Congressional contender Amanda Makki has the support of GOP leadership

The daughter of a refugee challenging Florida Rep. Charlie Crist talks about party priorities

Full transcript: 

John Solomon  0:06  
Hello America, and welcome to a new edition of the John Solomon Reports podcast from Just the News.com. What a busy weekend it was. I hope you had a great Memorial Day honoring the fallen. Those who serve, those who are heroes. I sure did, and walked away refreshed. But while that was going on, there was a lot of major news developments on the Russia-Ukraine front. The scandals that are continuing to grow. And new documents new revelations are coming each day, including how thin the original evidence was, when the FBI opened up Crossfire Hurricane in July of 2016. We've got the electronic communication that started it all and you won't believe how little it has and evidence. And also, big exclusive out this morning on Just the News.com, taking a look at text messages that have not yet been publicly released, that show that the FBI was worried in January '17. Right at time that the agents were recommending that the Mike Flynn investigation be shut down for lack of evidence, lack of criminality, lack of counterintelligence threat. No derogatory information. 

John Solomon  1:17  
While that was going on, the FBI was worried about sharing the tech cuts, the intercepts of Flynn with the Russian ambassador with the Obama White House because they thought it would be politically weaponized. We're gonna have that for you as well. And a great interview with a candidate for Congress in Florida. Republican Amanda Makki, of Pinellas County in in Florida. She's got a tremendous bio. She's running against Charlie Crist, the former republican turned democrat in Florida. And Amanda is going to talk to us about everything from the pandemic in the Sunshine State, to politics, to even the recent ruling this past week, overturning part of the legislature's effort to allow felons to vote for the first time in Florida. Lots of news with Amanda Makki, but first, some talk of new developments in the Russia case right after this commercial break.

John Solomon  2:15  
Alright folks, welcome back from the commercial break. And as promised, we're going to talk about Russia in a second. But first, I want to encourage you all to support our sponsors and advertisers. They make this show possible they make Just the News and all the great investigative reporting we do there possible. And today I have a big announcement. We have started an online store. That's right. Where you can buy gadgets like a phone sterilizer for your cell phone to get the germs off of it, earbuds, a really cool nifty tool that's a portable charger for your battery in your car. If your car dies, you can jump it right from this device. We've got a really nice ensemble of gifts and items just as Father's Day is coming up and the way you get to go to the store.

John Solomon  3:00  
Is JTNStore.com, that's JTN for Just the News. JTNStore.com. Go there now, you can buy all these gadgets and you'll be supporting our reporting. You'll be supporting the great work at Just the News and John Solomon Reports. So keep that in mind. Share it with your friends, JTNStore.com. The new shopping experience at Just the News, you're gonna love it. A lot of fun gadgets, potential gift ideas for dad for Father's Day. And just for doing things at home when you're bored right now, as we're all stuck at home at the pandemic. All right now to the Russia subject. One of our favorite subjects here on John Solomon Reports because there's so much transparency finally beginning to occur after two and three years of delays and obfuscation and lies. We now are getting a clearer picture. So first off, let's start with a development late Friday night. My colleague Daniel Payne and I broke this around seven o'clock Friday night. 

John Solomon  3:59  
And that is the Justice Department, the FBI turned over to Judicial Watch, Tom Fitton's group, the original electronic communication that started the entire Russia investigation, Crossfire Hurricane, July 31 2016. I could not believe what I read when I saw this document because it has no evidence of wrongdoing. In fact, it suggests that that the reason they were looking at George Papadopoulos remember that was the original person that they opened up on. The reason that we're looking at him was for illegal foreign lobbying. But the electronic communication opened didn't even articulate a specific crime in involving foreign lobbying. And it had third hand hearsay. Let me say that again. We opened up a criminal investigation of the Trump campaign in the middle of the 2016 election, on third hand hearsay, third hand suggestions.

John Solomon  4:56  
The information came from Alexander Downer, an Australian diplomat, who had met with Papadopoulos in May of 2016, and belatedly reported that during a conversation at a bar in London, that Papadopoulos had indicated he had some inkling that the Russians were in possession of damaging information, possibly emails from Hillary Clinton. I want to just read the predicate. This is what we opened up an investigation in a three year probe on, Papadopoulos, quote, suggests that the Trump team had received some kind of suggestion, so that he suggested a suggestion from Russia that it had damaging information. All right, that is about as weak as it gets. Hardly predicatable, according to FBI experts I talked to. But let me also mention that when Downer provided this information to the US government to the FBI, he caveated it saying he really wasn't sure what was going on, quote, it was unclear whether he or the Russians, we're referring to Papadopoulos...

