The Megyn Kelly Show - March 01, 2022


Putin's Madness and Next Moves, and Biden's Massive Speech, with Michael Knowles and Garry Kasparov | Ep. 271


Episode Stats

Length

1 hour and 35 minutes

Words per Minute

166.70992

Word Count

15,849

Sentence Count

943

Misogynist Sentences

39

Hate Speech Sentences

69


Summary

As Ukraine fights for its very existence, and President Biden prepares for the biggest speech of his career, we are witnessing an historic story of Vladimir Putin versus the free world. With Mother Russia even turning against him in ways we ve rarely seen before, it comes as horrifying images emerge out of Ukraine. This is what war in Europe looks like in 2022.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 When I found out my friend got a great deal
00:00:02.160 on a wool coat from Winners,
00:00:03.760 I started wondering,
00:00:05.440 is every fabulous item I see from Winners?
00:00:08.560 Like that woman over there with the designer jeans.
00:00:10.900 Are those from Winners?
00:00:12.780 Ooh, or those beautiful gold earrings?
00:00:15.260 Did she pay full price?
00:00:16.600 Or that leather tote?
00:00:17.620 Or that cashmere sweater?
00:00:18.840 Or those knee-high boots?
00:00:20.280 That dress?
00:00:21.060 That jacket?
00:00:21.740 Those shoes?
00:00:22.780 Is anyone paying full price for anything?
00:00:25.720 Stop wondering.
00:00:26.980 Start winning.
00:00:27.920 Winners.
00:00:28.500 Find fabulous for less.
00:00:30.560 Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show,
00:00:32.520 your home for open, honest, and provocative conversations.
00:00:41.820 Hey, everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly.
00:00:43.600 Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show.
00:00:45.380 As Ukraine fights for its very existence
00:00:48.100 and President Biden prepares for the biggest speech of his career,
00:00:52.020 we are witnessing an historic story
00:00:54.180 of Vladimir Putin versus the free world,
00:00:56.880 with Mother Russia even turning against him
00:00:59.400 in ways we've rarely seen before.
00:01:02.340 It comes as horrifying images emerge out of Ukraine.
00:01:06.480 This is what war in Europe looks like in 2022.
00:01:09.880 And for those listening,
00:01:10.760 you can see it on YouTube on our channel later.
00:01:14.240 Video here capturing the moment a rocket
00:01:16.440 destroyed a government building in Ukraine's
00:01:18.920 second largest city.
00:01:21.240 Smoke and debris flying into the air,
00:01:23.620 vaporizing a large, beautiful building.
00:01:26.900 Satellite images from the U.S. company Maxar Technologies
00:01:30.780 showing a Russian military convoy zeroing in
00:01:33.620 on the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
00:01:36.140 The convoy, more than 40 miles long,
00:01:39.320 made up of armored vehicles, tanks,
00:01:41.500 and artillery with serious questions
00:01:43.140 about whether the Ukrainians can withstand that.
00:01:46.500 But perhaps nothing is more shocking
00:01:47.880 than the stories of the youngest victims of this war.
00:01:50.040 Earlier today, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy appealing
00:01:53.400 to all of humanity
00:01:55.540 in remarks to the European Parliament.
00:01:58.320 We have a desire to see our children
00:02:01.280 alive.
00:02:05.940 I think it's a fair one.
00:02:07.980 Yesterday, 16 children were killed.
00:02:12.420 Again and again,
00:02:13.760 President Putin is going to say
00:02:15.720 that is some kind of operation
00:02:17.260 and we are hitting a military infrastructure.
00:02:20.860 Where are our children?
00:02:22.320 What kind of military factories
00:02:24.440 do they work at?
00:02:26.340 What tanks are they going with?
00:02:29.200 Or launching cruise missiles?
00:02:31.800 He killed 16 people just yesterday.
00:02:35.680 Among the victims,
00:02:37.460 a beautiful schoolgirl named Polina.
00:02:39.760 She and her parents were shot dead
00:02:41.460 trying to leave Kiev by car.
00:02:44.080 Oh, look at her face.
00:02:45.720 Her brother and sister are currently
00:02:47.320 in intensive care.
00:02:48.820 Britain's The Sun newspaper
00:02:49.880 asking Putin how many children must die.
00:02:52.260 And then there's this heartbreaking image
00:02:53.640 from the Times.
00:02:54.800 A paramedic trying in vain
00:02:56.140 to save a six-year-old girl
00:02:58.340 who had been injured in a rocket attack.
00:03:00.900 You can see the anguish
00:03:01.800 on the face of the man
00:03:02.860 next to this child,
00:03:04.820 his body completely covered in blood.
00:03:07.260 The Daily Mirror summing it up this way.
00:03:09.760 Putin is a coward
00:03:10.520 who kills little girls in slippers
00:03:12.460 and unicorn pajamas.
00:03:14.020 My next guest has sounded alarm bells
00:03:17.520 about Vladimir Putin
00:03:18.360 for more than a decade.
00:03:20.280 He is one of the most famous Russians today.
00:03:23.420 Gary Kasparov captivated the world
00:03:25.940 as a chess champion.
00:03:27.500 I mean, in a class of one.
00:03:30.120 And has gone on to use his voice
00:03:31.820 to fight for democracy and human rights.
00:03:33.960 Gary, welcome.
00:03:34.720 So great to have you here
00:03:35.680 on a day like this.
00:03:37.360 Thank you for inviting me.
00:03:38.260 So help us understand
00:03:41.140 what Putin,
00:03:43.680 what his game must be at this point.
00:03:46.300 You know, the speculation
00:03:47.040 about whether he would go into Ukraine
00:03:48.980 or not is done.
00:03:50.260 We've seen him do it.
00:03:51.420 And with his 40-mile-long convoy,
00:03:53.680 it's only going to get worse from here.
00:03:56.300 What do you think
00:03:57.400 his end goal is at this point?
00:03:59.660 What we are seeing now
00:04:01.800 is the last chapter
00:04:02.920 of Putin's war in Ukraine
00:04:04.260 and even a larger war on democracy
00:04:07.560 and on our civilization.
00:04:10.000 And it hasn't started recently.
00:04:13.060 It's as long as Putin
00:04:15.080 is reigning in Russia.
00:04:17.540 Let's not forget,
00:04:19.040 Putin claimed in early days
00:04:22.160 of his rule in Russia
00:04:23.420 that the collapse of the Soviet Union
00:04:25.000 was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe
00:04:27.120 of the 20th century.
00:04:29.300 And at one point,
00:04:30.560 he believed that it was
00:04:31.700 his messianic role to restore it.
00:04:35.720 And then he went even further.
00:04:37.540 15 years ago,
00:04:38.760 in February 2007,
00:04:40.360 in Munich,
00:04:40.940 at security conference in Europe,
00:04:42.900 he laid down his vision
00:04:45.380 for the future of Europe
00:04:46.820 and the world,
00:04:48.340 speaking about so-called
00:04:49.940 spheres of influence,
00:04:51.960 which meant in his language
00:04:53.320 that we had to go back
00:04:55.480 to the 19th century world
00:04:56.740 where big guys,
00:04:57.940 big countries,
00:04:59.100 were in the position
00:04:59.960 to dictate to their smaller
00:05:01.960 and weaker neighbors
00:05:03.020 how to run their domestic
00:05:05.240 and foreign affairs.
00:05:07.040 And Putin was not just talking.
00:05:09.580 He backed his words
00:05:10.800 by his actions.
00:05:12.340 In 2008,
00:05:13.540 he attacked the Republic of Georgia,
00:05:15.200 annexing pirates' territory.
00:05:16.640 And the free world,
00:05:17.800 swallowed it.
00:05:20.200 He was very active
00:05:21.680 in the wall stage,
00:05:22.700 supporting every dictator
00:05:24.000 who was in danger.
00:05:26.360 He played instrumental role
00:05:29.880 in saving Bashar al-Assad
00:05:31.500 in 2013,
00:05:33.120 using Russian air force
00:05:34.680 to carpet bomb Aleppo
00:05:36.860 and other rebel strongholds
00:05:38.820 in Syria.
00:05:39.880 In 2014,
00:05:40.740 he decided that he was strong enough
00:05:42.740 to attack Ukraine directly
00:05:45.800 and annex Crimea
00:05:46.720 and incited violence
00:05:48.420 in eastern Ukraine
00:05:49.560 that led to a short war
00:05:52.660 and part of Ukrainian territory
00:05:56.200 had been de facto annexed as well,
00:05:59.720 though he failed
00:06:00.600 with his main objective
00:06:01.580 to create so-called new Russia,
00:06:03.580 cutting Ukraine in pieces
00:06:05.500 and creating
00:06:06.320 an unbroken line
00:06:11.140 of territories
00:06:12.380 ranging from Lugansk
00:06:14.200 to Odessa.
00:06:14.800 And he also
00:06:17.480 was never shy
00:06:18.760 of buying favors
00:06:20.700 from Western politicians
00:06:23.840 and business people
00:06:25.180 and personalities
00:06:26.300 and, of course,
00:06:27.840 assassinating
00:06:28.500 his political opponents
00:06:30.740 both inside Russia
00:06:31.820 and outside of Russia.
00:06:33.580 And the problem is
00:06:34.680 that he never paid
00:06:36.360 for his crimes.
00:06:38.040 And seeing no consequences
00:06:39.540 for his actions,
00:06:40.700 he eventually believed
00:06:41.620 that it was time
00:06:42.260 for him
00:06:42.700 to move
00:06:44.020 against Ukraine
00:06:46.260 most decisively
00:06:47.620 because he never
00:06:48.740 recognized Ukraine
00:06:49.520 as an independent state.
00:06:51.100 Russian propaganda
00:06:51.900 for the last eight years
00:06:53.560 had been
00:06:54.300 diminishing Ukraine
00:06:56.500 as the failed state
00:06:58.040 that was just
00:06:59.100 waiting for Russia
00:07:00.360 to come in
00:07:02.100 and restore
00:07:03.180 what they call
00:07:03.860 historical justice.
00:07:05.660 And we all know
00:07:07.200 he has been preparing
00:07:08.360 his invasion of Ukraine
00:07:09.620 in plain sight.
00:07:11.340 It was not that
00:07:12.180 his attack
00:07:13.400 from three directions
00:07:14.760 from north, south,
00:07:15.900 and east
00:07:16.460 against Ukraine
00:07:17.660 a week ago
00:07:18.540 was a surprise attack.
00:07:20.560 He even brought
00:07:21.400 his Pacific fleet
00:07:22.660 to the Black Sea.
00:07:24.480 And again,
00:07:25.320 the free world
00:07:26.060 wasn't silent
00:07:27.700 but nobody
00:07:28.900 or very few people
00:07:30.220 took him seriously.
00:07:31.620 I've been saying
00:07:32.340 for many years
00:07:33.200 that while Putin
00:07:33.840 was our problem in Russia,
00:07:35.500 at one point
00:07:36.300 as every dictator,
00:07:37.160 he would be
00:07:37.580 everybody's problem.
00:07:39.040 And now what we're seeing
00:07:40.060 and let's not
00:07:40.980 deceive ourselves,
00:07:42.180 this is already
00:07:42.860 World War III.
00:07:44.120 And this is not just
00:07:44.920 a war against Ukraine.
00:07:46.340 Vladimir Putin
00:07:46.980 is attacking
00:07:47.780 the very foundation
00:07:48.780 of the world
00:07:49.360 we used to live
00:07:50.020 since World War II.
00:07:51.460 And if he succeeds
00:07:52.680 in Ukraine,
00:07:53.800 all bets are off.
00:07:55.120 And for those
00:07:55.920 who think that
00:07:56.440 we can escape
00:07:57.140 confrontation with Putin,
00:07:58.980 look,
00:07:59.400 read history books.
00:08:00.900 And that's why
00:08:01.400 I think that
00:08:01.940 the measures
00:08:02.360 that are being taken,
00:08:03.640 they are important
00:08:04.560 but still more
00:08:05.520 can be done.
00:08:06.400 But the most tragic,
00:08:07.720 you know,
00:08:08.200 Megan,
00:08:08.420 portion of these sanctions
00:08:10.720 eight years ago,
00:08:12.220 even six months ago,
00:08:13.540 could have saved
00:08:14.360 thousands and thousands
00:08:15.540 of lives
00:08:16.160 if Putin believed
00:08:17.960 that the world
00:08:18.520 would act.
00:08:19.500 But unfortunately,
00:08:20.840 it was a failure
00:08:21.580 after failure.
00:08:22.200 And now we're dealing
00:08:24.300 with a mad dictator
00:08:25.380 and Russian army
00:08:30.480 is shifted
00:08:32.080 from so-called
00:08:33.780 liberation mission
00:08:35.500 as it was
00:08:36.220 originally proclaimed
00:08:37.060 to a total dissemination
00:08:39.060 of Ukrainian cities
00:08:40.560 because Putin
00:08:41.200 is absolutely
00:08:42.660 getting crazy
00:08:43.320 since his original plan
00:08:45.040 of taking over
00:08:45.940 Kiev in three days
00:08:47.000 and installing
00:08:47.560 puppet government
00:08:48.320 and going back
00:08:49.920 to negotiating table
00:08:51.000 with America
00:08:52.080 and Europe.
00:08:52.800 This plan
00:08:53.280 miserably failed.
00:08:55.440 There's so much
00:08:56.020 brilliance in there.
00:08:57.040 I mean,
00:08:57.180 so many good points.
00:08:58.320 Let me start
00:08:58.880 with one of the last ones.
00:09:00.900 Do you believe
00:09:01.500 he's a madman now?
00:09:04.060 Do you believe
00:09:04.700 he's lost
00:09:05.740 his own
00:09:06.500 mental faculties
00:09:08.040 in a way
00:09:08.360 that we haven't seen
00:09:09.080 prior to right now?
00:09:12.280 Absolutely.
00:09:13.980 Look,
00:09:14.580 he's in power
00:09:15.380 for 22 years.
00:09:17.220 It's a long time.
00:09:18.440 Even for
00:09:19.200 the most intelligent
00:09:20.480 person
00:09:20.960 with the
00:09:21.820 noblest
00:09:22.260 intentions,
00:09:23.120 that could be
00:09:23.980 very damaging.
00:09:25.640 And Putin
00:09:26.220 was not one
00:09:26.920 of these
00:09:27.400 kind of guys.
00:09:29.220 So his education
00:09:30.280 came from
00:09:31.820 the streets
00:09:32.200 of Leningrad
00:09:32.840 and from KGB
00:09:34.220 school.
00:09:35.960 And
00:09:36.520 for the last
00:09:38.000 few years,
00:09:39.240 he has been
00:09:40.020 increasingly isolated.
00:09:41.340 As every dictator,
00:09:42.420 he is relying
00:09:43.680 on a very small,
00:09:44.920 ever-shrinking
00:09:45.860 inner circle.
00:09:47.020 we know
00:09:48.220 that he
00:09:48.600 doesn't
00:09:48.980 trust
00:09:49.340 internet
00:09:49.780 and open
00:09:50.200 sources,
00:09:50.640 which means
00:09:51.180 he relies
00:09:51.720 on the
00:09:52.040 information
00:09:52.520 brought to
00:09:53.040 him
00:09:53.240 by this
00:09:53.680 inner circle.
00:09:55.100 And his
00:09:55.820 vision of the
00:09:56.400 world is
00:09:57.040 outdated.
00:09:58.280 And also,
00:09:58.780 we know
00:09:59.200 that Putin
00:10:00.060 believes,
00:10:01.300 it's not
00:10:02.020 I'm saying,
00:10:02.660 I'm just
00:10:02.920 simply,
00:10:03.240 you know,
00:10:03.480 quoting what
00:10:04.100 he has been
00:10:04.500 saying for
00:10:05.400 years.
00:10:05.880 He believes
00:10:06.920 that violence
00:10:07.860 is a
00:10:10.340 necessary
00:10:10.820 tool
00:10:11.460 to rule
00:10:13.140 whether
00:10:13.880 his own
00:10:14.620 subjects
00:10:15.120 or
00:10:15.920 imposing
00:10:17.200 his will
00:10:17.800 to other
00:10:18.180 countries.
00:10:19.080 That's why
00:10:19.680 we should not
00:10:20.460 be surprised
00:10:21.000 that his
00:10:21.480 favorite
00:10:22.300 historical
00:10:23.960 characters
00:10:24.540 are Joseph
00:10:25.480 Stalin
00:10:25.900 and Ivan
00:10:26.620 the Terrible.
00:10:27.820 That's the
00:10:28.240 way he sees
00:10:29.200 himself,
00:10:30.040 a man above
00:10:30.900 the law,
00:10:31.440 a man who
00:10:31.940 is the law.
00:10:33.480 And now
00:10:34.380 he thinks
00:10:36.260 that he can
00:10:37.000 do whatever
00:10:37.460 because he
00:10:38.300 feels that
00:10:38.780 with one
00:10:39.860 finger
00:10:40.300 pushing the
00:10:41.160 red button
00:10:41.920 he can
00:10:42.400 destroy the
00:10:43.060 entire world.
00:10:43.980 He said
00:10:44.440 it already,
00:10:45.180 if we have
00:10:45.720 a war,
00:10:46.420 it's about
00:10:46.800 a year ago,
00:10:48.280 they all
00:10:48.840 will die
00:10:49.540 like dogs
00:10:50.220 and we
00:10:50.560 will go
00:10:50.900 to heaven.
00:10:52.320 It shows
00:10:53.600 the mental
00:10:54.480 instability
00:10:55.040 of this
00:10:55.640 person.
00:10:56.380 And I've
00:10:56.660 been again
00:10:57.000 saying it
00:10:57.500 all along
00:10:58.380 that forget
00:10:59.140 about Putin.
00:10:59.940 It's not
00:11:00.260 about him.
00:11:00.880 It's about
00:11:01.400 sending
00:11:01.840 message to
00:11:02.460 people around
00:11:03.260 him.
00:11:03.660 those who
00:11:04.940 haven't lost
00:11:05.760 their mind
00:11:06.240 and value
00:11:07.300 their lives
00:11:08.260 and their
00:11:08.780 well-being.
00:11:10.020 And only
00:11:10.860 now I think
00:11:11.560 the free
00:11:12.220 world came
00:11:12.880 to the
00:11:13.100 conclusion
00:11:13.540 that we
00:11:14.360 are dealing
00:11:14.620 with a
00:11:14.900 madman.
00:11:16.300 Imagine
00:11:16.780 Adolf Hitler
00:11:17.780 in Berlin
00:11:20.540 bunker in
00:11:21.160 1945.
00:11:22.300 Imagine if
00:11:22.860 he had
00:11:23.140 this red
00:11:23.880 button.
00:11:24.460 Do you
00:11:24.620 have any
00:11:24.900 doubts
00:11:25.200 that he
00:11:25.460 would push
00:11:25.780 it?
00:11:27.300 You know,
00:11:28.440 some of
00:11:30.000 the earlier
00:11:30.400 things you
00:11:31.140 mentioned,
00:11:32.040 I'm not
00:11:32.400 excusing them,
00:11:33.160 let me
00:11:33.400 make that
00:11:33.720 clear.
00:11:34.280 But you
00:11:34.660 could
00:11:34.800 understand
00:11:35.500 what Putin
00:11:36.800 might be
00:11:37.200 thinking,
00:11:37.620 right?
00:11:37.840 In the
00:11:38.160 2014
00:11:38.820 situation,
00:11:40.360 there was
00:11:41.180 a pro-Russian
00:11:41.860 leader of
00:11:42.420 Ukraine who
00:11:43.000 got pushed
00:11:43.460 out and
00:11:44.360 then was
00:11:44.880 replaced with
00:11:45.660 a pro-Western
00:11:46.380 leader and
00:11:46.880 Putin didn't
00:11:47.360 want that.
00:11:47.900 He didn't
00:11:48.120 want Ukraine
00:11:48.560 getting closer
00:11:49.180 to the West
00:11:50.060 and looking
00:11:51.180 more democratic
00:11:52.040 and less
00:11:52.560 like, you
00:11:53.040 know,
00:11:53.160 an offshoot
00:11:53.800 of Russia.
00:11:55.140 And okay,
00:11:55.760 so that's
00:11:56.380 how we got
00:11:56.980 Crimea,
00:11:57.580 right?
00:11:57.760 You can
00:11:57.960 sort of look
00:11:58.400 at the end
00:11:58.860 and it
00:11:59.380 sort of
00:11:59.640 made not
00:12:00.760 sense,
00:12:01.360 but if you
00:12:02.040 could see
00:12:02.680 the reasoning
00:12:03.860 that he
00:12:04.500 was following.
00:12:05.400 This one
00:12:06.080 seems almost
00:12:08.320 out of the
00:12:08.780 blue,
00:12:09.100 Gary.
00:12:09.440 It's like
00:12:09.840 Ukraine
00:12:10.480 wasn't about
00:12:11.660 to join
00:12:12.120 NATO.
00:12:13.080 Ukraine
00:12:13.360 was slowly
00:12:14.760 inching more
00:12:15.580 toward the
00:12:16.380 West and
00:12:16.880 Europe,
00:12:17.140 but there
00:12:17.720 wasn't,
00:12:18.540 what was
00:12:18.880 the catalyst?
00:12:19.580 What,
00:12:20.040 why now?
00:12:21.180 Why,
00:12:21.640 why did he
00:12:22.200 choose suddenly
00:12:22.900 to invade a
00:12:24.240 sovereign country?
00:12:25.580 You know,
00:12:25.780 there's a lot
00:12:26.180 of countries
00:12:26.560 that used
00:12:26.840 to be part
00:12:27.180 of the
00:12:27.340 USSR
00:12:27.720 that are
00:12:28.300 fading away,
00:12:29.080 that are
00:12:29.320 getting closer
00:12:30.000 to the
00:12:30.340 West.
00:12:30.660 Why now?
00:12:33.080 There are
00:12:33.620 not so many
00:12:34.220 countries,
00:12:34.760 actually.
00:12:35.320 The three
00:12:36.280 Baltic nations
00:12:37.000 already joined
00:12:37.540 NATO.
00:12:37.980 Thanks God
00:12:38.540 they're in
00:12:38.920 NATO,
00:12:39.400 because otherwise
00:12:40.080 I think you
00:12:42.120 have no doubts
00:12:42.840 that Russian
00:12:43.700 tanks were
00:12:44.180 rolling in the
00:12:44.760 streets of
00:12:45.320 Tallinn,
00:12:45.760 Vilnius,
00:12:46.300 and Riga
00:12:46.860 in these
00:12:47.680 three Baltic
00:12:48.180 nations.
00:12:49.880 Republic of
00:12:50.660 Georgia,
00:12:51.380 under former
00:12:52.380 President
00:12:52.780 Mikhail
00:12:53.120 Saakashvili,
00:12:53.980 was trying
00:12:54.620 to move
00:12:55.000 westward,
00:12:55.940 and it
00:12:56.200 was attacked
00:12:56.620 in 2008,
00:12:57.660 and next
00:12:57.960 was Ukraine.
00:12:58.940 But I
00:12:59.320 have to say
00:12:59.740 that you
00:13:00.220 asked the
00:13:01.560 wrong question,
00:13:02.260 because you
00:13:02.640 asked three
00:13:03.400 times why.
00:13:04.980 Dictators
00:13:05.500 never ask
00:13:06.240 why.
00:13:06.640 It's always
00:13:06.920 why not.
00:13:08.340 Why not?
00:13:09.820 Ukraine was
00:13:11.520 a threat to
00:13:12.400 Putin's rule
00:13:12.900 on Russia,
00:13:13.360 because it's
