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Hope you're having a fantastic weekend. It's about to get better or close strong. Look at this roster of guests we have. Kevin O'Leary, the ins and outs of the economy, what Trump could expect in 2026. He knows he's got a big wallet.
Deborah Lee actually dives into Landman in the media moments that matter most. You're going to love how the view has something to do with that. And Craig Carton, a powerful sports personality and also a youth sports coach, on the dangers and the trouble and the challenges of putting your kids in sports. It's up 40% in terms of cost. But first.
the most impactful monologue in America, and dare I say the fastest. Eleven months in and Trump 2.0 has some critics, some MAGA and most Democrats say 47 has been too focused on foreign policy, not enough on America first. It's out of lunacy. Whose side is Donald Trump on? We see a president so determined.
To use the military against our own people. Keeping him on non-stop tours around the world and non-stop meetings with foreign countries' leaders is not America first. Right, that deep thinker Marjorie Taylor Greene. I could not disagree more. Because if you actually look at everything he's doing at home and abroad, it all points back to us.
You know, every movie he makes connects American stability, security, and yes, prosperity. Take his trek to the Gulf states, it happened in May. Sure, it's easy to wave them off as overseas photo ops, but he didn't just come back with handshakes. He came back with roughly $2 trillion in investments, yes, and commitments, and connected our business Titans. with theirs.
Ladies and gentlemen, that's not foreign policy, that's domestic economics, that's investment, that's jobs, all coming home. Middle East Peace. Yes, of course it's impressive. Yes, it's effective. But how does it affect us here at home?
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, good times, right? It's simple. How does it affect us at home?
If you want to calm the streets like what you just saw, if you want to defuse the tensions on our campuses, one of the most effective things you can do is bring an end to the war in Gaza. And that's what the president's done. Take the oxygen away from the chaos. And despite what his critics say, his primary focus over the last six months hasn't been halfway across the world. It's been right in our backyard.
He's been making sure conservative governments survive and thrive and maybe turn over, not turning his back on our neighbors for a change. For the first time in decades, our backyard has become a friendly place for conservative governments. El Salvador, Chile, Argentina, now Bolivia all understood the message clearly. America first, China never. And for the critics, fixated on Venezuela.
Why are we involved, you ask? How does that affect us here? My answer is pretty straightforward. If you want to stop drugs, Trafficking, if you want to stop drugs on your street block. Blow up the boats, moving it here.
You hit the networks hard. And when cartels and traffickers know there's no safe harbor, the flow slows fast. Boom. More and more pressure so that Maduro understands that he has to go, that his time is over. And I will insist on something that I've said several times before.
This is not conventional regime change. This cannot be compared to other cases, like countries in the Middle East. We had an election, regime change was already mandated by about 70% of the population. And what we need is support to enforce that decision. Her party won the election, got the Nobel Peace Prize.
She wants in.
So if you want to keep terror off our shores, and I know you do. And you want to make sure Iran, Russia, and China don't find comfort or influence through Maduro's gangsters, and I know you do. How is that not America's interest? How is that not America first? We have dusted off the Monroe Doctrine and reclaimed this hemisphere.
I thought that's what MAGA wanted. Trump is showing that sometimes you're focused beyond our borders to protect our security here at home. Oh, and speaking of borders, no one's done a better job than Donald Trump at that, enforcing record low crossings and cutting off illegal immigration for the most dangerous regions in the world. Hundreds upon hundreds of miles of border. I didn't see one illegal alien.
Not a single one. Incredible considering the Biden administration would have ten, twelve thousand a day. Yeah, so when people say Trump should focus less over there and more over here, I say you got it backwards. Look at the big picture. That's precisely what he's been doing all along.
Joining me now is someone who has been a witness to all of this and played a major role in this, Texas Congressman Mike McCall. Chairman, great to see you. Your reaction to my hypothesis that strong foreign policy is really bringing, is really helping us here at home, really directly.
Well, I think we went abroad, we went at home. America first doesn't mean America last abroad, or America alone for that matter. And I think you point out the victories that President Trump. Has had when he does policies abroad that bring victories at home. I think the peace in the Middle East and normalization, the taking down of Iran's nuclear capabilities, the AI business deals cut with Saudi Arabia, bringing enormous economic investment back home.
