Kamala Abandons Hurricane Survivors

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. Wherever you're listening, across this, the greatest nation, God ever blessed. Welcome to a Thursday edition of the Todd Starnes Radio Program. Coast to coast on more than 150 tremendous radio stations and streaming live at ToddStarnes.com.

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Same number as always, 901-260-5926. Lydia will take your calls. Cassie is at the controls of the mighty Wurlitzer. And Grace has delivered, as always, a tremendous guest list for the next three hours. In our second hour, we'll speak with the President of American Commitment, Phil Kirpin.

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an honest fact check from Sarah Bedford. That's coming up also in the second hour. And in our final hour, we'll speak with John Daniel Davidson. He is senior editor at The Federalist. He has an article entitled, Kamala Harris Doesn't Care About White People.

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Because I sat last night at home, and I watched some of the footage from North Carolina. The way the Biden-Harris administration, or whoever is controlling the strings, the way they are handling this situation and treating the good people of North Carolina is a national disgrace. it is something that we cannot abide by. Not just because of the fact that they were slow to respond, but the response itself shows that these people do not deserve another opportunity, another term in office. $750.

Now, that's a fair amount of money, frankly. I mean, $750, that's a pretty good change. But not when you consider that that's the amount that Kamala Harris announced with great fanfare yesterday in Georgia. And again, our thoughts and prayers with all of you folks in Starnes Nation that were affected by the hurricane. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, all of these areas.

She stands at a podium and says, if you can justify the expense, you can make application for $750. If you're a victim of a hurricane, massive flooding, disruption to your way of life, potentially for months if not years, the Kamala Harris plan is to give you $750. And you have to apply for it. At a time when you don't have electricity, you don't have water, you may be out of food, you don't have the communications network necessary to let your family know you're okay, but the benevolent Kamala Harris administration will give you $750. This at a time when Ukraine gets $2.4 billion with a B dollars, thanks to the president in title, Joe Biden.

That was last week. $2.4 billion in aid to Ukraine. as the hurricane is slamming up the Gulf and massive, unprecedented rain on top of prior wet ground in places like North Carolina and Tennessee. And that's when Joe Biden says $2.4 billion to Ukraine. That wouldn't happen to be payback for President Zelensky Zelensky coming to do a campaign appearance in Pennsylvania, would it?

That certainly can't be the case. I said this on the program when you were kind enough to be here last week when I was filling in for Todd. How in the world does Vladimir Zelensky show up at a munitions plant in Pennsylvania with the governor, Josh Shapiro, autographing bombs, taking a very clear side in the presidential race, calling Trump and Vance extreme radical, I believe was the exact term. Why would he do that? Unless he was promised something or threatened that something would not be delivered.

He shows up, he does the photo op, He makes the comments he makes, and here's $2.4 billion in new aid.

Sounds like somebody got paid off.

Now, you may say, well, you know, FEMA needs more money. I mean, you can't anticipate hurricanes. For months, we have been warned by meteorologists that this could be a very full hurricane season. It hadn't panned out, and then Helene came through, and more than made up for the other ones that kind of frittered away.

So we know it's coming. And, by the way, these are the folks who claim that the climate is changing in a way that we need to address. That's Bull, of course, but it fits their agenda.

So they're the ones who are telling us and warning us about how horrible the weather is going to be. Why didn't they get enough funding? It's not like the Republicans have taken control of the budget. We're still operating on kick-the-can-down-the-road continuing resolutions with Nancy Pelosi spending levels. But even if you believed that FEMA, well, they're a little cash-strapped these days, how about you pay closer attention to how you spend their money, how you spend our money, the money that has been allocated to your department.

I saw this on the Twitter X machine last night. Todd Starnes posted this, and I sat back in my chair. By the way, if you're so inclined, Todd is on the Twitter X machine, at Todd Starnes. I am there, at Iowa Politics. But as Todd posted, and I'm just going to read it, Democrats need to explain why it's okay for FEMA to give illegals $640 million in taxpayer money while storm victims in North Carolina and the Southeast go without.

Todd continued, please help us understand why that's okay. They haven't because it's not. $640 million from FEMA. They say they don't have enough money to make it through hurricane season, but they've spent $640 million on illegal aliens, people who broke the law to come into this country. Is it too much to suggest that the Kamala Harris administration, and by the way, when J.D.

Vance Tuesday night was, in essence, acting like Kamala was president, Tim Walz bought right into it. At no point did he say, well, she really isn't the president. You shouldn't say that. I mean, she's Joe Biden's partner. No, he just jumped right on board with it.

So, okay, this is her administration. Remember, Joe used to call her the president before we knew just how bad his cognitive abilities were. But in any event, this administration would rather spend money on illegal aliens as opposed to citizens in a red state. Is that too much of a stretch? Let's just look at the record.

North Carolina, rural areas, a good voter base for Republicans as opposed to illegal aliens. $640 million. These things, folks, are more than a coincidence when they keep happening. It's not like, well, we ran out of money because we needed to take care of the illegals and, oops, sorry, North Carolina. It's this on top of everything else.

Good, hard-working Americans last the trash of the world illegally within our borders first. That is the mindset of the Harris administration. And if you think that it's magically going to be different if she's behind the desk full-time, come January of 2025, well, it might be different. It'll be worse. All of this stuff she says on the campaign trail, that stick, the finger in the wind, see which way it's blowing, say whatever you think is going to get you elected.

Ignore all of that out of these people who have only the goal of power and getting elected in mind. That's the only thing you can trust with regard to them. You have to follow their actions. $2.4 billion of your money to Ukraine, $640 million of FEMA money to illegal aliens, but North Carolina, Georgia, Florida residents, hard-working, legal, tax-paying Americans, $750 each, if you qualify after an application process.

Now you tell me who has the interest of real America deep in their hearts and which group is made up of evil, evil human beings. 901-260-5926.

Sonny, hold on the line. I'll get to your call first right after this break. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. Back in the Liberty University studio in just a moment, this is the Todd Starnes Show. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation honors our nation's greatest heroes, their sacrifices, and helps our nation to never forget.

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He's on his way to Washington where he will be speaking Saturday at the Pray Vote Stand Summit. That's online, by the way, at prayvotestand.org. It gets underway tonight. And Todd will be doing this program from that location tomorrow. And it's my privilege to be with you between now and then.

901-260-5926 is how you can reach us for this coast-to-coast conversation. That's the number that Sonny used to call in from Florida, where he listens to the Todd Starnes Show on Ocala's News Talk, The Source.

Sonny, thanks so much for calling in. It's Jeff Stein. How are you? Good morning, Jeff. This is Sonny again.

What you said about the illegals and our catastrophe that we've just experienced here in our eastern states is true. You've said it better than I could. My thing is they've spent billions, not millions, billions on these illegals since they let them flow into the country in 2021.

Now, I personally believe their entire administration should be rounded up and shipped off to Guantanamo for the rest of their lives for what they have done to our country. This is an actual disgrace. It's beyond a disgrace. It's horrific. It's turning us into the world's first fourth world country.

It is an absolute horror show going on. You know, Sonny, when you said, and I'm going to cut in just because I want to highlight something you just said that I thought was so, so smart. They are turning this into the world's first fourth world country. We hear about third world nations. My presumption when you say that is it's a fourth world country because not only do we have these dregs of society, but they mean to do us harm.

It's not these illegals. They're not just coming in for a better life. We've got people from all over the world flowing in and setting up with other like-minded people to do harm against the United States and its citizens from within. Exactly. Exactly.

There isn't enough time to go over every detail, but it is atrocious, And I would wish every American to call their representatives and lay it on the line. You want us to vote for you, but do something for the American people. Not illegals, not for yourselves, or not anything else. Like I said, round up this entire administration and ship them off to Guantanamo. There's enough room for them there.

They can hobnob with the terrorists from 9-11 and 97 who tried to blow up the World Trade Center. This is more than a disgrace. It's an embarrassment, and it's to the point where you're almost sorry to say that you're American. The only thing holding you back is the fact that maybe we can correct this before it gets too late. These people are destroying our country.

Sonny, you are correct on every front, and I'm so glad that you took the time to call in from Ocala today, listening on The Source. I appreciate it, and you have a good day, sir. You know, and the problem, the only problem with what was just mentioned, you know, let's round up this administration. They're the puppets, right?

Somebody else is pulling the strings. And I know Sonny's including those in it, too, But we need to keep in mind that there's some force on the outside that is pulling the strings of these puppets. We have to get at the root of it. Because there will be another round of useful idiots stepping up. I mean, if we are lucky enough to remove Kamala Harris through the ballot box from the Oval Office and anything close to the White House, If we are able to get this current crew out of office, yes, we are rid of them, but it will be next useful idiot up the next election cycle.

And that's the thing that we have to understand. Winning at the ballot box in November is the absolute first step, and it is the minimum. because, again, this thing is rotten, and those on the outside are controlling things, the George Soros's of the world, etc., etc. 901-260-5926.

