The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (10/26/2023):

3:05pm- Why is Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) suddenly making fewer radical decisions? According to a report from Brady Knox of The Washington Examiner: “Earlier in October, Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, superintendent of schools for the South Orange-Maplewood School District, sent a letter to parents announcing that no Halloween celebrations would be held by the school district, claiming that doing so may ‘violate the dignity of some of our students and families, either culturally or religiously.’ The cancellation of the holiday was bashed by the governor.” And on Thursday, Governor Murphy vetoed a bill that would have increased tolls across New Jersey—is he nervous Republicans could take back the state’s legislative branch in the next election? You can read Knox’s full article here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/new-jersey-murphy-slams-school-canceling-halloween

3:15pm- On Tuesday, Joe Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez confirmed that the president will not appear on New Hampshire’s 2024 Democrat primary ballot, following the Democratic National Committee (DNC) decision to place South Carolina first in the primary cycle. New Hampshire, which has traditionally been the party’s first primary, has vowed to defy the DNC and hold their vote prior to South Carolina.

3:30pm- During Thursday’s White House press briefing, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby was asked to clarify President Joe Biden’s comments about civilian casualties potentially being an unfortunate side-effect of Israel’s quest to eradicate Hamas. In response, Kirby slammed Hamas for their routine violation of human rights and barbaric actions, explaining that Israel has a right to defend itself.

3:40pm- According to David Wildstein of The New Jersey Globe: “Dr. Henrilynn Ibezim has been charged with telling campaign workers to complete hundreds of fake voter registration applications and mail them to election officials in Union County and allegedly bringing a large white garbage bag stuffed with almost 954 voter registration forms to the post office.” You can read the full article here: https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/ex-plainfield-mayoral-candidate-charged-with-mailing-nearly-1000-bogus-voter-registration-forms/

4:05pm- George Bochetto—former candidate for U.S. Senate, former Pennsylvania State Boxing Commissioner, and Attorney at Bochetto & Lentz, P.C.—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to reprimand Matt for drinking Coca-Cola while visiting Italy, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court race, and Common Pleas Court Judge Lillian Ransom reinstating all charges against former Philadelphia police officer Mark Dial.

4:30pm- During a Thursday press briefing, Defense Department Spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder confirmed that 900 U.S. troops have been deployed to the Middle East.

4:45pm- Dr. Steve H. Hanke—Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University & former Senior Economist for Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his most recent Wall Street Journal opinion editorial, “Another Black Monday May Be Around the Corner.” Plus, Professor Hanke explains what it was like working in the Reagan Administration. You can read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/another-black-monday-may-be-around-the-corner-interest-rate-federal-reserve-b1df5c21

5:05pm- During a Spaces conversation on X with David Sacks and Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk warned that the United States may be “sleepwalking” its way into “World War III.”

5:10pm- Several weeks ago, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building just prior to the House holding its vote on a stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown. Although Rep. Bowman has claimed he pulled the alarm in error, some have speculated that it was a tactic to delay the House vote—providing Democrat members of the House additional time to read through the Republican proposed legislation. On Thursday, Bowman pleaded guilty to falsely pulling the fire alarm at a congressional office building—a misdemeanor. He will have to pay a $1,000 fine, serve a three-month probation, and write a letter of apology.

5:20pm- Brooke Singman of Fox News reports: “The FBI maintained more than 40 confidential human sources on various criminal matters related to the Biden family, including Joe Biden, dating back to his time as vice president, according to information obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley…Grassley learned that an FBI task force within the Washington Field Office sought to, and in some cases, successfully, shut down reporting and information from those sources by falsely discrediting the information as foreign disinformation. That effort ‘caused investigative activity to cease.’” You can read the full report here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-received-criminal-information-40-confidential-sources-joe-biden-hunter-jim-grassley

5:30pm- Perhaps unsurprisingly, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are both advocating for packaging Ukrainian aid and Israeli aid together in the same spending bill.

5:50pm- Maddie Hanna of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, “The Pennridge School District has adopted a policy specifying that sports teams are divided by sex, barring transgender students from participating on teams aligned with their gender identities. The policy, passed unanimously by the school board Tuesday, follows a move by the district earlier this year requiring that students use group bathrooms based on sex, rather than gender identity.” You can read Hanna’s full article here: https://www.inquirer.com/education/pennridge-athletics-policy-sex-transgender-20231025.html

5:55pm- Matt defends his decision to forgo wine and instead drink Coca-Cola with pizza while in Italy. Rich demands that he be fired immediately.

6:05pm- Steve Dnistrian—Candidate for New Jersey State Senate in the 11th District, located in Monmouth County—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his race against incumbent Sen. Vin Gopal (D). You can learn more about his campaign here: https://www.stevefornj.com

6:20pm- While speaking with John Stossel, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) argued that former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, along with assistance from the media, actively suppressed the lab leak theory explanation for the origins of COVID-19. Despite initial suppression, the narrative has been widely accepted as the most likely cause of the virus.

6:40pm- On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) became the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives with a 220 to 209 floor vote—ending three-weeks of Republican infighting with unanimous support for his candidacy. In his first speech as Speaker from the House floor, Johnson vowed to “ensure that our republic remains standing as the great beacon of hope, light, and freedom in a world that desperately needs it.” MSNBC condemned the selection of Johnson citing his expressed doubts about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. However, didn’t MSNBC spend years expressing similar doubts about the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s election victory in 2016—baselessly blaming Russian interference?

6:50pm- Many progressive media outlets and politicians, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have denounced Mike Johnson’s speakership—referring to him as an “election denier.” On X, President of American Commitment Phil Kerpen highlights the hypocrisy, noting that following the 2016 election Jeffries’ tweeted: “The more we learn about 2016 election the more illegitimate it becomes. America deserves to know whether we have a fake president in the Oval Office #RussianInterference.”