Ep. 1664 - Tulsi, Patel, & RFK Jr. Confirmation RECAP In 5 Mins

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Michael Knowles Show – Ep. 1664: "Tulsi, Patel, & RFK Jr. Confirmation RECAP In 5 Mins"

Release Date: January 31, 2025

In Episode 1664 of The Michael Knowles Show, host Michael Knowles delves into the recent confirmation hearings of Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel, and RFK Jr., offering incisive analysis of the political maneuvers, controversies, and implications surrounding these high-profile appointments. This comprehensive recap not only covers the key moments from the hearings but also connects them to broader themes in current U.S. politics and governance.

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1. Kash Patel's Fiery Confirmation Hearing

Kash Patel, nominee for FBI Director, faced intense scrutiny during his Senate confirmation hearing. Michael Knowles highlights Patel's resilience in addressing the hostile environment he encountered:

[02:15] Kash Patel: "But it's in the record. A detestable sand nigger. You belong with your terrorist home friends."

Patel openly discussed the discrimination and threats he endured, bringing to light the personal attacks that accompanied his nomination. Knowles draws parallels between Patel's strategy and that of Clarence Thomas during his Supreme Court confirmation, emphasizing how addressing such grievances can sway undecided senators.

[02:39] Michael Knowles: "He is drawing attention to a legitimate wrong from Congress... These hearings can be won or lost on the margins."

The discussion underscores the importance of acknowledging and confronting bias within governmental institutions, suggesting that Patel's openness may bolster his case despite opposition.

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2. Bobby Kennedy's Role and Counterarguments

Senator Bobby Kennedy emerged as a formidable opponent during the hearings, particularly challenging Patel's stance on conspiracy theories. A notable exchange includes:

[04:53] Bobby Kennedy: "Sounds to me like we need to get some new conspiracy theories because all the old ones turned out to be true."

Patel counters by asserting the legitimacy of facts over unfounded theories:

[05:01] Kash Patel: "Facts matter, Senator."

Knowles comments on the strategic interplay between Kennedy and Patel, suggesting that while Kennedy attempts to undermine Patel by labeling him a conspiracy theorist, Patel's calm rebuttals reinforce his credibility.

Additionally, Kennedy's second day saw him engaging with Bernie Sanders, questioning the funding sources and influence of the pharmaceutical industry, to which Knowles acknowledges Sanders' adept response.

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3. Tulsi Gabbard's Strong Confirmation Performance

Tulsi Gabbard, nominated for Director of National Intelligence (DNI), delivered a compelling testimony that resonated strongly with Knowles:

[10:57] Tulsi Gabbard: "The American people elected Donald Trump as their president not once, but twice... the DOJ, FBI, CIA, spying on people."

Gabbard criticized the politicization and corruption within intelligence agencies, drawing attention to alleged abuses of power under both past and current administrations. Knowles praises her as "the most intelligent" nominee, emphasizing her role in challenging entrenched establishment views.

Her stance on Middle Eastern policies, particularly regarding Bashar Assad, elicited further discussion:

[14:34] Tulsi Gabbard: "I shed no tears for the fall of the Assad regime. But today we have an Islamist extremist who is now in charge of Syria..."

Knowles aligns with Gabbard's perspective, advocating for "common sense" in U.S. foreign policy and criticizing the longstanding consensus that he argues has led to misguided interventions.

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4. Donald Trump's Critique of FAA and Aftermath of Plane Crash

In the wake of a tragic plane crash over the Potomac, President Donald Trump publicly blamed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) diversity hiring practices for compromised safety standards:

[16:55] Donald Trump: "The FAA's diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities... They're fired people who helped keep our skies safe."

Knowles analyzes Trump's remarks, correlating them with the recent crash and the broader narrative of governmental incompetence:

[19:01] Donald Trump: "Pete Buttigieg... He's a disaster as a mayor... The Department of Transportation... charged with regulating civil aviation... run it right into the ground with his diversity."

He further connects these criticisms to ongoing investigations, suggesting that Trump’s strategic positioning reinforces his appeal to voters frustrated with perceived bureaucratic failures.

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5. Trump's Foreign Policy: Tackling BRICS and Trade Tariffs

Trump articulates a robust stance against the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), warning against any attempts to undermine the U.S. Dollar's dominance in international trade:

Trump: "If you try to create a new BRICS currency... you will face 100% tariffs. There will be no trade with the United States."

Knowles interprets this as a strategic move to assert economic dominance and dissuade BRICS countries from challenging the U.S. monetary system. He cites Trump's earlier actions with Colombia as evidence of his commitment to leveraging tariffs as a foreign policy tool.

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6. Incident Involving a Transgender Individual Attempting Murder

The episode touches on a disturbing incident where a transgender woman was arrested for attempting to murder prominent Republicans:

[30:31] Pete Hegseth: Provides an update on the crash and ongoing investigations.

Knowles critiques the media's portrayal of the event, suggesting that such incidents are not surprising given his views on current diversity and hiring practices. He emphasizes the need for sensible vetting processes to prevent individuals with malicious intents from holding influential positions.

