Ted Williams: Dedication To Service and The Law 01:02:40

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Well, welcome to the Jason and the House podcast. I'm Jason Chaffetz, and this week we're giving a little hot take on the news. Bring on the stupid, because, you know, there's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere. We've got to highlight it. Nobody else is doing that. We've got to highlight that for you. And then I'm really excited to bring on Ted Williams. If you've watched Fox at all through the years, you've seen, inevitably, Ted Williams.

Former police officer. He's an attorney. But, you know, he was that cop on the beat on the street. And then Fox usually brings him in when there's something horrific going on, right? There's a murder. There's a horrific legal case that's going on.

because he brings such an incredible perspective. I think he's been on Fox now for more than 20 years. So I know you've seen him along the way, but I think we're going to get a chance to get to know him a little bit better and why he ended up in that prestigious position and why with such clarity, he's able to kind of decipher and tell us all, you know, what's going on, what we should be thinking about, maybe offer perspectives that we wouldn't think otherwise, except given his law enforcement background. So,

So looking forward to having that conversation with Ted Williams. But let's start first with a little hot take on the news. Look, we got big headlines. We got things that people are in tune with. But I want to highlight a couple of things that maybe others don't do as much. And I'm still – I know it was weeks ago, but I still, with Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, out there trying to tout himself –

and put himself up there against Ron DeSantis. It just, I don't know, it just kind of gets under my skin, and I just think the last thing the world, this country, wants to do is be more like California. I think we're all envious of the beaches and the weather of California, but then let's talk about homelessness and crime and taxes and all the other burdens that they put on people.

For Gavin Newsom to go and run ads in Florida suggesting that they have more freedom than they do in the state of Florida and that he's done a better job than Governor Ron DeSantis, I just, that bothers me like you can, like it just really does because it's such a facade. And Gavin Newsom strikes me as the guy, you know, he wakes up every morning and he goes out in front of that mirror and he just thinks, he kind of wipes away the...

the fog maybe from the shower and then he just looks in the mirror and he says good morning Mr president I mean that's the kind of guy that strikes me like that he just he's got that aura of I am so full of myself and I am presidential timber that's what I that that's my perception of him and I and I think that arrogance permeates from the way he is just totally disregarded

you know, what I say versus what I do. You know, when he's out there giving all these mask mandates and you can't gather in groups and you got to save people's lives and, you know, put your mask on between bites of food. And then he's out there and it's been talked about an awful lot. That French Laundry guy,

The restaurant, I think it was in the Napa Valley, you know, super high end and not a mask to be seen. He's down there at one of the basketball arenas, no mask to be seen. And then most recently, the hypocrisy of going to

Montana when he put on the state of California prohibits state money from being spent in various states because of their LGBTQ policies one of them was Montana so where does he go on vacation Montana and they said oh well those are personal funds not state funds well the security detail is state funds and if you think it's such an evil place why would you go to Montana anyway

Now, I don't know where he went, but I love Montana. It's like one of my favorite states. Huge state, big state, so much fun. You want to get out and see America? You know, they call it Big Sky Country. It is Big Sky Country. It is the weirdest thing. You go out in Montana and you think, oh, my gosh, the sky is bigger in Montana. I don't know what the phenomenon is, but it is real. Anyway, the point is what Gavin Newsom says and how he does it,

And to suggest that Florida is not as good as California, well, I guess the thing that I would really point to, and maybe you've seen this, it's the U-Haul stat. The U-Haul stat. They could not get enough people driving their U-Hauls to California.

The U-Hauls are leaving California and going out to places, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Tennessee. I mean, they're going to states that are pro-people. They recognize they're real families and income and jobs. It's just...

National Review, which is one of the better publications out there, they literally did this analysis of it. U-Haul used to have this statistic, so you could kind of see the flow of the country, who's moving where and how. But they finally had to give up on the statistic because

because California has run out of U-Haul trucks. They cannot get them back there. Now, I didn't see this in the article. Maybe I didn't read it close enough, but there used to be a program where they would pay college kids or whoever, you know, just younger people to drive U-Hauls, drop them off in California, and then fly them home.

So that's what's going on with U-Haul, and I think that's the key indicator. If you want to believe what Gavin Newsom is saying or not, look at the U-Haul stat. All right, the next thing, it's his hot take on the news. You know what? One of my favorite things, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. And people that wake up on some random Wednesday, and then something happens, and it's just, I really want to highlight, I saw this on FoxNews.com, David Diaz Jr.,

received the New York State Commodation Award. I believe this second grader, he was in second grade, he saw his buddy was joking and he had seen it on television, so he used the Heimlich. I think it was a piece of gum that the classmate was joking on, but he sprung into action, did what he needed to do, and probably saved this kid's life. So hats off to David Diaz Jr.,

That's good. When a second grader does the right thing, we should all applaud. So good for him. All right. Time to bring on the stupid. Because you know what? There's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere. I saw that the White House had refused to comment on the National Education Association, the NEA. They had a proposal to replace, this was a couple weeks ago, replace the word mother with birthing parent. I just don't even begin to understand that.

