Just The News' John Solomon joins Lou Dobbs on the Great America Show to talk about the results of the mid-term elections, the new Air Force stealth bomber, California releasing thousands of convicted pedophiles, and much, much more.
00:00:00.000Hello, everybody. I'm Lou Dobbs. This is the Great America Show, and welcome. Great to have you with us. We've talked about the great smash-up of an election we had this year, a smash-up at least for Republicans and independents, and how once again the Marxist Dems outfought, out-thought, and out-foxed the Republicans.
00:00:21.260And the Republicans also raise far less money than those Marxist Dems by a two-to-one margin. It's hard to win when you're being outspent by that margin, and despite all her failures, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel wants to be re-elected. That's so Republican, isn't it?
00:00:41.120The good news, though, Senator Rick Scott and Mike Lindell say they're running as well. Lots of peculiar issues and events to talk about, and nearly all of them fascinating, like the new U.S. Air Force stealth bomber unveiled this week, the most advanced aircraft on the planet.
00:00:59.860It had better be the Air Force's newest stealth bomber cost $2 billion apiece. That's impressive. Hope we can keep the Communist Chinese from stealing the blueprints to that aircraft this time.
00:01:13.720China protests aren't letting up, by the way. They're spreading across China, despite the CCP putting tanks on the streets. This is something different this time, folks.
00:01:24.060It's calls to open up the country, despite COVID, for the Communist Party to lighten up, for President Xi to resign. Can't imagine any of that will happen, but just these big protests for change are all unprecedented. We'll see what happens.
00:01:41.220And this one I can't figure at all. California has released thousands of convicted pedophiles after they spent less than a year in jail.
00:01:50.700The Daily Mail reporting that Governor Gavin Newsom is the one responsible for their release.
00:01:57.3007,000 convicted pedophiles, just because Newsom considers apparently pedophiles to be nonviolent, and is clearing the prison system of as many prisoners as possible.
00:02:10.120Gavin Newsom also refused to comment to the Daily Mail,
00:02:14.160California, it is, at least it seems to me, somehow in an alternate universe.
00:02:20.700There's an argument to be made that the entire country is being dragged into that universe, maybe the world as well.
00:02:26.820This week, Chinese and Russian bombers overflew South Korea's air defense zone.
00:02:33.360Just as European leaders were, optimistically it turns out, saying the Russians might be withdrawing from eastern Ukraine,
00:02:40.740Vladimir Putin started calling up 2 million conscripts to serve in the Russian military.
00:02:47.660For what purpose? We're not being told.
00:02:51.020But 2 million troops he doesn't need to withdraw from Ukraine.
00:02:56.120Putin clearly has other plans, and just as clearly, our intelligence agency and State Department apparently have no clue what those plans are.
00:03:06.360Covering all of the news, and doing so with classic objectivity and fairness, is John Solomon's news outlet called Just the News.
00:03:15.600John is our guest today. He's the founder, CEO, and executive editor of JustTheNews.com.
00:03:22.420Welcome, John. This has been a far more civil post-election period than just two years ago,
00:03:28.560but still a lot of questions, issues, and considerable anger on the part of some voters.
00:03:36.980I think, particularly in Arizona, it is clear that issues, which, by the way, have been around since 2018.
00:03:43.3802018 was the first time we heard a lot of complaints about Maricopa County, the epicenter of all voting in Arizona, largest county there.
00:03:51.160We knew there were problems. 2020, there were problems.
00:03:53.920And you would think by 2022, maybe they'd be on top of those problems, but they're not.
00:03:58.180And the fact that there was a certification under duress yesterday in that county where the county voted to certify the results,
00:04:07.240even though several of the candidates are calling into question what happened on Election Day.
00:04:11.500And it's a train wreck that could have been avoided, that people's confidence in the system could have been fixed, but it doesn't appear that that happened.
00:04:18.940And now the question is, can it be fixed in time for 2024?
00:04:22.160That is a question that I think lingers over the entire Arizona race, and particularly now you're going to see, I think, Carrie Lake file a lawsuit challenging some of the results.
00:04:35.820And you already have Abe Hamaday, the attorney general, who's only 800 percent, I'm sorry, 800 votes behind the Republican nominee, also charging.
00:04:44.160So some of this is going to end up in the courts, kind of like deja vu 2020, all over again.
00:04:52.900The courts are culpable in this as well, because they're insisting on standing.
00:04:57.340They're insisting on their being certified entry rather than preventing a certification of what is an erroneous count.