To your point on Venezuela, what's more America first in taking out Venezuela ships with poison headed to our shores to kill Americans? As we have sealed the land border, it's time to secure the maritime border as well. You can't operate in a vacuum. We are not, the oceans don't divide us. We learned that from World War II, my father's war, and we can't make those mistakes of the past.
This isolationism was very prevalent in the late 1930s, and that argument failed then, and I think it still fails today. I applaud the president, though, for paying attention to what's going on in the world because he has to. He's a commander-in-chief. He's also doing it with trade deals, too.
So the Reagan Defense Survey was out. 64% of Republicans want us to take a lead in international affairs, and 64% want us to send weapons to Ukraine. That's pretty strong.
So the isolationist thing might be overstated. Maybe just the loudest voices are saying that. Yeah. No, I think so. I mean, I always ask the question, what would Reagan do?
He was the first President uh I had the honor to vote for. I mean, he brought down the Soviet Union. I think a lot of these uh the younger members didn't grow up in the Cold War like you and I did. They didn't have a father who served in World War Two and they forget the lessons of the past. Here and so, you know, and Ukraine's a good example as well.
I, you know, look, I hope the president can bring peace. Um, and I know the Ukrainians are working with our negotiators and the European-NATO allies, they will have a good peace plan to present to Putin. The question now, Brian, is going to be: how does Putin respond to that? And are we going to back down from Putin and surrender, or are we going to put America first and defend a freedom and democracy in the world from a very aggressive dictator, and that is Putin? He's given every opportunity to end the war, that he's losing about a million people, doesn't seem to care.
You have $11 billion set aside for a supplemental to arm Ukraine. Just give it to him, right? $12 billion still being held up. I don't know why. That was the intent of Congress.
It was my legislation that passed on the floor. We had this problem under Biden. They wouldn't put the weapons in fast enough. And that's probably why we're in the position we're in today: they wouldn't accelerate the war. Ukrainians have been warriors over there.
I do agree with the president, though, because deterrence is a key in foreign policy. I do not think Putin would ever have invaded Ukraine with President Trump in office because of the, you know, they fear him. And I think that's a good foreign policy as well. You know, if they don't respect you, you want them to fear you. Yep, let's talk about immigration.
As you saw the horrific shooting at Brown and MIT, it turns out the assailant, the killer, was on a green card lottery ticket. They got here in 2017. He was able to make it into a permanent residency by checking in at JFK Airport.
So the president says that's it. We're pausing that program. Anyone who entered in, they call it a DV1 program, and will no longer be eligible for this lottery. This lottery goes on pause. Here's a little bit more from that full screen.
Applicants choosing through randomized computer drawing. No cost to enter, must be a native of a country with low rates of immigration to the U.S., must meet education and work experience criteria. This is a change. Are you in support of that? You know, I was for the change.
I've always opposed the lottery system. It's a random. System that's based on a lottery. There's no rhyme or reason to it. And it's a low immigration bill.
My view on this is. The threats that come into the country when I chaired Homeland Security Committee are a direct result of the immigration policies we have. This has been a failure. We need to do away with the lottery system, not put it on pause, and have an immigration system that, quite frankly, Brian, brings in the best and the brightest. That's who we want, not the lowest-skilled immigrants, the best.
Like, you know, Einstein came into the United States on a visa. To get the best and the brightest scientist into the United States to win this battle for the atomic bomb, that's what we need to be bringing in, not some lottery random system that's a failure. And in this case, has resulted in death. Yeah, hopefully, Democrats understand that it's a risk that's not worth taking. Lastly, you have decided not to run free election.
It looks like in the House, 24 Republicans are not running for re-election. In the Senate, 4. Why? Why not keep going? You got 11 terms.
You have a Republican in the White House.
Well, 11 terms is 22 years, and I've had two chairmanships, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs. People always ask: you know, how you feel on term limits. I always said I can always term limit myself. Or you can. And I think the founding fathers didn't envision us to be a lifelong career.