Give us a call during this upcoming break, and we'll take your calls in the next segment of the program. Phil Kirpin of American Commitment joins us in our number two, as does Sarah Bedford of the Washington Examiner. I'm Jeff Stein, in for Todd. Thanks for being along on this edition of the Todd Starnes Show. You've asked and MyPillow listened.

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So don't delay. Order now. Use my promo code STARNS at MyPillow.com or call 800-839-8506. Welcome back to the Liberty University studio and the Todd Starnes Show. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today, 901-260-5926.

Todd will be back tomorrow broadcasting live from Washington, D.C. Would love to get your calls. By the way, we've had some of you call and drop off when the commercial break, the bottom of the hour break came. Go ahead and call. We've got plenty of time this hour.

By the way, you may be interested in where did the number $640 million come from on these FEMA grants and whatnot for illegals? It's actually closer to 641. And this is from the FEMA website, the actual government website, that during the fiscal year that just ended and that they've extended the money for, For the current fiscal year, Homeland Security will provide $640.9 million of available funds to enable non-federal entities to offset allowable costs incurred for services associated with non-citizen migrant arrivals in their communities. In other words, the government paying local folks because of what they call non-citizen migrants. We call them what they are, illegal aliens.

Jack, you listened to the starring show on that great North Georgia affiliate WDUN. Thanks so much for calling in. How are you? Thank you. Doing great.

The 641 million or whatever the number happens to be out of FEMA, Now, I would be willing to venture a guess, but that does not include the $500 gift cards that are given out to all who knows how many illegal aliens and all of the trips that are free to the to the emergency room because of the only way that many of the illegals would get into medical care here in the United States would be to go through the emergency room. I wonder if we did some forensic accounting, I wonder how much money that would total. it might total something similar to what FEMA money was, because I doubt very seriously if those numbers are included in the amount given out for how much FEMA provided for services. You are 100% correct, Jack. The 641 that I just cited, that's just funding through two separate distinct opportunities, as they phrase it.

So in other words, that is one big chunk of money.

So when they say, well, we're out of money, we don't have any money to pay to help U.S. citizens who are struggling to stay alive because of a natural disaster, that's a lie because, well, maybe they've already spent the money, so therefore truly they don't have it. But it never should have been spent this way, and if there's any that hasn't been allocated, it ought to be clawed back. And so you're exactly right, Jack, that there is absolutely, the $640 million, that's a drop in the bucket to these people. And I thank you for calling the Todd Starnes Show.

Bill is calling in, listening on the flagship, the Mighty 990 in Tennessee. Bill, you're in Cordova as per custom. Good to have you on the program. What's on your mind? I feel like a regular caller to you.

I tell you, it's great. I appreciate you having me. Yes, sir. I was calling about the debate the other night. I don't know if it's a topic that you were talking about before because I just got back in the car again.

But there were two comments made that nobody's mentioned, and they've kind of gone straight over everybody's heads.

Okay. When Walls was talking about being in China, at the end of that sentence, he attached this little thing that said he learned a lot about governance while he was in China. and to think about the kind of government China has and the people, you know, the oppression in China and everything and what the Democrats hear and say and that really begins to make some sense why she picked him.

Well, you know, it is true because of the fact that he came back as a teacher and brought more students over there and said, you know, this is a great system and we have so much that we can learn from them, et cetera, et cetera. You're right. It's a red flag when he said, no pun intended, red flag and red China, but when he said, you know, I spent time there and boy, it had a great impact on me. Yes, we can tell, and in a way that is not good for the governance of this nation. And I don't want Chinese governance imposed on my country.

That was the first thing. The other thing he said, just real quick, was that Americans are better off today than they were four years ago. And just publicly right now, I would like to challenge Mr. Walls to come on the radio or do a press conference or something and tell us how we're better off. Because I need some explanation.

I'm not feeling it.

Well, here's the thing. you're not better off but you're looking at it wrong Bill, don't you understand? We all need to be at the same low level It's not about individual excellence, it's about equity, and in fact if you're any kind of a person you'd go find somebody in Cordova, Tennessee who's worse off than you and just start handing them your money. That's their philosophy of how we would be better off And they wouldn't even not to apply for it like the hurricane victims. That's right.

That's right. Bill, thanks so much for calling in, listening on the Mighty 990. I appreciate it. 901-260-5926.

That's how you can join this coast-to-coast conversation of the Star and Show. I mentioned this briefly last Friday when I was on the program, but again, you know, 44 years ago, Ronald Reagan said during that debate with Jimmy Carter, looked right in the camera and said, are you better off than you were four years ago? The answer was a resounding no. They cannot, with a straight face, say that individual citizens are better off. You just cannot make that case.

And the problem, to some degree, is they're just lying through their teeth. For example, the number of times first Joe Biden and now Kamala Harris come out and say, well, we inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression. the biggest fib you could possibly tell, because it's not demonstrable by numbers or our experience. We'll talk about that more in about 30 minutes when Phil Kirpin of American Commitment joins us. But, you know, it starts with that.

They figure if they say something enough, it becomes true. And frankly, they may even believe it themselves. And that, frankly, is the scary part, that they may actually believe this stuff. I want to tell you a quick story, and it's, I don't know, I got a kick out of it, and we'll see what you think.

So, a couple of weeks ago, we were doing, for my station, KXEL, we were doing interviews from a major event in our area, the National Cattle Congress. and it's been going on for more than 100 years, and we had a booth in the Exhibitor Hall. We did some other things, but one of the things in the booth was that we would interview candidates and elected officials.

Well, the folks at the Cattle Congress this year said, Hey, let's have some fun. Why don't you do a corn kernel contest? We said, Well, that sounds great.

Now, in this part of the country, we grow corn. And, you know, in the old days, you'd use a kernel of corn, a dried ear of corn, take a kernel off that, and you'd use that to mark a bingo card, for example, right?

So we've used little kernels of corn as part of the world for a lot of things.

Well, what we've done lately, different entities at events like a state fair or county fair, let's say that there's an election coming up. they'll have jars sitting there, one for each candidate, and then you get to walk up and take a kernel of corn and put it in the jar that corresponds to your candidate. It's just a fun little thing. It has no validity. It's not to be taken seriously.

It's just kind of a fun thing.

So we said, great idea. They gave us a bunch of corn, and we put up three jars. One said Trump, one said Harris, and one said other, which could have been neither. But I wanted to have three options. Red jar for Trump blue jar for Harris black jar that said other So I sitting in our booth and I doing a live interview with one of the candidates for our November election.

And I look out of the corner of my eye and I see a gentleman come up to the table. He's an older gentleman and he's got a bag in his hand where, you know, this is one of these things where you get a bag and you get all the free stuff, the pens and the pencils and the literature at all of these different vendor booths.

So he's got the free stuff in one hand, and he stares at the sign that says it's our candidate colonel count. And so he picks up a colonel, and I turn back to my interview, and I hear him drop it in a jar, because you can hear the noise. I thought, oh, well, that's nice. He cast a ballot. Five seconds later, I hear the distinctive ping of at least a half dozen more colonels, sort of like you took a handful and just dropped them through the hole in the top of the jar.

I looked over and it's the same guy. And he's not just voting once, taking a colonel. He then kind of scoops up some in his hand and just starts shoving them in the jar. It was the jar for the Democrat. The point of the story is, even when it doesn't count, when it's not real, they can't help themselves.

They see something that resembles a ballot box, and they're bound and determined to cheat and cheat it. Five minutes later, a couple comes up, and we were off the air at that time, and I saw her just fighting like crazy to try to vote for Trump. And the problem was the kernel of corn that she picked was too big for the hole.

So we made sure she had a different kernel of corn. She dropped it in and walked off.

So I'm thinking to myself after day one, I've learned two things. It really is true that Democrats stuff ballot boxes, and it's hard for Trump votes to be counted in some precincts.

Now, I told that story on the air the following morning, and then we had a second day of these broadcasts.

So I'm sitting there on the second day of broadcasts, and I look, and there's a fellow who starts dropping in a half dozen kernels into the Kamala Harris jar. and then he comes around the corner up to the table and introduces himself as a Democrat candidate for Statehouse. He's my next interview. I had never met him.

So even the candidates are endorsing stuffing the ballot box. And it didn't count. It didn't matter. The fact that they just couldn't help themselves and the Trump voters are really trying to follow the rules, I really hope that we don't have a problem on November 5th. I am really concerned about it because I dare say we have not done one single thing to fix any of the problems from four years ago.

They just can't help themselves. 901-260-5926.

Give us a call. We'll take calls in the next segment from the Liberty University studio. Jeff Stein in for Todd. One kernel of corn per person, please. This is the Todd Starnes Show.

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He'll be with you on Newsmax at 5 o'clock Eastern. That's the Todd Starnes Show on Newsmax 2. And it'll be live from Washington, D.C., and that's where he'll be doing this program from tomorrow. I get to be with you today. 901-260-5926.

