The Charlie Kirk Show - The Greatest Fight Night Ever + An Iran Deal, At Last

Episode Date: June 15, 2026

Is it time for a great American vibe shift? Andrew and Blake talk about Sunday's electric Freedom 250 UFC event at the White House, and how its massive success, coupled wht a new peace deal in the Middle East, could kickstart enthusiasm for President Trump going into the midterms. Rich Baris and Mark Halperin take turns breaking it down, and also react to the new European love for "real America" generated by the World Cup. House candidate John Strand talks about how Covid and his January 6 persecution inspired him to pivot from show business to making a run for Congress. Watch every episode ad-free on members.charliekirk.com!    Get new merch at charliekirkstore.com!Support the show: http://www.charliekirk.com/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My name is Charlie Kirk. I run the largest pro-American student organization in the country fighting for the future of our republic. My call is to fight evil and to proclaim truth. If the most important thing for you is just feeling good, you're going to end up miserable. But if the most important thing is doing good, you will end up purposeful. College is a scam, everybody. You've got to stop sending your kids to college. You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Go start a turning point USA college chapter. Go start a turning point you would say high school chapter.

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Noble Gold Investments is the official gold sponsor of the Charlie Kirk Show, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals. Learn how you could protect your wealth with noble gold investments at noble gold investments.com. That is noble gold investments.com. All right, welcome to the Charlie Kirk Show. It's Monday. What a beautiful Monday it is. June 15th, I'm here at the Y-ReFi studio. Blake Neff is remote today. He just couldn't stay away. Good to see it, Blake. How you doing? It's a great, I definitely can't stay away today. We have massive important news and we have massive of fun news and that's a good combo to have this is this is the theme today is no bad vibes everything

is honestly looking great and you know it's funny we have rich bears coming on the show about in the half hour mark and he was basically like i'm so excited i'm like rich are you going to be black pill rich today he's like absolutely are you kidding me like this is amazing and you know by the way if you watched the UFC Freedom 250 at the White House last night. I want to hear from you. Send us your emails. Freedom at Charliekirk.com. Blake is going to be monitoring the inbox like usual. But I just thought it was tremendous. I mean, I know we've got this Iran deal. President Trump is meeting with Emmanuel Macron as we speak. It's a bilateral meeting as part of the G7. So he gets done with this incredible UFC event that was just so beautiful and so well done. And the production value was incredible. Yeah, you could see the video right

there and, you know, get the fighters coming out of the White House. That's their walk-up. I mean, it was just amazing. And then he gets on a plane and flies to Europe for the G7. So it's just, you know, tremendous. The energy that that oxygenarian, he's officially 80 years old now. It was his birthday on Saturday. So happy birthday of Mr. Trump, President Trump. But the whole thing was just tremendous. Look at that. It's just stunning. And that eagle right there. And then, Blake, on top of everything the fight with Justin Gaichi to win the final fight it was perfect the card so so this guy you see in the B roll right now if you're watching this guy had just caoed knocked out the last three opponents he'd been he'd fought against and these were not schlubs

these are like the top guys ever in the lightweight division of UFC and you know this guy so fast you can see him he's like a he's like a pit bull and and and he really did body shot Justin Gaichi a couple times, really hurt him, said he hurt his liver real bad. But Gaichi put him in the hospital. He had an ocular. His ocular bone got broke in the fight. Yeah, go ahead, Blake.

It was my friend who is a big UFC fan. First of all, going in, he was telling me, okay, this has been a fun night. Now we get to watch Gaichi get destroyed. He was not hyped up on him at all. He said, this is a very imbalanced fight. he was predicting a big walkover and this guy was about a decade older than his opponent. He's near retirement.

But he's an American patriot from very near us. He's from a small mining town here in Arizona and he got this massive upset over this incredible, I think he was previously undefeated. And then he delivered his big speech celebrating America and it was

one of those perfect instances we joke sometimes that President Trump has this almost magical luck that events often align in his ways. And you could not have scripted all of that better for the White House event, a patriotic upset victory in the final fight by a great American patriot who then delivers a big speech. And then the Marine Corps band starts blasting the stars and stripes forever. It was incredible to watch. And big picture, it was so remarkable. We've gotten, I saw a great post that pointed out the left would only use the White House for these staged events,

They'd light it up rainbow and they'd have trans people read sad poems there and they'd say that's the only legitimate use of the White House. And no, we put on this big popular event with thousands of people. It was a ton of fun and we should be able to have a fun event at the White House because the White House belongs to the American people. And the American people, we do love fun. Yeah, we do. And it was a lot of fun. Yeah. And the images from last night.

I mean, everything is iconic. Here's Justin Gachy's message after his UFC victory. By the way, he was a 6-1 underdog. And I just love it. It was just so perfect. Sox 28. Hey, I'm from America. 250 years ago.

We were way bigger than 6-1 dogs. And look at us thriving now to all the current former and future military service members. Thank you so much. Thank you so much to all the first responders, the police officers. firefighters, ambulance, EMTs, you guys have no idea how grateful I am. And for as long as I'm able to, I will use my name to make money and support you guys. First and foremost, thank you. And all glory to God, I prayed so much for this opportunity to do something legendary.

And I know that was absolutely legendary because I cannot even believe it. Wow. That was amazing. years ago. Yeah. We were bigger dogs then. I loved that. I loved every aspect of it. And it was a very fun watch. And here's the thing, Blake, to all the haters, to all the black pillars, to all the nihilists, to all the like burn it down people. Look at that. The Delta formation flying over this like $70 million production at the White House. You have Staff Sergeant Hannah Davis singing you soprano the whole time. And you had the ellipse was filled with 80,000 more people for a giant

watch party just outside beyond the White House. And so the visuals were just incredible. But this is what we just want to remind you is that you do not fight because you know you're going to win. Justin Gachie did not fight that fight because he knew he was going to win. He was a six to one underdog and he pulled it off. We don't fight because we know we're going to win. We fight because it's the right thing to do. We fight because we need to keep going. You do not give up on your team just because they're down. You do not give up on your team just because they are down. If the Dodger team right now, which is in first place, God bless them, but if they were in last place after winning two World Series, would you give up on them? Would you walk out on the team? No. You fight to make

the team better. Would Doc Roberts, the manager of the Dodgers, would he be in his right to just abandon the effort to give up? No. So listen, I don't know what's going to happen in the midterms. I don't know what's going to happen in 2028. All I know is that last night was a beautiful, beautiful reminder that we live in the greatest country in the history of the world. I'm proud to be in American. I'm proud of this country. I'm proud of this administration. I'm proud that they're getting peace deals signed, MOUs signed for peace in Iran. I just was sitting on a briefing call, Blake, about the peace deal. I just put a tweet out about it. I just put a tweet out it. There was a lot of positive momentum. Gas prices are already coming down. We're going to see

that straight-of-hormoose open more and more in the next two weeks. And then by four weeks, if everything keeps progressing the way we hope it is, then things are going to be basically back to normal. And so there's a lot of good momentum. And I'm just over the moon. And I'm grateful that President Trump, he's 80 years old, and he got on a plane, Blake, right after this, and headed all the way to, he's hanging out with Macron right now. Like what 80-year-old does that? I don't know one, but we have one as president. Absolutely.

