Cliff Maloney
Appearances
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
It's great to be here, Charlie. I love how fired up you were for that first half, man. We've got a lot going on. I feel like every hour we've got something new, but we've got our country back, which is great.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
Yeah, so Pennsylvania, we had two special elections. The first was a state house special out in the Pittsburgh area. This is a Democrat seat, 75-25, no way to win that seat. And so obviously the Democrats kept that, which kept the majority in the House. But the major shocker, Charlie, was there was a special Senate election. This is Senate District 36. This is Lancaster, PA.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
This is a district that Trump won by 15 percentage points. It's actually an R plus 23 when you look at Democrat to Republican registrations. Republicans are up by 23%. If you look on the screen here, you can see this was a shock result. Democrats ran up the score. You see there the mail-in voting. 8,000 mail-in votes to Republicans, 3,000. And we ended up losing the race by about 500 votes.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
And Charlie, the most frustrating thing for me is we offered to run our PHA's program and we were told by the consultant class, hey, don't worry, it's a waste of money. We've got it. We're gonna get the mail ballots in. And now we're finding out they didn't chase one male in ballot with no paid ballot chasers. There was no program whatsoever.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
And so it's just frustrating for us to lose a seat like this in a time where we're supposed to be mobilizing in the off year. I thought that 2024 was going to be the time when groups like Turning Point, groups like Citizens Alliance, we went out and proved to folks, listen, all you have to do is take these Trump supporters and make them Trump voters. That's a great line of yours that's true.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
But the consultant class has yet to figure it out, Charlie. I'll take the blame for this. You know, I believe them that it was going to be a cakewalk, that it was going to be some sort of just easy win. And because we rested on our laurels, the Democrats have now shifted a Senate seat And we cannot let that happen again.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
So I'm committing on your show that no more will I listen to the consultant class and these corrupt folks in Harrisburg. We're just going to go do our program. And we cannot listen to these people who don't understand the power of chasing ballots.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
Well, look, I actually think it's a little worse than that. I think we were pushed out because, you know, people want to be able to take full credit. The nice thing about 2024 is we all work together. Right. We all say, look, we don't care who gets credit. We just want to win. And so we took the different tactics.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
We took the different assignments for certain states and certain ways that we were going to reach voters. And we all just owned it. And so what I find is, yeah, Charlie, I'm looking at the reports here. These folks are lining their pockets. They're not understanding how to communicate with voters.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
And it's every single excuse that we hear from the Ronna McDaniel types, from the previous GOP leaders, it's candidate quality. It's too extreme of a message. They're too MAGA. They're too America First. This is all the Monday morning quarterbacking you're hearing now because the consultants just don't get it. So yes, they're lining their pockets.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
But I also think they just don't understand we're not the party of Karl Rove anymore. The rules don't allow us to just spend millions on TV ads and then wonder why we didn't win. It's an election month. It is not an election week. It is not an election day in Pennsylvania. And it's time we actually adapt. I think the silver lining here, Charlie, is that these consultants have been so embarrassed.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
That even the most, you know, I would call them establishment type voters are like, how in the world did you lose a Trump plus 15 seat? Maybe this chasing of ballots is what we should focus on. So I'm hoping this is the wake up call for all of the patriots across PA to say we cannot miss an election. We have to chase ballots in every election in Pennsylvania.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
Yeah, well, I'm with you. I think if it gets to be pretty close, you know, we like Elise, but I think the power of having the majority is extremely important. So I would double down on that. But I think, Charlie, it's what we preached for the last year and a half, which is look in a lot of these areas. Look at Randy Fine's district. You know, look at Jimmy Petronas in this district, Florida one.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
They have the voters. OK, we're not talking about swing districts where, hey, you know, maybe we have to work on registration or maybe we have to do persuasion or maybe we have to message correctly. No, we just have to do the ground game to turn out our voters. So, yes, do they need to run traditional advertising? Sure.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
But I think the shift in mindset, the shift in the culture within Republican strategic circles has to be taking the model from 2024 and making it permanent infrastructure. Right. I mean, that's what we're doing in PA. We're doing 500000 doors every year.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
And I think the folks in Florida and the folks in New York, if it does come up for an election, we have to understand if you have the voters and you said this, you're the first person I heard ever say this. Take Trump supporters and make them Trump voters, meaning we have the people, we have the energy, but we need to double down on the ground game the same way the Democrats do.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
And by the way, this race in PA, Josh Shapiro had 105 full-time people on the ground. He gets it. They might be in disarray nationally. They might not have a leader, but politics is business to them, and they take it seriously.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
We as Republicans have to start understanding and taking it serious that we are going to double down, work the doors, chase the ballots, and exploit the rules legally the way the Democrats do.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
Yeah, and I think the message at the door, I'm sure you guys are getting the same feedback that we get in PA, is we have to figure out a way to tie this to something that is, if you want to continue the Trump agenda. And Charlie, the best part is, I mean, look at the approval ratings, right?
