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- [00:01]
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- [01:00]
Ben Meiselas
Of the noise out there, sometimes we just lose the signal that this is not normal and it's not okay. When we watch Donald Trump with his red political hat in front of the army grads giving this disastrous speech at West Point, yes, it's ridiculous, yes, it's deranged, yes, it's dangerous. But it frequently becomes a one day story. Then we move on to the next one. Not we here at the Midas Touch Network, but the collective kind of we. And I'm referring more though to the kind of corporate news and why we've been created to try to stop that. Because we can't move on from these things and just go on to the next crisis or the next scandal or the next him making a fool of himself. These things make lasting impressions. And so I thought it was very important that we actually speak to a West Point grad and a West Point grad who finished top 2% of the entire class when she graduated and get really an inside perspective of what went down. And I think it's also important that when we think about what Donald Trump's speech was, we again reflect on other West Point commencement speeches and what could have been, in the words of former Vice President Kamala Harris, because I remember her speech in 2023, which focused on the graduating class. It focused on the future leaders in the army and what that meant. Not on trophy wives, not on not liking stealth technology, not on attacking former administrations. It focused on the graduating class. So here's what former Vice President Kamala Harris had to say. Here, play this clip.
- [02:42]
Kamala Harris
And to all the cadets here today, you stand on the broad shoulders of generations of Americans who have worn the uniform, including many barrier breakers and trailblazers. In fact, this year, you celebrate the 75th anniversary of the integration of women in the military, as well as the desegregation of our military. These milestones are a reminder of a fundamental truth. Our military is strongest when it fully reflects the people of America. West Point. Each and every day, America's service members demonstrate extraordinary skill, dedication and discipline. They are willing to sacrifice everything to protect the lives and liberty of people they may never meet. And I believe there is no more noble work that a person can do than to serve our nation in uniform. And today, then, to the class of 2023, you join the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen.
- [04:14]
Kate Conley
Seen.
- [04:22]
Ben Meiselas
So now contrast that to Donald Trump's speech from this past weekend.
- [04:27]
Unnamed Commentator
Company and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife. Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn't work out too well, but it doesn't. And that doesn't work out too well. I must tell you, a lot of trophy wives doesn't work out. But it made him happy for a little while at least. But he found a new wife, he sold his little boat, and he got a big yacht. He had one of the biggest yachts anywhere in the world.
- [04:58]
Ben Meiselas
So I want to introduce you now to a West Point grad. Her name is Kate Conley. She's running for the congressional seat in New York's 17th congressional district against MAGA Republican Mike Lawler. In addition to graduating from West Point, Kate Conley got her degree, master's degree from MIT and from Harvard. Sixteen years on active duty as an army officer, deploying overseas six times to keep American safe in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Kate Conley, welcome to the Midas Touch podcast. And first and foremost, thank you for your service. And I want to just get your response from an insider's perspective on what went down and how it impacted you.
- [05:51]
Kate Conley
Ben, thanks so much. And to how you introduced this episode, I could not agree more on the importance about talking about things like West Point and the importance of service and how that type of leadership is and that type of sacrifice transcends all. It's not political, it's patriotic. And unfortunately, what we saw transpire at the commencement address didn't resonate with those types of ethics or ethos. And so I do think it's really important that we talk about these types of issues. The signal through the noise and why it matters. And so I'll tell you somebody who, born and raised in the Hudson Valley, I was a junior in high school when 911 happened. And I went home that night and I told my mom I'm applying to West Point. And that's because we didn't have much grown up. My mom works for the postal service for 47 years. My dad was a construction worker. So total blue collar family didn't have many means. But I will tell you, we had a tremendous amount of pride in this nation and a strong sense of service to your neighbors, to your community, to country. And so that's why going to West Point was undoubtedly the right answer for me. I also give credit to Demi Moore and GI Jane, which I watched a ton of as a kid and helping know that's the direction I wanted to go, at least in military service. But that, that responsibility, that privilege to serve, I mean, this is really one of the most beautiful things I think that represents who we are as a nation. And so, yeah, the four years at West Point and that experience was truly incredible and shaping as a young officer to then lead men and women in uniform on combat tours overseas. As you talked about 16 years in active duty service, I will tell you, I went back to West Point often during those years when I'd visit my family to remind myself about the incredible ideals that that institution was established on and cultivates in the next generation of military leaders. And it's this beautiful place where, you know, you have young men and women from all 50 states and territories, from families that span the economic spectrum of some of our country's poorest, to some of our country's wealthiest families. And they're all there with this one incredible calling, and that is to serve our country. To swear an oath to the Constitution, right? To put your life on the line in support of something bigger and better than yourself. And that is the security and safety of Americans. And really, I think living that type of lifestyle and understanding that responsibility is something that leaders in Washington need to not only recognize and honor and respect, but to also continue to cultivate and instill. And so when you look at our nation and the challenges we still have ahead of us, we need leaders that are laser focused on the very real national security challenges our country faces. We have things like a war in Ukraine that are still raging. We have terrorist groups that are still plotting against the United States and Americans. We have Iran looking to develop a nuclear weapon. There are very real national security challenges that our nation should be focused on. Instead, we're talking about these nonsense things. This is where I think serious leaders who've actually gone out there and seen what it takes to get it done, are important to step up right now and to say, let's focus on what really matters for the American people.
