C-SPAN’s Washington Journal (11/29/2025) examines holiday spending amid a polarized economy: 186.9M shoppers face inflation, tariffs, and a "two-story" divide—top earners ($170K+) thrive while 80% struggle—with Vice President JD Vance blaming Biden’s policies and Democrats citing Trump’s tariffs as a "hidden tax." Callers reveal stark contrasts: some spend less due to debt or rising costs (e.g., $37 turkey, $25 beef), others double spending thanks to wage gains ($110 more weekly). Meanwhile, Cal Thomas dismisses reparations as impractical, sparking debates over racial progress and media bias, while small business advocates like Shondell Newsome highlight tariffs, healthcare strains (84% fear unaffordable insurance in 2026), and corporate favoritism, urging Congress to prioritize Main Street’s survival. [Automatically generated summary]
Coming up this morning on Washington Journal, along with your calls and comments live, joining us will be syndicated columnist Cal Thomas to talk about Trump administration policies and the state of U.S. politics.
Also, Sean Dell Newsome, Small Business for America's future co-chair on topics related to the state of small businesses in the U.S. C-SPAN's Washington Journal is next.
This is Washington Journal for Saturday, November 29th.
New data shows U.S. consumer confidence is at its lowest level since April, with many Americans worried about the cost of basics like groceries, utilities, and health care.
But despite economic concerns, the National Retail Federation expects this post-Thanksgiving holiday weekend to draw the largest number of shoppers on record.
To start today's program, we want to know how you're approaching holiday spending this year.
Here are the lines.
If you are expecting to spend less than last year, it's 202-748-8,000.
If you're expecting to spend more than you did last year, your line is 202-748-8001.
And if you are expecting to spend about the same amount, it's 202-748-8002.
You can text your comments to 202-748-8003.
Be sure to include your name and city.
You can also post a question or comment on Facebook at facebook.com/slash C-SPAN or on X at C-SPANWJ.
Good morning, and thank you for being with us.
We'll get to your calls and comments in just a few moments.
But as you're calling in more information on some of those topics, just I just highlighted that is the number of people shopping as well as the economic concern.
This is from the National Retail Federation.
They released it last Thursday on the 20th, the Thursday before Thanksgiving.
It says a record 186.9 million people are planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to the Consumer Survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics.
The figure is up more than 3 million total shoppers from the previous record of 183.4 million last year.
Those shoppers heading out despite economic concerns, this from the Wall Street Journal, just a few days ago, it says shutdown delayed data showed American consumers closed out the third quarter on a cautious footing while a measure of consumer confidence tumbled in November.
Taken together, the new and older data suggest the U.S. economy is heading into an all-important holiday season, buffeted by a cooling labor market, continued inflationary pressure, and science consumers were easing their pace of spending and searching for bargains.
It says retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September from the prior month.
The Commerce Department said that fell short of economists' expectations for a 0.3% rise as shoppers reined in purchases in a number of key categories affected by tariffs, including vehicles, electronics, and clothing.
At the same time, consumers boosted spending at bars and restaurants and personal care on personal care stores and on furniture.
It says the September data reflected a period just before the government shutdown began October 1st.
Statistics agencies are catching up after the government reopened mid-November.
More recent earnings from major retails, which generally painted a rosier picture of consumer spending, indicated consumers are hunting for value but still spending.
Earlier this week on Washington Journal, Navy Federal Credit Union chief economist Heather Long joined us on the program to talk about the economy.
They plan to spend for the holiday holidays anyways.
It says Americans are nervous about the economy.
They are troubled by the higher price from tariffs.
They're wary of fizzling job market.
They are poised to shell out during the holiday shopping season anyway.
It says economists are predicting a healthy dose of consumer spending in the last weeks of the year, extending a streak of surprising resilience.
Although there's some evidence that people with lower incomes are under rising strains from persistent inflation and weaker hiring, economists say many consumers have enough of a buffer to buy gifts and other holiday items.
It says wealthier households in particular, fueled by a high-flying stock market, are expected to buy freely, offsetting slower spending down the income spectrum.
Surveys and other data suggest consumers broadly intend to spend the same or more on holiday shopping compared with last year.
Goes on to talk about, to highlight one person in Oregon.
It says Nick Hennessy, 34, makes $65,000 a year as a manager at an Amazon print-on-demand facility.
His salary is enough to rent a small apartment in an old building in Portland, Oregon, and he pays off his credit card bills and contributes a modest amount to his retirement fund every month.
At the same time, he must make a $227 monthly student loan payment that the federal government had allowed him to delay for a time.
His weekly grocery bills, including pre-made lunches from Trader Joe's, as well as milk, yogurt, cereal, eggs, and fruit, have risen from $75 from about $55.
He says, quote, I weigh less, so I know I'm not eating more, he said.
Those additional expenses have stretched his finances.
Still, he has planned to spend about $500 this year on holiday gifts for his girlfriend and his parents.
That is roughly the same amount as last year, he said, and more than he spent in years when he was paid by the hour.
For this first hour of Washington Journal, we want to know your approach to holiday spending this year.
Again, here are the lines.
If you are planning to spend more than you did last year, the line 202-748-8,000.
If you're planning to spend less than you did last year, it's 202-748-8,001.
And if you're planning to spend about the same, it's 202-748-8,002.
We'll start with Paul, who's calling from Idaho, planning to spend more than last year.
Good morning, Paul.
unidentified
Good morning.
I plan on spending twice as much as I did last year.
They're small gifts.
They're little stuffed dolls and stuffed bears and whatnot that I can purchase cheaply and then give them RAF Keeply.
And that'll be for the toys for tots.
And I had nobody else to buy anything for, per se, so it's relatively cheap to do it that way.
How much, when it came to your Thanksgiving dinner, how much did, was it about the same when it came to cost as last year?
unidentified
You throw in a turkey, which is about $37 on average, and that's a small one.
And then you throw in the celery, which is for something, and the corn and the lettuce and the carrots and all that stuff, and the spices and the gravies and the flour and all that.
That was Sharon in North Carolina saying she's going to spend less than last year.
This is a headline from the Associated Press.
Vance says Americans need to be patient on prices, but says, we hear you on affordability concerns.
The article says that while President Donald Trump has struggled to settle on a way to address Americans' concerns about high costs, Vice President JD Vance on Thursday offered a more direct and empathetic message saying, we hear you and there's a lot more work to do.
But the American people need to have, quote, a little bit of patience.
Vance said in remarks at an event hosted by Breitbart News.
It says the vice president's remarks come as the White House grapples with how to speak to voters about the cost of living, an issue that emerged as a vulnerability for Republicans in this month's off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races.
Vance said the Trump administration has, quote, made incredible progress in tackling the cost of living concerns as they work to undo policies from former President Joe Biden.
From that event earlier this week, here is a clip of Vice President Vance's remarks.
And I guess my message to the American people who are still feeling like things are unaffordable, who are still feeling like things are rough out there, is, look, we get it and we hear you and we know that there's a lot of work to do.
There's a lot of wood to chop because the Biden administration put us in such a very, very tough spot.
The way that I think about this is it's always helpful to take this from the abstractions to the actual real things that people are worried about.
So take, for example, a dozen eggs.
I'll never forget this.
It was one of the very first, maybe the single first press conference that the president had done since he had been, since he had started his second term.
And some reporter, probably from ABC, yells at him and says, what have you done about the price of eggs?
The price of eggs are up 300% over the past three years.
And it's like, it was January the 23rd.
It's like, what do you mean, what have we done in two days?
It's going to take a little bit of time to fix that problem.
And so if you're an American who's just struggling to get by, you work hard, you pay your taxes, you want your kids to have good opportunities, and the price of eggs goes from $2 a dozen to $8 a dozen under the Biden administration.
And then under the Trump administration, it goes from $8 a dozen to maybe $6.50 a dozen.
Well, to you, that is still a major problem.
And even though we've made incredible progress, we understand that there's a lot more work to do.
And the thing that I'd ask for the American people is a little bit of patience.
This economy was not harmed in 10 months.
It took a deliberate four-year administration that was making life harder for everyday Americans, that was importing foreign workers instead of giving jobs to American workers, that was over-regulating, over-taxing, overspending.
They were doing everything wrong.
And as much progress as we've made, it's going to take a little bit of time for every American to feel that economic boom, which we really do believe is coming.
We believe that we're on the front end of it, but we also recognize that we've got a lot of work to do to undo the damage that Joe Biden did to the American economy.
And the last one I'll say, Matt, is it's let's be honest: it's not just Joe Biden.
As much as I think Joe Biden was one of the most disastrous presidents of American history, we had a policy in this country for 40 years of shipping American jobs overseas and hiring foreign workers instead of American workers.
That has caused the economic stagnation of the American middle class.
Well, you know, I'm probably going to spend pretty much less.
You know, for me, I'm more of not the so-called traditional.
I'm more about Jesus, my about Christ, more into that instead of the tradition for man.
So I probably spend less.
You know, my wife, she might do a little bit.
But other than that, you know, I think that, hey, you know, we just more not the tradition of the holiday, but more of the Christ type holiday.
We probably do a lot of praying for people, praying for our family, praying for our world, praying for the president, or whatnot, stuff of that nature.
But other than that, you know, I think people need to probably get back to more than the holiday tradition, just back to Christ more, as far as I'm concerned.
How much did you spend last year and how much are you expecting to spend this year?
unidentified
Okay, overall, I have three boys.
I normally give them $100 to buy gifts for themselves, but it seemed like this year are going to spend over at least $25 more to get them what they need.
But this coming from Audrey in Philly, she sent us this text, says, I'll be spending almost nothing this holiday season and have asked friends and family to do the same.
I don't have anything to spend with utilities and groceries being so high.
My job used to give us a small Christmas bonus, but did not this year.
This from Jenny on Facebook says, working hard, saving, and sometimes going without things I really didn't need my whole life.
And now the Trump's economic policies, I am doing so much better than five years ago.
I plan to be a little more generous for my family this year.
Happy holidays.
Barb in Long Grove, Illinois says, my approach to holiday spending this year is slightly less than last year due to unexpected expenses and my fixed income.
And this from Gerald said on Facebook says, the malls were packed yesterday, restaurants were full, and traffic was all over the place yesterday.
So looking like everyone is going to have a great Christmas.
Thank you, Mr. President, for making America great again.
And one more, Jeff in Dearborn, Michigan says, I'll buy for my spouse and grandson, both grocery prices being so outrageous, those will be the only people I buy for.
Beef is now entirely unaffordable.
We are taking your calls asking about your plans, your approach to holiday spending this year.
Let's hear from Ed, who's calling from West Palm Beach, Florida, who's expecting to spend more than he did last year.
Good morning, Ed.
unidentified
Oh, good morning.
