00:02:04.000We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.
00:02:16.000Welcome to this episode of the Charlie Kirk Show.
00:02:18.000I am super thrilled to be joined today by Leo Terrell, civil rights attorney, talk radio show host, and a lifelong Democrat who will be voting for Donald Trump.
00:02:28.000Leo, welcome to the Charlie Kirk Show.
00:02:30.000We used to be screaming at each other on TV.
00:03:15.000That was a plantation mentality that we have to do what he tells us what to do.
00:03:21.000And I found that very, very insulting.
00:03:24.000Number two, I believe in law enforcement.
00:03:27.000I thought Democrats believe in law enforcement.
00:03:29.000All of a sudden, the Democrats have abandoned law enforcement.
00:03:33.00098% of law enforcement officers are great.
00:03:37.000There's one or 2% we need to get rid of.
00:03:40.000My sister's involved in law enforcement.
00:03:42.000So the bottom line, those two events, abandoning law enforcement and the mentality that all blacks have to vote Democrat, made me leave the Democratic Party.
00:03:52.000And I'm very happy to be voting for Donald Trump.
00:03:57.000And in some ways, there's this very interesting realignment where I'm a conservative and you have been a Democrat for years, but in a lot of ways, the Democrat Party left you.
00:04:09.000You didn't really change many of your perspectives.
00:04:26.000There is no way I can be part of that current party at all.
00:04:30.000And they seem as if they have a dedicated war on police, law enforcement.
00:04:35.000And so in these very interesting times, it seems harder than ever for black Americans to speak their support for Donald Trump.
00:04:44.000Can you talk about some of the backlash that you have received from?
00:04:47.000I mean, you were running in Democrat circles.
00:04:50.000Just walk us through just kind of this journey you've been on the last couple months.
00:04:54.000I'll tell you, Charlie, it's amazing because people who have been my friends in all different professions, neighbors, lawyers, my golf buddies, all of a sudden I've gotten the silent treatment as far as something happened to me.
00:05:46.000They talk a good game, but as far as progress, as far as program, absolutely zero.
00:05:52.000Instead, they have a belief that your identity is strictly your political choice, that you are no longer black if you do not agree with how much power that we want.
00:06:38.000And so can you walk us through, you know, we have a good amount of time to build this out, just kind of how you started in politics, some of the concerns that you shared that you had then and you share today, and how conservatives are going about addressing those concerns, whether it be the First Step Act, historical black college university funding.
00:07:00.000Can you talk about how in some ways conservative, whatever you want to call it, right?
00:07:03.000The Trump movement is now addressing some of these deeper issues that have plagued the black community in a very substantive way.
00:07:39.000Donald Trump cares about the average American citizen, and it resonates with everyone.
00:07:46.000And what for African Americans, my gosh, he has dropped the unemployment rate before the pandemic to record lows.
00:07:56.000Nothing that the Obama-Biden administration, the First Step Act, which you talked about, a chance to give individuals of all colors a second chance to undo what Joe Biden did in 1994 with the crime bill, in which he basically, with the help of the Congressional Black Caucus, approved this mass incarceration.
00:08:19.000That's why you saw Alice Marie Johnson thank the president.
00:08:23.000Charlie, funding historical black colleges.
00:08:47.000The Democrats are in bed with the teachers' union.
00:08:51.000School choice is a four-letter word to Democrats and teacher unions because they want to keep us people of color in urban schools in poor public schools.
00:09:36.000They need to examine Joe Biden's record.
00:09:38.000They need to do a self-examination of the Democratic Party.
00:09:42.000But when you talk about what Donald Trump has done in really redefining, changing the priorities of the Republican Party, he has included black Americans.
00:10:50.000She is lying when she comes out and called Donald Trump a racist.
00:10:53.000She is lying when she says there's only been a fraction of disturbances by protesters and writers.
00:11:02.000You look at all those Democratic cities, all the writing going on.
00:11:06.000That was being done with the blessings of the Democratic leadership in those cities, Seattle, Portland, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles.
00:11:17.000But they're worried, Charlie, about black folks leaving the Democratic Party.
00:11:22.000That's why she came out with that big lie.
00:11:25.000And she continues to say these things to almost stoke fear.
00:11:30.000And in the next segment, I want to build out: is this really effective?
00:11:34.000And what are things that Republicans can learn from the past?
00:11:37.000I really want to kind of pick your brain on this because Republicans, I think, have done a poor job of going and asking black people for votes and actually building a record of success.
00:11:47.000And we have a theory around all of that.
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00:13:06.000I have always said that Republicans have done a poor job of going into the black community, articulating what we stand for, why we stand for it, and our agenda for black voters.
00:13:17.000You've been in the Democrat circles for a long time.
00:13:19.000Just looking at it, be brutally honest.
00:13:21.000Say, Republicans, what do we have to do better to win over black voters, actually deliver results in the coming years?
00:13:28.000Every question you've asked me has been perfect.
00:13:31.000This is the best question because I want to make sure Republicans and Americans hear my answer.
00:13:37.000I witnessed the Republican National Convention.
00:13:55.000Charlie Kirk, everyone listened to me.
