CSPAN - Washington Journal 03/03/2026
Aired: 2026-03-03
Duration: 03:00:50


=== 501 Regulations Debate (03:59) ===

[00:00:00]  Have I been told that you know that was there was no real interest there and you know there was no point in being involved or connected to him and we touched on this correct me if I'm wrong you said you're not aware of Mr. Epstein donating to the foundation would you consider Let me back up
[00:00:31]  President Clinton took trips on Mr. Epstein's chat is that correct?
[00:00:36]  Yes, Would you consider offering a private jet as a donation in kind to the foundation?
[00:00:44]  Well, I don't know what the the rules are under the 501 regulations.
[00:00:48]  You can find the depositions of Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton in their entirety on our website, C-SPAN.org.
[00:00:56]  Coming up next on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, Ali Vise, with the International Crisis Group, will discuss the latest on U.S.
[00:01:03]  And Israeli combat operations against Iran and the future of the Iranian regime.
[00:01:08]  Then semaphores David Weigel on the start of the 2026 midterm election season with primaries in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas.
[00:01:17]  And the Wall Street Journal's Ken Thomas will talk about the deposition of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the Epstein investigation after the video of their testimony was released.
[00:01:29]  Washington Journal starts now.
[00:01:38]  Good morning.
[00:01:40]  It's Tuesday, March 3rd.
[00:01:42]  Six U.S. service members have been killed so far as more troops move into the Middle East.
[00:01:47]  President Trump said that the military campaign could last four or five weeks, but said it would continue for as long as it took to leave Iran incapable of posing a threat.
[00:01:58]  He told the New York Post he will not rule out sending ground troops into Iran if necessary.
[00:02:04]  Secretary of State Rubio told reporters, quote, the hardest hits are yet to come.
[00:02:09]  The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.
[00:02:14]  We're getting your calls, texts, and posts on the widening conflict in the Middle East.
[00:02:18]  Here are the numbers.
[00:02:19]  Democrats, 202748, 8000.
[00:02:23]  Republicans, 202748, 8001.
[00:02:27]  And Independents, 202748, 8002.
[00:02:32]  You can send a text to 202748-8003.
[00:02:36]  Include your first name in your city-state.
[00:02:39]  And you can reach us on social media, facebook.com slash C-SPAN, an ex at C-SPANWJ.
[00:02:48]  Welcome to today's Washington Journal.
[00:02:50]  Let's start with an update on the latest news from the Associated Press.
[00:02:54]  It says that Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia's capital with a drone early Tuesday as it continued to target areas around the region.
[00:03:04]  Across Iran's capital, Tehran, explosions ran out overnight as the U.S. and Israel pounded Iran with airstrikes.
[00:03:12]  Iran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world's oil and natural gas production.
[00:03:21]  The conflict has also spread to Lebanon, where the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate.
[00:03:31]  The Israeli military said it has sent additional troops into southern Lebanon and took new positions on several strategic points close to the border, while Lebanon's state-run national news agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its positions along the border.
[00:03:49]  Well, it was at the start of a Medal of Honor ceremony yesterday at the White House, President Trump made his first live remarks about Operation Epic Fury.
[00:03:58]  Here's a portion.

=== Iran Strikes: Hegseth's Statement (13:35) ===

[00:03:59]  Our objectives are clear.
[00:04:01]  First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities, and you see that happening on an hourly basis on their capacity to produce brand new ones, and pretty good ones they make.
[00:04:13]  Second, we're annihilating their Navy.
[00:04:16]  We've knocked out already 10 ships.
[00:04:20]  They're at the bottom of the sea.
[00:04:21]  Third, we're ensuring that the world's number one sponsor of terror. can never obtain a nuclear weapon, never going to have a nuclear weapon.
[00:04:30]  I said that from the beginning.
[00:04:32]  They're never going to have a nuclear weapon.
[00:04:34]  They were on the road to getting one legitimately through a deal that was signed foolishly by our country.
[00:04:43]  And finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.
[00:04:54]  And we thought we had a deal, but then they backed out and they came back and we thought we had a deal and they backed out.
[00:05:00]  I said, you can't deal with these people.
[00:05:02]  You've got to do it the right way.
[00:05:05]  Today, we grieve for the four heroic American service members who have been killed in action and send our love and support to their families.
[00:05:15]  In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people, and a threat indeed it is.
[00:05:27]  We have the strongest and most powerful by far military in the world, and we will easily prevail.
[00:05:36]  We're already substantially ahead of our time projections, but whatever the time is, it's okay.
[00:05:44]  Whatever it takes, we will always, and we have right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.
[00:05:57]  We'll do it.
[00:05:58]  Whatever somebody said today, they said, oh, well, if the president wants to do it really quickly after that, he'll get bored.
[00:06:04]  I don't get bored.
[00:06:06]  There's nothing boring about this.
[00:06:07]  Do you agree with that, Pete?
[00:06:09]  I don't think there's anything, Mr. General.
[00:06:11]  I think there's nothing boring about it.
[00:06:13]  Somebody actually said from the media, I think you'll get bored after about a week or two.
[00:06:18]  No, we don't get bored.
[00:06:20]  I never get bored.
[00:06:21]  If I got bored, I wouldn't be standing here right now, I guarantee you that, to go through what I had to go through.
[00:06:28]  We also projected four weeks to terminate the military leadership, and as you know, that was done in about an hour, so we're ahead of schedule there by a lot.
[00:06:40]  And another quick update for you before we get to your calls from the Associated Press.
[00:06:45]  Ukrainian President Zelensky says he has offered to help the United Arab Emirates protect itself against Iranian aerial attacks.
[00:06:53]  Ukraine has built significant expertise in counting Iranian-designed Shahid drones that Russia has launched almost daily at Ukrainian targets since Moscow's invasion more than four years ago.
[00:07:06]  Zelensky said on X that he spoke by phone with the UAE president and, quote, discussed how we can help protect lives in the UAE.
[00:07:15]  On Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Ukrainian and British experts will work together to help Middle East countries shoot down Iranian drones.
[00:07:26]  Let's go to the calls now to Rick Columbus, Ohio Republican.
[00:07:30]  You're on the air, Rick.
[00:07:32]  Yep.
[00:07:33]  USA, get her done.
[00:07:39]  Okay.
[00:07:39]  Is that all you wanted to say, Rick?
[00:07:41]  No.
[00:07:42]  Hey.
[00:07:44]  How come the last five presidents never did nothing about this?
[00:07:49]  And I was just listening to the hillary about lowering prices on AIDS medication 20 years ago, which he never done either.
[00:08:00]  So this is the only thing I've got to say, USA, get her done and take your country back.
[00:08:08]  And here's Carol, Line for Democrats, Appleton, Wisconsin.
[00:08:11]  You're on the air, Carol.
[00:08:13]  Yes, I have a stepson that is in Jordan now.
[00:08:16]  He's the nicest guy, and of course, we're very worried about him.
[00:08:21]  Trump never went into the service.
[00:08:24]  He got six medical deferments besides the fact that he was playing football at the time.
[00:08:32]  When he went with generals, he didn't want to go visit cemeteries.
[00:08:39]  He said people that die in the military are suckers and losers.
[00:08:45]  If he thinks this is so great, maybe Barron should go over there.
[00:08:50]  So, Carol, what's your stepson doing in Jordan?
[00:08:53]  Is he deployed or is he there on business?
[00:08:57]  Oh, no, he's deployed.
[00:08:59]  He's due to come home in May, and we're just praying that Trump isn't going to goof things up and he's going to make it back in lie.
[00:09:09]  He was guiding and guarding an embassy in Iraq, but now he is, I'm not sure what he's doing in Jordan, but he is in, they have moved him to Jordan, and we haven't heard anything from him since then.
[00:09:26]  But please, Trump doesn't care about the people.
[00:09:31]  He's got a $4 million plane that we're putting another couple million in to get for him.
[00:09:38]  His son has gotten $2 billion, and he's got, this is all money for his billion-dollar friends that are making money out of it.
[00:09:47]  This isn't anything about the people of Iran, or it isn't anything about the people.
[00:09:53]  It is just for trillionaires to make more trillionaires.
[00:09:57]  Well, thank you for letting me.
[00:09:59]  Like I said, I'm very worried.
[00:10:01]  I don't know.
[00:10:02]  And this is the front page of the Washington Post.
[00:10:06]  U.S. could send ground troops.
[00:10:08]  It says Pentagon braces for more casualties.
[00:10:11]  Hegseth doesn't rule out putting boots on the ground.
[00:10:15]  Again, six confirmed deaths by American service members from that strike in Kuwait.
[00:10:24]  It was at four yesterday, earlier when the president spoke, when you heard him speak.
[00:10:29]  He had mentioned four, but since then it has been confirmed to six.
[00:10:33]  Here is Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, speaking yesterday about the strikes in Iran.
[00:10:41]  For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America.
[00:10:49]  They didn't always declare it openly, except for their constant chance of death to America.
[00:10:55]  They did it through the blood of our people.
[00:10:58]  Car bombs in Beirut, rocket attacks on our ships, murders at our embassies, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, funded and armed by Iranian Quds force and IRGC killers.
[00:11:13]  My generation of veterans carry the names of brothers who never came home.
[00:11:18]  Brothers butchered by Iranian-backed roadside bombs and well-armed militias, thousands of our own.
[00:11:27]  We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it.
[00:11:32]  Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult.
[00:11:41]  It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence.
[00:11:50]  He reminded the world, as he has time and time again, being an American means something unbreakable.
[00:11:57]  If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you.
[00:12:09]  President Trump has also been very consistent.
[00:12:12]  Crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons.
[00:12:20]  It's common sense.
[00:12:22]  Many have said it, but it takes guts to actually enforce it, and our president has guts.
[00:12:31]  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, speaking yesterday, we're taking your calls on the widening conflict in the Middle East, getting your thoughts on that.
[00:12:41]  If you have called us within the last 30 days, please don't call.
[00:12:44]  Please hold off and wait for the 30 days so that we can get other callers in on the lines.
[00:12:51]  Vincent, Middletown, Connecticut, Independent Line, good morning to you.
[00:12:56]  Hello, Mimi.
[00:12:57]  How are you?
[00:12:58]  Good.
[00:13:00]  Well, thank you for having me follow a raging alcoholic.
[00:13:04]  I guess it's hard.
[00:13:06]  I'm going to try.
[00:13:07]  It's hard not to be to not be in a rage right now.
[00:13:12]  Trump's comments a couple days ago to just spell it out for everybody.
[00:13:15]  That's the way it is.
[00:13:18]  As callous as you can get.
[00:13:23]  We're all just throwaway people to him, to this administration, to this government.
[00:13:28]  That's the way it is.
[00:13:30]  Anyone who supports this should have this thrown in their face.
[00:13:34]  Well, that's the way it is, huh?
[00:13:37]  And see what kind of reaction they get.
[00:13:39]  Well, so, Vincent, would you be more open to this if he had gone to Congress and that Congress had voted?
[00:13:48]  No, still no.
[00:13:48]  Not at all.
[00:13:49]  Not at all.
[00:13:50]  This is Congress saying, well, you should have followed the rules because they wanted this is illegal, not because he didn't follow Congress.
[00:13:59]  It's illegal because it's illegal.
[00:14:03]  It's an illegal act.
[00:14:04]  It's an act of aggression.
[00:14:06]  Iran was no threat.
[00:14:07]  Iran was no threat to us.
[00:14:09]  And if you support this after everything that went through in Iraq, everything went through in Afghanistan, currently in a skirmish with a nuclear-armed country, by the way, then just hold up a sign that says you're a complete idiot because you've given up on life.
[00:14:24]  Sorry, Vincent.
[00:14:25]  Thank you.
[00:14:26]  Let's talk to Dan, Santa Barbara, California, Independent Line.
[00:14:29]  Good morning.
[00:14:30]  Oh, my God, that last call.
[00:14:31]  Okay, so I have two points here.
[00:14:33]  The first one has to do with what's going on over there in Israel, or sorry, in Iran and Israel.
[00:14:39]  And I think if we look back on October 7th with Hamas, do we think Hamas would have done this murderous mass rape, mass kidnapping, mass destruction of Israel if he really would have known what Israel was going to do?
[00:14:57]  Israel struck back like crazy and they disabled Hamas.
[00:15:02]  They went into Lebanon, disabled Hezbollah, and now they're doing what they're doing in Iran.
[00:15:08]  And I think we here in the U.S. are so privileged to not have that happen to our friends and family that we do not understand what's going on.
[00:15:17]  My second point is, if you see these counter protests going on right now, they're all funded through organizations called PSL, Answer Coalition, FRSO, yada yada.
[00:15:32]  And these people that the local news agencies give airtime to, they're all tankies and useful idiots.
[00:15:40]  These people are literally communists and jihadists.
[00:15:44]  I'm someone who used to be on the left, on the farther left, and I now realize that we do have an insidious movement within the West in America and Europe of people who are just like supporting Khomeini, supporting Hezbollah, supporting the October 7th attacks.
[00:16:00]  And I want everyone who's a Democrat to understand that.
[00:16:03]  So those are the two points I'm trying to make.
[00:16:06]  All right.
[00:16:06]  Let's talk to Bob, Long Island, New York, Republican.
[00:16:09]  Good morning.
[00:16:11]  Yes.
[00:16:12]  Hello.
[00:16:14]  On the hardest hit shifts to come, that type of thing, okay?
[00:16:19]  Here's the issue we have: they have so many mobile launches, and we're playing whack-a-mole with them.
[00:16:27]  Once the whack-a-mole is done, the country is ours, okay, in that respect.
[00:16:35]  And then we can give those people self-determination.
[00:16:38]  They've been asking for it for a long time, okay, just like we did in 1776 through 1781 when the French finally showed up to help us.
[00:16:50]  Well, but in 1776, the Patriots were armed.
[00:16:56]  The people in Iran are not armed.
[00:16:59]  That is correct.
[00:17:00]  That is correct.
[00:17:01]  So, how, even though we get rid of the mobile launchers, as you say, how are they going to take their country back?
[00:17:07]  Walk us through that, Bob.
[00:17:09]  Well, I would think there's a little bit more COVID operations going on than anybody wants to let out, okay?
[00:17:21]  And I think the major issue is they're trying to take out all the ideology leadership, okay?

=== Killing Ideology Leadership (06:27) ===

[00:17:35]  And then what happens will happen.
[00:17:40]  All right.
[00:17:41]  Okay.
[00:17:42]  Okay.
[00:17:42]  Adam in Concord, North Carolina, Independent, you're on the air.
[00:17:48]  Hi, how are you doing today?
[00:17:49]  Good.
[00:17:50]  I was just calling.
[00:17:52]  I'm a three-time Trump voter, and one thing this past year has just completely shown me is that our government is completely occupied by Israel.
[00:18:02]  We've seen somehow Trump takes all of his orders.
[00:18:05]  He's pretty much just a microphone for Netanyahu, who is an ICC war criminal who has killed 21,000 children in Gaza last year, you know, pretty much using our tax dollars to do that.
[00:18:20]  And it's almost like everything Bibby calls him for, he does.
[00:18:24]  He doesn't care if the American people approve it.
[00:18:27]  I voted for Trump because he said he was no wars, and he seemed like he made good sense.
[00:18:33]  He doesn't care about us in this term.
[00:18:35]  This term is pure Israel, and it's just kind of making me sick the way that everything is just kind of falling in front of us because right now we have no choice.
[00:18:45]  Congress has pretty much cowered down.
[00:18:49]  They're absolutely useless.
[00:18:50]  The UN is nothing more than a toothless dog.
[00:18:53]  And it's kind of, we keep killing people and then calling them terrorists.
[00:18:59]  Pete sounds so evil during his press conference that I just can't hardly stand to watch it.
[00:19:04]  And we've become the terrorists.
[00:19:07]  It's like we keep killing more people, and then when they get upset about it, we call them terrorists.
[00:19:12]  And then all of a sudden, we're killing their kids, too.
[00:19:16]  And it's like then we're going to have to kill their kids.
[00:19:18]  And it's just ongoing killing and then calling them the bad guy.
[00:19:22]  It's like we became Israel.
[00:19:25]  We're always playing the victim.
[00:19:27]  And it's just, we are the terrorists.
[00:19:31]  Adam, has your disappointment with President Trump extended to the rest of the Republican Party?
[00:19:38]  Because you're in North Carolina.
[00:19:40]  I know you've got some primaries going on today.
[00:19:43]  Yes, and we do.
[00:19:44]  Now, it's pretty mixed.
[00:19:46]  It's like we've got this older group that was really raised in believing that if you don't die for Israel, you are going to hell.
[00:19:57]  And I was raised that I'm a Christian and Israel is in us.
[00:20:00]  There is no body of land called Israel.
[00:20:03]  And to me, it's almost blasphemy saying that some place is called Israel and there are chosen people, but yet they are killing children because Jesus does not kill children.
[00:20:13]  The only people I see killing children is the GOP and Israel.
[00:20:18]  And I don't want no part of it.
[00:20:19]  It's like we need a new party.
[00:20:21]  We don't need Democrats want this war.
[00:20:24]  They just won't say it.
[00:20:25]  Republicans will sacrifice every American in the country to appease Israel.
[00:20:32]  And so I have completely given up.
[00:20:34]  I will never vote Republican again.
[00:20:36]  I will definitely never vote Democrat.
[00:20:39]  So it's like we don't have an option.
[00:20:41]  And we are completely stuck right now.
[00:20:44]  All right, Adam.
[00:20:45]  Let's hear from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
[00:20:48]  He spoke to reporters yesterday, and this was the exchange.
[00:20:53]  Is there a drismatic exchange going on right now between the U.S. and Iran?
[00:20:56]  Are there any exchanges whatsoever outside of the country?
[00:20:59]  No, not at this time.
[00:21:00]  I mean, look, we always have people that reach out from inside of governments.
[00:21:02]  You don't know if they're authorized to reach out or not.
[00:21:05]  They're suffering a tremendous amount of damage.
[00:21:07]  Honestly, again, I'm not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military.
[00:21:14]  The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.
[00:21:18]  Someone was screaming, how long will it take?
[00:21:19]  I don't know how long it'll take.
[00:21:20]  We have objectives.
[00:21:21]  We will do this as long as it takes to achieve those objectives, and we will achieve those objectives.
[00:21:26]  The world will be a safer place when we're done with this operation.
[00:21:32]  That was the Secretary of State saying the hardest hits are yet to come on Iran, and we're getting your reaction to the events of the Middle East, the widening conflict there.
[00:21:42]  The numbers are on your screen.
[00:21:44]  Here's Crystal, a Democrat, West Palm Beach, Florida.
[00:21:47]  Good morning.
[00:21:49]  Good morning.
[00:21:50]  The last two callers made two points that I'd like to speak to.
[00:21:55]  First, the gentleman asked the question if the Gazans knew on October 7th of what would happen with the backlash, 70,000 people dying.
[00:22:07]  So the question is, yes, it's a liberation struggle.
[00:22:11]  It's all about liberation.
[00:22:13]  That area was an apartheid state, 65 laws on the books in Israel that apply unequally to the citizens.
[00:22:23]  So why is it okay for the president to encourage the people in Iran to strive for liberation, to go up against their government, to go to war against their government?
[00:22:39]  But that same standard is not available, completely removed for people that have been living under apartheid since 1967, having their land taken away from them.
[00:22:53]  The second thing is I want to say that the president looked like he was being held hostage behind a microphone hours after the war started.
[00:23:03]  He repeated Israel's talking points, all propaganda.
[00:23:08]  He completely is carrying out Netanyahu's agenda, who visited the White House seven times in one year just to, I mean, they're saying that the meetings in the War Department do not even happen unless the IDF and Netanyahu and his agenda is there and they're following it.
[00:23:32]  They said that the date to attack Iran was already determined weeks ago.
[00:23:38]  This was a public statement made by this White House.
[00:23:42]  So, yeah, that's my feelings on the topic.
[00:23:45]  Thank you so much for letting me speak.
[00:23:48]  On the Republican line in Ruffin, North Carolina, Vinny, you're on the air.
[00:23:52]  Yes.
[00:23:54]  The Middle East, these people have been killing each other for thousands of years.
[00:23:59]  They have no regard for human life.

