Capitol Report Full Broadcast (July 6)

Good evening. Tonight on Capitol Report, Trump accounts are live, and the president is calling them a weapon against communism. A fierce rebuke of the threat to American freedom. How it works. It's going to teach children to be entrepreneurial as opposed to the threat of communism that you're seeing around us. The president heads to NATO at a critical moment. Will allies finally meet their defense spending commitments, and is there any opening on Russia and Ukraine? The Charlie Kirk assassination case moves to court, and prosecutors are laying out their evidence. What witnesses told the judge today in a Utah courtroom. Mr. Robinson had been on campus approximately four times throughout the day. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. I'm Melina Weiskoppen for Steve Lance tonight. Tonight, President Trump with a fierce rebuke to communism as he celebrates the launch of Trump accounts, and the president calling these accounts the ultimate weapon against the ideology he says threatens American freedom by giving every child a head start in capitalism. We now go live to NTD's White House correspondent, Mari Otsu, she's at the North Lawn of the White House. Mari, good evening. What do you have for us? Hey, Melina. Good evening to you. That's right. A really historic morning today in the White House. President Trump in the Oval Office ringing the opening bell of the Stock Exchange in a first time in history, a joint ceremony between the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. That's as over the weekend on July 4th there, the U.S. Treasury announced the official launch of these Trump accounts. But Melina, starting today, Monday, families are now actually able to track these investments in those accounts for their children. Now, kids from zero to 18 are eligible to sign up for these Trump accounts, but for the babies born between 2025 to 2028, the accounts will be kickstarted by a $1,000 donation from the U.S. Treasury, and then families can contribute anything up to $5,000 per year. Now, the Treasury says that over six million kids have already signed up for these accounts, and today President Trump is sharing the lesson that he hopes these kids take away from having these accounts. Take a look. It's going to teach children to be entrepreneurial as opposed to the threat of communism that you're seeing a lot. This is not social Democrats, by the way. That's a beautiful... We're social Democrats, they say. They're not social. They're communists. They want to destroy our country. We're not going to let that happen. Trump accounts are in many way Donald Trump's New Deal. But instead of having government taking care of everyone, Trump accounts are about making every child and every American a capitalist. That is transformational. That changes the way every child looks at the world and the ability to accumulate life-transforming savings, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars for the kids of single moms. That is powerful. Nations against communism over this Fourth of July weekend, both in his speeches at Mount Rushmore, that July 3rd celebration, and then again on July 4th itself, saying that the U.S. is at a turning point right now, that everyone has to choose between communism and patriotism, that you can't have both at the same time. The president today in the Oval also declaring that these Trump accounts serve as a direct antidote to such an ideology, and they're a way to instill capitalism and patriotism in the next generation. And Melina, this is also coming as President Trump is announcing that Walmart will be lowering many of its prices on products by a lot, he says, for example, dropping the price of ground The president is also declaring in the same message that, as he's promised, oil prices are dropping, and along with them, gas prices at the pump are also dropping. This is coming amid that 60-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which opened the Strait of Hormuz. But President Trump today still has a warning for Iran that they must come to the right deal, especially on their nuclear program, or there will still be military consequences. Take a look. You have to make the right deal because they cannot have a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. It's very simple. You want to see a bad stock market? Let them use a nuclear weapon. I'll show you a bad stock market, right? So but we're doing very well. They've agreed to a lot of things that a lot of people said they wouldn't agree to. We'll see what happens. We're going to win one way or the other. We'll win the nice way or the not nice way. He said he then ran towards the crowd to to be top of discussions as President Trump is heading to Ankara, Turkey tonight for the NATO summit. President Trump will be greeted tomorrow afternoon in Turkey by President Erdogan there, then have a bilateral meeting with him before having a social dinner with all of the NATO leaders. And then the next day, President Trump will have a bilateral sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a working lunch with the NATO leaders, and then he will hold a press conference. So a very busy week there in Turkey, Melina, and a lot to look out for. Back to you. All right, Mari, thanks for following all of the details for us. We appreciate your time. And as President Trump is set to meet with NATO leaders in Turkey, it's a crucial time for the alliance. Joining me now to discuss is Hal Kemper, a retired Marine intelligence officer and CEO of Global Risk Intelligence and Planning. Hal, thank you for your time tonight. So the president has repeatedly criticized NATO allies for failing to meet defense spending targets. Do you think this summit will push Europe toward taking greater responsibility for its own defense? Well, Melina, that's going to be a big part of the discussion. Obviously, that's a major issue for the United States. And based on what Mark Rutte, the Secretary General, has been talking about of NATO, basically, that's going to be something they're all going to have to basically explain where they are, how they plan to get there. He's been pushing hard to say there has to be a clear roadmap of how you get to that 5% of GDP investment in defense. Some countries have a plan, but it's not much of a plan, and they try to extend it out as many years as they possibly can. I think you're going to see U.S. pressure, I think you're going to see NATO pressure across the board