Byron Donalds, endorsed by Trump and backed by Florida’s conservative governors Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis, outlines his plan to sustain economic growth while cutting red tape—like SpaceX’s 2.5–3-year permit delays—by streamlining infrastructure approvals. He vows to dismantle sanctuary cities, citing zero tolerance for fentanyl trafficking and cross-border threats, and highlights past fights like opposing post-Parkland gun restrictions and blocking COVID mask mandates. Meanwhile, Democrats’ SOTU counter-events, including the Portland Frog Brigade’s anti-Trump rhetoric, and weaponized FBI tactics—like subpoenaing Kash Patel’s records and hiding evidence in a restricted system—expose deepening polarization. Florida’s future hinges on balancing progress with constitutional resilience, Donalds argues, as he pushes for voter action in the August 18 primary. [Automatically generated summary]
Hey guys, welcome to another huge episode of Triggered.
Big episode today.
We'll be joined by a Florida gubernatorial candidate and obvious friend of the show, Byron Donalds.
We'll get into all of the top issues facing Florida voters, talk to Byron about why he's running in this race, and much, much more.
Also, Democrats are melting down as usual after my father's State of the Union, even dressing up as frogs.
I crap you not.
We'll show you the tape.
You can't make it up.
And yet another massive spying scandal tied to the Biden-Ray FBI.
So we'll get into all of that shortly.
So buckle up.
We have a lot to get into today.
Make sure you guys are liking, sharing, subscribing so you never miss one of these major episodes.
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For all of the top headlines that we cover on the show, go over to my news app, MXM News, where you can get the mainstream news without the mainstream bias.
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Congressional Medal of Honor Presentation00:03:42
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And now, guys, let's get into all of the top headlines.
So, let's start with Tuesday night, where my father delivered the State of the Union.
And it was the longest State of the Union in American history, and every minute of it was earned.
He walked America through the winds, the economy, the manufacturing comeback, the border deporting criminal, illegal alien murderers, the raid that took down Maduro in Venezuela, USA hockey gold, and so much more.
Check out the highlights.
Closed her eyes and prayed to God.
She thought she was going to die.
Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin descended from a helicopter above.
I am now awarding you the Legion of Merit for extraordinary heroism, which is what it was.
Extraordinary heroism.
Thank you.
The terrorists shot Andrew in the head, and no one thought he could possibly make it.
With God's help, Andrew has battled back from the edge of death.
Now I'm going to ask a highly respected General James Seward to present Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolf and the great family of Sarah Bextrom with the award created by our late great President George Washington himself.
It's called the Purple Heart.
There were many heroes on that January raid to capture Maduro.
While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle, and Eric was hit very badly.
Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat.
I would now like to ask General Jonathan Braga to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with our nation's highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, flying more than 220 missions.
At 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
I will ask the First Lady of the United States to present Captain Royce Williams with his Congressional Medal of Honor.
Think about what you just saw.
That is what American leadership looks like.
That is what strength and optimism and pride in your country looks and feels like.
Proud Frog Brigade Resistance00:04:46
But Democrats, no.
They couldn't even bring themselves to stand or clap for any of it, even when it came to protecting Americans from illegal immigrant criminals.
Check this out.
So tonight I'm inviting every legislature to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle.
If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support.
The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.
Now, while all of that was happening inside the Capitol, the Democrats decided that the best use of their time was to hold not one, not two, but five separate counter events.
And guys, the crown jewel, a rally at the National Press Club, of course, organized by a group called Defiance.org, featuring the Portland Frog Brigade.
I can't make it up.
These people truly are clowns.
These far-left freaks stood on a stage with people in giant inflatable frog costumes.
They want you to take them seriously, but this is how they respond.
Oregon Congresswoman Maxine Dexter got up there and said, tonight I defy Trump and his authoritarian project by standing in joyful, radical, peaceful resistance with the Portland Frog Brigade.
I mean, I'm not making it up.
I literally, I saw that.
I wasn't watching.
I ended up going back to the White House with my father and the family.
We had dinner till like 2.30 in the morning.
It was crazy, but it was a really good time.
So I didn't have time to watch the charades.
And when I saw it, when I saw it, I actually sent it to my team and I was like, this has to be AI, right?
Like they can't be serious.
Like, I know they're clowns, but this level of buffoonery is actually shocking even for the Democrats.
So I'm not making this up.
What you are about to see is not AI.
I'm a mother.
I am a physician.
And I have a flag.
And I am the proud representative for Oregon's 3rd congressional district.
Yes, thank you.
Thank you.
And tonight, I defy Trump and his authoritarian project by standing in joyful, radical, peaceful resistance with the Portland Frog Brigade.
Guys, that's a sitting member of Congress at an event headlined by Robert De Niro, Eric Swalwell, Mark Ruffalo, Jim Acosta, surrounded by people in inflatable frog costumes.
while the President of the United States is honoring military heroes and Olympic gold medalists.
Think of that juxtaposition.
And here's the kicker.
The founder of this peaceful frog brigade, a guy named Seth Todd, who repeatedly and reportedly describes himself as a proud anti-Fa terrorist.
I mean, you know, seems normal to want to pal up with a proud anti-FA terrorist and has called for the Trump administration to be bombed.
That's the guys that Democrats are cozying up to.
Think about that.
That's their coalition.
