John McLaughlin is the CEO and partner of McLaughlin & Associates and one of America's leading pollsters, with decades of experience reading the national mood. He has conducted all six of Tea Party Patriots Action's most recent national surveys and worked on President Trump's 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns.
Robert McNeily is Director of Broadcasting and Grassroots Engagement at Tea Party Patriots Action. He works directly with the organization's three million grassroots activists on legislative campaigns including the ongoing push to pass the SAVE America Act.
Key topics covered:
- McLaughlin & Associates methodology and why likely-voter polling matters
- Fraud in government programs is theft from taxpayers (81% agree)
- Permanent fraud detection system before the money goes out the door (83% agree)
- Affordability and the connection between fraud, debt, and inflation
- Birthright citizenship and the original intent of the 14th Amendment
- Assimilation, English as the national language, and one-nation identity
- Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and stopping global shipping extortion
- Political violence has no place in America (83% agree)
- Secret Service request to upgrade White House complex security
- Defending the Constitution heading into America 250
- Only U.S. citizens should vote in American elections (82% agree)
- The SAVE America Act, the filibuster, and the path forward
- Memorial Day, Arlington Section 60, and Staff Sergeant Alan W. Shaw
Episode timestamps:
00:14 — Cold open — the political class does not want you to see these numbers
01:19 — Welcome to The Jenny Beth Show with John McLaughlin and Robert McNeily
02:13 — Methodology — likely voters, sample size, and why details matter
06:27 — Fraud in government programs is theft from taxpayers — 81% agree
08:42 — Permanent system to detect fraud before money walks out — 83% agree
11:33 — Affordability, the 39 trillion debt, and the inflation connection
14:43 — Activists, the SAVE America Act, and calling Congress
15:30 — Birthright citizenship and the original meaning of the 14th Amendment
18:08 — Assimilation, English, and one nation under God — 72% agree
22:35 — Border security, sanctuary policies, and national identity
27:19 — Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and global shipping lanes
31:05 — Call to action — Capitol switchboard 202-224-3121
33:26 — Political violence has no place in America — 83% agree
37:17 — White House security upgrades and the secure ballroom complex
44:48 — Defending the Constitution heading into America 250 — 64% agree
48:10 — Only U.S. citizens should vote in American elections — 82% agree
49:45 — SAVE America Act, the filibuster, and the Texas runoff
52:11 — Strategic takeaways for Republicans heading into the midterms
57:20 — The one number to put on a billboard in the Capitol rotunda
01:02:36 — Robert McNeily on the Roswell Memorial Day observance
01:05:49 — Closing — Staff Sergeant Alan W. Shaw and Arlington Section 60
Links mentioned:
Capitol switchboard — 202-224-3121
passthesaveamericaact.com
whitehouse.gov/contact
teapartypatriots.org
jennybethshow.com
mclaughlinonline.com
[00:00:14] Welcome to The Jenny Beth Show. We're going to show you something the political class in Washington and frankly much of the mainstream media does not want you to see. Tea Pretty Patriots Action commissioned new national polling of likely general election voters and our results are stunning. Americans overwhelmingly say government fraud is theft from taxpayers. Only citizens should vote in American elections.
[00:00:42] Legal immigrants should assimilate into American culture. Political violence must stop. Iran cannot be allowed to threaten global shipping lanes. And voters increasingly connect government fraud, waste and corruption directly to the rising cost of living. This is an emerging American consensus, not a conservative conspiracy theory. And today we're going to break it down with one of America's top pollsters, John McLaughlin,
[00:01:09] along with Robert Meneally from Tea Pretty Patriots Action. Because if these numbers hold, they could reshape the entire 2026 midterm landscape. Welcome to The Jenny Beth Show. I'm Jenny Beth Martin. We have faith in America's future and in every episode we fight to defend it. John McLaughlin is the CEO and partner of McLaughlin & Associates. He's one of America's leading pollsters with decades of experience reading the national mood.
[00:01:36] He's the pollster who has conducted all six of Tea Pretty Patriots Action's most recent national surveys. John, welcome back to the show with us. Pleasure to be here. Thank you. And also with us is Robert McNeely, Director of Broadcasting and Grassroots Engagement here at Tea Pretty Patriots Action. Robert, as always, it's great to have you with me. Yes, thank you, Jenny Beth. So, John, before we get into the numbers, walk us through who you surveyed, the sample size,
[00:02:03] the sample type, the field dates, the methodology, and explain to the audience why these kind of details matter when we're talking about polling. It definitely matters because the media—I mean, you say I'm a good pollster, but it's because Donald Trump won. So I've worked for Donald Trump in his 2016 election, his 2020 election, his 24 election. And in fact, over the weekend, I came across a New York Post article from October of 21,
[00:02:32] where I said whether it was Biden or Harris, Trump would win in a landslide, an electoral landslide, and that's exactly what happened. But I sent it to him to remind him, too, as well. But we poll—we like to poll likely voters. I mean, in America, you have about 260 million people that are eligible to vote, not counting illegal immigrants that the Democrats sometimes try to vote. But we had 155 million people show up in the last national election.
[00:03:02] And midterm elections, you'll have even less. You'll have, like in 2018, you had 118 million voters come to the polls for the midterm elections nationally. And in 2022, you had 112 million come out and vote. So we use—we contact registered voters. We know their vote history, know who they are. And we ask them if they're likely to vote. And of the people that vote, we have a distribution based on the last national election.
[00:03:32] So you have 1,000 likely voters that has an accuracy of plus or minus 3 percent, 19 times out of 20, voters who tell us that they're going to come and vote. And the demographics match up. And we've posted it on our website, McLaughlinOnline.com. And the demographics match up with the national turnout. We actually used CNN, their exit polls, to model the survey.
[00:03:59] And so you're only talking to people that are known voters who are likely to vote, which makes it different than the media polls. A lot of these fake media polls that are posted and they run headlines on are polls of adults. So they include non-voters. They could include illegal immigrants, for all we know. Like the New York Times recently put out a poll. They only had 38 percent Trump voters. Trump got 50 percent of the electorate.
[00:04:25] The Washington Post, their last poll that they did with Ipsos, they did some online panel with them. They only had 29 percent Trump voters. So the media, I had to go through years of this where they were saying there was a Hillary lock that way Trump can win. We won, barely. There was, you know, there was going to be this Harris. I mean, remember all the polls said Harris was going to win the last election. And I kept getting these phone calls from the president. I'm like, no, we're up two. This is a change. We're going to win.
[00:04:55] Win the popular vote. We're going to win the battleground states. And that's what happened. So the quality of your poll that we took from May 13th through May 18th, even though it was done online, it was done among likely voters, people we know who are going to vote. And by the way, just if, you know, one important thing here is the president in this poll, he had a 48 percent approval, 47 disapproved. We asked it like we did in the campaign, which is much higher than the biased media polls.
