The Charlie Kirk Show - Trump's Virtues

00:00:00.000 Hey everybody, to Charlie Kirk Show.

00:00:01.000 Tom Klingenstein joins us to discuss Trump's virtues.

00:00:05.000 We go deep into this idea of what are the virtues that Donald Trump presents to the country.

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00:00:40.000 Buckle up, everybody.

00:00:41.000 Here we go.

00:00:42.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:00:44.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

00:00:46.000 I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.

00:00:50.000 Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.

00:00:53.000 I want to thank Charlie.

00:00:54.000 He's an incredible guy.

00:00:55.000 His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created.

00:01:02.000 Turning point USA. 0.65

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00:01:40.000 Back by Popular Demand is a very important guest.

00:01:44.000 He is a philanthropist, a playwright, also chairman of the board of the Claremont Institute, a writer.

00:01:51.000 It is Tom Klingenstein.

00:01:53.000 Tom, welcome back to the program.

00:01:55.000 Happy to be here, Charlie.

00:01:56.000 So, Tom, I've had more people text me in the last few days than I can count all about your video, Trump's Virtues.

00:02:06.000 Now, I want to play some of this tape and talk about it, but it's an incredible accomplishment where you talk about his virtues.

00:02:13.000 And I have to, I'll be honest with you, Tom, I now use this with people because I'm constantly hearing about Trump's flaws or his shortcomings.

00:02:19.000 And I say, Do you ever talk about his virtues?

00:02:22.000 Before we get into it, Tom, tell us why you decided to write this piece and do this video.

00:02:27.000 Because there are two related misconceptions, I think.

00:02:31.000 The first is that a lot of people say, Well, I like Trump's policies, but I don't like the rest of him.

00:02:39.000 Well, it's really the rest of him that matters.

00:02:43.000 You know, he gets tens of thousands of people at his rallies, passionate.

00:02:48.000 They don't come to listen to his trade policy or his immigration policy.

00:02:53.000 They like those, but much more important is Trump himself, his character, his virtues.

00:03:01.000 And included in those are his courage and independence and willingness to fight for his own people and his commitment to America and its culture.

00:03:14.000 He thinks American culture is exceptional, and that's the way he wants to keep it.

00:03:22.000 Now, the other sort of related audience is people who say, I like his policies, but I don't like the rest of him.

00:03:33.000 And as I say, it's the rest of him that really matters, that one has to appreciate.

00:03:40.000 You don't have to like Trump.

00:03:42.000 You don't have to think he doesn't have any vices.

00:03:45.000 Of course, he has vices.

00:03:47.000 But what you have to understand is this is a war.

00:03:51.000 And in a war, you need a commander-in-chief who knows the enemy and he knows how to win, right?

00:03:59.000 So we're not evaluating him as a prospective friend or a dinner partner.

00:04:06.000 He's our commander in chief.

00:04:08.000 Similarly, in the Civil War, it didn't matter that General Grant was a drunkard.

00:04:15.000 Because at that moment, Lincoln needed someone to fight.

00:04:20.000 The regime was on knife's edge.

00:04:23.000 The only one willing to fight was Grant.

00:04:26.000 So again, you got to look at the man in the context of the moment.

00:04:31.000 This is what's important, that in order to understand the man and the context, people need to understand the context.

00:04:38.000 And you have been a thought leader on this, which I appreciate.

00:04:42.000 You must believe that we're in a war.

00:04:44.000 And if you think that it's peacetime, then you might not understand or appreciate Trump.

00:04:49.000 Do you agree with that?

00:04:50.000 Absolutely.

00:04:51.000 As I frequently say, I can't imagine another time in history where Trump would be appropriate.

00:04:59.000 But in these times, he's absolutely essential.

00:05:03.000 And I think that's people have difficulty assessing the man in the context of the moment, as you just said.

00:05:11.000 It's not looking at the man in the abstract, but looking at him in the context of the needs of the moment.

