Bridging the Divide: Autry J. Pruitt On Trump, Christianity, & The American Identity
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Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Fighting Genius podcast. I guess today should be very interesting. Autry Pruitt, he's a managing partner at Spencer Pruitt and government expert. So he's a government expert, Trump campaign surrogate, columnist, radio show host. So we're going to talk about his book, Planes, Stake, and Water, defending Donald J. Trump and his Christian faith. So, Autry, welcome and thanks for coming. Hi.

I thank you so much, Richard, for having me on the Finding Genius podcast, having me on board. I appreciate you greatly. Anyone that's got a platform that's putting out material for individuals to learn and to digest and to ask questions and to expand their global mindset certainly deserves praise in my book. It is a great honor. Thank you. So, you know, I just got the book in the mail from you. Thank you for sending it, Richard.

Yeah.

No, the book is only focused on the first time, his first run for office in 2016. So it's not focused on this time. I'm doing, I'm writing a different book, but it's not going to be on Trump. There's enough Trump books out there now. So I,

I thought the new one, it would be like planes, McDonald's and RFK instead of like planes taking water. Well, the book title came from Mitt Romney gave a speech back in 2015. He went after Donald Trump and he said, what happened to Trump planes? What happened to Trump steak? What happened to Trump water? And they all failed. And I argued in the book, the whole point of the book is to argue this point. Mitt Romney missed.

The point was that Trump tried. And what we've had a failure of is government peoples on both sides of the aisle, but I come from the right side, government individuals on both sides of the aisle who always made these promises. We're going to move the Jerusalem. We're going to cut deficit. We're going to get rid of fraud, waste, and abuse. And they never even tried because they get scared. And so where...

Mitt Romney criticized Donald Trump for actually trying. I praise him for trying and say, listen, you may try only 50 things and five work out, but you try nothing and nothing will ever work out. Maybe as a way to push back, there's a report in the media like, oh, a Trump plane was found suiciding itself, misdiagnosing

mysteriously so the program won't work. That would be more akin to sending the message back to the other side. What inspired you to write this book? Did you write it just recently or did you write it a while ago and you were waiting to put it out?

I wrote this book a while ago, and I put it out a while ago, and then recently it took off for some reason. And people wanted it to go back in time and to read. I think people go back in time.

I'm starting to read. Well, what were we saying in 2016? People didn't laugh me off. They said it's a joke. They said now people are saying, wait a second, there's something to this Trump drive. So not only my book, but a lot of the other older Trump books have seen the research. And that's essentially what what happened. What prompted me to write the book then was very simple. I saw.

early. I saw early, even though it was published in 16, I wrote it in 15, and I saw early on what was happening. And what was happening was that the American electorate, the body politic, if you will, was desperate. They were desperate for somebody to try something, anything, to change people's personal narrative, right, on both sides of the aisle. And when Trump came along, individuals said, you know what?

Let's just give it a try. Because the old guard wasn't working anymore. The old elite wasn't working. And so...

That was the crux of the issue. It wasn't because Donald Trump was so special, although he is unique. It wasn't because he's arguing about immigration. I said before, Patrick Buchanan, I was going to say O'Brien, Patrick Buchanan had argued that before. It was the fact that Donald Trump was in a moment where people said, you know what? We got to throw something to the wall and see if it's dead. People then got backlash against it with Biden and

And Trump loses, barely so, but he loses about 70,000 votes across five states. And then people said, wait a second, it's the same old stuff. The media is not telling the truth. It's clear that President Biden has rapidly started declining. It's clear that Vice President Kamala Harris is lying about certain activities. It's clear that the Republicans are playing games again. So they said, you know what, we need to go back.

and do Donald Trump one more time. So that's why the book is seen as resurgent, because I identified very early on what was going on in the body policy. I have amazing respect for Donald Trump. I don't know of any human being that has been abused to this level and still continues besides Jesus. I mean, it's unbelievable. I couldn't withstand constant attacks for years and years and years. I don't know how he does it to me.

It's amazing. At some point, you just give up. But I think certainly between $8 and $20 billion would help you do it. An insular family will help you do it. But what helps you do it the most is two things. The first thing is Donald Trump's more recent belief in this come to Jesus moment over the years. And then the second thing is at some point, there's nothing else to lose. You know, you think about, I've always thought about it like this.

