Army. But as the to iraq, going overseas. And how he basically learned to love america. And then came out of as a conservative in order to help. Thats what always a soldier is always about. Always a soldier. You get the military memoir aspect of it, may with the basic training, me getting to know so many different types of people that i never been exposed to before. It and then i get out of the military and i was left is for a few years new york city but then a couple of years ago, i came out as a conservative and got a lot of blowback about that. And it is all about loving america and fighting for america as a republican billion now. Host you sir for five years in the u. S. Army. Including two tours in the middle east, and during the iraqi freedom, you awarded the medal. You have this military experience. To the chase you becoming a conservative. Talk about that evolution. Rob having military experience really does shape you into becoming conservative. At least he didnt suffer me. Not only military sprays but people that are on Law Enforcement officers, people were in some sort of service in that way. I think enters a lot of us conservatives because you really do realize the need for law and order. When i was in iraq, at that point in time, when i was deployed, you would see a lot of chaos at some point in the streets you would go in there to try to defuse the situation. And i think being able to see things from that side, as opposed to the side of just a regular citizen who is never really served for never really served in that way. We have seen things from that side, it really does put you in a different or more conservative side. On the basis of with, was noise a conservative, i was democrat up until three years ago and things just got too crazy for me. And i decided to come over to insane side will be lot of my buddies and i served with who i still talk to still today, they were conservative then and they are still conservative now. We talked about military services really shaped the way in which you see this country in the world. And i think it is super positive way. Host what happened recently that you said yourself, i am a conservative. Rob was quite evolution. First of all, i dont like being told how to think. I dont like to be told like to believe. Just because im gay or black or both. And there was a lot of that stuff coming from the left. Even outside of that, were talking about your politics and policy. There is a push for massive Legal Immigration that happens on the left. And this is something that has been documented to her working class africanamerican communities the most. It took about this a lot. In always a soldier. Black americans and are always left last when left. But is a game and, it was devastating cummings mortifying and at that point in time, i expected for the left to have my back. Expected for them to defend me this matter fact it did the exact opposite. And i was not even in support of the president is at the time freedom not comment as a conservative or republican in any capacity business on the republican response to this horrific act of terror that would perpetrated on gay and lesbian americans are an anathema need to look a little bit more strongly into this. Because i feel like the left sometimes itself into being politically correct that theyre not offending this group or that group or whatever that they miss out on some defending the rights of interest of the market people. Host how did you join turning point usa what is the goal. Rob turning point usa pounding on instagram actually. When i decided to come out as a conservative, came out there was an article about me. And i just basically started making videos and treating and saying how i really felt about the situations that are going on in this country. I put it on instagram breeding at that point in time, i remember i posted something about the daily mail article when i came out as a conservative. And she commented on it. And she kinda brought me into the turning point when she was the Communications Director and turning point at the time. Ive got to do it but a great work with turning point in the goal the turning point for me personally, i know their overall goal is to definitely conservative students on College Campuses the voice and for me the goal is that. But the goal is also to make people more, the ball and confident with being open about their conservative beliefs. Because i know what it is like to come out is a conservative. And friendly coming, and support the president. And i know people wo have money for five or ten or 15 years completely have nothing to do with you. So you have to have a strong sense of self and what you believe when youre are going to make that leap. And so what i like to do when they working with the student and turning point usa, is i want to encourage them to make at that leap and i want to make them Strong Enough to make that leap because many people that about open and honest about saying exactly with the believe. Because the left because its all of the time. The left is open and honest. It will tell you exactly with the think and what they feel. Theres too many conservatives and many republicans that are afraid of the blowback or losing their job. Afraid of losing their friends are straight from their families. And that is what i am trying to fight. Host what about the role of those in the military. Active military and getting them to vote. What is your message to them. Rob the thing about it is that my message the active duty military is people that are serving right now, they see what is happening in our country. If they see the rioting in the streets and they see this. You need to hear this for me because they can see for themselves. In the know what it is like to serve and they know what its like to be on the other end of those rights. They know what it is like to be the Law Enforcement officer of the person that is trying to keep the peace in the midst of all of this chaos. So my message to them as do you want to put the people that are the architects on this chaos and power or do you want somebody who is a law and order president he was law and order person and do you want american to defend into a mob chaos or do you want somebody that is going to enforce law and order. So this message. That is the question not only to military members meant to everybody in america. That is the