=== Diana, Stacey, Fred Debate War (15:26) ===

[00:24:02]  Do the people in America who sit on their butts and cry, this is wrong, this is wrong, do they not realize if these countries got themselves a nuclear weapon, they would not be afraid to use it?
[00:24:18]  Why are these people pitying everybody?
[00:24:21]  Wake up and smell the roses, people.
[00:24:25]  This president here is trying to do something correct.
[00:24:29]  Obama, Biden, thank you.
[00:24:35]  They encourage Iran.
[00:24:41]  That's all right.
[00:24:43]  Losing you there, Vinny.
[00:24:44]  Corey, Independent, Muskegon, Michigan, you're on the air.
[00:24:50]  Yeah, hi.
[00:24:53]  Okay.
[00:24:54]  Sorry, first-time caller.
[00:24:58]  Okay, so the Iranian strike, right?
[00:25:01]  This is what we're talking about, or like my opinion on it.
[00:25:04]  Yes.
[00:25:06]  Okay, so basically, like, right, we're America, like, and trust.
[00:25:14]  And like, it's kind of like the same thing as I see what I see is everyone's angry, right?
[00:25:22]  Like, at decisions or something, right?
[00:25:25]  So in management, right, you got coercion and you got the laissez-faire and the other one, which is kind of like Democratic, right?
[00:25:38]  So, but I don't know how to put it together, but I kind of just like, you don't know.
[00:25:48]  Like, there's top secret.
[00:25:50]  Does these people with opinions, right?
[00:25:54]  Like, I don't have an opinion.
[00:25:56]  Like, I mean, like, I see what's going on.
[00:25:59]  I don't want war, but, right?
[00:26:02]  Like, I mean, I'm not going to tell you your decision is no, because I don't know.
[00:26:07]  I'm not privy to any top secret information.
[00:26:10]  I don't, like, you're full of management that, like, I am not privy to either.
[00:26:15]  So, like, right?
[00:26:17]  I mean, you got to.
[00:26:18]  So, you're just saying we don't know enough, Corey, to make an informed decision about this?
[00:26:22]  Right.
[00:26:23]  And it's kind of like one of those.
[00:26:24]  Yes.
[00:26:25]  Yes, ma'am.
[00:26:26]  Okay.
[00:26:27]  Well, glad you joined us.
[00:26:28]  Diana in San Antonio, Democrat.
[00:26:31]  Good morning, Diana.
[00:26:34]  Good morning.
[00:26:37]  This wasn't even, I just feel that this was not necessary at all.
[00:26:45]  I don't understand why Congress wasn't consulted.
[00:26:49]  If Marco Rubio said that Israel was threatened, let Israel fight the war.
[00:26:57]  We're going to pay the price.
[00:27:00]  Higher gas prices, higher grocery prices.
[00:27:04]  I don't understand why they couldn't go to Congress and make their case.
[00:27:08]  So, Diana, the administration does make the case that the United States is threatened by Iran.
[00:27:18]  Israel was the one that requested this, not us.
[00:27:22]  I mean, there was really no justification.
[00:27:25]  If the United States was threatened by Iran, then make the case to go to Congress.
[00:27:30]  Why wasn't Congress consulted?
[00:27:33]  All right.
[00:27:33]  Well, let's hear from Senator Angus King.
[00:27:36]  He's an independent from Maine talking about that very issue.
[00:27:40]  Here he is.
[00:27:42]  Why now?
[00:27:44]  Why not?
[00:27:45]  And what's next?
[00:27:47]  Why now?
[00:27:47]  You just touched upon, and I'll echo what Jason Crowe just said as a member of Armed Services and Intelligence.
[00:27:54]  I have seen no intelligence, A, that the Iranians are close to a bomb, or B, that they were planning any kind of attack.
[00:28:03]  So one of the things I'm going to be looking for in these briefings is why now?
[00:28:07]  What provoked this?
[00:28:08]  Because the argument that there was some going to be a preemptive attack or they were weeks away from a bomb, that appears to be completely untrue.
[00:28:18]  The second question is, why not?
[00:28:21]  And what I mean by that is, why not go to the American people and the Congress in order to discuss, understand, identify the risks?
[00:28:30]  Because the decision to take our country into war is probably the most important decision that can be made.
[00:28:36]  And the people that wrote our Constitution realized that, and that's why they gave it to the Congress, the people's representatives, so there would be debate and discussion, not the decision in just one hand.
[00:28:49]  In August of 1787, Roger Sherman of Connecticut in the constitutional debate said it's not a republic if the monarch, if the chief magistrate, that's what they call the president, can single-handedly decide to go to war.
[00:29:02]  And so this idea that you have to go to Congress is not because my feelings are hurt because I haven't been consulted.
[00:29:09]  It's because this is an essential safeguard to how our country is supposed to work.
[00:29:14]  And then the third question, which we can discuss, is what's next?
[00:29:18]  Because they're not going to be able to achieve true regime change and do something for the people of Iran, which I'm totally sympathetic with, from the air.
[00:29:30]  Senator Angus King, and update from the New York Times.
[00:29:34]  U.S. closes embassy in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and tells non-essential staff in other countries to leave.
[00:29:41]  Again, that's the embassies, the U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been closed by the State Department.
[00:29:48]  Stacy in Cleveland, sorry, in Chicago, Republican line.
[00:29:52]  What do you think, Stacey?
[00:29:54]  Hi, good morning.
[00:29:55]  Thank you for having me.
[00:29:56]  First and foremost, I am not going to be a Republican anymore.
[00:30:00]  What I see is that they're talking with a bull say a seized of fool.
[00:30:07]  Our commander-in-chief is a seized of fool.
[00:30:10]  Anyone could tell him he looks good he can do something.
[00:30:14]  I am so sick of what is happening.
[00:30:16]  First, it was we the people, terrorized to demotalize, and liberalized to have us to stay in fear.
[00:30:24]  It is sad that the so-called United States of America has caused a war upon me the people.
[00:30:29]  It is sad that he follows their directions that who gives him good advice.
[00:30:34]  The world is what we're in.
[00:30:36]  We the people are not of the world for him.
[00:30:38]  They gave him this wordy things that he wants, that he wants we the people to worship him.
[00:30:44]  And it's really sad that we are going to war with ourselves, with ourselves, because anyone calls on him to do something.
[00:30:53]  I am sick of this and everyone saying that he's doing so well.
[00:30:57]  He did great.
[00:30:58]  He did great in demodishing we the people.
[00:31:00]  He did great in tans out of Congress.
[00:31:02]  He did great in tearing down the atmosphere.
[00:31:05]  He did great putting these things of worthy lies to us.
[00:31:09]  The unconnected tribulations of a big liar who is a seed of fools.
[00:31:15]  And even anyone who says he's doing good, they are part of the murder that is happening to be the people in the United States.
[00:31:22]  He stated that Israel people, I mean, to Irani people, he's going to do anything for them.
[00:31:28]  He asked them to march to the capital.
[00:31:31]  and take over the country.
[00:31:33]  Read between the lies.
[00:31:34]  He did this to us.
[00:31:36]  We are being mocking.
[00:31:38]  The last one, supposed to be the first one in the United States to stand with our eyelids, demanding us.
[00:31:44]  What they're doing, they're using him to tear down the economy once again.
[00:31:49]  All right, Stacey.
[00:31:50]  Let's talk to Mike, Cleveland, Ohio, Independent Line.
[00:31:52]  Good morning, Mike.
[00:31:54]  Good morning.
[00:31:55]  How are you?
[00:31:56]  Good.
[00:31:57]  Good, good.
[00:31:59]  I would like to remind the people that when the attack on Iranian military installations occurred, Iran turned around and started shooting ballistic missiles at their neighboring countries in populated areas.
[00:32:20]  Is that any kind of response of defense?
[00:32:24]  I do not think so.
[00:32:27]  Part of this is we have to look at all of the years of the troubles that have happened worldwide.
[00:32:38]  It's a very big step.
[00:32:40]  It was a very big step for the president administration to go in and do this.
[00:32:49]  The outcome may be good, but as the president said, for all people, we have to do our part to make things how we want them, how we think they should be.
[00:33:03]  We have luckily a constitution that we can fall back on.
[00:33:09]  And so let's not get too lost in what is happening, though it is very important.
[00:33:15]  And remember that we have lots of work to do here.
[00:33:20]  So that's all I have to say.
[00:33:21]  All right.
[00:33:22]  And this is the Washington Post.
[00:33:25]  They said, we texted 1,000 Americans about U.S. strikes in Iran.
[00:33:29]  Here's what they said.
[00:33:31]  So it says that most Americans, these are from the thousand that they texted.
[00:33:36]  Most Americans oppose the strikes, then support them.
[00:33:39]  More Americans, sorry, oppose and support.
[00:33:42]  The flash poll found perceptions of Trump's goals vary widely, though a clear majority say his administration has not clearly explained them.
[00:33:51]  Still, about half think the U.S. military's actions will contribute to long-term U.S. security.
[00:33:59]  Want to know what you think of that as well?
[00:34:01]  Here's Fred Bay Area, California Democrat.
[00:34:05]  You're on the air, Fred.
[00:34:07]  Hi, yes.
[00:34:08]  I just want to, I just want this, this is my first question.
[00:34:12]  What is in those Epstein files to make Trump and his administration do what they're doing right now?
[00:34:19]  First of all, second of all, at the end of the day, you have a war over there in the Middle East between Israel and Iran and all those other countries over there.
[00:34:31]  You have a war that is a religious war.
[00:34:34]  Some things that you just can't stop.
[00:34:36]  Some things that you just got to understand.
[00:34:39]  That's something that they got to figure out.
[00:34:41]  And Trump didn't put his nose in his business because it's simple fact, though, that people that he has this Epstein files that he don't want to turn over all the files.
[00:34:50]  Turn them 3 million files over.
[00:34:52]  So let's talk about.
[00:34:53]  So, Fred, we will talk about the Epstein files later in the program towards the end.
[00:34:57]  But is that all you had on Iran?
[00:35:00]  No, no.
[00:35:01]  And just, and one thing about it, one thing for sure, two things for certain, though, is that one thing that the Ayatollah, he's gone, and that's appreciated.
[00:35:11]  I don't like nobody that's just sitting over their country and just running amok and just running their people into the ground, just like Trump doing us right now.
[00:35:20]  He needs to get out of that office.
[00:35:24]  The Republican Party in America need to really stand up.
[00:35:28]  Stand up.
[00:35:29]  We need a Congress.
[00:35:30]  We got the House.
[00:35:31]  Please stand up.
[00:35:33]  Stand up.
[00:35:33]  Somebody say something.
[00:35:35]  Somebody do something.
[00:35:37]  What do we have a Congress for if nobody's doing anything?
[00:35:41]  If nobody is putting no checks and balances on this man, what are we doing today?
[00:35:45]  What are we doing to these people that's on the station?
[00:35:49]  I appreciate you calling in and just giving your opinions, though.
[00:35:52]  But just think about what's going on.
[00:35:56]  Americans are going to die today.
[00:35:58]  Americans are going to die around the world.
[00:36:01]  If this guy, if we continue to let this person run a month in the White House, thank you.
[00:36:07]  And Joe on Facebook said this, midterms matter.
[00:36:11]  60% of Americans aren't on board with this military campaign.
[00:36:15]  It's a continuation of Trump creating chaos.
[00:36:18]  Prices continue to escalate, sorry, accelerate in the U.S.
[00:36:23]  So those who voted for Trump enjoy the spike coming in gas prices.
[00:36:28]  And this is from Bird who says, it's always excellent news when we are informed that the best action in a highly successful operation already is yet to come.
[00:36:41]  Only the most repressive individuals imaginable would side against individual freedoms for free peoples, yet somehow that warped mindset still exists.
[00:36:52]  And we got this from Mary on Facebook.
[00:36:54]  Thank God we have a strong administration to protect our troops and country.
[00:36:58]  The people of Iran are dancing in the streets, peace through strength.
[00:37:04]  And this is Bob, who's calling us from Massachusetts.
[00:37:07]  Republican, you're next, Bob.
[00:37:10]  Well, good morning.
[00:37:12]  What I'd like to say is I'm very glad that the president did this.
[00:37:17]  And I'm very sorry for all of the Democrats that have lost another dictator and another really horrible human being that can murder people.
[00:37:26]  It's amazing how they will stand up for the most vile human beings on the planet and hate on Donald Trump.
[00:37:32]  TDS is incredible.
[00:37:34]  And would you guys please at least do one thing?
[00:37:37]  I know you love to fact-check Republicans left, right, up, down, backwards, forwards.
[00:37:43]  How about Stacey, who, you know, when she's not out shoplifting calling up today, saying that Trump said something about other people being our military people being losers and stuff.
[00:37:57]  He didn't say that.
[00:37:59]  That was a lie.
[00:38:00]  Okay?
[00:38:01]  That was a lie.
[00:38:02]  It's a proven lie.
[00:38:03]  And I wish you would at least fact-check some Democrat someday.
[00:38:07]  Have a good day.
[00:38:09]  Jesse, Indianapolis, Indiana, Democrat, you're on the air.
[00:38:13]  Hi, Mimi.
[00:38:14]  Thanks so much for taking my call.
[00:38:15]  How are you doing today?
[00:38:16]  Good.
[00:38:17]  Awesome.
[00:38:18]  Awesome.
[00:38:18]  Before I start, I just want to go ahead and say thank you so much for what you do personally.
[00:38:22]  We over on our last lease panel on Reddit are huge fans of you specifically.
[00:38:26]  On the topic of Iran, regarding what the last guy said, I was born in 2004.
[00:38:34]  So I was born three years after 9-11.
[00:38:37]  Everything that I have been alive for when it comes to U.S. wars has been majority wars in the Middle East.
[00:38:43]  We aren't, Us Democrats aren't saying that we support the Ayatollah or the Iranian government, but we are totally against forever wars where they say it's going to last four to six weeks, when in reality, we're probably going to be in Iraq for another 20-ish years because of the military, the military-industrial complex.
[00:39:05]  Donald Trump saying that American lives are worth sacrificing for a war that are 80% to 80% disapproval rate, honestly, when it comes to the general public.
[00:39:18]  We've already had three F-15 friendly fire mishaps happen.
[00:39:24]  Like, that's unheard of.
[00:39:26]  If you've seen some of the videos, it's startling.

=== Sleeper Cells Threat (15:34) ===

[00:39:29]  I can't understand it.
[00:39:30]  I just can't understand it.
[00:39:32]  And like, this is mostly, this doesn't affect you or me or anyone that's watching this at home.
[00:39:38]  This affects the people that are in the Epstein class.
[00:39:43]  Let me ask you what this Washington Post kind of flash poll said.
[00:39:47]  That they said that most people think that the U.S. military's actions will contribute to long-term U.S. security.
[00:39:55]  What do you think of that?
[00:39:56]  Do you think that maybe in the short term, no, but long-term, that this is a good thing?
[00:40:04]  Long-term, it will contribute to the U.S. military industrial complex.
[00:40:09]  It'll definitely pad the pockets of the top elites in Washington, D.C. I'll tell you that for sure.
[00:40:16]  Maybe they get rid of a few people that they don't like who say death to America, which I don't support.
[00:40:23]  But I've been around for, or I haven't been around until like three years after 9/11.
[00:40:30]  I genuinely can't wrap my mind around the U.S. not being in the Middle East.
[00:40:37]  At what point are the Middle East forever wars going to actually secure U.S. protection?
[00:40:44]  Like, it just doesn't make sense.
[00:40:45]  Eventually, at some point, you have to realize that your strategy in the Middle East just isn't working anymore.
[00:40:51]  Pull out, spend more money on domestic issues like health care.
[00:40:55]  Release the Epstein files.
[00:40:58]  Stop it with all these distractions.
[00:40:59]  Got it, Jesse.
[00:41:00]  And Julie on Facebook says, Now we understand why they changed the name to the Department of War.
[00:41:05]  That's all Trump wants, and you all are following along just like he's following Israel.
[00:41:11]  People are dying for nothing.
[00:41:13]  And Kevin from Texas says, So, why are we instituting people in attacks for countries that have been in war since the beginning of time?
[00:41:23]  Also, if we go by the laws of heaven, thou shalt not kill.
[00:41:27]  And Mike in California says, Good morning, Mimi.
[00:41:30]  I have to agree with the caller from North Carolina.
[00:41:33]  Trump is nothing but a puppet with Netanyahu pulling his strings.
[00:41:37]  Here is Mike in Laurel, Maryland, Independent Line.
[00:41:42]  Mike, what do you think about what's happening in the Middle East?
[00:41:46]  I have a question.
[00:41:50]  If the United States is threatened by a foreign nation, does the president have to go through Congress?
[00:41:59]  Isn't it a rule or regulation saying if we are threatened, we don't have to, the president do not have to have Congress permission to go to war?
[00:42:11]  Right, for 60 to 90 days.
[00:42:14]  Oh, okay, 60 to 90 days.
[00:42:16]  Yeah, if there's an imminent threat.
[00:42:18]  So that's up to interpretation.
[00:42:19]  The administration says we are under threat from Iran.
[00:42:23]  Some people disagree with that.
[00:42:25]  Yeah, I think we are as well.
[00:42:29]  I don't like the president per se.
[00:42:31]  I just don't want things to be fair.
[00:42:34]  And I think he's doing things the way he's supposed to do it.
[00:42:38]  I mean, if I feel threatened, I'm going to attack.
[00:42:40]  I'm not asking my mom or my brother, should I do anything?
[00:42:44]  If I feel threatened, I'm going to retaliate, and I think he's doing the right thing.
[00:42:48]  All right.
[00:42:49]  And let's talk to Cabell in Alabama, Republican line.
[00:42:54]  Is that how you pronounce your name?
[00:42:57]  Yep.
[00:42:58]  Ravel Cabell, is that what you could say?
[00:43:01]  All right, Ravel Cabell.
[00:43:02]  Go ahead.
[00:43:02]  Yes, ma'am.
[00:43:04]  So there's been some interesting points.
[00:43:06]  And I want to go back to Jesse, I believe that was his name, who was born after 9-11.
[00:43:13]  And I was born in 1991.
[00:43:15]  And that gave me a, this gives me a certain aspect of where we are in this country to this demographic from 20 to 35.
[00:43:29]  And war in the Middle East and American intervention has been around since the 40s and before that, when we recreated Israel.
[00:43:41]  And for some of the callers that are saying that we're just bombing Iran for because Israel has requested, that's not true.
[00:43:54]  There is Intel that's saying that there's thousands of sleeper cells within America, and it absolutely is in our best interest to show and reflect our feelings towards radical extremists.
[00:44:13]  And I believe it's in our best interest as a country to educate ourselves from past conflicts and all the way to current conflicts as well.
[00:44:23]  All right.
[00:44:25]  Ann, Bar Harbor, Maine, Democrat, you're on the air, Anne.
[00:44:29]  Hi, thank you.
[00:44:30]  So I have two points.
[00:44:31]  One is that Netanyahu and APAC have been trying to get us to bomb Iran for decades.
[00:44:38]  And in Trump's first term, he even fired John Bolton because John Bolton was pushing to bomb Iran.
[00:44:45]  So what's changed?
[00:44:47]  What's changed is that Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar have been throwing money at Trump.
[00:44:56]  And of course, they're Arab Islamic Sunni nations, and they are very resentful of Iran, which is not Arab and which is Shiite.
[00:45:06]  So that's something that has to be put in.
[00:45:09]  Also, I was on MDI, and one of my neighbors was Mike and Louisa Kennedy.
[00:45:16]  Mike Kennedy was our chief diplomat in Iran, the highest-ranking diplomat in Iran who was held hostage.
[00:45:24]  Louisa Kennedy, whose family signed the Constitution, she was the one who organized the families to keep the hostages in people's attention.
[00:45:39]  When he was released, they would not condemn Iran.
[00:45:44]  Their message was we need a better understanding of Iranian history and Iranian American history in order to have better diplomacy.
[00:45:56]  So I just wanted to put those things here.
[00:45:58]  All right, Ann.
[00:45:59]  And the previous caller talked about sleeper cells.
[00:46:03]  This is Fox Business that says Abbott, that's a Texas governor, warns Iranian, quote, sleeper cells must be taken seriously after deadly Texas shooting.
[00:46:13]  It says the comments follow the Dudley Austin shooting where gunmen wore, quote, property of Allah sweater.
[00:46:20]  This is at Fox Business.
[00:46:23]  He says, this is his quote: You oftentimes see when there's a war breaking out like this, where the U.S. may be going against a country like Iran, that you could have either sleeper cells or lone wolves acting.
[00:46:39]  And Susan, Quorum New York, Independent, you're on the air.
[00:46:45]  Hi, Mimi.
[00:46:45]  Thank you for what you do.
[00:46:46]  I really appreciate it.
[00:46:49]  I am a recovering Democrat, and I have decided not to just watch liberal stations and believed everything they say.
[00:47:04]  So I watch everything.
[00:47:06]  What upsets me, and I suggest to the other callers, is to please, please educate yourself.
[00:47:11]  I was watching all stations yesterday, and you get different views on the IRN war from whether it's a conservative station or otherwise.
[00:47:19]  You spoke about the sleeper cell, which is very important.
[00:47:22]  I heard that on the conservative side, but I didn't hear all day on the liberal side about this.
[00:47:28]  We have to look at all sides.
[00:47:30]  We have to look at all sides.
[00:47:32]  It's very, very important.
[00:47:34]  We're talking about the president taking over, doing everything, listening to everything that Netanyahu says.
[00:47:45]  We have to keep our heads out of the sand.
[00:47:47]  It is a very, very, very liable threat that Iran can develop intercontinental missiles that can bomb the United States.
[00:47:57]  This was tried.
[00:47:58]  This was in the Obama era.
[00:48:01]  He gave them cash to not to subside getting nuclear weapons.
[00:48:07]  Trump tried in all his might to try and make a deal with them.
[00:48:12]  They didn't want to do it.
[00:48:13]  They didn't want to do it.
[00:48:14]  So does Israel have influence?
[00:48:16]  Of course they have influence.
[00:48:19]  But this is about America.
[00:48:21]  This is about America.
[00:48:22]  And I appreciate the call that spoke about our interests.
[00:48:25]  They're clearly educated.
[00:48:27]  But we have to worry about America.
[00:48:31]  If America doesn't worry about themselves, we can't help anyone else in the world.
[00:48:35]  And there are things, sleeper cells all over the United States.
[00:48:41]  But Susan, we don't know that for sure.
[00:48:43]  I mean, how do there's a fear of sleeper cells for sure?
[00:48:48]  That's a good point.
[00:48:48]  That's a very, very good point, Mimi.
[00:48:50]  But my gut says they are all over the place.
[00:48:55]  That there are people, not only necessarily sleeper cells, but people who are radicalized all over the United States.
[00:49:01]  We don't know where they are.
[00:49:03]  We don't know if they're going to pop up.
[00:49:04]  We have to be aware of this.
[00:49:06]  But this, to me, this is whether we're in the war or not, right?
[00:49:10]  The fact that we're in the war is we need to stop them developing nuclear weapons.
[00:49:16]  We need to.
[00:49:18]  They're insane.
[00:49:19]  They want to kill us.
[00:49:22]  And I'm a Democrat, and I'm a Democrat.
[00:49:24]  I'm a former Democrat.
[00:49:25]  I changed my tune because I can't take what's going on in this world, how we don't get along.
[00:49:29]  I just don't understand why we don't get along.
[00:49:32]  I have friends that are serious liberals, and they pop off all the time.
[00:49:36]  And I listen to them, and I'm like, I keep my opinions to myself.
[00:49:40]  I keep my opinions to myself.
[00:49:41]  I'm speaking today, but I keep my opinions to myself.
[00:49:45]  But they run around screaming, I hate Trump, I hate Trump.
[00:49:48]  No matter what this man does.
[00:49:50]  Now, do I love everything he does?
[00:49:51]  No.
[00:49:52]  Do I believe in war?
[00:49:53]  No.
[00:49:53]  I don't want a war.
[00:49:55]  But I understand why it's happening.
[00:49:57]  But you believe this is the only way, that this is the only way to keep the United States safe.
[00:50:02]  I think having, I honestly, maybe not today, but in the future.
[00:50:08]  I really do.
[00:50:09]  I wish we didn't have to do this.
[00:50:11]  They tried to negotiate.
[00:50:13]  If the people that were in there couldn't negotiate and Obama couldn't negotiate, what makes us think that we can negotiate?
[00:50:20]  They're still building nuclear weapons.
[00:50:24]  They're still doing it.
[00:50:26]  We crushed their nuclear capabilities a couple, what was that?
[00:50:29]  How many weeks ago?
[00:50:30]  How many months ago?
[00:50:31]  Yeah, I think.
[00:50:32]  But honestly, they're still doing it.
[00:50:35]  And I would have to be ignorant.
[00:50:36]  I would have to be ignorant not to hear this.
[00:50:42]  As a person in the United States, I would have to be ignorant.
[00:50:45]  Susan, let me move on to Gail in New York, Republican.
[00:50:47]  Go ahead, Gail.
[00:50:50]  Hi, good morning.
[00:50:51]  I say kudos to Trump.
[00:50:53]  He did what other presidents should have done.
[00:50:57]  And the lady from Quorum, she's absolutely correct.
[00:51:01]  As somebody who lived through 9-11, okay, and who went to 20 to 25 wakes and funerals, and 20 years later, still going to people that have cancer to their wakes.
[00:51:14]  Okay.
[00:51:15]  I don't want a nuclear bomb.
[00:51:17]  And I'm afraid every time I go through the Midtown Tunnel, I go over the Verrazano, I go over the Whitestone.
[00:51:23]  Do you know I look around, I panic when I'm in the Midtown, I'm saying, oh, God, if the water comes, you have no idea what New York has lived through if you haven't lived through it, okay?
[00:51:34]  I don't want that to happen again on American soil.
[00:51:39]  Guess what?
[00:51:39]  Trump is doing the right thing.
[00:51:42]  And I feel sorry for those servicemen.
[00:51:45]  Absolutely.
[00:51:47]  I mean, but they knew what they signed up for, and they're heroes.
[00:51:52]  And if we could knock this guy out, you know, if we could knock out the regime in Iran, then they didn't die in vain.
[00:52:02]  They died heroes.
[00:52:04]  And that's about it.
[00:52:05]  But the lady from Quorum, kudos to you too.
[00:52:09]  You hit it on the head.
[00:52:10]  Thank you.
[00:52:11]  All right, Gail.
[00:52:11]  And this is from CNN.
[00:52:15]  It says President Trump told CNN the big wave of the U.S. attack on Iran is yet to come.
[00:52:20]  Trump laid out his war objectives for reporters, saying he wanted to destroy Iran's missile capabilities, annihilate its Navy, end its nuclear ambitions, and stop it arming militant groups.
[00:52:32]  It says that Iran and its proxies are continuing to strike U.S. allies in the Gulf.
[00:52:38]  The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia hit by suspected Iranian drones, booms heard in Iraq, and sirens sounding over Bahrain.
[00:52:47]  Israel, meanwhile, is striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
[00:52:51]  Jamal in Dearborn, Michigan, you're on the line for Democrats.
[00:52:56]  You're on the air.
[00:52:58]  All right, good morning.
[00:52:59]  Thank you for taking the call.
[00:53:00]  I just wanted to say that the president went into this war without the authorization of Congress.
[00:53:10]  That's a violation of our Constitution.
[00:53:13]  I'm not so much opposed to war when it's for the right reasons.
[00:53:19]  I do believe there should be a separation of government and religion and politics.
[00:53:28]  But what is happening here and what has been happening in the Middle East for the past 40 years or so, there's one common thread through all of this.
[00:53:38]  And unfortunately, that runs through the state of Israel.
[00:53:42]  They told the U.S. and the American public for 20, 30 years that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
[00:53:49]  He had nuclear.
[00:53:51]  We all know history says that they went in, they killed over a million people, and there was no weapons of mass destruction.
[00:53:59]  They've been crying the same thing about Iran, that they're trying to get nukes, that we need to make sure that they don't get nukes.
[00:54:07]  No one in this world should have nukes.
[00:54:11]  That's one of the worst inventions of man.
[00:54:15]  The couple of times that they were used, there was devastation in Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
[00:54:20]  Look what happened to those people.
[00:54:21]  They're still paying the effects of it now.
[00:54:24]  But nobody mentions the fact that it's almost certain that the state of Israel has over 90 nuclear warheads.
[00:54:33]  It's okay.
[00:54:34]  Let's not be hypocritical.
[00:54:35]  It's okay for them to have nuclear warheads and be able to destroy anybody in the entire region, but it's not okay for anybody else to have nuclear warheads.
[00:54:46]  The hypocrisy is just too great.
[00:54:50]  And all these fallacies that we've been sold throughout the years, we fought in Afghanistan for no reason for 17 years, one of the longest wars we've had.

