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The Big Weekend Show 2/22/26 FULL END SHOW | ᖴO᙭ ᗷᖇEᗩKIᑎG ᑎEᗯS February 22, 2026
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00:04Hello everyone, I am Tommy Lahren along with Joey Jones, Molly Lyon and Mark Thiessen and welcome to the Big
00:10Weekend Show.
00:11The big story tonight, a historic victory for Team USA today in the Olympics.
00:17The men's hockey team defeated Canada to take home the gold medal for the first time in 46 years.
00:24The team's forward, Jack Hughes, scored the game-winning goal in overtime, giving Team USA a 2-1 victory.
00:30And following the game, Hughes bass in the patriotic moment, saying he's proud to be an American.
00:36This marks the first time America has won the Olympic gold medal in hockey since beating the Soviet Union in
00:411980's Miracle on Ice.
00:45Alright Joey, this is a proud moment to be an American, as is every day.
00:49But when you see Team USA and then you see the athletes on Team USA celebrate America, proud to be
00:55American, it was a great morning for this country.
00:58No, it is. I love this.
00:59And hockey is one of those sports too, you know, most of the guys they're playing against, I'm sure they
01:02play with in the NHL.
01:04And so Canada kind of has owned this sport.
01:06I mean, it's their sport for their country and for us to come in and win this way, man, it
01:11just makes you proud.
01:11Not just to be an American, but to have something to cheer for alongside people that, you know, you don't
01:16know what else they think or like.
01:17It's something that brings us together.
01:19I remember when the soccer was that way, I guess it's been close to a decade ago now, when the
01:24men's and women's soccer were really making a push in the World Cup.
01:27And it's just cool to see all of this just down-home patriotism.
01:31I mean, you've got a guy missing half the teeth in the front of his mouth.
01:35Smiling like anything.
01:37And he's smiling because he can't feel it because all he feels is pride and just how hard they work.
01:42I mean, like most people, I've watched Miracle on Ice a couple of times in the last couple of days.
01:46That was really cool to see.
01:47It was amazing to see.
01:49You know, Molly, a lot of this Olympics, we've had some reporting on some of the athletes that were not
01:53so patriotic or they had a political statement to make that wasn't necessarily,
01:56I love the USA, commenting on ice, commenting on this, that, or the other.
02:00So then to see this, to wrap it up, I think it's the perfect way to end it.
02:04I mean, I think Hughes was ready.
02:06He scored the goal.
02:07He lost his teeth.
02:08He got up there with a big smile and sold it right away.
02:10This is all about our country.
02:12I love the USA.
02:13Just that simple.
02:14I love my teammates.
02:15And you know what's amazing about this is this excitement is going to invigorate hockey all across the nation.
02:21It already has, just like it did with the Miracle on Ice previously.
02:25And these are from 18 different NHL teams.
02:27They're going to come home.
02:28Those gold medals are going to go across the country.
02:30Look at that picture.
02:31Absolutely incredible.
02:32What a great morning.
02:33And everybody was watching.
02:34You know, there's not other sports going on.
02:36This is the stuff to see right now.
02:37All together is one.
02:38It's the country.
02:39Early in the morning, Mark, I know you're a hockey fan, and this was incredibly special for you as well.
02:44Did you get up super early and go to the bar?
02:46Because, you know, Kathy Hochul said they could do alcohol sales due to the USA team playing this morning.
02:51Did you partake?
02:52I was not partaking, but I watched the game, absolutely.
02:54And I don't know if Toby Keith is a hockey fan or not, or was before he passed, but I
02:59think he was smiling down from heaven because the whole USA hockey team was singing, brought to you courtesy of
03:03the red, white, and blue in the locker room afterwards.
03:05And let's not forget, also, we won both the men's and the women's gold medal in hockey.
03:11So this was a double gold medal beating Canada in both.
03:14So good for the USA?
03:17I think this means that we make Canada the 51st state now, but I'm not sure.
03:21We'll have to give an update on that later.
03:22It's automatic.
03:23Maybe.
03:23I'm joking, obviously.
03:24But turning now to much different news and to the breaking news out of Mar-a-Lago.
03:29An armed man was shot and killed after allegedly breaching the secure perimeter of President Trump's Florida estate.
03:37Earlier today, two special agents from the Secret Service and a deputy from the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office were involved
03:44in an officer-involved shooting while responding to an armed individual at one of the gates at Mar-a-Lago.
03:51Preliminary information indicates that the individual was armed with a shotgun in a possession of a gasoline canister.
03:58Agents and the deputy discharging firearms to stop the threat.
04:03Yes, 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin entered through the Northgate around 1.30 in the morning and was confronted
04:09by law enforcement soon after.
04:12The suspect was shot after he allegedly pointed his gun at the officers when ordered to drop it.
04:17No one else was hurt, and the investigation is ongoing.
04:20President Trump was at the White House in D.C., of course, during the incident.
04:24Joining us now live in West Palm Beach with the latest is Dan-Marie McNichol.
04:30Tell us what you got, Dana.
