The Charlie Kirk Show - What Vivek Learned Running for President

00:00:00.000 Hey, everybody, today the Charlie Kirk show Vivek Ramaswamy and Governor Stitt joined the program.

00:00:04.000 Vivek shares with us his big lessons from running for president, how I think he should be appointed for long-form podcasting.

00:00:11.000 Governor Stitt joins the program to talk about illegal immigration, National Guard mobilization, and more.

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00:00:27.000 Buckle up, everybody.

00:00:28.000 Here we go.

00:00:29.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:00:31.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campuses.

00:00:33.000 I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.

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00:00:40.000 I want to thank Charlie.

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

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00:01:27.000 Joining us now is one of my favorite leaders in the conservative movement.

00:01:30.000 He does a great job, Governor Stitt from the great state of Oklahoma, who he has now pledged support for the Texas border crisis via the Oklahoma National Guard.

00:01:41.000 Governor Stitt, welcome to the program.

00:01:43.000 Tell us about that announcement and why it's so important for the people of Oklahoma.

00:01:48.000 Well, first off, thanks so much for having me on, Charlie.

00:01:51.000 You know, like most Americans right now, Oklahomans certainly are looking at what's happening at the southern border and we just don't understand.

00:02:00.000 I don't know what you call 6 million people illegally entering our country unless you call it an invasion. 0.98

00:02:07.000 And so we certainly stand with Governor Abbott.

00:02:10.000 The fact that the Biden administration is cutting razor wire to let people into the country is just unbelievable to us.

00:02:19.000 Listen, there's 28 ports of entry along the southern border there in Texas, and it's already a federal law.

00:02:26.000 It's illegal to enter anywhere except for those ports of entry.

00:02:30.000 And the last time I flew to Mexico, you know, I had to land at an airport with a customs office and show my passport. 0.88

00:02:39.000 It's so, this is so asinine that we're even having these conversations, and I don't even know what the Biden administration's doing right now. 0.87

00:02:48.000 That is such a great point. 0.83

00:02:50.000 So I was in Cabo recently, and someone I was traveling with had, you know, had some expired identification that we had to call.

00:02:58.000 And it was like this two-hour thing.

00:03:00.000 And the Mexican government was like, yeah, you're not allowed into the country.

00:03:04.000 And the person I was traveling with was, you know, kind of stumbling through.

00:03:07.000 And we had to call the American embassy and get stuff faxed.

00:03:10.000 It was like a two-hour delay.

00:03:11.000 And I felt like saying, I said, boy, you must be nice.

00:03:15.000 Must be nice knowing who's coming into your country. 1.00

00:03:17.000 You know, border checks, ID.

00:03:19.000 So, so, Governor Stitt, you're doing a great job running Oklahoma.

00:03:22.000 I think it would be helpful for our audience to know how has the open border invasion impacted your state?

00:03:28.000 Fentanyl, crime.

00:03:31.000 What can you point to in your state that has made your job as governor more challenging because of our open border?

00:03:37.000 Yeah, well, first off, the fentanyl crisis.

00:03:40.000 I think it's important that Americans understand.

00:03:43.000 And in Oklahoma, our fentanyls have increased by 500% just since I've taken office in 2019.

00:03:51.000 And then you look at, let's take our healthcare industry for a second.

00:03:57.000 You know, it's illegal for a federal law that when somebody shows up to the ER or hospitals, they have to give them service, whether they're illegal or not. 0.97

00:04:06.000 I mean, I don't understand how dumb we have to be. 0.64

00:04:11.000 We are creating, the Biden's policies are creating this mass migration. 0.98

00:04:16.000 And here's the other point.

00:04:19.000 I mean, governors like myself, we would like to have more control over our H-1B1 visas so we can meet workforce needs, true workforce needs.

00:04:30.000 And if our labor force needs labor, but it's got to be done legally, we have to know who's coming into the country. 0.94

00:04:38.000 And so right now, you have people on the terrorist watch list that are coming in illegally.

00:04:44.000 And so again, the only explanation that the Biden administration can have is they're literally trying to bring in people that they think are going to vote that they want, and they want to try to change the voter laws and make just a bunch of voters new voters for themselves is the only explanation you can have.

00:05:03.000 But we got to focus on what's best for America, not what's best for someone's next election.

00:05:08.000 And the American people are getting sick of it.

00:05:11.000 So you are signaling support from the Oklahoma National Guard.

00:05:14.000 Oklahoma is a great state.

00:05:16.000 Can you just go through some of the specifics?

00:05:17.000 I'm curious.

00:05:18.000 What does that look like?

00:05:20.000 I suppose they're still under your control, or do you delegate that to the governor of Texas?

00:05:26.000 What are they going to be doing on the southern border?

00:05:29.000 And have you heard any whispers that Joe Biden might federalize your National Guard?

