← The Dan Bongino Show
The Dan Bongino Show
Are We Witnessing A Revival? | Episode 130
00:55:32
Charlie Kirk's memorial fills a football stadium; Trump makes a critical announcement; and the American conservative movement enters a new era.
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- [00:00]
Vince
Hey, everybody. Welcome to Vince on a Monday. It is so nice to have you with us. As always, the best audience anywhere. We've got a lot to get to today. There's some elements that I want to hit. First and foremost, I want to talk about the funeral. The memorial service for Charlie Kirk celebrated in person by. It sounded like nearly 100,000 people, not just in the stadium, but hundreds of thousands. If you conclude the people who are outside the building, millions around the world reflecting on a life that definitely had such a positive impact on our country and is going to continue to have a positive impact. We explore all of that today. Additionally, the President of the United States is very upset with what is going on, with the lack of prosecutions right now against the people who have caused so much damage to the country, including and especially in the Eastern district of Virginia. We'll try and take a closer look at what all of that drama means and whether or not we might get some forward momentum on something that we've all been looking for, which are consequences for the people who have hurt us. There is so much to get to and I'm glad you're here to do it with me on this edition of Vince. Great to have you with us on a Monday. Hey, wanna thank our sponsor, that is Brickhouse Nutrition. This morning. Doctors call this weight cycling. Half of Americans do it. If you do it enough, you know you're at risk of diabetes, liver damage, heart attack, stroke. Weight cycling is when you lose 10 or more pounds, but then you gain it back, it can lead to serious health issues. The bottom line is most people need help to stop weight cycling. And here's a great way to do it. Non prescription Lean by Brickhouse Nutrition. It's been created by doctors. Lean is an oral supplement, not a GLP one. Injectable, its studied ingredients target weight loss in three powerful ways. Lean helps maintain healthy blood sugar, helps you control appetite and cravings. Helps helps you burn fat by converting that fat into energy. And if you're tired of losing weight and then gaining it back, you can add Lean by Brickhouse Nutrition to your diet and exercise lifestyle. Get 20% off when you enter the code Vince@takelean.com that's code Vinceakelean.com you know, these statements have not been evaluated by the fda. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. And it is not a substitute or alternative for care from a healthcare provider. Well, well, well. Great to have you with us as always. Okay, so an amazing sendoff for Charlie Kirk yesterday in Arizona, big NFL stadium filled to the brim with people who were waiting for many hours for a first come, first serve opportunity to sit inside of that stadium and witness history. You had what looked like the entire presidential cabinet in attendance. I kept looking. I was trying to figure out if there was a designated survivor yesterday because there were so many important people there. And my guess is, based on what I gathered last night, that it would be Scott Besant, maybe the Treasury Secretary. I don't think he was in attendance. So I guess he was probably the highest ranking cabinet official who was outside of the building. Who else? You know, I think Chuck Grassley was, you know, who is Senator, of course, but the President pro Tem in the Senate because he is in the line of succession for President of the United States. He was also, I guess, outside of the building. But they had an amazing event yesterday. And it was really a sign of the impact that Charlie Kirk has had on our country that so many great Americans were, went out there to honor him in the most extraordinary of ways. This event stretched on for hours, but every second of it that I was able to consume was impactful. It was spiritual, it was filled with music that just, it elevated the soul. It made you think about how great our country is. It achieved everything that you could even imagine that Charlie Crook would want with an event like this. So I think it struck the right tone throughout the whole thing. God bless everybody who was involved in setting that up. They put that thing together very quickly. And I saw some lefties. This is how crazy the left is right now. I saw some lefties on social media going, there's no way they set that thing up in 11 days. That was too extravagant for them to do that that quickly. This has been planned for a long time. I'm sorry, what, what in the world kind of conspiracy theories running through your head that you think they were plotting the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the funeral to celebrate his life. You people are mentally ill, if that's what you really think happened. No, this was a wonderful. This was a wonderful event. And again, God bless everybody who was a part of it. I'm not gonna waste any time in terms of getting to the biggest moment of the evening. And that was Erica Kirk's speech. She gave a 30 minute eulogy and motivational speech for the rest of us about her husband's life. And Erica Kirk really does, in so many ways represent what it means to be a good and loving and Christian wife and mother. And she's demonstrated it through all of this public commentary. She's made about her husband. Listen to her last night. This is cut one. This is the big moment where Erica stands on that stage, reflects on the life of Christ and then forgives her husband's assassin. Here's that moment.
- [05:27]
Erica Kirk
My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life. That young man on the cross, our Savior said, father, forgive them, for they not know what they do. That man, that young man, I forgive him.
