WEBVTT - Stephen A's Take: Stephen A concludes that the country is in a state of deep division, with no clear path to reconciliation in sight.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's get started.

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<v Speaker 2>In Minnesota, where there were two shootings, both of which

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<v Speaker 2>appeared to have been politically motivated by a man arrested

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<v Speaker 2>late last night. Officials said the gunman, posing as a

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<v Speaker 2>police officer, fatally shot State Representative Melissa Hortman and her

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<v Speaker 2>husband's Saturday at their home. That shooting came after he

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<v Speaker 2>wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife at their home.

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<v Speaker 2>After the first attack, police said they proactively checked on

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<v Speaker 2>Representative Hortman's home, where they found a shooter posing as an.

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<v Speaker 1>Officer before he fled.

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<v Speaker 2>The suspect, Vance Bolter is his name, was arrested Sunday

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<v Speaker 2>after what a local police chief called the largest manhunt

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<v Speaker 2>in state's history. Bolter is charged with two counts each

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<v Speaker 2>of second degree murder and second degree attempted murder, which

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<v Speaker 2>are likely to be upgraded at first degree. Bolter is

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<v Speaker 2>also being charged in federal court with one cat ount

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<v Speaker 2>of stalking Representative Hortman, one count of stalking Senator Hoffman,

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<v Speaker 2>two counts of murder through use of a firearm punishable

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<v Speaker 2>up to death by the way, and two counts of

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<v Speaker 2>firearms offenses for the shootings of the Hoffman's The shootings

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<v Speaker 2>happened Saturday, in what turned out to be a tense

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<v Speaker 2>day in national politics. Thousands of people across the country

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<v Speaker 2>participated in No King's protest against the Trump administration. All

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<v Speaker 2>this while the president himself hosted a military parade celebrating

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<v Speaker 2>two hundred and fifty years of the army in Washington,

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<v Speaker 2>d C. Couple of things to get out of the way.

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<v Speaker 2>Number One, my condolences to loved ones of the Hortman's. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 2>that is a tragedy and unspeakable tragedy, something none of

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<v Speaker 2>us should condone. We should cheer, we should celebrate in

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<v Speaker 2>any way. It's heinous as it comes. As far as

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<v Speaker 2>I'm concerned, if this is indeed the assailant one who

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<v Speaker 2>committed this crime, mister Bolter, I have no problem with

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<v Speaker 2>him receiving the death penalty whatsoever.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's get that out of the way first.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm a believer in that under special circumstances, this is

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<v Speaker 2>one of them, he should be put to death. As

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<v Speaker 2>far as I'm cerned, I have no problem with that.

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<v Speaker 2>That's number one. Number Two, obviously, to the Hoffman's. I

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<v Speaker 2>hope that they end up recovering and they'll be well.

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<v Speaker 2>They end up well and they'll recuperate as well. So

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<v Speaker 2>my heart goes out to them and what they've had

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<v Speaker 2>to endure and experience and the violence and the rhetoric.

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<v Speaker 2>This is not isolated along party lines. Both sides of

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<v Speaker 2>the political eye has engaged in rhetoric. I'm not gonna

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<v Speaker 2>say stirring or inciting violence, but certainly the rhetoric has

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<v Speaker 2>been harsh. And this is what I try to tell

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<v Speaker 2>people in America all the time and beyond when we're

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<v Speaker 2>talking about these issues. I cover sports for a living

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<v Speaker 2>as my day job. Ladies and gentlemen, people get passionate

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<v Speaker 2>about sports. If people get passionate about a game where

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<v Speaker 2>folks win and folks lose, even when they're not gambling

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<v Speaker 2>on it, they're not losing money on it, They're just

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<v Speaker 2>emotionally invested in their particular team and the outcome. What

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<v Speaker 2>do you think they feel about the economy if it

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<v Speaker 2>detrimentally affects them. What do you think they're thinking about

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<v Speaker 2>representatives When it involves immigration, when.

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<v Speaker 1>It involves healthcare, when it involves education.

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<v Speaker 2>You're talking about people's lives, quality of life.

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<v Speaker 1>Being impacted by elected officials.

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<v Speaker 2>This is why I continuously point out how the rhetoric

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<v Speaker 2>has to die down.

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<v Speaker 1>We got to agree to disagree.

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<v Speaker 2>We can disagree without being so disagreeable, without engaging in

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<v Speaker 2>a kind of incendiary rhetoric where we're constantly pointing a

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<v Speaker 2>figure at one side or another, showing an inability to

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<v Speaker 2>work together, or at least giving that impression, and then

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<v Speaker 2>wondering how stuff like this could happen. According to the police,

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<v Speaker 2>and according to the reports, mister Boulter had a manifesto

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<v Speaker 2>in a vehicle that he was driving by the way,

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<v Speaker 2>which was disguised as a police vehicle, and he had

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<v Speaker 2>on a police outfit, according to the reports, and they

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<v Speaker 2>said in a manifesto he had targeted over seventy people.

