FULL INTERVIEW: JD Vance Delivers Powerful Remarks at Hungary’s Mathias Corvinus Collegium — AC14

[0:00] discussion hosted by Zoltan Salai, Director General, MCC. With that, I invite to the floor [0:08] the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance. [0:25] Good morning, thank you. It's good to be with you. [0:42] Good morning, Mr. Vice President. Thank you very much for coming to MCC. [0:46] We have a big audience today and we would like to have more time, but we have only 30 minutes, [0:52] so I start immediately. [0:54] Sure. [0:54] Why did you accept our invitation to MCC? It's the first time that the U.S. Vice President [1:03] is coming to Hungary, that you are here and you are immediately at MCC on stage with a [1:10] conversation with us. Of course, as you know, MCC is an institution where we have more than [1:16] 8,000 students in 30 centers all across the countries and in the neighboring countries. [1:20] We also do a lot of research, a lot of events, and from the age of 10, basically till the [1:26] PhD, still the end of the PhD studies, we have a lot of students. [1:29] Why was it for you important to come to us? [1:33] Well, I'll give you two answers. So the first is that I was having lunch with Victor Orban yesterday [1:39] and I said, what can I do to help? And he said, go and speak at MCC. And I said, okay. [1:43] Teach me ever to ask that question again. But no, we're very excited to be here because [1:49] it is such an important institution. And what I like about MCC is that it shows, I mean, [1:55] I believe this was started in 1996, correct? And what I like is that educational institutions, [2:02] there's this attitude that certain people have that they should be completely distinct from all [2:08] democratic influence from the sovereign will of the people. The idea that the university [2:12] or the educational institutions stand completely apart and should just basically be able to receive [2:19] unlimited funding from the taxpayer, even though they don't support the civilization that they were [2:24] founded on, should receive unlimited resources and unlimited public support, even when they go at [2:30] the very people that they ask that support from. And I think that what you guys are showing is that, [2:34] you know, academic institutions are part of the civilization that gives birth to them. They're [2:39] part of the people who actually fund and resource these places. And so what you guys have shown is [2:46] that you can actually have a university that's committed to excellence, an academic institution, [2:52] I should say, that's committed to excellence, where students from all walks of life, as you told me [2:56] backstage, from very young students all the way up to PhD students, can come together, discuss ideas, [3:02] debate ideas, debate ideas, have a free exchange and open debate amongst yourselves, but also be [3:07] fundamentally committed to the values that actually make it possible for all of us to live in these great [3:12] societies together. So much of the academy has tried to destroy the foundations of Western civilization. You can [3:20] actually have an institution that tries to build up the foundations of Western civilization, that corrects what [3:26] needs to be corrected, that changes what needs to be changed, but is fundamentally committed to the [3:31] project that we want to have open debate. We want to have freedom of religion. We want people to walk [3:36] down the street in public safety. We want borders. We want the type of economies that provide good lives [3:41] and good wages to our people. Foundationally, it's kind of crazy that so many Western academic [3:47] institutions are not committed to any of these values and yet expect public support. You guys stand and [3:53] define to that so I thought it'd become it'd be fun to come and spend a morning with you. Thank you. [3:58] I could talk for hours about MCC but let's jump into sure political topics. You have now an issue in [4:14] the United States that the Ukrainian intelligence services attempted an influence on the American [4:19] elections. Sure. Can you a bit describe to the Hungarian audience what is this about and why I ask it's [4:26] because it's a topic as well in Hungary. Yes. The Ukrainian, we have this issue with the Druzhba [4:33] pipeline which is delivering oil through Ukraine to Hungary. Also President Zelenskyy said that if [4:41] Viktor Orban doesn't change his behavior he will send his soldiers to his private address. So also we have [4:47] an issue with this question of Ukrainian influence. What is the situation in your country and how do you see [4:54] this in Hungary? So first of all I wasn't even aware that Zelenskyy had said that he was going to send [4:59] private soldiers to the prime minister's residence until yesterday. Viktor actually told me that and [5:04] I went and looked it up. Almost couldn't believe it's true but it's true. It's completely scandalous. [5:09] You should never have a foreign head of government or a foreign head of state threatening the foreign [5:15] threatening the head of government of an allied nation. It's preposterous. It's unacceptable. [5:20] And what I find so interesting about you know there's a lot of conversation about foreign influence [5:24] in our elections. So you saw this back in 2016 where a lot of the American media said that it was [5:29] a true scandal that the Russian government bought like five hundred thousand dollars of Facebook [5:35] advertisements during the 2016 campaign. And for what it's worth I don't want Russia involved in our [5:39] elections in the same way that I'm sure you don't want any other country involved in your elections. [5:44] I've