Jeremy Hunt on Reconnecting and Bridging the Political Divide
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heartbreaking story we just finished up and hopefully even by the time you hear this it will be resolved but now we have something a little more hopeful for you we have Jeremy Hunt a Georgia native a graduate of West Point spent five years as an active duty army intelligence officer officer a captain in the US Army upon his return from a deployment to Ukraine Jeremy embarked on a new mission as a husband and father and

He has written some fantastic op-eds. I highly recommend folks check them out for Fox News, the New York Post, Washington Post, done tons of TV appearances. And now he is running for Congress in a very hotly contested district that Democrats are desperate to hold on to in Georgia. Jeremy, welcome to the program and thank you for joining us. Yes, it's an honor to be on with you. I'm excited to chat with you guys. Jeremy,

I always have to ask this of people who are running for Congress. How'd you get this crazy, terrible idea in your head?

Yes, anybody who runs a congress is just a little bit of crazy. That is very true. Well, you know, for me, my wife and I, we spend a lot of time in prayer just kind of thinking about how can we make the greatest impact and serve our country? You know, we're transitioning out of the Army, and we realize that if we really want to make the world change, we need serious leaders in Washington.

And the very kind of last straw that made us decide to jump in was that we realized that the next generation in particular, we are losing them. I mean, young people today, my little sister-in-law, she's only 17 years old, she grew up in a conservative family just like my wife and I did. But it's just sad that she does not quite understand the values that we have and the

And we realize that when our young folks are just on TikTok and these apps and everything every day, they aren't even hearing the Christian conservative message at all. And so we felt that our campaign, a big part of what we need to do is outreach and reach and build broader coalitions of people, specifically here in our district in southwest Georgia.

I think there is, Jeremy, I think what you're talking about is so profound because there's just an enormous disconnect right now between youth TikTok culture, the messages that are being forced down kids' throats by an unending barrage of social media, and the values of most Americans. And you've written a lot about that type of thing, but...

How do you see us turning that around and reconnecting with this next generation? Well, first, we have to show up. I mean, that's the bottom line. If you look at a lot of the ways that our young people are getting information, we aren't even on a lot of these apps, TikTok or Facebook and Instagram, and actually targeting them and sharing our message in a compelling way. I think that's first off, showing up. Here in our district as well,

one thing that we're doing is going and meeting with young folks at schools and organizations and actually saying, "Hey, we're here, we're not, "and we're here to support you, "and here's what we believe," and articulating it in a way that helps win people.

And that's what we're all about. We're winning people. Our district, of course, is not one that's going to be, you know, it's one that we're going to have to actually reach out and build those broader coalitions or else we will not be successful. So that's why we are from day one. That's been kind of the heartbeat of our campaign. And obviously it's connecting with voters because now all of a sudden I hear this has turned into a real concern. You are scaring a lot of big name Democrats.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Nancy Pelosi, they are very nervous. They've just pumped $2.6 billion into our district to try to save Stanford Bishop because they see that this is a really winnable seat. Stanford is the most vulnerable he's ever been. And at this point, we realize especially, you know, half of the voters in our district

are a lot of the traditional democrat voters on the demographics of the trip many of them are african-american a lot of what we do work going into black churches with a lot of organizations bringing our message and saying look we we are here we're standing for for families we're standing for our country we are pro-family pro-country uh... we believe that our churches are are where we have to strengthen our churches and our communities and so when our message we take republican democrat out of it and just talking about

what we believe, and specifically talking about how we're the ones that are going to help get our country back on track. And folks are tired of paying $4 or $5 at the pump. Our farmers, our diesel prices, diesel in the tractors have gotten just astronomical. And so we are the ones that are showing up and actually saying, we're here to represent our community. So we have one minute left before our next break here. Why don't you quickly tell our folks where they can find you on social media?

and then we're going to take a break, and we'll be back. We have more questions. There's a longer segment coming up.

