America Can Stop Paying For Everyone Else’s Wars

The moment regular people decide they’re done being treated like an afterthought, politics changes fast. We start with a straight talk challenge to government that shields itself with bloated budgets, hush-hush NDAs, and insider protection, and we frame it in plain terms: if the rules apply to taxpayers, they should apply to lawmakers and local leaders too. Accountability is not revenge. It’s a reckoning that sets things right.

Then I’m joined by economist and Republican Liberty Caucus leader Mike Tremont for a wide-angle look at US foreign policy and the real price tag of war. We dig into Iran, why burden sharing matters, and why America can’t keep acting like it’s responsible for every fight on the planet. Mike breaks down how alliances should work, why wealthy partners in key regions need to carry more of the load, and what leverage actually looks like when oil routes and the Strait of Hormuz are on the line.

We also take on a question most shows dodge: how much of our military posture is driven by corporate risk, especially with Taiwan and advanced semiconductor chips. If the US is expected to protect critical supply chains, should manufacturers keep betting on geopolitical flashpoints, or should we rebuild high-end production at home? We close with hard lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, a sober warning about ground troops, and a practical case for negotiation backed by strength.

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Transcript

Welcome And Sponsor Note

SPEAKER_00 1:36

I'm glad to be with you all today. Uh check out all of our sponsors that came up on the beginning of the feed, and we're gonna get right to it. I'll tell you what, folks, there comes a time when the Lord's people have to stand up, square their shoulders, and say enough is enough. For too long, the high and mighty have lived like kings. While the folks who pay the bills are treated like servants. We've been reading about the idea of a 28th amendment says says Congress ought to says that Congress ought to live under the same laws the rest of us do. Well, glory to God. That sounds like what the good book means when it says God is no receptor of persons. If the law is good enough for the farmer, the nurse, and the coal miner, it's good enough for the senators, congressmen, and the county commissioners. But you don't think the sickness stops at the Potomac River. Oh no, it's right here in our own backyard. Uh-huh. Up in Uniontown. Yes, Uniontown, Fayette County, leaders, Scott Dunn, Vince Vasides in that bloated budget in that bloated budget bunch, keep spending money they don't have and taking more from the folks who do. And old bloated budget Pat Stefano signing NDAs with Fay Pen, high tax money like a like a card sheet at a min at midnight. They call it economic development, but it looks a whole lot more like the economic deception. Folks, we the people have had enough. Bible warns us about shepherds who feed themselves and not the flock. Woe be to the shepherds who eat the fat and clothe themselves with the wool, but feed not the sheep. And right now, those sheep are the taxpayers of Fayette County and all over the country. And I'll tell you what else. I'll tell you what else, just talk about unity. That ain't unity. That's cover. It's the good old boys' club circling the wagons to protect their own. Proverbs says, uh he that justifies the wicked and contempt the just are both an abomination unto the Lord. You can't call corruption teamwork. I think God's gonna bless it. But listen close. This ain't about revenge. No, sir. We the people are not about reven revenge. We are after a reckoning. Revenge is about getting even. Reckoning is about setting things right. We don't want blood, we want truth. We don't want to destroy. We seek to restore. I believe that reckoning coming. The ground beneath the proud is starting to turn tremble because when ordinary folks finally link arms and raise their voices, the walls of corruption fall just like the walls of Jericho. Fayette County, it's time to back your voice, your money, and your government. Tell Scott Dunn, Vince Pacides and Pat Stefano. You work for us, not the other way around. Almighty says, let judgment run as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream. Brother, that flood is rolling. So rise up, Fayette County. Rise up, uh United States of America, stand firm, speak truth. Remember, this isn't revenge, it's righteousness, it's it's a reckoning, and the time is right now. I have I have Mike Germat with me today, and I'd oh got your name right the very first time. How about that?

SPEAKER_03 4:52

Uh good to be with you, John.

Corruption And War Spending Anger

SPEAKER_00 4:55

He's he's a he's um a very uh noted economist. We'll say that. He's ran for vice president uh uh uh at least once, uh, that I know of, and uh he's uh sort of in charge of the Liberty Caucus in the United States of America. I have that right.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

Well, I'm not in charge of it. I serve on the board and I help out a lot. Uh a whole group of my campaign team and I joined the Republican Liberty Caucus last summer, a team of 45 people. So we're very excited to support the RLC and love to talk about it every chance I get.

