Psaki Sells Putin Price Hike

Today on Sekulow, Jen Psaki sells inflation, really high inflation, as Putin's price hike. We'll talk about that and more today on Sekulow. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Sekulow. Because of the actions we've taken to address the Putin price hike, we are in a better place than we were last month.

But we expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin's price hike. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. I'm not suggesting every person in this country looks at data and assesses in that way. They assess how they feel and what the impacts are on them. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow. Hey, welcome to Sekulow. Right off the bat, let me just say we are monitoring closely what's happening in New York, specifically in Brooklyn, in the subway. We know that now it's 16 people injured. There were shots fired. There have been at least five people who were shot.

There was also some kind of smoke device used inside the subway car. So we are monitoring that. We're live broadcast. We've got our team, whenever that press conference does begin, they'll monitor it. If there's news that is necessary for the country to hear as we're talking to people in all 50 states and around the world, we will, of course, report that.

Our thoughts, our prayers are with those who have been injured in whatever it is would be a horrendous moment. So we're going to continue to monitor that. I want you all to know that right off the bat. We've got what is affecting the entire country right now is the inflation numbers. So you saw Jen Psaki come out before the release of the numbers this morning. And she's calling it Putin's price hike, as you heard in the opening of the broadcast. Here are the numbers.

So overall, and we're going to get into this in the second segment of the broadcast with Harry Hutchinson, just to really break down what these numbers mean and what they're on track to do for all of you out there. Because it's affecting everybody. It doesn't matter where you live. It doesn't matter your zip code.

It certainly is worse in some places than others. I want to hear from you. 1-800-684-3110. Do you buy that this is Putin's price hike or is it Biden's price hike?

I mean, that's that's the real question. How is it affecting you, your job, your family? 1-800-684-3110. Because those are the important stories to tell is how it's actually affecting Americans. We can look at the numbers. And of course, you can you can figure out, well, this is not good.

But I think it's important for people out there to hear how it's affecting you. Give us a call at 1-800-684-3110. That's 1-800-684-3110.

So right off the bat, I look at this number. So you've got consumer price index up 8.5 percent in the year through March. That is the fastest inflation rate since 1981. What happened in 1981? President Reagan took the oath of office. President Carter was defeated.

So it was the Carter years. So we have to go back to the late 70s and early 80s to see inflation at this rate. And the numbers don't always tell the full story, as we'll get into in the next segment of the broadcast. So you might see these very high numbers, for instance, at 8.5 percent through the year. Where could that number go if we stay on this track? It's not going to stay at 8.5. And it's not going to just be at 9.5.

We're going to get into that next segment of the broadcast. So as we take your calls at 1-800-684-3110, energy prices up 11 percent in March. So that's on top of what they were already up. 32 percent year over year. 32 percent year over year. Gas in the month of March up 18 percent. Up 18 percent in the month of March.

And they are blaming Putin not taking responsibility themselves to do things that will help the American people. We have a lot of phone calls coming in already. I want to talk to you at 1-800-684-3110. Unfortunately, these numbers don't even tell the full story. That's why we're going to bring in an expert, Harry Hutchinson, our director of policy, who is an economic expert, to break this down further for you as we take your phone calls at 1-800-684-3110. And let me encourage you to support the work of the ACLJ later in the broadcast. We're joined by Rick Rinnell. The State Department has evacuated all U.S. non-essential U.S. personnel from Shanghai. What's the story there?

Why do we keep evacuating our embassies and consulates around the world under the Biden administration? We'll get into that with Rick later on in the show. Give us a call at 1-800-684-3110 and support the work of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org.

Another way you can do it? Share this broadcast, if you're watching it, with your friends and family. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, the play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. Welcome back to Secular. We are taking your phone calls as well.

1-800-684-3110. How is inflation affecting you? You know, this idea that it's Putin's price hike. I believe it's Biden's price hike, and the data actually shows that. Well before we put sanctions on Russian oil and gas, and before Russia launched a larger invasion of Ukraine, because remember, they were already invading Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

They were already fighting there since the Obama administration. But the idea that the numbers are just so staggering that the White House yesterday came out before the release to basically set the tone that, yes, you're going to see very high numbers, but we're going to blame it on Vladimir Putin. We're not going to take responsibility. And I don't think that's, the American people, they want some solutions being offered here.

What are you going to do to bring down this inflation? Because remember early on, this was just in February, not too long ago, when Lester Holt asked President Biden about this, and the idea of this being temporary, which is what the Biden administration put out by 8. I think it was back in July you said inflation was going to be temporary.

