The Charlie Kirk Show - Ceasefire in Iran, Ceasefire Among MAGA?

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00:01:17.000 Welcome to the Charlie Kirk Show.

00:01:19.000 It is April 8th, 2026.

00:01:22.000 We are here at the YREFI studios in Phoenix, Arizona.

00:01:26.000 Welcome, Blake.

00:01:27.000 Howdy.

00:01:28.000 Blake's deep in thought already.

00:01:30.000 Lots of news.

00:01:31.000 I mean, I don't think that is a shocker for any of you in the audience.

00:01:35.000 Tons of news.

00:01:36.000 Obviously, we have a tentative, as JD Vance said, Says a fragile peace that has been struck, a two week peace deal with Iran, but already we are seeing fractures and fissures emerge.

00:01:51.000 This might not last till the end of the hour.

00:01:54.000 So we're going to see if this two week peace deal lasts to the ends of the show.

00:02:00.000 We don't know.

00:02:01.000 So let's just go through all the facts.

00:02:02.000 So a peace deal was reached about 90 minutes before the 8 p.m. Eastern deadline that President Trump had set, where he was going to, the famous truth now, basically end a civilization.

00:02:14.000 I. Personally, I didn't think that that ever meant nuclear weapons.

00:02:18.000 We talked about that on the show yesterday.

00:02:20.000 Nevertheless, it got through.

00:02:21.000 The message got through.

00:02:23.000 There was actually an interesting tweet by a friend of the show, Will Chamberlain, who basically said, Thank you to all of the people that were assuming the worst because it actually may have helped convince Iran to come to the peace negotiation table.

00:02:38.000 There was obviously intermediation going on on behalf of Pakistan and the prime minister there.

00:02:44.000 But I think it's important also to note that China played a huge role in this.

00:02:48.000 China exerted a force at the last minute on behalf of, I think, by way of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

00:02:59.000 I think it's safe to say China is probably one of the beneficiaries of the cut rate oil that Iran was pumping out into the marketplace.

00:03:09.000 So China wanted this deal to get done, probably also because China has an interest in the long term stability of the existing regime or the framework that still exists and other reasons.

00:03:21.000 So watch China in all of this.

00:03:23.000 I just want to make that very clear.

00:03:25.000 That was reported by the New York Times that China played a huge role at the end there.

00:03:29.000 So, we have this 10 point plan.

00:03:31.000 The White House is reporting that it is a different 10 point plan than the one that we have been previously seen.

00:03:38.000 So, we haven't agreed to a 10 point plan yet.

00:03:40.000 No, it was.

00:03:41.000 We have allegedly a ceasefire to negotiate based off of our own 16 point plan and their 10 point plan that is allegedly different than the one they'd given us before.

00:03:50.000 Yes.

00:03:51.000 So, what is also interesting here is what happens to the Strait of Hormuz.

00:03:56.000 Okay.

00:03:57.000 So, previously, oil tankers were able to navigate the Strait freely.

00:04:03.000 That was what was the previous status quo.

00:04:06.000 Now it looks like what could be the case is that there will be tolls exacted upon tankers that go through the Strait.

00:04:13.000 President Trump has told Jonathan Carl that that could be more of a joint venture.

00:04:18.000 That sounds like something he'd get on board with.

00:04:20.000 It does sound like something he'd get on board with.

00:04:21.000 Iran, let's team up to do tariffs.

00:04:23.000 Yeah, tariffs.

00:04:24.000 So, why this is noteworthy is again, the previous status quo, you go through freely.

00:04:30.000 Now you've got to pay a toll.

00:04:32.000 Maybe it's a joint venture, US and Iran partnering in that.

00:04:36.000 Maybe Iran just charges them unilaterally.

00:04:39.000 We're not sure how this is going to shake out, but it is a massive new precedent to be set.

00:04:44.000 It means there could be tolls exacted on straits and canals all through the world if this ends up taking place.

00:04:51.000 So that's something that we need to keep a lookout for in the future.

00:04:55.000 It's relatively nominal.

00:04:57.000 And if you get peace and you get the straight back opened and you get tolls, I suppose that's a deal a lot of people would probably be willing to make.

00:05:04.000 All right.

00:05:05.000 Well, where we're at now, though.

00:05:07.000 But the big problem now is we say this there is a ceasefire.

00:05:11.000 It is time to last for two weeks while they negotiate.

00:05:15.000 But as we said, it might not last till the end of this program because it's not 100% clear if it's going on right now.

00:05:22.000 Well, this is the.

00:05:23.000 There are still a lot of reports of explosions, missiles being fired at Israel, at Kuwait, at other targets.

00:05:32.000 And then this is also a big one.

00:05:33.000 There is a disagreement over the scope of the ceasefire, in addition to the air.

00:05:38.000 Campaign and missile campaign against Iran and in the Gulf.

00:05:43.000 There's also been an Israeli ground operation and bombing operation in Lebanon.

00:05:47.000 In fact, that I believe has killed more people than the Iran missile exchanges.

00:05:52.000 And Iran and Pakistan claim that that part of the conflict is covered by this ceasefire, but Israel claims it's not.

00:06:01.000 And now, just breaking in the last few minutes, the United States says it's not.

00:06:05.000 And that's a pretty big point of disagreement.

00:06:09.000 Why this matters is because now Iran is reportedly threatening tankers that are trying to navigate the strait.

00:06:15.000 So the strait is, for all intents and purposes, once again closed.

00:06:20.000 Now, a few tankers, I believe, got through earlier, but it is now halted.

00:06:25.000 That movement has been halted because they are claiming Israel has violated the terms of the ceasefire.

00:06:31.000 But we just don't know if Hezbollah in southern Lebanon was included at all.

00:06:35.000 So there's disagreements on that.

00:06:37.000 We've got a lot to unpack here.

00:06:39.000 There's, I think, A really important press conference that's going to be had at 1 p.m. Caroline Levitt White House press conference.

00:06:46.000 So, we are going to be throwing to that live later in hour two because there's a lot of details that remain unclear.

00:06:54.000 What are the details of the new 10 point plan?

00:06:56.000 How much does it reflect the previously reported 10 point plan?

00:07:00.000 What's going to happen with the Strait of Hormuz?

00:07:02.000 Are we really seriously looking at charging tariffs and tolls to navigate the Strait?

00:07:08.000 There's a lot to unpack here, but I think most importantly, This is what's going to happen.

00:07:13.000 And Blake and I were talking about this right before the show started.

00:07:16.000 Everybody's going to declare victory, right?

00:07:18.000 So we're seeing reports that they are waving Iranian flags in Tehran and that they are claiming victory.

00:07:25.000 Pete Hegseth gave a press conference this morning claiming victory with a capital V. Sometimes in war, there is not really a clear victor.

00:07:36.000 And I think that's one of the instances.

00:07:39.000 Would Iran have preferred to not have been bombed and have 80 to 90% of their military apparatus destroyed, their manufacturing apparatus destroyed?

00:07:48.000 Of course.

00:07:49.000 But could you make the argument that this was a bit of a Pyrrhic victory on behalf of the United States in the sense that, yes, we had air support?

00:07:57.000 Have air superiority.

00:07:58.000 We decimated much of their military industrial complex.

00:08:02.000 But the strait was open before, and now that remains in question.

00:08:06.000 And if we remove sanctions on Iranian oil and energy and other products that they make from its petroleum, will Iran emerge stronger in the wake of this?

00:08:17.000 And that's a huge potential here.

00:08:19.000 I spoke with a friend of mine who's good on foreign policy stuff, and he says the likely long term goal here, probably to get a permanent peace deal, might have to be.

00:08:28.000 You would agree, which Iran has been fighting for, for basically the ideal deal we could make is they actually do back off from their nuclear deal, but in return, we do fully regularize our relationship with them, which means you remove sanctions, you normalize trade, and yeah, you let them toll the straight.

00:08:47.000 They're saying it might be $1 per barrel for oil going through it.

00:08:50.000 So that's not massive.

00:08:51.000 That's about, you'd maybe like a 3%, 4% tax tariff on all oil going out.

00:08:58.000 I think you have to say, we said at the outset, the best way to sell this war is if it is the last war the U.S. fights in the Middle East.

00:09:04.000 And the only way that's going to happen is if we have a government in Iran we can treat as a normal country.

00:09:09.000 Lots of news coming in.

00:09:10.000 We're taking it all in.

00:09:12.000 There's a new truth from President Trump that I want to get here.

00:09:16.000 It says numerous agreements, lists, and letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the USA Iran negotiation.

00:09:23.000 In many cases, they are total fraudsters, charlatans, and worse, they will be rapidly exposed after our federal investigation is completed.

00:09:31.000 There is only one group of meaningful points, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these negotiations.

00:09:37.000 These are the points that are the basis on which we agreed to a ceasefire.

00:09:42.000 It is something that is reasonable and can easily be dispensed with.

00:09:44.000 It is very much like fake news CNN last night, headlining a source that had no power or authority to write a letter claiming great authority, President Donald J. Trump.

00:09:54.000 So, a lot of back and forth about what the actual source is here, Blake, what the 10 points are.

00:10:01.000 Again, just to underscore the point, to make it extremely clear.

00:10:05.000 They're calling it the foundation for a negotiation.

00:10:09.000 Not that the points have been agreed to.

00:10:10.000 President Trump says many of the points have already been sort of sorted out, but there remain some sticking points.

00:10:15.000 Obviously, I think that it has to be a different deal than what was previously reported because the previous one was completely unworkable.

00:10:23.000 There were things that we would never agree to in that previous 10 point plan.

00:10:27.000 So, President Trump is doing his best to clarify this.

00:10:30.000 Okay, I want to get into this New York Times expose because everybody that I know was sending me this thing yesterday.

00:10:37.000 It was going all around.

00:10:38.000 Basically, and Blake, fill in the gaps that I miss here.

00:10:42.000 It explains that Bibi Netanyahu, in an extraordinary moment, was essentially presented his case in the intel behind his pitch to attack Iran.

00:10:55.000 And he did it in the Situation Room.

00:10:57.000 He did it in the Situation Room before, obviously, all this happened.

00:11:00.000 It was in February, which, as far as I'm aware, is the first time a leader of a foreign government had done something like that inside the Situation Room.

00:11:09.000 Gathered around the table was obviously President Trump.

00:11:12.000 His chief of staff, Susie Wiles, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, JD Vance apparently couldn't make it back in time for this initial meeting.

00:11:22.000 Who else am I missing?

00:11:23.000 John Radcliffe from the CIA, Raisin Kane, Joint Chiefs.

00:11:27.000 So it was an extraordinarily small meeting, but with all the firepower in the U.S. military, with BB Netanyahu doing a pitch in the Situation Room, and he presented four points.

00:11:40.000 Basically, that he thought that they could do a decapitation move, take out the leadership, that they could essentially wipe out the military of Iran really successfully.

00:11:51.000 But then points three and four were more controversial.

00:11:55.000 Blake, I don't know if you want to.

00:11:57.000 Well, he claimed it was a four point plan.

00:11:58.000 It was take, yeah, as you said, take out the Ayatollah, take out the military.