Thank you very much for taking my call this morning.
When it comes to spending on holiday gifts, you're saying that you're going to probably see an increase in that category as well, not just your travel?
unidentified
Yeah, I would expect so, but certainly not what we're seeing, the increase that we expect to see is not going to be as great as the increases in food prices and things like that because they're non-perishable items that we're going to provide gifts for.
But it'll probably be about the same number, same number of gifts.
But, you know, I expect to see the price of those gifts to increase a little bit more.
It was earlier this week that Democratic Representative Chantelle Brown of Ohio posted a Thanksgiving message on Facebook.
She was critical of Republicans' handling of the issue of affordability in health care.
unidentified
Here is that clip: What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving?
Honestly, I'm thankful for a lot.
My family, my friends, and the opportunity to serve the people of Northeast Ohio and Congress every day.
But this year, the more important question might be: what has Congress done that is worth the thank you from the American people?
I can tell you this: it's a very short list.
So instead, I'll go into what we should have done to help out the American people before Thanksgiving.
So we can start with the fact that we should have extended the ACA tax credits to take health care and make it more affordable for the American people.
Number one.
Number two, we should have canceled the cuts Republicans made to Medicaid and SNAP to pay for tax credits for whole, the wealthy.
And we should have reversed Trump's reckless, I mean, reckless tariffs that are making life more expensive for the American people.
But instead, too many of my Republican colleagues would rather waste time and bow to the president than deliver results for the people.
And you said you were concerned about the next year, about the economy next year.
Talk to me a little bit about the concern you have.
Is it the job market or cost of just overall cost of living?
unidentified
Combination.
So if I were to just live normally, assuming that everything is going to be steady state, then I would spend normally expecting to be employed, expecting everything to the cost of things to be normal.
But it's definitely not that.
I hear it's, you know, with the tariffs, I can see cost of housing going down in some ways, but the cost of everything else is going down.
And let me explain that cost of housing.
I've actually been house hunting, and I noticed that in a lot of other states, housing prices to buy, purchase houses have gone down.
But equally, the cost of living day to day has gone up so much, what I'm able to save normally, it's no longer there.
So it's like, even though I can see where they're setting up a situation where people are going to be buying high-end items, you're not really able to do that because the basic expenses of day-to-day is higher.
Does that make sense?
So, your ability to save is lower.
And then, I don't know if the job market, all of the companies are leaving California so many different ways.
So, and what I thought would be happening was job growth.
But, what I'm seeing, and it's not just in California, what I'm seeing, people are losing their jobs and having and wondering if they're going to be paid the same amount or more on the next job.
I know that everybody is complaining about grocery prices, but I don't think it's the president that's actually causing because of his economic plan.
I think that's a residual of the last administration because we had such high inflation and the prices did go up then.
And I know that our president is trying to bring these prices down, but with the energy prices here in California still outrageously high, I know that we are spending, oh, I guess gas is about $379 a gallon.
And in other parts of the country, it's down around $2 a gallon.
So just the energy cost to get those groceries to the grocery store is what's keeping the prices up.
But I plan to spend about the same.
I know my energy prices have gone up a little bit.
I haven't gotten this next month's bill yet.
I'm expecting it to be higher because our gas company and our electric company have already said they were going to increase the prices.
But other than that, I'm planning on spending about the same.
I'm looking forward to next year because I know that these plans that the president has put into effect will take effect next year, and I'm sure all of us will see great things.
So I'm looking forward to that, and I'm being positive, and I'm glad that President Trump is in office and he's trying to take care of this country for us.
I don't have the exact amount, but and a lot of that is President Trump kept the coal burning plant on in this area to, I don't know why, because our electric company was going to shut it down like last year, but he said there was an emergency to keep it going.
unidentified
And that, in turn, kind of cost us more money for the electric.
This is a headline from an outlet called Retail Brew.
It says nearly one in three will spend less on holiday decorations.
This year says that American homes may look slightly less festive this holiday season with 28% of Americans saying they'll spend less on holiday decorations this year compared to last year.
According to a new survey from Rocket Mortgage and Redfin, that's slightly more than the 26% who will spend less on gifts according to the survey, which companies fielded in October.
It says people's rationale for spending less this year abound from the strictly economical, 56% say they are trying to save money.
44% said they are feeling uncertain about the economy.
To the practical, 42% said they don't need more decorations because they have enough.
And to the, hey, friend, you look like you need a hug, 17% said they're feeling less festive this year.
It goes on to say that the decoration belt tightening jibes with other reports from consumers are economizing when it comes to holiday spending this year.
We are taking your calls on your holiday spending plans this year.
The lines, if you're expecting to spend less than you did last year, it's 2027 for eight thousand.
If you're expecting to spend more than you did last year, it's 202, 748, 8,001.
And if you're expecting to spend about the same, it's 202-748-8,002.
You can also find us on social media or shoot us a text at 202-748-8003.
There are some people who are talking to us via that way.
Larry on Facebook says, the same that it's always been, don't buy what you can't afford.
Don't go into debt to purchase Christmas presents.
And it's worked out really well for me and my wife in 39 years of marriage.
This from Connie says, I'm spending far less this year because of groceries and utility prices, and rent is so high.
Worst few years since the 1980s.
Thank God I got rid of my credit cards years ago.
And this from Michael in Virginia text us and said, I spent more.
The economy news is confusing when I see articles about manufacturing plants shut down, job stagnation and layoffs, automation replacement, and other trading and other trading countries struggling.
Then I hear this is a world record of spending.
And even with all these tariffs, nothing changed.
So what shall I think?
Maybe debt increased.
I don't know.
In my personal life, a farmed table, delicious restaurant closed, and the farm owns the building.
It's pretty much looks like unmeasurable chaos.
And this from Charlotte on Facebook says, I'll be buying less.
Thanks to Trump's tariffs.
I don't see any improvement in prices.
Like Trump said on January 20th when he took office.
Trump, you better start doing your job or we are all going to be in dire straits with insurance companies and drug companies taking advantage of our health care.
Let's talk with Ivy, who's calling from Minnesota.
She says she expects to spend less than she did last year.
And I just want to say that when I heard that he was going to tariff, I wrote to my Congresswoman, Michelle Fishbach, and I said, I absolutely refuse to spend one dime for the Trump economy.
And I have not spent for anything but basics ever since.
And they did nothing to Congress, and they should have did something right away.
Christmas is just a marketing promotion to me, and Jesus was not born on December 25th, and Santa is not real.
And on Facebook, I saw that there are others refusing to spend also, but I don't know how widespread that is, but I have seen it.
And I do, like I said, I think Congress should have stood up to Donald Trump.
And I did not spend any money on Black Friday, and I usually do.
But my plan is, and I do this pretty much every year anyway, and I did stock up because of the tariffs.
You know, I haven't bought coffee since before the tariffs.
I stocked up.
I went and bought ahead.
But I usually give my usual things that I do is make peanut brittle, cookies, banana bread, Christmas pretzels, fudge, you know, caramels.
I make all that homemade, and then I cut them up and put them in little treat bags, and I give them to elderly people in town that I know who are struggling way more than I am.
And like I said, I'm not planning to spend much because I have that stuff already in my house.
But I know elderly people in my town that are struggling so much with utility bills and heat and the extra cost of groceries.
And, you know, they haven't raised the poverty line.
You know, so if you make above the poverty line, you don't get extra help.
And when you're an old person, you know, you know, jumping through all the hoops to get the extra help and then to only have it be like $15 a month extra to help you in groceries is really, really sad.
And Ivy mentioned that she's seen stories about protests, people planning not to buy for Christmas this year.
This is from USA Today.
A few weeks ago, it says anti-Trump groups urge holiday boycott of Amazon, Home Depot, Target over DEI Backtrack.
It says a group of grassroots organizations is urging shoppers to boycott major retailers, including Amazon, Target, and Home Depot, that they say caved to President Donald Trump and Reniged on pledges to support diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
It says the We Ain't Buying It nationwide economic pressure campaign is launching ahead of the holiday season to, quote, demonstrate to corporations that there are consequences for not standing up loudly for freedom and core democratic principles of fairness, justice, and liberty.
Black voters matter indivisible.
And Until Freedom said in a statement, says that the idea for shoppers to boycott the stores during the critical holiday season, shoppers surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers said they expect to reduce their holiday spending this year by an average of 5% compared with last year and the first significant drop since 2020.
Retailers are trying to lure in shoppers by kicking off Black Friday early with door busters and other deals.
Robin is calling from Yankee Town, Florida.
On the line for expecting to spend more.
Good morning, Robin.
unidentified
Good morning.
I'm kind of horrified listening to everybody talk because my wages have gone up $110 per week.
I'm saving almost $200 a week in gas.
Of course, I'm going to spend more because things are starting to turn around finally.
I'm saddened for everybody thinking that everything's bad, but if you got a job, you're making more money today.
Jane is calling from Cleveland, Ohio, saying she expects to spend less than she did last year.
Good morning, Jane.
unidentified
Good morning.
Thank you for taking my call.
I wanted to first find out what kind of job is that guy doing that's getting $100 or $200 more a week in pay because I normally make chocolates for Christmas, cookies and chocolates.
I can't even buy melting chocolate.
For a 12-ounce bag of melting chocolate last year, I paid $2.99 a bag.
This year, they want $13, a 12-ounce bag of melting chocolates to make chocolates.
I told my family, no more chocolates this year.
You get cookies.
So that's basically what I wanted to say.
I can't believe people are not standing up to this guy.
Some people are sending us messages on social media.
This is from Dan in Port Clinton, Ohio.
Says, we will be spending less this year due to Trump's tariffs, high grocery prices, health care, and the cost of energy.
These increases have negatively impacted most American consumers.
This from Dwayne in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Everyone talks about food prices.
Many other costs are worse.
Just got renewal notice for homeowners insurance up 43 percent, vehicle insurance 10 percent, health insurance 10 percent, real estate taxes 10 percent, electricity 17 percent, city utility nine percent.
And this from Adam in Maryland says we will be all in some ways buying less, some much less, while still paying more regardless.
Any gains in the economy toward consumer costs have been mostly lost by damages caused by other policies.
Let's hear from John, who's calling from Portland, Connecticut, says he's expecting to spend about the same amount.
Good morning, John.
unidentified
Yes, good morning, uh, Kimberly, uh, Tammy, sorry, Tammy, yeah.
Uh, yeah, about the same.
Uh, for my wife and I, we buy pretty much during the year what we need, and uh, but for the uh great nieces and nephews, we have 14 of them and some newborns.
We give the newborns a little bit more, the older ones, you know, about the same as we've done for years.
But I just bought a Thanksgiving dinner at a local Italian deli, $18 soup to nuts with dessert is a great meal, and we've we've been able to buy some pretty good buys at the market, and gas is down to $2.72 a gallon here in Middlesex County.
