Transcript

Jenna Ellis: U.S. constitution obligates government to protect God's rights

 Auron MacIntyre : Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: I love talking about the things of God because of truth and the biblical worldview. The U.S. constitution obligates our government to preserve and protect the rights that our founders recognize come from God our creator, not our government. I believe that scripture in the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raised up each of you and God has allowed us to be brought here to this specific moment in time.

 Auron MacIntyre : This is Jenna Ellis in the morning.

Two members of Congress resign amid House ethics probe; House starts legislative business today

Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Tuesday, April 14, and wow, a really bang up news cycle yesterday in so many different ways. primarily that two members of Congress are exiting, this week as Congress goes back into session and the House starts its legislative business today. Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, suspended his gubernatorial campaign and plans to resign after the, the House Ethics Committee launched a probe into allegations involving multiple women, including former staffers and interns. Of course, he denies the claims and cited past mistakes, quote, unquote, in judgment. It's always, you know, the past, past mistakes, but nothing that should ever rise to the level of actual criminality or accountability or, you know, resignation. But he did resign, did suspend his campaign. And that wasn't really a surprise. The only big surprise was that it took 13 years for journalists who apparently knew what were going on the entire to actually come forward and be like, yeah, we knew. But, you know, apparently it didn't matter until it mattered to the Democrats. And then Representative Tony Gonzalez, a Texas Republican, announced retirement plans yet retirement, which means resigning following his admission of an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide amid party scrutiny, which was just a terrible situation. The, rare bipartisan push with figures like Nancy Mace demanding expulsions and Rep. Pramila J. Pal vowing support, averts potential votes and highlights rising accountability demands in Congress. that coming from X. And, you know, maybe because of these resignations, which we'll get more into that in a later segment, maybe that will allow Congress to actually do the business of, you know, legislating and actually, supporting President Trump, in the America first agenda.

Scott Eulinger: Negotiations with Iran have failed spectacularly

And so, the other, of course, big news that is still going on is the entire conflict with Iran and how negotiations, ah, failed with Vice President J.D. vance helming that and suggesting that Iran just would not come to the table, thought that they had more leverage than they actually did. Which is to me a little bit laughable that Iran thought that it had any leverage at all. but where are we headed in terms of the peace plans? There hasn't been a ton in the news about the United States 15 point peace plan versus Iran's something like 10 point peace plan. And apparently they're so far apart that negotiations really aren't still ongoing. But let's welcome in Scott Eulinger who's a former intelligence agent. And Scott, you know, where are we at overall?

Scott Uehlinger: Good morning Jenna.

President Trump's plan to enact a blockade against Iran has thrown the Iranians off balance

well, obviously, ah, President Trump's plan to enact a blockade has really thrown the Iranians off balance. I don't know why they were so surprised by this. I mean blockade of an enemy is the standard procedure. It's been used for hundreds of years and very effectively such that even after the first day of doing this, Iran immediately said, oh well you know, we haven't actually walked away from the negotiations. We're still willing to talk. But their willingness to talk includes apparently something like you know, years moratorium on nuclear weapons development. Well, you know that's entirely ridiculous. And so the blockade continues. It's actually costing in terms of oil exports, it's costing Iran 140 million a day and it's actually costing the country overall more than $435 million a day. So when this happens, the economy which already is in really bad shape, is going into an absolute tailspin. And of course once happens, then the likelihood of someone rising up with people rising up and stepping in and getting rid of the mullahs gets greater by the day. So that's what the, that's what's causing the panic in the with the mullahs in Iran.

Jenna Ellis: Well, and so with, with it costing that much for Iran per day. I mean put that in perspective. Is that kind of a drop in the bucket or is that significant to their economy?

Scott Uehlinger: No, it's significant, it's significant. already we're talking about in Febr, the food inflation was 105%. That's in one month. So that means the costs more than doubled for everything in a month. Rice. I, think in the past year maybe rice is up by a factor of seven. So that's 700% increase in the price of rice. So like it's hurting the people. and now the blockade will technically allow in, would allow in humanitarian aid, into Iranian ports. That's where and I'm sure the Trump administration is all over that. That's where they've got to be really careful because what happened with Iraq was that when we started shipping in aid to the people of Iraq, Saddam Hussein confiscated it and used it only for his army. And then the people suffered and he actually consolidated power. So I'm sure that we're not going to make the same mistake again. and if any humanitarian aid goes in there, it will go to the Iranian people or it just won't go in at all.

