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OneLegUpAlex Media Welcomes Back WashTimes White House Correspondent Jeff Mordock As Iran Conflict Escalates 3-3-26 · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Breaking news.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: This justin, all right, and on my line right now
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: in this really breaking news kind of day. And I
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: think my next guest would agree is a longtime friend
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: and almost media colleague, Jeff Mordoch of the Washington Times
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: White House correspondent. Jeb, it's been so long. How are
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: you amidst this chaos?
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: I am doing great, Alex. It has been in fairly busy,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: as you know. And by the way, we are not
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: almost media college, we are media colleagues.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Oh well, it is one like of Alex Media. I
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: have rebranded. So there you go, all right, Jeff, So
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: tell me if I'm rolling that today is one of
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: the more pivotal days in this conversation. We have the
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: press gaga with Trump, now, we have Rubio's press conference,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: that we have all these briefings. Is today not a
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: pivotal point in this conflict with Iran? Today's absolutely a
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: pivotal point. But I think we're going to see pivotal
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: points as this thing goes on. This thing is going
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: to go on for another month, possibly six weeks, and
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: in that time, I think what we're going to say
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: see is a lot of pivot the days, a lot
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: of days where things can change.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Today was significant for a lot of reasons. One, we
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: had the German embassa excoos Mede, the German Chancellor, come
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: to the White House and meet with President Trump, and
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: that gave President Trump a chance to expound upon what
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: we're doing in Iran and where things are going and
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: where things stand right now. We've learned a lot of
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: new information from that. It's pivotal in the sense that
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: we've got bombs are continuing to drop. Israel said today
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: they've taken out a lot of the people who are
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: candidates to be the next leader of Iran. All of
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: that is pivotal. But I think we're gonna have a
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: couple of tiviotal days too, as this moves keeps moving forward.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: And So, what's your role been since we attacked Irane
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: along with the is along with Israel? What's your role
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: been in the Washington Times as correspondent? How have you
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: been covering this well?
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: As correspondent? I've been on conference calls. The White House
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: has been doing conference calls with reporters. I've been on them,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: I've been to They haven't done any power, they haven't
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: done any bigger gaggles for anybody. I have not been
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: part of the pool yet. We take cards and we rotate.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: My turn just has to come up in the last
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: couple of days. But obviously getting information from White House officials,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: et cetera.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: And I mean, Jeff, you're doing a great job. But
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: another reason why I brought you on is today's article
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: about boasting. And look, I don't think Trump should show
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: our hand and say we have all these weapons. I mean,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: is that just Trump being Trump?
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Well, it's Trump being Trump. But also you know the
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: why the Wall Street Journal would published an article saying
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: that we're running low on munitions and that we're we're
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: that the europe that these Middle Eastern countries we've given
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: them to are using them to bat down Iranian missiles
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: at a faster clip than we're providing them with with
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: munitions to uh TO to bolster their air defense. So
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: I think the President felt pressure to get out ahead
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: of this story and push back on what he claims
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: is the Wall Street Journal's false.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Now, Jeff, you've been hearing for weeks and I'm hearing
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: for weeks about you know, it could happen today, It
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: could happen today. What do you think was the switch flip.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Was it just that the negotiatings really fell through.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: I think it's a couple of things. I think one,
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: they realized that the Iran was not negotiating in good faith.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: In one of the conference calls they've had with reporters,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: we had two White House officials detailed the talks as
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: they basically described an Iran Iranian officials and negotiators who
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: were not serious, that they would put proposals that were
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: ridiculous or far flung out there and then balk when
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: they were met with suggestions. So I think it was
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: that they started to realize they were not serious. I
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: think another factor was that they had a coalition, a
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: significant coalition of Iranian leadership in one place at one time,
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  Speaker 1: creating what the President described as the last best chance
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: to take out the leadership in one fell swoop, and
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: I think that was imt to them. The other thing
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: I think is the President keeps talking about and he
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: has not detailed why. But the President keeps saying that
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: it was a matter of time if we didn't hit them,
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: they were going to hit us or Israel. And the
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: President has not detailed the intelligence he has that support
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: that claim. But He's repeated it pretty frequently, and other
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: White House officials have repeated that, which gives you the
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: sense that they know something they have not put out yet,
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: that baby, there was an imminent threat.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Let me ask you, is Trump like the best kind
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: of media president we've ever had? I mean, Biden called
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: a little eleven am most times it felt like, I mean,
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: you've got to be feeling the difference between then and now, right, There.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Is a difference, yes, in terms of media availability and
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: media accessibility the president has. The current president reaches out
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: more to the media, and we've seen that now on
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: a lot of the phone calls that the President's been
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: making a ton of phone calls with what with reporters
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: individually talking to them. He has not been out there,
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: you know, he's been out there publicly, It's yes, he's
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: been out there. It's a stark difference.
