← Zero Hour with James Poulos
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- [00:01]
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Cliff Maloney
Cliff Maloney PA Chase. Thank you for joining us. You got the hat going on instantly, recognizably Pennsylvania. Let me start out by saying congratulations.
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Charlie Kirk
Ten in a row is that we're talking about?
- [01:09]
Cliff Maloney
Yes.
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Charlie Kirk
Birds are looking real strong.
- [01:11]
Cliff Maloney
Real strong. And you're looking real strong too, obviously. Pennsylvania, big deal in this election. You guys pulled it out. Your knuckles must be bleeding from all the door knocking. Just get us up to speed real quick on how you felt election night. Going from, you know, toss up status to leaning red to the big victory and then how that's powering you through into, into a fresh new year.
- [01:33]
Charlie Kirk
I think we're all running on adrenaline right now. We're, we're enjoying the high of the win. But look, we, we set out with two goals of phase one. We wanted to knock 500,000 doors, but to the measurable objective we wanted was to have Trump go from 20% of the mail in vote, which Republicans have averaged in Pennsylvania, to 33%. And so the stress and the anxiety was about that 30 because we knew if we hit that, we would flip the state. And we were, we were confident if we hit that, that McCormick would also be able to win in all the other statewides. So going through the process, we were pretty confident we get to 500,000. We ended up knocking 510,000 doors. But like I said, I mean, when you're looking at, you know, some of the pundits on the left, you know, are saying the Trump ground game doesn't exist. These organizations, like Turning Point in our group, Citizens alliance with the PHAs, there don't exist. They're not funded, they're not real. It's just a lot of noise. It gets to a point where it's like, okay, I have 120 full time people that have been on the ground in Pennsylvania September 1st through election day. I know they're real. I'm watching the daily reports come in. But we ended up finishing with 34.5% of the mail in vote. Huge win. And we were Blessed that it was the state that ended up being the one that got to 270 to deliver the White House.
- [02:51]
Cliff Maloney
I remember on election night, of course, we were all hunkered down at Blaze hq, covering the play by play. There was this moment where Elon Mus said, and then soon thereafter posted, donald has won game, set, match. And he just exited the premises and went on to the next step. Was there a moment for you when you were sort of like, we got it before anything was reported, before word started to spread.
- [03:16]
Charlie Kirk
So I was doing the Charlie Kirk show, his live stream on election night. You know, Charlie called me a couple hours beforehand. He was like, I need you to come on, because if North Carolina and Georgia are called, it's going to come down to Pennsylvania.
- [03:27]
Cliff Maloney
Yeah.
- [03:28]
Charlie Kirk
And so we. About 90 minutes beforehand, when Allegheny county was fully in, and we were just waiting on Philadelphia county and some of the collar counties, we really felt like, based on our projections, that we had it. And here's what's awesome. When you run a statewide effort and you're collecting all this data, you're not relying on the Secretary of State, you're not relying on media pundits who are just, you know, regurgitating talking points about, you know, the Kornackis at the big board.
- [03:55]
Cliff Maloney
Right.
- [03:55]
Charlie Kirk
No, we actually have the data of what we see as kind of in the field polling to know what we're expecting. So about 90 minutes out, when Allegheny county had shifted, I mean, dramatically from 2020, and not just Trump's vote doing better, but her vote and her enthusiasm just completely dropping.
- [04:13]
Cliff Maloney
That's right.
- [04:14]
Charlie Kirk
I'm texting Charlie. I'm like, charlie, we got a call. We got to call it. Charlie said, no, I'm getting flashbacks of 2020 PTSD. He didn't want to call it, but I was on page with Elon and that we kind of could see the numbers, and she underperformed so strongly that there was no path for her.
