Jenna Ellis: Rights that our founders recognize come from God our creator
: 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.
Joe Kent suggests he would be willing to testify in Tyler Robinson's trial
Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Wednesday, March 25, and you know, there comes a point in time where conservatives who are principled really need to stand up for principles instead of just their political partisan, point of view. And this has become just an absolute spectacle in the most ridiculous fashion dealing, with the Charlie Kirk trial. coming up, of course, Tyler Robinson, who is accused of murdering Charlie Kirk, all evidence points to him, confession to his parents, fingerprints on the weapon, I mean, literally everything. And yet, and yet there are some even formerly really high up in Trump world, including the former, National Counterterrorism center director, Joe Kent, who prioritize, who are apparently prioritizing, their personal animus against the nation of Israel and their political perspective over justice for Charlie and his family. And so yesterday, the, Charlie Kirk Show's, producers Andrew Colvett and Blake Neff, expressed their utter disgust at Joe Kent. This is coming from Yahoo News, and I think that's an, actually, an apt description. Their utter disgust at Joe Kent's suggestion that he would be willing to testify at the trial of Tyler Robinson even if it helped Robinson's defense. And this is prioritizing partisan politics over and above justice, because there's nothing that Joe Kent could possibly add to this. He wasn't part of the FBI investigation or, you know, anything on the ground there in Utah. I mean, the only reason that he's suggesting this is to put out into the public the narrative that, you know, Candace Owens and some others are suggesting that somehow the nation of Israel or even our own government had something to do with the murder of Charlie Kirk. Because, you know, Charlie was, either abandoning Israel, getting, you know, too close with the, the whole, enterprise of the military industrial complex, you know, all of these other theories that, you know, have your perspective on Israel, that's, That's a debatable issue. That's fine. But when it comes to justice for the murder of Charlie Kirk and justice for his children, justice for his wife, for, the entire turning point USA family, justice period for Charlie himself, There's absolutely no place to suggest that your personal opinion should influence the jury pool over and above what the facts show. And I too am incredibly disgusted by Joe Kent and any of these other podcasters or anyone who is suggesting somehow that they would help the defense in any way just because that might advance their own political narrative.
Steve Dase rants about conservatives prioritizing partisan points over justice for victims
So, here to rant with me this morning is my good friend Steve Dase, who of course is the host of the C Day show. And like me posted on this yesterday, I think also Steve, you know, we can, we can say that you are utterly disgusted as well. But you know, when, when did it become acceptable for so called conservatives to prioritize their partisan political points of view over recognizing justice for victims?
Steve Deace: You know, Jen, I think the first time you and I met in person, if I recall, was at an event that I, booked Charlie as the main speaker in Boise, on Scandemic Resistors. I think that's the first time that you and I, met. So we've kind of come full circle here. And I think, you know, to quote Charlie, Jew hate is brain rot. And what you're watching is brain rot. and just to define that for your audience, Joe Kent went on Megyn Kelly show a few days ago. And I'm not even exaggerating, he said the following. Well, after they just came back with fingerprint, confirmation and Tyler confessed, they just stopped investigating it at that point. I want everybody this morning. I know it's early, I want you to pause because I'm good. I promise you. What is it? 8, 10 Eastern. 8:10am Eastern. What I just said is the absolute dumbest thing you're going to hear the rest of today. The year of our Lord, March 25, 2026. He said this to a woman who herself is an attorney. well, you know, after they. Let me, Let me rephrase this for everybody. After they confirmed the most verifiable form of forensic evidence as a species human beings have ever discovered, and then the alleged confessed to the crime, confirming said forensic analysis, they just moved on from investigating who murdered Charlie to prosecuting it.
Jenna Fischer: Having DNA forensic evidence plus a confession is sufficient evidence
Is there a form of evidence? You are yourself a litigator, Jenna. You served in a White House as a litigator. Is there a form of evidence you're aware of more potent than the combination of the unique fingerprint profile of a human being followed by their personal confession? Are you aware of m. A combination of evidence more potent than that, Jenna?
Jenna Ellis: I mean, literally, that's as about Ironclad as you can get. Unless we had actual video evidence, which we do, of Charlie being murdered, but of Tyler Robinson actually pulling the trigger. I mean, this is something where people confuse, you know, proof beyond a reasonable doubt with proof beyond all doubt. Like, they think that we should literally see every single crime on video today. That's not how trials work. So literally having DNA forensic evidence plus a confession, we convict millions of people through the court system with far less than that and their valid convictions.
