Defining Your Personal Red Line

Good evening, everybody. I'm Jolly. I'm filling in for Don today so he could have some time off, much needed time off. Very excited to be here because I want to tell you about something I witnessed in Washington, DC today that I honestly don't think I'll forget anytime soon. On the steps of the U. S. Capitol. ive duty Air Force major, a commissioned officer stood up publicly called for the impeachment and removal of the president Donald Trump, The president being, of course, the commander in chief, the highest person that every member of the military reports to. He knew exactly what he was risking He knew it He knew that he would be arrested And he knew that this was the end of his military career and severe consequences would come his way. He did it anyway. I was quite frankly moved to tears watching it happen and I look forward to being able to share his message and share the video today about what I saw. He was arrested by Capitol Police on the steps. because you're not allowed to be on the steps, but he marched up the steps in uniform with a sciist said impeach could be removed, it was quite powerful But more importantly I shouldn't say more importantly, but It raises a bigger question What does it mean when someone who is active duty, who swore an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic Kning their risking their entire career. This guy had been in the military for seventeen years. He's been in for seventeen years commission officer What does it mean to have somebody like him sit up and say I'm done. takeake it all away from me, throw me in prison. This guy has to go. And I think the timing was on purpose. It couldn't be more more you know, powerful that this was this weekend marks America's two hundred and fifteth Oh anniversary of twenty fifty years since the signing of the Declaration of Indendence. And across the country, we'll hear speeches about freedom, liberty, patriotism, and what it means to be American. Tonight we're asking a harder question. What does patriotism actually look like? MAGa, the right, they love to They love to co op to patriotism. They love to talk about it. they love to celebrate America is patriotism believing that this country is worth challenging? E when you think you'll lose anything, or is it just wearing the flag and going into it a state fair Throughout history, acts of civil disobedience have shaped this nation They've often been controversial in the moment. and debated for years after I was there. I saw it happen today. I saw it unfold firsthand And we're going to break down exactly what happened Um and what major Jason Watson, that's the officer who did this what he said and why he felt he was compelled to take this extraordinary step and what it could mean going forward. I'm just I'm still right now even thinking about it in awe of what he did. and I want to jump into that before we do We have the Don Lemmon DC correspondent Daniel Grimes. the American state fair since we're mentioning America's two hundred and fiftieth year anniversary. And I thought that We should get an update on all the tens of people that are likely there Daniel, can you hear me, brother? I think you're muted You're muted, brother Can you hear me? New are So okay Can you guys hear him or is it just me? Can you I hear me? I can hear him Uh, I honestly thoughtought it would get better. the closer we got. I cannot hear Daniel. I don't know I can't hear Andy anymore Can I eat anybody And is just me I'm not sure Am I the problem? it's me Is it me or Daniel, we're gonna to tell Jolly to rejoin. you can just continue. Oh, okay, cool. So I found what I feel like is the most exciting here, I think honestly it's where the people are the happiest. I think that they obviously it's been reported that attendance is dismal here at the America two hundred fifty festival. but I think what has been underreported is just How sad people look? I mean, I'm here and normally at a fair, can you hear me now, Jolly? I certainly can. thank you. What I was just saying I think it's been reported that how dismal the numbers are, but I think what's gone underreported is just how sad people are. I mean, normally at a fair, I grew up in a place called Winchester, Virginia. We had our share our fair share affairs. and let me just tell you I mean, as a kid, you are running around, you're petting all the animals. You see all the smiles. It's so much fun. I'm looking around here People are Not even excited. their heads are kind of hung down, They're walking around. I'm like you would think at least the people here are excited. so I found that that I think the people have it the most fun. That's the David twenty forty seven praise Jesus ten get baptized. So I think here's where the excitement is if you're coming to the fair They're cl it and sing it and It's funny you mentioned the jovial spirit that's not there. because I was there earlier. I did a little walkthrough earlier Number one, as you mentioned, there's nothing going on, nothing happening. Number two, U there's literally people just like melting in the sun As they walk past these state roooms, there's nothing going on and there's nobody there I saw I think I swear to God I saw seventy five people, maybe. Oh yeah, here, let me pan into the crowd. So H you can start to see Uh, there's there's People honestly, this is more people than when I first got here, so that's something, but I would say if I could just them U off top of my head, I would say I'm seeing about seventy five people That makes sense. And these state rooms these state rooms Daniel, I'm sure you've been in them. They' they're very tiny rooms with like one or two facts about the state, like very minimal information about the state. You go in your You want to talk about that Yeah, I mean, so we' have already talked about this, but there's Jolly, ten states decided to not even come because they said this is being put on by Freedom two hundred fifty, not by America two hundred fifty. So this is being put on by Trump's organization. And they're like listen, if you actually had this to be a nonpartisan event We would have actually paid some money sits some delegations. But as you said, the ones who came here actually, let me go ahead and take you into one. So the folks who don't get a chance to come This is Montana. I' not been to Montana. So we're going to discover this live on air. We're going to see If Montana is better than a couple of the ones I've been to. I went to my home state of Virginia. It was just couple of peanuts and not much. Did you go to that one? hot telly? I went to North Carolina becausecause where I was born and raised. They had a national star And a picture of they hadnt removed it. I had heard about it, but it wasn't there when I went. So than you. I guess they got enough grief about it. But they had a NASCAR and a picture of a lighthouse. That was North Carolina So this is the Montana booth Uh you come in They have a lot about outdoor Mind listen, it's cool in here. Okaykay. I might be I might go ahead and do the show from in here, Jolly So no there's a heat wave in Washington, DC. So if you see me, I have not freshly out of the shower. I'm just wh, it's hot out here, but okay So you come in We see the bad lands. So a little bit about the geography. It's giving me, you know, fifth grade elementary school film vibes. You see a video playing there. And you can see people