FM Talk 1065 Podcasts
ALGOP Chair John Wahl - Jeff Poor Show - Tuesday 7-16-24
[MUSIC PLAYING] I'm going to go back to the Jeff Horst Show at up and talk. 106-5, thanks for sticking around on this Tuesday morning. 2513-4301-06, six-time permitting, we'll get to your text if there's any left of Gene and James don't have another gripe about our state of politics. Anyway, joining us here from Milwaukee, I'll always have a pleasure to introduce our Republican Party Chairman John Wall to the program. Chairman, good morning, how are you? Oh, good morning. It's good to be on the show. Hey, thanks for making time. I do appreciate it. Well, what's the vibe now? Chairman, this is the first one I have not been to, first Republican Convention since 2000. And I've been watching it on TV, which is kind of unique to me. It feels a little flat on TV, but I mean, typically how these first nights go, they're not the most boisterous of the convention. Well, what sort of the mood there? You know, and I think it probably is just because it is airing on TV because I'll tell you, when Donald Trump's video feed went to him entering the building, that room was electric, just a patch of people crying, you know, people screaming. There's, there is a lot of energy in this convention. It's a little bit sober. You know, there's definitely a little bit of a cloud still hanging over from what happened, you know, up in Pennsylvania and not just for Donald Trump and his family, but also for the other victims. You know, that's something that's been mentioned a lot. A lot of prayers for them. And just, you know, a lot of respect there. But we also, I mean, Donald Trump has been very clear. He does not want that to overshadow what the convention should be all about, which is about us as a Republican party and him as our nominee communicating with the American people are values, what we believe in and why those values best represent the people of America and helps them have a happier, safer and more successful life. Something else that occurs to me kind of watching that. And I want to hear what you got to say, though, watching Donald Trump on TV and then, you know, he always appears kind of a superhuman. But for the first time, there seemed to be sort of a, I don't want to say vulnerable, but he felt a little, he did feel like a little bit of a swagger wasn't there, more a somber, if you would. I would agree. And, you know, and look, we all watched that video when he was shot and he dove to the ground. And then, you know, in that moment, we really did see the humanity of Donald Trump. And then, and then we saw a secret service, you know, jump on and circle on him. And then we saw him try to break free and we saw that boldness and that leadership. And it really is leaders. So I don't know that we had a, I don't think we've had a president who has that kind of, that kind of guts and that kind of, that kind of spirit since Teddy Roosevelt. Just to be that, like fighting to get away from secret service to communicate with the crowd that he was all right and to stay strong. That's whether you love Donald Trump or you hate him, you have got to respect that and see that leadership. But I think you're right. As I watched the video, you know, as he walked into the stadium and walked up and sat down and then listened to the stories, you know, from the, from the speakers afterwards. You see, there's been a change in his spirit. There's been a little change. And I think it's healthy. I think it's actually a good thing. Because he's still that bold leader. He's still that strong leader. But it also has, I think he's got a little more humanity after going through, you know, that, I mean, let's be honest, the near death experience. It's going to change you. And I think it has changed Donald Trump for the better. Some of my bread bar colleagues who are there told me this, um, that for, you know, probably have attended hundreds of these conservative gatherings from RNC to CPACs to, you know, whatever else, faith and freedom, AFP, etc. But for the first time, there's really like an optimistic that you're not optimism. You're not playing from behind that you got to wind it to your cells probably since for the first time since probably that 2004 convention in New York. Did you get that sense? I do. Look, we also need to be honest about this. We're not the only one to feel it. The Democrats feel it. The mainstream media feels like it's why they're panicking right now. The Republican party is united. We have our candidate. We know the values we believe in. And more importantly, the politics here. We know we're in a battle for the heart and the soul of this country. This election cycle. It's not about political parties or political battle. This is a battle between light and darkness. But freedom is on the ballot this November. And that realization for us of how important this is and us being united, the Democrats feel the same thing. They see their indivision. They're having trouble. They know that they're windows in the Republican sales. And it's because of their bad policies. Like, let's be honest about this. The Democrats have wasted so many opportunities to try to do the right thing. But I think that's what you're seeing. You're seeing they're so desperate to take Donald Trump out, whether it's the Russian conspiracy, whether it's constantly villainizing them through the media or the