I think a lot of Americans are wondering what your definition of temporary is. Well, you're being a wise guy with me a little bit. I understand that's your job. So no answer there.

That was before Russia invaded Ukraine. Give us a call at 1-800-684-3110. I also want to know how inflation is affecting you.

Because it's so important to tell those stories that it's not just numbers on a page that are bad, but how it's affecting you. I want to go right to Harry Hutchinson. Harry, so we see the consumer price index rising 8.5% in the year through March. It's the fastest inflation rate since 1981, and really that was coming out of the Carter years. So it's been a long time since the American people have felt inflation like this. But you talked about the trend in our meeting before we were on the air today. And that number is even more disturbing and worrisome when you pull this out over a year.

Absolutely. So I think it's important to keep in mind that the current inflation rate is 8.5%, the highest inflation rate since 1981. But the projected inflation rate going forward throughout this year and into the early part of next year is at 14% annual inflation rate. And so what we've seen is exploding inflationary pressures in the energy sector, commodity sector, food sector, housing sector, and fertilizer sector. And so that really means that the American economic house is on fire.

And it has been set ablaze by the Biden administration's policy failures. They keep looking for someone else to blame. So the real question becomes when and if they will become adults, do they prefer for all time to remain toddlers?

And I think the answer is yes, they prefer to remain toddlers. They want to blame Putin. They want to blame greedy oil companies. They want to blame greedy technology companies.

Everyone but themselves. So if you look at the underlying sources of inflation, it is fueled by a number of things. Clearly, the Federal Reserve has engaged in an expansionary monetary policy. Equally clear, the Biden administration has engaged in an inflationary approach to the budget. Keep in mind, we passed recently, last year, $1.2 trillion for infrastructure, except there's very little infrastructure in that particular bill. So at the end of the day, the Biden administration effectively has engaged in a deliberate policy of fueling inflation. Airline prices have risen 24% year over year, 11% in March.

Energy prices have gone up 11% in March. And while all of this is going on, Jen Psaki, the President's press secretary, stands before the American people while the band plays on and blames it on Vladimir Putin. So one of the things I think that the American people need to do is demand that Jen Psaki finally grow up.

Yeah, I mean, let me play it for you again if you're just joining us on the broadcast. I mean, I think she doubled down this throughout the press conference over and over and over again. Putin, Putin, Putin. And again, they can play a role, but this was already happening before the invasion of Ukraine.

So this is not the only factor, and that's how they're doing it. It's 100% Russia's fault. They love blaming Russia. Lord knows they love putting everything on Russia. I actually saw a news article out over the weekend that said they're looking at, oh, Russia might interfere in the midterms. They're already building that narrative. They know they're going to get killed in the midterm elections. Okay, the Democrats, they know it's not good for them, right?

Things are trending horrendously. At least, you know, if the election were held today, they'd be in really bad shape. And so they're already starting to use Russia, ignoring, of course, China, which we're going to get into with Rick Grenell in the second half hour of the broadcast. But I want to play so you understand this is coming from the mouth. It's not written.

It is jinsock. They double and triple down on Putin. Because of the actions we've taken to address Putin, the Putin price hike, we are in a better place than we were last month.

But we expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin's price hike. Yeah, I mean, let me go to Howard in Oklahoma on Line 5. Hey, Howard, welcome to Secular. You're on the air. Yes, hi.

Greetings. I've just let you know that on the farm economy, it's more serious than that. Our fertilizer inputs have gone up. The anhydrous ammonia I bought last spring for 480 a ton, we spent $1,320 a ton this spring. Phosphorus went from 475 a ton to over 1,000. And it's been that way across the board on our inputs for crops. Chemicals are up anywhere from 35% to 150% over a year ago at the same time. And that's if you can get them.

If you can get them. Again, you're talking about the farm economy, which is a huge part of the US economy, very important. I mean, so you're seeing it basically, Howard, in everything you need.

Yes, yes. Lots of it's doubled. And our commodity prices are up, so technically we can still make a profit, but our risk is huge. Most farmers cannot borrow enough money to operate on right now. This goes to another point here is that people have to figure out how to borrow more money. Interest rates are going up as well.

So that money, one, it's not as easy to get now. And then two, I mean, you look at these numbers, because the consumer price is looking at everything and combining. But when you get down into the weeds, it's much higher than that 8.5 like we were just talking about for certain things.

I can guess. I mean, it went up another 18% just last month. Absolutely. So fundamentally, we are in an inflationary market. There is an inflationary surge that's still coming that will indeed hit the food sector. So part of the issue, of course, is that the Biden administration, when they took office in January of 2021, what did they do? They shut down, for instance, the Keystone pipeline.