However, let me tell you, Brian, I fully intend to be a voice on the national stage, in foreign policy, and in national security. I've lived an entire life, even before Congress, on this, as a counterterrorism federal prosecutor.
So I'll still be around providing a good role. I just won't be chained to the floor of the House, you know, voting all the time. I'll be able to do some constructive things on the outside. All right, Congressman, I understand.
So as long as you're going to be around, we're going to keep calling you. Congressman Michael McCall, thanks so much. Thanks for it.
Well, the GOP's midterm uphill battle. History tells us that in the last century, only two sitting presidents have gained congressional seats in a midterm election. I mean, we should really say three. You got Franklin Roosevelt in 34, Bill Clinton in 98, George W. Bush in 2002.
But as the 2026 midterms loom, that's what this year's got to be about. New numbers are painting a challenging picture for both sides, to be honest. You got a recent Emerson National poll finds President Trump's job approval rating flip from mostly positive early in this year to more voters disapproving than approving. At the same time, Congressional Democrats are at a record low job approval. Even CNN was blown away this week.
Watch. Democrats in the minds of the American public are lower than the Dead Sea. What are we talking about here?
Well, let's take a look. The net approval rating for Democrats in Congress, you said it, Cape Baldwin, the lowest ever. Look at this. Overall, they are 55 points underwater. Their approval rating is south of 20%.
It's even worse when you look at independents. Look at this: negative 61 points.
So, looking at those numbers, how can Donald Trump defy history and be the next president to gain seats? Can he? Let's ask one of the best in the business, Polster Communications Advisor, Frank Luntz. Frank, nobody has to tell you about history. As we hear where we're at right now, as we get set to welcome in 26.
What do both have to do? to be successful in the midterms. Let's start with the Republicans. First, they have to bring out their votes. because they didn't participate in the off-year elections that we just had.
In the end, Republicans will rise and fall based on whether they perceive Donald Trump is on the ballot. Because in the end, when he's there, they come out and they vote, and they vote in record numbers. But when he's not on the ballot, they don't participate, and that in itself can cost them the House and even possibly the Senate.
So Frank, the one thing I think they hear you, and not only is Donald Trump got to go out and campaign. They might even have a convention in August as if he's on the ballot. Do you think that's a good move? It always depends on the message, and that's the one thing that we can say about the President. He is completely unpredictable.
Even the speeches that he comes to deliver. Half the time he reads it and half the time he doesn't. The key in all of this is the passion, the drive, and whether the president offers people something to vote for, not just something to vote against. I remind you, go back to 2024. Trump exceeded all expectations.
First, because he was able to pin affordability on Joe Biden. Second, because he was able to show that Kamala Harris did nothing. To improve the situation with immigration. And third, overall quality of life. It wasn't just that the Democrats were failing, it was that Donald Trump was giving them an answer, a possibility of a positive change.
If he only focuses on Joe Biden, that's not enough. If he only criticizes the Senate and House Democrats, that won't get him where he needs to go. There has to be something that people are willing to fight for, not just fight against. And real quick, because I want to get to the second topic, but for Democrats, do they just have to say affordability? Don't they have to say what they would do to make America more affordable?
Or do they just have to push it on Trump? Because I can name five things that Trump's doing, whether it works or not, we're about to find out. But I can't name you five things Democrats want to do to make life more affordable. They can't. Even they can't name those five things.
And the key for Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries is a good speaker, a good presenter, and people do pay attention to him. Chuck Schumer feels as old today as Joe Biden did two years ago. If I were the Democratic leadership, I would force Schumer out. Because I know that when you use him and you compare him to John Thune, the Republican leader. The Democrats come up wanting, come up miserably ineffective.
Hakeem's okay. Chuck Schumer. I think they agree with you.
So, I want to bring up something else. We know about the fracture on the left with the socialists and the mayor-elect, and you could say the whole squad. I got it. But there's also a fracture on the right. And I'm going to bring you to a comment that Susie Wiles had in Vanity Fair.
She says this. A senior White House official described the mindset. Overlapping black voters who are angered by the Trump handling of the Epstein files and the war in Gaza. It is as much as 5% of the vote and includes union members, the podcast crowd, young people, young black males. She thinks that's the new coalition that Trump put together.
