Transcript

Jenna Ellis: Rights that our founders recognize come from God our creator

Marlin Stutzman: 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. This is Jenna Ellis in the morning mainland.

Scott Eulinger says focus is more on oil prices than Iran war

Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Tuesday, March 3rd, and this is day four of sustained operations in, the targeted operations in the US Central Command reportedly destroying, Iranians, the revolutionary, Guard, core facilities, air defenses and missile sites. After initial strikes hit over 1000 targets. Last week, Iran fired back with, missile barrages, killing, ah, so far six US service members in Kuwait and causing damage like a major fire, at the UAE's oil hub. while, you know, there have been other reports of this coming from Fox News of Iran starting indiscriminate strikes, across the Gulf of Oman and hits a shadow tanker actually tied to the Iranian regime. And so according to, ah, Windward AI, noted that the sanctioned tanker Skylight was hit as the conflict across the Middle east entered, into its second day. So that was, a couple of days ago. And the tanker was holding Iranian nationals among its crews and ties to the regime. So the firm said on Monday. Analysis of vessel affiliations, targeting patterns and cargo data points to a strategy of indiscriminate area to denial, not precision targeting, unlike the US Right aimed at demonstrating Iran's capability to disrupt the strait and deter commercial shipping. now both sides are vowing to press on amid, some rising casualties, obviously more on the Iranian side. And, according to, Grok and some other online sources, the market, jitters as well as of course the left, overall and even Fox News this morning sort of freaking out about oil prices. The headlines from cnbc, Reuters, how high can oil and gas prices go because of the quote, unquote, Iran war? we'll just call it the sustained conflict. This isn't actually a war, but of course the left continues to call it that. Reuters says U.S. gasoline crosses $3 per gallon in mark in test of Trump's Iran war. you know, I'm old enough to remember when gas prices were, you know, much higher than that, when there was no sustained conflict going on. So, at least so far, I don't think we necessarily have to worry about that. But let's welcome in Scott Eulinger who's a retired CIA station chief, and Scott, that seems to be, you know, more than, any sort of retaliation or you know, terror cells here in the United States. interestingly, the focus even from some Republican, and I'll say Republican, not necessarily conservative media, the focus seems to be more on oil prices.

Scott Uehlinger: Right. by the way, I live in Pennsylvania, which has the second highest, gasoline prices in the country. I have almost, even with Trump being in a year, I have seen gas prices go down to like $2.97. That's it. Because of the heavy taxes we have in Pennsylvania.

The real thing that's stopping ships from going into the Gulf is insurance rates

But, yeah, I do want to talk about the, the straits for a little bit, because in my previous lifetime I was also a navy and merchant marine officer. So I have a lot of sea time, before I went into the CIA, including through the Gulf many times. the interesting thing about it is that, as far as vessel transits go is that the Iranians don't have to really, start taking accurate potshots at vessels going in and out of the Gulf. The real thing that's going to prevent ships from going into the Gulf are insurance rates. And unfortunately insurance rates are rapidly climbing, up, because of the war premium. and so basically there are a lot of vessels waiting outside of the Gulf because the company doesn't want to pay the insurance, the extra insurance to go into the Gulf. So that's really the main thing that's stopping, vessels from going in. And it's not the fact that, Iran on occasion can send, could send missiles that way. You also have to remember, see, at this point of the war, Iranian command and control is gone, their leadership is nonexistent. And basically all of these missiles that we've been seeing launched at various countries are because there were standing orders given to literally launch commanders that, okay, if you don't hear from us, it means we're dead. So just launch wherever you want. And that's what we're looking at. So the launches are uncoordinated, sloppy and, and directed basically everywhere. The advantage of that is that mass attacks are avoided and so mass casualty events will not happen really unless you get a very lucky shot because the air defenses can handle missiles coming in the two to three to five groups. But it's when missiles are coming in like 100 at a time that the system has problems tracking it.

Jenna Ellis: Interesting. So it sounds like this is predicted and, or predictable and it may just be that you Know, a lot of these, journalists and reporters who are reporting on this, obviously they won't have, the experience that you do understanding, you know, what actually goes on more in depth. And so with the insurance, is that something that's, that's a result of the conflict right now, or is that something that has been a deterrent even before last week?

