State of the Union: Biden hits GOP on economy, border; Downplays China threat

From the Fox News Radio Studios in Midtown Manhattan, it's the fastest growing radio talk show. Brian Kilmead. Welcome back, everybody. It's the Brian Killmeat Show.

So glad you're here. Mark Thieson standing by. Tom Cotton will be with us, the senator from Arkansas, and then Dr. Todd Rose will be here, co-founder and President Populous. We'll get an idea of Education in America with where the rubber hits the road with Senator Tom Cotton, his reaction to the State of the Union, and Mark Thiessen will put it all in perspective, including the Republican reaction, which was in real time, by the way.

If you are excited about basketball, you know LeBron James became the all-time leading scorer last night. If you're excited about Mike Pompeo, you'll be excited to know he's at the Reagan Library today. If you're excited about the president, follow him in Wisconsin. Let's get to the big three.

Now, with the stories you need to know, it's Brian's big three. Number three. Last year it quadrupled. Last year it was $250,000. We're 20,000 ahead right now.

So we went from what I would describe as unprecedented to a point where I don't have. The correct adjective to describe what's going on. That's John Modlin. And John is Chief of Border Patrol talking about the reality of the border on Capitol Hill yesterday. The border gets a dose of reality.

The chief border agent comes to Washington to testify. And you know, it struck a nerve because Dems responded with their old go-to line. It's about white supremacy. Number 10. Biden can try to claim our nation is respected on the world stage.

He failed to stand up to our number one adversary, China. While they collected intelligence across the entire continental United States. Republican Congressman Tom Emmer, I should say, China challenge. We need to take them on in every facet. We can't wait for the President and their surveillance ship is fished out of the water and another balloon zooms from Central America.

That was not included at the State of the Union last night. Number Some Republicans. want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's the majority of them. As we all apparently agree.

Social Security and Medicare is off the off the books now, right? They're not for this far. All right. Right. State of the Union, year two for Joe.

What was in it? What was left out of it? And the results and response, including Sarah Huckerby Sanders' stellar rebuttal. With me right now is Mark Thiessen. He used to write these speeches, Washington Post columnist, and now works for Fox.

Mark, welcome back. First off, I want to get your response to the Republican response when they were claiming that Republicans want to sunset those two programs. Do you think they had the right reaction?

Well, I mean, it was kind of outrageous. It was so outrageous that what did he expect? I mean, it's a completely false attack. The accusation is citing a plan by Senator Rick Scott. That virtually no Republican has endorsed.

And Biden's made this claim before, and the Washington Post tax checker gave him three, nearly four Pinocchios for it.

So the the reality is, yes, Senator Rick Scott Who was a disaster as the chairman of the senatorial committee put down a plan to sunset Social Security every five years? No Republican endorsed it. And Biden grabbed that and during the entire campaign ran around saying Republicans want to sunset Social Security. And it wasn't true. And even the Washington Post fact checker says it wasn't true.

So, you know, and then he says that, and the Republicans, understandably, none of whom want to sunset Social Security, say, you know, start booing. And he's like, oh, so apparently we agree. We've got unanimity.

So like, he just had another bipartisan accomplishment right there. He brought us together right there on the floor of the Congress during the State of the Union address. He took Social Security off the table. See, I like that they answered right there because a lot of people would have heard that and said, oh, I guess Republicans want to do that just like they do in the campaign.

So instead of him saying in Wisconsin, now they're going to see they heard in real time at the biggest audience possible that Republicans do not agree with that. That's not it. For example, they don't want to have a fair tax, whatever that's called, that they're talking about a 20% fair tax. One Congressman brought up. That's what the President brings up and acts like every Republican agrees on that.

That is just not the case. That's like taking something from the squad and saying everybody on the Democratic side agree with that. That's just not the case.

So I want you to hear what the President said about his favorite area, and that's jobs, cut three. I know I've been criticized for saying this, but I'm not changing my view. We're going to make sure the supply chain for America begins in America. The supply chain begins in America. You've already created.

800,000 new manufacturing jobs without this law before the law kicks in.

Okay, number one, nobody criticizes him bringing manufacturing home in America. Number two, it's not right. According to the Bureau of Labor Batistics, Biden says he collects he has 800,000 jobs created in manufacturing. The number is 214,000. And please tell me how he's done it.

I don't know what policy he has that did it.

Well, this is it's like when he says that he cut the deficit.

Well, that's because during the pandemic, we did all this deficit spending that's now that is now sunsetting, and we're not spending it anymore. And so naturally, the deficit goes down. It's like if I if I Brian, if I gain two hundred pounds, And then lost 50 of them. And I said, hey, I've lost 50 pounds. It's like, yeah, but I'm 150 pounds heavier than I was before.

It's a this is this is it's it's just it it's it's It's smoke and mirrors. He sends things. that are s that are so patently and obviously untrue. And you know, I didn't like the Republicans having to yell at him. I don't like the loss of decorum.

I wrote two, I was a lead writer on two State of the Union addresses. It's an institution of American democracy. But when the president goes out and blatantly lies, to their face about them. And by the way, in a speech, Where he is claiming to be bipartisan, says I passed. 300 besides 300 bipartisan bills into law.

We worked together before, we can do it again. We've done a great job. I've united the country. And then literally makes a false attack to their faces. What are they supposed to do?

And remember, Paul Ryan would love to have direct. No matter what he did, he could not undo the image of Paul Ryan throwing a senior citizen in a wheelchair off a cliff. And no matter what he said, no matter what speech he gave, everyone remembers that image.

So the Republicans wanted to stop it in his tracks. On what you said, cutting the deficit. He said he cut the deficit $1.7 trillion. But that's only because we stopped funding the COVID responses. Overall, the debt when he got the job was $27 trillion.

It's now $31 trillion. Please tell me where the deficit reduction is. There is none. I mean, it's it's it's again, it's it's it's a fake number. You know, he says we lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs under my predecessor, I've added 800,000.

We w before the pandemic hit, the Trump administration had brought back hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs, but then we shut down the economy. And people spent, so we lost manufacturing jobs. And so he claimed that as a recovery. It's like basically, if Biden had done nothing. as president.

Those jobs would have come back when the pandemic lockdowns ended.

So, you know, and if anything, he's made it worse with this American Rescue Plan, which unleashed the worst inflation in 40 years. We've got the worst labor. He talks about the low unemployment rate.

Well, guess what? The reason the unemployment rate is so low is because it only counts people who are actively looking for work. We have millions of Americans, tens of millions of Americans who aren't looking for work right now. We have the worst labor shortage in American history. Because peop peop businesses can't find workers.

So, you know, all he said, and this is the problem with one of the things I learned about presidential speech writing when I worked at the White House is that if you say things, that are directly contradicted by the lived reality of the American people, they are going to call bullshit on you.

Sorry for the language, right?

So he says the economy is doing great. I'm sorry, eighty percent of Americans say the economy is is is doing terrible, seventy four percent think we're going to have a recession this year, and six in ten blame Biden.

So if you say things that people know he's when he says our wages are rising, everyone knows that it's outpaced by inflation, that their paycheck isn't going as far.

So people look at that and say, what is this guy talking about?

So, you can spin a lot of things, but you can't spin people's personal finances. Absolutely. That's something everybody intimately knows about. Yeah, because more people's finances are better than they are. More people living paycheck to paycheck than ever before.

Number one, number two is more people tapping into their 401ks. And you turn around and say, Don't pretend as if you handled inflation when people are going to the store and they have less and are buying less and paying more.

So that plays to your point. The other big story is, of course. The border, where the president addressed it, but he got booed off. Final thought, Mark Thiessen, do you think this is a president who's going to run again? Oh, I think he is going to run again.

Absolutely. Is he going to run with Harris? I think. I think they can't change anything.

So he turned in, despite the worst inflation in 40 years, worst border crisis in American history, worst crime wave since the 1990s, worst collapse in real wages in four decades, he turned in the best performance, midterm performance of any president since John F. Kennedy, except for George W. Bush after 9-11. I think if that had not happened, if we had had a red wave, then the Democrats would be pushing him out. But now they've got no pretext to push him out because he can say, look, I delivered the best performance.

I'm going to do it again. I'm going to beat Trump. Mark Thiessen, I hear you. I think Kairos is in trouble. It's just I'm seeing too much.

I think that they need somebody that's going to reassure people that an 82-year-old president's got a true backup. Nobody thinks she could be president. Mark Thiessen, thanks so much. Take care. Senator Tom Cotton coming up next.

It's Brian Kilmade. From the Fox News Podcasts Network. I'm Ben Dominich, Fox News contributor and editor of the Transom.com daily newsletter, and I'm inviting you to join a conversation every week. It's the Ben Dominich Podcast. Subscribe and listen now by going to FoxNewsPodcasts.com.

He's so busy, he'll make your head spin. It's Brian Killmead. Welcome back. Senator Tom Cotton joins us now. Senator Armed Services Committee, Judiciary Committee, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism in the Senate.

Senator Tom Cotton, welcome. Hey, Brian, thanks for having me on again. I appreciate you. No problem.

So we barely got a mention of Russia being the enemy that they are and being the bloodthirsty, aggressive nation that they are displaying themselves to be. And just he's going to continue to fund the Iraq-Ukraine war. But in a way, he's prolonging the agony. And you write about that in today's uh in today's column in the Wall Street Journal. Yeah, Brian, it was a very curious speech.

I was watching the clock. I think it was an hour before Joe Biden mentioned any threat. to America. to include the gravest threat to our way of life we've ever faced, the Chinese Communists. It's almost as if they finished up the speech Sunday afternoon at Camp David and celebrated over some ice cream and someone realized, oh, we haven't said anything about world or foreign policy.

He spent more time on baggage fees than he did on the war. In Ukraine, or the Chinese Communist Party floating a balloon all across middle America. I think these are just examples of Biden projecting weakness and timidity. And as I write in the Wall Street Journal today, it's had a real cost for us and for our interest around the world. The President and Democrats like to pat themselves on the back for helping arm Ukraine, but First.

Joe Biden tempted Vladimir Putin in his first year in office to do what Putin has always wanted to do, which is. Reassemble the Russian Empire by conquering Ukraine. Whether it was allowing Russia to continue construction of the Nord Stream II pipeline or giving them a no-strings attached extension. of the New START Treaty, our only arms control treaty with Russia, which even the Biden State Department admits Russia is violating. To looking the other way on the colonial pipeline hack, stopping arms shipments early in his administration to Ukraine, time after time after time, Joe Biden projected weakness to Putin.

And then, of course, the debacle in Afghanistan telegraphed that. Joe Biden didn't have what it took to defend our interests. It's not a coincidence that Putin began to. Marshalled his invasion force on the border of Ukraine just weeks after the collapse of Kabul. And even since the war has begun, Brian, Joe Biden's Tendency, his instinct has always been half measures.

You can have ammunition, but not artillery. You can have artillery, but not long-range artillery.

