The Dan Bongino Show - Sunday Special with Vince Coglianese, Tim Burchett, Byron Donalds, and Vivek Ramaswamy

Episode Date: March 9, 2025

First we talked with Vince Coglianese of the Vince Show on taking over for Dan. Next we talked to Tim Burchett for the latest news in congress. Then we talked with Byron Donalds and Vivek Ramaswamy on their respective runs for governor in Florida and Ohio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get ready to hear the truth about America on a show that's not immune to the facts with your host Dan Bongino. Welcome to Sunday podcast. This is our chance to play for you some of the best moments from the radio show and some great interviews during the week that you may have missed. If you ever want to check out our show, go to bongino.com, go to station finder and see what radio station we're on near you. You'll love it.

I promise you. We put a lot of work into the radio show. Check it out. But before that, let me tell you about our first sponsor. I recently gave my father MD hearing aids and I saw him recently. He was hearing so much better. Millions of adults over 65 start to lose their hearing each year. My father was one of them.

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charging case of $100 value just for listeners of the Dan Bongino Show. That's shopmdhearing.com, use our promo code PATRIOT and get a pair of hearing aids for just $297. Welcome to the Dan Bongino show weekend show. First up today we talk with a special guy. Very special guy. Extremely special guy. He's going to be taking over my podcast at a new time 10 a.m. Eastern time on our Rumble channel. You're going to love it. He's also going to be taking over my radio show. You want to get a little taste of what he's all about? Here is the great Vince Colen. I Am really elated really happy to um

To one I've accepted the position. I accepted I'll obviously be leaving next week March 14th be in my last show Friday not next Friday So we can a couple days from today team being my last show Friday, not next Friday, so a week and a couple of days from today. But when it came to, you know, Jim and me and Mike and Teresa and Westwood one and my wife Paula was, you know, my most trusted advisor, obviously, thinking of who could, you know, fill our shoes with this incredible audience and who could we make accessible to them that not only you know wouldn't disappoint but would take this this this this football we have and run it into the end zone there was really only one guy I could think

of there's a reason we asked him the guest host a lot because he's great and the feedback was just amazing he will be taking over my podcast. We'll be moving to a new time at 10 AM, 10 AM Eastern time. And he will be also taking over my radio show, which you're listening to right now in just a couple of weeks. His name is, and he's here with us now, Vince colonnades, Vince, welcome to the show soon to be your show. Dan, I am so pumped to be here and I can't, I mean, I've told you so many times personally already,

but I'll just tell you in front of everybody else, I am so grateful to you for all the opportunities to get a bunch of at bats on your show and to speak to this great audience. And just the idea that I could even begin to do something like this on the podcast and on the radio show and now seeing it come to fruition. It is a blessing from heaven above.

And I am, I can't be grateful enough to you for the, uh, for the great thing that we're about to start here together. Thank you. But I'm going to share with my audience, what I shared with you in the text this morning. You know, I, I surround myself with, with good people. And when you surround yourself with good people, Vince, good things happen to you too. I mean, I'm not anybody's life coach.

I'm not trying to be Tony Robbins here. I really mean that. I appreciate your gratitude. I do, but you're a good person. You have an amazing show on WMAL. Now, you don't need me to tell people. People listening to WMAL already know you. And I really couldn't think of anyone better.

You have access to all of these people in that DC market. The interviews are gonna be amazing You know, you're gonna be fantastic But let's get to what happened last night because I know you're gonna be covering this on your show today, too And let's give the audience a just a taste of what they can expect as you take over my podcast and just a couple of weeks at 10 a.m Vince last night was a disaster for the Democrats. I'm trying to be objective here. I understand that it's tough, but you know,

one of the worst things you can do in politics is create a contrast situation where the pictures and the soundbites are so genuinely awful. The State of the Union is a moment where the president looks most powerful. He's got the microphone, he's got the stage. To have Al Green, Vince waving a stick.

I mean, actually waving a stick at him with no microphone, screaming where no one can even hear him, which is interrupting a primetime speech where people just want to get to bed at some point. I mean, what a disaster. It was amazing in every possible sense. I was so overjoyed by everything I saw last night. Sad for the state of the Democrat party, but happy that basically no one wants to deal

with their nonsense anymore. So like there they are sitting in the crowd sort of making these limp, wristed gestures, like absolutely, you ever like see somebody who doesn't have a fight just like swinging their arms and not knowing what to do? Yes, many times. They're like the little kid who's being held back by the adult man going,

okay, settle down son. And the kid's swinging his arms like crazy and he's in a big tantrum. That's what the Democrats look like right now. They look ridiculous. As you point out, because you understand media too really well, President Trump, first of all, has a skill for this and he had all the tactical advantages. He had the microphone, he had the camera, he had an enthusiastic crowd of Republicans there backing him up. He had great, decent American citizens with really heartwarming stories and tragic stories in some cases that the viewer instantly connected with. And Democrats were either sitting on their hands or protesting and, of course, looking

absolutely ridiculous and callous in the process and I will say one last thing on this which is yesterday was Fat Tuesday as you know and I thought that yesterday was an all-you-can-eat buffet of absolutely wonderful moments for the American people. I've never engorged myself as much as I did last night on that speech. I didn't even realize two hours had passed. People are saying this is the longest speech ever. Right. I feel it over. It felt like it just started.

It was that good from top to bottom. Yeah, it was. It was. And I've been pretty, I think, objective when it comes to this. And, you know, you know, President Trump and his team, this this nonsense that they expect, you know, fealty and loyalty to everything they do. You know, they expect friendship and honesty. But you know, there are some speeches that kind of fell flat. And that was not one of them. I mean, last night was a good one. But what you just said reminded me of I had a friend when I was back in I was when I was a police officer. And he would always tell me, you know, in the dating scene,

you know, you have to be careful and strategic. Like you want to be in a situation where there's kind of an air around you and not around the other person or you know, you're going to get rejected. In other words, kind of read the room. The state of the union or joint address last night, to be precise, it's one of those moments where you have to realize what you just said, that you are at a significant snapshots, photos and messaging disadvantage. You just are.