04:33Hey, good evening, Tommy.
04:35Well, security remains high here in Mar-a-Lago as authorities close down the road next to the Northgate.
04:40That's the same gate the 21-year-old from North Carolina used to enter Mar-a-Lago.
04:45How he got past security still remains unclear.
04:49Now, President Trump was in Washington, D.C. last night, so his motive remains uncertain.
04:55Investigators are looking into whether he bought the shotgun on his way down to Florida.
05:00Martin's family in North Carolina reached out to the Moore County Sheriff's Office and reported him missing today at 1
05:08.38 in the morning.
05:09Now, the timing of this report from his relatives is notable because, according to authorities here on the ground, Martin
05:16entered Mar-a-Lago at 1.30 a.m. when he was confronted.
05:20So let's take a look at the map here.
05:22The area surrounding Mar-a-Lago neighbors expensive homes that most likely have highly technical security systems with camera.
05:30The FBI is asking the neighbors for help to look at their security footage as the agency is taking over
05:35the investigation.
05:36Now, former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says retracing Martin's movements is critical.
05:44He either got out of a car, that car had a license plate, he got out of an Uber, left
05:49a hotel room.
05:50Once you start to backtrack and build the video crime scene in reverse, and there's a large network of security
05:55cameras, private and public, down there, that's how you're going to get an ID.
06:02Now, Secret Service Director Curran has boarded a flight and is on his way to Florida right now to lead
06:07after-action reports on the ground.
06:10And, Tommy, the sheriff's office here say that the deputies that responded were wearing body cameras.
06:17So we are hoping that they do release that footage soon so we get a better idea of how this
06:22all transpired.
06:23Dan Marie McNichol, thank you so much for all your wonderful reporting. We appreciate it.
06:29All right, though President Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago during this frightening altercation, it does bring back horrible
06:35memories of other assassination attempts against him.
06:38On July 13th, 2024, we all remember it, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks shot President Trump during a campaign rally
06:45in Butler, Pennsylvania.
06:47And then, just two months later, then 58-year-old Ryan Ruth hid for 12 hours at Trump's Trump International
06:53Golf Course in West Palm Beach with a rifle waiting to take a shot at Trump.
06:58Ruth has been sentenced to life in prison.
07:00Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino warned about the increase in threats to President Trump earlier today.
07:07This is the harsh political environment we live in that this particular president seems to, you know, it just drives
07:16a certain segment of the population absolutely nuts.
07:19I can tell you, having worked for President Clinton, President Bush, and President Obama, and then again, having worked for
07:25President Trump in this prior position,
07:28I've never seen anything like this threat atmosphere against this president through the roof.
07:37All right, Joey, so we still don't know the motive, right?
07:41Although it's at Mar-a-Lago, as well known, that that's where President Trump spends a good deal of his
07:46time.
07:46That's where he is when he's not in D.C., most likely.
07:48It is rather odd, though, that if someone's setting out to harm the president, they don't know that he's in
07:54D.C. at the time.
07:55So this makes this all a little bit cloudy.
07:57But what's not cloudy is that he had a shotgun and a gas can, which is bizarre in and of
08:03itself.
08:03Yeah, I think the biggest question I have is how did he get as close as he did?
08:06From my understanding, he was inside the inner perimeter.
08:08I've been to Mar-a-Lago for charity events, actually, and it's not an easy place to just walk into.
08:13But it is a functional, you know, a social club and golf course, so there probably are, you know, shipment
08:19trucks coming in and out.
08:20Maybe it's something where you just walk through a gate that somebody wasn't paying attention.
08:24And that bothers me because there should be at least a heightened level of security now that President Trump is
08:28in office.
08:29But then the second thing is what was his motive?
08:32And was his motive suicide by cop?
08:34You know, he sets the gas can down.
08:36He raises the gun up.
08:37What was he wanting to do with the gas can?
08:38Is he trying to set something on fire?
08:40Was he planning on a protest, set himself on fire?
08:42I would imagine we're going to get all that.
08:45Maybe he's a disturbed young man.
08:47We don't know.
08:47We just we don't know.
08:48We don't know.
08:49But I think my biggest concern without knowing more about him or his motive is how did he get so
08:54close?
08:54Right.
08:55Yeah.
08:55Well, if this is number three, we don't know.
08:58Again, we still don't know the motive, but it's at Mar-a-Lago.
09:01So we can kind of fill in our own blanks there as to what was going on.
09:04But, you know, Joey's right about this.
09:06Obviously, the posture of Secret Service and law enforcement is a bit different when the president himself is there or
09:12the protectees are there or they're not there.
09:15He obviously wasn't there.
09:15He was in D.C.
09:16But this still, I mean, when you talk about this man who has so many threats against his life, foreign
09:22and domestic, it changes the game a little bit.
09:24It does.
09:25You know, I was with President Trump in Mar-a-Lago the day after the second assassination attempt with Ruth.
09:30Oh, wow.
09:30I was supposed to interview him and he canceled all his appointments, but he kept mine.
09:33And so I spent about three hours with him that day.
