America First is Sweeping the Nation

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Todd Starks. And hello America, welcome to the Todd Starnes Radio Program, broadcasting border to border, coast to coast, across the Fruited Plain. And today we are honored to be broadcasting from our great affiliate in Statesville, North Carolina, WSIC. And what a great time we've had already today, meeting so many of our wonderful listeners at our book signing. It's really a festive atmosphere down here at the radio station.

We would love for you to come out and visit with us. Happy to sign books throughout the program today.

So we'll be doing that during the commercial breaks. But come on down to the radio station and grab a delicious hot dog. We have food trucks out here, Dylan Dandridge. And I'm very excited about this. We have Wilson's Weenie Wagon.

And they advertise themselves as the best hot dogs in North Carolina. And I will go on record. I believe they are the best hot dogs in North Carolina. The American tacos, they say. the what?

The American tacos. The hot dog buns are just tacos, but American. Is that what? I'm not going to get no. We caused great turmoil across America with the sandwich controversy just weeks ago.

I do not want to start one with the hot dogs, but I want to say hello to Eric Wilson, who is the owner of the Wilson Weenie Wagon. It is a veteran-owned business, and we love supporting our great veterans. And so anyway, come on out and hang out with us today in beautiful Statesville, North Carolina. We'll tell you more about some of the great folks we've met here already later on in the program.

Well, look, even though we are on the road, today is Open Line Friday. And that means you get to talk about whatever you want to talk about, whatever you want to ask me. You can do that today, Friday. All you have to do is pick up the phone and give us a call. 901-260-5926.

That's 901-260-5926.

So yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, we tried to prepare you for what was about to happen in the South Bronx. And I am telling you right now that there is a movement across America. And I see this, I see it in our book signings, in the speaking engagements we've been doing over the past couple of months since Twilight's Last Gleaming came out. And I'm telling you, there is a great movement growing across this nation. And people are just sick and tired of the way things have been done.

And as much as Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee for the presidency, it's really not about the Republican Party. And it's really not about the Democrat Party. This is about a movement of the people. And a lot of people say, well, Trump is not a Republican. No, I don't think he really is a Republican.

I don't think he's a Democrat. I think he is his own man. And that's really reflective when you look at his policies and his positions that he takes on a lot of these issues, that Donald Trump is a man of the people. He is a blue-collar billionaire. And you saw that last night at this rally.

And look, even the mainstream networks are having to acknowledge that something is going on. Nobody thought people were going to turn out last night. And the people that were going to turn out, they literally thought that there were going to be thousands of hecklers giving Donald Trump the Bronx cheer. yours truly ladies and gentlemen predicted dare i say prophesied all right i predicted that it was going to be an incredible moment for donald trump and sure enough they're they're saying that what 25 to 30 000 people turned out it look it could have been 10 000 people and it would have been a massive success story for this man.

Now, many of you may be calling in and you're saying, well, yeah, the crowd wasn't all that big and somebody put a drone up there and they shot a photograph of the crowd. Yes, they did. But what they failed to tell you in this post that has gone viral on the social media platforms is that that photograph was taken at 11 o'clock in the morning yesterday.

So this was hours before the rally actually started.

So do not buy into the fake news narrative out there, ladies and gentlemen. There is a movement sweeping across the nation. And just a little while ago, as a matter of fact, CBS News, until if we've got this audio, let's play this audio from CBS News just a few moments ago as they talked about, described described what was happening yesterday right next to AOC's congressional district. What else really stood out to you about the rally? I will say this rally did look a lot like America.

There was a lot of Asian voters there. There were a lot of Hispanic voters, a lot of black voters there, which is not typical for a Trump rally that I go to when I'm in Wisconsin or Michigan.

So that's what was fascinating. But it is a cross-section of New York. Exactly, exactly. And that's specifically why Trump was there yesterday. Those are key demographics that he sees are starting to break for him just a little bit.

That door is opening for Hispanic voters to start voting for Trump in record numbers. They want to capitalize on that in this election. They think if they do, it'll spell success for them. And they're absolutely right. It was a diverse crowd.

Now, I know we don't like to talk about diversity. We like to talk about Americans, right? We're all Americans. But, I mean, if the mainstream media is going to play this game, all right, well, let's buckle up and play that game. that was a massively non-honky crowd yesterday.

I mean, there were not many white people in that audience. This was a diverse crowd, and it looked good. And now they don't know what to do. The left is freaking out. You've got Donald Trump hanging out with rap stars up on that stage.

And Donald Trump, you know, the guy's got some moves. You've got to give him credit. But Donald Trump, it's like he's hanging around. He's palling around with the rap stars. All right, I want to bring up a couple of fellas.

We're going to play some audio a little bit later on. It's just so casual. And you know why? Because Donald Trump, he's comfortable in his skin. Here's a man who spent all of his life hanging out with blue-collar workers, construction guys, electricians, plumbers, the unions.

Here's a guy who loves going to Vegas for fight night. Here's a guy who has gone out of his way to stand up and support black men across America. And people see that. They see the authentic Donald Trump. And it is driving the left nuts.

On the flip side, ladies and gentlemen, and this I find incredibly fascinating, is that the Democrats, they're exposing their little dirty secrets. And by dirty, I mean filthy dirty. You see, it turns out that the Democrat Party at its core, at the root, and you have to dig and dig and dig, but at the root of the core of the Democrat Party, you have the remains, the rotting corpse known as LBJ. A man who hated black people. And a man who was guaranteed to tie the black community to the government forever.

That was the whole point of LBJ's Great Society, right? That LBJ wanted to make sure that black people in America were always reliant upon the government for a handout. And now the jig is up, and people are beginning to see the racism that is inherent within the Democrat Party. And I say that because of Governor Kathy Hochul.

Now, a couple of weeks ago, Governor Hochul was out there saying that black people in the Bronx, where Donald Trump was, black people don't know how to use a computer. It wasn't so much a racist statement as much as it was a moronic statement. But then she turns around yesterday, and she's seeing all of these minority voters flocking to Donald Trump, and she actually called these people a bunch of clowns. Cut number 12.

Well, I'll tell you it won't make a difference at all, Jake, and that is for Donald Trump to be the ringleader and invite all his clowns to a place like the Bronx. New York will never, ever support Donald Trump for president. We know him better than anyone, and that means we understand what he's all about. It's just for himself.

So this state will go solidly behind Joe Biden for president, as it has in the past.

So he wants to spend his time doing these made-up fake rallies and pretending there's support here. Be my guest, because while you're doing that, Donald Trump, Joe Biden's out there on the other side making sure he's delivering for all Americans. And so go ahead. Spend all your time you want in New York, because we'll be with Joe Biden and Joe Biden's out there winning over the rest of the battleground states. Wow.

Sounds like she's got a little Nancy Pelosi issue going there. Five o'clock somewhere. Right. Either that or she's been maybe puffing the devil's lettuce. I don't know.

But what's up with that? She sounds incredibly depressed, right? Oh, my. And look, they're all depressed. They're all freaking out.

Poor Joe Biden's wandering around the White House in his bathrobe, licking ice cream cones, among other things. And they all know that that's over. That's done. It's just a matter of when they will pull the plug. I still believe that is going to happen at the DNC.

And there will be something fairly traumatic happening just before the DNC. and that will spur the Democrats to rally around one Michelle Obama. And she will eventually become the nominee of the Democrat Party. That is their only saving grace, but I don't even think that's going to work. And I will say this, that Donald Trump is more of a black president than Barack Hussein Obama ever could have been.

as a matter of fact, that Donald Trump did more for the black community in America than Barack Hussein Obama did. You go out in any black neighborhood and you just talk to the people, talk to the folks, and they will tell you what I just said. They will readily admit that Barack Hussein Obama did nothing, absolutely nothing for their communities, period.

So look, we've got so much audio to play. I am so encouraged by what happened yesterday because I've been seeing this. I've been feeling it as we've been traveling all over America. People are rising up, and they're saying enough is enough. It is Open Line Friday.

We are broadcasting from Statesville, North Carolina, WSIC, our great affiliate here. Our telephone number, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

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So call 855-913-1133 or text TODD now to 65532 for your free informational kit today. To the Todd Starnes radio program, happy to have you with us today as we are broadcasting from WSIC in beautiful Statesville, North Carolina. And if you are listening to us right now on WSIC, get in your car, come on down to the radio station. During the commercial break, happy to say hello. I'll sign a copy of my new book for you.

As a matter of fact, just had one of the great deputy sheriffs from the local sheriff's department to come in during the break and say hello. And also want to give a shout-out to the hardworking men and women over at Martin Marietta. They came by just a little while ago and gave me this incredibly beautiful, patriotic red, white, and blue ball cap. And I'll be wearing that this weekend as we head down to the North Carolina Republican Convention. Again, this is Open Line Friday, so we will be taking your calls on whatever you want to talk about today.

Our telephone number is 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

So Dylan, you have created a controversy, and I warned you this was going to happen. First of all, Wyatt Cox from the Nevada Talk Network, and we love all of our great friends out of Nevada, he says, Dylan is right. That is subject line. Dylan is right. And Jeff Stein says, fine, I brought two peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and you send me a picture of that.

So Wyatt goes, the hot dog is America's answer to the taco. Exhibit A, the Chicago dog. It really is. I mean, there's really not a controversy here. It's just a fact.

I'm not going to call the hot dog a taco. I think that's cultural appropriation. America's taco it's different it's in its own category yeah but yeah well okay if the if the bun was crunchy but the bun was not crunchy it was delicious and fresh we'll just leave it out wilson's weenie wagon i'm you know what we're gonna get wilson i'm gonna ask wilson he i'm telling you they're slinging weenies all over the place out there in that parking lot right now we're gonna get wilson in here and we're gonna let him resolve this this issue and he's a veteran so he knows these things All right.

So we're going to find out. All right. Grace Baker from Chicago is now weighing in. I can confirm a Chicago dog is delicious. Is that the one that has like the tomatoes and the, they have the, the, the peppers and then they put the big pickle spear on it.