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  Speaker 2: And does that make life easier for you in the
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: sense of, Okay, we're getting a little more transparency or
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: do you wish for more transparency, especially as we're going
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: through this.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Now, Well, we get we I always wish for more transparency,
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: and we should have more transparency, and well, why of
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: what the President's saying too, you know, needs to be verified.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: You know, he keeps us saying, well, they were going
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: to attack us if we hadn't attacked them, But what
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: they haven't revealed the intelligence for that. You know, the
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: President insisted that we have enough munitions to carry on
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: his words, a forever war. But you know, we've seen
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: putting in complaints from some of the countries overseas that
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: we're providing munitions to that that's not the case. So
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: what is he basing that on? So, yes, we always
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: want more. You know, just because Trump says it doesn't
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: necessarily mean it's it's what's happening or what's going on, either.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: From your personal view or review as correspondent. Why did
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: it seem like Venezuela was a one and done. Okay,
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: we did this attack and now we got him here
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: in Brooklyn, him being meduro, But now we're going to
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: stay longer in Iran. What's the difference here?
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Well, I don't think it's one in dun. I don't
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: think Venezuela was a one in done. I think Venezuela
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: and Iran are sort of part of a strategy to
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: isolate Russia in China. You know, they're some of the
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: two biggest countries that are that are supported by especially Russia,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: and you know, looking in and they have the oil
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  Speaker 1: transactions between the two nations, and I think this was
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: a way to start to isolate Russia's partners in the world.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: And one of the things I find really interesting is
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: for years, in years and years, the wisdom was, don't
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: attack Venezuela, don't attack Iran, because if you do that,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: you're going to upset Russia, and then you're starting a
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: whole thing with Russia, and it's going to put us
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: on the precipice of World War three. But you'll note
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: that we went into Venezuela, I mean in January. We're
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: two months past that at this point, and Russia has
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: done nothing. We've done all the stuff in Iran. Russia
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: has done nothing. So for it seems like that that
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: conventional wisdom has been anything but true.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: Well, and I mean during the Obama Byen years, are
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: always like, all right, well, what's the alternative to throwing
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: money at it? Well, I guess we're seeing the alternative now, right.
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  Speaker 2: I mean even you were writing probably about how they
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: were throwing money at Iran for many years.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right, And we had an agreement that basically
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: relied on Iran's word under the Obama administration that President
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Trump pulled us out of and Joe Biden tried to
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: get us back into that. But President Biden was never
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: successful in getting the United States back into that into
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: that agreement, and the President Trump tried to create his
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: own agreement, and that tended to fall apart those efforts,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: whether you know, for or whatever, you know, i Ran
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: leaders have said America wasn't negotiating good faith. America said
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: Iran wasn't negotiating good faith. But whatever the reason, those
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: deals did not come to youah verify.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: That's see what Cooff is right when he says they
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: first started the conversation off talking about how much Urani
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: of them have. I mean, what a conversation started that is.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Jeff, Yeah, that's that a conversation starter you want at
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  Speaker 1: a party. Uh.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, they they have.
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  Speaker 1: They they have been not you know, they have been
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: talking a lot about you know, weapons. They don't seem
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: like they want They keep setting outs for peace, but
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: then all their movements seem to suggest otherwise.
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  Speaker 2: I certainly don't.
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  Speaker 1: Think anybody in the globe trusts Iran.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: Now personally watching all the celebrations in the street. I
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: mean that has to make you feel good almost that
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: we're doing something good to fix the help the people
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: of Iran. What do you think I might be one
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: on appline or.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: Not, But well, I think we did. It's still remains
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: specially it's wonderful seeing people happy and hugging and dancing
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: in the street and celebrating. And we've seen people hug
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  Speaker 1: pictures of Donald Trump on the streets of Iran, which
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: is probably something nobody ever thought they would see in
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: their lifetime. And I think that's really good. But we
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: still have a long way to go. We don't have
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: a leader, we don't have an interim plan for an
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: interim president in Iran. We've got bombs still dropping, they're
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: still conducting recalatory strikes, even though we're starting to wipe
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: things out. And it's kind of interesting too with the
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: retaliatory strikes, how they're going after a lot of their partners.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: You know, they're going after Qatar, which has been a
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: viable partner to them. They've been attacking ships in the street,
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: which is one of their big trading routes. It's just
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: things like they're almost like petulant children, lashing out with
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: no clear direction during their retaliatory strikes.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: All right, I gotta ask you, because you were around
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: for Trump one too, you were covering Trump one. Does
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: he just have more nerves of steel the second time around?