This is the modern Democrat Party.
The president is awarding medals of honor, and they're playing dress up with anti-Fi-linked frog people.
And they're proud of it.
Modern Democrat Paradox00:10:13
These are the same people that want to tell you, you're an extremist for wanting secure borders, for not wanting trans insanity, and for wanting to root out fraud.
And speaking of which, it's a day that ends in Y.
So sadly, we have yet another example of trans violence.
Because over the weekend, a 26-year-old named Blue Zeke Daly, a trans identifier registered Democrat from Manchester, New Hampshire, was stopped by Border Patrol agent near the Canadian border.
When the agent asked Daly whether he went by any other names, Daly fled before confronting other agents and opened fire.
We were first to break this story late on Sunday night, and it's been tough to get information.
It's really been piecemeal.
But now we know that this suspect is from Manchester.
A 26-year-old from Manchester is in the hospital tonight after allegedly exchanging fire with Border Patrol in Pittsburgh early Sunday morning.
According to an affidavit filed this afternoon, Blue Zeke Daly, who is also known as Cullen Zeke Daly, fired shots at an agent who then returned fire and shot Daly.
The FBI says that Daly had been stopped in Stewartstown by the agent who asked whether Daly used other names.
Daly then immediately drove away.
Investigators say that officer followed Daly and when Daly approached the U.S.-Canada border, Daly tried to drive off and started shooting.
The officer then returned fire, according to the affidavit, before Daly lost control and ended up in a snowbank.
Officers found a handgun and ammunition and is facing several charges, including attempted murder of a federal officer.
The FBI is now leading this investigation alongside the U.S. attorney in New Hampshire.
Now, both of these charges carry up to 20 years in prison, respectively, and fines of up to $250,000.
In Manchester, Ariel Metropolis, WMUR, Nees9.
Authorities recovered a handgun, ammunition from his vehicle.
The trans lunatic is now facing attempted murder of a federal officer and assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon.
The radicalization of the left is real.
The rhetoric is real.
The violence is very real.
And yet another example of trans violence and how the Democrats continue to coddle criminals and tell them that they are victims.
And it's happening from coast to coast because out in California, we're seeing more of the sick consequences of coddling criminals.
A convicted kidnapper and child molester in California was sentenced to three consecutive life terms back in 1999.
He was supposed to die in prison, three consecutive life terms.
But guess what?
The California Parole Board just granted him parole under the state's elderly parole program.
And who signed this insane law?
Gavin Newsom.
He signed Assembly Bill 3234 in September of 2020, lowering the eligibility age to 50.
Okay, not exactly elderly.
Okay, I mean, 50, you know, I'm 48, right?
50 ain't exactly elderly.
Okay, you can still get out and, you know, you're a rapist, pedophile, all these things.
Like, you know, you can still probably do a lot of that.
Doesn't matter for Gavin Newsom.
Doesn't matter for California.
Clearly doesn't matter for Democrats.
Okay.
And it applied retroactively, meaning that monsters like this, criminals this sick, suddenly became eligible.
Now, Newsom's office says he doesn't agree with the outcome.
Oh, really?
Really?
You don't agree with the outcome?
You signed the bill into law.
You made it possible.
You had the power to stop it.
You could have done that, but you didn't.
And here we are.
And by the way, the governor of California can reverse a parole board decision.
Did you do that, Gavin?
Of course you didn't.
Guys, he didn't.
He punted it back to the board, and the board reaffirmed their release on February 18th.
Here's the Sacramento Sheriff Office blasting Newsom's decision.
What are we coming to as a society here in California that is okay with this to let him out?
You think about some of the offenders that do the child abuse cases, child molest cases.
Typically, they're older males.
Now we're seeing a lot of folks in their 20s and 30s.
So under the law, and we got folks in their 20s that have pending cases right now, they can be up by the time they're 50, having done 20 years.
It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
Someone has to speak up about it, and we've got to change this.
So he lured these kids, kidnapped the kids, kidnapped two sisters.
He was convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping, child molestation, with multiple young children.
Remember, the youngest victim, three years of age.
Since over 20 years in prison, as well as three additional consecutive sentences, consecutive, not concurrent, is that they follow each other.
A judge in Sacramento described him, and I'll say this, as the monster parents fear most.
Yet today, the parole board decided he is suitable for release.
We can't have this.
It's got to change.
And in California, it's battle after battle when it comes to our children.
This is the pro-crime party.
This is what they do.
They fight harder for the rights of child predators than they do for the children who are victims.
And while we're on Gavin Newsome, let's talk about his failed book tour that seems to be getting worse.
Now Newsom recently told his audience that he can't read.
We remember that one, right?
He can't read.
He's got low SAT scores like you, the people he was talking to, in a comment widely mocked as racist, because of course it was, and pandering to the audience and the person interviewing him.
But it gets even better because just months earlier, videos surfaced of Newsom bragging that he had read over 260 pages in about an hour and a half.
Speed reading champion Gavin Newsom.
So which one is it?
If you talk to smart people, you're a speed reader.
If you talk to African Americans like he was, he can't read just like them, in his words, not mine.
But when he's in front of a different audience, again, in Georgia, suddenly he can't read.
How do you have it both ways?
I don't understand.
This is the soft bigotry of low expectations on full display.
And this is the man who wants to be the next Democrat nominee for president.
