The Great America Show - August 18, 2026


Yes! Top Democrat ARRESTED + Mamdani Collapses in Court!


Episode Stats


Length

25 minutes

Words per minute

160.21

Word count

4,109

Sentence count

235

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Toxicity

4

sentences flagged

Hate speech

8

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Great America Show.
00:00:06.620 This is Stephen Gardner filling in the seat for John Fawcett as he travels.
00:00:11.740 John and I got together this morning to go over some big, big stories.
00:00:16.280 We've got one Democrat that's under arrest with 31 potential felony filings and another one under investigation.
00:00:25.120 Plus, I'll go into some of the deepest, biggest stories affecting you and your wallet.
00:00:29.440 so that you know exactly what's really going on in Washington, D.C.
00:00:33.560 So buckle up and let's go ahead and jump right in.
00:00:37.120 Another top Democrat has been arrested for abusing taxpayer money,
00:00:42.140 31 felony charges and up to 20 years in jail.
00:00:46.560 Much of what Mayor Zoran Mamdani promised is either falling apart or projected to happen,
00:00:52.700 but only after he raises taxes on the very people he promised he would not raise taxes on.
00:00:59.440 Glenn Beck gives a detailed breakdown of what Trump and his team are doing for America in order to make America great, as well as the dominant force on planet Earth and in the Western Hemisphere.
00:01:12.880 His description is incredible. I can't wait to share it with you.
00:01:15.840 Plus, another Democrat congressman is under House ethics investigation for sexual misconduct and advances towards a female staffer who, wouldn't you know it, is not his wife.
00:01:28.480 Thank you guys so much for liking and sharing. Let me know in the comments, why do you think so much crime seems to come from Democrat leaders? Also, let me know in the comments where you're watching from.
00:01:40.460 New details are coming out about Mamdani's government grocery stores and why they will fail.
00:01:47.380 Trump's economic advisor and head of the SBA, Kelly Loeffler, says these look like socialism and helping people,
00:01:56.180 but they're actually designed to raise taxes on the middle class as well as bring in big companies to hurt small mom and pop shops.
00:02:06.160 The exact opposite of what Mamdani said he would do.
00:02:09.960 Listen to this. And I'm wondering your take on Zoran Mandami and his government run grocery
00:02:17.300 stores. How's that going to work exactly? What's your angle on that? Is that something we're going
00:02:23.960 to be seeing in blue cities all across America? Benny, I think we know how it's going to work.
00:02:28.040 It's not going to work. It's going to be a massive failure, a $70 million failure on the hands of
00:02:33.120 New York taxpayers. One more tax that is the result of socialist big government policies.
00:02:38.700 You think about they want to have five grocery stores for 70 million dollars and they have a 44 page RFP out.
00:02:45.880 And it's very clear from the proposal that they're looking for is they want some big company to come in and run it and crowd out the small businesses.
00:02:54.660 And they're saying not only do you have to crowd out the small businesses, but you have to drop your prices way below what small businesses are doing by 30 percent.
00:03:03.340 And then on another 20 products, you know, the staples that people need, you have to carry those at a low price.
00:03:11.740 So Chicago tried this. Seven stores failed, cost Chicago taxpayers $15 million, failed quickly to like two years.
00:03:20.920 Small business and socialism cannot coexist.
00:03:24.180 So wait a second. This is news to me. So New York is asking for some giant corporation to come in and run their government run store.
00:03:31.080 Well, if you read the RFP, it says you need to be adept at logistics and supply chain and negotiating contracts.
00:03:38.860 And by the way, you've got like a month to get this 44 page RFP in.
00:03:43.540 Now, I am blessed to be able to spend my time running across America from small business to small business.
00:03:49.660 The last thing they have time for is some big socialist government bureaucracy to wade through and then take a risk on something where they're saying five of the sites or I'm sorry, three of the five sites are known, two are not.
