The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - The Stone Zone ｜ 07-04-25

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

00:00:06.300 Welcome. You are entering the Stone Zone for our special 4th of July Independence Day show.

00:00:14.220 What would any 4th of July celebration be without some patriotic music?

00:00:19.460 So I have chosen one of my favorites.

00:00:21.860 Here is James Cagney, who I actually met in 1979 because he was a good friend of my then boss, Ronald Reagan, singing Yankee Doodle Dandy.

00:00:33.940 I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy. Yankee Doodle do or die.

00:00:40.480 A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam. Born on the 4th of July.

00:00:46.220 I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart. She's my Yankee Doodle joy.

00:00:54.300 Yankee Doodle came to London just to ride the ponies. I am that Yankee Doodle boy.

00:01:01.340 He's a Yankee Doodle Dandy. A Yankee Doodle do or die. 1.00

00:01:07.960 A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam. Born on the 4th of July.

00:01:13.520 He's got a Yankee Doodle sweet and hard. She's his Yankee Doodle joy.

00:01:21.640 Yankee Doodle came to London just to ride the ponies. He is a Yankee Doodle boy. 0.89

00:01:31.360 If you are an American and that does not stir your heart, well then something is wrong with you.

00:01:38.460 Two hundred and fifty years ago, General George Washington rode out before the Continental Army in Cambridge, Massachusetts and drew his sword.

00:01:48.580 That moment marked the beginning of his command and the full weight of the American Revolution.

00:01:55.420 Washington did not seek glory. He declined a salary.

00:02:00.420 He did not fight for power.

00:02:02.120 He fought for the principle that men should never bow to kings when they were created to live free under God.

00:02:11.040 And today, exactly two hundred and fifty years later, I ask you, do you still feel the weight of that sword?

00:02:20.620 Do you?

00:02:21.860 You see, Washington understood the cost of liberty.

00:02:24.700 He had seen war, experienced crushing defeats, and lived under the boot of tyranny.

00:02:32.600 And yet, he never backed down from facing hardship, no matter the obstacles.

00:02:38.200 George Washington possessed an indomitable will from which our liberty was forged.

00:02:43.880 He lifted his blade, not in pride, but in obedience to truth.

00:02:48.640 Washington believed America could exist not as a monarchy, not as an empire, but as a republic.

00:02:57.960 This was a notion that was considered absurd, impractical, unprecedented, a shot in the dark.

00:03:05.800 It would be nothing short of a miracle if it succeeded.

00:03:10.480 And we're living inside that very miracle today.

00:03:13.660 But most Americans don't pause long enough to truly reflect on the sacrifices our ancestors made.

00:03:21.920 We forget how radical of a concept this nation is.

00:03:26.440 We forget that our rights don't come from elected officials or political parties or politicians.

00:03:32.180 They come from God.

00:03:34.160 And no one has the authority to take them away.

00:03:37.580 Our Constitution is not outdated.

00:03:40.880 It is unmatched.

00:03:42.260 No other country in all human history has been built on the framework we inherited.

00:03:48.080 We're not just lucky to be here.

00:03:50.800 We were chosen.

00:03:52.560 We are blessed.

00:03:54.120 But here is the sad truth.

00:03:56.600 What we are handed, we are now at risk of losing.

00:04:00.500 We've allowed compromise.

00:04:02.820 We've tolerated corruption.

00:04:05.520 We've stopped teaching our children to revere this nation and the truth behind its genesis.

00:04:11.600 We have grown numb, divided, distracted.

00:04:15.420 But I'm not here today to shame anyone.

00:04:19.140 I'm here to issue the clarion call.

00:04:21.260 Because the spirit of 1776, the same courage that lived in Washington when he drew that sword, I believe still lives in the hearts and minds of the American people.

00:04:34.640 It lives in the veteran who stands at attention to honor those who have fallen.

00:04:40.460 It stands in the mother who teaches her children to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance with pride.

00:04:48.120 It stands in the citizen who still believes America's best days are ahead.

00:04:53.360 If we choose to fight and pursue the right path.

00:04:58.640 The sword is in our hands now.

00:05:01.660 So the question is, will you lift it?

00:05:05.480 Will you?

00:05:06.900 Not in violence, but in boldness.

00:05:09.940 Not in hatred, but in hope.

00:05:13.160 Will we defend liberty?

00:05:15.720 Will we protect truth?

00:05:18.300 Will we restore what has been lost?

00:05:20.620 This 250th year of America is not just a celebration.

00:05:26.020 It's a reckoning.

00:05:27.680 And it's a reminder that freedom is never more, as Ronald Reagan said, never more than one generation away from extinction.

00:05:36.260 So I say this to everyone listening.

00:05:39.220 Pick up that sword.

00:05:41.000 Remember who you are.

00:05:42.340 Remember our creator put us in the greatest nation the world has ever known.

00:05:47.640 And from whom much is given, much is expected.

00:05:51.640 Let us make the next 250 years worthy of the sacrifice that gave us the first.

00:05:58.800 May God bless you.

00:06:00.480 And may God bless the United States of America on this July 4th.

00:06:04.400 It is in that spirit that a member of Congress has petitioned Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to add President Donald Trump's visage to Mount Rushmore.

00:06:17.340 And to add President Donald Trump to the other presidents who are on the mountainside at Mount Rushmore Memorial Park.

00:06:27.120 Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee issued a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum yesterday arguing that the addition of President Donald Trump to Mount Rushmore would be appropriate given the size and scope of recent achievements under President Donald Trump.

