Ep. 1621 - What Is A Man In A Women's Restroom?

Summary

The Michael Knowles Show - Episode 1621 Summary

Title: What Is A Man In A Women's Restroom?
Release Date: November 20, 2024
Host: Michael Knowles
Podcast: The Michael Knowles Show, The Daily Wire

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1. Introduction to the Transgender Bathroom Debate on Capitol Hill

Michael Knowles opens the episode by highlighting the escalating battle over transgender bathroom rights within Capitol Hill. He underscores the anticipation of backlash from liberal factions attempting to mandate the use of women's restrooms by transgender men, positioning Republicans as defenders of "sanity and reality."

• Quote: “A battle over bathrooms takes over Capitol Hill and we are actually pretty close to the center of it.” [00:00]

2. Republican Leadership Response: Congressman Mike Johnson’s Statements

Knowles discusses the initial response from House Speaker Mike Johnson regarding the transgender bathroom issue. Johnson's reluctance to directly answer whether Congressman Sarah McBride is a man or woman sparked criticism from conservative circles, which Knowles anticipates will pressure Johnson to clarify his stance.

• Initial Statement (Johnson): “I believe it's a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect...” [04:23]
• Knowles’ Commentary: He criticizes Johnson for avoiding a straightforward answer, suggesting political caution may undermine conservative principles.

3. Clarification from Mike Johnson

Later in the episode, Knowles revisits Johnson’s clarification, where Johnson unequivocally states his position that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman,” aligning his stance with both scripture and biology.

• Clarification (Johnson): “A man is a man and a woman is a woman. And a man cannot become a woman.” [06:07]
• Knowles’ Analysis: He applauds Johnson's forthrightness, emphasizing the importance of adhering to biological truths over ideological narratives.

4. Nancy Mace’s Advocacy for Women’s Rights

The centerpiece of the episode is an interview with Congressman Nancy Mace, who articulates her efforts to protect women’s private spaces on Capitol Hill and across federal properties. Mace highlights her personal experiences as a survivor of sexual violence, reinforcing her commitment to safeguarding women's rights against what she describes as enforced transgender ideology.

• Mace on Resolution: “I filed a resolution this week that would ban biological men from women's private spaces.” [10:14]
• Personal Testimony: “I was raped at age of 16... absolutely triggered by the idea of a man's genitalia being in my bathroom.” [11:46]
• Quote: “I am going to fight like hell for women and girls on the Hill, for women and girls across the country.” [14:00]

5. Political Implications and Republican Strategy

Knowles examines the political ramifications of the transgender bathroom debate, emphasizing its potential as a unifying issue for Republicans. He contends that while some within the party may seek to avoid confrontation, the issue is too significant to sidestep, presenting a clear binary choice.

• Knowles on Republican Leadership: “This has gotta be clear as day. Guys, this has gotta be clear as day.” [15:28]
• Strategic Insight: He underscores the importance of Republicans taking a firm stance to appeal to their voter base and protect women's rights, warning against political posturing that could lead to loss of credibility.

6. Critique of Media and Trump’s Cabinet Picks

The discussion shifts to media criticism, particularly targeting establishment journalists like Bob Woodward and Joy Behar for their negative portrayal of Trump’s cabinet selections. Knowles argues that the liberal media is out of touch, losing relevance as audiences turn to alternative news sources.

• Woodward's Criticism: “Trump picks Pete Hegseth to be Defense secretary... a form of giving his middle finger to the American people.” [27:36]
• Knowles’ Rebuttal: He defends Trump's choices, asserting they align with the American mandate and criticizing Woodward’s perspective as disconnected from voter sentiments.

7. Media Landscape Transformation

Knowles delves into the changing media consumption habits, noting a decline in traditional media influence as more Americans turn to influencers and podcasters for news. He contrasts the depth and nuance of podcast discussions with the superficiality of cable news segments.

• Media Shift Statistics: “One in Five Americans gets his news primarily from influencers.” [32:34]
• Knowles’ Commentary: He highlights the shortcomings of cable news in delivering substantive content, advocating for podcasts and streaming platforms as superior alternatives for informed discourse.

8. Additional Topics: Atheist Chaplains and Australia’s Social Media Ban

Toward the episode's conclusion, Knowles touches on the emergence of atheist chaplains, critiquing their role and effectiveness in addressing spiritual needs. He also praises Australia's proposal to ban social media for minors under 16, framing it as a progressive step to protect children from the adverse effects of social media.

• Atheist Chaplains Discussion: “Atheist chaplains... just trying to be nice.” [34:53]
• Australia’s Policy: “Children and teenagers under the age of 16 could be banned totally from social media...” [48:08]

9. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Knowles wraps up by emphasizing the necessity for Republicans to decisively handle the transgender bathroom issue, portraying it as a fundamental right and a matter of common sense. He calls on listeners to support Republican efforts to legislate and protect women's rights, framing the debate as a critical cultural and political battleground.

• Final Statement: “The question is just how are we going to do it? Are you going to go talk to some atheist chaplain while you lay dying, or are you going to talk to a priest?” [48:08]

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Key Takeaways

• Transgender Bathroom Debate: A central cultural conflict with significant political implications for Republicans.
• Republican Leadership: Calls for clarity and firmness in addressing transgender rights to unify and uphold conservative values.
• Nancy Mace’s Role: Advocating strongly for women's rights with personal and political motivations.
• Media Criticism: Persistent distrust and critique of traditional media outlets for perceived bias and irrelevance.
• Changing Media Consumption: Shift towards influencers and podcasts as primary news sources over traditional media.
• Broader Cultural Issues: Discussions extend to the role of religion, mental health, and legislative actions impacting society.