How is the gas blockade affecting the Trump administration heading into the midterms

Jenna Ellis: M And so, so with this blockade, how is that potentially going to affect ultimately the gas prices in the United States? Because that's really been the big political question for the Trump administration with a lot of people seeing. I mean, even here in Florida, you know, it's. I've definitely seen an increase, in gas prices and especially heading into the midterms. It doesn't seem like Trump is really that concerned yet. But you know, we're only in April. We have all the way till November. We're not even through the primaries yet. I mean, he's, this is not his first rodeo. He's probably thinking, okay, we have a lot of time. but that is something that at least the mainstream media news has been really, all over. I mean, CNN was having some kind of like, gas, price ticker, of course, going on. I mean, it reminded me of like their COVID death ticker. It's like, you know, anything that they think is negative to the Trump administration, they just put up. But, you know, where is all of that in terms of the blockade and how it'll affect it?

Scott Uehlinger: Right. Prices of gas are up. But, of course, CNN conveniently ignores, is that during the entire Biden administration, the price of oil was about the price it is right now. And for older people like myself who remember even back to the, days of Obama, the price of gas right now it's about $4.20 maybe in Pennsylvania. that's what it was when was president, if people remember, way back, because I remember, his course, $4 then was even more money because of the inflationary effect on the dollar. But, I think that the problem is, is that of course we are, increasing our oil exports big time. So I think in the short term we have a little bit of pain. But in the long term, this is all a very good move because what it's doing is it's solidifying the U.S. s lead in natural, gas export because a lot of these tankers in frustration are now headed to the United States, to the Gulf of America, because now we have the Venezuelan oil. We're also processing, into gasoline and other products. So, this is all very good, for the rebirth of American industrialization. We have a little short term pain, but I think that that'll go away. Europe of course, is highly dependent on the Persian Gulf and now they're turning to the United States because they have no choice. So I think Trump is willing and wisely willing to wait a little while and let it get much, because it's much more uncomfortable for every other country on earth than it is for us. We're spoiled. So a little bit of high price at the pumps is nothing compared to what every other country in the world is paying for this. And Trump is willing to tolerate that for a little while because in the end it will solidify our position as the premier far and away energy exporter of the world.

Jenna Ellis: And. Yeah, and that I think is a rational position as well that like you, on the grand scheme of things and especially compared to what Israel is enduring right now with you know, this ongoing conflict and you know, and then what they've ah, had to endure from Hezbollah and over the last several years, since that October attack, I mean that is nothing, what the United States has been there is nothing compared to that. And so it should be that you know, if we have a little bit of higher gas prices, you know, maybe we can put that all into perspective. But it seems like the the political partisan, especially media, but some of the propaganda quite frankly, is always intent on you know, going after Trump, of course, but using all of that to to le their view specifically on the conflict. And so you know, overall as this is continuing, Trump hasn't just come out and declared victory and saying okay, you know, we're done, so this is continuing, to proceed. And do we have kind of an expectation of maybe how long this conflict now is going to continue? Because it doesn't really seem like there's a foreseeable end.

Scott Uehlinger: Well, I mean, I think that we really look at things one, I think say a month to six weeks. blockades tend to take a little bit of time, but I think you're going to really start seeing some massive rumblings after about a month. That's the nature of blockades. this was what was proposed for Japan before we had the A bomb. Because without the A bomb we would have been looking at boots on the ground. And basically a blockade was a lot safer way of doing things for the United States. And it's the same way now. This is a lot safer way of doing, of doing things instead of boots on the ground, because we have much less chance of the U.S. navy taking, damage. That damage, that danger does still exist. It's just at a lower level. And it's acceptable for, you know, the armed forces that, you know, that's what, that's what combat involves, is risk or potential combat.

Scott Eulinger: President Trump is embracing classic sea power philosophy

So, the other thing, by the way, I wanted to mention is, you talked about important things yesterday. This is another very important piece is that, the United States concluded an agreement with Indonesia. And Indonesia is important because the Straits of Malacca are far more important than, you know, that's where Singapore. That's Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia. That strait is far more important for world energy and, also importantly China than the Straits of Hormuz. Because what Trump is doing, he is embracing the classic sea power philosophy of Mahan, if anyone recalls that name, an admiral who wrote about this, a century ago. And, basically, sea powers always, always are stronger than land powers if they know how to use their power properly. And if he. So, ah, Trump is helping to sew up the Straits of Malacca. That is going to make China more vulnerable than it's ever been. When you combine Venezuela with what's going on in Hormuz, with what's going now, what is developing in Malacca, Trump is going to be going to a meeting with China, and he holds all of the cards.

