Sen. JD Vance | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #540

we have some upcoming tour dates there. in Colorado Springs in Colorado Casper. Wyoming Billings Montana and Missoula. Montana Bloomington Indiana Columbus. Ohio Champagne Illinois over there in a. fighting align eye area Grand Rapids. Michigan Lafayette Louisiana and bont. Texas you can get all your tickets at. theo. comom are and thank you so much for the.

support I want to start by saying that. uh we have reached out to uh Governor. walls and vice president Harris and we. would love to uh have them uh in studio. as well uh today's guest is a senator. from the state of Ohio he's currently on. the Republican ticket for vice president. uh he's a Yale graduate he's a Marine uh. he's an author uh he wrote with the book.

hillbilly elegy uh I've read about half. of it and uh I'm really grateful to. spend time with him today to discuss. some issues and get to know him today's. guest is Mr JD. Vance and I will find a song I will sing. [Applause].

but then it starts to become more. interesting like the last woman we had. on Like Trains cats around the country. really with a traveling cat circus yeah. so that's who you're following up you. know just so that's way more interesting. than a politician man it's just so you. know where you are you know Mr Vance in. the in the call me please call me JD. please yeah just so you know where you. are JD and the existence of things um JD. Vance thanks for coming in today man. yeah man it's good to be here I really. appre appreciate it I just went to uh oh.

I just went to Lambo field the other day. you ever been there uh I don't think I. ever have been to Lambo field but I. think I'm going to Lambo field tomorrow. nuh-uh yeah yeah um I'm pretty sure I. mean running for vice president you. never know where you are dayto day but. um I'm pretty sure we're going to the. Packers game tomorrow wow dude it was so. did you have fun it's amazing yeah um we. we just went I had a show there the. night uh on a Saturday night last. Saturday so we just got to go do a tour. okay but um it's just so wild you drive.

into this you know it's a small City. yeah and you're like wait there's an NFL. team here it doesn't Mak sense really. yeah like the NFL team in some ways. right I mean the Packers are so popular. but no I'm looking forward to going I. mean it's it's kind of like a political. right of passage because like I have a. guy serving with the Senate Ron Johnson. really good dude he's a senator he's a. senator fromc from Wisconsin and he's. just talking about like you know you go. to a you do the tail G thing at Lambo.

field if you're running for office in. Wisconsin and Wisconsin's like a big. Battleground state so I'm going to go. and check it out uh we're bringing our. kids with us actually which I don't know. what we're going to do with our kids cuz. they're 74 and two I don't think they're. going to be that into a tailgate filling. with cheese. dude you know I'm saying so maybe yeah. maybe my wife will take him somewhere. and I'll go like have fun at the. tailgate but I'm I'm looking forward to. it cuz I'm a pretty big football fan. Lambo field is like you know oh yeah. when we saw ital oh I didn't know what. to do when we saw it I didn't know yeah.

like and there was some kids were crying. and stuff and the parents were like kind. of wiping their cheeks with cheese or. whatever but it was like um yeah it was. really interesting but wait were they. were crying because they were so excited. to be at Lambo field they were crying. man I I so are you are you a big. football guy yeah okay so I'm a big. college football guy yeah I'm I'm more. of a college football guy but I I like. both um so I'm an Ohio State guy went to. Ohio State you know born and raised in. Ohio um but you know there there's like.

the Ohio State Michigan rivalry is one. of the big big rivalries and this. happens of course after um after the. election so I'm hoping to go to the game. but you talk about like a kid crying at. a football field this is this reminds me. of a story is like one of my my dear. friends and he's like otherwise a nice. guy but Ohio State Michigan just turns. into a he turns into a total animal so. this is 2006 who is he the senator. you're talking about no no no it's a. totally different guy this a buddy I've. known since I was like 5 years old okay. just a guy back home we go to the Ohio. State Michigan game game uh we're number.

one they're number two I think we win. that game like 4239 it was very very. tight game I don't remember the exact. score and we're leaving and there's this. family and this kid is like you know. there it's a family of Michigan fans and. this kid is crying and you know my buddy. goes up to him and he you I'm like oh. you know Bill's going to be like sweet. to this family like welcome to Ohio glad. you guys come to the game sorry it. didn't work out and and my buddy goes. I'm oh are you are you sad that Michigan. lost and little boy goes yeah and he.

says well maybe next time you won't Ro. for a team that sucks and. walks and I was like oh Bill uh we. should trying to be nicer to the. newcomers but then like you realize. that's is not a coner no no but that's. why Ohio State and Michigan hate each. other right CU that kid was probably 9. years old so this is 2006 I mean he's I. don't know close to you 25 now he. probably still remembers that. from Ohio State when he was crying after.

a game and like that's what makes the. Rival Tom Brady yeah exactly that's how. it gets something oh dude I remember the. craziest thing I ever saw was there was. a a Mexican Father and Son balling. crying when The Rock came back one night. at WWE yeah standing there together same. height that's a b balling crying dude. and it was they both had belts on and it. was like yeah yeah I mean those are it's.

like the little rituals that that. actually make life worth it man but but. definitely I mean like like like my son. he's seven now but I took him to the. Ohio State Michigan game I think the. last no I took I took him to the game. last year but then we you know we watch. it even when he's like four years old. and uh Michigan has beat Ohio State the. last three years and so it's just like. you know the first time I ever saw my. kid cry over sports event was last year. at the Ohio State Michigan game when. they beat him when when when Michigan.

beat Ohio State yeah oh when you cry. when your team wins that means something. is probably you have parenting issues in. your home I feel like you know that's. right that's definitely right that's. definitely right but I mean it it's it's. like I mean Ohio State just lost to. orgon a couple you know like a week ago. I guess and you sort of realize like I. get so much joy out of watching sports. and like taking my son to the Ohio State. mission games like one of the coolest. Moments Of My Life as a father but then. it almost always ends in heartbreak yeah. right because only one team actually.

wins the championship and I I I. sometimes wonder like why do we put. ourselves through this it's so true that. such that it is yeah at a certain point. you're the odds are you're going to face. not feeling great yeah Absol that it's. going to end right yeah I mean like I I. guess the one team in my lifetime like. the Bulls in the 90s Chicago Bulls in. the 90s and the Patriots when they had. the Brady bichi run like most of the. time you're actually happy if you're a. fan of that team but I mean like I'm a.

Bengals fan um in in Pro Sports and like. they made the Super Bowl a few years ago. and it was so cool yeah I remember that. against 49ers uh was it against the. 49ers it's funny I don't even remember. who they were playing against but I. remember they lost at the very end it. was a very close game we almost put it. off but then it's like all the joy. turned into complete sadness like I'm. I'm a grown man on the verge of tears. because a sports team that I. rooted for lost to game wake you know.

wake up man I think I I wonder what it. is maybe it's just like sorry I have to. not say the f word or no it's okay make. sure people still vote for me if I too. many F bombs I'm going to lose too many. votes so I'll try to tone it down okay. yeah if you say more than seven or eight. I'll tap you on the shoulder thank you. appreciate it dude oh I well actually my. ribs dude I've been on a um like almost. like just on bed rest the past like. eight days because I I was at the. Vanderbilt game when they beat Alabama.

um two weeks ago that was a big one and. some guy I don't even know him I got a. little bit of a look at him and he. squeezed me so hard he kept squeezing me. and I was like don't squeeze me anymore. and then he squeezed me even. more was was a happy squeeze or you. could hear my ribs like dude they really. like the oxygen leaving your lungs yeah. please don't go that's on bit I love you. ribs that had never been away from me. like they were leaving home for the.

first time wait but was he squeezing you. cuz he was happy he was happy okay so. this wasn't like a so I was smiling dude. my smile hit I mean the more he squeezed. my the edges of my smile you could hear. him ding against my ear loses yeah he. squeezed me as much as somebody could be. squeezed his wife is not doing well if. that guy has a wife I'll tell you that. because that anyway my ribs I've been. having to ice him dude it's been really. like actually cracked a rib I mean it's. so it sucks but it was awesome but it's. like yeah the you go through to be.

associated with it you know I mean look. my my so um like I I've only been to the. game in ant Arbor once and uh you know. Ohio State fans again oh is it we going. up in that territory people throwing. beer bottles at us sometimes full beer. cans at us I had some kid run up he was. like a 19-year-old kid run up from. behind me and it had been raining a lot. that day and he had like M like he'. taken a chunk of mud out of the ground. and shoved it in my mouth I mean this.

again this is like what these Sports. rivalries are built around is is moments. like this but uh we we we had I guess. won four years in a row reforestation. isn't it that's. right but man we we'd won four years in. a row and uh this this girl she's like. you know 22 years old she gets in my. buddy's face and she said this is my. senior year you ruined my college career. because you guys beat us four years in a. row and then she takes a swing at us. and a cop tackles this 22-year-old girl.

down the bleachers and I'm just you know. like man again yeah people can injured. people get injured at sporting events. it's crazy oh yeah I thought for a. second I thought you were describing a. wedding in Appalachia dude that's what I. thought for a second we've had we've had. we've had we've had some of those too. yeah I'm just joking I'm just joking um. we had Billy strings in he's a guy who. does a lot of uh picking he does like a. lot of guitar picking and stuff he. talked a lot about um his environment.

where he grew up he grew up in like his. area had a lot of addiction in it and. stuff like that what part of West. Virginia is he from um oh who's this guy. he's from laning but he grew up he grew. up in Kentucky I'm ruining well but a. lot of people this is like the story of. my life but a lot of people from. Michigan Ohio Pennsylvania their. families are all from West Virginia East. Kentucky East Tennessee and then they. moved up for the factory jobs oh yeah. like there's a really cool song by. Dwight Yoko called a reading right in. Route 23 and it's like in some ways it's.

like the story of my family because he. came from like two counties over he. moved to Central Ohio instead of. Southern Ohio but um I mean it's like. millions of people was a massive massive. thing so I wouldn't be surprised even. that guy's from Michigan if he's got. like West Virginia family I don't know. that guy though yeah Billy strings he's. great he's and he's a guy too and he'll. take you fishing if you want to go but. he um he uh just has a fascinating story. of just like growing up and what his. life was like um and playing music.

through it all and learning music and um. how that kind of kept him going and kept. him um gave him something to do really. um yeah why was that migration why did. people migrate from there to um yeah it. was it was I mean at least the the. biggest thing is you think about it so. World War II ends right America's the. biggest industrial power in the world. and a lot of these factories are coming. online close to where they had you know. access to waterways cuz you got to ship. iron ore and coal and all that stuff so.

a lot of stuffff around the Great Lakes. that's Michigan Ohio um you a lot of. coal in Pennsylvania and so you had all. these steel mills and you know textile. factories and you know like automobile. plants of course in Michigan and all the. stuff is getting built and then it's. actually what's interesting about it is. you had a lot of black people come from. the deep south and then a lot of. primarily white people coming from. Appalachia and they sort of M migrated. together to all these factories. and like you know there are books.

written in Detroit about you know the. you've got like basically the. hillbillies from Appalachia the black. people from the deep south and they're. just kind of like tossed in to Detroit. and like a lot of what we think of as. sort of modern Detroit culture is like. the fusion of those two groups of people. who just dropped in in massive massive. numbers and uh you it's like one of the. stories of like why is Chicago such a. big Blues Town cuz all the black folks. from the Deep South were moving in and. they were you know bringing their music.

with them that's why Chicago became such. a capital for blues is it's not really. like it's because all those folks who. came from the Delta um so it's it's it's. but basically jobs man I mean there. wasn't my my m talked about this that's. when I called my grandmother she talked. a lot about how you know if you were. growing up in Eastern Kentucky in the. 30s and 40s it was like basically you. could go work in the mines or get out. like that was all there was at that time. wow and so my grandfather went and. worked at the steel mill you know built. a built a pretty good life was a union.

