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00:00It's the 7 a.m. hour of Fox and Fred's Weekend, starting with this.
00:05ICE filing a new detainer for an illegal migrant accused of killing a mother and her 11-year-old daughter.
00:14Wait until you see his rap sheet.
00:16Plus, blue cities are speaking out, warning New Yorkers about the pitfalls of electing far-left leaders,
00:22as socialist Zoran Mamdani uses one Democrat as his blueprint on what not to do.
00:28You won't believe who we're talking about.
00:30And call it a wrap on Woke reboots as HBO Max abruptly ends, and just like that, over fan backlash.
00:38The second hour of Fox and Fred's Weekend starts right now.
00:45Beautiful shot of South Carolina, looking at that.
00:48It is 7 o'clock on the East Coast in New York City, and we are here for the second hour of Fox and Fred.
00:52You know there are some bunkers around Fox and Fred.
00:54There are definitely some bunkers in the South, for sure.
00:56In full disclosure, our entire conversation in that commercial break was about Charlie's bunker plans,
01:02which are well-thought-out, thorough, and ready to go.
01:05We are definitely prepared for the zombie apocalypse.
01:08Are bunkers like Fight Club, like you don't talk about it?
01:11It's kind of like, tell me about all your guns.
01:14Right.
01:14You shouldn't answer that question.
01:16Right.
01:17Right?
01:17Okay.
01:18Nope.
01:18Not going to answer.
01:19Not going to answer it.
01:20Nope.
01:21Well, we learned a lot about this, not this morning, but we're also learning about politics
01:25in different cities around the country, where it's hard to have the bunker.
01:28And Chicago Democrats are actually issuing warnings.
01:31The rich people have bunkers here.
01:32But, okay.
01:33He knows more than anybody else.
01:35People in Chicago are warning Democrats in New York about this upcoming election, where
01:40Zora Mandani may be elected mayor.
01:43Chicago Democrats are saying in NBC News story that they're issuing warnings about their
01:49mayor and Zora Mandani's rise.
01:51And the Mandani's camp is tracking Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson's challenges and trying
01:56to avoid repeating his missteps, according to a person close to both Mandani and Johnson's
02:01team.
02:02So, Chicago's kind of tried this out.
02:04This is the...
02:05And now they're maybe going to try it out in New York.
02:07Yeah, but this is what I love about this whole debate about communism and socialism.
02:12It's been tried.
02:13And the whole idea that, you know, you have young people come along and they're like,
02:17well, you get everything for free.
02:19Everything's taken care of.
02:20You can have grocery stores.
02:21You don't have to pay for everything.
02:21Everything's going to work out great.
02:23No, it's been tried.
02:25And then they come back with, well, it's never been really tried the right way.
02:28No, it's been tried.
02:29It's been tried for over 100 years.
02:32It's 100 million people have been killed by communism over the past 100 years.
02:38It does not work.
02:40And so I just love that you have this wacko here in New York City who Democrats have decided
02:47to hitch their wagon, too.
02:50And then you have people in Chicago going like, hold on a second.
02:54It's been tried.
02:55It's being tried right now.
02:56It's not working.
02:57And Democrats in Chicago.
02:58Yeah.
02:59And then, of course, you also have my favorite story of the last couple of weeks, the government-run
03:05grocery store in Kansas City going out of business, or it's just completely collapsed.
03:12Shares, the shelves are bare.
03:14Yes.
03:14You know, investment just dries up here.
03:17I thought it was interesting, though, a very poignant op-ed in the Wall Street Journal
03:22this morning from the architect of the World Trade Center talking about his fear of Momdani
03:29and the writer, Daniel Liebskin, writing this.
03:34Ground zero, Momdani and Jewish memory.
03:37This is what they say.
03:38Daniel Liebskin, the architect behind the redeveloped World Trade Center, talks of his
03:42work, his love of America, and his coming of age in the shadow of the Holocaust.
03:47This quote, though, and bear with me, it's a little long, really lays it out.
03:51If Momdani is elected mayor of New York, Daniel Liebskin would like to bring him to ground
03:57zero and tell him a thing or two about tolerance.
03:59He's clearly not someone to trust when it comes to his relation to Jewish issues.
04:04Liebskin says, I am worried if he's elected, he is distressed by Mr. Momdani's refusal to
04:10disavow the slogan, globalize the intifada.