And before we get to Byron, we have yet another example.
of weaponized law enforcement and spying against political opponents.
Reuters reported yesterday that the FBI under the Biden administration, under Jack Smith's direction, secretly subpoenaed the phone records of Kash Patel and now White House chief of staff, then campaign manager Susie Wiles.
Both were private citizens at the time.
And it gets worse.
In 2023, the FBI recorded a phone call between Susie Wiles and her attorney.
Her attorney reportedly consented to the recording.
Susie did not.
Think about that.
They secretly recorded a private citizen's call with her own lawyer.
And then, to cover their tracks, they buried these records in files categorized as prohibited within the FBI system.
And this wasn't just another record-keeping system.
It was a system completely hidden from the Bureau itself and visible only to those who were part of this dragnet scheme.
They didn't just spy.
They hid the evidence of the spying.
Add that to what we already know, guys.
They went after senators' phone records.
They went after Republican officials.
They went after my family, our businesses, all of it.
They weaponized the most powerful law enforcement agency on earth against their political opponents, and they thought they'd never get caught.
They did their best to hide everything, even from other people within the Bureau.
At least 10 FBI employees are connected to this latest revelation, and they've been fired.
And I have a feeling there's much more to come.
So while your favorite president is delivering a historic State of the Union, honoring our military heroes, celebrating America's Olympic champions, the left is dressing up as frogs with anti-phylinked agitators.
While our Border Patrol agents risk their lives securing this country, radicalized left-wing lunatics are literally shooting at them.
While the FBI was supposed to be protecting Americans, Biden's DOJ was secretly spying on the very people who are now top government officials and hiding the evidence.
And Gavin Newsom, who signed the law that frees child predators, can't even keep his story straight about whether he can read or not.
That's the modern Democrat Party.
Unserious, unsafe, unfit to lead.
And we're going to continue to expose all of it.
And we'll get into even more of this and all the other things to talk about with Byron Donalds in just a few moments.
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Joining me now, Florida Congressman and gubernatorial candidate, Byron Donald.
So Byron, great to have you back, man.
How you doing?
It's good to be back with you, man.
We were just off camera talking about the state of the union.
Man, you guys had obviously prime seating.
I don't know.
I think that's the cheap seats.
We're up on the rafters, like the nosebleed section.
You guys get the good stuff, but you have to deal with a lot more crap than I do having to be there.
So it's all good.
No, it's good, man.
My only question for you, you know, you and your brothers were, how are your knees?
Because it's most people don't know when you're tall, that first gallery seat, it's like right up against the edge.
And, you know, it's really steep and really tight.
So it's one of the, it's an interesting thing.
So, but, you know, Bettina, my fiancé's behind me, she's 5'11.
So she stands up.
I look like a midget.
You don't realize how steep the angle is.
And then every time I sit down, I'm whacking my knees into the front.
Her knees are kicking the back of my chair.
It was pretty interesting.
Dude, it's like those upper deck seats at Old Yankee Stadium.
That thing is tight.
And then you're looking right in.
You're looking right.
You need like repelling gear to get down there, down in there.
But no, it was a good time.
So I appreciate you being here, man.
You've got my father's endorsement in Florida.
Obviously, you've got momentum.
You've got a lot of people excited.
Why are you running for governor?
Is it just to get the hell out of D.C.?
No, not at all.
Look, the thing about it is, is that our state's the best, man.
Everybody's choosing Florida.
We're the best state in the country, very well-run state.
And so it's really an opportunity to keep us on the same trajectory that we're on right now.
We're going to continue to be the free state of Florida.
It is keeping us on that path.
But then also looking at the things that we're going to have to do next.
Like, what are we going to do about the future of our economy?
Got a lot of young kids in our colleges all through the university system.
We want them to have great paying jobs.
We want our kids who are in middle school and high school right now to be able to be economically successful and on that pathway to having real success.
It's about building the housing we need, the roads that we need, and making sure Florida remains the best state in the country because so many people have come to Florida.
We don't want them to have to look around and be like, oh, man, now Florida is not getting it done.
No, that's not what I want.
I want a Florida that's going to continue to be number one.
And Don, I'm 47.
So when I'm 77, 30 years in the future, I want Florida to still be the best state in America.
Well, as a political refugee formerly of the People's Republic of New York down to Florida, this one matters.
We've seen throughout the years, especially the last 10 years, how much the governor's races matter, how much a good governor matters, probably even more so than the people representing you in Congress and the Senate and otherwise in terms of people's day-to-day feelings.
So why do you think this race matters more now than perhaps any race in Florida's history?
Well, look, let's take a look at it.
When I first got into politics, Rick Scott was governor.
I remember I got into politics like around 2010 in the Tea Party movement.
Rick Scott was running for governor then.
At that time, the economy financial collapse was a real mess.
And what Rick did is he worked incredibly hard recruiting companies to Florida to rebuild the job market.
You know, at the time, I think Florida's unemployment rate was 11%.
And by the time Rick left office, it was about 3.5, 3.4, 3.5.
And then Governor DeSantis came into office.
And when Governor DeSantis came in, that was the time where the radical left was truly insane.
Everybody was battling DEI and CRT and getting woke indoctrination out of our schools.
And Governor DeSantis was the governor who was the tip of the spear of that fight in Florida and also fighting back all the crazy COVID madness that the public health establishment and the radical left wanted to bring to Florida.
