Here is the clean, unformatted transcript of the podcast episode without timestamps:
Hey folks, welcome back to the Mac and Mike show. We're going to talk a little bit today about the election that occurred a couple of days ago. I'm sure you've probably heard dozens if not tens of hundreds of pundits talk about what happened and why. Mike and I have our own views. Um, I just I'll just say this leading in one of our previous um uh podcast. I said that what struck me as being kind of odd was the Democrats were running around saying, "Pretend Donald Trump is on the ballot." And Donald Trump was running around saying, "Pretend I'm on the ballot." Well, one of them probably shouldn't have been claiming that because the way it turns out, it looks like Donald Trump was on the ballot. And the people were kind of rebuking Donald Trump. That's the general sense I get. You know, I saw somebody, one of the pundits put a list up there and said, "What are the reasons you're voting the way you did?" And the first one was the Iran war. The second was um affordability and then gas prices. And then so you have some thoughts, I'm sure, Mike.
Well, yeah. Um people vote emotionally and they forget how bad it was under Biden. Um I they had higher expectations because you know he said no new foreign wars with boots in the ground but he uh you know that was a big thing. People say he said no foreign wars. He didn't say that. He said no boots in the ground. But you know then he had to he said no forever wars. Forever wars. That and yeah and and boots on the ground. So he's been reticent to do that and I don't blame him. That's not a good move. Um, but of course that drove gas prices back up because after Joe Biden left and Trump took over, they were pretty low because, you know, we were producing more again because Biden had stopped production. He restarted it and of course that led to an immediate uh drop in gas prices, but then it crept back up during the war. And then of course he had to go and say every day, it'll it'll be over shortly shortly. Well, what are we? How many half a year? In February, the first bombing.
Yeah. So, so we're actually what? Nine almost nine months. So, um here we go. And and that's a big factor.
I'm just going to interject for a moment. You know, one thing that bothers me is the way the media portrayed the effect of the Iran war on the price of gasoline. And the reason I say that is is because prior to February and the beginning of hostilities between Israel, America, and the nation of Iran, there were like 13.8 or 9 million barrels of oil traversing the straight of Hormuz on a daily basis. As of this week, um the amount of oil traversing the straight of Hormuz is 14.2 or 14.3 million barrels a day. So more oil is coming through the straight of Hormuz today than there was before the war began. So when and and I and I know the media are not fans of Donald Trump and I know the media wants to report things the way they view it and it's logical if you think about it. you know, we're have a war in Iran and the gas price of gas went up and and that that's typical, right? It's same thing happened in 90 90 91 when we went to war with Saddam Hussein. So, yeah, people have a tendency to link war in the Middle East, gas prices high, but if more oil is coming through the straight now than before the war, it's a little bit difficult for me to logically understand that that was the primary reason why the gas prices went up. I think there are a lot of reasons why gas prices went up, but I don't think the war in Iran is is the biggest factor there. And I I think because it was portrayed that way, even our local listen, the local US House of Representative race that that affected me in in where I live, the opponent to the incumbent kept saying, "My opponent voted for the Iran war six times, and that means you're paying more at the gas pump than you should be." Well, I don't see the correlation there. And there may be some tangential kind of impact, but again, more oil coming through the straight of homes now than than before the war. Go continue.
Well, it takes a while to catch up, too, you know, because it's not just the oil, it's the refining of the product. So, that takes time. And of course, we had problems with gas back when the uh Sov or the Russians invaded Ukraine. And we have problems with fertilizer and natural gas. and Europe had issues. So Europe had to find other alternatives. And of course the the oil that comes out of there was affecting Japan and the Asian market and Europe more than us. And we are a national economy today. So an absence of oil anywhere means increased prices everywhere. And I think a bigger factor to the increased price of gasoline was the Ukraine war because of the amount of refining that Russia did and Ukraine blowing up so many of the refineries in Russia. So I mean that that was plus you you put it like five or six different oil refineries in the state of California were shut down by Gavin Newsome over the past couple years. So, we can't refine the oil into the various gasoline products um as quickly as we used to as well.