[00:05:23] But at the same time, the generic vote for Congress is only 42 percent Republican, 46 percent Democrat. So the Republicans in Congress need to get their act together to get their support levels up so it matches the Trump voters. In effect, at least we get his, the ones who approve of the job he's doing as president to vote completely for the Republicans for Congress.
[00:05:48] And then they got to play offense with the Democrats to get over 50 percent of the generic vote. Yeah. And we're going to talk about ways that we think that they can do that through the proper messaging and good legislation moving through through Congress, which is that's the kind of thing we were asking about in the polling. So let's start with a question about money, specifically taxpayer money and what happens to it inside the federal government.
[00:06:14] John, we asked voters whether fraud in government programs is theft from taxpayers. What did you find and what are the numbers tell you? And we're going to put that number up on the screen as you're answering. Well, when we asked them, and again, this is the Tea Party Patriots question. This is that you sponsored nationally. Every dollar lost or fraud is stolen directly from the pockets of taxpayers. Government watchdogs have documented billions of fraud year after year, but there's still no permanent system to stop it.
[00:06:43] Do you agree or disagree that fraud in government programs is theft from the taxpayers, stopping waste, fraud and corruption? Magic word, corruption should be a top priority. Hardworking Americans shouldn't be forced to fund criminals. Eighty one percent agree. Fifty seven percent strongly agree. Only 12 percent disagree. Overwhelmingly huge number. By the way, the best political strategies are based on big numbers.
[00:07:08] So when you have something where it's 81 percent to only 12 disagree, 12 disagree must be like Democrats who are getting a cut. But the but when you look at it, 90 percent of the Republicans agree. Seventy four percent of the Democrats agree. Independent, 78 percent. I mean, this is something that has to stop. And the American people, they've I mean, when you're looking at it, it's a moral issue for them. They're stealing their tax dollars.
[00:07:36] I mean, these are people who the number one issue is affordability. It is cost of living. It is inflation. They can't afford to pay for their own health care. The price of gas has gone up. They still have trouble making ends meet because they're still suffering after four years of Biden-Harris inflation. So for them, this is a moral issue where four to four to five voters agree with us on this issue, that it has to stop and we have to it should be a top priority.
[00:08:06] Absolutely. It's very popular, very good for the Republicans. And Democrats should actually join us. Well, and I hope that we can get this kind of information into the hands of people on Capitol Hill. They need to understand that voters see this as theft. It's theft of tax dollars. And it's wrong. And it needs to stop. John, you also asked about the permanent fraud detection system and catching fraud before the money goes out the door rather than after.
[00:08:35] And that number was even higher. And we're going to put that up on the screen. So explain what you think about this number. In your question, they asked, federal investigators have found billions lost to fraud. Fake providers, phony billing, money paid for services never delivered. There's still no permanent system to catch it before the money walks out the door. Do you agree or disagree? Congress should require a permanent system to detect and prevent fraud before taxpayer money is spent, not after it's already gone.
[00:09:04] 83 to 9, the voters agree with this. And 57% strongly agree. That's across every region of the country. If they're voting Republicans for Congress, it's 93 to 3. If they're voting Democrats for Congress, it's 76 to 15. If they're undecided for Congress, 73 to 7, they agree with this. This is overwhelming. Independence, 80 to 10. Hispanics, 79 to 14. African-Americans, 69 to 19.
[00:09:29] I mean, this is something that the fact that it's not there, they probably don't know, but they kind of know, they assume. They want the voters want a permanent system to detect and prevent fraud because we've seen what happened with these indictments now in Minnesota, what's going on in California, what's going on in Maine. I mean, there's phony, fake providers, phony billing, and we're paying. There's no way to stop it.
[00:09:56] I've talked to friends in the administration, and they want to have it stopped before the money gets there. Well, yeah, of course they do, because we know once the money is out the door and it's been spent, it's very hard. I don't even know that it's very hard. It's impossible to undo that. The way I see it, when a congressman or a senator refuses to tackle fraud and refuses to vote against eliminating fraud, they are voting for the theft of our tax dollars.
[00:10:26] It's plain and simple. Robert, 82.9 percent. It's almost universal consensus. In your experience with polling, what does it tell you about what Americans of all political backgrounds think about this? This is truly we the people versus this bloated bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. We wonder why. How do we get to $39 trillion in debt and counting?
[00:10:55] Every few months, another $1 trillion added to the national debt. Well, it's the waste, fraud, and corruption, this abuse of the system that elected officials need to start paying attention to. So it's not so much Republican versus Democrat, but again, rather we the people versus a bloated bureaucracy, and that we actually have a lot more in common with our neighbors than we do with those overlords in Washington, D.C.
[00:11:21] John, Democrats live to talk about affordability, spending more as the solution to high prices, but we tested a counterargument to that. What did voters say? Well, we asked when you said the politicians constantly talk about affordability. But what they usually mean is more government programs funded by more spending, more debt, and higher prices buried in your tax bill. The U.S. has more than $39 trillion in debt, growing to over a trillion dollars every few months.
[00:11:50] Economists say that spending much of his loss to fraud and waste is a primary driver of inflation, which drives up groceries, housing, and gas. Do you agree or disagree? Real affordability doesn't come from more government spending. It comes from stopping the waste, fraud, and corruption that's driving up our national debt and cost of living. Cutting government fraud is the most direct path to bringing prices down for every American. They agree with this 70 to 21. 43% strongly agree.
[00:12:17] So the idea of stopping the waste, fraud, and corruption. And again, we use that, the Tea Party patriots use that word corruption because that's what voters think this is. And again, Republicans agree 85 to 11. Democrats, the majority agree 57 to 33. Independents 68 to 19. This is, I mean, it's overwhelming. It's every region of the country. It's whether they're young voters, old voters, whether they're men, they're women, they agree with this.
[00:12:45] They just, they really, at a time when they can't afford things. And the, you know, the idea that if a candidate for Congress is talking about affordability, but then voting to waste their dollars, that, I mean, it doesn't make any sense to the voters. The members of Congress that really want to root out waste, waste, fraud, and corruption would have a huge issue going into November, particularly if they could point out to their opponents if their opponents voted for this kind of abuse.
[00:13:16] Yeah, and the political class constantly is talking about affordability. But it's clear here that voters can connect inflation to government spending and to corruption. Now, it takes a little bit of work to do that because they see affordability as a personal issue, and they're just thinking of it from a personal standpoint.
