anybody. i am just upset with the man. it has been the longest month of my life watching this guy caught up my beautiful democracy the way he has. and i just hate the man and everything he does anymore. he's the most destructive thing this country has had since king george the third. like i said, he must be a king. he can be louis the 16th of france. thank you. host: this is north carolina. >> president trump recognizes black history month with a reception at the white house. we will have live coverage when it gets underway here on c-span3 and also on c-span now, our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. >> we are back this morning with matt barnum who is the k-12 education reporter at the wall street journal, here to talk about this headline from matt barnum. trump advisors way plan to

dismantle education department. matt barnum, tell us about your reporting. what did you learn? >> my colleagues and i reported earlier this week is trump administration officials are weighing executive orders and at his mental and the u.s. department of education and that is consistent with a campaign promise trump any to enter the department. we don't know when or even for sure if these orders will be issued or what exactly they will say. this is still in flux but we reported they are considering an order that would shut down all functions of the agency that are not explicitly written into statute and we reported they are considering an order to come up with a legislative proposal will polish the department. -- abolish the department. host: why is it they would have to come up with a legislative proposal and why is it that they can only eliminate those parts that are not written in statute? guest: because there's a lot of us and the department's existence itself that are in statute. the department was established by congress with the support of

jimmy carter in 1979 and there are things that the department does my title i funding which is funding for low income students in k-12 schools or funding for students with disabilities that are in statute so you cannot just snap your fingers through executive order, legal experts say, to get rid of the department or the things that it does. host: what do we know about congress taking up legislation that would abolish the education department? guest: there has been legislation introduced by republican members of congress to do so but it's a pretty steep hill to climb to make that a reality. legal experts i have talked to say that you would need a 60 votes super majority in the senate to eliminate the department. i am not aware of any democrats who supported ending the department and some of the things that the department does are pretty popular even in red areas and conservative leaning areas and polls show, including

our pulling out the wall street journal, that eliminating the department itself is not popular with voters. that said, voters are also pretty dissatisfied with public schools right now according to polling and we don't know how much political capital trump might spend on this issue so i am not -- i don't want to make any firm predictions here. host: what is popular with americans, with the education department and the functions that they do? guest: i would say generally at least locally, funding for low income students, funding for students with disabilities, if that -- if a community sees cuts coming out of their local school where you have to lay off a teacher, layoff and aid -- an aide, that is going to get a lot of backlash. student loans are popular with the constituents who receive them although there's also some who are very skeptical of that. i think what is less popular is a sense of federal meddling in local education decisions and

it's also worth noting that, you know, some of these issues are very sensitive to how the polling question is worded so we don't necessarily know for sure exactly how voters feel. host: how have the unions responded? guest: the unions are very skeptical of eliminating the department of education. and i think they are especially skeptical of eliminating the funding that comes with the department of education. the interesting history is at the national education association, the largest teachers union, pushed for the department of education to be created under jimmy carter but the other big teachers union, the american federation of teachers, at the time, was against creating the department of education. that said, by now, the associations of teachers and other people who work in the department of education -- who work in schools are very skeptical of eliminating the department. host: we want our viewers to join us in this conversation this morning about the education department here in washington. here is how you can do that.

republicans dial in at (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. you can post on x or on facebook.com/c-span. elon musk tweeting out on ending the federal department of educwhich was created by carter in 1979 but it was bigger when reagan left office then when he started. not this time. what role is elon musk playing in this? leader starmer: -- guest: the education department is among the agencies that mosques department of government efficiency is looking at as part of its efforts to overhaul the federal bureaucracy. we also reported that some of mosques representatives were working out of the main education department building in

washington and obviously, musk himself has been very enthusiastic on the social media platform about ending the department. host: i want to show our viewers with the president had to say about this to reported us in the oval office on tuesday when he was asked about his plans for the education department. take a look. >> why nominate linda mcmahon to be the education department secretary if you are going to get rid of the education department? pres. trump: i told them that linda, i hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job. i want her to put herself out of a job. education department. we are ranked number 40 out of 40 schools, right question mike we are ranked number one in cost per ppo. we spend more people than any other country in the world and we are ranked at the bottom of the list. we are ranked very badly, and what i want to do is let the states run school speed i believe strongly in school choice but in addition to that, i want the states to run schools and i want linda to put herself out of a job. host: matt barnum? guest: there is a lot to unpack

