← Truth in the Barrel
Truth in the Barrel
This Week Unfiltered | 10.23.25
00:47:12
Congress has been on recess for two full months this year —meanwhile still pulling in their salaries while half the country can’t pay their bills, and members of our own military are waiting in line at food banks due to the shutdown. ...
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- [00:00]
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- [00:32]
Amy McGrath
Members of Congress are still pulling in their salaries while half the country can't pay their bills. And while that's happening, Trump is waving Article 2 like it's a magic wand, saying it gives him the power to do whatever he wants. We've got federal agents arresting American citizens on ice raids, and the east wing of the White House is being torn apart to make room for a $200 million ballroom. Is there a road to actual leadership these days that centers around common sense? Nicole Malachowski and I are going to discuss it all on this episode of Truth in the Barrel Unfiltered. Nicole, how are you doing?
- [01:12]
Nicole Malachowski
Well, greetings from Colorado. Glad to be here with you.
- [01:15]
Amy McGrath
And for everybody listening, we've had Nicole on before. She's a former United States Air Force colonel, Thunderbird pilot. That's the the Air Force's fighter demonstration team. She's now a motivational speaker. How can people follow you, Nicole?
- [01:32]
Nicole Malachowski
Sure.
- [01:32]
Amy McGrath
Yeah.
- [01:32]
Nicole Malachowski
I'm found across most of the social media platforms. My handle is Ealmalakowski, so R E A L Malikowski.
- [01:40]
Amy McGrath
Cool. And while you're all checking out Nicole Malachowski's social media website and all that stuff, make sure you're also subscribed to this show. Also, rate us and review us. The feedback is always appreciated here and on Truth of the Barrel. And for all of the listeners out there, this is my first episode, by the way, since launching my campaign for U.S. senate here in Kentucky. And so everybody should know I'm going to stay on the pod during this campaign. Why? Because I like doing these shows. This is a lot of fun and I think it's really important. And this is sort of my break time from the day to day operations of running a campaign. So stick with me through all of this, folks. It's going to be really, really interesting. Okay, so let's get started. Nicole, if I had to guess, I'd bet that you would agree with me here. When things break down, you don't just make excuses, you try to fix them. Right? It's too bad that people in Washington right now aren't doing any of that Congress has been on recess for two full months this year. They're still getting paid, by the way, $174,000 a year. And I think they were on recess all of August and the government shut down. And I feel like right now bad governance is at the root of so much of American frustration. I talk to people every day and it's bad, it's bleak. Like, how long do you think this shutdown is going to last?
- [03:19]
Nicole Malachowski
Well, I think it's already gone on too long. I'm talking to people in my own community as I travel around with my business and they're hardly being able to make ends meet. Right. With their day to day and their monthly bills. And they're going to work every day. Some of them are working two and three jobs. Yet our elected representatives aren't necessarily going to work and they are still getting paid, which I think is absolutely ridiculous. I'm unsure where the lack of action and really where the lack of courage is, is coming from in our elected representatives. It's actually really mind boggling. I think that we, the American people need to start getting on the phones and getting on our emails and lighting a fire under our elected representatives. Because I don't know about you, but I didn't vote for my representatives to be doing nothing. I voted for them to be making progress. And that may mean collaboration, right? That may mean not getting everything you want, but we need to be taking some step forward because this stagnation is ridiculous.
- [04:15]
Amy McGrath
Yeah. And it is really bad. 48% of Americans have no money left after paying their bills. 75% of Americans now say the United States is on the wrong track. And Trump's approval is really pretty low. I mean, it's at 39%, 60% disapproving. And you talked about leaders. It's really on both parties that people are upset. I've talked to people all the time, Democrats and Republicans. And people are as upset with Democrats as they are with Republicans. I mean, there's just this widespread disillusionment. I feel like we clearly need more functional leadership, as you just said, and people that can find solutions. There was a New York Times editorial just last week that says that the antidote for what's happening right now in our polarization is a creative, re energized political center to emerge. And I've heard this since I've been in politics, which is, you know, less than a decade, but still a long time. And I hear it a lot from regular voters, not your strong partisans on either side, but regular voters Is that. Can't we just come somewhere in the middle? Do you think that's realistic? Wow.
- [05:43]
Nicole Malachowski
I don't know if it's realistic, but I certainly am hopeful for something like that because right now I think that politics has been hijacked by the extreme 10 percents on the left and on the right. The majority of Americans that I'm talking to in my community and in my travels around the United States really are pretty centered. And we're having some great conversations. I'm getting into conversations with folks who have different opinions than me, but at least we're coming to the table, we're being respectful, and we're shaking hands after that. I think one of the good things, good examples of kind of trying to come towards this center of collaboration or at least, gosh, just civility, right? Can we just get in a room and talk civilly? Is Governor Westmore and I think the governor of Utah admitting that they disagree on policies, admitting that they have different perspectives on things, but showing deep respect for each other's effort, deep respect for each other's experiences, and I think vocalizing their willingness to collaborate. I mean, when did the word collaboration become a dirty word? If these problems that we have in the United States were easily solvable, they would have been solved. They are highly complex.
