NAACP VS. THE SEC; CHRIS SUNUNU

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show: "NAACP VS. THE SEC; CHRIS SUNUNU"

Date: May 21, 2026
Host: Stephen A. Smith
Notable Guest: Former NH Governor Chris Sununu (52:20–78:41)

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Stephen A. Smith Show delves into two major topics: the NAACP’s campaign urging a college sports boycott in response to racial gerrymandering in Southern states, and a wide-ranging interview with former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. Stephen A. doesn’t shy from critiquing both Democratic and Republican power plays, taking listener calls on race, politics, and the exploitation of college athletes. The show’s tone is passionate, no-nonsense, and often confrontational—as listeners expect from Stephen A.

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Section 1: The NAACP’s Boycott Call & College Sports

[01:05 – 27:38]

Main Discussion Points

• Stephen A.’s Discontent with the NAACP & Politicians

  • Expresses frustration with Democratic politicians and the NAACP for targeting Black college athletes in their new boycott campaign, while “failing to do their jobs” for years on redistricting.
  • “My disgust and my ire is aimed in the direction of some politicians on Capitol Hill on the Democratic side and specifically the NAACP. That's right, I said it.” (03:54, Stephen A.)
  • Slams both parties for engaging in gerrymandering for decades.

• Details of the Boycott Campaign

  • NAACP, led by President Derrick Johnson, calls for a summer boycott of college sports in eight states, targeting 13 top programs that generate $100M+ annually.
  • States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.
  • Named programs: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M.

• Critique of Targeting Black College Athletes

  • Questions why the NAACP wants Black athletes (who finally benefit from NIL payments) to now sacrifice their economic future for causes politicians failed to address.
  • “For the first time in history, the black athlete…have an opportunity to literally redistribute wealth…And now you come to them because of an issue you didn't handle. Where the hell y'all been?” (07:09, Stephen A.)
  • Argues both parties, not just Republicans, are responsible for gerrymandering and redistricting abuses.

• Potential Policy Actions

  • Suggests NAACP’s energy might be better spent fighting the pending SCORES Act—a bill that would restrict NIL deals for college athletes—rather than engaging athletes in a political boycott.

• Notable Quotes

  • “You're asking them to make that sacrifice because y'all didn't do your jobs.” (11:55, Stephen A.)
  • “Find another way.” (23:13, Stephen A.)
  • “Nothing should get in the way of that [generational wealth for young Black athletes]. Nothing. Including this issue involving black legislatures, legislators, the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union, and beyond.” (22:22, Stephen A.)

Listener Calls & Stephen A.’s Replies

(37:53 – 49:37)

• Callers debate whether the money will ‘follow the talent’ if Black athletes boycott—Stephen A. maintains the financial sacrifice is too great to ask of them now.
• Multiple callers challenge Stephen’s “both sides” take on gerrymandering, insisting only Democrats have tried to pass anti-gerrymandering legislation.
• “I'm saying, by and large, it's been going on on both sides of the aisle. That is a fact.” (43:37, Stephen A.)
• Agreeing with a Texas listener, Stephen affirms that asking young athletes to bear the cost of political battles is wrong.

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Section 2: The Trump ‘Slush Fund’ & Gerrymandering Debate

[29:09 – 51:24]

Main Discussion Points

• $1.8 Billion ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’

  • Breaks down the legal settlement where Trump secures nearly $1.8 billion from a DOJ fund, allegedly to compensate victims of politically motivated investigations—but which critics and Smith view as a personal slush fund for Trump allies or January 6th participants.
  • “A commission tied to the administration would help decide who gets paid...So your allies get paid, your friends get paid, your supporters get paid, your family gets paid, you don't get paid.” (32:53, Stephen A.)

• Political Hypocrisy & Both-Sides Critique

  • Denounces both parties for corruption and self-dealing: “All he is the crooks, all of us. I'm not talking about individuals. I'm talking about the apparatus.” (33:18, Stephen A.)
  • “The American people are getting hosed closed. And if you're the Democrats ... shut the hell up. You just as guilty. You just weren't better at it than him.” (33:18, Stephen A.)

• On Generational Wealth for Black Athletes

  • Returns repeatedly to the injustice of placing the burden of political battles on young athletes finally able to profit from their labor: “If you had the potential to literally pocket millions of dollars...would you want somebody coming to you asking you to jeopardize all of that because of a mapping, a redistricting and gerrymandering issue...?” (23:19, Stephen A.)

• On Race, Voting, and Political Strategy

  • Warns Democrats not to alienate independents by making everything a race issue, especially when they already have opportunities to beat Trump: “You bring this in, it might get a few folks riled up, but it might turn off the country. And you don't need to do that when you got Trump reeling, because he is reeling.” (25:37, Stephen A.)

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Section 3: Extended Interview—Former Governor Chris Sununu

[52:20 – 78:41]

Aviation, Shutdowns, and American Optimism

• Sununu laments government shutdowns, particularly their effect on TSA workers: “You want to have a political fight, that's fine. But you can't do it at the expense of everybody else, because at the end of the day, there's just no winners.” (54:37, Sununu)
• Criticizes both parties for political inaction, polarization, and the impact of personality-driven politics post-Obama and Trump.
  • “The real frustration ... Congress is really important, and they have to be effective. They have to do their job. ... These guys, if they don't get exactly what they want, they're going to shut it down and take their ball and go home.” (55:01, Sununu)

On Political Polarization

• Pinpoints social media and the Trump era as major turning points for political polarization and the dominance of ideological extremes:
  • “2008...that's when social media really starts becoming a tool...But it became this thing where a guy in his basement could shout to the world...and all of a sudden...maybe that's something that would based in fact, even though there was nothing behind it. ... 2015, in the first Trump campaign, where not just are they using social media, but the extremes really start defining...the parties...” (57:33, Sununu)

Gerrymandering & Both-Parties Guilt

• Sununu confirms both parties’ role in gerrymandering and calls for reform:
  • “Redistricting is the genie that can never be put back into the bottle...What started as, you know, Texas and California threatening district themselves has turned into this virus of gerrymandering across the country, which is awful...” (63:50, Sununu)
  • “The Democrats, I mean, look what the Democrats tried to do in Virginia and California. Look what the Republicans have tried to do in Texas and now in a bunch of the other Southern states. ... everyone has their, I'll call it situational ethics.” (66:05, Sununu)

Airline Tech & Credit Card Points

• Reveals U.S. air traffic control tech is decades outdated, but upgrades are finally underway.
• Opposes legislation that would gut airline credit card points, which he argues benefit millions of everyday Americans.

On 2028–2026 Politics and Democracy

• Advises the GOP to “keep it local” to win back suburban and independent voters.

• On Democrats: “The Democrats have completely don't understand what makes working class Americans tick. They took advantage of them for years. ... But like I said, that pendulum is going to swing back and forth for a variety of different reasons for a few years. It's a healthy system.” (76:22, Sununu)

• Downplays fears of Black voter disenfranchisement via redistricting: “No, not at all. ... I just, I don't buy that. ... as long as people get out, people connect on local levels, I'm a firm believer anybody can win.” (77:54, Sununu)

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Section 4: Rapid-Fire Listener Calls & Fact-Checking

[37:53 – 98:28]

Call Highlights

• Callers repeatedly challenge or support Stephen A.’s “both sides” argument on gerrymandering and redistricting, often citing Congressional votes and recent legislative history.

• Notable moment: A caller corrects the record on anti-gerrymandering legislation (For The People Act), asserting it was blocked by Republicans both in 2019 (under Trump) and 2021 (under Biden). Stephen A. promises to check the facts and update listeners if needed. (96:20 – 98:28)

• Several callers express despair over Trump’s “slush fund” and the perception of corruption in both parties.

• Multiple listeners and Stephen A. agree: Don’t ask athletes to bear the burden of resolving political failures.

  • “It could be perceived as…good trouble, but...it's unfair to ask these young men and women to sacrifice, to compromise their financial futures for political gain. That's not right.” (47:47, Listener Liz)*

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Both Parties’ Hypocrisy:

  • “All he is the crooks, all of us. I'm not talking about individuals. I'm talking about the apparatus...the structure, the system that's in place.” (33:18, Stephen A.)

• On Political Use of Race:

  • “Ultimately in people's ears, they'll hear the word race. And 60% of the American electorate, last time I checked, are independents. ... they're going to be turned off and they're going to say, 'We ain't falling for that again.' And they gonna go in a different direction.” (26:03, Stephen A.)

• On the NCAA & Revenue Sports:

  • “You're talking to somebody that covers sports for a living. ... There's the existence of a Power 5 conference and it's about to be a Power 4. ... Do you really think that there's an even playing field in the world of sports? That's not true.” (46:47, Stephen A.)

• Authentic Frustration:

  • “I'm so over listening to Trump. He's just rambling and he's just talking...For once, let it not be something in it for him and it's something in it for the American people.” (88:32, Stephen A.)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• NAACP Boycott & Redistricting Discussion: 01:05 – 27:38
• Slush Fund & Political Gamesmanship: 29:09 – 51:24
• Chris Sununu Interview: 52:20 – 78:41
• Listener Calls (Gerrymandering, NCAA, Slush Fund): 37:53 – 98:28
• Fact Check & Confrontations with Callers: 80:23, 96:20, throughout listener call segments

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Final Thoughts

Stephen A. Smith delivers a characteristically fiery, detail-rich critique of the NAACP’s boycott strategy, Congressional hypocrisy on redistricting, and the new Trump ‘slush fund.’ He fiercely defends young Black athletes’ right to build generational wealth without being conscripted into political struggles created by others. His conversation with Chris Sununu offers unusual bipartisan candor about gerrymandering and dysfunction in U.S. politics. The listener call segments add real-world resonance to the themes of the episode—corruption, power, and the endless partisan blame game.

Key takeaway:
“Don’t ask these athletes to do it for you. Am I making sense? This is what I'm talking about.” (20:10, Stephen A.)

