The Charlie Kirk Show - Ask Charlie Anything 236: Salvage Chicago? Recess Appointments? Catholic Converts?

00:00:00.000 Hey everybody, Charlie Kirk here live from the Bitcoin.com studio.

00:00:04.000 Ask Me Anything episode.

00:00:05.000 We take questions from you and also we talk about liberating Chicago, empowering federal law enforcement to make Chicago a livable, great city again, and more.

00:00:16.000 Email us as always, freedom at charliekirk.com and subscribe to our podcast.

00:00:20.000 That is the Charlie Kirk Show podcast page.

00:00:22.000 Get involved today with Turning PointUSA at tpusa.com.

00:00:26.000 That is tpusa.com.

00:00:28.000 Buckle up, everybody.

00:00:29.000 Here we go.

00:00:30.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:00:32.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

00:00:34.000 I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.

00:00:37.000 Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.

00:00:40.000 I want to thank Charlie.

00:00:41.000 He's an incredible guy.

00:00:42.000 His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created.

00:00:50.000 Turning point USA. 0.65

00:00:51.000 We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.

00:01:00.000 That's why we are here.

00:01:03.000 Okay, our first question here is from Matt.

00:01:05.000 Matt, thank you for being a member.

00:01:06.000 Members.charliekirk.com.

00:01:08.000 What's on your mind?

00:01:09.000 Hey, Charlie, good afternoon here on the East Coast.

00:01:11.000 Thanks for everything you do.

00:01:13.000 My main question is around, of course, redistricting the question of the hour, certainly with Newsome.

00:01:20.000 And I got to give him some credit.

00:01:22.000 I guess today it was actually the last day that they could produce the maps.

00:01:26.000 Still not produced, but to get it on the ballot for November, which is surprising given the California process usually.

00:01:33.000 If Xi Jinping comes to town, they can clean San Francisco.

00:01:33.000 It's funny.

00:01:36.000 They got to do a power grab.

00:01:37.000 They can get stuff done quickly.

00:01:38.000 It's kind of funny how that works.

00:01:40.000 There you go.

00:01:41.000 That's right.

00:01:42.000 Yep.

00:01:43.000 That's a great question.

00:01:44.000 Indiana's letting us down.

00:01:46.000 What's going on, Pence?

00:01:47.000 Pence stepping in here.

00:01:48.000 Oh, is that happening?

00:01:48.000 What's up?

00:01:49.000 Is Pence also getting involved?

00:01:50.000 Look, I mean, is the ghost of Pence power play in Indiana still kind of working with us?

00:01:56.000 I see Mark Short's out there doing that all of a sudden.

00:01:59.000 Is that right?

00:02:00.000 What is Mark Short saying?

00:02:02.000 I've been following nine other different topics.

00:02:04.000 What has Mark Short been saying?

00:02:06.000 Well, he was did a long interview, like 15, 20 minutes with Mark Halperin, who I think is one of the only real generalists left in the country.

00:02:13.000 Certainly, I love Mark Penn's program.

00:02:16.000 Mark is great.

00:02:17.000 Keep going.

00:02:18.000 And he did a long interview with Mark Short.

00:02:21.000 We understand.

00:02:22.000 Short was part of the reason around the January 6th stuff, the codification of the big steal, which again, it's in many ways providential, but a different story.

00:02:32.000 But he's without going Trumpism and all this stuff.

00:02:36.000 They're still trying to play defense over here.

00:02:38.000 And I just wonder if some of those sentiments are making their way through the halls of Indianapolis.

00:02:44.000 So I've sent out a couple tweets, and we're trying to do our best to pressure Indiana to respond in proper kind to this redistricting fight.

00:02:44.000 They should be.

00:02:55.000 California is going to have a really tough time doing this, though.

00:02:57.000 I think that we should not, if California does what California might do, then Indiana absolutely has to respond.

00:03:04.000 However, I will tell you that there is this escalatory moment that Texas was rebalancing a terrible gerrymandered situation from Illinois and other states, but keep on escalating to other states.

00:03:20.000 It's boy, you're going to have widespread gerrymandering and redistricting proliferation.

00:03:26.000 And so it will be very, it will be very, I'm very curious to see how California is going to navigate this because they do have the public measure.

00:03:35.000 They have the ballot measure that passed.

00:03:37.000 It's technically in their constitution.

00:03:40.000 But generally, I think we should try to find an off-ramp here because a gerrymandering arms race is not great for the country, but it might be necessary.

00:03:47.000 And if that's where we go, we will not surrender.

00:03:49.000 We will win such gerrymandering arms race.

