התמלול המלא של Ari Fleischer | Former White House Press Secretary Says V.P. Vance is Distancing Himself from Trump Ahead of 2028 Run

00:01:51.640 Is more comfortable there than he is in the Donald 42 00:01:51.659 --> 00:01:54.739 Trump wing of the Republican Party. So I've got a 43 00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:57.159 lot of bones to pick on policy with J.D., and 44 00:01:57.180 --> 00:01:59.359 I thought J.D. crossed the line yesterday when he put 45 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:03.000 out that statement that was disloyal to President Trump. And two, 46 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:06.909 to basically throw Israel overboard. No, the United States and 47 00:02:07.010 --> 00:02:09.849 Israel are a fantastic team. We should not be throwing 48 00:02:09.909 --> 00:02:10.610 Israel overboard. 49 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:12.020 He does it all the time, though. 50 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:15.039 And that's why I was surprised that the RJC picked 51 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:15.860 him to be the speaker. 52 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:17.840 I know they're trying to maybe fix that relationship. He's 53 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:18.139 a VP. 54 00:02:18.569 --> 00:02:21.270 It makes sense on paper, but he does that all 55 00:02:21.310 --> 00:02:23.289 the time. And then, as you pointed out, and so 56 00:02:23.330 --> 00:02:27.129 did I, the Iran war is not the problem. President 57 00:02:27.169 --> 00:02:30.180 Trump did the right thing, okay? They were getting very 58 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:33.240 close to a nuclear weapon. The detractors say, I've been 59 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:34.120 hearing that for 30 years. 60 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:35.060 Well, you're stupid. 61 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:38.039 They were very, very close to getting it. He decided 62 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:41.199 enough is enough. Other presidents did nothing about it. They 63 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:44.319 just paid him. That's not the issue. The issue is, 64 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:47.939 and I've been yelling about this for months— These constant ceasefires. 65 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:52.370 Trump called out Iran on that Tuesday night, Ari, a 66 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:55.069 month ago. He should have done what he promised to do. 67 00:02:55.389 --> 00:02:57.689 Here's where I will critique the president and blown their 68 00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:01.840 doors off. Instead, these constant ceasefires. And who wants to 69 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:02.340 do these? 70 00:03:02.759 --> 00:03:03.139 J.D. 71 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:07.060 Vance. The problem was not the war. The problem was 72 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:09.740 the ceasefire. The ceasefire didn't work. It didn't hold. And 73 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.360 it's left us in this muddled middle, which is what 74 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:15.979 Americans are really uncomfortable with. We don't like and we 75 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.590 don't want to ever go to war. But if we 76 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:21.110 go to war, Sid, you want to get in, get out, 77 00:03:21.150 --> 00:03:23.669 get it done and get home. And we could have 78 00:03:23.770 --> 00:03:26.169 done that. We should have done that. And here's

the 79 00:03:26.229 --> 00:03:29.909 bigger picture about Iran. For 47 years, they've been an 80 00:03:30.110 --> 00:03:33.060 enemy to the United States. We had a chance to 81 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:36.099 bring a different regime, a pro-Western regime, a regime that 82 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:38.639 believed in peace, a regime that could have gotten along 83 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:42.680 with all its neighbors, including Israel. A new Middle East 84 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:46.340 could have been born, a peaceful, enduring Middle East. Iran 85 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.039 is the crux of the problem. They're the ones who 86 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.120 fund the terrorists. They're the ones who fund Hamas, Hezbollah, 87 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.500 the Houthis. Get rid of that regime. There are pro-Western 88 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:00.590 young people full in Iran. We had a chance, and 89 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:03.860 then we blinked. That's why we're in trouble now in 90 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:05.599 the Middle East. What are we going to do? Withdraw 91 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:08.340 all the naval flotilla that we have there, the blockade, 92 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:11.889 and then let Iran have hegemony over Bahrain and the 93 00:04:11.909 --> 00:04:14.449 United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia? We can't do that. 94 00:04:15.169 --> 00:04:17.430 Keep them there forever? We don't want to do that. 95 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:19.980 We need to finish this job, and we need to 96 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:22.060 get the new regime in Iran. 97 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:22.100 100%. 