on a number of these countries to move their plans up. And a couple of the countries, specifically Spain and Italy, that were reluctant to allow U.S. forces to use our bases in those countries for epic fury are going to be scrutinized closely because they're also countries that grossly underinvest in their own defense needs. So, of course, the summit is being held in Turkey. That's NATO's second largest contributor. If the U.S. scales back its presence in the alliance, do you think Turkey could emerge as its de facto leader? I don't know about de facto leader. I really think that you're going to see France, Germany, and Britain kind of working very closely together to maybe fill the void of a lessened U.S. presence in terms of leadership with NATO. One of the things, and this has been discussed for a long time, well preceding the Trump administration and the previous Trump administration, is the need for the U.S. to pivot. And we need to pivot over to Asia. We need to pivot to the Pacific. And we don't have this massive influx of additional forces. So we're having to look at what forces do we need. Part of the investment of Europeans, we send, for example, we're pulling 5,000 troops over the next six to 12 months out of Germany. Ideally, Germany would stand up 5,000 to 5,000 troops within the German forces that would fill that requirement. And that's kind of the replacement strategy we're sort of pushing is there should be European presence, European forces that push for that presence and allow the U.S. to move its forces elsewhere where they're needed. Let's build on this point for a moment, how Turkey also supplies weapons to Ukraine while maintaining strong economic ties with Russia. Does that suggest Turkey has interests that diverge from NATO's broader goals? Well, it's a big discussion. As you know, they got the S-400 air defense system. They were on the list some years back to get the F-35. Once they decided to go with the Russian anti-air system, which also comes with Russian contractors, for lack of a better term, technicians that help work on it, we basically pulled, we said, Turkey, you're out of the F-35 program because we didn't want their air defense weapons and we didn't want those Russian technicians looking at the F-35 that closely to figure out where there's vulnerabilities, how they could overcome it, a lot of other things going on there. That still exists, although with that said, there's going to be a closer relationship. President Trump and President Erdogan have a very close personal relationship. They are getting some advanced jet engines from the United States to improve their offensive air capabilities within Turkey. There's a big shift, and as has been said before, Turkey, because of its size, because of its position, where it is geographically, and everything else, is kind of an indispensable part of NATO, and they've been playing a key role. Part of it is basically because they control the Straits of Turkey, the Dardanelles, and going into the Black Sea, and have been adhering to the treaty which governs how that can work. They have been protecting Europe by keeping a Russian naval surge going into the Black Sea that could have been used against Ukraine. Let's talk for a moment, Hal, about how Russia and Ukraine factor into the latest updates with the president. So the president recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. How do you think this summit specifically will shape efforts to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table? Well, I think there's a lot of pressure, and I think President Trump feels the pressure, but he also feels the opportunity to basically reinvigorate the push for some sort of peace proposal or ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine's making great strides in the battlefield. Ukraine's deep interdiction program is having tremendous success. Yes, Russia is still pummeling Kiev and other cities on a regular basis. But if you look at, for example, refinery capability, almost half, not quite, but almost half of the refining capability within Russia has been taken out by Ukrainian deep strikes or having to basically restrict sales of gasoline, diesel, and other things throughout Russia right now. So it's a very different situation than it was a year ago. It's a very different situation than it was six months ago. And it's a real opportunity to kind of push for some sort of negotiation. I think that President Zelensky, President Trump are going to have a lot to talk about, but I think that NATO is going to have a lot to talk about with both of them. I think I'm getting a note from our producer that we're out of time now, but I had another question on Ukraine. Anyways, we'll speak another time. It's great to have you on tonight, Cal. Thanks, Melina. Cuba's electoral grid totally collapsing today, leaving about 10 million people without power. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has blamed Cuba's communist regime for the country's chronic power outages. NTD's Jason Perry has the latest. Cuba's national electric grid collapsing on Monday. The country's grid operators said it happened in the middle of the day, leaving around 10 million people on the island without power. However, nearly two thirds of the communist run country was already without power when the grid collapsed. The last nationwide electrical blackout on the island was just a few months ago in March. And now that it's summertime, Cuba's nationwide power outage is making it impossible for many people to work or sleep as they deal with the heat. Public transportation has largely been halted, and hospitals are impacted as well, as officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May, speaking in Spanish to the Cuban people about their electricity issues. The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil blockade by the U.S. As you know better than anyone, you have been suffering from blackouts for years. The real reason you don't have electricity, fuel or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars. But nothing has been used to help the people. Rubio giving more details on the situation in Cuba. Thirty years ago, Raul Castro founded a company called Geisa. This company is owned and operated by the armed forces and has revenues three times greater than your current government's budget. Instead of using the money to maintain and modernize the damaged power plants, they use the money to build more hotels for foreigners and to send