Guess what? They also approved of the Nord Stream pipeline, allowing more Russian energy to flow to Europe. But after the Biden administration shut down the Keystone pipeline, after the Biden administration gave up US energy independence, now what is the Biden administration trying to do? They're trying to buy petroleum from Canada.

But of course, if you are now buying petroleum from Canada, you have to ship it in rather than use a pipeline, which is both more economically efficient and also more environmentally efficient. And so what we have done over the course of the last 12 to 14 months is we have, by deliberate policy choices made by the Biden administration, strengthened President Putin's hand. He is actually looking at more cash in the Russian bank account now than he was last year at this time.

Why? Because the Biden administration made an affirmative decision to make Vladimir Putin richer. And the ruble did initially kind of tumble, but now it's back right where it was before the invasion of Ukraine, if not stronger, like Harry is saying. So the idea of these sanctions that we've put on that Joe Biden said, well, this is going to affect us as Americans, but we need to do it.

And I think people bought into that. They're obviously not having the effect of the Russian economy the way that they were intended. So I think they have to rethink everything.

But I will go back to this here. What steps could they take? And we only got a minute here, but what steps could they take to actually start alleviating this? Because, you know, the first time when Lester Holt was asking about this in February, the President said, well, I'm being told this will be over with, you know, later into the year.

Obviously not. I think your analysis is spot on. What the administration could do affirmatively is begin to open the oil and energy spigot in the United States. That would then send a signal to the market that prices long term are coming down.

That would then bring down prices in the short term. But this administration persistently refuses to do anything that's logical, in my opinion. They'd have to build trust with those industries because they bring them before Congress and they scream at them. And then they're asking them to go out, hey, drill now. But, you know, by next year, our Department of Energy will shut you down.

So why open up a new drill that could take years to work, which would get the prices down, but you can't trust the administration. We'll be right back on Secular. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family.

Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. All right, welcome back to Secula. We're going to take your calls to 1-800-684-3110. That's 1-800-684-3110.

I want to play this soundbite from Jen Psaki. And a quick update on what's happening in New York, just for everybody listening right now. The NYPD has announced that this is not being investigated as an act of terror. So it's not being investigated as an act of terror. And, of course, the suspect is still at large. So they have not captured the suspect. Some indication because of these statements that they're making that they might have a likelihood of who it is. But, again, we'll still monitor it.

And, of course, there's a lot of Americans injured there. And we'll follow it and report updates as needed throughout the show today. And if we need to get in tomorrow, we will as well. But let's go to Jen Psaki.

I want to set the stage here. She gets out ahead of what they already knew were going to be very bad inflation numbers. So instead of talking about it today, which I'm sure she'll get questioned about, she got out there yesterday and just started the blame game.

Take a list to bite five. There's no question that energy prices continue to be month by month a driver of inflationary data. And we know that since the start of this invasion, because of the reduction of oil in the supply in the global oil market, that that from Putin's invasion, that that is a big driver. Remember, we were energy independent when Biden took office. It's because of his policies and attacking the oil and gas industry and canceling Keystone Pipeline.

The permitting process of the list goes on and on. They're hostile. They are hostile to oil and gas. This started well before any invasion of Ukraine. It started before we sanctioned Russian oil and gas, which I'm not even sure yet that we've stopped getting. Because, you know, there was like 90 days of time and some of that gas was already in transit.

So that's still coming in. But the only reason we were relying on other countries to get us energy sources was because of policies by the Biden administration. They're the only ones responsible. If we had stayed energy independent, prices would have been down and we could have cut off Russia because there was no need for Russian oil and gas. So there's no need to punish the American people and the economy for what Putin's doing.

And everything would have. So it all goes back to their policy. But I want to let people tell their stories, too, because when you hear from the farmer that the prices are up two and three hundred percent, that's different than what you just read in these numbers, which are horrendous. You know, it's up eight percent.

But you've got to this is all compounding on top of each month in each month and throughout the year. One eight hundred six eight four thirty one ten. If you want to share your story about how this is affecting you, whether it's your job, your home, your family, give us a call.

One eight hundred six eight four thirty one ten. Let's go right to the phones. Melissa in South Carolina online three. Hey, Melissa.

Hey, Jordan. Yeah, my rent is going up one hundred and forty dollars a month and in addition to all the other things. So I'm going to actually have to move because that exceeds the little raise that I got for the year.

And I can't afford to stay where I'm at. Yeah. So this is this is when it again, when Washington, D.C. and Melissa, I appreciate you calling, just sharing that about your own personal situation, because they don't. So so often these leaders, they just see these numbers on a paper and they think, oh, you know, it's up one hundred forty bucks. That's no big deal. People can come for that.

