THE COST OF GERRYMANDERING; OLIVIA TROYE; BRAD RAFFENSPERGER

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Stephen A. Smith Show – "The Cost of Gerrymandering; Olivia Troye; Brad Raffensperger"
Date: April 23, 2026
Host: Stephen A. Smith, SiriusXM

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Episode Overview

Stephen A. Smith takes a deep dive beyond his sports roots, tackling the heated topic of political gerrymandering and its impact on democracy, policy, and the 2026 election landscape. In an episode full of blunt commentary and straight-shooting interviews, Smith is joined by two key guests: Olivia Troye, a former Trump official-turned-Democratic candidate in Virginia, and Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Secretary of State now running for governor. Across passionate exchanges and listener calls, Smith and his guests dissect how power plays and voter manipulation are shaping this critical election year.

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Main Discussion Points

The National Crisis of Gerrymandering

[00:55–11:54]

• Gerrymandering vs. Redistricting: Smith explains the constitutional process of redistricting (every 10 years) and how gerrymandering twists it for partisan advantage. Recent years have seen both Democrats and Republicans aggressively manipulate district lines for gain, especially in Texas, California, and Virginia.

• The Backfire: Tactics intended for one party (notably Trump’s push in Texas) are now benefiting the opposition in states like California and Virginia.

• Democratic Response: Hakeem Jeffries hails a "huge win for Democrats" in Virginia, while Smith critiques Democrats using "rigged" language, urging honesty and consistency in rhetoric ([05:36]).

  “I don’t like the word rig coming out of the mouth of a Democrat. The way they complained about Trump using the word rigged... Don’t you start using it now.” — Stephen A. Smith [06:35]

• The Stakes: These redistricting showdowns have “exponentially” raised the stakes for midterms, with control of Congress and major budget implications hanging in the balance.

• Smith’s Thesis: Both parties are “guilty” of manipulating maps, but the recent battles are the logical escalation from Trump’s previous maneuvers ([10:47]).

Policy or ‘Woke’ Distraction? What Wins Voters

[13:35–25:19]

• Democratic Messaging Critique: Smith praises Democrats like Ro Khanna and Donna Brazile who focus on everyday issues (affordability, jobs, security), not “woke culture or cancel culture.”
• Voters’ Real Priorities: Ordinary Americans care about economic issues, not identity politics when economic anxiety is high.
• Advice to Democrats: “Emulate the Republican strategy. At least act like you care about what the voters care about when you open your mouth.” — Stephen A. Smith [23:47]
• Republican Loyalty to Trump: Smith skewers GOP leaders for unconditional support ("If this dude spit in their face, they’ll say it’s raining" [24:14]), predicting fragmentation and backlash as gerrymandering strategies backfire.

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Guest Interview: Olivia Troye

[28:06–45:25]

Background

• Career and Political Shift: Troye, a former Homeland Security and counterterrorism advisor to Mike Pence, describes her transition from Republican to Democrat, triggered by Trump’s rhetoric, handling of immigrants, and disregard for national security ([29:38–30:46]).

• Platform: Running for Congress in the new “Lobster District” (VA-7). Advocates for working-class issues, federal workers, and government integrity.

  “I am the daughter of a lifelong truck driver and a Mexican immigrant… When Trump entered the scene in 2016, I had serious concerns… I detest a lot of the anti-immigrant rhetoric.” — Olivia Troye [29:38]

On Gerrymandering and District Legitimacy

• Virginia’s Power Grab? Smith challenges Troye on the ethics of her new district’s creation, labeled a "power grab" ([35:38–36:05]).

• Troye’s Response: Acknowledges the process was aggressive, but argues it's a necessary response to GOP gerrymandering elsewhere and reflects voters’ will.

  “When you look at what Republicans have done in other states, I think Virginia realized we had to fight… and voters showed up.” — Olivia Troye [36:05]

On Policy, Party, and Motivation

• Healthcare & Family: Troye shares a personal stake in healthcare reform—her mother relies on Medicaid—framing the stakes for voters ([37:32–39:26]).

• Fighting the MAGA Agenda: She frames her campaign as a pushback against extremism, disinformation, and attack on democratic institutions ([43:37]).

  “I am very concerned about the undermining of our elections… and the types of personalities being put in positions of power in the Trump administration who… played a role on January 6.” — Olivia Troye [43:37]

• Candidacy Obstacles: Recognizes her grassroots disadvantage in money and name recognition, but vows to work “twice as hard,” uncertain but persistent ([42:29]).

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Guest Interview: Brad Raffensperger

[52:00–74:14]

On Running for Governor and GOP Backlash

• Why Run? Receives praise for being a “straight shooter” and vows to focus on jobs, education, and pragmatic conservatism ([52:15]).

• Past with Trump: Despite national controversy for defending Georgia’s 2020 results, Raffensperger frames his stance as “just doing my job” ([52:41–53:10]).

• Unity Over Partisan Rancor: Emphasizes working across the aisle and focusing on local issues that matter to Georgians—economic opportunity, education, and public safety ([54:14], [58:28]).

  “If the national [Republican] party looked to Georgia… they’d do a whole lot better… At the end of the day, we get the job done.” — Raffensperger [59:38]

On Trust and Election Integrity

• Election Security: Defends Georgia's robust election practices, use of photo IDs, absentee voting processes, and rapid results ([55:10–56:00], [73:13]).

  “In Georgia, we have photo ID, check citizenship... We have free, fair, and fast elections.” — Brad Raffensperger [72:34]

• Concerns about National Politics: When pressed about the national GOP, he encourages a focus on results, not drama or personality ([57:48–59:38]).

• Message for Voters: Stresses calm, competence, and hard work over flashy rhetoric. Sees himself as a trustworthy alternative to both party extremes ([70:48]).

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Listener Calls & Final Riffs

Highlights from the “Straight Shooter” Segment
[79:14–99:52]

• Independents and Third Parties: Discussion about the challenges and necessity for a viable third party; Smith notes nearly half of voters are independent but “money decides” elections ([81:22]).

• Mail-in Voting: Smith supports methods that increase legal turnout, but is clear about the need for safeguards against fraud ([97:04–97:25]).

• Trump's Rhetoric & Responsibility: Listeners debate Trump’s style; Smith insists a president’s words matter—a leader can’t afford to be careless ([90:55–91:11]).

• Defense Spending Skepticism: Smith criticizes Congress for prioritizing military budgets over essential domestic needs.

  “How come it can be $1.3 trillion and another 200 billion be allocated for… needs we have in this country? Why’s it gotta be $1.5 trillion? … You’re abusing our money.” — Stephen A. Smith [93:03]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Both Parties’ Culpability:
  “One could argue that even though the Democrats have done it spanning decades… this particular process since the Trump administration has come back into office… it was instigated by him.” — Stephen A. Smith [10:47]

• On 'Woke' Distractions:
  “If you're transgender or a member of the LGBTQ community… please understand I'm not denying support… I'm simply saying that can't be the issue that you're riding on when you're trying to win an election.” — Stephen A. Smith [18:30]

• On Trump Loyalty:
  “If this dude spit in their face, they’ll say it’s raining. If he passes gas, they’ll say it’s perfume.” — Stephen A. Smith [24:14]

• On Policy Over Personality:
  “I want adults in the room. I want men or women being leaders, not children. That's what I'm talking about. I think it's important.” — Stephen A. Smith [90:55]

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Key Timestamps

• The Cost of Gerrymandering — [00:55–13:35]
• Democratic Messaging vs. Culture Wars — [13:35–25:19]
• Olivia Troye Interview — [28:06–45:25]
• Brad Raffensperger Interview — [52:00–74:14]
• Straight Shooter Listener Calls — [79:14–99:52]

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Tone & Language

Smith’s tone is candid, sharp, and occasionally fiery, but strives for balance. He challenges all parties, celebrates practical solutions, and repeatedly notes that he isn’t aligned with any political side, just “giving it to you like I see it.” Both guests match his forthrightness—Troye, a measured but passionate defender of democratic norms; Raffensperger, composed and policy-driven.

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Conclusion & Takeaways

This episode delivers a comprehensive, accessible look at why gerrymandering—and the fight for fair voting districts—is at the heart of American democracy’s future. Through his “straight shooter” lens, Smith spotlights the ripple effects on policy, elections, and trust, highlighting urgent questions for both voters and politicians. Guests like Olivia Troye and Brad Raffensperger bring unique, firsthand perspectives on bridging divides and restoring faith in American institutions as tension mounts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

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Listen if you want:

• To understand the real-world consequences of gerrymandering
• To hear forthright conversation about the intersection of policy, politics, and personality
• To get a no-nonsense, issue-focused rundown of what’s really at stake in the 2026 midterms

Transcript

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[Stephen A. Smith]

Straight Shooter with Stephen A.

[Co-host/Panelist]

What's up everybody?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Welcome to the latest edition, Wednesday edition of Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. Over the airwaves of SiriusXM POTUS radio channel 124. Number to call up as always is 86696 POTUS. That's 86696 POTUS. It's 866-967-6887. Always happy to join y' all each and every single week. And I'm happy to join you this week because there's some problems going on in the United States of America. And I got news for you, a lot of it resides with President Trump. Let me tell y' all something. Country's in trouble. We all know that. Not here to be a pessimist, just here to be a realist and to give it to you like I see it. And contrary to what people want me to do, constantly wanting me to take a side, I'm not going to take a side. And the reason I'm not going to take the side is because the subject that I'm about to tackle applies to both sides. We see the issue of gerrymandering. We saw something transpire in Virginia just yesterday.

[Co-host/Panelist]

And when you think about issues like

[Stephen A. Smith]

redistricting and the kind of impact that it has on American society, I hearken back to what I've said to you about the insurrection on January 6, 2021. Make no mistake, it was an insurrection. But we don't have to belabor that point. The reality of what happened is what happened.

[Co-host/Panelist]

What we need to focus on is the why. And the why is very simple.

[Stephen A. Smith]

People are pissed off.

[Co-host/Panelist]

People in America are pissed off.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And you know why they're pissed off? Because the number one thing that it pisses American people off is this notion that their votes don't count.

[Co-host/Panelist]

That somehow some way things can happen.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And their passions and their beliefs and

[Co-host/Panelist]

what they want implemented into the fabric

[Stephen A. Smith]

of the American Society has been circumvented,

[Co-host/Panelist]

thereby rendering themselves useless, while you're asking for taxpayer dollars and debt is accumulating to above $39 trillion. These are the kind of things that will piss anybody off. If somebody takes your money, doesn't tell you what they're doing with it, or lies about what they're doing with it, uses it to their own benefit, and it doesn't necessarily benefit you, that's enough to tick anybody off. But when you combine that with the fact that you're able to point to lies and manipulation, you really, really get ticked off. National debt as of April 22, 2026, which is today is $39 trillion.