here learning about I guess the archaeology So that just gives you a sense of what's happening here. I mean, not excitement Other than the fact that there is AC in there. so wh. That was the one reason I went into two things that surprised me today was how small those state roooms are and how uninformative they are And then how not very state food fair the state the state fair food was H, let me just show you all. Jolly, let me know you can see that. Do you see that it's staples? Can you see the staples there Oh my God. This thing was so poorly put together I am not a builder by any means, but I mean, I'm just happy that this structure is standing because F! My friend, this is that structure Oh my God. Yes, Staples. I mean, and I was here when they were putting this together. I was, you know, listen, again, as I said, I grew up in a town that had fas. They always come up a little bit fast and you're always a little bit skeptical. You're always wait a minute. Is that ride going to be safe or is that going to be safe? I've never seen staples in a building. It's embarrassing. This is honestly embarrassing. it's a lot of money drained into it. People are not showing up. It's nothing to do, like you pointed out. I heard from people the longest line in the whole place is the feris wheel becausecause it's literally the only thing to do. and it barely moves. You go one at a time Yeah. So hard You know, it's also said? We could have had the Smithsonian was prepared to put this event on alongside America two hundred fifty if Kamala Harris had won We would have had a real ight Celebration. There would have been actual artists here not I don't even know what's playing on right now, but not just a DJ somewhere that I can't even find them as far as crowds. It would have actually been a celebration of the country. It probably would have been standing room only This is what you get whenonald Trump plans on Daniel, listen, I don't want you to melt away and I just checked I just checked the temperature where you're sitt standing ninety eight degrees. Listen, Joey, Don already owes me hazard pay from a few other incidents here. So we're just gonna add this to the cab. He do that Do that I appreciate you risking life in lamb to show us All seventy five people out there. Appreciate say you're keep this up to date, brother No, thank you. Thankks for joining the show tonight and absolutely thank you fors for joining us. Free sa you So that's what's happening in DC right now. This is Literally, there's nothing really happening. It's the fourth of July weekend. If you walk around DC, people are wearing the America two hundred fifty shirts and the two hundred fifty the set and the third. But you would think it be on the fourth of July weekend and not just any regular fourth of July weekend The two hundred fiftieth anniversary of ass signing a decelaration of penence that DC would be popping off and it's not. And the as you saw, the state fair, the great American state Fair, it's embarrassing. So that's what's happening. That's the state of the Union. That's that's Donald Trump's America. as Daniel pointed out,'s being done under Donald Trump's pack under his organization, This is all one giant grift. And that is the perfect way to segue into what I believe is the one thing the country should be talking about right now Major Jason Watson who is an Air Force major He went to Air Force Academy back in june, two thousand five He stood up today and he gave a speech at a press conference in front of the Capitol building And I learned from talking to The people that put this together, they've been planning this since about March. which means This weekend was chosen on purpose. I would love for you to take the time to listen to Major Watson's speech I think that the sacrifice he made today the minimum we could do is listen to his speech, If you're a civilian, And you're not a veteran and you're watching this. I want you to understand what you're about to see, the speech I'm about to show you Major Watson will go to prison I'm not saying that lightly. I'm not saying that for dramatic effect. I want people to understand how the Uniform Code of military justice works. If you're in the military, active duty especially in uniform. You are not allowed to partake in partisan anything, partartisan events, rallies, nothing You're definitely not allowed to call for the impeachment commommander in chief I spoke with Major Watson prior to I knew what he was going to do. I had a heads up about it. So when I got there today before the press conference started, I talked to him. I said to him. I said, Hey, sir, first of all I'm incredibly, you know honored that you're make him stand But I think that it's important that somebody says to you Are you sure Somebody says to you, can you be talked out of it? And that wasn't because I want to talk him out of it. That wasn't because I don't agree with what he's doing. It's because I know the gravity of what he's doing. He's throwing his entire seventeen year military service out the window. He's throwing everything he's ever done out the window. He's throwing any opportunity of ever working in the federal government again out the window Kil and his family will feel the repercussions of what he did And I just wanted for my own you know, clarity of mind to know that somebody said to him, Are you sure And he told me, Jolly, I know what I'm doing I understand the risk and I'm doing it. And I was like, Roger, then I got your back. We're going to support you in this If we could show his speech, he got up in front of a crowd today and he gave this speech Incredibly powerful stuff. He made the case for why he was calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump And u I think I made a good case And this is and what what you're about to hear him say why he will go to prison. He will be court martial on a uniform Cat of military justustice. The only question is how long he'll go to prison for? want to play that video? Andy My name is Jason Watson I'm an acty major in the United St Air Force However Who I am is immaterial In the grand scheme of things I'm just a nobody Well matters far more. than who I am is what I have to say and the price I'm willing to pay to say it Hi, Jason Paul Watson Do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same Then I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion And then I will will and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I'm about to enter So help me God I first swore this oath overver twenty years ago upon entering basic. Cadet training at the United States Air Force Academy in late June of two thousand five. Repeated it many times over since then. The oath of Oice means everything to me It is foundational to our system of governance in the United States The oath ensures that officials of our government Owe allegiance, not to any individual or political party But to our cononstitution and the Democratic Republic it represents. ur Constitution binds us all together as Americans Like countless veterans before me and military members serving now, I haveve devoted my life in service to our Democratic Republic. Always doing my best to honor My oath and protect America against foreign threats The greatest threat to our Dmocratic Republic is not a foreign one It is us. We the people Not just the left or just the right or just the center. All of us together define who we are as