Triggered - Donald Trump Jr - Freedom 250: America’s Milestone, Plus interview with Tim Murtaugh! | Triggered Ep.355

00:06:05.000 Thank you.

00:06:21.000 Hey guys, welcome to another huge episode of Triggered.

00:06:24.000 I hope everyone's doing well.

00:06:27.000 So, Saturday is America's 250th birthday.

00:06:30.000 It's the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

00:06:33.000 And yesterday, you probably saw my father out in the Badlands of North Dakota doing something presidents should actually do celebrating an American hero instead of apologizing for one.

00:06:46.000 So, we'll show you that and so much more.

00:06:49.000 And then we've got a great guest, Washington Times columnist and founder of Line Drive Public Affairs, Tim Murtaugh.

00:06:55.000 He ran communications for the 2020 Trump campaign, the senior advisor in 2024.

00:07:00.000 And we're going to get into all of the top stories.

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00:09:31.000 All right, let's get into it.

00:09:33.000 And I want to start in Medora, North Dakota, a town of about 120 people because Yesterday, that little town hosted something this country very much needed to see.

00:09:46.000 My father rode in to Freedom 250 train and opened the brand new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library on 93 acres, carved into the same badlands where Theodore Roosevelt lived, in the same house, and rebuilt himself into the man who built the American century.

00:10:08.000 The doors opened to the public on July 4th on America's 250th birthday.

00:10:13.000 Check this out. 0.62

00:10:14.000 So, there could be no better place for this new national treasure than the Rough Rider State.

00:10:22.000 I met some of the Rough Riders.

00:10:23.000 They are Rough Riders.

00:10:24.000 They're good riders, too.

00:10:25.000 They were very impressive.

00:10:29.000 Today, 107 years after he passed into eternity, Theodore Roosevelt's Presidential Library opens its doors, and the small town, but very great town, and today it's a very famous town because that's all they're talking about.

00:10:45.000 Of Medora opens its arms to the entire world.

00:10:50.000 The entire world is watching.

00:10:52.000 It's not a big town, but it's a very powerful town because of what was left behind.

00:10:57.000 I want to thank the thousands of people who worked so hard to make this project a reality, and you really did.

00:11:05.000 You made it a beautiful reality.

00:11:07.000 Very few places will top it.

00:11:13.000 And there was one line in that speech I really want you to hear.

00:11:16.000 He went out there.

00:11:17.000 To remind everyone what Roosevelt actually believed.

00:11:21.000 And one of the things Teddy believed, it's really over 100 years ago, is suddenly very, very relevant again today.

00:11:31.000 Check this out.

00:11:33.000 TR was also a staunch and ferocious opponent of a thing called communism.

00:11:38.000 You've been hearing a lot about that lately.

00:11:41.000 He said the doctrines of communistic socialism, if consistently followed, mean the ultimate.

00:11:49.000 Annihilation of civilization.

00:11:51.000 Other than that, he thought it was wonderful.

00:11:55.000 As we're seeing now, communism is the greatest threat to our country, including, I believe this.

00:12:01.000 You know, when I said it, I said, boy, that's pretty severe, but I think it's true.

00:12:04.000 It's the biggest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, September 11th.

00:12:12.000 I think it's a bigger threat, potentially a bigger threat than that, because it's like a cancer that spreads, and you better stop it fast.

00:12:21.000 We will never let the United States become a communist country.

00:12:25.000 Won't happen.

00:12:29.000 Roosevelt saw this extreme communist ideology coming a century out.

00:12:34.000 Okay.

00:12:35.000 He saw it a century ago, 100 years ago.

00:12:37.000 He got it.

00:12:38.000 And here we are in 2026 with that exact ideology winning primaries in the biggest city in America, actually, Theodore Roosevelt's original home in New York, and calling itself somehow the future.

00:12:53.000 A nation, like an individual, either rises or falls.

00:12:58.000 It builds or decays.

00:12:59.000 And that was the theme in Medora yesterday.

00:13:02.000 And keep that line in your head today, and really every day, because every story on this show is one side building and the other side decaying and somehow calling it progress.

00:13:15.000 Oh, and because it's America's birthday week, we're allowed to have a little fun.

00:13:20.000 Yes, we're going to do that, guys.

00:13:22.000 There was a Trump dance at the Roosevelt Library.

00:13:26.000 Because, of course, there was.

00:13:27.000 Check this out.

00:13:37.000 Now, speaking of building, Saturday isn't just the nation's birthday.

00:13:42.000 It's also one year to the day since the one big, beautiful bill was signed into law.

00:13:47.000 One year.

00:13:49.000 And remember what they told you about that bill it was going to wreck the economy, it was somehow cruel, people were going to die.

00:13:57.000 Every Democrat voted no, every single one of them.

00:14:01.000 So let's just do ourselves a favor and check in on the wreckage, shall we?

