden Administration's Attempted 28th Amendment

Walsh opens the discussion by highlighting the Biden administration's unprecedented effort to amend the U.S. Constitution without following the traditional, rigorous process.

Key Points:

• The Biden administration declared the existence of the 28th Amendment, purportedly the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), without adhering to constitutional procedures.
• Walsh emphasizes the difficulty of amending the Constitution, noting that if it were easy, there would be hundreds of amendments by now.
• He questions the motives behind this unilateral declaration, suggesting it was a political maneuver by disgruntled bureaucrats rather than a genuine legislative effort.

Notable Quote:

[04:15] Matt Walsh: "If it was really easy to amend the Constitution, as easy as the Biden administration thinks it is, then we'd have 650 amendments by now."

Background on the Equal Rights Amendment:

• Originally introduced in 1923, the ERA aims to guarantee equal treatment under the law regardless of sex.
• Despite initial support, the amendment failed to secure the necessary ratifications by the 1979 deadline, with several states even rescinding their support.
• Recent actions by the Biden administration, including statements from Vice President Kamala Harris, have reignited discussions around the ERA, though no formal ratification has occurred.

Notable Quote:

[09:30] Kamala Harris: "I affirm the Equal Rights Amendment to have cleared all the necessary hurdles to be added to the U.S. constitution. Now, the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land."

Walsh critiques this move as a blatant overreach, comparing it to Michael Scott's comedic declaration of bankruptcy from The Office, underscoring the absurdity of attempting to amend the Constitution by mere declaration.

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Impact on Conservatism and Trump Support

Transitioning from the Biden administration's actions, Walsh analyzes the broader implications for the conservative movement in America.

Key Points:

• Despite numerous legal challenges and political setbacks, Donald Trump emerges victorious, highlighting a significant transformation within American politics.
• Trump swiftly begins to implement executive orders aimed at various issues, including oil drilling, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies, military enhancements, and border security.
• The shift signals a return to constitutional order, moving away from what Walsh describes as the Biden administration's lawlessness and authoritarianism.

Notable Quote:

[12:50] Matt Walsh: "We're moving from lawlessness and authoritarianism back to the system of constitutional order that's held this country together for centuries."

Cultural Shift:

• A noticeable trend has emerged where mainstream and left-wing figures in culture and entertainment are rallying behind Trump, indicating a realignment of political alliances.
• This support is seen as a reflection of the broader cultural changes and a rejection of censorship, open borders, and political oppression.

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Inauguration Coverage

Walsh provides a firsthand account of the inauguration festivities in Washington D.C., capturing the atmosphere and the conservative energy permeating the city.

Key Points:

• The city is predominantly filled with conservatives and MAGA supporters, creating a unique and celebratory environment.
• Enhanced security measures have been implemented, possibly as a response to past tumultuous inaugurations.
• Matt shares personal anecdotes from attending inaugural balls and interacting with fans, highlighting a sense of camaraderie and support among conservatives.

Notable Quote:

[23:10] Matt Walsh: "It's been a pretty interesting experience, very surreal. The whole city is shut down... and everywhere I go, I'm running into people who are fans of the Daily Wire, which is great."

Despite personal disappointments, such as the Ravens' loss during an inaugural event, Walsh maintains a positive outlook, emphasizing the broader significance of Trump's presidency.

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Women's March and Left Reactions

The episode shifts focus to the Women's March in Washington D.C., where anti-Trump and left-leaning protesters voiced their concerns about Trump's impending presidency.

Key Points:

• Unlike the massive turnout in 2017, the 2025 Women's March saw a significantly smaller crowd, indicating waning momentum and exhaustion among activists.
• Interviews with protesters reveal concerns about Trump's potential impact on women's rights, reproductive freedoms, and broader social issues.
• Walsh critiques the protesters' arguments, particularly their misuse of the ERA, highlighting contradictions and legal inconsistencies.

Notable Quotes:

[18:47] Protester: "I think that Trump is chaotic... he's trying to keep the country in a bit of chaos. And this is one more thing to attack women."

[19:13] Protester: "The hateful speech that he promotes, it's disgusting...We should be better than that."

Analysis:

• Walsh argues that the left's emotional rhetoric lacks the substance and organization needed to effect meaningful change.
• He points out the Supreme Court's stance on abortion bans, asserting that they do not constitute sex discrimination, thereby undermining the protesters' legal arguments based on the ERA.

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Shifts in Public Figures' Support

Examining the broader cultural acceptance of Trump, Walsh highlights surprising endorsements and performances by figures traditionally seen as anti-Trump.

Key Points:

• The Village People, iconic for their representation of the LGBTQ community, performed at Trump's inauguration rally, signaling mainstream acceptance.
• Snoop Dogg, who previously criticized Trump, also performed at a crypto-themed inauguration event, showcasing a cultural shift.
• These endorsements illustrate Trump's growing mainstream appeal and the diminishing influence of the Democratic Party in securing support from diverse groups.