Americans. And like it or not, we have all played a part. Myself included and getting ourselves into this mess we are all in The burden of that culpability is much heavier for some amongst us than others. Undeniably, and for those with a lion's share of guilt, such as those currently running the executive branch of the government, the bill must come due. But all of us have a share. For the past eighteen months, we, the people have allowed the highest levels of the executive branch of the federal government to violate our Constitution And they theirre oathes to it with impunity. When the Pident of the United States orders military action against foreign countries, absent an emergency scenario where American interests are under imminent, dire threat, as was done with Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran That's an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress's authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause These violations resulted in the deaths of thirteen service members and injuries of hundreds more For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed. When the president of the United States grants an unelected mega donor, sweeping authority to shut down large swaths of our federal government, along with unrestricted access to our government databases That's an unconstitutional circumvention. of Congress's advise and consent authority Under the appointments cllause and Congress's power of the purse under the Aropriations Clause These violations expose every American's personal sensitive data to leaks and exploitation Theyillegally terminated tens of thousands of federal civil servants and crippled support for Americans to Americans for medical care and disaster preparedness and by far, most tragically, resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of the world's most impoverished people with inhumanely abrupt cessation of US aid. For this The president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed When the Pident of the United States directs the Department of Homeland Security to deny hundreds of people any due process before illegally detaining them and sending them to a foreign prison notorious for human rights abuses That's a violation of our and eighth Amendment rights Most people sent to SCOotT never committed any violent crimes in their entire lives but are being defamed as violent criminals to this day as a pretext for the torture they suffered in El Salvador, paid for with U. S. taxpayer dollars For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed When the Pident of the United States sponsors violence on the American people, engaged in their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest, That's a violation of our First Amendment rights pastors praying for DHS agents violently attack without provocation A legal observer losing an eye after being shot with a non lethal by an Iice agent, a woman attempting to follow chaotic and contradictory DHS agent instructions fatally gunned down A subdued man that posed no threat fatally shot after having his unbrandished firearm rememoved with statements by high ranking cabinet members also violating our Second Amendment rights For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed There are innumerable more impeachable offenses that I could cover denying congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers that look increasingly like SCotT Suing institutions like media, colleges, and law firms for billions of dollars while abusing the authorities of the executive branch agencies to extort settlements allowing a mega donor to advertise products on the White House front lawn Trading pardons for donations Levying illegal tariffs. weaponizing the Department of Justice against political adversaries while ignoring crimes of supporters and enablers attempting to reverse birthright citizenship through executive order All of these high crimes and misdemeanors, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted, and removed The Constitutional impeachment process is our best pathway to restore fidelity to our cononstitution This is why I'm here standing in solidarity with Representative Green. I'm not here because I'm a Democrat orr because I share his policy positions I'm not a Democrat and know next to nothing about his policies I am here with him because Representative Green is the only member of Congress that has demonstrated the courage and conviction to invoke rule nine and force a vote on articles of impeachment. If Congress followed his example, we could remove the entire Trump administration. But Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity for them to honor their oaths. So we must persuade them with our unrelenting, uncompromising civil resistance I am calling on average Americans everywhere to peacefully exercise your F Amendment rights en masse every day until this administration is removed and our Democratic Republic is restored. I believe in America. I believe in us If just a nobody like me can take a stand for our Cstitution and our Democratic Republic, than you can too I hope you will join me in the defense of our Republic. Thank you So I was present when he gave that speech earlier and Hearing it now is the second time I'm hearing it a video. but again, I was there in person even now I get choked up I'm glad I wasn't on screen because a couple of times I'm fighting back tears I get goose bumps He's standing in ninety five degree weather full dress uniform making a statement that's highly illegal for an active duty service member, especially a commissioned officer, and he's doing it in uniform. But I want to highlight, I really want to highlight Three, four different things he said in that speech. I think that I want to make sure nobody missed it before I do in order to keep the lights on here at the Don Lemmon S showow Weve gott to have sponsors. Let's get a word from the sponsors. Then let's deep dive Major Wats of the speech Donal L M is brought you by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Now, if you have been following the news like I have, you probably saw what just happened in Texas. State education leaders approved a required reading list that includes Bible passages for public school students. Whether you agree with that decision or not, it raises a big question Who decides where the line is between religion and government? That's exactly why organizations like the Freedom from Religion Foundation exists As America approaches its two hundred and fiftih anniversary, it is worth remembering that our Constitution protects your freedom to practice a religion, to change your religion or have no religion at all. Those freedoms only work when government stays neutral. The founders rejected religious tests and established a government accountable to the people Those principles still matter today. The Freedom from Religion Foundation works every day to defend the First Amendment and everybody's freedom of conscience. Learn more or become a member. FR f. US slash D or text D to five eleven five eleven. That's D to five eleven five eleven. 