their relatives to live in luxury in Madrid and even here in the United States. Rubio added that the Cuban regime is no longer able to get free oil from former Venezuelan leaders Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. At the same time, Cuba produces less than half of the fuel it actually needs. On Monday, Cuba's state-run electric union saying on X that the country's nationwide electricity blackout is currently under investigation. Jason Perry, NTD News. The man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk on trial today, prosecutors are beginning to present their evidence inside Utah's courtroom in the preliminary hearing for 23-year-old Tyler Robinson. NTD's Christina Corona is live outside the courthouse with us. Christina, it's good to have you on the ground there this evening. What's the latest? Good afternoon to you, Melina. That's right. We're outside the fourth district courthouse in Provo, Utah, where Charlie Kirk's widow, Erica Kirk, and Charlie's parents were inside the courtroom listening as prosecutors were laying out evidence to the judge in their case against 23-year-old Tyler Robinson. Prosecutors called their first witness to the stand, which was officer Chris Bagley, who was a Utah Valley University police officer during the time of the assassination. And Bagley described the day Charlie showed up to the campus. He said that Charlie Kirk had a meet and greet with some students. He took photos with students before heading to the tent and addressing students' questions as he normally did. Bagley then described the moment when one student asked Charlie a question and said what he heard sounded like a gunshot. Let's take a look. You mentioned, so you mentioned you heard something. What did you hear again? I heard a gunshot. Okay. And can you describe, you described Mr. Kirk's reaction. Was that simultaneous to hearing the gunshot? Yes it was. When he fell to the left? Yes. Did you see the reaction from the crowd? Yes. What was that? Everybody kind of got up. They all said, a lot of people were screaming, standing up and starting to run in all different directions away from the center of the tent. Bagley said he then ran towards the crowd to stop the shooter, but he got notified on his radio that the shooter was already in custody. Bagley said he then decided to observe the rooftops of the buildings, where on one particular building he found an object that seemed out of place. It was a red and black screwdriver. He also said that he saw some of the gravel disrupted, and what he called was a sniper pad that was made facing towards Charlie Kirk's tent in the center of the campus. Prosecutors called their second witness, Officer David Hull, who was an investigator with the SBI Major Crimes Unit during the time of the assassination, who he said he saw Robinson on campus multiple times that day on September 10th. Let's take a look. We were able to establish that Mr. Robinson had been on campus approximately four times throughout the day, twice before the shooting, the time of the shooting, and then after the shooting later in the evening into the early hours of the 11th. Now the judge did allow footage of the shooting to be shown in court, however he prohibited it from being shown on the live stream to the public, and we got reports that before the hearing, Erica Kirk appeared to be crying, and that she had to leave during the witness's testimony when they were describing the shooting. Back to you. Christina, what else can we expect as this hearing continues throughout the week? Well, the prosecutor said they have four witnesses that will be expected to testify this week, and that they will show around 40 to 50 exhibits in this case. By the end of the week, the judge is set to decide whether there's enough evidence for this to go to trial in front of a jury. Back to you, Melina. All right, Christina, thanks for those updates. It's certainly a closely watched case. Marine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner says he's considering how to move forward with his campaign. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and DSCC Chair Senator Kristen Gillibrand now reportedly asking him to step down. This comes as he denied a report by Politico alleging he sexually assaulted a woman while intoxicated. The accusation was made by a 41-year-old Marine resident, Maine resident. According to the Politico report, the alleged incident took place five years ago while she was reportedly in a relationship with Platner. In a video statement on X, Platner says, quote, any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false. The Democratic nominee is facing Republican incumbent Susan Collins in the upcoming election. The deadline for candidates to drop out with time for the party to replace a nominee is July 13th. And you're looking at a live shot of the White House right now. The first step for financial independence, hundreds of thousands of American children. 500,000 receiving a $1,000 deposit on America's Independence Day. Analysis after the break. Dreamed of stepping into the timeless world of classical Chinese dance? Now you can join the Shen Yun Arts Proficiency Assessment Center. Build strength, flexibility, and expressive movements with expert guidance. It's more than dance. It's sharing the true beauty of Chinese classical art. Enroll today at exams.shenyuncreations.com. Finding the perfect living room just got a whole lot easier. 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Rooted in ancient health wisdom, we proudly introduce Puritang Black Ginseng. A 100% natural, organic energy drink made from premium 6-year-old Korean ginseng. It takes 2,260 days and nights from seed to growth undergoing a meticulous 9-step process of steaming and drying. Black Ginseng reaches its full potency enriched with ginsenicide RG3 and enhanced absorption efficiency. No sugar, no caffeine, no artificial ingredients. Experience the pure, natural power of Puritang Black Ginseng to nourish your body, strengthen your immunity, and boost your energy. To order Puritang Black Ginseng, please visit puritang.com. Elmo's daddy taught him that when he has a big feeling frustrated, humming a song can help you feel better. Love your mind. Welcome back. You're watching Capitol Report on NTD News. I'm Alena Weisskopf in for Steve Lance tonight. After all of the America 250 Independence Day celebrations, the Trump accounts are now live. It's the president's initiative to make the next generation