welder for 40 years and then uh oh yeah. we just had a union president on oh yeah. I listen to that one I like that guy. Sean he's wild yeah he is wild he's I. mean it's funny man you can tell he's. from Boston he's got that thick Boston. accent but he's a he's a he's a cool. dude um I actually I've talked to Sean a. couple times and you know it's like. normally and you know it's like normally. Democrats are considered sort of the. pro-union and then you know 30 years ago. Republicans were the anti-union and you.

know one of the things I've been I've. been talking a lot about people like. Sean is you know a lot of union members. are coming over to the Republican side. and I think the Republican party we got. to do you know frankly a better job at. kind of welcoming people but um I think. Trump is doing a really good job at. making Union voters feel at home in our. Coalition which is like an interesting. part of what you know what we're all. about I mean I think you so Sean's the. head of the teamsters I think yeah and. there was some poll they did just of. teamsters members where it's like 65% of.

teamsters in Pennsylvania are going to. vote for Trump that's a crazy turnaround. from even 15 years ago yeah they. couldn't endorse usually they there's. only been two times where they haven't. endorsed a candidate in the past 30. years I think or maybe past 50 years. yeah but um but this would be one of. those times they said I think because. it's just it's too split yeah um so do. you have to ask Trump places you can go. to promote or to um campaign what does. that relation how does that work yeah no. it's it's it's actually mostly driven at.

like the staff level right and so a. strategy kind of yeah it's like strategy. so so okay there are seven big. Battleground States it's uh the three in. the midwest or Michigan Wisconsin. Pennsylvania and then Georgia Arizona. Nevada and North Carolina and so it's. like you look at a little bit it's. driven by polling a little bit driven on. just like where do you think this guy is. going to do the best and I've spent a. ton of my time like I think I did like. six or five five or six events just in. Pennsylvania the past week and a half.

wow so I've spent a lot of time. Pennsylvania a lot of time Michigan a. lot of time in uh in Wisconsin I'm. actually trying to get Kid Rock to go. with me to Michigan in a couple days cuz. he's a Michigan guy oh he'll go yeah he. probably will yeah he'll go dude he he's. he yeah he he texted me last night I. mean you know you can't see but my my. cousin for those of you who are watching. my cousin's here she's more like my big. sister um but like we're we're hanging. out I went to a wedding last night oh. nice and my my my little cousin got. married and um Kid Rock sends me a text.

message he's like hey if you're in. Nashville because I think he I guess he. knew I was doing this podcast well some. people were going over there buddy of M. I was texting he's like hey we're going. over to Bob's and I was like I gotta. prepare for this podcast tomorrow Vance. is coming on yeah maybe that's how he. knew cuz he texted me and I was like oh. man I want to fly to Nashville right now. just so I can party with Kid Rock right. I mean like that's a that's a that's an. experience of a lifetime um so so now. I'm trying to get him to go to go to. Michigan with me but oh I'm sure he. probably would man oh yeah dude he's if.

uh he he's one of a kind man yeah but. anyway answer your question it's. basically you go where the campaign. needs you to go right and and like yeah. I could say no but I'm like running for. vice president so I try to do as much as. I can just to be helpful and do y'all. have do you go with Donald Trump do you. guys go separately a lot of times do you. guys have like strategy talks in the. mornings and stuff like is it what is it. like yeah it's it's more inform is like. doubles tennis kind. of it's more divide and conquer right so. it's like you got two people and you can.

be in two places so you might as well do. it but if we got like a really big event. like you know the president got shot in. in Bucks County or sorry which time are. you talking about the first time okay. the first time they really um he got. shot in um in in Pennsylvania and so we. went out to Pennsylvania together to do. a big rally and then Elon El there in. but Butler PA yes in Butler Pennsylvania. um and then you know like I was in Bucks. County Pennsylvania like a week earlier.

but that was just me right right so you. sort of go you know some places you go. together but most of the time we're sort. of dividing and conquering how um with. the attempts that they've had on Trump's. on Trump's life and safety how much of a. concern has that been for you like it's. like because if I'm standing next to a. guy and they're shooting at him I'm next. to him yeah you know yeah I know what. you mean I mean I try not to think about. it man cuz really yeah it's it's just. it's of these things you can't control.

and if you're going to do this job like. you got to go out and talk to a lot of. people and you got to tr go try to win. right I mean like I fundamentally. believe that we're trying to win to help. the country so either you you know you. either do it or you don't do it and if. you do it you just kind of kind of. accept it I mean I I don't think there's. I don't know maybe I'm just this is just. me rationalizing it I don't feel like. there's that big of a Target on my back. but who the hell knows well you're tall. you might are you a little taller than. him or not I think we're about the same. height okay yeah which is funny man the. weird people say about you on the. internet like the thing there was a long.

time maybe even still today if you. Google how tall is JD Vance it would say. 5'7 and I oh it says 62 now somebody. updated it yeah somebody updated it yeah. um okay the first headline is JD Vance. is tall but Americans are getting. shorter what the hell is the internet's. a weird ass It also says Joe Biden is 6. foot. sleep I don't know if that's a height. well see this is a thing though how tall. is JD Vance we found there was like a. conspiracy on the internet that I was a. really short guy guy but yeah no I'm I'm.

about 6'2 I think yeah once you get. better people helping you get you hype. you get you get you're pretty tall. you're I'm six feet tall yeah I'm six. feet tall if this rib gets back in place. I'm six foot and a half inch brother. I'll tell you that um so there's did you. have to ask your wife about that like. say hey like did she have to weigh in. because that's a little because I'm. trying to think of other jobs where you. get shot at really. military um domestic VI vience I guess. and then politician politician I mean.

normally politicians don't get shot at. that much but apparently apparently it's. coming back man that's not that's not. like a good thing to come back to you. know what I mean yeah but I also I mean. it's it's I definitely grew up um like. and I grew up in Ohio but I spent a lot. of time in E Kentucky yeah and if you go. to like there's a courthouse in bre. County Kentucky I mean beautiful part of. the country like kind of in the. mountains and there's like a plaque like. a historical plaque that's basically. like you know on this site multiple. people were killed in the breath it. County blood feuds of the early you know.

the early 20th century so I don't know. you just kind of kind of accept it um as. as as bad as it is I mean I want us to. get away from it right as a country but. as a individual candidate I think you. just have to kind of accept it I mean. I'll tell you um but I guess if you're. going into battle you're going into. battle that's right that's right you. just got to do what you got to do yeah. um but again you know like I'm I'm a I'm. a person of faith I don't talk about it. that that much I don't wear it on my. sleeve I always sort of mistrust people. who wear it too much on their sleeve but. feel like you know if God wants me to.

beew be vice president I'll be vice. president if if not then I won't yeah. you know you just got to work your ass. off and let the chips fall where they. may yeah I saw I saw where you had your. mom was out and you congratulated her on. she almost has 10 years of sobriety you. said that's right yeah she's uh in. January January of 2025 she will be 10. years clean and sober and that's really. funny cuz you know she's standing next. to there uh That's Mike Johnson the. speaker of the house oh yeah and like my. family is not very political so they.

bring her up to this booth and like two. chairs over is Donald Trump of course. she knows who that is but she shakes. Mike Johnson's hand and uh he's like you. know lovely to meet you and she says. lovely to meet you too who are you do. you work in. politics like Mom that's the speaker of. the house okay she's like well I'll take. a uh I'll take a. McDouble um a Diet Coke with witht.

eyes what was uh yeah I know your mom's. your Mom struggle with alcoholism right. um add Mo mostly yeah mostly non-alcohol. drugs I never saw her you know drink. that much but I mean you know pills. opioids heroin um what's it been like to. watch her get sober what's that been. like it's amazing man it's it's amazing. I know you're you're what what are you. your your recovery I'm recovery yeah a. lot of my family's in it too so I think. yeah I can I can relate a lot to your. story to be honest with you yeah but I.

mean mean look I mean there was a time. like I always you know always wanted to. grow up and have a family and I I. remember when I was a teenager thinking. to myself there's no way Mom's going to. be around to meet like if I have kids. there's no way my mom's ever going to. meet him and um you know she's now like. she's now a great grandmother to to the. three grandkids but I don't know man. it's it's just if if you've known. anybody in this circumstance it sounds. like you know very well what it's like. is there's like this there's two. feelings that you have or at least.

always two feelings I had when mom was. going through it is like on the one hand. yeah she's so smart she's so funny and. you're just like kind of rooting for her. because you just want her to get better. then on the other hand you're just. pissed off it's like you know because. you don't quite understand it I think if. you're not in recovery yourself it's. hard to fully understand and um you know. see that you'd be frustrated with her. one moment and then just desperate for. her to get better the next moment you're. constantly bouncing back and forth but. man it's it's amazing it really is I. mean she you know she was at the wedding. we were at last night and uh just having.

a good time and being her like funny. quirky self she has a good sense of. humor she's a very good sense of humor. um I mean you know like the the bride. and groom this really cool tradition. where they had like at each table a wine. bottle with a number on it and then like. at the table one they'd open the that. bottle of wine their first anniversary. and table two the second anniversary and. so forth and they had people write stuff. in Sharpies on the wine bottle I'd never. seen that I thought it was a pretty cool. uh little thing um and my mom I forget.

what table she was in but you know like. 10 years down the road and she just she. writes something on on the her bottle. like like hey I love you hopefully I'm. still alive when you're drinking. this she's just got like again like a. kind of a morbid quirky sense of humor. um but yeah man it's it's it's really. amazing because I again I I just never I. never thought she'd be alive when I was. 40 years old yeah and she is and she's. got a good relationship with her family. and her grandparents or her grand kids. and that's just a very cool thing yeah.

it's a blessing man that's awesome to. see it was really cool to see that um. did you ever go to meetings with her did. she go to you have been before yeah I've. been to a lot of NA meetings um when you. were growing up did you ever go or no. yeah I went when I was a kid um I went I. went when I was a teenager I mean I've. been to a lot actually just in the past. few years cuz she you now that she's. like you know she feels like she's. really on the other side of it she does. a lot with her local La I think she's. the treasurer the Secretary of her local. La chapter and um I don't do you ever go.

to meetings or anything oh yeah I went. to one I went to one I was at one last. sign at eight okay I mean there there's. a there's actually a really special. Community around it which I really like. and it almost kind of reminds me of. church right% where you you know you say. you say these prayers and and you talk. about what's going on and there's like. this sense of fellowship and community. that I think is is really is really. awesome and you know it's it's it's like. one of these things. where you see just human nature nature. and all of its good sides and its bad.

sides right cuz sometimes you have. people who come in and they're getting. their 24-hour Medallion yeah right which. is like this is the first real period of. sobriety I've had in a very long time. and then sometimes you have people are. you know celebrating 15 20 25 years and. uh it's it's just amazing to see but I. don't know if you noticed this but. something I noticed and it's you know. it's not to get too political here but. you know like five six seven years ago.

you know you start noticing this and. then it really started picking up a few. years ago where you you have somebody. who's been say 6 months or nine months. sober and then they don't come to a. couple meetings and then they're just. dead and you realize like when people. relapsed when Mom was in the worst of it. yeah there was some dangerous out. there but it wasn't nearly as deadly as. the stuff that's out there today oh yeah. and I I really worry about that right. cuz you know think about the second. chance I got with my mom and I really.

worry that the the poison that we've got. in the streets now is so dangerous that. a lot of people would have that second. chance but you know you fall off the. wagon once 15 years ago it's like oh. that sucks I'm going to climb back on. today you fall off that wagon it might. it might kill you yeah and I really. worry about that cuz I think a lot of a. lot of good people you know like Mom it. didn't happen like once right it's not. like she got clean and sober and that. was it right it's a process fall off a. few times yeah you get back on it's a. process man yeah I've had relapses over.

the years and had to get back on and. it's it's tough and one of the tougher. things to do is to get back on but it's. funny because I think. if I if I don't know if I'd be sober if. the stuff weren't killing people to be. honest with you I know that's sad to say. but that keeps me out of the risk of it. you know it just makes it too makes it a. little scarier yeah that's the thing it. makes it scarier but it's also sad that. somebody I mean this is ridiculous to. say probably that somebody. can't you know you can't even do cocaine.

