watch the span for past convention speeches by actors including christopher reeves, angie harmon, clint eastwood metonymy lead, and scarlett johansson. host: rob smith is with us this morning. author of the book "always a soldier: service, sacrifice, and coming out as america's favorite black, gay republican." what is this book about? guest: this book is about my story of being born lower middle class in akron, ohio. basically joining the military at 17. i got a chance to see the world and do a lot of different things, but it is the journey about serving in the don't ask don't tell era, and deploying to iraq and overseas and how i basically learned to love america. then came out as conservative in

order to help save it. that is what "always a soldier" is about. me pressing through basic training, getting to know so many different types of people, and then i get out of the military. i was a leftist for a few years in new york city. a couple of years ago i came out as conservative and got a lot of blowback about that. it is all about loving america and fighting for america as the republican i am now. host: you served for five years in the army. during iraqi freedom you are awarded the commendation medal and the combat infantry badge. you have this military experience. did that shape you becoming a conservative? talk about the evolution. guest: having military experience does shape you into becoming conservative, at least it did for me. not only military experience, but law enforcement officers.

people in some sort of service in that way, i think in terms a lot of us conservative because you really do realize the need for law and order. when i was patrolling the streets of iraq when i was deployed he would see a lot of chaos going on in the streets. people going there to diffuse the situation. i think being able to see things from that side as opposed to just a regular citizen who never really served or has served in that way, when you have seen things from that side it really does put you into more of a conservative side. a lot of my buddies i started with -- i was not always a conservative. i was a democrat until three years ago and then they got too crazy for me. i decided to come over to the sane side.

a lot of my buddies i talked to were conservative then and conservative now. we talk about stuff like that. being in the military really shapes the way you see this country and the world. i think innate super positive way. host: what happened recently that you said i am a conservative? guest: first of all, i don't like being told how to think. i don't like being told what to believe because i'm black or gay or both. there was a lot of that stuff coming from the left. when we are talking about pure politics and policy there is a push for massive unchecked illegal immigration on the left. this is something that has been documented to hurt working-class african american communities the most. i talked about this a lot. black americans are always left last on the left.

as a gay man, when the pulse orlando terrorist attack happened, it was devastating and mortifying. at that point in time i expected for the left to have my back and for them to defend me. they did the exact opposite. i was not even a supporter of the president at the time. i would not call myself a conservative or republican in any capacity. i saw the republican response to this horrific act of terror that was perpetrated on gay and lesbian americans and i thought i need to look more strongly into this. i feel like the left sometimes is so into being politically correct or not offending this group or that group that they miss out on defending the rights and interests of the american people. host: how is it you joined turning point usa? what is the goal? guest: they found me on

instagram. when i came out as conservative there was an article about me. there was a lot of press. i basically started making videos and tweeting and saying how i really felt about the situations going on in this country and put it on instagram. at that point in time i posted something about the daily mail article where i "came out" as a conservative. she commented on it. she brought me into the turning point fold when she was the communications director. i have got to do a lot of great work with turning point. the goal with turning point for me personally -- their overall goal is to give conservatives students a voice. for me the goal is that but also to make people more comfortable and confident with being open about their conservative beliefs. i know what it is like to have friends commit as conservative and lose friends when you come out in support of the president. i know what it is like to have people who have known you for years completely have nothing to

do with you. you have to have a strong sense of self and what you believe when you are going to make that leap. what i like to do when i'm working with the students at turning point usa or on these campuses, i want to encourage them to make that leap. i want to make them strong enough to make that leap because we need people that are more open and honest about saying exactly what they believe. the left does this all the time. the left is open and honest. they will tell you exactly what they think and feel but there are to me conservatives and republicans that are afraid of the blowback, afraid of losing their jobs, afraid of losing friends, being estranged from their families. that is what i am trying to fight. host: what about the role of those in the military, active military, can getting them to vote? what is your message to them?

guest: the thing about it is my message to active duty military is people that are serving now see what is happening in our country. they can see it for themselves. they know what it is like to serve. they know what it is like on the other end. they know what it is like to be the law enforcement officer or the person trying to keep the peace in the midst of all this chaos. my message is that, do you want to put the people that are the architects of this chaos in power or do you want somebody who was a law and order president, a law and order person? do you want america to descend into mob rule and chaos, for somebody that will enforce law and order? that is the message. that is the question not only to military members but to everybody in america. that is the question of this election cycle.

host: if you are a republican, (202) 748-8000. democrats, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. for active and retired military, (202) 748-8003. anton in florida, a republican. caller: good morning. i just wanted to make a comment because of your guest. i had a conversion this very morning. i have been anti-gay all my life. because of this gentleman, i changed my mind. god bless him and god bless america. host: why is that? caller: i know about turning point. i became a citizen because of turning point after many years of living here in the country. part of it was this gentleman. i listen to him.

