Michael Taylor hosts Washington Journal on April 18, 2026, debating Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure and President Trump's nuclear blockade amidst $3.79 gas prices. Callers clash over Trump's alleged blasphemy, Epstein conspiracies, and Clarence Thomas's speech, while Farah argues the Iranian regime threatens global stability through funding Hezbollah and Houthis. Geraldine questions Democratic voting policies regarding mail-in ballots and ICE agents. Ultimately, the dialogue highlights deep partisan divides on whether military escalation justifies economic costs or if political maneuvering undermines national security. [Automatically generated summary]
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Busy News Week Highlights00:15:38
I'm thrilled to be on the show with him.
There are not shows like this, right?
Incentivizing that relationship.
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Washington Journal starts now.
This is the Washington Journal for Saturday, April 18th.
It has been another very busy news week.
Iran overnight reasserted control over the Strait of Hormuz just hours after President Trump and Iranian officials declared the waterway completely open.
The president publicly feuded with Pope Leo over the war.
Republicans tried to spotlight their economic policy record on tax day.
And two lawmakers, one from each party, resigned in the wake of scandals.
You could choose those or any other political story as your top story of the week.
And if you want to tell us what you've been tracking, here are the numbers to call.
We'd love to hear from you.
Republicans, 202-748-8001.
Democrats, 202-748-8000.
And Independents, 202-748-8002.
You could also text us here at C-SPAN at 202-748-8003.
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It has been a whirlwind 24 hours on the foreign policy front after President Trump and Iranian officials initially announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, which normally sees 20% of the world's global oil supply shipping through it, would reopen after seven weeks of being largely shut down.
But now, just in the last few hours, I want to put up this headline from the Associated Press.
It says, Iran's military command says it has closed Hormuz again over U.S. blockade.
A few points here from the AP.
Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, warning that it would continue to block transit as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
Iran said Friday it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, but President Donald Trump said the American blockade on Iranian ships and ports will remain in full force until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.S., including on its nuclear program.
And Iranian officials said the blockade was a violation of last week's ceasefire agreement between Iran and the U.S.
The Strait will not remain open if the blockade continues, Iran's parliamentary speaker posted on X early Saturday.
Now, President Trump spent the last two days out west visiting Nevada and Arizona for economic and political events.
But as he flew back here to Washington Friday night, he answered questions from the traveling press pool and talked about the war against Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and whether or not the ceasefire that is set to expire early next week will have to be extended.
Here's what the president said.
We're negotiating over the weekend.
And as you know, we have the blockade.
The blockade's been very successful.
And of equal success has been the five weeks before the blockade, the combination was pretty lethal, I would say.
So we're going to be knowing very shortly.
But we're talking over.
I expect things to go well.
Many of these things have been negotiated and agreed to.
Sir, what was the good news that you had 20 minutes ago?
Having to do with Iran.
Can you tell us anything about it?
I just think it's something that should happen.
It's something that only makes sense to happen.
And I think it will.
We'll see what happens, but I think it will.
Have you agreed to sanctions really earlier that everything is managed?
No, we have not.
No, none.
You told me earlier that everything has been agreed to.
Iran was saying something different.
So what has been worked out?
Well, he's got to say something different because, you know, they have people that they have to cater to also.
I really don't.
I'm just doing the thing that's right.
I'm just saying it like it is.
We have a situation I think that is going to be very beneficial.
And the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.
You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.
And that supersedes everything else.
If you don't have a deal by Wednesday when the ceasefire ends, will you extend the ceasefire or wait for the United States?
I don't know.
Maybe not.
Maybe I won't extend it.
But the blockade is going to remain.
But maybe I won't extend it.
So you have a blockade.
And unfortunately, we'll have to start dropping bombs again.
Thank you very much, everybody.
That was President Trump late last night aboard Air Force One on his way back from Arizona.
Interestingly enough, a bit unusual according to the White House public schedule.
We're going to hear from the president later this morning at 9 o'clock Eastern Time when he is going to sign an executive order in the Oval Office.
CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs is reporting that the executive order will be about psychedelics, and she said that it will have to do with a psychedelic drug used abroad to treat PTSD.
We'll be, of course, taking that executive order, signing live at 9 o'clock Eastern Time.
President Trump back at the White House after two days out west, and he is definitely going to be facing some questions about the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz, given these developments over the last couple of hours.
Let's hear from some of you calling in about your top story of the week, whether it's Iran or something else.
I want to go to Andrew calling in from Sterling, Virginia on the Democratic line.
Good morning, Andrew.
You're on with us.
Good morning, C-SPAN.
This past week should have revealed to every Christian, evangelical Christian, every American, what an evil satanic person our current president is, Donald Trump.
He attacked the Pope relentlessly, time and time again.
He portrayed himself as Christ in that true social post, depicting himself as Jesus Christ.
He has committed blasphemy.
Why anybody of good faith would continue to support this guy when it's obvious that he is a false prophet?
If anything, he's the Antichrist.
The guy is evil.
He's always been evil.
He's a liar.
He's a cheat.
He continues to lie.