I mean, nobody even wants to do the rebuttal anymore because it looks like the subordinate speech. And the fact that the Democrats who are usually smarter at this, Vince, you know, they're pretty good at messaging, hope he change stuff, terrible at ideas, but good at messaging, that they didn't get this says they really still haven't gotten their sea legs after that route on election night. No, and they also don't know who they are. There's no defining quality for their party

other than that they hate Trump. So everything Trump says, you know, I'm certain you've played this clip, but Scott Jennings made the point, excellent point recently on CNN, that it's all 80-20 stuff, and that basically Trump had this political superpower of always taking the eighty and then we take the eighty democrats feel compelled

to take the twenty and hysterically screech the twenty percent position in public so that's how they end up with constantly defending this idea that it's okay to mutilate children and that you can change their sex and that they're born in the wrong body and that they can play in girls sports if they're actually boys to change the normal people. The 80 is like really clear on this one.

And the Democrats will take the opposite position because Trump takes the majority position. And so as long as your party is defined by always taking the most unpopular position, you're going to continue to live in the wilderness, which is where they are now. They're in political Siberia and they don't know how to escape. Well, I'd love to get your take on this because you're on in the Delmarva market, you know, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, D.C. on the great WMAL station we're on right now. Vince has his own show. He'll be taking over my show. He is also going to be taking over my podcast. Give him a follow, by the way. Go to X right now. It is Vince, colon ace,

well, Coglianese if you need to spell it out phonetically, C-O-G-L-I-A-N-E-S-E. Give him a follow. I think we added like 10,000 followers for him yesterday. Make sure you follow him. He'll be taking over this show. But in that area- Way more than that by the way.

Don't undersell your influence here. You use way more than 10,000. Vince, I think you're starting to figure out the Bongino Army don't mess around. When they all get together, they have their own groups, right Jim? They have their own groups on the outside. You have a little McGroin crew, the original P1s,

you have the radio people, they all have their own crews and they get together and when they do something, they do it and they get it done. You're gonna find that out. These are the most loyal audience out there. You know, you have other radio audiences as loyal, but definitely no more because it's not possible. But you're in a Maryland market as well, where gerrymandering is a real problem.

I know I ran for Congress out there. And I think that's what's contributed to the Democrats problem you just discussed. It's that there are so few swingy competitive districts anymore because of the way liberal states have been carved up like New York, that there's really no money or volunteers or reason per se for you to be a moderate anymore because you're carved into such left leaning districts that the only way you're going to win is by saying, let's castrate kids and defund the police. That's the problem.

Yeah, it's a huge problem. And by the way, it's also a problem on the right to an extent too, because sometimes you see these incumbent Republican lawmakers who keep coming back and then you wonder why are they the swishiest Republicans when their states are the reddest? And the answer is similar basically to what you just described, which is that they don't really care that much fundamentally about moderating their politics and, or, and, or making their politics fit in such a way that actually helped the people.

Uh, and so, yeah, it's, it's a big problem for sure. Uh, and these Democrats, it's just, it is amazing to watch. They just had a big meeting out in, uh, Loudoun County, Virginia. They, it was reported over the past weekend, uh they were trying to figure out, what do we do? What do we do? And they started talking about, well, maybe we should start going to gun shows and churches, indicating of course,

that they haven't been going to gun shows and churches. And also, they said stuff like, maybe we should stop relying so much on small dollar donors, which of course means, okay, so you're only gonna rely on wealthy people. But what they really mean by that is the point you just made, which is as a political force, the only way they've figured out that they can try and generate revenue right now is to preach to the most hysterical choir they can find that is willing to open their checkbooks for demented

things because that's how radical they are. So they're sending out emails about how much they like doing awful things to human beings, to children, because they know they have a very active base that's, it may be very small, but very active, that's willing to crack open as well to donate for something so ridiculous. And so it's become just like a cartoonish political party and they deserve the wilderness. I mean I hope the party disappears entirely. I do think we need a real balanced political system with an actual exchange of ideas, but the Democrats are a dangerous and fortunately shrinking political party that,

that really should probably be retired entirely. Think about how many things have they removed names from Dan? How is it that the Democrat party of all things, never got the X? Right. That's a good, I mean, they keep changing it from progressive back to liberal to all this other stuff because it's so unpopular. I mean, we don't run away from the label conservative Vince. Let me ask you about the show.

Vince colonnades, give him a follow on social media. He's at Vince V I N C colon a COG L I A NC-O-G, L-I-A-N-E-S-E, Bonjino Crew, do your thing. Let's blow Vince up next in the coming weeks as he takes over the radio show and the podcast. Vince, you've got a spectacular Rolodex of people. I think you have a real geographic advantage being in some of the capitals there. That's just where lawmakers and people are. You've interviewed a lot of them on WMAL. So what's your plan for the interviews on the show?

You're gonna do a blend of newsmakers, culture stories? I don't know, you're gonna, like we throw in some country music here once in a while. We just did a Morgan Wallace sampler. Like how do you plan on taking the podcast for the Bongino Army and running with it? Well, I can tell you, I have a couple of very big rabbits in the hat that I'm ready to start pulling out soon.

I'm not going to make any announcement right now. I'll hear that. Jim rabbits in the hat. Very dumb. Go ahead, brother. I'm liking this. It's going to, it's going to be very big. We're going to, we're, we're, uh, anticipating, we're planning for a very

big launch week, uh, as, uh, as we take the helm here from you dan and um And you're right look i've been in i've been in in conservative politics in washington and conservative media fundamentally For um a couple decades now and in that process i've been the editor in chief of the daily caller and I've worked at foreign alongside tucker carlson. I've gotten to know so many of these, especially these Republicans. I've interviewed President Trump literally countless times now. I've been in the Oval Office many times for extended interviews with him. It's been great and so you know as we start in in this role to do the podcast and to do the radio show, I don't want any of that to end. I want all of that to keep rolling because it's it's been productive here. I've done this radio show in the

afternoon on WMAL for just over four years now. Prior to that, I was doing the morning show on WMAL and we always, although we're a local one station in a local market, it is the nation's capital and we've always booked all of our shows, all of my shows, like their national news shows because fundamentally they are. And so that's not going to stop. It's actually just going to kick into overdrive. And for any WMAO listener who might be tuning in right now, if you think my show has been good so far, wait until you see what we achieve from 12 to three.

