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I'm Brian Kilmead. Great show for you tonight. Jake Steinfeldt, great personal story. Also, could he be running for governor? We'll discuss it.
Warren Ziders, hottest country music star in Nashville? Possibly. And Doug Bergham, he's running things on the interior and getting our energy sector in line. We're going to hear from him and see his tour of the Statue of Liberty in just a moment. But first, we begin with this.
It's easy to get lost in the headlines of today, whether it's Iran, the big beautiful bill, and the whole battle at the border. But there's another victory happening right now in the backdrop for the Trump administration, and that is education. The department was supposed to wilt away, but instead, it is muscling up and making gains in places no one thought possible. I sure did not. Like in colleges, universities.
They were always thought to be a liberal playhouse. But if you peel back the layers of all the chaos that's been taking place on the college campuses over decades, you can see clear as day: Trump Term 2 is not standing for any of it because it's morphed into anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. And universities are now beginning to get in line. The demonstrations called for genocide and murder denied Jewish and Israeli students access to campus spaces. That's why the administration has found them in violation of Title VI.
If you break federal law, you should not be receiving federal tax dollars. And so I rest my case on Harvard. We have signed an agreement with them, and we hope that that agreement is going to be a template for other universities who acknowledge that there is no room for men and women's sports. The university is apologizing. It is taking away the titles that were incorrectly given to men.
We've righted wrong today. And they're also being fined for some of the hate that's been bred on these college campuses. Joining us right now to talk about this and the state of education, higher education, is Jonathan Butcher. He's acting director of Center for Education Policy at the Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow, Education Policy, I should say, at Heritage. Jonathan, your thoughts about the gains the Trump team has made since they took over a few months ago?
Well, really, in just the last week, it has been remarkable to see that the University of Pennsylvania is issuing apologies for allowing men in women's private spaces. You saw the clip just there from Secretary McMahon. I think this is an exceptional turn. I think that the movement to allow men to participate in girls' sports was just a travesty. I mean, this was an assault on Title IX and all that it had meant to women's access to education.
As for Harvard and Columbia and these other colleges that have allowed for anti-Semitism to run rampant, they are also in conversations with the White House and the Department of Education over their policies. And I think it is long overdue. They have allowed for students to be harassed. I mean, students have been physically assaulted in some cases. Material on campus buildings have been destroyed.
So this is an exceptional turn on the page of anti-Semitism and DEI in higher education. It's unbelievable, too. Can you imagine if the Biden administration got a second term? They would have no problem as we come up at America 250, hearing how bad a place America is, watching the Palestinian and Hamas flags fly all over these major cities and major universities. How did it get this way?
Well, the Biden administration allowed it to fester, but it certainly didn't start there.
Some of these ideas have deep roots in critical theory and critical race theory and Marxism. What we call DEI today is simply the application of these academic concepts. It is based in the idea that the only way to solve the problems that we see in the world is based on some sort of revolution, and that's what students have been pushing for. There is no room for discussion. There's no room for free speech.
So it is welcome that the Trump administration has paid this sort of attention and led from the top.
So, Jonathan, we see the fines, we see the withholding of money. How do you feel about the curriculum? The administration, if they want to make gains, they got to change what people are being taught in classrooms, what students are asked to learn and study in classrooms. But you really don't want the federal government deciding what you learn with private universities. Where do you stand on all that?
Well, crucially, when one of these universities, or even at the K-12 level, if they violate the Civil Rights Act, if they allow harassment to occur, or if they allow for some sort of discrimination, that is where the civil rights law comes into play. It's where the Department of Justice can become involved. I think that we're hearing from parents today. Parents are becoming involved in their child schools in ways that we really haven't seen even since before the pandemic. They're telling teachers that they don't want their children taught that they might be born in the wrong body.
They're telling the teachers that they don't want the idea that your value is based on your skin color to be used in curriculum.
So we are seeing more and more parents taking control of what's happening in K-12 schools.