Notable Quotes

• Michael Knowles: “We're actually getting to speak to the woman who is leading the charge to defend reality and sanity and the legitimate rights of women.” [09:41]
• Nancy Mace: “I was the first woman to graduate from the Citadel... I am going to die on this hill.” [10:14]
• Mike Johnson: “A man is a man and a woman is a woman.” [06:07]
• Bob Woodward: “Why do you want somebody who doesn't know what they're doing?” [27:36]
• Joy Behar: “This idea that Trump won with some kind of mandate is not true.” [34:53]

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Conclusion

Episode 1621 of The Michael Knowles Show focuses on the contentious debate over transgender bathroom rights within Capitol Hill, highlighting Republican efforts to safeguard women's rights against progressive policies. Through interviews and sharp critiques of media narratives, Knowles advocates for clear, principled leadership within the GOP and underscores the importance of addressing foundational cultural issues to maintain societal integrity.

Transcript

[Michael Knowles]

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[Michael Knowles]

We'Ll get to that in a moment. First, though, I have an announcement that I'm very excited about. This is one that I've been waiting on for something like nine months now. It is finally here and it is going to sell out. So you need to go to mayflowercigars.com now. If you're 21 years old or older, some exclusions apply. That is a product that I have been personally involved with for a long time at a very deep level. The Mayflower Dawn Petite Coronas. These are these cute little Mayflower Dawns. I've been calling them Mayflower Compacts. I like that. Five beautiful petite Corona cigars. I'm going to light one up right now. These cigars are not to be confused with cigarillos. Cigarillos are nice cigars too. But Cigarillos are machine made, usually short filler. It kind of blurs the line between a cigar and a cigarette. These are fully cigars. These are hand rolled, long filler, beautiful wrapper. The blend, same blend as the Mayflower dawn, but it's just a cute little size. You know, maybe you want that nice 15 minute smoke. No big deal. I'm going to light it here. Traditionally, cigar smokers, especially if you're old school, you like the smaller ring gauge. The ratio of wrapper to filler is a little bit better. I love them. I like these more than the gigantic baseball bat ring gauges. They are finally here. They're in the shop. They're going to sell out. You want them for Thanksgiving or Christmas, get them now. Mm, mm, mm, mm. This is a good day. This is a good day for a lot of reasons. Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives, has been asked questions about this issue that really, I hate to say I told you so, but we kind of brought this to the forefront. And now Congressman Mace is running with this on Capitol Hill and so leadership has to deal with it. Yesterday, Mike Johnson was asked what he is going to do about Tim McBride, this man who thinks he's a woman wanting to use women's bathrooms on Capitol Hill. Here is Mike Johnson's response. Mr. Speaker, is freshman elect Sarah McBride a man or a woman?

[Mike Johnson]

Look, I'm not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people. I believe it's a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will. And I'm not going to engage in silly debates about this. There's a concern about the uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. And we're going to do that in a deliberate fashion with member consensus on it. And we will accommodate the needs of every single person. That's all I'm going to say about that.

[Nancy Mace]

Do you plan on bringing Nancy Mace's.

[Michael Knowles]

Transgender bill and putting that into the rules package?

[Mike Johnson]

I'm not going to address the plans on any of that. I just told you what I'm going to say about the issue. I'm not going to engage in this. We don't look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity and respect. That's a principle that I pursued my whole life. And we will take care of this, you know, issue of first impression for Congress as we will any other thing. We'll provide appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.

[Michael Knowles]

Okay, Mike Johnson was raked over the coals by conservatives for this answer. And I give him a little more grace on it because we're called to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. And I am hopeful that Mike Johnson will do the right thing as the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, I am hopeful that he is going to say, no, boys can't go into the girls room. And so if he doesn't want to take the reporter's bait on a question like this, I'm okay with it so long as he does the right thing in the end. Now, the outcry against his response here, simple question is, is Tim McBride a man or a woman? He doesn't want to take the bait, I get it. But it's a simple question. He ended up clarifying his statement later in the day.

[Mike Johnson]

Hello everybody. I just want to make a statement for all of you here and be very clear. I was asked a question this morning at the Leadership Gaggle and I rejected the premise because the answer is so obvious. For anybody who doesn't know my well established record on this issue, let me be unequivocally clear. A man is a man and a woman is a woman. And a man cannot become a woman. That said, I also believe that's what Scripture teaches, what I just said. But I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity and so we can do and believe all those things at the same time. And I wanted to make that clear for everybody because there's lots of questions, but that's where I stand. I've stood there my whole life and those are facts.