So, things are coming down.
I just feel that we got to give President Trump a chance.
He's going to make it happen, he's going to make it happen.
So, we just have to have a little patience with this economy, and I think we'll do fine.
And yeah, I have one grandson, two girls, and I spent the same money as obviously.
I have a set amount of money.
I don't buy them gifts.
I give them money.
That way they can get what they want.
Now, my wife and I, we don't exchange gifts at all.
When we want something, whatever, we go out to the store and we go get it.
I just saw what you said about the economy of President Trump and the tariffs.
I'm almost 80 years old, and we've had tariffs.
And I think it's a good thing sometimes.
But I think the problem is the fact that these companies, as you know, our cereal boxes are getting the same size, but they're not as thick as they used to be.
That's stuff in them.
But you've got to remember, you have unions, you got people that want to pay wages, benefits, and all that.
And so you can't pay it all on Donald Trump or any administration.
If people learn how to budget their money and you control the money, not the money control you, you can stretch your money out and use wise decisions.
Our last call for this portion of Washington Journal.
Later this morning, Shondell Newsome, Small Business for America's Future Co-Chair, will join us to discuss the state of U.S. small businesses and the economic challenges they're facing.
But next, after the break, we'll talk with syndicated columnist Cal Thomas about Trump administration policies and the state of U.S. politics.
We'll be right back.
unidentified
American History TV, exploring the people and events that tell the American story.
As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, join American History TV for its new series, America 250, and discover the ideas and defining moments of the American story.
This week, watch reenactors in the American Battlefield Trust mark the anniversary of the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania, a victory by British troops which led to the capture of the colonial capital of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War.
We'll take a look at the history of the space program in photos with Andy Saunders, author of Gemini and Mercury Remastered, which chronicles the Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo programs through the most famous photographs of that era.
Exploring the American Story.
Watch American History TV every weekend and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at c-span.org slash history.
Book TV, every Sunday on C-SPAN 2, features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books.
Here's a look at what's coming up this weekend.
At 1.30 p.m. Eastern, we'll head to the 2025 History Book Festival in Lewis, Delaware, where authors come together to explore topics ranging from Native American identity and Abraham Lincoln to Titanic survivors and more.
Dory McCullough Lawson also reflects on her father, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, and his belief in the vital importance of studying history.
Then at 7 p.m. Eastern, it's America's Book Club from a Catholic University.
Chef, humanitarian, and author Jose Andres joins David M. Rubinstein on America's Book Club to discuss his career, his global relief efforts with World Central Kitchen, his books, and his love of food.
And at 9.45 p.m. Eastern, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy talks about his memoir, Life, Law, and Liberty.
President Ronald Reagan named Mr. Kennedy to the nation's highest court in November 1987.
Watch Book TV every Sunday on C-SPAN 2 and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at booktv.org.
Well, I started out at the age of 18 as a copyboy at NBC News here in Washington, where I was surrounded by some of the great journalists of the day who were my mentors.
I was in charge of filing their scripts, so that was my writing class.
I didn't have to take one at American University.
And then I moved on to other things, working on local TV here in Houston, Texas, covering the space program, the heart transplant era.
And then my column started in 1984.
Tom Johnson, who was then the publisher of the LA Times, opened the door for me there.
And it's been an incredible ride ever since.
The book is a look back kind of a modern history lesson and what has happened starting in 1984 with a few excerpts from my column and some comments on it and some of the exciting mail that I receive.
One of the stories happening this week as we watched it unfold was the shooting of the National Guard troops here in D.C. Your reaction to the Trump administration's approach to that event.
Well, the Washington Post is reporting this morning that counterterrorism people vetted this alleged shooter at least twice, extensively.
So that would run, if true, counter to the narrative that's coming from the Trump administration.
But I think the president is right in pausing immigration, especially from some of these third world countries.
We've done this before in the early 20th century.
There was a pause until the 1960s on immigration because we wanted people to assimilate.
We wanted them to learn English.
We wanted them to embrace the Constitution and American values.
You just can't open the door and say, y'all come in and expect to maintain the country that has prospered and been so good for legal immigrants and people who really loved America.
So I think it's a good idea what the administration is going to do in pausing this immigration until we get a better handle on who is here and why they're here.
This guy who's accused of the shooting, we don't know if he was radicalized before or after.
If it was after he got here, how did he get radicalized?
Was it in the mosque he attended in Bellingham, Washington?
Was it online?
Was it a bunch of friends?
All of these things need to be investigated.
But if you look at that picture, which the president showed up of all of those people on the transport plane, the cargo plane, hundreds of them, I think he's right.
He said it's impossible to vet all of those people accurately.
So let's pause.
Let's see who really loves the country and wants to assimilate and who doesn't.
If there was a formula, I'm sure it would have been implemented before now.
I mean, how do you do this?
People are taught to lie.
We have money coming in from other countries or universities.
Qatar, for example, is sending millions of dollars to universities for Islamic programs.
A lot of this funding has gone toward these demonstrations we've seen on college campuses from the river to the sea.
They can't tell you which river or which sea.
A lot of these people are not students.
They come from outside.
All of this stuff needs to be investigated.
The problem is that once you start down this road, you're called a bigot, an Islamophobe, and all kinds of other names, and that scares people.
But America is a unique country.
If we don't reinvest the values that have been handed down to us by previous generations, then we're going to be lost as a country.
I have another book I wrote a couple of years ago called America's Expiration Date.
We're approaching the 250th anniversary of America next year.
And Sir John Glubb, the late diplomat, British diplomat, studied 3,000 years of human history and said the average length of superpowers in great nations is 250 years.
Some longer, a few shorter, but that's the average.
We have to reinvest all of these values that were handed down to us by our parents and grandparents because America is a unique nation, and if we don't do that, we're going to lose it.
Well, it seems like we're negotiating with ourselves.
We're saying, all right, Vladimir Putin, will you take a piece of this or a piece of that?
No, I want more.
Well, okay, how about a little more of this and a little more of that?
Well, I want more than that.
This is crazy.
I mean, Putin is an evil dictator who kills journalists, who kills and imprisons people who speak out against him.
He wants it all, and he said it.
I mean, this is not a secret.
He said not only does he want all of Ukraine as he wanted Crimea, he wants the other former Soviet satellite states.
He said the greatest disaster in modern history is the loss of all those states, Estonia, Latvia, all the rest of them.
Why shouldn't he be believed?
Our problem in the West is we don't believe evil people when they say what their objective is.
It's self-deluding, and if we don't take it seriously, if we don't rebel, respond to him seriously with more sanctions and the kind of military aid that Zelensky needs to push back on the Russians, we're going to have a stalemate with killing going on on both sides for the foreseeable future.
Well, I think you have to look at, you know, Putin has never lived up to any promise.
I think the only promise he would possibly live up to is the promises that he's made now.
He wants all of Ukraine.
He wants all of the former Soviet satellite states.
I don't see how this is going to turn out to America's benefit.
Even if Putin accepts right now what is on the table or what we think is on the table, what's been reported is on the table, what is to prevent him from a year, two, five years from now rushing into another country?
They said they're going to have a buffer zone.
Well, who's going to serve in that?
Who's going to enforce it?
You know, Margaret Thatcher said something that I think is eternally correct.
We in the West make a mistake when we transpose, not impose, but transpose our morality on those who don't share it.
We think that, well, we want to live at peace with other people.
Yeah, but not everybody does.
And their definition of peace is they win, we lose.
Ronald Reagan's definition when he was asked the goal of the Cold War was we win, they lose.
Our guest is Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist and author of the book A Watchman in the Night: What I've Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America.
If you have a question or comment for him, you can start calling in now the lines: Democrats 202-748-8000, Republicans 202-748-8001, and Independents 202-748-8002.
Cal, another one of your recent pieces, the headline, Republicans are failing to communicate.
You're saying that they are having, it's a challenge for them to communicate with younger voters.
Younger people have not had the experiences or lived through the challenges that older people have.
For example, my grandparents, my parents, lived through the Great Depression and World War II.
They had experiences that young people hadn't.
The younger people are living off the benefits of those sacrifices that were made by our parents and grandparents.
So I think that, and for example, they're talking about Mandani, Mandani in New York, a Democrat socialist.
They've never lived under socialism.
They probably have never studied it at their universities.
So I think that the failure to communicate, as the captain said in Cool Hand Luke, one of my favorite movies, is a problem.
And I think the older people who are now in power need to realize that and start reminding younger people what socialism looks like, what communism looks like, and what we went through so they could have a privileged life in America where they don't really have to contribute anything.
We've gone from the values that I grew up with, inspiration followed by perspiration, to envy, greed, and entitlement.
You look at these ads now, some of them on the Medicare open enrollment.
You hear words like free, benefit, deserve.
There's nothing about doing for yourself.
It's kind of a perversion of the 23rd Psalm.
The government is my keeper, I shall not want.
That's not the kind of value system that I grew up with.
I grew up with a value system of the government as a last resort, not a first resource.
And we're going to take care of you cradle to grave.
That's a very easy sell, especially when you combine it with a view that if you're against any of this stuff, you don't care about poor people, the homeless.
You know, during the Clinton Gingrich welfare reform measure that went through Congress, Democrats were screaming and yelling that people are going to starve in the streets.
People are going to be thrown out of their homes.
None of that happened.
They went and found jobs.
And so when you tell them that the gravy train isn't going to arrive at their mailbox anymore, another form of human nature kicks in.
It's called survival.
You go out, you find a job, you take care of yourself.
Well, nobody preaches that anymore, and not enough Republicans do either, sadly.
You know, and I'm wondering why all the other countries had them.
You know, they were so bad for the countries.
And I think it's a long game.
I think that we're going to get industry back due to tariffs.
My second question, and I'm hoping President Trump is listening right now because I know that he listens.
And my other thing is, like, why not stop capital gains for like a year and make it that, you know, it would add so many houses to the market, you know?
Second houses, you know, capital gains kills, you know?
And my third question is, why not subsidize diesel, commercial diesel?
It costs more than gas, and I don't understand why if we subsidized it rather than the solar industry, why it wouldn't make prices go down.
Well, you're expecting me to remember all three, but I'll rely on Tammy here to help me out.
Number one, I'm a free trader, but not everybody is.
And when you have other countries charging tariffs on our products to come in where we don't on their products coming in, you have an imbalance.
It's just not fair.
And I think the president has been using the threat of tariffs to bring certain countries along and have them lower or eliminate theirs.
So I think that's been a good economic weapon for him.
We'll see how it works out in the long run.
I don't know about diesel fuel, but capital gains, you know, the politicians are like Dracula.
Dracula can't give up blood and politicians can't give up money.