And he's taken this world apart, piece by piece.
Starting with our country, he aligns himself with the likes of Putin, Xi Ji's wing of China, and attacks our NATO allies, the people he should be supporting.
In the end, I think he will betray Ukraine.
He will let Putin take over Ukraine.
And obviously, he's made deals with Putin and the Chinese prime minister.
It's awful what this guy is committing right before our very eyes.
Thank you, C-SPEN.
Got your point, Andrew.
For those who may have missed it over the last couple of days, here's a Washington Post story about the president sharing a post depicting himself as Jesus.
The post writes Trump post appearing to depict him as Jesus removed amid backlash.
You could see the image there.
The president was asked about it repeatedly throughout the week, defended himself.
At one point, claimed that he thought it was an image of himself as a doctor helping people.
But a lot of even the president's own supporters reacting to this, expressing some concern over it.
Let's go now to Al calling in from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the Republican line.
Good morning, Al.
You're on with us.
Is your top story related to that Jesus post, the war, something else?
Well, a little bit of things.
First of all, people should read about the Vatican and the use of the rat lines to help the Nazis hide in South America after World War II.
Pretty interesting.
And those that don't follow Jesus are pretty upset now about this whole thing.
But anyways, I want to talk about the left-wing media complex and how they try to tell this is a two- or three-week war.
This war is 47 years old.
And if people look back to the Carter administration, there was an internal struggle there between the leftists and others.
And of course, the leftists won.
They did not want to back the Shah, the brutal Shah, they'll say.
Yes.
And now we have something far more brutal right now.
So this war goes back 47 years.
We listened to the leftists back then.
We had a pro-West End Shah, and this is what we've had now.
And this president's confronting it.
I think we'll learn pretty soon, really, who has the hand of God on them right now.
So God can use all vessels and all people when our humanity gets out of whack and we have to pull the country in down the right road.
Nobody is perfect.
If we read scripture, we'll find out God uses imperfect people to fix an imperfect world.
And there is major adjustments going on that are necessary.
We cannot have Iran have a nuclear weapon.
We can see what they've done just the last few weeks.
Thousands of Americans have died the last 47 years.
Al, if you don't mind, I'd love to ask you a follow-up question about the war.
The president said yesterday after he and Iranian officials announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened.
At one point, the president posted on Truth Social that Iran would never again close the Strait of Hormuz and they would stop using it as leverage on the world stage.
But it's just now hours later and Iran is saying that the Strait is closed once again.
As you outlined your support for the conflict, does it worry you at all that Iran seems to be going back on what the president declared or maybe that the president got too far ahead of himself yesterday?
Maybe I'll make a statement here you might get a little struck by.
Where is the United Nations?
Where is NATO?
Where is Britain and France that are vacillating back and forth?
Do you know that Britain just finished paying us for the Lend-Lease?
Remember Lend-Lease from World War II from seventh-grade civics?
They just stopped paying us 15 years ago.
They wouldn't allow us to use their bases.
This is more about hating Donald Trump.
Donald Trump could be Mother Teresa right now, and because we've politicized it.
And one more thing.
It used to be that foreign policy ended at the water's edge.
That stopped with George Bush because his poll numbers were 90% and the Democrats desperately needed to get back in power.
The Democrats were a power for most of post-World War II.
This is about power.
Do not be deceived.
Thank you.
Thank you, Al.
Hope you have a good day.
Let's go to Tehran calling in from Bakersfield, California on the independent line.
Good morning.
You're on with us.
What's on your mind?
Hey, good morning, John.
I would just like to say thank you for your show.
And, you know, listening yesterday, and sometimes it's amazing how jaded people are to the facts and the truth.
You know, they want to blame the liberal media and this and that.
When the facts and the writing is on the wall, we had an agreement that President Trump tore up that had the situation under control.
Iran was not going to bomb the United States.
That was a farce.
If they wanted to do that, it would have happened a long time ago.
Now, President Trump's history, before he even became president, we all knew what he was about.
But people were so enamored about making America great and believed all that nonsense with his track record that they voted men not once, but twice.
And the second time, I think it had to really do with the fact that they did not want a black woman running the country who was way more qualified than Donald Trump in every measure.
Even his cabinet, none of them are qualified to do their job.
All the people that were in place, the professionals that do that job every day and have, you know, career professionals in their respective positions, most of them have been fired or left.
And as far as people in NATO and blaming this country and that country not backing us up, nobody wants to be involved in something that's immoral or illegal.
They don't want that.
And Americans are tired, and the writing is on the wall.
You know, I'm really embarrassed.
It's embarrassing to be an American to the world.
This man has destroyed the world economy and our economy.
And they continue to grip billionaires, continue to make money on his market manipulation.
Oh, we're going to do this.
Market's up.
Market's down.
Market's up.
Oil is up.
Oil is down.
And I guarantee you that if they do a follow-up and investigate all the actions of this president, not only will he be convicted and guilty as he is of war crimes, but of market manipulation and every other law that's possibly out there.
