The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz

00:00:00.000 matt gates the biggest firebrand inside of the house of representatives you're not taking matt

00:00:08.380 gates off the board okay because matt gates is an american patriot and matt gates is an american

00:00:13.700 hero we will not continue to allow the uniparty to run this town without a fight i want to thank

00:00:20.860 you matt gates for holding the line matt gates is a courageous man if we had hundreds of matt gates

00:00:28.300 in dc the country turns around it's that simple he's so tough he's so strong he's smart and he

00:00:35.040 loves this country matt gates it is the honor of my life to fight alongside each and every one of you

00:00:42.840 we will save america it's choose your fighter time send in the firebrand

00:00:48.360 welcome back to firebrand i'm congressman matt gates we're broadcasting live out of room 2021

00:00:59.200 of the rayburn house office building here in the capitol complex in washington dc and here in the

00:01:04.180 gates office we do not tolerate bullies we particularly don't like it when it constrains

00:01:10.380 free speech and on college campuses we've seen an increasing number of administrators

00:01:14.680 try to skirt the law avoid the constitution and really limit what can be said that we would

00:01:21.880 normally allow particularly if it's someone expressing a viewpoint on the political right

00:01:26.300 the executive uh producer of this podcast joel valdez our communications director actually i think

00:01:33.300 kind of came to us by virtue of the free speech on college campus movement and uh you know joe i'm

00:01:39.040 going to get into that in a minute but the latest iteration uh that got in my craw i saw it online

00:01:44.940 was at clemson university where a group of students associated with the clemson college republicans

00:01:51.680 were out campaigning for a congressional candidate in an open seat and they had this encounter with

00:01:58.140 administrators take a listen

00:01:59.440 someone pull up what's soliciting

00:02:03.800 that is not

00:02:05.400 let's get the lawyers on

00:02:13.780 you can't get the lawyers we're not kicking your arrest we would just like also the specific

00:02:20.680 clemson policies so we can double you can get the police officers over here and they can explain

00:02:24.920 i will not get into this we don't like this get them over here i know that's gone sir

00:02:31.000 they're saying we're soliciting we're just selling stop i'm listening to the cop the cop

00:02:38.300 no you're absolutely you're not

00:02:39.840 we did it but we did it probably this year for the trump campaign and they were it was all fine

00:02:43.920 not not even football game yes yes at the football game

00:02:46.440 it was a tailgate actually

00:02:47.340 it was right there right next to this day

00:02:50.680 she had no problem

00:02:52.260 when we go door to door to canvas for political campaigns

00:02:59.800 they're recording

00:03:00.400 i'm just saying i'm just going to walk us through it okay

00:03:03.120 they have told you that you're in violation of the university policy

00:03:07.600 right and they said that what you're thinking you can't do okay

00:03:11.560 they've asked you to not do it

00:03:13.560 i've been here a long time

00:03:14.900 okay well i also know what i'm talking about

00:03:16.840 no no no what i'm not asking you if you know what you're talking about

00:03:19.360 i'm asking you if you will abide by what the university has asked

00:03:23.080 yes or no

00:03:23.840 it's not it's not what what it is

00:03:25.560 okay i'm gonna stop you there it's

00:03:27.080 will you abide yes or no

00:03:28.960 it's a yes or no question

00:03:30.820 yes or no

00:03:31.600 yes or no

00:03:32.060 are we selling anything

00:03:32.740 yes or no will you abide

00:03:34.060 are we selling anything

00:03:35.120 can I see your driver's license please

00:03:36.540 are you going to arrest me for soliciting

00:03:39.580 is that what you're telling your driver's license please

00:03:41.840 so for next time or even for this time

00:03:44.120 if we put our signs away we can still say

00:03:46.300 steward jones for congress

00:03:47.660 or like to what can you clarify like what we're allowed to do or not

