0:00
(upbeat music)
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- This is Undaunted Life, a man's podcast.
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I'm your host, Kyle Thompson.
0:22
Let's get into it.
0:24
All right, guys, stay.
0:24
I've got a special guest on the podcast.
0:25
His name is T.W. Shannon.
0:27
So he is running to represent the state of Oklahoma
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as one of its two United States senators.
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So he was one of the top two vote getters
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in the June 29th Republican primary here
0:35
in the state of Oklahoma.
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He got 17.5% of the vote.
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He will be part of a runoff election,
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which will be held on August the 23rd.
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So just here in a few weeks
0:43
to determine who will represent the Republican party
0:45
in the general election on November the 8th of this year.
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So in order to help Oklahoma Republicans
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with their decision on August 23rd,
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and so that people outside of Oklahoma
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can hear from a politician that will very likely become
0:56
a member of the US Senate.
0:57
I interview or I'm interviewing both of these guys.
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So I'm interviewing T.W. Shannon and his runoff,
1:02
mate Mark Wayne Mullen.
1:04
And I'm releasing these on the same day.
1:05
So guys, you're going to see these interviews back to back.
1:07
'Cause, you know, I'm interviewing both of these gentlemen
1:09
because I want you to be able to understand
1:12
who you're going to be potentially be voting for.
1:14
But also, again, like I said,
1:15
for people that are outside of the state,
1:16
who are these people that are going to be on the US Senate?
1:18
How are they going to discuss things?
1:19
And in guys, to be honest,
1:21
I did my best to conduct the interviews
1:23
in a way that allows for you
1:25
to easily compare and contrast their answers
1:27
on a load of important topics.
1:29
Now, there were certain topics
1:30
and certain follow-up questions that I asked them
1:31
that were a little bit different.
1:32
It's just kind of the way that it worked out.
1:34
But hopefully it's apparent to you when you listen to this,
1:36
that I tried to be as down the line as possible,
1:39
while also challenging them on certain topics
1:41
and things like that.
1:42
But T.W., he currently serves as the president
1:44
and CEO of Chickasaw Community Bank
1:46
and is the state highway commissioner for Central Oklahoma.
1:49
In 2006, he was elected to the Oklahoma House
1:51
of Representatives.
1:52
And in 2013, he became the youngest and first black person
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to be the Speaker of the House for the state of Oklahoma.
1:58
In 2017, he was selected as a fellow
2:01
for the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School.
2:03
And he has his Juris Doctorate
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from Oklahoma City University.
2:06
So guys, I really enjoyed my time with him.
2:08
We get into a lot of different topics.
2:09
We get granular on some things
2:11
that are specifically going to affect America
2:13
as we move forward.
2:14
So hopefully you guys enjoy my discussion with T.W. Shannon.
2:17
So without further ado, let's get into it.
2:19
T.W. Shannon, welcome back
2:21
to Undaunted Life of Man's podcast.
2:23
- Kyle, man, it is a pleasure to be with you.
2:25
- Thank you. It's been too long.
2:26
- It has been too long, but don't worry.
2:28
We will remedy that before too long.
2:29
You've been a little busy here recently,
2:31
so I guess I can forgive you for that.
2:33
But we're gonna get to know you a little bit
2:34
in this episode and obviously you guys know
2:36
that you've been on the show before,
2:37
but we've got a lot of things to talk about
2:39
because you're running for the United States Senate.
2:40
And the funny thing about the last appearance on my show
2:42
is I think I asked you about whether or not
2:44
you'd be going back into politics
2:46
and you're like, I don't know.
2:47
And then here we are.
2:48
So I guess let's start as generically as we possibly can.
2:52
And I hate asking this 'cause it sounds so political
2:55
and so cheesy like a news story guy,
2:57
but why are you running for the United States Senate?
3:00
- Well, Kyle, I'll tell you, first of all,
3:01
thank you for having me.
3:02
It's a privilege, as you know,
3:03
I'm a big fan of yours personally and of the podcast.
3:05
I just appreciate the way that you're standing
3:07
in the gap in the ministry of how you minister to man.
3:10
But the reason I'm running for the Senate
3:12
is 'cause I'm concerned about the direction of our country.
3:15
I mean, when you listen to the narrative
3:17
that's coming out of Washington, DC,
3:19
that appears to say that America
3:21
is used to be a pretty okay place
3:23
and it still is pretty good if you come from a specific zip code
3:26
or background or heritage.
3:28
But overall, it's too systemically racist
3:30
or it's too far gone relic of the past
3:34
to be relevant anymore.
3:35
And it's just not true.
3:36
America's not the homeless systemic racism.
3:39
America's the homeless systemic opportunity.
3:41
And I'm running for the US Senate 'cause I believe
3:43
I have a skillset that can remind the country
3:46
about what made America great.
3:47
Because we talk about that a lot, what made America great.
3:50
And I certainly wanna make it great again.
3:52
But what made America great were three things.
3:54
It's the Constitution, it's capitalism and it's Christianity.
3:58
And I'm running for the US Senate
3:59
to return to those three things.
4:01
- So we're gonna dig a whole lot more into all those areas,
4:04
especially when we get into specific topics.
4:06
But I guess for you for right now,
4:08
you used to be in politics
4:10
and then you kind of, you've been in the private sector.
4:12
So I guess just generically, what do you think it will be like
4:16
if you are elected to the United States Senate,
4:19
leaving the private sector behind
4:21
and then going back to the world of politics,
4:23
but this time as a US senator,
4:25
because like you even mentioned off air,
4:26
you age differently when you're in politics.
4:28
It's just a different ball game.
4:30
So from private sector to deep level politics, go.
4:34
- Well, I'll tell you this.
4:36
My wife and I, you mentioned about when we visited before,
4:39
you were kind and asked me about public office.
4:41
And honestly, we knew God had another race in us,
4:44
but I really thought it was gonna be much further down the road.
4:47
My kids are 16 and 13.
4:50
My wife and I, we've been married 20 years.
4:52
It'll be 21 years next month.
4:53
So our marriage will be legal next year.
4:54
I'd like to joke and say, it'll be a legal age.
4:57
But you know, I thought that God's race
5:00
and plan for us would be four or five years
5:02
when our kids are out of the house.
5:04
I'll be 48, 49, I'm 44 today.
5:07
But you know, so when the sea came open,
5:09
when we first saw that it was gonna happen,
5:11
I just sent my wife a little picture of a tweet that I saw.
5:15
And I thought she was gonna email back or text back
5:18
a guy running and jumping into a lake,
5:20
but what she said, thanks for coming in my trex, Kyle.
5:22
She said, babe, your God's guy, I'm your girl, let's go.
5:27
And we've been running hard ever since, man.
5:30
So the transition from private sector
5:32
to burning a campaign, it has been a challenge
5:35
in some areas, but I tell you, it's been so rewarding.
5:37
We're out there every day talking to Oklahoma's.
5:39
We started a hundred city tour in less than a hundred days.
5:42
So we're in four or five stops a day
5:45
and we get to go out and meet what's best about Oklahoma,
5:47
which is our people, but I can tell you,
5:49
people are hurting from the Biden administration
5:52
and from the failed policies of the left.
5:53
And that's why I'm running for US Senate.
5:55
- Fair enough.
5:56
So on the June 29th primary, you got 17 and 1/2% of the vote.
6:01
So in first place is the man you'll be doing
6:03
the runoff election against on August the 23rd.
6:05
That's Mark Wayne Mullen who got 43.6% of the vote.
6:09
So obviously you knew this question was coming.
6:12
How do you and your team plan to make up all that ground
6:15
on Mark Wayne Mullen and I mean, I guess just in general,
6:19
what do you think of Mark Wayne Mullen?
6:20
And because it's just kind of one of those things
6:23
is like when you look at the disparity
6:24
between the two vote getters, you know,
6:26
you're gonna have to literally do make some things happen
6:29
if you're gonna like overcome that gap.
6:31
So give me a sense of what you and your team are doing.
6:33
- Well, first you have to understand, Kyle,
6:36
that the primary election is a very different election
6:39
than a runoff election.
6:40
And the two don't necessarily correlate.
6:42
In fact, runoffs are a complete restart.
6:46
And we know this because people like our governor,
6:49
Kevin Stitt, Congressman from the First District,
6:51
Kevin Hearn, our Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell,
6:55
our Corporation Commissioner, Dana Murphy,
6:58
they all came in second in their primary
7:01
and they went on to win the runoff.
7:03
So runoffs are completely different,
7:05
are a completely different election.
7:07
And frankly, when you look at where we are,
7:10
where we started, being in second place in Oklahoma
7:12
in a runoff is probably a better place to start
7:15
because the truth is the front runner,
7:18
57% of the people in the runoff,
7:21
I'm sorry, in the primary voted against
7:23
the front runner in this race.
