The Charlie Kirk Show - Trump Leads Biden in Battleground States with Rep. Eli Craine Aired: 2023-07-07 Duration: 36:23 === New Poll Shows Trump Leading (09:13) === [00:00:00] Hey everybody, today in the Charlie Kirk show, there's a new poll that shows Donald Trump beating Joe Biden in the Battleground States. [00:00:05] Doesn't matter if we do not make the early state investments. [00:00:09] Then we are joined by Congressman Eli Crane for an eye-opening interview. [00:00:12] Very entertaining, very important interview with Eli Crane. [00:00:15] He's doing a great job from the great state of Arizona. [00:00:18] Email me your thoughts, freedom at charliekirk.com. [00:00:22] Get involved with TurningPointUSA at tpusa.com. [00:00:27] Start a high school or a college chapter today to join the most important movement in America at tpusa.com. [00:00:33] Attend our turning point action conference at tpaction.com. [00:00:38] That is tpaction.com. [00:00:41] We have President Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Lauren Boebert, Josh Hawley, Dan Bongino, Megan Kelly, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., and more. [00:00:50] That is tpaction.com. [00:00:53] tpaction.com. [00:00:56] Super important to get your tickets. [00:00:58] West Palm Beach, Florida, tpaction.com. [00:01:03] Buckle up, everybody. [00:01:04] Here we go. [00:01:05] Charlie, what you've done is incredible here. [00:01:07] Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus. [00:01:09] I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk. [00:01:13] Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks. [00:01:16] I want to thank Charlie. [00:01:17] He's an incredible guy. [00:01:18] His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA. [00:01:26] We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country. [00:01:35] That's why we are here. [00:01:38] Brought to you by the Loan Experts I Trust, Andrew and Todd at Sierra Pacific Mortgage at andrewandTodd.com. [00:01:47] There is a poll that is going viral right now. [00:01:49] It's going viral for a good reason. [00:01:51] It is giving people hope. [00:01:52] It is giving people a reason to believe things can improve. [00:01:56] As we've said before, we are living under a regime occupation of a uniparty cartel that hates you, hates your values, that participates in the desecration of the White House. [00:02:08] Two massive trans flags, only one American flag, allowing the trans strippers to come on the White House lawn. [00:02:13] Our border is wide open. [00:02:15] 10,000 people waltzing in every single day. [00:02:18] The economy is not what it should be. [00:02:21] We're sending hundreds of billions in dollars to subsidize the Zelensky government in Ukraine. [00:02:26] There's 110,000 drug overdoses every single year. [00:02:29] I could go on and on and on. [00:02:32] American people want their country back. [00:02:35] They want a nation that is revitalized and strong. [00:02:38] And a new poll shows that Donald Trump may have a lead over Joe Biden in various battleground states. [00:02:43] In fact, it shows that Donald Trump is increasing his lead. [00:02:48] And this poll is giving people hope. [00:02:50] And I just have to press pause here and say, wait a second, why are we looking at polls right now? [00:02:55] This is a major distraction. [00:02:57] It should give you a little bit of hope. [00:02:58] Okay, you know, in a tracking poll, Donald Trump against Joe Biden. [00:03:01] You know who doesn't care about polls? [00:03:03] The Democrat activist operatives. [00:03:06] Battlegrounds are all you need to win. [00:03:08] Three states, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia. [00:03:10] That is it. [00:03:12] This primary is becoming more and more of kind of a performative waste of time. [00:03:18] It might be interesting to hear from candidates. [00:03:20] I certainly think so, like Vivek Ramaswamy. [00:03:22] It's interesting to hear what certain candidates have to say about certain issues. [00:03:26] But I am here to tell you today that the investments are currently not being made in the three states that matter. [00:03:35] The polls are irrelevant. [00:03:39] The polls do not matter. [00:03:40] It shows, okay, Donald Trump up five points in the certain Battleground states. [00:03:45] Who cares? [00:03:47] Do we have a ballot chasing operation yet in place in Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin? [00:03:51] We're trying our best at turning point action, but pales in comparison to the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Democrats are spending. [00:03:58] And the Democrats just seem so confident. [00:04:00] Why are the Democrats willing to run again with Joe Biden, who can barely form sentences, who is under massive corruption allegations, whose son is literally going to be a self-admitted, acknowledged felon? [00:04:15] Why are they confident to run Joe Biden again with no charisma, no spark? [00:04:19] What is it about Joe Biden? [00:04:21] Well, because it doesn't matter. [00:04:22] They could run John Fetterman. [00:04:24] They could run Jimmy Carter for the presidency. [00:04:27] They are so confident in their multi-billion dollar machine that they call democracy. [00:04:34] Their machine is what they call democracy. [00:04:36] And if you ever dare criticize their machine, they say it's a threat to democracy. [00:04:40] No, it's not. [00:04:40] It's a threat to the supremacy of the Democrat Party. [00:04:43] But what is