It is going to blow your mind. I'm stoked about it. Vince, I wish I hadn't seen Vince is a radio guy. So he's looking at the clock going, Stan, he Dan's playing with fire right now. You know what the hard out Vince is? You're going to figure this out in a couple. It's it's about Jim, what about 21? And you're, you're giving me the ax. And sometimes I mess with Jim Vince. So you need to do this. And I've had a couple more requests. Producer Jim obviously loves his job.

And once in a while the audience wants you to kind of throw a curve ball at Jim and just like throw some sarcastic quip his way. And I have one request for events, although I will not be involved in the business. My wife, Paula, who's run it, just one last request for I let you go because I'm trying to take it to the end just to mess with Jim here because I only got a couple of left to get this right by show by show timing. You have got to make sure please I need your solemn word that you will not allow producer Jim to watch any Auburn Tigers basketball games. It's an inside joke brother but he if they don't win this national championship

this year I'm blaming you and Jim for letting him watch again just give me a word you will do everything in your power to stop him from viewing these games if I even hear words that sound like Ward Eagle I'm going after Jim. It's not happening. Look at him. Jim I got on the air that record that that is with the last final moments I wanted this year you're playing out of the last show too. Vince Colenase, congratulations brother. You don't owe me any thank you. You're fantastic. I surround myself with the best people and you're it brother. I'm handing you off the football.

So we'll talk before next week. Thanks for coming on buddy. Thanks Dan. Thank you for once again, we're going back to service for your country. You're a great man. Thank you sir. Appreciate it. Vince Colenase. Once again, we're going back to service for your country. You're a great man. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Vince Colenay. Let's get to our next sponsor. Life changing is the phrase producer Jim on my radio show

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Congressman Tim Burch it from Tennessee welcome to the show good to have you. Good to have you Dan it sounds like you, Dan. It sounds like you're going to go into a two-hour work week now that you're working for the government. Yeah, yeah, I hope not, right? It's going to be... Everyone seems to be complaining, by the way, about, especially the anti-Trump left, about accountability, Congressman, as if you know the private sector as well as anyone, as if this doesn't happen every single day

in the private sector where a manager, a supervisor, or someone comes up to you and says, hey listen, you know, this month we're gonna do a quarterly review, tell us how you contributed to the value added to the company. Like, this isn't new, you know, this isn't some new phenomenon. Yeah, I know, we do that in my office as well.

It's amazing to me though that, you know, the complaints I've gotten from federal employees that are now about to show up for work, some of them had moved out of the area and it's just not fair, Dan. It's just not fair. And moved out of the area. Congressman, I wanted to, that's insane.

I wanna talk to you about this just disastrous meeting on Friday between President Zelensky and President Trump. And I mean disastrous for him. President Trump went into the meeting with it was supposed to be relatively ceremonial. We were going to assign this rare earths mineral steel, which was a cliche, but win-win. It was a win-win for everyone. And it just blew up. And I want to focus on this one thing for just for this question.

He made a comment, President Zelensky, about you all have a nice ocean, quote, nice ocean between you to the United States of America, Congressman. And I had a listener during the break who said, hey, Dan, one of the battles my dad fought in World War two was the Battle of the Bulge, too, like my grandfather. He had nightmares, too. He not only crossed the quote night, nice ocean, but also crossed. He had nightmares too. He not only crossed the quote, nice ocean, but also crossed the nice channel too. I mean what an

insulting statement to this amazing country of heroes and Patriots who've crossed that ocean many times. Many times. My mom's brothers buried over in Europe. He died of just a few days after D-Day. Not a day went by. She didn't talk about her brother Roy Every dad gum time they played the national anthem. My mama would tear up to the day She died my dad fought in the Pacific, you know, he didn't have any scars externally But you never ever woke my dad up by other than his big toe cause he might thought he was on Tolalu or Okinawa or one of those other islands that he was on and you know, and he'd pin your ass up against the wall just to come into somebody's own home and do that.

I was talking to somebody at the airport and I said, you know, it's kind of like my parents used to give a lot of money to legitimate Christian organizations like Billy Graham and others. It'd been like Billy Graham coming into our living room after my parents had written one of their hard earned checks to his ministry and him start making demands of us, you know, it's just, it's beyond belief, the arrogance of this guy. And it is exactly what America voted for in Donald Trump and JD Vance. I couldn't have been more proud of them. I thought they actually had pretty, he's pretty good restraint from what I've been around Trump. I thought he might have just grabbed him up by the shirt collar and just thrown his

ass out right then out on Pennsylvania Avenue. And I mean, it was just unbelievable. We've given 250 billion with a B. The people in North Carolina until Donald Trump came in office, you know this, in Western North Carolina and Upper East Tennessee after Hurricane Helene came in. They were still living in tents and didn't have electricity or water. And the Army Corps of Engineers was nowhere to be seen. Trump got there, they started cleaning it up immediately.

And you know, but here we go, we sent 250 billion over to them and these folks don't get anything. And this is America. Let's start taking care of our own deal. It's not our war. We need to... And he's trying to... And the crazy thing is now you're seeing all these musicians tattling up with him and the Hollywood crowd. Trump wants peace. That used to be the liberal mantra. Right. I can't. Yeah, I it's just Congress. Well, it's I hate to I'm sorry, forgive the interruption, but that you are so correct. I mean, you know, we're roughly in the same cohort, you

know, within a within a few years. And I remember growing up, you know, all we are saying is give peace a chance. I go, this is what he's doing. I don't understand. Like Donald Trump conceded nothing. The deal, Congressman, was an absolute win-win. I hate that term, but in this case, it absolutely applies. We were going to get economic materials we needed in rare earth minerals in a Ukrainian territory under attack, which the Russians would understandably, probably hesitate to attack if the U S has an economic interest in you and I both know them. I'm not saying you, they wouldn't, but they definitely think twice, especially

with Donald Trump in office, the Ukrainians get maybe not a de jure hard security guarantee, but at least an implied one. If you, you know, you heard what I just said, you know what I'm talking about. This was an absolute win-win. It's not like Donald Trump went into this meeting and said, Hey man, what the hell are you doing here in those battle fatigues? Don't you? He went into, he could not have been more statesman like and Zelensky came in and throws

a, just a match on this thing and burns the thing and still won't apologize which I really can't believe you're in politics you're a congressman from Tennessee you know better than anyone politics is an art form your job is to read the room congressman or else you don't get elected that's your job and Zelinsky failed at his first task. And Trump did exceptionally well. You know, Trump negotiates with teamsters. I mean, this guy negotiates with the toughest of the toughest deals.