98 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:24.339 We never won this war. We need to finish this job. 99 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:25.879 We should have done it months ago, and now we 100 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:28.439 put ourselves in a very poor position. I've got to 101 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:30.100 tell you something else, Ari. If you take a good 102 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:33.100 look at J.D. Vance's tweet, look at the people who 103 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:36.180 liked it. Look at the people who added emojis. You know, 104 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:40.610 Megyn Kelly doesn't surprise me. Don Jr., I'm sorry if 105 00:04:40.670 --> 00:04:44.350 my son Gabriel... liked a tweet from somebody who worked 106 00:04:44.389 --> 00:04:47.310 for me, who I made famous, that actually took a 107 00:04:47.389 --> 00:04:49.750 shot at me, I'd be very, very upset. 108 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:51.329 Wouldn't you? Yeah. 109 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:53.680 Well, that's what I mean. It's the Abdul Saeed wing 110 00:04:53.779 --> 00:04:57.250 that liked that tweet. You know, all the exit polls 111 00:04:57.310 --> 00:05:03.410 show that Republican voters powerfully, strongly support Israel. They understand 112 00:05:03.449 --> 00:05:06.500 the beauty of the United States-Israel relationship. They understand how 113 00:05:06.649 --> 00:05:10.180 Israel is on the front line defending us, defending our freedoms, 114 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:15.120 Western Christian Jewish way of life in a very bad neighborhood. 115 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:19.459 I get America first. I'm America first. But that doesn't 116 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:22.060 mean America only. And it doesn't mean that we ditch 117 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:24.800 America's best friends. That's where J.D. 118 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:28.399 Is. So how does this relationship continue? I know President 119 00:05:28.420 --> 00:05:29.939 Trump said all the right things yesterday. 120 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:31.339 Oh, he's right. He's right. 121 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:33.040 I got no problem with it. I knew when I 122 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:35.459 was going in this may happen. But you know that 123 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:36.350 Trump is pissed. 124 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:36.819 I know Trump. 125 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:38.910 And by the way, I also know that Trump doesn't 126 00:05:38.930 --> 00:05:41.610 like J.D. OK, I know that people have told me 127 00:05:41.649 --> 00:05:44.470 that inside the White House. So I'm breaking news. So 128 00:05:44.490 --> 00:05:46.730 how does that relationship go on now for the next 129 00:05:46.769 --> 00:05:47.170 two years? 130 00:05:47.790 --> 00:05:49.920 Well, here's the thing about Trump. He still loves the 131 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:53.110 show The Apprentice. And so he doesn't mind having all 132 00:05:53.149 --> 00:05:56.560 these people maneuver around him and see who's up, who's down, 133 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:58.319 who pulled it off, who did it right, who did 134 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:00.759 it wrong. And then he lets them swim or sink. 135 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:04.139 And so that's what he's doing. He's seeing what J.D. 136 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:06.230 can do with this. You know, he's mindful of it. 137 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:09.430 He's the decision maker. But, you know, if you're the 138 00:06:09.490 --> 00:06:12.129 Pentagon or you're the State Department now and J.D. asks 139 00:06:12.149 --> 00:06:15.649 you for something, what do you do? You know now 140 00:06:15.689 --> 00:06:18.170 he doesn't support what the president is doing in Iran. 141 00:06:18.810 --> 00:06:21.769 So he's putting everybody in a very difficult spot because 142 00:06:21.790 --> 00:06:23.470 their job is to work for the president, not the 143 00:06:23.509 --> 00:06:26.949 vice president. And if the vice president is hell-bent on 144 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:30.160 just end the war, bring everybody home, change the relationship 145 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:33.519 with Israel, it makes it hard for the state, all 146 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:37.269 the agencies to work for both president and vice presidents. Look, 147 00:06:37.290 --> 00:06:40.550 at the end of the day, these decisions are presidential decisions. 148 00:06:40.750 --> 00:06:42.750 What you and I are really talking about is the 149 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:46.389 on-deck circle. Who's next? Who's going to run in the 150 00:06:46.410 -->

