The Glenn Beck Program - Best of the Program | Guests: Armin Mizani & Bernie Moreno | 10/30/24

Episode Date: October 30, 2024

Keller, Texas, Mayor Armin Mizani joins to discuss the controversial jokes made at Trump’s rally and the real issues people should focus on. Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno joins to discuss his tight race running against a career Democrat who’s been in office since the Nixon administration. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus joins to discuss what either a Trump presidency or Harris presidency would mean for Israel and the Middle East. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big show today, Stu. Really, really big show. Oh, on what network? Yeah, I know. Well, not this one. Right. Not this one. I'm telling you, right now, Megan Kelly.

Oh, wow. I got to check that out. Yeah, well. Actually, I think it's her show tomorrow that's huge. Oh, really? Which happens to be Halloween and I will be appearing on it. Really? That's what everybody's talking about.

There was another show earlier this week that had some terrible guest on it. Yeah, that would be me. Oh, wow. Really? That's, that didn't really, I see. Anyway, let's just talk about this. this show. It's the best of. We have Bernie Moreno on and all of the stats, everything that everybody's talking about on the election is discussed in great detail on today's program. You don't want to miss it.

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And he said it's called Puerto Rico. Some people, especially on the left, didn't find that funny. may have been a lapse in judgment, but that's what he does. But anyway, so how are people reacting to it? We have the mayor of Keller, Texas. He's a great mayor. Armand Mizani is with us now. You lived in Puerto Rico.

You grew up in Puerto Rico, born in Puerto Rico? I did, Glenn. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, lived there for the first nine years of my life. Yeah. Quite interesting. My father's Iranian. left in the late 70s, met my mom who was born in Puerto Rico. Her parents are both Cuban, and of all places that met in Kansas.

That's impossible. What are the odds of this? But born and raised in Puerto Rico, and obviously Puerto goes a beautiful island, beautiful people, if you've been there, you'll know firsthand. And it's just a great culture. And one of the things that really obviously bothered me when, you know, I think what's wrong currently with it's Democrat politics or the political class or the media classes, I think they've taken Latinos and minority voters for granted for a long time. And Latinos like the millions of Americans that make up this country care about the core principles that you and I care about. Yeah, I know. Just faith, family economic opportunities. It said that forever.

Latinos should be voting Republican just based on their family values. 100%. Right. And so now it's starting to happen, right? Absolutely. I mean, you see the polls, you know, Latinos by large numbers now, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are surging in the polls amongst Latinos. And it's no surprise when you've got two candidates in Kamala Harris and President Trump

who've now have a track record, we've got four years that we can look back to. And so for many of Latinos, like the millions of Americans that make up this country, we see that. We see the rise of inflation. We see an open southern border. When you go to the grocery store, you're paying 50% more for a lot of these goods. Airfare, call it, insurance, whatever you want to call, we see what's happening. And so for many of us, it's how can we provide for our family? How can we put food for the table?

And when you look at the policies of President Donald Trump, it's clear why he's surging in the polls amongst Latinos and minorities. Yeah, I can't, and I don't understand the strategy of Harris. Even Bernie Sanders came out and said, she's got to talk about the economy. It's always the economy stupid. And she's not talking about it at all. She's not because she doesn't want to talk about it.

Yeah, right? And she can't talk about it. And you saw what happened yesterday with President Joe Biden calling half of Americans, essentially garbage. Right. So unlike President Trump, who did not, it was a comedian who had a bad joke. I didn't care for the joke. But I will tell you, I think we can live in a world where you can either be for or against their joke and still realize that at the end of the day it's about the policies that will impact us on a daily basis.

So how did Puerto Ricans take that joke? Because I don't honestly, I don't think I even understand the joke. Do you still? Yeah, I mean, he's trying to make a reference to what the supposed, which by the way, does not exist floating island of garbage in the. Yeah, I get that. part, but I don't understand the comparison. I mean, I think the thought, the accusation would be he's just calling Puerto Rican's garbage.

