00:00:45.200All are seriously hurt by his falling.
00:00:47.320But the rebels who have toppled him may well be even worse.
00:00:52.460It is radical Islamists who have been fighting against him.
00:00:55.460Many of them are remnants of al-Qaeda, remnants of the Islamic State.
00:01:00.080And the people of Syria and Israel and America may soon find that the new leadership is even worse than the old.
00:01:07.460We're going to break that down in real depth.
00:01:09.560Beyond that, Donald Trump went on Meet the Press this week.
00:01:13.160He sat down, did an extensive interview, and laid out a calm, clear vision for coming in, for securing the border, for getting the economy coming back.
00:01:23.460We're going to break that down as well.
00:01:25.260Yeah, it's really an interesting interview, especially to see how the media is not getting him flustered at all, and it's driving them crazy.
00:01:31.280We'll play some of that audio for you in a moment.
00:01:33.500This holiday season, for your loved ones, a perfect gift can be giving them extra security.
00:01:39.480And with increased crime and violence around our country, we need to remember that personal safety and security for you and your family is the most important thing in life.
00:01:48.600Now, what if there was a way to effectively defend yourself and de-escalate a situation without the irreversible consequence of using deadly force?
00:01:56.120Do you really want to pull the trigger and deal with the financial and mental repercussions?
00:02:01.340Well, don't compromise on your peace of mind.
00:02:03.780And that is where the Berna Less Lethal Pistol Launcher comes in.
00:03:37.480When Gaddafi fell there, there was a lot of people like, all right, this is great news, and we got rid of a horrible human being.
00:03:44.600But then the country fell into, in essence, civil war and total anarchy and chaos.
00:03:49.720And that is the big concern here, obviously, is that now the remnants of al-Qaeda ISIS could actually be in charge of this country.
00:03:57.780Yeah, I'm not convinced it's great news at all.
00:03:59.520Listen, the world is a dangerous place, and there are bad dictators.
00:04:05.180But we've seen a pattern for the past 20 years of Americans supporting people toppling dictators who are fighting terrorists only to have the terrorists take over and start fighting Americans instead.
00:04:18.060And my perspective on this is, is this good for America or not?
00:04:23.120I would say at best it is too soon to tell.
00:04:26.400Let's step back and do a little bit of history.
00:04:31.840This is a man who used chemical weapons against his own citizens.
00:04:35.340He's responsible for murdering hundreds of thousands of people.
00:04:38.900So nobody with any sense defends Bashar Assad.
00:04:42.640The problem is the rebel groups fighting against him, many of them may well be worse.
00:04:48.600Many of them come, are connected to al-Qaeda, to radical Islamic terrorists.
00:04:53.220And the challenge is, and we saw it, you're right, we saw it in Libya when Gaddafi was toppled, and we ended up with even worse radical Islamic terrorists taking over.
00:05:11.560In this case, the people fighting are Islamists.
00:05:21.300They are remnants of the Islamic State.
00:05:24.620And one of the leading Islamist groups who played the critical role in toppling Assad is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS, which is a former affiliate of al-Qaeda and part of the rebel forces.
00:05:42.940And the Islamist leader of HTS is Abu Muhammad al-Ghalani.
00:05:50.920He right now has a $10 million bounty on his head from the United States.
00:05:54.580Now, he is trying to – the press is describing him as a more moderate radical Islamist.
00:06:02.940I'm not sure what a more moderate radical Islamist is.
00:06:24.360And Obama came to Congress to ask for Congress's agreement to attack Syria.
00:06:31.260Now, I'll tell you at the time, I kept an open mind.
00:06:34.160I wanted to actually hear the commander-in-chief's justification for why attacking Assad's regime was in the U.S. national security interests.
00:06:44.620And I could imagine a scenario – listen, Assad had major chemical weapons caches.
00:06:52.800He used chemical weapons against his own people.
00:06:55.720I can imagine a mission that might make sense to go in and perhaps take out the chemical weapons.
00:07:00.200I could see that if he could lay out a credible case that those chemical weapons could be used against Americans or our allies.
00:07:07.980That's a mission I could see making sense.
00:07:10.000But at the time, and this is back in 2014, you had multiple rebel groups affiliated with radical Islamic terrorists, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, and they were fighting.
00:07:24.180And the question that I asked, and I asked this repeatedly of the Obama administration, both in classified briefings and in public briefings, I said,
00:07:32.060okay, if you succeed in toppling Assad and the chemical weapons fall into the hands of the radical Islamic terrorists, how is that better for us?
00:07:44.100How do you prevent the people who take over from being worse than the people who are there right now?
00:07:51.120And I got to tell you, they had no answer.
00:07:54.280At one point, John Kerry was the secretary of state.
00:07:57.440He said their objective was to conduct a, quote, unbelievably small attack, basically a press release.
00:08:05.420This is essentially what what John Kerry was saying and the way he justified it is he said, well, by crossing this lines, they violated international norms.