7:24
And so we're going after that 57%.
7:27
We're meeting voters exactly where they are.
7:29
We're talking to them one on one
7:30
because we know turnout in the runoff is so much,
7:33
there's such a decrease in turnout that anything can happen
7:36
but we're not taking anything for granted.
7:38
We're world poise, we're having conversations
7:40
with voters one on one, we're raising money
7:43
and we're doing everything that needs to be done
7:45
to be successful in this election
7:47
because there's too much at stake.
7:48
I mean, listen, my record as a civil servant
7:53
and also in the private sector has been one of providing jobs.
7:56
It's been one when I was in the legislature
7:58
of reducing taxes, reducing the size of government,
8:01
limiting government, reducing the tax burden,
8:04
reducing the debt that Oklahoma owes.
8:07
That's my record and that's what I'm running on.
8:09
- So I asked this and you kind of,
8:13
you didn't skate around and I asked you a loaded question
8:15
but you and Mark Wayne Mullen both seem deeply likable
8:18
as humans, right, for different reasons.
8:20
And so it's usually hard whenever,
8:23
it's easier when you go look at somebody and be like,
8:24
oh, well that person's dead or that person sucks on the mic
8:27
or that person just really doesn't seem like a nice person
8:30
that you want to go out and have dinner with
8:31
but you both seem very, very likable.
8:33
So what do you think of Mark Wayne Mullen as a person?
8:35
Have you spent much time interacting with him personally
8:38
or is he just a guy on the other side of the ticket?
8:40
- You know, the thing about Republican primaries
8:43
they're tough because they're family fights, right?
8:45
And often find in the areas where you disagree with people,
8:49
it's tough to do.
8:51
And the truth is Mark Wayne and I,
8:52
we've been friends for over a decade.
8:54
I mean, we're personal friends.
8:55
He's been to my home before.
8:57
We've broken bread together.
9:00
We share text messages that we're probably,
9:02
if anybody saw, we can get either one of us
9:05
elected 'cause we're just good friends
9:06
and we've hung out together.
9:09
But the truth is, this is a competition
9:12
and I'm not running against anybody.
9:14
I'm running four-seat.
9:15
I'm running to be the next United States Senator
9:17
for Oklahoma because I believe I have a skillset
9:20
that can go to Washington, D.C. and make a difference.
9:23
And I think I have a record of accomplishment to stand on.
9:26
I'll just tell you a little bit about me
9:28
because I know you and I know each other
9:30
but many people may be listening, don't.
9:32
My story is pretty simple.
9:33
I grew up in Western Oklahoma, I'm from Lawton.
9:36
I had the two parents, every kid, deserve to have.
9:38
They raised me in church.
9:40
And when you're raising a black Baptist church
9:42
and your dad's a deacon,
9:43
your grandfather's a deacon at the church,
9:46
then that often means that every Sunday,
9:47
some little lady walks up to you and tells you,
9:49
every Sunday, you're gonna be a preacher one day.
9:52
And that used to bother me to know in
9:53
'cause I didn't believe God called me to be a preacher
9:56
but I knew that he had a plan and a purpose from my life.
9:59
So I grew up with that expectation
10:00
because of the grace of God
10:02
and the goodness of the people in those church
10:04
and the expectation my parents had for me.
10:06
By the time I was 40 years old, I'm 44 today,
10:09
I had a chance to finish college and finish law school.
10:12
I was able to work for two members of Congress.
10:14
I worked for my tribe, the Chickasaw Nation.
10:16
And then I had a chance when I was 27
10:18
to be elected to the Oklahoma legislature.
10:21
When I was 33, my colleagues elected me speaker
10:24
and by the time I was 40 years old,
10:26
I was the CEO of a bank.
10:28
And I'm not telling you that to brag on me.
10:30
I'm telling you that to brag on the United States of America
10:32
because that story only happens in the United States of America.
10:36
It can't happen anywhere else.
10:37
And that's why I'm running for the US Senate
10:39
because that story has to be perpetuated.
10:41
And if we continue to send the same people
10:43
to Washington DC that we have,
10:45
we're not gonna be able to tell that story
10:46
because that story won't be able to exist anymore.
10:48
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11:18
- Well, I wanna ask a quick follow up on that
11:20
because again, everywhere you look,
11:22
whether you're looking on Twitter
11:24
or you're looking in K through 12 schools
11:26
where you're looking on TikTok,
11:27
there's this narrative that is basically seen as old hat.
11:31
It's seen as baked into the cake at this point
11:33
that there is a structural racism in this country
11:36
that keeps people like yourself,
11:38
well, I say like yourself,
11:39
people that look like you down
11:41
and elevate people that look like me
11:43
as if by dent of the level of melanin in our skin
11:46
that helps us to basically determine
11:48
all of our steps as we move forward.
11:50
Now, obviously, I know that you personally,
11:53
you've been called a lot of names.
11:54
You've been called some horrifically racist names
11:56
from white liberals, right?
11:58
That will look at you, you know,
11:59
oh, you're an Uncle Tom or you're a house cooner,
12:03
any number of things,
12:03
just the worst things that people could think to say
12:05
about somebody.
12:07
Do you think it's because of just their own racist ideas
12:11
that they feel like you shouldn't be a CEO of a bank
12:15
because you're black,
12:16
you shouldn't be able to go to law school and do well
12:18
because you were black.
12:19
Like, where does that ideal come from?
12:22
It's so hard for me, somebody that looks at everybody
12:24
as if they have the image of God written on them
12:25
because they do and to see them like,
12:27
"Oh, there's that black man over there."
12:29
That's opposed to, there's TW, right?
12:31
It just doesn't make sense to me.
12:33
- Yeah, well, you know, you bring up a good point.
12:35
I've said it before,
12:36
America's not the home of systemic racism.
12:38
It is the home of systemic opportunity.
12:41
And there is a narrative out there
12:43
that pretends and purports to put people in the categories.
12:46
You see, the reason the left likes to do that, Kyle,
12:49
your question was why?
12:50
Why do they like to segment us in society?
12:53
Because the smaller the group of people
12:55
that you can segment,
12:57
the easier they are to control.
12:59
And that's exactly what the less purposes,
13:01
they're all about control.
13:02
They want to be able to control.
13:04
And so when they find a T.W. Shannon,
13:05
somebody who doesn't fit their narrative,
13:07
somebody who believes in the value of hard work,
13:10
who believes that every person was created in God's image.
13:13
And because the truth is here,
13:15
it goes back to worldview.
13:16
And you and I have talked about this before.
13:18
There are only two worldviews in the world.
13:19
You either believe that God created man
13:22
or you believe that man created God.
13:24
And if you believe that God created man like I do,
13:27
then you believe that every single person you meet
13:29
was created in his image.
13:30
And our constitution, our founding documents reiterate the fact
13:35
that every person we meet is endowed
13:40
with certain inalienable rights.
13:42
Rights that cannot be taken from them,
13:44
not because they're a woman,
13:46
not because of their sexuality or their gender or their race,
13:49
but because they're a human being.
13:51
There aren't, we kind of lost a culture war
13:54
when we started allowing them to separate outside
13:58
into different rights.
13:59
There are only human rights.
14:00
You have rights because you're a human,
14:02
not because you're male, not because you're female,
14:04
not because you're black, not because you're straight,
14:06
gay, Christian, Muslim.
14:08
The rights that you possess are because you are a human being
14:11
and they are inalienable and they come from our creator.
14:14
- I appreciate getting into that
14:15
because don't you just sound so old fashioned
14:18
when you describe it that way?
14:19
But it's just like, this wouldn't have seemed old fashioned
14:22
even like five years ago or six years ago,
14:24
the cultural revolution is taking off at a pace
14:26
that I can't even wrap my head around.
14:27
But to kind of get back into the swing
14:29
of what I want to ask you is this is kind of an easy one,
14:33
but does it feel like all you have to do
14:35
to be in the United States Senate is to beat Mark Wayne?
14:38
Because like to a degree, like I don't know
14:39
that it's going to be that much of a battle for you
14:41
or Mark Wayne to be the second Republican senator
14:45
to basically go and represent the state of Oklahoma
14:48
and the United States Senate, does it feel that way?
14:50
Like I know you don't want to put the car before the horse
14:52
and start focusing on the general or something like that,
14:54
but to me, to the outside observer,
14:56
all you have to do is beat Mark Wayne and you're in.
14:58
Does it feel that way?
14:59
- Well, we certainly take it one race out of time.
15:02
I mean, my focus right now is the run office.
