Hunter's Latest Contemptuous Behavior

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Wherever you're listening across this, the greatest nation, God ever blessed, welcome to a Wednesday edition of the Todd Starnes Radio Show. Coast to coast on more than 140 outstanding radio stations and streaming live at ToddStarnes.com. Hello, fellow patriots. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd again today. We'll get him over this bug sooner or later, hopefully sooner.

Throat was a little scratchy on Monday. And when you're doing, you know, three hours of radio, an hour of TV, heaven knows what other interviews and commentaries he does. Needs a few days to rest up. We'll give him that, and hopefully, he'll be back with you as soon as tomorrow from right here in the Liberty University studio. I'm joining you from my home base.

At the home of Snowmageddon 24, the great state of Iowa, the free state of Iowa, News Talk 1540, KXCL in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, the 50,000-watt blowtorch, scorching Middle America with accurate news and reasonable views. I know you don't care about the weather in Iowa. I usually don't, but apparently, 15 inches of snow right along Interstate 80 that cuts east-west through the state that connects Iowa City with Des Moines. And of course, all of the candidates trying to crisscross the state. A little hard to do that when travel is not advised, but they're doing the best they can.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who was on this program with us yesterday, says he's not canceling any stops. He's going to get there if you can get there. And, well, you have to admire that. We know that Governor DeSantis and Ambassador Haley are scheduled to do a quote-unquote debate. In Des Moines tonight, CNN is carrying that.

And because President Trump is always one step ahead, He agreed to do a Fox News Town Hall, but on one condition. That it be tonight at 8 o'clock Central Time, 9 o'clock Eastern, the exact same time as the CNN quote-unquote debate.

So to me, the only debate is for the television audience. Do you watch the little sibling rivalry of brother and sister shouting at each other on CNN, or do you flip over to Fox to watch President Trump since they're on the same time? Or maybe you just I dunno, listen to the radio. Listening to the radio is always the better alternative to these things. I don't know why you even need a T V, especially when you have this program in ToddStarns dot com, but I digress.

Well, you need news, Max, though.

Well, anyway.

So in any case, that's the situation here. We've got ten to fifteen inches of snow common, another two inches in the northern half of the state tonight, another six to eight on Friday. You see, we had a very mild winter. I mentioned this yesterday. It was fifty degrees on Christmas Day.

All of the snow, in essence, is coming this week.

So thank you, Mother Nature, for Putting your thumb on the scale. I got an email from a friend who indicated that. there was thought that this was going to be a record turnout for the Iowa caucuses Monday night, and the State Party chair, Jeff Kaufman, had suggested the same thing. And I had a friend email saying, we were concerned that the location that we selected for the caucus might not be big enough. But you throw 18 inches of snow and 20 below wind chills in there, and that might just kind of resolve itself.

The high temperature, by the way, on caucus day is not even going to be zero in my part of the world.

So we're getting our whole winter's worth of snow this week, and then the first Arctic blast of the season next week, and not even the hot air from the candidates apparently can warm up the atmosphere. But we'll do what we can. We're looking forward to a really great list of guests. The guests on this show are always impressive, but we have quite a list, and I'll tell you who's going to be on the program in a moment. But first, I want to remind you of the phone number because this hour is clear for your calls, and I hope you take advantage of it.

You can connect with us in the Liberty University studio. By calling 901 2605926. That's the same number you use all the time. 901 2605926. And I'd love to fill this hour up with your calls.

Coming up in our next hour, Liz Peake, She'll weigh in on the Defense Secretary and his absent without leave issues. We'll also speak with the editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, Zachary Marshall. Art Alley of Timothy Plan joins us in hour number two as well. In the third hour, Missouri Congressman Mark Alford and the noted pollster Robert Cahaley of the Trafalgar Group. You know, I'd listen to this show.

With that guest list, even with me as host, I'd listen to this show. Those folks are coming up. And again, ToddStarnes.com has the full list. Interact if you would at the live show blog.

So this morning. in Washington, DC Congressional hearings were going to be held, and I want to make sure I get the name of the committee correct. It's the House Oversight Committee. House Oversight Committee was going to consider a resolution that, if it was passed, would set up a full vote before the House on whether first son Hunter Biden I almost used one of his pseudonyms because he has so many. First son, Hunter Biden would be held in contempt of court for defying the congressional subpoena.

Now, you remember how this all played out. The subpoena was for him to follow the same procedure as in other situations, and that is to give a closed-door deposition that could then later lead to public. Testimony.

Now, you might say, well, that's just kind of a waste of time to do these things. All right, here's why, in the normal course of things, you do things this way. They're interviewing a witness. And this is no different than if I'm an attorney and I'm preparing. Either the prosecution or the defense of someone.

You interview witnesses and they are under oath, and it's privately done, and it's called a deposition. You give a deposition, a sworn statement, in response to questions. Then in a normal case, The attorneys can determine, well, this person has something to offer. Will call them as a witness at trial. Or you could talk to somebody and say, Well, you really don't have anything to offer us.

Thank you so much for your time.

Now, why not just do this in the full-blown trial?

Well, there are two reasons. One, if you get a lot of depositions that show that the evidence is skewing a certain way, often someone charged with a crime will make a deal and plead guilty to lesser charges. In other words, you avoid a trial by going through this pretrial process. Yeah. The other reason you do it is to avoid putting a person through the stress of a big public trial.

Now, I'm just talking about common ordinary stuff. I'm not talking about at this level necessarily. It's analogous, but I'm just saying in a common ordinary case, if I don't want someone to unduly go through the stress of a public jury trial as a witness, we'll do the statement ahead of time. And if they have something to offer, yes, then we will make them come to court and face a jury. But if not, well, we have.

Put less harm upon them because they're a witness, they're not the subject of the inquiry.

So the process in these congressional hearings, is typically to do and by the way, the January sixth committee The wonderful January 6th Committee. That hasn't done a thing wrong. Other than Mislead the American public and destroy evidence. But that was the model that we were all supposed to look toward. They did the same thing.

They took statements, depositions, closed door under oath, and then brought some of those people out in public to testify.

So it's the same process that goes on all the time, and they decided at the House Oversight Committee, let's treat Hunter Biden the same as everybody else.

Now, obviously, Robert Hunter Biden didn't really care for that because he's not used to being treated like everybody else. He has gone through his life being the son of a famous person with power and influence and figured a way to leverage his own career based upon the power and influence that his father was able to gather. But if we're going to treat Hunter Biden as a common ordinary individual. The private citizen that his lawyers to day said that he was Well, then he should have to follow the rules of the committee. And the process and procedure is come, testify under oath privately.

Then we'll see what happens. But no, he shows up and says, this was back in December, I would testify publicly, but I refuse to testify privately. I refuse to follow your rules because I am Robert Hunter Biden and I'm Joe Biden's son, and nobody tells me what to do. I can lie on federal forms. I can carry weapons.

I can do whatever I want to do. Because I'm Joe Biden's son. That even led to violating all manner of rules of holding a news conference at the Capitol after showing up to testify in public and being told, No, sir, the subpoena is for a private deposition. Either submit to that, or off you go. And off he went, right along with Fang Fang Eric Swalwell, to a public news conference violating all rules.

literally rules, not just practice.

So Here comes the contempt procedure today. Let's have a conversation at the committee, should there be a full vote. And lo and behold, here is another Biden crime family stunt. Robert Hunter Biden showed up with two individuals. He's flanked on both sides.

Got an attorney with him. Another fellow might be an attorney. Can't tell. Snappy sport code, I don't know. Snappy sport code guy.

And they're sitting there in the front row. Surprise, I'm here!

So, as the Republicans on the committee point out, you didn't show up for the deposition that we wanted to have. The Democrats, of course, are in on the stunt, and they say. He's happy to testify in public. Put him under oath right now The Democrats say, Well, if you really are serious about wanting to hear from this guy, he's here. How can you hold him in contempt for not showing up?

He's here. They're playing to public opinion. not playing The rules, not playing by the rules.

So he's sitting there as Republicans are saying, look, you ought to just be arrested. Why can't you do what you're told? This is just a PR stud. And then the Democrats say, Well, the PR stunt is you people. And then finally, he gets up and leaves.

And so we don't really know what's going to be going on with this other than the fact that this was supposed to be a very simple hearing. The target of the contempt proceeding in a further contemptuous act, not legally contemptuous, But What a jerk contemptuous. There he is, arms folded across his chest, looking mad because he's a Biden, and you don't treat Bidens this way. We get special treatment. We always have, we always will.

Big guy says so. What an absolute tragedy that this individual He's almost as old as I am.

So we keep talking, you know, he's the son. Yeah, he's in his 50s for crying out loud. He's been Joe's bagman. He's been, you know, Joe's spare. I'm sure it has been very tough to be him.

But stunts like this not helping. The Defiance not helping. It is yet another example of his contemptuous behavior toward the system. and the fact that we have a two-tiered system. Further Evidence on Capitol Hill to Day And I hope the American people, I know this audience, but I hope the American people is smart enough to say, It's not a matter of whether he shows up on his terms.