court system or wherever it is. They're trying anything to stop him because right now, right now he's unstoppable. What do you think about that? Because Chairman since the January 6th episode of 2021, it just feels like body blue after body blue after body blue leveled on Republicans, Republican causes or Republican policies, nationally, maybe not locally, but certainly nationally. But here in the last month, we've had the, well, we, well, we would say it all long about Joe Biden in debate. Some of this law fair stuff is starting to crumble apart. The Trump gets a little steam and then this happens. Unfortunately, what happens? But it turns out to be a positive politically. It's probably, at least to me, it feels a little strange to be kind of on the winning side, all of a sudden. Well, and there's still a lot of time left. Like this is still going to be a part of battle. And at some point, the mainstream media and the Democratic Party are going to get their act together. They're going to fully get behind. They're candidate, whoever, whether that's Joe Biden or whether they try to bring someone else in. And they're going to get united. It's going to be a fight. This is not going to be easy. But yes, right now, it is very clear. And I hate to look at the tragedy in Pennsylvania through a political lens, because I think I think the more important message out of this and what I really, really hope that the American people can internalize and end the mainstream media, because they need to internalize this more than anyone. You can't throw non-stop insults and undermine people's character and trash them and villainize them the way they have Donald Trump and not expected to incite people. And if we're honest, whether you're Republican, whether you're Democrat, whether you're independent, we should all be looking for the same thing. And that's helping the American people be secure in their liberty and the freedoms. Be happier, healthier, more successful, and have a brighter future for their children. And if that's our goal, whatever party, then all we should be doing is debating which issues, which policies get us there faster. And I think that's what we have got to try to do is to bring that back into perspective. Enjoyed by a member, Republican Party Chairman John Walsh called us in from the Los Angeles continent. The other part of this, and this is just me speaking last night watching in, I told you it felt a little flat on TV, but I don't know if this would be appropriate or not, but it is kind of curious. They didn't speak a whole lot. The speakers didn't, about the elephant in the room. They're talking about the assassination. They didn't spend, I mean, they spent a lot of time on Democratic Party policies and those being bad. But they didn't really go for the jugular on this assassination attempt. And I don't know what the right approach would have been, but I was a little surprised by that. There's been a lot of talk about that here. And I think it's because it's a Democrat way to go after personality, do after a crisis or something. The Republican model, and I'm not always saying it's the best thing to do politically, but I think it is the right thing, is we want to talk about policy. We want to talk about values. And we want to talk about why those policies, why those values matter. And that's been something Donald Trump has said, you know, that's what he wants this to be about. He wants this to be about making the American people's lives better. Like, that's the key. That's what this is about. You know, last night's theme was make America wealthy once again. And we want that for the American people. We want the American people to be able to afford groceries. We want them to be able to be safe in their communities because people aren't flooding across the southern border. We want a strong national security that keeps us safe on a global scale. And we want to keep our children safe from a woke agenda coming out of a federal Department of Education that has completely lost touch with American parents. The other thing I thought was a little surprising after the big moment with Trump and coming out. And I understand why you want to put him in a prominent role to showcase him. But I wasn't crazy about the team, Mr. President, and especially the messaging in the length of the speech. I don't know that's appropriate for an R and C, but I certainly understand why you would elevate that. That's a big coup against Democrats. And they will readily acknowledge that to have somebody like that at your convention. It is still it's well, it's still I was going to say it's still a little bit weird that you you have an open Democrat on stage after Republican National Convention. I get it. It is a big coup and it's important. And I think I think it also shows. I think it also shows how bad Democrat policy is. The modern Democrat, the national modern Democrat party is completely out of control and have completely lost touch with the American people. And I think we're going to see these things increase over the next few years, if the Democrats stay on the same radical rhetoric. So I understand the concept. I understand why it was good, but I tend to agree with you. I don't know that that was the right form for it, because I think the convention should be about Republican leaders sharing our values and our views with the American public. So pros and