also been told that the vice president of the United States coming and saying that Viktor Orban is doing [5:49] a good job and is a helpful statesman to the cause of peace. That's foreign influence. [5:54] But what's not foreign influence is when the European Union threatens billions of dollars [6:00] withheld from Hungary because you guys protect your borders. That's apparently not foreign influence. [6:05] What's not foreign influence is when the Ukrainians shut down pipelines causing suffering among the [6:11] Hungarian people in an effort to influence an election. That's allegedly not foreign influence. [6:17] It doesn't pass the smell test. Foreign influence is when other governments threaten, cajole and try to [6:24] use economic influence to tell you how to vote. And that to the Hungarian people whether you like Viktor [6:30] Orban or not whether you agree with this or that policy that is fundamentally an assault on your [6:35] sovereignty. You know what I have never done even though we have of course a lot of economic power [6:39] in the United States of America. We are the economic and military superpower of the world. We have never [6:44] threatened Hungary saying if you don't vote for Viktor Orban, you're not going to get this and this. [6:50] We would never do that because we respect the Hungarian people enough to respect their sovereignty. [6:56] The fact that so many foreign actors, whether they're transnational organizations like the [7:02] bureaucrats in Brussels or whether it's foreign governments, are literally threatening the Hungarian [7:07] people vote this way or we're going to exact our revenge on you. That should make you very angry. [7:14] You should vote against that for the simple reason that you are sovereign in this country. One of the [7:18] coolest things about about my visit is you know late yesterday when it was closed down we went and saw [7:25] the crown of Saint Stephen in the parliament. And I love the symbolism of this of course because it's [7:31] it's one of the oldest maybe the oldest surviving crown that exists in western civilization. But it's there [7:38] at the center of the parliamentary building. What does that mean? That means that sovereignty rests with [7:44] the Hungarian people. The people are sovereign in Hungary. But for that to be true, the Hungarian [7:50] people have to reject these foreign influence operations, vote for who they want to be their leader, [7:55] reject the Brussels bureaucrats. You were talking about the influence from from Brussels. It's also [8:14] interesting how, for example, free speech is in danger. If you look on on the tech companies and the [8:21] influence on them from the Brussels bureaucrats, it's an important topic. It's an important question. But [8:27] in connection to you, one of the largest Hungarian oppositional leftist mainstream press wrote that [8:35] there is no Ukrainian or Brussels influence in Hungary, only Russian influence. Do you know this from somehow? [8:44] I had not seen that observation. But again, I find it darkly ironic that people are accusing [8:51] me of engaging in some kind of foreign influence. All that we're saying is that Viktor Orban, [8:57] he does a good job because he does. He's a very, very important partner for peace with the American [9:02] government because he is. I hate to say this because they're obviously much bigger economies, [9:07] much more populous countries in Europe. But most of the European political capitals have not been [9:13] nearly as helpful to the cause of peace between Russia and Ukraine as Viktor Orban has. And it's not [9:19] because, by the way, I've sat in private meetings with Viktor where he has very, very capably summed up [9:27] the Ukrainian position, where he said this is what the Ukrainians care about, this is what the Russians [9:32] care about, because if you want to make peace, you have to understand what the two parties to the [9:37] conflict actually think. It's not a betrayal to try to understand where both the Russians and the [9:42] Ukrainians are coming from. It's a necessary component to achieving a peaceful settlement. [9:47] That's not Russian influence. That's a desire for peace. This is not American influence. Do you know how [9:52] much? Again, I would never do this. But you know how easy it would be for the United States to threaten [9:58] Hungary economically in the same way the EU has? We would never do that because we respect our friends [10:04] enough to respect their democratic will. What's going on in the EU, what's going on in Brussels, [10:11] what's going on with some of these foreign influence operations, I'm telling you, it is a scandal. [10:15] It's the reason why I'm here. This is unprecedented. It's unprecedented for an American vice president to [10:21] come the week before an election. The reason why we're doing it is because we thought there was [10:26] so much garbage happening against Victor and this election that we had to show that there are actually [10:32] a lot of people and a lot of friends across the world who recognize that Victor and his government [10:38] are doing a good job and they're important partners for peace. That's why we're here. But ultimately, [10:43] the Hungarian people are going to be sovereigns because that's how it should be. [10:58] We often hear that we are living in dangerous times. There is an ongoing situation in Iran now, [11:05] but of course, which is next to our border is the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. I think [11:11] when you and President Trump won the elections, there was a window of opportunity to stop this. [11:18] You tried to stop this. Then it didn't happen. I think the Brazilian