In this episode, Lisa talks with Gianno Caldwell, a political commentator and founder of the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety. The discussion centers on Gianno's personal tragedy of losing his younger brother, Christian, to gun violence in Chicago. This loss inspired Gianno to advocate for justice and public safety reform. He critiques progressive crime policies and figures like George Soros, arguing they contribute to rising crime rates. Gianno emphasizes the importance of law and order, personal responsibility, and bipartisan support for public safety, urging listeners to engage in political advocacy for safer communities. The Truth with Lisa Boothe is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Tuesday & Thursday.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
So I will be the master of ceremonies for an
upcoming gala for the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
You probably know.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Gianno Caldwell by now, you see him on Fox News.
But he lost his little brother, Christian to gun violence
in Chicago. He found out on June twenty fourth, twenty
twenty two, and has been fighting for justice ever since then,
which is why he started the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety.
Like many families around the country, he has still not
(00:31):
found justice. Unfortunately, his little brother was killed because of
the policies of the left, because of their soft on
crime policies that we saw under the Biden administration or
the Obama administration, embraced by so many left wing politicians
in cities across America.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So we'll talk to him about that. We'll talk to
him about.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
His little brother Christian, why he has been on this fight,
why he's been on this journey, and also what we've
seen already from the Trump administration. I mean, one of
the first actions from President Trump was an executive order
titled Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety. We've
already seen the determination of this administration and enforcing immigration policies,
(01:12):
So will that have a downstream effect on the rest
of the country in some of these cities where we've
seen soft on crime.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Also, should more Republicans.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Follow President Trump's example about going into the inner cities
and trying to win over these voters, going into blue cities,
going into blue states.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
We'll talk to Giano.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
About that as well, and what it was like growing
up in the South side of Chicago.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Why was he able to escape that when so many
people are unable to. Of course you know him.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Also, he's the author of Taken for Granted, where he
talks about his life story and why he's been able
to become the success that he has become. So we'll
get into all of that and more with one of
my closest friends. He is truly one of my best friends.
I love him like a brother. So we'll get into
that bigger discussion on all of these important issues.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Stay tuned for Giana Caldwell.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Well, Gianno Caldwell, it's so nice to have you on
my podcast.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
My friend, Well, I'm so excited to be invited.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
I know it took six years and you're very famous,
and you hit your first one with Donald Trump. So
you know, I'm glad you can finally get around to me.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Shut up.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
So for the folks at home, Gianno and I have
been very close friends. For I guess yours now, I
don't even Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Yeah, I've been my bestie and you've been there with
me through a lot of ups and downs, and I've
been there with you, and I'm just so exceptionally grateful
that God brought us together.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
I really am.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
H You're one of my best friends. We really have
been through a lot together. A lot of fun times too. Yeah,
awesome going out, but we don't get into that. But
I'm so excited and just so proud of you because
(03:00):
I will be the MC at your upcomingy gala for
the Calbell Institute of Public Safety, and it is already
turning out to be such a big event. I'm just
so proud of you because you started this organization after
you lost your little brother Christian to gun violence in Chicago.
And you know, a lot of people take tragic things
(03:20):
and you know it sets them back right and they
can't find their footing. And you know that's understandable, right,
because losing a brother is just so hard. And I
know I've seen you go through this, but you've really
used this as a motivating force in your life for
good and to try to make a difference and to
try to prevent other people like Christian from being killed
and being murdered. And so I'm just so proud of
(03:42):
you for doing that, and you know, having the determination
and the strength to turn something so negative into a positive.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
So I'm just so proud of you.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Well, thank you, Lisa.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
And you know I got to tell you I started
at the call Well Institute for Public Safety, and people
can go to Calboll Institute dot or to learn more.
But I started it because I honestly felt like I
had no choice. You and I were on television. We
work at Fox News Channel. We started off as colleagues there.
