JD Vance: The Immigration Crisis, How Polls Are Used to Fool You, and the Left’s Plan to Stop Trump

Summary

In this interview, J.D. Vance discusses the current political race, expressing confidence in a potential win despite recent polls favoring the opposition. He criticizes the Democratic base's shift towards Kamala Harris and outlines concerns over the country's direction, including economic instability and foreign policy. Vance emphasizes the importance of getting out the vote and combating ballot harvesting. He also speculates on the challenges a Trump presidency could face, including potential bureaucratic resistance and financial threats, suggesting the need for a strong and accountable government to overcome these obstacles.

Takeaways

• 🐕 JD Vance discusses the perception of his dog Atlas, who was provided by his campaign to appeal to dog lovers, and addresses the skepticism from the left about the authenticity of his pet ownership.
• 🔥 Vance expresses confidence about the Republican campaign's chances, predicting a win for Donald Trump, though not necessarily a comfortable or early victory.
• 🗳️ He criticizes the use of ballot harvesting and big tech by Democrats to influence election outcomes, suggesting that these tactics will be employed again in the upcoming election.
• 📊 Vance points out that despite a recent 'sugar high' in polling due to a shift from Biden to Harris, internal numbers show that Harris is not performing well in key states necessary for her to win.
• 😓 He expresses concern about the competence of Kamala Harris, citing high turnover rates in her staff and questioning her ability to manage a crisis, such as a hot war scenario.
• 🚫 Vance advocates for a stronger stance on illegal immigration, suggesting that the U.S. should not be subsidizing or providing benefits to illegal aliens.
• 💰 He emphasizes the need for fiscal responsibility, suggesting that the U.S. is on an unsustainable financial path and that smart economic policies are necessary to correct the course.
• 🔒 Vance argues for increased accountability in government, suggesting that unelected bureaucrats should be responsive to the president and the will of the people.
• 🔍 He criticizes the media for using polls to manipulate public opinion and political leadership, rather than accurately reflecting the views of the American public.
• ⚖️ Vance discusses the potential for conflict and the importance of having a president who can manage international relations and crises effectively, suggesting that Trump was a president of peace in contrast to the current administration.

Q & A

Who is Atlas and why was he given to JD Vance?

Atlas is a dog that was described as a 'rent a dog' given to JD Vance by his campaign to make him appear as a dog lover, despite him actually owning Atlas since the dog was an eight-week-old puppy.

What is JD Vance's view on the current state of the race?

JD Vance believes they are in a winning position and predicts a win, though not comfortably. He acknowledges a recent shift in public polling favoring the Democrats but remains optimistic about their chances.

What does JD Vance think about the American public's sentiment towards the current administration?

JD Vance suggests that approximately 65% of Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country under the current administration, citing issues like foreign policy chaos, unaffordable groceries and housing, and dissatisfaction with Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate.

How does JD Vance perceive the change from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris as a candidate?

He sees the switch as an attempt to invigorate the Democratic base, noting that while many Americans may not like Kamala Harris, her youth and relative vitality compared to Joe Biden could give them a 'sugar high' in the polls.

What challenges does JD Vance anticipate for a potential Trump presidency in terms of bond markets?

JD Vance is concerned about the possibility of bond market manipulation by international investors or those who have benefited from globalization and wars, potentially spiking bond rates to undermine a Trump presidency.

What is JD Vance's opinion on the role of the media and tech sector in influencing public opinion and political outcomes?

He views the media and tech sector as entities that can manipulate public opinion and political outcomes, using tactics like pushing negative narratives and suppressing stories to sway elections and public sentiment.

Why does JD Vance believe that the government should be staffed with smart people?

JD Vance argues that even though Republicans prefer a smaller government, it is crucial to have competent individuals managing the government's functions effectively, especially in areas like the Treasury Department to handle fiscal problems.

What does JD Vance think about the current state of fiscal responsibility in the U.S.?

He criticizes the significant increase in federal spending, pointing out that there is a lack of accountability and transparency, especially regarding spending on issues like illegal immigration and foreign wars.

How does JD Vance view the role of polls in shaping public opinion and political strategy?

He is skeptical of polls, suggesting that they are often manipulated to shape public opinion rather than measure it, and can be used as tools to suppress voter turnout and influence the decisions of elected officials.

What is JD Vance's stance on the necessity of democratic accountability in government?

JD Vance emphasizes the importance of democratic accountability, advocating for the ability to fire bureaucrats who do not perform their duties and for elected officials to have control over their administrations.

Outlines

00:00

🐕 Introduction and Personal Life

The paragraph introduces JD Vance and his dog Atlas, who is humorously described as a 'rent a dog' given to Vance by his campaign to improve his image. Vance clarifies that Atlas has been with him since he was a puppy and is a beloved family member. The conversation then shifts to Vance's current situation, being on the road with his family in Arizona, and his thoughts on the political race. He expresses confidence in his chances of winning, attributing it to widespread dissatisfaction with the current state of the country, including foreign policy and economic issues. Vance also discusses the switch from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate and the impact it might have on the election.

05:01

🗳️ Election Strategy and Concerns

Vance shares his views on the strategies used by the Democrats, including ballot harvesting and the influence of big tech. He acknowledges the need for the Republican party to match these efforts to get out the vote. The conversation delves into the potential challenges if Donald Trump were to be elected, such as opposition from the bureaucracy and the media. Vance expresses his belief that the real fight would begin after the election, with potential threats to the presidency coming from various sectors, including the bond markets and international investors. He emphasizes the importance of having a treasury secretary who can navigate a potential financial crisis.

10:03

💵 Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Policy

The discussion focuses on the need for fiscal responsibility and economic policy changes. Vance points out the significant increase in federal spending and the importance of managing the national debt. He suggests that the government should be staffed with competent individuals who can handle fiscal problems effectively. Vance also touches on the idea of penalizing companies that outsource jobs overseas and rewarding those that invest in the United States. He argues for a comprehensive approach that includes managing bond markets, reducing unnecessary spending, and unleashing domestic energy markets to achieve a sustainable fiscal situation.