That's what they're, is that how you took it? I will tell you, I, um, so personally, I was not offended because as a Puerto Rican, I've been there and I know it's such a great island. Right. Yeah. And so I did not take offense. This comedian vacations on this island. He does not actually believe this.

Right. It was something, he was going for a joke, you know, maybe it was a bad idea at a political rally, but he's a roast comedian. Right. But I will say, I mean, I was in Puerto Rico. two months ago. And I'll tell you what's on Puerto Rican's minds. It's the fact that on any given day, you can't account for the fact or whether or not your power is going to be on. That's a fact. You know, with the power grade there, that's an issue. You can't account for the

fact that the infrastructure is not where it's supposed to be. I mean, there are potholes where there shouldn't. And so frankly, what, in my opinion, is garbage is it's the fact that we've got a government in Puerto Rico that should be attending to its people, great people, but you saw it with the hurricane that happened back in 2017. It's a misallocation of funds. Oh, yeah. And so I think a lot of Puerto Rican stands to your question, Glenn, are awakening to that fact. And you see change actually happen within Puerto Rico, within their government.

And that's what I'm attesting to is Latinos in the U.S., who are voting in these elections, see those things. Whether you're Puerto Rican or Mexican descent, whatever minority you are, or wherever you come from, minorities see that. And in Puerto Rican see that. And I think you're going to see in Puerto Rico some change amongst the internal governance. But here in the U.S., again, that is why President Donald Trump, rightfully so, is surging in the polls. So I've always thought that Hispanics were being grossly misjudged by the Democrats because they live conservative lives. They're Christians. They're strong, strong families.

good values. I mean, the Hispanics that I know make us stronger because they're, they're living quite honestly the way a lot of us in America used to live or should be still living. And the, they've always pandered to the left, is always pandered to the Hispanics by saying, you know, we need to bring more illegals in. That just doesn't. That never seemed right to me because the people who, that I know that are Hispanic that moved here, they spent like 10 years. trying to get citizenship. They understand the value of that citizenship. Did they overplay their hand on this? Have they just completely severed that now? Absolutely. In my opinion, and you're right, it's identity politics. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, if you look, if you go issue by issue,

again, we talked about faith and family. I come from a family where I'm the oldest of five boys, raised by mom and dad, who are strong Christians. For us, putting God above all, this comes first. Right. But that is for every Hispanic family. And I think they have taken us for granted. And they did overplay their cards. And it's in, but the good news is Latinos, Hispanics, minorities are awakening to it. Yeah.

And have seen through it. And again, it's, you know, the numbers for Donald Trump as far as the Latinos, it's historic. When you look back at presidential cycles, probably the best comparison is maybe George Bush, but Donald Trump is actually pulling better than that. And so I think it's going to mean well for November 5th. So what does Donald Trump bring to the table that other Republicans haven't? Why is he, have any theories on this? Why he's cutting through with minorities like he is?

I think oftentimes in government what happens is you get people that run for office and say they're going to do certain things. And when they get in office, they don't. They don't. Donald Trump, whether you like the man or not, said he was going to do certain things when he ran. And when he got into office, he did those things. And I think for President Donald Trump, that is what bodes well with Latinos and with minorities, is you're doing what you say you're going to do. For the millions of people that have come to this wonderful country legally, Donald Trump has been clear. We want to open up the doors for legal migration, but you have to have a country that abides by our laws. Otherwise, you have no country at all. And I think for the many

migrants and legal immigrants that have come here, they see that and they say, it is not fair for us to have gone through. I've got family members, whether from my Iranian culture or that have come here, but did it the right way. Right. And think for many of us, we look at what's happening in our southern border, and we say that is not fair. That is not right. And you, being from Iranian descent, know that the Iranians that are coming across now, not not the Iranians that you would like to have come across the border. You've got to vet everybody, right? You've got to vet everybody.