00:05:06.280We are watching a system that is broken down, in my opinion, John.
00:05:10.360And we have a Republican Party, you know, the old movie, Dumb and Dumber.
00:05:17.680I mean, the Republican National Committee building in Washington, D.C. should be the set for the next movie, the sequel to that.
00:05:26.140This is outrageous, what we're watching.
00:05:28.660The money that is splashing around, a half a billion dollars for the Congressional Leadership Fund for Kevin McCarthy.
00:05:37.940He can't understand as a rhino handpicked by Paul Ryan why the party doesn't want to go along with him as Speaker.
00:05:45.020As you say, there's no suggestion it's going to get any better, because we leave in place the same idiots who do the same idiocy.
00:05:54.340I think there is a debate and a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party.
00:06:01.060And it isn't just about who best epitomizes the Republican Party, who best has the values that lead it forward.
00:06:07.340It's also about who can best perform inside the current election system that we have.
00:06:12.220And Republicans have lost three straight elections.
00:06:14.540They've underperformed in three straight elections.
00:06:16.980In fairness, they did win the House back, but on very narrow margins.
00:06:20.380Performance matters, and I think what we've begun to see is that Democrats have first tailored the election system the way that would be most advantageous for them,
00:06:30.380and then executed to the best possible capability to win elections, and Republicans have not adapted accordingly.
00:06:37.720And that always starts with the Republican National Committee.
00:06:40.360Republican National Committee is the quarterback of all election strategies for Republicans.
00:06:45.880And when they get outmaneuvered in three straight elections, there are serious questions about, is the right team in place there?
00:06:52.980Then you go downstream and you look at some states where giant bullseyes have been lingering over the states.
00:06:59.160Arizona, Pennsylvania, two states that we know have had questions in the past.
00:07:05.060And Republicans did not significantly change their strategy in either of those states.
00:07:10.020And then they wake up the day after the election realizing we lost.
00:07:13.600And I think that that's a performance issue.
00:07:16.900If this was a corporation, there'd be some terminations going on for failure to perform.
00:07:21.580And it'll be very interesting to see if the Republican Party has the courage, the foresight to make some changes in leadership to better compete in time for the 2024 election.
00:07:31.660And the folks who put their trust in the Republican Party are fools if they allow the liberal Republicans to run a party based on the vote of moderate and conservative Republicans and independents, don't you think?
00:07:50.960The heart and soul of the party has to be determined in terms of what are the values that we share.
00:07:55.820When Reagan went into 80, the party was very unified.
00:07:59.200And in 1994, when Newt Gingrich swept Republicans in power, there was a clarity and a unity of purpose, a unity in message, and a unity in values.
00:08:09.060And right now, you have an extraordinarily divided party.
00:08:13.120You have some Republicans that often sound like Democrats.
00:08:16.640You have some Republicans that are holding on to a Republican past in an America that doesn't exist.
00:08:21.660They don't want to adapt to the times.
00:08:23.100And then you've got this new generation of Republicans inspired by Donald Trump, by the Freedom Caucus.
00:08:28.640And they're the most rambunctious and exciting and visible part of the party, but they don't always have the rest of the party behind them.
00:08:36.640And I think getting this resolved before 2024 is such an important process if you're a conservative.
00:08:45.940And if we stand for it, do we back it up or do we just say it in words?
00:08:49.420I think one of the frustrations that voters have is that Republicans say things, they sound great, but they ultimately take actions that are less filling and less satisfying.
00:08:58.960And that capitulation, I think, has frustrated a large part of the Republican base.
00:09:04.280And I don't think they're going to accept it in 2024 again.
00:09:06.980The frustration is you and Cronko, I mean, you're talking about the votes in the certification of votes in Arizona, Pennsylvania, two counties, Lucerne County and Pennsylvania, Mojave County in Arizona.
00:09:22.340Basically, at gunpoint, being ordered to certify an election they know to be to be a regular and to not be correct.
00:09:32.880It would be it seems to be a greater punishment should be in store for those who would certify elections that are not proper, correct, honest and and and accurate.
00:09:43.920But those are the threats that people face in Arizona and in Pennsylvania.
00:09:52.800Some of the county executives said they voted under, quote, duress.
00:09:57.860That was the actual word they used, saying they had serious doubts about the accuracy of the results they were certifying.
00:10:03.440But they voted anyways because they told the alternative was they might end up in prison.
00:10:08.060I don't think that's the sort of system that Americans want to see here.
00:10:12.820I think they want to have an idea that we don't even get to this point that we're debating the quality of election results and the security of elections two weeks after the election or three weeks after the election.