00:03:50.900 that would be a better answer question for

00:03:54.380 there are people who deal specifically in university policy

00:03:59.840 okay

00:04:00.280 that'd be better meant for them

00:04:01.660 so who should I go to call them about this

00:04:03.860 I just need to know

00:04:05.100 so we don't have this issue in the future

00:04:07.280 yes

00:04:07.780 you are violating clemson university policy

00:04:10.320 and as students

00:04:11.160 you are saying

00:04:12.020 you do have to abide by those rules

00:04:16.040 there are penalties and consequences for not

00:04:21.200 okay

00:04:21.700 so I'm going to just be honest with you

00:04:23.200 the right answer for it

00:04:26.040 it's going to be all set

00:04:26.800 and it's going to be any standards

00:04:27.740 and then you're going to make sanctions for university

00:04:31.160 okay

00:04:31.580 all right

00:04:32.580 anything else I can answer for you

00:04:34.460 we will be challenging this vehemently

00:04:37.160 fair enough

00:04:37.880 who should I call to get clarification on the policy

00:04:40.240 because you did not provide me the clarification I need

00:04:42.580 they gave you the policy

00:04:44.300 well I have it down but I wanted to ask about

00:04:46.120 if we take away the signs

00:04:47.260 because from what I heard

00:04:48.060 the issue was that we didn't have

00:04:49.480 is that we had signs

00:04:50.580 yeah

00:04:50.920 and signage

00:04:51.940 you're handing out signage

00:04:52.720 that's what I was told by these

00:04:53.640 well the office of the community standards

00:04:55.600 can give you all that information

00:04:56.840 I would talk with them

00:04:57.980 I would talk with

00:04:58.760 they'll be in contact with you

00:05:00.440 all right

00:05:04.140 thank you very much

00:05:05.140 we are back live

00:05:08.560 and we are joined by the chairman

00:05:10.060 of the Clemson College Republicans

00:05:11.760 Trevor Tiedemann

00:05:12.620 Trevor

00:05:12.980 what were we watching there

00:05:15.840 you had these people

00:05:17.180 with no understanding

00:05:18.680 of the First Amendment

00:05:20.380 of the policies

00:05:21.780 paint the picture for us

00:05:24.180 it looked like

00:05:26.480 an abject disaster

00:05:28.060 well it certainly was

00:05:31.220 I mean you had two goofballs

00:05:32.760 dressed up there

00:05:33.560 in their white zip up hoodies

00:05:35.200 as university officials

00:05:37.220 on their golf carts

00:05:38.800 they rolled up

00:05:39.400 and they were contradicting themselves

00:05:40.680 at first

00:05:41.160 one of them said

00:05:41.860 we could take down our signage

00:05:43.700 for a congressional candidate

00:05:45.420 here in the third district

00:05:46.400 Stuart Jones

00:05:47.200 who we're canvassing for

00:05:48.540 if we took down the signs

00:05:51.560 we could stay there

00:05:52.560 and then the other gentleman

00:05:53.580 said we had to pack up and leave

00:05:55.380 so obviously with that contradiction

00:05:58.240 we were like

00:05:59.080 we're not backing down

00:06:00.900 this is obviously attacking

00:06:02.260 our First Amendment right

00:06:03.300 we can be out here

00:06:04.160 we know that it's

00:06:04.920 non-commercial free speech

00:06:06.200 we can do this

00:06:06.940 we've been doing it for a while

00:06:08.160 so I challenged him

00:06:10.760 along with my secretary

00:06:11.780 Jane Keeney

00:06:12.620 and you know

00:06:13.880 we got the police involved

00:06:14.840 and the police officer

00:06:15.640 clearly didn't know

00:06:16.380 what he was talking about either

00:06:17.680 but someone in the

00:06:19.260 athletics department

00:06:20.100 told us to leave

00:06:21.220 and sent those two bozos

00:06:23.040 to kick us out

00:06:23.920 so that's how it went down

00:06:26.020 and what you saw in the video

00:06:27.140 was the intimidation tactics

00:06:29.000 they tried to use

00:06:29.960 to kick us out

00:06:30.660 but we stayed there

00:06:31.360 the entire game

00:06:32.200 I'm just wondering

00:06:32.820 before you assembled this group

00:06:34.260 to go and engage

00:06:35.900 in First Amendment

00:06:37.000 protected activity

00:06:37.980 did you research the rules

00:06:40.000 and know them

00:06:41.120 or was it just the fact

00:06:42.880 that it was so obvious

00:06:43.840 that they didn't know the rules

00:06:45.740 that really emboldened you

00:06:47.120 to push back

00:06:47.980 well we didn't need

00:06:50.320 to know the rules

00:06:50.900 because we've been doing it

00:06:51.920 for a long time

00:06:52.740 we did a lot of canvassing

00:06:53.880 for the Trump campaign

00:06:54.980 with door knocking

00:06:55.820 we've been tabling

00:06:57.000 before outside of games

00:06:58.340 we tabled for the Trump campaign

00:07:00.180 back in October

00:07:01.040 I believe

00:07:01.740 before a game

00:07:03.020 literally a hundred feet

00:07:04.320 from that spot

00:07:05.160 but I think the problem was

00:07:07.380 is we got a very good spot

00:07:09.300 for tabling this time

00:07:10.660 right at the intersection

00:07:12.200 in front of the stadium scoreboard

00:07:13.880 and I think someone in athletics

00:07:15.660 was like

00:07:16.100 we can't have that

00:07:17.360 we can't have these

00:07:18.260 campus conservatives

00:07:19.520 out here doing

00:07:20.360 what they need to do

00:07:21.480 for political candidates

00:07:22.920 so that's what I think happened

00:07:25.240 but yeah

00:07:25.840 I didn't need to know the rule

00:07:26.800 because I know

00:07:27.420 what canvassing is protected

00:07:29.540 under the First Amendment

00:07:30.440 and clearly they didn't

00:07:32.440 so that's where we're at

00:07:33.720 right now

00:07:34.280 I'm going to bring in

00:07:35.180 Joel Valdez

00:07:36.040 Joel

00:07:36.460 I want you to give the audience

00:07:38.180 a brief description

00:07:39.080 of how you've been

00:07:40.780 on the front lines

00:07:41.580 of the free speech wars

00:07:42.500 on college campuses

00:07:43.440 but what I admired so much

00:07:46.060 about what I saw at Clemson

00:07:47.200 is that these students

00:07:48.480 were respectful

00:07:49.920 they were knowledgeable

00:07:51.220 but they stood their ground

00:07:53.000 I think a lot of people

00:07:54.500 in that situation

00:07:55.320 at the first sign

00:07:56.220 of someone

00:07:56.780 in a law enforcement uniform

00:07:59.900 showing up

00:08:00.920 would have quivered

00:08:03.160 and sort of skulked away

00:08:04.680 and these folks really

