WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Hart on the Hill: Pardons, Policy, and Political Preparation

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

This week, Micah Hart discusses Hunter Biden's pardon, Trump's Israel foreign policy statement, and looking ahead to next year in politics. 

Welcome back to another episode of Heart on the Hill. I am back and I am so excited to be back after a few weeks out. It is so great to be here. It's a little snowy and cold here in Michigan, but that is okay. We are going to keep going with it. I am so thankful for this show and it was just Thanksgiving. So I just wanted to really say thank you so much for tuning into this show. I am so thankful for every one of you who takes time to listen and hear my thoughts and hear my perspectives

because it means a lot to me. It means a lot that people want to hear what I'm talking about. want to hear more about what is going on in our world. And I think that's something too. I'm so thankful that people actually do care about these things. And they can care about them and not make them their whole life. And I think that's a really important thing that I've tried expressing is like, you should really care, but politics should never be your entire being and in your entire

life. And so I'm just so thankful that people have been taking time to listen to this. And I'm thankful for the opportunity I've been given to write this show, produce this show, edit this show, make this show, and make it what it is. It has been one of the other. of my favorite parts of college has been doing this show and getting to come into the recording studio every week and just pour my heart and soul into this and share what I'm passionate about and why I'm passionate about it and how I balance my life and still work in politics and do

stuff in politics and have thoughts and have opinions. So thank you so much for listening. It just means truly so much to me and I am so thankful for each and every one of you. And I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Well, there's a lot to talk about in politics. so I just want to get into that right now. So let's get into all of the things going on. So I want to start with the story that I think most people have seen by now. Hunter Biden is being pardoned by his father, outgoing President Joe Biden. This is a big story.

And I think that the reason this is so big is because of the context in which this has been done. Look, Joe Biden had said on multiple accounts that he would not pardon Hunter Biden. He said he would not do it. There was no case. We had Green John Pierre say that. In the briefing room we had, it said multiple times to us from everyone that Hunter Biden would not be pardoned. And then Joe Biden decides over the weekend, oh yeah, I'm going to pardon him now and just do that. And I think it's really concerning.

Why is it concerning? Because nobody's above the law. Joe Biden has said that. Nobody's above the law. Apparently some people are Joe Biden. Apparently some people with the right last name are above the law. If you have the right name or the right amount of money, it seems like you can be above the law. And that's not how it's meant to be.

It's not like that. It shouldn't be like that in America. You shouldn't have to have a last name or money to get anywhere. And I'm not saying that those things are completely bad in and of themselves. It's okay to be related to a politician. It's okay to have money. It's how you use those things. And if you use them well, not to do things like this, which are just corrupt.

I get really frustrated about this because the average American who lives in the Midwest or wherever they live, middle America, all right, they can't just say, I'm going to do something and then I'll just get pardoned by the president or some big person will come in and save me. That's not how it works for most Americans. And I think that is honestly why Donald Trump had a successful campaign this time around again. People are fed up with elites in DC controlling them and running everything. People are sick of them getting their way on everything and not listening to the people who they think are below them, who are just average. Americans just trying to live their lives out because these people in D.C. make themselves above the law.

They think they're better than everyone. And these politicians allow everything to happen how they want it. They don't listen to the American people. And Donald Trump offered a referendum against that kind of thinking. Something new, something outside, outsiders coming in and being a force for good for the average American. So this ties, I think, to more than just Joe Biden. But it also ties to the elections and how things are looking in this country. people are, honestly, rightfully so, fed up with all of this corruption and how people can just get their way if they have certain things, if they have certain names, if they have certain amounts of money. It's ridiculous because the average American doesn't have that at their access. They can't just go and say, I'll make a phone call and get a favor or I have money and I can get away with

whatever I want. That's not how it works. So maybe DC does need a reality check as to, hey, look, this is actually how Americans live. This is how we work. We cannot do that. I, can't just go in and say, hey, do this for me. None of us can do that. So I really get really fired up and frustrated about this because it just pushes the American people to the wayside. It says, you know what? You can just go away. I'm doing this because this is for my family and these people. It really does show how elitist DC actually is and how insider politics are. And it really bothers me because that's not what it's supposed to be. Everyone should be held to the same law. Nobody is above the law, period. I don't care what your last name is. I don't care