00:03:52.000 Thank you for being a member, my friend.

00:03:53.000 Really appreciate it.

00:03:54.000 Happy Friday.

00:03:55.000 Gregory, thanks for being a member.

00:03:56.000 Members.charliekirk.com.

00:03:58.000 What's on your mind?

00:03:59.000 I don't know if you remember me, but I'm actually the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the U.S. We met at the turning point.

00:04:05.000 I do, of course.

00:04:07.000 I know you, Gregory.

00:04:08.000 Yes.

00:04:08.000 In fact, I sent your information to our team.

00:04:11.000 We might have you involved in a panel at Amfest breakout.

00:04:16.000 But yes, what is on your mind, my friend?

00:04:18.000 That would be great.

00:04:19.000 But really, the specific thing I want to ask you about is election fraud.

00:04:24.000 So recently, I uncovered a big election fraud scandal in the southern Texas region in Webb County and Frio County, where there were like 15 Democrats who were arrested for like a ridiculous amount of election fraud, like ballot harvesting.

00:04:41.000 It was insane.

00:04:43.000 And one of those people who were who I connected to the incident was actually an indicted congressman, Henry Quayler, who currently is in the U.S. House of Representatives indicted on bribery charges on stealing $600,000 from a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijan oil company.

00:05:02.000 So it's pretty insane.

00:05:03.000 But basically, when I uncovered this, I realized that there were significant election fraud incidents, not only throughout rural America, but also like all around our country.

00:05:15.000 And it stems from absentee ballots, mail-in ballots.

00:05:19.000 And I guess my question to you would be: how can we put an end to this election fraud?

00:05:24.000 Because it's not realistic to say that, you know, we're not going to have any more mail-in ballots or any more absentee ballots.

00:05:30.000 No one's ever going to agree to that.

00:05:31.000 So how can we do something about this?

00:05:34.000 Well, it has to be done one step at a time.

00:05:35.000 And, Gregory, you got a lot of passion energy.

00:05:37.000 I love that.

00:05:38.000 We can roll back absentee and mail-in ballots.

00:05:41.000 That's one thing that we can do.

00:05:42.000 The other part is all about voter rolls, voter rolls, voter rolls, voter rolls.

00:05:46.000 That is a tougher thicket to navigate, but the voter rolls are the original sin of faulty elections.

00:05:53.000 When you have people that have moved, when you have people that are dead that are still on voter rolls, you have to be able to clean it up.

00:06:00.000 You need to tighten the timeframe, mail out fewer ballots.

00:06:02.000 Other countries have done it.

00:06:04.000 France used to have mail-in ballots, and they got rid of them.

00:06:07.000 You do not, by default, have to have mail-in ballots.

00:06:10.000 We, however, are being convinced by our Democrat masters and the masters of the media, you must have them.

00:06:15.000 You can't change them.

00:06:16.000 You must have them.

00:06:17.000 Mail-in balloting is subject to massive fraud, massive issues, and shenanigans, the likes of which that none of us should be comfortable with.

00:06:25.000 Other countries used to have it, and they reversed it.

00:06:28.000 We need to look into all these murky databases, by the way.

00:06:31.000 All the voter rolls.

00:06:32.000 That is really the key.

00:06:33.000 The fight is going to be all about who is on the voter rolls, who is getting this mass mail-in ballots, who is scooping them up.

00:06:39.000 Mail-in ballots undermine the idea, by the way, of a secret ballot.

00:06:43.000 That's a key part.

00:06:44.000 You should be voting in a booth.

00:06:45.000 We don't know who's actually filling out this ballot.

00:06:48.000 We do not because you can't sell your vote that way.

00:06:51.000 When you have mass mail-in balloting, you're opening it up towards scam rings, cartels, gangs to be able to scoop up your ballot, purchase your ballot, and do other fraudulent stuff alongside of it.

00:07:03.000 You can sell a mail-in vote.

00:07:04.000 You can let someone else fill it out at Silver.

00:07:06.000 Gregory, thank you so much.

00:07:07.000 Hope to see you at AmericaFest, my friend, amfest.com.

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00:08:14.000 Jeff is next.

00:08:15.000 Jeff, thank you for being a member.

00:08:17.000 Members.charlikirk.com.

00:08:18.000 What's on your mind?

00:08:19.000 Hi, Charlie.

00:08:21.000 Before I get to my question, I just want to say your move to offer support to Mayor Adams is very smart and very practical.

00:08:31.000 We've got to stop Mondami. 1.00

00:08:33.000 100%.

00:08:34.000 Yeah, and that's, and I want everyone to understand.

00:08:36.000 Can I interject?