Transcript

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What's up everybody?

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Good evening. Welcome to the latest edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. Coming at you as I love to do every Wednesday, Wednesday night from 6 to 8pm Eastern Standard Time over the airwaves of SiriusXM POTUS Radio Channel 124. Number to call up, as always, is 866-967-6887. That's 86696, POTUS. I'm not happy this evening. It's becoming a routine thing for me to be on the airwaves and pissed off at things that I'm seeing, but contrary to popular belief, as disgusted as I am at the president and some of the things that he's doing, particularly as it pertains to his latest salvo and his retribution tour, as much as I'm disgusted at this issue of redistricting, as disgusted as you'll hear me be when I'm Talking about this $1.8 billion slush fund, also known as the anti weaponization fund, that's not where my eye is going to be directed at for this, these opening few minutes. My disgust and my ire is aimed in the direction of some politicians on Capitol Hill on the Democratic side and specifically the N double A cp. That's right, I said it. I don't like what I'm seeing. I don't like what I'm reading. I don't like what's being inferred and implied. And somebody's got to speak up for it. So damn it, I'm going to. You know, we can talk about Trump and his retribution tour and how in the aftermath of the ousting of GOP Representative Thomas Massie out of Kentucky and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger his bid for the Georgia gubernatorial seat both was stymied by Trump capping off a month long revenge revenge campaign that sort of president now force out. Most of the Indiana state lawmakers who opposed his redistricting efforts saw him unseat Louisiana, gut GOP Senator Bill Cassidy and now this stuff, when you tie in that with the slush fund of $1.8 billion, where the President is going to have the opportunity, okay, to really, really, really pad his own pockets while simultaneously potentially making sure that recipients from that $1.8 billion actually include Trump allies and January 6th defendants. Don't throw up when I say it, but it's true.

[D]

As disgusting as that may be, the focus of this particular discussion needs to

[B]

go in the direction of the naacp and I'm going to tell you why. A new campaign was launched by the NAACP calling for a boycott a summer college sports most prominent athletic athletic programs in response to a national redistricting fight that represents, quote, a sprint to erase black political power. The organization's president and CEO, Derrick Johnson said in a statement on April 29. The U.S. supreme Court, in case you forgot, ruled in Louisiana vs. Calais that Louisiana's recently drawn congressional map marked an unconstitutional gerrymander along racial lines by creating a majority black district. Back then, there was a quote from the Legal Defense Fund which said the decision was a devastating blow to critical civil rights protections by permitting states to use partisan gerrymandering as a wholesale excuse to deny black voters a voice in their government. The NAACP's campaign, called out of bounds, by the way, takes aim at eight specific states. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. It doesn't go. It doesn't stop there.

[D]

It specifies 13 programs specifically that generate

[B]

at least 100 million annually, quote from national television deals, alumni donations, merchandise sales and ticket sales. The association said they even have the

[D]

schools here, the University of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, lsu, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A and M.

[B]

I understand. I truly do. I understand how this situation involving gerrymandering can be. I know there's two common techniques when it comes to gerrymandering. There's packing, concentrating the opposing party's voters into a small number of districts so they win only a few seats by huge margins or cracking, splitting opposing voters across many districts so they don't form a majority anywhere. I understand that Opponents to this redistricting can use that as an argument and can highlight the concerns. We had Cleo Fields, representative out of Louisiana on this very show, who made very, very compelling arguments in talking about how the black vote by virtue of eliminating or dissipating black elected officials from ultimately coming to, you know, from. From being in position to be elected, those aspiring to be black elected officials, how that stymies that progress. I get it and I understand it. My question is, why are you coming to these athletes

[D]

for the first time in history? We've got name, image, likeness. You just finished saying that these institutions generate an excess of $100 million annually vi national television deals and the like. You just finished saying that. That's what you said. National television deals, alumni donations, merchandise sales, ticket sales. And for the first time, the black athlete, which makes up anywhere from 60 to 70% of the participants in a major college sports, which is football and basketball, have an opportunity to literally redistribute wealth on behalf of themselves and their families for the first time in history. And now you come to them because of an issue you didn't handle. Where the hell y' all been? Where you been at? I understand that there are things that are more important than money. Why be rich if you're a slave? Why have money if you can't really do what you want with it? Why consider yourself rich or wealthy if you're imprisoned? I get those arguments, although some would argue that's an engagement in hyperbole as opposed to being a real, real issue. How do we know this? Because redistricting and gerrymandering has been going on with both parties for years. You want to blame Trump, Fine. Wasn't Biden just in office? You want to blame Biden, fine. Wasn't Trump in office before him? You want to blame. You want to blame Trump? Wasn't Obama in office for eight years before ham? Didn't the Holder vs Shelby county case from around 2012, 2013 come into play? Didn't that have a profound impact on our society? Sure, it did, but that was a Democrat in a position of power. Where were the representatives supporting of Barack Obama to make sure Holder won that case? We've turned around. This is not one party dominion over here. Nixon was in office and then it was Ford. Ford was in office and then it was Carter. Carter was in office and then it was Reagan. Reagan was in office and then it was H.W. that's 12 years of Republican leadership. Then Clinton was in office for eight years. Then W was in office for eight years. Then Obama was in office for eight years and then Trump was in office for four Biden and four Trump back in office. Last time I checked, that's both sides of the aisle. All of you conduct, all of you engaged in redistricting, all of you engaged in gerrymandering. But now that the Republicans seem to have adroitly gone about the business of gaining an edge, swearing up and down, it's not about race, it's about partisanship. And that's why these maneuvers have been made to benefit them. And y' all want to argue against that? Fine. Fine. But to come to the athlete who for the first time in history is getting paid by the NCAA and the ask that athlete to make a sacrifice and to potentially go to another university that might not have the money to pay what Alabama and Georgia and Auburn and Florida and Florida State and Mississippi and Mississippi State and Texas and Texas A and M and South Carolina and Clemson and Tennessee what they can pay. And to ask them 18, 19, 20 year olds to forego those prestigious universities with the major major contracts on television that gives them a national profile upon which they could showcase their skill set not only while they're getting paid by the ncaa, but positioning them for future generational wealth because of the notoriety that they will get.

[B]

From being at one of those universities. You're asking them to make that sacrifice because y' all didn't do your jobs. Y' all were supposed to do all of this so these athletes wouldn't be in a position to have to do

[C]

that,

[B]

Not just for themselves, but for their families.

[D]

You really, really want to do something?

[B]

How about talking to them about and, and, and collaborating with whomever you can to make sure that this Scores act doesn't become a law of the land? You do know what that is, right?

[D]

That's the Student Compensation and Opportunity through

[B]

Rights and Endorsements Act. That is not law.

[D]

Yet. It's a major attempt by Congress to create national rules for college sports, especially

[B]

around nil, which is named image and

[D]

likeness payments to student athletes. Senator Cory Booker is intimately involved in that. Senator Ted Cruz is intimately involved in that. One's a Democrat, one's one's a Republican. Both are heavily involved.

[B]

Why? Because the bill is mainly aimed at regulating the chaotic modern NIL era that emerged after courts weakened the NCAA's ability

[D]

to restrict athletic compensation. Reading from my notes here, the proposal would allow college athletes to continue making

[B]

money from NIL deals, but create one

[D]

national standard instead of 50. Different state laws gives the national NCAA more authority to regulate transfers Eligibility and recruiting. I am all for understand, minimizing the chaos. But we're forgetting where the chaos initiated. From the greed on the part of the NCAA and the institutions under its umbrella that spent decades exploiting the student athlete making billions and told them to be satisfied with a scholarship these brothers would con with, condemned and attached with ineligibility status. If they got a jacket from a bookstore on campus with their name on it, God forbid they got a trip home to go see their mamas and daddies for the holidays. That was a violation. You exploited them at every turn, every turn. You used them, you abused them, you exploited them and you threw them away like trash when it was at your convenience. But now here you are on Capitol Hill, collapsed, begging them for their assistance at the expense of the student athlete. And it's now when redistricting becomes an issue, when gerrymandering becomes an issue, when you're at a disadvantage because you were outmaneuvered by folks on the right. And we got

[B]

the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, saying stuff like this. Play this for me, please.

[D]

This is an unprecedented moment featuring an

[B]

unprecedented attack on black political representation. And therefore it requires an unprecedented response.

[D]

We are here standing in solidarity with

[B]

the NAACP and its call for athletes

[D]

to boycott institutions within the SEC that belong to states that have unleashed these

[B]

Jim Crow like, racially oppressive tactics, which is unacceptable, unconscionable, and un American.

[D]

And we believe that the silence of these institutions is complicity. And we will not stand for it.

[B]

Oh, my God. I have a confession to make. I'm very fond of Hakeem Jeffries. I really like him. I really do. He's welcome on the show anytime. And I believe that his soul is in the right place. And I don't believe that he's not making sense. It's just the exercise in futility that bothers me. When both sides have been exercising gerrymandering and redistricting, but this one side gets the better of you and has been getting the better of you in recent memory. You can't act like it's something you never engaged in. The whole purpose of redistricting and gerrymandering is to position yourselves as a partisan group to gain an advantage with voters

[D]

over the other side. We all know this. You can't then sit up there and cry wolf when it works against you. The naacp.

