Bret Baier: To Rescue The Constitution 44:03

It's time to take the quiz. Five questions, five minutes a day, five days a week. Take the quiz every weekday at thequiz.fox and then listen to the quiz podcast to find out how you did. Play, share, and of course, listen to the quiz at thequiz.fox. Welcome to the Jason and the House podcast. I'm Jason Chaffetz, and I appreciate you joining me, giving me some time to share some thoughts and ideas and talk to a guest. And I'm

Really excited today because we have Brett Baer. He's joining us again. We're going to talk specifically about Brett's new book. He's published several before and he really has a

really focused on history and how that shaped America. And he's got a great one out now. It's just coming out. It's called To Rescue the Constitution, George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment. You know this is going to be good because of the way Brett Baer does this. Really looking forward to chatting with him and

his uh you know what he found what he's uh what he's kind of revealed he always is able to share something that i've never heard and seen before and uh to do that about george washington

Perhaps one of the most consequential president we've ever had, certainly with this fragile experiment, as he puts it. I really look forward to chatting with him about the book. And we'll do that in a few minutes. But first, we thought we'd give you some insight, some thoughts on the news. We're going to highlight the stupid because, you know, there's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere. And then we'll be able to get together with Brett. So I thought I'd kick things off.

You know, when we record these podcasts, we don't quite know, you know, it's not happening and then you're hearing the podcast, you know, a minute later. So I want to go back, though, to the selection of the speaker of the house. And again, as we record this, don't know what the conclusion here is. Other than there has been this motion to vacate. We don't have a speaker when I'm recording this. And now we're right on the verge, supposedly, of getting a new speaker.

I really do not like the process by which this happens. It should be much more open and transparent. I have said several times before, we know more about the selection of the next Miss America than we do the next Speaker of the House. And think about how radically different this is from, say, the Supreme Court justices. Vigorous oversight, all sorts of paperwork,

senators asking the most probing personal questions you could possibly imagine back from 40 years ago. I mean, you know a lot about a Supreme Court justice by the time he or she gets to the point where the Senate gets to confirm this person. The president, the vice president, two-year campaign, every rock unturned. I mean, it's just...

A vigorous process, financial disclosures, all kinds of stuff. Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader,

Nothing. You basically don't know anything about this person moving in. Now, granted, they're a member of Congress. You have to do a financial disclosure. You have to do a few things. It's pretty revealing. But to be second in line to the presidency, you don't know anything about this person. You don't have any sense of their background. And let me explain the process here because I think it's so fundamentally, totally wrong for the most part.

Not in totality, not to disparage anybody. For the most part, the leaders of the parties have become the ones who raise the most amount of money.

How do you raise the most amount of money? I don't know. I didn't do it. I couldn't get from here to there. But you obviously work hard to be in "leadership" and you do so in large part by raising a lot of money. My example is Nancy Pelosi. Raised more money than anybody in the history, in the House and Senate, the history of the United States of America. Over a billion dollars. Now keep in mind,

The maximum individual contribution is like $2,500. So now it's gone up a little higher than that. But the number is pretty small. Now you can do PACs and you can get $5,000 from a political action committee. So think about how hard it is to get to those numbers with those. You can't just go get a sugar daddy somewhere and they just stroke you a check and boom, you're there.

But nevertheless, to say it's just about money would be unfair. I don't want to go that far. But I do want to say that who is running for leadership, usually it's people who have learned how to raise an awful lot of money. The other thing that happens is the process. If there is an open speakership, or even if you're, you know, start of a new Congress,

At least the way the Republicans do it, there is a candidate forum. Now, back in the day when I would go to a candidate forum, of the 218 plus members in the House Republican Party, there'd be maybe 30 of them, maybe 20 or 30 of them would show up, and members could answer questions. They could give a short presentation, short, sweet, in and out, less than an hour.

ridiculous that the majority of the body wouldn't be there now in the case of the vacancy by kevin mccarthy and the numbers are much larger but it's a private meeting nobody hears what's going on there you don't know what they're saying you don't know the questions that are being asked and then what happens you gather at another meeting where they have a closed private ballot

No member has to reveal who they voted for. It's totally opaque. You can't see or hear or know who your members supported.