- [06:46]
Amy McGrath
Right.
- [06:46]
Nicole Malachowski
And that's going to require, I think, a little bit of give and take. And it's like neither party wants to be the first one to take that step forward. And so I am hopeful for this kind of center, civil collaboration. I do enjoy watching Governor Moore and the Governor of Utah. I'm looking for more of that.
- [07:03]
Amy McGrath
Nicole, was that a video? They did something on social media, right.
- [07:08]
Nicole Malachowski
Where they've done, like, two or three little things, and they are on social media.
- [07:11]
Amy McGrath
Social media.
- [07:11]
Nicole Malachowski
And I can. Obviously, we can probably pull that up, but it's just nice to see people from opposite sides talking.
- [07:18]
Amy McGrath
It is. We have a great governor here in Kentucky, and he talks a lot about common ground and getting results and being the type of leader that spends 80% of the time on the concerns of Kentuckians or Americans that impact 100% of all of us. And I feel like that's also where I wish we could have leaders look at.
- [07:49]
Nicole Malachowski
And Governor Beshear does do a good job. I actually follow him on social media, and I know that he starts out every day with something positive to say, something hopeful. It's not just all negativity and all attacks. And I gotta give a shout out to the governor of Colorado. Governor Polis is Also the same way, it's very easy to find positivity and kindness as opposed to other folks. Social media, I go to and they're, you know, attacking the other side, doing things that are just really, I guess, juvenile, immature, like our own president did with his AI video of flying that F18 and dropping feces on, on American citizens, you know, who are enjoying their First Amendment right of assembly. So I am hoping to follow, encourage more of the Governor Bashir, more of the Governor Moore, the Governor Polis, you know, type of positivity, because we need.
- [08:38]
Amy McGrath
There are really good people out there. We just have to look for them. Unfortunately, not a lot of them are at the federal level. And as you talked about, it's really hard right now, Nicole, because the highest office in the land is being held by somebody who does what you just talked about. I think there's a lack of decency and that trickles down to all of us right now.
- [09:04]
Nicole Malachowski
Well, it sets the standard for some people of what is acceptable. I think that some of the behavior that I see coming out of the White House, especially on social media, again, it's immature, it's juvenile, it's uncivil, and importantly, it's beneath the level, that's beneath the dignity of the people of the United States. And frankly, I get really embarrassed by it. I'll just be honest with you.
- [09:26]
Amy McGrath
I do, too. I often wonder from people that really like this president. I also want to say is this. You like this? You know, I mean, I can't imagine that lots of people like it. But speaking of the White House, there's an opinion writer that came out in the Hill, which is a newspaper in D.C. everything's online these days. But this opinion writer was calling what we're living through right now as Trump's, quote, Harry Potter presidency, where he waives his article to wand and says some magic words and then he gets to do whatever he wants. It's the idea of executive power as magic, not law. I read the article and I thought. I think the phrase is too nice, actually, because for me, Harry Potter is kind of like good magic. And I don't think that's what's happening. I don't think what's happening. I mean, take the fact that the President ordered even more kinetic strikes in the Caribbean. The southcom commander stepped down. For those people listening, that is the commander for all of the region south of the United States, the one four star commander. What is your take on this, Nicole, given your military background? Well, sure.
- [10:53]
Nicole Malachowski
I mean, the southcom commander resigning like one year into a multi year assignment should be a huge red flag to every American out there. You know, he is still on active duty. I suspect there's a lot going on behind the scenes that maybe prevent him from talking about why he's resigning at this point. But that should be a gigantic red flag. And the fact of the matter is, is what we're doing with these kinetic strikes on these boats is unprecedented. And as someone who, you know, spent over 20 years flying fighter aircraft, including in combat, I keep watching this and going, I would love to see what the rules of engagement are and what the spins are and what the thought process is for these folks who are carrying out these strikes, because I'm honestly at a loss of words. As a fighter pilot, it is quite something. And the other red flag, not only that the commander stepped down, but the other red flag is, remember, I think one of the most recent strikes, there were two survivors, right? And they sent those two survivors back to the home country. If this was really war, they would be enemy combatants and we would be keeping those enemy combatants. So to me, that's another red flag. Why did these two survivors get sent home scot free if they're horrible?
- [12:13]
Amy McGrath
Well, apparently they're fishermen. I mean, I can't. Honestly, this stuff is on the back pages of the newspaper. It should be front pages. I mean, 27 people have died. There's been. They've. They've done these strikes on five boats. Apparently it was done by the socom. It was done by socom, which is Special Operations Command. And not. But it was in Southcom's territory. The Pentagon is rapidly right now building up 10,000 troops in the region. Colombia's president has accused the United States of murdering. Three of the men were apparently that were killed at sea were from Colombia. We used to be partners with Colombia and now they're accusing us of murder. Like, what is the goal here?
