absolutely collapsing. we have to grow the economy and bring spending down and we are not going to deal with this by raising taxes. we have to get everyone, everyone knows we are spending too much in washington and not too little revenue. host: thank you for your time, that is stephen lawrence of the top 2024 campaign, and also the founder of the committee to unleash prosperity. we appreciate your time this morning. guest: thank you. we love c-span, you are the voice of reason in america. host: let us start first with the news about the debates. here is a story in politico, having spent months avoiding direct engagement on weight and where to debate, both donald trump and joe biden seem to agree on a time and a place in a matter of minutes on wednesday. setting up showdowns in june and september. the former president's campaign accepted an invitation to debate

the current president on cnn on june 27 and on abc on september 10. biden said he had received and accepted an invitation from cnn and agree to participate in abc's's news form too. here is biden initial challenge via x early this week. >> he had not shown up for a debate and he is acting like he wants to debate me again. make my day. i will even do it twice. i heard you are free on wednesdays. host: here is on her talking about this upcoming talks -- here is donald trump talking about his upcoming talks. [video clip] i will demand a drug test by the way. i really am. i do not want him coming in like the state of the union, high as a kite.

is that joe up there? by the end of the evening he is a like that was exhausting. we demand a drug test. they will be fair. you have to deal with it. [end video clip] host: he will speak of the 2020 four nra leadership forum in dallas at 3:00 p.m. eastern and you can watch that on c-span now or on our free mobile video at or online at c-span.org. those debates have different rules than in years past and that includes the cnn and abc qualifications debate criteria that the candidates be constitutionally eligible to serve as president and they file a statement of candidacy with the federal election commission and that they have their name appear on enough state ballast to reach a threshold of electoral ballots and votes

needed to win the presidency and that they agree to the debates rules and format and that they receive at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet cnn's and abc standards. that does exclude presidential candidates or of k junior who said on x president trump and biden are colluding to lock americans in a head-to-head matchup that a 70% say they do not want to. they are trying to exclude me from their debate, getting back to the rest of the tweet, trying to exclude me from their debate that they are afraid i would win, keeping viable candidates all the debate stage undermines

democracy. 43% of americans identify as independent and if americans are ever going to escape the hammerlock of the two party system, now is the time to do it. these are the two most unpopular candidates in living memory. by excluding these from the stage, president biden and trump seek to avoid discussion on their eight years of mutual failure including deficits, wars, lockdowns, chronic disease, and inflation. that is just one of the several stories we are following today and a reminder for your talking story of the weekly can call in at (202) 748-8000 for democrats and (202) 748-8001 republicans, and (202) 748-8002 for independence. to recap, biting and trump agreeing to that debate. justice alito and the stop the steal flag report, that is the

common association for the upside down american flag. also that the house gop has voted to reverse the israel weapons block that president biden enacted and biden block the release of social council tapes this week and also there has been quite a bit of social media traffic about harrison butker the nfl player and his commitments speech at a catholic university and the reaction to that online. that is get your calls, do this in stonington, on our line for independents. caller: good morning. my top news item of the week was about donald trump and that soap opera thing he is doing in court. after i saw the thing about justice alito and his wife why are american flag upside down like that, it is total disgrace. i have no respect for that supreme court.

they are a disgrace to themselves and a disgrace to this country and i am just so fed up with the whole thing. they are in my opinion, there are a stuffed court by donor, and they are up his rear and i do not think it is right. host: the headline saying that i justice alito's house a stop the steal symbol on display. upside down flag adopted by donald trump supporters contesting the biden victory flew over the justice's front lawn as the supreme court was considering an election case. as of the 2020 presidential election had some trump supporters falsely claiming that president biden had done it, many had displayed a startling symbol, on their cars and in online posts, an upside down american flag, including the residence of samuel alito

in alexandria, virginia according to photographs and interviews with neighbors. the flag was a loft on generally 17th, 2021 and the images showed supporters including some brandishing the same symbol had righted at the capitol a little over a week before. before the -- alarmed neighbors snapped photographs which were obtained by the new york times. one of the flag fills her back to the court and people who work there said in interviews. i had no involvement whatsoever in flying of the flag he said in an email statement to the times and it was briefly placed by misses alito in a response to a neighbor's view to a personally insulting language on yard signs. that is get back to your calls, with your top news story of the week, matt is in bath, new york, on our line for republicans.

