0:04

On this episode of Newts World. My Yes

0:07

Today was born to a mother

0:09

consumed by drugs and raised

0:11

by his grandmother in poverty on

0:13

the South Side of Chicago. He

0:15

saw firsthand how lawmakers

0:18

from both parties have failed African

0:20

American voters on issues like poverty,

0:23

welfare, and education. But

0:26

as someone who beat the odds growing

0:28

up under a fear based mentality

0:30

that limits what people can achieve, he

0:32

believes there's another way. He

0:35

just recently provided congressional testimony

0:38

to the House Ways and Means Committees

0:40

Subcommittee on Work and Welfare the

0:43

dignity of work lifting individuals

0:46

out of poverty, and he is

0:48

here to discuss welfare reform and

0:50

how we need to revisit this critical

0:53

issue. So I'm really pleased to welcome

0:55

my guest, John O.

0:56

Caldwell.

0:57

He is a Fox News analyst, the

0:59

founder or the bipartisan consulting

1:01

firm based in Washington, DC that

1:04

provides strategic advice in

1:06

areas of public affairs and government

1:08

relations. He's also the author

1:10

of the book Taken for Granted,

1:13

How Conservatism can win back the

1:15

Americans that liberalism failed. And

1:17

I think I'm as a good friend. We've worked together over the

1:19

years, John

1:30

Oh, welcome and thank you for joining

1:32

me on Newts World.

1:33

Well, thank you for having me, and it is such

1:35

an honor to always be with you

1:38

as I think you've led groundbreaking

1:41

change has helped many across

1:43

the country, whether it be the black community, for

1:46

a white community, or whatever it may be. You've

1:48

been a change agent for

1:50

good and I thank you for it.

1:52

Well, you know, in terms of change,

1:55

you're a personal example. Can you

1:57

take us back sort of to your childhood

1:59

growing up on the South Side of Chicago,

2:02

because there's just a lot about your

2:04

personal voyage in life that's

2:06

inspirational and that has a lot of

2:08

lessons.

2:09

Well, thank you. So I grew up extremely

2:12

poor. At times, we had

2:14

the lights, the gas, and the water off

2:17

all at the same time. My

2:19

mom was addicted to drugs, as you

2:21

mentioned, and we lived in a

2:23

project until my grandmother.

2:26

One day, who was a private duty nurse

2:28

my mom mom came and

2:30

she rescued us from the projects.

2:33

So we began to live with her, and

2:35

my grandmother had temporary

2:37

custody of me and my siblings. And

2:39

then one day she pulls out the garage and

2:41

a drunk driver hits her apparently

2:44

this same individual had hit some other

2:46

folks earlier in the day, so he was an habitual

2:49

drunk driver and injured

2:52

her back. She had to go on and reduce

2:54

schedule so she couldn't work her regular schedules.

2:56

She worked overnights, and then ultimately

2:59

she couldn't work any more. So

3:01

from there we went from having

3:03

a decent life, certainly better than what

3:06

it was with my mom, to government

3:08

checks begin to come again, this

3:10

time not for my mom but for my grandmother.

3:13

So that's when things begin to slide in a very

3:15

negative way once again. But I'm

3:18

thankful for God and his guidance which

3:20

I believe brought me through.

3:22

Given that kind of background, you

3:24

start volunteering at the

3:26

local alderman's office at fourteen.

3:28

What led you to go to

3:30

the alderman's office and get

3:32

involved as a volunteer.

3:34

You know what's interesting. My mom and dad were

3:36

never married, but my dad would pick me up

3:38

every Friday and he would take me to his

3:40

dad's house on Fridays and

3:44

on Saturdays, my grandfather

3:46

would take me to work with him plumbing construction,

3:49

small business. He would pay me ten dollars a day

3:51

to hold the flashlight, hand tools, and he started

3:53

me off very young. I was probably

3:55

about eight years old when

3:57

I started going on these jobs sites, maybe

4:00

even younger. And he would

4:02

show me what hard work, a

4:04

day of hard work look like. And then

4:06

he would get the check from the work and he would go

4:08

and cash it and he would show me the money. You

4:11

know, back on those days, a lot of the guys that

4:13

were drug dealers, they would have this wad of cash

4:15

that they would use the entice young people to

4:18

come work for them and take on that lifestyle,

4:20

because of course most people there were poor.

4:22

But my grandfather wanted to show me another

4:25

way, my grandfather James or Williams.