And Governor DeSantis stood in that gap and said, absolutely not.
And people recognized all that leadership.
And so the reason why this governor's race is so consequential, we've had two great men lead our state.
Both of them have enjoyed the support of President Trump.
And now it's about making sure that we solidify all those wins, all those successes, and then build the state into the future.
Because, you know, look, right now in Florida, people are concerned.
They're saying, man, it's getting full.
So many people are here.
What are we going to do?
You know, can we build a wall?
Can we stop people from coming?
And the truth is, you're not going to be able to build a wall between states.
But what we can do is have the game plan in place where we can think about housing, think about jobs, think about a future for our young kids.
But then two other key questions: water and what are we going to do about fresh drinking water around our state to prepare us for the next wave of growth and power.
We've got to be able to generate power in our state, keep those electricity bills low.
And these are all the things that governors do in their states.
And that's what I'm committed to doing.
Yeah.
And I mean, continuing that kind of leadership is a really big deal.
I mean, I know when I came down here, again, as a political refugee, Florida, great state, it's been a free state for a really long time that believe in all those things.
But I was really concerned that so many other people that are getting literally chased out of the Northeast with Mandani and all these crazy things going on in New York, it's going to continue.
And yet, from when I came down here, five, six years ago now, it's actually gotten more read.
People, even the ones fleeing those states, perhaps are the ones that are fleeing essentially the same sort of political persecution.
Or even if they're on the other side, they're realizing that these right-wing policies, conservative policies are actually working.
And they haven't really brought that voting record and garbage that they're running from with them, which is sort of surprising.
You figured, you know, they move and they're like, well, we didn't love all of that, but we're still going to vote for 90% of it.
So here's a radical Democrat that we're going to put in there.
Talk about that a little bit because it is interesting.
It's one of the few places that hasn't, that's gotten more red despite sort of an influx from a lot of the blue states.
Look, I think what's really happened is, and Milton Friedman said it best.
He said, the number one thing you know when you're judging public policy is the movement of feet.
People will move to an area that is free, that's based on common sense, where the law is just and fair, where people are safe.
That's why law and order is so critical in our state.
That's what people want.
They're going to desire it.
And people will move to that.
And I think, especially with COVID, I think a lot of people were able to see in real time just how radical the Democrats were.
And they basically said, we want no parts of that.
So it wasn't just relocating to Florida.
It was saying, I want to make sure the place I'm going does not end up looking like the place I came from.
And that's why you see Republican advantages have grown so much in our state.
And I think even now, look at what's happening.
California instituted this billionaires tax.
So what's happening?
The billionaires are like, yeah, I'm out.
I'm leaving.
I don't want any parts of this.
Mamdani in New York wants to raise property taxes while in Florida, Governor DeSantis is trying to eliminate them.
So what are people saying?
I can't deal with this anymore.
I'm leaving.
I got to go somewhere else, somewhere that's free.
Basically, where I'm going to be left alone.
And that's what people are looking for.
And I think when they make that decision, not just relocating for a job or not just relocating because they're ready to retire and they want to enjoy good weather.
When they're saying that the place they live, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, when they look at it and say these places are nuts and they're out of it, they change their habit.
They change their voting habits or even they examine politics a different way.
They want common sense to reign.
And that's what they look for.
And they found that in Florida.
And that's why Republican advantages continue to increase.
And my job is to make sure that those standards that people have chosen Florida to be a part of and they've chosen Florida, that those standards remain.
Yeah, you're talking about the, these people are nuts.
I mean, I thought that was one of the great lines of my father's State of the Union address, which is like, you people are crazy talking to the Democrats.
I mean, stand up if you believe that protecting American citizens is the number one thing that you should be doing if you're representing them in Congress.
It's like, seems like a no-brainer.
I mean, they wouldn't stand up for that.
They wouldn't stand up for Medal of Honor recipients.
They wouldn't stand up for a child hit by a truck driver that's illegal, that couldn't read, that had no business being behind a truck.
I mean, you were on the floor there.
I was watching from above.
Talk about the insanity that you felt down there on that floor because that was, I mean, it's great.
I mean, the ads right themselves.
I mean, this is truly what they think of America.
They're more concerned, again, about we've been saying it on the show and others like me have been saying it for a while.
But I think the American people finally got a taste.
Like, we're not joking.
This is not hyperbole.
Like, they really could care less about Americans and putting America first.
I thought it was crazy, too.
So when the president said it, you know, just, you know, he just ad-libbed it and said it.
It was like, man, that's what everybody in the country is thinking right now if they're watching this.
The Democrats, two things have happened in my opinion.
One, the Trump derangement syndrome is just off the charts.
Like they can't even stand and applaud good things.
Like that's just crazy to me.
And then the second piece of it is the Democrats, socialists of America have taken over that party.
This isn't the Bill Clinton Democrats.
This definitely not the John F. Kennedy Democrats.
These are radical left-wing Democrat socialists who truly believe in communist policies, who truly want to open up our border to anybody from around the world with no vetting, no checks.
They want to take advantage of the American citizen for their own social engineering.
I mean, they want kids to be taken from their parents to be transgendered.
Like this is like insane stuff.
And so to watch it.
Without parental consent, I mean, it's their hill to die on.
