Inna Vernikov, a conservative Ukrainian immigrant turned NYC city councilor and minority whip since 1996, critiques Democratic policies—vaccine mandates forcing 1,300 teachers to comply, lockdowns she calls more damaging than COVID-19, and a 300% rise in anti-Semitism tied to progressive movements like BDS. She warns of brain drain from high taxes and crime surges, citing NYPD officer deaths and congestion pricing as revenue grabs. Meanwhile, Western University protesters demand legal action against booster mandates, framing it as financial coercion and attacking transparency, while faculty silence fuels distrust. Both cases reveal deepening voter frustration over perceived government overreach and ideological divides. [Automatically generated summary]
Today, a feature interview with, I think, one of the more interesting up-and-comers in the Republican Party, a conservative Republican in New York City, like actually in the city.
How is it even possible?
Well, we'll talk to her in a feature interview today.
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All right, here's today's show.
Tonight, a feature interview with a rising star of the Republican Party.
It's August 29th, and this is the Ezra Levant Show.
Shame on you, you sensorious bug.
It's great to be back in the studio.
Why a Republican in NYC?00:06:32
I've missed too many days, and I have some good reasons for that.
I had a little bit of elective surgery, went very well.
Thank you for your patience, and I was doing some traveling, but I missed being here because there were so many things I wanted to talk about.
Today, we're going to talk to something I find very interesting, a young up-and-coming Republican city councilor in New York City.
And you might be saying, why do I care about a city councilor in New York City?
I mean, that's a very minor role in politics.
Well, that's true, although it is America's most important city by a number of reasons.
The fact that she's a Republican in a Democrat city is interesting to me.
And the fact that she's a conservative escapee from a former Soviet regime, I don't know, I like following her on Twitter.
And I thought, well, let's just talk to her and see what she's like.
I hope you agree with me.
I have other shows I'm looking forward to doing this week, including a fake CBC fact check on that factory in London, Ontario that's making crickets for human consumption, eating crickets, super gross other stories coming up.
So I will be working hard this week.
And I've been working hard all these days other than when I was in surgery.
But I thank you so much for your patience.
And I'm grateful to my friends, including David Menzies and Sheila Gunread, for covering for me.
So without further ado, here is my interview recorded short moments ago with Councilmember Ina Vernikoff of New York.
We're fighting to bring government back to the people and out of the hands of dictators.
And we're here to say that the era of Trump and Zeldon and Molinaro, just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong, okay?
Get out of town.
Get out of town.
Because you don't represent our values.
You are not New Yorkers.
You're not New Yorkers.
Well, that was a clip of Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, basically saying, if you don't like Democrats, if you don't vote for me, get out of the state.
That's an unusual way to treat a large chunk of the population.
Just because they didn't vote for you doesn't mean you're not their governor too.
There's one Republican in New York who I know will not be leaving the state because of Governor Hokul's order.
And that's a young up-and-comer from New York City.
In fact, she is the New York City minority whip on city council, council member Ina Vernikov, who's become, I think, a bit of a social media star, but not in a shallow manner, like, say, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
As I've watched Councilmember Vernikov over the last year, I see someone who's deeply engrossed in the most important issues of the day.
And I find that remarkable given that her job is mainly to serve a particular district in New York.
But so many of the battles she fights in New York, I think, are thematically of interest to anyone around America, or indeed even to us up here in Canada.
So it's a delight to finally meet and talk to via Skype, Councilmember Ina Vernikov from the 48th District of New York City.
What a pleasure to meet you.
Thanks for taking the time with us.
Good to meet you.
Thanks so much for having me.
Well, it's my pleasure.
I mean, I think my first question is: how do you exist?
I mean, how did you become a Republican in one of the most Democrat leaning cities in America?
I mean, you're supposed to be a Democrat.
You yourself came to America as an immigrant.
You are in a city of immigrants.
Aren't you supposed to be a Hillary Clinton Democrat?
Yeah, so it's like Republicans are like dinosaurs, right, in New York City.
No, I mean, look, when we came to America, which was in 1996 when I was 12 years old, I think everybody was pretty much a Democrat.
And I think it was a very different Democratic party back then in 96 than it is now.
This is a totally different party today.
I think it's a party that's moving in a very different direction.
I think it's pretty much un-American.
You know, I came here as a child, and the notion that was really instilled in me was the American dream, the land of opportunity.
You know, things were based on merit, that if you work hard here, you can attain anything.
This is a very, very different party today.
It's a party that's moving towards communism, which is a place where we escaped.
I came from the former Soviet Union, which is now Ukraine.
And we escaped all of that and came to a land of freedom and opportunity.
And I think that this is such a different place now.
And I, you know, you mentioned a couple of things about what I'm supposed to be doing and what I'm really doing.
And I know that, of course, my major part of my job is to, you know, make sure the streets are clean and there's enough traffic lights.
And of course, we're doing that very well.
But I also didn't do it just for that.
I did it to stand up for really for America, for American values, you know, for what America once was, and to speak out for my community.