question during this election cycle. Host if youre republican 2,027,488,000 oneparty democrats are seven. For active and retired military line this morning is 20274880003. Anton good morning to you and go ahead. Thank you for taking my call. I just wanted to make a comment because of your best. I had conversations morning. Ive been anti gay even though i have a lot of gay friends. The because of this gentleman i change my mind. Douglas emmett and god bless america. Claims that. I do know. All of a sudden, i had a turning point. And i became a citizen only because of trump. After many many years of being in the country and you know. I have hoped. I guess a part of it was this gentleman, i listened to him. My son was in the military. My grandchild in the military. I change my mind. I remember manas on television and so forth. I had the conversions morning. For now on 100 percent pro gay. As long as you love the country never mind. Hostinitiative hearing that. So what this amazing to me. So the reasons i decided to come out do all of this the reason i like a republican is because i think that wearing the time where americans doesnt matter if youre black or white or gay or straight or whatever. But i think the gay and lesbian american, we need to say that we love this country as well. In his arms to. And am so glad to be a part of the president has a coalition that is called the trump try or buy collation. Theres an Organization Called get out and vote. And follow them on twitter get out to vote in 2020. Condemning me very happy to hear from you because i think that its all about coming together as america. And when i am trying to do sure that we can do that no matter black white, gay or straight or whatever. Taken together as americans. Because in america as a gay man, i more free here than at any place on the planet. It and god bless america. If i am very thankful for that. Something full to hear that. Guest i am a gay american. And before we had the luxury of dont ask dont tell. And i just dont understand how a gay person let alone black person would be a republican. This is not a law and order president. Breaks the law. Anytime its convenient for expedient. In the first place in the second place there working in the background to change the laws against gay people. With this religious conscience. Baloney. And is working against our rights. For adoption, and other areas. I just dont see how you can do this. Rob so want to address for small, after break that down because that was a lot of comments princeton for small, he said that you dont see that i as a black person or a gay person can be for the presence of basically what youre saying is that because of these it characteristics, i am supposed to think a certain way because you cannot understand that. So i am not told, theres no reason for me to think the anyway, because of these characteristics for small pineapple podcast called problematic right now. That is what is all about sprinted some problematic because i dont subscribe to leftism and Democratic Party just because i am black and just he is in of the summer one. Second of all, the idea that this administration is somehow antigay or doing things to hurt gay and lesbian americans is false. This push for the left a lot. And you brought up religion. And i want to address that because first of all, i think that one of the biggest issues with gay and lesbian americans over the next ten years is going to be the just freedom. So how do we balance peoples religious beliefs with the fact that we live in a free country and gays and lesbians are american as anyone else. So the stuff of gay and lesbian americans been denied adoption. There is are so many places were gays and lesbians can adopt that dont have hardcourt religious things attached to them. So the religious freedom is all about if you have adoption name agencies and say we are christians and we dont believe the gays and lesbians should adopt or whatever, they cannot force them to do that. Because that is not a free country greatest on free country where the states force you to do anything. And as a gay man who wants to family someday, maybe ill adopt. Or sarah can see. Another entirely sure know that if there is an agency thats deeply religious that does not want to adapt to me just because im gay, there are a million of the i can go to. So that is when the tolerance comes into play. And you also have far left him a lot of people like i think it, a lot of people that said that we need to challenge and we need to make sure that these churches perform gay marriages did not were to take tax dollars away from them. I find this so furious. Then everybody does it was so focused on the christians and what they say or do not do in terms of gay and lesbian americans but nobody talks about sprinted and how we should use the government to go into their places of worship. We should make them be pro gay and make them do this and that greatest of that is a conversation that generally only needs go one way. Im very curious about that. I think the reason why is because like i said, people on the left, they do not want to sort of irritate or make some of what i call the victim group. So its very curious to me have those conversations are always kind of complacent. So its a wrap up this response. You know its been going on for a while. Cannot to me what im supposed to think about what, i mean, with the believer who i am supposed to vote for just because i am black and gay. And you dont like it. Host will go to florida. Active retired military. Active or retired, im sorry. Retired. Guest yes. Rob, i was a combat engineer and reincorporated and also guarded the United States embassy. So i have a diverse background. There are conservatives and there are democratic marines. And we got into a lot of discussions on active duty because we went and worked together just like in any unit. I never change. I voted for president carter at age 18. And definitely did not support this current president because i find them to be at the extreme right of your options. But my question to you rob, from one veteran to anothers, can you tell me with the minimum ages in australia. Rob the minimum wage in australia. I do have no no idea. Guest i live in australia but it is 19 and some change. An hour so want to get out of the marine corps, i just wanted to let you know what its like for people like myself