And what they do is you write it down on a piece of paper, fold it so nobody sees it, and then a couple members in the back count it up. They don't even generally release the vote totals. They just say, oh, this person got the most amount of votes. I think that's wrong. I think there should be a public debate. I think each party, whether in the majority or the minority, should have to release that information. And then when you go to the floor, you can obviously vote for who you want. Now,

Our framers really wanted this to be as open and transparent as possible.

That's why they came up with this process where you have to literally stand and call out the name of the person that you ultimately want. But the behind-the-scenes wrangling, that needs to be exposed. That should really be out there. All right, number two on my list of things to kind of know about here, Riley Gaines at Penn State. You may not have seen this story with everything that's happening with Israel, everything that's happening online.

with the war that is raging there. Another part of the news is Riley Gaines going out and having real woman's day and Penn state back and forth and all over the map and

Should she be able to speak? Should she not be able to speak? The protesters that showed up and kind of tried to destroy her table that were taken. I just, the idea that somebody has so much animosity to stand up and speak about something I believe to just be true, that there are two genders out there. I,

It's just amazing that what's happening and not happening on these college campuses. Onward, the president, Biden, seems to be a little bit tone deaf. If you recall, he went almost 72 hours before making public comments about what's happening in Israel and the deadly terrorist attack that was happening there.

by a terrorist organization, Hamas, and the hundreds and now thousands of people that have died. And the president comes out with a tweet and a video evidently or some public comments about hidden junk fees. Now, you know, it was a little surprising when he brought the hidden junk fees topic up at the State of the Union. People were kind of scratching their heads saying, really?

This is one of the big things out there. Yeah, they're kind of annoying and you don't really like them, but...

to rise to the level of the presidency you can see that they put this on the calendar and you know never mind a raging war and in hundreds and then thousands of people dying overseas and movement of aircraft carriers and all that kind of stuff now the president had to spend his time taking he did a barbecue he put out some statements on the hidden junk fees

He made some, finally made some comments where he didn't even mention Iran, didn't talk about that whole factor, and then took zero questions. Unbelievable. Other thing I want to mention in the news is happening, and I hope I pronounced it right, the Sunol Glen Unified School District there in California tried to come up with a rule that said the only flags you could fly to school are the American flag and the state flag.

Oh my goodness, did that cause some controversy? Because you know what? A lot of people involved in some political operations, shall we say, truly wanted to make sure that their flags could be flown at school. And so hats off to this school in California. It's just trying to say American flag, state flag. Those are the flags that should be flown.

Other last thing I would mention in the news is, again, all the other news that's going on. Probably didn't notice that the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, finalized a rule regulating new standards for air conditioners and refrigerators. Now, these don't kick in until 2025, and then there's like a three-year period. But nevertheless, is this going to make life more expensive, less expensive? Yeah. Yeah.

All the predictions are it's going to make it a lot more expensive. Unclear as to how much environmental pollution they think they're going to save along the way, but they did finalize this rule, and it will change what you're able to purchase. And I can tell you...

Having gone through this with some other products in the past, it doesn't necessarily make them better. And when you want to cool things, including yourself, there are going to be some real changes there that happen. All right. Let's talk a little bit about the stupid. Because you know what? There's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere. Now, it's just an allegation. Happened in Florida, down in the villages, in the mountains.

There's a Walmart there, pretty busy place. But the allegation is we have a former police chief from Illinois who's down there and was caught shoplifting. I hope it's not true. I hope it's, you know, and I feel for somebody who's that desperate to feel like they have to shoplift at any point in their life if that's what they're trying to do.

But to be a former police chief, if this is true, come on. You tell me this is the first time this person did something like this? That is just stupid. I hope it's not true. But that's the report. That's the allegation. And we'll see if it comes true. You know, they're not there prosecuted. But I hope it's not true.