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Well, who decides what's true information and what's disinformation? That's why we have the First Amendment. It's called the Marketplace of Ideas. All speech should be heard, and then you, the listener, can determine, because you're smart enough to determine what's true. Having the government control information, that's scary.

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So make the switch today. It's PatriotMobile.com slash Todd. That's patriotmobile.com slash Todd, or call 972-PATRIOT. 901-260-5926 is how you can join this conversation on the Coast to Coast Todd Starnes radio program. A lot of people will ask me, whether it's by email or text here at the radio station or when I'm out doing a personal appearance, they say, well, what can I do?

You know, this problem's gotten so big. What can I possibly do? All right, number one, pay attention. And if you're listening to this radio program, you probably are, right?

So pay attention. Get out and vote. Volunteer to help advance the causes you believe in. These are all very serious, simple things that you can do. Maybe you need to be a poll worker or a poll watcher.

Those are fine opportunities as well to make sure that the shenanigans don't start up. If you have the money to donate, that's great, but I know money is so tight thanks to the Harris and Biden administration and their cronies. The other thing you can do is don't presume that your like-minded friends take this as seriously as you do. How do you make sure that the people you know and trust are actually voting? I've come upon, I've got to tell you, a lot of people who say that they were talking contemporary issues with friends, and the person said, yeah, no, I agree with you, but no, I don't bother to vote.

I would suggest every single one of you in Starnes Nation carry with you, just put it in the car or the back pocket, whatever, voter registration cards, empty voter registration cards, so that when somebody says, yeah, you know, I agree. I'd vote for Trump in advance. You know, we've got to get these people out of office. We've got to do it legally. But no, I don't vote.

You hand them the voter registration card. You get them invested in it.

Now, you might say, well, I'm in a state where it's not going to matter. Hey, it matters, period. Do not believe any polls, first of all. But it matters, and if you say, well, for example, Trump's way ahead in my state. How about the other races down the line?

You owe it to these people to pay attention and vote up and down the line.

So don't just say, well, no, I don't need to. It's not close. Then take it to the next level. Do you have friends and family in other states where it is closer? I mean, I look at the list.

I mean, nobody's my friend.

Some family members have to own me. But if it's in a close state, I'm going to say, hey, you're going to get registered and vote, right? You're going to get your vote in early if it matters in some of these places, right?

So when you say, what can I possibly do? Do what you can. Take care of yourself and bring a few people along with you. Close to home, nearby states, wherever it matters. Get involved.

That's the only way we save our nation. Hour one done. Two more to go. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. Thank you so much for being along on this national edition of the Todd Starn Show.

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Todd Starnes. Oh, yeah. Wherever you're listening across this, the greatest nation God ever blessed. Welcome to our two of a Thursday edition of the Todd Starnes Show, coast to coast on 150 outstanding radio stations and streaming live at ToddStarnes.com. Hello, fellow patriots.

Jeff Stein from the free state of Iowa filling in again today from my home base. News Talk 1540 KXEL in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, Iowa. The 50,000-watt blowtorch scorching the heartland with accurate news and reasonable views. And the home to Todd Starnes in the greater Midwest. 901-260-5926.

That's how you can join this coast-to-coast conversation from the Liberty University studio. We will take your calls in the next segment. But joining us now on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line is Phil Kirpin. Mr. Kirpin is president of American Commitment.

They are online at AmericanCommitment.org. Phil, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. Thanks so much for taking time. How are you? Oh, I'm doing great, Jeff.

How are you? I am doing very well. I would do even better if the economy was more consistent. But I'm guessing that's something that you hear an awful lot in your work with people across the country. Yeah, no question.

It's been a tough few years, really, going back to the lockdown, which derailed an economy that was incredibly strong. It was one of the best economic performances we'd seen in a long time, and it got basically shut down overnight, and we never completely fully recovered from that, and we've had a lot of problems ever since. And, you know, Biden wants to tell us that he has this great soft landing, he's engineered, and everything is fantastic. Most people are not experiencing that.

So it's been a rough ride for most people. Every time, and I mentioned this briefly last hour, but I'd like your response. Every time I hear, in the past it was Joe Biden, now it's Kamala Harris saying, well, you know, we inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression. You can't even say they're close with that, can you? I mean, the numbers just simply don't bear that out.

No, it's completely false. And in fact, when they came in, the red states had mostly recovered their pre-lockdown employment levels. It was the blue states, which had very lengthy lockdowns and school closures and all the rest of the madness. They were the ones that were really dragging the country down economically. And in terms of the top line overall numbers, they were not historically bad.

They were not great, but they were not historically bad. And it was really the policies of the Biden administration that sent us into the worst aspect of the economy for most people over the last few years, which was the high inflation rate. And, you know, that was partially already started when they came in because they did the CARES Act. There was a bunch of extra spending. But really, it was that fateful decision to do the American recovery plan, the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, that they were warned not to do.

You remember Larry Summers said, do not do this. This will cause massive inflation. they ignored him, they did it anyway, and it was a tie vote, 50-50 in the Senate, Kamala Harris was in the chair, she said, you know, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the tie is broken and it passes, and it produced exactly what was expected, which is, you know, a major bulge of inflation, it was actually made worse by the obscenely misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, which again passed on a 50-50 vote with Harris breaking the tie, And we had this experience of, for the first time in 40 years, really tangible, meaningful, in-your-face inflation with everything getting more expensive. And it's receded somewhat, Jeff, over the last couple of years, but that's because Republicans won the House. And they put the brakes on the Biden-Harris spending agenda and the $7 trillion budget proposal and the Build Back Better and all the rest of the stuff they want.

if the Democrats had retained the House, all of that would have happened, and inflation would have stayed where it was, at 8%, 9%, 10%, or even gone higher if their full ambitions had been enacted. And so gridlock is kind of your friend. It's usually pretty good to have divided government in Washington because things might not get better, but they stop getting worse. And I think that's what we've experienced over the last year and a half or so. That said, we're in a pretty dangerous situation now because the economy has softened substantially.

Unemployment has risen from 3.5 to 4.2, and we'll see what it is tomorrow when we get the print for September. But, you know, when that starts rising, it usually keeps going for a while, and I think that's why the Fed did their 50 basis point cut and telegraphed more cuts. I don't think they did it because of the all-clear sign of having conquered inflation because they're not at their 2% target and the gold price is still rising. I think they did it out of panic that we could be headed into a recession And if they're right about that, and if we don't get any federal spending discipline, you know, and if, for instance, Democrats have unified control coming out of this election and go right off to the races again with massive spending bills, you know, we could have the recipe for a 70s style stagflation where we're headed into a recession. But, you know, the money printing presses or electronic money printing presses are going full speed.

And, you know, that could be a recipe for really tough economic times. Phil Kirpin of American Commitment, joining us on the Todd Starn Show on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line, AmericanCommitment.org. You can follow Mr. Kirpin on the Twitter X machine, at Kirpin, K-E-R-P-E-N, his last name.

So now you've got the longshoreman strike. And again, it's not just the ports on the East Coast, it's also the Gulf. And this has the potential to really have devastating results. It's one thing for history to say, you know, when you get a big spike of inflation like 9%, which was the height of the Biden-Harris administration, there's usually another little rebound in there before it settles out. This is the kind of thing, is it not, that can trigger that sort of spike?

Yeah, you know, I was just looking at this. Commodity prices are up about 8% from their low, which was kind of in the first week of September. They hit the low, actually, the week before the Fed cut rates. But, you know, it could have been in anticipation of that. And then we've got, you know, obviously the Middle East is in flames.

We've got the tragedy of Hurricane Aileen. And, you know, you've now got substantial potential inflationary pressures kind of building just from not necessarily from a monetary standpoint, although that's part of it with the Fed cutting rates, but just from these supply shocks, the supply chain disruption issues, both the geopolitical risk in the Middle East, the storm, and now the man-made storm of this strike, which could have major ripple effects on the availability of all kinds of good shortages, particularly as it interacts with the storm. And if you're in a storm-damaged area and you can't get the construction supplies to fix your home because they can't get through the port because the workers have walked off the job, So, I mean, that's kind of a man-made disaster on top of a natural disaster. It's a worst-case scenario. And I am concerned that these things can take a long time to work out, especially if this becomes a prolonged strike, just like we saw when we had the lockdown.

Just because you turn things back on doesn't mean that they get straightened out with any kind of speed. You disrupt, and the disruptions can have ripple effects. And so I'm really disturbed that President Biden, who has the power to order these workers back on the job by invoking Taft-Hartley, says, I don't believe in Taft-Hartley. This is what he said. It's like, I'm the president.

I don't believe in the law.

So, you know, let them, you know, cripple the, what did the mobster looking guy say? I'm going to cripple the economy. Yes. And we have a president who's just going to let him. That's the union head who makes, what, $900,000 a year?