bureaucrats and the European elite [11:26] said that and somehow made the pressure that not to stop and not to make peace as soon as possible. [11:32] What do you think? What was the motivations of the of the Brazilian elite not to make this peace? [11:40] And how long can it take to make it? Well, first of all, yeah, you know, the president has said this [11:46] in the context of the Iran conflict. He said this in the context of some of the negotiations between Russia [11:53] and Ukraine. As much as we love Europe and as much as we love European peoples and cultures, [12:01] I mean, the United States, as you know, is very much a daughter nation of the European continent. [12:08] We've been disappointed by a lot of the political leadership in Europe because they don't seem [12:11] particularly interested in solving this this particular conflict. And what the president has [12:16] said is we it's the hardest war to solve. In some ways, we thought it would be the easiest, [12:21] but it has been the hardest. We've been at it for now 14 months and we're just going to keep on [12:26] working at it. We have made significant progress. I mean, if you go back to where we were in the [12:30] beginning where we couldn't even get the Russians or the Ukrainians to put on paper what is it that [12:36] you want in order to settle the conflict, we've now gotten that. And we've got pieces of paper from [12:41] the Ukrainians and pieces of paper from the Russians. We've actually got them to state their positions. [12:45] And over time, their positions have gotten closer and closer together. Now, obviously, [12:49] they're not perfectly aligned because if they were, the conflict would be over. [12:53] But, you know, we've had a lot of help from some of our friends. I think Georgia Maloney in Italy [12:58] has been very helpful. You know, even some of the Western European capitals have been helpful, [13:03] at least behind the scenes. But the most helpful has been Victor, because Victor is the one who's [13:08] encouraged us to truly understand this, to understand from the perspective of both the Ukrainians [13:13] and the Russians, what is necessary for them to end the conflict. And that's why we've made some [13:19] progress. We haven't obviously made the final amount of progress. But I'm pretty optimistic about [13:24] this, because fundamentally, the war has stopped making sense. What I would say to both the Russians [13:29] and the Ukrainians is, you know, we're talking about haggling at this point over a few square [13:35] kilometers of territory in one direction or another. Is that worth losing hundreds of thousands of [13:42] additional Russian and Ukrainian young men? Is that worth an additional months or even years of [13:47] higher energy prices and economic devastation? We think the answer is clearly no. But it takes, [13:52] you know, two to tango. So while Victor and President Trump are going to continue to work [13:57] towards a peaceful settlement, fundamentally, we can only open the door. The Russians and the Ukrainians [14:01] have to walk through it. And what do you think about Europe? Europe has several problems. If we [14:09] look on the growth numbers of the European Union, on the competitiveness, on the energy prices, [14:15] how do you see Europe? And what could be the future for Europe under these circumstances? [14:20] Yes. You know, it's very sad because there's so much. I talked about this in my speech last night [14:27] a little bit. There's so much discussion in the European press. You know, do Vance and Trump and Rubio, [14:34] do they hate Europe? Do they love Europe? The answer is we absolutely love Europe. It's an important [14:39] trading partner. But most importantly, again, like I said, it's an important, you know, cultural cousin [14:46] of the United States of America. The ideas that founded the United States of America were first [14:51] birthed on the European continent. We're very mindful of that fact. Of course, we love the people, [14:56] the culture, the everything about about this place. But we do have some disagreements with the [15:00] political leadership in particular. Why have the Europeans, while saying, by the way, that Russia [15:07] is the biggest national security threat, why have the Europeans made themselves completely dependent [15:14] on unreliable sources of energy? Like if you think that Russia, an energy superpower, is the biggest [15:20] threat, you should do everything in your power to make yourselves economically and energy dominant, [15:25] like President Trump has done in the United States. Our European friends have done the exact [15:29] opposite. If you look at the cost of electricity in the United Kingdom, which is way under invested [15:35] in their energy resources, you know, UK families are paying four times, five times, six times what [15:43] United States citizens are paying for electricity. Now, obviously, I care most about America's citizens. [15:48] That's who I'm elected to represent. But isn't it a scandal that middle class Brits, that people who are [15:53] working hard and playing by the rules can't afford to heat their home, can't afford to transport themselves to [15:59] work because their leadership has made energy so expensive? Isn't it a scandal that when normal [16:06] people on the European continent try to talk about what's going on in their governments, they try to [16:12] criticize their governments, they try to exercise their rights of free speech, those governments then [16:17] go to American social media companies and say, you must censor the citizens of your own country because [16:22] we don't want to hear them. We don't want to hear their free expression. We don't