in those comments. one thing i would note is that i believe president trump is right that the u.s. is a very high spending country in terms of education and we are also a very wealthy country but we are not ranked quite as low as he is saying. i would say we are typically in the middle of the pack which is nothing to brag about and it depends exactly on the test you are using so i'm not aware of the 40 out of 40. his appointment of linda mcmahon is also an interesting one. she was the cofounder of wwe and donor and supporter of trump. her background in education is somewhat limited but she actually trained to become a teacher and briefly served on the connecticut state board of education. and he has obviously told her that he wants her to work to dismantle the department that she will likely lead if she is confirmed. host: we are talking about the edation department this morning. here are some statistics for you. u.s. pre-k education system has more than 49 million students.

more than 3 million full-time equivalent teachers in public elemtary and secondary schools. public school per student penditure was $15,500 in 1991 according to the national center for education statistics. the u.s. department of education began operating in 1980. it employs over 4000 people and its budget for 2024, $238 billion. howard, democratic collar, what are your thoughts or questions on the education department? caller: yes, top of the morning to you. i am a product of public education. and as you can see, it is very vital to not just african-americans, it is for all americans. the one thing we all will be on the same accord -- you will be taught the same thing. but to me, to me, it sounds as though the 2025 project is in

effect because if you look at the 2025 project, it has that in there. not only that, it will also divide our children, which we do need diversity to be able to survive when you are going through adolescence, so i look at what they are doing is trying to overturn board of education -- round versus board of education. segregation, i believe, is trying to make a comeback. host: all right. matt barnum. guest: on project 2025, it is true that the heritage project 2025 had a goal of eliminating the department of education but that was also what trump campaigned on separately from project on a 25 so it was not a secret during his campaign that that is what he wanted to do. i cannot comment specifically on the goal in the link to segregation. that is certainly not something i have seen.

there has been evidence that our schools remain quite segregated or stratified by race and family income and that has not really gotten better in a few decades and there little indication that policymakers from either party are interested in tackling that issue. host: deborah, columbia, maryland, independent. caller: i am a schoolteacher and one of the concerns that i have about the department of education being eliminated is the lack of standardization of curriculum throughout the state. so there's some basics that i think all citizens should know with regards to science, mathematics, social studies, especially in this day and age where we have interactions between different countries. they need to be respectful so my concern is, again, the states

being able to decide the curriculum instead of certain basics that all citizens need to know so i would appreciate if the guest would try to address that concern. thank you so much. guest: i don't think that you limited in the department of magic -- education would necessarily have an effect on that because estates are the ones that set standards and curriculum in local districts. the department of education, by law, is restricted in its ability to dictate local curriculum. so i don't necessarily see that as overlapping. that said, there are some folks who want the department of education to take a more aggressive stance to intervene when schools are struggling. that is what it did under no child left behind. under current law, it had the every student succeeds act. it has some provisions for that but they are relatively limited. host: patty and stuart, florida. republican. caller: how are you? my concern is the ranking.

the department of education is showing that it has been a failed system. we have school choice and some of the states and it showed that the children are doing much better with this. all we hear about is the teachers, the unions, but we don't talk about our children and their education. i learned i had a much better curriculum than what is being taught today. so when you get to these different areas, money is thrown in certain sections but the basics of teaching our children is no longer there and i believe that is the biggest concern and everybody is avoiding that. host: matt barnum? guest: you have spoken to the heart of the question. is the department of education helping or not helping schools? certainly advocates for the department say that what it does is important and the money it spends is important and critics say that it has not been helpful and it has not made a difference. host: you said president trump

would target certain functions of the education department through executive orders. which ones? guest: i don't think we know yet. i think the most -- the ones that he could more easily target are some of the smaller ones that are not written into statute those are not the ones that are going to really make a big difference or have an impact either on the budget or at the school level. host: he has signed a number of executive orders related to education since taking office. what do they do and what changes would they bring to classrooms? guest: he has signed several. there is one that aims to expand school choice which means -- it could mean public funding for private schools although the executive order on its own is relatively limited. he has also signed an executive order and that restrict doing -- restricting transgender women from participating in women's sports and he signed an order trying to get what he calls a radical indoctrination out of k-12 schooling which really targets certain practices related to gender and