00:05:21.000 And the number one need, we need a powerful, unmovable commander-in-chief.

00:05:28.000 And understanding the times of which we are in.

00:05:30.000 Let's play part of your viral video, Trump's Virtues, which is the video version of an essay that you wrote, and it is terrific.

00:05:39.000 Play cut 52.

00:05:41.000 His policies are important, but not as important as the rest of him.

00:05:48.000 Trump grasps the essential things.

00:05:52.000 He understands the group quarter regime is evil and will not stop until it destroys America. 1.00

00:06:02.000 He is a fighter, bold, brave, and decisive, who has confidence in himself and his country.

00:06:13.000 Trump never apologizes for America.

00:06:16.000 He rightly believes America is the greatest country in history.

00:06:23.000 Trump says, in effect, we have our culture.

00:06:27.000 It's exceptional.

00:06:29.000 And that's the way we want to keep it.

00:06:33.000 Bold, brave, and decisive.

00:06:37.000 So, Tom, one thing that I'm trying to figure out is that other politicians try to mimic Trump or copy Trump, but it typically doesn't work out for one way or the other.

00:06:50.000 There's something unique about this man.

00:06:52.000 Help me understand.

00:06:54.000 Well, I think that's the whole point of the video.

00:06:58.000 You know, can you imagine any other politician withstanding all the abuse, the investigations, the impeachment, the verbal abuse?

00:07:08.000 There is no one.

00:07:10.000 So it's not quite right, as you imply, to try to copy him.

00:07:16.000 But you want to appreciate him.

00:07:18.000 You want to understand what makes him appealing.

00:07:22.000 And then in your own way, express that.

00:07:26.000 But it has to be in your own way.

00:07:28.000 Otherwise, you feel phony.

00:07:32.000 Yeah, and you're just trying to mimic a caricature.

00:07:34.000 So let's play another piece of tape here.

00:07:36.000 Play cut 53, please.

00:07:39.000 The woke radicals tell the Trump voters they are a threat to democracy.

00:07:46.000 Think about that.

00:07:48.000 They're saying you Trumpsters are a threat to democracy. 0.78

00:07:54.000 The woke radicals also tell us odd nausea that America is systemically racist. 0.97

00:08:02.000 Trump knows this is deadly nonsense and he says so.

00:08:08.000 This charge of systemic racism bounces off Trump because he has no white guilt or any guilt for that matter. 0.86

00:08:18.000 All right, I want to spend some time on that.

00:08:20.000 There is a lot there to unpack.

00:08:22.000 Let's start with the end.

00:08:24.000 It bounces off of him because he has no white guilt.

00:08:28.000 Explain.

00:08:30.000 Well, what the other side has been very successful at is playing on our white guilt. 0.60

00:08:38.000 They tell us that we're systemically racist, and they count on us to agree, at least to some extent.

00:08:46.000 You know, when I talked to Trump, I've only talked to him once, I told him he doesn't have any white guilt, and that's really important.

00:08:54.000 You know, he hadn't really thought about it.

00:08:56.000 Of course, he agreed with me, but he didn't understand the significance.

00:09:01.000 And if I could say one more thing, Charlie, on this subject, which is very important, and which I hope, if there's one thing you come away from you, the viewer, on this interview, it is this.

00:09:17.000 The other side wants to kill us.

00:09:20.000 Now, they do that in multiple ways.

00:09:22.000 They usher in millions of immigrants with cultures different than our own. 1.00

00:09:27.000 They create energy dependence.

00:09:31.000 They have an alarmist climate agenda.

00:09:34.000 These are all designed in one way or another to destroy America.

00:09:40.000 Obviously, brainwashing, intimidation, changing our language, those contribute.

00:09:48.000 But I tell you the most important thing, and this is my major point, which is of all the weapons that the other side, what I call the woke radicals, employ, this charge of systemic racism is the most powerful.