00:08:36.000 I'm sorry, before your question, not a lot, a couple dozen people emailing, Charlie, how dare you have Eric Adams on?

00:08:42.000 Guys, this is purely pragmatic.

00:08:44.000 This is pragmatic, okay?

00:08:45.000 I'm not the chairman of Eric Adams fan committee.

00:08:48.000 It's all about stopping Momdani.

00:08:49.000 And if you are not practical or pragmatic and you're just purely ideological on this stuff, you're going to end up with a mayor Momdani.

00:08:55.000 I understand the frustration.

00:08:56.000 No, Eric Adams is, guys, he's going to be infinitely better than this uppity Islamist Marxist that wants to take over New York. 1.00

00:09:02.000 So I completely appreciate that and agree.

00:09:05.000 Jeff, sorry I cut you off.

00:09:06.000 Keep going.

00:09:07.000 I want to talk about recess appointments.

00:09:07.000 That's okay.

00:09:10.000 And to me, Speaker Johnson and Leader Thun have betrayed the president in not having a formal recess.

00:09:20.000 And it's my understanding.

00:09:21.000 I don't really understand it.

00:09:22.000 I'm not an attorney, but there's some mechanism by which President, if Speaker Johnson will reconvene the House, that can trigger something that allows President Trump to take control of the situation so he can put in recess appointments.

00:09:39.000 Do you know anything about that?

00:09:41.000 Yeah, so I would not focus too much on recess appointments for a couple of reasons.

00:09:46.000 The first of which is that it requires both houses to gavel out, and the Senate's not going to do that.

00:09:51.000 I've spent a lot of time on this.

00:09:52.000 I don't want to spend too much of our valuable dialogue here.

00:09:56.000 Just we need to kind of just dismiss recess appointments.

00:09:59.000 The more practical way is the U.S. Senate didn't work all August.

00:10:04.000 They gaveled out, and they still had somebody that were still kind of keeping it in procedural ways.

00:10:10.000 And we have 140 of Trump's nominees that are still waiting.

00:10:13.000 Here's what needs to happen.

00:10:14.000 Two things need to happen.

00:10:15.000 Number one, we need to go nuclear in early September.

00:10:19.000 We need to blow past the filibuster.

00:10:21.000 We need to blow past all this and do simultaneous and take one vote and confirm all 140.

00:10:26.000 It is 100% constitutional.

00:10:29.000 There is no reason why we can't do it.

00:10:30.000 In one day, Trump can get all 140 people in.

00:10:33.000 You literally submit into the Senate record.

00:10:35.000 We are voting on all 140 of Trump's nominees.

00:10:38.000 Boom.

00:10:39.000 End of story.

00:10:40.000 Get it over with.

00:10:41.000 The second of which, you do it as a package.

00:10:43.000 It is a package vote.

00:10:45.000 The second thing that you do is you get rid of this blue slip thing.

00:10:48.000 The blue slip thing is beyond annoying.

00:10:52.000 It is actually undermining of all the great work that President Trump wants to do.

00:10:56.000 So for example, in Arizona, in California, in Washington, in Oregon, in Georgia, in Delaware, in Rhode Island, in New York City, you are not able to get a Republican U.S. attorney if a Democrat objects to it.

00:11:10.000 Literally, it's not allowed if a Democrat objects to it.

00:11:14.000 And a Democrat senator, so Democrat senator has a veto power over the will of the president.

00:11:21.000 Get rid of blue slips. 0.98

00:11:22.000 Chuck Grassley, I have enormous respect for you.

00:11:24.000 Chuck Grassley, I think you've done a lot of good on a lot of stuff.

00:11:27.000 You are totally wrong on this, Chuck Grassley.

00:11:30.000 You have to back off and realize the country and the institution and the tradition of the U.S. Senate that used to exist, that is over, okay?

00:11:36.000 And so I will say, though, that the will of the people gave President Trump this mandate.

00:11:43.000 The American people gave President Trump, hey, we want a good U.S. attorney in Maine.

00:11:48.000 We want a good U.S. attorney in Minnesota.

00:11:50.000 Right now, Democrat senators are going to prevent the Department of Justice from being staffed. 1.00

00:11:55.000 Our system is so broken and so flawed, it is now taking more than a quarter of a four-year term to staff up administration.

00:12:03.000 Think about that.

00:12:04.000 One-fourth of the entire government, one-fourth of the entire term is just stolen from Trump.

00:12:09.000 Chuck Grassley needs to come to terms.

00:12:11.000 The country is different.

00:12:13.000 The Democrats have armed up.

