Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Booker Bombshell: Top Democrat Admits Party Is Losing Its Way as Infighting Explodes

Transcript

Booker Bombshell: Top Democrat Admits Party Is Losing Its Way as Infighting Explodes · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Let me first off say I hope you had a
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: great Memorial Day weekend, that you were safe and got
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: to remember so many of the brave men and women
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: that have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country. And
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: I just want to say thank you to anyone that
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: wears a uniform and a badge. God bless you, and
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: thank you for protecting and defitting this great country. Well,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the good news is if you're a Republican, there's a
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: full blown civil war unfolding inside the Democratic Party right now,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: and it's not getting a lot of attention, but voters
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: are paying attention. And one of their own sinaters just
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: admitted it publicly. Corey Booker started talking openly about desperation
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: inside the Democratic Party. You know, the panic has moved
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: from private conversations behind closed doors now into public view.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: And that's exactly what we witnessed in the last twenty
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: four hours. Corey Booker recently acknowledged that millions of americansions
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: of Democrats. Well, what's something they already know? The Democratic
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Party is struggling to find not only new energy, but
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: new leadership and then a message that actually connects with
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: voters outside of the elite activist circles. Now, Booker's comments
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: about Democrats needing a new, fresh set of faces and
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: ideas may sound simple on the surface, but politically those
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: words are devastating to a party that thinks they're going
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: to clean up in the midterm elections. When a senior
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Democrat says the party needs fresh faces, new faces, and
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: new ideas, what he's really saying is this, the current
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: leadership isn't working, the current strategy isn't working, and the
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: current leadership and strategy may be actually dragging the party
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: towards another election day disaster. Now, this isn't just about
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: one quote from Corey Booker either. This is about a
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Democratic Party that is fractured in multiple competing factions, all
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: of them point the finger, all of them blaming each
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: other for why they're losing support with working class voters,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: with independence, with Hispanic voters, with young men with suburban parents,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: and even parts of their traditional urban coalitions, and the
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: end fighting is getting uglier by the day. I want
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: you to take a listen to what Corey Booker had
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: to say on TV as he described this publicly for
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: the first time. But before I get to that, I
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: also want to talk to you about the incredible work
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: that is being done by the International Fellowship of Christians
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: and Jews right now in Israel, and how you can
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: get involved to stand with so many that are hurting
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: as we speak. When you hear about Israel in the news,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: it's easy to think of headlines politics, or another conflict
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: far away, But for families in Israel and Jews around
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: the world, this is incredibly personal. Anti Semitic attacks in
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: the Holy Land and across the globe are happening right now.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Elderly Holocaust survivors who endure so much already again.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Fear for their lives.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Jewish families are praying for the freedom to worship in safety,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: and in moments like these, your voice matters because your
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: voice can remind them that they're not alone. The International
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Fellowship of Christians and Jews and inviting you to leave
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: a personal prayer or message of encouragement that will be
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: delivered directly to someone in Israel who needs hope right now,
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: not filtered through the media, not lost online, but personally
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: delivered a simple prayer, a few heartfelt words they can
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: lift the spirit of someone facing fear, uncertainty, and isolation.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: This is more than support this is standing with Israel
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: when it matters the most. Go to PREYIFCJ dot org.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: That's prey, pr ay IFCJ dot org, and you can
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: submit your prayer today. That's prey if CJ dot org.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: So take a listen Corey Booker in his own words,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: talking about the Democratic Party and saying what many Democrats
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: wished he never would have talked about.
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: What's the message from Leader Schumer or Leader Jeffries on
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: helping the American people. I mean, I cover this for
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: a living, and I'm not sure there's a coherent message
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: about elect Democrats because this is what we're going to do.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: I mean, I know you all hate Trump, but what else?
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: Well, that's again plainly what I've been saying. You are
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: not going to win this election just by what you're against.
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: You need to start articulating who you're for and what
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: you're for. Have a vision that's compelling that not only
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: engenders trust, but makes sense for the American people.