They threw this question to the White House. And of course, the White House wouldn't answer it. Like, why can't you just take a position on something stupid? What the White House spokesperson said is, so we're not the NEA and I would refer you to their team about that particular. Are you kidding? Are we going to change Mother's Day to Birthing Parrot Day? This is one of the most absurd, silly, stupid things I've seen.

I don't want our kids in school taught that they need to go home and tell their birthing parent what they did at school that day. It's just absurd. And that to me is bringing on the stupid.

All right, it's time to bring on Ted Williams. I know you've seen Ted on television. He's been on Fox for 20 years. Great guy. Saw him recently, a few months ago, at a swanky event there in Washington, D.C. But I've seen him on television a lot. And it's usually when Ted pops on TV, it's not usually something good that's going down. So let's give a dial up and give a call to Ted Williams.

Hello. Ted. Jason Chaffetz. Hi, Jason. How are you? Hey, good. Thanks. Hey, thanks for letting me give you a ring. I appreciate it. You know, as I've said a lot of times on this podcast, it's really fun for me because people I've seen on television interact with. Now that I've been with Fox here for a little while, I've gotten to know a few people. I think I saw you at some swanky event.

uh washington dc dinner but mostly i've seen you on television and to be quite frank with you uh when i see you pop up on the television i'm thinking uh-oh something's not going right with somebody you know that's the unfortunate thing uh is that we have so many tragic incidents that happen in america and as a result of that and because of my background i'm called upon quite a bit um

I've been at Fox now for about, I guess, about 22 years. Wow. It's been a long 22 years of dealing with the various unfortunate situations that occur in our country, Jason. Yeah. I mean, when it's breaking news, somebody's died, somebody's been murdered, some something, some notorious cases suddenly popping up. Boy, the number of times I've seen you going live just off the cuff. Hey, here's what we're seeing. React to it.

I mean, you're as good as anybody at doing that, unfortunately, because they're always difficult situations. It's never, hey, the economy's picking up. Let's go to Ted Williams. Well, you know, you're right. I unfortunately have over the years had to deal with situations and issues

You have to get there before the camera, as you know, and you have to immediately be able to think on your feet. You have to be able to absorb what is taking place. And in a matter of minutes at times, I've had to do that. And of course, as you've said, I've covered so, so many stories around the country. Some of them are just so heartbreaking. I

I kind of remember Jason being in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where a guy had came from Kansas City to Baton Rouge and just shot and killed quite a few police officers there. So there's also, you know, very, very tragic stories, especially when it comes to young people and young people dying and having to cover those things. It's not very easy. Well, I want to go back to...

You know, I believe early on in your career, you were a police officer. I mean, what brings so much value to what you do is that you've been there, done that. You've done the homicide investigations. You've been on the street. You've done this for a long time now. But I want to go back. Let's go back to little Ted. I don't know what they called you growing up, but...

Before you became the Ted Williams, tell us about where did you grow up? What was your family like? What was life like for you growing up? I have no idea. Where were you born? Well, I was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, one of my most favorite towns. I had an upbringing in a community. It was the Brownsville area of Lake Charles and Louisiana.

It was just a wonderful period of time where you could grow up, you could be a child. And I took advantage of every minute. I mean, there were times I would go out fishing. I would go out hiking. I was a Boy Scout. I was the first black paper boy in my community. So I...

It was just wonderful. And then I did my intermediary school. It was out of school called St. John there in Lake Charles. And then I went to what we defined as the mighty Washington High School, where I played football and tried to do as well as I could in school.

Once I was getting ready to get out of school, I had to make a choice of whether I wanted to go to college or whether I wanted to go into the military. Well, I chose the military and I wound up going to Vietnam. I was there for a year. I was with the first air cavalry there in Vietnam. I came back to Fort Hood.

And while at Fort Hood, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., they were recruiting for police officers. And I decided to take the test. Fortunately, fortunately, Jason, I passed the test.

And I then wound up coming to D.C. as a patrol officer. And I kind of remember, Jason, my very first night on the street here in Washington, D.C.,

All of a sudden, I was involved with a shooting incident of a guy who was trying to rob a bread man. And that somewhat stood out for me. But I wound up rising through the ranks to where I got to the point of being a detective in various units in the police department. One of the units I served in as a detective was the—

homicide squad. There you saw all kinds of unfortunate incidents and you had to conduct those investigations and you had to try to bring the culprit to justice. So I got a lot of learning from that. During that time period, Jason, I wound up going and getting my undergraduate degree at American University.