00:13:14.280 like, you
00:13:14.560 know,
00:13:14.720 Arab Spring
00:13:15.460 and a
00:13:16.040 domino effect.
00:13:18.320 Independent,
00:13:19.560 sovereign,
00:13:20.200 democratic,
00:13:21.040 prosperous Ukraine
00:13:21.920 is sending
00:13:23.580 a message to
00:13:24.280 Russian people,
00:13:25.280 because we're
00:13:26.220 close.
00:13:27.660 I don't
00:13:29.240 want to
00:13:31.040 repeat Putin's
00:13:31.760 false point
00:13:33.360 that we're
00:13:33.720 the same
00:13:34.080 people,
00:13:35.160 but we're
00:13:35.980 close.
00:13:36.660 We have
00:13:37.020 enough,
00:13:37.480 you know,
00:13:37.680 of common
00:13:37.940 history.
00:13:38.820 Of course,
00:13:39.420 there were
00:13:39.580 many animosities,
00:13:40.380 but still
00:13:40.720 close,
00:13:41.320 the language
00:13:41.740 is close,
00:13:42.880 the cultural
00:13:44.400 similarities,
00:13:45.540 religious.
00:13:45.900 But for
00:13:48.620 Russian people,
00:13:49.440 seeing Ukrainians
00:13:50.640 changing their
00:13:52.220 lifestyle and
00:13:53.120 moving to
00:13:54.380 the West,
00:13:55.560 that could be
00:13:56.260 a big,
00:13:56.800 big problem
00:13:57.220 for Putin.
00:13:57.700 So that's
00:13:58.520 why he
00:13:58.920 always wanted
00:13:59.760 Ukraine to
00:14:00.440 be subdued
00:14:01.140 and eventually
00:14:01.680 taken over.
00:14:02.920 So he
00:14:03.200 failed to
00:14:04.040 impose his
00:14:05.060 will through
00:14:05.720 normal process,
00:14:06.880 through political
00:14:07.280 process.
00:14:08.260 His stooge,
00:14:09.580 Viktor Yanukovych,
00:14:10.560 was removed
00:14:11.980 from power
00:14:13.040 by the
00:14:13.700 popular unrest
00:14:14.460 in 2014.
00:14:16.420 Actually,
00:14:16.660 it was a
00:14:16.900 revolution.
00:14:18.100 But the
00:14:18.800 problem,
00:14:19.520 actually,
00:14:19.860 between Russia
00:14:20.380 and Ukraine
00:14:20.660 started earlier
00:14:21.280 because,
00:14:22.160 unlike Russia,
00:14:23.160 Ukraine had
00:14:24.520 peaceful
00:14:25.300 transition of
00:14:25.960 power all
00:14:26.680 way back
00:14:27.160 in 1994.
00:14:28.680 I think
00:14:28.980 that was a
00:14:29.340 turning point,
00:14:29.940 actually,
00:14:30.440 where,
00:14:30.760 unfortunately,
00:14:31.720 the ways of
00:14:32.720 Russia and
00:14:33.260 Ukraine,
00:14:34.160 we just,
00:14:34.480 you know,
00:14:34.700 we moved
00:14:35.200 in different
00:14:36.220 directions.
00:14:36.960 In 1994,
00:14:38.100 first president
00:14:38.680 of independent
00:14:39.300 Ukraine,
00:14:40.520 Leonid
00:14:40.860 Kravchuk,
00:14:41.420 lost
00:14:41.780 elections
00:14:42.360 to the
00:14:43.440 contender,
00:14:44.000 Leonid
00:14:44.260 Kuchma,
00:14:44.720 and he
00:14:45.660 walked away.
00:14:46.840 So Ukrainians,
00:14:48.680 already more
00:14:49.700 than one
00:14:50.080 generation of
00:14:50.580 Ukrainians,
00:14:51.000 almost two
00:14:51.380 generations of
00:14:52.380 Ukrainians,
00:14:52.760 they grew up
00:14:53.300 in a country
00:14:53.880 where the
00:14:54.680 power belongs
00:14:56.220 to people.
00:14:57.360 They know
00:14:57.980 that if the
00:14:58.680 president acts
00:15:00.660 against their
00:15:01.120 interests,
00:15:01.800 they can
00:15:02.220 reelect him
00:15:03.680 or they
00:15:04.700 can rise
00:15:06.520 against
00:15:07.080 oppressive
00:15:08.080 measures by
00:15:08.760 the government
00:15:09.240 and defend
00:15:11.440 their dignity
00:15:12.080 and their
00:15:12.540 rights.
00:15:13.940 In Russia,
00:15:14.800 it's very
00:15:15.340 different.
00:15:15.820 The fragile
00:15:16.220 democracy under
00:15:17.020 Boris Yeltsin
00:15:17.580 has been
00:15:17.960 replaced by
00:15:18.680 brutal KGB
00:15:19.680 dictatorship.
00:15:21.020 And Putin
00:15:21.780 always wanted
00:15:23.240 Ukraine to
00:15:24.560 join not
00:15:25.920 just Russia,
00:15:26.600 but to become
00:15:27.100 part of his
00:15:28.140 newly built
00:15:29.640 KGB
00:15:31.780 mafia-like
00:15:32.680 empire.
00:15:33.380 So that's
00:15:33.820 why his
00:15:34.780 attack on
00:15:35.200 Ukraine was
00:15:36.460 in the
00:15:36.880 books.
00:15:38.060 Can it
00:15:39.280 happen?
00:15:40.080 Let's say
00:15:40.920 he succeeds,
00:15:42.880 however we
00:15:43.640 define success,
00:15:44.540 in this
00:15:44.780 military in
00:15:45.400 Denver,
00:15:46.080 and he
00:15:46.460 establishes a
00:15:48.600 puppet
00:15:48.960 government in
00:15:49.580 Ukraine.
00:15:50.540 The hearts
00:15:51.120 and minds
00:15:51.560 of the
00:15:51.820 Ukrainian
00:15:52.160 people,
00:15:52.860 he's never
00:15:53.780 going to
00:15:54.200 rule those.
00:15:54.940 I mean,
00:15:55.260 what does
00:15:55.980 it look
00:15:56.380 like?
00:15:56.660 What does
00:15:56.860 the end
00:15:57.240 game look
00:15:57.740 like?
00:15:59.260 He doesn't
00:16:00.080 care.
00:16:00.820 What do you
00:16:01.500 mean?
00:16:01.800 It's the
00:16:02.040 minds and
00:16:03.620 hearts of
00:16:04.080 Ukraine.
00:16:04.460 Of course
00:16:04.800 they'll fight,
00:16:05.360 and I don't
00:16:05.860 believe he
00:16:06.340 will succeed.
00:16:07.300 Ukraine is
00:16:07.660 a big
00:16:07.900 country.
00:16:08.460 It's a
00:16:08.740 big territory,
00:16:09.420 44 million
00:16:09.980 people,
00:16:10.840 though you
00:16:11.180 always can
00:16:11.760 find a few
00:16:13.480 hundred thousand
00:16:14.080 traitors here
00:16:15.060 and there,
00:16:15.520 but it
00:16:16.060 seems that
00:16:16.480 nations united,
00:16:18.180 even people
00:16:18.760 in the
00:16:19.560 east or
00:16:20.040 west,
00:16:20.580 though they
00:16:21.160 sometimes
00:16:21.640 separate it
00:16:22.360 by there
00:16:23.280 are some
00:16:23.540 religious
00:16:23.900 differences,
00:16:25.260 or in
00:16:26.500 the east
00:16:27.020 most of
00:16:27.600 them speak
00:16:27.880 Russian.
00:16:28.780 And by
00:16:28.940 the way,
00:16:29.140 Russian language
00:16:30.420 was kept
00:16:30.960 as the
00:16:32.480 normal working
00:16:33.820 language in
00:16:34.320 Ukraine.
00:16:34.660 Most of
00:16:34.980 Ukraine
00:16:35.220 television was
00:16:36.520 actually conducting
00:16:37.720 their prognosis
00:16:38.360 in Russian.
00:16:40.060 But Putin
00:16:40.860 doesn't think
00:16:41.380 that far.
00:16:42.320 So again,
00:16:43.040 his goal was
00:16:43.920 simply,
00:16:44.420 you know,
00:16:44.800 destroy Ukrainian
00:16:45.580 sovereignty.
00:16:46.580 Vladimir Zelensky
00:16:47.440 is his personal
00:16:48.240 enemy.
00:16:49.040 And when Putin
00:16:49.520 talked about
00:16:50.540 decapitating
00:16:51.260 Ukrainian government,
00:16:52.600 I don't think it
00:16:53.140 was just a
00:16:53.560 political term.
00:16:55.000 So he is
00:16:55.920 seeing, you know,
00:16:56.700 Ukraine as an
00:16:57.460 obstacle in his
00:16:58.080 way, and he
00:16:58.800 wants to destroy it.
00:16:59.760 And I think
00:17:01.020 he was shocked
00:17:01.800 by the
00:17:02.540 unified
00:17:03.140 response from
00:17:04.600 the free
00:17:04.940 world.
00:17:05.600 All of a
00:17:06.180 sudden, he
00:17:06.660 lost almost
00:17:07.720 all, if not
00:17:08.800 all, support
00:17:09.680 that he has
00:17:10.400 been building
00:17:11.020 over two
00:17:11.680 decades.
00:17:12.500 Because we
00:17:12.880 have to give
00:17:13.240 them credit.
00:17:13.960 For 20
00:17:14.400 years, he
00:17:14.900 built the
00:17:15.220 most sophisticated
00:17:15.940 network of
00:17:16.800 agents and
00:17:17.460 lobbyists
00:17:18.000 working
00:17:18.640 throughout the
00:17:19.220 entire free
00:17:19.840 world.
00:17:20.520 And included
00:17:21.080 former prime
00:17:22.040 ministers,
00:17:22.680 former
00:17:22.860 minister of
00:17:23.360 foreign affairs,
00:17:24.500 not only
00:17:25.180 politicians, but
00:17:26.140 captains of
00:17:26.940 business, famous
00:17:28.540 personalities,
00:17:31.080 luminaries.
00:17:32.400 The Russian
00:17:33.180 money infiltrated
00:17:34.120 every layer of
00:17:35.720 Western society,
00:17:37.620 political,
00:17:38.280 financial, social,
00:17:40.540 cultural, sport.
00:17:42.220 And all of a
00:17:43.120 sudden, it's all
00:17:43.880 going to bust.
00:17:44.500 I think he's
00:17:45.240 shocked now.
00:17:46.280 And that's why
00:17:46.880 he's shifting
00:17:47.660 from this, what
00:17:49.380 I call, liberation
00:17:50.140 mission, following
00:17:51.100 the Russian
00:17:51.600 propaganda language,
00:17:53.080 to indiscriminate
00:17:54.660 attacks on
00:17:55.360 Ukrainian civilians.
00:17:56.120 He is mad and
00:17:58.000 Ukrainians,
00:17:58.840 Ukrainians, people
00:17:59.940 now are feeling
00:18:00.680 the horrors of
00:18:02.200 his wrath because
00:18:03.040 now Russian
00:18:03.900 troops are
00:18:04.840 shelling civilians.
00:18:06.540 He cannot take
00:18:07.680 over Kiev or
00:18:08.520 Kharkiv and he
00:18:09.640 wants to destroy
00:18:10.320 the cities, to
00:18:10.980 turn them into
00:18:11.460 the rebels.
00:18:12.820 Let's talk about
00:18:13.240 the European
00:18:13.680 response for a
00:18:14.520 moment because it
00:18:15.400 has been unified.
00:18:16.480 It's been
00:18:16.700 shockingly unified
00:18:17.560 Europe and
00:18:18.080 beyond.
00:18:19.280 And I mean,
00:18:20.060 we talked about
00:18:20.720 yesterday how he
00:18:21.660 actually managed to
00:18:22.460 get Switzerland off
00:18:23.780 of the neutral
00:18:24.300 position and joining
00:18:25.360 in the sanctions
00:18:25.900 Switzerland, not to
00:18:27.280 mention Sweden and
00:18:28.020 many others.
00:18:28.920 And I want to ask
00:18:29.920 you in particular
00:18:30.520 about Germany.
00:18:31.460 I know you've been
00:18:31.840 very critical about
00:18:32.660 Germany essentially
00:18:33.420 bending the knee to
00:18:34.300 Putin for quite some
00:18:35.420 time now and
00:18:36.500 telegraphing all the
00:18:37.360 wrong messages.
00:18:38.460 And I wonder if what
00:18:40.420 you've seen from
00:18:41.300 Germany yesterday,
00:18:42.220 now pledging to
00:18:43.620 spend 2% of its
00:18:44.700 budget on its
00:18:45.880 military, upping
00:18:47.300 the, canceling
00:18:49.060 permanently the
00:18:49.640 Nord Stream 2
00:18:50.320 pipeline from Russia,
00:18:51.740 which is a very big
00:18:52.900 deal and stepping in
00:18:55.140 and sending arms to
00:18:56.580 Ukraine.
00:18:58.140 What do you think is
00:18:58.920 going on there?
00:18:59.440 But before you answer
00:19:00.200 that, can I just show
00:19:01.020 you this moment?
00:19:02.040 This is out of the
00:19:02.980 UN Human Rights
00:19:03.820 Council as Russian
00:19:05.620 Foreign Minister
00:19:06.360 Sergei Lavrov spoke
00:19:08.340 its video and he, so
00:19:10.360 he spoke and there
00:19:11.020 was a walkout.
00:19:11.980 There was a mass
00:19:12.660 walkout just when he
00:19:14.000 got up, I mean, via
00:19:15.220 video link and spoke
00:19:16.480 from all these
00:19:17.960 countries'
00:19:18.400 representatives who
00:19:19.040 would not even hear
00:19:20.340 it.
00:19:21.140 So, spend a minute
00:19:22.460 on what appears to
00:19:24.000 be a very unified,
00:19:25.920 certainly Europe and
00:19:26.940 beyond, world
00:19:28.060 perhaps, China
00:19:29.760 questionable,
00:19:30.660 obviously places like
00:19:31.560 Belarus not so much,
00:19:33.320 and their response
00:19:34.420 and Germany in
00:19:35.440 particular.
00:19:37.460 Yeah, it's a very
00:19:38.440 important moment
00:19:39.180 because it shows
00:19:39.940 solidarity and
00:19:41.100 isolation, political
00:19:42.620 isolation is a very
00:19:43.660 important element of
00:19:44.700 fighting Putin back.
00:19:46.640 I think that it's,
00:19:48.460 while this step was
00:19:49.220 important, symbolic
00:19:50.100 step, but more can
00:19:51.800 and must be done.
00:19:52.840 One of the measures
00:19:53.620 I've been asking
00:19:55.120 from day one was
00:19:56.860 recalling ambassadors
00:19:58.140 from Moscow and
00:20:00.280 reducing diplomatic
00:20:01.200 missions to bare
00:20:02.140 minimum.
00:20:02.960 That's important,
00:20:03.860 again, to continue
00:20:04.900 this policy of
00:20:05.700 isolation.
00:20:07.100 And by the way,
00:20:07.600 when we're speaking
00:20:08.160 about isolation,
00:20:09.760 even China has a
00:20:11.060 very tepid reaction
00:20:12.040 to Putin's
00:20:12.600 aggression.
00:20:13.020 It restated its
00:20:16.220 support for Ukrainian
00:20:17.200 territorial integrity
00:20:18.220 and sovereignty.
00:20:19.220 Again, I'm not sure
00:20:21.300 we can trust China
00:20:23.800 because China is
00:20:24.600 watching Putin's
00:20:25.760 aggression very
00:20:26.660 closely because they
00:20:28.160 have Taiwan in mind.
00:20:29.640 But it's a tricky
00:20:30.840 game.
00:20:31.340 So China believes
00:20:32.340 Taiwan is a part of
00:20:33.100 China.
00:20:33.520 So I think China
00:20:34.800 doesn't want to go
00:20:36.140 full-monthly
00:20:36.740 supporting Putin.
00:20:37.740 Even Kazakhstan,
00:20:39.200 the dictatorship that
00:20:40.760 was saved by Putin
00:20:41.760 just months ago,
00:20:43.960 demonstrated its
00:20:45.340 distance from
00:20:48.220 from Putin's
00:20:48.760 aggression.
00:20:49.220 It's very aloof.
00:20:49.800 And even the top
00:20:51.100 provider, you know,
00:20:52.120 TV provider cut
00:20:54.000 Russian channels
00:20:55.600 from Kazakhs
00:20:56.900 air.
00:20:58.340 So Putin is
00:20:59.800 increasingly isolated.
00:21:01.660 He can rely on
00:21:02.840 support of Assad,
00:21:04.060 Maduro,
00:21:05.120 Cubans,
00:21:05.880 Nicaragua,
00:21:06.480 So and Iran,
00:21:09.080 not wholeheartedly.
00:21:12.280 So that's a unique
00:21:13.820 moment.
00:21:14.260 That's a unique
00:21:14.680 moment of isolation.
00:21:15.760 And you pointed out
00:21:16.400 Germany.
00:21:17.140 Absolutely.
00:21:17.760 This is a key.
00:21:19.500 The Germans' behavior
00:21:21.300 over the last 20 years
00:21:23.420 shifted Europe in the
00:21:25.240 wrong direction because
00:21:26.020 Germany, yeah, it's
00:21:27.060 unofficial leader of
00:21:28.040 Europe.
00:21:29.120 And Angela Merkel
00:21:30.440 government that
00:21:31.320 succeeded Gerhard
00:21:32.100 Schroeder, who is
00:21:32.740 still, by the way,
00:21:33.520 working for Putin,
00:21:34.440 is on Putin's payroll.
00:21:35.800 He hasn't resigned yet,
00:21:36.920 as far as I know.
00:21:38.100 Angela Merkel
00:21:38.680 government used very
00:21:40.820 aggressive rhetoric,
00:21:43.260 sometimes belligerent
00:21:43.860 rhetoric, condemning
00:21:45.640 Putin's actions, but
00:21:46.700 never did anything to
00:21:48.340 hurt Putin's commercial
00:21:49.520 interest.
00:21:50.580 Yes, Germany supported
00:21:51.620 sanctions after annexation
00:21:52.940 of Crimea, but at the
00:21:54.400 same time doubled the
00:21:55.940 amounts of Russian gas it
00:21:57.300 has been buying.
00:21:58.560 And of course, despite
00:22:00.160 all the protests,
00:22:01.660 German politicians have
00:22:03.220 been fully supportive of
00:22:04.900 the Nord Stream 2.
00:22:06.040 That's a parallel gas
00:22:07.700 pipeline that was
00:22:08.840 important for Putin to
00:22:10.500 secure, as he thought,
00:22:12.420 the gas supply to Europe
00:22:14.000 after his attack on
00:22:14.960 Ukraine.
00:22:15.600 It's probably not
00:22:16.180 coincidence that he
00:22:17.440 decided to attack Ukraine
00:22:18.800 when the Nord Stream 2
00:22:20.000 was ready to receive
00:22:21.920 Russian gas because
00:22:22.900 that was an alternative
00:22:24.640 that he wanted to
00:22:25.980 build.
00:22:26.200 And German politicians
00:22:27.380 were very, very
00:22:28.660 reluctant, I would say
00:22:30.320 even aggressive,
00:22:31.780 speaking to people like
00:22:32.780 myself and
00:22:34.820 deflecting criticism
00:22:36.100 about political
00:22:38.040 aspect of Nord Stream,
00:22:39.180 saying it's all about
00:22:40.080 business.
00:22:41.280 And even on the next
00:22:42.980 day of Putin's
00:22:43.880 attack on Ukraine,
00:22:45.200 Germany still refused
00:22:46.460 to sell weapons to
00:22:47.720 Ukraine and try to
00:22:48.840 mediate.
00:22:50.140 But what we saw,
00:22:51.480 public opinion has
00:22:52.220 changed.
00:22:52.540 And that's what
00:22:53.560 means, you know,
00:22:54.400 that means democracy
00:22:55.560 is working.
00:22:56.780 All of a sudden,
00:22:57.720 people that were not
00:23:00.280 ready to rally behind
00:23:01.740 Ukraine, they recognized
00:23:03.140 that it's something that
00:23:04.800 we can no longer
00:23:05.880 tolerate.
00:23:06.820 And German government
00:23:07.720 immediately shifted.
00:23:08.920 And I have to give credit
00:23:09.760 to German
00:23:11.600 Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
00:23:13.580 It looked like a
00:23:14.580 bureaucrat, you know,
00:23:15.280 the gray suit,
00:23:16.340 somebody who was missing
00:23:17.920 the charisma of Angela
00:23:18.940 Merkel or Gerhard
00:23:19.880 Schroeder or
00:23:20.840 Helmut Kohl,
00:23:22.360 but he acted
00:23:23.660 decisively and he
00:23:24.980 changed not the German
00:23:26.020 policy in the last 20
00:23:26.960 years.
00:23:27.460 We can say that he
00:23:28.400 shifted German policy
00:23:29.580 that goes all the way
00:23:31.300 back to 1969,
00:23:32.420 so-called Ostpolitik,
00:23:34.760 started by
00:23:36.040 Social Democratic
00:23:37.580 Chancellor
00:23:38.160 Willy Brandt.
00:23:39.560 And it immediately
00:23:41.160 changed the European
00:23:42.940 position.
00:23:44.240 So, and
00:23:44.580 I have to say I'm
00:23:46.600 astonished by, not just
00:23:48.060 by European response,
00:23:49.440 but the fact is that
00:23:50.280 the European Union,
00:23:51.940 the Union of 27
00:23:53.100 countries,
00:23:54.140 came up with a more
00:23:55.120 decisive
00:23:55.820 sanctions against Russia
00:23:58.280 than the United States.
00:23:59.960 We have been
00:24:00.620 hearing it for so long
00:24:02.140 that America prepared
00:24:03.280 the package,
00:24:03.980 devastating sanctions,
00:24:05.460 you know,
00:24:05.780 it's unheard,
00:24:06.840 it would ruin
00:24:08.360 Russian economy.
00:24:09.420 Yes, America is doing
00:24:10.360 it, but
00:24:10.860 if you look at
00:24:12.240 the scorecard,
00:24:14.340 America is still
00:24:15.100 lagging behind.
00:24:16.060 It's leading from
00:24:17.360 behind,
00:24:17.920 if we use this
00:24:18.800 infamous phrase.
00:24:20.180 And actually,
00:24:21.260 we are working now
00:24:22.060 on a new
00:24:22.560 website,
00:24:23.660 you know,
00:24:23.860 just to have the
00:24:24.340 scorecard.
00:24:25.440 It's fightforukraine.com
00:24:27.180 that will be alive
00:24:28.180 by the end of today.
00:24:29.420 So fight for,
00:24:30.300 for like a number,
00:24:31.480 Ukraine.
00:24:31.960 And we want to show
00:24:33.000 as every country
00:24:34.560 and every international
00:24:35.760 institution
00:24:36.280 responded to
00:24:37.980 Russian aggression
00:24:38.660 with sanctions
00:24:39.640 and military supply
00:24:40.660 of Ukraine.
00:24:41.700 Oh, that's great.
00:24:42.520 Fight for,
00:24:43.220 the numeral for,
00:24:44.060 ukraine.com,
00:24:45.380 hopefully live
00:24:46.180 by the end of the day.
00:24:46.900 We'll definitely
00:24:47.180 be checking that out.
00:24:48.340 All right,
00:24:48.500 Gary's staying with us
00:24:49.540 past this break.
00:24:50.560 We're going to
00:24:50.820 squeeze in a quick
00:24:51.360 commercial.
00:24:52.220 And up next,
00:24:52.660 we're going to
00:24:52.980 discuss the power
00:24:53.900 of Zelensky,
00:24:55.740 whose words
00:24:56.540 have even brought
00:24:57.340 professional interpreters
00:24:58.720 to tears
00:24:59.900 repeatedly.
00:25:01.160 That's next.
00:25:01.720 The powerful appeals
00:25:10.800 for help
00:25:11.620 from Ukrainian
00:25:12.860 President Zelensky
00:25:13.740 have touched
00:25:14.240 hearts and minds
00:25:14.940 across the world.
00:25:16.240 Even bringing
00:25:16.800 veteran interpreters
00:25:18.160 to tears.
00:25:18.800 Never heard anything
00:25:19.300 like it.
00:25:20.180 Take a listen here
00:25:20.820 as one is overcome
00:25:22.340 with emotion
00:25:23.000 as Zelensky spoke
00:25:24.520 to the European
00:25:25.220 Parliament
00:25:25.860 earlier today.
00:25:27.060 Can you imagine
00:25:28.120 this morning
00:25:28.820 two cruise missiles
00:25:30.140 hit this
00:25:32.720 freedom square?
00:25:34.660 Dozens of
00:25:35.540 killed ones.