in this country anymore you. know and that seems like a crazy thing. to say and don't say that don't say that. I but I said it but but yeah but don't. say that anymore I'm gonna steal that. line after the election though and I no. no we got to win first it's. unfortunate to be clear to those. watching I've never done cocaine before. yeah and nobody made many mistakes but. not that one nobody saying yeah but it's. just it's unfortunate that's that it's.

un I don't even know where to I know you. it's it's unfortunate that like look. like everybody makes mistakes right. everybody makes mistakes right and like. I I I know there a buddy of mine told me. about this um this is hell this has got. have. been three years ago um it's been a. while but B basically what happened is. his daughter was like a bridesmaid in a. wedding and they were going to this. wedding and like the wedding got.

cancelled because a couple of the. groomsmen like had terrible overdoses. the night before at the bachelor party. because they took some I mean like you. know you can judge and say oh they. shouldn't have been taken something but. everybody takes something at some point. in their lives like we don't want it to. kill people we don't want stupid. mistakes to kill people that's that's. sort of like live and learn live and. learn from stupid mistakes right you. used to be able to live and learn yes. now it becomes a death sentence and. that's what's really I think changed. about from now now to when my uh my mom.

was struggling with addiction why why is. it so bad like what do you know a lot. about the fentanyl crisis I mean I know. a fair amount about it you know I've. I've I've worried about it uh for a long. time I've I've you know worked on bills. related to it I mean there there are two. basic issues right and it's it's like. you know any business there's a. manufacturer there's a wholesaler and. then there's the retail right and you. know with with Fint andol it's it's not. you can't like make Fint in a trailer in. somebody's basement or that's like it's.

not like meth it it takes a really. complicated pretty sophisticated. pharmaceutical process so we know that a. lot of it maybe even most of it the. Chinese are making meaning Chinese. companies not like necessarily the. Chinese government but they sure as hell. know about it and then they bring it in. primarily through the southern border. and the Mexican drug cartels are like. the wholesalers right of the Chinese. Pharm farmas the manufacturer the drug. cartels are bringing in whol sale style. and then it makes it in the street level.

wow and um I mean it's really crazy man. like I I was talking to a DA agent about. this a couple years ago and I think this. was in this was in 2022 he was he was. like look a few years ago the cartels. were making less than a billion dollars. a year and he's like in 2223 we think. they'll make $14 billion a year so like. an explosion of drug trafficking in this. country and yeah you you hear about. stories and I don't think it happens. that much thank God but somebody smokes. a joint it's lace with fentol they go.

into a coma yeah I mean I have seven. friends that that um I have seven. friends and not even just like estranged. people you know like but not all best. friends. sure but I have seven friends at um that. overdose and died from uh fentanyl yeah. yeah that's me right and it yeah and it. H with harder stuff it happens a lot. like I think with you know you hear. about it being laced in marijuana but. like not that much but I mean you you're. point about cocaine pills like you have.

to be careful seriously it's a huge. thing an unbelievable crisis and it's. like yeah you'd think that we'd I I. don't know how you fight something like. that maybe we need to have like a like a. head of like the DEA or something on. maybe he would be able to help or or she. would be able to help us figure that out. a little bit more I think it'd be that'd. be a very interesting conversation but I. think I think you've got a I think you. got to go go to it at the heart and. something you know Trump did towards the. end of his administration doesn't get a. a lot of headlines obviously I'm biased. I think it should get headlines is he.

was using economic leverage to try to. convince the Chinese to crack down on. fentol manufacturing because if you get. it at the source right that's I think. really the way to address it oh there's. fol and half the bookshelves they make. over there dude you put a couple you put. a half a set of dictionaries and. that will give that will. give. way seen I mean I I absolutely believe. that bad oh man that's. what's in the furniture here we we.

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about the cartels man is is one we're. talking about some very dark and. dangerous people like this is not some. guy who's like dealing you know selling. joints on a college campus these are. like they're doing sex trafficking. they're they're they're they're they're. getting 11 10-year-old girls involved in. the sex trade very evil people dictator. type of like oh just absolutely vile and. it's it's like why why are we making it. easier for these this like massive. Criminal. um organizations to get richer and.

richer and richer like we should be. trying to make them poor and I mean you. know help help people actually need it. well it's also it's obviously one of the. biggest enemies that's right it's like. if there were an enemy that we. killing if somebody if there were. somebody shooting in your country every. day and killing people yeah at a certain. point you go over there or you send your. military there or do something to say. hey you're not going to be we're not. going to let do this anymore that's. basically what's happening that's right.

I mean can you can you imagine if if if. Mexico sent gunmen across the border and. killed 70,000 Americans a year because. that's about what dies from fit andol we. would be in a major war right you know. we we just absolutely would be the case. so the other thing that's crazy about. this is so these cartels and you see. this graphic UPS pretty pretty. interesting there but the cartels are. going to start to destabilize the. country of Mexico like do do you know um. do you know name Pablo Escobar yeah I do.

okay so like the the the Colombian. cartels in the 70s were as powerful as. like the Colombian government right it. was it was a narco State you don't want. that to happen at like right at the. American southern border where the drug. cartels have more power than the Mexican. Government that's just going to be. chaotic it's going to be basically a. warlike atmosphere on our Southern. border that's bad news well it's bad. news but it'd be great to figure out a. way that to to shut it down I mean it. just feels like yeah if that many people. are dying each year if if it were actual. people shooting at these people we would.

send people there in a heartbeat right I. mean and I and I think that's what we. have to I think not that we have to send. people to to Mexico but I think that we. actually have to have a military. response at the southern border 100%. because these are such vicious people. and I think local law enforcement. they're telling us they're overwhelmed. by some of these guys and we've got to. be willing to send our our best people. our best fighters to get control of the. Southern border I think that's the most. important issue confronting the country. because look I mean how do you even. measure the human cost of 70,000 people.

many of them in the prime of their life. and the ripple effect of it too in their. families the orphans the parents that. are heartbroken I mean how many kids are. like this my story right that's why my. grandmother raised me is because my mom. struggled with addiction luckily my mom. got clean you've got hundreds of. thousands of children who are being. raised by their grandparents or their. aunts and uncles like that is an. unspeakable human tragedy man when we we. could do so much better and we're.

failing right now and uh that's you know. one one of the reasons why I'm here one. of the reasons why I'm running yeah um. what what what was it like growing up. like with an alcoholic mother like and. no judgment against your mother this is. just to look at it right I sure I. appreciate that yeah what um what is. that like like is it hard to make a. connection with your mom like what are. some of the side effects of that uh on a. child yeah I mean I definitely think. there's a. um you get very careful about who you. lie yourself to get close to right.

that's that's one big part of it you're. never quite sure whether you can trust. the particular situation that you're in. right so am I still going to be living. in this house 3 months from now if I. have somebody if I give somebody my. address because this is back in the 90s. right people still wrote letters. postcards things like that at least a. lot more than they do today if I give. somebody my address are they going to. send me a letter and I'm not even to. live in this place anymore because we. you we moved around a fair amount right. but I I I think. I I I think that you know the the thing. that it I took away from it is I very.

even as a young kid I sort of very. neatly divided the world into like three. categories of people right there were. the helpless people the victims the. people who needed to be helped there. were the bad guys who were praying on. the victims and then there were the the. strong people who sort of stood up uh. for for everybody else and stood up to. the bad guys that's like you know that's. overly. simplistic um but definitely you know I. I saw my mom growing up very much as.

this person who was who was kind of a. victim and was being prayed on by by bad. people right and then the person who was. sort of looking up for us and standing. up for me especially was my grandmother. and uh I think that that that attitude. of you know some people are just not as. strong as we wish them to be and bad. people are going to pray on them but. it's kind of up to you know try to make. yourself the person who can look out for. people who can protect people and that's.

always what I wanted to be that's one. thing I I think I took from it um were. you able to be that for your mom did you. feel like you know not always certainly. I mean when I was a it's a lot of. responsibility for a kid I was when I. was a teenager man I I was definitely. very very selfish I think I got pretty. resentful just the situations like oh. other people have more money than I do. other people have more stability than I. do you know other people you know they. they've got nice cars we don't have that. so there's there's definitely like. there's definitely like a resentment. that comes from. I think but um you know I left High.

School enlisted in the Marine Corps uh. spent four years in the Marine Corps and. I think that what you know that really. did for me was just like gave me a cool. perspective and I probably went into the. Marine cor I was pretty whiny pretty. resentful kid was pissed off at my mom. was pissed off at all these other people. cuz I didn't have the things that I. thought I should have and then. eventually yeah there's me when I was. much much skinnier much better looking. oh yeah the Marines dud that was the. original o. that's that's. right that's bro zic D that is good that.

is good Marine's the original zic I'm. going to steal that one um but but man. yeah I I know I say this all the time. dude if I went back to boot camp for two. months boot Camp's three months if I. went back to boot camp for two months. I'd come out with a six-pack yeah um but. but you know I've anyway so Seer fat. dude sorry that was stupid and I don't. even know if I if you can even joke simy. and I'm no offense to any Marines not at. all no I'm I'm sure no Marines took.

offense to yeah I've been we've done a. lot of shows on military bases and stuff. and yeah yeah it's usually the arm is. just waiting for the Marines to get. there to tell them what to do usually. right that's right I know the chain of. command man but yeah anyway so we we uh. we we had a we yeah I I think that the. way that I noticed it I mean not to get. you know too personal but like when I so. I met my wife in law school and it was. like you know I dated girls in the past.

but for her it was like oh my God this. is I'm in love with this girl right like. I known her for a week and I was like I. want to marry this girl yeah and um. there was definitely just an element of. like it took a long time for me to get. to a place where I was like oh I can. actually trust this person I actually. rely on this person because that's not. really the experience that I had grown. up is the people you trusted on trusted. the people you relied on they would just. kind of disappear sometimes through no. fault of their own but sometimes they. would just disappear and so you know I.

don't know you say have attachment. issues and that's that's something that. definitely I think comes from growing up. in a pretty tough pretty chaotic. environment but you know the other thing. the flip side of it is again this is. this is why I talk about the Marine. Corps is you after four years of the. Marine Corps you know like like one of. the best Marines maybe the best Marine. that I served with is this kid who grew. up he was a Puerto Rican guy from the. Bronx was a drug dealer was did he wear. jewelry um I mean not with uniform right.

cuz that's yeah maybe he did but by the. time he you know by the time I met him. as a marine he did but but he was like. he had had a much harder life than I had. and there was no there was no. complaining no whining he was just doing. his job and he was a good dude and you. meet a lot of people like that and you. start to realize like in some ways you. know not having everything handed to you. is actually a blessing right and and and. growing up in a tough circumstance and. being able to understand and that not. everybody's always had it easy I used to.

be annoyed by that kind of complaining. about it now I sort of see it as like a. good thing right cuz I I think I have a. different perspective than than a lot of. people I spend my life around where you. know they they they they were born to a. rich family they went to a private. school then they you know everything was. kind of laid out for them it's kind of. good to not have everything laid out for. you because you have to work for it a. little bit more yeah that was going to. be my next my my followup question that. was just like yeah what are the what are. the positives like and also so we don't. get stuck in like you know um just in.

like a Debbie Downer spiral kind of you. know cuz it's okay to talk about stuff. but sometimes you know it's like things. can get kind of like where you're just. looking at the negative things but. there's usually something positive in. everything exactly right and um yeah. that's what I was thinking what were. some of the positives of um of having a. childhood like that and of being um yeah. and I guess it would be some. self-reliance I think I think it's. definitely some self-reliance um. awareness probably which is probably a. curse when you're young cuz it feels. like you have to be kind of scared of.

