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Oct. 18, 2025 11:01-12:01 - CSPAN

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Washington Journal Washington Journal

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Speaker	Time	Text
unidentified		Club with John Grisham Sunday at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on C-SPAN.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Welcome back to Washington Journal.
		We're joined now by Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party, to talk about the No Kings rallies happening today.
		Maurice, welcome to the program.
unidentified		It's good to be with you.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		So can you first give us an idea of the Working Families Party?
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		When did it start and why?
unidentified		Sure.
		Well, the Working Families Party started 27 years ago in New York.
		We're now all over the country.
		And we started because we believed that everyday working people needed a party of its own.
		We recognized that major changes in the way our country was moving, like free trade agreements like NAFTA, that since then have moved so many jobs, really good working class jobs from our country's industrial base to all types of foreign countries, as well as things like the quote-unquote welfare reform that made it harder for especially poor families to be able to get the resources that they needed.
		And the 94 crime bill that had a generation of people over incarcerated.
		Those policies were not focused on the interests of working people.
		And we needed a political movement and a political party that focused on laser, on things like affordability, on things like making sure that people could organize unions, on making sure that we had real racial justice and actually recognized the harms of the past and tried to restore them.
		And since then, we've recruited thousands of people to run on the local level, primarily, but all the way up to govern because we think when every day, we believe this crazy idea that in a democracy, the people should govern, not corporations, not lobbyists, not billionaire oligarchs, but everyday people.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		So why do you feel like you needed a different party?
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Why not work within the Democratic Party?
unidentified		Well, if this was a country like Canada or Mexico or Europe where there's a parliamentary democracy, it would be a lot clearer.
		Basically, we are in coalition with the Democrats against the far right, but we're also, we also challenge the Democrats and push back against the Democrats' corporate interest for the people.
		And there's a lot of countries that have a setup like this where there are many parties that have diverse interests and they join in coalition in order to govern.
		We do that with the Democrats.
		And look, we agree with the Democrats that MAGA and the right wing and the oligarchs that have taken over the Republican Party are doing serious damage and are an existential threat to our democracy.
		And we also think that the interest of APAC and AI and crypto and the pharmaceutical company and the oil and gas lobby have way too much standing in our governance in general and are often paying for Democratic and Republican politicians, which is why we need a third space in American politics that are free from those corporate interests and those corporate influences.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right, so tell us about the No Kings protests that are happening today and your role in them.
unidentified		Well, No Kings is a coalition of grassroots organizations as well as just everyday people in every corner of this country.
		We think there's probably going to be more than 2,500 protests.
		People are planning to peacefully protest and rally against authoritarianism.
		And when I say authoritarianism, I mean will of a person, the rule of a person, the rule of a would-be king versus rule of the people.
		And our mission is really simple.
		But we want to defend democracy.
		We want to demand accountability from anybody who abuses power, no matter the party.
		This is much bigger than partisan politics.
		This is about the very core of the principles of this country, democracy and the rule of the people.
		And it's a movement that was born from the belief that nobody is above accountability, that no president is above accountability, no politician, no oligarch, no party.
		And we want everybody to come together based on that ideal.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And Maurice, a caller in our last segment was talking about the No Kings rallies and saying that these were all being funded by George Soros and other wealthy Democrats.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Who is funding these rallies?
unidentified		Well, the thing that I would say to you and the caller is, you know, the question is better addressed to the people in Wilmington, Delaware, or Greeley, Colorado, or the dozens and dozens of places that everyday people are taking their time, taking their energy, taking their money, you know, creating their own signs over the weekend in order to engage in these rallies.
		It's fueled by the people.
		And, you know, the idea that there's some sort of vast conspiracy that is organizing this, usually what you might think on the face is actually what's happening.
		What's happening is that millions of people are frustrated with the direction of this country.
		There is a vast conspiracy.
		The conspiracy is out in the open.
		The top richest people, people like Elon Musk, you know, and other folks, their influence in our system of government has corroded our democracy.
		They are making deals with politicians like Donald Trump.
		Donald Trump himself is self-dealing.
		Him and his family are making deals all across the world.
		And he's trying to treat this country like his personal piggy bank.
		And he's jealous of the authoritarians around the world.
		And he wants to mimic that authoritarian power in this country.
		And people, regardless of your party, should be able to recognize that that's wrong and that's un-American.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Maurice Mitchell of the Working Families Party is our guest.
		If you'd like to speak to him, you can start calling in now.
		The lines are by party.
		So Republicans are on 202-748-8001.
		Democrats 202-748-8000.
		And Independents 202-748-8002.
		We also have a line set aside for members of the Working Families Party.
		You can call us on 202-748-8003.
		That's the same line you can use to text us.
		Maurice, yesterday, Speaker Johnson expressed his views about the No Kings rally.
		I'll play a portion and then get your response.
mike johnson ▲ ● ▼		Tomorrow, the Democrat leaders are going to join for a big party out on the National Mall.
		They're going to descend on our capital for their much anticipated so-called No Kings rally.
		We refer to it by its more accurate description, the Hate America rally, okay?
		And I'm not sure how anybody can refute that.
		If you think about what's going to happen here tomorrow, you're going to bring together the Marxists, the socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat Party.
		That is the modern Democratic Party.
		That's where they've gone.
		And the Hate America rally is the common theme among all those groups.