15:04

🚑 Addressing the Cost of Illegal Immigration

Vance discusses the financial burden of illegal immigration on the United States, questioning the lack of accurate data on the costs associated with it. He argues that the expenses related to healthcare, law enforcement, and other services for illegal immigrants are substantial and should be considered when discussing the country's fiscal health. Vance emphasizes that addressing this issue is crucial for both economic and national security reasons, and he criticizes the lack of political will to tackle it effectively.

20:04

🏛️ The Need for Democratic Accountability

Vance stresses the importance of democratic accountability in the government, arguing that unelected bureaucrats should be responsive to the president and the will of the people. He gives examples of the VA healthcare system and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to illustrate his point. Vance suggests that the government should be staffed with individuals who are committed to serving the public and can be held accountable for their actions. He also discusses the role of the media and public opinion polls in shaping political narratives and the need for leaders to have the courage to act on their convictions.

25:05

🔍 Media's Role and Public Opinion

The conversation highlights the media's role in shaping public opinion and the potential for polls to be manipulated to influence both the public and political leaders. Vance criticizes the use of polls as tools for voter suppression and to discourage participation in the democratic process. He calls for leaders to trust their convictions and to act in the best interest of the country, rather than being swayed by potentially biased polls and media narratives.

30:05

🌎 Geopolitical Tensions and Election Impact

Vance contemplates the potential impact of a hot war breaking out on the election, expressing concern over Kamala Harris's ability to lead in such a scenario. He discusses the high turnover rate in her administration as an indicator of her incompetence and questions the potential motivations behind any desperate actions that could be taken to influence the election. Vance also addresses the lack of information regarding an attempt on Donald Trump's life, suggesting a possible cover-up and a lack of interest from the current administration in investigating the incident thoroughly.

35:07

🔍 Conclusion and Call to Action

In the final paragraph, Vance reiterates the need for a thorough investigation into the security breakdowns that nearly cost Donald Trump his life. He criticizes the current administration for not being transparent and for potentially suppressing information. Vance emphasizes the importance of finding out the truth before the election and calls for action to ensure that the American people are informed about the security failures that occurred.

Keywords

💡Win

In the context of the video, 'win' refers to the candidate's belief in their potential victory in the election. It is tied to the overall theme of political optimism and strategy. The speaker expresses confidence in their campaign's chances, indicating a 'win' as a desired outcome and a measure of success.

💡Fundamentals of the race

'Fundamentals of the race' pertains to the underlying factors that are believed to influence the election's outcome. These include public sentiment, policy issues, and the state of the nation. The video discusses how 65% of Americans being unhappy with the country's direction forms part of these fundamentals, shaping the race's dynamics.

💡Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is mentioned as a central figure in the opposition, with discussions around her perceived lack of authenticity and competence. Her role is critical to the video's narrative as it contrasts her with the speaker's party, highlighting differences in political ideologies and capabilities.

💡Ballot harvesting

Ballot harvesting is a term used to describe a practice that the speaker alleges can influence election outcomes. It is presented as a strategic maneuver by the opposition to 'squeeze out' votes, indicating concerns over election integrity and fairness within the political process discussed in the video.

💡Big tech

The term 'big tech' is used to describe large technology companies that, according to the speaker, may have a bias and influence public opinion and election outcomes. It is tied to broader themes of media influence and the power of technology in shaping political narratives and public sentiment.

💡Deportation

Deportation is discussed as a potential policy action, indicating the speaker's stance on immigration. It is presented as a controversial and significant issue that could elicit strong reactions, reflecting the video's exploration of contentious political topics and their impact on governance.

💡Bond markets

Bond markets are mentioned in relation to the country's financial stability and the potential for economic sabotage. The speaker expresses concern over the influence of international investors and the role of bond rates in the economy, underscoring the video's focus on economic policy and its political implications.

💡Accountability

Accountability is a recurring theme, emphasizing the need for government officials to be responsive to the public and act in accordance with the president's directives. It is central to the video's message about the importance of democratic principles and the proper functioning of government institutions.

💡Fascism

The term 'fascism' is used to describe a perceived threat to democracy and a form of governance that the speaker argues is antithetical to the democratic process. It is used to criticize the opposition's alleged tactics and to underscore the video's theme of defending democratic values.

💡Media polls

Media polls are discussed as potentially misleading tools that may not accurately reflect public opinion. The speaker suggests that these polls are designed to shape opinion rather than measure it, highlighting the video's narrative about the influence of media and the potential for manipulation in politics.

Highlights

JD Vance discusses the current state of the political race, expressing optimism about his party's chances.

Vance shares a personal anecdote about Atlas, the 'rent a dog' provided by his campaign.

Vance comments on the public's skepticism about his dog ownership, highlighting the left's reaction.

He talks about his family being on the road with him, adjusting to different time zones.

Vance gives his prediction for the election outcome, suggesting a likely win for his party.

He discusses the public's dissatisfaction with the current administration's policies.

Vance mentions the switch from Biden to Harris and its impact on the Democratic base.

He expresses concerns about Democrats' use of ballot harvesting and big tech to influence elections.

Vance talks about the importance of getting out the vote and the party's improved position in 2024.

He shares his prediction of a 60/40 chance of winning and a relatively early decision on election night.

Vance addresses the question of whether the opposition will accept the election results.

He discusses the role of the media and big tech in the election and their support for Kamala Harris.

Vance voices his worries about the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., being misaligned with half the country.

He outlines his concerns about the country's debt and the potential threat to democracy.

Vance discusses the importance of managing the country's finances and the role of the Treasury Secretary.

He talks about the need to penalize companies that offshore jobs and reward those that invest in America.

Vance emphasizes the importance of fiscal responsibility and the need to tackle big spending items.

He points out the lack of knowledge regarding the financial burden of illegal immigration on the country.

Vance argues for the necessity of democratic accountability within the government.

He criticizes the use of polls as tools to manipulate public opinion and political leadership.

Vance discusses the potential impact of a hot war breaking out before the election.

He questions the lack of investigation into the attempt on Donald Trump's life and the media's silence on the issue.