Jenna Ellis: And so that, that really pushes back on this narrative that, you know, Iran thought it had leverage. And, you know, people are questioning now, if Iran had no leverage, then why are we preparing for a blockade that could shake the entire global economy? But as you're, suggesting, I think, wisely pointing out, Scott Eulinger, this is a bigger picture than just the Strait of Hormuz, which is what, you know, the American media has been so focused on, but they're not really taking everything into account.

Gerard Filitti: Right.

Scott Uehlinger: I mean, like I said, he is, he is performing an absolute masterclass in foreign policy the likes of which no one alive has ever seen. this is great power maneuvering. And what it's going to do is it's going to increase US Security and it's going to make, it's going to make an impossibility, any kind of a China, US War in the future. It's not going to happen, because this kind of thing is peace through strength, and it's making the world safer than ever.

Jenna Ellis: Wow. And, you know, it really does go to show that there are different, completely different perspectives on, the war in Iran and the conflict and saying, okay, we should continue to trust President Trump's. Foreign policy versus, you know what? I, think a lot of Americans, even conservatives, are feeling a little bit anxious and kind of wondering, okay, when is this conflict going to end and do we have, the, the strategic objectives still? And, you know, maybe don't understand this, you know, totally in context, but, you know, like me, I mean, I'm not a foreign policy expert. That's why I love, people like you, Scott Ewlinger, coming on the program and sharing your expertise, because I learn a lot and it puts it in better perspective. And so, you know, maybe we can give this a, little more time and we can see where it continues. But, we're already out of time for this segment. So, again, Scott Eulinger, really appreciate it. you can follow him on X. And we'll be right back with more here on Jenna Ellis in the Morning.

Jenna Ellis: Trump posted a meme yesterday that invoked Jesus

 Auron MacIntyre : Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, the other piece of news yesterday that was, just, you know, some days I think this is really what we need to cover and this is really what everybody is talking about, and this is really what is going on. And it usually boils down to something that Trump posted online, right? I mean, in the last 10 years of the whole Trump era, and that used to be my life, right? Like when I worked for him, it would be like we would wake up and actually a friend of mine, and I, who, you know, she used to work for Trump as well, and in comms and everything. And, we, you know, we used to get up every morning and like, texture, you know, what, what are we going to have to deal with today, right? And of, what, what he posted on social media and after, the, the first term and after we were both no longer working for him there, when things like this would come out online, we would text each other, hallelujah, not my problem. Which is just so much better to be on this side of just being able to comment on it then, actually have to speak on behalf of Trump on, you know, some of these things. Because yesterday this was just so unnecessary, so unnecessary, which really describes a lot of what Trump does. And like, there are so many great things that he does. And, and I was actually talking to a friend yesterday at the dog park. You know, we're sitting there with our dogs and we were talking about this and she was saying, you know, in, in his first term, like, he used to actually be really funny. And some of this stuff, even if it was, wow, he really posted that. It was like he was posting things that everybody was like, yeah, that's what I'm thinking. And he resonated that way and I think became kind of this larger than life figure because he was willing to say the blunt truth that nobody else in politics, at least in the current era, had been willing to. But now it's like in this, especially in the second term, it's just, it's either just mean or it's just so totally unnecessary. And so yesterday, what, what he posted, which was actually the night before, so Sunday night he posted this meme, which was not an original of his, apparently had been posted by, you know, some of these other MAGA figures previously. But somehow, you know, Trump sees it. He posted on his Truth Social, where he's wearing garb that is clearly invoking Jesus. So it's the white robe with the red, garment over it. The, the robe of, at the foot of the cross, American flag in the background, warriors eagles. You know, the whole. It's like, chat GPT, like make this even bolder, you know, even more epic. Right? Like, it's, it's one of those types. And then there are people around praying, and he is touching this man's forehead who is lying on, you know, in the foreground and looked sick. And it's like he's touching him, you know, healing the sick. Right? So, of course rational Christians are like, really, dude? Like, come on. And. And it went from a criticism of like, man, you know, he shouldn't have posted this. This is blasphemous. Which I agree, with that there is no way. I mean, we are supposed to be like Jesus, but we are not Jesus. And it was very clearly invoking that. And then, so, you know, so this goes on and everybody's talking about it yesterday. You know, meanwhile, Eric Swalwell is dealing with all of his stuff, but, but everybody's talking about it. So Trump actually goes and deletes it, which was shocking. He never deletes anything. But apparently, and sources, tell me that there were a few influential Christians that were like, really, you know, really advocating for him to take this down, which he did, thankfully. And I'm glad he listened, to a few of those Christians. But then he gave the reason and the rationale. it's coming from the NewSong York Post, and, you know, it's like, really, just keep on digging. Trump revealed why he deleted AI post of himself as Jesus like figure. He explained Monday that he deleted the AI image, AI generated image that appeared to depict him as Jesus. Christ. Because of the confusion the social media post caused. And he said, people were confused. I didn't want to have anybody confused. And he told reporters he thought the image of himself placing, the hand on the forehead of a man in a hospital bed with heavenly light radiating from his other hand, quote, was me as a doctor. And it had to do with the Red Cross. Like, nobody is buying that and that, that is the worst of all situations. Instead, of maybe just ignore it and say, you know what? I, I thought it was funny, but other people took offense to it, so I took it down. Like, don't even explain. Don't even try to explain. And, and then there are some people, like Allie Beth Stuckey, who I really respect. I really like her. she's a friend of mine. I mean, we're not super close, but we know each other well. We've been at speaking, events together. And she actually posted that she believed Trump's explanation. She got totally reamed in the comments because, you know, this is one of those situations. I don't think Trump is that stupid, and I don't think that he is that illiterate of, the, the historical context of all of this and that he didn't know exactly what he was doing. And to make that kind of excuse. There is just no reason why we, as Christians and as truth tellers, first, like, defend Trump on all of his policy. I mean, I voted for the guy, you know, three times. I mean, defend him on all that. But this is something that is just totally indefensible, but it's also just totally obnoxious and it's totally a distraction from everything else going on.