[Michael Knowles]

Okay? So you see Mike Johnson here saying, look, he's a man. That's what the scripture teaches. And sure, that is what scripture teaches, but it's also what biology teaches. It's also what our eyes teach us, what our functioning faculties of reason teach us. He's a guy, and so he's a very confused guy. He obviously has a defect of his perception that is leading him to believe that he's a woman or else he has a defect of his will which is leading him to desire to be a woman against all reality. But in any case, Tim McBride is not a woman. He's a man. And Republicans are going to have to deal with this. Okay? There is no avoiding this issue for Republicans. I think a lot of Republicans risk averse on Capitol Hill. They want to avoid this issue entirely. There's no avoiding it either. You invite this man into the women's bathrooms and you violate the legitimate rights of women and you implicitly accept trans ideology or you tell the guy he can't go into the women's bathroom and then the press calls. You mean for a little bit. Those are the only two options. The guy is going to have to use the bathroom at some point and so this question will have to be answered. The Republicans are the leaders in the House. We're going to talk to the woman who is leading the charge on Capitol Hill to defend reality and sanity and the legitimate rights of women. There's so much more to say. First though, go to PureTalk.comKnowles did you know that PureTalk, my cell phone company, supports veterans as a veteran led company, it is their passion project. PureTalk has alleviated $10 million in veteran debt. They've donated tens of thousands of dollars every month to help prevent veteran suicide. And they just donated $50,000 to Mike Rowe Works providing scholarships to veterans learning the trades after active duty. Time to jump ship from Verizon ATT Mobile. There is a better option. PureTalk gives you the same great coverage gives you America's most dependable 5G network for half the cost. And you will be helping our vets. It's a win win. Here's the best part. When you switch your cell phone service to Pure Talk on a qualifying plan, you will get one year free of DailyWire Plus Insider. This is a crazy deal. The only way you can get this special offer is by going to PureTalk.comKnowles or you can call and mention my name. Definitely mention my name though. Go to PureTalk.comKnowles today, switch over to a qualifying plan and if that is not inducement enough, best coverage, half the price, support veterans. You also get one year free of Daily Wire plus Insider. We are extremely privileged today not just to be commenting on what we think is going to happen on Capitol Hill with the McBride fight, the question of whether or not women on Capitol Hill still get to have their own bathrooms. We actually get to speak to the woman who is leading the charge to defend reality and the rights of women. That would be Congressman Nancy Mace. Representative Mace, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the show.

[Nancy Mace]

Yes sir. And thank you for talking about this really important topic. Do women have rights or not? Is the question at the end of the day and it needs to be answered.

[Michael Knowles]

It's a simple question. I was hoping that all of your colleagues in the Republican conference would leap at this and say, you know, this is so obvious. As a matter of justice, women deserve their own bathrooms. Even as a matter of politics, the Vast majority of Americans are on board with reality on this issue. And yet so far, you are basically the lone voice. So please tell me a little bit, what is this resolution you are proposing and what are the next steps?

[Nancy Mace]

Well, I filed a resolution this week that would ban biological men from women's private spaces. So that would be the bathroom, changing rooms, locker rooms up here on Capitol Hill. But I'm not going to stop there. I'm also filing a bill that we're giving you exclusive copy to and copy with that would ban biological men from women's restrooms and women's private spaces in every federal property across the entire country. So I'm going to do everything I can to protect women and girls here on the Hill, but also all across the nation. I mean, this question needs to be answered. Do women have rights or not? Are we going to allow these men to bully us into submission? And I say, no, no more. I'm done with this. I mean, I was built for tough. There's no amount of bullying and threats in my life that they've made this week that's going to stop me from this. I was the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. I was built for tough. And I am not going to back down. And I'm urging my colleagues to join me in this fight. This is common sense. This isn't controversial.

[Michael Knowles]

So you mentioned. This is an exclusive. Thank you for breaking the news here. You're not merely introducing a resolution into the House to say, look, female members of Congress get to have their own bathrooms. You are going further to say, we're gonna defend reality and the rights of women on all federal properties. My first take is, wow, that's so ambitious and radical. And then I have to correct myself. I say, wait a second. This is the way things always were. This is just common sense. But I guess common sense isn't so common right now.

[Nancy Mace]

Well, common sense is out the window. There are literally members of Congress today that are saying I'm a bigot and that I'm a bully because I'm defending my right to privacy. Now, a lot of people may not know I'm a survivor of rape. I was raped at age of 16. I'm also a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual abuse. And so I am absolutely triggered by the idea of a man's genitalia being in my bathroom or my. Or a locker room or a space where I'm changing. That is a hard pass for me. And it. And it will. It will come to throats. There will be fists if this happens. I mean, I just can't even. I'm absolutely triggered by the idea that women don't have rights in this country. And I'm going to make sure that I, that I protect them. And this shouldn't be controversial. I came from a district that's as purple as my dress. And as you say, independents are with us. There are most Democrats that are with us. It's just the radical left that are forcing this crazy gender ideology down the throats of our children and other Americans across the country for 1/2 of 1%. I'm not giving up women's rights for 1/2 of 1% of people in this country. Clearly there's a mental illness here, their mental health issues. I'm being threatened by some of these men dressed as women. They're literally threatening to kill me if they can't use a women's restroom. And I ask why. It's insanity to me.

[Michael Knowles]

Of course, in many ways, you're the perfect champion for this issue because, well, you're a woman despite the modern confusion. But two, you come from a purple district. You are not the most far right wing representative by any stretch. You're willing to reach across the aisle and work with people. As you say, you are the victim of sexual violence yourself. So you know the concept consequences of blurring these boundaries and taking away women's private spaces. This really is scandalous to me. I know that politics, there are all sorts of crazy fights that happen, but it is really scandalous to me that in the year of our Lord 2024, women are being told, hey, if you insist on having your private spaces that you've had for time immemorial, if you insist on not being in vulnerable positions in front of men, that you're somehow a bigot, I mean, what do you say to these colleagues of yours who are accusing you of bullying this new member of Congress, Tim McBride?