00:13:57.000That message needs to be out there 365 days a year.
00:14:03.000If you took the Republican National Convention and the way it was presented to America, that's the message that has to be out there every day because a lot of people don't understand what the Republican Party stood for.
00:14:20.000I was just busting with joy about all these messages that we're talking about coming from the Republican Party and telling America, this is what we're about.
00:15:15.000I see it because notwithstanding those individuals who are upset with me for leaving the Democratic Party, I have been overwhelmed receiving phone calls, email from black Americans who are saying thank you for speaking up, that we are now going to vote Republican.
00:15:41.000I just did an interview with the Washington Post, and they had to admit, Charlie, that the number of black male voters are trending towards Trump.
00:15:54.000And that's why you had Michelle Obama throw that race bomb yesterday, because the Democrats are worried that the black base is being shifted and moving away from the Democratic talking points.
00:16:08.000And a lot of the Democrat talking points, it's very interesting you mentioned that.
00:16:12.000In 2008, when Barack Obama ran for president, he was a centrist candidate in a lot of different ways.
00:16:18.000He was careful not to attack religion or faith.
00:16:22.000He talked about the necessity of freedom of speech and cooperation.
00:16:26.000He never said a bad word about law enforcement.
00:16:29.000And I try to tell people that the Democrats, when I was growing up, I grew up in Illinois, they were a center-right party compared to where we are today.
00:16:37.000And there is disagreements about healthcare and all this, but you look at where the paradigm is now.
00:16:42.000All of a sudden, you have a Democrat Party where if Obama said what he said in 2008, he'd be called a Tea Party radical.
00:16:50.000And the black community is looking around saying, we don't, why are you focusing on this transgenderism and all that stuff's fine, I guess?
00:16:59.000I mean, it's not like, I don't want to mean insulting to it, but there's real problems.
00:17:07.000Barack Obama could not win the nomination with the Democratic Party of 2020.
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00:19:44.000The hyperracialization of our politics recently has really bothered me, where BLM Incorporated is acting so aggressive against law enforcement and against law and order.
00:19:55.000And you've spent your career as a civil rights attorney defending the rights of the disenfranchised, which is a moral thing to do.
00:20:11.000Now you see today, you have left the Democrat Party.
00:20:15.000Are you starting to see that maybe the Democrats are not as tolerant as they might have seen with some of the names you're called on social media or some of the backlash?
00:20:24.000In fact, I saw a tweet from yours when you talked about you're finally seeing how vicious one side can actually be.
00:20:31.000Can you talk about how difficult it is to think freely in this political climate right now, dominated by the activist media?
00:20:41.000I give Black Lives Matter an A plus because they have been able to manipulate social media.
00:20:48.000They have been able to manipulate public interest.
00:20:51.000And they have basically used the Al Sharpton playbook and have basically frightened corporations to give them millions and millions of dollars.
00:21:45.000One of the things I made sure, Charlie, when I became a civil rights attorney was to never be beholden to an employer because I figured I'd be fired.
00:21:56.000And you see, they can't hurt me economically.
00:21:59.000They can't put the word out of me economically.
00:22:02.000So I feel very clear and very free of conscience to talk about Black Lives Matter and attack their dogma, their doctrine, their Marxist principle.
00:22:13.000They have done an unbelievable job of manipulating the public, but they have not manipulated me.
00:22:19.000And I welcome the opportunity in the near future to debate them on the issue, hopefully have you as a moderate so that we can have equal time because the public needs to know, just like when you asked me earlier about the RNC and the Republican, they need to get the message out.
00:22:34.000We need, I need, America needs to get the message out about Black Lives Matter.
00:22:39.000And so if BLM Incorporated was raising all this money, which could be billions of dollars, we don't even know, and they were, let's say, giving it to black-owned businesses to employ black people, or they were using it for family creation, or they're using it, let's say, Leo, for scholarships, right?
00:23:07.000So instead, it is Donald Trump who is giving money to HBCUs, Donald Trump who is doing the opportunity zones where billions of dollars of private capital are coming into black communities.
00:23:19.000And look, there's a lot of work to be done.
00:23:21.000But Leo, I could tell you in Chicago, there are three major developments happening.
00:23:27.000I don't know if they'll continue after all this riots and nonsense, but before the pandemic that were opportunity zone invested, that were going to be black employment centers basically for those parts of Chicago that are really suffering.
00:23:40.000Can you talk about how BLM Incorporated is taking these billions of dollars and it's not going to help the black community?
00:23:48.000I mean, this should outrage black Americans.
00:24:06.000The billions and billions of dollars that Black Lives Matter is collecting from these corporations who don't want to be canceled, they are using this money for everything other than improving the black community.
00:24:20.000As a result of their rioting, the protesting, the burning, the looting, you have stopped economic development in the black community.
00:24:30.000And then you have Black Lives Matter leadership on national TV saying, I have no problem with rioting.
00:24:45.000And that tells me that people are thinking emotionally and not logically with supporting Black Lives Matter.
00:24:53.000The goal here is to get people to understand that Black Lives Matter does not have the interests of Black Americans at heart.