Yeah. And I understand Trump's reopening or actually maybe building another one. So, that takes a long time to come on board. But the majority reason is people are emotional. You know, there's a whole bunch of other factors uh that hit. you know, you got the young crowd and of course, you know, the way the news made it seem like we're grabbing people off of the street and deporting them instead of just getting rid of the worst of the worst. And um you know, so America's fickle. We went through this with Joe Biden. Nobody thought Joe Biden was going to win, but he did. And and he we learned our lesson over four years and they went and put Trump back in. And I think that's what you're going to see here. Uh we were discussing earlier, we don't know who's going to run for president and win the primary next time on the Republican side. We have no clue about the Democrats.
I'll tell you, Democrats going to have 20 different people running for president in the primary. Yeah. You know, it won't people say it won't be Gavin and other people say, "Well, it will be Kla. She's a crapshoot." Uh we're talking on our side about JD, Marco Rubio, and Dantis out of Florida. We'll see. But the bigger news story, I guess, was, you know, the hits that uh we took in the state elections. You know, obviously Texas Texas turning blue. Texas. That's hard to believe. In order for that to happen, Mike, Republican voters had to vote for Democratic candidates because they have a huge registration um situation in Texas. It's been read forever. The biggest one is Kansas, right? Kansas hasn't had a a Democratic senator since 1800, like the Civil War or something, you know? So yeah, that's kind of crazy. And I think, you know, Donald Trump did an interview. It was kind of like a walk by interview when he was showing off the progress that's being made in the ballroom in the East Wing. And some people stopped him and asked him, you know, people have said the war was the biggest reason why they changed their votes. Do you have any regrets? And he said, no, I don't do the regret thing. But if you looked at his face, his face was telling you something more than what his words were telling you. And um you know, he said, "I don't I don't play the regret game." He said, "Knowing what I know, I would have made the same today. I'd make the same decision I made." So that indicates to me that, you know, there was a problem with the nuclear weapon and Iran. Um but you know what I think? I think Donald Trump was so successful in the 2024 election. He did so well and it was almost a cult of personality, right? I mean, every demographic came out and voted for Donald Trump. He had a wonderful wonderful election. Won seats in both houses of Congress. Uh won the the popular vote. So, it was it was a significant victory for Donald Trump and the Republicans, the like of which they hadn't had in a number of years. And I think Donald Trump had this idea in his head that these people loved him and they were going to vote for him um over whatever else was going on. And I and I think there was a little bit of a shocking kind of realization that he didn't have that kind of popularity, that kind of personal commitment that he thought he had with his voters. And I think I think what they were telling him was, you know, you told us you were going to give us all the information on the Epstein Files. You know, Mike, I'm shocked at what a big deal the Epstein files are to so many people. I mean, both sides, but but to me, it's insignificant. And I don't mean I don't mean it's insignificant that it that it happened and and nobody was really punished for it. What I mean is is that we can't do anything about it now. It's not going on now. You know, we can't go back and repair what has already been done. So, I mean, from that perspective, why waste time and energy on something you can't fix? You can punish other people if you want, but you can't fix it, you can't make it right. Correct.
And, you know, my response to people are fascinated by the Epstein files is, well, what about the 25,000 young English girls annually that are being turned into prostitutes by these Muslim gangs? in in in uh in the United Kingdom, don't you? I mean, isn't it more important to work on the current 25,000 young teenage girls being groomed into prostitution rather than fighting over the Epstein files? I mean, you you could argue, you could do, but it's not just England. It's here, too. I mean, we have all these illegal immigrants, and a lot of those poor innocent girls are being turned into basically slaves and prostitutes. Um, you know, so it's probably just as bad here. and we're not talking about it.
Well, I think it's worse in in uh I mean it really is a cottage industry in in in England because they have this influx influx of Muslims uh from Pakistan and India and some other places and you know their religion is um it it it it looks at those things differently than than our the Christian religion does. Yeah.