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: Like was because I feel like the first time he
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: was hesitant to azecher In actually wanted to you. You're right.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: That's a great question, Altu. That's there's a really good question.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: And to be honest, I don't know what the difference is.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: You're you're right. There seems to be more more nerve
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: now than there was. I don't know before, if he
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: was just pulled in different directions. There's there's been a
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: lot less It might even be a similst there's been
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: a lot less chaos in this administration. You remember the
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: first administration there was a ton of chaos, and you know,
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: we had the Mauler probe and he was constantly firing people.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: And I don't know if that was an impediment to
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: why this didn't go. I don't know, that's true. And
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: Bondi and Patel a still here. They lasted longer than
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: Sessions and Tellerson and all these guys combined it fields
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: like exactly yes, that's exactly right. How many chiefs of
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: staff did President Trump have by this point in his
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: first administration, where she, Susie Wiles is still there and
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: there's been controversy around a lot of these people. You know,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: we could get into individual I mean, Cash Betel's record
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: in some of these high profile cases has not been good.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: I know the President was not happy with his with
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: his celebrating with the Olympic team, and you know, Cash
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Btel is still here, still doing his job.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: And Pam BONDI I guess Trump took to social media
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: talk about her too at one point, right.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's exactly right. He's de betted her, but she's
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: not as in much trouble. She's in trouble with Democrats
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: for her handling of the Epstein and files. That's a
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: little different than some of the criticism that's been lodged
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: against Cash matel And we can get and talk about
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: the differences in those if you want, But just answer
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: your general question about the less chaos. Yes, that's that
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: these people who've had controversies surrounding them are still employed
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: in the administration.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: How lot are you to his True Social to see
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: what he's gonna post. Does he post a lot or
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: or not as frequently as he used to.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: He posts a lot, and it's I don't think it's
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: anything less that he used to. The challenge is figuring
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: out because he posts a lot of stuff that is
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: news and important, and even if it's important, whether it's
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: something about the Iran war or he dropped a bombshell
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: on True Social yesterday that he's going to attend the
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: White House Correspondence dinner this year, he's something that's he's
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: always boycotted, so you always have to pay attention. But
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: there are things on there that you know, you look
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: and you're just like, okay, yeah, but there are some
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: really important, you know, pieces of news, whether it's global
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: or as I said, just something has interesting and work
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: for writing up, but not necessarily are shaking like him
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: attending the WHGA dinner this year.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: Well, and the fact that they're inviting him is kind
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: of interesting. He says, you know, that's sort of a
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: leftist kind of group.
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: It feels like, well, that's why he's always boycotted it,
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: because he's always called it was a leftist group and
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: that they were biased against him he says.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: In a shroop social that he doesn't feel the media
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: is as biased against him as they used to be,
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: and that they feel that he is his achievements as
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: president are being recognized by the press. I'd be interested
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: to know why the president has changed his mind, or
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: what is it, what's happening, or what he's seeing in
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: the media that's led him to change his mind. But
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: he's been invited for five years as wall four years
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: of his first term, and then last year the first
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: year of a second drop, and he has declined all
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: five years, So I don't know. One of the things
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: that may have made a difference is every year the
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: White House Corresponds usually hires a comedian. It's usually a
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: comedian who has a liberal bent, and it's usually a
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: comedian who tells some pretty vicious political jokes. This year
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: they're doing a mentalist who will do hypnosis and mind
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: tricks and magic tricks and probably pull a rabbit out
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: of a hat for five now, and I think that
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: may have been the difference. That he's not going to
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: go there to be made fun of by a shea
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: level comedian well.
