Scott Bessent vs. the Filibuster Factory

Summary

The Rob Carson Show – Episode Summary

Episode: Scott Bessent vs. the Filibuster Factory
Date: February 4, 2026
Host: Rob Carson (Newsmax)
Guests: Scott Bessent (Economic Advisor), Mike Johnson (Speaker), Donald Trump (audio), Jim Comer (House Oversight Chair), Sarah Bedford (Washington Examiner), Andrew Colvette (Charlie Kirk Show), Steve Hilton (CA Candidate)

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Overview

This episode of The Rob Carson Show juxtaposes sharp political humor and deep-dive commentary on ongoing political, economic, and cultural controversies. Rob Carson takes listeners through recent Congressional drama, exposes in economic policy, heated debates over immigration and voting laws, and revelations in the Epstein files, while hosting a slate of pundits and lawmakers. Special focus lands on economic policy, border and immigration debates, voter ID battles, the Clintons and Epstein, and the Democrat Party's recent strategic shifts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scott Bessent’s Congressional Testimony & Economic Growth

• Topic: U.S. economic growth in spite of government shutdown and comparison with Europe.
• Key Point: U.S. outpaces EU significantly in economic performance, combating Biden inflation.
• Quote: "The US will have reported likely, despite the government shutdown, 4.1% growth for the past three quarters... We have been successful." – Scott Bessent [01:53]
• Contrast: EU growth at 0.3% vs US at over 4% for the same period [02:37].
• Inflation Critique: Bessent blames “Biden inflation” (21.5% in four years), emphasizes working families' struggles [03:01].

Climate Change & Mortgages Question

• Bessent dismisses Congresswoman’s climate change mortgage risk question, referencing the discredited KLW24 climate study.
• Quote: "Nature magazine has retracted the economic commitment of climate change... errors are too substantial for correction." – Scott Bessent [04:12]

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2. Borders, Immigration & Biblical Arguments

• Topic: Pope Leo’s critique of Trump’s deportation agenda, response from Speaker Mike Johnson.
• Johnson’s Theological Argument:
  • Borders and assimilation are biblically sound.
  • The admonition to “protect the sojourner” applies to individuals, not civil authorities [06:39].
• Quote: “Sovereign borders are biblical and good and right. They're just because it's not because we hate the people on the outside. It's because we love the people on the inside.” – Mike Johnson [07:19]

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3. The Clintons, House Oversight & the Epstein Files

• Update: Clintons testify before House Oversight Committee after initial resistance; bipartisan pressure emerges.
• Jim Comer’s Take: Democrats, after meeting Epstein victims, support wider investigation.
• Quote: "Unlike President Trump, the Clinton... neither Clinton ever answered any questions about Epstein." – Jim Comer [09:56]
• Trump’s Reaction: Expresses mixed feelings but notes double standard in prosecutions [08:47].
• Rob Carson’s Quip: “She was quite a mass debater.” [08:59] (on Hillary Clinton’s debating skills)
• Trump’s comments on redactions and media handling:
  • Wishes nation would move on if no new information is found [11:40]
  • Sharp exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins:
    • “You're a very dishonest organization, and they should be ashamed of you.” – Donald Trump [12:40]

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4. Melinda Gates’ Response to Epstein Revelations

• Segment: Emotional NPR interview clip, Gates responds to news of Bill Gates’ alleged involvement with Epstein, affairs, and STDs.
• Quote: “Sad. Just unbelievable sadness. ...For me, it's just sadness. Sadness for... I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation. So it's just sad.” – Melinda Gates [16:10]

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5. California Politics, Population Flight & Steve Hilton’s Campaign

• Focus: California’s declining population attributed to Democratic rule and policy excesses.
• Steve Hilton’s Platform: Lower taxes, affordable housing, utility relief, anti-corruption; heckled during debate.
• Quote: "After 16 years of Democrat one party rule... we don't need another Democrat. We need change." – Steve Hilton [18:42]
• Carson’s Commentary: Democrats responsible for California’s decline, uses “filibuster” heckler as symbol of failed opposition [19:19].

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6. Voter ID, Senate Filibuster & the SAVE Act

• Schumer under fire for labeling SAVE Act (voter ID law) as “Jim Crow” [13:16].
• Key Exchange (Carson & Sarah Bedford):
  • Voter ID enjoys overwhelming public support.
  • Democrats accused of moving away from “affordability” arguments and obstructing meaningful reform.
  • Quote: “To say that in order to exercise your most sacred civic right to vote, you shouldn't have to show an ID – that doesn't make sense to most people." – Sarah Bedford [29:56]

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7. Blue State Exodus, Voter Reg, and GOP Optimism

• Andrew Colvette’s Optimism:
  • Blue state exodus, Republican voter registration surges, advantageous Electoral College trends.
  • Downplays special election losses, points to midterm improvements [21:31].
  • "Focus on the signal, not the noise... Population decline in blue states. People are fleeing them. This is an open indictment of Democrat policies." – Andrew Colvette [21:31]

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8. Don Lemon & Media Bias in Protest Coverage

• Story: Don Lemon faces jail for participating in controversial protest disrupting worship; debate on journalist protections.
• Sarah Bedford’s Position: Sympathetic to press freedom, but notes hypocrisy in mainstream press’ selective defense.
  • "If a right-wing YouTuber... interrupted prayer services at a mosque... mainstream journalists would not support them." [32:46]
  • Highlights double standard versus Jan 6th prosecutions.