John Solomon  5:59  
It was unclear whether he Papadopoulos, or the Russians were referring to material acquired publicly, or through other means. It was also unclear how Mr. Trump's team reacted to the offer. Alright, so we opened up an investigation from an Australian diplomat who has a third hand conversation, that the Russians might have material damaging to Hillary Clinton that they might have offered to the Trump campaign. They don't even know whether it's public information or stolen information. And they don't even know how Trump's campaign engaged. And yet we opened up an investigation. So listen, when I got this document, it just seemed implausible that this was the actual thing. So I sent it over to the former intelligence chief for the FBI, Kevin Brock. You've probably heard him before. He's been on this show. He's a tremendous expert, and very well respected in the FBI community. And I asked him, if you got this electronic communication, you're an assistant director at the time. If you got this communication would you have opened up approved Crossfire Hurricane? 

John Solomon  7:01  
And let me read you what he said, quote, there is nothing in the AEC that meets the traditional thresholds for opening up a fair or counterintelligence investigation. It appears hastily constructed. And when I said, came to your desk but what happened, I wouldn't open an investigation. Not in a million years, I wouldn't have approved it as a squad supervisor. This would have set off alarm bells in any FBI field for not meeting our standard for establishing a criminal predicate. That's a former FBI man himself, Kevin Brock, former intelligence chief under Robert Muller, saying that the FBI did not have cause, did not have the predicate to open up the case on July 31 2016, known as Crossfire Hurricane based on the electronic communication that Pete Strzok wrote, and let me just mention one other thing about the document. It shows that Pete Strzok, now fired counterintelligence agent, the one who had the affair with Lisa Page and gave us all those amazing text messages shows that he both drafted the memo and also approved it.

John Solomon  8:06  
So he approved his own investigation, another oddity that was flagged by Kevin Brock and other experts who looked at it. Well, thanks to Judicial Watch in a FOIA lawsuit, we now have the document that started at all. And we know what we long suspected now, that the investigation was open on the thinnest of information. Third hand suggestions, no corroboration and not even the articulation of a crime under the statute that was cited, which was foreign lobbying or Foreign Agent Registration Act lobbying. Wow, what a development. It just continues to build the case that the FBI did not have a basis, a predicate, to open up this probe that went on for three years through a special prosecutor and brought such harm to this country into the early capabilities of the Trump administration. 

John Solomon  8:56  
Now, speaking of Pete Strzok and text messages, I've got another story up this morning on Just the News.com. It's leading our site. If you get a chance, go take a look at it. New text messages that have not been publicly released really zero in on what puts Barack Obama in the Obamagate narrative. This is all related to the Flynn case. And let's take you back. It's 17 days before Donald Trump takes office. It's January 3 2017, 17 days from inauguration. It's one day before the FBI agent running a five month investigation on Mike Flynn, recommends that the Mike Flynn investigation be shut down specifically for a lack of evidence. So they're about to close out the Flynn case when Pete Strzok texts girlfriend, the FBI lawyer Lisa page, and they engage in a conversation about sharing the Flynn evidence, what we call the tech cuts, the intercepts of Flynn with Russian ambassador Kislyak to the White House 

John Solomon  9:57  
And there's a great concern in these text messages, that giving it to Barack Obama in the White House, as was being discussed at the time might lead to its political weaponization. Why is that? Because Barack Obama was a critic of Flynn and fired him in 2014, and November of 2016 he told Trump to fire... or not to hire, Flynn is National Security Adviser. So the President and the people around him in the intelligence community had a vendetta, didn't like Michael Flynn, didn't like the idea that he might be the chief National Security Advisor for the incoming President Donald Trump. And it's in that context that these text messages come in and so Strzok is talking to Page, on the night of January 3 2017. He relates a conversation you just had with his boss Bill Priestap. Remember, that's the guy that wrote the handwritten notes a few weeks ago that were released, that said that they thought the FBI was playing games he thought, in the Flynn investigation, it might be trying to catch him in a lie, just to get him fired or prosecuted. 

John Solomon  10:59  
Remember those handwritten notes we talked about on the show, so Strzok talks to Priestap and here's what he relates to Lisa page. He like us is concerned with oversharing information. Doesn't want clapper, that's the DNI James Clapper, giving CR, that's Crossfire Razor, the codename for the Flynn case, cuts. Those are the intercepts to the White House. Let me read that again.

