GOP Leaders Implode on Sunday Shows as Trump Tanks Party

Summary

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The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: GOP Leaders Implode on Sunday Shows as Trump Tanks Party

Date: December 8, 2025 | Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

Main Theme:
This episode dissects the recent “Sunday show” appearances by prominent GOP and Trump administration figures, highlighting their struggles to justify the direction of Trump’s presidency, defend controversial policy decisions, and explain the party’s waning approval amid economic hardship, accusations of racism, and pardons for drug traffickers. Through sharp banter and biting commentary, the hosts emphasize the disconnect between MAGA leaders’ rhetoric and the reality Americans experience, especially regarding the economy and democratic values.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. GOP Leaders in Damage Control Over Economic Messaging

Timestamps: 02:19 – 11:34

• Scott Bessent (Trump’s Treasury Secretary) “I run a soybean farm”:
  Bessent claims direct farming experience to bolster agricultural policy credibility, but concedes it’s family and not himself who works the farm.

  • “I actually just divested it this week as part of my ethics agreement, so I'm out of that business.”—Scott Bessent [03:08]

• Economic Spin Falling Flat:
  MAGA Republican Senator McCormick insists the party “inherited a train wreck” from Biden and claims rapid improvements.

  • “We made a lot of progress in the last 12 months with the president's agenda. Inflation's about half of what it was on average during the Biden administration.”—Sen. McCormick [04:31]

• Host Pushback:
  Kyle Kulinski (guest host/voice of critique) deconstructs these claims, noting multiple sources labeled the pre-Trump economy as a “Goldilocks economy” with strong fundamentals.

  • “You didn't inherit a train wreck. You inherited an economy that... economists referred to as the envy of the world.”—Kyle [04:57]

• Bessent’s Inflation Defense:
  Attempts to explain away price hikes as not a genuine problem—“inflation is a composite number,” insisting imported goods are not seeing increases.

  • “If we were to look at all imported goods... imported goods, inflation is below the inflation number.”—Scott Bessent [07:20]

• Disconnect with Lived Experience:
  Kyle details personal anecdote of a $165 basic breakfast to highlight the gap between official talking points and daily life costs.

  • “Eggs, bacon, normal breakfast each. The bill was $165 right now...”—Kyle [06:40]

2. The Party’s Struggles with Honesty & Empathy

Timestamps: 07:48 – 11:34

• Approval Ratings & Gaslighting:
  Citing CBS polls: Trump’s economic approval at 36%, inflation approval at 32%.
  Bessent blames media for negative sentiment, claiming real incomes are up and refusing to “discount Americans’ feelings.”

  • “Affordability has two components. There's inflation and then there's real incomes. Real incomes are up about 1%.”—Scott Bessent [08:36]

• Thanksgiving Gaslighting:
  Bessent claims, “Thanksgiving Turkey was down 16%”—a talking point directly challenged by hosts as not matching people’s reality.

  • “Thanksgiving was not cheaper. And stop the freaking gaslighting.”—Kyle [09:54]

• Farm Bailouts Contradict Success Narratives:
  Asked about “bridge payments” to farmers if things are going so well, Bessent admits bailouts are needed because of “future planning,” contradicting rosy forecasts.

  • “You've got to start financing for planning next year when things will be very good.”—Scott Bessent [11:14]

3. Racism, Xenophobia & the Party’s Response

Timestamps: 13:05 – 14:47, 22:07 – 22:49

• Trump’s Racism Toward Somalians:
  Trump labeled the entire Somalian community as “garbage.” Utah Senator John Curtis, positioning himself as “moderate,” offers only tepid pushback, suggesting America “wanted disruption” and is living with the pain of that choice.

  • “We wanted a disruptor, and for good or bad, that's what disruption brings.”—Sen. John Curtis [14:21]

• Deflection Instead of Accountability:
  When pressed, Curtis pivots to generic calls for self-reflection rather than directly condemning the president’s words.

  • “The best thing I can do is set my example... and I think all of us need to... make our, all of our immigrants feel more welcome.”—Sen. John Curtis [13:53]

• Tom Homan & Scott Bessent Attempt Damage Control:
  When directly asked, both pivot away from Trump's language, with Homan agreeing with Trump despite professed ignorance of intent.