00:04:04.700 So you're just going to roll the dice and put a bunch of money in, hire people and try to make this partnership, so-called partnership with the city.
00:04:13.520 But we'll have our thumb on you the whole time.
00:04:15.600 And I have been in grocery stores in the Bronx and the city already has their thumb on hardworking, small business owners that are scraping by to make ends meet, to serve their communities.
00:04:27.600 They are dictating their every move already.
00:04:30.740 They're going to destroy the bodegas.
00:04:33.920 They're going to destroy all these little, you know, we go to I go to New York here and there and it's all these little shops, all these little stores that kind of like made New York.
00:04:43.260 And it's the culture. And they're going to be decimated by this.
00:04:46.800 You won't be able to compete with the government undercutting and undermining small business.
00:04:51.620 Well, and that's right, because they come from the socialist mantra.
00:04:54.740 It comes straight out of Karl Marx's playbook, a communist manifesto to seize the means of production and that we need to not allow property rights within the citizenry.
00:05:05.540 And so they come from a perspective of ownership is bad, success must be punished, and that everyone who has will be taken from and be redistributing what they have to those who don't.
00:05:18.740 Well, that only works for so long.
00:05:20.520 It doesn't work at all, frankly, because you see what happens in Venezuela, Cuba.
00:05:27.000 It's Soviet-era stuff.
00:05:29.020 And that's what the entire Democrat Party has now fallen in line behind when they give their endorsement to these so-called Democrat socialists, which they're just putting lipstick on a pig here when they say Democratic socialists, because this is socialism.
00:05:43.840 All right. And speaking of Mamdani and his failures, a New York judge has temporarily blocked Mayor Zoran Mamdani's rollout of the city's pied-a-terre tax for homeowners after being sued, arguing the administration created a chaotic and unfair process.
00:06:04.840 The court ordered the city to halt enforcement and remove a public tax rule containing roughly 960,000 real estate properties, even though tax was originally presented as targeting a small group of high net worth second home people.
00:06:23.360 The problem was not simply the tax itself.
00:06:27.540 Mamdani's administration published a searchable list of names and addresses tied to potentially affected properties.
00:06:36.620 This is something that critics call doxing.
00:06:39.600 The lawsuit alleges that thousands of full-time New York residents were swept up into the rollout, despite not fitting the definition of the second home category.
00:06:50.400 So Mamdani ran on tax the rich and give money to the poor.
00:06:55.080 But when you have to suddenly tax 960,000 properties, you aren't going after the rich.
00:07:03.220 You're going after everyone.
00:07:04.720 The truth is he just needs tax revenue and he doesn't care where he gets it.
00:07:09.800 His voters are sour on him for being proven to be a liar and trying to financially abuse them.
00:07:16.540 The surcharge targets non-primary residents valued above a certain threshold, but the city's own implementation reportedly confused ordinary homeowners and doxed everybody in the area.
00:07:31.720 This is the danger of trying to close a massive budget gap by constantly raising taxes on people with money and property.
00:07:40.100 Some will relocate, some will restructure their holdings, some will simply stop investing in New York.
00:07:46.080 The city needs a healthier tax base, more business activity, better spending discipline, not a public blacklist and a tax policy that creates panic in order to create revenue.
00:07:58.280 The order is currently under review and the court the case goes to court on August 31st.
00:08:04.040 Listen to this where that happens, though.
00:08:06.000 The judge says the city mishandled the taxes rollout and homeowners should get the chance to plead their cases.
00:08:12.880 Jonathan Turley with this.
00:08:15.360 It is not shaping up to be a bonanza for New York in terms of the tax revenue they're losing by
00:08:21.720 really chasing the wealthy out of the city. It's not going to cover that loss. But you see this
00:08:28.280 is the reaction of Mandami really reveals what's really going on here, which is a class war. Many
00:08:33.940 of these people on this list are objecting were Mandami supporters, and they just didn't think