00:06:45.000 Representative Ogles believes that the addition of President Trump would elevate the dignity and relevance of the site, thus increasing both its grandeur and its visitor traffic.

00:06:58.760 Congressman Ogles has encouraged Interior Secretary Burgum's office to start a feasibility assessment to get this important project underway.

00:07:08.260 I would also point out that Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida has already sponsored legislation, which by law, if passed by both houses and signed by the President, would require the Interior Department, who I believe would need the approval of the Black Folk Indian Tribe, to add President Donald Trump to the memorial at Mount Rushmore.

00:07:33.680 You can sign a petition, if you agree with us, by going to onemoreforrushmore.com.

00:07:42.220 That's onemoreforrushmore.com.

00:07:45.860 Yes, it's absolutely free.

00:07:48.520 We're not seeking to buy or sell your data.

00:07:52.300 We're seeking to form a groundswell to support the notion of adding President Donald Trump to Mount Rushmore.

00:08:00.100 This petition allows you to demand that Congress pass the legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna that would put President Trump on Mount Rushmore.

00:08:13.600 It's an idea whose time has come and can no longer be laughed off.

00:08:18.880 Now, there are certain people, let's call them liberals, who say that the framework of the current memorial is fragile and that adding Donald Trump would actually endanger the visage of the presidents that are already there.

00:08:37.720 That's what's known in politics as a lie.

00:08:41.040 I have talked to engineers and other experts who say that the technology today, the design and construction technology today, is so superior to when Mount Rushmore was originally built that President Donald Trump's image could easily be added to the existing structure without endangering those presidents who are already there.

00:09:07.740 The 45th and 47th president is indisputably a figure of massive historical importance, and his meteoric rise through politics has changed the entire trajectory of our nation.

00:09:22.360 He belongs up there next to the greats.

00:09:25.340 We will continue to provide updates on the progress of this notable congressional effort, and once again, we ask you to go to onemoreforrushmore.com to make your voice heard.

00:09:39.760 Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is wasting no time.

00:09:43.840 He will sign his big, beautiful bill into law.

00:09:47.640 He'll be doing so today during an ornate ceremony taking place at the White House that will begin at 4 p.m. this afternoon.

00:09:58.500 I cannot understate the massive importance of this incredible, hard-fought victory in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House.

00:10:11.120 Is the big, beautiful bill perfect?

00:10:14.060 No.

00:10:14.360 But it provides the greatest single tax cut in American history.

00:10:20.120 It is really an extension of the tax cuts put in place by President Donald Trump in his first term.

00:10:26.500 It ends the tax on tips.

00:10:29.620 It eliminates taxes for 88% of those currently on Social Security.

00:10:36.480 It funds the Department of Homeland Security and additional ICE agents to continue the deportation of dangerous criminals who are only in the country because President Joe Biden chose a policy of open borders while telling us he didn't.

00:10:58.080 It also provides funding for the Golden Dome, the Strategic Defense Initiative, which would build a shield for America from incoming ICBM missiles, whether they be from our adversaries in Russia or our adversaries in China or any other nation, such as India, Pakistan, who have nuclear weapons,

00:11:24.400 or those who have nuclear weapons, or those who have nuclear weapons, or those who may be on the cusp of having them.

00:11:27.820 It is a vitally important initiative, and it's included in the Big, Beautiful Bill.

00:11:34.540 Not in the Big, Beautiful Bill was the 10-year moratorium on states being allowed to regulate artificial intelligence.

00:11:45.400 This is also a massive victory.

00:11:48.020 Speaking as someone who has been a victim of artificial intelligence, you can go on right now online and find dozens of videos of Roger Stone saying things, well, that I never actually said.

00:12:02.400 And these kind of fake videos really need to be outlawed or at a minimum need to be regulated.

00:12:14.420 President Trump wrote on the passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill,

00:12:19.640 Together we will celebrate our nation's independence and the beginning of the new golden age.

00:12:25.300 The people of America and the United States will be richer, safer, and prouder than ever before.

00:12:31.260 Together we can do things that were not even imagined possible less than one year ago.

00:12:36.820 We will keep working and we will keep winning.

00:12:40.340 So congratulations go to America.

00:12:43.320 Many news outlets had to admit that President Trump has been on quite a streak lately from his precision strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities to the U.S. Supreme Court finally clearing away the judicial tyranny

00:12:59.260 in which cherry-picked left-wing judges and forums tried to issue orders that regarded the entire nation to stop the deportation of dangerous illegal criminals back to the countries from which they came

00:13:15.420 to a ruling that said, yes, the president does have the authority to negotiate tariff agreements with our trading partners.

00:13:25.000 Donald Trump is on an incredible role, and America is the beneficiary.

00:13:31.680 I cannot think of a greater present for the United States of America on the 4th of July than the passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill.

00:13:41.800 I'm Roger Stone.

00:13:42.900 You're listening to The Stone Zone on the Red Apple Audio Networks, and we'll be right back.

00:13:48.560 The Stone Zone on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:13:55.240 If you're looking to create, grow, and sustain your wealth, download and subscribe to the Pain Points of Wealth Podcast at BeBullish.com

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00:14:10.280 Download and subscribe at BeBullish.com.

00:14:12.560 The Stone Zone on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:14:20.240 And we're back in The Stone Zone.

00:14:22.860 Joining us shortly will be Mark Vargas.

00:14:25.720 He is the editor of the Illinois Review, one of the most influential news outlets in his native state of Illinois.

00:14:34.180 But I noticed in latest data published that Democrats have become extraordinarily anti-American.