Scott Uehlinger: Well, there have been times when marine insurance rates have spiked up, especially with the Houthis firing in, Yemen. So, there have been marine insurance rates have spiked up, but that was more than a year ago. So they are spiking up now because of the war. That is true. But interestingly, I read a very compelling piece that makes absolute sense to me that, one reason the insurance rates are spiking is this is sort of an unintended consequence. But if you recall Great Britain's, disgraceful conduct during this war, not wanting us to fly out of their bases and stuff, is literally this kind of thing has not happened since the end of the Second World War. But more importantly, London is the center of the world's insurance industry, especially marine insurance with Lloyds of London and Lloyd's of. And the British have always punched above their weight because they are the insurance capital of the world. And they have heavily depended on US Intelligence through the five eyes system to basically keep insurance. underwriters in London at Lloyds advised as to what is happening and that allowed Lloyd's to set world insurance rates and basically everyone else in the world follows their. But now, because Britain is acting like a spoiled child and the United States is not cooperating with them as far as intelligence, and it's only going to get worse from here on in. That means that the marine underwriters at, the leading marine insurers in the world cannot, without accurate information because that's always was their advantage. They had much better, business intelligence than the rest of the world. They can't accurately set insurance rates. And because of that it's throwing everything into a mess. So this is not something. It would have been very difficult for the US to avoid it. But it certainly would have been easy for Great Britain to avoid it if it had, if it had reacted in any kind of a normal manner.

Jenna Ellis: M. That's really fascinating. And so, where do you see all of this going then? I mean, in the coming days and weeks? Because, at least most analysts are predicting that this isn't going to be a sustained conflict, really long term. I mean, the, the president and The White House have articulated very specific strategic objectives. they, they say that this should be a short term conflict. I mean obviously we saw the, the Ukraine war, with Russia, you know, continuing long past what anybody predicted. But where do you think this goes from here?

Scott Uehlinger: Well I think that I think that you're not going to see it last a lot longer, let's say three weeks or so. because like I said the commanders who are launching these missiles, the main thing we're worried about right now is Iran's offensive capability, their defensive capability, their surface to air missiles, their radar grid to protect their country has been destroyed. And the United States and Israel are just openly flying in daylight. We've been sending B1 bombers in which are non stealth because they no longer pose a threat to us. But what we are concerned about is the offensive capability, meaning missiles launched into all its neighbors. And so with that in mind, a lot of the US and Israeli activity is hunting down those missile launchers, which is since I was in the first Gulf War in 91, this was a big deal during the first Gulf War. Israel was not in the war because the allies wouldn't have that. The United States spent an unbelievable amount of time, the last several weeks of the Gulf War hunting down basically missile launchers to prevent Israel from being launched at, because if Israel was attacked then Israel might strike back and that would alienate the alliance. Now we're not in the same situation now at all regarding the views on Israel, and our technical capacity is much higher. We can better and much, much better, 10 times better track launchers and things like that. And so that is the main concern right now is to wipe out the underground bunkers with missiles and then whether they're anti shipping missiles or for the Gulf or their ballistic missiles. And so slowly over time every day you're going to see fewer and fewer ballistic missile launches. You know by a week from now it's going to be a trickle if that. And so once that's eliminated, then basically, and along with the combined attacks on the institutions that support the regime like besieged headquarters, they're the people that beat up people if they're not covered and things like that. Once they're, you know, they have already been targeted massively and once they're you know, wiped out then President Trump and Netanyahu and stuff have already been encouraging people to rise up, then it will be that much easier. there may also be programs to arm the rebels as well. you know, to come to basically push the revolution to get rid of the government.

Jenna Ellis: M. Yeah.

Scott Ewlinger: I think there will be regime change in Iran

And do you expect, Scott Ewlinger, my special guest this morning, do you expect that, the United States not only will be successful with the strategic objectives, but will there be regime change in. And that obviously could take several forms. But would there be regime change, like the White House is seemingly advocating for?