I mean, that's not Phil Kirpin money. That's not Jeff Stein money. I mean, it's Todd Starnes money. That's his legitimate income. And then, you know, he's rumored to be connected to some illegitimate business as well.

Although, I mean, we should say he was twice acquitted of federal RICO charges.

So maybe he's clean, but I don't know. Phil Kirpin of American Commitment joining us on the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line. And I was going to ask you if, and this is speculation, I suppose it doesn't matter, But if this was not a presidential election year, would Biden have suddenly believed in Taft-Hartley? I mean, I think it's a I think it's a hardcore pro-union belief, I guess. I don't know.

I mean, he did. He did order the rail workers back, you know, so I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. You know, one of the challenges, of course, is, you know, when we say Biden believes or doesn't believe. I mean, is it actually the man Joe Biden, or is it whoever controls the shell of a man?

So I don't even know who's making these decisions or where these statements originate from these days. That's the other challenge. The other thing, and you mentioned this a moment ago, that inflation is at a lower percentage, and I'm being very careful with how I phrase it, because those on the left like to say, well, inflation is going down. No, inflation is not going down. That would be deflation.

The rate of increase is slowing, but it is still nearly double what it was when they inherited the thing. And those prices haven't gone down.

So they can look at the spreadsheets and spin the numbers all they want, but the fact of the matter is if you go to the grocery store, the prices have not gone down, and they keep going up, maybe not quite as fast as they did before, but they're going up. Right. And incomes have still not caught up to prices, which is to say that on an inflation adjusted basis, median household income was lower in 2023 than it was in 2019.

So essentially we had, you know, you have a lost five years. We've not and we expect, you know, we're Americans. We expect to get a little bit wealthier over time. We expect to be a little bit more comfortable each year, kind of, you know, as we rise up through the ranks of wherever we work. what have you.

And so where you have kind of a prolonged period of time where you can't necessarily afford the things you used to be able to afford, where you're doing without or you're building up a credit card balance so you and your family don't have to do without, that doesn't feel good to people. And so when you tell them, hey, you don't know how good you have it, this economy is fantastic, and people are not experiencing that, you know, Jay, it's a recipe for a lot of backlash. And I think that's why the Democrats have had so much trouble on their economic messaging in this political cycle is the simple fact that you know people know what their financial circumstance is you can't tell them otherwise i mean i don't know if you saw something don lemon was doing like a man on the street interviews and he i think it was in atlantic city new jersey and he asked for a guy like are you better off financially now than you were under trump and the guy was like no i was way better under trump i had more income and don lemon's like you're wrong like he knew the guy's income situation better than the guy did with someone he doesn't know off the street. And I thought that mentality was kind of, that was sort of the most ridiculous example, but we see this a lot from the media and the Democrats, that people don't know how good they have it, kind of effort to wave away the experience that people are actually having. But you're absolutely right.

Prices, they continue to rise. They are rising more slowly, mostly because, as I said, we've had some gridlock in Congress. Most of the spending ambitions of Biden and Harris have been rejected by the Republican House, which is why prices are not rising the way they were when they had a Democratic House. But incomes are still not caught up.

So people are still behind where they were in 2019. Don Lemon is not better off than he was four years ago. Four years ago he had a job. Yeah, right. Exactly.

He wasn't shooting his own bootleg videos on the street. That's right. Getting saltwater taffy on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Final 60 seconds with Phil Kirpin of American Commitment. There will be a new president in January.

Best thing they can do at the outset to help the economy broadly is what?

Well, I think it's deregulation in particular of the energy industry, but also just more broadly. You know, this was the thing that the first Trump administration really got mostly right was regulatory policy. And it makes a huge difference. Biden brought back all of the Obama regulations and then some and more, and it's had a major negative effect on sort of the dynamism of the economy overall, and it's really restricted us. Just bringing back Trump energy policies would probably bring U.S.

oil production from about 13 million barrels a day to about 15 million in pretty short order, and that would make an enormous difference for the price of everything, not least of the price that we pay at the pump.

So deregulation, I think, has got to be the top of the agenda. I would make all of the Trump tax cuts permanent so there's not this threat of higher taxes hanging over the economy. And I would bring in Elon Musk and do the spending commission thing. And I know people sort of roll their eyes and say, oh, we've had a million commissions. They never solve anything.

I think this one would be different because the guy's like the CEO of five companies. He's not trying to create a new level of bureaucracy and a bunch of new staff or whatever. I mean, I think he would come in sort of melee style and say, afuera, afuera, afuera, get rid of a bunch of broken programs and agencies and so forth, and that maybe we could actually accomplish something on the spending side.

So, you know, if you get those elements right, then you can have a stable dollar as well, because you don't have the pressure on the Fed to expand their balance sheet and to finance all of that government spending. And then you'd have kind of all of the elements for robust prosperity. And, you know, if Trump is in, I think those are mostly the things that he'll do. If it ends up being Harris, we're going to have to fight for all those things. We have to fight for them in Congress and try to box her in to the extent we can.

But, you know, either way, that's what we're going to be trying to advocate. I'm way over time, but one word answer. Mets going to win tonight? Oh, boy, I hope so. I'll say yes, but I don't know if I believe it.

Phil Kirpin, we believe everything else you say. Thanks so much for the time. I appreciate it. And go Mets. All right.

Bye. Phil Kirpin, Mets fan, but more importantly, in addition to being Mets fan, president of American Commitment, AmericanCommitment.org. And if you follow him on the Twitter X machine, at Kirpin, you'll see he does live and die with that National League ball team. 901-260-5926.

Phil Kirpin joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. Your calls in the next segment. Jeff Stein in for Todd. This is the Todd Starn Show. Balance of Nature's fruits and veggies supplements, changing the world one life at a time.

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And for a limited time, get 35% off your first order with free shipping and our money back guarantee. Go to balanceofnature.com or call 1-800-246-8751 and get this special offer by using discount code BALANCE. Welcome back to the Liberty University studio and the Todd Starnes Show. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. He's on his way to Washington, D.C.

for the Pray Vote Stand Summit. You can watch Todd on Newsmax 2, 5 o'clock Eastern today and tomorrow. He'll be on site in Washington for the TV show, and he'll be behind the microphone from the nation's capital and that great event tomorrow. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd, as I said, from the free state of Iowa. And we start this segment by going to the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line.

A return guest to the program, she is Sarah Bedford. Ms. Bedford is Investigations Editor for the Washington Examiner. They, of course, are online at WashingtonExaminer.com. Sarah Jeffstein, in for Todd.

Good to talk to you again. Hi, thanks for having me. It's been a while, and I tell you, all this talk about fact-checking lately, if there's anybody I trust to do an accurate after-the-fact fact-check, it's you. And you've put together a piece that's at WashingtonExaminer.com. fact-checking Tuesday's vice presidential debate.

On the whole, how was it in terms of fibs and falsehoods? You know, I actually think it wasn't as bad as, you know, previous debates or campaign speeches. And I think that, you know, the left in particular has gotten really bogged down in this idea of facts and falsehoods because their entire strategy might seem to be just trying to discredit Trump and Vance and Republicans in general rather than actually contend with the merits of the ideas of the Republicans. But in terms of twisting of facts, you know, I think there were, you know, not that much of that going on at the debate. I found it to be, and I've said this on the air, it was a much more civil undertaking than some of these other ones.

and it actually was more of a pleasure.

Well, can you call it a pleasure? It was a pleasure to watch as opposed to some of these other things where it's just a lot of posturing and a lot of light as opposed to, or a lot of heat as opposed to a lot of light. Forty-three million people watched it. What were some of the things that you reported on for the Washington Examiner where it just didn't measure up on the truth level? One of the biggest factual disputes that occurred during the debate occurred when the Haitian migrant population in Springfield, Ohio, came up.

J.D. Vance described the immigrant population there as illegal. And then despite agreements with the campaign that they were not going to conduct any fact checks, the CBS moderator interjected to say that the migrants in Springfield are legal immigrants, which is technically true. And Shady Vance quickly acknowledged that, but he said, you know, this is sort of executive fiat from the Biden administration waving a wand and creating a legal status for this population. And that's true.

The Biden administration has now twice extended temporary protected status or TPS status for Haitian migrants, allowing them to come into the country. But it's entirely within the Biden administration's discretion. and without making that sort of arbitrary decision about the Haitian migrants, then they would be illegal. And so pinning the blame squarely on the Biden administration for creating this carve-out for the Haitian migrants was a legitimate argument for J.D. Vance to make, but of course it was very controversial then that the CBS moderators cut Vance's microphone during that exchange.

What I found interesting, because in the exchange, Sarah, just before that, Nora O'Donnell was in charge of the questioning, and after they'd had the exchange and she was going to toss to Margaret Brennan, she then made an editorial comment. And I don't even remember the topic, but I remember sitting there watching this and saying out loud, well, that's uncalled for. And then right after that, Margaret Brennan, with this exchange that you mentioned that then Senator Vance called them out on, I wonder if the concept of we're not going to fact check you and they thought, well, we'll just make snarky little comments at the end of each little transition. but what I found interesting was after the exchange you mentioned they didn't go down that road the rest of the night, those moderators. That's actually a good point.