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
If we can tie these candidates to Trump, that's a huge net positive, despite what the Rove and the Romney type folks are going to tell you. People want the message. They want MAGA. They want America first. They want the golden age. And I think you're right. It's an institutional, it's a cultural shift. But I think the nice thing is we still have Trump to at least to try to attach on to.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
And obviously he's not on the ballot, which makes it difficult. But with Elon in the White House doing what he's doing, with Trump continuing hour by hour to create massive reform to save this republic, that's the challenge for us is how do we connect whatever election it is, if it's Brad for Supreme Court in Wisconsin, if it's these specials in Florida, connecting that our candidate must win.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
It is vital that you vote because it's going to continue these Trump reforms that are saving the country. It's not an easy task, right? It's a challenge because people aren't as motivated without Trump on the ballot. But I think that's our excuse. That's our hurdle to have to get over. And I think we're doing the legwork to hopefully deliver some strong results.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
Yeah, well, I think you've got big races. Obviously, New Hampshire, in terms of the Senate seat, I think is going to be huge. That's a state that we play in. Hoping you guys go out there and help us out. We've got some big talks there with Tyler. But look, let me come back to PA, which is my bread and butter, because we do have some crucial races.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
If we're talking 2026, we've got three congressional swing districts. We won all three of those in 2024. We don't win those. We don't have the majority right now. So there are going to be three defenses now that we're going to have to win. We're going to have to do the typical chase program. But Charlie, let's just look at 2025, right?
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
Obviously, Wisconsin and these Florida races are going to be huge. Greatly appreciate what you guys are doing in Wisconsin. If it wasn't for you guys, we'd have no shot to win that race. 2025 in Pennsylvania, there's something very interesting. The people that control the elections in terms of the election day decisions, these are called judge of elections in Pennsylvania.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
We are actually trying to go out and elect 1,000 of those, and that's why we're doubling down this PHA's program. And here's why it's important. If you want J.D. Vance in 2028, if you want fair elections in 2026, the people who get elected for judge of elections in Pennsylvania, the largest swing state, in 2025, they control the election day decisions for 2026 through 2029.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
And so my push to you and what we're doing is we want to make sure that we have this entire grassroots army to get to make those decisions. And Charlie, you reported on all the crazy, wacky stuff that comes out a lot of these counties with just the possible thing. But yeah, really, really focused on judge of elections.
The Charlie Kirk Show
Why Some Republicans Want To Betray Hegseth
Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
You know, we're happy in Pennsylvania. We should be happy across America. We got Donald Trump going back to the White House. We got your Ducks undefeated. Undefeated. My birds. My birds. Ten wins in a row. Franchise record. Is that right? And America, if you didn't know, Charlie, we're back-to-back World War champions. Things are very good. This is the golden age, folks.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Yeah, well, let's start with how we got involved. So I always have to give you this credit, Charlie, because very few people understood. The idea of these Trump supporters becoming Trump voters, which turning point action is just championed and led on for a year, if not longer.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
And so this idea that we have to hit low propensity, you came to me, Tyler came to me and said, hey, listen, Pennsylvania is a mammoth. We're owning Arizona. We're owning Wisconsin. Can you guys take your door knocking apparatus and just we'll help with infrastructure, we'll help with data and just double down and do what we're doing in these states.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
So in Pennsylvania, the problem was in 2020, right, we weren't adapting to the rules. We weren't out there chasing ballots and talking these low propensity folks to request and to get people in. So if you guys look here at the map, I mean, now that's a beautiful map. I've got to be honest with you. That is a beautiful map. So how much did we lose Center County by? It was less than $1,000.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Let me explain Center County and give Charlie a shout-out here.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
So Center County, Penn State University, Charlie goes out there, does a barn burner event. He's tossing MAGA hats, registers all these voters at Pennsylvania State University. I got to give the specifics. So there's a state house race. Therese Holland, great patriot. Nobody said she could win. OK, that seat was lost by 14 or 15 points in the previous election cycle. You guys do the events.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
You register the voters. We chase the votes. Loses by a half a percentage. We flipped it 14 points.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
I told your wife Erica this. I said, I hope you don't mind. I'm going to need Charlie every single week in Pennsylvania in a swing county doing these events because it does have such an impact with the registration. So anyway, back to the map.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Listen, you did and we worked hard. I was not always a believer, but we did pull off Erie, which was huge and major, major ramifications there with the state Senate seat that we were able to hold in Erie County. But then if you look southeastern PA, you got Philadelphia and the collar counties.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
The Democrats lost not only because we turned out Trump supporters and made them Trump voters, but man, was there no joy for Kamala Harris. And black men, Charlie, I'm telling you, we have done door knocking for a while. I have never seen black men so, one, excited for Donald Trump, and two, absolutely loathe Kamala Harris's policies.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
So we knocked on 510,000 doors. That's unbelievable. And our objective from the start was to knock 500,000. But Charlie, you've always said this, and I respect it so much. Action is just action, right?