Okay, you can have long-range artillery, but not armor.

Well, okay, well, we'll give you infantry fighting vehicles, but not tanks.

Okay, we'll give you tanks, but not F-16s or long-range missiles.

So I think it's just a matter of time until those other weapons ultimately get to Ukraine. All these weapons have gotten there too slowly, though, and they force Ukraine to fight to take back territory as opposed to defending their territory from the very beginning. Right. The Russians have lost hundreds of thousands, maybe also 200,000 people. It's stunning.

But you write this. This is the most telling line. The alternative to funding Ukraine is not peace. It's not war or peace. What it is, is they absorb Ukraine, they continue to fight, and then we're going to say they're going to be fortified, they're going to be stronger, they're going to learn from it, and sooner or later we're going to be directly involved with this.

He has to explain that to the American people. You should not have to. Yes. Brian, I wish it were the case that we could end the war today and Ukraine could reclaim all of its territory and Russia would be chastened. That's simply not the case.

what we would have is what's sometimes known as a frozen conflict. That's typically the case. Under Vladimir Putin, twice in Chechnya, now twice in Ukraine, twice in Georgia, in Moldova, interventions in Syria between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Putin has never once You know, resolves one of these military conflicts with a negotiated compromise and a peace agreement. It always just basically is Putin calling a halt.

holding on to what he seized and then rebuilding power for more action later. That's what happened in Ukraine in twenty fourteen to twenty twenty two. And if we withdrew our support from Ukraine, again, we wouldn't have peace. We would have a Russian victory with Russia holding militarily strategic terrain in Ukraine, holding much of Ukraine's industry and agriculture, being able to rebuild its strength and at a time and opportunity of its choosing, restarting that war, perhaps taking all of Ukraine. Moldova can be the next on the chopping block.

That's the side of one of those problems and conflicts, and that brings Russia deep into the heart of Europe on the border of multiple NATO countries. I I understand and I agree with those who say that China is the greatest threat we face. But if we allow this war to come to an unsatisfactory conclusion in Ukraine, we can't focus our resources on China. We'll have to put those resources in Europe for a longer time and face constant risk of two fronts of conflict. Much better to have Ukraine win, to have a stable and durable peace in Europe, so we can focus more of our efforts on China and the Western Pacific.

There's no doubt about it. He did barely bring up China. It says we want competition, not conflict. But China has a different message. They did not return our call yesterday after spying on us with this balloon.

Final thought on China's the next step there?

Well, you know, when someone comes up to you and punches you right in the mouth, Brian, you can say that you don't want conflict, but conflict has already begun.

So the choice is only whether to win or lose. And China has been punching America metaphorically in the mouth for decades in multiple ways.

So I'm mystified by the President's consistent rhetorical trick of saying we're not in we don't seek a Cold War. The Cold War is already here with us. The only choice is whether we win or we lose. And what started out as a spy balloon last week quickly became a trial balloon, a test of Joe Biden's resolve and strength. I think it's clear that he failed that test.

I can tell your listeners, we easily could have shot down that balloon over the Aleutians. It was not much more complicated than giving the order to fire to our great pilots who were up there. But there was a conscious decision at the highest reaches of this administration not to shoot it down. And I got to say that I think the leaders in Beijing were kind of laughing in astonishment at Joe Biden all last week when he allowed it to float on its merry way all across America. I mean, it was like a Babylon headline that President Biden says he'll shoot down the spy balloon when it's finished its spy mission.

That actually became his policy. Chinese company got rejected in North Dakota. They were going to buy a cornmill project right by a military base. 5-0 unanimous vote Monday from the Grand Fork City Council to not sell it to the Chinese company. That shows at least the American business community is starting to wake up.

Final thought? Yes. Yeah, I'm pleased with that. I've worked with Senators Kramer and Hovind from North Dakota on that for over a year. We don't need to have Chinese companies owning land and building tall superstructures right next to militarily sensitive bases.

I wish the Department of Defense had gotten a little bit earlier and said, no way, no how can we allow this to happen? Had overruled some of the China dubs in places like the Treasury Department. I'm glad they finally went on the record and that the good people of Grand Forks and their elected representatives decided to stop it. Senator Tom Cotton, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Dr. Todd Rose next: Education in America. Information you want, truth you demand. This is the Brian Kill Me Show. Folks, we all know 12 years of education.

is not enough to win the economic competition of 21st century. You want to have the best educated workforce, let's finish the job. by providing access to preschool. for three to four years old. Let's finish the job.

and connect students to career opportunities starting in high school. provide access to two years of community college. The best career training in America in addition to being a pathway to a four-year degree. That is the president last night, a State of the Union address, period where he was talking about education. Republicans probably would have led with it if they were writing a speech like that because that's how Glenn Youngkin got there.

That's one thing about the pandemic. It exposed a lot of this left-wing bias with these school boards. And then we find out what kids were actually learning in school. And how does that apply to colleges, where sometimes these private schools cost $70,000, $80,000 a year? Is it worth it?

Especially when you get your kid back and they really hate the country. Dr. Todd Rose is with us right now, the co-founder and president of Populous.

So great to see you. You too. Your thoughts on the speech, the education portion, what he just said.

Well, look, I think it's his part about saying, look, we've got to make high school Prepare kids for careers is definitely in line with what we're seeing in the research. But the idea that it really means funneling more and more kids to college and trying to subsidize that is just out of step with where the public is. Trevor Burrus: So you're talking about vocational. I mean, if you want to learn a trade, that's your ticket. It is.

And the thing is, what we're seeing is, you know, we just publish. published a four-year study. Of the trade-off priorities the American public have for K-12 education. Biggest study that I know of ever. And let me just point a couple of things out.

One is the enormous appetite for change that the public has. 71% of Americans say more things need to change than stay the same about their local schools. Never seen that kind of appetite for change. Second, and I think this is the really big one. The role of college prep, which is basically the point of K-12 right now.

Going into the pandemic, it was ranked as the 10th highest priority for the American public out of 57 things.

Now It has plummeted to 47th. And in its place, they want careers. They want career prep and practical skills. Very interesting, because you said now the states are combining that with taking out the college requirement for a lot of these jobs. How does that fit into the puzzle?

Well, I think this is really important, right? Because right now, colleges have a monopoly on opportunity. And there's a stranglehold. And so the truth is, look, some jobs do require a college diploma, but the vast majority of them, it's just decorative. And so you're seeing state after state like Pennsylvania, Josh Rapiero just gutted 93% of the jobs didn't actually require a diploma.

And so he's taken that requirement away. You're seeing company after company. All around the country, realizing this is a barriered opportunity, not an enabler. Aaron Powell, so if they do that, then people turn around and go, You know, I'm not going to pay that state school fee. I'm not going to pay the tuition for a private school because it's not really hindering me.

That'll cause these colleges maybe to drop their price or change their curriculum. Look. I went to college. I think it's good for some people, but they've got to prove their value. They don't get to just force us to send our kids there and do whatever they want because they can't get a career any other way.

This will force competition, and the best colleges will survive, and the ones that can't offer value will go away. Right. So, when you see eight separate states now are going to provide the money that would go to private school to the individual and say you can use it for public school, you can use it for private school if you want, whether it's charter or just a Catholic school, parochial school. What do you think about that trend and what it's going to produce?

Well, for me, I'm a big believer in free markets and in competition. And right now, Public education is simply not responsive to the priorities of the public. And there's no better way to force them to respond than to increase competition. Put them in a game. Yes.

And so the thing is, look, it's the taxpayers' money to begin with.

So let the taxpayers make the choice on behalf of their own children. I trust those families to make those choices, and it's time that our leaders trust them as well. Right. And if you put them there, and every day is an open house, and the public school does what the private schools do. They try to, unless it's one of these elite schools that have trouble even.

It has to turn a lot of people away, like what's happening in New York. There's about 11 charter schools all queued up, ready to go with teachers. They can't get partial the funding because teachers' unions don't want these charter schools out there. Yeah, of course they don't, right? Like, I mean, again, if you're a monopoly, you don't want competition.

So it's on us as the public to demand that because it is a better reflection of the will of the people right now than the way the system is operating. Is it because of the quality of the education, the curriculum in between? What is it?

Well, when you look at what the public says is it's no longer practical. The American public is deeply pragmatic. They just want their kid to learn to think for themselves, to have some practical skills, get out of the basement, be a productive member of society, have a meaningful career. And they have lost faith that that is the purpose of our education system now. And what has the pandemic done for your cause?

Look, the pandemic completely reordered the public's priorities. Before the pandemic, they were largely going along with what their sort of benevolent overlords told them they should want. They got forced to watch their kids learn online and weren't very happy with what they saw. And now parents are demanding more of a say, and that's not going to go away. And you're seeing smart politicians realizing that and leaning into it, enabling parents rather than teachers' unions to decide what kids learn.

You saw what happened with Glenn Youngkin, he really won on that issue. And then Governor DeSantis is taking on African American studies for AP exams, saying that I'm all for it, but not if you're going to bring up things that have nothing to do with this that seem to be pushing a CRT agenda. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Right. And I think what's really important there is he's not saying let's not talk about African American studies and let's not talk about things like slavery, but we don't need to inject a particular view like CRT and overlay that over a discussion of something as important as that topic. Trevor Burrus: So you said the top five privately held priorities.

Tell me if you agree with this. Five, all students receive the unique support that they need throughout their learning. Students can demonstrate basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. Students demonstrate character, honesty, and kindness. They are able to think critically to problem solve and make decisions.

And students develop practical skills, prepare a meal, make an appointment, work a checkbook, have a bank account. These are the things that people want from school. Yes. And what is really important is. That's not just parents that want that.

That's the general public wants that for other people's kids as well.

So we've got an enormous mismatch between the American public's priorities and what this system is doing. And something has to give.

So when you see these teachers don't have a choice, they got to join a union in most cities where they want to or not. They watch where they take a lot of their money and they're voting for only a Democratic candidate and they're frustrated. They'll say to me, well, what do you want me to do? If I don't become a member of the union, I'm not going to get a job, especially with these highly competitive places like Long Island. Yeah, and look, I actually think the biggest winner of competition is teachers.

Because, look, they don't go in there to be just a union member or classroom management. I have enormous respect for teachers. I'm not somebody who's critical and saying, wow, they get paid too much. I don't think they get paid enough. No, and their union's failing them.

Right. Uh they're not responsive to it. And for example, with the pandemic. Money comes into these districts. How much money do you think went to the teachers, the ones who cared?

You know how hard it was for them to set up the Zoom calls and curriculum to get them to pay attention, to put their camera on, to understand how you did that for a second grader.

So, what they did is they put money out of their pockets, ran to Staples, buy all this apparatus to try to get them. Do you think they even got a thank you from their management? They should have got hazard pay, right? Absolutely. They really are.