09:35And he was in and off of the office.
09:36We were doing an interview.
09:37Then he was taking phone calls.
09:38And at one point, he pulls out a photograph for me.
09:41And it's a picture of the of the Butler rally where there were two cranes with American flags and the
09:46flags had entangled in the shape of an angel.
09:49And he showed that to me.
09:51And he said, maybe I was saved for a purpose.
09:53And I think that's true.
09:54I think he was saved for a purpose.
09:55And if you remember, one of the assassination plots against him in the 2024 campaign was by the Iranian regime.
10:01Yeah.
10:01And the Iranian regime is about to maybe very well about to.
10:04We're going to get into that later in the show, but maybe about to feel the the other end of
10:08that of that.
10:09Maybe he was saved for a purpose.
10:11Your story gave me chills, Mark.
10:13Real quickly, Molly, before we move on to this historic blizzard, I do want to get your take on this
10:17because you obviously reported extensively on assassination attempts one and two.
10:21And then we wake up this morning and we find out something else goes down at President Trump's estate.
10:26Yeah, I think it speaks to the heroism of the people there on site that are constantly on site that
10:30really have a very difficult job because of the Mar-a-Lago perimeter.
10:32It's not, you know, hermetically sealed.
10:34It's not like Camp David.
10:35They have all sorts of people going in and out.
10:37You know, regular Americans to protect, really, as Joey was mentioning, that are using this.
10:42It's an active site.
10:43Dana-Marie McNichol pointing over her shoulder saying, you know, activities are still going on here.
10:46So they're really protecting American citizens as well as the president.
10:49And even if this young man wasn't aiming specifically for the president, knew whether he was there or not, we
10:54don't know how much planning went into this.
10:55The authorities believe he picked up the weapon on the drive down there.
10:58I don't know how much pre-planning there was.
11:00It's also, it's just a symbolic site.
11:02Whether or not the intention is to hit the president specifically, this speaks to a broader threat to the first
11:08family.
11:09But mostly the heroism as well for all those people that are constantly trying to protect all of these people,
11:14including the Americans that go there all the time.
11:16I believe our own Gianna Caldwell is set to have an event there on Tuesday for the Caldwell Institute of
11:21Public Safety.
11:22So a lot of things happen at Mar-a-Lago that are important to the president and, of course, those
11:26around him as well.
11:27All right.
11:28Now turning to, yes, another powerful snowstorm slamming the East Coast as if we haven't had enough already.
11:36All right, a blizzard warning is in effect for major East Coast cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, and, yes, right here
11:42in New York City.
11:44New Jersey and New York are already in states of emergency.
11:47Joining us now live from Boston is Brandi Campbell.
11:50Brandi, what's the latest on the ground there?
11:54Hey, Tommy, we are just hours away from feeling the impacts of a crippling nor'easter.
11:59Take a look at what we could expect as we are just entering our blizzard warning.
12:03We could see winds gusting up to the 70-mile-per-hour range in the overnight and going into the
12:09Monday morning hours.
12:10But right now we have 40 million Americans that are also in total under the blizzard warnings.
12:16Now, when it comes to snow here in Boston, we could see up to two feet of snow.
12:21But if you go just south of us, some folks, they could see up to three feet of snow.
12:25And all of this is coming after an already impressive winter here in Boston with over 40 inches of snow
12:31falling, much of which is still on the ground.
12:35In Boston, we're also under a snow emergency and parking ban.
12:39Take a listen.
12:40I can't stress this enough.
12:43We have not seen forecasted snowfall rates like this in a long time.
12:48Coupled with the blowing and drifting snow, we can lose a road really quickly in these conditions.
12:55One vehicle stuck on a hill or a highway ramp can have cascading consequences.
13:04Meanwhile, Northeast airports are seeing near-total shutdowns.
13:08Right now we have over 13,000 flights that have either been delayed or canceled going through Tuesday.
13:15Tommy?
13:16I wish we had better news, Brandi, but we appreciate you being on the ground for us.
13:20Thank you so much.
13:22All right, coming up, the SAVE Act has overwhelming support from voters, but Democrats are doubling down on their opposition.
13:29Well, we've got Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna who's going to join us to debate voter ID and more.
13:35But first, Iran is on the clock to reach a nuclear deal with the United States.
13:39Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Dave McCormick joins us next for tonight's big close-up to break down that looming
13:46threat.
13:48Welcome back.
13:49The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a security alert urging American citizens in some locations to shelter in place
13:55until further notice.
13:56Mexican security forces say they've killed one of the nation's most notorious drug cartel leaders, El Mencho.
14:04But reportedly, chaos has emerged after the operation in the state of Jalisco, which includes the city of Puerto Vallarta,
14:12where tourists were told to not leave their resort after government officials warned of clashes.
14:18Photos and videos shared with Fox News Digital captured billowing dark smoke clouding the skyline of the city.
14:26Joining us now for tonight's big close-up is Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick.
14:31He sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
14:33He's also an Army combat veteran.
14:36Senator, thank you for joining us.