00:12:16.000 They do not want to broker a deal.

00:12:18.000 And this is what drives us insane.

00:12:20.000 Do you want to know why the Republican base is so fired up?

00:12:22.000 Do you want to know the Republican base is so angry about this?

00:12:26.000 Because we never do this to the Democrats because we are always the ones that are honorable and trying to follow procedure.

00:12:33.000 It's Democrats who need to accept.

00:12:35.000 This is the problem.

00:12:37.000 It's not Democrats who need to accept things are different.

00:12:39.000 It's Republicans.

00:12:41.000 We are the ones as Republicans who far too often, well, you know, we need to not do this.

00:12:47.000 They did it to us.

00:12:49.000 They're doing it to us.

00:12:50.000 You need to respond in kind.

00:12:52.000 We gave Joe Biden his entire administration.

00:12:54.000 We could have done this to Joe Biden.

00:12:56.000 We decided not to.

00:12:57.000 We decided not to muck up the gears and we decided to give Joe Biden his cabinet.

00:13:02.000 We decided to give Joe Biden his ambassadors because we're better people because we take the high road because we're virtuous. 0.96

00:13:07.000 Well, no, we're suckers, actually, is what we are. 1.00

00:13:10.000 And the Democrats are the ones that are like, oh, you take the high road, I'm going to punch you in the cojones. 1.00

00:13:15.000 You take the high road, I'm going to punch you in the gut. 1.00

00:13:17.000 Enough. 1.00

00:13:18.000 Get rid of this blue slip disaster. 1.00

00:13:20.000 Chuck Grassley, I say this with a ton of respect.

00:13:23.000 You're a rock star.

00:13:24.000 You are wrong on this.

00:13:26.000 Get rid of the blue sip.

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00:14:46.000 Before we go to Leanne, a great member of ours, members.charliekirk.com, let's further make the case of Chicago.

00:14:53.000 Chicago has probably the greatest potential of any American city as I'm wearing my Cubs hat.

00:14:58.000 I'm wearing the Cubs hat for a reason because President Trump said Chicago might be next.

00:15:03.000 Chicago is a beautiful city, incredible location.

00:15:07.000 I went to Wrigley Field the other day.

00:15:09.000 It was an awesome experience.

00:15:10.000 My parents were there.

00:15:12.000 I was there with my wife, and I was even able to push some of the buttons in the Wrigley Field scorecard.

00:15:17.000 I got to tell you, I've been to a lot of baseball games.

00:15:19.000 I've gone to Wrigley my whole life.

00:15:21.000 There is just something so special that is so real, that is so magical, that is so somewhat spiritual about going to Wrigley.

00:15:33.000 So many of these fields you go to, I mean, I'm here in Dallas.

00:15:36.000 You go to Jerry's Stadium.

00:15:37.000 He did a phenomenal job with Jerry's Stadium, but it feels resolutely corporate.

00:15:41.000 It just does.

00:15:42.000 Wrigley Field has a historical feel to it.

00:15:45.000 And Chicago, as a city, as a center of industry and infrastructure, has the greatest potential of any American city.

00:15:53.000 President Donald Trump has said this.

00:15:55.000 That's why I'm wearing my Cubs hat.

00:15:57.000 Let's play Cut 532.

00:15:59.000 And after we do this, we'll go to another location and we'll make it safe also.

00:16:04.000 We're going to make our country very safe.

00:16:05.000 We're going to make our cities very, very safe.

00:16:08.000 Chicago is a mess. 0.99

00:16:09.000 You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. 0.99

00:16:12.000 And we'll straighten that one out probably next. 0.98

00:16:14.000 That'll be our next one after this.

00:16:17.000 And it won't even be tough.

00:16:19.000 And the people in Chicago, Mr. Vice President, are screaming for us to come.

00:16:25.000 They're wearing red hats, just like this one.

00:16:27.000 But they're wearing red hats.

00:16:29.000 African-American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, please, President Trump, come to Chicago.

00:16:36.000 Please.

00:16:37.000 Chicago averages about 500 murders a year, 573 murders a year last year, in 2024.

00:16:48.000 Chicago has a ton of housing.

00:16:50.000 It's an affordable city, but people don't like to live there because it's dangerous and has sky-high taxes.

00:16:54.000 If we fixed up the city and made it more appealing, more people could move there and more working residents would improve the economy.

00:17:02.000 You go a level deeper to Chicago.

00:17:04.000 Chicago was America's second city for a long time, has incredible Art Deco architecture.

00:17:10.000 It's a historic city.

00:17:10.000 It's like New York.

00:17:11.000 It's culturally rich.