[Stephen A. Smith]

39 trillion.

[Co-host/Panelist]

And why do I bring up the issue of gerrymandering and the issue of gerrymandering and redistricting? Because even though they're relatively similar, it's not one and the same. You have to remember something when you're talking about gerrymandering compared to redistricting. Redistricting basically is the neutral, constitutionally required process of redrawing lines pretty much every 10 years. We know that hasn't happened because usually every 10 years when this stuff happens. But when it was happening in Texas, when it happened in California, they didn't wait 10 years. They did it in the middle

[Olivia Troy]

of

[Co-host/Panelist]

an administration, in the middle of a cycle. It usually happens every 10 years. That's not what's been happening as of recently. That's redid. That's supposed to be redistricting. What has happened? What's the difference between that and gerrymandering? Gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the manipulation of the redistricting process for partisan or ideological gain and advantage. That is what has happened. That's what's been happening. Why am I bringing all of this up? Because, ladies and gentlemen, President Donald Trump thought it was something that was going to work for him, particularly when he

[Stephen A. Smith]

compelled it to transpire in the state of Texas, led by Governor Greg Abbott,

[Co-host/Panelist]

if you remember that whole deal months ago, and now it appears to be backfiring, certainly in the state of California and certainly in the state of Virginia. Who knows what's going to happen? Because you've got minority speakers, Democratic leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, speaking against this and on behalf of Democrats when he said this about how this was a huge win for Democrats in Virginia to beat maga. Listen to what Hakeem Jeffries had to say.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Take it this way.

[Hakeem Jeffries]

Well, it's a big victory for the people of Virginia, A big victory. For America and a big victory for democracy. And let me first just thank Governor Abigail Spamberger, Speaker Don Scott, the members of the Virginia General assembly, the congressional delegation, certainly President Barack Obama. It was an all hands on deck effort and I'm so thankful for what has transpired. The Republicans ordered by Donald Trump all across the country were trying to gerrymander the national congressional map as part of their scheme to rig the midterm elections. And, and they thought that Democrats were going to step back. We made clear from the very beginning that we were going to fight back. We did it in Texas, we did in California, we've done it in Utah, we pushed them back in Ohio, we stopped them in New Hampshire, stopped them in Nebraska, stopped them in Kansas, stopped them in Indiana. Big win today in Virginia, and we're going to keep the pressure on the extremists.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Now, let's be clear.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't like the word rig coming out of the mouth of a Democrat. The way they complained about Trump using the word rigged in 2020. If you didn't like him using the word so damn much, don't you start using it right now. Come out with a new word out of your vocabulary other than rigged. That's number one. But to articulate even further Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrey's words, what he said there, let's understand what happened to Virginia. The Virginia Democrats pursued a constitutional amendment to bypass the state's bipartisan redistricting commission.

[Co-host/Panelist]

The goal was for basically to create 10 Democratic seats in the House compared

[Stephen A. Smith]

to one for the Republican. Based on the redistricting of the map situation.

[Co-host/Panelist]

The amendment was approved by the voters just yesterday in a special election, which

[Stephen A. Smith]

is what Akeem Jeffries was talking about.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Final status. While a map is now technically in effect for 2026, it faces ongoing challenges

[Stephen A. Smith]

in the Virginia Supreme Court. However, per the Purcell principle, which discourages courts from changing rules too long or too close rather to an election, it is highly likely to remain the active map for this November. So essentially for this upcoming midterms, the Democrats have won their redistricting battle. Let's not forget what they also did

[Co-host/Panelist]

in California in response to Texas, because if you remember, in Texas, August 2025, to be exact, the Republican led legislature passed a new map designed to increase their share of the delegation to 30 Republicans compared to eight Democrats. When it was at 25 Republicans and 13 Democrats, they tried to increase theirs by five and diminish the Democratic vote by five. In the state of Texas, a three judge panel at the time initially blocked the map in November 2025, citing it as racial gerrymandering. But on December 4, 2025, the US Supreme Court stayed that lower court ruling. The court held that the lower court hadn't properly accounted for the presumption of legislative good faith. This effectively locked the map in for the 2026 cycle.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You saw what that happened there, right? That's what I said to you.

[Co-host/Panelist]

So as we look at it from that standpoint and we see what happens, and you've heard Hakeem Jeffries talking about warning the state of Florida not to

[Stephen A. Smith]

do such a thing or anything like that.

[Co-host/Panelist]

The issue with gerrymandering is that you have politicians that are literally trying to redistrict, trying to move voters into a more favorable district for themselves. Therefore, they don't have to worry about receiving those votes, which means that you, you don't have to go out there and truly, truly campaign and truly, truly compete the way that you normally did in order to receive votes. It's less work while you're campaigning, you're manipulating voters because you're positioning them in a certain area where you know that those areas are going to vote, whether it's red on one side or it's blue on another. It works favorably for politicians. And it's not about going out there and working for, for the voters. The voters are forced to capitulate to wherever you have them at, because in that particular area and what have you, you know, that's how most people are going to vote. You don't necessarily have to campaign, you don't necessarily have to do but so much work in order to garner their vote. Because, you know, you got those votes on lock any damn way, and you end up winning an election basically essentially based on the place that you're at

[Stephen A. Smith]

and the place that you have them districted.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Now, this is the amazing part about it. One would argue Capitol Hill, excuse my language, one would argue that Capitol Hill, the folks of Capitol Hill, don't do shit anyway most of the time. So this is the latest piece of evidence that's going to allow you to do even less work than you were doing before. This is what's going on in this country. And one could argue that even though the Democrats have done it spanning decades, as the Republicans have spending decades, this particular process since the Trump administration has come back into office, Trump 47 administration,

[Stephen A. Smith]

that it was instigated by him because

[Co-host/Panelist]

nobody was talking about doing that until he did it in Texas and when he did it in Texas. Gavin Newsom spearheaded the movement in the State of California. And we saw what happened there and how many seats they were going to

[Stephen A. Smith]

turn in the Democrats.

[Co-host/Panelist]

They already had a dominant lead to begin with. If you remember correctly, we're talking about the state of California here. They already had a massive lead. Voters approved the measure in 2025 by a significant margin, 65%. We're talking about Proposition 50. The voters, it was in response to Texas. California passed a map via the legislature and refer Proposition 50 to the voters aiming to flip five GOP seats just like they had done in Texas. Republicans challenged the map as a, as racial gerrymandering. But on February 4, 2026, the US Supreme Court declined to block it. This cleared the way for the map to be active for the 2026 midterms. So it basically came back to bite

[Stephen A. Smith]

Donald Trump in the ass.

[Co-host/Panelist]

So now, instead of dealing with just Texas and having that in your favor, California went against you, they winning right now. Virginia went against you, they're winning right now. Who knows who's next? And it's as the midterm approaches. Meanwhile, one could easily argue that all of this happened because Trump was preoccupied with trying to create regime change in Iran. He had his attention focused elsewhere in the Middle east with Iran. Whether it was at the behest of Israel or not is another story for another day for other people to debate. But he's been there. He bombs their nuclear sites. Last June, he swears he obliterated them, but for some reason felt compelled to bomb them again because all of a sudden we got intel, and intel was saying they. They had enriched uranium, so much so that they could have produced numerous nuclear weapons within a month. And that was simply not something that he was going to tolerate. Everybody's conveniently forgetting that the man said they were obliterated months earlier. So evidently, your intel at that particular time wasn't good enough. And as a result, you were compelled to bomb them again in a dual concerted, orchestrated effort with Israel. And you did all of that while all of this stuff was going on back here in the states. And all of you Republicans out there that marched lockstep with him, that were insistent upon supporting him. I'm not talking about Rand Paul because

[Stephen A. Smith]

we know he wasn't.

[Co-host/Panelist]

I'm not talking about Representative Tom Massie. He wasn't. But the vast majority of Republicans. March Loxter, Speaker Johnson, okay, Senator Kennedy, Senator Cruz, of course, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and others. And Marco Rubio has made very eloquent and compelling cases against Iran. He did it when Obama was in office. His position, whether you like it or not, has been consistent. That has not been the case when it comes to Trump, and one could easily argue that he dropped the ball. So all of a sudden, the midterms have become exponentially more important, and it's more important now than ever before. Because if you lose the midterms and the Democrats regain power, let's just say for the sake of argument, they regain power in the House, but not necessarily the Senate. You see the number right there? Following the death of Georgia Representative David Scott, who passed away, I believe it was, today at the age of 80, you now have 212 seats in the House for the Democrats, 218 for the Republicans. You got to switch about four seats. You pull this off, the Democrats have control of the House. You know what that means? That gives them control of the budget. You know what that means? That $1.5 trillion that Trump is pursuing for the Defense Department, that might be compromised along with a bevy of other things. This is what I've been talking about. Current vacancies in the US House of Representatives. 5. Three resignations, two deaths. Look at them. The five vacancies. Death. David Scott out of Georgia. Death. Republican Doug Lamoffa out of California. The other three were resignations. Sheila Cerfalus McCormick. Democrat Tony Gonzalez is the Republican. Disgraceful. Him and Eric Swalwell resigning. So you got current House vacancies that are scheduled to be filled. Three Democrats, two Republicans. It is entirely plausible that the Republicans and Mike Johnson are about to lose their power in the House. And I want to take a moment to applaud the Democrats. I want to applaud them because let me tell you something, what we've been hearing, and I'm going to specifically point out somebody that I've seen a lot of, and I've seen them on Fox News. I've seen him on Ms. Now I've seen him on cnn. It's Representative Ro Khanna out of California that has been on this show twice. I want to applaud this man. And I'm going to tell you why I'm applauding this man. Whether you agree or disagree with him, here's why he needs to be applauded. You don't hear him talking about nonsense. He's talking about affordability. That's what he's talking about. He's talking about the economy. He's talking about jobs. He's talking about gas prices. He's talking about food. He's talking about issues relatable to the average American, he ain't been a damn fool out there trying to engage in stuff that involve woke culture and cancel culture. That ain't what he been talking about. That is a losing proposition. I've been speaking about it vehemently against the Democratic Party for the longest time. All of that stuff. Shut the hell up. We understand every human being matters. We understand every life matters. Governor Gavin Newsom in California. But you can't sit up there and talk about children who are transitioning from one sex to another. Shouldn't require parental consent. Your Kamala Harris, you can't get caught on video talking about how you support transgender changes, even for people who are imprisoned. I know that was years ago. They hold this stuff against you. You can't do it. You can't sit up there and have conversations. If you're members of the Democratic Party talking about impeaching a president who's already been impeached twice, convicted of 34 felonies, has civil suits and hundreds of millions of dollars judged against them, and still won the damn presidency. And you damn sure can't talk about impeaching them again when you know it's not going to amount to anything. It's a waste of time. It's just rhetoric. You're not getting him out of office before 2028. Stick with the issues that work. Ro Khanna.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm very proud of that man.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Chris Coon out of Delaware, Democrat, very

[Stephen A. Smith]

proud of that man.