00:08:06.380 I think

00:08:07.020 inspired a lot of folks

00:08:08.740 with the video

00:08:09.520 that we saw online

00:08:10.540 yeah absolutely

00:08:11.260 Trevor and the

00:08:12.140 Clemson College Republicans

00:08:14.140 are rock stars

00:08:14.860 and my journey into DC

00:08:16.780 starts with having

00:08:18.880 my free speech stifled

00:08:20.180 on my college campus

00:08:21.360 at the time

00:08:21.840 so whenever it comes

00:08:23.240 to the issue

00:08:23.780 of university free speech

00:08:25.080 that's an issue

00:08:25.900 that hits close to home

00:08:26.820 hits very close to home

00:08:28.100 for me

00:08:28.420 when I was a freshman

00:08:30.000 at the University

00:08:30.980 of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

00:08:32.600 in the fall of 2017

00:08:34.240 I was actually part

00:08:36.140 of two clubs

00:08:36.580 I was part of

00:08:37.000 Turning Point USA

00:08:37.920 Turning Point USA's

00:08:39.860 chapter at UIUC

00:08:40.740 and I was also acting

00:08:42.360 as an Illinois

00:08:42.940 campus correspondent

00:08:43.920 for campus reform

00:08:45.600 which is a journalism

00:08:46.520 project of the

00:08:48.220 Leadership Institute

00:08:48.980 that reports

00:08:49.680 on the front lines

00:08:50.420 of liberal bias

00:08:52.400 and abuses

00:08:52.860 on college campuses

00:08:53.760 and so what had

00:08:56.140 happened in my case

00:08:57.180 is there was

00:08:57.660 a university professor

00:08:58.920 who was protesting

00:09:00.680 having a protest

00:09:03.020 on campus

00:09:03.640 one year after

00:09:04.480 Trump's inauguration

00:09:06.060 on campus

00:09:06.760 and you know

00:09:08.680 this is one of the guys

00:09:09.420 who waves

00:09:10.320 one of the biggest

00:09:10.840 Antifa flags

00:09:11.500 on campus

00:09:11.960 and so I thought

00:09:12.640 as a student journalist

00:09:13.480 it would be interesting

00:09:14.080 to see what this

00:09:15.460 what this professor

00:09:16.900 paid by the public

00:09:17.860 university was saying

00:09:19.000 during school hours

00:09:21.180 on school grounds

00:09:22.180 and so I just went

00:09:23.820 to the back

00:09:24.280 and we have made

00:09:25.560 we made waves

00:09:26.780 on the campus

00:09:27.400 as we had done

00:09:29.060 activism for Turning Point

00:09:30.220 so they already knew

00:09:30.860 our names

00:09:31.300 and some of our

00:09:32.020 background

00:09:32.880 and when I was

00:09:33.720 going to report

00:09:34.460 this professor

00:09:36.620 in particular

00:09:37.260 had singled me out

00:09:38.300 and singled out

00:09:38.880 my crew

00:09:39.240 who was recording

00:09:40.000 to try and assault

00:09:41.700 us on campus

00:09:42.360 try to stop us

00:09:43.440 from reporting

00:09:44.000 on what he was saying

00:09:44.780 because he knew

00:09:45.420 that we were

00:09:46.920 effective on college

00:09:47.780 campus

00:09:48.180 at getting

00:09:49.400 the abuse out

00:09:51.240 you know

00:09:51.980 on Fox News

00:09:52.660 on Daily Wire

00:09:53.360 on some of the

00:09:54.340 Turning Point

00:09:54.800 programming

00:09:55.660 and so

00:09:56.700 this guy literally

00:09:58.100 charged me

00:09:58.780 and my cameraman

00:09:59.420 trying to assault

00:10:00.200 us on campus

00:10:00.780 trying to stop

00:10:01.280 us from reporting

00:10:01.880 and what

00:10:02.800 did the university

00:10:03.820 do to us

00:10:04.280 they didn't give

00:10:04.700 us an apology

00:10:05.260 they didn't say

00:10:05.800 sorry

00:10:06.200 they ended up

00:10:07.760 giving us

00:10:08.240 multiple disciplinary

00:10:09.160 measures throughout

00:10:09.880 the months

00:10:10.360 leading up to

00:10:11.860 them telling me

00:10:12.840 that I could no

00:10:13.480 longer re-register

00:10:14.280 for classes

00:10:14.820 and that I would

00:10:15.840 be effectively

00:10:16.440 be kicked out

00:10:17.600 of the university

00:10:18.280 for acting as

00:10:19.740 a campus journalist

00:10:20.480 and so

00:10:21.200 that led me

00:10:21.920 to suing my

00:10:22.500 university

00:10:22.900 for nearly two

00:10:23.620 years

00:10:24.000 before closing

00:10:25.280 the case

00:10:25.780 which later

00:10:27.240 on President

00:10:27.960 Trump in the

00:10:28.540 White House

00:10:28.840 had actually

00:10:29.180 highlighted

00:10:29.600 my free speech

00:10:31.460 case against

00:10:31.940 the university

00:10:32.460 and so

00:10:33.240 I give big

00:10:34.020 props to Trevor

00:10:34.700 and the Clemson

00:10:35.520 College Republicans

00:10:36.160 because I

00:10:37.360 personally know

00:10:37.860 what it's like

00:10:38.340 to try to

00:10:38.820 keep your

00:10:39.120 composure

00:10:39.600 try to get

00:10:40.740 everything that's

00:10:41.740 happening on

00:10:42.160 video and then

00:10:42.860 following up

00:10:43.360 with action

00:10:43.900 and it's very

00:10:44.980 difficult when

00:10:45.540 you have

00:10:45.980 university

00:10:46.720 officials and

00:10:47.820 the police

00:10:48.340 in your face

00:10:49.040 telling you

00:10:49.640 that you're

00:10:49.940 wrong

00:10:50.220 when they

00:10:50.540 can't even

00:10:50.920 give you

00:10:51.460 the definition

00:10:51.960 of soliciting

00:10:52.620 so it's

00:10:53.980 an astonishing

00:10:55.980 case on your

00:10:56.660 end and I'm

00:10:57.040 glad you guys

00:10:57.480 stood up for

00:10:57.820 yourselves

00:10:58.120 do you fear

00:10:58.740 retaliation from

00:10:59.760 the university

00:11:00.280 for this type

00:11:01.500 of activism

00:11:02.220 and for pushing

00:11:03.040 back or do you

00:11:03.600 get the sense

00:11:04.080 that you've got

00:11:05.120 a vice president

00:11:05.940 for student

00:11:06.380 affairs that

00:11:06.900 seems to have

00:11:07.380 taken your

00:11:07.800 side in this

00:11:08.460 yeah yeah so I'll

00:11:10.580 speak to him a little

00:11:11.480 bit his name's

00:11:12.120 chris miller he's

00:11:12.840 done a fantastic

00:11:13.540 job in promoting

00:11:14.880 free speech on

00:11:15.680 campus this is not

00:11:16.800 the first controversy

00:11:17.800 the college

00:11:18.360 republicans at

00:11:19.200 clemson have been

00:11:19.840 a part of we've

00:11:21.240 called out the

00:11:21.700 drag show in the

00:11:22.480 past and most

00:11:23.700 recently we got

00:11:24.500 feminine products

00:11:26.020 and tampons removed

00:11:27.140 from the men's

00:11:27.860 bathrooms on

00:11:28.900 campus and we