So we have Brett Baer joining us to talk about his new book. It's called To Rescue the Constitution, George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment. Congratulations on the book. Hey, thanks, Jason. Thanks for having me on. Oh, no, I appreciate it. Look, you've written some great books. I mean, you really dove deep into your family and some of the amazing journey that you and your family have had in special heart and

You had three days in January, three days in Moscow, three days at the brink to rescue the republic and now to rescue the Constitution. Why did you do this book? What drew you to say, hey, let's focus on George Washington?

Yeah, thanks. This is, you know, the fifth in the presidential series of books. And you're right. The last one was about Ulysses S. Grant. And that was going back and kind of the time when he's president and holds the country together from falling into a second civil war. It was kind of overlooked in history. And each one of these books is a moment, a soda straw look at a moment in history that oftentimes is overlooked and then showing how a leader gets there, gets through it and

and ideally what it means for us today. So I thought that this going back would be timely as we're getting ready for another presidential election to look back at our founding. And this soda straw look is of the time right after the Revolutionary War. The British are defeated and the country is trying to hold together, but it's not working. They pass what's called the Articles of Confederation.

It's not really holding the states together. They're fighting against each other. They're fighting tax collectors. They're battling. In fact, a lot of people at the time say, you know what, forget it. Let's just go back to British rule. That's how bad it was getting. And that's the moment in the summer of 1787 that they start the Constitutional Convention.

And they tap the commander of the Revolutionary Forces, George Washington. He's reluctant, but he gets called up and he serves, again, comes from Mount Vernon to Philadelphia, and is chosen to lead the convention of all of these different delegates really fighting over the substance. They're originally trying to fix the Articles of Confederation, and then they say, "You know what? We need to throw this out and have a new document."

And that document, obviously hammered out over that summer and then eventually ratified, is our U.S. Constitution that forms our government and he becomes the first president. And putting people in that room, Jason, and that narrative and same kind of writing of, you know, you're there, I think really shows that our country's been in some dark, dark places and we've managed to get through it. And Washington is the guy that got us there.

Yeah, he truly is. I mean, without George Washington, I don't know that we would have a country. And I want to read just should have you read. It's your book. But I want to read. I haven't I haven't read the full book.

But this is part of what you wrote at the beginning. It says, Washington wasn't scholarly and elitist like Thomas Jefferson or an intellectual powerhouse like John Adams. He lacked Ben Franklin's genius and charisma. He showed little of Alexander Hamilton's fiery passion or James Madison's analytical rigor. He was even-tempered most of the time, thoughtful, humble, and circumspect.

And you go on there and talk about what he said, he was a good husband, but we really don't know a lot about his like deep inner personal thoughts. It's not. And so, but what is it that you think having done this research and gone through all this that really, uh,

Why was he the leader that he became and that he was? Well, first of all, he wasn't a grandstander. He wasn't a guy that got up and spoke a ton. He wasn't a bomb thrower. He didn't stir the pot a lot. He was a steady, thoughtful presence, whether, you know, on the battlefield or in these settings, these government settings. He was kind of this reliable voice of reason guy.

And what we've come to learn from diaries and anecdotes and writings of all the people that were in the convention is that he was really searching for a common ground and a way forward, even outside of the convention. He would go to dinners at different people's houses. He would work the delegates different ways to try to come up with some way to get the ball moving.

And he was essentially the indispensable man in the room. And he had gravitas and everybody was drawn to him, even though he was not the guy that was the the best order. He just had this absence of self-promoting ego. And, you know, his public service was was kind of pure and nobody could could top that.

And so when it gets to the point where finally the U.S. Constitution is ratified, and they know they have to do other things, which is why we have the Bill of Rights and the 27 amendments that come later. But one of the things that I think is really important is that we have to do other things.