how much money you have. Everyone is responsible and should be held responsible to the law, period. That is the end of the discussion. There's nothing more to. It's simple as that. The law should be applied equally, okay? And it doesn't seem to be that way. So that's something I wanted to just bring up because I think that, I think that it's something we've seen so much of this frustration with what's going on in D.C. and what goes on in Congress or what doesn't happen and how people are treated, average Americans are treated. And rightfully, so I think people are frustrated and upset about it. So this pardon, I don't think it comes to, it's not a surprise to me. I'm not very surprised at all that Joe Biden did this. But I am upset that this did happen

and that there was just, oh yeah, we're going to pardon him, whatever. And there are people upset, but I think, I think this is really concerning. It needs to be definitely talked about a lot, a lot, a lot. over the next few months. And Joe Biden sells a little time in office, so we'll see what he does as well, along with all of this. So now I just want to talk about Congress and give a little update.

So there's one seat we're still waiting on to get decided. It's going to be a close majority for Republicans, whatever the case may be, especially given the fact that Trump has taken several people out of the house to put in his own cabinet and his own team. So by taking just a few of them out, you narrow that majority, one or two seats now. Just think about what we've seen in the last two years or so with the small majority of Republicans have had. It's been crazy. We see speakers getting ousted. We see contention within the

party on platform. And those things, I mean, it's good to have some dissent on policy and things like that, but you want a unified front when you're trying to get stuff done, especially when you're trying to get a president's agenda completed and carried through. And that's what we're what they're going to have to do. It's going to be a trifecta for Republicans. They're going to want to get stuff done. And so when you have such a narrow majority, it makes it really tough, in my opinion. Obviously, it makes sense it would because you have to have, how is the speaker going to maintain power, how are committee is going to look? What is it going to look like certain legislation? And then you have to consider two states that are swing states, or more importantly, let's talk about swing districts in the

house. Okay. So if we have a swing district in the house, these people, you want them to vote with Republicans, if they're Republican, but they also have to listen to their constituencies. And if those people, if they're in more moderate districts, they have to be very careful what they're voting for, because that will come up in two years. They don't have the luxury of having a six-year term in the house. They have to have a two-year term, and they have to run again. And these are very important votes that will be brought up against them if they vote a certain way. So it's very hard to walk that line. And we'll have to see, what does the Trump administration do? What does the House do? How does it all work together? Because that's something that is going to take a lot of effort and a lot of tightrope walking, I think,

to get it done and to make sure that it's done properly. It's a lot of strategy and thinking, how do we get this done in the best way possible that helps us keep looking forward? Because if you think we're done, elections, elections are never done. We're always looking to the next one now. So it's looking at 2026.

What are we going to do in the midterms now? And that's why you have committees that already start looking at candidates, vetting candidates, and starting to get things rolling. It's an all-around, all-the-time thing that always has to happen because you're trying to always find new candidates, always try to protect your seats. You have that are very vulnerable seats.

and so this is going to continue to happen. And so we're going to have to watch these numbers and how this all plays out and what goes on because, I mean, it's going to be a really close House of Representatives. The Senate's a little bigger of a majority for Republicans. We're going to even watch that with confirmations as well and see how numbers have to look with. You have some swing state senators

who also have to be very cautious about what they do and are a little more moderate than others. I'm thinking of people who you're watching out for like Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Susan Collins from Maine. Those are people you're going to have to be watching and seeing what they do in a lot of these situations for Senate confirmations and Senate even legislation. Now, I want to talk about a truth social posts that I saw that Donald Trump had put out. And it says this. I'm going to quote it. Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world in the Middle East.

but it's all talk and no action. Please let this truth serve to represent that if the hostages are not released, prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume office as president in the United States, there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East. And for those in charge who've perpetrated these atrocities against humanity, those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and story history of the United States of America, release the hostages now. And this obviously is with regard to the hostages taken for her.

