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- [00:00]
A
Good evening, everyone. Tonight, the White House is facing a crisis on multiple fronts, and it's one most Americans still haven't heard about. American sailors are trying to jump off an aircraft carrier to escape deployment that their own government won't end. And tonight we learned that the president's own press secretary is walking out the door less than three months before the midterm elections. Right now, this White House is facing turmoil, significant, significant turmoil, as the war in Iran continues with no end in sight. And America's troops and their family members are saying, we can't do this much longer. I spoke with Governor J.B. pritzker, who says that the President of the United States is essentially not fit to command America's armed forces. You may not hear all of this on the traditional news, and these stories are important to tell. Make sure to hit that subscribe button to support my work. Like comment, Share. Get the word out. I can only do this with your support. There's a reason we're reaching more people than Fox News. It's because of you. I want to begin by talking about the crisis abroad, because tonight I have exclusive text messages from service members serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln. And it's a story that should be dominating every network, but it really isn't. As I reported earlier, multiple sailors aboard the Abraham Lincoln have attempted to go overboard during a deployment that has now stretched past eight months. It was first reported by the Military Times. The carrier was deployed on November 21st in support of the US operations against Iran. It was supposed to come home back in May. Instead, the Navy has extended it indefinitely. No announced return date, Nothing. And I'm going to read you text messages I received from someone on board between this service member and his wife. It begins by showing an image of a bowl of cereal without milk. Hey, honey, I'm eating cereal right now. Wish there was milk, though. Haven't had milk in three months. And this. Why isn't there milk? So the supply ship that comes here can't bring fruits and stuff because it can't stay fresh long enough with the time it gets them to get here. Wow. Any idea who's it supposed to be? So we haven't heard any. We haven't had anything fresh but meat because it's freezed. Sometimes it gets here rotten, sometimes it gets here rotten. But he went on to continue saying, families are just as frustrated as the people on the boat. This deployment is the worst one, and I pray no other boat goes through the same. Even people that have been deployed a hundred times claim this one to be the worst and believe it can get worse than this. Navy does not care. The mission will always come first. I was talking to some random dude at the smoke pit and he was saying it's an experiment the government is doing to see how far they can push sailors limits of being out to sea with the worst experience. I don't know anymore. I know my family needs me and the Navy is not being fair right now, taking me away far longer than expected. Worst part, my expectations were already at an all time low. But as per usual, the Navy beat those two by going lower than hell. So there's that. Now. It comes tonight as Caroline Levitt, the White House press secretary, is stepping down at the end of the month. Donald Trump made the announcement on Truth Social saying she wants to spend more time with her two young children after the birth of her second daughter. To be clear, Levitt says this is a personal decision about motherhood and Trump's statements back that up, calling her one of the best press secretaries in the history of the office. There is no indication her exit is connected to what's happening in Iran. But the timing, the timing is notable. The White House loses its chief messenger less than three months before the midterms at the exact moment a genuine military crisis is starting to break into public view. So here's where we are. Sailors are trying to jump off an aircraft carrier because their own deployment has no end date. Families are begging the Navy for basic answers it won't give. And the administration's chief spokesperson is heading out the door as the story starts to spread. This is exactly why independent media matters. This is not a story Fox News is leading with tonight. It's not a story most of the legacy networks are touching at all. Well, we are. If you can subscribe today, upgrade your subscription, help me cover the stories that they won't and help me spread the word about Governor J.B. pritzker. My conversation with the governor right now. Excited to be joined by Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker. Now, Governor, I really want to jump right into it because I'm not sure if you've heard over the past 48 hours, Donald Trump refused to rule out declaring a national emergency over our elections and potentially trying to seize ballots and take over state run elections. A lot of people have reached out to me. Number one question they want to know from you is what is Illinois going to do if Trump tries to do that in your state?
