The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - Mark Vargas ｜ 07-04-25

00:00:00.000 The Stone Zone on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:00:06.040 And we're back in the Stone Zone.

00:00:08.760 Joining me now is Mark Vargas, who is not only the editor of the Illinois Review, but has his own record of public service, serving as a civilian in a number of foreign assignments to work for his country.

00:00:24.440 I want to ask you, before we get into the real topic I invited you to talk about, J.B. Pritzker, the hefty Illinois governor with a waistline that makes Chris Christie look smelt.

00:00:37.260 I want to ask you for a moment about the rise of Zoran Mamdami, who was recently exposed as a race hustler who actually misappropriated his racial identity in a pathetic attempt to exploit the DEI affirmative action regime 0.89

00:00:53.680 while applying to college.

00:00:54.700 According to recent data that was obtained by a hacker from Columbia University, it was revealed that Mamdami claimed to be a black man when he applied to Columbia in 2009,

00:01:05.820 even though he lied about his race and listed his father, who was a professor at the very same university on his application.

00:01:14.500 He still couldn't get in because his grades were so poor.

00:01:18.240 What do you make of the rise of this Muslim radical socialist, if not communist, as a Democrat nominee for mayor of New York City?

00:01:28.840 Well, Roger, lying about key information sounds like his political advisor is Letitia James. 1.00

00:01:34.160 But I think Mamdami is great for Republicans, great for the MAGA movement, and he represents the worst nightmare for mainstream Democrats because of how extreme he is. 0.89

00:01:45.040 Not only is he all for DEI, but he's anti-American.

00:01:50.460 He's, again, he's the worst nightmare for Democrats.

00:01:53.960 He's threatened to arrest Prime Minister, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in New York City for the U.N. meeting.

00:02:01.920 But the more attention that Mamdami gets, I think the better off it is in terms of poll numbers and support, support for Republicans and for MAGA and for President Trump,

00:02:11.860 because he is so extreme and it's just yet another example of how far to the left the Democratic Party has gone.

00:02:19.620 Yeah, I agree with that analysis.

00:02:21.900 It is a sad commentary because I still have many friends and relatives in New York, but I do not see this having a happy end.

00:02:31.380 Those, I saw a long piece by the millionaire Bill Ackman yesterday extolling the virtues of Eric Adams.

00:02:37.600 He obviously is completely unfamiliar with Adams' record, a record of corruption, a record of rising crime,

00:02:44.280 a record that is mostly artifice.

00:02:49.500 Those who think Curtis Sliwa, who worked very hard to win the Republican nomination, is going to get out of the race are dreaming.

00:02:57.200 I'm not sure what former Governor Andrew Cuomo will do.

00:03:01.780 The governor is looking a little long in the tooth to me, and he was dispatched relatively easily in the Democrat primary.

00:03:08.340 But whether it is a four-person race or whether it is a two-person race, being the Democrat nominee for mayor of New York City puts you in the poll position.

00:03:20.160 While it could be very, very hard on the people of New York when he defunds the police, when he opens the prisons,

00:03:27.960 when he taxes the middle class and anybody who has any money to pay for all of his government giveaway projects,

00:03:35.920 I predict to you that New York will be on fire by 2028 and will sadly be a showcase for the rest of the nation 0.80

00:03:43.940 as to what happens when you select Democrats who share a Marxist, hateful, pro-Islamic, pro-Muslim, pro-Hamas leader.

00:03:59.800 Anyway, let's talk about Illinois. 0.86

00:04:02.080 J.B. Pritzker, who I referred to earlier as the rotund Illinois governor,

00:04:08.360 who with a waistline that makes Chris Christie look smelt, has tossed out feelers about running for president.

00:04:16.060 I find this almost shocking in view of his record in Illinois.

00:04:20.700 Can you speak to us about that record and also give us some insights into how he appears to be faring in the early polling?

00:04:32.600 Well, Pritzker's entire tenure, first of all, Roger, the only reason why he's governor is because he bought the seat not once but twice.

00:04:40.520 He's heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, so he was born with a net worth of $4.5 billion.

00:04:48.520 So he spent over nearly $400 million of his own money to be elected governor.

00:04:54.040 So the guy has no friends. He only pays for them.

00:04:57.200 But his entire tenure as governor of Illinois has been about tax and spend.

00:05:02.660 He's raised taxes on everyday hardworking Illinoisans.

00:05:06.460 And it's projected that over the next five years, Illinois is going to have a $22 billion budget deficit.

00:05:14.500 And his far-left progressive views, he'd certainly be aligned with the Mondami in New York City, given his progressive views for transgenderism, his hatred for Republicans and the MAGA movement.

00:05:29.600 Very dangerous.

00:05:31.440 He recently made comments, which I've listened to this three times, and it sounds to me like he is advocating violence.