- [13:03]
Nicole Malachowski
Well, I mean, and let's be honest, you just named several things that require our Congress to be back in session. There are major national security things going on right now in our own area of responsibility. Right. That our own hemisphere and Congress isn't even at work. This is ridiculous. And I think the latest I saw was 32 folks had been killed. And you know, I do hear folks, you know, talking, well, who cares? You know, they're just drug dealers. It's only 32 people. This is a slippery, slippery slope, right? This is about national security. This is about our reputation in the world. This is about morals and ethics. You know, one of the things that separates the United States military from every other military in the world, in my opinion, is the moral high ground. The way that we execute war under rules of engagement, under the Geneva Convention, under the laws of armed conflict. And we are flaunting that. It's disturbing.
- [14:02]
Amy McGrath
We are. And because there hasn't been any evidence that these folks were what the Pentagon says they were, which is drug dealers and, you know, with there's an immediate threat to the United States, I mean, it raises a lot of questions. And it also puts the military in such a really bad place because the Supreme Court, as you know, ruled that the President is immune to any wrongdoing, which I think is probably the worst Supreme Court case since Citizens United and maybe even beyond that. But I feel like the military now, commanders face almost an impossible choice, right? Because if the order has dubious legal backing, they can refuse the orders, they can risk their careers, they can obey the orders, risk breaking the law and potentially be prosecuted at some point, right.
- [15:01]
Nicole Malachowski
This is a horrible position for our military leaders to be in. General C. Q. Brown, who, you know, used to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was very unceremoniously removed, a great American, a great leader. You know, he's been on the news the last day or two talking about, you know, this very issue, the difficult position that our senior military leaders are finding themselves in, not only accepting or not orders and risking their careers, but, you know, being asked to do things that are really challenging for them, ethically, morally, for trying to navigate what has become a politicized Department of Defense, which is supposed to be the most apolitical place right, in our entire government. And it's wonderful to see General Brown, a man of his character and wisdom, you know, coming out and talking about this. But the thing I found interesting is he said, if these senior leaders are listening, I want you all to stay the course. You know, stay in, don't resign, because we need people in there to try to, you know, keep these, these guardrails on. And, you know, when we talk about the southcom commander resigning again, a huge red flag. I would love to see Congress come back to work and call him in because where there's smoke, there's fire.
- [16:11]
Amy McGrath
Well, also, Nicole, in August, the Air Force top uniformed officer, right, General Alvin, announced that he would retire early, two years into his four year term. So, like you're seeing people retire and.
- [16:25]
Nicole Malachowski
It wasn't, it's not, we're talking, we're not talking anymore about single data points, right? Multiple data points start to Create a trend. And you're right, that is indeed what we're seeing. And again, I'll say I would love our elected representatives, Congress to come in and get to the bottom of that.
- [16:39]
Amy McGrath
There needs to be investigations on some of this. This is not normal. It's not normal at all.
- [16:44]
Nicole Malachowski
That's what people need to understand. For those of us who spent our entire careers in the military, in national security policy, what is happening is unprecedented.
- [16:53]
Amy McGrath
Yeah. You know what else is not normal, Nicole? Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that the press corps in the new Pentagon press corps will be made up of only right wing, crazy right wing reporters and outlets. They basically kicked out the regular reporters because they refused to agree to a new set of very restrictive policies. And now they have this new Pentagon press corps. And I'm going to read you off the list of the press corps. Okay, the new press corps, Lindell tv, Lyndall tv, yeah, that was the started by Trump, right? The Trump ally, Mike Lindell. And by the way, they're huge on conspiracy theories and have been sued for lying in the past. The Gateway Pundit, another one sued for conspiracy theories and lying, particularly with the Georgia poll workers, if you Remember, back in 2020. And then the Post, Millennial, the Human Events, the National Pulse, Turning Point usa, and influencer Tim Pool's Tim Cast. And this was the guy who was paid by Russia, right, to do a podcast. So, I mean, what, wtf?
- [18:12]
Nicole Malachowski
I gotta tell you, I can't believe there isn't more outcry from the American people on this. This is massive. Essentially what they're doing is they're bringing in the right wing, extreme right wing, extreme right wing news agencies who are willing to sign onto these rules that basically say you can only publish what we give you or what we approve.
- [18:36]
Amy McGrath
Right?
- [18:36]
Nicole Malachowski
It takes away any kind of independent or objective, you know, journalism at all. And here's why this really bothers me. This. These reporters are in the Pentagon to report on what's happening. And with America's sons and daughters, the story of America's sons and daughters who are out there wearing our nation's uniform. And when reporting on America's sons and daughters, we need a Pentagon press corps that represents all of them, from the left to the right, everything in between, from cities to urban, from Christian to Muslim, all of it. That press corps needs to represent the sons and daughters of America working in that Pentagon that they're reporting on. And the fact that we're going to this far right is insane. Now look, am I like open minded enough to Say, hey, maybe the way press pools happen or the format might need to change. Do we need to bring in social media influencers or people who are on Instagram and TikTok? Maybe I can be open minded to that. But it needs to absolutely be balanced. And when things like Fox News and Newsmax aren't signing onto it, that should be another red flag for everybody.