Steve Deace: There is way more evidence that Joe Kent took a private text from Andrew Colbert where he said, hey, by all means, you're in there. I mean, if, you know, this goes, you know, wider or deeper, we're not turning. We're leaving no stone unturned. We want to know what happened to our leader, our brother. So by all means, you. You know, if you. If you think this is insufficient, you tell us. There's way more evidence that he took that private text from Andrew Colvitt and abused that relationship and leaked it to Candace Owens than there is anybody other than Tyler Robinson murdered Charlie Kirk. And I just think a red line really, over the last two weeks has been crossed. I think it is very clear now that Joe Kent is part of some kind of op. And first, you kind of have Joe Kent and Tucker Carlsen essentially trying to Pentagon papers Donald Trump over the Iran war. I think it took five minutes for Joe Kent to get on Tucker's show after he wrote that letter. Maybe 10. I don't know.
Steve Deace: Maybe Tucker had to take a leak or something. Okay. Didn't want to make it too obvious, of course. So after they tried the Pentagon Papers, the president now. Now we're going to, well, we didn't investigate all the leads we don't have. We don't. We didn't investigate what leads he's presented no leads. In six months, Candace Owens has produced not one shred of evidence. Nobody has. Nobody has. They produced nothing. And so you have to ask yourself if these people will not be satisfied with fingerprints. Ballistics. Fingerprints on the murder weapon, ballistics on him matching the weapon. What's on the weapon on top of the fingerprints? A confession. The family turned them in. No one in the family has come forward to say, hey, we think you got the wrong man. His boyfriend said he was talking about doing it. Okay, if that's not enough evidence for you, I don't know what evidence you want. And it's pretty clear the only evidence you'll take is that Yuri Manischewitz from the seventh basement floor of The Mossad headquarters personally made the call. Kill Charlie Kirk. That's the only evidence you want. Of which there isn't evidence for. And of which would be among the dumbest things Jews have ever done. To take the most high profile ally they had left in American evangelicalism and have him killed would be about the dumbest thing you could possibly imagine. It's almost as dumb as saying, well, Megan, after they got the fingerprints and the guy confessed, they stopped investigating it. So, no, maybe that isn't yet the dumbest thing you'll hear all day. I just said something maybe even dumber. Or maybe there's this one. well, Erica Kirk was in on murdering her husband, which is why she wants the whole trial televised. Idiots.
Steve Deace: Okay, this is retardation, self retardation, where you've just allowed your brain to rot out and you're being abused by people who have an opt to run, who have an agenda. Joe Kent is saying all kinds of things about Israel different than what he said as recently as 2024 and the four years prior. In his last congressional campaign, he attacked his Democrat opponent for not being pro Israel. This guy's taken on the President himself, has exposed numerous different positions on these things that this guy has taken. And so there's clearly his second wife has some curious political contacts, if you go and take a look at that. And for him to show up at this Catholics for Catholics thing last Friday, which is basically the spirit of Joel Webin, and what he was trying to do on Protestantism that I confronted last year right to their faces at their event about this time last year. In fact, it's the same. The fact that you have in that room were a bunch of, pardon me, in that room were a bunch of Protestants who think Rome Catholics, are not Christians and Rome is the literal, quote, whore of Babylon, end quote, from the Bible. And yet they're all saying the same things about Jews in Israel that Catholics for Catholics are saying when they have. They have nothing else in common other than the hatred of the Jewish people in Israel. And that's how you know it's the same demonic spirit, because that's the only message that they agree on. They share nothing else in common other than that share hatred. And what's taking place right now is some stuff that is just almost Matthew 20, 20, 24, 24 kind of stuff, that the deception would be so deep, even the elect would be deceived, that those days were not limited. This is true spiritual blindness. This is true spiritual warfare playing out. And you know, we already got wine moms on the left who sit around and, watch, you know, the View and stuff all day. They got, you know, wealthy beta male husbands in the suburbs, so they've got all kinds of free time to sit there and ponder their wokeness. Well, on the right, what Candace Owens has discovered is we've got a bunch of QAnon moms on the right. Same suburbs, same women, just different side of the aisle, same too much free time. And they're, and they're, and they have pumped an incredible amount of clicks, engagement and revenue into her podcast, by tormenting a widow. Just pure unadulterated wickedness abounds across this entire scenario. All we asked of you was just, hey, don't aid and abet the murderer, the murderer of our friend and brother and torment his widow. And unfortunately, a not insignificant number of people on our side could not even manage, could not even manage to do that. Pardon me, I'm getting over a cold. And that's just pure wickedness, Jenna.