00:08:14.020So we have to do an unbelievably small attack to register our protests to their violating the international norms.
00:08:20.420And I thought that was completely incoherent.
00:08:23.320Either the attack would be too small to do anything, in which case, what the hell are we doing?
00:08:27.780Or it would be strong enough to succeed in toppling Assad, in which case there was a risk of the weapons falling into the hands of our enemies.
00:08:37.020So I oppose Barack Obama attacking Assad in 2014 because he could not articulate a clear basis why it was in U.S. national security interest.
00:08:59.920Number two, Iran is in a much weaker place.
00:09:02.740Israel's war against Hamas and Hezbollah have weakened Iran, and Hezbollah is in a much weaker place.
00:09:08.160And so that's one of the factors that I think.
00:09:11.120Explain to people, just so they know, all three of the countries you just mentioned, or I should say terrorist groups and then two countries, they were the ones that have been propping up Assad for the last, in essence, decade.
00:09:23.940Especially when these rebel forces started gaining in certain parts of the country.
00:09:28.840And Russia came in and said, hey, we got your back.
00:09:59.580His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.
00:10:07.680There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place.
00:10:11.340They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead in a war that should never have started and could go on forever.
00:10:22.220Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, and the other because of Israel and its fighting success.
00:10:33.020Likewise, Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness.
00:10:37.500They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers and many more civilians.
00:10:42.220There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.
00:10:47.000Trump added, quote, too many lives are being so needlessly wasted.
00:11:24.680But when you have individuals who have been terrorists for many years, who have been radical Islamists, look, when the Islamic Revolution happened in 1979 in Iran, it was a horrible development for the people of Iran.
00:11:37.860And so, is there celebration right now on the streets of Syria?
00:11:43.080Because Assad was a monster and people are celebrating the toppling of a monster.
00:11:47.280They also celebrated the toppling of Saddam Hussein.
00:11:49.780They also celebrated the toppling of Gaddafi.
00:11:51.780They also celebrated the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
00:11:55.740And we have seen many, many times that revolutions of one oppressive dictator can far too often be replaced by an even worse regime.
00:12:06.440And so, I think this is an exceptionally dangerous time right now.
00:12:10.000And it is going to be important to do everything we can to prevent chemical weapons from falling into the hands of al-Qaeda terrorists who would use them against Americans.
00:12:20.080Well, let's talk about that aspect and also the White House.
00:12:23.120Fox was reporting, and you mentioned a moment ago, that Biden seemed to, in essence, take credit for Assad's downfall.
00:12:30.380And it was almost like it was, hey, this is a great victory lap moment for me.
00:12:34.540I can add this to my resume and say, look what I've done.
00:12:37.940And there was a lot of questions asked.
00:12:43.540A lot changed in the region, it turns out.
00:12:45.860And President Biden also mentioning this was an historic opportunity in Syria, but cautioned about risk and uncertainty with a U.S.-designated terrorist group closing in on Damascus and toppling the Assad regime.
00:12:58.560And, of course, President Biden also seemed to take credit for Assad's downfall.
00:13:03.340Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East through this combination of support for our partners, sanctions, diplomacy, and targeted military force when necessary.
00:13:15.560You hear that from him, and you're like, okay, so your foreign policy in the Middle East is, screw Israel any chance you get, but you're wanting to claim now that you're part of what took down Assad, and then also saying, now we know there's a bunch of terrorists that are now going to be in charge in Damascus, but hey, we still think this is a great day.
00:13:35.540Look, the world is a very dangerous place, and unfortunately, people who are enemies of America become stronger and stronger under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
00:13:45.740And when Trump comes into office on January 20th, he's going to inherit a very dangerous world, but I am comforted our enemies are scared of a strong commander-in-chief.
00:14:11.260And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.
00:14:20.700So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
00:14:23.940Listen to the Honest Talk Podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
00:14:29.800Let's move to Donald Trump and this interview that he did.
00:14:33.020And it was one where I love how unflappable he was.
00:14:38.060And one of those moments in this conversation, it does tie into what happened in Syria, was Donald Trump talking about,
00:14:47.700And they're really trying to hammer him because he's using tariffs as leverage around the world right now.
00:14:52.420He's made it very clear with Canada and the conversations with Trudeau and Mexico and others that he is not going to allow for America to be taken advantage of.
00:15:01.520I want to get your reaction to this back and forth that he had in this interview with Kristen Welker, who was really trying to rough him up.
00:15:25.780Why are we subsidizing these countries?
00:15:27.580If we're going to subsidize them, let them become a state.
00:15:29.720We're subsidizing Mexico and we're subsidizing Canada and we're subsidizing many countries all over the world.
00:15:36.180And all I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field.
00:15:42.220Sir, your previous tariffs during your first administration cost Americans some $80 billion.
00:15:48.380And now you have major companies from Walmart, Black & Decker, AutoZone saying that any tariffs are going to force them to drive up prices for their consumers.