- [19:43]
Amy McGrath
Yeah, I think what people have to realize is, one, this is a really big deal. Two, it's really important, as you said, to have a press corps report on what's happening to our military, to our sons and daughters who sign up for the military. Imagine if the Vietnam War happened and you only heard what the government told you was happening in Vietnam. I mean, all of the reporting, it just would, it would be just crazy. It would almost be like Soviet Russia, you know, telling its people in Ukraine, oh, yeah, things are going great. You know, your sons and daughters aren't coming home. But, you know, things are going great. It's just, it's not American.
- [20:33]
Nicole Malachowski
You just said it. And I try not to be flippant or throw that term un American around just very loosely because I think a lot of people do, but this is fundamentally un American. It goes against freedom of the press. It goes against the American people's, you know, right to understand what is going on with America's sons and daughters. The military is about executing our nation's wars. This is a big, the biggest deal we probably do in the United States that needs the most attention, the most detail, the most focus, the most investigation of all, because lives are at stake. Our sons and daughters lives are at stake.
- [21:12]
Amy McGrath
We also need to remember that the military can't do everything. And we get into this belief that the military is going to be perfect at every single operation that it does. It's just not true. And when you, when you, particularly when you give the military operations that are sort of beyond the scope of what the military can do and then you don't report on it, I think it does a disservice to the military itself.
- [21:39]
Nicole Malachowski
Absolutely.
- [21:40]
Amy McGrath
It absolutely does.
- [21:41]
Nicole Malachowski
I couldn't agree with you more.
- [21:42]
Amy McGrath
It's.
- [21:43]
Nicole Malachowski
It's really disheartening. And, you know, I'm not, I'm unsure what Secretary Hegseth's reasoning or need for this was. But, you know, hopefully the fact that his own Fox News colleagues aren't signing onto this maybe will wake him up a little bit. But again, we the people need to be getting on the phone and on the emails and lighting a fire under our representatives because this Control of the press is un American.
- [22:08]
Amy McGrath
The only way I think you can push back is the way you just said, being vocal about it. But also Congress. Congress has been asleep at the wheel on so many issues, and this is just another one where they're not stepping up and doing anything right now. I think I mentioned it earlier.
- [22:25]
Nicole Malachowski
Right. I feel like this really guttural, like there's this lack of courage in Congress on both sides right now. I mean, they are somehow have gotten hijacked by like the extreme 10% and I'm unsure what is freezing them in place and stifling any kind of action. I don't know what's going on there.
- [22:47]
Amy McGrath
Obviously, I'm a Democrat, but I know that Republicans don't have the spine to stand up to the President on pretty much anything and really abdicating their responsibility. And they're sort of in control right now of Congress. They could bring it back in session and they haven't done that. But I want to move on to this, I think important report that came out from ProPublica and said that 170American citizens so far that they found that we know of have been detained illegally by ice. And we know that this federal government new internal police force that the President and Republicans are building has been grabbing people, raiding homes around the country, zip.
- [23:40]
Nicole Malachowski
Tying children.
- [23:41]
Amy McGrath
Yes. The Supreme Court has sort of lit the way, shall we say, for racial profiling. In its decision, Justice Kavanaugh said that citizens shouldn't be concerned. American citizens shouldn't be concerned about getting caught in these raids because if officers learn that the individual they stopped is a US Citizen, then they're going to promptly let the individual go. Well, that isn't happening. Right?
- [24:17]
Nicole Malachowski
Not happening. I'd love to see Justice KAVANAUGH look those 170 people in the face, including children.
- [24:23]
Amy McGrath
Right.
- [24:24]
Nicole Malachowski
And talk to them. It's ridiculous. That's not what's happening. And this should anger every single American out there. You know, I, I whipped out. You know me, Amy. I carry my handy dandy declaration Constitution. And when I was reading that ProPublica article thinking about those 170 people, you know, my heart just ached because I thought it's not that hard to pick up the Constitution. Right. Amendment four, the right of the people to be secure in their person's house papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
- [24:55]
Amy McGrath
Racial. What's going on?
- [24:57]
Nicole Malachowski
Right. Article 5. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of. Not sure how much more clear this can be. And the fact of the matter Is. Is that we're flaunting law. This current administration is flaunting the law. It's flaunting due process, not just on these, you know, these ICE arrests, but across the board. And nobody is standing up to defend the law. Where is Congress calling, calling this administration out? You know, you know, we're seeing it, whether it's the destruction of the entire East Wing or, you know, the raids on the boats in the Caribbean. It's wild.