Scott Uehlinger: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I mean, it may be a little bit messy, but, it's going to be definitely better than what we had under the mullahs. And so that's the important thing. And so. But you know, what we've learned. I've lived through all of this stuff. I, personally, when I was at the Merchant Marine Academy, I played Taps at the funeral of a Marine who was blown up in the Lebanese barracks bombing in 1983. So, like, Iran has been. And I worked against the CIA. I was. Faced them in the Merchant Marine. Literally. It's been like a constant threat through my life. And, what we're seeing now is revolutionary because basically we've learned that the forever wars were a choice. Okay. I remember that they were constantly throwing around the expression when I was in the first Gulf War, oh, if you break it, you bought it. Like, in other words, if you overthrow the regime, you're responsible for what comes next. And it's like, no, you're not. You take out the leader, just like in Roman times. And if the next leader isn't what you want, then you take him out and you keep on going down the line until you have a leader you can deal with. That's the way to do things. It's only since, you know, the post war, but let's maybe even post Vietnam period where the United States insisted on tying itself into knots and let international law dictate to the United States what it needed to do that. We've seen all of the disasters with unbelievable human costs. And so anything that comes out of, Iran will be better than what we've had because we'll make sure it's better. But it is the responsibility of those people to really, and with our help, to set up a new government that, is not a threat to humanity, but ultimately lands. It's in their hands. And so, yeah. Could there be a possibly a relatively short period where, there are boots on the ground? Yeah, but it's not going to be a forever war, which was the choice of people like Bush and Obama. It's not going to be that way.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And, we Got to take a break here, but, Scott Ealinger, really appreciate your analysis. And I know, you know, that tracks definitely with what President Trump, has always stood for and even before he ran for president. I mean, you know, going back just historically, this all tracks with what he has been saying kind of long term. And I don't anticipate that this would, be a, an endless war or, you know, kind of what the, the old establishment Republicans have pushed for. And so, the objections from, you know, some of the right seem to be a little premature, at least in, in my opinion. But, you know, we'll see and continue to monitor how this goes. And we will be right back with more here on Jenna Ellis in the Morning.

Jenna Ellis: Congress is considering whether to have a resolution on Iran conflict

Scott Uehlinger: welcome back to Jenna Ellis in

Marlin Stutzman: the Morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. And Congress is contemplating whether or not to have a resolution. Basically, my understanding of it is condemning President, Trump basically saying that, the ongoing conflict in Iran is unconstitutional because they haven't declared war. But as we talked about yesterday, that's really unnecessary because, what's going on right now, at least with the targeted airstrikes and this, this particular strategic objective, is within the President's article to power. And it's not a sustained conflict that would necessitate an actual declaration of war. And so Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been very clear that there absolutely was an imminent threat from Iran. And so he said this on Monday that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States following a series of strikes in the region. This, coming from the Hill, there absolutely was an imminent threat. And the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us. Rubio told reporters in the capital ahead of the Gang of Eight briefing. the Secretary of State cited a Department of War assessment that said Iran planned a strike against the US that would have resulted in more casualties and more deaths. Rubio also said we went proactively in a defensive way to prevent them from inflicting higher damage. He told reporters that within an hour of the initial US Attack on leadership, the leadership compound Iran's missile forces in the south and in the north had already been activated to launch and were pre positioned.

Congressman Marlon Stutzman joins us to discuss Iran airstrikes

So let's welcome in, Congressman Marlon Stutzman from the great state of Indiana. and Congressman, you know, what's, what's going on there on Capitol Hill in terms of this, forthcoming vote, potentially over, the ongoing conflict in

Marlin Stutzman: Iran well, good morning, Ella. Great to be with you this morning. Jenna, appreciate, you talking about this because I think it's one of the, you know, the important threats that not only do we as Americans face, but the Middle east faces. Iran has been the leading state sponsor of terrorism for years. I mean, this has been going on for 40 some years, since 1979. And the fact is, is that they continue to, Bethey've, been at war with us for almost that long. So people say, oh, President Trump is starting a war. No, actually in reality, they've already been fighting us. They have already been coming after us. over 600Americans have been killed, by the Iranians. They are the, you know, they're proxies, whether it's Hezbollah, Houthis, they, continue to attack Israel. And if they had a chance, Jenna, we all know that they would be attacking America. I mean, you know, the chants that we often hear in the Middle east from Iran is death to Israel. Death to America. We're the big Satan. Israel is the little Satan. So, you know, this is not just a start of a war. This is actually a conclusion of the war that we have been putting up with for so long with the Iranians that people are, that President Trump, I believe, is making the right move by making sure America is safe in the long run and that our other allies in the region, in the Middle east are also, free from this state sponsored terrorist.