Yeah, I think one of the moments you may have been referring to is in the climate debate, which, you know, setting aside the merits of reducing Hurricane Helene to a simple issue of climate change, at the end of that exchange in which J.D. Vance never disputed the science underpinning climate change. He just made a subjective argument about how seriously Kamala Harris appears to have taken the climate change crisis, as one wants to call it that. The moderator's interjected to say, well, actually, scientists all agree that climate change is caused by man.

Well, no one had disputed that. J.D. Vance had not waded into that argument, but it was an editorial comment that sort of attempted to cast J.D. Vance as a climate denier, which is a term the left likes to throw around, when that was never part of what J.D. Vance is arguing at the debate.

That was it exactly. Sarah Bedford of the Washington Examiner. You find her on the Twitter X machine at SarahCBedfordWashingtonExaminer.com. She has a piece there now that was posted yesterday morning in the aftermath of the vice presidential debate with a fact check. What were a couple of other things?

I was stunned by it. I was stunned. Governor Walz made very careful to work in the names of three different women who he said had been wronged by the post-Roe v. Wade world. It almost seemed forced, almost like the kid who had cribbed for a test, and even though they didn't ask this certain question, by gosh, she's going to answer it.

I think that that was another area that would have been right for fact-checking, have the moderator said more even-handed. But the most prominent of the stories that have been making the rounds on the left about the aftermath of the Dobbs decision is the story of Amber Thurman from Georgia, a woman who tragically passed away in 2022 just after Georgia passed its six-week abortion ban.

Now, her story, she was about nine weeks pregnant. She had to travel to North Carolina then to receive the abortion pill. There were complications from it. she had some retained tissue in her uterus. When she went to the hospital with signs of a severe infection, doctors waited hours to prescribe her an antibiotic, and then nearly an entire day before they went in to clear that retained tissue out of her uterus.

Now, the reporting about this did not get any interviews with any of the doctors involved. No one from the hospital or who were involved in her care blamed the Georgia law. It was pure speculation on the part of Georgia officials and the reporters at ProPublica who broke this story that maybe the doctors waited to give her care because they were worried about being held liable under the new Georgia abortion ban. But again, there's no evidence of that. And other doctors who looked at this case said this is a pretty clear instance of medical malpractice.

There was not a pregnancy involved. By the time she arrived to the hospital, she was no longer pregnant. She was simply a woman with a very severe infection who needed treatment, and the doctors inexplicably waited.

So there's been no evidence linking her death to the abortion ban in Georgia, and yet the left has really used her death, very tragic nonetheless, as a rallying cry about abortion restrictions. The law was not the direct cause of her death, but don't let the facts get in the way of a good story, and that leads us to Project 2025.

Now, of course, Mr. Trump had kind of walked away from that early on. Mr. Vance had some role with this, but what's the truth about the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025?

Well, there are former Trump associates, people sort of in his orbit who did work on the founded document of Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation who have been involved in this effort, which is why Trump is so closely linked to it. But Trump has disavowed it multiple, multiple times. He said that he doesn't agree with many of the aspects of Project 2025, which is essentially just a policy blueprint for what the next conservative administration could accomplish. But that disavowal aside, let's just say that Donald Trump had embraced Project 2025, which he hasn't. There is nothing in Project 2025 that calls for restrictions on birth control.

There is nothing in Project 2025 that calls for a reduction in access to IVF or other fertility treatments.

So it's basically just a flat-out lie when Democrats are warning that Republicans are coming after contraception or trying to limit access to IVF. No Republican is proposing doing that. No Republican at the state level, no Republican in Congress is pushing that kind of policy. And yet on the debate stage, Walls, without any challenge from the moderators, was allowed to say that Republicans are threatening access to those reproductive health treatments. and that is probably the biggest whopper that came from some walls.

And it is not unusual for organizations, foundations, think tanks. I'm thinking also of the America First Policy Institute. Former officials who are working on plans in the event their side gets back into power so they can hit the ground running on day one. And heaven knows there are plenty on the left as well. Why do you think was Project 2025 singled out in such a way?

Why was it so demonized? Was it because of the name even? It just seems like it's the master plan sort of thing, where if this had sort of been a little more under the radar and not as big a published report, maybe it wouldn't have gotten the demonizing that it has? I think the name has a lot to do with it. And frankly, I think the only reason why it's been elevated so dramatically is because it pulled well for Democrats as an attack line.

It kind of reminds me of the Green New Deal, which is something that pulled well for Republicans as an attack line. It's mentioned all the time, even though this was a proposal that was years old that didn't gain any traction, that Kamala Harris is no longer pushing. But you still hear Republicans talking about it because it was an effective representation of what based on the excesses of the left. And Project 2025 is sort of similar. It's become a buzzword that's more or less disconnected from what it actually stands for, what it actually advocates for at this point.

It's just a catch-all word for Democrats to scare voters about what maybe the furthest right Republicans would want in an ideal world. And so, you know, there's a lot of misinformation out there about Project 2025. but at the end of the day, Donald Trump has totally severed his connection to that project. And so it's simply not accurate to characterize any of his policies or platforms as being a part of Project 2025. Exit question for Sarah Bedford of the Washington Examiner, WashingtonExaminer.com.

Which candidate do you think did his side the most good? And I'm leaving it wide open because you might think, well, does that have to do with the base? Does it have to do with bringing in independents? But just generally speaking, which gentleman did their side the most good Tuesday night? I think there's no question that J.D.

Vance was the clear winner in that debate, not just stylistically. His delivery was smooth. It was sharp. But on policy, I think that J.D. Vance is really driving a lot of the conversation and the framing of the debate, right?

You did not see Donald Trump effectively frame Kamala Harris as part of the establishment, as the incumbent who is primarily responsible for everything that voters are dissatisfied with in this country. Really, the presidential debate with Trump and Harris ended up being a referendum more on the Trump presidency and the Trump legacy, and Trump sort of allowed the framing of that debate to be that way. J.D. Vance did not. He set the tone of the debate.

It was all about how Harris is in office now. There was at one point where he got walls to say the Harris administration instead of the Biden administration.

So he essentially got his opponent to accept Vance's theory of the case and framing of the issues of this country. That's how much Vance was driving the conversation.

So I think even if you just put aside the cosmetic stuff, that Vance looked more relaxed and sounded better prepared, I think that Vance drove the conversation more effectively. And you're right. Every time that Senator Vance was talking about day one was back in 2021, usually the Democrats push back. But Walls was just happy as all get out to have her be seen as the incumbent. And I think that's against their had been against their strategy.

Another another mistake in this part, as you accurately know it. Sarah, it's always a good conversation. Thank you for your excellent reporting and your time today. Thanks for having me. Sarah Bedford is the investigations editor for the Washington Examiner.

You find her on the socials at Sarah C. Bedford. WashingtonExaminer.com is the website. and she joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line. 901-260-5926 is how you can join this coast-to-coast conversation.

I'm Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. Thanks for being along on a Thursday edition of the Todd Starn Show. Exercise and a healthy diet can help, but that can be hard, especially as we start to get older. It's like the choice between taking the stairs or waiting for the elevator.

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901-260-5926 is how you can join us. I'm Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. Todd will be behind the microphone taking the Liberty University Studio to Washington, D.C. That's tomorrow. He is speaking Saturday at the PrayVoteStand Summit, and you can learn more about all of that at PrayVoteStand.org.

PrayVoteStand.org. Coming up in our next hour, from the Federalist, John Daniel Davidson, he has a piece titled, Kamala Harris Doesn't Care About White People. That may sound kind of strong, but there's a lot of information that could lead you to nod your head. In particular, the lack of consideration by the Harris and Biden folks for the good people in North Carolina. Once again, if you're really suffering in North Carolina and you fill out the paperwork, you might, might get $750.

FEMA can't afford more than that because they've already spent $640 million on illegal aliens in just one grant program this year. and we can't really afford $750. That's the top dollar for you folks who are the victims of the hurricane because we just spent $2.4 billion in aid to Ukraine. Where does this money come from? How does the president just wave the magic wand or shake the money tree?

I thought they had cherry blossoms in Washington. What's with the dollar bills falling to the ground all over the place? Yes, it's a payoff to Zelensky for making the campaign appearance in Pennsylvania. That doesn't make it right. In any event, we'll talk with Mr.

Davidson in the next hour. We'll also talk with the author of a new book entitled If One Falls Down. He's Matthew Russell, an ex-staffer on Capitol Hill. And we'll talk about gridlock in Congress and his experience. That is coming up in our next hour, along with your calls at 901-260-5926.