I'm like, you know, I don't know, man.
You got to be pretty radical.
I'll tell you, to watch it in real time and to see like the anger on their face when these questions were being raised and these moments were happening, it demonstrated that they have no business running a government.
They shouldn't be in power.
You just can't be in power because if you're going to embrace parents watching their kids being taken away by another state to change their gender, then you lack all common sense and credibility to even deserve any power at all.
And I think the American people saw that loud and clear.
And I know that Republicans, we're going to make sure that they see it loud and clear going through this November and in the years to come.
Yeah.
Byron, you know, you've been in the trenches in Washington, you know, budget fights, oversight hearings, you know, fighting for your constituents.
You know, what specifically have you accomplished and learned in Congress that's preparing you for this next role as governor of Florida?
Well, first thing, man, passing bills in Congress, probably the hardest thing ever.
We were able to get one piece of legislation through.
It is called the Fishes Act.
And what it did was just common sense.
It allowed for governmental agencies to do all their approvals at the same time as opposed to doing one after the other after the other and just wasting a bunch of time.
The biggest thing I've learned in Congress is just how much the federal government is underwater, the amount of money that we spend, the lack of checks on the money that goes out the door.
What it demonstrates to me is that you need strong governors who are going to be able to do a couple of things.
Number one, you got to be efficient with people's time and people's money.
You can't just let bureaucrats run the show.
Obviously, there are certain things that have to be checked off, but it's got to be efficient.
If you are going to waste people's time, then that means you don't care about the money that you take from them.
You don't care about the delays.
And all those delays that government brings, all it does is add to the costs that people have to reach into their pocket to pay for.
Like, you know, I talk about housing, but let's examine it.
30% of the cost of building a home in America right now is government costs, government permitting, 30%.
So if it's 30% of the cost for government to do its thing and it does it slow and it's not responsive to the market, then we have to be efficient, squeeze that timetable down so you're not passing those costs onto young kids trying to get their first home, on the seniors on fixed income trying to downsize or get into a condo or whatever they're trying to do in their personal lives.
Like that's the stuff that we got to be focused on.
Another big one's healthcare, man.
Like the federal government's not going to be able to finance healthcare into the future like it has in the past.
So at the state level, we have to drive efficiencies.
We have to drive a new way of delivering healthcare.
And that's something that we're really excited at looking into, finding paths and real plans to get that stuff accomplished so that the people of Florida can get services, people who are poor in our state, they can get the help that they need while knowing that the federal budget is not going to be able to provide that funding into the future.
I think we have to be leaning into that.
The third thing is politics is a contact sport.
You got to be able to work with people in order to get stuff done.
And because I've had an opportunity to work with my colleagues on Capitol Hill, both House and Senate, when we were moving through the president's agenda last year, we spent about three months in conference rooms going over every detail of that plan, making sure that we can get something meaningful through for the American people and actually get it out of Congress.
And having been through that, now going to the state level, you know, prospectively, hoping the people vote for me, I need your vote.
But going to the state level, now it's about working with House and Senate, getting our work done early, being efficient, and then making sure we're making all the adjustments for the future of Florida.
Yeah, I think that's a big deal.
I mean, I think bringing some of that Washington experience, right?
The reality is the states, you know, they function on their own in a certain way, but they still have a lot of dependency on Washington, D.C.
I mean, you sort of have the best of all those worlds.
What would be those biggest lessons or even the relationships that you can bring from Congress from Washington, D.C. that are going to directly translate into results for Floridians?
Oh, man, I'll give you a couple.
Being able to talk to Pete Heckseth directly to talk about Kennedy Space Center and what the future is there, what help we need in dealing with some of the different approvals if you're going to open up new launch pads.
And by the way, commercial space in Florida, we're going to be a leader.
It's going to be phenomenal for the state's economy going forward.
It's going to continue to expand Florida in all kinds of great ways.
Number two, dealing with the Everglades, you know, being able to pick up a phone and talk to any one of the cabinet secretaries about the Army Corps of Engineers to get work permitted through very quickly.
Number three, honestly, being able to call the president when we have major disasters.
Governor DeSantis just requested assistance for the crop loss in Florida from the freeze that just happened a couple of weeks ago here in Florida.
We've lost a lot of crops in our state.
Being able to pick up that phone very quickly, go to the president and say, we need your assistance here, here, and here.
Let me give you in real time what's going on.
Insurance Coming Back00:15:14
That matters so much.
Those relationships are critical.
Or even if there's legislation that will benefit Florida, being able to call Mike Johnson or John Dune and just say, hey, Mike, hey, John, it's Byron.
Not, oh, sir, the governor of Florida is looking for you.
It's Byron, it's Mike, it's John.
And being able to get that stuff done very, very quickly.
That's where the relationship side does come in.
And it really does matter when time's of the essence, people want to see results and you got to deliver.
I think that's a really big deal.
Like, you know, obviously here, insurance is a really big issue in this state, along with immigration and housing costs.
When you're governor, what are some of the day one actions you want to champion on issues like affordability, insurance, and taxes?
Because, you know, again, I think Florida may be a victim of its own success, right?
It's been so good in so many ways that it's attracting so many, but that's not always easy to cover.
I mean, the growth is really incredible, but also probably puts some strains on there.
What do you deal with, you know, the affordability side of things, especially for people who are already here, insurance-wise and taxes?