Jenna Ellis: And so, you know, with that context, which I think is incredibly important, Congressman, does it make sense then what Rubio is saying about, specifically we went proactively in a defensive way to prevent Iran from inflicting higher damage. I mean, in that context, while those on the left and even on the right who are opposing this, particular series of airstrikes, they're not really, I don't think, kind of seeing this in the bigger picture and seeing that this wasn't just sort of, an initial out of the blue, targeted strike that was going on the offensive, saying we went proactively in a defensive way. I think, m makes sense in terms of the overall context.

Marlin Stutzman: Yeah, you know, Iran has been shooting, you know, rockets and missiles throughout the region over the past year. And we all knew the threat last summer with their nuclear capabilities and the facility that they were building, and we've warned them over and over, stop building. I mean, this goes back, you know, I mean the Obama administration of course, was even trying to keep the Iranians from getting a nuclear bomb. Their Strategy much different. And I think we are seeing that it wasn't successful, by, you know, trying to pay them off, being their friend and finding ways to, you know, really just capitulate to the Iranians. And, you know, we need to realize, too, that, you know, the Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, was, you know, he considered himself next to their God. You know, so it's Allah, Muhammad and the Ayatollah. And so they have a very different view of, you know, the world and what the rest of the world does. I mean, they have a different perspective than what a lot of other Muslims do. I mean, they felt they were the supreme, religion even in the Muslim world. And so I think it's, really interesting too, that, you know, the relationships that we have been able to build with other Arab countries. Saudi Arabia in particular, uae, Egypt, Qatar and others, Bahrain, they have now been attacked by Iran. So I think that shows that Iran was totally on an island by themselves. They've isolated themselves because, you know, besides Russia and China, which they were just, you know, their big gas station, for those two or for. Especially for China. But I think what's important is that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu and others, others who would. Were afraid to step up, like Great Britain and France and Germany. But, they all should have been a part of this, knowing that, you know, the warning we gave them last June by taking out their nuclear facility was, okay, let's sit down and talk while we sat down and talked. And they just continually lie and they drag their feet and they say they're not doing this and they want this. And so finally, it's like, you know, what? You all continue to give us, you know, just a bunch of words, and we know behind the scenes you're rebuilding your missile capability and your nuclear capability and we have to put it to a stop. And I think this is the beginning of some sort of stability in the Middle East.

Jenna Ellis: M. Wow. And, you know, and you have access to the same information as, you know, ah, all the other members of Congress. And yet, you know, this sort of common sense and contextual view, is not being articulated at all from those on the left who just seek to oppose Donald Trump at any turn and of course, confuse the facts on purpose. And so do you anticipate that there is going to be, you know, this kind of vote? And it's obviously just for optics reasons. I mean, it really doesn't. It won't carry any sort of weight. but do you think that it's being effective in terms of shaping public perception over this conflict?

Marlin Stutzman: I think it could. You know, I mean, you know, President Trump has not broken any of the laws. He notified Congress in a formal letter yesterday, which. That's what the executive branch is supposed to do under the War Powers act, is to notify Congress within 48 hours. There was already conversations going on before that President Trump has been the most transparent president that we, have seen in decades. And the fact that Democrats are almost cheering for us to fail is, you know, it's so frustrating and maddening and saddening at the same time, because you're rooting against. I mean, look at some of the pictures we're seeing of the Iranian women who are cheering and for their. They know they're getting freedom from this monstrous regime in Iran. And, yet we still have Democrat leadership here in the United States. You know, they just can't see the forest for the trees because of their hatred for President Trump. I mean, finally, you know, I mean, we. Well, not finally, but, you know, the one Senator, Joe, Fetterman, from. Senator Fetterman from Pennsylvania, has been rational and using common sense and saying, look, these guys are bad guys. We should all be celebrating that a, you know, the Hitler of our day is being eliminated, has been eliminated, and that there's an opportunity for freedom in Iran, not only for the Iranian people, but the threat to the Middle east is gone. The threat to, America is gone. You know, we have to remember the Iranians, they killed over 600Americans. So this is, again, this is not a start of a war. This is the conclusion of a war, is how I look at it. And that a, new day is, here upon us, and that's because of the brave men and women that serve our country and also the decisive leadership of President Trump.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah. I couldn't agree with you more. And I think that, you know, this type of decisive action, is standard for President Trump. And he's been very clear that, you know, if the rest of the world doesn't like, the policies and willing to negotiate, then, you know, he'll, enforce what, what he thinks is right for the country. And, you know, he's not like one of those parents that, you know, just counts to three really slowly, but, you know, the kids disobey. They know that there's not going to be any consequences. Right. He's not like that. And so in terms of his. His articulated Strategic objectives. Where, do you see, those strategic objectives winning, out in terms of, you know, overall, especially with regime change?