04:13He says he would stand with Momdani at ground zero and say, this site represents New York
04:19and America.
04:20It shines with the promise of liberty, a promise that no group will ever be singled out for
04:25criticism or opprobrium.
04:27New York, he says, gives you an equal future no matter where you come from or what your religion
04:32is.
04:33Momdani has no right to his slogans and to seek and polarize and divide our city.
04:38They have this interesting and alarming intersectionality happening between communism and pro-terrorism.
04:47I mean, globalize the intifada doesn't mean different things, as the mayoral candidates
04:52where Amandani is trying to say.
04:53It means blowing up people on their way to work in buses.
04:57It means suicide bombing, nightclubs and restaurants.
05:00That's what globalize the intifada means.
05:02It means killing people, specifically Jewish people, in the streets.
05:06We saw this happen in Washington, D.C. just recently.
05:09And you have Mondani saying, oh, well, this is something that means something different
05:12to different people.
05:13And now he wants former congressman Jamal Bowman, if he were to win the mayor's race,
05:19to be in charge of New York City schools.
05:21This is a person who was happy to go to a fundraiser alongside an Islamic leader who said he was
05:28happy to see the October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel, which resulted in dozens of Americans
05:34being killed and taken hostage in Gaza, where they were tortured and also killed there.
05:40He believes that you should put up murals to convicted cop killers like Assata Shakur,
05:46who was convicted in 1973 of killing a New Jersey state trooper and then fled to Cuba, which,
05:52of course, gave her shelter for many, many years before her death, a communist country
05:57taken over by Fidel Castro and the Castro regime.
06:00So you're seeing this intersectionality of these two horrific ideologies, which have resulted
06:05through time with much human suffering and death.
06:09And they're two wings of the same insect, actually.
06:12It's all about power.
06:13Both communism and terrorism are about achieving power against the will of people.
06:18And that's the whole point of it.
06:20And what I love so much about this op-ed about the architect of the World Trade Centers,
06:27that cities like New York and also Chicago are places where you come for extraordinary
06:32human achievement.
06:33And you can see it in the skyline more than anything.
06:35You see the skyline, the wonderment of, wow, this is like an amazing human achievement here.
06:41It doesn't rival nature, but it's spectacular.
06:43And it's those people who love humans and love human achievement who are the first to recognize
06:51the horrors of terrorism and communism.
06:55You know, Katie, I thought you had a great interview with City University of New York professor
06:59Jeffrey Lacks in the last hour talking about the impact of Mayor Mamdani.
07:05Listen here.
07:05Jamal Bowman is a lunatic.
07:09He erected, actually, a wall of fame that had two cop killers in public schools when he
07:14was a principal in a Bronx public school.
07:17But the problem with New York City is Mamdani, New York has a super majority.
07:21It's an all-democratic state.
07:22It's a one-party state.
07:24It's not just going to be lunatics like Mamdani, who, by the way, denied that Israeli women were
07:31raped, denied it.
07:33It's a sick, that's a sick person.
07:34But Mamdani is going to have complete control, if he wins, of the city with a super majority
07:39in both the council and the assembly.
07:42It is going to be a nightmare, I think, worse than Chicago with Brandon Johnson over there
07:47because New York City has a financial impact on the whole world.
07:51And just tactically speaking, Republicans will be able to run against this nonsense for
07:56the next four years plus.
07:57Yeah, but in New York, if Jamal Bowman is put in charge of the schools, he's going to
08:01use this radical ideology and indoctrinate it further into the, he does things like saying
08:06he would appoint Jamal Bowman to be in charge of the New York City education system, personnel
08:11as policy.
08:12He's not moderating whatsoever at all.
08:14Their stripes never change.
08:16All right, well, moving on to this now.
08:17Former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith is now under investigation for potentially violating the
08:23Hatch Act, which restricts government employees from engaging in political activities.
08:28Chandler Painter joins us now with the details.
08:30Hey, Chandler.
08:31Hey, good morning, guys.
08:32So the Office of Special Counsel confirming it's opened that investigation against former
08:36Special Counsel Jack Smith.
08:38This after Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton sent this letter saying, quote,
08:42I write requesting the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith, Special
08:47Counsel for Attorney General Merrick Garland, unlawfully took political actions to influence
08:52the 2024 election to harm then-candidate President Donald Trump.
