Trump’s Ex-Political Director Gets BAD NEWS in Georgia…

[0:00] Hello, everyone. Bobby Jones here from Midas Touch and Valor Media Networks, and I am so honored and privileged and happy to finally bring to you someone who has stood on business, not just for her country, but for the greater good for a very, very long time. [0:15] And she is running for Congress in my home district in the great state of Georgia, Georgia's Congressional Third District, retired Lieutenant Colonel Mara Keller. Mara, thank you for coming on board today and interviewing with us. [0:28] Thank you, Bobby. I mean, this really means a lot to me to be on your show. [0:33] Oh, I'm sorry. I couldn't do it sooner. But this is right at the right time because people are going to the polls next week. [0:41] So I definitely wanted to make sure that you were the primary last interview that I did going into this. [0:47] Let's get into a little bit about you before we get into some of the issues and then who you're running against. [0:51] Let's start with, you know, you served in the Army quite a long time, but you didn't start at the top. [0:57] Can you just give me a little bit of background on why, especially as a woman, you signed up to do what you did when you did? [1:03] So I joined the United States Army in 1978 at the age of 17 and I joined enlisted military police. [1:14] And then it was later on that, you know, I got my commission and I was branched adjutant general corps and I stayed in for 26 years. [1:23] And what was interesting is, you know, being a woman coming in at that time, I was one of the first co-eds to go through basic training. [1:31] So they were still trying to figure out how they integrate females into the force. [1:37] And then when I went to my first duty station, that was like another kind of eye opener was where they put restrictions on women on what we could do. [1:45] So I felt I was a qualified military policewoman, but they would tell me, you know, females can't work alone. [1:53] Females can't work together. You always have to have a male partner. [1:58] And so it was kind of frustrating at the age of 17 being told what you could and could not do. [2:05] Right. Right. And yet you persisted anyway, went on and became commissioned as an officer, which means you changed, you know, MOS's career fields. [2:17] Where did that take you? And what was that like, especially when you did it? [2:21] Well, so I received my commission in 1982 and I was branched adjutant general corps. [2:28] So that was in the area of personnel. But for the most part throughout my career, I did. [2:33] I was like a forward thinker, strategic analyst in the area of personnel. [2:38] Right. We could use that right about now, too. [2:42] To be honest. That's why I brought it up. [2:45] I don't think we've got a strategic thinker out there. [2:49] And so to me, you know, as we as we move forward, you know, as a female, you still had issues with people talking about, you know, when I got promoted, [3:00] when I made major, somebody kind of gave me a flippant congratulations. [3:06] But, you know, we we didn't get so many men that deserved a promotion because we have to promote so many women and so many blacks. [3:16] I don't even know how you answer something like that. [3:19] But that was some of the the feelings still in there. [3:23] And now fast forward to today where we have Hague Seth in there. [3:27] Yeah. [3:28] I mean, if you're not a white male, you're I don't know if you belong here. [3:34] Yeah. It's almost like we've gone back in the past. [3:37] Let me on the on the national level, international level, et cetera. [3:42] Can you talk to me about what you're seeing as far as our foreign policy, how the Department of Defense is being ran now? [3:51] You know, you've kind of touched on this, but if you're looking at today's force, what strikes you the most in the current administration? [3:59] OK, multiple words. [4:00] We've got ego involved. [4:02] We've got incompetency involved. [4:04] No strategy, refusal to listen to historical knowledge. [4:10] And again, I think we've discussed this where we currently are in Iran. [4:15] That has been war gamed for decades. [4:19] And every time it's done, it shows this is not winnable. [4:24] And here it is. [4:26] We going in. [4:27] And again, when we have a going into whether it be a conflict, but this is a war, you know what the mission is. [4:35] You know what the objective is. [4:36] You know how long you're going to be there. [4:38] You know the resources. [4:38] You know the exit strategy and you know what victory looks like. [4:42] None of that has been determined. [4:44] And as somebody said the other day, Trump was calling victory on day four. [4:49] And how many months are we going on nine? [4:52] And we still don't know what the end objective is. [4:55] And we recently heard that Netanyahu saying it's regime change. [4:59] So what the hell is it? [5:03] Right. [5:04] And what are we committing all these forces for with no return dates, people not knowing and families being strung out? [5:12] Along those lines, too. [5:15] You know, because of these actions, cost is going up across the board. [5:20] Gas, food. [5:21] You know, you're here in Georgia, you know, right outside of metro Atlanta into the rural area, which is what's very unique about your district. [5:30] Can you tell me what you're seeing when you go out and campaigning? [5:34] What are people talking about around the kitchen table and how is it connected to what's going on in the greater world? [5:39] Well, you know, when I ran in 2024, I ran on affordability. [5:45] And now it's all about survivability because everything has gone up around you except your wages, you know, housing, health care, gases and grocery. [5:54] But now take that on steroids because of tariffs and because of the war in Iran, which is now increased. [6:01] So when I'm out there in the rural areas knocking on doors and I don't stay safely within the Democratic bubble, [6:08] I talk to Republicans and just to hear what it is that they're suffering from. [6:13] And it's the same thing across the board. [6:15] This doesn't have a red, blue, left or right. [6:18] It's what people, you know, is affecting them. [6:21] So when I talk to my farmers, we're talking about the diesel, the fertilizer. [6:26] And also, you know, I went during Labor Day weekend and that would be considered the Super Bowl for our farmers for when they sold their meat. [6:37] And they were being