this machine? [00:04:45] This machine is supported by Lorene Powell Jobs, now Alexander Soros, Reid Hoffman, and many others. [00:04:57] It is supported by hundreds of millions and billions of dollars to chase ballots and sue via Mark Elias, who I don't think is in the mix anymore, but his kind of philosophy. [00:05:06] All-out lawfair, 501c4s, and super PACs. [00:05:10] Now, while we as Republicans are about to now participate in a $1.5 billion primary, the Democrats are saying, sure, you guys go spend all that money. [00:05:22] You go waste all that money. [00:05:24] You go bring Donald Trump's favorables down a little bit. [00:05:26] You guys go muddy yourself up and tar and feather your leading candidate. [00:05:31] We are going to invest in the key states. [00:05:34] I am here to caution, and I've said this before on the program, and I'm going to continue to say this: the consultant class does not care about winning the White House in 2024. [00:05:45] Chris Christie running for the presidency has said, I will not vote for Donald Trump if he's the nominee. [00:05:50] Okay, so he's acknowledging it's not about beating the Marxist Democrats. [00:05:55] It's not about beating this monarchy that is reigning terror over the American people. [00:06:00] It's about a personality contest. [00:06:01] It's about ego. [00:06:02] It's about pride. [00:06:03] Instead of checking your ego and saying, you know what, I don't like Donald Trump. [00:06:06] I don't like his style, but he would be far better from a policy perspective. [00:06:11] It's not even close versus what we are living through. [00:06:15] And so, yes, these polls might give you a little bit of promise, but have we secured our elections in these states? [00:06:20] No, we have not. [00:06:21] Have we invested in election integrity in Wisconsin and Georgia and specifically Arizona? [00:06:26] Wisconsin's actually looking a little bit better from that perspective. [00:06:29] And I'm not here to be doom and gloom because we still have time to fix this. [00:06:33] And it is so easy to just get distracted by the horse race. [00:06:37] Trump and up and Trump be Biden. [00:06:40] And the Democrats, they know this. [00:06:42] They invest in the plumbing infrastructure, in the clipboard and tennis shoes type work. [00:06:47] Right now, the Democrat machine, not necessarily the Democrat Party, but the machinery. [00:06:52] They have hundreds of full-time staff members in Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia doing boring work. [00:07:01] And what do Republicans have? [00:07:03] Well, Ron DeSantis has now announced that he has $150 million in his super PAC. [00:07:09] It's just been announced, and he'll probably raise upwards of $300 to $400 million. [00:07:15] For what? [00:07:16] Now, some of you are very enthusiastic about Ron DeSantis. [00:07:20] Some of you are not very enthusiastic about Ron DeSantis. [00:07:23] Is that the best expenditure of our money right now? [00:07:27] Donald Trump is up 50 points against the closest competitor in several of the consequential primary states. [00:07:35] Wouldn't it be smart to spend those hundreds of millions of dollars right now in just the three states you need to win? [00:07:41] Forget Pennsylvania. [00:07:42] Forget Michigan for a second. [00:07:43] Forget Nevada. [00:07:44] It is Arizona, Wisconsin, Georgia, period. [00:07:48] Trump will win Florida. [00:07:49] Trump will win North Carolina. [00:07:50] Trump will win Ohio. [00:07:51] Trump will win Iowa. [00:07:53] And I hear from people all the time, and this is one little, I will say, one helpful part of this poll that we shouldn't totally ignore, is that yes, he can win. [00:08:02] Conversation over. [00:08:03] This election will be decided. [00:08:05] And yes, I am proclaiming this. [00:08:07] Boy, how many months out are we? [00:08:09] Like 16 months out? [00:08:11] So simply. [00:08:12] It will be decided by 5,000 votes here, 5,000 votes there. [00:08:16] 10,000 votes here, 10,000 votes there. [00:08:18] In the billions of dollars that are about to be spent in this primary for Tim Scott, for Chris Christie, for Ron DeSantis, for Mike Pence. [00:08:28] By the way, Mike Pence has a new advertisement out. [00:08:29] Can you get that, Ryan? [00:08:31] This unnecessary civil war, we need to keep on saying, time out, guys. [00:08:36] Time out. [00:08:39] What is the ultimate objective here? [00:08:41] Is it about revenge and pettiness? [00:08:44] Is it about I hate Donald Trump because he said something mean to me? [00:08:47] I understand that Donald Trump is not everybody's fan favorite. [00:08:51] I don't care about your complaining. [00:08:53] I don't. [00:08:54] I care about who is going to fulfill the mandate to save the country. [00:08:58] And sometimes you have to check your ego, check your pride, and say, I love my grandkids enough that, yes, someone I don't like might be president, but he would be a good president. [00:09:08] Do you notice they don't attack him on his accomplishments? [00:09:10] Oh, you know, it's his indictments, which are nonsense and silly. === Advocating For Pro-Life Laws (08:09) === [00:09:13] And that is another thing. [00:09:14] The fact that these polls are even close, despite all the indictments, again, goes to show that Trump can win. [00:09:24] And they know that. [00:09:25] The Democrats know that more than Republican consultants are willing to acknowledge it. [00:09:30] Hillary Clinton has come out and said this. [00:09:31] Liz Cheney