14:37Obviously, we have topics we want to talk to you about.
14:39This is essentially breaking news.
14:41It's just happened.
14:42We'd love to get your thoughts on what's happening in Mexico before we move further.
14:47Well, I think it's a great step by the Mexican government to take out this cartel leader of one of
14:52the most important cartels in Mexico.
14:54As part of a broader effort by the president, he promised to stop the flow of fentanyl, secure the border,
15:00prosecute and go after the cartels in the United States
15:03and use our military selectively like we have in Venezuela to take out the drug boats.
15:08Part of this is working with our allies like Mexico to focus on these cartels.
15:12So this is a good step forward.
15:13I'm in touch with some Pennsylvanians that are stuck in Puerto Vallarta.
15:17So we're monitoring the situation very carefully.
15:20But this is a great step by the Mexican government to take out this cartel leader.
15:23Yeah, there's probably a lot to be discussed about why the Mexican government felt empowered or motivated to take this
15:28step.
15:29Hopefully, we'll have a chance to cover that later.
15:31I want to turn now to what we thought would be the big story tonight when it comes to foreign
15:34policy in our military.
15:36President Trump's given Iran two weeks.
15:38I think it's 14, 15 days to reach the deal.
15:41We don't exactly know what all of that is.
15:43I know Steve Witkoff is kind of sounding the alarm on Iran's nuclear program.
15:47We're going to listen to him here.
15:50They're probably a week away from having industrial grade bomb making material.
15:58And that's really dangerous.
16:00The president asked me that this morning.
16:02And he's, I don't want to use the word frustrated.
16:05It's almost because he understands he's got plenty of alternatives.
16:08But it's curious.
16:10He's curious as to why they haven't, I don't want to use the word capitulated, but why they haven't capitulated.
16:18My question to you is kind of simple, but it's not.
16:22What is the better outcome?
16:23Is it to strike Iran and take the regime out or, you know, bring it to its knees?
16:29Or is it to reach a deal with a regime that generally doesn't honor their deals?
16:34I mean, what do you think, as a senator sitting on some of the committees, being a combat veteran yourself,
16:39what do you think is a better outcome for the United States?
16:43Well, I think you have to start with Iran has blood on its hands.
16:46It's killed thousands of Americans through its support of terrorist activity around the world.
16:52And it's threatened with real possibility using nuclear weapons against the United States and Israel.
16:58So this is a bad regime that's shown itself to be bankrupt.
17:02And I think what we're doing is tightening the noose to try to essentially have regime change.
17:07It's bankrupt economically.
17:09It's bankrupt in terms of its military capability.
17:11And people are protesting in the streets.
17:13If I thought we could get a deal with Iran that we could trust, obviously that'd be better.
17:18But I ultimately think they're probably untrustworthy.
17:20So I think continue to put the pressure on.
17:22That doesn't mean boots on the ground.
17:24By the way, there's lots of ways we can add additional pressure with military capability.
17:28I think the president's kept all his options open and is increasing the pressure.
17:32And I suspect we'll see regime change.
17:34I don't know if it's days or weeks, but I think we're on that path.
17:37There's plenty of military capability in the region right now, that's for sure.
17:42Senator, speaking of increasing the pressure, I want to bring it back home right now to the Save America Act,
17:49which has passed the House, but Senate Democrats are still blocking it.
17:53President Trump is calling for, you know, a change in those filibuster rules or a massage of them, I should
17:58say,
17:59so that Republicans can get that bill over the finish line.
18:02I've often said on this show, I think that the Save America Act is all that matters.
18:06It's what's most important to me and to millions of Americans who want to have faith in the integrity of
18:10our elections.
18:11Do you support that move with the filibuster in order to get this thing and voter ID across the finish
18:18line?
18:20Yeah, I gave a speech on the Senate floor last week where I said, listen, this is critical that we
18:25do this.
18:26It's an 80-20 issue.
18:27And if a body of 100 senators can't get 60 votes to move this forward, it shows just how broken
18:33our legislative process is.
18:36So, yeah, I am in favor of forcing those who oppose an 80-20 issue to get on the floor
18:42of the Senate
18:43and explain to the American people why they're not for voter registration, voter ID.
18:47Listen, nobody knows better than I do that every vote counts.
18:50I lost my first election by 900 votes and won my second one by 15,000 out of 7 million
18:56cast.
18:57We need to give our voters confidence that the votes that they're seeing are legitimate ones.
19:02And this is critical to do.
19:04So I agree with you.
19:04An absolute priority.
19:05Let's make those who oppose it defend it, defend their positions.
19:09Senator McCormick, Molly Lyon here.
19:11Thanks for being with us tonight.
19:12You mentioned, just as we began this conversation with you, some of your constituents who are in Mexico.
19:16This is the major breaking news that we're following, just beginning to get information.
19:20But there are reports of gunfire at the airport near Puerto Vallarta as well.
19:25There are a huge airport, about 18.7 million travelers going through there in Guadalajara.
19:30And now we have this huge winter storm that's unfolding across the eastern seaboard right now.