=== Nuclear Double Standards (05:49) ===

[00:55:03]  We went and destroyed Libya.
[00:55:07]  I mean, the list goes on and on and on.
[00:55:09]  And geopolitics is a lot more than what we're seeing.
[00:55:16]  This country was trading oil in something other than the dollar.
[00:55:22]  They're being punished.
[00:55:23]  Libya did the same thing.
[00:55:24]  They're being punished.
[00:55:26]  So it's, and there's other, Venezuela tried to do the same thing.
[00:55:31]  They, you know, they had their leader taken out.
[00:55:34]  All right.
[00:55:35]  Got it, Jamal.
[00:55:36]  And first from some lawmakers, Representative Nancy May says this.
[00:55:41]  The people of Iran celebrating.
[00:55:43]  Iranians in the United States celebrating.
[00:55:46]  The left whining.
[00:55:47]  Iranians are more pro-America than the left is.
[00:55:51]  And Representative Jim McGovern says Secretary Rubio's remarks are astonishing.
[00:55:55]  There was no imminent threat.
[00:55:57]  Instead, Netanyahu was about to attack Iran, forcing our hand by putting U.S. troops at risk of retaliation.
[00:56:03]  And Trump was complicit.
[00:56:05]  He went along with it all, starting a new forever war that nobody voted for.
[00:56:11]  And you can't see that one or that one.
[00:56:14]  That was Senator Dave McCormick.
[00:56:16]  This is Dennis in New York.
[00:56:19]  Republican line, you're on the air.
[00:56:22]  Good morning, Amy.
[00:56:24]  I think what Trump's doing is brilliant.
[00:56:27]  Right now, he's bombing Iran.
[00:56:28]  It's been terrorizing this regime in charge for 47 years.
[00:56:34]  I was around with the hostages.
[00:56:36]  They were holding 50 hostages, hundreds of military men in the region, being bombed and killed by Iranian proxies and that.
[00:56:46]  This is great.
[00:56:48]  Not to mention that they're bombing the drone bases that are supplying Russia in the Ukraine war.
[00:56:56]  20% of China gets their oil from Iran.
[00:57:01]  I mean, what he's doing right now is brilliant for national security for the U.S. Unlike the Democrats who want globalization, open borders, that's the big scary thing now.
[00:57:13]  Without the open borders, we don't know who came in from Iran.
[00:57:18]  So for the listeners out there, get educated before you call in and just ramble on about how bad this man is.
[00:57:27]  He saved our country and good things are coming.
[00:57:30]  Thank you, Amy.
[00:57:32]  And here's that post on X from Senator Dave McCormick, Republican Pennsylvania.
[00:57:37]  He says, 35 years ago, almost to the day I was in Iraq during the first Gulf War.
[00:57:41]  Today, Operation Epic Fury shows our military at its best, greatly reducing the threat Iran poses to the U.S. and our allies.
[00:57:49]  Iranians must choose their own destiny.
[00:57:51]  We stand with them.
[00:57:53]  Well, that's the time we've got for this segment.
[00:57:55]  There's more to come because later this morning we have semaphore politics reporter David Weigel.
[00:58:01]  He'll join us to discuss the start of the 2026 midterm election season with today's primaries in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas.
[00:58:09]  But first, after the break, we talk to Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group to discuss the latest on U.S. and Israeli combat operations against Iran and the future of the Iranian regime.
[00:58:20]  We'll be right back.
[00:58:26]  Best ideas and best practices can be found anywhere.
[00:58:29]  But we have to listen so we can govern better.
[00:58:31]  Democracy depends on heavy doses of civility.
[00:58:34]  You can fight and still be friendly.
[00:58:36]  Bridging the divide in American politics.
[00:58:39]  You know, you may not agree with the Dokran on everything, but you can find areas where you do agree.
[00:58:42]  He's a pretty likable guy as well.
[00:58:44]  Chris Koons and I are actually friends.
[00:58:45]  He votes wrong all the time, but we're actually friends.
[00:58:48]  A horrible secret that Scott and I have is that we actually respect each other.
[00:58:51]  We all don't hate each other.
[00:58:53]  You two actually kind of like each other.
[00:58:55]  These are the kinds of secrets we'd like to expose.
[00:58:57]  It's nice to be with a member who knows what they're talking about.
[00:59:00]  You guys did agree to the civility, all right?
[00:59:02]  He owes my son $10 from a bed for a year.
[00:59:05]  And he's never paid.
[00:59:06]  Fork it over.
[00:59:08]  That's fighting words right there.
[00:59:09]  Glad I'm not in charge for that.
[00:59:11]  I'm thrilled to be on the show with him.
[00:59:12]  There are not shows like this, right?
[00:59:14]  Incentivizing that relationship.
[00:59:17]  Ceasefire Friday nights on C-SPAN.
[00:59:24]  In a divided media world, one place brings Americans together.
[00:59:29]  According to a new MAGIT research report, nearly 90 million Americans turn to C-SPAN, and they're almost perfectly balanced.
[00:59:35]  28% conservative, 27% liberal or progressive, 41% moderate.
[00:59:42]  Republicans watching Democrats, Democrats watching Republicans, moderates watching all sides.
[00:59:48]  Because C-SPAN viewers want the facts straight from the source.
[00:59:52]  No commentary, no agenda, just democracy.
[00:59:55]  Unfiltered every day on the C-SPAN networks.
[01:00:00]  Washington Journal continues.
[01:00:04]  Welcome back.
[01:00:04]  Joining us to talk about U.S. and Israel combat operations against Iran is Ali Vaez.
[01:00:11]  He is the International Crisis Group Iran Project Director.
[01:00:14]  Ali, welcome to the program.
[01:00:16]  Great to be with you.
[01:00:17]  So can you just start by telling us about your role at the International Crisis Group and your background when it comes to Iran?
[01:00:26]  Well, the International Crisis Group is a conflict prevention organization working based on the concept that prevention is always better than cure.
[01:00:36]  Conflicts produce all sorts of instability, refugees, reconstruction, radicalization.
[01:00:45]  And it's always better to try to find solutions before war starts.
[01:00:49]  So that's the raison d'être of this organization.

=== Iran's Complex Revolution (15:06) ===

[01:00:53]  And my involvement in the 2015 nuclear deal was precisely to advance that goal, that a diplomatic solution had more staying power and sustainability than trying to pursue a military option.
[01:01:09]  And I think we have actually seen this play out now.
[01:01:12]  You know, in 2015, the U.S. and its allies agreed to a deal with Iran that put Iran's nuclear program in a box for 15 years without firing a shot and at no cost to U.S. taxpayers.
[01:01:26]  Last year, President Trump bombed Iran's nuclear facilities and told us that the program had been obliterated.
[01:01:33]  Eight months later, he's bombing Iran again out of fear that Iran could have a nuclear weapon.
[01:01:39]  And this has already cost U.S. taxpayers at least a billion dollars.
[01:01:43]  All right, so Ali, let's go back, if you don't mind, to the 2015 agreement during the Obama administration.
[01:01:48]  Since you were involved in that, I want to ask a little bit more about that.
[01:01:53]  Was Iran fully transparent when it came to their nuclear program during that agreement, during the time that that agreement was in place?
[01:02:01]  Did they abide by all the parameters of that agreement?
[01:02:07]  It's a very good question because there is an international UN agency, a technical organization called the International Atomic Energy Organization, which was verifying Iran's compliance with its commitments.
[01:02:20]  So we didn't need to trust the Iranians.
[01:02:23]  This was mistrust and verify.
[01:02:26]  And the IAA was doing the verification on the ground.
[01:02:30]  And Iranians did comply with all of their commitments for even a year after the U.S. withdrew from the agreement and reimposed sanctions on them.
[01:02:41]  The criticism of that agreement also was that the U.S. essentially gave Iran $150 billion.
[01:02:49]  Now, this wasn't American money.
[01:02:50]  This was unfreezing their own money.
[01:02:53]  However, they could still use that money for all kinds of nefarious purposes around the Middle East, including funding proxy groups.
[01:03:03]  What do you say to that?
[01:03:05]  Look, I think anyone who's in the deal-making business of any kind understands that only deals can work in which both sides would benefit.
[01:03:14]  It's hard to imagine that we could get Iran to subject its nuclear program to the most transparent and rigorous inspection mechanism implemented anywhere in the world and accept limits that no other country has accepted on its nuclear activities for a long period of time in return for nothing.
[01:03:32]  Of course, the U.S. did allow Iran to access its own money, but the reality is that that was always the core of a bargain: nuclear restrictions and transparency measures in return for sanctions relief and economic incentives for the Iranians.
[01:03:52]  So let's come to today, Ali.
[01:03:54]  What is the current situation, the current domestic situation in Iran?
[01:03:58]  Who is running the country right now?
[01:04:02]  Look, after the Supreme Leader was killed in the opening act of this conflict, there is now a three-member council which has assumed the responsibilities of his office.
[01:04:12]  That council is comprised of the president, the head of the judiciary, and a member of the Guardian Council.
[01:04:22]  But that's not really where the power lies.
[01:04:25]  The power lies with two individuals: Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, who is a former Speaker of the Parliament, and the current Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Bager Khali Buff.
[01:04:39]  Both of these individuals are former commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and have long experience in statecraft.
[01:04:47]  It appears that Larijani is running the day-to-day management of the country and its strategic direction, and Khalil Buff is running the war effort.
[01:04:58]  And as far as we know, those two gentlemen are still alive and are still active and are calling the shots right now in Iran?
[01:05:05]  That seems to be the case.
[01:05:07]  Of course, at some point, the system would have to choose, if it survives, of course, it has to choose a successor for the Supreme Leader.
[01:05:15]  But my sense is that that is unlikely to happen until the dust on this conflict settles, because otherwise they would be painting a target on that individual's back.
[01:05:26]  Well, let's talk about the possibility of regime change.
[01:05:28]  This is what you said in an article you wrote for foreign policy titled Trump's Iran Gamble.
[01:05:35]  You said this about regime change: quote: Bombs can degrade infrastructure, they can weaken capabilities and eliminate leaders, but they do not manufacture, sorry, they do not manufacture organized political alternatives.
[01:05:51]  The Iranian public is unarmed, fragmented, and facing one of the most securitized states in the region.
[01:05:57]  Even a weakened regime retains coercive institutions, the revolutionary guards, intelligence services, internal security forces that are built precisely from moments like this.
[01:06:09]  Explain that.
[01:06:12]  Yeah, look, the Revolutionary Guards, which is primarily responsible for repressing the Iranian people, is about 200,000 strong.
[01:06:21]  It has about a million strong militia, in addition to additional security forces.
[01:06:27]  So we're talking about one to two million men with arms.
[01:06:32]  These are ideological hard men who have no hesitation to kill.
[01:06:37]  We saw in the crackdown against the protests in January that this regime killed about a few thousand people of its own people, right?
[01:06:45]  So Ali, just to clarify, the IRGC is separate from the Iranian military?
[01:06:52]  It is.
[01:06:52]  It is a parallel army.
[01:06:53]  Its task is really preservation of the regime.
[01:06:57]  in contrast to the army whose task is to maintain the country's territorial integrity.
[01:07:03]  And the IRGC is under the direct control of the supreme leader, whoever that might eventually be?
[01:07:11]  Technically speaking, the supreme leader was the commander-in-chief of the IRGC.
[01:07:15]  That's true, but IRGC has become so powerful now that it is basically in charge of its own destiny.
[01:07:23]  And the point I was trying to make in that article is that the massacre that the IRGC committed against the Iranian people in January was done with small arms.
[01:07:34]  It wasn't done with tanks and fighter jets like in Syria in 2011 to 2024.
[01:07:41]  It was done with small arms.
[01:07:43]  And if you are to completely neutralize a force of this size, only from the air, without forces on the ground, without boots on the ground, it requires destroying huge parts of the country of 92 million.
[01:07:55]  And even then, the Iranian population are unarmed, leaderless, and would not be able to face the remnants of this regime who are still able and willing to kill to remain in power.
[01:08:10]  Ali Vaez is with us, joining us during the segment, and we'll take your calls so you can start calling in now if you've got a question for him.
[01:08:17]  Democrats are on 202748-8000.
[01:08:20]  Republicans 202-748-8001.
[01:08:24]  And Independents 202-748-8002.
[01:08:27]  We'll get to your calls very soon.
[01:08:29]  Ali, you mentioned when talking about the IRGC, what kind of role have they played historically since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 attacking either Americans or American interests overseas?
[01:08:46]  Well, the IRGC basically morphed from a ragtag militia which started learning the art of war during the Iran-Iraq war to a massive bureaucracy that has an economic conglomerate, it has TV, it has social media networks, it is involved in all aspects of life in Iran.
[01:09:12]  And of course, it has an expeditionary force that operates outside of Iran's borders.
[01:09:17]  And it created this network of proxies and militias in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen, to try to project power and deter an attack on Iranian soil.
[01:09:31]  Of course, in the process, they did arm groups that targeted Americans, whether that was Hezbollah in 1983 killing 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut, or hundreds of Americans who fell victim to IEDs that the Revolutionary Guards provided to Iraqi militias.
[01:09:52]  And even the Houthis in Yemen today, if they fire rockets towards Israel or towards the U.S. naval assets in the region, they are empowered by Iran and by the Revolutionary Guards.
[01:10:06]  Ali, you mentioned that the opposition is leaderless.
[01:10:10]  It is unarmed.
[01:10:13]  What are the chances that there could be a democratic transition in Iran?
[01:10:20]  Or are we going to just end up with a status quo once all the bombs become silent again?
[01:10:27]  So look, as much as I hope that what President Trump said could materialize, which is that after this war ends, Iranian people could come to the streets and take over the institutions of governance.
[01:10:41]  Again, I think it's a mirage.
[01:10:43]  It's very unrealistic.
[01:10:45]  Everywhere else that we've done regime change, there have either been American boots on the ground or indigenous boots on the ground.
[01:10:53]  But in this case, there are none.
[01:10:56]  And so I don't see the possibility of a transition to any kind of Jeffersonian democracy.
[01:11:02]  The likelier scenario is that either some of the remnants of this regime would try to reach out to the Trump administration and end up with a Venezuela type of scenario in which they would agree to subjugate themselves to the United States in order to preserve power,
[01:11:20]  or that Iran would descend into chaos and civil strife because Iran has the same fault lines, ethno-sectarian fault lines that have resulted in civil wars in countries like Syria, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon, Iraq, and so on.
[01:11:34]  All right, let's talk to callers.
[01:11:36]  We'll start with Carl.
[01:11:37]  He's from Indian Trail, North Carolina, Independent Line.
[01:11:41]  Go ahead, Carl.
[01:11:43]  Yeah, I was just wondering, why are we expending all of our military resources in an area that really we've had really bad history with, i.e. Iraq war.
[01:12:02]  And so we should be in Asian Pacific because that's where the next hot area is going to be.
[01:12:09]  And we're spending a lot of Americans' resources and treasure in this area.
[01:12:16]  And it's going to be quite difficult to rebuild when we have a deficit that it's outrageous.
[01:12:24]  And I just think this is really bad for America.
[01:12:31]  Ali, you mentioned the price and the national debt.
[01:12:35]  Do you have an idea of how much this is costing on a daily basis?
[01:12:40]  Well, the deployment of U.S. forces to the region did cost around $600 million.
[01:12:48]  And of course, now that the campaign has started and we're only in day four of it, it is definitely more than a billion.
[01:12:56]  And who knows how much it will be by the time that it ends?
[01:13:02]  Day three saw Kuwait mistakenly shooting down three American F-15s, each costing tens of millions of dollars.
[01:13:12]  So this is definitely a costly undertaking.
[01:13:15]  And, you know, all of it could have been worth it if it was clear what the objective here is and what would be the measure of American success.
[01:13:25]  If we create another failed state in that region, it will create the kind of radicalization that we would be paying a price for for years to come.
[01:13:36]  And if this war spills over into a wider regional conflagration, again, the price that even ordinary American citizens would pay would continue to mount.
[01:13:46]  Already gas prices are jacking up.
[01:13:50]  And again, this could go from bad to worse.
[01:13:54]  Well, when you mentioned clear objectives, the administration has been very clear that they want to end Iran's nuclear ambitions.
[01:14:02]  Do you think that that's a goal that they can actually reach?
[01:14:08]  Well, as I told you, we had already achieved that objective without firing a single shot.
[01:14:14]  In 2015, we did have a nuclear deal with them that put their program in a box.
[01:14:21]  Now, yes, as every other negotiated agreement, it wasn't ideal, but the military option here also doesn't provide a solution.
[01:14:30]  As I said, the Iranians have the know-how, the machinery.
[01:14:34]  We can't bomb that away.
[01:14:36]  They know how to do this, and if they're determined, we have to basically every six months go and bomb them.
[01:14:42]  It's not really a solution.
[01:14:44]  Diplomacy provides a much cheaper and more sustainable solution here.
[01:14:50]  Let's talk to Angela in Sylmar, California, Independent Outline.
[01:14:54]  Good morning, Angela.
[01:14:55]  Good morning, and good morning to your guests.
[01:14:58]  And I have a question for your guests.
[01:15:02]  My nephew was in the Iraq war.
[01:15:05]  He was in a tanker.
[01:15:06]  He was only a child.
[01:15:08]  And they told him it was going to be an exercise, and they put him out there and told him they were in live combat.
[01:15:13]  He said that they have a thermal weapon that can incinerate people and will not do anything to the buildings.
[01:15:23]  I don't understand why we have to bomb.
[01:15:26]  I think there's something else going on here.
[01:15:29]  And to get rid of Iran the way they're talking, you have to drop a nuclear bomb.
[01:15:34]  And the United States is the only one who has dropped a nuclear bomb.
[01:15:38]  And I know China and Korea are sitting back and watching this.
[01:15:42]  And we're sitting in the middle of the water.
[01:15:44]  So I don't think Iran has a missile that can reach us, but China and Korea does.
[01:15:50]  So what's going on with this thermal weapon that they have that can kill people and not touch the buildings?
[01:15:57]  Thank you.