00:05:33.000 Well, we've already sent troops to the border once before.

00:05:36.000 And I think about 10 or 12 other Republican governors did that in support of Abbott when he asked us last time.

00:05:41.000 And I actually went down to Eagle Pass and went down and to meet my troops on the border to put my eyes on it.

00:05:48.000 And the razor wire piece, that's literally all it is is a barrier right there at the river's edge to keep people from coming up.

00:05:56.000 Because as soon as they touch the soil of the U.S., that's when the Biden administration was just releasing them and giving them a court date that says, come back in two years.

00:06:06.000 Here, welcome to the U.S.

00:06:08.000 And so Abbott and all of our troops were trying to keep people from entering the country.

00:06:13.000 Again, pretty common sense, but we'll do it again.

00:06:17.000 We've already pledged that as soon as Abbott needs them, Oklahoma will be there to help them support.

00:06:22.000 But I think it'd be a tremendous mistake for President Biden if he tries to federalize the Texas National Guard because these are still Texans.

00:06:31.000 And I've talked to the Border Patrol.

00:06:33.000 I've talked to Texan, Texas National Guard. 0.95

00:06:36.000 They know how silly the Biden policy is.

00:06:39.000 They want to protect their communities. 0.97

00:06:42.000 And so you're going to put our National Guard in a tough situation trying to obey what they know is a very, very foolish policy allowing invasion to come into our country illegally.

00:06:55.000 And I think it's a powder keg that's ready to go off.

00:06:58.000 I hope Biden calms everything down and doesn't try to push this issue because Americans are sick of it.

00:07:04.000 I mean, can you imagine if Joe Biden federalizes 26 states National Guard?

00:07:09.000 I mean, I don't even know how to process that, Governor.

00:07:14.000 Yeah, well, I think that, you know, our National Guard, they're here to serve the country, but they're also Oklahomans.

00:07:20.000 They're also Texans.

00:07:21.000 They understand this issue.

00:07:23.000 And I think they would have a hard time getting down there and cutting the wire under Biden's order and just letting people come in.

00:07:31.000 So it would be a difficult situation.

00:07:33.000 Yeah, it would be completely, I want to be very clear.

00:07:35.000 This would be completely on Joe Biden to unnecessarily escalate a conflict.

00:07:40.000 Like, why don't you go visit and talk to you and Abbott, Mr. President, before you even like whisper federalizing anything?

00:07:49.000 Like, I know working more than two hours a day is unusual in this White House, but I mean, just it would be so insane and so outrageous.

00:07:58.000 And, Governor, from a moral perspective, you've been really clear on this and excellent, which is we are being invaded.

00:08:05.000 And Oklahoma is not technically a border state, but your border adjacent, you're only a couple hours and you're seeing the flow.

00:08:10.000 And by the way, one of the thoroughfares of which a lot of the drugs and fentanyls go through goes straight through your state.

00:08:15.000 It goes straight through the state of Oklahoma.

00:08:18.000 And this is impacting us in humanitarian ways.

00:08:23.000 I would argue that almost every single state is a border state.

00:08:26.000 Can you just talk, though, about how some of your other Republican governor colleagues, I'm very encouraged to see now 25 states stepping up, you guys originally, what do you, because that's double.

00:08:36.000 Before it was 12, now it's 25.

00:08:38.000 What do you attribute that to?

00:08:40.000 Yeah, I think to me, I think the straw that broke the camel's back for even moderates or even people in the Democratic Party, when they saw the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision say that we can start cutting these wires down to let people in illegally outside of these ports of entry.

00:09:00.000 I think that's just that this makes no sense whatsoever.

00:09:05.000 So obviously, I'm glad to see the other Republican governors stepping up.

00:09:09.000 I think quietly, Democrat governors are like really tired of this.

00:09:15.000 You see New York calling foul and you see Illinois asking for more resources.

00:09:22.000 These even liberal states realize this is unsustainable.

00:09:27.000 And they're asking for federal resources now, which I'm absolutely opposed to giving any federal resources to try to shure up some of these other cities, some of these other states.

00:09:37.000 Let's fix the problem.

00:09:39.000 And that's simply to go back to the Trump era policy, which is just remain in Mexico.

00:09:43.000 And let's know who's coming in our country. 0.79

00:09:46.000 We already have a legal process for work visas, et cetera.

00:09:51.000 Let's make sure we do that correctly.

00:09:54.000 And again, these solutions are not difficult.

00:09:58.000 We know how to fix this problem.

00:10:00.000 We just need to stop playing politics.

00:10:02.000 And the Biden administration needs to focus on securing the borders and what's best for America, not what's best for his next election.

00:10:14.000 Hey, everybody, Charlie Kirk here.

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00:11:17.000 So, Governor, I want to get to the LNG story, but first, do you have any comment on just some of the whispers of what we're hearing out of Washington, D.C. in regards to an immigration deal?