5% are unhappy. How much would that matter? It matters a lot, and the actual number is 7%, and she left out one critical group, which are Latinos, Hispanics. Latino men for the first time in modern times voted for the Republican. They preferred Trump.
Uh over Harris. And his ability to attract younger men, his ability to attract union members who had voted their entire life for the Democrats, that was the key to his success. That was the key to winning all those swing states. And frankly, that's absolutely essential in the off year, in this midterm, because in the end, if they participate and if they stay where they are, then Republicans will keep the majority. The challenge for them is they're not happy about the economy.
They're not happy about the direction of the country. They give the president kudos. uh A's for immigration and crime. but they don't believe that they can afford their full food, fuel, housing, and healthcare. F squared, H squared.
And that's going to be essential because these voters are economic voters, they're quality of life voters, and they desperately want the change that Donald Trump promised them last year. And the good news for Republicans is they got the ball. It's up to them to score on all those optics, on the economy, on energy, and all those other things. It's in their court. Frank Lunt's always insightful to talk to you.
I know those students. Are very lucky to have you up at West Point. Thanks so much, Frank. And Brian, I'm lucky to have them. All right, I know they feel the same way.
That's great.
Meanwhile, coming up straight ahead, youth sports are in crisis mode. Craig Carton, one of the brightest sports minds of the business, weighs in. And career advice from the one and only Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O'Leary. Also, hear about his movie.
Be sure to catch me on tour on stage, History, Liberty, and Laughs. I'm in Four Meyers on Valentine's Day. You know I am a hopeless romantic. And then in Reno, Nevada, on May 30th, going to be streamed on FoxNation, BrianKillMe.com. Mm-hmm.
This is the career advice I would give you if I wasn't afraid to hurt your feelings. You ready for it? Have a thick skin. The advice I would give is: remember, nobody cares about your career as much as you do.
So this idea that there's somebody out there who's looking out for you, who's going to make sure that you get that opportunity, who puts you in the right thing, great if it happens, but at the end of the day, nobody cares more about your career than you do.
So you've got to own it. You've got to make things happen for yourself.
Well, is that inspiring or is it discouraging?
Some people are mad at the McDonald's CEO for saying that. But the comments are going viral for dishing out tough love to the younger workforce. It comes as the unemployment rate among Gen Z is higher than the overall unemployment rate.
So, could it be career-changing advice? Let's ask another successful businessman known for his bluntness. He's the CEO of O'Leary Ventures. He's the chairman, I should say, Kevin O'Leary. Kevin, do you agree with the McDonald's CEO?
Is that good advice? Yes, very good advice because it's factual. That's exactly the way the world works. Basically, nobody cares. And I mean, it's hard love, it's cruel, and everything else.
But it should be very motivational to anybody that wants to think about their future. And particularly, a third of any graduating class becomes entrepreneur. They pursue that, it's very risky. But the whole idea is you've got to be motivated to go after it. But I will say one thing that I didn't see coming, even just 24 months ago, I tell everybody you want to be guaranteed a job.
and take care of yourself and your family one day, the only career is engineering. I don't think that anymore. The whole aspect of creativity around social media and AI means that artists are now as valuable as an engineer is. And this is a whole new ballgame. I understand, yes, be practical too.
And I think people should look at the economic indicators and they don't have confidence. Do you think it's a mindset that politicians are guilty of because they want your vote, they want to feel your pain, they are building in excuses for people who aren't having the success that they want?
Okay.
Well, there's some truth to that because think about the plight of a politician. They have to be in non-stop fundraising mode 25 hours a day. I mean, that's just how it works. And so they want to get anybody. And there's a real case example of Bandami in New York City mayor.
By the way, I just met him a couple of nights ago. Very charming guy. But what really struck me. Was how solid his social media team is and are because they're basically social data scientists, that's what they are. And so he wanted telling everybody: look, you can't afford it, I'll take care of you, follow me, finally don't worry about anything, everything's gonna be free.
Of course, that's not gonna happen, but it's a fantastic message, as you just detailed. You wanna win, it's money for nothing, chicks for free. That's how it works. What do you think of the economy in 26? What's Kevin O'Leary's prediction?