00:17:13.000 It's right by the lake.

00:17:15.000 Lakeshore Drive is one of the most incredible drives in America from the Art Institute of Chicago to Millennium Park.

00:17:21.000 I think President Trump needs to do everything he possibly can to bring in federal forces.

00:17:27.000 Now, he doesn't have as much flexibility as he does in D.C. because of the home rule issue.

00:17:31.000 But what a test case.

00:17:32.000 If you could turn Chicago around, you could turn any city around.

00:17:36.000 It is important symbolism.

00:17:38.000 And I can tell you, as someone who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, I could not be more excited about this.

00:17:44.000 I could not be more enthusiastic because Chicago has hit a gutter because of the failed politicians of Lori Lightfoot and of Brandon Johnson.

00:17:53.000 Hey, maybe the Bears will stay in Chicago instead of going out to Arlington Heights.

00:17:57.000 I would actually support them going out to Arlington Heights.

00:17:59.000 That's a separate issue.

00:18:01.000 Black residents in Chicago are 22 times more likely to be victims of homicide compared to white residents.

00:18:07.000 The disparity is stark with black and Hispanic Chicagoans making up 95% of homicide victims from May 2023 to April 2024. 0.98

00:18:16.000 It's a disgrace. 0.93

00:18:17.000 It is an unspeakable tragedy that one of America's great cities of the 1950s is now a dangerous dump.

00:18:24.000 And it is.

00:18:25.000 It's not the same city that I remember, but it can be made great again.

00:18:29.000 It needs that positive, optimistic, solution-based vision.

00:18:34.000 We have a communist mayor named Brandon Johnson.

00:18:36.000 He has no idea what he's doing.

00:18:38.000 This is what I love about President Trump is doing.

00:18:39.000 It can't get much worse.

00:18:41.000 Do you want to talk about buy low and sell high?

00:18:44.000 Chicago, it can't get much worse.

00:18:45.000 It is in the gutter of the gutter.

00:18:48.000 It's as low as it gets.

00:18:50.000 Additionally, a study published in JAMA Network Open found that by age 47% of black and Hispanic participants had been shot.

00:19:00.000 7% had been shot, according to a study published in the JAMA Network.

00:19:05.000 Schools are failing.

00:19:06.000 All that Trump can't necessarily fix immediately, but he can make a difference with public safety.

00:19:11.000 Here's what he can do lawfully: he can surge federal agents, expand ATF, FBI, and USMS task forces, go after carjacking, gang cases, and route them all up to federal cases where appropriate.

00:19:24.000 Project safe neighborhoods and enforcement zones.

00:19:28.000 Also go down on this fugitive carjacking crackdowns.

00:19:31.000 U.S. Marshals, flood the zone with U.S. Marshals.

00:19:34.000 An emergency backstop, if necessary, declare the Insurrection Act.

00:19:38.000 Insurrection Act 10, USC, 251253 allows limited federal troop deployment as extreme last resort.

00:19:45.000 But I don't think that should be off the table.

00:19:46.000 Chicago has become more dangerous than third world cities. 1.00

00:19:51.000 And it's working in D.C. Could you imagine if you're able to say in one week in Chicago, there's not a single murder.

00:20:00.000 It's unheard of.

00:20:01.000 Not a single murder in D.C. for a week.

00:20:04.000 The D.C. template can now be scaled.

00:20:07.000 Making America great again means making our Midwestern cities great again.

00:20:10.000 Revive Chicago.

00:20:12.000 Revive Detroit.

00:20:13.000 Revive Minneapolis.

00:20:15.000 Okay, that might be tough.

00:20:16.000 That's a third world Somali slum. 1.00

00:20:18.000 A city has a death wish.

00:20:20.000 However, Chicago, I was just there at the Cubs game.

00:20:22.000 There are so many great Chicagoans.

00:20:25.000 Chicagoans are hardworking.

00:20:28.000 They are the lunch pale class. 0.84

00:20:30.000 Now, D.C. is pretty small.

00:20:32.000 Chicago is a beast, but it can be done.

00:20:35.000 I think deep down the people of Chicago, yeah, I mean, yellow of the metrosexual libs out there screaming, oh, Trump's invading our city.

00:20:41.000 Ignore them.

00:20:42.000 I know the working class of Chicago very well.

00:20:45.000 They're the Ditka de Bears types. 0.96

00:20:48.000 They are the guys that are garbage truck operators.

00:20:52.000 They are plumbers.

00:20:53.000 They're mechanics.

00:20:54.000 It's the hardest working city in America.