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7. Mailbag Segment: Listener Questions and Responses

The latter half of the episode features the "Mailbag" segment, where Knowles addresses listener inquiries:

• Presidential Pardon Power: A listener questions the extent of the president's authority to issue broad pardons. Knowles advocates for circumscribing this power to specific crimes to prevent abuse.

• Diversity Training in Law Enforcement: A city police officer seeks advice on refusing to participate in diversity training. Knowles advises prudence, suggesting that minor infractions shouldn't necessitate drastic actions like quitting a job.

• Handling Pronouns in Education: A public school teacher asks about addressing a transgender student's preferred pronouns. Knowles recommends honesty, arguing that not adhering to preferred pronouns is a form of dishonesty.

• Personal Relationships and Faith: A listener grapples with a polygamous relationship within the context of Catholicism. Knowles underscores the incompatibility of polygamy with Catholic doctrine, advising the listener to uphold his religious values.

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8. Final Thoughts and Political Implications

Concluding the episode, Knowles reiterates the significance of the confirmation hearings in shaping the current political landscape. He underscores the importance of nominees like Gabbard and Patel in challenging established norms and emphasizes Trump's strategic appointments as pivotal in restoring governmental integrity.

[35:15] Michael Knowles: "This administration is good stuff... It's very important when all sorts of theories are flying."

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Conclusion

Episode 1664 of The Michael Knowles Show offers a thorough examination of recent confirmation hearings, interweaving notable quotes and thoughtful analysis to present a nuanced perspective on the evolving dynamics within U.S. politics. From confronting institutional bias to advocating for strategic foreign policies, Michael Knowles provides listeners with a detailed recap that is both informative and engaging.

Transcript

[Michael Knowles]

Tulsi, Cash, Patel and Bobby Kennedy all faced down hostile senators in their confirmation hearings. Cash actually dropped a hard R. Things got very feisty. President Trump weighs in on the deadly plane crash over the Potomac. And because it is a day that ends in Y, a transvestite is caught trying to murder prominent Republicans. I'm Michael Knowles. This is the Michael Knowles Show. Welcome back to the show. We got a new Michael and dropping long form interview. This one's going to be saucy. Okay? This is going to cause people to react for better or worse. There's going to be rending of garments, gnashing of teeth. We will have a trailer for that, Michael. And later in the show, if you want to see it, if you want to see all that stuff, you got to go to The Michael Knowles YouTube channel, Smash and subscribe. Click that button and then you will get all of the notifications, like videos about Kash Patel's hard R. This was hardcore. Kash Patel is up for the FBI director. Kash Patel is Indian of birth. I think he's. I forget the name. The region of India that begins with a G there. India is a very big place. But as a result, he has faced sometimes a little bit of discrimination. At the very least, untoward comments. And he did not hesitate to mention some of those comments during his Senate confirmation hearing.

[Cash Patel]

Fortunately. Senator. Yes. I don't want to get into those details of my family here.

[Senator John Kennedy]

Let's get into a few of them.

[Michael Knowles]

Tell me about it.

[Cash Patel]

Well, if you look at the record from January 6th, where I testified before that committee, because of my personal information being released by Congress, I was subjected to a direct and significant threat on my life. And I put that information in the record. I had to move in that threat. I was called a detestable. And apologize if I don't get it.

[Michael Knowles]

All right?

[Cash Patel]

But it's in the record. A detestable sand who had no right being in this country. You should go back to where you came from. You belong with your terrorist home friends. That's what was sent to me. That's just a piece of it. But that's nothing compared to what the men and women in law enforcement face every day. And that's why they have my support.

[Michael Knowles]

All right, we dipped the word, but I don't know why we did. I mean, it's in the Congressional Record. He said that he's been called a sand N I G E, R. Why bring this up at the hearing? He's bringing this up because this is gonna be a tight vote. There are A lot of Democrats, even some Republicans, who don't want Cash Patel to have this job for reasons that we'll get to momentarily. And so he's gonna play every card in this case. He's gonna play the race card. And I don't see why he shouldn't. This reminds me of Clarence Thomas, who had been dragged through the mud by Joe Biden, in fact, during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. And then he finally put to rest all of the attacks on him when he sat before the Senate committee and he said, this is a high tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves. And it's a message that if you don't kowtow to an old order, you'll be lynched. You'll be digitally lynched rather than hung from a tree. The minute that Clarence Thomas said that, you can see Biden's head went straight down. He said, oh, I don't want any part of this. And the vote went just fine for Justice Thomas. So I think that's what Cash Patel's doing here. And I think, okay, right. He is drawing attention to a legitimate wrong from Congress, which is that Congress doxxed him and then he had to move. He was getting so much hatred after the Senate and congressional Democrats were ginning up all this hate against Cash Patel. And just to drive the point home, he was called a sand n I g e r. All right, does that make a Democrat senator 5% more likely to vote for him? Does that make a squish Republican senator 5% more likely to vote for him? Great. Great. These hearings can be won or lost on the margins, so I think he's throwing everything, including the kitchen sink. That's great. Now, the great assist yesterday during Patel's hearing came from Senator John Kennedy. My publisher, my editor, some years ago sent me a quiz to see if you could identify who said a given quote, Senator John Kennedy or Foghorn Leghorn. And I did not do that well on it. Okay. Senator Kennedy, he's got away with words. And he set up Cash Patel so beautifully on the chief argument against Patel's nomination, namely that Patel is a quote, unquote conspiracy theorist.