00:11:30.020 got a bunch of

00:11:30.640 backlash from the

00:11:31.540 socialists on

00:11:32.260 campus the blue

00:11:34.040 hairs you name

00:11:34.800 it so so they

00:11:36.740 have actually

00:11:37.220 supported us in

00:11:38.260 our free speech

00:11:38.960 efforts and they

00:11:40.880 have done nothing

00:11:41.580 to curtail that

00:11:42.440 whatsoever but this

00:11:43.900 is a symptom of a

00:11:44.800 different issue

00:11:45.480 clearly someone in

00:11:46.560 athletics has a

00:11:48.000 problem with freedom

00:11:48.800 of speech on our

00:11:49.560 end and I hate

00:11:51.220 that it umbrellas

00:11:52.000 the entire

00:11:52.400 university because I

00:11:53.360 think the university

00:11:54.040 has been very good

00:11:54.800 on free speech on

00:11:56.040 our ends but they

00:11:58.800 still the athletics

00:11:59.760 department the police

00:12:00.740 do need to apologize

00:12:01.680 for this because

00:12:02.620 it's absolutely

00:12:03.500 asinine that they

00:12:04.400 tried to kick us

00:12:05.240 out for simply

00:12:06.600 canvassing and using

00:12:07.620 our first amendment

00:12:08.340 right well are you

00:12:10.500 seeking any sort of

00:12:12.780 response from the

00:12:14.140 athletics department

00:12:14.920 or the university at

00:12:15.840 large regarding this

00:12:17.600 episode and the

00:12:19.000 consequences that

00:12:20.360 should come to

00:12:21.040 whatever administration

00:12:22.040 officials tried to

00:12:23.800 act in this

00:12:25.680 unconstitutional way

00:12:26.680 towards you and your

00:12:27.300 club yeah yeah I am

00:12:29.940 seeking a public

00:12:30.940 written apology from

00:12:32.080 both the athletics

00:12:32.860 department and the

00:12:33.740 police department for

00:12:35.000 not only our club but

00:12:36.280 for also the clubs

00:12:37.480 nationwide the other

00:12:38.580 conservative organizations

00:12:39.780 and also this is

00:12:41.040 non-partisan this is

00:12:42.020 freedom of speech so it

00:12:42.920 could be democrats as

00:12:43.900 well you should be

00:12:45.260 able to use your

00:12:46.080 freedom of speech

00:12:46.900 anywhere you please

00:12:48.220 outside on at a

00:12:49.120 public institution like

00:12:50.280 this at Clemson and

00:12:51.560 it should set a precedent

00:12:52.340 for these other schools

00:12:53.380 that we're going into

00:12:54.860 election season and

00:12:55.800 everyone should have the

00:12:56.600 right to canvas outside

00:12:57.660 of these types of

00:12:58.420 events so I would

00:12:59.880 like this public

00:13:00.600 apology to be used

00:13:01.900 as sort of

00:13:02.720 inspiration for other

00:13:03.680 schools to just

00:13:04.680 simply use freedom of

00:13:05.780 speech policy that we

00:13:07.380 all know and love and

00:13:09.400 implement it everywhere

00:13:10.440 so I'm seeking for a

00:13:12.740 public apology from

00:13:13.720 both departments and I

00:13:15.580 have yet to get

00:13:16.620 anything back from

00:13:17.640 them yet at the very

00:13:19.080 least I wanted an

00:13:19.960 apology from my

00:13:20.720 university and from

00:13:21.700 the unhinged

00:13:22.300 professor who attempted

00:13:23.220 to assault me on

00:13:24.100 camera but instead I

00:13:25.420 got threatened with

00:13:26.100 endless disciplinary

00:13:27.000 action and eventually

00:13:28.240 got kicked out of

00:13:28.860 school what kind of are

00:13:29.660 there any kind of

00:13:30.200 remedies or specific

00:13:31.060 changes in university

00:13:31.980 policy that you would

00:13:33.480 like to see from

00:13:34.360 Clemson to ensure that

00:13:35.280 this kind of harassment

00:13:36.140 never happens again

00:13:37.000 yeah well I mean it

00:13:39.320 kind of starts with

00:13:40.520 you know teaching

00:13:41.460 these university

00:13:42.480 officials because I

00:13:43.160 was told that the

00:13:44.040 two gentlemen that

00:13:44.860 first arrived were

00:13:45.740 subcontracted by the

00:13:46.880 university but that

00:13:48.180 doesn't matter it's

00:13:48.860 still under the

00:13:49.500 jurisdiction of the

00:13:50.260 university they still

00:13:51.120 hired them on as

00:13:52.960 event staff and

00:13:54.620 someone in athletics

00:13:55.980 told them to kick us

00:13:57.840 out so therefore

00:13:59.220 someone in athletics

00:14:00.280 needs to be taught

00:14:01.240 what is protected and

00:14:03.200 what isn't and what

00:14:04.600 our speech was was

00:14:06.020 freedom of speech

00:14:06.840 it's it's canvassing for

00:14:08.480 political candidates and

00:14:10.960 that's something they

00:14:12.440 should just know and I

00:14:13.900 don't know if it needs

00:14:14.640 to just be beat over the

00:14:15.860 head with these people

00:14:16.680 the police officer clearly

00:14:18.360 didn't know what he's

00:14:18.960 talking about either so

00:14:19.740 the police department

00:14:20.480 needs to do a better job

00:14:21.640 at educating their

00:14:22.760 officers on specific

00:14:24.300 policies regarding this

00:14:25.580 because what this is is

00:14:27.280 it's the reason why it

00:14:28.200 blew up is it's a form

00:14:29.320 of intimidation and it

00:14:30.700 it does not look good

00:14:31.820 on anyone's part to

00:14:33.160 kick a bunch of

00:14:33.720 college students out for

00:14:34.840 for activism like this

00:14:36.360 and you know that's why

00:14:37.980 it blew up so I just

00:14:39.500 don't want it to happen

00:14:40.160 in the future but I

00:14:41.340 will say on the appeals

00:14:42.460 process in which we

00:14:43.940 you know got reported

00:14:44.940 to the glorified

00:14:46.420 principal's office as I

00:14:47.560 call it called off the

00:14:50.000 office of community and

00:14:51.000 ethical standards we

00:14:52.620 went straight to the top

00:14:53.540 through Chris Miller and

00:14:54.900 he exonerated us of all

00:14:56.860 wrongdoings me and my

00:14:58.080 secretary because we did

00:15:00.380 nothing wrong so the

00:15:01.320 appeal process works and

00:15:03.320 and it's just the matter

00:15:05.140 of what actually happened

00:15:07.040 happened and I don't want

00:15:08.660 it to happen again I

00:15:09.940 think this is going to

00:15:10.920 happen again all over the

00:15:12.440 country actually I think

00:15:13.660 it's been happening and I

00:15:15.080 think that oftentimes it's

00:15:17.640 the conservatives that

00:15:18.520 have to be the dissident

00:15:19.660 resistant voice on college