		Listen to the language they use themselves.
		Many of them don't like living in America.
		They hate capitalism.
		They hate our free enterprise system.
		They hate our principles.
		They hate the ideas that we come in to work every day to fight for, to preserve, and the greatest nation in the history of the world.
		They hate the idea of individual freedom and limited government.
		They hate the idea of the rule of law.
		They fight against it all the time.
		They hate the idea of peace through strength.
		They lobby against it all the time.
		Individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, human dignity, the things that lead to human flourishing, the things that made us the greatest nation in the history of the world.
		They're opposed to law enforcement.
		They're opposed to military.
		And their votes show it over and over.
		That's the collection of voices that you'll hear tomorrow that the Democrats will go out and raise their hands with and cheer with.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Maurice Mitchell, your response to that.
unidentified		Well, I think the fact that Speaker Mike Johnson and I've noticed leading Republicans have been spending so much time trying to talk about and frame this rally and peaceful protest of what would be millions of people around the country tells me something more about their fear of democracy, their fear of free speech than anything else.
		I can't think of anything more American than people coming together and expressing their points of view, including points of view that you might dislike.
		And I remember, I'm old enough to remember, there was a time where Democrats and Republicans agreed on that and understood that it was very American and very much a part of our democracy to support peaceful protest.
		And, you know, it's kind of troubling that politicians, including leading politicians, have become so thin-skinned that when millions of Americans raise their voices, they don't listen.
		Instead, they rebuke them.
		He's the Speaker of the House of the United States of America, not the Speaker of the House of MAGA or Republicans.
		And it's actually pretty disappointing and concerning that when millions of Americans, millions of people that he represents are raising their voices, he can't find anything patriotic in that.
		I think the mark of patriotism, he talked about hating America, the mark of patriotism is actually expressing your constitutional rights.
		One of those constitutional rights is the right to assemble and the right to free speech.
		And I think it's beautiful that so many people around the country.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		So Maurice, he did mention Antifa.
		He mentioned Hamas, Marxists.
		Does your organization have any affiliation with any of those groups that he mentioned?
unidentified		The Working Families Party is affiliated with working people all across the country.
		This is why we're running 800 candidates in November's election to run for local office to govern for the people.
		You know, you want to know what we care about?
		Healthcare, making sure that people could stay in their homes, making sure that people's rents are affordable.
		You know, maybe, maybe in Speaker Mike Johnson's view, you know, politicians and grassroots organizations and everyday people fighting to make sure that their neighbors could stay in their homes and afford their health care is radical or harmful.
		I think it's American.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		No, your website, the Working Families website, says that you and your allies cumulative spent $2 million in support of Zorhan Mamdani in his quest to become mayor of New York City.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Why?
unidentified		Well, it goes back to what we've been talking about.
		Americans all across this country and in the city of New York are really concerned about affording to stay in their homes, to stay in their communities.
		The political establishment is interested in what the real estate lobby is talking about, what the pharmaceutical lobby is talking about.
		And unfortunately, there's few lobbies for everyday people.
		We need to elect champions that are willing to fight for the interests of everyday people and keep cities like New York affordable.
		That's why we're so proud to have endorsed Rahmam Dani in the Democratic primary, why we're proud that he'll be on the Working Families Party line in November.
		And we encourage anybody who's listening in New York City to vote for him on the Working Families Party line.
		He has focused like a laser on the interest of affordability for New Yorkers.
		That's why he's built the largest and most diverse movement and coalition of New Yorkers all across New York City who just want a city that works for them.
		And we want a country that works for us.
		You know, it's interesting when I hear people like Speaker Mike Johnson, I hear somebody that's so disconnected from everyday working people that he has to, you know, live in a fantasy world where the calls from everyday working people sound like the most scary, radical, you know, ideas possible.
		But when you listen, and we do because we knock on doors, we're in communities, people just want basic health care.
		All right.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Well, Maurice, let's talk to callers and we'll start on the Republican line in Pearl City, Hawaii.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Roy, good morning.
unidentified		Good morning, Maurice, and good morning, Mimi.
		Thank you both so much for taking that time to speak with me today.
		It is a little early here in Pearl City, Hawaii.
		It's not even three o'clock in the morning, so please bear with me.
		So, Maurice, if I may, I would like to ask you a question.
		Now, I know you've probably heard the criticism that the vast majority of these protests are paid protesters, and that's nothing against what's going on today.
		But do you at least admit that the vast majority of these folks are paid by organizations much higher than it's not a grassroots movement?
		And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I personally know people who have attended these protests and have received paychecks.
		So, can you just respond to that?
		This is not, please, please, please, please don't insult my intelligence and act like this is just some spontaneous movement.
		I know these folks are paid.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Roy, Roy, can you tell us what protests are you talking about that you know the people are paid?
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Can you give us an example?
unidentified		No Kings.
		The previous No Kings protest in June.
		In June, that's correct.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And what city?
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Do you remember what city that they were in?
unidentified		It was my second cousin in Seattle who sent me a photograph of their $1,000 paycheck for standing outside holding a sign for about two hours.
unidentified		That's what I know.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		$1,000 for two hours.
		That's not bad.
		What do you say, Maurice?
unidentified		That's good work if you could get it, callers.
		So what I would say, caller, thank you for the call.
		Thanks for staying up and being so alert at 3 a.m.