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: And also a year two he's playing into this and
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: I'll tell you personally, I really couldn't think of a
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: better president to preside over a year two fifty. I
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: just that's just my only feeling about the England I
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: have about all this is he's meant for this right now.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: Well, what's interesting is I I don't know that if
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: we had another president, whether he is the right president
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: or the wrong president at this time, I don't know
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: that we've had another we would have had another president
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: who's leaned, who would lean into America to fifty as
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: much as President Trump has. You look at the things
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: he's trying to do for America two fifty. They're doing
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: the big state fair out and I think Iowa somewhere there.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: He's got a Formula One was the Indy Cars. You
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: got an IndyCar race going DC.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: With that and the UFC fight also, I believe.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a UFC fight that's going to be on
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: the White aff lawn this year.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: I don't know that we've ever had a president who
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: would lean in. And you know, he's got the World's
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: Cup we you know, he's promoting the Olympics in twenty
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: twenty eight. He he's really leaning into a lot of
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: the stuff, and I don't think another president, Republican or
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: Democrat would lean into the celebration to the extent that
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: President Trump hass I.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: And of course that military parade last year was something else.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Now let me ask you this. You were probably there
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: when he was signing all those executive orders, Jeff, that
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: first couple of days and answering questions. I mean, how
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: impressive was that to see?
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Well, it was. It was a refreshing change. I did
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: a story where I did some of the math on
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: it and the amount of questions he answered, especially during
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: cabinet meetings compared to President Biden, Like in his first
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: cabinet meeting, I think President Trump measured more questions than
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Joe Biden did it during his four years of cabinet meetings.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Now, one of the big things that they did when
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: they first got in is anybody he could apply for press,
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: even regular you know journalists and all that. So what's
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: it like to have people that are sort of every day?
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: Is that still the case?
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Yes, it's still the case. They wind up and I've
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: never seen the White House briefing room as crowded as
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: it is. I've never seen it with people lined up
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: on the side, two three deep to the level that
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: this is.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: How is Caroline different? Because I remember there was a
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: lot of challenges for every pre secretary Trump one, but
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: she's really handled the media or whatever. It just seems
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: like a better report. What do you think.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: She handled the media differently? There's more a willingness to engage,
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: and there's more of a willingness to call on outlets
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: that lean left or are critical of the president than
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: previous press secretaries, at least that I've witnessed. And I
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: think that's the big difference. She is willing to go there.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: She's also a little more combative than some of the
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: previous press secretors. I don't know that's a good trade
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: or a bad trade, but she's definitely more combative.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: What's it like for you? I mean, you've covered all
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: these different presidents over the years. What's it like for
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: you to again have to cover Trump? I mean, it
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: just seems like a never ending I go with this guy.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: Well, he's he's busy. He keeps you busy, he keeps
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: you guessing, he keeps you on your toes, he keeps
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: you wondering what he's going to do. And you know,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: it's interesting because you see a lot of stuff that
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: he does that you know, it's almost tangent to tangential
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: to what he does as president, like the UFC fight.
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: Like the UH, like the IndyCar Race, And it's always
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: kind of interesting because it gives you that like you're
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: watching a Stow type field that there's he's a showman
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: in that all of this is almost a spectacle that
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: he's putting on.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: You see that, You saw that really on display, not
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: last week? Was it last week or two weeks ago?
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: The Union Data Union where he's doling out medals. He's
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: bringing the Olympic hockey team out. He's, you know, one
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: hundred year old Korean War veteran, We're giving him a medal.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: All kinds of just set pieces and surprise appearances, and
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: you know, you really see that his background in television,
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: how much that pays off at an event like that.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, all right. I'm in New York City, as
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: you know, Jeff, So give me your insights of the
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: very unique connection between Mom, Donnie and Trump. Does he
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: actually like the guy or is at a show too?