- [09:19]
Ben Meiselas
You know, and I think that's the most important thing is to talk about just leadership and then I guess even, even a step below on the hierarchy. How about just like behaving like an adult, like, like a grown up. And the behavior that I see frequently from Donald Trump and the leaders in this Republican Party feels, and again, it's, it's offensive to children because children behave more mature than this. But sometimes I say this behavior is like if a little child was doing these things or posting these types of things or, you know, behaving this way, I would say I'm not okay with it. So why are we supporting it when it's in a Republican, when it's a political party? And why is it being normalized as like whatever. And you know, I go to your district because some, someone like a Mike Lawlor was out there trying at first he represented to everybody in the community that he was the normal guy, that he was going to go in there. And I'm a centrist and occasionally, you know, you'll see him try to pretend to do that. He'll do, you know, the funny video. Hey, you remember me? I'm Lawler. Everybody remembers me. But then when it comes to the voting, when it comes to the actual time, okay, well now you got to be a leader. Every single time. He'll do the exact opposite. And that, and, and that, that complicity to me is what enable. It's almost worse than, than the drums because we know what the Trumps are. To me, it's the wolf in sheep's clothing like the Lawlers that get me even more worried.
- [10:58]
Kate Conley
You know, Ben, you're talking about, I did the six overseas tours that I can kind of talk about that. A lot of my stuff that I did during those days was classified. But, you know, going to Yemen to target Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists. If you remember the underwear bomber from 2009 that came from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. If you remember after Benghazi, I went to North Africa, right, to hold those accountable for the attacks on the Benghazi consulate. Accountable. We did things like fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as they were plotting terror attacks and trying to really mobilize lone wolf terrorist actors in Europe and the United States. When you look at the importance of these missions that are truly no fail, you don't have the luxury of just saying Whatever you want or doing whatever you want. You have a responsibility to deal with the hard facts and realities. You don't have the luxury of not doing your job or saying one thing and doing another. And I think this is what we're talking about right now. The stakes are too high. Failure is not an option. And we don't have serious people taking this stuff on. We have people who say one thing and do another. Whether it's incidents like Signal Gate, whether it's things like the commencement speech, which we just heard, or just overall conduct and decision making, the stakes are too high for failure. And instead of having these really thoughtful and deliberate discussions and processes and taking it seriously, we see these routine mistakes that are largely based in either negligence or just disregard for doing the right thing. I think this is where it's like we should be showing the world right now that America is a superpower, and instead, we're showing them its amateur hour. And the American people deserve better. We just celebrated Memorial Day where we honor those who've given the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, not a single political party, but for all Americans and for our country and what we stand for. I think that's what we need to constantly remember, is we owe those people, those patriots who put this nation first and gave all to honor that sacrifice by making this country better than we found it. Right. And I'm a firm believer and I have tremendous faith that the best days for our country are still ahead of us. But we have a tremendous amount of work to do to make sure that is the case. And I don't see politicians stepping up and demonstrating they can lead us out of this.
- [13:29]
Ben Meiselas
Now, finally, when it comes to New York's 17th congressional district, that's the district Hudson Valley, that Mike Lawler, Republican, holds right now. It's a competitive Democratic primary field. We had the opportunity to speak to others in the primary, so we were glad to be able to kind of speak to you as well. So tell our audience about your vision in that congressional district and in a competitive primary field. What's been your pitch to the voters?
- [13:58]
Kate Conley
Thanks, Ben. So I'll tell you, running for office was not my plan for 2025, but I feel like I have a responsibility right now to step up because I believe our country is at a crossroads, and the politicians who got us into this mess on both sides are not going to be the ones who fix it or lead us out of it. And right now, our country needs true leadership. That's where I am. Incredibly proud of my Hudson Valley roots. I Told you. My mom, right? Post office for 47 years. My dad a construction worker. I understand how hard it is for working families to make ends meet. I hear about families who are working two jobs and still can't pay the rent or are cutting back on grocery bills, but they can still barely afford their prescriptions. Like we have made it too hard in America for working class families to get by. We have to focus on making this more affordable and taking care of the people who are throwing everything they have in to make this country the incredible place that it is. That's where I think there is a tremendous amount of work to be done. And I don't think we see that happening. Look at the House bill that just passed where we're cutting 700 billion in Medicaid. We're going to leave working class families in limbo for their own health care. And that should be unacceptable here. This is where it goes back to. We need true leaders to step up who are going to do what's right for this country, for all Americans. And this is where Certainly in New York 17, we deserve better. And that's where I have been incredibly disappointed by the lack of leadership, by the two facedness that we're seeing coming out of Mike Lawler. And my family deserves better. I deserve better. This community deserves better. So that's why I'm doing this. Because throughout my career I raised my hand to say I will continue to serve this country. I have been a proven leader that's battle tested, that's delivered results for this country and I will continue to do that for New York 17. And I think that type of leadership matters more now than ever.
- [15:54]
Ben Meiselas
Kate Connolly, thanks for your service and thank you for your perspective on the West Point grad and thanks for everything you do and for joining us.
- [16:02]
Kate Conley
No, thanks so much, Ben.
- [16:04]
Ben Meiselas
Everybody hit subscribe and let's hit 5 million subscribers. Can't get enough Midas. Check out the Midas plus substack for ad. Free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more. Sign up for free now@midasplus.com.