00:14:43.440 A new poll shows that only 36% of Democrats in America say they're proud to be an American.

00:14:51.060 This is quite a shift of how Democrats used to be in the not-too-distant past.

00:14:56.400 It was just 10 years ago.

00:14:57.780 The percentage of Democrats who are proud to be Americans has withered from that time where it was 80% to 36% today,

00:15:07.880 a drop in nearly 50 points.

00:15:10.720 This comes as the racial hatred industry has taken over the Main Street Democrat Party.

00:15:16.640 In the eyes of many Democrats, America has gone from a country that, despite its faults,

00:15:24.160 embodied the values of freedom and equality for all to a country that was built with racism in its DNA

00:15:30.980 and needs to be uprooted and reimagined for justice to be possible.

00:15:36.620 Trump derangement syndrome, TDS, has a lot to do with this anti-American attitude of Democrats.

00:15:43.780 Democrat attitudes about America shifted sharply downward almost immediately after Trump was elected president in 2016.

00:15:54.640 The support for their country apparently depends on who is in the White House,

00:15:59.040 and if they do not get their way, they turn against their nation like a scorned lover.

00:16:06.180 Whereas Republican attitudes in favor of their country remain steadfast through the past 24 years,

00:16:11.340 at least 84% of Republicans said they were proud to be an American,

00:16:16.760 with the numbers reaching 92% today, even higher than it was in 2001,

00:16:24.120 immediately after the September 11 attacks.

00:16:28.460 It's clear which political party has the best interests of America in mind,

00:16:32.520 and it's filled with patriots who love their country for the right reasons,

00:16:36.320 and it is most certainly not the party that has nominated Sharia-loving Marxists like Zoran Mamdani

00:16:46.140 for serious positions of authority.

00:16:49.600 In the meantime,

00:16:51.920 Mandani's campaign finance information

00:16:56.640 overwent a radical change over at the city board of elections.

00:17:01.320 We proved right here in the Stone Zone that almost all of his money came from one bundler

00:17:06.760 who produced $1.6 million, a fellow named McFarland,

00:17:11.480 and zero contributions came from small donors through the donate button on his website,

00:17:17.640 and then whammo, overnight, those statistics change.

00:17:22.720 We'll be right back with Mark Vargas from the Illinois Review,

00:17:26.020 so whatever you do, please don't touch that dial.

00:17:28.460 The Stone Zone

00:17:30.940 On the Red Apple Podcast Network

00:17:33.540 The Stone Zone

00:17:37.200 On the Red Apple Podcast Network

00:17:40.480 And we're back in the Stone Zone.

00:17:44.320 Joining me now is Mark Vargas,

00:17:46.740 who is not only the editor of the Illinois Review,

00:17:50.340 but has his own record of public service,

00:17:53.160 serving as a civilian in a number of foreign assignments

00:17:56.460 to work for his country.

00:18:00.680 I want to ask you,

00:18:02.060 before we get into the real topic,

00:18:04.500 I invited you to talk about,

00:18:06.320 J.B. Pritzker,

00:18:07.680 the hefty Illinois governor

00:18:09.440 with a waistline that makes Chris Christie look smelt.

00:18:12.620 I want to ask you for a moment

00:18:14.420 about the rise of Zoran Mamdami,

00:18:17.700 who was recently exposed as a race hustler

00:18:20.480 who actually misappropriated his racial identity 0.96

00:18:23.640 in a pathetic attempt to exploit the DEI affirmative action regime 0.87

00:18:29.220 while applying to college.

00:18:30.360 According to recent data

00:18:31.580 that was obtained by a hacker from Columbia University,

00:18:34.960 it was revealed that Mamdami

00:18:36.220 claimed to be a black man

00:18:38.500 when he applied to Columbia in 2009,

00:18:41.380 even though he lied about his race

00:18:43.720 and listed his father,

00:18:45.820 who was a professor at the very same university

00:18:48.400 on his application,

00:18:50.000 he still couldn't get in

00:18:51.120 because his grades were so poor.

00:18:54.520 What do you make of the rise

00:18:56.060 of this Muslim radical socialist,

00:18:59.980 if not communist,

00:19:01.060 as the Democrat nominee for Mayor of New York City?

00:19:04.380 Well, Roger, lying about key information

00:19:07.100 sounds like his political advisor is Letitia James,

00:19:09.700 but I think Mamdami is great for Republicans, 0.99

00:19:13.580 great for the MAGA movement,

00:19:14.500 and he represents the worst nightmare

00:19:17.040 for mainstream Democrats

00:19:18.940 because of how extreme he is.

00:19:20.640 Not only is he all for DEI,

00:19:23.180 but he's anti-American.

00:19:26.020 He's, again, he's the worst nightmare for Democrats.

00:19:29.700 He's threatened to arrest Prime Minister,

00:19:31.780 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

00:19:33.920 when he arrives in New York City

00:19:35.320 for the UN meeting,

00:19:37.040 but the more attention that Mamdami gets, 0.98

00:19:41.000 I think the better off it is

00:19:42.100 in terms of poll numbers

00:19:43.220 and support for Republicans

00:19:45.300 and for MAGA and for President Trump

00:19:47.340 because he is so extreme,

00:19:49.360 and it's just yet another example

00:19:50.780 of how far to the left

00:19:53.680 the Democratic Party has gone.

00:19:55.540 Yeah, I agree with that analysis.

00:19:57.420 It is a sad commentary

00:19:58.840 because I still have many friends

00:20:00.340 and relatives in New York,

00:20:02.180 but I do not see this having a happy end.