He needs to show up on the terms of the committee that subpoenaed him. the entity with law enforcement authority And that he follows the rules that everyone else follows. He shows up and says, I'm here. I'll talk publicly right now.

Now, that's not how the game is played. You don't get to set the rules. Unless you're a member of the Biden crime family. 901-260-5926. Love to hear what you think of that or anything else that's on your mind.

901-260-5926. We'll take your calls in the next segment. Hey, thanks for being along. Going to be a good day here on the Todd Stern Show. Legacy Precious Metals has a revolutionary new online platform that allows you to invest in real gold and silver online.

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That's legacypminvestments.com or call 866-6666. That number again, 866-649-0304, and start investing today. Welcome back to the Todd Starn Show, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. We've got less than four minutes until the bottom of the hour, but that's enough time to share that time with Sam calling in from North Carolina. Sam, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd.

Thanks for calling the Todd Starn Show. You don't think Trump should be the nominee? Tell us why, please.

Well To me, it's biblical. Biblically speaking, a man will always return to what he was in the beginning. And I say If Donald Trump gets back in the White House, He will go back to being a Democrat. And the best example of this Is Ronald Reagan? In the end, he went back to being a to governing like a Democrat With amnesty, and it was Ronald Reagan's amnesty that wrecked this country.

And I believe you can expect the same from Donald Trump if he gets back in the White House. Other than history and the Bible, which I don't question on any score, what leads you to think that Trump is going to have that transformation? Is there anything in what he's saying now or some of his actions that lead you to think that's the path we're on? He is in my opinion, from what I say, he's already doing it. That thing on CNN, that so-called town hall, Where that they had Bruce Jenner in drag.

In that same I don't think CNN would have ever given Donald Trump a town hall without that. I think what they were trying to see was Will Donald Trump go on there and legitimize that nonsense? And he did it. And sometime after that, I saw Donald Trump interviewed And he was asked If a man could be a woman. And he could not just immediately pipe up and answer the question.

He hemmed and hawed, and well, he finally. Uh said no. But he It was pretty disappointing the way he went about answering that question. I have seen that clip. His opponents are using it in campaign ads here in my state of Iowa.

If not Trump, then who do you support? I am for Be Scientist all the way. I feel like Pontius Talad watching this a contest between DeSantis and Trump. I find no fault in this man. these sanctions, but yet the people are crying out Give us truck.

It doesn't make any sense to me. Sam, I appreciate your strongly held view, and I appreciate that you shared it with us here coast to coast on the Todd Star Show. Thanks for listening. Thanks for calling in. Sam calling in from North Carolina.

The number 901-260-5926. That's 901-260. five nine two six You know, during the last commercial break, I was sitting here and I thought, why are you yelling at these poor people, Jeff? Why and then I realized I haven't had enough coffee, so apparently I'm just in that mood.

So I apologize for yelling at you all during the first segment. But again, It just really burns me that somebody like Robert Hunter Biden, and by the way. I'm going to keep referring to him by his full name because that's how the indictment reads.

So, you know, we might as well get used to it. By the way, I wanted to check how old he was, and so I just went to the interwebs. Did you know that Wikipedia says Robert Hunter Biden is an American attorney and businessman?

Well, that sounds neutral enough, doesn't it? All right, break now. We'll be back in a few. Jeff Stein in for Todd. This is the Todd Starn Show.

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Use the promo code STARNS or call 800-839-8506. Promo code STARNS. Welcome back to the Todd Starn Show from the Liberty University studio. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. 901-260-5926.

That's how you can join this coast-to-coast conversation. 901-260-5926. That's the number John used to call in from North Carolina, where he listens to the STARN Show on the talk station. John, thanks so much for calling. How are you?

Fine, Jeff. You know, it's a beautiful blue sky day here in Eastern North Carolina. But dinner I said The Republican Sir Carl Robert Hunter Biden out. Tell him we'll go ahead and And speak his teeth right there, but I know what he was going to do. He was going to plead the fifth.

Every question. I believe this is. I believe this is. They'd like to have one back in there. day when uh Nixon got in trouble and one of those people already hundred and thirty some are implemented fifth.

So Levin played a fifth and a closed dollar. and put them to the side and don't worry about it.

Well, you're right about pleating the fifth because, and this is something that is not a coincidence. That every time a congressional committee started talking about a subpoena or issuing a subpoena, And it happened with the subpoena where he was supposed to show up in December, as you'll recall. All of a sudden, there was a new indictment. And as a lawyer, I can tell you, let's say that I was representing you, John, and I would tell you you should probably do better. But let's say I'm your lawyer and I'm representing you, and you are under a criminal indictment.

I'm not going to let you speak to anybody. I'm going to insist you plead the Fifth Amendment, and so to me, these indictments are convenient And part of a broad plan so that he never testifies before Congress, because as long as there's a pending charge, he'd be a fool to testify. Does that make sense to you? Oh, yeah, that's why I asked all about it. You know, the fifth is the way.

Uh he's gonna get out of this and Or just be pushed to the side and Elections will be over with if his dad wins, lose, or draw or some other crazy person gets in there from the Democratic Party. Or think they're going to get in. Yeah. It's not going to be really done with taken care of. It's just going to be a Uh footnote on the bottom of the page in the history book.

Yeah, before Biden had all his charges and now it's gone bye-bye. No one will remember. You're exactly right.

Well, would you have liked, John? Let me ask you finally, would you have liked today? When the Republicans We're talking about contempt, and these Democrats said, He's right here, put him before the microphone. Would you have liked one of those Republicans to say, deal, have a seat, raise your right hand, put your left hand on the Bible, and let's do it right gosh darn now? Would you have liked to have seen that as opposed to the path they're taking?

I would love to see it if they said one thing. You cannot plead the fifth.

Well, and they can't say that. It's the lawyers that say, you can't do it, you can't do it, like you said earlier. There would have been no conversation. It would have been a done deal. You break the stunk in a heartbeat.

But no, nobody was willing to do that. Yeah. two Democratic ones that had their little footnotes with all those charts. They need to be taken before the ethics board and re sanctions. or removed from Congress themselves.

I think we need to treat everybody fairly, and that's what they would do if the person had an R by their name. John, thanks so much for weighing in. Thanks for listening and then taking the time for the thoughtful call from North Carolina. Hope you have a good day there in the eastern part of that fine state. 901-260-5926 is how you can join us on the Todd Starns program.

You know, there is a part of me that did want to see the Republicans call. Robert Hunter Biden's Bluff. Because If you had said, all right, you want to testify, you want to testify right now, have a seat. We're calling your bluff. Because If he would have sat there and taken the fifth, it would have just totally negated the impact of his public spectacle.

He was trying to say, Look, I'm here. These bad people are trying to lock me up. All right, have a seat. Oh, and so now you're going to take the fifth. What was the whole point of the whole thing?

I might have liked that as sort of you know, if we're playing this stupid game, this little chess match, I might have liked to have seen them call his bluff. But again, you want to hold everybody accountable the same way. You want to treat all the witnesses the same way. and after the stunt, his lawyer outside said, you know Hunter Biden is a private citizen. All right, technically, he's a private citizen.

But if that's the case you're not going to treat private citizens differently than the plan that Congress put forth, which is we talk to people behind closed doors, and then we decide if we're going to go forward with a public request for testimony.

So, if he's a private citizen and you want to treat him the same as anybody else, then do that. Their request. is treating him differently. Than anyone else. And again, it's it's I don't know enough about this, but there was just an arrogance, there was just a smugness, there was just a sense of you can't touch me the defiance That was demonstrated.

But again, this is the same family. Where you've got Joe. up there talking about how Everybody needs to pay their fair share. And now he has not one but two of his children. who are being investigated for ignoring.

Federal tax laws. failing to pay taxes. failing to pay their fair share. But apparently that's okay. You got old Joe.

Who wants uh gun control? An' his kid was carrying a piece. It's just it's just maddening. And again, It's all optics. Joseph Robinette Biden, junior is just old Joe.

Robert Hunter Biden goes by the name Hunter. Oh, cool. It's his late mother's maiden name, by the way. which was his middle name. But again, it's all image.

It's all we're different than the rest of you. And not just different, but they like to think we're better than the rest of you. And oh my goodness, I've just uh I've just about had it with them. I think you have too. Yeah.

Now, John from North Carolina made a comment about um The election. Yeah. And I just want to roll this grenade out there. And I'm directing this. Comment to those of you who think.

that Donald Trump won the twenty twenty election. He got more votes than any sitting President in history. He got more votes than he did four years ago. four years before. If you think That the game was fixed.

If you think that he really won the election and the other side cheated. Here's my question. What has been done? Within the system, to make sure that does not happen again. in November of this year.

That's my big concern. That's good. I think there's plenty. of evidence, plenty of shenanigans. That suggests this may not have been a fair fight.

But what has been done to make sure? that they don't do the same thing again. I just want us to all, you know. God bless Rush. He said he lived in Reelsville.

This is Realsville. If the election was stolen in twenty twenty. What action has been taken to make sure that it doesn't happen again? in twenty twenty four. Look at the steps.