want to hear their free speech. [16:27] There's just so much wrong with the political leadership. And I would particularly say the [16:32] bureaucratic leadership in Brussels, right? People who aren't elected, who are not responsive to the [16:37] democratic will, and I think have made the European continent less secure, less free and less prosperous. [16:43] The reason why we make criticism of European political capitals is because we want Europe to [16:49] thrive and we think they're making a lot of mistakes. You know, I've had a lot of conversations with [16:54] with European friends, with European heads of state and government. And it's always funny. They always [16:58] say, well, you know, the United States just defies economic logic. You guys just have way higher [17:04] economic growth. You have way lower energy costs. They say this as if it was something that happened [17:10] through accident rather than through the policy choices of the president of the United States. [17:16] It is not magical that the United States has lower energy costs than the United Kingdom. It's because [17:22] we've made smart decisions and their leadership is not. They could change course and we hope that they [17:27] will. I have the opportunity now to ask you about Iran. There are latest developments, I think very [17:44] positive developments during the night that we received, that there is a ceasefire. What can we do [17:50] know more about the latest developments in the Middle East? Yes, that's why I was a little late [17:56] this morning. I was up very late last night and talking about that. Look, I do think there are good [18:01] developments here. And let me just say a few things. First of all, what the president set out to do [18:06] was decimate the Iranian military, decimate their ability to wage conventional war. And that military [18:12] objective, as the president said yesterday, as I said yesterday, has been achieved. And because of that, [18:18] what the president did is he basically issued an ultimatum to the Iranians. He said, open up the [18:22] straits, stop trying to hold the world's economy hostage, and we'll engage in a ceasefire. And that's [18:29] exactly the agreement that we came to last night. The Iranians have agreed to open up the straits. The [18:33] United States has agreed to stop attacking. And not just the United States, but also our allies have [18:39] agreed to stop attacking. And that is the basis of this fragile truce that we have, which is now, [18:44] you know, eight to 12 hours old. Now, here's what I'll say about this. I've learned a lot about the [18:49] Iranian system and a lot about the way the Iranians negotiate. As the president told me last night, [18:54] the Iranians are better negotiators than they are fighters. I'm sure they don't like to hear that, [18:58] but it's true. But here's a couple things. So, one, just in the response that we've seen from various [19:05] segments of Iran, you have, on the one hand, people within Iran who have responded very favorably, [19:11] the foreign minister who said, look, we agreed to the United States' terms. We'll do a ceasefire. [19:18] We'll do a negotiation. We'll open the Straits of Hormuz, and then we'll see if we can come to more [19:22] agreement down the road. So some of the people have responded favorably and have said the right [19:28] things. And then you have some people on social media within their system who are basically lying [19:34] about what we've accomplished militarily. They're lying about the nature of the agreement. They're lying [19:39] about the nature of the ceasefire. And so you have just, even within their system, and this is why I [19:44] say this is a fragile truce, you have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and [19:49] work with us to find a good deal. And then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce [19:54] that we've already struck. And that's just an interesting thing about their system. And [19:58] the final point that I'll say about this is the President of the United States has told me, [20:02] and he's told the entire negotiating team, the Secretary of State, the Special Envoy, [20:06] Steve Witkoff, he said, go and work in good faith to come to an agreement. That is what he has told [20:12] us to do. If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement. [20:19] If they're going to lie, if they're going to cheat, if they're going to try to prevent even the fragile [20:26] truce that we've set up from taking place, then they're not going to be happy. Because what the [20:31] President has also shown is that we still have clear military, diplomatic, and maybe most importantly, [20:37] we have extraordinary economic leverage. So the President has told us not to use those tools. [20:42] He's told us to come to the negotiating table. But if the Iranians don't do the exact same thing, [20:47] they're going to find out that the President of the United States is not one to mess around. [20:52] He's impatient. He's impatient to make progress. He has told us to negotiate in good faith. And I think [20:57] if they negotiate in good faith, we will be able to find a deal. But that's a big if. And ultimately, [21:01] it's up to the Iranians how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision. [21:05] We are here with a lot of talented Hungarian students. You talk a lot about education. [21:21] How do you see the future of education? In which direction should it be developed? And do you know [21:28] a bit the Hungarian education system, especially the tertiary education system with our university system? [21:33] What is your opinion about this? And how will you develop your education system? [21:40] Well, I