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MINNEAPOLIS I.C.E. SHOOTING; DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-WI); ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA) - The Stephen A. Smith Show | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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MINNEAPOLIS I.C.E. SHOOTING; DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-WI); ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA)

The Stephen A. Smith Show

Thu Jan 08 2026

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show (SiriusXM POTUS 124)

Episode Summary: "Minneapolis ICE Shooting; Derrick Van Orden (R-WI); Eric Swalwell (D-CA)"

Date: January 8, 2026
Host: Stephen A. Smith

Episode Overview

Stephen A. Smith’s first show of 2026 goes far beyond the world of sports to tackle an explosive week in American politics and law enforcement. The headline: an ICE agent fatally shot a 37-year-old protester, Renee Nicole Good, in Minneapolis, igniting a national firestorm. Smith hosts frank conversations with Representative Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), a former Navy SEAL, and Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA), a Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California. The result is a candid, emotionally charged examination of law enforcement, political rhetoric, immigration, sanctuary cities, Trump's policies, and American identity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Minneapolis ICE Shooting: What Happened and Why It Matters

Incident Outline: Renee Nicole Good, a protester blocking a snowy street, was shot and killed by an ICE agent after allegedly attempting to drive off as officers sought to detain her.
- Smith describes both the legal and moral dimensions, expressing his profound discomfort with the necessity of lethal force.
- Smith’s Framing (00:41):
  - “From a lawful perspective as it pertains to a law enforcement official, don’t expect him to be prosecuted. He was completely justified, from a humanitarian perspective—why did you have to do that?”
  - “She didn’t have to die. That’s the country we’re living in now. Some people more often than not are becoming lawless and law enforcement officials ... are not just about enforcing the law ... but they’re also taking lives.”
Legal vs. Moral Perspective:
- Legally, ICE agents likely shielded from prosecution, but morally, Smith sees preventable death.
- Smith points to historical disparities in law enforcement’s use of force, noting comparable cases where suspects lived.

2. Political Reactions: Escalating Rhetoric and the Federal-State Divide

Federal Response (Kristi Noem, DHS Secretary) [07:42]:
- Labels the incident “an act of domestic terrorism,” emphasizing officer safety and the administration’s hard stance on attacks against law enforcement.
- “These vehicle rammings are domestic acts of terrorism. We’re working with the Department of Justice to prosecute them as such.” (Kristi Noem, 07:42)
Minnesota’s Pushback (Gov. Tim Walz) [08:58]:
- Rejects further federal involvement, asserts Minnesota’s sovereignty, warns Trump and Noem against making the state a “prop in a national political fight.”
Local Outrage (Mayor Jacob Frey, as broadcast by Smith) [10:07]:
- Blunt condemnation of ICE presence: “Get the fuck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here.”
Sanctuary Cities & Crime Data:
- Smith cites Minneapolis crime statistics: violent crime, shootings, robberies, and burglaries have all substantially fallen since 2021.
- Questions the real intent of the ICE and National Guard presence: “What is the need for the National Guard? What is the need for ICE?” (Smith, 12:00)

3. Trump’s Role and GOP Strategy: Chaos Versus Law and Order

Trump’s Statement (Read by Smith) [16:20]:
- Trump blames “professional agitators” and the “radical left,” asserts the agent was acting in self-defense, and frames anti-ICE sentiment as a Democratic incitement to violence.
- Smith calls out Trump for exaggeration: “Respectfully, the President’s lying his ass off. That’s not true.” (Smith, 17:40)
Broader Political Context:
- Smith connects the current environment to earlier cycles of chaos and protest, referencing the racial reckoning post-George Floyd, the economic record under various presidents, and the GOP’s vulnerability to blowback from these actions in the upcoming midterms.

4. Interview: Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) — “This Tragic Death Never Had to Happen”

(26:07–37:42)

On the Shooting:
- Van Orden puts blame on Democratic rhetoric: “This woman would still be alive if the left had allowed our federal law enforcement officials to do their job ... [Their] defund the police buffoonery ... that propaganda works.” (Van Orden, 26:55)
- Frames the protester’s actions as domestic terrorism and stresses the left’s messaging as a source of violence against law enforcement.
- Declines to “second-guess” agents’ on-the-ground decisions but equates media/academic anti-Trump rhetoric to Nazi propaganda.
  - “The most powerful ministry in Nazi Germany was the ministry of Truth and Propaganda ... If you look at the legacy media ... they’re putting out the constant message that these ICE agents are ... Gestapo.” (Van Orden, 31:47)
Smith’s Rebuttal:
- Acknowledges excessive left-wing rhetoric but also emphasizes the humanity of law enforcement’s dilemma: “Did you have to kill her? Could that have been avoided?” (Smith, 29:00)
On Trump’s Venezuela Operation:
- Van Orden applauds “exquisite, complicated and eloquent” US military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, rebuking those who criticize Trump for not consulting Congress beforehand: “The only thing that leaks more than Congress is a sieve.” (Van Orden, 37:16)