Those on the left are taking. To deny a former President a position on the ballot. Look at the steps they are taking. to deny a former president His life, liberty, and property through these bogus legal proceedings. Look at the steps they're willing to go.

to make sure he does not get back in office. Do you think a little thing like election fraud is off the table? Especially if they had a playbook that worked the last time? I just want us to understand. that we cannot go into this.

And watch. Mr. Trump on television or attend one of his events and say, oh, we've got the momentum. had the momentum four years ago.

So, what has been done to fix the broken system, the system that allows cheating? And I'm afraid I just don't know what has been done. I'm not sure anything has been done, and that's the point. There's still time to fix it. But let's not be lulled into some false sense of security here, people.

Let's not think that everyone will see things the way we do. I mean, look at the economy What a shambles Well, the numbers now uh the inflation rate is only three per cent. That's a 3% increase. On top of at one point nine percent. You're still paying more.

The rate of inflation is continuing to go up every single month. The cost continues to go up. The cumulative effect of four years of bite inflation. That's bynomics. You go to, at worst, an inflation rate six times what it was when Donald Trump left office.

It was one point six, it got to nine point one. All right, now it's closer to three. Oh well, okay, now it's closer to three. That's still, people, three percent more. On top of what at its worst was 9% more.

Every time I go to the grocery store. I look at the numbers and I swear it's like a tote board at the Jerry Lewis Telethon. May he rest in peace. We can't afford this. And this is why these government economists who sit there and say, well, the numbers all show this and this, okay, fine, and then they can't figure out why Americans in surveys are gloomy about the economy.

Here's why: because we don't care about your stinking numbers, we care about the fact that gas is still a lot more than it was four years ago. The price of everything in the stores. including the stuff we need to eat, is way above what it was. When Joe Biden took over? just simply go away quietly.

Is my point on all of this.

So we sit there and say, well, you know, rationally, the numbers would show. Huh? The economy is horrible. They say it's good. They know how to cheat.

How do you think this is going to turn out? This is why it is incumbent on us. to live in Realsville. and understand what's at stake. And mobilize and support candidates.

And many of them in primaries are on this program. We had two on yesterday. If you like them, donate to them. If you don't, donate to somebody else. Do what you can.

Because it's too important. We just won't have anything left otherwise, I'm afraid. 901-260-5926. That's how you can join us in the Liberty University studio. Liz Peake on the program in about 15 minutes.

Your calls after this break. Jeff Stein in for Todd. This is the Todd Star and Show. Welcome back to the Liberty University studio. And this hour of the Todd Starn Show, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd Today.

901-260-5926 is how you can connect with us. Coming up in our next hour, Liz Peake will talk about the mess at the Defense Department. Zachary Marshall of the Campus Reform will talk about Gen Z. And Timothy planned founder Art Alley.

Well, that's a good lineup. All three in our next hour. Got another great night's sleep last night. Don't mean to rub it in if you're one of those who didn't. But if you are one of those who didn't, you You might want to consider my pillow products.

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Or go to mypillow.com and use the promo code STARNS. MyPillow.com promo code STARNS. The folks at Fox News have just published an article, and here's the headline: House GOP erupts in division over call to push Johnson out of speakership. There are a number of people who did not like the deal that Mike Johnson cut. on spending.

And they're saying, Well, fine, maybe we should throw him out. And the reality is, and Todd posted this on the socials, and I think he talked about it Monday on the program when he was here. If this is the best they could do What difference did it make if Kevin McCarthy was in the chair? You threw Kevin McCarthy out for the same things that now Mike Johnson is bringing?

Well, there's a big difference. Not in terms of the actual outcome. There's a big difference because you couldn't trust Kevin McCarthy. In other words, members would take potentially the same deal offered by a better messenger. And again, I never met mister McCarthy, never talked with him, but I've talked with you on this program enough to say over the time since the twenty twenty two election when we knew that he was in line for the gavel.

He had no plan. His goal was to become Speaker of the House. And once he got that, his job was done. Those individuals who are running for titles They're not there to serve you. And it becomes a mess when they win the election.

You want someone whose goal is not the title, the goal is to implement a plan, to help the American people, etcetera. Clearly, in my mind, humbly, I would suggest Kevin McCarthy was not that person. And pretty quickly, we found out that he, in his effort to grease palms and do favors for people so that he could get their vote for Speaker, kind of lost any credibility along the way.

Now, what's going to happen? With this so-called deal to avert a government shutdown?

Well, I can tell you this. Uh Chuck Schumer should shut the heck up. Because he's probably done more to ruin the deal than anything else. He came out when the deal was announced and said, not a nickel of spending has been cut. When you heard that, did you think, oh good, this is exactly why I keep voting for Republicans so not a nickel of spending is cut?

Oh my goodness. This is the Liberty University Studio. That's where I'm speaking. I'm Jeff Stein, filling in for Todd, hour two coming up. Stay with us on the Todd Starn Show.

Live from the Liberty University Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. It's America's conservative blowtorch. That's right. I love this American ride. Todd Starns.

Wherever you're listening across this, the greatest nation God ever blessed, welcome to our two of a Wednesday edition of the Todd Starnes Radio Program. Coast to coast of more than 140 outstanding radio stations and streaming live at ToddStarnes.com. Hello, fellow patriots. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today as he continues to rest that scratchy throat. Hopefully, he'll be back with you as soon as tomorrow.

We are in the Liberty University studio, and I'm coming to you from my home base at News Talk 1540 KXCL in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, Iowa, the 50,000-watt blowtorch scorching middle America with accurate news and reasonable views. Privileged to be along with you five days before the Iowa Presidential Precinct Caucuses. Telephone number is the same as you're used to using, and we hope that you do use it. We'll have time in the next segment to take your call. At 901-260-5926.

That's 901-260-5926. But let's go to the Patriot mobile newsmaker line and welcome return guest to the program, columnist for Fox News and the Hill, Liz Peak. Liz, thanks so much for being along on the Starnes program. Jeff Stein filling in. How are you?

I'm great, Jeff. Thanks for having me. I read the piece that you have posted at LizPeak.com on the Defense Department. And this is something that we've been talking about now for the last several days. I have to tell you, I don't think I have seen a more concise and pointed recitation of the facts and the issues.

What really stands out to you and I say, by the way, that it was the best thing I've read on this topic, not because I'm trying to butter you up, but because as I read it, I just got madder and madder about the whole situation.

Well, thank you for that. I think what's interesting is there's been enormous amounts of coverage Of the fact that the Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, basically went AWOL for several days. failing to tell the President or his deputy or any number of other people that he was basically incommunicado because he was in the intensive care unit of Walter Reed Hospital. I've seen a lot of coverage of this, but very few people have stopped to think or ask the question: why did he do it? And I think that's what is most interesting here.

Lloyd Austin is a career military man. by dint of that, he is bound by rules and regulations and chain of command. He is dutiful. He obeys orders, et cetera, presumably. And here he went Totally.

Oops, sorry. he went totally off the grid and did something absolutely incomprehensible for a man of his rank and station, which is he just defied every logical thing he should be doing in this situation. And my view is, Jeff, That it was purposeful, that he basically and I can back this up with a lot of different ideas, but he basically doesn't trust the White House guys. Mainly Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor, and Anthony Blinken, the Secretary of State.

Well It has been reported, are basically running the Pentagon. There's evidence to that effect, but I think the huge breach occurred between the military and the White House. after the Afghanistan pull out with each blaming the other for that disaster, for the lost lives, et cetera. And my guess is that Austin really is not happy with Joe Biden's performance. These would be the military or the people who he has appointed who basically had their fingers in the Pentagon pie.

So I I do think it's a very interesting situation. I thought it was horrific. that Boston, at a time when our troops are under attack, And when, in fact, the night before New Year's Eve, we for the first time engaged militarily with the Houdis. Sinking some of their boats. Uh that often would be handing over the reins to his number two, a woman named Kathleen Hicks, who is not a veteran, never served in uniform, has been basically a civil servant in the Pentagon.

Sure, she's very bright, but she's an academic. That's her background. And she now is supposed to be running our war effort. I mean, you know, Forgive me. I I think this was just a huge problem for the United States.

And not to mention Taffy and Hicks is on vacation in Puerto Rico. Awesome within the ICU. And Biden was in the Caribbean on vacation.

So if, let's say, yesterday, 62 I'm sorry, twenty three drones and missiles were fired by the Houthis at our people and ships. what if one had gotten through in those days when he was incommunicado. And we had to have a national security meeting. No one would have been available. I mean, it's incomprehensible to me.

And in fact, if I understand this correctly, he went into the ICU on January 1st, but the notice to Ms. Hicks was not given until the following day. It would seem to me that that's an immediate first call sort of thing, so that the next call is to the White House to say, Mr. President, this happened, but we have it covered. None of that happened.

No, no, I mean, every step of the way, there was a breach of protocol. Again, Such a gigantic breach of protocol that it's impossible to imagine it was accidental. I mean, you heard this thing about how, well, his chief of staff had the flu. I mean, Lloyd Austin has a personal staff of at least twenty people. The fact that one of them was down with the flu is not an explanation.