I'm sorry that Republicans and people are so jaded that can't find the facts in the situation and have to go and feel with their heart and in their bones that Trump is a savior and everybody hates Trump and everybody's just against Trump because I don't know why besides the fact that he's a convicted felon, a fraud, a tax cheat.
You know, he never released.
He has no one to check his power and what he does.
And he works with pure immunity.
The Supreme Court, the Republicans in Congress have no backbone and are so afraid of losing their cushy job that they won't even stand up for the American people, their constituents, and what's right.
Uranium Enrichment Concerns00:04:21
I don't know how long and what it will take before those people choose to think for themselves and not buy into this Fox news match and so on media circus.
That's the bad part of media.
Tehran, thank you.
Thanks for weighing in.
You've touched on a lot, so I want to build on a couple of the points that you made.
There's some reporting from CBS specifically about the war and the hourly updates that we've been getting over the last 24 hours that I want to touch on.
CBS said that President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS on Friday that Iran has, quote, agreed to everything and will work with the U.S. to remove its enriched uranium.
He said the two sides are meeting this weekend and the U.S. would continue its military blockade of Iranian ports and vessels until we get it done.
Obviously now Iran is saying because of that blockade they have reclosed the Strait of Hormuz.
CBS says Mr. Trump also told them that removing enriched uranium from Iran would not involve US ground troops.
When asked who would retrieve it, he would only say our people.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman told State TV the country's enriched uranium isn't going to be transferred anywhere.
Now Tehran, you and a couple other callers have already brought up NATO and the United Nations and their role in this conflict.
We have heard from prominent European leaders like the UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer in the last 24 hours talking about the Strait of Hormuz and the role that Europe should be playing and prominent US allies should be playing in reopening that strait.
Here's what Starmer said yesterday about the future of navigation in the strait.
We welcome the announcement that was made during our meeting, but we need to make sure that that is both lasting and a workable proposal.
And if anything, it reinforces the need for the work that we've been doing this afternoon because we're very clear that the mission that we're putting together is a defensive mission that comes after a ceasefire.
So that's why we brought the international group together to indicate how we will play our part.
And there are a number of elements.
First, to deliver the diplomatic push for peace based on the fundamental principle that the strait should be reopened immediately with no tolls and no restrictions.
And there was absolute unity on those points across all of the states attending today.
And that transcends the other differences that countries who are with us this afternoon may have because the whole world needs to see a solution here.
Second, that we need to manage the economic shock by avoiding unnecessary trade restrictions, supporting energy and food security, and supporting industry so that shipping can resume as soon as conditions permit.
Thirdly, and crucially, we agreed to accelerate our military planning.
I can confirm that along with France, the UK will lead a multinational mission to protect freedom of navigation as soon as conditions allow.
This will be strictly peaceful and defensive as a mission to reassure commercial shipping and support mine clearance.
We invite all nations with an interest in the free flow of global trade to join us.
Some have already indicated their readiness to contribute.
We will take this forward with a military planning conference in London next week, where we will announce more detail on the composition of the mission.
And over a dozen countries have already offered to contribute assets.
But look, reopening the strait is a global necessity and a global responsibility.
We need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again to bring down prices for working people.
Our citizens need to see a return to peace and stability, and we will play our full part.
That was UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer on Friday talking about the Strait of Hormuz.
Let's go back to some callers.
Essie is calling in from Tyler, Texas on the Democratic line.
Good morning, Essie.
You're on with us.
What's your top story of the week?
Clarence Thomas Remarks00:08:42
I wanted to comment on Trump talking himself as Jesus.
I see it as blasphemous that he would do something like that because he's not portraying himself as a doctor.
The outfit that he has on is really something that Christ wore back in biblical time.
So a man who would do something like that and say he's a Christian, he's telling a lie.
And blasphemy in the Bible cannot be forgiven.
That's a sin you cannot be forgiven for.
So if a man will do that, there's no telling what else he will do.
Since he's been up there on Pennsylvania Avenue, he just has created chaos in the world.
He's not a peacemaker.
This war should have never been started, even though we know Iran is an enemy, but they have not fired on us.
So why fire up on them?
And then the gas prices.
I'm a senior citizen.
It is hard to make it out here on a fixed income.
The gas prices, food prices, just the economy, period.
And I don't think he's concerned about the American people or any people for that matter, only himself, enriching himself.
And that's what he seemed to be doing ever since he's been back up there on Pennsylvania Avenue is enriching himself and his rich friends.
And I don't know why, too, they let him tear down the East Wing and pave all the roads according because those things are history.
Why is he destroying history?
And why are people letting him destroy history and create chaos in this country?
Thank you.
Essie, if you could hang on for a second, a question for you.
What have gas prices been like in your part of Texas?
And what do you say to the president, who I think it was back on Thursday, was asked about gas prices and said, in his opinion, they're not that high.
And he thinks they will drop further once this conflict with Iran is sorted out.
Okay.
And I live in East Texas and in this town, gas prices have gone up to $3.79, which it was like $2.39.
So for us, you know, cost of living, that's a lot.
And you have a lot of seniors live in this part of East Texas.
So for us, that's a lot of money.