So let's talk about AI and the role it's playing in real time. When AI came out a few years ago, we thought it's going to change everything. Guess what? It's changing everything, including in the classroom. Kids are utilizing it.
You can't stop people from doing it, but is it making us lazy? We are seeing some results now. For example, we have. Have chat by GBT or any other AI vehicle you want writing your memos. Go ahead and putting your press releases together, even your emails.
Yeah, it's one thing in the business context. It's a far different thing when it comes to education. I think there is real concern among teachers and professors that students are turning to AI to write their papers. And so this is something that we need to take steps going forward to do a couple of things. I think one, at the K-12 level, we need to limit access to cell phones.
There's been a real positive move both in states that are left-leaning as well as those on the right side of the political spectrum that have taken moves to make it so that students don't always have access to their phones all day long. This has been helpful to teachers in particular as they try to maintain order. As we move into higher education, it is just going to be essential that colleges move back to a very simple idea that honesty matters, right? And that what you bring to the classroom in terms of your integrity is very important, not just for your academic career, but for life after. One-third of 18 to 24-year-olds in the U.S.
use Chat by GBT to. Among those issues, and among them, users, one-quarter of those messages are about learning, tutoring, and schoolwork. It reduces your brain activity, memory retention, and sense of personal ownership.
So there's a price to pay for these advancements.
So, kids got to show some integrity and some honor. Thanks so much, Jonathan. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right, meanwhile, now we go inside an elementary school, being seen as one of the best in the nation.
Watch. Few things in America are more important to our future than education, and no one denies that our numbers have been dropping in math, in science, and in English.
Something's got to change, and it's got to change quick.
Someone's got to think out of the box.
Well, that's what brings me to the schoolhouse. They've been thinking out of the box, looking back for clues to the future. And what they've done is created a classroom environment and a curriculum. that might just be the best in America. What's their secret?
Let's go find out. Uh On the surface, it looks like any other school. But step inside the schoolhouse on Long Island and you'll see. What may be the most innovative education model in America.
So the schoolhouse was built on a few key premises. The first was that a school should be non-profit, shouldn't be for-profit, it should be for all children, all learner levels, and it should also welcome children of every economic level. The second thing we wanted to do is to make sure we were using pedagogical science, the evidence of how children learn, not tradition. We knew the curriculum had to be in the zone of proximal development, meaning it had to be slightly more difficult. We know that they want to be challenged.
We know that classrooms should be made for them, not for the educator. Inspired by the past but driven by the future, this model blends century-old educational research with Modern tools like AI and augmented reality. We call it back to the future.
So we're very forward thinking. For instance, our entire micro-school program is AI-based. We have our augmented reality sandbox, our Food on Mars program. All of those things are futuristic. But we also need to look at the very basis of pedagogical science and root ourselves in that.
And the results? Astounding. 92% of schoolhouse students are on the honor roll. 84% test proficient or higher in science compared to just 50% nationally. We've got kids in sixth grade that are doing 12th grade level work, so I had to see it with my own eyes.
When I saw it, I was amazed. I contacted Secretary McMahon, and she came for a tour. That visit has sparked talks of a glass-walled pilot program in Washington, D.C., where anyone could see the model in action. There should be more of these types of schools throughout the United States because kids learn at different levels and they learn differently.
Well the one thing he's fundamentally, he's very hands-on, right? It has to be. Hands are on communication constantly. Yes. I hear all the time, your children are so emotionally intelligent.
They look you in the eyes when they're talking to you. My six-year-old is reading books that are two or three grades above her level. My son's development, he's reading grades above what he should be at his level. He's a fantastic reader at home. He's a critical thinker and you can just see it on a day-to-day basis.
My children are learning, they're engaged, they're excited, and they're happy. is just different and it makes sense for the kids. It's not a work. It's just natural for them. It comes with play and with just their regular routine of just being a kid.
340,000 educators have left in four years. 340,000, it's the biggest exodus we've ever had. And it's not, of course we always want to pay them more, but that's not their number one reason. The number one reason is a toxic environment that they are not collaborated with, they're not part of the process.