00:05:39.100 If any Republican said what this guy said, he would have been arrested by now.

00:05:44.400 Let's listen to Governor Pritzker.

00:05:47.980 Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption.

00:05:55.240 But I am now.

00:05:56.180 Yeah.

00:05:56.680 Yeah.

00:05:57.180 Yeah.

00:05:57.680 Yeah.

00:05:58.180 Yeah.

00:05:58.680 Yeah.

00:05:59.180 Yeah.

00:05:59.680 Yeah.

00:06:00.180 Yeah.

00:06:01.180 Yeah.

00:06:02.180 Yeah.

00:06:03.180 Yeah.

00:06:04.180 Yeah.

00:06:05.180 Yeah.

00:06:06.180 Yeah.

00:06:07.180 Yeah.

00:06:08.180 Yeah.

00:06:09.100 Well, that's demagoguery at its worst.

00:06:35.020 How is he looking in these early polls, Mark?

00:06:37.560 Well, Emerson put out a poll of potential 12 Democrat candidates for a Democratic primary, and of the 12, Pritzker is dead last.

00:06:48.760 He's polling at just 2%, but surprisingly, Roger, among the black community nationally, he's only got 1%, and of the Hispanic community, he's only at 0%.

00:07:00.820 And so it shows how wildly unpopular, and so it shows how wildly unpopular J.B. Pritzker is at the national level, but I can tell you, he's also wildly unpopular at the local level here in Illinois.

00:07:11.400 Yeah, it really is extraordinary, Illinois has had an incredible spike in crime, now we're to the point where the rise in crime is not just in the city of Chicago proper, but unfortunately, spreading to the wealthier suburbs.

00:07:28.600 But the mayor of Chicago, Mayor Johnson, he actually says that the rise in crime is all Richard Nixon's fault. Listen to this.

00:07:39.920 So we cut off the pipeline. Boys between the ages of 10 and 19 being either victims or the perpetrators. So, yeah, it is personal.

00:07:51.540 Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time. We had a chance 60 years ago to get at the root causes, and people mocked President Johnson. And we ended up with Richard Nixon.

00:08:15.520 I'm going to work hard every day to transform this city. That's what it takes to build a better, stronger state for Chicago and everybody to step up.

00:08:21.540 Now, let's be very clear about this. It was President Richard Nixon who desegregated the American schools. It was President Richard Nixon who appointed more African Americans to federal office than Lyndon Baines Johnson and John F. Kennedy combined.

00:08:36.540 It was Richard Nixon who gave us the American schools. It was Richard Nixon who gave us the policy of affirmative action. It was Richard Nixon who desegregated the trade unions.

00:08:46.660 It was Richard Nixon who insisted you could not bid on a federal contract if your company was segregated. It was Richard Nixon who increased ninefold the funding for black colleges.

00:09:03.700 It was Richard Nixon. It was Richard Nixon. It is Richard Nixon who, in 1958, rounded up the votes to pass the Civil Rights Bill, the first Civil Rights Bill passed since the Civil War, when Lyndon Johnson, who the mayor just relied upon, was rounding up the votes to defeat it.

00:09:19.320 I actually think that the mayor, I'm not sure if he's mentally ill. I know he's physically ill. Talk about a guy who is not up to the job. Mark, you told me a harrowing story the other night. You were in bed when you heard gunshots. What happened?

00:09:36.240 I was woken about 11 p.m. to the sound of, I thought were fireworks, but it turned out they were over 15 gunshots that led to a mass shooting. 18 people were shot. Four were killed just a couple of blocks from where I was staying. It was unbelievable.

00:09:57.440 And again, this has been encouraged by the leadership of Governor Pritzker and Brandon Johnson. You cannot ask the mayor, who, by the way, Roger, his approval rating is at 4%, the lowest approval rating, I think, of any mayor in history.

00:10:09.820 Because let's be clear, he was only elected because of the very corrupt and racist Chicago's Teachers Union, who literally stole the election for him. But he's been hospitalized over 10 times for panic attacks.

00:10:21.900 But they call rioting and looting and burning police cars and flipping them upside down as nearly just peaceful protesting and that the youth, they need more activities to do after school and during the summertime.

00:10:35.680 If they had more activities to do, then they would be peacefully protesting and tormenting residents and visitors to Chicago. But he is ill-prepared. Anytime you ask him a difficult question about crime, he responds with, you're only asking me this question because I am a man of color.

00:10:51.220 No, they're asking you these tough questions about crime and how to reduce crime because you're the mayor of this city.

00:10:57.800 Folks, if you're just tuning in, we're talking to Mark Vargas, who is the editor of the Illinois Review and is a keen analyst of both state and national politics.