00:08:39.780 that the mob would come for them. Well, another major Democrat leader has just been arrested.
00:08:46.560 The former Democrat House Majority Leader in New Mexico has been convicted of 31 felony charges and
00:08:54.120 faces 20 plus years in prison. Cheryl Williams Stapleton, once one of the most powerful Democrats
00:09:02.260 in New Mexico, was found guilty in a federal corruption case involving money that was supposed 0.98
00:09:07.720 to help students in Albuquerque Public School, prosecutors say she used her influence to steer
00:09:14.500 millions and millions into school contracts to accompany by a friend. That friend benefited
00:09:21.500 from bribes and kickbacks. The conviction includes bribery, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy
00:09:28.900 and tax related fraud. Authorities allege that her scheme diverted more than two million dollars
00:09:36.260 to give herself financial benefit as well as family and friends.
00:09:41.440 This is exactly why government accountability matters. 1.00
00:09:44.940 When politicians treat public office as a personal piggy bank
00:09:49.500 in order to enrich themselves, family, friends,
00:09:53.980 everyone else pays the price, but gratefully, she did not get away with this.
00:09:59.320 Now, isn't it crazy how many government leaders
00:10:02.420 who end up busted for stealing money come from the Democrat party. I know it's not all of them.
00:10:08.420 There's rotten Republicans, cheating Republicans, people that backstab their family and their 0.99
00:10:13.120 spouses. But when you really look at this, if this was like a scale, it's disproportionately 0.94
00:10:18.860 Democrat. Let me know in the comments, why do you think that is the case? A new report shows
00:10:25.300 over 60 percent of Obamacare enrollees in California are not even eligible to get
00:10:32.200 discounted health care rates. And nationwide, it's close to 50 percent. This fraud is costing
00:10:38.620 the American taxpayer thirty two billion dollars a year. Listen to this. A nonprofit health policy
00:10:46.040 research group finds that nine point two million adults, that's nearly half of those enrolled in
00:10:51.160 Obamacare Medicaid expansion program do not even meet the federal requirements to qualify. How did
00:10:57.180 this happen and how do we know? Connor Hanson, live on Capitol Hill with more. Hi, Connor. Good
00:11:01.280 morning. Hi, Dana. Good morning. Well, this study says some of those people actually make too much
00:11:07.420 money to qualify for this Medicaid expansion program and others are getting these benefits
00:11:13.260 even though they're here in the country illegally. Now, this study was put together by the Paragon 0.74
00:11:18.560 Health Institute, which is run by a former advisor to President Trump. He's alleging
00:11:23.500 widespread fraud here. He says more than 9 million people, as you mentioned, close to half of those
00:11:28.900 using the Medicaid expansion program under Obamacare should not qualify. The report given
00:11:34.580 to Fox Business ahead of a hearing here on Capitol Hill says pandemic era policies supercharged the
00:11:40.540 issue. We compared Medicaid expansion enrollment by state to the total number of people who would
00:11:49.660 be eligible for that coverage, have income below those thresholds by state, and found a massive
00:11:58.060 problem. According to the study, fraud in the program costs taxpayers $32 billion each year,
00:12:05.560 and people who really do need regular Medicaid could be paying the price the most. The study
00:12:10.520 says New York and California have some of the biggest problems, claiming up to 62% of people
00:12:16.320 enrolled in California are not eligible, and the states might not even be incentivized to fix the
00:12:22.600 issue. California actually gets nine times more funding for an expansion enrollee than a traditional
00:12:30.200 enrollee. That is perverse. The federal government is effectively discriminating against the most
00:12:36.980 vulnerable. And Brian Blaze, who you just heard from, will be here on Capitol Hill tomorrow
00:12:41.960 testifying to the Senate Budget Committee. He told me one of his recommendations will be to
00:12:46.720 have stronger verification for anybody trying to enroll in Medicaid. Dana? Sounds like something
00:12:52.660 that's needed. Connor, thank you. All right. I know that health care is expensive, and I really