Transcripts

JD Vance, thank you for this.

We're on the road. You're in Pheonix. So

where is the race

right now? I mean, sincerely to the

best of well, first of all, before

we start. Who is that?

This is Atlas.

Atlas, come.

So this is Atlas, which

I found out on the Internet a few

weeks ago that he's actually

a rent a dog that was given to me

by the campaign to make me seem

like I'm a dog fan....

So weird.

And it's actually hysterical

to hear these lefties to be like,

that dog, that's totally not

his dog.

And of course, we got him when he

was like an eight week old puppy.

And we've been, you know, we love

dogs. And he's he's been our little

guy, but he's like so

well trained and so normal.

It's like shocking to me that

anybody would think that he's not

our puppy, but-

He's here on the road with you.

He's on the road with us. Yes.

We have our whole family up here.

My kids are like, you know, two

stories above.

And of course, they woke up at like

4:30 the crack of dawn

because they're on like East Coast

time. Yes, Ohio time.

And here we are in Arizona.

So we've been up for a long time.

I appreciate you doing this, but I'm

gonna drink a lot of coffee during

our interview.

But anyway, you asked

how was the race.

Yes. What is it?

I mean, what is your sincere belief

about how this plays out?

I mean, look, I think we're in a win

and I think we're going to win.

I wouldn't say comfortably,

but I don't think it's going to be

the sort of thing where, you know,

three days later, we don't know the

results of the election.

Who knows? Of course, I've been

wrong before.

But I mean, look, the basic

fundamentals of the race are

65% of Americans, give or take

or are unhappy with the direction of

the country. They're unhappy with

the foreign policy chaos.

They're unhappy with the fact they

can't afford groceries or housing.

And they're unhappy just generally

with the fact that Kamala Harris is,

you know, not a real person who's

running for president. She clearly

doesn't have her own ideas about

how to advance the country forward.

So I think that we're in a good spot

now.

There was, of course, the switcheroo

from Biden to Harris.

And even though a lot of Americans

don't like Kamala Harris, like, you

know, she's younger and she's not as

infirm as Joe Biden is.

And so that sort of invigorated

the Democratic base a little bit.

And you see that sugar high in a

little bit of the public polling.

I mean, we're about eight weeks to

go before Election Day and

the public polls have shifted a

little bit in their direction.

But what we're seeing, both when we

talk to the Kamala Harris,

like the journalists that are close

to the Kamala Harris campaign, I

mean, you know how this goes, right?

You sort of give journalists some

information. They give you some

information.

You yourself are a journalist or at

least you once were.

And so

our numbers, their numbers

very clearly show that

she's not doing very well in the

states that she needs to win.

Yeah, but a lot can change

and we have to get out the vote.

And there, of course, are all of

these ways in which Democrats have

become very good at using

both big tech, but also the sort

of ballot harvesting operation

to try to squeeze out as many votes

as possible in particular areas.

So we have to do that ourselves.

And I think that we're much better

positioned to do it in 2024 than

we were in 2020, though there's a

lot of catching up to do.

But on balance, man, when the

country's not going in the right

direction and people fondly

remember the presidency of Donald

Trump because take home pay was

going up, I think that puts us in

a good position. But we still have

to run our race. But my prediction

60/40

is that we have a relatively

early night on Tuesday

night.

And I think

it's probably tight, but we still

win.

And they'll accept that? A good question. I mean,

like, we call this race for Donald

Trump. It will be like, you know,

and he's the President. I didn't

vote for him, but that's okay.

Well, I think that

look,

there's only so much they can do,

right? They've already switched out

their candidates six weeks before

their convention.

They've already sort of marshaled

the ballot harvesting operation,

which, of course, is the story of

2020. It's not like, you know, it's

not ballot machines were hacked

into. The story of 2020 is that

they really, you know, turned on

this ballot harvesting machine and

they used, of course, big tech to

silence stories that were negative

about Joe Biden.

They're certainly going to do that

again. They're already seeing that.

Right. The technology sector is

already fully in the tank

for for Kamala Harris.

They've obviously switched out their

candidate. So all of the negative

feelings that people had about Joe

Biden don't necessarily get

translated onto Kamala Harris.

They have different negative

feelings. But but it is different.

So, yeah, I think they're doing

everything they can to ensure that

Donald Trump isn't elected president

again. But there is only so much

they could do.

And I think it's important, you

know, for those of us who think

like you and I do, there's this big

question right about like how

what's actually going on with the

people who run the country?

Are they evil geniuses or

are they incompetence?

And the more that I get to know

these people and the more that I

sort of spend time around them,

the more I think that they're much

more incompetent than they are evil

geniuses. And so that makes me

think what they're doing.

We can see it's all out in the open

and we just have to push back

against it as well as we can, but

not assume that these people can

like, I mean, look, I just don't see

any evidence that these people are

like controlling the puppet strings

and they're going to do everything

that they can. They are going to do

everything that they can, but it's

not that much.

So right now, yeah, I think Donald

Trump's going to be the next President.

And if he gets elected President

once again, do you think they will

accept that so that you can,

so this is they spent the last ten

years taking full

control of the US military, which

is I mean, I'm sorry to even talk

like that, but they think that way,

so it's worth saying it.

Yeah.

So, that's what worries me.

All right. So you hear all this talk

about threats to democracy, right?

And the biggest threat to democracy

in this country is not like Donald

Trump using legal maneuvers to

challenge the 2020 election.

The biggest threat to democracy is

that the bureaucracy in Washington,

D.C., is fundamentally misaligned

with at least half the country,

right? Yes. So what I worry less

about is like, are they going to let

Trump win? Well, it's not going to

be easy, but I actually do sitting

here right now, maybe I'm wrong, but

I do feel very confident that

Trump's going to be elected

president, that he will be

president. I think the real fight

is going to be when he becomes

president and he tries to do things,

they're going to take him down and

try to take him down in a very big

way. And that's where the real fight

is going to be. And I think

it's going to look like a few different

things.