00:11:10.460 Mark, Pope Leo, the new pope, is a Chicago native. Thus far, he has released some statements that seem like a breath of fresh air.

00:11:19.680 Well, a couple other things he says show that he's not incredibly different than his predecessor, the late Argentine Marxist sympathizer, Pope Francis.

00:11:30.940 What's your take on Pope Leo and the direction he's going to take the church?

00:11:36.000 Well, it's certainly interesting to have a pope who grew up in a county just next to yours where you grew up.

00:11:40.580 He's still a registered voter in Will County in the western suburbs of Chicago.

00:11:45.180 Just last summer, he was at one of the famous Chicago pizza joints with his family.

00:11:50.300 He's an unabashed Chicago White Sox fan, and I am as well.

00:11:54.000 His brother, Louis, who's here in Florida, is a huge Trump supporter.

00:11:58.060 But certainly a breath of fresh air, he's got a lot of challenges ahead.

00:12:02.880 Number one is the child sex abuse among the church, and he's claimed to have a zero tolerance of that, so he needs to be held accountable.

00:12:11.080 Let's make sure that there is a zero tolerance for that.

00:12:13.260 But no doubt we had a progressive, liberal Pope Francis, but I think that Pope Leo has shown, you know, he's pushing back against the Trump administration in terms of immigration of illegals.

00:12:28.160 But they seem to forget that the Vatican is surrounded by walls.

00:12:32.520 Walls are used for protection, and that's why President Trump has been so keen on building a wall on our southern border for protection.

00:12:39.140 We're a nation of laws, and we need to apply those laws.

00:12:43.120 But, you know, he has some progressive views, but he's, you know, everything that I've seen is he's going to probably try and go right down the middle.

00:12:52.920 But there's no doubt that he's got challenges, whether it's child sex abuse challenges, whether it's financial challenges.

00:12:59.940 But we do know that he's been very critical of President Trump on migration.

00:13:03.920 He's big on climate change.

00:13:07.280 And so we'll see what happens.

00:13:10.000 It's still very early in his term.

00:13:12.660 Yeah, I'm slightly encouraged.

00:13:15.420 He has remained hardline in the church's support for life.

00:13:18.760 He is opposed to women in the priesthood. 0.95

00:13:25.260 He is absolutely against this transgendered nonsense. 1.00

00:13:31.520 On immigration, he's wrong. 0.98

00:13:33.540 He doesn't seem to mind the walls that protect him from the rabble around the Vatican. 1.00

00:13:37.760 But he thinks perhaps that we shouldn't have walls.

00:13:41.800 As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out, but I'm praying for him.

00:13:46.500 If you're just tuning in, we're talking to Mark Vargas, the editor-in-chief of the Illinois Review.

00:13:51.780 And we'll be right back with a bit more.

00:13:55.060 So please stay here in the Stone Zone with us on this July 4th.

00:13:59.920 We've got a little more musical interlude coming up for you as well.

00:14:03.300 We'll be right back.

00:14:05.500 The Stone Zone on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:14:11.720 The Stone Zone on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:14:16.520 Welcome, we're back in the Stone Zone.

00:14:21.020 And as promised on this 4th of July special edition of the Stone Zone,

00:14:26.800 we have a musical interlude for you.

00:14:29.920 It would not be the 4th of July if we could not hear the iconic Kate Smith

00:14:36.380 and her rendition of God Bless America.

00:14:39.080 God bless America

00:14:42.740 Land that I love

00:14:48.700 Stand beside her

00:14:51.300 And guide her

00:14:54.080 Through the night with the life from above

00:14:58.820 From the mountains

00:15:02.040 To the prairies

00:15:04.820 To the oceans

00:15:07.560 Wide with hope

00:15:11.220 God bless America

00:15:15.640 My home

00:15:18.420 Sweet home

00:15:20.720 Again, if that doesn't stir your soul, you're just not an American.

00:15:27.560 We're still talking to Mark Vargas, the editor-in-chief of the Illinois Review,

00:15:32.220 A man who has served his country in a number of foreign assignments as a civilian.

00:15:39.460 Also, someone who was very instrumental in working for my pardon,

00:15:45.540 the pardon of Governor Rob Blagojevich,

00:15:48.720 the pardon more recently of Ross Albrecht,

00:15:53.040 the noted libertarian,

00:15:55.020 who President Donald Trump pledged to pardon prior to the election, then kept his pardon.

00:16:02.260 Mark, I want to ask you about this.

00:16:04.360 Ross Albrecht and his mother, who was a great champion for his freedom,

00:16:10.180 have called on President Donald Trump to begin a tradition of,

00:16:15.940 I guess we would call this Pardon Fridays,

00:16:20.880 urging the president to make pardons,

00:16:23.320 commutations, or to reverse decades of Department of Justice abuses

00:16:29.280 by showcasing a different case every Friday.