They really are heroes, the individual teachers that move mountains on behalf of our kids, and the structure of that system and its political capture. Is not serving anybody, right? Not teachers, not students, not families, not the country.

So, Dr. Todd Rose is here. Todd, tell me your background, which led you to this. My background, so I was previously a professor at Harvard, left before that. But I will say I care a lot about education, even though it's only one of the things we do at Populous.

Because my own background is I grew up in rural America and I actually fell out of high school.

So I did 0.9 GPA.

So I feel like I might be the only one that's gone from that to Harvard. And what turned it around?

Well, I got married when I was 19, had a child, ended up on welfare, and realized that I had to change my life on behalf of my children and went to, got my GED and went to college at night at a local school in Ogden, Utah, and figured out about myself, figured out what I want to do for a career, and it really opened a lot of doors for me. What did it do for you in your quest to find out the perfect system for education?

Well, I learned that we're deeply individual. And there's so much potential out there, but it's about helping kids get a great fit between their individuality and their learning environment. And when you do that, you unlock not only passion, but enormous contribution that people can make to society. Right. And that's how to reach a kid that sometimes the curriculum won't.

Instead of just saying, well, that kid doesn't pay attention. Exactly.

Well, what's going on there? Exactly.

And so I'm excited about the future of education right now because if we get this right, if we just lean into what the American public wants, you're going to see an unlocking of unbelievable American capabilities that will set us up for the next century in a way that we are not right now. But are you concerned that parents?

So parents should weigh in on the goal. Yes. But I think education is an expertise. Yes. So, for example, I can't teach a class.

I know how to spell, but I can't teach you how to spell. I can't, I don't know how to keep fourth graders under control and get them to pay attention outside maybe the front row.

So that's a skill, and that's something that has to be learned.

So how do you balance between what the parents want and what the educators know? Yeah.

Well, that's a really important distinction, right? Parents, by and large, don't really want to weigh in on the how, right? They assume that the teacher understands and they should. The teacher is the expert on the how. But in terms of the what, that's up to the parents.

That's up to the American public to decide what the goals of education should be. That's not up to the teachers' union. That's not up to politicians. Right. But when you look at where it might have gotten off track, there's a sense that conspiracy theorists, whatever you want to call them, that someone intentionally got schools off track and got them thinking a certain way.

And when you see cartoons roll out from Disney, which are blatantly anti-American and pro-16, 19, they came out this week that you see on Hulu, people saying that's more proof. There's somebody pulling the strings behind the scenes that don't want this country to be successful. Right. Here's my thing, which is. I believe in bottom-up solutions, not top-down.

So, when we enable parents and communities to make the decisions about what it is kids should learn, we're not going to see a lot of that, right? Because we know where the American public is. Again, deeply practical. They just want kids to be prepared to be productive citizens and make a contribution through meaningful careers. You know, essentially, I watched Joe Manchin yesterday say that I want people to have financial literacy in K through 12.

Everybody should understand. I never learned about the stock market in school. If I was able with an elective to take a business course, maybe I would have gone there. And I've asked kids they're going through now, and they go, no, I don't really know any of that. I mean, what was not interesting to be able to watch the ticker every day and understand what's going on.

So then it begs the question: like, what are they learning? This is the thing, and I think this is what makes parents and the public so frustrated: we spend an unbelievable amount of money on education in this country, and we have kids coming out that can't even balance a checkbook, don't understand how the stock market works, let alone we don't teach civics anymore. And we're not preparing them for careers. The only thing K-12 does is prepare them to go to college where they have to learn for four more years on their own dime. All right.

And what's next for you to examine if this is going to take place? We've got eight states making their own choice when it comes to schools. Many more want to do it. I don't know many Democratic states signing up for it. What do you think?

Look, I actually think that any politician with our salt is reading the tea leaves and realizing. This is the end of compliance culture in general. Parents want to say, and they're very upset with what's going on in education.

So you're seeing a lot of that responsiveness. I never imagined we'd have eight states wanting to give money directly to kids, funding kids, but here we are, and that's not going to slow down. What's interesting is Arizona might be undoing what they did with Katie Hobbs. Yeah.

And the problem is, you'll see a backlash to that because. Parents want more of a say. They know a lot about what they want for their kid, and they're just not going back to just turning their kid over to the system and trusting that they know what's best. If people want to see more about your study, where can they go? Populous.org.

The full report's up there. All right, great. And that's, by the way, it's spelt, just to make sure everybody knows, P-O-P-U-L-A-S-C-E. Right. It just means the people.

That got it. I understood. Dr. Todd Rose, thanks so much. Thanks, appreciate it.

Back in a moment. Expanding your knowledge base, it's the Brian Kill Meet Show. From his mouth to your ears, it's Brian Kilmead. Big Oil just reported his prophecy, record profits. Last year they made $200 billion.

in the midst of a global energy crisis. I think it's outrageous. Why? They invested too little of that profit in increased domestic production. And when I talked to a couple of them, they say, we're afraid you're going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them?

I said, we're going to need oil for at least another decade. And that can exceed And beyond that. We're gonna need it. Does he realize how stupid a statement that was? I'm not sure it was in the text of his speech.

Oh yeah, go ahead and make a b go build a billion dollar refinery, maybe two of them, because for ten more years we'll use it and then you'll have all your money, it'll just become a, I don't know, a piece of art. Uh, we'll melt it down and make bullets. What is he talking about? He actually thinks we're gonna be done with oil? Done with oil and gas in 10 years?

He is delusional, or he hangs out with John Kerry too much. They laughed at him. Does he understand that? And does he also understand that he doesn't permit? They don't allow the fracking.

They're pushing back on old drilling. And because you limit supply when it comes to pipelines, including what comes out of Alaska, it makes what you have more valuable and it's a global market. global market. That's what you're talking about. And I don't think a refinery's been built here in quite some time, and they're smart.

And when oil and gas companies were losing money during the pandemic, did anybody write them a check? Yeah.

They were criticized for even bringing it up. Barry, listening to Los Angeles. Hey, Barry. Hey, Brian, first of all, that last guest, his first topic about employers stop Stop hiring people with graduate degrees or undergraduate degrees, I thought was awesome. That was the That's awesome.

Second, the main reason I called was I'm really tired of people like you and Tom Cotton keep telling us that Putin's going to keep going after Ukraine. He is. When at the same time, As Tom Cotton said, and I agree with, the main reason Putin invaded was because of all the stuff that Biden had done to encourage him to do so. You're talking out of showing weakness. No, no, no.

Barry, it's a good point. It's a good point. I'll make it clear. And I don't mind you challenging me, and I know a lot of people agree with you. I have no problem with what you're saying.

Obviously, you're a smart guy. What he's showing is weakness in doing those things. If you show strength, people pay attention. I know it's the law of the jungle and you think we move past it as a society, but not the people against us. If you show weakness, they take advantage.

And that's what Afghanistan showed. And when not g and stopping weapon shipments there that was already en route from the Trump administration showed, but telling them they're going to invade, telling them, watching them invade, not doing anything to stop it. That all led to the weakness. The same way he took a portion of Georgia, he'll take Moldova in the blink of an eye. He's already infiltrating into the Baltic nations elections.

He will keep moving there.

So that's the dissemination. But thanks for the call. Eric in California. Hey, Eric. Hey, Brian.

Hey, your last guest was speaking on education. And I'm a teacher, been in the business for over 20 years. I moved from mathematics into shop classes, and I can tell you that the elephant in the room, in my opinion, is the parents. And we don't address this. The people that are going to take the money and take their kids and go to a different school are the parents that we don't need to talk to.

The parents that we need to talk to, we can't reach. They're not compliant. They have no concern over discipline their kids.

So interesting. Has anything been done to bring in the parents, the P-word, the dreaded you can't say that word, you know? I know. Eric, that's a good point. I love getting calls from educators because it's so frustrating when you can't get parents to show up for Parent Teachers' Day or respond to any of your calls or inquiries and say you got concerns about your kid and you care more than the parent seems to.

So you're right. I don't know how to get involved in that. Uh but it'll be worth discussing. What it's really discussing is see how to do it, be get other educators to see how they handle it. It's hard to get parents to care and do what they're supposed to do.

It's not enough to have a kid. You got to stay with that kid. And some don't have any. From high atop Fox News headquarters in New York City, always seeking solutions, never sowing division. It's Brian Kilmead.

Thanks so much for being here, everybody. It's the Brian Kilmead Show, 1-866-408-7669. We come to you from Midtown Manhattan, heard around the country, around the world, heading down to Arizona for the Super Bowl. We'll all be watching, talk about not only what's happening at the Super Bowl, but also in Arizona and around the country. We know Mike Pompeo is going to be speaking at the Reagan Library yesterday, the Nixon Library.

He is eyeing running for president. The current president is in Wisconsin, then he's going over to Tampa to talk about his, what he thinks is a great speech. And then maybe eventually the next two weeks, I imagine announce he's running for re-election, which is stunning because most people don't want him to. I'm talking Democrats.

So we're also keeping an eye on James Comer. His House Oversight Committee begins to open up on what happened with the Hunter Biden laptop, and he's breaking it down. Not just ranting, he's doing an investigation on it. Big three.

Now with the stories you need to know, it's Brian's big three, sponsored by Crunch Fitness. Interested in owning your own business in a growing $30 billion industry? Check out CrunchFitness at Crunch.com. Number three. Last year it quadrupled.

Last year it was $250,000. We're 20,000 ahead right now.

So we went from what I would describe as unprecedented to a point where I don't have. the correct adjective to describe what's going on. Really? Border gets a dose of reality. That's the reality.

The chief border agent comes to Washington to testify, and you know it struck a nerve because Democrats were so floored that you went to their old go to line, declaring it's all about white supremacy. Number two. Biden can try to claim our nation is respected on the world stage. He failed to stand up to our number one adversary, China, while they collected intelligence across the entire continental United States. Congressman Tom Emmer, yesterday, China challenge.

We need to take them on in every facet. We can't wait for the president and their surveillance ship to be fished out of the water. Another balloon zoomed from Central America. Why did he not bring more of that up yesterday? Number One.

Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's the majority of them. As we all apparently agree.

Social Security and Medicare is off the off the books now, right? They're not to be as far. All right. And so is that talking point. State of the Union, Year Two for Joe.

What was in, what was left out, and the results and response, including Sarah Huckabee Sanders' stellar rebuttal. With me right now is Rich Lowry, editor of National Review. Rich, always great to hear from you. Your first off overall impression of President Biden's speech in terms of content.

Well It wasn't a compromise speech. It was a speech of someone who thought he won the midterms and doesn't have to stand down at all. And to the extent he's calling for unity, it's for Republicans to join him. in supporting his agenda. I thought the delivery was rocky.

You need to look at him and just think this is a very old guy. He's kind of mumbling, running his words together. On the other hand, I thought he did pretty good in the impromptu exchanges with uh Rep Republicans. Shouting out various rejoinders.