00:12:01.000 But then he had this bolder claim that they would be able to launch uprisings within Iran, either invasions by Kurds or just dissidents within the country.

00:12:10.000 And then point four, there would be a full regime change to a.

00:12:13.000 Secular leader who would be pro Western and friendly to the United States.

00:12:18.000 This is where it gets really interesting.

00:12:20.000 So, gathered around that table were the characters I just mentioned.

00:12:25.000 They meet afterwards.

00:12:26.000 Then JD Vance makes it back, gets a briefing.

00:12:29.000 Now he's part of this discussion.

00:12:31.000 And essentially, John Radcliffe, Marco Rubio, and JD Vance all called BS on points three and four.

00:12:41.000 And Raisin Kane made an observation that I think is.

00:12:45.000 One of those things that is going to linger in our collective consciousness for a long time.

00:12:50.000 He said the Israelis tend to oversell and under deliver.

00:12:55.000 Their intel is inflated.

00:12:57.000 So, what happened is they go around the table again.

00:13:00.000 They meet, I think, basically within that week.

00:13:04.000 JD Vance says, You know what I think, sir?

00:13:06.000 President Trump asked for everybody's opinion.

00:13:08.000 JD Vance says, You know what I think, sir?

00:13:09.000 It's a bad idea, but if you do it, I'll support you for a number of reasons.

00:13:14.000 Marco Rubio says, If you want to go in for points one and two, Then I think you should do it.

00:13:19.000 But if you think three and four are going to happen, you shouldn't.

00:13:21.000 Because he called it BS, but he used the real word.

00:13:25.000 Raisin Kane is sort of described as this guy who's not offering his opinions necessarily on whether he thinks it's right or wrong, but he gives the details to the question the president asks.

00:13:35.000 And I think there's some reticence there.

00:13:37.000 Susie Wilde said, you know, basically it's described as somebody that was not.

00:13:40.000 Yeah.

00:13:41.000 What stands out here, if you read it, is at least in this report by the New York Times, which is presumably based on.

00:13:49.000 A bunch of the people involved in these conversations talking to the New York Times or their staff talking to the New York Times.

00:13:56.000 No one is really willing to take ownership for launching the war other than the president himself.

00:14:01.000 The narrative told in this story is almost everyone around the president is skeptical, but the president wants to go for it.

00:14:09.000 That is the story they tell.

00:14:10.000 So it's obvious to me that the story has been worked, but we have not seen much pushback from the administration saying it's not true.

00:14:18.000 We haven't seen pushback from the staff saying it's not true.

00:14:21.000 We haven't even seen, as far as I can, I am aware that any pushback from the Israelis.

00:14:26.000 So, I would say the basic structure of this agreement is true, and it reflects other things that I'd sort of heard privately about who was rushing in or who wasn't rushing into this thing.

00:14:37.000 I think the takeaway for me is a couple things, but namely, there's been a lot of debate whether or not President Trump got quote unquote dog walked into this war.

00:14:49.000 My conclusion, based on this report and this expose, plus all of the footage that we've seen of President Trump throughout the years, is that no.

00:14:56.000 I think maybe there was confirmation bias.

00:14:59.000 You can make that argument.

00:15:00.000 But President Trump seems to have basically made the decision that he wanted to do this.

00:15:06.000 He's wanted to hit Iran for a long time.

00:15:08.000 And I will say this this is my last point, and I'll get your take, Blake.

00:15:12.000 Do not underestimate the significance of Iran attempting to assassinate President Trump, whether they actually did attempt it or not.

00:15:22.000 Signaled their intention to do it, that will leave an incredible, indelible imprint on anybody's psyche.

00:15:30.000 And I think you take that back to the fact that older Americans remember being insulted by Iran, the Iranian hostage crisis, and the like.

00:15:41.000 And it's been a thorn in the side of the United States for long enough that I think President Trump was the man who wanted to make the decision.

00:15:47.000 Whereas you get younger generations like JD, Marco, they were less enthusiastic.

00:15:52.000 Blake, your take.

00:15:53.000 I think that's very possible.

00:15:54.000 And.

00:15:55.000 You want to be careful with that.

00:15:56.000 I'm taken back to when we overthrew Saddam Hussein, which a lot of the argument from the left was Bush did this essentially for sentimental reasons that his dad hadn't taken out Saddam and that was why he'd lost re election and he had to go back and finish the job.

00:16:13.000 There was a lot of, there was a big lobby to overthrow Saddam well before 9 11 happened.

00:16:19.000 Like 9 11 essentially just offered the excuse to do it.

00:16:23.000 And if you're correct, That's kind of the feeling I get here.

00:16:28.000 The president has thought about Iran for literally decades.

00:16:32.000 He does remember the hostage crisis.

00:16:34.000 Those are things that would all motivate him.

00:16:36.000 But that's not necessarily the best reason to launch a war, which was really expensive and risky.

00:16:42.000 And I think there's a couple other takeaways here.

00:16:46.000 I do think there is a possibility here with after Venezuela, maybe there was a sense that this would be a greater risk, but the glory would be even greater as well, and that we could get in, get out quickly.

00:16:58.000 I think other people like JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Ratcliffe had a little bit more hesitancy because it.

00:17:05.000 This is a line that's worth emphasizing.

00:17:07.000 It also reports in the same article that he called Tucker Carlson and he said, It's going to be okay.

00:17:12.000 Tucker asked why, and he says, Because it always is.

00:17:16.000 Talks in Islamabad begin on Friday.

00:17:19.000 We'll see how those go.

00:17:23.000 America is entering its 250th year, and the direction of this country is being decided right now in our culture and our economy.

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00:18:35.000 One of these folks out in our movement that I would love to have a barbecue with is Jonathan Kieperman.

00:18:41.000 You might know him as Lomez.

00:18:43.000 He is a sage of wisdom and advice and just good insight.

00:18:48.000 And we wanted to have him on because so much has been made about the MAGA fracturing over the conflict in Iran.

00:18:55.000 And we're not through it yet.

00:18:57.000 We're not through the Strait of Hormuz yet.

00:18:58.000 We're not through this yet, I don't think.

00:19:00.000 So, Jonathan, welcome back to the show.

00:19:02.000 It's so good to have you, man.

00:19:03.000 Blake and Andrew, it's great to be here.

00:19:06.000 I always love hearing that from you guys.

00:19:06.000 Praise.

00:19:08.000 So I could get used to hearing that every day.

00:19:09.000 I try to, you know, it's, it's, I'm trying to bait you back on.

00:19:12.000 We've got a visual here running from left to right like no hair, medium hair, extremely large amount of hair.

00:19:19.000 Uh huh.

00:19:20.000 Uh huh.

00:19:20.000 This is after peptides.

00:19:21.000 Okay.

00:19:22.000 They have peptides for this.

00:19:23.000 So listen, I just got a haircut not long ago.

00:19:26.000 Okay.

00:19:26.000 I could, I got it.

00:19:27.000 Okay.

00:19:27.000 Whatever you say, Andrew.

00:19:28.000 Yeah.

00:19:29.000 So, Jonathan, let's just get your viewpoint, first of all, on where we're at with the ceasefire, and then we'll get into the way the movement has reacted to it.

00:19:39.000 Yeah, I mean, you know, just to set the table for your listeners, you know, this is something I talk about quite a lot on the show with Chris Rufo.

00:19:46.000 We have a show on The Blaze and we've been talking about the Iran war.

00:19:48.000 And I share, I think, your guys' perspective, not to speak for you both, which is that I was always skeptical of this as a military operation.

00:19:56.000 It was unclear to me what the objectives were.

00:19:59.000 It was a bit unclear to me how we were meant to achieve those objectives and certainly what the day after might look like.

00:20:07.000 And I was also, Maybe primarily worried that this would distract from domestic priorities.

00:20:14.000 There's a domestic agenda that we want to see this administration not just continue to pursue, but achieve it at a significant rate as we head into the midterm.

00:20:25.000 So I want to see us refocus our efforts on that.

00:20:27.000 But I will say I was never a doomer about this war.

00:20:30.000 And I think, you know, like everybody today, I'm going to claim some kind of vindication, maybe prematurely.

00:20:37.000 But that is just to say that I never bought the sort of Catastrophe scenario that many people were selling.

00:20:45.000 I think what we saw yesterday, even if this ceasefire doesn't hold permanently right now, even if these negotiations take several weeks to get going and start to produce results, that at least the markets, oil prices took a nosedive yesterday after this was announced.

00:21:05.000 The stock market is on a historic upward trend now after these announcements suggest to me that there was always a way out of this, that Trump at any moment could essentially fold the hand.

00:21:19.000 Okay.

00:21:20.000 And that might not sound well to the administration and administrative boosters, but it's that's really what taco means, I think, is a willingness when, you know, the cards aren't in your favor to just fold the hand.

00:21:36.000 And so if that's what this means here, that Trump is going to hold the hand and we just cut our losses and can get out of this, while in the grand scheme of things, it might not be a high point for this term, it's not going to be, I don't think, the catastrophe that.

00:21:53.000 That many have been selling online.

00:21:54.000 So that's one part of it.

00:21:57.000 And I think the other thing I learned or that we're learning and that has been clear all along, but maybe certain people have neglected in this equation, is that Iran is a rational actor.

00:22:08.000 Okay.

00:22:09.000 We may not like them.

00:22:10.000 We may not like what they do.

00:22:13.000 We may not like their point of view and some of the geopolitical objectives that they pursue, but they are motivated by survival.

00:22:24.000 And when you're dealing with a counterpart, Who is motivated by survival, you can predict what they want and what they will respond to.

00:22:33.000 They will respond to certain kinds of incentives.

00:22:36.000 And I think we are seeing that here with the ceasefire, as imperfect as it may be.

00:22:41.000 And what this all redounds to, in my view, is that we actually have a lot of optionality here.

00:22:47.000 We're in a situation where there's a lot of opportunity to maneuver and negotiate.

00:22:53.000 And this is really, of course, where Trump shines at the negotiation table.

00:22:57.000 So I'm cautiously optimistic.

00:23:00.000 That this could resolve itself and more or less from a domestic political standpoint be forgotten by, let's say, mid June, which would be, I think, ideal and set us up for midterms rather well.

00:23:15.000 Yeah, and I think I really agree with that.

00:23:17.000 I was never a doomer on it.

00:23:18.000 I've always been skeptical about this war.

00:23:21.000 I, you know, Blake likes to say, and I agree with it, that you can always start a war, you can't always decide when to end it.

00:23:26.000 But I would say that as far as ending a war, we had more, as you say, optionality here than a lot of other scenarios that you could imagine.

00:23:34.000 And we kept saying, like, Trump could simply just declare victory and get out.

00:23:38.000 I mean, essentially, that's what he was kind of.

00:23:41.000 Positioning, I believe, with the Strait of Hormuz saying, hey, we don't get any of our energy from there.

00:23:45.000 It's your guys' problem.

00:23:46.000 NATO, if you guys want the Strait open.

00:23:49.000 And I think we're going to kind of see some of that when it comes to whether they're tariffed or whether it's a joint venture, whether we allow Iran to put a toll on these tankers that go through.