We know it's going to affect the election directly. Do you think we're queued up for something big? I do. I'm pretty optimistic. I think we'll work out the imbalances around the reciprocal tariffs, which have caused some problems.
I think that's all going to get fine-tuned before the midterms. And then the other thing, I think there will be some proposals that both sides can agree on on health care, because they're going to have to get there. And all G7 countries are having the same debate, by the way. Healthcare is a big, big, big, big problem. But you also have the productivity enhancer over all 11 sectors of AI.
Every single sector of our economy, every one of the 11 of them, including real estate, is now implementing AI for margin enhancement and productivity. And the market knows that. I think we're going to have a pretty good year in 2026.
So let's talk about AI. I couldn't believe this. David Sachs came out and said, look, he's the czar of AI as well as crypto. He said this on Larry Kudlow about America's mindset when it comes to AI. He came out and said this.
83% of the Chinese citizens are optimistic about AI. Only 39% of Americans are optimistic. They fear it. Does Kevin O'Leary fear it? No, I don't fear it.
And I'll tell you why. There's always loathe. You know, people are always concerned about change. And obviously, you could talk about color television wiping out radio, never happened. Go that far back, or Elvis shaking his hips, freaking everybody out.
AI is just a tool, that's all it is.
Now, this story about the Chinese is really interesting because. I can tell you right now, they are kicking our high knees in advancing AI. And the way they're doing it is they understand AI equals power, power equals AI, and I mean electricity. And so what they've done, and they don't have to deal with permitting, they basically, the Supreme Leader says, let's put down a 1.4 gig facility right here, build it in the next 11 months. We've got to go through seven years of permitting in North America.
So we're falling behind in just the capacity to compute. And so that's a huge issue. And, you know, we've got to fix that because they're going to use it for economic dominance and military dominance. And I think this administration gets it and they're trying to move it.
Meanwhile, I cannot wait for Christmas Day. I don't know if I can get there Christmas Day, but that's when Marty Supreme is out. You're one of the stars of that movie. You play his manager. Here's a clip.
Forever young, I want you to raise forever. I want to be your ravine. I'm not trying to control you, Marnie. It's unincredible! But I don't think you understand the stakes.
You have no power here. Kevin O'Leary plays Milton Rockwell. It's your acting debut. I hear great things. Tell me your perspective.
I thought it was really interesting. You want to keep yourself sharp. You've got to do stuff outside of your comfort zone every day. And this was definitely there. I'd never acted.
I've never memorized the script. I never took any acting lessons. But what is acting, anyways? You read the room, you know the storyline, you're dressed as if you're in 1952. The director says action, and it just happens, and it's a wonderful experience.
I really enjoyed it. I like working with Gwyneth Paltrow, my wife, in this movie, and Tami Chalamé, the hustler. You know what's great about this movie is it captures the optimism post-Second World War of the American Dream. And so, it was the birthplace of the American entrepreneur. And the journey is just incredible.
I tell everybody that's going to go see it, bring someone you love beside you because the emotional roller coaster is absolutely unbelievable. You will be stunned by the end of this movie. If you thought Uncut Gems was crazy, will you see this? Kevin O'Heary, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Always pushing the envelope. Appreciate you joining us today on this Sunday. Thanks so much.
Meanwhile, next only on One Nation, Deborah Lee is here with the media moments that matter most. Don't move. Welcome to Fox News Live. I'm Marianne Rafferty in Los Angeles. The Christmas travel rush officially underway.
AAA expecting record numbers to take trains, planes, and automobiles this holiday season. More than 122 million people are expected to hit the roads, with about 8 million flying. AAA saying the cost of flying has gone up this year. The average cost of a domestic ticket is priced at just under $900. And thousands of mourners gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia today to mark one week since a deadly mass shooting.
At least 15 people were killed, 40 others were hurt. Police say two gunmen, a father and son, opened fire on a crowd gathered to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended, but was booed by some in the crowd over his government's response to the attack. I'm Marianne Rafferty.