[B]

What was the trigger for all of this? The trigger was a recent Supreme Court ruling limiting race based districting under the Voting Rights act framework. Civil rights groups argue GOP legislatures are now redrawing maps in ways that dilute black representation. But the Democrats have been guilty of it, too. How do we know that? Look at the states of Illinois. Look at Maryland. Look at New York. Look at Massachusetts. Yes, the Republicans are guilty of it in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, you could say Indiana. Now you can say soon to be a Virginia. You can say that. Wasn't Gavin Newsom bragging about it with the state of California recently? Did that happen? Didn't we hear people coming out on the Democratic side applauding what Gavin Newsom was doing with the redistricting? And I understand that it's usually not in the middle of a decade. You usually wait a decade before the politicians redraw or the parties redraw the maps and all of that stuff. But the bottom line is both engaged in this kind of action and from an historical context. I am not blind. I understand in black America, voting rights are tied closely to the history, Jim Crow laws, literary tests, literacy tests, poll taxes, racial violence against voters, discriminatory district maps, all. I got it. I got it. So tell people to get out there and vote. When Kamala Harris is running for the presidency of the United States, even though Trump had gained traction with black voters, particularly younger black males, more people still should have went out and voted for Kamala. How about Jasmine Crockett, when she was running for the Senate seat as a Democrat and they had re. They had redrawn those maps in her district, but she was running for the Senate seat. If more blacks had come out to support her, wouldn't she be the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate representing the states of Texas and over 31 million people instead of that of Mr. James Talarico? We could sit up there and prioritize that. We could prioritize making sure that the SCORES act being pursued by Congress is something that's never passed. We can make sure that while doing so, we don't compromise the opportunities. These young black men coming from these districts who are hellified players in the sport of basketball and football, which are the revenue generating sports, are not being

[D]

asked to compromise potential generational wealth to help out politicians and civil rights organizations who should have been more on top of issues doing their job. So you're not asking these athletes to do it for you. Am I making sense? This is what I'm talking about.

[B]

I'm not questioning the intent. I certainly understand that with maps being redrawn and packing and cracking being an issue, when it comes to the gerrymandering issue, that it is something that undoubtedly will work to the detriment of black legislators and ultimately black voters. Because most of. And let's keep it a buck here, most black politicians are Democrats, not all of them, but most are on the Democratic side. And the reason this noise is being made is because it's Democrats who are worried about losing power. And I'm not saying that's not legitimate. I'm not saying I like it one bit.

[D]

I'm not saying it's something I support because I wish it didn't happen. I wish that the voters count and their votes count, and you make sure that no matter what happens, the dilution of votes emanating out of the black community, it doesn't exist. So as it pertains to the NAACP or anybody else, let me be very, very, very clear. This is the naacp, the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing the decision week in section 2 of the Voting Rights act, one of the main federal tools used to challenge racial discrimination in redistricting. I hear you. It should be probed. It should be investigated. And if that's the intent that is proven, it should be struck down. Got it.

[B]

But to make that happen, the black athlete that grows up poor at a decisive economic disadvantage, who's positioned themselves as talent to go out there front and center and capitalize off of that monetarily for the first time in our history, nothing should get in the way of that. Nothing. Including this issue involving black legislatures, legislators, the naacp, the American Civil Liberties Union and beyond.

[D]

Find another way.

[B]

You know what it does for an elite athlete to play for Kirby Smart at Georgia, to play at Alabama, to play with Steve Sarkeesian, with Arch Manning as your quarterback, making 5 million a year at least, by the way, if not more, with nil. You know what it's like for a black athlete to be at Texas or Texas A M? That's oil money down there. If you had the potential to literally pocket millions of dollars playing a sport you love for a particular program, would you want somebody coming to you asking you to jeopardize all of that because of a mapping, a redistricting and gerrymandering issue and foray and battle you participated in for decades, but you just happen to be losing right now? Would you want that? We know the answer. Leave them alone. Figure out another way. Slush fun with Trump, the war with Iran, the spending of over $30 billion of the American taxpayer money, an economy that's not great, inflation on the horizon, affordability being an issue. There's a boatload of issues. This man Donald Trump has given to you on a silver platter, which is why he's bullying the GOP to march lockstep with him no matter what, because he knows he's in trouble. He even endorsed this guy, Kim Paxton, who at least by the reports was considered a corrupt individual. And that's who he supported over John Cornyn. You saw what he did in Indiana and Louisiana and what he went after. GOP members like Representative Massey and a guy out of Louisiana and Bill Cassidy. He's reeling. He's handing it to you on a silver platter. If you know what you're doing, you can beat him in the midterms, you can beat the GOP, and ultimately he won't be running in 2028. So no matter who he endorses, the bottom line is his power will be diluted. Because once he ain't the President anymore, he ain't the President anymore. Don't bring all of this into the fold. Ultimately in people's ears, they'll hear the word race. And 60% of the American electorate, last time I checked, are independents. And what are they going to do? They're going to hear this noise and they're going to be turned off and they're going to say, we ain't falling for that again. And they gonna go in a different direction. And you will have been, you will have done it to yourself because of an issue of race involving the flu. The very few, because black folks only make up 13.6% of the politics of the population. So Lord knows how much of the electorate they actually make up as elected officials. You bring this in, it might get a few folks riled up, but it might turn off the country. And you don't need to do that when you got Trump reeling, because he is reeling. Make no mistake, choice is yours. 866-967-6887 is the number to call up this 86696 POTUS. You're listening live. Straight shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. Back with your calls and more in a minute.

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The acting Attorney General was a P here on Capitol Hill, testifying where he

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got a lot of questions about this new $1.8 billion weaponization fund.

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[C]

Justice laid out some additional terms of

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this settlement in terms of the irs,

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saying that the IRS is forever barred

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and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing future

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examinations of the President.

[A]

Do you believe this is a legitimate fund and do you believe those terms are fair?

[B]

I think that there are and will be continue to be a lot of questions around that, that the administration is going to have to answer that. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who just spoke about that, obviously he's not a fan of this quote, unquote slush fund. And for those of you who are not up on it, not educated about it, it's called the Anti Weaponization Fund, part of the deal to resolve Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, and it calls for him to receive $1.776 billion $1.776 billion. Again, the Trump Department of Justice created a roughly $1.8 billion fund, 1.776 to be exact, as part of a settlement tied to Trump dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns. The administration says the money is meant to compensate Americans who were unfairly targeted by politically motivated investigations or prosecutions. The reason why critics call it a slush fund, ladies and gentlemen, a Congress did not directly appropriate the money be a commission tied to the administration would help decide who gets paid. Not some neutral, arbitrary group of people. It will be a commission tied to the Trump administration. They're going to decide who gets the money, how much you want to make a bet Trump's going to get a choke load of that. Number three, potential recipients could include Trump allies and January 6th defendants. Now, in fairness, supporters argue the FBI, DOJ, IRS, and intelligence agencies were weaponized for years against conservatives. They also argue that compensation funds already exist in other federal contexts. Number three, the fund is aimed at restoring trust after politically charged investigations. Naturally, critics say it creates a precedent for presidents rewarding allies. Oversight appears weak, and it could become politicized taxpayer compensation. Let me say this to y'.

[C]

All.

[B]

A commission tied to the administration would help decide who gets paid. I. I mean, my God, I have been on this show fixated on being fair. You know how many times, as a black man, people tell me these folks are evil? Stephen A. You can't give them an inch. You can't be a both side ism kind of guy. You can't be fair. You gotta fight fire with fire.

[D]

You know how many times Democrats have

[B]

come up to me and literally looked me in my face? So you can't say nothing good about them, about the other side, because we don't give a damn if there's a scintilla of truth. They're too evil, they're too despicable to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[D]

This is what they say. This is what they say.

[B]

And you try to be fair, and then something like this happens to the president and his administration. Do you think we were born last night or at night? I mean, how stupid do we have to be? A commission tied to the administration would help decide who gets paid. So your allies get paid, your friends

[D]

get paid, your supporters get paid, your

[B]

family gets paid, you don't get paid. We are over 39 trillion dollars in debt. This man has spent over 30 billion on a war we shouldn't be in. Not saying that Iran shouldn't be taken down. Not acknowledge, not failing to acknowledge that they're not the number one sponsor of terrorism.

[D]

Not in any way implying that they shouldn't be dealt with, but $30 billion, $30 billion and they gonna keep spending and spending and spending taxpayer dollars. And when it's over, he's going to have more money over four years in the presidency than he ever had in his natural life, spanning 79 years. And y' all don't have a problem with that? Everybody just looking out for the American people, huh? No, the American people are getting hosed closed. And if you're the Democrats and you're nodding your head in affirmation saying go ahead, Stephen A. Tell it. Shut the hell up. You just as guilty. You just weren't better at it than him. All he is the crooks, all of us. I'm not talking about individuals. I'm talking about the apparatus. I'm talking about the structure, the system that's in place. Like Representative Tim Bradshaw came on his show weeks ago, said Stephen A. Folks are here to get paid. Folks here crooks. Do you know that? Stephen A. Writing this office in the nation's capital at the US Capitol. We can't do anything in here.

[B]

It would be deemed illegal.

[D]

But if we walked across the street at the restaurant and did the same damn thing, it's perfectly legal. But the American taxpayer is fitting the

[B]

bill while we're suffering.

[D]

There is nothing.

[B]

There is absolute truth in the fact that President Donald Trump secured the border and it needed to be secured and it needed to be closed. Absolutely. I don't want to hear about anything else. Want to give me opportunity zones so black folks can start small businesses. How that's working out. You want to say lowest unemployment rate? What about labor participation? Want to talk about inflation?

[D]

Hasn't hit us yet. What about affordability? What are we talking about here? I mean, this is some sick, sick stuff.

[B]

You know what? I'll be right back. We gonna go to break right now because I might start cussing. Go to break.

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866-967-6887. That's 86696, POTUS. 44 minutes past hour number one, right here on the Stephen A. Strip show. Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Coming at you live. Remember, former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu will be on the show with us. Currently serves as the CEO and president of Airlines for America, a trade and lobbying group out of Washington, D.C. served four terms as the 82nd governor of the great state of New Hampshire. Looking forward to talking to him. Talk Iran, Iran, fuel prices, air travel, state of today's politics, affordability, midterms, 2028 election, whole bunch of stuff to get into him with. Look forward to that conversation, but not before I get to your calls at 866-96-POTUS. That's 866-967-6887. Let's go to Lamont in Maryland. You're live with Stephen A. What's up, Lamont? Talk to me.

[E]

Yeah, how you doing, Steve?

[B]

Let me just, Lamont, so my listeners can hear you.