stuff but or but when you get older. being having awareness can be pretty. helpful sometimes yeah I've got my head. on a swivel right I'm always looking. around corners I'm always you know kind. of worried that things that aren't. exactly what they seem but I think. that's made me a little less comfortable. which is a good thing especially in the. in the political life that I live these. days yeah it's good to have your head on. a swivel hey. now you know what I'm saying you're like. yeah everybody has everybody in politics. has device that's much worse than. alcoholism is is the way that I put it.

um but we we um release the. list seriously we need to release the F. scene list that that is an important. thing um we can go down that that rabbit. hole but anyway I I I guess the other. thing that I I gain from it is you. know I I think that I'm just much I see. people as people and one thing I've. picked up up on like I went to law. school at Yale and and a lot of them a.

lot of my classmates are good people but. you're a lawyer also yeah but I sort of. as soon as I went went from law school I. went to the business world so I never. really practiced law I was mostly a. business guy um but like a lot of my. friends they they look at people as like. where did you go to school what do your. parents do you know what job do you have. what credential do you have I've never. had that right and so when people like. talk about politics or policy and be. like oh well this person has a PhD I. don't give a that may they may be. smart but I don't care about is only.

three doesn't even spell anything yeah. exactly I don't even but I don't care. about the letters um but I but like I. meet somebody and oh they don't have a. fancy degree or they don't have a fancy. job I I still just naturally care about. what they think because the way that I. grew up I just sort of see people as. people and I think that's a that's just. a very it's a perspective that I'm glad. that I have I think it's very much a. product of how I grew up yeah I like. people that have their own thing I I I. have like I don't like I don't I don't.

dislike somebody if they inherited. everything yeah but I li I gravitate. more towards people that that haven't. had that experience I think. because um yeah I don't know there's. just something a little bit more. admirable about it I don't like it when. PE things were handed to people I guess. maybe real the truth is I got upset when. other people had stuff that was handed. to them which probably was just normal. stuff to be handed to a kid or to a to.

you know but that made me like oh screw. that you know I'll figure this out. you know what I'm saying them or. whatever you know what I'm saying I'll. you know I have that exact attitude when. I was like 13 14 yeah yeah and some of. that is it's just that Rebellion at that. age um what would you say and we have a. lot of uh audience members that uh have. struggled with addiction or who or and. these days everybody's you can't even. like who doesn't have somebody that's in.

their family or something that struggle. with addiction but what what suggestion. or like just advice or thoughts would. you give to um a young person who has a. parent who's uh who has alcoholism as to. how to navigate that because I even get. messages a lot from people um that are. like hey my dad is struggling or this. what do I do I don't know what to do. here you know um do you have any. thoughts on that and it's not like. you're a specialist yeah yeah I'm not. I'm not a specialist um I mean here.

here's here's what I try to do I mean. take this for you know for what it's. worth but number one. is you you got to if you're a kid in. your environment where there's a lot of. addiction you got to make sure that. you're taken care of right like don't. don't get yourself in such a situation. where it's not just your parent that is. struggling but it becomes you that's. struggling too right because you can't. help them out you can't help them out. unless you're able to take care of. yourself first right right that's that's.

number one I think number two is as hard. as it is man and I know this very. well cuz there were times when I had. some very angry moments with my mom. don't get resentful and try to keep your. heart as open as possible right you got. to compartmentalize a little bit right. there's yeah there's the addict version. but then there's the version that you. know that read you a book when you were. a kid or there's the version that took. you to you know your favorite movie or. you try try to hold on to the memories.

that are completely divorced from the. addiction because I think if you allow. yourself to become totally resentful. then it doesn't just affect them it. starts to affect you too right um don't. don't allow your parents addiction to. become something that destroys your life. too in other words is is youve got to. kind of you got to kind of keep your. soul intact here um I mean I ju Just. practically go to those NA meetings I I. learned more about Mom and her addiction. going to those NA meetings and I didn't. always you know it's not like it was.

like some Eureka moment oh there's you. know I'm not pissed off at you anymore. right but you at least understand it a. little bit more and you gain some. appreciation for what's going on in. their life because that's a that's a big. part of it yeah and you also thing about. na meanings is is just again it is human. nature and all of its Splendor its. virtue and its Vice man it's some a boat. the last one I went to some dude selling. a boat at one of them exactly. like you can't dud we're trying to get. off of drugs dude and yeah and some guy.

started bidding on the boat I'm like and. they had made him take it outside yeah. because it's outside issues or whatever. but it was like what is even happening. here dude I was in Ana meeting some guy. had a fish hook stuck in his freaking. cheek dude really yeah wow wow man he. but he had two weeks clean yeah he'd. either had a really bad night or really. good. night both Jesus yeah what happen God. dang it's just like all right dude Catch.

and Release brother Catch and Release he. probably tried to come across the border. oh. we and I only say that cuz we had a. couple border patrol agents on here and. so we've learned a good bit about it. over the years no I had man I had a. border patrol agent who's he's clearly. before you. go but I just that that that statement. about trying not to be resentful against. your parent because yeah once you that. resentment is seed that can lead you. down some of this or activate some of.

the same behaviors in you it's not and. I'm not preaching that but it can. activate a lot of uh resentment is just. it's an evil seed no that's right so so. many bad things can happen there because. it's just that's an important message I. never thought of that or heard it before. well and and what you said earlier about. not getting into a negative spiral I. think is is really important just just. psychologically I me look man I know you. had a a tough life in a lot of ways um. there are certainly some moments in my. life that were pretty tough but I've.

never again I'm not an expert I've you. know I've read some books on this stuff. this is not JD Vance's expert opinion. this is just a guy talking is I really. worry that a lot of the mental health. stuff in. 2024 is about like focusing so much on. what's bad in your life that you end up. wallowing in it and it becomes a sort of. self-reinforcing spiral like there's. only so much can I mean if bad has. happened to you there's only so much you.

can do to think about it and process it. and you know sometimes bad happens. because it just happens right there's no. like rationalizing there's no like. thinking through it and and and you know. what I what I've always found like is is. most helpful is getting outside and. going for a walk like that made me feel. way better than trying to understand why. did Mom do this thing when she was 13 or. when I was 13 years old and she was you. know I guess 39 uh 30 36 she would have. been when I was 13 but like why why.

right still harping on it yeah I got to. go for some walks then I mean I go for. them but still sometimes you got some. ghosts man but and I got ghosts too man. but but the longer you sit there and. look for ghosts all you it's still ghost. still a ghost it's almost like you find. more ghosts and you keep on finding them. and then it's like all right man I just. I need to go like hang out with my. buddies go for a walk and have a drink. well you know not if you're uh dealing. with addiction but um like have a drink. of coffee just like go you know go hang.

out because I really worry that like the. constant wallowing is bad for us yeah. we've gotten into this definitely into a. constant into a heavy self-help type of. vibe you know like every book is a. self-help book because self-help is. great but also you're saying the the. other side of that is you're saying that. something's wrong with me right um and. so if you're always looking for ways to. improve yourself which it can be. positive to do that yeah I've noticed in. my own life it's also a way where you're.

also kind of saying there's always. something wrong with you that's. interesting so I'm in the same way that. I'm oh I'm always trying to get. better it's like I'm there I've. obviously created then I'm I'm I'm. there's something unachievable yeah. because I'm always trying to get better. it's I've set this impossible course so. really I'm part of me is telling me Oh. there's something wrong with you so it. becomes a little bit more about finding. ways to accept myself you know yeah you. got to balance it right you got to. balance like obviously there's all. things we can work on but you know it. can become a self-defeating cycle if.

people love it and I try to I try to. just balance it I mean you know like I I. um like about about two years ago uh at. the end of my Senate campaign I was just. like I had gotten very overweight and. it's like I mean campaign is hard on the. body you eat you know Chick-fil-A for. breakfast you eat Windy's for lunch you. eat you know waffle house for dinner. right after a while that starts to catch. up with you and um you know like I I I. think the what did you get at w house. just so we know it oh man I'm an all.

America special sub uh grits for home. fries or hash browns yeah. that's god I didn't even know they had. home fries well they have they have hash. browns sorry they have hash browns not. home fries they have homeless Fries over. there. dude dude bro that that okay that the. second photo from the top that is the. All America special but again I'm not a. grits guy so if you swap out the grits. for hash browns they don't charge you. anything. look dude dude that is a that that is a. meal of Champions right there your.

arteries are paying a high tariff that's. yes they are yes they are but anyway the. point do you get raisin toast or stick. with that regular toast I get regular. toast yeah I just put a lot of jam on it. I'm not a big raisin guy yeah you like. raisins I like I mean cuz I like grapes. that have been through something you. know it's just who I am you know but uh. so yeah I guess I do like it you know I. guess I like my I like my grapes you. know nice and nice and and clean and oh. I like grapes of rat you know which are. basically.

raisins those are basically. raisins but anyway there I I I bring. that up because it's like you can get. into a spiral where it's like oh I'm I'm. unhealthy and you beat beat up on. yourself about it but like there's a. good balance where you recognize you got. to you know go for a run every now and. then and and take care of yourself and. that's what I've tried to do is you know. just balance the good and the bad yeah. yeah life balance man it's a good point. yeah things aren't going to be exactly. yeah things aren't going to be perfect.

you know I always was like I always yeah. I created when I was a kid like I have. to be perfect in to be like accepted or. whatever you know that was like a that. was like a way that I created in my life. I think like I well what did that look. so give me like what would you try to be. perfect at like school or work or or. just like you know getting in shape or. like what like what what like what's. your if you're trying to get perfect. what are you trying to get perfect well. that's the crazy part is it was almost. this blind thing I never even asked the.

question hey what am I trying to be. perfect at it was just this like. you like the only way you're going to be. seen you have to do everything perfect. you know yeah and then you'll get the. you'll I don't know it just this missing. thing inside of myself I want I wanted. to be seen so it was like you have to do. it perfect yeah right if you cuz if you. do it perfect then there would be no way. it wouldn't mathematic makes sense that. you wouldn't be seen then because that.

would have to be seen right nobody would. not see something that was done. perfectly but but Perfection was is. impossible and so it was always I'd. always set myself up for this like you'd. always come up short no matter what it. was and it could be in anything. something I was presenting at school the. way I was the way I looked while you. were talking to me it just everything. had to be like this so it was this. constant like. I just never let my breath go you know. and um and and then I was always falling.

short and so then that can be a tough. way to live man yeah oh it was horrible. and it fulfilled this prophecy in my. head oh we fell short you're not enough. which which is what you thought in the. beginning anyway right and I'm not. saying that now like now I have. different thoughts and feelings but. those were things that I now I'm able to. look back and see oh that that's how I. was operating Y and just how even when I. talk about it it sounds. impossibly stressful. yeah it does I mean yeah did you ever go. to Aca meetings or anything like that.