Think about it from the bottom, right? You think about from the bottom, you say, you know what, if a man has it all out, got nothing else to lose, he's dangerous. Well, if you think about it, if a man is all out and gained everything he possibly can gain, he's in his 80s, he's not afraid of losing anything, obviously. He's dangerous, too.

This is why I believe, I actually have a Christian perspective, this is why I believe Donald Trump was elected the first time, and it's along those same lines. And so I think that's where we misinterpreted. Donald Trump was a man with nothing to lose. And we didn't think about that. We were thinking about, oh, what if he goes to prison? What if he goes to jail? What if he goes... But from his perspective, he had...

and achieved everything in his 75 years of life, he'd been a billionaire. He'd had every woman he wanted, every church he wanted to be in with, every device he wanted to have, every plane, every flight, every place in the world he wanted to meet. He had done it. So he really had nothing else to lose and mostly everything to gain. It was like stepping up to a roulette table and placing it all on black.

I guess one thing I worry about is, you know, even though he survived all these problems, I don't know. I would think he'd be, like, mentally seriously traumatized by all this, which would make it not make him more dangerous, but it would just make sense. Like, again, he's been traumatized to where he's like, I don't care anymore. I'm going to do this and, you know, and that. And, again, I would feel like he has no fear anymore. But because of all that's been done to him, it's...

it would be incredibly hard not to want to retaliate, and he's not. But where does that angst go? Can he channel it all into the work, or are we going to see some weird post-traumatic stress freakouts from him? I'm hoping that he's channeled it into God. I'm hoping he's let go and let God, which may be his brush to death. From what I've told, I haven't spoken to him since the second election, but I am told that

His brush with death, that probably is what made him fortified in a sense that he may be called to a moment in time to do something great. When Trump first got elected, I alluded to this earlier, Richard, when Trump first got elected, I thought to myself that what happened was this. We read in the Bible where God talks about taking the least of them and making them great.

We always think about the poor, the downtrodden, right, those who are on the streets. But we didn't realize that Donald Trump in the Christian world was the least of them. He was a billionaire philanderer going around. You remember the Grab Him by the Cat video that was released? Yeah, so for Christians, he was the more repugnant.

And what I believe happened was that as the church began to pray, God said, okay, you know what?

I've given you who you wanted. You wanted the Bushes. You wanted Reagan. You wanted Ted Cruz. You wanted Rubio. You wanted all these people that are on the outside projecting faith, and you rejected them. So I'm going to take the least one of you, the least that you expect, and I'm going to show you what I can do. So that's what I'm going to do.

So that's what happens the first time around, right? Then MAGA world and the conservative world, they get a little arrogant. And God says, okay, I think you're forgetting who got you here in the first place. And he steps back, Trump loses. And then all of a sudden everybody comes back to Jesus and the cross says, okay, you know what? I'm going to try to heal this man again. I actually believe, and I had a sermon based upon this, but I actually believe that

Trump's election was an answer to the prayers of conservatives because the conservatives, I should say, were being told by God that, guess what? You can't do it on your own. You've been lying about abortion. You've been lying about prostitution. Everything that you guys say, you're

You're not for, you're not. So I'm going to go ahead and choose a vessel on my own. And it's going to be the least likely the least one you think it is. And normally we're looking low for poor people or for those who are uneducated. He chose. Isn't that like God to surprise us every day? Yeah, no, I mean, it was a huge surprise. You know,

You know, when I saw the, well, not possible, the actual assassination attempt, and I saw what happened, like, the first thing I thought was, like, yeah, that's the hand of God. I mean, there's no way that that would have happened otherwise. It's just, you know, he intervened. And I actually think it was probably a good thing that Trump wasn't president twice in succession because people just, I think they just would have fought him to death. They wouldn't have appreciated him. They just would have, like, you know, I think...

I think his second presidency would have really maybe not gone nearly as far as it could. So people needed to see how bad things could get, and then they were ready to appreciate him more.

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I think it was good because of that. And I also believe it was good for President Trump personally, because I believe that President Trump, when I was listening to him at the end of his first his first time and he was talking about stolen elections, et cetera, I think he started to think it was him. He runs again. He survives the assassination attempt. And I think he I'm almost positive he became to realize that.