Yes, that's it. No, that's not a, that's like a salad in a bun. It's a taco salad, American taco salad. All right, Dylan, we're going to have, we're going to have words when I return to Memphis. We've got it.

We've got to get you thinking right here. All right, 901-260-5926 is our number. That's 901-260-5926.

So I want to play some audio here from this rally last night, and it has people literally freaking out on the Democrat side of the aisle. Cut number three, please. What are you here for? I'm here to watch the Trump gathering rally here. What do you think about him being here?

I think it's great. I think it's dope. I felt for my generation, from what I know, this is the first time a president has actually came to the hood. I know presidents have came to the Bronx before, but we're talking about Woodlawn, Riverdale. He has came to Morrisania, South Bronx.

The hood hood.

So I respect that. And it is. It's the hood hood. I mean, what are you going to say? And Trump came out there shaking people's hands.

It's just like he was down at Mar-a-Lago, but he was in the hood. Cut number 10, please. Here as well is rapper Chef G. Does everybody know Chef G? Where is Chef G?

Where is he? Come on up, fellas. Rapper Sleepy Hollow. Come on up here, fellas. How are you, man?

Hey. Oh, I like that. I want to get that done. President Trump, oh man. One thing I want to say.

One thing I want to say. They always going to whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures. Trump going to shout the wins for all of us. Make America great again. Thank you, Paul.

I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much. That's where I like those teeth.

I want to find out where you did. I got to get my teeth like that. I want that to happen to me. Have the memes started yet? Trump was wanting a grill.

That's what I mean. One of the was it Chef G or Sleepy Hollow? I'm not familiar with either one, but I'm going to have to go check out their music now that Trump's had him up on the stage. But anyway, one of the guys had a grill. And so Trump was like, I got to get me one of those grills.

And you know, the memes have already started. Dylan, you got to keep track of the memes here. And we need to find out if we've got photographs of Trump smiling with that big, beautiful, huge smile with the big, beautiful, huge teeth. And maybe there's a grill that says MAGA or Trump. That'd be a cool picture right there.

Right, exactly.

So, and again, another benefit to Donald John Trump is he still has all of his teeth.

So that's a good thing. All right. This is insane. But again, you see a man who is very comfortable and he wasn't up there, you know, putting on airs. He wasn't trying to be black like Hillary Clinton when she puts on the black preacher voice or Barack Hussein Obama when he goes down to the south and starts dropping his G's.

No, this was the same Trump that you see down at Mar-a-Lago, just hanging out with a couple of fellas who happen to have grills on their teeth. And that's pretty awesome. All right, 901-260-5926, our telephone number, that's 901-260-5926. Coming up a little bit later, we're going to be talking to North Carolina's lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson's going to drop by. And a little bit later, we're going to be giving you a chance to win a signed copy of my new book.

And if you're in Statesville, North Carolina, well, you have no excuse. You need to come right on down to the radio station, drop by and say hello. All right, hang tight, everybody. We'll be right back. You might have heard Mike Lindella, MyPillow, no longer have the support of their box stores or shopping channels the way they used to.

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Now we're becoming the Bronx second-class citizens. We have this influx of migrants that are coming in, and they're getting everything. Everyone in the Bronx, in the city of New York, is forgotten. All right, just some of the folks that were showing up at the big rally last night in the Bronx, New York, Donald Trump, the speaker, and it was an insane, insane night. I want to go to the phone lines here.

David, listening to us in Memphis, Tennessee, who has just dropped, so my apologies there. Let's go to Keith, though, in North Carolina, WSIC. Keith, welcome to the program, and wow, what a great town you guys have. Yeah, Todd, welcome to Statesville. Eric's one of my good friends there, and I'm going to send him a text and tell him to give you the Big Wilson special on me.

You always give them back to us, the listeners, and I want to get you a Wilson Big Special.

Now tell me, what is a Big Wilson? I've never heard of such a thing.

Well, that's the Big Wilson is the big sausage dog he's got. Ooh, that sounds tasty. Yeah, he's got the Little Wilson, the Big Wilson. Eric's one of the best. And he would not call it a taco.

It is a hot dog. You see, I'm with you, Keith. I'm an American patriot, and it's a hot talk. Unless we keep getting invaded, and then we may have to have that conversation again. It's hot.

All right. I think we had a rough connection with Keith. God bless you. That's very kind of you. And if we're going for the Wilson dog, we're not going to go small.

We're going to go big.

So give me the big Wilson and not the little Wilson. On that note, really no good way to segue into this conversation. We're honored to have North Carolina State Senator Vicki Sawyer and North Carolina State Representative Jason Sane. Welcome to you both. Todd, thanks for having us home.

Have you had one of those hot dogs? I had a little Wilson. You had a little Wilson? It was tasty.

Okay. It was made the right way. It was made like a Carolina dog. It was very good. Senator, what about you?

I know what you're thinking about, Senator. I'm trying to keep my mind out of the gutter on that comment. Oh, sweet mercy. It's going all downhill. Wow.

You invite two politicians in, and next thing you know, your old show is off rails. I would expect this kind of conversation in Salem, Oregon, or up in Portland. No, but not here in North Carolina of all places. My goodness. No, look, one of the things that I've loved about being out on the road is hearing from people and listening to their concerns.

And I'm telling you, I think there's a movement. I mean, y'all are politicians, so you're kind of living this world. Senator, I want to start with you. Are you sensing that here in North Carolina, that people are ready for a change? I believe that they are ready for a change, as evidenced as our social media and the folks who come into our offices, right, Jason, when we're in Raleigh, as well as things that I hear just in my own church and family and life community.

As exciting as change, we saw Bronx last night. How cool was that? Yeah, to have that many people there supporting Trump is amazing. That's happening there. You can only imagine the conversations we get in rural North Carolina.

We hear it all the time. You know, back in Memphis last night, they had a huge gathering, the White Haven Republican Club, which is a predominantly black, middle-class neighborhood. And they started a Republican club about a year ago, and they just have huge numbers, massive crowd of people coming out, mostly minorities who previously were Democrats. And I think we're going to, I think we, this is an underreported story, I think, Senator, that we're seeing a massive influx of new people to the party. Yeah, and we can thank probably the four fathers about this, like Thomas Sowell, the economist, but also I think of like Candace Owens and some of those of those in that community who are telling their folks to wake up.

Right. The Republican promises are the same promises that we made back when we were the party of Abraham Lincoln. And this is what we're here is about freedom, individual liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And that is what we stand for, not a nanny state as what the Democrats have really proposed to those folks in that community for the past 60 years. And they've had to live it, and they see the results of it, and they're tired of it.

Jason, what are you hearing are the big concerns? Early on, it was immigration, and when we saw all the exit polls, and I'm thinking there's no way immigration can be the top one. And now we've seen it switch. It's the economy. But what are you hearing out there?

Well, you know, as we always get closer and closer in a presidential election, it comes to what is it going to look like for my family? What is it going to mean for me? And I think voters, just like every four years, are looking at that. They know what it's looked like under Biden. Here you've got a stark contrast.

And people who are going to vote, most who are going to vote, know what the difference is. You can not like Trump. You can talk about mean tweets all you want to. but then you look at elderly Joe Biden who is, I mean, Sleepy Joe is a compliment. I wish you were sleepy still or actually, never mind.

Go back to Sleep Joe. But when he is awake, the bad policy that comes through, when they see it day in and day out, think about what the message that's going to the folks in Israel right now. But it's the same type of bifurcated, confusing message for American voters. And they've got a really clear choice to make. And for as much as they try, they're not running away from Trump, but that they are running away from Joe Biden.

So after I leave here, heading to Greensboro, and I'll be speaking at the Republican convention there. How is the state of the party here in North Carolina?

Well, I say that we are very strong. I mean, you always are going to have a few distractors. I mean, that's the nature of being a Republican, We are strong, independent, and fierce, even amongst our own sometimes. But usually that means we come together with great policy. Hopefully that we'll have a good turnout this weekend.

I know there's some other factors like graduation and Memorial Day. But remember, North Carolina is the party of Michael Watley, who absolutely is now at the right hand of President Trump and led North Carolina into carrying the state for Trump two times in a row. And two North Carolinians, really, Laura Trump, who's from Wilmington. Her family's from out on the coast. That's right.

So real connection here in our state. And we've got supermajorities in the state Senate and the state House. We've come a long way since I'm 50, so I was really involved in politics in college, got involved in college Republicans, when we were in the minority, in the severe minority in the state House and state Senate.

So now to be in a place where we have returning supermajorities. And we look on the House side and under the conversations with the Senate folks, we look to return to those super majorities. We're looking at a gubernatorial race. A lot will depend on what happens with Donald Trump, but we've got a gubernatorial race. We've got council state races.

We feel really good about the position that we in and the proof in the pudding We have done it right in North Carolina We have totally changed the way we think about our economy We are a leader versus being far behind before Republicans took over So in this state we should perform very well. We just got to keep doing what we've been doing, our House and Senate. We actually, you know, there's always that natural tension, but we do very well together. And we've delivered great on tax policy. We've delivered great on education.

Voters will reward us for that. And that's why they're naturally just going to go to Trump in this state. I think Biden is falling behind more and more as every day goes on with this confusing nonexistence of a national policy, almost abdicating his responsibilities. All right, guys, can you stick around for another segment? All right, we've got to take a quick break here, folks.

And again, we're broadcasting from our great affiliate in Statesville, North Carolina, WSIC. We'd love for you to drop by and say hello. signing copies of my new book, Twilight's Last Gleaming. We're doing that in the breaks. In the meantime, I've got to tell you, Memorial Day, and aside from remembering the ultimate sacrifice that so many of our fellow citizens have made to secure our freedom, it also means family get-togethers and cookouts.

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Sounds like a dream to me. Right, exactly.

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So, again, go to backyardbutchers.com slash Todd and start enjoying some great, great burgers and delicious steaks. Got to take a break. We'll be right back. Hi, everyone. If you've been injured in an accident that was not your fault, listen up.

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Take advantage of this opportunity and call now, 800-702-5400. Advertisement sponsored by Legal Help Center may not be available in all states. All right, I'm not sure what Senator Sawyer said, but the sheriff showed up, Senator, just a moment ago. A very nice man. This happens a lot.