5. Interview: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) — “This Was Not Law Enforcement With His Back Against the Wall”

(50:07–73:41)

On the Shooting:
- Swalwell personalizes the loss: “She has a name, right? Renee Good. A mom of three ... It’s awful, but it feels like this is where it was always going to go with the President flooding the zone with ICE agents.” (Swalwell, 51:27)
- Blames the administration’s policing strategy for precipitating violence. “It feels to me like the intent was to draw the foul ... create an environment where someone would resist an ICE agent and then they would find the justification to use force.”
- Stresses that, as a cop’s son and brother, he supports law enforcement, but: “What I saw today was not an officer with his back against the wall ... there has to be consequences ... this guy committed murder today.” (Swalwell, 52:49)
On Sanctuary Cities and Immigration:
- Defends sanctuary jurisdictions as protecting only non-violent people, stating that “there should be no sanctuary for a violent criminal—period,” but ICE should not have authority to raid churches, schools, or go after non-criminals.
- Dismisses the conservative claim that any undocumented status is by default criminality.
On January 6 and Trump’s Broader Threat:
- Criticizes the White House’s effort to recast January 6 as peaceful, reaffirms Trump’s culpability: “There’s really only three days in American history [since the Civil War] ... December 7, September 11, and January 6. They’re not just dates. They’re scar tissue for all of us.” (Swalwell, 57:35)
- Frames the Trump agenda as targeted retribution against blue states, including pulling cancer research funds from California: “This isn’t about red team vs blue team ... If he’s going to pull the cancer research funding ... he’s going to have to go through me.” (60:10, 68:25)
Swalwell’s Gubernatorial Pitch:
- Focus on addressing California’s cost crisis through aggressive housing policy, fraud reduction incentives, and business tax holidays.
- “California’s a blue state held down by red tape, and I’m going to get rid of the red tape, particularly as it relates to housing.” (Swalwell, 65:06)
Sports Coda (Light-hearted conclusion):
- Smith teases Swalwell for his sports optimism as a 49ers fan, blending policy and personality in closing.

