Donald Trump (2:57)

Well, last week with the farmers who were doing very well, we just handed them $12 billion out of tariff money because they were taken advantage of by foreign countries, various foreign countries. And I said, how much was it that they got hurt for 12 billion? I said, good, let's write them a check. I gave the farmers $12 billion and they don't even want it. They just want to be treated fairly.

Ron Filipkowski (3:17)

When then on Air Force One, Donald Trump was asked, so what do you say to a lot of people who are just upset about you? What do you say about your base in general and Donald Trump's like, you don't know my base. Don't talk about my base. My base loves me. Here, play this clip right here.

Donald Trump (3:35)

My base has never been strong. My base is me and other very good people, people that love our country. And if you talk about my base or the MAGA base, you could call it a lot of America. First base. They couldn't be more thrilled. We have drive down to the lowest level that has been in 125 years. We have a border that's totally closed. We have all the things that our base wanted and we have the best economy in history. Prices are down. We inherited very high prices and the highest inflation in the history of our country. Think of it, the highest or 48 years. Some people say 48 years, but I'll take either one. So my base is very happy.

Ron Filipkowski (4:15)

I don't know, I think they're rapidly leaving. Mike, remember I showed this clip yesterday, this three time Trump voter who I think is, this is a three time Trump voter who's summing up a lot of, I think the thoughts out there. Play this clip.

Three-time Trump Voter (4:28)

I am a registered Republican. My dad was the president of American Pipeliners Association. So I came by it rather naturally voted for the president, supported him. But I really want to apologize. I mean, I'm looking at this awful picture of the Obamas. What an embarrassment to our country. All this man does is tell lies. He is not worthy of the presidency. He takes bribes blatantly and now he's being a racist. Blatantly. They were supposed to deport the dangerous criminals. They were not supposed to go after small children, storm schools, bring terror upon, you know, the little kids and the women and children, not just the immigrants in the school. All the children are scared. This is not a Decent man. This is not an honest man. He openly takes bribes. He's pathetic as a president. And I just want to apologize to everybody in the country for supporting this rotten man.

Ron Filipkowski (5:48)

John, did you, did you vote for him in all three elections?

Three-time Trump Voter (5:51)

I did. I was sucked into the stupidity of creating jobs.

Ron Filipkowski (5:57)

So as Trump is tanking in the polls across the country right now, as he's absolutely flailing as it appears like it's going to be a blue tsunami wipeout, like a blue tsunami wipeout that we've never seen before, what people are worried about is Donald Trump trying to block the midterms. The midterms threaten people from voting by putting ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo around the polls. And Donald Trump's buddy, good friend Steve Bannon, who Donald Trump has been praising recently since the release of the Epstein files, where Bannon's like all over them, wants to rehabilitate Epstein's image and seems to be back channeling communications potentially with Epstein and others. Bannon said, and Trump's like, I'm a big fan of Bannon. He posted that photo recently. Bannon's like, we're gonna, we like, we as though him and Trump. We're gonna have ICE surround the polls. Here, play this clip. You're damn right we're gonna have ICE surround the polls come November. We're not gonna sit here and allow.

Commentator/Analyst (7:05)

You to steal the country again.

Ron Filipkowski (7:06)

And you can, you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen. And here's what Caroline Levitt said when she was asked, so are you gonna have ICE surround the polls and intimidate people? And she's like, I can't guarantee you that ICE agents won't be around polling locations. You can't. How about you do guarantee that, because this is the United States of America, dammit. How about you do guarantee. How about you stop lying about frickin everything? Caroline Levitt, here's what she says here, play this clip right here.

Caroline Levitt (7:41)

Steve Bannon recently said, quote, we're going to have ICE around the polls come November. Is that something that the President is considering? That's not something I've ever heard the President consider. No guarantee to the American public that ICE will not be around polling locations or voting locations in November. I can't guarantee that an ICE agent won't be around a polling location in November. I mean, that's frankly a very silly hypothetical question. But what I can tell you is I haven't heard the President Discuss any formal plans to put ICE outside of polling locations. It's a disingenuous question.