- [06:28]
Vince
A remarkable moment from Erica Kirk. A remarkable Christian moment from Erica Kirk. A remarkable moment. That goes against your human instincts, doesn't it? Your human instinct is to condemn the man who killed your husband. Why wouldn't it be? You just watched your husband shot down in cold blood. That feeling, that emotion inside of you, longing for vengeance against that person must be immense. And God willing, most of us never have to experience what she's going through. And she was able to summon the words of Christ and his guidance and to offer her forgiveness to him. Now, does that mean that that man will not be subjected to consequences? No, it doesn't. Her forgiveness does not absolve him of the consequences that he now has to bear. But her forgiveness alleviates her own soul of the burden of carrying a loathing towards that man. And you could tell that that took an extraordinary act of courage. You could even tell as she was approaching those words that they weighed heavy on her heart, that there was something really difficult about what she was about to say. And she did it to her great credit. It reminds me actually a lot of Pope John Paul II who was shot by an assassin's bullet and survived that shooting and would later visit that man in prison and forgive him and pray with him. It takes immense courage to be able to do that very thing. And Erica Kirk demonstrated it yesterday on that stage. And it is what a wonderful reminder of what it means to be God fearing people, to have a bigger picture of eternity than so many people, especially on the left, have in our lives, isn't it? What a wonderful example she's being in this moment. To the rest of us, I've been so encouraged by the love I've seen from the right. Yesterday I wasn't able to watch the entire memorial straight through because I was spending some time with the what's called the Maryland Freedom Caucus in Maryland. Yesterday, went and visited. These were a bunch of elected officials in the State House, the most conservative members of the State House, and they were holding a picnic yesterday, long scheduled beforehand. And so I was on the road to that picnic and I was listening to Charlie Kirk's memorial. And I was so moved by all of the. The music and the speeches and the remembrances and really deeply affected by this. And I arrived at that Maryland Freedom Caucus event just thinking so much about what had happened in Charlie Kirk's life and what makes the right different, what makes conservatives different. And one of the points that I made yesterday, and then I'll reiterate here for you, and that we've been talking about, is that in the wake of Charlie's assassination, you probably had the same feeling I did, which is nervousness. A nervousness, an anticipation about what is going to happen next. How crazy are things about to get in light of the fact that such a bright light in the conservative movement had just been gunned down in cold blood? And we could have gone in one of two directions. One direction is the direction we went in. It's the direction of love, peace, mourning, celebration of Charlie's life and eagerness to do the work that Charlie did throughout his life and to take up that mantle the rest of us, that one way. The other way is bloodshed, violence, civil war, and just poisonous animosity just running through the United States of America. And you could feel in the moments after Charlie was gunned down, you could feel that the right had something of a decision to make about what course we would chart. And I am glad we chose love. Satan wanted us to choose darkness. Satan wanted us to choose violence. Satan wanted us to go down the path of killing our fellow man in the wake of all of this. But that's not what God wanted for us. That's not the loving path. That is not what we're supposed to do. And I said this yesterday. You know, I. I've been thinking a lot about there's. And I realize we're in the midst of what we saw yesterday with this memorial service is a lot of people. And I don't wanna reflect on them who so proudly and bravely reflected on the life of Christ as they were reflecting on Charlie. And I was so impressed by it. I was so grateful for it. Our founders thought, and they expressed it, that our entire country, our Constitution, is built for a moral and religious people. That's true. A religious people. Without that fabric, this whole thing falls apart. We have to acknowledge eternal truths. And if you're gonna shy away from those eternal truths, well, then you're too weak for this. You're too weak for this. And at times, we've all been too weak for it. But you should grow in your strength. And so one of the Words I reflect upon a lot. I've been reflecting upon a lot lately. Is the word meek. Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, giving us the Beatitudes, he said, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And if you're like me, you may have spent much of your life, I certainly did, thinking that the word meek was a synonym for weak, that it was some sort of demonstration of cowardice, of just. Of a kind of weakness that we don't often cherish, that why would we cherish a weakness? But that is not what meek means. Meek comes to us from traditionally a word used to reference taming a war horse, to prepare it for battle, to take something powerful, strong, immensely capable, and to prepare it for the chaos of battle. In fact, the phrase meeking a horse was originally meant for this purpose. That's what meek means, to take something powerful and to control it. Meekness in this context means that you can control the immense power you have within you. Think about the capability of the American right. The right has its wits about them. The right has an understanding of history. The right has an appreciation for the great legacy of Americans that have led up to this moment. The right values the country in which we live. The right values our borders. The right cares about the people who live here. The right has all the guns. The right values and cherishes the amendments to our Constitution, including that Second Amendment. We have immense power to dictate whether or not real chaos comes to this country. But we don't want that. And why is that? Because the right believes in order. The right believes in love. The right believes in structure. The right believes in. In lifting each other up, not tearing each other down. And all of this was on display yesterday. So when Christ says, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, he's talking about the very things that we've seen from our conservative brothers and sisters over these last 12 days since Charlie was assassinated. And Erica Kirk, she was given a mission. In this moment, Erica Kirk, if she wanted to, she could stand on that stage and call this country to revolution. She could condemn the left. She could call for violence. She could have used that in any way she wanted. It was her microphone, and she used it to call us to our highest angels. She's on a mission and she's performing it well. Erica Kirk continued. She reflected on that, too. She said that America, in the wake of Charlie's assassination, did not riot. We didn't riot. Instead, we saw revival. Here's Erica Kirk.