- [25:32]
Amy McGrath
Well, and I do hear from people, oh, it's not that bad. They're not really doing this. People need to keep in mind that the US Government does not keep track of how often immigration agents hold US Citizens against their will. So they don't keep track. So you have to have these independent publications like ProPublica do their investigations. And what they found is that Americans have been dragged and tackled and beaten and tased and shot by immigration agents, you know, with, you know, pepper spray and all this other stuff. And they've had their necks kneeled on and they've been held outside in the rain with their underwear and they've had their kids dragged out. At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them. One of the women who had already had the door of her home blown off while the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem watched it, watched it happen, was like cheering it on. I mean, what are we doing here, Amy?
- [26:41]
Nicole Malachowski
I have no idea. What I do know is what we're doing is against the law and unconstitutional, and nobody's in our government, elected officials are doing anything about it. And my heart aches for all of those people, those 170. And we know, and you know, that there's got to be more than that out there. And the people who say to me, as they've said, said to you, well, it's not that big of a deal. It's only 170 people out of 300 plus million Americans. The moral relativism is crazy there, right? One, one American citizen being treated like that is too many. It's too many for me. All right? So it's far exceeded whatever threshold I have. And it's disturbing to me that that bar is somehow different for other Americans. When I just read to you, right.
- [27:23]
Amy McGrath
The Constitution was written for this very reason. The Bill of Rights were put together, not. They were put together as a protection for people against the government. Okay? And we're just throwing it. We're throwing the constant trampling on it right now. Even the libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, opposes arresting people because of racial profiling and doing this type of stuff. And I hear this a lot. You know, many voters want immigration reform, they want immigration enforcement. I mean, it's been a big problem. Yes, but these heavy handed tactics are just not what people want.
- [28:08]
Nicole Malachowski
I think most Americans can agree that our immigration system needs a bit of an overhaul.
- [28:12]
Amy McGrath
Right.
- [28:12]
Nicole Malachowski
That we need immigration reform. And it's something that's just been stagnated for decades now. I mean, for decades we've known that this needs to be done. It's kind of gotten to this head where all of a sudden the ends justifies the means. And it's very Machiavellian. I think what's going on, to me, the ends don't justify the means. All right, we do need immigration reform. We need it to be collaborative across both parties. We need to do it in a way that's moral, that's ethical, that shows some level of compassion. All right, but the way that we're doing it now is we haven't had.
- [28:43]
Amy McGrath
Comprehensive immigration reform since Ronald Reagan. You're right, the two sides have not been able to come together. Three times it's come up, and three times it was.
- [28:56]
Nicole Malachowski
And the most recent was just before our recent presidential election. Right. I mean, it was looking like there was collaboration between both sides. Then president, presidential candidate Trump at the time came in and said, no, you're not going to do this. And boom, Republicans rolled and it was over.
- [29:11]
Amy McGrath
They rolled. They chose politics over actually fixing a major issue that is important to America. I mean, it's just, it's unconscionable.
- [29:22]
Nicole Malachowski
The other thing that's weird is just the way the language, you know, from the administration has changed. You know, we're only going to detain and deport, you know, the worst amongst us, these criminals and everything. And I think any reasonable American says go for it. If there's, you know, an undocumented person who is a criminal, has a rap sheet, I'm okay, see ya. That's how I feel. But that's not what's happening here.
- [29:43]
Amy McGrath
Right.
- [29:43]
Nicole Malachowski
They're going to, you know, sit outside the front of a Home Depot for people who are looking for just a good hard day's work, who are contributing to the communities around them, and that's who we're deporting. Let's, let's get back to what the original intent here was, because it's just blossomed into something that I don't think anyone, well, anyone really expected.
- [30:05]
Amy McGrath
Yeah, I agree. Let's get to some quick shots. It's time to line some of these up, there are a few really interesting stories that I want to talk to you about that are kind of positive to some degree. One is the fact that for the first time on the Ukrainian front and the Russia. Ukrainian war, a bunch of Russian soldiers surrendered Nikol to a remote controlled land drone. This happened in June. It marked the first time that the Ukrainians took a position and took prisoners of war with the help of a robot. Did you hear about this?
- [30:50]
Nicole Malachowski
I didn't hear about it until you, you told me about it, I think recently, in the past few days. So I had to look into it. It's. It's pretty interesting, right, how technology is changing the battlefield. I think it's pretty interesting how Ukraine, you know, who maybe isn't as strong or manpower wise, maybe as Russia, but is able to utilize technology to a bit of an asymmetric advantage, you know, to take land and to take. To take prisoners. So is this the natural evolution of warfare with technology, you know, and how is this going to shape the future of this battle between Ukraine and Russia? It's not something I anticipated.