[Bobby Kennedy]

Sounds to me like we need to get some new conspiracy theories because all the old ones turned out to be true.

[Cash Patel]

Facts matter, Senator.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, I mean, conspiracy theorists are up.

[Bobby Kennedy]

Something like 37 to nothing.

[Michael Knowles]

And you can tell Patel just wants to let Kennedy do it. He doesn't wanna say anything that could in any way seem like he's agreeing that conspiracy theories are true, but it's obviously the case. We were told, in fact, this conspiracy theory the New York Times and the CIA just admitted was true. We were told that the COVID didn't leak from a laboratory in Wuhan. We were told that it came from a bad batch of bat soup, maybe a nasty little pangolin over at a wet market. And that wasn't true. It obviously leaked from a lab. The CIA agrees with that. Now the New York Times. So Kennedy's right. I think it's about 37 to nothing. The conspiracy theories are winning. And I remember I was interviewing some years ago, a very, very senior member of the Trump administration, the first Trump administration. And we were chatting about the interview beforehand, and I said, you know, I would like to hit this person, that person, and this person. Are you comfortable if I raise these questions? I don't want to put you in a bad spot. And the person I was interviewing, very, very senior member of the administration said, oh, I certainly think you should raise those questions. I might not be able to answer, but you should definitely raise it. So that was the impression I got here from Kennedy. Kennedy was giving a big assist to Kash Patel. I thought he did very, very well. Now, Bobby Kennedy also showed up yesterday for his second day of confirmation hearings, and he was locked and loaded. He was a little bit scrappier yesterday, more inclined to fight, as we saw when he went after Bernie Sanders.

[Bobby Kennedy]

I'm going to make America healthier than other countries in the world right now. Will you guarantee? Do what every other major country does? That's a simple question. And by the way, Bernie, you know, the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies, it's in Congress, too. Almost all the members of this panel are accepting, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry. Oh, no. And protecting their interests. Oh, I thought that that would come. No, no, no. I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from the executives, not one nickel of PAC money from the pharmaceutical. They came from workers. 2020. In 2020, you were the single largest. Because I had receiver of pharmaceutical money from workers all over this country. Workers. Not a nickel from corporate tax. Bernie was the single largest, except Earth of pharmaceutical dollars. No, from workers in 1.5 million. Yeah. Out of 200 million. All right, but.

[Michael Knowles]

All right, so Bernie actually had the best response that he could have had to this attack from Bobby Kennedy. I gotta give it to him. Bernie's a shrewd politician. So he said, no, I didn't get pac money. It wasn't from the executives. I wasn't being bought off by lobbyists. It was the workers in the pharmaceutical industry. Now, that doesn't make it all that much better. Obviously, Bernie Sanders is doing something that appeals to the workers in the pharmaceutical industry, the pharmaceutical industry that needs reform, that most people agree needs reform. So I guess it's a little better as a matter of optics, that it's not just rich uncle Pennybags from the C suite at Big Pharma. But still, I thought, even with Bernie's good response, I thought this was one of the best attacks from Bobby Kennedy. He has struggled a little bit in these confirmation hearings, but all in, I think he'll probably get through. Which brings us to arguably the most controversial nominee that President Trump has put up. There's so much more to say. First, though, go to PureTalk.comKnowles this country was founded on freedom, I am reliably informed. Freedom from a country that forced us to buy overpriced tea. Then when we dumped their tea into the ocean, they tried blockading us. How'd that work for them? Not great. Now is the time to throw your overpriced big wireless contract overboard, too. Throw it into the harbor with the tea. You do not need to pay $100 a month just to get a free phone. That's an expensive free phone. PureTalk, my cell phone company, says no to inflated prices. With a qualifying plan of just $45 a month, you can choose an iPhone 14 or a Samsung Galaxy for $0. This is for premium service, the best 5G network out there. Unlimited talk text, 25 gigs of data, more than you're ever going to need. Mobile hotspot at a fraction of the price of the big guys. All on America's most dependable 5G network. Get your iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy for $0 by visiting PureTalk.comKnowles Canada. W L E S switching is easy. You go to PureTalk.com knowles claim your new iPhone or Galaxy with qualifying purchase from PureTalk, America's wireless company. Tulsi Gabbard, baby. Here we go. She made her debut yesterday at the confirmation hearings. Eloquent, good looking, intelligent, great record of service. So of course the Democrats hate her guts. Former Democrat, ran for president as a Democrat, was a Democrat congressman. The Democrats hate her. And some Republicans are skeptical of her, too, because she does not toe the old uniparty line. For decades now in Washington, there has more or less been a consensus on foreign policy. Not always on domestic policy, but on foreign policy. The old line in 2009, 2010 was they told me that if I voted for John McCain, we'd get another war in the Middle East. And that's exactly what happened. I voted for John McCain, we got another war in the Middle East. The two parties have pursued the same policy. And in part this makes sense because nations and empires need to have grand strategy that doesn't change every four years. But sometimes the American people put in a change agent and that's what they've done with Trump. And Trump has followed that mandate from the American people. He's nominated Tulsi Gabbard to be the top spy. Here's why she says she wants the job.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