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<v Speaker 2>Some were politicians, some were pro abortion advocates. So you

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<v Speaker 2>have to take those things into consideration and wonder, in

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<v Speaker 2>God's name, what do you think is going to happen

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<v Speaker 2>if you're talking about people like that and you're pointing

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<v Speaker 2>the finger of blaming and you're not giving the impression

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<v Speaker 2>we're discussing.

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<v Speaker 1>When negotiating, we're getting along.

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<v Speaker 2>Everybody can't have everything that they want, but we're aligned

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<v Speaker 2>in some of our thinking. Half the time they're agreeing

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<v Speaker 2>with one another on both sides of the aisle.

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<v Speaker 1>They don't even tell us. And then you wonder.

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<v Speaker 2>How you have some people on the fringes, particularly the extremists,

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<v Speaker 2>and what they're going to do. One of the things

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<v Speaker 2>that somebody pointed out, and they pointed this out, and

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<v Speaker 2>I had to remember this. One person texted me they said,

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<v Speaker 2>did you see the expression on a god's face when

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<v Speaker 2>they caught him talking about Bolter? They said, did you

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<v Speaker 2>see the facial expression on the guy who shot.

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<v Speaker 1>Up the embassy weeks ago?

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<v Speaker 2>Did you see the god's face who shot up the healthcare?

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<v Speaker 2>Who shot the healthcare ceo Luigi when they caught him,

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<v Speaker 2>They said, did you see how extremists looks?

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<v Speaker 1>Stephen A calm? Calm?

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<v Speaker 2>So we have to fight extremism. We have to fight

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<v Speaker 2>stuff on the fringes on both sides of the aisle.

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<v Speaker 2>We have to make sure that there's a line that

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<v Speaker 2>everybody knows should never be crossed.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, it's happened throughout history.

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<v Speaker 2>President Reagan got shot, Abraham Lincoln got shot. Folks in

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<v Speaker 2>between got shot. We got that part. Steve Calise, representative,

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<v Speaker 2>he got shot. All of these things. The former representative

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<v Speaker 2>in Arizona.

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<v Speaker 1>She got shot.

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<v Speaker 2>The point is not normalizing it, not walking around like

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<v Speaker 2>it's okay now as it pertains to what's been going

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<v Speaker 2>on in the streets of America. We're talking about Trump

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<v Speaker 2>and the Trump administration celebrating two hundred and fifty years

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<v Speaker 2>of the army, perfectly within his right to do so.

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<v Speaker 2>But let's be real, it was a bit over the

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<v Speaker 2>top showing America's might. In America's strength, well, if we

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<v Speaker 2>know we have it, why do we need to show off.

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<v Speaker 2>We're considered the richest most powerful country in the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Right everybody knows. Everybody knows our military might. Why do

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<v Speaker 2>we need to showcase it?

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<v Speaker 1>And why did it have.

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<v Speaker 2>To coincide on the seventy ninth birthday of the forty

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<v Speaker 2>seventh President of the United States? Was it about our

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<v Speaker 2>nation or was it about him? No matter how much

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<v Speaker 2>he tried to say it wasn't. The flip side to it, however,

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<v Speaker 2>is that on a day when that parade was taking place,

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<v Speaker 2>there were thousands upon thousands of protesters across the United

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<v Speaker 2>States of America, New York, LA, and every place in between.

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<v Speaker 1>And it was supposed to be.

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<v Speaker 2>In Minnesota until the police was asking folks not to

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<v Speaker 2>attend because the shooter was still on the loose, And

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<v Speaker 2>what were they protesting.

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<v Speaker 1>ICE and migrants.

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<v Speaker 2>Being grabbed in the streets by members of ICE in

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<v Speaker 2>an effort to ultimately deport them.

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<v Speaker 1>And folks were coming to the defense of it.

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<v Speaker 2>You had the State of California suing the Trump administration.

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<v Speaker 2>You have people talk about no kings, no kings. He's

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<v Speaker 2>not a dictator. This is not an authoritarian regime. But

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<v Speaker 2>that's why he's trying to make it like, well, really,

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<v Speaker 2>that's why the state's suing him. That's why he's losing

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<v Speaker 2>some of these cases in court. Last time I check.