But what I came to realize quite quickly after this
(04:16):
happened to my brother is the source of a lot
of the crime that's happening in our country, the enabling
of it, I should say, and it comes from a
person named George Soros. And we know many of the
listeners here, I know they know all about George so Ros.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
They heard about him and the.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Money he's pumped into these district attorney races across the
country and for one reason I believe, and that's to
destroy America from within. And it's been a plan that
has been quite successful. We saw what happened in Chicago
with Ken Fox, We saw what happened in Los Angeles
with George Cascombe. We see what's happening in New York
with Alvin Bragg, we see what's going on in Philadelphia
(04:53):
with Larry Krausner, and many other places that don't have
as big of a name of the district attorney, but
the impact is just is great, and we had to
do something about it.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
We have to do something about it.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
And I started at the call Well Institute for Public
Safety just for that, to make sure these individuals are
ran out of office. So that's that's the admission of
our institute.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
What do you think motivates people like Sorows to show
that kind of chaos.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
The only thing, the only conclusion I can draw from
it is hatred. He hates the United States of America,
is my personal opinion. I can't imagine someone who would say, Okay,
let me fund this individual, who would let out somebody
who just murdered someone's niece or nephew or mother or father,
or sister or brother.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Let me let me finance a race for an individual
like that.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
You cannot love people, you cannot love the country.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
You cannot love law and order if you're going to
do something like that.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
And it's unfortunate that so many people took debate under
the ban of criminal justice reform and the BLN movement,
a lot of people took that bait, not knowing that
we were really disenfranchising our own citizens. People are dying
or have died at alarming rates under the guise of
(06:16):
Joe Biden and George sore. So it is a task
that is a major one, but it is one that
it certainly has helped me as I've suffered through the
loss of the tragic loss of my brother, is one
in which it's at least given me a little bit
a piece that I know that his legacy, even though
he was an innocent teenager when he was murdered, his
(06:38):
legacy will mean something. And that's what I'm honored to do.
I'm honored to serve in this role for that reason.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And he was eighteen.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I'll never forget when he told me, I'll never forget
seeing him in the casket in Chicago you know, nothing
prepares you to see an eighteen year old in the
casket and to see the pain your eyes and see
the pan as you went through, just the suffering of
losing him.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
You know, tell us, tell us about Christian.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Christian unfortunately never knew his dad, so as his older brother,
I was the individual that stood in that role for him.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
I would take them the museums him and you know,
I got multiple other brothers who.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
I grew up with nine siblings or nine of us
in total, two sisters, the rest of us, you know, boys.
So I was the one that would take my youngest
siblings to places, museums, take them the nice places to eat.
Even I remember when Christian called me. I was, you know,
flying him and my other little brother, Matthew, out to
(07:46):
Los Angeles, which is where I was living at the time,
and he begged me.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
He said, I want to go on a college tour.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
I want to go to UCLA, I want to go
look at some colleges. He was just sixteen years old
at that time, but he really wanted it. And I'm like, man,
we got to figure it out. Let me put it together.
But I was so like, really thankful that he was
considering those kind of options as such.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
You know, a young age sixteen.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
How many kids saying I want to go on a
college tour at sixteen, But that's what he wanted. So
he was an individual that made people laugh all the time.
He was very much into sports, and he was pretty
good at basketball because he would always play against the
older kids versus the ones that are his age, so he,
you know, built those kind of relationships.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
And he was a loving kid.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
He loved my grandmother, by our family, and you know,
I'm just just even talking about it, it's still very
difficult for me. Even though it's been two years since
then June twenty four, twenty twenty two, we're going on
the three years here soon. So it's it's it is
something that I got to say that I'm unfortunately experienced.