00:20:06.180 Those, I saw a long piece

00:20:08.720 by the millionaire Bill Ackman yesterday

00:20:10.560 extolling the virtues of Eric Adams.

00:20:13.140 He obviously is completely unfamiliar

00:20:14.860 with Adams' record,

00:20:16.640 a record of corruption,

00:20:18.180 a record of rising crime,

00:20:21.020 a record that is mostly artifice.

00:20:25.000 Those who think Curtis Sliwa,

00:20:27.060 who worked very hard

00:20:28.360 to win the Republican nomination,

00:20:30.020 is going to get out of the race

00:20:31.100 are dreaming.

00:20:32.640 I'm not sure what former Governor

00:20:34.440 Andrew Cuomo will do.

00:20:37.380 The governor's looking a little long

00:20:39.100 in the tooth to me,

00:20:40.200 and he was dispatched relatively easily

00:20:42.760 in the Democrat primary,

00:20:44.020 but whether it is a four-person race

00:20:45.600 or whether it is a two-person race,

00:20:48.580 being the Democrat nominee

00:20:50.580 for mayor of New York City

00:20:52.680 puts you in the poll position.

00:20:55.720 And while it could be very,

00:20:57.720 very hard on the people of New York

00:20:59.740 when he defunds the police,

00:21:01.500 when he opens the prisons,

00:21:04.000 when he taxes the middle class

00:21:06.820 and anybody who has any money

00:21:08.420 to pay for all of his government

00:21:10.440 giveaway projects,

00:21:11.760 I predict to you that New York

00:21:13.260 will be on fire by 2028

00:21:15.180 and will sadly be a showcase

00:21:17.720 for the rest of the nation

00:21:19.500 as to what happens

00:21:20.960 when you select Democrats

00:21:23.460 who share a Marxist, 0.79

00:21:26.300 hateful, pro-Islamic, 0.99

00:21:29.060 pro-Muslim, pro-Hamas leader. 0.99

00:21:35.340 Anyway, let's talk about Illinois.

00:21:37.640 J.B. Pritzker,

00:21:39.000 who I just referred to earlier

00:21:40.860 as the rotund Illinois governor

00:21:43.900 with a waistline

00:21:44.900 that makes Chris Christie look smelt,

00:21:48.000 has tossed out feelers

00:21:49.580 about running for president.

00:21:51.700 I find this almost shocking

00:21:53.580 in view of his record in Illinois.

00:21:55.500 Can you speak to us about that record

00:21:59.020 and also give us some insights

00:22:03.800 into how he appears to be faring

00:22:06.860 in the early polling?

00:22:09.340 Well, Pritzker's entire tenure,

00:22:11.000 first of all, Roger,

00:22:12.080 the only reason why he's governor

00:22:13.300 is because he bought the seat

00:22:14.680 not once but twice.

00:22:16.080 He's heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune,

00:22:19.900 so he was born with a net worth

00:22:22.000 of $4.5 billion.

00:22:24.080 So he spent nearly $400 million

00:22:26.580 of his own money

00:22:27.820 to be elected governor.

00:22:29.600 So the guy has no friends.

00:22:31.580 He only pays for them.

00:22:33.100 But his entire tenure

00:22:34.380 as governor of Illinois

00:22:35.400 has been about tax and spend.

00:22:38.180 He's raised taxes

00:22:39.640 on everyday hardworking Illinoisans,

00:22:41.840 and it's projected

00:22:43.160 that over the next five years,

00:22:45.100 Illinois is going to have

00:22:46.000 a $22 billion budget deficit.

00:22:50.760 And his far-left progressive views,

00:22:55.060 he'd certainly be aligned

00:22:56.100 with the Mondami in New York City,

00:22:58.120 given his progressive views

00:22:59.880 for transgenderism,

00:23:01.560 his hatred for Republicans

00:23:04.140 and the MAGA movement.

00:23:05.120 Very dangerous.

00:23:05.660 He recently made comments,

00:23:09.740 which I've listened to this

00:23:11.040 three times,

00:23:12.080 and it sounds to me

00:23:12.880 like he is advocating violence.

00:23:14.800 If any Republican said

00:23:17.160 what this guy said,

00:23:18.500 he would have been arrested by now.

00:23:19.920 Let's listen to Governor Pritzker.

00:23:23.580 Never before in my life

00:23:25.140 have I called for mass protests,

00:23:27.820 for mobilization,

00:23:29.160 for disruption.

00:23:30.780 But I am now.

00:23:31.740 Yeah.

00:23:35.660 These Republicans

00:23:47.100 cannot know a moment of peace.

00:23:50.520 They have to understand

00:23:52.060 that we will fight their cruelty

00:23:53.940 with every megaphone

00:23:55.240 and microphone that we have.

00:23:56.860 We must castigate them

00:23:58.380 on the soapbox 0.98

00:23:59.640 and then punish them

00:24:00.980 at the ballot box.

00:24:02.180 Well, that's demagoguery

00:24:08.760 at its worst.

00:24:10.940 How is he looking

00:24:11.680 in these early polls, Mark?

00:24:13.700 Well, Emerson put out

00:24:14.860 a poll of potential

00:24:16.860 12 Democrat candidates

00:24:19.400 for a Democratic primary,

00:24:21.320 and of the 12,

00:24:22.540 Pritzker is dead last.

00:24:24.380 He's polling at just 2%,

00:24:26.180 but surprisingly, Roger,

00:24:27.780 among the black community nationally,

00:24:30.600 he's only got 1%,

00:24:32.140 and of the Hispanic community,

00:24:34.680 he's only at 0%.