Are we in trouble?

Well, we will be if you keep talking about some certain things. Oh, geez, Alou. All right, so no more big or little Wilson dog conversations here. Senator Vicki Sawyer and also Representative Jason Sane are hanging out with us. Guys, we have a call.

So if we could, let's go to the phone lines. We have David from Memphis, Tennessee, listening to us on KWAM. All right, David, what is on your mind? Yeah, I'm sorry. I got cut off earlier talking about Trump and his rally.

I just wanted to say something. It seems pretty funny to me that the guy that's been raised a millionaire, became a billionaire, he seems to connect with the average Joe better than a lot of state House representatives. folks like that because even though he's lived his whole life you know what very wealthy this guy's walked construction you know uh locations he's he's talked to people he's done tv he's done books he's done clothing lines he's done the freaking wwe i mean the guy has been around so many different people and has actually spoken to them i find it amazing because i have a lot of clients are blue-collar guys, they seem to relate to this guy who's worth billions of dollars more than they do their local reps. I find that very, it's great, but I find it kind of odd, which I think would be an indictment against local reps. That's what, to me, is amazing.

David, let me ask, we actually have a state senator and a state representative here in the studio.

So let's throw the question out to them. Why is it that Trump is connecting so well?

Well, I'll tell you about, as a local rep, I do not have enough money to tell people to go somewhere else.

So he does have that benefit. No, look, here's why. Because he has enough money not to care. As try as they might, and they have, God knows they've tried, to ruin him, to smear him, to accuse him of everything under the sun other than being a good person. Thank goodness he's the right guy at the right time, because this is what the cancel culture is all about.

Remember that. Senator Sawyer and I, we still have businesses. We still have families. They're local. You know, you can't.

Look, I had one of my Twitter activists want to know my client list one time. I know why they wanted it, so they go call my clients and cancel me. The nice part about Donald Trump and the wealth that he does have, He has the freedom to speak his mind because even when they try to extract $80 million out of him, he's still got more money. It is refreshing that he can actually speak his mind in a world where you can't actually say what you think. And I think Collar is absolutely right.

He is able to say and communicate and connect with people in a way that they haven't seen in a long, long time. Senator. Sir, I agree completely. And he just makes things simple to understand. You know, I mean, I love the way he can talk to folks and not that folks who are blue collar are simple minded.

I am a blue collar person. You know, we work and grew up in that community. But he makes it fun, interesting, someone to stand up and fight for and just someone I can connect with regardless of the kind of money that he has. And quite frankly, the more they persecute him, the better he gets.

So what's on the agenda? What do you think is the big issue that you guys are going to be dealing with on within the Republican Party? I know there's a lot of talk about the national platform and whether or not we need to make any changes there. What do you guys say? No, well, from North Carolina's standpoint, I think, again, we are very strong.

We had a great leader with Chairman Michael Watley, and we have a great one now with Jason Simmons.

So I feel like we are on the right path to go forward and hopefully infect all of the Southeast with the love of Trump and carrying him at the top of the ticket. Yeah, you're in NASCAR country. Trump's coming to the race this weekend here in North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway. talk about connecting with our people. Looking at the state of North Carolina as where we're at on a trajectory of the election, we are in good shape.

The national issues are as much about getting Biden out and returning back to some sanity that we had under President Trump. Again, for all the quote-unquote mean tweets in the world, none of it mattered because people were doing better. And we talk about that demographic, that neighborhood in New York where those folks knew what it was like prior, and now they know what it's like living under Joe Biden. And that, more than anything, are the driving issues. It is much about just knowing how we reset and reboot our country back to the values that we all enjoy, that we all agree upon, across political divides, by the way.

I've got plenty of friends who are in the other party, not crazy left-wingers, but who love this country and want to see it back on the trajectory that needs to be on. I think that's the biggest. Yes, immigration is important. Yes, economy is important. But more than anything, it's about getting America back to be in America again.

901-260-5926. That is our telephone number. That's 901-260-5926.

It is open line Friday on the program as we broadcast from North Carolina. And you mentioned the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Of course, it was, I believe, Talladega, where the infamous Let's Go Brandon chant originated.

So who knows what's going to happen down at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That's what I heard from the crowd. More or less. Family-friendly crowd here. I found a way to say it that I couldn't say it.

So finally, I got a hat and everything. That's it. But again, when you look at the Democrat, Senator, These are not the Democrats of when Bill Clinton was president of the United States. These are radical Marxists. I mean, you call them progressives, but they're run-of-the-mill communists is what we're dealing with.

Yeah, they are. And I think that's by design because I believe that they have found power in being that far left because they get attention. That gives them fundraising, and that continues them down that path. And then it becomes so off-putting that those who are in the middle, those who are on the left or the right, but who generally love America and want to see us be successful, just tune out all of politics, assuming that we are all of those folks and those type. In the far right, we have that same thing.

And we really do have to get and control the narrative and bring it back from those extremes so that we can get good Americans. And I think that's what Trump is doing right now, which you see with the happening in Bronx, which you see with his cross-cultural appeal, is that we have to bring good Americans back together again to continue to make America great. Last word, Representative. Yeah, no, I think that's absolutely correct. We've got to set our country back to where we're on a trajectory of something that means something to the vast majority of the people that live here.

You know, these campus protesters, these leftists that we see that are blocking freeways, that doesn't represent a majority of Americans. I'm not talking Republican-Democrat. I'm talking majority of Americans in this country that want to make sure that we protect our borders, that we are a sovereign nation, that we're not led around the nose by third world dictators. We don't want to be there. And people know it doesn't feel right.

There's something going on that is not really American, and it's coming from the top. It's coming from Brandon.

So when they say, let's go, Brandon, I mean, let's go to that home that you need to go to or wherever it is you need to go. but get out of our way because it's unacceptable for most americans and i i think this will be a huge landslide and it's going to have you know implications all up and down the ticket i know you've got our lieutenant governor coming on uh he is going to benefit from a strong trump showing uh and the fact that he's coming here this weekend to be at the charlotte motor speedway i think speaks volumes about where north carolina's at all right well thank you both uh for for coming by and being on the show. And man, it's exciting to be here in North Carolina. You guys have a lot of great stuff going on here in this great state. Thanks for having us on.

Thank you so much. All right, folks, we have to leave it there. We will be coming right back. We've got the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. Also, we're going to be talking to the owner of Wilson's Weenie Wagon.

We're going to get to the bottom of this taco controversy. Your calls as well. We've got John in Tennessee. We've got Brent in Georgia. You guys hang tight and don't go anywhere.

A lot of A lot of calls today. This is the Todd Stern Show. Eastwood Homes has fantastic news, offering 4.99 on select homes for a limited time. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity. Your dream home is waiting, with open floor plans perfect for family gatherings and private backyards for grilling and entertaining this summer.

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Prices and promotions subject to change without notice. See new home specialists for details. Live from the Liberty University studio in Memphis, Tennessee, it's America's favorite gun-toting, Bible-clinging, deplorable American. That's us. That's right.

I love this American ride. Todd Starnes. Wow.

Well, hello, everybody. Welcome to the Todd Starnes Radio Show.

Well, it's not even a show today. It's an extravaganza. We are hanging out with our incredible affiliate, WSIC, in Statesville, North Carolina. People have been showing up in droves throughout the entire show. It's been a lot of fun.

Dylan, I don't even have any idea what we're doing. It's a thorough time to prepare for the show because we've been meeting so many great people and sampling so much of the great food around here. Yeah, Todd, you sound like a busy man.

Well, on top of that, they've been serving me something called Cheer Wine, which is like a local thing, and I think I've had a couple of glasses. I'm feeling a little loopy. I don't know if that's the wine or what's going on here. I was a little deceitful. It could have been the chili dog.

I think it's just Cherry Dr. Pepper. Oh, really? It's not really wine? On accident.

Yeah, no. I thought maybe there was a little something-something in there. All right. Well, anyway, we're having a great time out here, and we'd love for you to drop by. Folks, just come on by the radio station, WSIC.

We're broadcasting here all afternoon. And again, I want to say hello to some good friends at Martin Marietta. The guys are over at Martin Marietta. They came by earlier today for the book signing and dropped by a beautiful patriotic ball camp. I'll be wearing that this weekend.

at the North Carolina Republican Convention. I'll be delivering the keynote address at the prayer breakfast. But another gentleman, our next guest, is going to be a rock star. He's going to be speaking as well, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina. Mark Robinson joins us by phone.

Lieutenant Governor, so honored to have you on the program today. Fantastic, Todd. Great to be here. And it's great to be in your state, by the way. We were in Asheville on Wednesday, yesterday, Winston-Salem, now Statesville, and you've got a lot of fans out here in this part of the state.

Yes, we've got a ton of support all across the state, and our support is growing exponentially. Lieutenant Governor, I want to get your take and your reaction to what happened last night in the South Bronx. I think even the mainstream media is now having to acknowledge that something is going on in this country. What's your take? the mainstream media is just full of a bunch of lunatics that don't have, they know exactly what's going on.

They don't go in the newsroom and try to craft news. They go in the newsroom and craft narratives. This doesn't fit their narrative, so they're not going to talk about it and really tell what's happening. They're going to try to spin it in whatever negative way they can, because I'm going to be completely honest with you, Todd. If there's any institution that people in this country, I believe, have completely lost faith in, it's our mainstream news media.

These folks have gone lunatic on us. I mean, it's just insane, the things that they say, the things that they do. They spend more time talking about a 10-cent trial that should have been thrown out before it ever hit the courtroom with President Trump than they do talking about the crisis on our border, the war in Israel, the war in Ukraine, and this senseless anti-Semitism that's going on on our college campuses. These people are out of touch. They're not with reality.

And quite frankly, they're not worth turning to to look at. And I'm wondering if we are starting to see the Democrats for who they truly are. Kathy Hochul, the governor's comments a couple of weeks ago, black people don't know how to use computers in the Bronx. She came out yesterday and said all the people turning out for that Trump rally are just a bunch of clowns. I'm wondering if we're starting to finally see who the Democrats truly are in their core.