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9. Journalism’s Turning Point

• Discussion:
  • Legacy journalism’s loss of credibility opens doors for truth-driven outlets.
  • "Legacy publications have ceded a lot of ground by openly being partisan cheerleaders... publications like Washington Examiner... have real opportunity to establish authority as truth tellers." – Sarah Bedford [36:01]
  • Carson underscores value of independent, direct-to-audience content [36:30].

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Scott Bessent: "Nature magazine has retracted the economic commitment of climate change..." [04:12]
• Mike Johnson: "Borders and walls are biblical... Immigration is welcome, but assimilation is expected." [05:48–06:39]
• Donald Trump (about Kaitlan Collins): "You're a very dishonest organization, and they should be ashamed of you." [12:40]
• Melinda Gates: "Sad. Just unbelievable sadness... I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation." [16:10]
• Steve Hilton: "So what sets me apart is that I'm not a Democrat... We need change." [18:39]
• Sarah Bedford: "To say that in order to exercise your most sacred civic right to vote, you shouldn't have to show an ID – that doesn't make sense to most people." [29:56]
• Andrew Colvette: "Focus on the signal, not the noise... Population decline in blue states... this is an open indictment of Democrat policies." [21:31]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:53] – Scott Bessent on U.S. economic growth and Biden inflation
• [03:38] – Carson and Bessent: Climate change, KLW24, and scientific retractions
• [05:48] – Mike Johnson’s theological defense of borders
• [08:47] – Donald Trump on the Clintons testifying
• [09:56] – Jim Comer: Why Democrats changed on the Epstein investigation
• [11:40] – Trump on redactions and media
• [12:40] – Trump’s viral exchange with Kaitlan Collins
• [15:32] – Melinda Gates responds to Epstein file revelations
• [18:39] – Steve Hilton debate moment, “filibuster factory” heckler
• [21:31] – Andrew Colvette’s Republican optimism and blue state exodus
• [29:56] – Bedford on the strong public support for voter ID
• [32:46] – Don Lemon, protests, and bias in journalist protections
• [36:01] – Journalism, loss of authority, and new opportunities

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Tone and Style

• Language and Tone:

  • Carson’s banter is irreverent, full of sarcasm, and energetic humor.
  • Guests and audio clips retain original speaking tone: Bessent is professorial, Johnson thoughtful and passionate, Trump characteristic and combative.
  • Dialogue alternates between tongue-in-cheek jabs and earnest deep dives.

• Flow:

  • Carson’s segments stitch together serious news with comedic asides and direct challenges to political adversaries, creating an engaging and fast-paced listening experience.

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a potent blend of economic and political analysis, culture war commentary, and personal revelations, framed by Rob Carson’s unmistakable humor and skepticism of Democratic leadership. The conversations highlight core issues—economic messages, truth in journalism, border politics, and the shifting landscape of American political loyalties—while providing plenty of memorable, quotable moments for listeners.

Transcript

[Rob Carson]

I'm gonna pull over and ask that man for directions.

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We're looking to get to the campground.

Well, you're gonna take a left at the old oak tree end of this here road. No, I'm just kidding. Let me get my phone out.

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Okay, here's those directions. Actually, can you point us in the direction of a T Mobile store?

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[Jim Comer]

Switch to T Mobile today and get.

[Rob Carson]

Built in benefits the other guys leave.

[Jim Comer]

Out plus our five year price guarantee.

[Rob Carson]

And now T Mobile is available in US Cellular stores. Best mobile network based on analysis by Oogle of speed test intelligence data 2H2025 bigger network. The combination of T Mobile's and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage price guarantee on talk text and data exclusions like taxes and fees apply. CT T mobile.com for details. Hold it. Now you are about to hear the most interesting, informative, thought provoking and funny show in America on air and on the World Wide web. This is the Rob Carson Show. This is the Rob Carson Show. Welcome to it. Our number three of the show today. A lot of stuff to still get to and you know, a lot of balls in the air. I'll just tell you. There's Scott Bessant, you know, in front of Congress, Congressional hearing, kicking butt, taking names, Democrats trying to filibuster him, all that. Sarah Bedford, investigative editor for the Washington examiner joins us at the bottom of the hour. I love the examiner. I've been following the examiner for a very long time. So there's that. Here's Scott Besson. Today, stunning experts about the the economic growth in America.

[Scott Bessant]

The US Will have reported likely despite the government shutdown, despite the longest government shutdown in history. 4.1% growth for the past three quarters. And so we, we have been successful.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, at that. Europe last, the Democrats. Why aren't they talking about affordability anymore? That was going to be the issue that carried them through the midterms. Right. What is it now? It's Donald Trump is going to try and steal the midterms. Voter ID is racist and we got to get rid of DHS and ICE after they shut down the border. You see what's going on here. Where's affordability overrated.

[Scott Bessant]

0.3% growth.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah.

[Scott Bessant]

So it's no comparison.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah. Europe recorded a 0.3% growth and I.

[Scott Bessant]

Think we are beginning to accelerate. And importantly we are. Everything we are doing is to fix this terrible Biden inflation from the past four years. 21.5%. Much more for working families.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, it was terrible. I was in the middle of it. It was absolutely awful. It was absolutely awful. Here's a little bit more of the of the testimony of Scott Bessett, my favorite, by the way, my favorite cabinet secretary, other than, I guess, Rubio.

What, if anything, are you all doing to address the risk to households of mortgages and other forms of credit becoming unavailable in certain regions?

