Riley Gaines is a former all-American swimmer and now an advocate for women's rights. She has been involved with Turning Point USA for the past three years, and has been on the front row at many Turning Point events.
00:00:56.000The Charlie Kirk Show is proudly sponsored by Preserve Gold, the leading gold and silver experts and the only precious metals company I recommend to my family, friends, and viewers.
00:01:19.000Are we excited about Riley Gaines, the Riley Gaines?
00:01:24.000Formerly known as an all-American swimmer and now known as just an all-around amazing person, an amazing American, an advocate for women's rights.
00:02:20.000Turning point was very quick to offer me guidance and resources and encouragement in a time where I knew nothing, honestly, nothing about the political sphere, nothing about our government.
00:02:50.000But Turning Point, and Charlie specifically was very quick to reach out in a way that was different than other people who were reaching out.
00:02:57.000And I feel like I have a fairly decent amount of discernment and very self-aware and can pick things out.
00:03:05.000In a time where it was, I guess, politically expedient, the topic of keeping men out of women's sports, there were lots of people who claimed the slogans of faith, family, and freedom who were quick to reach out.
00:03:18.000But I could see it as they were using our experience as an opportunity to capitalize, which I even appreciated at the time because anyone talking about it was a good thing in my eyes.
00:03:27.000But when Charlie and Turning Point reached out, it was different.
00:03:30.000It was in a way in an effort to make sure that I was okay as a human being because Charlie understood, like, I know it's hard to read these things that are being said online about you.
00:03:40.000We just want to make sure you're okay.
00:03:42.000Different than anyone else who had reached out.
00:03:45.000So it was a very quick, I think, relationship that had been developed between myself and Turning Point and one that has really fostered and grown over the past three years.
00:03:56.000Well, you've been an amazing advocate for not only turning point, but for, and not only women's rights and, you know, obviously for protecting women's sports and all of these things, but you have become a political powerhouse.
00:04:11.000You have become somebody that a lot of politicians want to bring to Washington, D.C. and testify at their committee hearings or get behind their campaign.
00:04:20.000And what's fascinating to me is that despite all of these things that you could do with your time, I have seen you more and more and more at college campuses.
00:04:32.000You had that terrifying experience at San Francisco State University, which was speaking at a turning point chapter.
00:04:38.000You had every excuse to not double and triple down on the campus activism and doing the things that Charlie was doing.
00:04:44.000I remember you were at, you went back to San Francisco State, right?
00:04:47.000And you did a prove me wrong with Charlie.
00:05:02.000Otherwise, I mean, you think about it.
00:05:04.000You think about all of the different spheres that the left has acquired and runs.
00:05:11.000Certainly media, mainstream media, these academic institutions, healthcare even, which is supposed to be a place that is totally not biased or have anything to do with the polarization and the politicization that we've seen even in healthcare, our government.
00:05:48.000But anything that I can do, goodness gracious, I'm willing to do it.
00:05:52.000We, my husband and I, we welcomed our daughter into this world about 10 weeks ago, which is super cool.
00:06:02.000But even in those 10 weeks, seeing the necessity and the urgency of getting on campuses, high school campuses, college campuses, and so she went with me to 10 different campuses even this semester.
00:06:22.000She's going to be really dangerous at Two Truths and a Lie one day.
00:06:26.000So all that to say, to speak to the importance, of course, of campus activism and reaching the youth, but also to speak to motherhood as well, and how I think the best way to describe our little baby girl, Margo, at this point in her life is portable and adaptable.
00:06:47.000And your life doesn't end when you have children.
00:06:50.000What I have found to be the case, and certainly what Charlie spoke to, is your life really begins when you have kids, especially a little girl.
00:08:31.000And I think this is important in the context of understanding how, yes, of course, the values that Charlie and Turning Point stands for are pro-life, but so much so that in pro-life, it is not just the baby in the womb.
00:08:44.000It's supporting moms before, during, and after pregnancy.