Notable Quote:

[35:42] Matt Walsh: "It's the perfect image for demonstrating how badly Democrats have played their political hand. They have managed to lose the Village People."

Implications:

• Such endorsements indicate that Trump's rallies are attracting a broader audience, extending beyond his traditional base.
• Walsh interprets this as evidence of the Republican Party's resurgence and the Democratic Party's declining influence.

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Future of the Democratic and Republican Parties

Walsh assesses the current state and future prospects of both major political parties in the United States.

Key Points:

• Democratic Party: Facing internal fractures, lack of clear objectives, and declining public approval, the party is portrayed as disorganized and losing its relevance.
• Republican Party: Experiencing a renaissance, the GOP is gaining mainstream appeal, fostering optimism among conservatives for the future.
• Polls indicate a significant drop in Democratic support, with many acknowledging the need for substantial changes within the party, while Republican support remains robust.

Notable Quote:

[34:10] Matt Walsh: "That's why yesterday's rally produced this image, which will probably appear in history books at some point in the future... the Republican Party is mainstream for the first time in decades."

Poll Insights:

• A CNN poll cited by Walsh reveals that 58% of Democrats believe their party needs major reforms, compared to only 28% of Republicans feeling the same about the GOP.
• This disparity underscores the current dissatisfaction among Democratic voters and the confidence Republican voters have in their party's effectiveness.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Matt Walsh presents a narrative of political upheaval and realignment in the United States. He portrays the Biden administration's attempted constitutional amendment as a desperate and misguided effort, contrasts it with Trump's successful rise to power, and underscores the shifting cultural and political dynamics favoring conservatism. Walsh remains optimistic about the future of the Republican Party while critiquing the Democratic Party's current trajectory, suggesting that the latter is on the brink of irrelevance due to internal disarray and declining support.

Final Notable Quote:

[45:50] Matt Walsh: "There has never been a time to be more optimistic about the future of the conservative movement."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn by Matt Walsh in Episode 1518, providing listeners with a thorough understanding of the episode's content and themes.

Transcript

[Matt Walsh]