So, number one, I really worry

about the minute we start doing

anything on the deportation front,

like you have 25 million illegal

aliens, you and I've talked about

it. I think it's the biggest threat

to our country. You have got to get

these people out of the country.

You are going to have a reaction

from the media, from the tech sector

that's unlike anything we've ever

seen. It is fascism come to America

when we sell people who have come

here illegally. You have to go back

home. Right. That that is going to

be a major, major focal

point. I think the other thing that

I really worry about, Tucker, is

bond markets, Right, Because the

country's deeply in debt.

That was commercial.

Come, everybody. Come here. Sit,

sit.

Lay down here. Okay, Just chill out.

I know you don't have your bed here.

He's used to nice plush pillow here,

and he's like, What the hell?

None of my stuff is here.

Now, look,

he's a very good deal.

So the thing I really worry about

on bond markets is, okay,

we have call it 1.6 to

$2 trillion in debt every single

year in this country getting added

to the national debt.

And the only thing that really makes

that serviceable is the interest

rates are still pretty low.

Right? They're about 4.5% right now.

If interest rates go to 8%

and you're actually spending way

more to service the debt than you

are on actual goods, services

and infrastructure for your country

like that can become a huge spiral

that could take down the finances of

this country. We've never had that

in 200 plus years of being an

American republic.

We've never had a true debt spiral

in this country.

So I really worry about

do the bond markets, do the

international investors, the people

who are getting rich off of

globalization, the people who have

gotten rich from shipping our

manufacturing base to China, the

people who've gotten rich from a lot

of wars, do they try to take

down the Trump presidency by spiking

bond rates. And one of the things

that I think a lot about and I

talked to the president about this a

lot, is when we think about who

we're choosing as treasury

secretary, one of the things

the president, of course, it's his

choice ultimately is

we've got to find the guy

who's going to make sure that we can

manage this country through a real

time of crisis where we get the

country's finances back on track.

That is one of the ways they could

take down Donald Trump.

And you have to ask yourself the

tools at their disposal.

They're doing everything that they

can to manipulate voters.

I don't think it's going to work.

But if Trump wins, it's not

just going to be smooth sailing for

four years. They're going to do

everything that they can to take.

So the key numbers, that interest

rates.

I think it's probably the most the

most important in the most impactful

way they could try to take down his

presidency is by spiking the

interest rates. You saw this, by the

way, Tucker.

Liz Truss in Britain.

Yeah. Which by the way, like I like

Liz Truss, I disagree with her on a

lot of issues, but like

so I'm not I'm not trying to stand

up or say Liz Truss is my person.

But look, she came in, she

had a plan and the

Bank of England, I think made a lot

of mistakes, maybe intentional

interest rates shot through the roof

and it took down her government in a

matter of days.

Of course, we don't have the same

style of government, but it would be

devastating to the president

if you had this bond market

death spiral.

And that's one of the things we're

going to have to fight against when

we went in. I think we're in a win.

Yeah, I think so, too.

And I think if you don't win,

barring some dramatic, unforeseen

development, it'll be hard for

people to believe you didn't win

because who would who would vote for

more of this?

But how do you prevent

your opponents from spiking those

rates?

Well, I think one is you

have to get I mean, look,

you have to have actual smart people

in government.

And I mean, this

it sounds so simple and it sounds so

obvious. But one of the things

that I think we have done wrong on

the Republican side is,

you know, we don't like the

government generally.

Right. There are things that we

think the government should do, but

we want the government to be smaller

than the Democrats want the

government to be. And so I think

that that actually creates a blind

spot where the things the government

does, you actually want to.

Be done very well.

And you want them done by very smart

people. And so I think you have to

staff the Treasury Department with

the right kind of people who could

manage various fiscal problems.

And then I also think that you have

to be willing to actually pursue,

whether you call it the Trump

agenda, the America First agenda.

You actually have to be willing to

do this stuff even when the media

and even when, frankly, some

Republicans howl in protest.

Right. So one thing the president

has talked a lot about, by

the way, it's not just smart policy.

It's also very smart politics, is

you need to penalize companies

that are shipping America's

industrial base overseas and

you need to reward companies that

are hiring and building in the

United States of America.

Well, one of the ways you do that is

through tariffs. You say if you're

going to manufacture all your stuff

in China, we're going to penalize

you for trying to access American

markets with goods that are made by

slaves in China or some other

country. Now, you do that.

You both create more prosperity at

home. You also raise some revenue

from the companies that are just

going to say, we're staying in

China. You know, your

economic policy be damned.

But that actually stabilizes in

a lot of ways the fiscal situation

in this country.

You've also got to tackle some of

the big spending items.

I mean, we still have.

Let me give you a crazy statistic.

So in 2019, our total

federal spending in this country was

$4.5 trillion.

In 2024, it will be north

of $6.5 trillion.

Okay. Where's that $2 trillion

difference come from, Tucker?

Now, people will say and

I think they're being dishonest and

they're being even malicious,

they'll say, well, that's Social

Security, Medicare. You have to fix

Social Security, Medicare.

Well, of that Delta man, of that

difference, you're talking about

maybe $100 Billion additional per

year on Social Security, maybe $100

Billion in Medicare.

So there's still $2 trillion

that we're spending.

And what happened in 2020?

Covid, Right.

Covid blew up the American

federal debt and the American

federal budget deficit.

And we've got to get back to like

some basic common sense, some

basic sanity there.

And I think if we do that, you

have smart people managing the bond

markets at Treasury and how we're

auctioning off Treasury bonds.

And you actually have a president I

know Trump is committed to this,

who is committed to steering us

through these very troubling

financial times.

Finally, you unleash America's

energy markets because that drives

down the cost of goods.

You do all those things in tandem

and you actually get America on a

much more sustainable fiscal

situation.

But that's a lot.

And you have to have a very strong

president. Then you have to have

Republicans who are willing to go

along with it. And I think that we

have that, Tucker. But it's not

easy, right? This is the basic we

have to be good at government, even

though we want the government to be

smaller than the Democrats.

We have to be good at government.

And I think President Trump is very

committed to that.