I then went to Central Michigan University and got a master's degree. And then I wound up going to Baltimore, where I wound up getting my law degree.

Also during that intermediate time period, I served as a federal agent. I was with the Department of Agriculture as a special agent out in the Kansas City area. So, you know, I had all of those various things working for me as I matriculated through my career here in the Washington, D.C. area.

So I still want to go back to little Ted. Now, were you, did they call you Ted? Or were you Teddy? No, I was little rambunctious Ted. How many kids in your family? Oh, there's six of us all together. My brothers and sisters all live in the Houston, Texas area now. But we all grew up in the Washington, D.C. area.

So I stand to be corrected. We didn't all grow up in Washington, D.C. Jason, we grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana. So you're growing up. You're rambunctious, Ted. You're playing sports, I guess. You're doing stuff. What was what was your first job? Like first, you know, not your mom or dad telling you, hey, Ted, take out the garbage. You know, it's got to go. You know, they're picking it up today. Not that. Like, what was your first job?

My first job was raking leaves. We had in the Louisiana area while I was growing up a storm. It was a defense really, Hurricane Audrey. And that storm killed quite a few people and it left quite a bit of problems there in Lake Charles. And I wound up getting a job raking leaves. And by the way, I made a lot of money initially raking leaves. Yeah.

Well, that's good. I mean, that gets you out there. It's not always cold where you're at. So my guess is it got pretty warm.

It was very warm, but I really enjoyed the work because I somewhat graduated from raking leaves to doing contract works there for a real estate developer in Lake Charles, Louisiana. And, you know, that was a way of bringing in additional income. As a matter of fact, it permitted me, Jason, to buy my first 1957 Chevrolet. And I just appreciate it.

that car for you and I to go for a ride in. You still have it? No, unfortunately I dished it many years ago, but Jason, this was a car that you didn't put any gas in. You didn't put any oil in. It just ran. And, uh, I just really enjoyed that car. Um, it was just a, it was really somewhat, uh,

green in color, but it was that 57 Chevrolet. A lot of your audience will perhaps remember this car. It had these kind of wing fish in the back back there. But again, that car ran without gas, without oil, without water. It just ran. It wasn't a small car. It wasn't a Pacer or a Honda CRX. That's for sure.

Yeah. Very good call. Very good call. No, well, that's good. I mean, look, you figured out how to make some money. Go out and get a car. So, but lead me back to that decision where you said, Ted, you know, what I think I should do is join the military. Was that a choice or did you have to do it?

Well, you know, it's strange that you mentioned that because I had been an athlete in high school. I played football. I played baseball and was relatively good at it. But I had not been offered any scholarships to any schools or anything. And I was trying to think about how. Well, first of all, Jason, like many, I fell in love in high school. OK. All right.

And after having fallen in love in high school, and if I wanted to get married, I knew I was going to have to support a family. And the military offered just such a career. You could go into the military. You could take...

up what we called at that time an MOS. And you could at the same time support a family. And so I decided to take the route of the military rather than to try to go to college at that stage in my life.

Okay, so you ended up going to Vietnam, but where were you based? When you joined the military, where did they ship you off to? Well, they shipped me off to Fort Hood, Texas. I stand to be corrected. Fort Polk, Louisiana.

And in Fort Polk, Louisiana, man, you had snakes. You had all sorts of creatures out in those woods. And you just had to try to find a way to survive. I became more, I didn't get any rank there, but they did put me in charge of sort of like a platoon there.

And I often tell folk, and I rarely ever tell this story, but I'll share it with you. You can go downtown in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and you can get all kinds of medals.

Jason, I think I had more medals when I left Fort Polk going back home just for a weekend than you can imagine. I was the most decorated, undecorated soldier that you ever wanted to meet. That's good. When you're in the military, if you might as well be decorated, that probably helps in many regards. You're listening to Jason in the House. We'll be back with more of my conversation with Ted Williams right after this.

from the Fox News Podcast Network. Hey there, it's me, Kennedy. Make sure to check out my podcast, Kennedy Saves the World. It is five days a week, every week. Download and listen at foxnewspodcast.com or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. So what was Vietnam like for you? You know, it was really strange. And let me pick up from Fort Polk there. I wound up going to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

And I still had not been put on track to go to Vietnam. So I was there for a while, and then I was at Aberdeen Proving Ground. And all of a sudden, I got the orders to go to Vietnam. And, you know, it was surreal. I remember coming in country, should I say, at Cameron Bay.

And Jason, you could hear in the base camp grown men crying. It was just such a scenario that people were there serving their country. But on the other hand, there was a great deal of fear. While I was in Vietnam, I was a sergeant. I had about 14 or 15 men. I was able to get all of them.

my men back home safely with the exception of one who became a helicopter gunner and he was killed there in Vietnam. But one of the most tragic incidents that I remember, and it still is with me today about Vietnam,

was you had, and you would have to envision this, at the bottom of a hill was a tent. And in this tent were all of these doctors. And some of them were what we defined as short-timers, meaning that they were going to be coming home very soon or thereafter. At the top was sort of like a motor pool.