And if you look at some of these folks are coming and they're coming from do not travel countries. And so that is concerning. But I will tell you, I think for the many folks that are coming here and doing it the right way, you know, the biggest concern also, one of the concerns actually is for the folks are here illegally, they're on account of four, undocumented. And frankly, if you really kind of break it down and look at its core, it's a lot. It's not right for them because they're essentially living in the shadows. Correct.

And so if we can have a process where we can continue to promote all the great things the country is with illegal immigration, but at the same time address what's wrong with illegal immigration. And that's what Donald Trump has done. So do Hispanics generally, like Cubans, are very clear about communism? Yes. But Mexico, they just elected a communist. and Central America has communism running through it. Do Hispanics, when they get here, the kind that do it the right way,

do they recognize the roots of communism and like Cubans, say, uh-uh, we've seen this movie before. They do. I mean, we've in Texas, we've got a great Senator and Ted Cruz who talks about that, who's got an election of his own. And so I want to encourage everybody to support him as well. Yes, please. He's talked about the fact that if we can't protect what we have here in America, then where do we flee to?

Where do we go to? And for all those reasons, it's why, again, many Hispanics, many minorities, I think in this cycle, more than any, have paid attention to the policy, not to the rhetoric. We don't want to be taken for granted anymore, which I believe we have in many years past. And so we are awakening to it, and we're looking past some of this rhetoric. and a joke is not going to motivate us. Again, faith, family, economic opportunity, that's what's going to motivate us. And I think that goes for all minorities. Thank you so much.

And I wish I lived in your town because you're cutting taxes like crazy. I can't take, you know, in my town, they built, well, the firehouse. Yes. The firehouse, I think they expected Jesus to arrive in. It was like a $13 million dollar firehouse. And when they did the opening of it, all my neighbors went through and they're like, this is great. And I said, this is great. This is better than any of our homes. And it came from your tax dollars. What are you talking about? Oh, it drives me nuts. Well, no, I appreciate it.

I appreciate it. Yeah, but thank you very much. I appreciate what you do. Thank you. Mayor Armin Mizani is with us mayor of Keller, Texas. Right now we're in the fight for our lives when it comes to the future of this country. And part of that understanding has got to be all of the babies that we're killing and celebrating their death. So many are celebrating their death. We're in the fight for their lives as well as ours. We have to change the hearts and minds in this country. That's why I'm proud to be partnering with pre-born.

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You'll save 200 babies. Dial pound 250, say the keyword baby. Pound 250, keyword baby. or preborn.com slash Beck. Now, back to the podcast. You're listening to the best of the Glenn Beck program. Bernie Moreno is on with us now. He is running for the Senate seat in Ohio.

It looks like he is now, can you say this, too? Is he now ahead? It is so close. It is very, very close race, but he's doing pretty well. Welcome, Bernie. How are you? Thank you for having me. We're up three points, but look, the entirety of the Ohio. Ohio media is on the side of Sherrod Brown.

So we take nothing for granted. We're going to leave it all in the field and we're going to work our tails off for the next six days. I have to tell you, if Sherrod Brown wins, it's going to be because of the, you know, that Republican Trump supporters like, you know, I voted for Trump, but I also voted for Sherrod Brown because, you know, he's all about the border. I saw the ads with him and Donald Trump together. He works across the aisle and he's not AOC.

He's strong on that border. He's one of the good ones. He's an independent thinker. What would you say to those people? If you believe that, man, you are in deep trouble for a fraud perspective. But this is the guy who voted against President Trump 100% of the time when it mattered. He said the border wall was racist. You never heard that before.