00:08:47.000And so one of the super awesome things about Turning Point and what they've implemented, what Charlie was working on prior to his assassination, his murder, but what they've implemented after is a six-month maternity leave policy for Turning Point employees if you've been at the company for a certain amount of time.
00:09:02.000And so you'd be really hard pressed to find that sort of policy anywhere else in any realm, any career.
00:09:11.000And so again, it shows how it's not just words or a slogan.
00:09:15.000Like these are things they really mean and they really live by.
00:09:20.000If you're going to go as hard in the paint as Turning Point and Charlie have about having babies and getting married, you probably should put your money where you want this.
00:10:15.000If she gets an ultrasound, it doubles the chance that she'll choose life for her child.
00:10:20.000$140 gives free ultrasounds and saves babies.
00:10:22.000Just $28 a month can save a baby a month for less than a dollar a day.
00:10:27.000And today, thanks to a dollar for dollar match, your gift saves twice as many babies.
00:10:31.000And if you're looking for the perfect tax-deductible year-end idea, I can't think of a better one than a $15,000 gift providing an ultrasound machine, saving thousands of lives for years to come.
00:10:42.000Join me saving babies right now and making it a Merry Christmas.
00:10:49.000That's 833-850-2229 or click on the pre-born banner at charliekirk.com.
00:10:57.000So talk about, because one of the things, I mean, when Charlie was assassinated, you know, I think Blake and I were so close to it that, I mean, it was, I saw all this media and I could barely look at it.
00:11:10.000Honestly, I barely opened my phone for the first couple of days.
00:11:14.000And as a matter of fact, Mike, I got so many phone calls and texts that my phone stopped working.
00:11:18.000And I was kind of huddled in this, I felt like a bunker, you know, just trying to do the, every 15 minutes, just get through every 15 minutes.
00:11:29.000And, you know, you were one of those people that I noticed in the immediate aftermath that you just stepped up and you did more things.
00:11:49.000Tell me what it was like for you to be in your position in the immediate aftermath.
00:11:54.000What was the reaction and where's your headspace now?
00:11:58.000It's one of those moments where, of course, you'll never forget where you were, which being 25, I don't think I have too many of those in my life.
00:12:05.000First, when President Trump was shot and now this.
00:12:11.000I was actually in line at Chick-fil-A.
00:12:32.000And I knew, of course, about Charlie's campus stops.
00:12:34.000And I'd been following online, very excited.
00:12:36.000Bear in mind, at this point, I was 38 weeks pregnant or so, right?
00:12:41.000And so, you know, by all means, and the chaotic and unconventional schedule and career, I guess, that I have, like maternity leave, whatever that means.
00:12:53.000Anyways, inline, are you okay or are you in Utah?
00:14:29.000And then it turns to grief and tearfulness in the next few days.
00:14:33.000And then it turns to anger, honestly, and rage.
00:14:38.000Again, when you see the things that were being said online by peers, even, knowing what they thought about Charlie and his assassination, it makes you think, well, gosh, what would they say if I was assassinated?
00:14:51.000These are people who I know in my life.
00:14:54.000Healthcare workers, government employees, school teachers, the people who are trusted to educate your children celebrating this, who you trust to save your life.
00:15:04.000If you were in a dire medical situation, they're celebrating death.
00:15:11.000But I will say, I went to the memorial service, which it was on my due date.
00:15:16.000So you can imagine my OBGYN when I tell him, hey, I've got to get on a plane actually at 40 weeks pregnant.
00:15:38.000If you give birth on the plane, tell your husband to watch YouTube videos before you take off.
00:15:45.000I still remember being angry though, honestly, walking into the memorial service, but watching as Erica, well, first of all, it was so cool to see so many publicly elected officials proclaim the name of the Lord in front of, I mean, tens of thousands who were there, but millions who were watching online.
00:16:02.000But to see Erica, in what you have to imagine is the hardest moment of her life, forgive her husband's assassin 11 days, I think it was, after he was murdered.
00:16:13.000Like, what a beautiful display of forgiveness, of strength, of compassion that I think only God can provide a grieving widow so soon after her husband had been killed.