has come out and said this. [00:09:33] Trump can win. [00:09:34] Trump can win. [00:09:35] Of course he can. [00:09:36] But I'm going to tell you right now, we are on pace to lose. [00:09:40] People don't like it when I say that because we are not building the infrastructure in the core early states. [00:09:46] We're doing our best at turning point action, but we don't have the RC type resources or money, but we're going to do our best to try to raise the capital to do a very simple thing, ballot chasing, in the three states that matter. [00:09:58] We've already committed $5 million in Wisconsin to help out Scott Pressler. [00:10:02] I'm going to figure out a way to raise that money, add that to the list of stuff we have to do. [00:10:06] But I don't want to lose anymore. [00:10:07] And guess what? [00:10:08] My motivation, my energy that I have right now as an activist, as a patriot that I know you have, is not shared by the Republican consultant class. [00:10:18] They're kind of like, meh, another four years of Biden. [00:10:22] At least it's not Trump. [00:10:23] I kid you not, that is an attitude that is widespread in the Republican consultant class. [00:10:31] Hey, everybody. [00:10:32] Look, if you're pro-life, listen carefully. [00:10:34] It's important to advocate for pro-life laws. [00:10:37] I'm all in favor of that. [00:10:38] Pro-life legislation, supporting pro-life candidates. [00:10:41] But you have to simultaneously do the other thing. [00:10:44] I believe you actually have an obligation, which is to support women in need and babies in need that are at risk of being aborted. [00:10:52] Look, when you introduce a girl to her baby by providing an ultrasound, you're giving her the truth at the most critical and important time in her life. [00:11:00] 85% of the time when they actually see the baby, they choose life. [00:11:06] Now, mind you, pre-born provides resources. [00:11:09] They provide diapers, baby clothes. [00:11:12] And I encourage you, if you're pro-life, to pray about this. [00:11:15] Are you giving money to actually support the unborn if you are voting for pro-life? [00:11:18] Look, $140 gives five mothers a free ultrasound and saves babies. [00:11:22] $280 can save 10 babies, and just $28 a month can save a baby a month for less than a dollar a day. [00:11:27] I'm a donor to this organization, and you should be too. [00:11:30] A $15,000 gift will provide an ultrasound machine that will save lives for years to come. [00:11:34] Whether you want to save one baby or five or hundreds, this opportunity is just a phone call or click away. [00:11:41] I think the world of pre-born, I give money financially. [00:11:44] And every one of you that are pro-life, I believe you have a duty and an obligation to go to preborn.org slash Kirk and give as you can, give your best gift, or call 833-850-2229. [00:11:57] That is 833-850 baby. [00:11:59] Go to preborn.org slash Kirk. [00:12:02] That is preborn.org slash Kirk. [00:12:06] So I'm going to play an advertisement here. [00:12:08] It's a minute long by Mike Pence, who's running for the presidency. [00:12:11] And I'm going to ask the question, how does this advertisement make it more likely for us to defeat the Marxist monarchy? [00:12:20] Does it make it more likely or less likely? [00:12:22] Advertisements like this. [00:12:25] Instead of spending money on these TV ads and, okay, Mike Pence is great and Donald Trump is terrible, let's chase ballots now. [00:12:32] Because the most important thing for some of these people running for the presidency is not the restoration of America. [00:12:40] It's getting Trump. [00:12:42] It's personal politics. [00:12:43] It's revenge. [00:12:45] I hate to be that blunt, but isn't there a time to put your ego aside and your own ambitions aside and say, you know what? [00:12:55] Let's do this thing. [00:12:57] Three states, saddle up. [00:13:00] You know, somebody said, someone who didn't like Trump asked me the other day, a donor type, Charlie, what do we have to do to get rid of Trump? [00:13:08] I said, well, if he wins the presidency, he'll never run again. [00:13:11] They didn't like that answer. [00:13:13] This is Mike Pence's super PAC, new advertisement against Donald Trump. [00:13:18] Does this make it more likely for us to win the White House in 2024 to save the country? [00:13:22] Play cut 70. [00:13:24] A president begging him to ignore the Constitution. [00:13:28] A mob shouting for him to die. [00:13:33] And an anxious nation watching for one man to do what's right. [00:13:38] A weak man appeases a mob. [00:13:41] A man of courage. [00:13:43] And Carrick stands up to them. [00:13:45] That day, one man failed the test of leadership while another stood tall. [00:13:51] And since then, this so-called leader has continued to abandon our conservative principles. [00:13:58] Now, with a woke mob trying to take away our freedom, we need a president who won't flinch, who won't try to cut deals with our values. [00:14:07] A president with the courage and the faith to lead us through turbulent times and keep America the beacon of freedom for all mankind. [00:14:17] Mike Pence for president. [00:14:19] Committed to America PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising. [00:14:24] Does that make it more likely or less likely? [00:14:27] Who needs Democrats when you have advertisements cut like that? [00:14:30] That's Mike Pence's super PAC. [00:14:32] Does that make it closer towards victory? [00:14:35] And I get the