my son is in the military, grandchild. i remember don't ask, don't tell and so on. i had a conversion this morning. from now on 100% pro-gay. never mind, as long as you love the country. guest: my reaction to that is that is amazing to me. the reason why i decided to do all of this stuff is because i think we are at a time where americans -- it doesn't matter. black, white, gay, straight. we need to say we love this country as well. this country is ours too. i am so glad to be a part -- the president has the trump pride coalition. these are gays and lesbians standing up for the president.

there is an organization called get out, a voice for gays and lesbians online. get out vote 20. that make me happy to hear. it is all about coming together as americans. what i am trying to do is show we can do that no matter if you're black, white, gay, straight, whatever. come together as americans. in america i am more free here than any place on the planet. god bless america. i have everything for for that. i am thankful to hear that as well. host: linda in texas, democratic caller. caller: i am a gay american. served in the wac corp before we had don't ask, don't tell. i don't understand how a gay person, let alone a black person

would be a republican. this is not a law and order president. he breaks the law any time is convenient or expedient in the first place. they are working in the background to change the law against gay people with this religious conscience baloney. working against our right for adoption and other areas. i don't see how you can do this. guest: i want to address -- i have to break that down. first of all, you say you don't see how i as a black person or a gay person can support the president. what you are saying is that because of these immutable characteristics i am supposed to think a certain way because you cannot understand that. there is no reason for me to think in any way because of these characteristics. i have a podcast. that is what that is all about. i am problematic because i don't subscribe to leftism just because i'm black and because i'm gay.

second of all, the idea this administration is somehow anti-gay or doing things to hurt gay and lesbian americans is a falsehood. that is pushed from the left a lot. you brought up the religious exemption and freedom. first of all, i think one of the biggest issues was gay and lesbian americans over the next 10 years are going to be religious freedom. how do we balance people's religious beliefs with the fact we live in a free country and gays and lesbians are as american as anyone else? we have adoption agencies that favor christians and don't believe gays and lesbians should adopt. they cannot force them to do

that. that is not a free country. it is not a free country where the state forces you to do anything. as a gay man who has a family, maybe i will have surrogacy, i'm not sure. if there is an agency that is deeply religious and does not want to adopt to me because i'm gay, there are a million other choices i can go to. that is within tolerance comes into play. you also have a lot of people like -- i think it was beto o'rourke who said we need to challenge and make sure these churches perform gay marriage. if not, we will take tax dollars away from them. i find it curious that everybody is always so focused on the christians and what they say or do not do in terms of gay and lesbian americans.

nobody talks about mosques and how we should use the government to go into their places of worship and make them be pro-gay, do this or do that. that is a conversation that generally only seems to go one way. i'm curious about that. i think the reason why is because people on the left do not want to sort of irritate or make victim groups mad. it is curious to me how those conversations are always kind of conflict it -- conflated. you cannot tell me what i am to think or believe or who i'm supposed to vote for because i am black and gay and you don't like it. host: florida. mark, active retired military.

rob, i don't know if you can hear me. i was a combat engineer in the marine corps and guarded a united states embassy. there are conservative marines and democratic marines. we got into a lot of conversations because we live and worked together. i voted for president carter at age 18. i definitely do not support this current president because i find him to be at the extreme right of your options. my question to you, can you tell me what the minimum wage in australia is? guest: the minimum wage in australia? i have no idea. i don't know. caller: i don't live in australia, but it is $19 and some change. when i got out of the marine corps i wanted to let you know what it is like for people to work with our hands for a living. to make $10 an hour or $15 an hour as a carpenter is the high

end in florida. it is difficult to make a living. we on the left, apart from your personal identity -- which i respect -- it makes it difficult to make a living. i support labor in the right does not. they may talk at it but in reality the administrative legislation group which supports the president is very anti-labor. this is what many of us in organized labor don't support the president because they don't support us. you hang in there. learn about the rest of the world because we are all connected as you would want us to be. have a great day, bro. guest: you too. i, obviously not a carpenter. i do know about unions and i think about teachers unions and school choice and that conversation.

i think sometimes unions are there to protect the workers, but sometimes unions are just there and the people at the top are taking a lot of kickbacks from the left. the workers on the ground are not really getting all of this benefits. i will just leave it like that. host: nancy, a republican in illinois. caller: this is nancy. we have been told -- lincoln said united we stand, divided we fall. the democrats have continued to divide us. with that, they have said some people have to be sacrificed in order for the rest of us to rise. the rich have to give away their money. the poor have to be satisfied with their status.