08:58So while the specific scope of this investigation is not clear, it is expected the probe will look
09:04into whether Smith violated the Hatch Act during his criminal investigation into President
09:09Trump's handling of classified documents and alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election.
09:16Trump pleaded not guilty in both of those cases that were ultimately dismissed following
09:20the 2024 election.
09:21Earlier this week, Senator Cotton pointed to how he believes Smith used his DOJ role to, quote,
09:27help Kamala and hurt Trump, claiming Special Counsel Smith rushed the trial for President Trump
09:33to begin just two weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
09:36That Smith tried to go right to the Supreme Court to get a quick ruling before the election,
09:41and that Smith filed a massive brief that included secret grand jury testimony just within 60 days
09:48of the election, which could also violate a separate Justice Department rule that goes beyond
09:53the Hatch Act.
09:54So it's all important to note that this is an investigation, but it's not a criminal investigation,
09:58that the office there does have authority, though, to impose things like fines and other sanctions
10:03if they do ultimately find that he violated the Hatch Act, guys.
10:07Thank you, Shanley.
10:08Thank you, Shanley.
10:09A little bit of his own medicine, it seems.
10:11Yeah.
10:12And, you know, you can't look at the last four years and not think that the Justice Department
10:19got hijacked by a bunch of politically motivated people.
10:24But we'll see where it goes.
10:26As Shanley pointed out, it's important.
10:28It's a little confusing because a special counsel comes from the DOJ.
10:34This office of special counsel is a watchdog group, so we could possibly see maybe a referral
10:40to the DOJ, but it'll be something to follow.
10:42Speaking of following...
10:43Well, let's move on to something more controversial.
10:46Yes.
10:46Like Sex and the City.
10:47Far more controversial than Jack Smith.
10:50So did you watch Sex and the City?
10:52Were you a fan back in the day?
10:53I'm not a fan.
10:55Not back in the day, not now.
10:57Were you?
10:58It's like a chick movie, right?
11:01Yes.
11:01It's a show, but yes.
11:03It was a show.
11:03It was a popular one back in the day on HBO.
11:06It was one of those things you would, like, watch with your wife or your girlfriend if,
11:10you know, you were trying to be nice.
11:13So they rebooted it and surprised her here.
11:16It was super woke.
11:18Here is, in case you missed it, like Charlie did,
11:22some of the cringiest woke moments of the reboot.
11:25This is the reboot.
11:26This is the reboot.
11:28Hey, hey.
11:29Hey, the sis.
11:30And representing the cishet men is the dude himself, Jackie Knee.
11:35What up, sister?
11:36Brother.
11:38That's right, because I'm both and neither.
11:39I am Che Diaz, your host and queer, non-binary, Mexican-Irish diva,
11:46representing everyone else outside these two boring genders.
11:49Woke moment.
11:50You're the professor?
11:51Yeah.
11:52You're Naya Wallace?
11:53Yes.
11:54Why do you seem so surprised?
11:55Well, you're braids.
11:57A law professor can't have hair like mine?
12:00Rock, you know all the new things.
12:02What's your sister talking about?
12:04Oh, polysexual.
12:06Diego is attracted to multiple partners simultaneously.
12:08Whoa.
12:09The exciting travails of Carrie, the main character, which I had to ask you.
12:14I forgot her name.
12:15So Jessica Parker.
12:16I do know that.
12:17And then Mr. Big, he was a character in it.
12:19And so you got that.
12:22So, but I'm baffled here.
12:24So it's been canceled because it went woke?
12:27Because the people that watched it the first time felt like it missed the point on the reboot?
12:33Liz, audiences respond to what they see.
12:38Maybe some tuned in for the first time to watch it.
12:40Maybe some were the faithful that loved the first season.
12:45Either way, the point is, when you get too low, it was called Sex and the City.
12:49The whole point of it was you were supposed to, like, get matched in the city.
12:54The whole point of it was these women were all looking to get hooked.
12:57I thought you didn't watch it.
12:58Well, no, I thought enough to realize this.
13:01There you go.
13:01And so I'm just baffled, but I don't understand this because the whole point of it was it was, like, all about, like, human nature, the first one.
13:09And then it turns into whatever this is.
13:11It turned into weird academic.
13:13Yeah, exactly.
13:14The sociology department, like, vomited all over the reboot.
13:18But Sex and the City is not the only reboot that is in the graveyard now.