We are. We are. And we've known for a while. You know, I can remember back in the days when Rush Limbaugh had the ditto heads and the folks that were walking around saying, Rush is right. And, you know, and now we've got a whole host of great conservative commentators, yourself included and others.

And the bottom line is this. Conservatives, we're right. We're right about everything. All the warnings that President Trump gave us about Joe Biden's administration have come true. High prices, high gas prices, empty grocery sales, a wide open border, war.

It has all come true, and it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. And then you look at our policies. Our policies actually work. The policies passed in Florida are making Florida better. The policies passed in Texas are making Texas better.

The policies passed in California are carrying it to pieces. The policies passed in New York are carrying it to pieces. The policies passed in Illinois are turning, tearing it to pieces. Their policies don't work. Their ideas are bad.

They're out of touch. They're just wrong on every single solitary issue. On the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line is the lieutenant governor, soon to be the next governor of the great state of North Carolina, Mark Robinson. And looking at some new polling data, CNN, looking May 2020, Biden with Hispanic voters 56%, Trump 31%. That number has fallen in May to 51%, 44%.

We are seeing massive, it looks to me, Lieutenant Governor, that we are seeing massive shifts in demographics that traditionally have not voted Republican. We are. And it goes back to what I was just saying. People are starting to see that we're right. We don't even have to say, I told you so.

They're seeing, I told you so at the gas pumps. They're seeing it sold with the crime on the streets. They're seeing it with the grocery prices. They're seeing it with the collapse of the industries in their areas. They're seeing it.

They see it right here in North Carolina. They know Republicans are the ones that are responsible for turning around this state around fiscally and financially. And it's Republicans who have done all the great stuff and give parents the right to choose their children's schools. And they're seeing it firsthand now. They're seeing it up close and personal.

Real quick, President Trump, the policies of conservatism actually are the policies that we need. Real quick, Lieutenant Governor, I know you're a busy man. What is the message that you're going to be bringing to North Carolina Republicans this weekend? What I just gave you right now. What I just gave you.

We need to continue to make sure that we tell people our good story. You know, one of the things that I find this main about the Republican Party is the Republican Party has not told this story. And I don't mean it's just this great recent history with the election of President Trump and the great things that he did, although that is a wonderful story. We need to go all the way back to the beginning of our history and tell our glorious story all the way up through about how we stood up for the republic, how we put the republic, how we fought the Civil War, how we put the country back together after the Civil War, how we staged the real civil rights movement in this country, passing the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the Constitution, how it was Republicans that finally smashed Jim Crow after Democrats took back the Deep South and created a deep racial division all across it. It was Republicans that smashed that.

We need to start telling who we are. We need to start telling what we do. And I think when we do, folks will hear, and they will vote for us, and we can do the things that we need to do to make sure that our states and our nation is great. All right. Well, Lieutenant Governor, we're going to leave it there.

It's been an honor. You and I have hung out on the speaking circuit for quite a while, and you're a good man, and I'm excited to be able to call you governor one day very, very soon. You got it, sir. Can't wait to see you there this weekend. All right.

Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, and he'll be one of the keynote speakers this weekend at the North Carolina Republican State Convention, and I'll be there as well. Our telephone number, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

I want to say a very special hello to Joseph Carbone, who is a student at Hampton-Sydney College and is president of Catholic Campus Ministry and a rising senior there and a rock-solid conservative, one of the many folks dropping by the studios here at WSIC, to say hello today. In the meantime, I want to go to our phone lines. Brent in Georgia, WDUN. Appreciate you holding on. Brent, what's on your mind?

Well, thank you, Todd, for taking my call. It was an honor to meet you and why you were in Gainesville last week. And I just want to say what I liked about the Trump rally, Trump didn't use these fake voices and try to pander to the crowd. He just spoke like it and told the truth. And then he said, he goes, we're going to bring back marriage for all Americans.

We're all Americans. He goes, we're going to build it back together. And he goes, and then when that lady passed out, shows the compassion he had to stop his speech and say, hey, you know, make sure she's okay. And he said, we got all the time in the world to make sure she's okay. That's the type of man we need as a president to bring this country back the way it is that we care about everybody, no matter what your color of skin is, what your nationality is, no matter what.

I mean, I get so sick and tired of seeing it. all the time. And you see Hillary Clinton going and talking in these fake accents. You see Barack Obama and then Joe Biden saying, they're going to put you back in chains. I mean, you just don't see that with Trump.

He's just the man of the people. That's what I love about him. You know what, Brent, that is it. And what a great way to frame it. He is a man of the people.

And he really does want everybody, no matter your skin color, to be able to live that American dream that he and his family lived.

So I think you're spot on accurate. And Brent, what an honor to meet you and so many of our great friends and listeners down in Gainesville, Georgia. Appreciate you calling and have a great weekend. Let's go to John in Germantown, Tennessee, KWAM, our flagship station. Hi, John.

What's on your mind?

Well, hi, Todd. Good afternoon. Just a real quick thing. And Vicki Haley reached out with a bit of an olive branch this week, not a bit of an olive branch, a real one, to Donald Trump and said, I will vote for you.

Now, here's an idea that maybe some of your other listeners would agree with. She had a really good run in the primaries. She didn't win, and that's fine, and I'll stand up and vote for Donald Trump. If he wanted a strong ticket, announce now that she will be the vice presidential candidate. She brings to him and the country great skill in foreign relations.

She is an excellent candidate for the next go-round, and what will it be, 2028 for president. And she knows a great deal about all sides of the country. She's also a woman of the people. And Donald Trump can get ahead of everything by saying, I've got my beef. candidate, and that's Nikki Haley, and I trust her, and she trusts me, and we're going to move this thing forward, and we are going to just smother any Democrat candidates that are out there.

That's my comment. John, look, it's a terrific thought, and we'll throw this out there and see what the audience thinks about Nikki Haley as vice president, but what I love, John, is your thinking. I can already sense the optimism in your voice, and I will say this. Yesterday at the rally, Trump did an interview, and he was asked about Nikki Haley, and President Trump said these words, that Nikki Haley is going to be on our team because we have a lot of the same ideas and the same thoughts. I appreciated what she said.

You know, we had a nasty campaign. It was pretty nasty, but she's very capable. I'm sure she's going to be on our team in some form, absolutely.

So the door is open for some sort of involvement. Whether or not that's VP, I don't know, But, John, we'll open it up for the listeners. 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

And if you are listening to us in Statesville, drop on by the radio station. Say hello. We've already met so many amazing people here in the Statesville area, and we certainly want to look forward to meeting you. We'll be right back. We're experiencing instability at every level.

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I've read it, and there's so much valuable information there. Friends, now is not the time to roll the dice with your hard-earned money. Find out about the growth potential that gold offers you. Contact Legacy Precious Metals today and tell them I sent you. All right, Dylan, we have royalty in the house as well as law enforcement.

So we'll have to be on our best behavior for this segment. But welcome back. First of all, we are on the road doing our book signing in Statesville, North Carolina, and we're having a great time. And when we pulled into the station, there's a beautiful food truck, Wilson's weenie wagon. And I've been told for quite some time these were the best hot dogs in the state, and these are absolutely delicious hot dogs.

I had two. And we're honored to have in studio with us Eric Wilson, who is the owner of Wilson's Weenie Wagon and also a veteran, and we're going to talk about that. And we're also excited to have the sheriff of Iredell County, who is also president of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association, Darren Campbell.

So, Sheriff, welcome. Thank you for having me. Eric, welcome as well. Todd, it's a pleasure. Pleasure.

So we've got to clear up this controversy that's been raging since the last hour of the show. We've been told, and Dylan Dandridge running our board back in Memphis, Dylan, you say that the hot dog is actually a taco. You have to put American in front of it, American taco. You do have to put American in front of it. If you're going to call it a taco, it's an American taco.

Sheriff, is there a law on the books that a hot dog is a hot dog and it's not a taco? If not, there should be. I agree. We should get the lawmakers back in here. We need to get them back in here, absolutely.

Let's get some legislation.

Well, guys, it's great to be in your town. And what a great, Sheriff, what a great town you've got. And you were telling me that crime here in this area is actually down. It's low. We have had a 58% reduction in about the last seven years.

So very proud of that. 58%. Every person in Memphis, Tennessee is going to be on the phone line calling you to find out how that happened. And what is the solution here? What is the answer?

You've got to be hard on career repeat offenders. You've got to put those that commit crime against our communities in jail. And that's what works for us. Sheriff, you also mentioned that you've been with the Trumps. You guys, tell us, what's the connection there?

Actually, Trump National, the golf course is in Iredale, down towards Lake Norman. And I've had the opportunity to go to the firing range with President Trump and Eric Trump. And had a good chance to meet Don Jr. recently. And it's a great, great family.

Outside of this, a great family. Great people. You know, Eric, you're a veteran. Yes, sir. And tell me, so how did you start?

You know, tell me about the business, and how did you get going?

Well, I watched a small show on PBS back in the year 2000, I think, and it was called The Hot Dog Program. And it was on PBS, and it was a show about all these hot dog joints all over the country. And they got to Alaska, and there was one guy on a hot dog cart, and he sold caribou hot dogs during the dog sled races and they said he made in three months Wow And I looked at dad and dad looked at me and said you know what Eric you could probably do that because we were watching the show together and I bought a hot dog cart in 01 and came a business in 03 in this county. Great county. Great sheriff.

And I loved it. I've been doing it ever since.

Okay, so the slaw dog is my jam and I'm on a mission across America to find the best slaw dogs. That was an incredible slaw dog. I had. Thank you. So all your own recipes, your chili, the slaw, everything.

Yes.

Now the slaw, I do not make. I have it made for me.

So it is, it is.

Somebody made it.

So it's homemade in somebody's house. It is. It's called Homestyle and it's got the sweet mayonnaise and the sweet sugar. Oh, I love that.

So, and you're also, and it's very proud on, on, you've got a banner, veteran owned. Tell us about your military service. I was 27 years old and recently divorced and I just needed to make a career change path. I was having a little too much fun in my late 20s and I decided to join the Navy at 28 years old. Wow.