Jenna Ellis: It is. And it, and it is so despicable and disgusting that it's coming from the so called right. I mean, this is somebody, Joe Kent, who five minutes ago was very high up in the Trump administration. I mean, we can, we're not really surprised when the left is the one, you know, coming after us. If the left is the one that is painting, you know, Erica Kirk in a bad light. If the left doesn't care about justice for Charlie Kirk, if the left is weaponizing the justice system for their own political purposes, I mean, that's all stuff that we're used to from the left, but when there is an agenda coming from within our own house, and this is the definition of lawfare, Steve. I mean, when, when Joe Kent says that he, he personally is skeptical of Tyler Robinson and saying the FBI was pretty forceful in saying we couldn't investigate further, he told, a news outlet, I saw no action being taken. Well, again, you know, what do you want? After they thoroughly investigated, they found the weapon, they got the guy, they got the confession, there's no more investigation left. I mean, that's like suggesting after you have observed yourself that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, you can be pretty confident in saying that you have investigated, you've observed, and that that's the conclusion. I mean, it's like these people want to have their minds open for so long that their brain literally falls out. And it's, and it's not because they actually are skeptical of the conclusion and the proof it's that it doesn't fit their narrative. And this is why.
Steve Kirk: Right-wingers are weaponizing justice to serve political purposes
This is weaponization of the justice system just as much as the left did to President Trump, to me, to others.
Steve Deace: Right on.
Jenna Ellis: And this is what needs to be pointed out. Because when the right is weaponizing justice only to serve their own political propaganda, because Joe Kent and Candace Owens and others don't like the fact that Tyler Robinson isn't connected to Israel and the big military industrial complex. And it doesn't suit their narrative. They are willing to undermine justice for Charlie and his family just to serve their own political purposes. And that is the definition of evil.
Steve Deace: I mean, that was perfectly stated. And you know, now, you know, we have Tucker saying that, there's, freedom of religion for Christians in Saudi Arabia. And just a quick poll of your audience, for all the problems we have with blue cities. I mean, where would you like to raise your family? Riyadh or San Francisco? And I'll wait, I think that'll be a pretty, I mean, Boston or Beijing. What do you think? What do you think is probably better for you? now he wants, now the Islamic world is, more tolerant than us, and Islamic extremism is caused by colonization. If that sounds like the humanities professor at your Communist university, it's because it does. And so I think we're just at the point now. I don't know whether these people, who they are, what they want right or left. it's very clear, that their entire agenda, is that, I mean, now we should share power with China. Which is ironic because we had a group of people who agreed with Tucker on this. you know, most of my life they were called neocons, and that's what the Bushes did with most favored nation status. The worldviews of these people are completely all over the place. I think you're watching Tucker deconstruct like you watch anybody else deconstruct their face, when they eventually become usually a heretic. And you know, we could have kept that an ideological exercise and just debated that in the arena of ideas on X amongst, you know, our thinker class and largely kept it contained there. But now that we're going to torment a widow, and aid in abet, the murderer of her husband not getting justice, we've crossed a red line here now. And now I think we have to confront this way more vehemently and aggressively. So starting yesterday, I am.
Jenna Ellis: That's why we're talking about it today. As Well, I mean, because this is coming from allegedly our own people. And this is what is so dangerous about this, Steve, is that there are people even who listen to this program on a regular basis. And I get emails from them saying, you know, why are you going after Candace Owens? Or, you know, I think she's, she's actually brilliant, or, you know, don't judge her, you know, all of these other things. And I want to, just as firmly as possible, say to everyone listening, you have to have better discernment than that. You absolutely have to. Just because somebody is, is allegedly coming from the right doesn't actually mean that they are, and doesn't mean that they're coming from a biblical worldview. And it doesn't mean that they are prioritizing truth and fact and evidence and proof and justice over their own political gain or some other prioritization that they shouldn't. And this is where I think even Christian Steve have lost the ability in some, some aspects. I mean, certainly not everybody, but some have lost the ability to be discerning in the face of modern media and thinking that, oh, if someone is popular, that must mean that they're accurate. And that is a very dangerous assertion.