Orin McIntyre: Trump's response to anti-Semitic meme was juvenile

So let's welcome in Orin McIntyre, who's a host at the Blaze. And Oren, I actually loved your post about this, which was, in response. It was just the, the, the, the meme of, Ben Affleck, who's just standing outside with that just defeated expression on his face, smoking a cigarette. That was the perfect response.

 Auron MacIntyre : Yeah, I think we were all Ben Affleck smoking, a cigarette, that day. but, yeah, it, and it's one of those scenarios where it's just a huge unforced error. And obviously Trump is a guy who has always posted whatever he wants, whenever he wants. And a lot of people when it was first posted were saying, well, it's fake or no, I'm sure an intern probably posted it without him knowing it. And then of course, Trump comes out and says, no, of course I posted it's me. And this is the good and bad of Trump. He's unfiltered, he says exactly what he thinks, and it's great when he's, you know, guns are aimed at targets that we all agree deserve it. Right. And this is why I warn people like, don't become some shrieking blue haired feminist over Trump's posts out of nowhere. We know what this is. At the same time, when you're posting things that are going to offend a large amount of your base, not just like libs that are out of control, then you're doing some political malpractice. And of course, this all comes in the context of, Trump feuding with the Pope, who I think, by the way, is wrong. I'm an M. Evangelical Christian. The Pope is just a guy in a funny hat to me. But to many, many Christians across the world, he's pretty important. And a lot of those Christians were voting for you. So you want to be thoughtful in the way that you push back, if you push back at all. So, so just, just kind of a mess all around, for the President for the last few days when it comes with his relationship with multiple parts of the Christian body.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah, And I agree with you. And this is kind of the, the balance, right, is that we can and should as Christians first and foremost, but also as conservatives, we should be able to call this out and say, no, this, this is blasphemous or, and no, this is a distraction and no, this is just juvenile. This is beneath the dignity, all of that stuff, while not going overboard and being like, and therefore I'm not supporting any of the good policy, you know, that Trump is doing. And if I was for the Iran conflict, well, now, because Trump posted a meme on True Social, I'm, you know, rejecting my support of him. I mean, you know, that kind of vacillation between this kind of like love, hate, dogma, it's just exhausting. And it's also, I think, juvenile of, of a response and actually thought, what Wriley Gaines posted in response to Trump kind of saying he's not a fan of her because she criticized him for this post, rightly so. and then she just said, you know, I'm, I'm, I love the President and I want, you know, him to succeed and all this stuff, but I'm going to speak the truth. And, and I'm not looking, you know, for his favor. And it was just a very nonchalant, calculated response. That's exactly what Christian conservatives need to do. While he's kind of this, you know, back and forth, up and down. Who knows, you know, what side of the bed he's getting up out of today. we just need to be consistent Christian conservatives.