lowballed. [6:40] And as I was talking to them, I said, so what's up? [6:43] And they're saying, no, this is just not enough because of the 25 percent cheap beef that they wanted to bring in. [6:50] Well, our farmers were being affected by that. [6:54] And so we've got that. [6:55] I've got small businesses that are being affected by the tariffs. [6:59] They've reached out to say, hey, I can't even tell my budget month to month because I don't know what the tariffs are going to cost me. [7:07] Yet as a small business, I can't pass this on to my customers because if I do, I'll lose them. [7:13] But I don't know how much longer I can absorb that cost because then I might be going out of business. [7:19] And then when we have that Affordable Care Act gone, small businesses were reaching out saying, that is where I got my health care. [7:27] We have people like my son, who's a server as in that type of industry. [7:32] That is where they would go for their health care. [7:35] And so when I would ask them, show me your premiums. [7:37] And they would. [7:38] I said, so now what are you going to do? [7:40] And every single one of them said, I'm going to have to roll the dice. [7:44] I'm going to have to lose my health care and hope something better is going to be coming down. [7:49] Wow, that makes it very real. [7:54] So you have traveled hundreds of miles, thousands of miles at this point, talking to the various people in your district. [8:02] What does your opponent, Brian Jack, have to say about all of this? [8:06] Absolutely nothing. [8:09] You know, and I'm not out here to bash a person, but I will hold you accountable. [8:14] And he feels that this is a very divisive, hate-filled campaign when, again, don't confuse facts and accountability. [8:24] When I can, you know, instead of him throwing stuff out there where nobody's actually going to confirm what he's saying, I at least have the facts to back it up. [8:35] So through news articles, where's he been for the past two years? [8:39] Flying around the United States, recruiting people to run for Congress on the Republican ticket. [8:46] He's been raising money. [8:47] He's been at the White House and at various events there. [8:51] One of the articles says that he and Trump talk all the time and that he, they feel he's still part of the administration. [8:57] Other things are very choreographed photo ops, because when you call his office, where, where is he? [9:07] He's supposed to be in district. [9:09] We don't know. [9:10] Call Washington. [9:10] You call Washington. [9:12] Washington's like, why are you calling us? [9:13] He should be in district. [9:15] So you get that game back and forth. [9:18] But we only know where he's been until after he's been there, because he doesn't want you showing up. [9:24] He doesn't want you asking questions. [9:25] And the last piece is he stays safely within the confines of the Republican Party or, you know, events where you would need a ticket and it would be hard to get in. [9:39] You know what I'm saying? [9:40] So, again, he keeps himself very shielded. [9:43] So I'm out there talking to everybody. [9:47] Yeah, the controlled access is like a telltale sign. [9:50] You know, when you started doing this, running against him, even back in the last election cycle, people said you had not a snowball's chance in hell. [9:59] How's that looking now, Mara, in 2026? [10:02] So, you know, when I can do a comparison between the two races, when we ran before, it was a newly gerrymandered district. [10:11] They added, they gave me more counties and they were very surgical in where they cut out the blue. [10:17] Now, without any support, it was a newly, it was an open seat. [10:23] We moved the needle three more points Democratic, and that wasn't expected. [10:27] I never stopped running because I want the people to know that I'm not one and done. [10:32] Just because it's hard, I know I have to work harder. [10:35] And since then, Republicans would run in 24. [10:39] They wouldn't talk to me. [10:40] Now they're actually having conversations. [10:43] And this time around, I've received texts, emails, DMs in my social media saying, I just want you to know, you've earned my vote. [10:54] And one guy said to me, and it really hit here, is because he said, I've only voted for four Democrats in my entire life, and I'm a Reagan Republican, but please don't let me regret my vote. [11:12] And that really touched me because I know how trust is attached to every vote. [11:19] And I don't want to lose anybody's trust. [11:22] Now, we did a poll, we raised enough money to do a poll, and here's the great thing. [11:27] We made sure it was Republican heavy. [11:29] We went through various lenses to make sure it was neutral. [11:33] So we weren't leading people like a lot of polls will lead you. [11:37] And it came out 50 for him, 45 for me with a 5% error margin. [11:42] But the great thing is, which we hadn't said, as they went through the poll, it ended up 50 me, 42% him, with a shift of Republicans, more Republicans going towards me. [11:57] So that is telling me what is going on in the district. [12:00] Now, you can take polls however way you want. [12:03] But between that, Republicans talking to me, Republicans voting for me, Republicans very upset with what's going on with this current administration. [12:13] I feel pretty good as we go into Tuesday. [12:18] Well, I can't thank you enough for taking a little bit of time because I know you're very busy. [12:23] And, you know, you already have my vote. [12:25] I've already voted. [12:26] So this was not even a hard thing. [12:30] But I do agree with you being in the district, a lot of people are changing their minds because they're seeing the results and they're seeing you out there. [12:38] And so just continue to push through the finish line. [12:40] I cannot tell you how proud I am that you are continuing to fight. [12:44] And hopefully people who are watching this will be able to jump online here at Last Moment Donate. [12:49] And if they can in the district, go vote. [12:52] Yes. [12:53] Yes. [12:53] And you can find more information to know more about my platform at marakeller.com. [12:57] And it's still not too late to help me out canvassing because we're going to be knocking on doors all the ways to Tuesday. [13:05] Ladies and gentlemen, Mara Keller running for Congress out of Georgia's third congressional district. [13:11] Best of luck to you, Mara. [13:12] And we will talk soon. [13:14] Thank you, my friend.