00:23:59.000 Not ideal.

00:23:59.000 It sets a bad precedent, I think, for energy and trade throughout the world, but it's also not a doomsday scenario.

00:24:05.000 I think if the president, I think the one thing he seems consistently fixated on is the nuclear weapon part.

00:24:11.000 I think if he can credibly claim.

00:24:13.000 I have made it so this will never happen or it will take an extremely long time to happen.

00:24:17.000 I agree.

00:24:18.000 He's ready to accept a lot of other things.

00:24:20.000 I totally agree.

00:24:21.000 I think what's going to happen out of this, and then I'll throw to you, Jonathan, is the negotiations that are going to go on in Islamabad.

00:24:28.000 Apparently, starting Friday, there's some question of whether or not security is such that JD Vance can participate.

00:24:33.000 But Jared Kushner, Witkoff, I think they are going to demand that there are actual American forces or observers or whatever that goes on with this IEA.

00:24:44.000 Or, whatever, maybe I got the acronym wrong, that goes in and actually removes it, physically removes it, and observes the removal of that.

00:24:50.000 If they can negotiate that in all of this, you're right, Blake.

00:24:54.000 I think they're going to be willing to put up with a lot, including removing sanctions, this toll through the strait.

00:25:00.000 Jonathan, your take.

00:25:01.000 Yeah, I just think that, you know, Blake's right.

00:25:03.000 And ending a war is difficult.

00:25:04.000 But what you want in this situation is for everybody to be able to walk away.

00:25:09.000 Both sides need to be able to walk away, saving face to their own people, their own constituency.

00:25:14.000 Iran can tell their people that they made the great Satan blink.

00:25:18.000 And that's all they need.

00:25:18.000 Okay.

00:25:19.000 And they survived.

00:25:20.000 There was no regime change.

00:25:22.000 So they're still standing.

00:25:23.000 That is a win, sort of regardless of anything else that happens from their end.

00:25:28.000 From Trump's point of view, the big headline item here, and I think really the thing that's motivating him, maybe even more so than the nuclear material, the uranium, is that he got the Ayatollah.

00:25:40.000 The Ayatollah has existed as this sort of bogeyman for people Trump's age, going back to the Cold War.

00:25:47.000 And, you know, Trump.

00:25:49.000 Got another notch on his belt.

00:25:51.000 He got the Ayatollah.

00:25:52.000 Their military capacity is badly degraded.

00:25:55.000 Obviously, it can still do some stuff like control the Strait of Hormuz, but it's badly degraded.

00:26:00.000 If he can get just some compromise, even rhetorical compromise on the uranium stuff, I think both sides can walk from this.

00:26:09.000 And again, while it's not a win per se, it's not a huge W, it's not the thing we're celebrating going into midterms, it's largely forgotten, I think, in several months.

00:26:20.000 Yeah, and I just, I do think that you could actually, you know, spike the football pretty large in a big way, loudly, if you do get the concessions on nuclear.

00:26:31.000 And I think because that has been the one most consistent drumbeat from President Trump when it comes to Iran.

00:26:38.000 You can't let Iran have nuclear.

00:26:40.000 If we get massive concessions there, but we have to give concessions back, for example, on sanctioning their oil, then that would be something that he could tout.

00:26:52.000 I think, in the end, Iran getting nuclear weapons is the only thing that keeps us obsessed with them.

00:26:57.000 Even if they're an annoying government, frankly, even if they're a government that funds terrorist activities, it makes them evil, but there's a lot of evil governments.

00:27:05.000 I'm just saying they killed upwards of 50,000 of their own people during the protests.

00:27:10.000 And the question is then, Jonathan, if we remove sanctions on their energy and their petrol and chemicals and stuff like that, are we actually going to potentially create a monster out of Iran?

00:27:21.000 I think that would be the one question because are they going to be stronger?

00:27:24.000 One of the questions that we have remaining out of this is.

00:27:26.000 Are they weakened?

00:27:27.000 Will the people actually topple the regime eventually?

00:27:32.000 This may run counter to most people's preferences, but I think regularizing relationships with anyone is a good idea.

00:27:39.000 And if we can regularize economic relationships with Iran, maybe there's some rough water that we have to pass through and they abuse that for a period of time.

00:27:47.000 But I think in the long run, that's the only way out of this.

00:27:51.000 We need to have a sort of global landscape where these countries participate in the broader global economy.

00:27:58.000 That is a win.

00:27:59.000 And I think this larger narrative, the larger foreign policy narrative, the Iran specific story gets captured by what's going on everywhere else with Venezuela.

00:28:08.000 We'll see what happens with Cuba.

00:28:09.000 We'll see what we can strike a deal maybe with China, which I know is on the table and coming up soon.

00:28:14.000 So I think this can all work itself out.

00:28:17.000 And it isn't necessarily the case that removing sanctions is going to be some sort of catastrophic moment.

00:28:27.000 Charlie had an absolutely relentless passion for learning.

00:28:30.000 I saw it up close and personal.

00:28:33.000 In every waking moment, every spare moment that he could, he had a book open, he had a podcast open, he had a Hillsdale online course open.

00:28:43.000 He was always diving into new ideas, absorbing information, studying up, and sharpening his skills.

00:28:48.000 That's why I love Dr. Arne at Hillsdale College.

00:28:51.000 They shared a deep understanding that learning is the key to shaping your character, creating courage.

00:28:57.000 And changing lives.

00:28:59.000 Charlie never stopped learning, and neither should you.

00:29:01.000 Through Hillsdale's online courses, he spent time studying the classics, the American founding, and the enduring truths of the Bible.

00:29:08.000 Now it is your turn.

00:29:11.000 With Hillsdale's free online courses, you can follow in his footsteps, learning from real professors and challenging yourself with rigorous coursework that's free and accessible to anybody who's willing to learn.

00:29:22.000 A great place to start is their brand new course on logic and rhetoric.

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00:29:29.000 Make a powerful point and see how clear thinking leads to better decision making and more effective speech.

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00:29:38.000 It's completely free.

00:29:40.000 This is a real good one, by the way Logic and Rhetoric.

00:29:43.000 Pick up the mic, carry it forward, learn like Charlie.

00:29:47.000 Start right now at charlieforhillsdale.com.

00:29:52.000 Jonathan Keeperman, also known as Lomez, he's the founder of Passages Press and host of the Rufo and Lomez show at Blaze.

00:30:01.000 So check all of those things out.

00:30:03.000 So, I want to talk about the movement.

00:30:05.000 There's a story out of Axios.

00:30:06.000 We could throw the graphic up right now where it's talking about the MAGA media world that helped create Trump.

00:30:14.000 MAGA media is great unraveling.

00:30:15.000 Of course, there's a picture of Tucker, Alex Jones, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Walsh, and Cerno.

00:30:21.000 Pretty sure it is truth to say that this has caused a massive amount of consternation, hand rigging, and actual attacks on the president.

00:30:33.000 Where do we go from here?

00:30:34.000 Yeah, I mean, look, I saw this article earlier, and that's certainly an important and early faction that supported Trump.

00:30:43.000 But this is a huge coalition, and it's a big tent.

00:30:47.000 I'm a big tent guy, and we all have to accommodate ourselves to the fact that we are in a big tent coalition.

00:30:53.000 And that consists of libertarians and people who are very strongly opposed to the Iran war and want to see us, from a foreign policy perspective, retrench and retreat back into.

00:31:06.000 America, there are immigration hawks, of which I count myself among.

00:31:10.000 There's the culture warriors, you know, you have young people, old people, and there are a lot of just diverging interests here.

00:31:17.000 And all of us are, in some sense, subservient to the interests and will of Donald Trump.

00:31:25.000 He's the guy at the top, he's the guy that calls the shots.

00:31:28.000 And sometimes when you're within that coalition, you're going to get a little bit of what you want.

00:31:33.000 Sometimes you're going to get a lot of what you want.

00:31:35.000 And sometimes you're going to have to compromise and give up on the things you want because other members of that coalition.

00:31:41.000 Are going to win the argument on any given issue.

00:31:44.000 And I think, regardless of what's happened here, and I would really strongly urge even those who are strongly opposed to what's going on in Iran to consider that we'd be much worse off if the Democrats win.

00:32:00.000 We'd be much worse off if Kamala Harris was president and if the Republicans lose office in the midterms.

00:32:06.000 I don't believe in the acceleration thesis at all, which is that you have to lose in order to win at some point in the future.

00:32:13.000 No, you win by winning.

00:32:15.000 You win incrementally.

00:32:16.000 Within that coalition, you make your argument, you try to win on the issues that matter to you the most and be willing to compromise elsewhere.

00:32:24.000 And remember that your ego just isn't very important in this equation.

00:32:29.000 And so, what I hope is as this starts to die down, as it becomes a less salient centerpiece of what's going on in the news every day, and it's the thing you see when you scroll that will start to coalesce around.

00:32:45.000 More shared objectives.

00:32:47.000 We get back to this domestic agenda that I was referencing earlier.

00:32:51.000 So that's my hope.

00:32:52.000 That's what I think will happen.

00:32:53.000 And I think, you know, members of this coalition are just going to have to learn to get along.

00:32:59.000 Well, so.

00:33:00.000 I'm hopeful that you're right, Jonathan, but I guess I want to sound a note of concern, worry, caution.

00:33:06.000 First of all, I think you and I both know this already was a super salient issue before the Iran war broke out.

00:33:13.000 We've definitely got voices that are all Israel all the time, all the Jews all the time, let's be frank.

00:33:20.000 And on top of that, it's also some of it's going to be difficult to walk back.

00:33:25.000 We have people, it wasn't just people opposed to the war.

00:33:28.000 We had people saying 25th Amendment.

00:33:30.000 Use the 25th Amendment.

00:33:31.000 People saying these are war crimes.

00:33:33.000 We need a Nuremberg.

00:33:34.000 We have people honestly sounding very liberal in their overall statements, I guess.

00:33:41.000 And they're saying we shouldn't be criticizing Islam or whatever.

00:33:41.000 Yeah.

00:33:46.000 But last of all, there's a concern I'm seeing where I think there's a lot of voices on the bigger right that you say we want to unite around these domestic goals, but a lot of stuff is so not policy, not politically driven at all anymore.

00:34:02.000 And that's something that really concerns me.

00:34:03.000 It's when.

00:34:04.000 They're very centered on maybe the latest outrage stuff, but not as much on what are we actually doing on immigration, for example.

00:34:13.000 Yeah, look, I don't want to sound too Pollyanna ish here.

00:34:15.000 And I recognize that some of this is sort of hopeful thinking and that there are real headwinds facing this coalition.

00:34:25.000 And I think some of the impolitic and sort of imprudent things that people were saying online, well, a lot of that is just sort of siloed off in a, This is my view.

00:34:36.000 Maybe I'm wrong about this, but some of this is just siloed off in the online milieu that we operate in and we're highly responsive to, but doesn't necessarily translate into broader conservative GOP politics.

00:34:49.000 That's one.

00:34:50.000 And I think, two, I'm operating under the assumption, which is just I've seen over time that people have incredibly short memories.