And I remember it like yesterday where one of the two and a half ton trucks, some kind of way was taken out of gear.

and rolled down into that tent. And several of those individuals, those doctors, were killed. They were crushed by this 2.5-ton truck. And it left an indelible imprint on me because I remember just breaking down, crying like a baby after I ran down there and saw what had happened.

uh while in vietnam i also had to take my men from one part of vietnam we went away full by and i wound up taking them there uh by boat and i was able to get my uh men all through this territory but

You know, we look at television and we see war, stories of war, and it's nothing like being there on the ground where one day you may be with someone, recognize them, talking to them, and the next day, unfortunately, that person may no longer be with us. And that happened quite a bit there in Vietnam. Yeah, the number of people that we lost through the various wars. But Vietnam was...

was particularly tough and a lot of people came out very scarred from it and rightfully so and i you can totally understand it i don't i don't think our understanding or appreciation of the mental health aspects either was really in place and then you had a country who was struggling to figure out why you were there but so you eventually did come home um and and then made the transition to the police department well i i came home and yes made the transition but

Something that has stuck with me about Vietnam that I'd like to just mention is we had so, so many young men and women, but specifically young men, to become or to come back to this country addicted to some kind of opiate. And it was a very sad situation. But what I would want even your audience to understand, Jason, is the fact that

I never had to go out in what we defined as the boonies and fight. But you had men and women, men specifically that were in the infantry, and those people had to fight

And in order to get the courage up to go out there and fight, they somewhat got all hyped up with drugs. And unfortunately, it led to, as I said, a great deal of individuals coming back as addicts here in this country. But when I came back, I was fortunate enough, as I said, to land at Fort Hood, Texas, and from Fort Hood to the Washington, D.C. Police Department. Well, thank you for your service, first of all. And

The other thing is, okay, so let's talk about the Metropolitan Police Department because you rose the ranks pretty quick. Seems like you did in the military, you did in the police department, and that's kind of the story of your life here. But how is being a cop on the beat, if you will, being a homicide detective different today than it was back then? Quite of a difference, you know.

I awakened this morning and I saw a video of a young kid. The kid had to be no more than two or three years old. I would say three at the most. And here it was, this kid was cursing out a police officer and hitting and slapping at the police officer.

And I started thinking, and this happened only this morning, and I kept saying, what happened to us? What happened where we are now in what I define as a complete metamorphosis? And what do I mean by that? There was a time when I came on the police force that police officers were considered officer-friendly.

and they were well respected in the community. You would never, never envision a young two or three year old cursing at a police officer. And you have to wonder, Jason, how did we get from

being respected as we were at one time. And all of a sudden now where you've got a three-year-old kid cursing out police officers. So I can only say to you that my experience on the police department at the time that I came on was very rewarding.

because you were out there not only to serve and protect the community, but to actually ingratiate yourself into the community. And unfortunately, we've gotten far a foot away from that. Yeah, I think respect is the right word because, I mean, I've seen it. You know, I'm not a police officer, but I can just the basic respect for people

you know, certain authoritarian type figures, just parent, even parents, um, has fallen so far away with the generation that is, it just treats things so differently. So, so aggressively. So I don't know what the right words are for it, but it ain't, it can't be good. Um, and certainly when it comes to our first responders or police officers or firemen, it's just the EMTs that show up on the scene just to help people, um,

the 911 operators that are answering the calls. I mean, every time we turn around, we hear stories in it and they're not just anomalies. They seem to be so consistent. Well, you know, you're right about that, but I got to tell you, if I could just back up a little bit about me and the police department and the fact that my career is

or in the police department was very rewarding and i was able to use the police department to educate myself um the job initially started out as a patrolman walking the beat or doing those kinds of things and dealing with crime that would be on the various beats but then

I was able to elevate myself within the police department to become a detective. And that was one of the most happiest moments of my life, was being somewhat of a detective here in Washington, D.C. area. Because you were able to establish a rapport with people. People respected you, as we've already talked about in

quite naturally you had a great deal of respect for individuals uh but it also afforded me the opportunity to go to school i was able to take advantage of a program that was set up here that permitted me to go to american university american university is one of the best universities by the way in this country and and it afforded me the opportunity to go and get my undergrad degree there and

And by the way, I got to tell you in your audience something that happened, and that is I made the dean's list. Hey, let me tell you something. My high school principal is probably turning over in her grave. Ted Williams made the dean's list. Yes, I made the dean's list. The best kept secret. Well, that opens up some doors, too. It means you're studying. You're taking life seriously. Yeah.

And then you go on and get your law degree.