So she's using a tactile material to teach squaring. And what she's using or their work plans.
So every child in the school has their own work plan as if you have your own schedule on your phone. They come in and they follow their work plan. We as educators get to act as a guide and help them to Achieve their goals that they set for themselves. We wanted to create an educator culture where our teachers felt like they belonged, they were bonused, they get paid well. How do you bonus?
Well, we actually throw an event with all of our parents. Even though 90% of our parents are on aid, they come once a year and we have an event. We say this event is just for bonusing the educators. Most classrooms are eros. Why is that?
Because the January's union. The janitors here. Yes, in the early 1900s, it was the easiest way to clean a classroom. And that's not more conducive to learning? No.
We know children from 6 to 12 are the most social that a human's ever going to be.
So if you put them in rows and only allow them out for their Sparse 20-minute recess, how are you allowing them to grow together? Here they're collaborating all the time because they're super social, they want to learn from one another. little flags with a country name. or a capital. Right.
And then you're gonna place it where the capital is. Replace it. where the country is. Julian has taught 50 learners so far how to do pin maps in the previous years and this year because that's his passion. Do you want to try one?
Yeah, let me see. We're we're doing it. What would you think? Czech Republic? No?
So you actually put it in Ukraine? Oh. If you want Czech Republic, that's Czech Republic. Oh, there you go. But the actual one is in Belarus.
So right there. Yeah. Nice. You're close. I was close.
Because the learners are also teaching each other, this is how we are also assessing them. They are showing us mastery of a particular concept.
So we don't have to always do pen and paper tests. If we don't fix 0 to 12, It doesn't matter what we do. Your morality is formed by 12. Your character is formed by 6.
So if there's anything our nation should be doing to look forward, it should be this. Pretty cool school, right?
Meanwhile, next on this show, I go one-on-one with Interior Secretary Doug Bergham at one of the nation's most patriotic sites, which, by the way, he's in charge of. And still to come, California has to change its progressive ways, you would think. And one guy named Jake Steinfeldt, bodied by Jake, might just be the guy to do it. He joins us here only on One Nation. That'll be cool.
And also, talk about cool. You can catch me on stage, History of Liberty, and Laughs, along with Fox Nation. Dallas, Texas, my next stop, August 23rd. And Richmond, Virginia, September 27th. Go to briankillme.com/slash tour, and I'll see you there.
VIP opportunities remain.
Now, bring the music up. Listen to this. It's flying for freedom for me and for you. It's what I believe nearly hold.
So, your 4th of July weekend is wrapping up, but next year we'll be celebrating in an even bigger way, as it will be America's 250th birthday. Interior Secretary Doug Bergham gave me a special tour of one of the most patriotic sites in the world, let alone the nation. I'm talking Statue of Liberty. It's all part of his work description. He's got to take care of.
Watch. standing with her beacon light at the entrance of the harbor of New York. The Statue of Liberty presented by the French Republic to the United States. About 4 million people come every single year. I'm talking about a visit to the Statue of Liberty.
How about a tour before the tourists with the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Bergham? The last time I saw you, you were getting me on a horse. Where are we going now? No horses today. No horses today?
But we got a sweet ride here, the U.S. Park Police. Let's go. You brought us to Liberty Island. You've been here before.
Yes. So, but it still never gets old. It doesn't, and of course, never been all the way to the top. Would you never been to the top? We may get there, but just look at this.
You come here at the scale, the size, the beauty of this. It's a little overwhelming. Whose idea was this? Auguste Bartoldi, a French guy, really wanted to build a giant statue. And his friend Edouard de la Bouillé has the idea that we should give this gift to the United States of America.
We're coming up on a 100-year birthday, and they thought it would be a nice thing to do after the Civil War. Give them a birthday gift. Why not? There's so many things that have changed. Like, for example, the torch.
The torch that we see out there is not the original torch. That's behind here. Original torch is the story. Had to come down because there was too much water damage.
