Michael Knowles (0:00)

It's every edgy right wing guy's worst nightmare. Screenshots of your group chat with the boys get leaked. But now imagine that instead of you and your buddies, the group chat included the vice president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the director of National Intelligence, the national security advisor, and the head of the CIA. And instead of sending spicy memes, you were describing a bombing campaign on Houthi rebels in Yemen. And instead of the group chat getting leaked to your girlfriend or your mom or something, it was leaked to the editor of one of the most liberal magazines in the country. That is where the Trump administration is right now. We will separate fact and fiction. I'm Michael Knowles. This is the Michael Knowles Show. Welcome back to the show. I have never been more satisfyingly proven right than I was yesterday by the New York Times on an obscure little issue about environmentalism that I sounded the alarm on over five years ago. 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Do you understand what an amazing value I've already priced these cigars at? Do you understand? I could have charged double probably for these cigars, but I didn't want to because Mayflower cigars are accessible luxury, but they're even a little bit more accessible right now. 5% off with code SPRING at checkout. You must be 21 years older to order some exclusion supply. The Atlantic claims to have had war plans texted to it by the Trump administration. That's the headline. The Atlantic. The Trump administration accidentally texted me its war plans. US national security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn't think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling. By Jeffrey Goldberg. What happened? The claim here from the editor of the Atlantic, a super duper lib magazine that has attacked Trump many times, is that some of the top administration officials accidentally included him in a signal chat. Signal is an encrypted messaging service where the messages sometimes disappear after a while, sometimes they stay for longer. It's supposed to be safer than ordinary imessage texting or regular sms. And that they're all texting. The vp, the nsa, the head of the CIA, the SEC def. And they just accidentally include this liberal journalist. It doesn't. There's no way, right? There's no way. What did the messages say? Very interesting messages that the title of this signal chat was Hooty PC Small Group. JD Vance. A person with the name JD Vance in the group chat might really be him. Might not be, says Tegseth. If you think we should do it, that is. If you think we should bomb the Houthis in Yemen, let's go. I just hate bailing out Europe again. Let's make sure our messaging is tight here. If there are things we can do up front to minimize risk to Saudi oil facilities, we should do it. A person who goes by the name Pete Hegseth responds. Vp I fully share your loathing of European freeloading. It's pathetic. But Mike Waltz, the national security Advisor, is correct. We're the only ones on the planet on our side of the ledger, meaning on our, you know, in the free world. And The America led world. Who can do this? Nobody else. Even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any given that POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. So the Houthi rebels because they're firing on Israel. Because they. Because the Houthis are funded by Iran. Iran, the sworn enemy of Israel. Israel at war in Gaza. The Houthis are firing on Israel and they're taking over shipping lanes. Shipping lanes that we and everyone else in the world needs to trade our goods. Somewhat dizzying, but that's why we care about the Houthis. Says given the POTUS directive to reopen the shipping lanes. I think we should go. But POTUS. The President still retains 24 hours of decision space and someone SM people are speculating. Is it Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House? Who knows who SM is? As I heard, the President was clear green light. But we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return. So notice this theme keeps returning to Europe's not doing its fair share. Europe needs to start taking responsibility for this security. Europe benefits from this trade. Europe needs to have some skin in the game. We also need to figure out how to enforce such requirement. Eg. Eg I don't know who EG refers to. It's unclear from the chat. If Europe doesn't remunerate, then what? If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost, there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return. Pete Hagseth agree. And then you get a bunch of these guys just kind of agreeing. JV, I guess. J.D. vance. Excellent. J.R. john Ratcliffe, head of the CIA. A good start. Michael Waltz at NSA does a little like this fist pump, American flag fire emoji. You know man, these guys, they really, they are the boys, you know they are. It's just like yours and my right wing group Chat mar. Unclear how that stands for. Good job Pete and your team. Michael Waltz team did a great job, great work. All powerful start. Okay, so just, you know, give an attitude. Is this real? First thought there's no way this is real, right? However, Jeffrey Goldberg claims the minute he got the chat, he didn't believe it. But then