ACA meetings like adult children of. Alcoholics did you ever go to no no I I. guess it's interesting no I never did um. yeah some people don't need it yeah I. mean I I think frankly it probably would. have helped me um would have been useful. to go to we did sometimes like there. there was one very long-term treatment. facility that mom went to and I I guess. it was kind of like that because part of. that was that we would go to meetings. every couple of weeks with all the kids. of the people who were in that may have. been an AA meeting I just didn't know. the name of it but uh that that was.

definitely interesting and again it's. like you go to the meetings with some of. these kids and you think your life is. tough and you realize man there's always. somebody who's got it much worse than. you do yeah and that's a again I think. that's a good attitude to have because. then you feel grateful for what you have. that's another thing man like the. feeling of gratitude is so empowering. like if you're just grateful for what. you have you know I'm like yeah you know. you and your wife have an argument but. if you're just grateful for her for her. existence that's such a better attitude.

your kid does something that's annoying. to you but I'm just so grateful that I. have this beautiful little baby that I. get to take care of I don't know the the. feeling of gratitude I think is a very. powerful thing yeah I mean people say. that a lot um did was being a parent. scary for you were you scared like. absolutely yeah terrifying to me yeah. man I um yeah just I was taught by my. childhood that most people really screw. GRE up parenting and you know it's it's. not just like you make a mistake you get.

a bad grade or you know your boss is. pissed off at you it's you make a. mistake and you're like screwing up you. get a bad that has to go stay that stays. alive stays alive damn C+ is having a. tough week C+ is having a really tough. week and um you know like do you have. kids so so I mean you just you just love. your kids so much right I me you really. think this The Sun Shines out their ass. you know that's that's kind of how you. see children Bears or. whatever that's right like a Care Bear.

but a living breathing Care Bear yeah. that you have to take care of and so I. was just really terrif because you know. this has certainly gotten a lot better. but you know when I was 27 28 I had like. a pretty bad temper you know like if. somebody cut me off I'd be really pissed. off now I don't drive anymore cuz I have. a secret service detail which is. probably a good thing but um but I but I. you know like I I I just think to myself. oh my God is my kid going to do. something bad and I'm going to you know. fly off the handle like you know oh yeah. I worry about that right and yeah I mean.

look certainly kids can be frustrating. from time to time but for whatever. reason I think it's part because my. wife's so patient it's in part just cuz. I'm older and a little wiser is uh you. know it's it's it's really worked out. and I've you know I've screwed up and. I've made mistakes as a parent and. certainly there are days where you're. like oh man I can't believe that I did. this or that but um you know one kids. are much more resilient than people give. them credit for and and uh two it's just. it's a it's a learning process man and. it's it's amazing I mean kids are so so.

crazy like the the difference between. our 2-year-old and our seven-year-old. just in personality and what they say. and you know kids have no filter yeah. right so like one of the things that we. call on our our side of the aisle is. that we'll like you know we'll call the. news journalists the corporate media I. call them fake news right you got to be. careful about that my kids's. getting on the plane with me my. four-year-old to come to an event and um.

and somebody gets on the're on the loud. speaker they're saying where to said or. whatever and he's like no no we see he. sees all these people taking photos of. us and videos because I I get. photographed in video you know I'm. constantly being photographed wherever I. go and he sees these people with camera. he goes taddy is that the fake. news and you you know you you realize. you got to be a little bit more careful. about what you say but like no that's. grandma now smile okay that's just. Grandma's getting a picture of. us uh but yeah I mean it's it's it's the.

most rewarding thing that I've ever done. uh it's it's definitely changed my. perspective so it surprised you as to as. to it surprised you against your fears. kind of it did it did I mean one it's. just not as it's not as hard I guess as. I thought it would be yeah CU I wor. that's what I just yeah I guess yeah I. don't know if I think about it being. hard I don't know it just feels like it. would be so scary that's the word that. comes into my head man it is it is scary. but it's like one of those things where. you just you know you just deal with it. right and it's kind of good to confront. that fear and then you realize it's not. as bad I mean you know mo most people.

will tell you like the first kid gets. completely babied right yeah and you. know you oh you've got to put hand. sanitizer on before you touch touch the. baby when they come home from the. hospital and by the third kid you're. like I don't you know oh you just played. in the mud fine come come over here and. and and you realize that kids are again. they're they're much more resilient than. people give them credit for but you also. you just learn a lot about yourself and. like the coolest right think about my. mom I didn't think my mom would be alive. when I was 40 years old and now I see. her play Pokémon with my little.

seven-year-old and build a relationship. with these little kids and it's just a. really it's a really really rewarding. thing I mean does it feel like a gift. that you were able to give your mom. almost a like not you were able to give. it to her but that like you know God. gave you this series of events in your. life where you get to see your mom play. with this kid and you're like man that. almost could have been me but it it does. get to be me like in a weird way like. yeah that's that's exactly right I feel. like it's a gift that God gave to us. where we get to have this second chance. with Mom yeah and you know we get to.

wouldn't necessarily relied on mom when. I was 12 or 13 cuz she was still you. know still caught up in addiction but. now like we'll leave our kids with Mom. and like being able to rely on her is. just a very it's a very cool thing you. know my my um my wife I remember when. our our kids were first born or or was. born in 2017 and at that point mom had. been clean sober for about a year and a. half I guess and like I remember talking. with my wife and she's saying like I. love your mom I hope that she stays.

clean and sober but like we're never. letting her babysit yeah it's lur right. little early early but now like we trust. her with all three of them wow it's. amazing thing man oh yeah and now with. three kids you'll give them to anybody. to watch you know saying if you guys. three kids bro that's true anybody can. watch him that's right no we we but no. that's I think that's really cool I. could have just imagine I could imagine. like you getting to see like your kids. be with your mom and this it just like. like um completing the eight or whatever. you know I'm saying like that symbol or.

whatever you know infinity symbol or. whatever you know see that it's pretty. powerful yeah it's important that's the. power of like things you see through. recovery and stuff too you know it's. like that people get to um just have a. different life you know it's like you. witness it all the time in the in the. meetings and stuff I do anyway yeah. there's something there's something very. Redemptive about it man yeah if you want. to hear a miracle or something you want. to see a miracle go to a meeting yeah. you know what I'm saying you get I mean. um and it very much is like church it's. like sometimes people like you don't go.

to church sometimes I'm like dude I go. to four I go to church four times a week. at least yeah right I go I go for it's. like it that's those meetings it really. is it's like you get everything you. could get out of um I mean you witness. God's work just through other people you. know I mean much less outside of uh. possibly in your own life yeah and there. the testimonials you hear at meetings. the it takes somebody who's been clean. for 2 days to walk.

in ACH of strangers and bid on a yeah or. to sell a boat hey hey I've got no I'm. joking I I didn't mean to interrupt you. there I I got rid of my cocaine and now. I've got a boat you want to buy it oh. man is your business. growing our um our online merch store. has grown over the past few years we. started off a buddy of mine and I was. slanging him out of his basement helping. us get it done but it evolved and we.

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country because when we can't see prices. hospitals insurance and their middlemen. charges whatever they want our very own. Health Care system is robbing all of. us we just need the prices that's how. our economy. works if you want to do right by workers. employers and unions. then you got to do right by the people. they represent and the families who.

depend upon them and we got to hear it. pric is now power to the. [Music]. patience oh dude did you ever listen to. Jelly. Roll it's funny um I I met jelly roll at. the United States Senate cuz I'm on the. Banking Committee he came and gave what. was he trying to get pardoned for. something no no I don't think so at. least but he was uh he did a um like he.

was a witness at a hearing in the Senate. Banking Committee oh I think I saw that. on cpan or something and that was a joke. jelly he knows it was he was he was. really good I talked to him briefly I'm. sure he doesn't remember um do but I but. I thought he I thought he gave like some. very interesting you know testimony he. talked about the fitall issue a little. bit I want to say he maybe talked about. homelessness a little bit but I remember. him talking about fentol and um yeah.

he's got an amazing life I mean talk. about a guy who had a much tougher life. than I did that's jelly roll yeah that's. a great Point yeah yeah he's a magic man. when you and when you talk to him it's. just like watching. pure um it's just genuine yeah that's. what it is it's like a it's like um. clean water it's like what we used to. have in a lot of our Rivers it's like um. that's what he is yeah he's just genuine. I mean a genuine human being oh he'll. tear up at anything it's just cuz it's. just what's in him is just real yeah you.

know um he's a genuine guy that actually. leads me pretty good um into this next. part I want to talk about some stuff I. wrote down okay because I wanted to be. clear and this is important yeah go man. so you're from a region that was uh. firsthand devastated by the money lizard. Sackler family right. um which like uh you know which Purdue. farman and everything that happened with. oxyon like over 500,000 people um died. at the hands of them yeah and um big big.

problem yeah unbelievable right and it. compromised like you know they used. loopholes all types of stuff to uh to be. able to keep that company going right. and really to keep killing people I mean. it seemed undeniable at a certain point. that they were murderers it was. legalized drug dealing as what it was on. an industrial scale I mean made billions. and Bill billions of dollars like a slap. on the like they got a financial slap on. the wrist right very tiny but why why. can't we shouldn't they be kicked out of.

our country it feels like like if we can. let in 20 million people in our country. right that shouldn't be here or that are. not like vetted properly to be don't. have a legal right to be here I I agree. I would say they shouldn't be here but. why can't we put those on. a boat and send them back to wherever. the they came from uh that's a good. question man uh look I I think that. frankly I don't mean that angrily at you. but it's like no man I I'm I'm pissed. off about it too like at what point do.

people lose the opportunity to be here. it seemed like if you killed 500,000. people you wouldn't be able to hang out. anymore or maybe at least you should. have a criminal investigation yeah right. cuz that that's the thing that's always. I've always I mean like the Sackler. family clearly got rich off of an. extraordinary amount of human misery and. death okay where are they from bring It. Up up real quick I want to say they're. from New York maybe or they're from the. Northeast I'm pretty.

sure the Sackler family origin from. galasa and Poland and their ancestors. were Jewish immigrants Isaac Sackler. Brooklyn New York oh and then they lived. in Brooklyn New York that's why I. thought they were from New York. Connecticut um I mean look the the thing. that I've never understood about them is. they did get fined but the fine was such. a tiny amount comp what they but they. made tens and tens and billions of. dollars I mean these guys were. absolutely rolling in the dough but they. like why isn't there a criminal. investigation into this right like if if.

if I sold drugs on the street and some. person has an overdose and died like I. you can get felony prosecuted for that. or at least investigated for it and. there was never a criminal at least as I. understand it never a criminal. investigation into what was known yeah I. think breached a plea deal of some sort. okay as the nation continues to Grapple. with the uh the Sackler family had. agreed to pay 6 billion to families and. States as part of an agreement to wind. down Purdue Pharma the maker of oxy.

continent exchange of sacri family would. be immunized from future civil liability. claims unreal cuz here's here's my. understanding about it and I by the way. I I think that like you you always got. to be worried about the stuff when. you're the child of addiction is like. are there whether it's drugs alcohol. whatever you got to be you kind of. you're worried about making sure you do. yourself don't get hooked on anything. right like I had a minor surgery once. and like a very minor surgery and I was. prescribed boxy cotton and I took it for. like you know 12 hours got any left.

sorry no cuz of my wife cuz of what I'm. about to tell you okay and um my my wife. who was like giving me my meds she was. like hey you ready for your next dose. and I was like yeah you know the Pain's. not really that bad anymore I don't. really want to take one um but yeah just. give me one cuz I feel really good when. I take it and then she and I both have. this like moment of realization like oh. right that is that is where this. whole thing starts she you know took it. to wherever some disposal site and got. we got rid of it now was it but the the. problem with oxycotton as I understand. it at. least is that it's supposed to be.

delayed release. oxycodone but you know the problem that. is is people figured out if you just. crush it up yeah then you can just get. it all at once all released right now. all released right now and then the. Sackler families I understand it knew. about it right Purdue farman knew this. was going on and they should have been. like oh no no okay we're going to stop. this because people were getting Ked. killed by overdosing all this stuff cuz. they're taking too high of a dose and. they didn't do anything yeah like that. that is my understanding fundamentally.

of what happened is is they didn't want. to stop it cuz they were getting rich. from it it's man it's it's really gross. I just couldn't imagine that imagine. people dying and you're making money but. they're people are dying family the. ripple effect of that in this country is. still it's still haunting people know. absolutely and that's where the heroin. epidemic which is now a fol epidemic. came from it started as a pill epidemic. and it actually was like I always used. to think it was okay kind of like me. like oh you have a surgery and you get. too many drugs and then eventually you. get hooked what it actually was is they.

were overprescribing it so much that it. was just everywhere right and so like oh. you know your nephew comes over and he's. 17 and he takes some to his buddies and. now they're all hied on hooked on oxy. and that's like that that's what. actually happened and there was just so. much of this drug everywhere that it. started the epidemic we have now yeah. and the outside it was like candy coat. it was like you just had to slurp off. the outside a little bit and then you. could party oh I didn't realize that. yeah I think you just had to slur I.