00:10:23.700We should have a system that we all go into on the day of and feel confident in it.
00:10:34.160Florida, Texas, they have no problem counting votes.
00:10:36.640People feel good about it at the end of the day.
00:10:38.400People who commit crimes are immediately charged after the election.
00:10:42.860There are other states like Pennsylvania and Arizona where it's gotten not better but messier at each step of the way.
00:10:50.700And I think those are the sort of issues that have to be resolved.
00:10:54.660The best way to fix elections is not after the fact.
00:10:57.500It's to fix them before they take place.
00:10:59.160And I think in Pennsylvania and Arizona, there has been willful neglect in trying to address very legitimate issues about the security and sanctity of elections in those states.
00:11:08.580Well, to your point, the idea that Ronna McDaniel would have the temerity to suggest that she should be reelected chair of the RNC when she lied and lied publicly about the preparations that the RNC had made for a ground game and that everything was well in hand.
00:11:49.120And I think there's a lot of people wondering whether Dave Bossie might not be someone that goes there or maybe Carrie Lake if she doesn't prevail in her litigation in Arizona.
00:11:57.480These sort of fights, actually, it's funny, a lot of times people are worried, oh, we're going to have a divisive fight.
00:12:03.120But sometimes fights like this, fights over the RNC chairmanship or something like it, create the sort of consensus building that ultimately get the party all oaring in the same direction.
00:12:13.440A good fight and someone prevailing sometimes can refocus the party in a way.
00:12:18.160I mean, Reagan did it after the 76 loss to Gerald Ford at the convention.
00:12:23.260He decided, you know what, I'm going to fight for the heart and soul of the party for four years.
00:12:27.120And the Republicans went into 1980s elections so much more unified.
00:12:31.620So a good fight may be one of the starting points where we get clarity on what the party stands for, what its tactics are going to be, how they're going to address the election systems that are very different than the election systems that the Republicans are used to competing in in 2012, 2010.
00:12:46.600I think the Republicans are a decade behind in the electoral strategy of where the Democrats are.
00:12:53.340And that's why Democrats have prevailed, even though the American public is more aligned with the conservative values of the Republican Party.
00:13:00.720Polling shows that people voted Democrat even though they were more aligned with Republican values.
00:13:08.460And it's a gap, I think, that was, personally, I think, it's just my opinion, it was a gap that could have been closed had the Republican Party had the courage to put out a meaningful contract with America, make promises, and prepare to keep them.
00:13:25.420But they were afraid to do that because we have, in the Republican Party, liberal leadership and a moderate to conservative voter base.
00:13:39.100I think it's going to be a fascinating fight.
00:13:41.460I want to go to some of your other reporting in just the news.
00:13:46.060And that is, let's start with, if we may, the Biden administration silent on China protests that are sweeping the nation as best we can tell.
00:13:59.920Let's be honest, the reporting from China is abysmal to non-existent.
00:14:04.560But what the glimpse that we're getting, this is a meaningful moment of distress and disruption in the People's Republic of China.
00:14:17.580We first saw this show back in 2009 when the Obama-Biden administration was unwilling to embrace the Green Revolution protesters in Iran.
00:14:27.340A very large missed opportunity because a lot of people now look back and say the regime could have been toppled in Iran had America been shown more courage.
00:14:35.660And then early on when the Iranian protesters resurrected themselves just a few months ago, 60, 70 days ago, the Biden administration was reluctant to embrace them.
00:14:46.180Only recently, after being shamed by large world leaders, have they started to speak up in favor of the Iranian protesters to a little degree.
00:14:55.200And when you look at this again and you realize the people that what the Chinese civilians are asking for is to be treated like humans and they're not being treated like that, that used to be a value that was universally shared by Americans, whether Republican, Democrat or independent.
00:15:12.420This administration can't bring itself without great duress and pressure to even say anything to put a little bit of support behind the Chinese protesters and their fight for human rights and dignity, which is all they're asking for in these COVID protests.
00:15:28.600And you're left wondering, and I think this is the big problem with the Biden presidency, how much did China's prior business dealings with Hunter Biden, James Biden, Joe Biden, play into the Biden administration's unwillingness to take a position that is universally American?
00:15:44.440And I think that's the problem with the Biden administration.
00:15:46.900So much of the prior corrupt business dealings that the family had in these foreign countries linger over every decision that occurs here.
00:15:55.440And even if even if they're acting on reasons other than their business interests, the stench of those businesses don't go away.