00:34:57.000 And a lot of the people who are now in Trump's favor and are directing policy decisions six years ago or 10 years ago or whenever it was.

00:35:07.000 We're saying precisely the same things about Trump that some of his more recent allies are saying about him now with regards to Iran.

00:35:14.000 So there's a lot of movement within the coalition.

00:35:16.000 People say things that are regrettable.

00:35:18.000 I hope cooler heads will prevail.

00:35:21.000 I think there is time to subtly sort of walk back some of the inflammatory rhetoric that's been bandied about online over the last several months with regards to Iran.

00:35:33.000 So look, we have a long way to go.

00:35:36.000 The midterms really haven't ramped up.

00:35:39.000 Yet, in terms of messaging, I think it's going to be really important for GOP strategists to take a very hard look at what's important to this coalition, what can be the shared interests, and just hammer that stuff over and over and over again and try to recreate the sort of enthusiasm that, if people, again, people don't remember, I mean, it was in January, the State of the Union speech, that was maybe the high watermark of this first term.

00:36:03.000 Everybody was really enthused, all of the right things were being said.

00:36:07.000 There was this sense of coming together.

00:36:09.000 Over a shared domestic agenda.

00:36:12.000 I really do think we can get back to that.

00:36:14.000 Maybe we lose some people.

00:36:16.000 Maybe this war and what's gone on creates some attrition within the coalition, but I don't think it has to be a fatal blow.

00:36:25.000 Jonathan, when I interpret what you're saying, and I hate to be this gruff with the audience, with the movement, with the coalition, it just sounds like you're sort of compelling or begging people, maybe not begging, I'm begging.

00:36:39.000 Them to be grownups, to behave like adults.

00:36:42.000 Yeah.

00:36:43.000 You know, there's this speech that Vice President Vance gave this morning where he's warning against the fact that.

00:36:49.000 I was just going to reference that.

00:36:51.000 Yeah, so let's go ahead and play this clip and then we'll get your take.

00:36:55.000 17.

00:36:56.000 Resist the temptation to think that victory is immediate or that we're going to win back our civilization through instant gratification.

00:37:04.000 I think a lot of people, this is particularly true in the United States of America, if they see something that the administration does they don't like, they say, oh, that's not what we voted for.

00:37:12.000 We're going to check out of politics.

00:37:14.000 No, no, no.

00:37:15.000 That's the exact wrong response.

00:37:17.000 If we do something you don't like, the response should be to get more involved, to make your voice heard, and to try to push things in the direction that you want them to be pushed.

00:37:26.000 Our civilization was not built overnight.

00:37:29.000 It's not going to be saved overnight.

00:37:31.000 And so, what I'd encourage you to do is stay involved, be patient, and don't let disappointment turn to checking out of the system entirely.

00:37:40.000 There's way too much of that.

00:37:41.000 We call that blackpilling in the United States of America.

00:37:44.000 And blackpilling is how you give power to the forces that are trying to destroy what our ancestors built.

00:37:51.000 Why I think this is so important, Jonathan, is because let's go back to this Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan piece, New York Times.

00:37:58.000 JD Vance was the most ardent.

00:38:00.000 Anti Iran intervention voice in the administration.

00:38:04.000 He did not get what he wanted.

00:38:06.000 He did not.

00:38:07.000 That is very clear.

00:38:09.000 And here he is saying, don't give in to cynicism.

00:38:12.000 Stop demanding immediate gratification.

00:38:15.000 You're not going to get everything you want.

00:38:17.000 I just find it wild that we have so much of this like main player syndrome going on where everybody expects their viewpoint to be expressed in the president.

00:38:26.000 If you want that, go run for president.

00:38:27.000 Yeah.

00:38:28.000 And look, man, I think it's egos.

00:38:30.000 I think there's.

00:38:32.000 Something about the media environment we're in that is hyper focused on whatever's happening right now to the exclusion of the longer timeline.

00:38:43.000 And so there's two pieces of this JD Vance clip that I think are so important to take away.

00:38:48.000 And I just, I really love JD Vance.

00:38:50.000 I mean, he couldn't have articulated it better.

00:38:52.000 One is what he said leaves room for the internal coalitional debate.

00:38:57.000 It's not to say that you just have to be in lockstep with everybody in your coalition at all times.

00:39:03.000 There's room for disagreement.

00:39:04.000 There's room for debate.

00:39:05.000 And by the way, go out and win the argument.

00:39:07.000 Try to do what you can to influence the administration to your side.

00:39:11.000 That's fine as long as we're all on the same side at the end of it.

00:39:15.000 Part two is this is a long game.

00:39:18.000 We're not going to undo what's happened to this country over the last couple of decades in one year, in one term, in one policy decision.

00:39:28.000 This is something that is going to take multiple administrations.

00:39:32.000 This is going to be something that takes multiple generations of GOP coming together to figure out how to undo, first of all, all of the bad things that were done previously, and then come up with better solutions and better alternatives.

00:39:48.000 So, that, yeah, frankly, we can just live in a normal, insane society again.

00:39:52.000 So, I love this clip and I encourage everybody to take these words from JD Vance to heart.

00:39:57.000 I think you're right.

00:39:58.000 I think the timing of the clip, too, was really important.

00:40:02.000 So, listen, we've only got a couple more minutes here with you, Jonathan Kuberman, Lomez on X. Great follow.

00:40:09.000 But tell us what's going on with Passages Press, too, because there's so much happening.

00:40:14.000 I see you pictures online with a stack of books next to you.

00:40:18.000 Yeah, yeah.

00:40:18.000 Give us the update.

00:40:20.000 So, yeah, Passage, we are right now there's a huge sale.

00:40:23.000 So, go to Passage.press, buy all the books in our backlist, up to 50% off on these bundles.

00:40:30.000 We got books for kids, these great Hardy Boys books and other kids' books.

00:40:33.000 We got books for all interests, history books, war books, et cetera.

00:40:38.000 We got over 40 books coming out the rest of this year.

00:40:41.000 We got a great new homeschool classic curriculum imprint coming out that's going to be launching next week that I'm really excited to get in people's hands.

00:40:50.000 We are making.

00:40:51.000 American literature is great again.

00:40:53.000 Okay.

00:40:53.000 That is our goal at Passage.

00:40:55.000 Press.

00:40:55.000 So please visit, please support the cause.

00:40:57.000 Blake and Andrew, I got a big box I'm sending you guys right now.

00:41:01.000 So you'll have a bunch of stuff coming to your office soon.

00:41:04.000 Okay.

00:41:04.000 A bunch of swag.

00:41:05.000 Oh, I love that.

00:41:06.000 Look in here.

00:41:07.000 They've got, yeah, Hardy Boys, Robert Howard, that's Conan the Barbarian, H.P. Lovecraft Masterworks.

00:41:13.000 There's a lot of stuff.

00:41:14.000 And I really want to emphasize this point.

00:41:16.000 People should check this out because we complain so much about rotten culture.

00:41:21.000 And one of the worst is books.

00:41:22.000 There's a lot of trashy books out there.

00:41:24.000 There's not enough.

00:41:26.000 Good quality stuff that reflects our values, especially in high quality form.

00:41:31.000 I will say, Passages books, they are good books.

00:41:34.000 They are nice to have on your shelf.

00:41:36.000 And I'd strongly encourage everyone to, uh, To buy some, support Jonathan's business.

00:41:42.000 Support this.

00:41:42.000 Thank you, Jack.

00:41:43.000 I love this.

00:41:44.000 I'm coming back on.

00:41:44.000 Okay.

00:41:45.000 Okay.

00:41:46.000 The next time you ask, I promise.

00:41:47.000 See, look at it.

00:41:48.000 I'm trying to tell you, man, I'm always like throwing out invites to Jonathan.

00:41:52.000 He's like, ah, I'm a little busy.

00:41:54.000 I'm busy.

00:41:55.000 So finally, he was like, hey, you caught me on an off day.

00:41:57.000 Like, this is actually good.

00:41:58.000 But, and then last thing here, and then we're going to cut over and see if we can grab this press conference.

00:42:05.000 You've got Rufo and Lomez.

00:42:08.000 How do people watch that?

00:42:09.000 Go to the Blaze, Rufo and Lomez.

00:42:09.000 Yeah.

00:42:11.000 It's on YouTube, it's on the Blaze's site.

00:42:13.000 It's a bi weekly show.

00:42:15.000 It's me and Chris Ruffo just chatting, figuring out what's going on, trying to keep this coalition together, trying to make sense of all the complications in our current politics and culture and everything else.

00:42:25.000 And then we also do an interview segment.

00:42:27.000 Blake was recently on with Chris last week.

00:42:30.000 So we got a lot going on there.

00:42:32.000 And please, yes, check it out.

00:42:34.000 Awesome.

00:42:35.000 Jonathan Keeperman and Keeperman, I think that's you're trying to keep the coalition together right now.

00:42:41.000 You know what's hilarious?

00:42:42.000 Cognitive determinism.

00:42:44.000 I know.

00:42:45.000 I view myself as about as.

00:42:45.000 I know.

00:42:47.000 Far right as you can go on most issues, especially like immigration, and I'm, you know, up and down the line.

00:42:54.000 As far right as you can go, which is just a bit left of me.

00:42:57.000 Yeah, I know.

00:42:58.000 This is our internal debate.

00:42:59.000 Blake's like, you're more moderate.

00:43:01.000 But this is my point.

00:43:02.000 It's like, it's crazy to feel like we're these like moderate voices when you've got part of the former coalition, I don't know what's going to emerge as, that's, you know, calling to basically coup the president because they don't agree with his policies.

00:43:15.000 So, like, all of a sudden, I have to be like a squish moderate and I hate it.

00:43:20.000 Yep.

00:43:20.000 I can't wait.

00:43:21.000 All right, my friend.

00:43:21.000 Like, so.

00:43:22.000 We'll see you soon.

00:43:23.000 All right, guys.

00:43:23.000 I hope.

00:43:24.000 Really appreciate it.

00:43:25.000 Take care.

00:43:25.000 Thanks for the time, man.

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00:44:42.000 We are awaiting the start of the White House press conference.

00:44:46.000 This, we don't take all of them on the show, but I think today is a truly important day because we're going to define, we're going to hopefully learn what the White House is defining as victory.

00:44:59.000 Again, you can have war in the modern era where it doesn't, it's not as clear as like, you know, you know, World War II, right?

00:45:07.000 Or the Civil War.

00:45:08.000 We're used to these grandiose celebrations, the theatrics of signing a surrender.

00:45:15.000 That doesn't happen in modern warfare nearly as much.

00:45:18.000 Obviously, we saw it in Venezuela where Maduro was captured and taken back.

00:45:21.000 I mean, that was fairly clear cut, but it's not always clear cut.

00:45:24.000 And so you have to define your objectives and you have to then get press conferences up and running and declare victory.

00:45:31.000 This is why I think Hegseth, you saw him out this morning and explaining why he defines this as a victory.

00:45:37.000 And obviously, this is part of the PR spin, both sides.

00:45:40.000 I listen.

00:45:42.000 I think again to Blake's earlier point in hour one, we may not see this ceasefire even hold through the end of the show.