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: You still have faith in the Schumer to be in
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: charge of you.
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: I am telling people left and right, we are five
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: months out from election. What is going to make the
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: Republicans gleeful is if we're talking about each other in
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: the Democratic Party and not talking about the realities that
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: Americans are facing. I am tired of all this mass
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: about party politics. We are in a crisis right now,
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: millions of Americans losing their health insurance, their costs skyrocketing.
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: I talk to more and more New Jerseyans who are
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: barely staying afloat enough of normal party politics. We need
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: to focus on the people, and the Democratic Party desperately
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: needs new leadership. And that's what's exciting me about this cycle.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: It's not only new leaders emerging, but a new vision
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: for our party. But you can damn well be sure
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: that I'm going to be talking about what our party
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: needs to do to change and what our party needs
• 5:31
  Speaker 4: to go. And the biggest issue for me and I
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: think what makes me frustrated with politics as usual, is
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: the massive corruption going on in all three branches. From
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: a Supreme Court that's taking unlimited gifts from billionaires who
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: have interest in matters before them, to congress people trading
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: stocks and accepting corporate cash and corporate pack money. To
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: a president who is setting records for being the greatest
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: grifter in chief we have ever seen. We need real
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: change that engenders trust again in American politics, but more
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: important and the people that are standing up right now.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Now the end fighting is getting uglier by the day.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: You got one wing of the Democratic Party that says, well,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: we've gone too radical, and then you have the other
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: side saying, are you kidding me, We're not radical enough?
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: And then one faction says the party has abandoned Middle America,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: and another side of the party says, well, we just
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: spend too much time trying to appeal to moderate so
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: let's just stop doing that. And underneath all of this
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: is the brutal reality Democrats cannot escape. They still don't
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: know how Donald Trump keeps winning the political conversation. That's
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: the part that's driving them absolutely crazy because after years
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: of investigations, media attacks, impeachment efforts, even the criminal cases,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: in the non stop political warfare, Trump still dominates the
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: national conversation. He still controls the Republican Party onlike any
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: political figure that we've seen literally in modern political American history.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: And Democrats are looking around asking themselves the big question,
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: how are we losing ground after all of this? And
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: that's why Corey Booker's comments became so interesting, because what
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: he's really describing is a confidence crisis inside of his
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: own party. Just think about what Democrats are facing right now.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Twenty twenty four post election autopsy exposed major weaknesses with
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: younger voters and also refusing to admit their own flaws.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: One of the great.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: Examples is they completely admitted the fact that, well, there
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: was a massive cognitive decline of Joe Biden. If you
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: do an autopsy on how you lost an election with
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Kamala Harris, but you don't look at that, and you
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: don't look at the fact that no one voted for
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Kamala Harris, that's right, she was coronated. There was also
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: another problem there. Now the polling also shows something else
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: that's interesting. There is now growing frustration within the Democratic
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Party on issues like in flat even immigration, crime, and
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: then cultural extremism. That's not good for Democrats running. You've
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: got Democratic governors that are increasingly at odds with progressive activists.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: You've got moderates in the Democratic Party that are nervous
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: about the far left messaging that's coming from all the
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: activist groups, and the donors are beginning to quietly worry
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: apparently that the party, the Democratic Party, has become so
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: disconnected from normal Americans, that they've completely lost sight of reality.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: And that's why you're hearing phrases like new faces or
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: new generation, or new ideas, or rebranding or course correction.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: All of those have been used in the last several
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: days by Democrats on TV. Now, these aren't hopeful slogans
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: at all. These are actually slogans of warning signs that
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: they now realize are right in front of them. Look
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: political parties, they only start using language like this when
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: they believe the current model is in a disaster spiral.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: And then there's also another major issue, who is actually
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: the leader of the Democratic Party, who exactly is leading
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: on the issues, And that's becoming harder and harder to answer.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: Former President Joe Biden remains deeply polarizing figure within his
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: own party, and he's nowhere to be found. You've got