Awesome. Yes, you can join me at jeremyforgeorgia.com. That's J-E-R-E-M-Y for Georgia dot com. We'd love to have you join us, and I'm excited to continue our talk. How about Twitter and Facebook? Where can they find you there? Yep. You can find me at vjeremyhunt on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram at vjeremyhunt, and you can add us right there. Perfect. Breaking Battlegrounds will be right back with Jeremy Hunt, who is in the middle of a battle in a major battleground.

Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. On the line with us right now, Jeremy Hunt, a graduate of West Point, captain in the U.S. Army, now running for Congress in one of the most, what will likely be one of the most hotly contested districts in the country this year in the state of Georgia. Jeremy, again, thank you for joining us on the program. When we went to break, you were talking about, I think, one of the most important things in the history of the U.S.

that candidates can do right now, which is reconnect with a lot of voters who are being left behind by a Democratic agenda that is driven by elites and driven by a really bizarre cancel culture phenomenon that is even targeting some of the great leaders of black history. Yeah. And yeah, but I'll go right ahead. You've written about this. And I really want our listeners to be able to hear your take on some of the stuff that's going on.

Yeah, exactly right. I mean, so what we've noticed is that the Democrat Party, what they do is they have gone on, especially in communities like ours, and they play the same old strategy every time they try to stir up some type of racial unrest. I mean, it's the same playbook every time. And our district in particular, they see us as right for that just because of the demographics. You know, half of our district being black voters here in the Deep South. And, you know, the problem is that people can see right through it.

I mean, you go around our district, folks of all different backgrounds, all different colors, all different cultures work together. We are all trying to make sure we can provide for our families, all of our small businesses, the owners, whether they're black, white, Asian, Hispanic, it doesn't matter. They are all dealing with a major labor shortage. The inflation, our empty store shelves, we're all dealing with the same thing. So just playing the same race card over and over again is a distraction.

But they do this even at the national level. You look at the way they talk about race in particular. It's always to divide people. If you're black, you're a victim. And if you're white, then you are an oppressor just by the color of their skin. So we've pushed back on that and saying, look, this is not – the Democrat agenda is not going to work in our community because we know the truth. And we know that we've worked with our neighbors previously.

five by five for for decades and so that's why that's why they're so nervous now is because they realize that the same place we always use this is not going to work here uh... and especially with my family being a young black conservative family we show up and we campaign on the trail all of us together and there's one thing that really bothers demographists

a young black conservative family that knows what they believe and are unwavering in their values. And that's what our campaign represents. We're with Jeremy Hunt, Republicans, CD2 in Georgia. So Jeremy, I want to touch on that last point. How are you received when you make a request to go speak in a black church? You know, it's 90% of black electorate votes Democrat, maybe 85% depends where you're at.

How are you received by not only the pastors that you have to get permission, and I'm sure they also have their board of governors or board of directors, but then once you're there, how does the congregation treat you? I mean, you've got to figure that most of them have never voted Republican or considered voting Republican.

Yeah, well, I mean, for me, it's home, right? My dad's a pastor. I grew up in the church. My wife and I, we actually met in children's church. Her father was our Sunday school teacher, and my father was a pastor of the church. And so, you know, I grew up in a black church. It's home. I've spoken many a time. I mean, so it's something that we, when we're going and speaking, it's not like we're, you know, from the outside looking in, trying to reach people. We're actually just

talking about things that we've been talking about all of our lives, our biblical values. You know, we're very strong pro-life. Many of our folks and congregations across our district are also pro-life. And we're just asking them to vote in alignment with their values, the values that they already hold as pro-life, pro-America, pro-religious liberty, saying, hey, vote according to what you already believe. That's our message, and it's been very positively received.

I'm so thankful that around the district, we've had folks that have reached out to us before we can even get to them. Several black pastors said, hey, would you comment on my church? How many churches have you spoken in?

Yeah, we're almost at 10 now just in the last few weeks. We just started kicking off our kind of ministry outreach, but we're obviously going to be kicking that up a lot more in the coming weeks. We've only been—it's amazing—we've only been in this race for a little over two months, and we have already—our fundraising records are already almost at half a million dollars we've raised. We've been all over the district, and we're just continuing to kind of kick things by gear.