This is a very conservative Republican community district that I represent.
And they're very angry about the Democratic Party and what the Democratic Party is doing to this country, to our state, and our city.
And so I'm here to do that.
And that's why you hear me voicing my opinions and many of the things and criticizing our politicians for the way they're running our city, our state, and our country.
Well, you know, listening to you talk about how coming from a former Soviet communist regime has informed your views on freedom, it reminds me of some of the young Latino and Latina candidates for the Republicans.
And again, those are people who are supposed to vote Democrat, but they see in the language of today's Democrats the language of authoritarianism, of big government, of violation of civil liberties, of socialism.
And I think one of the reasons why newcomers to America are, in my view, thankfully tracking towards the right parties on the right is because they know how this movie ends.
They know how terrible it can become if you do give government certain powers.
Where are you on civil liberties issues?
Anti-Semitism on Campus00:13:30
For two years here in Canada, we've had very abusive lockdowns.
New York City was pretty bad too.
What's your take on how the government responded to the pandemic?
I'm of the view that the lockdowns were in fact more punitive and more damaging than the pandemic itself.
How do you see it?
Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you, look, the first two weeks of the pandemic, I'll tell you honestly, I was pretty freaked out.
I did all the things they said on CNN and everywhere else.
You know, I sanitized my doors and washed my vegetables three times.
So I was pretty freaked out.
I think we didn't know a lot about the pandemic.
We didn't have proper therapeutics.
But I think after some point, you know, after months and months have passed and we know a lot about this disease, this virus, and we know how to treat it.
And there, you know, so many people already had it and have immunity to it that at some point, these mandates and lockdowns became incredibly unreasonable.
And it's so, we can understand why people feel that there's major government overreach in these mandates and the lockdowns and just all of the things that they're obligating us to do.
And I'll give you an example right now.
The CDC came out with new guidelines just recently.
I think it was about two weeks ago, very quietly.
No media really reported on this.
But basically what they're saying is that if you had COVID, it has essentially the same effect as if you were vaccinated, right?
And then we still have these mandates in our city where you are, if you're not going to get the vaccine, if you're a city worker, you're going to get fired.
So right now we have firefighters, cops, and teachers.
We have about 1,300 teachers on the verge of getting fired if they don't take the vaccine.
And so since the CDC came out with these new guidelines that went quiet, it is completely unreasonable to still have his mandate.
If you didn't need this vaccine to begin with, then why would you fire people for not getting the vaccine they never needed in the first place?
It makes absolutely no sense.
We actually have a meeting with the mayor of New York City shortly.
We're going to already have the meeting.
It's set up.
And we're going to talk to the mayor very seriously about the vaccine mandates.
We're going to really ask for him to eliminate the mandate if it's really no longer needed.
Now, how likely is that?
I was a little bit hopeful when the mayor won because he seemed to be a little bit more focused on law and order.
He was a former cop himself.
He seemed to be a little more rational on the lockdown issues.
I don't know if that's the case.
I mean, he kept the mask mandate on for young children for such a long time.
Is it still mandatory masks for young kids in New York?
I mean, I'm a little bit shocked to hear that there's still mandates for teachers and firemen.
That sounds unusual, isn't it?
Is New York still one of the most locked down places?
Maybe lockdowns are the wrong word.
Is it the most masked and mandated city in America?
I mean, how bad is it there?
I think the problem is that this virus was politicized.
And I think it was politicized both on the right and on the left.
And I think these issues have become political.
So the mayor basically says that he just listens to his health commissioner.
So whatever his health commissioner says, that's what goes, which I think is really unreasonable too, because the health commissioner is just one guy.
He's one doctor with one opinion.
And it was also, I mean, I'm sure you saw how the opinions, if you had a different opinion, if you were a scientist, if you were a virologist that had a different opinion from Dr. Fauci, you were canceled.
You were humiliated.
You know, everything you said was fake news.
So I think it's extremely politicized now.
And you have to understand that the mayor of New York City, you know, there are millions of people here who have very different opinions.
We have people who are on the extreme left, on the extreme right, centrists, independents, non-voters, all kinds of people with all kinds of opinions.
And the mayor is a politician who has to satisfy all groups.
And, you know, these decisions are, I think, political.
I don't believe that the mayor himself believes in the mandate.
I think if it were up to him solely, I think that he would, you know, I think that he would get rid of it.
How are New Yorkers, is it still an extremely Democrat town?
You say there's a great diversity of opinion.
Has the lockdowns and the mask rules and the mandates, has that sort of scrambled the old math?
Here in Canada, some people who used to be for the Liberal Party, you know, that party was very strong, pro-choice messaging, my body, my choice.
A lot of those people said, hang on, I thought that's what we believed in.
And now you're mandating vaccines.
People in the Green Party, you know, personal health choices, not overdoing pharmaceuticals, having natural, you know, healthy diets and things like that.
They were shocked that their party endorsed Big Pharma.