00:11:27.000 Yeah, I mean, a little bit.

00:11:28.000 I haven't seen the Senate's plan, but, you know, here's the deal.

00:11:33.000 I don't trust the Biden administration at all to negotiate until they secure the border.

00:11:38.000 We have to secure the border.

00:11:40.000 It's common sense.

00:11:41.000 It's not difficult.

00:11:43.000 They have to start enforcing the laws that are already on the books.

00:11:47.000 And then we, yeah, we can talk about immigration reform and what that looks like.

00:11:52.000 But until they want to have an honest conversation about the border, I think anything that they put out is probably dead on arrival.

00:12:00.000 And it should be that way.

00:12:01.000 Governor, talk about this recent decision to suspend exploration of LNG or exporting.

00:12:09.000 I'm not caught up on all the details.

00:12:10.000 Explain it to us.

00:12:12.000 So basically, you know, Oklahoma is an energy powerhouse.

00:12:17.000 We're so fortunate to have resources, not only in Oklahoma, but a lot of states, Pennsylvania, Texas.

00:12:22.000 And so the Biden administration and the Department of Energy has just suspended or stopped new permits for LNG exports, new projects.

00:12:32.000 So basically what that means is you've got a federal agency now stopping the sell of our resources to our allies.

00:12:42.000 So what does that mean?

00:12:43.000 That means that LNG is liquefied natural gas that gets shipped to our allies in Europe and Asia.

00:12:50.000 And now that means that our friends in Europe are going to be forced to buy energy from Russia.

00:12:57.000 It just makes no sense whatsoever.

00:12:59.000 You're harming American companies and American jobs, number one.

00:13:03.000 You're bending your knee to some extreme environmentalist, number two.

00:13:07.000 Number three, you're making the world less safe, more dependent on people that don't like us.

00:13:14.000 Why would we line the pockets of Russia and Iran instead of American companies with our allies?

00:13:22.000 Because guess what?

00:13:22.000 People have to heat their homes.

00:13:24.000 They've got to drive their kids to school.

00:13:27.000 It makes no sense whatsoever not to be energy independent and not to sell to our friends and our allies and force them to buy from their enemies.

00:13:36.000 Is there a lawsuit in the making here?

00:13:37.000 I mean, this is this, and what does this mean for Oklahoma if this becomes policy, the suspension of using this great blessing that God gave us underneath our feet?

00:13:46.000 Yeah, I mean, well, first off, you know, Oklahoma is like the pipeline capital of the world.

00:13:50.000 This is also interesting, Charlie, that I think your listeners would love this.

00:13:55.000 You know, in Cushing, Oklahoma, we have the largest oil reserve, commercial oil reserves, about 100 million barrels.

00:14:02.000 It's actually where they price WTI oil.

00:14:07.000 And there's already two pipelines.

00:14:09.000 Think about this.

00:14:09.000 There's already two pipelines from Canada to Cushing, Oklahoma that deliver safe natural gas and all the way down to the coast then to get on ships to go to our allies around the world.

00:14:22.000 The third pipeline, the third pipeline was going to be the Keystone XL that the Biden administration killed.

00:14:29.000 There is already two pipelines from Canada to the U.S. into Cushing, Oklahoma.

00:14:35.000 The Keystone XL was the third.

00:14:37.000 The safest way to move oil and natural gas is by pipelines.

00:14:40.000 Everything that this administration does is political.

00:14:43.000 It doesn't make sense for the American people.

00:14:46.000 That's what's driving inflation up.

00:14:49.000 But he's going to harm not only Oklahoma companies, but he's going to make everything cost more in Europe as well.

00:14:57.000 Yeah, it's just, it kind of is this theme, which you keep on saying, it makes no sense.

00:15:02.000 And it's ideological.

00:15:03.000 And you as a governor, you don't have the luxury of believing in abstract ideological fantasies.

00:15:09.000 You have to deliver for your voters and not this bizarre academic theory that you can transition us away from oil and natural gas.

00:15:19.000 Just final thoughts on this and other things you're dealing with in the great state of Oklahoma.

00:15:23.000 Yeah.

00:15:23.000 Well, again, I'm getting more and more bold as I see some of these policies that are being pushed out of Washington, D.C.

00:15:30.000 I think Americans, we believe in free markets.

00:15:33.000 We believe in individual liberties.

00:15:36.000 People want the government to stay out of their lives so much.

00:15:41.000 Why are we getting involved with a company that is trying to deliver and sell their resources to LNG?

00:15:47.000 Then you throw on the latest cutting razor wire down at the southern border.

00:15:52.000 And I think people are just getting fed up with it.

00:15:56.000 You know, my plea to this administration is let's sit down and let's figure this out.

00:16:01.000 Let's stop this nonsense.