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: It seems like they like each other. It seems like
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: there is a legitimate like I think one of the
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: things I've noticed with President Trump, and I see this,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: you know, going back to how we started with the munitions,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: and isn't Trump pushing back on the Wall Street journel
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: The President likes things associated with New York. He likes
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: that Memdanni is the mayor of New York. He likes it, obviously,
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: as Trump is from New York. He grew up in Queens.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: He made his money, has a real estate developer New York.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: You know. But back to our saying about the Wall
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: Street Journal, the President's constantly fighting with the Wall Street Drum,
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: but he's constantly talking to the Wall Street Journal as well.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: He's silly the Wall Street Journal, but he's got Rupert Murdoch,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: who owns the Wall Street Journal, showing up to different events.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: And I think that shows just how much Trump, whether
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: it's the New York Post, the New York Times, and
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: the Washer Journal, likes being in these New York City newspapers.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: He likes things about New York. And I think, you know,
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: he has said that if he was that his dream
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: was originally to be mayor of New York, not to
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: be president. I was going to be mayor of New York.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: So I think because of that, I think there is
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: a certain affinity for ma'm donnie where he's come from,
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: how he's built himself in New York, in the position
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: that he has, and because he didn't.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: Feel that for Deblasio. So maybe he's just a very
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: different connection.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Maybe. And I think ma'm donnie's gone down and try
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: to work with Trump. I think he's gone down there
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: and tried to come here, I should say, to Washington
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: and try to flatter Trump. I think that has been
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: part of his mo and Trump always as he never
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: responds well to flatter and compliments.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: All right, well, I gotta ask you this because another
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: centerpiece to all of this, and you're in DC a lot, right,
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: So let's say that toil me. The things he started
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: with is to make DC safer? Is it safer? From
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: where you sit?
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: I always thought DC was safe. I have not noticed
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: a manageable difference. To be honest with you, I don't
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: think it's any more safe. I don't think it's any
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: less safe. But I always thought the city was safe.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: DC does have a crime, right, but those crimes are
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: really are being committed in sort of the certain areas
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: of the city. That a lot of people don't go to.
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: You know, you walk around the area that a lot
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: of people go to, are more heavily foot tracked. If
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: crime was never bad in those areas.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: All right, I gotta ask you this because you're a
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: big sports guy over nine hundred. I mean, the guy
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: is unbelievable, and I'm sure that made you happy. We
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: haven't talked since then.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: No, I'm thrilled about it. I will be. I am
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: absolutely thrilled about it. It's fun living here in DC
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: and you have uh, the greatest hockey player of all
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: time on your TV screen most nights for for years.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: It has been fun. It's been fun to watch. It's
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: been a joy to watch. I do have a question
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: for you about that. Alex so Ov gets a lot
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: of criticism for empty net goals, and some people say
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: that that didn't really count to this total. Uh, it's
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: a different game. When Gretzky was playing, they didn't pull
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: the goalie in the third quarter as much as they
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: do today. Do you think empty net golds should count?
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Of course I do. That's that that I can't believe
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: there's a criticism, and of course they should because there's
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: all lead or not it is I'm God in this
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: d night. If you could believe that.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: Well, I and I I see, I agree with you.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: I think they absolutely should count. It's not his fault
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: that they pulled the goalie. It's not his fault, just
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: the rules like a.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: Three minutes left.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's it's it's it's unbelievable. It founds me.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm just old school or I'm
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: just old and don't get what the kids of today
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: are doing. But I don't understand the strategy of pulling
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: the goalie as early as they do. I think what
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: you're doing there is you're taking a loss that's uh
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: and making it a bigger loss. I don't I've rarely
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: ever seen that actually work out when they pulled the
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: goalie for the extra skater. The extra skater scores and
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: they want to tire win the game. I probably could
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: count on one hand the number of times I've seen
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: that happen in the NHL.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: And my buddy Kenny Albert actually got to know on
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: the call Hughes' Goalden goal. He actually in every President
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: Trump on national television during the Redskin Game of Your
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: Our Commander game.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: Sorry, Yeah, I remember that. Yeah, I remember that.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: And for those don't know, me and Jeff connected because
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: I saw an article he did on taxes and then
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: football stadium. So I got to ask you this, will
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: Trump moved their commanders to DC? Is that going to happen?