15:04
August 23rd, on my website, TW for Senate,
15:08
we're talking about how we are the candidate
15:10
pushing the back against the woke agenda.
15:12
And the reason is because listen,
15:14
it's not enough just to be right anymore.
15:16
It's not enough just to like somebody who'll go vote
15:19
the right way 90% of the time,
15:21
'cause the truth is conservatives have to go on the offense.
15:25
That's what we're missing, not Kyle.
15:26
We have to have conservatives who will go on the offense
15:29
because we're right on taxes, we're right on life,
15:31
we're right on defense, we're right on the border,
15:34
but it's not enough to be right
15:35
because after you beat the woke Democrats in Congress,
15:40
then you gotta have somebody who's gonna turn around
15:42
and beat the woke media.
15:43
Oh, by the way, after you beat the woke media,
15:46
now you have woke corporations that you have to contend with.
15:50
I'm the only candidate in this race
15:51
that has a skillset to do that.
15:52
I've done it in the private sector,
15:54
I've done it in the public sector,
15:56
and I'm gonna be continuing to do it,
15:57
but more specifically to your question.
15:59
There's no question Oklahoma's a solidly red state
16:01
and whoever wins the run-off is favorite to win
16:05
the November general election,
16:06
but I don't take anything for granted.
16:08
The truth is there's gonna be a well-funded
16:10
former congresswoman who is personal friends
16:14
with Nancy Pelosi,
16:15
and there's no doubt that Washington DC,
16:18
where the Democrat or Republican,
16:19
the swamp takes care of the swamp.
16:22
And so there will be tons of money.
16:23
We saw it in the general and the run-off,
16:25
I'm sorry, in the primary election,
16:27
where three super PACs from Washington DC
16:29
were spending money against us,
16:31
and we know that the swamp takes care of the swamp.
16:34
- Part of me wants you to be elected
16:36
just so people can like, you know,
16:38
people that are on the coast,
16:40
they're like, wait a minute,
16:41
Oklahoma elected a black senator, right?
16:43
Because they just look at us as a bunch of
16:45
like racist, like riding around and covered wagons.
16:47
So part of me just wants that to see their heads explode.
16:49
But I know you've gotten a lot of very prominent endorsements
16:53
as a part of this run-up to not only the primary,
16:56
but then this run-off as well.
16:57
But one notable endorsement that you didn't get
16:59
was from former president Donald Trump.
17:01
He actually endorsed Mark Wayne Mullen,
17:03
which is my understanding.
17:04
And I know that you and Trump are personal friends,
17:06
that you were, you know,
17:07
almost part of the Trump administration
17:09
as one of his cabinet members
17:10
and all those different things.
17:12
And so for you, what are your thoughts around that?
17:15
Like, why do you think Trump endorsed your opponent
17:17
and not you and kind of how does that,
17:19
I guess make you feel,
17:20
even though feelings don't really,
17:21
or shouldn't matter in politics.
17:23
But how does that feel?
17:24
Does it feel like maybe you were betrayed a little bit?
17:25
Or, you know, how do you, I guess overcome that
17:28
if there is even such a thing?
17:29
- You know, listen, in politics,
17:30
you have ups and downs all the time.
17:33
And, you know, and first of all,
17:34
I'm not gonna try to jump in the head of Donald Trump
17:37
and make predictions about what he was thinking,
17:39
what he did that.
17:40
I will say this stuff.
17:41
Donald Trump isn't always right on endorsements.
17:44
The truth is he also endorsed Mitt Romney in '16
17:47
and he endorsed him again in 2020.
17:49
So we know that the president
17:50
doesn't always get it right on endorsements.
17:52
But the truth is, what I've always done,
17:55
and what I've always believed in
17:56
is the America First Agenda.
17:57
And that doesn't change regardless of personalities.
18:00
The idea of reducing debt, pushing back against China.
18:04
Because the real question that people are asking right now,
18:06
Kyle, is this century going to be American-led
18:10
or is it going to be Chinese-led?
18:12
In order for it to be American-led,
18:13
we have to have the America First policy.
18:15
And I certainly have credentials.
18:17
I'm very proud of the work that I've done
18:20
in support of the America First Agenda.
18:22
And certainly, what my family always taught me,
18:26
what my mom always taught me,
18:27
is you do things because you do it out of love.
18:30
And I did what I did for this country,
18:32
what I will continue to do, because I love America.
18:35
And when you do things out of love,
18:37
you don't do expecting anything in return.
18:39
This country and this state have been very, very good to me.
18:42
And I do believe to whom much is given, much is required.
18:45
And that's why I'm the biggest advocate
18:47
you're going to ever find about America First Agenda,
18:50
regardless of who's ahead of that movement.
18:53
- Well, we're going to get into very specific things
18:55
about policy here in just a minute.
18:57
But to even kind of,
18:58
in this could play off the Trump thing
18:59
or play off something else, in 2024.
19:04
Obviously, everybody thinks in four-year cycles,
19:06
which is weird because there's a whole lot of days
19:08
and a whole lot of hours and a whole lot of minutes
19:09
in between your general election cycles.
19:11
Guys, go live your life.
19:12
Like, don't worry about who the president is so much.
19:14
But for me as a Republican,
19:16
I'm desperately hoping that Donald Trump does not run
19:19
for president in 2024.
19:21
I'm pretty sure he's going to do that.
19:23
I think that that is the only thing that can save
19:26
the Democratic Party,
19:27
because they've already beaten Donald Trump
19:30
with a dead candidate.
19:31
And so who's to say they couldn't beat him
19:34
with a further dead candidate?
19:35
And now you've got January 6th,
19:37
which people have their own opinions about that.
19:39
But for me, I personally want him to get out of the way
19:41
and allow someone else like Iran to santas
19:43
or a Nikki Hadley or a Ted Cruz,
19:45
or somebody else that can come up
19:47
and represent the Republican Party in 2024.
19:49
And it's mainly about the direction of America in general,
19:53
because regardless of what you think about Donald Trump,
19:55
no one has a neutral opinion on the guy.
19:57
And so it's in either a desperate love
19:59
or a desperate hate for that man.
20:01
So for you particularly,
20:02
if you had to put your finger on one person
20:05
or even a group of people
20:06
that you would want to see run
20:07
to represent the United States
20:09
and the Republican Party in the 2024 general election
20:11
for president, who would it be?
20:13
- Well, I'll say this.
20:14
I wouldn't get ahead of Donald Trump.
20:16
He has not announced that he's running for president,
20:19
but there's certainly if he doesn't,
20:21
and if he doesn't, I think there's gonna be a huge slate
20:25
of really qualified, capable men and women
20:28
representing the Republican Party.
20:30
And certainly any one of them names,
20:33
and I've heard it would be better than Joe Biden
20:34
or Kamala Harris, or certainly Gavin Newsom.
20:37
But I don't think it's time for us to get ahead
20:39
and start thinking about 2024.
20:42
We've got work to do for 2022.
20:44
We're in this midterm.
20:45
And frankly, we need to take back the House.
20:48
We need to do everything we can to take back the Senate.
20:50
But in addition to that,
20:52
we need leaders who are gonna represent Republican values
20:55
and not just go along with the establishment.
20:57
You know, there is a unipartic in Washington, D.C.
21:00
Regardless of the jersey that's on your shirt,
21:03
the truth is once people get to Washington, D.C.
21:06
and they've been in that swamp for a really long time,
21:08
you'll see them siding way too much with the Democrats.
21:11
We need Republicans who can go on the offense.
21:14
And we should be focused, in my opinion,
21:16
on the midterm elections,
21:17
'cause we don't have this wrapped up.
21:18
I know everyone thinks, well, Joe Biden's terrible,
21:21
and he is, his numbers are in the tank and they are.
21:24
That's all true.
21:25
But I also remember when they told us before
21:28
that after the financial collapse back in 2008,
21:32
that, you know, there's no way Barack Obama
21:34
could ever win reelection.
21:35
Things are too bad.
21:36
He'll never win again.
21:37
It's the Republicans to lose.
21:39
Listen, we have to stay focused on these midterm elections.
21:42
And for me, I'm laser focused on August 23rd,
21:46
the state of Oklahoma's next United States Senator,
21:49
which I believe is gonna be T.W. Shannon,
21:50
because I'm the candidate who has been here fighting
21:53
for the America First agenda,
21:55
who has reduced the size of government,
21:57
who has fought against federal encroachment,
22:00
and has continued to advocate for a less smaller government
22:05
and less taxes and a smaller tax burden.
22:08
- So what do you think,
22:09
'cause I think it's pretty much a wrap
22:10
that the Republicans will take over the House.
22:12
I don't think there's anything that could happen
22:14
between now and November that would prevent that.