at the predicted times, bombs started falling in Yemen, so he thought it was real. The Trump administration has confirmed the authenticity of the chat. So this raises another question. Did they just accidentally add this journalist or was this 5D chess? Some have suggested it is 5D chess because the libs are claiming that war plans were released and this endangered American personnel. And that Isn't true. That's just hyperbole. This doesn't read like war plans. Even the more specific details outlined in the chat were just giving a slightly advanced notice of a bombing campaign that most people expected in Yemen anyway. So it's not as though there were actual operational plans here. You know, the libs are just ridiculous about that. Furthermore, even the Atlantic article admits that the libs claim that these senior administration officials coordinating on signal on an encrypted messaging service. The libs are claiming that's illegal, that's evading federal records laws. And even the editor of the Atlantic here is admitting it is not uncommon for national security officials to communicate on signal. So that claim goes out the window. Some are suggesting on the right that it was an intentional leak to signal to Europe that we are sick and tired of them freeloading off of us and they need to pay up. So that this is kind of a 5D chess move in trade negotiations with Europe. I'm a little skeptical of that. That sort of thing can happen and often does happen, intentional leaks to send a message to some other party. However, in this case, the leak makes it look like the Trump administration is sloppy. And usually if you're going to try to send a message that way, you're not going to damage yourself in the mind of the public in the meantime. So I don't think that's real. However, you gotta ask yourself how this guy got added. So the theory that seems to be floated in the press right now is that it was Michael Waltz. Daily Wire's reporting this. Michael Waltz, the national Security adviser, added the journalist as a signal connection a few days before he was added to the chat. So was it the national security advisor who added the journalist? Why did he do it? One wild speculation is that I don't know if I believe this at all. I just kind of saw it floating around and it's as good as any explanation I've heard so far that he meant to add through a voice command, Elbridge Colby, administration official, and accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg. I don't know. I don't know if I buy that. But maybe, you know, you speak things into the voice to text and you can get totally crazy results. So I guess there's enough assonance and almost a rhyme. Maybe. Who knows? Who knows? It'll be investigated. The consequence of this is nil. The libs are gonna pretend this totally upended American foreign policy or something. It had zero consequence on American foreign policy. The libs are gonna try to compare this to. They're Already doing it. They're gonna try to compare this to Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. And the Republicans making a big deal about Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State using a private email server, totally unsecured. They're gonna compare that to these top admin officials using an encrypted messaging service. There's really no comparison there. The big problem, two big problems with Hillary's server. One, it was totally insecure. Signal actually relatively is quite secure, certainly compared to the Clinton home server. But the real big problem about the Clinton home server is it appeared as though Hillary Clinton was using the private server because she was also simultaneously raking in zillions of dollars from foreign donors, foreign governments, even through her Clinton foundation. So the issue with the private server wasn't even just that she was storing classified information in places that were not secure. It was that it at the very least gave the appearance that Hillary Clinton was conducting private business and selling American influence for personal, private gain, much the same way that Joe Biden did that when his son was the bagman, collecting money all around the world, notably from Ukraine, to peddle American influence overseas. No one is suggesting anything like that for the Trump administration officials. So I think that's totally apples and oranges. What's my takeaway from this story? It's a wacky story. There's no question about that. I'm not gonna say there are no questions that are raised by it, really. I guess the top question is why would any Trump administration official even have this guy's number in his phone? Nobody should be talking to the head of the Atlantic if you are a Republican official. But. But I'm just gonna take the story for what it's worth. What can we learn from this? The biggest takeaway to me reading these chats, assuming they're authentic and the administration says that they are. My biggest takeaway is that J.D. vance really is who he says he is and no one's talking about this. Really. Very few people are talking about this. That's my big takeaway. My big takeaway is Mike Waltz, the National Security Adviser is a little more hawkish on foreign policy, a little more interventionist that we all expected. Pete Hegseth is willing to hear both sides. Seems fairly