- [04:45]
B
Well, we've anticipated this and I think you may know I created an organization with other governors focused on preserving Democracy, precisely in part for this reason, because he can call out the National Guard, although we've stopped him from doing it under any regular circumstance. We took him to the Supreme Court, Illinois did, and got the Supreme Court to rule that he can't call out the National Guard under any normal circumstance. If he declares through the Insurrection act that he wants to call him out, we won't be able to stop him. So that's one way that he can do it. Another, of course, is that ICE and CBP on the ground. It's easy. You know, they are legally allowed. They are domestic law enforcement, and so they're allowed. And they carry, you know, automatic weapons and they wear uniforms, so that can be done too. So I. It wouldn't surprise me at all. And I've anticipated. So what are we going to do? There are a couple things that we can do officially and a couple things that we can do, you know, from a party perspective. Let's start with the party perspective, which is, you know, we've done this for years, but we need a more robust program, which is poll watchers, people at the polls, especially in our swing states, to make sure that we're escorting people in. That's something we haven't really done in the past, but in the past it's more been observing. Now we can have people like literally escorting voters into the polling place on a kind of a basis where they can't be talking about candidates or telling them how to vote. But if you've got a National Guardsman or a CBP officer or ICE outside, you can walk the, the voter in just to make them feel comfortable that they're not going to be stopped. They can't be stopped by these people with the automatic weapons and, and, and uniforms and ask for id, for example, or anything else inside. Of course, you have to go through the regular processes, but if we make them feel comfortable outside, these could be volunteers through the party. Let me give another example, though. Through the state, we have the ability, I don't know if you're aware that there's something called a State Guard. Usually everybody's aware of National Guard, but State Guard was something created back in the 1942 by the federal government, allowing governors to create what's like a National Guard but controlled entirely by the state, can't be federalized. We can create those State guards and use state resources because frankly, Republicans and Democrats will be afraid to go to polls. Even I'm talking about legal citizens who have the right to vote will be afraid by, you know, by virtue of having these armed people outside of polling places so we can use state guard to again, escort people and control the situation. Remember, states run the elections. We're in charge of the elections, not Donald Trump, not the federal government. So having a state guard there to protect the voter, not talking about armed people who are going to be pointing weapons or anything like that at these CBP or ICE officers, like they're not allowed to point their weapons at people either who are just going to vote. But having people there to protect them that have official status, that's one way that we can protect voters going in. And then finally, we need to communicate, all of us Governors, we need to communicate significantly over the couple of months before the election to remind people they have every right to go vote. If you're a U.S. citizen, if you're registered to vote, and in Illinois, if you're not registered but you're a U.S. citizen, you can just show up at the polls and on that day, same day vote, you know, we'll check your registration and your information afterward in order to make sure your vote is valid. So we hold those votes aside if you're just the same day registrant. But the point is that, that, you know, we do all the regular checking and we want to make sure that people understand they have the right to vote, no matter who's standing outside the polling place.
- [08:59]
A
Now, you reacted recently, and you've called the president recently. You said that he may have dementia. You called for the 25th Amendment last night. You went on CNN and reacted to the story coming out where he had to essentially flee an Iranian assassination plot in a catering truck. This morning we learned that he actually chose his loyalists, Natalie Harp, Dan Scavino and Walt Nouda to join him and put Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller on the Air Force One decoy with the journalists. What's your reaction to hearing him essentially leaving his cabinet members and journalists on this Air Force One decoy potentially in the line of fire?
- [09:34]
B
Well, it's in line with, I think, what most people think about Donald Trump these days, which is he cares a lot more about himself than he does about the American people. And clearly he's got staff and people that work in his Cabinet and in the White House. He, he doesn't give a darn about. And then of course, the journalists, and he even made light of it later to the journalists, like, you know, hey, I'm in more danger than you guys are. No big deal. And they would have known. Why were you hiding, Mr. President, if you thought that it was Safe. Why were you hiding and going into another aircraft and then letting your Air Force One take off with innocent people on board? You're not on board. You're not taking the risk. They are on your behalf. You, it seems like, you know, it's again, in keeping with what Donald Trump has done as president. It's all about him. It's about, you know, the people that he chooses to benefit, and then he could give a darn about everybody else.
- [10:31]
A
Now, we've seen a report this morning that came out from the Military Times about the war in Iran. And service members on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, they're experiencing horrific conditions, rationing, food, moldy showers. But we're now learning from their families that some service members try to jump overboard, given the extended deployment. I want to get your reaction to how America is treating our service members in the Middle east right now.