4:28

So what ended up happening

4:30

is at fourteen, we were riding

4:32

through this area of Chicago called Inglewood,

4:34

which is one of the hardest hit areas in terms

4:36

of the drug and violence in the

4:39

city of Chicago. And as

4:41

we're riding in this red pickup truck,

4:43

I look out the window to my right

4:46

and I see a lady who appears

4:48

drugged up and beat down,

4:51

and it brought tears to minds because I thought

4:53

it was my mother. So as

4:55

we're riding along, I quickly wiped

4:57

through tears because my grandfather is a Southern gentlemen,

5:00

and he's you know, he's a tough guy, and

5:03

he notices and he says, what's wrong

5:05

with you, boy? And I say this lady. At this point,

5:07

we're riding past her, and I realized it wasn't my

5:09

mother, but it certainly could have been her. I

5:11

said, what can I do to prevent this from happening? And he began

5:13

to tell me about the power elected officials

5:15

have to increase the penalty of law for those who are

5:17

selling distribute drugs, and how they

5:19

can provide grand funding for those who want to be rehabilitated.

5:23

So I said, okay, I want to be an elected

5:25

official. I want to know how the system works. And

5:27

then after I learned a little bit

5:30

more, within weeks, I'm volunteering

5:32

from my local Automan's office because I

5:34

thought that I can help save my mom.

5:37

And that's really what it came down to. It

5:40

became a mission out of one

5:42

moment with my grandfather when he told

5:44

me the power that elected officials

5:47

will to create positive change in people's

5:49

lives, like you did a Speaker of the House.

5:51

So you took

5:53

this idealistic approach. You were a volunteer

5:56

but then at sixteen, you get

5:58

a part time job on the Social Security Administration,

6:01

and I was sold that there was resistance

6:04

even in your own family to you

6:06

going out and getting a job and earning a paycheck.

6:09

That's absolutely right. Initially they

6:12

were in favor of it, but when my grandmother

6:15

saw that the money that I was earning

6:17

could potentially impact

6:19

the earnings for the house and perhaps the

6:22

benefit, she then told me,

6:24

you may have to quit your job. And I said, absolutely

6:26

not. Why would I quit my job. I'm making more money

6:28

than these checks they

6:31

were receiving. That was just

6:33

said. So then you know the realization

6:35

of what sense does

6:38

it make for a person to

6:40

get off welfare if you can't actually earn

6:42

for your family to create that stability

6:44

to get off welfare, just like you did in a ninety

6:47

six welfare reform where you had

6:49

a two year process or two

6:51

year tracked and a five year limit for

6:53

those who were receiving benefits,

6:55

and you know the benefits cliffed if

6:58

you will, which is for those that may be listening

7:00

and may not know, this is the amount of

7:02

money that you can potentially earn before being

7:05

cut off. So that cliff wasn't

7:08

there in one time due to your reform,

7:10

and you allow people to earn and you know, create

7:12

stability in their lives and then lift people out

7:14

of poverty. That was I think an exceptionally

7:17

well done program which helped millions

7:19

of people, and I know that we need to get back

7:21

there to help change the trajectory

7:24

of our country.

7:24

As a further example of what a

7:27

remarkable young man you were, by

7:29

the time you're eighteen years old, you

7:31

decide you want to own property, and

7:33

lessen a year later, you buy a multi

7:36

unit apartment building. Walk us through this

7:38

journey in your mind and in reality,

7:41

what led you to decide

7:43

you want to own property.

7:45

So interestingly enough, my pastor,

7:47

I started going to a new church. And

7:49

this was all on my own. I was really

7:51

seeking God. I wanted to know the truth of

7:53

God. And I grew up in a religious home.

7:55

But it was a religious home that you didn't see

7:57

the power, you didn't see the ramifications of what

8:00

God could do. Now I started going to

8:02

this pastor. Many of your listeners will know who

8:04

he is. His name is doctor Bill Winston.

8:06

He has a church in Forest Park,

8:09

Illinois, and I mean, this

8:11

guy is extraordinarily gifted

8:14

and the message in which he delivers, and the fact

8:17

that you should be able to when you're really connected

8:19

with God, you should see that power change your life.