So, all in all, I think it probably tips positive. I think it helps them a little bit. But, you know, these speeches always disappear within a couple of days. But here's the thing: I haven't really heard it sound like the House of Commons like that, but I really respect the Republicans for doing what they're doing, and I'll tell you why. First, let's hear it, Cut Five.

Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans.

Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's a majority. Anybody who doubts it. Contact my office. I'll give you a copy of the proposal.

So folks. as we all apparently agree.

Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? They're not to be strong. All right. Good.

So, some people are like, well, why are they acting like that?

Well, here's why they're acting like that. He's been throwing that line out now for a year. And that's because Rick Scott said this thing's both programs are going to go bankrupt. They need to be reevaluated. That's a third rail politically, but it's probably smart realistically.

But you throw that out there, just like they thread the former of the vice presidential candidate and speaker Paul Ryan throw a granny off a cliff because that's what they wanted to do with Social Security and Medicare, right? Never got that image out. That worked for President Obama. And this has been working for Joe Biden and all the Democrats. But now anybody who saw that speech, the 50 billion people that saw that speech, knows it's not going to fly anymore.

He can't include it. Yeah, well, I think the problem is they'll always include it. He's always going to say that no matter what. And there will always be someone. If it's not Rick Scott, if some state legislature in Louisiana will say it.

And he'll say, look, this is what Republicans really believe.

So this is just a tried and true attack for them. And I think the problem is, like Paul Ryan was right about the substance. We need to reform entitlements. There's no way to get to a balanced budget just in discretionary spending. It's impossible now.

But Donald Trump's right about the politics. If you touch it, it's going to hurt you.

So then that's a dilemma, and that's the end of the day, why this country has a huge debt and is unlikely to deal with it anytime soon.

So if you look at some of the things that he said, just so flat out wrong. Uh number one. He comes out and he says he created all these manufacturing jobs, 800,000. It's really 214,000. Most of the jobs they went on hold because of the pandemic.

With jobs, he says, I created 12 million jobs. Bureau of Labor Statistics says it's 2.7 million jobs. A lot of that comes back because of the pandemic. Berkeley does a study on him saying that the wealthy aren't paying any taxes. He says, on the whole, the wealthiest people are paying 23% of their income.

The top 1% are paying 43% of the entire taxes for the country. The top 5% are paying 63% of all the taxes for the country. The top 10% listening to us right now are paying 73% of all income tax for the country. I want those people producing. I don't want to make them villains and make them turtle.

Yeah, I mean, those statistics, you know, we're familiar with them, but you'd never know. You'd never know, listening to Biden or any other Democrat that that's the fact.

Now, that's the income taxes. There are all sorts of other taxes, but they also tend to mislead about business and corporate taxes as well. To the extent these corporations don't pay taxes is because there are various subsidies in the tax code that Congress and the President signed into law and passed. They're just taking. Advantage of them.

So, yeah, I was dishonest on that. I mean, what he was saying about oil was ridiculous, attacking the oil sector for rising energy prices, not producing as much, you know, when he wants to snuff out oil and gas and said it. You know, and this is Republicans laughed at this rightly. You know, we need oil. Hey, Rich, I think I got to play that for people that didn't listen.

I think they got to play it. And also, I just got to add this. I don't want to sound like an accountant because I couldn't be further from that. But what they want to do is tax the rich who have stocks on unrealized income.

So if you have stocks worth X amount, you've got to tax them every year.

Well, guess what? Rich people are going to stop buying tax. They're going to put their money elsewhere. If I'm going to get taxed on something that I'm saving, that I'm investing in, that means I'm getting taxed in and I'm getting taxed out. You've got to be kidding me.

And then when I cash out, getting taxed again, you can't do that. That's not what works. And Joe Manchin stopped that, thankfully. But listen to the president's farcical statement on energy. M Big Oil just reported its profits, record profits.

Last year they made two hundred billion dollars in the midst of a global energy crisis. I think it's outrageous. Why? They invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production. And when I talked to a couple of them, they said, we're afraid you're going to shut down all the oil wells, all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them?

I said, we're going to need oil for at least another decade. And that can exceed And beyond that, we're going to need it. Do you realize how stupid he sounds? Does he realize the idea is he powered through it? They're laughing because that's every oil executive's claim.

This guy has no future. Why should I invest in it? And he said that. Yeah.

It's like, look, th th th we we can't trust that that y you'll provide this this regular en investment environment and not try to sh shut us down ten years from now. And it's like, Yeah, well, we'll just need you for the next ten years. You're wrong. It's just that was that was cruel. Yeah, exactly.

So just guarantee to them that you're not going to try to shut them down and that their investments will be worthwhile twenty years from now, and they're going to invest. Don't do that and they're not. Those oil executives were absolutely right in what they told them, but apparently made no impression on them.

So let's see where we're at right now. We know the president's approval rating is about at 42 percent, depending on the poll, 42 to 45.

Now, I was shocked to see that after two years, Reagan's approval was at 35 percent. We know where it ended up. I was shocked to see after two years, Bush 41, because of the Persian Gulf War, perhaps, says at 90 percent. Yep. You know, 43 was uh was high because he had a pretty good midterm.

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama had 47% and 50% approval rating, even though they got shellac during the midterms.

So having said that, Only 36% of the Democrats are enthusiastic about Joe Biden running for reelection. His numbers are cratering. Most people don't think he is doing a good job and accomplished much.

So with these facts, you wonder, is he s is he for sure running for president? I think he is. Whether he'll actually be able to do it physically or not, we'll see. I think that's a big concern. And that's what underlies that number, a shocking number, only thirty percent something.

We see this consistently now in polls of Democrats Want him to run again. And it's not because if you're a Democrat, you're like, wow, he didn't do anything legislatively. Unfortunately, he punched above his weight the last two years. It's not as though he's out of step with the party. He's where he's always been, right in the middle of the Democratic Party, just moved left in the last five decades.

And there's been no major scandal yet. But they don't want him. And it's clearly because they look at him and say, this guy's not up for it. And even if he's kind of up for it now, is he going to be up for it a year from now, two years from now, five years from now? It's absurd.

But I don't think anyone's running against him, assuming he's still standing and is actually running.

So the other big story, and there seems to be an all-out push to get Kamala off. The ticket. I mean, you see the New York Times and Washington Post people being quoted: Hillary Clinton indicating Elizabeth Warren not backing. And I think in the big picture, they agree with you. She's unmovable.

He's unmovable. But if without that number two, Reassuring that don't worry if something happens, we have a competent person next to him. Like Mike Pence could do the job. Al Gore could do the job. Obviously, Dick Cheney could do the job.

Mike, you know, Joe Biden in his prime could do the job.

So they look at Kamala Harris, her own party. Nobody wants to work for her. No one wants to go to bat for her. She doesn't do anything. She has no energy.

Here's Karl Rove on this: cut 45. The guy is 82. He expects to be in this job until he's 86. Closer to 90 than 80. And if something bad happens to him, it's her.

And for once, the vice president will become a very significant consideration in the minds of the American people. Look, Biden's in terrible shape. Think about this. 37% of Democrats want him to run again. It was 52% in October.

Is anybody going to look at Kamala Harris and say, wait a minute, I don't care what's happening with Biden. We got her. Nobody is. And they're saying that from the left. I think she's going to be moved off the ticket.

I don't think they can do it, Brian. I just think the identity politics is so strong. They're really going to boot the first person of color, a woman of color, to be vice president. I think they're stuck with her. They realize how terrible she is.

When Hillary Clinton thinks he has bad political instincts, that's a pretty good sign you have really terrible political instincts. In that time story, the Harris team referred the reporters to some fr what they thought were friendly Democrats for nice quotes on the record about her. And even some of these Democrats are like, no, we've totally given up hope on her.

So they realize she's terrible, but I don't think there's anything they can do about it.

Well, if you pull in another woman of color or if she moves on to a secretary position somewhere. Maybe Secretary of State, I don't know. Right. Because she has been as bad as you think.

Sometimes you think to yourself, well, maybe I'm in a vacuum. Maybe I'm just talking to people that are dissatisfied with a Los Angeles senator, you know, excuse me, a California senator. But I mean, I'm watching her. She can't do an interview. She doesn't do an interview.

And she actually refuses assignments. Know what she was told to do from the Democratic perspective? Go out there and talk about voting rights in all these states and point out areas which they think is biased. She didn't do that. She did a couple of appearances, and then she refuses the border assignment and goes back to California.

So I never thought lazy was something you would have to see with politicians. Egomaniac, yeah. But that's not, it's not her.

So they might not have a choice. I'm just, I find, I've just been fascinated by the negative press that she has gotten from her own side. Yeah, no, a big New York Times story and a big Washington Post story. And another notable thing in the Times story, some of her teams say, well, you know, maybe she's taking some time to adjust this new role as vice president because she's to being a lawyer and a prosecutor says she she's not comfortable with symbolism in politics. I mean, she's been a senator or presidential candidate and been on a national ticket, and she's not good at politics.

I know. It's nuts. By the way, if you're a prosecutor, you should love it. They should have to call you back, and people say you got to learn the nuances of the game. Instead, she wants to be Queen of England.

And just wants to appear at, you know, at and, you know, cut the ribbon. And uh and introduce a new battleship, Chris. Yeah.

Uh uh all right Rich, uh final thought as we look at the primary process, Nikki Haley gets in on the 15th. Uh Pompeo is probably next. Tim Scott is close. I believe that Mike Pence is just a formality. Do you think Trump is getting worried about this?

I think one way I read his relatively friendly comment about Nikki Haley, he's like, well, she said she wasn't going to run against me, but she's it's up to her. I think he he must realize, even though it annoys him, he must realize a bigger field is better for him. Because wherever his level of support settles, it's not going to, I believe, be above 50.

So it's going to be a plurality somewhere, probably between 35 and 50 somewhere. He needs a field to split the right way to win. And the more candidates in there, the better. None of them are taking his core voters. They could just cannibalize each other's votes.

So I think a big a bigger field is better for him. Rich Larry, thanks so much. Hey, thanks, Brian. Talks in. What's hurting Trump?

His Club for Growth is saying that he's not invited to the donor summit. I know one of the Koch brothers has said we're going to put money on any candidate except Trump. But he's got money, and he's certainly his poll numbers are not bad. We come back to your calls. This is Brian.

And then Steve Largent at the bottom of the yard. Brian Kilmicho. Both sides, all opinions. It's Brian Killmead. A talk show that's real.

This is the Brian Kill Me Show. In the radical left's America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire. But you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves. and our children are taught to hate one another. on account of their race.

but not to love one another. or our great country. Whether Joe Biden believes this madness. Or is simply too weak to resist it. His administration has been completely hijacked.

by the radical left. That was a really effective rebuttal. By Sarah Huckabee Sanders, forty years old, beginning a first term, youngest governor in the country, female governor, obviously. And then she's got the political experience, the background of taking the fire, handing out flyers for her dad when she was eight.