Marlin Stutzman: Well, I think that the, you know, the rest of the world needs to realize. Now, of course, Russia and China don't like this, but whether you're in Europe, you should be, elated because they're well within the scope of Iran's capability, to fire missiles and rockets into that part of the world. The Western Hemisphere should be completely more relaxed today knowing that that threat is gone. You know, the fact that President Trump and our military made the decision to go in and take out Maduro was such a huge. I mean, if you're thinking about it in chess, I mean, taking Maduro off the board was incredible because now you take away two major supply lines with Iran and with Venezuela, when it comes to oil and gas, to China. I mean, China needed those, pieces for themselves to support their military, support their economy, and of course, it was cheap. And they're very willing to saddle up to dictatorships for their own objectives. And so that's what I think that, you know, those of us in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, I mean, Middle east now, all should be breathing a sigh of relief, like, okay, you know what? There's a chance to move forward. Russia has, of course, engaged themselves in Ukraine and bogged themselves down there. I think that they should now be learning the lesson that war is not the answer and that they should have been satisfied with all of the, the assets that they have available to them in their region. And, of course, you know, China's sitting there watching Taiwan and wanting to take Taiwan. So, you know, this is part of bringing, a just broader stability not only to the west, but also in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump's administration has strengthened ties with many countries

And, you know, China and Russia are going to be sitting, you know, kind of in their corners, waiting and watching and thinking, what did we just experience? We thought the west was starting to fall, and then along comes President Donald Trump and changes everything back and makes it even, you know, more stable and stronger. And it's just incredible to see how many countries right now want a relationship with America. Just, you know, watching the Iranian people celebrating and knowing what this day means for them, is just. It should touch every American. Because at one point in America, you know, whether it was Germany, where my ancestors came from, whether it was Ireland or other parts of the world where, you know, we all immigrated from, there's been war. But America continues to be that beacon of hope and light and peace. but, of course, strength, because that's the only way you're going to get true peace is having somebody who's going to, you know, keep the waters calm, even though it's tough at times. And we. We do lose service members, part of that. But I'll tell you, I just can't thank you enough to our servicemen and women who voluntarily signed up to serve our military and are willing to put their life on the line for the freedom that we have and others will enjoy as well.

Jenna Ellis: So, well said. And, yeah, a huge thank you to our, servicemen and women who understand the cost, but are willing anyway to, go and fight for the cause.

Jenna Bell: Congress should take serious look at immigration reform after Texas shooting

and you mentioned, the whole immigration piece. And, I saw somebody commented on, on social media, the other day, and I kind of thought this was, was apt. That is, this. This commentator said, you know, Muslim countries. The people in Muslim countries, not, you know, obviously the. The government, like in Iran are celebrating this. And, the people in Muslim countries like the UK are not. And I thought, you know, this really shows the difference, between people who have actually lived under Islam and the oppression versus people who are still trying to import this and don't recognize the demise of the West. do you think that, you know, this is a moment where Congress, is taking a serious look at not just, you know, illegal immigration that conservatives have objected to for a long time, but even reform of illegal immigration? Because we're seeing even like the shooter in the Austin, Texas bar, I mean, who had come here legally but clearly hadn't assimilated, shouldn't be here. You know, people like that, shouldn't have ever come here to begin with. And so, you know, what's kind of the. The mindset in terms of immigration analysis on Capitol Hill among Republicans right now?