00:14:06.000 The tax cuts got locked in permanently.

00:14:09.000 No tax on tips, real.

00:14:11.000 No tax on overtime.

00:14:12.000 That too is real.

00:14:14.000 The border got funded like we actually intend to defend it.

00:14:18.000 And you've seen those numbers on this show all year long.

00:14:23.000 And here's the piece that no one talks about the United States Coast Guard just got the single largest investment since World War II new cutters, new aircraft, new icebreakers.

00:14:35.000 The people interdicting the drug boats and pulling Americans out of the water now have the tools to do what they do best.

00:14:45.000 It's a great day, not just because we're celebrating America's 250th anniversary, but it's also a great day to see the investment that President Trump and his administration is making into the Coast Guard.

00:15:00.000 The largest investment since World War II, but dollar amounts is the largest in history with investing almost $25 billion.

00:15:12.000 And it all started with a year ago when I was still in the Senate.

00:15:17.000 And we voted on the one big, beautiful bill, which was the most consequential bill, definitely in President Trump's tenure, but also I think possibly in the recent history.

00:15:30.000 When you see the investment, it's what good government actually looks like.

00:15:34.000 It cuts spending by $1.6 trillion.

00:15:38.000 At the same time, we were able to cut taxes for no tax on tips.

00:15:43.000 85% of the individuals that are on Social Security have no tax on Social Security.

00:15:50.000 No tax on overtime for the people that are working out there every single day, trying to do their best to provide a living.

00:15:58.000 We put no tax on you for working hard.

00:16:02.000 At the same time, we're able to make the investments, right?

00:16:05.000 We're investing in investments on securing our southern border with new technology, fighting hard against the drug cartels, going after the narco boats, bringing law and order and restoring law and order back to our streets.

00:16:19.000 And the wins didn't stop in Medora, guys.

00:16:22.000 On Tuesday, the Supreme Court handed down one of the biggest common sense rulings in years, even if some of their other rulings, you know, aren't exactly all that much common sense.

00:16:32.000 West Virginia versus BPJ.

00:16:35.000 The court upheld West Virginia and Idaho's laws protecting girls' sports and said what every parent in America already knows school can keep girls' sports for girls.

00:16:48.000 Title IX does not force your daughter to line up against a biological male. 0.65

00:16:52.000 States are actually allowed to protect her.

00:16:56.000 But think about how far gone, really, how far gone things were that they needed the Supreme Court to actually weigh in on this.

00:17:05.000 I was talking about this years ago, before it was even on anyone's radar.

00:17:10.000 My father signed the executive order banning men from women's sports back in 2025.

00:17:15.000 The left called it hateful, but reality won.

00:17:19.000 And that ruling is about protecting kids, which brings me to the story I really need you to hear today.

00:17:26.000 Because while the Supreme Court was protecting little girls, the governor of Minnesota was protecting the man who abused one.

00:17:35.000 And I want to walk through this slowly because I promise it's worse than you think. 0.95

00:17:42.000 There's a man named Liu Vang, 42 years old, a citizen of Laos.

00:17:47.000 In 2026, he was convicted of repeatedly, repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10 year old girl.

00:17:55.000 You heard that right.

00:17:56.000 A 10 year old girl.

00:17:58.000 Because of those convictions, he lost his legal status and had a final removal order.

00:18:04.000 ICE was set to deport him.

00:18:06.000 He was supposed to be gone within a week.

00:18:09.000 And then the Minnesota Board of Pardon stepped in.

00:18:13.000 And you should know who sits on that board.

00:18:16.000 The governor, Tim Waltz, almost VP, the Democrat nominee for the vice president in the last election, his attorney general, the chief justice of their Supreme Court.

00:18:28.000 They all sit there.

00:18:30.000 On June 10th, the board voted to pardon him to wipe the conviction.

00:18:35.000 And here's the part you have to understand the pardon erases the exact conviction his deportation was based on.

00:18:43.000 Because guess what, guys?

00:18:44.000 No conviction, no removal order.

00:18:46.000 He gets to stay.

00:18:48.000 They didn't pardon him because he was innocent.

00:18:51.000 Nobody claims he's innocent.

00:18:53.000 They pardoned him so ICE could not deport him because I guess the Democrats would really love a bunch of child molesters running around the country.

00:19:02.000 So think about the priorities here.

00:19:05.000 This is the same Minnesota that let a quarter of a billion dollars get stolen from a program meant to feed hungry kids, the state where the fraud never ends and the accountability never starts or ever existed.

00:19:18.000 And with all of that going on, the thing Tim Walsh found time for to make sure that happened was to make sure a man who abused a 10 year old girl gets to stay in the United States.

00:19:30.000 Where's the mercy for the victim, Tim?

00:19:34.000 You go out of your way to protect the abuser.

00:19:37.000 There's no version of this that's compassion.