  • “I agree with President Trump.”—Tom Homan [22:49]

4. Pardoning Drug Kingpins & War Crimes Defenses

Timestamps: 14:47 – 21:53

• Pardoning Former Honduran President—a Drug Trafficker:
  Trump pardoned a president convicted of bringing 500 tons of cocaine into the US. Senators Tom Cotton (AR) and Eric Schmidt dodge questions; Cotton speculates about “strategic reasons” but falls back on tough-on-crime platitudes.

  • “My general approach to crime is that we should lock them... keep them locked up.”—Sen. Tom Cotton [15:53]

• Host Relentlessly Probes the Evasion:

  • “It’s front page news across the country. Aren’t you, aren’t you curious about that?”—Host (to Eric Schmidt) [18:37]

• War Crimes and Cruelty Justified:
  Amid news of a strike killing alleged drug smugglers who tried to surrender, Cotton repeatedly rationalizes lethal force, offering bizarre hypotheticals (“maybe he’s trying to get a suntan”) to minimize the image of helpless men.

  • “It doesn't really matter what they were trying to do. What matters [is] that they were not in a shipwreck state… those drug traffickers remained valid targets.”—Sen. Tom Cotton [19:53]

5. Lack of Accountability within GOP Leadership

Timestamps: 20:15 – 21:19

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Scandals:
  Senator Curtis, even confronted with new evidence of putting troops at risk and questionable strike orders, refuses to state whether he’d vote to confirm Hegseth again, calling for “more research” instead of decisive condemnation.
  • “That's a question I can't answer without as much thoughtful research as I did the first time.”—Sen. John Curtis [21:13]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On economic gaslighting:
  “Thanksgiving was not cheaper. And stop the freaking gaslighting.”—Kyle Kulinski [09:54]

• On justifying bailouts:
  “You've got to start financing for planning next year when things will be very good.”—Scott Bessent [11:14]

• On Trump’s racism:
  “We knew very well what we were electing at the time. The country wanted a disruptor... that's what disruption brings.”—Sen. John Curtis [14:21]

• On war crimes and drug traffickers:
  “Maybe he's trying to get a suntan. It doesn't really matter what they were trying to do...”—Sen. Tom Cotton [19:53]

• On a lack of GOP accountability:
  “Congress really wants to know exactly what's happening and the real facts, not what's reported in the newspaper.”—Sen. John Curtis [21:19]

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Segment Timestamps Overview

| Segment Topic | Start | End | |-----------------------------------------------------|-------|-------| | GOP economic spin & Bessent’s credibility claims | 02:19 | 07:48 | | Bessent & McCormick's narrative vs reality | 03:29 | 07:48 | | Gaslighting, lived experiences, & price inflation | 06:40 | 09:54 | | Bailouts for farmers: contradictions emerge | 11:05 | 11:34 | | Trump’s racism & party response | 13:05 | 14:47 | | Pardoning kingpin traffickers (Cotton & Schmidt) | 14:47 | 19:00 | | Defending deadly force on alleged smugglers | 19:00 | 20:15 | | Hegseth, war crimes, and evasions on accountability | 20:15 | 21:53 | | Final deflections on Trump’s Somalian comments | 22:07 | 22:49 |

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Takeaway

This episode spotlights the MAGA wing’s crumbling messaging architecture, their penchant for avoiding accountability on everything from the economy to overt racism and criminal justice, and a pervasive sense of disconnect between GOP leadership and average Americans’ lives. The hosts deliver their critique with signature humor, indignation, and a clarion call for facts over partisan spin.

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Transcript

[Kyle Kulinski]

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[Chris Wallace]

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[Kyle Kulinski]

MAGA Republican leaders and Trump MAGA Republican cabinet members were spiraling out of control on live TV on these Sunday shows to try to justify Trump's disastrous presidency, his plummeting approval, the fact that Americans despise the guy. Let me show you what went down. You had Donald Trump's treasury secretary, Scott Besson, continuing to say that he owns a soybean farm. He he gets called out for it and he goes, well, I have family members work on it, which we know is not true. Here, play this clip.