So we decided when we restored her in the 1980s, make it copper again, but put gold leaf around it so it brightens up in the day and we can shine lights on it at night. As we head into USA 250, each one of our national parks has this opportunity. To teach history to Americans to understand our roots, our freedoms, our liberties, and what a better place to do it here. It's amazing. It's iconic, but it also brings challenges.
It's a symbol around the world of liberty, but it's also a target. 1916, there was an explosion that occurred on Black Tom Island. German spies blew up the island. Shrapnel from that explosion hit the monument. And again, in 1980, we have an open case file right now where an explosion was set off inside the Statue of Liberty's Museum at the time.
That's why we have such heightened levels of security for this monument. United States Park Police are the primary law enforcement out here. Do we have your permission to go inside? Yes, you do. Interesting story.
They're done with the statue. It's in the 1870s, but our deal was to build a pedestal. What happened? In the centennial exhibition in 1876, the 100th birthday of our country, they didn't have the pedestal done, but they had the arm and the torch.
So they just brought the arm and the torch to the exhibition, and people could pay 50 cents to climb up the stairway to go inside the torch. And from 1886 on, they were seeing this as they came through the harbor, but we have an appointment up top, don't we? Yes, we do. All right, let's do it. That was an interesting climb.
What do you think? I think it was a crowning achievement actually in the crown. Wow. Inside the head of the Lady Liberty, right here, literally.
So out here on a clear day, which today isn't, you could see Manhattan. And you could see the harbor. This is where people Stop their tour right now. I think we ought to try to get to the top of the torch.
Well, there's only one person outside the president could make that happen. It is the Interior Secretary, and you are? Secretary of Interiors. This is the secret backway to the arm. I don't know how tourists would ever do this, even if it was opened up.
Well, Brian, from here on, as you can see, it's straight up this ladder. Straight up. It's gonna be worth it. Brian, we're up here in the torch. Not everyone may understand that this is literally at the top of the arm of Lady Liberty.
But I think the way that you've got to prove to your audience that you actually climb to the top of the crown is I think we get a shot right now looking down at the top of the crown and the rays of light coming off of Lady Liberty. And there she is. This is absolutely amazing. What are your thoughts being here? You've never been to the torch before.
I haven't, and I tell you, you look good in the reflection, Brian, of this 24-carat gold torch that shows the burning flame of Liberty. Fantastic to be up here with you. Great way to kick off the celebration for the USA 250.
So, can I throw your name around and take the elevator? Do we really have to take the stairs?
Well, we have to take the stairs. We got to climb down a ladder all the way to the arm just to get back to the crown. It was worth the trip. I hope I survive.
So after Doug took me in and out of the Statue of Liberty, I was able to talk to him about other things that was on his mind as well as things he has to do under President Trump.
So he gave me some quality minutes. I want to share them with you exclusively. You knew the president well before you got the job and before he won. What are you finding out as being one of his cabinet members about the pace and his approach to the position? I'd like to start with Doug Bergam, Secretary of the Interior.
I think you know I've been an entrepreneur most of my life. There's very few times. You were a tech guy for a little while. I was, but I was always working for myself, you know, as chairman and CEO. I mean, so this is one of the few times I've had a boss, but you couldn't ask for a better leader than President Trump.
You and Secretary Wright are in charge of energy.
So right now, when it comes to gas prices, they're down to 20-21 levels as we have this holiday season. Pretty good news for millions of drivers expecting to hit the road for the 4th of July weekend. Gas prices, they're pretty low. Yeah, John, they're pretty low and they're trending lower. Does that have anything to do with your approach to this?
Because of the strategy of making sure that we've got enough energy for ourselves and to sell to our allies, that's an inflation buster as opposed to inflation crater. President Trump created the National Energy Dominance Council, asked Chris Wright and I to lead it because he understood it takes a whole government approach. across commerce, treasury, EPA, agriculture, interior, energy, all of us working together to make sure that we can have energy to sell to our friends and allies and have enough for prosperity at home and peace abroad. That's what we're doing. President Wilcollio would say, what about that pipeline in Alaska?