(08:53):
But my hope is that we're going to save lives
because of it.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And we know that he was not the intended target
of the shooting. I know it's been frustrating for you
to try to find justice. Why do you think it's
been so hard for the police to do their job
and to find his killer? And I imagine there are
a lot of families in places like Chicago who are
going through the same thing and that same frustration of
(09:18):
not getting the justice that they deserve.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
You're absolutely right, there are a tremendous amount of families
that are having that same experience.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
And this happened on a Friday morning.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
And when I talked to the detective on the case
two days later that Sunday, I said to him, I
know that it's very early in an investigation, but do
you have any leads? And then he began to tell
me about all the other cases that came in since then,
and I felt like it was a little bit of
a blowout. He said, oh, we got all these new
cases in since then, and you know, he just got.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Off the phone with me.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
And it wasn't until he saw me on television and
read about it in the news that he said, oh, yeah, yeah,
we're on it.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
We're on top of it.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
We saw you on with Sean Hannity, we saw you
on Fox and Friends, we saw you on Fox thirty two,
a local Fox affiliate in Chicago.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
And I said, well, I hope that we're going to
be able to solve this.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
So I felt good in the fact that maybe a
little notoriety me working at Fox with push this propelled
this case forward. We get it solved to get justice
from my family, but that wasn't the case. The detective
dropped off multiple times. And you know me, I love
the police, I support the police. I even was the
spokesperson for a police organization. But police officers are overwhelmed
(10:33):
in Chicago, and some don't want to do the job
anymore because they get demonized from the leadership, the mayor
and other folks within leadership there.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
So people don't want to do the jobs there.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
But it's unfortunate that victims are paying the price for
the politics, if you will, in Chicago, and that goes
for the progressives that run to the council, the mayor,
the county prosecuted there under Kim Fox. They have a
new prosecutor who was supposed to be a bit more
tough on crime. But this is unfortunate that people are
(11:05):
paying that price. And that's not just going on in Chicago,
is going in many places, going on in many places
across the country.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Well, why do you think so many of our cities
you have such high homicide in crime rates.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Well, we've seen it.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
We've seen it in Chicago for a number of years,
we've seen the soft on crime policies. We've seen it
with Lori liifeat before Brandon Johnson, where people like Lori
Liife had created this no chase policy, or police officers
have to call into their supervisors in order to pursue
a suspect on.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
Foot or in car.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
They got to get approval, so the suspect's gone at
that point. If you got a call and wait for
someone to answer and maybe even call you back because
they're busy, and other places around the country, we saw
upticking violent crime after the George Floyd riots. We know
that we know what being BLM cost. We know that
we saw a crazy upticking crime, and we know that
(12:00):
the FBI data many many cities were withholding their data
from the FBI, ensuring that Americans didn't know what the
real picture was when it comes to crime. And if
you remember quite famously Trump and his debate with Kamala Harris,
he was saying, the crime is high, crime is out
of control, and the moderator, I believe that was from
(12:21):
ABC News.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Said no, it isn't that's not true. That's not true.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
And then what happened days later, the FBI sent out
revised data. Crime is actually up, so we know where
it came from. In many of these places, it started
with BLM, and a lot of cities have embraced these policies.
They called them criminal justice reform, when in fact it
was justice for the criminal. And now we're leaving, we're
(12:46):
being left to deal with the results of it.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Well.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Also, like a lot of these crime rates, we don't
even know how accurate there are. If police aren't arresting
people right like that, it's another thing.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Yeah, you know, exactly right, exactly right, And that's another
you know, crime victims a lot of times if you
live in these very poor crime written areas and if
police are slow to respond to you, you may not
even call you just say forget about it. And just
to your point, which is an excellent one, the rest
(13:17):
rates have gone down in many of these cities. The
conviction rates are really terrible, especially with George Soros funded prosecutors,
because they let so many folks out.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
They dropped so many cases.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
I remember early in Kim Fox's term and it was
reported that I think about sixty seventy thousand cases she dropped,
including rape and murder. Like this is stuff that you
just can't make up. So how can you expect people
to have any hope in a system that's not protecting them?