transgender rights as well as race and what supporters call diversity initiatives or antiracism in schools. and he has directed his department of education to target and investigate school systems that are pushing these liberal or left-wing policies. what is interesting is that this is with his promise -- this is in tension with his promise to get the feds out of public schools so we will see how this plays out. host: it is a headline in the wall street journal from your reporting. trump's school choice agenda hits pushback from red state voters. what did you find out? guest: a lot of red states have passed school choice initiatives which typically means some sort of public funding or public subsidy for private schooling and in some cases, homeschooling. that has passed in red state legislated -- legislators across the country. however, it was recently -- similar initiatives were recently put up for a vote in kentucky and nebraska and voters

in these very red states, even as they were electing president trump in 2024, voted down private school choice efforts. and that caught a lot of people by surprise and it suggests that at least in these couple states, nebraska and kentucky, there is a disconnect between what the red state voters want and what -- and what some of the officials are pushing. >> let's hear from you. >> good morning. my question was why. everybody is talking about education. they are speaking of the 25th -- i suggest they start looking at the 25th amendment in the constitution that gets rid of a president who can no longer govern. this is what we have now. it's not only education. if you educate yourself and see what is happening with this guy that we have for a president, you will see. he has dementia.

he is an old man with dementia. host: we will stick to the topic. eric. caller: thank you. what i want to ask about or comment on is the cost of college. and i think one of the biggest problems in the carter administration was he raised -- as a result, title ix became into effect. title ix, i agreed with. that happened during the time when a lot of -- men's colleges. i agreed with the equality meant behind it but that increased

the cost of college is exponentially over the years and when people asked me why college is so expensive, i point to grover city college that had to go all the way to the supreme court to maintain their independence and one stated, once they were successful, they don't use any kind of federal loans, it kept costs reasonable. host: let's talk about that connection. once the education department became a cabinet level position, he says that is what race college costs because of the federal loans system. guest: i think there are certainly some folks who have argued that and i think there is some credible research to support that. i would be interested in seeing whether alternatives that he mentioned that are not reliant on student loans have also seen

costs grow. i know in k-12 education, private school costs, which are not -- they get very little government subsidies, they have also seen costs grow so i know it remains up for debate what is driving these cost factors in k-12 and higher education. host: what about research done into that people will pay this cost? the cost keeps going up and people keep paying it. guest: right. i mean, that is another interesting reflection. these loans people do come in most cases, though we have seen some forgiven, have to pay back and that does reflect some -- the willingness to pay or at least the willingness to take out loans reflects some belief that there is at least some evidence for that going to college is worth it and there will be some sort of -- it is an investment and there will be some sort of pay premium when you graduate. host: michelle in wisconsin, democratic collar. good morning to you. caller: thank you for taking my

call. my question is in the department of education in the schools, k-12, what do you think is going to happen to the special education classrooms and the services that the public schools provided through their schools to help students keep up just as year therapy, euro t, your speech and language services. host: all right, michelle. we will have matt brown respond. guest: i think you are referring to the individuals with disabilities in education act which is a federal law which requires public walls serve students with disabilities and it also sends money to schools to pay for the cost of serving them. if you ask states or schools,

they will say they don't get enough from the federal government and i think that is a huge question if you were to dismantle the department. what would you do with that law and the money that goes to it that it's written into statutes? i am not aware of president trump or his administration saying that they would target that but it is a very good question. host: jake, a republican. jake. caller: hello and good morning. my question was to bring attention to what i feel the problem in our public school systems is an acronym -- i listened to a long discourse by james lindsay who is speaking about the marxification of education that our children are being taught instead of basic academics. they are being taught how to become essentially activists and

activism and it is concerning to me and i was curious if you had any more information on that subject. guest: so i believe you are referring to sel or social emotional learning which is a set of practices that have grown in k-12 schools that advocates say are designed to help students manage their emotions and behavior and that conservative critics say are a distraction from regular academics. reading, writing, and arithmetic. i would have to look at the particular examples that you referred to to really comment on that. host: daniel in pennsylvania, democratic caller. >> good morning. i want your guest to address lobbying efforts and soft money that goes into public schools and in addition, to your past guest about farming and south

