The StoneZONE with Roger Stone

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00:00:30.000 Now we're joined by Mark Vargas.

00:00:32.180 He is the publisher and editor of the Illinois Review.

00:00:36.840 Mark, welcome to the Stone Zone.

00:00:39.340 Great to be with you, Roger.

00:00:40.780 Thank you so much.

00:00:42.100 So the governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, if he was in New York, they'd want to make him his own borough.

00:00:51.540 This guy says, and I quote, it's time to fight the Trump agenda.

00:00:58.460 It's time to fight everywhere all at once.

00:01:01.940 He goes on to say, to try to get the exact quote here, that Republicans should have no peace.

00:01:08.880 This sounds to me like a call for insurrection and violence.

00:01:15.160 How did you read this?

00:01:16.720 There's no question about it, Roger.

00:01:18.920 This is inciting an insurrection.

00:01:21.900 This was a hate-filled speech that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker delivered on Sunday night in New Hampshire as he teases a potential presidential campaign.

00:01:32.920 But after President Trump's not one but two assassination attempts and one in Butler, Pennsylvania that nearly took his life by hitting his ear, this type of rhetoric is dangerous.

00:01:46.440 And it's now putting the lives of everyday Americans in grave danger because Governor Pritzker has called for Republicans to have no peace as he attacks the Trump-MAGA agenda.

00:02:03.220 Roger, he also calls for, which is very interesting, he also calls for should Democrats win majority of Congress in this upcoming midterm elections.

00:02:12.980 He's calling on his Democratic counterparts to immediately launch investigations on their political enemies.

00:02:21.680 But this type of rhetoric is dangerous.

00:02:24.500 It's wrong.

00:02:25.720 And you were absolutely right in your post on X earlier this morning that if this were a Republican using this type of rhetoric, there would be insurrectionists.

00:02:34.900 They'd be calling it an insurrection.

00:02:37.140 And there'd be investigations launched immediately.

00:02:40.720 Yeah, it really is quite extraordinary.

00:02:42.080 I seem to have read about a recent scandal in Illinois where the governor, who, as we both know, he and his family are fabulously wealthy,

00:02:51.540 actually cheated on their property taxes by removing a certain number of toilets from their home.

00:02:58.020 Can you explain this to us?

00:02:59.960 Yeah, that's exactly right.

00:03:01.080 He's got a mansion in downtown Chicago, and he wanted to buy the mansion next door, but he didn't really want to pay for it because he didn't want to use it.

00:03:08.820 He just didn't want to have any neighbors around him.

00:03:11.940 So what he did is he ordered all of the toilets, about seven or eight bathrooms.

00:03:16.780 He ordered all of the toilets to be removed from the home so that could legally be called uninhabitable.

00:03:24.000 And therefore, he would get a property tax decrease because the home wasn't livable.

00:03:31.760 When it was finally discovered, the governor, candidate Pritzker, then scrambled, paid the difference, and then claimed to have no knowledge of it.

00:03:43.820 And so that has dogged him, his last two campaigns.

00:03:47.740 Yeah, kind of rules for the, but not for me.

00:03:51.300 It's a very common thing we see among Democrats.

00:03:56.000 I look, this guy, he's so fat when he walks down the street, the cops say, break it up.

00:04:01.620 But I don't see him as a viable presidential candidate because I assume he would do for America what he's done for Illinois.

00:04:11.980 How is Illinois doing these days in terms of crime and the quality of life and the economic climate?

00:04:22.360 Horrific in every aspect of it.

00:04:25.360 And, Roger, this is a man who doesn't have any friends because he inherited billions of dollars from his family who owns the Hyatt Hotels.

00:04:33.220 And so what he did is he bought his camp, he bought the governor's seat to the nearly spending $400 million of his own money in his last two elections for governor.

00:04:44.640 And so this is a man who doesn't know how to run for office.

00:04:47.060 He just knows how to pay for it.

00:04:48.700 And this thought of him running for president is laughable.

00:04:52.120 I mean, he's going to make, I would make Howard Taft look like a supermodel at a 450-pound man who, during the pandemic, we used to refer to as the health czar.

00:05:02.200 But Chicago is an utter disaster.

00:05:05.200 Think about this for your listeners, Roger.

00:05:07.100 Chicago is the crime capital of the nation.

00:05:10.300 We, in fact, lead all major U.S. cities in both murders and mass shootings every year.

00:05:16.580 In 2023, and this is a horrific statistic, 76 school-aged children, 15 years or younger, were murdered in the city in Chicago.

00:05:27.460 That's more than any other major city in the country.

00:05:32.140 In addition to that, another horrific statistic is not only are we losing school-aged children to murders in very large numbers,

00:05:38.800 but we also lead the nation in murders committed by youth.