You know, there was a proposal I read the other day.
The president actually wants to do away with the income tax.
Well, that's not going to happen.
you need a constitutional amendment, and Congress is never going to pass something like that.
I prefer the Doge way and the waste, fraud, and abuse in government that has led to a $38 trillion debt cannot be sustained.
So let's cut the spending and including capital gains taxes.
The government doesn't need more money.
You know, Ronald Reagan used to say, we have a debt not because the American people are taxed too little, but because their government spends too much.
The country is in the process always of becoming great.
A country is made up of its people.
And you ascribe to me, sir, some things that I don't believe in.
I was around during the Civil Rights Movement.
I covered some of the demonstrations.
I was at the Martin Luther King I Have a Dream speech as a young copyboy at NBC News at the Lincoln Memorial.
I have a great respect for how African American people helped build this country.
I was behind and in favor of civil rights and voting rights legislation.
But you come to a point after you've done this and you've tried to clear the field of this discrimination.
And by the way, the Jim Crow laws were enacted by Southern Democrats where you have to say, okay, this is a land of opportunity and we should be using examples of African Americans who not just sing the song we shall overcome, but have actually overcome.
The problem in America is that from the left's point of view, they don't want to use examples like Colin Powell and Clarence Thomas and Condoleezza Rice and many other African Americans who started out in very difficult circumstances and overcame them by hard work and embracing the values that helped built America.
So that's what I'd say about that.
And I think, again, you ascribe to me certain things in which I do not believe.
Well, if I ever owned another person, I would be in favor of reparations.
But I don't know anybody who ever did.
I don't think that that is just giving people money.
And how would you do that?
Maybe would you give money, reparations to people who have displayed irresponsible behavior or on drugs or homeless?
Just throwing money at things doesn't solve problems.
If it did, all of our problems will be solved because we've spent trillions of dollars on things like anti-poverty programs, and we have roughly the same number of poor people as when the Great Society was established in 1965.
There's a lot of stuff there, not all of which I completely understand.
But yeah, you're right.
The reparations idea has not worked out in practicality for reasons I stated a few minutes ago.
Now, we have all kinds of opportunities for education, for small business loans, for other things.
But I think people have to demonstrate some kind of initiative and a desire to make their life better rather than just saying, okay, here's a check from the federal government.
What happens then when the money runs out?
You have reparations.
Okay, I'm going to give you $10,000, maybe $20,000.
When the money runs out, however it is spent, what then?
Do you renew the grant or what?
I think to give some money without a requirement that it be spent wisely in improving your life, you know, Jack Kemp, the late HUD Secretary and former congressman, had a great line.
He said, Republicans measure success not by the number of people on government assistance, but by the number we help get off government assistance.
What we're still seeing some party leaders or members of the party, I'm not sure who the leader is at the moment, they can't tell us, who are still into this trans business, biological males and women's sports and locker rooms and shower stalls.
They should have known that that was a major contributor to their loss in the last presidential and congressional election.
This is not normal for a lot of people.
And it may be normal for some who grew up in some of the big cities.
But I think they've got to get off this culture business.
Then, secondly, I think they need to do something more about the economy than just saying we need to tax the rich, the billionaires and billionaires.
I want to look at how the millionaires and billionaires became millionaires and billionaires.
If it was honestly, I want to follow their example.
But we don't do that anymore.
This whole idea of envy, greed, and entitlement, if you make $2 and I make $1, you owe me 50 cents to make it fair, is crazy.
I should ask you how you made the $2.
I want to be like you.
But we don't do that anymore.
And that's very, very sad.
So I'm not saying the Democrats ought to become like Republicans, but they ought to focus on what works.
We have a history.
We're not the first people to walk the earth.
We see what Ronald Reagan's tax cuts did.
We've seen what on the rare occasions when reducing government spending, the effect it's had on the economy.
You know, Bill Clinton was the last president to preside over a balanced budget.
A lot of Republicans forget that.
Oh, they say, well, okay, you cut defense spending too.
Yeah, okay.
But it was a balanced budget.
And now it's $38 trillion in debt.
We can't go on like this.
So Democrats need to address that too.
Whether they will or they're just caught in their own system of envy, greed, and entitlement, tax the rich, I don't know.
I hope so, because we do need two strong parties in this country.
Well, I think one of the major problems is President Trump's personality.
We still have a leftover Puritan ethic in this country that doesn't like our president denouncing and demeaning other people.
And he does it all the time.
This little piggy telling people that they're a terrible reporter, that their newspaper or television network is fake news, calling them names.
That is so barnyard and junior high playground stuff.
Some of those things he says, my grandmother would have washed my mouth out with soap if I had said that.
So I think that is having a negative effect on people.
A little humility goes a long way.
Reagan was great at this.
George Bush, W. Bush was great at this.
Self-deprecating humor works all of the time.
And if he doesn't get away from this name-calling and demeaning of other people, I think that's going to have a serious effect on the outcome of the election.
And I think it could be a wipeout for Republicans who, well, then the Democrats, of course, focus on impeachment and a whole bunch of things.
We'll do it all over again.
Again, things that don't really improve a single life.
Richard is calling from Louisville, Kentucky, line for Republicans.
Good morning, Richard.
unidentified
Good morning.
Yes.
The New York and Virginia races and everything, those were expected because they're blue states.
And I didn't expect Winsome Sitters, run a terrible race.
And she hated Donald Trump and said so.
She voted for, I forget the young lady's name, but anyway, I expected those states to go as they did.
They voted for Mandami.
Good luck.
But what I wanted to talk about was the six senators, the seditious six, who come out and put in the minds of young people, our military young people, and those who are unsettled in the mind that Donald Trump is doing bad things and he's going to make you do things that you shouldn't do.
And therefore, we want to bring it to your attention.
And they never said one thing that he supposedly would have done.
And I wanted to ask you a question about your industry and the bias in it.
But first, I got to respond to the call from Mississippi.
That was totally out of line.
I think he's just angry.
And, you know, the vast majority of Americans are peace-loving, good-natured people, would help anybody that needed help.
And I think, again, the media has created such a frenzy in such a red meat situation that people have been-I don't want to say brainwashed, but I think that's the word.
And I wanted to get your opinion on what you think the media's coverage of politics, the president, has done to the public's perception of the president himself and Washington and the situation with the divisions in our country.
First of all, the Gallup poll has shown for several years the continuing decline in trust of the collective media, newspapers, radio, television, whatever it might be.
It is the only industry of which I am familiar that when customers, potential customers, or former customers say they don't like it, they never feel they have to reform.
Now, my wife owns a restaurant, and if somebody comes in and says, I don't like what's on the menu, she's not going to stay in business very long.
If she says, tough, we're going to feed it to you anyway.
And that's what the media is doing.
Now there's some light at the end of the tunnel with the new head of CBS News who actually has a goal of trying to bring on some conservatives and more balance in the coverage.
But when I started out as a copyboy at NBC News here in Washington at 18 years old, I was surrounded by real journalists.
These are people who came from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, other print, mostly media, and they were real journalists.
Now you have people on who just come from various administrations.
If a Democrat spokesperson, they're on MSNBC.
If a Republican spokesperson, they're on Fox News.
There's no journalism background, and I think that's a real problem for the health of journalism.
The founders is the only profession that is in the Constitution, a free press, but with freedom comes responsibility.
And so much of the media is interested in conflict now, not resolution, not solving problems, but only pitting us against each other.
So they'll have a Republican and a Democrat on, and they'll both accuse each other of being un-American or whatever, and then they go to a commercial.
Biased in the media is something you wrote about recently, specifically the BBC and the edit that they made to President Trump's speech on January 6th.
How does media bias in the UK compare to the U.S.?
Well, I used to have property in Northern Ireland, part of the UK, and I'd watch the BBC a lot.
And, you know, it's not just what they cover, it's what they don't cover as well.
So they've had internal studies over the years, one of which said that they had a pro-Palestinian bias and really an anti-Israel bias.
But that didn't change the coverage at all.
So they go out and interview a Palestinian for a minute soundbite, and then they'll quickly maybe wave the microphone in front of an Israeli spokesperson and give them five or ten seconds.
Everybody's biased.
My late mentor, David Brinkley, at NBC, said, it's impossible to be objective, so we must try to be fair.
I think that's the best line I've ever heard on that.
We all have our views and beliefs and perspectives, but to be a really good journalist, you should be fair and give an accurate report if there are two sides to a story of the other side that you might not agree with.
That's the kind of journalistic ethics I was brought up with.
Now, people say, well, you're not fair as a columnist.
No, I'm an opinion columnist now.
I'm not a reporter.
There are plenty of other opinion columnists who believe in other things.
But when I was a reporter, I tried to give a fair shake to all sides.
We are taking your calls and messages on social media and via text.
This coming in from Rob in Huntington, West Virginia, he asked, Trump announced yesterday that he will pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.
He is serving a sentence for conspiring with drug cartels to move more than 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras to the U.S. in exchange for millions in bribes.
You remember when Bill Clinton was about to leave office, he issued a whole bunch of pardons, including to some of his favorite people, contributors, that sort of thing.
The pardon power is absolute.
There's no condition to it.
So he can do what he wants.
But I think some of it is unbalanced.
I know one person in federal prison who doesn't belong there, in my view, is wrongly convicted.
But that person is probably not going to get a hearing because that person is not a Trump supporter, as far as I know.
So, you know, he can do whatever he wants.
But at the same time, we're bombing boats supposedly carrying fentanyl to kill Americans and threatening Venezuela, pardoning somebody who is aligned with the drug cartels is rather strange to me.
Peter is calling from New York, Line for Republicans.
Good morning, Peter.
unidentified
Good morning.
Nice to see you again, Cal.
Thank you, Peter.
Your wisdom.
I'm in my 70s, and I've seen a lot over the last 40 years.
Yes.
And I called to talk about inflation.
I bought my house in 1985, and I was paying 15% interest.
These people pay 6% today, and they're crying.
I worked a full-time and a part-time job, so my wife could be a homemaker.
And, you know, yes, it's true that the prices of homes were a lot lower then, but so were the salaries.
So six and one, half a dozen, the other.
But the thing I wanted to talk about with inflation was I agree with you, your description of President Trump.
I wish, well, less is more.
I wish he would say less because he just puts his foot in his mouth, even though I love the guy and I like what he's doing.
Sometimes he talks a little too much.
Anyway, Ronald Reagan took almost three years to get the 70s inflation under control.
In fact, it almost cost him his reelection in 84.
And for the president to say he's going to lower prices, the fact is, is prices, other than increases in productivity and electronics, the prices came down.
But overall, prices never come down.
Wages have to go up.
And wages is a lagging indicator.
And it takes time.
The president's doing everything he can by eliminating regulations, lowering taxes, which increases people's ability to pay.