What's going on with this governor? He is, the detail that you explained to me is mind-boggling, especially considering you're talking about the power of the power. He's not calling between 9 and 5. I've gotten those phone calls at 9:45 on a Saturday night after he's been in Saudi Arabia for a week saying, oh, are we coming on those pipelines? I mean, this guy works seven days a week, non-stop.
He understands the details, and it's fantastic what he does and how much he cares about the American people. And he understands it right now, but with this AI arms race that we're against China, it's not just about the price of the pump. We've got to have enough electricity to drive all the reshoring, all the manufacturing that's coming back. We've never had an economic developer like President Trump. Every stage you do in nukes.
Hot industry, it's a brilliant industry. Nuclear energy, geothermal, I mean everything. President Trump signed four executive orders around nuclear and he broke open that market. There's been a billion dollars of private capital going into nuclear energy startups in the four weeks since he signed those EOs. He's just changing markets and changing trajectory with his vision.
When it comes to trade, we are seeing rare earth being held back by China. America does not have, we have rare earth, but we don't mine rare earth. What have you done? That's your responsibility. That's a national security situation.
A day doesn't go by when Secretary Wright, myself, and others are not meeting with folks that have got plans to develop and process rare earth minerals. Is it going to take time? We're on a fast track. This has to be like a Manhattan project. We can't be dependent on adversaries for things that are essential.
The problem is what is you have Democratic governors who don't want to mine in their states?
Well, we've effectively killed mining in this country. I think we graduate over 36,000 lawyers every year, and about 300 kids come out of schools of mining. We've got to get back in the game. Pipeline in Alaska, pipeline in New York, right? You think you got a deal to get a pipeline through New York?
Absolutely. It's moving down the track. There needs to be more gas to run the electrical plants that are here to provide the power to run New York City and to run New England. The highest electric prices in the country are spread across New England, with the exception of Hawaii, because we don't have enough fuel here to power the electricity needed to run this region. We'll see if he can hold up for four years.
He's got the energy. We'll see. He certainly had the president. Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary.
Thank you, Brian. California has been in chaos for years. We've been covering it right here, but things could be changing around. If we get new leadership, actor, and fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld is here, he might just be the guy. He's going to tell his story and his objectives next to On One Nation.
Thanks for calling consumers. This is a Fox News Alert. I'm Marianne Rafferty in Los Angeles. Search and rescue crews are battling rising waters as they continue their search for victims of last week's devastating flash flooding in central Texas. With more rain falling, the Sheriff's Department is warning the already swollen Guadalupe River could rise another one to two feet.
The flooding is blamed for at least 82 deaths across multiple counties, and that number is only expected to climb. Dozens more are missing, including at least 10 children and one counselor from an all-girls camp in Kerr County. That's about 90 miles north of San Antonio. The camp sits near the Guadalupe River, which rose nearly 30 feet in under an hour during torrential rains overnight into Friday. Texas governor is vowing that crews will search until every victim is found.
So far, more than 850 people have been rescued. I'm Mary Ann Rafferty.
Now, back to One Nation.
So, progressive policies have ruined the state of California, in my view, and now even the Democrats are beginning to take notice. You got Governor Gavin Newson, an epic failure in my view, pushing major housing reform through the state and is finally paring down landmark environmental review laws in a bid to cut red tape and get this, be able to build new housing instead of trying to destroy the suburbs. This all while the administration continues to try to get the Golden State in line with the endless lawsuits and funding threats. Joining us now to discuss this and more is the chairman of the Foundation for the Governor's Fitness Council and founder, and he's known as Body By Jake, Jake Steinfeld. Jake, great to see you.
Hey, Brad, great to see you too. I hope you had a great fourth, and everybody in this whole great nation of ours who's watching tonight, I hope you had a great safe fourth and didn't eat too many hot dogs and burgers. Yeah, well, you're not at home, first time in decades, because it burned to the ground. You were able to scrape your property, but little else. That just adds to the frustration you feel of the California you used to know.