00:25:37.520 This is the
00:25:38.100 price of freedom.
00:25:42.840 We're fighting
00:25:44.040 just for our
00:25:46.360 land
00:25:47.000 and for our
00:25:49.340 freedom.
00:25:51.820 Despite the
00:25:53.520 fact
00:25:53.840 that all
00:25:55.200 large cities
00:25:55.700 of our country
00:25:56.380 are now blocked.
00:25:57.160 the parliament
00:26:00.320 giving that
00:26:00.820 speech
00:26:01.200 a standing
00:26:02.080 ovation.
00:26:02.940 Watch this.
00:26:03.380 just a few
00:26:25.120 days ago
00:26:25.580 as Zelensky
00:26:26.180 explained
00:26:26.720 that Vladimir
00:26:27.500 Putin was
00:26:28.020 on a path
00:26:28.560 of evil
00:26:29.120 a Ukrainian
00:26:30.200 translating
00:26:30.820 on German
00:26:31.280 TV
00:26:31.620 could not
00:26:32.080 go on.
00:26:32.580 The words
00:26:33.340 here are
00:26:33.600 not in
00:26:33.880 English
00:26:34.120 but they
00:26:34.840 don't need
00:26:35.200 to be.
00:26:35.700 Listen.
00:26:36.300 Ukraine
00:26:36.660 we know
00:26:38.520 what we
00:26:41.580 are defending.
00:26:43.620 Thank
00:26:44.140 each
00:26:44.860 of our
00:26:45.820 soldiers.
00:26:47.220 Thank
00:26:47.540 Ukraine.
00:26:49.160 Thank
00:26:49.620 the words
00:26:51.680 that got
00:26:52.020 her.
00:26:52.800 Ukrainians
00:26:53.400 we know
00:26:53.720 exactly what
00:26:54.320 we are
00:26:54.560 defending.
00:26:55.380 We will
00:26:55.620 definitely
00:26:56.000 win.
00:26:56.820 Glory to
00:26:57.340 each of
00:26:57.660 our
00:26:57.840 soldiers.
00:26:58.960 Glory
00:26:59.240 to Ukraine.
00:27:00.640 I'm
00:27:01.060 joined once
00:27:01.440 again by
00:27:02.000 Russian
00:27:02.460 pro-democracy
00:27:03.300 activist and
00:27:03.980 former world
00:27:04.760 chess champion
00:27:05.740 Gary Kasparov.
00:27:07.700 Gary at some
00:27:08.260 point you've got to
00:27:08.760 come back and
00:27:09.180 we've got to
00:27:09.520 talk about your
00:27:10.060 history and
00:27:10.660 your whole
00:27:11.040 profile because
00:27:11.760 it's fascinating
00:27:12.540 just for those
00:27:13.620 who needed a
00:27:14.340 quick update.
00:27:15.780 Born in the
00:27:16.040 Soviet Union
00:27:16.540 in 1963
00:27:17.360 became the
00:27:18.080 under 18
00:27:18.820 chess champion
00:27:19.500 of the
00:27:20.120 USSR at
00:27:21.080 the age of
00:27:21.600 12.
00:27:22.660 The under
00:27:23.220 and the
00:27:23.920 world under
00:27:24.440 20 champion
00:27:25.100 at the age
00:27:25.600 of 17.
00:27:26.980 International fame
00:27:27.740 at the age
00:27:28.080 of 22
00:27:28.560 is the
00:27:28.900 youngest
00:27:29.160 world
00:27:29.540 chess
00:27:29.800 champion
00:27:30.160 in history
00:27:31.280 back in
00:27:32.440 1985 a
00:27:33.740 title you
00:27:34.160 defended five
00:27:35.460 times.
00:27:36.380 You broke
00:27:36.640 Bobby Fisher's
00:27:37.360 rating record
00:27:37.900 in 1990
00:27:38.580 and your
00:27:39.380 own peak
00:27:39.900 rating record
00:27:40.440 remained
00:27:40.740 unbroken
00:27:41.280 all the way
00:27:41.980 through 2013.
00:27:44.000 You since
00:27:45.280 fled the
00:27:45.880 Soviet Union
00:27:46.580 the Russia
00:27:47.160 in Moscow
00:27:48.620 and have
00:27:49.500 become a
00:27:50.000 target of
00:27:50.840 President Putin
00:27:51.940 who wanted
00:27:52.860 to arrest
00:27:53.640 you and
00:27:54.040 perhaps more
00:27:54.900 and have
00:27:56.020 been pushing
00:27:56.560 for democracy
00:27:57.680 there and
00:27:59.140 abroad ever
00:28:00.080 since and
00:28:01.140 been a
00:28:01.620 fearless
00:28:01.900 advocate for
00:28:03.280 reforms and
00:28:05.040 slow they have
00:28:06.520 been to come.
00:28:07.420 So one of the
00:28:08.320 things that I've
00:28:08.700 heard you talk
00:28:09.080 about as well
00:28:09.920 is America
00:28:10.680 and I've
00:28:11.520 heard you
00:28:11.900 just really
00:28:12.880 smart observations
00:28:14.300 about how
00:28:15.160 those young
00:28:16.380 kids today
00:28:16.920 who think
00:28:17.280 America is
00:28:18.180 they compare
00:28:19.280 it to a
00:28:19.720 third world
00:28:20.080 country.
00:28:20.620 They talk
00:28:20.840 about us
00:28:21.180 being oppressive
00:28:21.860 about how
00:28:23.000 we have no
00:28:24.520 civil rights
00:28:24.940 in this
00:28:25.220 country and
00:28:25.780 we don't
00:28:26.020 understand the
00:28:27.180 way
00:28:27.500 to treat
00:28:28.260 people and
00:28:28.920 to advance
00:28:29.300 humanity
00:28:29.760 and you've
00:28:30.780 basically said
00:28:31.500 they don't
00:28:32.000 know what
00:28:32.260 they're talking
00:28:32.680 about.
00:28:33.280 Try living
00:28:34.280 in some
00:28:35.340 countries around
00:28:35.860 the world
00:28:36.200 and then come
00:28:36.580 back and tell
00:28:37.100 us that
00:28:37.440 America is
00:28:38.660 not the
00:28:39.260 leader of
00:28:39.760 the free
00:28:40.040 world.
00:28:40.460 It's not
00:28:40.840 perfect but
00:28:41.900 it certainly
00:28:42.240 is the
00:28:42.540 leader when
00:28:43.000 it comes
00:28:43.240 to freedom
00:28:43.620 and there's
00:28:44.060 a reason
00:28:44.360 so many
00:28:44.680 people want
00:28:45.060 to come
00:28:45.260 here.
00:28:45.960 So
00:28:46.060 understanding
00:28:47.120 that that's
00:28:47.540 been our
00:28:47.980 role,
00:28:48.780 what do you
00:28:49.280 think our
00:28:49.660 role here
00:28:50.340 should be?
00:28:51.440 What should
00:28:52.100 America be
00:28:52.640 doing right
00:28:53.040 now that it's
00:28:53.500 not?
00:28:53.700 those emotional
00:28:58.900 moments you
00:28:59.480 showed and
00:29:00.080 every time I
00:29:01.300 hear this
00:29:01.860 testimonies and
00:29:03.980 this emotional
00:29:05.400 reaction even
00:29:06.200 from the
00:29:06.580 interpreter so
00:29:07.340 I feel
00:29:08.080 ashamed that
00:29:08.640 I'm Russian
00:29:09.120 though I
00:29:09.940 always opposed
00:29:11.120 Vladimir Putin's
00:29:12.460 dictatorship and
00:29:13.340 I've been warning
00:29:13.940 about his
00:29:14.460 horrors but
00:29:15.020 it's this
00:29:16.300 we all know
00:29:16.820 we bear
00:29:17.460 responsibilities
00:29:18.280 that this
00:29:18.880 monster is
00:29:20.340 ruling our
00:29:20.760 country and
00:29:21.460 it's threatening
00:29:22.160 not only
00:29:22.700 Ukraine but
00:29:23.260 the whole
00:29:23.660 world with
00:29:25.540 total
00:29:27.580 destruction.
00:29:29.240 As for
00:29:29.900 America
00:29:30.340 sometimes I'm
00:29:33.400 frustrated,
00:29:34.160 annoyed,
00:29:34.640 you know,
00:29:35.120 pick up the
00:29:35.500 right word
00:29:35.980 when I see
00:29:36.800 these young
00:29:37.200 Americans,
00:29:38.660 not only young
00:29:39.260 Americans,
00:29:39.960 just some
00:29:40.540 Americans
00:29:40.960 totally ignorant
00:29:42.480 about the rest
00:29:43.140 of the world.
00:29:43.720 Oh, just
00:29:44.640 calling America
00:29:45.560 is a country
00:29:47.920 with no real
00:29:48.420 democracy and
00:29:49.280 looking at
00:29:49.680 American past,
00:29:51.000 I know,
00:29:51.360 denigrating
00:29:51.880 American history
00:29:52.580 and democracy
00:29:53.340 and protesting
00:29:56.880 against injustices.
00:29:58.400 Yeah, no
00:29:59.120 country is
00:30:00.060 perfect.
00:30:00.680 American democracy
00:30:01.280 is not perfect
00:30:01.960 but there is no
00:30:02.560 perfection in the
00:30:03.640 universe.
00:30:04.400 Nothing is even
00:30:05.420 close to 100%
00:30:06.380 but you always
00:30:07.380 should look at
00:30:08.200 the relative
00:30:09.400 strengths and
00:30:10.540 weaknesses.
00:30:11.440 An American
00:30:11.800 democracy today
00:30:12.800 and America
00:30:13.980 as a country
00:30:14.800 is a force
00:30:15.840 for good
00:30:16.380 as it was
00:30:17.500 50 years ago
00:30:18.380 when people
00:30:18.800 like me
00:30:19.280 who were born
00:30:20.440 and raised
00:30:20.960 in the Soviet
00:30:21.440 Union on the
00:30:22.160 other side
00:30:22.580 of Iron Curtain
00:30:23.280 always looked
00:30:24.100 at America
00:30:24.620 as a beacon
00:30:25.140 of hope.
00:30:25.960 And today
00:30:26.340 we have
00:30:26.840 millions,
00:30:28.220 tens of
00:30:28.680 millions,
00:30:29.400 hundreds of
00:30:29.980 millions of
00:30:30.480 people still
00:30:31.120 looking at
00:30:31.520 America this
00:30:32.160 way.
00:30:33.160 Yes,
00:30:33.440 we know
00:30:33.840 that America
00:30:34.480 is trying
00:30:35.140 to improve
00:30:35.880 and America
00:30:36.960 is looking
00:30:37.760 at its past
00:30:39.200 and being
00:30:39.940 highly critical
00:30:40.940 but we
00:30:42.880 never had
00:30:46.000 the same
00:30:46.640 kind of
00:30:47.020 freedom.
00:30:47.860 Today,
00:30:49.240 millions,
00:30:49.880 maybe even
00:30:50.280 billions of
00:30:50.960 people in
00:30:51.320 the world
00:30:51.660 because according
00:30:52.860 to Freedom
00:30:53.260 House,
00:30:54.300 you know,
00:30:54.580 it's two-thirds
00:30:55.720 of the world
00:30:56.180 population live
00:30:56.940 in unfree
00:30:57.440 countries.
00:30:58.760 So people
00:30:59.340 would be
00:30:59.960 dying for
00:31:01.720 the portion
00:31:03.300 of freedoms
00:31:04.220 that Americans
00:31:04.980 always take
00:31:06.200 for granted.
00:31:06.680 and what
00:31:07.600 is happening
00:31:08.020 now in
00:31:08.400 Ukraine
00:31:08.800 is a
00:31:09.240 demonstration
00:31:09.680 that people
00:31:10.320 are willing
00:31:10.640 to die
00:31:11.340 for freedom
00:31:11.980 and in
00:31:14.360 America,
00:31:14.980 you have
00:31:15.300 so many
00:31:15.780 opportunities
00:31:16.240 to advance
00:31:17.500 the cause
00:31:17.940 of freedom
00:31:18.420 but you
00:31:19.060 have to
00:31:19.340 fight for
00:31:19.660 your own
00:31:19.860 democracy.
00:31:20.480 But to
00:31:20.880 fight for
00:31:21.220 democracy
00:31:21.560 and to
00:31:22.100 regain
00:31:22.920 American
00:31:23.360 leadership
00:31:23.820 in the
00:31:24.120 world,
00:31:24.480 you must
00:31:24.880 respect
00:31:25.400 your
00:31:25.600 democracy.
00:31:26.240 You must
00:31:26.520 recognize
00:31:27.200 the role
00:31:27.680 of America
00:31:28.160 and it's
00:31:28.880 tragic
00:31:29.320 that on
00:31:30.200 both sides
00:31:30.940 of the
00:31:31.200 political
00:31:31.440 spectrum,
00:31:32.060 the extremes
00:31:32.620 on the
00:31:32.960 right or
00:31:33.320 the left,
00:31:34.140 for different
00:31:35.120 reasons,
00:31:35.560 they challenge
00:31:36.920 this American
00:31:37.380 role and
00:31:38.560 they do
00:31:39.060 not understand
00:31:40.000 that attacking
00:31:41.240 America's
00:31:42.400 leadership role
00:31:43.400 in the
00:31:43.620 world and
00:31:44.200 finding excuses
00:31:45.120 for thugs,
00:31:46.300 terrorists and
00:31:47.660 dictators on
00:31:49.700 the globe,
00:31:50.760 they are
00:31:52.120 chopping pieces
00:31:54.500 for American
00:31:55.040 democracy because
00:31:55.900 if you are
00:31:57.540 not ready to
00:31:58.740 defend democracy
00:31:59.700 worldwide in
00:32:01.440 the 21st century,
00:32:02.540 it's globalization,
00:32:03.640 which means we
00:32:04.400 know instantly
00:32:05.340 what's happening
00:32:05.900 in Ukraine,
00:32:06.660 in Indonesia,
00:32:07.500 in Argentina,
00:32:08.900 all over the
00:32:09.520 world.
00:32:10.460 And if we
00:32:11.520 are not ready
00:32:12.620 to fight for
00:32:13.660 democracy
00:32:14.100 worldwide,
00:32:14.620 we are
00:32:15.540 endangering our
00:32:16.360 democracy here
00:32:17.100 in this
00:32:17.400 country.
00:32:18.780 So what does
00:32:19.180 that mean for
00:32:19.700 us in
00:32:20.000 Ukraine?
00:32:20.540 You know the
00:32:21.000 American people
00:32:21.580 are war weary.
00:32:22.680 They don't have
00:32:23.100 a lot of trust
00:32:23.620 in their
00:32:23.880 generals after
00:32:24.620 the way
00:32:24.940 Afghanistan
00:32:25.400 went and
00:32:26.220 news emerging
00:32:27.600 of the
00:32:27.880 Afghanistan
00:32:28.280 papers about
00:32:29.040 how we've
00:32:29.380 been lied to
00:32:29.860 by our
00:32:30.180 leaders for
00:32:30.580 so long
00:32:31.660 about how
00:32:32.240 that war
00:32:32.560 was going,
00:32:33.620 never mind
00:32:34.000 the disastrous
00:32:34.560 exit.
00:32:35.340 Never mind
00:32:36.040 the disaster
00:32:36.620 in Iraq
00:32:37.200 and I
00:32:37.540 could go
00:32:37.820 on.
00:32:38.620 So that's
00:32:39.140 the mindset
00:32:39.860 right now
00:32:40.440 of most
00:32:41.180 Americans
00:32:41.640 when it
00:32:42.020 comes to,
00:32:42.540 oh my
00:32:42.680 God,
00:32:42.880 we can't
00:32:43.180 get involved
00:32:43.540 in another
00:32:43.960 war.
00:32:44.600 Certainly
00:32:44.960 don't want
00:32:45.360 a war
00:32:45.640 with Russia
00:32:46.640 and nuclear
00:32:47.900 armed
00:32:48.200 country.
00:32:49.320 So okay,
00:32:49.860 we'll stick
00:32:50.380 to the
00:32:50.720 sanctions
00:32:51.100 and we'll
00:32:51.540 hope that
00:32:51.880 they work
00:32:52.340 and we'll
00:32:52.620 try to be
00:32:53.340 a part
00:32:53.640 of this
00:32:53.940 international
00:32:54.420 coalition,
00:32:55.040 not lead
00:32:55.440 it,
00:32:55.780 but be a
00:32:56.120 part of
00:32:56.400 it,
00:32:57.120 cracking
00:32:57.380 down
00:32:57.820 on Vladimir
00:32:58.780 Putin
00:32:59.100 and Russia.
00:32:59.640 what more
00:33:01.400 should we
00:33:01.820 be doing
00:33:02.180 in your
00:33:02.480 view?
00:33:03.680 Yeah,
00:33:04.380 it's an
00:33:06.160 American
00:33:06.480 concept over
00:33:07.280 the last
00:33:07.640 15 years
00:33:08.500 or so,
00:33:09.060 leading from
00:33:09.520 behind.
00:33:09.980 And I
00:33:11.080 can remind
00:33:11.780 you and
00:33:12.560 our listeners
00:33:13.480 that back
00:33:14.400 in 1951,
00:33:15.940 President
00:33:16.220 Harris
00:33:16.640 Truman said
00:33:17.520 we cannot
00:33:18.180 lead force
00:33:18.980 of freedom
00:33:19.340 from behind.
00:33:21.100 And without
00:33:23.380 America
00:33:24.060 reassuming
00:33:25.540 its leadership
00:33:26.220 role,
00:33:27.560 the world
00:33:27.940 is in
00:33:28.180 trouble.
00:33:28.700 Right now
00:33:29.140 we see the
00:33:29.640 coalition of
00:33:30.240 European nations
00:33:30.900 led by
00:33:31.340 Germany.
00:33:32.440 And again,
00:33:33.120 it's a very
00:33:33.940 powerful message,
00:33:34.840 but we still
00:33:35.400 need America
00:33:36.020 to participate
00:33:37.660 aggressively in
00:33:38.520 the war
00:33:39.100 because it's
00:33:41.160 not a war
00:33:41.680 of our
00:33:41.940 choosing,
00:33:42.560 but we
00:33:42.920 are at
00:33:43.300 war already.
00:33:44.500 Vladimir
00:33:44.820 Putin,
00:33:45.500 again,
00:33:45.860 listen to
00:33:46.280 his
00:33:46.440 rhetorics,
00:33:47.000 listen to
00:33:47.300 his propaganda.
00:33:48.200 He's
00:33:48.600 attacking
00:33:49.000 Ukraine,
00:33:49.740 not just
00:33:50.080 as Ukraine,
00:33:50.900 but as
00:33:51.120 an American
00:33:51.460 puppet.
00:33:52.300 He is
00:33:52.840 at war
00:33:53.200 with America.
00:33:54.020 He is
00:33:54.420 at war
00:33:54.740 with democracy.
00:33:56.120 And he
00:33:56.360 believes that
00:33:56.980 the world
00:33:57.740 must accept
00:33:58.860 his
00:33:59.620 conditions.
00:34:00.900 His
00:34:01.120 ultimatum
00:34:02.060 that he
00:34:02.560 issued a
00:34:03.640 few months
00:34:04.020 ago,
00:34:04.900 by the way,
00:34:06.100 after seeing
00:34:07.060 President Biden
00:34:07.780 at the
00:34:08.300 summit in
00:34:09.020 last June,
00:34:09.740 and then
00:34:09.980 having these
00:34:10.420 two conversations
00:34:11.140 with him
00:34:11.700 just over
00:34:12.560 Zoom or
00:34:13.560 whatever
00:34:13.920 communication
00:34:16.340 they used,
00:34:17.460 he felt
00:34:18.540 arrogant and
00:34:20.040 emboldened
00:34:20.640 to issue
00:34:21.300 the ultimatum
00:34:22.060 demanding the,
00:34:23.360 more or less,
00:34:24.080 we can read it
00:34:24.640 between the lines,
00:34:25.720 the end of
00:34:26.220 NATO,
00:34:27.740 the
00:34:27.940 capillation of
00:34:29.040 America and
00:34:29.700 capillation of
00:34:30.360 the West,
00:34:31.360 and giving him
00:34:33.300 full power to
00:34:34.880 decide how to
00:34:35.820 act in his
00:34:37.100 spheres of
00:34:37.860 influence.
00:34:39.780 And now
00:34:40.880 he's trying
00:34:41.860 to impose
00:34:42.400 his will.
00:34:43.080 That's why
00:34:43.520 he's threatening
00:34:44.260 nuclear
00:34:49.180 weapon to
00:34:50.900 become a
00:34:51.340 factor in
00:34:52.680 this game,
00:34:53.880 because he
00:34:54.340 knows,
00:34:55.440 as an
00:34:56.740 experienced
00:34:57.160 poker player,
00:34:58.300 that he has
00:34:58.740 a very weak
00:34:59.140 hand.
00:35:00.280 Russian
00:35:00.680 conventional
00:35:01.140 force is
00:35:02.440 no match
00:35:03.060 to NATO.
00:35:03.640 It cannot
00:35:04.240 win a war
00:35:04.780 even against
00:35:05.280 Ukraine.
00:35:06.200 They're
00:35:06.400 stuck.
00:35:07.860 So,
00:35:08.380 facing NATO
00:35:09.080 on the
00:35:10.020 battlefield is
00:35:10.700 not an
00:35:10.960 option for
00:35:11.360 him.
00:35:11.800 So,
00:35:12.120 he's trying
00:35:12.500 to raise
00:35:12.840 the stakes.
00:35:14.100 And as
00:35:14.460 he did
00:35:14.900 before,
00:35:15.940 for him,
00:35:16.680 it's a
00:35:17.460 game of
00:35:17.840 nerves.
00:35:18.680 He expects
00:35:19.360 America and
00:35:20.100 Europe to
00:35:20.560 blink.
00:35:21.760 And then,
00:35:22.940 then he
00:35:23.320 wins.
00:35:24.580 I think if
00:35:25.100 he takes
00:35:25.440 over Ukraine,
00:35:26.800 even with
00:35:27.580 Ukrainians
00:35:28.360 refusing to
00:35:29.380 accept his
00:35:29.940 rule,
00:35:30.400 that could
00:35:31.260 be disastrous
00:35:31.820 because he
00:35:32.420 will not
00:35:32.760 stop.
00:35:33.740 Dictators
00:35:34.220 never stop.
00:35:35.940 They are
00:35:36.420 stopped.
00:35:37.900 And it's
00:35:38.720 just a
00:35:39.120 matter of
00:35:39.420 time before
00:35:40.200 Putin will
00:35:40.940 test American
00:35:41.700 resolve on
00:35:42.760 NATO territory.
00:35:45.060 And that's
00:35:45.380 why I'm
00:35:46.060 not comfortable
00:35:47.320 hearing President
00:35:48.380 Biden repeating
00:35:49.140 we would not
00:35:50.040 fight for
00:35:50.420 Ukraine,
00:35:50.780 but we would
00:35:51.300 defend every
00:35:52.200 inch of
00:35:52.660 territory of
00:35:53.580 NATO
00:35:53.760 countries.
00:35:54.960 It's not
00:35:55.540 about me
00:35:55.900 believing him
00:35:56.380 or not.
00:35:56.940 I don't
00:35:57.180 think Putin
00:35:57.660 believes him.
00:35:59.100 Because there
00:35:59.780 was a
00:36:00.020 meeting,
00:36:00.560 summit I
00:36:00.960 mentioned,
00:36:01.460 in June,
00:36:02.360 and we
00:36:02.720 heard that
00:36:03.140 America laid
00:36:03.780 down an
00:36:04.140 ultimatum.
00:36:04.900 They had
00:36:05.800 a meeting
00:36:07.140 where Biden
00:36:07.740 looking at
00:36:08.160 Putin's
00:36:08.420 eyes said,
00:36:09.180 we would
00:36:09.600 punish you
00:36:10.620 for your
00:36:11.360 aggression
00:36:11.680 against
00:36:11.940 Ukraine.
00:36:12.500 So it
00:36:13.900 seems that
00:36:14.320 Putin didn't
00:36:14.800 believe him.
00:36:15.920 And then
00:36:16.120 they had two
00:36:16.460 more conversations.
00:36:17.420 And then
00:36:17.640 every Western
00:36:18.320 leader visited
00:36:18.820 him.
00:36:19.320 He didn't
00:36:19.740 believe them
00:36:20.200 because they
00:36:20.700 were so
00:36:21.040 weak.
00:36:21.760 Why do you
00:36:22.420 think that
00:36:22.760 Putin would
00:36:23.200 believe
00:36:23.640 when Biden
00:36:25.680 talks about
00:36:26.440 Estonia,
00:36:27.820 Latvia,
00:36:28.200 or Poland?
00:36:29.200 I think it's
00:36:30.020 time to
00:36:30.320 recognize we
00:36:30.960 are at war.
00:36:31.620 And while
00:36:32.420 I'm not
00:36:32.760 advocating
00:36:33.300 just immediate
00:36:34.380 intervention,
00:36:35.680 but we
00:36:35.960 should do
00:36:36.360 more.
00:36:37.440 And isolation
00:36:37.980 of Russia
00:36:38.380 must be
00:36:38.820 complete.
00:36:39.900 Oil embargo,
00:36:40.740 gas embargo,
00:36:41.940 total isolation
00:36:42.760 everywhere,
00:36:43.560 and stop
00:36:44.100 every conversation
00:36:45.040 with Russia.
00:36:46.040 I also wonder
00:36:46.840 if Americans
00:36:47.800 are trying to
00:36:48.560 bring Russia
00:36:49.040 into Iranian
00:36:49.600 deal,
00:36:50.500 because according
00:36:51.620 to many sources,
00:36:53.600 Russia was a
00:36:54.220 country where