00:16:02.000 Stop focusing so much on getting reelected.

00:16:05.000 And let's do what's right.

00:16:07.000 And let's do the job that you're elected to do.

00:16:09.000 And that's to protect the American people and America first and make our country the beacon to the world.

00:16:17.000 You're doing a great job, Governor.

00:16:18.000 Hold the line.

00:16:19.000 If they're able to cripple our energy dominance, we will enter the third world.

00:16:23.000 Period.

00:16:23.000 Ended story.

00:16:24.000 Governor, thank you so much.

00:16:25.000 Thanks, Charlie.

00:16:28.000 All right.

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00:17:19.000 Joining us now is Vivek Ramaswamy.

00:17:21.000 Vivek, I'm going to brag on you.

00:17:22.000 I sent out this tweet this morning.

00:17:24.000 You know, a lot of people, they'll come on and they're full of bluster and all this.

00:17:28.000 And, you know, you came on our show and I said, you know, we're doing all these different things and you pledged to support Turning Point.

00:17:33.000 And I said, oh, thank you, Vivek.

00:17:34.000 That's very nice.

00:17:35.000 And you just made a very, very generous gift to Turning Point USA.

00:17:38.000 So thank you, Vivek, means a lot.

00:17:40.000 I know that you don't want the credit.

00:17:41.000 You didn't ask for it.

00:17:42.000 None of that is just, I texted you and I mean it because you really are a believer.

00:17:47.000 You are dedicated to this.

00:17:49.000 You love this country.

00:17:50.000 And I'm really, really impressed by how you conducted yourself and the impact that you made throughout this last year.

00:17:56.000 So I just want to make sure I say that and I'm going to dive deeper into that as our discussion continues.

00:18:01.000 You've had a whirlwind last few weeks of a lot going on, but you have an announcement to make here in our program.

00:18:06.000 So the floor is yours.

00:18:07.000 Yeah, absolutely.

00:18:09.000 I mean, I've been thinking about different ways to have an impact on the country.

00:18:12.000 And Charlie, the presidential race for me is over.

00:18:15.000 I think the presidential race is we know it is over.

00:18:16.000 Donald Trump is going to be the next president.

00:18:18.000 It's our job to make it that.

00:18:20.000 But I've been thinking about how else to have an impact across the country.

00:18:23.000 And we need a good Senate and we need a good Congress to be able to get this done.

00:18:26.000 And so I'm looking at who are the top candidates who I'm going to actively be able to support to make sure they're able to shape our country.

00:18:34.000 And one of those I want to announce for the first time today is Kerry Lake, who I'm going to now officially, as of this moment, endorse wholeheartedly in her race to actually help lead this country.

00:18:43.000 And she's, as you know well, an America First Patriot.

00:18:46.000 But the thing that stuck out to me about Kerry, there's a lot to love about her, but she is one of those few people with a spine to actually stand up and stick it to the establishment media without fear of consequence. 0.97

00:18:59.000 And I know a lot of Republicans will generally in vague terms complain about the media or whatever.

00:19:04.000 I think Kerry is somebody who knows how to cut through a lot of that smokescreen and get to truth.

00:19:09.000 And you think about the media is supposed to hold the government accountable.

00:19:12.000 They're no longer doing that.

00:19:13.000 Who's going to hold the media accountable?

00:19:14.000 It's going to take Republicans like Carrie Lake to do it. 1.00

00:19:17.000 And so there's a lot of reasons why I support her.

00:19:18.000 Her tough stance on the border, being from Arizona, a lot of her colleagues being complicit.

00:19:23.000 I would go so far as to say in the open border situation we have, but somebody who's going to stand for American values, stand for America first principles, but also have the spine to stand up against the media.

00:19:33.000 That brought me around wholeheartedly to say I'm going to be helping her and doing everything I can to make sure she is indeed representing us.

00:19:40.000 That's great.

00:19:40.000 We love Carrie and Carrie is in it for the right reasons.

00:19:43.000 So that's an awesome announcement, Vivek.

00:19:46.000 And you're welcome here anytime in Arizona.

00:19:47.000 We're planning something very, very big, hopefully soon.

00:19:50.000 So, Vivek, there's so much I want to talk to you about, but here's a question I haven't heard you answer because people ask you the popcorn stuff, and that's fine.

00:19:58.000 What did you learn running for president?

00:20:00.000 What did you learn?

00:20:02.000 I'm still processing it.

00:20:04.000 It's been only not that long, and I want to take some time to reflect on it. 0.94

00:20:07.000 But a few things that I've learned: the first two things are going to sound stupid because you're going to say, How did you not know this?

00:20:12.000 And I did know it, but I didn't really know it, is the influence of mega money on politics.

00:20:17.000 I mean, the audience for the audience for the debates, for example, is not the people of this country.