money lobbying efforts that keep the chemicals in our food and to our congressmen and senators. host: we will take the education part of that. guest: they are certainly spending -- there is certainly a political spending around education as it is in any issue and that spending includes folks on both sides of the issue. teachers unions on one side are major spenders and then you also have critics of public education and supporters of school choice and other folks on another side so it is, you know, it is a political issue and like any political issue, there is spending on it. host: leonard in westfield, massachusetts. independent caller. good morning, leonard. >> good morning. i have a question. i know when bush passed a law where no children stayed behind, that means that if you are not doing well in that class, you are not going to do well in the next one and the next one.

i mean, i stayed back a few times which helped me. and also, they should not have devices from the first grade to the six grade or seventh grade. they should do everything by a pencil or pen and learn how to write and read and multiply and everything, learn. and use their brain. before they start using devices. host: all right, leonard. we will go to charlestown, massachusetts. independent. good morning. >> good morning. my question is sort of related to the real potential implications of this policy so i have been -- i have not really had a strong opinion on this because it has not really been talked about, the idea of abolishing the department until now, pretty much, and when i look at my media feed, i see, as

if abolishing the department is going to destroy education in america. i want to talk a little bit about what are some of the actual negative implications that this could have and if they are in fact being a little bit overblown by a lot of the media sources today. thank you. host: mr. barnum. guest: obviously, there is a debate about whether there would be negative implications. advocates for either mating the department do not think it would be beneficial to ending it. i think how big the ramifications would be, period, depends on how they go about abolishing it. i sort of think of either a soft abolished or hard abolish payday soft abolish would be just doing -- taking what the department of education dies and putting it in other agencies but getting rid of the department. that would probably not have a big effect on your typical school because the federal government is still doing the

same thing. they are just not doing it under the auspices of the department of education. that is what happened before the department of education existed. there were actions at the federal government did under the department called the health education and welfare department. the hard abolish would be eliminating many or all of the things that the department of education does. that would have very big ramifications and schools even though, you know, most of the money for schools comes from outside the federal government. it still makes a meaningful -- that would really matter for good or ill in your local school if they went that route. host: next, we will hear from john in queensland, georgia. republican. caller: good morning. my question is about the department of education's how can people graduate from baltimore, from high school, and they find out they cannot read at a fifth grade level?

how can this get through with failure like this? if nobody addresses it? host: matt barnum question math --matt barnum? guest: many urban school systems and school systems across the country have struggles and in some cases, that is because the schools are not doing a good job teaching kids to read, write, and do math. in other cases, students are facing really big challenges outside of the school. they are exposed to violence or they are evicted and moving homes or they face poverty so all sorts of things make it in the way of learning. there is a lot of evidence that the student outcomes we see are not just driven by the schools. they are also driven by what happens to students in their lives outside of school. host: independent. john, make it real quick. the house is about to gavel in.

caller: i am going to make it real quick. i have a question as it relates to closing down the education department federally. so how much funds does the federal system contribute to local cities in terms of education? because we pay high taxes, high property taxes now, and part of our taxes go to the school system locally. host: quick answer from you. guest: the k-12 level, the federal government spends about 10% or $.10 on the dollar so a small but meaningful chunks. host: matt barnum with the wall street journal, thank you, sir. guest: thanks for having me. i enjoyed the conversation. host: we are joined by a columnist, tv talk show host, and entrepreneur. welcome to the program. guest: good morning. host: you have been largely supportive of president trump's actions this first month in office. tell me why and why you think trump 2.0 is different from the

first time around? guest: as a media owner, it's not about being supportive of the president or not. i think it is the media's responsibility to be more of a referee and just tell the facts about what any administration is doing, whether it is biden and harris or trump and vance. i think, and i made some of my own notes here, i think that when you look at the legal border crossings and when you think about the fact that on the southern border, you have less than 260 nine people crossing per day versus 11,000 with biden and harris in the white house, you just cannot ignore that is progress for the american people and that is one of the things that the president promised that he would deal with when he was running for president and that has happened. even when you talk about, he and elon musk campaigned together and they made it clear they were going to reduce the waste and fraud in government.