=== Cyber Threats and Agreements (15:35) ===

[01:16:00]  Ali, any idea about that?
[01:16:03]  I'm not privy to that kind of information of what kind of weaponry the U.S. has in its position.
[01:16:09]  Of course, as the most advanced army in the world, the U.S. has all sorts of technology that always can take its adversaries by surprise.
[01:16:21]  But I think Angelo's point about nuclear weapons was pretty accurate.
[01:16:26]  Here we have a case of two nuclear weapon states, the United States and Israel, bombing a country that didn't have nuclear weapons.
[01:16:36]  And even last year, the president claimed that we had destroyed the nuclear program that it had.
[01:16:45]  So that seems, in my view, more of a pretext for this war than a real reason.
[01:16:51]  I mean, Secretary Rubio said yesterday that the reason that the U.S. entered this war was because Israel was going to bomb Iran because of its ballistic missile capabilities.
[01:17:02]  And the U.S. was, because the U.S. knew that Iranians would retaliate, the U.S. followed Israel into this conflict.
[01:17:10]  So the reason doesn't really even seem to be Iran's nuclear program.
[01:17:15]  We got this question from Patricia in Irvine, California.
[01:17:19]  She wants to know: is the answer to arm Iranian civilians?
[01:17:23]  What do you think of the United States sending arms to Iranians?
[01:17:30]  That is a very dangerous option because, as I said, Iran has the same fault lines that have resulted in civil war elsewhere in the region.
[01:17:40]  The Islamic Republic has mistreated its minorities, whether they're the Kurds or the Baluchis or the Azeris or the Arabs, more than anybody else among its citizenry.
[01:17:52]  And so there's a lot of anger and frustration within those segments of the society.
[01:17:57]  If they are armed and we end up with a civil war in a country of 92 million, it would have implications that would be very difficult for us to control.
[01:18:09]  And also remember, the U.S. doesn't have necessarily a good experience with this kind of activities.
[01:18:15]  Of course, we armed the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s.
[01:18:23]  And then that was eventually the seed that was sowed that turned into al-Qaeda and they started targeting America as of 9-11.
[01:18:35]  Dave, Adrian, Michigan, Republican line, you're on the air.
[01:18:41]  Did I call Republicans?
[01:18:43]  You are on the Republican line, it looks like.
[01:18:47]  I'm a Democrat, and I'm sorry.
[01:18:49]  I can't wait to call back.
[01:18:50]  Yes, can you call back, Dave, just to keep it up?
[01:18:53]  I can.
[01:18:53]  I can.
[01:18:54]  I have the wrong number.
[01:18:56]  I'm sorry.
[01:18:57]  It's okay.
[01:18:57]  We'll talk to you soon.
[01:18:58]  Louise in Brooklyn, Line for Democrats.
[01:19:00]  You're on the air.
[01:19:02]  Good morning, everyone.
[01:19:03]  First of all, I want to give my condolence to the families of the soldiers who lost in Iraq.
[01:19:09]  My question is this.
[01:19:10]  After the 90 days that Trump can declare war, then does Congress have the right to declare war or not?
[01:19:21]  Ali, would you like to respond to that?
[01:19:25]  It's a very important point because this war is, we have to be clear about it.
[01:19:31]  It doesn't have the consent of Congress.
[01:19:34]  The president would have to make a case to the American people about why we need to go to war, what are the objectives, what's the measure of success, and none of that has happened.
[01:19:44]  In addition to the fact that this is against international law, because there was no imminent threat from Iran.
[01:19:51]  As I said, even according to Secretary Rubio, the imminent threat was that Iran was going to retaliate for an Israeli act of aggression against itself.
[01:20:02]  So Iranians were not starting this war.
[01:20:05]  They didn't have nuclear weapons.
[01:20:07]  They were not even close to it.
[01:20:09]  Or their missiles, according to Defense Intelligence Agency, would not be able to reach the United States before 2030.
[01:20:18]  So there was no imminent threat, and this war is illegal on every front.
[01:20:23]  Sue in New Jersey is asking you, do you believe diplomatic measures can still work?
[01:20:30]  It's a very good question.
[01:20:31]  It's very tough to see at this moment any kind of exit ramp because both sides have defined objectives that are absolutely maximalist.
[01:20:41]  We want to completely destroy Iran's nuclear missile program and repressive capacity of this regime.
[01:20:49]  That means, as I said, destroying huge parts of the country, which, as president suggested, could take several weeks of massive American bombardments.
[01:21:00]  The Iranians want to survive, and in order to survive, they're pursuing a scorched earth policy.
[01:21:07]  They have already put the entire region ablaze.
[01:21:11]  They shut off the straight and foremost, through which about 20% of global energy exports pass every day.
[01:21:19]  And they're willing to even sow more chaos throughout the region in order to get the U.S. to back off.
[01:21:25]  So at this, and by the way, diplomacy has proven to be totally unreliable.
[01:21:32]  President Trump withdrew from a negotiated agreement with Iran in 2018.
[01:21:36]  He bombed Iran in the middle of negotiations last year.
[01:21:39]  And he has bombed Iran in the middle of negotiations this year.
[01:21:41]  So Iran has been burned three times by President Trump.
[01:21:45]  And it's hard to imagine that they would continue to see the United States as a reliable negotiating partner.
[01:21:51]  Nelson, Hollywood, Florida, Republican line, you're on with Ali Vaez.
[01:21:56]  Good morning.
[01:21:57]  Can you hear me okay?
[01:21:59]  Yes, go right ahead.
[01:22:00]  Okay, Mr. Vaez, I'd like to point out that the Negotiations of 2015 that you're defending would have allowed Iran to eventually have a free hand in doing whatever it wants after 11 years.
[01:22:16]  I remember that specifically.
[01:22:18]  It's one reason why Netanyahu came to the United States at that time and pleaded with the U.S. government not to get into that kind of a deal.
[01:22:27]  It's also the main reason why President Trump got out of it because he knew it was a lousy deal.
[01:22:32]  Second of all, I'd like to point out to you, sir, that despite the negotiations that you are talking about, it is Iran that continued to assist the terrorist organizations that have constantly been hitting not just Israel, but also other parts of the world.
[01:22:58]  A good example would be the murder of Jews in Buenos Aires, Argentina, about 20 years ago.
[01:23:07]  You probably don't remember that, but I do.
[01:23:11]  This country has murdered so many people that they're up there with the SS of Nazi Germany as far as random indiscriminate murder is concerned to anybody that doesn't agree with them.
[01:23:27]  So you seem to be pretty knowledgeable in many things, but what you're suggesting is, in my opinion, is exactly what we have been doing all along,
[01:23:41]  with the results being the Hamas attacking Israel just a couple of years ago with the deaths of so many people resulting in this continuous war in Gaza.
[01:23:59]  And so, Nelson, let's get your response.
[01:24:05]  Look, Nelson is making very important points, but let me just add a few layers of nuance to it.
[01:24:13]  So, he's absolutely right.
[01:24:15]  The nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 was a time-bound agreement, but almost all arms control agreements are.
[01:24:21]  All the agreements we had with the Soviet Union were for 10 years and they were renewable.
[01:24:27]  So, there is no deal in this field that is forever.
[01:24:31]  The question always was: did we need to really get out of that deal, destroy trust, and then end up where we are today?
[01:24:39]  Or could we go back to the Iranians and say, let's renew the agreement or let's add to it, let's make it a better for better kind of arrangement for both of us?
[01:24:48]  And of course, that would have been a much better approach than tearing an agreement that we had committed to.
[01:24:53]  It doesn't matter which administration, it was signed in the name of the United States.
[01:24:57]  And we could have built on it instead of destroying it and again ending up in the middle of a war that, as I said, doesn't provide with a long-term solution.
[01:25:06]  That's number one.
[01:25:07]  Number two, of course, the Iranian regime, we had, in terms of the nuclear deal, a narrow transactional agreement on just one issue.
[01:25:15]  But again, if we had worked on that agreement, had made it productive, then we could have started addressing other dimensions.
[01:25:24]  And again, as was the case in the Soviet Union, we could have even confronted them on other fronts while we had agreements with them on some issues like on the nuclear issue.
[01:25:35]  These two are not contradictory, but we have now ended up in a situation that we're breaking a country of 92 million and we're going to own the consequences.
[01:25:45]  MLB posted this on X. How good is Iran at cyber espionage or other nefarious activities?
[01:25:52]  Should we be worried about this now?
[01:25:56]  So the Iranians are among the top five when it gets to cyber attacks and cyber capabilities after of course the US and Israel and China and Russia but they have important capabilities.
[01:26:11]  Now they have shut off their own internet since the beginning of this war in order to prevent Israel and the US from being able to conduct cyber attacks against them.
[01:26:21]  What I'm worried about the most to be honest with you is because of the kind of radicalization that high number of casualties and also killing of religious leaders could produce is lone wolf kind of operations similar to what we saw in Austin, Texas yesterday.
[01:26:41]  That worries me more than cyber attacks at this moment.
[01:26:46]  Michael in Wheeling, West Virginia, Democrat, you're on with Ali Vaez.
[01:26:50]  Go ahead.
[01:26:51]  Hi, Ali.
[01:26:52]  First, I want to thank you for your knowledge and giving out some information for what's currently occurring in Iran with their regime.
[01:27:05]  My point is we had a congressman, you showed a congressman earlier, say, why now?
[01:27:12]  Well, why now is because Israel has Gaza and Gaza has all that beachfront property and you're not going to get people to invest in that if you have Iran able to throw a bomb over that way.
[01:27:29]  So to me, I only see here that this is all about business.
[01:27:34]  It has nothing to do with America being threatened.
[01:27:37]  I've never felt threatened with Iran.
[01:27:39]  I'm 67.
[01:27:41]  My whole life, I never had a problem.
[01:27:43]  What we know about 911 was it was done by the Saudis, not by any other country.
[01:27:51]  So I wanted to thank you.
[01:27:53]  And what do you think about it making it a better investment for Gaza?
[01:28:01]  Well, it's an interesting angle.
[01:28:03]  But look, the reality is that even if Iran is not there to support whoever wants to undermine the plans that the Trump administration has in Gaza, there will always be someone else, right?
[01:28:16]  Because the key point here is that as long as dignity of the Palestinians is not observed, they will continue to resist and fight back.
[01:28:27]  And there will always be someone who would fund those activities.
[01:28:32]  One thing that one has to remember, you know, President Trump had put a deal on the table for the Iranians.
[01:28:39]  He has put similar options on the table for the Gazans, which basically amount to capitulation and to subjugation.
[01:28:47]  That creates anger, hatred, plus frustration.
[01:28:51]  And then that takes different forms.
[01:28:53]  When it boils over, it turns into terrorism and violence.
[01:28:58]  So this is why unfair deals beget unfaithful and angry dealmakers.
[01:29:04]  And if we want to stop this pattern, at some point we have to stop the cycle of violence and pursue solutions that are mutually beneficial and mutually tolerable.
[01:29:16]  Ali, what are the chances that Iran could end its support for proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas?
[01:29:25]  So this is one of the ironies of this moment because Israel after October 7th had significantly degraded Iranian proxies in the region.
[01:29:36]  Hamas almost completely destroyed.
[01:29:39]  Hezbollah, very much weak and also incapable of receiving Iranian support because the fall of the Assad regime in Syria meant that Iran lost the logistical route that it had to Hezbollah.
[01:29:53]  So, the problem had resolved itself to a great extent at the time that Israel and the US decided to go after Iran.
[01:30:04]  And I do believe that if a fair and equitable deal was put on the table, it would have been possible to also get the Iranians to agree to stop arming or financing these groups because, again, arming them is no longer really an option that is possible physically for the Iranians.
[01:30:22]  And financing them, given how broke the Iranian system has become, is also not no longer affordable for them.
[01:30:30]  But if there was a deal, there would be financial incentives and there would be sanctions relief, and they would maybe have the finances to start supporting those nefarious actors again.
[01:30:43]  That is true, although there are mechanisms that could have been put in place.
[01:30:47]  For instance, in 2023, we did a prisoner swap deal with the Iranians, and as part of it, we also released $6 billion of their assets, moved it from South Korea to Qatar.
[01:31:01]  And in Doha, we created a so-called humanitarian channel through a bank that is monitored by the U.S. Treasury Department.
[01:31:11]  And we had to approve every single transaction that the Iranians wanted to do to buy food and medicine and medical equipment, which are exempt from U.S. sanctions.
[01:31:20]  But we had this oversight mechanism.
[01:31:22]  So again, diplomacy can always provide solutions.
[01:31:26]  They're not perfect.
[01:31:27]  They require a lot of patience, but they are much less costly and much more predictable.

=== Wiping Israel Off the Map? (07:22) ===

[01:31:35]  Frank in Utah on the line for independence.
[01:31:37]  You're on the air, Frank.
[01:31:40]  Thank you.
[01:31:41]  I've been watching this for 46 years.
[01:31:44]  I'm 80 years old.
[01:31:45]  I watched every bit of it.
[01:31:47]  It was well televised when it happened back in 1979 when the revolution happened.
[01:31:53]  Jimmy Carter just sat there and wouldn't do a thing, wanted to wait him out.
[01:31:58]  You can't wait these people out.
[01:32:00]  You have to do something.
[01:32:02]  Even Ronald Reagan, when he came in and forced them to give up the hostages, had a perfect opportunity to take them out.
[01:32:09]  And they weren't as well equipped back then.
[01:32:13]  This is a perfect time to do it.
[01:32:15]  I can't stand Trump for many reasons, but I'm 100% with him on this issue.
[01:32:22]  And he's got to keep pounding them and keep pounding them and help the millions of people over there who wanted to have a decent country.
[01:32:31]  These people over in Iran are not Muslim hillbillies like Afghanistan.
[01:32:36]  I think they can put together a viable government and can bring a lot of peace to the region over there and stop this out-of-control Iranian government that's in there now, if you can call them a government.
[01:32:52]  All they are is well-organized terrorists wreaking havoc around the world.
[01:32:58]  I think what your guest is doing is trying to make excuses to keep these terrorists in place.
[01:33:05]  All right.
[01:33:05]  Well, let's ask him.
[01:33:06]  Thanks, Frank.
[01:33:07]  Go ahead, Ali.
[01:33:09]  Look, I can't wait to see the back of this regime so that I can also visit my family in Iran, where I haven't been able to go back.
[01:33:20]  But the reality is that it's always a question of what's the best path.
[01:33:24]  There is a direct line between the 1979 revolution and the hostage crisis that he mentioned and the 1953 coup that we organized to topple the democratically elected government of Iran.
[01:33:38]  So sometimes these things have a long tail.
[01:33:40]  And when we go into countries, we break things, we kill people, we kill a lot of innocent people.
[01:33:46]  It doesn't always end well.
[01:33:47]  I mean, I remind you that we spent 20 years and $2 trillion in Afghanistan to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.
[01:33:56]  And so, you know, again, we have a huge hammer in our hands, which is the U.S. military might.
[01:34:02]  But not every problem in the world is a name.
[01:34:06]  Mike in U.S. Virgin Islands, Democrat, you're on the air.
[01:34:11]  Yeah, more is you.
[01:34:12]  My thing is basically this.
[01:34:13]  Where are we voting for people as president who can't negotiate with people?
[01:34:17]  You know what I'm saying?
[01:34:18]  Nobody should run any country.
[01:34:19]  What is here?
[01:34:20]  Afghanistan, Iran, or any place where they can't get together and peacefully talk.
[01:34:25]  You know, they're sending our children and their children out to lose their likes.
[01:34:29]  Trump is not sending his children out.
[01:34:31]  The vice president is not sending his children out.
[01:34:33]  None of them are sending their children out.
[01:34:35]  Why don't they send ICE over to Afghanistan?
[01:34:38]  My thing basically is this.
[01:34:40]  You go back to Woodrow Wilson in 1913, one of the biggest racist presidents you ever had.
[01:34:46]  He gave basically the money printing in the United States to somebody else outside the country.
[01:34:52]  Now, America is controlled by whom?
[01:34:55]  They're controlled by Israel.
[01:34:57]  The Mossad.
[01:34:59]  No, I could sit from right here and look at Jeffrey Epstein's island.
[01:35:03]  And the sad part about it is, guess what happened?
[01:35:06]  He's been controlling the politics of the United States, not the people that go out to vote.
[01:35:10]  I live in the United States, Virginia.
[01:35:12]  We got a delegate to Congress.
[01:35:14]  She can't even vote.
[01:35:15]  She's just symbolic.
[01:35:17]  I'm basically endorsing a guy here in Brazil by the name of Shelly Moorhead from St. Croix.
[01:35:23]  My thing is basically this.
[01:35:25]  They got to stop doing what they're doing.
[01:35:27]  These guys are wamongos.
[01:35:29]  All they're doing is going out there and having the military complex make more money when you got homeless people in the United States and it's protectorate.
[01:35:38]  All right, Mike, and let's get Eric in on from Ocean City, New Jersey, Republican.
[01:35:43]  Go ahead, Eric.
[01:35:45]  Yes, the elephant in the room this morning is the fact that Israel never calls for wiping Iran off the map.
[01:35:52]  What is it about the Iranian regime, this Shia Messiah, end of times regime that has to have Israel off the map?
[01:36:01]  Your guest talks very nicely about, oh, they're not showing dignity to the Palestinians.
[01:36:07]  They can't make a nice agreement with them.
[01:36:09]  But meanwhile, how does he account for Iran's sentiment that they want to wipe this country off the map?
[01:36:15]  All right.
[01:36:15]  Go ahead, Ali.
[01:36:17]  Well, the Iranian revolutionary system had a lot of hot air in the beginning and developed all of these slogans of wiping Israel off the map.
[01:36:29]  But isn't it more than a slogan, Ali?
[01:36:31]  Isn't it in the Constitution?
[01:36:34]  I don't think wiping Israel off the map is in the Constitution, but it is supporting Palestinians and other people who are suffering under subjugation.
[01:36:45]  That is in the Iranian Constitution.
[01:36:46]  But if the Iranian Constitution, by the way, was fully complied by, it would not have been such an authoritarian state.
[01:36:55]  The point I want to make is, don't look at their slogans.
[01:36:58]  Look at what they had done.
[01:37:00]  What they had done was that they had created headaches for Israel, but they would never were able to pose an existential threat to Israel.
[01:37:08]  It's 47 years into this regime, and Israel is stronger than ever before.
[01:37:14]  And Iran, of course, is not a nuclear weapon state.
[01:37:18]  Israel is, and could not really pose an existential threat to Israel.
[01:37:24]  So yes, I do agree that Iran posed a threat to Israel, not an existential one, because Israel is the biggest military power in that part of the world, and of course, backed by the world's sole superpower.
[01:37:36]  We are not disputing about the threat Iran poses to the U.S. and its allies in the region.
[01:37:43]  The question here is what is the best approach?
[01:37:46]  And my point is we've repeatedly tried to find military solutions to these complicated problems.
[01:37:53]  And in that part of the world, it has almost always never worked for us.
[01:37:58]  And before you go, Ali, I just want to ask you about your thoughts on Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran as a transitional leader.
[01:38:07]  He wrote a piece in the Washington Post where he says, many Iranians, often despite facing bullets, have called on me to lead this transition.
[01:38:16]  What do you think of that and how much support he might have?
[01:38:20]  It is true that there is more and more support for the former crown prince, especially within the diaspora, but also to a certain extent back in Iran.
[01:38:31]  The real problem is that we don't know the extent of that support.
[01:38:35]  And he also doesn't have any organizational capacity on the ground.
[01:38:39]  It is very difficult to do these things and to manage a transition or a revolutionary upheaval and take over the task of governance if you don't have a ground game.
[01:38:49]  And he doesn't seem to have one.
[01:38:51]  All right, that's Ali Vaez.
[01:38:53]  He is Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group.