[E]

First, I'm an independent. Secondly, when it comes to African Americans boycotting certain colleges or particularly in the South, I think they should have long ago done it when it was when it was almost impossible for African Americans to get considered for coaching jobs.

[D]

Yeah, I don't mind that at all.

[B]

You know why? Because they weren't getting paid nil money back then.

[D]

So guess what? You weren't asking them to make that big of a sacrifice. Now it's a big sacrifice, not a

[E]

big sacrifice because the money will follow the talent in the same way that little old Jackson State got put on the map when Dion was there.

[B]

No, no, no, Lamont, you're missing it. I'm not saying they're not going to get paid. What I'm saying is the amount. In other words, you're targeting those particular schools that are making the most money and can afford to dole out the most nil. So, yeah, they're going to get paid, but they're going to compromise some dollars. And I'm saying you shouldn't be asking them to do that.

[D]

There's another way.

[B]

You shouldn't be asking them to do that. That's what I'm saying. Lamont, let's go to John in Ohio. You're live with Stephen A. Go ahead, John.

[E]

Hey, Stephen, how's it going, man?

[B]

Yes, I hear you clearly, John. How are you doing?

[E]

Well, man, I'm just calling. I don't understand why King Jeffries and the Democrats are all Trying to fear monger everybody with playing this race card and with everything they do, trying to divide everybody. Why can't we all just come together?

[B]

John, John, I'm not going to even accuse you of being wrong. Just please tell me you're not doing it with one side. Just please act like you're not saying the other side. Don't do the dirt, too, because we should have a problem with Capitol Hill. Not one side of Capitol Hill. That's all I'm asking, John. That's all I'm asking. You can't sit up there and just say one side. John, please don't tell me you're doing that.

[E]

I'm not just doing one side. I'm. I see. I can see this went out.

[B]

You were fine just a second ago. Now I could barely hear you.

[E]

Stephen, A.

[C]

Go ahead, keep talking.

[D]

Hopefully they'll pick you up.

[E]

And with the slush fund, I mean, what do you think Trump was going to do after what they did to him?

[D]

Forget what they did to him. That's our money. That's your money. When you talk about a slush fund and he getting paid, John, that's $1.8 billion of your money.

[E]

It's a fund put down for people that got abused by the government, by the Biden administration, where the government getting

[D]

the money from the government. We get it. We pay our taxes. That's our money.

[C]

Right.

[E]

And they took his money. The government took their money with all those legal fees from Julian.

[D]

It wasn't 1.8 billion.

[E]

I'm sure it added up. All the money lost.

[D]

So in other words, let me get this straight, John. You got no problems with taxpayer dollars going back to him where he can decide to dole it out to his cronies, his family members and himself in excess of $1.8 billion? Is that what. Is that what you're saying?

[E]

After he got elected, he was. He was. He sold. Everybody had to see this coming.

[B]

You know what, John? I hate to sound disrespectful. You sound like a fool or a damn child. It makes no sense what you're saying, because we didn't do that as American people to him. That's our money.

[D]

And if you are going to sit

[B]

here with a straight face and act

[D]

like it's okay to take our money, our money, for himself and whoever he wants to dole it out to.

[B]

You know what? You're a fool, an absolute fool.

[D]

And I don't.

[B]

Name call. But that's ridiculous. Brian, in New Jersey, you're live with Stephen A. What's up, Brian?

[E]

Hey, so look, I just think the take on the ncaa, the NCAA thing is just off. Right? This is their voice. It's their money. The money will follow them. And I think you're doing a disservice by ignoring the fact that only the Democrats have put forth anti gerrymandering legislation.

[D]

Hold it.

[F]

Hold.

[D]

I didn't say only the Democrats had.

[E]

You. The left. The left.

[D]

I didn't say only the left.

[E]

Hold on a second. You didn't say you're ignoring the fact that only the left has put forth anti gerrymandering legislation. I get you're up in arms. I get it's a shitty thing, and I guess I get that it's kind of a. Feels like a race thing.

[D]

No, I'm telling you right now. I'm with you. I said both sides have been doing it. I'm getting on the Democrats for complaining, for what they participated in.

[E]

But with all due respect, Stephen, they are the only ones who have put forth legislation that was unanimously voted against by the Republicans. It's not both. They're trying to end gerrymandering by any man, by any manner, any standard, and gerrymandering.

[D]

They never have.

[C]

They're the only ones.

[D]

They're all in on it.

[E]

Put forth. No, the left is. With all due respect, the left has put forth. Democrats have put forth legislation to stop gerrymandering. Republicans have unanimously voted against it. We can be. Get it.

[B]

With all due respect, I'm not trying to act like there's never been any effort by anybody in the political apparatus to end gerrymandering. I'm saying, by and large, it's been going on on both sides of the aisle.

[D]

That is a fact. That's all I said.

[E]

Well, but as is the fact that Democrats have tried to end it and

[D]

now not all of them or not all of them. That's not true. When Gavin Newsom just did it recently in California, after Trump and them did it in Texas, Democrats were celebrating it.

[E]

Can I. Can I comment on that? He put it to the electorate. He put it to the electorate, the state. The voters decided that they wanted to put a temporary change. Right.

[D]

I don't have to.

[E]

But Texas, because. Because Texas unilaterally did it for political means.

[D]

Yes, but before that, they tried to do it with the Democrats in Maryland.

[E]

It has happened. I'm not arguing that, but that's all I'm saying on both sides. To say it's the same on both sides is disingenuous. And you're doing your listeners a disservice.

[D]

I'm not doing my list as a disservice. I'm not doing that at all. I'm calling both of them out for play, for playing this game and engaging in this mess spanning decades. That's a fact. That's true. That's happened.

[E]

That. Fair, fair, fair.

[D]

That's all I said.

[E]

Couple years. Who has, who has tried to change the rules? Who has tried to stop gerrymandering?

[D]

The Democrats tried to stop it once Trump was in office because he had gained an advantage.

[E]

Partisan gerrymandering disproportionately disaffects Democrats and other folks.

[B]

Oh, my God. I can't. I want to go back and forth with you, but I can barely hear you. That's my fault because of our technical, technical difficulties. Just go ahead and make your. Barely hear you, but my listeners can

[E]

go ahead now that. That was it. Thanks for taking the call, but it's not exactly the same on both sides. I appreciate it. Thank you.

[B]

I appreciate it. Thank you so much. You're just not right. You're trying to act like the Democrats proposed putting it into it and that was it. And they were, they were the good guys and they never tried to gain an unfair advantage when that's factually incorrect.

[D]

They've done it in Maryland, they've done

[B]

it in Illinois, they've done it in New York.

[D]

And Trump did it in Texas.

[B]

And it's about to happen in Florida.

[D]

And you see what he's doing in Louisiana, in Indiana. I mean, that, that's just a fact. That's what's happened. That's what happened. Lives in Texas.

[B]

You're live with Stephen A.

[D]

Go ahead.

[F]

Hi, Steve. I was just calling. I love listening to you. I love the passion. I agree with you wholeheartedly that these universities were making billions off of the backs of these young athletes. And the fact that many of them are now complaining about the transferring of universities from one to another to gain more money is ridiculous. I do believe there needs to be a cap so that all universities are playing on an even field, but they've never been playing on an even field.

[B]

And Liz, and Liz, that's exactly where my point is. They've never been on an even playing field. You're talking to somebody that covers sports for a living. Do you know it's gotten to a point where there's the existence of a Power 5 conference and it's about to be a Power 4? When you talk about the Big Ten, the Big 12, the ACC and the SEC. I mean, do you really, really think that other conferences compare to them? Do you really think that there's an even playing field in the world of sports? That's not true. So much so that you've got people suggesting that the Big Four needs to disband from, you know, everything else associated. Associated with the NCAA and just make college sports about them because their head and shoulders above everybody else.

[D]

So when you talk. So when you talk about.

[B]

When you talk about this idealistic view or this utopia that you envision and you fantasize over, I'm telling you, it hasn't been in existence for quite a long time in college football.

[F]

Long attempt. And I'm. I'm in the land of Texas. We have A M, we have ut, Austin and my husband's school, Texas Tech. And Texas Tech, according to them, is always left out because we have the big. The two other Big Two that take all of their recruits. And I also think it's very unfair to ask these young men and women to sacrifice to compromise their financial futures for political gain. That's not right. That's not fair to them. If they choose to do that of their own free will, that is a choice that they are making. But unfortunately, they will be pressured by the communities. And I know, because I am a part of those communities, grew up in those communities and watched many of these young athletes leave those communities because of the talent that they have. And it's unfair. And especially when you see many of these politicians obtain financial gain simply for being who they are and where they are at.

[B]

Gotcha. Liz, I appreciate the call. Thank you so much. And you know what? You'll have an idea of what you're talking about because you're out there in Texas. I mean, when you think about the advantages. I mean, how many universities of Texas and Austin and Texas A and M and College Station and all of these other. I mean, please. I mean, the money that's out there. You think some of these other programs throughout the country are going to compare to them? Let's stop that nonsense. That ain't gonna fly. I mean, and then you think about the NI. I mean, arch man. And I said 5 million in nil money. It might be closer to 9 or 10. And he's in college. You talking about people giving up this money? Nah, nah. Thank you so much, Liz, for the call. I appreciate it. Okay. You take care of yourself.

[F]

You too, sir. Thank you.

[B]

866-967-6887. That's 86696 POTUS. You're listening live to Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. Our number one is in the books. Up next, the former governor for the great state of New Hampshire, serving, currently serving as CEO and president of Airlines for America, a trade and lobbying group out of Washington, D.C. oh, he's got a lot to inform us about. Fuel prices, air travel and then some. Stick around. You'll want to hear what he has to say. His name is former Governor Chris Sununu and he's up next on Straight Shooter with yours truly. Don't touch that dial. Don't go away. Lot of stuff coming in your ways right at the start of hour number two. Talk to you in a minute.