It's, it just, again, everything aligns so, so well because this administration, this movement we're in. It embraces trying new things, trying big things, doing what hasn't been attempted before. And it's by daring those things that you get beautiful results. And sometimes sometimes it's just something fun Like what we saw last night We got a great patriotic visual The kind of celebration our country deserves to have for its 250th anniversary

We got the great contrast with You saw it during the cold open That pathetic culture We'll play a clip On their tambourines or whatever We'll play a clip Oh you fascist bound to lose You're bound to lose

You fascist bound to lose Let me put you straight When you come for the rest We'll fight you at the gate And you will lose You fascist battle lose Well, that was Not UFC Freedom 250

That was an aged and decrepit Bitter old woman Formerly known as Bet Midler I don't know what she was attempting to do there But Whatever it was, it was Powerfully uncool I am grateful to them

For putting on that concert It made every single aspect of yesterday better that we could cut over to that for funny clips throughout the night. It was amazing. It was. And I want to give a shout out to Staff Sergeant Hannah Davis. This gal was just next level. Like there was so many, just seeing the military band there. I just loved it so much. And she was excellent. So I'm going to play, I'm going to give her a shout out here. SOT 22. All my sins I've been tripping, I've been tripping my god I am digging this live music

Yes, it's awesome It's awesome Whoever that girl is, you can sing amazing It just adds another Excellent element We're wearing ties I kind of feel classy for once in my life I kind of feel not alone for once in the booth

It was so good I mean, this is Joe Rogan And Daniel Cormier's Commentary over the top of it. I mean, it was just, it was a magical, magical night. And I actually was kind of bummed they did it on a Sunday, but I guess President Trump's birthday was on the Saturday and there was some other things going on. But I loved it. I loved it. I thought I was going to be so distracted by work, but it was all show prep, Blake. And I got, we have to play this one. I'm telling you, when just, when I say Justin Gaichi put on the performance of his life and beat the heck out of basically the most dominant lightweight, like listen to this. Dana White tells what happened to him, 25. Yeah, Ilya's in the hospital. He's busted up. You know, I'm not a doctor, but his eye looked like he probably has a broken orbital.

I don't know that. That's not a fact, but I'm just assuming. And my plans for him are to go home and rest and recover and take his time. And, you know, tonight was a rough night for him. Did you see, was that Gaichi next to him there? Yeah. The guy looks practically untouched by comparison. Well, the thing was.

The hardest shots that Gaichi took, and play that B-roll of them fighting, if you guys can't. The hardest shots that Gaichi took were to the liver. He said that. He's like, man, he pounded my liver. The guy is shorter than Gaichi, so he would come up and uppercut him with these body shots, especially in round two. So Gaichi almost got tapped in round two. He almost got taken out. He, I thought he was going to lose that fight.

And you could tell he was just, he was playing for the clock. He knew I just have to survive this round. and I can come back in the next one. It was, it was a true comeback. It was a master class of strategy. It was, we mean no exaggeration when we say this is actually one of the greatest sports moments in American history because an American underdog won a big upset with good strategy and good planning and good preparation.

And just heart and spirit. And, and he had no business beating that guy. That's how, like, and the fact that Dana White and, you know, put. him at the top of the card for such a monumental fight and moment in our country for 250. And he pulled it off. It just, like it doesn't get much better. It was so great. And I want to just, I want to pause.

If you guys missed the cold open, uh, I just want to say, Charlie was a, was a UFC fan. He really loved the, it really captures that they know, that combination of, of hard work and intensity and self-confidence. And he loved the spectacle of it. He was friends with Dana White, and he was incredibly excited for this, and it could not have gone any better than I know he would have been hoping. Well, and let's go ahead and play CK. Because he was planning on attending this one, which kind of breaks my heart, but he would have had such a great time. 49.

Politics doesn't have to be boring. You know, we're going to have fight night next July 4th on the White House law. I mean, there's something to be said for that. Oh, there's something to be said for it. Look, I don't ask for a lot of favors out of the White House. Every so often, I'll ask for something. No, no, no, no, no. I'm asking for front row seats.

I don't think, maybe second row I'll go with. I'll say, hey, guys, of all the different things, I want to be at this UFC fight. I'm going to bring my wife. I'm going to kind of call them whatever favor I have to be there because UFC fight night on the White House lawn to celebrate the 250th birthday. World Cup tickets, that doesn't mean anything. Fight night. That's where I'm calling in the favor.

You know, it's hilarious, Blake. I hadn't seen this clip yet. The team just loaded it up is that President Trump is meeting with. Emmanuel Macron and actually a French fighter, Cyril Ghan, won the heavyweight bout. And I think it was the interim title fight. And he's meeting with the French president talking about UFC last night. So I want to congratulate the president last night. Cyril Gahn won the fight against a great fighter, supposed to be unbeatable.

and that was a Ciro is from France. Did you watch the fight? Yeah. Nothing's done right, but I saw it this morning. That was a great fight. It was a great evening at the White House. It was very proud. Danny points out, using UFC fights for diplomacy

is a peak Donald Trump thing. This is actually real. This is actually real. So Dana White signed a deal with the State Department and Marco Rubio, they did a whole like signing together where they're now using, UFC is for international diplomacy. It's actually official.

So this is happening now, which is hilarious because Dana White says there's, there's no way that he's going to do another event at the White House. He can't afford it. I'm pretty sure that they took this was a loss leader. You know, like, he was his, he's like, I'll play the clip, 26. You don't think there's a chance. The president says, that was good. Let's do it again next year.

I can't afford it. There's no way we can do this again. This was, I'll never do the sphere again and we'll never do this again. I love Dana White. Yeah, he said that, but he said $70 million, I don't know. Maybe people will get mad at me, but I feel the stuff we blow stupid money on that gets absolutely no value add whatsoever, I would say like, Congress, could we kick in $25 million to put that up on the 4th of July? Seriously.

Every year. Every year. I'd get more out of that than a lot of things. No, I totally agree. I mean, I think the way that President Trump has been having to do a lot of these kind of pet projects that he knows the Dems are going to lose their brains about is he's having to force private money or donations and things like that. And in this case, I think Dana White just kind of ponied up, right? And he was like, don't worry, Mr. President, we got this. And sure, they could, they can handle it. Do we have enough time for this?