Stationed in San Diego on the USS New Orleans, which is decommissioned now, and worked on the flight deck and did two years and got out, honorable discharge, and that's it. That's pretty much it. Sheriff, you know, when you look at what's happening across the country, Crime is a major, major concern. And what is your encouragement to other law enforcement officers out there? You guys have a target on your backs every day, it seems.

You know, it has been tough. Less than two weeks ago or maybe about three weeks ago now, we had four that was killed in Charlotte on one of the most tragic day in North Carolina's history. Defund the police did a lot to hurt law enforcement, but that's coming back. And I would say the community, support your law enforcement. We're here to help.

And just think about the families behind the badges. And that's been one of the biggest things. That's it. And one of the things I love about local talk radio stations, I know we do this back home, KWAM in Memphis, is that we support law enforcement. And, you know, I hope you know there are a lot of people out there that support you guys and have your backs.

We are truly blessed. Blessed in this community across the country. All right. Well, Sheriff, I appreciate you coming on. Eric, God bless you as well.

Thank you for the great lunch. It was delicious. It was my pleasure. I would have done it just, you know, I had to not sell at my spot and everybody missed me today, but it was for you.

Well, thank you for that.

So come on down to WSIC, everybody, and say hello to Eric. The sheriff is going to be here. I'm going to be here. We've got folks on hold. Hang tight.

We're going to get to your calls, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

This is the Todd Stern Show. Well, I'm not sure if you heard, but President Trump is a big fan of Newsmax. As a matter of fact, Newsmax broadcasting last night, the big rally from Bronx, New York. It was pretty impressive. As a matter of fact, Newsmax now on all major cable systems.

And Newsmax, too. Our streaming channel is on the big OTT platforms like Roku, Samsung, and Amazon. But you really have to get Newsmax+. Newsmax Plus, our streaming service with all of the top Newsmax shows, including mine, which you can listen to starting at 5 o'clock Eastern. It's going to be a lot of fun.

So go to Newsmax Plus now. That's NewsmaxPlus.com to register. Then you can download the app and start watching right now. All right, let's go to the phones on this open line Friday. Whatever you want to talk about, we're going to talk about.

901-260-5926. let's go to Statesville, North Carolina Walt was just in our studio here at WSIC hey Walt, welcome to the show and it was great meeting you earlier yeah, I got a big kick out of it too and I'm looking forward to reading your book well thank you very much Walt I appreciate it and by the way folks we're going to be here all afternoon so come on down and drop by and say hello we'd love to shake your hand take a picture with you and we're just having a good old time.

So, Walt, what's on your mind? We were talking when we met about the Elizabeth Warren arrogance in telling a parent whose family had paid for their son's education that they are going to get screwed by the forgiveness thing. They can't go back and get the money that they got, you know, that they put out to have their son educated. and the timing was just wrong for them and too bad they're going to have to pay taxes to give away to other people that didn't earn it. And you and I talked about my suggestion about taking money and giving it to rebate the money pre-Biden age people paid for their education.

In other words, if you pay for your college, you get that money back from the government. I think that's a terrific idea. I mean, again, the issue I have, Walt, is that there are so many young people around the country who chose not to go to college. Maybe they went to a community school. They went to a trade school.

They paid off whatever debt they had. Those are very inexpensive ways to get an education. And why are those people being forced to fork over money to pay for these degrees in lesbian literature and pottery. I mean, why is that?

So, Walt, I like this idea a lot. Got to run, sir. It was great seeing you earlier today. Let's go to the coast of North Carolina. Patricia, listening to us on WTKF today.

Hi, Patricia. What's on your mind?

Well, I just want to thank you for your wonderful writing. But in response to an earlier caller. I say no to Nikki Haley. She took too long to support Trump, and she's a rhino. I do like Tulsi Gabbard, and I like the fact that a woman would soften the ticket in some ways.

She's very articulate. She's strong. She's active duty military. I think she could add a lot. She's a former Democrat, but so is Trump.

She does embrace MAGA. She wants peace, a good economy, and many of the same things that Trump has always wanted.

So Patricia, that sounds like a great defense of Tulsi Gabbard. I like Tulsi. I completely respect her military service. The one challenge for me is her position on the life issue.

However, the work around on that is that the life issue is now a matter of states' rights.

So now the states have to decide that issue for themselves. But that is going to be a problem for, I suspect, evangelical voters. But Patricia, I like where you're going with this. And folks, if you missed an earlier call, he said that he believes that Nikki Haley ought to be the VP.

So what do you think? Do you agree with Patricia? Do you believe that Tulsi Gabbard would be a good VP pick? Or do you think Nikki Haley would be a good pick or a bad pick? 901-260-5926 on this open line Friday.

That's 901-260-5926.

Well, let's go to our next caller who is in studio. He's one of our regulars from Statesville, North Carolina. And my understanding is you are a native son, our good friend Charles from Statesville. That's correct, Todd. Yeah, I was born and raised here in Statesville, lived here my whole life, went to school here.

And, yeah, I wanted to come see you. I've been listening to your show now for years and love what you do. I just really appreciate the influence that you have on people. And I just wanted to come introduce myself, say hello, and I appreciate you. And, yeah, it's good to be here.

So you're one of these guys that said, I'm going to run for office. And I have great respect, but I think you guys are crazy to run for public office. No offense. What were you thinking, man?

Well, Todd, I ran because I'm just tired of Republicans saying one thing and then governing another way. And so many people that I've voted for, that I've given money to, have just let me down. And so I said to myself, you know, a lot of people feel like me, but the only person I trust to vote the right way is me.

So even though I have no political experience, I'm just going to step up, you know, because if not me, who, if not now, when? And I think there's a lot of other people like me out there, and I hope that they step up as well. You've got a great mind, and I love when you phone in. I know it's going to be a fun conversation, and you always bring a lot to the show, which I greatly appreciate. Thank you.

I'm curious. When you saw that rally last night in the Bronx, I saw a Republican Party that doesn't actually have control of its party anymore. I'm not even sure whatever's going to happen. I'm not sure we're electing a Republican president in November, and I don't think it really matters. Yeah, no, I agree.

And when I saw that rally last night, I thought, just like you said at the start of your show, I mean, here's the president in the hood just connecting with people. And just like you, Todd, I felt the same way that there was going to be a big crowd, that it was going to drive these Marxists in the media crazy. But President Trump's message resonates. It doesn't matter whether you live in the suburbs, whether you live in the Bronx, New York. It doesn't matter your race, your ethnicity, anything.

His message is just a message of common sense. People are hurting financially with inflation. They're tired of this illegal immigration. They're tired of the crime. And people are looking for hope.

They're looking for solutions instead of just rhetoric and just a bunch of hot air. and Donald Trump, love him or not, he is a guy that is just plain spoken and he can connect with people. All right, you want to hang tight for a second? We've got Poppy on the line from Illinois, wants to weigh in. All right, Poppy, what say you?

Hi, Todd, nice to talk to you. I was a Democrat, I voted Democrat all these times. I am now voting for President Trump, and I registered as a Republican in the state of Illinois. And if he picks Nikki Haley, then I will go back to being a Democrat. I like Vivek Ramaswamy.

We need populism. We need people who speak, and we need unity. And a lot of my Democratic friends are voting for Trump. Poppy, what was the final straw for you? The last three and a half years.

I mean, they keep on telling us that our groceries are going down, that we're not suffering, that gas is nothing. Plus, we've got a communist governor in right here in Illinois right now. And we're all sick of it. We live out here in the real world. They don't live with us.

The Democratic Party has let us down, and I am done. Charles, you heard Poppy there. Are you surprised? I mean, she's a lifelong Democrat. Poppy, you said lifelong Democrat?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I voted for Barack. I voted for Joe Biden. I'm sorry.

Well, at least you've come around. Confess your sins. Yeah, but, you know, people like you, Poppy, I don't know where you get your media, whether it was CNN and MSNBC in the past, but I just felt like a lot of Democrats were lied to by the traditional media, and they portrayed President Trump as one way. They were lying about his past, everything, and they were just promoting falsehoods. But the one thing that you just mentioned is the economics, the prices of everything.

Price is truth. And whether you're a Democrat or you're a Republican, we can look in our wallets and we can look in our bank accounts and see how much we have in there. And since Joe Biden has been in office, The average American is spending $12,000 more a year than they were just four years ago. And to bridge that gap, people are going in debt. They're raiding their retirement accounts.

That's why we have record credit card debt. And it's unsustainable. It's totally unsustainable. And there has to be – we need President Trump back in there. And we need a good vice president nominee as well that's going to carry the torch.

And we've gotten three very interesting recommendations, Tulsi Gabbard, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy.

So, Poppy, first of all, just thank you for seeing the light and coming over to the right way of thinking. That is a moment of celebration for us on this program whenever we have a Democrat who has seen the light.

So well done, Poppy. Poppy, shout hallelujah. There's millions more out there, too. I love it. All right.

So anyway, well done.

So Poppy from Illinois now voting for Donald Trump. And again, folks, we're going to be taking your calls. It is Open Line Friday. Charles, thank you so much for coming by. Todd, it's my pleasure and great to put finally a face with the voice and everything.

And look forward to seeing you again. Cannot wait to read your book. And, yeah, looking forward to it. The name of the book, by the way, folks, Twilight's Last Gleaming, Can America Be Saved? It's available at your favorite bookstore.

Of course, we're going to be signing copies this weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Convention Center.

So hope to see you there. And, of course, you can also drop by. We have another full hour here at WSIC. And we have been meeting so many of our great listeners coming in during the breaks. And I would love to be able to say hello to you.

All right, our telephone number, 901-260-5926. This is the Todd Stern Show. Oh, my goodness. Dylan, I'm going to need a nap. You know, normally, we don't want to play inside baseball here, but normally in the commercial breaks, I'm taking like a siesta.

But they've got me busy around here, Dylan. Todd, I can hear it in the background every time that we go to break, all the people that are coming in and talking to you. It sounds like a lot, but it's awesome. This is amazing. It's a lot of fun.