- [10:55]
B
Well, isn't it ironic that that Pete Hegseth, who runs our Defense Department, you know, has, you know, extolled the virtues of the military, but then doesn't provide them with the proper supplies, what they'll need to survive on board ships, keeps them out at sea for a long period of time without replacing some of them on a regular basis. And then, of course, Donald Trump himself, who thought he was getting into a war that would take, I don't know, a few days like Venezuela, and, and instead has been at this for, what, six months or more, and to no avail. Indeed. He hasn't vanquished the enemy. And, you know, it's, it's no wonder. Think about it. You know, he thought, he's so brave, you know, 47 years, he said, of presidents who haven't gone after Iran. He's the first one like Nobod ever thought about it before. The reality is that, you know, he, 47 years later, maybe you should look back and wonder, why didn't those presidents go to war with Iran? There's a reason why they didn't. You could end up in a wider war, which is what's happening, by the way. The Iranians, of course, have gone to war with all of their neighbors, essentially all of the allies of the United States. And then they've enlisted the, you know, the Houthis to, to join them in this endeavor and this war. I mean, you've got the, you know, you've got Hezbollah still alive, you know, terrorists in Lebanon. You've got the Houthis, you got the Iranians. And frankly, it, it makes sense to me that, that, that Donald Trump and the Defense Department are confounded now about what to do and do not know how to rotate troops properly for what is turning into a long term war. This is the guy who said that he wasn't going to get us into these forever wars and that, you know, he went into Venezuela and said, well, see, that was easy, no problem. He thinks it's easy. It's not easy and people are dying and frankly, we've got servicemen who need relief. And so I'm not at all surprised to hear this. I'm saddened to hear it, honestly. Our servicemen deserve the support that they have earned by virtue of putting themselves in harm's way to keep us safe and alive. And they shouldn't be sent into wars that shouldn't have been started in the first place.
- [13:26]
A
Do you believe based on that, that the President is fit to command America's troops right now?
- [13:32]
B
When you say is he fit to command? I mean, this is a person who clearly is having mental health challenges. I mean, you can see it every day when he, you know, he sits there at that desk with, you know, 20 people, 30 people around him talking to the press because he can't apparently stand at a podium for a long period of time. This is somebody who says inane things and, you know, you can't figure out why he's doing it. From one moment to the next, he's. And then he, you know, likes to talk about the dementia tests that he's taken. Like, like he passed a dementia test. He, you know, we should all celebrate. He passed a dementia. He thinks it's, it's some sort of IQ test. It isn't an IQ test. And all I can say is he's not passing the dementia test that all of us have for a president. He's not speaking rationally or acting rationally. So, I mean, I didn't want him to be president because I never thought that he was capable of being commander in chief. And I think he's proving it now.
- [14:33]
A
As governor, you can't really do much in terms of deploying troops or withdrawing troops. But you did recently send a letter that I didn't think got much attention to companies that are profit, profiting off of the war in Iran right now. What is the current status of that letter and the demands to those companies?
- [14:50]
B
So you're right. I sent a letter to the largest oil companies. They just reported their quarterly earnings and they've earned tens of billions of dollars more than they usually do.
- [15:03]
A
Why?
- [15:04]
B
Because of the very high price of oil. Oil. They are war profiteering. You know, the very Definition of profiteering is taking advantage of a situation where the country is at war. That is exactly what they're doing. They're profiting, their executives are profiting, their investors are profiting, but the people of the United States are paying for it. You're paying for it every day by paying a dollar or more, perhaps per gallon. And if you're buying diesel, if you're a farmer, you're paying $1.50 more per gallon. And where's that money going? Apparently in the pockets of the oil company executives. So I wrote them letters saying it's time for you to give back. We've got soldiers sacrificing their lives. We've got the American people who are sacrificing by virtue of either having sent their soldiers, their family members abroad, or, or are paying the price at the pump. And it's affecting everybody's lives and inflation across the board. It seems like the oil company executives shouldn't be benefiting the way they are. So I wrote them a letter saying stop it and either lower the price of oil, of gas at the pump or send money directly back to your customers. So one or the other. And by the way, this is something I just want to, you know, this is something you won't often hear from me, but Donald Trump agreed with me about this and we agree on this one thing, that the oil companies shouldn't be profiting like this. Now, in private, I'm told, you know, he is a sycophant. He, Donald Trump is for the oil company, so he loves them in private, but at least in public, he's calling them out. And I'm doing more than calling them out. It is time for them to send money back to the American people. The people of Illinois are suffering because of them and because of Donald Trump's wealth.