And the biggest one is reducing the price of energy.
This green energy stuff that they've been pushing for the last four years, eliminating natural gas, electric generation, the price of gasoline, that all contributed to inflation along with all the spending.
So the president is doing everything he possibly can, but for him to say, oh, I'm going to reduce prices, it doesn't work that way.
I think that's one that should be asked of the president and Christy Noam and anybody else on authority.
You can't vet everybody perfectly.
And again, as I said at the top of the program, I think it's good to stop the immigration flow as we did in the early 20th century and find out who's here, why they're here, what their beliefs are, and whether they should remain here.
A lot of these people are on green cards.
This alleged shooter is reported to have violated his visa.
It expired, so he was here illegally.
Did he deserve to be reported, deported?
Well, yeah, I think so.
Otherwise, what's the point of having a visa with an expiration date on it?
But your question is a good one, and I hope some reporter thinks of asking it, except if he does, I'm sure the president will denounce that reporter as ugly, mean-spirited, and a failure, as he usually does, rather than answer the question.
The problem with that is you have to prove that the president, in that case, Biden, did not authorize the auto pen signing and/or that the person doing the auto pen signing was not doing it under the authority of the president.
I don't know how you do that.
I mean, if the president, the former president was asking, yeah, I authorized all of that.
And if the people who actually activated the auto pen, they would say, oh, yes, he gave me permission or the authority to do it.
So how do you disprove that if nobody else is in the room and talking about it?
I remember Lyndon Johnson used to distinguish between an auto pen and his actual signature by putting a little dot under his legitimate signature.
And so you knew it was really from him and not the auto pen.
Just real quick, my main comment and question is immigration, sir.
But first of all, I just couldn't agree with you.
I was just real quick, a combat officer under Reagan.
I actually commanded nuclear weapons.
And I just couldn't agree with you more on the situation with the boats.
And one real quick thing about Reagan, when you look at the eight years, he used force very little because he didn't have to.
So just to amplify your good point, now on the immigration, I just lost my father, 93 years young.
He was a war orphan from Italy.
And I'll get to my question.
He was 10 years old, and the Germans, you know, had to go over Italy, and they murdered my grandparents.
They actually shot, rounded up, and shot a thousand people after a German soldier was killed.
But to get to the point, when he immigrated here as a war orphan, he had the green card and they made him go in the Navy.
And they said, either go in the Navy, and so he wasn't even a citizen, or you can go back to Italy.
But here's my point: I think there's in question, I think there's a difference between loving and respecting the country.
I don't expect everybody to love the country.
And, you know, obviously we make mistakes, but I can guarantee you being in California all these years, there's a large part of the people, not the majority, thank God.
The majority, no, but a good portion, they hate this country.
And I'd like to really get his learned thoughts about the difference between respecting and loving our country.
Well, I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.
You can love and respect a person or a country at the same time.
I mean, if you just respect it, how do you not love it?
I mean, what's the respect?
What is the standard for respect?
This country has given hope to millions of legal immigrants and to people born here in difficult circumstances.
This is a land of opportunity, not equal outcome.
And I think that's what is attractive to a lot of people.
I love the country for the people who have sacrificed so much to give me the freedoms that I enjoy and to express my opinion and to worship as I see fit and all of these other things that are unique to America.
So I think respect and love go together, sort of like the old song, Love and Marriage.
Anyway, so I've got my question is about the Ukraine situation, and I'm wondering if Donald Trump is going to come off as a Neville Chamberlain or a Winston Churchill.
I think the jury is still out on that.
But my question to you, and I think you're the right person to ask this question too, and I think me and the nation would be really interested in your answer to the question.
Do I think what the policies of the do you think that the tariffs oh tariffs Well, again, I think it takes a while for things to, pardon the term, trickle down where people actually feel it.
It doesn't happen overnight.
And so we'll see.
And there's no unanimity on the tariffs.
You know, one day it's 50% or 100%.
The next day it's cut back to 20% or 10%.
So I think to have some unanimity would be very helpful.
It certainly would be helpful in the confidence of the stock market, which thankfully has recovered most of its losses this past week.
So I don't know.
I'm not an economic expert.
You should ask some people who are.
But I do know that economic policy does take some time.
It took some time.
You know, John Kennedy was a tax cutter.
You go back and read his speech to the Detroit Economic Club.
I think it was 1962.
He sounded completely different from today's Democrats.
But he cut taxes.
The economy improved.
Ronald Reagan cut taxes.
The economy improved.
Anytime taxes are cuts, as a previous caller said, there's more money in the pocket of individuals and they're able to spend it.
And that improves the economy for more and more people.
You know, it doesn't really change people's minds.
The late Bob Beckle and I used to write a column for USA Today called Common Ground, and we would argue out issues and come to a conclusion that actually advanced the ball and improved the situation.
Just calling people names doesn't solve anything.
This is why I am really disgusted by some of the president's language.
It's unnecessary.
It's unprecedented.
It's not reflected of the real values of this country.
Average people don't do that.
Or if they do, they're denounced for it.
And it doesn't solve any problems.
You know, calling a New York Times or an ABC reporter a name doesn't change the way they report the news.
Why don't you be kind about it?
Reagan did this very well, you know, even with Sam Donaldson at ABC, who was a thorn in his side for many years when he covered the White House.
But he never denounced people.
And I think that's one of the things that warmed the hearts of a lot of people in his favor, even some who didn't agree with his policies.
They liked him.
And likability, as we saw with Hillary Clinton's defeat, that was her major negative factor.
She didn't come across as likable.
So likability is a very important thing.
And I think the president with his language and behavior toward fellow Americans is reducing his likability factor.
And I think that's going to have an effect in next year's off-year elections, so-called, and certainly the 2028 presidential race.
Well, I go back in the days of journalism where actually reporters or newspapers reported the race of a person who had been engaged in criminal activity.
That ended, and I think properly so years ago.
I mean, in television, when you see pictures of these people, some of them who happen to be have African-American backgrounds, it's obvious what they are.
But they don't show.
One of the things I find amazing is that the media never focus on successful African-American people.
They focus on people who are criminals and who are doing drugs or engaged in other anti-social behavior.
And that is a form of bias in itself.
But this gets back to my earlier point about conflict.
The old line, if it bleeds, it leads.
The media love explosions and fires and shootings and bodies in the street.
They don't like people getting along and being successful and being role models for other people.
Take a look at somebody like Thomas Soule, one of the great African Americans in this country, a tremendous intellectual at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California, a tremendous man.
The media ignore him mostly, and they focus on Al Sharpton and some of these other radical bomb throwers.
That's a former form of bias in itself.
And people see that.
And again, that's what contributes, in my view, and a lot of other people's view to a decline of trust in the media.
You know, he said during the campaign, when asked if he was going to take revenge on his opponents, he said, success will be my revenge.
I said, yes, that's the attitude to have.
Success.
Let them see that their policies have failed and that yours worked.
There's no need to denounce other people.
You know, there's a little verse in scripture that says, a soft answer turns away wrath.
When you respond to somebody who is angry or calls you names with a soft answer, you rob them of the power of their name-calling and the actions that they've taken against you.
And I think that would have been the approach to take.
It certainly would have been mine.
Was he justified in calling out these people?
Yes.
But there's a way to do it without dehumanizing them.
And then there's a way to do it that does exactly dehumanize them.
Later this morning on Washington Journal, Shondell Newsome, Small Business for America's Future Co-Chair, will join us to discuss the state of U.S. small businesses and the economic challenges they're facing.
Yale Constitutional Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar's second book in a trilogy is titled Born Equal, Remaking America's Constitution, 1840 to 1920.
In Professor Amar's introduction, he writes: Millions of Americans can recite by heart Lincoln's opening line at Gettysburg.
But how many of us understand it?
This sentence sits at the very center of this book.
Akhil Amar was born in 1958 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was raised in California after law school at Yale, clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and became a junior professor back at his alma mater at age 26.
unidentified
Author Akhil Reed Amar with his book, Born Equal: Remaking America's Constitution, 1840 to 1920, on this episode of Book Notes Plus with our host, Brian Lamb.
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If there is a public policy issue you'd like to discuss, you can go ahead and give us a call.
We'll start with James, who's calling from West Point, Mississippi, line for Democrats.
Hi, James.
unidentified
Hi.
I've been holding for quite a while.
I was trying to get in with Mr. Thomas, but I am a veteran.
I've served the country.
I've worked in higher education for about 50 years.
I know the nature of the valent history of America, what we've done, and I know why Mr. Thomas refers to America being the land of opportunity, but not equal outcomes.
But what he did not point out was that America had a lot to do with shaping not getting equal outcomes.
Various laws were passed, and I won't get into that, but I do want to say, regarding the three black examples that he gave as persons who were people to be looked up by the black community: Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice.
The latter two are very good, but Clarence Thomas is not an example that's highly regarded in the black community as having tried to be positive toward the development of the black community.
He is a sellout and under the control of a billionaire in Texas.
The other thing I'd like to say is that we Sometimes put people on who have different ideologies and persuasions.
Mr. Thomas has been very opinionated about Project 2025.
I'm not an angry person as they describe the other black person who called in from the state of Mississippi.
But I know the history of America and I've taught it.
But part of what he had to say, I think, is his biases toward support of Project 25 and the opinions he offered toward it.
Project 25 is something that is not intended for the betterment of the black community in America.
Paul is calling from Terryville, Connecticut, line for independence.
Good morning, Paul.
unidentified
Good morning.
I always cringe when I hear Cal Thomas is going to be on the air.
So I listened intently.
He's a master at deception regarding the slide into economic inequality in this country.
It's not all about race lines.
You know, I hear, you know, just pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
But there's been a historical underclass based on race.
Now we see across the board the retired elderly population, they have less savings for emergencies.
They have less amount of money coming in in their retirement.
A high percentage bases their income on Social Security.
So the push being made by the Mamdani folks in socialism, and he was a big critic of socialism per se, but when you look at the other countries as a benchmark, you find like the G7, we're at the bottom of the barrel as far as the disparity of wealth between the haves and the have-nots.
And then the other point I want to make is about the bailouts.
Okay, when it comes, we saw in the economic meltdown years ago and through our history, the government is so willing to bail out companies that have failed through mismanagement or through in the case of running up the housing bubble.
So I would ask Cal Thomas, and maybe he's listening, maybe even the president is listening, what do you do when corporations constantly come up to the government for bailouts and subsidies?
The price of fuel at the pump is a classic example.
We, as far as policy, we actually condone wasteful use of gasoline because it's so cheap.
Well, is that a policy issue that our children or the 35 or the 45-year-olds are going to advocate for?
George, calling from Tupper Lake, New York, line for Republicans.
Good morning, George.
unidentified
Good morning to you and to your viewers.