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
And so we said, all right, well, how are we going to measure our success with what we're doing? Because if we just go out there and knock 500,000 doors, yes, it's a great accomplishment. But how are you measuring what you're doing? Right. You have to win. And so we looked at the roll mail in vote and said, do we want to just say, hey, what is the Republican result from 2020 compared to 24?
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
We said, you know, it's a little tough because you had covid. You had all that hype and fear. Both Democrats and Republicans were expected to go down. And so when we launched PHAs, we said, hey, let's do a percentage of the total amount Democrat mail-in for Harris versus Trump's mail-in. And so we said 33%. We modeled it out.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Trump could win with 30%, but 33%, and we think it's a resounding victory that pulls Dave McCormick across the finish line. Final results, Trump versus Harris, Donald Trump received 34.5% of the mail-in vote.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
I mean, he's... And you got a rock star, Noah Formica. You better hold on to that kid for a while.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
That guy is seriously. I mean, we obviously chased it all. But him, Scott Pressler, the whole turning point team registering voters was just a huge one to punch in the state. But Charlie, once again, we knocked five hundred and ten thousand doors to only win by one hundred and twenty thousand. Yes, it was a resounding win.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
But yeah, I would say, you know, if you look at the math, we talked to about two hundred two hundred and twenty five thousand people directly at the door. And when you win the state by 120,000, you got to get excited. It's massive.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Yes. I don't want to announce anything too soon. We've got some things coming in January. We are going to relaunch and we're going to really have some concrete goals for 25.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
We'll just make Pennsylvania the red wall. We'll take their verbiage and use it.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
But I do think, I mean, the thing about Pennsylvania, it's not a state where you're trying to create new voters. We have Trump supporters, right? We just have to continue to make those America first supporters voters and consistent voters, not just one out of fours, not only showing up when Trump's on the ballot. I think we do that work. You've got my word.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
We're going to triple down in PA and we're going to make a red wall.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Yes. But you guys put out a really good like the top 10 swing districts expected for 26. Three of them are in Pennsylvania nationally. It's the three that we won this cycle. So seven and eight, we flipped with Bresnahan and McKenzie took Democrats out. Scott Perry, obviously our number one patriot in Pennsylvania, 10th district. So those are going to be the three strongholds.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Charlie, the Democrats have already announced Shapiro is going to have people in those districts January 1 of 2025.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Correct. It's amazing. Correct. And it's funny because when you target and you focus in a lot of these districts, I mean, these races were all won by about a percentage. A percentage. Scott Perry won by 1%, less than a percent.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
And so it's really cool when you're an activist on the ground, you know this from all of the thousands of activists, hundreds of thousands of activists you guys have, to see that look in their eye on election night, Charlie, it is an amazing experience when they know they made the difference for such a huge win.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
Number one, permanent infrastructure, right? If you're an activist out there, the battle has been won, but the war has just begun, right? We have to triple down, get involved with Turning Point, get involved with a local chapter, come work with us to doorknock. The idea that we can now go home, I mean, what an amazing thing just happened on X to be able to shut down a continuing resolution.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
It is the first time in probably 100 years the establishment's playbook has a defense. And that defense is instead of just delay, delay, delay. Oh, Christmas time. We have to vote. Now it's wait a second. We're going to analyze this bill in 30 seconds using AI and call out the rhino swamp creatures. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. So we are in a new era here.
The Charlie Kirk Show
The Biggest Amfest Ever Begins
The battle is won, but the war has just begun. That's my message to the grassroots. Keep up the fight.