00:05:43.340 We're facing a domestic violence pandemic crisis here.

00:05:48.140 And at a time when crime is skyrocketing, when over the last four years they've welcomed violent and dangerous migrants into our city,

00:05:57.140 we're facing a police shortage.

00:05:59.020 In fact, the city of Chicago is short 2,000 police officers.

00:06:03.960 And think about this, Roger.

00:06:04.880 In 2023, 225,000 high-priority 911 calls, like shots fired, assault in progress, they went unanswered.

00:06:15.700 Why?

00:06:16.380 Because we have a police officer shortage.

00:06:19.500 And so if Chicago is any idea, and the state of Illinois is any idea of what Pritzker's leadership looks like,

00:06:27.520 I can't imagine this guy coming anywhere close to winning a Democratic primary for president.

00:06:32.840 I see that he has now jumped into the controversy regarding Kilmar Garcia Abrego,

00:06:40.600 who is, of course, an El Salvador citizen, who was quite legally deported to his home country of El Salvador.

00:06:50.260 He is, without any question, a MS-13 terrorist who also has a history of beating his wife.

00:06:57.620 The president demonstrated that Abrego actually had M-13 tattoos on his hands.

00:07:07.480 But for some reason, the Democrats have decided to die on this hill.

00:07:11.600 They keep insisting that he is a, quote-unquote, Maryland man,

00:07:15.900 because he lived illegally in the state of Maryland when he was here.

00:07:19.640 But now, the Illinois sanctuary state governor, J.B. Pritzker, has directed all state agencies to take actions against the country of El Salvador

00:07:30.460 because El Salvador refuses to ship Abrego illegally back to the United States.

00:07:39.900 Pritzker is asking state agencies to boycott and divest from companies controlled by El Salvador,

00:07:44.960 cancel state contracts with Salvadorian companies,

00:07:49.580 and analyze trade between Illinois and the country of El Salvador.

00:07:54.800 First of all, I don't know how much such trade there could be,

00:07:58.120 and I don't know to what extent that this is largely a press release,

00:08:01.480 but when Abrego Garcia was arrested in 2019,

00:08:05.720 he was with two other members of MS-13.

00:08:08.540 He was known by investigators to be affiliated with the gang.

00:08:12.800 He was further detained in December 2022,

00:08:15.540 investigated for human trafficking by the Tennessee Highway Patrol,

00:08:20.100 until the FBI ordered his release.

00:08:23.060 But this hasn't stopped radical Democrats like Pritzker from glorifying this deported illegal alien

00:08:30.220 and attempting to bring him back to America from El Salvador,

00:08:34.220 where the government has him imprisoned for his crimes.

00:08:37.740 Mark, you're a shrewd political analyst.

00:08:40.820 Where are the votes in this for Democrats?

00:08:44.560 You know, this is Pritzker's, he has gone so far left.

00:08:50.380 This is a 90-10 issue.

00:08:51.780 And Roger, we shouldn't be surprised because under Pritzker's leadership here in Illinois,

00:08:56.380 the Illinois Democrats that have supermajority control in our state capitol, Springfield,

00:09:01.580 they've introduced a bill to allow illegals to change their name in order to evade ICE.

00:09:07.740 That's point number one.

00:09:09.040 So we shouldn't be surprised what Pritzker's trying to champion and support and protect a MS-13 gang member

00:09:16.160 when he can't even protect his own citizens, his own legal residents.

00:09:20.940 The state legislature has also tried to pass a bill to allow illegals to vote in local elections.

00:09:27.140 Think about that.

00:09:27.640 So it really is remarkable that under the last, you know, four years of Pritzker's leadership in Illinois as governor,

00:09:37.100 they have coddled to the migrants, the most vicious and dangerous migrants.

00:09:41.060 They have completely ignored their own residents as black and Latino residents continue to live in poverty.

00:09:48.560 Roger, they even asked Chicago public school teachers to give migrant children passing grades.

00:09:55.760 Now, how fair is that?

00:09:58.520 Regardless of what their test scores are, regardless of how well they do on their homework,

00:10:02.840 you must give migrant children passing grades.

00:10:07.060 This is all under J.B. Pritzker's leadership.

00:10:10.300 And this is why the Democrats in Chicago, particularly the blacks,

00:10:16.520 have turned on Governor Pritzker and on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson,

00:10:20.440 who has a 6% approval rating, by the way, and it continues to go down

00:10:24.180 because they have continued to prioritize vicious and dangerous migrants over law-abiding residents.

00:10:30.140 Now, it's interesting because New York State, under Andrew Cuomo and then under Governor Kathy Hochul,

00:10:37.500 really pioneered the bail reform, which is really just a turnstile that puts violent criminals back out on the streets.