00:36:54.760 uranium,
00:36:57.240 enriched uranium,
00:36:58.240 had to be
00:36:58.860 stockpiled.
00:37:00.160 Bad,
00:37:00.920 because that
00:37:01.380 means Russia
00:37:02.020 is still at
00:37:02.600 the table.
00:37:04.020 Cut all the
00:37:04.680 ties.
00:37:05.340 Green deal,
00:37:06.160 Iranian deal,
00:37:07.240 Russia must
00:37:07.980 become a
00:37:08.520 pariah.
00:37:09.240 And that's
00:37:09.500 the way to
00:37:10.360 demonstrate to
00:37:11.920 Russian people
00:37:12.560 and to Russian
00:37:13.280 elite that
00:37:14.280 America and
00:37:14.960 Europe are
00:37:15.360 serious.
00:37:16.000 So far,
00:37:16.860 I still hear
00:37:18.300 doubts and
00:37:19.600 weaknesses,
00:37:20.360 and Putin also
00:37:21.060 is hearing
00:37:21.760 them.
00:37:22.320 And that's
00:37:22.620 why he will
00:37:23.660 keep raising
00:37:24.240 stakes.
00:37:25.840 My gosh,
00:37:26.820 I could talk
00:37:27.760 to you for
00:37:28.160 two more
00:37:28.740 hours,
00:37:29.060 and I
00:37:29.260 would like
00:37:29.820 to.
00:37:30.500 Will you
00:37:30.960 agree to
00:37:31.300 come back
00:37:31.760 soon and
00:37:32.460 let's have
00:37:32.780 a longer
00:37:33.120 discussion?
00:37:34.160 I'm always
00:37:34.560 available,
00:37:35.200 Megan.
00:37:35.480 I think we
00:37:37.040 are facing
00:37:37.680 one of the
00:37:39.080 turning points
00:37:39.760 in history,
00:37:41.020 a milestone.
00:37:42.040 And what
00:37:43.440 happens today
00:37:44.180 may decide
00:37:45.080 our lives
00:37:46.000 for months,
00:37:46.980 years,
00:37:47.420 maybe decades.
00:37:48.680 Wow.
00:37:49.320 All right.
00:37:49.660 Before you
00:37:50.120 go, give us
00:37:50.880 the name of
00:37:51.200 the website
00:37:51.560 again so
00:37:52.000 people can
00:37:52.380 check it
00:37:52.680 out.
00:37:53.780 It's
00:37:54.020 fightforukraine.com
00:37:55.780 or .org.
00:37:56.840 Fight for
00:37:57.460 number,
00:37:58.120 Ukraine,
00:37:58.900 and it
00:37:59.240 will be
00:37:59.540 ready by
00:38:00.140 the end
00:38:00.340 of the
00:38:00.540 day.
00:38:01.120 All right.
00:38:01.380 We'll keep
00:38:01.700 refreshing.
00:38:03.000 Gary, thank
00:38:03.420 you.
00:38:03.700 Thank you so
00:38:04.120 much.
00:38:04.340 We appreciate
00:38:04.740 it.
00:38:05.640 Thank you
00:38:05.940 very much
00:38:06.180 for having
00:38:06.480 me.
00:38:07.160 Wow.
00:38:07.660 Extraordinary
00:38:08.060 man, right?
00:38:09.120 Extraordinary
00:38:09.520 man.
00:38:10.040 He knows of
00:38:10.780 what he
00:38:11.020 speaks.
00:38:12.180 Now, tonight,
00:38:13.120 we will be
00:38:13.660 hearing from
00:38:14.260 President Joe
00:38:14.880 Biden.
00:38:15.220 He's finally
00:38:15.660 going to
00:38:16.080 deliver the
00:38:16.740 State of
00:38:17.020 the Union
00:38:17.400 address months
00:38:19.160 after he was
00:38:19.700 supposed to.
00:38:20.240 We expect
00:38:20.700 what?
00:38:22.220 I guess it's
00:38:22.900 not an end
00:38:24.020 to COVID,
00:38:24.660 but he's
00:38:24.980 definitely going
00:38:25.540 to be taking
00:38:25.960 some sort
00:38:26.340 of a victory
00:38:26.840 lap.
00:38:27.660 And what's
00:38:28.160 he going to
00:38:28.460 say about
00:38:28.840 Ukraine?
00:38:29.260 What kind
00:38:29.480 of credit
00:38:29.900 is he going
00:38:30.560 to want
00:38:30.960 for what's
00:38:32.000 happened there?
00:38:32.560 Michael Knowles
00:38:33.120 of The Daily
00:38:34.180 Wire joins
00:38:35.100 us next.
00:38:42.180 Joining me
00:38:42.760 now,
00:38:43.180 Michael Knowles,
00:38:43.900 host of
00:38:44.520 The Michael
00:38:44.940 Knowles
00:38:45.380 Show for
00:38:46.080 The Daily
00:38:46.400 Wire.
00:38:46.740 Michael,
00:38:46.980 great to
00:38:47.240 have you
00:38:47.520 here in
00:38:48.380 advance of
00:38:49.140 the long
00:38:49.820 awaited
00:38:50.460 State of
00:38:51.000 the Union
00:38:51.380 address.
00:38:52.580 And I
00:38:52.800 said at
00:38:53.020 the top
00:38:53.240 of the
00:38:53.400 show,
00:38:53.580 this is
00:38:53.800 probably
00:38:54.080 the most
00:38:54.460 important
00:38:54.920 address that
00:38:55.660 Joe Biden
00:38:56.180 will have
00:38:56.520 given to
00:38:57.040 the nation
00:38:57.420 since he
00:38:57.800 became
00:38:58.080 president,
00:38:59.040 given everything
00:38:59.500 that's happening
00:39:00.080 at home and
00:39:00.820 abroad.
00:39:02.140 You know,
00:39:02.300 the naval
00:39:02.640 gazers in
00:39:03.180 Washington have
00:39:03.880 been beating
00:39:04.360 themselves up
00:39:05.000 asking,
00:39:05.460 will he say
00:39:05.960 the word
00:39:06.440 inflation?
00:39:07.540 Will he
00:39:07.740 say the
00:39:08.320 word?
00:39:09.100 I mean,
00:39:09.360 would you
00:39:09.540 shut the
00:39:10.300 hell up,
00:39:10.720 right?
00:39:10.880 Like,
00:39:11.120 who gives
00:39:12.780 a shit
00:39:13.020 whether he
00:39:13.380 says the
00:39:13.700 word inflation
00:39:14.180 or not?
00:39:14.580 We know
00:39:14.820 that we're
00:39:15.080 dealing with
00:39:15.440 record inflation.
00:39:16.500 What's he
00:39:16.800 going to do
00:39:17.300 about inflation
00:39:17.960 is the
00:39:18.280 question.
00:39:19.120 And what
00:39:19.440 I'm gathering
00:39:20.040 from what
00:39:20.460 I'm reading
00:39:20.920 is he's
00:39:22.060 basically just
00:39:22.620 going to
00:39:25.660 plans like
00:39:26.100 BBB as
00:39:27.320 the solution
00:39:28.040 to inflation.
00:39:29.500 So his
00:39:29.880 plan is
00:39:30.520 really just
00:39:31.020 to spend
00:39:31.720 more,
00:39:32.880 but he's
00:39:33.100 going to
00:39:33.440 recast
00:39:34.140 BBB as
00:39:35.100 inflation
00:39:35.980 solution in
00:39:36.900 the form
00:39:37.380 of,
00:39:37.860 you know,
00:39:38.560 taking care
00:39:39.280 of eliminating
00:39:40.360 barriers to
00:39:41.460 well-paying
00:39:42.500 jobs,
00:39:43.660 promoting
00:39:44.120 fair
00:39:44.640 competition,
00:39:46.320 helping
00:39:47.160 families,
00:39:48.600 and protecting
00:39:50.640 the Right to
00:39:51.220 Organize Act
00:39:52.380 and a bill
00:39:52.860 to raise
00:39:53.200 the minimum
00:39:53.560 wage to
00:39:54.000 $15 an
00:39:54.620 hour.
00:39:54.720 Spend,
00:39:55.440 spend,
00:39:55.740 spend,
00:39:56.040 spend,
00:39:56.340 spend,
00:39:56.600 and that
00:39:57.220 somehow is
00:39:57.720 going to
00:39:58.140 solve our
00:39:58.680 inflational
00:39:59.020 problems.
00:39:59.920 Right.
00:40:00.160 I think that's
00:40:01.140 an astute
00:40:01.500 observation,
00:40:02.400 Megan.
00:40:02.620 His policies
00:40:03.280 have been
00:40:03.680 so disastrous
00:40:05.080 and so deeply
00:40:06.020 unpopular
00:40:06.520 that he
00:40:07.200 couldn't even
00:40:07.820 convince his
00:40:08.420 own party
00:40:09.080 to go along
00:40:09.960 with his
00:40:10.340 budget.
00:40:10.840 He can't
00:40:11.060 even get
00:40:11.240 a budget
00:40:11.600 passed.
00:40:12.380 And so
00:40:12.700 his only
00:40:13.160 option is
00:40:14.240 to use
00:40:15.260 that to
00:40:16.060 some sort
00:40:16.980 of advantage.
00:40:17.680 He'll say,
00:40:18.220 well,
00:40:18.560 you know,
00:40:18.780 the reason
00:40:19.140 things aren't
00:40:19.800 perhaps as
00:40:20.460 good as they
00:40:20.880 could be right
00:40:21.400 now is because
00:40:22.400 I've been
00:40:22.760 stymied in
00:40:23.820 my plans,
00:40:24.500 which are
00:40:24.740 so wonderful
00:40:25.400 and so popular
00:40:26.340 that not even
00:40:27.080 Democrats want
00:40:27.800 to support
00:40:28.240 them.
00:40:28.840 And then he'll
00:40:29.460 hold out that
00:40:30.000 carrot for the
00:40:30.680 future.
00:40:31.440 I mean,
00:40:31.860 I don't think
00:40:32.560 it is a
00:40:33.120 hyper-partisan
00:40:34.360 exaggeration to
00:40:35.940 say that
00:40:36.260 everything the
00:40:36.900 man has
00:40:37.300 touched has
00:40:38.140 turned to
00:40:38.660 ash,
00:40:39.100 in some
00:40:39.480 cases,
00:40:40.000 literally.
00:40:40.820 So on
00:40:41.000 foreign policy,
00:40:41.940 obviously the
00:40:42.480 world has
00:40:42.880 fallen apart
00:40:43.560 because of
00:40:44.460 specific decisions
00:40:45.300 he made in
00:40:46.200 Afghanistan with
00:40:47.300 regard to Russia,
00:40:48.180 the Nord Stream 2
00:40:48.760 pipeline.
00:40:49.140 obviously we're
00:40:49.640 seeing that
00:40:50.000 play out in
00:40:50.760 Ukraine right
00:40:51.420 now on the
00:40:52.340 economy.
00:40:52.960 It's gone to
00:40:53.800 pot in terms of
00:40:55.600 inflation,
00:40:56.140 in terms of
00:40:56.560 energy,
00:40:57.100 the list goes
00:40:57.800 on and on
00:40:58.300 and on.
00:40:58.920 So his best
00:41:00.040 bet for the
00:41:00.720 State of the
00:41:01.140 Union is to
00:41:02.880 look toward the
00:41:03.700 future.
00:41:04.320 He can pump up
00:41:05.520 the new Supreme
00:41:06.200 Court nominee,
00:41:07.180 right?
00:41:07.320 That's something
00:41:07.780 that could seem
00:41:08.500 possibly positive
00:41:10.740 for him.
00:41:11.740 He can talk
00:41:12.860 about how he's
00:41:14.820 a wartime
00:41:15.260 president now and
00:41:16.240 how he's united
00:41:17.280 NATO.
00:41:17.740 He's united
00:41:18.340 NATO because of
00:41:19.060 a dereliction of
00:41:19.800 American leadership
00:41:20.620 that has basically
00:41:22.560 left Europe and
00:41:24.180 NATO on their
00:41:24.760 own.
00:41:25.260 So I guess in
00:41:26.340 that way it's
00:41:26.920 sort of damning
00:41:27.440 with faint praise,
00:41:28.300 but he can make
00:41:28.980 that claim.
00:41:30.040 And then you saw
00:41:30.600 last night this
00:41:31.240 last-ditch effort
00:41:32.180 by the Democrats
00:41:33.280 to do anything
00:41:34.820 and that was
00:41:35.900 them tilting at
00:41:37.160 windmills.
00:41:37.780 They passed a
00:41:38.460 law to criminalize
00:41:40.080 lynching.
00:41:41.340 Lynching, which
00:41:42.180 last time I checked
00:41:43.140 is already illegal.
00:41:44.400 It's been illegal
00:41:44.880 for a very long
00:41:45.520 time.
00:41:46.000 Hasn't been a
00:41:46.480 problem in America
00:41:47.220 for at least,
00:41:48.280 what, 70 years
00:41:49.140 now?
00:41:49.580 And so they're
00:41:50.160 tilting at
00:41:50.720 windmills and
00:41:51.840 imaginary problems.
00:41:53.000 Meanwhile, the
00:41:53.520 world burns.
00:41:55.020 They've got
00:41:55.340 massive problems.
00:41:56.400 I mean, the
00:41:56.720 polls, we as a
00:41:58.060 country have
00:41:58.460 massive problems,
00:41:59.100 but Joe Biden
00:41:59.800 and the Democrats
00:42:00.320 have massive
00:42:00.800 problems if you
00:42:01.340 look at the
00:42:01.680 latest polls.
00:42:03.020 Trying to pull
00:42:03.700 it up here.
00:42:04.320 It's 38%
00:42:05.900 approval.
00:42:06.460 That's his
00:42:06.820 latest numbers.
00:42:08.660 Just, okay,
00:42:09.200 here it is.
00:42:09.600 Yeah.
00:42:10.380 ABC News,
00:42:11.260 Washington Post
00:42:11.880 poll released
00:42:13.000 just this past
00:42:13.780 Saturday.
00:42:15.000 He's at a
00:42:15.520 career low of
00:42:16.180 37%.
00:42:17.000 Approval
00:42:18.260 Rating on
00:42:19.060 his job
00:42:19.420 performance
00:42:19.840 overall.
00:42:20.860 That includes
00:42:21.360 a 30%
00:42:23.180 approval rating
00:42:24.100 amongst
00:42:24.540 independents.
00:42:25.900 30.
00:42:26.780 I mean,
00:42:27.160 needless to say,
00:42:28.300 the Republicans
00:42:28.800 can't stand him.
00:42:29.540 He's got a 10%
00:42:30.600 approval rating
00:42:31.340 amongst
00:42:31.620 Republicans.
00:42:32.780 But 30%
00:42:33.780 approval amongst
00:42:35.320 independents does
00:42:36.000 not spell
00:42:36.380 re-election.
00:42:37.240 And it does not
00:42:37.920 spell good things
00:42:38.900 for the midterm
00:42:39.620 elections either.
00:42:40.880 He's not killing it
00:42:41.840 with his own
00:42:42.200 party either.
00:42:42.960 Even within the
00:42:43.700 Democratic Party,
00:42:44.820 nearly a quarter,
00:42:45.500 either disapprove
00:42:46.340 or 4% say
00:42:47.560 they are withholding
00:42:48.680 judgment.
00:42:50.220 For those who are
00:42:51.220 likely to vote,
00:42:52.040 actually say they're
00:42:52.980 certain to vote
00:42:53.580 in November,
00:42:54.400 there's a 54%
00:42:55.680 to 41%
00:42:56.760 gap
00:42:58.060 with respect
00:42:59.860 to who they
00:43:01.200 would choose,
00:43:01.880 Republicans over
00:43:02.780 Democrats.
00:43:03.160 So he's got a lot
00:43:04.840 of ground to make
00:43:05.700 up tonight
00:43:07.000 and in the next
00:43:07.780 eight months.
00:43:09.280 I mean,
00:43:09.760 I don't know
00:43:10.100 where he begins.
00:43:11.600 Well,
00:43:12.180 he has one
00:43:12.820 great advantage,
00:43:14.000 at least as
00:43:14.980 pertains to
00:43:16.420 the Democratic
00:43:17.160 nomination in
00:43:18.320 2020-24,
00:43:19.480 if he wants it.
00:43:20.940 And that great
00:43:21.480 advantage is
00:43:22.440 he's no less
00:43:24.260 popular than
00:43:25.020 anyone else who
00:43:25.720 could get the
00:43:26.160 nomination.
00:43:27.200 Incredibly,
00:43:27.880 Kamala Harris is
00:43:28.780 less popular
00:43:29.520 than he is.
00:43:30.660 The only person
00:43:31.580 who's even close
00:43:32.240 to him in his
00:43:32.820 administration
00:43:33.280 is Pete Buttigieg,
00:43:35.060 and Pete Buttigieg
00:43:35.620 has roughly the
00:43:36.440 same approval rating.
00:43:37.680 So I know that
00:43:38.780 Democrats keep
00:43:39.420 trying to make
00:43:39.920 Pete Buttigieg
00:43:40.540 happen,
00:43:41.120 just like mean
00:43:42.040 girls try to
00:43:42.740 make fetch
00:43:43.200 happen,
00:43:43.540 but it's not
00:43:44.000 going to happen.
00:43:44.960 And so Biden
00:43:45.560 is in a
00:43:46.720 relatively good
00:43:47.580 position with
00:43:49.000 regard to the
00:43:49.540 Democrat Party.
00:43:50.300 It reminds us,
00:43:50.980 too,
00:43:51.360 that Joe Biden
00:43:52.060 is not some
00:43:52.940 singular evil.
00:43:54.840 Actually,
00:43:55.360 Joe Biden's
00:43:55.940 selling point in
00:43:56.640 2020 is that
00:43:57.820 he's an empty
00:43:58.320 suit.
00:43:58.800 He's kind of
00:43:59.340 nothing.
00:44:00.000 He's just a
00:44:00.500 return to the
00:44:01.120 old establishment
00:44:01.840 normal.
00:44:02.620 The man wakes
00:44:03.160 up in the morning,
00:44:03.920 licks his index
00:44:04.540 finger,
00:44:04.940 puts it in the
00:44:05.360 air,
00:44:05.640 and figures out
00:44:06.380 which way the
00:44:06.840 wind is
00:44:07.220 blowing.
00:44:08.020 So as an
00:44:08.880 avatar for the
00:44:09.620 Democrat
00:44:09.980 establishment,
00:44:10.620 it means he's
00:44:12.040 only going to be
00:44:12.620 as popular or
00:44:13.360 unpopular as
00:44:14.360 the party
00:44:14.780 broadly.
00:44:15.400 And right now
00:44:15.840 the party is
00:44:16.760 really,
00:44:17.280 really unpopular,
00:44:18.100 puts him in a
00:44:18.540 terrible position
00:44:19.240 for 2024.
00:44:20.320 And there's
00:44:20.700 really no
00:44:21.200 alternative to
00:44:22.400 the man in
00:44:23.620 office right now.
00:44:24.660 You know,
00:44:25.000 it's I think a
00:44:25.600 lot of Republicans
00:44:26.160 said,
00:44:26.640 all right,
00:44:26.960 who voted for
00:44:27.640 Biden instead of
00:44:28.560 Trump 2.0
00:44:29.720 said,
00:44:30.560 OK,
00:44:31.560 I'll take the
00:44:32.100 empty suit,
00:44:32.880 you know,
00:44:33.120 over the
00:44:33.460 flamethrower.
00:44:34.040 I'll take the
00:44:34.540 empty suit.
00:44:35.000 I like small
00:44:35.740 government.
00:44:36.140 At least he
00:44:36.600 probably won't
00:44:37.300 do much.
00:44:37.880 Seems old.
00:44:38.600 Doesn't seem
00:44:39.000 inspired to be
00:44:39.600 like a huge
00:44:40.100 change agent.
00:44:41.260 Let's go that
00:44:41.820 way.
00:44:42.400 Now,
00:44:42.520 we know,
00:44:42.840 of course,
00:44:43.080 domestically,
00:44:43.500 he's gone an
00:44:44.000 entirely different
00:44:44.600 route.
00:44:44.940 And that's why,
00:44:45.600 in part,
00:44:45.860 we have such
00:44:46.340 huge inflation
00:44:46.940 problems.
00:44:48.360 And the
00:44:48.880 spending numbers
00:44:49.480 are just out of
00:44:50.060 control.
00:44:50.340 Although now he
00:44:50.980 apparently tonight
00:44:51.580 he says he's
00:44:52.200 going to work on
00:44:52.660 the deficit.
00:44:53.120 OK,
00:44:53.880 all right,
00:44:54.480 sure.
00:44:54.920 But with all
00:44:55.440 these spending
00:44:55.920 plans.
00:44:57.760 But you see
00:44:58.880 the dangers
00:44:59.320 of an empty
00:44:59.820 suit when you
00:45:00.620 get to a
00:45:01.240 foreign policy
00:45:01.780 crisis,
00:45:02.160 right?
00:45:02.600 I mean,
00:45:02.740 we just had
00:45:03.120 Gary Kasparov
00:45:03.760 talking about
00:45:04.340 how we are
00:45:05.740 leading from
00:45:06.620 behind again.
00:45:08.360 And that's in
00:45:08.700 part how we got
00:45:09.220 into this mess.
00:45:10.860 People forget
00:45:12.460 that Joe Biden
00:45:14.420 is responsible
00:45:15.460 for this crisis
00:45:16.300 in Ukraine.
00:45:17.160 You know,
00:45:17.400 I don't really
00:45:18.540 think this is
00:45:19.140 just a cheap
00:45:19.720 partisan shot.
00:45:21.040 We've been
00:45:21.640 calling this
00:45:22.220 out on the
00:45:22.720 conservative side
00:45:23.400 of the aisle
00:45:23.820 for months now.
00:45:25.320 Joe Biden
00:45:25.840 made very
00:45:26.580 specific decisions
00:45:27.780 that essentially
00:45:28.960 rolled out the
00:45:29.660 red carpet for
00:45:30.440 Vladimir Putin
00:45:31.080 to invade Ukraine.
00:45:32.380 Notably,
00:45:32.900 he took the
00:45:33.620 energy sanctions
00:45:34.780 off of Russia.
00:45:36.400 So Donald
00:45:37.540 Trump,
00:45:38.160 love him or
00:45:38.580 hate him,
00:45:39.180 the man was
00:45:39.680 actually pretty
00:45:40.400 tough on Russia,
00:45:41.400 contrary to what
00:45:42.080 we were told
00:45:42.880 by the left.
00:45:43.760 His rhetoric
00:45:44.440 was nice,
00:45:45.420 but his behavior
00:45:46.360 wasn't so nice.
00:45:48.120 Bingo.
00:45:48.700 It's those
00:45:49.080 policies.
00:45:49.720 And a lot
00:45:50.960 of it hinges
00:45:51.420 on this one
00:45:52.100 issue of the
00:45:52.620 Nord Stream 2
00:45:53.480 pipeline.
00:45:54.360 So Putin had
00:45:54.960 been trying to
00:45:55.560 build this
00:45:56.000 oil pipeline
00:45:56.700 so that he
00:45:57.440 could get out
00:45:58.180 of Ukraine,
00:45:59.140 sell his
00:45:59.620 energy straight
00:46:00.420 to Europe.
00:46:01.120 Then there is
00:46:01.800 no reason,
00:46:02.440 he's taken away
00:46:02.960 all the leverage
00:46:03.460 from Ukraine,
00:46:04.300 he can invade.
00:46:05.020 He has said
00:46:05.880 that the collapse
00:46:06.680 of the Soviet
00:46:07.180 Union was the
00:46:07.800 greatest geopolitical
00:46:08.780 catastrophe of
00:46:09.900 the 20th century.
00:46:11.100 He believes that
00:46:11.720 Ukraine has no
00:46:12.460 right to exist
00:46:13.020 as a sovereign
00:46:13.560 nation.
00:46:14.160 He has wanted
00:46:14.600 to conquer it
00:46:15.180 for a very
00:46:15.620 long time.
00:46:16.480 So a lot
00:46:16.980 of the leverage
00:46:17.600 that Ukraine
00:46:18.280 had to remain
00:46:18.900 a sovereign
00:46:19.300 nation was
00:46:20.460 this energy
00:46:21.180 issue.
00:46:21.820 What did
00:46:22.080 Biden do?
00:46:23.400 Biden lifted
00:46:24.080 the sanctions
00:46:24.620 on Nord Stream
00:46:25.220 Truet.
00:46:25.760 Biden gave
00:46:26.280 it the go
00:46:26.740 ahead.
00:46:27.500 There were
00:46:28.140 bipartisan
00:46:28.600 sanctions on
00:46:29.300 it before.
00:46:29.960 Biden comes
00:46:30.520 into office,
00:46:31.040 four days later
00:46:31.600 Putin starts
00:46:32.280 rebuilding the
00:46:33.340 pipeline.
00:46:34.140 So Biden
00:46:35.200 takes all the
00:46:35.880 pressure off
00:46:36.620 of Vladimir
00:46:36.980 Putin.
00:46:37.420 Then he
00:46:37.800 literally invited
00:46:38.960 him to
00:46:39.560 invade.
00:46:40.040 Biden was
00:46:40.520 asked,
00:46:41.120 what will
00:46:41.480 you do
00:46:41.900 if Vladimir
00:46:42.340 Putin
00:46:42.640 invades
00:46:42.980 Ukraine?
00:46:43.380 And he
00:46:43.560 says,
00:46:43.800 well,
00:46:44.120 as long as
00:46:44.760 it's just
00:46:45.120 a minor
00:46:45.540 incursion,
00:46:46.260 I suppose
00:46:46.680 that would be
00:46:47.180 just fine.
00:46:47.760 But he
00:46:48.240 better not
00:46:48.680 go further
00:46:49.220 as if to
00:46:49.860 say,
00:46:50.400 hey,