- [04:30]
Cliff Maloney
Yeah. You know, I want to talk a little bit more about Pennsylv, Penia, the state in depth. You know, Keystone State, obviously, Arizona, Pennsylvania, both played such an important part of not just the election, but kind of like the mind game around the election. Like, you know, there's a lot of talk about that. Exactly what you said. Republicans not having that ground game. Maybe, you know, people who are sitting at home saying, Trump is awesome, but how do you get him to actually motivate? Are we going to get crushed on Bella harvesting all that stuff? And between Arizona and Pennsylvania and you and Charlie really just Sort of creating a trustable impression that like. No, actually we kind of do got this. We do have people. They're real, they're flesh and blood, they're down there doing things that are going to be able to ultimately outpace the ground game on the left. But when you look at Pennsylvania, you know, this is a state that for, for whatever reason, you know, and it's probably a pretty long list at this point, has come to represent in Americans minds not so much like the sunny optimism and explosive growth of a state like California or like sort of Elon Musk and tech world. Like, you know, we're going to Mars. You can just do things. We're going to blast off into the future. It's going to be amazing. But really just kind of that, you know, that rust belt legacy and kind of like, you know, crime and sort of urban prominent, really, Pennsylvania representing kind of the America that was. And so I just wonder, like from your standpoint, you know, especially in your involvement really at the grassroots level, you know, experiencing the state as a resident, as a, you know, as someone who's mobilizing, you know, a community organizer, if you will, someone with that perspective, you know, what's the mood in Pennsylvania right now as a state, as a, as a community of people? And do you think that, you know, when, when MAGA 2.0 talks about that golden age and that kind of American renaissance, what does that look like on the ground when it comes to a state like Pennsylvania?
- [06:12]
Charlie Kirk
We're in the golden age, baby. You're exactly right. I think one thing that we realized, you know, if you look at kind of the vibe on the ground, obviously they got the two blueberries in the tomato soup, right, with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. But we really, really think that a couple things that weren't as publicly shared or that people weren't talking about. I think J.D. vance was a tremendous pick for Pennsylvania. I think a lot of people talked about it. You know, the left tried to destroy him when he first was chosen. But I really, I think people undervalue how much his upbringing and his blue collar background, working class, just connects with a lot of the folks across Pennsylvania. You know, the DC elite political consultants dream of creating somebody that has a story like J.D. vance. You know, they create that all the time. He's the real deal. And so I told people that, you know, one of the major themes that we found when we were talking to voters is authenticity. People wanted something that was authentic. And I think when you compare J.D. vance and Donald Trump with Harrison Walls, it just Wasn't even close. And I think alternative media, I think the podcasting world, I think, you know, just people are getting their information from so many different angles, if you will, different. But they can. They can go through it and figure out what they truly believe. But I think that's led us to this election being more about authenticity than any other election in history. You can't just come out and put out a press release. No. Donald Trump is doing three hours on Joe Rogan. Right. I mean, you are as in depth as you can be.
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Cliff Maloney
Nowhere to hide in that format.
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Charlie Kirk
And I think Harris was probably the worst person to put up when you're looking for someone that's genuine, that's authentic. I mean, she just really could not put a sentence together where anyone thought, oh, she really believes that.
- [07:59]
Cliff Maloney
Right.
- [07:59]
Charlie Kirk
And so I think that working class thing, the vibe for me is, yes, this is a new beginning for those on the right, we've won the battle, but the war has just begun. The policies, we're going to dictate where we go from here. But I just think that the working class really showed up in a way to help. And I'm talking a lot of young men, a lot of black men, the Amish. I mean, there were all these coalitions of people that just came together. And the last one, I'll say it's Bobby Kennedy. I mean, I don't. I have a lot of my relatives, pipefitters, teamsters, Southeastern Pennsylvania, you know, they vote blue, right? That's their whole thing. Bobby Kennedy. There are a lot of them. Love jfk.
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Cliff Maloney
Oh, yeah, okay.
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Charlie Kirk
My late grandmother, she was still around, loved jfk.
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Cliff Maloney
She'd still be voting for jfk.
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Charlie Kirk
She might be in Philly, I got to check. But the reality is that Bobby Kennedy, the amount of independence and the health folks that really came into the MAGA movement, I just don't think there's ever been a coalition like that before.
- [09:00]
Cliff Maloney
No, I don't think so either. And, you know, I think everything you said about JD Is absolutely right. But here's the thing about JD that really fascinates me is, you know, his. His rollout of the hillbilly elegy thing. You got the book, it's bestseller. You got the movie, you got Hollywood saying, like, yes, we're going to do this. And there was that feeling of, you know, there's a couple of different phrases that are being sort of tossed around to capture that kind of character that's been created of, like, the guy who presents as, like a blue collar man. But the Words that are coming out of his mouth are like, not the words that you might associate with the average. Right. That sort of like Frankenstein that the left has created. They kind of wanted to do that to JD and they were happy to say, yes. Hillbilly elegy. These people are on their way out. It's like a dead end culture. It's all very sad, but, you know, they're part of the past and, you know, our little merry band of freaks is the future. But he didn't let that happen. And that twist I thought was really remarkable. And when JD's running as a VP and they start bringing out these old photos of, you know, with the, with the flat iron bangs and the eyeshadow, and I was like, yo, you know, that was a lot of guys.