John Solomon  11:23  
He, Bill Priestap [unintelligible], Strzok and Page is concerned with oversharing, doesn't want Clapper giving the Crossfire Razor intercept cuts to the White House. All political, just shows our hand and potentially makes enemies. And then Page responds back yeah, but keep in mind we're going to put that in the doc on Friday with potentially larger distribution than just the DNI. So, she's talking about the fact that they're about to put out their first Russia incursion report, Russia interference election report on January 5, two days from then and She's saying what's the big deal? 

John Solomon  12:02  
And he writes back, the question is, should we particularly to the entirety of the lame duck US intelligence community with partisan axes to grind? What are these text messages say? Well, they say that the FBI agents working the Flynn case knowing it was about to be shut down, were concerned sharing the tech cuts the intercepts of Flynn for fear that they would be politically weaponized and allow people in the intelligence community didn't like Flynn, possibly the President himself, to weaponize into grind their political access against Trump and Flynn. Extraordinary, extraordinary text messages that raise new questions. And so there's a timeline in this story that lays out why federal and Senate and House investigators are now focused on the possibility that President Obama's dislike, disdain for Mike Flynn might have driven the FBI to ignore its own agents recommendation to shut down the case and to instead keep it going and schedule that interview where they trapped him into a lie and then prosecuted him. 

John Solomon  13:10  
It goes all the way back to 2014 and has some pretty remarkable moments... some documents that have not really gotten the attention that they deserve. And it really shows that the FBI talked about creating an insurance policy to make sure if Trump became president, they can neutralize him. That occurred August 15. The next day, August 16, they opened up the Flynn investigation. Seems to be a pretty clear pathway that the insurance policy discussed by Strzok and Page was opening up a probe on Flynn. The day after they opened up on Flynn and two days after talking about the insurance policy, hey send an FBI agent into brief Trump, but his real mission is to spy on Flynn and get a read on Flynn. And then within a couple of weeks of that as the Flynn investigation is just starting to unpack and begin, Strzok and Page engage in a text message. They're preparing a briefing for the White House to help the President on the early Russia investigations for President Obama. 

John Solomon  14:12  
And here is what Page texts Strzok. POTUS, meaning Obama wants to know everything we're doing. Everything. It's very unusual for a president to be inter intertwined with an ongoing FBI investigation. And yet these text messages suggested that Obama wanted to be read in on everything. And then remember, Trump wins the election, November 8 2016, November 10 he goes to the White House and what does Obama do during the one time they have to meet to prepare for a transition? Obama tells him to dump Flynn. Remarkable that occurred on November 10. And then by January 3, January 4, the FBI's professional agents on the front line have decided there's no counterintelligence threat. There's no criminality by Mike Flynn, the right thing to do is to shut down the investigation. 

John Solomon  15:01  
And that's when Strzok and Page talks about the political weaponization, the sharing of the tech cuts the intercepts, and then struck gives the order allegedly from the seventh floor of the FBI meaning the management suite, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, do not shut down the investigation, keep it open. And then they pivot to an interview, where of course, we know they tried to trap Flynn into a lie and they ultimately got him prosecuted and fired. And remember, Bill Priestap, Strzok's boss, the guy who has the conversation on January 3 raising concerns about sharing the information with the White House, he writes in his notes as they're preparing to interview Flynn when they should have just shut this case down. He writes in his notes, what is our purpose to get the truth? Or are we trying to catch him in a lie so we can get him prosecuted and fired? 

John Solomon  15:54  
It was a remarkable handwritten notes and a remarkable sequence events and right now, Senate and federal and investigators are trying to determine was the FBI his decision making in that timeline? Was it driven by Barack Obama's disdain for Mike Flynn? Was that a direct order from President Obama? Was it just interpreted hearsay, but whatever the case is, the focus on Barack Obama and in his connection to the Mike Flynn fiasco is coming into clear focus thanks to these new documents, thanks to ongoing investigations by Senators Ron Johnson, Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham, and of course the House Republicans who've been pursuing this for two or three years. So that's the big development that happened while you were enjoying your Memorial Day weekend, significant new revelations in the Russia front. It's going to be a busy June and July in Washington, as new declassifications occur, and as an ongoing investigations unfold new evidence. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw in the next 10 days or so. 