00:24:36.500 And so it shows

00:24:37.540 how wildly unpopular

00:24:39.220 J.B. Pritzker is

00:24:40.640 at the national level,

00:24:41.880 but I can tell you

00:24:42.660 he's also wildly unpopular

00:24:44.800 at the local level

00:24:46.100 here in Illinois.

00:24:47.380 Yeah, it really is extraordinary.

00:24:50.280 Illinois has had

00:24:51.280 an incredible spike in crime.

00:24:54.700 Now we're to the point

00:24:55.860 where the rise in crime

00:24:57.020 is not just in the city

00:24:58.340 of Chicago proper,

00:24:59.560 but unfortunately spreading

00:25:01.380 to the wealthier suburbs.

00:25:04.920 But the mayor of Chicago,

00:25:08.240 Mayor Johnson,

00:25:10.400 he actually says

00:25:11.940 that the rise in crime

00:25:13.340 is all Richard Nixon's fault.

00:25:14.820 Listen to this.

00:25:16.500 So we cut off the pipeline.

00:25:18.720 Boys between the ages 0.93

00:25:19.600 of 10 and 19

00:25:20.680 being either victims

00:25:22.240 or the perpetrators.

00:25:24.840 So, yeah, it is personal.

00:25:27.100 Black death has been 1.00

00:25:33.820 unfortunately accepted 0.99

00:25:36.940 in this country

00:25:37.460 for a very long time.

00:25:39.260 We had a chance 60 years ago

00:25:41.000 to get at the root causes,

00:25:42.500 and people mocked

00:25:44.380 President Johnson.

00:25:45.940 And we ended up

00:25:46.780 with Richard Nixon.

00:25:51.040 I'm going to work hard

00:25:51.960 every day to transform

00:25:52.800 this city.

00:25:53.340 That's what it takes

00:25:54.060 to build a better,

00:25:54.740 stronger state for Chicago

00:25:55.520 and I need everybody

00:25:56.000 to step up.

00:25:57.460 Let's be very clear

00:25:58.520 about this.

00:25:59.640 It was President Richard Nixon

00:26:01.080 who desegregated

00:26:02.360 the American schools.

00:26:04.020 It was President Richard Nixon

00:26:05.760 who appointed more

00:26:06.860 African Americans

00:26:07.760 to federal office

00:26:08.840 than Lyndon Baines Johnson

00:26:10.460 and John F. Kennedy combined.

00:26:12.680 It was Richard Nixon

00:26:13.760 who gave us the policy

00:26:15.020 of affirmative action.

00:26:17.960 It was Richard Nixon

00:26:19.460 who desegregated

00:26:19.960 the trade unions.

00:26:20.960 It was Richard Nixon

00:26:23.780 who insisted

00:26:24.540 you could not bid

00:26:25.900 on a federal contract

00:26:27.960 if your company

00:26:30.160 was segregated.

00:26:32.640 It was Richard Nixon

00:26:33.700 who increased ninefold

00:26:37.080 the funding

00:26:37.960 for black colleges.

00:26:40.220 It is Richard Nixon

00:26:41.340 who in 1958

00:26:42.320 rounded up the votes

00:26:44.760 to pass the civil rights bill,

00:26:46.560 the first civil rights bill

00:26:47.620 passed since the Civil War

00:26:49.180 when Lyndon Johnson

00:26:50.680 who the mayor

00:26:51.260 just relied upon

00:26:52.680 was rounding up

00:26:53.440 the votes

00:26:53.820 to defeat it.

00:26:55.180 I actually think

00:26:56.540 that the mayor,

00:26:58.480 I'm not sure 0.98

00:26:59.200 if he's mentally ill, 0.77

00:27:00.260 I know he's physically ill, 0.99

00:27:02.120 talk about a guy

00:27:03.180 who is not up to the job.

00:27:05.680 Mark,

00:27:06.140 you told me

00:27:07.100 a harrowing story

00:27:08.060 the other night.

00:27:08.800 You were in bed

00:27:09.800 when you heard gunshots.

00:27:11.340 What happened?

00:27:12.480 I was woken

00:27:13.520 about 11 p.m.

00:27:15.060 to the sound of,

00:27:16.160 I thought were fireworks,

00:27:17.740 but it turned out

00:27:18.480 they were over 15 gunshots

00:27:21.520 that led to a mass shooting.

00:27:24.620 18 people were shot,

00:27:26.740 four were killed

00:27:27.660 just a couple of blocks

00:27:28.900 from where I was staying.

00:27:31.940 It was unbelievable.

00:27:33.840 And again,

00:27:34.360 this has been encouraged

00:27:35.540 by the leadership

00:27:36.500 of Governor Pritzker

00:27:37.300 and Brandon Johnson.

00:27:38.240 You cannot ask the mayor

00:27:39.400 who, by the way, Roger,

00:27:40.480 his approval rating

00:27:41.160 is at 4%,

00:27:42.420 the lowest approval rating

00:27:43.920 I think of any mayor

00:27:44.860 in history

00:27:45.360 because let's be clear,

00:27:46.620 he was only elected 0.82

00:27:48.100 because of the very corrupt 1.00

00:27:49.340 and racist 0.94

00:27:50.400 Chicago's Teachers Union

00:27:52.000 who literally stole

00:27:52.780 the election for him.