Steve Deace: Not only that Christianity is not the, the endless asking of questions, it is the ceaseless seeking of answers. What answers is Candace Owens provided you? What evidence has she provided you in six months? Because the answer is zero. Zero. And always ask yourself, this is what. When I'm consuming. And look at the legacy of Charlie Kirk. Look how many people went back to church. Look how many people got into the word of God. Look at his memorial. That was the largest presentation of the gospel in the history of this planet. What is Tucker Carlsen and Candace Owens producing? They inspiring you to get in the word of God? They inspiring you to go to church? Do you even know where Tucker even goes to church? We all know where Charlie went to church. Freedom Church in Phoenix. We all knew his pastor was Tommy Robinson. We all knew he had personal pastors like Rob McCoy made that all very public. He was open to accountability. Who's holding Tucker Carlsen accountable as he speaks for Christian Christendom? does this stuff make you more inclined to study the word of God? Is it making you more or less Christlike? Is it making you more convicted yet inspired, or more discouraged and full of despair? Because one comes from light and one comes from darkness? And we've reached a fork in the road with Tucker now that either he is, he is just too deeply deceived to be taken seriously, or now he's at risk of deeply deceiving others and therefore must be confronted as a wolf. And that's where I'm at. And that's just someone that has known him for years, loves him dearly, admired much of his work, but this has now gone way too far. And the tormenting of a widow and the aiding and abetting of the man who murdered her husband, it's just a red line. And our baseline humanity has to matter more than some particular section or wing of a political coalition, especially when you're just out there openly betraying people, as Joe Kent is. And of course he's being elevated and made credible by Tucker.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And it's just, and we've got to take a break here, Steve. there's so much more that, we could unpack here and we will over, the next, days and weeks and months as we, need to continue to have discernment as Christians. And you need to act, ask yourself, you know, for, for these people like Tucker and Candace and Megyn Kelly and Joe Kent, you know, are they pointing you back to the word? Are they seeking truthful answers? Are they seeking justice? Or are they sowing division, confusion, vulgarity and, and not upholding the principles of truth and justice? I mean, it's really, really easy to rightly divide truth from error here. And we have to as Christians. And we need to pray that justice would be served on this earth. It will in eternity for Charlie Kirk, but on this earth as well. We'll be right back with more.
: welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.
Department of Education moves student lending operations to the treasury
Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, if you haven't heard, the Department of Education under Donald Trump just took its largest step closer to potentially shutting down. And so Nicholas, Kent, the Undersecretary of Education, told Fox News Digital, I think we've been very clear this last week. This is a multiphase process. So the Trump administration announced on Thursday an interagency agreement between, the Department of ED and the treasury to move student lending operations to the treasury, which will, quote, assume operational responsibility for collecting on defaulted federal student loan debt and provide operational support to the Department of ed's efforts to return, ah, return borrowers to repayment. So this is just yet another step that hopefully will actually succeed during Trump's administration. And meanwhile, at the United States Department of State, first lady Melania Trump had a working session for the Fostering the Future Together, a global, coalition education summit that our good friend Cory DeAngelis attended. So Corrie joins us now to talk more about that.
Melania Trump held summit on how to use AI in education
so Corrie, this is you know, this sounded like a great summit. How did it go?
Corey DeAngelis : Yeah, it was really great. M. Melania Trump is had all hands on deck trying to figure out how to implement AI and education and to fix the education system. She had people from 45 different countries weighing in. There was also a tech expo where they had different AI technology companies talking about how they, they plan to fix the education system. I was really interested in seeing, I mean Grof was even there. So Elon Musk's X version of AI, is already implementing education curriculum and they're kind of testing it out in different countries right now. And it's really student centered, tailored to the individual students needs. But at the same time there is discussion about having guardrails. We don't want student data to get out there to people who shouldn't have it. We don't want companies selling students data. And so there's really a balancing act going on right now. The genie is out of the bottle on AI and its use throughout the world right now and there's no putting it back in. The question is, are we going to use it as a tool for good? Are we going to harness that power in the right way or are the teachers unions going to get a hold of it and use it as a crutch? Just like we saw with the government school system just last year squandered about $30 billion on laptops and other gadgets, about 10 times the amount they spent on textbooks. and, and the outcomes only fell even worse over time. So I think the magic here, the sweet spot, is that we need to, if we're going to have AI in education at all. And I don't think there's any stopping it at this point. We need the free market, and competition to work because I don't trust the government school system to implement it in the right way. These decisions need to be in the hands of parents driving that demand and to have supply meet that demand. And real quick, I met the founder of Alpha Schools there as well. Her name's Mackenzie Price. And I, you know, I've done some research on this school before. They started in Austin, Texas. They've expanded quite rapidly in other places as well and they're scoring in the top 1% academically, nationally. And what's interesting here is they've kind of done, done this best of both worlds approach where they have two hours of AI based instruction a day, but they're not having kids glued to screens all day turning into zombies. They also, for the rest of the day have hands on learning. So, you know, does it have to be one way or the other where you're just fully engaged in technology or you're not using it at all? And I think they've found a sweet spot.