- [31:26]
Amy McGrath
I mean, these soldiers, they're in their foxholes, they're in their dugouts, and they had been. These Russian soldiers had been fighting, and they did not surrender to, you know, drones overhead. The drones overhead had been going after them. But what they found was when they, when the land drone came and just sat there like a robot dog waiting for them, perched right outside their dugout, they knew, they knew they were beat. There was nothing. There was a small wheeled robot. It had 138 pounds of explosives. And they just said, well, we gave up. And they held up a, a cardboard sign that said, we surrender. And I mean, I feel like, you know how much that land drone costs?
- [32:13]
Nicole Malachowski
No, I don't.
- [32:13]
Amy McGrath
About 1500 bucks.
- [32:15]
Nicole Malachowski
Wow.
- [32:16]
Amy McGrath
Wow, that's. I mean, and this is the future of warfare. And it makes you really think, from my perspective, whether our new Secretary of Defense or Secretary of War is spending more time, you know, dressing down generals and doing photo ops than actually learning and adapting about future warfare. I mean, we should be hand in hand with the Ukrainians right now, learning everything.
- [32:42]
Nicole Malachowski
Well, adapting to the future of warfare, usually are the military leaders who went to things like naval war culture. You know, he never. I went to those levels of education in the military, so sometimes it doesn't surprise me that he focus on things that a typical O4 would focus on. But yes, the warfare absolutely is adapting. The fact that it cost $1,500, that just absolutely Blew my mind. When we're spending not hundreds of millions, but billions of dollars on military platforms through, you know, the military industrial complex. So it's interesting to see, you know, how warfare is changing. And, you know, those Russian soldiers, they knew, they stand up, you know, they try to fight against it. Their choice was surrender or death.
- [33:22]
Amy McGrath
Yeah. I mean, it was going to be there for. And then when. When the. It ran out of battery, there's probably gonna be another one coming right in. So there's nothing they could do.
- [33:31]
Nicole Malachowski
I think they were probably just.
- [33:32]
Amy McGrath
I.
- [33:32]
Nicole Malachowski
If I was in there, she was just as confused. Like, this is different.
- [33:35]
Amy McGrath
I've never seen this.
- [33:36]
Nicole Malachowski
We haven't trained our practice to this. I give up.
- [33:39]
Amy McGrath
Yeah. That's the future, sadly. All right, well, first, Donald Trump paved over the iconic rose garden, and then he covered the Oval Office in gold, and now he's putting a $200 million ballroom in the White House. So all while refusing to open the government. But that's a separate thing. But you're tearing down the White House right now in the East Wing. Your office was there, right?
- [34:04]
Nicole Malachowski
My office is gone. It's gone. I think, as of today, the bulldozed right away. So, yeah, I mean, taking the entire East Wing out in order to build this ballroom. I'll admit, having worked in the east wing, I do have some bias having had my office there in the east wing. But what's really bothersome about all of this is how it's transpired. Remember, it started out as, we're not going to touch the east Wing. Then it became, we're just going to remove the sidewall so that we can attach the ballroom. Now it's, we're destroying the whole East Wing. It started out, Amy, as $200 million. Then for a while, it was $230 million. And as of yesterday, he said $300 million. So now we see the price of this creeping up. The naysayers will say, well, he and his donors are paying for it. I say, great point.
- [34:52]
Amy McGrath
I'd love to.
- [34:53]
Nicole Malachowski
To see the list of those donors, who they are, and what kind of special treatment or kickback they're getting from this, because this is absolutely ridiculous. Oh, by the way, there are due process for making renovations and adjustments to national historic landmarks. Every single historic preservation society, including ones chartered by Congress, have come out in the last 24 hours and said that they are totally against us, that none of this went against proper procedure. And the really sad part is it's gone. It's not coming back.
- [35:25]
Amy McGrath
It's Terrible.
- [35:26]
Nicole Malachowski
It's absolutely. And this is like a renter, right, deciding they want to put an addition on the house or blow out the kitchen. Right. That's not his house.
- [35:38]
Amy McGrath
It's the people's house. That's right.
- [35:41]
Nicole Malachowski
Process and procedure for it. And if we're not following due process when it comes to detaining 100, well, I guess we're not going to follow due process when it comes to taking out a historic landmark.
- [35:51]
Amy McGrath
He's just doing whatever he wants. And you're exactly right. There was no sign off from what's called the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves this construction work and major renovations. They're just doing it. And there's no pushback. And Jen Rubin, who has her own media company now, she used to be a. A columnist for the Washington Post, she said, this is a metaphor. See, the photos of this destruction, by the way, are everywhere. And so you can see how bad it looks right now, our White House looks. And she said, this is a metaphor for what Donald Trump is doing to our country right now.