=== Go-Go Music Lives On (03:14) ===

[01:38:57]  You can find out more about them at crisisgroup.org.
[01:39:01]  Thanks so much for joining us today.
[01:39:02]  My pleasure.
[01:39:04]  Later this morning on the Washington Journal, we're joined by Semaphore politics reporter David Weigel.
[01:39:09]  He will talk about the 2026 midterm election season with today's primaries in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas.
[01:39:17]  But first, right after the break, it's open forum.
[01:39:19]  Start calling in now.
[01:39:20]  202-748-8000.
[01:39:22]  Republicans 202-748-8001.
[01:39:25]  And Independents 202-748-8002.
[01:39:29]  We'll be right back.
[01:39:34]  C-SPAN, official media partner of America 250, commemorating 250 years of American democracy.
[01:39:41]  America 250 is traveling the country to honor the voices that define our nation.
[01:39:45]  Stories of identity, service, and community.
[01:39:48]  Here's one of them.
[01:39:50]  Coming from a religious black background, my mom always told us, put God first, whatever you do, and he'll direct your path.
[01:39:58]  He had five songs in the top ten.
[01:40:01]  Show some love for my man Sugar Bear.
[01:40:03]  And that's what's going on now.
[01:40:05]  That's why I'm here today.
[01:40:06]  Yeah, let's do this.
[01:40:07]  Let's do this.
[01:40:26]  Go-go music is the sound of Washington, D.C. Period.
[01:40:35]  When you go to New York, you expect to hear a lot of hip-hop and rap.
[01:40:39]  You go to New Orleans, you're going to hear a lot of jazz.
[01:40:42]  So when you come to Washington, D.C., or the DMV, as we call it, you're going to hear a lot of Go-Go music.
[01:40:52]  This is our home.
[01:40:53]  This is our capital.
[01:40:55]  It's homegrown in Washington, D.C.
[01:40:57]  It's a party, a great party source of music.
[01:41:02]  Call and response.
[01:41:04]  You automatically become a part of it, but you got to see it live.
[01:41:08]  Hearing a recorded version of a Go-Go song, it don't really do nothing for you.
[01:41:12]  But if you see it live, then you can automatically embrace it.
[01:41:16]  Because Go-Go music is a live field.
[01:41:19]  You're right there with it.
[01:41:20]  You're right there with it.
[01:41:21]  And you can't stay still.
[01:41:24]  Especially when I look around the world by me traveling so many places, I can see that living in America has been a blessing to me.
[01:41:33]  People living in poverty, people are poor.
[01:41:35]  People don't have water.
[01:41:36]  They don't have clothes.
[01:41:37]  They don't have food and shelter.
[01:41:39]  I'm free.
[01:41:40]  So it means a lot to me.
[01:41:43]  Whatever your dream is, go get it.
[01:41:46]  Nobody can stop you but you.
[01:41:48]  Believe in yourself, apply yourself, and be the best you can be.
[01:41:52]  This is Sugar Bear.
[01:41:54]  This is our American story.

=== Trump's Enrichment Push (04:27) ===

[01:42:12]  Tonight kicks off C-SPAN's campaign 2026 primary coverage, live across the C-SPAN networks.
[01:42:19]  First up, North Carolina and Arkansas.
[01:42:22]  But all eyes are on Texas.
[01:42:24]  The Lone Star State could decide the balance of power in Washington, shaping control of the U.S. Senate and influencing redistricting battles that could redraw America's political map for years to come.
[01:42:36]  We'll also bring you high-stakes House and Governor's races across all three states.
[01:42:40]  Our live coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern.
[01:42:43]  Watch as voters in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas head to the polls.
[01:42:49]  Primary night on the C-SPAN networks.
[01:42:52]  Every moment, every result, every speech.
[01:42:55]  C-SPAN, bringing you democracy unfiltered.
[01:43:01]  Washington Journal continues.
[01:43:04]  Welcome back to Open Forum.
[01:43:06]  We are going to be taking your calls shortly, but here is something for your schedule.
[01:43:10]  This is an event coming just in about 20 minutes.
[01:43:13]  Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam will be testifying at an oversight hearing as the agency she heads, which is DHS, is partially shut down.
[01:43:22]  Secretary Noam is also expected to be asked about the recent mass shooting in Austin, Texas, and possible links to terrorism.
[01:43:30]  You can watch her testimony live from the Senate Judiciary Committee at 9 a.m.
[01:43:35]  So just about 20 minutes on C-SPAN 3.
[01:43:40]  That is also on our app, C-SPANNOW and online at c-SPAN.org.
[01:43:45]  Let's get to calls right away to Annie and Tampa, Line for Democrats.
[01:43:49]  Good morning.
[01:43:50]  Good morning.
[01:43:52]  Great calls this morning.
[01:43:54]  One caller just told Mr. Vaez that Iran kills and just gets rid of anyone that doesn't agree with them and attacks them and so forth.
[01:44:05]  That describes Trump perfectly.
[01:44:07]  So I'm sure he was talking about Trump just killing votes and everybody who doesn't is in his way or whatever.
[01:44:14]  Another caller said that business deals between war criminal Trump and war criminal Netanyahu cannot commence with Iran in the way.
[01:44:25]  So that's a really, really good point.
[01:44:28]  But my point is just for Republicans specifically, if Republicans could just grab a pen and jot this down, Trump killed the goodbyes and border security bill over two years ago.
[01:44:40]  Remember, Trump said he wanted to use it for his campaign.
[01:44:44]  Trump wanted to run on that issue and win on that issue.
[01:44:48]  And he did.
[01:44:49]  Remember, he called Marjorie Taylor Green and Matt Gates and all that and said, kill the bipartisan border security bill, kill it, because I want to use this chaos for my campaign.
[01:45:00]  Anyway, if Republicans could just look that up, if they don't remember, thank you for your time.
[01:45:05]  Let's take a look at Vice President Vance.
[01:45:08]  He was on Fox News yesterday and he talked about why President Trump decided to strike Iran.
[01:45:14]  And you saw evidence that they were still trying to enrich.
[01:45:20]  Not just that they're trying to enrich Jesse, and this is one of the almost comical elements of the diplomacy that we've been engaged in for the past month, the past few, the past year, I should say.
[01:45:30]  You know, Steve Witkoff, Marco Rubio, Jared Cushman, they did such a good job, such a deliberate job.
[01:45:36]  But the Iranians would come back to us, Jesse, and they'd say, well, having enrichment for civilian purposes, for energy purposes, is a matter of national pride.
[01:45:44]  And so we would say, okay, that's interesting.
[01:45:47]  But why are you building your enrichment facilities 70 feet underground?
[01:45:51]  And why are you enriching to a level that's way beyond civilian enrichment and is only useful if your goal is to build a nuclear bomb?
[01:45:59]  Nobody objects to the Iranians being able to build medical isotopes.
[01:46:04]  The objection is these enrichment facilities that are only useful for building a nuclear weapon.
[01:46:10]  Even some international organizations that usually don't agree with the United States were very clear that Iran's only purpose in building these underground, highly enriched facilities was to build a nuclear weapon.
[01:46:22]  It just doesn't pass the smell test for you to say that you want enrichment for like medical isotopes while at the same time trying to build a facility 70, 80 feet underground.
[01:46:35]  We're in open forum.
[01:46:36]  Let's go to Walter Butler, Indiana, Republican line.

=== Fact Find, Always Divided (03:56) ===

[01:46:40]  Hi, Walter.
[01:46:41]  Good morning, Darling.
[01:46:42]  Thanks for taking my call.
[01:46:43]  I appreciate it.
[01:46:44]  I'm sitting here and I'm an old combat veteran and I've been on this earth for 70 plus years and I realize that the only thing you can do is be the best person you can be.
[01:46:53]  We look to this government and everybody gets so ideological with the Republic and the Democrat.
[01:46:58]  Remember, these people aren't with you.
[01:47:01]  It's all about business and money.
[01:47:02]  You go to the polls, you vote, and you move on in life.
[01:47:05]  And we just have to learn that, like, if you want your politician to be a certain way, be that way.
[01:47:11]  Hold the door for somebody.
[01:47:12]  Be kind.
[01:47:13]  Laugh at yourself.
[01:47:14]  Laugh at others.
[01:47:15]  Turn off all your electronic devices in your pods and being screaming and yelling about things you can't change.
[01:47:21]  And be the person you want to be.
[01:47:24]  And whatever's going to be is going to be.
[01:47:25]  And I just find it as everybody gets so wound up, it's like a drug.
[01:47:30]  And then they go blah, blah, blah.
[01:47:31]  And then they yell, blah, blah, blah.
[01:47:33]  And they're miserable and angry people.
[01:47:34]  I got a cup of coffee.
[01:47:35]  I got a pond in the backyard with some geese in it.
[01:47:38]  And I'm golden.
[01:47:39]  And I know the difference between what you can do and you can't do.
[01:47:42]  So after you vote, that's it.
[01:47:43]  Your job there is done.
[01:47:44]  Move on.
[01:47:45]  And just take a breath.
[01:47:47]  And there's more that unites us than divides us.
[01:47:49]  And we just got to get rid of all of this.
[01:47:52]  Everybody has to be right.
[01:47:53]  It's okay to be wrong, and it's okay to say you're sorry.
[01:47:56]  Love people the way you want to be loved.
[01:47:57]  Treat people the way you want to be treated and have a great day.
[01:48:00]  And that's all you can do in life.
[01:48:01]  And I wish you a great day, and God bless you and your family, okay?
[01:48:04]  Thank you.
[01:48:05]  Mike, Maryland, Independent Line, you're on the air, Mike.
[01:48:09]  Oh, hi.
[01:48:10]  How are you?
[01:48:11]  Good.
[01:48:12]  I'd really like to thank that last caller.
[01:48:14]  That's an inspiring message.
[01:48:16]  We don't hear enough.
[01:48:18]  I called, though, because I wanted to thank your guest, Mr. Vaez, for reminding people about a little bit of the history of the situation in Iran.
[01:48:29]  I don't think he took us back far enough.
[01:48:31]  He went to 1953, that affair.
[01:48:36]  I think it's been referred to as the Ajax.
[01:48:41]  That's the overthrow of Mussadak, yes.
[01:48:44]  Yes, when they overthrew the Democratic elected government and put in the Shah, the puppet.
[01:48:53]  And it turned out that he was a cruel and oppressive leader, even though he looked like a modern society.
[01:48:59]  That's all well and good.
[01:49:00]  But if you go back farther, let's say 1916, the UK and their allies decided it would be a good idea to carve up the Middle East and make sure that the resources would be allocated quite favorably to the ruling elites.
[01:49:21]  And obviously, that wasn't working out very well for the people of Iran.
[01:49:27]  And I think that's why Mossadeh decided he wanted to get a bigger piece of it for his people.
[01:49:34]  And obviously, that didn't sit well with the, again, the elites.
[01:49:40]  And, you know, I guess what's going on.
[01:49:42]  So bring us to today, Mike.
[01:49:44]  I get the history.
[01:49:45]  There's a lot of history there.
[01:49:46]  So what are you thinking about for right now?
[01:49:49]  Well, for right now, I think it's kind of been that there's an asymmetry between the incentives for all the regular people, whether it's the Iranian people or the American people and the elites.
[01:50:12]  And even beyond that, there's the fact that we find ourselves always divided.
[01:50:20]  But again, I think that's more due to the asymmetries between people who find themselves with a lot of access and people who find themselves without a lot of access to resources, essentially.

=== Access Divide Dialogue (03:12) ===

[01:50:36]  All right.
[01:50:38]  I don't know that any of this conversation is going to have any long-term effect because it seems like if you look at the arc of history, people are still, you know, short-term, long-term, people are still, we're still talking about the same issues that always remain unresolved.
[01:51:03]  All right, Mike.
[01:51:04]  And El Jazeera is reporting that Iran's foreign minister suggests that a new supreme leader may be chosen within days.
[01:51:12]  That's El Jazeera reporting that.
[01:51:15]  And this is Jessica Wichita, Kansas.
[01:51:17]  Democrat, you're on the air, Jessica.
[01:51:20]  Good morning.
[01:51:21]  How are you?
[01:51:22]  Good.
[01:51:23]  I'd like to say a few words regarding the whole Iran situation.
[01:51:28]  My brother is in the National Guard.
[01:51:32]  He called me in here the other day because he is worried that he will have to be called up for war back.
[01:51:39]  It's quite frankly illegal and unconstitutional.
[01:51:43]  We need Congress, congressional approval in order to do this.
[01:51:49]  While, yes, I agree that the Isla Tolla was obviously a piece of shit and should have been killed a long time ago.
[01:51:57]  This close is not the way.
[01:51:59]  And a question for America.
[01:52:01]  I thought you guys said, you know, new forever wars.
[01:52:05]  How do you support something that you guys didn't want in the first place?
[01:52:09]  Thank you.
[01:52:10]  God bless you.
[01:52:11]  Have a good day.
[01:52:12]  Bye-bye.
[01:52:14]  Let's talk to Jody in Kentucky, Republican.
[01:52:18]  Hi, Jody.
[01:52:19]  Yes, ma'am.
[01:52:22]  I thank Bill Clayton and Hillary Clinton both lied the other day.
[01:52:29]  And I thank her making a big deal over Congresswoman Lauren Barber posting them videos because everyone at Demcrox was doing it too.
[01:52:44]  And if they're getting a chance for Congresswoman Lauren Barber, they need to send to me too, because I would have done the same thing.
[01:52:51]  So, Jody, we're going to be talking about those videos that came out of the depositions of Hillary and Bill Clinton.
[01:52:58]  They have been made public.
[01:53:00]  We've got them.
[01:53:01]  We have been airing them on C-SPAN across our networks and our platforms.
[01:53:07]  So we'll talk more about that later in the program.
[01:53:09]  So be sure to stay with us for that.
[01:53:11]  Regarding Congress, Punch Bowl News says Republicans back Trump's war on Iran.
[01:53:17]  It says that Republicans on Capitol Hill are about to give Trump a major boost, a green light to conduct a war against Iran without worrying about Congress.
[01:53:26]  It says it continues.
[01:53:29]  I'll show you more of that later.
[01:53:30]  But let's talk to Barbara first in Oklahoma, Independent Line.
[01:53:36]  Hi.
[01:53:37]  Hi.
[01:53:38]  I want to talk about three things.
[01:53:40]  So please don't hang up on me or tell me you're going to.
[01:53:44]  You hang up on me in the middle of what I'm saying every time I call.

=== Numbers Debunk Inflation Claims (03:57) ===

[01:53:48]  But first of all, there was no open border with Biden.
[01:53:53]  He did not have an open border, everyone.
[01:53:57]  He worked four months with our senator.
[01:54:00]  And finally got the border where everybody likes what would happen, and they got an agreement.
[01:54:06]  And everybody knows Trump messed it up and you keep skipping that and you keep saying he had an open border.
[01:54:13]  Biden did not have an open border and he did not have 9.8 inflation.
[01:54:18]  Trump did.
[01:54:19]  Trump handed him that inflation.
[01:54:22]  Biden brought it down to 2% and he handed it back at 2.
[01:54:28]  And y'all need to quit saying that Biden had the inflation.
[01:54:31]  He did not have the inflation you're saying.
[01:54:34]  He did not have that inflation during his, his presidency, during the four years.
[01:54:40]  He damn sure didn't.
[01:54:42]  He got that inflation from from Trump and he brought it down the whole four years.
[01:54:48]  He was bringing it down and that and he brought it down to two percent.
[01:54:53]  Please check on that.
[01:54:54]  Yes, I do want to check on that because it was that, high Barbara, during the, during the Biden presidency in February, when he had they hand, he handed it to him.
[01:55:05]  But you read that.
[01:55:06]  Go back to the headlines when he handed it back and it said he handed him the best economy in the world.
[01:55:14]  Everyone was jealous of Biden's economy.
[01:55:17]  Did you forget those headlines?
[01:55:20]  Yes, he had, he had.
[01:55:22]  Uh, all right Barbara, take a look.
[01:55:24]  This is fact check Biden's final numbers.
[01:55:27]  It says inflation.
[01:55:29]  Uh, the final numbers, final numbers of Joe Biden's full term, are nearly all in.
[01:55:33]  Here is our rundown.
[01:55:34]  Inflation roared back, shrinking the value of workers paychecks.
[01:55:37]  Consumer prices rose 21.5 percent.
[01:55:40]  Gasoline alone rose 31 percent after adjusting for inflation.
[01:55:45]  Private sector average weekly earnings shrank four percent.
[01:55:48]  Economy regained, millions of jobs lost during the coronavirus pandemic and around six million more.
[01:55:55]  Unemployment averaged 4.1 percent, well below the historical average.
[01:55:59]  Economy grew by at least 2.5 each year.
[01:56:03]  Real gross domestic product growth of 2.8 percent in 2024.
[01:56:08]  So here are all the numbers for you.
[01:56:10]  This is factcheck.org.
[01:56:12]  You can read about the entire Biden presidency.
[01:56:16]  But anyway, you said you had another point and that Russian hoax.
[01:56:21]  It was not a hoax.
[01:56:23]  If you remember, his whole cabinet went to jail.
[01:56:26]  There's 400 people, 400 and something people indicted in that rushing hoax.
[01:56:32]  Wreck yeah, wreck a wreck a hoax.
[01:56:34]  It was no hoax.
[01:56:36]  They all of his cabinet went to jail.
[01:56:39]  Do y'all remember that?
[01:56:40]  Oh no, we don't remember that, just like we don't remember the 9.8 inflation with with Trump and and the open border.
[01:56:48]  Y'all are just you.
[01:56:50]  That's why this is.
[01:56:51]  This is so messed up, because you all keep telling things that are that's an outright lie that that Biden had the bad it this and bad.
[01:57:01]  That Biden brought this busted economy back and that and that and handed it to Trump, and it was a really good economy that he handed to Trump.
[01:57:11]  Okay Barbara, Sorry, I got to show you this.
[01:57:15]  Okay, so this is from Texas AM University.
[01:57:21]  It's called the Private Enterprise Research Center.
[01:57:23]  The headline is inflation and wages from January of 2021 to January 2024, the record for the Biden administration.
[01:57:32]  And here it says inflation rose to hit 9% in June of 2022.
[01:57:39]  That's in the middle of Biden's presidency.
[01:57:42]  So I'm going to go ahead and hang up, Barbara, so I can get more callers in, okay?