[Co-host/Panelist]

When I see them talk about Donna Brazile, noted historian, Democratic strategist, led the campaign for al Gore in 2000 when hanging chads in California cost him the election. That marvelous woman, I applaud her. Because when you see them on TV talking about issues, they're talking about the issues that really, really matter to us. They're talking about the really issues that really, really matter to the American people. If you're transgender or a member of the LGBTQ community that supports them, please understand I'm not denying support for them. I'm simply saying that can't be the issue that you're riding on when you're trying to win an election that involves hundreds of millions of American citizens. They don't care at that time. They don't want people harmed. They got souls. They're God fearing individuals, everybody. They're not trying to hurt people. But it's not a priority. If you worried about paying your bills, if you're worried about the borders being flooded with illegal migrants, if folks are crying in the courts and on Capitol Hill about family members or loved Ones that have been harmed or killed. If neighborhoods are being ravaged with gang violence and stuff like that, they're looking at migrants. Not that the migrants are the only people doing that, because they're not. We know America is ravaged with that stuff all the time. But what people are talking about is what is avoidable and what is not. And if you are not an American citizen and you are not somebody who is supposed to be here illegally, and if you are here illegally and that hasn't been addressed and you caused harm to American citizens, it hits people differently because it's a preventable issue in the eyes of people who believe our borders are supposed to be patrolled by like every other nation in the world. That's the argument. And when you have those kind of conversations and you're listening to people and you're hearing them talk, you don't focus

[Stephen A. Smith]

on other issues that people care about.

[Co-host/Panelist]

People don't care what sexual preferences you

[Stephen A. Smith]

have, what proclivities you have, or whether you even want to get a sex change or whatever.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Nobody cares, do you? What they do care about is if

[Stephen A. Smith]

it costs taxpayer dollars, what they do care about, if it increases, if it contributes to elevating the price of health care in this country that's coming out of their pocket. When we $39 trillion in debt, why do they care? Because if we got that much debt,

[Co-host/Panelist]

we know eventually you coming to ask for our money. And if you are in a state like California or New York or someplace else and billionaires and businesses are running out of your state, we ultimately know they're not going to be in your state to be taxed. They run into Texas, they're running to California. I'm sorry, they run into Texas, they're running to Florida. And if they're doing that and they're not in your state any longer and they're not there to be taxed, who are you going to tax? You're going to tax the exact middle class people you swore you wouldn't because you'd be targeting the rich amongst us. That's how people are thinking business wise. You got a problem with it, refute it with a better plan. Don't bitch, mold and scream and try to get sanctimonious and moralistic with the rest of folks who are sitting there looking at stuff logically and saying, yo, that ain't gonna work because that's what Stephen A's doing. I, I have no skin in the game. Wherever I'm at, despite the fact that I have a home in Florida, I still Got a place in New York and California. I gotta pay taxes. I'm talking about the strategy that you employ that's ultimately gonna cost me out my ass. Because your strategy ain't working. We got to get back to what works, what's practical, what's real and what's fool's gold. And stop having people get moralistic and all of this other stuff. That's nonsense. This is how people are thinking. And Ro Khanna and Chris Coon and Donna Brazile and, and so many other Democrats when they're speaking from a practical perspective about what's going to work. Hakeem Jeffries is another one. We're speaking about practical issues that are going to work and are not going to work. That's what we want to hear.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's all the Democrats have to do. And they will win the midterms because Trump is blowing it. Trump is blowing it. Right now it looks like Trump don't know what the hell he's doing.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Yeah, you dealing with stuff straight at

[Stephen A. Smith]

her muse ceasefire, huh?

[Co-host/Panelist]

Oil price is still going up. Energy still going up. There's a lot of stuff going on with this man and the people within on the Republican side and the GOP marching lockstep with him, kissing his ass at every turn ain't gonna cut it. And for once, the Democrats, I believe, have been playing it exactly right. They have learned to shut the hell up. Unless they're speaking about the issues that Americans really complain about, instead of trying to get America to care about what

[Stephen A. Smith]

they want America to care about.

[Co-host/Panelist]

No, emulate the Republican strategy. At least act like you care about what the voters care about when you open your mouth. That is what the Democrats have been doing. Keep it up. Keep it up and you're going to

[Stephen A. Smith]

win at least one, if not both houses of Congress.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Because the Republican side has spent so much time fawning over this President and everything he's done. If this dude spit in their face,

[Stephen A. Smith]

they'll say it's raining.

[Co-host/Panelist]

If he passes gas, they'll say it's perfume. That's where he's messed up with most of them on, with other people, like on the extreme right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The Tucker Carlsons who supported him, the Megyn Kelly's who supported him.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Okay.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The Nick Fuentes who supported him and others.

[Co-host/Panelist]

These people might be extreme in some people's eyes. I don't consider Megyn Kelly along the lines with the rest of them, but the bottom line is, is that they all supported him and they all are expressing regret.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It's fragmentation that has kicked in and he thought gerrymandering was going to fix it because he did it in Texas and that other states would try to follow. But it turns out it's backfiring against him and the President's numbers look the President's days rather look numbered. As long as the Democrats stay on

[Co-host/Panelist]

issue and make sure that you pay

[Stephen A. Smith]

attention to the issues that Americans care

[Co-host/Panelist]

about and stop coming to us with this woke culture.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Cancel culture, extreme left progressive stuff and get back to being a bit centered in your thinking. Forget about Trump being gone in 2028. He's going to be relatively impotent in 2026 if you play your cards right. The gerrymandering issue is just one. There can be others if the Democrats are smart enough to continue to employ the strategy they've been employing. 866-967-6887 that is the number to call up once again. That's 8669-676887-86696 POTUS, you are listening live. The Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. Up next. Oh, she's somebody to be reckoned with. Democrat that's got some noise to say. Say this vote in Virginia yesterday helped her immensely. Positions her to run for Congress. The one and only Olivia Troy. Up next with yours truly, Straight Shooter style. Don't go away.

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[Olivia Troy]

Years ago, I resigned from the Trump administration as a Republican who dreamed of working in the White House. It was a hard decision, but as an American, it was the right one. I saw how Donald Trump undermined our intelligence community, our military leaders, and ultimately our democratic process. Now he's doing it again.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Wow.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I have a speech from Democratic National Convention 2024 Just a couple of years ago. So it's great to talk to my next guest. She was the Homeland Security, security and counterterrorism advisor to then Vice President Mike Pence, who broke with the Republican Party in 2020. She is now a Democrat running for a congressional seat in Virginia's newly proposed 7th congressional district. Please welcome to the show Straight Shooter with yours truly for the very, very first time, Ms. Olivia Troy. How are you, Olivia? How's everything going? May I call you Olivia? Is that okay, first of all?

[Olivia Troy]

Yes, of course. Yes.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay.

[Olivia Troy]

Great to be on your show today.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Thank you so much. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Okay, so you made that change. We sit here today. How are you feeling about that change right now that you made switching from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party?

[Olivia Troy]

You know, I feel good about it. I was raised in a conservative Catholic household. That was my upbringing. I grew up on a Texas border town of the border of El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. I am the daughter of a lifelong truck driver and a Mexican immigrant. And I would say that over time, my views evolved in terms of issues like reproductive rights. And the Catholic Church plays a big role in that. And my faith did along the way. But especially when Trump entered the scene in 2016, I had serious concerns about what it would be. I certainly detest a lot of the anti immigrant rhetoric that Trump and many of his team continue to push still today. You know, I was a career intelligence officer and I felt strongly about how much I love this country and I wanted to serve. And that's why I continued in service until 2020, when I had a very public split and decided to resign and go public with my concerns about what another Trump presidency would look like. And I think we're living that today.

[Stephen A. Smith]

What do you believe another Trump administration has looked like thus far?

[Olivia Troy]

You know, I certainly worried that it would mean targeting immigrant communities and that it would mean targeting everyone. And I think we're seeing that in terms of how ICE has behaved in our communities. And I also worried about his lack of understanding about foreign diplomacy and respect for the military and the intelligence community. And I think we're seeing that in this, what I would say is an unjustified war with Iran. I think the intelligence wasn't there and I don't see how this conflict ever ends. It seems to be ongoing and I think they've outplayed him in this hand. And so these are all the things that I was worried about coming into it. And look, as a daughter who grew up on a truck driver salary, I'm a big believer and supporter of the working class. I know how hard people are working today. And it's very hard to make ends meet right now when health care is going up, gas prices are going up, grocery store prices are certainly going to go up. And we haven't even begun to see really the implications of what these global conflicts are leading to.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yesterday, Virginians in the special election approved a full redrawing of the state's congressional district. As you well know, they're calling it the Lobster District, which could transform the 11 member delegation from a 6 to 5 Democratic edge to as much as a 10 to 1 advantage. You're running to represent one of them. How will you convince Democratic primary voters that your transition aligns with their values? And how would you do that?

[Olivia Troy]

Yes, so I am running in the new District 7 that was just passed last night. I am excited to represent the voters of Virginia. I certainly think that when it mattered most, I showed that I would take a stand against the Trump administration and what Republicans were doing. I've been unwavering in that. I traveled the country advocating to get Kamala Harris elected. And one of the things that I really did and focused on was to reach conservative voters and try to grow a bigger tent. And I think that's something that I hope people will see in me, that I am a fighter. I do not back down. And I plan to fight for Virginians, especially people that have been in this community who are government employees. There has been tremendous impact here, Stephen, in terms of what Doge did to people, to federal workers here. I know many of them and it has been impacting our community really hard. I think I will be an unwavering advocate and I plan to stay true to myself and fight for the community that I reside in.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Highlight that for us when you talk

[Stephen A. Smith]

about what Doge did. Obviously, we all know what Doge did and we know what Trump with Elon Musk, when he brought on Elon Musk and he found fraud in some places but not in others, detrimentally affecting a lot of folks, particularly federal workers and definitely women. That hasn't escaped me either. But I want to know specifically what you mean in terms of can you give us any statistical data or anything like that when you talk about how it affected folks detrimentally in that particular area of the country where obviously a lot of federal workers reside? Can you give us some numbers to illustrate and illuminate that problem, please?