8:22

It shouldn't be a religious I go to church

8:24

every Sunday, but nothing changes in your

8:27

life. God's power is supposed to literally

8:30

transform you. It should transform

8:33

everything around you, and by way of

8:35

virtually connecting with that, it

8:38

transforms the people around you because they

8:40

can see the results. So this pastor

8:43

would tell us things like, you know, the government

8:45

shouldn't be taking care of you. We

8:48

shouldn't be on welfare, we shouldn't be on government

8:50

assistance. God is supposed to take care of

8:52

you. He'll give you a vision of what

8:54

to do and you'll do it and change

8:56

your life. And he kept pumping that message

8:59

in me and using a word of God

9:01

itself that I all

9:03

of a sudden wanted to go out and

9:05

get involved in real estate. And it was a scripture

9:07

that I used Joshua one to three every place

9:10

that the solo your footshall tread upon that have I

9:12

give it unto you? And I meditated

9:14

on that word day and night, and

9:16

I believed for a vision

9:19

for real estate, and at that point, at nineteen,

9:21

I had some savings, good

9:23

credit. Eventually I figured out I had

9:25

no credit at first, but then I used

9:28

the word. I really got steps to

9:30

what to do to put me in a place that I can

9:32

own real estate. And I'll tell you.

9:34

I had a realtor that I met with who ran my credit

9:37

and say, oh, you have a zero credit score. I

9:39

said, oh, you know, what do I do to change it? I

9:42

use the word and I know it may

9:44

sound crazy to people, but it really did

9:46

help me. I transformed things

9:49

in a short period of time. And

9:51

then that's when I went out and I bought a multi

9:53

unit apartment building. And I was the first

9:55

person in my family to ever

9:58

do something like this. I was the youngest one and

10:00

I didn't have any family assistance. They didn't have

10:02

any fortunes or anything that they can give

10:04

me. No one co signed for me. It

10:07

was all me. And I thank God

10:09

for it every day because that was

10:11

an example of what faith

10:13

can do. And I know this isn't a faith

10:16

podcast as a political one, but I

10:18

think that there's someone that needs to hear that

10:20

message. When you connect with God, he'll

10:22

transform your whole life. And I really believe

10:24

that new.

10:26

What is it that they saw in you that

10:29

would lead them to allow you

10:31

to buy a multi unit apartment building

10:33

at nineteen.

10:35

Well, you know, we got the banks

10:38

and those structures. But

10:40

what they saw in me is

10:42

less important than what I saw in myself.

10:46

And what I saw in myself was a victor,

10:48

not a victim. And what I saw

10:50

in myself was somebody who has

10:52

the propensity to be great

10:55

and absolutely successful. And

10:57

what I continue to see in myself is

11:00

bigger vision than anyone can see for me. And

11:02

it's a vision that I got from God, and it's a

11:04

vision that continues to sustain me.

11:07

So ultimately, I think people

11:10

will compare themselves to other people

11:12

and say, oh, well, you know we come from the same background.

11:15

This person has this and I don't have that.

11:17

No focus on your own journey, focus

11:20

on what God is leading you to do, and

11:22

you do it. You can't be distracted

11:24

by what's going on around you.

11:26

You have to be laser focused in

11:29

order to get to that next level. And that can be just

11:31

in a very natural way. You're looking for a job,

11:34

or you're looking for a college to go into,

11:36

or you're looking for a partnership

11:39

of some sorts. You got to focus

11:41

in on your stuff, not what everyone else

11:43

is doing, because ultimately, what people

11:45

tend to find out is when people seem like you

11:48

know, some folks, they seem like they're doing

11:50

so fantastically, some of it ends

11:52

up not even being true. You know. It's

11:54

like, you know, people create this

11:56

image for social media and

11:59

then you find out, oh, oh my god, none of that was

12:01

actually true. That's why you got to stay laser

12:03

focus on your race and your race alone.

12:06

So I want to come back to those person because I think

12:08

your formula is

12:10

frankly brilliant. When you talk

12:13

to other people in situations

12:16

that you recognize because you were once there,

12:19

are you able to help them move from

12:22

being a victim to being a victor in

12:25

their own head. I think you're onto something

12:28

that is so powerful and

12:30

so important about how

12:32

we turn this country around. And I'm just curious,

12:35

do you actually talk to people about it? Do

12:37

they get it?

12:39

Yes? I absolutely do. And you know, I'm

12:41

going to tell you there's been a number of young

12:43

folks that reach out to me on social media

12:45

LinkedIn and my social media

12:48

on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook is at Giano

12:50

Caldwell. For those who may be interested at GIA

12:53

and n Caldwell and

12:55

they'll say, hey, I read about your story

12:57

and your book taking for granted how conservatism

12:59

can went back then Americans liberalism failed. Or

13:02

I saw you on television, or I saw this article.

13:04

This is what's going on with me. I need some advice.

13:07

Now. Those folks who are willing to reach out

13:09

and say those things, they already

13:11

have something in them that's a bit of hunger.

13:14

They want to know that there's possibilities

13:16

to change. They want to be inspired. And

13:18

then there's some people that you meet who

13:20

may have had a similar story to yours

13:23

growing up, and they have no idea

13:25

that it's even possible for them. So they

13:27

got to connect with that energy and be

13:29

around people of a level

13:31

of success that they can see that it

13:34

may be potentially possible for them.