Marlin Stutzman: Yeah, no, that's a great point, Jenna. And I mean, I know that Secretary Noem is on the Hill testifying this morning, but it's real. I mean, we need to realize after the open border policy of Joe Biden, that, there are very likely sleeper cells here in the United States. You know, that they came here knowing. I mean, you know, we haven't had concrete proof, but I think, you know, the Iranians were, You know, they are. They were coming in as well and, you know, may have been involved with the assassination attempts of President Trump. there are so many pieces to this, and I know the FBI and Kash, Patel and others are taking this so seriously because, you know, we know that countries like China and Iran and Russia and others know that America is so strong but could be weakened from the inside. And they've been trying to take advantage of that vulnerability that, you know, whenever we have weak presidents that look the other way on immigration, that's when bad people come in. And so I know that, that's going to be part of the conversation today and this week is why aren't we funding DHS in a moment where, you know, our military is overseas and, is on the advance, but at the same time here at home, you know, it could be in any 50 states where, ISIS terrorists, jihadists, you name them, decides that, because of the, attacks in Iran that they're going to step up and start taking out Americans. And we're seeing that as a possibility already in Texas. So the threat is real and we need to be vigilant and keeping our eyes and, ears open. and of course, I know that our law enforcement, around the country, I've had several conversations, that they, they're very aware of it as well, and knowing that the threat is real and are prepared for anything that may happen. But that's where we need a time, you know, for, you know, be praying for our servicemen and women, be praying for our law enforcement, be praying for security for innocent people, and that God would really, you know, use this moment to, eliminate evil and that we as Christians stand up for what is right and what is good and righteous.

Jenna Ellis: Amen to that. And, you know, we need to be taking all of this very seriously. And, and not just in terms of, future, the future for, immigration law, but also retroactively. I mean, is there any talk about, denaturalizing and deporting, some who shouldn't be here? and it doesn't necessarily mean only immigration consequences after criminal activity or behavior. some of those things, in my opinion, should. Should happen immediately. it shouldn't take, you know, this type of, shooting in Austin or, you know, or Somali fraud in Minnesota before, the United States should take a good look at people who are already here.

Marlin Stutzman: Yeah, no, that's right. You know, if this tells us anything, and this is where Democrats need to open their eyes and realize there are people that want to see America destroyed. And if you can't celebrate with the Iranian people today, I would question what, you know, your motives are, here in America. I mean, America is the greatest country in the world, and the freedoms that we have here are just incredible. And for those to be Protected. We can't let evil people, you know, take those rights away from us. And so I just believe that this is a moment where we're really. It's a choice between good and evil. I mean, it doesn't take long to see what the Iranian leadership has done. I mean, Ahmadinejad, he was such a bad guy. And, you know, we're hearing that he may have been, killed through these raids. so many of the leadership in Iran, were, just evil people and had no regard for life, no regard, you know, even their own people. When this happened. And this started back in 2014, if you remember, Jenna, the Arab Spring cropped up back in 2014. And so there's been a movement inside Iran for a long time. In fact, you know, we hear from our Christian friends that the church is growing rapidly in Iran because they're so, they have experienced oppression. They have experienced this evil leadership, and that's making a huge difference. And that people are so tired of the oppression, they're willing to stand and march in the streets for their freedom, for the future even. It costs them their lives. And, you know, the numbers may be up around 80,000 Iranians that may have been, slaughtered in the streets who were protesting their government because they had just had enough. And that's what, you know, talking to a first generation American, you quickly realize, that, you know, the experiences that they had in whatever country they came from, are so much. I mean, America is such a great place to live. We're so blessed to live here.

Jenna Ellis: Amen to that. Oh, yeah, absolutely. And we need to continue to preserve this, ah, way of life. And we've got to take a break here. Congressman, Marlon Stutzman. But I so appreciate your, analysis, the common sense approach. And I hope that, the members, at least on the right side of the aisle, if not maybe some reasonable Democrats. I think Fetterman might be the only one out there. And it's, it's actually really amazing how bold he is just to to speak common sense, I, I actually really respect him for that. But hopefully at least the Republicans, are willing to take a hard look at this because moving forward, and especially into the future, having a, an immigration policy that works, that makes sense. And not just about the mass deportations and ice, but actually the law. And reshaping, not just illegal immigration, but legal immigration is, I think, key to preserving the West. So we will be right back with more here on Jenna Ellis in the morning and you can follow Marlon Stutzman across all social media platforms, and you should, should at. Marlin Sutzman.