[00:13:37] But if politicians would go and make that case and explain why things are unaffordable, I think that fiscal responsibility could actually be a winning populist message. Do you agree with that, John? Yes, by the way. Before you go to Robert, one other thing that I would connect here is you mentioned the $39 trillion in debt. Voters know that $39 trillion in debt is a trigger to inflation.
[00:14:06] That's what Joe Biden did, and that's what he's put us on a path to, and that's the only way to bring us back out of that is to grow the economy, but also to get rid of the wasteful spending and the corruption. So there's a direct tie in the voters' minds to inflation and this kind of corrupt spending. So they want to see the debt stop so inflation goes down.
[00:14:30] Robert, how do you think that Tea Party Patriots action and our activists can use this data in the current legislative environment, specifically with the ongoing debates happening in Congress right now related to government spending? Well, it's crucial to call your congressman and your senator. We're running that campaign to pass the Save America Act. But you can actually do just that because we forget sometimes that we actually employ these people, that they should listen to us. We're their bosses.
[00:14:58] They are serving on our behalf in Washington, D.C. So be not afraid. Call peacefully and patriotically and kindly over to that congressional office because sometimes you get that intern, sometimes a legislative aide to relay that message. But also go to those teletown halls. Get involved. Write. Email. And again, make phone calls to your congressman and senator to move the needle, especially with these narrow majorities.
[00:15:25] In a midterm election year, they will start paying attention. So, John, for the first time in the series of polls that Tea Party Patriots action has done with you, we tested the birthright citizenship issue. Right. And this is a live constitutional and legal debate. It's before the courts, before Congress. The president is talking about it. It's at the center of the national conversation.
[00:15:50] So what did you find when we tested whether we should limit citizenship to children of U.S. citizens and permanent residents? It was overwhelming. You had you had the majority without a doubt. They supported the birthright citizenship. And just as as I thumb through here for the numbers, because I haven't memorized all these numbers yet.
[00:16:15] But but they overwhelmingly favorited with as well into the 50s. So I'm looking for your exact word. This question. No, that's OK. Here we've got it. The 14th Amendment was written after. Yes, this is this is the one. The 14th Amendment was written after the Civil War to make free slave citizens.
[00:16:40] Today, it's interpreted to mean any child born to on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen, even if both parents entered illegally or came on a tourist visa. Then we asked you agree or disagree. Birthright citizenship should only apply to children born to U.S. citizens or people who are here legally on a permanent basis, which is what the amendment was actually meant to do. Yes, it is. 58 to 33. They agree with that.
[00:17:08] And again, it's every region of the country. It's Hispanics agree 60 to 31. African-Americans 53, 33. You have Republicans 78, 16. Democrats have split 43, 45. Independents 51, 39. So, I mean, we've tested this before and we've tested it for President Trump.
[00:17:29] We know that this is popular with the majority of Americans now because as you framed it when you told it, when they wrote this, when they wrote it into the 14th Amendment and came about, that was because in effect it was at that time it was any child born on U.S. soil. Back then, it was a different situation.
[00:17:50] But right now, it should apply to children born in U.S. citizens who were here legally on a permanent basis because that's what they were talking about back then when you were talking about in the 19th century. That's when they wrote that amendment. So, we also asked about assimilation and the melting pot question. Legal immigrants choosing to learn English and embrace American values. I've put that assimilation number up on the screen.
[00:18:20] I think it's striking. John, where did voters land on this? On that one, when we asked them, they agree or disagree. Legal immigrants who choose to make America their home should learn English, embrace American tradition and values and become part of the country, not remain separate from it. That we stay one nation. 72 to 21, they agree. I mean, this idea of not being a melting pot, most Americans totally disagree with that.
[00:18:44] But the idea of when you get into this multiculturalism and there are separate identities, it doesn't work. But it definitely plays to the Republican base where 88 to 7, they agree. But Democrats agree 57, 34, independents 71, 21. I mean, Americans want to be Americans. And by the way, Hispanic Americans, they agree 60 to 31, 60 to 30 in this. But if we want, we want to be one country of the majority. That's three quarters. That's a big number. So.
[00:19:14] Yeah. What I find interesting about this is that there's not a single subsection that does not agree with that. The majority do not agree with it. In fact, the lowest number that I see, I think, is 57 percent of Democrats agree. And that is the lowest number. Robert, when you compare these numbers, 57.8 percent, so pretty much 58 percent agree on birthright citizenship and 72 percent on assimilation.
[00:19:44] What does it tell you about the message related to immigration right now? This all boils down to messaging, Jenny Beth. We see the big Texas runoff today in the Lone Star State between Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
[00:19:57] And with President Trump's endorsement for going towards Attorney General Paxton, you see the ads and the mismessaging played by Cornyn and his allies in recent weeks and months actually saying in Spanish to really attract either liberal voters or even Hispanic voters to his cause,
[00:20:18] that it was President Trump and that side of MAGA trying to get rid of all Hispanics regardless of their citizenry status here in the United States. It was blasphemous. It was terrible. That's why I think you'll see Attorney General Ken Paxton winning this out. But truly, this boils down to messaging.
[00:20:37] And the irony of all this, regardless of race, background, ideology, it's those first-generation immigrants who stand as the strongest voices against illegal immigration here in the United States and in this neck of the woods here in Atlanta, especially northeast Atlanta in the 7th Congressional District. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:20:57] And speaking of Ken Paxton, when I opened up X, I saw that Tyler Boyer from Turning Point Action and Scott Pressler, who I've been touring around the country with the Save America Act, they are focused on Texas today and hoping that Ken Paxton wins. Robert, 72 percent support assimilation and learning English. That is a massive number. This used to be considered common sense.
[00:21:21] Why do you think that Americans have strayed from this common sense notion and now we have government documents with dozens of language options? Well, to John's point earlier, I think Andrew Breitbart was right on about this.
[00:21:36] When Barack Hussein Obama came on the scene, it was suddenly seen as racist or wrong to even question the fact that this country could stand on one language, English, and the idea of assimilation. It was once common sense. I hope so again that learning English, learning the customs, learning the Western way of life would actually bring us all together as one nation under God.
[00:22:04] E pluribus unum, out of many, one, as we see on our currency as our national motto. But with the far left in the Obama-Biden administrations, people were made to be afraid, whether in public or private life, I would argue, especially in corporate life, you don't want to be labeled that wretched name of racist. And it was wrong to throw it around. It was wrong to dilute the term. And countless people have been hurt, especially in their professional lives, as a result of such.
[00:22:34] Absolutely. And I'm glad to see that—so, as we just said a second ago, there's not a single—every single demographic group agrees with us on this by the majority, at least, if not the supermajority. John, I know you've done a lot of immigration polling with groups other than just Tea Pretty Patriots Action. You've done it with the president. You've done it with Rosemary Jinks Group, the Immigration Accountability Project.