I guess what I'm saying is in Canada, there's sort of a new coalition of people who probably wouldn't have got together three years ago, but now people, a lot of people on the left, for example, people, social justice activists, saw how the lockdowns disproportionately punished working class people and minorities.
Is there an awakening in New York that has sort of scrambled the old left, right, Democrat-Republican spectrum?
I think there is.
I'll tell you that when I was campaigning, I can't even tell you how many Democrats came up to me and asked me, are you pro-mandate or against the mandate?
And I would say against mandate.
You know, I'm not anti-vaccine.
If you want to get the vaccine, you should get it.
But I would tell them I'm against the mandate because I'm pro-freedom and free choice.
And they would say, you know what, I'm a Democrat and I never voted Republican in my life, but I'm going to vote for you because I'm against the mandate.
I can't even tell you how many times that happened to me.
And I don't think it's really a Democrat, Republican, conservative issue anymore.
I think just people are really fed up.
And I think that we'll see more Democrats voting the other direction just because they're sick and tired and angry at the way this government has handled the pandemic and other issues as well.
Let me ask you about something that I found surprising.
I mean, of course, everyone loves New York City.
It's one of the world's great cities.
It also happens to be one of the world's most Jewish cities.
Outside of Tel Aviv, I think it actually has the largest Jewish population in the world.
So I was shocked to see on your Twitter feed the uptick in anti-Semitism in such a Jewish city, not just a Jewish city, but a progressive city, a city that thinks of itself as being exquisitely caring for human rights.
Tell me a little bit about anti-Semitism in New York, including at the City University of New York.
I was startled to hear it.
I can't even believe it really, but tell me what you're seeing.
So the rise in anti-Semitism is about 300% up.
So it's everywhere.
It's in many different forms.
People getting beaten up on the street, people being discriminated against at school, just, you know, if social media, there are really different things happening.
I think the worst of it is, you know, somebody beaten on a Jew.
It's mostly happening on the streets to visible Jews who wear a yarmulke or, you know, a Jewish symbol.
And it's extremely horrifying for me to watch as someone whose family escaped that.
I mean, a lot of families from the Soviet Union escaped that because there was so much anti-Semitism there.
You know, again, all kinds of discrimination.
I mean, I remember when I was in school in my town in the Ukraine, there was an older gentleman who was beat up because he was Jewish right out right across the street.
I remember this incident very well, although I was young.
And, you know, it stayed with me.
And I remember the anti-Semitism in universities.
I remember that families had to change last names.
You know, I actually, my grandfather told us that our last name wasn't really Bernikov, that it was changed to sound less Jewish.
Because if you were a Jewish student, you couldn't get into medical school.
Even if you did, you got bad grades because you were Jewish.
So escaping all of that and coming to America, the land of the free, and what's supposed to be a land of tolerance.
And to come here and see this happening in 2022 is really horrifying for me to watch.
But the anti-Semitism at CUNY is something that's been happening at least since 2015.
I know that because I've been following it.
For me, it started with there was a rally for tuition hike against tuition hikes that was hijacked by the Students for Justice in Palestine outside Hunter College in 2015.
Somebody was assaulted and I was really shocked about what was happening, but also shocked about the administration's lack of response.
And so I've been following that issue for a long time.
I wrote articles about it.
I started being involved in different organizations to fight anti-Semitism at CUNY and in general.
So this is nothing really new.
I've had tons of students come to me to help them deal with anti-Semitism at their school.
They've launched complaints and nothing happened.
And so one of my priorities when getting elected into the city council was to fight anti-Semitism in general, but also at CUNY.
I wanted to specifically highlight the anti-Semitism at CUNY because nobody had been talking about it for years and it's been going unnoticed.
Nobody has been held accountable for what's been going on.
And so this was not news at all.
What's the reason for that?
You mentioned Students for Justice in Palestine.
So it sounds like there's some Middle East politics spilling over into America.
Is that it?
Or is it sort of wokeism that has decided that Jews are oppressors and that, you know, just like they're maybe anti-just sort of taking a Marxist approach to race and religion.
Is it more sort of a progressive, almost critical race theory approach to Jews?
Or is this just diaspora of politics coming into the streets in New York?
Yeah, I mean, I definitely think the left has a lot to do with this.
I think that what happens is when they tie Jews to Israel, that's when it becomes a problem.
I think that nobody really has an issue standing up against anti-Semitism and condemning anti-Semitism.
But when it comes to Israel, or when they just conflate it with Israel and BDS, that's when it becomes a problem.
Because, you know, if you don't support BDS here in New York City, you are a racist.
You know, they call Israelis Nazis.
They say Israelis kill babies.
And just, you know, the PR of it all, the way that Israel is viewed in New York City by the left. is very disturbing and really false.
So because of that, they're afraid.
A lot of politicians and leaders are afraid to say anything to condemn anti-Semitism because then they're seen as the supporters of Israel, the state of Israel, and the state of Israel is a very bad guy in their eyes.
So it becomes complex, especially at the university campus.
But I wanted to highlight not just that, not just BDS and Israel.