The American people elected Donald Trump as their president not once, but twice. And yet the FBI and intelligence agencies were politicized by his opponents to undermine his presidency and falsely portray him as a puppet of Putin. Title one of FISA was used illegally to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, using a Clinton campaign funded false dossier as their so called evidence. Biden campaign adviser Tony Blinken was the impetus for the 51 former senior intelligence officials letter dismissing Hunter Biden's laptop as disinformation spread specifically to help Biden win the election. Former DNI James Clapper lied to this committee in 2013, denying the existence of programs that facilitated the mass collection of millions of Americans phone and Internet records, yet was never held accountable. Under John Brennan's leadership, the CIA abused its power to spy on Congress to dodge oversight, lied about doing it until he was caught, and yet has never been held responsible. Under Biden, the FBI abused its power for political reasons to try to surveil Catholics who attend traditional Latin Mass, labeling them as quote, unquote radical Traditionalist Catholics.

[Michael Knowles]

Love her. Greatest confirmation hearing for a DNI in my lifetime since the DNI position has existed. Really good stuff. This is exactly what we need. Of all the corruption in the government, the corruption in the intelligence community over the last 10 years has been perhaps the most egregious. You have the intel agencies and the DOJ conspiring with the Democrats to cook up a bunch of nonsense on Trump to prevent him from being elected the first time. Then you got the deep state and the intel agencies conspiring to try to undermine Trump's entire administration. Then you got the deep state and all the intel agencies conspiring to suggest that Trump is some threat to national security in 2020. They just keep doing it. They've said this about Tulsi. They've said Tulsi's a Russian asset. Does Tulsi Gabbard sound a KGB stooge to you? She sounds really intelligent to me. She sounds like she's identifying real problems. Real problems that have been festering for decades. The doj, FBI, CIA, spying on people. In the case that last example she mentioned, spying on my churches. Okay, the traditional Latin Mass, the mass of the ages that existed from roughly 600 A.D. as the major form of the Roman Rite all the way to after the Second Vatican Council and still exists in a lot of places. Yeah, yeah, that bothers me a lot. And so, no, I don't want some regular uniparty apparatchik. I want Tulsi and the Squish Democrats, or rather the hardcore Democrats are gonna hate her. The Squish Republicans better tread very, very carefully. The American people voted for for change, specifically on the ic. Vote against Tulsi at your own peril. This is a big issue for people. And if some Republican senators don't get the message, they're gonna be left behind. Now, in part, Tulsi was called a Russian stooge because she raised a point about the Middle East. That is a point that I've made on this show for many, many years. Namely that while all the neocons and the establishment foreign policy folks have been clamoring for regime change in Syria, actually that old Bashar Assad wasn't so bad. And somet the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. Here is Tulsi defending her record.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

I shed no tears for the fall of the Assad regime. But today we have an Islamist extremist who is now in charge of Syria, as I said, who danced on the streets to celebrate the 911 attack. Who ruled over Idlib with an Islamist extremist governance and who has already begun to persecute and kill and arrest religious minorities like Christians in Syria.

[Michael Knowles]

I understand.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

Why that should be acceptable to anyone is beyond me.

[Michael Knowles]

It should be.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

Certainly not.

[Michael Knowles]

Okay, I understand. That's too much common sense. Ms. Gabbard, please stop mentioning common sense. Why does the uniparty. Why does the foreign policy establishment hate Iran so much? And why have they been so obsessed with getting rid of Bashar Assad? Because we have alliances in the Middle east and because it's good for Turkey, our longstanding NATO ally, if Assad goes down. Okay, I get why Turkey wanted Assad to go down. It's good for the state of Israel for Assad to go down. Because Assad was a puppet of Iran. Iran is the chief enemy of the state of Israel. I get why Israel wants Assad to go down. It's good for Saudi Arabia. These are all three long standing allies of the United States. I get why Saudi Arabia wants Assad to go down because Saudi Arabia's chief opponent is also Iran. But why do we care so much? That's the question. Is it really? For all of Bashar Assad's sins, the guy actually did protect religious minorities much more so than these radical Islamists are going to. He protected Christians a lot more than these radical Islamists are going to. Tulsi's raising that question. That's a common sense question. That's going to appeal to a lot of American people. It's going to make the foreign policy establishment in the Beltway. It's gonna make their head explode. But these are basic questions. Sometimes people get so lost in grand strategy, so lost. It's like Dr. Strangelove, you know, they can explain in all sorts of abstract theories why it's great to have some psycho Islamist take over a major country in the Middle East. But I think we need to inject a little more common sense again, I think that's exactly what Tulsi's DNI appointment is about. Now, Trump himself came out and spoke yesterday, took over the press conference and he wasted no time blaming the policies of the past administration for that plane crash over the Potomac.

[Donald Trump]

I want to point out that various articles that appeared prior to my entering office, and here's one. The FAA's diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing. And then it says, FAA says people with severe disabilities are most underrepresented segment of the workforce. And they want them in and they want them. They can be air traffic controllers. I don't think so. This was in January 14th. So that was a week before I entered office. They put a big push to put diversity into the FAA's program. Then another article, the Federal Aviation Administration. This was before I got to office recently, second term. The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disability disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website. Can you imagine?