Yeah, yeah. You know, I decided after getting my undergraduate degree to get a master's degree. And so I really didn't have to or did not need it in the police department, but I've always felt that education was something that any and everybody should get. I have four children. All of them have gone to college. Well, I'm sorry, three children.

of the four have gone to college and finished college and gotten their degrees as such

My youngest right now is working on her PhD at George Washington University. And so I'm very happy for her. But it opened up the police department, opened up doors for me to, you know, to get my education. And then, as you've said, I went to law school there in Baltimore at the University of Baltimore. And shortly afterwards, I took the bar.

And I was able to pass the bar. And once I passed the bar, I then hung my shingle out. And boy, I mean, I took on all sorts of cases. One of the things that I take some pride in is I became the lawyer for the Fraternal Order of Police here in Washington, D.C.,

And it was a period where I was able to represent these cops. And it was a very honorable thing that I felt that I did. Yeah, I read a little bit about this and you did have some very fairly interesting cases. And for the police to entrust you with the legal arguments that needed to go on on this.

What are difficult cases, right? If they were easy, they're probably not needing an attorney, right? But if they need an attorney, they're probably difficult situations. But that says an awful lot about you to trust you, especially fairly new, you know, coming out of law school.

Yeah. Yeah. I think it they did the right and proper thing, of course. And trust me, I say that. But what transpired was the mere fact that I had been a street cop.

I could relate to all the police officers, and I was able to establish a rapport with them. And the sad commentary is that at times when these police officers got in trouble, I had to try to find ways to represent them and get them out of the difficulties that they were in. And, you know, I was pretty successful in doing that.

And I've had a pretty successful law practice, I would say, Jason, for the last 30 some odd years. I shaved my head so that tells you you don't know how old I really am. Well, yeah, because, I mean, that legal perspective, but there's nothing to replace the, hey, I've been there on the street. I know what it's like. I did what you, you know, I've had the same job. I've rolled up on a scene where, you know,

All hell's breaking loose and we got to go figure out, get everybody calmed down. I mean, those types of things are just invaluable along the way. But it can explain the contrast because you've seen it over the years. You know, I look at some of these police departments like Seattle and Baltimore and some of these other places and I just think,

How in the world, why in the world would anybody go be a police officer? They don't seem to have the community support. They certainly don't have the leadership support from the mayor and the city council. And the policies they put into place are so, what I view, is sort of anti-police officer. How some of these young people decide, hey, this is the career for me and have to strap on a body cam and then get into these tumultuous situations.

It's tough. Jason, you cannot conceivably imagine how tough it is to be a law enforcement officer today. Uh,

I've always, and you've probably heard me on shows say, hey, if we got bad police officers, get rid of them. But you've got a lot of decent human beings serving as police officers, men and women. And, you know, it takes me back to my very first shootout as a police officer. And I remember it so well. And I'd like to just kind of tell you and your audience succinctly somewhat about it.

I was at a place, a hotel in D.C., working undercover, and I was at the cash register, and I decided to go and get a soda.

And I went to the machine and I put the money in and the soda came and I bent down to pick it up and I looked up and here it was a man with a gun on me. And at that stage, all I could do, and I had a suit on and I knew I had my gun on me and I knew I had my badge and my money was associated with my badge shield.

And I knew at some stage this guy was going to ask me for my own money. But what he did was put the gun in the back of my in my back, led me to the cash register, had me to open the cash register. And then he put his gun away and then he started digging with both hands into the cash register. I made a move for my gun. My gun was strapped in.

If you notice, it was during that time, it was a .38, and it was just strapped in. And so I couldn't get it out. He got his gun out first. He wound up trying to shoot me. He shot at me about three or four times, and he missed. I was able to get my gun out, and I was able to use my service revolver. This man, I was able to hit him several times. He was treating his own wounds.

And his girlfriend, from what I understand, turned him into law enforcement. And that's how they got on to him. But it was a very scary situation. And that is what happens today, Jason. The men and women are having to face these very difficult situations. You know, and I want your audience to understand this. If I told someone right now, you're under arrest, put your hands in the back, and they just...

put their hands back there. You could put the handcuffs on and take them to jail. But if I said to you, "You're under arrest and you start struggling with me and I start struggling back,"

And the cameras, the cameras don't catch everything, Jason. They just catch that one moment where I'm trying to do whatever I can to control that person. And it looks like excessive force. So all of a sudden, the police officer is branded with that. And that is what's going on. And I see it over and over in our society today, where police officers are trying to do the right and appropriate thing and arresting somebody who's resisting.

And all of a sudden, the cameras catch him. And as a result of that, good men and women are saying, Jason, we don't want to put up with this any longer. We are going to leave. And what you're having is the best of men and women are leaving police departments. And this is what's going on now in our society, unfortunately.