22:16
I'm not as optimistic about the Senate turning red,
22:20
because there have been some very weak candidates
22:22
in my estimation that are being ran,
22:25
Mehmet Oz and Pennsylvania and Hersha Walker in Georgia.
22:28
Like there are some very, very winnable races seemingly
22:30
that Republicans have put up just absolutely
22:33
flummoxing candidates.
22:34
And I'm just like, how is this person the person?
22:37
So how do you look at the odds, I guess,
22:41
of the United States Senate turning over to being red?
22:44
- Yeah, there's no question that this is gonna be good
22:47
Republican environment.
22:48
I mean, the environment is good for Republicans.
22:50
I mean, Americans have seen,
22:53
and they've had a really good taste of socialism
22:55
under Joe Biden.
22:56
I don't think they like it very well,
22:57
whether you're talking about record inflation,
23:00
you're talking about the crime crisis,
23:02
the open border where we have 2.5 million people
23:05
that can't retire a country illegally.
23:07
We've got record number of Chinese fentanyl
23:10
coming across the border.
23:12
In fact, we had enough to kill every American seven times over.
23:17
We've seen where Chinese fentanyl overdoses
23:20
has become the number one leading cause of death
23:23
for young people 18 to 26 years old,
23:25
more than cancer, more than car wrecks,
23:27
more than COVID is Chinese fentanyl.
23:29
And this is all the responsibility of Joe Biden.
23:32
And I haven't said that.
23:33
The environment is really good for Republicans
23:37
to take over both the House and Senate
23:39
because it is a mid-term and historically,
23:41
the opposing party from the White House usually does.
23:44
But I think you're right, many of our candidates,
23:47
we have not elected the strongest candidates
23:49
to win those elections, but it's still early.
23:52
There's still a lot of time on the clock,
23:54
and I think there's still a lot of ground to be made.
23:56
I think you're right, in Georgia,
23:58
Herschel's got a lot of work that needs to be done.
24:01
But we've got some other states where I think it's going to be,
24:04
it's going to come down to the wire,
24:05
and Republicans are going to have to really step up our game
24:09
because we're getting out raised in a lot of those states,
24:13
and we're just seeing really a gap between the incumbent
24:20
oftentimes and certainly a Republican newcomer.
24:24
So we've got a lot of work to do.
24:25
I'm hopeful, but I'm very cautious.
24:27
I'm not nearly as optimistic as maybe some are.
24:30
Right, so let's spend a little bit more time
24:32
talking about co-president Biden.
24:33
I say co-president because he's definitely not running the show.
24:35
There's somebody else or a group of somebody else's
24:37
that are helping him around and putting around
24:39
the White House all day long.
24:41
But we're not even halfway through.
24:42
Joe Biden's first term as president, okay?
24:45
So in my opinion, and then the opinions
24:47
of tens of millions of Americans at this point,
24:49
his presidency has been an abject failure
24:51
on every single level possible.
24:54
It doesn't even make sense
24:56
that we're not even two years into this thing.
24:59
And we've seen just this unbelievable degradation
25:01
of our country overall.
25:02
So just give us your thoughts on Joe Biden as president
25:06
and on the administration that he's, I guess,
25:08
supposedly in charge of.
25:09
- Well, you know, it's probably the worst president
25:12
in American history.
25:13
I mean, it's only getting worse, right?
25:15
I mean, I can't think of one successful achievement
25:19
that this administration has accomplished, not one.
25:23
And they've had, they inherited an improving economy.
25:27
They inherited a vaccine to come back COVID.
25:32
They inherited so many amazing opportunities
25:36
that they completely have blown.
25:37
I mean, but this all started, you know,
25:39
back even during the campaign call.
25:41
I mean, you think back to a president
25:44
that they kept in hiding
25:45
that they wouldn't allow to address the American people.
25:47
We knew something was going on with Joe Biden,
25:50
but we didn't know exactly how bad it was
25:52
because they kept it hidden from us.
25:53
But we should have known, I think it came to light.
25:56
I think Americans first became aware
25:57
of how bad things were when we saw him trip up those stairs.
26:01
And again, anybody can trip.
26:02
I've tripped for it. - Sure, yeah.
26:04
- And I'm just before, and when I trip and I fall,
26:06
I fall hard.
26:07
It ain't pretty.
26:08
I'm not literally as graceful as maybe he did,
26:10
but the problem there was instead of owning up to what happened,
26:14
the response, the official response from the White House
26:18
was that there was a strong wind
26:20
that blew over the president of the United States
26:23
walking up the steps.
26:24
Literally, they tried to convince the American people
26:27
that he was blown up the steps.
26:29
So it was one of those, don't believe you're lying eyes.
26:32
And that's exactly what they've continued to do.
26:34
They but unable to level with American people.
26:37
And when you have no trust,
26:39
there is no relationship between American people
26:41
and this president.
26:42
And what this president has done,
26:44
he has united the American people.
26:45
He promised unity.
26:47
Let me tell you, they have united.
26:49
They are American people are in agreement north to 70%.
26:53
They do not want Joe Biden to have another four years.
26:56
And so I'm confident Republicans are gonna do very well,
26:59
but it is all because of the failed promises,
27:02
the secrecy and the lying to the American people
27:07
in trying to convey, we even see it now, right?
27:09
They tried to re-establish what a girl is.
27:12
They tried to re-establish the definition of what a boy is.
27:15
They tried to re-establish now the definition
27:18
of what inflation is.
27:19
They tried to re-establish what the definition of a recession.
27:23
This is over and over again,
27:27
them telling you don't believe you're lying eyes.
27:29
And it's sad because I would hope that for our country
27:32
to be in a better position,
27:34
but we're not because we elected the wrong guy.
27:37
- Well, the thing about it was,
27:37
I had conversations with a lot of people
27:39
before the 2020 presidential election
27:41
and asked them who they plan to vote for.
27:43
And if they plan to vote for Joe Biden, I asked them why.
27:45
And their answer had nothing to do with Joe Biden
27:49
or Democratic policies or the direction of the country
27:51
I had to do with Donald Trump.
27:52
They're like, I talked to a guy
27:53
that a very, very well-meaning guy,
27:55
I respect him very much.
27:56
He said, I can't have a vote for a guy
27:58
like Donald Trump on my record.
28:00
Like that was kind of how he said,
28:01
but then I'm like, but wait,
28:03
you're not just voting for someone,
28:05
you're voting against something else.
28:06
And it's like, you're not just voting for a person,
28:08
you're voting for an administration.
28:10
I may not like Donald Trump personally,
28:12
but I loved what the Donald Trump administration did, right?
28:16
The things in the people that he had in office,
28:18
the people that he had around him,
28:20
like somehow Joe Biden isn't nearly as bad
28:22
as the people that he's gotten put around him.
28:24
Like it's a bad thing for overall direction
28:27
in the country, in my opinion.
28:28
But now I want us to get a little granular TW.
28:30
I want us to get into some specific things
28:33
that I think are very, very important
28:34
to the generalized public here in the United States.
28:36
And I wanna know specifically how you would address
28:39
these problems facing America
28:41
while serving in the United States Senate.
28:43
So we just talked about it.
28:44
Let's talk about the economy.
28:45
So we've talked about how the Biden administration
28:47
is trying to say, oh, you know, this isn't a recession.
28:49
You know, two straight quarters of negative growth
28:52
is not a recession.
28:53
Oh, it's this and it's that.
28:54
But inflation, recession, spending, national debt,
28:58
overall, you know, so on and so forth.
29:00
So as one of 100 United States senators,
29:02
how would you address that problem?
29:04
- Well, a couple of things, Kyle.
29:05
The first thing we need to do,
29:06
we need to get back to a balanced budget in Washington, D.C.
29:09
or a budget at all, that may be a good start,
29:12
but certainly a balanced budget amendment, I think is key.
29:15
We balanced, when I speak of the House,
29:16
we balanced our budget here in Oklahoma.
29:18
We balanced our budget at the bank.
29:20
There's no way in the world that with the amount of debt
29:24
that the United States has,
29:25
that there's no way in the world that they could show me
29:28
their P and L and that as a banker,
29:30
I would ever finance the United States of America
29:33
with its, you know, fiscal house in shambles as it is.
29:36
So we need to restore fiscal sanity
29:39
and stop the spending on Washington, D.C.
29:41
But in addition to that, more specifically,
29:44
as it relates to how do we address inflation,
29:47
I think it's three things.
29:49
Number one, we have to, we should begin
29:54
by making the tax, the Trump tax cuts permanent.
29:57
That's the first thing we should do
29:58
to address inflation.
29:59
Number two, we need to encourage drilling
30:01
in the United States of America.
30:02
We should not only be energy independent,
30:04
we should be energy dominant.