		And I, and look, I can't speak to your experience or the experience of your second cousin, but what I would say is this, this is not spontaneous.
		This is organized, of course.
		Like you could go on a website and the organizations that are part of this coalition, it's pretty clear.
		There's grassroots organizations, labor institutions, all types of organizations, you know, organizations that are really small and are in small counties who are coming together in order to, over the past few weeks, have been reaching out to their neighbors to organize these rallies and protest.
		And that's called democracy.
		It happens every single day with all types of organizations and all types of efforts from left, right, center, you name it.
		Now, the idea that the individuals, the millions of individuals that are going to be out on America's streets today are somehow paid or coerced.
		You know, I would just say I have a lot more respect for the people of America than to think that they would be moved by a paycheck and not moved by their convictions.
		And I mean, there's a lot more efficient ways to organize millions of people out the street than to send them a paycheck.
		What actually is happening is people are concerned about their health care.
		People are concerned about the government shutdown.
		People are concerned about their democracy.
		Sometimes it just is what it is.
		When you see millions of people on the street, it means that millions of people all across the country are deeply concerned.
		And I would ask people who don't necessarily understand or are curious or might be confused by why these folks are on the street to listen.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right.
		Here's Roland, Independent Line, Detroit, Michigan.
		Good morning, Roland.
unidentified		Grand Rising to both of you.
		Maurice, I'm glad to hear about your organization because I contend that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are a distinction without a difference.
		They're like a good cop, bad cop.
		They're different sides of the same coin.
		So is that why your group was organized?
		Sure.
		I'll go back to what I said previously.
		26 years ago, a lot of the folks who started the Working Families Party and labor unions and grassroots organizations were deeply disappointed in the direction the Democratic Party was going and the relationship the Democratic Party at that time was building with Wall Street, the corporate capture of our politics in general.
		And that's only intensified.
		And the reasons why the Working Families Party started 26, 27 years ago are even more important and more true today.
		And so, yes, Cole, you're absolutely right.
		There are distinctions between Democrats and Republicans.
		That's why we are in coalition with Democrats, often against the right wing.
		However, there are similarities, and we need to be honest about that.
		Oftentimes, Republicans and Democrats are on the same page when it comes to foreign wars and just expanding warfare, are on the same page when it comes to picking up the phone and listening to what the lobbyists that support cryptocurrency or AI or big tech or AIPAC or any of the number of lobbies or the pharmaceutical company have to say and maybe aren't as ready to listen to everyday working people.
		This is why we need parties, movements, and organizations and elected officials like Zora Mandani that you mentioned before from the Working Families Party.
		Darren, the political establishment honest.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Darren in Colorado, Align for Democrats.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		$1,000 per person.
		Well, I missed my first check, I guess, on the first No Kings rally.
		It's forthcoming.
		The reason I'm calling, sir, I just wanted to thank you and Chase Pan for having you on so much to dispel some of these ridiculous right-wing talking points about, you know, this is a hate American rally.
		I'm a veteran, and I love this country, and I'm going to be out with young and old people that love this country, too, and want to see it in a different direction.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		What are you specifically protesting, Darren, when you go out today?
unidentified		I'm protesting how Americans are being treated, how immigrants are being treated.
		You know, if we so call ourselves such a Christian nation, we need to start acting like it, Taking people's Medicaid, the release of George Shurius, Mimi, I wish you'd play the tape where Trump even said on an interview, Oh, yeah, he was a big liar, but you know what about?
		We have to turn this course.
		Just the horrible actions of this administration have gone too far.
		And I want to tell all my right-wing people out there, I'm a proud American.
		I'm going to be out there with Americans.
		And I would hope that you would maybe join us if you see that this is going in the wrong direction.
		And again, C-SPAN and Mr. Mitchell, thank you very much.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right, Darren.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Any comment, Maurice?
unidentified		Well, thank you, caller, and also thank you for your service.
		And I couldn't agree more with your caller.
		This rally and this movement and these protests around the country are much bigger than partisanship.
		It's really a call from the people of America, really about what direction this country is to go in.
		Is it going to go in a more authoritarian direction where we begin to be comfortable with the idea that ICE and border control are nothing more than the president's personal police force and that he has free reign to use the National Guard in order to invade U.S. cities?
		And we become comfortable with the idea of the U.S. military on our streets, where we get used to the president just making untolds of money, him and his family, and all types of self-dealing, like many of the authoritarians and oligarchs around the world.
		If we get comfortable with the idea that the president could use the Department of Justice as his own tool for retribution, that's what's on the table.
		And if you are a supporter of this president, if you're a supporter of Donald Trump, just imagine if all the things that he was doing was done in the name of Democrats or in the name of, you know, pick a Democratic president, Barack Obama.
		These principles are supposed to allow all of us, regardless of our political affiliation, live in a country together and figure out how to struggle, how to debate, how to disagree in a way where we're moving forward as a country.
		And the people who are protesting, including proud veterans like our last caller, are protesting in the name of those principles.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Karen in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, a Republican, you're on with Maurice Mitchell.
unidentified		Mr. Mitchell's party was formed as an sort of anti-NAFTA sentiment.
		So he should be thanking President Trump for his work on revising NAFTA and the USMCA.
		The murderous Antifa has been proven by Andy No, who exposed real evidence that Antifa is embedding in the No Kings protests.