00:20:22.000 The audience for the debates are the gatekeepers, the mainstream media and a donor establishment that uses that to take their cues of who's going to actually advance their agenda.

00:20:32.000 So, that was one of my learnings: you know, the media is going to be powerful, and the mainstream media is going to have an effect in tilting the scales.

00:20:37.000 You know, the mega donors matter, but you think you can stand up to that only to a limited extent, is what I've learned.

00:20:43.000 Is at the end of the day, the people who have determined and tilted the scales hold far more power than I expected.

00:20:49.000 I'm not sitting here to whine about that or anything else, but it is a learning that I think I'll take forward with me, and it's worth understanding deeply if we're ever going to fix it.

00:20:57.000 I think the positive learning, Charlie, is that I also went to places in this campaign that traditional Republican candidates don't go.

00:21:05.000 I've been to the south side of Chicago, I've been to Kensington and the inner city of Philadelphia, I've been to parts of the country, been on the West Coast, California.

00:21:12.000 One thing I've recognized, even last week after the campaign ended, I went to New York City to visit friends and family.

00:21:17.000 When I was in New York City last week, I'm not kidding you, Charlie.

00:21:20.000 I'm driving, I'm like walking around on Central Park West.

00:21:23.000 There's people driving their cars, sticking their heads out of their cars.

00:21:26.000 People might be 25, 30 years old, screaming in support.

00:21:30.000 I'm meeting doormen in apartment buildings that'll come up and tell me I'm with Trump and I'm excited you're endorsing him, but don't tell anybody else.

00:21:37.000 This is in the middle of Manhattan and New York City.

00:21:40.000 One of the things I've realized is that we are actually, in substance, 80% of us, far more united in this country than the media would teach you to believe.

00:21:49.000 And so I stand by it.

00:21:50.000 We are in the middle of a war in this country, but it's not a 50-50 war.

00:21:53.000 It's easily 80-20 in our favor.

00:21:56.000 Yes, it might be 90-10 in our favor.

00:21:59.000 And I think that's something I learned in this, it opened my eyes this year.

00:22:02.000 It leaves me, that's the part that leaves me hopeful, and there's a part that leaves me more cynical.

00:22:06.000 And both of those, I would say, are learnings from the last year.

00:22:09.000 Yeah, I mean, it's kind of both those takeaways are somewhat different sides of the same thing, which is that the people are with us, but the oligarchs are not.

00:22:17.000 And they control the process and the infrastructure.

00:22:20.000 I totally agree.

00:22:21.000 The attitudes of this country, we're a center-right country.

00:22:23.000 We are.

00:22:24.000 And Vivek, what I saw from the ground, and I called you, we talked right before you ran for president.

00:22:30.000 I gave you some very blunt, you know, advice and feedback.

00:22:33.000 And something I missed in your candidacy, I saw it was happening is how you were able to red pill elite opinion.

00:22:40.000 And you did this better than anybody I've seen run for president or do anything in a short period of time.

00:22:46.000 And I'm talking about people with master's degrees, PhDs, billionaires that otherwise were not necessarily thinking about these issues.

00:22:54.000 And one, for example, is Elon Musk.

00:22:56.000 I mean, Elon Musk, you drew the attention of Elon Musk for multiple hours on these Twitter spaces.

00:23:01.000 You have the world's wealthiest guy that is running some of the most powerful companies on the planet, and you're having substantive, detailed conversations.

00:23:08.000 So I call you the red pillar of the elite because we need some of the elite.

00:23:12.000 We don't need all of it, but it kind of goes to your media.

00:23:14.000 It's important, actually.

00:23:15.000 It's incredibly important.

00:23:16.000 I think it's important.

00:23:17.000 So in the long run, I don't think we should have these separate categories of the gatekeepers versus the will of the people.

00:23:23.000 That's what we fought in American Revolution to say that it's not decided in the back of palace halls.

00:23:27.000 It's decided by the people through a constitutional republic.

00:23:31.000 But in the meantime, this can't just be a myth.

00:23:33.000 In order to get there, I think what we have to realize is that many people who have achieved the American dream, as I have, right, who have lived in the elite halls of nations, elite universities or whatever, I think many of them are still good, earnest people that may have not been given the permission in their environments to be able to say the things that are probably true in their heart, but they've convinced themselves out of.

00:23:55.000 And so, one of the things that I did in this campaign, but I want to continue to do, Charlie, is give a lot of those people the permission to speak openly what they otherwise might even say in private at the dinner table.

00:24:05.000 I mean, you look at the likes of it, it's not easy.

00:24:07.000 In some ways, you got to celebrate that even more because it's harder.

00:24:10.000 They have negative consequences financially that inert to them.