=== Inflation's Rise During Biden (06:26) ===

[01:57:46]  You good?
[01:57:47]  What about the other two years?
[01:57:49]  Okay.
[01:57:49]  Richard in Maryland, line for Democrats.
[01:57:52]  Good morning.
[01:57:55]  Hello.
[01:57:57]  I'm like the lady that just got off the phone.
[01:57:59]  Don't hang up.
[01:58:01]  First of all, if we're honest about the Middle East, the Middle East is on fire, or Iran is supposed to be sponsoring terrorists.
[01:58:11]  It's because of the Israel situation, how they've treated the Palestinians.
[01:58:16]  You know, you put on it on TV.
[01:58:18]  I watch C-SPAN and MSNBC or MS-NOW.
[01:58:22]  I switch over to Fox.
[01:58:25]  If it wasn't an apartheid situation with the Palestinians in the Middle East, I think none of this would be happening.
[01:58:33]  And Iran wouldn't be sponsoring terrorists of course throughout the Middle East.
[01:58:38]  That's one of the questions.
[01:58:39]  Now, the other thing you said on C-SPAN, Jury and this other guy was over here back and forth, and Secretary of State was back and forth trying to negotiate something.
[01:58:55]  And in the meantime, Trump and Benjamin was plotting to bomb Iran.
[01:59:05]  So you have to look at, put everything in together.
[01:59:09]  And not only that, I like to be honest, tell both sides.
[01:59:17]  The Palestinians during the time, Hamas shouldn't have bomb killed the people like 125 or 1,200 people of Palestinians.
[01:59:29]  It was at the concert, blah, blah.
[01:59:30]  No, that was wrong.
[01:59:32]  But they turned around what did Israel do?
[01:59:34]  They killed about 45,000 of Palestinians, innocent ones, bomb hospitals, bomb schools, like Russia is doing in Ukraine.
[01:59:45]  All right.
[01:59:45]  And this is what I wanted to show you from Punchbowl News about what's happening in Congress regarding the war with Iran.
[01:59:52]  It says that the House and Senate are on track this week to vote down a pair of bipartisan war power resolutions aimed at limiting Trump's ability to conduct the Iran campaign.
[02:00:03]  Rank-and-file Republicans are prepared to back Trump, giving them co-ownership of the conflict that's already unpopular with Americans.
[02:00:12]  The Senate likely to vote Wednesday, House set to vote on Thursday.
[02:00:17]  House and Senate will receive separate briefings on Iran this afternoon from top administration officials.
[02:00:27]  And we are in open forum.
[02:00:30]  Secretary Noam has just arrived at that hearing.
[02:00:33]  You can continue to watch that once that gets underway over on C-SPAN 3, or you can stay with us for open forum.
[02:00:40]  We've got more on the program to show you, but there she is, Secretary Christy Noam, having arrived for that hearing at the Senate.
[02:00:48]  Tay in Texas, Republican, you're on the air.
[02:00:52]  Hey, all right.
[02:00:53]  Good morning, Bemini.
[02:00:54]  I think what Barbara was trying to tell you about Biden's inflation number is I'm a Romney Republican.
[02:01:03]  Okay, I'm buying to run these policies.
[02:01:07]  What Barbara was trying to tell you was if Trump had not managed COVID, the mismanagement of COVID, when he handed over to Biden, the logistic, the logistics was so bad.
[02:01:21]  The company wasn't able to move anything.
[02:01:23]  There was scarcity of products.
[02:01:24]  He couldn't even buy toilet papers.
[02:01:27]  So all of those was the consequences.
[02:01:29]  All of those was a lagging indicator.
[02:01:31]  By the time Biden got in office, the inflation went up.
[02:01:35]  It came from Trump's mismanagement of COVID.
[02:01:38]  I think that's what she was trying to say.
[02:01:45]  Well, back to Iran.
[02:01:47]  Well, back to Iran.
[02:01:48]  Sure, go ahead.
[02:01:51]  What Trump has done to Iran is Trump has been able to buy Iran some sympathy across the world.
[02:02:01]  Even highlights like UK, they don't want to get involved.
[02:02:05]  Canada does not want to get involved.
[02:02:07]  This is completely different from what we saw during Judge Bush-Iraq war.
[02:02:13]  Now, Trump is telling the other countries that does not have a nuclear weapon that you better hurry up and get a nuclear weapon because if you do have a nuclear weapon, the United States will not mess with you.
[02:02:25]  Case in point, North Korea.
[02:02:27]  The United States does not mess with North Korea, even though we know all of the atrocities that is happening within North Korea, as close as the society is.
[02:02:36]  The United States does not mess with them because just because they have nuclear weapons.
[02:02:41]  What Trump is doing right now, and if you look at this war, it seems like Iran is holding up their own end of the war.
[02:02:48]  They're not doing too badly.
[02:02:49]  And I think Israel is going to pay the price for this war at the end of the day.
[02:02:54]  This war is nothing but because of Israel.
[02:02:59]  This is not what Trump told us he was going to do when he was campaigning.
[02:03:02]  He said he was not going to drag America into war with Iran.
[02:03:06]  This is not a promise kept.
[02:03:08]  This is a promise broken.
[02:03:10]  And I feel sorry for the servicemen that lost their lives.
[02:03:15]  I think they lost their lives for Israel.
[02:03:17]  They did not lose their lives for this country.
[02:03:20]  And I think Trump has shot Michael Rubio and Vance chance in 2028.
[02:03:28]  I don't see how they come to America to American people and tell them they want to continue the policy of Trump because Iran right now, a lot of countries all over the world, a lot of people all over the world are now sympathetic to Iran, which was not like that before.
[02:03:47]  It wasn't like that before.
[02:03:49]  All right, Tay, I'm going to talk to Lee now in Oklahoma.
[02:03:51]  Democrat, good morning.
[02:03:54]  Good morning.
[02:03:56]  On that clip that you showed earlier with Clump at the medal ceremony, was that it?
[02:04:02]  Yes.
[02:04:03]  Well, you cut it off right before he talked about the soldiers and he's praying for their families and everything like that.

=== Democrats Boost Turnout (15:12) ===

[02:04:12]  You cut it off before he went.
[02:04:14]  He said, oh, I hear something.
[02:04:16]  And Melania hates that.
[02:04:18]  They're building a big, beautiful ballroom.
[02:04:20]  He had to talk about that.
[02:04:22]  He cares nothing about these soldiers that died.
[02:04:26]  When he talked bad about John McCain being a loser, you can tell, and he never went to Vietnam.
[02:04:33]  So why did you cut that off?
[02:04:35]  You need to play that entire deal.
[02:04:38]  Thank you.
[02:04:38]  And Lee, we did carry that entire ceremony, and it's on our website.
[02:04:44]  So if anybody misses anything, they can go back, do a little search on c-span.org, and you can watch the entire event that you might be interested in.
[02:04:53]  Don in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Republican.
[02:04:56]  Good morning.
[02:04:58]  Good morning.
[02:04:59]  Can you hear me?
[02:05:00]  Yes, we can.
[02:05:03]  I tell you, these Democrats, mostly people out there that think this is a bad thing is happening.
[02:05:15]  I'm six to nine years old.
[02:05:17]  It's been forever past due for this to happen.
[02:05:23]  I mean, are you even thinking one second about your children, your grandchildren, and things like that?
[02:05:32]  I'm on the way out.
[02:05:33]  I'm going the other way.
[02:05:34]  I'm 69.
[02:05:36]  It's a fact.
[02:05:37]  I'm going the other way.
[02:05:39]  Why not embrace this and say, hey, we don't need these people around us?
[02:05:47]  They're bad.
[02:05:48]  They're bad people.
[02:05:49]  They're bad for everybody.
[02:05:51]  What's going on?
[02:05:53]  Democrats, wake up.
[02:05:55]  Come on.
[02:05:56]  Act like grown people.
[02:05:58]  I don't even know how a lot of you guys are even voting in office.
[02:06:04]  The people that are voting in office probably need to, I don't know what the hell they need to do.
[02:06:13]  All right, Don.
[02:06:14]  And later this morning on the Washington Journal, we'll turn our attention to the Epstein investigation.
[02:06:20]  We've got Wall Street Journal national political reporter Ken Thomas to discuss the latest on the release of the videos of depositions of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
[02:06:32]  But after a quick break, we'll talk with Semaphore politics reporter David Weigel about the start of the 2026 midterm election season.
[02:06:40]  There are primaries happening today in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas.
[02:06:45]  Stay with us.
[02:07:23]  Best ideas and best practices can be found anywhere.
[02:07:26]  We have to listen so we can govern better.
[02:07:28]  Democracy depends on heavy doses of civility.
[02:07:31]  You can fight and still be friendly.
[02:07:33]  Bridging the divide in American politics.
[02:07:36]  You know, you may not agree with the Democrat on everything, but you can find areas where you do agree.
[02:07:39]  He's a pretty likable guy as well.
[02:07:41]  Chris Kins and I are actually friends.
[02:07:42]  He votes wrong all the time, but we're actually friends.
[02:07:45]  A horrible secret that Scott and I have is that we actually respect each other.
[02:07:48]  We all don't hate each other.
[02:07:50]  You two actually kind of like each other.
[02:07:52]  These are the kinds of secrets we'd like to expose.
[02:07:54]  It's nice to be with a member who knows what they're talking about.
[02:07:57]  Les did agree to the civility, all right?
[02:07:59]  He owes my son $10 from a bet.
[02:08:02]  He is never paid for it.
[02:08:03]  Fork it over.
[02:08:05]  That's fighting words right there.
[02:08:06]  I'm glad I'm not in charge.
[02:08:08]  I'm thrilled to be on the show with him.
[02:08:09]  There are not shows like this, right?
[02:08:11]  Incentivizing that relationship.
[02:08:14]  Ceasefire Friday nights on C-SPAN.
[02:08:21]  In a divided media world, one place brings Americans together.
[02:08:25]  According to a new MAGIT research report, nearly 90 million Americans turn to C-SPAN, and they're almost perfectly balanced.
[02:08:32]  28% conservative, 27% liberal or progressive, 41% moderate.
[02:08:39]  Republicans watching Democrats, Democrats watching Republicans, moderates watching all sides.
[02:08:45]  Because C-SPAN viewers want the facts straight from the source.
[02:08:49]  No commentary, no agenda, just democracy.
[02:08:52]  Unfiltered every day on the C-SPAN networks.
[02:08:58]  Washington Journal continues.
[02:09:01]  Welcome back to Washington Journal.
[02:09:02]  We are talking about the 2026 primary election season.
[02:09:07]  It begins today with primary elections in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas.
[02:09:12]  And we're joined by David Weigel, who is politics reporter at Semaphore.
[02:09:16]  Dave, welcome to the program.
[02:09:18]  Good to be here.
[02:09:18]  Thank you.
[02:09:19]  Let's start with Texas.
[02:09:20]  And let's start with the Democrats.
[02:09:22]  We've got Representative Jasmine Crockett and State Representative James Tallarico.
[02:09:27]  Yes, this is a very high turnout Democratic race.
[02:09:30]  They are probably breaking turnout records by the end of the process.
[02:09:33]  They beat Republicans in turnout.
[02:09:35]  Obviously, Texans could just go to the polls and choose which party they're voting in.
[02:09:38]  And Tallarico got in fairly early, built a national reputation as a religious Democrat, very progressive, but religious, comfortable talking about his faith, popular with podcasters, popular with magazine profilers.
[02:09:49]  Jasmine Crockett got in the race on the final day of filing with some goading from Republicans.
[02:09:54]  And if you covered both candidates on the trail, Crockett's argument is that Republicans, one, are more afraid of her.
[02:10:00]  She's more combative.
[02:10:01]  She has viral moments where she humbles Republicans in hearings or says very memorable things.
[02:10:07]  I was covering her and people had t-shirts with some of her sayings on them.
[02:10:11]  Whereas Tallarico, his argument is not that he's not a pure Democrat progressive.
[02:10:16]  It's that he can reach across the aisle to more Republican voters and convince them that at this moment with this president, the election is a choice of up and down, not a partisan choice between Republican and Democrat.
[02:10:26]  What do you mean she got in by goating by Republicans?
[02:10:29]  Did they want her in the race?
[02:10:31]  That's an important part of the story is that the National Republican Senatorial Committee took a poll last year, months before the filing deadline, that found she would beat any Democrat in a primary.
[02:10:44]  She would lead at least any Democrat in a primary.
[02:10:46]  Crockett had her own numbers and was tempted to enter the race because she has been rising very quickly.
[02:10:51]  She was elected state rep in 2020.
[02:10:53]  She's elected Congress in 2022.
[02:10:55]  And she becomes one of the most well-known members of the House from her work and oversight hearings.
[02:11:00]  She has more than 2 million followers on TikTok.
[02:11:03]  She draws huge crowds.
[02:11:04]  And I saw this on the trail.
[02:11:05]  She would announce an event late Thursday evening.
[02:11:08]  By Friday morning, there'd be 200 people out to see her.
[02:11:11]  Very passionate fan base.
[02:11:13]  And she saw that.
[02:11:13]  She saw that reflection.
[02:11:14]  She's also argued she has the loyal Democratic base.
[02:11:18]  She's a black woman who's very supported by black women, by black men, by Latinas, by a lot of white progressives.
[02:11:24]  The Tallarico argument, again, is more, and it's not really ideological.
[02:11:28]  It's more about electability.
[02:11:29]  Tallarico saying, I'm also progressive, but I'm not somebody that Republicans would prefer to run against because I'm less combative.
[02:11:36]  I can maybe appeal to your neighbor who stopped listening to Democrats because I talk differently to them.
[02:11:42]  But in Crockett's telling, Republicans are more, whatever they're doing, whatever money they're spending, they're more worried to run against her.
[02:11:49]  And I found that from her voters who think if she is in the race, if she's on the debate stage, she's going to steamroll the Republicans.
[02:11:54]  They don't think that of Tallarico.
[02:11:55]  And I guess we should establish why do we care about the primary race in Texas?
[02:12:01]  So Texas had been moving since 2012 toward Democrats.
[02:12:07]  It moved back in the 2024 election, and that was a lot of lower turnout in some of the big cities in Texas and Republican gains in the Rio Grande Valley, Latino areas there.
[02:12:18]  I wouldn't say fool's gold, but it's been a challenge for Democrats to get to even 48% of the vote in Texas.
[02:12:25]  Their hope this cycle is that, one, Trump is not going to hold those Latino voters he gained because of his immigration and NICE policies and because costs have not gone down, which was very appealing there.
[02:12:36]  And two, that they will have a new post-Biden approach.
[02:12:41]  They're not encumbered by the policy of the administration, that there are going to be voters who do want to check on the president.
[02:12:46]  The turnout will be different without Trump on the ballot.
[02:12:48]  This is going to be the first election where he's president, he's endorsing people, but he's not driving turnout in the same way.
[02:12:56]  So there's a lot of money behind Tallarico, a lot of national interest.
[02:12:59]  There are Democrats certainly who say, we've heard this before.
[02:13:01]  We heard Beto O'Rourke could do this.
[02:13:03]  We heard that Hillary could compete in Texas.
[02:13:05]  But there is more optimism, and you do see this in a lot of the suburbs that Republicans have redrawn in congressional maps.
[02:13:11]  You saw high Democratic turnout in places that were Republican just 10 years ago.
[02:13:15]  How much of that is frustration with whether Donald Trump has delivered on his agenda?
[02:13:20]  And before we switch to the Republicans, how far apart are Tallarico and Crockett on issues?
[02:13:27]  They're not very far apart.
[02:13:29]  Again, it's not been a progressive versus moderate race.
[02:13:32]  It's more style over substance?
[02:13:34]  Yeah, that's one way to put it.
[02:13:35]  It's much more about their style and their approach.
[02:13:38]  And they have this has been manifested in their supporters, that Crockett supporters believe that Tallarico was too compromising.
[02:13:47]  He will criticize the Biden administration, say Biden failed on the border.
[02:13:50]  Crockett is a much more loyal Democrat.
[02:13:52]  Crockett is one of the arguments you'll see her make on the trail is that voters voted for a felon.
[02:13:59]  Kamala Harris was more qualified than Donald Trump.
[02:14:01]  It's ridiculous that he won.
[02:14:03]  The Tallarico argument is more, well, no voters have chosen Donald Trump several times, and we as a party need to adjust to why that is.
[02:14:09]  So it's much more style in how they reach out to people.
[02:14:11]  And talking to Tallarico's voters, I found a lot who said that their relatives were sharing memes or asking them how they can be a Christian and a Democrat.
[02:14:21]  They haven't talked to them in years.
[02:14:23]  And this is something he appeals to a lot.
[02:14:25]  He talks about even the fight over the Super Bowl halftime show and says the country has gotten very divided because of culture wars driven by billionaire company owners.
[02:14:35]  Whereas her argument is more that Donald Trump is corrupt and he's been leading a corrupt administration and Democrats need to passionately go and prove to voters that that's the case.
[02:14:43]  They're very different electoral arguments.
[02:14:45]  They're not really different on policy.
[02:14:46]  So let's talk about the Republican race.
[02:14:49]  Donald Trump, President Trump has not endorsed.
[02:14:52]  He has not endorsed.
[02:14:53]  And there are three candidates running.
[02:14:55]  They all canceled their schedules to be with Trump on Friday.
[02:14:57]  He didn't really do anything for the candidates.
[02:14:59]  They showed up.
[02:15:00]  But there's Senator John Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth term.
[02:15:03]  It would end when he's celebrating his 80th birthday if he wins it.
[02:15:07]  And Ken Paxton, the Attorney General, who is a reliable Trump ally, which has helped, he was the leader of the state AG's effort to overturn the 2020 election unsuccessfully.
[02:15:21]  Paxton has run against Cornyn as a disloyal Republican who has not been, who did not want Trump to run again in 2024.
[02:15:29]  He's criticized some of the compromises he's made with Democrats.
[02:15:32]  There's an ad where he points out that Cornyn has worked with Crockett.
[02:15:36]  And Crockett will point this out, that she could actually work across the aisle sometimes.
[02:15:39]  In Paxton's view, we're a red state.
[02:15:41]  We're a pro-Trump state.
[02:15:43]  You need a loyal senator who's going to work with the president.
[02:15:46]  There's also Wesley Hunt, the congressman from the Houston area, in the race.
[02:15:49]  His argument is that unlike Ken Paxton, who was impeached and survived in the Texas State Senate, who is an affair that he had an affair that he does not deny, Wesley Hunt's argument is that I'm an upstanding citizen and a veteran and a man of faith who is a loyal Trump Republican.
[02:16:06]  And Republicans have spent more money in this Texas Senate race than any to defend John Cornyn, more than $80 million.
[02:16:13]  It started with ads defending Cornyn and attacking Paxton.
[02:16:16]  They ran some at the end attacking Hunt just as somebody who doesn't show up and support the Trump agenda.
[02:16:22]  They want a runoff, which would be 10 weeks, where, well, they want to win.
[02:16:26]  But what is more likely is that they would get a runoff between Cornyn and Paxton.
[02:16:30]  Would Trump weigh in on that?
[02:16:31]  And this is a factor throughout every Texas race we're talking about that's competitive.
[02:16:36]  The key factor is did Donald Trump endorse you or not?
[02:16:38]  Have you said something in the past or cast a vote in the past that was anti-Trump?
[02:16:43]  If that's the case, then you're in trouble.
[02:16:45]  What did Mr. Paxton get impeached for?
[02:16:48]  He had staff that claimed that he was very technically get all the details, but staff that claimed he was basically taking bribes.
[02:17:00]  It was unrelated to his barrel situation, but he was indicted in Travis County, Liberal County where Dallas is, throughout his tenure.
[02:17:09]  He's elected in 2014, and he is embroiled by scandal.
[02:17:12]  He almost loses his reelection in 2018.
[02:17:14]  But basically, he had staff leave his office turn on him and said he was corrupt.
[02:17:18]  Republicans, enough Republicans in the state House agreed with that.
[02:17:23]  A lot of the Republicans who voted to impeach him over these bribery allegations from former staff lost their primaries in 2024 because Paxton campaigned against them.
[02:17:32]  And so Paxton's very confident.
[02:17:33]  His supporters are very confident that the base believes that allegations made against him by whoever they were are just like allegations made against Donald Trump.
[02:17:41]  If you're Republican, that means they're not real.
[02:17:44]  That he is so effective and he's so conservative and he's so MAGA that people are making stuff up about him.
[02:17:48]  Is that what the record shows?
[02:17:49]  Not really, but that is a consistent thing I heard from Republicans in Texas.
[02:17:53]  Trump vouched for this guy, not in this race, but he's endorsed him before.
[02:17:55]  He fought for Trump when it was hard.
[02:17:57]  Therefore, I don't believe anything the establishment, quote unquote, says about him.
[02:18:01]  Dave Weigel is in the studio with us from Semaphore, and he is answering your questions about the primary season.
[02:18:07]  We want to hear from you.
[02:18:08]  You can go ahead and call us.
[02:18:09]  Democrats are on 202-748-8000.
[02:18:12]  Republicans 202-748-8001.
[02:18:14]  And Independents 202-748-8002.
[02:18:18]  Especially if you're in those states that are holding primaries and you want to share with us how you're feeling about that, please do call us and let us know.
[02:18:25]  So the primary in Texas is open, so you don't have to declare whether you're a Democrat or a Republican ahead of time.
[02:18:33]  How does that work?
[02:18:34]  Yeah, it's not a party registration state.
[02:18:36]  You show up and say, I want a Republican ballot.
[02:18:38]  I want a Democratic ballot.
[02:18:39]  And so that is something that Republicans have sounded the alarm about in the last week to drive up their own turnout.
[02:18:45]  That a lot of people who have not voted Democratic recently or ever are definitely showing up and voting in the Tallarico Crockett race.
[02:18:51]  Now, there's some down ballot races, but that is the competitive one.
[02:18:58]  The worry for some of Cornyn supporters is that there might be people who'd be inclined to vote for the senator.
[02:19:03]  It's not that he's a moderate, but that's somebody that they know, somebody who has resisted Trump just a little bit, although he runs on how he's voted with them almost 100% of the time, that they might cast a ballot for a Democrat today, then they're not going to be around if there's a runoff in May to bail out Cornyn.
[02:19:20]  And you mentioned this about the amount of money being spent on these races.
[02:19:24]  What are we looking at?

