Capitol Report Full Broadcast (July 23)

Good evening. Tonight on the Capitol Report, President Trump is saying the civil nuclear deal signed with Saudi Arabia has a major caveat. What's next for the region? Totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. The United States is not opposed to civil nuclear facilities. Iranian proxies need to stop misbehaving or Iran will face the consequences. What President Trump is warning as the Houthis in Yemen threaten key shipping. And hundreds of thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote across four states. Tonight on the show, Andrew Giuliani, why he's saying the job isn't done when it comes to election integrity. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. President Trump drawing a hard line, warning Iran that it will be held fully responsible for any future Houthi attacks. We're joined in studio now by NTD's White House correspondent Mari Otsu. In Washington. Mari, good evening. What can you tell us about this? Hey, Steve. Yeah. So President Trump for the first time now is actually threatening to order retaliatory strikes on Iran in response to new attacks by the Houthis. That's that terrorist organization that's now controlling much of Yemen. And President Trump also just moments ago declaring that the U.S. will now use Iranian frozen assets that we have to pay for any damages to ships or cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz that the Iranian regime has struck out recently since they ended the ceasefire agreement. Now this is coming as the Central Command last night just concluded its 12th consecutive night of strikes against the Iranian regime. Also with that renewed U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, we've already redirected 12 ships and disabled one. Now here's the president today on Iran. We're doing very well against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We're doing extremely well. They would like to do something, but I say they're not ready yet. They need more of the same. They're not ready yet. They got some evil intentions. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon. Amid renewed skirmishes between the U.S. and Iran, the Houthis Wednesday night shot at Saudi Arabian ships. President Trump saying he's very disappointed with their behavior, declaring, please let this truth serve to represent that if they do this again, the United States will hold Iran responsible in that the Houthis are a surrogate and or proxy of Iran and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and of course the Houthis themselves. A movement of Shia Muslims in Yemen, the Houthis have historically aligned with Iran's Shia clerical leadership. This comes as President Trump announces that the 30 year civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is contingent on the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel. The president also clarifying there will be no nuclear enrichment by Saudi Arabia and the deal pertains only to non-military use. The United States is not opposed to civil nuclear facilities. As we all know, he wants to see these countries sign the Abraham Accord. Yes, this deal with Saudi Arabia, the energy deal is contingent on this condition as far as the president is concerned. Meanwhile, as several prominent Democrats sound the alarm over the rise of what they call socialist or communist influences within their party, the White House is doubling down on President Trump's assertion that America will never be a communist country. Well, look, the Democratic Party is in the middle of a civil war. This far left on the Democratic Party basically has been energized by the opposition to President Trump. And the socialist movement is the best thing the Republicans have going for them. I think the vast majority of Americans understand the dangers of communism. Communism should never be allowed to lead this country. Unfortunately, there are some who would like to lead us down the opposite path. And I call them the radical left communists. They call them socialists, but these people are communists. And Mari, tomorrow is sort of a big night for the president. The White House correspondents dinner going to be happening yet again after last time the assassination attempt on his life. We're both there. What can you tell us? Yeah. So tomorrow's is going to be very much scaled down. It's going to be at the Waldorf Astoria and there are going to be many more security measures in place. Every guest in attendance will have their own special QR code and it is going to be much smaller and it is coming about exactly three months after that assassination attempt on President Trump's life at the Washington Hilton there. The press secretary is saying today that she encourages everyone in America to watch that. He'll be speaking there. She says it's going to be a very entertaining and memorable night celebrating the First Amendment and free speech rights. Yeah. Much, much more scaled down. I think the Hilton had about 2,000 to 3,000 capacity. Yes. 3,000. Just about 700. Mario, too. Thank you so much. And with the president continuing to warn Americans about the threat of communism in the United States, our panel will discuss the shift in the American left and what's influencing it later in the show. Right now, we return to the topic of the Middle East, and President Trump says the United States will be holding Iran responsible for the Houthis, one of its terror proxies in the region. Joining me now to discuss is Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry. Congressman Scott Perry, thank you so much for joining us. Great to be with you, Steve. Congressman, President Trump today posting, quote, the United States will hold Iran responsible in that the Houthis are a surrogate and or proxy of Iran and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves. Congressman, with that said, does it appear that Iran is using the Houthis against Saudi Arabia to target American assets in the region? Yeah, of course they are. Iran sees their leverage now. Of course, they don't have the