Once it's ratified they turn to him and it's not even close. They don't even think anybody else could meet the moment It's him and remember at the time there's nobody leaving him a note in the desk telling him how to operate and then you know, nobody's patching passing him a torch he is the torch and So I think that's you know, he's his service and then his attitude. I

Yeah, that humble approach. Boy, we could use a dose of that today, don't you think? Just a dose. Just a little bit of a dose. And it's interesting to me how leaders kind of rise above the fray there and become those leaders because everybody in the room sort of knows, yeah, that person knows what they're talking about. That person actually knows what they're doing.

So the Constitution's there. They rally behind. They know that George Washington is the person. But the title of the book is To Rescue the Constitution. So where do you go with this from there?

Right. So he's rescued it three times. One is as commander of the Revolutionary War. He gets this ragtag bunch of soldiers who really are not that great, not that trained, not that equipped. You know, they have bloody feet because their shoes are worn off. They go through the brutal winter of Valley Forge. And yet he inspires them. He gets them to believe that they could win. He brings in...

German trainer and he you know they get trained they he takes care of them he fights alongside them and they actually win and

They do it, and all the British were saying, gosh, liberty must be this motivating. Anyway, he rescues it then. He rescues it as the head of the Constitutional Convention, and then rescues it as the first president. But maybe the most significant thing he does is he steps aside after two terms. There's no prescribed limit to how long a president could be in office, and he says that he is not indispensable and it's time to move on.

Um, and so what you really see is this guy who is called to service and answers the call, but desperately wants to go back to Mount Vernon and desperately wants to be with his wife who he loves and his two, her two children who he adopts. And I think you just see a little bit more of the man than you ever have. All these books, Jason, I, I learn a ton and you know, I call myself a

reporter of history not a historian so what I'm trying to do is put people in the room in a readable way that can tell you about this moment and tell you about big picture what it means some of the interaction with the other people and the inside scope for example

At the front of the convention, he sits in this giant chair that's kind of carved wooden chair, and it's at the head of the assembly room in Philadelphia. And it has a crest rail with a liberty pole and a cap symbolizing freedom, along with a sun. And at the end of the convention, when the delegates finally are signing a constitution that has been really fought over big issues like states' rights and democracy,

The federal power and what representation representation is for big states and small states. They battle it out. And Ben Franklin looks at and says, I've often thought and looked at that chair and the sun behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting.

But now at length, I have the happiness to know that's a rising, not a setting sun. And, you know, it's just little nuggets like that that give you a little bit more granular detail about what these guys were facing and what they dealt with. It is amazing that they were able to. I mean, I think it's divinely inspired myself. I don't think you can get from here to there and then have it.

you know, last as long as it has and certainly challenges. Now, when you're, tell me about the experience though of putting it together. You call yourself, you know, a reporter of history. What surprised you? What, like, hey, I didn't think that was, you know, inevitably you do that kind of research and you dive that deep into this. Things jump out at you and you say, wow, I had no idea.

Yeah, I think his early days, you know, we just don't have a ton of information, but we found some. And his, you know, the French and Indian War and how he's almost blamed for starting it. His early days, even though he screws up a couple of times, he's still promoted along the way. He's seen as this kind of rising figure, even in politics.

as a child. I also think his mother's relationship, how she was really controlling of him and kind of domineering. And believe it or not, I've seen that in a couple of books. I mean, that happened with Eisenhower, his mother, Reagan's mother, FDR's mother. All of them kind of had really strong mothers, which is kind of an interesting thread there. They also come from

different crucibles that they have to get through and that makes them a better leader for us in our reason very poor abilene kansas and for reagan is an alcoholic father and for f_d_r_ obviously battles through polio ulysses s grant was dead poor and he has this horrible situation we can it gets kicked out of the army and is selling firewood on the side of the road but yet goes on from there to be the leading commander of union forces and for washington

He is trying to find his way and it doesn't have he loses his father at 11 years old and suddenly grows up and has to grow up quickly and takes the reins to really become this great commander of revolutionary forces. And then obviously that gravitas leads to other assignments that people keep on tapping him to say, we need you again.