00:10:08.000 Because if we accept it, or if we don't fight strongly against it, then we will trade in our regime, the American regime, for their regime, the group quota regime, I call it. 0.96

00:10:25.000 So that's, I think it's underappreciated.

00:10:29.000 And by the way, Charles Murray wrote a book recently called Facing Reality.

00:10:36.000 It's dropped out of view, but it's something that I think your readers, your readers, your viewers might read because Murray, unlike most people, understands the deadly nonsense, as I put it in that video, of the charge that we are systemically racist.

00:10:59.000 Hey, everybody, Charlie Kirk here.

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00:12:03.000 The author of Trump's Virtues.

00:12:06.000 And there are several.

00:12:08.000 So I want to now ask this question, Tom.

00:12:11.000 The framing of the war.

00:12:13.000 That language bothers some people.

00:12:15.000 And I talked to some of our former supporters at Turning Point that say they don't like that kind of language.

00:12:22.000 They say we might be divided, but we're not at war.

00:12:26.000 Tom, Trump is not interested in necessarily convincing you we're at war.

00:12:30.000 He's interested in winning the war.

00:12:33.000 How would you go about trying to either convince or communicate or prove that we are in the middle of a cold civil war?

00:12:40.000 Prove we can't do.

00:12:42.000 But here's the way I understand it: that we now have in our society two understandings of justice.

00:12:52.000 Their side thinks a just society is based on group quotas.

00:12:59.000 Our side thinks it's based on merit.

00:13:02.000 Now, it's one or the other.

00:13:03.000 If you're admitting somebody to college, it can be group quotas or it can be merit, right?

00:13:11.000 It's when a society has different ends or different understandings of justice.

00:13:17.000 We're in a war.

00:13:18.000 It's like the Civil War.

00:13:20.000 One side thought slavery was good.

00:13:23.000 The other side thought it was bad.

00:13:25.000 The former wanted to expand slavery.

00:13:28.000 The latter wanted to contract it.

00:13:30.000 Well, you can't go in two directions at once.

00:13:34.000 It's kind of like, if I can use a simple analogy, if you or I are in New York and I want to go to Florida and you want to go to Maine, well, there's no compromise.

00:13:46.000 If we both want to go to Maine, which is where I have a second home, it's my second favorite state, then we can negotiate.

00:13:57.000 You know, we can decide when to leave and when the, you know, what route to take and when to stop for lunch.

00:14:03.000 But ends cannot be negotiated, and that's what makes it a war.

00:14:09.000 Yeah, the teleological end.

00:14:10.000 Where are you going?

00:14:12.000 And we have two completely diametric different opinions and views.

00:14:16.000 Let's go and play another piece of tape here from your viral video, Trump's Virtues.

00:14:20.000 Play Cut 54, please.

00:14:23.000 His enemies hate him with an indescribable fierceness.

00:14:29.000 Another Hitler, they say.

00:14:32.000 Elect him and he will be a dictator.

00:14:35.000 We should take this hysteria as reason for hope.

00:14:39.000 The America haters rightly fear that Trump and his party are on the threshold of a successful counterrevolution.

00:14:50.000 Trump hates his enemies every bit as much as they hate him.

00:14:55.000 His enemies are America's enemies.

00:15:00.000 His enemies are America's enemies, Tom.

00:15:05.000 Yes, because, you know, as he says, you know, the other side is attacking him.

00:15:13.000 But what they're really attacking is his base.

00:15:19.000 So fortunately, his enemies align with our enemies. 0.97

00:15:25.000 And he attacks those enemies with absolute vengeance and without any pity.

00:15:33.000 And that's what we need at the moment.

00:15:35.000 Hey, Charlie, let me say one thing.

00:15:39.000 I am the chairman of the Claremont Institute, but I'm here today in a private capacity, just to get that on the record.

00:15:46.000 Yes.

00:15:47.000 Thank you.

00:15:48.000 And I only say that because of how much I appreciate Claremont.