[Nancy Mace]

Well, I can't say what I want to say because it'd be a four letter word. To be frank, I went to a military college and I used very colorful language. It's not okay because I'm literally being bullied and they're trying to bully me into submission and it's just, it's not going to work. This is a fight. I mean, if Democrats want to die on this hill, not once, but twice. They didn't learn from the election two weeks ago this women's issues were on the ballot and women, overwhelmingly, they supported Republicans more so than they supported Biden four years ago. I mean, Kamala didn't win women overwhelmingly the way that Joe Biden did, because Joe Biden didn't have these crazy far left policies. He didn't want to pay the government to pay for gender surgery for illegals. I mean, this stuff is crazy. And we have to draw a big fat red line in the sand and say no more. Because my rights are worth fighting for. Your daughters, my daughter's rights are worth fighting for. I'm going to die on this hill, and I'm not going to allow it. And this is just the start. To see the left just become totally unhinged means that we're winning. They're now, not only they threatening to kill me, but now they're making all these personal smears and taking shots at me. And I'm like, bring it. I'm not going to go quietly in the night. I'm just going to double down on a really important issue for women all across the country. Because conservatives and Republicans, we're going to be the party that protects women. It ain't going to be the left. It's going to be conservative women protecting women across the country.

[Michael Knowles]

That's right. Certain issues, tax rates, you can have a middle ground. You want 20%, I want 40%. Okay, we'll do 30. But in this case, it's one or the other. Either women get to have their own bathrooms or they don't. And I think your point is so good on the election, which is, look, I mean, as a matter of justice, this is how things obviously ought to be. But Republicans take the win. This is a winning issue. This is an issue that flipped Virginia Red. This is an issue that helped DeSantis win reelection in Florida. Take the win, guys. I mean, Republicans, they seem to have this nasty habit of clutching defeat from the jaws of victory. So in terms of the raw politics of it, on both the resolution and on the bill to enshrine reality in all the federal properties, is it going to pass or no?

[Nancy Mace]

Well, we'll have to see. I mean, the leadership promised me that this provision would be in the rules package. And now there sounds like there might be some waffling or some quote, they call nuance. I'm not here for nuance. There's nothing nuanced about men and women, especially when you're trying to protect women from abuse. And I'm not going to allow it. Not on my watch. And I'm going to fight like hell for women and girls on the Hill, for women and girls across the country. And the raw politics of this is that this is reality. And we have to fight for our reality. We have to fight for our rights. And it's crazy that in 2024, here we are, just over 100 years since women's suffrage. We're here having to have this debate. To me, there is no debate. This is not up for debate. Women get private spaces. And I'm not going to allow some guy, you know, with his genitals out, be walking around in front of other women and girls. I'm just. It's just not. It's not going to be the reality. Not in my country, not on my watch and over my dead body.

[Michael Knowles]

It's so offensive. It's dangerous to women, as we've seen time and time again. And it is deeply disrespectful to force all of us to lie. You know, it's one thing you want to live in delusion, okay? But you're gonna force all of us to lie. You're gonna violate the legitimate rights of people. I don't think so. I mean, I give a lot of grace to Republican leadership in the House. I know it's like herding cats. It's a tough job, okay? But on this one, I don't know. I really hope if leadership is watching or if staff members for leadership are watching. This is a yes or no kind of issue. Guys, this has gotta be clear as day. The just gave Republicans a mandate to govern unified government on basic common sense stuff. If they're gonna fumble the ball right out the gate like this, Republicans don't deserve to govern. What you're doing, Nancy, is fabulous. It is really, really important. Thank you for having courage even when a lot of people don't have spines amid all of our anatomical confusion on the Hill. Best of luck to you. For anyone listening, please support Nancy Mace's efforts and call your congressmen and call leadership and make sure that they do what is right and they ensconce common sense in our law. Congressman Nancy Mace, thank you for coming on.

[Nancy Mace]

Thank you. Let's get them on board. Thank you.

[Michael Knowles]

Really, really good. I'm glad some people have courage up on the Hill. Aren't you? It's in short supply these days. I guess what the left is saying in response to this is that if you wanna have women's bathrooms, that it's far right extremism. That's what Tim McBride has said. He says, quote, this is a blatant attempt from far right extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, healthcare, and childcare, not manufacturing. Culture wars. Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible. That's what I'm focused on. I actually bet Delawareans, I bet many Delawareans sent this guy to Congress without even knowing that he's a man. This is not a presidential race, okay? This is a down ballot race. He calls himself Sarah. There's Photoshop for Palm cards and TV ads. I don't think he campaigned on the trans issue because the trans issue is repellent to so many voters, because it is an insult to our intelligence. And it makes clear that the person who is holding this identity has defective judgment and defective perception. He's saying the far right extremists. You think women should have their own bathrooms. That makes you a far right extremist these days. He wants to get back to the important work that the Delawareans sent him. Hold on a second. Congress hasn't even started yet. We're just talking about basic ground rules that we previously didn't have to talk about because they were just common sense and everyone agreed with them. Now this guy goes on MSNBC and he accuses us of manufacturing a culture war. He accuses us Republicans of trying to distract with this issue.

[Tim McBride]

Because whenever you see a politician or a political party focus in on an issue that impacts a handful of people in a handful of places, you have to ask yourself why? And the answer to that is they are trying to distract. They are trying to distract from what they are actually doing. And over the next four years, every single time we see any member of the Trump Vance administration talk about trans people, talk about immigrants, talk about Muslims, talk about any vulnerable group in this country, look what they're doing with their right hand. Because I can guarantee you, at that same moment, they are working to pick the pockets of American workers. They're working to flee seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare.