Earlier this hour, we spoke with Phil Kirpin of American Commitment. Mr. Kirpin is a big fan of the New York Metropolitans, the Mets. And they are in the final game of a best-of-three series in the National League playoffs tonight at Milwaukee.

So to all of our good listeners in the state of Wisconsin, neighbor to where I am in Iowa, when I said go Mets, that was just as a courtesy to Mr. Kirpin. I have no dog in this fight, so I do not want to alienate our listeners who are fans of the Milwaukee Brewers who are hosting the decisive game in the National League wildcard. I have no dog in the fight. I have no team at issue here because my team, the New York Yankees, is just going to sweep everything.

We're just getting around to when our part of the playoff starts coming up over the weekend.

So, sure, go Mets, go Brewers, go home. I don't care. The Yankees will prevail.

Now, I took a big risk with that because the home base of this radio station is in Memphis, Tennessee, and I just used the word Yankee on the radio twice.

Well, there, it was the third time.

So I don't know if it gets bleeped out, you know, like other swear words. I just don't know how the people in the South react to the word Yankee these days. I guess somebody can explain it to me on the break. I'm Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. Thanks so much.

Two hours down, one to go. Stay with us, won't you? This is the Todd Starn Show. 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. Oh, yeah. Wherever you're listening across this, the greatest nation God ever blessed, it's Hour 3 of a Thursday edition of the Todd Starnes Show, coast to coast on more than 150 tremendous radio stations and streaming live at ToddStarns.com.

Hello fellow patriots, Jeff Stein coming to you from the free state of Iowa and my home base at News Talk 1540 KXEL in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, the 50,000 watt blowtorch scorching the heartland with accurate news and reasonable views. We're coming to you from the Liberty University studio. Todd is on his way to the nation's capital. He'll be speaking this week at the Pray Vote Stand Summit. He'll be doing this radio program from that location tomorrow.

It's my pleasure to be with you today. Todd will be with you on the Newsmax 2 show. That is at 5 o'clock Eastern time today and tomorrow from the nation's capital. We go to the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line to start this hour of the program and welcome John Daniel Davidson. Mr.

Davidson is senior editor at The Federalist. Mr. Davidson, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd Starnes. Thanks for taking the time, sir. Hey, thanks for having me.

The death toll is now above 200, one week after Hurricane Helene, second deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. in the last 55 years, topped only by Katrina 19 years ago. This is the most since Camille hit the Gulf Coast in August of 1969. nine kamala harris showed up in georgia yesterday based upon a piece you wrote for the federals a few days ago i'm guessing you're not terribly impressed by what she has done so far no it's actually shocking how little she has done and how incompetent um the biden harris administration has been in getting aid and even preparing for this disaster uh you know people on the ground are all over social media saying that there is no federal response effectively. FEMA is not there.

And people are just kind of having to take care of themselves. And now we're getting reports today that the federal government is actually where they are coming in. They're coming in to get in the way and tell people to stop taking matters into their own hands.

So it's really shocking. And it's just adding insult to injury that Kamala Harris showed up in Georgia and said that those who were really in need could get $750 checks from the government.

Meanwhile, they're spending billions on illegal immigrants. FEMA is. And that's after you fill out the application and go through the government paperwork. And where are we going to mail that check? Because your home's been destroyed.

I mean, it's just such a disconnectedness from reality. The piece that you wrote that was posted September 30th, which I guess was Monday, just a few days ago, the headline, Kamala Harris doesn't care about white people. And that obviously is a reference to something that was thrown from the left in the past. That's right. If you remember back when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, you mentioned Hurricane Katrina earlier, the most deadly hurricane we've had.

And this one now, Hurricane Helene, is the deadliest since Katrina. The line made famous by Kanye West, a young Kanye West, was that George Bush doesn't care about black people because the federal response was slow and there was a lot of chaos on the ground. And Bush was essentially blamed for how bad Katrina was in New Orleans, which, you know, most of the death toll there and most of the people who are displaced were black people. And so that became the media's narrative. George Bush doesn't care about black people.

and was effectively the end of his administration. But I argue that there's far more reason right now to say that Kamala Harris doesn't care about white people than there ever was to say George W. Bush doesn't care about black people. Give us some examples of this, because, again, she seems so uncomfortable there. And frankly, would she even have been in Georgia yesterday had Donald Trump not beaten her to the punch and gotten Elon Musk involved, etc.?

I mean, this really wasn't on their card, their agenda for the week, to have either Biden or Harris actually show up at any of these places. Yeah, exactly. Over the weekend when the storm was actually making landfall, she was in California going to extremely ritzy fundraisers in San Francisco, and Joe Biden was napping on the beach as he normally does, our absentee president.

So, yeah, I mean, arguably going back to Katrina, the main problem, it turned out, wasn't the federal government's, the George W. Bush administration's response. The main problem was the corruption of local and municipal leaders in New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin infamously was exposed as this corrupt politician, and he was later indicted and convicted on more than a dozen counts of corruption in federal court. And that was why things were so bad in New Orleans.

It wasn't that George Bush didn't care about black people. But here, we just have kind of an absentee federal officials who are not paying attention. There doesn't seem to be there was any preparation for this. And now it's been seven days now. It's been seven days, and there's still people who are stranded.

There's still people who don't have food and water. And everyone's still wondering, where is the federal government? Why isn't every military helicopter within 500 miles of the affected areas in the air on the way to get people out and get people food and water? Why hasn't that happened? John Daniel Davidson of The Federalist his article, Kamala Harris doesn't care about white people you can read it at thefederalist.com he joins us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line well again these numbers are just striking 200 dead you might get a $750 check if you're really nice and apply to the government but FEMA doesn't have more money than that because in one single program they set aside $640 million to handle illegal aliens in this country.

Again, it's just the priorities of the situation. And frankly, and I said this the other day, and I don't mean to be dismissive about it, folks in Florida are used to hurricanes. They're dramatic. They're deadly. They're devastating.

To a lesser extent, people in Georgia, I mean, this is where they land. You're not used to this kind of rain on top of already saturated ground in places like North Carolina. I mean, this is what's really maddening. They're not used to this, and at the very moment that they need their government to step in, like you said, the commander-in-chief's on a beach. Yeah, it's amazing.

And, you know, because of social media, we're able to get a lot of voices coming out of these affected areas It's basically describing the destruction and the chaos and confusion that has engulfed these areas in North Carolina and Georgia. And people are kind of doing whatever they can, taking matters into their own hands, which is a very American and very noble thing to do. But where the government is involved, oftentimes they're telling people, telling helicopter pilots to stand down. They telling drone operators to get their drones out of the sky Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg just posted a video telling drone operators to get their their drones out of the sky well people are using drones to locate people who are are trapped and figure out who needs to get airlifted out um and they're and they're doing a very american thing by taking matters into their own hands in the absence of a federal response And meanwhile, you mentioned the matter of the money. The FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, allocated nearly a billion dollars over last year and this year for disaster relief that was supposed to be for natural disaster relief, and they reallocated it to use it to shelter illegal immigrants instead.

And so that's why we're seeing news reports, too, that FEMA doesn't have enough money, and they won't be able to, you know, respond to another storm and they don't have the resources they need because the Biden-Harris administration decided to prioritize illegal immigrants and not Americans. And that's just the plain truth.

Now I'm putting this next question on a tee for you, Mr. Davidson, but do they think that we're stupid? And I say that because of the post on X of the vice president supposedly working very hard do they not realize that we can tell that she may have earbuds in but they're not plugged into the phone that's sitting right there i mean i don't understand either either their their comms people are shallow or they really think we're stupid yeah they think we're stupid they also don't care what we think because uh you know you got to understand kamala harris has uh has a deep disdain to the American people. She doesn't care what they think. She's not trying to win over any of these voters, let's say, in North Carolina or Georgia.

And she's not really trying to win over Trump voters either. That's not their approach to politics anymore. Their approach has been, from the beginning, to run a fake campaign, to try to rig the election as best they can, and to juice turnout among their loyalists in the Democratic base. And so persuasion or trying to show competent leadership, trying to be a leader for all Americans, regardless of their race or political views, that's not something Democrats that Kamala Harris is interested in at all. And you can tell everything she does, you know, it sort of conveys sort of a screw you mentality toward the American people, including that stupid photo op that she finally put out earlier this week, where she's pretending to write notes on a blank piece of paper and pretending to be on a phone call on Air Force Two when, as you say, it wasn't plugged in.

That conveys contempt for the American people above all. I'm going to raise something, and I hate to even think of such a thing. I have a friend on the left who, prior to the hurricane, prior to the hurricane landing, said, you know, this could affect the election because if it really hits some of the red areas of Florida, Georgia, into North Carolina, and the federal government responds like the federal government often does in a positive way, well, that could really change the narrative for the election toward the Democrats. Because, again, that would be the last thing people saw.