Today, the Matt Walsh Show. On their way out the door, the Biden administration attempted to install a new constitutional amendment just by declaring that it exists. It doesn't work that way, obviously, but what were they even trying to attempt? And how do we explain all of the mainstream and left wing figures in culture and entertainment suddenly falling in line behind Trump? What does it signal about conservatism moving forward? Talk about all that and more today on the Matt Wa. Today, history will be made. We're live from DC as we prepare for Donald Trump to take the oath of office. Watch it all live on Daily Wire plus and celebrate the 47th President with 47% off your membership. Go to DailyWire.com support subscribe. Being a husband and father and host of my own show means life never slows down. Imagine trying to eat 31 different fruits and vegetables every day. Sounds miserable and time consuming. But with balance of nature, fruits and veggies, there's never been a more convenient dietary supplement to ensure you get a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every day. With 31 different whole fruit and vegetable ingredients, Balance of nature takes fruits and vegetables, they freeze dry them, turn them into a powder, and then put them into a capsule. You take your fruit and veggie capsules every day and then your body knows what to do with them. Go to bounceofnature.com, use promo code Walsh for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. Plus get a free bottle of fiber and spice. That's balancewithnature.com, promo code Walsh. Today's the first day of the second Trump administration, which is a sentence that just four years ago would have been hard, if not impossible to imagine saying out loud. In order to prevent today's inauguration, Trump was, as we know, indicted multiple times, defamed, sued, kicked off the ballot in multiple states, ultimately shot in the head. But against all odds, none of those tactics worked. And as a result, Donald Trump is currently once again the President of the United States. Now, there are a lot of ways that you can measure the extent of the historic transformation that this country is about to undergo. You can look at the hundreds of executive orders that Trump is signing today. Orders that will enable oil drilling and dei, the military, establish the Department of Government Efficiency, secure the border, and so on. You can also look at how our culture is clearly changing, as evidenced by the steady stream of tech executives and celebrities who are now publicly supporting Trump. Censorship, open borders, political oppression. These are not very appealing to most Americans. And now their government will finally reflect that but maybe the best way to measure our country's imminent transformation is to pay attention to what the Biden administration did on their way out the door. And the contrast tells really the whole story with very little fanfare and with no legal authority whatsoever. Of course, just days ago, the Biden administration announced that it has the unilateral authority to amend the U.S. constitution. So they went ahead and declared on the way out the door that we have 28amendments now, instead of what we all thought, which was 27. Now, before I get into the specifics of the amendment that these people think they've added to the Constitution, let's just be clear about one thing. Amending the US Constitution is one of the most difficult and carefully considered actions that can be taken in American politics. The framers made sure of that. It's supposed to require a near total buy in of the country, and that's why it's only happened 27 times in our history. If it was really easy to amend the Constitution, as easy as the Biden administration thinks it is, then we'd have 650amendments by now. And yet the Biden administration, just before leaving office for good, decided to preempt that entire process and give all of that authority to themselves. And they did it at a time when their political capital was at its lowest. They did it after Americans made it very clear that they're tired of this administration and want them out of office. That's the contrast between the Biden administration and the current Trump administration. That's the transformation that we're undergoing right now as a country. We're moving from lawlessness and authoritarianism back to the system of constitutional order that's held this country together for centuries. So, in case you missed this unprecedented and pretty bizarre and, in a weird way, kind of hilarious power grab, here's Joe Biden the other day announcing out of nowhere that we now have a new 28th amendment, which is called the Equal Rights Amendment. It's supposedly our first new amendment in more than three decades. Watch. I affirm the Equal Rights Amendment to have cleared all the necessary hurdles to be added to the U.S. constitution. Now, the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land. Now, it's the 28th Amendment to the Constitution now. Now, normally, in the final days of a presidential administration, you pretty much know what to expect. You'll get a farewell address, moving vans will arrive at the White House, there will be a bunch of questionable pardons, and then they'll leave. But this time, they're throwing in a constitutional amendment on their way out the door. They're altering the founding document of the entire country. Or they're trying to. They think they do. And they're trying to do it kind of in the same way that Michael Scott declared bankruptcy in the office, if you remember that episode, by just like standing up and literally declaring bankruptcy in the office. Though I have to admit, I never thought the office would provide the precedent for the President of the United States attempting to amend the Constitution. But here we are, because they're attempting to do it in the same kind of way. Amend the Constitution by just declaring it amended. Of course, what makes this whole situation even more disturbing is that everyone knows that Biden didn't come up with the idea to suddenly ratify a new amendment. Whoever's running the government decided to do this, and it stands to reason that they did it for a reason. So why would some unnamed bureaucrats in an unpopular outgoing Democrat administration decide to pretend that they've amended the