And he went in there with America's backing and he represented us well. I just couldn't tell you how proud I was as I was watching this thing unfold and how surprised I was as I was watching this thing unfold and how surprised I was at Zelensky. I'd like to know who advised Zelensky to go in there with guns blazing because I, man, you're right.

You talk about reading the room, he did not read the room. And America got just what we asked for. We got somebody that represents us, that's not going to be rolled over and is not going to be spending our great grandchildren's money. Because remember, every dollar of that $250 billion that we're sent over there is borrowed. That is not money. We're just creating it. And the government doesn't create anything. All it does is take from us to do. And we've already surpassed everything we have. And we're going into our great grandchildren savings right now. And it's got to stop.

We're talking to Congressman Tim Burchett from Tennessee. Congressman, what Zelinsky again, I failed to understand or just ignored, which makes it which would be even more unforgivable, is this is a constitutional republic. It's not a direct democracy We don't vote on every single issue We vote for people like yourself in Congress and then you vote on the issue but you have to go back to your constituents in Tennessee and Explain yourself and you know doing town halls and you probably hear from emails and people call in your office every day

This effort in Ukraine is not universally popular. The working taxpayers, heroes and patriots of this great country, have different opinions. And for Zelensky to go into the Oval Office with Donald Trump and to fake not understanding that, that Donald Trump has to move the public in this constitutional republic in the direction of this deal, and to just aggravate the American public further move the public in this constitutional Republic in the direction of this deal.

And to just aggravate the American public further, as if this is some kind of monarchy or oligarchy, again, misreading it, just a catastrophic mistake he made. And let's be honest about what we're paying for too. It's not just missiles and rockets and things for the war pimps to, to, to increase their portfolios. We're paying the retirement funds, we're paying mortgages, we're paying rent over there. And that's sort of the whispered thing that people aren't paying attention to. That ought to infuriate you when you have to stroke a big check every month to your

landlord or you're paying your mortgage or going to the grocery store. The United States government is not offering anything to Americans. You couldn't be more correct, Dan, about your assumption on this whole thing because this guy, he's a washed up comedian. I remember when he was elected, it was just sort of a, they're just kind of throwing in the towel kind of thing with this guy. And then go back and Google some of the crazy foul stuff this guy's done.

And all of a sudden, he's the, you know, he's the spokesman for freedom in the world, according to the left. He stopped all elections. He's outlawed some religious groups. And, you know, it's some very un-American things that this guy's done, and yet this is the guy we choose to saddle up to. And you need to ask, we need to ask our liberal friends in Hollywood

that where were they when the Chinese were rolling over the wagers, were imprisoning them, they're forced abortions, forced organ harvesting of prisoners, things like that. Nobody wants to go to war with China. And the reason they don't want to go to war with China, if you're wearing a coat and tie, flip your tie over and let's see where that tie is made. Open up your computer and look at the back of it,

see where most of the components are made. They're made in China. This thing's about money. It's about increasing the portfolio of the war pimps, and that's exactly what we've done. When we sent them our missile defense system in the beginning, we had to replenish ours immediately by rule, and that was done with a no-bid, multi-billion-dollar contract. And who do you think owned stock in that?

Members of Congress. And they bought stock in it just days prior to that so-called executive order. So this thing is not lily white. It's not a pure war and we have no business being over there. We need to start investing in this country and that gummit we don't need to be in Europe. So there's, and Zolinsky in some loose translation I read he was talking about that we're going to be sending our sons and daughters over there under Donald Trump. That's a big hell no. And that will not happen. Congressman Tim Burch, last question from congressmen from Tennessee. Really appreciate your time. You know, one of the last things I wanted to address with you is this NATO funding. Congressman, listen, the United States has an interest in what happens everywhere in the world.

We have trade relationships with countries. It does not mean our boots have to be on the ground Congressman, listen, the United States has an interest in what happens everywhere in the world. We have trade relationships with countries. It does not mean our boots have to be on the ground everywhere. But let's just be candid. Just pure geography and distance alone, the European Union and most other NATO countries in Western and Eastern Europe have a more parochial interest in NATO than we do. I'm not saying we don't have an interest. I'm just saying for them then, the European Union as well, to lecture us while we've been essentially, we have been

NATO. We are NATO for decades while their militaries have been hollowed out. I mean, is that a bad joke? You're lecturing us about, we are NATO. NATO is nothing without us. Well, 1000% if you can do that, Dan. The way NATO works is you agree to put a certain percentage of your GDP into your weaponry. And you agree if one of the NATO countries gets attacked, then you have to, then you back them up. So in effect, we kept, nobody cares if one of these small countries, nobody's going to declare a world war for them

unless they're in NATO. So really, NATO is a dinosaur, in effect, of a Cold War type thing. It ought to be, as somebody I've heard say one time, it needs to be in a little kiosk in the Smithsonian and you push a little button and it tells you what it does. Why in the world, we already are the world's police force, whether we want to be or not. And all this is is ensuring that our kids, our sons and daughters are going to go off

into some foreign war. And I'll guarantee you that most members of Congress can't even find some of these countries on the globe. And that's going to make, we need to, we need to get some new rules in that thing because you know, Trump, Trump threatened to pull out unless those people started kicking in their money. And then they did. And of course, under Biden, they started pulling out again.

And we, we pulled up the slack once again, the American taxpayers, our technology, and unfortunately at some point it's going to be our sons and daughters in these wars overseas and we need to get some clear direction there and the only reason they're not coming at us now is because Trump's in the White House. Indeed, indeed. Congressman Tim Burchett from Tennessee, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it. Thanks for coming up. See you, Dan. Appreciate you, brother. Yeah. Thank you. Congressman Burchett.