Yeah, let's go ahead and play cut 23. Politics is a big part of this. You know, UFC's audience is 68% male and most of it's under age 54. It just so happens that men under age 54 or under age 50 are a key target demographic for Republicans in this election. Trump won men by a dozen or so against Kamala Harris, but the only one young men by about one, and they tend to vote infrequently in midterm elections. So Democrats can mock this all they want, but the UFC audience is the audience that the president needs to reach for Republicans. Well, we actually won young men, but that's fine. His facts are fake facts. If you're struggling with cravings, bloating, and stubborn weight gain, your gut health

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That's brightcore.com slash Charlie. Or you can call 888317-9258 for up to 50% off. That's 8883179258 for up to 50% off your order and free shipping. All right, without further ado, we're going to welcome in the great Rich Barris. Rich, you know, we were talking about it. And I think this was the, like, we were texting. And I was like, hey, how good is today? And you were actually legitimately on my wavelength.

And you were like, this is amazing. Peace, peace deals getting signed in the Middle East. And I said this, peace in the Middle East, but absolute violence on the White House lawn. It was, it was just a perfect night last night. Yeah, this is. And look, credit where credits do. I mean, you got the advice, but for people who don't know, you got the vice president and the president breaking their bots on birthdays and anniversaries. And, you know,

I mean, I think that should be, I know that, you know, they ran for the job and they signed up for the job. But I just want people to understand how much effort got put into this deal and how much work goes into it. And then, of course, they have this celebration going on at the same time. Andrew, look, for people who have been criticizing, and I don't get jumped too far ahead here, but for people who have been criticizing and I've been very critical of this, this is a good day. This is a win. Let's take the W. Let's move forward.

Let's focus on November and other things. He could actually have pulled off something here that everyone's been claiming they want to have pulled off. If the goal was to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, developing nuclear weapons, then that has never been so close. That goal has never been so close to being achieved as it is right now. So what are we complaining about? Yeah. And I want to get to Iran in just a second. totally agree but look at this clip here so this was from the fan fest which was at the ellipse so just

adjacent to the white house fight area but there was 80,000 people there and i want you to look at the demographics of that crowd it is all young men rich all men at least under 54 is what we're told but like all young men there's like 20s and 30s okay tens and tens of thousands of them cheering on these fights, how important is getting our mojo back with young men, Rich? This is so crucial. I mean, we spoke a little bit about this last week because, you know, shameless plug of the book here. I mean, that's what Burn It Down is all about. The book that Joshua Leisack, my co-author and I wrote, it's on pre-order now. It'll be out in September. We have to win these men. And listening to Brad Todd on CNN in the last segment, he was exactly correct.

And I understand the argument that younger men tend to not vote that much. Well, guess what, guys. Age demographics, age buckets do not stay the same with the same groups of people as time moves on. Those younger men are our coalition for the next 30 plus years. And they're going to participate more as they get older. We can't lose them. We have to add to newer ranks as they age into the electorate as well. And we have to start to change the dynamic that these people don't vote in midterms.

We have to change the midterm electorate. Otherwise, we'll be at the disadvantage that Democrats used to be in. If you go back and you look around like 2010 and 2014, when Republicans would have good midterms, the idea that we could carry a midterm by pandering to boomers is not only wrong, but it's disastrous. It's mathematically incorrect. That's number one. But it's disastrous for the future of the party. The roadmap that the party must follow if they want to remain politically viable, as especially

the silent gen, which is. almost gone, completely phases out, and then Boomer, there's Boomer 1, Boomer 2. Boomer 1 served in the war. They didn't dodge the draft because of their birthday. Boomer 2 did, and they went on to become the professional class in this country. They built the professional class in this country. Guess what? They're more democratic.

So the 65 plus will become a much, and it already has, but it will become a much more competitive age bucket. We have got to bring these people in from Gen X and down, and young men, especially under 50. and if we please them, they will vote, guys. It's that simple. So, Rich, I think with events unfolding right now in the Middle East and at home, we actually have a perfect, I want to poke at your understanding as a pollster because last night's UFC event, it was pandering to young men,

catering to young men and their interests, but also it's, it is, we'll be frank, it's a superficial event. It's not about affordability or national policy. It's a fun circus, a very fun circus. And then in the Middle East, we have significant progress on an issue where we know we've talked to young people, young people did not like the conflict with Iran and they wanted it to end. So how much impact do each of these things have? Does a really fun circus event, does that get young men excited, engaged, make them pay more attention, maybe feel more like voting if they're generally in Trump's direction? Or should we not look at it too much that way? and how does it compare to significant progress on a real material issue that they do voice opinions on,

but it's also maybe not something that they're watching on TV regularly? I think it was, and that's a great question, because I don't want to overstate it, but I think we should look at it as a great affirmation, right? It was like a one-two punch between what the coalition suffered last year between the Epstein thing and on to Iran was like a one-two punch. Well, this was a nice little one-two shot back in the right direction of something they want to see. And we shouldn't say this is the end all, be all and be done with it, but it's a great opportunity. This is something we can build on. And this is something we can use to pivot and try to

circle, you know, turn, you know, turn back in the direction that they want us to turn back on. You know, I would also add that never underestimate these circuses, right? Because even, I mean, this is not just American history. It's human history. What did Caesar do? And then Cesar's who followed him when they wanted to be popular. I'm with you, Rich. Rich, rich, this is, okay, so here's here's my basic, here's my basic understanding of the political landscape. People are pissed. It's like nothing you can do is good enough. This felt like it was important. It felt legitimately important because the vibes have been off. The vibes have been bad. Everybody's just feeling like angsty. It's like you can't, you know, put anything on social media without like half the everybody getting pissed off for, no good reason. This kind of stuff, the bread and circuses stuff, to your point, like Caesar and all this. It is important. We have to come together. We have to rally around. And, and you know, by the way,

it makes all the like naysayers and the black pillars and the Dumers look just pathetic. When you got Bet Midler up there trying to counter program, Hassan Piker. You got Miss Rachel, by the way. Don't let your kids watch Miss Rachel. She's a total radical and a kook. But the point is they look terrible. They look awful in this. And actually, the people. people that love their country. You've got Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier, you've got Justin Gachey, who won the fight, so proud to be American. That stuff leads. It leads. And guess what? Young men will follow. Because we will follow a warrior. I think you're right, Andrew. And you mentioned the Caesars did this. If you look at, we have the will of Caesar Augustus, the first

emperor of Rome. And in his will, he lists his big accomplishments. And it includes material things. I built aqueducts. I built fine temples to the gods in the city. And also one time I organized this fake naval battle on a lake outside of town, and it was awesome, and everyone loved it. So he has both of those things. And I think you're so right that, Andrew, politics is so, it's visual, it's vibes-based. A lot of it is, how do we feel that we're doing? And one of the big strengths that President Trump, that President Trump brings to politics is his kind of that harmony of the heart and the head, that harmony of does he make you feel like America's, a winner, does it feel like things are awesome?

And he cares about the policy stuff. He does get the deliver, he does deliver the goods on the border, on DEI. But he doesn't do it in this stiff way where you're hiding away and you're letting the left dominate the culture. He's going out there and saying, actually, this is the culture. Look at this awesome stuff. We're going to have you watch it because it's going to make you feel proud to be an American. And I think this is a great powerful symbol of that.