[00:23:04] I know you've done it with others as well. Do you think that the immigration debate is increasingly becoming about national identity and cultural cohesion rather than just about border security? It is to some—I mean, the border security element is still really important because even though Donald Trump has secured the border, and most people recognize that, and he's trying to fix the immigration problem, you still have things like—
[00:23:33] They're now saying today, members of Congress on the Democrat side are saying, well, you know, I shouldn't really, you know, be checking out people who are coming in for the World Cup soccer games. What if they're abuses? Any loophole they can to kind of keep illegal immigrants in the country they want to. But, you know, recently you had—I mean, you had this poor woman.
[00:24:03] She was from New York who was a college student in Chicago. She was gunned down in the back by some illegal immigrant. And so this is—we can't take our eye off the ball on that because the Democrats would love to dismantle that. I mean, they're having protests outside of a detention center in New Jersey where they've arrested people who have committed crimes in the United States.
[00:24:26] So the cohesion about immigration where, you know, Hispanics, when you test Hispanic voters about this issue, they want their children to learn English quickly. They want them to be successful in the United States. And particularly when you talk about voters who are American citizens, they, you know, they don't want—they don't want to be second-class citizens.
[00:24:50] They want to be—you know, if you come here and you do it properly and you're a citizen, they want to be, you know, sharing the American dream like every other voters. Instead, you know, what you have is they have this English as a second language. No, it's the first language in the United States. And that cultural identity, we all share in this American identity. We all come from different ancestry, different parts of the world where our ancestors came here for economic success. They came here for religious freedom.
[00:25:20] They came here for, you know, the idea that they would share in the American democracy and freedoms and liberty. And, you know, the new immigrants today, they want that too. They just—the ones who are doing it properly coming here, obeying the law. They want to succeed. And that cultural identity as an American, they want to share in that. So I think you're exactly right.
[00:25:42] But you can't lay your guard down about, you know, immigration security and the border security because the Democrats—I mean, what—in New York, they just passed a law. Governor Hochul, Kathy Hochul passed this law to try to prohibit law enforcement from cooperating with ICE. I mean, it's just absolutely ridiculous. We can't do that in New York. No, we can't do that in New York. It doesn't need to happen in New York. It doesn't need to happen anywhere.
[00:26:10] And it sends the wrong message to people outside of the country because they think that they can get sanctuary. And when they think that—right now the border is definitely secure.
[00:26:23] But what sheriffs have told me along the border and Border Patrol in years past, when states and cities have sanctuary policies, it increases illegal immigration because the people who are outside the country think if they can just set foot in the soil, they'll be able to get to one of those places. And they don't have to worry as much. I'm glad President Trump has secured the border.
[00:26:47] And we have to pay attention to the things that—like what you just said about New York, what New York is doing, what California and Oregon and Washington State and Illinois are doing when it comes to immigration.
[00:27:00] Because if Democrats gain control either of either chamber of Congress this year or either chamber of Congress or the White House in two and a half years from now, we'll be back to those same kind of policies with wide open borders yet again. All right, John, let's turn to foreign policy. Iran has been at the center of American foreign policy this year, and it was at the center of attention even this weekend.
[00:27:28] Our poll asked voters directly about the Strait of Hormuz. So walk us through what they said about the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. By the way, your question where you said the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical shipping lanes and only 20 percent of the world's oil, plus a fifth of global natural gas fertilizers that grow our food and raw materials behind plastics and everyday consumer goods passes through it.
[00:27:56] Iran has blocked ships, launched attacks on cargo vessels, deployed mines and demanded payments from ships that pass through. When Iran shuts down that waterway, Americans pay more for gas, groceries and goods, and the rest of the world suffers too. Do you agree or disagree that Iran should not be allowed to block, attack, mine or extort ships in the Strait of Hormuz? 71 percent of all likely voters agree with that. Only 16 percent disagree.
[00:28:23] So, and again, Democrats agree 60-25, independents 67-17, Republicans 84-8. If you approve the job Trump's doing, 82-11. If you disapprove, they actually agree, 62-23. So, Americans are united on this.
[00:28:41] I mean, just as you found that we don't believe that Iran should have a nuclear weapon, they also don't believe, and in last month's poll, 61-20, they thought that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it on the United States and our allies. But we're seeing that they support the president stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
[00:29:03] They also support him on opening up the Strait of Hormuz so that Iran can't turn this into some sort of toll system or something that they control, where they would profit only from those people that would pay them to pass their shipping and oil through the Strait of Hormuz to other countries. So, anyway, Americans are united on that, and they support the president on that regard, too. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:29:33] And I think that one of the things that you and I have found from the polling about Iran since, I think it was February of this year, is that when Americans, when you explain the situation and why the situation is important, whether it's because Iran has killed Americans and sponsored terrorists around the world or the importance of the Strait of Hormuz,
[00:30:00] Americans, they have a lot of grace for this kind of action. They just need to understand what is happening with it. And that seems to me to be one of the biggest lessons that I've learned from the polling we've done this year related to them. Right. Americans don't like to go to war. But when you press us, like the majority of Americans, two months ago in the U.S., they said this was warranted and justified. It was two to one.
[00:30:28] And then, you know, should we finish the job? Last month, 60 to 30, they said we should finish the job. So we don't like having to do this, but they understand the stakes of what's involved. And people enduring, you know, OK, so you're paying $4, $5 per gallon of gas. We don't like that. We're uncomfortable with it. But we'd rather do this now and solve this problem once and for all and support our president and what he's doing than the fake media that's asking.
[00:30:57] They think this is all about taking oil from Iran or regime change. No, this is about stopping them from having nuclear weapons. Yeah, exactly. And if it had been just about taking oil from Iran, we would have – the president would have done way more than he did. And it would be a different situation than it is right now over there. OK, before we continue breaking down the poll, it's time to pick up your phone and it's time for a call to action.
[00:31:27] So you know the drill. Call the Capitol switchboard. The number is 202-224-3121. Again, that's 202-224-3121. Tell your member of Congress to join President Trump's call to attach the Save America Act to every single bill the House moves until the bill is passed into law. The House has already passed it, and we appreciate that.
[00:31:50] But we've got to make sure we are attaching it to more legislation and continue to put the pressure on the Senate by passing it in the House and sending it on to the Senate over and over until the Senate gets their job done. And then while you've got your congressman on the line, go ahead and tell your congressman to stop the so-called Dignity Act. We know this is amnesty, and we do not accept amnesty. Not now, not ever.