And I I just, you know, it's not only the Epstein files, but it's so many of these things that Donald Trump said he would do or would not do and then he hasn't delivered on. You know, don't get me wrong. You know, you and I did a podcast a couple of weeks ago. We talked about uh short uh video that that Glenn Beck did and he talked about all the successes that he had and also his his um you know, the things that were not successful for him, the things that he didn't accomplish. But the accomplishments far outweighed the negatives, the, you know, the didn't accomplish list. And I think that there are certain things that people were unable to see beyond, you know, the price of gas, the the price of groceries. You know, one of the reasons why Donald Trump was elected is because Biden delivered what, five on 20ome% inflation in his four years in office. So prices were exceedingly high then. And I I think the message there is is you know like James Carville said when he was trying to get Bill Clinton like it's the economy stupid remember him saying that and I think those factors were the even they said it was the Warner ran. I think the Warner ran that people linked in in inaccurably with the price of gas at the pump. I don't think that those should have been linked that way but I think the media did link it that way. So, those are the reasons why the Republicans lost. But Mike, it it was, you know, it wasn't a blue wave. It was a tsunami. I mean, now I think it's going to be interesting to see how the Democrats govern. Mhm. They won't be sworn in till January. So, we've got a couple of months till the new people get in. Once the new people get in, the first thing they do with the reorganization of Congress, first thing that happens is, you know, voting for the leadership, you know, the majority leader in the Senate, the and the uh speaker of the House. And I think those elections are going to be difficult to accomplish for the Democrats. I think they've got, you know, the Republicans have a couple of different what I'll call um influence areas of influence, but the Democrats have multiple numbers areas of influence and some issues that are not necessarily popular with the American people, right? I mean, 90% of the people, I think, don't want men to play women's sports. 90% of the people. And please check me on these numbers because I'm pulling a number out of the air. 90% of the people want voter ID. Those are not things that the Democrats are going to change. They're not going to put laws in. Well, on the voter ID, you know, Thume was criticized for not bringing that up. And there's a nuance there. So, it's not just having an ID. They want proof of citizenship, which the left was always claiming was more difficult for women uh because, you know, their names changed, so identities change. And I mean, ask me, can I prove that I'm an American citizen? I don't know. Does my military ID count? I don't have the new modern What's that? I don't even have my modern military ID. Highspeed moni Oh, yeah. I don't have that yet. Are you be Are you going to be able to get on post? I think Janu in a while. I went back a couple months ago and I had no problem getting on to do a histo history history interview. Yeah. Um but you know it I mean there's some legitimacy to the difficulty that it would cause some people. It's not just the racist thing saying that blacks are too stupid to get an ID which is what the right was saying when the left would object to that. um you know, we could have made it a little easier, I guess, but the problem was if you said you just had to show up with a license, so many of these states are giving licenses to illegal immigrants that that's not a valid proof. So, it's it's a difficult um thing to to to overcome. And I see why Thu might have had some difficulty getting the votes he needed even though it's popular issue. Uh the details, it's always the details. And and they they also bundle things, you know. You know, Mike, if I go to the drugstore and I want to buy pseudafed because I have a cold. Yeah. But they don't ask you to prove you're a citizen. They just say, "Let me see ID." They they asked to see your ID. So, this was about citizenship more than ID. If it was just ID, I I think it would have passed very quickly. And they also bundle other things in, you know. So, that's the other thing. We're not being honest as Republicans and the Democrats play the same game of telling people everything that's bundled in to get through the House and the Senate that may not be as popular. They're behind the the scenes deals. Okay, we'll give you this if you give us that. And uh that's what goes under that that happens with legislation. I agree. But here's the thing, Mike. Do you remember when President Barack Obama was asked a question about the number of seats that he lost in his midterm election and his and how was he going to be able to govern because he no longer had the House and Senate. And what his response was, I have a pen and I have a phone and I know how to use them. And I think that the United States of America as originally conceived had three co-equal branches of government. judicial, legislative, executive. Uh over the past 20, 30, 40 years, we've allowed the executive branch to just steal so much more power. You know, they use executive orders. That's what