The border wall is stupid. He said the immigration situation is a right-wing conspiracy theory. So this is a guy on the other side of the equation that voted with Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, 100% of the time when it mattered. But of course, it's election years and now he can go on TV and just lie. You know, lying is legal in politics, unfortunately. You know, you said, notice how he plays with words here, Stu. He said 100% when it matters, when the real number is 99% all of the time. Well, he hides out in the cloak room to wait for the ballots to be counted. If it's a vote that doesn't matter, he'll jump in and vote against Biden to kind of lower his score a

of it. But look, the guy, the guy's the most reliable vote for the left-wing agenda in this country. He would be probably a little liberal for representing Massachusetts or California. He's just way too liberal for Ohio. So how is that happening? He's been in office for 50 years, not as the Senate, but in public office in Ohio for 50 years. How is this keep happening? Well, first of all, he majored in Russian studies at Yale and went into office when Richard Nixon was in the White House. The way it keeps happening is because for five years, he goes at D.C., and he's AOC and Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. And then on election year,

there's this magical transformation when he leaves Reagan Airport and lands in Cleveland Hopkins, and all of a sudden becomes a regular working class diff. He messes up his hair, puts an ill-fitting suit on, puts on a gravely voice, and he pretends he's a working man. He's never had a job in the private sector ever. This guy doesn't have any idea about the dignity of work. He's never actually done it. So look, we're exposing them to difference. This is the most expensive non-presidential election in American history. We're using our resources to make sure people understand his voting record, and it's just too liberal for Ohio. What are the most important areas in Ohio where you're seeing a need for people to get out and make sure they're knocking

on doors? We are knocking on 150,000 doors a week. We have a get-out-out-the-vote and ballot-chasing operation that is unprecedented in Ohio history. We focus on that. Remember, I was in a retail automotive business. We're using business practices to focus this election on voter turnout. So if we know you voted, we take you off our list. If we know you haven't voted, we knock on your door, we call you, we text you, we even have your neighbor call you. That's how sophisticated our operation is. It's having great results. Republicans are voting at 50% higher clip than Democrats in this election. now that actually should be good because republicans notoriously vote on the last day we still won't know what's happening but if your if your turnout is that good in the days leading up to the election and then there's still

more republicans that turn out than than democrats on on election day it's pretty much in the bag is it not we feel really confident we get this race closed out by eight o'clock eastern about half an hour after the polls close. If everybody listening in Ohio goes out and votes today, make sure they vote early, bring their friends to the polling booth. I'm going to give you a stat that blew my mind when we did the polling. For every 100 Republicans that say they're going to vote on election day, only 80 turn up. 98% of Democrats who say they're going to vote turn up. That's every election. That's every election. We've got to get our people to bank that vote. what are you seeing on the ground that that says this time it's different?

Anything? People want their country back. People want their country back. We have an open border. We don't have operational control of our border. We have a situation now in America where McDonald's is a luxury. The grocery store is terrifying when you get to the cashier. We see instability all over the world.

We're being told we need to drive an electric car. And if we don't, we're bad people. cars we can't afford, houses we can't afford, rent we can't afford, credit card bills through the roof, and yet this country sends hundreds of billions of dollars to foreign countries, rewards illegal immigrants. We pay $110,000 a year, firm illegal migrant in this country. They want their country back. They want to know that the taxpayers of this country are funding a government that puts the interest of the United States citizens above all else. So you actually became an American citizen at the age of 18. Your family's from Bogota

Columbia, right? That's correct. That's where I was born. That's where my family's from. I'll tell you a quick story. I became a citizen when I was 18. I sat in front of a marine drill instructor who put his finger in my face and said there's one flag that you stand up for. There's one flag that you respect. There's one country that's yours and none other. And yet I go to Washington, D.C., and I see elected officials wearing the flags of foreign countries under Lepalpins. It's infuriating. I don't understand it. Do you imagine a foreign leader of any other nation wearing an American flag on Lepelpin. And by the way, some of them should. Zolinsky should have a tattoo of the United States flag somewhere unspeakable. And yet, of course, he advocated for his country because that's his job.