6. Listener Calls and Open Forum (Selected Topics)

Rhetoric and Responsibility:
- Several callers and Smith debate the origins of political vitriol, with Smith arguing Trump and his followers feed off mutual antagonism.
  - “You can’t just put it on him. It’s the hatred for him.” (Smith, 41:02)
The Paradox of Trump:
- Smith explores Trump’s unique appeal as an anti-establishment firebrand—even while lamenting his “classlessness” and divisiveness.
- “To them, Trump’s not even a Republican. He’s a guy that’s a total renegade raging against the system.” (Smith, 42:15)
Affordable Care Act & Health Care Battles:
- Robust debate on federal budgets, health care, and the impact of political cycles on practical legislation.
- Smith calls out both parties for contributing to the national deficit.
Sanctuary Cities & Law:
- Smith and callers question how sanctuary cities are permitted to “usurp” federal law.
- “If there’s federal laws that mandate that ... you can’t cross the border illegally, there shouldn’t be sanctuary cities saying yes, you can ... which laws?” (Smith, 96:18)
Moral Direction:
- Closing theme: What kind of country do we want to be? Smith repeats that Americans must choose between “law, order, and humanity” in a divisive era.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:41 | Stephen A. Smith | “She was blocking the road ... she decides to drive off ... [The agent] moves out the way and draws his gun and shoots through the front windshield and took her out. But it wasn’t necessary ... you could have spared the woman’s life. You didn’t have to kill her.” | | 07:42 | Kristi Noem | “These vehicle rammings are domestic acts of terrorism. We’re working with the Department of Justice to prosecute them as such.” | | 10:07 | Mayor Jacob Frey | “Get the fuck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite.” | | 17:40 | Stephen A. Smith | “Respectfully, the President’s lying his ass off. That’s not true.” | | 26:55 | Rep. Van Orden | "This tragic death never had to happen. But the left wing of the Democrat party have been demonizing our law enforcement ... this woman would still be alive if the left had allowed our federal law enforcement officials to do their job." | | 31:47 | Rep. Van Orden | "The most powerful ministry in Nazi Germany was the ministry of Truth and Propaganda ... they're putting out the constant message that these ICE agents are the American Gestapo." | | 51:27 | Rep. Swalwell | “She has a name, right? Renee Good. A mom of three ... It’s awful, but it feels like this is where it was always going to go with the President flooding the zone with ICE agents ... the intent was to draw the foul.” | | 52:49 | Rep. Swalwell | “What I saw today was not an officer with his back against the wall and nowhere else to go. I saw a guy who just scooted out of the way and then started firing into the car ... there has to be consequences. And good police officers should want to hold accountable bad police officers because this guy committed murder today.” | | 57:35 | Rep. Swalwell | “There’s really only three days in American history since the Civil War ... December 7, September 11, and January 6. They’re not just dates. They’re scar tissue for all of us.” | | 68:25 | Rep. Swalwell | “The President ... is using taxpayer dollars to weaponize the Department of Justice to go after his enemies. That’s fine. I can handle it. ... But what I want Californians to take away ... is that I’ll always be on offense on their behalf.” | | 79:50 | Caller “Mindy” & Smith| “He’s only spoken to us with hatred. And I’m a moderate who’s never once been acknowledged by my president.” ... Smith: “That’s true. But Mindy, 77 million people knew it and voted for him anyway ... we have to decide what kind of country ... we want to be.” | | 91:04 | Stephen A. Smith | “When you look at Trump, in all fairness, you can’t disagree with all his policies ... What really bothers you is the classlessness with which he executes, because that is what is causing the division.” | | 96:18 | Stephen A. Smith | “I don’t understand how sanctuary cities are allowed in this country ... If there’s federal laws ... there shouldn’t be sanctuary cities saying yes, you can ... which laws?” |

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:41 – Smith's monologue, description and immediate reaction to the ICE shooting
07:42 – Kristi Noem statement: federal response
08:58 – Tim Walz: Minnesota rejects further federal involvement
10:07 – Jacob Frey: Blunt condemnation of ICE
26:07–37:42 – Interview: Rep. Derek Van Orden (R-WI)
50:07–73:41 – Interview: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
79:50–83:14 – Caller “Mindy” and Smith: Trump’s rhetoric and appeal to 77 million voters
96:18 – Smith on sanctuary cities and the law

Tone & Style

Stephen A. maintains his trademark blend of fiery directness, razor-sharp analysis, and openness to complexity. The conversations are at times testy, passionate, and deeply personal, reflecting the stakes of national division, law enforcement, and political identity.

Takeaway

This episode exemplifies the polarized, almost existential debates for America in 2026—showcasing raw, uncensored reactions to a tragedy, competing visions for law and order, the enduring appeal and peril of Trumpism, and the daunting work needed to bridge divides. As Smith repeatedly asks: “What kind of country do we want to be?”

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Transcript

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Stephen A. Smith (0:41)