- [10:10]
Charlie Kirk
I got those photos.
- [10:11]
Cliff Maloney
Yeah, you know, My Chemical Romance was definitely a thing. And we've had this generational change and we're now stacking young generations of people who are like, yeah, I voted for Trump. Like, why? What else was I going to do? You know, it's a no brainer and that's like a baseline for them. And I've seen those articles in the New York Times where it's like, you know, we have kids, they don't remember the horrible things that Donald Trump has done, like, what are we going to do? And, and that break that ability to leap out of the kind of cultural framework that was created to house and kind of imprison guys like jd. His ability to hop out of that and to go into a direction that, you know, if you're younger than 40, you're going to be like, I know exactly who this guy is and I like it. And that's just really melted minds on the left, I think.
- [10:52]
Charlie Kirk
Yeah. And I think we're just in a, a completely new world once again of this alternative. I say alternative media, but just how people get their information. My dad was a Trump voter this year because of, literally because of TikTok.
- [11:04]
Cliff Maloney
Yeah.
- [11:04]
Charlie Kirk
Right. Because he's like, Harris is just like, you know, he's watching these videos and he's like, and I'm not even on TikTok. Right. But I'm just saying that people are getting their content in just such a new way. And I love these long form sit downs that JD and Trump did because, you know, you can kind of go deep, you can really dive in and figure out what's going on in their head. You know, Jordan Peterson, when he did like his famous interview with BBC way back when he first got, you know, his Rise. You know, he says, yeah, well, you know, you should. You should be digging in to figure out what's going on. That's good. Good. Do that. And it's like, if you did that for 10 minutes, I mean, Brett Baer, with his interview with Kamala Harris, probably ended her campaign. I mean, there were multiple times. But any time that she would get a serious conversation or have to give a serious answer, I just. I think the American people are just done with kind of this idea of talking points.
- [11:59]
Cliff Maloney
Yeah, I think so, too. I mean, you know, we got all these podcasts, and that's awesome, and I love my podcast bros. But there definitely seems to be a phenomenon here where a lot of Americans are saying, like, okay, we listened to the intellectuals, we listen to the experts. They very thoroughly explained everything to us. Sometimes I guess they're right because they're educated, but a lot of the time they were not right. And a lot of the time they were willfully wrong, and they were trying to, you know, to mislead us into ruining our own lives. So many people I know in their 40s, in their 30s, in their 20s, in their teens, they miss those four years that were taken away from them by the lockdowns. They miss what they felt like was going to be like capstone prime years of their life, coming of age years, the last years of their childhood. We have multi generations lining up here. And I think, like, that shift paired with the way that now you got guys who are in their 40s who thought, you know, they were led to believe that at some point over the past 15 years, they might finally get the torch, the baton handed off to them. Now they're finally getting that opportunity and that kind of energy, that kind of redemption energy is so powerful and it's so spiritual. It's not just about, like, now I can finally build wealth. Although you can, you know, it's not just about, like, you know, oh, finally, you know, maybe I can. I can come out of, you know, my bedroom and step into public life a little bit. Although that's part of it, too. But it's really just like, I can be useful, you know, like, I can matter again. That's so powerful. And, you know, when I look to what you guys are doing and you got your pin there and 2025 is going to be a new year, and you're not going to be in election mode. Just talk a little bit about, like, your team and, you know, what their ambitions are and what lights them up.
- [13:36]
Charlie Kirk
Yeah. So, number one, we hire based on Ideology. I know attorneys tell me to be careful how I say that, but it's the truth. We hire based on people that want to be in the fight. Right. And usually they're younger folks, 18 to 30, 35, but they're patriots. They're people who really care and want to get in the fight. And it's interesting, you know, half of our people probably come from Turning Point. That's a great pipeline for us. But it's really fascinating because you have some people who take a year after college and come, they want to, they want to get involved. Some people don't go to college and they say, listen, I want to get in the fight. A lot of people are working a dead end job and they're like, listen, I could work 9 to 5 making okay money or I can go to Pennsylvania and chase ballots to hopefully save the republic. Right. And people laugh about that, but you'd be surprised. That's the motivation for a lot of the people that came, that worked for us full time. And so they're out there, by the way, a typical week, they work six days a week, ten to seven every single day. They're knocking doors, they get an hour for lunch and typically you're hitting about 100 to 125 doors a day. But it's the conversations they have at the door. Yeah. There are certain people that say, get off my lawn and slam their door. But for every one of those bad conversations, you have four or five really good conversations with people that are excited to vote, that are participating in the mail in vote process. That's why we're at their door. So I think for them it's kind of a, it's a tough gig. But for years the left has just pushed through it where the right has made excuses and said, oh, we can't do that, it's too hard. We'll put all our money into mailers. Right. Or tv.