But when we see our leaders do that, I think that drill and sergeant would be rolling over in his grave. What are you, what are your thoughts on war and what's happening over with Russia and Ukraine? We've got to end the killing. A million Eastern Europeans either killed or injured. It should never have happened. Biden and Harris are about war because of weakness. We need to be peace through strength. I would never have happened and did not happen under President Trump. Look, we've got to end that conflict. We've got to cut the relationship between Russia and China, Russia and Iran. We've got to cripple Iran like we had them, give peace in the Middle East, make certain that China understands while we don't want to go to war with them. If they don't treat us fairly, we're not going to

treat them fairly. And we have to be strong. Look, do you imagine Kamala Harris sitting across the table from Putin or Xi. I mean, imagine what that negotiation looks like. She's afraid of Brett Baer. Can you imagine Putin? Your policy on the border and deporting people? If you're in this country illegally, you're going to be deported one way or another. And if you're going to come into this country, you're going to come into our terms.

You're going to learn English. You're going to assimilate. You're going to add to our economy. You're never going to lower America. American wages and you're going to be invited to come here. This idea that you could just break into our country and get rewarded is over. And any companies out there that are employing illegal immigrants are going to be punished. Look, we have to restore a very simple concept.

We're a sovereign nation. We have to have a border that we control. Right now, the Mexican drug cartels control our border. And by the way, we're going to work with Mexico to wipe those drug cartels off the face of the earth. So, you know, people are complaining. I'm not heard any politicians say this, and I just wish they would. They all say, we can't deport, you know, 10 million people.

It's impossible. What are you going to do in mass deportation? We're going to build camps. Do you know the number one president that deported more people than anyone else was Bill Clinton? No, Bill Clinton. Eisenhower deported 1.1 to 1.3 million under Bill Clinton from 93 to 2.3 million under Bill Clinton from 93 to 2001, 12 million people were deported. 12 million.

So why can't we deport 12 million today? I mean, I don't understand what the problem is. Look, if we can get 12 million people in, we can get 12 million people. Exactly right. By the way, it's an imperative. Look, you've got to send a message to the world. You cannot come here illegally. If you do, you're going to get turned back and you're going to get deported.

And it's easy with the criminal. You know, Kamala Harris yesterday said that, day one, she's going to deport criminals. Why not do it today? Why not do it six months ago? Why not do it three years ago? You know, it's unbelievable to watch the arsonists talk about how you shouldn't start fires.

I mean, this is just total craziness. It's a total fraud. I think the American public are opened, their eyes are open. This election needs to be a landslide election. We've got to reject the Kamala Harris and Tim Walters and Shera Browns in this country. We're not a socialist communist country. We're a constitutional republic. Let's be a constitutional republic.

And everybody listening, go out and vote like your country depends on it because it really does. You mentioned day one. What's Bernie Moreno day one, look like? We're going to secure our border. We're going to put in place the executive orders that President Trump had in place, allow us to go through and codify those in our laws. We're going to lower prices. We're going to dismantle the administrative state, massively cut government spending,

get rid of departments like the Department of Education that's unconstitutional, move that money to the states. We're going to unleash American energy, be an energy superpower in this country, get rid of these ridiculous regulations, have restore the Trump tax cuts, make them permanent. And then we're going to get to work. I mean, we're going to get to work with peace and stability around the world. I think President Trump does that in his first, actually,

probably even before inauguration day, he solves a problem in Ukraine and gets that war ended and the killing, which is what I think most Americans want. Look, we don't want more endless wars. They've already cost this country too much in terms of lost people, lost treasure. We've got to have stability around the world, but not wars. I'm so sick of hearing about Donald Trump, you know, going out to kill his political enemies and he's Hitler and everything else. Because, first of all, never seen that from him.

He's already been in office. In fact, he's the opposite of what they're doing right now, which is going after their enemies list. but I also believe that we are different than the Democrats. If our guy started to violate the Constitution, we would actually stand against him and say, excuse me, that's unconstitutional. We don't go there. Do you believe that?

Oh, 100%. I mean, you look at the student debt forgiveness, right? In Ohio, about 30% of people have a college degree. Most of them paid their own debts and paid their own way. And yet, Sherr Brown agrees with Joe Biden that the people who didn't go to college should pay off, gender studies degrees for the people who did go to college and didn't pay their debt. By the way, the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional, and they still do it.