This is not me. This is God. And what you're seeing now is a transformed man spiritually. Yeah, I believe you said you spoke to him. So you've spoken to him in person? Yes, prior to when he was first running. So what sense, okay, what sense did you get?

versus what you see now when he's speaking? That's part of the sense I got. The sense I got was sort of a flinger against the system. I've ran billions of dollars. I know everyone. I can do it. I call you on your BS. You don't know what you're doing. You're dumb. You're this. You're that. I got...

There was a sense of arrogance to him the first time around. That arrogance is not there. Now, a sense of accomplishment is there. A sense of assurity is there. But the arrogance has pretty much gone away. Even if you listen to him now, it's much more humble, right? It is. He still...

in your face. He still says, you know, we've got to stop making stupid, but if you listen now to him, even when he's off the cuff, not when he's got the speech writers, but even off the cuff, there's a much bigger sense of humility. There's a bigger sense of, but for the grace of God, there go I. Well, I've seen if,

Different groups. There were a bunch of Latino pastors that prayed and put hands on them. There was, you know, a bunch of African-American pastors that did before and after the election. You know, white Christian evangelicals, like, I've never seen that before. And I've seen cabinet meetings, too, where they'll pray them in to start.

Never seen that before. And it's amazing to see. It's amazing to see. It's amazing to see. And the first time around, I do believe it was a lot of it was performative. I think there was some belief there. But a lot of it was performative. You know, Trump, listen to his talk about abortion before, prior to him running for president. Listen to his talk about the transgender. He didn't care about these kinds of things. And I believe before it was like, okay, these guys support me. They want to pray for me. It can't hurt, so sure, let them in and pray. Yeah.

But I think the second time around I've seen in the cabinet meetings, the second time around I've seen people pray for him. Now it's more hearts. If you look at the

inauguration, right? And you saw the displays of faith there unabashed. I believe that this time around is different for the President Trump. And, you know, I really, I believe wholeheartedly that I believe wholeheartedly that President Trump has understood and digested what's in Psalm

I think it's 14.1, right? It says, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And I think what Trump has been trying to illustrate to us and what God himself is saying, you're a nation that started to run around and say there is no God. We're not talking about the details of Catholics, the Pope, no Pope, a bishop. Is there speaking in tongues? Is there sitting quietly? But we

When you got to the place and you said, hey, there is no God, then look what happens to your nation. Remember when he turned Egypt over, right? Yeah. So that's what started. Think about that. The nation started to say, even conservatives started to say there is no God. And when God moved his hand from America, we went crazy.

Men or women, women or men, it's insane. So I think that's what happened. I think God was in the first election. People were arrogant. Trump and the electorate were thinking, oh, MAGA world is in. We did it. We did it. We did it. We did it. We did it. So God said, fine, if you did it, do it again.

And then people humbled themselves and prayed, and God is now beginning to heal our land. Well, that's a great way of looking at it. I really hope that's the case. I guess, I don't know. I feel like, I don't know. Again, I'm only one person, but it just feels like I personally was despairing a lot more before he got back in the office. And I feel like a lot of people were despairing, and we were just being told by all our dear leaders, like,

We're bad. We're bad. We're bad. Everything's bad. We need to eat bugs and, you know, and this and that and not live. And when Trump came back, it was just a huge dam burst of hope that, you know, when he came back, I felt, I don't know, it just felt like that. It seemed like, of course, there were people crying, which was, you know, because they were on the other side. But I just felt a lot of hope from people. And personally, I did, too.

Across evangelical America, across Baptist America, Pentecostal America, anyone that were right, center right believing Christians, when Trump lost, I never saw so much prayer, so much crying out to God, so much

so much saying, God, what are we going to do? They weren't relying on political consultants. They weren't relying on the pollsters. They said, you know what? If this is going to happen, it's going to have to be God because Democrats have academia. Democrats have the media. The Democrats have Hollywood. And so what happened is there began to be a cry out to God. And I

believe that God heard our cry. And at the same time, it seems like the left, I mean, I don't think this is exaggeration. I just see more and more satanic imagery in everything they do. It's like, what's going on, man? Of course. It's weird that one side literally has appeared to embrace the devil. And I'm not exaggerating. Like, look at the Olympics. Look at the Tony Awards or whatever, the Academy, whatever crap it is. And then

And then look at what the right has been doing. And they've been embracing God and the left has been embracing the devil. It's literally a crazy polarization of the two. Yeah, I agree because that's what you're seeing. What you're seeing is a manifestation of what we have learned in church growing up, right? It's Ephesians 6.12, right? I'm a King James Version guy. Hmm.