19:34So it's challenging for people to get flights, to get back to the United States.
19:38And now we have this unfolding situation.
19:40What are your thoughts now, just as this is beginning to get underway, as people at home are concerned for
19:45their loved ones and people there in Mexico are sheltering in place?
19:50Well, it's a dynamic situation, so you always need to be careful what you're hearing on the ground.
19:54But the State Department's issued a warning, a message, which is if you're a traveler in the area, hunker down.
20:01Go to your hotel room, go to wherever you're renting, and just stay in place.
20:05The airport's closed at the moment.
20:06The people that I'm in contact with have been able to look out the window, see cars on fire, see
20:13people on motorcycles, sort of gangs on motorcycles on the streets.
20:17So it's a very dangerous situation, and I think we'll watch the Mexican authorities.
20:22My guess is they'll regain control relatively quickly.
20:25But at this point, I think the answer is hunker down.
20:27And as for the travel here in the United States, we're all hunkering down here in the Northeast, getting ready
20:32for what seems like a big storm.
20:33So I'm expecting a pretty disruptive couple of days.
20:37Senator McCormick, it's Mark Thiessen.
20:39I want to bring it around full circle back to Iran.
20:41So, you know, right before the Venezuelan operation, President Trump spoke to Maduro, and he said,
20:46you have to leave the country or we're going to remove you from power, and he refused.
20:51And Senator Cruz reportedly just met with President Trump and was told by the president that we told the Ayatollah
20:56they must leave the country,
20:57hand over power immediately, or they will be removed from power.
21:00Do you think that's where we're headed right now?
21:02Should the Ayatollah learn from Maduro's mistakes?
21:08Well, listen, I think what President Trump has shown, that if he says he's going to do something,
21:13if certain actions aren't taken, there's a pretty good chance he's going to do it.
21:17At the same time, he's created a situation where he's got a wide range of possibilities in terms of the
21:23actions we can take.
21:24I think what we need to do is continue to just tighten the noose, tighten the noose with economic pressure,
21:30tighten the noose by standing tall and supporting the people in the streets in Iran.
21:34We've got all sorts of kinetic capabilities that go far beyond putting boots on the ground with missiles, with cybersecurity.
21:40And I think we need to continue to make that pressure grow.
21:44And I do think that the best thing that could possibly happen is the Ayatollah rides off into the sunset,
21:50and we have a path towards self-determination for the people of Iran.
21:53I don't think that's – I suspect that'll be a little bumpy, but that's where we want to get to.
21:57And it's good for America's interest, it's good for the region,
22:00and it's certainly good for the people of Iran who deserve much better.
22:04Real quick, before we let you go, one aspect of this I think people haven't talked about enough.
22:09Russia hit Ukraine last night or yesterday.
22:11A lot of times when they do, they're using Iranian-made drones, the Shaheed and there's a few others.
22:17We just saw – I just found on Reuters that Iran's buying $600 million worth of shoulder-fired rockets.
22:22I don't know exactly what those are, ground-to-ground, ground-to-air, from Russia.
22:26So there's this Russia involvement.
22:28Is there any worry or concern that, you know, getting too much pressure in Iran sparks up Ukraine again,
22:35and that one kind of teeters the other when Russia – maybe Russia doesn't want us meddling in Iran like
22:41we are?
22:43Well, I think there's no doubt that there's dots to be connected between Iran, Russia, and China.
22:49But my view here is, and the president's doing this, we are operating consistent on all our interactions in Ukraine
22:57and in Iran in the interest of the United States.
23:00It's in the interest of the United States to have regime change here, to take away this threat of terrorist
23:05financing and the nuclear capability.
23:07We need to do that in a way that ultimately is as least chaotic as possible.
23:13We learned the tough way.
23:14We all did in 20 years of war in Iraq that this can be very messy.
23:19So I think we need to enter this with humility, but with conviction and continued pressure.
23:24And I think that's what the president's doing.
23:27Senator Dave McCormick, obviously, thank you for your service.
23:29And thank you for coming on with us tonight as well.
23:33Thank you for yours.
23:35Yes, sir.
23:35All right, still ahead, President Trump delivering his State of the Union speech this week.
23:40And Dems are plotting their protest.
23:42Plus, a blizzard warning is now in effect for more than 40 million Americans as the storm continues to disrupt
23:48thousands of flights.
23:49DHS is issuing a warning over airport security programs.
23:54Next.
23:57We are back with a Fox weather alert.
23:59More than 40 million Americans are under a blizzard warning as a historic nor'easter is slamming the East Coast.
24:06Over 13,000 flights have already been disrupted due to the storm.
24:10We have Brian Yenis.
24:11He is live from LaGuardia Airport with the latest there.
24:14Good evening, Brian.
24:17Molly, good evening.
24:19Yeah, more than 550 flights have been canceled here at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
24:24That's more than half of today's flights.
24:26We are in the historic Marine Air Terminal, which serves just Spirit Airlines.
24:30But if you look at the board, it tells the story.
24:33Cancelled, cancelled, cancelled.