I was supposed to start off this show by saying Happy New year because it's 2026 and this is the first show that I'm doing in 2026. Good evening to this audience. Straight Shooter with George Truly Stephen A. Smith coming at you every Wednesday night over to airwaves of SiriusXM POTUS radio channel 124. Number to call up as always is 86696 POTUS. 86696 POTUS. That's 866-967-6887. Again, I was supposed to say Happy New Year because this is the first show, but there's nothing happy about it right now because of the lead story for tonight. Sometime today, a 37 year old woman by the name of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota was shot and killed by an ICE agent. She was protesting. She was sitting in her car. According to reports, she was blocking the road. An ICE officer got in front of the vehicle, another officer came up to the side of the vehicle, the driver's side, at which time she decided to drive off. And when she drove off, obviously the ICE agent was in front of her so he had to move out the way otherwise he would have gotten run over by her. Subsequently, he pulled out his gun and took her out. There's no other way to slice it. Now be clear, I saw the video on numerous occasions and seeing what transpired from a lawful perspective as it pertains to a law enforcement official, don't expect him to be prosecuted. He was completely justified from a humanitarian perspective. However, why did you have to do that? If you could move out the way, that means you could have shot the tires. That means you could have got her a few feet away after you shot the tires. And if you were unsuccessful in doing that, you could have got her down the road. You didn't have to do that. She wasn't driving down the road coming at you 90 miles an hour. She was parked in the middle of the street and rather than get out the car. She wrongfully tried to drive off and wrongfully disregarded law enforcement official, which is exactly what ICE is, and as a result, lost her life because of it. At some point in time, this opening monologue is going to ask you to answer a simple question, and we can spend the show doing that. We're going to have a representative from Wisconsin who was a Navy SEAL because he spent a lot of time throughout his life in Venezuela. So he knows a thing or two about what transpired as it pertains to Nicolas Maduro and what have you. And at some point in time, we're going to have Representative Eric Swalwell out of California, the 14th district of California, who's running for the gubernatorial seat in that state, but obviously has had a lot to say about President Trump, about ice, about tactics that have been used, et cetera. I'm here to tell you that at some point in time, you got to ask yourself, what damn country do you want to live in? At some point in time, you're going to have to ask ourselves that question. And I think the time is sooner than later, because, again, from a legal perspective, don't expect this ICE officer to be prosecuted. I'm telling you right now, she was in the car. Renee Nicole Goode, 37 years of age, protesting, blocking off the streets. ICE wanted her to move. An officer got in front of the car, another officer got to the side of the car, and then she tried to take off. And in their eyes, the Kristi Gnomes of the world for the Department of Housing of Homeland Security. I'm sorry. And other folks on the right are saying, oh, they consider it an act of domestic terrorism because she tried to run over an ICE officer. It's not going to be prosecuted. My point is, let's not focus on that for a second, okay? She was wrong to drive off. She should not have done that. Should have got out of her car to prove that she was not going to be any harm. Or she should have asked the officer, I'm pulling over. Could you move out the way, please, instead of trying to disregard him totally to the point where you're going to take off and potentially hit him and he moves out the way and draws his gun and shoots through the front windshield and took her out. But it wasn't necessary. You could have arrested her. You could have spared the woman's life. You didn't have to kill her. We've seen plenty of incidences throughout the United States of America, historically and frequently and recently, where people who committed crimes or People whose behavior weren't indicative of law abiding citizens who were simply obeying law enforcement officials. We've seen them walk away alive. We've seen them walk away cuffed, but they walked away alive. So even though the law, from a literal perspective might be on his side, the reality is, is that your humanity comes into question because you didn't have to kill her. She didn't have to die. But that's the country we're living in now. We're living in a country where. Some people more often than not are becoming lawless. And law enforcement officials are not just about enforcing the law while serving and protecting, but they're also taking lives. At least in this case, that was the case. I believe it was totally unnecessary. But that's me talking. There's some people you need to hear from. The first order of business, the secretary for Homeland Security, the one and only Kristi Noemi. She spoke about this in the aftermath of the shooting. Here's what she had to say.

Stephen A. Smith (10:07)