00:12:57.380 hope that they'll be able to figure that out. Obamacare has been a national disaster. It's made
00:13:04.120 everybody's health care more expensive. Now, Glenn Beck just pulled back the curtain on what
00:13:16.740 President Trump is really doing in Iran and to make America great again and powerful again,
00:13:22.720 and how it solves some of the demands that people interested in socialism are craving.
00:13:29.420 but instead he's using power and capitalism to achieve these goals not stealing money through
00:13:36.280 socialism it's a little bit long but listen to this it's really good or else i wouldn't show it
00:13:41.000 to you i think though that the entire political system is disconnected on all sides yeah you know
00:13:48.000 the only ones that really have a clue but they're lying to you uh is the socialists yeah the
00:13:56.540 Socialists are talking about where people are living right now.
00:14:00.900 You don't know what's going on.
00:14:02.660 It seems completely unfair.
00:14:04.760 The system is broken.
00:14:06.080 I can't afford my bills.
00:14:07.480 And no one in the Democrats or the Republicans are actually addressing that.
00:14:13.540 Donald Trump is, you know, he fixed the leak.
00:14:17.360 They fixed the pipe in 2016, but he fixed it with tape because he had to fix it quickly.
00:14:24.000 He thought he had another term.
00:14:25.300 he's not fixing the pipe with tape this time he's re-plumbing the entire house and so it's like
00:14:32.560 you know it's that moment in um the money pit where they buy this house and it's great this is
00:14:39.040 we're the one the house is donald trump we're the ones who bought this house and it's great it's
00:14:43.100 going to be great it's going to be beautiful i can't believe we got it it's finally our dream
00:14:46.220 house and then it's a money pit and nothing is being fixed and you're spending all this time
00:14:51.140 you're like, they're never going to fix it. Why aren't they fixing it? And they get a divorce
00:14:55.460 or they're headed for divorce right when it's finished. Okay. That's the situation we're in.
00:15:03.120 Everybody's giving up because they're like, what is he doing? I don't have a house. They keep
00:15:07.720 making promises, but I don't have, he's fixing it. He's fixing the house, but he's doing all
00:15:13.640 the things you don't want to do that will make your life miserable for a while. Right. That's
00:15:19.300 a conversation that he's not having with the American people. He's completely redoing the
00:15:24.760 house and he's doing it because he knows if I don't do that, whatever fix I make through
00:15:31.440 executive order, it will be changed the minute I leave. So I have to fix the structure of
00:15:38.580 everything. I have to replumb. I have to reelectrify the house and then I have to repoint
00:15:43.620 the foundations. So he's doing all of this, which he won't get credit for until he's gone.
00:15:49.300 i think um right and that's when people realize oh crap he's just redesigned the entire world
00:15:56.740 without the economic forum that's what i mean it's a great point including on the threat that
00:16:04.140 we're all going to get divorced before the house is fixed and you say no guys stop it wait just
00:16:09.560 wait one second you know because nobody everybody is playing the short game yeah and everybody is
00:16:16.140 also playing for their own team. I want Vance. I want Rubio. I want the person that understands
00:16:23.100 what he's doing. I'm not saying he's doing everything perfectly, but what he's doing,
00:16:27.920 he is truly putting America first and he's doing really hard things that nobody,
00:16:33.860 why are we in Iran? We're in Iran because of nuclear weapons. Yes. But we're also in Iran 0.87
00:16:39.780 right now for the pipelines that they wouldn't build without a crisis. We're taking away the 1.00
00:16:46.120 choke points and we're controlling the choke points over against our enemies in China and in
00:16:52.620 in the Middle East. We're taking control or neutralizing the choke points here and over
00:17:00.300 there. We're I would just I had dinner with the prime minister of the Czech Republic. I was over
00:17:05.740 there a few months ago and it's clear they know exactly. I said, what is Donald Trump doing? Do
00:17:11.440 you suppose i knew what i thought he was doing he thought the same thing he said he's a reput
00:17:17.000 he's repositioning the entire world all of the power will be in north america and in your