caller: good morning. just a quick response to the first caller, it is a disgrace for a flack to be flown upside down by the supreme court justice's wife, but it is free speech when college campuses are burning and stomping on the american flag, that is an amazing statement. my story of the week is joe biden trying to shore up his black support by going to the college but also showing up at the white house celebrating brown versus the board of education. i want to remind everybody that back in the day joe biden was against busing and he actually said he would not want his kids to end up going to a school that looked like a jungle. on top of that, i kind of remember him saying implying that barack obama was speaking

intelligently and of course the implication was that for a black man. this guy is a total hypocrite and i just cannot believe that people actually fall for this. host: in regards to biden attempting to shore up his support with black voters, he is speaking today at morehouse -- tomorrow at 9:00 a m eastern he will be delivering the commencement address at morehouse college in atlanta, georgia. that has attracted some controversy, here is the story we just saw from the associated press. his upcoming graduation speech has upset some, we think of the commencement address at morehouse college, president biden will have its most direct engagement with college students since the start of the israel-hamas war at the center of black politics and culture.

morehouse is located in atlanta, the largest city in the swing state of georgia which biden flipped from donald trump four years ago. his speech sunday welcome as -- will come he tries to make inroads with young black men and repair of the diverse coalition that elected him to the white house. as a reminder, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. eastern went president biden delivers that commencement address in atlanta georgia, you can watch that on c-span now, our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. next up, let us go to ralph in manoa, new york on our line for democrats. caller: good morning, i am a uaw work and my top news story is the debates and i stand with president biden, i do not need to listen to the debates because all the debates are about who gets the best knockout punch or

who has the best one-liner, but i am an issue voter as most union workers in america are issue voters and president biden is supportive of the rays of the federal minimum wage and the right of workers to organize their units to the pro equal pay for equal work and the economy from the bottom up and the middle out as he says, the debates are actually about nothing and i thank you for your time. host: john is in dearborn, michigan on our line for independents. caller: joe biden been a senator and a president and all of the delaware corporations at the last previous collar, he has always been kind of a questionable on topics of race and things like that but that is not the point. i do not know how the top story could not be, are social media and i see disemboweled children and children with their sku

lls blown out in gaza this is what oliver congressman want. i do not know if they see it, but you do not see it on mainstream media, it is disgusting and while we are on that i see videos on social media of ukraine, they're conscripting young men and they are beating them into a van, between ukraine and gaza, the united states is lost. host: thank you for your call. a bit more news this week on israel, the u.s. house to force weapons shipments to israel rebuking biden this week and here is a story about that in reuters, the republican led u.s. house of representatives passed a bill on thursday that would force president joe biden to defend -- send weapons to israel to thinking terrific democrat for delaying bond shipments as he urges israel to do more to protect civilians during its war

with hamas. the israel security assistance support act was approved largely along party lines. 60 democrats joined most republicans in voting yes and three republicans joined most democrats in voting no. michael mccaul was on the house floor on thursday speaking about why that legislation to push military aid israel is needed. [video clip] i'm really disappointed that for some in this country, and for the administration that the moral clarity has faded. that there ironclad commitment is not is not ironclad and in an about-face the biden administration is not withholding critical arms necessary for israel to win this war. this administration wants to dictate how israel executes the war that they were thrust into. they did not ask for this war,

they did not start this war, hamas started this war. this recently, president biden said if they go into rafah, i'm not supplying the weapons period. that would be similar for us to say during world war two my father said you can invade all of the way up to berlin, but you cannot go into berlin to finish the job. imagine if we had done that with our allies back then? israel is in a fight for its very existence. this administration's public break with israel has only made negotiations and victory more difficult. [end video clip] host: gina city chesapeake, virginia on our line for independents. >> charles l kotten.