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Right now you're gonna get twenty percent off plus free rush shipping. Go to takelean d. com and use the promo code lemon. That's T ak E LEAN. com The promo code is lemon Thank you to our sponsors. Thank you for making the show possible Let's talk real briefly about Major Watson's speech I wantna reiterate one thing I said a minute ago, but I really just want to drive this point home If you go to work tomorrow to your employer and you let's say they ask you a question and and you lie to them. you lie to your employer You might get fired, you might get reprimanded. also nothing might happen. You might just be told that's bad, donon't lie. And the United States military lying to someone is a felony. I use that as an example because I need everyone to understand. how the Uniform Code of military Justice works You are under a different set of rules. You don't have your First Amendment, Second Aend, Third Amendment rights in the same fashion as somebody who hasn't taken that oath. So if lying to somebody is a felony, what do you think that calling out the commander in chief. and demanding his impeachment. is It's what's labeled in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, this is labeled as sedition And that's what they're most likely going to pursue. Now I'm not saying that's what has happened. This just happened today. By the time this gets back to the military legal counsels that are going to make this decision that are going to, you know probably come directly from Secretary Pete Hgsetith. That's how high up this will go. the entirety of the civilian population to understand Now what happened today is going to be considered sedition and is going to have him in prison So it's important that we listen to the words he said Number one, he said This is not a partisan thing. I'm not a Democrat or a Republican. officer who took an oath. You go back and listen to his speech, he made that point several times The point he's making is, no matter what side of the political spectrum you're on You're not going to be able to argue for your side when there's authoritarianism in the White House when the country has been taken over by fascism. That's the point he's making. This is not a partisan issue The Constitution is very clear on lots of things In his speech, he used a lot of examples. The first example he used, the very first example out the gate that he used was the warar in Iran and. the attack on Venezuela and Cuba He's one hundred percent right. These are acts of war, These are acts that have put service members' lives in danger to the costs of thirteen service members And the reason the Constitution gives the Congress the power to make that decision is because Congress is a governing body that represents the totality of the population of America the framers of the Constitution did not want one single person to be able to make such being important decisions that they felt like should come from the representatives of the people. That's why we are a representative Rublic. And so when Donald Trump make these decisions to go kidnap the president of Venezuela. By the way, we've kind of stopped talking about that. By the way, nobody really mentions that anymore, but think about how absurd that statement is. America hidnapped the president of Venezuela. That is an absurd statement. But it actually happened and we've already stopped talking about it because of the absolute amount of absurdities this president does, you know, the news cycle moves quickly And so What Major Watson was saying today was between kidnapping the president of another country putting a blockade on Cuba, which is literally killing people and starting a war in Iran without the approval of Congress. These are actions that are outside of the authority of the executive branch U U, you know, according to the Constitution and The oath that Major Watson took, the oath that all Um service members take and he mentioned this in his speech is an oath to the Constitution, not to a person, not to an office, to the Constitution And his oath is to defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. This is a domestic threat He has recognized He recognized that If we do not Do something, the cononstitution' done, Dmocracy' done, our representation' done So he's taken a personal step And to call it a sacrifice I feel like isn't a big enough word To call it a sacrifice undermines how big of a sacrifice he actually made here and He's done that because he feels like what is happening is so far outside Constitution. He brought up the attacks on the First Amendment. He brought up the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pr in Minnesota as examples of attacks on our First Amendment. Guys, if we can't speak up As United States citizens, If we can't speak up and speak out and exercise our First Amendment rights There is no democracy You know Don Lemmon, the host of this show Um You know, he used to be on legacy media and he's I've listened to Don talk aboutout how leegacy media was and how it has changed We've watched several people since Trump two point zero has taken over, be fired from legacy media at Trump's behest We've watched The medians from late night shows be fired at Trump's behest. and it all is because of this attack on Free press which the First Amendment covers free press. We've watched very wise take overver. We've watched the right leaning news come out of stations that were not right leaning talking heads before So When we talk about when Major Watson talks in this speech about The First Amendment being under attack. It's not just peopleeople in the street protesting It is the entirety of the First Amendment in Texas this week They just made it mandatory that Certain Bible verses be read and studied in school. The First Amendment covers the freedom from religion, just like the sponsor for this show, freedom of from religion All of this is under the First Amendment. And Major Watson pointed out in his speech, the First Amendment is under attack because there's a reason it's first Once the First Amendment is gone What do we have left Honestly What do we have left Be the First Amendment protects all the other Amendments. Okay We just listen to Are we just watched Supreme Court Listen to oral arguments on birthright citizenship and they made their decision yesterday Well, they upheld birthrightight citizenship But Donald Trump signed an executive order the day he took office to attack birthright citizenship Donald Trump is actively attacking the Constitution In fact, even though the Supreme Court, watch this, even though the Supreme Court upheld the Constitution and struck down the executive order Donald Trump is saying He's still going to pursue overturning birth rights citenship. Can we play the clip from what North Dakota where he said I'm still going to overturn birthright cenship because this highlights exactly why Major Watson did what he did. The sitting president is attacking The fucking Constitution Can we play that clip the births racationship clip? most important and we want some others to. was the most important decision of all of them, I think We'll take care of the birthright citizenship because that was not meant for rich people from other countries. it was meant for. Aually, it was meant for the babies of slaves, if you look at it, it was a month after the Civil War ended that went through, that's because it was meant for the babies of slaves. It wasn't meant for Rich people from China. So first of all, as always, we have to correct the record R Donald Trump speaks. Number one, the fourteenth Amendment did not go into effect the month after the Civil War. What went into effect the month afterivil, not even