In interviews across the nation as Fox News Radio’s featured pre-game analyst for the Vice Presidential debate, Pudner focused on specific issues, such as when he credits Scarlett Johnson, Chair of the Ozaukee Co. Moms for Liberty, for simply defining what should be normal vs. the aggressive trans-push by liberals:
John Pudner
“I just did a surrogate tour in Wisconsin, and we just have these side by side Faith and Freedom Coalition pieces where it’s just ten issues, yes and nos on each candidate’s position, we footnote everything, and people love them. You can just see how hungry they are for something to put in front of their friends to just go through the ten issues and see where we are. And to your point, clearly the word weird focus grouped well for Democrats, they just started using in everything, and it is just marketing. What does that have to do with what you’re paying for groceries, for gas, on some of the issues with just a border-free country? What does that have to do with men in women’s sports? Nothing! What is the word weird? You’re going to win a campaign by saying the other side’s weird? That seems very weak.”
Ditch
“Don’t you think, John, that actually, the ones that have focus grouped the word weird are actually, in most American’s eyes…that guy, Tim Walz, is truly strange.”
John Pudner
“The left has said Trump shouldn’t have done the Biden’s too old tagline, and that came back on him, maybe, but to your point, centering the word weird. I think about these aggressive-trans ads saying here’s what Kamala is pushing, paying for trans-surgeries for prisoners, that rises to the point of weird for most Americans. They may regret making that work such a centerpiece. I’m not sure they win in the end on who’s the weird side. Had Moms for Liberty with me on this bus tour, and she just kept saying, “vote to make America normal again!”, why are we doing these bizarre things? I give Scarlett Johnson credit for that, stole that from her, she’s Moms for Liberty, that wasn’t my line!” (laughter and comments from hosts on Scarlett getting it right as the interview wrapped up)
Preview of Debate Coverage
As our WIFFC team continues our grassroots voter outreach efforts while touring with key figures across battleground Wisconsin, President John Pudner took a short respite from the campaign trail as Fox News Radio’s featured pre-game analyst for the Vice Presidential debate between US Senator JD Vance, representing former President Trump and the Republican ticket, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, representing Vice President Harris and the Democratic ticket, in a highly-anticipated showdown likely to be the last of this election.
Calling into Memphis, Tennessee, Pudner not only goes into the opposing approaches both sides planned to take heading into the debate, one focused on substance and transparency while the other on style and catch-phrases, but also how, more than anything else, the debate would highlight the stark contrast on the key issues for swing voters in critical states like Wisconsin. From the economy – addressing skyrocketing inflation, price increases, and major spending in Washington – to the border – record rates of illegal immigration, lax security, and rising overdose deaths as a result of narcotics crossing over – to common-sense stances for faith-based issues like abortion, men in women’s sports, and religious liberty, there is a clear dichotomy on the stances presented by both sides of this Presidential election.
That’s where, as Pudner further highlights, our comparison pieces come into play, with 132,746 distributed and 35,325 doors knocked across the Badger state in just 45 days, showcasing this contrast in as clear, succinct, and uncontrivable a manner as possible so faith-based voters are empowered and informed when they head to the ballot boxes this November. Pudner also features the recent surrogate tour he took across the state with grassroots activists like Scarlett Johnson, Chair of the Ozaukee Co. Moms for Liberty, who coined the simple phrase that best summarizes our message, “vote to make America normal again!”
As both Pudner and hosts Ditch and Tim Van Horn distinguish, this stark difference on key issues for both swing and faith-based voters not only was the determining factor for the Vice Presidential debate, but for both tickets as Wisconsin and our nation edges closer toward what is mounting up to be the most-contested, dynamic, and anticipated election cycle in modern American history.
The following transcript of this interview is presented with minor edits:
Ditch
Our buddy John Pudner joins us now this morning. John, how you doing?
John Pudner
Fantastic, thanks for having me!
Tim Van Horn
I’m actually looking forward to the Vice Presidential debate. I’ve heard some talk today saying this is not all that consequential, but you know, anytime that you can get in front of a national audience and share your message, it’s always, it seems, an opportunity, and we’ve seen in the past that there have been some memorable flubs that have tanked campaigns as well.
John Pudner
Yes, and it’s two people that voters have not seen on a debate stage before, as opposed to, obviously, Biden and Trump, where they’ve seen them both lots of times over the years, so I think that adds to it, and of course, just the fact that it looks like it’s the last debate of the season between anyone, so that that should shoot up the viewership a good bit, I would think.