00:46:50.480 crocodile,
00:46:51.240 only eat
00:46:51.900 my little
00:46:52.280 pinky,
00:46:52.760 but you
00:46:53.120 better not
00:46:53.660 eat the
00:46:54.020 whole hand.
00:46:54.780 Don't you
00:46:55.200 do it.
00:46:55.700 Control your
00:46:56.100 appetite.
00:46:56.600 Of course,
00:46:56.860 that's not
00:46:57.200 going to
00:46:57.520 happen.
00:46:58.140 And so
00:46:58.360 now Biden
00:46:59.760 imposes
00:47:00.720 these toothless
00:47:02.140 sanctions on
00:47:02.920 Russia going
00:47:03.820 after every
00:47:04.600 Russian industry
00:47:05.340 except for
00:47:05.900 oil,
00:47:06.500 except for
00:47:06.840 energy,
00:47:07.240 the only
00:47:07.500 industry that
00:47:07.960 actually matters
00:47:08.620 in Russia.
00:47:09.420 So I guess
00:47:09.800 Russian
00:47:10.180 haberdashers
00:47:10.960 are going
00:47:11.180 to be in
00:47:11.440 trouble.
00:47:11.960 I guess
00:47:12.180 the people
00:47:12.540 who make
00:47:12.840 those little
00:47:13.220 dolls that
00:47:13.940 stack one
00:47:14.860 within the
00:47:15.340 other,
00:47:15.520 I guess
00:47:15.820 they're not
00:47:16.240 going to
00:47:16.380 be able
00:47:16.580 to sell
00:47:16.860 their goods.
00:47:17.500 But in
00:47:17.700 terms of
00:47:18.060 oil that
00:47:18.520 actually
00:47:18.920 enriches
00:47:19.360 Putin and
00:47:19.740 pays for
00:47:20.080 the invasion,
00:47:20.880 that's going
00:47:21.240 to be just
00:47:21.780 fine.
00:47:22.420 And so
00:47:23.180 what are you
00:47:23.760 going to
00:47:24.020 have?
00:47:24.200 You're going
00:47:24.420 to have
00:47:24.580 the most
00:47:26.200 significant
00:47:27.020 disruption
00:47:27.520 to the
00:47:28.260 post-war
00:47:29.020 political
00:47:29.840 world order
00:47:30.920 that we
00:47:31.860 have seen.
00:47:32.600 And that
00:47:32.800 is going
00:47:33.100 to be
00:47:33.480 when Putin
00:47:34.660 gobbles up
00:47:35.300 Ukraine,
00:47:35.820 which at
00:47:36.080 this point
00:47:36.480 unfortunately
00:47:37.080 seems
00:47:37.640 inevitable.
00:47:38.640 And what's
00:47:39.120 so tragic
00:47:39.740 about it
00:47:40.240 is it could
00:47:41.060 have been
00:47:41.380 prevented
00:47:41.800 with clearer
00:47:42.860 leadership,
00:47:43.660 better policy,
00:47:44.560 that
00:47:44.940 failure lies
00:47:45.520 at Joe
00:47:45.880 Biden's
00:47:46.260 feet.
00:47:47.200 Wow.
00:47:48.060 Just one
00:47:48.860 of the many
00:47:49.180 challenges
00:47:49.560 he's up
00:47:49.980 against.
00:47:50.400 We're going
00:47:50.620 to talk
00:47:50.840 about COVID
00:47:51.420 and the
00:47:52.240 lies we're
00:47:52.600 about to
00:47:52.900 be told
00:47:53.280 on his
00:47:53.920 success.
00:47:54.980 I'm sorry,
00:47:55.760 but that's
00:47:56.100 just the way
00:47:56.840 it's going
00:47:57.100 to be.
00:47:58.100 And whether
00:47:58.740 the American
00:47:59.600 people will
00:48:00.080 forget what's
00:48:01.040 been done
00:48:01.380 to us
00:48:01.840 right after
00:48:02.940 this.
00:48:03.180 Don't go
00:48:03.420 away.
00:48:08.800 Coming up,
00:48:09.620 we have an
00:48:10.180 exclusive interview
00:48:10.920 with a collegiate
00:48:11.800 swim coach
00:48:12.760 speaking out
00:48:14.040 on Leah
00:48:14.360 Thomas,
00:48:14.880 the transgender
00:48:15.780 swimmer
00:48:16.760 breaking records
00:48:17.500 is the first
00:48:18.080 time a
00:48:18.740 division one
00:48:19.660 swim coach
00:48:21.000 will be
00:48:22.020 speaking on
00:48:22.820 the record
00:48:23.180 on camera
00:48:23.780 about this.
00:48:24.960 We'll bring
00:48:25.160 that to you
00:48:25.560 shortly.
00:48:26.020 But first,
00:48:26.740 back with me
00:48:27.280 now,
00:48:27.560 Michael Knowles,
00:48:28.240 the one and
00:48:28.600 only host
00:48:29.240 of the Michael
00:48:29.960 Knowles show
00:48:30.660 for the Daily
00:48:31.120 Wire.
00:48:31.960 OK, so here's
00:48:32.640 the news on
00:48:33.700 tonight and
00:48:34.600 COVID,
00:48:35.180 according to
00:48:35.600 political,
00:48:36.060 Michael.
00:48:37.260 The headline
00:48:37.980 is Biden
00:48:38.660 wants to
00:48:39.220 declare a new
00:48:39.840 chapter in
00:48:40.480 the COVID
00:48:40.940 fight,
00:48:41.380 but he's
00:48:42.640 trigger shy.
00:48:43.980 He's shy.
00:48:45.080 He's afraid
00:48:45.700 of what
00:48:46.740 par for the
00:48:47.360 course.
00:48:48.100 He's expected
00:48:48.840 to stop
00:48:49.380 well short
00:48:50.340 of the
00:48:50.860 mission accomplished
00:48:51.680 moment on
00:48:52.460 COVID political
00:48:53.420 reports that
00:48:54.420 many members
00:48:54.920 of his own
00:48:55.340 party would
00:48:55.720 like to see
00:48:56.300 stressing
00:48:56.940 instead the
00:48:57.520 need to
00:48:57.860 remain vigilant,
00:48:58.860 remain vigilant
00:48:59.400 against the
00:48:59.860 virus.
00:49:01.020 And they
00:49:01.660 say if
00:49:02.060 you're if
00:49:02.760 you're waiting
00:49:03.240 to rip off
00:49:04.120 your masks,
00:49:05.120 this is not
00:49:06.180 that moment,
00:49:06.860 said one of
00:49:07.460 the people
00:49:07.780 familiar with
00:49:08.300 the planning.
00:49:08.900 By the way,
00:49:09.200 70 percent of
00:49:09.740 the country
00:49:10.060 is now
00:49:10.380 maskless,
00:49:10.960 so I'm
00:49:11.280 not sure
00:49:11.620 how that
00:49:11.960 can be
00:49:12.320 the message
00:49:13.040 tonight,
00:49:13.400 but he's
00:49:13.680 afraid,
00:49:14.180 which no
00:49:14.580 one's
00:49:14.780 surprised at.
00:49:15.740 A lot of
00:49:16.020 people thought
00:49:16.300 it was maybe
00:49:16.680 Jill Biden
00:49:17.300 really stoking
00:49:18.040 his fears
00:49:18.600 and making
00:49:19.040 him so
00:49:19.360 COVID crazy.
00:49:20.400 Who knows?
00:49:21.020 Doc,
00:49:21.280 excuse me,
00:49:21.960 Dr. Jill
00:49:22.420 Biden,
00:49:23.120 doctor.
00:49:24.180 I, too,
00:49:24.760 am a doctor.
00:49:25.460 I have a
00:49:25.960 curious doctor.
00:49:26.520 I'd like you
00:49:26.820 to refer to
00:49:27.440 me that way.
00:49:27.900 In fact,
00:49:28.160 I forget to
00:49:28.700 remind people.
00:49:29.920 In any event,
00:49:31.320 the Democrats
00:49:32.760 writ large are
00:49:33.700 preparing to
00:49:34.300 take a victory
00:49:34.800 lap on COVID
00:49:35.520 and have
00:49:35.940 completely
00:49:36.400 shifted their
00:49:36.920 messaging.
00:49:37.500 You tell me
00:49:38.060 whether it
00:49:38.520 is an
00:49:38.840 accident that
00:49:39.860 the day
00:49:40.360 before the
00:49:41.220 State of
00:49:41.520 the Union,
00:49:42.020 the CDC
00:49:42.720 finally comes
00:49:43.960 out and
00:49:44.380 says,
00:49:45.020 OK,
00:49:45.560 you can
00:49:45.960 take the
00:49:46.260 masks off
00:49:46.860 in 70 percent
00:49:47.800 of the
00:49:48.040 country with
00:49:48.900 Rochelle
00:49:49.460 Walensky
00:49:50.080 finally apparently
00:49:51.320 willing to
00:49:51.980 relinquish her
00:49:52.900 hold on us
00:49:53.520 saying we
00:49:54.600 want to give
00:49:55.140 people a break
00:49:55.980 from things
00:49:56.580 like mask
00:49:57.180 wearing when
00:49:57.880 levels are
00:49:58.460 low and
00:49:59.460 then have the
00:49:59.880 ability to
00:50:00.380 reach for
00:50:00.660 them again
00:50:01.200 should things
00:50:01.940 get worse
00:50:02.520 in the future.
00:50:04.320 Megan,
00:50:04.360 how dare
00:50:05.160 you question
00:50:05.940 the science?
00:50:06.860 Don't you
00:50:07.360 know that
00:50:08.320 the science
00:50:08.880 says that
00:50:09.540 the State
00:50:10.060 of the Union
00:50:10.640 is the
00:50:11.560 cure to
00:50:12.460 COVID,
00:50:13.000 that it
00:50:13.400 is the
00:50:13.800 political
00:50:14.120 science and
00:50:15.520 the medical
00:50:16.100 science follows
00:50:16.980 the political
00:50:17.460 science?
00:50:18.340 This has
00:50:18.780 always been
00:50:19.480 at the heart
00:50:20.420 of the COVID
00:50:21.060 issue is that
00:50:22.340 people like
00:50:22.860 Rochelle Walensky,
00:50:23.660 people like
00:50:24.040 the exalted
00:50:24.520 Dr. Fauci,
00:50:25.340 peace be upon
00:50:25.840 him,
00:50:26.300 people like
00:50:26.880 the other
00:50:27.560 public health
00:50:28.220 bureaucrats,
00:50:29.260 they have
00:50:29.540 pretended that
00:50:30.240 they are
00:50:30.580 merely clinical,
00:50:32.260 scientific,
00:50:33.480 scholarly,
00:50:33.880 sorts of
00:50:34.500 people when
00:50:35.200 in fact they
00:50:35.820 are political
00:50:36.380 apparatchiks.
00:50:37.320 They get their
00:50:37.900 paychecks from
00:50:38.640 the government,
00:50:39.720 they make
00:50:40.440 public policy
00:50:41.100 for 300
00:50:41.540 million people,
00:50:42.160 more than
00:50:42.420 300 million
00:50:42.880 people because
00:50:43.460 their policy
00:50:44.260 affects people
00:50:44.840 around the
00:50:45.320 world.
00:50:45.760 The masks
00:50:46.240 have always
00:50:46.960 been a
00:50:47.520 political
00:50:47.820 symbol.
00:50:49.000 Now at
00:50:49.500 least we're
00:50:50.280 allowed to
00:50:50.780 say that
00:50:51.680 the masks
00:50:52.240 are little
00:50:52.820 more than
00:50:53.300 facial
00:50:53.640 decorations.
00:50:54.580 Now that
00:50:54.760 Leanna
00:50:55.120 Nguyen,
00:50:55.840 the CNN
00:50:56.440 medical
00:50:56.860 analyst,
00:50:57.400 has admitted
00:50:57.740 that on
00:50:58.160 TV,
00:50:58.680 we previously
00:50:59.280 were not
00:50:59.800 allowed to
00:51:00.180 say that.
00:51:00.840 That would
00:51:01.120 have been
00:51:01.420 dangerous
00:51:01.900 misinformation.
00:51:02.580 But at
00:51:03.440 the heart
00:51:03.720 of this,
00:51:04.120 there has
00:51:04.380 always been
00:51:04.860 the capricious
00:51:05.520 and arbitrary
00:51:06.160 use of
00:51:07.180 power.
00:51:07.960 That capricious
00:51:08.640 use of
00:51:09.080 power,
00:51:09.860 the neurotic
00:51:10.900 symbolism of
00:51:12.060 the masks
00:51:12.560 and all the
00:51:12.960 rest of it,
00:51:13.620 had previously
00:51:14.260 served the
00:51:15.220 Democrats'
00:51:15.840 political
00:51:16.120 interests.
00:51:16.620 It gave
00:51:16.820 them a lot
00:51:17.160 more power,
00:51:17.760 particularly
00:51:18.080 during 2020
00:51:19.000 and in the
00:51:19.740 lead up to
00:51:20.080 that election.
00:51:20.580 It's no
00:51:21.220 longer serving
00:51:22.080 their political
00:51:22.840 interests and
00:51:23.460 so they're
00:51:24.160 itching to
00:51:24.660 get rid of
00:51:25.140 it.
00:51:25.520 As we were
00:51:26.080 discussing
00:51:26.480 earlier,
00:51:27.340 Joe Biden
00:51:27.920 does not
00:51:28.460 have a single
00:51:29.000 accomplishment,
00:51:29.600 not a single
00:51:30.520 one for his
00:51:31.100 entire presidency.
00:51:32.700 Everything has
00:51:33.440 gone to pot
00:51:33.960 on foreign
00:51:34.360 policy,
00:51:35.100 on domestic
00:51:35.540 policy.
00:51:36.000 The man
00:51:36.220 can't even
00:51:36.680 pass a
00:51:37.080 budget.
00:51:37.680 So he
00:51:37.920 needs some
00:51:38.360 sort of
00:51:38.700 win.
00:51:38.980 I think
00:51:39.240 he's going
00:51:39.540 to try
00:51:39.820 to get
00:51:40.080 that win
00:51:40.580 tonight in
00:51:41.460 a maskless
00:51:42.260 sort of
00:51:42.580 state of
00:51:42.940 the union.
00:51:43.760 But as
00:51:44.140 you can
00:51:44.460 tell,
00:51:45.060 they're
00:51:45.260 vacillating.
00:51:46.360 They go
00:51:46.560 back and
00:51:47.040 forth because
00:51:47.700 the COVID
00:51:48.600 lockdown gave
00:51:49.360 them so
00:51:50.060 much power.
00:51:52.060 Even when
00:51:52.820 they were
00:51:53.100 pushed at
00:51:53.560 the extremes,
00:51:54.520 the Supreme
00:51:54.900 Court,
00:51:55.240 for instance,
00:51:55.880 shut down
00:51:56.360 the OSHA
00:51:56.960 private employer
00:51:58.460 mandate,
00:51:58.960 but they
00:51:59.520 took much
00:52:00.160 more power
00:52:00.580 on the
00:52:00.780 healthcare
00:52:00.980 workers,
00:52:01.780 on government
00:52:02.140 contractors,
00:52:03.120 on the way
00:52:03.580 we live
00:52:03.880 our lives.
00:52:04.480 And so
00:52:04.720 they don't
00:52:05.280 want to
00:52:05.560 give it
00:52:05.840 up entirely
00:52:06.900 and they're
00:52:07.340 trying to
00:52:07.900 have their
00:52:08.260 cake and
00:52:08.960 eat it
00:52:09.300 too.
00:52:09.600 And like
00:52:09.820 most things
00:52:10.340 this
00:52:10.500 administration
00:52:10.880 does,
00:52:11.680 it's just
00:52:12.220 probably not
00:52:12.640 going to
00:52:12.840 work.
00:52:13.640 You know,
00:52:14.100 today for
00:52:14.620 the first
00:52:14.980 time in
00:52:16.060 two years,
00:52:18.360 I sent
00:52:18.980 my children
00:52:19.500 off to
00:52:20.000 school without
00:52:20.600 masks.
00:52:21.660 Two years.
00:52:22.880 My eight-year-old
00:52:23.820 son was in
00:52:25.300 kindergarten when
00:52:27.240 they had to
00:52:27.780 mask up.
00:52:28.380 Now he's in
00:52:29.060 second grade
00:52:29.760 and I
00:52:30.840 resent these
00:52:32.020 people.
00:52:32.400 I do not
00:52:33.520 accept Rochelle
00:52:34.540 Walensky and
00:52:35.200 then have the
00:52:35.680 ability to reach
00:52:36.500 for them again.
00:52:37.620 Keep your
00:52:38.160 hands off of
00:52:39.080 me and keep
00:52:40.080 them off of
00:52:40.760 my child's
00:52:41.720 face.
00:52:42.560 No one's
00:52:42.940 listening to
00:52:43.520 you anymore.
00:52:44.100 You are a
00:52:44.740 political operative.
00:52:45.540 You made that
00:52:46.160 clear so many
00:52:47.640 times.
00:52:48.080 One that comes
00:52:48.820 to mind is
00:52:49.220 when you
00:52:49.520 refuse to
00:52:50.140 condemn
00:52:50.440 Sonia Sotomayor,
00:52:51.940 a left-leaning
00:52:52.720 liberal jurist on
00:52:53.920 the Supreme
00:52:54.260 Court,
00:52:54.940 for grossly
00:52:55.580 overstating the
00:52:56.520 number of
00:52:56.920 children who
00:52:57.400 were in the
00:52:58.780 hospital at
00:52:59.180 the moment
00:52:59.500 thanks to
00:53:00.160 COVID,
00:53:00.640 suggesting it
00:53:01.580 was 100,000.
00:53:02.660 It was an
00:53:03.200 absurd
00:53:03.700 misstatement of
00:53:05.380 fact, and you
00:53:06.320 refused to even
00:53:07.340 correct her because
00:53:08.640 you're a partisan
00:53:09.960 hack.
00:53:11.180 But here's what's
00:53:11.900 happening, Michael.
00:53:12.520 Now we're going
00:53:13.020 into tonight in
00:53:14.320 advance of the
00:53:14.780 State of the
00:53:15.100 Union.
00:53:15.820 Finally, even
00:53:17.140 New York State,
00:53:18.840 even California,
00:53:20.460 are getting rid of
00:53:21.260 their indoor mask
00:53:22.040 mandates, including
00:53:22.840 in schools.
00:53:24.340 I mean, it's like
00:53:24.960 they've been
00:53:25.480 holding on to
00:53:26.180 that with their
00:53:26.700 cold, dead
00:53:27.440 hands.
00:53:28.300 The House has
00:53:29.620 dropped its
00:53:30.820 masking requirement.
00:53:31.940 The White House
00:53:32.800 has dropped its
00:53:34.000 masking requirement.
00:53:35.480 All of this
00:53:35.880 begins on March
00:53:36.500 1st, day of the
00:53:37.100 State of the
00:53:37.400 Union today.
00:53:38.380 California,
00:53:39.240 Oregon,
00:53:39.860 Washington, all
00:53:41.060 ending school
00:53:41.800 mask mandates as
00:53:43.280 of March 12th,
00:53:44.620 trying to create
00:53:45.720 this illusion that
00:53:47.360 he can have a
00:53:48.640 spike the ball in
00:53:49.280 the end zone
00:53:49.720 moment.
00:53:51.080 He is trying to.
00:53:52.320 Unfortunately,
00:53:52.940 though, Joe Biden
00:53:53.880 has a habit of
00:53:54.700 putting his foot in
00:53:55.340 his mouth, and he
00:53:56.280 already admitted a
00:53:57.100 few months ago that
00:53:58.140 there is no federal
00:53:59.160 solution on COVID.
00:54:00.620 Do you remember?
00:54:01.300 He started his
00:54:01.880 campaign.
00:54:02.300 He said, I'm not
00:54:03.120 going to shut down
00:54:03.700 the country.
00:54:04.400 I'm going to shut
00:54:05.100 down the virus.
00:54:05.900 And then what did
00:54:06.500 he do?
00:54:06.860 He shut down the
00:54:07.680 country, and then he
00:54:08.480 admitted that there
00:54:09.080 was no way for him
00:54:09.760 to shut down the
00:54:10.420 virus.
00:54:11.120 So I think that
00:54:12.100 people have woken
00:54:12.900 up to this.
00:54:13.820 I don't think that
00:54:14.400 the Democrats are
00:54:15.640 exactly in control of
00:54:16.960 this narrative anymore.
00:54:18.240 You mentioned,
00:54:18.840 Megan, it's been
00:54:19.340 two years,
00:54:19.920 two long years of
00:54:21.260 15 days to slow
00:54:22.380 the spread, which
00:54:23.360 was initially to
00:54:24.040 slow the spread,
00:54:24.820 then flatten the
00:54:25.740 curve, then find a
00:54:27.040 cure, then take the
00:54:28.360 jab, then stop the
00:54:29.620 surge, because there
00:54:30.500 was a surge again
00:54:31.220 because the jab
00:54:31.800 didn't do everything
00:54:32.500 we were told the
00:54:33.120 jab would do, then
00:54:34.380 slow down, and then
00:54:35.860 just keep going on
00:54:37.380 and on and on.
00:54:38.880 We were told that
00:54:39.720 the vaccines would
00:54:40.480 stop infection and
00:54:41.500 transmission.
00:54:42.120 That turned out
00:54:42.540 not to be true.
00:54:43.260 Then the story
00:54:43.720 changed to the
00:54:44.540 vaccines are going
00:54:45.220 to minimize
00:54:45.600 hospitalization and
00:54:47.000 death.
00:54:47.320 Perhaps they did.
00:54:48.080 We were told that
00:54:49.060 two would be
00:54:49.520 sufficient, then
00:54:50.220 three, then four.
00:54:51.320 We were told we had
00:54:51.940 to jab the kids, even
00:54:52.940 though the kids are at
00:54:53.560 low risk of the virus.
00:54:54.800 Now we find out five
00:54:55.620 to 11-year-olds basically
00:54:57.200 do not have much
00:54:59.500 protection from the
00:55:00.760 coronavirus vaccines.
00:55:02.220 Then we were told we
00:55:02.960 had to mask to protect
00:55:03.700 other people, then to
00:55:04.520 protect ourselves, and
00:55:05.300 then they've just
00:55:06.220 totally lost the
00:55:07.360 narrative.
00:55:07.820 And so I think for
00:55:08.740 them it's probably best
00:55:09.880 to cut their losses and
00:55:11.160 move on to the next
00:55:12.000 contrived crisis.
00:55:12.880 But people are angry.
00:55:15.200 I am still angry over
00:55:16.820 what was done to my
00:55:17.660 kids, never mind me.
00:55:18.680 If I didn't have kids,
00:55:19.440 I'd be sitting here
00:55:20.220 mad about what
00:55:20.740 happened to me and
00:55:21.300 other people's kids.
00:55:22.420 But we chose the
00:55:23.680 most vulnerable, the
00:55:24.700 little ones and the
00:55:26.020 working class people,
00:55:26.900 you know, the waiters
00:55:27.440 and the waitresses of
00:55:28.160 the world, and people
00:55:29.280 who couldn't object and
00:55:30.120 said you will wear
00:55:30.780 them.
00:55:31.020 In fact, they're still
00:55:31.640 wearing them in so
00:55:32.340 many places.
00:55:33.620 And I do think that
00:55:34.660 there's still going to
00:55:35.380 be accountability for
00:55:36.300 this because real
00:55:38.880 damage was done.
00:55:39.960 There was a memo
00:55:40.840 within the DCCC,
00:55:41.920 trying to warn, you
00:55:44.220 know, sort of the
00:55:44.900 the Democrats about
00:55:46.280 the pending election
00:55:47.240 losses they're likely
00:55:48.000 to face.
00:55:49.360 This one actually came
00:55:50.580 from a research group
00:55:51.440 that works for the
00:55:52.100 Democrats, and they
00:55:53.220 said two thirds of
00:55:55.200 parents and 80% of
00:55:56.280 teachers say the
00:55:56.960 pandemic caused
00:55:58.080 learning loss and
00:56:00.040 voters are
00:56:00.460 overwhelmingly more
00:56:01.340 worried about learning
00:56:02.100 loss than kids
00:56:03.260 getting COVID.
00:56:04.240 Yes, you can't fix
00:56:05.700 that with one victory
00:56:07.900 declaration or something
00:56:09.160 short thereof at a
00:56:10.320 state of the union.
00:56:11.920 What you've really
00:56:13.220 hit on here, Megan,
00:56:14.460 is the one
00:56:15.520 calculation, the
00:56:16.660 political calculation
00:56:17.420 that I think the
00:56:18.000 Democrats didn't make,
00:56:19.260 which is that the
00:56:20.360 entire COVID
00:56:21.760 narrative gave them
00:56:23.420 a lot of political
00:56:24.240 power.
00:56:25.260 It allowed them to
00:56:26.040 say that the
00:56:27.300 Republicans are
00:56:27.920 murderers and
00:56:28.620 they're killers and
00:56:29.440 they're traitors and