And I also think it's interesting that the only person who apparently did know Was the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And I assume, again, it's sort of military versus the White House. But, you know, look, I may be wrong. But if you remember, when this spy balloon floated over the United States, it was several days before they told Joe Biden about it.

Now maybe they didn't think it was a big threat, but the way the country reacted later And in fact, the way Joe Biden reacted when he was told, it was a huge threat. It was hovering over our military installations. Americans were horrified by this. But again, they didn't bring Joe Biden and the White House into this conversation for several days. I mean, it's pretty weird.

And here is the final thing that, again, no one has really commented much on. Uh Do we not think it's unusual that the President again, with wars going on in two different regions, Might want to talk to his Secretary of Defense at some point during those five days that. Lloyd Austin was in the hospital. The military had just sent responses to a White House request about how to hit back at the Houdies. There was a lot of political rancor about what are we doing about all these attacks?

Our guys are being wounded. What are you going to do? At no point in that period did Joe Biden not think, you know, maybe I should talk to Lloyd Austin about this. I it's incredible.

Well, and further to that point, the either avoidance or lack of interest. If I understand the timeline, the administration learned of it on Thursday the fourth, the hospitalization I'm talking about. The President was informed on that day, but he waited forty-eight hours to call Austin, and then the White House said they had a warm conversation. I it should have been blistering, not warm.

Well, exactly. And, you know, this is look typical of Biden. I mean, in my view, there should have been comeuppance amongst several of his Um cabinet members. I think look, the way a president should Shows the country that is dissatisfied with him that he also is dissatisfied is that heads roll, right? Frankly, my orca should have been out a year ago.

I mean, the fact that the border has become the number I would say now the number one political issue really hurting Joe Biden. He would have been smart to fire Majorcas, who's not only personally repugnant in his arrogance before Congress and so forth, but totally inept And deceitful about what's going on at the southern border, he should be out. I don't know that he should buyer Lloyd Austin about this, but it seems to me that there are grounds for that. And the fact that he didn't took haul him out on the carpet and lay into him. Maybe he did and we don't know about it.

Maybe they're lying about it. But man, if I were Joe Biden, I would not be happy about this.

Well, then, as you point out in the piece, which is at LizPeak.com. Austin puts his number two in charge. But she does not know that he's in the hospital. How does that happen when you get the call as the number two to say? You have to assume the responsibilities of the Secretary.

Just mild curiosity would be okay, got it. Um, why? and apparently there was no question? Or did they lie to her about it? Yeah, well, they didn't tell her, apparently, that he was in the hospital.

Um You know, again, if this were Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, I think we could all live with that, right? I mean, probably there's not a whole lot of trans well, unless the plane crashes, there's not too many emergencies that Pete needs to be available for. Sure. This is the Secretary of Defense. You know, really.

Uh un unless, as I say, The White House is sort of micromanaging our affairs military writ large, which I suspect is true. That's what Politico reported actually even before the Afghanistan disaster, that Jake Sullivan and Anthony Lincoln were running the Pentagon. And then the White House pushed back when that piece came out, and not much more was said about it. But my guess is it's true.

So all of this really does not speak to a very satisfactory national security situation, to put it mildly. Again, at a time when there are so many things going wrong. I mean, yesterday, as I said, we had dozens of attacks. on U. S troops.

And guess what? One of these missiles fired by the Houthis, one of these drones at some point is going to get through and someone's going to be killed by it. And then I just wonder what the reaction from this unbelievably lame White House is going to be. I don't know.

Well, let's hope it doesn't happen during one of the parties they throw for staffers as morale boosters. Right. I hear you. Ah, well, it's I I think it's very discouraging. I think everything about this administration is discouraging, but I never really thought that our military was as compromised or sort of incapable as it now appears to be.

And I think we should all be pretty concerned about that. It's just one more indication, though. I was talking about who should have been fired. Frankly, Janet Yellen should have been fired. Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary, completely oblivious to inflation, which again has become the number one source of discontent among American voters.

Got it wrong. That has been a political shill. For Joe Biden, even as he continues to ratchet up federal spending, which indeed contributes to inflation, I think it would have been a good idea to but you know, she's a female, so they probably would have been scared to death to fire her, but she could have been fired. You know, he hasn't look, I think the bottom line is that Joe Biden's not in charge Uh he he's not a forceful or or successful leader in any way. And I think this incident with Lloyd Austin is sort of proof of that.

Well, and as I said on the program yesterday, our thoughts and prayers for someone who is being treated for cancer. But that aside, This is quite frightening. Thank you so much for the, as always, intelligent conversation. I appreciate it, and I encourage everyone to read the piece at LizPeak.com. Thanks for the time.

It is my pleasure. Thanks so much for having me on. Take care. You as well, Liz Peak, columnist for Fox News and The Hill. And her latest article is entitled Defense Secretary Austin's Bizarre Behavior Demands Answers from Biden and Company.

And you can read it at LizPeak.com. And she joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. 901-260-5926 is how you can join the Coast to Coast Conversation. Your calls in the next segment from the Liberty University studio. Jeff Stein, privileged to fill in for Todd, and thanks to you for being along in this edition of the Todd Starn Show.

The McDonald's Acel National Scholarship Program has helped shape the stories of over 17,000 Hispanic students with more than $33 million in scholarship funds awarded. This is a story about generations of scholars who showed the doubters y podemos hacer más because it's understood that an education for one becomes the North Star for those who follow. This is a story about progress and the next chapter is yours to write. Apply for your scholarship at mcdonald's.com slash acer. Welcome back to the Liberty University studio and the Todd Starn Show.

I'm Jeff Stein, filling in for Todd as he rests his voice and tries to get over that throat ailment. Good to have you along with us. 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. After the bottom-of-the-hour break, we'll speak with Dr.

Zachary Marshall. He is the editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, and he has a new piece at Foxnews.com about Gen Z. And how they themselves are pushing themselves into becoming the wasted generation. We'll see what that's about. And also in the next half hour, return guest to the program, the founder of Timothy Plan, Art Alley, will talk about Bidenomics and what you need to do in this new year.

That credit card, debt thing is really scary stuff. Art Alley of Timothy Plan. That conversation coming up in the next half hour. Half hour as well. One of the things I did want to mention is thoughts and prayers go out to former First Lady Melania Trump and to President Trump and Melania's family.

It was announced yesterday that her mother has passed away. The former First Lady had been caring for her ailing mother for a period of time now, and she has now gone to her reward. And so again, thoughts and prayers for the First Lady and her family at this difficult time. Coming up in our third hour, we'll speak with Congressman Mark Alford of the state of Missouri. He has endorsed President Trump five days now before the Iowa caucuses.

Also, the tremendous bolster Robert Cahaley joins us in the next hour.

So I'm going to stick around for that. I hope you do as well. One of the things that I found interesting, again, we're five days before the Iowa caucus. CNN is hosting a supposed debate, which, again, I have suggested is just going to be like watching a couple of squabbling teenagers yell at each other, DeSantis and Haley. And yesterday, the Haley campaign issued a news release with an endorsement: Judge Judy.

has endorsed Nikki Henley for President. If we had a breaking news sounder, I would say that you should play it, because stop the presses, as they used to say when there really was something called a newspaper. Nikki Haley is touting Judge Judy's endorsement. I don't know that that's going to move the needle in my state of Iowa. I don't know that that's going to move the needle in New Hampshire, but hey, better to have it than not, right?

Then to day Team Haley, that's who sends the emails, it's Team Haley, has indicated. That the Sununu family. Is all in for Nikki Haley. That's the headline. New Hampshire's political family, it says, is all in for Nikki Haley.

Former Governor John H. Sununu, Governor Chris Sununu, and former Senator John E. Sununu have all endorsed Haley for president as the first in the nation primary approaches, and that is a week from next Tuesday.

So I think that's the 23rd. In any case, it's eight days after the Iowa caucuses. And uh the former governor, John H. Sununu, He's now eighty four years old. Here's his quote.

Nikki Haley is America's best bet to rid ourselves of the eighty year old wanderer in the White House, as a matter of fact, ridding us of any eighty year old who might make it to the White House.

Well, that's not subtle. Said 84-year-old former Governor John H. Sununu, we need a new generational conservative leader, and that leader is Nikki Haley. And isn't this wonderful?

Well, in case you were wondering, there's no split in the Sununu family. They are all in for Nikki Haley. And again, the CNN. Call it what you will, they call it a debate, is tonight. And the Trump Town Hall that Fox is putting on is tonight at the same time.

And Brett Baer, the chief political anchor over at Fox, was on my radio show in Iowa earlier this week to talk about their series of town halls. And without being asked, he addressed it head on. The Trump campaign insisted on the time. that they would not do a town hall unless it went opposite the debate. Great move by the Trump team.

Great move by Fox. Who's going to win the ratings? Or maybe you'll just listen to the radio. That's really better. Don't watch any of that stuff.

Just listen to the radio. Listen to the podcast of this show at ToddStarnes.com. Break now, back on the other side. Jeff Stein in for Todd. This is the Todd Starn Show.