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Tennessee 2012 straight shooter with Stephen A. Welcome to our number two, but it's Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. Coming at you as I love to do every Wednesday night from 6 to 8pm Eastern Standard Time over the airwaves of SiriusXM POTUS radio channel 124. It is an honor and a privilege to have my next guest on. I've had the pleasure of meeting him in the past one my buddy Chris Cuomo. He served four terms as a Republican governor of the great state of New Hampshire. He is now the CEO and President of Airlines for America, a Washington D.C. based trade and lobbying group that works to keep aviation the safest mode of transportation. Please welcome for the first time Straight Shooter. Former Governor Chris Sununu is on the line with Us right now.

[D]

What's up, sir?

[B]

How are you, sir? How does it feel to be called former governor, sir? How do you like that?

[D]

You seem to be pretty happy for

[B]

somebody that's not in office anymore. How do you feel?

[C]

I love being governor. Honor of a lifetime, toughest, most fulfilling job I ever had. And I love being a former governor as well. Life is pretty good now. I have to be down here in D.C. and I'm a pretty big cynic of this town, as most Americans should be. But other than that, it's actually, it's good. It's just not being able to go on a vacation or take a, take a long weekend without panicking that something terrible was going to happen or whatever it might be. Little bit of a break is pretty good. And no one loves it more than my family. By the way, I'm making a little more money and they don't have to be in the public.

[B]

I got you. I got you. Listen, Chris, let me ask you this. May I call you Chris, or would you like me to call you governor? Whatever you want. All right. Let me ask you this. You on Capitol Hill today, You know, why were you on Capitol Hill and what are the kind of things that you were discussing with our elected officials?

[C]

Yeah, well, look at the heart of it, I was on Capitol Hill because shutdowns, and we've had two of them now in just the past nine months, are awful and they're awful for America. What we were talking about on Capitol Hill was TSA in particular, remember this last shutdown, TSA workers not getting paid for almost two months. I mean, when you're making an average of 40, 50,000 and you don't get paid for two months, I mean, do you know what kind of stress that puts on these poor individuals? So just trying to get Captain Hill to understand that, A, they got to invest in new technologies and safety and security, and I think they're going to do that. But B, don't stop paying your own workers. Don't, you know, over a political fight, forget to have political fights. But you don't hold the all the American, the public hostage in terms of how they want to travel. And those, those tens of thousands of what we call our TSO workers, those men and women in blue that get us through the air, airplane safety, the airline safely, you know that those are the last people you want stressed out and not coming to work because they can't make a paycheck. Right. It's like the dumbest thing Congress could do. So we're there Pleading with them and getting them to understand that there were massive repercussions, cost the economy billions, cost thousands of people, you know, quit those. Those really important jobs, and God bless them, most of them kept coming. But, yeah, just. Just really getting Congress to realize that you want to have a political fight, that's fine. But you can't do it at the expense of everybody else, because at the end of the day, there's just no winners.

[B]

You know, what level of disgust should the American public feel in this day and age, specifically at this moment, when we just witnessed the second shutdown where they couldn't come up with $2 billion to pay TSA workers over a month, but you got $2 billion a day for war with Iran?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

How should we feel? How should we feel about that?

[C]

You ever see the movie Spinal Tap? The famous line from Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11. And that's the. That's the level, right? It's at an 11. And the worst part about it, we can talk about these instances of the shutdown versus the war, and it's clearly not about money, because these guys in Washington just want to spend money they don't have. I mean, it's never quite about money. It's about another political fight. But the. The real frustration in the. You know, our government is awesome in that it was designed really, really well. I'm from New England. I'm a New England guy. So we say, you know, the Founding Fathers were wicked. Smile. Right? They really designed this thing well. But what it means is Congress is really important, and they have to be effective. They have to do their job. They have to get stuff done. They have to keep things moving even when they disagree. And over the last few years, because of this kind of the politicalization of everything, right, the polarization that they have, the populism, it forces them to do less and less and become more and more insignificant. And that's unhealthy for the government from a pure civic standpoint. That's not what you want to see, right? You want the systems to be working. They can disagree. You give a little, you get a lot. Can't get what you want every time. Maybe you got to fight harder next year. That's all okay. But these guys, if they don't get exactly what they want, they're going to shut it down and take their ball and go home. And, you know, in some ways, both sides are to blame. I mean, I try to stay fairly non. Nonpartisan on it. They're all to blame. So, you know, the best Thing we can do in my job is to keep going to them from the private sector, but someone who's worked in the public sector and say, guys, this, you're losing, you're losing America, right? You're losing the confidence of the people that you're supposed to be, you know, working for. And so it's frustrating. But to your point. Yeah, I think we're at about an 11 at this point.

[B]

You know, I'm wondering, is there a point knowing politics the way that you do, being aware of what transpires in Washington, the way that most people don't, even though you were the governor of New Hampshire, you still know what the hell you're talking about and you kind of know the players. I'm wondering if there's a time where you could, that you could specifically pinpoint for us where this polarization that you alluded to really took on a life of its own and, and, and descended to the depths that it has descended to. Is there one point, a point in time where you're able to say that's when it happened, that's when it took the point of no return?

[C]

So I think there's two points. I would say 2008, two things happened. And I'm not blaming one side or the other, but that's when social media really starts becoming a tool. And President Obama in his first election, his team really knew how to use it and you know, to get himself elected. And that was fine. Nothing wrong with that. No, no complaints there. But it became this thing where a guy in his basement could shout to the world, having no background information or education on anything, and almost build a, a voice for himself. And all of a sudden what somebody might have said online, well, maybe that's something that would based in fact, even though there was nothing behind it. And then the second inflection point comes around 2015 in the, in the first Trump campaign, in the Trump election, where not just are they using social media, but the extremes really start defining, not defining the parties because I think the majority of Republicans are still, you know, right. Kind of, I'll call them in the mode, in the middle, moderate Republicans, the majority of Democrats are kind of in the middle, but the microphones have been handed to the extremes because the bigger media, if you will, the CNNs and the Foxes and all that, that's when they start picking their sides. And the whole idea of, you know, non biased independent journalism really starts kind of disappearing because everyone realizes there's a strong buck to be made with populism. So it goes from, from polarization to populism, what we've been dealing with at least over the past eight years here or so. And I'd like to think that we're not stuck here, we'll keep evolving. You know, I, you know, we're, we're Gen X. I always say we were brilliant in that we, we were smart enough to invent social media, but we did not have the maturity to understand how to use it. And so it's a little bit counting on that next generation coming up through it that understands the pros and the cons, the pushes and the pulls, the truth and the lies. And now they're dealing with AI. Now we're going to throw AI into that mix. That's an even harder piece of the puzzle to see where that's going to take us in terms of what's real and what isn't. But yeah, so there's a couple inflection points and, and again, we're all to blame. I try not to do the whole your side versus my side thing. You know, I'm a strong Republican, but, but there are a lot of Republicans that not just I might disagree with on principle, but more often I just disagree with some of them on, on messaging and method. And that means a lot to the American public in terms of how we communicate.

[B]

Former Governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununo, currently serving as CEO and President of Airlines for America, right here with Straight Shooter with Stephen A on SiriusXM POTUS radio. You spent years warning Republicans not to become a personality driven party, yet here we are with Donald Trump who is now stronger politically than ever. Looking back, were you wrong about where Republican voters wanted the party to go?

[C]

No, look, I, look, I'll say this. I don't think Republicans voters were wrong. We got what we wanted, right? We got what we voted for and what we were voting for. What America voted for wasn't a Republican or a Democrat per se. They wanted a disruptor. Right. You know, they wanted someone that was really going to challenge the system, disrupt the system. Because as we started this conversation, so many folks have lost faith in Washington D.C. as a whole. So let's, I don't want to say I don't like the term blow it up and start again and all that kind of stuff, but let's get someone in there that challenges the system, doesn't mind breaking a few eggs and worst case scenario is at least going to move, is at least going to do something. And that's where I do give the President Trump a lot of credit. This Guy's moving, he's moving faster and on more initiatives than any other president in history. I think he learned from the first time things didn't quite happen the way he wanted. He got frustrated with Congress. Now I believe you have to have Congress as part of that mix. You need a checks and balances on the system. And you know, he pushes the system to the, its end limit, so to say, until, you know, the court of the Supreme Court has to come back and tell him to pull back. But, but yeah, his, his philosophy is, I got, I got four years. Every day that goes by is another day when I'm not getting something done. And so he's trying to put people in there that just get it done, engage with the private sector, let free markets work, really, you know, make sure that it's not a bureaucracy driven system, but, you know, a market in a, in a, in a people driven system. I love that concept. I'm a free market guy. I love that. Sometimes we don't like the message, the method and the message. I get all that. There can be a lot of frustrations there, both internally and externally. But at the end of the day, this is what America asked for and so this is what you get. But if I may, people always say, oh, democracy, if you elect Kamala Harris, democracy, we'll be a bunch of socialists. And if you elect Donald Trump, democracy will be eroded. And I tell people, stop, stop. Democracy is so healthy because everybody votes, right? Everyone's involved in the process. Now we have the highest voter turnout we've ever had. And that's a very, very, very strong and very, very good thing. And the pendulum swings. Unlike other parts of the world, most other parts of the world, where one party or one group controls everything for sometimes decades at a time. I mean, remember we had Bush 41 and then we had Clinton and then we had bush 43 and it went back to Obama and then it went to Trump and then it went to Biden. So our pendulum swings and that's a very, very healthy thing. It could be incredibly frustrating for perhaps the country when it doesn't swing our way. But no, it will swing back because our democracy is very, very healthy.

[B]

But, but that's what you say, and I get that. But the pushback would be, look at the whole redistricting and gerrymandering thing going on. Look at what Trump did in Louisiana with Cassidy, what he did in Indiana, you know, what he's done in various places. And you see the Republicans in an absolute panic because if you cross him or he deems you as somebody that doesn't vibe with him totally. You are clearly going to put pay a price because of the grip he has on the gop. People look at that and they say we've got elected politicians, 435 representatives, 100 senators, a vast majority of them. Whether you're on one side of the aisle or the other, you certainly want the impression that they're their own individuals as opposed to being at the mercy of somebody who, dare we say, could come across as very ruthless and vindictive and stuff like that. How is that a healthy democracy? To that you say, what?