Israel. This is a true social from Donald Trump and it really struck home with me. I was very pleasantly surprised to read that from him. I mean, this is something I've heard deeply about is Israel. I really do care about what's going on there and how to deal with it and how to move forward from that. Look, the situation stands at this. Israel cannot give up. If Israel gives up and Hamas just continues, everything is destroyed. Everything is gone. They cannot do that. If Hamas were to back up and say, we're done, this would be over. Israel could maintain its rights. Israel cannot back down and simply do that.

They'll lose everything. People don't understand that. Or maybe frankly don't care to understand that. And Israel has every right to exist. You can't just say they can't exist. That's ridiculous. There are a sovereign nation. And their people are being held hostage by terrorists and thugs.

Thugs who think they can get away with evil atrocities. And look, what Donald Trump said is right, they will have to deal with this. They will have to pay. Hamas will have to pay. And anyone else who is associated with this should have to pay as well. Any other terrorist group, any other country that is helping supporting Hamas or anti-Israel that is in this realm and working against Israel will have to pay for this. That's how it should be.

We should stand with our allies and up against tyrants, terrorists, and thugs. That's what we should be doing. We always should stand on the right side of history. This is the right side. being with Israel, who is our ally. I think our strongest ally in the world, a freedom-loving country who knows what it means to love freedom and love values.

That's what we're supporting and we're standing up for. We need to work with them and get this done for them, for the hostages, for those who have died. Make sure we honor them. Make sure we show that you don't mess with Israel. You don't mess with the United States. This is a new realm of foreign policy where you know what, we get things done.

We don't sit there like Joe Biden with the Afghanistan withdrawal, which was so horrible and horrific and an embarrassment to the United States. We get things done and we show our word. We do it. We put action in like Donald Trump said. We don't just say things. We do things. That's what America's strength looks like.

That's what America first looks like. It looks like getting things done. Getting things done for the American people and our allies. And our allies. There is so much more foreign policy I think that can be talked about. I am a big foreign policy fan. I love talking about it. And I think that the world is on watch now.

With Donald Trump getting into office, people are going to have to watch. Countries are going to have to watch and see what they do. Because he's not messing around. And that true social action made it very clear that he is very serious about what he's done. And if you remember his four years in office as well, he was very serious about what we did there.

And there was a lot of accountability. That's what this needs. There needs to be an accountability. And we're watching. We will check you. If you go out of line, you're the next one. We're going to check you. You will make sure you stay in line and don't go crazy.

And that's what we need. And we need strong leadership to do that. You need a strong leader who will say it as it is and do what he has to do, who will actually lead and not just sit there and allow everything to happen, who actually lives up to his word. And that's, I think, why countries and even some leaders kind of are concerned about Trump and fear him at times is because he, he actually lead and will follow through on his word.

They're like, oh, he won't do that. And then he would. You know, that's the thing. Joe Biden would never do that. He doesn't talk the way Trump does. He doesn't know how to do it in that way and express his frustration and desire for his way to go that way. He doesn't do that like Trump does. And so I think there's definitely going to be a foreign policy shift in this country.

And I think it's going to be fascinating to see what actually really happens, how quickly things change. in the world? What changes if they change? And I really think that that true social actually was very impressive to me. As much as I may have gone a little aggressive on Trump at times last year and said, like, I was just a little frustrated with him. You know what? It's good to criticize when you think there's errors. That's good. It's healthy to criticize every leader. You can criticize any leader. There's no person I agree 100% with and I will criticize every politician on something if I disagree with them, right? That's normal. You should want to do that. It's healthy to do that. But when they get it right, you should be applauding them. And this is something Donald Trump

did an amazing job. And there's a lot of things. His presidency, I think, will do so great. And he'll be able to function well. And especially having a really good cabinet that just works with him well. I think Secretary St. Marker Rubio will be able to work well with him and get things done and be able to show that America isn't going to take a seat in the back. We're not going to be the back burner country. We're going to actually lead and we're going to show what American strength means. Something I think has been missing for a few years now with Joe Biden in office. It's something that we really do need to get back to and showing the world and showing that you don't mess with the United States. You don't mess with our allies that we will act accordingly. And I think that's something that this leadership

will actually be able to show. So now I also want to talk about legacy media and the election. I think it's important to note that I think there wasn't as much sway from legacy media this time. I think a lot of podcasts and other things did a better job. And I think Trump did a great job at going on those and being able to talk to more people that way. I think a lot of Americans have moved away from legacy media and the likes of mainstream journalism, which has its liberal biases, and have shifted toward looking at smaller shows, smaller programs, or even a little bit bigger. And Republicans do a good job at getting those.