email. [00:14:36] Some of you say, I hate Trump, he bloviates and all this. [00:14:39] Check your own heated opinions. [00:14:44] Put the love of the nation above your heated passions. [00:14:49] I'm not even telling you to stop having those heated passions. [00:14:53] You're welcome to debate me on that stuff anytime. [00:14:56] Prioritize the nation. [00:14:59] Okay, here's Mike Pence's from his campaign now, his official new advertisement against Trump. [00:15:04] While the Democrats are chasing ballots and hiring operatives in Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, what are we doing? [00:15:12] We are having a bloody billion-dollar civil war. [00:15:16] Play cut 71. [00:15:18] America doesn't stand with thugs and dictators. [00:15:22] We confront them. [00:15:24] Or at least, we used to. [00:15:26] Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this war. [00:15:32] There can be no room in the leadership of the Republican Party for apologists for Putin. [00:15:38] There can only be room for champions of freedom. [00:15:44] Committed to America Pact is responsible for the content of this advertising. [00:15:49] I'm Mike Pence. [00:15:50] Elect me, and we'll invade Moscow in the first 24 hours. [00:15:54] I'm Mike Pence, and I will reinvade Afghanistan. [00:15:57] I'm Mike Pence, and there's not a country that I will not try to colonize. [00:16:01] You know that Mike Pence was campaigning in Ukraine. [00:16:04] Not a joke. [00:16:06] I asked Rich Barris yesterday, I didn't get an answer. [00:16:08] When is the Ukrainian primary exactly? [00:16:11] You know, swing voters in Kiev. [00:16:13] We should do a poll, by the way. [00:16:15] I am not joking. [00:16:16] I bet some lunatic for Reuters is going to do a poll of who they want to have as the Republican nominee. [00:16:23] Trump down 45 points in Kiev Battleground State poll. [00:16:28] Ukrainian voter. [00:16:30] I could see the story in the New York Times. [00:16:31] It won't be that blunt. [00:16:32] The New York Times story will be, Ukraine watches with angst as Trump gains steam in Republican primary. [00:16:40] So Mike Pence spending millions of dollars on that trash. [00:16:46] Who needs Democrats when you have this civil war that is just heating up, heating up, heating up? [00:16:51] And the Democrats, they don't, yeah, they have RFK, but they're going to try to keep them in a cage. [00:16:55] They're spending their money and their resources, not on invading Ukraine advertisements. [00:17:01] No, no, no, no. [00:17:02] They're spending their money on boring infrastructure, boring ballot chasing, boring lawfare. [00:17:11] And so therefore, unless we change it, if more advertisements like that and more money like that continues, we are going to fall short in November of 24. [00:17:20] I hope we change it. === Changing The World One Life At A Time (02:02) === [00:17:23] Balance of Nature, changing the world one life at a time. [00:17:26] I try to take care of myself. [00:17:28] I try to eat right. [00:17:29] And I love fruits and vegetables. [00:17:31] I'd rather have them than anything else, but I know I don't get nearly enough. [00:17:35] So I thought, I'll try it for two months and no harm, no foul. [00:17:38] If it doesn't work after that, then let's try it. [00:17:40] And at least I know. [00:17:42] Within two weeks, I noticed a huge difference in my energy, sleeping better at night, and just energy. [00:17:48] I would get up in the morning and get up, not just sit around. [00:17:53] You guys have got to try this. [00:17:54] You have to try it. [00:17:55] You owe it to yourself to try it. [00:17:57] The wife and I both think it's done a lot of good. [00:17:59] We both think it's, you know, it's improved your overall day-to-day how you feel. [00:18:04] And we've turned everybody onto it. [00:18:07] Our kids are on it. [00:18:08] We've got brothers and sisters that are on it. [00:18:10] We've got some neighbors we've turned on to it. [00:18:13] So we're very pleased with the product and the results. [00:18:16] It's not like you're Superman, but you definitely know you're healthier. [00:18:20] You're going to lose weight. [00:18:21] And I've never heard that said in any of the commercials, but by golly, you do. [00:18:25] I work in a school, so I'm around like a thousand kids a day constantly. [00:18:29] And so I wash my hands and use alcohol on them probably 100 times a day or better. [00:18:35] And my hands are always cracking open and splitting. [00:18:38] And I did not have that this entire winter. [00:18:41] And I bet you anything, this is me. [00:18:43] I bet you anything it's balance of nature because it's the only thing I've done different. [00:18:46] Like the guy on your commercial says, I'm going to keep on taking it the rest of my life. [00:18:51] And I feel the same way. [00:18:52] It's going really good. [00:18:53] I mean, I feel better. [00:18:55] Got more energy and, you know, I can go through my day better. [00:18:59] Start your journey to better health with Balance of Nature. [00:19:02] Call 1-800-2468-751 or go to balanceofnature.com to get 35% off your first preferred order. [00:19:10] That's 1-800-2468-751. [00:19:13] Go to balanceofnature.com or call 1-800-2468-751 and get this special offer by using discount code Charlie. === Join Congressman Eli Crane Now (15:03) === [00:19:25] Joining us now is Congressman Eli Crane. [00:19:28] Eli, welcome. [00:19:28] Thanks for having me, Charlie. [00:19:30] So you've been a congressman for what, seven