We're going to have to see how much

we can bring our fellow Republicans

along.

So two pretty easy,

very popular ways to save money

would be one.

No more subsidizing illegal

immigration. That's exactly right.

We're not going to pay people to

break our laws. We're going to pay

them to rob liquor stores,

you know, or come into this country

illegally, actually giving free cell

phones or free airplane tickets or

housing vouchers.

We're going to stop doing that.

And the second is, we're going to

stop sending billions of dollars

around the world to exactly people

who hate us, who, you know,

when it doesn't serve our interests,

Why can't we do those things?

Well, that's very important.

Right? So this is one of the reasons

why I'm instinctively skeptical.

And look, I want I want Social

Security, Medicare to be financially

sustainable for the long term.

They're very important programs for

our elderly Americans.

But when people say the reason why

we can't have reasonable spending

policies is because of Social

Security, Medicare, I'm like,

that's a distraction.

You're distracting from the reason

that we actually have an out of

control budgetary picture.

That's why I just gave you the six

and a half versus $4.5 trillion

number.

What are we really spending money on

that is unsustainable?

It's wars, right?

It's foreign conflicts.

And you're right, it's hundreds of

billions of dollars per year

that we're spending on illegal

aliens. Now, here's a crazy thing.

I've been in the Senate for not even

two years.

When I ask people how

much money, okay, talk about

health care for illegals, talk about

Social Security fraud, talk about

Medicare fraud, talk about housing

vouchers. Because even though

illegal aliens aren't entitled to

Section eight, there's fraud in the

program. And also their children are

entitled to Section eight.

So, of course, that money flows to

the illegal aliens.

Add all this up and then take

probably 25, 30 million people

who are here illegally and maybe

that undercounts it.

How much are we actually spending

per year on

illegal aliens in this country?

No one in our government knows.

Okay. I've heard estimates that it's

$100 Billion a year.

I've heard estimates that it's $600

Billion a year.

I've heard estimates that it's even

higher.

There are ways to estimate it, but

we don't actually have good, good

ways to track this stuff because a

lot of the money, Tucker, think

about this. A lot of the money is

spent at the local level, right?

So if you're an illegal alien, you

commit a crime and you're you know,

you're in a local jail cell.

Like we're not really counting that

money from or

into the cost of of having illegal

aliens. But of course, if you're a

municipality and you're spending

$40,000 a year to house some

criminal who should go back to where

he came from, that's.

Real money, Right.

Or let's take this example.

Where do most illegal aliens get

their health care?

Emergency room emergency.

Rooms. Exactly right.

You can't go to an emergency room

now.

Wait, wait. Get sick.

The wait time in emergency rooms

has nearly doubled over the last few

years because we have all these

illegal aliens who are getting

hospital services at emergency

rooms. Well, obviously, they're not

paying the bill when they get it.

Who pays the bill?

The American taxpayer.

You add up all these calls and I

think it's hundreds of billions of

dollars that we're spending on

illegal aliens.

And this is why I think it's

ridiculous for people to say, well,

we can't get America's fiscal

picture under control unless we

cut, you know, Social Security from

American citizens who have paid into

it for 45 years.

My response is, why don't we start

with the wars and why don't we start

with not giving illegal aliens a ton

of benefits and then see where our

fiscal situation is after that.

We haven't done that.

Those are wildly popular ideas.

I can't imagine that they're below

65, 70% in the polls if you

were to pose that question.

Probably, yeah, probably higher.

But there's no sense that any of

those things are going to happen

because there's so much money

behind keeping them in place.

What do you do about that?

Well, I think what you have to

do is, first of all,

you have to go at the heart of the

people who actually drive public

opinion and drive the decisions

that are made in this country.

And we took out the reason why

all these popular things don't

happen. Like, why aren't we

deporting illegal aliens?

Why aren't we cutting off the money

spigot that goes to illegal aliens?

Why aren't we stopping sending

thousands of American kids to die

overseas in some pointless war?

It's because in reality, right

now, we don't live in a real

democracy in this country.

Right? The people who call the shots

in this country have further

and further divorced themselves

from any kind of real democratic

accountability. Right.

So ask yourself, in 2008,

did America have a real choice

between the foreign policy of John

McCain and the foreign policy of

Barack Obama? Of course we did.

Or they were they were saying, in

effect, the exact same thing.

For the first time in 2016,

we had a real choice between

Donald Trump and Hillary

Clinton. And of course, the American

people chose Donald Trump despite

every every

incentive and every pressure to not

choose Donald Trump.

The American people still chose

Donald Trump, of course.

What did they do this for the next

four years trying to destroy them?

The question is like, how do we do

these things?

You have to make the actual

levers of government power

accountable to the American people.

And that means you've got to be able

to fire bureaucrats

who don't do their job.

This is a common sense mistake, like

a very isolated example.

If you were to poll, what

percentage of Americans think that

the VA should be more responsive

to the health care concerns of

American veterans, that's probably a

95% issue.

Okay. And I you know, I'm

a veteran myself.

I served in the Marine Corps. I went

to Iraq.

I have gone through the VA health

care system. And by the way, 92%,

95% of the people who work in the

V.A. are great.

But as you know, in any

organization, if you have 5% of

people who refuse to do their job

and you can't get rid of them, they

make it impossible for the 95% of

people who are trying to do their

job. And of course, the veterans

suffer because of it.

So why does the VA not work as well

as the American people want it to?

Because the 5% who don't

do their job at the VA are calling

the shots and making it harder on

everybody else.

And that basic story is true in our

entire government.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, Donald

Trump, orders the Joint Chiefs of

Staff to do a troop rotation

in Syria.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff lie to

them. They actually stagger the

troop redeployments in a way

where it looks like they're obeying

his orders when in actuality they're

actually disobeying his orders.

Okay. Every single person who was

involved in that decision should be

fired. You have to make an order of

the government.

How can the military in a democracy

act if.

You know the commander in chief, the

commander in chief tells.

You to do that, doesn't control the

military? That's the nightmare

scenario.