00:15:21.040 campuses I'd love to start

00:15:23.120 with you Trevor like

00:15:23.820 advice to other

00:15:25.520 conservatives on college

00:15:26.860 campuses who want to

00:15:28.240 express a viewpoint who

00:15:29.700 might face a hostile

00:15:30.800 administration now that

00:15:32.740 you've you've been through

00:15:33.880 that you seem to have

00:15:35.100 come out the other side

00:15:36.360 quite successful in

00:15:37.280 convincing the

00:15:38.440 administration that this

00:15:40.080 conduct is allowed and

00:15:41.220 the behavior that was

00:15:42.240 directed against you

00:15:43.200 should be disallowed but

00:15:44.900 give a give us your

00:15:46.580 your advice from the trail

00:15:48.040 yeah absolutely so I've

00:15:50.240 been doing this for about

00:15:51.360 two years now and I've

00:15:52.760 been tabling outside I've

00:15:54.220 been spit at I've been

00:15:55.540 cussed at really you just

00:15:57.740 got to have thick skin and

00:15:58.860 you got to record

00:15:59.480 everything I mean we're in

00:16:00.720 the digital age where

00:16:02.240 everything's put out there

00:16:03.220 and just so happened our

00:16:04.560 PR director Janae Mitchell

00:16:06.240 recorded this you know

00:16:08.180 behind my back I didn't

00:16:09.280 even know she was

00:16:09.860 recording it so that's

00:16:11.620 just what needs to happen

00:16:12.400 people need to be held

00:16:13.180 accountable in the public

00:16:14.180 sphere and what I

00:16:15.520 encourage young

00:16:16.260 conservatives to do is if

00:16:17.300 they encounter anything

00:16:18.120 like this to record it to

00:16:19.960 do whatever they need to

00:16:20.840 do to put it out there to

00:16:22.700 social media because you

00:16:24.380 know you can only talk

00:16:25.100 about it so much to your

00:16:26.160 inner circle and people

00:16:27.180 around the university but

00:16:28.300 no one's actually going to

00:16:29.300 believe you unless you have

00:16:30.180 the you know physical

00:16:31.080 evidence and showing that

00:16:32.700 to people so I would

00:16:33.940 encourage that also just

00:16:35.020 have thick skin I mean

00:16:35.980 don't be scared of these

00:16:37.600 people they're just

00:16:38.400 bureaucrats obviously they

00:16:40.200 don't know what they're

00:16:40.760 talking about and you're in

00:16:42.680 the right so don't back

00:16:43.820 down ever if you encounter

00:16:45.920 some of these people I mean

00:16:47.260 it's it's just going to be a

00:16:48.560 part of the political sphere

00:16:50.280 for from now until I die

00:16:52.840 probably but you can't just

00:16:54.620 let that affect you you just

00:16:55.640 got to have thick skin and

00:16:56.520 just push through it well

00:16:57.360 and what I love is the

00:16:58.300 contrast at the thoughtfulness

00:17:00.960 and the respect that was

00:17:02.400 shown when conservatives

00:17:04.000 were having this

00:17:05.140 interaction and imagine if

00:17:07.000 this had been a bunch of

00:17:08.080 genderless purple haired

00:17:09.800 woke topians you know they

00:17:11.360 had been trying to assault

00:17:12.900 the police officer they would

00:17:14.720 have been ranting and raving and

00:17:16.240 there was just there was a

00:17:17.520 discipline there and and

00:17:18.980 really a maturity that is

00:17:20.700 admirable and I think central

00:17:22.620 to the success of this

00:17:24.180 moment for your club Joel

00:17:25.640 what advice would you give

00:17:26.660 conservative activists on

00:17:27.840 campus about how to endure

00:17:29.320 these moments yeah no I

00:17:30.580 think Trevor nailed some of

00:17:31.760 the some of the key points

00:17:32.800 on that get everything on

00:17:33.960 camera from all angles as

00:17:35.900 many cameras as you can

00:17:36.740 definitely know your rights

00:17:38.160 definitely understand how

00:17:39.820 you're being perceived on

00:17:40.800 camera and how you can use

00:17:41.840 that in follow-up action but

00:17:44.540 also hope hope and I think

00:17:47.200 on social media you got a lot

00:17:48.500 of backup from a lot of good

00:17:50.720 people and so hopefully that

00:17:52.200 these members in the college

00:17:54.040 Clemson Republicans can see

00:17:56.320 that courage is contagious you

00:17:58.000 know on my in my university the

00:18:00.080 insane reaction to me exposing

00:18:02.740 their one of their faculty

00:18:04.000 professors spooked a lot of

00:18:05.720 members from doing future

00:18:07.320 activism when they saw how hard

00:18:08.800 we came they came down on us it

00:18:11.040 did take a few years to

00:18:11.980 eventually see that there's a

00:18:12.920 light at the end of the

00:18:13.480 tunnel but hopefully from

00:18:16.640 seeing how you stood your

00:18:17.760 ground how your members are

00:18:18.640 standing your ground and the

00:18:19.920 backup that you're getting

00:18:20.740 that hopefully you know like

00:18:22.160 you said have tough half thick

00:18:23.560 skin but at the same time know

00:18:26.240 that there is going to be some

00:18:27.260 backup from some from some of

00:18:28.940 the fighters I'm interested in

00:18:30.960 your reaction Trevor what kind of

00:18:32.700 a reaction have you gotten from

00:18:34.980 from some of your fellow college

00:18:36.580 Republicans on campus after

00:18:37.680 this oh we're all locked in

00:18:41.240 right now we we enjoyed the

00:18:43.420 adrenaline rush that it kind of

00:18:45.020 gave because it it showed a lot

00:18:46.980 of people too we have a lot of

00:18:47.920 young freshmen in our club right

00:18:49.920 now and they haven't really

00:18:50.900 experienced you know what it

00:18:52.820 actually means to be a

00:18:53.980 conservative on a college

00:18:55.200 campus and sometimes you have to

00:18:56.600 deal with this stuff and I

00:18:58.680 thought everyone handled it so

00:19:01.040 perfectly because when that

00:19:02.880 police officer was asking for my

00:19:04.340 driver's license and my

00:19:05.580 secretary's driver's license he

00:19:07.380 could have kept going down the

00:19:08.440 chain until I stepped up and

00:19:09.840 it's not in the video it was

00:19:11.340 actually cut out but I stepped up

00:19:12.920 and I'm like I'll take all the

00:19:14.240 blame for it I don't want anyone

00:19:15.760 else getting caught in this as

00:19:17.240 well but he would have kept going

00:19:18.480 and asking for other people's

00:19:19.660 driver's license I believe but