She's reading something that an intern apparently.

Wrote the country due to climate change Again.

Hold on. What with climate change. Hold on. I got to hear that. What the hell?

What, if anything, are you all doing to address the risk to households of mortgages and other forms of credit becoming unavailable in certain regions of the country due to climate change?

The hell are you talking about? Okay, you know, say for instance, when there's a fire in Los Angeles like there was last year, and supposedly climate change caused it, why wasn't there a fire like that in Des Moines?

[Scott Bessant]

Again, Congresswoman, are you familiar with KLW24?

[Rob Carson]

No.

[Scott Bessant]

It was the base for everything that was done with climate and with all the client proposed climate legislation and it has been discredited. So everything that FSOC previously did based on climate. Who just been discredited? Nature magazine. Nature magazine has retracted the economic commitment of climate change more than 18 months after first learning that the paper was fatally flawed, with authors acknowledging that its errors are too substantial for correction. There you go.

[Rob Carson]

That is so fun. I just love it. I just love it. Yeah, he's my favorite. This is kind of fun. This is a pretty interesting response from Mike Johnson. Mike Johnson was the, the new Pope is, you know, like the last Pope is left of center. You know, I'm, whatever, I, I, I don't know. I'm so bloody tired of these. I don't know what they are they keep making into our popes. They like people who are very left of center for some stupid reason. My church, for God's sake. But anyway, Mike Johnson was asked about Pope Leo because Pope Leo doesn't like walls. You see, even though he lives in a walled city and he has security more than you could ever imagine, would never consider entertaining an illegal staying in the Vatican. My God, it would be the ends of the world. But I want you to listen To Mike Johnson's brilliant refutation of the Pope Leo. Pope Leo has cited Matthew 25:35 to critique Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.

[Scott Bessant]

How would you respond to Pope Leo in scripture?

[Mike Johnson]

So you want me to give you a theological dissertation? I'll tell you what, I'll post it on my website later today. But let me give you a quick summary. Borders and walls are biblical. From the Old Testament to the New, God has allowed us to set up our civil societies and have separate nations. Immigration is not something that's frowned upon in scripture. In fact, it's welcome. We're going to welcome the sojourner and love our neighbor as ourselves. But what's also important in the Bible is that assimilation is expected and anticipated and proper. When someone comes into your country, comes into your nation, they do not have the right to change its laws or to change a society. They're expected to assimilate. We haven't had a lot of that going on. When people cite passages out of the Old Testament, they say, well, you're supposed to take care of the sojourner and the neighbor. Treat them as yourself. Welcome then in. Yes, but that is an admonition to individuals.

[Rob Carson]

Yes.

[Mike Johnson]

Not to the civil authorities. Civil authorities are given authority under Scripture to maintain order. Oh, yeah, Romans 12, you want to do this? Romans 13 says that the civil authorities are God's agents of wrath to bring punishment upon the wrongdoer.

[Rob Carson]

Wow.

[Mike Johnson]

And it says if you do right, you have no fear of the civil authorities. But those civil authorities are necessary. It's a calling. It's a calling to maintain order in society. And we have not had that. When Biden and Harris opened the borders wide for four years, we had as many as 20 million illegals come across the country. And we all know many dangerous people, hardened criminals, child molesters, rapists, murderers, all the rest. Terrorists who came into the country. We did not take care of our borders. Sovereign borders are biblical and good and right. And they're just because it's not because we hate the people on the outside. It's because we love the people on the inside. We should love our neighbor as ourselves, as individuals. But it's a civil authority and the government has to maintain the law. And that is biblical and it's right. And it's just. And I'm happy to have this lengthy debate with anybody anytime they want to. And I'll post on my X page the longer dissertation on that for you.

[Rob Carson]

I'm thinking that's cool. That was, you must admit, and certainly I'm Not a theologian, but dang, that was, that was pretty impressive. Refuting old, old Pope Leo. Old Pope Leo. I love it. I absolutely love. That was, that was really, that was. I wanted to share that with you, Ken, my producer, Redneck MacGyver, he sent that. He goes, you might want to find that. I listened to the beginning of it yesterday and, and then I went and just heard the rest of it this morning and I went, holy cow. I got to share that. Holy hell. Donald Trump was asked about the Clintons testifying. The Clintons were going to be defy the testifying. And then Jim Comer whipped out his subpoena and Hillary went, ah, like that. And here's what Donald Trump had to say about that.

[Jim Comer]

Well, they didn't think that any Democrats not Donald Trump.

[Rob Carson]

Here is Donald Trump. I'll get to Jim Comer in a second. Here's Donald Trump talking about it today.

We heard that the Clintons set deposition dates to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Any reaction to that related to the question?

[Donald Trump]

I think it's a shame, to be honest. I always liked him. Her. Yeah, she's a very capable woman. She was better in debating than some of the other people, I'll tell you that. She was smarter.

[Rob Carson]

She was quite a mass debater. She really was.

[Donald Trump]

I hate to see it, in many ways I hate to see it. But you know, then I look at me, they went after me like they did.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

You know, they wanted me to go to jail for the rest of my life. Then it turned out I was innocent. Very innocent.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah. So no pity. No pity for you. Here's Jim Comer talking about why the Clintons decided to change their minds.

The Chase Sapphire ears CONGRESSMAN JAMES COMER.