00:20:56.000 And we are sick as Chicagoans, as I am a native Chicagoan, of seeing our great city become the laughingstock of the entire nation.

00:21:04.000 It would be a massive morale boost.

00:21:06.000 And as a symbol for the rest of the nation, to be able to say we turned around Chicago.

00:21:11.000 And by the way, just wait.

00:21:13.000 You are now going to see, and this is awesome, you're going to see it all exposed.

00:21:17.000 Brandon Johnson and J.B. Pritzker are going to fight Donald Trump here.

00:21:20.000 Brandon Johnson and J.B. Pritzker are going to fight Donald Trump of his federal takeover of Chicago.

00:21:26.000 They are going to flip out, even though it's worked in D.C. Do you notice the D.C. thing is such a success?

00:21:31.000 What is their criticism?

00:21:32.000 Oh, I don't like seeing tanks on my streets.

00:21:34.000 Oh, well, do you like not getting shot?

00:21:37.000 In Chicago, liberate Chicago's Grant Park neighborhood.

00:21:40.000 Liberate the West Side.

00:21:41.000 Liberate the Gold Coast.

00:21:43.000 By the way, you know who else you forced the issue here?

00:21:43.000 Liberate.

00:21:46.000 Let's get some Barack Hussein Obama commentary on this.

00:21:49.000 Take over D.C. And then someone put a microphone in front of Obama's face. 0.84

00:21:53.000 Mr. Obama, you never did this when you were president.

00:21:56.000 Obama oversaw the death of young blacks in Chicago and could not have cared less.

00:22:01.000 Chicago is so big and so murderous that if you can even drop its murder rate in half, you would be dropping the national murder rate by more than 1%.

00:22:09.000 Let me say that again.

00:22:10.000 Chicago is so big and so murderous that if you could drop its murder rate in half, you'd be dropping the national murder rate by more than 1%.

00:22:19.000 And by the way, just throw out some of those black shooting statistics to Brandon Johnson. 1.00

00:22:23.000 Brandon Johnson's a moron. 1.00

00:22:24.000 He's not a smart person. 1.00

00:22:25.000 He's a Marxist. 0.96

00:22:26.000 He's not bright at all.

00:22:28.000 You're dealing with a very, very low bar.

00:22:30.000 You got J.B. Pritzker.

00:22:31.000 I love this first.

00:22:32.000 I mean, I can't stand these people.

00:22:34.000 I want President Trump to do everything he possibly can.

00:22:38.000 I'm going to say, man, Mr. President, I'm 100% behind you.

00:22:38.000 I'm going to talk to him.

00:22:42.000 Whatever you need to do a federal takeover of Chicago and make this a test case, I will do whatever I possibly can, Mr. President.

00:22:51.000 I'm going to probably shoot him a message later on.

00:22:54.000 Black men have a cumulative incidence of being shot in Chicago of 11% by age 40. 0.96

00:22:59.000 That means one out of 10 black men have been shot by the time they reach 40.

00:23:04.000 In Chicago.

00:23:05.000 In Chicago, one out of 10 black men have been shot by the age of 40.

00:23:10.000 That's in Chicago.

00:23:13.000 This is a great opportunity.

00:23:15.000 It's a beautiful city with still wonderful people.

00:23:18.000 It'd be good for tourism.

00:23:19.000 It'd be a morale boost.

00:23:21.000 And this is what's so great.

00:23:22.000 If we ignore our cities, we are nothing more than a movement in the hinterlands and the outskirts.

00:23:28.000 You need to go straight into the central nervous system.

00:23:31.000 And boy, seize the opportunity.

00:23:32.000 This is the brilliance of President Trump's team.

00:23:34.000 Some people say, oh, he's doing too much.

00:23:36.000 He's not doing enough.

00:23:38.000 We need a role that's into Chicago and San Francisco and Los Angeles.

00:23:41.000 Chicago is the perfect prerequisite because you have this do-nothing, unpopular mayor.

00:23:46.000 Brandon Johnson is booed by his own people when he goes and spoke.

00:23:48.000 He spoke at some homosexual concert or something, and people are just screaming at him. 0.56

00:23:53.000 Gangs rule much of the city. 0.97

00:23:55.000 I'm telling you, you bring in the U.S. Marshals, you bring in the FBI, you bring in the tanks, those little pop shots and those cross shootings, they are going to calm down dramatically.

00:24:04.000 Because all they understand, criminals are short-term thinkers, and all they understand is a bigger gun and more force.

00:24:12.000 Man, this is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

00:24:15.000 I've been waiting my entire political career for someone to care about Chicago.

00:24:20.000 Oh, I'm sorry, it's even worse than that.