How has it changed? Brian, let me just say this, and I know it's a Sunday evening, and everybody's probably ready to get themselves set for the new week ahead. And I want to get everybody straight on this because I want you to wake up tomorrow morning with a positive feeling. Let me just say this: there was a dream you just mentioned. To me, that was California.
I was 17 years old. As you know, man, I'm actually from New York, and I had this dream to come to California. And I came here to pursue my dream, and I achieved it more than I could ever have imagined. And there's no way I could have achieved that dream anywhere else in the world but here in California.
Now, as you mentioned, literally, my home burned down in January during those Palisades fires. Metaphorically, California's burning. And I don't want to see that happen. And it's not about you and me. It's really about our kids and their kids and their kids' kids.
I want to restore what that dream was, man, to come to this great state. And it is awesome. I've got to tell you, everybody that comes to visits excited when they come to California. There's no better place on the planet like it. But things are crumbling around us.
I don't want to look backwards. You know, you had mentioned to me on a couple of shows before about the administration, about a Gavin Newsome, a Karen Bass. I'm sure these are nice people in private. Unfortunately, Brian, these folks, they're playing. Checkers, man, and this is all about chess.
You have to put the right people together. And as you know, I'm not about the red or blue. I'm about the red, white, and blue. I've been putting fitness centers in elementary and middle schools around this great country of ours for the last 14 years. I served under, you know, as you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Actually, you know, when he was governor here, I put fitness centers all up and down the great state of California. I want about, I'm all about bringing people together. Right. And it's about the 40-yard line deal, right? Because when you're inside the 40s, you can talk.
When you start going outside into the bleachers, everyone's yelling at each other. I'm on this listening tour, and it's important that we listen to hear what's going on. And I know I put a group of people together. really excellent people together. With this idea of this dream.
To bring the dream back.
So I hear you.
So let's just look at California. They can't rebuild after the fires. They promised to do it quickly. You're living proof they are not. And then we're watching these riots in the streets, and they're focused on the National Guard instead of the assaults.
Your DA has charged 40 people with assault, 117-year-olds with attempted murder. We see these protests going on, and they want to blame the National Guard. You literally have a state, maybe the most beautiful in the Union, with high taxes, can't recover from floods, and can't control their population. What do you think you could do to change that? Hey, listen, it's all about change.
Change is rough and change is tough, but when you have the right motivation and the right inspiration and the right tools, as you know, I've been an entrepreneur my whole career. And as an entrepreneur, you know what you know. And the stuff you don't know, you get the right people around you. Tay Leonces, one of the many influential people that you call a friend, is kind of pushing you. He put this on Twitter: Run Jake Steinfeld Run.
The great state of California needs a strong, smart, experienced leader who is beloved by people all over. He has influence and connectivity with business and tech leaders, is self-made, loves his neighbors, loves his state, loves our country. He's one of the most successful business people in the country. And he owns your capitals, of course. He wants you to run.
Doug Bergham wants you to run. Is Jake Steifer going to run?
Well, listen, I've been thinking. I'm talking to a lot of people. As I said, there's a listening deficit in this country, a listening deficit in California. If I'm going to do this thing, I want to do it the right way, and I want to make sure we have the right people in place. Because as I said, as an entrepreneur, you know what you know, and the stuff you don't know, you get the right people.
I'm filling in those positions. And I just want to make sure that we can get along because I need to get, if we do this, we need to get along with the administration and the president. And that's the only way California really gets changed. Bringing Democrats, Republicans, Independents together in a room. We all work together to make this state great again.
To bring that dream back, which was the California dream that I was able to pursue and live. And I'll leave you with this, man. Stick to the fight when you're hardest hit. It's when things seem worse. That you must not quit.