[Jim Comer]

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE chair, CONGRESS well, they didn't think that any Democrats would support this, but the Democrats on the Oversight Committee met with the victims, the Epstein victims. And they want everybody that's photographed with with the, with the victims. Anyone that's got spent a lot of time with Epstein or Maxwell, they want everyone to answer questions. And unlike President yeah, Bill, you were.

[Rob Carson]

In the hot tub with young women at his island.

[Jim Comer]

Trump, the Clinton neither Clinton blew out.

[Rob Carson]

His plane 27 times.

[Jim Comer]

Ever answered any questions about Epstein. They've never done a sit down interview. They've never talked about it. And obviously they didn't want to come in front of the Oversight Committee. We had a markup for contempt when they missed their their date that they were supp supposed to testify. And to their surprise, a majority of Democrats on the Oversight Committee voted with all the Republicans. Then they spent a week trying to intimidate me and say our subpoena wasn't lawful and then try to get the.

[Rob Carson]

Democrats threatened to murder you like they did.

[Jim Comer]

So many other people crash back together to stick to not vote for it, to make it a partisan vote, thinking they could beat it in court if it was a partisan vote. And there were several Democrats that were going to vote to hold Bill Clinton in contempt for not oh, that's what.

[Rob Carson]

They lost some Democrats. That's it.

[Jim Comer]

Showing up for subpoena. So that's how we got here. They knew they were going to be held in contempt. They knew what when Steve Bannon and Navarro had been held in contempt happened to them and they didn't want that to happen.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah. Apparently some Democrats aren't afraid of the Clintons anymore. And the Clintons realize, holy heck, we don't hold the same sway we used to. And that's what happened. That's what happened. Kaitlan Collins asked Donald Trump about it as well.

On the Epstein files, you talked about Democrats who were in there. Elon Musk was also in there and so was your commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick and correspondents that he had with him. Did you read those new files that were published by the Department of Justice?

[Donald Trump]

I have a lot of things I'm doing, you know, a lot of things I'm doing. I don't know. You mentioned two names. I'm sure they're fine. I'm sure they're fine. Otherwise it would have been major headlines.

[Rob Carson]

A lot of women who are survivors of Epstein's are unhappy with those redactions that came out. Some of them entire witness interviews are totally blacked out.

[Sarah Bedford]

Do you think that they should be more transparent?

[Donald Trump]

They thought they released too much. You know, I heard that. And you tell me something else. I think it's really time for the country to get onto something else.

[Rob Carson]

Really.

[Donald Trump]

You know, now that nothing came out about me other than it was a conspiracy against me literally by Epstein and other people.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

But I think it's time now for the country to maybe get onto something else.

[Rob Carson]

But what would you say to people.

[Donald Trump]

Who feel like they have got injustice?

[Rob Carson]

Mr. Yeah. Actually, more Democrats are in trouble for this than anything. This is the, this is the clip that's going viral. Donald Trump shredding Caitlin.

Mr. President, something.

[Donald Trump]

That people care about.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah.

[Donald Trump]

What, what do you say, what would you, what would you say to the.

[Rob Carson]

Survivors who feel like they've got the.

[Donald Trump]

Worst reporter, no one to see? CNN has no ratings because of People like you. You know, she's a young woman. I don't think I've ever seen you smile. I've known you for 10 years. I don't think I've ever seen a smile.

[Rob Carson]

I'm asking you about survivors.

[Donald Trump]

You know why you're not smiling? Because you know you're not telling the truth.

[Rob Carson]

Uhoh.

[Donald Trump]

And you're, you're a very dishonest organization and they should be ashamed of you.

[Rob Carson]

These are survivors of a sexual abuser, by the way.

On the other side of the break, Melinda Gates is starting to open up about her husband. And what I'm going to play next for you is something from an interview with her. And it is, it puts a real, a real impactful side on all of this to someone who was a victim of it. It also gives you an idea why she divorced the the guy. All right, so we're going to do that. On the other side of the break. Let's take a break. This is the Rob Carson Show.

[Mike Johnson]

Come on. Stop.

[Rob Carson]

Come on. Got to get me there. So Chuck Schumer is being lambasted after saying that the SAVE act is Jim Crow. This is what they did. And when they tried, they did successfully enact some similar legislation in the state of Georgia to make sure that people who voted didn't have their vote stolen by somebody else. And Chuck Schumer said that the SAVE act allowing people requiring someone to have a voter ID prove their citizenship as a citizen to vote. And he was confronted about that today, the absurdity of it. And of course, he had nothing to say about it.

Leader Schumer, you recently called the SAVE Act Jim Crow. Can you explain how it's Jim Crow to require an ID to vote in elections, to drive a car to purchase alcohol?

[Sarah Bedford]

Go to the dmv. Any comment on that?

[Rob Carson]

Leadership, you said you're on the same page as what do you think? Should we restore normal order in the Senate and actually go back to the standing filibuster?

Of course he's not going to answer because he likes to shoot his damn mouth off, sub you nonsense and then be completely doesn't have to have any accountability. That's just the way Democrats are. That's just the way Democrats are. Hey, so Melinda Gates, she was I guess, being interviewed by NPR and she got a divorce from her husband. We're finding out some things about her husband in these Epstein files that he was involved with some Russian prostitutes or something and may have gotten an std. Okay. And she was asked, and by the way, the reporter who did. This question was pretty brilliant about getting an answer from a deeply personal question. Tiptoeing around, asking outright for the details. And I want you to listen to this because it puts a real human face on someone who was. Can you imagine being the wife of this man and then not only have to deal with allegedly getting an STD from her husband, but that her husband was involved with this and then having to be the wife of someone of such a public figure. So dealing with the humiliation of that.