And it's very, you know, probably going to go up some more.
Probably will hit $4 before the summer.
And I think he's probably never ever had to buy a loaf of bread, gas, or anything else.
He doesn't know what that feels like.
Got it.
Well, thanks for weighing in, Essie.
I appreciate that.
And I want to go back to your comments about the president's back and forth with Pope Leo over the war in Iran.
Here's an article from USA Today earlier this week with the headline, I'm not fighting with him.
Trump says he and Pope disagree, and that's okay.
The piece says, President Donald Trump ratcheted down his week-long feud with Pope Leo, saying it's okay for the two of them to have different approaches to the world's problems.
I'm not fighting with him, Trump said.
The Pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree.
The president's comments came after Trump and Leo have exchanged a series of critical messages and statements to the press and on social media about the war with Iran.
Leo has said in a post on April 10th that anyone who is a disciple of Christ is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.
Let's go now to West Virginia.
Gregory is calling in on the Republican line.
Good morning, Gregory.
You're on with us.
What's your top story of the week?
I guess it'd be the skirmish we have with Iran.
They were bad actors for 47 years.
And it's about time we had a president that would be able to stop them in their tracks.
And it seems to be working.
And what do you think about that previous caller from Texas talking about the affordability aspect of this, that the war has caused gas prices to rise and that that's having a negative impact, in her view, on people here in America?
Well, I mean, I'm up here in West Virginia, and I guess my gas price is about $3.65, which is still lower than what Biden did.
So for us to stop Iran and pay a little bit more to pump, I have no problem with that.
And are you concerned at all about this news just from the last few hours that Iran is saying the Strait of Hormuz, that was briefly reopened yesterday, is now closed again, especially after President Trump said yesterday that he claimed Iran would never again close the Strait?
I don't believe a word coming out of Iran's mouth, to be honest with you.
We had negotiators over there taking care of it, so let them do their job, and we just have to stay here and listen to the non-fake radio news, and we'll see what happens.
All right.
Thanks, Gregory.
I appreciate that.
On the gas price front, News Nation has some numbers to help break this down.
They write: the military conflict in Iran, which began at the end of February, started while U.S. fuel prices averaged $2.98 per gallon.
Within three weeks of the war's start, the national average had climbed past $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 in late March.
While drivers saw the largest month-over-month jump in crude oil prices since 2020, the increase is set to affect home energy bills as well, with residential heating oil prices jumping approximately 24% in the two weeks following the war's start.
Gas buddies Patrick DeHaan say Americans could start seeing cheaper gas in three to four weeks, potentially if the Strait of Hormuz were to be opened.
Let's go now to David, calling in from Independence, Louisiana, on the Independent line.
Good morning, David.
You're on with us.
Good morning.
Mr. Taylor, isn't it?
That's right.
How are you doing, sir?
I'm doing well.
How are you?
Okay, having to listen to all the Democratic response, you know, rhetoric.
It's just unbelievable how Mr. Trump has to fight Iran and the Democratic Party.
But, you know, that's okay.
That's what this country's all about, right?
But my deal was Clarence Thomas from the Supreme Court making that speech concerning liberalism, progressivism, and how it's incompatible with our Constitution and the foundation principles that this country were built on.
And I haven't heard anybody say anything, or maybe you can elaborate some.
You know, I don't have the capability to get that message out there.
And the second part I wanted to mention, some maybe you could touch on this, is about all the scientists that are coming up missing.
And God bless you, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you, David.
President Trump, to that latter point, has been asked.
He was asked by Peter Ducey on Fox News this week about scientists and other people affiliated with science, and I'll look this up in a minute, but who have gone missing?
And both the President and Press Secretary Caroline Levitt have said the government is looking into that now.
They're not sure if these cases are connected or not.
You brought up Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
I quickly looked up this piece from ABC News from earlier this week.
It said, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas blasts progressivism as a threat to America.
He said, Values in the Declaration of Independence have fallen out of favor.
This was on Wednesday.
He delivered a televised broadside against progressivism, ABC says, a political philosophy he described as an existential threat to America and the principles that founded it 250 years ago.
Thomas said, Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government.
While speaking at the University of Texas Austin Law School, pegged to the nation's upcoming milestone birthday, a spirit of cynicism, rejection, hostility, and animus toward America by Americans has taken hold.
Thomas said in remarks carried live right here on C-SPAN.
So that's what one of the prominent justices was saying this week while on the road.
Let's go now to Joe calling in from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on the Democratic line.
Good morning, Joe.
What's your top story of the week?
Well, now that there's so many, I hear so many callers, you were talking about Clarence Thomas.
Epstein and Israel Debate00:15:34
Let's not forget he was the one they caught, they caught taking the billionaire cash on people that had court rulings coming up.
And not only was he taking the cash, he was hiding it.
And then when they caught him, he started reporting some of it.
It's outlandish money he's taken under the table.
That's like vulture capitalism.
So I would imagine he would be against things like everyone having health care that would be progressive.
So forget about him.
He's corrupt.
I did want to throw one thing in real quick about the Mexican border.
And if you look it up, Trump didn't close the border.