John Solomon  16:58  
The release of the actual transcript of Mike Flynn's calls with the Russian ambassador, because they're... my sources tell me, they're not as dispositive as made out to be. He didn't actually specifically talk about sanctions or asking the Russians not to react to sanctions. It's a very interesting conversation. And I think we'll get the transcript and be able to determine whether the charge of lying to the FBI was warranted based on what we know. All right. We're going to go to a commercial break when we come back, our Republican congressional candidate from Florida, Amanda Makki, who's got a fantastic story, a personal biography that's just amazing. Now running up against Charlie Crist in Florida's congressional district near Pinellas County. We're going to talk to her about all things Florida, including politics, the election, the pandemic, in a recent court ruling affecting the ability of felons to vote in Florida. We'll be right back after these commercial messages.

John Solomon  18:04  
Alright folks, welcome back from the commercial break. And as promised, we have a very special guest today, Amanda Makki, a Republican in Florida running for a House seat, challenging Charlie Crist in the Pinellas County area of Florida. Amanda, welcome to John Solomon Reports. 

Amanda Makki  18:19  
Thank you so much for having me, John.

John Solomon  18:21  
 Oh, it's a pleasure. So you've made a lot of news already. In fact, I believe the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has endorsed you even though you have a primary still coming. So the leadership is behind you. 

Amanda Makki  18:33  
Yeah, that's true. Yeah, I think that they've realized that this race is critically important in Pinellas County, just outside of Tampa, just outside of you know, MacDill Air Force Base, is really strategically important because it's the bellwether of the state. It was in 2016. President Trump won this county by 5500 votes. And so because it's so important, there is a lot at stake for the National Party to not only be able to take the seat back for GOP control of the House, one of 17 seats we need to flip, but also because it's strategically very important for the presidency. And so I think just having a huge get out the vote opportunity here in November is going to get not only our base really excited on the republican side, but independents and democrats who President Trump did extremely well with in 2016, here in Florida, 13th district, energizing that base to get out as well is really important too. So I think the party has seen you know, not only in Kevin McCarthy's endorsement, [unintelligible], Elise Stefanik, who's been in charge of really recruiting women with a viable path to winning, they've all endorsed me and you know, the good news is they endorsed early because they really saw in the primary there's one person wou can beat Charlie and that's me. 

John Solomon  20:02  
That's remarkable. And recruitment has been the key for Republicans this year. We've had Kevin and Steve on the show and both of them have talked about how important it was to find the right candidate and each of those important swing districts and you're clearly one of them. So that's a big, big get. Now, your personal bio is remarkable. Your family obviously escape persecution. What do you tell our listeners, just a little bit about your background and how you came to be a candidate for Congress? 

Amanda Makki  20:29  
Sure. So you know, I always tell people, you know, when I go knock on doors, or when I'm calling people I saw me I'm a little bit of a different different type of candidate. I was born in Iran and my family and I, we escaped, you know, religious persecution, a country that is known for beheadings and killings of people who are not the right religion who don't believe in the system they believe in. And you know, my parents were 26 years old. I was just an infant. We escaped. My parents didn't have two nickels to rub together when they came to the United States. They came here legally, they worked hard, they contributed back. And you know, my mother delivered Yellow Pages, so that she could put my father through school, so that he could ultimately become a surgeon which he is to this day. And you know, I always say the only thing that distinguishes you in America, it's not your pedigree. It's not your last name. It's your ability and drive to work hard. If you work hard, you can build and achieve whatever you want to and I think I'm proof positive of that. My family is proof positive of that. And you know, when I think of everything that my father sacrificed, and my mother, I mean, my mother raised us but my father, you know, he gave up being a father, he gave up, you know, being able to spend time with his family because he worked to give us a better life and that's, that's what he did. So that, you know, I could be able to get a college education, go to law school and ultimately be in a position to be able to serve my country running for Congress. 

Amanda Makki  22:08  
I graduated from college in 2000. And my passion was really in politics. And I had a degree in finance. And I remember my father saying, you know, you want to be in politics. You know, your last name is not Kennedy, your last name is Makki, you know, who's going to give you a job, they're not going to roll out the red carpet for you. And I thought, well, if I work hard the way you did, then they will. And he kind of thought that that was just cute. But really, that's what I did. I worked really hard. I volunteered, I did all the all the work that you know, it takes to be involved in a campaign and everything and ultimately, I became a political appointee in the Bush Administration. Just weeks after 911 I was able to serve the Department of Army at the Pentagon. And that was, you know, my service to my country. It was an incredible time. You know, the terrorists had just attacked our country being born in Iran, you know, I thought what can I do? native Farsi speaker. And obviously, that was very, very important at the time. Ultimately working in the Pentagon, I was able to serve my country. But from there I moved on and I worked in healthcare and veterans issues, became a lawyer, worked on Capitol Hill for a decade for various members of Congress and an advisory role. And from there, my last job, I was a partner in one of the largest law firms in the world. And I achieved all those things before I was 40. And I think that just tells you if I can do it as an immigrant to this country, you know, anyone can do it. And that's what's so wonderful about our nation. 