- [36:30]
Nicole Malachowski
I gotta tell you, too, just looking at the design, I think he was in the office yesterday. He was showing around kind of like a model of it, and it's. I mean, it's two to three sizes through, two to three times larger than the White House itself. It actually, to me, just looks absolutely obnoxious. You know, when I was in the White House, there were several state dinners. First of all, a state dining room holds up to about 125 people. I've been in there. All right, We've had state dinners with upwards of, you know, three. I think 300 people. Don't hold me to the exact numbers here, but I've. I saw several state dinners happen. I mean, the social secretary that time was a wonderful American by the name of Deesha Dyer, and she was able to put on, you know, these wonderful state dinners on the South Lawn, you know, all done up upwards of 300 people just fine. So why we need a facility that holds 1,000 people in a grandiose ballroom is bizarre to me. And the naysayers who try to say, well, you know, these other presidents added the East Wing and the West Wing, well, that was pragmatic and practical. The size of the White House staff grew as the size of our country grew. The East Wing was also kind of blocking the building of the bunker that had to be put in underneath it. Truman had to renovate the inside because it was dilapidated and moldy and parts of the drywall were falling down. So let's please not try to compare that to the addition of this absolutely obnoxious and what I feel is unnecessary ballroom. Having witnessed several state dinners myself.
- [37:53]
Amy McGrath
Yeah, I can't say it any better. I mean, to me, renovation is fine. Fixing things up is fine and good, but, like, this whole addition is just. Just, again, I know. I don't want to throw the word out, but it's un American. It's just the White House is the White House. It needs to stay the White House.
- [38:11]
Nicole Malachowski
People saying, oh, Obama turned a tennis.
- [38:13]
Amy McGrath
Court into a basketball court.
- [38:14]
Nicole Malachowski
Ooh, you know, that's not the same. And all of those, by the way, followed the due process of how we renovate historic landmarks.
- [38:21]
Amy McGrath
Right. I mean, can you imagine if Obama had done. I don't even want to go there. All right. Have you been to the Louvre?
- [38:30]
Nicole Malachowski
I have.
- [38:31]
Amy McGrath
Okay. So did you hear about this stolen jewel heist? I mean, apparently this thing happened on Sunday morning where it took, I don't know, eight or 10 minutes. And while tourists were already there, these guys dressed up in fake uniforms and went straight to France's emeralds that were worn by the wife of Napoleon iii, and they snatched them, and they're still at large.
- [38:59]
Nicole Malachowski
Unbelievable. I understand they dressed up as construction workers, literally pulled a crane up on the street and entered through a window in broad daylight. You know, it's just a reminder, right, about complacency. We were just talking about the land drones and how it's changed.
- [39:15]
Amy McGrath
Right.
- [39:15]
Nicole Malachowski
Like, nobody would expect that in broad daylight dudes would dress up as construction workers and have the audacity to pull off such a heist. How many feel like this is something that was written in, like, a Tom Clancy novel or a Tom Cruise movie? Wild.
- [39:31]
Amy McGrath
Yeah. Because it's the largest art museum in the world, so it's so big. You've been there. I've been there. I mean, I bet the people who work there probably don't even know. You know, the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand's doing. They're probably like, oh, well, there's construction going on.
- [39:46]
Nicole Malachowski
They blended right in. I mean, just devastating. What a devastating loss. And, you know, I don't want to be in that debrief.
- [39:53]
Amy McGrath
Right. Terribly. All right, well, here at Truth in the Barrel, we promise to never leave on any depressing note. So let's take a moment to celebrate a few things that actually happened that are good, I think are good. At least. The first one I wanted to ask you about is this. In Japan, the parliament there has elected the first female prime minister Japan has ever had, and her name is Asanai Takachi, which I'm probably butchering. But she's part of the Liberal Democratic Party. Have you ever been to Japan or do you know anything about her?
- [40:35]
Nicole Malachowski
Yeah, I have been through Japan briefly on some of my deployments. I've never visited it in any substantive way. And I'll be honest, I had not heard about her until I heard this news. My initial reaction is genuinely very happy. I think that we need to see more women in senior leadership because the status quo hasn't really gotten this world into the greatest of places. And so I think that when we start bringing in the woman's perspective, we might see how nations interact and how countries develop differently. And I think it's especially fascinating because of just the cultural barriers, I think, in a pretty conservative, you know, Japanese culture, to see a woman like that rise to the top. For so many of those conservative Japanese men to be voting for her, I think that seriously speaks to the skill set and the strengths that she's bringing.
- [41:27]
Amy McGrath
Yeah, I think it's huge. I don't know a ton about her politics, except I know that she's sort of a defense hawk, which in my belief, is good. But her. Her father worked for Toyota, Okay. And she didn't attend university in Tokyo because her parents refused to cover the tuition because she would have had to leave home. And as a young woman, they said she shouldn't be leaving home. So they said, no, you can't go to college in the big city. And so she paid her way, her own way through college and commuted six hours to go herself. And then later on, she got a scholarship and moved to the United States in 1987 to work as a congressional fellow on the Hill for, get this, for Democratic Congresswoman Pat Schroeder. Now, do you know Pat Schroeder?
- [42:24]
Nicole Malachowski
I remember Pat Schroeder.