00:24:13.000 I mean, the likes of Elon Musk, I mean, even the likes of people on the center left, people like Bill Ackman, I've appreciated a lot of his eye-opening behavior and I've butted heads with him and we have, we're friends, but we have sparred aggressively and disagreed vehemently.

00:24:26.000 But I think that's those are the kinds of people with whom you need to have open, honest debate.

00:24:31.000 And I think the path to reviving this country runs through that kind of honest debate.

00:24:35.000 And so that's what I've been doing.

00:24:36.000 I would say in all corridors of American life, but including even amongst former colleagues or peers in so-called elite America.

00:24:44.000 I do think that's an important element of this fight.

00:24:47.000 And every one of us, right, we each have our own unique advantages.

00:24:50.000 We've got to look ourselves in the mirror and ask how are we going to use our own God-given gifts, our own unique abilities, and our own unique gifts to be able to drive change in this country.

00:25:00.000 And that's definitely one of the ways that I feel a sense of responsibility to help drive change in our movement as well.

00:25:06.000 In addition to the elite opinion, I saw this happening with a specific type of voter that Republicans need to win.

00:25:13.000 This is the Joe Rogan crypto miner voter.

00:25:16.000 They're very high IQ.

00:25:18.000 They consume a lot of information.

00:25:19.000 They're very online.

00:25:21.000 They consume a lot of podcasts.

00:25:23.000 They consume a lot of long-form discussion.

00:25:25.000 They are not necessarily MAGA.

00:25:28.000 They're not against it, but they have their idiosyncrasies when it comes to certain issues.

00:25:33.000 You know the type I'm talking about.

00:25:34.000 And I saw it firsthand.

00:25:36.000 I want to play a piece of tape here, though, because it demonstrates my theory because I've seen it.

00:25:40.000 I've seen it firsthand where these crypto bros come up to me in Scottsdale and they say, oh my goodness, I love a vaik.

00:25:45.000 He's the greatest thing ever.

00:25:46.000 I say, tell me more.

00:25:47.000 Listen to this.

00:25:48.000 This is New Hampshire.

00:25:49.000 This is kind of, these are not your traditional Republican voters saying they voted for Trump because of a vaccine.

00:25:55.000 Play cut 85.

00:25:56.000 Because I just feel like we need strength in our government at this point.

00:25:59.000 And a new change in leadership will be excellent for the look of our government.

00:26:04.000 Vivek Ramaswamy endorsing Trump was also a big sign that, I mean, this is the way to go.

00:26:10.000 Vivek, riff on that.

00:26:12.000 That's a demo we need to win.

00:26:13.000 We need to win the Rogan bro entrepreneur young male vote.

00:26:17.000 So I'll give you a few different buckets that I think we are going to win.

00:26:20.000 And I'm doing everything in my power to make sure we do.

00:26:22.000 And that's why I think we're going to potentially have a landslide of epic proportion this November.

00:26:27.000 I'll say young people, young people who are libertarian, aspiring entrepreneurs, historically apolitical, but want to succeed without anybody else flogging them for who they are.

00:26:37.000 I also think that black men are a pretty interesting demographic.

00:26:41.000 And I can talk about that.

00:26:42.000 Charlie is, I was surprised with the level of black male support, particularly, I mean, I like black female support too, but I'm talking about a specific demographic of people who have been told to shut up, sit down, do as they're told that are now kind of sick of that.

00:26:56.000 A lot of people in the cryptocurrency world, a lot of Bitcoiners, a lot of young entrepreneurs who are aspiring.

00:27:01.000 And so people who may identify as libertarian.

00:27:04.000 What I would say, Charlie, is you would say they're not MAGA.

00:27:06.000 I just want to riff on that a little bit.

00:27:08.000 I actually think that, you know what?

00:27:09.000 They can be MAGA.

00:27:11.000 I think they may not be traditional Republican.

00:27:13.000 I think we need to define what MAGA is.

00:27:15.000 And MAGA means the people we elect to run the government are the ones who run the government.

00:27:19.000 We, the people, create a government accountable to us, not the other way around.

00:27:22.000 And our leaders owe a moral duty to this country, not another one.

00:27:26.000 Put it that way, yes, we're bringing all of those independent, so-called centrist podcast long-form listening, potentially Bitcoin trading crowd along with us who historically make comfortable saying in public that they're libertarian.

00:27:40.000 But they're actually, there's a national, there's a nationalist streak to it too, that absolutely makes that part of the MAGA movement.

00:27:46.000 And so one of the things we've got to do is Joe Biden's going to use the word MAGA, whatever.

00:27:51.000 What does he say?

00:27:51.000 Extreme MAGA.

00:27:52.000 He's going to make that part of the theme heading into this November.

00:27:55.000 I don't think we should hide from that label.

00:27:57.000 I think we should embrace it and use that to encompass a lot of other people from black men in the inner cities to cryptocurrency traders to people who are young entrepreneurs aspiring across this country to say that, you know what, we are MAGA.