[00:32:17] You can go to passthesaveamericahact.com for more details about the Save America Act. The other aspect to this call to action is to make sure we are thanking President Trump for working so hard to get the Save America Act passed into law. Urge him to veto any bill that does not include it. You can post this on social media and tag the president and the White House.
[00:32:40] You can also use the contact form at the White House, and that website is whitehouse.gov forward slash contact. Again, whitehouse.gov forward slash contact. And now we're going to take a short break.
[00:33:26] Welcome back. My guests today are John McLaughlin and Robert McNeely. Now let's talk about something that should not be a partisan issue at all, political violence. This country has experienced it, an assassination, multiple attempts on the president's life, an armed attack at the White House Correspondence Center, and shots were fired this past weekend in the direction of the White House. An innocent bystander was struck by the assailant who succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
[00:33:54] Our poll addressed political violence directly. John, you asked voters whether political violence has any place in America and whether anyone, regardless of their politics or ideological leanings, should be prosecuted. What did you find? Oh, absolutely. 83 percent, when you round it, 82, 83 percent agree. Only 10 percent disagree. So what you asked, and the agree to disagree was very simple.
[00:34:23] Political violence has no place in America. Anyone who commits or incites it, no matter their politics or their target's politics, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And 62 percent strongly agree. So Americans, we don't like this violence. We don't like it being promoted. And they would really want to see it end. It's across the board. It's almost equal among Democrats, Republicans, independents, whether you like Donald Trump or whether you don't like Donald Trump. I mean, this is just overwhelming.
[00:34:52] We want this violence to end. And like you said, there was somebody shooting at the Secret Service outside the White House, right there on Pennsylvania and 17th Street, right outside the White House. They were shooting it. Oh, some guy with a gun this weekend. You've had these attempts on President Trump's life, except for the grace of God. He survived this.
[00:35:16] But it's like it's just totally antithetical to our democracy and our way of life. And anybody who's encouraging this climate, whether it's on the Internet, whether it's, you know, the idea of these comedians, some of them joke around. People don't like it. We just we just need to take a step back and you can debate the issues, debate ideas, but don't encourage violence.
[00:35:46] Absolutely not. Robert, 83 percent. That number crosses every partisan line. You and I both knew Charlie Kirk personally. You worked with him for about five or six years. What is refreshing about the fact that 83 percent think political violence has no place in America? And then what is concerning to you that only 83 percent think that political violence has no place in America? First and foremost, I believe most people are good, just like the Luke Bryan song.
[00:36:15] We could take a solace in that. But, Jenny Beth, at the same time, there is this small, loud, fringe minority that you might encounter either in your workplace. We saw some people recently, whether it was these threats against the president to recent actions, putting out on X and out on social media. I can think of a couple of nurses, a couple of teachers that have been removed from their positions because they said it was good what was happening.
[00:36:43] And like John said, that has no room in America in a constitutional Republican form of government for people to suffer violence solely because of their political beliefs. It is truly the antithesis of who we are as a people and more and more people get to know your neighbor and get involved in your community and we will have less violence.
[00:37:05] More dialogue, as Charlie said, leads to not only more peace, but understanding and also using words, not weapons, in order to get our points across. I love that. More dialogue, get to know your community, get to know your neighbors. And remember, even when we disagree, we're still Americans and we all live in this great country. OK, John, I want to point out another question.
[00:37:32] This this is one that Congress is having to deal with. And and we tried our best to ask it in a way that is is very factual without being overly biased. But we we had to mention the word ballroom and President Trump because because it's important. But here's here's what we asked. And I want to get your opinion on this, because when Congress gets back after this Memorial Day recess week,
[00:38:01] they're they're going to have to talk more about about this. There have been multiple assassination attempts on President Trump, including an armed attack at the White House Correspondent Center in May 2026. The Secret Service has asked Congress for funding to upgrade the White House complex, including a secure underground operations center. Do you agree or disagree?
[00:38:24] After multiple assassination attempts on the president, Congress has an obligation to fund serious security upgrades at the White House complex, including security infrastructure, including or improving or improving, I'm sorry, improving security infrastructure, including a secure ballroom to protect this president and all future presidents and White House staff and guests, including other elected officials and foreign dignitaries.
[00:38:54] And the response we got was 59 percent, which is over 50 percent. What did you think of how we worded this question and and the response, John? Well, it's a fact. And I think the other part is I don't think the voters when you explain this to them, they're for it. So you got 59, 33. You got independence by 10 points. Republicans without a doubt, 85 to 10. But for those of us who have been to the White House, it's an old building.
[00:39:23] It's a it's a historic building. But we're living in an age where drone technology, you know, follows a lot of people and it's dangerous. And that that new secure ballroom would have the kind of reinforced steel and concrete to survive an attack like that. Right now, they don't have that at the White House. I mean, remember back in 9-11, I I then worked for Speaker Haster at that.
[00:39:53] And I was supposed to see him the next day and I was going to fly to Washington. I just I had to call the, you know, the deputy chief of staff after what happened in New York with terrible tragedy on 9-11 where I lost friends and neighbors in that. But but I called the deputy chief of staff to the speaker and he said, we've been told to run out of the building to get out of the Congress.
[00:40:18] They were vulnerable to this terrorist attack where they were going to fly a plane right into the Capitol and the White House. Now, you know, Congress, when they call it a ballroom, they're really you know, it's it's accurate. It's a ballroom. But it's much more than that. It's you're going to have a security, better reinforced building that can withstand a terrorist attack.
[00:40:43] But also you're going to have underneath it, as President Trump a week ago was showing the press and explaining to them that you're going to have these rooms underneath where people can go to be safe. So I think I think your question is fair. It's fairly worded. And what's refreshing is the majority of Americans support this.
[00:41:04] And the media constantly is pointing out polls that they've not explained what's going on, saying that the majority of Americans are against this. When you tell them they're not against this, they don't want to see the White House attack. And right now it's an old ancient building that has, you know, the British burned it down a long time ago, a couple of centuries ago.
[00:41:27] You've got but it's vulnerable in the 21st century where drones, missiles, robots, A.I., you get all sorts of attacks. And our leaders and our president and his family wouldn't be safe in that building right now. No, they wouldn't. And it's not just a president and his family. It's future presidents. It's members of Congress when they go to the White House.
[00:41:51] It's the people who work in the White House and it's the guests who attend, whether it's for a special ceremony, whether they're foreign dignitaries, whatever the event might be. There are a lot of people moving in and out of of that building in that complex every day. Some of them are just working. Some of them are are there because they're receiving awards or they're part of of whatever might be happening that day that the president is talking about. It needs to be done.
[00:42:20] And I can honestly say if it had been President Biden who wanted to change the White House and have a a bigger ballroom, I would have supported that. Because during the first Trump administration, I had the honor of being invited to go to the White House. Gosh, it was probably in the complex almost every week during that administration. I've been several times during this one, not not as often, but I've been quite a few times.