Barack Obama was talking about. And that's that's really how President Trump was able to get most of his changes implemented despite a Congress that was, you know, what is it that Teddy Roosevelt said? A do nothing Congress. Yeah, that's what we're going to have. we're going to well they're going to do plenty like Greg Gutfeld said and many others said it before Greg Gutfeld is they're the Democrats are probably going to overplay their hand. They're going to go after impeachment like I expect before Munch but it's never going to get through the Senate because they don't have a twothirds majority. Yep. But it's not just President Trump they're going to go after No, they're going to go after HGET. They're going to go after Elon Musk. They're gonna Yeah. They're going to go after a number of people. And um I I think you I think you're playing with fire when you do that, you know, because what's good for the goose is good for the gander. And you know, maybe the Democrats believe they're always going to be in power from now on. I don't know that that's true. You know, the problems that exist in America today, that is that you look at that list of the top four things that that caused people to vote the way they did. The Iran war is going to go away. I don't know how or when it's going to go away, but I would I would imagine it's a matter of months, not years, that the ground war is going to be brought to an end one way or the other. Yeah. The other point I'd like to make is is that this inflation that's ongoing, um there's a number of things that have to be brought to bear um to to to to stifle that inflation. But Medicare for all is not one of them. They can't do that. See, that's the thing. They they've made these promises and statements. A lot of it had to do with state and local governments. You can't defund the police from the federal level. Now, you can try and defund ICE. And I think what we're going to see in 2027 is a government shutdown. You know, it'll be over funding issues. So, what they can't get by cooperation, they'll get through coercion. But will it work is the question. I mean, who who gets the blame when the government shuts down? Eh, it depends on who makes the squeakiest noise, I suppose.
One of my favorite uh comments ever by President Barack Obama was the statement that elections have consequences. Mhm. And I think that that's the the watchwords for what happens in 2027 because, you know, defunding the Iraq war or excuse me, the Iran war, defunding ICE, you know, you can't stop the president from using his pen and his phone to issue executive orders. What you can do as a Congress is stop the money from going to those organizations. Are they willing to stop money that going to ICE? Are they willing to stop the funding that goes to Homeland Security? Are they willing to stop the money that goes to pay for the military? Because it has to be all the money because otherwise the departments under the president can move that money around where it, you know, needs to be. And um my guess is is that defunding the American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines would be a very very very unpopular state place to be. You know, I think that funding ICE, people may say that that's a good thing, but as soon as crime runs rampant in these border cities and these border states, people are going to get a little bit tired of that pretty quickly. Yeah. I mean I I don't know. How else do they stop what Donald Trump is doing? Well, without taking the money away from him, how else do they stop? Well, no. No, they can't. And And that's the thing, you know, I'm not sure how much American citizens would notice if they let all these criminals run rampant because Trump brought the crime rate down or people say, "Well, it just happened naturally." Okay, let's not ascribe it to anyone. Crime rate is down. So if crime goes up, how many people will that affect? Will it affect enough to sway the vote in the next presidential election? That's the question. I I don't think so because crime, you know, nothing matters till it becomes personal, right? If it doesn't happen to me or one of my close relatives or a friend that I care about and love, it didn't happen. You can hear about it on on social media, television, on the news. Look how many people we were just talking the other week are killed and shot in Chicago every week. Every weekend. And now Minneapolis St. Paul because the Yeah. The gangs in Minneapolis St. Paul are getting as bold and as brazen as the ones in Chicago. They are. And And nobody different groups of people. It's the Somali games, right? Somali. Yeah. Ex. See, this is the thing. It happens to minorities. And you know, dem this is what I never understood why why you'd be a Democrat. These are all cities that are run by Democrats. And and not only that, they're run in at least in Chicago by the minorities, right? You know, it's, you know, black police chiefs, black cops, black mayors, black town council. It's like they don't care about their own citizens. That's what I don't It's like they don't care about their own family. Like they don't care about their own kids. Yeah. Almost. I mean, well, they live in the nicer ends of Chicago. I mean, in any city. I'm originally from New York and you've lived in big cities. It depends on the neighborhood. You know, if