US Constitution on their way out the door? That's a question I think that's worth digging into. In case you're not familiar with the background of the so called Equal Rights Amendment. Well, here it is. It was first introduced in Congress in 1923 and it guarantees that everybody will receive equal treatment under the law, regardless of their sex. Of course, we already had an equal protection clause in the Constitution, but which makes the whole thing irrelevant and redundant. But various factions in the feminist movement thought that they needed an additional guarantee of equality for one reason or another. So we have the general guarantee of equality, but then they want their own special guarantee of equality also written into the same document. Meanwhile, other factions actually wanted women to have more rights than men, so they opposed the amendment on those grounds. But in any event, that's what began the process of making the so called Equal Rights Amendment into an actual amendment. Congress approved it, sent it to the states, and under our Constitution, three fourths of state legislatures would have to ratify the amendment in order for it to take effect. Additionally, Congress set a seven year deadline for ratification which expired in 1979. Now, by 1979, three fourths of state legislators had not in fact ratified the amendment. In fact, several states that initially ratified it ended up rescinding the ratification. So that's it, you know, that's it. It didn't happen. Or at least that should be it. As the DOJ announced in 2020, quote, we concluded that Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a deadline on the ratification of the era. And because that deadline has expired, the ERA resolution is no longer pending before the states. Then, in 2022, under the Biden administration, the DOJ affirmed that decision. That same year, Kamala Harris put out this. The principle of gender equality belongs in our Constitution. The President and I are calling on Congress to pass a resolution recognizing ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The time has come. Well, that never happened either. But last week, in defiance of its own DOJ and its own prior statements, the Biden administration decided to just come out and announce that the 28th Amendment is somehow real. As Kamala Harris put it, quote, the Equal Rights Amendment is the 28th Amendment and it's the law of the land. So this still leaves the question of what exactly is going on here, because obviously they're saying it's an amendment. It's not though, so what's the point? Now, some people have pointed out that the national archivist who has the responsibility of officially publishing amendments isn't actually doing so. And the Biden administration isn't ordering the archivists to do it either, which may indicate that they understand this is all meaningless political theater. Maybe they just wanted to rile up the base in their last days in office for some reason. That would be completely pointless, obviously. But then again, these people obviously don't have the best political instincts, so who knows? But there's reason to think that they're going for something else. All weekend, a bunch of high profile Democrats put out tweets in lockstep praising this new fake amendment. But one of those Democrats, Kirsten Gillibrand, kind of gave the game away. She hinted very strongly at the Democrats goal here. Here's what she wrote. Quote, this is an incredible moment for reproductive freedom and a historic day for equality, especially with Americans facing the further degradation of reproductive freedom as the incoming administration takes power. Now, women living in states with restrictions on reproductive health reproductive freedoms can and should file suits to overturn these unconstitutional laws that discriminate on the basis of sex. I know they will have ample support as they seek justice, and I promise to stand by their side in this fight. So that's the tell. Gillibrand is spelling it out. The goal is to give activists a pretext to file lawsuits against abortion bans. And here's what they want to argue. Abortion bans discriminate on the basis of sex because they only affect women. And therefore they violate this new constitutional amendment, which doesn't exist. And so they have to be struck down on that basis. There are, you know, approximately a million problems with this argument. For one thing, the hypocrisy is so off the charts that it's almost comical. Democrats have spent the last decade telling us that men can get pregnant. So on that basis alone, this would not discriminate on the basis of sex. And now they're insisting that abortion bans discriminate against women on the basis of sex because only women can get pregnant. So once again, as always, they're trying to have it both ways and they're hoping that none of us notice that they want to have it both ways, but, you know, we do. But somehow there's an even bigger issue for Democrats like Kirsten Gilburn, which is that the Dobbs decision explicitly held that laws against abortion do not constitute sex discrimination. Of course they don't. The Supreme Court could not have been more clear about this. Quoting from the majority opinion by Justice Alito, A state's regulation of abortion is not a sex based classification. In other words, even if Democrat activists do go to court and manage to convince a left wing judge in California that this fake amendment is real, it still doesn't matter because the Supreme Court has already ruled that it's not sex discrimination to prevent a child from being slaughtered. So you can't send it back to the Supreme Court to have them say again what they've already said. And of course it's not sex discrimination, by the way, because the law against abortion is not that only women aren't allowed to kill their children, it's that, well, nobody can kill children, so that's the law. So that's equal rights under the law. Now, what this means is that again, on the way out the door, Democrats have done a fantastic job illustrating why they're no longer in power. They have demonstrated once again that they have no regard whatsoever for the Constitution they're supposedly sworn to protect. And at the same time, they've demonstrated their complete incompetence. Because even if this bizarre last minute scheme had actually convinced