Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
Source
Time
Text
Protecting America From Foreign Actors00:14:29
Our longevity, all of it, for money that fills their coffers to come back to Congress.
We all should be woke to that.
To your point, in terms of trying to keep up with all the news, the president pulled his Surgeon General nominee, Casey Means, who was a big kind of figure in the Maha movement, has nominated somebody who's considered a bit more mainstream.
So there seems to be some tensions with the political response, though.
As your point, there's a big following for the Maha movement.
It's a little political, though, in nature, how they're making some changes, but I'm for it.
They're more moderate, people.
There's so much we could discuss.
We'll have to have you both back.
But that's Rena Shah, Republican strategist, Michael Starr, Hopkins, Democratic strategist.
Thank you both.
Pleasure to have you in the studio.
Welcome back, and we're returning to Open Forum.
We'd love to hear from you.
We started this morning's show talking about your top issue heading into November's midterm elections.
We obviously just talked a lot about the war against Iran.
As a reminder, if you want to call in, here are the numbers based on party affiliation: Democrats 202-748-8000.
Republicans, 202-748-8001.
Independents, 202-748-8002.
Or you could text us: 202-748-8003.
We have some callers on the line we'd love to get to.
Let's go to Larry calling in from Ironwood, Michigan, on the Democratic line.
Good morning, Larry.
What's on your mind?
Well, I'm a Democratic representative, Democratic chairman for a couple of different committees, and I've been studying the Republicans now for most of my life.
I watched the Republicans, and it just appears to me that the Republicans do nothing but kowtow to President Trump.
They have no will of their own to make things right with this war.
It's an unconstitutional war, should have never been started.
And Mr. Hegseth should be talking to the president on a daily basis, trying to get him to do everything he possibly can to get this war stopped.
Larry, a question for you.
Just because you're in Michigan, you said you're affiliated with Democratic politics there.
Because we were talking about the midterms earlier.
How do you feel the Democratic Senate primary in your state is playing out?
What stands out to you?
I'm very, very optimistic about the midterms here in Michigan.
We're working our butts off to elect people that have brains and don't try to run the political world with just Braun.
It's not going to work doing this with just Braun.
And it's not going to work doing it with just threats either.
The Iranians don't take the threats.
I've watched them and studied them now for the last 50 years since I was 17 years old.
I'm 67 years old now and I'm a minister.
And I think sending our boys over there to be massacred is a sin.
And I think the president is responsible for it.
Him and his regime and him and his administration are completely and totally unconstitutional.
I believe the whole administration is unconstitutional and needs to be impeached and convicted.
Period.
All right, Larry.
Thanks for weighing in.
Let's go to Tom now, calling in from Illinois on the Republican line.
Good morning, Tom.
What's on your mind?
I'm nearing 70 years old.
First off, I want to, before I get cut off, I want to say I would really like you guys to have Whitney Webb on there to point out all kinds of stuff.
She's one of America's greatest resources for the corruption in Washington.
And I'd really like to see that happen.
But as far as the president being impeached, we voted for him.
I voted for him.
I voted for him basically because of no wars, but I've come to find out in my long life that the bankers, the military, the DOD, the Israelis, and the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers run the world, and we are just little pawns.
And Whitney Webb and Baron Coleman, Candice Owens, these are people you should have on that show the corruption that's going on in Washington.
I'm interested, Tom.
You said you voted for President Trump because he campaigned on no more wars, especially no forever wars.
How are you feeling right now about the war against Iran?
Well, Iran's a trouble.
Iran's a troubled state.
I mean, they're dangerous.
And everybody says that he had to do something.
I am so conflicted.
I mean, it's just more money out the window.
I think that we should protect ourselves from actors like Iran and let's go back to taking care of America.
We're going broke.
I mean, that's just how I feel.
All right.
Thanks for winning in.
Let's hear now from Mark calling in from not too far from where I am in Silver Spring, Maryland on the Democratic line.
Good morning, Mark.
Good morning.
Thank you for the opportunity.
I'd like to make four quick points.
They'll be quick.
Go for it.
It's strange that the president flies to Florida every weekend in the gas-guzzling Air Force.
One, people pay the gas bills while they're paying increased gas prices for their car.
The optics are awful.
Point one.
Point two, his foreign policy is basically bam-bam, a bam-bam mentality.
He thinks he's strong, and at the same time, he just aims and fires, and he has his sidekick, hex says the horrible, doing his bidding.
Third is health care.
Republicans said about the ACA, it's going to be death panels for grandma.
The ACA saved 40,000 lives per year in this country.
And now the Republicans are saying, walk the plank, Grandma, and take your family with you.
Now, what should the president do?
Feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the wrecked, and shelter the harmless.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mark.
Appreciate that.
If you want to call in, we'd love to hear from you in the remaining minutes of our program.