I wanted to highlight the fact that students are afraid to simply wear a yarmulke or a Star of David when they're going to campus because they're afraid they're going to be either assaulted, they're afraid that if people know they're Jewish, they won't be able to express their opinions.
And if they do, they're going to be criticized.
I mean, if they are sitting in a classroom and the professor says that Israel kills babies and Israel is a state of Nazis, that student is not going to be able to express his pro-Israel views because the professor is greeting him or her.
So, you know, it's things like that.
And it's also professors who are observant or have conservative, conservative viewpoints who are discriminated against.
There have been multiple complaints and incidents and actually lawsuits by professors who are discriminated against.
They are ousted from clubs.
They do meetings on Friday night when they know they can't attend.
I mean, there's just a lot, a lot of different things going on at Q.
Well, it's very interesting.
Police Officers' Challenges00:09:18
And I think what happened, if it can happen in New York, it can happen anywhere.
You talked about assault and threats.
What about actual crime in the city?
I mean, I think the mayor, I think being a cop helped him get elected.
I think people were frustrated by years of lawlessness and violence, including from anti-fun Black Lives Matter.
I mean, New York was boarded up, not just because of the lockdowns, but because of the riots.
What's the state of crime?
I mean, for decades, New York had this renaissance.
Rudy Giuliani and even his successor, they had the low crime policy.
Police were treated with respect.
They were supported.
They were respected.
What's it like now?
I mean, there was threats of defunding and the demonization of police.
What is it like to be an NYPD cop today?
And what's the crime rate like in New York?
It's bad.
It's really, really bad.
It's bad on the trains.
It's bad on the streets.
I mean, it depends exactly where you live.
I think it's really, really bad in the neighborhoods with a lot of minority communities.
And, you know, the whole notion of defunding the police, it's kind of old.
I think that it was the white liberals who were protesting it.
And the city council a couple of years ago voted to defund the police.
I think based on just a couple of protest signs, I don't think they really, really, you know, found out what the people actually wanted because, you know, the crime is worse in those neighborhoods where they really need the police.
And if you talk to, let's say, the black community, they'll tell you that they want more police presence because the crime is happening a lot in their neighborhoods.
It's not so much happening in this neighborhood, for example.
It is absolutely awful to be a police officer today, even with our mayor who does really support the police.
I think it's still, you know, they have the city council who is overwhelmingly progressive, who is still not pro-police, still speaking out against the police.
I mean, I'll give you an example.
A couple of months ago in Sunset Park, we had a situation where a guy was shooting on the train and the council member for the district on the next day at the stated meeting basically got up and said that we need more social workers.
We don't need police.
Meanwhile, the police officers are the ones who arrested the criminal and they're the ones who prevent the crime from happening.
So, I mean, it's notions like that that are absolutely insane that are discouraging police officers from being able to do their job properly.
And quite frankly, they don't want to be police officers.
They're prevented from doing their job.
Their hands are tied.
They're under intense scrutiny.
Anything they do is really looked at under a magnifying glass.
They don't get paid a lot.
In some places, their cars are attacked.
They're attacked.
We had two police officers that unfortunately were killed a couple of months ago here in New York.
Why would anybody want to be a police officer?
And by the way, with the mandate, there are a lot of police officers who don't want to take the vaccine.
And now with the mandate, instead of trying to increase their police force, they're really discouraging cops to continue being cops.
I showed the clip of the governor telling people who didn't like her to get out.
I think some people actually weren't waiting for her advice, and they have.
I mean, New York has had net out migration, if I'm not mistaken.
And Florida, which has opposite policies, they didn't have lockdowns.
They didn't have mandates.
And their governor, Ron DeSantis, makes a point of being very pro-police.
In fact, he's offered to hire police from other states.
Are you aware of NYPD officers saying enough of this?
I'm going to Florida.
It's nicer weather, lower taxes, and I'll be treated with respect.
Has there been a Florida impact on New York involving cops and involving other things?
Are businesses leaving New York for Florida?
What's been the comparison between the heavy lockdown state and the free state?
I mean, I don't think it's just police officers, and I don't have numbers, but I know that there are a ton of people.
I mean, I have friends who already left for Florida, a ton of friends.
Florida, Texas, mainly Florida.
And yeah, it's not just police officers, it's everyone.
Why would they want to stay in a city where the taxes are extremely high?
And what are they paying for?
Right before, it used to be that they pay high taxes, but that was to stay in a clean, safe city.
Why would they continue paying those extremely high taxes when they're not getting what they're paying for?
So, of course, they're out.
They're on their way to the Sunshine State.
And yeah, they didn't need Governor Hoko to tell them that.
You know, it's, I mean, it can happen to these wonderful cities.
I mean, San Francisco, what a gem.
But it's atrocious, just the crime and the homelessness and the drug use and the violence.
It really used to be the city with one of the highest standards of living and quality of life, and that's gone.
It takes a long time to fix up a city, but I guess they can deteriorate quickly.
I saw on your Twitter feed an interesting video about a proposal to tax people, congestion pricing, they call it, anytime they go into the city.