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Vice President Kamwa Harris continues to struggle with approval ratings
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: in voter enthusiasm, even as she says I'm running for
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: president again more than likely. And progressive stars like AOC
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: excite activist audiences, but then they create bigger concerns among
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: the moderates. Governors are also trying to emerge nationally. Look,
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: governors are even trying to emerge politically for the White House,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: but none have fully consolidated their support outside of their
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: own state. And then you've got sentaters like Corey Booker. Yes,
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: he's looking at running for president, but he's also signaling
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: that the Democratic Party is in need of an entirely
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: new makeover, in other words, a new direction he believes. Look,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: there's not a lot of unity right now, there's no
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: framework for how they're going to get back on top,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: and the generational divide within the Democratic Party is becoming
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: impossible to hide. Older establishment democrats still dominate much of
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: the party infrastructure and their donations. But the younger radical activists, well,
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: they want aggressive ideological confrontation on everything from climate policy
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: to policing, to immigration, to foreign policy to trans issues.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: Moderates by the way, they want things totally different. They
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: want electability. Activists want ideological purity, which doesn't happen on
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: either side of the aisle very often. And then donors
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: are saying, hey, they just want stability in America and
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: they want stability around the world. The grassroots organizers, many
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: of them, have dried up because they don't believe in
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: going to war on behalf of some of these radicals,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: which brings me to one Democratic candidate that is being
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: supported by the elites of Washington, and that's a guy
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: who has a Nazi tattoo.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Yes, Graham Platner.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: He is in Maine, and he is the guy who's
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: got the most wild opposition research file I've ever seen
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: any candidate have. And the Democratic Maine Senate candidate even
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: had to dodge questions this week about an apology. He
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: was confronted over a deleted Reddit post where he said
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: a purple Heart recipient didn't deserve to live. Yes, he
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: actually said that. He was asked if he wanted to
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: apologize after saying that, and here is the response from
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: the Democratic leading candidate in Maine.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: I was wondering, if.
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: You regret the posts about the purple heart veteran, if
• 11:58
  Speaker 5: you think you need to apologize to him, what you would
• 12:04
  Speaker 5: say to the voters who might be upset by it?
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: Therefore, tours the infantry. Any attempt to say that I
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: disrespect coutrooms is slanderous and offensive.
• 12:16
  Speaker 5: Do you think you allm an apology?
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: Do you know how many of my friends a prople
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: arts do you know how many of my friends got.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: Winded arlt thank you, thank you.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: So there you have it, a Democratic Party that insults
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: our men and women that served this country, refuse to apologize,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: and then there's massive infighting on top of that. What
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: we now know, and it's pretty darn clear, is the
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Democratic Party has no idea who's in charge or even
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: what they actually stand for. And that's where we are
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: right now. Donald Trump has come out with a new
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: message on true social regarding Iran's enriched uranium stockpile. And
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: here's exactly how President and Trump framed it. Trump said, quote,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: the enriched uranium nuclear dust will either be immediately turned
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: over to the United States, or be brought home and destroyed,
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: preferably in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran,
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: or destroyed in place or at another acceptable location. That
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: line instantly sent shockwaves through not only Washington, but also
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: the Middle East, and then it had a big impact
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: in the.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: International diplomatic circles.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Why because this wasn't Trump talking vaguely about negotiations. This
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: was the President of the United States publicly declaring that
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: Iran will not be allowed to keep enriched uranium period,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: and that in many ways changes everything now. According to
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: reports following the post, Trump's demand is now central to
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: the ongoing negotiations connected to the conflict in the region
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: and the broader talk involving the Strait of Hormuz, which
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: I'll get to in a moment. For years, Iran has
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: insisted that it's uranium in Richmond is a sovereign right.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: Iranian officials have repeatedly argued they should be allowed to
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: maintain a quote civilian nuclear program. But Donald Trump's position
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: is dramatically different from previous frameworks and especially from American leaders.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: He's not talking about limiting uranium enrichment levels. He's not
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: talking about temporary pauses like Obama did either. He's talking
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: about physically removing the stockpile from Iranian control or destroying