- [14:50]
Erica Kirk
After Charlie's assassination, we didn't see violence. We didn't see rioting. We didn't see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country. We saw revival.
- [15:14]
Vince
We definitely did. Let me end with Erica's assessment here of what it means to be like Charlie. What it means to be like Charlie. To choose the virtues that guided Charlie's life and that should guide the rest of us. Take a listen here. Here's his widow, Erica.
- [15:32]
Erica Kirk
My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life. That young man on the cross, our savior said, father, forgive them for they not know what they do. That man.
- [16:08]
Vince
That young man.
- [16:12]
Erica Kirk
I forgive him.
- [16:33]
Vince
That's a strong woman and a great wife. A great wife. May we all be so great for our spouses. Amazing. The President of the United States, of course, in attendance. He spoke as well. So many great speeches. I'm gonna try and highlight some of them and why I thought they were so impactful yesterday. Amazing. And they call it turning point. And I really hope that not only that organization, but these moments, these last dozen days do serve as a turning point for our country. We have a country to save. And Charlie really believed that. And in death, I think he's had the biggest impact yet. The biggest impact yet. More in just a moment. Thank you for being here. Also, thank you to Patriot Mobile for sponsoring this program. You do have a lot of choices for cell phone service out there. New ones pop up all the time. They really do. But here's the truth. There's only one that boldly stands in the gap for every American that believes that freedom is worth fighting for. That is Patriot Mobile. The good news is you can switch to Patriot Mobile today without sacrificing quality or service. If you're worried about coverage, don't be. Patriot Mobile uses all three major US Networks. So look, if you have service in this country today, you're going to have as good or better coverage with Patriot Mobile. And switching is definitely not a hassle. You can keep your number and your phone or you can even Upgrade. Patriot Mobile's 100% US based team is going to get you activated in just minutes. All from the comfort of your own home. No traveling out to a cell phone store or waiting in line or anything else like that. If you're stuck in a contract or you owe money on your phones, don't worry. Patriot Mobile has a contract buyout program. And this is how you win. You align your spending with your values. Every dollar that we spend matters. So go to patriotmobile.com vince or call 972-patriot. I love Patriot Mobile. I have Patriot Mobile. You will love them too. Patriotmobile.com Vince 972 Patriot use the promo code Vince and get a free month of service. Our thanks to Patriot Mobile. Okay. Yeah, no, there were. Honestly, somebody said Don Jr. Was awesome. Yes, Don Jr. Was phenomenal. Also, Don Jr. Did the Trump impersonation. He did his meaning his father's impersonation yesterday. I think he did that when I interviewed him here on this program too. Hilarious. That always gets a big reaction. Everybody was so good yesterday. Let me take you to. While we're talking about Christianity and faith, there were so many cabinet officials who were invoking the word of God and the message of Christ. Here is Secretary Marco Rubio who has been, I think so impressive as Secretary of State. And he impressed me at a new level yesterday when he concluded his remarks this way. Here is Marco Rubio summarizing the story of Christ as he celebrates the life of Charlie Kirk. Listen to this.
- [19:43]
Marco Rubio
We were all created, every single one of us, before the beginning of time by the hands of the God of the universe, an all powerful God who loved us and created us for the purpose of living with him in eternity. But then sin entered the world and separated us from our Creator. And so God took on the form of a man and came down and lived among us. And he suffered like men and he died like a man. But on the third day, he rose unlike any mortal man.
- [20:14]
Vince
And then.
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Marco Rubio
And to prove any doubters wrong, he ate with his disciples so they could see and they touched his womb. He didn't rise as a ghost or as a spirit, but as flesh. And then he rose to the heaven. But he promised he would return. And he will. And when he returns, because he took on that death, because he carried that cross, we were freed from the sin that separated us from Him. And when he returns, there will be a new heaven and a new earth and we will all be together. And we are going to have a great reunion there again with Charlie and all the people we love. Thank you and God bless you.