00:10:46.140 The experience in New York has been horrific, where despite the fact that they try to cook the crime statistics,

00:10:52.440 crime is very definitely up in every category across the board,

00:10:56.300 both in the cities, but also in the suburbs and in upstate.

00:11:01.600 Rather than take this as a cautionary tale,

00:11:05.160 J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Democrats have essentially copied the New York Democrats

00:11:11.540 to put in place the same system of bail reform,

00:11:15.320 in which all but murderers, the most violent criminals,

00:11:19.880 are put back out on the streets within hours of their arrest.

00:11:23.900 There is no more common sense in this party.

00:11:28.760 And, Roger, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that under J.B. Pritzker's leadership,

00:11:34.380 the state allows high schools, middle schools and high schools,

00:11:39.100 allows boys to participate in girls' sports under Pritzker's leadership.

00:11:43.720 They also force young girls to change in middle school locker rooms in front of trans-identifying boys.

00:11:53.840 Pritzker wants to make Illinois the Disney World for gender transition services.

00:11:59.560 You can get an abortion as a young girl, underage young girl,

00:12:02.620 without asking for permission from your parents.

00:12:05.900 You could take medication from your school nurse as hormone blockers without permission from your parents.

00:12:12.120 This is the type of chaos, this is the type of United States of America

00:12:17.660 that Pritzker envisions under his presidency.

00:12:23.940 I guess I have to ask this question.

00:12:25.940 It's a hard one.

00:12:26.960 But it's been a long time since Illinois has been competitive in a presidential race,

00:12:32.420 been a long time since they've been competitive in a gubernatorial race.

00:12:35.900 You said there's a lot of very good people, a large number of common-sense voters.

00:12:42.040 Mark, what's wrong with the Illinois Republican Party?

00:12:45.940 It is in total chaos.

00:12:49.160 It's led by a bunch of never-Trumpers who never supported Trump from day one.

00:12:55.440 And they like to target, they use their funding and mailers to target conservative,

00:13:00.020 grass-root Trump Republican candidates throughout the state.

00:13:04.860 And because they are so fractured, they have no idea what it's like to win.

00:13:08.180 But here's the strength of President Trump.

00:13:10.660 He didn't spend one cent in Illinois during this last presidential election.

00:13:14.400 He didn't even visit Illinois.

00:13:15.900 And yet he gained nearly a million new votes from 2020 and got 45 percent of the vote.

00:13:23.340 I mean, imagine if the president had spent just a little bit of time

00:13:26.340 and a little bit of money in the state, I think we could have seen a whole,

00:13:31.760 I think we could have seen a much different situation here in Illinois.

00:13:35.460 And I hope in the future that they begin to focus on this state

00:13:38.680 because the failed leadership is finally catching up with the Democrats.

00:13:42.220 They've got nowhere to go but to hide.

00:13:45.340 Excellent analysis from Illinois.

00:13:47.780 I want to thank my friend Mark Vargas, the publisher and editor of the Illinois Review.

00:13:53.740 Mark, where can folks find you on social media and where can they read the stuff that you write?

00:14:00.480 Thank you, Roger.

00:14:01.220 You can follow me on x at Mark A. Vargas and you can go to our website,

00:14:07.200 IllinoisReview.com, IllinoisReview.com.

00:14:10.540 Thank you, Roger.

00:14:11.260 God bless you, my friend.

00:14:12.120 One final question for you.

00:14:13.720 Some polls, I doubt this, show a substantial dip in the president's approval rating.

00:14:20.140 But anecdotally, as I talk to people on the streets, it's not what I'm finding at all.

00:14:25.420 I have yet to find one person who says they voted for Donald Trump, but they now regret doing so.

00:14:30.920 What are you hearing on the streets?

00:14:33.340 I'm hearing the same thing here on the streets of Chicago.

00:14:36.200 They're thrilled with President Trump, is tough on crime, is shutting down the border,

00:14:42.700 deporting vicious and dangerous migrants.

00:14:44.920 They know that the economy has needed some help and a boost and that they have confidence in President Trump and his team,

00:14:51.240 like the Treasury Secretary and the Commerce Secretary.

00:14:54.040 I think that everyday hardworking Americans who don't listen to the mainstream media,

00:14:59.620 they love what President Trump has done in, what, 100 days starting tomorrow?

00:15:03.900 Yes.

00:15:04.360 I would remind people, these are the same polls that showed that Kamala Harris was leading

00:15:08.980 or she was closing fast or she was in a competitive race,

00:15:12.440 all of which was a PSYOP.