leverage of nuclear capability or, you know, the ballistic missile capability with the nuclear weapon on top of it. That's what they were going to use before or essentially what they were using the threat of. Now they're using the threat of economic disaster and economic interference, not only for the United States, but the entire world, tying up essentially all Middle East shipping lanes, either directly from from Iran itself or using their proxies. And they think that's the pathway to success with the president. And so I think that's exactly what you're seeing. They're going to lash out wherever they can. And of course, that's a bit of a softer target right now. And and you can see the results of it. Congressman, at the same time, as you know, the U.S. has just signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia with regard to civil nuclear technology. Here's Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt on the deal. The civil nuclear deal, there will be no enrichment of material. An important point being made between the Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to nonmilitary use, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. How might this contribute to the president's long term strategic vision for the Middle East? And how big of a deal is this to you? Well, it's a big deal for everybody. Of course, you know, we still got a long way to go. Saudi Arabia has not yet signed the Abraham Accords, but I think there is some presumption that they will at some point. And of course, this is President Trump remaking the Middle East not only for just the short term, but for the long stretch. And it further isolates Iran and other bad actors in the region or people that are countries that wish to be problematic and kind of puts them on the path to normalization, not only with their, I wouldn't say partners, but their neighbors in Israel, maybe soon to be partners, but with the rest of the Western civilized world that has had enough of the endless Middle East wars. And of course, Saudi Arabia, a huge player here with a lot of influence and further isolating Iran. So this is a big deal. Congressman, you sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee. I want to get your thoughts on the United Nations, UN ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, was on Capitol Hill yesterday, where he said that we need more Americans serving in UN agencies to achieve things like cutting the budget by billions of dollars over the last six months. Here's the ambassador. We are getting the United Nations back to basics, back to maintaining the peace and maintaining security around the world. Unfortunately, the UN has tried to become all things to all people and has literally done nothing but grow for its 80 year history. Its budget just in the last 25 years has tripled in size. It's great to have Ambassador Waltz and Ambassador Bartos representing the United States and quite honestly, representing sanity. And many of us are fed up with the UN. I think we can make the case oftentimes that we shouldn't even be involved. But here's the situation. And I think that the ambassador brought this right home. If the United States isn't involved, that doesn't mean that the UN is going to go away. They have all these committees, all these organizations that determine and set international standards. And if we're not in the conversation, the new standard will be set by them. And, you know, he gave the example. We want controllers, air traffic controllers around the world speaking, speaking English. We want to be the ones dominating and determining things like artificial intelligence and naming conventions for online selling and buying. Those are things that we want to be involved in. And we want to make sure that aren't handed off to the Communist Party of China or somebody like Iran or North Korea or Russia. And the only way to be involved in the conversation is to be there. So as difficult as it is, that's almost a requirement at this point. Just a quick follow up, Congressman, I'll let you go. I mean, to your point, some have said that the UN headquarters, you know, their big presence in Manhattan, in New York City, it's almost like a headquarters for a giant foreign influence operation. The UN, you know, when you look at veto power, China, Russia, every year there's a new crazy human rights abusing country that's named as the human rights champion for the organization. The general secretary general is a socialist head of former head of Socialist International. How do we ultimately deal with this malignant tumor, some might say, right in our backyard? Right. Well, look, the outrages are almost too numerous to mention. But the old the old adage, as you know, is this, Steve, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And the best way to keep an eye on them, keep our thumb on them, make sure they're mucking up all their insanity is to have our folks right on the inside of that hornet's nest, making sure it doesn't get out of hand, you know, just acting like it's going to go away because the United States takes its ball and goes home. I wish I could say that were the case, but that's not going to be the case. It would just continue and and do even worse things. So we've got to have good representation. There is the real point. Congressman Scott Perry, as always, we appreciate your perspective. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Steve. And right now you are taking a live look at the White House. President Trump this week touting the success of the World Cup, a look inside what it took to make it happen on how this one was so different from previous years. We'll speak with Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force just after the break. 