00:27:54.020 But he's been hospitalized

00:27:54.840 over 10 times

00:27:55.940 for panic attacks,

00:27:57.860 but they call

00:27:59.100 rioting and looting

00:28:00.640 and burning police cars

00:28:02.060 and flipping them upside down

00:28:03.540 as nearly just

00:28:04.420 peaceful protesting

00:28:05.540 and that the youth,

00:28:07.360 they need more activities

00:28:08.660 to do

00:28:09.220 after school

00:28:10.280 and during the summertime.

00:28:11.360 If they had more activities

00:28:12.320 to do,

00:28:12.700 then they would be

00:28:13.360 peacefully protesting

00:28:14.780 and tormenting residents

00:28:16.100 and visitors to Chicago.

00:28:18.140 But he is ill-prepared.

00:28:20.400 Anytime you ask him

00:28:21.120 a difficult question

00:28:22.020 about crime,

00:28:23.020 he responds with,

00:28:24.080 you're only asking me

00:28:24.860 this question

00:28:25.300 because I am a man of color.

00:28:26.900 No,

00:28:27.260 they're asking you

00:28:28.040 these tough questions

00:28:28.900 about crime

00:28:29.580 and how to reduce crime

00:28:30.460 because you're the mayor

00:28:31.360 of this city.

00:28:33.440 Folks,

00:28:33.980 if you're just tuning in,

00:28:35.160 we're talking to Mark Vargas

00:28:36.560 who is the editor

00:28:37.380 of the Illinois Review

00:28:38.800 and is a keen analyst

00:28:42.120 of both state

00:28:43.220 and national politics.

00:28:45.960 Mark Pope Leo,

00:28:48.420 the new Pope,

00:28:49.320 is a Chicago native.

00:28:51.180 Thus far,

00:28:52.120 he has released

00:28:52.880 some statements

00:28:53.500 that seem like

00:28:54.140 a breath of fresh air,

00:28:55.880 while a couple other things

00:28:57.100 he says show

00:28:57.820 that he's not incredibly

00:28:59.380 different than his predecessor,

00:29:01.000 the late Argentine

00:29:02.760 Marxist sympathizer,

00:29:04.980 Pope Francis.

00:29:06.520 What's your take

00:29:07.700 on Pope Leo

00:29:08.660 and the direction

00:29:09.520 he's going to take

00:29:10.360 the church?

00:29:11.540 Well,

00:29:11.680 it's certainly interesting

00:29:12.640 to have a Pope

00:29:13.320 who grew up in a county

00:29:14.220 just next to yours

00:29:15.280 where you grew up.

00:29:16.360 He's still a registered voter

00:29:18.260 in Will County

00:29:19.040 in the western suburbs

00:29:19.920 of Chicago.

00:29:20.720 Just last summer,

00:29:21.880 he was at one of the famous

00:29:23.360 Chicago pizza joints

00:29:24.860 with his family.

00:29:25.820 He's an unabashed

00:29:26.480 Chicago White Sox fan

00:29:27.760 and I am as well.

00:29:29.540 His brother,

00:29:30.500 Louis,

00:29:30.880 who's here in Florida,

00:29:31.720 is a huge Trump supporter

00:29:33.600 but certainly

00:29:35.140 a breath of fresh air.

00:29:36.420 He's got a lot

00:29:36.900 of challenges ahead.

00:29:38.440 Number one is,

00:29:39.420 you know,

00:29:39.660 the child sex abuse 0.99

00:29:41.440 among the church

00:29:42.240 and he's claimed

00:29:43.340 to have a zero tolerance

00:29:44.580 of that

00:29:45.020 so he needs

00:29:45.860 to be held accountable

00:29:46.500 and let's make sure

00:29:47.100 that there is

00:29:47.480 a zero tolerance

00:29:48.280 for that

00:29:48.820 but no doubt

00:29:50.040 we had a progressive

00:29:51.280 liberal Pope Francis

00:29:53.700 but I think

00:29:54.880 that Pope Leo

00:29:56.220 has shown,

00:29:57.180 you know,

00:29:57.600 he's pushing back

00:29:58.820 against the Trump administration

00:29:59.820 in terms of

00:30:00.960 migration of illegals

00:30:03.540 but they seem

00:30:04.760 to forget

00:30:05.120 that the Vatican

00:30:05.880 is surrounded

00:30:06.620 by walls.

00:30:08.140 Walls are used

00:30:08.880 for protection

00:30:09.560 and that's why

00:30:10.620 President Trump

00:30:11.260 has been so keen

00:30:12.360 on building a wall

00:30:13.140 on our southern border

00:30:13.900 for protection.

00:30:14.900 We're a nation of laws

00:30:16.760 and we need to apply

00:30:17.460 those laws

00:30:18.040 but, you know,

00:30:19.100 he's going to have,

00:30:19.980 he has some progressive

00:30:21.020 views

00:30:22.200 but he's,

00:30:23.480 you know,

00:30:23.760 everything that I've seen

00:30:24.740 is he's going to

00:30:25.760 probably try and go

00:30:26.520 right down the middle

00:30:28.180 but there's no doubt

00:30:29.520 that he's got challenges

00:30:30.360 whether it's child

00:30:31.200 sex abuse challenges,

00:30:32.460 whether it's

00:30:33.160 financial challenges

00:30:34.940 but we do know

00:30:36.220 that he's been very

00:30:37.020 critical of President

00:30:38.000 Trump on migration.

00:30:39.540 He's big on

00:30:40.320 climate change

00:30:42.820 and so we'll see

00:30:44.400 what happens.

00:30:45.640 It's still very early

00:30:46.500 in his term.