(13:48):
And like I mentioned before, progressives and these major cities
are causing that erosion of trust between communities and police
and the.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Ability that have crime those held accountable.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
You know, why do you think these people keep getting
re elected or you know, elected and re elected Because
it's like you would think, and you know, I used
to live in New York City and I look at
LA you look at you would think people would be like, Okay,
you know, I'm tired of this crime. You know, I'm
tired of the high taxes. I'm hired, I'm tired of
things not working. Yet they keep electing left wing politicians.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 5 (14:25):
I mean, I think I think Democrats have been very
skillful in making Republicans the boogeyman. Now you noticed that
no matter who the Republican is, they're just a racist.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
That's what they call them.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
Immediately that that particular dog was so if you will,
because now for folks like Mitt Romney and others who
kind of embraced the left, they stop calling him that
when they can, When when he can serve a purpose
for them, and that's that's pretty much how it goes.
So when you see these a lot of these different cities,
the Democrats they are telling them, oh, this policy is
(14:56):
good for a calls, it's good for black folks, when
most of the time that is absolutely not true. It's
a complete lie. They say it's good for this group,
it's good for that group. Republicans are bad, they're racist,
So why even you know, support them or even listen
to them. But I honestly believe, Lisa, that those times
are changing. I really believe that. And I think Donald
(15:17):
Trump's decisive win and his messaging to communities all over black, white,
Hispanic agent, I want to work with you, the things
that you've said, the policies he's passed in his first term,
I think we're seeing a turning of the tie with that.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
It's little by little.
Speaker 5 (15:35):
I think, you know, we saw it in twenty sixteen
a little bit, we saw it more in twenty twenty,
and then we saw it again in this most recent election.
If it's people like Donald Trump leading the charge, I
think we're breaking the backs of the Democratic Party.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
I really do you know, I guess have you had
I imagine you've had a lot of families and you know,
people reach out to you with sort of like a
similar experience and having lost a loved one.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You know, tell me a little bit about that and
what has the response been like. As you you know,
fight for justice and also fight for some of these
changes in law.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
You know, it's been a quite a humbling experience, to.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
Be honest with you, you know, fighting for these families.
And then the support that I received when we launched
the Callwell Institute for Public Safety at Callwell Institute dot org.
I had on board people like Pam Bondi, who serves
on our advisory board, who's been with us. I was
with her in the Oval office when she was sworn in.
(16:39):
People like doctor Drew Pinsky on mental health, who's been
incredibly helpful with me and my personal journey. But of
course for other folks as well, many other people who've
reached out to me sharing experiences that they've had, what
they've done, and I unfortunately had to have, you know,
quite similar experiences, whether it be navigating the police department,
(17:02):
the judicial system, or even when we got Congress from
Burgess On who sits on our board, even reaching out
to him to say, hey, I'm looking to get the
FBI involved and I want to get a bipartisan letter.
And then we were able to do that after I
lobbied multiple committee chairmen in Congress to get that done,
and then they finally opened up and called me. And
(17:26):
mind you, I called the FBI multiple times, they never
called me back.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
I got on television asking the FBI to call me.
They never called me back.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
I had former FBI agents call current ones in the
Chicago Field office.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
They never called me back.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
And then when we pulled the levers of Congress, finally
I got a call from the Specialation in charge of
the Chicago Field Office. But no family should have to
go through that. No families should have to lobby Congress
to try to get help, or have to go on
television and do all these different things.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
But that's what we are as a country unfortunately.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
So as we share information, as I talk to numerous
families about their losses and how I can be supportive
from an organizational standpoint or even a personal one. It's
been a journey, and it's only a journey that I
can see expanding and hopefully from the work we're doing
at the Carbell Institute for Public Safety is going to
ensure that justice is served for.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
So many people, and that's why it's so important.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
Elections have consequences, and we know that that terminology very well, Lisa,
and hopefully these next upcoming elections in New York and
other places like Philadelphia, those folks that are currently in
office werea can have it through their policymaking or lack
of enforcement. Hopefully those the tie will turn and continue
(18:46):
to change in the better men of families all over
the country.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
We've got more with Gianno Caldwell, but first, after more
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(19:53):
four three two five.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
You know, we're warred, is saying.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
This administration and you know, like it did during its
first term, President Trump taking action on tough on crime.