John Solomon  23:49  
It is a remarkable story. And it's a remarkable country that keeps giving us stories like yours. That's what's so amazing and great about America. So many people talk us down but the the path of hard work and determination can really give anyone the chance to to achieve what they want. It's so remarkable now... go ahead. 

Amanda Makki  24:10  
I was just gonna say, you know, being that we just, you know, finished our Memorial Day weekend 2020 this year, yeah, I was knocking on doors. And I remember, you know, introducing myself and saying to someone that, you know, my background, he said, Well, I'm so glad that you're here. And he has served in the Navy. And I said to him, I said, Well, it's because of the sacrifices that you and so many others make, that you allow people to, you know, have this opportunity. And, you know, I think it brings into play all the issues that we're contending with right now with immigration and, you know, legal versus illegal and I think you know, my family legally immigrated here and I think that's so important. We must always remember that, you know, the sacrifices that people make, it's important to it's important to be aware of how the sacrifices impact our laws right now. And if we allow people to, you know, illegally come to America and not respect our laws, then we are not honoring the sacrifices that people are making for our country. And I think that's just an important, you know, point to make, as we you know, round out Memorial Day.

John Solomon  25:20  
For sure for sure. Now, what are some of the other issues you have some background in the healthcare industry and providing healthcare? What, what are some of the issues that are going to be key to Florida in the fall election? 

Amanda Makki  25:32  
Sure. So my background in healthcare really started when I was when I was a teenager. My father, being a doctor, I would say your child labor laws don't apply to your parents. So I began working in his office, right around the time of Hillary healthcare. So, you know, the early 90s when we were talking more HMOs and different types of health care management maintenance organizations, and you know, it really changed our healthcare system, and my father as a specialist, he was so confused, how come I can't see my own patients anymore? No, they have to go to their primary care, if their primary care doesn't let them come to you, then you know, you can't see them. So I think, you know, we have experienced so much change in our healthcare system. But one thing to answer your question, you know, having worked in healthcare policy for, you know, 10 years on the Hill and off the Hill for another, you know, four years, I think that it's really important that we focus on where the biggest cost drivers are. And you know, as someone who has a pre existing condition, I think it's wholly important that we protect patients with pre existing conditions. In fact, when I worked in medical billing, I remember you know, we would get a surgery approved for a tonsillectomy, and they would come back and say, Well, you know, the patient had all these episodes of tonsillitis. It's a pre existing condition, we're not covering the surgery, and it's like, well, we already went through this, you approved it, and so...

Amanda Makki  27:00  
I always think of, you know, the chronic disease conditions like diabetes and hypertension and high cholesterol and obesity, and you think of the chronic disease condition, those are the largest drivers of our health care costs. And so if we pay more attention to those patients and the care that they need, instead of trying to up end an entire healthcare system, I think we would be in a much better position not only saving money, but also to be able to really take care of the patient's needs. So when I talked to the small business people in my district, you know, whether they're hairdressers or small business owners, or, you know, restaurant owners, we are about 50% of our private sector employment is in small businesses. And when you talk to those people, they all say the same thing. I basically have the same insurance that I had, maybe it's a little bit worse than before Obamacare, but I'm paying exponentially more than I did before Obamacare. Why is that?

Amanda Makki  28:03  
And so if your out of pocket costs for a family of four, it is not unheard of to have to spend out of pocket upwards of 20 to $25,000 out of pocket, that means your premiums and your deductible and any of your out of pocket costs, before a dime is spent by the insurance companies, then what have we really done under Obamacare, other than make things a lot more expensive for people? And that's not fair. So I think we need to, you know, repeal Obamacare, look at making sure we protect pre existing conditions, as I said, That's wholly important to someone like me to, you know, the masses of people who have chronic disease conditions in the United States. But we've got to look at how we focus on patients, you know, chronic disease management, before we just say we're going to change the healthcare system for everyone. We don't need to change the health care system for everyone. 