 Auron MacIntyre : No, I totally agree. As you said, you know, I. I am somebody who has very much opposed the war in Iran, but I still understand what Donald Trump is doing domestically. I still understand that Jan, six defendants would be in jail if he hadn't pardoned them. I understand the borders would be open if he wasn't the president. I understand we wouldn't be getting any deportations, we wouldn't be challenging birthright citizenship, any of this stuff, without Donald Trump. So, you know, I can have a significant disagreement with the man and still understand that he is the best option available. And, you know, ultimately, Donald Trump has been, especially in the issue of immigration, the best Republican president of my lifetime. But that doesn't mean he's perfect, and that doesn't mean I'm, you know, gonna be quiet when I think he's making a mistake. I can say Napoleon was a great general, but marching into Russia in the winter is still foolish decision. Donald Trump shouldn't have gone to war in Iran, and he shouldn't have posted a picture of himself as Jesus Christ. These are both bad decisions, in my opinion. But I can say that without them turning around and saying, and now I'm done with the Republican Party. I've given up on maga. I am no longer part of the conservative movement. I'm voting for Kamala Harris or something like. These are all ridiculous reactions.

Jenna Ellis: Yes, 100%. Because hopefully you and I, as Christians and as conservatives, aren't like the left, governed primarily by emotion. We should be governed by rationality and ultimately by principles. And, you, know, and of course, some of those, then the opinions can differ in terms of policy. That's all debatable. And, and we can still both, call ourselves conservative Christians and respect each other as such, even if we have, you know, different opinions on different policy. And those can be debatable, but we can, still come at it from the same principles that are ultimately grounded in biblical truth. And we can also debate without it becoming, you know, just devolving into emotion, which is what you see a lot of times online. And. And frankly, what I think a lot of the reaction yesterday, I mean, there were a lot of Christians that rightly called, him out, rightly said, you know, there should be better Christians around him, but, you know, he's selecting the people around him. I mean, for so long, people have, said and blamed the people around Trump, but he's the one who picks those around him. And so, you know, he's the one who picked Paula White, to be his faith, you know, person at, at the White House. And there were a lot of people that were saying, you know, her influence is not great, which I agree. But he's the one that picked her, and he's had her as an influential figure in his life for decades. And so at some point, it does become his responsibility, not just of those around him. And I do wish that he had better Christians around him, but at the same time, I mean, he, he does have the influence of sincere Christians. I've been in the room when, when pastors, when people I respect are literally sharing the gospel with him, you know, literally talking about, you know, principles and conservative values. At the end of the day, you know, my opinion is the accountability in the buck stops with him. but we can also react in a way that is principled. but speaking of a lack of principles, completely.

Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez resigned from Congress amid corruption allegations

Orin, I also want to get your take on the two resignations from Congress. Eric, Swalwell, the Democrat, and Tony Gonzalez, the Republican. both of them were up for potential expulsion, and so both are choosing, as of yesterday to resign from Congress. frankly, you know, I think that both resignations are warranted, and I don't think it should matter whether it's a D or an R after your name. If, you have actually done what both of these men are, credibly accused of, then, yeah, they, they should have resigned from Congress.

 Auron MacIntyre : yeah, I mean, I guess, I guess it helps in this scenario that it's one in one. And so the political calculus, balances out at some level. but ultimately, you know, it's going to depend on where that person is. You know, if they have actually committed the crime. You know, there's often scenarios where people have simply been shamed out of office through threats or these kind of things. But obviously, if that ball is going to drop eventually anyway, then it's, you know, both the right thing to do and allows you to get out of the way, in case the party wants to attempt to run someone else in that place or appoint someone. And so ultimately, you know, that's going to be the right decision. you know, people will encourage different actors to stay in office in order to secure their seats, even if the person is somewhat controversial. But again, I think it really depends on a case by case. Business you know, what are they accused of? What's the level of evidence ultimately? Are they culpable for the act? you know, I don't think it's wise to ever, even if you think it's going to be short term, politically advantageous to try to, you know, shove one, shove one, shove someone into that slot and keep them there, when they otherwise are going to end up damaging the party, and reputation along with just being the wrong thing to do. and you have to weigh that. You can't be so short sighted not to realize what that's going to cost you. Especially, you know, to be clear in a moment where, you know, political, accountability is very low and people feel that in a very real way they're very angry with the fact that our ruling classes never held accountable, they never pay a cost. You know, making sure that you sacrifice, your long, term prospects with the voting public by reinforcing that image, that that's a bad play.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah. And I mean, and I agree with you that, you know, there is always the political calculus and that maybe, I mean, it appeared to me pretty obvious that the reason that Gonzalez kind of slipped in his resignation was kind of, you know, trying to sort of play under, ah, Eric Swalwell's, resignation because then it is just a one for one, in terms of the party, but also just in terms of the optics. Then he didn't get all of the heat of the PR in the media. It was, more on Swalwell. But overall, you know, I'm still of the opinion that independently, even if you review the facts of, of these, you know, just individually for themselves, and they should be, you know, reviewed independently, not the political calculus, you know, taken as much into consideration. each of these men deserve to resign, from Congress on their own merit. And I think Corrie Mills, with everything that he is credibly accused of and the facts, where they have led, at least insofar as they have been reported, he is one that is potentially up for expulsion as well. And I think that should have happened a while ago. And you know, it just seems like all of this corruption only comes out though, when it's politically advantageous. And with that calculus, like there was a reporter who said, you know, I was covering Eric Swalwell back and you know, it would have been about 12, 13 years ago, everybody knew that he was up to, you know, this type of stuff. And and then, and everybody rightly lambasted him and said, okay, so you're just now telling us, like, why not, as a reporter, do your job of the press and actually report on that at the time? I mean, that says, I think, more about the media covering for their preferred, party actors than actually doing their job of the media. And this is why everyone across the board has lost so much trust, in the mainstream media. And this is why Trump rightly calls them fake news.