00:45:48.000 But I think that given the calculus of a current moment, I think the administration would be loath to reignite hostilities, kinetic operations, because I think there is an understanding that Iran is really willing to sort of wait out and take the barrage, take the punishment.

00:46:05.000 But here's Pete Hegseth, SOT 3.

00:46:08.000 Iran begged for this ceasefire, and we all know it.

00:46:12.000 Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield.

00:46:19.000 A capital V military victory.

00:46:23.000 There's a little bit of defining, though, military victory.

00:46:26.000 He didn't say it was a political victory.

00:46:27.000 It's not regime change.

00:46:29.000 I think what is going to be very interesting in this press conference, as we await it, you can see that in the bottom of your screen, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens specifically with nuclear, right?

00:46:40.000 Nuclear is, I think, if we can get that chess piece off the board, we can, I think, objectively declare some semblance of a victory and say, listen, maybe the straight isn't cleared out.

00:46:51.000 Maybe we didn't get regime change.

00:46:53.000 Maybe we remove sanctions and they are going to get more money flowing into the Iranian regime.

00:46:58.000 But the Ayatollah is gone.

00:47:00.000 Most of their main leadership is gone.

00:47:03.000 Maybe we'll have, to Lomez's point in the previous hour, we're going to establish regular relations, normalized relations with whatever is left intact in Iran.

00:47:13.000 And that's not a bad thing.

00:47:14.000 All right.

00:47:14.000 So I think I'm waiting for clarity.

00:47:17.000 I think the world is waiting for clarity.

00:47:19.000 I don't know, Blake, what are you hoping to see?

00:47:21.000 Because sometimes these press conferences, you don't get much specific.

00:47:23.000 I think today's going to be a bit different.

00:47:25.000 Well, yeah, I think, as you say, we're going to see them.

00:47:28.000 Define not just what victory is, but hopefully set terms for the ceasefire that can hold.

00:47:35.000 I think they're probably going to get grilled over strikes still happening, over that disagreement over Lebanon.

00:47:42.000 And that's probably going to be the most difficult answer they can give because that's going to be what people seize upon to break the ceasefire wide open again.

00:47:50.000 We'll probably also have to see how aggressive their posture is on if the ceasefire starts breaking down, are they ready to fully resume everything?

00:47:58.000 Are we back to the threats?

00:48:00.000 Do we think Trump is seizing an off ramp aggressively where if the ceasefire starts going south, he's still not inclined to raise back up all of America's military operations?

00:48:11.000 Yeah.

00:48:11.000 I mean, we know already reporting is that Israel, the leadership of Israel, is not happy with this ceasefire.

00:48:18.000 They very much want to be able to continue operations in southern Lebanon to take out Hezbollah.

00:48:23.000 I think it's also a, like I mentioned before, it's a clear indication that.

00:48:28.000 Iran sees Hezbollah as an extension of the regime.

00:48:30.000 So, you know, if there was any doubt, let there be no doubt that Hezbollah is an extension of the regime in Lebanon.

00:48:37.000 And Israel is not happy with this, but they're kind of, Trump's got them cornered a little bit.

00:48:41.000 So I think that's going to be another question here that Caroline Levitt's going to have to navigate.

00:48:46.000 What are you going to do with Israel?

00:48:48.000 Israel is a X factor question mark on the board.

00:48:51.000 Obviously, their proximity to Iran is much closer than our own.

00:48:55.000 So they want to see this regime toppled.

00:48:57.000 There's no doubt.

00:48:59.000 In anybody's mind, really.

00:49:01.000 So we'll see how she handles that.

00:49:03.000 But again, questions on the board nuclear, straight to Hormuz, Hezbollah.

00:49:07.000 Can the ceasefire hold?

00:49:09.000 Is JD Vance going to be present in Islamabad for the Friday peace deal negotiations?

00:49:15.000 Or is there some security concern?

00:49:18.000 What is the security concern?

00:49:19.000 So there are a thousand questions that she's going to be confronted with, and maybe it will be a grilling.

00:49:25.000 But I think I'm most curious to see what is the 10 point plan?

00:49:29.000 Are we going to get any.

00:49:30.000 Clarity on the 10 point plan.

00:49:32.000 The White House has already said it's a different 10 point plan than has been reported and circulated.

00:49:38.000 It is funny how I don't think there's been any public versions of the 10 point plan.

00:49:42.000 Yeah, just all different places reporting alleged hearsay versions of it.

00:49:46.000 I think that's why President Trump issued that truth today saying that they're all fake, basically.

00:49:51.000 So take it all with a grain of salt.

00:49:53.000 Keep your wits about you.

00:49:55.000 This is all a litmus test.

00:49:57.000 All right.

00:49:57.000 This is all a litmus test.

00:49:58.000 Are you going to catastrophize?

00:50:01.000 Are you going to doom?

00:50:02.000 And gloom, or are you going to keep your wits about you?

00:50:04.000 I'm very proud of us on this show that we've kept our wits about us and we're calling balls and strikes.

00:50:09.000 We're not rushing into war.

00:50:11.000 We certainly are glad that this one could be on the precipice, on the threshold of being over.

00:50:17.000 I think that's a good thing and we should celebrate that.

00:50:19.000 But it is fragile.

00:50:20.000 It is very fragile and we've got to see.

00:50:22.000 Right now, the straight is essentially halted, it's closed.

00:50:25.000 So is there going to be immediate action taken by the administration to get that reopened?

00:50:31.000 We don't know.

00:50:32.000 And I think it's also very telling.

00:50:33.000 Here we are.

00:50:34.000 This was supposed to start at 10, well, 1 p.m. Eastern, this press conference, and we're already at 1 12 p.m. Eastern.

00:50:42.000 So it's already been delayed a bit.

00:50:44.000 We kept this segment open for this press conference today, and it's delayed, which means this is a very active and moving situation.

00:50:53.000 And I bet we're working with wet cement here.

00:50:57.000 Wet cement, indeed.

00:50:58.000 And then how quickly does it dry?

00:50:58.000 Yeah.

00:51:02.000 Did you ever read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy growing up?

00:51:05.000 I don't know if maybe it would age badly.

00:51:08.000 It might not be funny anymore.

00:51:09.000 But It's what's funny about it.

00:51:11.000 I watched the well, I'm just with the black pilling thing.

00:51:14.000 I just the thing you'll remember is that the hitchhiker's guide of the title it's this book, and it just says on the cover, Don't Panic.

00:51:22.000 And I think that would be good to have on a lot of things in the right.

00:51:26.000 Maybe we could add it to these pocket constitutions that we have.

00:51:29.000 Just put, don't panic on the contract.

00:51:30.000 Article one, section one.

00:51:32.000 Just to give you a quick market update, though, oil is down $18 a barrel.

00:51:37.000 It came down at about, I think it was about $110, it settled yesterday.

00:51:41.000 So it's at $94 a barrel.

00:51:43.000 It's down 16%, which is good news.

00:51:47.000 And then the markets are surged 1,200 points.

00:51:51.000 The Dow is up 1,200.

00:51:52.000 SP 500 is up two and a half points, up 167.

00:51:57.000 And the NASDAQ is up three points at 670 points.

00:52:01.000 So the markets like what they're hearing despite some of the uncertainty, despite the fragile, very fragile piece that we've reached.

00:52:10.000 Let's hope that it continues on.

00:52:12.000 Let's hope that Caroline Levitt has some updates for us that will lead us to have additional reason for optimism.

00:52:19.000 But right now, I think a lot of the calls yesterday for the 25th Amendment, A bunch of Democrats got together.

00:52:28.000 What did the number get up to?

00:52:29.000 Like 70, 80 Democrats calling for President Trump's impeachment.

00:52:34.000 A lot of that has settled, and today is a new day.

00:52:37.000 So I'm very, very interested to see what is revealed in this press conference.

00:52:44.000 While we're waiting on this press conference to get started, it's important to realize what some of the rhinos in the House tried to do while we were all distracted by the war.

00:52:44.000 All right.

00:52:53.000 Well, we weren't so distracted that we didn't notice.

00:52:56.000 We had Nick Sortor on yesterday talking about it.

00:52:59.000 And that's when I discovered that it wasn't, in fact, called the Dignity Act.

00:53:02.000 It's called the Dignidad Act.

00:53:06.000 They had the audacity, the shamelessness to put a Spanish word on an amnesty bill while we were all distracted with Iran.

00:53:14.000 Let's hear Rep. Maria Salazar in her own words, SOT 12.

00:53:18.000 We give them dignity.

00:53:20.000 At some point in the future, another legislator will write another law to give them a path to citizenship.

00:53:26.000 Right now, what we need to do is to buy peace for these people, allow them to stay.

00:53:31.000 to continue working because they are needed.

00:53:35.000 It's just insane.

00:53:36.000 We actually won an election on saying we're going to enforce the border, we're going to do deportations.

00:53:42.000 And every single time Congress comes up, they're like cockroaches or something.

00:53:47.000 And they just come out and say, actually, what the people wanted was mass amnesty.

00:53:51.000 Yeah, it's the exact opposite.

00:53:53.000 And what I've realized from this is that there will always be a push.

00:53:57.000 It doesn't matter how much the base wants, the moneyed interest in ag, hospitality, and other sectors are going to continue pushing for.

00:54:06.000 Amnesty because they want cheap labor.

00:54:09.000 You literally just have to learn to tune them out.

00:54:11.000 You just like they're going to say it no matter what, they will always say it.

00:54:14.000 So you just have to ignore them.

00:54:15.000 You have to say, Thanks, you say that every time.

00:54:17.000 We're ignoring you.

00:54:18.000 So, Rep Maria Elvira Salazar, who should be primaried, by the way, like this woman, I don't care who endorsed her.

00:54:25.000 Okay.

00:54:26.000 I guess she's got a Trump.

00:54:27.000 I don't care.

00:54:28.000 She needs to be primaried because you cannot represent the grassroots and the movement of the Republican Party if you're going to continue pushing garbage amnesty and try and, you know.

00:54:40.000 To quote Ron DeSantis, don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.

00:54:44.000 That's exactly what's happening here.

00:54:46.000 Brandon Gill, who's going to come on the show tomorrow, said this is an amnesty bill.

00:54:50.000 She fires back, said, read the bill before you open your mouth.

00:54:54.000 Calling the Dignity Act amnesty isn't just wrong, it's a deliberate distortion.

00:54:58.000 No, what you're trying to do, calling it the Dignity Act, is a deliberate distortion of an amnesty bill.

00:55:05.000 And I love that there's a community note on her X feed here it says, it grants amnesty, permanent residency, Dream Act, deferred action and legal status, dignity program.

00:55:14.000 Halts deportations, wipes three to 10 year bans, creates inspected and admitted loopholes, grants Attorney General power to terminate deportation for family hardship.

00:55:24.000 Are you kidding me?

00:55:25.000 They're all going to claim hardship.

00:55:28.000 You can't really give in these flexible definitions of things.

00:55:32.000 We've seen that with asylum.

00:55:34.000 We've seen this with refugee status.

00:55:36.000 We see it.

00:55:36.000 I mean, that's also how all the fraud that works in all these blue states.