>> we are at the nra annual meeting and exhibit and obviously, as well as the under a leadership but everybody looks forward to it every year, thank you for being here, to begin the program with everybody please stand and joining me for the pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. to the republic, for which it stands, or nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [applause] thank you. please remain standing and welcome the boston-based soprano 's death, she will be singing

the national anthem and i have had the pleasure and i do mean the pleasure to hear her sing three times now. she is amazing, please join us. [applause] lauren: ♪ oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

and the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave? o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

♪ ♪ [applause] >> thank you so much for being with us. it is a pleasure for me, go ahead and stay there, it is a pleasure for me to be here for yet another reason, i get to introduce their governor greg abbott. [applause] i have known greg for over 35 years now. i have known him as a fellow lawyer that handles a certain type of lawsuit. i have tried cases before him when he was a harris county district judge. he was also on the texas supreme

court. he served as our attorney general. and of course he has been governor since 2015. in every single position, he has made it a point to support the second amendment and the texas version which is article one section 23 of the texas constitution. i know it is hard. i have had the opportunity to introduce him before and had a hard time calling governor abbott because to me he is just greg, he is a friend and frankly, i cannot help but believe a lot of them feel the same way because it truly is a friend and so many ways. i would be here way too long to list all of the things he has done for gun owners and not just on owning, but being enabled to

use them in self-defense. without being in fear of surviving the brutal attack but not the legal aftermath. greg has always been on the side of honest law-abiding people and i can go on and on and he is so pro-self-defense and it takes way too long to list all of them. with that, please help me welcome my friend and yours, the governor of the great state of texas, greg abbott! [applause]

>> thank you to everybody here for the texas size welcome. my want to say to all of the nra members with us here today, as governor of this great state, welcome to texas. when it comes to defending our freedoms it is part of our dna. now more than ever, we must fight to protect our second amendment rights. that is exactly what texas has done. according to the nra, since i

became governor, texas has passed more significant second amendment protections than any other state in the united states of america. [applause] that includes campus carry, open carry, and then two sessions ago i had a big ceremony at the alamo with leadership members from the nra with seven second amendment protections and the law including constitutional carry in the state of texas. including making texas a second amendment sanctuary state, shielding texas from an overreaching federal government. a law protecting gun owners privacy from their surveillance of financial institutions.

and then last year, i signed three more laws protecting second amendment rights. one of which prohibits cities and counties from requiring gun owners to buy liability insurance, you should not be forced to pay to exercise your second amendment right. [applause] texas is a law and order state. unlike some of these universities like columbia, ucla and far too many others, in texas, we do not tolerate paid protesters who tried to hijack our college campuses. [applause] when they tried pulling that

stunt in texas, our department of public safety cleared the area, arrested the protesters, and put them in jail. [applause] another thing that we do not tolerate in texas and that is joe biden's open border policy. [applause] never forget it was just four years ago we had the most secure border and 45 years, that is because donald trump passed four policies and put them in place, down in mexico, title 42, relief and building a border wall, the most secure border since last century. [applause]

then joe biden took office and he decimated that secure border. and now, we have the highest number of illegal border crossings in the history of the country. and a 3.5 years he has been and there have been 10 million illegal immigrants across our border illegally. for those from texas, we have more than four houstons that have crossed the border illegally under joe biden. including known terrorists, no murderers, no rapists, people that we are not going to accept in our state. when biden commanded that they texas border be open, we responded, texas will not comply. [applause]

instead, texas has done more than any state in the history of america to secure our borders. you remember those big, orange buoys we put into the rio grande river? they were designed by the border control to deny illegal entry and would eat you know that as soon as we put them in the river, joe biden made a lawsuit to take him out, that has still been tied up and we want you to know that as we gather at this nra convention, those beliefs remain in the rio grande river. -- bouys remain in the rio grande river. texas if the only state in the history of america to build our own border wall. we did not reinvent the wheel, we are building the exact same wall that donald trump came up with and it is impenetrable and we are adding more and more miles every single day.