you know where to stay away from, you're going to be pretty much fine. You know, it's just the we don't care about what happens on the south side of Chicago. As long as around the bean and the lake, everything's cool. You know, where JB Pritsker walked around the lake. Well, of course he's safe there. It is safe. Uh I've been there, you know, and the Miracle Mile or Million-Dollar Mile, whatever they call it. Yeah. All those fancy top end. That's That's the way it was. Um and that's the way it is. I I just don't understand the mindset because I care. I care, you know. Somebody said I was a racist the other day. Everybody came to my defense on Facebook because, you know, I'm I'm as far from racist as you can get, right? This person didn't know me. Uh, and I said, I didn't even mention I have a biracial family, so whatever. Okay, let them have their opinion. But the point is, everything doesn't boil down to race. It it boils down to will, you know, our will to care for our fellow citizens. If you're a Democrat and I see you getting the beat out of you by somebody, excuse my French, I'm going to try and intervene and stop. I don't care what color or race you are. Don't hurt somebody. I don't care who you are. It it doesn't matter to me. You know, Mike, people talk about race all the time. And while that is an easy differentiator to point out, and I think there are people who like to divide America by color of skin or race, I think a bigger factor is culture. And what I mean by that is is that, you know, if you're a Somali or a Haitian and you've been brought to America, it's the same thing with the with the soldiers that we bring back from a battlefield and then we put them back on the black back on the block where they came from and instead of looking over their shoulder and the and the hair on the back of their neck standing up because they feel like somebody's watching them and they don't want to get shot, all of a sudden their environment's changed. It's the same thing with the with the immigrants that have cultures that are so very different than ours. You know, I I think that's the real pro. You know, you you see that going on in England and France and and now Germany. You see the the clash of culture. Are their skin colors different? Many times, yes. But it's not the skin color that's causing the friction. rather it's the different cultural beliefs, cultural identity, cultural um you know the the actions, the way they behave, the way they act um that's what really causes friction you know um much more I think than just kid skin color because you like you said if I see somebody that needs help it doesn't cross my mind oh wait a minute they're not they don't have white skin like me I'm not going to help them I've never thought that in my entire life about any kind of situation whatever help was needed and I think it's really the culture that gets in the way you know that's where arguments begin that's where misunderstanding begins and the misunderstanding is what leads to the violence yeah you hit on the culture thing I've said that many times because the example is uh who are the most prosperous people in America well it's not whites Asians and That includes Indians. But guess who is at the top, I guess near the top, if not the top of the list? It's a black subculture. Nigerians. Mhm. And why is that? They got black skin. It's culture. It's it's what we accept as an acceptable standard. And they're very tough on their kids. You think that culture played a part in this overwhelming Democratic tsunami of of new Congress? voting against Donald Trump. Was it culture that played a part?
Well, yeah, because culture comes also along with your education and your background. So, I the largest swing of voters from 24 to 26 came in young men. Yeah. Young men voted overwhelmingly for Trump and now the other way. Now, this year overwhelmingly for for Democrats. So, what was it that caused that to happen? That's a good question. And I've thought about that and and of course when you're young, you and I are old and the people maybe that listen to us are older. We've seen a whole lot more and young men and I'm thinking about myself when I was young. You're a little bit more easily influenced. So let's say you know you started to see the merits of what the Republicans were saying. So you crossed over to Trump's side in 2024. Now say you're only 20, 22, you can vote at 18. uh you don't have a lot of life experience under your belt. Now, you and I know at our age that whatever a politician says doesn't come about. I've often said, you know, if politicians told the truth, this is what I'd like to achieve, but I can't do it without Congress or I can't do it without support. That's the honest to God's truth. So, it doesn't matter what you say. Now, the young people buy into what's said because their brains aren't fully formed until they're around 25. And it takes a few years of the brain being fully formed to start to put things together in critical thinking and logical thinking. Right. So they were immediately disillusioned when the things that they thought were going to come about that you and I knew could not come about without cooperation. They were immediately disillusioned and they swung back the other direction because they felt betray
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