Yeah, you know, I think you're telling me I know you're absolutely right. I mean, we've seen the cases where there has been just an over aggressive police officer who really, I mean, you know, kicking people on the ground. I mean, we can come up with an infinite number of.

But there's so many times when actually you play the full tape or from a different angle or you figure out how they got there. I mean, a police officer has a right to protect himself and make sure that he goes home to his loved ones at night. And we place them in such difficult situations. And then we have these.

ridiculous laws that come in a book into place like I was reading in Chicago where they can't even pursue somebody on foot right now unless it meets certain criteria you can't pursue in a car if a car says hey I don't want to pull over they don't have to pull over and in the state of Washington I mean just things like I can't even imagine how these police officers are able to do their jobs

Well, you're absolutely right. What in the hell, excuse my language, do you want from police officers? Do you want them to lose their lives by virtue of some of the rules and regulations that are put into place? I mean, you just mentioned Chicago.

Jason, you are not in Chicago if you don't have at least 30 to 40 to 50 to 60 people shot in a weekend. And you wonder, what is it that you want law enforcement officers to do when you handcuff them, when you tie their hand? I think...

what your audience need to understand is it's the politics. Police officers want to do the right thing. You have people in these communities who want police officers there to take that little crook out of the community. But the politicians are tying the police officers' hands

And they're frustrating good law abiding citizens who just want something done in their neighborhood. We we have got to get back to law and order, Jason. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry to say that in a lot of these major metropolitan cities right now, we are not there. Jason, just think about it.

I can go into a jewelry store right now with a sledgehammer, crack open the jewelry case,

Take my time taking whatever I want out and dare anybody to try to stop me. Yeah. And I'm not making this up. I am telling you, Jason, that these kinds of things happen and they shouldn't be happening. No, they shouldn't be happening. And it seems like you have such a group of young people who just...

Just totally indifferent to it. I was once at Fox a couple years ago. This is pre-COVID. And I had an early morning Fox and Friends hit. I was on it like 6.15 in the morning. So, you know, you get...

Get showered up. You do the show. You're all dressed up. And it's 6.30 in the morning, and I'm like up and awake. And so I'm walking back from Fox. I'm not a block away from Fox. There's a little convenience store. And I go in the convenience store, and I'm going to get one of those little chocolate shakes, you know, those Fair Lifes or whatever they are, you know, protein shakes or whatever, and maybe a banana. That's usually kind of what I have for breakfast. So I'm in the back of the store, and these two teenagers come in.

I'm guessing they're maybe 15 years old. Man, they were, I don't think they, my guess is they'd been up all night and they were in that store yelling, screaming, just two of them hollering and then started pushing things over. They're just like, and I thought, you know, I could tell, I mean, you know, that, that surge that comes into your body and you just know that, Hey, this, this is danger. This is not good. There's something wrong here.

And the store owner starts yelling at them. And these kids start yelling back. And I'm thinking, I really don't know where this is going. And I wish I could help the store owner and just kind of take these. Because I think the two of us could take these guys on. But I don't know if they have a weapon. Anyway, they just grabbed whatever they wanted to grab. They knocked over a bunch of stuff. There was no thought from the store owner to even call the police. Because I don't think he even thought they would show up.

And, uh, and these kids just took, you know, stuff off the shelf, took drinks, took chips, and they went out the door. And I thought, I'm actually pretty fortunate that,

you know, they didn't pull out a gun or do something, something worse there, but just the attitude and the brazenness of it, it just, it really did frighten me. And that Stoner was shaken to say the least. He didn't even call the cops. And I, I said, why don't you call him? And he said, it doesn't matter. It won't make a difference. You know, Jason, I tell everyone and I'll tell your audience the same thing. If you step on a young person's foot,

apologize, say you're sorry, and keep on moving. Because there are young people today that will kill you. There are young people today, unfortunately, that will pull that weapon. And you wonder, how does a young person get to the point where they got a weapon in the first place, meaning a gun, and number two, willing to use it

in brazen attacks. You know, you just spoke about New York there. Can you imagine just standing on a subway platform and a train is coming and someone just pushes you in front of the train because it is funny. It is something that is not taken seriously.

uh unfortunately that happens uh again i don't know the answer but i know that i try my best to stay away from crowded places unfortunately yeah it's a sad commentary and for all your service in the military as a police officer you know working with the fraternal order of police being involved and engaged in the law i you know it should be

It should be better. And there is got to be a fundamental change. And some of this stuff is bigger than this, the breakdown of the family, those types of things. But, Ted, I got to transition now because I want to get your last thoughts on this. And then we're going to the rapid questions. And I don't care how many times you've come up on a crime scene. I don't know that you're properly prepared for these rapid questions. But one more thing I want to ask you about, and that is your time with Foxx.

How in the world did you make that transition? Because first of all, you're so good natural and now you've done it for a long time, right? It's just like second nature to you. But what was that first time you got on television and said, they said, Ted, all right, we're going to interview you. I mean, what was that like? How'd that go down?