Who Should Pay For Iran

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Well, Mike, uh uh what I really want to talk about today is is I think um, and and I think you'll hit home with all this. I want to ask you some questions. You you on a national level are observing what's going on with the corruption. How things are starting to come to light, uh, maybe not as fast as we would like them to, but they're coming that way. Um, and we're we're seeing we're seeing a lot of things happening. We're we're also seeing that we're gonna while I while I agree we need to we need to take Iran out. I don't want the United States to have to pay a billion dollars a day to do it. Um I think me and you agree. Uh I think that uh it's time the United States helps police the world, but it isn't it isn't our job to police the whole world. Um we we had to do what we had to do in Venezuela. We knew that was cut, we knew that had to happen, and I'm I'm I'm sure that there could it could have been handled maybe differently, but now it looks like there's several other South American countries that are saying, Well, we don't want you to come bomb us, so we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna make peace, we'll do whatever it takes to get along with you. So I want I want you to take it from air and go with whatever you want. Um I'm giving you free reign for the next however long you want to talk.

Taiwan Chips And Corporate Risk

Why Allies Must Do More

SPEAKER_03 6:59

Well, I appreciate that, uh John. It is uh a mess that we have in Iran today. You're right, hundreds of millions of dollars a day is money that I don't think is being spent in the most efficient and effective way. I wish that we had partners in that part of the world who are shouldering some of this burden. And I appreciate that the Israeli government is participating. I think that this is more of an Israeli government problem than an American citizen problem. And for this reason, I wish that more of the burden were on the shoulders of the Israeli government than on ours in relative terms. And I wish that there were others in that region that were participating in a more robust fashion as well. Uh, as you know, I have long said that the American government and the Israeli government need to be more at arm's length in terms of the development of foreign policy. And I think that Marco Rubio made a bad mistake the other day when he accidentally said that the reason that we launched the attack when we did was because Israel had already decided to do so. And he really made it seem as though the United States government was the dog being wagged by the Israeli government tail. And that is no way to conduct business. If, you know, if if he didn't misspeak, he certainly spoke when he shouldn't have and disclosed what a lot of us have been worried about for a long time: that our two governments are too intertwined. This is something that President Trump was worried about for a long time with regard to other governments, right? Uh the American foreign policy being too involved with NATO allies and carrying their water when they weren't spending enough to defend themselves and nations around the world. Uh, one might argue that we have similar situations uh in Asia. And I also think that the American government is spending too much on defense and engaging in too risky behavior on behalf of corporate organizations. This idea that we need to threaten China with going to war over Taiwan is really a shame because the American government has put us in this position. You know, this isn't something that just fell out of the sky, that was predetermined, pre-ordained by God. This is something that we walked into. We should have been telling businesses that want to manufacture these high-end chips that we need for AI, that we need for weapon systems, that we need for our defense, that we need for the development of our economy. We should have been telling these businesses if you want to operate in a place where the United States Department of Defense will back you up no matter what, I wouldn't do it in Taiwan. Can I interest you in a place like Milwaukee, right? Uh, or or Fayette County, Pennsylvania. You know, these are places where you can find high-end workers and develop a factory and manufacture chips, and we will stand behind you. We will protect you, but I do not want us in the business of protecting everybody in Taiwan and everybody in the Middle East and everybody in Latin America. We need for these governments to carry their own water, John.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Uh we we just put a video up where it showed uh military spending, and uh we spend almost, if you add everybody else up in the whole world, including including China, we st we we almost spend as much as uh a lot of the major company countries in the whole world. I mean, we spend add it up. I don't know, it looks like about yeah, add it up, yeah, exactly. If you add all the rest of them up, we we spend more on military, and because the we're we're out there, we're out there trying to defend uh the world for everybody else, and and I get it. We we need every we need to have good shepherds to take care of things, but sometimes it'd be nice if like the United Kingdom might you know like jump in there and give us a little bit of extra money and do some things and take care. How about sending some of your sending a few more of your troops over there or the Canadians or any anybody? But uh, I think that that would show the world more than than just us showing up and uh taking out well.