The emails in the files suggest that Bill Gates had additional affairs and that he tried to get medication to treat a sexually transmitted infection and that he was going to give you the medicine without you knowing. His representative has said all of this is false. It is not on you to have to respond to the details of that alleged behavior. But I wonder what your dominant emotion is when you read these news articles with these details. Sad. Just unbelievable sadness. Unbelievable sadness.

[Mike Johnson]

Right.

[Rob Carson]

And again, I'm able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, my God, how did.

[Sarah Bedford]

They.

[Rob Carson]

How did that happen to those girls? Right? And so for me, it's just sadness. Sadness for, you know, I, I've left. I had to. I left my marriage. I had to leave my marriage. I wanted to leave my marriage. I had to leave the. I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation. So it's just sad. That's the truth. Right. And, and it's kind of like, at least for me, I've been able to move on in life.

Wow. That is. That was really an amazing, A powerful response from her. You don't think about how badly she was hurt by this? Just, I mean, honestly, I wanted to share that. I just thought that was, I don't know, Melinda Gates from Adam, as my dad used to say. But, but that just, that was really, really amazing. Put a human side on the awfulness that Jeffrey Epstein and some of the people who partook in his evil, apparently her husband did. So there you go. California records the largest population loss in America for the sixth straight year. California, and soon this is going to happen in Virginia. If this Abigail Spamberger, the crazy cat lady carrot who misrepresented herself to get elected in the state of Virginia. And they've ushered in already 50 new tax proposals. They're going to issue. You have to get rid of your leaf blower. If it's a gas leaf blower, they're going to outlaw law. Gas leaf blowers. And then if you get an electric one, there's a tax on it. They're going to tax you on your Uber. They're going to tax you on your deliveries, even via Amazon. They're going to go after guns and ammunition. They're going to go after voter. You know, they're going to allow the elections to be stolen. They're going to allow NGOs to get money from the government without being checked for their corruption. It is insane. It is, it is. It is the same thing that's going on in New York City with that Zoran Mandami. I hope it doesn't happen in Virginia. I hope that somebody challenges her legally because she misrepresented herself. The Democrat Party misread themselves to become the power in the party in power. That said, Steve Hilton is running and Steve Hilton, I guess Gavin Newsom is not out in front. The Republican candidates are out in front. And Steve Hilton, this is a debate that he was in yesterday. And listen to the idiot in the crowd trying to filibuster him and shout him down.

[Steve Hilton]

So what sets me apart in this race is that I'm not.

[Rob Carson]

Because it's what Democrats do.

[Steve Hilton]

Democrat. And after 16 years, after 16 years of Democrat one party rule that have given us the highest poverty, the highest unemployment, the highest cost of living in America, I think it's a very good thing. We don't need another Democrat. We need change. We've got the plans to make it happen. 3.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, yeah, we need change because of all the corruption and everybody's leaving and.

[Steve Hilton]

That guy's booing gas cut your electric bill in half, your first hundred grand tax free. A home you can afford to buy. And that's how we make our state califordable. But the other thing that makes me different, I'm building a team. I'm building a team.

[Rob Carson]

Listen to what he's booing, what he just said. No tax on the first hundred thousand dollars you make, make it affordable to live here. All of this right now. Highest gas prices in the entire country, all Highest utilities in the entire country, all highest real estate, highest rent, highest.

[Steve Hilton]

Taxes to get this done for lieutenant governor, running with me, Gloria Romero, she was the former Democrat leader of the state Senate. Michael Gates running with me for attorney general to enforce the law. Herb Morgan running with me for state controller to end the fraud in our government. That's how we make our state golden again with the golden ticket, the team I'm putting together.

[Rob Carson]

So, you idiot, honestly, who would vote for this? Who would vote for the Democrat Party again, considering what the Democrat Party has done to the state of California, where it is the for the sixth straight year. The most people bleeding from the state. Even though the state is heaven on earth, even though the state, honestly, if there were Republicans in charge and taxes were low, I would consider living in California. It is Eden on earth and they've made it into hell. This is what Democrats do. They've done it in Maryland, they're doing it in other states around the country. They're all leaving because Democrat policies fail. That's why they're being replaced with illegals so they can maintain their, their census and their representation and their tax money. Let's take a break and come back. This is the Rob Carson Show. Hey guys, it's Carson for Relief Factor. You know, one of the most rewarding parts of sharing Relief Factor with you is all the real stories like Sandra's. She tells us. I've been hearing about Relief Factor on the radio for a couple of years. Finally decided to try it because nothing else has helped my back pain. With the three week quick start. I went for it. Now I feel like a new person. Those are Sandra's own words. And it's just so gratifying to hear. I've experienced that kind of relief myself. And knowing folks like Sandra out there are feeling better makes it all worth it. Try it for yourself with a three week quick start. See how Relief Factor could be a game changer too. Call 804 RELIEF. That's 804 RELIEF. Or go to relieffactor.com that's really factor.com how will it feel to be out of pain?