So look, it's all about projection. That's what they do. When they say, we're a threat to democracies because they know their threat to democracy. President Trump's a good man, as you know. You know him personally like I do. That's the part that's so upsetting. This is a man who loves this country in his heart and soul. He's given up more than anybody I know to serve. It's what motivates me to run every single day to every corner of Ohio.

Because I know what he's done. And I'm going to go out there and match that and put all the effort I can into giving back to this country. It gave me every opportunity in the world to succeed. Well, best of luck to you, Bernie. We are behind you. And we urge everybody in Ohio, get out and vote. And don't dismiss, well, my guy is really not the problem. Yes, your guy is the problem.

replace him. Bernie Moreno, Ohio Senate candidate. Thank you, Bernie. Appreciate it. This is the best of the Glenn Beck program. Lieutenant Colonel retired. Jonathan Conricus is with us. He is a former Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson, a foundation for Defense of Democracy Senior Fellow. We welcome you into the studio. How are you, Colonel? Shalom. Thank you very much. Good to have you here. Thank you. Pleasure to be here in Texas. So what is worse? Actually fighting somebody like Hamas or going into the newsrooms here in America?

Undoubtedly, fighting Hamas, fighting Chisbalah. That's the real thing. I actually have done both. Yeah. Or all three of them. Hamas, Chisbalah. And I speak on behalf of my people and my country in the media. And jokes aside, you know, reality is a very brutal one.

We have so many casualties every day. There are Israeli casualties in fighting in Gaza and in Lebanon. There are no casualties in real life in media, but truth suffers. I will tell you that we never hear about the casualties every day. We hear it from the other side, but we don't hear it on the Israel side. You don't hear it that there's been almost 900 Israeli civilians killed since October 7, and you don't hear that we have had almost 800 Israeli soldiers and security personnel killed, and you don't hear of tens of thousands of wounded Israelis.

You don't hear of rockets. Just a few seconds ago, I came into the studio. Rocket sirens again in Israel, millions of Israelis running for bomb shelters. A few hours ago, morning time in Israel, millions of Israelis had to run for bomb shelters because they were firing rockets both from Lebanon and from Syria. So there's a lot of things that don't transpire. How does a population live like that? With a lot of faith, with a lot of faith and based on the understanding that, yes, it's tough.

It's definitely inconvenient, but this is our ancestral homeland and we fight for it. And even if it isn't convenient, this is all we have. I talked to several rabbis over in Israel and they all say there is a, I don't know, an awakening going on with the Jewish people in their faith, that there is a great growth of faith in Israel right now. I would say so. I would say that there are more patriots. I think that people who perhaps before had dreams. of, you know, let's become like, I don't know, Denmark or Switzerland or some other very well-to-do,

convenient European country, which allegedly doesn't have security challenges, and let's aspire for that. Many people dreamt of that. But then reality came knocking in the most brutal way on October 7 when Hamas invaded into Israel. And since then, we've been fighting for a year. I have friends who have been deployed three and four times in Lebanon and in Gaza, with leaving their families back home, wife and children, their businesses, and just going to the front, fighting. And that takes a toll, and it is difficult.

But at the end of the day, people, you know, we get a reality check. And as we are a peace-loving people, we greet ourselves, we greet others by saying shalom. Shalom means peace. We aspire for peace. But many people have come to the understanding now that in order to achieve that, we have to be strong, protected, and we have to signal to our neighbors and enemies that you're not

going to get anywhere by attacking us and by killing and raping and murdering. It'll only be suffering for you because we're here to stay. So there is definitely a lot of awakening in Israel. I have to tell you, I think you're the only country that is fighting the war or fighting a war the way I think it's supposed to be fought. You fight hard and you fight. fight with peace always in one hand you can grab it at any time any time we'll stop but until they until the bad guys backs are broken we we would never have stopped going after the germans until they completely surrendered back and surrendered with the nazis there was it's crazy and with iSis you didn't wait for them to say well you know a partial agreement no with people like this