And we don't quit, brah, you know that. And the question is: are you gonna store it? Because I know if you get involved, Jake Steinfeld wins. Coming up on this show, though, country music superstar Warren Zyders. You might have seen him on TikTok or bought a ticket to see him live, or I caught up with him for an interview you can only find here on One Nation.
Don't move. As a gynecologist, I'm embarrassed. Happy Sunday. Sunday night, I should say.
Now, this: he's a rocker with a wild side, a viral rise, and a heart rooted in family and faith. From the Cross Fields to Soldad Arenas, Warren Zyders is riding the lightning all the way to Country Stardom, and he's just getting started. He made some time to talk to me, and we took a walk. Watch. What are your thoughts about being this close to the garden and knowing that you were then there in front of a sold-out crowd?
Stepping on that stage for the first time in front of that many people and being here in New York with how iconic the venue is, it was like, oh, this is... Welcome to the big boy leagues. I'm gonna ride! The loud. What led to you recording a song and putting it on TikTok?
It was Ride the Lightning, right? It was Ride the Lightning, I was going to say it was my followers. My followers, I always say they became, they were followers and they became fans. Because it started with posting covers and then it led to We Want Original Music, to then me writing, to then me putting out my first hit song, Ride the Lightning. And then it was light.
Not renewing it. It was insane. Gonna ride. Was this always the dream though? To be a musician, to be a performer, get paid, do this for a living?
You know, it's, I feel guilty saying that it wasn't, but that's part of my story. You know, like I went to school to play lacrosse. I thought that I was gonna go play for four years. I was gonna come out and, you know, get a job. I knew I probably wanted to do something in sales and marketing, something entrepreneurial.
Now there always was that underlying love for music my entire life. I was on the lacrosse field singing a song. I was at home plucking the guitar, singing a song. But I had no one in my life telling me that you have a gift worth sharing with the world. It slowly became my dream once I found how close I was to tasting it.
And then now that I do this, I couldn't imagine a life where I'm not doing this. Your sister helped told you one of the people your biggest supporters who told you to post this stuff, right? Yeah. And so put this out there. Yeah.
She quickly regretted it. After all the videos I was recording, and she kept hearing me sing for hours on end. But no, love my little sister. You gotta pay back your sister a little. She goes to college, it's an expensive proposition.
Would you do a Christmas? At Christmas, um I paid off my sister's student loans. And um That was a really emotional Moment. I'm trying not to get choked up talking about it right now. I mean, I love my sister to pieces.
All glory to God, man. God gave me this position and. He's given me so many things and to be able to get back to my family and to my sister, that's what it's all about. Y'all know Ride the lightning. Ride the lightning.
What does it mean? I mean in the video you're in a prison. Yes, that is a literal sense and that is a very creative exposure on a way of interpreting the song. But Ride of the Lightning for me, you know, I'm in country music but it definitely leans more rock and that's from my dad's influence growing up. But for the song, the most iconic line in that song that went uber viral all across social media was Mom always said I was more on the wild side.
Mama always said I was born on the wild. I'm not sure what's going on. Where are you? I I definitely have a wild side to me and um I think Definitely an adrenaline junkie. Your next big hit, which was?
Craylo Poison. Is that still your number one? Yeah, I mean as of right now until we get the next number one But I mean that song man has touched so many lives And I knew it on the day when we wrote it. I knew it was special. And the next big one after that was...
We got relapse now. Relapse, relapse, drinkers one, two, three, jacks. Which is out now. Which is out now. And current radio single and everything.
We're on the relapse tour. But the relapse has nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. Nope. No. It is a relationship.
Relationship, yeah. There's an underlying tone with my music. At 25, you can tell kind of I always joke about my dating life, and that's kind of where I'm at right now. Did you finish college? Nope, college dropout.
How tough was it to tell your parents, hey, I'm dropping out, I'm going to give this music thing a shot? It was tough and it wasn't tough. I'm very bullheaded, just like my father, and My parents were not crazy about the idea of me dropping out my senior year. But I bet it on myself, and I told him: I was like, guys, the iron's hot. I'm this is what I'm committing myself to.