00:19:40.000 Sanctuary policy started with we won't help ICE, then it became we'll obstruct ICE.

00:19:46.000 Now it's we'll use The pardon power of the state of Minnesota to disarm federal immigration law, one predator at a time.

00:19:54.000 That's not just a policy disagreement anymore.

00:19:57.000 That's absolute and total moral collapse.

00:20:01.000 And here's the contrast because, guys, there's always a contrast.

00:20:05.000 The exact same week in Minnesota where they were pardoning a child predator to keep him in the country, look at what the federal government was actually doing.

00:20:15.000 ICE flew out a plane load of what DHS calls the worst of the worst a convicted murderer from El Salvador.

00:20:23.000 Out.

00:20:24.000 A cocaine trafficker from Guatemala.

00:20:26.000 Out. 0.98

00:20:27.000 One state protects the predator, one government protects the child.

00:20:32.000 Tell me again, guys, which side is the extremist?

00:20:36.000 Which side's extreme?

00:20:37.000 I don't think it's us.

00:20:40.000 So think about this on the 4th of July what this country was built on, what it stands on, and what its future will be based on.

00:20:50.000 That's a big deal.

00:20:51.000 Those are things we have to consider.

00:20:54.000 And joining me now, Washington Times columnist and founder of Line Drive Public Affairs, Tim Murtaugh.

00:20:59.000 He's also author of Swing Hard in Case You Hit It.

00:21:03.000 Tim, actually, also a Trump won campaign guy.

00:21:07.000 So, you know, old school trumper.

00:21:10.000 How's everything been going?

00:21:12.000 Things have been going really good, Don.

00:21:13.000 Thanks very much.

00:21:14.000 I got to say, it's been the honor of my entire life and career to have worked on two presidential campaigns for your father, the two most recent ones.

00:21:22.000 It was a great experience, and I really am grateful for being let to be part of the team there.

00:21:27.000 Very nice.

00:21:28.000 Well, it's good to have you back on the show.

00:21:30.000 I hope you're doing well.

00:21:31.000 Tim, you've been doing this for 30 years campaigns, the war rooms.

00:21:35.000 Set the scene for the people this week.

00:21:37.000 America's about to turn 250.

00:21:39.000 My father was opening the Teddy Roosevelt Library in the Badlands yesterday.

00:21:43.000 I got to go there on the inaugural ride of the new Air Force One, which, let's just say, was absolutely spectacular.

00:21:51.000 From where you sit right now, what's the mood of the country heading into this milestone birthday?

00:21:57.000 Well, I think as Americans prepare for the 250th.

00:22:00.000 Don, I think the mood in the country is very high.

00:22:03.000 And I think if you actually, it's on TV every night.

00:22:06.000 If you actually turn on and watch the World Cup, yeah, there are a lot of foreign fans there, but the United States front and center, boy, are Americans proud of their country.

00:22:15.000 And it's, I think we've seen an amazing thing that happens to be with the coinciding of the World Cup with the 250th.

00:22:21.000 Americans are proud of their country.

00:22:23.000 This is a culture and, you know, the experiment in freedom that is worth defending and honoring.

00:22:29.000 And that's what Americans are getting ready to do.

00:22:31.000 But if you see the Europeans, Don, that have been traveling throughout our country, They're just loving it on social media, posting amazing things like when they discovered a Bucky's.

00:22:40.000 But it's not just the giant truck stops that we have and the giant convenience stores that we have.

00:22:45.000 It's also our natural beauty, people taking in the great West and the things in the rural parts of our country.

00:22:52.000 Because most of the time, Europeans would come and they would meet leftists in our big cities, and all they'd hear about America is how awful it is from those leftists in New York.

00:23:02.000 I think you actually make a really good point, Tim.

00:23:04.000 It's interesting.

00:23:05.000 You mentioned the tourists going to Bucky's, but you also see You know, Japanese tourists going to a gun store and they're really appreciating American culture.

00:23:14.000 I mean, all these things that, you know, frankly, you know, the left in America wants to hate on everyone in the world, you know, who watches CNN International has sort of been biased and I think led to believe and led to a story that doesn't actually exist.

00:23:27.000 When they experience it for themselves, they're loving it.

00:23:30.000 I mean, it's going viral as heck.

00:23:32.000 Yeah, they are loving it.

00:23:33.000 And it's crazy that the European tourists seem to love America a lot more than Democrats in Congress seem to love America, Don, because as you know, you know, they were all holding press conversations.

00:23:42.000 And stuff, and predicting failure for the World Cup here just because they dislike your father so much. 0.73

00:23:48.000 They were rooting against America for political reasons domestically, which is ridiculous. 0.51

00:23:52.000 Americans are proud to be Americans.

00:23:55.000 And I think we're all going to see that here on Friday with the 250th.

00:23:59.000 Yeah, they weren't just predicting failure, though.