Ephesians 6, 12, where we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the rulers of the dark of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. This is where he talks about putting on the whole armor of God. And so what you're seeing now in that true battle, this is not Democrat or Republican. This is why attacking transgenderism was so important, because at

At the very fundamental left, what was the very first thing that human beings understood as human beings that God did? For God created man, man goes to sleep, pulls a rip, creates woman. No matter the creation story of what faith you come from, it is in that base. God creates man, God creates woman. So what the demonic forces realized very early on was they tried to do all sorts of attacks. But then the demonic forces,

Then what demonic forces realized was, you know what, we've got to attack the most fundamental thing. We need to shake that. Because if we can always say, Sutton say, a man is a woman and a woman is a man, then that erodes the very best for humanity's attachment to

to Christ, attachment to a God, attachment to any type of godly faith. And so that's why there's such a target. And you're seeing a push, I believe, within the Democrat Party, amongst the left, and even amongst some conservatives, but you're seeing a push of this wickedness, a push of this

They panic imagery because the demons are wrapped, because all of a sudden people are realizing this is on the surface. It looks like immigration on the surface. It looks like a sports fight on the surface. It looks like an abortion pill fight, but it's not.

We're wrestling against wickedness in high places. Yeah, in high places, meaning, I guess, people that have positions that puts them in a position of power. Because that's exactly where I'm seeing it is, in the high places. Think about France. Think about Canada. Think about the number of world leaders that are bowing down to something that they know is false, that are actually sanctioning in France. Actually.

actually saying, yeah, you can take an eight-year-old boy, give him hormones, suppress him, as soon as he becomes 16, allow him to have a surgical removal of his male member. That is a fundamental attack on the very basis of which humanity was created, because we're made in who? God's image. I don't want to get into a church podcast, but you did it. No, no, I know what you mean. The thing to me is, you know, I'm now 50. By the

By the time someone's, you know, 35 or 40, your values are usually pretty much set. But it doesn't make sense to me to see people in their 40s, 50s, 60s that, you know, a lot of them have children on their own. How could you embrace this? How could you all of a sudden say pedophilia is okay or any of this other stuff?

It just doesn't make any logical sense to me. It doesn't make any logical sense. But I think, though, there is some sense there. If you go back and you understand historic Eupontius Pilate, if you understand King Herod, if you understand some of the biblical characters, Peter is a good example. If you understand Judas, if you understand some of the biblical characters, what happened? They

They had very much a centered point of belief. And somewhere along the lines, demonic forces came along and off-centered their force of belief. And it could also happen in reverse. As a general human statement, you're right, psychology-wise, that about 35, you're centered, and where you are is where you are. But we have case after case in religion.

biblical example where individuals knew better when pontius paul rushed his hands and i find no fault in him he was centered on being an actual equitable ruler of what went on in rome at the what went on he's like listen there's no fault there was nothing if you understand king herod there was no history of king herod doing anything such as according to death the thousands of babies to find one baby that was out of his character even pharaoh

acting out of his character, right? That's why the demonic forces, I believe, push so hard to say there is no God. Because once you say there is no God, you turn yourself over to a reprobate mind, as we say, that

That's old King James speak to your mind. It can eat itself. And then you're like a wild animal. Now it can happen in reverse, right? Donald Trump was who he was by 35, sleeping with tons of women, hanging out at the Playboy Mansion, doing whatever he wanted to do. And much, much later on in life, God changes his heart. So this shows you that both demonic forces and the cross can change a heart. So I think we have to be

more humble in our understanding of human psychology. Yeah, that's true. I think I spoke to a lady today that was looking at a historical figure in the church, and she did really amazing things, but also did some really bad things. Or if you look at, let's say, Mother Teresa, I mean, supposedly she wasn't even close to being all good, but yet she did many good things, but also many very bad things. So I guess it's hard to, you know, it's impossible to find someone that's, besides Jesus, that's all good.