00:16:25.000And so it was, that was kind of like a pivotal point where it wasn't really anger anymore.
00:16:31.000Of course, there's still the level of disbelief and grief, of course, but it was feelings of hope and optimism and inspiration for the future.
00:16:41.000And that's where I'm at now, of course, being here at Amfest, seeing so many people, young people especially, in the audience, smiling ear to ear.
00:16:49.000We just did the student meet and greet, and they estimated there were 2,000 kids lined up to say hi to me, which is like the craziest thing ever.
00:16:57.000I've literally only said there are two sexes.
00:17:17.000Then we had the baby, which that whole process was and is still just the coolest, most fulfilling, purposeful, satisfactory thing.
00:17:31.000I will say, I honestly, of course, one of Charlie's messages that he gave on campuses and beyond was to have kids, get married, have kids as young as you possibly can in your married life and as many as you possibly can.
00:17:52.000I think a lot of women really are because you hear all these awful horror stories of pregnancy and the delivery, and then you'll be sleep deprived for the rest of your life to infinity once you have a newborn.
00:18:03.000I'm here to say none of those things happened to me.
00:19:21.000Like, just you got to tell the wife what to, you know, they would, there's like culturally, we've built into the vernacular just a constant degradation of the institution of marriage.
00:20:44.000And I think just that message is powerfully transformative to our culture.
00:20:49.000And now you can actually be a living embodiment of that because, you know, 25, I mean, I was living in LA at the time.
00:20:56.000And I don't think any of my friends had kids at 25.
00:20:59.000And I think it's really important to get started younger than you think because you'll wake up and you'll blink and you'll be 30 and you'll have no children.
00:21:07.000And then all of a sudden, you're not married.
00:21:09.000Did you ever hear anything like that from people who even would say, oh, you should wait to have kids because it'll mess with your incipient media career or any of that?
00:21:18.000Or people who just say, even friends in my life, friends who I love very dearly, who would classify themselves as conservative, even, who say that, you know, well, we just need to find the right time.
00:21:30.000Let me tell you, there is no like right time to have kids.
00:24:15.000Hi, I have a question for Riley, which, by the way, I'm a huge fan.
00:24:18.000And I know you say you shouldn't be famous for just saying there are two genders, but I think that's really important in this day and age, especially for young women as myself.
00:24:26.000And I want to ask you: as a Christian woman, I've heard a lot of different opinions on this from my peers and from older women.
00:24:34.000And I know this is a little bit of a personal question, and I apologize for that right off the bat.
00:24:38.000But what is your opinion on birth control?
00:24:40.000Because I know that it's quite controversial, especially in the groups that I circulate in.
00:24:44.000And I know that there's a lot of different types for women, and I just don't know what to think or who to believe.
00:24:50.000So I wanted to ask your opinion on that.
00:24:54.000You could approach this conversation in two ways, and I'll answer in two ways.
00:24:57.000Number one, in the position of being pro-life, how do I feel about birth control?
00:25:04.000Actually, I'll be totally transparent here.
00:25:08.000I was on birth control in college, not for anything other than the fact that when you're competing at the level of which I was competing at, it was really just to regulate your menstrual cycle.
00:25:20.000When you have big competitions and you can have some sort of hand in controlling that, like to be totally transparent.
00:25:27.000I regretted it, though, after the fact.
00:25:30.000More so because of how it affects your hormones.
00:25:34.000Someone who speaks really well to this, of course, is Alex Clark and the effects of the birth control pill on your hormonal cycle.
00:25:47.000Obviously, now I'm in a marriage and would have no problem having more kids.
00:25:52.000So on that front, but I have a lot of friends who feel the exact same way.
00:25:57.000And I will say, I think it's super duper cool now that we have a whole generation of people, like our generation, who are willing to question these things, right?
00:26:06.000I would imagine some of you, you know, moms who are out there, maybe grandmoms who are out there, maybe you were on birth control and you didn't think anything of it because your healthcare provider said, oh, if you don't want to have kids, take this.
00:26:16.000And you didn't question it because you trust that your healthcare provider has your best interest at heart, right?