I was removed for. So CD2 in Georgia is, if my memory serves me correct, it's about 51% black electric, correct?

That's right. That's right. Just about. So what what is your accounting? I mean, what is the math? Because, you know, at the end of the day, elections are all about math, right? Yeah. You have to have more than the other person. I know that's just a simplistic way of looking at it, but that's reality. What do you what do you what percentage of the black vote do you need to get to win that race?

Yeah. We basically have to outperform a generic Republican candidate by 3% in the black community. So we're looking at, again, about 18%, 15 to 18% is going to be our sweet spot. And a big part of what we're going to do is, as I mentioned, you know, our strategy is reaching and engaging them, but also registering new voters and speaking to folks, you know, of all backgrounds that are, you know, very kind of culturally conservative, even if they might vote Democrat in the past, we're asking for every vote and

and we're showing up and places that the conservative message has not even gone before were there. And that's a big part of our strategy. Also, another big part of making sure Republicans turn out and choosing Republicans turn out. I mean, we can't just assume that just because it's on their way here that Republicans are going to come out. We are having to share the message that, look, we have to get out and vote. We have to get to the polls. We have to make sure that we are giving our best effort on both sides. So we are – it's an all-of-the-above approach.

It's not just one kind of strategy. It's an all-of-the-above approach. But what we're seeing is that it's working, and we're excited. We've got some major endorsements just at the national level. Secretary Mike Pompeo has endorsed me, and Senator Tom Cotton, Senator Josh Hawley, Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Congressman Mike Walz from the Frontline Patriots PAC. Folks from all over are just so excited about our district and the opportunity to flip this seat.

and that's what really had uh... columbia paper bishop on nervous is that we have and and a lot of support all around the country and in our district scurrying here saying look

We're ready to try something new. And folks who have even traditionally voted for the Democrat incumbent for the first time are saying we're ready for an alternative because what's happened in the past is not working. Our schools are not getting any better. Our streets are not safe. And our store shelves continue to be empty. And we're just showing up and saying we're that alternative you've been looking for.

Jeremy, I think that is such a key point. And it's something we like to talk about here on the program is that a lot of times these people that you need to come across either come across the aisle or come out and vote for you. I think our candidates forget you have to do the outreach yourself. The media is not going to carry your message. The social media networks only extend so far. It sounds like you're using that army work ethic and training just to go out there and

and get in front of these folks, shake the hands, meet all the people. That's right. That's exactly right. Yeah, we were just at the Peanut Proud Festival in Blakely, Georgia, and it was amazing that we got to the festival, and you see the Democrat incumbent, Stanford Bishop, who

who, by the way, has been in office for 40 years. And before then, he was in the State House for another 17 years. So he's been in public office. He's been a career politician for 47 years. You know, a much older guy. So, you know, he's just kind of sitting on his truck as they're going to the festival, and he doesn't really do much

Whereas our campaign, we had a huge float for the parade, but my wife and I were on the ground running alongside the parade, shaking every single hand of all the folks that came out to watch the parade. And so we are fully engaged. We have the energy to do this thing. And that's really what's going to make the difference, is that we're putting in the work, we're knocking on the doors. We're not, we aren't just, you know, hoping that the red wave in 2022 will just carry us into the seats.

We are going out and asking for every vote. And that's what we think will be the major difference. Well, this is Chuck. We're with Jeremy Hunt. He is a Republican candidate for CD2 in Georgia. Jeremy, tell me two questions quickly here. One, how did being a captain, an Army intelligence officer, prepare you to be in Congress? And two, how do we as a nation go forward now with basically a dual threat of Russia and China?

We're in sort of a new Cold War in many ways. I think it's a little bit different because of the economic entanglements of China. But let's be honest. They don't want us to be in the position we've been for the past several decades. So first, how to be an intelligence officer? What skills are you taking there to Congress? And then two, what is your view of this new national security threat we have?

Absolutely. Well, as you mentioned earlier, I graduated from West Point and got my jump in as a paratrooper here at Fort Benning, and I was actually deployed to Ukraine back in 2016. And we were there training the Ukrainian armed forces back when, at that point, Putin had already taken Crimea during the Obama administration.