[Andrew Colvette]

Yeah, I would tell people, focus on the signal, not the noise. Right. I mean, there's three things I want to point to. Population decline in blue states. People are fleeing them. This is an open indictment of Democrat policies. High crime, high taxes, high cost of living. It's unbelievably difficult to live in those states. Secondly, you've got voter registration data. So we are winning voter reg in all the key swing states and it's been that way for years now. And so states like Pennsylvania are much, much better for us than they used to be. Thirdly, yes, the Electoral College. We are going to be much harder for Democrats to win a national election even in 2030. It should have been that way in 2020. It's a botched census, if you want to know the truth of it. But that's apportionment. That's congressional votes and obviously Electoral College votes. So things are trending in our way. I don't heed to that special election in Texas that you mentioned. I had Dan Patrick with me today, he said there was about 75,000 Republicans that just didn't get the memo. So I think we're going to do better in the midterms when more people are focused on what's going on politically.

[Rob Carson]

That is Andrew Colvette. He is the executive producer of the Charlie Kirk Show. He's really taken over the helm there and an optimistic view of the midterms, which I have had, by the way, and I continue to have. I'm not saying, you know, don't let your guard down, get out and vote. I get all that, but the Democrat Party is doing nothing but a death spiral into hell, and they want to try to drag us kicking and screaming with them. That's why they want to get rid of, you know, voter id. They don't want to have voter id. Why? Well, duh. I mean, you know why? I know they want to steal votes because I'm not stupid.

[Mike Johnson]

Why?

[Rob Carson]

They want to get rid of DHS and ICE because they want illegals in, to load them up with largesse, to have them in there for the census and then also to have them vote because I'm not stupid. These are all common sense, honestly. Common sense. My God in heaven. Sarah Bedford is an investigative editor at the Washington examiner, and she joins us on the Newsmax hotline. Hello. How are you today?

[Sarah Bedford]

I'm great. Thanks for having me.

[Rob Carson]

I like to say the Democrat Party is in and I'm very ginger and careful with my wording, doing a death spiral into hell. What do you. I mean, you look at all the things that the Democrats are doing. They're lashing out, they're gnashing their teeth. They're saying, oh, my God, you know, in Minneapolis, ICE is coming in. They're Nazis and, you know, Jim Crow. Showing your ID is Jim Crow. And I think it's because they are being. Being exposed for the absolutely broken, intellectually and bankrupt party. They are. And they see the writing on the wall. What do you think?

[Sarah Bedford]

Well, right now they don't have to do much of anything as the minority party in terms of putting forward a proactive agenda. We're not really close enough to the midterms for vulnerable Democrats or, you know, for Democrats to be running on anything that they're for. They're still in a position where they get to run on stuff that they're against. And that's a lot of what we hear in the rhetoric about Donald Trump. What's interesting is that the successful Democrats that we've seen so far since Trump's election, in the 2025 election. And I'm talking about Abigail Spanberger, the governor of Virginia, and Mikey Sherrill, the governor of New Jersey. Both of them ran on affordability and they ran. They didn't run on any of the top social stuff. They didn't run on any of the identity politics and racial stuff. They ran on making everyday life more affordable for Americans. And neither of them in the few weeks that they've been in office have governed that way. And I do think that that dynamic will make it tougher for Democrats to run on affordability in the midterms when the few times they've tried that, it's more or less turned out to be a scam. At least so far.

[Rob Carson]

The affordability thing is already over. They're not talking about it anymore. The Democrat Party is not talking about affordability anymore. That's not going to be an issue in the midterms. This is my contention because we are already seeing it being made affordable. We're already seeing inflation doing a flat line. We're always seeing rent prices down for the, you know, the lowest in four years. We're seeing gas prices down, a lot of things. And by the way, I just moved to Virginia and Abigail Spamberger lied. The Democrat Party lied, misrepresented themselves. They did not have any of this nonsense on their party platform. And I am being a part of what is going to hopefully be illegal action against the Democrat Party in the state of Virginia, because you cannot, Sarah, you know, when you run as a communist, you tell everybody what you're for. Communism does not win in America. But what they did, both of them, Mikey Sherrill and Abigail Spamberger did, is that they, they covered up their communistic Marxist socialist agenda to get elected and then bait and switch. You cannot do that in the country. And if it's not challenged legally, then at least it throws major doubt on whether you could ever trust a Democrat running as a moderate again. As you mentioned, I do think you'll.

[Sarah Bedford]

Hear more and more about affordability as we get closer to November. It's their most, you know, successful issue to date. They don't have success when they run on immigration. They don't have success when they run on law and order or their ability to govern in general. But I don't think that prices will come down fast enough for the people who are hurting the most to really feel that relief and to neutralize the issue completely. It's still really hard to be a first time homer buyer in America, for example. It is still really hard to rent a decent apartment in the biggest suburban or urban areas in the country. And it's still really expensive when you go to the grocery store. So even though, like you mentioned, there are positive economic signs, that's not happening fast enough to take the issue off the table. And it's really the only card that Democrats have to play at this point. The backlash to immigration is probably short lived because of some of the incidents that the tragedies that we did see in Minneapolis. But Tom Holman has already done a remarkable job of cleaning up that mess. And I don't think that's something that Democrats will be able to coast on.

[Rob Carson]

I thought that, you know, a couple of weeks ago when Donald Trump decided to put Homan in there and kind of back off ice a little bit, a lot of people were, you know, hoping, you know, because, you know, a lot of us are full of testosterone. We thought insurrection act, I want to see the hippies get their butts kicked. But, but it was actually a brilliant chess move on Donald Trump's part of the Today we see and you mentioned in a headline on your, on your Twitter feed, arrests for offenses like vandalism, assault, property damage are way down. We saw the police actually clearing out some of these intersections where they people were stopping motorists asking for their papers and their IDs and whatnot. And then, and then of course, kind of deflated the rage machine in Minneapolis. So that was a pretty brilliant move. And I'd say it's pretty positive because Holman said that they're turning over illegal alien criminals at the jails rather than releasing them. That's a giant thing.