It's just everyone has major flaws and needs help. Yeah, I didn't think about that. That's true. Yeah, when Donald Trump was younger, right, he was a playboy. He did this, that, and the other. And he's very much changed. You're right. He's very much humbled and changed. And he came way late in his life, but he came at just the right moment. I grew up in a black old Pentecostal church, and we used to have an old saying, God may not come when you want him, but he's always on time. Yeah.

That's a cool saying. So what in your background has given you a unique perspective on Trump and on government affairs and all the other stuff? Like, what do you see that others don't see because of your background? Well, there's a few things that give me perspective on politics and this style. One of the first things that gives me the perspective is my grandmother. My grandmother was born in

was in 1917 Alabama, I believe. She saw real racism, right? For those of your listeners that don't know this, I'm actually Black American. And she saw real racism. She tells me a story once about being slapped in the face for looking at a white woman in the street and some other racism like this. One day we're driving along in a car and a guy cuts us off. And I

I turned, I must have been eight, maybe, maybe seven. I turned to my grandmother and said, oh my gosh, look at that white guy, he's racist. And my grandmother only swore maybe five.

four times or five times that I have to think back, but no more than five times in her life. And this was one of them. She pulls over the car and she said, that's my middle name because my mother's name is Audrey and my father's name is Autry. So my family called me here. She says, Jeremy, let me share something with you, son. One, most people are just assholes and they will use anything they can to get ahead.

And then she's like, it's not racist. And this statement stuck with me and changed the trajectory of how I look at life. She said, very simply, you cannot make my past your present. And that's coming from a woman. I told you the story. Imagine the other story she has in Alabama. Right. When you couldn't walk in a store, when, you know, there was no recourse, there was no courts and nothing.

She said, always remember you can do anything through Christ who strengthens you. Now, I didn't know that was a Bible verse at the time. I just thought it was my old grandmother talking. And

And that changed my life forever. And how that ends me up with Donald Trump, how that ends me up with the Republicans, how that ends me up with conservatives was real simple. If I can do anything, I don't need government to do it. I don't need an academic to do it for me. I don't need a big company to do it for me. I can do it. I just have to figure out how. I've got to be a realist. I've got to be practical. I've got to understand I'm not going to wake up with no exercise, no running, no anything, and all of a sudden be able to be on the back burner.

the basketball team with the Chicago Bulls, but you can achieve and you can do because I can do it. No one else can do it for me. I can. My grandmother wasn't intending for that message to me to be a conservative message, but that is my anchor point. That one statement right there is my anchor point. What has it helped you? What have been some of the toughest? You don't have to describe details, but... That's Philippians 4.13, by the way. Okay. Those of you keeping track.

But I mean, in your toughest moments, like where did, where did resilience and resolve come from within you? Christ. It wasn't me. It was Christ. I didn't have a, some people would look at my childhood. I could tell some stories and they would think it was tough, but it wasn't that tough in comparison to others. There have been others that have had way tougher times than mine. Mine wasn't the easiest, but it,

In comparison to what I've seen, it was actually pretty decent. But for some of the adversity, it's Christ. Even the stuff I face today, you know, I'm divorced. I have two kids. They don't live with me. They live across the country with their mother, which is a very sad situation. I think the family court system is what the devil intends the court system to be in hell. I relied on that.

You know, it's never I never had a problem because I believe that it was Christ was the anchor of where I by strength. I don't draw it from my books. I don't draw from my education. And I'm pretty damn smart. Good schools. I don't even draw from my church or my pastor. I don't draw from my speaking ability or the money I have. I've been successful now. I don't draw from my business partner or or a girlfriend who is gorgeous. I'm dated. I realize that my power comes first.

Not even from me. It comes from Christ. And that's what has kept me going. It's tough. But, man, I've been anchored. I'm 45. I'll be 46 in July. And I'm anchored there, man. I'm anchored there. And every now and then, I start to forget, and then I remember. Again, with your – what do you see that most folks don't see –

Right now in our government, like what kind of forces do you see acting? You know, for instance, with Trump, do you think he's opened himself enough to God to get direction from Holy Spirit? Or do you think his ego is still like really jockeying with Holy Spirit and he needs to be reminded and prodded? Or like, what do you think is going on this time around? Let me tell you about this. Matthew 18, 20, right?