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, I will say, like, you know, there have been a lot of people who were let go from the Department of Education, especially with these budget cuts in it. And I would say there were a lot of people that worked at usaid, which actually promotes soft power, something that obviously, as a national security person, I strongly believe in. I had warned about thousands of federal employees that would potentially be impacted here and what that would look like. And it, you know, it, it trickles down. It trickles down on people. How are they going to pay for their mortgages and how are they going to actually pay for their health care when they don't have health care insurance and healthcare? Private insurance premiums are so high and there's no ACA subsidies to support that. And so when I look at that, I do talk to these communities and I understand what they're going through right now. And the other thing that I want to say, Steven, is as someone who was in national security and navigated the first Trump administration, my heart goes out to federal workers, intel officers and the military are serving in this, who are trying to navigate this, because I feel like the Trump administration undermines these communities all the time. We're seeing sort of the dynamics between military generals that are being pushed out of office or unceremoniously treated when all they're doing is standing up for the truth and for the military and our security posture. And that all boomerangs here domestically to our safety. And so when I say that I carry that in my heart is because having lived it, I know that it's hard when you are really trying to serve for the greater good because you love this country and you continue to serve, but you are having to navigate this dynamic that, quite frankly, I would say we've is unprecedented to see in the Oval Office.

[Stephen A. Smith]

We're talking to future representatives. I'm concerned. Olivia Troy right here with Stephen A. Straight shooter with Stephen A. The district you're running in was called, quote, a power grab by the Washington Post editorial board this morning, actually, and a race to the bottom by the Wall Street Journal. You're the first candidate of a district both editorial boards say actually shouldn't even exist at all. How do you sell that to the voters?

[Olivia Troy]

You know, I would say that these are very unprecedented times. And I think, you know, when you look at what's happened in terms of what Republicans have done in other states, I think Virginia realized we had to fight and we had to fight with everything that we could as voters. And look, voters showed up to support this in great numbers. I mean, I was expecting to be up all night waiting for the results to come in. It came in earlier and it was confirmed, and I think that spoke volumes. Yes. Was it close? Yes. But the majority came out and said, we've got to take a stand of this. We've got to figure out how we counter this, what's happening in our country. And I think that's what Virginia did. And I'm super proud of the state that I live in and the voters. There was a lot of hard work. I met a lot of theories and stuff. I mean, this was a definitely a get out the vote effort. And, you know, if I were Republicans in the Trump administration, I would be worried about what that's going to look like for the midterms because people are upset.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You voted for Hillary in 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton. You voted for Biden in 2020. You spoke for Harris in 2024. This is all while you still called yourself a Republican. So I guess what I'm wondering is now you say you're a proud Democrat. What finally flipped the switch? And why now as opposed to not in 2016-2021-2022-2024. Why now?

[Olivia Troy]

Well, I think obviously I identify with the principles of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party, to me, as it was prior to 2016 and throughout the year, sort of started to lose. I would say its way in terms of things that I strongly believed in. Like, I do believe in, like, the working class. I believe that people work really hard for everything that they get and do. And I think watching what was happening, the reason that I wouldn't identify that and I would say the reason that now I'm like, yes, I'm a Democrat, because that is the party that feels most like home to me. I went out and I feel very strongly about this, that I still have Republican conservatives MAGA in my family, like many families do across the country. I think we have a mix of people and I think we need to be able to reach these people and understand them. And I felt Very strongly that given my upbringing and the conservative household that I grew up in, I'm familiar with these tenants that I would be most effective. The campaign said, you know, if you are really interested in, do what you can. And I did. And I traveled the country and I tried to reach conservative voters and really tried to explain what the gravity would mean. And like I looked at that Project 2025, a lot of these things really got things that Americans really depend on, whether it's Medicare or Medicaid. I have family members that rely on that. My mother is 82 years old. She actually does rely on Medicaid. And I am grateful for the programs that that has provided for her because I feel like it's given her several more years on her life that I can share that life with her. I take care of my mom. I know so many people that take care of their aging parents. I think healthcare is one of the things that we've really gotta fix in this country. And so when I Look at Project 25, all the things that are happening there, it's just so counter and the antithesis of the values and things that I really care about.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I guess what I'm wondering about, Olivia Troy, is this. This has been a problem in terms of healthcare for decades. We all know this. It was a problem during the Clinton administration. We saw what he tried to do then and how Hillary Rodham Clinton and Clinton himself got debunked in that regard. We saw what happened with George W. Bush, didn't seem to be that big of a priority. We saw Barack Obama and obviously Obamacare, and it put anywhere from 22 to 24 million people and made sure that they were insured. But in the same breath, when we look at that 39 trillion dol dollar debt that we're in right now, some people say that that contributed exponentially to that problem and that's why one of the reasons it needs to do is be fixed. And then we even heard President, former President Obama come out recently and say, listen, the problem wasn't meant to be a permanent fix. It was meant to be put and played, modified, altered, et cetera, to be worked upon and improved upon in the years and years to come. All I'm trying to say is that this has been a longstanding problem when it comes to healthcare, regardless of administrations. So what on earth makes you think that you nor anybody else can fix a problem that simply has not gone away forever?

[Olivia Troy]

Look, I hear you on that because I mean, it's frustrated. I mean, I think Americans are frustrated too. I think that we need to roll up our sleeves and do the work. And I think we can't, you know, solve these problems like healthcare or look, I will throw this out there. Immigration, we really need immigration reform. And that's something that we have to roll up our sleeves and actually stop doing patch fixes on it. I would say a patchwork on this and actually get down and dirty and actually say, how do we approach this problem and legislate in a way that we actually make a difference and push the needle. And look, am I saying and claiming that this is going to be easy? Obviously not, Absolutely not. But I think we have to roll up our sleeves and say we've got to do the work together to make this sustainable. We've got to fix the problems. The voters are out there saying that they're frustrated and they're angry and they're being impacted by this on a daily basis. And I think when you have constituents saying that, I hope that I will be having these conversations, I mean, out there talking to people right now about the things that they really view and the frustration. The one thing I will say is I hear a lot of frustration in people who are saying, like, yeah, everybody talks a big game, politicians talk a big game, and then they get in and they fall to special interests or they don't fight. And it's more of the same. And I hear that and I carry that with me. And I'm telling you this because I've lived it in my family and I see it. And so for me, it's personal.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Last question for you. The primaries are August 4th, as I'm sure you well know. You're behind in money, behind in endorsements, and quite frankly, late to the field. If the court strikes this map down, let's say next week, what happens to Olivia Troy for Virginia then?

[Olivia Troy]

Well, you're not wrong on all those things, right? I am gonna have to work twice as hard. And I realize, you know, I'm personally not a millionaire and nor do I have a famous name or country connections. I am running a grassroots people campaign and I will continue to do that and work hard for it. And, you know, I, you know, I don't know what's going to happen with the court. I think, you know, you know, this appeal, these appeals have gone forward. I think that this will be successful still. I think that it'll carry through. But I have to be honest, I'll make that decision when it happens. I, you know, I'm just going to continue to work hard, raise money and get people to follow my journey on this until I last.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I do have one more question. I apologize for it because I just finished thinking about it and my researcher reminded me of this. You said that you understand how Republicans work. You've talked about how dangerous the MAGA base is and that your campaign is to stop their far right agenda from, quote, destroying our democracy. Explain what you mean by that and what will you do to try and stop it specifically?

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, look, I think we have a significant problem here in terms of whether it comes to hateful rhetoric and narratives that really hurt minority populations. I am the child of an immigrant, as you know. I said that. I am very concerned about that. I am very concerned about the undermining of our elections. I'm very concerned about what's to come this fall with the midterms, especially with some of the executive orders and the types of personalities that are being put in positions of power in the Trump administration who we know actually played a role on January 6, which we saw was a horrible, heinous day for our democracy. And I also think that the undermining of the misinformation and disinformation that consistently gets put out there by some of these more far right figures is dangerous and counterintuitive to everything that we stand for as a country. So when I see that the undermining of our rule of law by a president that's sitting in the Oval Office, the abundant corruption, I would also say these people are making a ton of money right now. They're benefiting from some of these reckless decisions. And I think for me, that is where we really have to take a stand and put a stop to this, because it's also undermining us before the world, globally. I would say our foreign adversaries are salivating at the fact that we are on the decline as a democracy.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Wow. Potential Virginia representative shooting for the 7th Congressional District in the state of Virginia. Olivia Troy right here with Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Thank you so much for your time. Wonderful guest. Really, really appreciate your time. Good luck to you. And I hope that they don't cancel this stuff and. And they allow you to keep running and you're in a position to compete for this seat. All the best to you. Okay. You take care of yourself.

[Olivia Troy]

Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on.

[Stephen A. Smith]

All right. The wonderful Olivia Troy, aspiring representative for the State of Virginia, 7th District. She's right here with Stephen A. Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Back with your calls and more in a minute. Don't go away. Straight Shooter style Stephen A in the house. Be right back in a minute.

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[Stephen A. Smith]

You're the boss.

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[Olivia Troy]

Did you say $300?

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Yes. Now back to our breathing.

[Olivia Troy]

So if I overspend my balance, go2bank has my back up to $300.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yes.