00:15:58.760How do you make sure that these CEOs, that these companies don't, in fact, pass on the cost of tariffs to their consumers?
00:18:47.780So I'm I'm glad he is saying that there are some voices in the echo chamber around Trump that would love to see tariffs raised on everyone.
00:18:55.880And so I'm glad he's saying, no, we're not going to do that.
00:18:58.700He's also drawing a distinction that I think is important between tariffs used as a matter of economic policy versus tariffs used as leverage to achieve a different policy victory.
00:19:10.980And I would point in particular to the tariffs that he's threatened on Mexico and Canada of 25 percent each.
00:19:17.340And to be clear, what he has said on that when he announced that he was going to do that was he would impose those tariffs unless and the unless is critical.
00:19:27.180Mexico and Canada both vigorously assessed it in securing our borders and stopping the flood of illegal immigration.
00:19:35.420And that that is using tariffs for a very different purpose as leverage to move other countries to adopt policies that that are in America's interests.
00:19:46.940And I got to say, I strongly approve and agree with using tariffs as a lever, particularly to secure the border in when Trump was president the first time.
00:19:57.680He used the identical threat, a 25 percent tariff on Mexico to force Mexico to bring them to the table and get them to agree to the remain in Mexico agreement and remain in Mexico was the principal vehicle that produced the plummeting numbers of illegal immigration that produced the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years because Mexico didn't want those tariffs.
00:20:21.140As I understand what Trump is saying, he's saying the same thing here.
00:20:24.940So he is not pledging, I don't believe, big tariffs on Mexico and Canada going forward as a matter of economic policy.
00:20:33.300What he is and I'll point out that that if he were suggesting that that would be directly contrary to the actual policy that he implemented when he was president because he rejected NAFTA.
00:20:44.920But he negotiated the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which produces a lot of benefits to the United States, a lot of benefits to Texas.
00:20:54.460Was an agreement that President Trump negotiated to get a fairer trading agreement between America and Mexico and Canada.
00:21:02.940And so when you're talking about tariffs on Mexico and Canada, I understand the president to be saying what he said very explicitly in his public statement, which is that he's using them as leverage to secure the border.
00:21:16.640Now, more broadly, when it comes to tariffs, I expect the president to be vigorous using tariffs, especially regarding China.
00:21:25.680And I do think we should be very focused on China.
00:21:28.780China is the greatest geopolitical threat facing the United States.
00:21:32.020And I think Donald Trump is clear eyed about that in a way that Joe Biden and the Democrats are not.
00:23:30.380We have to get the criminals out of our country.
00:23:33.020We have to get people that were taken out of mental institutions and put them back into their mental institution, no matter what country it is.
00:23:40.020Do you know that Venezuela, their prisons are at the lowest point in terms of emptiness that they've ever been?
00:23:47.540They're taking their people out of those prisons by the thousands and they're drunk.
00:23:52.860And just to get back, because I know exactly what you're getting at.
00:23:55.740Number one, we're doing criminals and we're going to do them really rapidly.
00:23:59.920We're getting the worst gang probably with MS-13 and the Venezuelan gangs are the worst in the world.
00:24:42.640Yeah, I mean, you need 24 times more ICE detention capacity just to deport 1 million people per year, not to mention more agents, more judges, more planes.
00:24:51.740Is it realistic to deport everyone who's here legally?
00:26:17.940The first priority Trump is going to focus on is securing the border itself.
00:26:21.780And very closely connected to that is going after illegal immigrants.
00:26:25.720And in particular, as he said repeatedly, starting with the criminal aliens, starting with the convicted murderers, the rapists, the child molesters, starting with the Venezuelan gangs, starting with the most dangerous illegal immigrants.
00:26:39.440And, you know, Welker was saying, well, gosh, this is going to be expensive.
00:26:41.800It's going to take a lot of resources.
00:27:19.780Because, well, not only do you get access to the Protector Academy to learn vital skills like precision shooting and how to fortify your home against criminals,
00:27:28.360but you also get access to the 24-7 critical response team.
00:27:33.640Now, this is something I wish I would have had when I was involved in my shooting.
00:27:46.160Who's looking out for my Second Amendment rights, making sure that my rights are not being violated?
00:27:52.140Well, you get the wrong DA in a woke liberal city.
00:27:54.400And many times, they don't like law-abiding citizens carrying a firearm.
00:27:59.160And that is exactly why you need that 24-7 critical response team.
00:28:03.600It also includes the benefit of self-defense liability insurance when you're a member of the USCCA to make sure that you and your family are prepared for anything.
00:30:07.560None of them are worried about what he might do.
00:30:09.820You know, you look at that at our southern border.
00:30:12.020I'm reminded we did a podcast, I don't know, about a year, year and a half ago, where we played AMLO, then the president of Mexico, standing next to Joe Biden and just crowing how he's the only president in our lifetimes who has not built even one meter of wall or fence.