00:15:51.000 Want to make sure that that is uh that was mentioned.

00:15:53.000 I'm a big Claremont fan.

00:15:56.000 And in fact, I know, Charlie, that you've been taking a course that I'm taking from a Claremont scholar, and I say, good for you.

00:16:03.000 That's right.

00:16:04.000 And it's quite in-depth, right?

00:16:07.000 It's philosophical.

00:16:08.000 Very philosophical.

00:16:10.000 Yeah, we are studying the Gorgias and we are in Schmidt and getting deeper into power and politics.

00:16:18.000 I love to learn.

00:16:19.000 And Claremont really makes it accessible.

00:16:22.000 And Glenn does a wonderful job.

00:16:24.000 How should this translate into Trump's campaign?

00:16:28.000 His virtues, his approach.

00:16:30.000 What kind of campaign should Trump then run?

00:16:33.000 You know, I have a very quick answer, which is, you know, this really political consulting is not my expertise.

00:16:39.000 I think he ought to run on group quotas in part, group quotas in the military, in flight training school, in medicine.

00:16:49.000 Yes.

00:16:49.000 People understand that those are the things that are going to get us killed.

00:16:55.000 I totally agree.

00:16:56.000 If you're hiring based on group and not on merit, I think that is an 80-90 issue in this country.

00:17:02.000 So, Tom, can you give some historical comparisons?

00:17:05.000 You mentioned Grant in the Civil War of the type of figure that Trump is.

00:17:11.000 Where does he fit in history?

00:17:13.000 We are at a deciding point, dare I say, a turning point in American history.

00:17:19.000 You know, it's difficult to find analogs because he's so unique.

00:17:25.000 I mean, he's not a Churchill, but like Churchill, he is a towering figure.

00:17:31.000 He's defined politics, not just in America, but in the West, right?

00:17:36.000 You measure yourself against Trump.

00:17:39.000 I ask politicians, well, where do you stand with respect to Trump?

00:17:44.000 Right?

00:17:45.000 So when you look at towering figures, people that you're going to remember in subsequent generations, I think Trump is one of those.

00:17:55.000 I think he's more towering, will change things more than Ronald Reagan or frankly anyone else in our lifetime.

00:18:07.000 In our first hour of our program, we talked about how older whites are moving towards Biden, but young people and non-whites are moving to Trump.

00:18:15.000 Is this a phenomenon that can outlive Trump?

00:18:18.000 And are we seeing a total realignment of U.S. politics, in your opinion?

00:18:22.000 You know, here's another one, Charlie, where I don't know the answer to that.

00:18:27.000 I honestly don't.

00:18:29.000 Well, we are seeing, and I will just contribute my thoughts.

00:18:32.000 Donald Trump's movement is multiracial.

00:18:36.000 It's multi-generational.

00:18:37.000 And Tom, we've talked about this before.

00:18:40.000 He's been able to do something that no other leader has been able to do.

00:18:45.000 Fill up these stadiums, have a, and I use this language that gets misunderstood by the media.

00:18:49.000 Let's just say a standing political army.

00:18:51.000 Is that fair to say?

00:18:53.000 And that makes him such a threat to the current regime.

00:18:59.000 Can you elaborate on that, Tom?

00:19:01.000 I know you've talked about it before, but the capacity to have millions of fervent supporters is a political phenomenon, not just supporters, but they'll do anything for him.

00:19:10.000 It's a phenomenon we have not seen for quite some time.

00:19:13.000 And we're lucky to have his base, right?

00:19:16.000 As you know, conservatives tend not to be revolutionaries.

00:19:21.000 Just the opposite.

00:19:21.000 Yes.

00:19:23.000 But Trump's base is not so much revolutionary as counter-revolutionary.

00:19:30.000 And they're willing to fight.

00:19:32.000 As an example, you know, the truckers that boycotted bringing goods to New York after that horrendous judgment against Trump.