Poland As The Burden Sharing Model

SPEAKER_03 11:56

I agree with you, and we're grateful for everything our partners have done. Uh, you know, thank God they've done what they have, right? But they they absolutely could be doing more. I would point to the government of Poland, which has stepped up over the past decade, which uh is in large part providing the bulwark uh against the Russian army, because the Russians know that Poland is uh a large and sophisticated military force, and that's keeping at bay this silly idea that Russia might go into Ukraine and then spread to Poland. That's not happening, and the reason it's not happening is because the Poles have stood up uh to the task of taking care of business, and we need people in the Middle East to do this as well. And there, you know, John, there are nations in the Middle East that have an interest in making sure that Iran doesn't get carried away. Obviously, Israel is the number one example of that, and Israel is a very wealthy nation with a GDP per capita, about three-quarters of that of our own nation. So they are no longer what you would call a developing country. They're a well-developed country. But there are other nations in the region, notably places like Saudi Arabia, right? And and the other nations that Iran has been attacking lately, Oman and the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and Kuwait. These are all nations that are going to be dragged into this war. But just think, if they had been spending the money that they should have been, if they had proactively helped intimidate Iran into taking a deal to eliminate the prospect of nuclear weapons, we could have avoided this war. And that's where I I wish that we were instead of fighting a war that's enormously expensive. And and by the way, could end very badly in in the in the future if things don't go well. I worry about this a lot.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

I I you you you touched on something there with uh with uh Poland. And um, I get I and Romania is right on the other side of uh um but anyways, they're right there in that area. And what I'm trying to say is is uh they they've they've taken in refugees, Romania and and Poland from the Ukraine. And uh I know for a fact, uh, because I I know a minister that's going over there and they're bringing they've bought uh hundreds of children out of uh the Ukraine, Poland, and Pol, and they've been receptive. The Poles have been receptive, so is Romania, and there's other countries over there too, but they they've stood their ground against all this, and like you say, now Poland is uh uh they they need to be commended. I I think Slovak, uh is it uh Slovakia too? I think they're yeah, they're they're all standing up against all this.

Russia China Oil And Hormuz

SPEAKER_03 15:06

Yeah, absolutely. I just wish that the Baltic nations, uh, Germany, for example, as well, uh, France. I wish that these nations were doing more. And and you know, good for them for having pledged to do more in the future. Uh, you know, a lot of folks have been frustrated with President Trump's foreign policy in a number of regards, but you gotta hand it to the guy. The pressure that he has brought, the pressure that the administration has brought on our NATO allies to spend more, that was an argument worth having. It was an argument long time in coming. We should have had it 40 years ago, to be honest. Uh, and and and this has gone a lower way. I mean, we'll we'll we'll see, right? Uh, just because they said they would spend the money doesn't mean that they've done it. But at least we're on a better path toward toward a little bit more fairness in terms of taking care of problems around the world. And I think the next step is in the Middle East. And I and I gotta say, particularly because I know I've been critical of President Trump's foreign policy from time to time, especially this war, but I gotta hand it to the guy. He is the one that has opened some doors to developing stronger relationships, not only between Washington and the other Arabic capitals in that area, but between Israel and the other Arabic nations in in that region. And that's all to the good and portends for a much safer Middle East in the future.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Um I believe that that uh that the whole um I don't want to say it, all the oil producers over there are gonna are gonna do their best to stay uh on our side. Now you're you're gonna have somebody that's gonna go rogue. We all know that. We all we all know that. Uh, but the Russians and the Chinese right now, they're they're they're studying this pretty hard because they're gonna they they have a they they have well the Russians want to sell petrol, they want to sell natural gas. But the China, so I guess they're gonna have to start exporting it to China, is what they're gonna have to do. They're gonna have to sell to the Chinese because we're we're start we're slowly cutting their their uh uh the their their showcase down where they can sell it.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