[Michael Knowles]

There it is. There. He just gave up the whole game. His premise is faulty. His premise is if anyone ever talks about enforcing immigration law, curtailing the mass invasion of our country, they're just trying to distract. Even though most voters rank that number one or number two of the issues. No, no, no. They say that's just a distraction. If anyone ever talks about transgenderism. Hold on. We Republicans didn't start the transgender issue. We didn't wage this cultural battle. The left started waging. It was the left that said men need to go into the women's bathroom, the left that said men need to compete against women in sports and give them concussions and lifelong paralysis. The left that is forcing this on us, we're just responding to the left. Okay, so it's not.

[Oracle Representative]

We're not.

[Michael Knowles]

Even if you want to call that a distraction, it would have been coming from the left. But he gives the game away when he says the Republicans are just distracting from their attempts to privatize Social Security. Hold on. Accuse Trump of whatever you want. The guy's not going to privatize Social Security. He's made that clear. He's made that clear for a decade now. He's changed the Republican position on entitlement reform. There is zero percent chance that Trump, I mean, there are many Republicans who want him to try to privatize Social Security ain't going to happen. That is a completely made up issue. So then when you listen to that, you have to come to the conclusion, wait a second, maybe it's this guy who was trying to distract. We're just talking about a simple thing here. Can we all agree women get to use their own bathroom on Capitol Hill? He says no, no, no. Republicans are trying to distract. Let's talk about privatizing Social Security. No one's talking about privatizing Social Security. Buster. You're the one who's trying to distract. You're the one who's trying to distract because you know that your position is completely untenable. It is repellent to most Americans. It's totally disconnected from reality. So look, I'm not saying we need to expel this guy from Congress, though perhaps we should, because he obviously has very defective judgment and perception. That said, if psychiatric problems were caused to expel people from Congress, we'd probably lose most of our government. So we're not saying expel him from Congress. We're not saying don't seat him. But you gotta respect women's rights. Respect is a two way street, man. And to accuse us of distraction when you are just making stuff up at this point is quite rich. There's so much more to say. First though, go to preborn.com knowles while the libs try to justify infanticide, Preborn Ministries is on the front lines fighting for the most vulnerable among us. 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And when dinner hits a meltdown, gather everyone around to watch Amiracist, the number one documentary of the decade. Do not just survive Thanksgiving dinner. Dominate it. Join today dailywire.com subscribe all right, enough about transsexualism on Capitol Hill. Want to turn to other important matters in the long run, maybe more important, at least to your wallet. And that is President Trump's picks. President Trump has just announced his pick for commerce secretary and it is Howard Lutnick. Howard Lutnick is the chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor Fitzgerald, a legendary company in New York because most of the company was wiped out in the 911 attacks. It was just so awful. I remember my mother knew a friend of hers, worked there. A lot of New Yorkers knew people who worked there was wiped out. Howard Lutnick did great work, charitable work for the families of those who were killed, rebuilt the company. Trump has announced. I'm excited to announce that Howard Lutnick, chairman CEO of Kenner Fitzgerald, will join my administration as the secretary of commerce. He will lead our tariff and trade agenda with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the U.S. trade Rep. Okay, this is interesting choice because Lutnick clearly wanted to be Treasury Secretary. He was up against a couple other people, Kevin Warsh, who was former Fed governor, and Scott Besant who was hedge fund manager for George Soros, which is kind of funny, but I don't know, I guess there are conservatives who work for George Soros. Lutnick did not get Treasury Secretary, so he's now in charge of trade. And Lutnick was the most pro tariff of those choices. But he's not going to have the really big job of Treasury Secretary. And it looks like Scott Besant will be up for National Economic Council chairman. All of this to say Trump is going to keep threatening the tariffs, but I'm not so sure that he's going to carry through on the full on William McKinley new era of tariffs for America. Let's rip up the income tax kind of radicalism that he was threatening on the campaign trail. It looks as though President Trump is going to be a little bit more responsive to markets. Perhaps some people are going to cheer that on in the conservative movement. Some people are going to wish that he would go further. But that's my read on it. He's going to keep making noise about the tariffs. He might institute some tariffs, but he's not going to put the most pro tariff guy in the biggest job. So he's kind of hedging a little bit on that. Liberal media is still furious over Trump's cabinet picks. Not just Letnik, not just anyone else he picks, but specifically Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary Bob Woodward, the chairman of the board of liberal establishment journalists. He went on Jen Psaki show, Joe Biden's first press secretary, to whine and complain about Trump's choice of Hegseth for the Pentagon.

[Bob Woodward]

You know, that's what we're living in now. This is the era of fear because he's going to be president for four years. And if this is the idea, it is so it's almost unconstitutional. Literally. It's not, but look at it. Why do you want somebody who doesn't know what they're doing? Check engine light has just gone off and we've pulled in to the wrong store. Makes no sense. And it is a form of giving his middle finger to the American people.