00:56:30.520 they're insurrectionists
00:56:31.380 and they're probably
00:56:32.240 racist too.
00:56:33.060 Why?
00:56:33.380 I don't know because
00:56:33.980 that's what we always
00:56:34.720 say.
00:56:35.420 And that is the
00:56:36.720 regular old playbook
00:56:37.700 and it was working
00:56:38.260 just fine.
00:56:39.000 What they didn't
00:56:39.540 count on was the
00:56:40.420 parents.
00:56:40.840 It's in particular
00:56:41.580 because the
00:56:42.960 Democrats are in the
00:56:44.180 pocket of the
00:56:44.700 teacher unions.
00:56:45.460 That's a very
00:56:45.860 important constituency.
00:56:47.220 And so that kept
00:56:47.800 the school shut down.
00:56:48.680 It kept the masks on
00:56:49.720 the poor little kids
00:56:50.500 who had no need to
00:56:51.440 wear them.
00:56:51.940 It kept all of these
00:56:52.740 things in place that
00:56:53.760 were driving the
00:56:54.640 parents crazy.
00:56:55.980 And parents cut
00:56:57.300 across ideological
00:56:58.440 groups, partisan
00:56:59.760 groups, racial
00:57:00.660 groups, geographic
00:57:01.480 groups.
00:57:02.040 You saw that start to
00:57:02.940 spring up in the
00:57:03.660 election for the
00:57:04.720 governor of Virginia
00:57:05.620 where Glenn Youngkin
00:57:06.540 beat Terry McAuliffe.
00:57:08.140 He won that not
00:57:08.920 because he was a
00:57:09.540 regular old chamber
00:57:10.260 of commerce
00:57:10.720 Republican.
00:57:11.580 He won it running
00:57:12.340 on the parents
00:57:13.040 movement.
00:57:13.760 That parents
00:57:14.220 movement shows no
00:57:15.300 sign of stopping.
00:57:16.940 And it plays into
00:57:18.220 what's going on with
00:57:19.060 COVID.
00:57:19.580 It plays into the
00:57:20.480 Democrats radicalism
00:57:21.560 on critical race
00:57:22.720 theory, on the
00:57:23.500 Democrats radicalism
00:57:24.440 on radical gender
00:57:26.100 theories.
00:57:27.160 This was another
00:57:28.000 side effect of the
00:57:29.020 COVID regime is that
00:57:30.240 when you lock the
00:57:30.820 students down,
00:57:31.400 especially for remote
00:57:32.220 learning, all of a
00:57:33.380 sudden the parents
00:57:34.200 are going to see
00:57:34.740 what's going on in
00:57:35.500 those schools.
00:57:36.280 The parents have not
00:57:36.960 liked what they've
00:57:37.660 seen and it has not
00:57:38.660 voted well for
00:57:39.240 Democrats.
00:57:40.360 Yes.
00:57:40.940 So two things
00:57:41.680 coming out that
00:57:42.600 people should keep
00:57:43.460 in mind as they
00:57:43.920 listen to Joe Biden
00:57:44.660 tonight.
00:57:45.260 One, I mentioned
00:57:46.040 a D triple C
00:57:46.960 research, which I'll
00:57:47.800 get to in a second.
00:57:48.400 And then this other
00:57:49.120 research memo by
00:57:49.840 Impact Research
00:57:50.640 sending out like the
00:57:52.600 notice to Democrats
00:57:53.740 on how to improve
00:57:54.580 their standing months
00:57:55.980 ahead of the
00:57:56.700 midterm elections.
00:57:57.420 And the latter
00:57:58.180 focuses on COVID
00:57:59.460 strategic thoughts
00:58:00.440 for Democrats
00:58:00.960 positioning themselves
00:58:01.780 on COVID-19
00:58:02.520 after nearly two
00:58:03.280 years of the
00:58:03.620 pandemic.
00:58:04.560 Number one,
00:58:05.380 declare this crisis
00:58:06.380 phase of COVID
00:58:07.040 over, push for
00:58:08.180 feeling and acting
00:58:09.140 more normal.
00:58:10.580 Thanks to Democrats,
00:58:11.440 we're nowhere near
00:58:12.060 where we were two
00:58:12.660 years ago or even
00:58:13.320 one year ago and
00:58:13.960 they go on from
00:58:14.380 there.
00:58:14.800 But listen to this,
00:58:15.720 recognize that people
00:58:16.560 are worn out and
00:58:17.380 feeling real harm from
00:58:18.340 the years long
00:58:19.000 restrictions and take
00:58:20.420 their side.
00:58:21.720 Six in ten Americans
00:58:22.460 describe themselves as
00:58:23.400 worn out by the
00:58:23.940 pandemic.
00:58:24.420 The more we talk
00:58:25.080 about the threat of
00:58:25.660 COVID and onerously
00:58:27.060 restrict people's
00:58:27.860 lives because of it,
00:58:28.720 the more we turn them
00:58:29.740 against us and show
00:58:30.940 them that we're out of
00:58:31.800 touch with their
00:58:32.980 daily realities.
00:58:34.400 Stop talking about
00:58:35.880 restrictions and the
00:58:37.520 unknown future ahead.
00:58:39.640 When ninety nine
00:58:40.580 percent of Americans
00:58:41.260 can get vaccinated,
00:58:42.240 we cause more harm
00:58:43.300 than we prevent with
00:58:44.380 voters.
00:58:44.740 But going into our
00:58:45.760 third year talking
00:58:46.760 about restrictions,
00:58:47.960 this is all political.
00:58:50.380 I don't know what
00:58:51.080 they believe.
00:58:51.780 They've been so
00:58:52.320 paranoid for two
00:58:53.100 years.
00:58:53.400 I believe they
00:58:54.020 probably are still as
00:58:54.840 paranoid as Joe
00:58:55.520 Biden and Joe Biden
00:58:56.360 are, but they've
00:58:57.360 just decided to
00:58:58.060 totally change the
00:58:58.800 messaging because they
00:59:00.180 realize it's going to
00:59:01.200 be a bloodbath in
00:59:02.280 November.
00:59:03.500 Yes, my strategic
00:59:04.300 advice for the
00:59:05.020 Democrats would be
00:59:06.000 to duck and cover
00:59:06.980 because I think
00:59:08.240 that's going to be
00:59:09.020 about as effective
00:59:09.840 in November as it
00:59:11.080 would be during
00:59:11.600 nuclear fallout.
00:59:11.700 Given everything
00:59:12.180 going on in the
00:59:13.360 world right now,
00:59:14.020 right?
00:59:15.140 You're too young
00:59:15.880 to know this,
00:59:16.340 but back in the
00:59:16.820 70s when I was a
00:59:17.980 kid, we were still
00:59:18.500 in the middle of
00:59:18.820 the Cold War.
00:59:19.440 We had to do
00:59:19.880 those.
00:59:20.620 I actually did
00:59:21.580 duck and cover
00:59:22.320 drills where you
00:59:23.040 have to duck and
00:59:24.060 cover under your
00:59:24.640 desk because there
00:59:25.400 might be a nuclear
00:59:25.940 bomb coming your way.
00:59:27.600 The modern equivalent
00:59:28.460 is the masks.
00:59:29.540 That's right.
00:59:30.040 There's a similar
00:59:31.340 efficacy, I think.
00:59:32.800 That's exactly right.
00:59:35.240 OK, so that was
00:59:36.120 that one.
00:59:36.400 But to your point
00:59:37.040 about critical race
00:59:38.080 theory and so on,
00:59:39.160 the other thing that
00:59:39.780 came out was that
00:59:40.280 D triple C memo.
00:59:41.240 And here is the
00:59:42.480 Democrats warning
00:59:43.280 their own party that
00:59:44.780 the voters in swing
00:59:45.660 districts think the
00:59:46.500 party is preachy,
00:59:48.460 judgmental and
00:59:49.760 focused on culture
00:59:50.860 wars.
00:59:51.320 And in particular,
00:59:53.120 what they said was,
00:59:54.480 OK, for example,
00:59:56.260 Democrats recognizing
00:59:57.480 here that voters do
00:59:59.340 not support defunding
01:00:00.580 the police.
01:00:01.900 And the response to
01:00:02.940 their members is you
01:00:03.960 should respond by
01:00:05.500 reiterating your
01:00:06.420 support for law
01:00:07.640 enforcement.
01:00:08.580 OK, like today,
01:00:10.380 because like yesterday
01:00:11.680 and the day before and
01:00:12.620 all the days where it
01:00:13.240 mattered, you were on
01:00:14.360 exactly the opposite
01:00:15.200 side.
01:00:16.160 OK, then it goes on.
01:00:16.960 When facing an attack
01:00:18.080 on the illegal
01:00:19.060 immigration crisis,
01:00:20.720 Democrats should
01:00:21.480 deny that they
01:00:23.100 support an open
01:00:24.340 border or amnesty
01:00:26.000 and instead talk
01:00:26.940 about their efforts to
01:00:27.900 keep the southern
01:00:28.520 border safe.
01:00:29.920 OK, so you're
01:00:31.500 going to lie like
01:00:32.760 you're just going to
01:00:33.560 deny your what
01:00:34.720 your policies are and
01:00:35.980 hope people don't go
01:00:37.120 ahead and investigate
01:00:38.320 it.
01:00:38.700 And the same way
01:00:39.560 they've been doing on
01:00:40.240 CRT, just it's not
01:00:41.600 happening.
01:00:42.620 And if you object to
01:00:43.360 CRT in the schools,
01:00:44.220 which is just a catch
01:00:45.000 all term for this
01:00:45.700 race essentialism that
01:00:46.760 they're teaching, then
01:00:48.680 you're racist.
01:00:50.220 And, you know, all they
01:00:51.380 really want to do is
01:00:51.960 teach history.
01:00:52.740 And I've said before,
01:00:53.940 I it's not about CRT.
01:00:55.940 I don't care what you
01:00:56.480 call it.
01:00:56.940 All I know is in my
01:00:58.460 children's school, they
01:00:59.300 wanted to teach that in
01:01:00.220 every child where a
01:01:01.780 white children learns
01:01:02.880 there is a future
01:01:04.040 killer cop.
01:01:05.040 You can call that
01:01:05.860 whatever the hell you
01:01:06.560 want.
01:01:07.260 Stop teaching it.
01:01:09.020 Right.
01:01:10.040 Right.
01:01:10.440 The Democrats,
01:01:12.020 on here are probably
01:01:13.360 best served by, as
01:01:14.780 you say, speaking out
01:01:15.660 of both sides of
01:01:16.260 their mouths and just
01:01:17.720 denying what they
01:01:18.460 really believe.
01:01:19.220 You saw this with
01:01:20.080 Senator Casey Jr.,
01:01:22.820 Bob Casey Jr., who
01:01:24.260 said that he is
01:01:25.900 personally pro-life,
01:01:27.860 but politically he's
01:01:29.440 pro-choice, which is
01:01:30.460 a meaningless phrase.
01:01:31.520 It was popularized by
01:01:32.720 Mario Cuomo when he
01:01:34.080 was governor of New
01:01:34.860 York.
01:01:35.260 And it's a way of
01:01:36.120 trying to hold both
01:01:36.900 sides of the issue
01:01:38.080 because unfortunately
01:01:39.800 the, the actual
01:01:42.000 views of, of
01:01:42.940 Democrats right now
01:01:43.780 are not popular.
01:01:45.080 Not, not a single
01:01:45.740 one of them is
01:01:46.360 particularly popular
01:01:47.320 with the American
01:01:48.000 people.
01:01:48.540 And so instead of
01:01:50.360 just lying about it
01:01:51.400 or, or downplaying
01:01:53.020 it or speaking out of
01:01:53.640 both sides of their
01:01:54.140 mouths, they've gotten
01:01:55.040 a little prideful.
01:01:56.100 They seem to think
01:01:56.760 that they're firmly
01:01:57.600 ensconced in power.
01:01:59.080 They're the ruling
01:01:59.720 elite.
01:02:00.140 They have the right
01:02:00.660 to rule and the
01:02:01.440 people don't really
01:02:02.080 have anything to say
01:02:02.860 about it because the
01:02:03.460 people are deplorable
01:02:04.320 and irredeemable.
01:02:05.720 What, what they have
01:02:06.480 lost is the common
01:02:08.000 sense.
01:02:08.700 There was a brilliant
01:02:09.540 leftist theorist, I
01:02:10.500 think a couple of
01:02:11.180 times ago on your
01:02:11.840 show, Megan, I
01:02:12.720 mentioned him.
01:02:13.580 Antonio Gramsci is
01:02:14.740 probably the most
01:02:15.160 important leftist
01:02:16.420 intellectual cultural
01:02:17.400 thinker of the
01:02:18.360 20th century.
01:02:19.440 And Gramsci pointed
01:02:20.340 out that you can't
01:02:21.860 win a political
01:02:22.460 movement if you lose
01:02:23.540 the common sense.
01:02:24.740 For a long time, the
01:02:25.820 Democrats positioned
01:02:26.720 themselves as the
01:02:27.900 party of the
01:02:28.820 common sense.
01:02:29.660 Those crazy
01:02:30.380 Republicans, they
01:02:31.920 wanted to deregulate
01:02:32.860 everything and let
01:02:33.840 billionaire robber
01:02:34.700 barons get away
01:02:35.360 with what they wanted
01:02:36.060 and they were going
01:02:36.800 off on crazy
01:02:37.560 religious crusades
01:02:38.800 and they wanted to
01:02:39.220 bomb the Middle
01:02:39.740 East and wow, boy,
01:02:40.500 weren't they crazy?
01:02:41.240 We're the party of the
01:02:41.900 working class and the
01:02:42.680 common sense.
01:02:43.540 Now they've lost that.
01:02:44.780 They are, now they are
01:02:45.580 the party of the
01:02:46.620 global elite that
01:02:47.380 doesn't care very much
01:02:48.200 about America, that
01:02:49.280 defunds the cops, that
01:02:51.260 gets rid of our
01:02:51.880 borders, that lets
01:02:52.580 crime run wild, that
01:02:53.920 has all these crazy
01:02:54.660 theories.
01:02:55.240 The GOP has become
01:02:56.120 much more the party of
01:02:57.700 the working class, of
01:02:58.800 the ordinary American.
01:03:00.040 That's a huge problem
01:03:01.220 for Democrats.
01:03:02.280 It is a result of
01:03:03.300 their pride, but pride
01:03:04.620 goes before destruction
01:03:05.700 and a haughty spirit
01:03:06.860 before a fall.
01:03:08.840 You know, that's a
01:03:09.740 good point about the
01:03:10.320 working class because
01:03:11.300 what we're seeing now
01:03:13.020 is they know it.
01:03:14.220 Like, the Democrats
01:03:15.160 know they're starting
01:03:15.760 to lose the working
01:03:16.420 class vote to
01:03:17.880 Republicans and not
01:03:19.060 just while Trump is
01:03:20.240 president because
01:03:20.820 Biden's president now
01:03:21.740 and it's still
01:03:22.200 happening.
01:03:22.680 Just today there was
01:03:23.220 an article talking
01:03:24.560 about, it was in the
01:03:25.260 New York Times,
01:03:25.880 actually not today,
01:03:26.540 but within the past
01:03:27.480 week, talking about
01:03:28.400 this Texas border town
01:03:29.500 where all these
01:03:30.580 Democrat officials are
01:03:31.400 officially becoming
01:03:32.640 Republicans.
01:03:34.860 There are, this is a
01:03:36.620 working class border
01:03:37.260 community, fewer than
01:03:38.120 1,000 people, and
01:03:39.920 conservative Hispanics
01:03:41.300 are not only realigning
01:03:42.240 in presidential elections,
01:03:43.280 they write, but also in
01:03:44.160 contests much closer to
01:03:45.180 home, the Democratic
01:03:46.380 County judge saying she
01:03:47.740 will seek another term
01:03:48.560 as a Republican, the
01:03:49.980 county clerk, the
01:03:50.900 treasurer deciding they
01:03:51.960 too would abandon the
01:03:53.460 Democratic Party, which
01:03:54.980 has long held sway in
01:03:56.060 local elections and run
01:03:57.320 as Republicans, a
01:03:58.820 county justice of the
01:03:59.700 peace felt the urge to
01:04:00.640 switch parties as well.
01:04:02.400 And on and on it goes
01:04:03.680 because the working
01:04:05.620 class gets it.
01:04:07.040 And Joe Biden going
01:04:07.940 out there tonight and
01:04:08.760 talking about strengthening
01:04:10.040 the ability to unionize
01:04:12.060 and demanding a $15
01:04:13.560 minimum wage, which I
01:04:15.380 believe working class
01:04:16.320 people understand
01:04:17.300 ultimately hurts them
01:04:18.580 more than helps them
01:04:19.580 because it costs jobs.
01:04:21.560 The few who can remain
01:04:22.920 at said companies may
01:04:24.000 have an increase in pay.
01:04:25.240 Maybe, maybe not, but
01:04:26.780 it costs jobs.
01:04:27.880 It will eliminate head
01:04:29.200 count at most of these
01:04:30.540 firms.
01:04:31.160 They get it.
01:04:31.960 And I think these
01:04:32.540 paltry measures are not
01:04:33.800 the solution for the
01:04:34.640 Dems.
01:04:35.640 You know, immigration is
01:04:37.180 a big issue as well.
01:04:38.720 This is one area where
01:04:39.840 Bernie Sanders has had a
01:04:41.060 really good political gut
01:04:42.260 his entire career.
01:04:43.560 And Bernie Sanders
01:04:44.280 representing much more of
01:04:45.540 that old left working
01:04:47.300 class solidarity.
01:04:48.380 He doesn't really venture
01:04:49.400 into the racial and sexual
01:04:51.040 culture wars all that
01:04:52.520 often.
01:04:53.100 The establishment
01:04:53.860 Democrats have totally
01:04:54.920 lost sight of that.
01:04:55.740 You've got elites in the
01:04:57.100 Democratic Party and many
01:04:58.400 in the Republican Party
01:04:59.320 too, who have pushed
01:05:00.400 open borders policies for
01:05:01.840 a long time.
01:05:02.500 The Democrats because
01:05:03.420 they believe that it gives
01:05:04.620 them an electoral
01:05:05.180 advantage, and it does.
01:05:06.720 And the Republicans because
01:05:07.940 they can get cheap labor
01:05:09.060 that way.
01:05:10.040 But the people who are
01:05:11.100 lost here are the
01:05:12.120 working class of all
01:05:13.120 races, of all ethnic and
01:05:14.400 national backgrounds for
01:05:15.440 that matter.
01:05:16.180 And I think they've woken
01:05:17.000 up to that a little bit.
01:05:18.400 So if the Democrats really
01:05:19.640 want to help the working
01:05:20.960 class, they should probably
01:05:22.040 stop flooding the country
01:05:23.320 with cheap labor that
01:05:24.520 drives their wages down.
01:05:26.000 I think also you're going
01:05:27.360 to see Republicans running
01:05:28.400 on the fact that during
01:05:29.620 the brief Trump presidency,
01:05:31.660 you saw real wage growth
01:05:33.660 for the first time in
01:05:35.020 decades.
01:05:35.500 And that has now gone
01:05:37.040 away.
01:05:37.440 And you're seeing a return
01:05:38.500 to the regular decline of
01:05:40.280 wages and purchasing power.
01:05:41.680 And especially with the
01:05:42.880 skyrocketing Biden
01:05:43.900 inflation, that's a big
01:05:45.180 problem.
01:05:45.880 One thing that the elites
01:05:47.360 tend to misunderstand is
01:05:50.160 they think that ordinary
01:05:51.560 working class people who
01:05:52.580 don't pay attention to too
01:05:53.540 much to politics, they don't
01:05:54.780 know anything about what's
01:05:55.700 going on.
01:05:56.260 They just need to sit down
01:05:57.820 and learn what the Davos
01:05:59.600 set is going to teach them.
01:06:01.340 That's simply not the case.
01:06:02.860 They have a much better
01:06:03.740 sense of the cost of eggs,
01:06:06.340 the cost of gas, the way
01:06:08.540 that wages are growing or
01:06:09.840 stagnating or declining.
01:06:11.480 And they are going to hold
01:06:12.580 them to account.
01:06:13.320 If the polls are to be
01:06:14.500 believed at all, it's going
01:06:16.340 to be a tidal wave for
01:06:17.900 Democrats in November and
01:06:19.700 they deserve it.
01:06:21.040 Yeah.
01:06:21.320 And the working class
01:06:22.240 voters, whatever their
01:06:23.480 historical or their ethnic
01:06:25.020 or their racial background,
01:06:25.980 they don't buy all this
01:06:27.340 nonsense about that.
01:06:29.280 We're getting taught
01:06:30.040 through CRT and so on.
01:06:31.800 But then then there are
01:06:33.700 the people like Nicole
01:06:34.540 Hannah Jones, the elitists
01:06:36.620 within the Democratic Party.
01:06:38.120 And she is taking aim,
01:06:40.100 Michael, at the media's
01:06:41.320 coverage of Ukraine
01:06:43.240 as racist.
01:06:44.940 She says if you basically
01:06:46.480 she's saying if you care,
01:06:47.900 if you're particularly upset
01:06:49.220 about what's happening in
01:06:50.060 Ukraine, that's because of
01:06:51.380 your racism.
01:06:52.720 She is explaining that
01:06:55.420 basically it's how I'm
01:06:58.100 trying to find the exact
01:06:58.860 actual the exact tweet
01:07:01.160 that.
01:07:03.340 OK, these admissions of
01:07:05.320 shock that this is
01:07:06.480 happening in a European
01:07:07.380 country are a historical
01:07:09.080 and also serve to justify
01:07:10.640 the lack of sympathy for
01:07:11.960 other invasions, other
01:07:13.600 occupations and other
01:07:15.420 refugee crises involving
01:07:17.480 peoples not considered
01:07:19.460 white.
01:07:20.160 and goes on, goes on to
01:07:22.280 talk about the racialized
01:07:23.620 analysis and language
01:07:25.200 that the reporters need
01:07:26.760 to look internally
01:07:28.040 because racialized
01:07:30.660 analysts and analysis
01:07:32.000 and language uncovering
01:07:33.300 Ukraine is obvious.
01:07:34.740 She doesn't like people
01:07:35.680 referring to Ukraine as
01:07:36.980 a civilized country.
01:07:38.680 You did that in a tweet.
01:07:39.900 She's probably going to say
01:07:40.640 you're racist because
01:07:42.640 that shows you only care
01:07:44.760 about the Ukrainians
01:07:45.700 because they're white
01:07:46.980 because they're white
01:07:48.680 and Nicole Hannah-Jones
01:07:50.540 insists that we need
01:07:52.040 to only focus on people
01:07:53.100 with a history of slavery,
01:07:54.740 which is ironic when
01:07:55.960 we're talking about
01:07:56.660 Slavic regions of the