You know, he issued an executive order right after taking
office to restore the death penalty and to protect public safety,
you know, talking about the importance of capital punishment as
a deterrent.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Noting that, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
The moratorium on federal executions that the Buyo administration did,
or the fact that he commuted sentences of you know,
thirty seven of forty of the most vile and statistic rapists,
child molesters, and murderous murderers on federal death row. We've
also seen a tough on crime stance from an immigration standpoint.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Already as well. Do you think that will have.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
A downstream impact on you know, you had mentioned some
of these local elections that are coming up, like in
New York City. Do you think that'll have a downstream
effect on the rest of the country.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Yeah, it has to.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
And to that point, like even talking about the border,
we see the border cross the numbers went down.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
What was it like ninety percent or something like that.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
It was, Yeah, it was like ninety three for the Gadawez. Yeah,
pretty remarkable. Like all read hits like where were you
in the last four years?
Speaker 5 (21:04):
He was almost like a week or two before that.
Those again turn the Todd It's just like terrorists. Terrorists
didn't fear Joe Biden, but they certainly fear President Donald Trump.
Like without question, criminals fear Donald Trump. They know this
is a law and order president. And when you consider
even UH considerations with the border. We know that Finnel
comes across, We know that mini terrorists, and he also
(21:27):
labeled the cartels or a terrorist organization, so we we
recognized that a lot of crime and violence comes from
across the border, Findel starting in China, UH being transported
through Mexico.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
So that's going to have an impact.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
The fact that people like Pam Bondi, my friend who
I really appreciate, who's you know, served us quite well
at the Cabal Institute of Public Safety. She I was
in the office with her. After she got sworn in,
we went over to the DJ where I saw her
sign numerous executive orders withdrawing funding from sanctuary cities. So
(22:03):
sanctuary cities, obviously they're not following federal law, so why
would they have federal funding?
Speaker 4 (22:10):
And places who aren't just enforcing their laws.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
These are necessary tools to force many of these politicians
to get on board and help save lives.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
It shouldn't be that.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
Hard, honestly, for politicians, these Democrats.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
To say, look, I'm going to do what's right.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Twenty plus years ago, this used to be a no
brainer for both parties. It was a no brainer. It
wouldn't be that oh, because I'm for law and order,
then I must be a Republican and if I'm not,
then I'm a Democrat. It used to be all parties
supported law and order. All parties said that our immigration
systems shouldn't be abused and people should come through the
front door. That was the case, But the Democratic Party
(22:51):
today has become extraordinarily extreme. They're very extreme, and the
unfortunate reality for the American people is lives being lost
as a result of it.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
And that's unfortunate and it must come to an.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
End, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
And I think one of the things that President Trump
did so well, and I think it's a good lesson
for the Republican Party is like going into some of
these cities and trying to win over these voters, and
going into blue states and trying to win over blue
state voters and really sending the message that every American
matters and every vote counts, and we care, you know,
as a political party.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
And to that vein, you know, what was it like
growing up in the South side of Chicago?
Speaker 4 (23:35):
So two respond to that first place. Yeah, I'll tell
you about Chicago. One.
Speaker 5 (23:40):
I've been calling for the Republican Party to do this
for years. I've been a Republican for two decades plus.
No one in my family was a Republican. But I
found out this year that my little brother Matthew, who's
actually you know, he's someone who's going to be spending
a whole lot more time with me and Miami. He
vo for Trump and he called me so excitedly to say, Hey,
(24:03):
I just wanted you to know I voted for Donald Trump,
and I told all of my friends to vote for
him too. No, seriously, So, Donald Trump is a cultural figure.