I'm going to play two clips here because I think both are illuminating. All right. And one is getting a lot of pushback. I can't believe he said this at the White House. Whatever. Young men. Think about if you're a young man on the internet and how you would interpret this. SOT 21. Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America? I mean, okay. I'm not endorsing. I'm just saying democracy is the right to say that Michelle Obama is the man. I didn't say the man If you want to But yeah Like I mean that was I found that hilarious

And here's Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier Just having way too much fun After the after the bout 52 Believe that a little kid From Lafayette Louisiana is at the White House I never in my wildest dream would have imagined

That this would be an opportunity I would have in my lifetime And to do it with my brothers It's so tremendous So I love y'all man You love you too You love your car Vives

Rich vibes. 30 seconds to be rich. This is what I wanted to say and I said it last week and I think the president delivered exactly what I was talking about. We needed a W in this country. The vibe that you were just talking about was not only not what we wanted, but it was just getting stale that it was like that every day. We needed something to feel good and we needed a W and the fact that and when I said that

I was only talking about this event specifically, not a deal. And he delivered two Ws in one day. that could make people feel good. I really do believe this is something that we can build on. I do. We paired a spectacle with a real win right when they're all paying attention. Yes, exactly. And I think that can be a huge win if this deal sticks.

So, Rich, I look at what happened yesterday, these two things. It's sort of a brain reset, especially for young men. It's like a, it's a, and I'm telling you, so much is vibes. Like, I saw more patriotism and more proud America, like, post on social media last night than I'd seen in months. It was just, it was like oozing out of everybody. Let's talk about this, though. What did the reset need to happen?

I wanted to have you on the show last week when that Maggie Habram and Jonathan Swan piece came out, which I still don't know who their sources are. I mean, their sources are apparently impeccable because it may be. Yeah. People are alleging there might be a transcript from the situation room, which or recording or something. that part aside, Rich, we go back to the Epstein. I couldn't help but think back. You know, I remember Student Action Summit with Charlie,

and we were talking about it a lot, and we felt like it was botched, right? I think even the admin would admit the rollout was botched and the comms on it was botched. And by the way, there's some people trying to say that I was saying there's no they are there in terms of anything with Epstein. Blake will attest that's not actually what I think at all.

I think there's a lot more there than maybe Blake thinks. but I meant in terms of the president. There's nothing there is mostly what I think. Yeah, that's what Blake thinks. I think there's there there and I'm pretty sure I can prove it. But anyways, the point is, Rich, I was saying no, they're there in terms of the president. I mean, J.D. in that piece was quoted as saying, hey, there's some embarrassing stuff, whatever. Like, doesn't matter. Get it out.

Like, President Trump isn't implicated in that way. So that was my point. I'll never forget that visual you said. It was like a graph. It was like Epstein approval rating drops. Tell me about that. And can we repair this with young men? I've been saying this for a while that, you know, some people, we said there was an anger before.

But in truth, I think it was more like a disappointment. And people tend to project even, especially men, project their disappointment as anger and we misinterpret it. I think there's a lot that can be repaired. Why? And let me just before even getting back to that specific issue. Because if we appreciate why so many of these young men voted for President Trump and Vice President Vance, then you'll understand it better. And they really did view that. them as their last chance. Like, they are their best hope of repairing what they see as a declining

superpower that has squandered their inheritance. You know, so the generations before them had a much better shot at the American dream that they feel that they have now, and I believe that they're right. And I think Donald Trump has a grace with voters that no other person I've ever pulled or have ever seen or studied in politics has ever been afforded. So if the president moved in the direction that they wanted him to move back into, I think overwhelming majority of them would forgive and forget and move forward because they know what the alternative is. So that's that part of it.

The other part with how the Epstein, I'm not getting into how it specifically was rolled out, but I think what people missed at that point is that and the vice president was right. When you take this in concert with what I'm saying, Trump has faced far worse. So the rolling out of just dumping it all out there, was the right call because the president would have weathered it. He would have weathered it. It's always, you know, then we say this from the Nixon years, and I don't think there's a crime

there for the president, but they always say, you know, that the cover-up is worse than the actual crime. Even if there is no crime and people are just going to make stupid allegations that you committed one based on something they may or may not really understand in an email release, that still means nothing compared to them perceiving that you're trying to cover it up. And that was always the danger there. And what happened during the, the Epstein, you know, the botched handling of it, is that first, that younger voter group started to break off. And actually, women were first. The 18 and 29 women probably dislike this the most for obvious reasons, actually. If we go back and look, it makes sense, right?

Women would be a little bit more sensitive to this. And in truth, like the millennial men and the Gen Z men hung on longer than they did. But it just was a lot. It was a lot for them to stomach. And I think it was more than just the Epstein thing. You could see it on that. that graph that you're talking about. And by the way, that graph is on big data poll guys. People want to go check it out. You could see it by event, Trump's approval rating by event. It really was the, oh, wait a minute. What's going on here with that, you know, with the Epstein thing? You're not trying to cover this up, are you? Then pivoting from that into Iran and away from the domestic served as kind of like, it was, you know.

It was a psychic break, Rich. It was a psychic break for a lot of people. It really was. And that's what I'm saying, we got to repair it. These kind of things. It is repairable. Yeah, it is. That is good. That is good. I got to throw this up, actually. I saw a Jack just sent me this. So I'm going to give POSO some credit here. Throw this up, Rich. I want to get your take on it. The fact that Mark Zuckerberg is at the White House UFC Freedom 250 and META is a sponsor are indicators that Republicans will win the midterms.

He goes where the wind blows and has access to more data than anyone from Facebook IG. His data is telling him it's good to be a Republican in 2026. I'm sure you have some notes, but it's a fascinating tweet. Your reaction, Rich Bears. I don't, I have never felt that midterm losses because you're the incumbent party is inevitable. Like we have just come to accept the reason why I've been so critical is because I vehemently reject that premise. That is a modern phenomenon. If you study American politics the way that I have and others have, you know, Cephology in general, that is a modern phenomenon, which I have argued in a thesis,

I believe is the result of the system being captured by interests the way it hadn't been. in the past. Now, we've always had interest groups, long history of that. But it's basically, every party rolls in promising something. They can't deliver on the level that they promise it. So Americans just wildly gyrate back and forth hoping to punish the people who didn't deliver, and they go between these alternatives. And it wasn't always like that. We've had one party rule in this country for 30-year periods. I mean, so that is what I anticipate. So we can be down nine right now, Andrew, and I don't care. If we do the right thing and we course correct, we can break history. History is meant to be.

It meant to be. And we just did that because we just had a big event so everyone can pay attention and they can immediately pivot that to, hey, wasn't that event cool? By the way, we're getting peace in the Middle East. And by the way, gas is getting below $80 a barrel right now. That's huge. 80 bucks, brother. It's great. Let's get it lower. Rich Beres, you're the man. And you've been right a lot, Rich Berris. God bless you, my friend. Appreciate that, brother. Appreciate that. Take care, guys. Gentlemen, let's get real for a second. Are you frustrated with today's woke dating scene, the apps, the games, the endless swiping?