open minded on the use of military force, but leaned in the direction of intervening here in Yemen, says V.P. i hear your concerns, but look, we're the only ones who could do it. We should do it now. It's in line with the President's directives, but I agree we gotta we gotta weigh costs and benefits. So Pete is open to hearing both sides. And J.D. vance does not want America to get involved militarily all over the world, which is how he's campaigned for vice president. It's how he writes now, it's how he talks, it's how he campaigned for Senate. He really is that guy. Some people say because J.D. vance has had a big transformation. He used to be liberal politically, now he's quite conservative. He's kind of on the bleeding edge avant garde of mainstream conservatism. Some people have questioned the solidity of his views. Let's say if you're actually looking into his private group chat when the Rubber Meets the Road and there's a major foreign policy question in a really hot part of the world, JD Vance is sticking to his guns, which I think is where the avant garde of the MAGA movement is. My biggest takeaway really has very little to do with foreign policy or the operations of the Trump administration. Really the biggest takeaway for me is JD Vance is fully the MAGA guy. He is at the bleeding edge of the Trump movement and he is setting himself up to be President Trump's successor in 2028. And it doesn't seem deceitful. He really appears to be that guy. There's so much more to say. First though, Texanol's to 989898 in these uncertain economic times, with tariff tensions, recession worries and stubborn inflation, it is no surprise gold prices keep breaking records. Rather than watching from the sidelines during market volatility, consider taking proactive steps to protect your savings. That is why many Americans are connecting with Birch Gold Group. They've helped thousands of people convert existing retirement accounts into physical gold IRAs wondering if gold might be a smart hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty. For you to learn more about owning physical gold in a tax advantaged account. Text nolts knles to 989898 Birchgold will send you a free info kit with no obligation. Their A rating from the Better Business Bureau and countless five star reviews reflect why I recommend Birchgold to help your savings through gold investments. You know I have a fair bit of gold in my portfolio and I've been quite happy to have a lot of gold in my portfolio especially over the last six months a year, I don't know, heading into the Future. Text Knowles to 989898 to connect with Birch Gold Group today. Also really important, we've got gold. Now I want to talk to you about frankincense and myrrh with the smells and bells, candle makes your home smell like a 12th century monastery. Go to thecandleclub.com Michael, get your Lenten candle right now. Speaking of foreign policy, another doozy coming out of the Trump administration. President Trump has suggested that the United States join the Commonwealth of Nations. What is the Commonwealth? The Commonwealth is the successor organization to the British Empire. When the British Empire fell apart, it transformed into the Commonwealth, which is this group of nations led by the King of England. Wait, what? Hold on, hold on. Didn't we fight a war in 1776? Didn't my ancestor Simon Knowles fight from Bunker Hill all the way to Yorktown? Go up to Newburgh with General Washington. This man crossed the Delaware with Washington just so we could leave the British Empire. Why on earth would President Trump want to rejoin the successor organization? Well, this is just being reported. According to the Daily Mail UK paper, King Charles is expected to offer the United States membership to become the 57th member of the Commonwealth. And Trump responded, I love King Charles. Sounds good to me. I. And this might be a little unpopular. I like the idea. I'm with Trump on this. I'm with Trump on a lot of things, but I'm really open to this idea. I think this is an issue that is gonna be a great measure of the depth of a person's conservatism. How conservative are you? Are you conservative by 2012 standards? That's a lot of conservatives these days. Are you conservative by 1960 standards? How about by 1776 standards? How about by 1620 standards? How conservative are you, buddy? I often say, I don't want to go back to 2012. I want to go back to 1220. Why would this be a good idea? Well, there's a lot of fake news about the Commonwealth. First of all, if you join the Commonwealth, that doesn't mean you have to acknowledge King Charles as your monarch. Okay? America is not a monarchy. America is a republic. There are plenty of republics in the Commonwealth of Nations that have their own heads of state. President Trump ain't acknowledging anyone else as being above him as a head of state. So you don't have to do that. You don't have to start paying stamp taxes to the British or anything like that. It would be a symbolic gesture, but it would be a gesture to show that we have something in common with England. Because, to quote Antonin Scalia, he made this point. I played it on the show a couple of weeks ago. Antonin Scalia observed that our culture comes from English culture. He said, you know, he's one of the most Italian looking