=== Voting Dynamics and Redistricting (15:38) ===

[02:19:25]  Oh, it's historic.
[02:19:26]  It's more than $100 million for all Republicans in the Republican primary.
[02:19:31]  Cornyn has vastly outspent.
[02:19:33]  It's PACs in D.C., basically, Senate leadership PACs that have been supporting Cornyn, Zone PAC, that are on the air consistently.
[02:19:43]  There is less money for Paxton.
[02:19:45]  There's less money for Hunt.
[02:19:47]  Hunt has some supporters who funded very early ass before he got in the race, just trying to build his name ID up statewide.
[02:19:53]  But this is a frustration for conservatives around the country that they're not, right now, are they worried they're going to lose the Senate?
[02:20:00]  Not that much.
[02:20:00]  But every dollar spent in Texas where they have not lost a Senate race since the 1990s is a dollar that didn't get spent in Michigan, didn't get spent in Alaska, where there's a strong Democratic candidate.
[02:20:10]  The most that Republicans have ever spent in a Senate primary, they have spent in Texas, which find a map of the media markets.
[02:20:18]  It is very expensive to run any kind of race in Texas, and no senator has had to do this much in a primary to bail himself out.
[02:20:26]  All right, so let's talk about, there's also primaries in North Carolina, Arkansas, anything specific you're looking at there?
[02:20:32]  Well, in North Carolina, there is a rematch between in the Durham area, the 4th District.
[02:20:37]  Republicans drew gerrymandered seats, safe seats for Democrats.
[02:20:42]  The one around Duke University, Durham, has been represented since 2022 by Valerie Fouché, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
[02:20:50]  She won in 2022 against Nida Alam, who is a Durham County commissioner, much more progressive, a younger Muslim woman.
[02:20:58]  In that race, pro-Israel groups, APAC, and PACs that it created funded, helped Fouché a lot, and she won by single digits.
[02:21:05]  Alam got back into this race because I wouldn't say because, but with more of an angle because Democratic support for Israel since the war in Gaza began in 2023 has collapsed.
[02:21:18]  It's collapsed with all Democrats in this district.
[02:21:20]  This is a combination of African-American voters and highly educated white liberals, Asian voters in the Durham area.
[02:21:29]  It is no longer popular to be a supporter of Israel and whatever it does.
[02:21:32]  And Fouché said earlier in the campaign, yes, she had supported, she had taken APAC support in the past.
[02:21:39]  She won't anymore.
[02:21:40]  She's co-sponsored the Block the Bombs Act in the Congress to limit aid to Israel.
[02:21:45]  She was not getting support from pro-Israel groups until the very end of this race.
[02:21:49]  Alam's also been running against data centers, and Fouché has been getting support, crucial support, millions of dollars from pro-AI PACs, which have been intervening in some primaries so far.
[02:22:00]  Bernie Sanders endorsed Alam, as he did the last time.
[02:22:03]  So it's a progressive race versus a not a not a moderate, not a right-wing Democrat, but a Democrat who was not out there early against AI and against funding for Israel.
[02:22:14]  And that has definitely tightened.
[02:22:15]  Progressive groups took that as an offensive opportunity.
[02:22:19]  There's a new PAC that's meant to be sort of an antidote to APAC that went in for Alam early.
[02:22:25]  The sense there is that Alam came on very strong, and Fouché has needed help to even this out.
[02:22:33]  But there is concern that just in New Jersey, where progressives won Mackie Sherrill's open seat in a very divided primary, that one, the energy of Democratic voters is against funding for Israel.
[02:22:47]  And two, that progressive voters are angry that the party is not fighting harder.
[02:22:54]  Fouché is not as visible a member of Congress in terms of being on TV, in terms of fighting Trump, in terms of having key moments, casting memorable votes.
[02:23:03]  Alam is her final ad, which she ran yesterday, she cut in her home on Sunday, put it on TV immediately, is saying she's against the war in Iran.
[02:23:11]  Fouché was slower to say that she is against what the administration is doing in Iran.
[02:23:15]  So it's a combination of the Israel and AI issues, but also this theme we're seeing among Democrats of do you fight hard enough?
[02:23:22]  Let's talk to Alan, Cincinnati, Ohio, line for Democrats.
[02:23:25]  You're on with Dave Weigel, Alan.
[02:23:27]  I'm a retired military, retired attorney.
[02:23:30]  I like to see more military people get involved, the lawyers and things, because it seems like we have a lot of people in Congress that got there for whatever reason, because of affirmative action or they just spent a lot of money.
[02:23:46]  This seems like the people that spend the most money, millions and billions, they're the ones who win.
[02:23:51]  And again, we need to have everybody in our country serve in the military like these other countries do.
[02:23:58]  And I think the Independent Party will be bigger than all the other two parties because not everybody wants the same thing from both parties.
[02:24:07]  You know, people have different ideas and things like that.
[02:24:11]  And also we need term limits.
[02:24:13]  So that's had some comments.
[02:24:17]  Well, these are primaries.
[02:24:19]  These are mostly going to be partisans who are voting.
[02:24:21]  But the frustration you're talking about that is driving a lot of people to become independents, that's manifesting inside the parties too.
[02:24:28]  And the last midterm 2022, generally Democratic voters who would show up and vote in these sorts of races, they liked Joe Biden.
[02:24:35]  He was president.
[02:24:36]  They supported their congressional leadership.
[02:24:38]  Their leadership, led by Nancy Pelosi in the House and Chuck Schumer in the Senate, was passing big legislation.
[02:24:43]  They're now out of power, and there's a lot of anger at the Democratic Party's leadership in D.C.
[02:24:49]  It is not necessarily an advantage if Hakeem Jeffries says, I'm endorsing this candidate, or Chuck Schumer lets it be known that he prefers one candidate or another.
[02:24:57]  There's been vivid anti-leadership, anti-D.C. leadership, anti-establishment sentiment in the parties.
[02:25:04]  So what you're talking about when it comes to people wanting choices beyond them, that's intense.
[02:25:10]  That's growing.
[02:25:12]  Also, the anger inside among people who consider themselves Democrats or consider themselves Republicans and are frustrated that Republican members of Congress are not supporting Trump even more fully.
[02:25:23]  These are all factors working together.
[02:25:25]  A lot of people are, as you're saying, watching that and saying, why are these parties becoming so partisan, so divisive, so ideological?
[02:25:31]  I don't want any part of that.
[02:25:33]  A guy in Oklahoma texted us.
[02:25:35]  I love Wesley Hunt.
[02:25:37]  How would he fare against Jasmine Crockett in the state of Texas?
[02:25:40]  Well, this is the quirk of that race is that Republicans in D.C. do not like that Hunt is running.
[02:25:47]  They want Cornyn to win again.
[02:25:49]  There's some frustration that Hunt, who got elected, a seat was drawn for him in 2022 and he could have stayed in Congress for a very long time.
[02:25:57]  He's trying to jump the queue a bit and run this race.
[02:25:59]  But when polling has tested him against the Democrats, he does fine.
[02:26:03]  He is a 40-something conservative Republican in a state that elects conservative Republicans.
[02:26:09]  And that's been his argument is that I could walk into the nomination and win this race.
[02:26:14]  It's a bit like John Kasich running for president in 2020.
[02:26:17]  Look, we don't need these divisive candidates.
[02:26:19]  I can just win this thing.
[02:26:21]  Polling has shown, except for his polling, polling has shown him in third place.
[02:26:25]  The effort has been to convince Republican voters that if you don't want Ken Paxton, you have one choice.
[02:26:30]  It's Cornyn.
[02:26:31]  This guy's not for real.
[02:26:32]  But there's no poll that suggests Hunt would lose the general election.
[02:26:37]  And Crockett and Tolarico, they don't really talk about him, but they're much more akin, much more interested in running against Paxton.
[02:26:44]  This is a theme of their campaigns, is they expect Republicans to nominate the guy who sued to overturn the election for Trump.
[02:26:50]  And he is the least popular among non-Republicans of any of the candidates running.
[02:26:55]  He has run behind the ticket in his races.
[02:26:58]  And I just mentioned the spending.
[02:27:01]  He's somebody that D.C. leadership, John Thun, etc., have already spent a lot of money to beat.
[02:27:06]  So it's going to be a little bit awkward if he wins the nomination to say, we were wrong.
[02:27:09]  Sorry, please shoot out for this guy.
[02:27:11]  Not a problem.
[02:27:12]  If Hunt had an upset, they would be surprised.
[02:27:15]  But he's somebody that Republican leadership could work with.
[02:27:18]  Tony is in Sugarland, Texas, and he says, Mr. Weigel did not mention that Second Amendment voters hold Cornyn actions against him.
[02:27:27]  Explain that.
[02:27:28]  So after the Evalde shooting, and this is a factor in Cornyn's race, also in Tony Gonzalez's race in West Texas, other factors there, that Cornyn supported, was part of the negotiations of this very minor gun safety legislation that got momentum from that aftermath.
[02:27:49]  That is a key argument for the Paxton campaign is that when the, and Brandon Herrera is the one running against Tony Gonzalez, that these guys were spooked by the media, spooked by the news cycle, and they were willing to pass gun regulation.
[02:28:04]  Republicans don't support any of that.
[02:28:06]  Republican voters in Texas don't support any.
[02:28:09]  It's a very pro-Second Amendment state, very open carry state, constitutional carry state.
[02:28:17]  That is a powerful argument against Cornyn that he can be convinced to work with Democrats on any sort of gun regulation at all.
[02:28:25]  And I did not meet many voters who said that was their top issue, but it has been the most damaging thing in Attacks on Cornyn is that why would he work with Democrats?
[02:28:35]  Why would we as Republicans who elect Ted Cruz, who didn't do that after Ruvalde, why would we take the risk of six years of a guy who might compromise the Democrats on another gun bill someday?
[02:28:45]  All right, and this is, we got this on X, who says, did Texas redistricting affect the decision by Crockett to run for Senate?
[02:28:54]  And if you can answer that, and how redistricting might affect this race in general?
[02:28:59]  Well, in her words, it did.
[02:29:01]  So Texas Republicans last year put in a new map designed to eliminate five Democratic seats, several in South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, and then around Houston, around Dallas.
[02:29:16]  Crockett had one of the safe Democratic seats around Dallas.
[02:29:19]  They got rid of that, but Crockett could have run for and won her old seat, a version of her old seat, safely Democratic.
[02:29:26]  She actually has an ally, Pastor, who she knows who's running to fill that seat in Congress.
[02:29:31]  She could have stayed in.
[02:29:33]  She has argued as she's been running that Republicans were so scared of me that they eliminated my seat, and I had to run for Senate.
[02:29:39]  I had to move up or out.
[02:29:42]  Also, her supporters, her somewhat, her supporters have said there were these very high-profile debates about redistricting.
[02:29:49]  There was one in 2021.
[02:29:50]  There was one in 2025 that we just talked about.
[02:29:53]  And Tallarico did not resist as long as possible, did not stay out of the state to stop that map from being passed.
[02:29:59]  Tallarico came back.
[02:30:00]  The map was passed.
[02:30:02]  If he's that kind of senator, can we trust him to fight Republicans?
[02:30:05]  So redistricting has actually played a pretty big role in the Democratic messaging around the race.
[02:30:10]  But there is a world where Crockett just runs for hold seat again.
[02:30:13]  Colin Allred, who was running for Senate and got out when Crockett got in, has endorsed her.
[02:30:19]  He's running for a version of his old seat in the Dallas area against Julie Johnson, an incumbent Democrat.
[02:30:25]  That's the position that Democrats were put in by redistricting.
[02:30:28]  Al Green, who I think is best known for not just protesting at the State of the Union, but supporting the impeachment of Donald Trump, having resolutions that do that, he's been forced into a new district with a young member who just won it in the Houston area.
[02:30:42]  And so Democrats are already reckoning with two safe seats, and they could be losing members of the Congressional Black Caucus who are rising in the party, whose rise has been stopped by this new map.
[02:30:55]  And to that point, FizzGuy put on X, sorry, Dave, but Jasmine Crockett is an easy win for Dems.
[02:31:02]  Ken Paxton is deeply flawed.
[02:31:04]  John Cornyn is 100% complicit in this administration's misconduct.
[02:31:09]  And while Tallarico calls for unity, 65% of Americans want Trump gone and so prefer a fighter over singing kumbaya.
[02:31:18]  Yes, that is what I heard from Crockett voters.
[02:31:20]  That's actually a pretty good summation of it.
[02:31:22]  Now, Tallarico would dispute that he's running on unity and he's running on kumbaya.
[02:31:27]  His argument is that Americans have been distracted and forced into a cultural fight that was unnecessary by corporate owners of the mainstream media and by Republican politicians.
[02:31:40]  And at the very start of early voting, I think it's pretty well known.
[02:31:44]  He went on Stephen Colbert's show on CBS.
[02:31:49]  Colbert told his viewers that the FCC was warning him not to air it on TV.
[02:31:55]  He ran it online.
[02:31:56]  It went very viral.
[02:31:57]  And this is part of Tallarico's stump speech, is that this is the sort of corporate cancel culture, as he calls it, that is driving people who could get along, who probably agree on taxes, agree on good schools, agree on many issues.
[02:32:11]  They could get along.
[02:32:12]  They might agree with Democrats, but they're being distracted by the Murdochs, by the Ellisons, by the people who own mainstream media.
[02:32:22]  That's his argument.
[02:32:23]  He's not been running and saying, here are the bills I would pass with Republicans.
[02:32:28]  And he has.
[02:32:29]  The idea that he's not a fighter has been very important for Crockett, a little confusing for Tallarico and his supporters, because one reason he was rising before this race as a Democratic star, he was very, I wouldn't say combative, but a very effective debater in the Texas legislature where Republicans have had the majority for decades.
[02:32:47]  They would be passing a bill on LGBT rights, on whether to display the Ten Commandments in schools, et cetera, et cetera.
[02:32:55]  He, as a seminarian, would make this Christian, biblically influenced argument, and it would go pretty viral.
[02:33:01]  People would share this argument, not that Tallarico found a way to agree with Republicans, but that he was out debating them and making them look bad on the floor of the legislature.
[02:33:12]  That has been lost a little bit in this primary because that's Crockett's argument that my opponent is softer than I am, and I am the one that will go up to Republicans and call them, as he said, I'm not going to use the whole thing she said about Marjorie Taylor Greene, but then I'm going to call them out.
[02:33:30]  I mean, there was one, I noticed when she was campaigning one day with her, she referred to rich M EFers instead of the billionaire class.
[02:33:39]  I mean, she just talks in a way that I've seen Democrats associate with fighting.
[02:33:43]  Just more harsh language, more four-letter words.
[02:33:49]  And the argument has been that is the combativeness that Democrats are not putting up right now.
[02:33:54]  Dave, when are we going to see that?
[02:33:56]  The federation is not what they want.
[02:33:57]  When are we going to see results of this race?
[02:34:00]  Polls close.
[02:34:02]  There's a time zone with two counties in the west of Texas, but polls close at 8 Eastern, most of the state, and then 9 Eastern in that part of Texas.
[02:34:13]  It tends to count pretty fast.
[02:34:15]  Polling has shown that the Senate race for Democrats is pretty close, and the Republican race, no one is very close to 50%.
[02:34:23]  Both parties, you need 50% to avoid a runoff.
[02:34:26]  And so we will know if there is a runoff probably pretty early in the Republican race.
[02:34:31]  One question is, because there's a third candidate who's not really campaigning, who's on the ballot, if there are, let's say, 100,000 Texas Democrats who vote for that third candidate, not Crockett and not Tallarico, and it's very close, they could be forced into a runoff and spend 10 more weeks debating and campaigning against each other.
[02:34:49]  But we should know pretty quickly.
[02:34:51]  I mean, another issue that Tellarico has been part of the legislature that Crockett's been part of is the tighter election rules that Texas has been passing on Trump's suggestion.
[02:34:59]  So it is not the California.
[02:35:00]  We're going to have to wait weeks to get all the ballots.
[02:35:02]  All right, one more call for you.

