1
00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:01,680
Speaker 1: Hammer and Nigel.

2
00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,040
Speaker 2: You believe these characters are WEIRDO.

3
00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,760
Speaker 1: Find him? Is Nigel Jason Hammer right over there with

4
00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,840
Speaker 1: a very special and familiar guest on the hotline.

5
00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,239
Speaker 2: No stranger to this program, although the title is a

6
00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,560
Speaker 2: little different. He's now the principal deputy spokesperson with the

7
00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,400
Speaker 2: State Department. Tommy Piggott joins us. Tommy, good to have

8
00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:25,240
Speaker 2: you back. How are you.

9
00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,120
Speaker 3: I'm doing well, Thanks for having me on. It's been

10
00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:29,520
Speaker 3: a while. Great to be back on the show.

11
00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,960
Speaker 2: Your job affected at all by government shutdown that's happening

12
00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:34,559
Speaker 2: right now.

13
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,839
Speaker 3: Tommy, Well, naturally it is the State Department's affected. Naturally,

14
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,080
Speaker 3: there are people that are furloughed, and our ability to

15
00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,400
Speaker 3: be proactive, quite frankly, it is sometimes hurt by this,

16
00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,360
Speaker 3: our ability to host events or reach out. Of course,

17
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,800
Speaker 3: we're doing everything we can to maintain our critical functions

18
00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,040
Speaker 3: here at the State's Department, to maintain those services that

19
00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,240
Speaker 3: we have to maintain. We're doing everything we possibly can,

20
00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,200
Speaker 3: but of course it's affected. It's affected by the sense

21
00:00:58,240 --> 00:00:59,920
Speaker 3: that we're not able to do a lot of that

22
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,000
Speaker 3: proactive diplomacy. And I think the contrast that we're seeing

23
00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,120
Speaker 3: from President Trump's leadership and really the conflicts he stopped

24
00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,960
Speaker 3: that the foreign policy that he has put in places

25
00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,080
Speaker 3: that's been yielding so many results. The contrasts we have

26
00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:16,320
Speaker 3: there into what democrats Congressional democrats, and the fact that

27
00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,160
Speaker 3: they oppose that Congressional resolution, I mean the continued resolution.

28
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,280
Speaker 3: Excuse me. It really is quite the contrast I think

29
00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:23,840
Speaker 3: between the two.

30
00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:28,640
Speaker 2: So what does this shutdown mean for the talks in

31
00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,840
Speaker 2: the Israeli Palestinian War, Because it feels like there was

32
00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,440
Speaker 2: some real progress there. There was some optimism that maybe

33
00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,160
Speaker 2: some sort of agreement could be made. There was a

34
00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,920
Speaker 2: lot of chatter of that, but then the government shutdown

35
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,880
Speaker 2: took place. Do those talks end or what happens here?

36
00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:51,440
Speaker 3: Well, we're continuing those critical missions, We're continuing trying to

37
00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,000
Speaker 3: have those talks. We're continuing also trying to get to

38
00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,040
Speaker 3: that peace agreement. I mean the fact that President Trump

39
00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,360
Speaker 3: announcing that historic peace plan that he put in place

40
00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,960
Speaker 3: and then a few hours later having the shutdown talk.

41
00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,400
Speaker 3: I think it also shows I mean, to be quite frank,

42
00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,320
Speaker 3: as secretaries in the past have said, Secretary John Kerry,

43
00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,960
Speaker 3: secretaries under previous administrations have talked about the damage that

44
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,399
Speaker 3: shutdowns due to our foreign policy. The message that descends,

45
00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,200
Speaker 3: and I do think it's quite ironic for all the criticism,

46
00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,680
Speaker 3: misplaced criticism that people have leveled at a President Trump

47
00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,680
Speaker 3: saying that somehow he's undermining confidence in our foreign policy.

48
00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,640
Speaker 3: First of all, nothing could be further from the truth.

49
00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:30,680
Speaker 3: But a shutdown undermines that confidence in our foreign policy.

50
00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,119
Speaker 3: If anything, a shutdown has that effect on how other

51
00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:38,440
Speaker 3: countries view our foreign policy. So these critical missions are continuing,

52
00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:40,720
Speaker 3: and thank goodness, we have President Trump in office who's

53
00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,040
Speaker 3: able to command the respects of leaders on the world stage,

54
00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,880
Speaker 3: who's able to bring parties together. But there can be

55
00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,440
Speaker 3: no doubt that shutdown, of course affects how other countries

56
00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,000
Speaker 3: view our nation and critics of our administration, of President

57
00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,200
Speaker 3: Trump's administration, of course, all of us serving under him

58
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,400
Speaker 3: only have to look to previous comments from Democrat secretaries

59
00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,160
Speaker 3: of state to show that this affec confidence and the

60
00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,880
Speaker 3: government and really does do damage tower viewed internationally. And thankful,

61
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,320
Speaker 3: thankfully again, President Trump is our president and able to

62
00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,880
Speaker 3: bring people together and command such respect on the world stage.