that work with her hands. For a living, to make 10 an hour as a carpenter. Or 15 an hour as a carpenter would be at the highend here in florida. Difficult to make a living. So in the left, apart from your personal identity, which i respects only. All of its. Including the fact that your conservative. It makes it very difficult to make a living for us. So some of us have organized labor. I support we were in the right does not. They may talk at it but in reality, the administrative registration legislation group, which supports the president is very anti liver. This is why many of us in organized labor does for the present because they know support us. To hang in there rob. What about the rest of the world because we are all connected. As you would want us to be. Thanks and have a great day bro. Sue and yeah you do. But just want to say. To talk about labor unions and all that stuff. Im obviously not a carpenter. But i do know about certain unions they always think about teachers unions and prochoice and that. And i think that sometimes, unions are there to protect the workers that sometimes unions are just there and the people at the top is getting a lot of kickback from the left. In the workers on the ground are not really getting all of those benefits. So i will just leave it like that. Host nancy, a republican and annoy. Guest height. We have been told from lincoln said, united we stand, divided we fall that the democrats have continued to fight whether its ridge against four, straight against gay, black against white. They have said that some people have to be sacrificed in order for the rest of us to rise. The rich active avoid the money. Before to be satisfied with their status. But this president has proven that it can make us all price. That no one in this company is to forgive or forget about their dreams. People come to this country legally, also have their opportunities. Jeff and dreams come true. Not in the year five years or 20 years. Thats right now. We can all rise together. And that is why this president is great and i just wondered, do you feel its to most people they believe that we can all rise. And another thing to his schools used to be the equalizer. If we got a good education, we can all rise. With a screwed up her schools and her kids do not have the free opportunity so i would like to hear your a commoner that. Rob michael and that is and i believe legibly. We believe the same thing. I believe that if you have personal responsibility and if you work hard enough, anybody can be successful. God does my life is a testament to that. A lot of the criticism that i get is a front face in public figures and a lot of people think that i somehow come to conservative values because i was born wealthy are my trust fund for my family politics. This is none of that. Like i came from a single parent household and ohio. When the median wage, i know without a dislike. In the issue right now right you talk a better, the issues and you talk about Public School and college and all of that stuff. And particularly with our education skip to realize that this is all in my left and the hard left predictably and are larger cities. And what kids are being told those days, black is more than anybody else but the being told that you cannot do this. Cannot do that. You cannot succeed because of this. The gentleman that just called me to talk about the unions and talk to me about making 15 an hour. I think theres a mentality in all of the stuff and i think there will be in the overall find shift in which you will see a lot of conservatives but particularly on africanamerican conservatives of color because most of the time we do not come from wealthy backgrounds. But we know that personal responsibility and motivation is key and if you have an education system. And if you have a value and belief system that comes from the left, and tell people they cannot, they cannot they cannot and the reason they cannot, is because wealthy people in the recent people they cannot is because of whoever the president is. Up reason they cannot is because of all of these things they will never be able to control. And they didnt believe they cannot. And because believe that, they wont. And i think left to right, doesnt matter what side of the aisle you stand on, we need to fight against that mentality that is telling the citizens of our country that they cannot do it because of if youre in america right now, youve already hit the lottery. Youre already doing better than 97 percent of the world population. And i just think that we need to start letting people know they can, they should and we will. Host the democratic color. s b6 how you doing ms. Smith. This and i am calling about donald trump. He got out of the service by laying because he did not want to go. He also got his administrative to try to kick you out of the service. And he said parents and the democrats say that you cannot cannot breathe republicans are doing the same thing. And that republican calling and singular used to be a democrat. I changed. And democrat side, and then they change but what can our book anw can we get this hunch rate back on track if we keep going that way towards us. Nobody was to sit and talk about it. You have to get together. Donald trump, hes doing whatever he can to win. We all know that. New sit here you talk about the dude invest in but this man be lying of the time for individual look overlooking that. I just want to know when you went into the military, today know you are gay. And how is you treated. Rob some of those in the military, i was closeted. Actually i came out to a couple of people rated that when he came out, people were cool. And its interesting to me the troops try to keep you guys out of the military. Dont know if that is true because trump is out trying to keep gays lesbians and bisexuals out of the military at all. So thats something that is just not true. I think that in terms of your rights on one thing. Politicians are going to say whatever. So i focus on the people of done. I dont focus on was a nobody is set on twitter the media trying to ten people a because that is the world we live in right now. And focus on what is actually been done. Im not heres a surrogate for the president. Do not work for the rnc or Trump Campaign or any of official capacity aside from being invited or member of the trump gay and lesbian coalition. But