they want to make sure that the taxpayers money works better for them. obviously, there's a lot of chaos in the process of it obvious he, there are people that are being terminated that probably should not be terminated. obviously, there is some harm that is being done by ian chaos, particularly at the rapid speed president trump is moving, obviously, you are going to have to have some corrective courses and this is why it is necessary that congress, unlike the last congress, conceded so much of their responsibilities to the white house to do their job. this is why we have a checks and balance system in place with the courts and we have the congress to make sure you balance out what the president does because the president cannot shut down a federal agency that is funded by congress. that is congress's role and congress is getting over the shock. host: usaid has been shut down and those programs have been stopped. even the sign has been taken down. guest: this is true. usaid is sort of unique in its

own way and we understand that but listen, there is a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse in usaid as well as other government agencies listen, the conversation that we should have , instead of -- we should criticize the president constructively. that is what a democracy is paid listen, if you just look at the whistleblowers, when they talk about waste, when you talk about checks that are being written and because they have been written this way for so long, you cannot even question whether they are going to terrorist organizations, people who are living, people in need. it may not seem like a lot when he think about the budget of the united states government but it is a start. i will take my own example. you look at as someone in the media when you cover these community action agencies around the country, you have people that go to these agencies to get their bills paid, to make sure they are able to have their water turned on. they cannot pay their rent on time and so sometimes, with these agencies will do is pay

this for them three or four months in advance in the same people come back the same time because they don't use the money that they have to pay for their expenses. a lot of these things just go on and on and on and what is needed is better management. yes, we know agencies do a lot of good. there are a lot of people who need it like the elderly but sometimes, they are people in need because these systems have become so corrupt and mismanaged that the people that really need it don't get it so the fact that the president and elon musk is pursuing this government efficiency, accountability, and responsibility is a good thing. look, as a ceo of a business, i understand. we can talk about working from home and the benefits that has but there is nothing like being in person, working with your colleague, sitting, coming up with ideas, having exchanges, running back to the office, have a better idea when you are talking face-to-face. there is nothing like the human interaction and had the government, particularly here i washington, d.c., when the federal government is shut down,

it affects tourism, it affects the economy, it affects everything. yes, there may be some people that may need to work from home but so many people need to be back at work. it is an economy in and of itself. host: as you said, you are a businessman and you have cautioned elon musk not to approach the federal government as he would in downsizing one of his businesses. what do you see as a fundamental difference there? of how elon musk should approach this, you know, the good objective of reducing fraud in the federal government? guest: this is a piece that was in the baltimore sun on sunday and you know, while you may have these noble intentions, you cannot run a private business the way you run the federal government. you can go in and you can cut and slash, by a government, you have got to respect the processes. elon musk, as well intended as

he may be, he has to work with congress. he has to work with people within these agencies. you have to trust them to a certain extent. there are people willing to tell you where the waste and fraud is. you cannot just go and shutdown agencies and not realize the harm that you could do in the long run because that becomes the narrative. you cannot become a dictator when it comes to the government because you will lose. as well intended as he may be, he will fail in the process and because of what he is doing is so important, he should inspect the different processes that are in place that can better help him accomplish the goals he's trying to achieve. host: if you would like to join our conversation with armstrong williams, you can do so. start calling in now. (202) 748-8001 is for republicans. (202) 748-8000 is for democrats. (202) 748-8002 is for independents. you just bought the baltimore sun and this is on the front page of the paper for today. it says christian leaders grapple with new trump policies

targeting of anti-christian bias , eradication of d.e.i. programs, provoke reactions from maryland clergy. explain that article. guest: well, a prominent pastor in baltimore is quoted throughout the article and he talks about the old-school bible and biblical understanding. listen, when donald trump had an attempt -- where it grazed his ear and you could see the blood, even he has said that god saved him and it was an act of god. many christians will see that as god had a greater purpose for donald trump and so therefore, donald trump is a president about destiny and it was destined for donald trump to run but also, then you look at donald trump's character and people say that what donald trump does in his moral life and personal life is not necessarily what christians adhere to. i mean, when you look at him,