00:24:01.000 I mean, they were actually actively cheering for it.

00:24:04.000 They wanted us to fail.

00:24:05.000 And, you know, again, I think that's sort of indicative of everything else you've seen from them, really, since, you know, probably even before Trump.

00:24:13.000 But, you know, Trump derangement syndrome brought them out to actually say these things out loud for the first time.

00:24:19.000 Yeah, they really did.

00:24:21.000 And it's a shame because they're doing it on the world stage.

00:24:23.000 And I know that they think that they're somehow gaining, I don't know what, political points with their leftist friends across the ocean there.

00:24:30.000 But it really is a bad look.

00:24:32.000 How many other nations can you look around the world and do a quick scan and see elected leaders in those nations on purpose saying they're running down their own country, insulting their own country?

00:24:44.000 Democrats do this regularly.

00:24:46.000 In the United States of America.

00:24:47.000 And I can't see any other leaders in any other countries disparaging their own nation the way the Democrats do routinely, daily, simply because they do not like the current president of the United States. 0.89

00:24:59.000 It's pretty disgusting. 0.98

00:25:00.000 It's pretty disgusting. 0.88

00:25:02.000 No, it's absolutely nuts. 0.85

00:25:03.000 And I guess as it relates to policy, we're seeing this administration take on fraud, hate on, where, you know, and everywhere we look, we're finding it.

00:25:11.000 That's the scary part.

00:25:12.000 I mean, it's been there forever.

00:25:13.000 We're just finally uncovering it all.

00:25:15.000 Last week on this show, we dug into the 340B program.

00:25:19.000 I know it's something that you're working on.

00:25:20.000 And for anyone who perhaps missed the show last week, the one line version is it's a discount program built for poor patients that has quietly become essentially a money machine for hospital systems, for the bureaucrats.

00:25:33.000 You've spent your career watching Washington Heights scandals behind acronyms and complicated numbers and NGOs.

00:25:41.000 What do we have to know about this 340 program?

00:25:43.000 Well, it's pretty crazy.

00:25:44.000 And it started out, as you just said, as a program to make sure that poor people and rural people have access to cheap prices for drugs.

00:25:51.000 But what it's done is turned into basically a slush fund for a lot of these hospital operators and health clinic operators.

00:25:58.000 And mostly, what we're focused on is something called an FQHC, which is a federally qualified health center.

00:26:05.000 And that kind of sounds like a little community health center where you might go and get your B12 shot or something.

00:26:11.000 But sometimes they grow into multi billion dollar healthcare enterprises.

00:26:16.000 And the incredible holdings of these companies, they are not little local community clinics.

00:26:21.000 And they all contribute to the overall higher costs of healthcare.

00:26:25.000 Let's see how they do it. 0.66

00:26:26.000 They're supposed to pass on the drug savings. 1.00

00:26:29.000 These FQHCs are supposed to pass on. 1.00

00:26:31.000 The discounts and rebates they receive from the drug companies to the consumers, the patients, but they do not. 0.86

00:26:37.000 They keep the difference between what their rebated price is or their discounted price and what they charge to the end patient or what they get reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid through.

00:26:48.000 And they are raking in billions of dollars, Don.

00:26:52.000 And let me tell you, there's one here out in Washington state called CMAR.

00:26:56.000 Here's a really prime example.

00:26:57.000 Through this program, they bought last year $5 million worth of drugs and they sold them to their patients.

00:27:04.000 For 50 million.

00:27:05.000 That is a 10x markup to the patients, absolutely the opposite of what this drug pricing program is supposed to be.

00:27:13.000 And this is an organization that pays its CEO a million and a half dollars.

00:27:18.000 They own, for some reason, they founded and built a Latino museum in that market out in Washington state.

00:27:25.000 They own two different radio stations.

00:27:27.000 They own a for profit architecture firm and they own a bunch of condominiums.

00:27:33.000 That's not a health insurance company.

00:27:34.000 That's a multinational corporation, is what it sounds like.

00:27:38.000 And they're supposed to be providing discounts and giving cheap drugs and cheap medicine and cheap medical care to poor people, and they do not.

00:27:46.000 That's what we're up against. 0.82

00:27:47.000 That's what this 340B program, which is rife with these FQHCs in it, driving up costs, ripping off people, marking up prices, and ripping off the taxpayers left and right to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, Don. 1.00

00:28:02.000 Wow. 0.99

00:28:03.000 I mean, how did those types of programs and fraud essentially become so entrenched?

00:28:07.000 You know, and is there a clean way forward to fix this, you know, in Congress or something like that?

00:28:14.000 I mean, it feels like you got to do something about it because it's, you know, again, they have the fancy acronyms, they sound really nice and good, and then they don't do even close to their stated purpose.

00:28:24.000 No, they really don't.

00:28:25.000 And what really needs to be done is to have a little oversight here.