I'm a little bit bewildered by one of your callers, Cal Thomas, and then Cal Thomas also confirming his comments that President Reagan's policy regarding interest rates pretty much cost him the 84 election.
I don't understand, and as much as he won, according to the numbers I've researched, almost 59% of the popular vote in the only state that his opponent, Walter Mondale, won electorally was his home state.
He won 49, Reagan won 49 states.
So I don't understand the calculus that both of those callers had.
Randy is calling from Millington, Michigan, Line for Democrats.
Good morning, Randy.
unidentified
Good morning, Tammy.
I'd like to start by thanking you and all the other men and women that bring us this great program.
You are doing this nation a great service.
My concern is with the Department of Education reducing the professions of like nursing, physician assistant, social worker to the lower class or not being a professional job.
Now, the one thing I have is if anybody's ever been in the hospital, when you push that button to need help, is it a doctor that shows up?
No, it's a nurse.
So I don't know how you can take away all from the social networking or social benefits of physician assistants, assistants, social workers, you know, in the education field.
These are all things that make this country better over time.
We always learn from these.
And to take that away from the ones we need, especially with the nursing shortages we have now, it doesn't make sense.
And to turn around and say this doesn't show that it's not an important profession doesn't make sense either when you're taking away the chance for them to get the money they need to follow through.
We need nursing that go up to the master's degree so they become teachers for the next generation of nurses.
That all takes money.
Now you're putting the otis on them and not on helping the nation as a whole.
To me, that's an investment in the whole nation on them programs.
That's my concern with the Department of Ed, and I don't understand how they can do what they're doing and try to justify it.
I think it's a wrong move.
There's got to be other professions that can be declassified that aren't as important.
Theology.
Okay, they say they're still going to have medicine, dentistry, and law.
Well, medicine's nice, but that usually means the doctors, and they're not there to help you when you really need to help when you're in the hospital.
They help you there, but when they're not there, it's the nurses that take care of you 90% of the time.
A D.C. shooting suspect faces first-degree murder charges after guard member dies.
It says that the suspect accused of shooting two National Guard members just blocks from the White House now faces first-degree murder charges after one of the victims died.
U.S. Attorney Janine Piro said Friday.
Goes on to say that during a Fox and Friends interview, Piero said, quote, there are many more charges to come as the investigation continues.
Authorities have not yet disclosed the motive for the attack.
It says that the two National Guard members from West Virginia, Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckman, the later, were shot on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., near the White House.
Beckstrom died on Thursday.
The suspect, 29, is an Afghan national who officials said previously worked with the CIA.
He was believed to live with his wife and five children in Bellingham, Washington.
He entered the country through a Biden-era program designed to assist vulnerable Afghan nationals.
From Friday, here is a clip of the D.C. Attorney General announcing those charges.
First of all, our hearts go out and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of a beautiful 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, who answered the call to serve her nation.
And she volunteered and she ended up being shot ambush-style on the cold streets of Washington, D.C. by an individual who will now be charged with murder in the first degree.
There are certainly many more charges to come, but we are upgrading the initial charges of assault to murder in the first degree.
And we are hoping that the more information we can get and the more investigation that is going on 24/7 now, around the clock in Washington, the more we will find out about what actually happened in terms of this individual even being in this country and being in a position to ambush and shoot down an innocent young woman who was doing her duty to the people of this country.
The New York Times has this in today's newspaper: National Guard soldier killed in D.C. attacked, valued faith and family.
The article says: Specialist Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia National Army National Guard worked for the military police and joined the Guard because a friend said she saw herself one day in a career upholding the law at the FBI.
She died Thursday evening at the age of 20 from injuries suffered in the ambush shooting near the White House on Wednesday.
That, according to Governor Patrick Morsey of West Virginia, it says that Specialist Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia, started service in 2023 just out of high school.
She was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Command Company, 111th Engineer Brigade of the West Virginia Army Guard.
Says that Adam Carr, Specialist Beckstrom's former boyfriend, described her as, quote, caring and tenderhearted.
She enjoyed nature, road trips, and being with her family.
Specialist Beckstrom was not initially excited to go to Washington, he said.
And once she was there, she talked about encountering people who didn't want the guard in the Capitol.
But eventually, Mr. Carr said she grew to enjoy the city, going to museums and walking among the memorials, doing things she couldn't do in West Virginia.
Says Specialist Beckstrom's social media account offered a wholesome sampling of her cooking habits, making butter and canning hot peppers, and her connection to faith and family.
She posted a Happy Mother's Day message in May.
And in Easter 2023, he is risen.
The governor asked all West Virginians to observe a statewide moment of silence or prayer at 2:15 p.m. Friday to honor Sergeant Wolf and Specialist Beckstrom.
He ordered flags lowered to have staff to recognize Specialist Beckstrom's death.
Back to your call in this open form.
Patricia is calling from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Line for Independence.
Good morning, Patricia.
unidentified
Good morning.
I am a past teacher, history, government teacher, for over 30 years, and I think the general public, Republican, Democrat, Independent, whatever, has got to be seriously concerned about what's happening in our country today.
We're in deep, deep trouble internationally and certainly domestically.
I'm very concerned.
I am an elderly citizen, and I can honestly say I'm glad I'm at the end of this journey because I dread the future of our country under the so-called leadership that we have today.
There's not a day that goes by that we don't have another atrocity or another insane action by this individual called the president.
I can't even say his name, but he's a scary person.
And I just hope everybody is aware we've got to all get out and vote and vote intelligently and from people that are going to make some serious changes.
No, I think you have your television up in the background.
That's what you're hearing.
unidentified
Okay, anyway, sophistry.
I just explained it.
Reason, logic, and facts.
That's sophistry.
When you ignore those three things that come to an electric, okay, that's the Democratic Party that they are so confused in their thinking and this hatred they have.
They're blaming the president, the greatest president, one of the best presidents we ever had.
He's a great man.
They're blaming him for this woman, this beautiful volunteer who got murdered by this left-wing scum.
Okay?
To blame them is a sickness.
There is a sickness about the way these people think.
Now, socialism was the ideology of Nazi Germany.
And people should understand.
I read Philip Kerr, he's a great historian.
So I read him and he knows about Nazi Germany from the 1930s.
Now, when these sick, twisted left-wingers call our people, our great people that are at the border, and they call them the new Gestapo.
I mean, the new Gestapo, they call the President of the United States Hitler.
The rhetoric never stops from the sick people.
This is a mental illness.
I studied psychology, and I worked with one of the best psychologists at one of the biggest hospitals in New York City.
And I'm telling you, when you have this type of thinking, that your mind is so twisted that you refer to the president as Hitler, you refer to the great people like this woman that just got murdered as Gestapos.
Howard calling from North Carolina, line for Democrats.
Good morning, Howard.
unidentified
Top of the morning to you.
You know, the gentleman who just spoke, I have something I want to say, but the gentleman just spoke and said how the left, I guess he's talking about Democrats or blacks.
I don't know.
But yeah, they always say the left.
But anyway, his vice president, Trump vice president, called him Hitler.
The same one that's there now with him.
It wasn't the left.
But what I want to talk about is this.
It seems to me the right they always spew division.
Okay, let's try this division.
Every time a white person gets killed by a person of color, they're ready to make a shrine.
They go boo-hoo, like Charlie Curry.
They went boo-hoo like with this girl who just got shot.
And it's sad.
Trust me, they should have been home for Thanksgiving anyway.
It wasn't no crisis to the point they got to stay on the front line on Thanksgiving.
But anyway, anyway, they boo-hoo, but I did not hear anyone boo-hoo for those congresspeople that was in Nebraska that got killed by a white man.
I didn't hear the boo-hoo when this little nine this white boy in South Carolina killed nine black praying people.
I didn't hear the boo-hoo then, and I still don't hear the boo-hoo.
I didn't hear the boo-hoo when this little white boy went inside Buffalo grocery store and killed 11 black people.
And then he pointed a gun at a white man and said, oh, sorry, sir, I didn't mean to point it at you.
I didn't hear them say boo-hoo.
So y'all could keep right on boo-hooing, keep right on dividing.
We already know our country is in a mess, and you guys still want to act like it's the left.
Richard is calling from Chicago, Line for Independence.
Good morning, Richard.
unidentified
Yeah, we need to overturn the Biden-era ban on advertising for vapes and e-cigarettes and encourage the portrayal of them in movies and television so they're not overtaxed and outlawed by state and Congress.
And also overturn the ban on advertising of cigarettes on television and the new papers, magazines, et cetera, billboards.
And also encourage the portrayal of them in movies and television and television ads.
And so they are not overtaxed and outlawed by Congress.
And also, we need to encourage the portrayal of marijuana use in cinema and television so they are not outlawed and overtaxed by states and Congress.
The story says that the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation.
Quote, the order was to kill everybody.
One of them said a missile screamed off the Trinidad coast, striking the vessel, igniting a blaze from the boat stern.
For minutes, commanders watched the boat burning on a live drone feed as the smoke cleared.
They got a jolt.
Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck.
It says that the special operations commander overseeing the September 2nd attack, the opening salvo in the Trump administration's war on suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere, ordered a second strike to comply with Hagseth's instruction.
Two people familiar with the matter said the two men were blown apart in the water.
Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary, responding to that report this morning on X. Sorry if I cannot get it back up here.
It says that, as usual, the fake news is delivered more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.
We've said from the beginning and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be, quote, lethal kinetic strikes.
The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people.
Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a designated terrorist organization.
The Biden administration preferred the kid glove approach, allowing millions of people, including dangerous cartels, and uninvited Afghans to flood our communities with drugs and violence.
The Trump administration has sealed the border and has gone on offensive against narco-terrorists.
Biden-cauddled terrorists.
We kill them.
Our current operation in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law in all actions, in compliance with the laws of armed conflict and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command.
Our warriors in Southcom put their lives on the line every day to protect the homeland from narco-terrorisms, and I will always have their back.
Just a few minutes left.
Let's hear from Steve.
He's calling from Elbert, Colorado, line for Republicans.
Good morning, Steve.
unidentified
Good morning.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Just wanted to share that, you know, I think the Trump administration is doing an excellent job.
People got to realize that, you know, there's been so much harm.
The border was wide open for four years.
We got people that are not from the United States that are currently getting driver's license, issuing driver's license in Colorado.
The governor of Colorado is issuing driver's license to people that are not here, driving semi-trucks, you know, the largest cartels, drug cartels, fentanyl problem, you know, children just getting these on the on the street for a dollar a piece.
And it's just ridiculous.
So we got to remember, you know, watching these videos and these caravans of people coming over the border that said, let me in, Biden.