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<v Speaker 2>You're in a position of power, you try to get

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<v Speaker 2>your way, somebody sues you. They fend you off by

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<v Speaker 2>going through our court system. The court system makes it ruling,

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<v Speaker 2>and as a result, it shows that our system works.

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<v Speaker 2>What is Trump doing differently than what he campaign doing.

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<v Speaker 2>You may not like it, that's why you win the election.

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<v Speaker 2>So he's not in a position to do it as

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<v Speaker 2>opposed to focusing on stuff that they gonna win an election.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I talk to some folks on that.

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<v Speaker 2>Side of the aisle, and these are the kind of

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<v Speaker 2>messages that I'm getting. It's the Democrats only way to

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<v Speaker 2>be relevant. They have no answers to help Americans. They

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<v Speaker 2>don't go over the top four American criminals. Our prisons

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<v Speaker 2>are full of people separated.

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<v Speaker 1>From their families. They didn't say anything about those folks.

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<v Speaker 1>Most of the leaders of the protest are paid agitators.

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<v Speaker 2>You get into d Iran is Raeli conflict something else

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<v Speaker 2>that the United States can end up in the middle

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<v Speaker 2>of because Israel ain't playing games. They're going after all

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<v Speaker 2>of their enemies. They're not playing games. We already seen

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<v Speaker 2>what they've done in Gaza. We know how they're trying

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<v Speaker 2>to disarm Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon, and

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<v Speaker 2>they're hell been on doing so. We know that we

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<v Speaker 2>were in negotiations with Iran and ultimately we scaled that back,

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<v Speaker 2>and then all of a sudden, Israel attacks.

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<v Speaker 1>Now you've got.

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<v Speaker 2>Officials from Iran saying there's no reason to have talks

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<v Speaker 2>because there's no way that America didn't know about this

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<v Speaker 2>and that this was coming, etc.

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<v Speaker 1>With all of that going on, then you have folks

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<v Speaker 1>on the right saying, what's new.

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<v Speaker 2>Destroying Iran's and military nuclear sites is a good thing.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll also destroy destroy Hesbalah and hamas Isis as well,

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<v Speaker 2>being that they were funded by Iran. So every time

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<v Speaker 2>you sit there you throw some something in the direction,

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<v Speaker 2>the other side has something to say no matter which

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<v Speaker 2>way you slice it. In the end, America is in

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<v Speaker 2>a quadary at some point in time gonna have to

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<v Speaker 2>come together. You don't have to like everything about Trump.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't like what he's doing in California. I don't

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<v Speaker 2>like what he's doing with the migrants. I don't like

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<v Speaker 2>it at all. And I think that he caught himself

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<v Speaker 2>because he mandated a pause on the raids when it

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<v Speaker 2>came to agriculture, hotels, restaurants, et cetera. Because those business

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<v Speaker 2>were being detrimentally affected. And he's gonna need those folks

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<v Speaker 2>support in him, particularly in the midterms. So you can

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<v Speaker 2>make sure the GLP members remember it remaining in the House,

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<v Speaker 2>in the Senate. But in the end, what it comes

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<v Speaker 2>down to is that is he overstepping his hand. Probably so,

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<v Speaker 2>But to the right, he's doing what he campaigned on,

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<v Speaker 2>so in their eyes, he's keeping his word. They don't

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<v Speaker 2>mind that because they don't believe politicians on the left.

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<v Speaker 1>Have done that.

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<v Speaker 2>No matter which way you slice it, it's an absolute mess.

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<v Speaker 2>We got Israel and Iran going at it over two

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and fifty missiles being dropped on one another. We

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<v Speaker 2>still got the conflict with Hamas and the Gaza in

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<v Speaker 2>the Gaza Strip. We still see that going on. We

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<v Speaker 2>got a terriff situation here. You know what folks are

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<v Speaker 2>gonna say, right the right, terrorf's ten trillion in investments

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<v Speaker 2>from manufacturing in auto pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what they're gonna say.

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<v Speaker 2>They're gonna say, already a new threat about to be

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<v Speaker 2>finished for our lifetime. Save us from a modern day holocaust,

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<v Speaker 2>That's what they're gonna say. Whatever point the left is

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<v Speaker 2>gonna have, the right is gonna have a counterpoint to

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<v Speaker 2>justify anything that Trump is doing. Where's the solution? Can't

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<v Speaker 2>see one in sight. Here's the biggest problem. Peace is

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<v Speaker 2>not a part of this equation. Even within our own borders,

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<v Speaker 2>we're at each other's throat, no sight of coming together

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<v Speaker 2>in sight. It's pretty bad right now, and it looks

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<v Speaker 2>to be getting worse.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll see what happens. We'll see what happens.