24:35Myrtle Beach, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Chicago.
24:38That was the scene here.
24:40But, you know, there were some flights this morning and passengers who showed up to the airport and their flights
24:46were just delayed.
24:47They were sitting on the tarmac, nervous.
24:49Some folks were lucky.
24:51Others were not.
24:53How did you feel coming in today?
24:56How did today go?
24:57A little terrified.
24:57It was super smooth.
24:59Credit to the Fort Lauderdale Airport.
25:00We got through security in 15 minutes, not even.
25:03Plane was 30 minutes late.
25:06Not bad.
25:06And why did we come back into a blizzard?
25:08We're not quite sure, but here we are.
25:11Our flight just got cancelled, so now we're going to rent a car and go to our destination.
25:15Did you have family here?
25:16Are you going to go to a hotel?
25:17What's the thought?
25:18We're just leaving.
25:19We're just trying to get out of here as soon as possible so we can get home.
25:25Now, more than 13,000 flights have now been disrupted by this blizzard through Tuesday.
25:30More than 8,600 flights have been cancelled so far.
25:33An additional 4,700 delays, and you can expect these ripple effects to carry on for days.
25:38A look at the FlightAware misery map.
25:39The airports with the most cancellations.
25:41The major hubs, JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Boston, Logan, all seeing near total shutdowns.
25:47And then tomorrow, LaGuardia is cancelling more than 90% of these flights.
25:52Tomorrow is going to be an impossible day to travel.
25:55Back out here, as you can see at LaGuardia, you've got folks that are already, they're
25:59shoveling the snow.
26:01This snow is the heaviest we've seen all day.
26:03Only expected to get worse.
26:05They're asking folks to please stay off the roads.
26:08Molly?
26:09Brian Yenis, inside, outside.
26:11Thank you very much.
26:12Chaos at the airports, though, could continue beyond this weekend's winter storm due to
26:17the partial government shutdown that is affecting the Department of Homeland Security.
26:20Now, it was initially reported that the agency suspended its pre-check and global entry program.
26:26DHS later clarified that they are still operational.
26:30DHS added that if this partial shutdown continues, though, there could be more flight disruptions.
26:35And Kristi Noem said DHS has to make some tough decisions due to the Democrats holding
26:40these funds hostage.
26:42U.S. Secret Service is also under the purview of DHS and is considering today's frightening
26:48security breach down at Mar-a-Lago.
26:49So, ending the shutdown, taking on a very renewed sense of urgency as we are all facing
26:54this, facing a big winter storm, people desperately trying to get to their destinations, and now
27:00potential slowdowns of security.
27:02I can only imagine what it's going to be like at those airports on Tuesday, on Wednesday,
27:06as this goes.
27:07And we're all going to be there, right?
27:08So we'll see how it goes at these airports.
27:11So it was a big relief to me when I said, OK, good, TSA still going, because that's
27:15just get everybody going as quick as you can.
27:17But just your thoughts, Mark, as we're facing this continued funding that's being held in
27:22the grips and clearly needed in multiple areas in this country.
27:26Yeah, this shutdown is going to be a you-know-what storm for the Democrats if this continues.
27:31I mean, can you imagine your flight's delayed for two days?
27:34You get to the airport to finally get your flight rebooked and you show up and TSA pre-check
27:38isn't working because the Democrats shut down the government?
27:40I mean, this is only going to get worse and worse and worse for them.
27:44You know, and the interesting thing is they took the wrong thing hostage, right?
27:49So their leverage over Trump was, we're going to hurt the economy before the midterms by
27:53shutting down these five different agencies.
27:55And then they let them all go except for TSA.
27:57I mean, for DHS.
27:58So now there's no threat to the economy anymore.
28:00And Trump has already funded ICE through 2029 and the one big beautiful bill.
28:05So what have they taken hostage?
28:06They've taken hostage TSA.
28:08They've taken hostage the Coast Guard.
28:11They've taken hostage, you know, things that people are, FEMA, for example.
28:13We've just got a major storm coming through and something goes wrong.
28:16FEMA is needed.
28:17Well, they've taken that hostage, too.
28:18This is a really bad situation for the Democrats.
28:21They've overplayed their hand.
28:22Yeah, and a lot of Americans hitting the airports or the train stations or picking up
28:25cars might feel a little bit like they're hostage trying to get back to their locations
28:29on Tuesday and might be thinking about that.
28:31And the midterms aren't that far away.
28:33I feel like one of those folks that feels like a hostage of New York City right now.
28:36Well, that's due mostly to this historic storm.
28:39But I will tell you this.
28:41On the partial government shutdown, it's going to be the messaging that's going to be key
28:45for our Republicans.
28:46Because last time, I think they lost the messaging fight with the government shutdown.
28:50I believe that it was the Democrats' fault wholeheartedly because the Democrats wouldn't
28:54reopen the government, right?
28:55However, the polls showed us that the majority of Americans blamed the Republicans.
28:59So this is going to be about messaging.
29:00And I'll tell you what doesn't help the messaging.