Amanda Makki  28:52  
The people that are out, you know, in whatever profession they are, if they're, you know, six months on a boat somewhere you're fishing or whatever they might be doing, they may not come back to go to a hospital, they may not come back to get health care. So why don't we focus on the people who need to get their chronic care disease under manage under management. And then I think you will see a large cost savings to the system, which affects everyone. 

John Solomon  29:18  
And you expect healthcare will be an important issue this fall, right? I mean, I've been through the pandemic and all that, but people really are concerned about the being able to keep their insurance and keep their doctors in that uncertainty that Obamacare delivered everybody, more uncertainty and higher costs, right. That's sort of the what you hear in that constituency? 

Amanda Makki  29:37  
Well, I mean, that's exactly it. I mean, they weren't able to keep their doctors and you know, Obama did make that promise. And I remember I was working on capitalist the time and I thought, no way, no way because I had worked in the health care system. I'd been in a provider's office before I ever made my way to, you know, the realm of Capitol Hill and working on healthcare policy, and I said, that's a lie. There's no way that you know, you can have a system where you are able to keep your doctor when you're changing the entire healthcare system. There's no way so you know, costs went up, you weren't able to keep your doctor. And I think that that's, you know, that's something that voters are going to be very concerned about health care costs, as well as being able to have the freedom and the liberty to be able to see the doctor of their choosing. 

John Solomon  30:25  
Now, there's no doubt. Are there other issues, you mentioned immigration, that's going to be an important one, what are some of the other issues that are resonating among your constituency and in the larger, you know, Florida populace? 

Amanda Makki  30:35  
You know, I would just say that the economy... rebooting the economy is really important. I mean, after everything that's happened, and you know, the President, I think it's done a remarkable job of really doing the best that he can under the circumstances. And you know, I think our governor has done a really great job. We were one of the last the close first open, and I think that is, you know, really just an opportunity to highlight what Florida has been able to do, which is to focus on where the... you know, identify where there are problems, you know, south Florida more in particular and the rest of the state, you know, he allowed them to open we had to wait a little bit, you know, longer with South Florida, but I think that's important because the economy is... when you think of the Florida economy, 40% of our economy is tourism. And we had no tourism during our peak tourism season. Because we have to, and so all the restaurants, all the small businesses, all the tourism related industries here, you know, they suffered, and so how do we get that back up and running is hugely important. And I think, you know, I call it rebooting the economy. I think that we need to focus on that and I think that's what the President's gonna want to focus on. 

Amanda Makki  31:58  
And hopefully the Democrats are going to want to, you know, focus on that too, because I believe we are going to have a Republican controlled Congress. And thankfully, we will have, you know, leadership from Kevin McCarthy at the home where we can focus on the issues that matter to people, the backbone of our economy. You know, everyone says that are small businesses, so we've got to focus on what we need to do here to get our economy back going. So I think that and health care, probably the two top issues that are that our country is going to face. And I think a lot of people think, you know, we have to artificially do something we have to flatten it like a pancake, which we did. We, you know, the economy was strong... It was, you know, it was a strong economy, but now we've had we have to rebuild it. 

John Solomon  32:44  
Now, another issue that's gonna come up is access to... or how the election is going to be conducted this fall and obviously the Democrats are making an all out effort to go to all mail in voting. You just had a big ruling in your own state this weekend, concerning the right of family to vote and the way it was implemented, what do you think will happen in terms of access to the ballots? Do you think that mail in voting is going to become more prevalent in Florida and across the country? Or do you think that the courts will intervene and try to create a more enforced way of making sure that when you vote, you really are who you say you are, and you have the right to vote? 

Amanda Makki  33:21  
Well, I always think that that's important. I mean, you know, I don't understand I never understood how come when I go to a library to get a library card, I have to show that but, you know, I don't when I go, when I go to vote, you know, that doesn't make any sense. And so I think that, you know, from my perspective, I certainly believe that, you know, the integrity of the voting system is critically important. And when I think of voting in person, to me... I take great pride in that, you know, it's not just the lapel sticker that I like to where I really just take a lot of pride in being able to vote and I think if we as as a whole and society, you know, the public brought in over a billion dollars during COVID...

Amanda Makki  34:11  
Then if people can go to the grocery store, are you telling me they can't vote? I mean, are you really telling me that people can vote in person? I think that people are smart enough there they are now accustomed to wearing a mask, they can certainly vote. And if you know we need more polling places, if we need drive thru polling places, all of those things are fine, but people want to be able to go and vote and for the people who want to mail in, absolutely. That's never been an issue. They can they can mail in their ballot. But um, you know, to say that people aren't, you know, this is a philosophical divide I think we have between Republicans and Democrats. as Republicans. We're not going to tell you you can't go and vote. You're better off staying calm and just and just sending in your ballot. I mean, that's crazy.