00:17:23.160 hemisphere that's exactly what he's doing okay they know it that's why he's not real popular
00:17:29.600 with a lot of people right but we have to get off of the team of i don't care who i don't care who
00:17:35.680 does it do you understand we cannot go back to playing political games back and forth yeah in
00:17:44.320 some ways the political games with donald trump work to his advantage because it's yeah look at
00:17:50.400 i just said this over here just i just said this over here and this hand over here is doing
00:17:54.240 something entirely different yeah you know if they were talking about how he's restructuring
00:17:59.420 the whole world he wouldn't be able to do it right yeah about garbage there there is like
00:18:04.820 is sort of necessarily selling the war in iran whether you support the war in iran or oppose 0.53
00:18:09.500 the war in iran necessarily you're not going to be talking about china you're not going to be
00:18:12.600 talking about russia you're not going to be talking about grand strategy and choke points
00:18:17.680 choke points and revanchism in the western hemisphere yes yeah yeah and uh it's a great
00:18:23.640 the point on on structural changes is the key because it's it's also why the socialists are
00:18:29.100 really speaking to the moment right now at least to a lot of people is they are speaking about
00:18:33.440 structural issues in a pretty tangible way, where whereas the Republicans and the Democrats flop on
00:18:38.580 it. Right. They're talking about structural issues that affect people at the kitchen table.
00:18:45.180 What Donald Trump is doing is structural issues that will affect you at the kitchen table in five
00:18:51.320 years. Yeah, right. There's a huge difference. And one is one is an actual structural difference
00:18:57.920 that sets America up for decades of winning and the other one is a quick we're going to take care
00:19:05.700 of your pain and then it gets really ugly yeah right right of course okay that really really
00:19:11.140 good point so President Trump is reordering the world around the United States and the western
00:19:16.400 hemisphere he's then making sure that the United States is helping all the countries in our
00:19:21.820 hemisphere to be rich, free of bad governments and under the control of cartels, which honestly
00:19:28.680 just seek to kill people. Yes, it hurts right now. I'm not going to lie or pretend that these gas
00:19:34.420 prices aren't hurting you. That would be disrespectful. But once Iran is dealt with
00:19:39.200 and the Shield of America alliance is in place, the U.S. military is going to start hunting cartel
00:19:45.040 members throughout Central and South America, and the grip on oil by Iran will be gone forever.
00:19:52.940 I'll show you a clip here in a minute on how he is circumventing that through pipelines.
00:20:02.800 All right. President Trump's energy secretary gave an incredible update on ships moving through
00:20:09.860 the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's capabilities dropping on a daily basis and new pipelines with our
00:20:16.360 Middle East partners that will 100 percent circumvent the free flow of oil through the 0.63
00:20:23.740 Strait of Hormuz, or as I call it, the terrorism corridor. Listen to what he shared. Stop the ship 0.71
00:20:29.680 traffic in the Strait of Hormuz just recently this weekend. 30 ships went out, transited the
00:20:35.540 Strait of Hormuz yesterday, and more than 30 transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
00:20:40.900 So no, that's just not true. We're continuing to get oil and gas and other critical products
00:20:45.500 out of the Strait of Hormuz. And thankfully, with President Trump's energy policies,
00:20:50.180 we're by far the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas. And that's why I'm down
00:20:54.200 here in the Permian Basin, the largest producer of that oil and natural gas.
00:20:58.120 So even if the numbers were 30 tankers or 30 ships per day, that's still down from a pre-war
00:21:03.220 high of about 130 ships per day. When can we expect to see the traffic increase back up to
00:21:09.020 pre-war levels? Oh, I don't know the future, but I will tell you we're going to continually get 0.98
00:21:15.880 better at escorting traffic out and the power of Iran is going to continue to shrink. So I think 1.00
00:21:22.380 we'll see a positive trend in that direction. As you mentioned, Iran can't export any oil right now.