29:02When you have the alert this morning that pre-check and global entry were going to be suspended
29:07and then you have the reversal of that, that does not help your messaging.
29:11So I want DHS to get this right.
29:13I want Kristi Noem to get this right.
29:14I want the Republicans to get this right.
29:16Because it is the Democrats that are holding us hostage and could impact our travel even
29:20more than the weather already is.
29:21But you can't make mistakes like this and say TSA is suspended and then now it's not.
29:25You can't go back and forth because then you're already losing the messaging.
29:28Republicans can't afford this.
29:30Let's go around.
29:30Well, exactly what Tommy's talking about.
29:31I mean, the VA this week puts out a rule.
29:33Everybody gets mad.
29:34Oh, well, we're going to suspend the rule.
29:37Department of Transportation shuts down an airport.
29:39Everybody says, why?
29:40Oh, well, it's not shut down anymore.
29:42And now TSA is going to shut down pre-check, global entry.
29:45Everybody wants to know why.
29:46Okay, we're not going to do that anymore.
29:47I don't know why this administration is.
29:49I don't know if the secretaries are working.
29:52You know, maybe it's delegation of power.
29:54Maybe they're out there working on an island, just getting stuff done.
29:56They make a decision and then they get a call from president.
29:58Hey, that's not going to work.
29:59I don't know.
30:00I mean, I get that.
30:00That happens in a company.
30:01It happens in a corporation.
30:02I can understand that.
30:04But in the world of politics, you can't do that because what it does is it creates doubt
30:07in the American people, on their government.
30:10And I think all three of those agencies I just talked about, I think the secretaries are great.
30:14And they're doing a great job, by and large.
30:16But these are little unforced errors, self-inflicted wounds, that if you want to put it in the
30:19scope of politics, just like Tommy's talking about, you just can't do that because it
30:23does break down trust.
30:24And, well, why are they doing it?
30:25And can I trust what they say today will be true tomorrow?
30:28We look at TSA pre-check and global entry and you start to ask very legitimately, wait,
30:33were they going to shut that down so people did get mad and then told their representatives
30:37or senators to go vote for this?
30:39That's not the kind of maneuvers I want to see.
30:42That's akin to Chris Christie shutting down the bridge.
30:45We don't want that kind of stuff.
30:47So maybe it was funding and maybe it was personnel.
30:50I go through the Atlanta airport, busiest airport in the country, two or three times a week.
30:54And I'll tell you, whether they're getting paid or not, the TSA agents there, they're
30:57in mass and they generally are happy to be there doing their job.
31:00There's frustrations, of course.
31:02They always pat me down and I have a very intimate relationship with most of them now.
31:06But, you know, they're still showing up for work.
31:07So maybe they're just worried about not having enough people there.
31:10But there's no reason why we can't get DHS funded.
31:12This is really, I mean, it's such a ridiculous fight.
31:15It's not even in the headlines.
31:16It's just an irritation.
31:18And that's what makes it terrible.
31:19Yeah.
31:19And God bless the TSA.
31:20They're going to be working really, really hard come Tuesday, come Wednesday.
31:24And hopefully getting everybody where they need to go.
31:26Coming up, more violence from illegal immigrants on the road.
31:29We will explain all of that coming up.
31:32When you're young, you don't just get handed trust.
31:37You have to earn it by hand.
31:39You have to earn it by hand.
31:40No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
31:45No, no, no, no, no.
31:58No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
32:25The American people saw these citizens killed in cold blood without justification by ICE agents
32:33who are supposed to be protecting and serving the nation.
32:38What we see with ICE is an out-of-control law enforcement organization.
32:44There's the physical harm, there's the terror. It is very traumatizing.
32:52Democrats continue to push anti-ICE rhetoric as illegal aliens wreak havoc across America and attacks on law enforcement surge.
33:00In Idaho, police are searching for a suspect who allegedly drove a stolen ambulance into DHS offices
33:06before trying to set the vehicle on fire.
33:08Well, in Indiana, an illegal alien truck driver from India allegedly ran a red light hitting and killing a man.
33:15And in Georgia, a beloved teacher was killed after another illegal alien crashed into her
33:19while allegedly trying to flee from immigration officers.
33:23You know, I just look at this and I think the outrage that we heard from everybody
33:28when two Americans who were protesting and getting in the way of ICE agents were killed,
33:32and we don't have to re-litigate all that, but everybody had their names at their lips
33:36and their celebrities singing songs about them and all the rest of it.
33:39Is U2 making a song about these people, Joey?
33:43If they do make a song, I hope they don't put it on my phone automatically.
33:48Not a big U2 fan to begin with, definitely don't need their politics.
33:51Listen, on this whole topic, this idea that, really what this gets to the heart of
33:57is this conversation we had when Minneapolis was popping off of,
34:01well, they said they were only going to take the worst.
34:03No.
34:04They said they'd take the worst first.
34:05They said they'd go after, put the resources towards the violent criminals that they knew were here.
34:09Which is ridiculous that there were violent criminals that they knew were here when they took over to begin with.