i deployed thousands of texas national guard to a stopper is a and declined barriers to deny illegal entry into the state of texas. we caught joe biden using a park in eagle pass, texas which became the epicenter for the crisis. 5000 illegal immigrants were crossing eagle pass a day. i ordered the texas national guard to wire that part shut. [applause] there is no longer thousands of people crossing the border even hundreds at that point, now on average, there are only two people crossing the border illegally and they are arrested by the texas department of

public safety. [applause] our air force has been so successful in the last two years we have seen illegal immigration increase in the mexico and arizona and california area but in the state of texas because of the resistance we have put up, illegal immigration has gone down 65%. [applause] know this, unless joe biden does finally begin to enforce immigration laws, i will continue to bus those migrants across the united states of america. [applause] a bunch of hypocrites. [laughter] they are going to new york,

trust me. [applause] they need something to do. this crisis is about to come to an end. in just six months. [applause] that is when joe biden will be fired as president of the unit states of america. -- united states of america. donald trump will once again become president of the greatest country in the history of the world. [applause] joe biden deserves to be fired. under his leadership, we have war in europe, israel is under

attack, china is in poland and inflation is destroying the middle class in the united states of america. biden's alliance with extremist has led to open borders, gun control, writes on college campuses, and the gutting of our constitutional rights. donald trump is the antidote to joe biden. [applause] it is a history of america no president has done more to secure our border, no president has fought harder to protect your second amendment rights. [applause] under donald trump are world was safer. we had the most secure border and decades. russia and china or in check and the united states economy was booming with inflation under control.

it cannot be more serious about what i'm about to say. donald trump's election depends on the extraordinary efforts by the nra. when your organization turns out, no organization in america can champion over you. with your help, we will elect donald trump, president once again, the freedom fighters put america first. [applause] he will lock down the border. patrol the chaos that has hit the globe and most important we protect your god-given second amendment rights. [applause] here in texas we have a saying, for joe biden, and his leftist allies, that is, and take it.

with your help, that is exactly what we are going to do to joe biden. in november, thank you all and god bless you all and god bless the united states of america. [applause] >> please welcome the interim executive vice president andrew.

>> hello everyone. welcome to 2024 leadership forum. and we did not come to see me so i will be brief. my name is andrew, i am the interim executive vice president and ceo of the nra. i have worked -- thank you. [applause] i have worked for the nra for about 25 years in public affairs and general operations. i know about what is going on with the nra. no matter what you have heard, we are strong, we are healthy, we are resolute, committed, and united. have a very important piece of

business. play century the nra and america -- for a century and the nra and america's law enforcement have had a mutual trust and support. today, we are continuing a long-standing tradition of recognizing the nra's law enforcement officer of the year. let me tell you a story. on a hot july afternoon last year in fargo, north dakota, four police officers were working their routine traffic accidents. suddenly, someone across the street opened rifle fire on the officers by the shooting gallery. three of the officers went down. to save them, the fourth officer zachary robinson armed with only a handgun opened fire and advanced on the suspect until he

was dead. [applause] for his courage and bravery, and for relieving the city of fargo of another violent criminal, let us hear it loud for nra's law enforcement officer of the year, officer zach robinson! please stand and be recognized. [applause] [applause]

>> i have one other important piece of this. today is the date we remember the brave souls and sacrifice of our men and women who put service above self. today is armed forces day. if you are a current or past member of the armed forces, please stand and let us make this room or with our appreciation. thank you. [applause] thank you all for your service. president donald trump is here but he is doing some news interviews that he will be out shortly along with randy and the

nra executive director. please stretch your legs and of the program will continue shortly. thank you very much. ♪ ♪