months now? [00:19:34] Seven months, yep. [00:19:35] How's that treating you? [00:19:37] You know, it's good, man. [00:19:40] It's frustrating, but I think expectation management is always so important no matter what you're going into. [00:19:46] And I did expect it to be frustrating. [00:19:49] I expected it to be extremely difficult to get things done. [00:19:52] And I expected to be disappointed a lot. [00:19:54] And so I try and keep that expectation management in place so that I can continue to slug it out and hopefully, you know, be a part of turning this aircraft carrier around. [00:20:04] Yeah, no, and then aircraft carriers tend to take a while to turn around, right? [00:20:08] Two degrees at a time. [00:20:09] That's right, man. [00:20:10] So you're doing a great job. [00:20:12] You're fighting the tough fights and you have a lot of courage. [00:20:15] On a day-to-day basis, having like a seven-month window here, were you more surprised by Democrats or Republicans in the halls of Congress as far as your expectations? [00:20:29] I think I'm more surprised. [00:20:31] And I don't think that really any of it surprises me because I did expect Democrats to have a totalitarian, socialistic bent to them. [00:20:42] And I also expected Republicans to be pretty weak. [00:20:45] And that's exactly what I've seen. [00:20:46] I can say that it's a lot harder to be in that room casting those votes and just watching, you know, it's Republicans frustrate me a lot more than Democrats. [00:20:56] What specifically? [00:20:57] Because I know what Democrats are trying to do. [00:21:00] They're trying to, you know, they're trying to destroy everything that's made this country great. [00:21:05] And that's clearly obvious. [00:21:07] But Republicans are supposed to be the ones that are holding the line and conserving and protecting that. [00:21:12] And we're not doing it. [00:21:14] Like, it's like we're in a fight. [00:21:15] We're in a dropdown, drag out fight where only one side is hitting. [00:21:19] That's a problem, Charlie. [00:21:21] So there are some good, obviously some good fighters, right? [00:21:23] Andy Biggs has been great and Ralph Norman. [00:21:26] And, you know, there's been a ton of fighters, but that's a minority of the Republican conference. [00:21:30] Absolutely. [00:21:30] So, but then help me understand or the audience understand the mentality. [00:21:35] Is it the Republicans? [00:21:36] They don't care. [00:21:36] Are they afraid? [00:21:37] Are they bought off? [00:21:38] Are there other interests involved? [00:21:40] Or is it just kind of a mixture of multiple? [00:21:42] I think it's multiple buckets. [00:21:43] I think it's very complex, just like human beings are. [00:21:46] I think there's a level of corruption. [00:21:48] I think there's individuals that get there because they're bought and paid for from the start. [00:21:55] I think that there are people that are scared because they know that they're not just going up against Democrats. [00:22:00] They're going up against the administrative state, the deep state, whatever it is, and intelligence agencies, all of it. [00:22:08] And I mean, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Scott Perry, got a cell phone, you know, taken by the FBI. [00:22:13] Everybody knows that if you push back on the system hard enough, you're not going to get free shots on goal sooner or later. [00:22:22] You're going to have to deal with them and they're going to deal with you. [00:22:25] And so I don't think a lot of people have the courage to not only possibly tank their political career, but to possibly get in trouble by pushing too hard against the juggernaut. [00:22:37] So they would rather just stay in line, do what they're told. [00:22:40] Yeah, continue to push the status quo. [00:22:42] Absolutely. [00:22:43] And just kind of be performative in their opportunities. [00:22:46] But then you can come back because the American people, and this is frustrating too, Charlie, because the American people are checked out and complacent, they can come back to their district and they can be, oh, they can be the champion, man, when they talk to you at the town halls and the Lincoln Day dinners. [00:22:59] Oh, I'm doing this. [00:23:00] And they do show votes then. [00:23:02] Yeah, 100%. [00:23:03] And that's what, unfortunately, after this debt ceiling, you know. [00:23:06] Yeah, tell us about that. [00:23:08] It was so frustrating, Charlie, because, you know, you know that we cannot continue doing what we're doing. [00:23:14] And yet, when you look at that bill that Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden came to that agreement together, you had more Democrats voting for it than Republicans. [00:23:24] And yet the Republicans will sit there and gaslight you and tell you what a great bill this was. [00:23:29] And, you know, it was hard. [00:23:31] I was sitting in a meeting with Kevin McCarthy and some of the other Freedom Caucus members. [00:23:36] And, you know, one of the things he said in that meeting, Charlie, was, oh, I couldn't believe when I came back, you guys were disappointed. [00:23:42] You know, and I was like, what? [00:23:44] You're disappointed. [00:23:45] You can't believe we're disappointed. [00:23:47] I mean, this is $4 trillion at the minimum. [00:23:50] And instead of the bill that we passed out of the house where we could have come back next year and gotten another bite at the apple and renegotiated. [00:23:57] That was a good