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What it was like behind the scenes in preparation and making sure every site was secure was a major lift. Joining us now to discuss is Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force. Andrew Giuliani, thank you so much for joining us. Hey, it's great to be with you today. Great to have you on the program, Andrew. So the president, President Trump, was really ecstatic about the conclusion of the World Cup. Here he is touting it as a success in the Oval Office. We just had the World Cup, as you know very well. And it was the most successful World Cup ever. We didn't even have a protest. We had no crime. With all those events, it was like having many, many Super Bowls. Each one was like a Super Bowl. Andrew, I mean, just to paint the picture of how significant this was, like the president said, each one like a Super Bowl in multiple states and cities. You were at the tip of the spear leading this project. What was it like working with city leaders and across the federal government really to ensure that things went that smoothly? Well, first and foremost, I mean, it starts really with the leadership of the 45th and 47th president of the United States. Without his leadership, without the ability to be able to work through the interagency federal government process, I mean, really what was accomplished really was unique. We set up each stadium like it was 78 Super Bowls. 11 stadiums set up like Super Bowls, 78 matches in the United States of America. Also having 13 matches in Canada and Mexico added also unique complexities. First time a whole continent has hosted a sporting event. And to the president's point, this has been so successful that revenues are looking at over four times what the last World Cup was. We literally set a ticket record by double what the original record was for tickets. That goes back to 1994. There were more tickets sold for this World Cup than the previous two combined. And then really, when you talk about the legacy side of this, and this really is President Trump's vision. When I've spoken with him the dozens of times over the last year about this World Cup, we've talked about, hey, the term is going to be great. This is awesome. But what happens after July 20th? What happens after that last goal is scored? What happens after the last country leaves? That's what you're going to see now. That's the magic that just happened over the last 45 days with the Scots in Boston. You know, events even like UFC Freedom 250 were targeted by a terror plot. What steps did you have to take to avoid being targeted by extremist groups and really political agitators now that we're seeing popping up all over the country for that matter? Well, the interesting thing is all the work that was done was done behind the scenes. So, I mean, I think this is the dedication that we've seen from the Department of Homeland Security. Remember, this was planned for throughout two government shutdowns lasting more than four combined months. Really amazing when you think about this feat in general. Then you add to the fact that a lot of the people working on my team were not getting paid throughout this entire time. Shows the dedication of these Americans that really, really put mission first. We had over 600 sites around the United States of America that could have been targeted. And from my perspective, the way that I looked at it was I felt that the stadiums were going to be very hard targets to hit. Almost all of them had hosted Super Bowls. If not, they'd hosted major events in the past. Doesn't mean it was impossible, but to me, that was going to be the hardest target to hit. Then you looked at the fan fest, right? These are more temporary sites. They'll host some events in the past, so the law enforcement knows it pretty well. But then again, with soccer fans, you can get really high passion, and especially at zero or very low ticket pricing. You know, it's a different group of people that generally will end up coming in there from international law. You had Salesforce 250, Freedom 250. All the great events around our semi-quincentennial. This was a massive, all of government, all of law enforcement, all of law enforcement effort. And to the president's credit, the other day, who did he thank first? Law enforcement. Thank you to our men and women in blue. The work that they have done this summer is heroic. Something that we know your dad, America's mayor, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, was always first to say when he was mayor and beyond. And I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the topic of election integrity, pivoting a bit here as we're talking about your father and his involvement in defending the president in the 2020 election. Trump administration just releasing a slew of evidence revealing foreign interference in the 2020 election and the subsequent cover up by the intelligence community, as well as non-citizens on voter rolls. Here's DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen describing some of this. We've identified 250,000 non-citizens registered to vote in California and Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada. We also worked with proactive states to identify 28,000 non-citizens on their voter rolls, plus 400,000 individuals that are still registered to vote that are deceased. Andrew, your father, Rudy Giuliani, faced multiple lawsuits over his allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election. He was even disbarred. With these revelations, do you feel like he has now been vindicated? Completely. 