Get the fuck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety and you are doing exactly the opposite. This is what's getting interesting about listening to this right here. Because I want everybody to be careful. I want everybody to know this because I looked this stuff up. One of the things that President Trump and his administration has used this justification for the need for the National Guard, particularly in sanctuary cities where they fend off federal laws, federal law enforcement officials to try to do their own thing as it pertains to migration and immigration. Illegal immigrants entering respective cities in the United States. Some of these sanctuary cities, of course, it's what they do. I asked somebody to look up Minnesota crime rates by the numbers. Overall, in the year 2025, there was a decrease in crime in Minnesota. It's very, very important that I read some of this to you guys because it's important that you understand what's transpiring here. 64 homicides in Minneapolis in 2024. 2025, I'm sorry, that was down from 77 in 2024. That's also 32 fewer than than when violence peaked in 2021. Gunshot wound victims were down 18% from 2024. There were 68 fewer shooting victims in 2025. Three hundred and forty seven fewer shooting shootings compared to 2021. Gunshot victims were down 33% in the third precinct in 2025 and 42% in the fourth precinct. The fifth precinct, if not for the Annunciation shooting, would have been seen as a decrease in gun violence as well. Remember, in 2021, Minneapolis was the only major city in the country to have more shooting victims than there were sworn officers within the department. That was 2021. That's no longer the case. In 2024, no longer the case in 2025. So improvement has definitely taken fold. 2025 also marked the lowest number ever for shooting victims in north Minneapolis. There were 1,085 reported robberies in 2025. That was down 50% from 2021. Carjackings were down 73% in 2025. There were 2,401 reports of burglaries in 2025, but that was a 10% drop from 2024. And aggravated assaults were down 9%, resulting in 148 fewer victims than in 2024. So considering the trajectory, considering the improvement, one could easily argue what is the need for the National Guard? What is the need for ice? Now, ICE will tell you, we appreciate those statistics. We thank you for it, but that don't have anything to do with our agenda. That has nothing to do with our agenda. We're there to make sure folks who are here illegally are caught, captured, deported. Minnesota is saying, wait a minute, we don't need y' all here. We don't need y' all here. ICE is not listening. The Trump administration is not listening. And as a result, there's a divide that's taking place before our very very eyes. And at some point in time, we gonna have to make a decision as a country, because I would like to remind y' all that prior to Covid, regardless of what people were feeling about the Trump administration, the country wasn't doing so bad because the economy was looking good and it was thriving, purportedly. And as a result, he was en route to reelection before COVID hit, and some people thought that was mishandled. And then the riots took place throughout the streets of America in the aftermath of the George Floyd shooting, when this country had a, quote, unquote, racial reckoning. And that ultimately was what booted Trump out of office, because you had millions upon millions of Americans that said, I don't want this noise. I don't want this noise. I don't want this noise. Now Trump is back in office as the 47th president instead of number 45. And initially, what we were seeing, whether it was GDP in a good place, whether inflation wasn't as dramatic as we thought it was going to be, whether a recession hadn't officially kicked in. The economy was supposed to crash, but it didn't. The border was secured, unlike open borders under the Biden administration. Somebody needs to let Donald Trump know you in danger of messing it and mucking it all up for the gop. Because at some point in time, the noise and the chaos is going to be on him. But here's the thing. The only way you can do it is to make noise for the midterm elections because Trump ain't circumventing the 22nd Amendment and running for a third term. At least most people don't believe that. So you believe whether it's Ron DeSantis, whether it's JD Vance, the current vice president, or whether it's Marco Rubio, the current Secretary of State and national security advisor, the bottom line is going to be one of those three. In most people's eyes, this is what they're saying. So at some point in time, the noise has to be curbed. Otherwise the GOP may suffer in the midterm. We haven't forgotten that Affordable Care act subsidies issue has not been addressed. That the GOP still hasn't had a plan that's formidable enough and attractive enough to be adopted, that the Democrats themselves ain't even talking about it that much. But you got people on the verge of losing, of seeing their premium spike sky High, and 24 million Americans being in a position where it's going to be a struggle for them to afford health care. We ain't forgot about that. Incidents like this might make you think that momentarily, but that ain't the truth. So all of that's going on and at some point in time, the noise that's reverberating might mirror what we were hearing in 2019 and 2020. And as a result, who's gonna pay for that? Somebody will. Somebody will. Evidently, Trump doesn't believe it's him. Here he is with a post on his truth social platform. I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was obviously a professional agitator and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting. Who then violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer who seems to have shot her in self defense. Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive but is now recovering in the hospital. The situation is being studied in its entirety. But the reason these incidents are happening is because the radical left is threatening, assaulting and targeting our law enforcement officers and ICE agents on a daily basis. They are just trying to do the job of making America safe. We need to stand by and protect our law enforcement officers from this radical left movement of violence and hate. That's their position. Now, let me say this. I watched it five times in this part where the President talks about how violently willfully and viciously ran over an ICE officer who seems to have shot her in self defense. Based on the attached clip, it's hard to believe he's alive. Respectfully, the President's lying his ass off. That's not true. That's not true. Okay, the officer moved out the way and shot her. How's he in the hospital? For what? What am I missing? Somebody help me out. That's not what I saw the five now six times I'm watching this video. President, that's a lie. The other stuff he said, however.

Stephen A. Smith (18:23)