Ditch
This is going to be, probably, a debate for, I’m sure, lots of clickable moments. What is it you think JD Vance’s move here? JD Vance has been criticized with some commentary, but he’s…as far as his speeches and his public appearances, he’s pretty steady as a rock. He doesn’t seem to get rattled too easily.
John Pudner
I agree. The whole campaign really is the Republicans trying to keep it focused on the issues. They have all the top issues – inflation, immigration. People trust them more on the issues they care about and the Democrats have come up with this word “weird”. They want it to be about personalities, and they must have focus grouped that somewhere, because that seems to be the word they try to get in to describe everything, which is kind of interesting now seeing the counter-ads on some of the real aggressive trans-agenda they’re pushing on their ticket. But, they kind of want it off topic. Harris, give her credit, she got Trump talking about rally sizes, and anytime you spend on that, you’re not talking about the border and inflation.
Tim Van Horn
No studio audience, no energy to feed off of. What should Tim Walz focus on, and what should JD Vance focus on, in the time that they will have?
John Pudner
Well, in the old political days, I would be saying right now that Tim Walz is clearly the greatest debater in the history of the universe, and if he doesn’t match up to that, it’s a bad night for him. It’s the expectation game, and as you hear, Walz is doing the opposite, they’re doing the leaks on how he’s nervous, doesn’t think he’s a good debater, but that’s all framing to set a low bar for himself. He wants to keep it on non-topics. Vance wants to keep nailing down these top issues, and I think even more important, tying Harris back to him, got to keep saying she’s been here for three and a half years, which they’ve done a pretty good job of more recently – You can say what you want on the border, you haven’t done any of this for the last three and a half years, you can say what you want on how you’re going to suddenly make food prices go down, they’ve gone way up while you’ve been in power. This is your running mate’s record, and I think there’s some encouraging things for Republicans in polling. The one, I think, is a little concern for them is that Americans’, right now, are saying they only slightly prefer Trump on economy. That should be a slam dunk. You’ve got to remind people they’ve had the reins for three and a half years, and it’s been a disaster, and the more Vance leaves it with that, with Walz’s running mate is tied to these things that are that are just killing your home budgets, that’s what he needs to come out with.
Tim Van Horn
John, you reckon these current events of the Hurricane Helene and the dockworkers strike…Can JD Vance tie any of that into his opponent?
John Pudner
It could be, but it is a tricky one. The Republicans have benefited so much by more of a populist streak. Years ago, before the streak, which has really helped Republicans over the last decade, that would be a much easier hit. It is a little tougher hit when you’re really going for the working person out there. I wonder the same thing. Obviously, the docstrike is big news today. How does that play out? I’m not sure that’s a clean cut winner for either right now.
Ditch
You mentioned something earlier….I think voters are tired of being focus grouped. It shows me that you’re marketing. You’re not actually showing, honestly, who you are and what you plan to do, you’re just marketing gimmicks to me. If I’m interviewing the candidates for that position, which is what every voter should do essentially, one is a vanity campaign and the other is total transparency. Hillary Clinton is out there saying there’s going to be a big October surprise. What is it that about Trump that we don’t know already?
John Pudner
Good point. I just did a surrogate tour in Wisconsin, and we just have these side by side Faith and Freedom Coalition pieces where it’s just ten issues, yes and nos on each candidate’s position, we footnote everything, and people love them. You can just see how hungry they are for something to put in front of their friends to just go through the ten issues and see where we are. And to your point, clearly the word weird focus grouped well for Democrats, they just started using in everything, and it is just marketing. What does that have to do with what you’re paying for groceries, for gas, on some of the issues with just a border-free country? What does that have to do with men in women’s sports? Nothing! What is the word weird? You’re going to win a campaign by saying the other side’s weird? That seems very weak.
Ditch
Don’t you think, John, that actually, the ones that have focus grouped the word weird are actually, in most American’s eyes…that guy, Tim Walz, is truly strange.
John Pudner
The left has said Trump shouldn’t have done the Biden’s too old tagline, and that came back on him, maybe, but to your point, centering the word weird. I think about these aggressive-trans ads saying here’s what Kamala is pushing, paying for trans-surgeries for prisoners, that rises to the point of weird for most Americans. They may regret making that work such a centerpiece. I’m not sure they win in the end on who’s the weird side. Had Moms for Liberty with me on this bus tour, and she just kept saying, “vote to make America normal again!”, why are we doing these bizarre things? I give Scarlett Johnson credit for that, stole that from her, she’s Moms for Liberty, that wasn’t my line!
Ditch
John Pudner, it’s always good to have a conversation with you about the issues, my man. Thank you!