00:06:50.269 Republican race in the presidency? And J.D. is going to run. 151 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:52.550 But like I said, I think he's going to represent 152 00:06:52.569 --> 00:06:54.810 the Tucker Carlson wing of the party. And that's not 153 00:06:54.829 --> 00:06:57.629 going to take him very far. There's a massive opening 154 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:00.240 in the Republican Party. And frankly, I think the fact 155 00:07:00.250 --> 00:07:02.240 that what you said about J.D. and what I said 156 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:05.240 about J.D. were verdurated in social media to such a 157 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:09.680 great degree. shows that there's still a strong peace through strength, 158 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:13.660 muscular foreign policy wing of the Republican Party. And Ted Cruz, 159 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:17.800 Marco Rubio, Glenn Youngkin, there are several people, Ron DeSantis, 160 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:21.480 all of whom are possibilities. Keep your eye on all 161 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:23.399 of them. It's a wide open race. 162 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:26.180 So, to your point, Dari Flesher, you're exactly right. If 163 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:28.930 our tweets, yours and mine yesterday, have generated now over 164 00:07:28.930 --> 00:07:32.449 6 million likes... which basically defended the president. 165 00:07:32.470 --> 00:07:34.000 I got four of them, by the way. 166 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:35.680 You only got one or two of them. 167 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:37.100 Yeah, no, you got like five million. 168 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:37.600 I know. 169 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:39.800 You're the big star here. Trust me, Harry. I said 170 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:42.379 it all morning long. You're the star. 171 00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:43.120 No, no, no. 172 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:45.199 You're the big star. But on a serious note, I 173 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:45.560 mean this. 174 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:49.620 Doesn't it show that even though Tuesday night was a 175 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:54.370 Republican bloodbath, that President Trump isn't dead just yet? 176 00:07:54.509 --> 00:07:54.810 Or is he? 177 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:59.610 No, he's not dead. I mean, I've been through so 178 00:07:59.629 --> 00:08:02.430 many political cycles where I've seen people lose and come back. 179 00:08:02.490 --> 00:08:04.889 And remember, Barack Obama got his clock cleaned at every 180 00:08:04.930 --> 00:08:07.509 midterm he ran in. But then he was reelected and 181 00:08:07.529 --> 00:08:10.579 he left office a popular guy. Look, I think if 182 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:13.959 Donald Trump leaves office with the economy booming, with the 183 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:18.019 war over in Iran, with a successful new regime in 184 00:08:18.050 --> 00:08:22.689 place in Iran, new Abraham Accords, You don't know how 185 00:08:22.750 --> 00:08:24.649 he's going to leave office. He could leave office a 186 00:08:24.689 --> 00:08:28.170 very popular guy. I hope that's the case. Because if 187 00:08:28.209 --> 00:08:30.389 he leaves an unpopular guy, it means the Democrats are 188 00:08:30.410 --> 00:08:32.460 going to take the White House and have the Congress 189 00:08:32.649 --> 00:08:35.340 and the White House. And that's a huge problem. So 190 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:37.480 we all have a lot of stake in this. And 191 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.200 by the way, Sid, just as a New Yorker, born 192 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:43.899 and raised, born in Manhattan, raised in Westchester, you're the 193 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:44.870 famous guy, not me. 194 00:08:46.370 --> 00:08:47.929 Well, thank you for that. I appreciate that, Ari. 195 00:08:47.950 --> 00:08:50.090 You know, I respect, I look up to you, I 196 00:08:50.090 --> 00:08:50.549 admire you. 197 00:08:50.570 --> 00:08:51.509 So thank you for saying that. 198 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:53.279 I want to go back to what he said about 199 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:56.750 change relationship with Israel, because my first cousin, Norm Coleman. 200 00:08:57.250 --> 00:08:59.649 asked him on stage, meaning he was sitting right there 201 00:08:59.669 --> 00:09:01.990 in the audience, you and I, in Las Vegas, and 202 00:09:02.029 --> 00:09:04.509 he went on about, hey, listen, things are different than 203 00:09:04.549 --> 00:09:06.809 they were 30 years ago. He spoke about the Israel 204 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:09.250 relationship for about 10 minutes. I got to be honest, 205 00:09:09.509 --> 00:09:11.669 I'm not as smart as you. I left there more 206 00:09:11.750 --> 00:09:14.110 confused than when I entered the room. I had no 207 00:09:14.210 --> 00:09:17.350 idea exactly how J.D. Vance felt about Israel. 