And he keeps answering that call. You mentioned it earlier. And to me, it's one of the most amazing things about George Washington is that farewell address. And I know you included it in the appendix there of the book. But that approach, that turning over the reins, saying, no, now it's yours. You need to take care of it and see if we can build this nation. I

I can't say with nearly the elegance that Washington did, but that farewell address I think really is one of the pivotal moments in our country's history. Yeah, I agree with you. And, you know, it's read on the Senate floor every February 22nd, Washington's birthday. And there's a reason for that. It has spanned and tested and lasted the test of time. And it's often echoed in other speeches. It is actually...

very much echoed in Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address days before Jack Kennedy takes office. And that, of course, was remembered for the military-industrial complex line, but also has echoes of what Washington talks about. Washington talks about that peaceful transfer of power and how he needs to come to an end, but he's also concerned about national debt.

He's also concerned about the rise of partisanship and political parties that are just starting to happen at that moment and says if they get too powerful, they will be a detrimental force to the country. I mean, how prescient is that? He talks about worrying about foreign entanglements and making sure that we are safe inside our border.

And who knows whether Washington over time, by the time you get to Teddy Roosevelt, there's much more of a thought of U.S. and foreign involvement in how we are approaching the world. But at that moment, at that address, he mentions that in the farewell address. So I do think that it's something that can span the test of time. And I came at the end of this, Jason, thinking,

There's just hope. There's hope because not because it went smoothly at the beginning of the nation, but because it was anything but smooth. It was really chaotic. It almost fell apart numerous times. And because of that dissent, you know, the dissent is built into our fabric as a nation and we should welcome it.

But Washington managed to mesh dissent and union and try to figure out with the people he was with how to get something done. And that's the message that I think I take hope from that maybe some leader will step up and be that way. You're listening to Jason in the House. We'll be back with more of my conversation with Brett Baer right after this.

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Yeah, you mentioned the things that Washington was concerned about. And then we look at today's, I mean, the stuff that you're reporting on, a special report night after night. And it's exactly those very things. You dedicate a chapter to this, his first term in office.

It's hard to comprehend what he was having to go through because like you said earlier everything was a first they hadn't done this They hadn't been through You know they didn't have that letter on the desk as you said Tell us more though about that first term and what he was what he was having to deal with Yeah, so remember they moved to New York to take office Martha at first doesn't accompany him. She's planning to join him later, but was in no rush. She was

You know, she believed in what he had to do, but she was taking care of grandchildren at that point, and he finds life pretty chaotic without her. Just some little stories. Again, these nuggets, there's this letter, and he's trying to tempt her into coming, and he tells his private secretary, listen, make sure you tell her that we have seafood. She loves seafood.

So he sends word through a nephew that oysters and lobsters make a really beautiful figure upon the table. Please. And they never go untouched. Please tell Martha, you know, and eventually he gets her to come to New York. But, you know, there is no, again, blueprint.

And so everybody thinks it's the people's house and this is the people's president. That's what they told us. So everyone shows up every day. It's like a grand central station. I mean, everybody's just in there.

And he's meeting with people and it's super chaotic. Finally, Martha gets up there and starts to run the show as far as organizing what's going to happen. And then it becomes two times a week and she has refreshments and she meets with people, but sets the table basically for the president to come down and interact.

But at the beginning, there's no guidelines. Appointment secretary? Exactly. They just show up. And so I think those early days are about finding out how it's going to work, setting up his cabinet, having them interact with each other, even though some of them hated each other, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton specifically. Yeah.

But they figure out how to make it work and start laying the groundwork for the second administration, the John Adams administration. And once he decides that he is leaving...