		Pro-labor, SEIU pensions.
		Let's talk about the health and the status of the SEIU pensions the last, I don't know, gazillion years.
		Tesla takedown, Occupy Wall Street, Antifa, BLM, indivisible, no kings, no difference.
		It's going to be fun, just the same old tired people out there making noise, banging on pots, who cares?
		There is only one king, and that's Jesus Christ.
		There is a definite distinction between Democrats and Republicans.
		Democrats went from canceled culture super quickly to assimilation culture celebrating donations like the insurance executive.
		And of course, we know our beloved Charlie Kirk.
		So, you know, it's not a side to be proud of.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		So, okay, let's get a response.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead.
unidentified		Well, thank you, Caller.
		You know, what I would say is that what I've learned is that because I'm in communities often and I talk to people, like it's election season, I'm knocking on doors.
		I meet people who are Republicans, Independents, Democrats.
		And what I notice is in communities, you know, we have differences, but neighbors who are Republicans or Democrats or Independents rely on one another.
		They often are parishioners at the same churches.
		They send their kids to the same schools and, you know, might even support each other when it comes to childcare.
		What I hear from the caller is a lot of the talking points and frankly, with all due respect to the caller, misinformation that I find online, I find on social media.
		And I would encourage everybody listening, including the caller, to test some of those ideas that we might live in a world where Democrats or whoever you identify as a Democrat is, the distinctions are horrible and intense and believe in some awful things.
		And Republicans, you know, are the, you know, and the MAGA movement, I guess, is the, you know, the only way.
		Test that out in community.
		Talk to some folks.
		Find people who you disagree with in your community.
		I think you might be surprised.
		And I think you might be surprised by who's out on the streets today.
		You're going to see people of all stripes.
		You will see young people.
		You'll see older folks.
		You'll see retirees.
		You'll see veterans.
		You'll see activists as well as first-time activists and people who have never, ever organized or protest in their lives that decided that today was the day.
		And I think you might be proud, even if you might disagree, by our traditions in this country and the fact that we could even do something like this in a peaceful way, express our voices, express our concerns, and channel them in a productive way.
		To me, there's nothing more American than that.
		And I hope everybody, if you're a working families party person, Democrat or Republican, you could agree that that's pretty special.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Here's Rhonda in Jersey Shore, New Jersey, Democrat.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead, Rhonda.
unidentified		Hi, good morning, young man, Dingo Mitchell.
		I want to tell you how incredibly proud I am of you this morning.
		And I want you to take a message to America for me today.
		It's we are one in all that is.
		That means we are one in God.
		We're spirit beings in white, brown, and black bodies.
		We are sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus.
		And this fake Mormon theology that they're putting out here, this European old Hitler movement they're trying to bring into the United States of America is unacceptable.
		We will not accept it.
		We are not paid protesters.
		We are one in all that is.
		Rhonda, are you protesting today?
		I wish I could.
		I'm 70 years old tomorrow.
		I protest with my mother when I was a little girl during the civil rights movement.
		She had us right out there with her.
		She cried like a baby when John F. Kennedy was murdered.
		My mother went to Howard.
		She got a full scholarship to go to Howard University, right where Kamala Harris went.
		And she was a proud black woman.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right, Rhonda.
		And happy birthday for tomorrow.
		Go ahead, Maurice.
unidentified		Happy birthday, caller.
		And also, I'm also a proud Howard University Bison.
		So your mother was wise to choose that university for sure.
		And, you know, thank you for your commitment to the civil rights movement and for continuing to stay committed throughout all the years.
		And we need that commitment from everybody.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Let's give one more call in, Maurice.
		Sorry, Ray in Tennessee is a Republican.
		Go ahead, Ray.
unidentified		Hey.
unidentified		Good morning.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Morning.
unidentified		Go ahead.
		I'm 82 years old.
		I'm a veteran, Vietnam.
		And I've seen this country in the last 12 years be our government made into a mess.
		And we got a president now that is trying to straighten out this mess.
		And he is so thankful that for this march that you're having, no kings, because he thought there was a king going to take his job.
		And look, common sense.
		This country has done away with common sense in the last 12 years.
		And we're getting it back.
		And all these people that are protesting and doing all this wasted time and wasting money are the leftovers of the November 6th election.
		President Trump won the election.
		He is our president.
		And he is doing the right things to get this country back on track.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right, Ray, let's get a last comment from Maurice.
unidentified		You know, thank you, caller.
		And the one good thing about elections is that we're able to organize our points of view and channel them in a very productive way.
		And I would just say to the caller, like, absolutely, Donald Trump won the election.
		Tens of millions of people had a different opinion.
		I wouldn't call them leftovers.
		I would call them your neighbors, citizens who continue to organize, continue to express themselves.
		You know, again, the whole point of No Kings is that at least today in this country, power is diffuse.
		And a presidential election, whatever direction it goes, doesn't necessarily end the debate.
		The debate continues.
		And all of those people who voted for Kamala Harris and all those people who didn't vote, like 90 million, they have a point of view.
		And I think it's a wonderful thing that they're expressing their points of view in a productive way.
		That's what democracy is.
		Democracy is you agreeing with the president, me having a lot of disagreement with the president, and both of us being able to express that on C-SPAN on an open line without fear of any retribution.
		That's what the folks organizing and millions of people who will be protesting and rallying today are doing.