Jenna Ellis: Ted Cruz and Hakeem Jeffries discuss immigration policy

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

Jenna Ellis: Come back. And speaking of immigration policy, there was a really stark contrast in the state of Texas this week with Cruz and Jeffries visiting, Laredo and sharing views on impact immigration and ICE policies. So, this coming from KGNS, Texas, in Laredo, Texas, U.S. senator Ted Cruz and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both visited Texas over the weekend for Washington's birthday celebration events. And, spoke to the outlet about immigration and ICE policy. Cruz said that his position on immigration can be summarized in four words. Legal, good, illegal, bad. Cruz said, so he's finally speaking in crayon. By the way, I think his, his presidential run, back in, you know, 2015, really suffered from being, you know, more white paper, less crayon. So maybe he's finally learning President Trump. But, but Cruz said, I think most, Texans, and most Americans agree with that. He pointed to the one big beautiful bill act, which allocates more than $170 billion for border and interior law enforcement, including funding for new detention missing centers. but I'm not really sure, actually that Cruz is right, because as I was talking to the Congressman Stutzman about before the break, there is a rising concern, especially among the right, that, assimilation isn't happening. And even if people come here legally, should they be here? There's kind of been this basic assumption for a while among, maybe the establishment right, or, you know, kind of the right of talking about immigration literally just in those terms, legal, good, illegal, bad. But I think that Republicans and conservatives are finally getting to the point that we're questioning that basic assumption and saying, well, wait a minute, maybe the legal immigration that's happening is not actually beneficial to this country.

Tony Ortiz: Republican Party has moved away from supporting immigration

So let's welcome in Tony Ortiz, who is the founder of the current revolt. And Tony, you know, I think that maybe while Cruz is speaking in crayon, he's still not quite grasping, you know, where the country is at this moment.

Tony Ortiz: And you're correct. I think he's learned to be a little bit more, brief about his explanations on things or his opinions on things. but, yeah, this stance of, you know, legal, immigration is good and illegal immigration is bad. It's like very 2016 Republican stance. Right. And I think that, at least broadly speaking, the Republican Party, and especially the conservative wing of the Republican Party, has moved away towards supporting immigration as A whole, a lot of, A lot of grassroots activists and conservatives believe that, you know, that foreign people have come here, they've immigrated here, they've taken American jobs and it's made it harder for Americans who have just graduated American students to find and make a decent living.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah. And you know, it's, it's one of those things that I think is, is interesting that, you know, some of the Republicans like Cruz maybe, who have just had all of these talking points sorted, Pat, aren't necessarily staying ahead of the curve or even with the curve on ah, sentiment on the right. And I see this as one of the issues that not only was very big in the 2024 presidential election, but is going to be big in the midterms as well.

Tony Ortiz: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that you know, especially here locally, we've got, we've got. It's election day for Texas, so it's a big deal. And I can tell you that the politicians that are all up for reelection have all been asked this sort of question on their opinion on immigration and a lot of them have, you know, broadly or at least inadvertently given the opinion that, you know, yes, maybe we need to slow down immigration and we need to more on taking care of the people that we've gotten here in America already.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. And you speaking of this being election Day, I was just reading a piece from the Wall Street Journal that's you know, just coming in through my subscription, my email. But it's the headline things to watch for during the big Texas primary. So that's happening today if you are in Texas, get out and vote. And they start with good morning. They say the only poll that matters is the one taken on election day, which is a good thing because they, the polls in Texas have been all over the map and all over the map is in cap. So maybe they're learning something from Trump's truth social there, in the Wall Street Journal. But you know, in kind of the two big races that we're watching, ah, Crockett versus Talarico on the Democrat side in the Senate race and then Paxton versus Cornyn, in the, the possible attempt to unseat Cornyn, who's the incumbent. what's your prediction in both of

Tony Ortiz: those races for the Talarico and Jasmine Crockett race? I think that Talarico will secure it. they both had rallies yesterday and it was kind of interesting to see the turnout at both of them. You know, Jasmine Crockett's rally was very low energy, not well attended, whereas Talarico had a pretty huge rally with thousand. Over a thousand people there and a lot higher energy. So I do think that Talarico will. Will secure the win. Funny enough, the betting markets are reflecting the same thing on this race. As far as the race between M. Ken Paxton, John Cornyn and Wesley Hunt, I think, Ken Paxton will come out on top on there, with Cornyn behind. I think that Wesley Hunt will take enough votes away that it will trigger a runoff. So you will see a runoff election between those two.

Jenna Ellis: Interesting. And, And if it goes to runoff, how. How quickly does that happen? After the primary in Texas?

Tony Ortiz: Yeah, very quickly. So you're looking at may for when the, When the next. When, the runoff election is. So we have early voting. So early voting will start on May 18th, with election, day for the runoffs being May 22nd. Wow.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, that.

Tony Ortiz: May 26th.