00:30:48.560 Yeah,

00:30:48.760 I'm slightly encouraged.

00:30:51.000 He has remained

00:30:51.740 hardline in the church's

00:30:53.160 support for life.

00:30:54.160 He is opposed

00:30:55.520 to women

00:30:58.280 in the priesthood.

00:31:01.000 He is absolutely

00:31:02.900 against this 0.99

00:31:03.720 transgendered nonsense. 1.00

00:31:07.240 On immigration, 0.99

00:31:08.560 he's wrong.

00:31:09.180 He doesn't seem

00:31:09.600 to mind the walls

00:31:10.380 that protect him

00:31:11.560 from the rabble 0.77

00:31:12.300 around the Vatican

00:31:13.320 but he thinks perhaps

00:31:14.840 that we shouldn't

00:31:15.780 have walls.

00:31:17.260 As far as I'm concerned,

00:31:18.880 the jury is still out

00:31:20.040 but I'm praying for him.

00:31:22.040 If you're just tuning in,

00:31:23.000 we're talking to Mark Vargas,

00:31:24.640 the editor-in-chief

00:31:25.980 of the Illinois Review

00:31:27.320 and we'll be right back

00:31:29.700 with a bit more

00:31:30.400 so please stay here

00:31:32.200 in the Stone Zone

00:31:33.480 with us on this July 4th.

00:31:35.480 We've got a little more

00:31:36.060 musical interlude

00:31:37.280 coming up for you as well.

00:31:39.040 We'll be right back.

00:31:41.360 The Stone Zone

00:31:42.680 on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:31:47.540 The Stone Zone

00:31:48.940 on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:31:53.000 Welcome.

00:31:54.680 We're back in the Stone Zone

00:31:56.360 and as promised

00:31:57.980 on this 4th of July

00:31:59.540 special edition

00:32:01.120 of the Stone Zone,

00:32:02.340 we have a musical interlude

00:32:04.740 for you.

00:32:05.480 It would not be

00:32:06.340 the 4th of July

00:32:07.340 if we could not hear

00:32:09.400 the iconic Kate Smith

00:32:11.940 and her rendition of

00:32:13.220 God Bless America.

00:32:14.620 God Bless America

00:32:18.280 Land that I love

00:32:24.260 Stand beside her

00:32:26.840 And guide her

00:32:29.640 Through the night

00:32:31.700 With the life from above

00:32:34.340 From the mountains

00:32:37.580 To the prairie

00:32:40.320 To the ocean

00:32:43.080 Wide with hope

00:32:46.620 God Bless America

00:32:51.080 My heart

00:32:53.940 My heart

00:32:53.960 Sweet heart

00:32:56.560 Again, if that doesn't

00:32:59.540 stir your soul,

00:33:01.080 you're just not an American. 0.66

00:33:03.080 We're still talking to

00:33:04.180 Mark Vargas,

00:33:05.380 the editor-in-chief

00:33:06.380 of the Illinois Review,

00:33:07.920 a man who has served

00:33:09.460 his country

00:33:10.620 in a number of

00:33:11.720 foreign assignments

00:33:13.240 as a civilian.

00:33:14.600 Also, someone

00:33:16.980 who was very instrumental

00:33:19.160 in working for my pardon,

00:33:21.080 the pardon of

00:33:22.260 Governor Rob Blagojevich,

00:33:24.280 the pardon more recently

00:33:25.820 of Ross Albrecht,

00:33:28.600 the noted libertarian

00:33:30.560 who President Donald Trump

00:33:32.500 pledged to pardon

00:33:34.800 prior to the election

00:33:35.860 and kept his pardon.

00:33:37.800 Mark, I want to ask you

00:33:38.900 about this.

00:33:39.880 Ross Albrecht

00:33:41.040 and his mother,

00:33:42.980 who was a great champion

00:33:44.080 for his freedom,

00:33:45.700 have called on

00:33:46.720 President Donald Trump

00:33:48.060 to begin a tradition

00:33:50.580 of, I guess we would call

00:33:53.580 this Pardon Fridays,

00:33:56.520 urging the president

00:33:57.400 to make pardons,

00:33:59.020 commutations,

00:34:00.300 or to reverse decades

00:34:01.960 of Department of Justice abuses

00:34:04.840 by showcasing a different case

00:34:07.840 every Friday.

00:34:09.700 In the spirit of mercy

00:34:11.360 and justice,

00:34:12.340 these grassroots leaders

00:34:14.060 are calling on President Trump

00:34:15.320 to take a bold action

00:34:16.400 against decades

00:34:17.940 of DOJ abuse

00:34:19.480 by issuing these

00:34:21.000 regular pardons

00:34:21.940 and commutations

00:34:22.940 for political prisoners,

00:34:25.140 whistleblowers,

00:34:26.120 and other victims

00:34:27.440 of the deep state.

00:34:29.940 What do you think

00:34:30.740 of this idea, Mark?

00:34:32.280 Well, first of all, Roger,

00:34:33.480 the role that you played

00:34:34.420 with Ross Albrecht

00:34:35.240 was instrumental

00:34:36.240 in that of Susie Wiles

00:34:37.880 and the president,

00:34:39.460 once again,

00:34:39.940 showing he's got backbone

00:34:41.060 in trying to right wrongs.

00:34:42.340 And so incredibly grateful

00:34:43.660 for the president

00:34:44.420 for his actions

00:34:45.740 and certainly incredibly grateful

00:34:46.900 for yours

00:34:47.460 as well as Susie Wiles' actions, 0.56

00:34:49.340 Robert, or Roger.