So I wonder if, A, this absolute dereliction of duty by this administration will work against them and Democrats generally, but B, I'm just wondering if they're tamping down the response because you don't want Western North Carolina to vote as they would normally vote.

well you know it would certainly be consistent with uh the democrat way of doing things uh to not let a good crisis go to waste that was a phrase made infamous by president obama's former chief of staff rom emmanuel don't let a good crisis go to waste and so that would be that would make sense that they would hope that um these storm ravaged areas all of which are red, Republican-leaning areas, would make it very difficult for people to vote there. And so I wouldn't put it past them. This is a party that is not interested at all in democracy. You can tell because they ran what amounted to a soft coup against their own candidate, invalidating 14 or 15 million Democratic primary votes. Nobody has voted for Kamala Harris.

clearly Joe Biden didn't want to be forced out of the race but his own party forced him out they don't care about democracy or free speech or anything like that and so I wouldn't put it past them that they don't really care about whether or not these people in storm affected areas are able to vote and they're certainly not going to lift a finger to make it easier for them they haven't lifted a finger to even get them out of harm's way Kamala Harris doesn't care about white people the title of the article at thefederalist.com by senior editor at the Federalist John Daniel Davidson who has been our guest on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line Mr. Davidson thank you for the excellent conversation I appreciate it Hey thanks for having me and as noted Mr. Davidson joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line folks from the National Guard in my home state of Iowa are on the scene in North Carolina and we saw reports last night that they, through Chopper, rescued 35 residents and staff at a senior nursing facility, nursing home, in western North Carolina. Because the states are having to fill in. Because the federal government is absent.

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Welcome back to the Liberty University Studio and the Todd Starn Show. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. 901-260-5926 is how you can join this conversation from the Liberty University Studio. After the bottom of the hour break, Matthew Russell used to work on Capital Hill now has a book called If One Falls Down. We'll talk about Congress, gridlock, and more with Matthew Russell, and that is in 10 minutes.

The Democrats have abandoned North Carolina. The Biden administration's behavior is treasonous, unquote.

So saith the host of this program, Todd Starnes, on social media during our last segment. And he's absolutely right. And by the You follow Todd on most of the socials at Todd Starnes. He is on the Instagram and threads at Todd Starnes FNC. You can follow me on Truth Social and Instagram threads and Twitter X at Iowa Politics.

But as Todd just said very succinctly, the Democrats have abandoned North Carolina. And it makes you wonder, and you don't have to, it's not a stretch to put this together, if this was a big blue city or a blue state or illegal aliens were at issue, they'd be right there. And God bless all of you folks in harm's way because of the devastation of Helene.

Now, if you go to ToddStarnes.com and click on the live show blog, now here's what you do. You just go to ToddStarnes.com and right there on the main page, there's a big old microphone and an on-air light, and it says Kamala abandons hurricane survivors. That's today's live show blog, and when you click on that, you'll go to the page that tells you who's on the program and all that good stuff. But there are two links of importance on there as well that Grace has put in place for you. You can click on the live show blog on the link to donate to Samaritan's Purse relief response to Hurricane Helene.

That's one of the links. Another link is there to contribute to Arlington Armory's hurricane relief effort. You can also call them in Tennessee as well. It's a 901 area code.

So again, go to the live show blog at toddstarns.com. Just click where it says Kamala Abandons Hurricane Survivors on the main page, and you'll see those links for Samaritan's Person Arlington's Armory hurricane relief effort. And if you are so inclined, we definitely ask that you do so. Make a contribution. Do whatever you can, because it is a certainty that the federal government would rather have funding for illegals than for American citizens in red states.

By the way, this I see online. More than 1.7 million migrants have been encountered at the U.S. border and have come from countries that officials believe pose a national security threat to this nation.

Now, this is a report from the House Judiciary Committee. They say the number of what are known as special interest aliens, SIAs, came from a congressional staff briefing by the Department of Homeland Security officials.

So it's a report from the House Judiciary Committee, Chairman Jordan and the folks, with information they got from DHS that more than 1.7 million migrants were encountered at the border coming from countries that pose a national security threat to the U.S. If that's how many they've counted, how many did they not count that came through this open border? We are in desperate straits, America. We'll try to close the gap after this break. Jeff Stein in for Todd.

This is the Todd Starn Show. Welcome back to the Liberty University studio final half hour of this Thursday edition of the Todd Starnes Show. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd. He'll be with you on Newsmax 2 at 5 o'clock Eastern today from Washington, D.C., and from D.C., behind this microphone, tomorrow at the normal time. Let's go to the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line, and we welcome Matthew Russell.

Mr. Russell is the author of a book released a little later this summer, a few months ago, called If One Falls Down. You get it wherever you get your good books these days. It's written by or published by Liberty Press. Matthew Russell, Jeff Stein filling in for Todd Starnes.

Thanks for being along with us on the program. How are you? Hey, Jeff. Thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it, and I'm doing great.

Talk a bit about your background that led you to write a book called If One Falls Down on Congress, the federal government, and your duty. Sure, sure.

So I worked on Capitol Hill for 11 years. I started as an intern and worked my way up to chief of staff. I primarily worked that time in national security. I have two masters in national security, carried a top secret security clearance for a long time. And working for Congress, I saw just how powerful the executive branch agencies and departments had become, that they had become essentially a fourth branch of government, unaccountable to Congress and even to the president himself and thereby the people.

So I wrote this book, one, to talk about what's going on, how this has happened, how it's working, and then also what are solutions we can do to actually get out of this mess. There are a lot of people that talk and say things, but what are solutions that we can do to fix it? U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa has been on Capitol Hill since 1981, and he has said on my program here in Iowa multiple times that Congress, it's Congress's fault. for abdicating so much responsibility to these agencies and they need to claw it back.

Is that one of the first things you would say should be done, that in essence the legislative branch should step back up and carry its own weight? Yes, absolutely. I mean, our founding fathers believed while all three branches were equal, the legislative branch, Congress, was supposed to be the first among equals. And that's absolutely right. They have abdicated their responsibility over time.

They turned over more and more authority to these agencies and departments to write federal regulations that had the full power of law and then gave them a lot of money to do whatever they want to do. That was a process that kind of unfolded over decades.

Sometimes they did it out of convenience.

Sometimes I think they did it out of ignorance. But now we have created a fourth branch of government, and the Supreme Court overturning the Chevron doctrine, which basically said federal agency bureaucrats could do whatever they wanted if the law was unclear, that was a huge step forward. But now we have to actually go regulation by regulation, unroll those things, and really claw back that power.

So he's absolutely right on that. Matthew Russell is the author of the new book, If One Falls Down. He joins us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line on the Todd Snarn Show. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. So the executive branch continues to get more and more powerful.

And frankly, it reminds me of just any organization. I've worked for colleges and universities and private businesses. And every little corner tries to gain more power because they think if they have more people, more budget, more power, then they're insulated from any cuts or anything. And so it just seems like, you know, they have their own little fiefdom.

So I suppose that's not a big surprise. But how do you turn this around? I mean, is this the kind of thing where Congress can pass broad legislation or because it's been so incremental agency by agency, they're going to have to really be strategic and surgical about it?

well i think it's i think we're gonna have to do all the above uh i think we have to elect good people to the house and senate we have to get a good president in there and then i think we have to go um the other direction and go through the state legislatures i think we have to have a state convention to meet and rebalance the federal government um so part of what i explain in my book is that uh the democrats have basically taken over the lead positions in these agencies and departments so anytime if they're a republican sometimes republicans are complicit in growing the government. I want to be clear on that. But if there are other Republicans that want to hold those agencies or departments accountable, the Democrats in Congress, Stonewall, then will stop them from doing that. Or the Democrat president will veto that bill.

So it's kind of a one-two punch where the Democrats in Congress will stop it, and then these agency bureaucrats will basically enact the Democrat agenda through their fiefdoms over there. And so that's one reason why I think, yes, we have to elect good people, a good president that has this on their agenda to do, but also it has to be driven by the people themselves to go around, because Congress doesn't, they're going to get jammed, and they can't help in some ways, but it's got to be led by the people.

Well, let's talk about what the states can do, because often the federal government, because they can control so much of the purse strings in terms of what money may flow back to states, they'll come up with mandates when a state doesn't want to do the thing, and I think of things that have to do with the roads and highways, for example. The reason why we have a national 21 drinking age is not that we have a national 21 drinking age. Each state had to pass it, but they only did that because of the threat of federal funds being withheld, etc. That's the kind of thing, and again, that came from Congress, but that's the mindset, is it not, that the federal government knows all? I mean, how do the states stand up to that?

Yeah, unfortunately, that is the mindset. I think that mindset is changing, though. I do think it's shifting because we were always sold this bill of goods. The bureaucrats were the experts, and we should listen to them. And that's one of the reasons Congress over the decades gave them more power because theoretically they were experts on very niche issues.

And that's totally backfired now. We've gone way past maybe good intentions at that point. And you do have a point. They can take our tax dollars and hold us hostage. But I do think state legislatures and governors through the courts can challenge that.