bill. [00:23:58] Yeah. [00:23:59] Instead of doing that. [00:24:00] It wasn't great. [00:24:01] It was good. [00:24:01] Right. [00:24:02] Instead of doing that, we've got this, you know, this debt ceiling bill with no caps and all the good stuff that we had in our spending bill basically stripped out of it. [00:24:11] And it's just, it's tough to watch because you see, you see the consistent sellout and then you watch the gaslighting that goes on after it. [00:24:19] And it's just like, yeah, no wonder we're in such a bad spot. [00:24:22] Do you feel amongst just an ordinary Republican colleague a sense of urgency? [00:24:28] Not at all. [00:24:29] Not at all. [00:24:30] And it just like, you know, I've had conversations with, you know, friends and, you know, colleagues up there. [00:24:36] And, you know, it's like, hey, what's it going to take, man? [00:24:42] What line are they going to have to cross for you to like, for you to realize that we're in a war here and to start actually going to war with us? [00:24:49] Because they're, you know, at any given time, there's maybe 25, 30 people up there, I feel like, who are willing to wage war. [00:24:56] And actually, and it's funny when we do, Charlie, you'll, you'll notice, I know you've seen this a lot in your own career, but they'll start calling us legislative terrorists and all sorts. [00:25:05] Arsonists, all sorts of crazy stuff like that. [00:25:08] And it's all a part of the campaign to get you back in line and get you back on the team and get you back playing ball and pushing the status quo. [00:25:17] So are you in the House Freedom Caucus? [00:25:19] Yeah, absolutely. [00:25:20] Are you at liberty to share anything about Marjorie Taylor Green and that whole thing? [00:25:24] You know, I don't want to put you on the spot here. [00:25:26] It's just, it's the news item of the day. [00:25:28] Yeah, you know, that whole situation is so frustrating to me. [00:25:33] It's so, it's so frustrating to me just because I know the force that Marjorie Taylor Greene is and that she can be. [00:25:42] But what I can tell your audience is there are things that she did, you know, multiple things that she did that kind of cross the line. [00:25:51] And, you know, there are there are basically contracts that we sign and agreements that we make, basically saying, this will be my conduct. [00:26:00] I will adhere to this, this, and this. [00:26:02] And did she want to stay? [00:26:04] I don't know. [00:26:06] I know that there were attempts. [00:26:08] I know there were attempts from the House Freedom Caucus leadership to reach out to Marjorie. [00:26:12] And I was told that that communication didn't come back the other way. [00:26:19] So the, and I didn't mean to put you on the spot there. [00:26:21] It's just our audience is asking, like, what's going on? [00:26:23] Because it's like one of the number one news stories out there right now. [00:26:25] But the House Freedom Caucus has standards and rules, right? [00:26:28] Not everyone is allowed in, right? [00:26:31] Because you have to vote in a certain way or there's all these procedures, if I'm not mistaken, right? [00:26:35] Well, yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, we, if we're going to have a group in a caucus, we want there to be a similar worldview and not just in, not just in voice and what you say. [00:26:46] But conduct as well. [00:26:47] But conduct. [00:26:47] And even when you put that voting card in and you actually, you know, vote, we want there to be some, you know, where it's not just performative, but it's actually functionally this individual is conservative and casting conservative votes. [00:27:00] And so, and anybody would want that. [00:27:02] Anybody in an organization would want that. [00:27:04] So you've been in here seven months. [00:27:06] What is something that can be done that is the biggest missing ingredient? [00:27:10] Is it constituent engagement? [00:27:12] Is it recruiting other candidates like yourself? [00:27:15] Like not pie in the sky stuff, right? [00:27:17] Because we could, you know, we could do the platitude stuff. [00:27:18] Okay, we need to balance budget all that. [00:27:20] What is something that is actionable that you say, boy, if this was happening, it'd make the mandate easier to fulfill? [00:27:26] Well, I think, and I love what you guys are doing here, Charlie. [00:27:30] Thank you. [00:27:31] Just the fact that you've gone into the lion's den. [00:27:33] And quite frankly, when I look at education, I think it's something that myself included, many Republicans abandoned a long time ago as if this is too far gone. [00:27:42] But you guys did something, are doing something that is extremely courage. [00:27:46] And one thing I can tell your audience is I used to get really pissed off at politicians, and I still do a little bit. [00:27:51] But now that I've seen it, I get more pissed off at constituents and the American people, the people that I love. [00:27:58] And here's why. [00:27:59] Hold on a second. [00:28:00] Listen to what I'm saying. [00:28:01] You guys can fire me every two years. [00:28:04] You guys can fire me in a year and a half if you don't like the job I'm doing. [00:28:07] Quit sending these people up. [00:28:09] Quit sending these people up to Washington, D.C. that are spineless. [00:28:13] Go look at their voting record. [00:28:14] Don't just listen to what they're saying. [00:28:16] Go look, do some research, do some homework, right? [00:28:19] Because I think we're