heard about people crushing I didn't. know if you you just had to slurp off. the outside yeah I think you did and. um yeah um yeah and yeah and one of the. worst things about it was that like. medicine used to be a term that was like. it was for help right yes it was like. and it was in our brains I think as as. humans and C citizens in our society and. culture medicine was help right and that. that whole thing with them kind of. tripped that word where it made it it.

made people question the value of. medicine absolutely it may be made. people um just question then who's. prescribing them medicine it made Health. it made um like your doctors seem un uh. trustworthy it just it ruins so much um. trust that's absolutely right ruined a. lot of social trust and I I agree I. think they they they deserve a ton of. blame for that and it's it's interesting. though that was maybe the first point.

the the oxy epidemic was sort of the. first point where I started to question. like the mainstream big farmer narrative. a little bit and I always asked myself. and I think this is something you know. like I'm Republican I'm conservative but. one of the things that I think the old. left was pretty smart about is like. recognizing. that um you know when when money gets. involved when the profit motive gets. involved in health. that that can lead to good things right. can lead to people trying to cure cancer. because they know they're going to make.

a lot of money if they cure cancer I'm. fine with that right but people making. money if they cure cancer that's a great. thing but then also sometimes it can. lead to manipulation of the health. system that doesn't actually benefit. People's Health but does get people. hooked on a lot of drugs that they they. wouldn't otherwise need and this was. something again the old left understood. this that like well you got to be. careful like are we prescribing this. medication because it's good for people. cuz that's good or are we prescribing it. because some big pharmaceutical company. is getting rich if we do and they're.

putting pressure on the government or. somebody else to encourage us to. prescribe this medication yeah and I. think there are a whole host of ways in. which you know frankly the old left was. right about that and you know I've tried. to persuade you know modern. conservatives that we should be more. concerned about that issue it's like you. Bobby Kennedy makes this point all the. time right like good some. Pharmaceuticals are good for us but some. actually it's not totally clear whether. we're taking them just because it makes. people money and this is like let me. give you a concrete example right.

so you know that this there's obviously. this big like debate about transgender. issues and you don't have to wait into. that but what really worries me is when. you've got pharmaceutical companies that. are making billions of dollars on. hormonal therapies for kids and are we. really like are we really being smart. about whether this is good for the kids. about whether it causes long-term con. consquences and why is nobody saying. well wait a second the people who are. lobbying us to give these drugs to kids.

are also getting rich off of it right. and I I just I worry about that I mean I. you you to follow the money motive it. definitely of course they would want. that because it's just another way it's. like well how do we split the atom here. again to make even more money off of. somebody well why not your gender you. know what I'm saying you're not using it. y you know you're like what do you mean. I'm not using my gender like I'm trying. I'm trying to I'm still developing it. yeah you know I'm saying and you're. going to like but I agree it's like a. couple of my buddies secretly low-key.

date trans people right and I don't care. if any somebody's trans or neopolitan or. whatever I don't I don't care you know. what I'm saying hell if I had a vagina I. would probably wouldn't go looking for. women you know so there's probably some. up some up to it but um what I'm talking. about is uh I don't know what I'm. talking look man. if if you're an adult but look where the. money like look follow the Mone talk. kids follow the money think about what's. going on like are the people pushing. this what is their real or do they have.

some other motive you have to think. about that you know well that's why I. mean like you mentioned OIC earlier um. which you know I've know a couple. friends who taken it I've never taken. OIC or you know any weight loss kind of. drug oh it got it ended up having a. black market there was somebody selling. it outside of a Vineyard Vines illegally. or something over there outside of. Charlottesville outside of Vineyard. Vines that's that's the most that's the. perfect encapsu. it breaks my heart yeah vard fine she. was a capid Delta somebody said she was. a capid Delta I know she was but it's.

just that kind of. stuff shakes me to my JD oh that's. really that's dark man that's dark. that's that's darker than a lot of what. goes on in politics a c Delta selling a. zic black market off outside of Vineyard. findes I'm going have nightmares they. call it fmic but I I I you know I like. worry okay so America has a terrible. obesity problem okay and I'm not look. I'm not a doctor I'm not telling if your. doctor tells you to take OIC follow your. doctor's advice not you know what you're.

hearing from me on a podcast thck I. don't mind it a little you. [Music]. know what I worry about is okay you know. you create a problem and then you. medicate to solve the problem instead of. like maybe solving the underlying. problem right like why don't we try to. understand why it is that we have a. terrible OB obesity epidemic rather than. just giving people another pill to pop. well it's also we get used to that then. after a while and then it's hard to put. the toothpaste back in the tube exactly. right that's one of theough one and.

that's more of like a kind of a bigger. look at that like um yeah it's like how. much personal responsibility it's like. that's something I struggle with. sometimes my brother and I talk about. this sometimes like you know people have. problems and um specifically even like. thinking about the oxycon thing like. they created a medicine that was so. strong that even. your ability your god-given ability to. be able to battle against it like you'd. be in AA rooms and you'd see people that.

came in from opioid and it was something. different than alcoholism exactly right. it wasn't alcohol it wasn't it was. addiction but it was something different. it was like that's right these PE that's. zombied these people it's like it's like. they created this um this skip card in. Uno or something it was like so at that. point like um what were we talking. about I had a good idea talking about. opioids the effect it has on people's. brains pharmaceutical companies making. money.

from we talking about OIC putting the. toothpaste back in the tube right right. personal responsibility yeah yeah yes. okay you were almost there sorry you. helped me you laid all the breadcrumbs. dude that's good man um so uh but I'm. here I'm here to help man it's your next. vice president I'll live to serve. however I. can you just help me right there but. yeah it's like um but then they created. something that was so powerful kind of. exceeded our ability our natural ability. to be able to fight against it right so. at that point um personal.

responsibility kind of isn't it's it's. still there but it's not exactly Fair. because you're allowing a company to. create something that you can't. naturally compete against it it turns. you into a zombie man I mean really. sorry that took so long my brain isad no. man no it's it's I know exactly what you. mean and it's it's it's it's like one. thing to sort of take a pill so your. pain goes away or you take a pill cuz. you know you got a lung infection the. lung infection goes away or like.

whatever when something can so. fundamentally transform your personality. and your sense of you know ambition and. reward like what are you what are you. going after it's it's yeah it's not a. medicine it's very it's very very weird. um like that's the thing it's not a. medicine that is a drug yeah and I I. mean my my mom like to her great credit. man I don't know how she does this. because like look there are some things. where you really do need a strong pain. medication right and I forget something. happened a couple years ago where they. were like you know she maybe she had.

some infection but they they really. wanted to give her oxy and she was just. like no I refuse to take it so she for a. couple days I mean she was in agonizing. pain but she just took Advil took. Tylenol and she was fine yeah and she. and she and she persevered through it. but man you're right the stuff it it. just yeah it's like it changes not just. your personality but it changes whether. you can take care of yourself and other. people right like for most normal people. there's this thing where it's like oh oh.

crap I'm not taking care of my kids my. kids need me I got to change something. right but if you're on opioids it's like. it flips a switch off where yeah I'm not. taking care of my kids but maybe I don't. give a because the drugs have so. affected my brain yeah I think that's it. man. um and with that so staying in the. health in like medical and healthc Care. thoughts yeah um one of the major and I. wrote this down so I could say it. clearly and just save everybody time.

who's listening um one of the major. bipartisan issues that's plaguing. Americans is the Health Care system. which has become um outrageously. expensive right it's uh it's. unaffordable it's inaccessible by. millions of Americans um we're. overpaying hospitals and insurance. companies that hide their prices yes and. they charge us whatever they want yeah. patients overpay workers overpay uh. companies overpay the taxpayers overpay. um on this podcast Bernie Sanders came. on and he stressed the need for. healthcare price transparency um Donald.

Trump did the same thing he had an. executive order yeah I think it's still. in place that demands price transparency. uh Mark Cuban uh stressed the need for. healthcare price transparency how do we. not have real prices and transparency. and healthc Care knowing that it's. exactly what America needs so that our. Health Care system will be honest and. affordable and accessible well you're. right that we should have it and um the. reason that we don't is unfortunately. because there are a lot of powerful.

people who get rich off of keeping these. things secret and so they don't want. transparency they don't want sunshine. you can say Chuck Schumer if you. want I won't say well I mean look you're. right though like obviously Bernie and I. are't on the same team politically but. there are some healthcare things like. price transparency where actually I. think he and president Trump are both. right that there's nothing that you I. mean you go to Starbucks right you buy. coffee you know how much getting you. know how much it's it's costing you you. know I remember when my my wife I think. it was her second.

baby where you know you get like pain. medications when you're delivering a. baby at least most people do cuz it's. like a very painful experience yeah and. there was some weird thing where the the. the doctor that she chose was out of. network and she didn't real I mean you. know you're not checking whether the. doctor's in network at the time right. you're just sort of choosing a doctor. and we come home and we have like a. $115,000 unexpected bill because she. chose the wrong doctor an hour before. she delivers a baby and it's like this.

is totally crazy and I'm you know we're. in a situation where that that was not a. big deal for us we were able to afford. it but think about like a a normal. middle class family goes and has a baby. and comes home to a medical bill that's. like a fifth of their entire take-home. pay that year right that's crazy oh the. number one cause of bankruptcy in. America is uh medical debt yeah it's. it's it's a huge huge problem and I. think the price transparency is a big. part of it but you ask like why hasn't. it happened because every time that we. try to force Tri price.

transparency um the Serv the service. providers the insurance companies or the. pharmaceutical companies don't actually. want that transparency here's one of the. reason why the pharmaceutical companies. don't want transparency it's because if. Americans if we realized how much more. we were paying for pharmaceuticals over. the Europeans there would be a. revolution in this country we pay a lot. more than them we pay way more than them. and again like I my attitude is I am. fine with people you know if you invent.

a life-saving cancer drug I'm fine with. people earning a great profit for doing. something amazing like that you want to. you want to motivate people to do it in. the first place right and and a lot of. people are obviously motivated by that. profit motive but if if you take certain. drugs that are you know they cost $100. in the United States of America and. they're way way cheaper in Europe or. some of these really expensive multi. cancer bring something up for me yeah. these really expensive like next.

Generation cancer Therapeutics they cost. way less in Europe okay and this says in. 2022 us prices across all drugs Brands. and generics were nearly 2.78 times as. high as prices in In the comparison. countries us prices for brand drugs were. at least. 3.22 times as high as prices in the. comparison countries even after. adjustments for estimated us re debates. wow does it show those countries is. there a chart with that or no I love a. chart it's it's oecd countries which is.

mainly Europe those are like the. advanced economies basically the the. rich countries basically o and and what. so First World countries probably. basically yeah so Canada uh probably. Israel's in there a lot of the a lot of. the European countries I think are all. in OCD okay United States Germany Canada. Japan um Switzerland Switzerland I can't. see. that heard of that comparable County.

average you're screwing with me. Austria well I think they misspelled it. dude there's not that many zits in it uh. Australia United Kingdom and Sweden wow. so we pay per capita spending on. prescription drugs in 2019 900 and what. does per capita mean just per. okay per person $93 per person whereas. in Sweden. $270 United Kingdom.