That's not the case. People budget out, you know, and when the economy was good and through, you know, they budgeted out. OK, I can get a little raise.

Like Melissa said, I could I could afford this. But then, you know, everything gets so much more expensive that you compound all of that. So it's not just one hundred forty dollar raise on rent a month. It's that everything is costing another one hundred dollars extra a month or two hundred dollars more a month. I'm spending on gas and food. So it all compounds together, just like how the interest, the inflation does and the numbers do. And it affects all aspects of your life. You end up having to move yourself, which, again, as most people know, is not not a pleasant thing.

Even if you can find another place to go that's more affordable. One eight hundred sixty four thirty one to let me go to Don in Texas on line one. Tell a bit different side of the story. Hey, Don. Hey, let me tell you, I'm 76 and my wife's 24 and we're on a fixed income.

And I'm telling you, it's terrible. We used to fill both our vehicles up for sixty dollars and that cost one hundred and twenty dollars. And when we go to the grocery store, we can't buy what we want to buy. We have to buy what we can afford to buy.

And, you know, ever since I've been alive, the Democrats have always seemed to blame something else on their generated problems. And I think what you just said there, you know, as an American on an income wage, which, you know, you knew what you have each month you plan. But you're going to a grocery store. You can't buy what you want to buy. You got to buy what you can buy. I think that is the message that the American people is resonating with the American people right now. I mean, if they even have what you want to buy sometimes, which they might not even have because, you know, they blame supply chain.

All this goes back to energy. But I want you to understand, as a producer, we'll point it out. When they blame Putin and say, you know, it's his fault. Well, everything you're facing right now is Putin's fault. They're not saying they're changing your policies. Understand that.

That's a dangerous part of this. They're not saying, well, even because of Putin, we're going to do this to alleviate. We're going to do, you know, take another take another tax. Maybe we'll maybe we'll again, we'll really work with those oil and gas companies and let them know we're serious about letting them get back to American energy independence. We realize that our policies on Green New Deal, Democrat style policies aren't working right now for the American people. And that's our job is to take care of the American people, first and foremost.

So we're going to look into that. But no, they're beholden to they are owned by the left wing of their party. And that's who is controlling now the Democrat Party.

So they have no solutions for you. It's just a blame game. And it's always been a blame game. They're going to blame losing the election. It already looks like on Putin. And not because of inflation, but because, you know, Russia is going to get inside. That's already a narrative building yet again, because Republicans look like they're going to take back the House and maybe the Senate as well. So they have to start blaming Russia.

They ignore China completely. So we're going to get into it. Now, let me take one more phone call before we go into our finish up our first half hour, second half hour coming up. Let's go to Linda in Kansas online for Hey, Linda. Hello there. Thank you so much for taking my call. Thanks for calling. I want to let you know that I live in Southwest Kansas.

I have to drive a mile an hour to a doctor. My groceries have tripled and my the cost of gas is more than tripled and I am on a fixed income. I wish I had the money that Biden has. Well, you know, if you had, you know, business deals with Ukraine or China, you might. But, you know, most Americans, most of us don't have business deals with Chinese Communist Party members and, you know, oligarchs.

But that's why I think Washington can forget very quickly, especially the Democrats and the left. These are just numbers on paper. It's not just fifty dollars more here and one hundred dollars here. You start adding that all up.

And you hear in people's voices, this is real. This is the number one issue for Americans is they're making how to pay for what they need. Just the basics to conduct life, to feed their family, to get to work so they can get paid to keep doing that. No one's talking about extras right now.

They're just talking about what they need to live. Now, we're in the same situation as the ACLJ. We're in a big matching challenge month. Let me be clear before I tell you where to donate. I only want you donating if you're in a good financial position and you can donate to ACLJ.org and double the impact your donation. So it's a great time to support our work if you're financially able to at ACLJ.org.

Second half hour coming up. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge for every dollar you donate. It will be matched. A ten dollar gift becomes twenty dollars.

A fifty dollar gift becomes one hundred. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Keeping you informed and engaged. Now, more than ever, this is Sekulow.

And now your host, Jordan Sekulow. I want to let you know right off the top of the second half hour of the broadcast, too, we're monitoring what's happening in New York City, in Brooklyn, in the subway station, and what happened in the subway car. Shooting some kind of gas incendiary device use. It's reporting now it's sixteen people injured. We don't have a lot more about.

They say somewhere between five. They think we're actually shot. The suspect is still at large. They announced on the one hand that they're not investigating his act of terrorism, but they also are not ruling, from the NYPD, not ruling any motives out. So still leaving it open ended that we're going to be we're not going to pass judgment or speculate here because this is an ongoing situation where they're hunting for this person. But we will keep you updated throughout the broadcast today if it's necessary.