00:55:40.000 You create a vague category that everyone can claim.

00:55:44.000 Not really aggressively enforced, it quickly breaks down.

00:55:47.000 And we know it won't be.

00:55:48.000 You have these immigration judges, and if you install a sympathetic actor, you basically have the inmates running the asylum.

00:55:55.000 Everyone's able to claim the benefit.

00:55:56.000 Get this it allows every illegal alien deported by Trump since January 2017 to return to the USA.

00:56:04.000 They can apply for their new dignity status, dignidad, from their home country and then return to the USA.

00:56:13.000 It also ups caps on certain immigration visas.

00:56:17.000 So it increases our immigration.

00:56:19.000 Then it provides funding to lawyers that are going to argue on behalf of these illegals to get back into the country.

00:56:27.000 This is a treasonous behavior.

00:56:30.000 This is a betrayal of the American voters. 1.00

00:56:32.000 Get this woman out of my party. 0.95

00:56:34.000 And by the way, I'm going to have Rich Barris join.

00:56:37.000 Maybe tomorrow if he's available, because he's got a backstory on some of this polling that's being circulated around the administration.

00:56:45.000 That is warning them against using the words mass deportation.

00:56:50.000 I want to hear your thoughts.

00:56:52.000 Send us an email, freedom at Charlie Kirk, right now.

00:56:54.000 Do you like the term mass deportation?

00:56:57.000 Do you not like it?

00:56:57.000 Do you understand the rationale behind maybe not using it as much?

00:57:01.000 Okay, I want to hear all your viewpoints.

00:57:03.000 Do you think it's bad PR?

00:57:04.000 Listen, there is an argument to be made that we lost some of the PR wars, right?

00:57:08.000 Masks on ICE agents.

00:57:11.000 That's one of the things that I've heard actually does pull very badly.

00:57:14.000 Okay, well, like maybe there's some room to maneuver here.

00:57:17.000 But you are not going to convince me that mass deportations and the reclaiming of American culture and sovereignty is not popular across the board.

00:57:26.000 It is one of the issues that has been, I think, undervalued, underappreciated the most in American politics since Trump came down the golden escalator.

00:57:36.000 He saw it, he called it out, and Caroline just walked out.

00:57:40.000 And Trump deserves a massive amount of credit for changing the discourse on that topic alone.

00:57:45.000 And we're going to die on that hill.

00:57:46.000 That's the hill you die on mass deportations and our sovereignty.

00:57:49.000 Let's go ahead and take the Caroline Levitt press conference.

00:57:52.000 Good afternoon, everybody.

00:57:55.000 Good to see all of you here today.

00:57:57.000 Before I discuss the ceasefire with Iran, I have a quick update from the First Lady of the United States.

00:58:04.000 Yesterday marked the very first conviction under the Take It Down Act, landmark legislation that First Lady Melania Trump played an instrumental role in getting passed that protects victims from non consensual AI generated sexually explicit images, cyber stalking, and threats of violence.

00:58:22.000 This is a huge achievement for the First Lady, and I know the President is very proud of his wife's efforts in getting this critical legislation passed to protect America's youth.

00:58:31.000 So we thank the First Lady for her efforts, and we hope that others will report on this historic conviction yesterday.

00:58:38.000 With respect to the two week ceasefire announced by President Trump last night, this is a victory for the United States of America that the President and our incredible military made happen.

00:58:49.000 From the very beginning of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump stated this would be a four to six week military operation to dismantle the military threat posed by the radical Islamic Iranian regime.

00:59:04.000 Thanks to the unbelievable capabilities of America's warfighters, the United States has achieved and exceeded those core military objectives.

00:59:12.000 In just 38 days.

00:59:15.000 The U.S. military destroyed Iran's defense industrial base, crushing the regime's ability to manufacture weapons that they and their proxies use to maim and kill Americans and terrorize the world.

00:59:28.000 Iran's ability to build and stockpile ballistic missiles and long range drones has also been set back by years compared to where it was six weeks ago prior to the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

00:59:40.000 We destroyed the vast majority of Iran's ballistic missiles, launcher vehicles, and long range attack drones.

00:59:46.000 Through more than 450 strikes on ballistic missiles and approximately 800 strikes on Iran's drone launching units and storage facilities.

00:59:56.000 In total, more than 13,000 targets across Iran were struck.

01:00:01.000 Again, this is in the matter of just 38 days.

01:00:05.000 Meanwhile, the Iranian Navy was completely annihilated.

01:00:10.000 The United States destroyed more than 150 naval vessels in total, including 16 entire classes of Iranian warships.

01:00:19.000 Despite once being the largest undersea force in the Middle East, Iran now has zero submarine vessels.

01:00:27.000 97% of Iran's once massive inventory of more than 5,000 naval mines has also been targeted and destroyed.

01:00:35.000 Iran's air forces are functionally and operationally irrelevant at this point, after the United States maintained total air dominance over their country for weeks on end.

01:00:46.000 To underscore the significance of this, before Operation Epic Fury, The Iranian Air Force would fly between 30 to 100 flights per day.

01:00:55.000 Today, that number is zero.

01:00:58.000 Iran's ability to fund and support its terrorist proxies has been greatly reduced.

01:01:03.000 At this point, Iran can no longer distribute weapons to its proxies in the region.

01:01:08.000 And most importantly, Iran will not be able to acquire nuclear weapons.

01:01:13.000 Prior to the start of this successful operation, Iran was aggressively expanding its short range ballistic missile arsenal.

01:01:21.000 Through these weapons and its Navy, Iran was attempting to build a military buildup around their country that would pose an imminent and existential threat to the United States military assets in the Middle East, our allies in the region, and ultimately the free world.

01:01:36.000 Iran was pursuing this dangerous and aggressive strategy for one reason, to hold the entire world hostage to its terrorist ambitions.

01:01:44.000 The Iranians aimed to use their expanded military capabilities as a shield around their country to continue achieving their ultimate goal internally.

01:01:53.000 Building nuclear bombs.

01:01:55.000 But their murderous and evil plans have been blown up, quite literally and figuratively, along with their military, their nuclear program, and most of their senior leadership, including the former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ala Khamani.

01:02:09.000 Their command and control structures were also massively disrupted after being struck more than 2,000 times.

01:02:16.000 Many of their remaining leaders are paralyzed in fear and no longer enjoy the freedom to move around their country freely and meet openly.

01:02:24.000 Thanks to the unmatched excellence of our warriors at the direction of the Commander-in-Chief, the world has just witnessed a historically swift and successful military triumph.

01:02:34.000 President Trump started Operation Epic Fury with strategic military objectives, and the United States has clearly achieved them.

01:02:42.000 As we mark this progress, we also remember and honor the 13 American heroes who laid down their lives in this noble effort.

01:02:49.000 I know President Trump and our grateful nation honors their ultimate sacrifice, and we will never forget them.

01:02:56.000 May God bless their families.

01:02:58.000 The valiant efforts of all of our incredible service members created maximum leverage for the President of the United States, allowing he and his leadership team to engage in tough negotiations over the past couple of weeks that have now created an opening.

01:03:13.000 For a diplomatic solution in long term peace in the Middle East.

01:03:17.000 The president's maximum pressure and the leverage created by the success of Operation Epic Fury led to the Iranian regime asking for and ultimately agreeing to a ceasefire proposal with the United States.

01:03:30.000 Iran could no longer tolerate being bombed or taking the gamble of what was to come following President Trump's 8 p.m. deadline last night.

01:03:38.000 Iran has agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz.

01:03:41.000 And as the president said, we have received a proposal from the Iranians that has been determined to be a workable basis.

01:03:47.000 On which to negotiate.

01:03:49.000 I've seen a lot of inaccurate coverage today from the media about these negotiations and these plans already.

01:03:55.000 So let me be clear and correct the record.

01:03:57.000 The Iranians originally put forward a 10 point plan that was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable, and completely discarded.

01:04:05.000 It was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team.

01:04:10.000 Many outlets in this room have falsely reported on that plan as being acceptable to the United States, and that is false.

01:04:17.000 With the President's deadline fast.

01:04:19.000 Approaching and the United States military completely decimating Iran with each passing hour, the regime acknowledged reality to the negotiating team.

01:04:27.000 They put forward a more reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan to the president and his team.

01:04:34.000 President Trump and the team determined the new modified plan was a workable basis on which to negotiate and to align it with our own 15 point proposal.

01:04:44.000 The president's red lines, namely the end of Iranian enrichment in Iran, have not Changed.

01:04:50.000 And the idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wish list as a deal is completely absurd.

01:04:57.000 The president will only make a deal that serves in the best interests of the United States of America, and he as a negotiating team will focus on this effort over the next two weeks, so long as the Strait of Hormuz remains open with no limitations or delays.

01:05:12.000 These extraordinarily sensitive and complex negotiations will take place behind closed doors over the course of the next two weeks.

01:05:19.000 I would strongly advise the media against running with narratives that have no basis in fact.

01:05:24.000 What Iran says publicly or feeds to all of you in the press is much different than what they communicate to the United States, the President, and his team privately.

01:05:33.000 Never underestimate President Trump's ability to successfully advance America's interests and broker peace.

01:05:39.000 President Trump has a proven track record of achieving good deals on behalf of the United States and the American people, and he will only accept one that puts America first.

01:05:52.000 Listen, if faith and values are important to you, they should be a part of how you date.

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01:06:55.000 With that, I will take your questions today.

01:06:57.000 I'm sure you have a lot of them.

01:06:58.000 In our new media seat, we have Shane Harris with the AMAC Newsline.

01:07:01.000 Shane, thank you for being here.

01:07:02.000 Why don't you kick us off?

01:07:03.000 Yeah, thanks for having me, Caroline.

01:07:05.000 Two questions for you.

01:07:06.000 First, following the President's announcement of the ceasefire, if this is indeed the end of hostilities in Iran, what is the President's message to the American people about what was achieved for our country through Operation Epic Fury?

01:07:17.000 Sure.

01:07:18.000 I think I just laid out a significant portion of that in my opening remarks.

01:07:22.000 Six weeks ago, the President looked the American people in the eye directly, and he told them that he launched this operation to take out.

01:07:28.000 The imminent threat that was posed by Iran.

01:07:31.000 And that threat has now been greatly destroyed.

01:07:33.000 Their Navy, their missiles, their defense industrial base, and their desire and their plan to build a nuclear bomb inside their country is no longer going to be allowed, can no longer happen, thanks to the remarkable success of Operation Epic Fury over the course of the last 38 days.

01:07:49.000 That has been absolutely achieved.

01:07:51.000 And now we're moving into the next phase of this, which is a negotiating period, to put some fine points on this and to hopefully broker an agreement that can achieve long-term peace in the Middle East.

01:08:01.000 Yeah, and then second, what is the president's message to American seniors who have a much higher voter participation rate and they're likely to be a key swing vote in the midterm elections?

01:08:09.000 Well, the president loves our seniors across the country.

01:08:13.000 And as you know, the president signed the one big beautiful bill, the Working Families Tax Cut, last year, which greatly reduced taxes on Social Security for our seniors.