13:22You have Sex and the City, Gossip Girl, Charmed, Batwoman, Saved by the Bell, Snow White, The Acolyte.
13:29And I'm just wondering, when Hollywood says we're done losing hundreds of millions of dollars on these very predictable, divisive storylines that are also reboots that maybe we should just think of creatively and come up with something new, maybe take some advice from American Eagle about what people are interested in and come up with some interesting new storylines.
13:54And I hate to beat a drum here, but go back to the Bad News Bears.
13:59You didn't need to remake the Bad News Bears.
14:01The original Bad News Bears is outrageous.
14:03It's rude.
14:04It's vulgar.
14:05It's impolitic.
14:07But it's also hilarious.
14:09You know, I've thought long and hard about our conversation yesterday and the pilloring I took for suggesting Breakfast Club be remade.
14:17But to your point, Charlie, you know, in the day of wokeness dying at the box office with great actresses available like Sidney Sweeney, what if they made a sequel to Blazing Saddles?
14:31Oh, we're going to keep going with this?
14:32Yeah.
14:33Okay.
14:33Why would you, why would you improve perfection?
14:37Again, another movie.
14:39Blazing Saddles.
14:40You could never have been made in the past four years of the woke cancel culture, but maybe there's a window there now to lean.
14:47Maybe we could just replay it.
14:49Look, you guys, make a gun.
14:50Relicense it.
14:52I say Blazing Saddles.
14:53I think you're starting something else, Griff.
14:55So we're going to have a whole tranche of emails for next weekend.
14:58But you guys.
14:59They weren't kind of a yesterday.
15:01They were not.
15:01You guys sent your emails in about Griff's suggestion or demand that they remake The Breakfast Club.
15:07This is an email from Frank.
15:08He says, quote, if they remade The Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the movies would be woke.
15:14They need to come up with new ideas and characters instead of copying and twisting old franchises such as Star Trek and Star Wars.
15:21But others offered these films.
15:23This is from Jeff, my cousin Vinny.
15:26Great idea.
15:27Email from Keith says, E.T. visits again.
15:29I actually like that.
15:30Email from Michael, St. Elmo's Fire.
15:35And, yeah, there's some great ideas.
15:37Why would you remake E.T.?
15:38No, it's not making it.
15:40It's E.T. returns.
15:42He's coming back.
15:43Okay.
15:43But it would be sort of...
15:45I mean, part of what's so great about E.T. is the, like, special effects were dated.
15:50And I...
15:51You mean, like, the alien, like, the finger?
15:53Yeah.
15:54That?
15:54My cousin Vinny is a good suggestion, by the way.
15:57I'm for that.
15:58I still, I'm leaning into Blazing Saddles because it was the most controversial.
16:03You could never make that movie today.
16:05But there might be a window.
16:06But the truths are still true about that you get from Blazing Saddles.
16:11Yes.
16:12No, that's why they should make Blazing Saddles 2.
16:14Meanwhile, turning now to your headlines.
16:17Two men have been arrested in connection with the quadruple murders in Tennessee earlier this week.
16:22Special agents described both suspects as associates, charging them with accessory after the fact of first-degree murder.
16:29They're accused of helping suspect Austin Robert Drummond, who remains at large after allegedly killing four family members related to an infant that was discovered in the front yard of a home.
16:40A $15,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest.
16:46Drummond has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and gun charges.
16:53Smoke from more than 700 Canadian wildfires is blanketing parts of the Midwest, triggering air quality alerts in at least today.
17:02Canadian officials say they expect the conditions to continue throughout the day today.
17:06And former New York prosecutor Judge Jeanine Pirro has been confirmed as Washington, D.C.'s top prosecutor in a vote right along party lines.
17:17The Senate voting 50 to 45 to approve Pirro, who stepped in as the acting U.S. attorney for D.C. back in May on an interim basis.
17:26Judge Pirro thanking senators who supported her confirmation, saying on X, quote,
17:30Get ready for a real crime fighter.
17:33And get this, flip-flops are being hailed as the shoe of the summer by stylists.
17:41Groundbreaking.
17:41Flip-flops are going from casual to couture, with fashionistas scouring for cheap alternatives to expensive designer sandals that are going viral,
17:50like these huge ones from ERL, which cost $1,250.
17:55That's all $1,250, yeah.
17:57Spice Girls.
17:58Big price.
17:59Or maybe you're a fan of these $690 rubber sandals from The Row.