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: it outright. That is a completely different level of pressure.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: And it's exactly why this story matters so much right now,
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: because enriched uranium is now the centerpiece of the entire
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: nuclear deal and debate and a ceasefire. Once uranium, by
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: the way, reaches higher enrichment levels, experts warn, the timeline
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: towards weaponization becomes dramatically shorter, and the presence smart and
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: understands you cannot trust Iran, and that's why the administration
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: appears to be pursuing a strategy that's really built around
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: one principle eliminate the stockpile itself. No stockpile, no breakout capacity,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: no ambiguity. And the timing is also well, really critical.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: These comments come as the President also continues military pressure
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: and operations near the Strait of Hormus. Multiple reports today
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: confirm that US force is launched what we're described as
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: self defense strikes targeting iranium missile sites and naval threats
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: near the shipping corridor. That means diplomacy is happening under
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: the shadow of active military confrontation now. At the same time,
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: the Strait of horm moves remains one of the most
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: strategically important waterways on Earth and a huge centerpiece of
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: not only the global shipping of oil and the strait
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: also remains one of the most strategically important waterways on
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Earth and a huge percentage of what the President has
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: to figure out in this peace deal possibly with Iran. Now,
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: according to reports, reopening and stabilizing the strait is now
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: deeply connected to the broader nuclear negotiations, which brings me
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: to part two of the story. Now, to be clear,
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: Trump is essentially trying to leverage the military, the economic,
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: and the diplomatic pressure all at the same time, and
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: it's working. The message from the President also is straightforward.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: There is no ambiguity. If Iran one sanctions relief, if
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: Iran one stability, if Iran one's economic breathing room, then
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: the uranium enrichment is gone. In fact, the uranium goes
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: away forever. It's not going to be monitored which is
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: what we had in previous administrations. It's not going to
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: be stored underground, not hidden in another facility. It is
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: going to be destroyed. Now here's what also makes this
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: conversation even more explosive. Iranian state Link media is already
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: rejecting these new claims from the President and claims that
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Taran agree to transfer uranium out of the country. In fact,
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: reports from the state sponsored news agency specifically pushed back
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: against stories suggesting Iran had accepted these conditions. Now that
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: could be to save face with the people in Iran.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: But despite all this, Donald Trump seems confident and seems
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: to me making it clear this situation can move quickly
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: in the right direction, or the situation can get extremely dangerous.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: Iran, you get to choose.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Now, if the negotiations collapse, the presence made it clear
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: they will continue to bomb the world. Immediately starts asking
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: the next question, what happens then, Right, does Israel also
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: act militarily There's a very good chance. And how long
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: do the US strikes go or intensify? And does Iran
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: escalate a tax in the Gulf as well against their neighbors?
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: And most importantly, does the Strait of Hormuz yet again close? Now,
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of X factors here, but the thing
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: that is clear as this Trump says he believes that
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: a partial compromise is no longer acceptable. Supporters of President
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: Trump are making it clear as well. That's exactly what
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: Americans elected him to do, to take a tougher position
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: against regimes like Iran and refuse what conservatives long described
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: as weak on one sided nuclear deals. Trump withdrew from
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: the Obama era Iran nuclear agreement during his first term.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: He made it clear then that had empowered Tehran while
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: failing to permanently limit the nuclear threat. Now, in the
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: new phase of negotiations. The President is now saying, we're
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: not repeating that model. And politically, this is also classic
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: President Trump. Maximum leverage, maximum pressure, maximum public positioning. Trump
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: is literally negotiating publicly and directly and aggressively, and he's
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: using his true social account, almost like a diplomatic megaphone,
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: to also let the rest of the world in on
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: what he's thinking. And there's another major issue here that
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: cannot be ignored verification. Even if Iran agreed tomorrow to
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: destroy or transfer the uranium, verifying compliance would be enormously difficult.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Inspecters would actually need real access, facilities would need actual
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: real monitoring, transportation routes would require massive security and trust
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: between Washington and Tehran. Well, let's be clear, it's almost
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: non existent. And that's why this is a big moment.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: This could be consequential for the future of the country
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: and the world.