[Scott Bessent]

Since the agreement with the Chinese, they are going to buy 12.5 million metric tons. Margaret, I'm involved in the agricultural industry. I run a soybean farm. And I can tell you, you invest in it.

[Commercial Narrator]

Sorry, you own or invest in it.

[Scott Bessent]

And people in my family go out and work on it. I actually just divested it this week as part of my ethics agreement, so I'm out of that business. But I probably know more about any treasury secretary.

About agriculture since the 1800s. And I can tell you that what farmers need is certainty. And we have put that in place with this trade deal.

[Kyle Kulinski]

Then you have Maria BARTIROMA Speaking with MAGA Republican Senator McCormick, about Donald Trump's economic plans and his policies, to which Senator McCormick, MAGA Republican from Pennsylvania, says, I think the message we need to tell the American people is we inherited a train wreck from, from Biden, but we've saved the day here. Play this clip. Think to be with the president on Tuesday.

[Chris Wallace]

And what are you expecting the president's messages to be?

[Senator McCormick]

Well, I'm hoping to be with him. And I was just in Pennsylvania the last three days in that part of the Pennsylvania, the northeastern part. And listen, I think, I think the message is that we, we inherited a train wreck from the Biden administration out of control in inflation, an enormous regulatory state. Real wage growth hadn't kept up. And we've made a lot of progress in the last 12 months with the president's agenda. Inflation's about half of what it was on average during the Biden administration. Real wage growth exceeds.

The inflation numbers. And you've got all sorts of things that we did right out of the gate, which is putting money in the pockets of working families, whether it's the child care tax credit or no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. So we've made a lot of progress, but there's a lot more work to do. And I think the president will lay out that agenda and how all the policies that he's put in place are going to help working families. And there's more to come, particularly in deregulation and in energy dominance.

[Kyle Kulinski]

Actually, the economy right now is horrible for most Americans. And you didn't inherit a train wreck. You inherited an economy that the economists and the Wall Street Journal referred to as the envy of the world. The there was a manufacturing boom beginning to take place. I think lots of economic papers called it a Goldilocks economy here. Going back to Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. He says that actually the economy right now is much better than we thought it would be. What does that even mean? You promised a golden age and right now it is anything but. And the American people are suffering. Here, play this clip.

[Commercial Narrator]

Lower numbers of purchases and higher crisis.

[Scott Bessent]

The economy has been better than we thought. We've had the 4, 4% GDP growth in a couple of quarters. We're going to finish the year despite the schumer shutdown with 3% real GDP growth.

[Kyle Kulinski]

And by the way, you know, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is a billionaire and he's so detached from what people are experiencing. But just look at that shit eating grin of his. He's so like proud of himself for the deceit and the lies that he spreads. I just, I can't get that annoying face out of my mind because this guy is just the worst. He's then asked on one of the morning shows about prices in the toy space that are going up because inflation is surging right now. And his response is that inflation is a composite number and it's roughly the same every year. And so there's actually no inflation right now. What are you talking about? What does that even mean? We know inflation's rising right now. We all go out there. I just had a breakfast. I mean, for those of you seeing the background, I just had breakfast in Palm Springs. I brought my wife, my niece and my sister in law and my baby girl. And we just had standard eggs, bacon, normal breakfast each. The bill was $165 right now here, anyway, here, play this clip.

[Commercial Narrator]

Well, the maker of tonka trucks, their CEO said it's going to cost 40 bucks for their toys right now because of tariffs and inflation. It was 30 bucks the year before that. 25. Prices in the toy space are accelerating and people are feeling that.

[Scott Bessent]

Well, Margaret, inflation's a composite number and it's roughly the same year over year. And if we were to look at all imported goods. Imported goods, inflation is below the inflation number.

[Commercial Narrator]

The inflation number.

[Scott Bessent]

You meaning that the PCE number, which is about 2.9% imported goods inflation is about 1.8. It's the service economy that's generating inflation, which actually has nothing to do with tariffs.

[Kyle Kulinski]

Okay, going back to Treasury Secretary Scott Besant right here. He's asked again about Donald Trump saying affordability is a con job. Here, play this clip.