[C]

So a couple of things. The gerrymandering, you're 120% spot on. I coincidentally, I'll pat my. I don't know if it's a pat myself on the back or what, but in 2020, when all the governors got their redistricting bills passed, you know, because you do the census every 10 years, I was the only governor in the country that just refused to sign what the, what my own Republican legislature gave to me because it was gerrymander. It made one of my districts in New Hampshire solidly Democrat, one of them solidly Republican. And I said, no, we're a purple state. Right? You got to make sure that everyone has a shot in any district to win. So I ended up never signing any of the bills that they handed me. Because you are right. Redistricting is the genie that can never be put back into the bottle. It's done at the state level. The federal government can't really control it. What started as, you know, Texas and California threatening district themselves has turned into this virus of gerrymandering across the country, which is awful and it. And that. You're right. I think there are three things that threaten the whole redistricting, too much money in the system. We need severe campaign finance reform because there's so many billions of dollars that go into the system that aren't aligned with the interests even of the candidate or the folks voting in term limits. I'm now a huge believer in term limits because especially in Washington D.C. people just far outstayed, overstay their welcome. And once you get entrenched here in Washington because of your ability to raise money, it gets so hard to folks to move out. Now at the end of the day, people still have a vote. They absolutely still have a vote. No matter how gerrymandering never actually works out. By the way, no matter how you try to rig the system right now, we're still going to. It'll be a little bit Democrat here and a little bit Republican there. Democrats could take the Senate this time. So I still believe the pendulum is going to keep swinging back and forth. But it does mean that the number of independent districts shrinks. And to your point, you're spot on. That aspect is very unhealthy.

[B]

But people and am I right?

[C]

That's the good news. We want people to keep coming out and voting.

[B]

And am I right in saying that both parties are guilty of it? I had one call, a call up a few, a few minutes ago talking about how the Democrats tried to get rid of it. I said, that's not true. I said, you know, they've been involved in it every bit as much as the Republicans have.

[D]

They're both guilty of this.

[B]

Was I right in saying that?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, the Democrats, I mean, look what the Democrats tried to do in Virginia and California. Look what the Republicans have tried to do in Texas and now in a bunch of the other Southern states. So no, it is, you know, it's just like, remember four or five years ago, I mean, you, you're probably not paying attention to politics as much. But, you know, one said, oh, we got to get rid of the filibuster. Oh, no, we're not going to get rid of the filibuster. And then power completely switches in the Senate and everyone who wants filibuster doesn't want to get rid of it anymore and vice versa. So everyone has their, I'll call it situational ethics. Right, whatever.

[B]

There you go. Great words.

[C]

Where they're going to be. And that's that. That should be incredibly frustrating. And that's exactly at the heart. The American people aren't dumb. People are not dumb. They're watching what's happening and they're very frustrated with this town. I'm still optimistic. I'm still hopeful things can change. I think what you're going to see, if I may, is if Washington keeps doing, going down this path of being ineffectual, the states are going to pick up the slack and that's where there is more control with their governors and their state legislatures, their local. And I'm a huge believer in local control. I'd much rather have people have more power and control at a local level than here in Washington. And to Washington's demise, if you will, or erosion will be the opportunity for states and cities to step up and do their own thing. And that is where you kind of can avoid the gerrymandering thing and the redistricting thing. So I think States are going to, it's not going to be easy, but hopefully they'll have a little more power, a little more control, and that allows the citizens themselves to have a little more say.

[B]

I want to get to you. Former Governor Kristin Nuno right here with Stephen, a straight shooter. I want to get to you in this regard. Did I read this right? The United states is nearly 3, is nearly 3,000 air traffic controllers short at a time of record air travel and increased reliance on air cargo. And air traffic controllers still use outdated equipment like floppy disk, copper wiring and old phones to keep our skies safe. Is that true, sir?

[C]

Basically true. So the number isn't quite 3000. It's more like 1500. We've put in some new technologies and things so that the demand isn't quite as high as it was maybe a year or two ago. But the system itself, the air traffic control system itself, is held together by string and duct tape. Now, it is safe. Make no question, it is safe. But what we do here in America, because it's such a big and robust system, we slow all of our airplanes down, we block way more time between flights to ensure that safety, given we're dealing with such an antiquated system. Now, here's the good news, and here's an area where there's no question you have to give President Trump credit. They put $12 billion forward. They've, they're changing the radars, the radios. They're looking at new software systems. They're going to make this probably in just the next couple of years, one of the most high tech, advanced, safest systems in the world because they're finally, after 40 years of ignoring it. I mean, it's literally, you know, the old, the old computer program, Cobalt, there's literally copy disks come with Cobalt on it that are still going into 1993 style computers that keep part of our air traffic control system running. That is no exaggeration. It's crazy. Now, that's all finally being changed. It'll all be changed over in just the next couple of years. It's already happening as we speak. Been very successful. It's actually a public works project that is, believe it or not, is, you know, on budget and on time. And it's, it's going really well. Secretary Duffy and Dot and Brian Bedford at the FAA manage that. And believe it or not, this piece of garbage system is finally getting the love and care that it needs with some really.

[D]

All right.

[B]

How soon will we be able to say, you know, it's great without using words Duct tape and thread and all of that stuff. I mean, that's scary because I fly 30,000, 35,000, 40,000ft in the air all the time. That's some scary stuff to hear, sir. I mean, how long before we don't have to worry about hearing it's kept together by duct tape and stuff like that?

[C]

Figuratively speaking, I don't think you have to worry today, but it'll be really solid in about 18 months. Some of the things they're putting in place now in a few areas will really be nationwide. And I think you'll have a super cool system. And by the way, it reduces delays, it reduces, you know, all the different hassles and stumbling points along the way, makes the whole system faster and more efficient. I've seen it, I've been in the back rooms and seen this technology, what they're bringing to bear, and it's really cool stuff. So we're on the cusp. We're on the cusp, but you should stop playing but keep buying your tickets.

[D]

Okay, okay.

[B]

You're still, you're also working to save our frequent flyer points. Last year, 15 million Americans used points from airline credit cards to book flights. The Durban Marshall credit card bill threatens to take away the points and rewards consumers accrue for everyday items like gas and groceries. Talk about what you're doing to protect our, to protect that, that issue these point programs.

[C]

So you have one, do you have a credit card? STEPHEN A.

[B]

Yes, I do. Yes, I do.

[C]

You fly?

[D]

Yes, I do.

[B]

Yes, I do.

[C]

So, yes, most Americans have them. They love their points and, and as you know, it allows somebody to go buy their groceries here, but be able to get a free ticket to visit grandma and have their family travel there. So it's awesome for kind of middle America low income Americans who otherwise might not be able to afford to travel. And so there are, bills are funded. Is that little extra couple percent you pay when you use your credit card that funds the whole program that basically reimburses the airlines for your free ticket. So when they want to cut that, that fee, which it sounds great, hey, let's cut the fees on credit cards, that sounds awesome, right? The points programs will go away. And that is billions and billions and billions of dollars of free stuff that we give America. And so we're trying to remind people it sounds good to get rid of the points programs, but that's how you get rid of the credit card fees, but that's how these point programs are funded and work. It would have awful repercussions I don't remember maybe like five, ten years ago, your debit card, you could get loyalty points, you could get hotel points and airline miles on your debit card. Can't do it anymore. Why? Because Washington thought they were smarter than everyone else and basically passed laws that prohibited the mechanism at which that stuff was funded. And a lot of male Americans just lost. Lost their programs, and that sucked. So these programs are great. Everyone uses them. They're incredibly robust. And we just try to, you know, this is a good example of, you know, sometimes something sounds really good in government, but when you look under the hood, you go, wait a minute here. This is going to have some negative repercussions. So, you know, it sounds kind of wonky, but it is an important program for so many millions of folks. We just like to remind folks that, you know, use your credit cards, use your points, get your free stuff. We love giving it away, but you don't let the government take it away from you. Don't let the government do dumb things.

[B]

Before I let you get on out of here, I got a couple of questions, Mr. Christianu. Number one, you govern a true. You govern a true swing state. If you were advising Republicans right now, what's the biggest thing the national GOP is doing that could quietly cost them suburban and independent voters? I ask you that question because obviously the midterms are approaching.

[C]

They don't keep it local. Too many politicians and political voices just look to Washington and the national voice. And I'm not just blaming. I'm not just saying it's a Trump voice. But the national issues, when you talk about your local issues, what's happening in your schools, what's happening in your district, what's happening in your community now you start connecting with people. And I see, especially Republicans, they just because we have the White House and we have control of Congress right now, local folks or even congressmen are talking about national issues. When you want to connect with somebody to show that you're normal, that people overthink it, they do things for a headline as opposed to what really impacts their voters. And when you. And like I said, voters are smarter than a lot of people give them credit for, just be normal, man. Politics is not hard, by the way. It ain't rocket science. You know, I know a lot of people think that, you know, those politicians are evilly scheming behind the closed doors. Let me tell you something. We're not that smart. Don't give us that much credit. If you just keep it simple as a politician and Connect someone one on one and just be normal. I gotta be honest, this conversation is a good example. I don't feel normal right now. We're coming off. I guess I have to interject it. I know you don't want me to. The fact that Brunt that they had a 22 point comeback in the fourth quarter last night. My son tells me you're on with Stephen A. Smith and you're not talking about the Knicks. I said, I don't know what, I'm not allowed to do that? He said, well, at least profiling Wemby's performance. I said, I don't think I'm allowed.