100%. The job is not done yet, though. I mean, and I think this is where the president really leads, and it's so important over the next couple of years to make sure that individuals that can vote, American citizens, that they should be the only ones voting. We can't have American citizens ultimately having their vote diluted by non-citizens, by people that are deceased. I mean, it's crazy when you talk about... I don't know what more proof you need, more numbers you need when you're talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. Look, I got to know Secretary Mullen very well. I feel like he's almost like a second brother to me. It is so key that we get to the bottom of this. Look, I said this throughout the World Cup. The president believes in fair play, whether it's on the pitch or at the ballot box. We need to make sure now more than ever. One just note about my father. You know, I learned more about resilience, about never giving up from him over the last five years than I could have in reading a million books. He is one of the toughest individuals. He is one of the people that... Look, he knew what he was getting into. He knew ultimately what was against him, and he knew what it could cost him. But he's a man who ultimately looked at it and said, for the future of our democratic republic, this stuff needs to be ultimately pushed out there. I will sacrifice myself. And history books are already starting to tell the story of his heroism. And as a son, you know, you couldn't be any prouder of a dad than I am, so... Andrew Giuliani, greatly appreciate you joining us. Director of the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force. Thank you. Thank you very much. Amazon now facing growing scrutiny over its ties to China. A new investigation is examining claims of Chinese influence inside of Amazon's online marketplace and the impact on independent sellers. You can find out more tonight on China In Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9.30 p.m. Eastern time. And practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that originated in China, poured into the nation's capital today for a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in a march down Constitution Avenue right here in Washington. Many of them have faced or have been directly persecuted for their belief and their faith at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. And today's Melina Wisecup brings us a look at the massive peaceful gathering and the personal stories of those who were there. So living in China, we're not allowed to have independent thinking. We were taught to obey the authority. I felt I was living without soul. Alyssa is in the midst of battling persecution firsthand. Her mother is now illegally detained for the fifth time. She was arrested with 16 others for studying the spiritual text aligned with Falun Dafa. Yeah, I'm deeply worried about her safety. I take days off from my work to rescue her, and I felt devastating. My mother and the two other Falun Gong practitioners have been transferred to a criminal detention center. Three were transferred to a brainwashing center. One is still missing. For Falun Gong practitioners who went home, they are still under surveillance, and some are homeless. Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a meditation practice that emphasizes spiritual growth and inner peace. Despite the practice's popularity, with millions practicing around the world, the Chinese Communist Party launched a campaign in 1999 to try to squash it. For while I do not share your religious beliefs, I do respect that you held on to them despite torture and persecution, and that you refuse to conform to the dictates of an evil ideology. A rally at the Lincoln Memorial made up of thousands of people featured speeches by human rights advocates and Congressman Pat Ryan, working to expose and denounce the 27-year-long persecution. Former basketball player and his canter Freedom telling the crowd why it was worth it to him to be blacklisted from the NBA for speaking out. This issue is bigger than myself, bigger than basketball, and bigger than NBA, because while we are comfortably playing basketball in this country on the other side of the world, people are losing their loved ones, losing their lives, and losing their homes. Thousands of spiritual practitioners are marching through the streets of Washington, D.C. today with one simple message. Help to stop the persecution of people who are trying to live their lives by following truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Here's what they're telling me. You would be absolutely bowled over to find out what is really going on. You'd be pleasantly surprised by the beauty of Falun Dafa. It's a strange word for me. Like, it's not in my vocabulary. This is something which is very close to my heart, and it has changed me as a person and has made me a better person. A practice which follows truthfulness, compassion, tolerance can only be pure. So it makes absolutely no sense what the Chinese Communist Party is doing. While this massive group of practitioners are raising awareness today, for some, the cause becomes a daily mission. Alyssa has worked for the past three months to petition lawmakers to take action to address the persecution. Thousands of Maryland and Virginia residents stand with us, urging our senators to co-sponsor and support the bill to help stop the persecution and stop the crime of forced organ harvesting. ...with this, but with the act, we send a message loud and clear to the Chinese Communist Party. Their egregious violations against humanity The CCP's brutal attempt to eradicate the practice is in vain, with millions of spiritual believers around the world holding strong to their faith today. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. And with 27 years of adversity comes 27 years of resilience. This is Falun Gong practitioners reminding the world about the CCP's persecution. So how are everyday Americans reacting to the human rights atrocities still taking place today in China? NTD's Sam Wong was out in the streets of D.C. to hear from the people. It's been 27 years since the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and it's still going on today. What was your first reaction upon hearing about their story? Oh, it's horrible. It's horrific to hear that these things are going on now. I don't think as many people are aware of the persecution and the other horrific things that are happening. Yeah, it was news to me. You know a little bit about it in the world, but then to listen to some of the people and to follow up on this, you don't realize the extent of how rampant this problem is. It is very impressive that people are still carrying out what they believe in in their traditions despite persecution, and that people should be free to practice those, especially when the values come