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: This isn't just.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: About another temporary ceasefire either. This is about whether the
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: United States can permanently force Iran to surrender the materials
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: at the heart of the nuclear standoff. Now, Trump is
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: also linking the negotiations to a broader regional vision involving
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: expanded peace agreements, and the normalization efforts across the Middle East,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: which would also include Iran and the lifting of sanctions.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: And while many Republicans are glad that the President is
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: doing what he needs to do on pressure, there's a
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: course many in the media and in world politics that
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: are saying the president has lost his ever loving mind.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: And when they're saying that, what it usually means is
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump is absolutely right. There is a critical moment
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: that's happening right now in negotiations between the United States
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: of America and Iran, and the center of everything is
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: one narrow strip of water, and you know, it impacts
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: the entire global economy, and that is a straight of
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: horror moves.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: Right now.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: The biggest question in the world isn't just whether the
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: US Iran can avoid another massive escalation. The question is
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: whether global shipping and the oil markets is well going
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: to have stability or it's going to continue to go
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: up and down like crazy all because of this standoff.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: And now there are major developments on both fronts, and
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: that is good news.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: For weeks, the United States and Iran have been engaging
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: in these intense negotiations, involving multiple mediators. This has included
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Oman and Qatar and even Pakistan. They're all trying to
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: get stability in the Middle East. They're trying to hammer
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: out a broader agreement tied to the ongoing conflict. Now
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: this is also happening as Iran is demanding sanction reliefs
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: in a deal, and Iran says they really don't want
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: to totally get rid of their nuclear ambitions. Of course
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: they lie and say it is not for nuclear weapons,
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: it's just for energy, which no one believes them. President
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: Trump has also publicly said over the weekend that the
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: negotiations are largely at this point negotiated, meaning there's a
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: lot of parts of the deal that have already been
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: agreed to, and that a breakthrough could actually be very close.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: Iran is simultaneously signaling that while progress is being made,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: a final agreement they're saying is not imminent.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: Now.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: They may be lying just to keep the people in
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Iran in line, as well as those that are in
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: charge of the government, especially knowing that the IRGC is
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: in charge of the country right now, and that really
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: tells you what you need to know about these talks.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: Both sides want a deal, but neither side wants to
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: look weak while getting there. Now, the biggest sticking point
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: remains Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles. The United States has made
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: it clear President Trump demanding that Iran either surrender, transfer,
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: or neutralize it's highly enriched uranium. Now, Iran publicly has
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: said over and over again they refuse to hand over
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: anything within enriched uranium to America. Instead, we're now being
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: told that negotiators are discussing possible face saving alternatives, including
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: transferring the material to a third party country like Pakistan
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: or Turkey, even Russia or China, two of our biggest adversaries.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: There's also another idea that was floated allowing Iran to
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: dilute the material under strict international oversight. So that's the
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: diplomatic side that's playing out behind the scenes. But the
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: military and economic side of the story, it still all
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: is revolving around the Strait of hor Moods, and that's
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: where things become incredibly important for Americans listening right now.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: The Strait of Hormus.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: It's clear it is the most strategic and important waterway
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: on planet Earth when it comes to oil. Roughly twenty
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: percent of the world's oil supply flows through that narrow corridor.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: When it is disrupted, we've seen what's happened. Oil price
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: of spiked, the shipping costs also skyrocket inflation. Then the
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: risk of it grows and the global markets do what
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: they do best, they flat out panic. So the big
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: question is this is the Strait of Hormuz open or
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: is it closed right now?