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: That is going to happen. And President Trump is enthusiastic
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: behind that. As a matter of fact, he had He's
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: had Roger Goodell at the White House to talk about it.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: He said, maryel Bowser, while we're talking about Democrat tour
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: mayor who are making an effort to get along President Trump.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: She's on that list and they're really pushing. Trump is
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: a big supporter in that. And I think that's great.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I think the city could use that one. There's so
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: many problems with the current Commander Stadium, starting with the location.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: I don't know how well you know suburban DC, but
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: they put it out here in Maryland, almost out by Landover,
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: and the thought was that that was going to sort
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: of bring the neighborhood back, and it never did. That
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: stadium is now thirty years old, and it never really resident,
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: never really created what they thought it would create in
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: that neighborhood. It's very difficult to get you in public transportation,
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: you have to drive, and then when you do drive,
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: you're parking so far from where you actually have to
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: walk to the stadium. It's ridiculous. You list have to
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: drive there and then take an uber from where you
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: parked to the stadium. It's that far. I think so,
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: and I think it's good for the city, especially in
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: an era where politics are so divisive, because that was
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: always the one thing. As you we are cheering with
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: your fan, nobody cares whether you're a Democrat or Republican
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: while you're sitting in the standard rooting for the commanders.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: All right, Well, I think they're getting a boost because
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: of Jade and Daniels and what is that rookie year.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: Of course last year wasn't was rough, but look, they
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: have a good future ahead of them. I think I
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: think they do too. It's it's whether or not they
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: were both. You know, they were really snake bitten with
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: injuries last year, especially as you mentioned Jade and Daniels. Uh,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: they're as good as he's going to be. If he
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: can show that his rookie year was not a fluke
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: and come back, I think we're gonna have a lot
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: of excitement in the city. However, if you know he's
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: still injury prone, I mean, that's that's really gonna hurt
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: their division. But you know, we'll see what happens. The
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: seasons will still a long way away. We have got
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: to get through the Drack Combine still going on south.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: All right, Well, I gotta ask you this because you
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: are White House correspondent for the Washington Times, but I
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: never asked you, maybe for aspiring jornalists out there, how
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: one gets to this position you're at. I mean, it
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: had to be a lot of work that you did
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: over the years to get where you're at.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is a lot of work, and it's fun
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: work that I've enjoyed. In terms of advice, I would
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: just you know, ask questions, write stories. One thing I've
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: noticed is people tend to sort of lately, especially in
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: kind of younger generations, thumb their nose at lesser reporting positions.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: I came up actually through trade in trade journalism, which
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: nobody reached trade journalism, but I came up through that,
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: and I went from trade journalism to general circulation to
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: the White House. So you know, don't every beat is
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: what you make it. So don't, you know, look down
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: on beats that you don't think that you think are
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: kind of or you're not that interested in because you
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: don't know where it's going to lead. An example of
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: that is I have a friend who was in trade
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: for very very long time and he really wanted to
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: be a crime and courts reporter in General Cirk. And
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: he had one opportunity to go into General Cirk and
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: it was to be a business reporter and he did
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: not want to be a business reporter because he kind
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: of felt that was boring and dull, so he turned
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: that down. And now that was at least nine or
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: ten years ago and he's still in trade.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: Well that that is interesting. And for you, I mean,
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: you're a sports guy, so I agenda been into politics.
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: Was politics also a passion of yours?
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: A politics was and just sort of the career path
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: that led me to you know, all.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: Right, And it's only all there that you get wild
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: emails And I'm like, how Jeff is one of the
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: most centered guys or not overly opinionated, So how can
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: anybody hate you? Jeff? That's crazy? You're very sentenced.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Get all kinds of Oh, I get all kinds of
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: hate mail. I'll tell you this though, if you're gonna
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: send me hate mail, do not send it on company
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: on a company email with your comp state company and
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: say at the bottom, because when you tell me I'm
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: going to burn and how it kind of loses its Uh,
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: the threat kind of loses its value when you sign it,
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: you know, Joe Smith, director of finance at Florida's largest
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: super dealership. It just doesn't seem to have the same
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: same level of It doesn't accomplish what you think it's
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: going to do. It makes it far less intimidating. And
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: I get a lot of those where they're like, you're awful,
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: You're terrible, You're going to burn in hell, and then
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: they sign it and it's like some guy with some job,
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: and you're like, okay, it's like a real person. So yeah,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: I get tons of hate mail. My favorite, though, is
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: I get mail telling me asking me why I am
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: such a conservative hack, and then why I'm such a
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: liberal hack. And that's how I know I'm doing well
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: because I get the same number of emails complaining that
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: I'm liberal and conservative at the same time. If one
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: was more than the other, than I think I was
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: not doing my job. But since I'm getting an equal amount,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: it tells me I'm doing my job.
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: Well, while we're on the topic, real quick from your perspective,
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: because you've got a lot of experience, Well, the Democrats
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: work with him on this and actually try and fix Iran,
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: Well they work with him eventually.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: No, they will not. They've done nothing but condemn it.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: They see political gain. It is a brutal midterm year.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: I do not see them working with him at all.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: They have not worked with him yet. I think, honestly,
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: I think that's been a bit of a mistake on
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: their part because the president likes to co op Democrat ideas.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: You know, he's for example, his ideas on housing affordability,
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: he called Elizabeth Warren up and talked to her, and
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: he's promoted a lot of his ideas were housing have
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: come from her, you know, banning institutional investors from buying
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: from buying single family limps, that was Elizabeth Warren idea,
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: said a couple other ideas.