13:36

There's multiple kinds of people on

13:38

this journey, but the person has to want

13:40

it. They have to want what

13:43

comes with that. They have to know that I'm

13:45

going to have to do work to get here.

13:48

That's why I think about every

13:50

individual on this planet has this thing

13:53

within them that I call hidden

13:55

ability. We happen to call it generally

13:57

potential. What does it take to

14:00

realize potential work

14:03

productivity following some

14:05

kind of vision. You know, you can be following

14:08

the formula of someone else and seeing what they

14:10

did, or it may be something brand new.

14:13

And what I really connect to and the people

14:15

that really connect to me is those who

14:18

recognize that they want it for

14:20

themselves. They want to change their lives,

14:22

they want to change their family lives, and

14:24

they're willing to do whatever's necessary to

14:26

do it. So those are really the people that connect

14:29

with me and are able to be inspired

14:31

and take those next steps for themselves.

14:51

Given your views towards

14:54

self help, the work ethic being

14:57

positive. When you were

15:01

first aware of politics, which

15:03

party did you identify with and why?

15:06

Well, when I was first aware of politics, I identified

15:08

with the Democratic Party because that

15:11

was all that was in my community. So

15:13

they made Republicans

15:15

a big boogeyman. And if you're

15:17

hearing the same things from your

15:19

family, your external

15:23

family, the teachers, the

15:25

adults in a room, and you're a kid, what else

15:27

are you supposed to believe? And of course

15:30

you don't have any Republicans

15:32

around in many of these inner cities to give a

15:34

different vision of what that looks like. And

15:36

I recall as a

15:38

teenager at this point, I'm

15:41

about eighteen years old or so. I

15:43

was having a conversation with an

15:45

African American gentleman on the corner

15:48

and we were talking about politics, and I mentioned

15:50

a lot of untruths about

15:52

the Republican Party, some of

15:54

the things that I heard in my community. They're races,

15:57

they don't care about poor people, black people, etc. And

16:00

this guy, who was a longtime

16:02

Democrat, began to challenge

16:04

me on my point of view. And

16:07

I've never been challenged on my point of view

16:09

when talking about Republicans, especially in

16:11

those kind of communities. So he

16:14

said things to me like, didn't you know the first

16:16

Republicans in Congress were black conservatives?

16:19

No, never heard that before. Did

16:21

you know MLK was a Republican? No, never

16:24

heard that before, and a number

16:26

of other things. So whenever I'm challenged, I go research

16:28

so I can have a stronger argument for later.

16:31

And when I went home to research

16:34

and I discovered the Republican Party was started

16:36

in eighteen fifty four in opposition to the Kansas

16:39

Nebraska, which wanted to expand slavery. I

16:41

mean, I almost really just dropped to

16:44

the floor, like, wait, this can't

16:46

be true, because no one

16:48

in my community has ever said anything

16:50

like this. And then I did further

16:52

research and I began to realize

16:55

that I was a Republican. You

16:57

know, these same values and belief systems

16:59

that republic can traditionally have, I had them

17:01

myself. And then I became depressed

17:04

because I said, well, how can I be like one of them? They

17:06

said, they're racist, they

17:08

hate all these people, so how

17:10

could I be like them? So it

17:12

took me probably about a couple of months, maybe

17:15

three months, as I went through this

17:18

state of depression because everything that

17:20

I saw began to make me realize more and

17:22

more I am a conservative. And

17:24

then at that point, I said, well forget

17:26

it. I'm gonna go out and I'm just gonna,

17:28

you know, let my truth speak in. I'm gonna tell you. When

17:31

I told my family, they said,

17:33

eh, you know, you just want to be white,

17:35

or basically, we don't consider

17:37

you to be family anymore since you're going

17:39

in this direction. And that's how Democrats

17:42

often keep the black community

17:44

in this trap. We're gonna disown

17:47

you, we're gonna talk down on you. You're

17:49

no longer welcome to the cookout

17:51

if you will, and it's been incredibly

17:54

effective into the migrant crisis

17:56

hit in Chicago. Now

17:59

things are shifting years and honestly

18:01

because of Donald Trump and his culture

18:04

connection to the community

18:07

which he has had for many, many years.

18:09

I think things are beginning to shift and look quite

18:12

differently, not necessarily in the media,

18:14

the left leaning media, but internally in

18:16

a black community. I believe things are shifting,

18:19

big shift.