Now back to One Nation. Media moments that matter. That's right. Time for a fan favorite here on One Nation. This week I gave my only VCR, my only TV guide, the political commentator, Deborah Lee.
I also gave him my chords and my tape stock. Deborah, I asked you to tape everything you could and come up with three segments. Did you come up with it? I came up with three amazing segments that I think you're going to love. First stop is?
First stop is Landman. It's a great series, and we all know that the Democrats, they basically, and the Liberals, they control Hollywood, they control Netflix, and everything in between.
So it's very rare that we ever get to see a joke where we're not the butt of it. as Republicans. And that's why I'm so excited to show you this clip. Not only is it completely accurate, but the show probably gets more views than the view actually gets itself. Let's watch.
I don't know what to do. Do whatever you want to. Read a book, watch TV, watch one of them daytime talk shows. You don't like the view or something. What's the view?
A bunch of pissed off millionaires about how much they hate millionaires and Trump and men and you and me and everybody else they gotta be up about. It's pretty funny. I'm trying funny. How awesome is that? I love it.
It's very rare and it's actually funny. It's not just making fun of us. It's an actually intelligent joke. And they say for conservatives, they just love Landman because Billy Bob Thornton has soliloquies, monologues where he hails energy, talks about oil and gas in a good way and not solar panels. All right, number two.
Number two, it's a great interview between Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio. A lot of us may know Jennifer Lawrence as a professional actress, Silver Lining's playbook, Hunger Games, but she's also a professional part-time troll and she did not hold back on Leonardo DiCaprio. Let's watch. Have you re-watched Titanic? No.
Oh, you should. I haven't seen it. I bet you could I bet you could like watch it as a movie now. And it's so good. I don't really watch maybe I do some movies I've watched.
Do you watch your old your your movies? No, I've never made something like Titanic. But if I did, I would I would watch it. But I mean, do you put when was the last time you did that? Um, when I was really drunk.
I put on American hustle. I'm fascinated by this because I guess that you have a series where actors interview actors. I think there was the most awkward. I want to hope they, they just, I mean, I'm not saying they don't get along, but it just seemed like no chemistry. What did you think?
In every interview, Jennifer Lawrence does this. She has intentional awkwardness, and I think it's hysterical. Do you blame her or not him? I think she set him up for this. I think she knew exactly what she was doing, and he's sitting there like.
Wait, is this woman serious right now? And Matt, I don't know if you agree with me, but he's a very handsome man. I agree. All right, fantastic. I think women agree.
Absolutely. Finally, number three. Finally, number three, America's favorite home decor convict, Martha Stewart, had her toe broken at the Knicks game by one of the Knicks stars, Mr. Brunson. And it's just the most hysterical story.
Not only was she sitting courtside when he fell on to her. Which is great, costs you thousands of dollars, or they make you do it for free. Absolutely, but she was wearing open-toe shoes. Not only was she wearing open-toe shoes courtside, but it's the middle of the winter. He fell on her and broke her toe, and now she's warning Americans against making the same mistake.
But I don't think many Americans are going to be making this mistake. All right, let's watch. Uh-oh. See those open-toed shoes? Yes, top.
Never, ever wear open-toed shoes. To a game like that when you're sitting on the floor. Tell me what happened.
So, Jalen Brunson, I have the Brunson fracture. He stepped on my big toe. And he broke your toe? He broke my toe. And it was like in the last five minutes of the game with the Pacers.
And then they went into overtime, which made it even more painful because I couldn't get up and leave to go take care of my toe. You felt it immediately. Oh, yeah, I knew it was broken immediately. And I said, it's okay. That's what all he said was, it's okay.
And he didn't know he broke my foot. Have you got to speak to him and tell him? I told his parents. I met his parents.
Okay.
This Oh, it's that's the coach. There's crazy coach. And they were laughing. They thought it was so funny. All I got out of it was a sign basketball for my grandchild.
So that is one of the perils of being in the front row in Madison Square Garden. You could get hurt. You could get hurt, but for the Americans who can relate to this, which I don't think many can, because these tickets run you upwards of $10,000. Maybe more. But if you find yourself there, definitely wear closed-toed shoes, not only for the next game, but because it's the middle of the winter.