[Commercial Narrator]

We hear from, for example, the President when he says that affordability is a con job by Democrats that seems to just not be resonating with consumers that have been polled by CBS. 60% of Americans polled by this network told us President Trump makes prices and inflation sound better than they really are. And his approval rating in the economy is now down to 36%. In our latest poll on inflation, approval is even lower, 32%. Don't you need to show that you feel the pain?

[Scott Bessent]

Well, Margaret, I think the president's frustrated by the media coverage of what's going on.

[Commercial Narrator]

This is the polling. Average Americans.

[Scott Bessent]

Yeah, I think the average Americans are hearing a lot of from media coverage. And I will tell you that affordability has two components. There's inflation and then there's real incomes. Real incomes are up about 1%. And what we're not going to do is say that Americans don't know what they're feeling. We've been working on it every day. I was on your show on March talking about affordability. We've made a lot of gains. But remember, we've got this embedded inflation from the Biden years where.

[Kyle Kulinski]

And again, look at his, look at this face of this liar, this smug, arrogant liar. And again, he's a billionaire. He bought himself in Charleston, South Carolina, before taking this job. A pink Barbie Malibu mansion replica in Charleston where he lived in a pink Malibu Barbie home, like $22 million. And this is the guy saying Thanksgiving was much cheaper. Here he goes. He says Thanksgiving was much cheaper this year. Turkeys were down 16%. I don't know where you're shopping right now. Thanksgiving was not cheaper. And stop the freaking gaslighting, people. We know we went out.

If you're out there, we know it's more expensive. Here, play this clip.

[Commercial Narrator]

Well, I mean, grocery prices are up nearly 3% compared to last September. The president seems to be acknowledging that grocery prices, or at least beef prices, are a challenge because he put out this order just yesterday, saying they're going to investigate corporate price gouging for high beef prices. Isn't suing the food companies the same thing the Biden administration did and it didn't really work?

[Scott Bessent]

Well, how's this any different? Nothing the Biden administration did worked.

[Commercial Narrator]

So why are you doing that?

[Scott Bessent]

Because this isn't the same thing. If they had done this, if they'd done it properly, we'd be in a different spot. And beef is one component. Thanksgiving Turkey was down 16%.

[Kyle Kulinski]

Well, so next Treasury Secretary Scott Bessens asked, so if everything's great, if everything's fine with farmers and you're saying things are great, why is it that you need to bail out farmers right now? Why do you have to give them what you're calling a bridge payment, which is a bailout to the farmers right now. And he goes, well, because you need to help them with the financing now because next year is going to be so great. Here, play this clip.

[Commercial Narrator]

Why? If everything's fine, then why do farmers need a bridge payment from the Agricultural Department? Sorry, why would farmers need a bridge payment from the Agriculture Department then?

[Scott Bessent]

Because these prices haven't come in. Because the Chinese actually used our soybean farmers as pawns in the trade negotiations. And we are going to create this bridge because again, agriculture is all about the future. You've got to start financing for planning next year when things will be very good.

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[Kyle Kulinski]

Then they bring on this MAGA Republican Senator John Curtis from Utah, who tried, tries to fancy himself as a moderate, but he's really not. He aids and abets all of Trump's extremism, but he says it in a tone that he tries to act like he's reflecting on things in a serious way. He isn't. And he's asked about Donald Trump calling the entire Somalian community garbage, saying they're garbage people. Again, clearly racist and xenophobic and hateful. But Trump's a racist, xenophobic, hateful person. So what do you have to say about that? Senator Curtis Maga, Republican Senator Curtis. And he's like, well, you know, I don't, like, I don't love that language. But this is what the American people voted for. We wanted to experience pain, so we're getting the pain that we deserve. Here. Play this clip.

[Senator John Curtis]

Right? And the best thing I can do is set my example. And I think all of us need to wake up every morning, look in the mirror and say, what are we doing? What am I doing specifically today to make this country a better country, to make our, all of our immigrants feel more welcome. That's what we've always had. And I think if more of us would do that, it would matter less what individuals said.

[Interviewer]

Right? But as you know, he's not just an individual. He's the President of the United States calling an entire community garbage.