		Making sure that you could express yourself and I could express myself on this open line without fear of retribution.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right.
		And that is Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party.
		You can find them at workingfamilies.org.
		Thanks so much for joining us.
unidentified		It was good to be with you.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Welcome back to Washington Journal.
		We're joined now by Cheryl Chumley, online opinion editor for the Washington Times.
		She also hosts a podcast called Bold and Blunt.
		Cheryl, welcome to the program.
unidentified		Good morning.
unidentified		Thank you for having me.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Well, as you know, today is the No Kings rallies across the country.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And wondering what you think of that event.
unidentified		Well, on one hand, you could say it's great to see American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.
		I'm all for that.
		I love to see people getting involved in culture, in politics, and speaking out, speaking on their minds.
		But on the other hand, if you look at who is endorsing all these rallies, it's the far left, right?
		It's the Communist Party, it's the Socialist Party, it's the Workers' Party, all under the same umbrella of communism and Marxism.
		And we'll just see how peaceful they are by day's end.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And when you say that they're all organized by communists and socialists and Marxists, can you give an example of what you mean by those organizations being communists or Marxists?
unidentified		Well, that's their title, the Communist Party of America and the Democratic Socialists of America.
		And if you look at the organizers, they proclaim themselves as the name.
		So, you know, it's not me just taking a guess that these are far leftists in America coming together to organize these protests.
		It's that they have organized them.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And earlier this week, we had one of the organizing groups on the show.
		This is the move on.
		This is Joel Payne, and again, one of the participating groups in the No Kings rally.
		I'm going to play a short clip and then have you respond to it.
		Okay, Cheryl?
joel payne ▲ ● ▼		I think the theme to the No Kings Day of Action, just like it was in June, was for people to affirm with one voice in unison in America we have no kings, not now, not ever.
		And the impetus for it is the Trump administration overreach and abuse of power that millions of Americans are seeing.
		A lot of our organizations that are involved are really feeling this through feedback from our members.
		And those members want to create community in their communities.
		They want to know that other people are seeing the same thing that they're seeing and also still believe in the America that they believe in.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Cheryl.
unidentified		So my response to it first and foremost is: you know, that's speaking the obvious.
		We don't have kings in America.
		So to call it no kings, that's just speaking the obvious.
		So why are they calling it that?
		Because they're trying to make it seem as if this administration, this president specifically, is behaving like a king.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		And if you look at what the Donald Trump administration is doing, they are trying to instill law and order in our communities.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		They are trying to bring peace and calm out of chaos that has been generated by Democrat controls, whether it's the previous administration or whether it's the Democrat-controlled communities.
unidentified		This administration is saying we're done with the lawlessness.
		We're taking decided action to put a stop to it and bring about safety and security in communities.
		And that's what the far left is rebelling against.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And Cheryl, when you mentioned lawlessness, so I just want to bring up the commutation of George Santos' sentence today.
		He was released from prison at about 11 p.m. last night by President Trump.
		What were your thoughts on that?
unidentified		Well, my thoughts were that if I were a Democrat, I'd be cheering this because he's the openly gay former congressional member for the Republican Party.
		So the left would seem to embrace that type of ideal.
		And second off-the-gay Individual serving in politics.
		That's something that the Democrat Party should have embraced because that's something that they advocate for, the open service of LGBTQ members in Congress in politics.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		But he wasn't convicted of being LGBTQ.
		He was convicted of fraud.
		And I'm not sure if I'm going to respond.
unidentified		I'm giving you my response.
		So my first response was a quip in my own mind that, oh, Democrats ought to have embraced this guy in the first place because he was openly gay.
		My second response goes to the actual commuting of his sentence.
		And that's something that just broke.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		I didn't look into all the details of why his sentence was commuted, but I do know that he was convicted of seven years and given a sentence of seven years for lying, I believe it was, and for fraud.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		And the terms of his sentencing was what Republicans were concerned about, that he was put in isolation for very long periods of time, which seemed above and beyond what anyone else should be treated to in prison.
unidentified		So that's my response.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		I want to ask you, Cheryl, since you are an Army vet, about your thoughts on Secretary of Defense Hegseth's policies regarding women in combat and their physical fitness requirements.
unidentified		Well, it's not just women, it's men too.
		Same physical fitness requirements across the board.
		And for 20 years now, I've been saying the same thing.
		I did serve.
		I was active Army.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		And at the time when I went into basic and AIT advanced individual training, there were new policies put in place that, for instance, women could not be dropped on the pavement to do punitive push-ups because they might get their hands cut by the rocks on the pavement.
unidentified		So it was things like that that I saw as concerning.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		On one hand, we were being told in the military that the military standards know no gender, that it's the same, they're equal standards, we're a fighting machine, and that's it.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		And on the other hand, I noticed how very different the physical fitness standards were for women versus men.
unidentified		And I said when I first got out, I wrote a piece, a commentary piece saying that most GI Janes should go home.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		Because if you can't have the same standards in your military fighting force, if you have to lower them to allow certain people to serve, then that degrades the ability of your military force to do its core mission.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		So when it comes to physical fitness standards, I am entirely in line with Secretary of War's Pete Hegseth's new policies.
unidentified		If you can achieve and reach those physical fitness, it shouldn't matter whether you're male or female.
unidentified		But if you can't, then you're out.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And Cheryl Chumley is our guest today.