- [42:25]
Amy McGrath
For sure. I remember Pat Schroeder. Let me tell you a little bit about Pat Schroeder. When I was about 11, 12 years old, I wrote every member of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees asking them to change the law, the Combat Exclusion Law, which I know you know about. This was the law that prevented women from flying fighter jets, right? And I got. And this was back in the day before email. I wrote every letter out, hand, you know, put it in the envelope, put the stamps on it, send it out. I got several letters back. My own member of Congress, my own senator, of course, never wrote me back, but my own congressman did. And he said, you're a girl. Go do something else. And then I got several letters back that said, you know, our nation, our military, exists to fight and win the nation's wars, and we should have the best people in those positions, and you ought to be able to compete. And, you know who wrote the best letter back was Pat Schroeder. She said, don't give up. I'm working on it.
- [43:27]
Podcast Advertiser
Awesome.
- [43:28]
Nicole Malachowski
So it seems like the prime Minister had a good mentor and role model here.
- [43:31]
Amy McGrath
Absolutely. Isn't that cool?
- [43:33]
Nicole Malachowski
Yeah. And I understand that the new prime minister, too, is a really good drummer, and she likes heavy metal music. I read that as well. Which was kind of wild. Right. But let's see what she does.
- [43:45]
Amy McGrath
I'm cheering her on. Well, that's great. And I was deployed to Japan. I loved it there. And I'd go back there in a heartbeat.
- [43:53]
Nicole Malachowski
I bucket list to vacation there sometimes.
- [43:57]
Amy McGrath
Last thing I wanted to cover before we go is this newly commissioned icebreaker, which I think I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to Navy Marine Corps stuff. Right. And I have been saying for years now, we need more icebreakers. It's a national security concern. But the cutter, the new Coast Guard is a Coast Guard cutter. It's left Mississippi. It was refitted a little bit. It left Mississippi in June and transited the Panama Canal, and it's now in the Pacific Ocean, and it's en route to the Arctic to control, you know, patrol the Arctic. And I just think that that's something worth cheering about, because we are really, really far behind Russia in icebreakers.
- [44:40]
Nicole Malachowski
Yeah, absolutely. You know, the importance of the Arctic has been going up in importance over the last 20 to 30 years. You can just follow how it's discussed in our national military strategy, our national, you know, security strategy documents. You know, you've seen it kind of increase.
- [44:56]
Amy McGrath
So.
- [44:57]
Nicole Malachowski
Absolutely. It's important. We know that a lot of that ice is melting. We know that. To your point, it's a very strategic location from a military aspect. Russia obviously, showing rightfully, I think, because they're connected to it, too. A lot of that Arctic interest. Don't forget that China describes themselves as a near Arctic state. So China has some eyeballs on it. Why? Because the more the ice melts, we end up with more commercial shipping lanes. There may be a day someday where people don't need to transit the Panama Canal. So this has major, I think, commercial shipping issues, not to mention, you know, the discovery of oil, you know, gas, minerals, and all of that. So it is so important that we try to keep the lead there. In the Arctic, we're well behind, I think, on the number of icebreakers we need. I wrote down the name. I think it's called the Storis. It's Scandinavian for great ice, and it was named after a previous Storis whose nickname was the Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan coast. I just thought that was cool.
- [45:57]
Amy McGrath
Nice. Yeah. I mean, it's so important, as you just mentioned, look, if you are going to operate in the Arctic, you have to have icebreakers. And as. As that ice starts to melt, we're going to be. We're going to see more operations there. And whoever controls that area is going to have a huge geostrategic advantage. Right Now, Russia has 40 icebreakers, nuclear powered. Canada has about 18 to 20. And we have one. One heavy icebreaker. And so this is adding to it. It's not a heavy icebreaker, but we're going to have like three or four of the smaller ones. And I think that that's worth the cheers. But we need more. Yeah.
- [46:42]
Nicole Malachowski
Hey, I got. I got my cheers.
- [46:44]
Amy McGrath
All right. Well, I've got my YETI today. I'm sorry, I'm. I'm behind. Campaign stuff is making me behind, but cheers. Yeah.
- [46:51]
Nicole Malachowski
You're campaigning. You probably don't want to be drinking your scotch today.
- [46:55]
Amy McGrath
Not. Not as much as I did.
- [46:57]
Nicole Malachowski
The older I get, the more I watch all the uniform services, the more I am impressed with the United States Coast Guard and everything they do and how they do it. What an extraordinary group of folks.
- [47:06]
Amy McGrath
Yeah, they're. They're amazing. What a great show. Great discussion. Thanks so much, Nicole, for being a part of this. We must have you back again. This is my plug. We're going to get you back. Sounds good.
- [47:19]
Nicole Malachowski
And I know you got to get going, so best wishes on that campaign trail. I am cheering you on.
- [47:24]
Amy McGrath
I'll get back at it. Well, thank you, listeners, for joining us. Please remember to, like, subscribe, rate review. We'll see you all next week. Nicole, great to see you. And we'll have you back.
- [47:36]
Nicole Malachowski
Take care.
- [47:41]
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