Speaker 1: I want to get into a serious headline from the
Speaker 1: world of politics. Police in Pennsylvania have arrested a man
Speaker 1: they say broke in the Governor Josh Shapiro's residence early
Speaker 1: Sunday and started a fire while Shapiro and his family
Speaker 1: were sleeping. Shapiro, his wife Laurie, their four children, and
Speaker 1: another family were forced to evacuate the home, which was
Speaker 1: significantly damaged by the fire. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.
Speaker 1: Thirty eight year old Cody Balmer turned himself into police
Speaker 1: and is being held on charges that include attempted murder,
Speaker 1: aggravated arson, and terrorism. According to an affidavit, Balmer said
Speaker 1: he was angry with the governor and would have beaten
Speaker 1: him with a hammer if confronted. I'm gonna repeat that
Speaker 1: he would have beaten him with a hammer if confronted.
Speaker 1: There is a quote from the fire chief in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
Speaker 1: and he says, I have absolutely no compassion for anybody
Speaker 1: who commits such heinous crimes. Fire chief Brian Interline told
Speaker 1: The New York Post following a press conference Monday, just
Speaker 1: hours after Bamba lobbed multiple malotov cocktails in the governor
Speaker 1: Joshapiro's home early Sunday morning. He said, to anybody that
Speaker 1: affects my firefighters and American citizens, you don't deserve any
Speaker 1: of the luxuries that we have here when you create
Speaker 1: such heinous acts against our own people. That's what he
Speaker 1: had to say. He said, I would hope that they
Speaker 1: send him to El Salvador for a tough crime, and
Speaker 1: absolutely I would support that one. The fire chief continued,
Speaker 1: he has no business getting any of the luxuries that
Speaker 1: we have to offer here in the United States of America.
Speaker 1: I have to tell y'all, ladies and gentlemen, I don't
Speaker 1: disagree with a single syllable, the fire chief otter. And
Speaker 1: before I explain why, I'm gonna put up this quote
Speaker 1: from Governor Josh Shapiro so you see what he had
Speaker 1: to say via tweet in the aftermath of what transpired.
Speaker 1: He said, last night, at about two AM, my family
Speaker 1: and I woke up to bangs on the door from
Speaker 1: the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to
Speaker 1: the Governor's residence in Harrisburg. The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire
Speaker 1: was on the scene, and while they worked to put
Speaker 1: out the fire, we were evacuated from the residents safely
Speaker 1: by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police. Thank god,
Speaker 1: no one was injured and the fire was extinguished. Every
Speaker 1: day we stand with the law enforcement and first responders
Speaker 1: who run towards danger to protect our communities. Last night,
Speaker 1: they did so for our family, and Laurie and I
Speaker 1: are eternally grateful to them for keeping us safe at
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania State Police is on the scene leading this investigation
Speaker 1: and will keep the public updated. End quote the fire
Speaker 1: chief back to him is absolutely correct. See ladies and gentlemen,
Speaker 1: this is what I talk about when we're talking about
Speaker 1: little old me as a sports commentator being a presidential candidate.
Speaker 1: Think about the vitriol that exists on both sides of
Speaker 1: the aisle. I'm not going to accuse any politician of
Speaker 1: being at fault for this heinous act. Mister Balmer should
Speaker 1: be thrown under the jail. There were children in there too,
Speaker 1: adults a different family. And what does he say to
Speaker 1: the police. I would have beat him in with a
Speaker 1: hammer if I could have. Clearly, you want to inflict violence. Why.
Speaker 1: We don't know whether this is anti Semitism or not,
Speaker 1: but there is no doubt that there will be people
Speaker 1: who are supporters of Governor jos Shapiro who will say so,
Speaker 1: and who's to say they are wrong. Anti Semitism is
Speaker 1: certainly a problem that exists in this country right now,
Speaker 1: especially in light of what's been transpiring over in Gaza
Speaker 1: and other areas with the Palestinians and Israelis. We all
Speaker 1: know what's been going on over the last year and
Speaker 1: a half or so, if not more. But here's the deal.
Speaker 1: We can't have this as a society. We can't make
Speaker 1: this okay, and the rhetoric that we spew we have
Speaker 1: to be very very careful because of the potential impact
Speaker 1: that it has. I've often said this as a sports guy.
Speaker 1: In the end, no matter what you say outside of
Speaker 1: the actual participants whose livelihoods are directly affected, for the
Speaker 1: rest of us, it's a game. We're covering games, and
Speaker 1: we're covering the exploits of magnificent athletes that most, if
Speaker 1: not all of us wish we could be but can't.