[00:42:50] For it to be the building and the complex that houses the leader of the free world, a superpower, the superpower of the world, it is rather a small building. And our country is large. There are a lot of people who need to be able to go to different events and the White House should be able to host them. But it's way, way more than just a ballroom.
[00:43:17] It is it is to improve the security and to make sure people are safe. And I think that, well, the president needs to keep leading with the fact that he is doing this for security, because that is the thing I think that resonates the most with Americans. And the members of Congress, whether they're Republican or Democrat, they need to just take a step back, take off that partisan hat and think about what is best for any president, regardless of party.
[00:43:46] What is best if we had a foreign dignitary and we don't want attacks to happen there, especially to a foreign dignitary on our soil in the White House? What is needed to help protect and guard against that? And if these improvements, which the Secret Service are saying are necessary, then do the right thing for America. Set aside all your politics, all your partisanship, whether you like a ballroom or not, and do what's right for America.
[00:44:14] That is my urge to members of Congress when it comes to to this upgrade. OK, we're going to move to one of the questions I think might be the most profound one of the poll. Tea Pretty Petrie's action is long focused on constitutional principles, and we're headed into July 4th and America 250.
[00:44:35] We asked voters about the Constitution itself and whether America's constitutional system is worth defending or whether it needs to be torn down and replaced, as some of the people on the left think. John, tell us what you saw in this poll when we asked about the constitutional defense. And do the numbers show Americans to fundamentally believe in our Constitution? Absolutely, because they say defend it.
[00:45:04] And you have it just rounding at 64 to 21. They say defend it. The idea that our system of free markets, individual rights, representative of government has produced more freedom and prosperity than any other system in human history. And it's worth defending. 64% agree with that. Only 21% said it's so deeply unjust it should be dismantled or replaced with a system that imposes equal outcomes for all, even if it means eliminating individual freedoms, widespread poverty, and the use of force.
[00:45:34] That 21%, you know, they're there for dismantling it and some sort of DEI, some sort of equal outcome or socialism even. That 21%, they would change it. And so this is really important because there are, I mean, there are ideas being circulated by Democrat candidates, whether they're running for Congress now or president in 2028.
[00:45:59] They want to make changes, whether it's changing the Supreme Court, whether it's, you know, the idea of including more states. But they want to do things that would really undermine the Constitution that we know and that we've basically, all these years we've grown up with. So, and by the way, it's when you look at it, conservatives 75-14, they say defend, moderates defend 61-19, but liberals would defend 53-32.
[00:46:28] So the Constitution has worked for 250 years and two-thirds of Americans want to make sure it works for the next 250 years at least. And that part is refreshing, that if that many do want it to work for the next 250 years.
[00:46:45] Robert, when we see this 21% of Americans who have such a heavily negative—the way it was worded was very heavily negative about the consequences of dismantling the Constitution, and yet they still either didn't know or thought it should be dismantled, what does it tell you about the work that we still have to do at Tea Pretty Patriots Action? Well, it's crucial and vital work.
[00:47:11] And also our schools, education, civics, history, how important that matters, because even though it's a widespread pull, a great pull, in fact, across the country, across demographics, the majority Caucasian responders, suburbanites, and those a little bit older now, maybe empty nesters going into retirement.
[00:47:30] So one is to see this and look at the heavily suburban areas in this country, highly educated, with most with at least a four-year college or degree, maybe including apprenticeship, community college, but even beyond that, those postgraduate degrees. So what is happening on America's campuses? I think that's a huge question as we continue to go down this road, but it's more important than ever for Tea Party Patriots Action
[00:47:57] and our teams in the grassroots to be involved with countless different organizations to save this country, because that's still a significant number when you look at it at the end of the day. Okay, that is right. And so we've got good things from it, but we still have a lot of work to do. All right, now on to election integrity, which has been Tea Party Patriots Action's signature issue in 2026, especially related to the Save America Act.
[00:48:26] John, you've been tracking this with us since January 2024. Right. How are our numbers when it comes to only citizens should vote in federal elections? They don't change. It's like 82 to 11. They agree that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in the elections for American presidents, senators, and representatives. And 66 strongly agree. It's 82 to 11. It's Democrats, 77-14. Independents, 77-15. Republicans, 91-6.
[00:48:54] It's just every part of the country. It's fundamental to our democracy. And there are people in America. I mean, you've seen it. New York City Council thinks noncitizens should vote. You've got places in different areas of Maryland or Cambridge. They think noncitizens should vote. Well, it's a really bad idea that most Americans get out of hand. And fortunately, it protects our rights.
[00:49:23] You would not like your vote to be canceled out. You're paying taxes. You grew up here. You're an American citizen. If you're a naturalized citizen, you did all that work to become a citizen, you don't want your vote to be canceled out for who's going to Congress or Senate or who your governor or your mayor is by somebody here who just got here and is not even a citizen yet. So, John, when we first asked this question back in January 2024, it was 87 percent. It's gone down to 82.
[00:49:52] But as it's gone down, the left has spent millions and millions of dollars countering the Save America Act, trying to gaslight voters into thinking that there's nothing, nothing to worry about. And, oh, if some noncitizen votes, don't worry. It's not really very much. And you just don't have to worry about this very much.
[00:50:12] Yet still, despite all of that and the mainstream media doing everything they can to downplay the importance of only American citizens voting, it's—you just said the number is unchanged. It's still supermajority above 80 percent. What does that tell you about this issue?
[00:50:34] And why—what is it—this combined with the other question that we asked about whether the Senate should keep on fighting for trying to get the Save America Act passed, what does it tell you about what you think Congress should be doing in the next several weeks? By the way, you're going to have the Republican primary voters in Texas speak out about this today.
[00:50:56] Because they—we'd asked a previous question last month—or this month, it was earlier this month—in another poll where we said, do you think Congress should pass the Save America Act or should they protect the filibuster? In 5628, they said pass the Save America Act.
[00:51:13] Because what's in—in your question, what's in the Save America Act is it requires proof of citizenship to vote, requires photo ID when voting, and it fixes a current law that allows people to register to vote without proving citizenship, and requires states to check their voter rolls. And knowing that's in the air, they said pass the bill 56 to 30—only 30 percent said, you know, we should give up on passing this bill this year. So, you know, Republicans are saying pass it 75-16.
[00:51:43] Democrats have split 41-44. But independents, they want to pass it 51-31. And the same part is Ken Paxton said if—if it passed—uh-oh. He said if—so we need to get this passed. Absolutely. They need to pass it.