00:19:43.000 They're willing to resist.

00:19:46.000 And at the moment, we need those people to resist.

00:19:50.000 And that base is controlled by Trump and no one else.

00:19:56.000 They might have voted for DeSantis or somebody else, but they weren't going to fight in the way they fight for Trump.

00:20:05.000 They wouldn't be as united.

00:20:07.000 They wouldn't be as determined.

00:20:10.000 So the base is critical.

00:20:12.000 You know, Trump is accused of being a populist.

00:20:16.000 Well, to some degree, he is.

00:20:18.000 But when the elite are not responding to the needs of the average American, then we need recourse to direct democracy to populism.

00:20:30.000 So populism has dangers, but it also has real virtues, particularly in this moment.

00:20:37.000 So the base, as you implied, is absolutely critical.

00:20:43.000 And they're so passionate.

00:20:45.000 They're so committed to Trump.

00:20:47.000 This is a great advantage we've got.

00:20:50.000 Let's go deeper into that, Tom.

00:20:52.000 They say that Trump supporters are a threat to democracy.

00:20:55.000 In fact, they published an entire book that I have around here somewhere, White Rural Rage.

00:21:00.000 I don't know if you're familiar with this book, Why Trump's Base is a Threat to Democracy.

00:21:05.000 Your argument and contention is the exact opposite.

00:21:08.000 It's the best of a democratic system.

00:21:10.000 It's a voice to the voiceless.

00:21:12.000 It is the working class, the muscular class that's able to be involved in the process.

00:21:18.000 And we should lean into that, not cast them aside.

00:21:21.000 Absolutely.

00:21:23.000 As I said, they're Trump's greatest asset because to repeat myself, they will fight.

00:21:30.000 I mean, I think it's amazing, as I said in my video, that the other side thinks the vote of Trump voters is a threat to democracy.

00:21:43.000 I mean, this is, as is often the case, a form of projection.

00:21:47.000 It's the same thing when they say Trump is a dictator.

00:21:51.000 Well, Trump isn't a dictator.

00:21:53.000 It's the other guy that's a dictator.

00:21:56.000 But this is a common ploy to project onto your opponents something that applies to you.

00:22:07.000 Okay, Kirk fans, I need you to stop and pay attention to this.

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00:24:02.000 I want to play another tape here.

00:24:03.000 Let's play Cut 55, please.

00:24:06.000 Trump, the politician, came out of the blue.

00:24:09.000 An unconventional commander against an unconventional enemy.

00:24:16.000 Almost inconceivable as president at any other time.

00:24:23.000 Trump fits this turbulent moment to a T. Is it too much to wonder whether the appearance of this most unconventional man is providential?

00:24:37.000 Lincoln spoke of Americans as the almost chosen people.

00:24:43.000 Trump gives us hope that the God who has never forsaken his almost chosen people will not do so now.

00:24:53.000 Thank you.

00:24:55.000 It's beautifully said, Tom.

00:24:57.000 And you say an unconventional enemy.

00:25:01.000 The battle plan requires the general.

00:25:04.000 It requires the troops.

00:25:05.000 It requires the message.

00:25:07.000 It requires the grit and the fervency.

00:25:09.000 And we now know the deadline, which is through the administration of politics.

00:25:16.000 And if it wasn't for Trump, my contention right now is the Republican Party and the conservative movement would be so much weaker.

00:25:24.000 In fact, we wouldn't have that sort of fighting spirit that we still exist in some form or fashion.

00:25:30.000 Your thoughts, Tom?

00:25:31.000 And we wouldn't understand that we're in a war.

00:25:34.000 I mean, that's the number one asset that Trump has.

00:25:37.000 You cannot win a war if you don't know you're in one.

00:25:42.000 And you can't win a war without a commander-in-chief.

00:25:46.000 You know, I said he's unconventional.

00:25:49.000 I'm hesitant to compare him to Lincoln.