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[Co-host/Panelist]

My name is Noah Azworg. I am a 33 year old former statistics teacher and current pro poker player from Central California. If you choose to run for president, have a vision for your merchandise marketing theme. Mount Rushmore symbolically connects patriotic nostalgia with adored athlete list debates through the powerful imagery intersecting politics and sports associates political optimistic ideals of our nation's foremost influential historical presidents with more modern day legendary sports icons that influence society in a uniquely different fashion. Moving it in the right direction sounds

[Stephen A. Smith]

very, very complimentary towards me. I appreciate that. Anybody that wants to send in their voicemail messages, go to get SiriusXM.com getserious to leave your voicemail messages. Once again, that's Sirius.com getserious to leave your voicemail messages. I respect it, I appreciate it. Anything complimentary like that. I assume he was talking about me putting my name, my face on Mount Rushmore. Thank you so much. Very, very kind words to you. I need to be sincere in saying what I'm going to say as a retort. And I mean no disrespect to that person who just left voicemail messages. I don't give a damn. I'm not interested in accolades, I'm not interested in celebrations. To me, that's the problem that we have with the present president in office. All of this fawning over him, all of this, oh my goodness. I just want to take the moment to say that you're just the greatest leader in the world. You're the greatest president of the world. Everything he touches is gold. He passes gas is perfume. If he farts, it's just, it's perfume. He sits up there, he spits in your face. He Calls it, y' all say it's raining. I'm sick of all of that. You're the President of the United States. You're not God. I don't want that. If I were to ever run for office, which I won't, because I'd have to give up my money. And I'm not giving up my hard earned money that I worked 30 years for to campaign for the presidency. I'd give it up if I won the presidency. But as long as they're going to require me to give up my money just to campaign, I'm not doing that. And anybody that knows me knows I don't give a damn whether I win or not. I want to be on that debate stage to go against these politicians that I believe have ravaged this country and have served to divide us because I think we're more together than we realize. If we weren't living in a binary system that's serving to divide us and keep us divided and polarized and from coming together, and that's my problem with this country, I would work to make sure I rectify that. But I don't need to be celebrated. I don't need to be fawned over. If I'm the President of the United States, I'd walk in with a job to do and I'd do it. And I tell you much, I wouldn't be too many damn vacations or too many damn trips on a golf course either. I'd be there working to get America back on track. That's what I'd be doing. That's what I'm hoping the next President of the United States, whoever it may be, will do. That's where I'm coming from. Hour number two. Up next, Stephen A. Smith show in the house. Brad Raffensberger. Don't go away. Y' all.

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[Co-host/Panelist]

See, that's the premier host move right there.

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Wish I had a premier group chat. I asked them where we should have dinner last night and they left me on red. I know you saw it. It says it.

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Classic group chat move.

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[Olivia Troy]

Now, did you say $300.

[Brad Raffensperger]

Yes.

[Go2Bank Advertiser]

Now back to our breathing.

[Olivia Troy]

So if I overspend my balance, Goto bank has my back up to $300.

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Yes. Can we breathe out now? Less worries, more zen. With over $300 in overdraft protection, tap to open an account today. Eligible direct deposits and opt in required for overdraft protection fees. Terms and conditions apply.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Straight Shooter with Stephen A.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

So look, all I want to do is this.

[Co-host/Panelist]

I just want to find

[Stephen A. Smith]

11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state. Welcome to hour number two, the Straight Shooter with yours truly, Stephen A. Coming at you every Wednesday night from 6 to 8pm Eastern Standard Time over the airwaves of SiriusXM POTUS radio channel 124. Number to call up is 86696 POTUS. Once again, that's 86696, POTUS. I'll get back to your phone calls in just a few minutes, but after I spend some time with my next guest. He has served as Georgia's 29th Secretary of State since 2018. He made headlines when he spoke out against President Trump's false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election in his home state. He is now running for the Republican nomination for the Governor of Georgia. Please welcome for the first time the Straight Shooter with yours truly, Mr. Brad Raffensberger. How are you, Brad? How's everything going?

[Brad Raffensperger]

I'm doing great. Good to be with you, Stephen A.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Good to be with you. Thank you for being on the show. What the hell are you thinking? Why are you running for governor of of the state of Georgia as a Republican, considering all the heat you took for speaking out against Trump in 2020? What are you thinking?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, I'm a Christian conservative businessman. I'm just a Reagan Republican. And I just believe in our values. At the end of the day, I believe that we need to make sure that we create good paying jobs. That's why I'm running. And I think at the end of the day, I'm the best person. I didn't think I was the best person. I wouldn't run.

[Stephen A. Smith]

How do you win a GOP primary when a significant portion of the base still questions the decision that you made in going against Trump nearly six years ago?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, I ran for reelection back in 2022 and I went all over the state. I answered people's questions and when they asked the question, I shot them straight. I'm a contractor, I'm an engineer. So I gave them facts. And I know that a lot of times they didn't like hearing it, but at the end of the day, they knew that I did my job. I followed the law, followed the Constitution, but it's how I was raised. And I think that's how most of us were raised. And so I just leaned into good people and good people voted for me. And I won with a really big.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Who on a Republican side has endorsed you, has supported you in this race?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, the voters always do. That's why I always win. That's all that really matters at the end of the day, isn't it?

[Stephen A. Smith]

As secretary of state, your job is to be a neutral referee of elections. As a candidate for governor, you're now a political player, of course. How do you convince voters you can switch from neutral arbiter to partisan leader without compromising any degree of credibility?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, I think at the end of the day, people know that I'm conservative, but they also know I want to get things done. And I'm going to work with people. I'm going to work with whoever's up in Washington, I'm going to work with whoever's in the General assembly to get things done. Because when I travel around the state of Georgia, I'm hearing what people are talking about, you know, gas, cost of rent, cost of a mortgage, food, health care, you know, education. People are feeling the pressure. And so we create good paying jobs. That's how you can really change a person's life. It's how it changed our life. Trish and I used to be young and broke. We worked hard and, you know, eventually it all paid off.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Using comparisons from the state of Georgia to the national landscape, I'd like to know, how do you feel about the current state of the Republican Party in Georgia compared to this country?

[Brad Raffensperger]

I think in Georgia our party is strong. I think that we have a lot of people that feel like I do. What they want to do is make sure that we continue on the path we've been on. We are one of the top, fastest growing states in the country. Why is that? Because we really make sure that we reward hard work. And that's really what it's all about, that when companies come here, we don't beat them up and raise their taxes. We make sure we have a favorable business climate because we want companies that are going to come here and create good paying jobs for people so we have opportunity and we want to make sure we have good education. So, you know, so our students have an upward mobility so they can have opportunity.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Voter integrity. Voter integrity has been an issue since the 2020 election, of course. Recently, the FBI raided the Fulton County Board of Elections. Could you educate us as to why they were there and what exactly was it that they took?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, they actually took the ballots from 2020, and at the end of the day, they have the ballots. But what I do know is that, you know, we have shown that we have free, fair and fast elections. We get high marks from the Heritage foundation, which is obviously, you know, a very conservative organization. Even Fox News gave us high marks last election, saying Georgia and Florida run the best election in the entire country. And then UGA did a poll and said 94% of all Republicans trust the results. It's not 100%, but I think 94 is pretty darn good.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So considering the position that you took and considering how popular Trump is perceived as being amongst Republican voters, specifically maga, because I know there's a difference. Regardless of what people try to say, I'm wondering what effect, if any at all, do you believe your position against Trump will have on you? Do you believe that if he speaks out against you and endorses somebody else, that that's something that could end up having a negative effect on your gubernatorial aspirations?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, actually he stood up and had someone run against Governor Kemp, you know, four years ago in the reelect. And also then, you know, he had someone, congressman, run against me, too. Even north both. And we both, Brian Kemp and I both won. At the end of the day, people can be conservative, but also like President Trump. And then some people, you know, just kind of, you know, lean our way that they believe in just getting the job done. You know, keep your head down, work hard. And, you know, I'm not about sound bites. How about getting the job done? I'm an engineer, contractor, and trust me, our business is boom and bust. But it's all about production because we get someone breathing down our back every day. They want their, they want their product, they want their service when they want it. And we're, we're just really designed to perform and government needs to perform for people. Right now in so many areas, it's not performing, but in Georgia, we're doing a good job. But I want to make sure we continue to have good paying jobs. And I think we need to make sure that we work on education and we need to really work on trades. People want to bring manufacturing back to America. Well, we need to have good trades, education. Mike Rose said it best. There's a shortage of 5 million electricians in this country. Those are good paying jobs. Plumbers, sheet metal workers, welders, things like that. You can make over $100,000 a year and that can really change a person's future.

[Stephen A. Smith]

How are you feeling about the state of the modern day Republican Party?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, say that again about the national

[Co-host/Panelist]

how are you feeling nationally?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yes, sir, I'm not talking about Georgia. I'm talking about nationally.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Just your view. Because as a governor, you know, if you win, you'll be a governor. And even though it's the governor of the state of Georgia, obviously you'll have

[Stephen A. Smith]

a lot of people leaning on you to ask you questions about the state

[Co-host/Panelist]

of our country because especially if you're doing a good job, they want to know what the hell you're doing that's so. Well, that ain't working in so many other places. And that might know that. That obviously might elevate the potency of

[Stephen A. Smith]

your voice in the grand scheme of things.

[Co-host/Panelist]

So I'm asking you right now, how

[Stephen A. Smith]

do you feel about the state of the country as it pertains to the Republican Party at this particular moment in time?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, I'm governor, I work for the people of Georgia and I'll work with anyone to get things done that work for our state. So it doesn't really matter who's in charge, what the state is. I'm going to work with whoever's there in charge because it's really important. I work for the taxpayers. I work for the people of Georgia and so I represent all of them. It doesn't matter. I only get, you know, 40, 52% vote for me or whatever that number is. Then the day I work for every single Georgian to try to make their day every day a little bit better.

[Co-host/Panelist]

But respectfully, sir, I asked you about

[Stephen A. Smith]

the national picture for the Republican Party and here's why. I happen to know an abundance of people from New York, from California, from Florida, from various other places that migrate to the state of Georgia because all

[Co-host/Panelist]

that Georgia has to offer.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So even though they're living in that state and they're going to be voting in that state and they're going to be paying taxes, taxes in that state, et cetera, they're still going to have

[Co-host/Panelist]

their view about what the Republican Party

[Stephen A. Smith]

is compared to the Democratic Party and in some, to some degree anyway, that might influence their vote. That is why I asked you that question. How do you feel about the Republican Party on a national level right now?

[Brad Raffensperger]

I think if the national party looked to Georgia and follow a little bit of what we do down here, I think they do a whole lot better because it's kind of smooth sailing here. Yes, we have some disagreements, obviously, when we have our General assembly is meeting in session over bills, but at the end of the day, we get the job done. I think we're a great role model for national politics. Look at what are the states doing, what are they getting right? But I think Georgia stands at the top how we're getting things right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Governor Brian Kemp, two term limits, can't run for reelection, has no desire to run for the US Senate seat on There have been speculation that he might run in 2028 based on your description of the state that the state is in and how he has looked and how he has performed about Governor, I had the pleasure of meeting him a little over a week ago or so for the first time. We had a very good conversation. I guess I'm asking you, how do you feel about the job? How would you describe the job that he did in the state of Georgia,

[Co-host/Panelist]

and how difficult of a task will

[Stephen A. Smith]

it be for somebody such as yourself to emulate it or dare I say, usurp that job performance by Brian Kemp?