Welcome back to the Liberty University studio and the Todd Starn Show. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. 901-260-5926 is how you can join this Coast-to-Coast conversation. But we begin this segment by going to the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line. And we welcome Zachary Marshall.

Dr. Marshall is editor-in-chief of Campus Reform. They are online at campusreform.org. Dr. Marshall, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd.

Thanks for joining us on the show. How are you? Good. Thank you for having me. As this audience may remember when I've talked about it before, I taught college students for twenty five years, and I got away from it about a decade ago because It just wasn't what it used to be.

It just wasn't a good experience. It wasn't fun. The students were just different. And that's sort of the tone that you have struck in an opinion piece you wrote at FoxNews.com on Gen Z and how it may become the wasted generation. Remind us: Gen Z refers to.

People who are how old. Gen Z refers to people who are born approximately between nineteen ninety five and twenty ten.

So the bulk of them right now are either in college or just on either side of high school or college graduation.

So when we refer to college age students or Americans, we're really talking about Gen Z specifically.

So, what is different about their attitudes as opposed to predecessor generations when it has to do with? Higher education or employment or any of the other things that some of us think are important. Mm. What I've noticed as a professor at a public university, and I've had past experience. Teaching at private colleges, in addition to my work at Campus Reform, is that the essential Puritan work ethic that we've seen through countless generations of Americans zapped out of Generation Z.

on some level, they're victims of COVID nineteen. In my opinion for Fox News, I draw a parallel between nineteen twenties when we had the lost generation feeling dismayed after World War I and now we're in the twenty twenties with young Americans feeling dismayed after COVID kind of disrupted their lives. But at the same time, they're not asking how do I get ahead? How do I recover a loading loss? They're asking, how do I get out of here in the fastest way possible?

I was just talking to an industry professional earlier today about employers who say that Gen Z employees want to start at the top. They don't want to have to work their way up. They don't have to want to work their way through and achieve things. And we're seeing that in higher education. They want teachers to give them A's for showing up to class.

They want great inflation. They don't want to actually learn. The college experience was supposed to be a journey, a journey of learning and to them, in other words, it's just a destination and you get your ticket punched as if uh you know it's another stamp on your passport of life.

Well, you know, it's a destination with the student affairs office and with great amenities.

So it's really like a sleekaway camp with occasional classes. Um So many, you know, Jobs, I think, required four-year degrees that college in a way became perfunctory. That as long as you had a degree, that was going to set you up for success later.

So, why bother doing the hard work in college? We're now seeing the bubble having been burst there. And we have a lot of state governments and a lot of big employers like IBM and Google moving away from those requirements.

So, they're no longer saying we don't want four-year degrees. They're saying, You know, apply whether or not you have a college degree or not, we've now realized that education. Does not equal experience. And 91% of American employers now feel that. Colleges are not preparing students to participate in society, either as citizens or as members of a workforce.

So it's become more of a sleepaway camp where students just want the best experience possible, and that means all A's and very little hard work. I found, and this was the case even 20 years ago, when I was teaching at a private college. You know, I had an attendance policy. You know, it sounds radical, right? If you don't show up for class, you lose points.

If you're late for class, you lose points because you need to come to class. And I got challenged jokingly, but obviously not, because the couple of students said, Well, I'm paying for it. Don't I get to decide if I come or not? And they had even figured out. How much their tuition was, how many hours of class time they had, how many credit hours, so they could tell you how much they were paying for each hour they were in class.

Now, normally you'd think, oh, okay, so that's the signal to me to game up and give them value. They were looking at it as, well, I'm paying for it, so it's my money.

Well, yeah, and I think universities have done this to themselves too. At the same time, they've created you know, college to be more of a sleepaway camp. They've also jacked up the price of college.

So we're now paying tens of thousands of dollars more a year for tuition than we were back when you were teaching. But at that same time, all that money and all the reasons why college is getting more expensive is driven by student services and student affairs offices and DEI bureaucracies. The academics or anything that would enrich someone intellectually that's driving up the cost of college. On some level, you can't blame students for acting the way they did when demanding value for money, but there's also responsibility for people who choose to take on college debt and spend more years learning to get the most out of it they can be.

So Gen Z is choosing to Take out that that might cripple them for life and then complain about it the whole way through. If you're going to make that life decision, have the personal responsibility to know what you're signing up for.

Well, they're like so many people who just want to complain. They don't want a solution. This is a complicated issue, but I'm going to ask you a 60-second exit question. And that is, all right? How do we?

I mean, I understand the fallacy of the point here, but how do we turn it around? That's really what I want to know: is because this has gotten to be so ingrained, how do you turn it around? I think the it requires two things and both come from outside because the cultural rot in higher education is so deep. that no meaningful reform is going to come from within. It has to come from external forces.

We have to see the tuition bubble burst completely before we see motivation factors turn around. The cost of college is so ridiculous that the entire experience somehow Seems fanciful, and that's why a lot of students aren't taking it seriously. And we're already seeing that start to happen, especially with the Ivy League, that they proven to be complete disasters. We're seeing high school seniors this year turn down Harvard admissions offers because they don't want to be associated with the controversy there around anti Semitism and plagiarism.

So we're starting to see more and more parents and students double Yeah. Scrutinize the cost and the value for it. That's one thing. The second thing is, we're seeing a lot of success with donors, parents, and students also saying, no, I won't donate to you, I won't support you anymore if you don't Reflect my values and the traditional mission of higher education, and that's. Schools are paying a price for that.

So, I encourage people to vote with their pocketbooks and refrain from donating to their schools or supporting alma mater if those universities are. are enabling great inflation and enabling Gen Z to allow itself to be wasted. This is fascinating stuff. I had not thought about it in this way, and I'm so glad you wrote the piece for Foxnews.com on the topic, campusreform. org, the website, doctor Marshall, thanks so much for taking the time and have a good day, sir.

Thank you. Zachary Marshall, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, Campus Reform, CampusReform.org. And again, on the FoxNews.com website, Gen Z is shaping itself into the wasted generation. Zachary Marshall penned that piece for the website, and he joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. Short breakdown on the other side: Art Alley of the Timothy Plan.

As the Todd Starn Show continues from the Liberty University studio, Jack Stein filling in for Todd. Come on back. This is the Todd Starn Show. Welcome back to the Liberty University studio and the Todd Starn show, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. Let's go to the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line.

Welcome back, a friend of the program. He's Art Alley. Mr. Allie is the founder of Timothy Plan online, TimothyPlan.com. Mr.

Allie, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. Good to talk to you again, sir. Hey, Jeff, how are you doing? I am quite well. I wish the economy was as well as I am because I have some great concerns about this new year.

From Timothy Plan perspective, what's the outlook? What are you looking at generally in 2024? Man, if I knew that, I would be in a much better position than I am. But you know, things are not well. And it's been more by design than just incompetence.

You know, we keep putting people in leadership positions Who are trying to destroy this country almost? It almost looks intentional to me. And it could be a rough year. It just depends on which shoe drops. Or we may just wade through.

I kind of sound like an attorney, don't I? Don't take a position, but I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

Well, you're honest about it, though. We are well positioned at Timothy to be able to weather the storm.

Well, and you're honest about it. That's the best thing because no one knows what in an election year they might do because they've had their finger on the scale for so long. It sure looks, though, and this is a real frightening statistic. More and more people, it seems, post-COVID have decided we are not going to deprive ourselves. We're going to buy the stuff that we need.

Or that we want, and the stuff that we need costs more, so we'll just put it on plastic. I mean, credit card debt has never been this high, has it? I don't think so. You know, it's eclipsed a trillion dollars now, Jeff. And the problem is with interest rates going up, I mean, there are some interest rates.

on that credit card debt. that are in the twenty percent range And when you're sitting on a balance and having twenty percent interest You'll never get it paid off. And the answer to that is patience. I mean, we buy stuff we want. You said it all.

We're not depriving ourselves. And of course, inflation Forces some people to buy necessities even on credit cards. But I think we continue to abuse them. And we look to our leadership, and we don't see good examples there because this nation is. thirty five trillion dollars in debt.

That is totally unsustainable.

So when is the Proverbial stuff is going to hit the fan? I don't know.

Will it be this year? I don't know.

Timothy. But this much I do know, every. election every presidential election cycle we go through. You hear it's the most important election of our lifetime.

Well, this one I believe really is. But we keep electing people to that office. With a couple of exceptions in my lifetime. One of them was Donald Trump. But we keep electing people whether they have an R or a D after their name.

Nothing changes. We get deeper in debt. We spend more money. Um it it's it's just the cycle that You know, it's going to take uh a real Leader And quit worrying about him being a tough-talking guy from New York, but Donald Trump was kind of bailing us out of this. And Joe Biden is all in with both feet, and we're paying the price for it.

It's time that we do change leadership, and this is A critical election TimothyPlan.com is the website where you can learn more about this wonderful. Operation, this wonderful plan and funding. Art Alley's the founder of Timothy Plan.

Well, you know, you're just not patient enough. Mr. Alley, because the White House press secretary says we just have to give Biden Ox more time. I mean, we're just too impatient. Yeah, give it more time and we will totally collapse.