For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am. This is Jesus talking in the midst of them. I believe that answers your question. Does Trump have a connection, do I believe, to the Holy Spirit? Yeah, I do. I believe he has a connection to the Holy Ghost, certainly. But that's not what it is. It's that he is surrounded with two or three people who are gathered there in government in Christ.

the name of God. And they're probably not people we know. It's not Elon Musk. It may not be Suzuo. They're not speaking against their faith. I think Elon's faith is action, right? You know, what the devil intended for bad, God can turn right and use it for good. But I actually think there are a couple of forces in his family

in the White House, somewhere near him that also believe in our Heavenly Father. And so because you have Trump who believes and he has three people, at least three people who believe, God is there in the midst of them. And so it's not Trump. It's God, three or four people that are centered around him. And if we can keep that going, right? One could be J.D. Vance. I know J.D. Vance is Catholic. He's been...

And remember, for the listeners, I'm not Catholic, but the requirement, according to Romans 10 and 8, is that you believe in your heart that God was raised from the dead. For the mouth of confession is made for salvation. And so the requirement is not you're Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, whatever. That's not the requirement. The requirement is that you believe.

And you do it in your heart. And JD is a heartfelt believer. His family is. So maybe it's him. I don't know. That's for God to know. But I believe that he is surrounded by people in the presence of God and God

Trump, speaking that president, is also anchored accordingly. Okay. You know, what's weird to me is, you know, I don't know, I would have said, and I still say evil never gives up, but it seemed to about a couple weeks before the election, maybe a month before the election, this most recent one. And even now it's there, but it's quiet. It's muted. It's a lot less than it was before. It's just kind of, it makes me worry.

that far worse is coming because I would assume that evil would never give up. But for some reason, it seems like it's been slapped and it's stunned just for a little while. I don't know. What's your thought on all your experience on the, you know, the darkness that is around? Yeah. Evil hasn't given up. It will never give up until the end of times. Do you feel the presence of it as much? It just feels like there's a temporary lightning or something.

or an abatement of it, just temporary, but sort of feels like maybe it's a deception. I don't know. I think it's a deception. Remember what was said in Peter, chapter 5a, right? Peter said, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about speaking whom he may devour. I think, I really think Peter was on to something there, right? He's

that is always prowling, always, there's another verse, right? John 10, I think it's 10.9 or 10.10, the thief cometh not but to steal, kill, and to destroy. Remember when Job, my favorite for so many reasons, but Job is serving a God. Satan travels up to the host of heavens, to God and says, you know what? I've been lurking about. I've been going around the world seeking what I could do, what's happening, what's going on. And God says,

to my servant Job, that tells you something. Even though it's quiet, it's because he's just walking around, seeing where he stirrups the mess. So I'm with the quietness is a deception, and we must be, as Peter said, sober, vigilant, because the adversary walketh about, seeking whom he may destroy. Okay. So I guess going back to your earlier book, what are some of the, I don't

I don't know, really unusual or interesting insights you got from collecting the material to write it. From the act of writing, like, what did you learn or discover? Well, I'll tell you some of the insights I learned that I learned then. One of the insights I learned then was that people that were conservatives and that were Republicans didn't really care about people. They didn't care about America. They didn't care about the flag. Number two, that they were wholly untethered from the kingdom of God. Number

Number three is that the most important thing to them was to fit in. We think that was a left-wing issue, but it wasn't. It was more important for people like Kevin Williamson. I actually devoted a chapter to him in my book. I think it's my last chapter, second last chapter, I remember. He

He just really burns me. I don't know anything about him. What was his deal? Kevin Williamson used to work for National Review. The Atlantic hired him and then he got fired after two weeks because, well, he was a conservative. They didn't want him there. Now he's over, I believe, at dispatch. He hates Trump. He hates everybody. He calls us. He is one people that calls us deplorables. I don't want to

I don't want to speak something that's not true, but I believe he was one of the conservative writers that backed up Hillary when she called us deplorables. I believe. And if it wasn't her that he backed, it was someone else that said something similar. He talked about the unwashed math. He talked to looking down at people condescending. He's just a piece of crap. And

And one of the things I learned about the Republicans is that most of them talk about small business. They don't know how to run anything. Oh, I'm for small business. I'm for the little guy. No, they're not. They wanted to collect their checks like everybody else. And if their check was in danger, guess what? They would do whatever was possible to keep their check not in danger.