Here, let me play a little clip of that.
And then I'd like you to explain your thinking on this as a tax grab, which I thought was a great point.
Here, here's a clip of the video from your Twitter feed.
Did you know that next year it could cost you up to $23 to drive into Manhattan?
It's called congestion pricing.
The MTA and Governor Kathy Hoko will tell you that it's because of the congestion and the very busy business district and because of pollution.
Well, Governor Hokul is lying to you as she supports this plan.
So what is this really about?
Revenue.
Officials anticipate this congestion pricing plan will bring in about $1 billion for the MTA.
Just like the speed cameras, this is yet another money grab by our state.
So Governor Hokkole, stop lying to people and robbing the middle class.
You want people to take the train again?
Congestion pricing is not the way to do it.
Fix the crime problem.
Fire the woke DAs that are allowing criminals to run rampant all over our trains and oppose the bail reform.
But Governor Hokul refuses to end this attack on your wallets.
If you don't like crime, if you don't like bail reform, if you don't like her congestion pricing plan on November 8th, you have a chance to save our state and vote her out.
On November 8th, vote.
So tell me what you think is behind that.
I mean, I know the idea of congestion pricing.
It's sort of, you know, like on Uber.
You pay a little bit more when everyone wants to be on the road.
And maybe the idea is to, you know, spread things up.
But really, when government's doing it, it's just a tax grab, isn't it?
Yeah.
And you know what?
It's just like the speed cameras.
You know, recently the state passed a bill to, you know, keep the speed cameras 24-7, to keep them on 24-7.
And basically, if you're going over 35 miles an hour, it's really 25.
But if you go over 35, if you're 36 miles an hour, you're getting ticketed 50 bucks.
That's, I mean, when you're going 36 miles an hour, I don't really think you're speeding when you're on Ocean Parkway.
And I know you might not be familiar with those streets, but they're very busy, busy streets.
Ocean Parkway, Ocean Avenue here.
When you're going 36, you're practically swimming and you're getting a ticket for 50 bucks.
And if you are going 70 or 90 miles an hour, you're getting the same ticket, 50 bucks.
So there's no difference.
If you're just driving a little faster or you're really actually speeding, you're getting the same ticket.
I think it's just a way for the city to grab your money.
It's a tax grab.
Just the government robbing you, really, the middle class who can't afford it, especially after a pandemic when so many people have lost their jobs and are struggling.
They don't really care.
And I think it's the same idea with the congestion pricing.
I mean, if you really want people to take the train and you, because it's such a congested area, right?
They say it's because the business district is such a congested area.
They want people to take the train instead.
Well, if you want people to take the train, why don't you make the train safer?
And then people will start taking the train.
I mean, people are petrified to literally take the train, even if it's like 10 o'clock in the morning, because the trains are so unsafe.
If you watch any videos from New York City train stations, you see there's something happening every time.
I've stopped taking the train about a year and a half ago because it's just not safe.
Well, listen, you'll be very generous with your time, but I do have one last question.
Why She Might Run Higher00:04:08
We've talked a little bit about Florida.
I saw that recently you were in Florida and you met with former President Donald Trump.
Tell me a little bit about that.
What did he say?
How did that meaning come about?
I know he's a fan of yours.
He said you're the Republican AOC, but I don't agree.
I think the AOC is just all sizzle and no substance.
I mean, she was a bartender, no knocking bartenders, but by contrast, you're a lawyer.
You're a hardworking council member.
I think he was referring to how telegenic you are and how you're fighting like heck.
What did he have to say when you guys had your meeting?
Are you at liberty to discuss it?
Some things, yes, some things now.
It's a very nice meeting.
It was actually months ago.
The president invited me to meet with me.
I happened to have been in Florida at the time.
It was a coincidence.
We actually talked a lot about New York City and we talked about Ukraine.
At the time, it was a little bit after Russia invaded Ukraine.
And I think that the media picked it up because it was very interesting, because of the idea that Trump was friends with Putin and he cuddled him and whatnot.
And President Trump expressed his support for Ukraine and thought it was horrific what was going on there.
And I think that, and I told him this, I think that if he was president, that this war would not take place.
I think that Putin was scared of President Trump.
I don't think he'd ever launch this attack on Ukraine.
So we talked about that.
We talked about New York City and he was, you know, he's really upset about what's happening in New York City.
It's his hometown.
You know, and then we had some other personal conversations, but it was a very nice meeting.
Well, let's end on that note, federal politics.
I mean, Trump is still active.
Whether or not he runs again is not yet known.
It looks like he might.
You have a lot to say about Joe Biden.
I see you constantly tweeting about him.
You're very busy on neighborhood matters, as any council member should be.
But, you know, you talk about things of national interest and international interest.
Do you think you yourself might one day throw your hat into the ring for Congress or even other higher office?
I think right now I'm really focusing on New York City.
We have a lot of problems here, as you know.
And then we'll see what comes out.
Well, there's a lot of time ahead for you.
I look forward to following it.