but then they also point to david who was an adulterer and how he betrayed his wife but god was able to use him for a greater good. host: he also repented. guest: i am not saying the president has not repented. i don't know what he does in his private life but we do know when you think about donald trump's extraordinary journey, what he has gone through, the indictments, the lawsuits, people had given up on him, the fact that he could come back surviving and assassin's bullet and become president again, for christians, that has a very spiritual, strong foundation for them and they think there is a greater good in donald trump and this is why they believe donald trump, there may be the possibility that donald trump could usher in a golden age but i would say you have to be cautious with that because listen, the bottom line is donald trump is human and sometimes, you don't want to become a sycophant for the president that everything he does, you support it and turn a blind eye to the things that you could caution on him to be a better person. you don't want to be an enabler

and while i say that donald trump is a much calmer president, not sending out the crazy tweets, he's not attacking the people the way he attacked them. you are seeing a more mature, more laid-back, and more measured president and i say that his progress. i think donald trump, from his experiences as a businessman, has got to have some compassion about his politics because obama tells you, don't allow your good to be evil spoken of here donald trump has to be very measured. i like the fact that he's getting along very well with elon musk. i like the fact that he's working very well with his trifecta in congress. they all seem like they are on the same page. the seam -- the people who seem to be upset if the members of congress and some of the articles in the media but for the most part, americans, 55 to 60% are willing to give donald trump a chance to see if his policies work in the long run for the making people. how long are they willing to suffer the inconvenience and live in fear? that remains to be seen but i do think what has

given donald trump the win that he needs right now is that the american people believe -- these are the promises made, the promises kept. let's give him a chance. i just don't know how long this honeymoon will last. host: let me ask you about d.e.i. efforts. are you supportive of president trump's efforts to essentially take that out of the federal government completely? that is what he promised to do. that is happening. look, there is one thing to talk about equality. i think we all believe in equality but equity is a different same. i don't want anyone to give me an advantage because of what they perceive my race as. i want to go back to the dream of dr. martin luther king that a man is judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of the character but let me also cautioned that racism, bigotry is not dead. people still harbor that in

their hearts. and people are not going to always do what is in the best interests of people because sometimes, they cannot let go of the baggage of their ancestry but still, the government needs to be colorblind. i don't like filling out a form where someone asks me what my race is. i don't want somebody to perceive just because some kid got into college on a scholarship that they got there because of their race. i think it cheapens those who fight hard, work hard, parents make sacrifices, those that study to be the best and brightest not only in the classroom but wherever they are. i do think we live in a country today where we should be judged not by the color of our skin, not by our sexual preference, but by the content of our character and our work ethic and sacrifice and our discipline. host: and you think that that is going to happen during the next four years? guest: it is a process. nothing happens overnight. justice, equality. host: you are optimistic that it

is moving in the right direction question what guest: i am cautiously optimistic. i do not have an issue with what the president is doing because i find it shocking that someone campaigns and made all these promises -- they are ashley keeping them. the problem is democrats and others did not take him seriously and for the speed that he's working, in his late 70's, his focus, his organization of where his team has been in place putting this together, these executive orders, it is well planned out. it did not happen overnight. donald trump is prepared. whether congress is prepared or not is a different question. host: i want to show you a clip of hakeem jeffries, a house democratic leader, talking about d.e.i. programs, and then you can respond. >> diversity, equity, and inclusion are american values. it is about economic opportunity for everyone. we support merit for everyone.

based on what you know, not who you know. the problem that seems to be unfolding is that there are some in this country who want an america of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires. not for working-class americans, middle-class americans, or everyday americans feared a country of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires. diversity, equity, and inclusion are about economic opportunity for everyone, even if you are not wealthy, well-off, or well-connected. these are values that everybody in this country should embrace. host: what do you think, armstrong williams? guest: listen, i was with them until the billionaires. i mean, when you talk about

these d.e.i. programs, you ask how the average lower income person benefits from these programs, how much has government really changed our lives for the biden and harriss in the white house -- how much does it really impact progress? i mean, unfortunately, the people that were poor when biden and harris were in the white house, they are poor now. what he's talking about are contracts that go to their friends, that go to their colleagues. you are talking about a congress that -- that you cannot have a conflict of interest. they are able to -- with companies that come before the legislative body. i mean, it wasn't until recently that the civil rights laws he alludes to apply it to congress. i don't want to call him a hypocrite but this is political grandstanding. they are in the minority now. they lost. and until they learn the lessons