[Brad Raffensperger]

What I will say is I won't speak for the governor, but I think if you put on them cowboy boots and went out to Iowa, I think he'd get him some votes. People like Brian Kim. And so I think the best thing you can do is kind of look at what he's been doing and see how, how do you do what he wants to do. Maybe put your own, you know, flavor to the job, what you are. I'm an engineer, but I think a little bit different. But I understand it's out there talking to voters and making things, working hard every day. And that's the most important thing I think you actually talked about heard in the promo. It's about if you were president, what would you do? You'd be out there working every day, wouldn't be out in the golf course, you wouldn't be doing other things because the people expect you to do the job. And that's what they expect me to do as the governor. We need to make sure we make it affordable. We need to work on education. We need to make sure we have safe communities. We get that all done. This is going to be just a tremendous state to continue to move forward. And that's what I'm going to be focused on every day, is making things a little bit better for everyone.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Georgia remains one of the most competitive battleground states in the country. We all know that if your election system is working as well as you Say, why does public confidence still seem so fractured, number one? And number two, what would you do differently as governor to fix that?

[Brad Raffensperger]

I don't think he can really probably fix that right now. Obviously we're going through some economic turmoil and really a change. We've gone from de industrialization back to re industrialization with the reshoring and a lot of people. We have to be honest, when we did the globalization, it really hurt urban areas and rural areas. If you go through south Georgia to go through rural Georgia, you'll see places with the fences up and there's an old manufacturing plant and the jobs got shift overseas. A lot of them went to China. And what we lost was a lot of blue collar middle class jobs. And we need to work hard on getting the advanced manufacturing back to Georgia. And you're starting to see that come back bit by bit. Read the newspaper. Wall Street Journal talked about that. It's kind of happening quietly, but it is starting to come back with advanced manufacturing and Georgia has a great role to play for that. And that's where I want to be at the front of the line making sure if you're going to come back, you're going to expand here in America. I want it to be Georgia number one on your list.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You've been criticized by some Republicans for not aligning with President Trump. Obviously I brought up 2020 earlier. What's your arg to primary voters that you're still the most conservative and reliable choice for governor? Meaning what specific policies prove that beyond the 2020 election in your estimation?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Number one, he secured the border. He shut down illegal immigration across the border in what, 60 days, 90 days. Didn't need to change a single law. All he had to do is enforce the laws we had. And for 20 years people said, oh, we had to change the laws. He shut down the board. And what did that do? It really slowed down human sex trafficking, which is really horrible. It's a scourge. It's really hit every major metropolitan area in this country. And it's also shut down drugs. And we lost our son in 2018 to a fentanyl overdose. Thank goodness he's shutting down and really crimping drugs coming across. We can't have people doing that. Then the other thing, he wants things made in America. I just want them made in Georgia. He wants to reshore jobs back to America. I agree. Let's bring them back to Georgia. And so I align on those things and I really will align on anyone on economic issues. When they're talking about creating economic Opportunity for the average person that's out there working hard. If you bust your backside, you should have a good paying job. That's why I really so strongly believe it in advanced manufacturing, construction, places where people can have a great living. And we need to get America back to that. And you can really do that with technology, with advanced manufacturing and obviously construction. We have a shortage of really highly skilled jobs and we're begging people. You can start making $30 an hour and, and really not even a high skill job. People coming out of high school are making 35 bucks an hour as an electrician or a plumber. It's amazing. Those are good jobs for an 18 year old.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You seem like an incredible straight shooter,

[Co-host/Panelist]

I'll give you that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And I don't have any problem with it whatsoever. I hear your message and for the most part I agree with it. But optics do matter. I'm sure you would agree with that, even though it's not something that you necessarily lean on. From a dependency perspective, optics does matter. And when you look at what he was doing with the border, it's one thing to close the border, it's another thing to see ICE engaging in a kind of behavior we saw ICE engaging in. Not to say that every little incident was their fault. Not to say that everybody needs to castigate them with a broad brush because none of us, as a group of people, any kind of group, we want to see that. And I concede that and I get that. But in the same breath, when you talk about him closing the border voter, what about Democratic voters or centrists who look and struggle to lean left or right? That might agree with things from a policy perspective, but because of the manner in which it was done, they think it's antithetical to everything that America represents and doesn't want that in our country. And as a result, they'd veer away from the right. What do you say to alleviate those concerns?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, at the end of the day, I believe we need to. If you want to change a law, that's why you have a Congress and the Congress can change the laws. They just have to actually do some work and they have to talk to each side the aisle because it's a 50, 50 split up there. But also I think when I'm talking to people that, you know, down the road, maybe even on, on the other side of the aisle, one thing that we are both aligned on is if we can actually improve the reading skills for third grade students. Right now we're not doing as well in Georgia as They are in Mississippi because here in Georgia, we've been leaning into whole language learning. In Mississippi, they've leaned into phonics and they're having tremendous results. They're ranked number nine. So if we have better outcomes there and then we have better outcomes at 8th grade math and we also get trades in there, kids are going to have students are going to have jobs when they come out, or they'll be prepared for university, they'll be prepared for technical colleges, whatever their future is. And if you can offer someone a great opportunity, that's really what our job is. We can't guarantee if you don't show up on time and actually have a great work ethic, you're not going to go too far in life. But if you have a great work ethic, show up on time and we can give you the building blocks for opportunity, which is a good education. We can really help people. And so I want to make sure we work on education that's important. And everyone wants safe communities. Who wouldn't want safe communities? So we want to make sure that we, you know, help law enforcement officers. They should be paid more. They also should have retention bonuses and other kind of bonuses when they do a good job, making sure that we have great training so they really know what, how to handle all these different kind of situations. If we can prepare them. At the end of the day, it works and it's working here in Georgia.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Just to cover a few questions before I let you go, and thank you so much for your time, sir. Obviously, if you win a Republican nomination, you'll be going up against a Democrat for the, for the gubernatorial seat. And in Georgia, whether it's Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor in Atlanta, or whomever, you'll be going up against somebody on the Democratic side. How do you believe your message will differ from the message they're trying to say about what's in the best interest of Georgians?

[Brad Raffensperger]

So it probably is going to be Keisha Lance bottom and when she was mayor, she did not do a good job. Look at the crime we had, the student scores in schools, they were falling. People wanted to come out of the school system and businesses wanted to get out of Atlanta because it was not a pro business business climate and it was not safe. Public safety is really important. School outcomes for our students are really important. At the day they'll know, I'll get it done. And the other thing, no matter who it is, left or right, I'm the only person running for governor that has actually built a road or bridge I've done work and I've worked on transportation. And as we continue to grow, someone's going to have to really, you know, focusing on that to make sure that we have transportation solutions so people get from A to B and truckers aren't sitting on the road for an extra three hours a day trying to move around Atlanta. Does that cost someone business? And it also really hurts just adding and attracting people moving to Georgia.

[Stephen A. Smith]

How specifically would you make the streets of Georgia safer and better?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Well, I think that we have to understand that defund the policeman really hurt enrollment. A lot of law enforcement folks got out of it and they started doing some other things. We need to understand that it's a wonderful job to do. I have four family members that are in law enforcement in different areas, different cities. But we have to understand that they need good training. Then we need to have retention bonuses, training bonuses. We need to make sure that we can attract folks to do the job. Because when you have a well educated, well skilled, they have good training, you're going to have a safer community. And we want them to have really state of the art policing, community based policing. Doesn't matter where you live, rich or poor. You want to have safe communities and you also want to have good schools and you want to have safe schools. So we need to have school safety grants. We have $50,000 per school. I want to double it to 100,000 and I want to expand it to private schools, not just public. Every student have safe communities. I think those things are really things we can do and it's not a big lift.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Last question to you, you know, you're straight. I love it personally, but there's a lot of people that would listen to you and say, you know what those are, you know, legalese. You're right on top of it. You know what the hell you're talking about. You've been in this for a long time. You're straight in that regard. But it's atypical of what they're accustomed to hearing from politicians. And when politicians talk to you, they try to sell you, you know, and you don't come across as that at all to most people. To me, I have no problem with it. I get the sales pitch.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Doesn't bother me at all.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But to others, that might not be the case. How are you planning on communicating with the voters in Georgia to be their next governor? I mean, knowing that something, something a little bit different than your candor and your resume is something that they're going to need from you in Order to get in order for you to get their vote.

[Brad Raffensperger]

I think people are looking for a calm voice, a resolute voice, is someone that knows how to get things done. And I spent my entire career in business. We grew up business. We started with scratch. Our first business was actually a child care center. And really Trisha ran it and we doubled it. We got up to 174 kids with waiting list and that we made enough margin off of that that I could start my construction business. And that's what we did. It's really about family, is about the business and raising kids, getting them in sports and going to church. We're just like the average Jordan. And we just kept on working it. We just kept on working it. But, you know, I think Georgians understand that they're looking for someone to work hard for them. At the end of the day, you know, that's what I'm going to do. You know, business has blessed me. I sold it in 2023. I have no other distractions. My job is to make sure I do my job for the people of Georgia so they have a better outcome. So four years later, they can say, I'm doing better. Wages are up, more opportunity, more companies come to Georgia. Streets are safer. Traffic is starting to see some improvements there. Every day, every year, we just build and build and build. And that's how I built my company. That's how you build something and take it from good to great. And that's what I'm focused on taking Georgia, which is very, very good right now. Just keep on doing what we've been doing. And Governor Kemp has just really laid a great foundation for us. My job is not to mess up a good thing, and I'll work hard at doing that every day.

[Stephen A. Smith]

My very, very last question to you. I want to know what the midterms coming up. We know this is Donald Trump that's still in office. We know how his mouth roars from time to time. He's still a factor. Do you believe President Trump is still a threat to elections, especially with the midterms just months away and he could end up having a detrimental effect. Do you believe that?

[Brad Raffensperger]

No elections are decentralized, really. It's every county or every precinct is really running a little election in itself, and those numbers are handled there. In Georgia, we have photo id, check citizenship, and then we report the results quick. And then we say lines have to be shorter than one hour on election day. So it's fun to do. We get quick results out there. We have photo ID and So people can trust our results. And so many of the states are doing it right. And we really have become one of the models of making sure you have free, fair and fast elections. And that's what they'll be here in Georgia, free, fair and fast, that people will trust them.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Does that mean in Georgia you're a supporter of mail in voting or are you against that, sir?