18:05Suckers.
18:06It comes after fans praised pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, who may have sparked the open-toed resurgence with these Old Navy sandals.
18:16And those...
18:17You know, sandals are incredibly hard to...
18:19I had never owned a pair.
18:20I bought a pair last summer because I'd run out of clothes or something.
18:24And anyway, they're really hard to wear.
18:27Sandals are flip-flops.
18:29Oh, no.
18:30Did I say sandals?
18:31I meant flip-flops.
18:32Yeah.
18:32I'm more of a Birkenstocks gal than a flip-flop gal.
18:35Of course you are.
18:35But Sabrina Carpenter wearing flip-flops in the summer is not groundbreaking.
18:40Sorry.
18:41No.
18:41It's just not.
18:42It's 100 degrees outside.
18:43I'm a surfer.
18:44I live in rainbow traditional flip-flops.
18:47Those are the best.
18:48And they make the flap-flap-flap-flap when you walk.
18:51They do.
18:51They do.
18:52It's really obnoxious.
18:53It's part of the culture.
18:54Just go barefoot.
18:56Let's start with this.
18:57Kamala Harris is attempting a comeback.
18:59Yes, after months of virtual invisibility, she's back.
19:02And not only that, President Biden, too, has resurfaced.
19:05But is this really a revival of leadership or just a desperate rebranding effort by a party that has lost its way?
19:11Kamala Harris chose to relaunch her public persona, not at a policy summit or a leadership forum, but on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
19:20A safe, soft-landing zone.
19:22The kind of place where hard questions go to die.
19:26But even with Colbert tossing softballs, Kamala still couldn't land a coherent message.
19:31She rambled, deflected, laughed nervously, and danced around basic questions, including why she isn't running for governor in her home state of California.
19:39Her answer, a convoluted mess that made you wonder why 60 minutes once had to edit her interview down to the bone.
19:47And if that wasn't odd enough, Colbert apparently didn't even get her a birthday gift, though, to be fair.
19:52Maybe he figured she hadn't earned it.
19:54Now, let's be clear.
19:55This is not just about Kamala on a book tour.
19:57This is a calculated attempt to reinsert herself into the conversation.
20:01According to sources close to her, she still harbors presidential ambitions.
20:05Her new book aims to rewrite the narrative of her failed campaign, arguing that it wasn't her fault.
20:10It was time.
20:12Or lack thereof.
20:14Not a lack of vision message or competence, just the clock.
20:17But Americans haven't forgotten how poorly she performed on the national stage.
20:20They haven't forgotten the endless word salads, the awkward laughter, and the inability to take a stand on major issues.
20:27Joining me tonight to break it down are two voices who know politics inside and out.
20:32Matt Tauri, a seasoned pollster and analyst, and Dan Torrentine, former Democratic strategist and co-host of The Morning Meeting.
20:41Dan, let's be honest.
20:42Is Kamala Harris really the face of Democratic leadership, or is the party adrift with no captain at the helm?
20:48Because if Kamala Harris is the best the Democrats have to offer, it's no wonder so many voters feel like the party has abandoned them.
20:54Matt, you've said it before.
20:56The real leaders of the Democratic Party today aren't elected officials.
20:59They're the media and the pollsters.
21:01And you may be right.
21:02We've seen it in the way the mainstream media fixates on distractions, while glaring failures like the latest jobs report go almost ignored.
21:11We lost over 250,000 jobs in May and June, based on revised data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
21:18But instead of focusing on that legacy, media continues to spin stories that deflect from the Biden administration's failures.
21:24And speaking of the president, yes, Joe Biden made a public appearance last night at the National Bar Association Gala in Chicago.
21:32Without Jill by his side, he was flanked by granddaughters and delivered yet another disjointed speech about Trump's civil rights and erasing history.
21:38The message was jumbled, the delivery awkward, and the tone almost apocalyptic.
21:44As always, he shouted, stumbled, and left the audience wondering what exactly he was trying to say.
21:49Ned Ryan, CEO of American Majority, put it bluntly,
21:51This is political horror for Democrats.
21:54They thought both Kamala and Joe had exited the stage.
21:56Now they're back, and the sense of dread is palpable.
21:59The Democrats are not energized.
22:01They're exhausted.
22:03Exhausted from defending the indefensible.
22:06Exhausted from dragging a clearly diminished president through another election cycle.