They have, look, WSIC, and we know because we get a lot of calls from SIC and a number, WDUN, for example, KWAM. it's always great to finally meet folks in person.

So I just wish you were here to enjoy the delicious Wilson weenie wagon. Oh, yes. We would have gotten you the big Wilson. Scarfing down the big Wilson. I would have been good for the rest of the day, sounds like.

I need some more of that cheer wine. I'm feeling happy. I may be up on the table dancing before the show's over. All right, let's go to the phone lines here. 901-260-5926.

Is it really cherry Dr. Pepper? That's what it tastes like to me. I mean, I grew up drinking it, so it's very good. I'm an RC.

Believe it or not, I love RC Cola. I prefer that to Coca-Cola. All right. People at WSIC are like heckling me now, so this is turning very ugly here.

Okay. Let's go to the phone line. Susan in Georgia, WTUN. Hi, Susan. How are you today?

I'm great. How about yourself? Susan, I'm doing lovely. Thank you for asking. What's on your mind?

I wanted to put in a few words for Tim Scott. I think that he is a Southern candidate that would be a much better choice coming out of South Carolina than Nikki Haley. I think he has a broad appeal. His legislative record speaks for itself. I mean, he has appealed beyond your traditional Republican values.

He was the sponsor of legislation to overhaul the federal tax code. But I think that one thing, he's taken a stand for issues that may have a lot of political appeal to people. For example, he was the sponsor of the bill that made lynching a modern-day hate crime. It had not been listed in the hate crimes. And so I'd love to see he and Kamala Harris in the vice presidential debate as she giggled and he gave us meat for people to sink their teeth into and be able to have a good reason for voting Republican, even if they've never voted Republican before.

All right, Susan, I think you made a good argument here. I think Tim Scott's a good guy. They also got him, they found him a wife, so he's getting married. That was like an issue, believe it or not. But people feel like their candidates need to be married, and he's got a beautiful wife.

So, Susan, let's see. I think Tim Scott would be a fine vice president. Let's go to John in North Carolina, listening to us on WSJS. That's in the Winston-Salem area. Hi, John.

What's on your mind today?

Well, good afternoon. and it's been an interesting conversation. I would have to weigh in for Ron DeSantis. He's the only one with actual executive administrative experience. None of the others have that.

And I think that's one of the draws. And plus he's, I would say, is the most courageous of all of the candidates, more than all the others. I think that he has been more consistent than any of the other candidates that have been mentioned, whether it's Tim Scott or Vivek or Tulsi or Nikki. There have been some things on all of them where they have not really been consistent, whereas Ron DeSantis has been straight down the line conservative and has not wavered at that at all. You know, it's interesting that you mention that because DeSantis checks off all the boxes, and you want somebody in that VP slot who will be able to carry the flag, the MAGA flag, into 2028.

We know this. Regardless of what happens, Trump will not be the candidate in 2028. At least Donald Trump Sr. will not be the candidate in 2028.

So who is that next person? And DeSantis does make a lot of sense, but there was a lot of bad blood there. I don't think there was as much bad blood as there was between Trump and Nikki Haley.

Now, I want to say something about Haley real quick here. And, John, I appreciate that call. Thank you for listening today. I want to say something about Nikki Haley. I'm still not terribly convinced that she is doing this out of the goodness of her heart.

As a matter of fact, it was just a couple of days ago that her brother-in-law was out there saying that they were going to take this all the way to the convention, that there's been a lot of scuttlebutt that Nikki Haley might try to stage some sort of a revolt at the RNC. It's insane talk because that's ludicrous. There's no way anything like that would work. But you still wonder if Nikki Haley is trying to take the alleged high road here so that if this thing all goes down, she can say that she had at one point endorsed Donald Trump. But when you see what's happening out there, folks, and again, Trump going to be here in North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, not too terribly far away from Statesville.

When you see that going down and the massive response Trump will get from that crowd and you see what happened to the Bronx and Wildwood, New Jersey, I am telling you there is a movement afoot. It is not a Republican movement. It is a populist movement. And this has the potential of literally transforming American politics for many years to come. That's why this is such a fascinating moment in American history.

All right, we've got to take a quick break. It is Open Line Fridays. Who do you like for Trump's VP? We've got people weighing in. You've got Scott Tulsi, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis, 901-260-5926.

Our telephone number, that's 901-260-5926. We are broadcasting our show from the studios of WSIC in Statesville, North Carolina. Drop on by the radio station. Come over and say hello. Love to meet you.

Shake your hand. Take a picture with you. And we'll do some good old-fashioned Southern fellowshipping. All right, hang tight, everybody. We'll be right back.

Live from the Liberty University studio in Memphis, Tennessee, it's common sense conservative commentary from Todd Starr. That's us, that's right. I love this American ride. Well, hello everybody. Welcome to the Todd Starr's radio program.

And we are on the road this week. We started Wednesday in Asheville, North Carolina. Then Winston-Salem, our great affiliate there, WSJS. Today, we are in Statesville, North Carolina. WSIC is our great affiliate.

And we have met, I think the entire town has come by today. Wow, what a great group of folks. And we'd love for you to drop by. We're here for another hour or so. And you can drop by the studio.

and I'm happy to meet you and have a little bit of fellowship time in between our commercial breaks. But it has truly been an honor to be out here and to be a part of this great town and this incredible radio station. Justin and the great team here, you guys are just crushing it. Wow, today also open line Friday, and I know we have folks online. Hang tight, we're going to be getting to your calls momentarily.

Our telephone number is 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

Now, before we bring in our next guest, who is here in studio, we just received some audio of President Biden out on the campaign trail. And my understanding is this this is pretty bad of audio. Let's take a listen here. And, you know, Jill and I are honored to have you here and representing, including many members of the African diaspora. One just left.

Rock. he's been very gracious he met the president this morning when i was just here a little while ago what is he what is he talking about what what this is terrible so compare and contrast here ladies and gentlemen so that's president biden um in front of a primarily um minority audience Yesterday, President Trump, somewhere between 25,000 to 30,000 people in the Bronx, and President Trump is having a confab with a couple of rap stars. I want to bring into the conversation a good friend, a great American patriot. He has served this state so well in Congress. Our friend, Congressman Dan Bishop.

Congressman, it's finally going to meet in person. I totally agree, Todd. I'm glad you're in North Carolina. folks are delighted that you're here, obviously, and I'm glad to have a chance to join you here in Statesville at WSIC. It's been very kind.

You know, when I go to places like Berkeley, California, the greeting is not very warm and welcoming. I just want to throw that out there. You're in a place that will welcome you here in North Carolina. I don't know why I said this, but I mentioned in our, we were just talking off air, and I said, Congressman, I don't know if you know this, but I'm very conservative because we are aware. In fact, I'm counting on that, Todd.

Well, Congressman, there's a lot to talk about. And, of course, the big news headline out of this is that you are leaving Congress and you felt called to run for the Attorney General of North Carolina. And I'm very curious, what led you to that decision? The Office of Attorney General in North Carolina is one that has not been won by a Republican since 1896. even since the the two-party system matured in in north carolina we've sort of seen a series of preeminent democrats but in the late phenomenon is and this is happening all over the country todd that democrats spend disproportionately for legally oriented seats executive offices from which that they use not to execute the laws their constitutional system both state and federal contemplates, but instead use it to undermine law.

And ultimately, if we've in the persons of Letitia James, the AG of New York, or Alan Bragg, the DA of New York, use it ultimately as a tool of persecution of a political enemy. That's so far off of our constitutional system. And the AG spots have turned out while a Congress, you know, I've spent five years in Congress. I think we, I think Republicans need to be tougher and deliver better for Republican voters in Congress. It has been an engine of the status quo there.

And I liken it to the main battle army being in disarray and the rear guard takes the field in order to protect the army while it reforms and gets ready to do business. That's what I think state attorneys general have been. I know we've been very fortunate. We've got a good guy in Tennessee where I'm from and born and raised in Memphis, Jonathan Scrimetti. Right.

And what I love about him, you know, we've got we're being controlled by Soros style D.A. It's horrible. But the reality is he's not one of these Letitia James. He's going to do things by the book, by the rules, you know, and I respect that. You know, we we can't do the same thing the Democrats are doing.

We have to respect the rule of law. Absolutely right. It is. In fact, it falls to the Republican Party in this modern moment when so much power is abused in so many ways. There's this cultural Marxism field and things in disorder.

I think so many things trace back to a loss of law and order, and it's a caricature or a cartoonish sort of approach to that for Democrats to talk about President Trump facing indictments and say, well, everybody's – nobody's above the law. They're showing their contempt for law and using it in this narrow way in a way that's an abuse. Scormedi, Attorney General Scormedi in Tennessee is an appointed position there, not an elected one. But he's a pro. He's a professional.

And he reveres and stands up for law and law and order. And that's what I'm going to do in North Carolina. We saw a truly amazing sight last night in the South Bronx. And I'm not sure if people really understand the significance of what happened. when you see a president of the United States, as one person said on one of the cable news channels, this is the first time they've ever seen the president come to the hood.

What does that tell you about where we are right now in America? This is going to blow the minds of any leftist listening, but there's a universality to Donald Trump's appeal. It is not necessarily that everybody likes him for his king's English or his refined rules or even personal conduct at points in time. But everyone recognizes that he sees ordinary folks, and he thinks they're great Americans. And he thinks that they're the instrumentality by which the country can be made great again, and you can turn the tide against this leftist, insurgent, this Gramscian cultural Marxist movement that has descended across the country and permeated so many of our institutions.

For me, and when I was writing this latest book, I was looking back at the four years of the Trump administration, and there were so many great things he did. But I think the greatest thing he did was bring back this respect to the trades and knowing that, hey, being a construction worker or an electrician is an honorable, decent, good job. Absolutely. And he loves those guys. Yeah, he does.

And they love him. And it's the same with the firefighters and the cops. And you see it all over the place. And you see you know for almost my entire lifetime the Democratic Party has claimed has had a headlock on African vote That not going to last with Donald Trump You can see the movement and recognize it's not, frankly, it's not about conservative liberal per se. It's sort of about an essential Americana versus the folks who want to turn us into Europe or worse.