00:24:22.000 12.5% of black men in Chicago will have been shot by age 40, 12.5%. 0.69

00:24:28.000 That's thanks to Brandon Johnson, black mayor, Lori Lightfoot, black mayor. 0.99

00:24:31.000 At some point, you got to say, you guys are terrible. 0.99

00:24:34.000 This is an American city.

00:24:36.000 Chicago is not in, it's not in Alberta.

00:24:40.000 It's not in Mexico.

00:24:41.000 You are in the United States of America, and we are invoking full and complete control. 0.85

00:24:44.000 And how great, sweet irony that President Trump takes over Chicago a year after the DNC was actually held in Chicago.

00:24:52.000 Just think that's just beautiful irony.

00:24:54.000 And J.B. Pritzker, get out of the way.

00:24:56.000 Enough.

00:24:57.000 Everything about you is an insult to us.

00:24:59.000 Brandon Johnson, we're going to fight. 1.00

00:25:01.000 You don't care about black death, Brandon Johnson. 0.98

00:25:03.000 If you did, you'd do something to stop it. 0.99

00:25:05.000 You know who cares about black death? 1.00

00:25:06.000 President Trump does. 0.97

00:25:08.000 In Washington, D.C., Black Death, not a single black has been killed in the last week in Chicago. 0.99

00:25:13.000 Declare a national emergency, flood the zone with ATF, FBI, have an entire task force.

00:25:19.000 Make Chicago another test case.

00:25:22.000 One, hold on.

00:25:23.000 I just want to be, if anyone thinks I'm wrong here, if one in 10 black men have been shot by the age of 40, how is that not an emergency? 0.79

00:25:30.000 Seriously, what is your argument?

00:25:32.000 If one in 10 black men are shot by the age of 40, how is that not an emergency? 1.00

00:25:37.000 That means if you have a basketball team, if you have a basketball team at Simeon High School where Derek Rose went, and it's 20 people on the basketball team, that means two of the people on that basketball team will be shot by the age of 40.

00:25:51.000 Email us as always, freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:25:54.000 Sweet home Chicago.

00:25:56.000 Take it over.

00:25:57.000 Seize it.

00:25:58.000 Roll in the tanks, just like we said in D.C., Mr. Johnson, Mr. Pritzker, you are next.

00:26:03.000 And you are woefully unprepared for what is coming.

00:26:06.000 Law and order is coming, and we will liberate my favorite city, Chicago.

00:26:13.000 TikTok has helped U.S. businesses contribute over $24 billion for the U.S. economy.

00:26:18.000 That's real money flowing into small businesses.

00:26:20.000 Like Arizona Taco King, who went viral on TikTok and had $1.3 million in sales in their first year.

00:26:25.000 Now they're hiring more staff to keep up.

00:26:27.000 Or Bluff Cakes, who started as a home baking side hustle and became a national cookie brand, or the she mechanic, whose business tripled in just a year with help from TikTok.

00:26:35.000 Now she's in a bigger space with a bigger team.

00:26:38.000 TikTok is helping small businesses thrive and now that's adding up to more jobs, more growth, and over $24 billion flowing into the U.S. economy.

00:26:45.000 Learn more about TikTok's contribution to the U.S. economy at tick tockeconomicimpact.com.

00:26:49.000 That is TikTokEconomicImpact.com.

00:26:53.000 Okay, let's go to Leanne. 0.95

00:26:54.000 Leanne, sorry to keep you waiting.

00:26:55.000 What's on your mind?

00:26:56.000 Thanks so much for being a member.

00:26:57.000 Hi, Charlie.

00:26:59.000 Not to change the subject, but in order to segue into my question, I want to note that it is most certainly, as you're aware, spiritual warfare in Chicago.

00:27:08.000 And the tone at the top theory is certainly true.

00:27:11.000 So, but my question is actually regarding, according to a Harvard study, which I don't really care for Harvard personally, but I'm curious to know your thoughts on this.

00:27:24.000 A significant portion of Gen Z, as you're probably aware, identifies as Catholic.

00:27:29.000 And the percentage of Gen Z is increasing from 15% to 21%.

00:27:36.000 Some say that it is they're finding a meaning in traditional religion.

00:27:40.000 And albeit at the end of the day, I'm grateful for them to seek the truth regardless of the denomination.

00:27:48.000 But I can't help but be curious of what is attracting them to the Catholic Church versus Protestant.

00:27:53.000 Is it the tradition aspect of it?

00:27:57.000 And what does that say for the Protestant church?

00:28:01.000 Because I have my own personal feelings about Catholicism versus Protestant and my own personal beliefs.