I mean, my gosh, it's been an absolute failure. But again, I don't think it's incompetence. I think it's by design, Jeff. I could be wrong. But um Everything they've done has been led to a disaster.

You can take any subject you want. from the economy to interest rates to the border to safety on the streets. I mean, it is a disaster in America right now. And the listening audience, man, if you helped elect this leadership, you better take a long look in the mirror and see if you're really happy with what's going on.

Well, we often say that we get the leadership we deserve, and if we vote them in, then we get what we deserve on that. One of the things that is at least encouraging is the fact that people across America understand That we have lost our way, we have lost our foundation. And we need to not just sit back. And allow the culture to be destroyed. That's why the Timothy Plan has been so successful.

But we also see it at the movie theater, and that's an industry that had crippling. Losses due to COVID when movie theaters themselves were shut down. But boy, uh, people are very willing to vote with their pocketbook if there's a movie they want to see, and they're ignoring some pretty expensive flops.

Well, you know, that's true. In Hollywood, they've got their own agenda out there. But my friend Ted Baer. The founder of Movie Guide. has had such a positive impact on Hollywood That you are seeing not a complete turnaround, but more and more decent movies come out.

Because he's helped these heads of these studios understand They're offending a huge part of their audience by bringing out garbage because you just take a family, husband, wife, a couple of kids, Those parents aren't going to take their kids. You know, they'll take them to church. They're not going to take 'em to a filthy movie.

So you're right, there is a hunger for good, solid movies, and people are willing Hopefully, they're not doing it on their credit card, but we're willing to lay out the money to really get a break and some enjoyment and entertainment. But I'm encouraged because from Anheuser-Busch taking a hit from the Bud Light stupidity they did to target with their craziness on promoting woke agenda and transgenderism. to little kids. Moms You don't offend the moms of America. They're voting with their feet.

And Target is taking a big hit.

So that's encouraged. People are waking up finally. And then where we fit, if you're not shopping to Target, take a look at your investment portfolio. You probably own Target stock.

So we do the heavy lifting on that to make sure those are not in any of our portfolios. Timothy Plann is the nation's leading biblically based pro-life, pro-family mutual fund group, and as mister Alley noted, they have stringent moral screening criteria, so your money is not being invested in a company that is working to destroy our society. Art Allie, thanks so much for taking the time. I always learn a lot these conversations. I listen when you talk with Todd, and it's now a couple of times we've talked.

I appreciate it greatly, and hope folks go to TimothyPlan.com to learn more. Thanks for the time. See, Jeff, thanks a lot. Keep up the good work, man.

Well, you as well, sir. Timothy Plan founder Art Alley. It is TimothyPlan.com, and he joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. Going to take a break for the news and such at the top of the hour, and then we'll hear from Missouri Republican Representative Mark Alford. He has endorsed Donald Trump for president, and he's got some thoughts on the border crisis.

Why we should not be putting illegals in public schools and displacing students. Stick around, hour three of the show coming up. Jeff Stein in for Todd. This is the Todd Starn Show. from the Liberty University Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

It's America's favorite gun totem, Bible-clanging, deplorable American. That's right. I love this American Todd Starnes. Oh, yeah. Wherever you're listening across this, the greatest nation God ever blessed, welcome to our three of a Wednesday edition of the Todd Starnes Radio Program.

Coast to coast of more than 140 outstanding radio stations and streaming live at ToddStarnes.com. Hello, fellow patriots. Jeff Stein filling in again today for Todd while he gets over that little throat issue. Hopefully, he'll be back with you in the Liberty University studio as early as tomorrow. I'm coming to you from my home base at News Talk 1540 KXEL in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, Iowa, the free state of Iowa.

Thank you very much, where Iowans will go to caucus in just five days and actually will have votes. We'll have real-life humans telling us what they think, as opposed to prognostication and polling and all other manner of things. 901-260-5926 is how you can join this coast-to-coast conversation. We'll take your calls in the next segment. But joining us now on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line is Congressman Mark Alford.

Congressman Alford represents District 4 in the state of Missouri, just to the south of where I am in the state of Iowa. Congressman Jeff Steinin for Todd, thanks for taking time to be on the program today. How are you? I'm doing well, Jeff. Thanks for having me on.

Well, it is a privilege, and you've got some news. You have endorsed President Trump. Tell us what made that something that you wanted to be on record about.

Well, look, our this presidential race is coming down to one thing, and that is security. economic security, border security, national security. I was just on the border last week with Speaker Johnson, seeing firsthand the chaos that this Biden administration has perpetrated on the American people. We need someone in the Oval Office once again who is going to bring back respect on the world stage for America, who's going to have the resolve, the stamina, the experience, We need someone with President Trump's leadership, and I believe that he is the person to be in the Oval Office once again to sit behind that resolute desk and be a resolute leader for the American people. With all of the challenges that this country is facing.

Is your endorsement of the former and perhaps future President, is it because of the track record? Is it because of the personality and reputation? What are the things that really make you say this is still the right man at this right time? It is his experience. Look, if you look at what has happened since he left office, it is a clear determination of why he should be back in the White House right now.

Putin would have never had invaded Ukraine. We wouldn't have Xi Jinping breathing down the necks of Taiwan right now. We would not have the chaos in the world. We wouldn't have the energy issues that we have now. We would still be energy dominant.

And be a producer, exporter of energy instead of groveling on our knees to other nations like this present. current President has done in selling off our strategic oil reserves. It is clear that President Trump had the finger on the pulse of America. And he still has, and he knows how to turn this ship around. It's not going to be easy, but.

This Pres this current President, President Biden, I think, has taken this great ship that I call Liberty and has intentionally scuttled it On the reef of despair, and now he's trying to get everyone to jump out onto the lifeboats of big government, and that is not what we should be doing. President Trump is the captain we need behind this helm. Congressman Mark Alford of the state of Missouri joining us on the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line on the Todd Starns program. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. you really need look no further than this Absolutely amazing story.

About public school students being told you cannot go to your school so that we can house illegal aliens. There is no more. prototypical story of what is wrong with this administration and its policy than that, is there? Jeff, every day I wake up and I read the headlines and I hear them and I see them on television, and I think I'm living in a bizarro world. This president, this administration, has turned our world upside down.

With a wink and a nod, he's welcomed more than 9 million illegal aliens into our sovereign nation and began doing so. before he even got into office. They began streaming into our nation. with signs praising Biden. Because they were given a free pass through the immigration process.

And Secretary Mayorkis, I think, is the biggest liar since Pinocchio. He's up on Capitol Hill right now as we are trying to impeach him through the committee process first and then through the House voting on that. But to say that there is not chaos and crisis at our border, I was down there last week. I saw it firsthand. We were standing there with 60 other Congress members.

and the Speaker of the House and about forty police officers and state troopers. And there's eleven illegals that swam across the Rio Grande right in front of us and tried to cut the concertina wire because they are emboldened and embrazened by this administration to think that they can come into our country illegally and there will be no repercussions.

Well, they're right. That's the sad part. That's the part that is frightening because it just keeps getting worse and worse. And I will plead ignorance, Congressman Alford. I don't know how many times you've been to the border, but does it seem to be getting worse every report you get, every time you've been there, et cetera?

I was there last year, and let me tell you, Jeff, it is ten times worse. you cannot even picture and imagine how it is from the video that you're getting off television to see the look, we went to one of the Del Rio sectors, their Border Patrol processing station. They take in one thousand five hundred illegal aliens a day. Most of them have given up willingly to come to America. They've paid these drug cartels five thousand to eight thousand dollars.

They go through a nine step process. It takes about thirty six hours to be processed. ninety percent of them are released into the interior of the United States of America, and then they have this bill to repay the cartels. thirty two million dollars a week is going back from them to the cartels in Mexico, and they are paying this off by becoming human sex slaves. This is modern day slavery in America that this administration is facilitating and promulgating.

It is disgusting. It is a humanitarian crisis. It needs to end. Did you ever imagine, Congressman Alford, that this is the kind of stuff you'd be talking about in your country? No, I I had no idea.

Look, we knew we had we had border we've had border issues. I mean, look back to Reagan when he granted amnesty to the illegal aliens who had come across back then. It that pales in comparison I had no with with Trump at the helm he was building the border wall, hundreds of miles of it. We had a plan in place to reform immigration, and yet the Democrats did not want him to have a win while he was in office, so they obfuscated and gaslighted the American people, and that ended up not happening. We passed HR two, the Secure Border Act, back in May.

The House did. It's been sitting on Chuck Schumer's desk. Just I'm looking at the Senate hall right now. I'm in Congress doing this interview. It's been sitting over there a couple of hundred feet from me.

And they have not acted on it. because they do not want President Trump to have a win. HR two secures the border. It reinstates the remain in Mexico policy where you don't come here unless you've been granted asylum. It returns people to Mexico and other countries that are here illegally, and it finishes the wall that Trump started.

And it also gives our patrol Border Patrol officers a pretty good pay raise, which I think they deserve if they were allowed to do their jobs. How much of this issue is incompetence and how much? Of it is a deliberate attempt to bring in new voters, bring in cheap labor, etc., because, frankly, I have a hard time believing Any group of people is this incompetent.