So let's talk insurance.
With insurance, what the governor and the legislature did a couple of years ago was long overdue, needed tort reform.
They got that done a couple of years ago.
We're going to keep that in place.
And the reason you keep that in place is because you need the law structure in insurance to come down.
So everything can't be fought out in a court of law.
Sometimes you got to go to court and that's fine.
We understand that.
But you got to get that cost structure down.
Last year, really, yeah, last year, when the insurance companies were going in for their rate, their rate reviews, they did not request increased premium rates in Florida.
That's great news.
Next year, because we didn't have a storm last year, really later this year, we anticipate those rates to come down.
So you want to keep the tort system as it is with the tort reform that was done a couple of years ago.
So that way you can further push those rates down.
That's going to equate to lower premiums for Floridians, really helping the affordability.
The second thing is at the state level, we might need to start looking at our catastrophe fund and some of the regulatory structures in Florida.
When I was in the state house, I chaired the insurance and banking subcommittee, had a deep dive into all of these subject matters, coupling that with my career.
You know, I spent 17 years in the financial world.
We're going to examine every aspect of Florida's insurance regulatory environment to find ways to further push down insurance costs.
On taxes, I hope the governor is successful with the legislature of getting a repeal of homestead property taxes to the ballot.
That'll be a major savings for the people of Florida.
If they're not able to get something accomplished, we're going to pick the ball up and we're going to make sure we deliver meaningful reforms and meaningful relief for Florida's taxpayers.
And the third one, and I don't want to beat a dead horse, but if you can drive down what it takes, the costs, the governmental costs, driving that down to deliver housing, now you're helping people afford homes by getting a cheaper home that can be delivered.
You're lowering insurance premiums in our state, making it easier for them to stay in their homes.
And if you can eliminate homestead or even provide real relief, you're helping those young kids who are getting started in their lives and in their careers.
You're helping them get in the game.
And I think those are the three major ways that we deal with affordability in Florida.
So, you know, since you mentioned space, because that's obviously a big one, Florida, you got Cape Canaveral, you have all that stuff going on.
Can you talk more about that?
What is it about the state of our space industry in Florida?
And what more can we do?
Obviously, that's going to be a big aspect of the tech sector, especially as you talk about data centers in space and the solar power because you got solar 24-7 up there.
I know we already have the Kennedy Space Center, Homestead Air Force Base, and I think now it's designated as a space port.
Is this a federal issue, a state issue?
Is it both?
Can you blend those things to bring that kind of tech and that kind of engineering to Florida?
Oh, it's definitely both.
And let me give you some stuff.
Kennedy Space Center in Florida is uniquely positioned compared to everywhere else in the country.
No other launch site can access the North Pole and the South Pole of Earth when you're talking about being in space, being in orbit.
We can do that in Florida.
So we have a major geographic advantage.
This is why SpaceX, Blue Origin, L3, and so many others are trying to get launch pads at Kennedy Space Center so they can launch and do more stuff in commercial space.
I think commercial space is going to be a big economic driver into the future.
And now, what that means for Floridians is not just the launches at KSC, and they look cool, especially at night, especially when you get Elon's rocket booster coming back down to Earth.
At night, it looks amazing.
But it's also about the economic growth tied to commercial space.
It's the manufacturing of so much of the space mission.
It's about the engineering jobs that come to our state.
We got a bunch of kids in our universities who are engineers.
They get to be a part of that aerospace engineering work here in Florida.
It's about building out some of the manufacturing infrastructure in North Florida.
When people think about Florida, they typically are thinking Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Southwest Florida, maybe Jacksonville.
But we have rural counties all through North Florida where you can do a lot of that manufacturing work.
And now you're talking about real jobs coming back to a lot of those areas that have been economically depressed because the mills were closed 30, 40 years ago.
And now that stuff is coming back to those areas.
It's really something where it's not just the launches itself, it's also the ancillary businesses around the launches.
And I think when it comes to tech and aerospace, look, we've let California lead in this for so long, but their government and their politics just suck.
I mean, they're stupid.
They don't know what they're doing out there.
Florida should lead when it comes to space and tech and let our value system, our common sense work with business so you have great economic output for the people of Florida and the people of our country, while also maintaining common sense conservative principles that actually can help drive industry into the future.
Yeah, I remember, you know, even during the campaign, I was on a plane with Elon and we were talking space.
And I think we were actually coming back from one of his launches in Texas.
And he was talking about how difficult it was to do anything in California where they started.
I mean, he said it literally took him longer to get a permit to launch a rocket in California than it did to literally imagine, design, build.
I think it was the Falcon Heavy or whatever I was at the time.
It was like, wait, you built a rocket that's designed to land on its own back in the, like you did that faster than you could get a permit in California to do such things.
Like, of course that makes sense.
So I imagine the values of Florida are going to be a little different than that.
And if these guys are going to be doing some really novel things and testing, you know, the limits of science, we're going to make that easier for them to do, not harder.
Yeah, no, that's absolutely correct.
And I would add it in government, though, it's even past rockets.
I was talking to a road builder.
He wanted to build a new interchange off of Florida's turnpike.
The design work by government estimated to take anywhere from two and a half to three years.
The time to actually build the road, about a year to a year and a half.
So you're talking about five years of time when two-thirds of it is just in governmental design and engineering.