[Sarah Bedford]

Right? And that was the goal all along. I mean, if the goal was to send some sort of symbolic message about, like you mentioned, what had the makings of an insurrection, then, you know, maybe Trump would have taken a different path. But clearly the goal all along was just to get criminal illegal aliens off the streets, like the Trump administration said. And so you do see cooperation there. And it put Democrats in a really awkward position that I think was brilliant on the part of the Trump administration. If they didn't take that cooperation deal, then the Trump administration would be forcing Democrats to defend keeping criminal illegal aliens on the streets, criminals who have committed some really heinous crimes like child rape and murder and stuff like that. And even the most radical Democrats in Minnesota really couldn't stomach defending keeping those people on the streets. And so the Trump administration, I do think is going to come out on top. And at least in the Minneapolis saga Yeah, the.

[Rob Carson]

The SAVE act is not going through right now. We just found out from Harry Hinton on cnn the American people want to see voter id. Chuck Schumer said it was Jim Crow. I know, as surprised, you know, surprised he would say something. I think this whole thing is blowing up in their faces. I don't know about the legal. What they're going to have to do the legal gymnastics to get this to pass, but clearly the Democrat Party is not on the side of the American people with regard to showing your vote. Your idea to vote.

[Sarah Bedford]

Right. It's an overwhelmingly popular idea. It's not controversial with the vast, vast majority, majority of voters. It just makes sense. And people have to show their IDs. I mean, this is like a totally cliche argument, but it's that because it's true, you have to show your ID to do just about anything in this country. And to say that in order to exercise your most sacred civic right to vote, you shouldn't have to show an ID that doesn't make sense to most people. You very rarely see issues where public opinion is so lopsided. I know there are so few people that oppose it, but this is one of them. And Republicans, they would be smart to press their advantage while they have it and get this over the finish line.

[Rob Carson]

Because if we could continue on the other side of the break. You stick with us through the break. Sure, sure. I want to talk a little bit about Don Lemon, among other things. Let's take a break and come back. This is the Rob Carson Show.

[Andrew Colvette]

Now, we can see that these protest NGO groups are about one thing, getting Democrats elected. So it's only fitting that donations to get free are funneled through ActBlue, who is under investigation by the Department of Justice for foreign contributions. ActBlue has funneled billions of dollars for activist groups like Indivisible Twin Cities, who is orchestrating the resistance on ice. Agents in Minneapolis. Indivisible has been caught paying protesters, and They've received over $7.6 million from the open Society foundation, funded by George Soros.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, there's a lot of. A lot of balls in the air with regard to Democrats and rigging boats and buying people off, etc. Because they don't have a winning message. They really don't have much of a winning message. Sarah Bedford is an investigative editor with the Washington Examiner. Would you live in the D.C. area?

[Sarah Bedford]

I do. I live in the Virginia area, too.

[Rob Carson]

I live in Northern Virginia. Got a studio right near the torpedo factory.

[Andrew Colvette]

Oh, great.

[Sarah Bedford]

I'll have to Come visit it sometimes.

[Rob Carson]

What about this, this, this ice on top of the snow. What a mess that's made of things, huh?

[Sarah Bedford]

An absolute nightmare. And the school's closed for a week at a time.

[Rob Carson]

It is ridiculous. It is ridiculous. And the Potomac's frozen over a lot of the parts. It's pretty, Pretty messy. So I want to talk about a couple of other things here. Don Lemon, the other night, you know, I don't know if I was. If I was under such heat. And, you know, he's already tempted Pam Bondi. He said, you know, come and arrest me. She arrests him. Then he goes, I'm just going to get louder. Then he appears on Jimmy Kimmel the other night. I got to tell you, if I were in his shoes, I would be shutting the hell up. What are your thoughts on Don Lemon and the possibility he could go to jail?

[Sarah Bedford]

Well, you might not agree with this. I am sympathetic.

[Rob Carson]

What?

[Sarah Bedford]

Let me get through it. I'm sympathetic to the claim that journalists should enjoy extra protection. However, it is so hard for me to see my fellow journalists circling the wagon. If a right wing YouTuber accompanied a bunch of Oath Keepers, let's say, interrupting prayer services at a mosque to protest radical Islam and making little Muslim children cry and all of that, I can't imagine a world where mainstream journalists would say that that right wing YouTuber should be protected for participating in that event, just because.

[Rob Carson]

So let's say. Let's say Don Lemon is standing up with a bunch of guys who are getting ready to go in and rob a bank. And he says, I know you're going to go in and rob this bank. I want to buy you coffee and donuts, and then I'm going to go in with you, and I'm going to interview the people as they are, as they rob. As you rob them. And I'm going to prevent getting in the way of people trying to leave the bank for their own safety. Really? You want to defend that?

Exactly.

No, no, no.

[Sarah Bedford]

I'm not defending that. I'm saying that I, you know, the, the, the journalists who are circling the wagons around John Lemon are also disagreeing that the underlying behavior is criminal. But I guess my point is that if they had targeted any other house of worship, if they had targeted a mosque, for example, and you know, it's because it's a Christian church, that they don't even see that sort of act of intimidation as a mosque, would they.