I think that's really a terrific way of looking at it. And again, I think this even transcends who we are as Republicans. I'm a registered Republican. That is a populist movement I am seeing unfolding in New Jersey and the South Bronx.

Some folks here will understand this. Todd, you will know, but down in Robeson County, North Carolina, had been an absolute lock for Democrats. There was about a third white, third black, third Lumbee Indian. And they became Trump territory, most red-shifted county in the state. I represented them for a time.

I do not now. And I was down there speaking to them, and I was talking about that, that the Republican Party – I've been a Republican for my whole life since I registered to vote. But the Republican Party has changed under Trump. I didn't see actually what he would represent in that way, and I'm more comfortable in today's Republican Party than I was in the one when I was younger. Interesting.

Are you going to miss it, Congress? I don't, well, I don't think I'm going to, I'm content, you know, I could sit on the dais and tear into the director of the ATF like yesterday or whoever. And I think those things have value. And I can stay up there and try to fight and get the Republican conference to move on things as opposed to just sit there and bide their time. And all that's very valuable.

I don't want to understate it. And I'm sure at the moment I'll miss that. but I'm eager for the role that I'm seeking to undertake. And I believe this more than anything, Todd, and I'm trying to model something. It's not enough to do the easy thing.

We have to do hard things because the country is in the shape that we've described. We face all sorts of existential threats, and for people to sort of stand pat is unacceptable.

So I'm not going to do it. I'm going to keep working, so I won't be missing a thing. I'm going to keep fighting. I love to hear this. Congressman Tam Bishop with us in studio at WSIC, running to be the next Attorney General of this great state.

Now, you and I are heading due east of here to Greensboro, and you're going to be speaking at the state convention. And you're going to be speaking there as well, Todd. I'm doing the prayer breakfast. I'm going to keep mine short. I'm going to go full-blown Methodist.

I always keep mine short. I've learned the most important thing of all in any speech is brevity. I love it. Governor Vykoch may be giving you some advice once. I was giving my very first commencement address, and the governor said, just remember this, you're the only thing standing between them and their diploma.

So keep it short. I said, that's good advice, Governor. But we're going to have a great convention. Republicans are eager for this election season. I've never seen them more ready to get out there and do what they need to do.

And they're desperate for people who are fighters and who will demonstrate courage, who will deal with them in truth and remember that they're Republicans, not sort of Democrat-like. Is there a website? Yeah, that's great. Thank you for asking. It's votedanbishop.com.

They can find a way to associate themselves with the campaign if they want to volunteer or something, and people can give money. We need that. And we're going to work hard and count on folks to help us along the way. All right, the next Attorney General of the state of North Carolina with us today, Dan Bishop, ladies and gentlemen. Congressman, Attorney General, soon to be Attorney General, thanks for coming in.

Honored to meet you, my friend. All right, folks, we've got to take a quick break here. 901-260-5926 is our telephone number. That's 901-260-5926.

And again, we're broadcasting from the great studios at WSIC. We would love for you to come down and say hello. Got to take a break. We'll be right back. All right.

Welcome back, everybody. Good to have you with us. And great to have Congressman Bishop in studio and got to meet his wife. And we'll be all heading east for the North Carolina State Republican Party meeting later on this weekend. All right.

Let's go to the phone lines here. 901-260-5926. Let's start with KWAM. Mike listening to us. And, Mike, what's on your mind?

Hi, Todd. I'd like to give my choice. for Vice President for President Trump. But first, I'd like to say Joe Biden is talking the way he is because, like Mark Levin said, he's in stage six of the seven stages of dementia.

Now, my choices for Vice President, I originally was 100% behind Christy Noem, Governor of South Dakota. but after listening to you, you indicated she was untruthful about meeting with a world leader and I've changed my mind about her. My choices for vice president are J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio. I think Tim Scott is too weak, to be honest.

I would, if President Trump wants an African-American vice president, I would recommend Byron Donald. Very intelligent and very strong. You know, one of the things that concerns me, and I've heard this a lot from our side, is, well, Trump's got to have a woman on the ticket. He's got to have a female, or he's got to have somebody who's a minority.

So we've got to have, you know, a Ramaswamy or a Tim Scott. You know, how about the best person for the job? Is that not just good enough? Can we just have the best person for the job. Those three would be good.

They'd be great. All right. Well, we've got you down here. Look, J.D. Vance, good guy.

Marco Rubio, okay. All right. What did he call him? Little Marco back in the day? That was Trump's nickname for him.

Mike, appreciate that call. 901-260-5926. Let's go to Nicholas listening to us on WTKF in North Carolina. Hi, Nicholas. Who do you like for VP?

I like Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I think she's an intelligent young lady. She was his press secretary. She's a governor. She handles herself very well.

She has street smarts just like Donald Trump. I think they would get along very well in office together. And that's my pick. You know, it's interesting. My understanding is Sarah wants to finish out her full term in office there in North Carolina, and she's doing a terrific job, and I can tell you that I'm a property owner in Arkansas, and she's doing a great job.

I think she would make a terrific vice president one day, might even have the makings of a really good president, and I'd like to see her be a two-term governor of Arkansas and then come out of that, and in 2028, she could be a contender.

well when you were talking about you know people say Trump has to have a woman he doesn't necessarily have to have a woman but he needs he needs a woman like her she's we enjoyed her while she was president she took a lot of flack from the other side while she was press secretary and she handled it very well I think she can handle any job in this country as good as she does the governorship So I'm just throwing my two cents in. And thank you for hearing me out.

Well, thank you for calling in. And look, I'm not going to have too many things on my list. I would say high among them would be someone who does not kill farm animals.

So that's just me. I'm kidding, sort of. All right. 901-260-5926 is our number. Who do you like as Trump's VP?

You know, one of the interesting things here, we've had a lot of people calling in and a lot of names, But nobody, everybody has their own choice here.

So we don't have anybody leading the pack. We have like an eight-way tie now for Trump's VP.

So give us a call. And again, our number, 901-260-5926. I want to play this audio. This is President Trump in the South Bronx. Cut number 13.

The minute Crooked Joe Biden shuffles out the door, I will rapidly rebuild the greatest economy, the history of the world. Look, we had the greatest economy in history. Everybody here, where you have a small business or if you had a job, you were getting more than you ever made. And we had no inflation. We had no 1.4 percent considered none, considered better than none, because frankly, none in its own way is a bad thing also.

We had a perfect number, 1.4 percent. It doesn't matter whether you're black or brown or white or whatever the hell color you are. It doesn't matter. We are all Americans, and we're going to pull together as Americans. I believe that.

And you hear people in the South Bronx chanting USA, probably one of the most diverse political crowds I've ever seen in my life. And I'm wondering, do you think that we are turning the corner? We know the media is not turning the corner. The professional race agitators are not turning the corner. The Democrats are not turning the corner on the racial divide.

But do you believe that something's happening here in this nation? Our telephone number, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

Coming up, our good friend Dr. Ben Carson joins us. By the way, he's been mentioned as a potential running mate as well. Looking forward to talking with Dr. Carson.

We've also got Mike on the line and Rachel from Tennessee. We're going to be getting to your calls, 901-260-5926. And head over to the website, ToddStarns.com. You can download our free newsletter, our free podcast, over a million subscribers and growing. We'll be right back.

All right, welcome back to the Todd Starns Radio Show. We are on the road. The big book tour continues. And we have had such a great day here at WSIC. I've met so many wonderful people.

And still time for you to come out and say hello. We are at the radio studios here at WSIC. And also want to say a very special thank you. A sweet lady came by. And they do these incredibly patriotic raps of like trucks and cars.

Just unbelievable. of Performance Graphics of LKN in Mooresville, North Carolina. That's Performance Graphics of LKN. I was hoping they were going to wrap my Cadillac back in Memphis, but I think I have to have the car with me, so that would defeat the purpose.

So anyway, thank you all so very much for dropping by and saying hello. Our telephone number is 901-260-5926. We're going to get to your calls in just a moment. That's 901-260-5926.

We are so honored to have with us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line today a great American patriot and a good friend. His name is Dr. Ben Carson, has a brand new book out called Overcoming Our Culture's War on the American Family, The Perilous Fight. Dr. Carson, hope you're doing well today.

I'm doing very well, Todd. Thanks for having me.

Well, first of all, congratulations. The book is a huge success already. But, Dr. Carson, before we jump into the book, I want to get your reaction to the incredible rally last night in the South Bronx. What's the takeaway there for the country?

Well, the real takeaway is that Donald Trump wants to be the president of all the people. And he's not interested in pitting one group against another group. You know, in the beginnings of our country, our founders used a term which I think is very apropos, that is, for the common good. And that was one of the things that propelled our country to the pinnacle so fast. We had communities all over the place, sometimes very small communities separated 50 or 100 miles from any place else.

Not only did they survive, but they thrived. Why? because they understood the concept of the common good, what's good for all of us. If somebody broke their leg during harvest time, everybody else harvested their crops. They didn't ask them what their religion or their politics were.

It was their neighbor, and their neighbor was in need. And I think that's what we saw at that rally yesterday, people being friends and neighbors and colleagues, not enemies, because that's what the left is trying to do. They're trying to drive wedges between us on the basis of race, age, income, gender, political affiliation, religion, you name it. And if they can do that, they will succeed in fundamentally changing this nation. Dr.

Carson, you could be doing many, many, many other things, and yet you've made a concerted effort to be a part of the Trump campaign. And I'm wondering why you decided to do that.

Well, you know, I worked very hard as a pediatric neurosurgeon, and I really looked forward to retirement, not having to set the alarm clock, playing golf, cruising around the world, having a good time, and then on up in politics. And then at the end of the Trump administration, I said, now I can really retire. and relax and enjoy life. But it wasn't many weeks after the election in 2020 that I saw the direction of the country, and I said, I can't have any fun playing golf and cruising around the world while the country's going down a tube.