We got to speed all that stuff up because everybody's frustrated in our state with traffic.
We took in a lot of people after COVID, more than we expected.
So one of the things that we're really going to have to look at is truncating those timelines so we can build out the roads so people aren't stuck in traffic forever, getting more frustrated, taking them longer to get from point A to point B.
And that's the stuff that we're going to be doing as Florida's next governor.
Yeah, by the way, if you could add a couple lanes to the turnpike, that would be a really big deal because down by us, it's like two lanes.
I'm like, how do you have the turnpike is a two-lane road?
It can get kind of rough.
I know, you know, if I run down to Miami and stuff like that, I know it was supposed to go later on even today for a thing.
And I'm looking at it and just ran it through ways that it's like, it was three hours.
And I'm like, wait, this could be an hour and 20 minute ride.
It's three hours during that time because it is that much.
So the infrastructure component's really important to be able to build that out as well.
Yep, it's going to be critical for our state.
I mean, look, Don, the way I look at it is we're going to have to manage our growth, no doubt about that.
We have to protect our rural areas because Florida has great beauty, man.
I know you, you like to hunt and fish.
You get out in some of the parts of Florida.
It's gorgeous and people want to protect that.
I want to protect that.
We have ag lands in our state critical to our economy.
I want those protected.
We want to make sure that we're still growing food in Florida because I don't want to have to rely on Mexico or some other country to get food into the United States.
We need to make sure that we have the ability to do that in Florida.
But you can also do that while putting in the infrastructure improvements that you need, building the housing that you need.
I think that Florida has to start managing its growth on a regional basis.
And what I mean by that is, you know, South Florida, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, that's very different than the Panhandle, 30A, Santa Rosa County, Escambia County, or Southwest Florida, or the I-4 corridor around, you know, a Seminole County, Orange County, Jacksonville, you got that up there, Duval in those areas.
And then you have obviously Tampa Bay.
So each region of the state needs to have its own growth management plan so you can protect what we love about the regions of Florida while also preparing for what is going to happen.
We're going to get some more growth.
Gonna happen.
We're gonna get more businesses and more companies.
Gonna happen.
Let's have a concrete plan of how we keep the Florida we love while preparing for Florida's future.
Yeah, that's a really big deal.
You mentioned the Everglades earlier and just even protecting that.
You know, you have obviously the environmental side of that, then you have the ag side of that.
Then you have the population side of that and some of the red tide stuff.
I know my father and his first administration did a lot in terms of Lake Okeechobee and just really trying to save that filtration system to for guys like me who are fishermen and I love the inshore stuff and just really making sure that's there.
So it's a complex solution, but it feels like one of those things it can be done if everyone just focused on all of the things and not just sort of focusing on one industry versus and while totally neglecting the other.
It seems like a fairly happy medium to be able to mix.
Yeah, you're great.
And look, real quick on that, I try to keep things simple.
Like, look, I spent 17 years in the finance world.
One of the things I learned is if it don't make dollars, it don't make sense.
If you can't make the money work, then your idea just isn't, it just, it might sound good, but it's not reality.
The second big thing is I've never seen a company or an organization get better by not having a plan for how you're going to grow.
Anybody who, anybody watching, if they remember Blockbuster Video, Blockbuster was the king when it came to watching movies at home and they just never modernized.
They never thought about the future.
They never thought about the future ways to deliver content and media.
And I think there's one Blockbuster video still open in the country and that's kind of nostalgia more than any other.
By the way, it's totally nostalgic.
That was like my Friday night, like going to figure out what movie we were going to rent.
Like it was like a rite of passage of my childhood.
I remember it so vividly.
And I think they could have bought like Netflix for like a couple million bucks and were like, nope, we're sticking with this.
And I was like, that was a bad move.
No, I think one of the old, I think one of the old stories, one of the old Wall Street stories is that Netflix actually went to Blockbuster and said, hey, this is what we do.
And Blockthruster was like, yeah, yeah, see you, kid.
We don't need you.
And now look what's happened.
So you got to always be pushing the envelope, thinking about how you're going to grow, how you're going to manage it, what that means, what it looks like, understanding your threats and your opportunities.
But you really want to do what's in the best interest of the people that you serve.
And I think having a plan for the next step of Florida is going to be critical to us continuing to be that shining city on a hill in America.
So, Baron, we've got Democrats in Orlando actively fighting to block an ICE detention facility that they're building there, essentially telling the federal government, you can't enforce immigration laws.
As governor, how do you handle local officials who are trying to turn parts of Florida into sanctuary jurisdictions like the rest of the insane left?
Let me just be very clear on this one.
Any local official who thinks they're going to set up a sanctuary jurisdiction in Florida is going to be removed from office.
We're going to just remove you because you're not running for office telling the people in our state that's what you're going to do.
You're not doing that.
You're not running TV ads to that effect.
Furthermore, you're in violation of the United States Constitution because you don't get to set up a separate jurisdiction that goes outside the lines of what the federal government's role is in immigration and naturalization and deportation.
When the Constitution was ratified, those powers were given to the federal government in the Constitution.
And you're not going to be some new elected official in a city thinking that you're going to override or nullify, nullify the United States Constitution.
So I'm very clear on this one.
If you think you're going to basically go against the federal laws around deportations and immigration, you're going to create a sanctuary jurisdiction.