00:28:29.000 A little sunshine is the best disinfectant, as they always used to say.

00:28:32.000 And so I think some oversight here in congressional action is probably required.

00:28:37.000 Let's take a look.

00:28:37.000 And this might get some attention here, Don.

00:28:39.000 The stories like this is what.

00:28:41.000 Actually, it draws action and attention to certain things.

00:28:44.000 I know you're familiar with the name Ilhan Omar, right?

00:28:47.000 Our favorite member of the House from the great state of Minnesota.

00:28:50.000 Well, Ilhan Omar's sister was the CEO of one of these FQHC outfits.

00:28:56.000 And when she was in the state legislature, Ilhan Omar steered $2.2 million to this community health center that's run by her sister.

00:29:04.000 And when she got to Congress, she managed to steer it an additional $1 million.

00:29:08.000 And wouldn't you know, guess who was helping Ilhan Omar's sister set up her websites for her?

00:29:14.000 Healthcare consulting company.

00:29:16.000 I'll save you the trouble of guessing, Don.

00:29:18.000 It was Ilhan Omar's brother husband that we've heard so much about helping Ilhan Omar's sister with her healthcare consulting firm.

00:29:26.000 And by the way, that FQHC that was run by Ilhan Omar's sister, a grand total of $33 million of taxpayer money has been funneled to that organization in Minnesota.

00:29:38.000 That is the sort of thing that we're trying to stop.

00:29:41.000 This is not a policy that is meant to help poor people get medical care.

00:29:45.000 This is a policy that.

00:29:46.000 That makes the people run these clinics get rich, including Ilhan Omar's sister.

00:29:53.000 I mean, I've said it sort of repeatedly that the Democrat machine cannot exist without fraud.

00:29:57.000 We see it in immigration, in daycares, in hospice centers, in USAID, in ActBlue.

00:30:05.000 It's really everywhere.

00:30:06.000 Why did Washington Republicans essentially let it slide for so long?

00:30:10.000 I mean, were they just in on part of the grift?

00:30:13.000 Hey, they got 10% for their stuff, so they just got quiet and it was just leave well enough alone?

00:30:18.000 Well, I'm sure as you and your family have discovered how clubby exactly Washington is, and there was this thing, your father helped destroy it.

00:30:28.000 But this thing called the uniparty, where everyone wanted to go along to get along, you know, and you got Democrats and Republicans who are serving in Congress for 40 years, 45 years in some cases.

00:30:39.000 They don't want to disrupt their own apple cart.

00:30:41.000 And so they're not going to disrupt anybody else's apple cart.

00:30:44.000 And it has led to here's another one.

00:30:45.000 Here's one out in California called Altamed.

00:30:48.000 It's another one of these FQHCs, a federally qualified health center.

00:30:52.000 This is the largest one in the country, has revenue of a billion and a half dollars in 2023.

00:30:58.000 The CEO and his wife both work there.

00:31:00.000 They're paid multi million dollars combined.

00:31:03.000 Ultimed, as a healthcare facility, Don, would you be surprised to learn that they have an art consultant?

00:31:10.000 They've spent over a million dollars on Chicano art since 2020.

00:31:16.000 They also have $600 million in investments in stocks and such.

00:31:20.000 They gave $15 million to charity care in 2023, which is admirable, of course.

00:31:25.000 But $12 million of that was subsidized by outside grants and gifts.

00:31:29.000 So it wasn't even their money.

00:31:31.000 These are the kinds of outfits that are taking advantage of these things.

00:31:35.000 They are supposed to be passing on savings they receive to the patients who can't afford medical care otherwise.

00:31:42.000 And instead, they're spending a million dollars on art and they've got $600 million in investments.

00:31:48.000 It's insanity. 0.95

00:31:52.000 It's so ridiculous. 0.98

00:31:53.000 I mean, you know, and honestly, we take all the hell. 0.92

00:31:56.000 You know, I invest in a company through a fund or whatever that I'm invested in, and somehow we're manipulating everything.

00:32:02.000 These guys are actually steering that money directly in themselves, interfacing with government, doing all of those things.

00:32:08.000 And yet, absolute silence.

00:32:10.000 It's crazy.

00:32:11.000 It is crazy.

00:32:13.000 What's your organization doing specifically to be able to attack this head on?

00:32:20.000 And how can other people figure that out and help along?

00:32:23.000 Well, what it really needs is congressional action.

00:32:27.000 And it's fortunate that the midterms are coming up because a lot of this stuff is very political on its face.

00:32:33.000 Here's a couple of things.

00:32:34.000 These are things that voters ought to get fired up about.

00:32:36.000 In Chicago, there's a Howard Brown Health Clinic, and they are going to defy your father's administration policy. 0.82

00:32:43.000 And they're going to use taxpayer money for hormone treatments for minors, for people who want to have their gender reassigned.