00:19:20.980 that did not faze any of my club

00:19:22.900 members that were behind us they

00:19:24.760 were sitting there they were out

00:19:25.820 there wanting to continue to

00:19:27.220 politically canvas so I'll just

00:19:28.980 speak to that they've been you

00:19:30.760 know phenomenal all year with not

00:19:33.500 only tabling for this but tabling

00:19:35.020 for pro-life issues immigration you

00:19:37.980 name it they've been absolute

00:19:39.620 workhorses so credit to them but

00:19:42.640 in terms of the response from

00:19:44.540 other people I mean you know the

00:19:45.940 college republicans the turning

00:19:47.400 point chapter here at Clemson

00:19:48.840 they've been all supportive I mean

00:19:51.200 everything that happened was

00:19:52.700 totally ridiculous and asinine like

00:19:54.520 I said so everyone's in our

00:19:56.220 corner even the parents too you got

00:19:58.280 a lot of angry parents sending

00:20:00.880 emails and phone calls to the

00:20:02.660 athletics department the police

00:20:03.820 department and that's what we need

00:20:05.300 honestly because that's what it's

00:20:06.920 going to take you got to twist the

00:20:08.000 arms of these people because they

00:20:09.400 need to issue a public apology and

00:20:11.580 it's going to take people calling

00:20:13.220 their office and letting them know

00:20:14.980 that hey this is wrong I never

00:20:17.060 thought I'd see a story come out of

00:20:19.220 Clemson University like this I

00:20:20.880 expected it at you know UC UC Berkeley

00:20:23.880 in California I expected it on

00:20:25.400 liberal college campuses like my own

00:20:27.260 but I didn't expect it from Clemson

00:20:28.720 University does it surprise you that

00:20:30.700 your university attempted to shut

00:20:33.460 down your freedom of speech and why

00:20:34.740 do you think that these officials

00:20:35.620 were so locked in on you guys

00:20:37.160 specifically I want to say it is a

00:20:41.060 political sway by someone in the

00:20:43.160 athletics department I think they saw

00:20:45.020 us outside of a spring game that was

00:20:47.040 pretty successful right outside of

00:20:49.280 their scoreboard and they were like

00:20:51.380 we can't be having that so we got to

00:20:53.380 get them out of here but I mean like I

00:20:56.140 said before I think the university has

00:20:58.240 been very good on free speech just a

00:21:00.620 specific incident they need to work on

00:21:02.300 it I mean this is absolutely ridiculous

00:21:04.240 that this was allowed especially when

00:21:06.620 we've done this type of canvassing

00:21:08.640 before but yeah I mean you would expect

00:21:11.700 it from UC Berkeley where where nothing

00:21:14.440 is able to be said out loud by

00:21:16.480 conservative voices but unfortunately it

00:21:20.180 happened at Clemson University which is

00:21:22.000 right in the heart of the south and

00:21:23.980 conservative country I mean the Pickens

00:21:25.580 Trump rally had tens of thousands of

00:21:28.020 people show up to it so you would think

00:21:29.960 it's like ripe for the cause for freedom

00:21:32.900 of speech but I mean unfortunately it

00:21:35.040 just wasn't but I think there's a

00:21:36.440 lesson in that I think the lesson is

00:21:38.100 there there are these tyrants on every

00:21:41.220 college campus now they might not be in

00:21:43.220 charge of every area and they might not

00:21:45.500 ultimately prevail when there's a good

00:21:47.380 appeal process and review process but if

00:21:50.660 this can emerge at Clemson it could

00:21:53.220 emerge in the Bible Belt in the deep

00:21:55.220 south anywhere and that's why it requires

00:21:57.800 vigilance and and it's also why it

00:22:00.180 requires consequences I don't think it's

00:22:02.800 sufficient for the university to address

00:22:04.960 this issue simply by stating the Clemson

00:22:08.220 College Republicans did nothing wrong I

00:22:10.380 think Clemson University needs to

00:22:12.680 specifically remediate with the

00:22:14.600 individuals that made these decisions

00:22:16.240 and any policy that was vague or unclear

00:22:19.560 that was relied upon to have this deeply

00:22:22.400 tortured interpretation of the law so I

00:22:24.560 wanted you to know Trevor that my office

00:22:27.240 is sending a letter to the president of

00:22:29.920 Clemson University President Clemens and

00:22:32.460 we're politely asking for the information

00:22:35.500 regarding the people who were involved

00:22:37.340 their employment for which offices they

00:22:41.740 work and what affirmative steps Clemson is

00:22:44.220 taking to ensure that staff comport with

00:22:47.680 the First Amendment and I think that your

00:22:49.660 call for a public apology would be an

00:22:52.060 obvious step that one could take to ensure

00:22:54.660 that the right message is sent to all the

00:22:56.760 staff so we'll be sending this letter to

00:22:59.140 Clemson University today I think it is very

00:23:02.680 unfortunate that this event happened in the

00:23:05.040 first place but we cannot allow it to just

00:23:08.000 exist as a viral moment on social media it has

00:23:10.680 to be a teaching moment for precisely the

00:23:13.020 reason Joel said because this is spreading

00:23:15.180 like kudzu this desire to to limit speech and so

00:23:19.620 eager to get your reaction to that and and you

00:23:23.580 got a few more questions for you about about

00:23:25.400 South Carolina politics yeah yeah of course I

00:23:28.400 mean I think that's awesome and and this

00:23:30.260 information does need to be shown to the public

00:23:32.940 and and we need to know who did this and who

00:23:35.600 signed off on it because clearly like I said

00:23:37.680 it's a it's symptomatic of that kudzu like you're

00:23:40.080 talking about you know infecting even a more

00:23:43.380 right-wing institution as you'd call it at

00:23:45.980 Clemson and yeah we need to get more information

00:23:49.440 about that because it's it's totally ridiculous

00:23:51.840 but and this is not the only campus it happens

00:23:54.700 on I mean we're umbrellaed under the college

00:23:57.620 republicans of America there's chapters in the

00:24:00.220 northeast and and other crazy liberal places that

00:24:03.800 deal with this stuff all the time and and having

00:24:07.540 that organization have all these college

00:24:10.160 republican chapters together you know working