♪

host: here is a story in politico, having spent months avoiding direct engagement on when and where to debate, both donald trump and it joe biden seem to agree on a time and a place in a matter of minutes on wednesday. setting up high-stakes showdowns in late june and mid-september. the former president's campaign announced it accepted an invitation to debate, on cnn on june 27 and on abc on september 10. and having previously said that he had received and accepted an invitation from cnn agreed to participate in abc's dues form two. here is president biden's initial challenge via acts earlier this week. [video clip] >> he lost two debates to me in 2020 and that is why he has not shown up, make my day, i will even do it twice. i hear you are free on wednesdays. [end video clip] host: here is donald trump talking about the upcoming debates at a political event last night in minnesota. [video clip] >> i just want to debate this guy but, and i will demand a drug test by the way. i am. i really am. i do not want him coming in like

the state of the union and he was high as a kite. is it joe up there? by the end of the evening he is like he was exhausted. i will demand a drug test. they will be fine and fair. you have to deal with it. [end video clip] host: donald trump will speak at the nra leadership forum in dallas today at 3:00 p.m. eastern, you can watch that our c-span now or on our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. those debates happened having -- have different rules that includes that the qualification criteria that the candidates be constitutionally eligible to serve as president and that they file a statement of candidacy with the federal election commission and that they have their name appear on and off state ballots to reach the threshold of 270 ballot votes

needed and they agree to the debate's rule and format and that they receive at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet cnn's and abc standards. that does exclude presidential candidates rfk junior who said on acts that president trump and -- presidents trump and biden are colluding to luck america head-to-head match of that 70% say they do not want. they are trying to exclude me from their debate -- excuse me -- getting back to the rest of that tweet. trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid that i would win, keeping viable

candidates off the debate stage under democracy. 43% of americans identified as attendants. if americans are going to escape the hammerlock of the two party system, now is the time to do it. these are the two most unpopular candidates in living memory. by excluding you, presidents fighting in trump seek to avoid discussion of their mutual failure, including deficit, chronic disease, lockdown, and inflation. that is just one of the several stories we are following today and a reminder for your talking story of the week, call in at (202)-748-8000 free democrats, -- for democrats, (202)-748-8001 for republicans, and (202)-748-8002 for independents. just to recap top news stories we have been watching, including riding in trump agreed to that -- biden and trump agreed to

that debate, justice alito, and the house gop has voted to reverse the israel weapons law that president biden enacted, and then biden blocked the release of special counsel this week. there has also been quite a bit of social media traffic about the nfl player and his commencement speech at a catholic university in the reaction to that online. let's get your calls. duke, on the line for independents. good morning. caller: my top news item of the week was about trump and that circus sideshow soap opera thing that he is doing in court. i will tell you after i saw that thing about justice alito and his wife flying our american flag upside down like that, it

is a total disgrace. i have no respect for that supreme court. they are a disgrace to themselves and this country, and i'm just so fed up with the whole thing. in my opinion, there is a donald trump stop shot, where the supreme justices would go out of sight. i don't think it is right. host: let's read more about that story from the new york times, at justice alito's house, a stop the steal symbol on display. adopted by trump supporters flew over the justice's front lawn at the supreme court and was considering an election case. many of them displayed a startling symbol, an upside down american flag.

one of the homes flying an inverted flag during that time was the resident of supreme court justice alito junior in alexandria, virginia, according to photographs and interviews with neighbors. the upside down flag was aloft on january 17, 2021, showing president donald j. trump supporters, including some brandishing the same symbol had rioted at the capitol a little over a week before. mr. biden's inauguration three days away, alarmed neighbors, snapped photographs, some of which were obtained by the new york times. word of the flag filtered back to the court. people who work there said in interviews. "i had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag," justice alito said to the times. "it was briefly placed by mrs. alito in response to a neighbor's use of it of an personally insulting language on

yard signs." let's get back to your calls. your top news story of the week. matt in new york on the line for republicans. caller: good morning. a quick response to the first caller. it's a disgrace for the flag to be flown upside down by a supreme court justice's wife, but it is free speech when college campuses are burning and stomping on the american flag? that's an amazing statement. my story of the week is joe biden trying to shore up his black support by going to the college but also showing up at the white house celebrating brown versus the board of education. i want to remind everybody that back in the day joe biden was against busing. he actually said he would not want his kids to end up going to a school that looked like a jungle. on top of that, i remember him