00:32:49.000 They're going to be using that's an FQHC that's going to be doing gender reassignment surgeries using taxpayer dollars. 0.70

00:32:56.000 A couple of other ones in New York and Oregon, Don, they are open about their idea to use taxpayer money to provide health care for illegal aliens. 0.67

00:33:04.000 In fact, the one in Oregon has a page on its website that is titled, How to Be Prepared for an Immigration Raid. 0.69

00:33:12.000 How much health care are you getting accomplished there when you're studying for what to do when ice shows up at your door?

00:33:17.000 I mean, honest to God, that's not what a health clinic does.

00:33:20.000 And so, you know, I think voters just need to be really aware of this, make sure you're paying attention to where your candidates stand.

00:33:27.000 And again, sunlight is the best disinfected.

00:33:29.000 Congress has the ability to change and tighten some of these rules and get rid of some of this stuff.

00:33:33.000 This is just people taking advantage of loopholes in laws that Congress wrote.

00:33:38.000 It's crazy.

00:33:39.000 So, you know, you mentioned midterm.

00:33:40.000 So maybe let's zoom out to there.

00:33:43.000 You wrote a column a couple of weeks back saying that the map favors Republicans on the issues the border, crime, the economy, men playing in women's sports.

00:33:53.000 But history does tell us that the party in power loses seats.

00:33:58.000 What do you think the state of play is right now?

00:34:01.000 I mean, that is true.

00:34:02.000 You would be foolish not to take a look at history and understand that really, when you are the party in power, the party that controls the White House, that you are going to historically lose seats.

00:34:12.000 But I think that your dad and the Republicans in Congress have a chance to defy that.

00:34:17.000 If you look at just look at the differences in 2018, during the first midterm and the first Trump term, The Cook Political Report heading into the midterms handicapped this way, and they regarded safe seats here 210 Democrat safe seats, only 195 Republican safe seats.

00:34:34.000 That's back in 2018.

00:34:36.000 So the Democrats had a 15 seat lead going into the midterms with 30 seats at toss ups.

00:34:41.000 So now, you know, you understand you have to get to 218 in the House to get to a majority.

00:34:45.000 Right now, according to the same Cook Political Report, Republicans are ahead in the safe seats, Don.

00:34:50.000 Quite a change from being trailing by 15 seats.

00:34:53.000 They're now ahead by two in safe seats 209.

00:34:57.000 To 207, and of the 19 toss ups, Republicans need to win less than half, only nine toss ups.

00:35:04.000 So, I think holding on to the Senate is definitely going to happen, and keeping the House is eminently doable.

00:35:11.000 And I think it's largely because of the issues.

00:35:13.000 The issue set lines up to favor Republicans because of the Trump policies.

00:35:18.000 You're going to have the economy hitting on all cylinders, gas prices are going to be down because the situation with Iran will likely be cleared up well in time for the midterms. 0.76

00:35:26.000 Crime.

00:35:27.000 The issue of immigration and the sealed border versus the Democrats in their open border, the idea of boys playing in girls' sports, all of these issues are the very same issues that got your father reelected in 2024.

00:35:40.000 They are still salient issues.

00:35:42.000 The Democrats are still wrong on all of them.

00:35:45.000 And I like the way the Cook Political Report has everything laid out right now.

00:35:49.000 I think Republicans are in the driver's seat.

00:35:51.000 And I think there is a very, very good chance, better than an even chance.

00:35:55.000 I'm going to put it at, say, 70% chance that Republicans keep the House.

00:35:59.000 And I'd say 100% that they keep the Senate.

00:36:01.000 You know, the communists took City Hall in New York and now, you know, they're setting their sights on Congress.

00:36:06.000 So, you know, serious question.

00:36:08.000 Is that a gift to Republicans in the midterms?

00:36:11.000 Or are we perhaps, you know, underestimating how well that message sells to, you know, young people?

00:36:16.000 It's like, hey, we're going to give you free housing.

00:36:18.000 We'll give you free schooling.

00:36:19.000 We're going to, you know, you'll be broken two weeks.

00:36:20.000 It doesn't matter, you know.

00:36:21.000 But, you know, are people going to buy into sort of the instant gratification of that sales pitch?

00:36:27.000 Well, I think messaging wise for Republicans, it helps that a lot of these Democrats are. 0.97

00:36:32.000 Crazy leftists, because you can spread that message.

00:36:35.000 I've seen some polling from states that have important Senate races. 0.92

00:36:39.000 And I'm talking about states like Texas and Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa, Alaska.

00:36:45.000 And the voters in those states believe that the Democrat Party has moved too far left.

00:36:51.000 So the leftist socialist turn that the Democrats have taken is good in the big picture.

00:36:57.000 Now, in the long term, however, you know, the socialism, let's be frank about this.

00:37:03.000 These people are not socialists, they're actually Marxists.