He threatened Mexico with terrorist.
And they've got their troops keeping any immigrants from reaching our border.
So that's really not the law.
But anyway, and then on to the Iran situation with Israel.
I think people need to do the two plus two.
Jeffrey Epstein, his girlfriend, Gulain, who was getting all the girls, her father was Robert Maxwell.
Everyone should look up Robert Maxwell, the billionaire from England, who was known to be working with the intelligence of not just the UK, but Israel and you've guessed it, Russia.
Glain was his daughter.
He dropped off a boat, mysteriously died in 91 the same year she met Jeffrey Epstein.
Well, did Epstein have any Israel connections?
Yes, he met with Ehud Barak.
Look him up.
He was their defense minister of Israel and the president.
And they got together over 60 times, 60 times, and every month during Trump's first run for president.
So just think about it.
Jeffrey Epstein's taking videos and pictures of all the wealthy, powerful political people coming through his various locations.
He's taking pictures.
Those naughty pictures are in the hands of Israeli government and Russian government because Robert Maxwell was working for all these intelligence agencies.
That's why when you really look at Trump's track record, he's pro-Israel to a fault, which is why we're in Iran right now, and why he's trying to get off, trying to let Russia just go ahead and roll over Ukraine.
So the common sense thing, the common sense thing is the Israeli government and the Russian government, they have the pictures, the videos.
That's part of that 3 million documents they won't release.
So, as soon as those all come out, or we get the actual banking records, like from the Bank of New York Mellon, as soon as all these banking records come out, then the people will finally go, Hey, I didn't get my, remember when Trump is going to send out the tariff checks?
Did you get it?
No, he was lying again.
Did you get your Doge check?
No, he was lying again.
So, stop saying you just wait, because by the time you figure out this is a big con by the orange caligula in the White House, you'll be joining the other side of the aisle just to bring sanity back.
And I'm no Joe Biden fan, right, or any of those people because they're too corporate as well.
But I will say that inflation during Biden's time was global.
Joe Biden had very little to do with that inflation, but he got the blame for it.
So, I'm just trying to kind of do a little education here.
Got your point, Joe.
And I want to build on what you were claiming about Jeffrey Epstein.
I pulled up this article from Al Jazeera from back in February.
Their headline is: What were Jeffrey Epstein's links to Israel?
New documents show some believed the disgraced American financier had links to Israeli intelligence services and settler groups.
I'll just read a couple lines from this.
The ties between disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein and Israel are becoming clearer after the release of millions of documents related to the convicted sex offender by the United States Department of Justice following a years-long campaign.
The documents have revealed more details of Epstein's interactions with members of the global elite, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
But they also document his funding of Israeli groups, including friends of the Israeli Defense Forces and the settler organization, the Jewish National Fund, as well as his ties to members of Israel's overseas intelligence services.
Your point is something that a lot of Democrats, especially on Capitol Hill, have raised at various times.
And in my last few weeks hosting here, a lot of callers have brought up concerns about President Trump's commitments to Israel and this Jeffrey Epstein story.
So, just wanted to dive a bit into that.
Let's hear now from Angela calling in from Virginia on the Republican line.
Good morning, Angela.
You're on with us.
Yeah, well, thank you for taking my call.
Yeah, that guy from Oklahoma, he just sounds like a crazy person to me.
And you bringing up that whole Israel thing, that Epstein article up, because the bottom line is the Democrats had the Epstein files long before the Trump administration did.
And I'm pretty sure they combed through every single letter of that file to see if there was anything that they could find proof that President Trump was doing something the way that they came after him with the law fair.
Do you actually think they would have had those Epstein files for four whole years and didn't comb through them?
And if there was something there that they could prove, they wouldn't have done it.
So you all sound, you only try to convince yourselves and your silly followers because they had it long before the Trump administration did, the files, the entire files, and everybody knows it.
So only they can do is now use it for innuendos just to try to say something about President Trump.
That's all that is.
And then, secondly, I would rather have a president depicting himself as Christ.
I would rather have a president doing that.
And even though he didn't depict that, someone else did.
He just posted it.
But I would rather have a president depicting himself as Christ than to be affiliated with the reprobate-mind people that will mutilate children, telling them that they can be boys and girls when they were born in the wrong body, all against the Lord.
And your first caller from wherever he was from saying if any Christian had anything about them, they wouldn't support President Trump.
Well, then if we're not going to support President Trump, then what are we supposed to support?
The reprobate mind people that tell little girls and boys that they were born in the wrong body, that God made a mistake.
You want us to support that kind of nonsense?
Or people that will kill an innocent baby sleeping in the mother's womb?
You would rather us support that?
So, you know, you people have nothing to stand on.
And as far as Israel and the United States, what is all the this big thing about Israel and the United States?
The United States have to have allies all over.
So Israel can't be an ally because of why.
Okay.
So it sounds more like Jew hating to me, Zionist hating to me.
So, you know, as far as young man, are you a college graduate?
I am, yes.
Yeah.
And see, and that's my whole point because it appears to me that people who have graduated from these colleges and universities are no more, the vast majority of you, are no more than trained Marxists.