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: There was a Bernie Shanders idea I'm blanking on right
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: now that he and of course across the boards a
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: Democrat thing, and he's kind of leaning into.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: That exactly so there are so he is willing to
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: take Democrat ideas and I think, but you know, at
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: the flip side of that, that he takes these ideas
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: and he promotes them as his own and doesn't really
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: give the Democrats the credit even though it was originally
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: their idea. So that does cut both ways.
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: And I hear he calls uh, you know, folks at
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: CNN and everybody to just talk off air and then
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: they tell their stories. Is that also happening, Uh, it.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: Is happening that he's calling different reporters off the record
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: and talking to them and promoting his side to the story.
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, very interesting. Well, Jeff Mordoc always a pleasure. And
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: one last thing because on Saturday I had a range
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: of emotions when we attacked Iran, but also I was
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: genuinely pissed at Iran, like like Trump was. Do you
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: think a part of this is because he's really pissed
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: them as they didn't work with them.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: That's a possibility. That is a very much a possibility.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: You know. How this goes on, I think we'll get
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: more information on I mean, he definitely made it clear
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: he felt like he was being chirped around by Iran.
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. Well, we'll see what happens. And it is a
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: crazy midterm year and big primary. I'm rigan have his
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: thumb on the scale and you will too. On the
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: Texas primary going on tonight.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: Oh, that could be interesting. I thought it was really interesting.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: Trumpwoy de tax Us on Friday and then talked up
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: all three candidates and didn't endorse anybody.
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: Then he endorses he doesn't endorse anybody in the governor's race,
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: and now at least to phonic disappears. How funny is that?
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, we we could do an entire show
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: on him and Stefanic at some point because that's kind
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: of an interesting dynamic.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: You know, she was up for the un and then
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: they pulled that.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: You know, and then he doesn't endorse her in the
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: governor's race or she's got to drop out and she's
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: really you know, bent over backwards for him. That that's
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: we don't have the time today.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: No, well maybe me and you didn't break it down
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: with her and MTG. Those are the two interesting stories
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: so far.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Kig's fascinating, absolutely fascinating. What's going along with her?
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: I'm not entirely sure if it's just she's trying to
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: position herself as a centrist for a presidential runner. What's
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: going on there? That's that's a really interesting thing. A well,
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: when we talk about when we dissect the Stephanic Trump dynamic,
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: we can dissect the TG Trump dynamic. And if we
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: do that, we got to talk about her boyfriend who
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: was like the favorite reporter of the Trump administration, who
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: then decided to leave at least his outlet, if not
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: journalism altogether, and go down to Georgia to be with her.
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: All right, letting probat reporter and soon, by the way,
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: opening days right around the corner. I know you're a
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: big Nats guy, so we'll see what happens.
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, before I go, let me ask you a question.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Where do you stand on the World Baseball Classic? Do
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: you like it, dislike it, have no interest? What's your thoughts?
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: I've grown up watching them lose to Japan in the
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: last couple of tournament, so I want to see a win.
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: I don't care if it's meaningless or not. Just as
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: long as Judge doesn't get hurt or anybody big doesn't
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: get hurt and we win, that's all I care about.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: But I don't think it's meaningless. I think it's fun.
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: I think it's it's it's got a point to it.
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: Okay, I watch it because of baseball on TV. I'm
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: kind of in the and this is meaningless camp and
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: it annoys me. If I were a Mets fan like
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: Hugh lost Edwin Diaz for the season at the last one,
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: I just would not like it. If I had a
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: favorite team, the team was expected to compete and we
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: had a key player hurt because they're doing this well.
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of people find are in the
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: same camp as you, Jeff, but I don't know. I
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: kind of like it, and what I what I want
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: to do is get down there and see some of it.
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: Well we will, We'll have to see.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: But yeah, that would be a lot of fun.
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: And this is why I love. We could have a
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: politic sports anything really and that's why I like our connection. Jeff,
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: You're You're a great friend, and thanks for joining one.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: Look up Alex Media today.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. I was always enjoy it.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: Called b A n Kok.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, we'll definitely have a follow up to this as
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: things progress.