this president has proven he can make us all rise. no one in this country has to forget about their dreams. people who come to this country legally also have the opportunity to have their dreams come true. not in a year or five years or 20 years but right now. we can all rise together. that is why this president is great. do you feel this amongst the people? do they believe we can all rise. schools used to be the equalizer. they screwed up our schools and our kids don't have the same opportunities. i would like to get your comment on that. guest: i believe what you believe. i believe if you take responsibility for your life, if you work hard enough, anyone can be successful. god knows my life story is a testament to that. a lot of the criticism i get is a public figure is a lot of people think i somehow came to

conservative values because i was born wealthy or i'm a trust fund kid. none of that. i came from a single parent household in akron where the median wage was $20,000 a year. i know what that is like. when you talk about the education system, and the issue when you talk about public school and college, and particularly you have to realize this is all run by the left, the hard left. particularly in larger cities. kids are being told nowadays, black kids more, is that you can't do this or can't do that. you can't succeed because of this or that. the gentleman that talked about the unions and making $15 an hour, i think there is a

mentality in all this stuff. what we need is an overall mind shift. what you will see with conservatives and african-american conservatives, most of the time we don't come from wealthy backgrounds. we know personal responsibility and motivation is key. if you have an education system and you have a value and belief system that comes from the left and tells people they cannot, they cannot, they cannot, and the reason is because both the people, because of whoever the president is, the reason is all the things they will never be able to control and they start to believe they cannot. because they believe that they won't. i think left or right, it does not matter what side of the aisle, we need to fight against that mentality telling citizens of our country that they cannot do it because if you are in america right now you have already hit the lottery.

you are doing better than 97% of the world's population. i think we need to start letting people know they can, they should, and we will. host: patterson, new jersey. miles. you are on the air. caller: how are you doing? i am calling about donald trump. he got out of the service by lying because he did not want to go. he got his administration to kick you out of the service. you sit here and say democrats say you cannot come you cannot. republicans are doing the same thing. you have republicans calling saying i used to be a democrat and i changed. how can we get this country back on track if we keep going that way towards each other? nobody wants to sit and talk about getting together. donald trump does whatever he can to win. when he lies like you do, can

you talk about the democrats line -- this man is lying all the time but you overlook that. i just want to know. when you are in the military, did they know you were gay? how are you treated? guest: when i was in the military i was closeted in the military. i came out to a couple of people and i talk about that in the book. when i came out people were cool. you say trump is trying to kick you guys out of the military. i don't know if that is true because trump is not trying to keep gays, lesbians, and bisexuals out of the military. that is something not true. i think in terms of -- you were right on one thing. politicians will say whatever. i focus on what people have

done. i don't focus on what they say on twitter or the media trying to jam people up. i focus on what has actually been done. i am not here as a surrogate for the president. i don't work for the rnc. but i focus on things that are done. these are things that have been done. real things. specifically for african-american voters. president trump permanently funded historically black colleges and cannot be undone. president trump got that done. why was obama president for eight years and could not get that done? i don't know. i was not in that administration.

i was making sure it got passed. the most copperheads of criminal justice reform in a generation. 91% of the people released after decades in prison were african-american. i spoke to somebody last year. he had tears in his eyes telling his story. these are real people and real things the administration has done for black americans. you always have to focus on the facts. you talk about making excuses for republicans and everybody does the same thing. politicians lie. it is what they do. it is basically a part of the job description. for we as citizens when they make decisions about who we vote for and how we are going to change our lives, only we can change our lives. barack obama cannot do it. president trump cannot do it. only you can change your own

life. dig a little deeper into what has actually been done as opposed to people tweeting and jamming up social media about something the president said on twitter or said in some sort of news conference. host: minneapolis, good morning to you. caller: i would like to speak to rob. my problem with what is going on is your president has totally ignored the injustice in the shootings going on in the black neighborhoods. i am at a loss for how you totally forget about it. since you say you grew up in this poor neighborhood, you have been harassed by police too, or not. the thing that bothers me also this maybe you were lucky, rob. some people are lucky and they get up.

the token gets pulled up and they serve everybody else supposedly. guest: i'm a token, that's great. when you say token -- caller: can i finish? you will be able to talk after me. i apologize. ok, i apologize. we have barriers put up to stop brown people from achieving. you are telling me about a president that basically, like i said -- i want you to talk about the other day with her brother got shot in the back. do you worry about that? are you immune to that because you are a republican now? guest: let me respond. now that i'm not being called a token. number one, if this is your first time seeing me, you are operating under the assumption i

have not said anything or do anything to help the community impacted by the shooting. let me set you straight. we all saw what was happening in minneapolis a couple of years ago -- a couple of months ago. we saw the riots. i was so distraught i started a gofundme. all these evil conservatives donated and raised $100,000 i will deliver to minneapolis to help the small business owners that were affected by that. i speak out a lot about the injustice happening in the shootings. i tweeted about the shooting of the guy in wisconsin yesterday. i said this stuff is excessive, not right, and it needs to be called on. if this is your first time seeing me you operate under an assumption when you see a black person that is republican.

the assumption is that i am a token and i don't care about people in the black community. and that i stay silent when injustice is happening. none of those things are true. first of all, we need to clarify that. second of all, what i believe is you say i am special, i am this, i am that. the thing about it is i am not. ,i am talented and good at what i do, but i'm not special. there is no reason anybody in america couldn't do what i have done. i joined the military i served , for five years. i risked my life overseas to get the opportunities i have today. there is no reason anybody in america cannot do that or make those same choices. when you talk about these injustices, that boils down to choices. you made another assumption that i somehow walk down the street every day afraid of getting harassed by the police or have somehow had a negative experience with police in my life.