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It's the Naples, Cape Coral, Bonita area. Good man. And we share similar personal interests as well, especially with regards to school choice. That kind of filters over from personal professional. Welcoming to the show, representative and a good one, Byron Donald. Sir, thanks for your time today.

We appreciate it. Dan, it's good to be with you, man. And by the way, representative and a good one, Byron Donald. Sir, thanks for your time today. We appreciate it. Dan, it's good to be with you, man. And by the way, congratulations. I didn't think you were ever going to go back into government work, man. So congrats. You know, as you know, you have a history of service yourself, state rep, member of Congress, hopefully

Florida's next governor. It's the kind of calling when when the boss asks you to do something and you can really transform the government, you know, congressman, it's it's easy to talk about stuff every lot of people do. But you can't tell your audience, hey, the do matters, which I've said often. But not me. I meant the other guy like that doesn't work. You know, you're a street guy like me. Authenticity matters.

People see through it. And that's why I think it was so important I do this. But I want to talk about your big announcement. You have expressed an interest in the governorship of my beautiful, wonderful, incredible home state of Florida. I think you'd be an amazing guy for the job. What are you going to do to make Florida, I'm not going to say great again, but even greater. Well, first of all, my candidacy went official yesterday. We filed the papers in Tallahassee. So I'm in the race and I'm running.

And for me, we have a great state, you know that. And it's about staying on top. That's the key thing. So there's a couple of things I want to do. Number one, we have to fix insurance in our state. We have an insurance problem, rates are going up, people's home insurance are getting canceled, they got to go scramble to get another carrier to fill that gap. So you know I want to use some of my background in banking and insurance and financial services to try

to help the state expand the number of carriers in our state. We might have to do some stuff around capital requirements for insurance carriers to make it easier for them to write insurance in our state. And then another key thing is that we know we're a hurricane-prone state. That's just a reality. So we want to make sure that when a homeowner has to call on their insurance carrier, that that process is as smooth as possible. And my district's been hit several times by hurricanes. The most major one the last time was Hurricane Ian. And so being on the ground working, you know, to help people get back on their feet in my district, you start to go through some of

those issues with people trying to get their claims done, trying to get adjusters out, trying to get responses from insurance carriers. And so, look, it's going to be an all of the approach strategy. We got a lot of work to do to clean that up. Second big thing is I want to make Florida the financial hub of the world. So much capital is moving to our state. You know, a lot of the people who were doing business in New York and in Chicago, who through COVID, you know, they looked at Florida and really because of the leadership of Ron DeSantis, they said, you know what, I got to go to Florida. And in a lot of respects, their politics changed along the way. So they're Republicans, they're

conservatives, they're down in Florida, but they still do major business and finance. I want to focus the state towards becoming the financial capital of the world We can do that in our state because you know, we're not just a retirement state anymore than we've become an every no Yeah, I'm in the Florida to do something Sorry to interrupt but congressman Donald's now candidate for governor Byron Donalds You know as well as I do the snowbirds phenomenon. Yeah, it still exists, but it's nothing like it was.

When I moved down here 10 years ago, you know, you walked out there in snowbird season, you walk in any restaurant, there was no one there. That's gone now. Florida's now people's year round home. You still get people who travel back, obviously, but not nearly to the extent. So that leads to my second question.

If you are the next governor of Florida, you know being a member of Congress now, you deal with national issues. This is a competition, Congresswoman. We got Iowa cutting taxes. You've got places like Ohio, and even some Democrat swing states looking at making more tax-efficient tax codes.

And then you've got places going in the other direction like Delaware, where most companies would incorporate a lot of them, which is now going in the other direction and now trying to get back business. We can't in Florida ever take for granted that our weather and amusement parks and job environment is just going to keep us on top forever. I know you understand that better than anyone. No, 100%. I mean, I'm glad you brought up Delaware for a long time in our country. is just gonna keep us on top forever. I know you understand that better than anyone. No, 100%.

I mean, I'm glad you brought up Delaware for a long time in our country. Delaware was the state people went to to incorporate their business. So what I wanna do is make it the easiest to incorporate. I want Florida to become the easiest to incorporate. I wanna set up business courts in Florida so it's easier to adjudicate those issues.

That do go through your judicial system anytime you're dealing with a lot of corporations in your state. But to the competition, Vivek Ramaswamy, good friend, running for governor of Ohio, you know, Vivek and I talked offline, and I heard his speech talking about how he wants to make Ohio the best state in the country, and my joke for him was, well, look, congratulations on that vision, but you're still going to be number two because Florida is number one today, and we're going to be number one into the future. So it's about taking public safety seriously. We're going to continue the work that Governor DeSantis has done on that, the work in education, continuing that great work. But then it's about becoming much more open in terms

of economics. Again, being able to be a hub for finance and be the center of not just the country but of the world when it comes to finance. And then of course you've got to fix insurance. Insurance is going to be key. And one big thing, Dan, and I think this is important, we've led the country when it's come to school choice. I was in the legislature when we passed universal school choice. My sophomore year in the legislature, I passed at that time the biggest expansion of school choice in the country, which was the whole scholarship at that time. And so now that we have universal school choice in Florida, now we got to make sure that every child has every tool available to them to become proficient in math and in reading and in writing.

