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 --> 00:00:08,160 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 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: by clicking the link in the description to this episode. 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: Donald Trump, the forty fifth president of the United States, 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: has been indicted again. This time it was by a 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 1: Fulton County grand jury, issuing thirteen charges, including conspiracy. The 8 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: charges in Georgia's stem from his attempts to interfere in 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: the certification of the Georgia election. The facts are very simple. 10 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,520 Speaker 1: There were two candidates on the ballot, and Joe Biden won. 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: Donald Trump didn't like it, and so what he and 12 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: eighteen others did, including the disgraced former New York City 13 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: Mayor Rudy Giulieti and the disgraced former White House Chief 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: of Staff Mark Meadows did is stage a coop. They 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: tried to steal democracy from three hundred and thirty million Americans. 16 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: They tried to steal the birthright of every American who 17 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: isn't yet born. They tried to topple the results of 18 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: the American experiment. They tried to end democracy in America. 19 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: Why because the worst president in American history lost. He 20 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: was rejected by the American people, who, after four years 21 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: of death, thirty five thousand lives, and absolute chaos, said enough. 22 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: What they wanted was a return to normalcy. And the 23 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: citizens of the State of Georgia voted chose to make 24 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: Joe Biden the President of the United States. And what 25 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: that set off is the greatest criminal conspiracy in American history. 26 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 1: This is the hard thing to understand about this moment 27 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: in time. There is no place to look for what 28 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: to do. We've had incompetent presidents, dishonest presidents, ineffectual ones, short, fat, 29 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: and tall ones, but we have never had one when 30 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: they lost an election, tried to burn down the Republic, 31 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: tried to take it away in a fit of anger 32 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: and petulance under a demand that they're not done leading, 33 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: that they're not done ruling. They want power. And even 34 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: though there is no legitimacy behind the grant of power 35 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: to Donald Trump, that didn't matter. To Rudy Giuliani, it 36 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: didn't matter, to Mark Meadows, it didn't matter. All of 37 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: these people were given trust by their fellow Americans, and 38 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: they tore it to shreds. They ripped it apart, their 39 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: betrayals rank among the greatest in all the history of 40 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: this country. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the United 41 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: States declared its independence. We rejected the idea that there 42 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: is a king born above us who we served. Instead, 43 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: a new idea was put forward, an idea about a 44 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: government of the people, by the people, for the people. 45 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: And that government has endured through great depression, through World War, 46 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: Civil War, in all manner of challenges. More than a 47 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: million Americans over those nearly two hundred and fifty years 48 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: have died, have given what Abraham Lincoln called the last 49 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: full measure of devotion to sustain the right, the birthright, 50 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 1: of the American people to choose their leaders and their destiny. 51 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: This is very important to understand. Democracy is more than 52 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: a concept. It's more than an abstraction. It is what 53 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: keeps you and your family safe. It is what keeps 54 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: the government's jackboot off the neck of your children. There 55 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,919 Speaker 1: was just an example in the state of Kansas, a 56 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: small town with a newspaper at a point in America 57 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: equidistant between Los Angeles and New York. There was a 58 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: police chief in that small town, and the local newspaper 59 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: was investigating his misconduct at his old job. A local 60 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: business dispute metastasized, and what happened was a prosecutor, a 61 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: judge and the police chief signed off on a warrant 62 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:22,159 Speaker 1: to search a newspaper. The entire town's police force came. 63 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: They kicked down the door, and they took everything that 64 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: wasn't nailed down. This is an Unamerican action. This is 65 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: an assault on freedom. This isn't a story of a 66 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: rogue police force or a rogue sheriff, an incompetent judge, 67 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 1: or an out of control prosecutor in Kansas. It's a 68 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: story about breakdown, a story about breakdown of American democracy, 69 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: of American society. It's a story about the police coming 70 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,559 Speaker 1: in the middle of the night, knocking on the door 71 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: and attacking freedom. It's not a different story than the 72 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: Donald Trump story. And everyone should understand that these things 73 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 1: aren't connected. America is unique amongst all of the countries 74 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: in the world because it is the only country that's 75 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: founded on an idea, an ideal, and the idea is 76 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: among the most powerful that has ever been put to 77 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: paper by the mind of man. The notion that we 78 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:44,479 Speaker 1: are all created equal, endowed by a creator with inalienable 79 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 80 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: There is no way to sustain that belief that truth 81 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: without the people, the citizens of this country, having the 82 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 1: right the power to choose who leads, who makes the laws. 83 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: Everything that is done in America is done in the 84 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: name of the American people, not in the name of 85 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: a leader. The people in this country choose. The people 86 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: in this country decide, not the other way around. We 87 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: are not the hostages, We are not the prisoners of 88 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: our politicians. And that fundamentally is what has gone off 89 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: the rails in this country. The indictments in Georgia, or 90 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: the end stage of a story that began in twenty fifteen, 91 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: that should have spark national outrage and fundamentally shut down 92 00:07:56,160 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: the political conversation during the two thousand and six race. 93 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: What should have sparked that reaction was the first time 94 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: Donald Trump intimated he would not concede an election that 95 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 1: he lost, that he would challenge it as a legitimate 96 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: By doing so, what Donald Trump did is kick the 97 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: legs out from underneath the table. He knocked down and 98 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: cracked the foundation of American democracy. Because there is no 99 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: way to sustain freedom without elections. It's fundamental. The right 100 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: to vote has been hard earned in this country for 101 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: millions of Americans, women, blacks, Native Americans. Today, broadly, the 102 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: American people understand that everyone gets to say. And when 103 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:08,239 Speaker 1: the American people made their voices, heard what they said, 104 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 1: and what they narrowly did in Georgia is fire Donald Trump. 105 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 1: They said, enough, It's happened before, except this time the 106 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 1: defeated president decided he didn't want to go. There was 107 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: no concession phone call, there was no grace, there was 108 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: no notion of putting the country first. Instead, there was 109 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: a criminal conspiracy, and that is what the case in 110 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: Georgia is about. Thank you for listening to my political commentary. 111 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: If you like what you heard today, please also consider 112 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 1: subscribing to The Warning daily newsletter on sub stack. Our 113 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: democracy hangs in the balance. The twenty twenty four presidential 114 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: election is the most consequential in America's history. It's not hyperbole, 115 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 1: it's a fact. That is why the mission of The 116 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: Warning with Steve Schmidt is to help readers orient to 117 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 1: the currents that are shaping our times and the unseen 118 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: forces driving politics that are very rarely discussed on cable News. 119 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: Please sign up at Steve Schmidt S T, E, ve E, 120 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: S C, H M I d T dot substack dot 121 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:38,719 Speaker 1: com again Steve Schmidt dot substack dot com, or at 122 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: the link in the show notes section below. Thank you 123 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: to each and every one of you for listening and 124 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: watching for a bit of time. Donald Trump was the 125 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: most powerful person in the history of human civilization. That is, 126 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: in the end, the power of the American residency, power 127 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: of America's nuclear arsenal. But it was a mistake, and 128 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 1: the American people recognized it, and they voted him out, 129 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: and it was time for him to leave with dignity, 130 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: but he did not. Instead, he launched a coup. That 131 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 1: coup was criminal, And though the wheels of justice grind slowly, 132 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: they are indeed grinding. The former president of the United 133 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: States stands accused of ninety one different crimes. This has 134 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:47,400 Speaker 1: never happened before, and hopefully this generation of Americans will 135 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: guarantee that it never ever happens again. This generation of 136 00:11:54,800 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: Americans has a responsibility and an obligation to tech and 137 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 1: preserve our nation's democracy for our descendants. Donald Trump is 138 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 1: a criminal defendant. He's not below the law. Just like 139 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: he's not above it. He has rights like every American, 140 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,679 Speaker 1: and it is important to remember that it is a 141 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 1: special burden on his fiercest critics to be the strongest 142 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: supporter of Donald Trump with regard to his rights as 143 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: a criminal defendant under the US Constitution. This is a 144 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: tragic moment for the United States. It is a moment 145 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: that puts the country in unchartered waters. This has never 146 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: happened before. What we do about it as a nation 147 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: is fundamental. It is as important as how the American 148 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: people resolved to deal with the threats to country faced 149 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: in the Second World War, the Civil War, during the 150 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 1: Great Depression, or the Cold War. The question of what 151 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: happens as an outcome of Donald Trump's criminal trials is 152 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: fundamental to the sustainment of American democracy. It may be 153 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: that a jury decides Donald Trump is not guilty, and 154 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: if that is the case, so be it. But in 155 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:34,160 Speaker 1: the meantime, Donald Trump's insessant attacks on law enforcement, on judges, 156 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: on prosecutors are unacceptable. The United States is a nation 157 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: of law. It is not a banana republic. It is 158 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: not a kingdom. It is not a dictatorship. And in 159 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 1: this country in this land. Donald Trump will never be king. 160 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,680 Speaker 1: What he may be is locked up for the rest 161 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: of his and if that happens, it will be because 162 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 1: the government of the people, by the people, for the 163 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 1: people made criminal charges, and a jury of his peers 164 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: decided beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty of them. 165 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: No one is above the law in America, and that 166 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: includes Donald Trump.