I mean, well, that's exactly why the Russians will benefit from the higher price on oil, but at the same time, they have had a very important military relationship with Iran, and that's obviously going away. Not only is Iran going to be a lot less influential in the area, I would argue that they're gonna go from one of the most influential, albeit in a horrific and terroristic fashion, they're gonna go from being one of the most influential players in the Middle East to being one of the least consequential players in the Middle East, and that means diminishing Russia's influence. It also means that the Iranians won't be able to sell drones to Russia anymore. Uh, they're virtually out of a capacity to even manufacture them at this point because of the bombing over the past nine days, which is set to continue, and that will diminish Iran's ability to manufacture weapons, much less sell them to Russia. So Russia is in a bad way, which breaks my heart not. And the Chinese are in a bad way because they had been buying oil from Iran. This is oil that's not gonna make it through the Strait of Hormuz. And we all hope that the Strait of Hormuz becomes safer for oil in general, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen in the next couple of days. I'm hoping that we can put enough pressure on the not the new regime, but the continuing regime in Tehran in order to cut a deal, open the strait. Uh, I think that if the White House is playing their cards right, they will be able to cut a deal that says we'll allow you idiots to stay in power, but we need weapons inspections. We need to make sure that you're not developing a nuclear weapon. We need the Strait of Hormuz open. And now that you've seen what happens when you you don't behave, maybe now we have some more leverage to make sure that you live up to the agreement.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

It's sure better than sending them pilots of money.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

Uh it is better than sending them piles of money. I do wish that we had been negotiating for the past several weeks, but now it at the very least, the administration's in a much stronger position to engage that negotiation.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

So, do you do you feel like that it and of course the hillbelly I am well uh once you take over someplace, I I believe that you're entitled to some spoils of war. So let's uh I think we ought to I think we ought to at least settle the account up for the trillions of dollars that uh Barack Obama sent over there. Let's let's let's get that and maybe pay for the billion dollars a day that we're spending to to make uh peace over there. And I think they'll still have a lot of money left over. Um I guess maybe that's maybe that's well it is a bargaining chip.

Why Regime Change Barely Changes

SPEAKER_03 20:35

There's no question about it. The Iranians have got to realize that they're in an extremely weak position, that we're in control at this point of not only their sky, uh, but their water, their naval operations, uh, and and by extension, their ability to export oil. We're therefore in charge of their economy by virtue of being able to drop bombs wherever we want them and with precision, we're in charge of whoever is running the regime. I think that replacing the entirety of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is not going to happen. It's too big, it's too complex. Uh, it would be far too expensive to replace them. So they will be able to replace the heads of state as quickly as we kill them, but we should at least be able to intimidate them into cutting a favorable deal for us. Uh, I don't have a problem with the Iranians keeping their money as long as they spend it on taking care of business instead of developing nuclear weapons.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Well, one of the things I was gonna ask you that I had in the back of my mind, what do you think the new government over there looks like? Do you think it'll be like a monarchy with uh maybe uh like with the people like maybe sort of like a per uh a parliament?

SPEAKER_03 22:38

No, I think it's gonna look exactly the way it has looked for the past 47 years. I think absolutely nothing has changed, and I think absolutely nothing is gonna change. The only thing that's gonna change is the name of the guy at the head. As long as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is calling the shots, you can kill one guy after another. Uh you know, one uh Khamania after another. You can replace them with someone from a different family. I just don't think it matters. The IRGC is gonna install. Some cleric figurehead, one after another, they'll replace them as quickly as we kill them. As long as the IRGC is in power, you're going to have what is ostensibly a theocracy. But the truth is that the military is calling the shots.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

So in order to, in order to straighten the things out for the people of Iran, we're actually going to have to probably take the military powers out to be in order to make that work.

Avoiding Another Long War

SPEAKER_03 23:48

I would think so. And I think that that's virtually impossible. I think the best you can hope for is to cut a deal that that stops them from developing a nuclear warhead that gives us the right to inspect, that keeps them maybe from developing too many missiles or something like that, so that they don't think that they can withstand another war in the future. But I don't think we're going to be able to negotiate our way into them having a democracy. I don't think we're going to be able to war our way into them having a democracy either. Their total military has approached in recent years nearly one million personnel. This is not a small army. Obviously, not they're not as well equipped. They don't have the technology, they don't have the air cover, they don't have the naval capabilities that we do. This is not a fair fight. I don't mean it like that. But would it be bloody? Absolutely. Would there be huge casualties on both sides? Absolutely. So I'm still hoping that we don't put troops on the ground there because it would be an absolute mess. Ultimately, for us to dominate Tehran physically and put troops in the in the city in a way that would allow us to be calling the shots at a detailed level and try to transition to some democratic institutions. Uh you're talking about possibly hundreds of thousands of Iranian deaths and thousands of American deaths. I I just don't see it happening.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

Hopefully, uh we we go at this a whole different way. And um and um from your obviously.

