This show proudly sponsored by Real American Freestyle Wrestling. Carl Rove, former Deputy Staff Deputy of Staff for George W. Bush, Senior Advisor there, Fox News contributor, best selling author. Carl, what do you think about the President's crime problem crime attack plan?
Well, look, we saw a little bit of this in Los Angeles where there were disturbances. He has special authorities that allow him To, for a limited period of time, to control the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. 30 days, right? Yeah, 30 days under the home rule law. it's not clear to me that he has authority to deploy You know, federal forces and National Guard into the other city just.
Because he believes that the crime rates there are too high. It's one thing going back to, remember in Portland several years ago when left-wing demonstrators were trying to attack the federal courthouse? That he would have authority under federal law to deploy federal forces in order to stop that. And they did send additional. federal law enforcement there, but but he would have authority to do things In a situation like that, it's unclear what authority you would have to do to deal with crime in Oakland or Philadelphia or Baltimore as opposed to Washington, D.C., which is That has been governed by a specific law that gives him specific authority for 30 days to basically take command of the Metropolitan Police Department.
You know, the most deceptive thing, and Ari Fleischer talked about it last night, is everyone says, Well, crime's down. Why now?
Well, I mean, there's little things that are going on when it comes to crime figures. The thing that emerged yesterday out of the DC figures, they left off felony and aggravated assault in their violent crime categories. Also, they have a little problem with the Metropolitan Police. They suspended one of their guys for skewing the crime stats.
So he's suspended with pay.
So, I mean, you got to wonder. And plus, Carl, you know more people in Washington than almost anybody. You know they don't feel safe like they used to. Yeah, no, they don't. Having said that, remember this was not a response by the administration.
A judicious study of the crime statistics and finding fault with them. This was a brutal assault on a former Doge employee at 3 a.m. in the morning. with with what turns out to be pretty typical in the last couple of years, he is assaulted by three individuals who are attempting to steal his car, and I believe they're all underage. I mean, what we've got in Washington DC is because of DC laws Passed by the city council.
They treat juvenile defendants in violent acts significantly different than they do adults in those acts.
So what happens? The gangs go out and say we're going to get the fourteen and the fifteen year old to basically steal the luxury car at 1 a.m. And so, you know, this is a little bit of the D.C. having to deal with a problem that it created by being lax on crime. Absolutely, especially with teens.
So I'm watching the mayor of Baltimore, and you know what a mess Baltimore is, how dangerous it is. The mayor of Baltimore, obviously a Democrat, who thought it would be a great idea just to not wear a tire or a jacket, just hop on CNN. I just think it's a bad presentation. Having said that, the Baltimore Sun did a story about how bad things are using real people, talking about how bad things are in Baltimore.
So he was confronted with this, and if Trump could help, cut 22. I'm sure you read the article in the Baltimore Sun yesterday talking about how so many Baltimore residents don't recognize their neighborhoods anymore. What do you say to those residents of Baltimore who may think that citing falling crime statistics glosses over some of the harsher day-to-day realities and needs that they have to their lives in Baltimore, need for things? to change even further in terms of just regular drug trafficking. Yeah, so we don't we're only having that discussion because the president is having that discussion.
And this is, I want to be very clear. I didn't read the Baltimore Sun article. I don't read it because they're a part of the President's propaganda machine. Really? Baltimore Sun?
Is that the answer you expect? God, what a moron. I'm sorry. That's just ridiculous. Look, This is a big problem for the Democratic Party.
Because most big city mayors Are Democrats. You know, Dallas has a Republican mayor, Fort Worth has a Republican mayor, but those are the largest cities in America with Republican mayors. And most of these other city mayors are big city mayors are Democrats. And if they are soft on crime, that's the face of the Democratic Party. If you know, look, I'm old enough to remember when you had Democrats who felt seriously about making certain that the inner city neighborhoods were safe.
And this guy, that's a joke. I mean, how out of touch is he? The Democratic Party, if it would wake up, would realize it's saying we're going to make certain that the neighborhoods and communities inside our big cities are safe, That would be something that would put them in good stead with the voters back home, but also help change the view that we have in America today: that the Democratic Party, when it comes to crime, is soft, and they are.
So, I want to talk about gerrymandering. The ABC had a report last night that some Democratic lawmakers, state lawmakers, were coming home so you could have a quorum today about redistricting in your state call Rove. What have you heard?
Well, look, nine Democrats didn't never left the state, and I understand there's a tenth one who's whose name has not been added to the list, who's around town. They need to have twelve Democrats join with the eighty eight Republicans in order to have one hundred members present out of one hundred fifty. That would constitute a quorum. We have a very th high threshold for what a quorum consists of. But look, I don't think this is going to happen before the end of this first called session.
I think the governor's going to have to call a second one. But look, they're going to come home. First of all, this always happens. They run away. But eventually they have to come home because look, first of all, they only get paid $600 a month, which means each one of these people has a real job they're staying away from.
And their families. And second of all, the Speaker, Speaker Burroughs, has taken some very tough, smart measures. He said, okay, if you want to get your paycheck, and more importantly, if you want to get your per diem, we only pay them $600 a month, but we pay a nice per diem while they're in session. If you want to pick up either one of the, if you want to receive either of those checks, we're no longer making auto deposit into your account. You've got to pick them up in person.
And then he said, any member who is not here. We're going to cut your staff budget by 30%, which means every one of these people is going to have to fire an employee, and they only have two or three employees. This is going to be so he's pinching them.
So, look, this is going to happen. It's probably going to take a second special called session. This one ends legally on the 19th. The governor can literally call a session to begin immediately. What's going to happen is we'll end up with 100 members.