anyone that we now have a 28th amendment to the Constitution, it still would not overturn abortion bans anywhere. This fake amendment is the perfect capstone to Biden's four years in office. It is fundamentally anti American, illegal and laughably corrupt. And just like this fake amendment, after today, no one will have any reason to think about the Biden administration ever again. Now let's get to our five headlines. I have a question for you. Are you looking to align your investments with your conservative values and take more control over your investment choices? Many investors don't realize they can influence company policies such as DE and by exercising shareholder proxy voting and by reducing their investments in companies that don't share their conservative values. Constitutional wealth helps clients make informed investment decisions that reflect their principles. Their team of investment professionals are passionate about helping you align your investments with your traditional values. Ready to learn more about how your investments can better match your principles? Visit constitutionwealth.com matt for a free consultation. That's constitutionwealth.com matt constitutional wealth is a registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Before considering their services, you should carefully review Constitutional wealth [e-mail] to understand all material risks, conflict of interest, and fees. All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. This is a paid endorsement and I am not a client of the firm. All right, it'll be a very abbreviated headline segment today and, and an abbreviated show because I have to make the walk over to the set to start our inauguration coverage. Also, nobody's watching this show today because everyone's watching the inauguration coverage, which is fine. I get it. You know, I don't, I don't hold it against you. So anyway, yes, we are in, we are in D.C. right now. So. Which explains the different set behind me. And it's been a pretty interesting experience, very surreal. The whole city is shut down. You know, all the streets around the hotel we're staying are closed off, you know, so you go outside, there are no cars driving around. You got to walk through, through checkpoints and everything. And you know, I've never been in D.C. at the time of inauguration before. I've heard that this is the level of security has ramped up considerably from previous years. I don't know if that's the case or not. And meanwhile, all the people who are in town right now are conservatives, you know, MAGA people for the inauguration. So which is also a bit surreal. Everywhere I go, I'm running into people who are fans of fans, fans of the Daily Wire, which is great, but it's a very different vibe from what you're used to when you go to DC. And by the way, for those who have wondered, I mentioned these fancy balls and dinners and things that I'm going to and I shared with you my deep concern, my deep worry that the fancy balls would get in the way of watching the Ravens game on Sunday night. And fortunately we went to the one last night and actually it was Brett Cooper's husband who had the game on his phone. So I stood and watched the rest of the game on the phone and at the ball and, you know, we lost. So I don't really want to talk about it. The Ravens lost, two point conversion, dropped at the end of the game. Absolute dagger. So now I'm standing there in my tuxedo and everyone is celebrating and in a great mood and I understand, but I've just suffered this great trauma and I have to walk around and talk to people and act happy for the rest of the night. And it was tough. It was tough to put on a brave face. But you do what you have to do. And the other thing too is that when you go to these things, the music is so loud that you can't understand what anyone is saying. So I'm having, I probably had 300 conversations with people and I have no idea what was said on the other end of the conversation. So they're saying something in a muffled voice because I can't hear because of the music. And my response is always, yeah, yeah, uh huh, uh huh, yeah. So I was agreeing to things all night and I don't know what I agreed to. For all I know, people were coming up to me and say, hey, what do you think? I sneak into your hotel room tomorrow night and murder you in your sleep? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Sounds good. That's the way it goes. But it was a great event. It was a great event and things are not so great for our friends on the left though. Which leads us to this one headline that I wanted to read because this is the last day that it'll be even remotely relevant. This is from the Daily Wire. Protesters at the Women's March in Washington D.C. argue that Donald Trump presents a serious threat to women's rights and American freedoms, but failed to provide concrete examples of how the President elect will actually do that. The Daily Wire attended the Women's March on Saturday morning in the nation's capital where thousands of anti Trump and left leaning protesters gathered to voice their opinions on a wide variety of topics. Trump himself, abortion, transgender issues, immigration, climate change and more. And I just wanna play you some of the conversation that the Daily Wire reporters had with the women who were at the Women's March. You might not even have even known that there was another women's March. I'm in D.C. and I didn't know that it happened. It apparently happened not far from our hotel and I had no idea this was even going on. Which gives you an idea of the size of this thing, which is that it was not very sizable at all. 2016, they claimed that there was a million people who showed up. Reportedly it drew a million people in. Well, 2017, in January of 2017. And I don't know if it was really a million. I think they probably inflated that number, but it was a lot. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people showed up in 2017 after Trump was sworn in for the first Women's March. And it was a massive, massive outcry. Right. And backlash against Trump's victory. This time they drew a few thousand. I mean, it had to be a tenth of what they had, maybe even less than that. So here are some of the conversations they had with these activists trying to explain why they were out protesting Trump watching.