- [20:53]
Vince
What an amazing, amazing conclusion to his remarks yesterday. I. That was, that was the tightest 90 seconds. How good was that, Isaac? That was a very tight 90. That was an amazing Isaac. I told Isaac as I arrived in studio today, producer Isaac's here. And I was saying, I was like, man, you should hear Marco Rubio. 90 seconds. He described the entire gospel. And he goes, man, that's pretty efficient. 90 seconds. I go, yeah, wait until you hear this thing that's how good that was. And has any Secretary of State in the history of our country ever talked like that, ever? That was out of this world. Good. Out of this world. We have had such a long run of immense cowardice out of elected officials, out of people who purport to lead our country. It is so refreshing to see courage, to see bravery on stage, to say things true out loud. You know, I've been reflecting a lot on. I played some audio for you. I think it was on Friday on former Vice President Mike Pence, who sat on a stage with the Atlantic magazine last week and was asked about Charlie Kirk's assassination. And he gave this kind of like sort of milquetoast response that the only person responsible for killing Charlie was the man who pulled the trigger. And we shouldn't draw broader conclusions out of this. And it drove me so crazy. It drove me so completely crazy, because you hear something like that and what you're doing is you're absolving the left of all of the sins that they've committed that would lead up to a weak and vicious mind pulling the trigger like that. You heard it from Erica Kirk yesterday that Charlie was looking to save the minds of young men like the shooter who killed him, but who corrupted that young man's mind. You have to be honest about this. It was the left that did that. It was the left, whether through irresponsibility or act of malice, they contorted that man's mind into something that manifested itself in a demonic attack on Charlie Kirk. We all have to be responsible for our words, every one of us. And that's a biblical principle, too. God spoke us into existence. In the beginning, there was the Word. The word is so important. Our words matter. And the left has been far too reckless and destructive with the words that they've used to the point. Now, we've had endless acts of violence at the hands of. Of weak and vicious lefties who have taken those dark words to heart. We need more courage. I was glad to see Rubio demonstrate it yesterday, and he gives me hope that he has a very promising future ahead of him. Another man who has a promising future ahead of him is J.D. vance. J.D. vance yesterday said that there are worse fates than the one that Charlie suffered. Yes, Charlie suffered death. That's a tough fate. It's also a fate that all of us are due for however it comes. But he said there are worse Fates. Listen to J.D. vance. Yesterday, Charlie suffered a terrible fate. My friends, we all know it, we all saw it, but think it is not the worst fate. It is better to face a gunman than to live your life afraid to speak the truth. It is better to be persecuted for your faith than to deny the kingship of Christ. It is better to die a young man in this world than to sell.
- [24:51]
Marco Rubio
Your soul for an easy life with.
- [24:53]
Vince
No purpose, no risk, no love and no truth. Amen. Great remarks from the Vice President of the United States. Now, the Vice President, of course, wasn't alone. The President of the United States also addressing the assembled there. There's a lot that the President said. I won't play the whole speech for you, but I just want to play a little bit. Here's the President talking yesterday about how this attack on Charlie was not merely an attack on him as one man, it was an attack on all of us as a nation. I mean, they didn't, yeah, they didn't kill Charlie. Cuz the guy didn't like the way Charlie looked. He killed Charlie because he didn't like the views that he was expressing, the views that you and I share.
- [25:35]
Donald Trump
Charlie's murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement. It was an attack on our entire nation. That was a horrible attack on the United States of America. It was an assault on our most sacred liberties and God. God given rights. The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us. That bullet was aimed at every one of us. Indeed, Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena and most other places throughout our country deeply believed in. But the assassin failed in his quest because Charlie's message has not been silenced. It now is bigger and better and stronger than ever before. And it's not even close.
- [26:24]
Vince
Amazing. One last element here that I want to get to the President of the United States. Yesterday he kind of told a bit of a self effacing joke about like this impulse that we have to forgive our enemies. And he joked that he doesn't share Charlie's attitude of forgiveness. And it was kind of a, you could tell it was kind of a half joke. It was like, look, I'm, I've got a fighter spirit. I'm not that interested in forgiving my enemies. But listen to the President and tell me whether or not, give me a sense chat. If you have the same range of emotions as I do. I'm somewhere between Erica Kirk and Donald Trump all the time. Internally, I'm having the very same wrestling match that was on display yesterday. Here's the President.
- [27:07]
Donald Trump
He was a missionary with a noble spirit and a Great, great purpose.
- [27:13]
Vince
He.
- [27:13]
Donald Trump
He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I am sorry, Erica. But now Erica can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that's not right. But I can't stand my opponent.