00:24:12.800 together in terms of social media and just general

00:24:14.740 support is so helpful but congressman Gates that is

00:24:18.040 an awesome letter I I do appreciate you you know

00:24:21.000 sticking up for us on this behalf and I am hearing

00:24:24.740 that there may be officials at Clemson University

00:24:28.080 watching this very podcast right now can you talk a

00:24:31.060 little bit more about that Trevor and if you've heard

00:24:32.460 any information on the response yeah yeah so I mean the

00:24:37.420 university's clearly watching this right now because I mean this

00:24:42.500 is bad PR for them and bad PR is means money it means a lot of

00:24:48.040 things are going wrong on their ends which is unfortunate because like I

00:24:51.600 said I like Clemson University but this is the problem that was created

00:24:55.880 under them and they have to answer for it so if President Clements and and

00:25:01.040 Vice President of Student Affairs Chris Miller are watching I mean this is

00:25:04.400 something that we would like not only as just conservatives but as a student

00:25:08.280 body we do need you know answers for this and we do need a public

00:25:11.800 statement about this at a minimum so that's you know if they're watching I do

00:25:16.640 encourage that to to be done and while this was an unfortunate event I

00:25:21.620 actually think that this can turn into a very positive experience if the

00:25:26.000 reaction to this is thoughtful and thorough and very clear then I

00:25:31.700 actually think Clemson could come out of this looking pretty good if instead

00:25:36.380 this is ignored this is treated as well you know students should just you know

00:25:42.040 respect when anyone else tells them what to do then that is going to

00:25:45.640 metastasize and then those negative consequences that you talk about will

00:25:49.120 will grow more severe unnecessarily I think that that the apology is a is an

00:25:53.600 important thing but I do want to zoom out since I have you here and you've been

00:25:56.920 on the front lines of this fight Joel has as well I would love you to share with

00:26:01.660 our audience what issues you find are animating college Republicans and young

00:26:07.100 conservatives and we see on the broad issue matrix immigration leading the way

00:26:11.260 certainly the price of goods but what are you hearing about from your members and

00:26:15.740 and other folks that that are driving really a lot of generational shift in

00:26:21.440 people under 30 toward more conservative policies and conservative causes well you

00:26:27.040 mentioned immigration and that is the number one issue that I've talked to

00:26:30.200 college Republicans turning point members about and it's it's huge because it's

00:26:35.720 changing the voter demographic rapidly so that's going to affect us down the road

00:26:40.360 we are we going to win elections with this specific issue but also affecting South

00:26:46.060 Carolinians as a whole I-85 runs through Atlanta to Charlotte which also cuts

00:26:50.660 through the upstate of South Carolina which is right where we're placed our

00:26:53.900 universities place and that's where a lot of drugs are ran through a lot of gang

00:26:59.060 activity you know from the border and if we don't shut that down it's going to

00:27:03.900 start it has killed South Carolinians there's fentanyl pouring in as as many

00:27:08.680 other states experience but we have such a big interstate going through the heart

00:27:13.120 of South Carolina that we've busted drugs before and it's all from these Mexican

00:27:17.860 drug cartels and these people are animals and if we don't lock it down then we're

00:27:23.000 going to have no law and order and we're not going to have a voter demographic in

00:27:26.640 this country that represents Americans so that's a huge issue that I think most

00:27:31.040 college students right now are very worried about especially with Lake and Riley

00:27:35.020 that was only a few hundred miles south of us and and that was terrible and for

00:27:39.840 that to happen to a college student on a college campus it does scare a lot of

00:27:43.400 people so it could happen at Clemson University too you just never know so

00:27:47.100 that's that's a huge issue I envision bringing a lot of young people especially

00:27:51.180 conservatives to the polls. Joel what are you seeing in terms of this I mean the

00:27:55.720 under 30 crowd was a core feature of the Democrat coalition under Obama and then

00:28:01.860 initially under Biden and we are seeing a real shift there what issues do you think

00:28:06.740 are driving that? Yeah well I think aside from just from immigration which is

00:28:11.400 obviously a big issue I think the students are starting to to see the bleak

00:28:15.480 future of the economy and jobs in general I think now that their college

00:28:19.640 degrees are being extremely diluted and they're getting this rude awakening that

00:28:23.320 it's becoming very hard to get a job after this promise of going to college for

00:28:27.480 four years has that promise has now been broken to the you know Gen Z

00:28:32.120 generations and they're seeing less money in their wallets and they're that's

00:28:36.480 being reflected from the folks who are who are just entering the job force for the

00:28:41.340 first time so I think some of these these economic experiences under Joe Biden

00:28:45.780 is has definitely created a bleak future in which they are going back to the years

00:28:51.340 of prosperity that we saw under President Trump so I think that's going to be a big

00:28:54.360 factor coming up. Undeniably I think these economic conditions are leading Gen Z to

00:29:00.700 maybe a different place than the younger millennials who stayed living with their

00:29:04.380 parents this new version of Gen Z actually like starts looking at hey I might want to buy a

00:29:09.160 house one day and you won't be able to with these interest rates. Trevor I also

00:29:13.120 wanted to ask you a question about the Palmetto State you know South Carolina gave

00:29:17.000 President Trump this overwhelming victory basically drives Nikki Haley out of the

00:29:21.160 race but what do you see as the as the trends I thought your analysis on the I-85

00:29:25.320 thing was was really good are there other things in South Carolina that that

00:29:30.620 people around the country might want to know about? Yeah so a lot of people would

00:29:35.640 think that South Carolina's ruby red which it is but the the state legislature does not