So that was probably the biggest aspect. I really thought Republicans were for business, but they were for subsidies just like the Democrats were. They were for tax bailouts just like Democrats. That was the biggest thing I've learned. Do you think it's even possible to

to get up to the higher levels in government without being corrupted. It just doesn't seem like it is. Actually, I think it is. I think we've seen something. There are about four or five people who've done it. Trump did it. Daryl Issa did it. I don't always agree with Daryl Issa, but he did it. Mitt Romney did it. Don't always agree with him. He did it. And these people have something in common.

And oftentimes people say, you know what, let me take you out to the bar. Let me get you drunk. Let me get you a little drink a little bit so I can see the real you. What I've learned in my time, give somebody the ability to have unlimited money or near unlimited money. Then you're going to see who the real person is. And I think that might be the key.

I hate to say it, but if you're wealthy and you've already made as much money as you need or you thought in your mind you're going to need, well, there's no – corruption comes from two ways. Either A, you're corrupt because you want to get money. B, you want to corrupt because you get power. Actually, there's a third way. Or you're corrupt because you want to get both, right? No matter how you look at corruption, it's either about money –

power or both in the case of donald trump he already had both right you remember he told hillary i used to write these checks myself so he was able to be authentic now a lot of people like isa for example isa didn't really have joel isa i forgot how he made his money i think it was a real estate right so he gets elected he has some power right so there's no need to be corrupted because he gets elected and got money most politicians that are corruptors because they're broke because

Because they don't have as much money as Elon Musk or as Donald Trump or as Daryl Ice or whomever, right? Is it because they're broke or they want more? Well, they want more money. Let me say this. They're broke relative to who they're hanging around, right? That's the conundrum about politics. That's the conundrum about politics. You're always hanging around people who have more than you. They've got the plane. They've got the bag. They've got the shoes. They've got the car. They've got the mistress or whatever.

They've got something more that they got through money that you don't have. And so that's how most politicians become corrupt is because they want more and more money. Corruption used to be more power focused. And I would argue this is before the modern era. So if you look at corrupt leaders...

It used to be that leaders all had money, right? But they may not have had power. So they eliminated individuals who had power before them, right? Maybe look at Nero, look at Julius Caesar, King Herod. King Herod wasn't afraid of the riches. He was afraid of maybe this power that this guy burned.

of this Jesus character is going to take from him, right? So Pharaoh, for example, was about power, wasn't about riches. Then when you start to democratize society and power is now given from the people through a vote, well, okay, you can compete for power. You can use some of your money to compete for power and get the power. So now more corruption is usually about money, is rarely, rarely about power.

Where you can see this play out to is like in the mafia, right? In the mafia, it was about power. They had the money. It's usually about powerful families wanting the power to control something. So...

That's sort of the difference today in how I look at why politicians are corrupt. And if, yes, we can get to a stage, to answer your question, where there isn't so much corruption, but in the modern era, I think we're going to have to elect richer and richer people, ironically enough, because we know that they're not out for the money. They don't need to worry about the money. Think about it. That's another weird thing to me. It's like, right, supposedly Donald Trump lost over a billion in 1990s.

the net worth being president the first time. But yeah, you still have all these people that are like, oh, he's in it for the money. It doesn't make any sense what you're saying. He has no need to

to put himself into all this stuff for money. It just makes no sense at argument. If you listen to the progressive voices, he had six to eight billion dollars. If you listen to reasonable voices, he had eight to ten. The pro-Trump voices, I think he has twelve to twenty. Let's just say he had five billion. Let's just say the worst of the worst, Trump was lying. He only had five billion dollars. He uses one billion. Well,

Well, guess what? $4 billion assets returning 10%. That's 400 million. I mean, yes, you're right. It makes no sense. I agree with you. I agree with you. And it's ironic. I think we're going to have to, we're going to end up in a system. We're going to end up,

This is why all these reforms, let me say this, this is why all these reforms that you hear about come from, oh, we need to cut out lobbying, we need to cut out the revolving door, because it's about money, right? You get in D.C., you gain all these contacts, you gain all this influence, and now you go out and you need to make your money. That's what the issue was with Hillary and Bill. Their corruption was about power. Bill had power when he was governor. Hillary had some power. They had power in the Democratic Party. That wasn't the issue. They didn't have the money, so they had to create this fake charity in Haiti.