of that election to try to support donald trump where he is, to try to improve d.e.i. and these programs that he speaks of where they work across the board, where they don't favor based on some illogical things like race agenda, where it works with people because they are qualified and they are the best at what they do, they have got to realize this messaging that they have during the last election was profoundly defeated. they need to face the reality that they have lost and they need to find a new message that resonates with the american people because until they do so, they will continue to lose and lose again. the democratic party has been decimated because they have lost touch. they used to be the party of the working class of america and the middle class of america. that demographic voted for donald trump. why? hispanics and even people in michigan who consider themselves to be muslim and people said, how in the world could you support donald trump and his policies? it seems to go against your best interest. they are voting for family

values. it is not just about the economy. it's about what is it gender affirming -- you are talking about drag queens teaching children in the classroom. you are talking about parents cannot have a say in their children -- if you are talking about if they are going through sensitive sexual evolution. the bottom line, america still cares about traditional values and until the democratic party gets the message that resonates with a majority of americans, they will continue to remain in the minority. host: ready to talk to callers? we have homer, a republican in florence, massachusetts. good morning. caller: amen and hallelujah to everything you said. you are highly intelligent paid and wondering why it was ok for joe biden to fire federal workers from not getting a vaccine and people in the military but now it's not ok for trump to fire people? i also noticed that bill clinton fired 400,000 federal employees. is that going to happen under trump question marc he's not even close to that so i'm not sure why everybody is

complaining. there's 383 million people active on the social -- with active social security numbers and there's only 340 million people in the country. 283 is a lot more. that is ridiculous. we got to look into these things. i love all the election deniers that call him -- for the democrats now and it is all ok because it was racism and misogyny and sexism. i mean, can you guys please tell me why that is ok that you let those people go on and on and on saying racism and sexism? thank you for not -- guest: he has a larger point. you know, this criticism of trump using executive orders, this criticism of trump's cabinet that he put forth before the senate -- i mean, this criticism about trump embracing billionaires and the like, elon musk, no one talks about biden and harris embracing george soros and bill gates and jeff bezos. host: what about -- he's got a

trifecta. why not go to congress with some of these things? why depend on an executive order that can be reversed by the next president? guest: we agree. but we know president trump. president trump feels that coress does not move fast enough for him. it would be better for him to wait two or three months. his attitude is that the american people cannot afford to wait two or three months and why put something in place at three or four years later, another administration can come in if there is a new congress? i agree with you but donald trump does not like any president that we have seen in reit -- he's not like any president has seen in recent memory. we have not seen such a frenetic way of so many executive orders because he wants to change it and he also knows he has more experience that a lot of these things that he's pushing will probably go through and become effective and once that happens, people really begin to believe that it's having an impact on empowering their lives and moving them forward particularly

when it comes to the economy, they will remain in place because remember, it doesn't matter whether it is the president or members of congress. their boss is the american people and the american people, we have awakened a sleeping giant and we, the people, they are not going back to sleep. they are more educated. they are more in tune then they have ever been before. host: here is james, a democrat in chicago. caller: people can make their mouth say anything. all this fraud and waste, is anybody going to jail? has any one been accused of this? the man on the stage with him -- did god kill him? did he have a purpose for that man? thank you. guest: you know, when it comes to what donald trump is doing, it takes time before you find out what the fraud is and who the culprits are. it doesn't mean that someone won't be held accountable down

the road. and listen, i don't try to understand the ways of god. you know, my heart goes out to that person that died on that stage. you ask yourself why is it that toronto plane that crashed in the snow, everyone survived, but why is it that those over the potomac a few weeks ago, everybody died? you know, god has ways that many of us cannot understand. when it comes to the ways of the lord, i don't try to explain that because you know why? some things, you cannot explain. host: i want to ask you about a posting on x that elon musk wrote in response to the 60 minutes interview. he says 60 minutes are the biggest liars in the world. they engaged in deliberate deception to interfere with the last election. they deserve a long prison sentence. i want to ask you, since you are the owner of the baltimore sun now, if one of your journalists did an interview that elon musk