01:07:58.040 world, because last I
01:07:59.680 checked, Slavic is where
01:08:01.560 we get the very word
01:08:02.740 slavery.
01:08:03.980 But but to take her
01:08:05.240 point on its face, as
01:08:06.740 you mentioned, Megan, I
01:08:07.940 got in trouble for a
01:08:09.500 shocking, controversial,
01:08:11.160 amazing tweet that I made
01:08:12.340 that I I did not think
01:08:14.040 was controversial at all.
01:08:15.120 Namely, this war between
01:08:16.640 Russia and Ukraine is
01:08:17.740 the first major war of
01:08:19.920 my lifetime between
01:08:21.320 civilized nations.
01:08:23.440 There have been other
01:08:24.420 minor wars.
01:08:25.140 I think of the I don't
01:08:26.680 know, Nagorno-Karabakh
01:08:27.920 conflict, not a major
01:08:29.100 war, even Kosovo.
01:08:30.440 I remember Kosovo quite
01:08:32.460 well, but not a major
01:08:33.660 war.
01:08:34.320 When you look at the
01:08:35.720 civilized part of things,
01:08:37.920 left wing flattery aside,
01:08:41.020 I don't think anyone
01:08:41.780 believes that Gaddafi's
01:08:43.160 Libya was the most
01:08:44.460 civilized place or or
01:08:46.000 Assad's Syria.
01:08:46.900 I don't think anyone is
01:08:47.640 going to go honeymoon in
01:08:48.500 Aleppo over Paris.
01:08:50.500 The reason this matters,
01:08:52.240 I'm not making any sort of
01:08:53.560 value claim about the
01:08:55.720 relative worth of Libyans
01:08:57.580 versus Ukrainians.
01:08:59.420 The reason it matters is
01:09:00.540 because you're talking
01:09:01.540 about a nuclear former
01:09:03.740 superpower now conquering what
01:09:05.940 had been a buffer state
01:09:07.180 between Russia and Europe.
01:09:09.580 World wars have started for
01:09:11.160 much less than this.
01:09:12.640 And you've got Putin, who is
01:09:13.840 committing the invasion, is
01:09:15.400 now actually threatening to
01:09:16.920 use nuclear weapons.
01:09:18.520 So the reason I mention
01:09:19.540 this is because the
01:09:21.680 global effects of this
01:09:23.940 war, if it continues to
01:09:25.260 escalate, as I think very
01:09:26.780 stupidly the Europeans are
01:09:28.620 encouraging it to right now,
01:09:31.020 the effects could be
01:09:32.420 catastrophic at a far
01:09:34.600 greater scale than the
01:09:36.300 relatively minor wars that
01:09:38.440 we have seen for the past
01:09:39.760 several decades.
01:09:40.540 moreover, it's just not true
01:09:42.380 to suggest that there is
01:09:43.760 there's been no caring by
01:09:44.880 the American people when
01:09:46.000 war breaks out in
01:09:47.360 countries where people
01:09:48.240 aren't all white.
01:09:49.860 I mean, you could go down
01:09:50.920 the list.
01:09:51.340 I was at Fox News covering
01:09:52.980 most of them while they
01:09:53.880 were happening.
01:09:55.160 And so this is another
01:09:56.520 tweet that she sends out.
01:09:57.540 What if I told you Europe
01:09:58.540 is not a continent by
01:10:00.320 definition, but a
01:10:01.840 geopolitical fiction to
01:10:03.180 separate it from Asia?
01:10:04.700 And so the alarm about a
01:10:06.980 European or civilized or
01:10:09.380 first world nation being
01:10:10.860 invaded is, wait for it,
01:10:13.660 a dog whistle to tell us
01:10:16.160 we should care because they
01:10:18.300 are like us.
01:10:22.000 Why are we listening to her
01:10:23.820 about anything?
01:10:25.120 How can any self-respecting
01:10:27.260 American university employ
01:10:29.280 this moron?
01:10:30.940 Well, Megan, you know, the
01:10:32.480 thing about dog whistles is
01:10:34.220 that the creatures that
01:10:35.900 hear the dog whistles,
01:10:37.180 well, they tend to be
01:10:38.400 dogs.
01:10:38.800 You notice the
01:10:39.260 conservatives here and
01:10:40.020 they're never the ones
01:10:41.180 talking about these dog
01:10:42.000 whistles.
01:10:42.320 So you say, hold on, if
01:10:43.160 you're hearing that, maybe
01:10:43.920 that says more about you
01:10:44.840 than it does about me.
01:10:46.060 The irony, of course, with
01:10:47.680 Nicole Hannah-Jones is
01:10:49.600 that she is not a real
01:10:52.340 historian.
01:10:53.100 She is not a real
01:10:54.000 scholar.
01:10:54.920 She is a propagandist and
01:10:56.160 a political activist.
01:10:57.120 Actually, the main thing
01:10:58.840 that she is known for is the
01:11:00.540 1619 project from the New
01:11:02.140 York Times, the central
01:11:03.280 thesis of which was
01:11:04.440 complete bunk.
01:11:05.740 Yes, Michael, speaking of
01:11:07.520 a historical, who is she
01:11:08.960 to be throwing that term
01:11:10.020 around?
01:11:10.880 Right.
01:11:11.500 Her claim was that the
01:11:12.880 American Revolution began
01:11:14.360 to protect slavery in the
01:11:16.440 colonies and it's just not
01:11:17.420 true.
01:11:17.960 And even leftist academic
01:11:19.160 historians pointed out it's
01:11:20.520 not true.
01:11:21.160 She's never really
01:11:21.860 apologized.
01:11:22.800 The New York Times sort of
01:11:23.880 kind of tried to kind of
01:11:25.100 retract it some months
01:11:26.400 later, but they still
01:11:27.140 spent millions of dollars
01:11:28.060 pushing it.
01:11:28.840 They took out their
01:11:29.460 little eraser.
01:11:30.860 Exactly.
01:11:32.160 It's not going to work.
01:11:33.260 And so no one should take
01:11:34.380 her seriously.
01:11:35.040 And the only reason anyone
01:11:37.060 really should care about what
01:11:38.380 she says is because she's a
01:11:39.740 very effective political
01:11:41.380 activist who has transformed
01:11:42.800 curricula around the
01:11:44.280 country and totally
01:11:45.440 misrepresented history and
01:11:47.980 geopolitics.
01:11:49.360 And unfortunately, when
01:11:50.880 people are ignorant of
01:11:51.720 history and geopolitics, you
01:11:52.820 find yourself in sad
01:11:54.640 situations.
01:11:55.320 History repeating itself as
01:11:57.060 tragedy and farce.
01:11:58.120 And Joe Biden at months
01:11:59.960 ago was getting ready to
01:12:00.860 award a reward school
01:12:03.960 systems that taught her
01:12:05.280 nonsense.
01:12:05.720 Then they had to back off
01:12:07.380 of that once there was such
01:12:08.940 backlash.
01:12:09.340 But that's, you know, that
01:12:10.840 that's how he sees her
01:12:12.220 messaging tonight.
01:12:13.720 The great unifier.
01:12:14.480 We'll see what he has to say
01:12:16.000 on subjects like that if he
01:12:17.340 dares touch them.
01:12:18.560 Michael, always a pleasure.
01:12:19.660 Love you.
01:12:20.160 Love your show.
01:12:20.860 Thanks for being here.
01:12:22.040 Megan, great to be with
01:12:22.860 you.
01:12:23.020 Thanks.
01:12:28.120 Now to a broadcast news
01:12:29.380 exclusive regarding the
01:12:31.840 controversy surrounding
01:12:33.240 UPenn transgender swimmer
01:12:35.160 Leah Thomas.
01:12:36.620 We are now just two weeks
01:12:37.740 away from Thomas vying to
01:12:39.660 break all time NCAA
01:12:41.280 records set by Olympic
01:12:43.420 gold medalists Missy
01:12:45.060 Franklin and Katie Ledecky.
01:12:46.820 We have heard reports of
01:12:47.940 young female swimmers being
01:12:48.940 upset with having to
01:12:50.280 compete against Thomas due
01:12:51.480 to the natural physical
01:12:52.300 advantages she has against
01:12:53.780 them.
01:12:54.540 She was born and raised as a
01:12:56.660 biological man.
01:12:57.760 She's actually swam for the
01:12:59.120 University of Pennsylvania as
01:13:00.420 a man and then just
01:13:02.360 switched and started
01:13:03.620 swimming as a woman.
01:13:06.140 Many of these female
01:13:07.600 swimmers, however, are
01:13:08.540 afraid to speak up.
01:13:10.280 And for good reason.
01:13:11.060 We have seen what the mob
01:13:11.880 can do, but they've been
01:13:13.280 begging for people within
01:13:14.220 their sport, those with
01:13:15.340 positions that are secure,
01:13:16.960 who can make a difference
01:13:17.720 to speak up for them.
01:13:19.780 Now one man is doing so.
01:13:22.660 Joining me now, Seth
01:13:23.700 Houston.
01:13:24.480 Seth is the head coach of
01:13:25.760 swimming at Rice University.
01:13:27.740 He's the first active
01:13:28.820 Division One coach to
01:13:29.840 publicly take a stand on
01:13:31.640 this.
01:13:32.200 Seth, thank you so much
01:13:32.880 for being here.
01:13:34.000 Thank you for having me.
01:13:35.540 So let's talk about
01:13:37.520 just set the stage.
01:13:39.820 Why do you think it's
01:13:40.860 unfair for a swimmer like
01:13:42.620 Leah Thomas, who, as far
01:13:44.540 as I can tell, she was
01:13:45.880 when swimming as a man, she
01:13:47.560 was ranked 462nd in the
01:13:49.580 country.
01:13:50.180 Now swimming for the Penn.
01:13:51.720 That was when she was on
01:13:52.520 the Penn's men team.
01:13:53.820 Now swimming for the Penn's
01:13:55.040 women team is ranked first
01:13:56.760 among the nation's college
01:13:58.660 women.
01:13:59.160 So what about it is unfair?
01:14:02.180 Well, I mean, I think I think
01:14:04.880 it really goes first towards
01:14:06.980 just trying to protect
01:14:08.360 women's athletics and
01:14:11.160 and in swimming in this
01:14:13.100 case.
01:14:13.580 what's unfair is in the long
01:14:18.780 and short of it is Leah Thomas
01:14:21.000 what was born a man and
01:14:24.720 biologically went through
01:14:27.100 puberty and everything as a
01:14:30.380 as a male.
01:14:31.100 So there's some some significant
01:14:34.720 differences in the development
01:14:36.020 between male and female,
01:14:38.860 particularly during puberty
01:14:40.160 physiologically.
01:14:41.440 And so, you know, just
01:14:43.620 the long and short of it is
01:14:45.080 is that is why there is
01:14:46.920 women's sports and men's
01:14:48.580 sports.
01:14:49.180 And that was created to
01:14:50.580 create a level playing field
01:14:51.740 so women could thrive and
01:14:54.080 excel in their own arena.
01:14:57.340 Isn't it crazy that you have
01:14:58.300 to be careful talking about
01:14:59.920 how there are biological
01:15:00.960 differences between men and
01:15:02.140 women when you get on this
01:15:03.280 subject?
01:15:03.860 Like you have to be careful
01:15:05.340 not to say that men are
01:15:06.880 different from women
01:15:07.600 physically and have
01:15:08.900 different physical
01:15:09.480 advantages over women.
01:15:10.500 Like that's the crazy place
01:15:12.220 we're at now that that's
01:15:13.640 not disrespectful to
01:15:14.600 transgender swimmers or
01:15:15.680 athletes or anybody else to
01:15:16.680 say there are biological and
01:15:17.920 physical differences between
01:15:19.380 the two sexes.
01:15:20.200 The fact that Leah has
01:15:21.320 chosen to transition in her
01:15:23.260 social world to female
01:15:25.040 doesn't undo all of that.
01:15:26.460 That's just that's the
01:15:27.200 reality of this situation.
01:15:29.680 It's why people like you are
01:15:31.040 in an uncomfortable position
01:15:32.040 and having to acknowledge what
01:15:33.240 is clear without being
01:15:35.520 intentionally offensive,
01:15:36.460 which I know is not your
01:15:37.340 goal.
01:15:37.600 Well, I mean, absolutely.
01:15:40.440 I mean, in the classroom,
01:15:42.560 in the workplace,
01:15:45.400 the more power to Leah being
01:15:47.880 who Leah wants to be and
01:15:49.400 being her true self.
01:15:51.640 Absolutely.
01:15:53.460 Support that 100%.
01:15:55.280 I think I think where it gets
01:15:58.060 kind of murky is is.
01:16:01.140 You know, I mean, this is a
01:16:02.640 it there's a place where in
01:16:06.160 in the community where it's all
01:16:09.740 or nothing and and again, I
01:16:12.200 I think there have to be some
01:16:14.400 some areas where we've we've
01:16:16.020 carve out and protect, you
01:16:18.600 know, women have been a
01:16:19.740 protected class in sport.
01:16:21.740 And now with a with, you know,
01:16:24.840 sorry to like this, but a
01:16:26.100 biological male coming in
01:16:27.760 at a high level among women,
01:16:30.440 it is going to take
01:16:32.180 opportunity and and really
01:16:33.820 change kind of, you know,
01:16:35.580 if this happened over and over
01:16:37.400 and over again, it's really going
01:16:38.640 to change how women would even
01:16:40.620 approach sport.
01:16:41.520 Some might leave the sport.
01:16:42.720 There's just all sorts of
01:16:44.540 negative things that could
01:16:45.420 ultimately happen to
01:16:47.060 to women.
01:16:47.720 And so that's not to state
01:16:50.180 that Leah should not be
01:16:51.680 included or any other
01:16:53.640 transgender athlete.
01:16:55.040 I mean, absolutely.
01:16:56.000 We want everybody to have an
01:16:57.780 opportunity to compete
01:16:58.760 and to learn and
01:17:01.380 and do the things that they're
01:17:02.480 passionate about.
01:17:03.780 It's just what
01:17:05.640 what is fair competition?
01:17:08.040 And I think that's been
01:17:08.980 included where that's come up
01:17:10.480 this year, included where and
01:17:12.380 how. What would you say is a
01:17:13.700 solution to a, you know,
01:17:15.840 a swimmer like Leah?
01:17:18.400 Well, I feel like USA
01:17:20.820 Swimming came out with some
01:17:22.040 with some good guidelines
01:17:23.960 about a month ago.
01:17:25.940 And the NCAA said
01:17:28.620 that they were deferring to
01:17:29.940 governing bodies.
01:17:32.720 And and so lo and behold,
01:17:35.700 USA Swimming appropriately
01:17:37.380 came up with some some,
01:17:39.060 I think, some some good
01:17:40.760 start, a good start to
01:17:42.200 to addressing this.
01:17:43.360 And we'll obviously have to
01:17:44.700 see how that ultimately
01:17:45.560 plays out.
01:17:46.260 But they have a two tier
01:17:48.060 system, kind of an elite
01:17:49.600 level athlete
01:17:50.440 tier that, you know,
01:17:52.620 you have to demonstrate
01:17:54.620 that kind of your
01:17:56.180 your biology has been
01:17:57.780 mitigated, you know,
01:17:59.400 with lower testosterone
01:18:00.360 levels over time.
01:18:03.100 You know, other, you know,
01:18:06.020 other ways that you have
01:18:07.200 mitigated your your male
01:18:08.400 biology to compete
01:18:09.920 fairly as a woman.
01:18:11.200 And and then at the
01:18:13.520 lower level, just for those
01:18:15.020 who want to participate
01:18:15.880 and and and just be in
01:18:18.260 the sport, we're giving
01:18:19.700 them an opportunity.
01:18:20.700 USA Swimming to swim is
01:18:22.540 is who you identify as.
01:18:24.660 And I totally agree with
01:18:26.540 that.
01:18:26.760 I think it at some level,
01:18:29.780 you know, you want,
01:18:31.500 especially at the elite
01:18:32.260 level, you want to assure
01:18:33.420 a level play fair and
01:18:34.920 view level and fair
01:18:36.860 playing field.
01:18:38.380 So it's a couple of
01:18:39.200 things.
01:18:39.440 The NCAA then stepped in
01:18:41.340 after USA Swimming did
01:18:42.400 that and said, OK, those
01:18:43.800 are going to be the
01:18:44.200 standards next year.
01:18:45.540 But this year, Leah Thomas
01:18:47.000 swims.
01:18:47.740 She swims at the NCAA
01:18:48.860 championships.
01:18:50.140 She swims at the meet you
01:18:51.140 guys just had.
01:18:52.380 And she's breaking records
01:18:53.660 left and right.
01:18:54.660 And this despite some
01:18:56.520 swimming observers who
01:18:57.560 believe she's phoning it in
01:18:58.920 on something like she's
01:18:59.560 holding back to try to
01:19:01.060 keep it closer than she
01:19:02.200 could make it.
01:19:02.940 I read several reports
01:19:04.880 about that because those
01:19:06.100 who observe swimming say
01:19:06.940 you can tell when a
01:19:07.580 swimmer is not giving it
01:19:08.300 their all and they feel
01:19:09.760 like under the national
01:19:11.160 spotlight now, Leah Thomas
01:19:12.740 is doing just enough to
01:19:14.580 make it tight, but place
01:19:16.820 herself as the winner in
01:19:18.820 most of these races.
01:19:20.500 I don't know if you've
01:19:21.100 observed that, too, but the
01:19:22.440 point is she gets to swim.
01:19:23.740 She's going to swim in the
01:19:24.540 NCAA championships this
01:19:26.280 month in two weeks.
01:19:27.900 And I wonder if you think
01:19:29.300 that's OK.
01:19:30.480 Here's where I kind of stand
01:19:31.420 on that at this point.
01:19:32.240 I feel like Leah played
01:19:33.680 by the rules as they
01:19:34.760 were written with the
01:19:36.160 NCAA when when she
01:19:38.100 appealed and went
01:19:39.180 through the process to
01:19:40.040 be eligible.
01:19:41.440 And at the time, you
01:19:43.060 know, the rules, which
01:19:44.320 and that's where I've had
01:19:45.040 a problem with the
01:19:45.580 NCAA not being out in
01:19:46.880 front of kind of this
01:19:47.780 kind of issue.
01:19:49.380 You know, this is not
01:19:52.980 on Leah.
01:19:53.620 This is kind of on
01:19:54.580 governing bodies and
01:19:55.720 that to have taken care
01:19:57.060 of these things and
01:19:58.140 protect women
01:19:59.300 athletes and kind of
01:20:00.680 the fairness of sport.
01:20:02.840 At this point,
01:20:04.200 you know, I feel like
01:20:05.180 if I were coaching
01:20:06.860 or if I was if there
01:20:08.860 was an issue like where
01:20:09.740 they changed the rules
01:20:10.660 in the middle of the
01:20:11.400 season that that
01:20:13.240 maybe was had
01:20:14.160 benefited my athletes
01:20:15.540 and now that was going
01:20:16.640 to disrupt their
01:20:18.120 their opportunity to
01:20:18.920 compete, I would really
01:20:19.980 have an issue with
01:20:20.700 that.
01:20:21.420 I think in this case, I
01:20:22.880 would take the same
01:20:23.900 same stance.
01:20:24.740 I mean, at this
01:20:25.420 point, it
01:20:27.480 NCAA is a collegiate
01:20:29.960 season.
01:20:30.580 Leah started it.
01:20:31.420 Leah should finish it.
01:20:32.940 What about it?
01:20:33.800 And why would it
01:20:35.040 matter?
01:20:35.600 OK, so let's say Leah
01:20:36.520 goes and dominates
01:20:37.440 NCAA championships and
01:20:38.880 wins everything and
01:20:39.600 sets records.
01:20:40.480 Let's say she beats the
01:20:41.260 records held by Ledecky
01:20:42.380 and the other girls who
01:20:45.020 might otherwise have won
01:20:46.120 are now second
01:20:46.880 placers.
01:20:47.960 Why would that matter
01:20:49.180 to those girls?
01:20:50.200 Why?
01:20:50.680 Why?
01:20:51.020 You know, do they
01:20:52.740 have a right to be
01:20:53.400 upset?
01:20:55.000 Absolutely.
01:20:56.380 There's going to be I
01:20:58.340 mean, I've said it
01:20:58.960 before.
01:20:59.300 I think Leah goes
01:21:00.580 through the championships
01:21:01.520 and swims and there's
01:21:03.100 going to be a lot of
01:21:03.860 people in the in the
01:21:06.440 sporting world, in the
01:21:07.320 swimming world, from
01:21:08.120 the fans to parents to
01:21:10.180 to the athletes that
01:21:12.100 are going to be shaking
01:21:13.000 their heads saying, how
01:21:13.880 did this happen?
01:21:15.520 You know, this isn't
01:21:17.320 fair.
01:21:18.880 It'll be interesting to
01:21:20.120 see at NCAA.
01:21:20.760 Again, it's on it's on
01:21:22.700 national exposure.
01:21:23.700 It'll be, you know,
01:21:25.560 well attended by
01:21:26.320 athletes and coaches
01:21:27.400 from all over the
01:21:28.100 country who haven't
01:21:29.620 been in person to
01:21:31.380 compete and see
01:21:32.360 see everything
01:21:33.600 happen.
01:21:34.140 So, you know, my
01:21:35.640 hope is that it
01:21:36.800 honestly, again, it
01:21:39.200 kind of reinforces
01:21:40.200 why rules have
01:21:41.640 have needed to be
01:21:42.680 changed and
01:21:43.620 updated.
01:21:45.440 You know, and
01:21:46.440 hopefully that'll
01:21:47.440 only make make it
01:21:48.520 more obvious why
01:21:49.380 things have had to be
01:21:50.340 done.
01:21:50.760 All right, so how
01:21:51.360 people who are not
01:21:52.740 competitive athletes
01:21:53.780 understand it, right?
01:21:54.900 Because I've heard and
01:21:56.140 I've read a lot of
01:21:57.140 statements from like
01:21:58.100 GLAAD and others
01:21:58.900 saying societal good is
01:22:00.720 more important than the
01:22:01.680 good that one swimmer
01:22:02.520 feels this in this
01:22:03.700 scenario, the biological
01:22:05.580 girl who comes in
01:22:06.400 number two.
01:22:07.520 Societal good is more
