The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1:

3:05pm- On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to an estimated audience of 32 million Americans. During the hour-long speech, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shouted at the president to mention Laken Riley—a 22-year-old nursing student who was recently murdered by an alleged undocumented migrant who had been arrested numerous times. In his response to the congresswoman, Biden mistakenly referred to Riley as “Lincoln” and called her alleged murderer an “illegal.” The “illegal” designation upset many on the far-left who claimed it was an outdated, offensive term for “new comers.”

3:15pm- During an interview with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC, President Joe Biden expressed regret for using the term “illegal” when referring to Laken Riley’s alleged killer. At a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called-out Biden’s rebuttal—explaining that that the president should be more concerned about limiting unlawful migration rather than policing the language he uses to describe alleged murderers.

3:35pm- The sports blog Deadspin has fired all its existing staff after being bought by a European publishing company. Last year, Deadspin wrongfully accused a young Kansas City Chiefs fan of wearing blackface and of mocking Native American culture during the Chiefs-Raiders game—strategically angling a posted photo to only show half of the child’s face, failing to note that the face paint was black and red (the team’s colors), and that the child and his family are Native American.

3:50pm- Flashback: During a speech from 2009, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer continually referred to migrants who enter the country unlawfully as “illegal” and claimed that using terminology like “undocumented workers” shows that government isn’t serious about preventing illegal immigration and/or border security.

4:05pm- Robert Bork Jr.—President of the Antitrust Education Project & President of the Bork Communication Group—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his recent editorial in The Wall Street Journal, “ESG, Big Labor and Starbucks.” Bork writes: “The latest comes courtesy of the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of unions using a $16,000 investment in Starbucks to push three labor nominees onto the company’s 11-member board. All three candidates—former members of the Clinton and Obama administrations—are liberal stalwarts.” Since writing the article, the unions have thankfully backed down. You can read the editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/esg-big-labor-and-starbucks-unions-business-4ac0a85f?mod=opinion_lead_pos8

4:20pm- James Lynch of National Review writes: “House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio.) is threatening to escalate his fight against FBI director Christopher Wray if the bureau does not turn over communications related to the Hunter Biden laptop story. Jordan sent a letter to Wray on Monday explaining that the Judiciary Committee may resort to holding the FBI director in contempt of Congress to compel the release of internal communications and the names of key personnel who participated in the bureau’s meetings with social-media companies ahead of the 2020 election.” You can read the full report here: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/exclusive-jim-jordan-threatens-to-hold-fbi-director-in-contempt-over-hunter-biden-laptop-story/

4:35pm- During the 96th annual Academy Awards, Oppenheimer took home seven awards—including Best Picture and Best Director. Despite Oppenheimer’s box office success, Rich notes some critics are angry that Barbie didn’t win—bizarrely citing its merchandising success. We are all shocked that Oppenheimer, which received a hard R-rating, wasn’t more popular with young children. What kid wouldn’t want a J. Robert Oppenheimer doll?

4:50pm- Molly Hemingway of The Federalist writes: “Former Rep. Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence that President Donald Trump pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation’s capital, a previously hidden transcript obtained by The Federalist shows. Cheney and her committee falsely claimed they had ‘no evidence’ to support Trump officials’ claims the White House had communicated its desire for 10,000 National Guard troops. In fact, an early transcribed interview conducted by the committee included precisely that evidence from a key source. The interview, which Cheney attended and personally participated in, was suppressed from public release until now.” You can read the full article here: https://thefederalist.com/2024/03/08/exclusive-liz-cheney-january-6-committee-suppressed-exonerating-evidence-of-trumps-push-for-national-guard/

5:00pm- Molly Hemingway of The Federalist writes: “Former Rep. Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence that President Donald Trump pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation’s capital, a previously hidden transcript obtained by The Federalist shows. Cheney and her committee falsely claimed they had ‘no evidence’ to support Trump officials’ claims the White House had communicated its desire for 10,000 National Guard troops. In fact, an early transcribed interview conducted by the committee included precisely that evidence from a key source. The interview, which Cheney attended and personally participated in, was suppressed from public release until now.” You can read the full article here: https://thefederalist.com/2024/03/08/exclusive-liz-cheney-january-6-committee-suppressed-exonerating-evidence-of-trumps-push-for-national-guard/

5:10pm- While appearing on CBS News’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, former Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn explained that “inflation has a compounding effect. Meaning, as you look at inflation year over year, you’re adding up those numbers. You’re not starting at a zero every year.”

5:20pm- Should TikTok be banned? Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to advance a bill that would ban TikTok or force ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) to sell the social media platform to an entity removed from Chinese influence. The full House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill this Wednesday and, according to The Wall Street Journal, it is likely to pass with majority approval. According to reports, President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the bill into law if the bill ultimately passes the House and Senate and arrives at his desk.

5:40pm- The House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill that would ban TikTok—is this a step too far? Shouldn’t individuals be allowed to choose which products they use? Or is the risk of Chinese leadership gaining access to American user data too great to respect individual autonomy and free markets?

6:05pm- Stephen Sorace of Fox News writes: “The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) issued a memo scolding firefighters it says brought ‘discredit’ to the department after booing New York Attorney General Letitia James and cheering for former President Trump at a promotion ceremony last week, warning those who took part to protest on their own time, according to a report. Following a New York Post report about the leaked memo, FDNY spokesman Jim Long confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday morning that chief officers went to firehouses over the weekend to discuss the events of Thursday and speak to the concerns and disappointment with the behavior shown during James' remarks.” You can read the full report here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fdny-tells-firefighters-protest-your-own-time-booing-ny-ag-letitia-james-cheering-trump-report

6:30pm- On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to an estimated audience of 32 million Americans. During the hour-long speech, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shouted at the president to mention Laken Riley—a 22-year-old nursing student who was recently murdered by an alleged undocumented migrant who had been arrested numerous times. In his response to the congresswoman, Biden mistakenly referred to Riley as “Lincoln” and called her alleged murderer an “illegal.” The “illegal” designation upset many on the far-left who claimed it was an outdated, offensive term for “new comers.”

6:35pm- During an interview with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC, President Joe Biden expressed regret for using the term “illegal” when referring to Laken Riley’s alleged killer. At a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called-out Biden’s rebuttal—explaining that that the president should be more concerned about limiting unlawful migration rather than policing the language he uses to describe alleged murderers.

6:45pm- Robert Bork Jr.—President of the Antitrust Education Project & President of the Bork Communication Group—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his recent editorial in The Wall Street Journal, “ESG, Big Labor and Starbucks.” Bork writes: “The latest comes courtesy of the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of unions using a $16,000 investment in Starbucks to push three labor nominees onto the company’s 11-member board. All three candidates—former members of the Clinton and Obama administrations—are liberal stalwarts.” Since writing the article, the unions have thankfully backed down. You can read the editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/esg-big-labor-and-starbucks-unions-business-4ac0a85f?mod=opinion_lead_pos8