18:20

I noticed that one of your first

18:22

really active roles as Republican was

18:25

with the DuPage County Republicans

18:28

in an African American outreach program,

18:30

and that you also had served as

18:32

director of government relations for Napierville

18:35

Township. You've proved you're a Republican

18:38

because you've actually lobbied

18:40

for the reduction of the property tax rate for

18:42

the whole township. There's a great success

18:45

story.

18:45

Yes, So I got involved

18:48

in DuPage County Republicans after reaching

18:50

out to the Republican state Party chair on

18:52

social media and they connected

18:54

me with them over there, which is where

18:57

I was living at that particular time. And

19:00

I'll tell you my role. I've

19:02

had a number of roles in the GOP. I was

19:04

an elected precinct committeeman. I

19:07

was the political action chair for

19:09

the DuPage County young Republicans. I was active

19:11

with the Chicago Republicans and

19:14

DuPage County is a very important

19:16

county, if you will. It was the second largest Republican

19:18

county in the country, second

19:21

only the Orange County at the time. And you know, like

19:23

a lot of these counties have flipped, of course,

19:25

but these particular roles

19:28

which helped me inform my perspective

19:30

even more about policy

19:33

and how Republicans go out and

19:36

engage supporters, etc. And I thought that

19:38

there was a need for Republicans

19:40

to really reach out to the black

19:42

community in the meaningful way. And

19:45

I'll tell you no one

19:47

has done that like Donald Trump has,

19:50

not a single one. And I know

19:52

if we look at the polling right now, you'll

19:55

see for this particular race twenty

19:57

twenty four, Donald Trump looks

19:59

like he they may get thirty percent of black men.

20:03

Joe Biden's numbers are failing with the black community

20:06

day in and day out. People are

20:08

really upset with what's going on. But

20:10

Donald Trump knows how to be in

20:13

this particular community and build

20:15

bridges. And it's my hope

20:18

that you once he wins his race

20:21

for president, the Republicans

20:23

will take close notes and

20:25

really build a bridge for black folks to join

20:27

the party. There's a lot of conservative black people

20:29

there. They just never call themselves Republicans,

20:32

and they've never had Republicans go

20:34

out and outreach to them in a meaningful way. That

20:36

can shift with this election. New that

20:39

can shift in a very big way. And I'm gonna tell

20:41

you the truth, if it wasn't Donald Trump

20:43

that was running, I'm not sure that we would necessarily

20:46

see what we're seeing now in terms

20:48

of the black support

20:50

that he's gaining. So Republicans

20:52

should be looking at this very carefully

20:55

because we need to be able to maintain the

20:57

party and be able to dominate in

20:59

future beyond Donald Trump's

21:01

presidential run.

21:02

What are the characteristics of Trump do

21:05

you think other Republicans don't quite have?

21:08

I mean, just being willing to go out there.

21:11

When I was coming up in the party, folks

21:13

didn't want to do outreach to the black community

21:15

because they were scared of being called the races.

21:18

That's really what it came down to. They

21:20

didn't want to say anything wrong, so they

21:22

just stuck with what they knew. But Donald

21:24

Trump said in twenty sixteen, I

21:27

mean the schools are

21:29

in trouble, You got crime everywhere.

21:32

What do you have to lose? And

21:34

it was such a true statement, even though many folks

21:36

on the left said, hey, and in the media,

21:39

well if we get you, we got a lot to lose. Well,

21:42

you got Joe Biden in office right now, see

21:44

what you're losing. In the state

21:46

of Illinois. You got three

21:48

hundred million that's been spent on migrants for

21:50

twenty twenty four. They're putting us out another three

21:52

hundred million. If they get more that comes

21:55

in, this can quickly become a billion dollar

21:57

issue. Meanwhile, you

21:59

tell black folks every election you

22:01

have no resources to tackle their issues.

22:04

Sixty seven schools in the state

22:06

of Illinois, including schools that are

22:08

in Chicago, kids can't do math

22:10

at proficient grade levels.

22:13

Thirty eight schools in the state of Illinois

22:16

kids can't read a proficient Not one single

22:18

student in these schools can

22:20

read at proficient grade levels. That's

22:22

a problem. They need resources to correct

22:24

these issues, but more importantly, they need

22:27

leadership that actually cares about them

22:29

accomplishing it versus getting them dependent

22:31

on the check so they can vote for them every year.

22:34

Given your remarkable background,

22:37

you then went on to develop

22:39

your own lobbying firm. How did

22:41

that happen? And Caldwell Strategic

22:44

Consulting now is a freestanding

22:46

company. How did you get to that point?