[Michael Knowles]

Can you imagine that? And this is what Trump is so good at. I mentioned this yesterday. He can really paint a picture. But this is shocking even to me. I follow news very closely. Obviously got my nose in politics. The FAA made a point intentionally to hire people who were mentally retarded or insane. According to that news report that the President just read. We're not talking about diversity. Like you hire a couple more black guys, or you get a lady in the air traffic control room. Severe intellectual disabilities. What I think most Americans, even many Democrats, are gonna hear that. They'll say, you gotta be kidding me. And then, not to put too fine a point on it, Trump said that Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden's Transportation secretary, is largely responsible.

[Donald Trump]

The faa, which is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigieg, A real winner. That guy's a real winner. Do you know how badly everything's run since he's run this Department of Transportation? He's a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground, and he's a disaster now. He's just got a good line of bull. The Department of Transportation, his government agency charged with regulating civil aviation while he runs it. 45,000 people, and he's run it right into the ground with his diversity.

[Michael Knowles]

You might like this. You might like Trump coming out day after a major tragedy and blaming Buttigieg and the policies of the past administration. You might like that. You might not like that. You might. And I suspect there are a lot of people in this category pretend not to like that, but secretly like that. The one thing you cannot do is deny that that is a big part of why he got elected. That guy, the guy who tells the emperor that he has no clothes. That guy got elected by most Americans. Most people would say, oh, we can't talk about it. Oh, I don't know. We can't. Correlation's not causation. I mean, the FAA did try to hire severely intell. Culturally incapacitated people, but, you know, we can't necessarily. And Trump comes out there, he says, hey, the past administration made it a point to hire retarded people and lunatics to run this agency. No wonder there are problems. And Buttigieg is a complete disaster. I know you might say that's nasty. He shouldn't do that. It's not statesmanlike. It's not presidential. Please don't tell me that isn't a big part of why people elected President Trump. Please end. Part of the reason they were inclined to elect him for things like that is because the government has been run so incompetently with such corruption, so dishonestly for so long. My next Michael and Is going to irritate a lot of people. I think a lot of people are gonna like it, but it's gonna irritate a lot of people. Probably the biggest. Not the biggest one of these interviews I ever did, but the one that caused the most controversy was when I sat down with Nala Ray, who was the most prominent porn performer in the entire world. And then she decided to quit porn and become a Christian and totally change her life. And I sat down with her right after she made that decision and a lot of people did not believe her. They had a lot of follow up questions with her. Well, Nala Rae returns this time she is joined by her husband to address the rumors, to address certain lies, to answer certain criticisms. Check out this teaser. Really shook the Internet the first time you came on. I got in so much trouble for talking to you. I. I know you have and I appreciate that. They say very nasty things about you. Oh, yeah, oh, we know you are a lying, deceiving prostitute. You said that you lied about everything. People were tagging me on social media and they said, see, Michael, here's proof that she lied to you. Everything I've said on podcasts is complete clickbait. Why do you think people want you to be lying? That happened to her. I can't believe that it's real because then that means I can change my ways and still get saved. She was brought up in the church. Is this mental illness? People have criticized you because they say you made all this money. Where's the penance? They say you should give all your money away. Watch the episode, it's coming out tomorrow on the Michael Knowles YouTube channel. Watch the uncensored ad free version and subscribe and watch on Daily Wire. Plus, my favorite comment yesterday is from Denver's workshop Norms Music. Who says Elizabeth Warren's voice makes RFK sound like Pavarotti? Gabel echoes. Nah, you're not azole. I agree with you. Her voice just does something to my inner ear and to my soul that is deeply painful. I totally agree with you. Okay, speaking of the deadly crash over the Potomac, we're getting a little bit more information now. Forbes is reporting that the air tower had been understaffed. So Forbes is reporting former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called Trump's claim that the FAA was made unsafe by DEI hiring practices despicable. Notice he doesn't say it's false, he just says it's despicable and criticized him for what he called his move to, quote, fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe. But Forbes goes on says the air traffic controller who's handling the helicopters near the airport Wednesday night was also directing commercial planes in takeoff and landing jobs that are usually assigned to two separate people. According to an internal preliminary, Federal Aviation Administration Safety report seen by the Times. The tower at the airport has been understaffed for years, the Times reported. So if we're playing the blame game, Buttigieg says it's Trump's fault. Trump says it's Buttigieg's fault. Well, here's some good evidence that it was Buttigieg and Biden's fault if the tower at the airport has been understaffed for years. So what are the other theories? There's some theories now that possibly the helicopter flew into the plane intentionally. Again, I haven't seen a lot of evidence for this. The helicopter was flying about 100ft above where he was supposed to be flying. There are all sorts of rumors coming out. I'm trying to be a little circumspect here and trying to be cautious, but in this case, you're gonna hear a lot of people screeching about how Trump blamed Buttigieg and Biden. You're not gonna see a lot of people screeching about how Buttigieg did the exact same thing to Trump. And this is it. You know, the left does this all the time. It gets us back to the cash Patel hearing. The left plays the race card all the time. But then when we play the race card, we start to hem and haw and clutch our pearls. Why they would do it to us if it's gonna get our guy through. And there's nothing intrinsically immoral about it. Let's go. Donald Trump is pointing out that the policies at the FAA in