Are you a college graduate, Angela?
No, I am not.
I'm an autodidact.
Got it.
You all are trained Marxists.
The vast majority, not all, but the vast majority of you are, because you're so against your own country.
So I'd love, Angela, if you don't mind, you raised several points there.
I wanted to pull up this one Fox News article responding to your comments about the president's depiction of himself as Jesus on social media, because while the president did receive a good amount of criticism from members of his own base, he also got some support.
This Fox News piece says Franklin Graham defends Trump in letter shared on Truth Social after AI Jesus image backlash.
Reverend Franklin Graham defended President Donald Trump at a statement shared Thursday on Truth Social after backlash over an image critics said depicted Trump as Jesus Christ.
The statement was released Thursday by Graham and shared by the president as a signed letter.
Fox says, I do not believe President Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ.
That would certainly be inappropriate, Graham wrote.
He added that Trump believed the image showed him as a doctor and said the president immediately removed the post after concerns were raised.
So some defense there from some of the president's allies.
You touched on a lot there, Angela.
I appreciate you weighing in.
Let's hear from John calling in from Birdsboro, Pennsylvania on the independent line.
Good morning, John.
You're on with us.
Good morning.
Can you hear me?
I can, loud and clear.
What stories are you following this week?
Well, I was going to talk about Iran, but I've been holding so long talking about, I don't know, I can't figure people out.
That's why I'm kind of independent because it don't matter whether you're Democratic or Republican.
There's pedophiles everywhere.
Why didn't the lady ask why did the Democrats bring up Epstein?
Well, don't they remember Bill Clinton and Donald Trump used to ride together on the airplane to the island?
I can't figure it out.
There's pedophiles everywhere.
But my point is, you know, I got broke into my house, so I went out and got a gun and put on house protected by Smith and Wesley.
Big sign.
I haven't got broke into since then.
My point is North Korea got the nuclear bomb.
All Iran wanted was a nuclear bomb so that you don't get bombed by Israel.
That's all they wanted.
They weren't going to get nobody.
It's to protect yourselves.
That's my point.
Thanks for listening to me.
Thank you, John.
Quick follow-up question for you, John.
Are you concerned at all by this news from the last 24 hours about Iran closing down the Strait of Hormuz, seeming to go back on this apparent deal that was reached yesterday?
Maybe we don't have, John.
I'll put up this Associated Press update.
There's a lot of news coming in on the Iran front.
The AP said just within the last half hour that Iranian gunboats fire on tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
The British military says.
The AP says the British military says two gunboats from Iran's Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz after Iran said it had re-imposed restrictions on the vital waterway.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the tanker and crew were reported safe without identifying the vessel or its destination.
Iran said earlier it was re-imposing restrictions on the strait in response to a U.S. blockade on Iranian shipping and ports.
Iran has prevented vessels from crossing throughout the seven-week-long war, except for ones it authorizes.
Let's go up to Hanover, Massachusetts, where Kathy's calling in from the Democratic line.
Good morning, Kathy.
What's your top story of the week?
The interview with Maria Bartaromo and Donald Trump, where Trump insisted that, or stated confidently, that Tom Tillis had left the Senate.
And Maria, when you looked at her, in my opinion, she had that look in her eyes where, you know, that passing momentary thing where you know someone's not stating something true, but it's an older kind of family member or friend where you don't want to say, hey, you're wrong.
And then he was questioning her.
He questioned, you could see that look of doubt in his face.
Like, you could see the aging going on live, is my perspective.
But that's just me.
And do you, could I ask you, Kathy, is that a conversation amongst your family friends, community members?
Because there was so much talk.
I spent the 2024 campaign on the trail, and I heard a lot of concerns from people from all backgrounds and stripes about President Joe Biden's age at the time.
Are you hearing similar concerns now from people about President Trump's age?
Well, you don't need to listen to people to know it's true.
I mean, it's his erratic behavior in general.
I mean, when he was posting, I forget which Senate it was last weekend, but when he posted from 2.34 to 2.37, four times, he was up all night posting.
It's an obsession.
To your point, I just pulled up this article from the Daily Beast.
They wrote, Trump, age 79, makes mind-boggling mistakes in rambling diatribe, talking about the president's interview with Maria Bartaromo, which aired earlier this week on Fox Business Channel.
Thanks so much, Kathy.
Let's go to Larry calling in from Lumberton, North Carolina on the Republican line.
Good morning, Larry.
You're on with us.
Let me see.
Larry, are you there?
Yes, sir.
Hey there.
Sorry about that.
You're on.
What's your top story of the week?
Well, I had a couple of things I wanted to talk about, but after listening to all this stuff, I want to change up a little bit.
Okay, go for it.
Number one, if people would read the Bible, they would know.
If they would get a King James Version Bible and read it, they would know what's going on.
And everybody blasting everybody is the whole problem.
But if you know the Democrats was the ones that was hiring all these people to go in these cities and towns and blow up everything and tear up everything, and then it makes it look like the Iceman is doing it and all this, but it ain't.