Jenna Ellis: And you know, it's really fascinating that the emphasis was on AI and implementation in the education system because I fully agree with you, Cory DeAngelis, that, you know, we, we have reached a point in modern society where AI is here, it's here to stay. And so we just have to look at how best to implement, implement it and have guardrails around it in education. And you know, I'm not one who is, you know, really super skeptical of AI and thinking that, you know, it's, it's dangerous in all forms. I mean, I think that what ChatGPT can help with and some of, I mean, obviously it can't replace, human intelligence and we shouldn't just, trust it out of hand. And you know, obviously there are definitely some complications and things there. But, you know, it reminds me a little bit of the era where you know, teachers didn't want calculators in classroom because they said, you know, you need to, you need to do the math yourself because, you know, you're never going to have a calculator in your pocket just, you know, ready to whip out. And it's like, well, yeah, we do now, you know, and then laptops in classrooms. That was a big one. When I was in law school actually, I still had professors who said, no, you gotta, you know, write things down, you know, take notes by hand because, laptops aren't gonna, you know, are a little bit too newfangled, you know, kind of idea. And, and the rise of AI kind of reminds me of just the latest technology that the old guard is resisting. And I think it would be a mistake to just resist it completely. Instead of what it appears that the first lady is doing and the Trump administration overall is figuring out the best guardrails and the best way to negotiate with AI and have, some good regulations around it. So when you talk about implementation and education, what does that actually look like and what does that mean?
Corey DeAngelis : Yeah, it's either, you have the technology introduced and it sits in the closet, or you have that technology introduced in the public school system and the teacher uses it as a crutch and they just have the kids become zombies all day and don't use it as a tool. And so that's what I mean by implementation. I think private sector has an incentive to get it right. You know, if they don't do the right thing and kids are kind of just glued to the screens all day and they're not learning anything and parents get a whiff of that, they'll be able to vote with their feet and say, you know what, this is not the right way, to educate my kid. And so, you know, just like we see with the Alpha School, they've kind of blended their approach where some, is some technology and AI, but it's not all the time. And you know, they actually have most of the day is hands on learning. So I think a lot of parents are going to like that kind of approach. Alpha School is a little on the pricier end right now, but that's how markets work. If you know, if they're rewarded for doing a good job well, more competitors enter the market. That drives down costs for everybody. Quality goes up. This is how it works in every other industry in America and that's how it ought to work and that's how you bring the best tools and innovations to all of society, not just the wealthy and well off. So I think the Trump administration has taken a great approach in that yes they're focusing on AI and education and tinkering with these technologies, but they're, they're also very supportive of universal school choice. President Trump has been very effective at using the bully of the bully pulpit to get lawmakers, particularly in red states, including my home state of Texas, to pass, you know, what you guys have in Florida with universal school choice. And then also in the big beautiful bill, there was a federal tax credit scholarship that can be stacked on top of those state level, programs, and 28 governors have already opted in to that federal tax credit scholarship program as well. So Trump is kind of firing on all cylinders getting it right in each of these education buckets. We need competition, but we also need to handle technology effectively. And I think you're right. There is a lot of, was a lot of fear mongering about calculators and laptops and that kind of didn't really come true. And so, AI seems to be the next step in that iteration of people being concerned. And you know, it's okay to be concerned. You should be concerned about things that are implemented, of the education of your children, but at the same time you can't fully reject where things are going. And you know, you want your kids to be competitive on a global level in the economy today, and they need to be able to use these tools to compete with other people in the workforce as well.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, so well said. I mean, if these are, tools that are available, you know, readily for the, the majority of Americans and the school systems are saying, you know, no, we're not, or, you know, or even some private schools are saying, no, we're not going to allow you to use these tools at all. That's actually a disservice to the student, because then they will be further behind those who are using these types of tools, as tools to just, to get ahead in their particular line of work and, you know, how we negotiate within them, how we use them. Of course, there has to be ethical standards, there has to be regulation, guardrails, all of that. I mean, that's a legitimate purpose of government. But at the same time, we need to not just dismiss it totally out of hand because it's new technology.