As a reminder, we'll put the phone numbers on screen.
Democrats 202-748-8000.
Republicans 202-748-8001.
And Independents 202-748-8002.
We've been talking a lot about the war against Iran, also about the broader impact on the midterm elections this November.
Several people have mentioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and he actually spent a couple days this past week testifying on Capitol Hill, largely defending the war in Iran and the lack of congressional approval.
Here's an exchange that he had with Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine about that.
The War Powers Resolution specifies that a war initiated by a president without congressional approval must be concluded within 60 days.
It can be extended by an additional 30 days if, quote, the president determines and certifies to Congress in writing that unavoidable military necessity respecting the safety of the U.S. Armed Forces requires the continued use of such armed forces in the course of bringing about a prompt removal of such forces.
We're right at the 60-day deadline.
Is the president intending to either seek congressional authorization for the war in Iran or send us the legally required certification that he needs an additional 30 days to remove U.S. forces from the war?
Just briefly on the previous question, we do know that these are designated terrorist organizations, so we treat them like the Al-Qaeda of our hemisphere, just as a note.
But that was not the question I asked.
I know there's more to that question.
I just asked the public to understand that.
There's no willy-nilly targeting of drug boats.
We know exactly who these people are affiliated with.
I was asking about what's on the boats on Iran.
Ultimately, I would defer to the White House and White House Council on that.
However, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire.
So I'm not in.
It's our understanding, just so you know.
Okay, well, I do not believe the statute would support that.
I think the 60 days runs maybe tomorrow, and that's going to pose a really important legal question for the administration.
We have serious constitutional concerns, and we don't want to layer those with additional statutory concerns.
I yield back, Mr. Chair.
That was Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Trump administration calls him the war secretary.
Reminder of the phone numbers on your screen to call in for open forum.
Let's hear now from Mac, who's calling in from Los Angeles, California on the independent line.
Good morning, Mac.
You're on with us.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
I just wanted to let you know I'm a totally independent kind of thinker, neither Republican or Democrat.
I try and call it like I see it case by case.
Same thing about like, you know, no particular religious affiliation.
I did want to comment, and I'll be brief: there's a big fuss going on about what our president said a while ago about bombing Iran into the Stone Age.
And then he got a lot more flack from a lot of people saying he wanted to destroy an entire civilization, and everybody complained about that.
The people on the other side who were fighting now have been complaining about how they hate America for almost 50 years.
The people who are running Iran, although not the common people there.
And there's one particular country, 500 miles from them, that since 1979, they swore to exterminate.
And when the Iranians talked about killing off somebody, attacking America, or exterminating another country, people didn't get very riled up about that.
And that is wrong, too.
For anybody out there to say that they want to exterminate an entire culture anywhere, well, that's wrong to say.
And I think on the part of our president, it may have been an unfortunate comment, but we have to think about the greater danger posed by the attitude people on the other side in this war have to the United States, to Americans, and to our allies elsewhere near them.
That's really all I have to say.
Mac, since you talked about your independent roots, is it fair to say that right now you're supportive of the ongoing war?
Yes, because I think we have to get rid of the problems posed by the current Iranian government.
I don't think anybody really wants to or plans to get rid of Iran as a country or the Iranian people.
I think the long-term hope of almost all Americans in government would be the war would be concluded in a way where we're safe and other people around Iran are safe.
And also the Iranian people would hopefully be safer and happier.
All right.
Thanks for weighing in, Mac.
Let's hear now from Thomas calling in from Columbus, Georgia, on the Republican line.
Good morning, Thomas.
What would you like to say?
Good morning.
Well, I mean, the gentleman you just had, the Independent, he sounded like a nice man.
But wanting everybody wants everybody to be safe, you know, but Irans killed 40,000 of their people this year.
They killed that wrestler and the Olympic wrestler.
They hung him.
I can't hear you.
Oh, I wasn't saying anything.
You could continue.
Well, they killed that wrestler.
I mean, they're just they need to Donald Trump is just trying to get Iran into the real world.
All they care about is power.
If you don't do what they say, they'll kill you.
They want to sell their oil and get their money.
They want to Hezbollah.
Nobody's mentioned Hezbollah.
They give money to Hezbollah to fight Israel.
I mean, why does everybody hate the Jewish people?
I mean, what's wrong?
That's a I can't hear you.
Oh, I didn't say anything else.
Do you have any final thoughts?
Well, I mean, I think Donald Trump's doing a good job, except I agree with that independent man.
He shouldn't have said he didn't really mean what he said.
He should have said it a different way.
The way they've struck with Israel and blowing up their ballistic missiles and their war capabilities has really hindered Iran, and that's a good thing.
He shouldn't have said, I'm going to blow up the whole country.
He should have said that a different way.
And one more thing.
Can I say one more thing?
Oh, yeah, go ahead.