to get the money. So corruption is about money. It's usually rarely about power now. Here's another mystery, though. So you're saying maybe we have to elect richer and richer people, but you have Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton. They've got to know that they're at the end of their life. I mean, come on, both age-wise and health-wise. Why still do evil? Why still try to make more? Why more power? Why more...

it's weird like you would think hey i don't have long for this world why don't i try to do some good why do i have to keep doing the same shit i've been doing for decades like that also doesn't make sense to me either yeah i i have an answer for that and what's great is i finally finally get to quote something that's not from the king james version of the bible lord acting 1887 what did he say he said power tends to corrupt and

An absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's what Lord Atkinson said in 1887. That's what happens, right? The little corruption you did see from these people at this point wasn't about money. It was about holding on to that power. Nancy Pelosi holding on to that power. Hillary Clinton holding on to that power. That's what it was about. I think that was Lord Atkinson in 1887. Somebody should Google that and make sure I'm right. So do you think that they became corrupted by their own decisions and lifestyle and

And then that corruption just reinforced the need for more and more and more to the end. I think that, but more importantly is it goes to your head, right?

The power just goes to their head. And what is that? Proverbs and Proverbs 16 said, pride goeth before destruction. Before the fall. Before the fall, yeah. 1 Corinthians 10, wherefore let him that think if he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Like Autry, if you were 80 years old and you had a billion dollars net worth, would you try to go for more money or

Or more power or whatever. No, no, no, no, no. That's the thing. They're not going for more. They're trying to keep the power that they've got. That's the key. At some point, the thing about this, money, once you have it, you have it until you die. Power is one of the things that you actually lose once you die.

while you're still alive. Because eventually you get of an age where you cannot exercise it anymore. You need youth, vitality, strength, and support to exercise your power. And every dictator that's fallen, this has happened to them. They get old. And what happens? They're frail and they can't exercise their power.

So what happens is money you can keep with you until the day, until the last breath is drawn, you can keep your money. And legally, there are structures in place to help you keep your money, right? People can be prosecuted if they steal your money, even if you're an invalid. But guess what? Power is the one thing you can't.

You cannot keep your power. At some point, that power has to go. And we saw it with President Biden. We saw someone trying to grip on the power. And then this is the crux. All the people around you that get a little bit of money or influence or get collateral power because of the main power, they try to keep that power with you. So what you have is you have people propping up Nancy Pelosi, just like you have these people propping up Biden. It wasn't because Biden wanted to stay. It's because all these individuals around them that got

collateral power because of Joseph R. Biden needed him in power. And so that's why Lord Atkins was right when he said power corrupts and absolute power corrupts. Absolutely. Well, very good. So, Autry, should people start to

I guess, you know, see and hear what your thoughts are in addition to podcasts like this. Should they go read your 2015 book, 2016 book, or where can they go to learn more from you? Go to X.com and follow me. It's very simple. Autry, A-U-T-R-Y. Go to my website, autrypruitt.com, A-U-T-R-Y-P-R-U-I-T-T.com.

And follow me there. I do these podcasts, these interviews. Now, I'm in the private sector. I'm in the business sector. I love talking about this stuff. People are often surprised when they hear me talk about these things because they're used to me doing complicated business transactions, making legal decisions, insurance decisions, money banking, etc.,

But this is stuff that I've studied and loved for years. And so you won't... You'll find some of my old writings there. You can find some of my old speeches there. I'm coming out with a couple of new things, but I'm always willing to engage. If you want to message me on F.com, if you have questions, you want me to elaborate, you want some evidence to talk about, or you really want to engage with me personally. If you live in Florida... Now, listen, I have to be careful. My assistant's not far from me. I'm about to make a statement. But if you live in Florida...

and you're not crazy because we will find out if you're crazy and you want to have a little sit down dinner one time and have some discussion we can we can do that i'd be more than happy that if you're a bourbon lover you're even more welcome well very good archie well thank you so much for coming on the podcast i appreciate it thank you so much rich and i i appreciate you i appreciate what you do and the world needs more like you godspeed my friend godspeed

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