Absolutely. Steel-toed would actually help too. Deborah, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Always great to see you.
I need my VCR back. You don't mind? A few days. The cords and the tapes.
Meanwhile, next on our show, kids are being priced out of playing youth sports. Craig Carton, that sports personality, aficionado, and coach, is here to tell us how to fix it. Don't move. More One Nation in just a moment. Look.
In 2024, the average U.S. sports family spent more than $1,000 on its child's primary sport, a 46% increase since 2019. In total, the youth sports industry generates more than $40 billion. On average, children spend nearly eight hours a day on screens. And for kids who don't participate, in extracurricular activities, it's roughly two additional hours every day.
Excessive scree time is linked to obesity, depression, anxiety. and reduce self-esteem. A growing crisis in youth sports. It highlighted this week. I know there was so much breaking news, you probably didn't notice it.
We did. For generations, youth sports helped shape America's kids. You learned discipline, teamwork, competition. You won, you lost. But now money is stopping kids from playing.
Today, the foundation is under strain big time, participation dropping fast. Get this: 70% of kids quit playing sports by the time they get to ninth grade. Families say the system has become too expensive, too intense, too exclusive, shutting kids out before they ever get a fair shot. Parents are increasingly told year-round travel teams and private coaching the only path forward. A model that leaves many families behind and puts pressure on kids and younger and younger ages.
The impact doesn't stop on the sidelines. Less play, less movement, fewer team connections are raising concern about kids' mental health and social development.
So, how do we solve these issues? Joining us now to discuss this. The state of youth sports is sports radio legend. Back to double edge now. What?
As a sports guy, a great mind and a youth coach. I saw you. I was not only a coach, I started one of the largest youth sports leagues in Manhattan many, many years ago.
So, this is a topic that's near and dear to my heart. I also have four children who all played sports growing up.
So, we were just discussing this. If they told my parents $5,000 for you to play travel soccer, they would say you're not playing. Wouldn't play travel soccer. But that's what it's costing me. I think it's misguided, though.
And I was aware of the report this week. Look, there's a cost involved with travel sports for sure. And it's very hard for the average working family to send little Billy into the greatest travel baseball program, soccer program. There's no doubt about that. But the cost isn't the problem.
We're the problem. Parents are the problem. Because when you and I grew up, our parents kicked us out of the house at 7 o'clock in the morning and said, be back in time for dinner. Yeah. Period stop.
And what did we do? We went to the local sandlot. I know that that ages me. We went to the local field. We played pickup ball.
We played sports. The problem now is that parents are letting phones parent their kids and babysit their kids.
So, yes, there's a cost involved. It is prohibited for a lot of families for travel sports, but local youth sports, non-travel sports, still affordable, still doable. But mom and dad have to stop allowing the computer and the screens to babysit their children. I think you're right, and I think that's you have merit to your argument. But there's also this thing where there's less recreational sports.
I disagree with that. There's two or three teams for soccer, there's two or three teams for volleyball. They're all traveling. In Massapequa, where I was, the biggest soccer club, there's no kids left to play within Ninchamura. Do they all get abducted?
They're on travel. Again, but that brings me back to parents. Here's the other. Problem with moms and dads when it comes to youth sports, and I've lived this, I've seen it. Every dad out there thinks his son is Willie Mays.
Every dad out there thinks his son's an excellent LeBron James, Kobe Bryan. You know, pick your favorite great athlete. And here's a stark reality too. I'm gonna look right in the camera and say it. Your son, your daughter, is not going to be a professional athlete.
Period, stop. And we have to stop treating our kids like they're going to be the next great athlete. We have to let our kids go out there and play. Specialized travel sports is killing sports for kids because the dad thinks his kid's the next great baseball player.
So that kid is to play soccer, to play basketball, to play football. It's the parents' fault, no one else's. It's always so interesting that Wayne Gretzky said that when I was done with hockey, my dad said, put your equipment away, you're playing baseball. He's doubtful. And he ends up being the equipment.
And by the way, it'll also make you a better all-around athlete by playing other sports. But again, I blame parents. I think our generation of parenting, we're in that. I think we're more responsible for the decline of the world. Just so you know, don't blame yourself, Craig.