in this spot, Charlie. [00:28:21] One, because we pushed God out of everything, which I think is, you know, I think that's the biggest reason we're in this spot. [00:28:27] But two, I think the American people have become complacent, checked out, and they're not paying attention. [00:28:33] And what happens is that they have these false choices that sometimes presented. [00:28:38] So I'll give you an example, right? [00:28:40] We get emails of people that are so fired up against Lindsey Graham. [00:28:43] Let's just take an example, right? [00:28:44] Which I think shouldn't be a senator. [00:28:47] But they say, because then they run these ads, though, but it's better than a Democrat, right? [00:28:51] It's better than a Democrat. [00:28:53] So what are you saying, Eli, is that we need a forceful agenda into primaries, into state central committee fights, the stuff before the general. [00:29:01] Because look, you're an Arizona second congressional. [00:29:03] You beat O'Halloran by seven points, right? [00:29:05] The real race for you was in the primary. [00:29:07] Yeah. [00:29:08] Yeah. [00:29:08] More or less, right? [00:29:09] Yeah, absolutely. [00:29:11] And that's what I am saying. [00:29:12] I think that the people need to get engaged. [00:29:14] And this is the number one attribute that I would look for if I were you and I was looking at candidates that are running in your primary. [00:29:22] Washington, D.C. doesn't have a problem with intelligence, Charlie. [00:29:26] Believe it or not, there's a lot of intelligent people up there. [00:29:29] It's moral courage that's needed. [00:29:31] And it's people that have a history and a lineage of, here's the key, doing the right thing, doing the right thing when they felt like it was going to cost them. [00:29:40] Because if you don't have that history, if you don't have that foundation, you're not going to find it up in Washington, D.C. [00:29:45] And the moment you get up there, Charlie, the machine, the apparatus tries to suck you in. [00:29:50] And if they can't suck you in, if they can't compromise you, influence you, they try and spit you out and destroy you. [00:29:56] And so you have to have that. [00:29:58] Look for people that have had it, done the right thing consistently when they felt like it was going to cost them. [00:30:04] And that really is a question of human. [00:30:06] I mean, how can you find enough people? [00:30:07] Because, I mean, you're going to have one out of, I mean, basically the composition, it's hard to find courageous people in anything you do. [00:30:14] Yeah. [00:30:15] I mean, and you served our country beautifully. [00:30:18] But gutless wonders is the norm. [00:30:21] No, it is. [00:30:22] And here's the thing with veterans, too. [00:30:24] I love veterans. [00:30:24] I'm a veteran advocate, but veterans often have trouble up in Washington just because they think the Republican Party or the Democrat Party is their new chain of command. [00:30:34] That's hard. [00:30:34] Well, I want to talk about that because I think I totally agree with you because I can't tell you how many veterans I've seen to go to D.C. that become neoliberals. [00:30:42] Yeah. [00:30:44] I want to talk about relieffactor.com. [00:30:46] I want you guys to check out relieffactor.com, 100% drug-free, knee pain, back pain, joint pain, elbow pain. [00:30:52] Check out Relief Factor Energy. [00:30:54] Help makes your body make nutrients readily available. [00:30:57] Relief Factor Sleep. [00:30:58] I know a lot of you are probably having trouble sleeping. [00:31:00] Relief Factor Sleep could be the best solution for you. [00:31:03] Everybody goes to bed. [00:31:04] Not everybody sleeps. [00:31:06] We're all about helping people live lives that are filled with connection, exploration, passion, and emotion. [00:31:11] That is what his life is all about. [00:31:13] Make sure you guys are sleeping well. [00:31:14] It's a major part of life. [00:31:16] Check it out right now. [00:31:17] ReliefFactor.com, relieffactor.com. [00:31:22] I could go through other SEALs, and I don't want to name any names. [00:31:25] I mean, they're nice people, but they don't have the same spirit attitude you do. [00:31:28] You said it's because they are accustomed to following orders. [00:31:32] Explore that. [00:31:33] Yeah, you know, it was interesting, Charlie. [00:31:35] I, you know, during my primary race, I got the opportunity to go up and meet Mark Meadows. [00:31:40] And Mark was telling me, you know, he's like, Eli, you know, a lot of you veteran guys come up here and you really don't fight very hard. [00:31:48] And I was like, I know, Mark. [00:31:49] I'm, it's kind of, it's kind of embarrassing, man. [00:31:52] And thankfully, I got an opportunity to get in there and show, you know, that I wasn't like a lot of people. [00:31:59] But I think honestly, and it's not, it's not that they don't have courage. [00:32:02] Obviously, they have a ton of courage. [00:32:04] I think a lot of it has to do with you get so ingrained and indoctrinated into following a chain of command and a hierarchy. [00:32:12] Yeah, that you're just like, okay, the Republican Party, this is the chain of command. [00:32:15] I got to get on board. [00:32:16] I got to do what I. [00:32:17] And the thing is, Charlie, that's not your chain of command. [00:32:19] Your chain of command is your constituents. [00:32:21] It's your voter base. [00:32:22] It's the exact opposite. [00:32:23] Yeah. [00:32:23] And that's the way I see