And of course, tomorrow as well. Our prayers with those who were injured and those individuals who were injured. I have the reports now is just injuries.

We don't have a lot more than that. We're talking about, of course, these new inflation numbers where you're talking about the next year with Rick Renell. Some of this fleeing embassies and consulates by the Biden administration, also the blame Russia narrative in politics. It's it's bubbling up. I'm seeing it in news sources how Russia might launch a campaign to influence the U.S. elections. And guess who they're going to be hurting? Democrats. And who should they be helping?

Oh, supposedly it's Republicans. They think that this is where Vladimir Putin in the middle. He's got a mess in Ukraine.

And he but you know what? They're going to be influencing U.S. election because he really wants Speaker Pelosi out. By the way, there's been so much unity on Capitol Hill for the most part on these sanctions and on the action that's been taken to try and prevent this Russian aggression.

If you're calculating it, it didn't seem like for him. What's the big difference? And what's the big difference? Both both parties have said they don't want to send U.S. troops. Both parties have said send weapons and both parties have said, you know, don't try to try to cut off the Russian economy. So it's it's it's it's a scam. But they are blaming everything they can on Putin.

We saw that with these huge inflation numbers. And I want to get to some of your phone calls now before Rick Renell joins us in the next segment of the broadcast. Let me go to Kerry in South Carolina online, too. Hey, Kerry. Hey, Jordan, how are you doing today? Good, good to talk to you, man.

Thanks for having me. How these prices are affecting people. I live in South Carolina. I'm a small business owner. I own a small welding and fabrication business. And as I was saying, the price of material has doubled since last year. And I mean, one length of pipe standard black iron pipe is seven to eight hundred dollars. And when you go to bid a job and you put you you have double material, the price of diesel for your truck, your welding machine, your welding gases. It's it's making us have to price jobs so high. People just can't afford it. And it's trickling down to everyone.

Everyone. I mean, the business owner, the customer. They can't get what they want to get done, done because of the price of the material and the price of the job. It's just ridiculous.

And that's probably Chinese pipe. Yeah, I mean, that's it was you put it all together and care. I really appreciate because you explain it as a small business owner because of how it affects every single person affects you. Everything costs more to get.

So when you're pricing out a job for somebody, they're saying, you know what, I can't afford this right now. Well, that then affects if you've got employees because you're not getting the jobs that you would because the prices are just too high to even turn enough profit to keep your business going. This is why it impacts every segment. You talk about diesel gas, every segment and every person. Is affected by this, whether you are the business owner or you work for the business or you're the consumer.

It's everybody. And so the idea that you just blame Putin when the numbers were already going this way is absurd. But this is what they're going to do with the elections, too. We're going to get more politics with Rick Rinnell and the next step of the broadcast. We'll continue to take your phone calls 1-800-684-3110. That's 1-800-684-3110. Let me encourage you, if you can, I always say if you can financially right now, support the work of the ACLJ. We have a matching challenge. You can double the impact of your donation at ACLJ.org. That's ACLJ.org.

And again, you're financially able to. When you donate $20, we have donors that are going to match that. So that becomes like $40 for us, the ACLJ. And that's our bread and butter is your grassroots financial support, ACLJ.org. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad, whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith. I'm covering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress.

The ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support for that. We are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, the play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. Welcome back to setkill. We're going to take your calls at 1-800-684-3110.

I want to go right back to it. We're talking about the inflation numbers. We'll get to some of the politics of this too because it's going to be blame Putin too. So Putin's not just responsible for the inflation.

He's also going to be responsible for those bad Republicans beating Democrats in the next election cycle. Let's go to Todd in Colorado on Line 1. Hey, Todd. Hey, how you doing? Hey, we're good. Good. Yeah, I just kind of wanted to call in and, you know, agree with some of these people that are calling in. It's the same over here as well. You know, I mean, my wife and I both have our own businesses, and we're being impacted by this severely because we offer what would be, I guess, luxury services.

She has a princess party company and I have a portrait photography company. And, you know, everybody's spending their money elsewhere on portraits and parties and things like that, because, you know, it's crazy how the fuel prices have gone up so much. I used to spend $40 to fill my tank up on a car that was stolen from me, actually, but it had a bigger tank than the car I have now, and the car I have now is $65 to fill up. You know, and groceries went from about $100 every week, really, to $200 a week. Yeah, I mean, these are massive effects. And you're talking about, again, like the service industry provides services that, you know, normal times, things are decent for people, not even great.