with monsters like this, with Nazis, with ISIS, with Hamas, with Hezbollah, with Iranians, there is one way and it's victory. Now, it may sound simplistic, and for people who think of themselves as nuanced and very sophisticated, perhaps it's too simplistic, but this is the very real reality of war, sadly. I mean, look at what did we do in Afghanistan? We made nancy nice at the end, and what happened? They're just back doing what they were doing in the first time. Sadly after 20 years, and by the way, you know, people who care about the suffering in Gaza,

and I can understand, people see horrible images on American media. It is horrible, and there is legitimate human suffering. Yes. It can end. If Hamas comes out of their tunnels and hands over the hostages and says, we surrender, the war ends in two days. It's that easy, and it's a choice that Hamas has, and they continue to make it. By the way, that offer has been on the table for about a year, right? Israel has been saying, listen, if you want to end up.

end the war, you can do it now and you can do it totally swiftly. Just come out of your tunnels and give us our hostages back. You know, I talked to Eric Prince the other day and he said, you know, we had a plan, his, you know, his group had a plan to pump seawater into all those tunnels. Yeah. We started doing that. You have. Yeah, yeah. We started doing it. It was a good plan, but unfortunately we didn't succeed with it and didn't follow through because our biggest concern was that we didn't know where our hostages were being held. And we had intel that most of the hostages were being held by Hamas inside tunnels. Do you think they're still alive?

Well, you know, sadly it's not about thinking. Out of 101 hostages that are still there, including two children that were taken, one at the age of just a few months old, I believe he was four months old. He spent more life in captivity in Hamas dungeons than he has as a free baby. He's about a year and a half now, Kfir Bivas. So we have 101 hostages out of those 101, 36, we know for sure are dead. And the families have been notified by the Israeli authorities that they are dead. The rest, question marks, I don't know.

We don't know. There's no definitive information about how many are alive. Working to trying to get them out. The head of the CIA was at a meeting together with the head of the Mossad and Qatari interlocutors in Doha, no big headlines coming out of that, unfortunately, doesn't seem as if Hamas wants to do a deal. And the conditions that they put up is as if they're winning the war and not losing it. So we're facing an election in six days here in America.

Tell me the difference between a Harris administration and a Trump administration from the point of Israel. So I understand that these elections are crucial for America from a perspective of, I mean for internal domestic issues in America. A lot of things that I know little about, but I watch from the side. My perspective is the Middle Eastern one. And when I look at the American posture, what matters for me is what kind of policy will Washington be dictating? What kind of leadership will Washington have when it comes to the Middle East? specifically Iran. And what I'm constantly listening trying to understand is what are the candidates saying about what are they going to do about Iran? What's the policy going to be about their nuclear weapons

program, which as we speak is going on, they are weaponizing. They're not only enriching uranium, but they continue to weaponize and to actually make concrete steps in order to build a nuclear bomb that they say that they will use. They call Israel, my country. a one bomb state. And that is what they plan to do, to have a nuclear bomb, to threaten to use it, and to use it. They say openly, by 2040, and this is on an official, there's a countdown in a square in Tehran, the Iranian capital, the square is called Palestine Square, and they have a countdown there from 2040, and they say that until 2040, we plan to annihilate the state of Israel. And if they'll have a nuclear bomb in their hands, then of course they will use it for that purpose.

outrageous for people who have a Western outlook, they say that they don't mean that. Exactly. They do. But that's exactly what Israelis said to themselves and what people said before October 7 about Hamas. No, they don't really mean it. It's just rhetoric for domestic consumption. And it's not serious, you know.