recent years have been absolutely disastrous. You know, the left would be saying that about Trump if the roles were reversed here. Why not? Why not point it out? A lot of the reason Trump got elected is because he is willing to get in the muck and the dirt and fight in a way that Democrats fight, that Republicans traditionally have not been willing to fight. You're seeing this right now with tariffs. President Trump posts to Truth Social last night. He says the idea that BRICS countries, brics are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the US Dollar, which we stand by and watch, is over. We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar or they will face 100% tariffs. There will be no trade with the United States and should expect to say goodbye to selling into this wonderful U.S. economy. They can go find another sucker nation. There is no chance that brics will replace the US Dollar in international trade or anywhere else. And any country that tries should say hello to tariffs and goodbye to America. This is not just Trump shooting from the hip or being reflexive or reactionary. This is a really important part of US grand strategy. Okay? There have been threats for years that the brics countries are gonna create a currency that could weaken the US Dollar that would be very, very bad for us for a whole host of reasons. How we borrow money, how the whole US Economy functions. So Trump is saying, you're not gonna get that. And if you try, we are gonna place 100% tariffs. Which helps you to understand why Trump came so hard on Colombia. When Colombia refused the flight of illegal aliens, the criminals that we shipped out of our country back to Colombia, Colombia said, we're not gonna accept the airplanes. And Trump said, okay, well, you're gonna get a 25% tariff on all your goods. It's gonna jump to 50% next week if you don't shape up. And we're gonna place some economic sanctions on you. We're gonna freeze your visas and your passports. We're gonna come down with the hammer. Okay, and what did Colombia do? An hour later, Colombia caved, and the president of Colombia sent the presidential jet to pick up the criminals. That's good. That's the art of the deal. But what was that about? A lot of people at the time said, man, you know, Trump is really coming down hard without much reason. Well, I think probably coming down hard with the tariffs on Colombia is really more about this. It's about Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the more important economies. He had to punish Colombia to prove he would do it. It's kind of like dropping the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Why drop the bomb? In part to end the war, also to let the Soviet Union know that we have the bomb, and you better watch out. I think that's what the tariffs in Colombia was largely about. So now you're one of these brics nations. You gotta be thinking, look, maybe he's bluffing. Maybe there's only a 10% chance he really follows through. But can I take that chance? You already seen, a lot of people doubted that Trump would really wield tariffs for his foreign policy. He's already done it in spades. Now, a lot of people on the left are not taking this lying down. And because it's a day that ends in y, a transvestite has been arrested for trying to murder top Republicans. I found this because there was a story in local news said Franklin county residents react to Massachusetts woman arrested in D.C. but then here's the first paragraph. It's a little bit weird. South Deerfield, Mass. A woman who lived in South Deerfield was arrested on Monday in Washington, D.C. after police say he was threatening to kill some of Trump's cabinet members. Wait, what? A woman. He. Okay, well, you see at the end why you got. The disagreement between the noun and the pronoun says. This story previously identified the defendant as Ryan Michael English, the name used in charging documents. But in a memo Wednesday, English's attorney clarified that her client uses the name Riley Jane. Okay, so a transvestite fella, a transgender. You know, someone who thinks he's. It really is the opposite sex, has behaved in a crazy way. Wow. Stop the presses. Man bites dog. Pull over your car. Wow. A lunatic who is confused about the most basic aspects of human nature is behaving in a lunatic way. Boy. Boy. Golly. Shocking. The only people who are shocked by this are the media. The only people who are shocked by this are the Democrat operatives. It's the left. No one, no one else with any common sense is shocked by this. And this guy apparently wanted to kill Pete Hegseth over at the Pentagon. Wanted to kill Mike Johnson, speaker of the House. Wanted to kill Scott Besant, the Treasury Secretary. It's always the ones you most expect. And when the Democrats were in charge, they wouldn't follow common sense. In fact, they would try to hire the people who were crazy or who had intellectual deficiencies that would compromise their ability to do their job under the Trump administration. Look, we gotta find a place for everyone in society. People who have mental problems, people who are a little bit slower, people who are a little bit crazy. But you don't want them in charge of really important jobs, and you don't want them to be free to come down and try to murder the sitting Cabinet. We're just not gonna do that. Now, speaking of Pete Hegseth, Pete Hegseth just posted for the first time yesterday a video from the Pentagon, from his office, explaining what is going on, specifically with the crash over the Potomac that involved a military helicopter.

[Pete Hegseth]

All right, update this morning. Just got off the phone with the southcom commander and the Chairman, the Joint Chiefs, talking about our efforts at Guantanamo Bay. That is ongoing. We're leaning forward on supporting the President's directive to make sure that we have a location for violent criminal illegals as they are deported out of the country. No one's going to wait on the Defense Department, and we're working that in real time. But I also wanted to give an update on the tragedy that happened last night here in Washington, D.C. and provide a little bit more information as we are actively working to investigate and understand what occurred and why. At about 8:48 last night, a, uh, 60 assigned to the US Army Aviation Brigade in the Military District of Washington, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, collided tragically with a civilian airliner. The unit involved, the army unit involved was Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, at Fort Belvoir. It was an annual proficiency training flight. And when we look at the crew and we're not. Not all kin have been notified, so we're going to withhold ranks and names at this point, we do know on our side who was involved.