63
00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,639
Speaker 1: And Tommy, let's be clear, this shutdown is a direct

64
00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,000
Speaker 1: result of the Democrats. So this is a Democrats shutdown,

65
00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:17,320
Speaker 1: is it not.

66
00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:19,919
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean there are facts here. I mean there's

67
00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,520
Speaker 3: a continuing resolution that is supported by President Trump. There's

68
00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,720
Speaker 3: a continued resolution that was passed by the House, and

69
00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,880
Speaker 3: there's a continuing resolution that was blocked by the Democrats.

70
00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,680
Speaker 3: This is a Democrat led shutdown. That is a fact.

71
00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,080
Speaker 3: That is just the facts of the matter, and they're

72
00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,520
Speaker 3: shutting this down for unnamed reasons. I mean, the Vice

73
00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,360
Speaker 3: President spoke so eloquently to that just the other day,

74
00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,640
Speaker 3: just yesterday, so I mean he really laid it all

75
00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,240
Speaker 3: out there. So there are real consequences to how our

76
00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,720
Speaker 3: country is viewed on the international stage, and it's unclear

77
00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:54,040
Speaker 3: why this is even happening. I mean, we should have

78
00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,560
Speaker 3: this continuing resolution. The administration supports a continuing resolution, and

79
00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,240
Speaker 3: President Trump stands ready to sign resolution so that we

80
00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:03,080
Speaker 3: can put this behind this and get back to work

81
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,000
Speaker 3: to actually solving conflicts and putting America first. Even though

82
00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,520
Speaker 3: President Trump continues to you that to this day, it's

83
00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,400
Speaker 3: just this is one of those things that is standing

84
00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:11,760
Speaker 3: in the way and making it harder to do that.

85
00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,600
Speaker 2: And Tommy, just so our audience is clear, there might

86
00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,160
Speaker 2: be some folks listening that don't follow this kind of

87
00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,400
Speaker 2: stuff as closely as we all do. Let's just say

88
00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,840
Speaker 2: somebody tries to attack the United States or there's a

89
00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,920
Speaker 2: world situation that takes place right now. Just because there's

90
00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,679
Speaker 2: a government shutdown doesn't mean that leaders of the United

91
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,960
Speaker 2: States and the US military are unavailable. Is that correct?

92
00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,640
Speaker 3: That's correct. So we're talking about critical missions continuing. We're

93
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,839
Speaker 3: also seeing, for example, passport services and consular services, which

94
00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:46,120
Speaker 3: are our services the State Department provides, Those are also continuing.

95
00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,800
Speaker 3: So we are doing everything possible to make sure that

96
00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,080
Speaker 3: we are continuing critical missions here at the State Department.

97
00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:54,880
Speaker 3: And I know that's the posture during a shutdown across

98
00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,320
Speaker 3: the government, to make sure that we are continuing these

99
00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,880
Speaker 3: critical services. There are opportunities that will be missed from

100
00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:02,960
Speaker 3: a proactice standpoint, though, and that's just the fact of

101
00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,279
Speaker 3: the matter, the fact that you have so many people furlough.

102
00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,800
Speaker 3: There are less people today at the State Department than

103
00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,080
Speaker 3: there were when the government was open. There are less

104
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,520
Speaker 3: events that are happening, there's less proactive diplomacy that is happening,

105
00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:15,960
Speaker 3: there's less trying to move the ball forward in so

106
00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,120
Speaker 3: many different areas of the world, and a lot of

107
00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,239
Speaker 3: work is happening at the State Department behind the scenes.

108
00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,120
Speaker 3: Of course, there are the main issues that get the

109
00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,120
Speaker 3: new news coverage every single day, but lots of times

110
00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,320
Speaker 3: even those issues are the results of day in and

111
00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,600
Speaker 3: day out proactive diplomacy, the hard work of people out

112
00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:33,840
Speaker 3: here at the State Department, and during a shutdown, a

113
00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:35,840
Speaker 3: lot of that work has to come to a stop.

114
00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,000
Speaker 3: So we're continuing the critical missions, We're continuing the critical

115
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,640
Speaker 3: services we have to provide here that the American people

116
00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:44,680
Speaker 3: need us to provide. But there is damage being done

117
00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,800
Speaker 3: because of that lack of proactive diplomacy, because of the shutdown.