[Senator John Curtis]

So, you know, it wasn't very long ago, just a little year ago, that we elected him. And we knew very well what we were electing at the time. The country wanted a disruptor, and he's put disruptors into place, Tom Homo and things like that. And that disruption is very, very painful. But you have to remember, the reason I think the country went that direction is they were very uncomfortable with a number of things we were doing in this country. And we wanted a disruptor. And for good or bad, that's what disruption brings.

[Kyle Kulinski]

Then they bring on Tom Cotton. Just Tommy. Tom Cotton's basically just the, the, the. This guy's a weird guy. I mean, there's more to this guy's background than I think people know publicly. But I'll just leave it at that. Okay, I'll leave it at that. But Tom, and he tries to compensate for that with this bloodlust and acting like he's got all this testosterone and, ah, here's what we're going to do. So he's asked about a few things. The first, he's asked, well, how are you protecting Arkansas right now from drugs if Donald Trump is pardoning the biggest drug trafficker, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who brought in 500 tons of cocaine and was instrumental in helping the Sinaloa cartel? So does that make sense to you? Play this clip.

[Chris Wallace]

You are talking about the President protecting Americans Arkansans from drugs. And yet just this week, the president pardoned the former president of Honduras who trafficked more than 500 tons of cocaine into the United States. He was serving a 45 year sentence. Senator, how does that make America safer?

[Tom Cotton]

Well, I haven't spoken to the president about that pardon. There may be strategic reasons to pardon the former president of Honduras because of our relationship with Honduras and trying to move them in a more pro American direction, I'll leave open as a possibility. But Chris, I think, you know, my general approach to crime is that we should lock them. We should convict them and then we should lock them up. And once they're locked up, we should keep them locked up.

[Chris Wallace]

So given that, do you oppose the pardon, given that you're saying you want to protect our Kansas?

[Tom Cotton]

I'd have to. I'd have to know more about the circumstances. Sometimes pardons of foreign nationals who have been leaders of other countries do have underlying strategic reasons. But my, My approach, as you know, Kristen, to crime is to lock them up, throw away the key and don't.

[Chris Wallace]

Let him out the war power.

[Kyle Kulinski]

Oh, I guess he doesn't know about that. But what he does know is that when the survivors of the first boat strike on September 2nd were waving their shirts and they were surrendering and they were stranded in the water, that actually they were signaling that they wanted to pick up more drugs. Let me just say this as well. The ship was headed to Suriname. The ship was heading the fishing boat. I'm going to ship the little tiny fishing boat that couldn't even make it to the US without seven refuels. If it was going in the direction it was going from Venezuela, east, east, outside the direction of the US Here, play this clip.

[Chris Wallace]

He continued to talk about one of them took off his shirt as if he's trying to stunt him. But again, your colleagues, some of them saying, look, they were waving their arms around. Isn't it possible that even the act of taking off a T shirt could have been part of an attempt to get attention for help?

[Tom Cotton]

Or it could have been an attempt to signal to another cartel boat to come pick them up and pick up the cargo.

[Chris Wallace]

But is there confirmation of.

[Tom Cotton]

Of what and what their intention for Admiral Bradley's decision? It doesn't really matter what they were doing. They were on that boat. That boat was still a valid target. They were not in a state of distress on a plank of wood in the ocean like subsequent survivors were. And when that was the case in October, our military did the right thing. Sent a vessel, it picked them up. It took them back to shore.

[Kyle Kulinski]

Whoever lets facts get in the way of MAGA bloodlust and terrorism and despicable criminal conduct. Speaking of, you got MAGA Republican Senator Eric Schmidt, and he's asked, do you support Trump pardoning the former Honduran president? Here, play this clip in the Senate.

[Senator McCormick]

And Senator, let me just begin where we left off with Congressman Smith. Do you support this pardon of the former Honduran president?

[Kyle Kulinski]

I'm not familiar with the facts or circumstances, but I think what's telling here is to try to imply that somehow President Trump is soft on drug smuggling is just ridiculous. At least Stephanopoulos pushes him again. He's like, what do you mean you're not familiar with the facts? Like everybody knows about. You haven't had time to formulate an opinion on things that we all know has happened here. Play this club.