[Michael Knowles]

Trump vindicated once again on one of the biggest charges against him with these appointees, one of the biggest knocks on him. I heard it even from people on the right, too. They say, oh, Trump's just filling up his whole administration with the lineup of Fox News. Can he find anyone else who isn't on tv? Why is he putting all these media figures in the administration? You know, it turns out there is an advantage to having good communicators in government, especially at a time when people don't trust the government in both parties, especially at a time when a guy gets elected president, in part because the institutions of government have lost people's trust. Maybe it's smart to have a charismatic good communicator who's got a lot of TV experience, who can speak directly to the American people. Maybe that's a good hiring decision. You know, personnel is policy. And Trump always talks about he has the best people. This administration. The second administration seems to be even better than the first. There were some clunkers in the first administration. This time around, though, this is good stuff. It is very important when all sorts of theories are flying. What happened with this military helicopter, all sorts of other crazy stories that we didn't even really get a chance to talk about of Haitian asylum seekers who are being shipped out of the country, and they're taking a stopover at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba first, and then we're sending them back. When there's all of this misinformation out there, it's very helpful to have people who know their way around a camera and a microphone, who can cut through the extremely dishonest media to speak to the American people. New and streaming right now on Dailywire is the making of Am I Clearing the Air? You can get exclusive behind the scenes. Look at how Matt Walsh, director Justin Folk, and the cast and crew created the film that became a box office hit comedy and the number one doc of the decade. There's only one way to see it. That'[e-mail] with your Daily Wire plus membership. If you've not seen Amiracist yet, you gotta start there, then stream the new special the Making of Miracist. Clearing the air. Watch it all now only on DailyWire Plus. Finally, finally, we've arrived at my favorite time of the week when I get to hear from you in the mailbag. Mailbag is sponsored by PureTalk. Go to PureTalk.com knowles claim your new iPhone or Galaxy with qualifying purchase. Take it away.

[Joel]

Hello, Michael. Joel here. So many times I've gone to send you a message and found out moments later that you actually addressed the exact point I was going to ask about. But once, for once, I think I finally have something that I don't think you fully discussed. President Biden clearly has the constitutional authority to grant pardons, and I appreciate that. But it seems he has taken it a bit further than any other president previously have with blanket pardons and pardons for things that haven't even happened yet. Not to mention pardoning his own son for all the a decade's worth of time. What do you think can be done, what do you think should be done to curb or somehow decrease the power and the ability of the president to just issue blanket pardons to everybody who agrees with him upon leaving office? Or should we do anything about it? Should we just allow it to stand? And if so, I guess, what should Trump's strategy be in relation to this? Should he just turn around and tit for tat, do the same thing four years from now when he's on his way out the door and just set the precedent that that's what every president will do from now on? Just curious what your thoughts are on that. Love the show. Thanks for taking my question.

[Michael Knowles]

Excellent question. No, I do think we have to circumscribe the pardon power. I am for a robust pardon power. I'm for a robust executive. As you point out, when Jerry Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, it was for a specific action. It didn't require Nixon to admit guilt, but it was for a specific thing. It was for the Watergate scandal. When Jimmy Carter pardoned the draft dodgers from Vietnam, he was pardoning people in a blanket way, all sorts of people that he wasn't specifying, but it was at least for a specific thing. In this case, Joe Biden just said, well, I'm gonna pardon my kid for anything that he might have done at the federal level over the last 10 years. Now, he started it 10 years before because that's when Hunter Biden started working for Burisma, the crooked Ukraine oil and natural gas company that was paying bribes to the Biden family for U.S. policy in Ukraine. So we do know what the pardons were for, but Biden wouldn't specify it was any crime he may or may not have committed over the last 10 years. And then on the way out, he extended that to much of the rest of his family. That's crazy. I think a very simple way to circumscribe the pardon power is. Is just for a court or for the legislature to say the president can pardon whoever he wants at the federal level, but it's gotta be for a crime. You can't just pardon him for anything. You know, he might have jaywalked. He might have committed a federal felony of jaywalking. I don't think that's a felony. And so he's off the hook. You know, it's gotta be for a specific crime, because otherwise you establish this awful precedent of the president just having to preemptively pardon everyone around him, as if political retribution is going to be the norm. Make us more like a banana republic, which the Democrats started. I mean, they made that deal, but hopefully the country doesn't accept it. Next question.

[Senator John Kennedy]

Hey, Michael, I have a question about standing up for your values. I'm a city cop in the south, and I recently refused to complete an online work training called Valuing Diversity. The course said that using fake transgender pronouns was correct and appropriate and directed officers to celebrate and encourage and value the beliefs of others. Stressing that tolerance alone wasn't good enough, I expressed concern that the course was biased and that parts of it weren't factually true. For this, I was taken off street duty and grilled by Internal affairs, who told me to sign off on the class or they'd take my badge and gun. I was able to come to an agreement that I'd keep my job and help rewrite the course to be more neutral, but only after being punished and having my livelihood threatened. What is your advice for people like me who are in serious professions like police or military, who are ordered to compromise their values or lie as a matter of policy. Thanks for your time. Love the show. God bless.