And he was basically just waiting to take the rest of the country. We knew this several years ago. We knew that he was in Ukraine. He was basically waiting for a moment of weakness in our White House. And unfortunately, he found that in Biden, just the kind of weakness that we've seen from the way his foreign policy has been operating. And so...

Back then, you know, we're training the Ukrainian armed forces to defend themselves against Russia. And I must say, I'm very proud of the way that they put up. I mean, they are literally giving their lives for their country, defending their homeland. And, you know, you can just search for the stories of heroism. And I'm just extremely proud of them. And

So we knew that back then. The number one reason why, you know, basically use this moment is, A, he saw that our command chief, you know, would do very little about it. And B, he knew that he had held Eastern Europe hostage with energy. I mean, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was...

Basically, he is controlling energy production in Europe, and that's how he's made Germany and other countries kind of surrender to their demands. That's why we have to stay energy independent here in United States, and we cannot be in a position where we're dependent on foreign oil. That is a national security issue. And then secondly, another kind of national security issue that I think is extremely important is that we cannot take our eye off of China.

China is the number one geopolitical enemy that we have right now. They are moving at a pace that we've never seen before. I mean, they are developing supersonic missiles that our radar systems cannot even detect. And they want their, the Chinese currency, to replace the American dollar as the global reserve currency. And they mean business. I mean, they are going around to several different countries and

basically holding them hostage to their debt. And it is a major problem that we have to, in my opinion, be smart about the way that we are crafting policy. And we have to start being independent here, bringing jobs, keeping jobs here in America and strengthening our country. Because we know that when we strengthen our country here, bring jobs back home when we strengthen our military here, that ensures peace abroad.

What is there's been quite a bit of discussion about President Biden's comments that Putin is a war criminal. I believe he's a war criminal. Is that something he should say? What are your thoughts on that? Can we as a country, a leader of the free world, allow him to continue to be what he's doing?

You know, first off, Putin is evil. He is no doubt a KGB thug. I mean, that is who he is. We have to stand up to him. But the problem is that the way you stand up to Putin is not through saying mean things about him. I mean, the Biden, Tony Boone, the face can say, you know, can say what I just said. He's a thug. He's an evil war criminal. He says all these things. Putin doesn't care. What he cares is that he responds to strength.

And what has Biden done with our military in the last year? Well, let's just review. One year ago, at this time last year, Biden said that the number one issue in the military is white supremacy. And we need to root out white supremacists in the United States military. He wasn't focused on training our soldiers and making sure that we're ready to go up against our adversaries abroad. He wasn't investing and making sure they had the resources and the resources.

equipment and everything to make sure they're ready for the mission. No, he was going on this witch hunt for right to embassy. And then he fast forward a little longer, and then we had the huge just mess in Afghanistan, the way that he pulled out without any kind of plan. I mean, just horrible strategic issues there. All of his kind of just telegraphs, everything he's going to do, and all of his kind of blunders have added up over time. And Putin can see this, and our other adversaries have seen just how weak

our commander in chief and our failed foreign policy out of the White House. And so if we had a stronger military, that's what Putin responds to. It's not just words or sending mean letters. Absolutely. Jeremy, let me stop you here because we have to go to break here in about 30 seconds. But one last time, I think I love what you're saying. I think a lot of our listeners will tell folks how they can follow you, how they can find you and how they can support your campaign.

Yes, we'd love to have your support. Even if you're able just to chip in just $5, $10, $15, it really goes a long way. You can find us on our website, JeremyForGeorgia.com. That's J-E-R-E-M-Y, F-O-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-R-G-E-

Instagram at the Jeremy Hunt on Facebook as well. Follow us. Fantastic. Jeremy, thank you so much. We love having you on the program. Love to have you on again. Breaking Battlegrounds back next week. The political field is all about reputation. So don't let someone squash yours online. Secure your name and political future with a your name dot vote web address from GoDaddy.com. Your political career depends on it.