[Brad Raffensperger]

Yeah, we have don't cease absentee voting. About 5% do that. Actually, about 70% of all of us are going to vote early and then about 20% vote on election Day. So we're a little bit different than a lot of other states. But we have no excuse after the voting was actually put into law by the first Republican governor we had back in 2005. And so no one's really changed it and it seems to work in Georgia. But we also now use photo ID for absentee voting. So you know that the person that got that ballot is actually who they say they are. So we added security to it and voters love it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

29th Secretary of State for the state of Georgia since 2018 made headlines when he spoke against President Trump's false claims of voter fraud in 2020 election his home state. Now running for the Republican nomination for the state of Georgia, Georgia gubernatorial seat, the one and only Brad Raffensperger right here on Straight Shooting with Stephen A. Really appreciate your time, enjoyed the conversation. Please feel free to come back anytime. Really enjoy talking to you. Thank you so much.

[Brad Raffensperger]

You're the best. David A. God bless you. Thanks.

[Stephen A. Smith]

God bless. Thank you so much. 866-967. 6887 is the number of club. That's 86696 polis let me tell you something right now. I don't know the man, never spoke to the man, never met the man. That's my kind of candidate right there. No nonsense, no bs Letting you know exactly where he stands and why, telling you where he's coming from. This is who he is. He's been in business all his life. He's been serving as Secretary of State for the state of Georgia since 2018. And he's let you know exactly where you stand. Vote for him if you want to, don't vote for him if you don't want to. But he clearly knows what he's doing and he seemed to be. No nonsense. I don't know about y', all, but I kind of like that. I kind of like that. I'm going to take a harder look at that man right there. I'm telling you that right now. I'm not licensed to vote in Joint Georgia, so I can't help him there, but I could damn sure look at him in his record and make a recommendation based on the kind of stuff that we're hearing from him compared to whatever it is that we're going to hear from the competition. We shall see in the weeks and the months to come. Make no mistake about that. Straight Shooter with George Truly, Stephen A. Right here on POTUS, channel 124, SiriusXM, 866-967-6887. That's 86696 bonus. The rest of the show, it's me and you, the callers coming up. Don't go away. I'll be right back.

[Christopher Wray]

I can say unequivocally that I never listen to the fake news mafia. And as when they get louder, it just means I'm doing my job. This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every director before me. What that means is I've taken half as many days off as those before me when what that means is I've taken a third less vacation than those before me. What that means is that this FBI, with this Department of Justice has dropped the murder rate 20 points. What that means is this FBI, with this Department of justice has captured eight of the top 10 most wanted fugitives in the world, twice as many as the Biden administration did in its entire four years. What that means is this FBI has seized enough fentanyl off the streets to kill 178 million Americans at 30, a 31 increase.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's cash Patel, a director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, defending himself off of an article. I believe it was in the Atlantic. Correct, where they're saying that he was missing a lot of time at work and that he was an alcoholic and now he has filed a lawsuit suing them for $250 million. He's certainly a Trump employee in that regard. Trump will what? Trump will sue you for pronouncing his name wrong so you know that that's their mo. I will say this about Caspertel. He's comes across as a bit too rude, too belligerent to be in that position. Make no mistake about it. I think grownups are required and I don't think sometimes he acts like one, to be quite honest with you. Having said that, if somebody accused him of being an alcoholic, you had damn well better have concrete proof and evidence to accuse the director of FBI of being an alcoholic. That can't be conjectured. That can't be. Third Party information. That can't be something like that. Accusing him of not showing up to work all the time is one thing. You want to say he's rude or Serbic, unnecessarily, a bit immature and petulant like his boss, fine. But you can't accuse the FBI director for being an alcoholic in that stance. If you, unless you have rock solid, irrefutable evidence, you don't do that. If he is innocent of that assertion, and I'm not pointing fingers at the Atlantic or any other publication who may have said anything about him, if he is innocent of that, I don't blame him one bit for suing somebody. You don't do that.

[Co-host/Panelist]

You could. There's a lot of things that he

[Stephen A. Smith]

does in terms of his disposition, his demeanors, how he acts, how he's conducting himself. I didn't like how he was on Capitol Hill talking to Adam Schiff and other Democratic representatives or Senate figures. You just don't talk to people like that in that kind of setting. And there's a lot of people in Trump's administration that don't have any damn manners or any decorum the way that they act. Pam Bondi was another one in the way she acted sometimes. Kristi Noem, don't get me started with her. All right? As far as I'm concerned, it's good that both of them are going, and Pam Bondi is very qualified.

[Co-host/Panelist]

But you got to know how to

[Stephen A. Smith]

act and you don't have to act that way. Okay? But the flip side to all of that is, having said all of that, that doesn't give you a right or a license to label this man an alcoholic. That's extreme. And if you do that, you had damn well better have proof.

[Co-host/Panelist]

And if you don't have proof, I

[Stephen A. Smith]

don't blame him one bit. Pursuing a publication, not one bit. 8889-696768-87866, 967-688-7866. 96 POTUS is the number to call. Let's get to the phones. Let's go to Mark. In Georgia, you heard Mr. Brad Raffensperger speak your thoughts, sir. What's up?

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Well, actually, I liked a lot of what he had to say, but when you asked him how he was going to relate to the voters, I was less than confident because he sounded like a little bit too much like a politician. And he spent a little too much time talking about what's wrong with the others instead of talking about what he's going to do.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Okay. That's fair.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But he is running for the seat and I did ask him what the Democratic Party is going to throw in his direction and how is he going to refute that. So I can't fault him for that answer because it was a leading question emanating from the other side and what they would try to say about him. So I can't knock him for that.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

No, I get it. And that's fair enough. And you know, I honestly, I personally prefer to talk about policy over people anyway, so I just went there because you asked me a question. So, you know, I said, go ahead. I'm going to be honest with you. So what I called in about, if I may, or if you want to just direct, I've never done this before. So you just tell me what you want to do.

[Co-host/Panelist]

No, I want you to tell me what you wanted to say. That's all. You only got a couple of minutes. I got other callers to get to tell me what you want to say.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Absolutely, absolutely. And that's, that's why I wanted to just run through this real quick. I called in today because I absolutely love your, your straight talk approach and the way that you, your straight shooter and you will say good things and bad things about people, about policies. And I'm the same way. And like I said before, I prefer to talk about the policy, how we fix things, not what's wrong with things. And I'm calling in because I am actually working to create a legitimate centrist, moderate third party in this country that is not going to be a platform for a third party candidate for the president, but an actual third party to put people into the House and the Senate, take the votes away, take the power away from the stronghold that the Republican and Democrats have, because at this point in time, most of them are not even voting the way their constituents want. They're voting the way they're being told to vote.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

And so this is right now, this is about creating something. It's about building something.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Good luck with that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I will tell you, and I appreciate the call, Mark, that 45% of the country is independent as we speak. One could easily argue, according to the polls, that a third party does exist. The difference is that's not what's going to win you in an election. Because when it's time to run for election, where's the money coming from to compete with the Democrats and the Republicans? Because you got all the donors that are pouring money into that. If you have these donors out there that are pouring money into an independent party as opposed to the Democrat or the Republican Party, then you'd have a better chance at winning. But unfortunately, if you're going to run, you need to align yourself with one or the other party in order to win an election. And that's really, really what it comes down to. You can make a difference. You could be a disruptor like Ross Perot was once upon a time with George W. And Clinton and all, or H.W. rather, in Clinton, you could do something like that. But look at Ralph Nader and others. It didn't work. And so that's just the reality of the situation of the country that we're living in, which I think has served to divide us even more, because polarization definitely is the order of the day. I think it's embarrassing the state of affairs that exist. This. The fact is, is that the real work is in the campaign. Once you get to Capitol Hill, you're essentially told how to vote, depending on which side of the aisle you're on. And anybody that deviates that your money's going to be compromised when it comes time to campaign, when you need those commercials and everything else. How many times have you seen Lindsey Graham on television begging for donations, you know, going there and giving his website and everything like that, because he needs the money, because he's got millions of dollars being aimed against him. Same thing with Ted Cruz when he was going up against others in Texas and stuff like that. You just never know. So you just look at Cornyn, John Cornyn and his fight in Texas and how Tellarico is generating more and more money and how he's going to be formidable, and they're threatening to turn that state blue, at least politically to some degree. In Texas, you just never know for the US Senate seat. So you got all of that going on. And that's just the way it is. It's really unfortunate, but it is a reality. There's no way around it. Around. Aram in Texas, you're live with Stephen A. What's up?

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Hi, Stephen A. I got two items. I start with the first one. I don't know if I told you, but I'm an Iranian American. I've spent most of my life in the States, but I was born in Iran. Okay, I want to talk about straight up Hormuz. I cannot imagine anybody doing more harm than what Trump has done. Iranians, at the end of February, when the Omanis were the negotiator, agreed to have all of their nuclear stockpile removed. And within a couple of days after that, he bombed them and now he says he doesn't want them to have a nuclear weapon. Well, if you don't have a stockpile, you cannot have a nuclear weapon anyway.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, according to Witkoff and Jared Kushner and the envoys that Trump has sent there and the intel that they have received, even Leon Panetta, the former director for the CIA, who's a Democrat, who served under the Clinton administration and the Obama administration, says that he's seen the intel and that they had enough uranium in order to build a nuclear weapon inside of a month, and that's something that they simply could not allow to happen. Having said all of that, 20% of the world's oil comes through the Strait of Hormuz. So because that's a reality, it's entirely plausible that if you're Trump, not only do you want to avoid the buildup of a nuclear weapon or an abundance of weapons that could do very, very dear harm, whether it's to Israel or other places within the a, you know, within the Arab world and what have you, you also have to take into consideration this as well. If it compromises China and Russia in any way, it's something that benefits the United States. And Trump might be engaging in all of this stuff just to disrupt what they want to do. I'm not sure how logical, fair or wise that is, but you never know what method it is to his madness and, you know, a lot of rhetoric when he talks about ending their civilization and stuff like that. I hate people that come on the air and try to defend it, because it was wrong for him to go that far with his rhetoric. The flip side to it, however, is that it could definitely be a negotiating ploy. We can't rule out that possibility because it's him. I scare the living hell out of you. Maybe you'll refrain, maybe you'll watch out for if I play myself as a wild card. Remember when he had John Bolton as a national security advisor? Remember how he said that he used to bring John Bolton into meetings with him, knowing that John Bolton wouldn't say a word because the minute they saw him, everybody knew he wanted to bomb, bomb, bomb everybody? So by Trump having him in the meeting, he said they were scared I was gonna bomb them, and they would capitulate and acquiesce to some degree just because they saw him in the room sitting next to me? So you never know what Trump is doing, his audited deal and all of these tactics and all of that stuff. But we shall see. We definitely shall see. Appreciate the call around. Thank you. So much. Let's go to Doran Duran in Arizona. You're live with Stephen A. What's up, Duran?