22:48

Well, interestingly enough, Newt, I

22:50

went out to DC on a Mitt Romney

22:52

campaign in twenty twelve. That's when I left

22:54

Chicago and I worked on Capitol

22:57

Hill. But I was a lobbyist before

22:59

then, and I wanted to get involved

23:01

in the federal lobbying space. But

23:03

at that time, the Tea Party had took over Congress.

23:06

Nothing was moving, There was no legislation

23:08

that was really moving. I would meet with companies and

23:10

they say, we love you, we love your experience, and

23:13

I mean, my gosh, they loved

23:15

the way I presented myself as well, but

23:18

they say, we can't hire anybody because nothing's

23:20

really moving in Congress right now. So what

23:22

I ultimately had to decide

23:25

is do I go back to Chicago

23:28

or do I go and

23:30

stand still and what I set out to do, And

23:34

at that point I couldn't go back. I can't

23:36

fail. I'm a big believer

23:38

in what Thomas Edison has said.

23:40

I've not failed. I found ten thousand ways that

23:42

didn't work. I don't really believe

23:44

in the concept of failure, because I think you need to

23:46

gain something from every perceived failure

23:49

that make you stronger for the next attempt out,

23:51

whatever that may look like, or it may be a

23:54

brand new path altogether that you didn't anticipate.

23:57

So I decided that

23:59

I was going to start my own lobbying firm, and I

24:01

had met with many lobbyists before

24:03

I made the jump, just to get their

24:05

advice, because I'm a big believer in mentorship

24:08

and asking for advice. And most

24:10

of the people I met with, probably about ninety

24:12

percent of them told me, don't do

24:14

it, you won't be successful. One

24:16

guy even was really upset. He's like, no one's going

24:18

to hire you, no one cares about your Illinois experience.

24:21

But I ultimately went out and did it, and our first

24:24

client was a community hospital on

24:26

the South side of Chicago, So it

24:28

did work out. And I do public

24:30

affairs work, get with corporations, trade

24:32

associations, et cetera, and I've been very

24:35

successful. I got hired by Fox

24:37

News, a best selling author, and I

24:39

do many, many, many other things. So

24:42

I feel incredibly blessed, and more

24:44

importantly, I feel incredibly blessed

24:46

that I never stopped believing

24:49

one in God or two in myself.

24:52

You mentioned Fox News, which is

24:54

a fascinating story in himself. Walk

24:56

us through how you ended up with a relationship

24:58

there.

25:00

Well, interestingly enough, a very dear

25:02

friend of mine who I got

25:04

to know as I started going on and doing

25:06

hits on Fox. At that time, I would go on CNN as

25:08

a Republican strategist. I

25:11

asked an interview on Series XM because

25:13

I was hosting Series XM for a host

25:15

I was guest hosting, and then

25:17

we met. I went to New York

25:19

and this person that used to work over at Fox,

25:22

she brought me in, literally brought me

25:24

into the network, and she became

25:26

a peer mentor to me. And I'm

25:28

exceptionally thankful for that

25:30

time. I really and truly am so

25:33

that got me started at Fox News,

25:35

and then it took on a life of his own doing appearances

25:38

there, and one of the hosts if the network

25:40

decided that he was going to put my name

25:42

before the CEO, and that's how

25:44

the how it really began. But it

25:47

was a year and a half before I was hired, which

25:49

is a pretty fast process for somebody who didn't

25:51

have a big name, and I'm

25:53

incredibly thankful to be able to go on to

25:56

the number one platform in a country, in

25:59

cable and give my perspective

26:01

on what's going on in the country. I'm thankful. I'm

26:03

thankful for people like my mentor Sean

26:05

Hannity, who's a very

26:07

dear friend I know to you as well, who will

26:10

call and text me and just hey, and this is

26:12

how I think you should handle this, or this is what I think you

26:14

need to do here. It's really amazing

26:17

to know that a kid from the South Side of Chicago

26:19

who grew up in poverty with

26:22

a mamadta de crek cocaine and she's now

26:24

recovered for those who are listening.

26:26

But to have that kind of story

26:29

and have made these kind of strades is

26:31

really something out of a story book. If

26:34

people really knew my story and

26:36

we want to do a movie after it, people wouldn't

26:38

believe it because it's just been too many things

26:40

that have happened for

26:43

it to be real.

26:44

You know, somebody may hear this podcast

26:47

and this side the only thing. I'm gonna call him and

26:49

see if we can't do the general called

26:51

Well story, which would be a very interesting

26:53

movie. Absolutely you

26:55

testified about welfare reform. You

26:58

make a very important distinction about

27:00

two types of people who get

27:02

welfare. Could you expand on.