We have to realize that it's not a, I mean, we just got to come together as one and realize that, you know, you have semi-truck drivers, CDL, illegal people that do not have any type of, you know, experience driving a truck on a major highway, committing, you know, accidents and killing people left and right.
The one in Florida that made a U-turn on I-4, I-95 that made a U-turn on a 75 or 65 mile an hour freeway and killed that family.
So these people are confused.
I think that we just need to get real and understand that we have tons of people that have no idea how to maintain a car, which, you know, and a personal story I have is that there was a Colorado has a lot of, you know, unlicensed and illegal, you know, documented people in Colorado driving semi-trucks and also issuing driver's license to people that aren't even here.
So it's pretty crazy how these people on the left a couple callers before, guys, just nuts.
Next, after the break, we will talk with Shondell Newsome, Small Business for America's Future co-chair, about the state of U.S. small businesses and the economic challenges they're facing.
We'll be right back.
unidentified
American History TV, exploring the people and events that tell the American story.
As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, join American History TV for its new series, America 250, and discover the ideas and defining moments of the American story.
This week, watch reenactors in the American Battlefield Trust mark the anniversary of the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania, a victory by British troops which led to the capture of the colonial capital of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War.
We'll take a look at the history of the space program in photos with Andy Saunders, author of Gemini and Mercury Remastered, which chronicles the Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo programs through the most famous photographs of that era.
Exploring the American Story.
Watch American History TV every weekend and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at c-span.org/slash history.
Book TV, every Sunday on C-SPAN 2, features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books.
Here's a look at what's coming up this weekend.
At 1:30 p.m. Eastern, we'll head to the 2025 History Book Festival in Lewis, Delaware, where authors come together to explore topics ranging from Native American identity and Abraham Lincoln to Titanic survivors and more.
Dory McCullough-Lawson also reflects on her father, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, and his belief in the vital importance of studying history.
Then at 7 p.m. Eastern, it's America's Book Club from a Catholic University.
Chef, humanitarian, and author Jose Andres joins David M. Rubinstein on America's Book Club to discuss his career, his global relief efforts with World Central Kitchen, his books, and his love of food.
And at 9:45 p.m. Eastern, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy talks about his memoir, Life, Law, and Liberty.
President Ronald Reagan named Mr. Kennedy to the nation's highest court in November 1987.
Watch Book TV every Sunday on C-SPAN 2 and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at booktv.org.
It is Small Business Saturday for those out shopping this weekend.
Remind our audience of your mission, of your organization's mission, and who you work with.
unidentified
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Shondell Newsom.
I'm a founder of Some New Marketing in Las Vegas, a family-owned small business and co-chair for Small Business for America's Future.
Small Business for America's Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders.
About 250,000 are on our roster right now, working to provide America's small business community with a seat at the table in policy debates at every level of government.
We work to ensure policymakers and elected officials prioritize Main Street and promote a just and equitable economy.
And people, when they hear small business, they may think of the shop set up on their, you know, the street in main part of downtown and their city or where they're at.
It's also services, as you mentioned, you have a marketing firm.
Talk a little bit about the types of businesses.
unidentified
They range from small restaurants, your local coffee shop, your dry cleaners.
You look at even like small construction firms.
They range in many different ways and fit many different services that really address the needs of that particular city or that particular state.
So, you know, if we need medical services, a person might start a small business to help with medical.
So there are many different ways.
We come in many different shapes and sizes as small business owners.
And just some additional facts about small businesses.
This is from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
According to them, there are 33 million small businesses in the U.S. 99.9% of businesses in the U.S. are small businesses.
46% of Americans are employed by a small business.
And 33% of small businesses were launched with less than $5,000.
unidentified
Facts.
Those are facts.
And, you know, the other thing about small business owners, you know, we also, whenever there's an economic downturn, we are the ones that employ most Americans quicker than anybody else.
And also, we do bring home new employees at a clip of about two-thirds.
We bring in new employees all the time.
And one other thing, Tammy, I want to touch on, the small business owner, we walk through the front doors with our employees.
We know their families.
We know their children.
We know their grandparents.
We deal with everything that employees deal with on a daily basis.
And your organization released a report last week.
This is the title of it.
Is Christmas Canceled?
Affordability Crisis Squeezes Main Street and Customers Alike.
We're going to talk about this.
Tell us a little bit about this survey, though, why you did it and who exactly you spoke with.
unidentified
Well, we went out to our network of 250,000 small business owners and asked them what is the current state?
What are they feeling, basically?
And small businesses are facing a perfect storm of affordability challenges, policy hurdles that threaten their ability to survive and grow and causing an unprecedented amount of economic uncertainty.
And, you know, that comes by way of tariffs, driving costs, health care costs, and an unfair tax system.
We just did our taxes as a family.
And, you know, it's just, it's devastating in a lot of ways.
Co-chair, the Small Business for America's Future.
We are talking about the state of small businesses.
If you have a question or a comment for Shondell, you can give us a call now.
The lines for the segment broken down regionally.
If you are in the Eastern or Central time zone, your line is 202-748-8000.
If you are Mountain or Pacific, it is 202-748-8001.
And also, there is a line.
If you are a small business owner or an employee at a small business, you can give us a call at 202-748-8002.
Shondell, the first part of the title is Christmas Canceled.
We are heading in to the holiday shopping season.
Again, today is Small Business Saturday.
How did respondents feel about the business climate this holiday season and how does it compare to last year?
unidentified
Well, you know, I want to draw a picture for the American people that during this holiday season, this is typically where our small business owners go from red to black.
This is like a joyous occasion for many small business owners.
But the overwhelming concerns were: 87% of our small business owners favor making the enhancement of ACA tax credits permanent.
They're set to expire.
84% are concerned about their ability to afford health insurance in 2026 as credits expire.
72% of our small business owners say Congress priorities are misaligned with what Main Street actually needs.
We'll start with Walter, who's calling from Butler, Indiana.
Good morning, Walter.
unidentified
Good morning.
Thanks for taking my call.
How are you doing there, Shondell?
Good morning.
How are you?
Well, better than I deserve.
I'm an old New York City boy that got out to Indiana 25 years ago.
And I remember as a young kid in Inward New York, you'd walk along the streets and you had the shoe guy that would repair your shoes.
You had the tailor.
You had the local barber shop.
You had the soda shop.
And everybody knew each other.
And it was a little community.
It was a thriving little community.
And when you went there, you always said, hello, Miss McGillicuddy, or hello.
And if you did wrong, one of the business owners told your parents that when you got home, well, you got smoked.
And it was a beautiful thing.
And then along came all of these major corporations that decided to go to third world countries and pick up cheap garbage and settle it to the American people.
And then along came Walmart and these big conglomerates, and it choked out all of the little small businesses.
And it's an absolute shame.
I'm here in Northeast Indiana.
We still got a few little businesses, but it's just pitiful because once that's all done, the humanity, because once you know your neighbors and once you know your community, you're not going to be burning it down and doing criminal acts.
And it's just, it's just the whole thing is going to be done and it's just a shame, but you can't do anything, especially with computers and Amazon, and nobody wants to get off their seat and they just want to press a button and have something delivered to them.
So keep up the good fight.
It's not going to look good, but God bless you and your family, okay?
Thank you so much.
You know, I was actually mentored by a small business owner, a deacon in my church, who owned a print shop.
He used to employ many of us in Brooklyn, New York.
So I understand.
And I remember going to the grocery store on the corner, going to the local dry cleaners, even the daycare that I spent time at was a small business owner.
So I agree with you that small businesses are a vital part of our economy and of our community.
Joseph is calling from Maryland on the line for small business owner.
Good morning, Joseph.
unidentified
Good morning to all, and nice to be with you guys on this holiday time.
Sir, I want to say to you, thank you.
You're such an awesome leader for our cause.
I know it.
I can feel you.
And thank you so much, Connolly.
I'm sure you'll get a lot of those, but we appreciate what you're doing for us, having just learned about you myself hearing you talk.
And I won't make you respond.
I'll go right into my statements.
And you just enjoy that because it's so true.
You're doing it for us.
And it feels like it.
So me in Maryland, and I sorry I didn't let you respond, sir.
I apologize, brother.
I don't want you to feel obligated to say thank you all day to people like me.
But that said, I'm in Maryland.
And as a small business owner in Maryland, I really am not doing as well as I should be because I offer a great product, right?
But it seems like in Maryland, it's a lot of pay to play.
I swear.
It's like if you know the right congressman or the right senator or the right this person or right that person, and I just wonder, how does a person like me use your services to help me get over that hump, brother?
Because as a 56-year-old man in Maryland, been here my whole life, I can't get over the hump.
And I know that sounds pathetic, but I refuse to hire quote illegal aliens.
I refuse to hire guys that weren't, you know, I just did everything right, and I ain't getting up the hill.
And I'll shut up and listen to you, big sir.
Thank you for your work.
And I will respond if you want me to.
No, you know what?
It's my pleasure to be of service.
You know, I served 10 years in the United States Air Force.
So my level of service not only comes from that, but my parents who taught me how to serve at an early age.
And now my daughter, our company is a family-owned business with my daughter, my wife, my granddaughter.
Fortunately, that's what we were designed to do: to help small business owners.
So if you want to reach out, you can reach out to us at Small Business for America's Future.
We could help advocate for you.
We definitely will advocate to assist you.
Like we help on all levels of government when that happens.
But also, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or any other platform, and I'd be happy to assist you.
Shondell, I wanted to ask you about something that was heavily highlighted in this new report, and that is the tariffs that were put in place by the Trump administration.
What impact are they expected to have on small businesses this holiday season?
unidentified
Well, you know, the cost part of it is, like I said, you know, small business owners work on very small margins.
So, you know, we have coffee shops, some that we mentioned, who have to get their product from other countries.
And whenever there's a threat with tariffs, whether it's a threat or a reality, it impacts how they operate the business.
There's a company in our network who owns a restaurant and she gets spices from all over the world.
And it is very devastating when you have to figure out how you're going to get product to your consumer and not elevate the cost.
You have to elevate the cost.
And so, you know, it really is when you talk, not whether you're talking about tariffs or tariffs become a reality, sometimes we just don't know.
He is co-chair of Small Businesses for America's Future.
We are talking about the state of small businesses in the U.S. on this small business Saturday.
If you have a question or comment for him, you can give us a call.
The lines are broken down regionally.
If you're in the Eastern or Central time zone, it's 202-748-8000.
If you are Mountain or Pacific, it's 202-748-8001.
And if you are a small business owner or employee, you can give us a call at 202-748-8002.
You can also text us a question.
That is 202-748-8003.
That is exactly what Jimbo in Bakersfield, California did, says, could Mr. Newsom describe any real policies that the Trump administration has advanced that have helped small businesses?