[00:52:12] So you guys in this audience, help make that happen. The capital switchboard, one more time, is 202-224-3121. Again, that's 202-224-3121. Call both your senators, call your congressmen, and tell them, don't give up on the Save America Act. 56 percent of Americans are with us on getting this done, this congressional session. Get it done. Pass it into law.
[00:52:40] All right, John, looking at everything that you found in this poll and across all the different polls that you've done for us, what do you think is the most important thing or the most important things that the Republican Party, and especially the elected members of the Congress and Senate, need to understand as they head into the midterms? First of all, they need to pass these fundamental issues with the overwhelming majority support,
[00:53:08] where four to five voters support things like proof of citizenship, voter ID. They need to run on those things. The idea of eliminating—the idea of eliminating waste, fraud, and corruption. Four to five voters support that. They need to run on that. These—I mean, the vast majority of Americans want to defend our democracy. They want real issues. They want a real debate between the Republicans and the Democrats.
[00:53:34] And when you have issues that 70 percent support, 80 percent support, it's very easy to set up a strategy and not play defense. But they need—the other part is you're looking at Trump voters who may or may not come out and vote because Trump's not on the ballot in November. These voters, over 90 percent support these issues. So the Republicans need to wake up and do that.
[00:53:58] The Democrats clearly, you know, when the Republicans don't act on issues in their agenda where the majority support us, they seize that opportunity. And that's—and that's—that's our mistake where if we don't—if we don't run on those issues, if we don't force Congress to run on those issues, we'll—we'll end up losing the House and the Senate. And we can't allow that to happen. That is exactly right.
[00:54:24] And then, John, the polling shows that Democrats have a lead in the generic congressional ballot. Trump approval is effectively tied. The wrong track number is on the wrong track, and it's getting worse. What do you think that this means from a historical standpoint, normally for the party and power?
[00:54:48] And what does it mean when these issues that we've talked about today and the ones that the president are talking about are so overwhelmingly positive? How do we square that, and what can activists do as they're considering what should be done between now and the elections? I mean, it's pretty clear that the historic trends that they always talk about, the idea that the midterm elections go against the party in the White House,
[00:55:18] that's what you're seeing in the wrong track. That's what you're seeing in these other numbers. But it doesn't have to be that way. In 2002, the Republicans picked up eight House seats and two Senate seats because of two things. One is you had tax cuts with President Bush that went into effect in the second quarter and grew the economy. The second thing is after 9-11, you had national unity.
[00:55:43] So right now, you're looking at a situation where the Democrats are almost rooting for Iran against the United States. It's as crazy, you have senators like Chris Murphy. He'll tweet out something that came from Iranian state government that's not necessarily true. We have to unite our country. A lot of the numbers that you showed, unite our country on purpose, unite our voters on the issues.
[00:56:10] We need to see that kind of unity as we're headed into America 250, etc., that sense of patriotism. The second thing is we need to keep growing the economy. The idea of some Republican leaders are talking about a second reconciliation bill to have more growth. The good parts of the Trump tax cuts that were passed versus the Democrats wanting to raise taxes need to be highlighted. The economy needs to grow, and that's the Republican Party's job.
[00:56:40] And that's what conservatives—that's our job, to keep the economy growing so that people can grow out of inflation so they can afford things again. And at the same time, we need to keep our country united in purpose and for the future. So it can happen again. We have time. Yes, we do.
[00:57:00] And I think that that is the thing we need to really focus on and continue to have faith in America's future and that we as activists can make a real difference. John, I've got two more questions for you. The first one is this. Of everything in this poll, what was the thing that you found the most surprising? Well, I think the big numbers on the waste, fraud, and corruption really comes out. I mean, when you're talking about four to five voters, and it's not a partisan issue.
[00:57:29] I mean, you've got support across the parties. You've got support across the demographics. It's a moral issue. The idea that, you know, you're spending this money to increase the national debt, and a lot of it's going—I mean, we've had surveys for other clients. We're over 40 percent of every dollar that's spent by the federal government. Voters think it's being wasted in some respect.
[00:57:53] I mean, you know, the economists and people who know the budget can argue about that, but that's the perception of the voters. So that kind of number, to be that strong and that high, there's a moral purpose to this, that we have to cut that waste, fraud, and corruption out, so that taxpayers feel that the federal government's doing what they can to keep their lives affordable and to keep the debt down to rein in inflation.
[00:58:23] Okay. Okay. And then I've got one last one for you, but, John, I'm going to ask Robert first, and then I'll go to you. Robert, if you could put one number from this poll on a billboard in the Capitol Rotunda, what would it be? I think it would have to be that we're united on this, as John said, with waste, fraud, and corruption. The American people, we the people are together, and we want Washington elites to be held accountable because, again, they are not our bosses.
[00:58:53] We are their bosses. Sometimes they don't see it as such, and I think, as John mentioned, if Republicans do not deliver with a huge backing with a potential 17-point swing in the House, with the recent ruling from SCOTUS on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to what's happening with the Passing the Save America Act,
[00:59:13] the House did its job, the Senate should also do it because we have to worry about Trump voters staying at home because President Trump is not at the top of the ticket. So let's buck historical trends. Let's reach out to our elected officials, and let's let them know where we stand ahead of the midterms. But for sure, that's the big one, fraud, waste, and corruption. It's time to bring down this national debt. It's time for affordability and to bring down inflation.
[00:59:41] And the best way to start doing that is actually holding those people who broke the law accountable. Okay. And, John, what about you? What is the one number you'd put on the Capitol Rotunda? Well, that's the one. I mean, it was – you had – when you said fraud and government programs, theft from the taxpayers, stopping waste, fraud, and corruption should be a top priority. Hardworking Americans shouldn't be forced to fund criminals. Criminals, 81 to 12.
[01:00:10] I mean, you recently had a case where in Minnesota they let one of the fraudsters go and they left for Kenya. So, I mean, it's 81 to 12, and 57 percent strongly agree with that. So that, you know, the idea of – the idea of their tax dollars are being taken from them, that 81 to 12 is a big number. And Congress, they voted to appropriate the money.
[01:00:38] Now they need to vote to make sure that their money is well spent and not stolen from the taxpayers. That's exactly right. I might try to do it kind of sneaky and rate 80 percent plus agree fraud in government programs is theft from taxpayers, that Congress should require a permanent system to detect and prevent fraud from taxpayer money,
[01:01:02] and that they need to pass the Save America Act, and political violence has no place in America. So I try to squeeze all of them together because these are things that Americans agree on. And I think that Congress just – especially on the Senate side, they are too insulated inside the bubble in Washington, D.C., and they are out of touch with what the rest of Americans are thinking. And they wonder why their approval ratings are so bad.