And the inauguration happens for Adams. There is this story from Adams' point of view that the inauguration happens and they're exiting the room and Adams steps aside for Washington to walk first. And Washington steps back and says, "No, you are now the president. You go first."

he goes through the door so little elements just paint the picture like you're in the room and I don't know it's a little tougher to go all the way back but I think we do it and if I could get our generation and younger generations to look at it and kind of just be interested in our founding you and I have talked about this before I just think history is missing and

for our younger generation and that it's not being taught in schools or not taught well in schools. And if we can just infuse just a little bit about how we came to be, maybe there's a Washington to come, or maybe there's somebody who says, I want to do it my way, but I need to get engaged. And that's kind of why I read these books. Well, that's, I think, I mean, that's the laudable goal because, um,

Back in his day and other administrations as well, they really did have to form

They really did have to coalesce and get even some of the strongest detractors involved and engaged and in key positions. And I think that's what gave strength to the union because, you know, today, boy, if you're on one side or the other, there's no way you could participate in somebody else's administration. Maybe they'll have a token out there.

You know, I think of Norm Mineta, you know, being the secretary of transportation because he's a good guy. We could tolerate him, but it's not that important compared to some of these others. But back in the day, you take key positions, the secretary of war, secretary of treasury or something really significant to somebody that you battled against. But it created strength and people forget that they lose sight of that.

Yeah, yeah team of rivals under Lincoln but I think that the chaos that we experienced in our history is

Should give us some sense that we can make it through tough stuff I mean it's clearly a partisan time and you look at my ex account formerly Twitter account You know, there's some dark days in there depending on what what's going on? You know some guy says you are so in the tank for Trump and then the next guy says you hate Trump so much you you're horrible anti-trump Trump hater and I say Bob meets Sally Sally meet Bob, you know figure it out and

But the partisanship is real. And the thing is, is that history gives us a little bit of a guide of, you know, we've almost fallen apart before and figured out our way through it. Well, and Washington was concerned about the debt and the debt numbers are.

unbelievably high and um but somehow some way the united states america we figure these things out we get back on track and and i don't think it would have happened without somebody of the personal strength and fortitude of a of a george washington to step aside and not just essentially be another king um that that is part of the miracle that is the constitution

Mm-hmm, and you know the document itself has stood the test of time it needs they knew there were problems they knew that You know when you have a document that it deals with Liberty and you're talking about a slave being three-fifths of a man The founders knew that that was a major issue and

but they couldn't deal with it at the time and they you know punted basically to start the country it would take decades and decades later before was dealt with and uh... you know obviously constitution has been amended uh... but at the end of the book i do this thing jason were in a lot just a couple years ago they had a experiment with uh... groups progressive group uh... conservative group and a libertarian group

and they said tear up the constitution write your own constitution and they all three come back to the constitution and they say there's little tweaks and changes the libertarians essentially say every page needs to say we mean it um because the conservatives say uh listen it needs to be more defined about executive power it needs to be more executive power in the document and the progressives say

The Electoral College is not going to work, but for the most part, this document stands. And here are these guys that, you know, they say all these things, but then they get in the room and say, OK, you do something better. And they come back to the Constitution. So I do think that...

It's the best legal document in the world providing liberty for our country. And we should look at it and how it was formed and say, you know, we're pretty lucky to be here. Yeah, no, it's true. And then you look at some of the challenges we face and you think, yeah, get back in the room. Y'all can solve this. That's for sure. The book is To Rescue the Constitution, George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment.

Two more really quick questions, Brett. I know you're pressed to get back on the air here, but access to documents, doing the research. I mean, you can't just pick up another couple books and then say, oh, yeah, now I can write one myself. Explain that process and what you were able to tap into here.

Yeah. So I've just got a great team now. Uh, a researcher, her name is Sydney Soderbergh. I met her in the first process in Eisenhower. She actually was a former mayor of the neighboring town to Abilene, Salina, Kansas. And, um,

Funny story when I first met her for the first book and by that by the way that book took three and a half years because I had no clue what I was doing and so She said to me I'm willing to do this and I am the best researcher here by far. You know, she's very confident and she said but I am a true blue Kansas Democrat and

And I watch a show, but I need you to know that I'm a true blue Kansas Democrat. I said, well, that is great, Sidney, because I'm a newsman who's trying to write a history book. So that started that relationship.