That stuff's going to be crucial for our success going forward, and that's what I'm focused on. Yeah, you benevolently stole my thunder for my next question. School choice is a very sensitive topic to me. It's personal as much as professional because I'm a product of it. I would not be speaking in clear English sentences right now if it wasn't for a local Catholic school that through kind of de facto school choice let us go there. I mean my parents didn't always pay the tuition on time because we couldn't afford it but Sister Jane let us stay there and they did a

remarkable job with me and my two brothers. And you and your wife have been unbelievable advocates for school choice. I mean, your wife, Erica, this is her cause, has dedicated her life to this. And you as well, I heard you give so many passionate speeches about this, how you and friends of yours have just been rescued and saved by this cause of school choice I know it may not be the sexiest topic always congressman, but if we don't have a strong educated Workforce we have some blathering on it means so much me we have this repository of Kids in inner cities in Florida and elsewhere. This is our greatest natural resource isn't rare earth minerals

It's those kids. You have any idea how many apples and IBM's and Hewlett Packard's and whatever could be invented in inner cities that have just been left behind because we can't teach these kids to do freaking basic math. It's a, it's a moral stain on our society. No, I totally agree. And I think part of it is being a little technical about it. You have kids, if you're a kid who grows up, you know, I'm just going to say, you know, on the lower end of the economic spectrum, it's difficult because you may not just have the resources available

to you to go get. And so, you know, and especially when summertime comes, the studies are clear, children fall behind after summer vacation because they're not reading every day in the summer, they're not doing math every day in the summer, and a lot of that really falls on top of who the parent is in that home, you know. My mom, we were poor, but she made sure that I was doing work in the summertime to stay not just at grade level, above grade level. And so there's some other things I want to talk about, not right now, we're still fleshing out some of those ideas, but it's about having an intentional focus on every specific child in our state so they have those

tools to achieve proficiency in math and reading. Like when we measure our schools and measure our school system, we look at it from a grade level. Well, grade level is just a medium. That just means if you're at grade level, all that means is that you're better than the bottom 50% of your class. That's how we measure it. What I'm talking about is proficiency, mastery in reading and math. If you have kids, no matter what your background is, being proficient in reading and math, it will not just supercharge the state of Florida. That gives you the great leaders you need for the future of America. And that's what this whole thing is about. And you're right. That's the that is the precious resource is the future potential of children in America. They are the precious

resource. If they're highly educated and prepared for the world in front of them, man, they're going to make us look like a bunch of bombs, Dan. I'm just telling you right now, we're going to be prepared look like a bunch of bombs, Dan. I'm just telling you right now, we're going to be nothing compared to those kids. And it would be the greatest. That is one case where I would love to look like a bunch of bombs. When this next generation goes, gosh, we're so much smarter than them. That is the biggest W we can ever chalk up. We're talking to Congressman Byron Donalds running for the governorship in the wonderful

my home state of Florida, which I love so much. Congressman, now last question. I'll let you go. I know you're busy, but just kind of a bigger bird's eye view question here. You know, after the Mitt Romney presidential run where we lost, there was a lot of kind of morose, macabre talk about the Republican Party.

Oh, the generational, it's gone for a generation, forget it. But now the bench is just, you're seeing it up on Capitol Hill and in the state of Florida, you were a state rep. I mean in Florida we've got five six seven eight nine ten ringers who could run for state or national office you know you've got Vivek running in Ohio you got Vice President Vance I mean the Republican bench the party post Donald Trump it really has a really bright future I think you can thank President Trump for inspiring a lot of people to move in a new

populist but economically sound direction. I totally agree. I think the biggest thing from Donald Trump, and again, Dan, I'm so thankful to have his endorsement to run for governor. I didn't even mention it. So I'm so excited to have his endorsement. It's huge. And early, too.

I mean, this is like right out of the chute. Yeah, 100 percent. I'm thankful. I'm thankful for his support. But what he taught our party is how to stand and fight. Let's be very clear. It was about how to stand and fight and deliver. You saw that with Governor DeSantis. You see it with JD, with Vivek, myself, countless others who they maybe they don't have as much shine on evening news

and on social media, but you now have an entire phalanx of Republican electeds at the federal level, at the state level, that nobody's really ever heard of, that they are now committed to the principles of common sense, of economic freedom, economic liberty, conservatism, but they are prepared to stand in the gap and fight for those principles and not be shy about what they believe. They're really undaunted. And I think that's because of the strength of Donald Trump, and now you're seeing it come out in the bench in the Republican Party. So, you know, as long as we don't just get too cute and get too dumb and just stay focused on making sure the main thing is the main thing, man, the wind is really at our back. And not the last thing I'll say on that is we can't stop now.

Just winning in 24 is not enough. There are people in our country who are not historically Republicans or conservatives, but they're people of common sense. They don't really care about politics. Their politics has been dictated by family and friends, but if you're bold and you're But they're people of common sense. They don't really care about politics or their policies have been dictated by family and friends. But if you're bold and you're committed and you have the right policies and you have the right agenda, and you're willing to go and engage these people in every town and city of America, you'd be surprised how many of

them will be willing to choose our philosophy and vote for us and stand with us to make this country great. So, you know, from the perch in Florida, if I'm successful to be the next governor, my mission is gonna be to lead Florida, continue it being the best state in the country. Sorry, Vivek, you get to be number two, but you know, the best state in the country, and we're gonna lead and we're gonna make sure

the other 49 know how to get the job done. Yeah, you're right. I mean, bench-wise, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Governor DeSantis two terms too. I mean, we've been lucky. Former Governor Scott, now Senator, Governor DeSantis two terms. I mean, this place is really a beacon of freedom.

I love so much living down here. I'm proud of this next mission we're gonna undertake Congressman, but like you, DC has some great people, but I just, I love Florida. I'm gonna miss my Florida home. So I hope to run into you in Washington, DC. Let's grab some coffee sometime. You're doing a great job.

Good luck in the governor's race, and thanks for everything you've done for school choice. It really matters a lot to me. And thank your wife as well. She's fantastic. We appreciate your time. All right, listen, thank you, Dan. Take it easy.

You got it, Congressman Byron Donalds. That race means a lot to me. I live here. I listen, I've got a couple more weeks of this job where my political opinion hat is on, but I'm a citizen of Florida and I really, really like what Byron Donalds stands for. Him and his wife, Erica, have really fought for school choice. Let's get to our next sponsor. You don't go out and buy a life jacket when the boat's already sinking and you don't buy gold when the economy has already collapsed. Clearly others are heading this advice as gold at all time highs. The first part of 2025.