27:04

That, Yes, there's two types

27:06

of people that I believe join

27:09

the system. It's those who do

27:11

it to get back on their feet. They don't have a choice,

27:14

They only want to do it temporarily. Matter of

27:16

fact, many people will gudgeonally do it

27:19

because they really don't want to be

27:21

a part of any government assistance. They believe

27:24

in themselves, they're independent, they're

27:26

accountable, but they have to do it because they're

27:28

trying to provide for them families while they're getting back

27:30

on their feet. Then you got people who get

27:32

on the system and they're trying to get every program

27:34

that they can and they want to

27:37

manipulate it to stay on as long as

27:39

they possibly can. And sometimes

27:41

they don't even have a real need. They just want free

27:43

money. They want free government money.

27:46

And those people, honestly, they

27:48

should be ashamed of themselves. If you're able body,

27:50

you're able to work, and you really don't have a need

27:53

for you're just doing it because

27:55

you want to be lazy and sit at home and watch

27:58

television. That's why it's so important

28:01

that there's legislative measures

28:03

in place to ensure those who need

28:05

the help can get it, and it's temporary

28:07

unless they're disabled and they can't work,

28:10

and those who want to manipulate the system, they

28:12

can be quickly bounced off. I

28:14

think those are important features for any

28:16

legislative vehicle that may be used

28:19

to advance welfare reform.

28:21

There's a lot of families out there in need, and Biden

28:23

has made sure that with Biden Economics,

28:27

you know, he's made sure that

28:29

for many of the folks who they may have voted for

28:31

him thinking their lives are going to be better and find

28:33

out that they're far worse. Poor people

28:36

are really really been betrayed

28:38

by Joe Biden because they're losing money left

28:40

and right. And then you see the credit card debt that we

28:42

have now over a trillion dollars, where people are

28:44

trying to maintain their living putting

28:47

everything on a credit card. We're in

28:49

a sad state of affairs in

28:51

America, and Joe Biden is the cause

28:53

for it. Remember, build back.

28:54

Better right didn't

28:56

quite work out that way.

28:57

It's not been built, and it is worse.

29:17

I know it's personal, and I know it's painful,

29:20

But can you share with us your

29:22

brother's murderer and your reaction

29:24

to it and what you think the

29:27

rest of us should take from that terrible experience.

29:30

But thank you for asking me that question, nude. On June

29:32

twenty fourth, twenty twenty two, my baby

29:34

brother, Christian was murdered on

29:36

the South Side of Chicago, literally standing

29:38

outside of a venue on a Friday morning.

29:41

Multiple people shot. He wasn't the target.

29:44

The person that was the target ended up

29:46

living, and they shot a young lady as well.

29:48

They both lived. Innocent

29:50

baby brother, Christian, he died

29:53

and since then there's been

29:55

a real fight for justice for him. One

29:58

trying to work with the Chicago Police was completely

30:00

overwhelmed. They need two thousand officers

30:03

to handle the current murder case load,

30:06

and they first it seemed like a blowoff,

30:08

and when I talked to them, oh, we got a lot of other cases.

30:11

We really can't focus on it. Until they found out

30:13

who I was on television and

30:15

then things seemed like it was going to move in

30:17

a positive direction. But there's

30:20

been so many things that have happened in between.

30:23

Whereas the Chicago Police hadn't

30:25

been able to really solve

30:27

this tragedy. So after

30:30

a certain period of time, I

30:32

decided that I needed

30:34

to try to enlist the FBI

30:37

to get involved, and I after

30:40

a trip to Chicago for Fox News,

30:42

I went out and I did a story. I

30:44

decided that I was going to reach out to Burgess ownings,

30:46

which I text Congressman burg his ownings. I

30:49

text them, and at that time he sat on

30:51

the Judiciary Committee, and I told

30:53

him, I said, look, I want to get a bipartisan letter

30:55

together to ask the FBI

30:57

to come take over this case. And

31:00

during that time I had no idea

31:03

that the FBI had arrested

31:06

or rather had been involved, not necessarily

31:08

due to my brother, but a guy who had

31:10

the murder weapon on him was

31:13

arrested and the month later

31:15

the FBI got involved

31:17

with him for some other things that he had going

31:19

on. So I reached out to the FBI

31:22

by calling them. My head. Current FBI agents

31:24

called the Chicago field office. I

31:26

couldn't get a return call at all, and

31:29

then it wasn't into The FBI director

31:32

appeared before Congress and there was a member who

31:34

was going to ask a question about my brother, but

31:36

it didn't happen because of a back and

31:38

forth. It wasn't until three

31:41

committee chairmen put in letters for the record

31:43

requesting information about my brother's

31:46

case that the murder investigation

31:48

did. I get a call back from the Special Agent

31:50

in charge of the Chicago Field Office. So

31:52

I've been working with him on a monthly basis.