208 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:21.200 So when he says change the relationship, does he mean 209 00:09:21.649 --> 00:09:23.460 just end it? What exactly does he mean? 210 00:09:24.389 --> 00:09:27.019 Yeah, he spoke in code. He came to the Republican 211 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:29.799 Jewish Coalition meeting in Las Vegas. It was just last, 212 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:30.820 when was that? 213 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:31.600 In August. 214 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:32.019 September. 215 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:34.019 End of August, September 1st, yes. 216 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:37.450 Yeah. And he said, we need to change the relationship. 217 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:39.169 The things that we did, the things that we said 218 00:09:39.169 --> 00:09:42.330 30 years ago no longer have the same meaning. And 219 00:09:42.370 --> 00:09:45.669 my question was, what exactly are you referring to? What 220 00:09:45.889 --> 00:09:48.169 doesn't have the same meaning? He was imprecise. 221 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:48.990 He was vague. 222 00:09:49.649 --> 00:09:53.250 And that was on purpose because I think what he 223 00:09:53.289 --> 00:09:54.980 would tell you is if you've got a chance to 224 00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:57.419 ask him and he gave an honest answer is the 225 00:09:57.460 --> 00:10:01.679

United States doesn't need Israel. israel is no longer the 226 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:04.340 united states best friend in the region the united states 227 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.649 and israel have different interests by. 228 00:10:07.669 --> 00:10:10.570 The way he did say some of that he actually 229 00:10:10.990 --> 00:10:14.529 included the uk in the same sentence. 230 00:10:14.450 --> 00:10:18.149 As israel Yeah, but where does it take him? What 231 00:10:18.190 --> 00:10:20.610 does he mean? And I guess he starts to spell 232 00:10:20.669 --> 00:10:22.730 it out in his tweet yesterday when he said, change 233 00:10:22.769 --> 00:10:23.970 the relationship with Israel. 234 00:10:24.429 --> 00:10:25.169 But to what? 235 00:10:26.389 --> 00:10:29.090 That's what I don't understand. J.D. 's heart is not 236 00:10:29.129 --> 00:10:29.629 with Israel. 237 00:10:29.750 --> 00:10:30.049 J.D. 238 00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:33.129 's heart is not with the Jewish people. And everybody 239 00:10:33.169 --> 00:10:36.409 understands that. And that's fine. Israel is a sovereign, separate country. 240 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:40.100 But it raises questions to me about J.D. 's judgment, 241 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:43.460 his wisdom, and his sense of what the American alliances 242 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:46.870 around the world should look like. If it's all based 243 00:10:47.210 --> 00:10:50.929 on just whatever is selfishly in America's interest, there are 244 00:10:50.970 --> 00:10:53.509 no mutual interests anymore. There are no things that we 245 00:10:53.549 --> 00:10:55.450 can do for Israel that Israel can do for us. 246 00:10:55.889 --> 00:10:57.669 No things that we can do for another ally, things 247 00:10:57.710 --> 00:11:01.379 that allies can do for us. Then I'm very suspect 248 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:05.759 about his isolationism. And isolationism has gotten the United States 249 00:11:05.899 --> 00:11:09.190 into serious troubles in the past. We all know the 250 00:11:09.210 --> 00:11:13.149 wars get bigger and longer the longer America waits when 251 00:11:13.169 --> 00:11:16.269 there is trouble abroad. We almost set out World War 252 00:11:16.350 --> 00:11:19.080 I and World War II. The price was the Holocaust 253 00:11:19.129 --> 00:11:21.240 and World War II, not to mention the loss of 254 00:11:21.299 --> 00:11:24.159 so many Americans because we didn't act when we had 255 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:25.539 a chance to go after Hitler. 256 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:29.259 100% we did nothing. We did nothing. 257 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:33.440 Isolationism has a long tradition in America. Yes. And I 258 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:36.100 respect the fact that people don't want America to go 259 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:39.029 to war. But that doesn't mean you abandon Israel. 260 00:11:39.210 --> 00:11:40.750 Now, we have dangers on both sides. 261 00:11:40.769 --> 00:11:42.799 You've got the lunatics on the left who just hate 262 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:43.679 Israel and hate the Jews. 263 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:46.220 You've got the isolationists on the right, people like J.D. 264 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:46.659 And Tucker. 265 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:47.720 They're equally as dangerous. 