It's the Democrats.
That old Natchez Belowski and that King Jeffries and them, they ain't no good.
They need to be gone.
AOC needs to be gone.
There's a bunch of them need to be gone.
But here's the deal.
I am proud to have a president like Donald Trump.
While he's out there fighting for us, all the Americans, except for the 75 million that voted for him, is fighting against him.
And if he's 79-year-old, he's going to feel like 90 because he's pulling baggage from every corner.
And I just wanted to say I'm proud to have Israel on our side.
Iranian Regime Threats00:11:26
And Larry, are you comfortable with how the president has been handling the war with Iran?
Is there anything you want to see him do differently?
Yes, sir.
And I promise you, this news coming out today that says that Iran is shutting the straight back down, I promise you, within 24 hours, they won't have no gunboats out there.
How are gas prices in your part of North Carolina?
Are you worried about that?
We got the best military in the world sitting out there.
And all he's got to do is say, hey, open it back up, and it'll be opened up.
They won't be firing at no ships or nothing else because we got the best Navy and military and Marines and everything in the world sitting out there.
There's no comparison.
And people ought to feel good about that.
People should feel good about this man out here fighting for us to keep us safe for the next 20 years.
Got your point.
Thank you, Larry.
Let's go to Arnold calling in from Daytona Beach, Florida on the Independent Line.
Good morning, Arnold.
You're on with us.
Yeah, how are you doing this morning?
Doing well.
How about you?
What's on your mind?
A couple things.
Number one, I think they need to start drug testing everybody, Congress, Senate, President.
I think they need to drug test them all.
Some of the stuff comes out of this president's mouth and the lies that he puts out on Cruise Social, which is owned by him.
It's easy to lie.
And it's like us yesterday, you know, all the straits of Hormoos are open.
You know, everything's good.
Then next thing you know, Iran says, he's lying.
You know, it's a straight-up lie.
The man has a history of lying.
I mean, that's him.
Another thing, you know, for some reason, everybody just seems to believe everything comes out of his mouth is truth, and it ain't.
You know, our news media is not doing their job because they're scared of him.
Things need to change a little bit on that, I think.
Thank you, Arnold.
I wanted to play a soundbite from earlier this week from Treasury Secretary Scott Besson talking about the war's impact economically, specifically on gas prices.
The Treasury Secretary and the Trump administration have faced a lot of questions about this over the last few weeks.
Here's what Secretary Besson said.
When are we really going to get $3 a gallon gas?
Well, I think that's going to be up to how the negotiations go.
President Trump said this morning that he thinks we're nearing the end.
The U.S. kept their side on the ceasefire.
We've stopped firing.
The straits of our mood have not been completely reopened.
So we will see.
And I'm optimistic that during the summer, we will see gas with a three in front of it sooner rather than later.
It's bank week here in D.C., so I've been meeting with a lot of my Middle Eastern counterparts, the finance ministers, and they all say that once the straits are open, they could start pumping again within one week.
So not by summer, like Memorial Day, but maybe by Labor Day.
Again, I'm optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th, that we can have $3 gas again.
And as I said this morning, too, we are going to be watching the gas stations because they raised prices very quickly when they stated when the crude oil prices went up.
We hope they'll bring them down just as quickly as crude oil prices have come down, which they've come down substantially just in the past 10 days.
That was Treasury Secretary Scott Besson on Wednesday during a White House press briefing.
Let's go out to the West Coast.
Vera is calling in from San Mateo, California on the Democratic line.
Good morning.
You're on with us.
Well, hi.
Hey there.
What stories are you following?
Well, I'm Iranian, Iranian-American, and I just wanted to tell everybody that most Iranians, including myself, know that what President Trump is doing is the right thing because this regime has to be overthrown because for 47 years, a cancer has been created in the Middle East.
Basically, a bully, a bully that would do anything.
And the way they operate is not like a regime.
It's like a mafia.
So if it's not overthrown, I don't know what is going to happen because we're not dealing with normal national, rational people.
Do you have families still in Iran?
Yes, I have cousins, but since they shut down the internet and power and everything in Iran to the government, and the phones are tapped, basically the apps don't work anymore because that was the main way we could communicate.
Once in a blue line, blue moon, we basically get somehow connection with them.
They just send me a message that we're okay.
Don't worry.
But the message that I got from my cousin was that we are more happy when we see the bombs are coming here because what happens if this regime stays?
That's the main actually worry for people.
Because imagine if this regime stays, they're going to start basically reinforcing their own ideology.
Because when this regime came, it's not about one area.
They want to conquer the world.
And that is how they have been operating for 47 years.
They bring people from different parts of the world, including 200,000 people from Africa.
They pay them a stipend, housing, everything.
They train them on extreme Islamism.
And then after two years, they send them back to Africa.
So this is what you're dealing with.
So the rise of extremism is because of this regime, mainly.
Hezbollah, Houthi, Hashdosha, all these terrorist organizations are funded by the Iranian government.
So when Democrats come and say, oh, you know, We shouldn't have this war.
I really think the only reason they say this is to is to win the election and to be anti-Trump.