So she's got experience seeing her dad. And Bill Clinton, by the way, Paul, listening to New Hampshire. Hey, Paul. Hey, Brian, how are you doing? Great.

What's on your mind? Brian, um, I was just responding to the teacher who was on here last time and about parents' involvement over at school. And I have three kids, seven, eight and ten. And on the last annual report from the school, seventy percent of the kids failed math and English in the state test score exam, and yet every kid made the honor roll. And so what's happening is that Here we go.

Don't know to get involved, the schools aren't giving them the chance to get involved. What kid is, what parents are going to get involved? If you know they think their kids are on the honor roll, the kids don't need. Don't know that they have to do better, and the teachers immunize themselves from criticism. I hear you education, man.

People are re that's resonating with people. A radio show like no other. It's Brian Killmead. Larging goes up to the top of your screen. The next reception that Largent gets, he will break his own personal Seahawk record.

He's into tonight with 75 receptions. Larson, that's it. 76, he not only broke his record for receptions in a single season, set an 81, he broke his single season yardage record. Into the night with 1,222 yards, and that breaks that record. A truly remarkable young man.

Hard to play, but... The Seahawks got him in their very first year. by trading a seventh round draft pick to Houston. And here he is now. Over 10,000 yards.

And just rolling along Because he is just in his 10th year. And that is Keith Jackson in 1985 calling Steve Lorgent's. Catch that was his 10,000th receiving yards. It was also against Denver, and the fifth player at the time to reach that milestone. And you heard his 76 reception.

He was just. An unbelievable wide receiver went to Washington and now with another special cause. Steve Lorgin, welcome to the Brian Kilmey Show. Hey, hey, Brian, how are you doing? Good.

Who are you thinking when you're hearing that? Uh Yeah. I I think you're talking about somebody else. Really? Yeah, not me.

I've been very fortunate to tell you the truth. I mean, did I mean, when you get picked that deep on a team that was basically expansion, were you thinking I just want to grind this out? Did you know you were going to be considered one of the best ever?

Well, the story actually is more complex than that because I was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fourth round, and Bum Phillips was in his second year, and he cut me. uh after six weeks of training camp. And then Jerry Rome was my coach in college and he was coaching for the Seahawks. At the time, and he said, Hey, we got to get large. And he's on the waiver wire, let's get him.

And so they did. And uh so I came they they traded an eighth round draft choice in seventy seven. for me in '76. And so I went up to Seattle and got a second chance. But the the reason that it worked out so well is that Jerry had put in our entire passing game from the University of Tulsa, where we played together, where I played and he's coaching.

And so I knew the whole the whole passing game when I walked into camp for the first time. And so that was a real blessing to me because I was able to fit into the system so quickly. You and the Bucs came in, and the Seattle Seahawks and the Bucks came in the same year. And was that 76? That was 76, that's right.

Right, so this is a brand new team. And I never in my lifetime saw expansion.

So we were looking at teams, and basically, I think famously, Tampa, it took two years to win a game. You guys got off to a better start than that. One of the reasons you had two great quarterbacks, correct? Zorn and Dave Craig. Yeah, well, we Dave came along later.

He came along about after my fifth or sixth year. Uh playing maybe seventh year, uh, but Jim Zorn was the the the uh Quarterback at the time, beginning with the Seahawks franchise. And he really was the type of quarterback you had to have because he could run, and he had to run a lot. uh with the offensive line that we were trying to put together. But yeah, we we connected and he was a guy that that liked to work on his game and so and I and I was the same way.

And so we we really harmonized with one another and it worked out very, very well. Was it do you remember how hard it was giving it up, knowing that you were doing every day and what the focus was, and then all of a sudden you don't need to?

Well, um You know, you're talking about warning. Yeah.

You know, I kind of, it became a lifestyle to me to where it wasn't just about playing football, it was about life. and taking your game seriously and doing the best that you can and and working at your game. Uh that that applies to whatever you do in life. And so I was able to apply that to the rest of my life. And uh it's worked out pretty well.

Yeah, I know you have uh another cause. I've seen these commercials on on television, and it's uh hashtag He Gets Us. It's a movement aimed at raising respect and relevancy in our culture, inviting all to join in the conversation and take a new look at Jesus. Yeah, Brian, that it's really a it's something that I was introduced to just in the last couple of months. And they actually have run been running commercials on the NFL games on the weekend leading up to the Super Bowl.

And they got two spots in the Super Bowl, which is a first that I can ever remember. They have a thirty second spot and a sixty second spot to talk about Jesus. And they're I mean, they're not gonna be reading scripture or anything like that, but they talk about Jesus' love and compassion and Uh is is uh just unbelievable uh love for us and So it's really kind of an exciting project. It's not funded by a church or by a denomination or by a political group or anything like that. It's just some people who wanted to put a positive ad about Jesus on television, and they've done it.

And so it's kind of exciting. Have you always been spiritually oriented, religious-oriented? No. My parents were divorced when I was six years old, and my mom remarried. My stepfather was an alcoholic, and so I came out of a background that was not enviable.

Uh and so uh my my high school young life leader was the guy that really uh spoke to me about Jesus. And uh that was uh uh a life changing event for me, uh my sophomore year in high school and uh that that that that just that changed all the whole ballgame. I thought that maybe going to Washington would make you try to find something to hold on to.

Well, I sure had to hold on to that going to Washington, D. C., that's for sure. Right. So yeah, that's great.

So now we see this on television, might you be doing one of these ads? No, I'm not doing one of the ads, fortunately. They don't want me on an ad. But yeah, it's pretty exciting. It's very, very well done.

And they're not pounding people about Jesus, but they're just introducing to Jesus, introducing Jesus in an amiable way. I want to leave with a fun moment from your career. It's fourth down. You and David Craig, 1983 versus Kansas City, cut 48. John.

Going very wide to the left. Two seconds on the clock. Oh, what a touch! Adding Craig turns receiver. First and goal.

Watch this, a handoff inside the largest, a throwback, but a tremendous athletic move. Look at Craig. He's got a turnover wide receiver. And we have to explain that he was a an eligible receiver because he was in the shotgun.

So Steve Larging completes a pass to quarterback Dave Craig. Yeah, you never know what I'll do. That was kind of a fun time. I guess so. Listen, Steve, congratulations on all your success and the message you have out right now.

Hashtag he gets us. Thanks so much, Steve Lorgian. Thanks, Brian. All right. Thanks for joining us, too.

So, Steve Lorigan, not a Super Bowl winner, but a Hall of Famer. It was great to hear from him.

So, listen: 1-866-408-7669. When we get back, we'll take some of your calls right here. And we're also going to talk about the State of the Union address. Also, China the threat. Do you know yesterday we had.

We had, the Pentagon reached out to their counterpart over in China. They couldn't get anybody on the line. I mean, when are we going to realize what an enemy they are? Also, there's hearings going on right now about the Hunter Biden laptop. We're trying to get to the bottom of that.

Republicans are in control. Yesterday, they also talked about the border, and a border chief came up and told the real story what's happening at the border and the message they're getting from illegals when they come. And that is, we are coming because we heard the policies in America changed, and now is the time. That's not political spin, that's the men and women in uniform finding out, telling us what they know. Brian Kilmicho.

Educating, entertaining, enlightening. You're with Brian Kilmead. The more you listen, the more you'll know it's Brian Kilmead. What I can tell you, sir, again, my experience in the Tucson sector, as that surge started and we did our post-arrest interviews of people that were in our custody, what we found was that the vast majority of them were saying that they believed when the administration changed that law and policy changed. Yeah, we're back now, and we're talking about town of the border.

And yesterday, right now, they're having. Have their Twitter executives up to try to defend themselves, and hopefully they have Facebook up there too to try to disseminate what they did and beginning, but also launching off not just the New York Post story about the laptop. Which was erroneously taken down and admitted they made a mistake a year and a half later. What about the other stuff? And they just were coming out saying about Russian bots and there were millions of Russian bots.

Well, part of the things that Taibbi and Schellenberg and Schnellenberger got, Michael Schellenberger found out, is that that whole Russian bot thing was a lot of it that was fiction. That this they were telling these democratic legislators, don't go running out saying that this is Russian bots because it's not.

So I hope people have looked at the Twitter files before they did this hearing. Don't waste everybody's time. But that was John Modlin. Who's John Modlin? John Modlin is the chief border agent, and he's telling everybody what he experienced in the Tucson sector.

Here here's how it started, cut thirty-one. Last year it quadrupled. Last year it was 250,000. We're 20,000 ahead right now.

So we went from what I would describe as unprecedented to a point where I don't have The correct adjective to describe what's going on. And that's talking about the surge in the border just in Arizona. Let alone the record.

So they're saying last year $250,000 through. This year they're $20,000 a month ahead of where they were. And what are they saying? Cut 32,000.

So these organizations It's almost limitless, the funds they have. They don't They don't have to follow policy. They don't have to follow law. They don't recognize the international border. They don't recognize state borders.

So where we are, of course, confined by all those things or restricted by those things, they have absolute freedom. And he's talking about the cartels. Cartels getting the money that's better than even getting drugs. They drop off people and they flood our country. They go out.

People people go and mortgage their shacks, their lean tos, their bungalows, and they say, This is my time to get to America. And they're coming by the tune of four million. And the President of the United States says, well, we got to get together on a bipartisan agreement. No, you go ahead and enforce the laws. You go ahead and pressure these other countries, mainly the Triangle countries, but it includes over a hundred nations, and you let them know you get there, you're not getting in.

Things will change rapidly. Another chief border agent is Gloria Chavez, Cut 34. That barrier, well equipped, well advanced technology, will tell us if there is a detection or an incursion.

So that way agents can maximize their coverage area elsewhere, so that that way that product, that barrier, will do its job. And we can maximize the agents deployed elsewhere.

Now, aside from that, a barrier is very useful because it also manages flow and it directs flow into other locations where we can more effectively make an interdiction and more effectively make an arrest. And that's what she's saying, that we need the border wall because it also has technology in it.

So these are people just in uniform answering questions. I don't know who they are voting for, but let me tell you something. If you are a Democrat and you work for Border Patrol, how could you possibly do anything but report the truth, which will show you that the policies are so bad?

So there is a White House member released ahead of the border hearing. Quote, it is clear that House Republicans are more interested in Staging political stunts and rolling up their sleeves and doing the work. Are you crazy? But beyond their refusal to work constructively to pursue concrete solutions, they and their allies in the states are actually pushing an agenda that will make things worse at the border. You dismantled everything that took place under Trump because it's under Trump.

You put some of it back in place because of how everything fell apart from Title 42 to the pressure on these other countries to remain in their country and apply for asylum. And now you're blaming Republicans for wanting the issue. Nobody wants the issue. I'd love, I don't know, I know one Republican, not one, that wouldn't like a secure border.