Just decent. They're going to, you know, have their kid's birthday party, maybe bring in a photographer. You know, you do these things, but when things get tight, tight, you don't do it. You've got to provide the basics, which is being able to get to work and feed your family, basically. I mean, you know, clothe your family. But I really appreciate, Todd, you calling in.

I appreciate people actually telling the true stories. Rick Rinnell is joining us now, former acting director of national intelligence and our senior advisor for foreign policy and national security. Rick, we talked about this blame Putin, which is how the White House went out with their messaging on inflation. But it's also starting to bubble up, Rick, in politics. CNN yesterday reporting, and the headline is, you know, this is one, gosh, we've been dealing with for, it seems like, eight years, maybe, so maybe six years. The U.S. assesses that Putin may increase efforts to interfere with the U.S. midterm elections, Rick. They're going to blame Putin for Democrat losses, too?

Yeah, here we go. I mean, this is really, honestly, if you look at the details, and most Americans who are not familiar with the intelligence lingo are going to miss this. But when you look at the details of what they're saying, first of all, it's anonymous sources yet again. So anonymous sources are telling, you know, some outlets, media outlets in Washington, D.C., who are running with this information, pretending like it is real or verified. It's unverified intelligence.

It's anonymous. It should not be given the type of weight that reporters are giving it. I think that the fact is, is reporters are jumpy. They love this messaging that started with the Daily Beast. They love this mantra that you should look at Russia and Russian disinformation.

Let me just say two things. First of all, it's Chinese, it's the Beijing line, it's the Chinese hope that Americans and journalists in America constantly say, look at Russia. The Chinese do not want anyone scrutinizing their relations with the Biden family. So they are going to be very pleased to see the Daily Beast and others say that this is Russian disinformation. Look over at Russia.

The Chinese love that. The second thing is we have to remember that the Russian disinformation is just the new term for Russian propaganda. We all know what Russian propaganda is when you and when you use the word propaganda, everybody knows immediately that this is phony, fake information and typical of what Russia does. No one is surprised that Russians, the Russian government pushes propaganda. But instead, we call it disinformation because we want to make it different.

But I will say this and finish with this. Almost exclusively, the Russian disinformation, the Russian propaganda was about our election policy issues, our discussions around the election, not the election itself. The Russians did not break into our election system and change votes.

The risk of that is extremely minimal because of our system. And yet the media pretend that the Russian attack on our election is somehow with vote counting. It is with the discussion and largely on social media about the election. Rick, I wonder because you talked about China there and you said a tweet today in response to the news that the U.S. State Department ordered nonessential U.S. government employees to leave Shanghai. So he says that would be a consulate there. And you wrote, I've never seen the State Department evacuate from so many countries in one year.

U.S. diplomacy is shattered under Blinken and we shouldn't employ and use taxpayer dollars to fund anyone we call nonessential. Let's walk through that first off that the State Department, all these evacuations where we're leaving. And you talk a lot about how Foreign Service Officers, the idea used to be they were, you know, you're brave, you go into places that are tough and you're there to try and prevent, you know, bad, worse actions. But, you know, you are putting your life, people are putting their life on the line when they join those agencies. And now it seems to be a different model is run.

Yeah, let me be very clear. I know a lot of Foreign Service Officers who are very brave and courageous who want to be on the front line, but they are being pulled back. I have talked to individuals who are career officials who say just when we're getting going and being able to solve a crisis or a conflict, we're getting pulled out, whether it's Afghanistan or Ukraine or any other places. Now, we all know that when there is a point of danger and there isn't proper protection for Foreign Service Officers who don't carry guns, they need to be evacuated.

But many Foreign Service Officers, career people at the State Department sign up to problem solve. They want to be on the front line and we're pulling them out too fast and getting rid of diplomacy too quickly. Is the issue in Shanghai, is it COVID? Because again, we're not getting a lot, the news is all Russia, Russia, Russia. So we kind of ignore, I know that they're dealing with COVID, it's very strict there, but would they pull out non-essential over that? I mean, what do you think the issue is there?

We have a compound in China and we are able to control our Foreign Service Officers and others who are there. So this should not be a COVID issue. I mean, when you look at the stats as well of when you get COVID, if you're healthy and you're vaccinated, the percentage of serious sickness, hospitalization or death is extremely low. And so what we need to be able to do is not be afraid of putting people on the front lines who sign up to do their job when they want to do their job. Don't pull them early and pretend like it's a crisis that we can't control or handle.