from peace and compassion. I believe it's very important to hold those liable who have committed those crimes. That way they're not able to possibly come here and try to do something better for their lives while they have affected others in worse ways than possibly imagined. I believe that we need to bring this to all the citizens of this country, the United States, as well as other countries, to make them aware so that they can make the right choices. I want to inspire them, because it's not easy to go against an evil regime like the CCP. I want them to know that they have an ally in the NBA. I want them to know that I'm going to do whatever I can to be their voice. So that's why I'm wearing this T-shirt. That's why I'm carrying this message. What is your message to all the Falun Gong practitioners in China who are still suffering from persecution today but are still holding fast to their faith? Well, I think that that's a very powerful thing, is more people continue to hear the message and understand what's actually happening, that I think change has to be around the corner. My one and only message is that be strong and know that people are on your side working for you. Never bend a knee. You know, you got to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what culture you're in. I'm a Christian, but whatever faith that you're currently in and that's what you believe in, you should follow through with what your beliefs are. I believe that it's very important that one of their main mottos is being truthful, not being afraid to stand up for yourselves, even though bad things might happen. Just stay that way, because one day it will change and hopefully it will soon. Your message is growing in public and all around the world. If every world leader listens to the beautiful message, the holy message of the Falun Gong, you know, we wouldn't have any of these wars right now. Keep standing for what's right, because you are inspiring billions of people out there. And you're taking another live look at the White House. The Secret Service facing an increasingly volatile situation, opening 10,000 new investigations into threats against protectees this year. More from our panel on what's driving these threats after the break. So at the age of five, I was sexually molested. I had my first child at the age of 15 and became homeless at the age of 16. The scariest part about not having a place to live was having a child and not having a place to live and not knowing where our meal was going to come from and where we're going to sleep. To be homeless as a teen, I didn't ask for that. 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I have no words to express how Covenant House changed my life. They gave me the love that I needed. They just really, genuinely just wanted to help me succeed, and I'm succeeding. Your $19 monthly gift is urgently needed to reach other young people who are facing unimaginable situations. Call or go online to safeplacetosleep.org. Your support makes the work of Covenant House possible. Thank you for caring. 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. And welcome back to the Capitol Reports. I'm Steve Lance, House Republicans approving a framework for a $95 billion reconciliation package. The plan would fund defense and intelligence operations, providing aid to farmers and encouraging states to adopt parts of the Save America Act. President Trump is now pressuring Senate Leader John Thune to get it passed before lawmakers leave Washington. And to these Chris Bobb reports. This is what we did this week. The House Republicans passed the budget resolution that unlocks our third reconciliation bill, which, of course, is Republicans' best shot to get as much of the Save America Act into law as possible, in addition to funding our national defense and our farmers. The House passing the framework for Reconciliation 3.0 on Wednesday in a 216 to 214 vote. The $95 billion plan includes $73 billion for defense and intelligence operations amid the Iran war, $12 billion in farm aid, and a $10 billion fund to encourage states to adopt parts of the Save America Act. The full Save America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote for federal elections and identification to cast a ballot. But reconciliation rules limit the bill to measures affecting federal spending and revenue. Republicans also added voter identification requirements to a congressional stock trading bill that passed the House Wednesday. Thirteen Democrats supported it, including Washington Congresswoman Marie Glusenkamp-Perez. It was really dumb the way they attached Save America to it. Thune's been clear, Save America's going nowhere because it's a really bad idea to photocopy your sensitive documents and include them every time you vote. Um, you know, and I appreciate that the Senate has been clear. They're not gonna move that legislation. But Congress has got to clean up its acts. President Trump responded to the Senate resistance by calling on voters to pressure Senate Majority Leader John Thune at a Georgia rally Wednesday. Right now, Congress is working to get as much of our plan as possible into the budget bill to identify and really terminate. Look, what they should do, very simple. A lot of you don't know about filibuster. They should terminate the filibuster and approve everything, and there's no reason for it. They should terminate the filibuster. Everybody call John Thune at the Senate. He's the leader of the Republican Party. And tell him to get this stuff approved. The framework now heads to the Senate, where Leader Thune says he will hold it as a backup while senators negotiate government funding. Any Senate changes would require another House vote. The Senate now has just 11 weekdays before its August recess begins on August 7th. Senators are not scheduled to return until September 14th. Chris Bobb, NTD News. And the Secret Service has opened more than 10,000 investigations into threats against its protectees in 2026. That's a 40% increase from the previous year. Joining us now to discuss the rise in threats