He's someone that's been beloved I mean since he hit
the scene in what the seventies, eighties or even before that.
He's someone that celebrities wanted to attach themselves to.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
But the culture never really forgot him.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
I know there were certain people who said negative things
about him, but there was still a respect.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Within the culture. And I'm talking about this culture.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Of influenced hip hop and all these other things. People
still liked them and respected him. They may not have
liked that he was a Republican, but I can assure
you that if he ran as a Democrat, the Democrats
would have celebrated him and supported him. I think that
Republicans should take great note to what Donald Trump has
been doing, and we should continue that work because we
(24:54):
need to expand our party one hundred percent. We need
to ensure that Democrats no longer get a foothold in
our inner cities. We need to ensure that law and
order is the rule of the day, safety and security,
and prosperity for every American citizen. Those are things that
we need to focus on. So I'm thankful for that,
and I think I'm thankful that he has blazed the
(25:15):
trail to the Republican Party to see that these things
actually work. Now, what happened with me growing up in Chicago?
I grew up extremely poor. Lights and guests and water
off at the same time on occasion. Mom and dad
were never married, but I was blessed to see my
dad every weekend. He would take me to my grandparents'
(25:36):
house on the South Side of Chicago, which is where
I lived on the South Side, and my grandfather we
would do catfish and spaghetti on Fridays TGIF Fridays. If
you remember those Family Matters and all those shows from
the ABC line up, good wholesome, non woke.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Nowadays, you can't even let.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
Your kids watch this stuff anymore. You gotta go to then.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Now you can't even watch it Disney now, Yeah, you never.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
Know what they may show, like I gotta watch it today,
and you can watch it.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
I need to. Yeah, it's okay for you.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
It's probably not even good for us.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Yeah, I know, as I'm telling you.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
I watched this stuff and then I see one of
those like really crazy weird.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Things and I just turn it off. I stopped watching it.
You know, it's just it's just too much. It's way
too much.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
But my grandfather's on Saturdays would wake me up very
early in the morning, seven am and he would, you know,
get me prep to go to work with him, small
business owner plumbing construction, and he would pay me ten
dollars a day.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
To hold the flash like hand tools.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
And it taught me personal responsibility at such a young age.
I started doing this at seven eight years old, going
to job sites with him, and he would want me
to see how he earned money. He would also want
me to see when he has this big wile to cash. Okay,
we go from a job site, then we go to
the bank cash to check and you get the money.
(27:05):
This is how it works. So it gave me a
desire to want to work. And when I got a
little older, fourteen years old during the summers, I would
stay with him during the summers and work and he
would charge me room and board and I would say, Granddad,
you have all this money, why am I paying room
and board? And he said, you'll understand when you get older,
and sure enough, it taught me personal responsibility. It taught
(27:28):
me to want to work, It taught me to want
to pay bills. It taught me to want to have
a future that was only led by two things, God
and myself. And I'm exceptionally grateful for that. And to
that point that you asked, you know, my life in Chicago,
and you know, kind of how did I get to
the place of where I am today is because of
(27:49):
my grandfather. Largely he taught me about politics when I
was fourteen, and that encouraged me to go volunteer for
my local aldermen every day after school like it was
a job. Then at sixteen, I'm sorry if I'm in
long winded, but so funny. At sixteen I started working
for the federal government part time. At nineteen, I bought
a multi unit apartment building with Alan you family assistance
helper knowledge, and then did so many things after that,
(28:11):
concluding working on the presidential going to DC, starting to
affirm and doing television. So it's you know, it's the
honor of a lifetime that I had that experience with
my grandfather who's still with us, and it is something
that if I'm blessed to ever have children. I will
do the same for my kids, no matter how much
money I have. It has to be I have to
do it the same way. And I really appreciate that
(28:34):
meaningful learning opportunity that served me well for years.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Well, you'll be a great dit. You know I've told
you that a billion times.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Do you think that a great? Great mom? Lisa?