Well, I think it borders on dereliction of duty by the Secretary of Homeland Security, which our homeland is not secure. That is a misnomer to even give him that title. And unfortunately, I believe it's a ploy by the Democrats. To bring in those who are going to be dependent upon our government. They're going to get the goodies that we enjoy as.

citizens of the United States. For example, while we were down at the at the border, I found out, and I don't think a lot of people know this: that if someone comes across with a chronic health care condition, say kidney failure, maybe they need dialysis, maybe they have cancer and they need chemotherapy, they are taken to San Antonio by car, some two hours away. They are checked into a hospital there, and then for as long as you're in the United States of America and they are alive, their health tab is picked up by the taxpayer that goes through the Veterans Administration. We have people who can't get appointments in the VA right now, and we have illegal aliens who are getting the health care that they need ahead of our veterans. That is just wrong.

You mentioned a moment, Congressman, Senator Schumer. He came out publicly and said with regard to a proposed spending plan, not a nickel of spending has been cut. That didn't exactly engender cheers of delight from many people. Give us a good sense, because you're right there working hard. What's the sense on this spending plan that's been proposed?

What do you think about it personally, finally? And what's the chance that this is going to make it through the House? I'm pretty disgusted with this proposal as I see it right now. I haven't read the final text, but. We were all hoping that border security would be somehow wrapped up into this, that we were would be guaranteed a secure border in addition to funding our government.

But basically, this is just another continuing resolution. They they're trying to put lipstick on this pig, but I'm not kissing the pig. We have done CR after CR. I did not vote for the last one. I'm inclined not to vote for this one because it is a higher spending level than I voted on last spring with the Limit, Save, GROW Act.

And so we Aside from border security and the issues that we have with illegal immigration, our national debt is right up there with existential threats for our nation. We take in $5 trillion a year and we spend $7.5 trillion a year. Just last week, our national debt hit $34 trillion. It is unsustainable, and we must cut our spending. There was a story, and I don't know that I trust it because the source tends to whip things up, but there was a story about the caucus is now fractured, the Republican caucus.

Are we to the point where Things are split as they were a few months ago, or is that overblown in your mind?

Well, I think our conference is always fractured to some degree because Republicans by nature are independent, we're capitalists, we're entrepreneurs. We are free thinkers and we have independent spirits, let's put it that way. And so we're not going to be herded like cats like the Democrats do when Nancy Pelosi or Hakeem Jeffries Uh Tells them to jump and they say, How high? There's not a lot of people in our Republican conference are saying how high. There's a lot of people in our conference saying, How come?

And so, because of those questions, things must be answered.

Now, if those answers come back satisfactory to where we can reach an agreement and consensus, so be it. I would prefer to be in a conference. uh that is full of free thinkers and a caucus like the Democrats that don't do much thinking on their own. Congressman Mark Alford of the State of Missouri. Thanks so much for the time.

I appreciate it. Keep up the good fight, please. Thank you, Jeff. You do a great job filling in. I appreciate your audience.

God bless you. You're very kind, sir, and thank you for the time. Congressman Mark Alford from the 4th District of Missouri, and he joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. Yesterday on the program, we had presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. He's got a message to viewers of the CNN debate, and I'll tell you about it when we come back from the Liberty University studio.

Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. Thanks for being along in this edition of the Todd Star and Show. Before Shopify, were you wondering where my sales are at?

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Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com/slash tune in. Shopify.com/slash tune in. Uh Yeah. Welcome back to the Liberty University studio and the Todd Starn Show, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd on this Wednesday. There's a rumor floating around Memphis that Todd may be back tomorrow.

Let's cross our fingers and hope that this two days of rest has gotten him back up and ready to go. I know he's still been very active on the socials and online.

So we'll cross our fingers and hope that Todd is back tomorrow. It's always a privilege to join you folks here in Starnes Nation, and I'm appreciative of Todd giving me the opportunity. Thanks to Dylan and thanks to Grace for all of their excellent work that makes this so easy for me. Yesterday we had on the program Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. I'm actually hosting a video stream, a live television program, tomorrow.

IowaTalkingPoints.com is where you can watch it starting at 5:30 Eastern, 4:30 Central. The rest of you do your own math. But what I found interesting was Ramaswamy, as he talked about on the program yesterday, was snubbed by CNN. He made it to the debate stage at every one of the other debates. The RNC stranglehold, we control everything debate.

Yeah, he was there, but apparently CNN changed the rules and he's not good enough.

So here's the best part: CNN's hosting this debate tonight in Des Moines. Ramaswamy bought a T V ad during the debate.

Okay, that alone is pretty good. But here is what you see. He's just sitting there looking at a camera. He says the mainstream media is trying to rig the Iowa GOP caucus in favor of the corporate candidates who they can control. Don't fall for their trick.

Now this is an ad that will air during the CNN debate. in Iowa markets. In the ad, Ramaswamy continues They don't want you to hear from me about the truth of what really happened on january sixth, the truth about the COVID origin, the Hunter Biden laptop story, and everything else they have lied to you about. And the ad ends with Ramaswamy looking at the screen and saying, so you can fix that. Take your remote and turn this S-word off.

and then he holds the remote at the camera and presses the button and the screen goes dark. That is fantastic. I don't care what you think about any of the candidates. I'm just talking about a nice little move there. CNN says Ramaswamy can't be on the debate stage.

Fine, he says. I'll buy time. In Iowa on CNN, because you can put local commercials in, right? And he's basically saying. Turn this S word off.

I don't know that anybody's going to be turning it on, quite honestly, partly because those things are just a waste of time. And as I've said, if you're down to DeSantis and Haley, and I've got to tell you here on the ground in Iowa, five days away from the caucus. It is heating up, not the temperature, but their rhetoric is heating up. And they're calling each other all sorts of names. Their ads are bad.

I mean, it's going to be like parents trying to referee a squabble between. Quarreling siblings. It's just going to be a mess. And then on the Fox, you've got mister Trump doing his town hall. Again, here's what you need to do tonight.

Listen to the radio, Or Go to the Salem Podcast Network. That's where you find the podcast of this program. But, Jeff, you say I already heard it today. Yeah, but it's even better the second time. Because you might have missed a few things the first time, you know, and you're sneaking a listen at work or whatever.

So if you go to ToddStarnes.com, the Todcast Podcast, thanks to the folks at the Salem Podcast Network, listen to this show on your own terms, share it with a friend, spread the good word. I am really looking forward to hearing from Robert Cahaley, senior strategist and pollster for the Trafalgar Group, and he joins us in just five minutes. Stay with us, another half hour to go on this Wednesday edition of the Todd Starn Show. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. Stay with us, won't you now?

Welcome back to the Liberty University studio and the Todd Starn show, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. We expect Todd will be back tomorrow. Cross your fingers. Let's hope so. Be good to hear his voice again at noon Eastern, 11 Central.

901-260-5926. That's the number where you can reach this fine radio program and continue the coast-to-coast conversation until the top of the hour. 901-260-5926. Guests on the program appear via the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line. For a decade now, Patriot Mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless carrier.

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I saw this story. And this is just fun, okay, as opposed to all the really serious and heavy stuff we're talking about. You've heard about AI, artificial intelligence. Everybody wants to jump on the AI bandwagon because they're afraid they're going to miss out on something. Tropicana orange juice.

Now, they have for years promoted the fact that they are 100% natural. 100%. Orange juice. All right.

So they are releasing a limited edition package. of their product. And they have changed the spelling of the word Tropicana. to take out The letters A and A. And I.

Because they say it's not in any way artificial.

So instead of Tropicana, it says Tropcun. Because they took out the A's and the I's, and the ad says 100% OJ, 0% AI. And they are releasing this. At the Consumer Electronic Showcase going on right now in Las Vegas. By the way, they will also put it in select Kroger grocery stores.

So Starnes can pick up a whole bunch of those when he pushes the cart down the aisle of the Kroger. There's a contest and everything else. But I think it's just a cute little marketing stroke. As opposed to The pandering that Bud Light did. Which completely ruined the company.

And good on America for voting with its pocketbook on that. You've heard about AI? Nothing artificial about us. We're even taking the A and the I out of our name, Tropicana. Good work out of you people.

That's a clever, clever thing. By the way, as we said, the consumer electronic show is going on in Las Vegas. We've talked about this before, I think, on the program. The folks listening on the Nevada Talk Network and listen to Wyatt Cox's morning program know about this as well. But the Democrats in the state of Nevada decided that they wanted to get rid of the caucuses because that's what Tom Perez, as head of the RNC four years ago, did.

He sabotaged Iowa. He sabotaged Nevada.

So the Democrats controlling the legislature said, hey, we're going to have a primary. And the Republicans wanted to keep their carcass, 'cause why screw up a good thing? Especially when you're talking about the first four. There was an order, right? Caucus in Iowa, primary in New Hampshire.

Primary in South Carolina, caucus in Nevada, four different parts of the country, two different types of ways to select a candidate. All of this just seems to make perfect sense.