Corey DeAngelis: Trump wants to send education back to states
And so, you know, looking kind of broadly at the overall, education agenda for the Trump administration. I mean, you have, you know, some of these, really important, you know, school choice initiatives that, that Trump is championing. And then also, as we started this segment, they're looking at, still trying to wind down as much as possible, the Department of Education. So how do you see those two pieces kind of working hand in hand?
Corey DeAngelis : Yeah, look, it's all about local control. Trump wants to send education back to the states, but more importantly, he wants to send education back to where it really belongs. The parents. I mean, these are your kids, not the government's. And you know, state control is a step in the right direction away from federal control, but it's not all the way there. And I wish we could really just rip the band aid off of that Department of Education. It's unconstitutional. But it does require 60 votes, to break the filibuster in the Senate, and Republicans don't have 60 seats and the Democrats are in bed with the teachers unions, then they're going to vote to preserve that monopolistic institution any, chance that they get. So, it's kind of what the Trump administration is trying to do now is give it death by a thousand cuts is what it looks like. I mean, they have half of the staff have been fired. Basically that's a step in the right direction. They have, ah, offshore different pieces of the department to other departments at the federal level, which may look like it's reshuffling decks on the Titanic. But it would make it a little easier to finally get rid of, the department. Because if it's not doing all that much anymore, well, then the vote to get rid of it should be a little easier. And then, you know, the latest move was, I'd say the biggest one. Two thirds of the funding at the Department of Education is student loans, which the federal government has no business getting their hands involved with, higher education either. They shouldn't be in the student loan business for sure. It increases tuition cost and causes a lot of other problems and ultimately saddles students with debt when they don't even have skills for the labor market. And so this has moved to the Treasury Department. And so it's another kind of step at giving it death by a thousand cuts and hopefully one day we can finally get rid of it. it was created in 1979 as a political payoff. It spent so much money, $3 trillion at least since 1979. Per student spending has increased 108% in real terms since then. But Jenna, we all know the outcomes haven't gotten 108% better, they've gotten worse.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. Well, we've got to take a break here, Corrie DeAngelis, but really appreciate your commentary and insights. And it's really good to see that the Trump administration is focusing on these priorities. I mean, with all of the headlines on, you know, Iran and and foreign policy and all of, all of this other stuff, we need to remember that the Trump administration is still doing other things as well. And there are some really important things that are going on across the country, especially for parents and in terms of education. So really appreciate that. You should follow Corrie DeAngelis on X Dangeliscorie. And we will be right back with,
: welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.
Florida senatorial candidate Paul Renner pledges to keep state free from Sharia law
Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. Well, Florida gubernator, senatorial candidate Paul Rener hosted a press conference in Tampa yesterday pledging to keep Florida free from Sharia law and radical Islam. Two very good ideas by the way. And so he reaffirmed a commitment to protect Florida from any attempt of foreign or extremist systems, including Sharia law, undermining the U.S. constitution or imposing foreign legal doctrines within the state. Renner said, quote, sharia law is antithetical to every foundational tenet of our Constitution and is not compatible with the American way of life. As governor, I will protect every Floridian from the threat posed by radical Islam Florida must draw a hard line. Our laws, our Constitution and our values are not negotiable. So Paul Renner, joins me now. And Paul, I couldn't agree more. And this, this is something that I think, you know, the left wants to just kind of turn a blind eye to and suggest that somehow, you know, Sharia law falls under First Amendment religious protections. They're not looking at the truth of the matter, which is that Sharia law is a parallel legal system that fundamentally conflicts with the US Constitution. Well that's exactly right.
Paul Renner: And I posted a Muslim student here in America who said that Islam as a system can never coexist with any other system. Christianity, Judaism, American Constitutionalism. And I agree with him. And so if there's only one out of a thousand, Muslims in America that may be radicalized and may commit violence against Americans, isn't that too many? And as governor of the state of Florida, I have to protect and will protect our citizens from a system that ultimately cannot mix with the American constitutional system. And that's not a statement of animosity, it's a statement of fact. Just looking over the thousand plus years where Islam has mixed with non Muslim nations, it has led to conflict, division and ultimately violence. And we need to be honest about it. I'm, someone running for office that's not afraid to stand up and speak the truth, even if it means the media calls me an Islamophobe or whatever they're going to do, but again, they're not going to defend the Constitutional Republic. I will.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And this is something that is incredibly important, to me as a Floridian. And also I think for every everyone listening in the rest of the country that is looking at, you know, the Congressional Sharia Law Caucus, they're looking at you know, Republicans as a whole to take this very seriously. And you know, it would be the same thing as, as saying, just as a statement of fact, not animosity, that you know, vigilante justice or taking, you know, matters into our own hands outside of the American legal system and our justice system has no place in America. I mean this isn't something that is even Sharia law or Muslim specific. This is just saying we have a US Constitutional system that is our process, that's our law here in America and anything to the contrary is not permitted. That, that shouldn't even be controversial. Right.