- [27:39]
Vince
Again. You know, this is. This moment from the President is of course, been instantly misinterpreted by Democrats and RINOs. Oh, look how awful Trump is. And they try to divide people. He should be more like Erica. He's an awful human being. No, Trump is a human, Erica. Kirk is a human. And the President, clearly, you can hear it in his tone. For those of us who followed him long enough, you can tell that he's kind of joking, but he's acknowledging his own flaws. We all have this flaw. You're tempted by this vengeance. You want justice. And that righteous indignation that wells up within you often will whisper to you that you should take the dark path. But I'm telling you, the President, he spoke for me yesterday. Erica Kirk did, too. And that's our human condition. We're gonna continue to have that wrestling match internally. How do we confront this? But there is one thing we know for sure. We have to confront it. We have to confront it, and we have to do it for our families, we have to do it for our kids, and we have to do it for our country. And, boy, it was so great to see all of that on display yesterday. In a moment, I'm going to have the great Susan Crabtree stop in. We're going to chat with her about everything that she witnessed and her lessons from yesterday's important events. We've got a lot more to get to here on this edition of Vince. Thank you for being here. Have you ever think about aging at all? Aging? I do. Especially as my body begins to ache more. I've noticed as I get older that my energy has gone down a bit. And I've been trying to figure out ways to get it back. And I'm very excited to share with you something that I've found has worked. C15 from Fatty 15. It's the first essential fatty acid to be discovered in more than 90 years. Fatty 15 co founder, Dr. Stephanie Van Watson discovered the benefits of C15 while working with the US Navy. And based on studies, we do know that when our cells don't have enough C15, they can age faster. Fatty 15 can help you repair and protect age related damage to cells and help activate pathways in the body that repair mechanisms that support our overall wellness. Fatty 15 is a science backed award winning vegan 100% pure C15 supplement and refills are shipped right to your door. I love this stuff. I take it every morning and I feel so much better doing it. Fatty 15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help you support your long term health and wellness, especially as you age. You can get an additional 15% off their 90 day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.com Vince use the code Vince at checkout now. These statements have not been evaluated by the fda. This product is not intended to diagnose, tree, cure or prevent any disease. Our thanks also to Blackout Coffee which I do start my day with every day. I love Blackout. Blackout's what gets my energy going each morning and it's probably the official coffee of all of us here at Silverlock. And there is a good reason for that. And this is bold, unapologetic, pro America coffee that's roasted fresh right here in the United States. It is not random grocery store junk. This is great coffee. Blackout coffee delivers rich, high quality roasts that you know they taste like freedom. They really do. And now you can set it and forget it. Get auto refill and recurring delivery. This means no more running out, no more watered down backups, just your favorite roast delivered fresh on your schedule. You don't even have to think, think about it. It just arrives and you have your next cup of coffee. Pick your favorite roast, how often you want it delivered and not only do you get a discount, but you also get double the rewards and free shipping right to your doorstep. Blackout coffee is very good coffee. I'm telling you, I drink my coffee black. I know what good coffee tastes like. And blackout is great. Here's what you do. Go to blackoutcoffee.com Vince use the code Vince. That's V I N C E. Get 20% off your first order. Whether you're into bold, dark roasts, flavored coffee or even instant, Blackout's got your back. Real coffee, no compromise. Blackout coffee.com Vince get yours now. Blackout Coffee. Our thanks to Blackout for being awesome. Okay, let's see. Let's bring in the wonderful Susan Crabtree from RealClear Politics. She joins us now with her thoughts on this commemoration this weekend for Charlie Kirk. Susan, great to have you with us today. Thank you so much.
- [31:58]
Susan Crabtree
Oh, it's an honor to be with you Vinson. It's an important day. What a cathartic event for those who are able to watch all five plus hours of it. I just thought it was an incredible healing experience for Charlie Kirk supporters and the nation as a whole. I think we're all struggling with what Trump was, what you just said, what was on display, all the range of emotions, outrage, anger, sorrow. So I, I, I felt like there was a few quotes that I remember from that day that I thought were, you know, just hold on to these things as we're moving forward. I wrote a piece called what Would Charlie Do? The Path Forward out of Darkness after the, after the memorial service was over. And you know, it was interesting to me that you had his, his spiritual mentor talk about the, you know, the healing process that you can, the Christian maxim that God will bring good out of evil. And we already saw that on display with this reuniting of Donald Trump and Elon Musk and the clasped hands and the smiles and easy going chatter between the two of them. It was sort of like this, this wonderful reunification of two sort of frenemies. And, and I thought that that was sort of the message that we needed to take away. All things are possible through God. And, and Ben Carson was great too. It's this balancing act. You cannot be the land of the free if you're not the home of the brave. Ben Carson said, and he said, you've got to stand up for what you believe in, but we need to do it with love, everything to be done with love, even though we're forcefully standing up for what we believe in.
- [33:55]
Vince
Ben Carson, by the way, one of my heroes, and we just had him on the show, I think it was a week ago or so. And the President this weekend announced at the American Cornerstone Institute that Ben Carson will be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and rightfully so. So that's a very nice thing to see. You know, one thought I had about Charlie, Susan, watching all of this yesterday, is Charlie, given what he was doing, he was going to these campuses and he was debating. And you know, you've been engaged in political debates in your life where you're called upon to like, debate a leftist on television or whatever. And usually these are short experiences. They're not like long winded debates if you're doing them on tv. But if you're engaged in a long winded debate, one way you might prepare is you've gotta think about your opponents likely talking points. What are they gonna say? How am I gonna respond to them? What do I back up to in order to win this debate? And as you continue to back up, you have to back up to first principles. What do we believe in? And where does that come from? And so, in a sense, it's kind of no wonder that Charlie was such an evangelist, because as he continued to back up to first principles, he kept deriving them from eternity. He kept saying, well, this comes to us from God, and I love you because you were built in the image and likeness of God. I just think that dialogue happened to make him a better Christian.