are Democratic strategist Aditi Bussels and Republican strategist Kate Monroe. Great to have you both with us. So Aditi, we'll start with you. We're talking about a 40% rise that's really staggering in threats against protectees overall. So not just the president. What is contributing, do you think, in your opinion, to this sort of volatility in our political environment? Well, I mean, there's lots of different factors you have to consider. We are more divided than ever. We're also in the age of not only misinformation, but overload of information. And if you don't play it right, your algorithm is gonna continue to give you this silo of information that is not always accurate. And its only goal is to be controversial so that you keep watching, right? And this day and age, yes, people watch TV, but most of the time, they're gonna watch clips of this conversation that we're having today on the internet. And so that, combined with some of the dangerous rhetoric that President Trump and his allies have used to really disparage immigrant communities, disparage Democrats, has led to this hyperpolarization and leading to these unacceptable acts of violence or risk of violence towards people that are elected officials. I've always said that we have to respect those that are in these elected positions. But unfortunately, because of social media and because of kind of the quickness in which we get information that is not always accurate, you're seeing people be very rash. So it's not surprising to me, in a hyperpolarized environment, we're starting to see safety concerns. You know, I have always said there's no room for violence in politics, but unfortunately, it doesn't surprise me that we've gotten to that point. Kate? I mean, I have to agree in some regard. You know, in social media, there's this new concept over the last few months of clipping, and clipping's becoming the next big thing. The problem with clipping, though, is that it only clips out the most salacious, audacious things that people could possibly say. And then you get all of this micro-content, and if you stitch all that micro-content together, it's nothing but hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. And it doesn't matter if it's on the left, or the right, or the middle, or people from Mars, that you watch enough of that, it's easy to get riled up. One. Two, I think that in this day and age of video game playing with these younger generations, they have a little bit of apathy toward humanity. I think that they just think, like, I hate this person, and I've been driven to hate them, and I'm gonna go end their life like I'm in a video game. I mean, it's just a very scary world out there right now. I think we need to reel it in. The 24-hour news cycle doesn't really help much either. I had to actually tell my mom, Mom, I'd appreciate it if you didn't watch more than an hour of news a week, because you're starting to get, like, little micro-panic attacks, and it's not good for your health. Adi, I'll just spin it back to you. You know, the last point that you made about President Trump and saying, you know, his so-called rhetoric, what about all of the Democratic politicians that are, you know, speaking out and criticizing blanket statements against law enforcement and ICE officials? Is there some accountability to go around to... Oh, absolutely. ...the Democrats? Absolutely, but I do believe that if you look back for eight, 12 years, really, this new style of politicking that Trump really was able to bring to the forefront, and I'll give him credit where credit's due, right? He is able to communicate in a way that resonates with people. It's memorable. It's entertaining. It's something that you're going to keep in the back of your mind, even if you don't realize it. And as someone who is in politics and a previous elected official, I commend him for being able to really make it easy to understand exactly where he stands. That being said, sometimes he takes it way too far, and he will imply things that make it extremely divisive for four different groups of people, and I think that Democrats are getting pressure from their voters, especially the hyper-left wing, right, where it's like, stop releasing statements. Actually do something. And so you're starting to see them mimic the same behaviors, and at that point, it's just political theater. And I think all of that, Democrat or Republican, is contributing to the issues that we're having today with safety. But I mean, I don't think that it's fair to say that until Trump got into office, we didn't see rhetoric like this. Now, everybody's embracing it because the bar is so low as to what's acceptable and what you can get away with. Let's talk about the Democratic Socialists of America. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt today speaking about the divide between Democrats and the party's now Socialist wing. Here's what she had to say on the party's growing schism. We don't seem to have too many of those left in the Democrat Party. We have literal self-proclaimed communists who are winning elections and who are claiming to be the new leadership of the Democrat Party. I think the vast majority of Americans understand the dangers of communism. Aditi, we'll come back to you on this. Many mainstream Democrats don't align with the DSA's policies. We've seen Van Jones, Bill Maher, former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo coming out and speaking out against, plus many more. But the strategy seems to be focused on capturing some of these deep blue districts. Will this work to pivot the party toward a Socialist platform in the end? Well, first and foremost, it's very annoying that Republicans always say, oh, it's communist principles. There's a real difference between Democratic Socialism and communism. I get that it's, you know, politically sexy to say stuff like that because it gives you the soundbite. But that being said, I do believe that the thing that Democratic Socialists have, and to be very clear, I was elected in South Carolina. I am very, you would consider, moderate