Got a man and woman up and ask ourselves, does the President and the GOP have a point when they talk about the verbiage, the rhetoric that's being spewed on the opposite side of the aisle when it comes to ICE agents and how they're being talked about? And is there any truth to the notion that that serves to exacerbate a situation and incite people to go out there in respect of sanctuary cities throughout this country, whether it's la, it's New York, it's Chicago, it's Minneapolis, et cetera, Portland, Oregon, whatever. Does it incite people to go out there and engage in lawlessness against ICE agents? We all have to concede the fact that ICE agents are doing their job. When Biden was in office, they didn't bother folks that much because you had open borders when Obama was in office and over 3,000 people were deported. You're a Democrat. You got to make sense out of the fact that you didn't say anything about it then. I am not defending Trump. I don't like the way he's doing things. And I think in certain respects he's mirroring what he did during his first administration, which I think will serve to hurt the GOP more than he realizes in the months to come the midterms. If the Democrats play their cards right and don't engage in histrionics or acts of stupidity to get in the way of the momentum they might be building? I say might because I don't know, but the other side to it that can't be escaped. When did sanctuary cities begin? When did they start? Why did they start? And if it's such an affront to us as American citizens, particularly people on the left and what have you, how come you didn't say anything when Obama deported over 3,000? I'm just asking because the right got an argument against you that you're going to have to defend. Are you prepared to answer that question? If you're complaining about Trump and his administration doing it. Now, how come you didn't complain when Obama did it and he deported more people than Trump deported in his first term? You got to answer that question. Now, that doesn't mean you look at this incident and you think ICE was right to shoot that woman down. That doesn't mean you don't look at them and say, they ain't wrong, they're wrong. It doesn't mean any of that. What it means is that you have to be prepared to make these arguments and you also have to be prepared to fend off the accusation aimed at the left that the rhetoric being spewed, particularly in a time when everybody was swearing to dial it back, dial it back, dial it back, because we don't need our country as divisive as it is. Look at the stuff that you're hearing in the streets being spewed at law enforcement officials, whether it's ICE or anybody else. These are the things that come with it. These are the questions. I've got two special guests coming on the show. Representative Derek Van Orden, who's a former Navy seal, served a lot and or was in Venezuela for an inordinate period of time, and is very, very familiar with what's going on there and his feelings about Donald Trump and the Department of War entering Caracas and grabbing Nicolas Maduro and his wife, supposed leader of that country. Nevertheless, a man who had a bounty on his head. That is definitely something that Representative Derek Van Orden will speak about. And if you remember, I spoke about it yesterday. I got a problem with Trump in this damnation building. Let's focus on here. Let's not tryna run the country. Clearly going after the oil. That's what this is all about. No. Yeah. We were born at night, not last night. Know what the hell you doing. But in the same breath that I say that and I lament the thought of us putting troops on the ground and trying to engage in nation building and running another nation when we got problems here that need to be resolved. I'm not gonna knock the president for going in there and getting Nicholas Maduro. I don't want to hear that from Congress. I don't want to hear that from the. You had a $15 million bounty on his head when you were Trump in the first administration. Biden comes in and put a $25 million bounty on Nicolas Maduro's head when he was in office in 2025, right before he left. And then after that, Trump arrives and adds another 25 million on top of it to make it a $50 million bounty on his head. You wanted to get him. Well, he went and got him without one single American citizen, one single American soldier, one single individual. Whether it's Delta Force or anybody else that was killed. Not one. I don't want to hear that. I don't want to hear that criticism about Trump, the nation building, sure. Not him getting Maduro when we all wanted him. You wanted him, you got them. Both sides, Republicans, Democrats, everybody agreed with Trump and Biden, they wanted his ass. Well, you got them. I don't want to hear that now. No complaints. The nation building, that's a different story. Don't like that at all. Don't like that at all. Don't know what the hell Trump thinking with that. That's bad. Sends a bad message throughout this world. You complaining you do something like that, no wonder why the Russia, Ukraine war hasn't been resolved. Evidently you don't have that big of a problem with it since you going up in there taking over Venezuela, even though I know it's not the same situation. Please don't get me wrong, I'm speaking facetiously, but still, it shouldn't be happening. 86696 POTUS is the number to call up. 86696 POTUS. That is just a couple of things that I'm talking about that I'll likely bring up with Representative Derek Van Orden, of course, in our number two, top of hour, number two, Representative Eric Swalwell from the state of California, 14th district gubernatorial candidate for the state of California as well. He'll be on the show with us as well. We got two sides, two different sides, the Republican and the Democrat in the House to talk about these very issues and then some. So stick around. You're listening live to Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Right here on SiriusXM POTUS radio, channel 124.