Jenna Ellis: 26th. Okay. Yeah. And, that is really quick. And you know, according to this piece in the Wall Street Journal, they. They have the opinion that Republicans seem to be more panicked about squaring off against Talarico in the general election in November than Crockett. I think that's probably true in the sense that, you know, Crockett is just so crazy left field. But Talarico. Well, you know, we've talked about this on my show before, with you, Tony Ortiz, that, you know, he's kind of somebody who, has gotten a wide social media following. He's gone, you know, viral for a lot of, clips. But if you actually listen to what he's talking to, talking about, especially when he talks about his alleged Christian, faith, what he's saying is actually in. In some sense, I think, more dangerous, in terms of his actual worldview and perspective than Jasmine Crockett. Yeah.

Tony Ortiz: You've got a guy here who claims to be of the Christian faith and all that, a faith leader. And he supports abortion, he supports overwhelming. Supports gay and trans messaging. So, yeah, it's kind of concerning. And to your point, yeah, some of the moderate or the not really fully connected, voters who just go to vote, don't really even watch tv, don't watch the news, don't listen to radio. They've seen some of his appearances and they think, okay, this guy is actually a reasonable moderate guy that I can get behind. and so, yeah, I do think that as far as, who the Republicans are hoping they go against, they're hoping for a Jasmine Crockett because she would be an easier, opponent for Ken Paxton. but I think Calarico will squeaked by. On the flip side, Democrats are hoping that Ken Paxton wins because they view him as, as being the weaker candidate.

Jenna Ellis: M. Is that just because Cornyn is the incumbent and like the incumbent advantage, or is that just because of, you know, some of, Paxton's other issues in Texas, which, I mean, you know, ardent supporters. And, you know, I was definitely one that thought his whole impeachment, fiasco in Texas was a total sham. And I actually think it made him stronger. But, you know, what. What is that attributable to in terms of the Democrats mindset?

Tony Ortiz: Yeah, Democrats view Kim Paxton as having a lot of quote, unquote baggage. Right. Somebody that they could maybe sling mud at. Right.

Tony Ortiz: Whether it's the, the nonsense they brought up during the impeachment or his multiple affairs, they think that that's something that they can use to maybe damage turnout for him or, you know, siphon voters away from him.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, that's, Well, you know, I mean, it hasn't stopped him from, having, you know, a clear advantage, at least in the polls right now. I was seeing one, just this morning that gave him an 81% likelihood of winning the nomination. And so how that translates into the general will be interesting.

There have been more Democrats voting in early voting than Republicans in Texas

And overall, you know, the, the demographic of Texas, I mean, it's still a red state, but in terms of a Senate race like this, where it. Let's say that the nominees are Talarico and Paxton, is this going to be closer than we would like, or what's. What's the, prediction there?

Tony Ortiz: Yeah, very close. actually very concerning. recent numbers have shown that as of right now. And that doesn't include today, but as of right now, early voting Democrats, turned out more in Texas than Republicans. So that. That is official. There have been more Democrats voting in early voting than Republicans in the state of Texas. Now, on the side of that, Republicans tend to vote more on election day. Republicans, just do that. they're not big early voters. So you may see that, you know, change today at the end of, the polling. But generally, even. Even in early voting, traditionally we haven't seen turnout like this in a very long time. So, yeah, I do. I do believe that a Ken Paxton versus Talarico race, ah, will be a lot. A lot closer than many expected.

Jenna Ellis: Well, and this is why, you know, voting in Every election matters. And, you know, speaking of elections, so, you know, the primary is today, so obviously, last opportunity to go out and vote. But, when do we expect the results to come in?

Tony Ortiz: They'll come in this evening. And, you know, some races will be called immediately, Right? So, like, of course, the governor race, lieutenant governor race. Those, will be called almost, Almost immediately, probably within 30 minutes of the polls closing. As far as the other races, you know, that. That could take a bit. it could be. We could have a really late night here in Texas.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. Interesting. Well, you know, this is why also, election integrity matters. Getting to the results and not having, you know, days and weeks of unknowns, but it doesn't seem like that at least is likely in Texas. But we'll be watching tonight very closely. And again, if you are in the state of Texas, make sure you get out and vote and everywhere else, make sure you know where your primaries are and when those are, and get out and vote, because elections do have. Have consequences. All right, thanks so much, Tony Ortiz, and, as always, you can reach me and my team, Jenna, afr.net.