00:37:06.000 They're straight up communists, Don.

00:37:08.000 And, you know, they talk about there's this one House candidate who knocked off a 15 term incumbent, a Democrat in Colorado.

00:37:16.000 She deleted a bunch of old tweets, but one of her tweets said, seize the means of production, which is like number one on the Marxist playbook, right?

00:37:24.000 So these people are literally, it is number one.

00:37:26.000 Yeah.

00:37:27.000 They're not like friendly neighborhood, oh, just, you know, newfangled socialism.

00:37:31.000 It's not threatening.

00:37:32.000 No, this is straight up communism.

00:37:35.000 And it has the ability to spread because it's.

00:37:38.000 Pretty easy, as some folks have said, it's pretty easy to vote yourself into communism.

00:37:43.000 And I've got to tell you that the Democrats who are on Capitol Hill, guys like Hakeem Jeffries, they're scared out of their wits.

00:37:49.000 They know that the Democrat base does not like establishment Democrats.

00:37:54.000 Rather, they hate them.

00:37:55.000 The Democrat base is moving towards communism, and guys like Hakeem Jeffries are just standing there hoping that the communists eat him last.

00:38:04.000 That's basically what's going on in the Democratic Party.

00:38:06.000 They're all afraid.

00:38:07.000 They're all trying to find high ground to get away from the communist flood.

00:38:11.000 And right now, I think Republicans look at it as like, wow, that's their problem. 0.84

00:38:14.000 And right now, it maybe might help us politically.

00:38:17.000 But boy, that's something you got to look at on the long term and hope to try to contain because.

00:38:22.000 When communism begins to take hold and spreads, it is really that everybody has to be very vigilant on this.

00:38:27.000 This is not a joke, honestly.

00:38:29.000 The spread of no, not at all, it's really serious, it's a real threat.

00:38:34.000 It's real, we talk about this stuff all the time.

00:38:36.000 I mean, just this week, Tim Walsh's board pardoning a convicted child predator specifically so ICE couldn't deport him.

00:38:43.000 I mean, imagine that you pardon a child predator just so that ICE doesn't deport him.

00:38:49.000 I mean, they want these people in this country, they're doing whatever they can to protect a child predator.

00:38:55.000 You've done crisis communications for your whole career. 0.99

00:38:57.000 I mean, these people are sick.

00:39:00.000 What's the thought behind this one, even?

00:39:02.000 Well, I mean, it doesn't make any sense, but the thought behind it is maybe it's not even a thought as much as a reflex for them now is that everything that involves Donald Trump, they have to oppose.

00:39:15.000 Okay.

00:39:15.000 They know that ICE wants to deport this child predator, which ICE should want to do and should do.

00:39:22.000 And of course, because it's the Donald Trump administration doing it, Tim Walz.

00:39:26.000 Who we already saw his worth to the public good during the 2024 campaign.

00:39:32.000 Tim Walz wants to step in and actually protect and pardon a child predator to prevent him from being sent back to his own country. 0.98

00:39:40.000 They are demented.

00:39:42.000 I got to tell you, this is why people say, and it's 100% true, there is no such thing as a moderate Democrat anymore. 0.99

00:39:48.000 Because as soon as the most lunatic leftist wacko thinks of something in about 15 minutes, it becomes mainstream thought. 0.93

00:39:56.000 In the Democratic Party. 0.97

00:39:57.000 And that's what Tim Walz is doing.

00:39:59.000 And it's all, it's Trump derangement syndrome to hurt children.

00:40:03.000 That's what it is.

00:40:04.000 That's all this is.

00:40:05.000 And it cannot be defended.

00:40:06.000 It can't.

00:40:07.000 Well, you know, your book is called Swing Hard in Case You Hit It.

00:40:10.000 You know, for the young person watching who wants to get into this fight, you know, campaigns, media, communications, you know, what's one of the best pieces of advice that you'd give them right now?

00:40:22.000 Go do campaigns 100%.

00:40:25.000 Go get out of your house, get out of your neighborhood, get out of your state, even.

00:40:29.000 And go do campaigns.

00:40:30.000 It's the only way that you will learn everything from the ground up.

00:40:32.000 It's the best way that you can actually have an impact.

00:40:36.000 And some people are very adventurous in the political side.

00:40:39.000 People who get into campaigns young, they know that it's an adventurous lifestyle, it's an adventurous career.

00:40:46.000 And some people aren't into it.

00:40:47.000 I had a young lady who was a candidate for a job on one race, and she asked, Do I actually have to move to this state to go do this job?

00:40:55.000 And I said, Well, yeah, of course you do.

00:40:57.000 We're not working from home when you're the press secretary in a Senate race, for example.

00:41:01.000 So, you know, I think doing campaigns sort of weeds out the people who really want it.

00:41:07.000 And for those who really want it, by God, go out and do it.