00:25:51.000 But remember, Lincoln was very unconventional, right?

00:25:56.000 But it so happened he was just the man we needed at that moment when the country was in peril.

00:26:05.000 And I think the same thing applies to Trump.

00:26:08.000 I mean, I said that his appearance feels like it's providential.

00:26:15.000 And I say that because he is so unconventional.

00:26:20.000 How else do you explain his presence out of the blue?

00:26:24.000 A game show host knows nothing about politics.

00:26:28.000 And yet he's just the man we need at the moment.

00:26:34.000 So if you were to try to build the ensemble to fight the woke radicals or the Marxists, I imagine the vice presidential selection is very important.

00:26:45.000 It could be important to maintain the base and to build that sort of coalition.

00:26:50.000 Do you have any thoughts there, Tom, of the form, not the name, but the form of what Trump should be thinking about as far as it comes to vice president?

00:26:59.000 Well, let me give you a name.

00:27:00.000 That's probably the best way to talk about form.

00:27:05.000 Again, I have to reiterate, I'm not a political consultant.

00:27:08.000 And having said that, well, now I can give my opinion, which is that I'd like Ron DeSantis to be his vice president.

00:27:16.000 DeSantis understands what Trump understands.

00:27:20.000 And of course, DeSantis is very capable, very courageous.

00:27:24.000 I understand DeSantis' reluctance.

00:27:29.000 But if I were talking to him, I would tell him he has a duty to his country that comes above his own political aspirations for us, for the rest of us.

00:27:43.000 I think he needs to consider this position.

00:27:47.000 You know, whether Trump would appoint him, I have no idea.

00:27:53.000 But we need a Trump, a MAGA Republican.

00:27:57.000 We don't need a Nikki Haley Republican.

00:28:02.000 And I tell you the other person that at least is worthy of consideration, and that's Vivek Ramaswamy.

00:28:10.000 If I were recommending to Trump, perhaps I wouldn't recommend Vivek as a vice president, but I would recommend Trump as the anti-administrative state czar.

00:28:25.000 His portfolio would be to cut the administrative state in half.

00:28:32.000 And, you know, with help, Vivek could do that.

00:28:37.000 And talk about Tom.

00:28:38.000 You did a long interview with Vivek when he was running for president, and you said he had some of the most focused, clear answers about understanding what time it is.

00:28:47.000 Can you tell our audience about that?

00:28:49.000 You know, Charlie, I'm getting old and I forget the interview, but I know Vivek, and he was the one person who understood we are in a war, and he said it, and he said it over and over.

00:29:03.000 I supported Vivek financially, not because I thought he would win.

00:29:09.000 We knew he wouldn't, but I was hoping that he would inject into the public discussion important ideas like we're in a war and describing the war.

00:29:22.000 He describes it as I describe it.

00:29:25.000 It's a choice, merit versus group quotas.

00:29:29.000 Most of the time, it's necessary to frame an issue as a binary choice, pro-abortion, pro-choice choice, or socialism versus capitalism.

00:29:43.000 In this case, the choice is group quotas versus merit.

00:29:47.000 And as we said before, Americans of all political persuasions over a long period of time oppose quotas or affirmative action.

00:30:00.000 Everyone, check out Trump's Virtues at TomKlingenstein.com.

00:30:03.000 That is tomklingenstein.com.

00:30:05.000 Tom, you're one of the few people to isolate with Trump that his lack of guilt and his confidence is a good thing.

00:30:12.000 People say, I wish he didn't have so much bravado or self-confidence.

00:30:16.000 You actually think that is a virtue.

00:30:19.000 Tell us why.

00:30:20.000 Because you have to have confidence in yourself to be courageous, to be independent.

00:30:29.000 Trump's ability to withstand four or five years of abuse, that is a function in part in his understanding of who he is.

00:30:42.000 Trump is comfortable in his own skin.

00:30:46.000 Talk to Trump.