00:29:41.380 reflect that actually CPAC the American Conservative Union rates South Carolina as the

00:29:47.880 second most liberal Republican super majorities in the country and that's because we have a lot of

00:29:53.540 rhinos in our state legislature that say they're Republican and conservative but they vote a

00:29:59.300 different way or push through these ridiculous bills that are basically ironed out by the

00:30:03.500 chamber of commerce and and they basically dictate a lot of a lot of what happens in South Carolina

00:30:08.700 and so I think there needs to be a big push at creating the Freedom Caucus you know making it

00:30:15.940 larger in South Carolina and states abroad because what we have is just a good old boy system in South

00:30:21.920 Carolina it's been absolutely destroying our state for years and you know it's it's been a lot of

00:30:28.880 watered down bills that could have been way more conservative and I see states like your state

00:30:33.720 congressman Florida that are passing extremely conservative legislation and we can't even get

00:30:39.640 a constitutional carry bill passed and a good pro-life bill passed because of the rhinos in the state

00:30:44.860 legislature so so there's been a big push on our end to get a lot of these people that are actually

00:30:51.080 conservative elected so we're doing a lot of work on our end with with door knocking canvassing like we

00:30:57.540 did this past Saturday to fix that so I encourage people in their own state to try and push for more

00:31:05.160 Freedom Caucus members to join their state legislature with our primary it's June 11th but it could be

00:31:11.480 different in other states so definitely latch on to someone you believe is conservative and run with

00:31:17.760 it because that's how you make a change yeah and I want to ask you this question because it's something

00:31:22.120 I struggle with I get all these candidates from all over the country that you know become very

00:31:26.580 interested in wanting to align with a bill that we've sponsored or you know some some opera you

00:31:32.720 know event or opportunity and when they're running they all kind of sound the same everyone says they're

00:31:39.420 a great champion for liberty everyone says that they don't want forever wars everybody says that

00:31:45.180 they're they don't want the surveillance state that they all they want to cut spending they definitely

00:31:49.460 want to cut spending they're willing to take chances to secure the border and then they get here

00:31:53.800 and at the first sign of criticism or at the first moment where you got to use a little leverage or

00:32:00.780 take a little criticism they're hiding under their desks and so right give me your vetting tools like

00:32:06.260 what when you talk to someone and decide whether or not you're going to go out there and sweat on a

00:32:10.540 Saturday afternoon and and talk to folks on their way into a Clemson football game how do you know

00:32:15.840 they're worth it what are the issues and and what are the tells that that you look for the most

00:32:20.520 obviously we know joel doesn't know how to pick well he's working for me but i'll check with you

00:32:25.640 oh come on don't don't sell yourself short uh but but the big thing is 100 money um so that's fec

00:32:34.040 filings um you know follow the money.org is also a good website that we use to vet candidates because

00:32:40.440 that's who's that's who is going to be reflecting what they believe is is who's giving them money if it's

00:32:46.220 more grassroots people that's who i'm in favor for because that's representing the people of south

00:32:51.020 carolina and abroad um but if they're getting money from big super PACs and and lobbyists like

00:32:56.680 there's a big problem with lawyer legislators in the state um that dictate a lot of stuff and and that's

00:33:02.640 a whole nother issue but so yeah money's a big one also who they're friends with you can use like

00:33:08.860 just social media as a good vetting tool too to see like who are they following who are they who are

00:33:13.600 they interacting with is it establishment people is it rhinos if it is then they're not the candidate

00:33:19.340 for me that's why you know the freedom caucus people they're the more grassroots people they're

00:33:24.120 they're the people getting the money from the people of south carolina therefore i you know i and

00:33:29.400 my club members kind of gravitate towards them more so than anything so money is probably the biggest

00:33:34.180 driver and the relationship aspect is is what i use to vet people that's incredible i was not

00:33:40.360 expecting you to give that answer i thought you would say a particular issue set or a way that

00:33:45.800 somebody made their presentation you you go right to the dollars and cents and frankly that's probably

00:33:51.640 as good a system as any because we see people up here that kowtow to their donors and subjectate the

00:33:57.820 interest of their constituents you got a better vetting strategy joel yeah yeah my mine was a little bit

00:34:02.600 easier uh beforehand it was i really came down to two questions one what did you think of the former

00:34:08.200 disgraced speaker kevin mccarthy into would you say it publicly that's the joel if you're trying to

00:34:13.780 hire joel away from me to run your podcast those are the questions you may have to answer well trevor

00:34:19.120 we wish you and all of your club members uh the best of luck we're going to keep you updated regarding

00:34:23.700 the responses we get from clemson we're sorry you had to do that but actually i think it's a shining

00:34:29.060 example of how to respond with maturity and with grace and with knowledge and my hope is that a lot of

00:34:36.480 different students at clemson and beyond see this that they join your club that they're right there

00:34:41.500 alongside you and that you guys are able to have a great opportunity for for free speech also always

00:34:47.660 thank joel for pulling double duty producing this podcast and uh joining me again as a guest so

00:34:53.120 appreciate you oh before we let you go trevor trevor folks want to follow the activities of the club

00:34:59.000 support the club make a pitch for where they where they could go how they can follow you and find you

00:35:03.940 yeah absolutely so you can follow the clemson college republicans on x at clemson crs or instagram

00:35:11.540 at clemson college rep so that's where you can find us primarily also we do a lot of work with the

00:35:17.560 college republicans of america they're at on x and instagram is u.s college gop so that's where you can

00:35:24.220 find us there's so much going on in the conservative space for young people on college campuses so

00:35:29.540 definitely uh we'll keep you posted on stuff on our end uh because i don't envision this being the

00:35:34.740 only time we are involved in controversy well i i hope the next time we have you on it's to talk

00:35:40.920 about your great insights about the shape of the electorate and the issues motivating people and less

00:35:45.540 because you're being harassed but thanks so much for being with us roll the credits

00:35:49.100 you

00:35:54.380 you

00:35:54.440 so

00:35:56.520 you

00:35:56.940 you

00:36:09.920 so

00:36:14.540 you

Episode 164 LIVE： Clemson University vs. Free Speech (feat. Trevor Tiedeman) – Firebrand with Matt Gaetz

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