 Auron MacIntyre : Yeah, I mean, this is just, I think, extremely obvious to everyone at this point. Point. You know, my friend Kevan Dolan said Eric Swalwell is an otherwise completely unimpressive human being. The only reason to elevate him is that he can be controlled because he's obviously a cretin. Right, like that. And this is why the Epstein stuff continues to hold on to the public imagination no matter how much of it happens to be true. Because even if every detail of the Epstein files or the rumors around them aren't correct, people feel that it's directionally correct because they can see the level of corruption, the level of sexual impropriety, especially inside the game. And they suspect that, I think very rightly that many people are only involved in politics because they can be controlled through this stuff. I mean, we all remember Madison Cawthorn, right? Like, we all remember his stories about, you know, lewd parties he was invited to or pressured to attend before he left, and the way everyone turned on him once he made that announcement, explained it to people. I mean, this stuff is clearly going on in Washington, D.C. it is clearly an engine of power. And it's very clear that many people in the system would like to have corrupt people who are easily managed through extortion, through bribery, through that blackmail, rather than people who have principles, have the ability to think for themselves, are independent, and have the ability to stand up for the people they're supposed to represent. So people get, I think rightly, the impression that our, political class is largely. People have been elevated because they can be manipulated, because they're degenerate, because they are unwilling to stand for anything. That's what makes them politically useful. And again, that's why the Epstein stuff never goes away. Because even if different parts aren't necessarily true, people feel like, I think, again, correctly, that it echoes a truth that we see in the system day in and day out.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. And Madison Cawthorn, to your point, I saw a post that he made on X yesterday that said, you know, something to the fact. And by the way, he's not the only one you know, obviously referencing, his allegations and you know, the things that he basically got ousted, from the party for, coming forward with. And so has to be feeling perhaps a little bit of, you know, if some vindication, based on, you know, all of the things that are coming out.

CNN is launching a DC Bureau to expose corruption in Congress

But, you know, that, that raises the larger question though, I think, Oren, you know, where are we going from here? Not just in terms of, you know, obviously Swalwell and Gonzalez's seats will be filled and you know, eventually and you know, all of that stuff and business as usual in Congress. But, do you think that this is maybe a tipping point, potentially of actually getting some accountability? I mean, people are talking about too, how TMZ launched a DC Bureau. And a lot of, Congress members are very concerned about that because apparently the main reason that they're in D.C. is to root out this corruption and to call out the members of Congress for, what they're doing in their personal lives in this respect.

 Auron MacIntyre : I mean, yeah, I never thought I'd say this, but, you know, very nice of TMZ to be doing a true civic service, you know, right to its nation. Never thought I'd be rooting for these guys, but yeah, I mean, totally.

Gerard Filitti: Right.

 Auron MacIntyre : If Hollywood is corrupt, if these people are, are already sleaze bags and TMZ is great at exposing them, why not expose the corrupt Washington machine for the American people? We all, you know, the joke has been said many times, but, you know, politics is Hollywood for ugly people, right? That's why a lot of people get involved in it. That's why they seem to so unprincipled, because they just want to be famous. They just want attention. They just want people to fawn over them. They just want access to the kind of things that fame and money bring. But, you know, they couldn't sing, they couldn't dance, and they're not pretty enough. So they got into politics. And so there's obviously a, area there that is ripe for an organization like TMZ to expose what's going on. And you know, again, I didn't. Never thought I'd see it, but God bless him, you know, like God bless speed, right?