the month of Civil War, the year after the Civil War was the Civil Rights Act of eighteen sixty six. And then subsequently in eighteen sixty eight, the fourteenth Amendment went to effect. The reason the fourteenth Amendment implemented was because in eighteen fifty seven Well in eighteen fifty six, the case went before the Spreme Ct and decided in the fifty seven. The Dred Scott versus Sanfer case Dred Scott versus Stanford. denied Dred Scott birthright citizenship. What everyone should know, this is important to the totality of this conversation, what everyone should know is Prior to the Dred Scott vers. Sanford Supreme Court decision in eighteen sixty seven birthright citizenship in America was a foregone conclusion. It was kind of just everybody knew, if you're born here, you're a citizen. There was no squabble about it. There was no debate about it until an enslaved person. decided to pursue their right to citizenship. and the Supreme Court denied them that. So the reason the fourteenth Amendment ultimately was put into place was to state with clarity no You cannot deny people the right to citizenship based on the status of their parents. So when the right tries to hijack I find it ironic I shouldn't, but I find it ironic MAGA, the right, they're trying to hijack the messaging of the fourteenth Amendment and make it this thing work it's only supposed to be for the children of enslaved people the same children of enslaved people that they seek to disenfranchise by chopping up DEI. by attacking museums that tell the true history of this country, by demoting and stopping the promotion of black officers in the military, right? So they try to play this card like You know, we just care so much about the children of enslaved people when actually the number one people affected by Trump policies are the American descendants of slaves. So this is laughable at best. They don't give a fuck about previously enslaved people. They don't give a shit at all. The only thing he wants is to be able to determine who can and can't be an American which is the actual history of white supremacy in this country So as you can see The Constitution is under a violent attack The firstirst Amendment, as Major Watson pointed out. The secondcond amendment, as Major Watson pointed out. The fourteenth Amendment that although he didn't point it out, I bring it up because it just happened with the Supreme Court What's going to happen to Major Watson next is And the way the Uniform Ct of Military Justice goes is that this will go before a military tribunal. A military tribunal's called Article thirty It's been a minute. sorry, Artle thirty eight hearing, I think it's called. But the tribunal will decide's very similar to our grand jury. A grand jury will decide if it meets the criteria for charges to be pressed against him. It will. I think it's Aticle thirty four and another thing about it anyway Um, It will meet the charges. He will be tried and the tribunal will decide what charges that he's charged with. And then at that point, he's going to go before what's called a general court martial. And I imagine Pete Hagseth will have his hands all in this what I find most Unsettling about this is that this is the same military The P has said has used almost like you know, he's a Hollywood general in a movie has put in harm's way. You remember the plates of food they were giving them on the ships. they barely were getting fed. thirteen serviceemmbers have died in a ward that they didn't need to be in. They've given very little care to these service members They've used them almost like ponds in their little reality TV show they created. but the same Pete Higsf, the same Donald Trump are now going to make an example out of Major Watson. Listen, if you think Donald Trump respects the military You're not paying attention. and I get tired of arguing with other veterans. I' was like, how can you not see that Donald Trump doesn't respect the military? The same place The same speech he just gave in North Dakota, he talked about the m the Medal of Honor Before you play that, I I want you guys to hear what he said about the mtle of water. I think You need to understand, this is why Major Wats is in deep trouble In August of twenty twenty four during the DNC was it August, I think it was August august twenty four, during the DNC, Donald Trump made another statement at that time about the Medal of Honor basically degrading the meddal of honor.'s like, I've always wanted w. This is a much easier. No, what do he did? He said the Medal of Honor was less impressive than the presidential Medal of Freedom. It was a good medal of Honor. got get fucked up or messed up or I forgot how you worded it. It was very disrespectful to the medal of honor I spoke up about it then Yesterday in North Dakota, he just disrespected the Medal of Honor again in a way that is highly, highly If're in the military you're veteran, here's a trigger warning for you. This is going to piss you the fuck off. Can we play that clip Theodore Roosevelt. Junior on D day, he also received that incredible Acknowledgement except for Author and Douglas MacArthur. Author was his son, Douglas MacArthur, Great general They're the only father and son pair to receive our nation's highighest Military Award for Crage above and beyond The callall of Duty. Now as I see my two beautiful sons sitting there, I think I'm going to give one to myself, one to them, and we'll have a threesome, okay I'll pick out one of the two. I'll give them the Congressional Medal of Honor for something For their genius at hunting And I'll get one for Taking on Russia, Russia, Russia. Hell something I want to say this, I w tona paint a picture if you've never served in the military. The Medal of Honor is the highest award you can receive When you see somebody with the Medal of honor It's like you're seeing God the reverence that's given to the Medal of Honor I want you to go, I challenge you if you're watching this stream to go online and read someome of these commendations that are written up. So in order to receive the Mal of honor The write up from the whoever recommends you for it has to be very detailed It's incredibly hard to get. And if you just go read some of these commendations, citations for the Mount of Honor I mean, these stories are almost surreal. They're almost notot even Like they're hard to believe. It's like this happened in real life. Look up staff Sergeant, I'm sorry Master Sgeant Apaules, Master Sergeant Beneavidez. lookook up his story He literally turn that Soldiers were trapped in Vietnam. And they were trapped under heavy enemy fire. He asked the helicopter to drop him where those soldiers were so he could rescue them upon doing so And this is a much longer story. I'm making it short He ended up getting shot up himself. His abdomen was blown open. his guts were laying outside of his abdomen. They were going to leave him because they thought he was dead. They were actually putting him in a body bag And he only mustered up enough her enough energy to spit at the medic so the medic would know he's not dead because that's how bad beat up he was. It's a very long story. if you go look up Master Sergeant Benavvidez He barely survived. If you go look up Addie Murphy, Sergeant O Auddie Murphy from World War two Master beneited from Vietnam that any story you want, just look up Medal of Honor Citations what people went through. even be