You're not going to be an elected official in Florida.
We will remove you from office.
So you represent Southwest Florida.
You also know the South Florida, Cuban, and Venezuelan communities intimately in places like Miami, Dade County, and elsewhere.
I mean, these are people who fled cartels, narco-states, communist regimes.
How does your relationship with those communities shape how you'd go after cartel activity, narco-trafficking, and cross-border crime as governor and really help support the federal efforts at a state level as well?
Well, one, I think those relationships are really going to guide my thinking.
First and foremost, it's going to be zero tolerance, zero tolerance for that mess.
You know, under the Biden administration, fentanyl was the number one killer in America of people between the ages of 18 and 45.
Number one, not heart attacks, not car accidents, fentanyl overdoses.
I mean, that's sick.
And so this is where, you know, the standards that Governor DeSantis has put in place, we're going to maintain those standards.
There's going to be zero tolerance when it comes to that kind of stuff.
We are going to prosecute you.
We are going to put you in jail.
You're not going to harm our people.
Period.
Full stop.
And when it comes to working with the federal government, we're going to work with the federal government.
We're going to be behind that 100%.
Whatever help they need from Florida, they're going to receive because states have to have a very muscular position when it comes to not just helping the federal government on border issues and immigration issues, but also making sure you're working with them to protect your people from narco-terrorism and other things like that.
So, Congressman, I've got to ask you also next week, Tim Walsh is sitting in front of your House committee on this massive fraud probe out of Minnesota.
You know, without giving away your whole playbook, what's the big question you want answered about what's going on there?
And what do you think the American people deserve to know?
The number one thing I probably would say is, why'd you let it happen?
Because Tim Walz was told what was going on.
Why Did You Let It Happen?00:03:10
Why'd you let it happen?
And I think the thing I fear the most is you have radical Democrat politics that allowed for the money of the American people to be stolen and not just stolen from planes and yachts and all that kind of houses.
A lot of this money was being sent back to Somalia to the, it's a Hanwhal network and it's basically a bunch of in-person money changers.
And this Hanwhal network, there is beyond a shadow of a doubt that al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate, has their hands in that network.
So in part, you have taxpayer money flowing through the state of Minnesota, ending up in the hands of Al-Qaeda.
This is craziness.
Again, the Democrats are crazy.
We talked about that earlier.
But I think it's understanding from him, how'd you let this happen?
Why'd you let this happen?
Why didn't you stop it?
You know, you ran a couple, a year and a half ago talking about you were going to be a great vice president.
No, you weren't.
No, you weren't.
I mean, they got bullet we dodged on that one, right?
Oh, my gosh.
Could you imagine him being an air?
By the way, either of them, it's like that was it.
That's the end of the republic.
But no, it's it's wild.
So I look forward to that one.
I'm sure there'll be some fireworks.
You know, I know there's a lot of Floridians who fought really hard to keep this state free during COVID.
You know, people want to see the Trump agenda continue on the right track.
People want strong borders and safe communities.
You know, why Byron Donald's?
Why now?
And where can voters go to learn more, to get involved, etc.?
When's your primary?
Can you give us all the full lowdown?
Absolutely.
Two quick things.
When I was a freshman in the Florida House of Representatives, there was a bill after the Marjorie Stolman Douglas shooting that came on the House floor.
Everybody was supporting it.
That bill took away Second Amendment rights for 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds, and 21-year-olds in our state.
It said that you couldn't buy a rifle if you were under the age of 21.
Everybody was asking me to support it.
I voted no because I told the people of Southwest Florida, back when I was a freshman in the state house, nobody knew me.
There were no followers.
There was no Fox News.
But I told my people I would always protect their Second Amendment rights.
So I went against my party.
I voted no.
I take that vote every single day because it's the right thing to do and it's to protect the Constitution and it's to protect your individual rights.
I'm on the record having done that.
Number two, when I was running for Congress, again, I was running for it, not today, back then, six years ago.
This is when we had local government officials who thought they could institute mask mandates in Southwest Florida.
I went to every local government meeting and I told them without any hesitation that Governor DeSantis has issued an order that you're not allowed to issue mask mandates.
And I went on the record reminding all of them they did not have the legal authority to usurp the governor of our state.
So when I tell people I'm going to stand for your rights and I'm going to protect your rights, I'm not just talking about it.
I've done it and I've done it at a time where nobody knew me.
There were no followers.
There was no political advantage.
I did it because it was the right thing to do.
I think Florida is the best state.
We're going to keep it that way.
I'm asking for your vote.
I'm asking for your support.
Go to ByronDonald's.com.
Follow me at Byron Donald's.
The Republican primary is August 18th.
Make sure you get out and vote.
We have the best state in the country.
Check Great Sponsors00:01:16
We are not going to let that go.
We're not going to let that slide.
We're going to continue to be the free state of Florida and the best state in America.
I love it, buddy.
Byron Donalds, thank you so much for being here.
Great seeing you as always.
And I'm sure I'll run into you in the not too distant future, whether it's in Florida, D.C., Swamp, whatever it is.
But good luck with everything, guys.
Make sure to check it out.
Your governors matter.
Take this one seriously.
It's really important.
Thanks, man.
Appreciate you.
Take it easy.
Be good.
Guys, thanks so much for tuning in.
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