And I'm done. Are you ready? You mentioned you go to Nashville, and the difference is for most people, you don't really necessarily have to be an intern, work for a recording studio. You've got to go in established, right? You have these followers, you have a manager already.
Pick up any resentment from people who said, I grinded it or this is a shortcut. Oh, yeah. And there always will be, and there still is resentment. There always will be. And, you know, I'll be the first one to say, yes, I am competitive and I have a small circle in my life.
And I'm all for making friends and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, not everyone's gonna be happy for your success, and that's the reality of life. There's a difference between having rise to success and I call it the flashpan effect. or there's actually sustainability to it. And there was a lot of people, and there still are people right now on social media that You know, they have a moment. But what are you going to do with the moment?
Are you going to capitalize and then are you going to transition the social numbers into streaming numbers and the streaming numbers into hard ticket sales and then the hard ticket sales into merchandise sale? all these different minute details. in running a corporation. Yay! I love what I get to do, but I don't live the traditional rock star life that everyone thinks you're living and everything.
I'm very modest, I think. choices I make and whatnot and I think that's all thanks to my parents too. It's all all goes back into the business and just pressing forward and allowing it to grow and give back to my family, but give back to the fans, man. And do you go out of your way to be apolitical when people ask you these things? Do you try to, does it...
Does the entertainment business part of you say let's stay away. If our friend wanted to come hang out with us, take a photo with us, or go play golf. You know who I'm talking about. We got to go take a photo with him. President Trump.
Mr. Trump, yes. I watched the video of him and DeChambeau playing golf, and I was like, man, that'd be a lot of fun going playing golf with those two. And I'm always outspoken about my faith. I think that I don't go out of my way to ever push it down someone's throat and anything like that.
But any chance I get, I always make sure that I give him all the glory and showcase my conservative values and my Christian beliefs. I can feel it in My bones. Goodbye.
So you're doing $7,000, you want to get to $20,000, you're 25 years old, single guy, it seems like everything's hitting. The next big story, the next big goal for you? I think to me. You know, I got this tour coming up in the fall, and I think a big one for me is we're almost there already, which is insane. But I go back to my hometown at the end of my fall tour coming up in Hershey for the Giant Center in front of about 9, 10,000 people, and it's damn near sold out, which is insane.
So, since our interview, Zyders has made quite the impression in our nation's capital. The Country Music Sensation met with President Trump. In the Oval Office, seemed to have a good time. And by the way, performed at America's first Army anniversary parade, Army Turn 250. Oh, don't forget to follow me on social media, by the way.
You can do it at KillMeet at Rumble, Instagram, X, on Facebook, or you can join my private club, the Cobra Club, on locals. More One Nation, right after this. Let's say I feed in the water and I soak up that sun and I watch it. This might be a surprise.
So Before we go, a quick note: don't forget to catch me on tour with Fox Nation. It's called History, Livery, and Laughs. It is a lot of fun. You don't believe me? Watch a sneak peek.
I love the flag. This is not going to be a show that you're expecting. Nice people. The only thing left is, oh yeah. The show.
Ladies and gentlemen. Get on your. Brian. Kill me! Other countries might have longer histories, they don't have better histories.
We are prepared to give your life for a new country. I love Brian, and I love the comedy edition. That is your country. That is your story. Yup, it's patriotic, it's motivational, inspirational, and it's a lot of fun.
August 23rd, I'll be in Dallas, Texas. I want you to meet me there at the Winspear Theater. It's an opera house. And then September 27th, Richmond, Virginia. Grab your tickets on briankillme.com/slash tour, and I will see you there.
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That is it for us tonight. Quick note, watch the radio show and listen to the radio show 9 to noon weekdays, also available on all your podcast entities. And be sure to watch Fox and Friends every single day from 6 to 9 or whenever you roll out of bed. Stay within yourself, America, and keep it right here on Fox News. This is Jason Chaffetz from the Jason in the House podcast.
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