cons to everything, but I agree with you that it was an interesting choice. Yeah, I don't know where I would have put that. I certainly would have tried to work it in. But this is like when the country you got the prime time opportunity to really drive your message home and we're kind of talking big labor issues and big labor and not necessarily conservative. But maybe that's the maybe that maybe this is it. It's just that's the brand that the Republican Party in 2024 is aiming for. Yeah, no, I mean, it's also about the fact that we want to, we, you know, we want to bring, we want to break the big tent and we want to, we want people who are struggling to make ends meet and maybe view themselves traditionally as Democrats. We want them to be able to be comfortable voting Republican. And I think that's that's something we're going to see the cycle and a lot of these swing states. We're going to see people who have never voted Republican before vote Republican. And that that is a good. That is good for the future of this country. You saw that with Ronald Reagan. I think this is very possible. This is going to be a more of a Ronald Reagan type of year where you see an overwhelming response from Democrats who are struggling with what the Democrat Party has become. The JD Vance selection. I'm, I'm, I'm, I guess I'm okay with that. I, I, I don't, I don't really have strong feelings about him one way or another. He does definitely leans into the MAGA sort of brand and his writings reflect that. And then this is what I tell people in this show, especially people that don't really understand the whole Trump phenomenon. But that's where it comes from. It comes from the forgotten guy in West Virginia and Ohio and the Midwest and the Rust Belt or wherever. And this is like, this is why Donald Trump succeeds in this political environment. No, that's absolutely right. And I for one am extremely excited about JD Vance. I think of the choices of the, of the kind of the final choices that were out there. I think he was the most conservative choice. I think he brings a very different perspective. He's only 39 years old. He's young, but he's not afraid to be a bold conservative. I also like the choices he's made, why he's been in the Senate and, and the staff, he chose to hire. You have so much of, so, so much of the, of these DC Senate offices are made up because of who, who does a person hire? How does the staff look in JD Vance hired extremely conservative staff, the staff that were willing to fight? And that gives me hope for the future. I think, I think we see a, we have a young, bold leader who is going to communicate well. And, and hopefully give us a chance to, to speak directly to some young voters out there. I'll tell you this. I am looking forward to the vice, the vice presidential debate between him and Kamala Harris. I hope that happens. As you'll say, assuming there is one, I, I don't know what I give that, but you're right. She's just not, we could talk about this. I mean, she's just never really impressed me. When she had her chance in 2020 and she had to lead in the polls, I mean, she just kind of sat on it and squandered it. So I think JD Vance kind of, she's outmatched there. Agreed. I think she's going to have a very hard time, you know, a very hard time going up against him. And I think he's going to be able to talk about issues from a, from a perspective as a younger, a younger person with a family talking to younger voters out there who are struggling to provide for the families and telling them, look, I'm in your shoes. And I'm a businessman. I know how to fix the economy so you can put food on the table. And that's, that's the perspective we need right now here in America. Last question, we'll get you out of here on this. And this will be talking about all day or on the show all morning. What? And I, I don't want to, I'm not saying that Republicans should be overconfident or anything like that, but just from a Biden perspective. Why can he do at this point? What do they have left? I don't think there's anything that Joe Biden can do to get to make up the gap here. And this is what Paul DeMarco and I are talking about. How many states now are in play as of today that Republicans could get versus where they were, maybe a month or two ago. Yeah, I know it's incredible. I mean, I know, I know, Virginia is down on the table. I was joking with the chairman of Delaware. She's like, Delaware is on the table. We can win Delaware. And, and she said that tongue in cheek because obviously Delaware is going to be very hard. Almost impossible is Joe Biden's home state. But no, this, there are so many opportunities in this election cycle. And there's so much frustration with the policy of the Democrat Party. And I hope and I pray that the American people see that failure, but more importantly, see the chance to restore freedom, liberty and try to restore America. Because this is, this country is the greatest, greatest experience, greatest governmental experiment in the history of this world. And let's not squander the chance that the county fathers gave us. Chairman, thanks for making time for us. So we'll do another kind of post-mortem next week. I will look forward to it. Always good to be on the show. Chairman John Walde, Alabama Republican Party. We'll be right back. This is after talk with us. It's after talk with us. Six five. [Music]