[Rob Carson]

They would never interrupt a mosque, Would they. They would never go into a mosque.

[Sarah Bedford]

Because they don't sympathize with the victims of this crime, that they can't see anyone involved as having done anything wrong. But it's pretty clearly illegal that no one has a right to interrupt worship services in a house of worship. And I just. I really think it's baffling, especially after you saw, during the Biden administration, there were several people acting as independent journalists who were prosecuted pretty aggressively for being at the January 6th rally, for entering the Capitol while they were livestreaming and covering.

[Rob Carson]

Yeah, I know. I'm just trying to cover the story.

[Sarah Bedford]

Exactly. And you didn't see anyone come to the aid of the First Amendment journalist superior. Right. During those types of prosecution. So it's really hard to take seriously people who are saying that it's a complete overreach that Don Lemon was charged here.

[Rob Carson]

I think it's a very good time for real truth tellers and people who really love journalism. You've seen Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, John Solomon, Nick Shirley, who's. Who's kind of like this. I mean, he's like the. I don't even know he's a journalist, but he's not. He's not like somebody who went to J school, you know, but he. But he is a journalist, you know, And I think it's a good time to be a journalist, Sarah, particularly if you. If you want to be a truth teller, not. Not from either side of the political equation, but be a truth teller. I think there's a real opportunity for journalism to make a return and be, you know, highly respected.

[Sarah Bedford]

Well, legacy publications have ceded a lot of ground by openly being partisan cheerleaders this past decade, now and longer. But, like, they really discarded the pretense when Donald Trump ascended to power. And so, yeah, there's a lot of ground that's been ceded. A lot of authority has been given up by these legacy institutions that publications like the Washington examiner and, you know, like yourself have, you know, their real opportunity there to establish authority as truth tellers.

[Rob Carson]

You know, listen, I have a studio and an audience of millions of people every week. I did it on my own because. And listen, I'm conservative. I'm not a journalist. Dear God, don't insult journalism and don't insult me. So there's a real opportunity for people to hear truth. Sarah Bedford, really enjoyed the conversation. Washington examiner. Where can people find all your great work? Follow you on social media, etc.

[Sarah Bedford]

Thank you. They can find it [e-mail] you are the best.

[Rob Carson]

Have a glorious day. We'll have you in the new studio. We're going to be doing live interviews in here and podcasts very soon. We'll have you over.

[Sarah Bedford]

Okay, thank you.

[Rob Carson]

All right, let's take a break and come back. This is the Rob Carson show. There's always room for Zeppelin. If you like Zeppelin, you should check out Greta von Fleet. Greta von Fleet's a Gen Z band and they're friggin amazing. They've got a song called called Flower Power that they really, they did just sound like an. Kind of like they were impressed, you know, impersonating Zeppelin with Flower Power, their song. Just Google it, look it up. Look at a Spotify. Whatever they got it. This song is. It's like if Led Zeppelin did another album. It's real. It's really good. It's really, it's really good. They, they are good musicians, great vocalists. GRETA von Please grow them up late. Gold is back, baby. Gold is back. Dropped pretty dramatically. It's. It's pushing 5,000 again. Told you, told you, told you, told you so. It was up to about 5,500 people sold because it went up $500 in one day last week. Then it dropped down to 46ish. And the reason did is because people were selling it. People that, you know we're selling it. Birch gold was, I mean just you couldn't even get through some days. I was getting touch, trying to get in touch with my advisor there and all that. We'll get back to you, Rob. We're really busy. Okay. But there we go. We're at 4938 again. So we're getting back up to $5,000. People sold off but gold is still going to be in high demand. It's on the way. If you look at some of the headlines, gold prices remain well supported. US labor market continuing gold and silver unlikely to repeat explosive rally but should still climb steadily after a recent price reset. Duh. Told you, told you, told you so maybe it's time for you now that it's down, now that you could save a little money. $500 an ounce less than it was last week to text my name Rob to 989-898. Text my name Rob to 989898 and get the ball rolling. They'll just give you information, no obligation. I just converted a little 401k that I had to gold last week there. They just set the check so I got in at like under five grand which is really great. Now I can just watch it grow. Didn't take any time. They got in touch with my 401k people. And then that Gold representative from Birch Gold was on the phone with us together. They shook hands. There you go. And said, here you go. We're done, we're done. We're on. And that's how easy it is. So if you just text my name, Rob, to 989-898 for Burchgold, then you can get the ball rolling there. It's 989-898 for Birchgold. And again, you want to do that soon. So today was fun. Today was fun. I thought Sarah Bedford was an outstanding guest. I want to have her on again. She gave it to me a little bit. I gave it to her a little bit right back. And I thought it was a great conversation. Very, very, very, very sharp interview, I thought. Show is very good. If you get a chance to subscribe to the podcast, it's on all the usual podcast platforms, iHeartMedia, Spotify, all of that. Of course, on all of our social media. Rumble. Just go to Rumble, Newsmax, Rob Carson show. The entire show is up there, as well as all of Newsmax social media. If you want to watch the show again, it's right there. Otherwise, it's available on all the podcast platforms, audio as well. The numbers are growing dramatically. People discovering the show. In the meantime, God bless you, America's founder. What Donald Trump is doing for this glory country. To heck with the Democrats and what they're trying to do in the country. And until tomorrow, which is Thursday, do not catch the stupid. I'll see you then. I love you guys.