00:41:10.000 Move to another state and do a campaign.

00:41:12.000 Yeah.

00:41:13.000 And honestly, if you do it for a few months, you're right.

00:41:15.000 The action, the intensity, you really figure out pretty quickly whether you want to do it or not.

00:41:20.000 But more importantly, like irrespective of that, I think you learn a lot about what really goes on.

00:41:24.000 I mean, I think it's incredibly invaluable.

00:41:26.000 And, you know, I don't think there's a more high tense environment almost in existence than, you know, than a big campaign.

00:41:33.000 Yeah, I think that's 100% true.

00:41:35.000 And, you know, and when people say, Oh, I don't want to do that job, I don't want to have to move, then we say, Well, we're glad you told us that because you quite obviously would probably be a pretty bad campaign worker if you couldn't be bothered to, you know, pick up and move.

00:41:48.000 You're not that invested in it if you think that's too far to go.

00:41:52.000 Exactly.

00:41:53.000 I guess, last one for you, Tim.

00:41:56.000 Give me your sort of bold prediction.

00:41:57.000 It's July of 2026.

00:42:00.000 What's the story that decides November that no one in Washington is talking about just yet?

00:42:05.000 I think that there might end up being a perfect storm to help Republicans and push them across the finish line to keep control of both chambers.

00:42:12.000 And I do believe that's what's going to happen the Republicans retain control of Congress.

00:42:16.000 The issue set lines up it's going to be the economy and crime, and I think redistricting.

00:42:22.000 Has really helped, and your father's push to ensure that Republicans were aggressive in that has really helped.

00:42:27.000 But here's the buried thing that I think people aren't even really noticing the fact that the Democrat base, their young voters, and a significant portion of Democrat voters, their base, they actively distrust and do not like the Democrat leadership, the Democrat establishment.

00:42:45.000 The Democrat base hates the people who lead the party.

00:42:50.000 And that is going to hurt Democrat establishment candidates in states all across this country.

00:42:55.000 If you have a Senate candidate that the base hates, it's going to hurt that Senate candidate, and that will be good for the Republican no matter what state it's in.

00:43:02.000 Well, thank you very much, Tim Murtaugh.

00:43:04.000 Everyone, check out his column at the Washington Times.

00:43:07.000 Check out Line Drive Podcast.

00:43:09.000 Tim, thanks a lot.

00:43:10.000 Great seeing you.

00:43:11.000 Hopefully, I'll run into you, D.C. sometime this weekend.

00:43:13.000 I hope you have an incredible fourth and get to enjoy it the way I'm hoping to.

00:43:18.000 Thank you very much, Don.

00:43:19.000 I appreciate you having me on the show, and happy Independence Day to you and your whole family.

00:43:23.000 Thanks, buddy.

00:43:23.000 Be well.

00:43:24.000 So, guys, I hope you have.

00:43:26.000 An incredible 4th of July.

00:43:29.000 Thank you for tuning in.

00:43:30.000 I hope you get to enjoy it with your family and celebrate this incredible nation.

00:43:34.000 I know I'm going to be in Washington, D.C. Like I said, I got to go on the inaugural flight of the new Air Force One, which was, let's just say, pretty spectacular.

00:43:42.000 And I'm a reasonably spoiled individual.

00:43:43.000 I've been blessed to see a lot of interesting stuff.

00:43:46.000 It was amazing going out to Theodore Roosevelt.

00:43:48.000 Tomorrow I'm going out to Mount Rushmore to see the incredible fireworks display there.

00:43:55.000 And then to spend 4th of July at the White House, at the People's House.

00:44:00.000 With the president, happens to also be my dad.

00:44:03.000 It's just going to be an amazing one.

00:44:05.000 So, have an incredible 4th of July weekend, 250 years of the greatest country in the history of the world.

00:44:11.000 Fly the flag, hug your family, and don't apologize for any of it.

00:44:17.000 Guys, remember to like, to share, to subscribe so you never miss one of these episodes.

00:44:22.000 Okay.

00:44:22.000 Check us out on Apple and Spotify podcasts or if your friends get their podcasts that way.

00:44:27.000 Make sure to check out our sponsors down below and in the video description.

00:44:30.000 Okay.

00:44:30.000 It takes guts to support a show like this.

00:44:32.000 So, support those who share your values.

00:44:35.000 And as always, remember to stay strong, stay informed, stay engaged, and you know, always stay just a little bit triggered.

00:44:44.000 Thanks a lot, guys.

00:44:45.000 I'll talk to you all again on Monday.

00:44:46.000 Have an incredible fourth.

00:44:48.000 Love you all.

00:44:49.000 Speak to you in a bit.

Triggered - Donald Trump Jr - July 02, 2026

Freedom 250: America’s Milestone, Plus interview with Tim Murtaugh! | Triggered Ep.355

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