1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. For earlier access to these episodes, access 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: to Ask Me Anything sessions, and extended breakdowns of historical 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: and current events, please consider joining our Warning Premium community 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: by clicking the link in the description to this episode. 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: January sixth, twenty twenty one is a day that will 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: live in infamy. It is the day that the American 7 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: tradition of the peaceful transition of power ended. It was 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: commenced on March fourth, seventeen ninety seven, when John Adams 9 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,160 Speaker 1: took the oath of office the thirty five words prescribed 10 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: in the Constitution and succeeded George Washington as Commander in Chief, 11 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: as head of State, as the second President of the 12 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: United States of America. There are forty five men who 13 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: have held that office through President Biden. Each of them 14 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: was different. Some of them were among the greatest leaders 15 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: this country has ever produced. The others not so much. 16 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: But none of them none of them did what Donald 17 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: Trump tried to do. None of them attacked the American 18 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: way of life. And the American way of life is 19 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: foundationally built on an idea that the people in this 20 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: country pick the leaders, we decide. We are sovereign. Together 21 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: the American people constitute government of the people, by the people, 22 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: for the people. It is one of the most audacious 23 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: experiments in American history. What Donald Trump did is more 24 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: than a betrayal. It's more than felony crimes like those 25 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: that have been charged and levied against him. What Donald 26 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: Trump did is commit the singularly greatest breach of trust, 27 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: the greatest betrayal in the history of the United States. 28 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,399 Speaker 1: Somewhere in my boxes of momentoes, I have an old 29 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: BlackBerry phone. It was the phone I handed to John 30 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: McCain with Barack Obama on the other line. It's the 31 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: phone that John McCain used to congratulate Barack Obama, his 32 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: political opponent. It's the phone that John McCain used to 33 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: address Senator Obama as mister President elect for the first time. 34 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: It was John McCain addressing Barack Obama as mister President elect. 35 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: That mattered. It always has. The American system is built 36 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: around a very simple idea. It requires that all people 37 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: who stand for office abide by it. And it's very simple. 38 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: The outcome of the election is determined by the people 39 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: who vote in it, not by the politicians who hope 40 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: to win the vote. What these latest indictments may clear 41 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: about Trump at long last, definitively stripped away are the 42 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: conspiracies and the nonsens and the non stop bullshit of 43 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: the last years. They're in black and white. It says 44 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: it Donald Trump lost the election, and when he did, 45 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: he plunged the country into years of chaos. He sought 46 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: to tear down the American Republic and become a king, 47 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: an emperor, a generalissimo, whatever it is he would have 48 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: called himself. Even if he continued to use the word president, 49 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: he would not have been, at least not in the 50 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: American sense, because he would have been illegitimate. Now, this 51 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: crisis didn't begin in twenty twenty one, nor did it 52 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: begin in twenty twenty or twenty and sixteen. Donald Trump 53 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: made perfectly clear from the very beginning of his race 54 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,359 Speaker 1: when he announced in twenty fifteen that he would be 55 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: a candidate for president, that he would not concede an 56 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,159 Speaker 1: election as legitimate that he lost. He was very clear 57 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: when he said the only legitimate election would be the 58 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 1: ones that he won. Where all of this was going 59 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: was perfectly clear. I predicted it in September of twenty twenty. 60 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: Understand this about the United States. It is a revolutionary country. 61 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: The American people rose up and overthrew the king. The culture, 62 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:33,799 Speaker 1: the history of the country, its elemental defiance are all 63 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: steeped in the mythology and the reality of the American Revolution. 64 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: We live in a country that asserts that rights are 65 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 1: not granted by politics, not by kings, not by leaders, 66 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: but rather by higher power. The American government is limited 67 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: in its power. It's limited in what it can do 68 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: to the individual. That is the genius of the American system. 69 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: It is the wellspring of American freedom and liberty, and 70 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: it is what Donald Trump tried to burn down, to steal, 71 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: to take away from all of us our birthright, because 72 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: his ego couldn't handle the rejection at the hands of 73 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: the American people, and so he did what no president 74 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 1: has ever done. No president has ever so selfishly put 75 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: themselves ahead of the country the way that Donald Trump did. 76 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: When you look at the images of riot on January sixth, 77 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: understand what it is you are looking at. These were 78 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: American citizens, many of them who had no criminal record 79 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:06,720 Speaker 1: until the day they participated in a coup, sedition, treason 80 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: against their country. They tried to topple the American government, 81 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: and many of them there that day sought to hang 82 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: the Vice president. Thank you for listening to my political commentary. 