i focus on things that are done. These are real things. Im going to tell you. Specifically, africanamerican voters. President trump permanently funded black colleges and universities. This something that is never been done before. This is something that cannot be undone when he leaves office. And you talk about the first criminal justice reform. So President Trump got that done. Why was obama president for a years and he couldnt get that done. I do not know. I was not another administration when it was making sure. To make sure that the first step had got past. Comprehensive criminal justice reform, 91 percent of the people that were released, after decades in prison for non violent offenses were africanamerican previous spoke to somebody when i was in dc last year. A man was telling me history, he had tears in his eyes. These are real people real things that the administration is on for black americans. And i always, always have to focus on the facts. Now you talked about i may be for the republicans everybody does the same thing. Politicians like read and not a politician. They do live reduce what they do. It is basically part of the administration so i think that for we as citizens, would make the decisions about who we will vote for prayed and decisions about how were going to change our own lives. Because only we can change our lives. Politics alerted that. Present obama didnt do it and present trump will do it and express will not do it. Only you can change life. So i challenge you to dig a little bit deeper into what has actually been done as opposed to people tweeting and digging up social media outrage about something that the president has set on twitter or said in the news. Host anthony is it retired disabled military event in minneapolis. Guest i would like to speak to rob. My problem with what is going on broth, your president has totally ignored the injustice in shootings that are going on in the black neighborhood. And im at a loss to understand it that how you totally forget about it. Evidentially, since you say you grew up in this poor neighborhood. You been harassed by police two. Were not. And the thing bothers me also is that maybe you were lucky rob greeted some people are lucky and they get up and the token gets pulled up and then they make everybody up. Rob have been called token. That is great. It. Guest like i say. Rob when you state token. [inaudible]. [inaudible]. Guest i apologize for calling you token. Okay i apologize. But what i am saying is we have that are years to put. Brown people from achieving. If youre sitting here telling me about a president that is basically, like i said. I want you to talk to me about just the other day been the rhythmic shot in the back. Do you ever worry about that. Are you me into that because you republican out. Rob okay, so let me respond. So now that im not being called the token. Also will respond to all of this thing. Number one. Some of this if your first time seeing me. Youre operating under the assumption that have not said anything about the thinking of the communities impacted by the shootings. So let me set you straight right now. We all saw what was happening in minneapolis a couple months ago. It service of the rights and everything that happened there. I was so distraught by what was going on that it started to go fund me. In all of these evil conservatives, donated to this go fund me we raised over 100,000 not going to deliver to minneapolis within a couple of weeks to help the small owners that were affected by that. I speak out a lot about the injustice is this happening the shootings. Treated by the shootings of the guy in wisconsin yesterday. I said the stuff is excessive. This is not right. Need to be followed. So if this is your first time seeing me coming operated under this assumption. These are in whatever assumption that you had received black person thats republican and this is the assumption the number one, im a token in the book to that i dont care about people the black Community Number three, i say silent when injustice is happening. None of those things are true. So first of all we need to clarify that spring and second of all what i believed always is a you say that i am special, then in this than that. But the thing about it is, i am not. I am talented and good at what i do but im not special. There is no reason than anybody in america cannot do what ive done. But let me tell you something, i joined the military and is there for five years and i risk my life overseas in order to get the opportunities that i have today. There is no reason than anybody in cannot do that, cannot make those choices. So when you talk about these injustices, there was a choice. You made another assumption, that is walked on the street everything today afraid of getting harassed by police. For that i have somehow had a negative experience with police my life. I have not had these experiences. So i think that we need to start listening to each other and talking to each other a little bit more and not getting their guard up so much to think negatively about another black person. Im assuming that you are black. To think so negatively about another black person just because im not a democrat. Just because i dont believe with the left tells me that i should believe prayed and just because and i may beliefs different things, because i bet you, we align on more things than we dont align on. The things that we dont align on, those are things that can be settled via conversation. With the conversations never going to happen when you call people tokens. Is never going to happen when you have a negative view of somebody that looks like you just because they dont share your power. Host thank you for having conversations this morning on a program with our viewers. We do appreciate that. Rob absolutely. Host for viewers to want to learn more about rob smith. His book is always a soldier. His folks person for turning point usa. Can follow him on twitter. Rob smith online. Usa to come is the website. Thanks again. Rob thank you so much. You are watching book tv on cspan to the top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. Tv, television for serious readers. Host welcome everyone. We are with politics and prose bookstore. And were going to discuss his book hatemonger. And before we get started that one to do some quick housekeeping. The first is tonights