Derek Van Orden (31:47)

I'm going to have to run upstairs and vote here real quick, but this is what I'm saying. The most powerful ministry in Nazi Germany was a ministry of, of Truth and Propaganda that was run by a guy named Joseph Goebbels. To my knowledge, Joseph Goebbels never pulled the trigger and killed anybody, but he's responsible for the deaths of millions of people, including six and a half million Jews. Why? Because when the Nazis took power, they took over all the newspapers, they took over all of the radio stations, and they actually had their own film studio and they, they, they pushed out a consistent message over all mediums that were available at the time, and that led to the Holocaust. So propaganda works. And if you look at, I'm not talking about you, my brother, but you look at the legacy media and radio stations, Hollywood stars, the movies, television shows, cable, they're putting out the constant message that these ICE agents are the American Gestapo. They're saying that President Trump was literally Hitler, that he was going to lock up LGBTQ folks into concentration camps, that he was going to destroy democracy, and he got shot in the head because of that. If you think about what are the commonalities between a 19 year old Pennsylvanian and a 56 year old Hawaiian, there's two things. Both of them tried to kill the President of the United States. And the other thing is that they both, for over a decade, have been hearing that Donald Trump was literally a Nazi. So this messaging has got to stop. And I do not equivocate and nor should you, sir. If you look at the volume, the sheer volume of what the left puts out versus what some People on the far right put out. There's absolutely no comparison. 90 plus percent of all journalists identify as Democrats. It's the same percentage for college professors. They identify as Democrats. And so when you have college professors teaching children journalism, they're not teaching them journalism, they're teaching them activism. When you have. I went to law school 50.

Stephen A. Smith (46:57)

Well, not all of them. Nope, nope, nope. You don't get to do that. Don't talk to me about mental illness on the side of the right. But you had people talking about transgender without parental consent and men transitioning to women and playing in women's sports and thinking that that was okay and people could be incarcerated and they could have sex changes and stuff like that. Oh, no, no, no. You don't get to sit up there and just point to the right about that and not act like there wasn't craziness on the left too. I'm a moderate. I'm a moderate who primarily votes Democrat. And I'm here to tell you something right now. I. I don't recognize this left or not this one. Not the one that I've been seeing over the last few years. I'm a moderate who will lean left on everything but dollars, meaning taxes. I can't stand high taxes in California, New York, New Jersey. Okay? I'm a fiscal conservative with my money. I'm liberal with everything else. And I'm still appalled by how far left the left has leaned. It's disgraceful. No common sense. And, oh, by the way, when you talk about woke culture and cancel culture, don't come to me with the Republicans. It wasn't the Republicans that was trying to get people fired for pronouncing the wrong pronoun. That's the left. And you're appealing to a community. And in the meanwhile, you're turning your back on black folks who supported you since the 60s. Don't get me started with all of that. I got a lot of problems with Trump. I got a lot of problems with some of the things that I've seen from the Republican side most recently and in more immediate is the Affordable Care act and the fact that they still haven't had a plan all these damn years. You had an opportunity to have a plan and we still wait for the GOP to have a damn plan. You holding up everything. You ain't got no damn plan. That's disgraceful. But I'm not going to act like it's just them. Oh, hell no. The left, the extreme left is what I'm talking about, not the moderate left. The extreme left is a damn problem. And that's why 77 million people stood up and said Donald Trump is closer to normalcy than some of those folks. And I don't blame them for feeling that way. I put myself on Front street. I voted for Kamala Harris, but I didn't like it at all. I just didn't trust Trump because I thought what would happen, what has been happening would happen in terms of stuff in the streets. That's the subject for another day. Representative Eric Swalwell. Swalwell. He's up next. Stick around. Stephen A. In the House Straight Shooter.

Stephen A. Smith (79:50)

That's true. But Mindy, 77 million people knew it and voted for him anyway. And so we have to decide what kind of country, as I started off this show saying we have to decide what kind of country we want to be. What I mean by that is not just making sure that we're okay, you know, with ICE officers shooting somebody under the conditions that, you know, this young lady, this 37 year old out of Minneapolis was shot today, but it's also pointing to the fact that if 77 million people said that they want him to be their president and it outnumbered people on the Democratic side, then you gotta go out there and win an election and make sure you get him up out of there or make sure you get alkalites of his out of there. And the reality is is that the Democratic Party had biden in office with Kamala Harris as his vice president. And instead of focusing on the issues that they needed to focus on to win a sure election, they blew it. And they blew it by allowing themselves to be prisoners to the extreme left, knowing that a vast majority of American citizens weren't going for that, and trying to get on a moral high ground and give the impression that anybody who didn't agree with them, there must be something wrong with your soul. These are the kind of things that get you in trouble. Because when you stand on a moral high ground, but then we're able to point to things that you've done that has compromised your position and your verbiage that you spew, then we don't want anything to do with you because we consider you a hypocrite. That's why they lost the damn election. And so now you have an opportunity to gain momentum again. There's Affordable Care act issues. There's him operating extensively with stuff overseas and not doing enough here locally in a lot of people's eyes. There's issues with the economy, there's issues with affordability, there's issues with safety in the streets. There's clearly issues with health care. There are an abundance of things that the Democrats could use as ammunition, Mindy, to get at him if they got their head screwed on straight. And they're focused instead of coming to us on their moral high ground, trying to get us to see things as it pertains to culture wars woke culture, cancer culture and everything else. And trying to get them to see their way of thinking. They'll lose again if they try that and they take their highs off the ball. This is what I've been telling them.