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: The honest answer is this.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: It's partially open, heavily contested, and not operating in a
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: normal atmosphere, meaning boats are not just coming and going
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: as they need to. Now, commercial shipping is resumed in
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: limited forms in some areas, but the situation remains, as
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: they describe it, unstable and highly militarized. The United States
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: naval presence remains enormous in the region with Iran. They're
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: continuing to use threats, inspections, even proxy pressure and maritime
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: leverage as bargaining tools to get what they want in
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: this peace deal.
• 25:06
  Speaker 4: Now.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: According to the latest reporting today, negotiators are now discussing
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: a new framework that would fully open the strait roughly
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: thirty days after a formal peace agreement is signed.
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: Now.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: During that period, Iran would reportedly begin removing naval minds
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: and halt transit fees and restrictions tied to the conflict.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Now that is a huge development. It also means something critical.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: The Strait is not fully normalized yet. If it were
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: fully open and secure, there would be no need for
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: these negotiations to reopen it.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: And remember how we got here.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: After the broader conflict escalated earlier this year, Iran used
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: any leverage they could have and they moved aggressively to
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: disrupt shipping through the strait. The United States then responded
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: with naval operations, escort missions, and eventually that naval blockade
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: targeting Iranian ship's activity in the waterway. Now, at this point,
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: commercial traffic through the region nearly collapsed. Insurance costs for
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: tankers exploded. Oil markets then panicked, and global shipping companies
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: rerouted their vessels, costing time and money. Some tankers simply
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: refused to transit the area altogether, and the world was
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: reminded how fragile global energy infrastructure really is now. The
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: US then launched their maritime operations that was in theory
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: designed to reopen commercial transit and also to ter Iranian interference.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: Those operations included escort missions, mind clearing efforts, and aggressive
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: naval enforcement actions now ran. Meanwhile, they tried to leverage
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: as crisis politically. One proposal from Tehran reportedly inuted creating
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: a new Persian Gulf shipping authority that would effectively route
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: traffic through Iranian controlled procedures and potentially would impose tariffs
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: or fees. Golf Arab states strongly opposed that idea, warning
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: that it would hand a run too much control over
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: international commerce. And that's where the geopolitical chess board, well,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: it gets really fascinating, because this isn't just about a
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: random America any longer. China is now watching closely because
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: China depends heavily on the old shipments through the Strait.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: Europe is also watching. Energy prices directly impact their economies,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: and even more importantly than that, the Gulf states, well,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: they're watching because their financial futures literally depend on stable exports,
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: and if they don't have it, they don't get the
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: money they need. Now there's also the war aspect of this.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: Israel is watching all this because any sanctions really for
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: nuclear promises, they affect their security and the regional security
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: as well. In Russia, they're also watching is intently as
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: we are because instability in the global energy markets benefits
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: Moscow financially in a way that can alter and change
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: their war with Ukraine. And that's why these negotiations have
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: become so complicated. This isn't simply a bilateral nuclear discussion
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: any longer. It's a negotiation about energy, military power, shipping lanes,
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: proxy wars, regional alliances, and global economic stability. Now, politically,
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: both sides are trying to claim there's real momentum. Some
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: of its flat out lies from the Iranian government trying
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: to keep their people in line. Iran is telling its
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: domestic audience that it did not surrender, it did not
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: hand over a uranium o outright and force Washington, they say,
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: into broader negotiations rather than unilateral capitulation. So here we
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: are at possibly what could be the beginning of the
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: end of this conflict. Question is will cooler minds prevail
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: in Iran or are we looking at more military strikes
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: from the United States government at the leadership of President
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump.
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: We'll keep following this story.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: I can promise you that we've got a lot more
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: that's going to happen the days ahead. So make sure
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: you don't forget grab our podcast, The Ben Ferguson Podcasts.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Wherever you get your podcasts as well, hit that subscriber
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: auto download button so you don't miss any of the
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: breaking news.