[Michael Knowles]

This is always a matter of prudence. I think a lot of people want a really clear ideological answer here, which is, well, when it's these five things that they're requiring of you, then if they make you put your pronouns in your email, then you got to quit. But if they only make you put your pronouns on a name tag at a conference, then you don't have to quit. This is just a. A matter of prudence. I think you don't want to do anything that is intrinsically evil or immoral, but if it's just having to put up with some nonsense, everyone has to put up with some nonsense at work. I work at a very conservative company and I was employee number five. And I've helped build the culture at this very company. And there are still things about the way the company that any company is run that you don't always love to do. You don't always say, maybe you want to take lunch at this time, or maybe you don't want to have to work in this way, or maybe that's just life. So I just think you have to make a practical and a prudential calculation. Is the juice worth the squeeze anymore? Next question.

[Public School Teacher]

Hello, Mayflower. Mike Bryson was taken here and I need some advice on how to handle a situation at work. I'm a public school teacher. Yes, a based public school teacher. I recently found out that a trans identifying student will be joining my class roster who goes by pronouns and a name that are different than who this child truly is. My question is how to best handle this within my professional capacity as a teacher? I know I'm not legally required to call the student by her preferred pronouns or nickname, but I need help knowing if I should hold firm and call her by her birth name and correct pronouns at the risk of creating drama. Or call the student by her preferred name. In the past, I've called students by their preferred name and justified it as a nickname while avoiding pronouns altogether. But I feel like that is still going against my beliefs. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, I think that would be lying. I don't think you should lie. I think that that would be a line in the sand where I wouldn't. I wouldn't pretend it's really evil to the kid. Even if the kid thinks that he or she wants to be trans, it's just abusive to the kid. And I think you will regret that someday. And it's also just dishonest. It's a lie. So for me, I couldn't do it. Next question.

[Mark]

Hi, Michael. I love your show. You had mentioned that Bill Maher is ethnically Jewish and so his taking Jesus name in vain is significant. He was actually raised Catholic. I believe his mother was Jewish before she converted to Catholicism in order to marry his father apparently under some duress, but he was raised Catholic and was baptized Catholic, so he is, in fact, a lapsed Catholic, and we should pray for him.

[Michael Knowles]

That's great to know. We gotta get Bill Maher back, man. I didn't realize that someone wrote in after I mentioned Bill Maher. He's a Catholic. All right, let's go, baby. We gotta get Bill Maher on the show. We gotta get him. We gotta rosary pill him. Let's go. I'm into it, man. Okay, let's see. There was one more voicemail bag I wanted to do, but I don't think it was pulled, so we'll have to try to get it next week. A written mailbag question from Mark. Dear Mr. Knowles, I'm in a bit of a conundrum. I'm a mid-20s devout Catholic. There you go. Male. And I've been courting an early 20s woman for the past six months who happens to be LDS. Mormon. Both our families are fond of one another and everything's been going great recently. We talked about making our relationship official and what we both want to come out of it. We both agree that we're dating to get married, want to have several kids, and agree on key political beliefs and values when it comes to our faiths. I obviously do not have any interest in converting, but she thankfully is open to conversion. Nice. In talking about faiths, she confessed that she isn't just lds. She comes from flds. Yes, polygamists. It really brought into context when I had dinner with her family, and she refers to women other than her mother as mother. She has expressed to me that even if she converts and we have a Catholic wedding, she still wants me to have at least one more wife so she can have a sister wife and so we can have a big family. Wow. That was after talking her down from four. The four wives that her father has. I care for her deeply and believe she and I can have a great future together. However, polygamy is obviously not acceptable in the Catholic Church. Please help. Is this a Dear Penthouse letter? I don't know. There are probably a lot of guys who would like to hear this from their fiance or girlfriend. But yes, of course, you can't do that. If you're gonna be Catholic and raise the kids Catholic, then you can't have sister wives. You could do that if you're lds. You could do. Or flds. You could do that if you're Muslim, but probably not Catholic. So I guess I would ask her, say, hey, that's really nice that you're offering me a harem. Lots of ladies. And I kind of get it. If she was raised that way, then it's quite normal for her and she probably does want companionship. But you say, look, if you're going to convert to Catholicism, that means more than just like, going to church on Sunday. That means you are going to live your whole life in accordance with this religion. You know, even on Tuesday afternoon, even on Friday morning, not just on Sunday morning. And so part of the religion is you can't have more than one wife. So, you know, thanks for the offer. I appreciate it, but that's not gonna work. Okay, that's our show. I'm Michael Knowles. This is the Michael Knowles Show. We have the member block, the Membrum Segmentum coming up. It is fake headline Friday. You need to help me get the headlines, but you have to do it over at Daily Wire. Plus, if you are the hoi polloi on YouTube, it's not going to cut it. We'll see you over there.