=== Texas Republican Primary Race (15:03) ===

[02:35:03]  Craig, I'm on an Iowa independent line.
[02:35:06]  Go ahead, Craig.
[02:35:07]  Yes, good morning.
[02:35:09]  And I have a question for Mr. Weigel, and this is strictly his opinion, but it refers to voter ID.
[02:35:18]  And if the voter ID legislation that's going through now with all of its requirements became law before this primary, does he have an opinion about how the voter ID restrictions and requirements would have affected the Republican primary in Texas?
[02:35:35]  I'd be interested to hear his thoughts because if it's no impact, then the legislation really isn't carrying much weight.
[02:35:44]  But if it does have an impact, this might be worthwhile legislation that needs to become law.
[02:35:49]  So thank you for taking my question.
[02:35:52]  Yeah, how would it affect the Republican primary?
[02:35:55]  I'm not sure who it would benefit if it had passed before this because the SAVE Act that you're talking about would require proof of citizenship for voter registration, would require a real ID.
[02:36:08]  Generally speaking, people are more likely to have a real ID if they're college educated.
[02:36:13]  They're more likely to have a passport if they have a little more money and they travel.
[02:36:18]  I would guess that if that was in place, it would probably boost Cornyn because there are more working class voters, more irregular voters who vote for Trump that Paxton's appealing to.
[02:36:30]  That has also been an issue in the race, though, because Cornyn supports the SAVE Act, and he's argued that Wesley Hunt, because he's been skipping votes to run for the office, pretty common, but they've tried to make that a scandal in the race, that he would be less reliable.
[02:36:43]  But they all support it.
[02:36:44]  They all support some version of this.
[02:36:46]  I think if it was enforced in this race, it probably would help the Cornyn Coalition more than anybody else's.
[02:36:52]  But it's a good issue to bring up because Cornyn, when Republicans don't have the presidency, even now, he is not support getting rid of the filibuster.
[02:37:02]  One demand you've seen from the president sometimes and from conservative influencers from MAGA is that in order to pass the SAVE Act, we should change the filibuster, maybe not get rid of it, maybe do a talking filibuster.
[02:37:15]  This has been one of the defining dynamics of the race, that is Cornyn, who is a bit more of an institutionalist, going to get in line with a much more aggressive, let's just do what it takes to beat Democrats attitude that is more popular on the right.
[02:37:29]  And he really hasn't been.
[02:37:31]  I'm recommending Jonathan Martin of Politico spent time with him on the trail, and he does not give the answer that lands the best on a Tucker Carlson show or something.
[02:37:40]  He gives a old-style Republican answer.
[02:37:42]  He's maybe five minutes behind the passion of Republican voters.
[02:37:46]  All right, that's David Weigel, politics reporter for Semaphore.
[02:37:49]  Thanks so much for joining us today.
[02:37:51]  Thank you.
[02:37:52]  Next up on the Washington Journal, Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas on the release of the videos of depositions of Bill and Hillary Clinton in the Epstein investigation.
[02:38:02]  That's right after this break.
[02:38:04]  Seat span is as unbiased as you can get.
[02:38:21]  You are so fair.
[02:38:23]  I don't know how anybody can say otherwise.
[02:38:25]  You guys do the most important work for everyone in this country.
[02:38:29]  I love C-SPAN because I get to hear all the voices.
[02:38:33]  You bring these divergent viewpoints and you present both sides of an issue and you allow people to make up their own minds.
[02:38:39]  I absolutely love C-SPAN.
[02:38:42]  I love to hear both sides.
[02:38:43]  I've watched C-SPAN every morning and it is unbiased and you bring in factual information for the callers to understand where they are in their comments.
[02:38:53]  This is probably the only place that we can hear honest opinion of Americans across the country.
[02:38:58]  You guys at C-SPAN are doing such a wonderful job of allowing free exchange of ideas without a lot of interruptions.
[02:39:06]  Thank you, C-SPAN, for being a light in the dark.
[02:39:13]  Tonight kicks off C-SPAN's campaign 2026 primary coverage.
[02:39:17]  Live across the C-SPAN networks.
[02:39:20]  First up, North Carolina and Arkansas.
[02:39:23]  But all eyes are on Texas.
[02:39:25]  The Lone Star State could decide the balance of power in Washington, shaping control of the U.S. Senate and influencing redistricting battles that could redraw America's political map for years to come.
[02:39:36]  We'll also bring you high-stakes House and Governor's races across all three states.
[02:39:41]  Our live coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern.
[02:39:44]  Watch as voters in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas head to the polls.
[02:39:49]  Primary night on the C-SPAN networks.
[02:39:52]  Every moment, every result, every speech.
[02:39:55]  C-SPAN bringing you democracy unfiltered.
[02:40:02]  Washington Journal continues.
[02:40:04]  Welcome back to Washington Journal.
[02:40:06]  We are joined now by National Political Reporter for the Wall Street Journal Ken Thomas to talk about those Clinton-Epstein deposition videos that have been released.
[02:40:16]  Ken, welcome to the program.
[02:40:17]  Good to be with you.
[02:40:18]  So remind us about why the Clintons were deposed in the Oversight Committee.
[02:40:24]  Right.
[02:40:24]  The committee wanted to get more information on any knowledge they might have about Jeffrey Epstein and his activities.
[02:40:32]  The House Oversight Committee is doing an investigation into how the government investigated these cases.
[02:40:40]  And so there was a long-standing legal battle here between the Clintons and their lawyers and members of the committee on whether or not the Clintons should have to testify.
[02:40:50]  There was a threat to hold them in contempt.
[02:40:53]  And then finally, the Clintons agreed to do this deposition, which we saw on Thursday and Friday.
[02:41:00]  They wanted to have a public hearing, and the agreement was that it would be videotaped.
[02:41:09]  It was the oversight committee that released the file, sorry, the videos.
[02:41:13]  Correct.
[02:41:14]  Did they edit them?
[02:41:16]  No.
[02:41:18]  Both depositions are about four and a half hours.
[02:41:22]  It's edited in the sense that there were moments when they had to go off the record.
[02:41:26]  But for the most part, any viewer who watches these videos start to finish will get a real sense of what it was like in the room, beginning with introductions, with an opening statement from either Clinton and then a questioning from both the majority and the minority.
[02:41:43]  So if they're not edited, why not air it live?
[02:41:46]  What's the difference?
[02:41:48]  Well, I think the majority of the committee felt like it was in their best interest to simply do it this way.
[02:41:56]  And I think the agreement was also that this would allow the Clintons to just simply do this in their hometown, that they wouldn't have to come down to Washington and have a big production.
[02:42:06]  But I think from the Clinton standpoint, they felt like the Republicans didn't want it to be a public forum because they were afraid that the optics would be bad, that it might conjure up the Hillary Clinton-Benghazi hearing of more than a decade ago, in which the Republicans on that committee didn't really come out that well.
[02:42:30]  If you've got a question for our guest, Ken Thomas, on the Clinton depositions and the Epstein investigation, you can start calling now.
[02:42:37]  We'll take your calls until the end of the program at about 10 a.m. Eastern Democrats are on 202-748-8000.
[02:42:44]  Republicans, 202-748-8001.
[02:42:47]  And Independents, 202748-8002.
[02:42:51]  You can start calling now.
[02:42:52]  So what did we learn about the relationship of the Clintons to Jeffrey Epstein?
[02:42:58]  Fairly limited information.
[02:43:00]  I think if you start with Hillary Clinton's testimony, she went first last Thursday.
[02:43:08]  She was adamant that she really had no relationship with Jeffrey Epstein at all.
[02:43:14]  And I think her posture was just, why am I here?
[02:43:18]  You know, there's a moment early on.
[02:43:21]  It was much more of a tense hearing, I would say, deposition.
[02:43:25]  There was a moment about an hour into the session in which the Clinton legal team learned that photographs of Hillary Clinton from within the deposition room had been leaked to a social media influencer.
[02:43:39]  It was out on social media, and that was in violation of the rules.
[02:43:43]  And I think as a result, you saw this very strong reaction from Hillary Clinton.
[02:43:48]  She was very upset that these photos had been leaked.
[02:43:54]  And so it was much more of a tense hearing.
[02:43:56]  She really did not feel like she could add much to the committee's understanding.
[02:44:02]  Whereas with Bill Clinton, Well, so before we go into Bill Clinton, let's actually show that part that you were talking about of former Secretary Clinton at the deposition.
[02:44:12]  Here it is.
[02:44:13]  And this is an email.
[02:44:17]  This is an invitation to the fundraiser where you were there.
[02:44:20]  Do you have any idea if the Epstein referred to is the Jeffrey Epstein?
[02:44:24]  There's a lot of people named Epstein in this area.
[02:44:28]  This is in the DOJ files.
[02:44:30]  I have no knowledge of it.
[02:44:32]  It says Mr. and Mrs. Epstein.
[02:44:34]  Yeah, I have no knowledge of this.
[02:44:37]  Okay.
[02:44:38]  So it could be a different Jeffrey Epstein.
[02:44:42]  You're showing me an email from someone who I don't recall knowing about a fundraiser that wasn't for me but was for Congresswoman Lowy.
[02:44:50]  I have no information.
[02:44:52]  I went to the fundraiser to support my friend Nia Lowy.
[02:44:55]  All right.
[02:44:57]  Excuse me, can I interrupt?
[02:44:59]  I have another photos that are being released of the Secretary as she is testifying from inside this room.
[02:45:06]  Can you please advise me as to whether or not that's permissible and consistent with the rules, particularly given that we have asked for a public hearing?
[02:45:14]  If there are photos that are being released of the secretary as she is testifying, can you please explain how we're going to do that?
[02:45:19]  I'm done with this.
[02:45:20]  If you guys are doing that, I am done.
[02:45:22]  You can hold me in contempt from now until the cows come home.
[02:45:25]  This is just typical behavior.
[02:45:28]  Oh, for heaven.
[02:45:29]  So I would like to understand how that's permissible.
[02:45:33]  It doesn't matter.
[02:45:34]  We all are abiding by the same rules.
[02:45:37]  I will take that down.
[02:45:38]  Yeah, well.
[02:45:39]  I would like to take a break at this moment.
[02:45:40]  I'd like to have that issue for now.
[02:45:43]  Go off the record.
[02:45:44]  Go off the record.
[02:45:46]  And you can actually watch all of the depositions by the Clintons on our air on C-SPAN.
[02:45:54]  We are starting that at 8 p.m. this evening here on C-SPAN with former President Bill Clinton, followed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
[02:46:04]  Go ahead, Ken.
[02:46:05]  So now on the Bill Clinton side of things, I think there was a lot more material to work through.
[02:46:12]  You know, Bill Clinton talked about that he first became connected to Jeffrey Epstein in his post-presidency through Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary.
[02:46:23]  Summers said, you know, that this is someone who has a large plane and could take you and your staff and the Secret Service to the places you need to go to establish your foundation.
[02:46:34]  And really all he wants in exchange is this is after his president.
[02:46:38]  Correct.
[02:46:38]  Not during.
[02:46:39]  That's right.
[02:46:39]  This was like in 2001, 2002.
[02:46:42]  And in exchange, really, Summers said you just have to sit with Jeffrey Epstein for an hour, talk politics, talk economics, that kind of thing.
[02:46:52]  And so, you know, for a foundation that was just getting off the ground that was interested in doing work to reduce the cost of AIDS medication around the world, this seemed like a nice arrangement.
[02:47:06]  And, you know, the thing that Clinton said throughout is that there was nothing that he saw or learned that would have indicated that Epstein was involved in any of this malfeasance.
[02:47:18]  And he also, during the testimony, I thought was interesting, he talks about a conversation he had with Donald Trump at the time.
[02:47:27]  Trump was, this was in around 2002, 2003.
[02:47:30]  He talks about being at a charity golf tournament and Trump brought up, hey, I heard you have flown on Jeffrey Epstein's plane.
[02:47:38]  And what Clinton said about the conversation is that Trump said, you know, we used to be friends, but we had this falling out over a land deal.
[02:47:47]  And so it seems to establish that this, you know, there was a real estate deal that had gone bad, and that's what led to Trump and Epstein having a breakup.
[02:48:00]  But the thing Clinton did say is that there was nothing that Trump said that indicated Trump knew of anything, you know, any criminal behavior or anything like that.
[02:48:10]  Well, let's watch a portion of former President Bill Clinton here at his deposition.
[02:48:16]  Moving on to Virginia Roberts Duffrey, are you familiar with her?
[02:48:22]  As has already been established, she has stated in numerous sworn statements, including a sworn deposition in the deposition in the Maxwell trial, that she saw you on the island with Jeffrey Epstein.
[02:48:36]  And in fact, this morning, her family shared her diary with me.
[02:48:41]  And in it is a quote wherein she writes, quote, Bill Clinton met two times island with two girls, C T G M and J E. What is your reaction to that?
[02:48:55]  It's not true.
[02:48:58]  Do you have any dates associated with that?
[02:49:00]  Were there dates on the diary?
[02:49:02]  I don't have that information, but we'll be happy to share it with you.
[02:49:05]  Would be terrific because I think there are also records that we're just like where else he would have been.
[02:49:10]  So thanks.
[02:49:12]  Did she say that in her book?
[02:49:14]  This is from her personal diary that her family shared with us.
[02:49:18]  Yes, but the book came out more recently.
[02:49:20]  Did she say that on the book?
[02:49:22]  I can't.
[02:49:23]  I'm just reading you the entry from her diary that her family shared with me.
[02:49:29]  I think she ultimately reached a different conclusion, although I have no contact.
[02:49:34]  Okay, well, I just want to make sure that it's on the record that that is Virginia and Duffrey's statement.
[02:49:41]  Any comment on that, Ken?
[02:49:42]  Yeah, it's an interesting exchange.
[02:49:44]  I think that's an issue of whether President Clinton went to Jeffrey Epstein's island or not.
[02:49:51]  He says that he didn't.
[02:49:52]  There were some allegations that he might have, but he's adamant that he never took a trip to the island.
[02:49:58]  I think what's also notable about that exchange is that the person asking the question is Melanie Stansbury, a Democratic member from New Mexico.

=== Democrats Call For Clinton Testimony (10:04) ===

[02:50:07]  So it shows there is a real bipartisan push here to get facts here.
[02:50:13]  It's not like a Democratic member of that committee is going light or easy on President Clinton because he's a member of the same party.
[02:50:20]  All right, let's talk to callers now.
[02:50:22]  We'll start with Mark, Dallas, Pennsylvania, Democrat.
[02:50:24]  Go ahead, Mark.
[02:50:28]  I'd like to ask this question, and I think you touched on it a little bit at the end of your conversation, was I don't want to protect anyone.
[02:50:37]  I don't want to protect Bill Clinton.
[02:50:38]  I don't want to protect Donald Trump.
[02:50:40]  What's the easiest thing here to do for everyone involved to just release the unredacted full files except to protect the victims?
[02:50:55]  No, the caller makes a great point.
[02:50:57]  It's one that we heard from the Clintons throughout that they feel like all of the files should be released, that you should just simply allow the public to see this information.
[02:51:10]  Obviously, some things would have to be redacted just given the nature of these crimes.
[02:51:15]  But, you know, I think that's something that the Clintons would agree with.
[02:51:20]  Jimbo in Bakersfield, California says, can Mr. Thomas speak about the betrayal so many MAGA Republicans feel about the clear violations of the Epstein Files Transparency Act by the Trump Justice Department?
[02:51:33]  Wasn't learning the truth about all of this a cornerstone of the MAGA movement?
[02:51:37]  What do you think?
[02:51:38]  It speaks to how divisive this issue has been within Trump's coalition.
[02:51:44]  There were a lot of people who voted the president, who consider themselves part of the MAGA movement, who feel like this Epstein case has not been handled as well as it should have been, and that there should have been more transparency.
[02:52:00]  And part of what attracted them to this movement was this idea that A populist movement, that the idea that the president would take on these powerful elites who often got away with things that they shouldn't have been able to.
[02:52:16]  You mentioned earlier in our conversation that Secretary Clinton kind of had this feeling of, why am I here?
[02:52:23]  Why was she here?
[02:52:24]  I mean, she doesn't have any known links to Epstein, or am I mistaken on that?
[02:52:30]  The committee was insistent that she testify.
[02:52:33]  And one thing that they did produce was this idea that Ghillene Maxwell's, one of her relatives worked for Hillary Clinton at the State Department, had also worked for her on the campaign.
[02:52:48]  And Hillary Clinton said, actually, I didn't even know that this person was related to Maxwell.
[02:52:53]  So the ties to Hillary seemed very specious.
[02:52:57]  And you have to remember that, you know, when President Clinton was setting up his foundation in 2001, 2002, she was a new senator from New York.
[02:53:07]  So she didn't really have any dealings with any of these people because she had a day job here in Washington.
[02:53:12]  Carolyn in Arizona, Line for Democrats, you're on the air.
[02:53:17]  Good morning.
[02:53:18]  I wanted to say that I did watch the Bill and Hillary show that was put on.
[02:53:25]  I think that if they were forced to speak, I think that Melanie and Trump should as well speak.
[02:53:31]  And by the way, Hillary did beat him by 65 million popular votes, even though she didn't win the election.
[02:53:38]  And I think that's why they're up there, is to just continue their attacks on the Clintons.
[02:53:45]  And women's votes are always under attack with name changes in this SAVE Act, and women better wake up to that.
[02:53:52]  All right, Carolyn.
[02:53:53]  The caller identifies a really interesting point here in that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee feel like a precedent has now been set in which a congressional committee can call a former president, a former first lady under subpoena and have them testify before the committee.
[02:54:11]  And so as a result, I think Democrats are going to say that we should be able to depose President Trump or perhaps the First Lady in the future.
[02:54:21]  I think it's probably a long shot that this could happen while President Trump is in the White House.
[02:54:28]  I'm sure it would be a huge legal fight over separation of powers and that sort of thing.
[02:54:32]  But I think certainly Democrats feel like a precedent has been made here.
[02:54:37]  So Joe in Syracuse, New York said, I listened to some of Hillary's responses.
[02:54:41]  Quote, I had no direct knowledge.
[02:54:43]  I had no specific information.
[02:54:45]  Are these highlighted clarifiers not used to create plausible deniability?
[02:54:50]  It's hard to know.
[02:54:51]  I mean, she doesn't really recollect ever meeting him.
[02:54:56]  You know, there was this one meeting, this event, this White House Historical Association event while Bill Clinton was president, in which Jeffrey Epstein appeared.
[02:55:06]  There was a photo.
[02:55:07]  But what Hillary Clinton would say to that is, you know, when you're first lady, you meet thousands of people.
[02:55:13]  I mean, just in the holidays alone, you know, those holiday parties have huge crowds each year.
[02:55:18]  And so she just doesn't remember meeting him.
[02:55:20]  And then once President Clinton was, you know, associated with him in 2001, 2002, she was in the Senate.
[02:55:29]  Let's talk to Greg, who's calling us from Wilmington, Connecticut.
[02:55:32]  Independent line, you're on with Ken Thomas, Wall Street Journal.
[02:55:36]  Good morning.
[02:55:37]  On that note, Hillary, I mean, Ghislaine Maxwell went to her daughter's wedding.
[02:55:44]  I suspect the security to go to her daughter's wedding would be rather high.
[02:55:50]  So they would know everybody who came to the wedding.
[02:55:53]  And secondarily, Epstein visited Clinton 17 times in the White House while he was president of the United States.
[02:56:02]  For him to act so like, I don't know what's going on here.
[02:56:07]  It's just plain ridiculous.
[02:56:09]  They all knew this was going on, and they must be compromised.
[02:56:14]  That's only my only theory: that somehow somebody's got blackmail on all of these people.
[02:56:21]  Ken.
[02:56:22]  What President Clinton would say to the meetings is that he visited the White House 17 times.
[02:56:26]  And President Clinton really doesn't remember meeting Epstein at the time when he was president.
[02:56:32]  Are there records?
[02:56:33]  I mean, there are records of people coming into the White House.
[02:56:35]  Are there records of who meets with the president?
[02:56:38]  Well, I mean, there are records.
[02:56:39]  There are, but just because you visit the White House doesn't necessarily mean you have time with the president.
[02:56:45]  I mean, there are a lot of people who visit the White House every day.
[02:56:48]  It doesn't mean they're, you know, having one-on-one meetings with the Commander-in-Chief.
[02:56:53]  And what about this issue of Ghelene Maxwell being at Chelsea Clinton's wedding?
[02:56:57]  Right.
[02:56:58]  They said that Maxwell was a plus-one, that she was, you know, involved with someone who was a donor of the Clinton Foundation who went to the wedding.
[02:57:09]  So I think the relationship, the relationship with Maxwell seemed to be more extensive with Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton than Jeffrey Epstein because of this relationship she had with a donor.
[02:57:23]  And we will be airing the full deposition for you.
[02:57:26]  It's going to be on C-SPAN 3.
[02:57:28]  That starts tonight, 8 p.m. on C-SPAN 3.
[02:57:32]  Again, C-SPAN 3, also on our app, C-SPANNOW, C-SPAN.org.
[02:57:36]  It starts with former President Bill Clinton.
[02:57:38]  After his deposition, we will air Hillary Clinton's deposition.
[02:57:42]  You can watch all that.
[02:57:43]  If you can't watch tonight, you can go ahead and start watching on our website as well.
[02:57:51]  Bill in Alabama, Independent Line.
[02:57:53]  Good morning.
[02:57:54]  Yes, good morning.
[02:57:56]  Mr. Thomas, just my call was to bring up about the fact that Ghillen was at Chelsea's wedding.
[02:58:06]  And a gentleman just said that, well, Hillary knew Ghelene really well.
[02:58:13]  And she never met Jeffrey Epstein.
[02:58:16]  As good of friends as she was with Ghelane, she didn't have any idea who Jeffrey Epstein was.
[02:58:24]  I find that really interesting that if you have a friend and you know their wife really well, nine times out of ten, you know the husband or their partner, boyfriend, whatever the case may be.
[02:58:36]  And Bill Clinton didn't realize that Jeffrey was there 17 times.
[02:58:43]  We need to look at the records on who visited him when he was president.
[02:58:48]  And did Epstein go in and meet with the president?
[02:58:52]  Not the White House, the president.
[02:58:55]  And Hillary, I think she's lying, but we all find that kind of interesting, don't we?
[02:59:02]  What do you think?
[02:59:03]  I think what Hillary Clinton would say to that is that she actually didn't know Maxwell very well or they weren't good friends.
[02:59:09]  You know, that they simply was an acquaintance and she knew him through this one person.
[02:59:14]  So, you know, I think the degree of what that relationship is is certainly something people are going to examine.
[02:59:22]  What are the next steps for the House Oversight Committee?
[02:59:24]  Yeah, I think one thing to watch is this question of whether the Oversight Committee seeks to speak to Howard Ludnick.
[02:59:32]  There seems to be some support among congressional Republicans to bring before the committee to answer questions about his relationship with Epstein.
[02:59:44]  He said that he stopped associating with Epstein, who was a neighbor of his, around 2005.
[02:59:51]  And then we found out later that he and his family members visited Epstein's Island for lunch after that time.
[02:59:59]  So there's been somewhat of a shifting timeline in terms of his association.
[03:00:04]  And when James Comer, the chairman of the committee, was asked, he said it's certainly possible that they could bring Lutnick before the committee.

=== Shifting Timelines and Depositions (00:38) ===

[03:00:11]  All right.
[03:00:11]  Well, that's Ken Thomas, Wall Street Journal, National Political Reporter.
[03:00:15]  You can find his work at WSJ.com.
[03:00:17]  Thanks so much for joining us.
[03:00:19]  Good to be with you.
[03:00:20]  And again, we will have those full depositions, the full unedited depositions of Bill and Hillary Clinton starting at 8 p.m. tonight on C-SPAN 3.
[03:00:29]  You can watch it there and on our other platforms as well.
[03:00:33]  That's it for us today.
[03:00:34]  We will see you tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. Eastern for another edition of Washington Journal.
[03:00:40]  I was going to say Wall Street.
[03:00:42]  But right now, we're going to take you right over to the Senate Armed Services hearing on the latest national defense strategy.
[03:00:48]  It is underway right now.