That's right. But that but that that

is part and parcel of the broader

problem, which is you don't have

real democratic accountability in

our government. And to get it back,

the people who call the shots have

to be responsive to the elected

president. And this is one of

Trump's main campaign

platforms, one of the main things

that he talks about. And of course,

I think he learned in some ways the

hard way during his first four years

in office is the president

recognizes that if you have

people in your government who you

tell to do something and they

disobey you, that's not

like checks and balances.

They're part of your government.

The check and balance is the House.

The Senate, the judiciary rightly

is. The people in your own

government aren't obeying you.

You have got to get rid of them and

replace them with people who are

responsive to what the president

is trying to do. If you don't have

that, you don't have a real

Democratic got to be.

A cutter because that's the system

at stake. That's right.

That's Democratic control.

How do voters have any control over

their government if the people

they elect have no control?

That's exactly right, man.

And again, it's it's we have to

sort of remind ourselves that it's

real people who suffer because of

this. Right.

There are Americans who are dead

because the Joint Chiefs of Staff

didn't listen to the press, the

United States, when he said you need

to do trooper deployments out of

Syria.

There are veterans who are dead

because the VA does not function

as well as it could because the

president needs to be able to fire.

Again, the small number, but the

small number of people who aren't

doing their job.

And that same story repeats itself.

Rinse and repeat through the entire

American government.

You have got to have basic

democratic accountability.

I think most Americans recognize

like, look, we're fine with, you

know, bureaucrats making

a reasonable salary.

We're fine with people having a good

life, but they've got to do their

job right. When you're in public

service, you've got to do your job.

And whether you're an elected

official or an unelected bureaucrat,

if you're not doing your job, you

got to get out there and make way

for somebody who will.

So if you guys

win and you start firing

people who are acting against

orders of their commander in chief

and against the expressed will of

voters, the New York Times will call

it a fascist takeover.

Exactly right.

So the question is, do you care?

Well, I think we have to not care.

You you know, you have to care about

public opinion, of course, because

you have to actually make you use

the American people.

But if you're.

Acting on behalf of the public.

You have to say.

I mean, look, it is it's what's so

funny about it is it's the opposite,

right? Real democracy is

when the elected leaders, the voters

elect, actually make the decisions,

the government. But fascism, if it's

anything, it's that the voters

don't get any say in how it actually

operates. So I think you have

to do it. And look, man, I've been

in politics for two years, but there

are all of these really subtle ways

in which the media, the

tech sector, the people who call the

shots, try to manipulate

the American public and manipulate

political leadership into

not doing the things the American

people actually want.

So let me give you an example.

Mark this down.

I guarantee in 18 months or so,

we're going to have this

is going to be prophetic.

So right now, according to public

opinion polling, 65%

of Americans give or take support,

mass deportations, meaning

25 million people here.

You've got to send some of them back

to where they came from.

Okay. That's that's a common sense

issue. Two thirds of Americans, give

or take, support it.

In 18 months, there

will be media stories and there will

be public opinion polls to back it

up that actually Americans do not

support mass deportations, that

Donald Trump is doing all of these

terrible things and he has to stop.

It's and it's inhumane.

It's evil.

And the American public don't

support it.

The same people who put those public

opinion polls together are the same

people who say, for example, that

Donald Trump was going to lose

Wisconsin by 17 points.

Remember that three days before the

2020 election, Donald Trump was

supposed to lose Wisconsin by 17

points and set to decide all of

the debates about what happened in

2020.

Wisconsin was basically a tight

election. So these guys use

public polls.

They use the media not

not even just to manipulate public

opinion, but to manipulate

our leadership about what public

opinion actually says.

So how does that happen?

So those polls are fake.

Is what you're saying? Absolutely.

They're fake.

They're absolutely fake.

And we see this I mean, again,

you know, this is like very nerdy,

but let's, like go down this polling

rabbit hole. Okay.

So, you know, friend of

mine, I think is the best pollster

in America, Every race I've ever

seen him poll his way better than

anybody else. Okay.

So good pollster versus a standard

media poll. Fabrizio Fabrizio, Tony

Fabrizio, great guy, is the

president's pollster.

Okay.

Take a standard media poll

and ask yourself, like, what are

they doing?

Those polls are all conducted by

what's called online panels.

In other words, they have a group of

people that they go to again and

again and again. They ask their

opinion, well, who are the people

who are going to respond

aggressively to online panels

about what they feel about every

issue of the day?

A bunch of highly

engaged, typically far

left. Typically people with

professional degrees, people who are

not representative of the American

people at large.

Right. Meanwhile, most Americans

are trying to pay their mortgage and

try to take care of their kids and

trying to do all the things that are

necessary to live a life in this

country.

And they're not answering the phone

when a pollster picks up.

So if you actually look at the good

pollsters, they're telling you a

radically different story because

they're talking to a representative

sample of the United States and

the fake media.

The pollsters are talking to a very

narrow slice of the United States.

And again, they're trying to sell us

a story. And it's not just again,

it's not just this is not primarily

to manipulate the American people.

I think I think it's to manipulate

us, meaning elected officials,

because I've sat in lunches with a

number of my colleagues who will

say, look at this poll

and look how Americans are

responding to this or that issue.

And then you realize that

that exact same poll

was wildly inaccurate two years

ago. Why are you making your

judgments about what the American

people believe based on some

poll and, by the way, why don't you

express some leadership?

Why don't you just actually have a

view and go to the American people

and try to persuade them that

your view is wise and then enact

legislation in accordance with that

wisdom? Right.

That's how real leadership should

work.

Deceptive. And I think what people

don't realize is that a lot of these

polls are designed not to measure

opinion, but to shape it.

Yes.

So they are tools of influence

hundred percent.

President Trump said this recently

in an interview where he said that

the purpose of some of these polls

that say, okay, you're down 17

points in Wisconsin, so say you're

a Republican voter, you want to

support Donald Trump and J.D.

Vance.

And, of course, the polls now are

much better for us than

they were back in 2020.

But let's say you want to support

President Trump and you read

a story that says he's down by 17

points in Wisconsin.

Why even show up?