- [35:17]
Susan Crabtree
Oh, just. Absolutely. And yesterday we saw, you know, just Donald, from Donald Trump to Erica Kirk, sort of embracing this idea that now, you know, even though the shooter wanted to take him down, was doing something just evil, that he is now, his voice is now amplified and. And that voice is really evangelizing the truth along with his political views, the truth that he believed that was undergirding all of his political beliefs. And it's just, to me, I've been trying to grapple with this, the same type of anger that Trump was displaying, but it's sorrow and trying to find a moment of healing here. And I just turned to First Corinthians. I happen to be studying it anyway. St. John 16, 13, 14. Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, but do everything in love. And I think that's the message coming out of this. You're not going to just, you know, just put aside your belief system. In fact, you're going to do the opposite. You're going to be rise to the occasion and strongly state what your beliefs are. And we should have that civil discourse that. That Charlie Kirk so embodied. Basically, he upheld it. But we need to be kind in our messaging, even though we have differences. And that was what was so beautiful about Erica Kirk's message, that she was already ready to forgive the killer, the assassin of her husband, 10 days after the event. It's remarkable. I'm not sure we all are ready to forgive, but. But there is that sentiment that she held so dearly and displayed yesterday in such a remarkably composed way.
- [37:15]
Vince
So one thing I was struck by yesterday in a big way was all of the elected officials and cabinet members who were professing their faith so openly and so courageously. I've never seen anything like this in my life, ever. In the wake of nine, 11, of course, there was a lot of call to prayer, and there were things like people singing God Bless America on the steps of the Capitol. All, all moments, expressions that I appreciated, but I've never seen anything like this. Susan, what. What do you think this means?
- [37:45]
Susan Crabtree
Well, I, I noticed that J.D. vance said he had never spoken so much about his faith in Jesus Christ as he has done in the last 10 days in all of his years of public service. You know, I just think it's going to open up a flood of this testimonies, personal testimonies, because we try not to. Some of us try not to try not to wear our religion on our sleeve, our belief in Jesus Christ, but sometimes you just have to embrace it. These moments that, I mean, they're the foundation of a lot of our belief system. At least for me it is. And I've decided to wear my cross. I have. All my life, in 30 years in D.C. politics, I haven't done so because I thought, you know, I need to remain nonpartisan as a reporter, not display my religious police for fear that that would make me biased up here and biased. But you know what? I'm not going to hide it under a bushel anymore. This is a core belief system that I have, and I think it's like Charlie Kirk, we can't hide it under a bushel. We need to display what has given us strength through trials in our life. And the nation needs this more than ever now. So I just think I was so touched. Even the Secret Service, you know, that's what I cover a lot. You saw them at one point being so impressed and on the tops of the building, some of the snipers, I don't know if they were Secret Service or they were local law enforcement, but they were just engaged with the crowd and raising their hands up. I will do a shout out for the Secret Service. What an amazing job they did in just 10 days. I think they deserve a debt of gratitude for the nation for allowing everyone to grieve and have a wonderful, beautiful service for Charlie Kirk.
- [39:40]
Vince
Can you talk to us about that side of things? I was curious your thoughts on the Secret Service protecting an event like this. This is unusual. Normally you don't get such a short time frame for an event of this magnitude to be put together and to be secured. You know, with political conventions, for instance, which are often concentrations of this many important and well protected people, it takes many, many months, years to plan out how, exactly how you'll secure an event like that. This was done in 11 days inside of an NFL stadium. You had almost every high ranking cabinet official there. The Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House, the President of the United States. From your perch. Susan Crabtree is someone who reports so extensively on the Secret Service. What kind of effort did they have to undertake to make sure that this was a safe event.
- [40:30]
Susan Crabtree
It was a Herculean effort on their part because they had so many other things going on at the same time. They have the UN General assembly, which takes so many of their resources in New York, more than 100 foreign dignitaries in New York City right now, as we speak, on a rolling basis, actually. But they also were just coming off of a huge trip to, to the United Kingdom that Donald Trump took. So it was called a Sears event, Sears one level event. And it was a sort of a whole of government approach. You had the federal government working with local and state law enforcement resources, and they managed to pull it off without a hitch. I wrote a story saying this was going to be a big test for the Secret Service. You know, I've been very, very critical of them in the wake of the two assassination attempts against Donald Trump and a series of embarrassing failures. But this one was a triumph for the Secret Service and they deserve all the recognition that they are going to get for just pulling this together in such a short time and doing it so seamlessly.
- [41:40]
Vince
Yeah, it was a remarkable event and I found myself deeply impacted by it. And I know there are people on the left who were under the impression that, that people would forget about this in seconds, that nobody would really think that much about Charlie Kirk's life after it was taken from us. But, but, boy, I feel like he's having the biggest impact he's had yet. And he was so impactful in life.