00:16:33.420 In the spirit of mercy and justice,

00:16:36.780 these grassroots leaders are calling on President Trump to take a bold action

00:16:40.860 against decades of DOJ abuse

00:16:43.920 by issuing these regular pardons and commutations

00:16:47.400 for political prisoners, whistleblowers,

00:16:50.580 and other victims of the deep state.

00:16:54.300 What do you think of this idea, Mark?

00:16:56.640 Well, first of all, Roger,

00:16:57.940 the role that you played with Ross Albrecht was instrumental

00:17:00.680 in that of Susie Wiles and the president,

00:17:03.920 once again, showing he's got backbone and trying to right wrongs.

00:17:06.860 And so incredibly grateful for the president,

00:17:09.040 for his actions,

00:17:10.260 and certainly incredibly grateful for yours,

00:17:11.960 as well as Susie Wiles' actions, Robert, or Roger.

00:17:14.700 But, you know, this is incredible.

00:17:16.240 Forgiveness Fridays, I love this,

00:17:17.860 because what we've learned, certainly with your case

00:17:19.840 and with the president's cases,

00:17:21.520 is how broken and racist this criminal justice system is.

00:17:26.740 And we've seen over the last several decades

00:17:28.860 how Democrats and Republicans on both sides,

00:17:31.380 particularly the Democrats

00:17:32.200 under the Obama and Biden administrations,

00:17:34.220 of how they weaponized the Department of Justice

00:17:37.640 and the FBI to go after their own political enemies,

00:17:40.240 whether it was you, whether it was Rob Lagojevich,

00:17:42.240 President Trump, so many others,

00:17:44.420 and President Trump's orbit.

00:17:46.720 And we've learned through your case and other cases

00:17:49.800 that the prosecutors,

00:17:51.640 they actually hide evidence that show innocence.

00:17:56.720 It's remarkable.

00:17:58.100 You would think this is what happens

00:17:59.140 in a third world country,

00:18:00.640 but this is what happens in the United States of America.

00:18:03.580 And thanks to President Trump and his leadership,

00:18:05.500 I think we're finally on the path to right wrongs

00:18:08.680 and recalibrate our justice system,

00:18:11.520 because it has been so broken for so long.

00:18:14.120 I think this idea of Forgiveness Fridays

00:18:17.320 would be a fantastic opportunity for President Trump

00:18:20.120 to demonstrate his compassion

00:18:22.360 and his love of second chances,

00:18:25.620 while bringing relief to many

00:18:27.380 who can be safely returned to their families

00:18:30.660 and their communities.

00:18:32.680 Trump has already appointed leader

00:18:34.740 and conservative champion attorney Ed Martin

00:18:37.120 as the pardon attorney,

00:18:39.280 so he has appointed Alice Marie Johnson,

00:18:42.800 a great woman,

00:18:44.040 as the so-called pardon czar.

00:18:46.420 They're working very hard

00:18:48.420 to evaluate the cases of the many

00:18:51.660 who have been wronged

00:18:53.480 in a corrupted and politicized criminal justice system.

00:18:58.340 I think Trump's mercy in this respect,

00:19:00.720 which activists really respect,

00:19:03.400 is due in no small part

00:19:05.520 to the enormous lawfare

00:19:07.620 that they deployed against him.

00:19:09.920 They tried to keep him off the ballot.

00:19:11.880 They tried to bankrupt him.

00:19:14.340 They tried to throw him in jail.

00:19:16.040 Despite all of that,

00:19:18.120 despite all of that,

00:19:19.420 he persevered.

00:19:20.780 Now the tables are turned.

00:19:22.480 It's New York attorney Letitia James,

00:19:24.660 who's under investigation

00:19:26.100 for a 20-year record of mortgage fraud,

00:19:30.320 and now under investigation

00:19:31.880 because she was well aware

00:19:33.500 of a major New York bank

00:19:35.340 that was violating the Iranian sanctions

00:19:37.480 to the tune of $90 million.

00:19:40.740 Letitia, if you're listening,

00:19:42.460 the FBI is coming to your home

00:19:43.960 one morning soon.

00:19:46.020 Mark my words.

00:19:47.600 Thanks for joining us today

00:19:48.900 in The Stone Zone.

00:19:50.280 God bless you on this Independence Day,

00:19:52.640 and God bless America.

00:19:54.740 Thanks for listening to The Stone Zone

00:19:57.780 with Roger Stone.

00:19:59.060 You can hear The Stone Zone

00:20:00.820 with Roger Stone

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00:20:23.360 See you next time

00:20:24.220 for a new episode

00:20:25.200 so you never have to wonder.

00:20:27.200 What the heck is going on here?

The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - July 07, 2025

Mark Vargas ｜ 07-04-25

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