of Americans financially independent. Joining me now to discuss is Grover Norquist. He's the president of Americans for Tax Reform. Grover, thank you for joining us tonight. Good morning. Good evening. Afternoon. It must be morning or afternoon where you are, but it's nighttime over here in D.C. Trump accounts are now active. Like we just mentioned, on the 4th of July, over 500,000 children got a $1,000 seed government deposit, and any child born in Trump's second term is eligible for that boost. Now you have figures like Michael and Susan Dell also contributing $250 for children born from 2016 to 2024. Grover, let's start with a clip from the president today. I want to get your reaction to what he had to say in the Rose Garden. You have a young child with no money growing up in a rough area, and they turn 18 and they have hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we're going to help them when they get, because you can lose that hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly if they're not careful. Now roughly one-third of Americans aren't invested in the stock market. Another one-third only have retirement accounts like a 401K. What kind of a difference could the Trump accounts make, Grover? It's a very big deal. It will change the country. It will change the world. As you point out, more than 60% of Americans do own shares of stock. Over 60% own homes. We're now looking at a situation where almost every child moving forward you can put money into your child's account, the trumpaccounts.gov. You have to sign up for it. You've got to get it placed, trumpaccounts.gov, and you can put up to $5,000 of parents into it. But also, as you see, some people who make contributions, like Dell or the woman who runs SpaceX, is looking to put millions of dollars into many, many children. And states can do it. Indian tribes can do it. Companies can do it as part of your benefit. If you're a parent who's working, a number of companies have announced it. At Americans for Tax, from our website, we have the list of all the companies that have agreed they're going to be making these contributions when a child is born. But every year up until 18, you can put money in these accounts, and it's like a 401K, an individual retirement account. Kids will know about investing, will understand more about economics. They'll turn 18, and they'll be comparing with friends how they've invested the money that's been put in there. They'll know more about economics than most congressmen. Interesting. I guess we'll see how that shapes up. Like you mentioned, in order to reach the full potential, though, families and employers would need to contribute $5,000 per year. Do you think this will motivate families who otherwise wouldn't make this kind of investment? Yes. Not everyone will put $5,000 in, but you can legally put up to $5,000 in each and every year. I think parents will find as they put money in there, the Per Child Tax Credit allows parents to have resources that they can put into these accounts as well. And as that money builds up, it's going to change the nature of who these children are and how they see their future and how they plan for it. Do you think the Trump accounts would be a step in the direction of breaking inherited dependence on government assistance, like for college, for example? Yes. People can save for college. They can save for a home. They can save for health care longer. The more people save and the longer period in which you save, you can actually accumulate a lot of resources with which to buy a home, to go to school, to retire. Getting young people trained to plan ahead as opposed to spending every penny they have right now changes the nature of who somebody is and how they view the future and how successful they're going to be in life. Yeah, exactly to that point, Grover. The president also commented on how these accounts could transform this generation's outlook on life. Let's together listen to another statement by the president today. So many of these children are going to be involved with the Trump account. They're going to watch their account grow. They're going to watch their country grow. They're going to be reading the newspapers. They'll want to go to the financial pages. Do you think this will change the generation of Americans? Well, we know now from studies that older people that are in the stock market watch different things on TV, read different parts of the newspaper. We can imagine younger people will do that as well. Yeah, and Senator Ted Cruz actually described the impact of owning stocks, the impact that that can have. Let's listen to what Cruz had to say and then also get your thoughts on what his comments were. If you get on an airplane and fly, you look at a Boeing airplane, you now own a little bit of Boeing. Can you believe it? You're an owner of Boeing? That is transformational. That changes the way every child looks at the world and the ability to accumulate life-transforming savings. Do you have any thoughts on that, Grover? I think Senator Ted Cruz is exactly right. He was one of the strong supporters of this in the House and the Senate, working with President Trump to make this happen. I completely agree with his vision and what Trump said. This is going to change the next generation in a very healthy, very wonderful way. The president is also saying, Grover, that once these children have access to the funds, the next step is supporting them to make wise decisions with it. Let's listen to what he had to say about the future planning here. They have a plan in Australia, which people really like. It's really worked out very well, incredibly well, and very respected. And we're going to be talking about that with Congress and see if we can implement it. And that would be more for grown-ups as opposed to children. You know, congressional action and executive action to try to guide these children in the right direction when they, you know, actually realize this inheritance, what might that action actually look like, do you think? Well, I think you'll see children learning more, both from parents, also from watching the news, but also in school. It ought to be a conversation that children start much younger than they do today. You don't want to show up in your 20s and go, maybe I should start saving for my future. You want people to feel comfortable doing that now, and that means making some information available to them. And once they have some money in a bank account, a