The Speaker will put on what's called a call. He'll put a call on the House, which means that literally no member can leave the floor of the House without his written permission. And we'll end up doing the redistricting plan, and we'll end up doing some of the bills that. Have been added onto the special call to deal with the aftermath of the Guadalupe River flood. And here is the backlash from Gavin Newsom.
Listen. Hey, President Trump, it's time to stand down. It's time to, dare I say, do the right thing. Actually, see how that feels for you doing the right thing. If you don't, California will neutralize anything you do in the state of Texas.
We're not going to sit back and watch you light democracy on fire. We will fight fire with fire. Take that apart, if you will, Carl. Don't do something that I consider to be anti-Democratic, namely gerrymandering. I've already done it in California, so don't criticize me or the Illinois governor or the New York governor for having gerrymander their states.
Texas, two-thirds of the delegation are Republicans. In California, it is 83% of the delegation are Democrats.
So I've already gerrymandered, he says. And if you gerrymander in Texas, well, I'm going to do a second round of gerrymandering, and it's all because you're being anti-Democratic.
Well, what do you call gerrymandering your state? In fact, I loved it. They had a commission due to draw the lines. And after they drew the lines, all these special interest groups said, look at how we manipulated the process so that we would have more Democrats in the congressional delegation. I mean, come on, please.
Stop being a hypocrite. Stop. Do I wish that we only redistricted every 12 years? Am I uncomfortable with the degrees to which both parties go? Yes.
Do I wish more states were like Iowa, where they draw their lines in such a way that they're compact and contiguous and community of interest and have more competitive seats? Yes. But this is what it is, and it's been this way. Since before the term gerrymandering was created in 1812.
So stop, please, Newsome. Stop lecturing us like you are high and mighty and you realize that you're doing something bad, Donald Trump, so therefore I'm going to do something even worse. Do you think Florida's going to do the same thing? I think they're heading down that way. We'll see.
I mean, it's you know, it it you know, at some point, this just gets crazy. And and look, I let me just be clear. Everybody does this. I remember in 2016, 2015, and 2016, when the Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, directed four states that they had to redo their redistricting in the middle of the decade in order to create more black majority seats, and it cost Republican seats in most of those states. Two Republicans lost their seats in North Carolina because of the Justice Department stepping in and saying, you must do this, and you must do it in a way that will guarantee more Democratic seats.
So everybody does this. Do I like it? No. But please, let's not go out there and have holier-than-thou lectures from a guy who's got great hair. I have to admit that about Newsome, great hair, but not a particularly effective governor.
Terrible governor and not sincere about a word he says. He comes off totally distrustful. And I know people that are sincere, even if you don't believe anything and you go, well, he's sincere. And maybe Governor Westmore's like that. That.
I don't see it in Gavin Newsom. I see nothing but distrust. And in California, it's got 38% approval rating, and that's a Democrat. Not easy.
So, finally, Carl, I want to bring you to what you expect to happen in this unorthodox setup in Anchorage, Alaska. It looks like we now know that Vladimir Putin will meet with Donald Trump at a U.S. military base in Anchorage. Your thoughts about what we'll be talking about Friday night when it's over.
Well, we don't know. And maybe we shouldn't because this is high stakes. This will determine this could Determine the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine, and it could either be to the advantage of the United States. And the West, or it could be to the advantage of Vladimir Putin and to the disadvantage of the United States over the long haul, and to Europe almost immediately.
So I we don't know. I I do think that the the there are there are signs that President Trump has come to understand that Vladimir Putin is not sincere about wanting to uh have peace. He wants to he wants what he wants, which is the decimation of Ukraine and the create the creation of a vassal state. In Ukraine and the end of its end of its freedom and the beginning of again of domination by Moscow. But we'll see what happens.
But for this will this will go th this is one for the history books. This is going to be a moment where we where Donald Trump demonstrates Uh leadership. Or not. And where either the United States is a force for peace and security. in our b in our interests or not.
And We'll see. High stakes. This meeting came about because the President of Russia asked the President of the United States to meet through his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who, as you all know, traveled to Russia to have a conversation with Putin at his request. And so the President is agreeing to this meeting at the request of President Putin. And the goal of this meeting for the President is to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war.
So, I mean, you read between the lines there. They're kind of walking back expectations and letting everybody know why this has happened, right? Smart. Lower the expectations because the expectations got way out of whack very quickly. And Russia wanted that.
Russia wants the pressure to be on Donald Trump. to quote deliver and deliver a peace regardless of what the consequences of that might be over the short term or long term. And I thought it was very wise by the White House to begin to lower the expectations on it and to say the President wants to hear from Putin and understand what where he's coming from. But look, to a large degree, we know that. He hit, you know, this is a guy who said, think about his what he proposed.
Putin said, I want the rest of the Donbass. I want territory that I didn't already illegally invade and occupy. I want the rest of it. And then I'm willing to give you a ceasefire, which gives me time to rebuild my military so I can take the rest of Ukraine. And I don't offer security guarantees.
I want you to take NATO off the NATO membership off the board. I mean, everything for Russia, nothing for Ukraine. That's why if he walks in with that, these things will be over in 20 minutes, especially if he doesn't want to budge. Karl Rove, thanks so much. Fascinating times.
Appreciate it. Great to be on with you. This is Jimmy Phela, inviting you to join me for Fox Across America, where we'll discuss every single one of the Democrats' dumb ideas. Just kidding, it's only a three-hour show. Listen live at Noon Eastern or get the podcast at foxacrossamerica.com.
Mm.