30:06
You know, the fact that Joe Biden has recently been seen,
30:09
you know, fist bumping dictators in the Middle East,
30:12
begging them for oil instead of coming to Oklahoma
30:15
and asking our drillers, the guys that drill
30:18
for oil and gas here in our state to encourage them.
30:21
Or what about fist bumping?
30:23
The people who lost their job on the Keystone pipeline
30:26
that he canceled.
30:26
Those are the people that should be fist bumping.
30:28
So, you know, restoring American energy
30:30
is a big part of the inflationary tales
30:34
that we see right now.
30:35
But third, and this is one that doesn't get spoken
30:37
about nearly as much, and I've been very adamant
30:40
on the campaign trail about it.
30:42
As a banker, I will tell you, I am very, very concerned
30:46
about the Federal Reserve and the influence
30:48
that they have over all things American policy.
30:52
They should be audited immediately.
30:55
I'm calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve
30:57
because their lack of responsiveness
31:01
to the rising inflation that we saw,
31:03
where they told us it was only transitory.
31:06
They have one job and one job only.
31:07
And that was to supposedly to control inflation,
31:11
and they completely dropped the ball.
31:12
So, I think we should audit the Federal Reserve.
31:14
- And so, one thing I do need to kind of mention here
31:16
as well, guys, we're about to go over
31:17
a lot of different topics, and it's gonna be impossible
31:19
for us to really, really dig in,
31:21
'cause I know guys are screaming,
31:21
well, ask them this is a follow-up,
31:23
and ask them this is a follow-up.
31:24
But again, we just won't have time to do that.
31:26
So, we're gonna stay 30,000 foot view,
31:28
just to kind of get an overall idea
31:29
of kind of where you sit on these issues.
31:30
So, I appreciate you getting into the economy.
31:32
- Obviously, let me say this, though,
31:34
if they've got further follow-up,
31:35
they can always hit me on my website, TW for Senate,
31:38
or they can certainly check me out
31:40
on any social media platforms.
31:41
I do respond myself personally.
31:43
I try to respond all, not always possible.
31:45
- Yeah, absolutely, and it's one of those things, too,
31:47
that we see with the economy, TWs.
31:48
You look at the Fed, and you look at Janet Yellen,
31:50
you look at all these people, and it's just like,
31:51
oh, these people are like, ooh, whoopsies,
31:53
I made a mistake, and it's like, sorry,
31:55
you don't get a whoopsies.
31:56
Like, you don't get that with your job,
31:58
you don't get to make mistakes like that.
32:00
You don't get to say, 'cause the thing is, is like,
32:02
they will just deny that they've made a mistake
32:04
until it gets so evident that they made a mistake,
32:07
and then they'll just be like, aw, shucks,
32:08
and it's just like, no, we shouldn't be able to accept that
32:11
from people who are unelected folks
32:13
that are just basically bureaucrats
32:14
that are clogging up the system there in Washington.
32:17
So, that's the economy.
32:18
Now, we need to move on to something
32:19
you mentioned earlier in the podcast,
32:20
and that's illegal immigration.
32:21
We have a wide open southern border, right?
32:23
Like, obviously, I think Senator Langford
32:26
did a great job a few months ago when he described that.
32:28
We have encountered since the beginning
32:30
of the Joe Biden administration,
32:31
we've encountered people from every single country
32:35
in the world at our southern border
32:37
since Joe Biden has taken president.
32:38
That includes countries that hate us,
32:40
that includes terrorist countries,
32:42
that includes all kinds of things,
32:43
and they're just coming in.
32:44
And again, however bad the numbers are,
32:46
they're definitely worse,
32:48
because like, it's worse than we could possibly imagine
32:50
the amount of fentanyl coming in through the country,
32:52
the amount of people that are being just like crushed
32:55
by the social services aren't able to be
32:58
brought to bear for these folks.
32:59
You have people in Washington, D.C.,
33:01
and the mayor of New York City are basically talking about,
33:05
oh my gosh, we have all these immigrants,
33:06
what are we gonna do?
33:08
What are we gonna be able to do
33:09
about this illegal immigration crisis?
33:11
Because it literally is a crisis,
33:12
and I kind of stopped sort of saying it's an invasion,
33:14
but it feels that way, does it not?
33:16
- Well, it is an invasion.
33:17
Let me push back on one thing you said, Cal,
33:19
you said that social services can't keep up.
33:22
I wanna disagree with that.
33:23
- Okay.
33:24
- You know, we've got, you know,
33:25
that's part of the problem.
33:26
We actually are providing an amazing amount of investment
33:29
in social services because of the politicians in D.C.,
33:33
they have prioritized illegal aliens
33:36
over the needs of American citizens.
33:37
I mean, listen, 2.5 million people
33:39
crossed our border illegally last year, 2.5 million.
33:43
That's more than half the state of Oklahoma.
33:46
That's an entirely new state.
33:48
And I used to think it was just gross negligence
33:50
and incompetence from Kamala Harris
33:52
and the likes of Joe Biden,
33:54
but I've come to realize it's more than that.
33:56
This is a deliberate effort to undermine our republic.
33:59
I believe that with all my heart that the radical left
34:02
is trying to destabilize the American government
34:05
by allowing illegal to come to our country.
34:07
The first thing we need to do is we should build a wall.
34:09
I know people try to make walls be controversial,
34:12
whether or not they work.
34:12
And I can just tell you,
34:14
I have toured McAllister Prison in McAllister, Oklahoma.
34:17
I can assure you, walls do work.
34:19
They keep people in and they keep people out.
34:21
The second thing we need to do,
34:22
we need to secure our border.
34:24
We need to know who's coming into our country.
34:26
This is not a matter of immigration.
34:29
It's not a matter of race like the left likes to portray it.
34:32
This is a matter of national security.
34:35
You must know who's coming into your country
34:37
or you cease to be a country.
34:38
It is a deliberate attack on American sovereign.
34:42
But the third thing that I think we need to do,
34:44
and I'm the only candidate in this race that's called for this,
34:46
we should end this notion of birthright citizenship.
34:50
This idea, we got to go back to the fourth or 10th amendment.
34:53
The 14th amendment which recognizes birthright citizenship,
34:57
it was never intended for people who entered our,
34:59
broke our laws and entered our country illegally.
35:02
The 14th amendment was intended for American slaves,
35:06
slaves that were American, that were in America,
35:09
primarily located in the south,
35:11
that their children and their grandchildren
35:13
would become citizens of the United States,
35:15
not people that came here and broke our laws illegally.
35:18
So we should end birthright citizenship
35:22
and all the other financial incentives
35:25
in social services, welfare programs
35:28
that are subsidizing illegal immigrants
35:31
over the needs of American citizens.
35:34
- Yeah, I'm glad you addressed the race element
35:36
with this description 'cause anytime you get into this debate
35:38
about illegal immigration,
35:39
you get people that'll say these bumper sticker slogans
35:41
like people can't be illegal
35:43
and you just don't want them in our country
35:45
because of their brown or because they don't look like you.
35:47
It's like, no, it's like, I'm concerned
35:49
about all the things that we've talked about.
35:51
I'm concerned about the plight
35:54
of the generalized American over somebody
35:56
that's just walking across the border
35:57
because if you don't have walls, you don't have a country.
35:59
If you don't have walls, you don't have a house, right?
36:01
You talked about it with a prison here.
36:03
If you don't have walls, you don't have a prison.
36:04
So it's a very controversial topic,
36:06
but it's one that's incredibly important
36:08
to the overall future of this country.
36:09
And now we need to talk about China.
36:11
So obviously, we've seen a lot of people that think China
36:14
has now supplanted the United States
36:16
as the dominant hegemon in public society in the world.
36:19
You can look at them financially.
36:20
Now, obviously you could say that
36:22
and you could find some metrics that prove that,
36:24
but it's like, it's the difference between a country
36:26
that is built on liberty and freedom
36:29
in a country that is built on totalitarianism, top down, right?
36:32
But how do you deal with, as a United States senator,
36:35
the rise of China, their overall aggressiveness
36:38
towards America and their seeming goal
36:41
of trying to dominate the entire world?
36:44
- Peace through strength.
36:45
That's the way you do it, Kyle.
36:46
I mean, we should be leading the world right now
36:49
as it relates to containing China.
36:51
And the president that we have in the White House now
36:53
has failed to do it.
36:54
He's incapable or unwilling.
36:56
You know, I was, one of the reasons I was suspect
36:59
of Joe Biden from the very beginning as president.
37:01
Number one, I know about his race has passed.
37:03
I remember Joe Biden and all the comments he made
37:07
about African American males and how,
37:09
about African American males and how he led the effort
37:12
in the '90s for the crime bill,
37:14
where he called African American males super predators
37:17
and during the campaign where he said, if you don't vote
37:20
for him, you're not black.