01:22:08.380 important.
01:22:09.100 And, you know, you may
01:22:10.300 not like it, but you're
01:22:11.240 going to have to suck it
01:22:11.800 up because society is
01:22:12.700 moving forward and this
01:22:13.620 is the right result.
01:22:14.340 And too bad.
01:22:15.940 And we've even seen
01:22:17.180 one of the competitive
01:22:19.880 swimmers, not at
01:22:21.460 UPenn, at another
01:22:22.440 organization, she's at
01:22:24.640 Stanford, Brooke Ford,
01:22:26.760 come out and say
01:22:27.340 something similar.
01:22:28.140 She's apparently in
01:22:29.360 these competitions and
01:22:30.700 expected to do well.
01:22:32.240 And she says, I
01:22:35.420 believe treating
01:22:36.040 people with respect
01:22:36.760 and dignity is more
01:22:37.600 important than any
01:22:38.720 trophy or record will
01:22:39.680 ever be, which is why
01:22:40.860 I will not have a
01:22:41.660 problem racing against
01:22:42.760 Leah at NCAAs this
01:22:44.500 year.
01:22:44.960 But I think in that
01:22:46.100 case, I would say any
01:22:48.960 competitive athlete,
01:22:50.300 especially at this high
01:22:51.380 level, you there's
01:22:53.980 certain things you have
01:22:54.740 control over and
01:22:55.400 there's things you
01:22:55.940 don't.
01:22:56.600 And in Brooke's case,
01:22:58.120 she can do what
01:22:59.120 Brooke can do.
01:23:00.040 And if Leah is going
01:23:00.880 to be there, it's
01:23:02.220 in Brooke's best
01:23:03.020 interest just to
01:23:03.760 focus on Brooke and
01:23:04.900 get up and race and
01:23:05.840 do her best.
01:23:06.520 And, you know, maybe
01:23:07.620 she'll come out on
01:23:08.280 top to to to kind
01:23:12.700 of make an issue as
01:23:14.400 as an athlete and get
01:23:15.940 too vocal about it
01:23:17.100 over something that
01:23:17.860 you have no power
01:23:18.460 over with the NCAA
01:23:19.440 rules and that would
01:23:20.800 really, really kind of
01:23:21.840 help that individual
01:23:23.020 then self-destruct.
01:23:24.340 So, you know, I'll
01:23:25.580 have someone competing
01:23:26.700 at the meet and our
01:23:28.140 focus is on that
01:23:29.500 athlete doing her
01:23:30.460 absolute best and
01:23:31.860 being prepared to
01:23:32.860 do her best despite
01:23:34.140 the other things
01:23:35.200 going on around
01:23:35.880 that are, again,
01:23:36.700 not within her
01:23:37.340 power.
01:23:39.720 And so for that,
01:23:41.320 I feel like I
01:23:42.860 don't necessarily
01:23:44.300 what I would say
01:23:45.720 kind of in the
01:23:46.720 other piece of
01:23:47.460 that, what Brooke
01:23:47.940 said is, of
01:23:49.900 course, we want
01:23:51.720 to include, we
01:23:53.100 want to support
01:23:54.040 Leah.
01:23:55.200 We want, I want
01:23:56.820 all of those things.
01:23:57.740 But in sport, I
01:23:59.560 mean, there are
01:24:01.240 rules that are
01:24:02.980 created to create a
01:24:03.840 fair competition.
01:24:05.920 And that's why we
01:24:07.520 update rules from
01:24:08.340 year to year.
01:24:08.800 That's why an
01:24:10.580 umpire should be
01:24:11.420 calling balls and
01:24:12.200 strikes for one
01:24:13.640 team the same as
01:24:14.380 another team.
01:24:15.900 You know, that's,
01:24:16.520 there's, you know,
01:24:17.360 you step over the
01:24:18.100 line and you're out
01:24:19.140 of bounds.
01:24:20.340 That catch doesn't
01:24:21.400 count.
01:24:21.820 Things like that.
01:24:22.460 So, you know, to
01:24:24.940 just say, get
01:24:26.220 used to it.
01:24:27.280 This is, this is
01:24:28.540 where we're going
01:24:29.100 as a society.
01:24:31.060 Again, in the
01:24:32.700 workplace, in the
01:24:33.400 classroom, 100%
01:24:35.660 agree.
01:24:36.440 I want, that
01:24:37.500 should have no
01:24:38.060 bearing on whether
01:24:39.220 someone could
01:24:39.820 perform their
01:24:40.420 duties, do a
01:24:42.100 great job, live
01:24:43.780 and learn and
01:24:44.300 thrive.
01:24:44.940 But again, sport
01:24:46.060 is just, it's
01:24:46.860 different.
01:24:47.500 And it is
01:24:48.200 different because
01:24:49.080 it's been created
01:24:51.060 again, separate
01:24:52.140 but, you know,
01:24:53.400 honestly, it's
01:24:53.960 equal.
01:24:54.320 There's men
01:24:55.260 and women's
01:24:55.900 sports, uh,
01:24:57.240 women, uh, you
01:24:58.760 can, you can go
01:24:59.740 down studies and
01:25:01.300 studies and studies
01:25:02.120 where it's
01:25:02.760 illustrating and
01:25:03.440 showing the
01:25:04.080 physiological
01:25:04.840 differences that
01:25:05.840 happen, uh, for
01:25:07.800 male biology and
01:25:08.640 female biology.
01:25:09.660 Yeah.
01:25:09.980 And it's not, it's
01:25:10.500 not all hormonal
01:25:11.300 either.
01:25:11.940 If it's not all
01:25:12.520 about the level of
01:25:13.120 testosterone.
01:25:14.360 Yeah.
01:25:14.580 If it was all
01:25:15.200 one sport, um,
01:25:16.980 you wouldn't see
01:25:17.720 very many women at
01:25:18.860 the top of, of
01:25:19.860 podiums and that
01:25:21.000 if they were
01:25:21.460 exclusively competing
01:25:22.920 against, uh, well,
01:25:24.700 it was all mixed
01:25:25.840 together.
01:25:26.440 So I know that
01:25:27.520 you said that's
01:25:28.520 the change.
01:25:29.500 I know that you
01:25:29.980 gave an interview
01:25:30.760 to, uh, swim
01:25:31.820 swam, uh, dot
01:25:32.980 com.
01:25:33.220 And I know you
01:25:33.600 said in there,
01:25:34.220 the NCAA is,
01:25:35.460 is not leading.
01:25:36.860 Um, they're not
01:25:37.600 even really
01:25:37.900 following.
01:25:38.380 They're just sort
01:25:39.160 of going along.
01:25:40.440 Um, what
01:25:41.600 about you, Penn?
01:25:43.140 Because as far as
01:25:44.620 I can tell, they've
01:25:45.300 actually said that
01:25:46.320 if Leah's kept
01:25:47.280 out of these
01:25:48.300 competitions, they,
01:25:49.640 according to one
01:25:50.680 of the swimmers
01:25:51.120 who spoke out
01:25:51.600 anonymously, have,
01:25:53.220 um, threatened to
01:25:54.140 sue on Leah's
01:25:54.860 behalf to make
01:25:56.080 sure she can swim.
01:25:57.140 And then when
01:25:58.480 angry parents of
01:25:59.660 the female swimmers
01:26:00.520 sent a letter to
01:26:01.840 you, Penn, saying,
01:26:02.740 would you please do
01:26:03.480 something to protect
01:26:04.180 our daughters?
01:26:04.920 This has gone too
01:26:05.860 far.
01:26:06.460 The response was,
01:26:07.880 and I only wish I
01:26:08.840 were kidding.
01:26:09.340 The response was,
01:26:10.460 uh, we fully
01:26:12.320 support all of our
01:26:13.200 swimming student
01:26:13.820 athletes and we
01:26:15.320 have encouraged them
01:26:16.140 to utilize the
01:26:17.340 robust resources
01:26:18.260 available to them
01:26:19.000 at Penn, in
01:26:20.240 particular, providing
01:26:21.980 links to counseling
01:26:23.580 services, counseling
01:26:25.320 and psychological
01:26:25.940 services, and the
01:26:27.480 LGBTQ center.
01:26:29.980 In other words,
01:26:31.180 Seth, they're telling
01:26:31.980 the girls to go get
01:26:32.820 therapy to deal
01:26:34.140 with their anger as
01:26:35.500 opposed to doing
01:26:36.280 anything to deal
01:26:37.220 with the source of
01:26:37.800 the anger.
01:26:38.740 I'm not really
01:26:39.500 following what the
01:26:40.900 Ivy League schools
01:26:41.520 are doing.
01:26:42.300 Uh, I, I guess I
01:26:43.740 could tell you I'm
01:26:44.400 very happy to be
01:26:46.180 coaching at Rice and,
01:26:48.300 and I feel like we've
01:26:49.200 had, we're having
01:26:50.700 debate literally about
01:26:53.200 what I've said and,
01:26:54.960 um, uh, and, you
01:26:57.160 know, kind of my right
01:26:58.440 to speak.
01:26:59.460 And, and then again,
01:27:00.820 uh, you know, am I,
01:27:03.600 you know, the, I think
01:27:04.720 some of it is, is like,
01:27:07.000 am I being transphobic
01:27:08.340 by expressing this
01:27:09.460 opinion?
01:27:10.140 Uh, and that's what
01:27:11.120 some people choose to
01:27:12.160 think.
01:27:12.740 Uh, I've had, uh,
01:27:14.400 I, I just think it's
01:27:15.460 too bad that we're
01:27:16.720 not like it, at Penn
01:27:18.380 or an Ivy League
01:27:18.900 school, they're not
01:27:19.420 really even allowed
01:27:20.100 to express an opinion,
01:27:22.000 uh, and said they're
01:27:23.140 kind of being muted,
01:27:24.460 uh, and just go along
01:27:26.200 and get along.
01:27:27.080 That's, that's too
01:27:27.880 bad.
01:27:28.080 That's really, I don't
01:27:28.640 feel like what, what
01:27:29.520 we're really all about.
01:27:30.700 I think we can have
01:27:31.460 an open and fair
01:27:32.200 dialogue, um, and
01:27:33.900 disagreements come
01:27:35.060 with the territory.
01:27:36.920 You were called
01:27:37.540 transphobic by, uh,
01:27:39.480 the, the paper at
01:27:40.780 Rice, the student
01:27:41.460 newspaper, the
01:27:42.300 thresher, the
01:27:43.440 student association
01:27:44.160 equity council
01:27:45.120 introduced a
01:27:45.660 resolution denouncing
01:27:46.980 you calling for you
01:27:48.420 to publicly apologize
01:27:49.400 to Leah Thomas and
01:27:50.380 the student body for
01:27:51.620 your quote, transphobic
01:27:52.820 comments, which simply
01:27:54.120 mirror the ones you've
01:27:54.800 made here, uh, for
01:27:56.340 Rice to make a
01:27:57.040 monetary donation to
01:27:58.400 the Houston trans legal
01:28:00.040 aid clinic and for
01:28:01.740 you to undergo
01:28:03.680 allyship training and
01:28:05.900 an anti-discrimination
01:28:07.700 course.
01:28:09.100 So are you prepared to
01:28:10.740 do any of that?
01:28:11.400 Uh, I think we'll
01:28:15.740 just see how all of
01:28:16.720 this plays out.
01:28:17.560 I, I, I've completely
01:28:20.200 stayed out of it.
01:28:21.100 I really don't, you
01:28:22.420 know, the student
01:28:23.060 government's going to
01:28:23.700 do what the student
01:28:24.280 government does.
01:28:25.340 What, what I've seen
01:28:26.620 here.
01:28:26.940 And, uh, again, I
01:28:28.960 understand why a lot
01:28:29.800 of people won't speak
01:28:30.660 out.
01:28:30.940 I mean, I sure as heck
01:28:32.060 didn't say something
01:28:33.880 even thinking that this
01:28:35.480 would go to, like I
01:28:36.900 would even be sitting
01:28:37.500 here talking with you
01:28:38.480 or, uh, any of
01:28:39.700 that, um, it was
01:28:41.200 just me stating an
01:28:42.640 opinion.
01:28:43.580 Uh, and, and I
01:28:45.500 think what, what has
01:28:46.320 happened is, you
01:28:47.400 know, this is a very
01:28:48.280 sensitive issue.
01:28:49.080 People get really
01:28:50.320 wound up, uh, kind
01:28:51.740 of defending, you
01:28:53.220 know, their ideals or
01:28:54.920 what they think and, or
01:28:56.200 can be very offended by
01:28:57.420 something who's speaking
01:28:59.560 out or saying something
01:29:00.580 different.
01:29:00.980 And that's what I'm
01:29:02.100 seeing here.
01:29:02.760 What has happened, um,
01:29:04.500 quite honestly, I feel
01:29:05.460 like a number of people
01:29:06.580 are kind of, I'm going
01:29:08.300 to say coming out of
01:29:09.000 the woodwork at rice, a
01:29:10.120 number of, of students,
01:29:11.420 uh, that have been
01:29:12.760 silent and kind of feel
01:29:14.280 like, uh, they're seeing
01:29:16.000 that this is not really a
01:29:17.380 very fair process for, um,
01:29:19.480 it's kind of been one
01:29:20.240 sided and, um, and
01:29:22.280 they've kind of been
01:29:22.840 speaking up and, and,
01:29:24.140 and some people are
01:29:25.320 actually gaining a voice,
01:29:26.400 uh, you know, from
01:29:28.580 this, uh, and, and so
01:29:31.200 it's been, it's been
01:29:32.000 kind of interesting to
01:29:32.760 kind of sit back and
01:29:33.840 watch it unfold.
01:29:34.880 Mm-hmm usually that's
01:29:36.200 what, that's what we
01:29:37.100 see when one person
01:29:38.060 speaks up, there are
01:29:38.900 many others who have
01:29:39.640 been too afraid who
01:29:40.900 might then find the
01:29:41.660 courage.
01:29:42.640 Um, can I ask you
01:29:43.680 though, frankly, do
01:29:44.260 you, do you feel that
01:29:45.020 you need allyship
01:29:46.240 training or an
01:29:47.360 anti-discrimination
01:29:48.060 course?
01:29:49.580 No, I, I, I, I
01:29:52.420 really live, live
01:29:53.540 very much by a rule
01:29:54.420 of everybody who I
01:29:55.920 meet first is I'm
01:29:57.160 going to be very
01:29:57.660 respectful to you.
01:29:59.160 It would take a lot
01:30:00.000 for me to, for that
01:30:01.860 person to kind of
01:30:02.560 lose my respect.
01:30:03.300 So I really value
01:30:04.240 people.
01:30:05.240 Um, I think, I
01:30:06.920 think anybody who
01:30:08.060 comes across my
01:30:08.800 path, I'm, I'm
01:30:09.580 greeting, I'm
01:30:10.120 hello, I'm, I'm
01:30:11.580 treating really very
01:30:12.660 fairly, uh, it, and
01:30:14.760 that's just, you
01:30:15.380 know, that's really
01:30:16.220 just kind of my, my
01:30:17.520 Christian background.
01:30:19.180 And I feel like that
01:30:20.520 has given me the
01:30:21.640 opportunity or ability
01:30:22.740 to kind of love
01:30:23.700 everybody.
01:30:24.480 Uh, now I can meet
01:30:25.560 people where they're
01:30:26.220 at, they, you know,
01:30:27.520 and again, we're going
01:30:28.100 to be different, uh, and
01:30:29.620 people are going to
01:30:30.000 have different ideas and
01:30:31.100 opinions.
01:30:31.680 And I could tell you
01:30:32.980 coaching 18 to 20
01:30:34.920 year old women, they
01:30:35.760 do not think like I
01:30:36.700 do in a lot of ways.
01:30:38.760 And that doesn't mean
01:30:40.180 I think any less of
01:30:41.120 them.
01:30:41.340 Uh, honestly, I
01:30:42.400 really value, uh, kind
01:30:44.680 of the things they say
01:30:45.620 or where they're coming
01:30:46.300 from.
01:30:46.580 And I'm willing to
01:30:47.480 listen and learn still.
01:30:48.700 Well, let me ask you
01:30:49.540 that because to the
01:30:50.500 girls, we know that the
01:30:51.680 girls at UPenn have been
01:30:52.800 afraid to speak out the
01:30:53.820 young women they, because
01:30:55.080 they've done so, but
01:30:56.320 anonymously to various
01:30:57.560 publications.
01:30:58.960 What, what is your
01:31:00.860 message to them?
01:31:02.140 The ones we know are
01:31:03.000 unhappy with the
01:31:03.860 situation.
01:31:04.220 They don't, they don't
01:31:05.120 want to swim next to a
01:31:06.180 biological man.
01:31:06.980 Who's now transgender
01:31:07.980 woman.
01:31:08.540 They don't want to share
01:31:09.480 a locker room, 35 young
01:31:10.900 women with someone who
01:31:12.480 is still biologically male.
01:31:13.880 And the, what they have
01:31:16.280 reported is that Leah
01:31:17.280 Thomas doesn't seem to
01:31:18.160 care at all about the
01:31:19.380 fact that they are
01:31:20.040 uncomfortable and they
01:31:21.240 are losing and they don't
01:31:22.060 think it's fair.
01:31:22.880 And they report that
01:31:24.120 she's enjoying the
01:31:24.780 attention and enjoying
01:31:25.900 the wins.
01:31:26.520 And I'm sure it does feel
01:31:27.540 good to go from 437 to
01:31:29.200 number one.
01:31:30.220 Uh, but what do you, what
01:31:31.120 is your message to the
01:31:31.940 young women at UPenn who
01:31:32.940 are too afraid to speak
01:31:33.760 out?
01:31:34.380 I hadn't really thought
01:31:34.940 about what I would
01:31:35.540 deliver for a message to
01:31:36.840 them.
01:31:37.420 Uh, I believe, you know,
01:31:38.820 one of the things I just
01:31:40.100 spoke to my team about, uh,
01:31:41.800 you know, when, uh, you
01:31:43.680 know, I wanted them for
01:31:45.700 instance, when, when, what
01:31:47.540 I had came out and then
01:31:48.680 the student government, I
01:31:49.760 did, I wasn't encouraging
01:31:52.020 anybody to, to speak up
01:31:53.360 for me.
01:31:53.640 I wanted them, if they
01:31:54.520 have a comment, if they
01:31:55.380 wanted something to share,
01:31:56.280 um, you know, if they're
01:31:58.280 comfortable with it, do it.
01:31:59.700 And it didn't have to be
01:32:00.780 in support of me.
01:32:02.180 Uh, and if it was great,
01:32:03.720 uh, but, but, you know,
01:32:05.900 I just, for the most part,
01:32:07.060 I encouraged them to, to
01:32:08.040 speak up.
01:32:09.340 Uh, but I, I really do
01:32:11.380 understand, at least in
01:32:12.520 part, you know, some of
01:32:14.000 the things you hear is if,
01:32:15.240 uh, as a young person, if
01:32:17.180 you speak up, it could
01:32:18.160 cost you, uh, you know, a
01:32:20.340 job later, or you could
01:32:22.320 be, uh, you know, kind
01:32:24.260 of, uh, so to speak,
01:32:26.120 canceled out, uh, those
01:32:27.500 kinds of things.
01:32:28.740 Uh, and, and that's a real
01:32:31.200 fear, uh, when you're 18,
01:32:33.060 19, 20, because acceptance
01:32:34.700 and being a part of a
01:32:36.200 group and your reputation
01:32:37.660 are, are, you know, very,
01:32:39.560 very important kind of in
01:32:40.540 your self-esteem and who
01:32:41.500 you are.
01:32:42.040 So, I mean, I do
01:32:43.280 understand where people
01:32:44.720 are quiet and trying to be
01:32:46.780 an anonymous, but, uh,
01:32:48.500 it's, and in, in some
01:32:50.320 ways that just seems to
01:32:51.220 be what's been reinforced
01:32:52.800 and forced upon them.
01:32:54.040 I would imagine if it
01:32:55.260 wasn't like that, there,
01:32:56.200 there probably would be
01:32:56.940 some voices speaking
01:32:57.820 out.
01:32:58.860 Correcting myself, uh,
01:32:59.840 Thomas was ranked 462nd
01:33:01.700 in the country on the
01:33:02.840 men's team.
01:33:03.320 Now, number one on the
01:33:04.480 women's, I will say this,
01:33:05.920 I'll steal the last word
01:33:06.700 on it, Seth.
01:33:07.280 Um, I've been, I've been
01:33:09.480 through a lot, uh,
01:33:10.840 publicly when it comes
01:33:11.860 to cancellation.
01:33:13.040 I've been a young woman
01:33:13.940 who's been in a lot of
01:33:14.820 battles that are dicey
01:33:16.460 and I will, I, I land in
01:33:18.620 a different place on this
01:33:19.600 having been through all
01:33:20.280 that.
01:33:20.500 And I say these young
01:33:21.260 women, if they don't
01:33:21.920 speak out now, will
01:33:22.680 regret it for the rest of
01:33:23.600 their lives.
01:33:24.720 That this is a character
01:33:26.220 defining moment.
01:33:27.100 They're not 12, they're
01:33:28.320 19.
01:33:29.300 And this is one of those
01:33:30.540 moments where taking a
01:33:32.080 principled stand, just like
01:33:33.160 we saw those girls do in
01:33:34.180 Connecticut, um, in the
01:33:36.100 face of being called
01:33:36.900 names.
01:33:37.300 When you know what
01:33:38.180 you're really calling for
01:33:39.200 is fairness, not just for
01:33:40.740 you, but for womankind, for
01:33:42.540 womankind, um, is not
01:33:45.200 bigoted, it's brave.
01:33:47.060 And I, I think there's sort
01:33:49.220 of a before and after
01:33:50.060 moment happening now, right
01:33:51.300 now for those women.
01:33:52.000 And there is not an
01:33:52.920 employer in the nation
01:33:53.900 that, that will refuse to
01:33:58.440 hire them.
01:33:59.000 That is worth working for.
01:34:01.120 And there are a lot of
01:34:01.980 employers who will hire
01:34:03.400 them for standing on their
01:34:04.720 principles and having the
01:34:05.520 courage to speak out.
01:34:06.840 And then those are the
01:34:07.460 places they should land as
01:34:08.940 opposed to the former.
01:34:10.220 Uh, that's I'm out of
01:34:11.160 time, but I am very
01:34:12.400 grateful for you speaking
01:34:14.380 out on it and coming on
01:34:15.760 this program and speaking
01:34:17.380 your mind.
01:34:18.100 I hope the blowback is not
01:34:19.380 too, too fierce, but call
01:34:21.420 us if it gets there.
01:34:23.340 All the best.
01:34:23.880 Appreciate it.
01:34:24.340 Yeah, you bet.
01:34:26.740 Thanks for listening to the
01:34:27.880 Megan Kelly show.
01:34:28.700 No BS, no agenda, and no
01:34:31.180 fear.
01:34:35.520 Don't fear.
01:34:36.720 You
01:34:37.480 you
01:34:37.580 ?
01:34:44.440 Yeah.
01:34:44.980 Yeah.
01:34:49.480 Oh, that's it.
01:34:50.340 Yeah.
01:34:51.340 Yeah.
01:34:51.760 The.
01:34:51.860 Yeah.
01:34:52.520 Yeah.
01:34:53.020 Yeah.
01:34:54.020 Yeah.
01:34:54.460 Yeah.
01:34:55.380 Yeah.
01:34:56.360 Yeah.
01:34:57.280 Yeah.
01:34:58.760 I think that's it.
01:35:02.080 Yeah.
01:35:02.440 Yeah.