awarded the medal of Hon And this Lound This two bit on man hustler says I'll just award myself one and my son's one, mayaybe for hunting good and me for Rasha Rasha Rash. The amount of absolute vile vital disrespect peopleople who have the very select, this is a very select club of people, very few people who have been awarded that particular metedal vile disrespect So now I ask you this What do you think the men and women in uniform think when they see and hear this Thanks to major Jason Watson We have one of them speaking out. This is the part on the timeline. where we now have active duty service members breakaking ranks putting their entire life and career on the line If you want to know what patriotism looks like It looks like Major Jason Watson If you want to know what patriotism looks like It looks like risking your entire well beinging. Freedom future A raer to stand for what you think is right Guys, I don't know how to make a more impassioned plea. I've been on my channel. I've been making pleas. Don on his channel has been making pleas My friends and associates on their channels have been making pleas. We've been pleing for the American people. Please wake up, see what's happening Major Watson is the next phase of this. I don't think he'll be the last one We won' won't we won't leave him stranded. We're going to get his back. I' want to find ways to help him. I'm going to be in contact with those people who are in contact with him. We're going to help him. But the important part is Major Watson is what patriotism looks like. That's a hero. That's somebody who stood up and put it all on the line for what is right. The question is, will you follow The question is, will we follow The question is, will we everything on the line the way that Major Watson did. That's a question everybody listen to this has to answer for themselves argue that Major Wattson is standing front of the Capitol Bill making illegal statements that are going to lead to his court martial And then walking up the Capitol Steps because by the way, after his speech, he walked up the Citol Steps. If you've never been to the Capitol, you're not allowed to be on the Capitol Steps unless you're a member of Congress. He walked up the Capitol Steps in full uniform, holding a sign that said impeach convict rememove and stood there until Capitol pololice took them away because you can you're not allowed to be there He did that And I think his question to the rest of America is, will you to the same With that, I would like to for the next ten minutes or so that's left in the show I would like to open up The phone lines. I would love to hear from you guys questions, comments you have. Um I think that What Major Watson did today. was a plea to the American people Like, hey, Will you follow him Will you stand with me Will you stand up Will you risk it all? And so I think it's a fabulous time to talk to you guys that are watching and hear what you have to say or Or maybe if you're a civilian and you're watching that you don't really understand the gravity of it And you need me to explain ask. I don't, whatever your question or comment is I think it's important that we have a discussion about where we are as a country whereere we're head But most importantly, what you're willing to do and a response to it. Pone lines are open taking your questions I just I'll be honest with you guys I was moved to tears today watching Major Watson do what he did because I know how serious that is. My only hope is that I can properly convey to people how serious it is if you've never served Donald Trump hasn't served. the Trump family' never served Trump family in fact is making billions of dollars. I know Don just covered this recently billions of dollars after the office of the presidency and you know This is just This is just par for the course for now. Oh Let's go. We got D Colin from Brooklyn Um wanted to talk about Major Watson's speech today D. are you there Yes, I am, Jolly. How are you? You've been doing a great, great, great job I really appreciate you standing that. Thank you so much. How's the weather in Brooklyn? Are you getting the heat that we're getting Yeah it's starting. It's really unid and it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be because I said at some point it's going feel like one hundred five, but it feels like eighty or something like that It is hot here and I hope for your sake that you don't get our weather, but I fear for your sake that you're going to Um You said you want to talk about Major Watson's speech Go ahead, let's hear what you're going to say about it Well, my stomach is really slipping because first of all, I feel for Njor Watson. But just like we had Martin Luther King and other great leaders in our time Somebody someome person eventually, I felt because of our great country had to emerge and bring this thing to a head And I believe that could be Nakel Watson. and I feel for I have so much respect to him and I fear for what he's going to have to face My other fear is that And I've been thinking about this for a long time. with all the january sixth The white supmacist are in the service and the people like Major Watson that are not with that two things. One thing is there going to be a war within the army? I mean within the different branches of services against each other you know? and is there going to be When Trump tries to call the military on us, what is the military going to do? You know, this is first of all, thank you for coming D. I really appreciate you. Listen, I want to say, I want to respond to one thing she said. This is the conversation that I had actually before the election in twenty twenty four during the campaign. So when Joe Biden was still president, we had this conversation. The last thing D said there, very important. If Donald Trump orders the military on us, what are they going to do? That's the million dollar question. And here's my fear. Here's my fear then, it's my fear now The people that don't agree with it like Major Watson are eventually going to away because you can only be part of this shit so much and still have a clear conscience. And so that I fear the people that remain will be those people that either are in too bad of a financial or otherwise situation to be able to walk away or they agree with it So I think people need to realize it doesn't take one hundred percent of our military to agree for that to be a problem. Do I see that happening anytime soon He's already put the guard on the streets from DC. I mean, he's already got the military out here. But it's a fantastic question. and I also fear for what's going to happen to Major Watson because they're going to make an example of him Thank you so much for making that point. We've got an Air Force veteran on the line that I would love to hear from considering that Major Watson was an Air Force major, Heather Martin from Albany, New York. Heather, Air Force veteran to us Hey Jolley, thanks for having me. Hello Linations. Hey Heather, thanks for being here. Go ahe Thank you, thank you. So yeah, fellow fellow US Air Force veterans, super excited to see the sacrifice Major Watson made today, but jolly We got to be honest. There's not enough of us out there doing the work, not enough veterans. What do we do who unite the veterans of the past service members currently to get them motivated by this sacrifice. I see it, you see it U But I just don't know