00:26:21.000We are seeing a whole new generation of people who are willing to push back and question things.
00:26:27.000And I saw that when we were talking about vaccines for our daughter.
00:26:31.000Super cool to see some of the stuff come out of HHS surrounding the HEP B vaccine and the correlation between children or infants, newborns who receive that, and different allergies or allergens that they have.
00:26:44.000We're seeing a whole new generation of kids, really.
00:26:57.000I also just want to say I think it's weird that women, young girls as young as like 13 get just automatically prescribed birth control to help with like, I don't know, cramps or something.
00:27:42.000So I was wondering, as I was a college athlete and I know you were big in your athletic career, I feel like the world is very big around trying to make your schedule as busy as possible.
00:27:51.000And I think that poses as a big threat to our faith and also to developing families.
00:27:56.000I was wondering how you like just managed that when you were done with your sport and what that transition was like for you.
00:28:03.000Well, of course, I mean, faith is central to my life.
00:28:06.000I think there's opportunities in every sphere to highlight your faith and to live by your faith.
00:28:14.000And so while we have these demanding crazy schedules, if you make living a Christ-like life the priority, it's actually kind of cool to have a crazy schedule and do that.
00:28:27.000We talk about this cultural revival that's happening that has been happening, I think intensified in the last three months following Charlie's assassination.
00:28:35.000But even on the football field, you know, of course, with college football playoffs and different things, to see so many players proclaim the name of the Lord.
00:28:47.000So I think in every sphere and sector of life, there's an opportunity to speak to God's goodness, to his grace, to how he sent his son to live on this earth, who died on the cross for our sins, who rose again three days later with the hope and the promise of eternal life.
00:29:09.000And if you can have the opportunity to say that on every stage, there's lots of people who can have their hearts and minds changed and brought to the Lord.
00:29:18.000But in my personal life now, it's been cool, I think, especially being married young, because being tested in the way that I feel like I've personally been tested in, it gives you the opportunity to grow spiritually, individually, but also being married, it gives you the opportunity to grow in your faith together.
00:29:39.000And so that's been the biggest blessing as well as kind of having an accountability partner in your spouse.
00:29:46.000So that's kind of my take there is faith first and foremost.
00:29:51.000Which Charlie said this, one of the things he would say is God, family, country in that order.
00:29:56.000And I think that's a fantastic mantra to live by.
00:29:58.000Well, and, you know, Charlie's book that just came out, Stop in the Name of God, you know, take a Sabbath, take a rest.
00:30:36.000I want to say thank you because you encouraged me because I was actually supposed to go against someone who said they were a female but they weren't in a jiu-jitsu competition.
00:30:44.000And you actually gave me the courage to stand up and I did not have to do that.
00:30:53.000My second question as a mom of four is how do we keep the momentum going for our children to not have to deal with this if Democrats get elected again, God forbid, but just to keep the momentum going.
00:31:03.000Well, first of all, I hate that the onus is placed on you to have to make that decision where ultimately you're in like this impossible spot where what do you do?
00:31:15.000Like do you not do the sport that you love or do you compromise on what you know to be true and right and fair and just?
00:31:25.000One of the initiatives that we've been working on is called Project Boycott with emphasis on the word boy and really encouraging those girls in whether it's team sports, whether it's something as like physical as jiu-jitsu.
00:32:20.000But let's be real, in terms of longevity, the things that they're accomplishing or not really accomplishing, you have far more influence on your children and how they live their life as parents than who is in the Oval Office, who is the president of the United States.
00:32:38.000So with that responsibility, really an obligation, I believe, as parents, number one, lead by example, but two, be willing to defend your kids against any harm, any threat, any risk that could possibly present itself.
00:32:51.000I have so many parents who reach out to me on a daily basis who say, you know, this is happening in my daughter's school.
00:33:11.000I saw a video yesterday of this little girl.
00:33:14.000I don't know how old she was or where even in the world she was, but we've seen so many of these videos of girls at school board meetings, right?
00:33:22.000And they're standing and there's a podium.