centrist because that's the type of Democrats we have in the South. But that being said, what they have that the establishment Democrats don't have is authenticity and actually presenting, whether or not their ideas are outlandish or not feasible, they're presenting solutions to problems that are affecting everyday working class people. And that's where I think some of our more traditional Democrats that have been around for a long time are not realizing that the consultant jargon that they keep using is not resonating with everyday Americans. And so regardless of what your policies are, whether or not you agree, voters are going to the voting booth and saying, well, he told me exactly how he's gonna put more money in my pocket, I'm gonna vote for him. So if there's something that establishment Democrats need to learn from this is that they gotta pivot away from the race baiting, and they have to really focus on what are you going to do to help everyday Americans? Kate, are you concerned that socialism is a precursor to communism, or as some might call it, microwave communism? I do think that it opens the door to things. I think it's very sexy a sell, especially to the younger generation that everything would be free, and they don't really understand. If you go and look at all of the other countries that are socialist or communist, and you ask the people that live there, how do they enjoy it, they will tell you that they don't. And that's why a lot of them try to come to America. They don't realize until too late that, oh, crap, somebody's gotta pay for all this stuff. And it isn't really actually free. Like, what's free is free. I don't know what's going on in New York, but I have to agree with the other panelists that they are resonating. So if they are resonating, what is our answer so that we can resonate? Because I will tell you this, it is the regular Democrats' fault if we lose their party and the country to socialism. It is their fault, because they thought, oh, we got the squad, and like, whatever, we can contain these few people. And it spread, and it spread, and it spread like a virus, and now it is taking over. And that's a very scary situation. So Republicans, you gotta start resonating. Regular Democrats, you gotta start resonating, because we're losing the midline of our country. Now, some of the momentum behind the far left, the socialists, is really coming, we're starting to see from foreign influence campaigns. The State Department under Secretary Rubio is exposing some of these efforts by the Cuban regime to interfere and amplify these narratives in American politics. A recent report highlighting some of this. Here's a spokesperson from the State Department. National Network on Cuba issued what they're calling a rapid response plan, calling for agitation and resistance in the United States. So Aditi, the DSA is a member of the group, the National Network on Cuba. Does this highlight a genuine concern about foreign influence in the American left and protests not actually being organic? Perhaps, I mean, I don't think that we know enough about the DSA movement yet to see, you know, how successful they will be in the long term. Again, I go back to, it's not their policies, it's their authenticity that's helping them win elections. And I think that if more moderate Democrats adopted the same, you know, approach of actually having a succession plan and letting the next generation step up and lead, you'd see some of the same. Now, any sort of foreign involvement in our elections, you know, I think that the common person would say that's wrong, because Americans should be the ones that are deciding who our leaders are and who represent us. Their affiliation with DSA is not surprising to me, but also is, I think, a case study for how there is potentially a slippery slope should we allow DSA to become the major faction of the Democratic Party. I don't think that will happen because I think the average voter, especially in the South, is very issue-specific, middle of the road. But I do think we have to have a big tent approach of finding the right places for those that do have good ideas that may stem from socialism and are potentially feasible to have a part. That's where I think Republicans do a good job, is even if there's varying viewpoints, they fall in line and they figure out the ways in which they can plug in some of these more extreme perspectives. Kate, where would you say sort of socialism and your classic liberal tend to divide? And an organization like the National Network on Cuba mobilizing on behalf of a foreign power, is this sign of a possible fifth column? It definitely is a sign of a fifth column. And I think that most regular liberals, I'm actually married to a liberal Democrat, atheist Turkish immigrant. So I deal with this liberal ideology all the time. And even he thinks that socialism leaning to communism is going left of left, out the left door, and going to lead that party to destruction. But I think a bigger conversation is not necessarily foreign influence outside the bounds of the US. Why don't we talk about the 10 million people that we let into our country, who are inevitably, we don't wanna say they're gonna become part of all the big voting blocs. They already are. We're already finding them on voter rolls. And Islam in particular is weeding itself even into the South. I'm getting tons of people from Texas telling me how much land they're buying up, how many businesses they're doing. Go look at where Ilhan Omar is, how much Islam has taken over that part of the United States. So there's so many things going into this layered discussion. And we're having a very cute discussion today about it as though there's some better rhetoric and marketing we could do. We're losing our country to socialism and Islam. And we have to stop it and have harder, tougher conversations. Aditi Bustles, Kate Monroe, appreciate you both joining us. And coming up, a hero who fights against human trafficking and who's leading a revolution in helping victims. Hear Tanya Gould's story after the break.