01:08:22.000 In fact, thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut, nearly 90% of seniors will no longer pay tax on their Social Security.

01:08:29.000 That's a huge win for our seniors and also for our middle class and working families across the country with the no tax on tips.

01:08:35.000 Provision in the no tax on overtime.

01:08:37.000 Next week is tax week.

01:08:39.000 You'll hear a lot from the president about how his policies have benefited the American people.

01:08:43.000 And I'm proud to report that the president will be traveling next week to the great states of Nevada and Arizona to tout this historic accomplishment over the course of the next week.

01:08:52.000 Thank you for being here, Shane.

01:08:53.000 Gabe.

01:08:55.000 Iranian state media is saying that Iran has now closed off the Strait of Hormuz today in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

01:09:02.000 What's the White House response to that?

01:09:04.000 And you just listed many military successes.

01:09:07.000 I understand that.

01:09:08.000 But strategically, how is the administration arguing that Iran does not have more economic leverage?

01:09:15.000 Than now than it did before the start of the war?

01:09:18.000 Sure.

01:09:18.000 Well, with respect to the first reporting out of Iranian state media, the president was made aware of those reports before I came to the podium.

01:09:26.000 That is completely unacceptable.

01:09:27.000 And again, this is a case of what they're saying publicly is different privately.

01:09:31.000 We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today.

01:09:34.000 And I will reiterate the president's expectation and demand that the strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately, quickly, and safely.

01:09:43.000 That is his expectation.

01:09:44.000 And it has been relayed to him privately.

01:09:46.000 That is what's taking place, and these reports publicly are false.

01:09:50.000 Caroline, the president yesterday threatened that a whole civilization would die if a ceasefire deal wasn't reached, understanding that Iranian leaders have previously said death to America.

01:09:59.000 But why is it appropriate for the president of the United States to use that kind of language when talking about civilian targets?

01:10:07.000 And was the president mocking Islam by signing off his true social post over the weekend, Praise be to Allah?

01:10:13.000 Wouldn't that antagonize Muslim allies across the world?

01:10:16.000 Well, I understand the questions about the president's rhetoric.

01:10:19.000 But what the president cares most about is results.

01:10:22.000 And in fact, his very tough rhetoric and his tough negotiating style is what has led to the result that you are all witnessing today.

01:10:30.000 Iran publicly acknowledging last night that they have agreed or that they wanted this ceasefire with the United States because they no longer could tolerate being bombed by our very powerful and lethal military, and that they have committed to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which the president will hold them accountable for, and it's something the administration is closely monitoring in real time.

01:10:50.000 Danny.

01:10:51.000 Should the world not take his word seriously?

01:10:53.000 The world should take his word very seriously in understanding that the president is always most interested in results.

01:10:59.000 And it was the Iranians who backed down, not President Trump.

01:11:02.000 He said that they would face very grave consequences, as you just laid out, by the 8 p.m. deadline if they did not agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

01:11:10.000 And what did they do last night?

01:11:11.000 They agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

01:11:13.000 Danny.

01:11:15.000 Thanks, Karen.

01:11:16.000 Would President Trump like to see Lebanon included in this peace deal?

01:11:19.000 As you know, there have been increased Israeli strikes on Lebanon today with dozens of casualties there.

01:11:24.000 Sure.

01:11:25.000 Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire.

01:11:27.000 That has been relayed to all parties involved in the ceasefire.

01:11:30.000 As you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu put out a statement last night in support of the ceasefire, in support of the United States' efforts, and he's also assured the President they'll continue to be a helpful partner throughout the course of the next two weeks.

01:11:42.000 Is there any thought, though, that the President might like to see Lebanon included in a future date, given that it seems to be causing or potentially undermining the Iran ceasefire?

01:11:52.000 Again, this will continue to be discussed, I am sure, between the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the United States and Israel, and all of the parties involved.

01:12:00.000 But at this point in time, they're not included in the ceasefire deal.

01:12:03.000 Jeff.

01:12:04.000 Thank you, Caroline.

01:12:05.000 Will the U.S. take part in talks with Iran in Islamabad on Friday?

01:12:09.000 I can announce that the President is dispatching his negotiating team, led by the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Special Envoy Whitkoff, and Mr. Kushner, to Islamabad for talks this weekend.

01:12:22.000 The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning, local time.

01:12:26.000 And we know we look forward to those in person meetings.

01:12:28.000 What role does the president see for the U.S. in monitoring or helping with the Strait of Hormuz going forward?

01:12:35.000 I think the president commented on that this morning.

01:12:37.000 We're going to continue to monitor it very, very closely.

01:12:41.000 We will be helpful in any way that we can, but we fully expect Iran to do this, and the president has made that quite clear as well.

01:12:47.000 Again, as his statement said last night, the ceasefire is subject to the safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

01:12:54.000 Again, this was just determined last night.

01:12:56.000 We understand things take time, but that's the president's expectation, and he will hold everyone to it.

01:13:01.000 Sure, in the green blazer.

01:13:04.000 Thank you, Carolyn.

01:13:06.000 And then in front of you.

01:13:06.000 But, Andrew, you can go ahead.

01:13:08.000 All right.

01:13:08.000 You're not wearing a green blazer.

01:13:10.000 I am actually wearing a green blazer.

01:13:12.000 It looks a little brown to me, but go ahead.

01:13:16.000 Fair enough.

01:13:17.000 So, regarding the president's rhetoric, when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, George W. Bush said in a message to the Iraqi people that the military campaign was directed, quote, against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you.

01:13:35.000 Yesterday, the president threatened to destroy Iran's civilization, the entire civilization.

01:13:41.000 Not the Iranian government, but the Iranian civilization, the Iranian people.

01:13:47.000 The U.S. has been a moral leader for most of its history by fighting wars against other governments, not against civilizations.

01:13:59.000 How can the president claim that America can ever have the moral high ground if he's threatening to destroy civilizations and not casting wars as?

01:14:08.000 Fights against other governments.

01:14:10.000 Andrew, I think you should take a look at the actions of this president over the course of the past six weeks and the actions of our brave men and women in our United States military who have essentially taken out the military of a rogue Islamic regime that has chanted death to America for 47 years, that has killed and maimed thousands of American soldiers over the course of the last five decades.

01:14:34.000 The president absolutely has the moral high ground over the Iranian terrorist regime, and for you to even suggest otherwise is frankly insulting.

01:14:44.000 With all due respect, Caroline, there is.

01:14:47.000 Just given what we've seen in Lebanon today and the increased attacks from Israel, is there any concern that Netanyahu is trying to kill the ceasefire?

01:14:57.000 The President spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night.

01:15:00.000 In that private conversation, Prime Minister Netanyahu relayed exactly what he said to the world publicly that he supports the President, and Israel remains a key ally and partner to the United States.

01:15:10.000 They've been a tremendous partner over the course of the past six weeks.

01:15:13.000 Thank them for their heroic efforts as well.

01:15:16.000 And the president had that conversation last night, and that was relayed to the world publicly as well.

01:15:22.000 Reagan, go ahead.

01:15:23.000 Thank you, Caroline.

01:15:24.000 I have a question for you on Iran, and I have a question on the Dignity Act as well.

01:15:29.000 On Iran, it's been reported that the ceasefire was struck after the involvement of two unlikely factors, JD Vance and China.

01:15:36.000 What role did those parties play in striking a deal?

01:15:39.000 Well, Vice President Vance has played a very significant and a key role in this since the very beginning.

01:15:45.000 Of course, he's the president's right hand man.

01:15:47.000 He is the vice president of the United States.

01:15:49.000 He's been involved in all of these discussions.

01:15:51.000 And as I just announced, he'll be leading this new phase of negotiations in Islamabad later this week.

01:15:58.000 With respect to China, there were conversations that took place between top levels of our government and China's government.

01:16:06.000 The president has great respect for President Xi and a great working relationship with him and with that country.

01:16:14.000 And he looks forward to visiting China in just a few weeks.

01:16:18.000 On the Dignity Act, it's getting a fresh push through Congress.

01:16:22.000 It would give some illegal immigrants in the country a path to citizenship.

01:16:26.000 What's the White House's position on this legislation, and would the President sign it if it made it to his desk?

01:16:31.000 Honestly, Reagan, I haven't spoken to the President about the legislation, but I will have that conversation and we'll get you our formal position on it as soon as we can.

01:16:38.000 You're welcome.

01:16:39.000 Go ahead.

01:16:40.000 The President suggested the interview this morning.

01:16:49.000 The President believes that the U.S. should earn revenue from the Strait of Rome, who is going forward?

01:16:55.000 It's an idea the President has floated, as you know, and it's something that will continue to be discussed over the course of the next two weeks.

01:17:01.000 But the immediate priority of the President is the reopening of the Strait without any limitations, whether in the form of tolls or otherwise.

01:17:08.000 And on the highly enriched uranium, has Iran given the administration any indication that it would simply turn over?

01:17:16.000 The enriched uranium, or is this an expectation that the President has that he would have to send in ground troops in order to do that?

01:17:23.000 This is on the top of the priority list for the President and his negotiating team as they head into this next round of discussions.

01:17:29.000 And as I said in my opener, that is a red line that the President is not going to back away from, and he's committed to ensuring that takes place.

01:17:38.000 We hope it will be through diplomacy.

01:17:40.000 Have they given any indication that they would turn it over?

01:17:42.000 They have.

01:17:42.000 They are on?

01:17:43.000 Yes.

01:17:44.000 Trevor.

01:17:45.000 The latest news out of Iran is that the air defenses have been.

01:17:48.000 Activated in several cities, including Isfahan, and then explosions have been heard in Isfahan.

01:17:53.000 Who is bombing Iran right now?

01:17:56.000 Were those reports just as of a few minutes ago?

01:17:58.000 Yeah.

01:17:59.000 Okay.

01:17:59.000 So obviously, I'll have to go back and check with the national security team.

01:18:02.000 I'm standing out here with all of you.

01:18:04.000 But I will do that, and we will get you an answer, okay?

01:18:06.000 On the civilization question that we've been talking about.

01:18:09.000 And I would just add to that point again, I haven't seen these reports.

01:18:13.000 I'm not verifying them.

01:18:14.000 Not that I don't trust you, Trevor, but I want to go back and check with the experts here at the White House.

01:18:18.000 I would just say, and I would echo what the Vice President said this morning.

01:18:21.000 This is a fragile truce.

01:18:23.000 Ceasefires are fragile by nature.

01:18:25.000 We've seen this with respect to the 12-day war with Iran and Israel last year.

01:18:29.000 It takes time sometimes for these ceasefires to be fully effectuated.

01:18:33.000 And one of the results of Operation Epic Fury was we completely dismantled Iran's command and control center, which makes it difficult for them to pass messages up and down the chain.

01:18:43.000 And so we understand that.

01:18:45.000 I would caution a little bit of patience, but of course we want to see the ceasefire effectuated and abided by by all parties as quickly as possible.

01:18:53.000 Thank you.

01:18:54.000 American presidential administrations, going back to Ronald Reagan, have said this formulation about nuclear war that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

01:19:02.000 Is that still the view of this administration, given the president's comments about civilization?