34:15That the Biden administration had a list, had data on violent criminals that weren't being rounded up.
34:20It's amazing to me that that is a thing or even a discussion.
34:24But as someone who grew up in a town that is 78% Hispanic at this point,
34:28a large portion of those are first and second generation Americans,
34:31which means their parents were illegal when I was growing up.
34:34And more than once saw family members get T-boned by mostly Mexicans driving drunk.
34:39Without a license or insurance, I can't tell you the times that people were hit by a vehicle,
34:43by an illegal alien, who just jumped out and ran.
34:46Never see them again because nothing there is registered in anyone's real name to begin with.
34:51It's not to demonize a group of people, but it's to say,
34:54if you come here, the least you should know is the culture and expectations when it comes to driving on
35:00the road.
35:00I mean, anyone on this panel gets a DUI, we're like, oh, my God, that might ruin our lives.
35:05And it's just another Wednesday for some of these folks because they don't understand that when they get here.
35:09I'm not saying they're evil.
35:10I'm not saying they're terrible.
35:12But that is a terrible thing to kill someone on a road because you didn't understand that you weren't allowed
35:17to speed away from a traffic stop or make a bad U-turn with a semi.
35:21And you've got people with the ID that say no name given because they literally don't have ID.
35:28But, Tommy, I mean, I think a lot of people were frustrated with the execution of the deportation policy,
35:34especially since two Americans died in Minnesota.
35:36But the support, the polls show even after those deaths that the majority of Americans want to deport illegal migrants
35:44and super majorities want to deport people with criminal records.
35:48Where does this go from here?
35:49Well, I'm on the same page as Joey on this.
35:52There seems to be a confusion from some of the Americans out there that think that President Trump,
35:57while he was campaigning for months on end, said only the worst of the worst go.
36:01No, he said the largest mass deportation effort in American history.
36:05And he said it proudly.
36:06And that means everyone must go.
36:08Now, realistically, are we going to get 30 million people out of this country in four years?
36:11I don't know.
36:12I'd like to see it, but I doubt it.
36:14But to Joey's point, Democrats, and we saw this, in fact, on CNN the other night from somebody,
36:19that's actually from Memphis, Tennessee, a state where I'm from, they don't want anyone to go.
36:24They don't want a single warm body to leave this country.
36:26That means not the murderers, not the rapists, not the Maryland dads, not the drunk drivers, not the fraudsters.
36:33They want no one to go.
36:34They consider no one to be in that category, worst of the worst.
36:38Even when you lay out, I would say, behavior that would classify someone as worst of the worst,
36:43they make excuses for it.
36:44And they say, well, you can't prove that.
36:46We have body cam footage out of Tennessee of Kilmar Abrego Garcia with eight people in his car with no
36:51luggage,
36:51but you can't prove he was smuggling.
36:53That's the reaction you get from Democrats.
36:55So I guess we can deduce they want no one to go.
36:58Well, that's not going to cut it with this administration.
37:00So, Molly, a lot of this has to do with sanctuary city policies, right?
37:04Because, you know, when Tom Homan said, well, Tom Homan has pointed out that if you go to,
37:08if the cities and states would just cooperate with ICE and take the criminal alien with the record,
37:14the criminal record, they wouldn't have to go into the communities.
37:17And when they go into the communities, it endangers the community, it endangers the illegal migrant,
37:21and also people get swept up who weren't the target.
37:24Because if they find somebody who's here illegally, as Tommy points out, they're going to get to deport them too.
37:29So how do we deal with the sanctuary city policies?
37:32Well, it's interesting you mention that because now they're expanding.
37:34This is a big point of Democratic pushback in recent weeks even.
37:37They started expanding under the first Trump administration and then became,
37:41they would be reiterated or expanded under the second Trump administration.
37:44And now just in recent weeks, there are all sorts of other additional efforts underway.
37:48But one of the things that I think you brought up really specifically,
37:51and that helps a lot when you're understanding the sanctuary city policy,
37:54is that many times it prevents the cooperation,
37:57the handing off of someone who has been convicted, that has spent their time in jail.
38:01We're talking about, you know, sex offenders, gang members that are then released into the population.
38:07And ICE, and Tom Holman points this out frequently,
38:09why they're out in the neighborhoods in these sanctuary cities and jurisdictions,
38:12to go and find those people and then ultimately aim to deport them.
38:16And under the most recent statistics that are out,
38:19very compelling statistics that 70% of all ICE arrests involve individuals who have been convicted or charged with a
38:26crime.
38:26Now, the left and Democrats have disputed those numbers,
38:28but it's pretty compelling when you're talking about the people that they're going for.
38:33Although they've argued they have a right to go for everyone,
38:36but it's compelling that they are specifically focused on those individuals and trying more and more to get them.
38:41All right.
38:41Well, still ahead, could California soon have a Republican governor?
38:44Governor, GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton joins us to make his case for fixing the disastrous state and more.
38:51Plus, draining the swamp, literally.
38:53President Trump is cleaning up after the Potomac after a major sewage spill.
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