Jenna Ellis: And same. And it makes sense. I mean, with, dc, you know, it's been known as ugly Hollywood, for all the reasons that you're describing. And, it's actually surprising that some of these kind of what, what they call the Hollywood gossip rags, right, that they haven't seen kind of this, this fertile ground of DC to go and do the same things that they've been doing in Hollywood for decades. they could be doing the same thing in Washington D.C. but, but to your point also, it is so true and I saw it when I was in D.C. and one of the things I absolutely hated about ugly Hollywood was how much people there are just so focused on wanting access, fame, money, power. I mean that's all that it is. D.C. should be. And we, you know, I went in kind of this bright eyed, bushy tailed, you know, sort of like, you know, Constitution civics enthusiast going this is going to be amazing, you know, serve my country. And like I had this impression of DC as this, you know, the seat of, of you know, everything that our Constitution and our founders, you know, love about this country. And and then I saw all of the corruption and the degeneracy and the people who aren't there for statesmanship, motivations and, and actually to serve their country, but to serve themselves. And that's the thing that I think we need to, at, at the core we need to root out and vote out the people who are only there for themselves instead of there to actually serve. I mean there are a couple of people and thankfully a lot of them I have on this program, like our good friend Marlon Stutzman, you know, others in Congress. I think Brandon Gill is doing a great job. there are a few that are there for the right reasons and I hope and I pray that they don't get there and then become sort of taken over by the swamp and see, you know, all of the media and the glitz and glamour, I mean it was, that was never something for me as a Christian that mattered. It was never something that was attractive to me. but at the same time it is a temptation for people who go there. Even if that's not their base motivation initially that becomes their motivation and it also becomes something where they don't want to lose their power, lose their influence, lose their fame. And so they start compromising just to stay in their job. And that's when we as the constituency look at them and say we elected you to do a job and you're not doing it. Why not? It's because of all these other influences. But we've got to take a break here. And Orin McIntyre, I so appreciate your commentary and your view on all of this and I hope and I pray that the individuals who end up in Eric Swalwell's and Tony Gonzalez Seats will be statesmen and will be people who have, undeniably better moral character than the two that resigned. And that's really all that we can pray for. I mean, I wish that we would just completely drain Congress and start new. I mean, we have a couple of good apples, but most of them I think, you know, I would love to just start over. But, you know, at least we, we got rid of two. That's, that's a start. We'll be right back with more.

Scott Uehlinger: Foreign.

 Auron MacIntyre : welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.

President Trump ally Viktor Orban concedes defeat in Hungary 2026 election

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, in another headline that's actually very important, Trump ally Viktor Orban conceded a landmark defeat in the Hungary 2026 election results for Prime Minister. And so, the concession, apparently, according at least to cnn, it will be a relief to leaders elsewhere in Europe, though it will come as a blow for US President Donald Trump, who had endorsed, the Nationalists during the campaign. But after 16 years in power, he was defeated. So, what does this actually mean in terms of, the, global policy of the eu, the trajectory, and also potentially for the United States. So let's welcome in Matt Tierrand, who is a political strateg and Eastern Europe expert. So, Matt, what's going on? And, this kind of came as a surprise, I think.