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closest friends of the show have used Selective Search, and let me tell you, they're meeting great, great women, high quality women. This is your chance. This isn't an app. It's your answer. The perfect conservative woman is out there waiting for you. Visit selectivesearch.com slash California today. Let the professionals introduce you to women already looking for someone like you in Southern California. Don't wait for the perfect match. Take action now. Go to selectivesearch.com slash California and start building the future you deserve. We have a great guest, and that's a guy who's been a friend of mine for a long time. And I just want to say a couple things.

This is, he's running. His name's John Strand. He's running to become a congressman in Florida's 19th, so to replace Byron Donald's essentially, who's running for governor. And I just want to say, I like some of the other guys in this race. But John Strand has been faithful. He's been courageous. He's been loyal. and I just you know you see people's character over time and I've had a front row seat to see John's character

over a long stretch of time and I've always just been impressed with how sincere how hardworking he's been and so I'm excited to have him on the show right now and that is John Strand running for Florida's 19th welcome to the show John amazing to be with both of you guys Andrew Blake thank you it's amazing and I'm excited to be here yeah man well turning point action has endorsed John's candidacy here in Florida 19th. John, tell us, you know, I first met you during COVID. And I remember seeing how just passionate and how much work and energy you were putting in to just really grassroots stuff. So John, tell us about your journey from COVID activists and, you know, medical freedom, autonomy, and then to J6, which is a big, huge part of your story. And what happened to you?

Absolutely. We've all been through so much. in the last six, seven years of this period. And my journey's been extraordinary. There's a book on the screen behind me that's coming out in about a week that tells the full story. But before COVID and any of that, I was just pursuing the American dream

with a lot of grit and gusto as an up-and-coming actor and talent in the media space and entertainment world. I really had a heart, actually, for trying to bring Christian values into the culture wars and into the entertainment field.

But then COVID came crashing down around all of us. And really because of the Judeo-Christian values and the good family upbringing that I had, I was able to have just the internal wisdom and intuition to see immediately that these were fraudulent schemes, both the COVID tyranny and also the BLM Marxism and the summer of love. So I began speaking out against that quite early, which basically burned down my chances of having a career in Hollywood. That was the wrong team. And that led me to start and organize the Beverly Hills Freedom Rally in California at the time, which was so vibrant I never could have imagined to success, President Trump actually tweeted to celebrate that rally, bringing tens of thousands of people

into L.A. during what became the stolen election. But because of that freedom rally, I became the creative director at America's frontline doctors and goldcare.com. That's how I got to meet you, Andrew and Charlie. And a lot of folks that really started taking it seriously that we have to fight to save our country and save freedom as we see tyranny in real time happening through these COVID mechanisms and the Marxist takeover of our culture and those sorts of things. Well, and then you got obviously a big part of your story is January 6th. And you were a J-6er. Tell us what you did that day and then tell us how the weaponized DOJ came after you and really, I mean, tried to ruin your life, John. They sure did. So, John Strand.com slash J6 will take you to a video that you can see every minute

of my time in the Capitol building, which was just over 45 minutes, but we fast forward it. It only takes 13 minutes to watch. The point is, I don't hide or cut things out. You watch the whole experience and you have it narrated to understand what was happening while it was there. But essentially, as you all know, the 2020 election was rigged, fraudulent, highly and trustworthy. And there were people in the government legitimately trying to challenge that and ask for a forensic audit to prove to the American people what the truth was. And the fact that that was railroaded over was just a travesty for all of us. But Dr. Gold and myself for America's Frontline Doctors, we were scheduled to be in DC.

as part of a two-week speaking to were on the East Coast. So we were traveling all over the country. DC was just one of those dates for us. And on January 5th, we spoke without any issue. On January 6th, we tried to do our speech, and it went sideways, as we all know. But in the course of that process with J6, you know, they splintered my front door with a battering ram, 12 days after the event, with no warning. Disappeared me in jail for four days without a phone call. When I got out, I was facing a 20-year felony in four of their charges.

And then they offered me the equivalent of a get-out-of-d-d-dive-old. jail nearly free card, a single misdemeanor plea deal. So if I just played along with the Washington, D.C. program and sign their false confession, I could go home and all that be wiped away, but I refuse that because, Andrew, there is never a right time to do the wrong thing. And it was a simple test for me and a simple choice between a lie and the truth and between doing what I know is right and relying on God to take care of me or betraying my fellow Americans by taking that easy way out. I refused to do it. that took me through an incredible process of going to trial where I knew I would be fraudulently convicted. But because I didn't take that plea from prison, we were granted cert at the Supreme Court,

and I was vindicated by the United States Supreme Court at the same ruling that vindicated President Trump. I was one of only two men released six months before President Trump was back in office. And ever since then, God has really put it on my heart to do what I can in my way to take back the nation and step back to the front lines. and now we're getting into this space of running for office, which I never would have imagined doing. But God has done so many extraordinary things in our country and in my life. And there's a moment of incredible opportunity. This is not just the midterms. It is the final countdown to decide as a generation and as a nation, if we are going to engage with our government.

2026 is our generations, 1776. I really believe that. Well said, John. And what they did to you was a total travesty. I mean, you were completely nonviolent. You were, you know, I'm reminded of this Kristen Welker, President Trump interview, and you probably saw the clip where she's saying, well, there's no evidence of that. And he's like, they got escorted in.

I mean, your experience that day, right? John was like, basically you were just inside. I'm not, I'm pretty certain you wouldn't sort of justify being inside. Probably nobody should have been. But the whole craziness of that day and like it did seem like. it did seem like people were getting let in, you know, and escorted around. Is that, was that your experience that day to, to, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

No one's trying to say that on any given day, you just waltz into the Capitol without going through a metal detector and a security process, et cetera. So we're not trying to make disingenuous arguments about that. But January 6 is a very complicated event with a lot of things going on. And specifically, people talk about trespassing and that concept. Well, an inherent part of trespassing, in fact, the statute I was charged with is entering and remaining. Well, entering means that you entered where you knew you shouldn't be, and that requires clear signage and advisement of the public. So they're claiming that the whole plaza was a restricted area.

I mean, that's nonsense. That's literally the public square of our Capitol building, and people eat lunch there every day. So being there where we were scheduled to have a speech on the grounds there, not only wasn't illegal. I mean, it was insane to suggest that anyone had the expectation that they shouldn't be on the plaza. Now, how do we get to the steps into the door? The video I mentioned explains all of that. Of course, there's a lot of corrupt elements in making that happen. John, we're running out of time here.

I think you're just a tremendous man. I think you have character. I think you have grit and courage. I know you will fight and do the right thing. I know that you'll stand up for the conservative movement and the grassroots and the base voters that are going to put you there. Tell people how they can get behind your campaign. What do you need right now?