So then the GOP spars with the oversight Democrats at the border hearing over quote this tweet. The House Oversight Committee took game in a tweet put out by a Democratic counterparts which accused them of fueling white nationalist conspiracy theories. Of course, go to white supremacy when in doubt. And that's what I find so sickening. Let's find out there's more to know.

More to know. Sponsored by Unplugged. Reclaim your privacy from big tech snooping with Unplugged. Visit unplugged.com. Here we go.

LeBron James makes history with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in attendance, passes him as the NBA's all-time scoring leader. LeBron James, a shot at history. Those people at the three-point shop, I'm not sure how many threes that Kareem would have been taking, but he was there to hand off the trophy. Congratulations. 38,8,388 for his career at 36 last night in Los Angeles.

But guess what? The Lakers lost.

Next, Washington Elementary excludes white students from a safe space, a club mentor in the club mentor program. This, according to an email that we could all see right in front of us. The club's at Centennial Elementary School, reportedly in the early stages of developing a fourth-grade biopic-only student program. Yes, email says for these students, the space allows them to hang out, check in and out, possibly talk about their experiences as a student, as a minority. We are exploring the possibility and interest of adding a student activity club that would not include white people.

How crazy is that at Washington Elementary and Olympia, Washington? That whole West Coast is absolutely insane.

Next, a man arrested for stealing Dallas Zoo animals vows to do it again. His name is Davian Irvin. He was arrested last Thursday in connection with stealing two monkeys. This comes after a month of mysterious happenings at the zoo, which saw a clouded leopard, a clouded leopard, escape its enclosure through a cut fence. Monkeys go missing, and the death of a vulture.

Irvin claims he faces six charges of animal cruelty and two charges of burglary. People are just insane.

Well I mean, this is like.

Something I never thought of. Are you walking out with monkeys or walking out? I mean, what kind of animals are you going to be able to walk out with?

Next, Donna Kelsey brings cookies for sons at Super Bowl opener, the mom of a center and the mom of a tight end. Quote: It's just amazing that both have been able to get to this point in their careers and both enjoy the Super Bowl together. Chiefs, Eagles, obviously, it's so amazing. The Kelseys are the first brothers to face each other in the Super Bowl. Travis is a tight end.

Jason is playing for the Eagles. Donna and her husband Ed have mostly kept private over these years, but she's become a minor celebrity as she crisscrosses the country to watch her boys in a jersey that's half Eagles, half Chiefs. More than 150,000 fans signed a petition for the Ben FL to have her do the coin toss, but she, Pete, says no. Yeah, well, I was reading an article about her, and she was saying that what she plans to do during the Super Bowl is root for whichever team is on offense because both her sons are on offense. One's an offensive line and one's a receiver.

You've been in this situation before. It's got to be tough to be a parent and watching two of your children have to go. My two daughters played head-to-head the same position in the same conference two years in a row. It was pretty amazing, though. It's fantastic.

It's really not hard. It's just great. You just find yourself, you know, both teams so well. You're rooting for both of them, then you realize they're playing each other.

Next, the best places to live in America in 2023, the top five cities. Here we go. Number five, Colorado Springs, been there. It's nice. Fayetteville, Arkansas is number four.

Never been there. Huntsville, Alabama, not been there. Raleigh, been there. It's great. Ann Arbor, Michigan is also great, but the problem with Ann Arbor, Michigan, it's so freaking cold in the winter.

What now of all the cities you visited to, what are the cities that popped to mind besides here in New York that you uh I'm a big Jacksonville fan. I'm very uh I'm very impressed with uh with Long uh with Long Island in general, just not Queens and the and the four boroughs, including the one I'm in. Other places that I visited, I'll tell you what, I love Malibu because it's half rural. You know, you know how close the city was, but you do get a sense. of uh of being almost in mid middle America.

And I'll tell you: if you have a chance to go to the North Fork of Long Island in particular, it is more like Iowa.

So I don't know, I've never really thought to myself, here's a city I like. And I always looked at the city and go, this is what it presents. I never thought of how I would fit in. But I should think about myself more. I think that's a good point, Pete, that you brought up.

I should look at these cities and think about what do I think rather than what do they think.

So that's going to be my bow. Less thinking about other people, more thinking about me. That's my selfish value. From the Fox News Radio Studios in Midtown Manhattan, it's the fastest-growing radio talk show. Brian Killmead.

Big day here. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. You know, I'm coming to you from Midtown Manhattan, heard around the country, around the world. Hearing's going on right now on the Hunter Biden laptop. We also have the day after the State of the Union, and we also have one day 24 hours ago.

We were talking about what's happening at the border.

So, Republicans are moving at a breakneck pace to try to get to the bottom of this and expose it to the Open American people, independent, undecided, because Democrats aren't going to want to hear it except for the Rogahanas of the world who just want to, who are liberal as it comes, but are not comfortable with the bias that took place and the suppression of thought that was taking place for a while. Josh Croshar will be with us shortly, senior political correspondent at Axios. Martha McCallum standing by did a great job on the coverage last night. I'll be joining her this afternoon, and I'll be joining Larry Kudlow, too.

So let's get to the big three.

Now, with the stories you need to know, it's Brian's big three. Number three. Last year it quadrupled. Last year it was $250,000. We're 20,000 ahead right now.

So we went from what I would describe as unprecedented to a point where I don't have. The correct adjective to describe what's going on. And that is a Border Patrol chief talking about what's happening at the border, a dose of reality for Washington. The chief agent comes, a border agent comes to Washington to testify. And you know, it struck a nerve because Dems responded with the old standby: this is all about white supremacy.

Number two. Biden can try to claim our nation is respected on the world stage. He failed to stand up to our number one adversary, China. While they collected intelligence across the entire continental United States. There you go.

Here we go. Tom Emmer, China Challenge. We need to take them on in every facet. We can't wait for the President as their surveillance ship is fished out of the water. Another balloon zooms from Central America.

Number one. want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's a majority. As we all apparently agree.

Social Security and Medicare is off the off the books now, right? They're not to be strong. All right. Yeah, State of the Union, year two for Joe. What was in, what was left out, and the results and response, including Sarah Huckabee Sanders, stellar rebuttal.

So, what the president was just referring to is he wanted to get that campaign line in. You know, Republicans want to cut. He said sunset. Sunset Social Security and Medicare. Can you imagine that?

Telling people who've been paying into Social Security, it's no longer there. We're going to keep the money, and I don't know, buy tires. What are we doing with the money? No one's talking about sunsetting. They said it's running out of money in 10 years.

And you know, if someone was reporting, if this was your business, you would say, I got to raise the retirement age. We said it in the 50s. Americans are living longer. It should be at least 67. We know that, but that would balance everything out.

You should be able to take out more money, raise the threshold of how much money comes out of your paycheck. We all know that, but it's too unpopular to do. But I'm going to put that aside. God forbid we solve problems. Democrat Republicans said, I want to look at non-discretionary spending.

And I want to look at it. And I want to analyze it. And Democrats quickly say, well, it's Medicare to scare old people and Social Security to terrify old people. And he's saying, take that off the table.

So, what Joe Biden's doing is what Democrats always do, like they did with Paul Ryan, throwing Granny off the cliff. They're going to hurt your retirement fund. He was trying to address it. And then that image never left. They lost the election.

So this time, Kevin McCarthy said, Hey, Mr. President, don't even bring up Social Security and Medicare. We'll talk about other stuff.

So Joe Biden says it anyway. And because of that, people went nuts. I have no problem with this at all because any the 50 million that watched last night will know when a Democrat hops up and says Republicans are trying to get rid of Medicare and Social Security, they're lying. Cut five. Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans.

Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's the majority. Anybody who doubts it. Contact my office. Yeah.

I'll give you a copy of the proposal.

So folks as we all apparently agree.

Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? They're not to be struggled. All right. We're ready. We got you.

You just lost your talking point. They knew it was off the books. Josh Kreisauer joins us now, senior political correspondent at Axios. Josh, I hear there's reports that the Communications Department at the White House is happy with that response. I don't know if you heard it at all, but you remember it when Republicans just were outraged that the President was saying that they're looking to sunset Social Security and Medicare.

And people say, well, that's a great day for Joe Biden. I don't get it. I think he just wiped out the talking point on the stump, which would have been inaccurate anyway. How do you view it? Yeah, well, that that was the moment that the White House is trying to point at as a successful moment where the the the White House viewed the Fact that Biden baited some of these Republicans to endorse no changes to Social Security and Medicare.

Now, Republicans, Kevin McCarthy included, said a couple weeks ago that they wouldn't be making any changes to. To those entitlement programs.

So I agree with you, Brian. I don't think there's anything new, anything that significant there. I think it does underscore that the Republican Party has changed quite a bit since the days of Paul Ryan as Speaker and when entitlement reform and trying to balance the budget was a much more central part of Republican Party messaging. But look, McCarthy went on record saying that that's not going to be part of this new Republican Congress, new Republican House, to change any cuts or make any changes to those entitlement programs.

So I don't think that. The pol politics aside, anything changed after last class state of the union.

So, you know, a couple of things were happening. First off, what did you think of the address? Yeah, you know, look, I think bi this was a reelection speech. This was a preparation for a a second term campaign. And two things were notable.

Number one is that he is trying very very hard to win back a lot of these blue collar working class voters uh with you know, arguments that he's gonna help take care of their credit card bills or their resort fees at hotels, that he's gonna help pay, you know, help fund community college, that he's gonna really fight for the for the workers of this country and made a lot of familiar lines and rhetoric about the types of folks who really are the salt of that are really the salt of the earth and that help this country get going.

So I think that is gonna be a preview of that Biden reelection message. The Democratic Party has been taking it on the chin. from working class voters in in recent elections and they're going to need to do better on that front. And I think the President, first and foremost, realizes that. You know, I also think that he was tri he he he made a nice gesture about bipartisanship at the very beginning of the speech, but this was a very partisan speech, Brian.

And he certainly you noted that he was baiting some of the Republicans on the entitlement front, but it was a very partisan speech painting Republicans as insensitive to the needs of average Americans. And that's sort of the Biden playbook, Brian. He he kind of says nice things about bipartisanship, but ultimately in his actions tend to be quite partisan in office. Yeah, that's what happened. Of course, the Republicans were a little bit too raucous.

But on that moment, that's the part I did not have a problem with. I don't like the whole yelling out in general, but you do want to have some reaction because you got to wait for the post-game and then you try to get your message out.

Next thing you know, you lost it.

So, what I was stunned at, despite the midterms. The polls from the Washington Post to ABC to Fox. are all terrible for the president. He's between forty two and forty five percent. Just 36% of adults say he accomplished a great deal or a good amount, compared to 62% who say he's done little, not much, or little to nothing.

Independent voters, two-thirds say he's done little to nothing. I mean, that's pretty terrible, where only about 30 plus percent think he are enthusiastic about him running again. What does the White House think about that? Yeah, there's a real disconnect between sort of the institutional Democratic Party, all the lawmakers, and donors, and Partisans on the Democratic side who are all systems go for Biden to run again for a second term. And then you look at the Democratic voters, Morrison.