266 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:50.360 But it does beg the question, while we know that 267 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.759 President Trump is a friend of the Jews, he loves us, 268 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:56.090 and he's done great things for Israel, why would he 269 00:11:56.149 --> 00:11:59.450 come out on Election Day and tell everybody something you 270 00:11:59.490 --> 00:12:01.889 and I knew already for months, it's no big secret, 271 00:12:02.330 --> 00:12:03.029 that U.S. 272 00:12:03.210 --> 00:12:05.279 Aid to Israel is about to end? 273 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:09.840 Yeah, the timing of when it's going to end confused 274 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:12.460 me because there was an agreement in place. And I'll 275 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:14.700 offer the aid and let Israel buy what it needs 276 00:12:14.740 --> 00:12:18.659 to buy. But that's the next fight set. It's not 277 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.179 going to be whether Israel gets aid to buy stuff. 278 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:23.750 It's going to be whether Israel is allowed to buy stuff. 279 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:26.090 There are a lot of Democrats in Congress now who 280 00:12:26.129 --> 00:12:28.009 don't want Israel to get any weapons. They don't want 281 00:12:28.070 --> 00:12:30.789 Israel to defend itself in any way. I mean, in fact, 282 00:12:30.830 --> 00:12:33.909 they would embargo and boycott the entire state. No trade 283 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:37.029 with Israel. Talk about not liking tariffs. They'd shut down 284 00:12:37.049 --> 00:12:40.919 all trade with Israel. But that's the issue. Let Israel 285 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:43.940 buy its own weapons. They're a sovereign country, and that's fine. 286 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:46.179 Let them buy them wherever they think the place is right. 287 00:12:46.419 --> 00:12:48.360 That's going to be most likely the United States because 288 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:52.230 we're pretty good. So what he's talking about is don't 289 00:12:52.289 --> 00:12:55.049 give Israel the money that Israel then puts back into 290 00:12:55.070 --> 00:12:56.389 the United States to buy stuff. 291 00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:57.279 Fine. 292 00:12:57.559 --> 00:12:59.159 But I hope we do that to Egypt. I hope 293 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:00.039 we do it to Jordan. 294 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:00.460 Right. 295 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:03.379 But remember, the reason we give that aid to Egypt 296 00:13:03.450 --> 00:13:06.049 and Jordan is because we have an interest in stability. 297 00:13:06.429 --> 00:13:09.129 And those are the allies. Jordan and Egypt were the 298 00:13:09.169 --> 00:13:12.740 first nations that made peace with Israel. And so we've 299 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:16.669 longstanding had an agreement with Israel,

Jordan, Egypt. To give 300 00:13:16.710 --> 00:13:16.899 them aid. 301 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:17.990 Yeah, but I would say this. 302 00:13:18.129 --> 00:13:19.789 If we're going to stop, and you said it correctly, 303 00:13:19.809 --> 00:13:23.250 we give Israel $ 3. 8 billion, and morons out there, take 304 00:13:23.269 --> 00:13:24.330 a listen, because you're. 305 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:25.360 Stupid, okay? 306 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:26.720 $ 3. 307 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:28.000 4 billion of that never leaves the United States. 308 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:28.940 Never leaves. 309 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:32.080 $ 3. 4 out of $ 3. 310 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:34.039 8 billion never leaves. Okay? So stop bitching. 311 00:13:34.330 --> 00:13:36.049 But if we're going to do that, why not shut 312 00:13:36.090 --> 00:13:38.690 down all of our bases all over the Arab countries? 313 00:13:39.610 --> 00:13:44.909 Yeah, right. And this is where J.D. is hollow. He 314 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:47.919 needs to spell out what he is advocating for. When 315 00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:50.620 he puts something as provocative as end the relationship with Israel, 316 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:53.820 what does that mean? And I hope that he has 317 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:55.840 to spell this out. I hope reporters pin him down 318 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:58.009 on it. I hope he gives a speech about it. 319 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:01.360 And if that's his view, fine. We all have hints 320 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:04.220 this is his view. But then I don't see him 321 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:06.600 going very far in a Republican primary. That is a 322 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:11.320 misread of Republican primary voters. And the exit polls showed that. 323 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:13.419 But they're going to say to you on the way out, 324 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:13.700 this is an. 325 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:16.500 Accurate read of Democrat voters, not an accurate read of Republicans. 