You guys, it's very simple. We are the outsider, independent, anti-establishment, anti-corruption candidate, every other person in this race has millions of dollars. So we need you to go to John Strand.com. We need you to donate anything and everything that you possibly can, and here's why. We're going to send a message to President Trump and his administration

that we need the Trump endorsement because we will win this race. We will get a patriot in Congress in Byron's seat. It's existential for this nation. Get behind us now, and we will win. That's my promise to you. John Strand.com. God bless you. God bless Charlie Kirk.

and this whole turning point family for the incredible work you're doing, I will always have your back. Well, we have your back too, John. And like I said, I like some of the other guys in this race, but you are the turning point action endorsed candidate, and we're proud of you. We know that you are going to do a great job. We have your back, brother. Amen. God bless you and keep fighting to save this amazing country. God bless the United States of America. God bless you. God bless America. Amen. All right, Blake, remember when the Japanese purged our timelines on on the Twitter. They flooded it.

It was amazing. Thanks to Elon Musk, we have the auto-translate, and we've discovered so many Japanese people. They come to America. They love America. They love country music. They love barbecue. They love how much space we have compared to Japan.

And it's great because I know you're setting this up. Thanks to the World Cup, we've always had Europeans and foreigners come to America, but they always go to New York City, L.A., maybe Miami, maybe Vegas. And like, that's it. Or they'll go to a national park that is very heavily trafficked and they'll just see that park.

So Yellowstone, Grand Canyon. And they get a very limited view of America. And if they're in a big city, they see, oh, you're in L.A. Okay, you see homeless encampments. You see garbage everywhere. You don't interact a ton with Americans. But thanks to the World Cup, we are getting Americans or we're getting Europeans and other guests who do something they rarely do.

They are road-tripping across real America. Yes, exactly. Well, and by the way, speaking of the Japanese, they were, so there was a Jap, I think Japan versus the Netherlands World Cup group stage match. And there's video of the Japanese with bags, like picking up trash. They clean up after themselves. Yeah, and I have been very loud and proud about an immigration moratorium.

I believe we need one. We've had too much over the last 40, 50 years. But I will take. Japanese. If the Japanese want to immigrate here, I will take them along with the South African farmers. Okay, that's where I'm at. They're great people. They are. Okay, so let's play some, let's play some of these videos, though, of Europeans discovering real America, Sot 29. His neighborhoods look exactly the same as every movie ever seen. The American flags, people have got race flags up. This old couple just walked past me and they go, good morning. I was like,

what the hell? Did you guys talk to each other? Like this is a high school stadium. What? Look at the amount of seats in this place. Just incredible. Absolutely incredible. There really is like no other. I honestly think unless you live in America or unless you or unless you visit here, you can't really comprehend how nice these areas are. That one, all of them, they're so. beautiful everybody's so friendly southern hospitality everything for you it's not great ah it's so great i think we just have another montage she let's do the second one let's keep do it let's do it let's do it clip 30 i can refill this a thousand times

yeah but you won't drink a thousand cups of ccogic and it's free you paid for it you paid it once bro slow down and in america it is so amazing. Seriously, Americans, what have you done to me? I need to come back. It's great. These are so good.

I have a feeling that there are better than anything we can say. Go ahead, Blake. Yeah, yeah, it's amazing. I want to set up this specific one. There's a character. You guys should all follow him. He's on X. He goes by Freddie.

His full name here is Freddie, L.A.7. He's a soccer fan, came with two of his friends. and they're planning to go to several World Cup games, and they're road-tripping across the South. And he's basically become a celebrity at this point because people are hyped up. This guy's showing up. He's going to the college football stadiums.

He's marveling at them. He's discovering our giant gas station. So actually, that's a great one for us to play. I believe this is Freddie or someone like him. Discovering Buckees, clip 32. Check this out. It's cold Buckees. And it's the big.

Ding-de-ding, and still this big. And oh, just no, just no trash. No one begging. No one doing drugs. No one's stealing. No one's breaking into my truck. Look at this. Just huge.

Just huge. Now when they say everything's big in America, they weren't lying. That's actually a South African guy. But yes, same effect. Yeah, and that's getting at what I said, though, that no one's breaking your truck. Yeah. So we'd have to worry about that in South Africa. but you did also have to worry about that if he was just visiting L.A., which so many people do.

Oh, go to L.A., go to the Walk of Fame. Yeah, you're going to see garbage. You're going to see homeless people. It's not going to be America's best look. But you go to a Buckees, which we have these outside a dozen cities in the south, and you go there, it's gigantic. There's a huge amount of bounty. It's affordable.

The bathrooms are immaculately clean. The workers are cheerful. They're well paid. and that is when I went to a Buckees for the first time that made me feel great about America I thought we can beat China we can beat anyone

this is the greatest country Buckees made you white pill I love it It white pills you and yeah Well here's some Some visitors enjoying country music On the radio 31

I've been driving five minutes now And I can't wipe this mile on my face I'm driving a ramp truck in America Like look how sick this is Country music on the radio. Oh, go on the... I'm going to Hsu-A! That was definitely not country music,

but I think that might have been a dub over. That was a track over the top. But he's driving a truck, going to... I think he said he's going to Hooters, which is, you know, not necessarily America's best look either, but it's uniquely American, I will say. That Freddie guy, he found a... He found a Bass Pro Shop, and he was marveling at that,

and he's like, They have a shooting range inside this store. They're selling everything. And we're very happy because the truth is Americans, we don't hate Europe. We find Europe disappointing. And we love America and we love showing it to other people. Yeah. I think so this is all like part of our segment with Rich Barris before Blake.

It is a, this is all like a psychic repair of a psychic break. Like the vibes are good. You've got sports. The Knicks are winning, which people love. You've got World Cup. Things are looking good. Good conversation is about respect. It's how we create a space where people are able to share their ideas and be heard. Charlie knew that. Turning Point still knows that. And TikTok has always strived to build the kind of place that thrives on respectful connection where curiosity fuels connection and we can share what's on our minds and learn from each other. When ideas meet respect, good things happen. On TikTok, you can find a mechanic, explain. explaining the why behind a problem. Most of us wouldn't even know how to name or a father sharing a lifetime of knowledge with his viewers. Viewers who listen, discuss, and then they respond. TikTok turns connection into community through small acts of understanding. You can feel it in the comments and the thank you from a stranger halfway across the world. TikTok is a place where respect opens the door for discussion and discussion helps us build something real. Mark Halperin, two-way TV, and so much. more. Gosh, Mark, you're a busy guy. Mark, so we normally get very serious with you here. But we just have to, I have to keep going on this segment because I love it so much.

These Europeans are visiting America and they're like discovering that they've been lied to by the European media and the Internet. It's actually an amazing place. There's a bunch of Scotland fan singing, take me home, Country Roads, 58. I love you get to hear their accent and Country Roads. You were about to say something. I was going to say I was under the impression this segment was entirely about the Nix. It's really all I'm interested in talking about.