And I get a kick out of seeing you fight in one of the toughest political battlegrounds for a Republican.
Keep it up.
Thanks so much for taking the time to say hello to our viewers.
And I'm sure a lot of them will be following you going forward too.
Thank you so much.
Great to meet you.
There you have it.
Councilmember Ina Vernikov, the New York City minority whip on council.
Stay with us.
My final thoughts are next.
Well, what do you think, Councilwoman Ina Vernikov?
She is focused on those local bread and butter issues.
She's always going out in their community, every meeting, every town hall, every group.
It's a fascinating city, but I think that Donald Trump is right to call her the Republican Party's AOC.
And I asked her what they talked about.
She said some of it was private.
I don't doubt it.
I bet she will run for higher office.
How could she not?
She's not just focused on potholes and garbage collection.
I think she has a bigger vision.
And she's just as telegenic as AOC, but a lot smarter.
I mean, you saw on the wall behind her a law degree as opposed to what AOC is famous for.
I think that she can go far.
And if Donald Trump likes her, well, that's going to clear a lot of the path for her, don't you think?
Anyway, I hope you don't mind me doing a feature interview with her.
We'll be back on our regular style of shows tomorrow.
Until then, on behalf of all of us here at Rubble World Headquarters, to you at home, good night and keep fighting for freedom.
Western Science Mandates00:15:19
The president of Western University Students Council is getting a lot of calls these days about new COVID rules, which include mandated booster shots for all students on campus.
Students are finding it difficult to understand why Western would have these policies in place, but not the province or even the country.
Oh, I'm double bats, so if I don't get it by October, then no kids.
Yeah.
If I get kicked out of the university, then so be it, that I'm standing up for my beliefs, and I will not be taking the booster.
I'm double vaccinated, like fully vaccinated, I guess, for you know, everyone else's standards.
But for Western, they don't accept that.
We just want our girls to go to school without a third dose.
They're both double-dosed.
It's too late, dude.
Where are we going to go now?
I'd love to go to Guelph.
Western University better not try this again next year.
And if they do, they're going to be in a far worse position than they are now.
LinkinJ for Rebel News here at Western University in London, Ontario.
Now we're about to walk onto campus where there's a protest taking place against the school's decision to mandate COVID-19 booster doses.
There's going to be students, alumni, their supporters here to simply speak out against this decision.
Does this make any sense?
Why would they do this to students just weeks before classes begin?
They're essentially ambushing the students by telling them that they require a booster dose just weeks before classes begin.
We're going to speak with some of the people in attendance here.
There's going to be some other people giving some speeches.
But before we get into all that, I want you guys to check out our website at noforcedboosters.com.
You can go on that website, you can sign the petition to call for Western University to end their unscientific mandate.
And at that same website, you can also make a tax-deductible donation to the registered charity, the Democracy Fund.
Students can also sign up through that same website, and the Democracy Fund will select the strongest cases to set legal precedent.
All right, guys, let's go check out the protests.
I do not care if you have three shots, no shots, or a hundred shots.
I do not believe that your personal medical decision tells me anything about who you are, what you believe, or what you have to offer to the Western community.
Last year, I was kicked out of Huron at Western, and it was a long process, and it was isolating.
And the one thing that has inspired, I think, all of us to come together here today is knowing that we're not the only ones.
And now Western wants to put more people in that position and they haven't given us the reasoning.
So today we stand for choice.
I'd love to be able to attend Western, but unfortunately, because of my vaccine status for something that's no longer even effective back when people were taking it, I can't attend the university, which is really unfortunate.
I just don't agree with the whole mandate of the booster shot.
I feel like we should have our own choice, you know, because the science doesn't really back it.
I feel like it's more dangerous to get the shot for some people.
I don't think it's a fair thing for some administrators to decide on behalf of everybody in the community what they can access as things as education or even employment.
Because I work at a college where they had these mandates and that's why I'm here today coming from Toronto because anywhere that is happening, even if it's my college or another university, everyone who's against it has to show their support and show that there's a lot of people against this, right?
I'm here to support the students that want choice.
None of this should be coerced or forced or bribed or any negative impact on these kids whatsoever.
If they want it, if you want a shot, if you want a mask, go for it.
Nobody's standing in your way.
I just don't believe that anyone should be forced to take something that's experimental, number one.
Number two, it's my body, my choice.
And we now know, based on actual science, there's no benefit to taking it for healthy individuals.
I believe in freedom of choice, and I believe that we're the youngest, you know, healthiest, most intelligent people in the province.
And I believe that us intelligent, healthy people should be prevented with a choice.
And I believe we should be trusted to make an educated choice.
And I think that goes for everybody regarding any sort of topic.
What does a pastor and a trucker that was in Ottawa and a student that is at Western, what do we have in common?
A very, very important thing, and that is our choice.
That is our God-given freedom.
And I couldn't stay home thinking that these students are going through exactly what we as a church went through, what the truckers went through in Ottawa, is that little by little and sometimes not so little, our freedoms are taken away from us.