[Reporter]

How do you feel about Trump being inaugurated this weekend?

[Protester]

I think that Trump is chaotic, and I have no idea what he really is doing. He's trying to keep the country in a bit of chaos. And this is one more thing to attack women. I am actually. I identify myself as worshiping Jesus, and I'm all about the fact that Jesus gave us all brains and hearts so that we can care for each other.

[Reporter]

What is your biggest concern about him becoming president? Is there a right that you're worried that he's going to take away from you?

[Protester]

The hateful speech that he promotes, it's disgusting. It disgusts me for my children and my grandchildren now, and it just. It's disheartening to me as a woman and a person in this country. We should be better than that.

[Reporter]

You're here today against patriarchy. A lot of fun.

[Matt Walsh]

Yeah.

[Protester]

Thank you.

[Reporter]

Thanks. Be glad we want equality and not revenge. Oh, my gosh, that scares me a little bit. Tell us about that. What does that mean?

[Protester]

Just, you know, with all the things going on with Roe v. Wade, we just want that.

[Reporter]

Can we ask you about your flag? Ask you, what does it say? Elect a clown, expect a circus. Tell us about this.

[Protester]

He was really disorganized coming in the first time, and it's all about fame and fortune for him. So I don't expect a lot of organization. I mean, he's got a few good people he's picked for his cabinet.

[Reporter]

But how do you feel about Donald Trump and what are you worried about for this next administration? I just don't like him as a person.

[Matt Walsh]

And I feel like what he represents is not aligning with what we need for this country. Yeah, you know, low energy, I gotta say, very low energy. And it really is fascinating because in 2016, again, there were hundreds of thousands of enraged protesters, people screaming in the streets and crying. And we all remember the now iconic, legendary figure of the woman on her knees screaming no. Into the sky, you know, cursing the gods for having done this to her. And so far, nothing like that has happened in response to Trump's victory this time around. Now you have this small collection of people who seem like they showed up more out of a sense of obligation than out of actual passion, much less a real panic. You know, so in 2016, it was, Donald Trump is a fascist dictator. He's gonna enslave black people and women. He's gonna destroy the world. And now, as we just heard, they're not saying that. Instead, they're saying, you know, I think he's a bit disorganized. I think his organizational skills are not quite up to snuff. So the signs that they're carrying are the same. The signs, you know, and the banners that they're marching under are just as strident as they've always been. But the people carrying the signs can't quite keep the act up. They've run out of steam. And I have to say that I'm surprised by that, because I thought that there would be a nuclear explosion of feminist rage after Trump beat yet another female challenger. I was expecting a Chernobyl level, radioactive, feminine, feminist meltdown on the left. And I think we all were. I think we all were expecting that. But so far, again, this could change, but so far, that just hasn't happened at all. So then the question is, why not? And I think it's a really interesting question. Why haven't we seen this overwhelming outpouring of rage on the left at. At Trump? And mainly, I think it's exhaustion. I think that it's just not possible to sustain an emotional meltdown and a sense of chaotic panic for a full decade, because that's what we're looking at now. I mean, Trump came on the political scene in 2015, 2025 now. So now it's been a decade now, and it's just not possible to keep that going emotionally for 10 years. And this is the problem for the left, being an ideology that runs on emotion. The criticism of conservatives is that we put facts over feelings too much, that we don't connect on an emotional level with people enough, because for us, it's too much of just laying the facts out and shouting at you if you don't understand it and it's not resonating with you. And I think that there's something to be said for that criticism. And I'm. You know, I know that I'm. If there's a. If there's a problem of airing too much on the side of not caring about feelings, and caring too much about facts. I know that that's a, that I have erred in that direction quite a bit. But on the other side, all they have are feelings. All they have is this emotional response, and that's not sustainable because emotions cool, even hatred cools off. Donald Trump is now a normal part of the political scene. He has defined and dominated the political scene for nearly 10 years now. And after a while, inevitably, people just kind of get used to it, get accustomed to it, even the people who don't like him. He's just a normal part of the landscape. And that's aside from the fact that he did well in his first term. And so the dire predictions never really came to pass. Even aside from that, he's normal. He's normal. It was easier to get people to panic and to react emotionally in a negative way against something that is not perceived as normal, something that is different. You know, people are afraid of change and all of that. Right. It's a cliche, but it's true. Well, now you have something that it would be a change for Trump to not be a part of the political scene. So I think that's part of it. And the bigger problem, the deeper problem on the left is the fracturing and the disarray that they have now. Even something like organizing a protest, a large protest, is difficult to do when everybody is fractured. And they're fractured because what is the democratic political project at this point? What do they stand for? Can they even answer that? What do they want to achieve? What are their goals? I mean, I know their fundamental goal is to destroy Western civilization. I know that, but they can't say that. So from a public facing perspective, what are their goals? This is one thing that Trump. One of the, one of the, one of the things that Trump has always been very good at is laying out the goals in really clear language. That's why something as simple as build the wall, it's a simple concept that makes it very clear. This is one tangible thing that we want to do, and this is one of our goals. It's a fundamental goal, and that's secure the border, law and order. I mean, these are simple. Not to say simplistic, but just simple. These are simple things that need to be done. And so if anyone asks, well, what do conservatives want? What does Trump want? What does the MAGA movement want? You could start talking about it, you could start laying it out, because these things have been, clearly, you might not agree with all of it, especially if you're on the left, but you know what those things are. But on the left, they don't have that. And so that's. That's probably their. Their fundamental basic problem that if they don't solve will mean that they'll hurdle even further into irrelevance over the coming years. Which means that, you know, I hope. I certainly hope they don't solve it. That's what I'm rooting for. All right, let's move to the comment section.