saying or implying barack obama could speak intelligently. the implication there was for a black man. this guy is a total hypocrite. i can't believe people actually fall for this crap. host: in regards to biden attending to shore up his support with black voters, he is speaking today at morehouse -- i'm sorry, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. eastern he will deliver the commencement address at morehouse college in atlanta. that has attracted some controversy. here is the story we saw from the associated press. biden's upcoming speech roils morehouse college. a center of black politics and culture. when he gives the commencement address at morehouse college, president biden will have his most direct engagement with college students since the start of the israel-hamas war at a

center of black politics and culture. morehouse is in atlanta, the largest city in the swing state of georgia, which biden flipped from then president trump four years ago. biden's speech comes as the democrat tries to make inroads with the key and symbolic constituency young black men and repair the diverse coalition that elected him to the white house. as a reminder, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. eastern when president biden delivers that commencement address at morehouse college in atlanta, georgia, you can watch that on c-span now, or online at c-span.org. let's go to ralph in new york on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i am a uaw worker. my top news story is the debates. i stand with president biden. i don't need to listen to the debates. all the debates are about is who gets the best knockout punch or

has the best one-liner. i'm an issue voter, as most union voters are. president biden is supportive of raising the federal minimum wage, the right of workers to organize unions, equal pay for equal work, and the economy from the bottom up in the middle out. the debates are about nothing and i thank you for your time. host: thanks for your call. john in dearborn, michigan. line for independents. caller: good morning. joe biden has been the senator and president for mbna and the delaware corporations. like the previous caller, he's always been kind of a questionable on topics of race and things like that. that is not the point. i don't know how the top story couldn't be -- i go on social media. i see disemboweled children and

children with their skulls blown out in gaza. i can't help but think this is what all of our congressmen want. i don't know if they see it, but you don't see it on mainstream media. it is disgusting. i see videos on social media of ukraine, of their conscripting young men. they are beating them into a van trying to conscript them. between ukraine and gaza the united states is lost. host: thank you for your call. a bit more news this week on israel. the u.s. house voted to force weapons shipments to israel, rebuking biden this week. here's a story about that in reuters. "the republican led u.s. house of representatives passed a bill on thursday that would force president joe biden to send weapons to israel, seeking to rebuke the democrat for delaying bomb shipments as he urges israel to do more to protect civilians during its war with

hamas. the israel security assistance support act was approved 224-187, largely along party lines. 16 democrats joined most republicans in voting yes. three republicans joined most democrats in opposing the measure. foreign affairs committee chair michael mccaul was on the house floor on thursday speaking about why that legislation to push military aid to israel." [video] >> i'm deeply disappointed for some in this country and for the administration that the moral clarity has faded. that their ironclad commitment apparently is not in fact ironclad. in an about-face the biden administration is now withholding critical arms necessary for israel to win the war. this administration wants to dictate how israel executes the war that they were thrust into.

they did not ask for this work. they did not start this war. hamas started this war. recently, president biden said, "if they go into rafah, i'm not supplying the weapons, period." that would be similar for us to say during world war ii, "you can invade all the way up to berlin but you cannot go into berlin to finish the job." imagine if we had done that with our allies back then. israel is in a fight for its very existence. this administration's public break with israel has only made negotiations and victory more difficult. host: gene in chesapeake, virginia. line for independents. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. goodness.

i hear all the comments. i'm going to stick to what i wanted to talk about. the flag upside down. i'm a veteran. i served in the u.s. army. i'm proud of my service to my country. i'm proud of my country. i could not help but be disheartened by seeing the protesters with the college students at columbia university when they took down the u.s. flag and put of the palestinian flag. let's go back to january 6, when we first started seeing this disregard for our flag. january 6. i don't vote party. i vote issues. i am for democracy over dictatorship. if we also roll it back, we want to see why the military is suffering with military recruitment. look at what our justice did. let's go back to january 6.