You can mitigate and protect, of course, everybody knows that. But it seems like there's a panic within the State Department and a first inflection to evacuate our people just when they want to be doing their job on the front line. I think it would be interesting for people because they hear this a lot, Rick, throughout all of these evacuations, non-essential being evacuated. So it's not everybody, but it's non-essential. Who does that usually mean at a large compound like you're talking about where we've got a lot of Foreign Service folks, a lot of State Department folks? Well, first of all, it's incredibly offensive to me as a taxpayer to hear that we're paying people who are called non-essential.

I ran the embassy in Berlin and the five consulates, and over my two years, I saved $19 million simply by not hiring people that other ambassadors before me had hired. Positions had been filled because I wasn't convinced that they were essential. And so I really can't tell you who an ambassador would say, this person is so non-essential that I can do without them, despite the fact that I'm using taxpayer dollars to pay their salary.

I find it offensive. I find it a waste. And every single ambassador should reject the non-essential workers. If it's not essential, why are we paying them? Why are you wasting taxpayer dollars to pay someone's salary who literally doesn't matter? That's what they're saying. Non-essential.

I want only essential workers, and then we pay them if you are able to do a job that we need you to do. Final question for you, Rick. We only have about a minute here, but you're talking politics. You're really involved.

You're going around the country. And talk about Arizona for a little bit. Look at those Senate races. We're getting more and more to that on the broadcast. And I know you're following that one closely.

And what's happening there? Yeah, there's some new news out of Arizona with a poll that just came out showing that Jim Lehman has really broken away. I think this is remarkable. He's got a double-digit lead over Mark Brnovich, over Blake Masters. Jim Lehman's up on television.

Others are not. Jim Lehman's got a lot of money. Now he's way up. I think this race could be over in Arizona.

Yeah, so there you go. We're going to start getting more and more up there. I appreciate it, Rick. Because with Rick's foreign policy experience, but also his political experience right here in the United States, it's great to have as an asset the closer and closer we get to the primaries. We start seeing who the leading candidates are going to be. Rick's tied in, of course, directly with President Trump and their efforts and their pact there.

So it's great to, again, you can build all this and put it all together. And of course fight back against the absurd narrative that it's Russia who's going to be the reason why Republicans win. It's Joe Biden's bad policies.

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Take your calls to 1-800-684-3110. We're going to get into, we talked about all this Russia, Russia, Russia blame. What is actually happening on the ground in Ukraine. There's been some changes by Russia, which are not, you know, things that look good for the Ukrainian people because of who the individuals are.

They're being empowered by Putin. I want to get to one of your phone calls first and we'll get to that with Wes Smith, who's on set with me here. We'll go to Bruce in South Carolina on Line 1. Hey Bruce, welcome to Secular.

Hey Jordan, thank you so much for taking my call. Listen, I just, I was listening to the gentleman with the welding company that called in and, you know, five years ago, my wife and I started a second company, second independent business, and we've done very well with it. And just in a year's time, we are facing now having to liquidate that company because we are not able to stay afloat keeping the two companies going and we're actually losing money in this economic situation between fuel and work shortage. And it's a hard pill to swallow seeing what's going on with the economy right now and where we're at.

Yeah, I mean, this is what I'm talking about. You have people who are industrious, you started a second business five years ago, you put the heart, the sweat, and the resources into that. And then, you know, you talked about another interesting point, Bruce, I think that this is important because it's the bigger story too. It's the inflation plus the fact that even finding people to work when you have the money to pay them and when you can hire people is also very difficult. So when you add that together, it's too expensive to do business and even if you could, can't get anybody to work there, what happens?

The business closes, so the hard work put into that. And again, you start hearing these stories all over the country from different people, whether they are business owners, they work for a company, they're retired, everybody is dealing with pain right now. And again, it's impacting everybody, but I want to also focus on what, you know, because all this is being blamed on what's happening in Ukraine and there is news there that is important to update you all on.

And I want to bring in Wes Smith. You can see your military analyst. And Wes, they brought in a pretty tough bad guy, the Russians. He was responsible for what happened in Syria and the atrocities there of civilians. Tell us about what Putin has changed with his top commanders in Ukraine. Yeah, the world mustn't be fooled and think that somehow Putin is having second thoughts about the invasion or that he is backing away. They're doing a reset in Ukraine. They are moving troops from the north down to the south and the east to hold on to land there because so far it's been very humiliating for the Russian forces.

One quarter of their battalion tactical groups have been either decimated or they're no longer combat ready. And so what he's done, he has appointed General Alexander Devornikov as the new theater commander for all of Ukraine. He was already in command of just the eastern and southern portion of the Russian forces in that country. He is now the supreme commander of all that is going on in Ukraine, where Russia has lost thousands of troops so far.

