The Keith Edwards Show - Top Republican Leaves Trump White House

Episode Date: March 16, 2026

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Donald Trump is becoming more and more erratic, and as that's happening, more and more people are jumping ship. We now have another Republican who has quit on Donald Trump, and this comes as a congressman actually left the Republican Party. Maga as a movement is dying. We're seeing it happen in real time. Look at this one person's drought. Red pill media saying America was better under Biden. I agree. Maybe that's the one thing we do agree on. As I said, a Republican congressman has actually left the Republican Party. And here's a bit of that. All days after GOP Congressman Kevin Kiley, whose Rockland District was split into six pieces, said he had planned to run for California's six district as a no-party preference candidate.

He now says that he will serve out the remainder of this congressional term as an independent, reflecting on how he has always approached the job as an independent voice. A Kylie Challenger calls the move a, quote, desperate attempt to stay elected. I do think that's right. I think it's a desperate attempt to stay elected. And I think it shows how bad the Republican Party brand has become that members of its own party would rather be independent of it than be attached to it. And is it any surprise that Republicans want to flee ship when Donald Trump has waged war in Iran? Prices are higher than ever.

And the Epstein files aren't even, they're not even not being released. they're stopping them from being released. That is why Richard Grinnell, one of the reasons why, he has decided to leave the Kennedy Center. Rick Grinnell planned to transition out of his role as president of the 54-year-old Kennedy Center on Monday as a nation's premier performing arts venue finalizes his plans for a two-year shutdown for renovations. Grinnell is going to be succeeded by some guy named Matt Floka or Flaka, the Vice President of Facility Operations at the National. cultural center. Grinnell, who also serves as Trump's envoy for special missions, will still be active in the organization as an unpaid consultant. The change is set to be announced today. Now, when people

found out about that, they had some words, and Rick Grinnell did not like it. Here's Sheldon Whitehouse saying, like a mob bust gone wrong, Trumpsters looting of the Kennedy Center has put it out of business, and now needs to be closed for renovations as a cover-up, no surprise he's being replaced. If you don't know, the Kennedy Center, which they renamed the Trump Kennedy Center, because Donald Trump has decided to control it, has gone bankrupt. Because literally no one, like who wants to go to a theater that is owned by Donald Trump? Certainly not people who live in D.C., which, by the way, is like, I think 96% Democratic. So yeah, it makes sense to me that folks would say,

I think I'm good on going to buy tickets to the Trump Kennedy Center. And so instead of admitting that no one's actually going there, they're shutting it down for renovations for two years. What happens in two years, by the way? Oh, it's 2028 when Donald Trump no longer is going to be our problem. Now, after White House said this, Richard Grinnell said, your buffoonering knows no limits. You sat silent while the place went into total disrepair.

You sat silent while the staff was paid with money is designed to pay off the future $30 million of loan coming due in 2030 because there is no money in the bank to pay salaries. You sat silent while corporations left because of the hard, left, woke programming. We fixed it and we are doing the right thing to close the entire place in a few weeks to renovate because of your years of neglect. This Washington game of kicking the can down the road and never solving problems is ended with President Trump. It doesn't matter what you or your, or the New York Times are CNN says, we are fixing the

place that you ruined. It becomes a construction site for two years because you failed to keep up the maintenance. Oh my God. Okay. So then John Harwood said, quote, we fixed it. Yeah, you broke it. Is anyone believe that Donald Trump fixed the Kennedy Center? I don't.

One for one second. He definitely made it go bankrupt. He made it a brand that no one wants to touch. Thankfully, we can, I look forward to the day when we tear down the Trump sign, the Trump Kennedy Center. That'll be very healing for me. I look forward to that. Now, we're also getting more reporting here that Donald Trump wants to replace the White House columns with ones that he prefers. The head of a federal arts commission is proposing the more ornate Corinthian style for the nearly 200-year columns at the building's front entrance.

For nearly two centuries, the White House's main entrance framed by a role of graceful, iconic columns has been a signature image of the seat of American power. Now the Trump appointed head of a Federal Arts Commission is proposing to replace them with the more ornate style favored by President Donald Trump, the more decorative columns of style known as Corinthian are considered the most luxurious in classical architecture. So, of course, Donald Trump wants them. So these are the current columns, I guess, right here. they have different shapes and then the ones that they're proposing on the right here look like that. I mean, it's, I just kind of feel like of all the things to be worrying about right now, are we really going to worry about comms? And I will say this too.

Stop. Like, what the fuck? Like, just stop. He's destroying classic American institutions. So I guess it makes sense that he's destroying our buildings. But I don't like. is he just allowed to do this? I don't think he is. I think he has to go through some sort of process. It's very upsetting. This, the ballroom, they destroyed the Rose Garden, they're trying to erect some

sort of arc in D.C. I'm sure there's more, the Trump Kennedy Center. He is just intent on putting his face and brand on everything. Meanwhile, MAGA is realizing that they're not going to get what they want from him. Trump to change visa program to increase immigration, Trump regime will change the criteria of the H-2A visa program, as it says here. And imagine being MAGA right now. They voted for so much and got so little. And Donald Trump has an opinion on architecture, but can't explain why 5,000 Marines and sailors are being sent to Iran. It's something we talk about. See what happens. You're talking about selling oil.

Even Piers, you're a very unvaccious person. I want to ask if you talk to... Even Pierce Morgan can't defend any of this. Pierce, you're someone who has had lots of interactions with Donald Trump. Do you think he has a clue what he's trying to achieve in the Middle East? No, I don't. And I think he's thought that he could pull a Venezuela here, decapitate the leadership of Iran,

and it would all get settled quite quickly. And I think two weeks in, what is very clear is this is not going to get settled quickly. All the mission statements he's laid out have changed day by day, sometimes hour by hour. It was going to be regime change. It was going after the nuclear capability, which we'd been assured only 10 months ago had been dismantled already, et cetera, et cetera. And I think that what you've got is a very interesting war. Obviously, all wars are interesting, but particularly interesting here, whether you've got the tremendously overwhelming superiority of the American and Israeli military combined,

which is bigger than anything we've ever seen probably on planet Earth, up against the Iranians who have played a very different strategy. They've gone after a war economically. Yeah, well, that's why Republicans are fleeing ship. That's why you have folks like Red Pell Media is saying America was better under Biden because, you know what, they're right. We were right the entire time. We knew this is going to happen.

Donald Trump has no exit plan, but at least he's, I guess he knows how to decorate a White House.