like that the Hungarian university system has imposed what I would call some democratic [21:46] constraints here. The taxpayers should not be expected to fund radical gender ideology. The [21:51] taxpayers should not be expected to fund sets of ideas. Now, people have free speech, of course. They [21:57] can say whatever they want to. But you're not entitled to taxpayer funding if you're advocating civil [22:02] unrest and violence in the streets and gender ideology. Ultimately, the taxpayers, they're the [22:08] ones who decide what they're willing to fund. And they should be the ones making that decision. So [22:12] I really admire that Hungary has actually brought some common sense back to the connection between [22:18] funding and the university system. You can say whatever you want. But in Hungary, you don't get unlimited [22:24] subsidy if you want to say something that's really crazy or that promotes violence, etc. I think that's a [22:30] very important thing. I think in the American system, we're making progress in that direction. [22:35] We've said to the university system in the United States that you're no longer allowed to discriminate [22:39] based on race. It sounds crazy. But three years ago, not only were they allowed to, but they were [22:45] actively encouraged to discriminate against white students, against students of certain faiths. [22:50] They were told against Asian students, they were actually told that you had to have a higher score [22:56] if your skin color was a certain tone and a lower score if your skin color was a different tone. [23:02] That's a violation of the American law. That's a violation of the American Constitution. [23:06] That's a violation of basic morality. And the United States has now stopped that practice, [23:11] thanks to the leadership of the president and our secretary of education. So we're making progress, [23:16] I think, in frankly reining the university system in less discrimination, more promotion of free [23:22] speech, more recognition that taxpayer funding is not unlimited. And that's a very good thing. [23:28] And I think, you know, fundamentally, the education system has has two roles. It has to prepare people [23:35] to become effective and capable workers. They have to have the skills necessary to contribute to the [23:41] modern economy. And they have to have the thought processes. They have to have the ability to think [23:46] critically so that they can participate in a modern democracy. And I think that's what the education [23:51] system has to do. For too long in the West, what it did is it didn't teach any useful skills and it [23:56] also brainwashed students. So it failed on both of those accounts. What we're trying to do in the [24:00] United States, and I think you guys are trying to do in Hungary, is make sure that if you get a university [24:05] degree, you have one of two things and hopefully both. You either have a useful skill for the workforce [24:11] or you have the ability to think critically about society's challenges. And again, ideally, you have [24:15] both of those things. If you don't have those things, you shouldn't be paying for an education. [24:27] Your book is also translated to Hungarian. The Netflix movie about you is also watched in Hungary. [24:37] You are coming from a more poorer family. You are coming from a Rost Bell Society of the United States, [24:46] and you attended an Ivy League university. You have a degree from Yale. What was the most important [24:52] that you received during your education? That's a good question. You know, I mean, I guess the most [24:59] important thing that I got during my education, at least in law school, was I got a wife [25:04] because we met in law school, and that's very important. I'd get in trouble if I didn't say that, [25:08] but she's actually now pregnant with our fourth child. So obviously family is always the most important. [25:12] Thank you. And thank you. You know, family is the most important. And I do think that, [25:23] you know, this maybe is going to sound trite, but not just marriage and relationships romantically, [25:29] but also friendships. Some of the most important things that I got out of my educational experience, [25:33] and I had a lot of good mentors who said, people don't invest enough in their friendships. [25:38] This is a great opportunity to build the kind of friendships. If you're a young person, [25:42] you're in university, to build the kind of relationships that really can last a lifetime. [25:46] I think it's a very profound and powerful thing. You shouldn't, you know, yes, you want to get an [25:50] education. Yes, you want to get a good job. But you also, you know, you're spending four years with [25:54] people, maybe longer. And I think you should take that opportunity to really get to know what you're [25:59] interested in, who you are, and who you want to build a life with, because that's one of the best [26:03] things that I think you can get out of an education. But I think that just if you set aside the [26:09] relationships, I think the most important thing that I acquired, if I'm being honest, [26:14] at Yale Law School in particular, is that I learned how elite social networks actually work. [26:20] Okay? Like when I looked at this from the perspective of my hometown, and I said, [26:24] why are all the people who have the fancy jobs, why do they have this credential? Or why all the people [26:29] who are on the Supreme Court? Or why are all the people who have been in positions of political [26:33] leadership? Why do they all seem to know the same people and come from the same world? [26:38] And the answer is that, as I think a lot of us know, whether