Ron Filipkowski (8:18)

So I want to speak with Adrian Fontes, the Secretary of State in Arizona. I've known Adrian Fontes for about five years now. He appeared on Midas in our very early days, and he had a clip that went viral. He was a marksman instructor in the Marines, and he talked about how he trained lots of people in the Marines and how to use weapons and how we need common sense gun reform to have the similar types of training when it comes to civilians having the same weapons. Why is there a manual in the military but no manual for civilians? And why is this? Why is the training different when it comes to physically using the weapon of war? I want to bring in Adrian Fontes, though, to really talk about these elections. What he's doing to safeguard in Arizona, what he's seeing in Arizona, shifts in this red state, in this purple state. Once a red state, now bluish. Well, purple. It's a purple state. Let's bring in Adrian Fontes. Adrian, this is an interview I did with Adrian Fontes yesterday.

Interviewer/Host (9:21)

Now I want to bring in Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, my good friend, Secretary of State Fontez. Good to see you. You know, a lot of people are fearful right now seeing what Donald Trump and his regime is doing in Georgia and Fulton County. The Director of National Intelligence taking the ballots from the 2020 election. We also learned from other reporting that Gabbard was in Puerto Rico to try to, I don't know, push Trump's conspiracies that Venezuela tried to overthrow the 2020 election. Donald Trump was asked by NBC about when Trump would post about, like, secret satellites in China and Italy and Hugo Chavez. I don't even fully understand the conspiracy. I don't understand the conspiracy. Anyway, people are getting worried as we approach the midterms that this is a plan in order to thwart the midterms. Cancel the midterms, whatever. You're the Secretary of State of Arizona in charge of the elections in a very important state. All states are important, but a critical state as well as. So what do you tell people, though, who are afraid of.

Ron Filipkowski (10:33)

Trump trying to.

Interviewer/Host (10:34)

Cancel it or block it or send ICE around to intimidate people. What do we do?

Adrian Fontes (10:40)

Well, first, thanks for having me back. And second, thanks for opening with that question. Here. Here's what we do. We America our way through this as Americans, and we always have. We've never canceled an election in this country, so let's kind of get that one off. The table whether it was the Spanish flu outbreak, COVID 19. So sort of these medical emergencies, natural disasters, Hurricane Helene, the fires in Lahaina, in fact, in Hawaii, the officials actually actively went out to find voters to get them to cast their ballots or even civil war. In fact, I don't know if you know this, but the first mail in ballots were issued to soldiers in the field during the Civil war. We don't cancel our elections. It is the grit, it is the responsible predictability of our elections that are the golden thread that run through the entire fabric of our society. It's what business cycles are based on. It's what academic cycles, medical cycles, technology, all of the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of America understands the predictable pace of our elections. That's at the foundation of everything. So first and foremost, A, we don't cancel our elections. B, we have never seen the chief executive of this nation so wrapped up in personal grievance that they would abuse power this extensively. Now we have seen chief executives do some abuse of power over time, but not in a way that is so egregious, so obvious and so out in the open. At least we can see it coming. And what's happening in Georgia, folks should be very, very concerned, but not scared. Take that concern and turn it into action is what I would say. Go out to your local elections officials, volunteer to be a poll worker to work in the warehouse to help them out. There are all kinds of opportunities for regular American citizens who are concerned to get engaged and get involved, turn that angst, that sort of pearl clutching that we have into action, either on the official side by participating in the system itself to preserve that system, or by exercising your rights. Look, the public protests that are happening out there in the world aren't just happening because of ice. They're happening because people are worried, they're frustrated and they want to get back to some regular order. And that is your power. And oh, by the way, if the folks in charge were not afraid of your power, they would welcome free and fair elections the way we have always had them. They would understand that they're at the top, if they're so popular, of the possible outcomes here. But they are afraid of you. They are afraid of your electoral power. And so to the American people, I say exercise that electoral power regardless of your politics. Let the winners win and the losers try harder next time. That is the American way.