Well, you know, it's strange, and I'll be very succinct in telling you that I started out in Hollywood. I started doing a show out there called Power of Attorney. I did that show for two years in Hollywood. I came back, and at one time for a brief period, I was at CNN. Then I went to MSNBC. And then for the last 20-some-odd years, I

I was there at Fox. And I got to tell you, the Fox family has just been outstanding. You asked about the very first time that I did a television show. And I remember as a lawyer having cases where the television cameras would come in. I think one of the things, and Jason, you can appreciate this yourself,

is that what we do, unfortunately, most of the time is live television. And live television, you cannot make that mistake. It isn't like you can take the toothpaste and put it back in the tube. Whatever comes out, comes out at that time.

Well, some people have an aptitude for it, and other people, maybe not so much. So I don't know how in the world they pick you for the first thing and say, hey, go to Hollywood, Ted. Let's put you on camera. But they certainly knew what they were doing back then. You're listening to Jason in the House. We'll be right back after this.

All right, I got to move to the rapid questions because we want to know a little bit more about you. And the only way to really get there is to ask these rapid questions. Are you ready? Ready. All right. First concert you attended? Smokey Robinson and the Miraculous. All right. Now that is legit. I've heard some bad ones. That one's that that's pretty fun. That's pretty fun. What was your high school mascot? An Indian. We were the Washington Indians.

Sort of like the Redskins, I guess, a little bit. But the Indians, are they still the Indians? Are that high school still the Indians? No, they are no longer that. But it was something that was acceptable and something that was honorable in being the Washington Indians. And we had the utmost respect for all of the tribes. Yeah, so did I. Look, I've grown up out west where we actually do have a lot of Indian tribes.

you know, out in Utah. We got a lot of Indian tribes, and I have nothing but the greatest respect for them. And some of the golf courses and others are named after them. And fortunately, I don't think we've gone down the path of saying, oh, that's just, you know, politically wrong. It's just, it's nothing but respect and admiration and respect.

And I think an appreciation for at least the start of some comprehension of how difficult we've made it for some of these Native Americans. But anyway, that's a whole other topic, too. So did you have a pet growing up, Ted?

Yes, I had a pet dog, Ricky. I miss Ricky till this moment, Jason. What kind of dog was Ricky? Ricky was a mixture of everything you can conceivably think of. But he was a wonderful dog and I enjoyed Ricky. Let's put it that way. Yeah, you know, I think of my dog Socks and all the...

I just, you know, from my earliest childhood right up until I was into my teens and a dog was with me all the time when I got sad or scared or mad or just by myself. And I just would spend, I don't know how many hours with that dog laying on that. There's a big dog is like a, it was a mutt, but it was more sheep dog than anything else. And this part of the thing,

At the time we were in Arizona, this dog had more hair. That thing would just pant. It was just because it was so hot and I would lay on him. I'd use him as a pillow. I would, you know, anyway, it was just, but I think of all the times that I spent with this dog and what a blessing it was in my life. I just loved it. All right. When I say, Ted, what's life's most embarrassing moment? What pops in your mind?

Being caught in the girls' dormitory. Wait a sec. This was something that didn't happen by accident, Ted. That was embarrassing. This is a family-friendly show, so maybe we'll skip through the details, but I will trust that that was embarrassing.

That was embarrassing. Sorry, and I won't, I will leave it at that. All right. Well, our imagination is probably more creative than anything else, but we believe you on that one. Unique talent that you have that maybe nobody knows about. The inability, and I want to use this one more time, the inability to sing.

I'm the only person who tries to sing in the shower. You know, I gotta tell you, growing up, I thought I was gonna be the next Elvis Presley. Far, far removed from Elvis. Elvis, you could sing. I had the unfortunate inability to be able to sing. Yeah, I'm in that category too. You know, my whole family, my wife and kids, they can all sing. Belt out of tune.

They can play an instrument. I am the designated listener. Jason, don't even try. Just sit there. If we have to mouth the words in church, just mouth them. Just don't actually project anything. I'm that guy. I'm with you on that one. Very well. That's so funny. All right. Big question we always ask our guests. Pineapple on pizza, yes or no?

Yes, pizza. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Did you not learn anything along the way? You don't put wet fruit on a pizza. I know, but I got to tell you, good friend, just yesterday I had a pizza with pineapple on it.