[Senator McCormick]

What do you mean you're not familiar with the facts and circumstances of the pardon? It's been well reported all across the country is the former president of Honduras. He was convicted of conspiring to bring in 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Also guns and other materials. It's been front page news across the country. Aren't you, aren't you curious about that?

[Scott Bessent]

Well, I'm curious about your pushback on that particular point with your previous guest.

[Kyle Kulinski]

You had zero pushback because he's giving the Democrat talk again. So utterly despicable. Here's Tom Cotton again defending war crimes. Let's play it here.

[Chris Wallace]

You saying they weren't incapacitated? And yet Democratic Congressman Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, saw this very differently. He saw that video. He said, quote, it looks like two classically shipwrecked people. Other lawmakers who saw the video said the two men appeared to rape, raise their arms, potentially to signal that they were trying to surrender. Senator, why did Admiral Bradley interpret those actions as anything other than these two men trying to seek help and survive?

[Tom Cotton]

Well, again, they were sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat. They weren't floating helplessly in the water. And Kristen, I don't think it matters all that much what they were trying to do. It looked at one point like they were trying to flip the boat back over, presumably to rescue its cargo and.

[Chris Wallace]

Continue their mission or to stay afloat.

[Tom Cotton]

Maybe they, maybe they were signaling to other airplanes or drug cartel boats because they're in waters that are just off drug cartel areas. At one point, the guy takes off his T shirt. Maybe he's trying to Get a suntan. It doesn't really matter what they were trying to do. What matters that they were not in a shipwreck state, distressed dog paddling in the water at all. And therefore, that boat, its cargo, and those drug traffickers remained valid targets.

[Kyle Kulinski]

And here's Senator Curtis right here saying that he'd have to reflect a little bit more on whether he would reconfirm Pete Hegseth knowing all he knows. Now, he would have to think about it more. I mean, these people, after all they know, war crimes, leaking classified information, war plans. After all they've seen with Hegseth, they'd still. They'd still go with this guy. I mean, that's why these people are just freaking. As pathetic as possible. Play this clip.

[Interviewer]

I want to ask you about the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. Just this week, a government watchdog report found that his use of the signal chat put American troops at risk. What he said in that chat, Lawmakers are continuing to look at his involvement in that double tap strike in the Caribbean on an alleged drug boat. If you were to take the confirmation vote again today, would you vote to make Pete Hexseth Defense Secretary?

[Senator John Curtis]

That's a question I can't answer without as much thoughtful research as I did the first time I did that vote.

[Interviewer]

I think you might now you have evidence, not research.

[Senator John Curtis]

Yeah, but you know what the reality of it is? If you go on what's in the newspapers, it's near impossible to know exactly what's going on. We heard one day that he had put an order in to kill the survivors. The next day we're hearing something else, and the next day we're hearing something else. But I will tell you I am pleased with Congress's role of oversight. I think we're doing a really good job of demanding answers and getting answers. I chair the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, and we're going to have a hearing on this. You're having other hearings. And I think. I think Congress really wants to know exactly what's happening and the real facts, not what's reported in the newspaper. If you go back to his confirmation, that's what I tried really, really hard to do, is like, separate out what we're hearing. Let's get to the real facts and let's make a good decision.

[Kyle Kulinski]

And here's Tom Homan. Here's what he has to say as it relates to Donald Trump saying the entire Somalian population is garbage.

[Interviewer]

Mr. Homan, the president said very clearly this week that he doesn't want Somali immigrants. He called them garbage. Is that the real reason this operation is happening in the Somali community?

[American Giant Advertiser]

No, I think President Trump's referring to.

[Scott Bessent]

Public safety threats as national security threat from Somalia and every other country.

[Interviewer]

Well, he didn't say that.

[Kyle Kulinski]

He said he's been clear from day one.

[Interviewer]

He talked about the whole community.

[Mayra Amit]

Well, look, I know I'm not aware what the President Trump was thinking when he said that, but I agree with President Trump.

[Kyle Kulinski]

There you have it folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe let's get to 6 million subscribers and thank you so much for watching.

[Mayra Amit]

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[American Giant Advertiser]

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