Interviewer/Host (13:35)

Regular order, normalcy, rules, decency. What you're talking about, what I just said there is actually not political at all. And when we see A lot of these results in these special elections that have been taking place and there's been a massive over performance by Democrats that You're a Democrat. Yes. Should Democrats be saying, you know, it's good. But to me, there's a broader story that on the other side, this Trump and MAGA world has broken down those things that I just discussed. Values, principles, rules, order, normalcy, decency, empathy, love. And especially now too, with the constant barrage of lies and what Trump and MAGA are doing, just benefiting these billionaires. To me, that also ties in to the release of the Epstein files or the partial release, because when you look at them, you just see these oligarchs out there using sex trafficking as their currency to basically also torture these underage girls and traffic them and then also torture the world and think that they're above it all. So you have all of that kind of permeating. And you know, I wasn't going to get into it in this interview, but what you said triggered that in my mind because it's just, it's just order. It's like, what is this? What's happening? And you know, you know, you winning that race back in 2022 in a, you know, in a, in a, in the state that you did, you know, in a purple state, firmly registate, you know, talk to us about that.

Adrian Fontes (15:29)

Well, you know, here's the deal. And again, like I said, I use this golden threat analogy because it's incredibly important for folks to realize, as you mentioned, all of these different pieces, you know, the use of sex trafficking notwithstanding, the horrific impact on the victims. All right, let's never, never, never forget that. But the way that it has potentially, you know, maybe captured some of these folks in power, that along with the misinformation and disinformation about our electoral systems, that with the basically federal elect federalization, if you will, of some of our private industry. Did you know that US Steel now has a controlling interest that's owned by the US Government and some major corporations like intel and one of the biggest lithium companies in the world the US has been purchasing ownership interest in very much not a free market thing that's happening. So you go to a bunch of these different buckets and the only way that we exercise our power over those who are in charge is through elections. Whether it's criminal justice for victims, whether it's electoral processes, whether it is business, and again, arts and sciences, law, medicine. The whole of our society is built around and woven through this one golden thread. And they're trying to pull it out, because that disintegration allows for the rise of authoritarianism. Now, all of that having been said, these things will work themselves out, in my view, because the American people are resilient and we understand that this is a whole bunch of noise to distract us from this real notion of our power. Our power not only out in the streets, but our power at the ballot box. And this is why it is all so important. It is why we had a revolution. Because consent of the governed is a critical piece of why 250 years ago we got a declaration of independence from an oligarch in the form of King George. It is why in Arizona we are choosing to again move forward beyond what we believe is going to be a good outcome. Because I believe in the American people. And so in that, and to that end, we've introduced a voters first act here in Arizona. You can do azvoters first.com to find out what we're doing to try to reinstill a voter centric sort of election protocol here in Arizona instead of just limiting and restricting the access that voters have, because access and security are not mutually exclusive. And again, this is just the way that we want to establish a framework so that the power of the American people through our election systems is manifest. But we can't just totally lose our minds because of all of the stuff that you mentioned and so many other things. We have to stay focused on the prize. And the prize is maintenance of the power of the people. All of these other things can and will, in my view, work themselves out. I'm a man of faith and I believe in the American people. That's part of where my faith is anchored. But I also understand that the process by which that power becomes is through elections. And so that's why we're doing what we're doing in Arizona. And then that's why I think folks across the country ought to get much more involved in, in the day to day operation of how the elections work to help their fellow citizens make sure their voices are heard.

Interviewer/Host (18:49)

You know, for those who subscribe to Midas Touch in the past, you know, two, three years, they may not remember, but Adrian Fontes was one of our first guests and one of the moments that went mega viral is when, you know, you talked about how you were a marksmanship instructor in the Marines and you pulled out the manual to show our audience the types of training that individuals in our military have to go through in order to hold these weapons of war. And then there are the civilian versions of those weapons which are basically the same exact, with the same exact weapon. The AR15 has its military corollary, but it's essentially many ways very similar. And so the point that you were making is if you have to train people in the military with this manual and they have to pass tests, why wouldn't we have responsible gun ownership and allow and encourage responsible gun ownership for those similar types of weapons? Obviously the importance of the Second Amendment.

Ron Filipkowski (19:56)

But let's just encourage respect and, you.

Interviewer/Host (19:58)

Know, you and people who own guns.

Ron Filipkowski (20:01)

Are generally okay with that.

Interviewer/Host (20:03)

What I found interesting though is, and is the way that these Republicans have talked about the Second Amendment after the murder of Alex Pretty. I've never heard any group of people talk more negatively about the Second Amendment where you had someone with a concealed.