Stephen A. Smith (87:42)

And I know we got to go. And I appreciate the call, Paul, and we could talk about this another time. But let me tell you something. Obamacare, for example, was a coast was supposed to cost about 950 billion. It's cost us about 1.5 trillion. And the Democrats were looking for an additional $1.5 trillion. And Trump was like, no way in hell. And the Republicans were like, no way in hell. And that's fine if you're not spending money on a bunch of other things you shouldn't be spending money on. But if we look at the spending habits of the Republican Party as we take into account that a $38.4 trillion deficit is what this country is facing at this particular moment in time, you'll see that Republicans and Democrats are guilty of escalating the deficit. That's why you've got people on the right that have raised holy hell about Rhinos. Republicans in name only. They called them because of their spending habits. George W. Bush, H.W. said, read my lips, no new taxes and then raise taxes. Ronald Reagan spent. Clinton was the one that gave you a surplus courtesy of Newt Gingrich in the 1994 Congress. The fact is, is that they've all spent. It's not just one party, one side of the aisle. One administration is responsible for this deficit that has been accumulated over decades. All of them are greedy. All of them have been spending. All of them. It's just who you allocate the dollars to. That's the issue. So be careful when you say that. Just be careful because it's not as simple as Paul as you tried to make it. 86696, POTUS. That's the number to call into last segment. A Straight Shooter with yours truly coming up. Don't go away. It's, it's your boy, Stephen A. Smith in the House. POTUS radio, Sirus XM channel 124. Nine minutes left in our number two. Before I pass it off, Stephen A. Smith, Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Coming at you. Potus radio channel 1248-6696. POTUS. Let's go back to the phones. Let's go to Doug in Minnesota. You're live with Stephen A. Doug, I would ask how are you? But I can't even imagine right now. My brother, how are you? I'll ask anyway.

Stephen A. Smith (91:22)

Here's the problem. When you look at Trump, in all fairness, you can't disagree with all his policies. There are some things that he's doing that's right and that's working. And by the way, that's justified. Not everything, because there's a lot of things that he does that I don't like. But here's the thing. What really bothers you is the classlessness with which he executes because that is what is causing the division. When you talk about Obama and ice, you barely saw anything, you barely heard anything. Now what they'll do is tell you it's Legacy Media because 90%, as Representative Orden said, 90% of media in the country are recognized as Democrats. So they weren't telling the true story that's going on in America. That's what they'll say. Rather than give credit where credit is due to somebody like an Obama that had a bit more class. To predecessors like George W. Bush, he didn't appear to be the brightest candle on the birthday cake sometimes, but he cared about this country, he cared about decorum, he cared about how things looked and he didn't violate those kind of things. And because of that, that contributed to more peace being in the streets as opposed to riots like we witnessed in 2019, 2020, that kind of thing. These are not the kind of things that Trump thinks about. He'll talk about fake news, he'll talk about how everything is rigged. He'll talk about all of these things. And by going, there's nothing about him that says, you know, what country first this is. This is like Al Gore, if you remember, Doug, when he loses the election to George W. Bush. We know it was controversial, we knew about the hanging chads in Florida, but Al Gore ultimately said, I need to step aside. It's in the best interest of the country. It's not good. It's time to step aside. That's not Trump. And he thinks about how he feels, and he's not thinking about the fallout it will cause, or he's thinking about the fallout and could give less than a damn. And that's the problem. I don't even think about policy. Some things I'm going to like, some things I don't like in any administration. I get that part. But that class, that decorum that a position like the commander in chief of this country requires, I wish I starve for him to show it, but it's not going to be him. Remember, it's just not going to be him. Representative Elijah Cummings passes away and what does Trump do? Well, he was never complimentary about me, so why would I be about him? Man just died, but that's Trump.