22:10And now, to make things worse, they're stuck with Kamala doing late-night shows and Biden giving tuxedo speeches.
22:16Let's talk about the internal dynamics here.
22:18There are rumblings, loud ones, that if Kamala dares to separate herself from Biden, if she dares to hint at challenging him, then the gloves will come off.
22:25The Biden team is prepared to unleash a flurry of unflattering, Palin-esque stories about how hard they tried to support her and how little she brought to the table.
22:33The message will be clear.
22:34She wasn't ready.
22:35She wasn't serious.
22:36And she wasn't competent.
22:37That kind of intraparty warfare would tear the Democrats apart just months before the election.
22:41And let's not forget Kamala's biggest missed opportunity, the southern border.
22:45However, she was handed a major portfolio and could have used it to prove her leadership chops.
22:50Instead, she distanced herself.
22:51She barely showed up.
22:53If she had even come close to addressing the crisis the way the Trump administration had, she might have emerged as a viable candidate.
22:59Instead, she chose the path of least resistance and in politics that usually leads nowhere.
23:03Matt, let me ask you directly.
23:05Is there anyone tied to the Biden-Harris administration who can credibly run in 2024 or beyond?
23:11Because the American people are watching.
23:13And what they see is failure.
23:15Failure on the economy.
23:17Failure on foreign policy.
23:18Failure on leadership.
23:20Voters haven't forgotten Biden's mental decline.
23:23And those who stood by and said nothing are now seen as complicit.
23:27Even worse, we're learning that those closest to Biden personally profited.
23:31Tom Donilon, one of his key aides, admitted to making $4 million from consulting and said he could have made double that had Biden been re-elected.
23:39That's what this is about.
23:40Not service.
23:42Not policy.
23:42Money.
23:43Influence.
23:44Power.
23:45Now, to top it all off, we have Biden proudly saying he chose Kamala because she was the first black woman vice president.
23:51Not because she was the most qualified.
23:53That's not progress.
23:54That's tokenism masquerading as leadership.
23:56Ned, you said it best.
23:57Kamala was never selected for her intellect, her insight, or her ability to govern.
24:01Her only real qualifications were her gender and her race.
24:04She became vice president because of DEI politics, not merit.
24:08And that's dangerous.
24:10Because the role she holds is one heartbeat away from the presidency.
24:14And in a nation of 330 million people, that should terrify all of us.
24:18And here we are again.
24:20The Biden-Harris team is reactivating itself.
24:23But make no mistake.
24:24This is not revival.
24:25This is retreat.
24:26It's a retreat into the same broken strategies, the same identity politics, and the same false promises that have failed the American people again and again.
24:33Coming up next, the ghosts of campaign past continue to haunt us.
24:36And the question remains with both Biden and Kamala.
24:39Back in the spotlight, is this the best the Democrats can do?
24:43And what does it mean for 2024?
24:45Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Fox and Friends Weekend.
24:48It's Sunday morning, the first Sunday in August.
24:50And we're waking up to a beautiful stretch of summer, though, depending on who you ask.
24:54Summer may or may not be almost over.
24:56Technically, it doesn't end until late September, so don't pack away the sunscreen just yet.
25:01You've still got a solid month to enjoy the heat, the sunshine, and maybe even squeeze in one last beach trip.
25:05Of course, as we say, that some of us are still recovering from a surprising event overnight, a mild earthquake that rolled through while most people were sound asleep.
25:14Some of us felt it, some of us didn't, and others like me mistook the tremor for a weird dream or just a heavy truck rolling by.
25:20Fortunately, there were no reports of serious damage or injury, and certainly no tsunami warnings, just a gentle reminder from Mother Nature that she's always in charge, even when we're sleeping through it.
25:30Meanwhile, across the globe, there's something much more uplifting happening, a powerful and inspiring scene unfolding in Europe where Pope Leo XIV addressed over one million young Catholics gathered for the final day of the Jubilee of the Youth Pilgrimage.
25:42The turnout was massive. Flags from over 146 countries waved proudly in the crowd as young people prayed, sang, and listened to the Holy Father share his vision for a more peaceful and compassionate world.
25:54In his multilingual address delivered in English, Spanish, and Italian, Pope Leo, encouraged the youth to be a light in a dark world.
26:01You are the sign that a different world is possible, he said, emphasizing fraternity dialogue over violence and unwavering faith.