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Bureau and countless five-star views, text Dan to 989898. Let the experts at Birch Gold help you secure your future today with gold message and data rates reply. Finally, we talk with Vivek Ramaswamy, candidate for governor in Ohio. Check this out. Though as I told you, we try to bring you guests that are interesting, compelling political stories,

but people I believe we share a pretty common ideology with. Doesn't mean we're going to agree on everything. But as Ronald Reagan said, if we agree on 80%, we'll come back for the other 20% later. I've known this gentleman a long time, recently announced a run for the governorship of the amazing, now turning very red, state of Ohio. I just saw what looks to be a really glowing endorsement by

president Trump. Mr. Vivek Ramaswamy, welcome to the show, sir. Yeah. Good to have you. Good to have you made back. I enjoy being on here every time, man. Yeah. It's always great. It was so nice to see you in the, the amusement park with your lovely family. I'm going to assume you were taken just a quick family thing out before you knew you were gonna be jumping

into the campaign, because as you know from your presidential campaign, you know, it's a lot of work, door knocking, county fairs, handshaking, so it was really nice to see, but you're ready, I mean, I saw you, you sound very energetic, and no one knows how to campaign better than you do I Appreciate it man. It actually it's funny when we bumped into each other in the in the music park

It was my son's fifth birthday the day before the day before my campaign launched and we knew we wouldn't be able to give Him a proper party. So he wanted to go down there and we celebrated with him properly Took the day off from all phone calls focused on the family And then yes, we launched the campaign in full force. And you know, I don't like to go at half speed, so we're gonna be going and crisscrossing all the 88 counties of the state.

I declared last night, and I was proud within an hour of formally declaring my campaign that night to see President Trump's endorsement. And the truth is, President Trump is saving our country at the level of Washington, D.C. He's gonna do his job in the next two years but if he gets that job done that means a range of programs from education to health care are gonna flow back down to the states and to the people where they belong. That's the good news but the work that we have ahead of us is also real. That requires actual governors who are ready to use that power in the right way

to stand for the right principles, to actually fix the educational achievement crisis in our country. That's a big one, Dan. We're 75 percent of eighth graders right now can't even do proper math at an age appropriate level. We're going to fix that, but it it's gonna take strong governors to do it, and that's why I'm looking to lead the way right here in Ohio.

We're talking to Vivek Ramaswamy, a recently announced candidate for the governorship of Ohio. Vivek, I know you feel like I do. I know school choice sometimes is not the sexiest issue to talk about. There's national defense, there's tax cuts. I get that, but President Trump passionately believes in it.

The people he's appointed in these positions, whether it be Linda McMahon or Betsy DeVos, who are strong believers in school choice. This is a very important issue in a big parochial, but parochial race like a governorship.

You see this movement nationwide. If we don't have a strong, educated, well-educated, top-educated population of kids, we're going to be left behind by other countries, especially in this tech-heavy AI generation with quantum computing and other things. Absolutely. So I actually do think of this as a national security issue in the long run, Dad. And so when we frame in terms of school choice, I agree that you can feel a little bit parochial, school choice is important. We got to go

the full distance for homeschooling as an option. That's the first principle also, just based on the liberty. Parents should be determining the education of their children and should be empowered to do it, and I'm in favor of that. But I think we also have to go further to the place where maybe some conservatives haven't yet gone, which is to say how do you also equip to go further to the place where maybe some conservatives haven't yet gone, which is to say how do you also equip our public schools to compete with the best of the alternatives? And there it is, often the teachers unions who are standing in the way. So one of the things that I'm going to do in the state of Ohio is we will implement

merit-based pay for every teacher, for every principal, for every superintendent in the public schools of this state, where the best ones who are delivering results for kids end up getting paid more than they are right now, but that comes at the expense of really clearing the brush and cutting a lot of the other dead weight that's around. Get the cell phones out of the schools. Actually implement a curriculum centered on math, reading, and writing proficiency. There's kids in other countries right now, Dan, I'm not making this up, where English isn't even their first language, now doing better on English proficiency than our own students here. That's unacceptable to me. You have civic education in this country which needs to come back. We require a citizenship test

of every legal immigrant who comes here to know something about the country, and that's a good thing. Turns out that 80% of people who graduate from high school would fail that test right now. So on my watch as governor, we're going to make sure that every high school senior who graduates from high school has to pass the same civics test that every legal immigrant has to pass in order to become a citizen. I think that that's a beautiful thing because you can't love a country unless you know the first thing about that country. So civic health, physical health, academic health, mental health, all of it is about standing for the next generation and I do think about that as a future security issue and a competitiveness issue versus China and

other countries around the world but they don't have federalism like we do. So it can't be done in Washington, D.C. It has to be states that lead the way. Yeah, I was deeply impacted on a trip to South Korea in my prior line of work where teachers, Vivek, are small G gods. Like people worship the teaching profession. They're highly paid. It's merit based. They get the opportunity to work after hours and in tutor positions where they're paid handsomely. And it's just a shame that, that, that, that, uh, you know, not the teachers, but the unions have made this more about the organization rather than the kids.

That, that, that, that's what's really destroying our system. That's right. And it's, this is such a perfect example because we're talking about what's going on in Washington, D.C., where I helped get Doge off the ground. President Trump and Elon are doing a fantastic job. It's bureaucracy that is the enemy of the people. I believe that whether it's the federal government, whether it is at the state government, whether it's the level of the managerial class.

We talk about these public teachers unions. It's a funny thing because the individual people who are in that often are very good people. I think about my sixth grade teacher, Ms. Kinney, at a public school that I went to in Cincinnati where I grew up. She changed my life for the better. She allowed me to see potential in myself that I never saw. But right now, we're not attracting the very best like her because there's no meritocracy in

compensation. You brought up South Korea. The same thing is true in Finland. They pay according to merit-based pay, according to actual performance. They attract the very best in many cases to the education profession as we should hear as well. And it's shocking that none of our 50 states do it. So I want Ohio to be the first state in the country that brings meritocracy to compensation and education with some of the other changes and that'll set a national standard is the way I look at this. It's not actually, turns out, a parochial state issue when you see it that way. It's about setting a national standard and doing it through state leadership and I do think that

that's the way things work in America is education's local but it's a national standard and doing it through state leadership. And I do think that that's the way things work in America, is education is local, but it's a national threat unless we address it. No, that's a good point. We're talking about a vague run. I'm a Swami candidate for governor of Ohio. Say you win the spot and you become the governor of Ohio. It does put the squeeze on other Republican governors who may move more slowly where the citizens of their states will say, well, why aren't we doing what happened in

Ohio? But let me address something that we've known each other a very long time back from my old Fox show where you were a frequent guest on people. People may not know. They may know you from running for president, but you had an extremely successful career as a tech space investor for a very long time. Very successful career. You also got a, uh, uh, were part of the initial launch of the Doge before you decided to run for governor. Do you plan on taking this Doge business like approach that you had in your

experience in the private sector to government as well, because Ohio is a pretty well run States, red state turning redder, but let's be honest, even well run States, there's always a little bit of nip and tuck here and there. I would assume that's what you're planning to do to make that state level government more efficient too. Look, I don't think efficiency is a partisan issue. It shouldn't be. It's not a Democrat or Republican point.