- [42:03]
Susan Crabtree
That's exactly right. I mean, I think that he is going to be amplified. And, you know, it was a touching moment when Erica Kirk said, you know, he said, if you offer yourself to God to use you, he will do it. And, you know, he. She's giving up the ultimate sacrifice of her husband. Not willingly, of course, but his life is now going to remain remembered for all of. For Stan, for the civil discourse that he so rightfully championed and, you know, just for his faith. And that's what he wanted. This Christian revival is exactly what Charlie Kirk wanted. And it's, it's amazing turn of events. And I thought that this, this, this memorial service did more than do him justice. It really helped bring a healing moment to the nation and to all of his supporters, friends, and those that he influenced so greatly throughout his, his short 31 years on this earth.
- [43:07]
Vince
Yeah, and it's, and, and by the way, the last thought on this, it's also a sign that God is using Donald Trump in a very interesting way. And he has been there's a lot was said about Trump, especially people who didn't want him to become a nominee or the President of the United States. How could Christians support that man? He's had all these wives or whatever. And the thing that I always have remembered is that he wasn't. Trump wasn't elected to be our pastor, but he was elected to be a bodyguard for religious liberty, which he's done so well and so effectively. And you can tell on his own journey that after he was shot in Butler last year especially, that he's in a different place now. And I just think I can't see all the pieces. None of us can. But I do think that what happened yesterday is the latest and a very important chapter in Donald Trump's leadership of this country.
- [44:01]
Susan Crabtree
I would sincerely agree with you. That was very well said. And people see this as sort of a dichotomy. He's a fighter, but he's a fighter on behalf of many of the beliefs that Charlie Crook and many Christians espouse. So we are looking to his championship of religious freedom. Already the Supreme Court has been acting in that way on behalf of parents that are fighting for their religious rights in schools across this nation and so many other ways. But, yes, I think you put it best, Vince. It's just an interesting. We see through a glass dimly, always on this earth. You can see that God is working and this administration.
- [44:51]
Vince
Yeah, no, I know, believe me. I mean, my plan was not for Trump to sit out of office for four years. God had a very different plan than I did. And it turns out time and time again, his plan's a lot better than mine because it worked out much better than I could even, even have imagined. Susan Crabtree, thank you for all your politics reporting through the years and just your wonderful presence today. Good to talk to you.
- [45:15]
Susan Crabtree
So glad to be with you, Vince. Thanks for having me.
- [45:18]
Vince
Susan Crabtree from RealClearPolitics. She's, she's the best. And, and a dogged, really talented reporter. Boy, she's using her talents. Okay, let me, let me, let me get to something else before I go. And we're gonna, we're gonna spend a lot of time on this, of course, because we have been spending a lot of time on it. And it's the fact that you and I talk about justice. We want to see people held accountable for what they've done to our country, for the abuses that they've met it out on our country from their positions of power. And there was a moment this weekend on Truth Social that really jumped out at all of us. Let me pull this up because the President of the United States on truth social media had a message for the Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, that he shared. And fellas, if you could pull up my screen here. I want people to see this. Here's the President's statement. This is now Saturday night. He posted this and he wrote Pam. It didn't say Bondi, he just said Pam. But you and I know he's talking about. I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that essentially quote, same old story as last time, all talk, no action, nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam Schiff, the Schiff, Letitia, they're all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done, end quote. That's the, that's the, these are the messages the President's receiving. And then he goes on. Then we almost put in a Democrat supported U.S. attorney in Virginia with a really bad Republican past a woke RINO who was never going to do his job. That's why two of the worst Democrat senators pushed him so hard. He even lied to the media and said he quit and that we had no case. I'll get to that in a second. No, I fired him, said Trump, and there's a great case and many lawyers and legal pundits say so. Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer and likes you a lot. We can't delay any longer. It's killing our reputation and credibility. And they impeached me twice and indicted me five times over nothing. Justice must be served. Now. President DJT now here's a thing. I wasn't thinking about this. I, I spoke to somebody much smarter than me about this subject and this person floated the idea that this might have meant, this might have been a direct message. In other words, the President may have been writing this to send directly to Pam Bondi, but accidentally published it. Now, I'm not sure if I believe that or not. I can believe it. Maybe that's what was happening. But one way or the other, he is posting this very publicly that he's furious that these people are not being brought to justice. Now, the other piece of this, the one that the President acknowledges in this message to Pam is the fact that this weekend the President fired the Eastern District of Virginia attorney, the acting U.S. attorney by the name of Eric Seibert. And the New York Times has a report up on this. I'm not gonna trust their take on it, but just as a way of reflecting on the fact that he's gone, they said U.S. attorney investigating two Trump foes departs amid pressure from the president. And they say the U.S. attorney investigating New York's Attorney General, Letitia James. This is important. And the former FBI Director James Comey, also important, said he resigned on Friday. That's hours after President Trump called for his ouster. Yeah, the president did that in the Oval Office on Friday. Eric Seibert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, had recently told senior Justice Department officials that investigators found insufficient evidence to bring charges against Ms. James. Let me tell you something about that. That is nonsense. We've spent a lot of time talking about faith and Christ today. So I'll avoid cursing today. I have to avoid cursing. It's usually good. It's not good for you to curse all the time. But let me just say that this is horse hockey. I'll put it that way. This is garbage. Insufficient evidence to bring charges against Letitia James. You remember what the case against her is. She is the Attorney General of the State of New York and she lied when applying for a mortgage in the state of Virginia that that was going to be her principal residence. Now, it'd be one thing if you had some sort of person who was untrained with reading documents with a close eye that they had done something in an ignorant fashion. It'd be one thing. It's another thing entirely when you have a trained attorney filling out a legal document and then lying in the document about her intention for the residence. This is as much. I've talked to a lot of lawyers about this. This is an open and shut case against Letitia James. It's not even a close call. The fact that this guy is, according to the New York Times, pretending like, oh, there just wasn't really enough evidence to go after her means it's utter and complete left wing garbage. That guy should not be in that role. And it is good that the President of the United States has fired him from it, unquestionably. Now, one of the things the president said on this subject, the reason why his antenna went up about this guy is because he had endorsements from the two Democrat senators in Virginia. Listen to the President. Here he is asked about this on Friday, talking about the, up until this weekend, Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. attorney. Listen here, James.