guys in the world. And yet when he would go to Italy, he did not feel at home. When he goes to England, he does feel at home because that's our culture, that's where we come from. Doesn't matter in America what you look like, where your family came from. If you have assimilated at all, you have assimilated into the Anglo Saxon culture. And it shows that we're willing to take seriously the civilizational threats that we face because we recognize that modern liberalism is living on the fumes of a civilization. But because we cut ourselves off from our heritage, from our cultural inheritance, we're starting to fall, we're starting to crumble, our institutions are starting to crumble. If we're going to make our country great again, we need to draw on the great wellsprings of our civilization which did not pop out of the air in 1776 or even 1620. They go back further. They go back to our great heritage in, I don't know, they go back to Magna Carta, they go back to the writings of Shakespeare, they go back to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire which was present in the uk you can see the Roman Wall when you're in London. It goes back to the great foundations of our civilization. And especially at a time when the liberals are trying to involve us in all these sorts of contrived lib, stupid modern institutions like the United nations, get us to fund the whole European Union, all of this globalist left wing nonsense. If we can show that we recognize that we're part of a broader civilization and we're going to lead that civilization and we're going to have a leadership role, but we don't want to be part of this modern globalism. I think one way to do that is to say, yes, we do have something in common with the Commonwealth nations. Yeah, we do have a shared heritage. We're going to keep leading, we're going to keep innovating, we're going to be strong, we're going to recognize we have that role. I've said for a long time, I don't think that Trump is really a hardcore nationalist. I think Trump, I think his political vision is an imperial political vision. But there's just two kinds of imperialism. There's the liberal globalist imperialism of the UN and the EU and the IMF and the WTO and the George Soros's of the world. And then there's the conservative imperial vision, which is Manifest destiny, which is go west, young man, which is we will make America great and strong, and we're not gonna be the world's police in every single corner of the world. But we are going to in pursue our interests all over the globe and we have many of them. That's Trump's vision. I don't think Trump himself is an isolationist. I don't think he wants to make America smaller. I don't think he wants to go back to a yeoman republic. I don't think that's him. I think he wants to be great and big and expansionist and he wants Greenland and he wants Canada. Well, we'll get to Canada in one moment. There's so much more to say first though. Text KNOWLES to 400400 Are you tired of wrestling with windows that stick, doors that leak, or the fog between glass panes? Well, those rotting frames, warping and drafts are not just annoying, they're hiking up your energy bills every month. Experience the Renewal by Andersen Difference as both manufacturer and installer of custom built windows and doors made right here in the usa, they handle everything from consultation to installation. That is why they've earned more five star reviews than any other leading full service window companies with over half a million homeowners recommending their hassle free approach. You know, coincidentally I just had a consultation with Renewal by Andersen about a week ago because I got a door that's kind of coming off a little bit and there's like a little gap and I got another one that doesn't open properly and I have some water damage on another door. So I said well you know, I got a call. Renewal by Andersen. They are offering right now a free in home consultation on quality affordable windows and doors for no money down, no monthly payments and no interest for a year. That is nolts knes to 400. 400 for a free consultation and to save $379 off every window and $779 off every door. The savings will not last long so be sure to check it out by texting knowles knes to 400400 texting privacy policy and terms and conditions posted at Textplan US texting roles for recurring automated text marketing messages, Messaging data rates may apply. Reply Stop to Opt Out Folks, what happens when a Christian rock frontman steps into the yes or no hot seat in this episode I'm joined by John Cooper, lead singer of Skillet, for a round of stiff drinks and even tougher questions. No dodging, no filters, just yes or no. Does the stereotype rock star lifestyle apply to Christian bands? Well, it shouldn't we gonna spill some tea. What's going. Watch full episode now on the Michael Knowles YouTube channel for the uncensored ad free version. Subscribe to Daily Wire. Plus, a story closely related to what we were just talking about in the Commonwealth of Nations offer. I think Trump is serious about making Canada a state. So I guess as we join the Commonwealth, we can also take a commonwealth country away and make a part of our country. President Trump was asked about this again in the Oval Office. Here's what he had to say.