But I'll make an exception. Can I tell you my favorite American cultural imperialism story? Oh, yes. 100%. I mean, you know, our cultural imperialism is just crazy, right? Hollywood movies and rock music and just social media, right, everything. So the first time I went to Canada, I was in the gym and I was watching the equivalent of like the evening,

national evening newscast. And that day, Regis and, and Kathy Lee had announced that they were going to do a week of their shows in Canada. And it was the lead story on the evening news. And I thought, imagine if the Canadian equivalent of Regis and Kathy and Kelly were doing a week of shows from like Hilton Head. Imagine the probably wouldn't even be covered in Hilton Head, let alone the lead story on the National News. People love us. They love our culture. They love, I know this went too far when I read in one of the many stories you're referring to. someone said, oh my God, I thought their fast food was so horrible, but I came here and ate a Burger King hamburger.

Oh, my goodness, it's so much better. Now, I like Burger King just fine, but it's gone too far when they're lauding the quality of our fast food burgers as some sign of the superiority of American culture. Well, I will tell you, though, there was a, there's a, there's, all this is going viral, by the way, all over. It's a beautiful timeline purge. And there was a gal, I think she must have been English. She was eating in and out for the first time. she was literally, you know, almost hyperventilating that it was so good in the animal-style fries. So that, I will. Oh, oh, in and out. In and out, I get. This is Burger King, I objected.

In and out, of course. America is at its finest. Exactly. So this is, we were talking about Freddie, who's actually, I think, German, Blake. He's, he, this is what's so funny about this. These are the videos that are going viral. It's simply him driving down, like, some two-lane highway. and it's beautiful, but he's listening to Ella Langley.

He discovers Ella Langley, and this goes viral. Cut 57. Apparently, that's worth, you know, that's worth it. He goes, the best discovery of our road trip has been a musician called Ella Langley. We had never heard of her before, but after hearing her on pretty much every country radio station, we've become big fans. She's basically the soundtrack of our country. This is what I'm saying. America is great.

This is a great place. And I see it through their eyes, and it makes me appreciate it in a new way. Again, Mark. Yeah. I mean, the, the, the, part of it is just the image, right? They just love America. You could go to any country in Africa or Asia and sell T-shirts that say USA. People will buy them or pictures of Patrick Ewing.

They'll buy anything associated with America. But it's not just the brand. It's the quality, right? It's like Apple products. The people pay a premium for the brand, but Apple products are great, except for the iPods. But everything else, fantastic. Our stuff's great. nobody can match our country music there's nothing in the world as good as our country music.

I totally disagree with that. Just stuff we take for granted. Stuff we take for granted. I saw they're marveling at those wacky Coke mixing machines where you can get a thousand different flavors. And I asked someone, my friends are afforded, do you guys not have these? And I say, I have never seen one of those in my entire life. And we think about sometimes we'll go abroad to another country and say, oh, Japan's amazing. there, you know, the train's always on time.

Europe's amazing. They have more varieties of beer and it's cheaper or something. But in America, we just don't even think of that. Oh, we have the most amazing soda machine ever and you can get infinite refills. No one else has that. I'll tell you two other things we have, or three other things we have that really most places don't have. One is, it's just a big place, not just the countries big. The roads are really wide, right?

There's a lot of parks, a lot of big stuff, number one. Number two, people here are really friendly, and I know, you know, There's kind of sometimes an image that they're not like in New York. People in New York are so friendly. It's just a, it's a friendly place. It's not like France or Belgium where people are a little bit unfriendly. And then lastly, although, although there's this impression that were jingoistic and isolationist, and those are well earned and somewhat accurate, we're interested in other people.

Like we like having them here. Their countries like Japan and France, where they don't really care about the tourists. They don't want them there. We want the tourists here. We're like, yeah, enjoy America. Welcome. welcome in everybody because yeah you should enjoy this greatest country in the world and if he came here for some game you call football that's really soccer that's fine we're just happy to happy to host you

here you didn't realize i was like the totoffel and alister cook did you yeah well this is amazing analysis we know you're a great guy go ahead yeah throw your video up oh no i was just it's the freddie thing i want it's you you you introduced me to freddie so i'm trying to give you your due here blake uh he goes he goes he goes we found another surreal place on our way i know some people will say, I'm too positive about everything I see, but this place was crazy. They had a shooting range in the store. That was a shout out to your earlier reference.

And you go into Outdoor World, the Bass Brow Shop, and you're like, this is actually legitimately Americana. We have stores big enough to have their own climate systems. Exactly. But, Mark, your analyst,

you've been watching this a long time. So we were asking an earlier guest, Rich Barris, about this, but you might have thoughts as well. Is there an impact to this vibe shift feeling. Like, do you think it actually matters that we're having this big love fest on America, thanks to the World Cup?

It seems like the UFC fight was also pretty successful. People feel high on America. Do you think that has an impact on the national vibe? I don't think it's a negative thing, but this is just an in real life manifestation

of what happens every day all over the world. You know, there's obviously a lot of coverage in the media know, first about Canadians and Europeans didn't like George W. Bush, and now they're like, well, they really don't like Trump. But through it all, they love America. And I think, I, look, I'm from the Barack Obama school that a lot of your audience will not like. I don't, I don't think it's helpful for us or right for us to go around saying, we're the greatest country in the history of the world. I think this is off-putting. But we are, Mark. Well, we are. But I think it's off-putting

to say, we are. In so many ways, we are. Just go on our freedom and our liberty. We are the greatest country in the history of the world. But this cultural imperialism where it's like Madonna is, you know, just, you know, we have literally a million like rock artists who, not literally, not literally, not literally, figuratively, so many who are like so big overseas. Like, you know, you guys can name one cake pop band, right? You just, we are culturally imperialists. And I think that there's something off about that. Like Japanese culture should be a lot bigger in the United States. Their food is better than ours. Their architecture. They're clothes. it's all better than ours, honestly.

But American cultural imperialism is one of the strongest forces in the world. And it's been reinforced by social media. So the two things you cite, World Cup and the fight last night, like these are manifestations of what has existed for decades, which is people around the world, they just love American culture. Yeah, but our high culture and especially our low culture. Yeah, especially our low culture, I would say. And at low, I take issue with that word, actually.

It's the real people. It's the grassroots. It's the, it's the, it's the, it's a merican. Not low in a bad way. Yeah, exactly. Just available to all. Yeah, exactly. So, but, but I think what Blake is getting at is, you know, you go on social media for the last, however many months. And it's, there's just a tinge of negativity of cynicism. Not even a tinge. It's kind of like right in your face. It just feels like last night on, on X, for example, it was just loud and proud patriotism. For the first time of that I've seen in a while. And, you know, there was a lot of an analyst looking at the crowd at the ellipse. It was all young men. And UFC is a powerful vehicle for this.

Can this psychic break that started with Epstein, that started with Midnight Hammer, that started again, the latest Iran strikes, now that we're looking at peace, now that we've got this like 250 celebration World Cup, it just feels like the vibes are shifting in a good way. And that could impact. Sorry, no. Fine. Oh, sorry. Prove it. Sorry. What time will tell, as they say in the news business.