[Audience Member]

If you're a man, it's required that you grow a beard. Hey, we the sweet baby gang.

[Matt Walsh]

Hey, a few comments here. As a comic book reader collector, the idea of bringing a comic into a sauna seems utterly abhorrent. Is he trying to ruin all resale value? Is that yet another flex of his. Yeah. On Friday, we played the video of the tiktoker claiming that a white conservative man, quote unquote, made fun of his comic books in the sauna. And you do bring up an interesting point. Like, what kind of comic book fan are you if you bring one into the sauna yet all that moisture is going to ruin the comic book? I wouldn't do that. So apparently I'm a greater respecter of comic books than he is. I can't wait for the inevitable uproar from all the sauna enthusiasts. It's definitely coming. That did happen. You know, I said, I don't see the point of saunas. And because you're just sitting and you're hot and uncomfortable, you're sitting in this torture chamber. This, like, I don't why it's not an enjoyable experience. It's humid and hot. Why would I want. Why would I want that? To just sit in that. And that did provoke the ire of the sauna fans out there. And honestly, I didn't know that there's angry comments from people who like saunas. I did not know that saunas attracted that kind of loyalty. But actually, one thing I've learned over the years is that anytime you even mildly and unseriously and half jokingly criticize anything at all, literally any single thing that you can think of, you will offend some group of people who center their whole identity around that thing. Whatever, random, doesn't matter what it is, whatever random thing, behavior, object that you make a critical comment of, you're going to find that there is some community out there that to them, that thing is like everything. And this is. This is the. It's one of the rakes that I find myself constantly stepping on, which is fine. I travel for work, flying in The USA is awful. The tickets are more expensive and you get less. Even checking on a single bag costs extra money. There aren't even meals or drinks during the flight and the tickets cost more than where there are drinks and food during the flight. The people are extremely slow. Passengers take much longer to store their stuff and collect it before getting off. The flight attendants are ugly, entitled and unfriendly. Security goes extremely slow and you have to take off your shoes. In Asia, aside from Japan, I've never had to take off my shoes. Nobody wears nice clothes to fly in the USA because the experience is so bad for the cost. Everyone's angry at the airport because air travel in the USA is broken. When flying in Asia, I wear a suit. When flying in the usa, I wear a tracksuit and loose fitting shoes without laces. For a country that claims to value hard work, productivity and efficiency, air travel for us is terrible. Perhaps the worst in the world. Though I've never flew in Africa and South America, I've heard this, that air travel in other countries is a much more pleasant and higher class experience. I don't know. The only thing that I can compare it to is my trip to Kenya when we filmed what Is a Woman. Aside from that, I haven't really traveled internationally except for Canada, which doesn't exactly count. I will say that we, when we went out to Kenya, we almost, almost ended up taking Kenya. I think it was Kenya Airways or Kenya Airline or something. And we didn't do that. We didn't pull that trigger, thank God. I have a feeling that if we had, I would not have been thrilled with the travel experience. Instead though, we ended up on Qatar Airways. And to your point, I mean, obviously not an American airline. And man, it was tremendous. I mean it really was. It's like easily the nicest flying experience of my life. Like a mini vacation, just being on the flight. And if the, if that's generally what flying internationally is like, then yes, I think that your point is correct. Finally, Matt says he's okay with comic books because he doesn't want to get in trouble with Ben. He says they're legitimate forms of art, implying it's okay for adult men to like them. But then rants about video games being only for children, implying video games aren't an art form, which is absurd. Many of video games have given us far more compelling stories and narratives than most garbage Hollywood movies of the past 20 years. Yeah, you're right. You know, I said I'm okay with comic books as an art form so that I Don't get in trouble with Ben because they would have fired me. They would have fired me for being anti comic book on the spot. That would have been it. That would be it. You know that's true. You're right. Because in fact, just as you suspect and any opinion that I have that you don't like is only because I'm forced to say it so I don't get fired. Otherwise, how could I possibly believe anything that you individually yourself don't believe? It's impossible. No, you're right. No human being could ever disagree with you sincerely on anything. It's not like I actually have my own views on things and they just might not line up with yours. No, your intuition is correct that everyone in the world agrees with you about everything. And if they don't, it's only because they've been bought off. They're a sellout. There's literally never been a single instance of a human being sincerely and honestly disagreeing with you about anything, even on the smallest, most low stake topic like comic books or video games. So you're right. Anytime. This is certainly another thing that I've learned. Anytime I have an opinion on any individual topic, no matter how small and irrelevant it is, if that conflicts with anyone else, then it's only because I'm a sellout and I'm being paid. Someone's paying me. There's some dastardly scheme. There's someone in a dimly lit room smoking a cigar and stroking a cat, telling me to say whatever that thing was. And in this case, it's comic books. So you caught me. Today's the day, folks. Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. And the Daily Wire is live from D.C. to bring you every moment. We're on the ground delivering it all to you unfiltered, uncensored and in real time. To celebrate this historic event, we're giving you 47% off new Daily Wire plus annual memberships, plus we're including a free $20 gift as a thank you for joining the fight. With your membership, you'll get ad free access to all of our shows, plus an exclusive lineup of hit movies, Fearless documentaries and original series. Now's the time to join. Use code47ailywire.com subscribe for 47% off your new Daily Wire plus membership. Now let's get to our daily cancellation. Less than two years ago, the manager of the Village People reportedly sent a cease and desist letter to Donald Trump's lawyer. The manager, Karen Willis, the wife of one of the group's members was supposedly upset that Trump had been filmed dancing to Macho man at Mar a Lago. As Rolling Stone reported at the time, quote, the Village People are once again asking Donald Trump to stop using their music. Now, who knows if that story is true or not? It's in Rolling Stone, so honestly, it's probably completely made up. But just for a moment, for the purpose of this segment anyway, pretend that it's accurate. From a practical perspective, the story makes sense. The Village People are basically gay icons by design. They produce gay anthems, and according to msnbc, Donald Trump wants to throw all the gay people into camps. So how could the Village People possibly tolerate any affiliation or applied affiliation with the orange Hitler who wants to imprison and torture all the gay people and every other minority as well? With that in mind, it'd be hard to think of a better illustration of Donald Trump's political comeback than the scene last night at Capitol One arena in Washington, where Trump was holding a victory rally. And after he was done speaking, the Village People themselves got up on stage with him. And this is what that looked like.

[Audience Member]

Young man, there's no gown I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground I said, young man Cause you live in the town there's no need to be unhappy Young man, there's a place you can go I said, young man, when you're short on your dope, you can't stay there and I'm sure you will find me ways to have a good time.

[Matt Walsh]