Speaker 1: It's just that simple. But when you're talking about politics,
Speaker 1: that's real life. When you're talking about the economy, when
Speaker 1: you're talking about inflation, when you're talking about the potential
Speaker 1: of a recession. When you're talking about the borders, when
Speaker 1: you're talking about safe in the streets, when you're talking
Speaker 1: about national security, when you're talking about taxes, when you're
Speaker 1: talking about inflation, when you're talking about healthcare, you're talking
Speaker 1: about real life issues. And when you're doing that, you
Speaker 1: have a responsibility to make sure that you are incredibly,
Speaker 1: incredibly sensitive to the potential fallout of one's words and
Speaker 1: actions about what transpires in our nation's capital, along with
Speaker 1: our state and local governments. Now one would say that
Speaker 1: has absolutely nothing. I'm certainly not pointing the finger at
Speaker 1: Governor Shapiro. I'm simply saying the vitriol emanating from folks
Speaker 1: arrive in large part due to how folks believe their
Speaker 1: personal lives are being affected or that of their loved ones, communities, etc.
Speaker 1: Which is why, to me, it's important to be moderate
Speaker 1: and centrist. Understanding that both sides don't get to get
Speaker 1: everything they want, Understanding that both sides have to engage
Speaker 1: in compromise, Understanding that both sides need to be pulled
Speaker 1: from the fringes to the center. Pulled from the fringes
Speaker 1: to the center is incredibly important. Why do I say that.
Speaker 1: I say that because if both sides have something to
Speaker 1: complain about equally, but even more to celebrate, then people
Speaker 1: are not just thinking about what they have to lose,
Speaker 1: They're also thinking about what they have to gain. And
Speaker 1: as a result, decorum and common sense kicks into the
Speaker 1: equation and we don't have to worry about the level
Speaker 1: of vitriol we're witnessing. We have to think about that,
Speaker 1: We have allow obligation to think about that. That's why
Speaker 1: you've been seeing me talk about these issues on this show.
Speaker 1: That's why you saw me on this week on ABC.
Speaker 1: That's why you'll see me on Hannity's show, in Cuomo's show,
Speaker 1: That's why you'll hear about me leaving the door open.
Speaker 1: Even though I have no desire to be a politician,
Speaker 1: not with the kind of success that I've been enjoying
Speaker 1: in my career, why the hell would I want to
Speaker 1: do that. There's only one reason. If the world is
Speaker 1: so jacked up that whatever I achieve doesn't even matter,
Speaker 1: because nothing but mayhem and degradation is surrounding me in
Speaker 1: our society. That's the only incentive I think Josh Shapiro
Speaker 1: has the potential to be an excellent Democratic nominee for
Speaker 1: the presidency of the United States of America. I think
Speaker 1: some people fear that, maybe even mister Bull to Bauman himself.
Speaker 1: I've mentioned names like Wes Moore, governor of Maryland. I've
Speaker 1: mentioned names like former governor of New York Andrew Cuomo.
Speaker 1: I'll continue to mention others as the names come along.
Speaker 1: But the goal is common sense, a pull to the
Speaker 1: center from both sides of the aisle. Just like we
Speaker 1: got people on the left worried about what they're worried about,
Speaker 1: whether it was Walke or cancel culture or abortion or
Speaker 1: you know, now with what Trump is doing with the
Speaker 1: tariffs and how it's potentially hurting small businesses in this country.
Speaker 1: Even though small businesses, some small business members say they
Speaker 1: are a support of the tariffs, far more might say otherwise.
Speaker 1: You got other people on the right talking about h
Speaker 1: excuse me, what about a third term? Like Steve Bannon
Speaker 1: going on with Bill Mahd real time this past Friday,
Speaker 1: talking about circumventing the twenty second Amendment of the Constitution
Speaker 1: so Trump could run for a third term, implemented in
Speaker 1: the Constitution in nineteen forty seven, ratified in nineteen fifty one. Oh,
Speaker 1: you're gonna sit up there and say, well, it's relatively new,
Speaker 1: and just like there were people that work to make
Speaker 1: modifications and alterations and changes to the Constitution back then,
Speaker 1: we could do it now. Hell to the no. We
Speaker 1: got to come to the center. Otherwise we'll be talking
Speaker 1: about the lives of the few flourishing at the flagrant
Speaker 1: expense of the very many. We can't have that. We
Speaker 1: gotta be in search of more things to celebrate, not
Speaker 1: more things to lament.