it. [00:32:25] So I think that, you know, if there was maybe a little bit of a mind shift, you know, I think maybe, you know, but I think that's the, I think that's a lot of the issue. [00:32:33] I also find, at least somewhat philosophically, some of the veterans they refuse to question anything with the defense budget, military spending, foreign wars, like there's no conversation at all. [00:32:47] Yeah. [00:32:48] And it's, it's disappointing to me, too, because, you know, it's just like when I look at what's going on, it's like there's, there's corruption everywhere in every institution up there. [00:32:58] And it's just like this sheep mentality, this, you know, it just, we're not going to save the country that way. [00:33:04] We're just not. [00:33:05] No. [00:33:05] And so, so, Eli, what we need is a new generation. [00:33:08] I mean, you're, you're a part of this and you're kind of unexpected. [00:33:11] I mean, again, I'm new to Arizona. [00:33:13] I grew up in Chicago. [00:33:14] And I, you know, when you were running, I asked somebody, oh, how is this guy? [00:33:16] They said, oh, he's going to win. [00:33:17] He'll beat O'Halloran, but he'll just kind of be your typical. [00:33:20] Yeah. [00:33:20] And you haven't been typical. [00:33:21] I mean, how is that response? [00:33:23] How did you get that? [00:33:24] You probably heard that before. [00:33:26] Oh, of course. [00:33:26] And I think it's warranted. [00:33:29] And I think that, you know, I think that voters out there and pundits and people that watch these elections, I think you should be very skeptical of every politician, every candidate, until they show you, you know, what they're made of. [00:33:42] And thankfully for me, Charlie, I got the opportunity right off the bat. [00:33:46] Right out of the gate. [00:33:46] When you were in the kind of like defector box, I was like, well, I didn't have that on my bingo card. [00:33:51] Yeah, no, you didn't. [00:33:52] You didn't, Charlie. [00:33:54] But, and you remember what I told you when you asked me what I was doing? [00:33:57] Yeah, I sent you a text and you said, I'm here listening to my voters. [00:34:00] That's exactly what I'm doing. [00:34:01] I was like, I've never, that's a strange response. [00:34:03] Well, that's exactly what I'm supposed to do, though, isn't it, Charlie? [00:34:06] Yes. [00:34:07] No, and I respect it. [00:34:08] And I look, I've never had a politician tell me. [00:34:10] No, that's not true. [00:34:10] I've heard it before, but no, it's not so much. [00:34:12] My voters for a year and a half told me, do not vote for Kevin McCarthy. [00:34:16] We don't want a continuation of the status quo. [00:34:18] And so I said, Roger, that's what we're doing. [00:34:21] If you go out to my office, Charlie, you look at the placard on the wall, it says Representative Eli Crane. [00:34:27] The root word in there is represent. === Listening To My Voters (01:53) === [00:34:29] I am there to represent them. [00:34:30] And a matter of fact, Charlie, on that debt ceiling vote that we passed out of the house, which you just said was some good stuff in it. [00:34:38] I didn't want to vote for that. [00:34:40] But when we pulled my district, 79.6% of them that responded said they wanted me to take the deal. [00:34:46] And so, dude, I was the last guy to vote. [00:34:48] I was sweating bullets. [00:34:49] I had my instinct over here. [00:34:51] What, you know, a decent bill over here. [00:34:53] You're six out of 10. [00:34:54] Yeah. [00:34:54] And I was just like, I was the last guy to cast the vote. [00:34:57] The time had already run out. [00:34:58] And I was pretty much the swing vote because I wanted to represent my voters. [00:35:02] And whether I'm right or I was wrong, that's why. [00:35:05] Do you think like a normal Republican congressman, not you, if they got tons of pressure from their constituents, they would listen to that generally? [00:35:12] I don't, I don't think so. [00:35:14] That's my, that's my personal opinion. [00:35:16] I think that, you know, I don't think that's typically, you know, how most people, you know, play the game up there or how, you know, what they think. [00:35:24] I think I think they think that I'm here. [00:35:26] They put me here. [00:35:27] I'm just going to vote what I think. [00:35:29] But I want to take that part of what I think, my instinct, my gut, but I also want to merge that with what I'm hearing from my voters and then hopefully pray about it, ask God for wisdom. [00:35:39] And okay. [00:35:40] All right. [00:35:40] You're going to be fine in your race. [00:35:42] I mean, in a presidential year, you know, and now with your increased name ID, I think you'll win easily by 10 points. [00:35:47] Arizona's in play and you endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency. [00:35:49] Is that right? [00:35:50] Absolutely. [00:35:51] Absolutely. [00:35:52] The reason is because at a time like this, we're in so much trouble. [00:35:56] And I said, moral courage. [00:35:57] You need the biggest, baddest fighter possible. [00:36:00] There's nobody, there's nobody on that ticket. [00:36:02] There's not even many people in the country I don't think that can do what he does. [00:36:06] Keep fighting. [00:36:08] Thanks so much for listening, everybody. [00:36:10] Email us your thoughts as always, freedom at charliekirk.com. [00:36:14] Thank you so much for listening and God bless. [00:36:19] For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to CharlieKirk.com.