- [15:08]
Cliff Maloney
Sure.
- [15:08]
Charlie Kirk
And I think that that time is over. I think Charlie has really sprung onto the scene. This idea of, no, we have to do the door to door work. We have to match the Democrats tactics and fight fire with fire. And I think that's where we are. But the energy from the door knockers is what keeps me engaged, is what keeps me excited. Hearing the stories of them going, talking to voters. Some people, we had to go to their doors six or seven times before we were able to get them to vote.
- [15:33]
Cliff Maloney
Are there a few of those stories that really stuck out to you? That sort of, it just kind of epitomized to you what this election was all about.
- [15:39]
Charlie Kirk
There are so many stories where people will, we'll send somebody to their door and they will answer and say, I've never had somebody come to my door before. And you know, the wild thing about the Pennsylvania Chase and what Charlie did in Arizona and Wisconsin and all these other great partner orgs. Scott Presser, America First Works, everybody. Elon Musk, America pac. Can't forget Elon Patriot. But the wild thing is when you do primaries, okay, we're talking door knocking. I have to go in and say that you're a rhino scumbag and I'm a patriot. You should vote for me. But we're both Republicans. Those are tough door. Not you specifically, but those are tough doors to knock. Right. Those conversations are difficult. When you go into a general election, once again, not chasing ballots, but when you're doing door to door work in a general election, what happens is you have swing voters and you have moderate Dems that you're trying to convince to support your candidate. Tough, but not as hard as a primary chasing ballots. You're going to doors of people who love Donald Trump, who are hardcore Republican. They're Trump supporters, but our job is to make them Trump voters. Right. So a couple of the conversations, you know, you have people that cry at the door, you know, that talk about how this is the end of our country if Trump doesn't win. You just get a lot of emotional stories. But it is baffling to me and it's kind of disappointing how many Republicans say that we're the first person that's ever knocked on their door. And we're in swing counties. Right. It's not like we're up in Bradford County. You know, it's not like we're in some of these areas where it doesn't. I mean, we're in heavy red areas, but we're also in these competitive areas. But people were just engaged this cycle like they've never been before. I'll share with you the craziest feedback we got. Black men in Philadelphia.
- [17:22]
Cliff Maloney
Yeah.
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Charlie Kirk
They hate Kamala Harris.
- [17:25]
Cliff Maloney
Yeah.
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Charlie Kirk
I'm not here to tell you why. I think it's about the economy. You could compare Trump's economy to the binary, but like, we don't think it's.
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Cliff Maloney
About the personality kind of thing.
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Charlie Kirk
Authenticity. Yeah. I mean, it's wild. We literally adjusted our strategy. We had four or five black guys that were PA chasers knocking doors. And the feedback from blackmail voters was just off the charts that we actually moved in 20 of our black guys. Who were knocking to Philadelphia and just said, you're only talking to black men. And I really give them a lot of credit for being able to turn out so many voters for Trump. Harris had record low turnout in Philadelphia county. And I just think, you know, black men were tired of it and they were all in for Trump. You talked about those four years that was, you know, kind of taken from them. I think that community really connected with that message.
- [18:14]
Cliff Maloney
Well, and just the relentless cynicism that we got for so many years of like, no, you're not going to be able to, you're not going to be able to over perform with black males. You're not going to be able to over perform with, you know, Latino males. And Trump, you know, just stuck to it. They said that it couldn't be done. I told them. And he was right. And, you know, and he wasn't just right because it sounded nice. He was right because of guys like you. So, you know, we've, we've got such big things on the horizon. I know you guys are moving, you know, beyond election cycle stuff into like judicial and other. I mean, there's a lot, a lot of low hanging fruit on the table. Just in closing here, give us one idea of like, what your juiciest target you think is in 2025.
- [18:50]
Charlie Kirk
So there's 9,000 judge of election races in 2025 in Pennsylvania. Every single precinct has one. Going to be making some big announcements in January on that. We're also looking at some school board races. But if folks want to stay looped in phase.com and I'm on Xylone, I appreciate you guys, the platform and getting the truth out there.
- [19:09]
Cliff Maloney
Absolutely. We appreciate you too. Have a good one. Enjoy amfest.
- [19:12]
Charlie Kirk
Appreciate it.
- [19:12]
Cliff Maloney
Cheers.