37:21
So I was suspect of him then, and while he, you know,
37:24
he would say, a really a, you know,
37:28
under the tutelage of one of the grand wizards
37:30
of the KKK, Robert Beard and how he spoke at his funeral.
37:35
So I've been suspect of him for that reason,
37:37
but I was also suspect of Joe Biden
37:39
because of his years of dealing
37:41
with the Chinese communist government,
37:43
his budding up, the reason that we are in the state
37:46
that we are right now are because of politicians
37:49
like Joe Biden, who's on record saying China's not a threat.
37:53
They're not a competition.
37:54
He has said it over and over publicly.
37:56
And so I knew once Beijing Biden got into office,
38:00
we were gonna be exactly where we are,
38:02
where we're not standing up to China,
38:04
where we're allowing them to encroach
38:06
upon American sovereignty,
38:07
where we're seeing them as the dominant force
38:10
in so many regions of the world
38:12
because America is retreating under Joe Biden.
38:15
We have to lead, we can not only,
38:17
not only can we compete with the Chinese
38:19
'cause we certainly can't,
38:20
we can win and beat the Chinese,
38:22
whether it be through technology.
38:24
And the reason is,
38:25
is because it's not because of our DNA in America,
38:27
we don't have, we're not superior
38:30
because we have superior DNA.
38:31
I don't believe in that at all.
38:33
What I believe is we have a superior value system.
38:36
And our value is that of liberty
38:38
over, as you mentioned, totalitarianism.
38:40
You know, the Chinese,
38:41
and it all starts because we value human life
38:44
above everything else.
38:45
The Chinese as a culture have never valued human life.
38:48
You know, if you lose a couple of million people,
38:51
big deal to them.
38:52
We have valued human life in this country.
38:55
And that's, and if you,
38:56
and by the way, if you don't value human life,
38:58
you're not gonna value the environment.
38:59
You're not gonna value wildlife.
39:01
And you see that happening and playing out
39:03
in China's culture over and over again.
39:05
So, yeah, they're gonna be a competitor with us,
39:08
but we have to have the strongest military in the world.
39:10
There can be no competition.
39:11
We have to get our fiscal house in order,
39:13
and we have to secure our border.
39:15
All three will make us stronger in dealing
39:18
and containing with the Chinese Communist government.
39:20
- Well, talk a little bit more about life
39:22
because obviously with the overturning of Roe v. Wade
39:24
and Planned Parenthood, V. Casey,
39:26
one of the greatest days in the history of this country
39:28
and the history of the world, frankly.
39:30
And, you know, it's still to be determined
39:31
how that's gonna play out as we move into the future.
39:33
But great, great day is the day that I never thought would come.
39:36
But the battle for life isn't over.
39:38
You know, for a lot of people, I said,
39:39
"Hey, that Friday night after the, you know,
39:41
the Dopp's decision, hey, I've smoked a cigar,
39:44
popped a new bottle of whiskey, but it's got,
39:46
hey, Saturday morning, hey, the battle really starts now."
39:49
But like, let's really, really get after it.
39:51
So as a United States senator,
39:52
obviously there's not a whole lot that you can do
39:54
from the legislative standpoint in terms of what types
39:58
of cases are going in the Supreme Court
39:59
or what types of challenges are gonna come.
40:01
But what can be done as a United States senator
40:03
to make sure that the battle for life is over
40:06
and done with that?
40:07
No, we will not be killing unborn babies in this country.
40:10
Is there a constitutional amendment?
40:11
Like, what are the things that you can do
40:13
as a United States senator?
40:14
- Well, I would certainly support any effort
40:17
to protect the sanctum of life.
40:18
Listen, I'm as pro-life as they come, Kyle.
40:22
I just believe the reason governments are created
40:24
is for the protection of people.
40:26
And again, it goes back to that worldview.
40:29
Either you believe God created man
40:31
and you believe that man created God.
40:33
And as someone who believes that God created man
40:35
in his image, I believe that unborn children
40:39
deserve the same civil rights as born children.
40:42
Civil rights begin in the womb, in my opinion,
40:44
not just the sanctum of life.
40:46
But even still, we have a commitment to life
40:49
after children are born.
40:50
And that's why when I was in the state legislature,
40:53
I passed legislation, the first in the state,
40:55
to allow for a $5,000 tax credit for adoptions
41:00
for people who care for foster care children.
41:04
It's something that I feel very passionate about
41:07
as a pro-life movement.
41:08
And we should be doing that.
41:09
We should be doing more in the areas of technology,
41:12
supporting our locations that allow
41:18
pregnancy resource centers, that aid women who are in need,
41:21
young girls who are vulnerable.
41:23
And the first thing we need to do, honestly,
41:25
is we need to defund and abolish Planned Parenthood.
41:29
Planned Parenthood is responsible for over 400,000 Black
41:33
babies killed every single year.
41:35
They target African-American babies.
41:37
It's a racist organization.
41:39
It's founder Margaret Sanger, found the organization
41:42
for the sole purpose of annihilating
41:45
the African-American race weeds of the society
41:49
as she referred to Black babies.
41:51
We should end Planned Parenthood.
41:53
We should defund it, and we should abolish it.
41:55
That would do a lot.
41:56
We send over $1/2 billion worth of government-paid tax
42:00
funders subsidies to Planned Parenthood.
42:03
And we know that they're targeting vulnerable women
42:06
and communities of color, and that should end immediately.
42:09
All right, now we need to get into the subject of wokeness.
42:11
So you talked about wokeness you've
42:13
pushed back against it several times in this already.
42:16
We've seen this in K through 12 schools.
42:18
We've seen it at universities.
42:20
We've now seen it in places I never thought we'd see it.
42:22
Big business, big tech, the military.
42:24
Well, big tech, I guess we could have assumed
42:25
that that was going to happen.
42:26
But how can we push back against, and for you again,
42:29
as a United States Senator, how do you push back
42:31
against something that isn't as tangible as a water bottle
42:35
or a pin in your hand, it's an idea.
42:37
It's like, how do you fight against an ideology?
42:40
Go.
42:41
Yeah, well, it stems.
42:42
Again, I don't want to sound like a broken record,
42:44
but that idea of worldview, again,
42:48
this secular humanist worldview that
42:51
has invaded our culture, which says
42:53
that there are no absolute truths.
42:54
That the truth is all relative.
42:56
That frankly, you can have your truth.
42:59
I can have my truth.
43:01
And so long as we do no harm, that's all hogwash.
43:04
There are absolute truths.
43:06
And we have to go back to what made the country great
43:08
to start with.
43:09
And again, it's the core principles of America.
43:12
It's capitalism.
43:13
It's Christianity.
43:14
And it's the Constitution.
43:16
That's what made this country great.
43:17
And that's how you push back against wokeness.
43:19
But also, we have to have leaders, Kyle,
43:21
who aren't afraid to go into the den of lions
43:25
and to speak truth to power, who are willing leaders
43:29
who are willing to take the fight to the Democrats.
43:32
Because we've seated too much ground.
43:34
We've allowed them.
43:35
We've seated and allowed teachers' unions
43:37
to completely usurp our schools.
43:39
We've allowed our college campuses
43:42
to be saturated with this liberal dogma and doctrine.
43:46
And we just kind of are content with it.
43:48
And we send our kids.
43:49
And we pray that they turn out OK.
43:52
We've allowed the media to be corrupted.
43:55
And certainly, when we talk about big tech,
43:57
we see it in other corporations.
43:59
We have to unite.
44:00
We have to have leaders who will speak truth to power,
44:02
who aren't afraid to stand up and say, enough is enough,
44:06
and who can push back against that woke agenda.
44:08
And that's actually why I'm running for the Senate.
44:10
Having served as the national chair of Black Voices for Trump,
44:14
that's what we did.
44:14
We woke up every single day and said,
44:16
how can we identify where wokeness exists in this country
44:19
and devise a plan to push against it?
44:21
Something I've spent my career doing,
44:23
because I think it is fundamentally unfair
44:25
to pit Americans is either CRT, which
44:29
teaches the whole premise of you're either the oppressed
44:32
or you're the oppressor.
44:34
And I refuse to allow my children to grow up
44:36
in an America that has that ideology.
44:39
This is the home of Frederick Douglass,
44:41
a man who stood, the first African-American run
44:44
for president, a Republican, by the way, who stood his ground
44:48
and said that all people are created equal.
44:50
And he challenged this country, just like Martin Luther King
44:53
and just like others have, to live up
44:55
to the true meaning of its creed, that we all are created equal.
44:59
That's what America stood for.