		If you'd like to speak to her, you can.
		Our lines are bipartisan.
		Republicans are on 202-748-8001.
		Democrats 202-748-8000.
		And Independents 202-748-8002.
		You can start calling in now.
		Cheryl, sticking with the Defense Department, I want to ask you about Secretary Hegset's new policy on the press.
		Here is on X.
		He says: Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right.
		So press no longer roams free.
		Press must wear visible badge.
		Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts.
		Done.
		Pentagon now has the same rules as every U.S. military installation.
		What do you think?
unidentified		Well, so 90% of what the policy makes clear is common sense.
		The part that I had an issue with was having journalists, having media organizations sign a paper agreeing to abide these new policies.
		And specifically, the area that I did not like was the notion that journalists agree to not solicit classified or sensitive information from sources.
		And if they do, they could be deemed a security or safety threat.
		And I thought that that was very broad language that really intrudes on the right of not just the press, but the individuals in America that the press represents to exercise their First Amendment, God-given freedoms.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Let's go to calls.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Let's talk to Cheryl, Democrat in Aloha, Oregon.
unidentified		Yes.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead, Sharon.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		You're on the air with Cheryl Chumley.
unidentified		Oh, hi.
		Well, I just wanted to make a truthful comment about my own experience.
		I've attended four No Kings rallies or four rallies starting in May.
		Standing next to me were 10 other 70-year-old women, my friends and neighbors, my sister.
		We spent the day before each rally going over the issues that we were concerned about and what we wanted to put on our handmade signs.
		My brother-in-law stapled them together, and we stood and we sang power to the people and we chanted what does democracy look like.
		This is what democracy looks like.
		And I never received a penny, and nobody contacted me.
		And nobody around me of the hundreds of people I've talked to at the last four received any money.
		And none of us are in Antifa.
		And the average age at my rally at Tigard, Oregon, was around 60, 60, 70 years old.
		And nobody wore a mask, and nobody did violence.
		We sang it, and when people, some people went by in trucks and gave us a finger, we gave them the peace sign.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And Sharon, are you going out today as well?
unidentified		I am.
		I'm going.
		My sister is going to the Tiger One in the morning.
		I'm going to go to the gym this time.
linda moulton howe ▲ ● ▼		And I'm second attendee.
unidentified		We attend two usually every time.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right, Sharon.
		Let's get a response from Cheryl.
		Go ahead.
unidentified		So I hope she has a peaceful rally.
		I hope she has a good time.
		As I said, I'm all in favor for Americans going out and rallying and voicing their concerns with government.
		That is a core American freedom.
		But I did never say, I never said that these groups were paying activists.
		I didn't say that.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		I said that these communists and socialists and far-leftist groups were sponsoring these rallies.
unidentified		And that's still not to say that everybody who goes out and attends and participates is a card-carrying member of the Communist Party.
unidentified		But it is to say that we have to recognize the root, the foundation, the supporters of these organizations and who actually are organizing them and bringing them about.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Lawrence, a Republican in Illinois.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Good morning, Lawrence.
unidentified		Good morning, Cheryl and C-SPAN.
		Yeah, where to begin.
		I had a couple comments for the previous guests, too, but the Noah Kings rally basically is about 250 years too late.
		If people knew history, I mean, that's why we broke away from the King of England.
		So I don't understand.
		I don't understand the Noah Kings rally, but whatever.
		The other comment I wanted to make is my spouse of going on over 40 years, 41 years, I'm in my 70s, migrated here from a South American country.
		She's Hispanic and black from a communist country in South America.
		So I've lived in the Bay Area of San Francisco.
		I grew up in Chicago.
		I lived in, spent time in Bolivia and Peru.
		I can't believe most of the racist and ridiculous comments are made mostly from Democrats.
		The last comment I'd like to make was that working families didn't make any distinction either.
		The previous gentleman, working family, you know, the person who's out digging a hole or working construction is from a working family.
		And you know who else is from a working family?
		The president of a company or the president of a bank.
		Perfect example would be Donald Trump is from a working family.
		Perfect working family that the Democrats loved him before he got into politics.
		They all invited him to weddings and TV shows.
		Oprah had him on.
		Clinton had him at his daughter's wedding.
		They loved the guy.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right, let's get a response.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead, Cheryl.
unidentified		What can I say?
		He's right.
		Everything he said, I agree with.
		And, you know, it just made me think when he made the comment that Democrats are the ones that make most of the racist comments and things like that.
		I just wanted to elaborate on that.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		When you look out at the No Kings rallies that are going forth today, take a look how many Hamas enablers are out there, how much anti-Semitism is flowing through and coursing under these rallies.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		Because I'm pretty sure in some of these cities, at least, that there are going to be a lot of down with Israel, save the Palestinian people type protests.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		I wonder your thoughts, Cheryl, on this the Republican, the young Republican chat that was reported by Politico and the response.
		For instance, Vice President Vance, This Is the Hill saying young Republicans chat, that's what kids do.
		As you know, there was a lot of anti-Semitism, a lot of very hateful things on those chats.
unidentified		So just a quick response to that.
		It's horrible, right?
		I mean, I think we can all agree that the comments were ugly and horrible.
		But let's put this in proper context.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		The report on the young Republicans came about because they're in my own state of Virginia here.