00:34:50.220 But, you know,

00:34:50.980 this is incredible.

00:34:51.780 Forgiveness Fridays,

00:34:52.680 I love this

00:34:53.360 because what we've learned,

00:34:54.220 certainly with your case

00:34:55.400 and with the president's cases,

00:34:57.060 is how broken

00:34:58.780 and racist

00:34:59.860 this criminal justice system is.

00:35:02.160 And we've seen over

00:35:03.280 the last several decades

00:35:04.400 how Democrats

00:35:05.540 and Republicans

00:35:06.220 on both sides,

00:35:06.920 particularly the Democrats

00:35:07.740 under the Obama

00:35:08.440 and Biden administrations,

00:35:09.760 of how they weaponized

00:35:10.800 the Department of Justice

00:35:13.180 and the FBI

00:35:13.880 to go after

00:35:14.540 their own political enemies,

00:35:15.760 whether it was you,

00:35:16.440 whether it was Rob Lagojevich,

00:35:17.800 President Trump,

00:35:18.960 so many others

00:35:19.840 in President Trump's orbit.

00:35:22.240 And we've learned

00:35:23.500 through your case

00:35:24.560 and other cases

00:35:25.380 that the prosecutors,

00:35:27.200 they actually hide evidence

00:35:29.160 that show innocence.

00:35:32.860 It's remarkable.

00:35:33.660 You would think

00:35:33.920 this is what happens

00:35:34.680 in a third world country,

00:35:36.180 but this is what happens

00:35:37.200 in the United States of America.

00:35:39.120 And thanks to President Trump

00:35:40.060 and his leadership,

00:35:41.060 I think we're finally

00:35:41.940 on the path

00:35:42.820 to right wrongs

00:35:44.220 and recalibrate

00:35:46.120 our justice system

00:35:47.060 because it has been

00:35:47.680 so broken for so long.

00:35:49.640 I think this idea

00:35:51.060 of Forgiveness Fridays

00:35:52.860 would be a fantastic opportunity

00:35:54.720 for President Trump

00:35:55.680 to demonstrate

00:35:56.520 his compassion

00:35:57.900 and his love

00:35:59.420 of second chances

00:36:00.520 while bringing relief

00:36:02.360 to many

00:36:02.920 who can be safely

00:36:04.240 returned to their families

00:36:06.200 and their communities.

00:36:08.220 Trump has already

00:36:09.020 appointed leader

00:36:10.280 and conservative champion

00:36:11.580 attorney Ed Martin

00:36:12.680 as the pardon attorney

00:36:14.640 so he has appointed

00:36:15.720 Alice Marie Johnson,

00:36:18.340 a great woman,

00:36:19.600 as the so-called

00:36:20.760 pardon czar.

00:36:22.080 They're working

00:36:22.560 very hard

00:36:23.960 to evaluate

00:36:24.880 the cases

00:36:25.980 of the many

00:36:27.200 who have been wronged

00:36:29.040 in a corrupted

00:36:29.900 and politicized

00:36:31.660 criminal justice system.

00:36:33.940 I think Trump's mercy

00:36:35.140 in this respect,

00:36:36.260 which activists

00:36:37.280 really respect,

00:36:39.000 is due in no small part

00:36:41.040 to the enormous lawfare

00:36:43.160 that they deployed

00:36:44.360 against him.

00:36:45.480 They tried to keep him

00:36:46.280 off the ballot.

00:36:47.440 They tried to

00:36:48.320 bankrupt him.

00:36:49.860 They tried to

00:36:50.600 throw him in jail.

00:36:51.580 Despite all of that,

00:36:53.660 despite all of that,

00:36:54.960 he persevered.

00:36:55.860 Now the tables are turned.

00:36:58.060 It's New York attorney

00:36:58.920 Letitia James

00:37:00.020 who's under investigation

00:37:01.640 for a 20-year record

00:37:04.200 of mortgage fraud

00:37:05.320 and now under investigation

00:37:07.420 because she was well aware

00:37:09.040 of a major New York bank

00:37:10.900 that was violating

00:37:11.840 the Iranian sanctions

00:37:13.020 to the tune

00:37:14.240 of $90 million.

00:37:16.320 Letitia,

00:37:16.740 if you're listening,

00:37:18.020 the FBI's coming

00:37:18.880 to your home

00:37:19.500 one morning soon.

00:37:21.560 Mark my words.

00:37:23.140 Thanks for joining us today

00:37:24.440 in the Stone Zone.

00:37:25.820 God bless you

00:37:26.680 on this Independence Day

00:37:28.000 and God bless America.

00:37:30.280 Thanks for listening

00:37:32.020 to The Stone Zone

00:37:33.300 with Roger Stone.

00:37:34.880 You can hear

00:37:35.520 The Stone Zone

00:37:36.360 with Roger Stone

00:37:37.420 weeknights at 8

00:37:38.700 on 77 WABC.

00:37:41.100 If you like the podcast,

00:37:42.700 share it with your friends

00:37:43.780 and listen anytime

00:37:44.880 at wabcradio.com

00:37:47.020 and download

00:37:47.800 the WABC Radio app.

00:37:49.680 Hit that subscribe button

00:37:50.740 on all major podcast platforms.

00:37:53.160 Plus,

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00:37:58.920 See you next time

00:37:59.780 for a new episode

00:38:00.820 so you never have to wonder.

00:38:02.760 What the heck

00:38:03.500 is going on here? 0.58

The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - July 07, 2025

The Stone Zone ｜ 07-04-25

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