Paul Renner: And to allow any other system, whether it's cherie or some other system as you described, to grow in this country and grow in our state is to accept the end of our, our way of life, to accept the end of our constitutional system that has made us the freest, strongest, most prospero in world history. And, we're simply not going to allow that here in the free state of Florida. I helped build it when I was speaker of the House. And we're going to protect it, keep it free, keep it safe, and obviously make it more affordable.
Jenna Ellis: And according to your, press conference yesterday in the press release, and by the way, for, anyone listening, you can go to voterunner.com to learn more. But, you've pledged to pursue a series of aggressive measures as governor, including restricting immigration. No, ah, parallel legal systems, as we've talked about. Strict oversight of taxpayer funding, identifying and restricting extremists or terrorist organizations, among a few other things. You know, these are priorities that again, shouldn't be controversial. But, your primary opponent, Byron Donalds, doesn't really, doesn't seem to be taking as aggressive of a stance. why do you think that is? Is he just afraid to offend?
Paul Renner: Well, I think he is speaking, the talking points of his donors, whether that's populating the state of Florida with AI data centers or making Florida the finance capital of the world, which is being, called for by exactly no voters in the state of Florida, I can tell you, because I'm out listening to them. he is really, someone who is bought and paid for by his donors and, Florida's not for sale. He's talking about issues that they care about in which they can make money. He's not talking about making Florida more affordable. That's going to be my day one priority. As a former prosecutor, the only prosecutor in the race, I will keep us safe, including with respect to Sharia law, sex trafficking, other, things that threaten us, public corruption, and keep it free. I helped build the free state of Florida with Governor DeSantis, and, he didn't show up for those fights. Whether it's amendment three and four, the pot and abortion amendment, none of these guys showed up. And my friends, doing a tweet, against it is not leadership. You've got to show up campaign. The governor did that, I did that. And if you want someone who's going to lead Like Governor DeSantis, you're talking to him.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And you know, this is really important, not just for the free state of Florida, but I think for the entire country where Florida goes after Governor DeSantis. Term ends because Florida has, especially since COVID you know, we've seen how important it is to have governors on the state level that are willing not to just stand up against, you know, a federal narrative, but to actually use, the powers of the governor's office, for freedom and for good. And so, you. This is a really important election, I think not just as a Floridian, but also as a conservative, the most important gubernatorial election in the country this year because it's following Governor DeSantis. And so, you know, with those priorities, I mean, how do you see, the. The priorities of this race with, your candidacy compared to your opponents? I mean, chiefly, I think it's a two man race between you and Byron Donalds.
Paul Renner: Well, it goes to leadership background. 20 years in the military. I served in two wars, former prosecutor, small, business owner and speaker of the House. And it goes to results as speaker of the House and the governor. Governor Santa said this recently a couple times, that those two years when I led the legislature were the two most consequential conservative legislative terms of any legislature in the country at any time. Which is a nice compliment. And so if you want someone like this governor that leans in, too many Republican governors just take whatever comes to their desk. They sign a bill, they veto a bill, they do some press conferences. What I love about this governor is he's taken the fight to the left and beaten them. I mentioned Amendment 3 and 4, another area where he and I partnered alone. None of these other candidates is on school board races. To make sure we have common sense conservatives. We're not allowing, the destruction of parental rights. We had a kid that was, being transitioned, ah, at a school, at a public school. You know, change her name to a boy's name, give her different clothes and never tell the parents. This is a governor that won't stand for that. I won't stand for that, and I've got a record to prove it. nobody has the results that I have when it comes to fighting for the conservative cause and delivering over and over again. I think that's because as a veteran, I know we have to focus on the mission, get the ego and arrogance out of it and do your job. We don't see that happening now in the legislature. We need, renewed leadership there, obviously. But as governor, I will lead and deliver over and over again.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, and Governor DeSantis, even said that on this show to me about, your tenure as speaker that, during that time it was, you know, the best Republican term in, in the Republican Party's history. And that's saying quite a lot and about what conservatives can actually accomplish, not to just be on defense the whole time. If we're not also playing offense and pushing conservative priorities and policies, then we're not actually advancing to become a more perfect union. We're only defending. And we, and we should defend obviously against like you said, the pot bill and the abortion tourism, amendments. You know, both of those amendments would have been terrible for Florida and yet we see that there are other so called Republicans. And I would categorize Byron, Donalds as a Republican in name only. but then even one of your other opponents, ah, Jay Collins, who's the current Lieutenant Governor who's been on this show frequently. I have seen him in the past when, last year when Governor DeSantis appointed him, it seemed like he might be the guy. but I think that his his candidacy has really you know, fallen pretty far because he, he just doesn't seem to be able to articulate the policy and he doesn't have those policy wins that someone like you does. And when you look at the, the last couple of polls that were polling actual voters, you know, straw polls, but in two different counties in Florida, I mean you won even over Byron Donald's by a really wide margin. And I think that speaks to people in Florida who are actively engaged in politics, who understand your track record as the speaker of the House.