- [51:19]
Donald Trump
Are you disappointed that the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia has not prosecuted Letitia James?
- [51:24]
Vince
Do you intend to fire him?
- [51:26]
Donald Trump
Well, we're gonna see what happens. I am not following it very closely. It looks to me like she's very guilty of something. But I really don't know. I know that the U.S. attorney from the Eastern District or from that district in Virginia, that he was approved by two Democrat senators, who in my opinion are among the worst. And when I learned that, two senators, Democrats, because, as you know, it's very hard with the.
- [51:52]
Vince
So what he's talking about, this is Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. They're the Democrat senators from Virginia, and they have given their endorsement to this guy. And. And so in return, he is serving them by not prosecuting, as he should, a legitimate prosecution against one of their fellow travelers, a person who has weaponized her office to attack Donald Trump. And the people who voted for Trump.
- [52:18]
Donald Trump
A Republican, to get somebody approved, if you have one senator that's a Democrat because of an old custom, it's not a law, it's a custom. It's a ridiculous customer them. But if you have a Democrat senator, you have to get that senator to approve. Well, in this case, we had two. When I saw that he got two senators, two gentlemen, that are bad news as far as I'm concerned. When I saw that he got approved by those two men, I said, pull it, because he can't be any good.
- [52:48]
Vince
So you want him fired?
- [52:50]
Donald Trump
You want him out? Yeah, I want him out. Yeah. When I learned that, and he was blue, slipped through by two Democrat senators in Virginia, people that would never vote for the people that haven't voted for us for probably years. Okay. Probably years. Two, in my opinion, two bad guys. You know, they are Warner and Kaine, two bad guys, bad senators, too. They do a terrible job for the people of Virginia.
- [53:17]
Vince
True.
- [53:18]
Donald Trump
But when I saw that he got a approved by these two terrible people that haven't voted. They just don't vote, no matter what it is. We could give them the greatest deal ever and they still wouldn't vote. And they voted for this guy. And I have other people, judges, and I have U.S. attorneys from other states where I have the same situation.
- [53:36]
Vince
All right, so I'm seeing in the chat somebody's asking, what's a blue slip? Not everybody knows this totally fine. It's a Senate procedure. And the basic point is this, that the US Senators for each of the states have a right to veto any of the Federal Judicial or U.S. attorney nominees by the President of the United States. They have a veto right over the whole Senate. It's their tradition in the Senate. And Republicans and Democrats have been guarding this power in their own states. And so the idea is basically that if you've got a Republican president who's trying to appoint U.S. attorneys to do the job, to actually prosecute violations of the law. And in this case, you have Democrat senators going, nope, not in my state. You can't have somebody who's gonna enforce the law in my state. I'm gonna veto that. And if they greenlight the person, as Mark Warner and Tim Kaine did in the case of this presidential nominee for the Eastern District of Virginia, well, that's a clear sign that they think that guy's gonna do their bidding. And based on all of the public reporting, he, he was doing their bidding. He wasn't prosecuting someone who clearly violated the law. And that can't happen. We've got a lot to get to. We'll continue on this story. I wanna talk about some of the ways that the Republicans in the Senate can actually fix all of this. What can be done about it? We'll get to it in the days ahead because we desperately need consequences for the people who violated the laws in our country and hurt the rest of us. You have to have that. You have to have that. Our thanks as always for you joining me here on this program. We got the big national radio show coming up. I'll explore more of this on the radio show today, 12 to 3 Eastern time. You can find your local listings at the vinshow.com or watch us rumble.com Vince Suite do it live every day as always. Great to have you with us. I'm back with you tomorrow.