Well, the folks in Nevada, the Republicans, said nuts to you. Democrats. We're going to still hold our caucuses. And we, as the party, make the rules about whether or not, or how delegates are selected for the national convention.

So they basically said: nuts to you, we're not going to participate in your primary. We're going to hold a caucus, and we, the Nevada Republican Party, we say to candidates, choose. You cannot be both places. If you want to be on the primary ballot, go ahead. But you will not get delegates.

The only way to get delegates, and that's what really counts, the only way to get delegates is to go through the caucus. Yeah. So when they go to vote In the primary on february sixth, You will see Nikki Haley on the ballot because, for reasons that I do not comprehend, She said, yep, I'll do the primary. Mike Pence's name will be on the ballot.

So will Tim Scott's, because they got on the ballot and dropped out. after they could remove their name from consideration.

So if you're getting a ballot in the state of Nevada, You look at this and you say, well, where's Trump? Fourteenth Amendment. These scoundrels No, no, that's not what's going on on that case. Haley and Pence and Scott opted to be on a primary ballot. But on the other side, two days later, February eighth, that's when you're going to actually have the caucus.

And those in Nevada who want to choose can choose between Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Christie. It's an interesting situation. But it is also interesting that when you as a campaign are told this is the only way that you're going to get delegates participate in this process, namely the caucuses, Why do you choose the primary? It does not really make any sense to me, to be honest with you.

Now, I'm sure they have very good reasons for doing what they were doing, trying to get the early bump. trying to get the national attention because they would win.

Okay. But um How's that going to work for Congressman Dean Phillips in New Hampshire? He's on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary, and Joe Biden is not. I think Mary Ann Williamson is too, but the bottom line is Biden's not on the ballot.

So Phillips can say, I won the New Hampshire primary, but what did you really win? when that guy who's the incumbent is boycotting it. That, by the way, brings up a really interesting twist. Iowa's presidential precinct caucuses are five days away. You know this.

You have to be a registered Republican. And show up in person. Doors are locked at seven o'clock. Uh Iowa time on Monday night. In the New Hampshire primary, you just have to be a registered voter.

And you do not have to be a Republican to get a Republican ballot.

Now, this is how I understand it. I'm sure somebody up there will tell me if I'm wrong, but this is the trick with New Hampshire. You could be a lifelong Democrat. And because there's no real race going on there because Biden's not participating, you may say, I'm going to vote Republican. Yes, I'm a registered Democrat, but you give me a red ballot.

I'm sure they're not colored coated or anything, but you give me a red ballot. There could be all manner of shenanigans.

Now, it is a way for independents to participate. But is that a good idea, too?

So, in other words, When you see poll numbers in New Hampshire and it looks like a tighter race, keep in mind. There could be Democrats and Independents voting in the Republican primary. And not necessarily to help find the best candidate. They might be trying to stir up some trouble, some shenanigans, etc.

So it is an interesting next couple of weeks. to see how things move along. Again, There's a purity to the Iowa process. You have to be a declared Republican registered to vote and show me your ID before you get into the room. It's a little more open when you get to New Hampshire.

And that's where the Democrats could vote against Trump. and really kind of throw a wrench into things. 901-260-5926. That's how you can reach us in the Liberty University studio. Let's take the break now and come back with a final segment on this Wednesday edition of the Todd Starn Show.

Welcome back to the Todd Starn Show. Liberty University Studio, Jeff Stein, filling in for Todd. We expect Todd to be back tomorrow, so uh Take another hit of the day, Quill Boss, and use some of that good comfort throat coat tea tonight and come back strong tomorrow if you would. 901-260-5926. That is how you can reach us here in the Liberty University studio, Jeff Stein.

As I said, filling in for Todd. And it's always a privilege and to be with you the last couple of days as we enter this most pivotal year. It is an election year, to be sure, but this is really a time where you need to seek out. Good information. Don't just let it wash over you.

You've got to go seek it out and you've got to go ask questions. Obviously, ToddStarnes.com is a great place to get all manner of good information. Following Todd on the socials as well at Todd Starns, that works unless you're on the Instagram, in which case it's at ToddStarnes FNC. You can follow me at Iowa Politics, IOWA Politics. I have three, yeah, three podcasts that you can subscribe to if you like on any of these fancy podcast platforms.

I don't care if it's, oh, what, Stitcher and Spotify, and Google, and Apple, and iHeart, and all of these. I have the Iowa Politics Report each day. I have a story about a day in history on Iowa Almanac, and I also have the Iowa Business Report. And to no surprise, they all come from the state of Iowa. Because that's where I'm at.

You can tell there's a branding thing going on here. But you can follow me on the socials at Iowa Politics, or there are those podcasts if you're so inclined. The reason why I said you had to really watch information. And check your sources of information as we go along toward this campaign. Statistics have come.

That point out That this federal government Cook the books on jobs. to the tune of nearly a half million. In calendar year twenty three alone. That's the headline. They overstated the number of jobs created by a half million.

And that was not even in the election year. Here's how this goes. Every month there's a jobs number. That comes out, right? It's part of the unemployment rate, and it talks about how many jobs were added.

And by the way, We don't really care how many jobs are added. We care how many jobs in the private sector are added. Because if it's the government adding jobs while the private sector goes down the toilet, who's going to pay for those jobs anyway? Government just kind of spending more money? That's no economic plan that's going to lead to success long term.

So they tell us how many jobs were added, and it sounds great. These are the preliminary numbers, but it sounds great.

Well, then they go through and revise it. And then they go through and revise it a second time. And the total number Of jobs. That they had to revise all of this downward. In the last calendar year, was four hundred and some thousand nearly a half million jobs.

So, as they told you how many jobs were added, they overstated it. each and every month. to the point where you'd get a new jobs report. And it might say, well, 100,000 jobs were added. And then you look at the revised numbers from the previous two months, and 110 were taken off of those roles.

It's like, well, wait a minute. You just told us we added 100, but then you told us your math was wrong and we have to subtract 110. We're actually in a three-month period down jobs.

Well, they don't like to talk about that. They don't like to answer that. But it's their numbers that we're talking about here. It's their numbers that we're using.

So Pardon my scepticism. But if I am sitting here and I am hearing the Federal Government give me jobs data, And I know that they over-inflated it. Either deliberately or because of incompetence, to the tune of a half million jobs in one year alone. I'm goin' to be a little sceptical. And if they keep talking about all these great new government jobs.

Not only am I going to be skeptical, I'm gonna call him out on it. I am going to call it out with words that I cannot say on this family-friendly radio program. And I would suggest that you all do the same thing. Because you know how the economy feels. It is no surprise that the economy is going to be the big issue for this campaign because we're all suffering.

You, me, everybody else. We're all suffering. Our incomes are not keeping up. Jerry rigged Cherry-picked government reports not going to make us feel better because we know what's really going on. And The reason why Joe Biden has gotten so shrill In claiming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy, and this is a statement: I don't care who you Republicans will nominate.

I'm an independent, I'm just bringing voices to the table. That's my job. I'll make my own choice for President when I make my vote in a general election, because, again, it's the kind of work I do. Other people, I do a different type of show. I don't do this type of show in Iowa.

I interview people. I don't give opinions. That's why I love doing this program because I get a chance to do that. It's a different vehicle, it's a different format. There we go.

But the point of it is, I don't care if you're for Trump or against Trump. Biden says Trump is a threat to democracy. Bad orange man. Why? Because they cannot run on their own record.

They tried. Hey, Bidenomics, that's great. It'll be like Obamacare, and that worked for him.

Well here's the difference. Critics called it Obamacare, and then Obama came out to his credit and said. I don't mind having my name associated with it because it says Obama and I care.

Okay. Well, I took the sting out of that. But Biden's people are calling the economy Bidenomics and telling us how great it is. And the American people said, I don't see it, Joe. I don't see it.

Maybe the economy's good for you and your crime family. But the economy's not good. Four. good old people that you supposedly care about and represent.

So then they had to pivot. See, that's the thing when you're up for re-election. You want to talk about your great record. Hey, let's talk about foreign policy. Oh, gosh, let's not.

Afghanistan, anyone. Hamas terror attack on Israel anyone. Yeah, let's not talk about foreign policy. Let's not talk about the administration being shredded internally because of these pro-Hamas people. All right, we don't want to talk about let's talk about the economy.

We're great on the whoops, not so much.

So, they cannot tout their record on the economy. They cannot tout their record on international affairs.

So, what's left? Blame Trump. Trump is the danger to democracy. And by the way, if anybody else were to get the nomination, he'd say the same thing, except to say that they're nothing but a Trump person. Puppet.

Just little Trump. You know, when I was in law school, and I'm sure Joe Biden probably copied this from somebody in his law school class, but they used to say: if the law is with you in a jury trial, you're trying to make your argument to the jury. In a jury trial, if the facts are with you, argue the facts. If the law is with you, argue the law. If neither is with you, yell like heck.

Joe Biden is yelling like heck 'cause he's got no facts on his side. God bless you all. It's been a great privilege. Hopefully, Todd will be back tomorrow. Jeff Stein from the free state of Iowa.

Thanks for listening to the Todd Starn Show. I'm not sure if I'm doing this right or not.