		There was a lot of reporting on Jay Jones, who is running for Attorney General of Virginia, and the comments he made about fantasizing about murdering his political opponent and wishing to see his political opponent's wife's children die in her arms and a few other texts that came up that seemed alarming.
		So then Politico did its due diligence reporting to find something from the other side to sort of distract from the discussions going forth about Jay Jones.
unidentified		And what they came up with was these young Republicans, these kids who are not running for any political office.
		So they're not seeking a taxpayer-funded position.
		And by the way, they were in a private chat group just doing, as Vice President JD Vance said, what stupid kids do, right?
		So there's a big difference there.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		And so when you ask my thoughts on these young Republicans' comments, ugly, divisive, don't support it, but not as bad as what's taking place in Virginia right now with Jay Jones and this guy seeking office with the fantasies he has and the hopes to become the highest law enforcement official in my state.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And I'll just show that for people just so that they know where that is.
		I'll find it.
		We'll go back to that.
		Here's Julius in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Independent Line.
		Go ahead, Julius.
unidentified		Yes, good morning.
		So I agree with the guests that I think No Kings is a very poor choice for a name.
		I agree with a caller previously that said it's about 250 years too late.
		So what I see in this country, and this is where I may disagree with the guest, is that I don't see that we have a left at all.
		Functionally, we have two very corporate right parties that are very beneficial to the billionaire class.
		And what we're missing is a labor movement, a functional left.
		And a lot of what we're seeing in our politics is related to growing income inequality, not just here, but also globally.
		So some of the issues would be that when we have legislation that passes, it always benefits wealthy people.
		And very often there's a trickle or a sunset clause that's for the people, but it expires, but the tax cuts for the rich stay.
		And that's what's going on.
		And then we have two parties, and we have all these pundits that come on to C-SPAN that engage in culture wars.
		They bring up stuff that is just silly, childish, immature, not grown-up type conversation.
		And then we fight about it, the people, and they create division.
		And that's what's going on.
		This lady's engaging in it.
		All the guests engage in it on C-SPAN, and we don't have grown-up conversations.
		And that's getting to be very dangerous because there is a growing, dangerous polarization in the country.
		It would not surprise me if there was violence on both sides today and growing violence in the country.
		And so what we need to do is we need to recognize that fascism, oligarchy, that's what's in charge of the government.
		It is no longer a democracy, right?
		And we have to reclaim government.
		Now, the people marching the street, I love that you're marching.
		I love protest, peaceful protests.
		I would say that the most effective march that I have seen in my lifetime was actually January 6th.
		I don't agree with a thing that those people were angry about and marching for.
		I don't agree with the things that they were marching for, but they at least knew where the centers of power were.
		No Kings has no clue.
		Thank you.
		Okay.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Cheryl, your thoughts.
unidentified		Yeah, so that was a great caller.
		I could probably have a discussion with him for an hour or so, but just to try and address some of these points.
		I think those are excellent points.
		And let me just give an example of where Republicans have failed, because I agree.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		We have two political parties who are battling against each other, mostly creating purposeful divisions among the people in America so they can, in their various political capabilities, swarm in and pretend to have the answer for the people.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		I have said for the very, very longest time that the issue in America is not with Republicans or Democrats or pitting or voting one over the other.
unidentified		It was the loss of our individual freedoms in America.
		It was the loss of the concept of God-given individual rights.
		And you've seen Republicans exploit open borders for their own business purposes.
		You've seen Democrats exploit open borders for their own voting interests and for their own agendas.
		So that's just one example of what that caller was saying, that these political parties aren't working for us as individuals.
		And what we need as a nation is to recapture that spirit of America, that God-given individual right and freedom, which is the American exceptionalism that keeps America above and beyond any other nation in the world.
		And part of the problem is we're not teaching civics.
		We're not teaching proper history in school.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		We're degrading the economy to the point where we have young people clamoring for socialism because they can't make it on their own in a free market.
unidentified		So it's a cyclical thing that's taking place in America, degrading our greatness.
unidentified		And I see the core foundation is the loss of that individualism, that loss of the concept of God-given rights.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right, and just to go back to what we were talking about, Politico, quote, I love Hitler.
		Leaked messages expose young Republicans' racist chat.
		Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery, and rape.
		That's at Politico if you want to read that.
		And then Cheryl's comment: this is Fox News.
		Top Dem leaders refused to call on disgraced AG nominee to drop out of Virginia Race.
		That is Jay Jones, who was running for Attorney General in Virginia.
		He said he was, quote, ashamed and embarrassed of the surface text messages from 2022.
		That's at Fox News to find out more about that.
		And here's Nancy.
unidentified		You know what?
		That was very clever what you just did there, right?
		Because you come out and you read, you attribute these ugly arguments to GOP leaders, right?
		They're kids.
		They're young Republicans.
		They don't hold public office.
		They're not seeking public office.
		They're not tax paid.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		And then you talk about Fox News and say my comment was aligned with Fox News that Jay Jones has apologized.
unidentified		Well, read Jay Jones's text.
unidentified		You know, read that for the callers in the.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		So, Cheryl, I am simply reading the headlines of Politico, and I'm encouraging our audience to go and read it for themselves.
		I am not commenting on this at all.
		Here's Nancy Cedar Falls, Iowa Democrat.
		Go ahead, Nancy.
		You're on with Cheryl Chumley.
unidentified		Hello Cheryl and Greta, my statement is really, I'm sorry.