I just don't think so. I mean, I hope you're right, but I don't think so. We'll win you over. I disagree completely. U.S.A. U.S. Exactly. You know what?

Just for that, Mark, just for that, I'm going to pull up that clip of you on, you on Colbert in 2016. This was a great. The whole thing with you on the Colbert show was amazing, actually. People should go back and watch it. But this particular clip was so good. I laughed so hard when I found it because Colbert's losing it. Because Trump is surprising. Everybody's defying the odds that New York Times had their dial.

Remember it was like 99% for Hillary and then over the night. Colbert's losing it. You're on with, I forget the other gentleman's name, but from the circus, the showtime, the circus, whatever. And you're trying to make sense of this. He's asking for some hope, some good tidings. something to hold his, you know, hang on to, hang his hat on, and you just dashed his hopes. It was an amazing moment. Cut 60.

Is there a comparable moment in American political history that you can pull out? Outside of the Civil War, World War II, and including 9-11, this may be the most cataclysmic event the country's ever seen. Well. You guys, cataclysmic was an instrument. word choice. I do agree, though. Tectonic shift. A shift happened that night. Just to be clear, sometimes people in MAGA say, oh, how dare you say it would be horrible. That's not what cataclysmic means. It means a fundamental change. And I stand by it. I stand by. I think it really affected the country more than 9-11. It's tragic it that was. I had a, can I lapse into story

mode? Yeah. I had a unique night on election night because I started at the Clinton headquarters. And because of the way media assignments work, or not headquarters, but victory party at the Javid Center, because the way media assignments work and because of the extraordinary security for a presidential candidate, I don't know that anybody else was both in all these places, in the Clinton victory party, the Clinton hotel, which she never left because she never went to her victory party, the Trump victory event, and also I was on Kobe. So I was going all around Manhattan, whereas most people, you know, were in one location because of security and assignments. And so I went from Kobe to the Clinton Hotel and then to the Trump victory party.

And because I knew Secret Service and I knew Trump folks, they got me in, even though the building was locked down at that point. And it was just an incredible night to go from the Clinton place where they thought they were going to win until they realized they weren't. And then the extreme emotion, positive emotion at the Trump thing was, it was an incredible night. I wish I'd taken better notes. I have a lot of notes. But I should have, I should have just had a GoPro on for the whole night. Yeah, you were witness to history. You really were.

And I mean, I'll never forget that night. I was in Los Angeles at the time. And I was, I think my particular precinct, I looked it up afterwards. It was something like 16% of people that I lived around voted for Trump that night. That many? Yeah. I was in the real red area of L.A. Higher than mine.

I think mine was 9%. Oh, you were in D.C. at the time, right? Well, I was in D.C. living, voting, but I was actually also in New York for election night. I was at, still, it was still Facebook at the time. Their New York campus, they were having streams and stuff on it. So I was there with the Daily Caller. And then we went to the Hillary Victory Party as people were leaving it. And I, to this day, I have some interviews on my phone with some of those people.

They were having a bad night. And it was, I'll never forget it. They were like, they were like Kobe. Yeah, exactly. You guys were like, he'd brought out the old fashions. I mean, he was really, he was really up against it that night. Mark, I want to turn our attention in the last four minutes we have here to the Iran deal. I can't tell you, speaking, I can't tell you enough, speaking to students at Turning Point, how much they want this war to be done with.

And yeah, this is why I sort of fundamentally disagree with your earlier take. I think the vibes are basically how the country is getting run now. It's basically like how elections go is like vibes. And if the vibes are good, if gas is cheap, if there's progress being made, if we're not focusing abroad, that could really have fundamental electoral consequence. Tell us about the Iran deal, though, and what you think is really going on here. And how significant do you think this ultimately could be? I'm not against vibes as part of election analysis at all.

I think Fives is a super important thing. It's too soon to say whether this is going to be good all the way through November or sooner as voters start to think about it they're going to vote for. It almost certainly will bring down the price of gas. I've got a working theory here and nothing I've seen today. I woke up with the theory and nothing I've seen today has moved me off of it. I think what Trump realized is the economic pressure was not going to work before the midterms. They had miscalculated whether Iran would give in,

because they couldn't sell oil robustly and because they were having overcapacity and they could they risk ruining their oil infrastructure. I think they realized they were about 10 months off in their prediction about that. And so that meant there's no economic pressure that will break their back before the midterms. He had to bring down gas prices before then. So get them to agree to open the straight, drop the blockade, drop Iran's threats against ships, lower gas prices, and then negotiate past the midterms, even though they claim 60 days between a lit, and Israel fighting with Hezbollah between Iranian recalcitrance and the difficulty of negotiating something like this, I think the negotiations will go past the midterms. That means gas prices will stay low.

There won't be any more kinetic activity of any significance beyond Israel and Hezbollah. And then he can figure it out after the midterms when the pressure is somewhat off to make sure that the war doesn't start back up. And maybe at that point he does start the war back up or maybe at that point he strikes a deal with Iran that he wouldn't risk striking now for fear of demoralizing the neocons. So I was on this call this morning. It was a sort of on background call with senior American officials that were involved in the negotiation. Were you on that same call, Mark? I was on a different call with, I believe, the same officials. All right.

So, well, this was officials. Anyways, they said, interestingly enough, the nuclear aspect of the deal has been the easiest, one of the easier parts, rather, of the negotiations because they basically realized that U.S. intelligence is so adept that they can't start the nuclear program again and without us knowing. And secondly, they need our help to get the dust out anyways, right? So technically the expertise, the resources to do that. So the point is, I think actually the most interesting part of this deal you referenced it is Israel Hezbollah. You see Mark Levin is very skeptical of this deal and some other of the hardliners. Tell it, one minute left, break down that aspect of it for us.

Well, you're not going to get Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel or Israel. Israel from responding. That's just not going to happen. So any, if the deal is predicated on a sustained ceasefire between those entities, forget it. And of course, Israel would be delighted to scuttle the U.S. Iran deal by having conflict with Iran, Hezbollah, for them, that's a two-for. So I think, I think it's the United States, the reason you see the president criticizing Netanyahu is to say to the Iranians, I can't control the guy. He's not my guy anymore. He's doing what he wants to do. So I think the question's going to be in Iran's court. When the United States says we can't stop him. And they say, you guys got to stop Hezbollah. Iran's going to say,

I'm going to amina. I think it's either going to be everything or nothing. Either Iran's going to accept the fact that they'll continue to be conflict between Israel and Hezbollah or they'll scuttle the deal over it. And that's going to be up to Tehran for the most part. I think that's good analysis. Mark Halper, editor-in-chief of two-way TV. And next up with Megan Kelly, check out both of those. Mark, I appreciate you so much. Thanks for the time. Any of these stories and news you can trust. Go to charliekirk.com.