326 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:18.759 But I would ask you then this, because we're in 327 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:20.159 the conversation and you're brilliant. 328 00:14:20.210 --> 00:14:21.950 I loved having you on. Please come back more often. 329 00:14:22.409 --> 00:14:25.330 If it's not an accurate read of the Republican voters 330 00:14:25.370 --> 00:14:29.509 and it's not this, what exactly happened, that bloodbath on 331 00:14:29.570 --> 00:14:30.169 Tuesday night? 332 00:14:32.590 --> 00:14:35.570 Well, because it wasn't about Israel. It was about affordability. 333 00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:38.309 It was about costs. It was about a variety of 334 00:14:38.529 --> 00:14:42.269 different issues. all of which added up to affordability. It 335 00:14:42.289 --> 00:14:44.769 was an issue in which Republicans ran a 24 playbook 336 00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:47.139 on cultural issues that didn't work because people were more 337 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:50.360 focused on just paying their bills in 26. It was 338 00:14:50.379

--> 00:14:53.899 an economic election. We've been through those before. And that's 339 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:56.759 why we've got to get the Iran war behind us 340 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:59.370 in the sense that that helps oil, the price of 341 00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:02.110 oil come down. We need to explore for more energy. 342 00:15:02.149 --> 00:15:04.429 That brings oil prices down and that brings prices down. 343 00:15:05.769 --> 00:15:07.809 All of that is what it was about. But to 344 00:15:07.830 --> 00:15:09.509 blame it on one thing, that's wrong. 345 00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:12.710 Are you confident moving ahead in the future as a 346 00:15:12.750 --> 00:15:15.190 proud Republican? And you were a great, great, great press 347 00:15:15.210 --> 00:15:16.710 secretary for George Bush. 348 00:15:16.990 --> 00:15:19.710 Are you confident the Republicans can come back from this? 349 00:15:20.730 --> 00:15:20.909 No. 350 00:15:21.750 --> 00:15:23.330 I'm sorry to say it like that. 351 00:15:23.450 --> 00:15:23.730 Wow. 352 00:15:23.850 --> 00:15:26.860 But you have to earn it. And America is a 353 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.379 closely divided country. And as this midterm shows, there can 354 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:34.220 be big sweeps. I mean, Mississippi might go Democrat. That's crazy. 355 00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:34.759 Crazy. 356 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:35.379 So. 357 00:15:36.929 --> 00:15:39.029 This is what campaigns are about. This is why picking 358 00:15:39.049 --> 00:15:42.129 the best right candidate is about. You know, just imagine 359 00:15:42.169 --> 00:15:46.289 a Marco Rubio with his intellect and his articulateness standing 360 00:15:46.370 --> 00:15:48.789 up and running and making the case in a strong 361 00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:52.019 economy that Donald Trump might leave behind. That's how we 362 00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:55.080 get back into the game. I do worry if the 363 00:15:55.100 --> 00:15:59.860 economy is weak going forward and we have the wrong candidate. Yeah, 364 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:01.080 that's a high hurdle to get over. 365 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:04.019 Ari, I couldn't agree more. It was an honor having 366 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:05.980 you on this morning. Really, you're so great. You know, 367 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:06.940 I really feel that way. 368 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:07.220 I love you. 369 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:09.279 Ari Fleischer, thank you so much. 370 00:16:09.889 --> 00:16:11.169 My pleasure. Great to be with you, Seth. 371 00:16:11.389 --> 00:16:11.830 Take care. 372 00:16:11.950 --> 00:16:15.830 Ari Fleischer right there, the amazing, amazing press secretary for 373 00:16:15.850 --> 00:16:19.330 George Bush 43. Just one of the nicest and smartest 374 00:16:19.370 --> 00:16:20.190 guys you'll ever meet. 375 00:16:28.419 --> 00:16:31.379 Like the podcast, share it with your friends, and listen 376 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:36.799 anytime at wabcradio.com and download the WABC Radio app. Hit 377 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:40.919 that subscribe button on all major podcast platforms. Plus, follow 378 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:45.659 WABC on social, on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X. 379 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:47.100 See you next time for a. 380 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:49.539 New episode so you never have to wonder. 381 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:51.490 What the heck is going on here?