So it's something I think that pollsters didn't really count. And I think they also didn't look at just everyday Americans who were just fed up with everything going on. I've kind of said like the DC insider vibe is really frustrating. And I think that was the case this time too, even with polling. Like people didn't want to say who they were voting for, but they did want to vote and they made their voices heard. They were frustrated with how things have been. They wanted something new. They wanted change and they knew that Donald Trump could bring change.

They saw Kamala Harris as an extension of Joe Biden. and that's kind of a failure on the Kamala Harris campaign part as well, is that she basically said, and she did say actually on the view, that she wouldn't change a single thing that Joe Biden had done. And so when you say that, people are going to think it's just going to be four more years of the same, and rightfully so it is. If you're saying that, of course, it's going to be the same thing that had already been happening in the country and all the failures that had already been seen.

So, of course, they're going to switch their vote and vote for Donald Trump in that case because they were frustrated, and they saw the real-life implications of what had happened under Joe Biden and what would happen then under Kamala Harris if they're the one and the same. So I think that was something that wasn't looked at enough is that people were frustrated. People were concerned about gas prices, food prices, what was going on in the world. People wanted answers and they weren't getting that from Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. And so Democrats did themselves a disservice by nominating her. And Democrats, frankly, did a disservice and letting Kamala put up Tim Walz as her VP and aiding

her in doing that. There was a lot of mistakes on their end, I think, and I think also it went to media and her not doing enough outside journalism and not going to outlets that are not as big. That was a big part. I don't think people are listening or watching the news that is all mainstream and legacy that used to be watched as much anymore. I think there's been a big shift and that is going to have to be accounted for in upcoming elections is what do you do? Where do you market? How do you mark it? I think social media is going to be a big part, especially in Gen Z voters, and how do you reach them? How do you reach older people as well

who also may be shifting their media tendencies? You have to find a way to break through all of the media and all of the craziness and find what is actually the most beneficial and what will be the most beneficial. It can change very quickly. And I think it is changing very quickly in this country and in this world

where I think in this country people are getting really just frustrated about the tendencies they see on legacy media and that it's always just one way. People just want the news. They just want to hear the things. They just want to know what is going on. They don't want any biases in it.

They just want to hear the truth and hear why their prices are as high as they are. They want to hear why it's so hard to buy a home and why it's so expensive to buy a home. They want to know why jobs are going overseas. They want to know why things aren't being made in the U.S. They want to know why it's not safe abroad right now in certain countries because of wars. They want to know why our southern border is just open for illegal immigrants to come through. They want to know why all of them. these things are happening in the country and how they can get it fixed and they want to know that.

And so when you have these other outlets to actually talk, actually ask questions, actually try to bring in audiences that have different viewpoints, you get a better conversation and you get better appreciation of the news, I think. And I think that that is what is happening in our current political atmosphere right now. And it's something that has been not talked about enough by anyone. So I think that's something that is getting talked about more, but even like, legacy media won't talk about that. They won't talk about how they're losing their numbers because of that, but it's something we should all be talking about for sure. So I just wanted to say thank you so much for listening to the show this week and just overall

this entire semester I've had doing this show again. It means a world to me, as I've said. And I will not be on for a few weeks now. It is going to be. Christmas so I'm going home to see my family and friends and I'm super excited about that but I am so fortunate for each and every one of you and I hope that you have a very merry Christmas that you spend time with family that you are able to enjoy the Christmas season don't focus too much on politics don't focus too much on the news enjoy every moment with your loved ones enjoy making new memories warm up by the fire have a cup of hot cocoa play some board games whatever you do read nice book. Just have a great time and make sure you're not focused too much on all these

crazy divisive things that we talk about. They're important to know, but they're not your entire life. They're not my entire life. We are human beings. We have souls. We have so much more to us than just political beliefs or ideologies or whatever that all is. We have so much to us. And I hope you can really realize that and just have a great, wonderful, truly amazing Christmas. So thank you so much. You've been listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. And this is part of the hell.