45:00
We can't allow the radical left to try to take us back,
45:03
which is exactly what we see happening.
45:05
And it starts with the right leadership.
45:09
- I completely agree with that.
45:10
We have a tremendous, almost epidemic level
45:13
lack of leadership in this country right now, seemingly.
45:15
Now, I know you're hyper-focused on August the 23rd
45:18
and getting to that date and everything like that,
45:19
but I'm sure you've at least thought about this.
45:21
So I have to ask, what are you gonna do if you lose?
45:24
Like, I'm assuming they'll let you come back to the bank
45:26
or do any of those things, but like,
45:27
have you thought about, hey, what's life gonna look like
45:29
if I don't win this runoff and don't end up
45:31
going towards trying to be in the US Senate?
45:34
- I'm all in for the United States of America, Colin.
45:36
Brother, it's in the private sector or the public sector.
45:39
You're gonna find me advocating for the things I believe in,
45:43
which is making this country great again,
45:45
the Constitution, capitalism and Christianity.
45:48
And, but certainly, you know, my focus right now
45:50
is on August 23rd.
45:52
And I just believe to who much is given, much is required.
45:56
This, I don't believe our founders intended
45:59
for people to go to Washington and to be there forever.
46:03
I just want a big proponent of term limits.
46:05
I think that part of the challenge we have now,
46:07
the reason the swamp is so powerful
46:10
is because we've allowed politicians to go there
46:12
and spend decades there.
46:13
You know, just over the last decade,
46:15
we've seen our national debt, you know, double,
46:18
nearly double from 16 trillion to $30 trillion
46:21
in less than 10 years.
46:23
That means that every American child born,
46:24
I know you've got a young family,
46:26
every child born in this country inherited $122,000
46:31
worth of national debt because of the politicians
46:33
in Washington, D.C.
46:35
Scripture says we should leave our children
46:37
and grandchildren and inheritance,
46:39
not strap them with endless debt.
46:41
And so I don't, I haven't thought, you know,
46:43
about what's after August 23rd,
46:46
because my entire focus is how do we leave a better America
46:51
than the America that was handed to me,
46:53
because that's what stewardship is about.
46:55
And that's what my focus is in.
46:57
You know, I've got a work ethic.
46:59
I know how to earn a living from my family.
47:00
I know how to go out and work in the private sector.
47:03
I've done it a number of times.
47:04
And the only reason I do public service, I gotta be honest,
47:07
there's no ego in it for me.
47:09
You know, when I was running, when I was Speaker of the House
47:11
called one of the interesting things you get to do is Speaker,
47:14
you have to go out and recruit people to run.
47:16
And what I later, what I came to find out is
47:18
people run for one or two reasons.
47:20
They either want to do something or they want to be something.
47:23
I don't have anything that I want to be.
47:25
This country's been great to me,
47:27
but what I do want to make sure that I'm doing
47:29
is using my gifts and talents
47:30
to do everything I can to save America.
47:32
'Cause I do think we're just a couple elections away
47:36
from a complete socialist takeover.
47:38
And I refuse to be the generation
47:40
that allows this country to go down on my watch,
47:42
not on my watch.
47:44
- Well, I appreciate the sentiment there
47:46
and something that's come out throughout a lot of your answers
47:48
in this interview is your Christian faith.
47:50
I mean, your Christian faith is not just front and center
47:52
in your life, it's front and center in this campaign.
47:55
So tell us why that's specifically so important to you
47:58
in the job that you're applying to be,
48:00
which is a United States Senator.
48:01
- Yeah, you know, there's people often asked a question
48:04
as an elected official, is it your job to be an ambassador
48:08
or is it your job to be an overseer of the people?
48:13
In my opinion, you know, my job is to be an advocate
48:16
and ambassador for the people that send me there.
48:17
I believe that people know best about how to govern
48:20
and that's what living in a republic is.
48:22
And so it's important for them to understand
48:25
what my worldview is and what shapes my decision-making
48:28
because again, in Washington, you do have to make tough decisions.
48:31
You have to make tough votes.
48:33
And people need to understand what is the core
48:36
that you're operating from?
48:37
From whence do you derive your source of information,
48:40
your worldview?
48:41
How do you make your decisions
48:43
when the chips are down and things are important?
48:46
And it's important for them to understand
48:48
that Judeo-Christian heritage and belief,
48:50
that is the system from which I operate.
48:52
Sure, there are other great systems too, I'm sure.
48:55
But I don't know about those.
48:56
This is the system that I know.
48:57
This is the system that has worked for me.
48:59
And frankly, it's the same system
49:01
that built the greatest country the world has ever seen.
49:04
And so I don't throw my Christian faith around as a person.
49:09
I mean, listen, there's not a greater example
49:11
of God saving grace than T.W. Shannon.
49:14
I mean, he has been very, very good to me.
49:17
And the only reason I get to do what I do
49:19
is not because of anything I've done to earn it
49:22
is all because of unmerited favor.
49:24
But I do believe to whom much is given, much is required.
49:27
And I believe I've got a skill set
49:29
that can go to Washington DC, that can speak truth to power,
49:33
and push back against this radical liberal agenda
49:36
that is not only threatening the economy of America,
49:41
not only threatening the long-term viability of America,
49:45
but it's threatening even the safety
49:47
and the identity of America.
49:48
That's why I'm running.
49:50
I absolutely appreciate that. I appreciate you going in all
49:52
that detail.
49:53
Now, the last time you're on the show,
49:54
we did a little segment towards the end
49:55
that I'm sure you're familiar with.
49:56
It was the, what would you say to someone
49:58
that said segment?
49:59
Now, this is our lightning round.
50:00
So what I'm gonna do with you,
50:02
and I know you're good at this
50:03
'cause you do the hits on Fox News and different things
50:05
like that, but I'm gonna say,
50:06
what would you say to someone that said?
50:08
- They're not nearly as tough as you are, Kyle.
50:09
- I mean, well, 'cause I actually asked,
50:11
I don't have anyone in my earpiece telling me to say this
50:13
or say that, it's just coming from my own brain.
50:15
So I'm gonna just fill in the blank.
50:17
And here's the deal, every single one of these that I do,
50:20
you get a maximum of 30 seconds to give your response,
50:21
no matter what the topic is.
50:22
So you up for it?
50:23
- I'm in.
50:25
- All right, let's do it.
50:26
Let's get the first one here.
50:27
What would you say to someone that said,
50:28
"I hate the USA."
50:30
- Move.
50:31
- Fair enough, let's keep this one going.
50:33
What would you say to someone that said,
50:35
all Republicans are racist?
50:36
- Wrong.
50:39
You know, this country is not the homeless systemic racism,
50:42
it's the homeless systemic opportunity.
50:44
And people who try to put us in that category,
50:47
their sole goal is to control you.
50:50
Don't fall for that narrative.
50:51
That is a harmful narrative to people.
50:53
Yes, there are racism is real, racism is a sin.
50:57
It comes from the same place that abortion comes from,
51:00
from the pits of hell.
51:01
And sin can only be dealt with by the church
51:04
and by a savior, it cannot be dealt with by government.
51:07
We've come a long way in this country,
51:08
we've got a long way to go,
51:09
but America is the homeless systemic opportunity,
51:11
not systemic racism.
51:13
- All right, next rapid fire question here,
51:14
what would you say to someone that said,
51:16
there's no way I could ever support Donald Trump for president?
51:20
- Well, I'll say this, look at the alternative,
51:22
look at what we face with Joe Biden.
51:25
I mean, the narrative that was presented
51:27
to the American people in 2020 was,
51:29
you're either for socialism or you're for racism.
51:32
And I just, I don't believe in those two categories.
51:36
I don't believe that those are the real,
51:38
I don't believe in that premise.
51:40
The truth is, you have to look at candidates
51:42
and look at their accomplishments.
51:44
And I will put the America First agenda,
51:46
the economy under Donald Trump,
51:48
the treaties we saw in the Middle East,
51:51
the movement toward American energy,
51:54
the policies are sound.
51:55
And I would say just people based on the policies
51:58
that they produce and nothing else.
52:00
- All right, next one here.
52:01
What would you say to someone that said,
52:03
I do not think T.W. Shannon will be a good senator.
52:05
- Well, I would say stay home on August 23rd.
52:09
You don't need to go to the poll.
52:11
- No, no, honestly, listen,
52:13
T.W. Shannon is not a perfect man.
52:15
There's certainly mistakes that I've made.
52:17
There's certainly challenges that I present.
52:20
I don't pretend to have all the answers,
52:21
but I will tell you this,
52:22
nobody's gonna get up early and work harder
52:25
and be more honest about what it means
52:27
to be United States Senator from Oklahoma.