[01:01:32] It's because they're not doing these things that most Americans think are common sense and shouldn't be that tough. They should be able to get it done. So I hope that they're listening and that they will work on getting these things done, which I sadly think that the Republicans in the Senate leadership probably think are bold actions to take, and most Americans just think get it done. John, thank you so much for doing this poll,
[01:02:01] and thank you for being with me and being so generous with your time today to go over it. Thank you very much. Well, thank you for asking the questions that Americans need to know the answers. So 80% plus is a pretty good thing. Just tell them, do the math. That's right. Do the math. Thank you so much, John. Okay, and now the audience, stay with me. Robert, I want you to, before I thank you,
[01:02:28] you had a really good experience yesterday in Roswell, Georgia at the Memorial Day event. Why don't you tell the audience about that? Oh, it brought me to tears. I have the program with me here. It was a guest speaker, Army Lieutenant Colonel Carrie S. King from Vietnam. Now, he grew up in these parts of Georgia, so talking about his life and what really was his legacy in such a humble way, always amazing to hear from a veteran.
[01:02:54] But two big points he made during his speech at the Roswell City Hall just north of Atlanta, one being the fact that if you're ever confused as to why a combat veteran doesn't necessarily open up and speak about their experiences, well, he did that just yesterday. It takes so much energy. And 56 years later, he can recount the names of his men, their ranks, their backgrounds, one of them 20 years young who was actually drafted by the Atlanta Braves
[01:03:23] to go and pitch for the team. He was then drafted by his country, sadly losing his life during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. So that was a big point for those, especially the young people in the audience. The second was quoting President Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of D-Day. And while in tears, our 40th president stating at Pointe du Hoc that really these soldiers, they lose two lives, the lives they're living immediately and the lives they were to live,
[01:03:53] to come home, to get married, to have children, grandchildren, and leave that lasting legacy. Nearly 1.3 million soldiers, the United States military, both in combat and non-combat actions, have lost their lives, Jenny Beth, in all of our engagements since 1775. So it was a wonderful time to think and reflect on all the loss of life, but also the hope that they've brought in defending freedom now 250 years young.
[01:04:20] And I'd like just to quote the poem that's in the program. And many in our audience have probably heard, it is the soldier, not the minister, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It's not the soldier, or it is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to protest.
[01:04:47] It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. And, of course, not the politician, but the soldier who has given us the right to vote. And it is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag and who allows the protester to burn the flag.
[01:05:10] So thank you to the Roswell City Hall, the City Council, also the Roswell Rotary Club, now in the 27th annual Memorial Day observation. And I hope that everyone in their neck of the woods took some time out to pray for those fallen, whether it was at the grave sites, the cemeteries, or simply getting together with family and friends to thank God for this great nation and the brave souls who have defended the Constitution for now 250 years.
[01:05:38] Robert, thank you so much for sharing that. That really was lovely. It sounds like it was a wonderful service. And thank you so much for being with me today. Oh, thank you, Jenny Beth. All right. As I close, I want to go to a story that happened yesterday on Memorial Day. And it's really one of the best things that I've seen on X in a very long time. In 1998, a young man named Alan W. Shaw enrolled at Arkansas Tech University.
[01:06:06] When he was done, he did what a lot of young men do. He enlisted in the Marines and he served three tours and was honorably discharged in 2002. He married his wife, Cheryl, in 2003. And then in 2004, he decided to serve again. This time he enlisted in the Army. And in 2007, Staff Sergeant Alan W. Shaw gave his life during combat operations in Iraq.
[01:06:34] He was buried at Arlington Cemetery. Sunday night, Cheryl Ann Shaw posted on X. She made a simple request. She asked if anyone visiting Arlington for Memorial Day would stop by her husband's grave and take a photo for the family because she'd love to see a fresh photo of his grave. She gave his section number and she said, There's just something special about knowing people still stop by, still say his name and still remember.
[01:07:01] What happened next is something I want every American to see. Nick Sorter went. He left fresh roses. And when he got there, there were already other flowers and flags at the grave. He took a video and here's what he posted from his video.
[01:07:49] He showed Alan's grave, but he showed all those graves of so many other men and women who've died for us. Later, yesterday afternoon, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard visited Alan's grave as well. And she left her challenge coin. She posted on X. It was an honor to visit your husband's grave today on your behalf and to pay my respects. It was wonderful to see the beautiful flowers representing many others who did the same.
[01:08:18] Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to the loved ones they left behind. Thank you for your service and for your sacrifice, Cheryl Ann. Nick picked up the challenge coin and is shipping it to Cheryl. Then dozens of others came by. A lady named Domino Wiley was in Arlington visiting her great-grandfather's grave. And she stopped by Alan's. A lady named Jen was visiting her father's grave.
[01:08:45] And I believe that he was in Section 62, if I remember correctly. And she stopped by Alan's as well. Some came with their wives. Others came with their children. And some came alone. Secretary of Defense—secretary of Defense, and really, I guess it's Secretary of War now. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the grave with his family. And last night, Cheryl Ann posted this on X.
[01:09:16] She wrote that she made a simple request asking if anyone visiting Arlington would stop by Alan's grave and post a photo. She said what happened next honestly caught her off guard. By the afternoon, dozens of Americans from all walks of life had made this simple walk to Section 60. Veterans, families, complete strangers. People who had never met Alan but chose to honor him anyway.
[01:09:41] For one day on social media, people put aside the constant noise and negativity and came together for something bigger than themselves. She said the fear is never just losing them. It's about losing them slowly over time as the world moves on and fewer people remember their name. But this year's Memorial Day showed her that Alan will never be forgotten. She ended by saying this right here is the America Alan knew and loved enough to fight and to die for.
[01:10:11] Today, y'all showed us all that it's still here and it's still worth fighting for. Alan W. Shaw, devoted father, brother, friend, husband. We remember you. Thank you. And thank you to every family who has given the ultimate sacrifice for our liberty. May God bless you. One last time, the Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121.
[01:10:41] Call your senators and congressmen and tell them to pass the Sea of America Act. I am Jenny Beth Martin and this is The Jenny Beth Show. To see more of John McLaughlin's polling and analysis and to check out, be sure to check out his interview that we did with he and Keira Davis. You can click through now. Thanks so much for joining us and we'll see you tomorrow. If you enjoyed today's conversation, go ahead and hit like and subscribe.
[01:11:09] It really helps us reach more people who care about liberty and the Constitution. You can find this and other episodes at JennyBethShow.com as well as Facebook, YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, X and your favorite podcast platform. The Jenny Beth Show is hosted by Jenny Beth Martin. The Jenny Beth Show is a production of Tea Party Patriots Action. For more information, visit TeaPartyPatriots.org.