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Hi. Hi, Stephen. A big fan, man. I just want to say I like how you don't lean too far or left down the aisle. I appreciate your guest Olivia being on earlier and all the stuff she said. And then also Brad as well, I would just say, you know, here in Arizona, when Brad was talking about more states need to model after what Georgia is doing, I would say more states need to model after what Arizona is doing. And typically Arizona has been mostly a red state, but there is kind of like a blue wave building. I am a Trump supporter. I don't support everything he does, just like any other president. I just feel nowadays, I think you say this a lot when it comes to professional sports. People are just way too soft, way too easily offended. And yeah, Trump is going to give it to you, brash. He's going to be like you said earlier, you don't appreciate Trump being worshiped and just all the hoorah around him. But he, but he is getting a job done.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Well, now, let me say this to

[Stephen A. Smith]

you, let me say this to you. Number one, I hear people complimenting Georgia a hell of a lot more than they compliment Arizona, even though Arizona is a great state. And obviously you look at the weather there. And I don't like the coyotes personally, but that's just me, which my man Mike Wilbon and PTI always teases me about. But having said that, when you talk about people have gotten too soft, I agree with that. I think that we overreact to a lot of things. But that doesn't give the commander in chief, the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the free world, to be so insensitive to the importance of rhetoric. It does matter coming from him because you don't know what kind of effect is going to have on those who are listening to him. If you're scaring a living mess out of people, who knows what they're going to do. Like for example, he sits up there and says he didn't incite anything with a insurrection on January 6th. Fair enough. That's what he thinks. But here was his rhetorics. We've got to, we, we can't let these people steal our country. We've got to fight for our country. We got to go out there and, and we've got to stop this from happening. We can't allow this election to be certified, you understand? So I'm going to go up there with you and we're going to fight this tooth and nail. And then he got in the beast and went back to the White House while thousands of people pushed through barricades and entered the United States Capitol. Now, again, I'm one of those people that believe that adults are responsible for their own actions. I don't give a damn what he said. You had no business doing what you're doing. And I'm not talking about everybody that was there. I'm talking about people who busted through, who barricaded through, who pushed through the police officers, who damn near crushed a few of them in the turnstiles or whatever the hell it was, who went into the offices of representatives defecating in the building, who was searching around chanting kill Mike Pence and stuff like that. I'm talking about those people more so than just everybody that was there. But in the end, his rhetoric contributed to that. It was insightful. Okay, Some people would say it's just rhetoric, and I understand that, too. And I think that the adults that did what they did are responsible for their actions. But he didn't help, and it was just words. And you can't sit up there and say it's just sensitive. People are a bit too sensitive when you're the President of the United States of America. I, I'm sure Republicans didn't believe when he wrote the tweet about Iran and I was going to wipe out, I'm going to end your civilization.

[Co-host/Panelist]

But damn it, he got the power to do it. Because we know we're the most powerful

[Stephen A. Smith]

military in the world and we know what bombs we can drop and we know what harm we can inflict. We already done it to their military facilities.

[Co-host/Panelist]

So knowing that he has that kind

[Stephen A. Smith]

of power and you're spewing those threats in writing via a tweet on your social, your truth social page, there is crossing the line and the kind of

[Co-host/Panelist]

things you can say, Duran and I

[Stephen A. Smith]

can say, the average person can do that, not the President of the United States. No matter what I say, no matter

[Co-host/Panelist]

how I act, no matter how pissed

[Stephen A. Smith]

off I get, how belligerent I may be, I can assure you, if I

[Co-host/Panelist]

was the President of the United States, there's no way in hell I would

[Stephen A. Smith]

conduct myself like that. Because I know that I have 350 million plus Americans to be sensitive to, whose lives I can impact, whose behavior I can impact. And I would be sensitive to that. And I would guard against it for the betterment of the whole as opposed to just expressing myself extemporaneously for 15, 20 seconds. Just because I'm in that kind of mood. That's what comes along with being a president. You gotta be an adult in the room. That's what I don't like about J.D. vance. I think he tries to mimic Trump. That's what I like about Marco Rubio. He doesn't try. That's what I'm thinking about with Brian Kemp in case he decides to run for the presidency of the United States as a candidate out of Georgia. I want adults in the room. I want men or women being leaders, not children. That's what I'm talking about. I think it's important. 8669-9676-8878-6696. POTUS. Last segment. A straight shooter with yours truly coming up with your calls and your calls only. You'll need to be quick. I'll try to get to as many phone calls as I can before I get. Get on out of here. It's straight shooter with your boy. I ain't going nowhere. I'm here.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Great.

[Lindsey Graham]

On defense. If you're a guy like me. This is the, the budget you've been dreaming of. I think a trillion and a half dollars, given the world, I think is justified, necessary. Given the changing nature of war and how complex it is and drones and AI and all that good stuff. We need to sort of change our military footprint. So it's like the best military budget I've seen since I've been in Congress. On the other side, there's some cuts to programs that I think keep us safe. Soft power is important to me, not just hard power. So we'll take under advisement the budget like we do with every president, and we'll work together and try to, to find. Find a way forward among ourselves.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I respect Lindsey Graham sending it out of South Carolina, who has been a guest on his show. I think that's an utterly ridiculous statement he just made, and I'm going to tell you why. We just ended a partial shutdown where $2 billion couldn't be paid to federal workers, TSA workers in the month of March, if I remember correctly, February, March. But we were spending 800 million and 2 billion a day on a war. The point is, if you can find that 800 million and 200 to 2 billion a day, you could have found 200. You could have found 2 billion in a month. You see, that's the problem. So a budget, you got no problem with the budget. We got $39 trillion in debt. We got no problems with the budget. Asking a budget proposal that's asking for 1.5 trillion in defense. Let me ask y' all a question. How come it can be 1.3 trillion and another 200 billion be allocated for an abundance of responsibilities and needs we have in this country? That's not just war. Why got to be 1.5 trillion? Why couldn't it be 1.3? Why couldn't 200 billion be set aside to make sure there was no shutdown with TSA and Homeland Security and all of that? To make sure poverty is being addressed in this country? To make sure there's an abundance of issues that isn't pinching the American people and the American consumer. Since you got our money to try to throw into this defense budget, and certainly you said fraud and excess have been abused in in this country, which is why Doge existed with Elon Musk to begin with. That means our money has been taken and utilized in places we know nothing about while a debt is accumulated. How dare y' all come to us with a budget for $1.5 trillion with those problems and a debt that's exceeded $39 trillion? Clearly, you're abusing our money. Clearly, it's not all going where you say it's going to go. And you're asking us to trust you even more. And then you wonder why insurrections happen on January 6th. Again, I'm not advocating or supporting those actions by those individuals who were uncivil and lawless and meant to do elected officials harm. What I'm saying is their anger, their angst, their disgust. This is where it emanates from. Because you ain't just doing what you're doing to the country, you're doing it to us as individuals. Because you effing with our money and forcing us to pay even more. Because you ain't lowering taxes, you ain't putting more money in our pocket. You haven't lowered the cost of a living. You haven't dressed affordability. I don't say this about any politician, but I'm saying it about the apparatus that exists on Capitol Hill. It's a piece of. And they need to get their act together. It's disgusting. Sean in Missouri, go ahead. You got a minute?

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Hey, Stephen. A big fan. What do you think about the Justice Department filing charges against the Southern Poverty Law League? And should Tim Cook and George Clooney give back their contributions, roughly, of around $1 million from the organization?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I do not know much about it. I haven't researched it, sir, so I'm not aware of the specifics. What I will tell you is that if there's fraud pertaining to the poverty center, then it deserves to be exposed. And those who committed fraud when they were supposed to be utilizing those dollars to help the desolate and the disenfranchised, I have no sympathy for. Because if you gonna rob from people like that, from the poor amongst us, you really ain't worth a damn. That would be my answer to your question. I appreciate the call. Michael in Colorado, you're live with Stephen A.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Hey, Stephen A. Absolutely love your show. Thank you. My question is, with mail in voting, do you like it or don't you like it? And if you do like it, how do you think that we can actually make it even better? But if you don't like it, what do we do to fill that hole? Because there's so many states that rely on mailing back, I would say to

[Stephen A. Smith]

you that it's not a matter of like or dislike. Whatever gets in the most votes legally and legitimately. I support in places where mail in voting has been compromised. And I haven't seen that. Okay. It happened so conspicuously that it needed to be addressed. But if it happens, happens and it's a problem, eradicate it. If it's not a problem, leave it alone. Because what we want is as many American citizens as possible voting. However, if we have illegals who are voting, they have no business voting. And if we're saying that mail in voting has contributed to an excess number of non American citizens who shouldn't be allowed to vote, finding a way to vote and get their votes in and that is not legitimized, I have no problem with addressing it with the fervor that it deserves. Appreciate the call. Thank you so much. Let's go to John in Jersey. You're live with Stephen A. What's up, John?

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Hi, thanks for having me on. I remember just a little while back in your show, you said you're describing Trump as the method to his madness. So I'm going to try to focus on, hopefully succinctly, is that I think his method is madness. And it dovetails with your opening remarks because if you're smart and sane, you can learn from your mistakes and improve.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

If your conduct arises from other issues, you can't. And I want to be specific so it's not just name calling. You know, if you had a freshman college textbook on these things, what's projection? It's when your fault, you say to other people, that's what you do.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Got you. Appreciate the call, John. Thank you so Much Moses in New Jersey. You're live. Stephen A. Real quick. Moses, go ahead.

[Caller Mark/Other Callers]

Awesome. Thank you. Stephen A. Listen, thank you very much last week for shouting me out and defending my position over personality and policy with the callers after we spoke last week. I appreciate that. Now, very quickly. Right, see, here's the thing. It's not about voter fraud. Stephen A. It is about the illegal collection and counting of legal ballots, not fraudulent ballots. Like, imagine Tom Brady right now and all the. I'm sorry, Imagine quarterbacks right now throwing footballs with the same PSI during the flake gate. Those are illegal touchdowns that should not be counted. Thrown the right way is being called the right way. Everybody's playing the right way. Right. You know, it's something different about that. So now, I don't know about that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I got to interrupt you because we got to get on out of here for the week. I don't know if that's a good analogy, Moses. You did better last week with your call than this one. This one, you conflue, you confuse it. You compared voter districting, redistricting to Tom Brady throwing deflated footballs. I don't know the resemblance. I have no clue what the hell you're talking about. About. You got to do a better job. Call back next week. Stephen A. Signing off. Straight shoot in the house. Until next time. Peace and love, everybody.

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