Well, the Democrats that called in, like, there was three Democrat calls, and, oh, let's impeach him.
Let's imp I mean, the Democrats don't like somebody.
It doesn't matter whether they're doing right or wrong.
They don't like them.
They get they close their mind and, oh, let's impeach them.
They're horrible.
Let's get instead of working with them.
Stopping Pejorative Political Rhetoric00:02:53
Where do you see the Democrats working with the Republicans?
All right, Thomas.
Thanks so much.
Let's hear now from Bill, calling in from Mount Arlington, New Jersey, on the Independent line.
Good morning, Bill.
What's on your mind?
Hi.
I just have a couple of comments.
Number one, in looking at our government and our democracy, three men control the entire operation of the government.
That's the Speaker of the House, the President, and the leader in the Senate.
And that shouldn't be the case.
Number two, I don't think that the Speaker of the House or the leader of the Senate should be able to stop Bill from being presented on the floor when a committee that was assigned by the you know, by the each of the bodies was given the task of presenting something.
And the third thing, I think that there is a need for a congressional, I'm sorry, for an amendment to the Constitution that disallows the shutdown of the government under any circumstance.
That's, you know, it's a terrible way to deal with problems.
And then the last thing is that we should stop the pejorative rhetoric when the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate, not the President, I'm sorry, the leader of the Senate, says Democrat or Republican, it's immediately followed by pejorative comments, which serves no purpose.
And it's not the way that we, that's not the reason we elected those people.
Thank you, Bill.
I have to say, but you mentioned that DHS shutdown that ended this week after a record 76 days, a lot of frustration on both sides of the aisle about that.
Lastly, we'll go to Sheldon calling in from Long Island, New York, on the Democratic line.
Sheldon, I'm going to ask you to keep it brief.
We have about 30 seconds left, so what's on your mind?
Wow, okay.
Well, I just wanted to say the gentleman that called in earlier, he maybe you should read the history of the United States intervention in Iran as to why the Iranians have a distaste for Americans.
And as far as the gentleman talking about working with Donald Trump, what is there to work with?
I mean, borrowed money for a tax cut, a war that is destroying American bases, the American taxpayers will have to pay back.
I mean, there's nothing for us to agree with Donald Trump with since he's taken over in his second term.
I mean, there's more I'd like to say, but it's only 30 seconds.
Yeah, I appreciate you keeping it brief, but your points are received.
Thank you, Sheldon.
Catch Washington Journal Live00:02:57
C-SPAN's Washington Journal, our live forum inviting you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics, and public policy from Washington, D.C. to across the country.
Coming up Monday morning, as the nation marks its 250th anniversary, we'll talk with Ipsos Public Affairs Senior Vice President and lead pollster Alec Tyson about Ipsos' new poll exploring Americans' view of the current state of the country.
And then Washington Examiner White House reporter Mabinti Quorshi previews the week ahead at the White House.
And author and CNN national security analyst Jim Sciutto on his new book on the influence Russia and China have upon the current state of world affairs and what it means for the United States.
C-SPAN's Washington Journal.
Join the conversation live at 7 Eastern on Monday morning on C-SPAN, C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app, or online at c-SPAN.org.
Watch America's Book Club, C-SPAN's bold original series.
Today, with our guest, presidential historian and author Douglas Brinkley, he's the professor of history at Rice University and a trustee for the Madison Council at the Library of Congress, the National Archives Foundation, the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, and the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
He joins our host, renowned author and civic leader David Rubinstein.
As an American historian, what would you say is the single most impressive thing that happened in this 250 years or the single thing that's the most surprising to you that happened in these 250 years?
I have to say what happened in Philadelphia and Independence Hall.
But the lore of all of that and what happened in Philadelphia and how out of that experience we've been able to be 250 years later.
So you never go wrong telling young people to read the Declaration of Independence and we just need more civics classes and government classes so people understand this remarkable 250-year journey.
Watch America's Book Club with Douglas Brinkley today at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
Only on C-SPAN.
Get C-SPAN wherever you are with C-SPAN Now, our free mobile video app that puts you at the center of democracy, live and on demand.
Keep up with the day's biggest events with live streams of floor proceedings and hearings from the U.S. Congress, White House events, the courts, campaigns, and more from the world of politics, all at your fingertips.
Catch the latest episodes of Washington Journal.
Find scheduling information for C-SPAN's TV and radio networks, plus a variety of compelling podcasts.
The C-SPAN Now app is available at the Apple Store and Google Play.
Download it for free today.
New Gun Regulation Proposals00:00:24
C-SPAN, Democracy Unfiltered.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the newly confirmed director of the ATF, Robert Sicata, announced 34 proposed changes to gun regulations.
They talk about the importance of protecting Second Amendment rights, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, and safeguarding the interests Of lawful gun