00:28:09.000 We're proud of it.

00:28:09.000 And you're going to actually welcome you to our movement as well.

00:28:13.000 And that is why I dropped out after Iowa, Charlie.

00:28:15.000 I did not expect to drop out.

00:28:17.000 I got about 8% in Iowa.

00:28:19.000 I was about to get 8% in New Hampshire as well.

00:28:21.000 But I think this GOP primary needed to be over.

00:28:24.000 I think for all intents and purposes, it is over now to throw that vote and then summon Donald Trump's direction and to make sure we're focusing not just on winning this general election, but by doing it with this kind of moral mandate shock landslide quality.

00:28:40.000 Reagan in 1980 did it.

00:28:41.000 I think Donald Trump in 2024 could do that.

00:28:44.000 This could be the 1984 of Ronald Reagan as the 2024 of Donald Trump.

00:28:48.000 And I think that's the single greatest thing we could do to unite this country and then use that wave to send good people like Kerry Lake into the Senate and do the same thing as well.

00:28:55.000 That's what it's going to take to get this country back.

00:28:57.000 You did a great job on that Charlemagne show.

00:28:59.000 I want to talk about if we have time.

00:29:01.000 And Vivek, I want to just encourage you.

00:29:03.000 I think you could be a deciding factor in this upcoming election.

00:29:06.000 One of the big things that has changed since 2020 is there's probably been a 30 to 40 percent increase in production and definitely consumption of long form podcasting since the last election.

00:29:17.000 Liberals and left-wingers, with the exception of a couple tricksters, they can't play ball in long-form podcasting.

00:29:22.000 There's a couple that can do it because they're really, really talented sophists, but the majority of them, they can't do it.

00:29:28.000 Right.

00:29:28.000 And so I think that Trump should unofficially deploy you as the long for podcasting surrogate.

00:29:35.000 And this is a huge demo.

00:29:36.000 We're talking about the Rogans.

00:29:38.000 We're talking about, you know, the Charlemagne show.

00:29:41.000 We're talking about even Pod Save America if they'd ever have you on.

00:29:44.000 You dominate in that format because you're high IQ.

00:29:47.000 You're authentic.

00:29:48.000 You ran for president.

00:29:49.000 You understand the issues.

00:29:50.000 You're incredibly charismatic.

00:29:52.000 You know history.

00:29:53.000 Your vocabulary and your diction and your word selection really resonates with college educated high IQ people that don't necessarily just want to hear the name calling that they get exhausted, but their policy in alignment with us.

00:30:05.000 I am now hereby appointing Vivek as the official long-form podcasting surrogate of the consultant movement.

00:30:14.000 We're getting some of the clips here, but for the son of the audience, for good reason doesn't know, there's this guy, Charlemagne.

00:30:20.000 He's very powerful in the black community.

00:30:22.000 He's a little bit more of a free thinker than people give him credit for.

00:30:25.000 He's not a Democrat partisan.

00:30:26.000 Vivek, you just sat down and you did a wonderful job.

00:30:29.000 Walk us through this.

00:30:31.000 And I'm sure the response you've received is overwhelmingly positive.

00:30:34.000 Yeah, look, I think that we had a serious conversation.

00:30:37.000 So what happened is early on in my campaign, I went on that show and there was Charlemagne and there was this guy, DJ Envy, who are in person.

00:30:45.000 And then there was this third person, this woman who remoted in. 0.94

00:30:49.000 And that interview, I mean, it worked out okay, but it went off the rails.

00:30:53.000 I mean, you should just watch this from over a year ago.

00:30:55.000 It was unnecessarily contentious about some weird topics that she was challenging me on about how I hadn't run for student council president.

00:31:03.000 She had, we don't have to go there, but it was just a, it was, it was a very uncomfortable interview a year ago.

00:31:08.000 And at the end of that, Charlemagne had told me, he's like, well, I bet you're not coming back after this.

00:31:12.000 I said, you know what?

00:31:12.000 I bet you that I will.

00:31:14.000 And so I didn't really have a chance to do it over the course of the campaign, but I prefer to keep my word.

00:31:18.000 And so I had told him I was going to go back on.

00:31:21.000 And so I happened to be in New York City visiting friends and family.

00:31:23.000 Called him up and said, You want to do this on Monday morning?

00:31:26.000 We called him over the weekend.

00:31:27.000 He said, Sure.

00:31:28.000 So we came on on Monday morning and we had actually, what was actually a really productive conversation, unlike the first time that I went on, where we talked in depth about some contours of American history, where I'd like to think that, you know, usually I'm doing this to persuade the audiences, but not necessarily the hosts.

00:31:44.000 But I think on the occasion we just had earlier this week, I think I did actually persuade the hosts of a few things of our history that, you know, they may not have known about.