Right. So there's a voter

suppression dynamic here where you

try to get people to get depressed

and to drop out of the democratic

process. Don't even go and vote if

the president is down by so much.

The purpose of these polls is

actually manipulation of both

the public themselves, but also,

of course, elected officials.

And I think that we just have to we

have to have the courage to trust

our own convictions to say screw

you. I don't buy the polls and

to do what you think is right on on

on behalf of the country.

Sale. So common sense.

We hear

a lot of the leaders don't live in

the world of common sense.

So you said at the outset that,

you know, if the current trajectory

continues, you're pretty

confident you're going to win.

Yeah. I mean, look, you can never be

sure. And, you know,

I've been wrong before,

but I just look, the energy

on the ground is really good, right?

I mean, we had an event yesterday

in Arizona and, you

know, we had a few thousand people

there and we didn't have a rock star

rapper there. We had a few thousand

people on the VP candidate.

I'm not the presidential candidate.

President Trump is getting 20,000

person crowds.

I do think that crowd size is

predictive of enthusiasm.

And so you're seeing a lot of

evidence that things are that our

voters are enthused.

The internal numbers are good.

People aren't happy with the

direction of the country.

I feel like we're in win, but yes.

Yeah, never know. Everything you're

saying makes sense.

I think it's demonstrable, but

you've got to think that the Kamala

Harris campaign is also aware

of this, that they're maybe not

lying to themselves.

You may be involved in fake

polls designed to mislead,

you know, others, but they are

probably clear eyed about their

chances. They are.

And I doubt that.

I just I just have trouble believing

they're just going to sit back and

think, well, you know, Trump's tried

hard. People kind of prefer him.

Yeah, well, it's funny.

What do you think could happen

between now and election?

Yeah, well, it's funny, man, because

you know how this works, but I'll

sort of give some insight into your

into this for your your viewers and

your listeners. Okay. So

I have said publicly I've been

attacked by this. From the left,

I've said, look, Kamala's own

internal polls are not very good

right now. And of course, the

lefties say, well, Judy Vance is the

VP candidate for Republicans.

Nobody in Kamala Harris campaign is

talking to. And that's right, by the

way, Kamala Harris's campaign has

not talked to me, but they are

talking to journalists.

Yeah. And then those journalists

want insights into what's going on

with the Republican ticket.

They want to see our internal

numbers. Yeah. And look, the

journalists are telling me that

Kamala Harris doesn't like her

numbers. The journalists are telling

me our campaign does like their

numbers. There's a consistency of

story here, journalists.

But it's just kind of like it's an

information like the-

Intelligence operatives, right?

Like true.

And some of them are working for

intelligence operatives.

Yeah, Journalists are to electoral

politics. What, like the CIA is the

international relations.

People think just like in polling

and they know polls are designed to

measure what people think.

Journalists are designed to report

what happened. No, journalists are

players in the political system.

Yes. And they do not disclose

that to their readers.

And and you see it, of course.

But it's interesting. They play the

role of kind of like covert

diplomats between the.

Yes.

Yes, they do. Yeah.

And I'll tell you, I mean, in 2016,

what the journalists were telling

you was Hillary Clinton's campaign

is confident, but then some of them,

like Bill Clinton, were very not

confident. And in 2020, they were

saying nobody really knows what's

going on.

And in 2024, they're saying

Carla Harris is feeling a little bit

rough about her chances.

The Trump people are very are

feeling good about their chances.

Look, I think we're in a good spot,

but you can't take this stuff for

granted. Right. And by the way,

I think it goes in both ways, right?

If you take too rosy of a picture,

you can get demotivated.

If you take too pessimistic of a

picture, you can get demotivated.

Excuse me, We still have to do our

job. We have to go out there,

persuade voters to go out there,

knock on doors.

If you're watching this and you want

to get involved in the campaign,

like go and do it.

Go to Donald J. Trump.com volunteer.

Become a door knocker because we

actually can win this race.

I think we will win this race, but

not if we sit on our asses and don't

get out there.

Roar. What if the hot war breaks

out between now and November?

Well, that's a that's a very good

question.

Look, I obviously

just baseline I don't want a hot

water breakout because I don't think

we have a functional president right

now. Right now, I

genuinely think that the closest

thing that we have to a president

right now is Kamala Harris, because

Joe Biden clearly can't do the job.

The people around him recognize

that. And so it's the bureaucrats

in Carmel who are calling the shots.

If, God forbid, a true hot

war, not just between Russia and

Ukraine, but a broader regional war

broke out or not just between

Israel and some of Iran's proxies,

but a broader regional war.

It would scare the hell out of me to

have Kamala Harris at the helm.

And I think that we we have to do

a better job at highlighting

it's not just Kamala Harris.

You know, we say these things about

her that are true.

She wanted to defund the police.

She wanted to ban fracking.

She wanted to open the border.

These things are all true.

In fact, she is on video saying

these things. Yeah, but there's a

fundamental incompetence to

Kamala Harris.

Okay.

So let me ask you,

what what was the Biden turnover

rate among the people who worked

for Joe Biden?

About 78%.

That's, by the way, about medium for

American politics.

Right. Working in the White House is

a tough job.

Donald Trump did better than that.

But I think Donald Trump, you know,

a lot of people have a very certain

a very intense loyalty to Donald

Trump. So it's not surprising he did

better.

Okay.

Come on. Harris 92%

turnover.

If a hot war breaks out,

who is even going to be staffing the

admin? The situation.

If you have a person who can't keep

human beings in the

executive administration of the

government. Right.

That's scary.

If you're such an incompetent person

that 90%, 92%

of your staff doesn't want to work

for you. Maybe we shouldn't elect

that person as president where you

watch Kamala Harris give an

interview. I mean, this is not a

person who has like a very

well-developed views about what she

wants to do in the world.

She's fundamentally a cog in the

wheel of a very corrupt machine

that scares the hell out of me when

that person goes to

negotiate with a world leader about

a hot war. So, okay, we're talk

about a substance and an ongoing

issue in the politics, too.