I don't think that it's going to have to come to a moral decision, and I don't think there's enough money on the line that it's going to tip that moral decision that they're taking our tax dollars and holding us hostage. And we were always taught not to negotiate with – well, I won't say that, but negotiate with the bad guys. And so I do think there is a route that way. It's a valid point, but I do think there is a route to go through the state's convention. I think they're only 15 states away from actually meeting the threshold mark to hold a state's convention.

I mean, this is a process that's happening right now that's actually going forward. Where did you get the title for the book, If One Falls Down?

So it's actually from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. If one falls down, his friend can help him up, is the verse. And the point of that is that I need to write this book to fix Congress and the government. not to throw it out. There are many people on the far left that want to convince the American people that Congress and the Constitution is old and broken, and therefore it needs to be replaced.

And that couldn't be further from the truth. It has just gotten skewed. It just needs to be fixed. It doesn't need to be thrown out.

So that's kind of the attitude I take with this. Yes, there are serious problems, but we don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We need to restore the Constitution, especially to where we were in the early 1900s. I mean, no income tax. senators were elected by state legislatures we were doing phenomenal as a country at that time it's kind of like what you see on the internet in a joking fashion a lot of times when people will say we used to be a great nation well yeah there's there's another example uh before things got so polarized and and so complicated and the budget process mr russell that's the thing that is just a head scratcher because it doesn't seem to matter which party's in power they just can't seem to get a budget passed, and it would seem to be one of the most fundamental things that's out there.

From your vantage point, having worked on Capitol Hill for more than a decade, what has led to this becoming such a thorn every year?

Well, essentially, there's a few components here. One, the budget process has essentially been created over the years, cobbled together in a way that it's almost impossible to stop in the sense of spending more and more money. When it grinds to it now, in another sense, when it grinds to a halt on Capitol Hill, that is when Republicans want to exercise the power of the purse and hold these agencies accountable by either withholding money from them or cutting their program entirely. But this is what I mentioned earlier. This is where Democrats will come in and throw up roadblocks.

So it's incredibly hard to hold those agencies accountable. And then they have the leverage of a government shutdown, they being the Democrats. If the government shuts down, Social Security checks stop, stop going out, checks the military, stop Medicare, Medicaid, all of that.

So they kind of have leverage over those fiscal Republicans that may want to cut spending or hold the executive branch accountable.

So it's kind of trying to stop a train. You know, all the momentum is on the other side. And when we do stop it, things go bad really quickly. You may remember when Ted Cruz basically led the government shutdown, I think it was 2013 or 2014. He had no leverage.

I mean, you can shut down the government, but sooner or later, people want their checks from either Social Security or the military, which is accurate. I mean, that should happen. But the system has been created.

So there is that leverage. it's impossible to stop it. And it's a significant problem, and that's one of the reasons why I mentioned, again, I'll bring it back up, is a state convention. We have to not just rebalance the executive branch, but rework our budget process altogether. And there's even more behind that.

I can just keep talking because there's a lot of pressure that these agencies will use on individual members, representatives, and senators.

So there's that whole dynamic, too, where they will really exert pressure on these members not to be a problem. And so you'll have 15 or 20 every year try to make an effort to get some sort of accountability.

Sooner or later, they lose because they're trying to hold back a train. And then the budget rolls on. We spend more money. The far left gets what they want, and it's just the process repeats. And that comes to a fundamental reason why I wrote this book, is we are doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

And we've got to stop that and do something different.

Now, I'm just a kid from the Midwest. All right. So what you've described almost seems like a mafia thing that I see in the movies where, you know, somebody from the agency pulls aside a well-meaning member of Congress and says, you know, we sure wouldn't want anything to happen to that project in your district. I mean, is it that blatant? yeah i would say so yeah yeah i think you know those words you know it may not happen in that exact scenario but the message is carried across um and so it's it's a it's a hard spot i mean members representatives and senators don't have that much power anymore unfortunately uh because their sole their sole power is power of the purse and that has been gutted and so it's it's become more and more you know they'll nibble around the edges of a budget but it's more and more of a rubber stamp of existing programs or increasing the spending or adding more.

Last question for Matthew Russell, author of If One Falls Down on Congress, the Federal Government, and Your Duty. And you raise a number of thought-provoking points, which is really necessary as part of this conversation.

So I'll close with this. Are you optimistic about where we're headed? Do you think that we can still marshal enough power of the people to make a difference? Yes, 100%. It's not going to be easy.

I talk about that in my book. You know, so many people want kind of the silver bullet or that one switch that you can just hit and it just fixes everything overnight. That's not going to be the case. We can turn this around, but it is going to take a decision on the part of many, many Americans. Do they want to fall in the steps of our founding fathers and step up?

And there's going to be some sacrifice involved to fix this issue, whether that's going to your state legislature or spending your own money. There's going to be some sacrifices involved to help turn this ship around. And that, quote, unquote, I call them the bad guys, but the folks who are for this kind of central authoritarian government, they are counting on you, your listeners and the people, to stay home and not do anything. As soon as you have to make that personal decision that, no, I'm going to leave a better future for my kids and grandkids. I'm getting involved and I'm doing something.

That's what they're afraid of. And I mentioned that explicitly, that you have to make that decision personally. Am I going to stand up for this? And if we do, 100% to your question, yes, we absolutely can. They just want us to think that it's too late, everything's too far gone, and that's not true.

The book is called, the full title, If One Falls Down, On Congress, the Federal Government, and Your Duty, subtitle, How and Why You Are Losing Your Freedoms. Matthew Russell, the author. You get it wherever you get your good books these days. Mr. Russell, thank you for the informative conversation and continued success with this book, please.

Yes, sir. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Matthew Russell joined us on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line, 901-260-5926. We need to take a break, but first I'm going to sneak in a call from North Georgia.

Jack listens on the Great Starnes affiliate WDUN. Jack, thanks so much for calling. Jeff Stein in for Todd. What's on your mind? Yes, sir.

Thank you for taking my call. Sure.

So if we look at everything that's going on in the country today, and globally also, I have to at some point question, when will the American people wake up and realize this government does not have our best interests in mind? They are not worried about the well-being, the safety, security, or success of the American people, whether it's the situation in Ukraine, Russia, globally, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, whether it's the southern border, who knows coming across the southern border, the fentanyl, the immigration, inflation, cost of living, health care, FEMA failing to step up and do its job. At what point are the American people going to realize this government is failing on all aspects?

Now, when you say this government, are you saying the Uniparty, they're all in it together, or are you just focusing on one political party? I think you're exactly right. The Uniparty. Where is Ted Cruz? Where is Jim Jordan?

Where is anybody raising cane in Congress today saying, where's the funding? Where's the funding for Western North Carolina? But you don't see that happening. Where are the Republicans? You don't see that happening either.

Neither party is doing anything. And if we go back to the default of we'll just vote them out. OK, so if we're going to vote them out, then we have to say that we have fair and accurate election, which most Americans question the 2020 election, whether it's the ballot harvesting, the mail-in ballots, the inaccurate voter rolls.

So voting them out, you cannot win a rigged election. No, no.

So at what point did the American people stand up and say, this government, we have taxation with no representation. We are funding the pension of Ukrainian politicians. Yes, yes, yes. Here in the United States, we are struggling. At what point do we say enough is enough with the Uniparty?

Well, I think you just did, and I think everybody listening said amen. Jack, thanks for calling in. We've got to take the break, but what a smart call. Thanks so much for calling in from North Georgia. Final segment of the show comes up in a moment from the Liberty University studio.

901-260-5926.

Jeff Stein in for Todd. This is the Todd Starn Show. Closing moments of a Thursday edition of the Todd Starn Show from the Liberty University Studio. Jeff Stein filling in for Todd today. You know, this program and programs like it cannot ever make it on the air without the great support of listeners like you.

So thank you all for being along. But it also takes a team.

So thanks to Grace for putting together another excellent guest list. Lydia took care of your calls and got the guests so that Cassie could put them on the air and keep everything else running.

So thanks to the great Todd Starnes team, they make somebody like me sound good. And it's so wonderful to step in and fill in like this, because I get to talk to all of you, but I also get to work with such a great team.

So thank you all for that from the Liberty University studio today. Todd is in Washington, D.C. He'll be speaking at Praise Vote Stand Summit on Saturday. He'll be doing this show, this radio show from that site, Washington, D.C., tomorrow, and the guest list is filling up very nicely. He'll also see you on Newsmax 2 at 5 o'clock Eastern, 4 o'clock Central.

The rest of you figure it out with your own math. One week ago today, Hurricane Helene made landfall. 200 or more dead confirmed.

So many others missing. Go to the live show blog at toddstarns.com. There are a couple of links for Samaritan's Purse and for Arlington Armory, and they could sure use your help. Thanks for being along. Jeff Stein, in for Todd on the Todd Starn Show.