00:25:01.000And while Minnesota was burning and black-owned businesses were deteriorated, Kamala Harris was trying to support financial assistance to the people that they could be released that burned down those black-owned businesses.
00:25:15.000Now, if Kamala Harris or Joe Biden were raising money saying, hey, we're going to do a Minnesota business relief fund, I would have said, I agree with that.
00:25:24.000Again, I'm not trying to overly politicize everything they do, but the people that burn down the buildings, they should probably get assistance after, I'm not really into giving assistance to those people, but probably the people's bakery or barbershop or laundromat that gets burned to the ground.
00:25:52.000First, as an AG in California, which I'm well aware of, and now as a VP nominee, she is funding a bail program for criminals who are looting and burning.
00:26:05.000She has failed, Charlie Kirk, to visit the two ambush officers in California who are ambushed.
00:26:13.000This woman has abandoned law enforcement.
00:26:16.000She applauded our mayor in Los Angeles for defunding $150 million away from LAPD.
00:26:23.000And she wants to be the vice president.
00:26:46.000There's no way I would vote for the Democratic Party because Kamala Harris is a nightmare.
00:26:53.000And I just shudder of the idea of a Biden-Harris administration.
00:26:57.000We have to do everything possible to get Donald J. Trump re-elected.
00:27:02.000And so can you talk about what Republicans, there's a lot of conservatives that listen to this podcast, grassroots conservatives, Leo, and they believe in faith, family, school choice, and they want to do something dramatic to help all citizens, including black Americans.
00:27:18.000Can you just talk about, I mean, you coming up in the Democrat Party and in the Democrat circles, can you talk about specific policies that strike at the heart of black voters so that we can move the dial, that we can deliver results?
00:27:31.000What can an average conservative do that's listening to this that's 18 years old, 20 years old?
00:27:36.000What are the policies we can advocate?
00:29:36.000In the 30 years of practicing law and being in the Democratic Party, I never was contacted, communicated in any in my profession or private life by the Republican Party.
00:29:50.000They wrote us until Donald Trump came along.
00:29:56.000Donald Trump, and like I said again earlier, Donald Trump has changed the perspective of the Republican Party, and he's made all Americans, including black Americans, part of the Republican Party.
00:30:08.000But I'm telling your conservative listeners, you've got to keep the African American vote in tune by making them part of the party.
00:30:17.000Trump has done that, and that must be continued.
00:30:23.000And those policies are rooted in opportunity and education.
00:30:28.000I love the school choice because if you look at Baltimore, they have five schools where they can't find a black fifth grader that can read at grade level.
00:30:37.000And so, Leo, you know what they do is the Department of Maryland Prisons comes in and they ask the leadership of the schools, hey, what are the literacy rates?
00:31:36.000And I think that conservatives need to step up to the plate and say, we're going to fund charter schools.
00:31:41.000We are going to give better opportunity for all kids that you're going to be able to read the founding documents, understand to read the classics, and then education will be the springboard out of poverty.
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00:33:18.000You touched on this earlier a little bit.
00:33:20.000We are in the last sprint to the campaign.
00:33:23.000I believe Joe Biden has a very questionable racial past Clinton crime bill saying very disturbing things through even the most recent, which I wish the president would have said in the debate.
00:33:36.000I just, the one thing I really wish he would have said when the race issue came up is, Joe, do you think black people aren't black if they don't vote for you?
00:33:43.000I just wish that would have been, right?
00:34:20.000He's done nothing for black Americans.
00:34:22.000He's talked a good game, but no accomplishment whatsoever.
00:34:27.000And this sort of exodus from the Democrat Party is going to really just, it's going to really disrupt the landscape.
00:34:34.000This is why I think a lot of these polls are very misleading, is because they are not sampling the black community as if they're going to have any sort of movement away from Biden to Trump.
00:34:45.000And Leo, you know this, three, four percentage points of blacks voting differently, right?
00:36:01.000I guarantee all these things would help me because, Charlie, I'm first of all very happy to be part of the team working with you, but I am committed.
00:36:10.000And I forgot to tell the listeners, before I became a lawyer, I was a school teacher.
00:36:24.000And I think that this is an issue where you have the Democrats in kind of a socialist straitjacket because they talk a good game on education, but it is the same cycle of failed teachers, no school choice, no charter schools, no private schools.
00:36:39.000And if you go to the black community in the south side of Chicago, and I visited it quite often or in Milwaukee, and you talk to black mothers and you say, hey, what's the key for your kids to have a better life?
00:36:52.000They'll say, I wish that my kids could go to a better school, every single one of them.
00:36:56.000And the second thing, and I want you to finish on this in the couple minutes we have remaining, Leo, is if the streets are not safe, businesses will not come into those communities.
00:38:41.000What a great conversation that was with the great Leo Terrell.
00:38:44.000If you guys want to get involved with Turning Point USA in the fight for our country, the fight for the soul of our country, as someone would say, the fight for our culture, where we play offense with a sense of urgency to win America's culture war, to make our kids love America again.
00:39:18.000Or if you want to go to our student action summit, tpusa.com.
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00:39:26.000Make sure to listen to our sister episode today.
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00:39:43.000Thanks so much for listening, everybody.