Trump account, they're going to start looking for that information themselves. They're not going to wait for somebody to get it to them. They can find it in the daily newspaper. All right, very much to look forward to here. We'll see how it develops. Thank you, Grover, for your time tonight. House Republicans say they'll make another push to pass the Save America Act when Congress returns, while also looking at ways to address birthright citizenship. NTD's Chris Bobb has more. America is back, and we want to keep America great, and we will do so by approving the Save America Act, which means all voters must show voter ID. All voters must provide a little thing called proof of citizenship. And there will be no mail-in ballots except for illness, disability, military deployment, or travel. President Trump pushed the Save America Act in his 4th of July speech, and speaking on Fox News Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans will try to pass the Save America Act through Reconciliation 3.0 after returning to Washington. Representative Ana Paulina Luta, a leading voice among House members, insisting no major legislation without the Save America Act, posted on X Thursday, urging GOP leaders to attach it to must-pass bills, including the NDAA and FISA, writing, quote, Our front-line members promised this to their voters. Let's deliver. The big urgency is to get Save America passed. The president has that as a top priority, and so do I. We passed it three times in the House. We're going to try one more time on a budget reconciliation bill, and I think that will be the way to get it through the Senate and finally to the president's desk, so that's forthcoming. Johnson also says lawmakers are examining legislative options on birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court's recent ruling. I used to litigate constitutional law cases, so I really enjoyed Justice Clarence Thomas' dissent. Everybody should read that, must read. And he explained that the 14th Amendment, the original intent, was to enhance and really value citizenship, and it's been devalued because of birthright tourism, which is what we have now. It's a threat to the rule of law and national security. We do need to address it. We're looking at all angles. If there's some legislative fix, we'll advance that immediately. If it's a constitutional amendment, as you know, it takes a little more time. The debate also playing out on social media. Senator Rand Paul posting on ExMonday, quote, The only lasting fix for birthright citizenship runs through the amendment process. I introduced a constitutional amendment to fix this months ago. New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker posting Monday, quote, Birthright citizenship is the 14th Amendment's sacred promise, written in the blood of the Civil War, that every single child born on American soil is an American. Full stop. No except for. No asterisks. The House and Senate are both scheduled to return to Washington on July 13th. Chris Bobb, NTD News. An illegal immigrant truck driver is charged in the death of a Pennsylvania state trooper. The Department of Homeland Security says the suspect entered the country illegally in 2024 and received a commercial driver's license from Massachusetts a year later. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. He was a good man and he was a good cop. And he was taken from us far too soon. Pennsylvania state trooper Michael Beharra Jr. died after he was hit by a truck on the side of Interstate 81 during a commercial vehicle inspection. He had just moved back in with his folks because his mom is battling cancer and he wanted to be closer to her. The Department of Homeland Security says the truck driver, 33-year-old Michael Bond, is an illegal immigrant from Haiti. Bond is charged with homicide by a vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving and other counts. He's being held on a $700,000 bail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer asking Pennsylvania officials not to release him. Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Lauren Biss said in a statement, This Haitian illegal alien was released into our country by the Biden administration and the sanctuary state of Massachusetts gave him a commercial driver's license. Illegal aliens should not be driving trucks on American highways. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family. Former DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Jonathan Fahey tells Fox that giving commercial driver's licenses to illegal immigrants is hazardous. I think there's been about 17 of these fatal crashes just last year involving illegal aliens driving CDLs and it really just shows how dangerous it is. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted, These senseless tragedies are why I am working my heart out to change the policies that encouraged illegal drivers, enabled shady truck schools and drove down the wages for American truckers. Duffy and the Department of Transportation have been tightening restrictions on commercial driver's licenses throughout the nation. Crash suspect Michael Bond's next court date is July 15th. Reporting in Washington D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. And you're looking at a live shot now of the U.S. Capitol. The prosecutors in the Charlie Kirk trial are presenting their case against the accused. More from our panel on what could drive someone to murder after the break. My 15-year-old son Ethan and I had a fun and relaxing morning. We returned home and Ethan walked to his best friend's house an hour later. I heard the ambulance scream by the street carrying my beautiful boy. Ethan was shot in the head in his best friend's house with an unsecured gun. He had zero chance of survival. The father, the gun owner, he stored his three guns and bullets in a shoebox. How do you feel? That has to be the most horrific experience that a human could ever have. David, would you give any advice? First thing you do is not keep your ammunition with your weapons and that your weapons need to be locked at all times. My name's Stacy. I'm 57 and I was adopted in 2020. We were adopted in 2019. And we were adopted in 2021. We had a house, and it sounds crazy, but it wasn't a home. The one thing that Jake and Emma brought is it became a home. When I met Dakota, he had just turned 14. You weren't there for the first this and the first that. I missed the first words, but we got a lot of other firsts. Watching her say, oh my God, I cannot believe I got my license. And she's like, I passed. And I'm like, girl. To see them grow, it is... They chose to love us. They didn't have to. They chose us. Them. You and you. Kids in the middle. What I thought was a complete life was nowhere near complete. But it is now. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. You can't imagine the reward. Visit AdoptUSKids.org. Hi, I'm Ryan Blaney, a third-generation race car driver. And we dedicate a lot of our time to going as fast as possible. My grandpa Lou is the reason why my dad and I started racing. And I'm really proud to follow in his tracks. But when my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it was a very unexpected bump in the road for us. I've learned a lot on this journey with my grandpa Lou. And the memories of my grandpa will always be with me. And in our family, we're used to getting involved. And I encourage you to do the same, especially when it comes to caring for your loved ones. When I think about Alzheimer's and the impact it had on my family, I recognize that losing a race isn't such a bad day after all. It's important to notice if older family members are acting differently, experiencing problems with their memory, or having trouble with routine tasks. Talking about Alzheimer's can be really tough. But if you notice something, have a conversation with your loved one. Encourage them to see a doctor or offer to go with them. Early detection of Alzheimer's can give your family time to explore support services, make a plan for the future, and access available treatments. If you or your family are noticing changes, it could be Alzheimer's. Talk about seeing a doctor together. Welcome back to Capitol Report on MTV. Prosecutors in Utah have begun a week-long preliminary hearing to present their case against Tyler Robinson. He's accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk in September of last year. Joining me now to discuss is Mally Smith, former political director for the Harris campaign in North Carolina. We also have Jeanette Hoffman, a Republican strategist. Thank you both ladies for joining us today. This hearing is supposed to have the most significant evidence in the trial so far. Let's together listen to a sound bite from the judge, Tony Graff. The court recognizes that this hearing may invoke emotion from everyone. The court understands the human nature of that, but also it's important that this courtroom is orderly. A spectator shall not wear or display any pins, buttons, signs, clothing, or photographs expressing support for or against any person related to this case, or the status of this case as a capital offense. Mally, we'll start with you. The governor of Utah previously alleged that Robinson was indoctrinated with far-left views. Do you think we'll see any evidence confirming that? I don't know. I guess we will. I think the governor would potentially have more insight into that. But whatever the case is, I think it shows you two things in America that are really hurting our politics, which is first, it is so easy to become radicalized online. Our algorithms do so much to push content that is more and more extreme. I see it when I'm scrolling Twitter. You linger on one post for a minute, and then you get 30,000 more posts like that. So I think we need to figure out a way where we make sure our social media companies aren't bringing out the worst in us. And then the second thing is that we have easy access to guns, and the combination of those two things, unfortunately, can make it really deadly for public figures and political figures. And I think we're going to have to figure out ways to tackle both to get to a better spot in this country. Yeah, I think the problem of algorithms is something that Americans are hyper-aware of. Even my friends and family, they know it's happening, but they're still influenced by it. Jeanette, to that point, this crime occurred in what was seen as a very conservative region, and the suspects' family members were even mostly Republicans. How do you think someone like that could become radicalized to that point of committing an act of terror like this? Well, no one actually knows what's going on in someone else's brain or in their heart. But what was shocking to me, a number of things, but not only did the killer confess to his roommate slash significant other that he killed and assassinated Charlie Kirk, but it was premeditated in the confession. He said, I knew I had an opportunity to take this shot, and I did it. So this was someone who had premeditated the murder, assassination in public of Charlie Kirk. So this was something that wasn't a temporary moment of insanity. He had been calculating to do this for a long time, so he clearly had a lot of hate and poison in his heart for Charlie Kirk. His father was the person who ultimately turned him in. So whether or not his family was aware of what was going on with him, I guess remains to be seen, but really just tremendously disturbing. And my heart just goes out to his family who had to endure so much and now have to go through this court process and relive this whole nightmare over again. You know, over the past several weeks, the president has continued his efforts to warn Americans about the dangers of communism. Let's listen to the most recent comment from the president talking about the threat and the danger that it poses to Americans' way of life. They have no respect for law, justice, principle, tradition, or your God-given rights. It's an ideology of mass theft, mass control, mass lies, and mass murder. Such doctrines can be given no quarter in a democracy because the first thing they do when they get into power is turn around and destroy. Mally, with the rise of extremist groups like Antifa and acts of espionage from the Chinese Communist Party, do you think the president has a valid reason to call attention to the threat? Well, I think we should be vigilant, especially when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party. We should also be vigilant when it comes to extremist groups writ large. The thing, though, that worries me with Trump's language here, though, is that he isn't necessarily talking about the Chinese Communist Party. He's talking about Democrats and those on the progressive left he disagrees with. And it's true that the Democrats have nominated some people on the far left, especially in New York, but they're not communists. It's funny, you know, after the July 4th