31:55

We do calls to figure out what's going on, have

31:57

they charged anybody new and

31:59

you know, what's the status of the case. In

32:01

addition to that, because of what happened,

32:04

I've been utilizing the Fox resources.

32:07

Thankful for our CEOs who's

32:09

a Scott Who's allowed me to

32:11

go out and interview family

32:14

members who are victims of violent crime.

32:16

I've been able to raise money for

32:18

those families and really be able

32:21

to pay it forward. And now Nude,

32:23

I'm launching something new here. I

32:25

can't give too many details at this time,

32:27

but I'm going to be the answer to George

32:29

Soros. And that's what this really

32:31

comes down to. The progressive prosecutors

32:34

that he's been funding, city

32:36

council members, mayors and even beyond,

32:39

allowing the country to really go into what

32:41

many would consider to be a hellhole where

32:44

soft on crime prosecutors

32:47

rule the day and victims are

32:49

victimized day in and day out, and the people

32:52

who commit the crimes, they get out the same

32:54

day and pretended it didn't happen and go out

32:56

and victimize someone else. This

32:59

needs to come to an end, and there needs

33:01

to be a voice that can speak

33:03

to this issue in a very personal way, and I intend

33:05

to be that voice. I have done it already,

33:07

but in a bigger way. Is what I'm working on right

33:09

now, and I love to have your help in

33:12

that fight. As we're preparing to launch

33:14

that fight.

33:15

Listen, I commend you for doing it. I'll do all I can

33:17

to help, and I can tell you that the

33:20

only way we're going to stop the

33:22

current wave of violent crime is

33:24

to have citizens stand up and do things

33:27

like you're doing, and then, frankly, in

33:29

the case of Chicago and elsewhere, hire

33:32

enough policemen that you rebalance

33:34

the system and get prosecutors

33:37

who will lock up violent criminals. And it's

33:39

not complicated. It's just that the left hates it

33:41

and they don't want to do it, even though we

33:44

absolutely know what works and we

33:46

absolutely know how to save an amazing

33:48

number of lives. So I commend you

33:50

once again as a citizen. You're showing real

33:52

leadership. My heart goes out to you

33:54

for the loss of your brother, and I think

33:57

everybody who's listening would agree that

33:59

that's a porful situation, a

34:01

difficult situation, but as

34:03

usual, you're taking it and turning it into

34:06

an opportunity to lead and an opportunity

34:08

to heal and potentially an

34:10

opportunity to change Chicago for the better.

34:12

So we'll do all we can to be helpful.

34:15

I really appreciate that. And if anyone has

34:17

a story that they may need highlighted about

34:20

a family member or just

34:22

want to be supported, please follow me on social

34:24

media at Giano Caldwell

34:27

GIA n O Caldwell

34:30

c A L D W E

34:32

L L and that's on Instagram,

34:34

Twitter, and Facebook. And I really

34:36

appreciate your support, your wisdom. You're

34:39

one of the best there is new beyond

34:41

thankful for that.

34:42

I'm delighted that you are as much of a

34:45

public citizen as you are. And

34:47

I want to thank you for joining me and

34:49

sharing your personal story and

34:52

your recent testimony about welfare reform.

34:54

And I want to encourage our listeners to

34:56

pick up a copy of your book, Taken

34:59

for Granted, How Conservatism

35:01

Can Win Back the Americans that Liberalism

35:04

Failed, which is available on Amazon

35:06

and in bookstores everywhere, and they

35:08

can watch you regularly on Fox

35:10

News. Thank

35:14

you to my guest Jiana Caldwell. You can

35:16

get a link to buy his book Taken

35:19

for Granted, How Conservatism

35:21

Can Win Back the Americans that Liberalism

35:23

Failed on our show page at

35:25

newsworld dot com. Newtorld

35:27

is produced by Gangwish three sixty and iHeartMedia.

35:30

Our executive producer is Guarnsey Sloan. Our

35:33

researcher is Rachel Peterson. The

35:35

artwork for the show was created by

35:37

Steve Penley. Special thanks

35:40

to the team at Ginglishtree sixty. If

35:42

you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll

35:44

go to Apple Podcasts and both rate

35:46

us with five stars and give us a

35:48

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35:50

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35:52

of newts World can sign up for my three

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36:00

I'm new Gingrich.

36:01

This is neutral