[Michael Knowles]

Trump picks Pete Hegseth, who Woodward says is totally unqualified, picks Pete Hegseth to be Defense secretary. And Woodward says this is Trump giving the middle finger to the American people. Au contraire, Monfrer. It was the American people who gave the middle finger to the liberal establishment when it elected Trump. So the Trump picks for his cabinet that make Bob Woodward's head explode. That is not giving the middle finger to the American people. That is following through on the American. On the American people's middle finger to the lib establishment. This is what Woodward is reduced to. Listen to this. Listen to this mindless whining. He says it's basically unconstitutional. I mean, it's literally not. But what. Hold on. What are you even saying? It's kind of unconstitutional to pick a military veteran with degrees from Princeton and Harvard who has a popular morning show who's worked with veterans. It's sort of unconstitutional to pick that guy to run the Defense Department. I mean, it's literally not, but. Okay, then what are you saying? But it's just, you know, it's just not good. He's not the guy I would have picked. Right. That's why Pete Hegseth got it. It's because he's not the guy you would have picked. Bob Woodward has a career because in the 1970s, he partnered up with the Deep State to overthrow another very popular US President, Richard Nixon. Bob Woodward with Carl Bernstein. He was the journalist who teamed up with Mark Felt, who was an assistant secretary or assistant director of the FBI to leak a bunch of nonsense about Richard Nixon to throw him out of office. After he won his reelection in a landslide, Richard Nixon engaged in a typical dirty trick that virtually all political campaigns have engaged in, and the deep state threw him out of office for it. And so Woodward was a propaganda outlet. He was a tool for the administrative state, the bureaucracy, to overthrow a popularly elected president. And he's still kind of doing that now. He's still opposing popularly elected presidents now, but it's just not working as well. The deep state did try to overthrow Trump. The FBI specifically tried to overthrow Trump with the ridiculous Russia collusion story, and that went nowhere. Crossfire, Hurricane. That went nowhere. It's Mueller time, baby. That went nowhere. Impeaching him twice. That went nowhere. Trying to prosecute him four times. That went nowhere. Kicking him off the ballot. That went nowhere. Justifying his assassination, which almost occurred twice. That went nowhere. So now he's just reduced to whining on a show that very, very few people watch. These guys are much less relevant today than they were even five years ago. There's a report that just came out from ap. Less and less relevance for the establishment media, including the Associated Press, for that matter. One in Five Americans gets his news primarily from influencers. That's the headline. This is what they're all whining about. Can you imagine? They're not reading the New York Times anymore. They're not reading the ap. They're not listening to Bob Woodward. They are getting their news from influencers. Oh, what a disgrace. But what does that mean? This is a finding drawn from a survey of 10,000 adults. It's a big survey. But what does it mean to get your news from influencers? Does it mean just some random chick on TikTok? No, it means other people. It means podcasters, it means streamers. It means people who have actually as much credibility or I think significantly more credibility than the establishment media who have become themselves, who have not only done the bidding of the state, but who have lied on behalf of the state, who regularly get stories wrong. The New York Times constantly getting stories wrong. That's why people are tuning them out and tuning into the streamers. MSNBC's Mike Barnacle, kind of funny that his name is Barnacle and he's lamenting his irrelevance and how the times they are a change in. Mike Barnacle just came out and he wondered. He said, I don't know how to make cable news relevant again.

[Mike Barnacle]

I don't know how they make themselves, how we make ourselves relevant again. Because we can't compete with 20 second snippets on an iPhone walking up morsels, getting your entire news digest of the day in less than a minute on your phone as you're walking into crowd with coffee in one hand and your phone in the other. I don't know how we catch up to that.

[Michael Knowles]

How do we compete with these short form people who are deceiving gullible rubes into pretending they can get all their news in 20 seconds. Hold on, hold on. Ironically, that is not what influencers do. And podcasters and streamers, that's not what they do. Ironically, that is what cable news did and that is in large part why they're tuning it out. What's an influencer? I think I'm technically an influencer. Ben Shapiro is technically an influencer. Joe Rogan is kind of an influencer. He's not a cable news host, that's for sure. But does that mean that we're presenting news stories in 20 second snippets? No. That's what cable news does. I've been on cable news many, many times. I've probably been in a billion cable news segments roughly thereabouts. And I'm happy to do It. I'm happy to reach older audiences if I can, but they're really stupid. Not the people. The segments are really stupid because you've got to fit complex issues into three minutes, two minutes, sometimes a five minute segment, let's say. And you can't really get into nuance and complexity. You know where you get into nuance and complexity? On podcasts, on streams, on X Spaces. That's where you get into. You get into it with the influencers. Actually, he's got it totally backwards. Cable news has reigned for about 30 years, and cable news replaced newspapers and public affairs programs like Firing Line, for instance. Long opportunities to air out contentious issues. And cable news dominated for a while, but that was not sufficient for people. People got sick of the stupid 30 second sound bites. That's why they turned to podcasts, which is in many ways not a destruction of the old media. It's a restoration of the best parts of traditional media, which these guys totally blew. But the whining continues. Joy Behar now whining on the View, demanding that we stop claiming that Trump has a mandate.

[Joy Behar]

And by the way, this idea that Trump won with some kind of mandate is not true. I mean, we have information. He beat Kamala Harris by 1.6%. Joe Biden beat Trump by 4.5%. And nobody said it was a mandate. So get that out of your lips, out of your mouth. These people were saying it's a mandate, it's not a mandate. And another thing, one more thing. Why are all these cabinet members on, people that he's seen on television? Is he gonna put Vanna White in them?

[Oracle Representative]

Yes.

[Joy Behar]

I mean, every single one of them is known to us.