Paul Renner: When people get a fair comparison, we're going to win
what does that suggest to you about the view of, you know, the other candidates track records by comparison?
Paul Renner: Well, that when we get a fair comparison, we're going to win this race and maybe by a lot. It doesn't look like that in the polls because they're polling the name. You know, Byron Donalds has been on TV every single day he's been in Congress, not showing up to vote of course, but he's been on TV raising his name id and that's all that the statewide polls reflect. But when you look at people on the ground, grassroots Republicans in a Republican club or a Republican executive committee in a county like Duvall where you mentioned we won by 58%, Donald's got 28%. Collins you mentioned, you know, got 8%. And so when people draw that fair comparison and look at all the candidates as they're doing now at those, at that level, they're choosing us overwhelmingly because they see someone like DeSantis, who's a fighter, who's shown up and beaten the left everywhere, they raise their head. And that is exactly what I will do. And so if you want a continuation of the great seven plus years we've had for the next eight, you've got a candidate, go to voterenner.com, we'd love to have your support volunteer, help us out. and we'd love to see you out there on the campaign trail.
Jenna Ellis: And you can also follow Paul Renner on X at PaulRennner. he also has a, war room account. And you know, the concern as well that I have as a Floridian, with someone like Byron Donalds, if he were to get the nomination, he is a really weak candidate and we've seen, you know, the Trump endorsed candidates, unfortunately, oftentimes being the weakest. And it's possible under that type of nomination that the Democrat who, the front runner, who is actually a former Republican, now running as a Democrat, running as a moderate, you know, may have an opportunity to take Florida for the Democrats. I mean we just saw the elections last night. unfortunately the special election that went to the Democrats, that was an upset that hopefully Republicans will fix, in November. But you know, it's wild to me Paul, that we may have a Republican nominee in Byron Donalds who is a former Democrat and then a Democrat nominee who's a former Republican. I mean that just seems overwhelmingly confused. Why not just pick the solid conservative Republican with the actual priorities that are in the best interests of Florida that can actually follow Governor DeSantis?
Paul Renner: Well, we saw this in North Carolina with someone who is endorsed and they lost by 20 points when it came out that they had, you know, major porn issues and they lost and brought a lot of good Republicans with him. Byron Donalds has done nothing in office other than self promote, get rich in office and have fun. And he has not shown up, to deliver wins for conservatives and that people are tired of that. And so when they look at him, whether it's in the primary, he's going to lose the primary. But God forbid, should he become the nominee, he could absolutely lose this election. Last night's results show that we're losing independence, Republicans are deflated. And if they see someone who has become a grifter in political office as Congress, McDonald's is, they will not show up and we will lose this election to a Democrat. And you want to talk about a change from Governor DeSantis, it's the beginning of the end. Don't assume that Florida is always going to be the way it is. It's the way it is because we have a great governor. It's the way it is because I was there also as a legislative leader to help build the free state of Florida.
Paul Renner: We can't go backwards. That's what this election is about. And I will lead like this governor has. And God forbid we have somebody like Donald's at the top of the ticket.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah. Well, well said. And, you know, freedom is just one generation away. And I would, as Reagan said, but in Florida, continuing the free State of Florida is just one election away. And it's incredibly important, not just for Florida, but for the rest of the country. So thanks so much, Paul Renner. And as always, you can reach me and my team, jennafr.net.