$273 dude yeah that's crazy right yeah. that's not fair dude they colonize. everybody and they're paying cheaper for. dope it's exactly. right but again but again the reason we. don't really know what we're paying here. is because you know because they hide it. they hide it they hide it and they don't. want to let people know because if you. let people know then they would demand. to pay less something president Trump. proposed for example I think is a very. good idea is that he proposed.

reimporting drugs from Europe basically. if they're selling it in Sweden or. wherever for $270 per person and we're. paying. [Music]. I mean I I I I of course have no idea no. inside knowledge into into what drove.

the motives of the Assassins oh yeah I'm. just joking but I wouldn't be shocked. money man I wouldn't be shocked if. there's some really dark stuff out there. cuz look two separate people have tried. to take a swing at this guy in about. three months yeah like well you know. they didn't like Donald Trump right. because they wouldn't have tried to. shoot him if they if they liked him um. but I I wouldn't be the first guy who. who went after Trump I hate to put on. the tinf how here but we we've not been. able to get unable to get into his phone. we know that he had all these like. foreign encrypted apps on his cell phone.

it is crazy to me that we don't know the. guy's motive yeah it's nuts he almost. killed the president yeah and we don't. know why he did it we don't know. anything about the guy yeah yeah they're. like he had a lunch box or something. it's like the vaguest information they. keep putting out about the guy you know. he'd been using a library car like who. gives a exactly yeah his mom's name. was Sharon it's like great thank you. dude yeah dude yeah they're like oh he. yeah they're like oh he was a Colts fan.

you're like who gives a who gives a. yeah that's exactly us information guy. you know so how do we stop that do you. get do you get approached by lobbyists. and stuff like that like all the time do. you really and what does that look like. who are they what are they. wearing uh they're they're so lobbyists. here's how you spot them okay um they're. always wearing poorly fitted suits MH. with extremely ugly ties so if you go.

out and you see a guy with a poorly. fitting suit and extremely ugly tie he's. definitely a lobbyist okay okay it's. like it's like in Happy Gilmore he's a. lobbyist for big fabric huh it sounds. like it's like in Happy Gilmore where. the guys like uh uh you know the the the. coach is trying to get Happy Gilmore to. play golf and and Happy's like you know. you know what you need to play golf is. uh goofy goofy pants in effect. ass that's what you need to be a. lobbyist is Goofy pants and and that but. why can't we if everybody knows by way I.

like golf want to be clear I like golf. do you like golf I I I I I I'm not that. good at it okay I'll play when I get a. little bit older I don't want to slow. people down okay right now Fair Point. you know but anyway yeah so so okay the. way I like Brooks kka yeah I do too um. he's cool yeah he seems like a cool dude. and I like that girl that smokes that. plays. dude Puffer aav whatever I have eyes. only for one woman Theo I've got I've. only my wife yeah no I like her you.

don't have to know I'm talking about no. comment no com no comment from. Senator I know who you're talking about. the hot John. daily so John Daly doesn't really do it. for. you he's a good he's a good dude though. oh no I like John man I definitely oh if. you need a ride in an ambulance hang out. with John you'll get one in RP and I. just I'm just Jing I I think it was also. it's true I've been at two places where. John's been taking one time they came in. looking for him he went out there and.

was sitting in the. shotgun that is awesome and they're like. where. is oh my God he tried to help you guys. out oh that is so funny he's a legend. he's got to come on here soon but how do. we stop that if all the senators in. congress People Know It Like Bernie CER. said there's three times as many. lobbyists um in DC as there are um. congressmen and Senators then why don't. we get that out like yeah okay here. here's why doesn't it stop like if all.

you guys know it and everybody's. supposed to be working for the people. then why doesn't it stop so I actually. think that we're getting a little bit. better compared to maybe 10 years ago. people have no idea how much Washington. was just completely run by lobbyists and. you know you think about like guy on the. left like Bernie Sanders but most. importantly a guy on the right like. Donald Trump completely blows the. existing system up and this is by the. way like what I realized cuz I was. wasn't a trump guy back in 2016 and. obviously I'm his running mate now so uh. I really like him what people don't. realize is back in 2016 how much.

lobbyist money and influence there was. that wanted to destroy Donald Trump they. hated the guy because he didn't owe. anything to them right he didn't come. from the existing political process and. if you look at some of the younger guys. who have come in you know we're we're. much more just open about the fact that. lobbyist influence is out there right. you can't be in DC without running into. these people but you got to be honest. with people like I'm not g to let this. person write a piece of legislation for. me I'm not gonna let this person dictate.

how I vote and yeah I've gotten some. definitely some criticisms from the. lobbyist groups in DC some of them will. say well you know we don't know if we. can trust this guy and that's fine with. me I'm I'm okay lob can't trust you. fuing good you're doing your job that's. exactly right that's that's my exact. attitude towards it they don't know if. he can trust you who gives a. exactly that's exactly right um so but. but that that is how the town works is. that if you come in and you don't always. take their meetings you don't always do. what they want you to then they'll start. whispering about you and then they can.

get articles written about you they can. have people say bad about you this. is why people call it the corporate. media is if you pick up a story in the. Washington Post and you read it and you. know here's this anonymous source said. this this anonymous source said that. there is a 98% chance that the person. who's attacking Donald Trump is on the. take somehow for sure whether it's a. lobbyist or whether it's a political. consultant it's all Dison Hest money. laundering that's all DC. ultimately is is people who get paid to. offer an opinion instead of having a.

real opinion here's the thing that I. think we need to fix structurally about. this so let me give you an example you. know my Senate staff has probably 40 or. so people and um you know all extremely. good people my staff tends to be a. little bit younger because I'm one of. the youngest I'm the second youngest US. senator right now and um you know like. if I wanted to pay my chief of staff. $30,000 more year than what I pay him. right now I'm not allowed by law so even. though I'm a senator and I was elected. to represent the people of Ohio I'm not.

allowed to control who I pay and how I. pay them it's all sort of set by law and. here's the bigger issue is that if you. think about it you know a lot of this a. lot of these big important laws are very. complicated right they've got 800 Pages. 900 pages and I think the laws should be. simpler but if you've got a 900 page law. and you've got a bunch of junior staff. who don't know the town very well and. they don't make a whole lot of money. then the people who are writing the laws.

are not going to be your Junior staffers. it's going to be lobbyists right and. we've seen this multiple times with. legislation that I've drafted where the. lobbyist will actually ask to get into. like the draft of the law and make. changes for you and say well yeah we'll. justify no no no no no I want my staff. that works for me to write the laws that. I'm drafting but we I I actually think. that we need to empower senators and. congressmen to hire who they want to. make a bigger staff if they want because.

if you think about it the amount of. staff a congressman has a congresswoman. has is a fraction of the federal budget. I mean we're talking about like a. percent of a percent of a penny on the. federal budget and so um we we we could. actually give people the staff that they. need to to be able to actually write the. laws and to make sure the lobbyists. don't have much influence and and you. ask like who are the lobbyists okay okay. the lobbyists are the people who are. really good staffers and then the. staffers want to buy a nicer house and.

they want to you know start a family and. they can't you know DC is a very. expensive town I mean you know a. one-bedroom apartment in DC will easily. run you $44,000 a month right now right. it's just a very expensive town so then. those people go and become lobbyists. they trade in their public service for a. fat check and I think that we got to fix. something about that thing that happened. with um with oxy and they got the people. that were working with the FDA to come. and work for them that's exactly right. that that is exactly right so it happens.

at our Congress it happens with our B. big bureaucratic agencies and I think we. have to fix something about that like we. want the people in our government to be. public spirited and focus on doing the. public good I don't think that this. system that we have works very well. where you know you do public service for. a little bit and then you jump and go. make a million dollars a year as a. lobbyist right no no no no no no you got. I think you got to separate those. functions much better than you have. right now yeah because then then you're. then like being a public servant is just. a junior college for being becoming a.

lobbyist it seems like that is a big a. big worry that I have especially with my. staff I mean these are really smart. really good guys and a big part of what. I think. about a big part of what I think about. is how am I going to keep these guys as. they get more senior as they become. better at their job as they become. better at figuring out when a lobbyist. is trying to sell them a bill of goods. right that's a skill right and acquire. that skill over time when they can just. spend whatever they want when they're. the. Yankees that's exactly right yeah.

damn dude we're all going to be. addicted no we're not man I'm telling. you we're going I'm telling you we're. actually going in the right direction. this is what people don't and and I. recognize you play have of your millions. of listeners some people love Trump and. some people hate him but but the thing. that Trump really changed about DC is. that he was not beholden to the moneyed. interests oh well that's one thing that. I also like about Bobby Kennedy that I. mean I've known Bobby for years Bobby's. been a friend of mine for for years I.

knew him before I thought aie was going. to be do politics or he's a good dude. man I like Bobby he used to hold. meetings at his house on Tuesdays and we. would go to him yeah in his backyard. dude and one of his dogs always was. slobbering stuff on me it was a huge dog. it might not even have been a dog cuz he. has a lot of animals what would it have. been then I don't know dude but he's had. a lot of animals over the years Bob he. can afford probably baby dog that was. all over Theo but he doesn't need. anything else he's got a great name he's. got a cool wife he's got he doesn't he's.

always cared about just making people. healthy if is he wrong sometimes on. things sure he probably is just like. anybody else I'd I'd rather have. somebody just raise their hand and ask. questions like absolutely that's one. thing that I just love about him that. he's not beholding to any of these. people you know the thing that I hate. about politics and just media culture in. this country right now man is people are. so afraid of saying anything that's. unconventional they're they're afraid of. thinking thoughts that you're not. allowed to think like the biggest ideas.

come from people who just follow the. truth right and yeah sometimes they're. going to be wrong sometimes they're not. going to get everything right but we've. got to stop punishing people like Bobby. Kennedy for saying well maybe this. doesn't work yeah hey what about that. exactly like that hey what about that is. something we have to preserve and I do. feel like we're trying to we're kind of. destroying it. this this is so I'm going to sound like. an old man but this is what I think is. really jacked up about social media is.

okay we're all social animals right. we're all influenced by people around us. oh yeah but look 30 years ago an opinion. it would take it many many days before. an opinion became the accepted. conventional wisdom you know you'd have. to be repeated in one newspaper and then. repeated in another newspaper and people. would talk about it now you can have. something happen on social media it's. viral and 10 minutes later you've got. like the social media Feeding Frenzy. that says well here's this thing that I.

came up with 10 minutes ago and if you. don't agree with that thing I came up. with 10 minutes ago then there's going. to be a Feeding Frenzy attacking you. attacking your family finding out where. you worked and attack it trying to. attack your employer for keeping you in. a job like that is a really jacked up. thing to take the the normal human. social impulse to want to be liked and. to you know want to make friends and to. put it all on the internet where it. operates at like the speed of light I. think there's something very deranged. about that yeah yeah well and it's also.

it's like we do you are you a repeater. or are you a thinker like that's the. thing it's like we get so preoccupied. now and so occupied so quickly that we. don't even put it through our own filter. that's exactly right and it's like and. then our filter starts to not even be a. filter anymore because it's like well. nobody's using me I'll just I'm just a. pathway now. and how we all to become desensi to and. we just become repeaters right that's.

exactly what social media does is it. just turns us all into repeaters I like. that Bobby Kennedy is sort of willing to. say no no no no I'm actually going to. think for myself on this topic I mean it. is crazy why why do we have such a. terrible obesity problem why do we have. all these like you know certain types of. diabetes or on the rise among children. today it's like okay we're the richest. country in the history of the world and. you know children are getting diseases. that they didn't get 30 40 years ago. like somebody should be saying what the. hell is going on or like yeah somebody.

should and it should be our leaders but. there it feels like there's so much. compromisation in there I mean dude dude. do you know okay um this is a a paper by. a Nobel yeah yeah we're we're yeah we'll. take a few more minutes yeah. um now we're just having fun um but. there's a paper by a Nobel prizewinning. Economist um that talks about the return. to education in years of life and do you. know how much take a person who's got a. four-year degree versus a person who.

never went to college do you know how. much longer the person with a four-year. degree lives in the United States of. America right now 7 years seven years. longer yeah so going to college you get. rewarded with seven years of additional. life if that doesn't tell you something. is seriously up in our country. then nothing will right that is not okay. and and it's part of it's it's Health. part of it's that you know people um are. working more dangerous jobs if they. don't have a college degree but part of.

it's just that we have have I think made. it so hard to get by in our country if. you don't have a four-year degree that. people are you know they're not making. enough money to support their families. and they get stressed out then they turn. to addiction of course addiction happens. to everybody but it's much more common. among those without a college degree so. I I just this to me is like what what is. this campaign about like what is Trump. being president about is fixing the big. problems not like the fake.