I don't know, like if, God forbid,

the Russia Ukraine thing becomes a

broader regional war.

I don't know if that helps Kamala

Harris or hurts her.

I almost think it's like too

grotesque to even think about

because hundreds of thousands and

maybe more people would be dying

and I would just be terrified for

the country and terrified for

humanity.

Well, I couldn't agree more.

Obviously, I agree with that

vehemently.

I only ask because I wonder

if there's an incentive.

I think they're desperate.

Yeah, I think they worry that.

Absolutely. You guys get back in,

that you're going to be a little

less humorless and forgiving this

time. A lot of people have committed

very serious crimes against the

United States.

They're currently serving in

government like they have.

They're afraid of what happens if

you win. And they should be.

So, like, do they have an incentive

to start a hot war? I guess that's

my question.

No, it's look, it's a totally fair

question. And I don't know

because I don't know that it

actually helps them.

Right. Because one of the things

that, look, even President Trump's

critics would have to admit

like, remember this, like I was a

Trump critic back in 2016.

Of course, you remember this. The

president remembers this very well.

I say to you, my boss, about it all

the time. And, you know, you hear

these people who say, well, you

know, Trump and Biden are both

too old for the presidency.

And it's like Trump's memory is like

a steel trap. Trust me.

I know. Because he remembers what I

said about him in September of 2015,

too, like an excruciating level

of detail.

But obviously, you know, the

president and I are

like very simply, I changed my mind

because he was a great president.

Right. But remember back then,

the thing that they said about him

is that he would start a nuclear

war. I remember. Right.

That was the main thing.

All right. You've got this cowboy.

He's going to start a nuclear war

with Russia or China or somebody

else. And even his critics admit

that in hindsight, he

was actually the president of peace.

Now, of course, conflicts break out.

Bad things happen.

The president can't control

everything. But he was remarkably

good at using diplomatic leverage

and the threat of American power

to keep the world in a place

of relative calm and stability.

So if a hot war breaks out,

my guess would be a lot of Americans

would say, holy shit, we've

got to get back to the guy who knows

how to manage the world, not

the person who's so incompetent that

she blundered us into this conflict

in the first place.

But I mean, look, man,

who knows? By the way, it's shocking

how little we know about the guy who

shot Donald Trump in the head.

I mean, weeks later, months later,

we still have no idea.

We allegedly have no idea what the

guy's real motive is.

But do I think that they were going

to do increasingly crazy things to

try to prevent Donald Trump from

becoming president? Yes.

I don't know exactly what that's

going to look like.

I think we have to be prepared for

it. And we just have to

do everything we can to make sure he

wins.

Last question.

And as to what you just said,

Trump gets shot in front of

everybody, eyes on TV and

the media, you know, bury it.

But there's also, you would think, a

process in place to find out what

exactly was that?

Yeah. Who was the person who did it?

Why did he do it?

Why was he allowed to do it?

Is that process underway?

I never hear Trump talk about it.

I never hear you talk about.

Like what?

When are we going to find out what

that was?

Yeah. I mean, part of the reason why

we don't talk about it that much is

because we recognize that Kamala

Harris runs the

administration right now.

And do we like do we trust Kamala

Harris's Department of Justice to to

really investigate this stuff?

I mean, I don't I don't think the

president does either.

But there needs to be a real

investigation of this stuff.

I think it's bizarre that we don't

know anything about the guy's

motive, though. I've heard, you

know, various rumors.

We don't really know anything about

the guy's motive.

I think there clearly were some very

serious security breakdowns.

Some of my colleagues in the Senate

have done a good job of pointing

this stuff out.

But unless you have an

administration that's willing to

cooperate, you can't actually

do this stuff. I think he'd be much

better at sniffing out what's going

on with with all these security

breakdowns. But, I mean,

I think

so here's

this should be actually a media

scandal. Okay.

So Kamala Harris is running

against Donald Trump for president.

Kamala Harris runs the government

right now.

And Donald Trump came within

millimeters of having his life taken

by a massive security breakdown.

She should be using every lever

of power to force.

Insight into forced some sunlight

into what's actually been going on.

What brake breakdown Have the fact

that she's totally uninterested, I

think is a real scandal.

Her political opponent nearly got

killed and she has not used

her government to actually

investigate why or what security

breakdowns led to him almost getting

killed. The media and everybody

else should be really pissed off

about this because she could be

doing much more than she's doing

right now.

But it suggests like a level of

darkness that's hard for for

me to accept.

What is that?

I mean, I don't know.

Right. Is it incompetence?

Is it that she doesn't want to get

to the bottom of it? Is it that if a

story comes out that this guy was a

left wing radical, does it help

Donald Trump? And so she wants to

hide the motive.

Look, there are so many different

explanations here for what could be

going on.

But look, man, I'm a realist, too.

I think that we're going to find out

what actually happened

in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,

before the election.

No, I don't, because every incentive

that exists in our government right

now is to hide.

It is to suppress.

It is to lie about.

It is to cover up for various

people's failures.

And because of that, look, I just

don't think we're going to learn a

whole lot about it. We're going to

try. And my cynical you'll get Ron

Johnson's a great, great friend of

mine, great Senate colleague, does a

very good job.

I know he is obsessed with trying to

get to the bottom of the story.

Like how did the guy get with an AR

15, 130 yards from the

president, which has you know,

that's like a pot shot, right?

That's a layup for an AR 15.

It's shocking in some ways that

President Trump didn't lose his

life. But the fact that we're not

more focused on the security

breakdowns that led to that the

first place.

Look, man, it's bizarre.

It's dark.

And I think, unfortunately, we're

not going to learn a whole lot about

it till November.

And the problem is that, like so

many American young people in their

20s, he had no social media profile

whatsoever, never

went online.

Never went online, never went online

and never said anything publicly.

And everybody he was basically

a ghost. Yeah, a ghost who just so

happened and nearly killed the

future president of the United

States.

And yeah, I mean, it's it's pretty

weird.

It's pretty weird.

Senator JD Vance, thank you very

much.

Absolutely.

Thanks man. Appreciate it.