		That's okay.
		Go ahead.
		My statement is really pretty simple.
		I don't need to lower myself to the level of those that say we hate, such as the man that said this is a hate rally rather than a no kings rally.
		We can love and said by not being hypocritical.
		I don't point fingers.
		Instead, I use polite verbiage using I statements.
		My signs say, please, no kings.
		And my other side says, actually, I love America.
		I don't know anyone that gets paid to protest, whatever they are using their First Amendment rights to protest.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Cheryl.
unidentified		I'm glad that she has a good experience with the protests and rallies.
unidentified		And once again, I would like to say that I never raised any issue about paid protesters.
cheryl k chumley ▲ ● ▼		But since it's been brought up twice now by callers, I do know from my years and years covering local governments for local community newspapers that there were leftist organizations that did pay people to attend zoning board meetings, board of supervisor meetings, city council meetings.
unidentified		They paid for them to attend and to present viewpoints to the boards, pretending as if they were speaking for the citizens of the community.
		So if it happens on the local level, then chances are pretty good it's happening on the federal level, on the national level.
		And we do have evidence of some organizations funding some of these protests.
		Just for the record, again, I never did say that these no kings protests were being funded by anybody.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		And one more call.
		Dave in Dana Point, California, Republican.
		Good morning, Dave.
unidentified		Yes, good morning.
		Thank you for taking my call.
		Basically, number one, I'm not a Republican.
		I'm a Trump again.
		I go by what Leo Terrell says.
		I was never in the, I'm 58 years old.
		I was never in politics prior to 2016.
		Trump basically brought me into it.
		What I have is a question that I want to ask, but give you my answer first to the question, and then you answer it.
		My question is, why don't you think the liberals and the Democrats get this stuff?
		For instance, I believe that they're being brainwashed through their smartphones.
		I believe they're being brainwashed through all the liberal media that's on TV and everywhere else.
		I believe they're being brainwashed through our school systems.
		I have a bunch of friends who are teachers.
		They all, when it dropped down from college into the high school, because they were all high school teachers, they couldn't stand it.
		So they dropped down to junior high.
		Then it dropped down into that.
		So they couldn't stand that.
		So then they dropped down into elementary school, and now it's reached in there.
		They're getting ready to retire because, like I said, I'm 58.
		They're all 58.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		So, Dave, we're running out of time.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Can you make a real quick point?
unidentified		Yes.
unidentified		Again, all the stuff that the Liberal Democrats are for hurt our women and children, open borders, drugs.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Okay, let's get Cheryl to respond to that.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead, Cheryl.
unidentified		Well, it is an interesting question, and I know we're running out of time.
		So let me just say, I think the Democrat Party has gone through a dramatic change since Bill Clinton years.
		It happened under Barack Obama, really sped up for his eight years.
		Under Joe Biden, things got worse.
		And I think the Democrat Party has been infiltrated by and corrupted by the far left, such as the Democratic Socialists of America, communists, and Marxists.
		And I think that's why you're getting this big political divide.
		It's not about for America.
		It's for the parties.
		And the Democrat Party is not the Democrat Party of JFK or even Bill Clinton days.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		All right.
		That's Cheryl Chumley, online opinion editor at the Washington Times, also a host of the podcast called Bold and Blunt.
		Cheryl, thanks so much for joining us today.
unidentified		Thank you.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Welcome back to Washington Journal.
		We're talking now about the future of the Ukraine-Russia war with John Herbst.
		He was former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine under the George W. Bush administration, currently senior director at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center.
		Welcome to the program.
unidentified		My pleasure to be here.
unidentified		Thank you.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		So a lot has been happening on this front.
		On the war between Russia and Ukraine, the president hosted President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
		He had talked with Putin on the phone for two hours, and President Trump has announced another summit with Russia.
unidentified		So what are you making of all this news?
		To briefly describe it, President Trump has been threatening since May to bring major pressure on Putin because Putin is blocking Trump's own proposals for peace.
		And three times he seemed to be on the verge of doing something strong.
		And three times he paused and pivoted because Putin reached out to him and suggested, you know, instead of measures, let's have a negotiation.
		That happened in May.
		It happened most famously in August.
		And it appears to be happening right now.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		You mentioned the August summit that happened in Alaska.
		We, of course, remember the warmth between the two leaders and the red carpet.
		The United States didn't get anything out of that.
unidentified		That's correct.
unidentified		That's correct.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Do you feel like it's a mistake to offer Putin another summit with the president?
unidentified		I will be a little bit cautious in responding.
		I think that if President Trump wants to achieve his stated goal of a durable end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, he needs to put major pressure on the Kremlin.
		He has been talking about this very clearly since May, but he's been reluctant to do so.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		What does major pressure on the Kremlin look like?
unidentified		It means significant arms to Ukraine, which the Europeans and the Ukrainians can pay for, that will make it hard, much harder for Russia to make any gains whatsoever, and significant economic pressure.
		That's what's within play.
		And since Trump and Zelensky met in New York City about four weeks ago, Trump's been talking very seriously about major pressure, including the provision of our cruise missiles, the Tomahawks, to Ukraine.
		But then I think Putin got very nervous in the last week, which is why you had that phone call a few days ago between Putin and Trump.
mimi geerges ▲ ● ▼		Because of the tomahawks?

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