But the reasoning is flood.
Could I ask you?
I think your perspective is really interesting, especially because you have family in Iran.
You're also calling from California, a state that has very, very high gas prices right now.
And if you've been listening throughout the last hour, a lot of callers have called in to talk about the affordability aspect of this war.
What's your message and your perspective on if higher gas prices here in the U.S., if the economic impact here feels worthwhile or not to you, especially given your family connections to Iran?
The thing is, I seem I've been in the U.S. for 30 years.
U.S. is home for me.
And this country gave me everything, education, everything.
So I really, from the bottom of my heart, I love this country.
And the country is safety.
And it's saying in the power and the way it is is priority for me.
And I think the Iranian regime is going to undermine it and it has been undermining it.
A few years ago, they, you know, they had these propaganda of the photo of the American Navy.
They had actually stopped a ship, American ship.
And they basically made a huge propaganda and they put it for the world to see that they had them sit down, kneel on the, you know, on the ground and have their hand on their back.
And this is what the regime we're facing with.
They're looking for any kind of American, any kind of Western to take hostage and come to the table for asking for money or for this stuff.
So we're talking about the bully.
I'm American at this point because this is my country and I love America.
I have cousins in Iran that I haven't seen for so long.
But of course, nobody likes genocide and they killed over 100,000 people.
But what we see in Nigeria, killing of Christians by extreme Muslims, what we see in Sudan is mostly, if you ask any person that has studied these, is from the Iranian government because the Iranian government is started now having influence from West Africa to East Africa to now in our continent, in American continent, in South America.
We're not far from them anymore.
It's not the other side of the ocean anymore.
They're home.
And this is very dangerous.
So I would personally take the price of gas or anything to see that our country is doing well.
And honestly, in comparison to the UN and EU and UK, that are really, really disappointing because the U.S. has always supported them in everything NATO did.
But anytime anything happens, the U.S., all of these countries have different policies.
They become individually interested in their own single country policy and leave the U.S. behind.
But the U.S. has the highest grounds of ethics at this point.
I'm not talking about every single other world that has happened, but this one we know what these people have done.
So, and another thing is, Palestine has been a scapegoat for the Iranian regime for 47 years.
When I was a kid, they would, you know, line us, they would teach us, say, this to America, this to Israel.
And Gaza has always been an excuse for the Iranian regime.
Iranian regime started October 7th because the Iranian regime backs from us.
So anytime kids die, because we're dealing with the propaganda regime, this is the most important thing for them.
When Gaza kids die, they get happy actually.
Then Iranian people, if for any reason, they are killed by non-Iranian, they make a huge history of it.
But at the same time, they kill more people inside Iran.
So this is the government we're facing.
So I'm personally willing to, you know, have some inconveniences to know that our children in the future, U.S. is on top and people here are doing well because I think U.S. has stood up to the truth or to at this point, yeah.
Voting ID Confusion00:02:46
Got it.
Farah, thank you so much for sharing your story, especially for your family that are overseas in Iran right now.
I think it's also interesting you brought up Sudan and some other conflicts.
We'll be talking in the next hour with our next guest more broadly about that.
I'll touch on that in a minute.
Let's go to New Jersey.
Geraldine is calling in on the Republican line from Forkid River in New Jersey.
Good morning, Geraldine.
You're on with us.
Good morning.
First, I want to thank that Iranian-American woman for speaking.
You learn a lot when they're from Iran here, Iran.
I just want to talk about the voting because I was researching it, and I know France, Mexico, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, all of the Middle East, and all Latin American don't allow mail-in voting.
Now, the Dems keep saying that you don't need ID, but they also keep saying you can't allow ICE near any voting areas.
So, I'm not sure.
Isn't that kind of a contradiction in itself?
No, no, illegals are voting, but ICE isn't allowed near any voting areas.
So, are they voting?
Now, I do know one illegal Mexican who did vote here in New Jersey, but I know the states are different than the government.
But what do you think?
Tell me the truth.
Do you think everyone should have ID since they need it for everything else?
Even the Democratic Party, when they had their get-together, needed to show ID.
Even when the new mayor of New York City wanted them to shovel snow, they had to show two forms of ID.
So, what is going on here when the Dems don't want voter ID, and yet they say no ice near voting, even though they say no illegals vote?
Thanks for that, Geraldine.
Just one point that you mentioned.
There's this article from CBS from earlier this month where they talk about officials from 23 Democratic states in the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Trump's latest executive order that aims to restrict mail voting, arguing the directive unconstitutionally attempts to interfere with states' administration of elections.
There's a much wider conversation taking place over the president's claims about voting fraud, what the reality on the ground is, and his attempts via executive order that are now facing these legal challenges.
America 250 History Series00:01:27
We've touched on a lot in this hour, but coming up in the next hour, we have a really interesting guest who's going to weigh in on a lot.
We're going to be speaking to Democracy Now co-founder and host Amy Goodman.
She'll be discussing her 40-year journalism career as well as News of the Week.
We'll be touching a lot on foreign policy.
So, stay with us.
We'll be right back.
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