00:31:52.000 And I think those are the conversations we need to have as a country if we're going to move this country forward, such as the legacy of slavery or our founding fathers actually forever tainted because they own slaves, you know, that age-old topic.

00:32:03.000 I think we made some progress on that by just not arguing it, but just talking some facts about history that the other two weren't aware of.

00:32:10.000 And I think that was a positive for the country, I hope.

00:32:12.000 Here it proves my point.

00:32:13.000 Look how talented Vivek is in this long form.

00:32:15.000 And I know some people in the audience, and this is okay, it's a generational thing.

00:32:18.000 Something wrong with you might say, I don't understand.

00:32:20.000 You sit down unscripted for two, three hours and you just talk.

00:32:20.000 What do you mean, long form?

00:32:24.000 This is the way that a lot of swing voters and people in the middle get their information.

00:32:29.000 I believe the 2024 election will partially be decided on who wins the long form war.

00:32:35.000 Play Cut 188.

00:32:37.000 I'm in this to unite the country.

00:32:39.000 And I think if we're going to take this seriously, every one of us has to acknowledge the full nuances of our history in every direction.

00:32:46.000 To say that we're not going to listen to Thomas Jefferson or that our founding was illegitimate because they were deeply imperfect and flawed is every bit as bad as somebody who's going to say that I'm going to entirely dismiss the fact that they were slave owners. 0.92

00:32:59.000 I think that both of those are mistakes that could lead to the failure of our country as we know it.

00:33:07.000 I think you did an excellent job on there, Vivek.

00:33:09.000 So you talk about black men.

00:33:11.000 I want to dive into that.

00:33:12.000 What other issue set do you think is an opportunity to win over black men coming in the November? 0.63

00:33:17.000 Yep.

00:33:17.000 The border and Ukraine.

00:33:19.000 And both of them relate to the deeper question about what the heck is my government actually doing to say they care about me versus caring about people halfway around the world or south of our own border.

00:33:29.000 Right.

00:33:30.000 When I went to the south side of Chicago, one of the things I saw was they're converting South Shore High School into an encampment for migrants at $7,000 per migrant per month.

00:33:39.000 Now, there are a lot of people in that community, they challenge me on things like racial reparations, and I didn't budge on my position.

00:33:46.000 But where we actually found common ground was to say that, you know what, America First does include all Americans.

00:33:51.000 And so they're providing baby formula and sneakers and the totality of $7,000 per illegal per month, converting their high school into an encampment.

00:34:00.000 Yeah, you are right in this community to ask what the heck about me.

00:34:03.000 And I got questions there asking about why are we forking over hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine, this corrupt country halfway around the world for a war that no one's explained to me actually helps me here at home when we're not doing enough for veterans benefits or Social Security or Medicare protection for the people who do live here. 0.81

00:34:19.000 So I think those are winning issues.

00:34:21.000 And then I think the other winning issue for a lot of black men in particular is this idea of just speaking the truth in an unscathed, in an unvarnished way.

00:34:32.000 Even the hard truths about what's the truth about what really happened on January 6th?

00:34:36.000 What's the truth about the FBI's corruption that led to the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot?

00:34:40.000 I found that a lot of people, because there's a history here, Charlie.

00:34:43.000 I mean, the FBI was corrupt in the 1960s, going after Martin Luther King or civil rights activists with incorrectly collected tapes.

00:34:50.000 And so I think when that lands on the ears of many black Americans, they hear a different valence than the average, let's just say, you know, New England Boston Bramin class.

00:35:02.000 I will say this, though.

00:35:03.000 Democrat.

00:35:03.000 And we're running out of time, Vivek.

00:35:04.000 Black men are open-minded to alternative theories that otherwise college-educated people wouldn't be in.

00:35:10.000 And that's important.

00:35:11.000 Because they've experienced it through the history.

00:35:12.000 And so we can unite actually to say the FBI was corrupt 70 years ago and maybe Republicans failed to admit it then.

00:35:18.000 Well, you know what?

00:35:19.000 They're still corrupt now and the Republicans are admitting it now.

00:35:21.000 So why don't you come along this time? 0.98

00:35:22.000 Black men are open to that there's some forces working against them.

00:35:26.000 Guess what?

00:35:27.000 They're right.

00:35:27.000 Vivek, God bless you, man.

00:35:29.000 Thank you for the support.

00:35:30.000 We're behind you 100%.

00:35:32.000 Keep on going on those long-form podcasts.

00:35:34.000 Thanks so much.

00:35:34.000 Thank you, man.

00:35:37.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

00:35:39.000 Email us as always freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:35:42.000 Thanks so much for listening.

00:35:43.000 God bless.

00:35:46.000 For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to CharlieKirk. com.

The Charlie Kirk Show - January 26, 2024

What Vivek Learned Running for President

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