now let's go forward to the flag being taken down and the palestinian flag raised over a building. people need to do their history on the u.s. flag. moving forward now, the justice with the flag upside down. my heart broke for a third time. we have got to unite these states of america. let's stop all of this mess. the one caller talked about what joe did. who feels the same way they felt 40 years ago? if that was the case, we would look at 45, trump. trump never served in the military. he has no ancestry of service in the united states of america. i would like to know if his son -- nothing against the young man, he's 18, but is he registered for selective service? we must come back to one united states of america.

those young people, we can't fight the war. yes, we feel for palestine and israel. there are other ways you can help out. we can't tear down our democracy and our united states of america. we have got to stand together. we have got individuals that are supposed to be representing their constituents going up to new york. do the business of the united states. we are all so distracted here now. please people. altogether. we have got to be united. host: speaking of members of congress going up to new york, there's a story about that in axios from this week. house republicans have been working to curry favor with former president trump with trump trial visit. nearly a dozen house republicans flocked to his criminal trial in new york, the

largest attendance yet by gop lawmakers. the trial is rapidly becoming the essential trump loyalty test for republican members of congress, to the point where it appears to have appeared with -- appears to have actively interfered with official business. several republicans on the house oversight committee, which scheduled a markup. next up, henrietta in fort pierce, florida. the line for republicans. what is your top news story? caller: hi. good morning. two things. you were not real clear with regard to the flag. i find it very interesting that when the the supreme court was cluttered with democrat appointees, they were the greatest thing in the entire world.

now they are conservative. they are such terrible problems. january 6 was not the first time that flag was flown upside down. the symbolism of that is distress. the supreme court -- alito's wife was in distress. her neighbor was going up to her face, like the congresswoman from california, waters, said what all good democrats should do. secondly, donald trump -- host: i want to come back in a moment. i will read more of the new york times article referencing what you were talking about before i let you continue. it says that -- "interviews show that justice's wife had been in a dispute with another family on the block over an anti-trump sign on their lawn. given the timing and starkness of the symbol, neighbors interpreted the inverted flag is a political statement by the

couple. that particular sign that the neighbor had put up included an expletive related to former president trump." go ahead. caller: exactly. who cares what the neighbors thought? you are making this out like it is a new york times let's beat up conservatives because they are not our cup of tea. secondly, trump was the one who called for the debates, not biden. not biden. trump did. he said anytime, anyplace, anywhere. biden thought he would be smart by saying yes. they thought donald would say we need this, we need that, we need this. no, he called biden's bluff. drug testing biden would be a good thing. it truly would.

so we can see what the heck he is on. we know this man won't be able to stand. host: thanks for your call. let's go to a post we saw on social media for james hopkins on facebook. i would save mr.butker's commencement speech. misogyny and homophobia was on full display and an overview of how others out there think. the way he laced his talk with disinformation and misinformation were out of place for the occasion. the ones who agree with him probably wear red hats and will affect the election in november." here's an article from cnn about that particular speech. the nfl is distancing itself from controversial comments from kansas city chiefs kicker harrison butker during a recent commencement address. in addition to calling pride

month a deadly sin, he set off waves of criticism when he suggested women find more fulfillment through getting married and having children than by pursuing careers directly after quoting a song by taylor swift. here is a portion of that speech at benedictine college's commencement ceremonies last weekend. [video] >> for the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. you should be proud of all you have achieved to this point in your young lives. i want to speak to you briefly because it is you, the women, who had the most diabolical lies told you. how many are sitting here now about to cross the stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? some of you make a want to lead -- may go on to lead successful careers in the world. i would venture to guess the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. i can tell you my beautiful wife isabel would be the first to say

her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and mother. i am on this stage today and i'm able to be the man i am today because i have a wife who leans into her vocation. i am beyond blessed with the many talents god has given me. it cannot be overstated that all my success is made possible because a girl i met back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all. homemaker. [end video clip] host: another comment on that speech from social media, from a text message we received from joseph in fayetteville, north carolina, "harrison butker was voicing opinions at a commencement. he was more concerned about his personal feelings than encouraging the graduates. i'm not sure what is more disturbing, feelings over logic or