[Michael Knowles]

Okay, Joy Behar once again is very confused. The reason that Trump is said to have a mandate here is not because he won the election by 1.6%. He didn't win the election by 1.6%. He won the election in a landslide. He got 312 electoral votes. Electoral votes is what determines who wins the presidential election. He only needed 270 to win, and he got 312. He totally destroyed Kamala Harris. That number. The 1.6 or 1.8% that she's referencing is the popular vote. Trump also won the popular vote. First time a Republican's done that in 20 years. Democrats have an advantage in the popular vote because Republicans generally don't campaign in the big Democrat states, New York and California, because the Democrats are gonna win it anyway. It's a waste of campaign dollars and time. If they did campaign there, they'd win the popular vote by a lot more, presumably. So it was the fact that he won the popular vote at all means there was a mandate. But even beyond that, the reason there was a mandate to govern is that the voters gave the Republicans unified government. The House, the Senate, and the White House. And the conservatives already have the Supreme Court. That's why it was a mandate. Then she compares it. She says, well, Biden won by a far greater number than the popular vote. Well, yeah, sort of. The Democrats changed all the election rules, and there were a lot of, a lot of sketchy changes to how elections were conducted there. And when the rules started to go back in the other direction, Kamala lost in a landslide then. Furthermore, she complains that Trump picks people who are good on tv. Yeah, look, this is responsive government, okay? In a popular government, government of the people, it's very important for politicians to be able to communicate. So Trump picks people who have good credentials, generally who are really talented, people who have achievements under their belt and who also happen to be able to communicate good. That is a vindication of popular government. That is what the people asked for when they gave Trump a mandate to govern. There's so much more to say first, though. Go to balanceofnature.com, use promo code Knowles Balance of Nature Fruits and veggies. It's the most convenient way to get whole fruits and vegetables daily. Nature is pretty good at giving us the nutrients that we need through fruits and vegetables. Balance of Nature takes fruits and veggies, freeze, dries them, turns them into a powder, and then puts them into a capsule. You take your fruit and veggie capsules every day, then your body knows what to do with them. Balance of nature is just one ingredient of a balanced lifestyle. Has no intention to replace a healthy diet, exercise, sleep, or any other healthy habits. It is intended to be used in concert with other healthy habits. I really like this, especially as someone who goes on the road a lot. You don't always get your fruits and veggies. Sometimes you're doing a little bit of fast food. It's nice to know. Okay, good. You're taken care of. As long as your producers don't steal all your balance of nature. Go to balanceofnature.com, use promo code Knowles K L A S for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. Plus get a free bottle of fiber and spice. Very simple. Right? Now go to balanceofnature.com then use promo code K N O W L E S and you can thank me later. My favorite comment Yesterday is from Caseman 434, who says, so funny that on this video we're seeing a YouTube note from the Associated Press. Haha. Yeah, I know. It's the AP and all these guys, the New York Times and Washington Post, both trying to pressure YouTube to take our shows off the air. Because the only way these guys are going to cling to relevance is by coercion, by force. They're going to insist on being the trusted sources. They're going to insist on making people read them. They wouldn't read them of their own accord. At least one person in America has learned a lesson from the 2024 election, and that would be Ann Selzer. You remember Ann Selzer. She's the Iowa pollster who actually has a relatively quite accurate record. She's got pretty high accuracy scores, but she totally Lew it in 2024. She said that Kamala was going to win Iowa by 3 points and then Trump won Iowa by 13 points. It was a pretty big swing. And Ann Selzer, now, just a couple weeks after the election, has announced she's done, she's retiring, she's out from election polling. This is a classy move. She says, look, I've had a good career. I've got an A or A plus rating on my accuracy. Wish I'd gone out on a good poll, but anyway, I'm done. I think this is the political equivalent to seppuku. The Japanese say, I have dishonored my trade. You put the samurai sword right in you, but it's a dignified thing to do. Okay, I'm done. Got it wrong. I've had a good career. I guess I'm starting to slip. I'm out. That's the right move for most pundits. For most people, especially on the left, they're gonna say, okay, we got everything wrong in 2024. We were wrong about Trump. We said he was Hitler. He's not. We said he destroyed democracy. He won't. We were wrong about what the voters want. We were wrong about America's priorities. We were wrong about everything. That's why you need to listen to us now. And CNN's ratings go down the tube. MSNBC's ratings go down the tube. No one wants the AP. No one reads the New York Times. Doesn't matter. They're going to stick to their guns and they're going to try to force you to continue to listen to them. Ann Selzer here showing a bit of class. Okay, you know, guess Time's up for me now. Speaking of changing of the guard, this is a story that I've been meaning to get to for a few days here. I want to get to it. A story out of cnn. I guess I'm the last person to read cnn. But observing a good trend, or not a bad trend, but an interesting trend, there is a rise in atheist chaplains. What is an atheist chaplain headline? Atheist chaplains are forging a new path in a changing world. I won't read through the whole story, but a growing number of atheist chaplains says being an atheist, non believer, unaffiliated, whatever you want to call yourself, lends itself really well to chaplaincy because we naturally don't project our own stuff on the people. He isn't there to teach, to preach or pray. He just reassures people. He'll go into hospices, speak to people who are dying, and just say, hey, yeah, I'm not here for any particular reason. I'm just going to. I can't really comfort you all that much. I'm just trying to be. I'm going to be nice. But he, like so many people in America, doesn't really have any clearly defined religion. What's the point of an atheist chaplain? I like this story, and the reason I like it is I puff on my delicious Mayflower compact here. Mayflower Dawn, Petit Corona. The reason I like this story is not that I think this is good for people. It's not that I think the atheist chaplain is even a coherent category of occupation. It's that it's a reminder that you can't stamp out religion. You can't do