83 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: If you like what you've heard today, please also consider 84 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: subscribing to The Warning daily newsletter on Substack. Our democracy 85 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: hangs in the balance. The twenty twenty four presidential election 86 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: is the most consequential in America's history. It's not hyperbole, 87 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: it's a fact. That is why the mission of The 88 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: Warning with Steve Schmidt is to help readers orient to 89 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: the currents that are shaping our times and the unseen 90 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: forces driving politics that are very rarely discussed on cable news. 91 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: Please sign up at Steve st e ve E, S, C, H, M, I, 92 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 1: d T dot substack dot com again Steve Schmidt dot 93 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: substack dot com, or at the link in the show 94 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: notes section below. Thank you to each and every one 95 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: of you for listening and watching. They were sent to 96 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: the Capitol with a purpose and a mission. The Proud Boys, 97 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: the othkeepers, They were Trump's tip of the spear. They 98 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: came to do violence. They came to tear down American civilization. 99 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: What Donald Trump did is unpardonable, It is inexcusable. He 100 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: is entitled to the constitutional protections that he sought to 101 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: deny all of us. He is innocent until proven guilty. 102 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: That's in the court of law. But in American politics, 103 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: we know enough. We know what he did. And because 104 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,199 Speaker 1: we know what he did, we know what is at 105 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,040 Speaker 1: stake in this next election. We know what the issues are. 106 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 1: They're very simple. Donald Trump seeks to tear down American 107 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:30,199 Speaker 1: freedom so that he and his co conspirators, his cronies, 108 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: can enrich themselves from their political power. The cost of 109 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:42,359 Speaker 1: it is the United States. And the answer to the proposition, 110 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: will the American people go gently into that good night? 111 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: Will they hand over to Donald Trump their freedom, their 112 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: liberty to state his ego. The answer is, of course not. 113 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: The American peace people will not. But it is clear 114 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: that the Republican minority in this country is intent on 115 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: forwarding Donald Trump to the finals, making him the Grand 116 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: Old Party, the third oldest political party in the world's 117 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:22,199 Speaker 1: nominee for the presidency of the United States. And it's 118 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: simply unacceptable. The American people, regardless of their politics, if 119 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: they love their country, must unite to stop this. There 120 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: is no argument over appropriate taxation levels taking place. This 121 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: is not a debate about the proper expenditure levels of 122 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: the federal government, nor the size of the military. We 123 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: are not having a great contest about environmental policy. What 124 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: we are arguing about is on the edge of the 125 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: two hundred and fiftieth birth of the country, whether we 126 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: are going to discard the American Revolution, throw it away, 127 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: end it, rip up the constitution to make Trump leader 128 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:17,200 Speaker 1: not president. Really, this is what we want for our children, 129 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: our grandchildren. This loathsome man and his family of grifters 130 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: to regain power, to tear down what was built, maintained, sustained, 131 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: and fought for, sacrificed for for two hundred and fifty years. 132 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: It is an abominable proposition. It is unworthy of serious discussion. 133 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:53,720 Speaker 1: Yet here we are. We are here because after seven 134 00:11:54,480 --> 00:12:03,839 Speaker 1: long years of epic political cowardice, of profiteering, the joke 135 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: and the excitement and the debates and the show business 136 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: and the reality show that was produced for profit and 137 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,560 Speaker 1: forced down the throats of the American people has reached 138 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: its endstage. Trump is fully and finally revealed for what 139 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: he is, and what he is is the greatest threat 140 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:38,439 Speaker 1: to America's freedom since the Confederacy and maybe in the 141 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: entire history of the country. He is certainly the only 142 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 1: president who looked into the mirror and saw a king 143 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: staring back, a man who thought he was above the law, 144 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 1: above the constitution, above the American people, as opposed to 145 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:04,680 Speaker 1: being their servant. Donald Trump's disgrace is epic, It is enduring, 146 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 1: and it is shattering. He has done more damage to 147 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: the United States than almost any living American. And if 148 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: you take out the disgraceful Sackler family that killed a 149 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 1: million people with europioids, Donald Trump is the clearfront runner. 150 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 1: There's no question that he's the most dangerous man in 151 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: this country, perhaps among the most dangerous alive. Remember this, 152 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: there is no place for us to go if we 153 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: lose freedom in this country. There is no country for 154 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: us to immigrate too. There is no new world where 155 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: freedom can be lit anew. This is it. Our country 156 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: has always been imperfect. It is the duty and the 157 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: responsibility of each generation to make it a bit better 158 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: for the one that follows us. There are generations of 159 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: Americans now who have a choice to make. Put down 160 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: your party labels, put down your party affiliation. What's at 161 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: hand is the most important question in two hundred and 162 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 1: fifty years, do we or do we not believe the 163 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: American people should pick their leaders. Because if you believe 164 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: that that Donald Trump can never ever be given another 165 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:46,000 Speaker 1: political office in this country ever again, because what he 166 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: did is unforgivable and it ranks as one of the greatest, 167 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: if not the greatest crime in the history of this country. 168 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: His attempted coup an overthrow of the American government on 169 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 1: January sixth of twenty twenty one, the moment where he 170 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: attempted to burn George Washington's legacy and heroism to the ground.