[D]

You can, you can bring it up. You can bring up Wemby and you

[B]

could bring up the Knicks. I think the way it's looking, if Oklahoma City doesn't win tonight, it's going to be San Antonio and the Knicks in the NBA Finals. I thought that was an epic performance by Wimy the other night in game one. It was unbelievable. And Oklahoma City's gonna have to really step up their game to win this series. And I thought that Jalen Brunson was absolutely fantastic. So fantastic. I actually felt sorry for James Harden because he was abused so badly by j. By Jalen Brunson. I thought he should have been arrested for assault. That's how bad Jalen Brunson abused him.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And I, look, I'm not the biggest Harden fan, but again, you thought, okay, he's. Maybe he's going to break the little hardened curse here. Maybe he's going to come through. He's going to actually pull his team through. He's not going to be this anchor.

[B]

Oh, you know your basketball.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah. No, no. And again, you know, I don't know the history and we all know the history of what, what's happened there. And so I actually started pulling for James and I did. But I mean, I'm a, I'm a Boston and New England guy and we've. We just completely craft the bed, obviously in the first round here. But after what happened in the Knicks, I'm not a Knicks fan. I'm not a New York fan in any way. So I was actually rooting a bit for Cleveland and they weren't able to pull it through. But also, I got to be honest, Wemby's incredible. But that one game, let's not forget what Oklahoma City is. They are phenomenal. And if there's any. We all saw that look on Wemby's face when they were announcing that the

[B]

MVP that's what I'm saying. You knew it. You knew it was coming.

[C]

That was giving.

[D]

He's coming to take everything.

[B]

He's coming to take everything. Last question before I get out of here. I asked you a question about the Republicans. Now I got to go to you about the Democrats and I'll ask you this. Polling shows Democrats are struggling. It's not just Trump struggling badly in the polls. Democrats are struggling badly with working class voters and young men. Is this just a messaging problem or do you think Democrats genuinely not understand a huge chunk of the country anymore? Where do you lie in that thinking problem?

[C]

The Democrats have completely don't understand what makes working class Americans tick. They took advantage of them for years. They can try to remessage that, but it's not there. The substance has to be there and it's not. And so that's why Republicans not really working very hard for it, just talking about very middle America issues, started connecting with folks. And so look, do I think the Democrats are in trouble and all that? No, not necessarily. Because everything's about get out the vote. It's not about who agrees with you. It's about who actually shows up the polls for you. And so the Democrats can still be very successful this year even though they're not doing well with middle America because a lot of middle America will be kind of apathetic and they won't show up for the Republicans. So that's where, you know, they do much better on the organization, the getting out the vote. Literally, literally getting people to the polls and all that sort of thing. We take it as Republicans, you know, we think being the smartest people in the room is enough. It's not. You got to do the work to earn the vote. So, you know, but like I said, that pendulum is going to swing back and forth for a variety of different reasons for a few years. It's a healthy system. And I just encourage everyone to your point, get out and vote. I don't care who you vote for, but be part of the process. Don't sit on the Internet and just cry about it. Actually go out and do something about it.

[B]

And you don't believe that when it comes to the voting that black Americans are going to be compromised because of all of this redistricting that has gone on and the way that folks, the NAACP and others are complaining that black folks are going to be compromised at the booth. You don't believe that to be the case?

[C]

No, no, not at all. No, not at all. Because look, there's going to be black Republicans that are elected, there's going to be still be black Democrats that are elected. So. No, I just, I don't buy that. I don't buy that. I think, you know, don't move my cheese. Right. Don't mess with my thing. My thing is really good right now. Why are you messing with it? And so obviously folks are going to complain. But at the end of the day, and I don't want to get into whether the court's decision was right or wrong. But again, as long as people get out, people connect on local levels, I'm a firm believer anybody can win. I really believe that.

[B]

Gotcha. Kristenunu, former governor for New Hampshire, current CEO and president of Airlines for America right here on Straight Shooter with Stephen A. I really enjoy talking to you, you know, you welcome back anytime. It's good to see you again. And you do know your basketball. I like that. I like that. Thanks a lot, sir.

[C]

We'll catch up in the finals.

[B]

All right, buddy. You take care. The one and only Kristen Noone, right here on Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. 866-967-6887. That's 86696, POTUS. You're listening live to Straight Shooter with yours truly. Back to your phone calls. Few lines are open in a minute.

[D]

And we need, we need basic decency. We need basic decency.

[C]

That's what the Epstein Files Transparency act was all about.

[D]

By the way, today is the six

[B]

month anniversary of the Epstein Files Transparency act.

[C]

We've taken out two dozen CEOs, an

[B]

ambassador,

[D]

a prince, a prime minister,

[C]

a

[D]

minister of culture, and that was just six months. I got seven months left in Congress.

[B]

That was Representative Thomas Massie, Kentucky. Obviously, President Trump did what he could to get him up out of there because he didn't like how this man pushed for the Epstein files to be released. Didn't like that he was against Trump on the war in Iran. Didn't like a few things about Trump even though he was a GOP member that voted with Trump most of the time. And Trump got rid of him, worked. It is what it is. 86696 polls. Let's go back to the phones while we get on out of here. Got to be quick because I got a few calls to get to before we get on out of here. Okay, let's go to David in Illinois. You're live with Stephen a Straight Shooter. Good evening.

[E]

Just real quick, I thought you were really too easy on senior when we talked about the redistricting. You know, Texas started this Mid, mid cycle. And that's what started it. Not Democrats in California. Not Democrats, in fact, say the Democrats

[B]

in California started it. I know Texas started it first and Newsom reacted.

[E]

He said it was a, it was, it was, it's kind of both sides. It wasn't both sides.

[D]

Well, that's how he feels.

[B]

That's how he feels. We know, we know that. We know that it started in Texas. We know that. We know and we know that Newsom retaliated in California. But that's how he feels because he's thinking about all the years it was done prior to this last couple of years. That's all.

[E]

But all I'm saying is just call him out on it. Just correct. Because you let this go into the ether.

[B]

No, there's nothing to correct, sir. There's nothing to correct. The fact of the matter is it's been going on for decades and in

[D]

the recent memory, in recent when, since

[B]

Trump's been back in office, they started it, sure. And Newsom reacted to it. But he was a governor of the state of New Hampshire and he was talking about the long, lengthy history of what both sides do. There was no reason to correct that cuz he wasn't wrong because both sides have engaged in it for quite some time. Even though the call of Jan was right about what transpired in 2019 and what efforts were made to eliminate it before the Republicans nixed it. He was right about that. But it has been going on for decades. That's what Sununu was speaking of. And there was no reason to talk to correct them on it.

[D]

So I did it.

[E]

My point, Jan was right and Jan made my point. This isn't a both sides issue. Democrats tried to solve the problem and Republicans wouldn't let them do it.

[D]

Well, let me ask you this question. Why is it not a both sides

[B]

issue if I say it's a both sides issue? Because I'm alluding to what's been going on for the last 20, 25 years and you on only losing to what's been going on in the last five.

[D]

If I want to talk about what's

[B]

been going on for 25 to 30 years and I'm in my 50s and I'm talking about what has affected my community and our community and life. And I'm going in a broader, more macro perspective.

[D]

Just because you want to go to

[B]

micro route doesn't mean that I'm wrong. I don't want to go that route that you went.

[D]

I want to be more expansive than

[B]

that because I'm talking about a history that has been transpiring where these folks have engaged in these iniquitous acts.

[D]

So somebody that wants to come down

[B]

the pike and clean it up over the last five or six years might not be enough for me.

[D]

How come I can't take that position? Why I got to think the way

[B]

you want me to think.

[E]

I think you can take that position. I'm just saying when you have somebody on your air talking about something as.

[D]

But that's what he. So that's what he was talking about. I asked him questions related to the history of. Of both parties. Not recent memory from both parties. That's the discussion we were having. When you get your own show and you're hosting it, maybe you could be a bit more specific with your questions.

[B]

I chose not to be. That's my prerogative. It's Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Not with David in Illinois. Have a nice evening and a nice week. Let's go to Butch in California. You're live with Stephen A. What's up?

[E]

You're making me laugh there. I'll make it short. I look at this slush fund and he's. And the fact that all the people that were released from prison after the insurrection and it looks to me like he's saying to the people, if you do what I tell you to do, you're not going to go to jail. I'll get you out of jail and you can make some money doing it.

[D]

Hold on, Butcher.

[B]

It doesn't look like that. It is like that. That's exactly what he's doing.

[D]

That's exactly what he's doing.

[E]

81 I've seen this country get to this point and I don't know how we get out of it. Stephen A.

[B]

It's easy. It's easy. Here's how you're going to get out of it. You're going to get out of it because he's going to be going in 2028. You make sure that he doesn't circumvent the 22nd amendment of the Constitution which allow. Would allow him to run for a third term. You make sure he's out of power in that office. There is no one else in politics that would have the kind of. Of once in a lifetime generational impact that he has had on voters with the cult like following he's had from maga, which has placed GOP members in the House and the Senate at his damn near complete mercy. That's not going to happen with the next person, his successor. Whether it's a Democrat or Republican. They're not going to be Trump. And guess what? Most of them are not going to want to be like Trump. They're going to want to be their own selves because most of them abhor how he acts. They just want to keep their jobs. So they have to deal with it and buy their time. That's how you're going to get out of this when he ultimately goes away.

[E]

They're going to give me a choice of two people. They're all the. I don't want.

[B]

They're not gonna, they're not gonna give you a choice of. They're not gonna give you a choice of two people. Initially, you're gonna have several candidates, likely on both sides of the aisle, that are going to make their own noise. Noise. And the American people will choose who they are. And we'll pick two candidates from that list. And then you'll go from there. And by the way, never lose hope in this country, my brother. Every, at most, everybody wants to be here. We're the greatest country in the world. Yeah. We got our issues. We could be trifling as hell, as this president has shown us on many occasions. And it is despicable at times, and it's nauseating and you just, you can't take it sometimes. But trust you me, we will survive. We're America. We'll find a way. Don't ever doubt that. Ever.