52:29
My gift and my skillset,
52:31
it's not only going out and telling you
52:32
what's wrong with the country,
52:34
but it's finding solutions and going a step further.
52:37
Finding other people and building coalitions
52:39
to move things through.
52:41
I've done it in the private sector,
52:42
and I've certainly done it in my public life too.
52:45
And that's why I'm running for the Senate,
52:46
'cause I think I've got a skillset to do that,
52:48
like nobody else in the race.
52:49
- All right, next one here.
52:50
What would you say to someone that said,
52:51
we should keep God out of politics?
52:53
- Well, I will say that that is not
52:56
what the Founding Fathers intended.
52:58
I mean, the Founding Fathers knew that, you know,
53:00
this country was built on Christianity.
53:03
Now, I don't want the government subscribing
53:05
what our faith should be.
53:07
Liberty certainly presents the fact
53:09
that people who have a worldview
53:12
that is shaped by Christian Judeo-Christian heritage,
53:14
they should not be excluded from the public square.
53:18
We allow everything else in our public square.
53:21
We have to make room for Christianity
53:23
because it is under attack.
53:24
It is under attack specifically,
53:26
like no other religion and like no other worldview.
53:30
And so it should be protected,
53:31
but it should not be forced down anybody's shirt,
53:35
because, A, that's not Christianity,
53:37
and B, that's not what America's about.
53:39
It's about liberty, but we should not shine Christianity
53:42
from the public square or from government.
53:44
People who are Christians should be able to exercise
53:46
their worldview, just like everybody else.
53:49
- All right, just a few more here.
53:50
What would you say to someone that said,
53:51
I'm a lifelong Democrat,
53:53
but I'm fed up with what's happening in my country?
53:56
- Welcome to the party, the water's warm.
53:58
Let's go.
53:59
The truth is, Joe Biden has been terrific
54:02
for the Republican Party because people have seen
54:05
that this is not your grandfather's Democrat party.
54:07
I mean, this radical socialist event with these Marxist ideas
54:12
where they're pitting Americans against Americans,
54:14
where they're making America the evil of the world,
54:17
where government has the solution to every single thing.
54:20
And every answer is, let's spend more money
54:22
and get more taxes from people.
54:25
That is a losing ideology.
54:27
And by the way, if you care about poor people,
54:30
then you should embrace capitalism
54:32
because it's the only system that's ever moved people
54:35
from generational poverty into the middle class.
54:37
- That is absolutely true.
54:38
Two more left here.
54:39
What would you say to someone that said,
54:40
the United States' place as the dominant world power
54:43
will soon be at an end?
54:45
- Never give up on America, Kyle.
54:47
I mean, there have been people predicting America's downfall
54:50
for a really long time.
54:52
And the reason that America has been
54:54
what Ronald Reagan describes as a city on a shining hill
54:57
is because of the value system that we have.
54:59
The idea that every person that you meet
55:03
was created equally endowed with certain inalienable rights.
55:07
That is a fundamental core belief
55:09
that we can't lose focus on.
55:10
But if we don't send the right people to Washington, D.C.,
55:13
it is possible for America to lose its way.
55:15
America, Abe Lincoln talked about the latest American.
55:20
There would never be a last American.
55:22
And I believe that too.
55:24
But if we're not careful,
55:25
if we don't, if we continue to send the same people
55:27
to Washington that we've been sending,
55:29
we are gonna see a decline in America
55:31
because that's exactly what the liberal left
55:33
is trying to achieve.
55:34
And we've had too many Republicans in Washington, D.C.
55:37
for decades allowing it to happen.
55:40
- All right, what would you say to someone that said?
55:42
Mark Wayne Mullen has my vote.
55:44
- Well, I would say check our record.
55:47
I wanna earn your vote.
55:48
Any person who knows me knows that I'm a Christian,
55:51
I'm a capitalist, I'm a conservative.
55:52
I have a record of fighting for limited government.
55:55
I have a record of reducing debt, not raising debt.
55:58
I have a record of supporting the border,
56:00
not voting against the border.
56:02
I have a record of bang,
56:04
I'm a big supporter of term limits.
56:07
I believe that you shouldn't spend decade after decade
56:10
in Washington, D.C., which should be a citizen legislature.
56:14
So I would say check the record of the candidates
56:16
and then decide who you like.
56:18
- Well, we've covered a lot of ground
56:19
in this particular interview,
56:20
but I know we live in a culture that likes things
56:23
to be distilled down to make them
56:25
in bite-sized little quantities.
56:26
So I guess my final question of the day,
56:28
and this is the big question, this is the ultimate question.
56:31
On August the 23rd,
56:32
why should Okeys vote for you over Mark Wayne Mullen?
56:36
- Our country's in trouble right now, Kyle.
56:38
I mean, when you think about where we are
56:40
with record inflation right now,
56:42
we've got what we're on the verge of a recession.
56:46
Some would even argue a depression is on the horizon.
56:50
I mean, we see our country being embarrassed
56:53
before us on the global stage.
56:55
We see people making decisions between whether to fill up
56:59
their tank by medication or by groceries.
57:02
We have a president who's literally shipping in humanitarian aid
57:07
because we don't have enough baby formula
57:09
to feed our own children.
57:11
That didn't happen overnight.
57:12
That is a direct result,
57:14
but because of Joe Biden and the Republicans in Washington,
57:17
D.C., who've allowed it to happen.
57:19
I'm running for the United States Senate
57:21
because I have a record, not only in the public sector,
57:24
but also in the private sector,
57:25
of fighting for job creation,
57:27
fighting for limited government,
57:29
and knowing that this is still America,
57:31
America is still the world's last best hope.
57:34
But if you ever doubt that,
57:35
give me just a little time.
57:36
Think back to some images we saw a few months ago
57:38
in Afghanistan where we saw people literally hanging on
57:42
to the wings of airplanes to try to get to this country.
57:45
We saw a mother handing her newborn child
57:48
to a guy who she had never met,
57:49
who didn't speak her language,
57:51
who was an invading superpower, who had an M16 on his hip,
57:55
but she was still willing to give her newborn child
57:58
to that young man,
57:59
because she knew if that child could just get to this place
58:02
that we call home and the rest of the world calls America,
58:05
that child could have the most amazing life
58:07
of any kid in the world.
58:08
That's why I'm running for the United States Senate
58:10
because we've got to keep it that way.
58:12
I believe that to whom much is given,
58:14
much is required in this state,
58:15
this country been very good to me,
58:16
and I would ask for your vote on August 23rd
58:19
to be the next United States Senator from Oklahoma.
58:22
- Well, TW, that's all for me.
58:23
Is there anything else you want to get off your chest?
58:25
- That's it.
58:26
Thank you for being my friend, Kyle.
58:27
I appreciate your ministry,
58:28
appreciate your listeners,
58:29
and my website is TW for Senate.
58:31
Please check us out.
58:32
- That'll be in the show notes, TW Shannon.
58:34
Thank you for coming on Daunted Life of Man's podcast.
58:37
- Thanks, my friend.
58:38
- There you go, guys.
58:39
I hope you enjoyed our time with US Senate candidate TW Shannon,
58:42
but before we let you go,
58:42
we are going to do a quick resilience boost.
58:44
Add in Daunted Life, our mission is equipping men
58:46
to push back darkness with content that for just spiritual,
58:48
mental, and physical resilience.
58:50
So the only link I've got for you today
58:51
is a link to the TW for Senate website.
58:53
So guys, if you're an Oklahoma Republican,
58:55
make sure you go out and make your voice heard
58:57
on August the 23rd, okay?
58:58
Thank you so much for listening to the show.
58:59
We do appreciate it.
59:00
Wherever you're listening to this, please subscribe.
59:02
Rate and leave us a positive five star review.
59:04
If you want me to come and speak live at your event
59:06
or on your podcast,
59:06
just shoot me an email to info@andonto.life.
59:09
That's I-N-F-O @andonto.life.
59:11
Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook
59:13
and check out our website for everything else,
59:14
including how to donate to keep more content
59:16
like this coming your way.
59:17
Just go to www.andonto.life and as always,
59:21
we want to thank the band, August Burns Red,
59:22
for allowing us to use their music for our content.
59:24
The music on this podcast is our song "Cutting the Ties,"
59:27
which is off their 10th anniversary
59:28
re-recording of their album, "Leveler."
59:30
The links are in the description.
59:32
I'm your host, Kyle Thompson.
59:34
Remember, keep pushing back darkness,
59:37
keep forging spiritual, mental, and physical resilience,
59:41
keep seeking the Lion of Judah.
59:46
I love the Lion of Judah.
59:50
I know you want.
59:51
It's a sign, you make it.
59:55
It's a virtue.
59:58
You will be revived.