And so I think you could imagine red states that need to be run better. I don't think there are that many blue states that are run efficiently, but in principle there could be. Look, I think efficiency is just something that every citizen of a state, every taxpayer in a state, should want. Right now Texas and Florida then are the top two states that people move into, and I think that's one good metric of the success of the state, how many are moving in versus out. Right now I think Ohio is around number 38. So what I want to do by the end of this is I want Ohio to be at the top of that list. And I think a big part of that is allowing people

to keep what they earn. Florida, Texas, and eight, six other states like them are zero income tax states. I'd like to take Ohio to become a zero income tax state. I think that's equally just about putting more money in people's pockets as it is making sure that government runs as efficiently as possible. And the beautiful thing is that also takes aim at then the over-regulation of the private sector. It shouldn't take 18 or 36 months to build a new natural gas pipeline. For example, in Ohio, a state that has great natural gas underneath the ground, that should

be six months or less. So I believe every man-made problem has a man-made solution. I love, I absolutely love and fully support what President Trump and Elon are doing and I think it's important to be aggressive. Taking on bureaucracy, there's a reason why many Republican presidents even have talked about it but never actually have seen it happen. So I love what they're doing. I'm going to bring my unique style and approach to applying that to Ohio. I think about that less as what are we cutting and what are we actually bringing?

What we're bringing back is the American dream. That's what we're bringing back. What we're bringing back is a meritocracy. What we're bringing back is a place where any young kid can achieve the maximum of his potential and make as much money or achieve as much success in any domain as he wants to without apologizing for it by playing by the rules without the government getting in the way. That's what we're shooting for. And I think sometimes when we explain this, especially to our Democrat friends or folks in the inner cities of Cincinnati to Cleveland

to Columbus, I think one of the things I've found is that most people, not all people, but most people are actually pretty reasonable if you explain it directly to them, not through media filters, but explain to them why you're doing exactly what you're doing. And that's going to be one of the things I'm going to try to do well, hopefully as the next governor of the state. Vivek, last question. We're talking to Vivek Ramaswamy, candidate for governor of the state. The last question we're talking of a vague Rameswamy candidate for Governor of Ohio, by the way, very excited about your approach to a zero

income tax in Ohio. I can tell you in Florida that is that is that is one of the reasons a huge chunk of people move. You get an instant race. But you mentioned something about Cincinnati and Cleveland. These are cities with significantly

large populations of minority Americans. You saw running for president in the last cycle that Donald Trump and the MAGA movement have made absolutely incredible inroads into minority communities that have been told for too long lies about who the Republican Party are and who people within the party are. I would assume you would be actively campaigning there on that agenda, knowing

that that potential is real to swing a whole bunch of voters in our direction. Absolutely. And that's one of the things that president Trump did an amazing job of. Half the job is just showing up. Actually, you have a historical generation of Republican politicians that have often been afraid to go into the inner cities or afraid to go into minority communities. President Trump did the opposite. He explained it directly to them and it was successful. And you know, we crisscrossed at some of those events. Even one of the things I focused on this

last cycle over the last year was helping President Trump get a lot of the youth vote. We saw the youth vote come in droves to Republicans this time around. I traveled countless campuses across this country, really again explaining things to young people in terms that they actually find relatable. So we got to do a better job of that as a party. And one of the beauties of where we stand in this one is where the polling is, and I was close to 60% before I declared, and with President Trump's endorsement and a bunch of other national and statewide endorsements that have since come in, I want to use this year instead of

doing a normal primary where you're, you know, nicing each other in a Republican primary and wasting a bunch of time and money doing that, to instead spend that time going to the inner cities, going to the foothills of Appalachia, going to counties that traditional Republicans may not have visited for a long time, and actually have open conversations with young people on university campuses from the inner city of Toledo to Cleveland to Cincinnati to Columbus. And to be able to explain to them, you know what, we may not agree on everything, and that's okay because we love diversity of thought, but if you care about economic excellence, more money in your bank account, more

kids, more money in your kids investment, more money in your kids' investment accounts, about giving your kids the same shot at the American dream that people like you and I, Dan, have lived, then you know what? In some sense, we're on the same team. Get on the bus and let's go, and you'll have a seat at the table even if you don't agree with everything we do. I do think that that actually allows us to get more done, actually, which is what I want to now do at the state level. So President Trump's doing his job in Washington, DC,

and reviving the conviction in America that we were missing. I wanna revive our conviction in Ohio for the people who live here, but also it's not just that. It's about setting a standard for the other states as well. And that too, I think is gonna be how we save the country. Ravaik, I really wish I had more time with you and I really have to run them over but I remember I ran into you in an event for President Trump and I said to you my nephew who was 11 at the time you remember this I said he loves you man so

whatever you're doing with the younger vote he can't even vote he saw a video you on TikTok you're doing a great job really congratulations on the announcement best of luck you're a good man you've always been a good friend to me, and I appreciate it. Good luck in the race. And congratulations to you too, man. I'm proud of you and the country's lucky to have you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

Vivek Ramaswamy, very excited, as a lot of other people are as well about his announcement for the governorship of Ohio. Thanks for listening to the Weekend Podcast, folks. We really appreciate it. You can always check out our content at rumble.com slash bungee you just heard Dan Bongino.