00:15:14.420 If you're just tuning in, we're talking to Mark Vargas,

00:15:16.980 the publisher and editor of the Illinois Review, and we'll be right back.

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00:15:42.440 We're joined yet again by my good friend, Mark Vargas,

00:15:46.100 the publisher and editor of the Illinois Review.

00:15:49.900 Mark, as you know, everybody in the political business loves to handicap the horse race.

00:15:55.560 And although it's very early, I noticed that President Trump was asked the other day

00:16:00.060 whether Vice President J.D. Vance would succeed him.

00:16:03.900 Now, I think J.D. Vance is doing a very good job.

00:16:06.700 I also think he understands that you don't upstage the President of the United States,

00:16:12.480 particularly this President.

00:16:14.340 But he played a very key behind-the-scenes role in winning the confirmation votes

00:16:19.680 for Tulsi Gabbard and Robert Kennedy, for Scott Besson, the Treasury Secretary,

00:16:25.440 for Kash Patel, for the FBI director.

00:16:28.260 On the other hand, Donald Trump broke the mold.

00:16:32.380 I mean, he changed all the rules.

00:16:35.340 Before him, every president had been a governor, a senator, a congressman, or a general.

00:16:40.500 How do you handicap the race in 2028?

00:16:43.540 Yes, I know it's early.

00:16:44.660 It is very early.

00:16:47.900 And, you know, in true Trump fashion, I think he's not going to endorse anyone early on.

00:16:54.260 It's still wide open, as you know, Roger, better than anybody else.

00:16:57.020 Today is a thousand years in politics, and we'll see what happens.

00:17:00.740 But that's what one of President Trump's strengths is he's predictably unpredictable.

00:17:06.520 But Vice President Vance has done a terrific job.

00:17:09.560 And I think sometimes this is some of the media just trying to create a little bit of division

00:17:13.800 and distract from President Trump's historic record in his first 100 days in office

00:17:19.900 and just the difference that it has made in people's everyday Americans' lives,

00:17:25.460 whether it's securing our border, whether it's fixing our economy,

00:17:29.220 and his America First policies.

00:17:30.600 I mean, look at the hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars in investment

00:17:33.500 that's coming back to the United States because of what President Trump has done.

00:17:37.580 China's on its heels.

00:17:39.740 America is back.

00:17:41.300 Just look at what President Trump, just look at what the audience looks like

00:17:43.940 when President Trump was at Pope Francis' funeral when he's overseas.

00:17:48.240 All eyes are on him.

00:17:50.300 You know who the leader of the free world is when he walks in as President Donald Trump

00:17:54.740 while Joe Biden's walking in still seeking assistance and holding on to people's arms

00:17:59.400 and not even sure where he's at, to be honest.

00:18:02.220 Yeah, I couldn't believe how much criticism President Trump got for wearing a dark blue suit.

00:18:07.080 Instead of a black suit, he was wearing a somber tie.

00:18:12.120 But you're right, all eyes were on him.

00:18:15.440 It's because he has that elusive quality that I first saw in 1988.

00:18:20.040 Charisma, magnetism, confidence.

00:18:23.680 He exudes it, and it represents the country well.

00:18:28.300 I saw him at dinner two Fridays ago.

00:18:31.800 And I must tell you, he's never looked happier.

00:18:33.840 He's never looked more satisfied.

00:18:36.060 He's never looked more determined.

00:18:39.060 He was in a great mood, lost a little weight.

00:18:41.800 He looked terrific.

00:18:43.280 He feels terrific.

00:18:44.760 He's best in conflict, in all honesty.

00:18:48.000 He loves a good fight.

00:18:49.500 And when it comes to America, he'll never stop fighting.

00:18:52.840 They can attack him.

00:18:54.180 They can try to undermine him.

00:18:55.660 But his late-night true social postings are just extraordinarily entertaining for those who don't watch them.

00:19:05.620 Particularly when he goes to all caps, you know he's really, really serious.

00:19:11.760 Once again, Mark, tell folks where they can find you on social media and the Illinois Review.

00:19:16.900 Yeah, I appreciate that, Roger.

00:19:18.200 You can find me on X at Mark A. Vargas, and you can visit us online at IllinoisReview.com, spelled out IllinoisReview.com.

00:19:29.160 All right.

00:19:29.920 I want to thank our guest, Mark Vargas.

00:19:32.380 I urge you to check out his social media postings.

00:19:37.880 Thanks for listening to The Stone Zone with Roger Stone.

00:19:41.960 You can hear The Stone Zone with Roger Stone weeknights at 8 on 77 WABC.

00:19:48.180 If you like the podcast, share it with your friends and listen anytime at WABCradio.com

Mark Vargas ｜ 04-28-25

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