[E]

I think we're broken.

[D]

Appreciate it.

[E]

Okay. Thanks, Stephen A.

[B]

Thank you so much. Let's go to Tate in Washington, D.C. you're live with Stephen A. Real quick. Tate, go ahead.

[C]

What's up, Stephen A.

[E]

What would piss you off more, a Cowboys super bowl or a Trump third term?

[B]

Trump third term. He's just too destructive. He's too destructive. I think that, I think that Marco Rubio would be an adult in the room on the Republican side. I don't know who the hell would come qualify as a Democrat at this particular moment in time that resonates nationally. You know, I like Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania. I definitely like him. But I do think that no matter who it is, you understand, as long as you're sent, you're somewhat centrist and you're reasonable and you can walk across the aisle and negotiate on behalf of the best interest of America instead of yourself. I think we will be in a, a much better position. I do believe policy is ultimately what's most important, but that doesn't mean statesmanship and decorum are not. And when you see how these people have acted, the vileness with which they treat one another. I think it's utterly disgusting and it serves to polarize instead of galvanize us as Americans. Somebody's going to come along that's about bringing us back together and that's not Trump. And as long as he's gone, I think we'll be all right in the end. That's it for this edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly. Holl at you next Wednesday night. Until then, peace of love.

[E]

Mr. President, you mentioned that this is

[C]

being paid for out of pocket, but why is Congress in pocket?

[D]

You're paying for the not. Congress is approving. Yeah, Congress is approving money for security. It may go, some of it may go here for additional security. I don't know. But Congress is approving money. But this building, I mean, I put up the money build this building along with a lot of great patriots. People have put up a lot of money to build the building. And we have a building that is going to be, I think it's going to be potentially the most beautiful building in all of Washington. And with that is great military capacity. We're building it in conjunction with the United States military and the secretary.

[B]

I'm so over listening to Trump. He's just rambling and he's just talking. You know, we'll see what happens. We'll see what the end result is. And for once, let it not be something in it for him and it's something in it for the, for the American people. People. 866-967. 6887. That's 86696 POTUS got a few lines open. You're listening live to the Stephen A. Smith to Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Right here on potus radio, channel 124. Let's go to Greg in Michigan. You're live with Stephen A. What's up, Greg? How are you?

[E]

Stephen A. Mr. Positive. Boom shakalaka. Go nicks. What a game last night, let me tell you. I got to tell you, when it comes to real quick. Oh, geez, I'm having a brain fart. Don't worry about that. I can't think of it right now.

[B]

What I was talking about with the NAACP and the whole redistricting and gerrymandering thing. Leave the athletes alone. What I was talking about as it pertained to then or anything else that I was bringing up about Trump or something else. What else? What else did I talk about?

[E]

Term limits. I just feel it should be the will of the people. That's another discussion. But will with Trump, with the Russia Retribution, revenge, and he might be justified. How do we get past that?

[B]

Because he has to be the grown up that gets past it. Now, let me be very, very clear. When they went after Trump, okay, I'm not debating the veracity or lack thereof of the case that was against him. But I remember saying this. Now, I don't know, I have. I've got to read up again and remind myself of all the issues that he had, whether it was tax issue, whether it was assault, sexual assault, stuff like that. Yeah, these are serious, serious things. My issue was, I believe the one was the 34 felony counts, if I remember correctly, that ultimately ended up in indictment, indictments and conviction. And primarily that was about him paying $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels and lying about it. And I'm like, you do understand that people are going to look at it and saying the man was having sex and tried to hide it. Haven't Democrats been, been guilty of that? Whether it's Gary, you know, I mean, what is it? It's, it's Gary Hart, it's John Edwards, it's, you know, the, the, don't get us started with Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky and all of this. Other people don't lose their mind over stuff like that because they're going to go like, the biggest thing they're going to say, first of all, in their eyes, is much to do about nothing. But secondly, and most importantly, what they're going to say is, are you going to get them? See, the Democrats went through all of this stuff to keep him out of office. It didn't work. But you want to remind everybody of what you failed at, because every time you want to call him a convicted felon and you want to say that he's a, a scourge of the earth and he's this despicable human being and look at he was convicted and blah, blah, blah. All he's saying is that it was a witch hunt, that it was politically motivated, that you weaponize the justice system to get him. So what he does is he's saying, hey, okay, the system doesn't allow for a convicted felon to be a voter, but it does allow for a convicted felon to be the President. I'm going to win the presidency back. Which he did. And now he's weaponized our legal justice system as best as he's possibly can, unapologetic about going after his enemies. And we have grown adults that are sitting there saying, well, look at what they did to him. I got all of that but when do the American people matter? When do we benefit? Because ultimately, when you're Talking about a $1.8 billion slush fund, all right, that's taxpayer dollars. How does that benefit us that he's going to get that money back and able to distribute it to his family, his cronies and some rioters on January 6th. Cuz Cole them what you will. It was an insurrection and say what you will. But the fact of the matter is you had people barricading through the barricades at the U.S. capitol and people lost their lives because of it. That is undeniable. That's a reality. And so when people want to throw that aside and act like that didn't happen or that that wasn't important, or that those people that elected to storm our United States Capitol, bust into the offices of elected officials, defecating on their furniture, smearing walls and all of this other stuff, we just going to ignore that. We're just going to ignore that.

[E]

Stephen, a brilliant synopsis. Hey, love you everybody. Go for your dreams. Have a good one, Stephen.

[B]

Appreciate it. Take care. Chris in Virginia, you're live with Stephen A. Chris, go ahead.

[E]

I, I agree 100 about the, as far as basketball goes, I don't think they should ask them to do that. It, it could be perceived as John Lewis would say good trouble, but I, I, I'm along with you with that. And I would say, okay, give him some loot, but put a cap on it. Don't go crazy like, you know, you actually in the NBA or whatever, but put a cap on it. Give him a little something something because everybody is making money off, especially betting markets and stuff, you know, so, but as far as like the actual Trump situation, and a lot of people get this twisted with the tds and it's Trump bad, Trump bad, so on, so forth. It's about truth, it's about justice. You're in the middle or in the midst of a constitutional crisis, you have a sitting president colluding with an attorney general of the United States and they are doing this and they're taking 8, what, 1.8 billion, almost $2 billion.

[B]

Yes.

[E]

To reward, to reward criminals. Okay. And not only that, then you're going to add a little, little sauce on the side of it and say, well, hope not only are we going to give him this, we're going to make sure that none of his people, his family or anybody can, the IRS can look into anything that they ever do.

[B]

Unbelievable.

[E]

Nonsense.

[B]

Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

[E]

That is nonsense, man. Well, where are we at in this situation. And you know, in the weaponization of say, they keep saying, I listened to Ted Cruz this evening and when he was posed that question about that money, he said, whether you didn't ask any questions When Joe Biden weaponized the government against Donald Trump and what they did to him, first and foremost, he was tried or he was looked into, investigated. He didn't pay anything. It was all donated funds, all his legal expenses.

[B]

I'm not sure about that, particularly when it involves Hunter Biden. But my point is, in the end, it appears to be all much ado about nothing. All of these folks are going to be home with their families, living there, living out their lives. So why waste taxpayer money on all this stuff? At some point in time, we have to make the decision to move forward and not reflect on the past because there's enough dirt on everybody. But each time we're moving forward with the residue of this stuff dragging, we're dragging along. It's only all it's doing is costing the more taxpayers more dollars. I got to run, Chris, but I appreciate the call. Jan in New York, you're live with Stephen A Straight Shooter with Stephen A. How are you, Jan? Good afternoon. Good evening.

[E]

Hey, Stephen A. How you doing? How you doing?

[B]

I'm all right, man. Go ahead.

[E]

Yep. Just let it be known I'm a lifelong independent voter and you had a caller earlier who was discussing about the redistricting and you were taking it from the both sides. And I don't think you were being fair. The caller was making a great point.

[B]

Okay.

[E]

Regarding the Democrats first. First on March 8, 2019. These are facts, not opinions.

[B]

Okay.

[E]

They passed in the House before the People act to eliminate redistricting, gerrymandering, independent multi party redistrict commission. Mitch McConnell would not allow it to get voted on. But here's the more important part. You're going to say, well, Trump was president then on March 3, 2021. This is a fact, not an opinion. When Joe Biden was president, they passed it again and it was a 5050 split and every senator opposed the measure. And because of the filibuster, it never got a chance to get passed. And what it would have done, all 50 states would have been evenly according to independent commissions. That would have ended in 2021. The last five years we would have had no gerrymandering. And going forward. So it was purely the Republicans when Trump was president in 2019 and was Biden was president on March 3, 2021. Those aren't opinions.

[B]

So in other words, you're saying those were Republicans, Those weren't the Democrats that played any role in that whatsoever? I'm asking. Sorry. No, no, no, Jen, I'm not challenging you. I'm asking.

[E]

Yep, yep. Yes, correct.

[B]

Okay.

[E]

So it is the Republicans who have prevented the gerrymandering from being eliminated, period. They had two shots at it in both times with both different presidents from both different parties and they did not allow it to be eliminated.

[B]

Okay, no problem. Because Jan would know what I'm going to do. I'm going to go look it up. And when I go look it up. Right. Assuming you're absolutely correct, I'm gonna come back on the air and I'm gonna acknowledge that Jan was absolutely correct along with the caller that called before him. I have no problem with that. I appreciate being educated. Got no problems with it.

[E]

Jan, good luck. Thank you.

[B]

Thank you so much. I don't need luck. You just gave me facts. If it's right there, I'll be able to catch it. All right. And I'll. And I'll be more than happy to give you. You're just doing that. AAA Mad Dogs. I'm sorry. 866-967-6887. That's 86696. POTUS back with your calls to close out the show in a minute. Don't go away. I see you there, Butch. I see you. I definitely see you there. Okay. And I see you, David, in Illinois as well, along with some others. I'm coming right back in a minute. Don't go away. Straight shooter with yours truly in the house.

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