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‘Go Blank Themselves’ – NYC GOP Leader’s Advice For Republicans Abandoning Trump

Republicans have to become more active in our education system or we risk losing the next generation to the radical left, A.J. Catsimatidis said on the Todd Starnes Show.

Todd’s new book makes an important addition to your library — Culture Jihad: How to Stop the Left From Killing a Nation. Available right now at ToddStarnes.com.

TODD STARNES: [00:34:51] I want to go to the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line. Honored to have with us a great guest from right here in New York City. A.J. Catsimatidis is a very well-known person in Republican circles, chairperson of the Republicans here in New York City. A.J., welcome to the show. [00:35:10][18.7]

A.J. CATSIMATIDIS: [00:35:11] Thank you for having me. [00:35:12][1.0]

STARNES: [00:35:13] A.J., first of all, I have to compliment, you’ve got a great Instagram. I just realized as I was following your adventures, the Starnes life is very boring in comparison. [00:35:22][9.2]

CATSIMATIDIS [00:35:25] Yeah, well, I do have an exciting life and I love to share it with people and I love to use my platform to spread the messages of patriotism and capitalism and what makes America great, too. So that’s an added bonus. [00:35:38][12.6]

STARNES: [00:35:38] And I really appreciate what you said on one of your postings. You were talking about why it’s important to stay and fight. You know, we see this a lot in California. And I suspect here in New York City, where conservatives want to move someplace else. But you’ve decided, you know what, this is my home, and this is where I’m going to stay and fight. [00:36:01][22.3]

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CATSIMATIDIS: [00:36:02] Absolutely. And, you know, the problem is that so many people are leaving. But the problem is when you leave problems where they are, eventually they come to find you. And how much territory do we have to seed before we stop and say, that’s enough. If we don’t address the problems right here, it’s going to continue to spread. And I think that our city, the city of capitalism right here in New York is worth fighting for. And I’m here to say. [00:36:30][27.4]

STARNES: [00:36:31] When I lived in in New York City, I worked at Fox News for 15 years and lived in Brooklyn. And, you know, you’re kind of in this minority if you’re a conservative, you’re a Republican. And it’s a lot different than some of the other red states out there. And I’m curious what you were finding as chairperson of the Manhattan Republican Party. What is it that’s bringing people into the Republican ranks? [00:36:56][25.7]

CATSIMATIDIS: [00:36:58] Absolutely. I mean, we’ve been seeing that this past election cycle, people think of Manhattan as being so blue and it is. It’s 8 to 1 Democrat. But this last cycle, we saw that in every single district, not only our vote totals, the vote percentages doubled. And it may not seem like a lot to people, but if you can get 30% out of New York City, we will win statewide. And that changes the whole ballgame. And it’s really a numbers game and we’re getting there. And you just saw in Brooklyn this past election cycle, we elected a Republican city council member for the first time in one district in over 100 years, 100 years. You can see there are real changes happening. People are starting to wake up and it’s exciting to be a part of this progress. [00:37:44][45.6]

STARNES: [00:37:45] What are the issues? What would you say are the top two issues that, you know, especially young Republicans are focused on. [00:37:51][5.9]

CATSIMATIDIS: [00:37:52] I think number one for everybody really is crime. It’s a huge problem here in New York City. I’ve lived here my entire life and I always used to take the subway or walk around at night and not worry about my safety. And I’ve got to tell you, the city has really changed in the past few years, and it’s really hard to see as a New Yorker. And, you know, if you don’t have safety, you don’t have anything else and people are afraid for their lives. And so crime is definitely the number one issue. Number two, quality of life, I would say, between, you know, like the homeless population and no one is doing enough to help them. And it’s also just creating quality of life issues, trash getting picked up. But if you wanted to have a national issue, I would definitely say what they’re doing in the schools is terrible. [00:38:42][50.1]

STARNES: [00:38:45] That has really been a problem here in the New York City area, where under the previous communist leadership of de Blasio, comrade de Blasio, I mean, they just decimated the public school system. And I know that, especially among young Republicans, education is a key issue. And if you can just educate people, they’re going to be more likely to embrace the Republican message. [00:39:09][23.6]

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CATSIMATIDIS: [00:39:10] Oh, absolutely. And it’s a huge issue because if they’re indoctrinating people in schools and they’re getting them so early, then it’s going to be a huge issue and you’re never going to be able to turn things around. So it’s really important for us to get in early because I find that when I have these conversations with people about what it really means to be a Republican, and when I explain the issues and really the ramifications of what their policies become, then people realize that our message is the right one and we need to get in there and, you know, become a part of the education system. [00:39:48][37.6]

STARNES: [00:39:49] And, you know, again, it really is about finding common ground. I mean, there is a bit of a difference between a, say, a Republican in Alabama and a conservative in the Bronx. You know, but you do have to find the common ground. And I think that’s what you have been so effective at doing, is helping people find those areas where you can agree and you can stand together and fight back against the fascists. [00:40:13][24.8]

CATSIMATIDIS: [00:40:15] Yes, absolutely. And when it comes to living in a big city, a lot of the issues are really quality of life driven. And so a lot of those are local issues. But at the same time, I also didn’t fall into the trap that so many people fell into, where the media got them to somehow believe that our Republican president was a bad guy. And I always stood by our president 100%, despite some people. Actually, when I was first elected chair, the first advice they gave me was that I should distance myself from President Trump, because I’m representing New York City and in a very New York City fashion, I just told them to go “blank” themselves. And I always stood by our president, and that was the right thing to do. And he did a great job. [00:41:03][47.3]

STARNES: [00:41:03] I love it. That’s brilliant. That is exactly what they say around here. [00:41:06][2.9]

CATSIMATIDIS: [00:41:08] Exactly. I tried to be nice for the radio though. [00:41:11][2.9]

Will you support Trump in 2024?

STARNES: [00:41:14] Thank you for protecting our license. A.J. Catsimatidis is on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line. You know, going back to the the early days of the pandemic, I couldn’t help but laugh. I was a member, I lived in Park Slope, but I was following some of the blogs over on the Upper West Side where you had all these raging liberals who were just infuriated because of the crime and they were moving homeless people and drug addicts and pedophiles into the neighborhoods. And I’m pounding out on my computer. I’m like, this is what happens when you keep voting for Democrats. You know, and I’m really hoping now that after people got to see what happened during the pandemic, they are going to realize, hey, wait a second, there’s a better way here. [00:41:58][44.0]

CATSIMATIDIS: [00:41:59] Oh, absolutely. And you saw that just two days ago in San Francisco. You know, if you see in a liberal place like San Francisco that they can recall their DA and people were that fed up, then it gives us hope everywhere else. So that’s always exciting to see. [00:42:14][15.2]

STARNES: [00:42:15] All right. Well, A.J., we really appreciate you coming on the program today. And thank you for the great hospitality, the team that you guys have assembled here at WABC, just great people. And my CEO, I know Dalton Glasscock, has been traveling with you on a lot of your adventures and he says hello as well. [00:42:31][15.9]

CATSIMATIDIS: [00:42:32] Oh, amazing. We need more young leaders like Dalton. And I’m glad WABC is treating you well. And thank you so much for having me on. [00:42:39][7.2]

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