So, you know, a very able group of people from HUD joined me in forming the American Cornerstone Institute to hearken people back to those founding principles that made us great. We didn't ascend to the pinnacle of the world from nowhere by coincidence. It was because of our faith, our liberty, our sense of community, and our respect for life from the womb to the tomb. And that's why, because I realized that there were a lot of people who came before me who sacrificed so much, including in many cases their lives, so that we could live in peace and freedom. And now is our time.

is that an overwhelming majority of kids from broken homes are finding themselves in trouble with the law. How important is this as a family to fixing what's broken with America? It's absolutely critical, and we talk about this in the book. You know, children who are raised in traditional nuclear two-parent families have much less in the way of criminal activity, much less in the way of mental illness, anxiety, depression, suicide attempts, do much better academically and in terms of their success. And where are values passed on?

They're passed on through the family and through traditional families where you have a nurturing mother and a father and role model figures for the kids. And that's where you learn to respect others. You learn that you're not the only person in the world. You learn that property that belongs to other people is to be respected. You learn a lot of the things that a lot of these kids that you see on these colleges don't seem to know because they've grown up in an environment where those things were not emphasized and where they got their values from social media and peers.

And obviously that's not something that's going to be sustainable if we're going to be successful as a nation. Dr. Carson, a lot of people have a lot of books out there, and I know there are so many folks that seem and they feel discouraged. But your book really is an antidote for that, antidote for that because you bring a lot of hope to what's happening here in this country, and there is hope. Oh, there's tremendous hope.

This is America. We are Americans. The can-do attitude, not the what-can-you-do-for-me attitude, but it's up to us to reverse that. The founders of our nation were smart enough to put the ultimate solution in the hands of the people. They knew we would reach this situation.

They've studied all the nations of the world. They know the cycle of civilization and all these things. And they say, if we put the power in the hands of the people, they will recognize what's going on and they will reverse it. And you know, they say it's always darkest before the dawn.

Sometimes it has to be pretty dark before people can see the light. We're there. and I think people are seeing the light. They're waking up very rapidly. You know, I was thrilled to see the turnout in New York yesterday for Donald Trump's rally of just a mixture of people from all backgrounds celebrating, celebrating each other, celebrating America, recognizing that there is a potential for some solid leadership once again and not just hatred and fear-mongering.

And I think you're going to see a tremendous swell across the country in many nontraditional areas because it's not really about Democrats or Republicans. It's about America. It's about the values and the principles that made us into a great nation. Are we willing to throw that away? It's about the family.

It's about our faith Which is talked about In a founding document The fact that our rights Come from our creator Also known as God Those things make a difference And I think that's one of the reasons That we accelerated From a bunch of ragtag militiamen To the pinnacle of the world In record time Well folks you've got to get a copy Of Dr. Carson's brand new book It's called The Perilous Fight Overcoming Our Culture's War on the American Family. It is available at every bookstore in America. You can also order it online. Dr.

Carson, we have to leave it there, but congratulations. It's always so inspiring to be able to talk to you. And please say hello to Mrs. Carson for us. I will, and thanks for being a Patriot.

All right, Dr. Ben Carson, everybody, on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line this afternoon. All right, our telephone number is 901-260-5926. Again, that's 901-260-5926.

Now, we've had folks coming by and they're saying, where can we buy the book in the, where can you buy Twilight's Last Gleaming in the Statesville area? You can go to Gullion's Christian Supply. That's over on Turnersburg Highway in Statesville. and they have a nice supply of books, Twilight's Last Gleaming, also my previous book, Culture Jihad. You'll be able to get that as well.

All right, we've got to take a quick break here, folks, going right to our phone lines. It is open line Friday, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

This is The Todd Stern Show. Oh my goodness. Man, this has been a fun day. And this is what our radio show is all about. This is what I always wanted this radio show to be about.

And it's just basically a small town radio station that's broadcast on 165 stations around the nation. And it's a lot of fun. I want to bring into the conversation the owner of WSIC, Justin Kazepas, who is doing a terrific job. You are an attorney, right? Yes, sir.

So you are an attorney who bought a radio station. Yeah, the simple answer is yes. Do you guys have a counseling program on the show? Everyone's a counselor on staff. It's kind of mental.

It's one part of our mental health program that we have internally. You see, I use my show as my own personal therapy. I work out my own issues on air, so it works out great. It's authentic, and I think people really love it. And thank you from the genuineness from the bottom of my heart for you coming, your conservative approach.

We're absolute fans here. You guys have a great radio station here. And seeing all of the listeners coming in and just – I think some people even brought lawn chairs. Yeah, they like to hang out around here a little bit. To hang out.

I love that. Shout out to the Lake Norman crowd out there that loves to hang, and we love our family. What is it about radio? I mean, because again, you're a young guy. You could be a podcaster, but you're doing radio.

Todd, I don't even like the word podcasting, but that's an off-air conversation we can have. You know, about a year ago, I just had a moment in my life where I was reflecting on time, right? And it's amazing now being in radio a year later, and it's about time, right? That's what we're looking at. What are you spending doing?

What are you thinking about? And I'm just so grateful to God every day for the opportunity. Shout out to my family and my wife, who is a rock star.

So just grateful, Todd. I just like hanging out with you, man. It's just fun having fun on the air. Come on, we're playing. It is fun, and it's a great gig.

You get to meet so many different people, interesting people, and it's an opportunity to connect with folks, right? People call in, they talk, and they don't get to do that on a podcast or TV show. The funny thing, I'm a millennial. I'm 34 years old. I never got into social media when Facebook came out, right, like in the way it started in the trajectory, if you think back to it.

I never got into personal social media. But the concept of connecting in community now and the way people don't actually say things out loud, it's quite astonishing, right? In our community, the amazing ideas we have as people and to work together. Iron sharpens iron and being authentic. And now, just the way God's timing works out.

And, you know, we're living life and we're going to keep charging and having fun.

Okay. You have Wilson's weenie wagon out there. Sure. Best hot dogs in North Carolina. Nobody does that.

No other stations have that kind of stuff out there.

Well, Mr. Wilson's special, and he's hanging out with special people as well, and that's the cool part is being together. And he comes out, pulls up this horse trailer that he's converted into this hot dog thing, and they're really good, and people like them. Who doesn't like a good hot dog, though, Todd? Anywhere in the country.

Is there places that don't like hot dogs? Berkeley, California. You know, it's funny.

Somebody mentioned some hot dog made of elk or whatever. When I was covering the DNC in Denver, Colorado, there was a little hot dog stand. And in New York City, we have them on every street corner. We call it street meat, and we advise people not to eat the street meat. And, you know, you don't want to do that in New York City.

It's sad because I had the best bagel in my life at a random cart in New York City at one point. My dad originally and his family is from New York, but being in North Carolina now my whole life, what a unique time to be here. And, again, nationally taught, you tell me, what's the rest of the country like? You're seeing the country all over the place right now. Are places like us where we're engaging and we want to know and we really want to be involved?

And what's it like across the country? Yeah.

So what's interesting about our show is that we are on so many independently owned radio stations. The corporate guys, the big guys, they're going to have – they're new to three people.

So we were really intentional about reaching out to independently owned radio stations. And I can tell you the independently owned radio stations are really thriving around this country. I mean, we all go through the same kinds of, you know, I own a radio station in Memphis.

So, you know, we go through the ups and downs of radio sales and whatnot. But I will say the most successful stations in the country right now are the ones that are owned by people like you. Because you're not beholden to some corporate overlords. You're not shipping off money to some other radio station that's not doing well. You know, you're investing in the community.

If times are tough, you're able to make that decision to, you know, to help out somebody in this town. And that is important, and that's what makes radio great. And what I love about what you guys are doing here and so many of our other affiliates, you guys are making radio great again, and that's a huge thing. I wish I had my horns right now. Shout out to Studio C and Bill down there.

I'd have my horns, and I'd play them for you. I love that. Are you going to be at the big Charlotte? I mean, you've got the big Speedway coming up here. Trump's going to be in town.

So that was part of my transition about a year ago, right, going from a residential transaction and commercial transaction attorney and then wanting to slow down and be with family and spending that time. I have a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

So even the race, as much as I love it, Charlotte Motor Speedway, we have a great partnership with them as well, and so we enjoy that. But I'm not going to make it to the race. I'm probably hopefully going to be playing like a water gunfight or something like that with my son in the backyard. You know what? That's going to be a lot of fun.

That's going to be a lot of fun. Well, you have rolled out the red carpet, Justin. We really do appreciate the great work that you guys are doing here, and thanks for letting us do the show here. Thanks for coming, Todd. Anytime.

It's been a lot of fun. All right, folks, this is going to wrap up our segment here in Statesville. Coming up next, we're doing a book signing later this evening in Greensboro. I'll be speaking at the homeschool convention tomorrow. We'll be doing another book signing and then wrapping things up at the North Carolina Republican Convention, speaking at their prayer breakfast on Sunday, and then back to Memphis.

I would be remiss if we did not take a moment and remember what this weekend is really all about. And it's really important, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, to teach your kids about Memorial Day and help them understand what Memorial Day is really all about. The hot dogs and the hamburgers are amazing, incredible, and that is great. Spending time with your family is incredibly important. But the most important thing is to take time to remember the ultimate sacrifice that so many men and women made to make this country free.

I would not be able to sit on this radio show right now. I wouldn't be able to broadcast into this microphone had it not been for men and women who were sacrificing so that we would be able to have the freedom to broadcast in America.

So this weekend, there are a lot of ceremonies at national cemeteries, maybe at your local cemetery. Go and be a part of those. Check out your local VFW, American Legion Halls, and you get out there, and you pay your respects to the men and women who pay the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be free. That's what this weekend is all about.

So I just want to say thank you. God bless you to all of the veterans, especially who are listening to this program. We met a lot of them here in North Carolina. We have a lot of them that listen all across this great nation. In the meantime, head over to our website, ToddStearns.com.

You can listen to all three hours of the radio show free of charge. You can download our podcast, the newsletter, everything there. Folks, get out there. Have a great Memorial Day weekend. And whatever you do, be sure to go to church this Sunday.

You be good, America. I'm Todd Stearns. Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na