Amanda Makki  34:59  
People are smart enough to make their own decisions. And that's what this is. This is the philosophical divide, I would say is that, you know, Republicans believe you can make your own decisions, Democrats think so they have to tell you what to do. And I just don't understand that at all. Um, for me, it's pretty obvious. You can go in and vote. If you want to mail in, you can mail in, I'll be voting in person. 

John Solomon  35:19  
There you go. And now one of the narratives that I've seen in the media the last couple weeks, it seems to be a concerted effort across various media that Donald Trump has a problem with senior citizens and particularly senior women. Do you see that in Florida? Is there a disconnect? Or are you feeling good about the coalition of seniors in Florida that delivered the republican victories in the last four or five years? 

Amanda Makki  35:44  
You know, President Trump is extremely popular here. I don't know if you saw the boat parade we had this week?

Amanda Makki  35:52  
 I it was incredible. It was remarkable. I mean, you know, take take a poll and then look at that. You know, it's just remarkable what he has done and I cannot tell you how popular he is here. I mean, people absolutely... You know, they just think that  he's great and what he's doing is great. And and it's not just the talking point people really like him. I'm going to give you an example, my next door neighbor, she self proclaimed Kennedy Democrat. And I remember having this conversation with her. And I said, well, I guess you're upset that, you know, Hillary Clinton lost. She said, No, I voted for President Trump. And I said that you did. And she said, yeah. She said, I like that he's not a career politician. And I think the genuineness of a president who campaigned, made campaign promises, is keeping his campaign promises whetheryou like them or not, he won by a landslide. He won by landslide and his campaign promises is something that he has tried to keep every step of the way and I think people appreciate that.

John Solomon  35:52  
I did.

Amanda Makki  37:00  
And I will just tell you that, you know, people here think he's doing a good job and something else that people say. I'm glad we finally and this was long before COVID I'm glad we finally have a president who's willing to stand up to China. Now, this district is hugely a midwestern transplant district. Unlike when most people think, oh, there's tons of new people from New York and New Jersey in the Mid Atlantic, yeah, they are on the 95 side, they're on the East Coast side of Florida. The west coast of Florida is... the basically the west coast of Florida is taking you know, 75 straight down. And so you're talking Michigan are talking Indiana, lots of Hoosiers, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Atlanta. So it is a real mix of the Midwest. And people here I was like saying that's the guy or the gal works in a ball bearing plant in Canton, Ohio moved down to get out of the frozen tundra. And so these are people who really care about jobs and manufacturing jobs in particular and those jobs that, you know, the President's trying to protect. And I think that's what they love about him, quite frankly. So you know, if the polls say that I just say look, come down and see it for yourself.

Amanda Makki  38:26  
I think the the polls... the polls are the polls, but the people when you talk to them, you hear a story, and the story is compelling. And the story is that they're happy with what the President's doing. 

John Solomon  38:38  
For you personally, what is the key to winning this fall? You've got a fella that used to be governor, used to be a republican used to be governor, now a House member, Charlie Crist. How do you go about, you know, putting together a winning coalition against him. 

Amanda Makki  38:54  
So Charlie's been campaigning since I was nine years old. I'm 41. He's been in office for three decades. There isn't a brick in the sidewalk named after him because he doesn't do anything for anyone but himself. He has run for something better every four years. He's been a Republican. He's been an independent. He's been a Democrat. He hasn't been in the Whig Party yet. There's still time.... But the point is, is that people are so tired of career politicians. And you know, that there's, you know, the President was on to something when he said, you know, we gotta go drain the swamp. And, you know there's Charlie who's a creature of the Tallahassee swamp and the Washington swamp, that's what he is. This is a person who was the Republican governor of the third largest state in America and now he's part of [unintelligible] leadership team. He is part of Nancy Pelosi political arm of getting people like Rasheeda Talib and Ilhan Omar reelected. 