And you are correct. He was in charge of the air campaign in Syria. And the Russian air force attacked people, including civilians all over Syria, but just in the city of Aleppo alone, under his command, 25,000 civilians were killed by this general. They used these kinds of tactics. They would target hospitals, civilian neighborhoods, civilians fleeing the war zone. And under Devornikov, they would use airstrikes against a civilian target.

Then they would wait until the first responders showed up, and then they would launch secondary strikes to kill the first responders. This is the kind of man that he is, so we can't kid ourselves. Putin will double down on Ukraine. They will continue to attack civilians and commit war crimes. The appointment of this general is an attempt by Putin to lick his wounds, to consolidate his forces, and to start over again.

You know, you've got a new blog up that the President of Biden is correct. Putin's a war criminal. And what people need to know, because they throw those terms out kind of generally, and we don't hear a lot of explanation on the news about what that means or what exactly that he is guilty of.

Right, right. And there is a difference between war crimes and genocide. Genocide is trying to target a group of people, ethnic, religious, whatever, and to try and destroy them in multiple ways. War crimes are under several conventions, the most prominent being the Geneva Conventions, where certain acts, even though war is horrible, there are certain acts that are so horrible, they are actually forbidden even in war. And what we see are the Russian forces committing these things on the ground, things like targeting fleeing civilians, targeting hospitals, targeting schools, killing people, other soldiers after they surrender. These kinds of things are flagrant war crimes, and this is what's going on there. Under the law of armed conflict and the Geneva Conventions, these things are punishable.

You can actually be arrested, tried, charged, tried, and convicted, and we have seen this happen in the past. The question is how will we bring about justice for Russian troops and Russian commanders in Ukraine, because it goes from the top down. A commander in a military does not have to be present to be guilty of a war crime.

His excuse cannot be, I did not order it or I did not know. That defense was tried and it failed after World War II. But what we are witnessing, Jordan, are war crimes as we speak all over Ukraine, especially the targeting of civilians. I think it's important for people, and under international law, and while Russia and Ukraine were not members of the ICC, so the jurisdictional issues would be something we'd spend a whole broadcast on and legal theories on, but you do see special tribunal set up. And there is an entire set of international law set up, not just to govern if you're going to go to war, but once you're in a conflict. And like you said, it's bad, war is bad, everyone acknowledges this, and horrible things happen, some are actions, but these intentional acts, if you go in there and you don't pick any safeguards or any measures, you can be held responsible.

And the question will be at the end of this, will the world be willing to actually do that? Exactly, because ultimately, under the Geneva Conventions, the way it's set up, it would have to be a body like the United Nations that would set up tribunals and investigate this, because as you said, Russia and the United States and other countries are not signatories on the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, the International Criminal Court. But tribunals could be set up, but the United Nations is pretty weak and inept when it comes to these kinds of things, so I'm not hopeful that that would happen. But as far as the facts on the ground and the evidence that is there, war crimes are being committed, and they are a clear violation, not just of ICC rules, but of international rules in the Hague and Geneva Conventions, which over 190 countries actually see the Geneva Conventions as binding. So when you bring in this kind of leader, as Putin has, that has already committed these atrocities and ordered these atrocities, has no issue or problem ordering these atrocities, we also see a lot of the former leadership, especially in intelligence, is now in prison in Russia.

So it's a total reset. So whatever we've seen on the battlefield so far is horrendous, but this could get much worse. Yeah, the Russian doctrine of war, as we witnessed it in Syria, was brutal. It was, again, against international law. That same doctrine of war we are seeing in Ukraine, and now he has appointed a general who is in charge of that kind of warfare in Syria, and he will bring that same kind of warfare to Ukraine. And like I said, I don't think Russia is backing down.

They are rearming, regrouping. Folks, I want you to check out West's new piece. It's up at ACLJ.org. It's got a catchy title, too, because it says President Biden is correct. Something unique for you to share with your friends and family from us at ACLJ.

Putin is a war criminal. What you need to know. It's by Wes Smith. It's up at ACLJ.org. And I hope, again, this kind of broadcast, we're still following what's happened in New York, as they're still looking for, there's a manhunt under that suspect, so maybe we'll have more news on that tomorrow to report to you. But just how much we can cover in a broadcast today, getting really into the inflation numbers, taking your stories about it, also explaining to you how they blame Russia on everything, how they're going to even blame the election cycle, and what's actually going on in Ukraine right now with Russia.

We got into all of that today on the broadcast. Support the work of the ACLJ. If you're able to, at ACLJ.org, make a donation today and help with your impact with our matching challenge.

Talk to you tomorrow. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20. A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.