26:09His speech was more than just words, it was a call to action. He urged them not to settle for less, to reflect on their lives, to serve the poor, and to find strength in Christ.
26:19And in a powerful moment of connection, he took questions from the crowd, including one from Will, a young American who asked how to truly encounter Jesus.
26:27The Pope's response was heartfelt and grounded in Scripture.
26:30Listen to the Gospel, reflect on your conscience, serve others, and seek justice.
26:34Adore Christ in the Eucharist, he said, and you will find Him there.
26:39For many watching, it was a moving moment of spiritual clarity in a time when politics and division dominate global discourse.
26:45And that's part of what makes this event so striking.
26:48In a time when more and more people, especially young people, are disillusioned with institutions and political leaders, they are turning to something deeper.
26:55Polling shows a rising number of young adults are returning to the Church seeking purpose and meaning that politics alone can't provide.
27:02In that light, this Jubilee event wasn't just a gathering, it was a revival.
27:06It was reminiscent of the Catholic Woodstock of 2000 when Pope John Paul II drew millions.
27:11Now, 25 years later, Pope Leo is channeling that same spirit, speaking directly to a generation, searching for guidance.
27:18There's something truly unifying about seeing young people from every corner of the globe stand together, flags waving, not in protest, but in peace.
27:25And as we shift from global inspiration to American politics, the contrast is hard to ignore.
27:30Back here in the U.S., our leaders are still struggling to figure out how to connect with the very same young people who just showed up by the millions for a message of faith.
27:37Instead, what we're seeing is political posturing and desperation, especially among Democrats who are now openly speculating about who could possibly lead the party in 2028 after a crushing defeat in 2024.
27:49Some pundits, including Charlemagne the God, are tossing out names like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as potential disruptors for the Democratic ticket proof.
27:57Some say that the party is grasping for relevance.
27:59Others are floating governors like Josh Shapiro or Wes Moore, hoping that executive experience at the state level might translate into national appeal.
28:08But what does it say when your party's best hope is a late-night host?
28:11When your strategy is more about shock value than substance, even Charlemagne acknowledged that Kamala Harris never really formed a genuine connection with voters, that her appearances always felt transactional.
28:21And the data backs that up young voters, once a reliable Democratic bloc, are drifting rightward, especially young men who feel increasingly alienated by identity-based politics.
28:30And that leads us to Donald Trump.
28:32Whether you like him or not, Trump has always had one thing.
28:35Many of his opponents lack authenticity.
28:38He says what he believes, and he's been saying it for decades.
28:40He doesn't reinvent himself every election cycle.
28:42He doesn't bend to cultural fads.
28:45And voters notice.
28:45You don't have to agree with him to understand why people trust him more than career politicians or entertainers turned politicians.
28:53And as we speak of trust, the dysfunction in Washington, D.C. is once again on full display.
28:57The Senate has left for its August recess without confirming dozens of President Trump's nominees for critical government positions, from ambassadors to undersecretaries, many of whom had already been approved in committee.
29:08Why?
29:08Because of Democratic obstruction.
29:09Senate Republicans accused Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of political extortion, while Schumer blamed Trump for refusing to negotiate.
29:17Senate Majority Leader John Thune laid it out plainly.
29:20This level of obstruction is unprecedented.
29:23Hundreds of posts remain vacant.
29:25Our diplomatic corps is understaffed.
29:27The government is hobbled.
29:29And yet Democrats walked out of D.C. for a month-long break without doing the basic job of governance.
29:34Let's be clear, the rules they're using to obstruct these confirmations aren't constitutional mandates.
29:39They're Senate, customs, procedural traditions, not law.
29:43So, when the Senate refuses to act, it's not because they can't, it's because they won't.
29:47The American people deserve better.
29:49So, this morning, as we reflect on the energy of one million young Catholics in Europe seeking spiritual truth and purpose,
29:55we can't help but compare that with the stagnation and cynicism in our nation's capital.
30:00The contrast is stark.
30:01One group is building toward a future grounded in faith and service.
30:05The other is stuck in the past, caught in political gamesmanship and power plays.
30:10Maybe it's time we take a cue from Rome.
30:11Maybe the path forward isn't through the next flashy name or viral soundbite,
30:15but through real meaningful leadership rooted in truth, humility, and service.
30:20Until then, we'll keep asking the questions and holding those in power accountable.
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