problems that the media gets us to focus. on not the slogans but why are people. dying 7 years earlier if they don't have. a college degree why do we have this. historic obesity epidemic in the richest. country in the world why do we have like. Wars breaking out like crazy all over. the world why do pharmaceutical. companies get rich by forcing. Therapeutics that aren't even always. good for us right like these are like. big big big issues that frankly I think. absent Trump we wouldn't even be talking.

about this stuff well I mean I. definitely think that one of the things. that certainly excited me about Trump uh. when he first was running was wow this. guy is. Rogue and you know what is and this. whole thing is so messed up now that. that's what you I would I I hated. politics so much I just I hated that I. was like I would hire a I would hire a. muppet to go in there with a hammer.

that's right I would hire a muppet with. a hammer if I could vote for a muppet. with a hammer and that's how most people. feel it's like it doesn't even feel like. it's working for us anymore so what does. it even matter yeah um yeah but so. that's why I think Bobby that's one. thing that I did that's one thing that I. thought was pretty amazing about. bringing Bobby Kennedy um into you guys'. campaign is that um he's a sheriff for. that kind of he really is you know. for caring I think for just for. genuinely caring about people because I. know I know he cares about people it's. like I have friends that don't care.

about me they're still my friends some. of them but he's a friend that is a. caring guy yeah yeah that's absolutely. right so that is I think why I've uh. vouged for him a lot yeah um I had one. more thing Let me see um oh the polls. and stuff okay yeah yeah I've been. looking at the polls recently um and. especially at KI is a place where I look. at them okay this the betting Market. stuff yeah they're a website and an app. where people can bet money on regular. happenings like in society like not just. political stuff anything from like.

politics to entertainment um and I think. it's a good tracker in a capitalistic. Society because it's people putting. their money down right it's like right. so it's people saying this is what I. think right with my money as opposed to. just other polls um what what's the. latest on there what does it say oh it. say Trump is 57 comml is 43 Trump 57%. um that's pretty good yeah that's pretty. good does it say the total amount of. money that people have bet or not yet oh.

it says 32 m91. 17,000 has been put out there on this. it's just yeah so that's why I like to. follow their stuff just because it's. actually people putting their money down. sure are there what do you think of. polls that are out there these days uh. do you guys follow these polls Is that. real stuff to you like I know that like. they had the Clinton Trump poll years. ago and they had Clinton who was neck. and neck or something and then it wasn't. when it came out do you guys follow any. of that or is that really part of the. daily routine not really man I mean I I.

I can I can get you in the weeds a. little bit but I'll try to I'll try to I. live and breathe this stuff so I try not. to make it make it too intense I trust a. lot of media so it's like here yeah here. here's basically the way you shouldn't. trust polls whether they're good for us. or bad for us and here's the reason you. shouldn't trust polls is about 10 years. ago every 10th person you called to do a. poll would answer now it's about 1 in 30. people okay and another important thing. is that if you're a Democrat especially.

if you're a higher education level. Democrat you're much more willing to. answer pollster. questions where if you're excuse me if. you're like my family if somebody called. them a stranger and said who are you. going to vote for they would say F you. and hang up the phone oh yeah right so. what what the reason the polls have. gotten so bad is because Trump voters. are less likely to answer pollster. questions and kamla Harris voters are. much more likely to answer pollster. questions so it's very hard to get an. accurate sample uh to give you any any.

sense of what's going on but do you just. believe that or you just saying that I. actually believe that yeah no I I. believe that um and I've seen it in my. own race for example you know I ran for. Senate there were all these public polls. that say you know the race was tied or. maybe we'd even lose by a few points and. the pollster that I had who just polled. for my campaign he's actually Trump's. pollster too and very smart guy and he. said look the reason these polls are. wrong is because they're not reaching. voters who don't like to answer polls.

and those voters are going heavily for. you so I said okay well how much are we. going to win by and he said you're going. to win by six points and we won by seven. points right so he was much more. accurate than the public pollers now you. ask why is he more accurate because most. of the public polls they cost 10 $20,000. like if you see a poll published in a. newspaper article $10 to. $20,000 to get an accurate sample these. guys need to really it's it's $60. $70,000 because they've got to call. thousands and thousands of people to get.

a representative sample of the American. people so honest like sitting here. honestly yeah I think that chart's about. right I think that we've probably got. about a 60% chance of winning I think. the polls would have to be wrong but. they'd have to be wrong in a proa. direction where normally they're wrong. in a pro Trump direction and you know. we've got 18 days 17 days man and we're. just going to like do everything that we. can to win this race but you shouldn't. believe the polls basically yeah and I.

and and I say this right now because the. polls are all saying we'd win that's why. that's why it's 5743 don't buy the polls. because here's the thing okay it could. keep people from voting also it could. keep people from voting but let's say. for example that some something happened. I don't know what happened but let's say. something happen yeah where the people. who don't want to answer pollster. questions. are now comma voters right so you just. you can't trust this stuff you got to. assume that you just got to work your.

ass off that's what we're trying to do. you know president Trump and I doing. multiple events a day at this point and. um if you if you want in my view if you. want to secure the Border have common. sense Economic Policy then Donald Trump. is is your man and I I got to say man. something about KL Harris and I like I. know a little bit about you and I've. read about some of your political views. and we've invited W to come on we yeah. I'm sure I'm sure you would um but but. like they will but like sha O'Brien. who's you know the head of the teamers.

like one of the things that President. Trump has sort of been known for is. bringing more workingclass people into. the Republican Coalition right it's I. think one of the reasons why he's been. very successful politically um if you. look at like where kamla is on the big. Pharma stuff or you look at where she is. on the foreign conflict stuff she she's. like very Pro warar or if you look at. where she is on things like how do we. how do we put tariffs on Goods that are. imported from China so that you don't.

have the Chinese undercutting the wages. of American workers right like the. illegal immigration thing like yeah it's. about fentol and drug trafficking but. when you bring in millions upon millions. of illegal immigrants who are willing to. work under the table that undercuts the. wages of American workers right so our. own people get poorer and I don't have. anything against the illegal immigrants. themselves I have something against. kamla Harris who lets these people come. in but I want our people to be able you. know black white brown whatever I just. want our people to be able to work for a. solid wage that doesn't work when you.

have people coming in like this well. some of it is we have to have personal. responsibility too as as um people. running companies to not hire I agree. those people as well and so you have to. enforce that side of it as well I agree. you got to do both sides of it I think. we got to make it harder to hire illegal. labor we also to make it harder for. illegal labor to come into the country. in the first place I I agree both sides. of it have got a matter but I think. that's actually why we're doing so much. better among working people is because. they recognize like I open borders is.

not good for me right all my commun is. not good for me like this this this. stuff with Farm is not good for me and. so they have become more open to Donald. Trump um and I think it's a very good. thing because I think look man between. Bobby Kennedy me obviously the president. at the top of the ticket I think we're. going to have such a cool Administration. that's going to try to tackle the big. things and not just govern along these. slogans anymore so look I hope. that ends up being true cuz I think.

we'll do a lot of good if we win if you. um no matter what happens in this. election would do you think you would. run again in the future I don't know man. um it's so hard to even imagine running. for anything after this because I'm so. obsessed with winning right now and you. know like I probably you certainly. probably would do another term in the. Senate but that doesn't come up for four. more years cuz Senate terms are six. years it's like what I ever run National. again I don't know man that's a big. that's a big thing it's a big big thing.

to put your family through yeah I can. imagine and I've only I've I've seen it. for two months three months now that. I've been the VP nominee to to run for. that for two years my attitude is let's. get Donald Trump elected and let's fix. as much as we can because then then then. I think the country will be in a much. better spot like I I don't mean to sound. like a Doomer. and again I just really haven't thought. about I I haven't really thought about. what I would do in in 2028 no matter. what but man if kamla Harris is the.

president for the next four years we. have four more years of open borders. four more years of not putting tariffs. on Chinese Imports four more years of. the the crazy foreign policy that's. proar all over the world I really do. worry that the country is in a very very. bad spot so I don't think too much about. future politics I want to win this race. how many times do politicians say stuff. that's just on the trail and then when. it comes time to actually get in office. and do stuff it seems like that person.

disappears um me hopefully not at all. some politicians definitely say one. thing and then and then don't govern. that way in in in the private in the. privacy of of their actual office I mean. some of it's negotiation right like some. of it is okay so let's say you have a. tax plan where you want 10 things to. happen happen but then to get the. Democrats to vote for it you have to. take out two of those 10 things like. that's just the the give and take of. governance but I don't think that's what. you're talking about I mean what what.

you do see sometimes is people who say. something on the campaign Trail even. though they affirmatively do not believe. that thing at all and that's just that's. not dishonesty it's certainly not me. it's certainly not Donald Trump they say. what you will about Donald Trump but he. just says what he thinks and I think. that's actually one of the reasons why. people like him a lot of people are. going to vote for him I think also. because it's just the funny who he's the. funniest dude they've ever had in there. uh he is incredibly funny the he. says is absolutely wild he's got he's. got a great sense of humor can I tell.

you one story yeah and then you have go. I know I know I have to go soon um I've. got you know my my person over. here no I I I know I'm going to have. dinner with my kids tonight so it's a. big deal Skyline Chili in in not in. Cincinnati we're doing Skyline Chili in. Middletown even if you have other. chilling you just say that dud I won't. tell any that's one thing I don't care. if you lie about D Man Skyline is good. have you ever had Skyline uh Skyline. goes straight to the basement I know. that brother I'll tell you that dude I. have had it I respect it okay I've had.

it at a wedding I've had I've had at a. wedding in Covington Kentucky I've had. Skyline Chile that's that's a that's a. good wedding man those must have been. good friends. um anyway yeah so so the the first time. not that the had met ever met my wife. but the first time president Trump spent. any like real time with my wife did he. flirt with her or not he didn't flirt. with her he was very sweet to her you. know gave her a big hug told her she was. beautiful I he's you know he's a very. engaging guy right something the media. doesn't tell people about him that he's.

he's a very engaging guy very easy to. talk to but it's so funny like my wife. is super diplomatic and so he asks her. he's like Usha you know what do you. think about your your husband being. involved in politics and she's oh you. know it's nice I I like you know. supporting him he really cares about. public service loves the people of Ohio. just gives a very diplomatic answer and. then he kind of Chuckles and says yeah. my wife hates it too. and it just like broke the ice perfectly. and then she could actually have a. conversation with him cuz she wasn't. trying to like talk to the president.

then she was just talking to a guy at. that point yeah and uh he's he's just. he's he's got a very a very good way. about him and he breaks down funny stuff. dud that alith dinner the other night. that was good if Tony henchcliffe. helped him write that or not I don't. know it's a good question but he's I'm. telling you a lot of the stuff he just. comes up with himself I mean the the. line where he was talking about you know. white dudes for comma oh yeah he was and.

he was like he was like I forget exactly. what he said but something the effect of. well they they their wives their wives. boyfriends are all voting for. Trump that was pretty crazy dude. and like all good jokes there's like an. element of truth to it oh my best he. rubbed unlucky Chuck Schumer right there. squeeze a couple bucks out of the. insurance companies right there. um do you think our voting poll do you. think that our uh voting is fair do you.

think I do I do I mean system I I think. we had some problems in 2020 I think the. biggest problem in 2020 is that big Tech. interfered in the election like I I I. really think it's I can't believe that. Facebook and Twitter when it was owned. then they they they admitted to like um. leaving certain things off and stuff and. not and not faced in any charges they. admitted to censoring American citizens. weeks for an election right we'll have. to talk about that another time we got. to get into that um I I yeah if you'll. have me back I'll come back after we win. and have a good conversation but you're.

always welcome in Cincinnati even. despite your views on Skyline hey man I. respect that uh we'll be cheering your. mom on um you get a 10-e chip it's in. January it's in January awesome man um. Mr Vance thank you so much for spending. time with us today thanks man good to. see you now I'm just floating on the. breeze and I feel I'm falling like these. leaves must be. Cornerstone oh but when I reach that. ground I'll share this piece of my life.

found I can feel it in my. bones but it's going to.