if it's It's enough. I want to have hope with it, but I think we need to see more from our service members and we need to see more from our veterans. Heather, let me ask you this real quick before I let you go. Number one, I agree with you. I agree with you. We got to get the veterans engaged. If you look at what the Vietnam veterans did after Vietnam to stand up and get civically involved, that's the example that we as veterans should be following. We should We we have a loud voice and we should be using it. Let me ask you this question when you were in the Air Force and you know how serious the UCMJ is, you know how serious what Major Watson did is. So seeing him do that today How did it make you feel all the emotions, right? But I think very similar to you hard the The amount of pride that I saw and felt see again that U. S Air Force uniform. on a man seventeen years he has sacrificed for this country. He even said it, right? He's not Democrat, he's not Republican. That is not why he is up there. He is up there as a service member to this country. And many of us, we join because We're broke, We're poor. We want health carere. We want an option to have a roof over our head, some food, maybe a little education. So we all make many sacrifices when we join. I will tell you, I was beyond proud. I would say that's the big word proud But at the same time, my heart hurts for these men and women that made that oath you know what? we also have that fear when you're enlisted, right? You have that fear of I could go to jail. If I speak I could go to jail. not everybody's willing to do that right now and I understand that Heather, thank you so much. That's a really good way to put it. ten out of ten. no notes. Andrea Pickney is on the phone. want to talk about voting Love to hear your take on this. Andrea, you still there Honey, what are you listening to, Mom? Your teen might not share everything with you, but teens share everything with each other. And certain everyday behaviors like sharing food, drinks, or kisses, could mean sharing bacteria that can cause meningococcal disease known as meningitis. Although meningitis is uncommon, about one in ten who develop it will die, ask your teen's doctor about missing meningitis vaccinations Learn more at meningitis d. comot vaccination may not protect all recipients, sponsored by GSK Yes, I am Hi Jolly. It's How are you? Gs to be here. I'm doing good. I'm focused proud of Major Watson The one thing I want to say and I'm going say toil the day I die over three hundred million people in this country And only fourteen million are voting, and that's including Democrats, Republicans, and independent. I think it's a shame that we are not getting out to vote We need to get out, we need to stay out in these streets, and you need to support independent media. Thank you so very much, Andrea for pointing out the voting thing. Thankk you for calling in. Andrea is not wrong. If your vote didn't matter, Donald Trump, Stephven Miller, Heritage Foundation, MAGA would not be doing everything they're doing right now to stop your vote. You've heard him talk about mail in ballots are going to be a problem. They tried to call the governor race in California, the primary in California fraudulent because You have mail in ballots, they're attacking your vote. If it didn't matter, they wouldn't do that. This is a very interesting caller here. Tona is calling in from twenty nine Palms, California. If you don't know twenty nine Palms's Marine Corps base out there U Tanya is a veteran. I'm assuming a Marine Corps veteran And wants to talk about Major Wattson spepeace of Dayt time, arere you still there Hi, An, how are you today, Charlie I'm good. are you're a vean Marine Corps I'm assuming I'm actually a failor they don't know the mense ye. Yeah. The Navy is where the Marine Corps gets there Yeah, I mean, the Marine Corps needs the Uber, Navy does that. I'm just kidding to the Navy veents.'s jke it's a jo U No No, you so as a veteran, you know the gravity of what just happened today. What's your take on Major Watson's move today? Yeah. so I was You know, I was a Coreman, we did medical. I also spent the last part of my career as a career counselor. and so as He was standing there starting with his office' Oath, which is a little different from the enlisted Oath. Right It is. I've been retired for sixteen or for eleven years now. and it came back to me. And like I'm emotional now. I was emotional then. This is the end of the day You're right, like Heather was right, You serve in the beginning you know, for all of those reasons But when you make a career out of it, it is because it's about serving something bigger than yourself and the sacrifices that we make are so profound And to watch this man Do what he did It just breaks my heart Yeah For him, for our country. U yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't need to get No, no, I'm glad I'm glad that from Rw emotion there because I want to highlight one thing you just said Tonanya And that is A lot of people don't think about this because if you're not in the military, you don't think about it. We do these things and like everything we do in the military, we're doing it. working towards a career, right? Like whatever job you have in the military you're aatically thinking about How can I translate this job into a job after the military? And then while you're in the military, what classes can I take? What certifications can I take? This is when we say military career for anybody who's never served, that's what we're talking about. You're not just in there just holding a gun and being in the military. You're doing things within your field. Major Watson, I believe, if I remember correctly it was a logistics officer if I remember correctly But you're doing things within your field. You're building up for a career. He was a major. That means he started off as a lieutenant, second lieutenant, capaptain, major. seventeen years it took him to get that rank. He built his career. He had a resume and undoubtedly he was going to retire. Nobody does seventeen years and without planning to do twenty. Undoubtedly after his twenty year career, he was going to move on and work in the federal government with this very impressive twenty year resume he put together. because everybody I've ever known in the military that does more than one enlistment or more than one term of service works to this ultimate resume slash career He pushed. every bit of it down the drain. He'll never hold his job in the federal government. hell never he'll never he'll be kicked out of the military. what he did today literally took everything he's worked for for the last seventeen years and mix it. and that is I want you to ask yourself that. I mean, could you do that? This is an important point you make, Tanya. and I think you're right. And I think that more a lot of people that never serve need to understand. it wasn't just ending a military career. This was his future career too, that he just flushed down the toilet. We got Rock San from Harlem to talk about Major Watson's speech here. Rock San. Are you still there I'm still here. Thankk you kindly. And thank you for bringing this to our attention because I didn't know about it. So thank you. ion is is more active duty step up to join Major Watson, willill it sort of lessen the blow that he's going to receive If more Come forward That is a really good