Now, apparently, we're not supposed to read this moment as an endorsement of Donald Trump by the Village People. On Facebook. One of the group's members, the guy who plays the cop, put out a whole statement about this, which kind of entertaining to read, if only because he clearly wants to pacify the group's more militant fans, because apparently this group has militant fans. But he's not quite sure how to do it. Here's part of it. Quote, our performances are not an endorsement of the President elect's policies. Having said that, we do support that. We have a new president now. It wasn't the LGBTQ community that made YMCA great again by pushing the song to number one for five weeks on a Billboard chart. Five weeks at number one. It wasn't the African American community that did that either. Janet Jackson has a song that says, I know you may have done some things for me in the past, but what have you done for me lately? Well, one man has done a lot for the Village People lately. His name is Donald Trump. So I guess they're endorsing the idea that we have a new president. And, you know, but the idea is he's endorsing the fact we have a new president, but not the president himself. But at the same time, they are kind of endorsing Trump because he's made them a lot of money lately. And so at least there's some honesty there. I don't know. Even so, obviously, the fact that these people were willing to appear on stage, even if the PR cleanup effort is. Is hilariously clumsy. The fact that they were willing to appear on stage is a pretty big sign that Donald Trump is far more mainstream now than he was just a few years ago. And more importantly, it's a sign that his rallies are fun for a very wide array of people in the audience. People are excited about his administration, even if they're not hardcore Trump supporters. And that's why yesterday's rally produced this image, which will probably appear in history books at some point in the future, if people still read books in the future. That's what it looks like. It's the perfect image for demonstrating how badly Democrats have played their political hand. They have managed to lose the Village People. In fact, the Village People have gone from sending Donald Trump threatening legal letters to partying with him on stage. And they're not the only ones. I mean, there are many examples of this kind of thing this time around. For example, for his part, Snoop Dogg has had a similar arc. He's gone from acting out Trump's assassination in a music video and lashing out at anyone who performs his inauguration to actually performing at one of Trump's inaugural balls the other day. As USA Today reports, quote, the rapper 53, on Friday performed at an event in Washington, D.C. where cryptocurrency executives celebrated the inauguration of President Elect Donald Trump. The inaugural crypto Ball, held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, billed itself on his website as an event intended to honor the 60th presidential inauguration. America's first crypto president, President Elect Donald J. Trump, his incoming administration. The event did not feature an appearance from the president elect himself, but Trump's incoming crypto czar, David Sachs, served as emcee for the gala. So here's a little before and after of Snoop Dogg's views on performing at Donald Trump's inauguration. And this is less. Less than 10 years apart.

[Audience Member]

So ain't nobody gonna perform for Donald Trump, huh? Which one of you jigaboo gonna be the first one to do it? I'm waiting. I'm gonna Roast the out one of you Uncle Tom for doing it. Which one of you gonna do it.

[Matt Walsh]

First at about noon.

[Audience Member]

Just thought that I had to be a.

[Matt Walsh]

Again, it's not hard to see why this is happening. I mean it's, I mean this is, we're talking about dramatic change of course, but it's not hard to see why. It's the same reason that tech executives like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are going to mar a lago. It's also the same reason Donald Trump received a much larger percentage of the youth vote than any Republican candidate in recent history. Conservatives are now in a highly unusual spot. Historically speaking, conservatives are now seen, correctly as far more interesting and engaging and entertaining than their opponents. They don't stand for censorship or political oppression. They stand for free thought. They stand for having families, enjoying life, you know, having a, a prosperous life rather than constantly dwelling on self pity and feigned grievances. And as a result of that, they can have fun instead of making up threats to democracy and talking about Hitler. This is what was happening at Capital One rally last night. Watch Sorry, Little X just followed me on the stage here. He's a very enthusiastic supporter, as you can see. Yeah, so we're looking, we're looking forward to making a lot of changes. And you know, the, this, this victory is, is the start really. So the Republican Party is succeeding right now in some respects because of moments like this. Democrats resent happiness. They certainly resent children and Republicans don't. There's evidence that at some level Democrat voters understand this. Over at cnn, for example, they just ran this report, quote, in the wake of the 2024 election, most supporters of the Democrat Party say that it needs to make significant changes and that they feel burned out by politics. According to a new CNN poll, the party faces its lowest ratings in more than 30 years. The report continues, quote, a 58% majority of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents say the Democratic Party needs major changes or to be completely reformed, up from just 34% who said the same after the 2022 midterm elections when the party retained control of the Senate but lost the House. Over that time, the share of Republicans and Republican leaders who feel the same about the GOP has ticked downward from 38% to 28%. Now, one reason for these numbers is that there's apparently a very real sense among Democrats that their elected representatives are useless. They spend all their time regulating speech and jailing their political enemies even as inflation spirals out of control and people's lives get noticeably worse, quote, only 49% of Democratic aligned adults say they expect their party's congressional representatives to be even somewhat effective at resisting GOP policies, while more than 9 in 10 Republican aligned adults expect their party's congressional representatives, who now control both chambers of Congress, to be at least somewhat effective at passing new laws to enact their agenda. That's a pretty stark difference. Less than half of Democrats think their elected officials are going to do anything productive, while 90% of Republican voters think their officials will be productive. Now, of course, that doesn't mean that Republican politicians will be productive. It doesn't mean that they'll actually accomplish anything over the next four years. And that remains to be seen. But there's at least some hope and optimism in that direction instead. What these figures demonstrate is the same thing we saw at the inauguration parties this weekend, which is that the Democrat Party is in shambles and the Republican Party is mainstream for the first time in decades in modern history. There has never been a time to be more optimistic about the future of the conservative movement. Right now, millions of people are inspired, even the Village People, of all people. Meanwhile, over on the Democrat Party, they're seething and they're scrambling to pick up the pieces. And that is why, in a very real sense, the increasingly unpopular and despondent Democratic Party is today, though certainly not permanently, at least for now, canceled. That'll do it for the show today. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. Talk to you tomorrow. Have a great day. Godspeed.