00:30:48.000 He sounds, you know, in person, he sounds just like he does at a rally.

00:30:53.000 Because Trump is genuine.

00:30:56.000 And that is very difficult for a politician.

00:30:59.000 And that's one of the things that a politician can learn for Trump.

00:31:04.000 Be genuine when you're phony.

00:31:08.000 People get it.

00:31:09.000 They understand.

00:31:11.000 You must be authentic.

00:31:12.000 You must be clear and honest.

00:31:13.000 And in fact, I have always said that people hate Trump not because of the alleged lies that he tells, but because of how clearly he states truths you aren't allowed to mention, calling the news media fake, questioning our involvement in foreign wars, saying that our DC political class is corrupt to the core.

00:31:33.000 Tom, your thoughts.

00:31:35.000 Absolutely.

00:31:36.000 And I think your comment about fake, you know, he doesn't qualify it.

00:31:41.000 He doesn't explain it.

00:31:43.000 Trump asserts, and that is a manly quality.

00:31:47.000 And at the moment, it's necessary to assert.

00:31:51.000 The other thing he asserts, which is very important, he looks his supporters in the eye and says, what they know, you are not racist.

00:32:02.000 You do not have white privilege.

00:32:05.000 You asked me earlier, you know, what Trump should do.

00:32:09.000 That's a message that he should state and restate, because that's a response to the charge that we are systemically racist.

00:32:23.000 He needs to assert otherwise.

00:32:27.000 People know it.

00:32:28.000 They know the news is fake, right?

00:32:32.000 But sometimes a politician has to give voice to what the people already know or give form to unshaped opinions.

00:32:44.000 Fake was brilliant.

00:32:47.000 Everybody listens to that and they said, wow, exactly.

00:32:52.000 I wish I had said it.

00:32:53.000 Tom, is there any topic regarding this piece or the video that we did not cover that you want our audience to be aware of?

00:33:00.000 You know, I'm going to repeat something I said earlier.

00:33:04.000 It's this charge of systemic racism.

00:33:07.000 You have to look at the world today.

00:33:13.000 Look at all the events that are happening, whether it's the border or climate alarmism, brainwashing, intimidation.

00:33:23.000 These are all part of the same effort to overturn the American way of life. 0.66

00:33:30.000 And the most important weapon they have, the biggest, is convincing us that we are systemically racist.

00:33:41.000 As I said before, if they convince us, or if we don't fight back, then we will trade in our regime for theirs.

00:33:51.000 I mean, after all, if the regime is evil, why would we want to keep it?

00:33:56.000 So if, and I'm repeating myself here too, if there's one thing I want your audience to remember about this interview is just how important this weapon of theirs, the weapon being the accusation that America is systemically racist.

00:34:18.000 You have to answer that.

00:34:20.000 And it's one of the appeals of Charles Murray's new book called Facing Reality.

00:34:27.000 He answers the charge.

00:34:29.000 And one of the ways to answer it the way I answer it is, and again, repeating myself, we're in a war where the choice is not between slavery or non-slavery.

00:34:44.000 That was an earlier choice.

00:34:46.000 Today's choice is between group quotas and merit.

00:34:51.000 And most every American, or certainly a large percent, will choose merit and understands that American culture is built on hard work, perseverance, merit, not just brains.

00:35:08.000 So that's part of it.

00:35:09.000 I love it.

00:35:10.000 Tom, we have to go.

00:35:10.000 Thank you so much, Tom Klingenstein.

00:35:12.000 Everybody, check out his website, TomKlingenstein.com.

00:35:15.000 Tom, thank you so much.

00:35:16.000 Charlie, thank you.

00:35:17.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

00:35:19.000 Email us as alwaysfreedom at charliekirk.com.

00:35:21.000 Thanks so much for listening and God bless.

00:35:25.000 For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to CharlieKirk.com.

The Charlie Kirk Show - April 10, 2024

Trump's Virtues

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