00:28:08.000 But my nephew, he is actually a perfect demonstration.

00:28:13.000 He's in college right now and he's joined a Christian fraternity and really surprising my entire family with how much he is clinging to God.

00:28:22.000 And I'm excited for him.

00:28:24.000 But I'm just hoping to better understand or get your thoughts on it.

00:28:29.000 Sure, it's a great question.

00:28:30.000 Well, first of all, thank you, Leanne.

00:28:32.000 I've covered this a little bit in the past, but let me do my best.

00:28:35.000 So first of which is, it's great that they're going back to church.

00:28:38.000 It's amazing that they're putting God first.

00:28:41.000 I'm evangelical.

00:28:42.000 I'm not Catholic, but I have great respect for Catholics.

00:28:44.000 And my wife was baptized and confirmed as a Catholic.

00:28:48.000 And we go to Mass every so often.

00:28:50.000 And I'm great friends with Father Klein, who does a great job in Arizona.

00:28:55.000 And I think the world of Catholics.

00:28:56.000 And I get a lot of heat for saying that.

00:28:58.000 But understand that this is largely a failure of the evangelical church.

00:29:01.000 The evangelical church has become very, very feminine. 0.87

00:29:03.000 It's become an incredible feminized.

00:29:05.000 And I don't just mean female pastors. 0.98

00:29:07.000 That's part of it.

00:29:08.000 But young men do not want to hear a sermon from a woman. 1.00

00:29:10.000 They just don't.

00:29:11.000 I know that might sound a little sexist, but they want to hear direction and order that points them up.

00:29:16.000 They do not want a self-help seminar.

00:29:18.000 They want high church aesthetics.

00:29:20.000 And evangelical Christianity has a certain vibe that not all people go for.

00:29:24.000 The high church versions of Protestantism has fallen off hard.

00:29:27.000 And unfortunately, too many of these churches have gone woke.

00:29:30.000 They don't want to hear an emotion or feeling based.

00:29:32.000 And the liturgy of the Catholic Church is very, very appealing and attractive to young men.

00:29:38.000 It points you up.

00:29:39.000 It is about self-introspection.

00:29:42.000 It is about being contrite for your sins.

00:29:45.000 And also, it is not just a TED Talk mixed with a rock concert.

00:29:49.000 But I'm with you, Leanne, probably theologically.

00:29:52.000 I'm an evangelical Christian Protestant, but I'm very moved by a lot of people going back to the Catholic Church.

00:29:57.000 And honestly, I don't disagree with some of it.

00:30:00.000 I've said this before, and some people don't like it.

00:30:02.000 I get hate mail.

00:30:02.000 I don't like to go to church in someone that feels like a Home Depot or a Costco.

00:30:06.000 I want to go to church in a place that's beautiful with stained glass windows that points us up, that challenges me, that lifts my soul, that makes me try to get closer to the transcendent, that is real and that will not change, that is everlasting, that is not going to just move with the culture, but will stand against it.

00:30:26.000 And so I've talked to a lot of pastors about this.

00:30:29.000 They really aren't, they don't really understand what's happening.

00:30:32.000 But I look at some, but not all, but some of the leaders in the evangelical church, like Russell Moore and Rick Warren, and I can see, I can see why kids are leaving.

00:30:40.000 They're arguing for open borders, BLM, vaccine mandates.

00:30:44.000 Increasingly, so many members, leaders in the evangelical church are all about gay pride flags.

00:30:49.000 You know what?

00:30:49.000 The Catholic Church, they're great on marriage.

00:30:51.000 They're great on family.

00:30:52.000 They're great on abortion.

00:30:54.000 They're great on not kids not getting transgender surgeries. 1.00

00:30:57.000 So young men feel challenged.

00:30:59.000 They feel called towards adventure.

00:31:01.000 And the revival largely is happening amongst young men more so than young women.

00:31:05.000 But evangelicals need to take note.

00:31:07.000 Evangelicalism is looked at as increasingly unattractive, unappealing, shape-shifting, not constant.

00:31:15.000 And I hear all the feedback from young men.

00:31:17.000 And I can tell you the vast majority of young people I talk to are going to the Catholic Church.

00:31:21.000 And they are really not convinced by much of what is being presented in the modern Protestant world.

00:31:26.000 And I say that as an evangelical Christian.

00:31:27.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

00:31:28.000 Email us as always, freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:31:31.000 Thanks so much for listening, and God bless.

The Charlie Kirk Show - August 25, 2025

Ask Charlie Anything 236: Salvage Chicago? Recess Appointments? Catholic Converts?

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