00:16:02.200And a lot of Americans sit there wondering, I wonder if Joe Biden is just simply in bed with China.
00:16:07.600Without any doubt, in my mind, at least the Marxist Dems, they're corrupting the electoral system.
00:16:12.800They've weaponized the Department of Justice, FBI, the intelligence agencies.
00:16:16.700They've got it focused straight on the American people.
00:16:23.020They are in control of our government and they mean to have their way.
00:16:28.080And I don't know what the odds are of that being reversed, particularly when they are normalizing it all.
00:16:34.120About 800 Americans in political prisons in the D.C. area because of their participation in the Capitol protests, January 6th of 2021.
00:16:44.880I'm watching, reading just the news, one quarter of hiring managers now in the country saying they're less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants.
00:16:55.400I mean, anti-Semitism is being normalized in this country.
00:16:59.320The outrage after outrage that is just being accepted is is to me breathtaking.
00:17:05.960Yeah. And there are these incredible disconnects.
00:17:43.300And I think these disconnects for everyday Americans wonder, boy, that's why we think the country is so far off pace from where we want it to be.
00:17:50.980I mean, 70 percent of people who went to the polls, even though in some cases they voted for Democrats, believe the country was headed in the wrong direction.
00:17:58.140And every one of the things you mentioned, whether it's anti-Semitism, just insane energy policies, nonsensical energy policies, they all add up to the same thing,
00:18:07.900which is we don't have the leadership to take this country where it has gone under prior leadership for 240 years.
00:18:14.740And I think that frustration is becoming more and more palpable.
00:18:18.080The question is, will anyone step into the void and provide that leadership going forward?
00:18:26.500And that is, do you see such a leader in the Republican Party?
00:18:32.320Listen, we had a moment in four years of the Trump presidency where, despite all the mean tweets, the policies of the United States made people better off.
00:18:41.780If people ended the Trump presidency, even in the midst of a COVID pandemic, significantly better than when the presidency began.
00:18:49.080So Donald Trump created a record of performance.
00:18:51.680Unfortunately, the media and sometimes Republicans allowed his personality to overshadow that.
00:18:57.420You have in the 2024 election in Donald Trump and in Governor DeSantis in Florida, two people who have significant records of achievement where they have governed, whether at the Washington by Donald Trump or Tallahassee by DeSantis, significant improvements, significant satisfaction in the constituency.
00:19:20.360And I think if people focus on performance, we have two potential Republicans that have excellent records of where they could take America.
00:19:29.940But the question will be will personality and some of the other issues, the gotcha, the fake scandals, be allowed to distract Americans from the performance issue.
00:19:41.560I think Americans are ready to get back to elections where the performance of the candidates is the most important issue, not their personality, not where they were hiding in what basement, but rather what will they do and what have they done as leaders?
00:19:55.660If people looked at Joe Biden's record, he had had a middling record in Washington, 40, 50 years of really not much success at all, elected him.
00:20:03.640And now people wonder, well, why is he so unsuccessful?
00:20:06.080Well, his record probably told us something about what he would be as president.
00:20:09.860The Republicans have two candidates who have strong, strong records of performance.
00:20:14.540And the question is, can they keep the American voter focused on that enough to win in 2024?
00:20:19.800You know, it seems to me that if I can add this two cents for your concluding thoughts, as we always give you the closing concluding thoughts, the last word on this show, as always, John.
00:20:32.940But I think that if Ron DeSantis can develop a personality and Donald Trump can control his personality, we will see an interesting contest.
00:20:47.940But if either man falters in those two, I think, essential adaptations, the other will become the Republican nominee without question.
00:20:59.360Your thoughts, your concluding thoughts.
00:21:01.200That's the smartest analysis I've heard.
00:21:03.080I think both of them have those strengths and those weaknesses.
00:21:07.420And whoever can overcome their weakness and put their strength forward has the best chance of securing the nomination.
00:21:14.420What's really interesting about both men is that their record of performance is so strong.
00:21:19.040Donald Trump at the national level, DeSantis at the state level, keeping that focus, not allowing the Democrats to own the narrative.
00:21:27.920And if you look at the last six years, the Democrats continue to own the narrative and they own it on things that really Americans don't care about.
00:21:34.440They're just weapons of mass distraction.
00:21:36.840Republicans' first skill set that they have to improve going into the 2024 election, they have to own their own narrative.
00:21:42.980They've got to stop being on defense and let the Democrats control the narrative.
00:21:46.000It'll be very interesting to see how well that happens over the next six months.