They're more into governance and they just want to get by and they want to look tough and hard with their jihadi peers. But yeah, you have to listen to your enemies. and the Iranians, the Iranian regime is a serious, very dedicated, disciplined, absolutely crazy regime, and their intention is to annihilate Israel. So therefore, American policy, in my mind, should reflect America's commitment to prevent Iran from being nuclear and to stop Iran from being the belligerent and source of terrorism in the region. And I'll remind everybody, especially Democratic voters that may be listening,

there's a thing called the Jerusalem Convention. President Biden, about two and a half years ago, he traveled to Israel before Bibi became Prime Minister the last time, and it was with Prime Minister Lapid, and President Biden signed a declaration where he says that the United States will use all of the capacities of its national power in order to prevent Iran from evergoing nuclear.

It's written, it's in the president's name, And that of course is something that we as Israelis value very much. And I think this should be the centerpiece of American policy towards the region. It'll do good for Israel. It'll do good for Saudi. It'll do good for the region. It'll be great for prosperity. And very importantly for America, it will strengthen America's brand.

It will deter the Chinese from challenging America. It will deter the Russians from challenging because they will see clear, committed, resolute American leadership. I was amazed at the treaty of the Abrahamic Accords. I mean, Donald Trump did things that I didn't think any president would ever do. And the Abrahamic... You were there on the ground with the embassy. Yeah, I mean, hello. I mean, that just didn't happen.

And when you look at the Abrahamic Accords, that was so unbelievably historic and really got very little play here in America. and then it was just dismantled. Well, first of all, it is, in my mind, worthy of Nobel Peace Prize. Yes. Hands down. It is the only peace deal in the Middle East, which wasn't a barter,

it wasn't land for peace. It was peace for peace, which is how peace should be given. Right. And brought everybody together. And brought everybody together. And I think the importance was that it broke, you know, the taboo around the issue of Israel,

and it allowed Arab countries who for years I call this the Israel Mistress Syndrome. You know, for years, decades, Arab countries around us have been engaged in interactions with Israel, but it's all been below the table and it's not been above board. Abraham Accords brought that above board and it's been a tremendous boost for the region. On October 7, Hamas, one of its goals, and this was at the direct directive of the Iranians, they wanted to derail the possible expansion of the Abraham Accords between Israel and Saudi. It was in the making.

It was going to happen. And what Hamas did on October the 7th actually put a wrench in those wheels, and we now are working hard to get that back. But I think the Abraham Accords are the way to the future. That is what we want to see. We want to see prosperity. We want to see respect for each other's borders. We want to bring people of different faiths together. I visited in Abu Dhabi.

They have a beautiful site. I don't know if you've been there, but they have the Abrahamic center where they have a church, a mosque, and a synagogue in the same compound, and they actually teach about coexistence. That's a beautiful thing, and that's exactly the spirit that we need in the Middle East. Not wars and Iranians and nuclear and terrorists and all of that stuff, but we need people to be able to work, to prosper, to practice their faith, all of it in respect to others, in respect to others' history, but also with respect to our right to live in our homeland. How will, I've only got about 90 seconds here, how will Iran react to a return of Donald Trump?

I think that the coming three months, the last part of the presidential period, will be a very sensitive one. And I think that whatever happens, whoever is elected, it'll be perhaps a time where Iran will try to break out and to really go from being a potential nuclear state to actually having the weapons. And I think that if President Trump is elected, then they would perhaps want to establish that as a fact before he goes into office. But I think that the Iranians fear, the Iranian regime are in fear of President Trump based on what President Trump did in his first presidency, where he was the first one to take out the terrorist mass mastermind. General Kassim Soleimani, that was a brilliant move for which the people of the Middle East,

everybody should be thankful because that was exactly what was needed. More is needed against the evil Iranian regime. And especially what the U.S. and Israel should be doing is supporting the Iranian people. Supporting the Iranian people against the Iranian regime. That's the way forward. And that is what Israel will start focusing on. And that is what I hope that the United States of America will do. Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conry Cussie's retired, former Israeli Defense Forces and spokesperson, and also with the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, senior fellow there. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. God bless you. Thank you. It's something else here now, something new.

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