I got a co-author Catherine Whitney who's fantastic and we basically take what comes out of Sydney She goes to National Archives and all over the place getting these little nuggets and then we put them together like a quilt and We do a blueprint of where things how it happened, but using these little pieces we bounce back and forth and sort of a tennis match of writing and

We eventually go chapter by chapter until we have a book. That process now is down to about a year and a half. And it's a labor of love. It really is. It's a lot of fun for me. And I do it every night when I'm in writing season, a couple hours.

And I learn every one of these books. And hopefully it's a good experience for the reader. You're listening to Jason in the House. We'll be back with more of my conversation with Brett Baer right after this. Well, it is. I mean, having read your past books, they just, it just kind of sings along. And I congratulate you. I'm glad you did it because

There are some things that are fun to read, then there's some things that are really important to read. And I think you're right. I think remembering our history, understanding our history, it's so vital. But it also illuminates because you then kind of apply it to today's modern world. And that gets me to this last question. I am amazed by your poise in difficult situations.

You know, we're going through the war that's going on with Israel and Hamas. We got tough, difficult things. Where does that poise come within you to just be as steady as you are? Because it's such an emotional thing. And it's hard to not let that emotion just pour through.

Where does that come from in you? Like, where did that? Yeah, that's a good question. It's a very good question. I think I've always come to the realization that what I wanted to do as a journalist was talk to somebody like they were sitting in my living room.

Not talk at them or down to them, but be telling a story like they're sitting in my living room. And if it's tough and it's emotional, I want to treat it like that and be somber. If it's controversial, I want to not go one way or another. I think what is the biggest problem with some of my colleagues, especially in the Trump years, is that emotion got the best of them. And

I think that that hurt in their ability to tell a story and say this is fairly being covered. And so it always in the back of my mind, like how it's being perceived. And I also have a family that grounds me. There's no big head here. My wife and kids, you know, I go through the door. There's nothing about me.

What I what I was just doing on the air. It's more about what are we doing this weekend and go take out the trash. But so that also, you know, factors in. But I do think about it physically that I want to be a calming force and not a jarring force to present news and tell you how it is.

Well, you do it exceptionally well. It's hard not to have an emotional reaction to, you know, the death of a young child who was beheaded and blood on the wall. And I mean, it's just, you know, it's very difficult to just keep that composure. Because a lot of times the stuff that's coming across on your newscast is you're seeing it for the first time because it's just got released. And it

And so hats off to you. There was a couple of lump in the throats with Dana. You'd be inhuman to not have. Yeah. But congratulations on the book again to rescue the Constitution. George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment by Brett Baer. It is out and available now. So congratulations. And thanks for joining me on this. Jason in the House podcast. Appreciate it. Thank you, Jason.

All right, I can't thank Brett Baer enough for his time. I'd love that he dives deep into this, you know. He's a great golfer, great guy, great dad, wonderful family, one of the best programs on Fox News. I love Special Report is really just kind of the go-to moment if you really want to understand what's going on in the world.

uh i love it and i really appreciate brett joining us i want to golf with brett at some point like i said earlier but um nevertheless uh really appreciate that he also takes his his uh enthusiasm and his intellectual curiosity and his time and his talent to put together these books because

you know, it's just insightful as to what's really going on in our history and understanding America for all the better. Hope you're able to, uh,

rate this podcast. Would love it if you subscribe to the podcast. I want to remind people you can listen ad-free with a Fox News Podcast Plus subscription on Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Prime members can listen to this show ad-free on the Amazon Music app. Again, thanks for listening to the Jason and the House podcast. Go over to foxnewspodcast.com.

And you can find more podcasts from some of my colleagues, some really good ones out there. And again, rate it, subscribe to it. Join us again next week. I'm Jason Chaffetz, and this has been Jason in the House.