Ron Filipkowski (20:21)

Carry permit of a handgun than I've.

Interviewer/Host (20:23)

Heard these Republicans coming out of the Trump administration since then. So I know that's not the point of this interview. We weren't going to talk, but it reminded me when you brought out that manual and talking about responsible gun ownership and then contrasting it to concealed carry, following all the rules, permitted weapon, all the right things, and then MAGA saying, nope, you get killed for that. It's just a full circle moment.

Adrian Fontes (20:49)

Yeah, you know, it's, it's really ironic. We were talking about that and it's, you know, I have my views on the Second Amendment. I think responsible gun ownership is just fine. And I don't disagree with, I think it was. Charlie Kirk tweeted back out in February of 2018, you know, the reasons why he believed that the Second Amendment works and why it exists and the backtracking from the political right has been absolutely astonishing. I mean, it's a kind of, it's a kind of political hypocrisy that is, it's really breathtaking. But the bottom line is we know why they're saying what they're saying because they find themselves in control now. And that's not how this is supposed to work. We're supposed to have a government that answers to the people and it doesn't matter who's in charge of the government. It's supposed to answer to the people. That's the general principle. The problem that we have is that we're not having a sober conversation in this country. We're not having a, an ideas based conversation in this country. We're having a shouting match. We're not going back to the values and the principles that our Constitution was not just based in, but was amended through to figure out how to move forward to the next phase. And just let's bring it back to elections and voting. What's the one constant that we've seen in the United States of America when it pertains to voting and administering elections? Throughout all of our 250 years of history, we've seen the expansion of the franchise, we've seen the inclusion of more people into the decision making process. And it didn't just go from being only landowners and those folks who were paying property taxes because that's kind of the origination of who was allowed to vote, but it expanded all the way beyond that into folks because they were citizens, had the right to that self determination, the consent of the governed type of a thing. That American tradition has been squashed. Right. And it's been squashed by folks who want to control outcomes. They don't want to hear voices. And I think that the principle of our body politic has been lost. And what. And it's been lost by some people, right? Like a guy like me. I've won elections, I've lost elections, whatever it happens. You know, when I was playing basketball in high school, we won a ton of games my senior year. And then we lost the state quarterfinals in 1988 to Cactus High School. Boy, I feel bad about that. But unlike some people, I'm not going to try to go re litigate and use the power of my office to try to kind of get at the referees. That's, that's insane. And that's what's happening right now because we've forgotten the number one principle. And that is that the American ethos, the American tradition, is to expand the franchise into as many people as possible. Because only with the biggest number of voices talking through the ballot do we find the true voice of America. Only when we include those voices, particularly the ones we disagree with, are we able to hear the real conversation. And that's what gives leaders their legitimacy. Because they won in free and fair elections and sometimes they lose in free and fair elections. And that's okay. So I think we need to put back on our big boy pants. We need to bring back the question and the notion of maturity in our electoral processes and get to the place where we respect the voice of the voters more than the pull of power that's felt by the political class.

Interviewer/Host (24:31)

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that you've got an election coming up. So before we go, tell us where we can learn more about your election, reelection for Secretary of State in Arizona and any final message to our 6 million subscribers before you go.

Adrian Fontes (24:47)

Well, thanks so much for the chance. I am up for reelection as Arizona secretary of State. For more information and to help us spread the word, you can go to electfontes.com1wordelectfontas.com we are also gathering electronic potential petition signatures because in Arizona, we have this thing called equal where registered voters can sign the petition electronically. And just the last word I'd like to share is this. This country doesn't belong to the oligarchs. It doesn't belong to the political class. It doesn't belong to the leadership. It belongs to you, the voters. It belongs to you, the citizens. It belongs to you, the people who are here contributing to the betterment of our society. Do not ever lose that sense of power which ought to give you a sense of hope that no matter how dark it gets, we can make it better because it's our country.

Interviewer/Host (25:35)

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, thanks for joining us.

Adrian Fontes (25:38)

Thanks for having me again. Really love coming on with you guys.

Interviewer/Host (25:42)

Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers.

Ron Filipkowski (25:46)

Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack@midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad free episodes of our posh and more exclusive content only available@midasplus.com.