I see actually the opposite policies advanced by the Trump administration that give competitive advantage to large corporations at the expense of small businesses.
unidentified
Yeah, you know, definitely the policies are right now designed for corporations and the wealthiest of Americans.
And our survey, our network says that.
They're saying that it seems to work for the larger corporations.
It doesn't work specifically for our business.
And let's just think about it from the standpoint of healthcare.
Roughly 5 million American small business owners rely on ACA on the ACA marketplace.
And that could drop and could drop coverage when the credits expire.
Small business owners make up about 25% of all marketplace enrollees.
So the other day when the administration was talking about how they are looking to let those credits expire, that is what our small businesses are looking at.
It's an unfair, it's very much a disadvantage to us as small business.
Yes, this is Paul Running Horse from Denver, Colorado.
And I'm calling on the issue of wage.
Many small businesses underpay and also large corporations underpay wage to workers.
How would that affect and how would be the strategy to assist them in a decent living wage?
You know, I can tell you that we pay better than a living wage, and most of my small business colleagues pay better than a living wage.
I believe that they're very much in tune with what are the workforce standards of our respective states or our respective country.
Some jobs by nature have a lower threshold, but in most cases, in most cases with small businesses, and we employ almost half of the over about half of the American workforce, we pay very much not more than on par, like we pay very well.
Terry is asking if there are any resources for him as somebody who works in green energy, any way he can be in touch with larger businesses looking for his services.
unidentified
Yes, so the small business administration, I always send people there.
The small business administration creates those opportunities to connect small businesses in any way, shape, or form with government and in some cases, larger corporations.
I would encourage you to go to your local chambers of commerce.
Your local chambers of commerce can make those connections and help you and assist you.
I'm a trustee on my local Vegas Chamber of Commerce, so we normally make those connections for you.
And Shondell guests in Brooklyn, New York, sent us this question.
What role does AI now play in the small business community?
And what advantages do you see in the future because of that collaboration?
unidentified
You know, artificial intelligence is something that we always address.
In fact, Small Business for America, America's Future looks to make sure that the policies that are centered around artificial intelligence are in line with small businesses.
But as my company, we're utilizing it.
My granddaughter, who's been with us since high school, is now utilizing artificial intelligence to expand and grow and scale our company.
She's creating opportunities for people, more people to have access to me and our staff by doing an online enhancement with artificial intelligence.
And I just want to tell everybody, technology is always advancing what we do, whether it's the invention of the internet or anything else.
We just have to be responsible and get the information from credible sources and resources to help to use it responsibly.
I appreciate this conversation so much as a person who's familiar with just leather goods, small business, shoe repair, anything leather, stitching, whatever it is in this community, know people, know their family.
It's just one of those things that we're missing, big corporations just coming.
The memories of people buying, you know, spending all the money on a nice pair of shoes or a handbag and something happened to it and then we have to fix it and just to keep it going.
And the face is that the appreciation that we do such a good work on those items that people can't go out at this point and buy something more expensive.
And to have whether it's a handbag or a pair of shoes that people have Someone's pride in wearing these shoes, and then you fix it and you see the look on their faces whether you want to take it to their house or drop it off because they get off of work and they can't make it there in time because they have an event that they have to go to underneath that pair of shoes or whatever.
And to see those, these are the small businesses in my community and what I'm used to, and the people in my community that I work for, not just in one sector, but across the board, and the appreciation.
None of these big businesses can really replace that.
And if we're dumping on our small business right now, it's a travesty, really, to see where we are and the ridiculous argument into the health care problem.
We have four people or five people in our employee with us and trying to work things out.
Healthcare is a big issue.
And my God, if we can't take care of that, I mean, we spend $4 billion on Argentina.
So I'm being sarcastic here, but now we don't have to go to Canada anymore.
I think we should all get up any kind of major medical issue that we have.
We should all just go to Argentina and take care of our medical needs because we officially own that damn country.
Bill is calling from Rogers, Arkansas, Small Business Owner.
Good morning, Bill.
unidentified
Good morning.
I'm so glad to listen to everything this morning with you guys.
You're wonderful to share with us.
And I'm a small business owner in that I'm more of an entrepreneur in that I'm a middleman.
I was a chef and I create spice blends and I work with a manufacturer that prepares them.
And Dolly Tarton Stampede, I season her chicken and pork.
But for 25 years, but the thing about the point you made is: does the administration do anything for small business?
I don't think any party administration does anything because they throw the words trillions and billions around like they were so many wooden nickels.
And if we Americans try to relate to that, we just use the words.
But if you take eight zeros off and you say, okay, I'm a small business.
I am $380,000 in debt this year.
And oh, I made $52,000.
And oh, my gosh, I spent $72,000.
Well, January 1st, I'm $400,000 in debt.
Now, what will that do for small business?
Because the only thing that drives inflation is overspending and printing money.
What are your thoughts on that?
Well, when it comes down to the way that any administration handles small businesses, I will tell you that that's why Small Business for America's future exists.
We want to, we do sit at the table with legislators, and we would have been at the table with legislators this fall.
Unfortunately, when we had a government shutdown, we had to cancel trips to D.C. because nobody was actually working, which was a shame.
And that shows how we need to be very, very forceful, as you said, sir, with the needs of small business owners.
And whether you're doing a very, very small business or you're employing people, it is vital that this country and Congress and this administration focuses on the needs of what small businesses have to do to employ Americans.
And Shondell, along those lines, this is a question that was sent in by Jorf in Skippers, Virginia, notes that they're a small business owner.
It says, do you see both parties in DC having bias toward big business, especially in regard to monopolies and regulation?
I always see CEOs of large companies in the White House, but rarely see small business being invited.
unidentified
Well, you know, I recently was in D.C. in September, and we spoke to both parties about the needs of small business owners.
I went on the Vegas Chambers DC fly-in is what we call it.
We came with about 300 participants, maybe about 75 of them as small business owners, who were very much in depth on the needs of small business owners.
And I grab information from our network with Small Business for America's Future.
And I'm always there.
I'm there three to four times a year sitting at the table and being an advocate for our small business owners.
So I do believe that everyone hears us, but nobody takes much action on what needs to happen.
And in this current administration, there seems to be a focus on the larger corporations, I would say that, and not much of a focus on the needs of small business owners.
Don is calling from Middletown, New Jersey, a small business owner.
Good morning, Don.
unidentified
Good morning.
I just have a question for Shondell as to whether he or has he heard much from his members benefiting from the 20% tax deduction that only small businesses can qualify for that was extended in the recent tax law change from July.
Is it something he's benefiting from?
Is he hearing good things from his members benefiting from that 20% tax deduction that only small businesses can qualify for?
Well, our members know that the tax benefit that you're talking about is not necessarily benefiting small business owners.
Congress passed legislation that provides large tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations.
And it's basically what you're talking about, sir, is leaving the small businesses with the scraps.
And that's why we exist because we're not hating on them, but why do they get more than what we get?
I mean, that's nice that somebody throws us a bone, throws us scraps, or it's not nice.
Let's put it that way.
It's not very nice that they leave us with the scraps.
In July 2025, Congress passed H.R.1, which adds a staggering $3.4 trillion to the deficit while cutting health care for 17 million Americans.
And that also hits us.
The bill enshrines a tax system that favors large corporations over Main Street by making the tax cuts and jobs for small business deduction that has failed to help most small businesses to expand or hire.
So most of us are really feeling the brunt of what is proposed as a tax cut for us, but there are permanent tax cuts for the wealthy Americans and scraps left over for the small business.
Chandel, we've talked a little bit about today, which is Small Business Saturday.
Remind our audience how that started.
And for folks who are thinking about going out or will be going out and going to small businesses today, what do you want them to know?
unidentified
Well, I think that, you know, Small Business Saturday was put together to ensure that Americans remember how to support small business owners.
And more importantly, not only how to support small business owners, but also how to support our country.
Because with small business owners are supported, once again, we employ half of the Americans in this country.
We account for almost half of the country's economic activity, which is not talked about a lot.
It is almost like the corporations are the ones that do all of the work.
And then we create two-thirds, two-thirds of the new jobs in this country.
So I think it's important to understand that when you support a small business, you're supporting the national economy, your local economy, because guess what small business owners do, and guess what their employees do?
They go right back in the neighborhood and spend money right back in the neighborhood.
That does not happen with corporations.
And their stakeholders are all over the place.
So that doesn't happen in your local community the same way.
I'm calling because I have six great-grandchildren, and two of them are age 17 and 19, and they work for a small business here.
They're doing very good.
They've tried to get into bigger businesses, banking and the glassworks and stuff, and they haven't been able to do it.
So they've gone to small businesses.
They are doing very good.
And I say we need more small businesses in areas where these young people that graduate from high school that are looking for employment that they can get jobs in the small business area and be successful.
And that's the way I go ahead, Chandelle.
I am very excited for you to say that, ma'am.
I will tell you that over the last 19 years, my wife runs an internship program.
We have hired so many young people either straight out of high school or straight out of college.
And I can tell you that their parents and grandparents feel the same way that you do.
That small businesses not only hire the young people, but we train them.
We care about them.
We also wrap our arms around them and we become extended family.
My first question is: during the COVID, how bad did it hurt small businesses?
And how many businesses actually went out of business?
And during this last government shutdown, did it even affect the small businesses or not?
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you for that question.
Wow.
You know, here's the reality.
Yes, the shutdown did hurt many small businesses, including ours.
Many small businesses went out of business.
Probably about 60% of small businesses went out of business.
And many of us took a lot of hard cuts because when those situations happen, this is what I want everybody to understand.
When those situations happen, my wife, my daughter, myself, my niece, those of us that are partners in our business, we have to eat that economic burden.
We have to reach into our savings, our retirement accounts.
When the Great Recession happened, my wife and I had to get rid of everything and start from scratch.
And you talk about, you know, recently with this government shutdown, absolutely it hurt small businesses.
That was the sad part about it is that the leadership, the administration should have taken into account that these small businesses who are very vital to the economic, to the economy, that you're shutting, you're basically shutting them down because you're now taking away most of their customers and not only taking away their customers, the contracts were held up, loans were held up, the SBA was basically saying, sorry,
we can't help you right now.
So those are the things that hurt us as small business owners.
So thank you for bringing that to America's attention.
It's Anna calling from South Windsor, Connecticut.
Good morning, Anna.
unidentified
Good morning.
I would like to ask the gentleman here: I heard that the big bill that was just passed has in it that they will no longer give tax breaks to those who good morning.
This is Anna.
Thank you.
I understand that they just passed a law that would not give any tax breaks for those who give charity.
Is that true?
Charity.
Now that would hurt the poor and the rich and everybody.
Well, I can just say, you know, what we know is they're preserving the enormous corporate tax rate cuts for large corporations received under the TCGA.
They made them permanent at a 14% point rate cut from 35% to 21%.