disagreed with, how would you respond if you posted on x that they deserve a prison sentence? guest: i would vehemently push back. you cannot judge cbs by the 60 minutes interview with kamala harris and listen, the media, obviously, the media is biased. there is no question about that. obviously, many people believe that the legacy media was in the tank with biden-harris, and obviously, they feel as though their policies are more reflective of what the agenda they want for america, but i would defend the fourth estate at every turn. cbs, nbc, sinclair broadcast group, i will defend them because many of these reporters are very decent. they have a lot of integrity. they do their jobs very well and they put a lot on the mind to do those jobs. host: what changes should we expect at the baltimore sun now that you own it? guest: we are fortunate because david smith, who is my business partner, we are working with a terrific group of people.

you know, people have always perceived the baltimore sun as being this liberal paper and us being conservative but when -- journalistic integrity, finding the voices that represent all voices in the community and when you want to deal with commentary that reflects where people are, and also, give a lot of attention to local issues that people care about that affects their way of life immediately. it is not always about what is going on on the national stage. we put together a very good work collaboration with the baltimore suncollaboration with the baltie sun and i've never worked with a greater group of people. i'm for what works. host: fairfax, virginia, independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. first-time color, i appreciate your time. i wanted to do a glance and highlight an article from the

department of education, regarding the department of education from the new york times, it looks like they are warning schools, higher education, to take consideration into scholarships and hiring, not necessarily d.e.i. but cultural-based aspects. i want to know, president trump this time or even his first administration, all politics have been ok. not a sleeping giant, i don't think i represent the population, now you want to shut down higher education, each one teach one philosophy, i think that will impact a part of society and i would like to hear your guest aluminate on. the department of education might be going to far maybe?

host: ok. i want to show you what i think he's talking about, this is the new york times with the headline , education department gives schools two weeks to eliminate race-based programs. it says the office for civil rights warned it would penalize schools that consider race and scholarships, hiring and array of other activities. guest: i think the president is correct. i think it's favoring one certain american over other americans. you have a new leader in town that is donald trump. he made it clear during his campaign this is exactly what he would do. i think it would be wise for the department of education to adhere to the guidelines. host: let's talk to mark in florida, republican. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call and i agree a lot with what your guest has to

say. i am in favor of what is going on with elon musk, president trump and doge. the biggest thing i would contradict your guest on is there is a way private industry works and they go through their processes and a way the government works and i question the government processes. do you think they all are iso certified? these are certifications that the federal government requires private businesses to be but i don't think they have the same standard. i can speak to this because i was in the industry almost 39 years. i worked for the largest defense contractor in the world. there are some good government employees, don't get me wrong, but there are a lot of oxygen

thieves, a lot of cruisers. they will tell you it takes an act of congress to fire them. nobody in their job in the private sector things like that and works that way. no matter how important you think you are as the general worker, if you would die that day come the stock is not going down one penny because you die and that is a fact. the government needs to work at a more efficient rate and that might mean slashing redundancy. in the private sector, they make us look at ourselves as to how can we be more efficient. every year, how can we squeeze out more efficiency and get better at what we do? unless you are trying to practice continuous improvements, you are doing the same thing over and over again, looking for a different result. the government acts like grandma's ham, they keep doing

it the same way because that's how they've always done it. guest: he makes an excellent point and this is why you have to create chaos in government. they've created this preponderance of layers but they are protected and its created incompetency. they know where the duplication is and they know people are not doing their job and what many of these government workers should be doing now is working with the president and the white house to say this is where we can do better, this is where we are ineffective, these are the programs working. the bottom line is nothing remains the same. change is necessary and our government is not as effective, not as accountable, not as responsible and not as efficient as it could be and it should. this is a start, no one knows how it will play out but donald trump has the right attitude. that's not forget we still face this trillion dollar deficit if

we don't get our financial house in order. host: joanne in tulsa, oklahoma, democrat. caller: i just want to tell this guy and donald trump, there is only one god and his name is not trump. thank you for your time, have a nice day. caller: i absolutely agree with her. trump is not god, never will be, he's just a man, flawed like everybody but he happens to be president of the united states. host: marie, independent in maryland. caller: good morning, can you hear me? host: yes. caller: this is what i don't understand, i don't like anyone having my social security number. nra was