Amanda Makki  40:02  
And you know, when I think of who I am, and being the voice of Pinellas County, I think of someone who has a healthcare background who has a small business understanding from working in a small business, my father's a small business owner, having an understanding of government knowing the ins and outs. And I think that is the type of person that is going to work hard for people. Because at the end of the day, this job is about being a public servant. And when you're nowhere to be found in the district, when no one knows how to reach you, and all people say is I've tried calling him but I never get an answer... You're not a public servant. You don't have the heart of a public servant. And that's what this job is about. So I think that what we're going to be able to do is show what a true public servant is, and bring that to the table for people and people rewarded Bill Young for all the hard work that he did, and no one can even eclipse... no one can come close to the things that Bill young and his staff did for this community, it's just remarkable. 

Amanda Makki  41:06  
And people here love him. And when I think of every day when I campaign every day, when I call people every day, when I do interviews like the one I'm doing with you, I think of the best person to be able to leave this community. This district is someone who can channel in everything Bill Young and his staff did for this community. And that's what people are looking for. 

John Solomon  41:28  
That that's a big set of shoes to fill. But it's it's definitely the right model because he was here for a very long time and very well loved. Last question, because I know you got to get rolling back to the campaign trail. But what do you take away from the California victory last week in this special election where Republicans reclaimed a seat they once had... the first time they flipped the democratic seat in California in 22 years? What what are some of the lessons that you take from that election as you as you go about trying to flip another democratic seat? Sure. You know, great question, President.

Amanda Makki  42:00  
Trump, I mean, he is popular. Look in California, he is popular. It's always who's at the top of the ticket. You know, and this year is a perfect example. President Trump will be at the top of the ticket in Los Angeles ... whatever, you know, Santa Clarita county is in the Los Angeles area. I mean, I don't think Los Angeles is a stronghold for Republicans. They shellacked the Democrats. It was double digit. So if you can win in Los Angeles, as a Republican, I will have no problem beating Charlie Crist in Florida ... And I think you know, that's a testament to the President. That's the testament to the Republican values. And I think seeing people like Governor Gavin, having Nancy Pelosi, you know, look at the California leadership and people say no thanks. We would much rather have a Republican controlled Congress and send a Republican to Congress to be able to deliver for us. We want to get back to work. We don't want to be closed. The President wants to open up the country. The governors want to keep it closed in Democrat states. That's, that's what the will of the people is about. And that's what's so wonderful about this country is that you have a democratic process that works. You have a democratic process that reflects the will of the people as it did in 2016, when President Trump won by a landslide, I believe he will win again, by a landslide. And I think what you saw last week in Los Angeles is exactly what you're going to see across the country. 

Amanda Makki  43:39  
You're going to have people who have demonstrated that they can be good public servants, strong public servants, and they want to open up the economy the way the President does, the way the Republicans do. 

John Solomon  43:53  
It's going to be a fascinating 170 days to election days. It's very exciting and we're going to be keeping a close eye on your race because it's one of the most important in the nation. And I know Kevin McCarthy in the House Republicans are super excited about your efforts there. So I hope we can have you back on maybe closer to fall election. 

Amanda Makki  44:11  
Yeah. I would love that. If your listeners would like to help me, my website is AmandaMakki.com. You know, these these elections are, they're expensive. We've done a great job of fundraising. We've raised 740,000 and our cash on hand at 613,000. So we've done a incredible job of staying lean, yes. Because we want to, you know, every dollar that we get, we want to be able to aim that right at our target. And so any contributions that your listeners can make, I promise that will be wisely spent. We run a very lean operation here, and anything they can do to help will just help us reclaim the majority in November. 

John Solomon  44:55  
All right, folks, you heard that AmandaMakki.com that's worth visiting. A lot of fun stuff on the site. And, Amanda, we wish you well and I hope to have you back in the fall. 

Amanda Makki  45:05  
I would love to thank you. 

John Solomon  45:07  
Alright, have a good day. All right, folks, that wraps up another edition of John Solomon Reports. I hope you like the briefing that we had on new developments in the Russia investigation of the investigators, as well as Amanda Makki's great interview, some real insights into Florida and trying to put a congressional House race into play for the Republicans. Remarkable bio there. So we're going to be back on Thursday with another edition and we're going to have Matt Gates, the Congressman from Florida. Yes, this is a Florida week for us Sunshine State week for us. Matt Gates will be joining us to talk about all things Russia and other oversight issues that he's doing, climate change. He's a big advocate of getting the Republican party to embrace a moderate policy to address climate change, we're going to talk about all of those things on Thursday. So you're not going to want to miss that. I expect we're going to have some new developments on the Russia front as well. So let's keep up to speed on that as well. I'm John Solomon. You've been listening to john Solomon reports at Just the News.com. We'll see you on Thursday.