01:19:07.000 I have no change in our view on that policy.

01:19:09.000 Katie.

01:19:10.000 Thanks, Caroline.

01:19:11.000 I'm just given the gravity of what he said yesterday.

01:19:15.000 What was your understanding of what he meant when he said, civilization is going to be eliminated?

01:19:22.000 I think it was a very, very strong threat from the President of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

01:19:33.000 So it was a very strong threat that led to results.

01:19:35.000 And as the Secretary of War stated at the Pentagon this morning, it was not an empty threat by any means.

01:19:41.000 The Pentagon had a target list that they were ready to hit go on at 8 p.m. last night.

01:19:48.000 If the Iranian regime had not agreed to open the strait, which they did, and I think that's something we should all be grateful for.

01:19:55.000 I was asked this exact same question by your colleague Andrew in the back, and I think, again, the insinuation by anyone in this room that Iran somehow has the moral high ground over the United States of America is insulting, considering the atrocities that they have committed against our people and our military over the past five decades.

01:20:17.000 John.

01:20:18.000 John, go ahead.

01:20:19.000 Thanks a lot, Caroline.

01:20:20.000 Two questions for you.

01:20:21.000 One has to do with a statement, a joint statement put out this morning by some of America's European allies, our NATO allies.

01:20:28.000 And in that joint statement, they said regarding the Strait of Hormuz, our governments will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

01:20:38.000 What's the administration's reaction to that joint statement?

01:20:41.000 Does that smooth things over when the president meets with NATO's secretary general a little bit later this afternoon?

01:20:47.000 I have a direct quote from the president of the United States on NATO, and I will share it with all of you.

01:20:51.000 They were tested.

01:20:52.000 And they failed.

01:20:54.000 And I would add, it's quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks when it's the American people who have been defunding their defense.

01:21:02.000 As you know, President Trump will be meeting with Secretary Ruta in a couple of hours here at the White House, and I know he looks forward to having a very frank and candid conversation with him.

01:21:11.000 And then, secondly, in regards to this conflict, 38 days, as you pointed out, President Trump has said that there's been regime change.

01:21:19.000 Has that regime change led to more freedoms for the Iranian people?

01:21:25.000 I think that's a question that's being asked a little bit too early, John, and we hope that is the case, but it's something that has yet to be seen.

01:21:35.000 Caroline, on this question of tolling by the Iranians in the Strait of Hormuz, I've heard you talk about a number of red lines that the President has in this negotiation, but I haven't heard you say that Iranian tolling in the Strait of Hormuz is a red line.

01:21:48.000 Would it be acceptable to the United States at the end of all this if the Iranians are able to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz?

01:21:56.000 Was very clear and simplistic in his language last night in his Truth Social post, where he said that this ceasefire is subject to the free, safe, and immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

01:22:08.000 That's very plain language and it should be taken at face value.

01:22:13.000 Carrie, go ahead.

01:22:14.000 Without limitation, including tolls, yes.

01:22:16.000 Carrie.

01:22:17.000 A quick follow up on your tone why would the U.S. allow Iran to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz?

01:22:23.000 That's not something that we've opposed for a number of years now.

01:22:27.000 Again, that's not something we've said that.

01:22:29.000 We've definitively accepted.

01:22:30.000 The joint venture is something that was proposed by the president, but he was very clear in his statement last night.

01:22:36.000 He wants to see the strait reopened immediately without limitation, and that's something we're going to hold them to.

01:22:42.000 A second question on family and friends in Iran.

01:22:45.000 I myself am Iranian, and I've been talking to them through the blackout.

01:22:48.000 One of my family members yesterday said goodbye to me.

01:22:51.000 So, what message should we be sending Iranians when they message me saying, what should they be doing right now?

01:22:57.000 How should they stay safe?

01:22:59.000 Because they really don't know what to do.

01:23:02.000 I think the president's main priority and my main priority as his spokeswoman is to make sure that clear messages are sent to the American people, of course, which is my job today.

01:23:12.000 With respect to the Iranian people, the president has taken out the imminent threat that was posed by their military to the United States, to our allies in the region, to our forces in the region.

01:23:23.000 And of course, as the president has long said, he hopes that Iran will be a country of peace, of prosperity, and we're moving into this next round of negotiations to hopefully come to an agreement with this new regime.

01:23:36.000 That will create long term stability in the Middle East.

01:23:39.000 You said that they should stay inside of their homes and also take back their country.

01:23:44.000 So, how, there's a contradiction there.

01:23:47.000 So, how do you address that?

01:23:48.000 Again, we're moving into this next round of negotiations with the remnants of the regime and those that we are speaking with now to hopefully reach a place of peace long term for the region, and that includes the Iranian people as well.

01:24:01.000 In the blue, go ahead.

01:24:04.000 The White House posted the statement from the Iranian government that passage in the Strait will be coordinated with Iran's armed forces.

01:24:12.000 As of today, who controls the Strait of Hormuz?

01:24:16.000 Again, these statements were put out 12 hours ago.

01:24:19.000 We expect that the Strait will be opened immediately.

01:24:22.000 As I've said earlier, we have seen an uptick in traffic in the Strait, and it's something that we are monitoring minute by minute, hour by hour, as the days go on.

01:24:32.000 Who controls the Strait right now?

01:24:34.000 One, on the deportations of Iranian officials uniting upon the negotiations, are there still security concerns about Vice President Vance being part of these case talks, Steve Whitclub, Jerry Kushner?

01:24:47.000 And then, two, given the ongoing deportation of General Soleimani's niece, does the Trump administration plan to deport more relatives or people in the families of Iranian officials that are in the U.S.?

01:24:58.000 Certainly, anyone who is here fraudulently, I understand one of the individuals whose visa was revoked by Secretary Rubio and they were deported.

01:25:07.000 Supported by ICE, they had a fraudulent asylum claim.

01:25:09.000 That's against the laws of the United States.

01:25:11.000 So anyone who is here illegally or fraudulently is subject to our nation's immigration laws and will be removed from our country.

01:25:18.000 And I know this continues to be a top priority for the State Department working in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security.

01:25:24.000 With respect to the safety of the Vice President, we fully trust the United States Secret Service to do their job to keep the Vice President and the President's negotiating team safe.

01:25:33.000 They do a tremendous job and we fully trust them to do that.

01:25:37.000 Carol Eilinger.

01:25:37.000 In the back, go ahead.

01:25:38.000 Thank you, Caroline.

01:25:39.000 The president has said Cuba is next.

01:25:42.000 What's the message to the American people regarding Cuba, and what can Cubans expect in relation to this statement?

01:25:47.000 Well, look, I think when President Trump said that, and he later clarified after making that statement, that he meant the Cuban regime is bound to fall.

01:25:56.000 Their country is very weak.

01:25:57.000 They're in a very weak position economically, obviously, financially.

01:26:02.000 The Cuban people are fed up with their government, as they should be.

01:26:05.000 And these talks and discussions continue to happen at the highest level of our government.

01:26:10.000 I don't have any.

01:26:11.000 Updates or announcements for you with respect to Cuba policy today.

01:26:15.000 Thank you, Caroline.

01:26:16.000 Secretary Hexas said this morning that U.S. troops would be sticking around.

01:26:21.000 Can you expound upon that, what we should expect from U.S. troops in theater for the next two weeks and beyond?

01:26:28.000 I would defer you to the Pentagon for any specifics on assets that have been in place in the Middle East, but take the Secretary at his word.

01:26:36.000 And also, the President has reiterated this as well in his own words that we're not going to move anything immediately.

01:26:41.000 Again, this is a A two week ceasefire where we hope at the end and we expect at the end we'll have a good agreement between the United States and Iran.

01:26:49.000 But in the meantime, we're going to ensure that our military is always at the ready of the Commander in Chief.

01:26:54.000 I'll take a couple more in the back.

01:26:57.000 Thank you.

01:26:58.000 Thank you very much.

01:26:59.000 On NATO, I'll take your question.

01:27:00.000 Go ahead.

01:27:00.000 Thank you, Caroline.

01:27:01.000 On NATO, can you tell me, is the United States still considering withdrawing from NATO?

01:27:06.000 Is that still a possibility?

01:27:07.000 It's something the President has discussed, and I think it's something the President will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary General Ruta.

01:27:13.000 And perhaps you'll hear directly from the president following that meeting later this afternoon.

01:27:17.000 Thank you, everyone.

01:27:19.000 All right, welcome back.

01:27:21.000 A lot of information there.

01:27:23.000 We're told, just to hit some of the high water marks here, that the Strait of Hormuz is open for all intents and purposes.

01:27:32.000 The president continues to demand that the Strait is open safely, securely, and immediately.

01:27:38.000 That was apparently the linchpin to getting the two week ceasefire accomplished in the first place.

01:27:44.000 We're told Lebanon is not a part of the current framework, so Israel is free, apparently, to continue.

01:27:51.000 Attacking southern Lebanon and Hezbollah there.

01:27:54.000 We'll see if Iran agrees.

01:27:56.000 We'll see if Iran agrees.

01:27:57.000 We are told that JD Vance is, in fact, going to be participating in the peace negotiations in Islamabad starting on Friday, along with Special Envoy Witkoff and Mr. Jared Kushner.

01:28:10.000 I think those were the big points.

01:28:12.000 There were a lot of questions about America's moral equivalency because of President Trump's truths.

01:28:18.000 Are we any better than Iran?

01:28:19.000 Of course we are.

01:28:21.000 We don't kill 50,000 people.

01:28:23.000 Protesters on the streets when they're protesting the government.

01:28:27.000 So, a lot of insanity there.

01:28:28.000 There was a reporter there going, My auntie from Iran called me and asked if she said goodbye.

01:28:35.000 Listen.

01:28:37.000 It's so annoying.

01:28:38.000 The press was very annoying there. 1.00

01:28:40.000 She does a great job putting up with their garbage. 0.99

01:28:42.000 But, yeah, what were your main takeaways from that?

01:28:44.000 I thought the most interesting thing is they did ask about NATO, and the president did express, or I should say, Levitt.

01:28:50.000 She expressed a lot of disappointment with them.

01:28:53.000 The line was like they had the chance to step up.

01:28:57.000 And they failed.

01:28:58.000 I do wonder if we'll see more discussion of that.

01:29:01.000 It could, of course, be another play by the president.

01:29:02.000 He's always wanted NATO to contribute more generally, step up for their own defense, do stuff.

01:29:09.000 Mark Ruta, the secretary general of NATO, is meeting with the president today.

01:29:13.000 So he's at the White House.

01:29:15.000 And he's been somebody that understands Trump, that seems to have embraced Trump more fully with all of his quirks and idiosyncrasies.

01:29:27.000 NATO will continue on, our involvement in NATO will continue on.

01:29:30.000 But yeah, this was a big blow to that alliance, I think.

01:29:35.000 And again, we could argue Trump calls it a paper tiger.

01:29:39.000 I think it's yet to be seen if NATO is going to live up to its promise or not.

01:29:47.000 For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to charliekirk.com.

The Charlie Kirk Show - April 08, 2026

Ceasefire in Iran, Ceasefire Among MAGA?

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