118
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,679
Speaker 1: Yeah, you talked about the image of the United States

119
00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,920
Speaker 1: on the world stage. We're speaking with Principal Deputy Spokesperson

120
00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,279
Speaker 1: Tommy Piggott of the State Department. I'm wondering your thoughts,

121
00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:02,320
Speaker 1: just generally speaking, your analysis of what Donald Trump's speech

122
00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,359
Speaker 1: at the UN at the UN and how it was

123
00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:07,239
Speaker 1: perceived on a world stage.

124
00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:13,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was very powerful. I think it was basically

125
00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:15,280
Speaker 3: a wake up call for the free world. It was

126
00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:16,720
Speaker 3: a wake up call for the free world, and it

127
00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,800
Speaker 3: was a call to action for the free world. He

128
00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:23,480
Speaker 3: identified key policies that have done such damage to our countries,

129
00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,800
Speaker 3: and they've been self destructive policies because there have been

130
00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:28,600
Speaker 3: policies that have been put in place by a lot

131
00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,520
Speaker 3: of countries in Europe and by the previous administration. Then

132
00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,960
Speaker 3: Trump coming in thankfully and reversing so many of those

133
00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,960
Speaker 3: dangerous policies when it comes to climate extremism, when it

134
00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,960
Speaker 3: comes to the open borders, solving those problems. The fact

135
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,520
Speaker 3: that we have zero illegal immigration, illegal immigrants crossing the

136
00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,479
Speaker 3: border four months in a row. I mean, that is

137
00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,200
Speaker 3: the type of success of this leadership. But the speech

138
00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,560
Speaker 3: called out the failures across the Western world and really

139
00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,760
Speaker 3: was a call to action to defend our values. I

140
00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:56,479
Speaker 3: think it was meeting this moment and the fact that

141
00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,920
Speaker 3: it was received extremely well by leaders across the world,

142
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,960
Speaker 3: and it was received with respect, respect that President Trump commands.

143
00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,600
Speaker 3: So these were hard truths that have we said. This

144
00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,840
Speaker 3: was a frank conversation with countries around the world. But

145
00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,240
Speaker 3: countries understand what President Trump is saying. They respect him,

146
00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,600
Speaker 3: they respect his leadership. And all you have to see

147
00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,160
Speaker 3: is all the countries that are working with President Trump

148
00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,440
Speaker 3: to solve problems to see that respect in action. So

149
00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:22,840
Speaker 3: the speech was really a powerful speech, I think a

150
00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,600
Speaker 3: historic speech outlining the way forward and some of the

151
00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,560
Speaker 3: problems that we need to solve and policies that we

152
00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,560
Speaker 3: need to stop as a Western world in order to

153
00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,520
Speaker 3: really meet the challenges of the twenty first century.

154
00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,280
Speaker 2: Tommy, before we let you go here, do you have

155
00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,360
Speaker 2: an update, because I think this story went very much underreported.

156
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:45,280
Speaker 2: The American who was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan, wrongfully detained

157
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:49,120
Speaker 2: in Afghanistan. I know the Trump administration, the State Department,

158
00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,440
Speaker 2: they were working really hard to get this guy out

159
00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:53,640
Speaker 2: of there. Do we have an update.

160
00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:56,480
Speaker 3: I don't have an update for you here, but what

161
00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,080
Speaker 3: I can say is our highest priority here at the

162
00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,239
Speaker 3: State's Department is the safety and security of the American people,

163
00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,720
Speaker 3: both at home and abroad. And I can also say

164
00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:06,880
Speaker 3: point you to that recent executive order, for example, that

165
00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,600
Speaker 3: President Trump signed about giving new authorities new abilities to

166
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,640
Speaker 3: hold country's accountable who wrongfully attained Americans. We have been

167
00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,480
Speaker 3: continually working to bring Americans home. We've brought a series

168
00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:20,680
Speaker 3: of Americans home who have been wrongfully and unjustly detained,

169
00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:22,720
Speaker 3: and we will not stop working until we see every

170
00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,440
Speaker 3: American who's wrongfully attained brought home. That's the commitment from

171
00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:27,760
Speaker 3: this administration. We've been working every day to live up

172
00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:29,840
Speaker 3: to it, and every single day working to provide the

173
00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,440
Speaker 3: tools and another diplomacy necessary to achieve that goal.

174
00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:37,280
Speaker 2: Tommy Pikett, the principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department. Tommy,

175
00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,240
Speaker 2: thank you so much for the updates and clarifying things

176
00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,040
Speaker 2: for us. And let's have this conversation again sometime for sure.

177
00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:45,400
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me on all right

178
00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,560
Speaker 2: Matt Behar standing by in the WIBC Traffic Center