 Auron MacIntyre : Yeah, I mean, if you're on the

Gerard Filitti: ground in Hungary, it didn't, politicians are like babies, diapers and they need to be taken out. Otherwise the place, begins to smell like, you know what, the people of Hungary were fatigued with the Orban. It had been four consecutive terms and it's a country of nine and a half million. Yes, it punched above its weight on culture war issues, especially to the global right, which is a reactionary movement against leftist globalism and radicalism and open borders insanity. That being said, Orban was no saint. the corruption was through the roof, much like the Polish right as an antecedent, electoral framework a couple years ago. and I am very friendly with the, Polish righties, but they also, fatigued their own electorate with some of their behavior and hijinks. Yes, you can be against the EU's very bad leftist policy, and you can also be, problematic domestically for corrupt, corruption reasons, other reasons. And two things to be true at the same time, the Hungarian far right. And by the way, and this is what's so ridiculous about the coverage that's come out in the last 36 hours since the concession, from Orban To Peter Magyar, the new incoming prime minister and his new opposition party, Tisha. the left and CNN and the Atlantic and the Washington Post says, what a reprieve, Democracy's back, blah, blah, blah. The right says, oh no, Hungary's going to be overrun by Islamic hordes, much like, Western Europe. They're both idiotically trying to spin this to fit their narrative. They're both incredibly wrong. Peter Magyar, the opposition leader who just won this overwhelming mandate to Nixon, their four term incumbency, he came from Fidesz. He is a conservative, he is a strong border hawk. So all this spin is absolute nonsense. Hungary will still remain a reasonable post communist, mugged by reality, bulwark, against EU globalism. The borders are not going to all of a sudden open up and be overrun in a scene from the Ottoman Empire. That's not happening. but on the, sort of counter reactionary side, he's also not going to allow Hungary to be sold as a vassal state to Russia and China, which was part of why Orban lost. He was far and away the most pro Russian prime minister and leader in Central and Eastern Europe. And that doesn't overwhelmingly play well for their electorate and post Communist, behind the Iron Curtain, Central Europe, China has been investing tons of money in Hungary. The electorate has been aware of this and not happy. It has benefited Orban, his family, his friends, his cronies. It, has not benefited the Hungarian people. And there's a much more mixed nuanced view on Russia and Ukraine relationships. Hungarians are not overwhelmingly committed to a blank check to Ukraine. They have some long term partisan feelings about Ukrainians that go back a thousand years that are not all that positive. that being said, they also are coming out of post communism and they're not looking to become a Russian vassal. Orban was caught on tape saying things to Putin like, I'll be your mouse, you're a lion, you know, come help me. I mean, he was inviting Russian intervention in Hungarian democratic politics. so honestly I, you know, I've worked with Hungarians over the years informally. I've been to Hungary a million times and spoken. I did certainly like what Fidesz stood for, but the time was, the time was up. and Magyar, he is the ex husband of the former justice Minister in Fidesz's government. This is now some far left radical, which, you know, the right is trying to spin like the sky is falling. The left is trying to spin like, thank goodness democracy is back. These people are all pushing their agenda. This Hungarian election is good for the Hungarian people. the European status quo and sort of anti Brussels, axis that exists in Central Europe is maintained. And to be honest, there's a little bit of a much ado about nothing here unless you're a Hungarian.

Jenna Ellis: See, and this is why I so appreciate, people who have, you know, the, the understanding of all of this, like you and the expertise. Matt, Tierrand. Because, you know, if we're just reading the headlines here in the United States, it does seem exactly like what you're saying, like, oh, this is a big blow to Trump and, you know, democracy is back and, you know, all of these things rather than, how you are describing this. And so, you know, you mentioned that this is voter fatigue after years, and it's kind of like, okay, move on. do you see parallels between Hungary's political trajectory and debates happening in the US Right now? Because I think a lot of us as well are experiencing some voter fatigue, after the 10 years of the Trump era.

Gerard Filitti: Oh, absolutely. I mean, populist revolutions built on cult of personality don't end well. They end with a whimper, not a bang. We're certainly seeing that. You know, the big loser on the American political scene is the J.D. vance acolytes, the Kevan Roberts acolytes. I expect half of the Hungarian, employees that were internationals, Americans and Brits who are going over there for fat sinecures funded by the taxpayer will all end up as heritage fellows. J.D. vance going over there to endorse, it's more emblematic of his fringe of righty than it is emblematic of the mainstream. Whether it's, sovereigntist, reactionary, right in Europe or, Republican populist right in the US There are some fringes that overlap. and JD Vance sort of typified this. And so it really just, to me totally augurs that JD Vance doesn't really have a constituency. He's more popular with some of the Hungarians who are funded by the taxpayer against the taxpayer's will than he is with like a broad base of conservative voters. Whether it's the Europeans looking toward what comes comes to America next or the Americans who. J.D. vance certainly has a few in D.C. but doesn't sell well across the country.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, and that's a whole other segment we need to have you back on, just to talk about that because I think you're absolutely right and you know, some of this maybe overselling of Vance's popularity, I think we're kind of seeing some of the cracks in, that visage, over especially the last, you know, month or so. And I think that that's going to be even more pronounced the further we get toward 2028. And it's been interesting to see Vance even, you know, kind of paving the way to maybe not run. and, you know, I think that his popularity, his affiliation and loyalty to Tucker is going to be a really big problem for him. but overall, I think you're spot on on that. And it's going to be very interesting to see where, MAGA as a base kind of goes after Trump is no longer on the ballot, but also no longer in the White House. So, Matt Tier, man, really appreciate your commentary, as always. And you can follow him on X as well. And as always, you can reach me and my team, Jenna, @afr.net.