SPEAKER_03 26:24

Yeah, no, I agree with you, John. It certainly does seem as though we're far too comfortable as a nation funneling gobs of money into the industrial base that is not not typically well spent. Remember that you know you mentioned Afghanistan and Iraq goes in that same category. We lost not billions but trillions of dollars and lost not hundreds of personnel, but thousands. I think that we sometimes underappreciate just how costly these wars were. And I I do fear that we underappreciate the risk of getting into another similar conflict if we don't negotiate our way out of this pretty quick. Things have gone so well the past nine days. I think that this is our high watermark in terms of our leverage, and I think that we should start negotiating now.

Liberty Caucus And How To Reach Mike

SPEAKER_00 27:24

I think I think that we're in a I think we're in a plane that we can negotiate, just like you said. It's time to it's time that uh we do that. Um I will tell you that I really believe that it that we don't need to go there, they need to come to us, and then and then we have the we have the higher ground when it comes to negotiating. If I'm gonna negotiate with you, I want to have the sun at my back, I'm gonna be standing on top of the hill. So that's and that's where we're at right now. So it's time we it's time they they come here and we'll negotiate with them. And if they don't, and we we we have to stand firm in this. I do believe we really do, because we can't afford to lose no no more. We've lost six, I believe it is so far, and we cannot lose not another soldier uh for for for this. We and them's lives that can't never come back and never will be replaced.

SPEAKER_03 28:24

Uh, I agree with you wholeheartedly, and now I understand that we've lost a seven that is really uh heartbreaking and a disappointment. Let's hope that that's where it stays and the casualty count doesn't go any higher. By the way, the Israelis have lost over a hundred people, the is the Iranians have lost over 1,700 people, and there have been a handful of deaths around the Middle East in you know the Omar Qatar, uh, UAE, Saudi Arabia attacks. There have been several more lives lost. All of these are lamentable, and I hope that there aren't any more of them. I I agree with you, we're in a very strong negotiating position, and we should get to it straight away.

Closing Words And Blessing

SPEAKER_00 29:19

Okay, Matt, Mike, uh, I really appreciate you. I really do. I know I'll be talking to you soon. Uh, we've got uh a lot of things coming up uh that we got to get together about, especially here in Pennsylvania. We gotta try to uh try to gotta get this we the people's movement um bigger, greater, and as much as we can. And uh I believe that's what the Liberty Caucus is all about, the Republican Liberty Caucus. We have to really promote this and we have to get people understanding that uh just because you're a Republican or you you don't you don't have to side with the with the powers that be. We need to take over and change things.

SPEAKER_03 29:59

Well said, John. The Republican Liberty Caucus is a very pro-country.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

We're having a little bit of difficulty. Okay, hey, uh, I I thank you so much. If anybody wants to get in contact with you, I'm sure that they're uh they can find your email at you want to leave, you want to go ahead and absolutely people should reach out to me directly at Mike at MikeTremont.com and start a conversation.

SPEAKER_03 30:27

We got a lot going on. We got a book coming out in a couple of months about a lot of the things that you and I just talked about. We have the Republican Liberty Caucus to talk about, uh, and big news coming later on this year. So it's a very exciting 2026.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

Yes, and uh, I want to thank you for taking time out of your day. I know you you're busy all the time and uh coming on the podcast with me, and uh we'll get we'll make sure everybody gets to see your uh your your uh well-groomed uh face and hair and uh the nice suit you have on and tie. So hey, you take care. Thanks a bunch for being with me, and God bless you.

SPEAKER_03 31:06

My great joy. Thanks, John. You take care.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

And I always close my show with this on this road called life, you have to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. People change, things go wrong. Just remember the rod goes on. God bless each and every one of you, and God bless America. I am John Marietta, and I am the hillbilly.