Because I say, since we, I haven't coached in the last few years, it's gone up 40% since the pandemic. The cost. The cost. But the cost of travel. All right, do you want to hear some solutions?
Feel free to disagree with them. All right. Number one, expand the affordable local rec leagues, just like Craig Carton wants. Put kids' development ahead of profits and specialization. Require transparency to sports dollars, so ask the kid up top.
Ask the coach up top. Use schools and parks to lower protection. Let me stop on that one just for a second. Use schools and parks to lower costs. I'm from New Rochelle, New York, just out of New York City.
You're from Long Island. Again, a few miles outside of New York City. When you drive around town, On a random Saturday or Sunday, do you ever see a group of kids on a free public park or a school's field? It costs nothing to play on the local high school's football field. It costs nothing to go to a local park and have a catch.
Or, how about, and I'm glad you stopped me down on that, fund access to underserved communities. That would certainly help, especially in the Bronx, where there's actually no field.
Now, you're talking about a sport that requires a certain type of equipment that is expensive, and there are socioeconomic issues, you know, community to community, where they simply can't afford hockey gear, a good glove, a bat, that type of thing. That makes sense to me. But this is not a suburb-wide, you know, nationwide problem. It's more of a problem in certain communities where they can't afford the equipment. But if kids want to play, they can play.
They come.
Sorry. No, no, it's good, but it's very hard to do it outside of league to pick up games and get out of here. Again, we're focused.
Sorry to take over here, but travel sports is this, regular non-travel sports is that. And, Craig, you underlined the program. There's not enough recreational sports. One of the things they want is to start more rec sports and school sports. School sports are free.
Yeah, but I'm just asking a question, I'm not putting you on the spot, maybe you don't know the answer. Who got rid of sports? Like what township legislated sports out of their budget?
Well, what happens is the towns and clubs come in, they organize, and if you're not involved, you want your kid involved, you push them over there. You push them over here, and you pick the sport. I know the last time I checked, Little League Baseball's thriving. You just got to let your kid sign up for it. It doesn't cost that much.
Right. But if you have to go pay the coach and pay the trainer, that's the problem. What happened to when Billy's dad was the coach? You coached, I coached. We didn't get paid to do it.
But now I couldn't even coach in my town. They want to see a 25-year-old son. They're going to win any championships, so they're looking for a new guy. It's all about winning, absolutely. And I'm too, I don't cost enough.
All right, good luck on your trial. You're back on Prime Topic. I'm back on the radio in New York City where I'm supposed to be. I'm still in business with Fox as well. I'm thinking about maybe 4 a.m.
here. I'm contemplating a new show on Fox News, but you make that happen. I can make it happen for you. Yeah, you'll be here before me, and you'll never stop. You'll go right through our show.
Hey, don't forget, follow me on social media. I'll be talking about Craig, Rumble, Instagram, X, and Facebook. And be sure to join the Culver Club on Locals, More One Nation. Just a moment. Drugs.
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So, before we go, President Trump is kicking off a years-long celebration marking our 250th birthday this week announcing some specific events, including a Washington Monument Lighting, a New Year's Eve show, that's going to be fantastic, a national prayer gathering, that's coming up in May, Fear for FIFA Fan Fest coming up in June, and a great American state fair, and much, much more, including the Patriot Games, where high school kids in every state compete against each other. It's going to be wild. I want you to visit freedom250.org for more information. But here's your responsibility. Maybe you didn't learn about history in high school or college.
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And if you haven't gotten in school, look up What Made America Great on Fox Nation. Watch PBS with Ken Burns, his great series on the revolution. Find a way to learn about this country. Knowing is not allowed.
Meanwhile, on a different note, I want you to tune into my radio show. It's from 9 to noon every single day. We're going to have the mayor of Knox County, who also has to be a great wrestler, Glenn Jacobs. He's also known as Kane. We have Brett Baer, who would have been a great wrestler, but he's more of a golfer.
And Lise Eldon talking about beating that whole new Green Deal. Be sure to catch me on Fox and Friends in just a few hours. Great roster of guests there.
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