speech, I called my mom to talk to her about it because she was watching because I was reacting to it on a news network. And she said, you know, Mally, when he says communists, he means us, right? And I was like, well, yeah, I think he's taking a hit at Democrats. And let's be clear, my mom and dad are not communists. They've created many small businesses. They're just Democrats. So I think the Trump administration should be aware that when they use this language attacking communism, a lot of Democrats know that it's an attack on their fellow Americans trying to other a whole party as extreme and radical. Right. I just also think a lot of people aren't aware of the Democrat socialists. Karl Marx himself said that socialism is the beginning of communism. I tried to have a conversation with my sister, who's also a Democrat socialist, about this. So I think that's also an interesting point. I think that's the point that he's trying to make as well. But I do agree sometimes his rhetoric can be taken as extreme and kind of in the wrong way sometimes. Why has academia, Jeanette, and media failed to inform people of the evils of communism? Speaking of that, do you think this is a sign that many institutions have been captured by communism? Yeah. Well, I would agree that this younger generation doesn't really understand how dangerous communism actually is and how it's responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people around the globe in communist China, in the Soviet Union, in Cambodia. Whether it's through forced famines, political executions, labor camps, communism is evil and it is deadly. And some of these radical candidates are not my good friend Malley's family and the Democratic Party that we used to know. They're super extreme. I'll give you an example. Chevalier, who just won the Democratic primary and will go on to win the election in the general because it's a very Democratic district. She doesn't support prisons. She wants to abolish all prisons. She wants open borders. She wants to defund the police. She's said some really radical things online. I'm pretty sure she's close to a Marxist. Mondami, he thinks you can own property, but you don't have the right to raise your rent. We are a government for the people, by the people. They want the government to control the people. So I think it's really a battle for the soul of our American government and the way it was founded versus this socialist, communist experiment that some of these really progressive Democrat socialists and how they envision government. All right, guys, that's all the time we have tonight. Malley and Jeanette, thank you for coming on with us. And now you're looking at a live shot of the U.S. Capitol as President Trump issues several warnings against communist ideology. How are everyday Americans responding? We hear from folks at the Great American State Fair here in Washington, D.C. when we come back. Let's save a wreck like me. They're just young people, hungry, homeless, and vulnerable. Covenant House is helping young adults facing homelessness. We're providing safe shelter to thousands, but the need is overwhelming. Please call or go online now. With your gift of $19 a month, we'll send you this blanket as a reminder of the comfort your gift provides a young person tonight. You'll provide safe shelter, hot meals, and medical care. Call the number on your screen or go online to safeplacetosleep.org. I was a young dad of three amazing kids. I was finally following my dream. Just when you feel like life is starting to come together, you get kind of hit in the face. I was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery as a kid. I was supposed to go to the heart doctor once a year, and I finally went. He listened to my heart, and I'll never forget, he sat back, and he said, yeah, it's time for open-heart surgery. Or you risk your aorta rupturing, and that's it. I was scared out of my mind. The night before my open-heart surgery, I made a goodbye video for my kids. Be strong. Take care of your mom. I love you guys. Seeing all the kids hug him goodbye and hoping that they were going to be able to hug him again. I love you. But I did make it thanks to the work of the American Heart Association. So that's why I'm asking you to join me. Please call now or go to helpheart.org. For only $19 a month, just 63 cents a day, you can help get the next person trained in CPR, get the next hospital certified in high-quality cardiovascular care, as well as fund the next medical breakthrough like these heart valves that helped save my life. When you give $19 a month with your credit card, we'll send you this special T-shirt to show you're a part of our community of monthly donors. I'm most grateful that I get to have a husband that I get to grow old with and a husband that gets to be there for his children. I believe without the American Heart Association, I would not be here today. If this can happen to me, it can happen to you. It can happen to anybody. Your donation can literally help save a life. Please call the number on your screen or go to helpheart.org now to become a monthly donor. Welcome back to Capitol Report. I'm Alena Wyskop. And for Steve Blantz tonight, a Chinese pastor finally reunited with his family after nine months in prison. Underground church pastor Ezra Gene McGree is now in the U.S. About two months ago, President Trump said he personally raised Pastor Jin's case with Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping. In a statement, Pastor Jin's daughter said, We truly witnessed a miracle, and we're feeling so overwhelmed with joy. She thanked President Trump and his administration for their leadership, saying, We hope this is a signal of a positive turn for people of faith in China and relations between our two nations. Pastor Ezra Jin is the founder of Zion Church in Beijing. He was arrested last October alongside 17 other church leaders. The officially atheist Chinese Communist Party views organized religion as a potential threat to its hold on power. Human rights advocates are now calling for the freedom of the remaining church members who are still in prison. And China is ramping up military activity across the Pacific, test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. This comes as U.S. allies move to strengthen their own defenses. NTV's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has the details. The timing isn't subtle. Just hours after Australia and Fiji signed a landmark defense agreement promising to come to each other's aid if either nation's attacked, China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from a nuclear submarine into the South Pacific. Australian officials say Beijing notified them ahead of the launch but still condemned the move. Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilizing to the region. Australia's new agreement with Fiji is its latest effort to strengthen military partnerships in the Pacific to counter China's growing influence after signing similar deals with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. There's no higher obligation than to come to each other's aid at a time of need. Meanwhile this week, China and Russia are holding joint naval exercises off of China's eastern coast near Qingdao, part of an annual military partnership that both countries are demonstrating their strategic cooperation. But Taiwan is watching this closely in case China decides to turn one of these routine military drills into an actual attack. Taiwanese officials are tracking more than 100 Chinese military ships currently operating across the first island chain. And Taiwan is also reviving its anti-communist patriotic classes for military graduates for the first time in nearly 25 years. They say future officers need a clearer understanding of the threat posed by Beijing. It has been an area of competition, of course. The PRC continues to champion their form of socialism and communism while in Taiwan we stand with our belief that economic freedom, market economics, in addition to the political freedoms that are so important to our society, are really what delivers to the needs of the people. Now taken together, tensions across the Indo-Pacific are accelerating with countries in the region preparing for a more confrontational future. For NTD News, I'm Jack Bradley. The Chinese communist regime's new ethnic unity law went into effect this month, but Tibetans are uniting to denounce the mandate. NTD's David Lam reports. People around the world are speaking out against Beijing's new mandate. In a viral ex-post by user Alpha Wolf, young Tibetans are seen tearing up copies of Beijing's new law and calling on others to stand up against it. My name is Tenzin Gangla. I'm from Newcastle, Australia, and I reject the ethnic unity laws. My name is Nima. I'm from England. My name is Tenzin Vesel. I'm from India. I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I'm a Tibetan and I reject the ethnic unity law. China's national policy called the ethnic unity law took effect on July 1st, mandating cultural assimilation from China's 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Carl Minsner, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, says the law enshrines a decades-long shift towards aggressive assimilationist policies, reflecting the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party. The law came into force on July 1st and will only increase surveillance and oppression for Tibetans inside Tibet, but also for us exiled Tibetans. I reject China's ethnic unity law and call on international governments to reject and make a statement against China's ethnic unity law. Legal experts warn that the law's vague language reaches beyond China's borders, giving the Chinese regime grounds to target people anywhere in the world, including supporters of Taiwan and people living in the United States. Recently in New York, a Tibetan activist expressed opposition to the law by self-immolating near the United Nations headquarters. He later died. For decades now, the Chinese Communist Party has held violent persecution campaigns against faith groups, including Tibetans, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners, including even pro-democracy activists. David Lam, NTD News, California. With President Trump recently issuing a flurry of warnings against communism, calling it, quote, the most serious threat to our country since its founding, how are everyday Americans reacting to the warnings? NTD Sam Wong was at the Great American State Fair here in Washington, D.C. to hear from the people. What does it mean to be an American? It means I'm not living in communist China under the heritage of Mao's Red Revolution or in Stalin's Russia where they finally got free from the Soviet communist rule. Your thoughts on the president's warning against communism? The way he speaks is truth. Because you look at other countries that have accepted socialism and they're in trouble, they're ruined. Communism is the greatest scourge that's been unleashed in the world. If you believe in personal freedom, personal rights of ownership, believing in God, that's the antithesis of what communism is. Have you seen, there's a meme where you see the Cubans are leaving New York because of communism being brought there. I grew up around communism in other countries. Well right now, they're getting a very loud voice. And unfortunately our news media will put a mic in front of them at any time and let them spew out whatever things they want to say. And most of it is not good about this country. What are the consequences of communism? If you're on the upper echelon, you're going to be just fine. But the common people are the ones that pay the price. They're the ones that struggle. And it's never worked. Communist efforts are insidious and slow. And then you find out you have a communist mayor of New York City where they call themselves the Democrat Socialists, but in the same people they're saying they'll seize the means of production. You look at Cuba, the communist worker's paradise where everyone is equally poor, unless you're in the communist leadership of a government where you're living large. You can't have anything of value. You can't own property. You can't speak freely. You can't have a government that you can depend on, and that's the most important thing because you're just drifting along following what other people are dictating. Google now and see what you come up with. America has hung on to its freedom for decades and centuries, and there's a good chance you could lose everything. And where will we be? Hungry for food, hungry, not having religious freedoms. That's a good warning, and I hope that America listens. And that's all we have for you tonight on The Capitol Report. Stay connected to the stories that matter. Visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. From the nation's capital, I'm Alena Weiskopf. Have a great evening, and we'll see you back here tomorrow.