I'm second year here at King's and you know, we saw how Brescia, they actually took back their mandate, you know, because some people are actually starting to question because last year we didn't have that much support.
There was like 90% of us were vaccinated.
But now, you know, they keep changing the requirements.
At this point, I think only a third of us have the boosters.
So, you know, people are finally starting to question it, and that's good.
And we just want to spread that message, you know, even if you weren't here last year, we need to draw our line eventually, right?
That's the whole point.
My daughter goes to King's and I'm here to support her position.
And she's not able to be here today, but I'm here to be there for her.
So we're deadly opposed to all these mandates.
As it goes on and on and on, and people take more and more shots and continue to get COVID, where is the logic?
Right?
There is zero logic coming from any of these people.
You've got Fanshaw has dropped all their mandates.
So is the science different in Fanshawe than it is Western?
So our girls are starting first year university and we're at a crossroads.
We don't know what to do because we're a hard no for getting a booster.
It's not fair.
We've been asked enough of us.
They've all been vaccinated against our will.
We did it for the better of mankind and now they want us to do more and it's never going to be enough.
So we're taking a stand, trying to teach our girls to come and take a stance for what's right.
This is bullshit.
They pretend that they're concerned about the safety of the kids, but in reality, it's all greed and selfishness.
It's all about Pfizer and pharmacy and their grants and they made a deal.
They basically sold their soul to the devil and now we have to go down with them.
So now we don't even want to, this place is tainted for me.
They have no integrity here.
Western is enforcing mandates that nowhere else is enforcing.
And I don't agree with that.
I think everyone should have a choice of what they put in their body and if they want to wear a mask and I respect anyone's choice no matter what they choose.
But yeah, ultimately just choice.
That's why.
25 years ago when I was a student excited to come to Western, I was so excited to learn from the best and I had the best.
I had teachers who, professors who didn't dare teach me what to think.
They taught me how to think.
They taught me how to be curious, how to question authority, how to demand evidence, how to trust myself, think for myself and never be coerced.
We keep hearing over and over again that this is about the science.
Follow the science.
Well, the science isn't on their side anymore.
I'm just here to support the students.
They're finally standing up for themselves and realizing that they should not be ambushed and coerced and bullied by the institution that's supposed to teach them to do exactly the opposite from that.
Why are they doing this to students just weeks before classes start?
If I had the answer to that, I don't know why.
I really wish I knew why.
it's overhanded and just not called for.
I think that's really scumbag, a really scumbag thing to do, especially I think they did it right after tuition was due and a down payments for residents too.
So they obviously did this just for as a money grab so people don't protest against this because they can't really do anything because they paid for it already.
I heard that they took the first payment and tuition and then afterwards released this information which is quite ridiculous.
If they were following the direction that they said they were following originally, you know that would be looking at what the government is telling them to do but clearly they've diverged from that because the government doesn't have any mandates no more.
So it seems to be in this case it's a faculty decision right on behalf of the union.
Those people they have a certain ideology and that's what they're trying to impose on the entire community right so it's a certain few people that are imposing their will on everyone else.
I mean, I think it's just to force people into getting the shot really early.
Like if they did it earlier I feel like more people would like pull out.
Like not that many like because they're doing it two weeks before like more people are like more forced like they have to get the shot to sit.
I don't understand whenever you look at something where there doesn't make sense it's not science-based it's usually something evil and money talks.
The only thing I can think of is I guess big pharma is their boss and they must be telling them what to do and I read that the government has given them over a million dollars here so I guess they're listening to their superiors.
I think you know it's the same tactic as last year.
They had all summer to make their decision they said they were reviewing their policy and they released the decision right after tuition is due even though they said it would be August 8th week of August 8th.
So same tactic as last year you know right after Tuition is due sort of not really giving a choice to the students and I think that's the end goal.
I think it's just cruel.
I think it's a good timing.
It's a hard spot, you know?
Very, very good timing.
Yeah, the timing is horrible.
It's a rock in a hard place.
I mean really I think it's money.
I mean it's the only thing that really ties all of this together at every level.
There's funds, there's grants.
They knew exactly what they were doing.
But what we don't realize is we have power because we're the ones that are paying and we can easily leave.
But you know, we're kind of, it's going to be not easy to leave because there's not really a lot of options right now, but I don't know.
I don't have the answer to that and I think a lot of people are asking the same question.
It definitely seems a little fishy considering they already got all their money and collected it and now they're basically forcing you to get another shot or something.
I think a lot of people who complied with the mandates up to this point are saying, you know, I did it because I trusted my institution.
I trusted my professors.
I trusted the people who said they were keeping me safe and this doesn't make sense anymore.
They never provided evidence to show that the masking, that the shots were necessary, effective or safe and they're not doing it now and enough is enough.
The reason why we're here today, why we've arranged this rally, why we arranged this protest, is to get Western to respect us as students for a change.
We want them to listen to us.
We pay their salaries.
They work for us.
We're not children.
They have treated us like children for the last two years.
The student union has not asked students what they wanted.
Western has not asked us what we wanted.