This is not just the independents, the Democratic voters that are lukewarm at best about another Biden term. And that is good. The rubber is going to hit the road at some point. Unless the economy maybe gets inflation gets under control, the economy consistently grows and grows for the next year. I don't think that's a likely outcome.

But if it is, that would be good for Biden. If not, I think it's going to be hard to square the public disillusionment with the state of the economy with the reality. And he painted a very rosy picture about how things are in the country right now. That's not what voters say they're feeling. and and poll after poll after poll.

And then you we have to talk about the age factor, uh where Democrats, again, not just Republicans, not just independents, but Democrats uh are are largely worried about having an eighty two year old running for reelection and and questions about how energetic or vibrant a campaign would be at that at that at that age.

So yeah, these are all real worries. It's surprising that you're not hearing more stirrings, more rumblings within the Democratic Party like you did before the midterm elections. You know, the numbers, Biden's approval, the state of the economy, public approval of the economy, aren't all that much different than before the midterm elections when Democrats were panicking. About a possible Biden reelection, or worried at least about a possible Biden reelection campaign. And now they seem to have quieted those concerns, but the fundamentals are still the same as they were just last year.

What is behind? First off, I want to bring you to another moment that I think stands out. When it comes to the border, when it comes to China, when it comes to energy, I think there's huge pushback from the right. And I think when it comes to jobs, overall jobs, he claims he got $12 million. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says he got $2.7 million.

Manufacturing jobs, he said he's got $800,000 he created himself. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics says $214,000.

So people are pushing back there. When they say the wealthy aren't paying their fair share, Berkeley does a study and says they're not paying 8%, they're paying 23%. When you say the rich are getting away with murder, the top 1% pay 43% overall of taxes. The 5% pay 63% overall of taxes. The top 10% pay 73%.

It's hard to think the rich are the problem.

So I interact, I just like to incentivize them to continue to push, but that's me. But when it comes to energy, the President keeps saying that there needs to be a windfall tax because those oil and gas companies are greedy. But listen to what he actually claimed. I'm not sure if this was in the copy, Cut 12. Big Oil just reported his profits.

Record profits. Last year they made two hundred billion dollars in the midst of a global energy crisis. I think it's outrageous. They invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production. And when I talked to a couple of them, they said, we're afraid you're going to shut down all the oil wells, all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them?

I said, we're going to need oil for at least another decade. And that can exceed And beyond that. Really? I'm going to go build a refinery that's going to last 10 years? Fantastic.

What a good investment. I mean, was that in the copy? No, the la last line about, you know, ten more years of oil, that's it, was not in the prepared remarks. And that look, that. That is what Republicans think, and with some reason, Democrats actually believe that they want to get rid of the combustion engine.

They want to get rid of oil in this country in ten years. And look, California, I believe, already has regulations on the books that in about ten years they want to get just electric cars and not stuff.

So this is not an unreasonable concern from Republicans that it was almost sort of a Fernie and slip, Brian. I think when you Democrats talk privately about the the state of energy, they want to you know go to a clean fully clean energy si uh society in in a you know amount of time that's not reasonable and not not not not not not not going to happen. Um and that that got the laughs from the Republicans. But that is that is Biden and I think the Democratic Party's biggest weakness, that they have this very green view on energy that also is Bad for jobs in a lot of energy producing parts of the country, like the Midwest, the Rust Belt. And that they are trying to basically make mandates and regulations out of against people's convenience, but the ability to drive a car, or ability to use a gas stove, and things like that.

So that was a Ferreudian slip by the President. It wasn't in the prepared remarks, but it does portray sort of where a lot of the green activists that have a lot of influence in the Democratic Party are. And it was not a good moment politically for the president. No, no question. And here's the thing.

The president keeps going, the Inflation Reduction Act was so great for a climate crisis. Fine, that's pleasing his base. That's fine. But in reality, when people look at their energy bills, they could be as Democrat as he is. And it's up 20%.

They say Con Edison, for example, in New York, says gas bills are up 20%. Renewables can't keep up with the demand, driving up the cost of fossil fuels. On top of that, we know that, for example, his Secretary of the Interior just stopped any type of mining for the cobalt necessary for batteries.

So we've got to either depend on China or the Congo for the rare earth necessary for the batteries. And most of the electricity is generated from coal, or they don't like natural gas and they don't want to go nuclear.

So if we just play this out, this is going to blow up in their faces. And when you're paying a high bill and you're paycheck to paycheck, if you have a decent candidate on the right, you really could be successful. Yeah, I mean, look, the question in many cases are: do you want to use the emissions on the front end with the battery develop, you know, the resource intensive access to these minerals that are, you know, use a lot of energy to extract, or do you want to do it on the back end? You can't have your cake and eat it too when it comes to energy. And that's why a lot of experts say you need an all of the above.

Strategy. You can't just rely on wind and solar as many, many environmentalists are advocating for. Politically, this is also, again, really tough for the Democratic Party because a lot of their swing district members up for reelection are in states that rely on fossil fuel energy, like Joe Hanchin in West Virginia, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Montana, John Tester. I mean, these are, if the Democrats want to hold that Senate majority, they're going to need to at least win one of those states, I think. energy is a very big issue there, and the green agenda is not popular.

So that is where the politics hit the policies of the Democratic Party, and it puts the White House in an uncomfortable spot. Josh Crosshaw, thanks so much. Josh, always insightful. Appreciate it. Thanks, Brian.

All right, back with Marth McCallum and your calls. Brian, kill me, show. Diving deep into today's top stories, it's Brian Kilmead. If you're interested in it, Brian's talking about it. You're with Brian Kilmead.

From two years ago. COVID had shut down, our businesses were closed, our schools were robbed of so much. Today, COVID no longer controls our lives. And two years ago, democracy faced its greatest threat since Civil War, and today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken. They love the January 6th reference.

Let's bring in Martha McCallum. She did all our coverage last night, pre and post, host of the story starting at three. Martha, overall, do you think it played into the President's benefit when people answered back when the Republicans answered back on their Democrats? Uh on Republicans wanting to sunset Social Security and Medicare? Good morning, Brian.

It's great to be with you. And it was interesting to watch last night play out. Obviously, a big night for the President, a big night for Kevin McCarthy as well, his first speaker and up on that podium behind the President as he gave that speech. And I would just mention we're going to be talking to him later this afternoon on the story. But with regard to the issue of Social Security and Medicare, this is something that Democrats have tried to hang on Republicans for a long time.

Remember, I'm sure, the ad that showed a Paul Ryan-like character pushing an old lady off a cliff in a wheelchair, right?

So, but it's a very tricky subject, actually, if you really dig into it. But politically, you can't say that you're ever going to touch either one of these things, right? Remember when President Bush suggested sort of savings accounts that could be done for Medicare and Medicaid in order to help pay for them, and that money, some of it could be invested in whatever you wanted to invest it in to make it grow over time, because these are unsustainable programs ultimately. But politically, in terms of the way the President characterized it last night, it was a loss for him, Brian, because he basically looked out at the crowd and both sides stood up and said, no, we don't want to cut Medicare or Social Security.

So It negated this issue that he was going to do a big speech on in Tampa. Based really going back to right before the election, Senator Rick Scott saying that he wanted to take a look at changing the way these programs are handled. Back in a moment with Martha McCallum. Radio the mm-hmm. that makes you think.

This is the Brian Kill Me Show. Today, We're in the strongest position in decades to compete with China or anyone else in the world. anywhere else in the world. Not committed. I'm committed to work with China where we can advance American interests and benefit the world, but make no mistake about it.

As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country, and we did. Yes, in six days, we'll shoot a balloon. if we can detect it. That is uh President Biden falling way short in terms of his China policy, not understanding That we're all learned to know. That is, China's hitting us from every level, from our schools to our farmland to our allies.

Japan understands it.

South Korea understands it. It doesn't seem like President Biden understands it, or does he? With me right now is Martha McCallum. She's held over, getting set to host her show at 3 o'clock, fresh off her great coverage pre and post of the State of the Union. Martha, your reaction to his statements on the seven lines he gave on China.

Yeah, Brian, good to be with you. It was seven sentences that were dedicated to China. It falls way short of the attention that this requires. And even worse than that, it gives short shrift to recognizing the competition that exists. And it suggests that by shooting a balloon six days later, you know, kind of you can wipe your hands of it.

We dealt with that situation. That one is over. When you look at all the different ways that China is out-competing us, militarily, the suggestion that I talked to General Keene yesterday about this, that those balloons, which are now far greater in number, we've mapped 10 of them that have been in our In our environment, in US territory, over the last couple of six years, I would say, roughly. They could be testing hypersonic missiles. They could be testing ways to take down our electric grid.

I think it's time that we wake up and take this on in a much more bold and openly stated way. The President had a real opportunity to do that last night, and he chose not to. He is a non-confrontational, non-escalatory president. And that's not an opinion on my part. That's your policy, and we see it play out time and time again.

So there are those on the other side of that equation who think that that's a dangerous approach to a very real threat. Real threat, where 80% of the country believes they are a real threat. We saw that in North Dakota, they finally voted down selling this important land, this cornfield, to China right near a military installation. We're going to have to see these boarding schools and these boarding schools and charter schools push back on the purchases from these Chinese companies. We need an all-hands on deck.

These are our enemies' approach, and I'm not seeing that. It's not even a, to me, it's a politically dumb choice. If you want to unify the American public, Just tell everybody, and you've got to want Republicans and Democrats to stand up and cheer. Say that. Yeah, you know, I think that people are starting to get the message, but this has been going on for decades.

I mean, China's been stealing technology for probably close to 50 years. When I look back at the World War II scenario, the Japanese got a glimpse of what the U.S. Navy looked like, and then they spent the next 40 years building a Navy that ended up being a tremendous force in World War II. And I think that's the similar perspective that China has had. It's a slow, steady competition.

And think back to the statement that was made by Putin and Xi before the Olympics, essentially saying this is a no-limits partnership. And we do aim, and I'm paraphrasing here, but I think it's accurate, to change the global dynamic in terms of who's in charge of the world.

So, you know, we need to be clear-eyed in this fight, and we need to stop sort of calling it things that it's not. It's not just a competitive situation, it's not just a pacing challenge, as the Secretary. Defense terms it, many believe that it is much more than that. No question. There's a couple of directions I want to go right now.

I thought the President of the United States, if you're going to get us involved in a conflict in Ukraine, on a regular basis, you ought to explain why. Because for people that want to support them, they need to go to their constituents and say it's worth it, especially at a time in which we know we're emptying a lot of our military coffers.

So with Ukraine, it was one line. Russia barely even mentions Russia support of Ukraine. Zelensky is now demanding F-16s. He was demanding tanks because he needs them. We're actually torturing a bloodletting Ukraine by not giving them everything they need when they need it.