question. I'm glad you asked it, Rxan. thank you so much So this is a very important, this is a very important thing to point out I had somebody ask me a similar question earlier. They were like, well, could a Democrat try to speak on his behalf? Could an elected representative try to, you know, I guess lobby for him? Could other members of the military stand up with him If other people of the military s up with him The wildest part about this whole thing is it would make it worse for him. and I'm not saying that to discourage people in the military from doing anything. It's your life. you make your decision for anybody in the military, anybody who's active duty, there is a line, a number you can call to receive legal advice of how anything you're thinking about knowing. And I recommend you seek legal advice before you make a decision. Major Watson did Um, but If more people did it then they would charge him with mutiny is what would happen So under the Uniform Ce of Military of Justice, there's an article that covers sedition and mutiny. What he did will be labeled sedition If it inspires other people to do the same, it'll also tack on the extra charge of mutiny. That's what I want people to understand that The Uniform Ce of Military Justice is a different set of rules you live by than a regular civilian. So There's no positive like to answer the other the person that asked me earlier, what if an elector represented a lobby for, none of that matters None of that matters. Like I just said earlier, just simply telling a lie is a felony. doing what he did today will be treated partarsially And with Pete Hagset at the wheel. This is this is a problem. We got one final caller, great question. Roxana. I appreciate it one final caller. Carolina from Lacey Washington. Carola. I love the name, because I'm from North Carolina. state. Are you still there Hi am, canan you hear me, Joey I sure can what you got for me It's actually Carlina and I just want to tell you, I've been watching you since you just spill the tea. So I I love you, Jolly. I want to say that I am married to a veteran airman and It brought tears to me right now. It brought tears to me to see that gentlemen give up everything that he has worked for to become a major And I don't know history. I don't know his family. I don't know the status of what's going to happen. But I think we have to stand up with that man and make sure that he knows We appreciate that because I don't think I have felt this emotional since I watched the January sixthers Barely droy our capital and everything else and I was so emotivated because I was I was at home watching it in real time while kids were on a trampoline, someone was cleaning their car, someone was empty out their boat and everything I was like, Do you realize that we are in jeopardy? at like that moment, I knew we were in severe trouble in this country. and I just really want to let him know that here A my house, I am very appreciative to him and to the other airmen that retiire. the young woman that thirty nine year old son who just joined the National Guard because he's married with a baby first marriage, his first child just so he can have health carere and benefits for his children and his wife Basically, and what's really sad is that he voted for Trump And I don't know how he's going to feel when he sees that on there because that is not how he was raised And it's been very controversial. It's been very not controversable. It's been very difficult for me to be in a relationship with him because of this. I'm so Well u democracy and things like that, but he He is the military is a way out of poverty for a lot of us black fol and a lot of us indigenous. And That man, he just gave up his life Yes to basically say that we need to impeach this guy and I cannot every day I wake up like, how are we living in this matrix? This is not itt I'm waiting for the real wake up because this cannot be real for me. I want to tell you, I thank you. I appreciate you. I follow you. I've been following you for years. And I love the voice that you've done for the people for black folks where you've gone and been the white man to say the things in the spaces. And I have I love that you and Don have become friends and I just I want you to know that I really appreciate you bringing a story to it because I really needed to see this ray of hope Carlina. Num one, I appreciate your words of encouragement and support to me. I also really appreciate the perspective you just brought to this. and I think it's an excellent way actually to end the show. Very much excellent way because that is the point. What Carlolina just said is the point This guy stood up made a statement that if you've ever been the military, you have proximity to the military, I think you understand the gravity of that statement. And if you don't, and I think I've done it I hope I've done a good job during this one hour here to explain to you exactly how serious it is. So now the question becomes, what are we going to do? The question becomes How much further are we going to allow it to go? I stated I was on live the other day with Michael Fonone. You guys know Mael Fonone, January States offffic. I know he's also a lemon head and a friend of the show Michael Fenome I told him the same thing. I said, If I were to go to people and ask them, what's your red line? What would be your red line? that is you've crossed it, you've gone too far And I think whatever your answer would be, whatever your redline would be, I could probably point out to you how this administration's already done it. Maybe you don't know it Maybe you don't know that the red line's been crossed, and I can tell you when where and how We are so far past What should be anybody's red line that we've now entered the part where active duty commission officers are throwing their career away, facing imprisonment Ruining Everything they've worked for for seventeen years. is make this statement. that we've gone far enough So what I believe Major Watson's challenge to the rest of this country now is what will you do What's your red line? What is too far for you I'm asking you to think about that as we close out. Think about that as you walk away from this show today. Think about that as you wide down for the evening today. Think about that when you have a few moments of peace and quiet and you to all over the universe. think about How far is too far and what am I going to do There's something for everybody to do. The movement has a place for everybody. Resistance is the only answer and silence is complicity. Thank you for supporting I independent media. Thank you for supporting Don Leemmon. This is how real messages get out. And I thank Don and the rest of the staff for allowing me to come on today and guest hosts. And until next time Turn off the TV. Thanks for watching everybody. I appreciate you. Make sure you like, subscribe, and turn on notifications so you don't miss anything We're live weekdays at ten AM and five PM Eastern with new content at two PM Eastern, sometimes at eight PM. Follow the Don Lemmon Show wherever you are. YouTube, TikTok, Instram, Facebook, Twitch, Substack, Spotify, iHard radio, Apple podcasts. We are everywhere and we're there every day. And if you want a little more, join the Limit community, exclusive posts, behind the scenes, live chats Just hit join or check the channel pages. All right I'll see you next time