They keep telling us, this is what we're doing.
Deal with it.
Okay?
What do you think the chances are they're going to reverse this decision?
I mean, I'm not too sure, but like with the backlasher getting like this, I feel like they have to at least consider it.
Honestly, I think that if people come out and make their presence, it's the best we can do right now, but does it make a difference?
That's a good question.
Well, the university will have to address the pressure.
So as far as people here today, as far as people withdrawing their commitment and their tuition, that's pressure.
That's financial pressure.
That's public relations pressure.
So anything that we can do to put pressure on these people, that's our responsibility to do so.
I mean, listen, we can only be hopeful.
If we sit here and do nothing, nothing is going to change, right?
So if we keep pushing, maybe they will change it.
But I think either way, I mean, I do believe that there should be some sort of intervention from our government regarding these unjust, discriminatory mandates.
I think they will reverse it, and I think they'll claim, well, we're going to do it anyway, but I think they have no choice because other universities are not doing what they're doing.
And I think that they will have no choice but to back down, being that they're the only one left, Stanley.
None.
No.
I think.
Well, I think maybe people should pull their money out and go to another college, university.
Yeah, I'd say heck with them.
I think that is really going to depend on how many people want to refund and how many people are going to just not come, right?
I mean, because money's the bottom line.
As long as they're still getting their money, I don't think they're going to change it.
I don't think that they care about the truth.
They don't care about the science.
They just care about their dollars.
Like, science is now spelled with a dollar sign.
No chance in hell.
I don't think so.
I wish they would, but I'm not very optimistic.
So we don't know what to do.
Time will tell.
It depends how many people are here today.
But you know what?
Even if students lose this battle, they will win the war.
I have no doubt about it.
Western University better not try this again next year.
And if they do, they're going to be in a far worse position than they are now.
They are being coerced, so I think there's definitely going to be a lot of people just like last year that got it just to get their education, especially if they've already been three years here in university and they want to finish their degree, right?
But I think more than so than last year, there's also going to be a lot of people that withdraw.
Oh, I'm double bats.
So if I don't get it by October, then they'll kick me out.
What are you going to do?
I don't know.
We'll see.
I'll try to fight it, but I don't know.
I'm not sure yet.
I'm just not going to get the booster.
If this protest doesn't work, I'm just not going to get it.
And I'm going to try and face repercussions.
I'm going to be faced with repercussions about it, but I'll just live through it and see what I can do.
If I get kicked out of the university, then so be it, but I'm standing up for my beliefs and I will not be taking the booster.
I'm in third year uni.
Haven't been in a lecture hall yet.
I've taken no shots, but I mean, listen, at the end of the day, whether you've taken zero, one, two, or three, I feel that this affects you and it affects you as well because this is your school.
Your school is telling people what to do and what to believe.
And I think that's problematic for people across the board.
I'm a fourth year at King's.
So yeah, I'm double vaccinated, fully vaccinated, I guess, for everyone else's standards.
But for Western, they don't accept that.
And personally, for a medical health decision, I don't agree with getting the third one.
I don't think it's worth the risk.
I'm looking at the science.
I'm a pretty scientific guy, and that's what I look at.
So I got a decision to make.
Unfortunately, if they don't change it, it looks like I might be taking a year off or something.
Vax Controversy At School00:01:53
People have agreements with their landlords, as you said.
And they're also paying for tuition.
They've paid their tuition at this point.
And they've been waiting until now to make a decision about whether they want to leave or stay in their apartments.
Right?
We just want our girls to go to school without a third dose.
They're both double dose.
It's too late.
Where are we going to go now?
I'd love to go to Guelph.
These past two weeks are supposed to be like the most exciting, fun time.
We're going to university.
We should be looking forward to it.
And it's like I've had almost like a pit in my stomach every day because all I'm thinking about is this third dose, right?
Yeah, we've had Our stuff packed, and we're so excited that we're actually coming together with all our friends and stuff.
And now, like, I wasn't even going to come to school.
I was so excited that I actually chose this school with my friends coming and stuff.
And now we don't even know what to do.
We don't even know if we're going to have to get to come here.
I think there's a lot of people that are on our side, but they're a little bit scared to speak up because they're worried of the consequences of what people will think.
But to anyone watching, there's a lot of people that are like us, like, there's a lot of students.
So, stand up, and if enough people stand up, they will take it down.
Faculty members have been pretty silent so far, but actually, I've been here for about half an hour, and a number have come up to me and said, You know, I'm a professor here, I still work here, but I oppose this.
I defend the students' right to choose.
I was lucky, I was one of the lucky ones who got an exemption, so I was able to keep my job.
It's a mixed bag, and I'm also hearing that professors have said horrible things to students in class.
Like, I know that there, someone just told me, they said to her daughter, I know that there are some dirty, unvaxed people in here.
Even if your belief is that vaccination is the right course of action, you should never be saying that to students who trust you with their education.
Thanks so much for watching, guys.
If you're like the people here and you feel Like these mandates are just unjust and there's no reason for them.