it. Atheist chaplains, in a way, have already existed for a long time, and we just call them psychiatrists. It's just people who have often, sometimes purely psychiatric problems. Usually, though, it's deeper spiritual problems. And they go and they want to. What they really want is to go confess their sins to a priest. But they can't bring themselves to believe that or think that that would be a worthwhile endeavor. So instead they go and confess their sins to a psychiatrist. And the psychiatrist, unlike the priest, who can give you the absolution of God, the psychiatrist just gives you drugs to numb the pain and blur up your head a little bit. But they do that. People need to talk about their problems. People still have the eternal questions on their mind. What am I? What am I here for? Am I here for anything at all? What happens after I die? People will always demand chaplains because people will always die and the ultimate questions will always be before them, no matter how many drugs they take, no matter how much they try to get it out of their heads. There's always going to be a demand for chaplains. There's always going to be a demand for priests. And so we can have harmful, unhelpful versions of chaplains and priests, self help gurus and modern liberal yoga teachers with face tattoos. You can have that, but you're still going to have that longing. Because man is fundamentally a religious creature and because man is made in the image and likeness of God, we're always going to have that longing. We're always going to have that there. So the question is not, as I say this for the Republicans at the top of the show, bring it full circle. The question is not will you deal with the transgender issue on Capitol Hill or not. The question is just what are you going to do about it? Either you're going to let the man into the woman's bathroom, or you're going to protect women's bathrooms. But you have to pick one because the guy's got to go to the bathroom. The question isn't, are we going to have priests and chaplains? Are we going to talk about our problems? Are we going to try to find solutions to the eternal questions? The question is just how are we going to do it? Are you going to go talk to some atheist chaplain while you lay dying, or are you going to talk to a priest? Are you going to go confess your sins to some liberal with a medical degree who's going to give you Prozac, or are you going to go confess your sins to a priest? Are you going to go, are you going to go bring your questions ultimately to God? But you're going to have to figure it out because you're a human being and you are going to die and you're going to have to face those questions. Now, speaking of causes of anxiety and psychiatric issues, Australia is doing a very good thing. And Australia is a huge lib government. They have all sorts of problems. But you got to give credit where credit's due. Australia has a proposal to ban social media for kids under 16. Children and teenagers under the age of 16 could be banned totally from social media after the labor government announced it would back this higher cutoff limit. The government had previously said that it would introduce legislation that would get kids off social media by the end of the year. Now they're kind of trying to work through what the proposal looks like. This is so obvious. This might be a little bit of a point of departure between the Conservatives and the libertarians, but I doubt it, actually. I think people realize how pernicious social media can be, can give kids all sorts of body image issues, all sorts of anxieties. It can do that to adults too. Everyone's comparing their lives to the picture perfect curated version of life that we all see from everyone else. It feeds on envy and it helps to encourage envy and pride and vanity and sloth and all sorts of bad stuff. And you think, okay, even if you're the most hardcore libertarian, do whatever you want kind of person, we all still believe that you can have an age cutoff for buying cigarettes or cigars for that matter. We all believe in an age cutoff for buying booze or for pornography. At least we should. I mean, if you want to go buy a Playboy at the magazine store, you have to show an id. You don't have to do that in most states now for online high speed porn, but in some states you do. Increasingly, we're recognizing this is crazy, that we're just allowing little kids to be exposed to this. This is really bad for them, for goodness sakes. We can ban scary movies for minors. We have an R rating on scary movies. You're not allowed to go see a horror film if you're 12 years old, but you can go use TikTok, Instagram. Totally crazy. Really, really dangerous stuff. We need bills like this too. And it's going to upend the way that Republicans think about government. But you're seeing this really in the Trump fight right now. You've seen this even in the pics, in the internal roilings within the presumptive Trump administration, this rift on the right. Are we going to double down on the old country club policies of you, do you? We're not gonna deal with the social issues. We'll let men do whatever they want. They can put on a dress, go into the women's room, just don't bother me and don't raise my taxes. Are we gonna go to that kind of Republicanism or are we gonna think a little bit more about what kind of society we want to live in? Standards, norms, virtue, dare I say, the common good. Are we going to actually dig in on these issues and say, hey, we're not just going to have fights about procedures, how bills are going to be passed if the federal government's going to take up an issue or if it's going to be left to the states. We're actually going to also focus in on the substance of those issues. Should kids really be allowed into the wild, wild west of social media, is that good for them? Probably not. All right, so even, you know, every man is my teacher and I can learn from him. Even Australia, which is so nuts, I mean, it's a nation that was founded as a penal colony and they've, you know, they've had extremely far leftist policies, but here I think they've stumbled on something right and conservatives should take that up too. As we deal with the substance, as we deal with the issues, what is a person, what is good for a person's flourishing? How are we going to live well as a society? How are we going to come to some common agreements on even what the meaning of the word woman is? Well, this would be a good place to say, okay, maybe there's an age limit. No more 12 year olds on TikTok.

[Oracle Representative]

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[Michael Knowles]

There's no member block today because I need to finish my cigar. No, it's because I actually have a fun project I'm working on but I gotta fly out of town. So no membrum segmentum midi spiache, but we'll get to the creme de la creme tomorrow. Until then, I'm Michael Knowles. This is the Michael Knowles Show. See you then.

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