00:21:28.480 That's part of our economic strangulation.
00:21:30.820 But the world doesn't need Iranian oil.
00:21:33.020 Do we need other oil outside the Arabian Gulf?
00:21:36.400 Absolutely.
00:21:37.440 We have a bunch of allies there that are exporting their oil and gas, and we will see increasing exports from them, John.
00:21:43.660 It is a balance here.
00:21:44.900 We're fixing a 47-year-old problem with this government in Iran and the threat of nuclear weapons.
00:21:50.760 But it does cause some disruption in the short term.
00:21:53.480 But President Trump's policies have made us ready for that disruption.
00:21:56.900 All right. Once we can take away all the power of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is toast. So it's just a matter of time. Now, James Tallarico is running for Democrat senator in Texas. Listen to how he says Trump is purposely using the Save America Act in order to hurt black Americans. 0.94
00:22:18.020 We as human beings have the right to shape our own destinies. And we do that through the vote. And so many brave Americans, so many brave black Americans have fought and died for that right. And so for politicians in Austin or in Washington, as they're now doing with the SAVE Act, they are trying to rob our neighbors, particularly our black neighbors, of those God-given rights. So I have a track record of using every tool in my toolbox to protect voting rights.
00:22:46.040 All right. So I have a question. Why do Democrats only talk about the Save America Act or voter ID hurting black Americans? Why doesn't it hurt Asians? Why doesn't it hurt Polynesians or Hispanics or any other race for that matter? Somehow it only hurts black Americans. And why is it always couched like black Americans aren't smart enough to get an ID or able to function in society?
00:23:16.040 I know a ton of black Americans watch me because I see your faces in your little YouTube icon, and I appreciate you supporting the channel. 0.91
00:23:25.340 But Democrats are obsessed with race and they constantly put down black people and then disguise it as helping them in order to keep control of their vote.
00:23:36.820 Honestly, seriously, open your eyes.
00:23:39.340 They're the only race that gets diminished by Democrats, and Democrats control over 80% of their vote.
00:23:46.860 They literally don't denigrate any other race except for the blacks.
00:23:51.240 It's unbelievable.
00:23:52.660 I just wanted to expose that.
00:23:54.240 It's crazy to me.
00:23:55.300 Now, the House Ethics Committee has opened a formal investigation into Democrat Congressman Jimmy Gomez of California.
00:24:03.700 He's a good friend of Eric Swalwell.
00:24:06.560 Wouldn't you know it, right?
00:24:08.400 Gomez says, I'm innocent of any sexual misconduct.
00:24:12.700 I will fully cooperate.
00:24:14.460 This is all just a misunderstanding.
00:24:16.940 Now, Congressman Gomez has previously admitted that he made what he called personal mistakes
00:24:23.760 outside of his marriage.
00:24:25.960 And he has denied breaking the law or any house ethics rules.
00:24:30.940 The ethics committee has not publicly released what he's being investigated for.
00:24:37.180 Still, it's a serious development.
00:24:39.400 A formal House ethics investigation means that there were allegations strong enough or political rumors strong enough that Congress must conduct an investigation.
00:24:51.340 The key question is, what did Gomez do?
00:24:54.780 Why is he saying I didn't do anything?
00:24:56.900 And yes, I strayed from my marriage in the past,
00:25:00.080 but this time I'm innocent.
00:25:02.660 I don't know what it means.
00:25:03.660 I'm just letting you guys know.
00:25:05.400 One of the big headlines today
00:25:06.880 is Democrat Congressman Gomez
00:25:09.060 is under investigation
00:25:10.920 for serious ethical misrepresentation.
00:25:14.680 All right, I'll let you know as I know more.
00:25:17.500 If you guys found value in this live broadcast,
00:25:20.060 please give this video a like
00:25:21.480 so that YouTube and Rumble will share it with others.
00:25:24.180 I so appreciate you allowing me to be a source of truth and news.
00:25:28.260 I love seeing your comments coming in.
00:25:30.280 I love reading where you guys are from.
00:25:32.760 All right.
00:25:33.180 Thank you guys so much.
00:25:35.120 Stay amazing.
00:25:36.040 And I will see you on the next live broadcast.