I'm sorry. And Jason, when you come to Washington, we're going to make sure we take you to that same identical pizza place. Hey, if we were in Honolulu or something, you know, okay, Hawaiian pizza, I get that. But

I don't know, DC, if you're going to get a pineapple on a pizza in me, but I'll try it again. I've tried it. It's awful. But, yeah, if you want to, okay. Absolutely, my friend. All right. What's that other thing for Ted Williams? Now, when I say other thing, like what's the thing when you want to go out and clear your head –

you know, just forget about the world, just kind of get back to a peaceful place. What is it that you do? You know, I lay back, I stay at home, I listen to some very good music. And if you really want to get into some good music, listen to Frank Sinatra. Very, very good.

pretty soothing music and I'll listen to him and that's one of the things that I do primarily is just lay back. Also, I'm a history buff.

And I have studied, I would say, the Civil War period more than any other history. And so when I'm in the Washington area here, I'll go to places like Harpers Ferry and where John Brown led his raid at, or you can go to Lee's Mansion there at Arlington Cemetery. And one of the things I really urge your audience to do is to go to Arlington Cemetery

and watch the changing of the guards. There are individuals who come in this town to visit me. They've got to go there to Arlington Cemetery. It is just such a chilling but realistic place to be when it comes to the changing of the guards. And I'm sure, Jason, you've been out there on many occasions. Yeah, you know, I went there as a kid. My grandfather was a...

uh, career FBI agent. And he took me out there and I, and I remember how crowded it was and there were a lot of people and it was hot, you know, it was like great in the middle of the summer. And, and so I made it a point when I, when I joined the Congress, um, and then I was, I was in town, uh, during the winter, uh,

And it was cold. I mean, Ted, it was cold. And I thought, you know what, I'm going to get up early. The moment they open those gates, I'm going to get up there. And I wanted to go experience the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier when nobody else was there. Like I wanted to be the only person there. And so the gate opened. I kind of hustled up there. There's kind of a path and then a hill and you get up there. And I was. I was the only person.

And, uh, I, it was such a serene, uh, spiritual kind of almost moment. And there was the, there was the, uh,

their ceremony. And, uh, I was the only one there and I, it meant a lot to me. And I, I hope everybody gets that chance. It's, you know, there's a lot of fun things. Go to Lincoln Memorial, go on the mall, go, you know, try to tour the white house and all that. But I don't think a tour is complete without, I think people should go to the Ford's theater and go see where Lincoln was shot. That's one of the best museums that nobody goes to, but then go going to Arlington and you look at the sea of people who have served this nation and

And given their lives serving this nation, it really is overwhelming. It's overwhelming. And you just mentioned something else, the fourth theater. You know, I don't know if individuals realize it, but there's so many free, free things you can do in Washington, D.C.,

And when you go to the Ford Theater there and you see where Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed and where his body was taken across the street from the Ford Theater there, it's just surreal. It is certainly something that I encourage individuals to do when they come to Washington, D.C. Or if they even live here in Washington, D.C. Yeah, no kidding. Sometimes you live so close and you don't go do the things that are right in your own backyard, Mike.

My wife and I, you know, we live in Utah. We talk about all the time, all the different places and go, the place you can go and hikes and,

and uh and then once you do them you're like gosh that was amazing nobody gets to do that let's go do that again and so ted i can't thank you enough thank you for your service to your country thanks for your service as you know in law enforcement and uh thanks for giving us those that you know when tragedy strikes and and there is breaking news and it's something horrific and a murder or something i mean just really difficult they call your number and

And there's a reason why you're up on the screen explaining it to us all. But thanks for doing that. And thanks for giving us some insight about who you are and how you got there. And really do appreciate your taking the time with us. And my pleasure. And I can tell your audience recently I was at the White House Correspondents' Dinner with you and your wife. And you have one of the most gracious wives. And Jason, by the way, you married up. Yeah. No, I'm not...

I made a good deal. I'm not getting out of it. I promise you. Thanks, Ted. You're very kind. It was real fun for us to spend some time in person. And I hope our paths are able to cross more in person because I really did enjoy spending some time with you, sharing some laughs. There were some funny things going on there. And that was good. And I'm just glad to continue to be with you at Fox. So, Ted Williams, everybody, thanks for joining us today on the Jason in the House podcast.

My pleasure. Can't thank Ted enough for it. Like I said to him for his service, his insight. He just, you know, sounds like a great American. He's just working hard. He's got some leadership qualities. You don't rise the ranks so quickly, but,

in the police, in the military, in the law, the way he has, on television, unless you got some games. So I really appreciate Ted joining us. I really enjoyed that. I love hearing people's stories. And that's why, you know, what Jason in the House podcast is all about. I hope you get a chance to see kind of a little bit deeper, a little bit under the hood.

I'm hoping you can rate this podcast, subscribe to it. There are other good podcasts from Fox over at foxnewspodcast.com. And I hope you stick with us and come back next week where we'll have another exciting guest. So I'm Jason Chaffetz. This has been Jason in the House.

Hey, it's Clay Travis. Join me for Outkick the show as we dive deep into a mix of topics. New episodes available Monday to Friday on your favorite podcast platform and watch directly on outkick.com forward slash watch.