it's in Brussels or Washington, [26:44] D.C. or New York City, these places become very insular. And there are, you know, there are things [26:51] about that that just are. They're not good. They're not bad. It just, these places are insular. They're [26:55] built around relationships. They're built around who you know. Many of the most important jobs in [27:00] American society, I don't like this, by the way, but it's just the truth, are based on who you know. [27:05] And so it's important to sort of develop those relationships. And it's important for conservatives [27:09] in particular. I don't like this idea that conservatives shouldn't seek higher education. [27:14] I don't think that we want to force everybody to go to college. But I think that if you're a [27:18] conservative in the United States of America, and you're interested in running for office, [27:22] or you're interested in being a judge, you do have to get higher education. Okay? So we can accept [27:27] that college isn't for everybody, while also acknowledging that for certain jobs and certain [27:32] professions, college is necessary. But I think the very negative thing that I learned about it [27:36] is that these social networks, because they're so insular, they also become very self-reinforcing. [27:42] I think there are people who have political power in the United States of America, and I'm sure in [27:47] Brussels too, who have no idea what the majority of Americans actually think about a given issue. [27:54] They've actually never talked to a normal American, an American who comes outside of these social circles. [27:59] I mean, I would meet people who went to a fancy prep school, who went to a fancy university, [28:03] who went to a fancy law school, and had never spoken to a person from my home state of Ohio, [28:09] even though, you know, it's at certain parts, it's a four or five hour drive from Washington, D.C. [28:15] And so I think one of the fundamental things that has to change, I don't know about the Hungarian system, [28:19] but about the American system is that unless we make education less, unless we make it, frankly, [28:28] more of a meritocracy, where people can come from all over the country based on merit rather than on [28:33] who you know, I think the system is fundamentally doomed. And maybe the most important thing about [28:39] eliminating racial discrimination, particularly against middle class white kids in the American [28:45] education context is not just the moral part of it. Okay, the moral part of it, I care a lot about. [28:50] I don't want to discriminate against black kids, white kids, Latino kids. I don't want to discriminate [28:54] against anybody based on your skin color. I think it's gross and immoral. But a very, very important [29:00] part of it is that you're going to have actually greater geographic diversity in our universities, [29:05] because you're going to have people coming from all over the country to study. I think that will make [29:10] those social networks less insular and less self-destructive. What would be your final [29:24] message to the MCC students? Here are young individuals, 18, 19, 20. What would be the most [29:32] important that they should be? Very careful. And if you would be as young as they are now, [29:38] how would you do your career? I'd say enjoy your youth while it lasts, because one day you'll wake up [29:44] and you'll be 41 and you'll have a glass of wine at dinner and wake up with a headache the next morning [29:47] and be talking to this fine, gentlemen. So enjoy it while it lasts. But look, I think the piece of [29:53] advice I'd give to you, and I give it to American students, American conservatives in particular, [29:59] is resist the temptation to think that victory is immediate or that we're going to win back our [30:07] civilization through instant gratification. I mean, this institution was founded in 1996. It's far more [30:13] influential than it was back then. But I think a lot of people, this is particularly true in the [30:18] United States of America. If they see something that the administration does they don't like, [30:22] they say, oh, that's not what we voted for. We're going to check out of politics. No, no, no. That's the [30:27] exact wrong response. If we do something you don't like, the response should be to get more involved, [30:33] to make your voice heard, and to try to push things in the direction that you want them to be pushed. [30:38] Our civilization was not built overnight. It's not going to be saved overnight. And so what I'd [30:43] encourage you to do is stay involved, be patient, and don't let disappointment turn to checking out [30:50] of the system entirely. There's way too much of that, I would say, in the Anglo system and the American [30:55] system. There's way too much, you know, I didn't like this thing that the vice president said, or I [31:00] didn't like this thing that the president did, and I'm going to completely check out. We call that black [31:04] pilling in the United States of America. And black pilling is how you give power to the forces [31:10] that are trying to destroy what our ancestors built. We need to take power back from those people [31:16] and build the kind of institutions that can actually save our societies. It will not happen [31:21] overnight. It will not happen in the term of one prime minister or one president, but it will happen [31:27] so long as we keep our faith in God and we work hard to achieve it. That's what we have to do. [31:32] A standing ovation at MCC, Vice President J.D. Wentz, thank you very much, and be a frequent guest at MCC. [31:58] Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you all.