- [16:54]
A
And you mentioned sending money back to the American people. I do want to talk about tariffs briefly, because we have given back about billions of dollars in tariff refunds to these large corporations, Apple, 2.2 billion other companies, hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff refunds. Have Illinois consumers been given any refunds or any of that money back?
- [17:15]
B
No. And that is, I mean, that's aggravating as all hell. Remember, let's start with Donald Trump lost at the Supreme Court. It turns out what we were all saying from the beginning, which is it's illegal to put these tariffs on and that they affect everyday people in the United States, which he was lying about. The Supreme Court ruled, in fact, it's illegal, so forced to send it back we're talking about, I think $170 billion if I'm not mistaken. And where does, when he sends it back, where does, when the Supreme Court orders him to do that, where does that money go? Well, he's sending it back in checks to the companies that were charging the tariffs. Now, remember, what did they do? The companies that were charging, they turned it into price increases for everyday people. So if you were buying something at a store, you were paying the tariffs because the companies had to raise their prices to pay the tariffs. Now the companies are profiting from the tariffs. Are the companies sending money back to the consumers? No. Donald Trump should be sending checks directly in Illinois. It's about seventeen hundred dollars that he owes to each family in my state. He ought to be sending the check to them, not to Amazon, not to the big retailers, not to the big companies across the country, but to the American people. He doesn't care. Listen, he, why did he put the tariffs on and why has he cut Medicaid and why is he cut SNAP benefits? What did he need all that money for? To give massive tax breaks to the wealthiest people in this country. People can't afford to pay their electric bills. They can't afford to pay their rent. And he's giving money away to the wealthiest and taking it from precisely the people that need that money, the most middle class, working class people and the most vulnerable.
- [19:07]
A
Now, Governor, before I let you go, one of the most asked questions that I got to ask you is about your personal future. Now, I know unless you want to make an announcement today, which I don't think you want to, I do want to just ask you, are you at least considering running for president in 2028? You don't have to say yes or no about whether you're actually running. Just is it a consideration right now?
- [19:28]
B
You know, Eric, I appreciate your asking the question and that people ask the question all the time. And I will say that, you know, it's incredibly flattering and I think hopefully it's a reflection of the success that we've had for the state of Illinois that people would consider me as a possible candidate. It isn't something that I'm spending any time thinking about. I'm running for reelection as governor. But again, I have to say what's most important to me is that come 2028, and most importantly January 20th of 2029, when we are inaugurating a new president, is that we elect somebody who is actually cares about the people of the United States. Everyday folks. That's who needs a champion in the White House. They don't have one. They haven't had one for the last year and a half. And so I'm going to work hard to make sure that we're electing somebody who fills that role, who stands up for, you know, making sure that we're bringing down the cost of electricity and bringing down the cost of buying a house, bringing down the cost of rent in people's everyday lives and not imposing tariffs across the board. You know, I believe in tariffs, like targeted tariffs to protect industries and jobs in the United States. But these across the board tariffs, which, what? Because he got into a fight with, you know, by saying Canada ought to be the 51st state, he didn't like their response to that, so he put a tariff on them and the same thing on Mexico. This is not the kind of leadership we need. And so I'm going to be working hard to elect a president who actually will stand up for the people who need a government to stand with them.
- [21:06]
A
All right, Governor, thanks so much for the time.
- [21:07]
B
Thanks, Aaron.
- [21:09]
A
Hey, folks, thanks so much for watching. Feel free to add this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you watch for the latest breaking news and daily hits throughout the day. Make sure to follow subscribe. See you soon for more.