And for him to barely mention it a year in, I thought that is somebody. Should have looked at that from the Pentagon and said, I can't sign off on this. You know, in many ways it felt like this speech was could have been given Last year, right? Ukraine is a situation that has changed dramatically since the last State of the Union. The State of Union should be just that.

It should be an expression of what's going on in the world right now, where we stand. It should be an opportunity to say to the American people about the Ukraine war: look, this is what our mission is in aiding Ukraine. Here's what we hope to accomplish, right? And make it very clear. If, you know, I believe this is the way the president approaches it, and I would have loved to have heard more about it.

That he believes that aiding Ukraine keeps Russia in check, that it prevents them from going further, from recreating a Russian empire, which Vladimir Putin has said in many of his speeches. All of them, yeah. Is something that he longs for, right? Define all of these things. Give people a sense of what's going on right now in the state of this union.

What are the threats we face? What is his mission for approaching them? How does he plan to win in these situations? You know, there's not a lot of talk about winning. Goals, what we're here for, and explaining all of that.

Another thing that I would mention: you know, 11,000 people is the latest count in this earthquake in Turkey and Syria. This is a devastating situation. We're watching these heart-wrenching videos of children being pulled out of the rubble, and not even a mention. Generally, you would expect to hear something from the president at the top of the speech. You know, tonight, as we gather here in the United States, we want to recognize what these people are going through.

It feels very disconnected to sort of the genuine American experience. True. By the way, Syria, no one's helping in Turkey. I guess we're helping NATO's helping, although they've been helping Russia on the side, providing them high-tech equipment, many of which is American, which should be criminal as a NATO member, while keeping Sweden and Finland from actually joining as a full-blooded partner. You're a complicated partner, to be sure.

Yes, that's a very diplomatic thing for you to say, Martha.

So let's talk about China for a second. We had. One general come out and say, I sense in my gut we're going to be at war with him in 2025. And the CIA director came out and said, by 2027, we expect him to invade Taiwan.

So, how do we stack up against them? Here is Admiral Harry Harris. Yeah, Admiral Harry Harris retired yesterday, cut twenty-seven. I'll just say that that we're shooting behind the Peking duck on hypersonics. China is ahead of us in that regard.

We need an offensive capability and we need a defensive capability. Imagine a missile that's flying so fast that you can't pick it up on radar, let alone shoot it down. And that that's what we're up against.

So that and they're building aircraft carriers. They're trying to expand their reach. We did a great thing in expanding our base in the Philippines and in Guam. I love it. I love the fact that Japan is building up their military, but that's the only thing that's going to prevent war if they think they're going to lose.

Yeah, and we also this week discovered that China is outpacing us in ICBMs and intercontinental ballistic missiles, which may have had something to do with the reason that they wanted to fly these balloons close to some of our ICBM fields or one particular one in the state of Montana. You know, again, I would just go back to the desire that I have as an American citizen when the president stands in front of us for the State of the Union to have a clear-eyed discussion about where we stand, right? These are the threats we face. We would love to not go to war with China. Obviously, that's a devastating possibility.

So here are the things we're doing to deter that from happening. These are the things that China is saying and doing and building. This is what we're doing to sort of make sure that we keep parallel so that this doesn't turn into World War III. And this is our message for them because we speak on behalf of wanting a peaceful world. You know, these are the kind of consequential things that you expect a president to think about and talk about when he has the voice of the world stage.

Clearly, he's speaking to. Americans, he's speaking potentially to voters for 2024, but he's also sending a message to the rest of the world with these speeches. I think back to the Axis of Evil speech that President Bush gave in 2002, not long after 9-11. Pointing out what he saw as an evil enterprise between three countries: Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, at that time.

Now, you can argue about, you know. Whether or not that was a good approach, but he was clear in the way that he looked at the world and the threat that he thought we faced. I think people just sense that there's a disconnect. They feel like they're living one experience when they go to buy stuff at the grocery store, when their kids are woefully behind in school, when they see balloons floating across the country, and then they sort of watch a speech that they feel doesn't relate to any of that. Yeah, I think you're 100% right.

And I think that, but watch a speech that. was basically his reelection speech. And there's a huge problem. I'm wondering, Martha, what you think of the attacks on. The quality of Kamala Harris as vice president.

I mean, it's obvious she hasn't really done anything well. She doesn't give a lot of interviews. She's not comfortable on the stump. She doesn't really do anything she's asked from voter rights to bolstering the border. Do you think there's a push among Democrats to push her out?

Because I do. I think it's fascinating. I mean, that New York Times piece that came out this week was really a hammer. I mean, that was an explosive piece. And the line that stood out to me, Brian, was the one where the reporters on this story said, even the people that Harris's Inner circle directed us to speak to get a positive side of the story.

also threw her under the bus. It's incredible. Put in a story. I mean, I'm thinking if I'm Kamala Harris and I wake up in the morning and I've got my coffee in my New York Times, I'm very bummed out when I'm reading this story because it looks like the walls are closing in on me. And I think that that just breeds a lack of confidence in her over time, and that's a very difficult thing to shake.

What I'm watching, Brian. Is whether or not we're going to see underway an effort to move both of the president and the vice president aside. Because if the president decides he's going to run again, it's very awkward to figure out how to pick a different vice president. These conversations have happened before in history, it doesn't happen. And she is the natural next person, regardless of this performance.

So, if President Biden says I'm going to run for another term, and the assumption is that if his health fails or if he's not able to do the job ultimately, that everyone should have confidence in the person who's right behind him. Democrats know that's not the case.

So, what are they going to do? They don't have a deep bench to go to behind these two individuals.

So, they're in a pickle at this point when they look at these numbers. And it's going to be, I think, one of the most interesting stories of the next six or seven months, how they're going to start juggling this. But I think that New York Times piece was one of the early salvos. Right. And I think it's why, because you can't stop Joe Biden.

So, the question you could run on is: hey, I'm 82. But I got a great vice president. I have my Dick Cheney. I have my Al Gore. I have my Vice President Biden.

Remember the person with experience with the 48-year-old Barack Obama? You turn around and say, one thing is pretty clear: nobody feels better looking at Kamala Harris.

So what do you do? You move in somebody else, and maybe she moves out as secretary of something significant. I'm not sure what. If anyone's set to retire, say she wants another challenge. And then in comes, I don't know, Val Demings, somebody that's got to be a minority.

It's got to be a woman. He already put himself into that corner.

Somebody that will make everybody feel better. Is that Elizabeth Warren, who's not really that popular outside Massachusetts? I'm not sure, but they see a big weakness in the ticket. And when only 36% of the country, Democrats, are enthusiastic about Joe Biden running again, there might be a little bit of panic. Yeah, I think so.

And I look back at the interview that Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary, did last weekend, and there's always this sort of hesitation when any of these members of the Cabinet are asked: Do you support the President? Do you support the Vice President? You know, there's always this kind of, well, it's his intention to run. I thought it was interesting when I interviewed Shannon Bream yesterday. She went over to the White House for the luncheon with the President.

And I said, So, what surprised you in there? She said, Honestly, I just, and this is a big picture answer on her part because this is an off-the-record event. But she just said, I'm just not sure he's going to run. You know, and that there's some hesitation in that discussion at this point. Last night he talked about finishing the job, finishing the job, finishing the job, but that could have a number of definitions.

So I think, you know, we've done this long enough, Brian, that we know that when you look at who people think are going to be the candidates at this stage of the game, you're almost always wrong.

So I would just ask people to keep that in mind. Ted Cruz came out and said, I don't think he's running. Ari Fleischer has never thought he's running, so we'll see. Martha, what about the fact that every Super Bowl, the network who hosts the Super Bowl gets the interview with the president. Is Shannon Bream if Shannon Bream doesn't get it, what do you think it says?

I think it's a continuation of a pattern that's unfortunate. And I think that that's a tradition that should be upheld. I can't imagine, you know, President Biden's been around a long time. He's done a lot of interviews over the course of his career. There's no reason for him to fear a straightforward interview from anybody at Fox.

And it would be, I think, really a shame to miss that opportunity to speak to maybe a broader audience of people who would, many of whom are persuadable voters. And I think that I think he's fine on his feet. Last night, did you see what he did when Marjorie Taylor Greene and others were sort of piping up in the audience? He went right back at him. He had seemed to enjoy that back and forth.

He enjoys that back and forth when we watch him do it with Peter Ducey.

So I don't think that if the president's people are telling him he should shy away from this opportunity, I think he should go right back at them and say, uh-uh, it's a Super Bowl, great American event. I'm going to sit down for an interview. All I can tell you is he does answer back, but a lot of times those answers aren't the greatest. Like, yeah, next to my Corvette, locked in a garage.

So, Yeah, I don't know. Not a great moment. Back at a moment. Want even more Brian? Download the podcast at BrianKillmeadShow.com every episode.

Exclusive interviews on demand. More of Killmead coming up. Breaking news, unique opinions. Hear it all on the Brian Kill Me Show.

So, what we've seen from my colleagues is. Tweets that say, you know, over 800 pounds of fentanyl seized. This is Biden's border crisis. That's a tweet from Rep Stefanik. To me, the fact that you're seizing these drugs is a success.

So I think that there's a need here to acknowledge the successful work that you're doing. Great. That's a great point.

Now that we got that fentanyl at the port, it means there's no fentanyl getting into the country. The President could not tie the cartels to China to the border policy to fentanyl. And it's just stunning because if he doesn't get it, then we're really doomed. Martha McCallum's here. And Martha, before you weigh in on this, who's coming up on your show at 3 o'clock Eastern?

So we've got a big show today. We've got Mike Turner, Congressman Mike Turner, who is heading up the Investigative Committee. We're going to talk to him today. I also am going to sit down with Kevin McCarthy and get his thoughts on what the President said about China. He has started this China Select Committee in the House that Mike Gallagher is heading up.

So we're going to talk to him about that and also just kind of get his feel for what it was like to be Speaker of the House last night. It's his first time overseeing a State of the Union address.

So we'll get some thoughts from him on that as well. I'm also going to talk to Gene Sperling from the White House about the President's economic message and how it adds up with what's going on out there with inflation and some of these poll numbers.

So we've got a big show coming up today, Bill. I mean, it's unbelievable. The President feels good about it. Just so some comparisons. Bill Clinton got crushed in his first midterm, but he had 50 percent approval rating.

Barack Obama, his own words, shellact, but he had 47 percent approval rating. And he gave a speech. You have. 42% approval rating Joe Biden, and he did exceedingly well in his midterms. He thinks that's going to put the wind in his back.

10-second answer? Yeah, you know, I think that the midterm lesson maybe wasn't the best lesson for the President because I think it's emboldened him in a way that may not carry over when he's actually the one on the ticket. She is Martha McCall. Martha, always thrilled to have you on. Great work last night as usual.

Watch you at 3 o'clock. Thanks, Brian.