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Thank you. I appreciate that a lot, honestly, thank you.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Do you think that personal responsibility that you learned is
why you were able to get out of the South
side of Chicago? Because you know, as you pointed out,
you know you don't just do the fox thing. You know,
you're an author, you started this institute, you're a businessman.
I mean, you do so many things behind the scenes,
and you know just reached a lot of tremendous success
on your own. Did you think kind of learning that
(29:09):
lesson early about personal responsibility is why you're able to
kind of escape poverty and get out and be so successful.
Speaker 5 (29:17):
I think that if I can point to any one
or two things, I would say one faith in God,
tremendously helpful pastor, Doctor Bill Winston is my pastor in Chicago,
still to this day.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
I started going there when I was eighteen and.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
He would say, was he the one that I met
at the funeral?
Speaker 5 (29:35):
Yes, that was the pastor yeah, yeah, that's my spiritual father. Yes, absolutely,
and he was the one I would go to that
church and he would say, you know, the government shouldn't
be taking care.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Of you, it should be God taking care of you.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
He'll give you ideas, he'll give you meaningful connections, He'll
connect you to resources, those kinds of things. Him and
my grandfather two of the strongest men I know today.
Those individuals had served me so well in my years
growing up, Starting with my grandfather and having that experience
(30:07):
with him and then going to past in Winston's Church
when I was eighteen years old.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
That took me to the next level, and that took.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Me in a belief that was beyond just my human
ability and it went from what I can do just
in myself to what God can do.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
So those are my two pieces there.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Hi, I love that.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
And do you know where can people go find out
more about the Caldwell Institute and then also buy tickets
to the event, So the.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
Callwell Institute, please go to our website.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Caldwell Institute dot org and you can also follow me
on Instagram, x, Facebook, TikTok At, Giano Caldwell, Gia, n
N Caldwell, c A L.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
D W E L L and Lisa. The tickets have oversold.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
That's so great.
Speaker 6 (31:00):
We're over sold, so you know when I still make
donations if they like, but certainly, uh, you know, I'm
excited about being there and I'm excited about having you MC.
Speaker 4 (31:14):
We got a great lineup.
Speaker 5 (31:16):
We got you, we got John Walsh, we got Congressman
Burgess Owens is going to be there. We got Savannah
Christie who's gonna be there. She's gonna speak. We got
Joe Piscopo. We have such an exciting group of people
who are going to be in an audience, very big,
heavy hitters. People are extraordinarily successful and very well known
across the country and even the world. So I'm so
(31:38):
honored that my very first public event, and this organization
has been around for six months now.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
We're doing it big.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
We're doing it tomorrow Lago and I have my best
Sie with me, who's gonna help bring in so much
exposure to what we're doing.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
And we'll raise a lot of money and help a
lot of family.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
So I'm really excited and so thankful and honored that
you answered the call Lisa to help us out.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Well, of course, but can be honest, I didn't realize
it was going to be such a big thing.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
When you asked.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
I honestly didn't realize.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
No.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
I just like immediately said yes because you're such a
you know, a dear friend of mine.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
And I was like, so proud of you.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
And excited for it, and so I was like, of course.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
And then now it's like this huge, like a little
nervous No, it'll go right, We'll be great. Its like,
and then before we go, what do you hope to
accomplish with the institute?
Speaker 5 (32:32):
Well, two things, Uh one, we have the Institute and
then we have the Carbell Foundation for Public Safety.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
That's our five oh one C three.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
The instituts are five oh one CE four. Two things
I want to read the country of George Soros funded prosecutors.
I think we're gonna, you know, pretty soon jump into
races where progressives are those are the major extremes of
the Democratic Party. So we'll get involved in that as well.
So we want to help save lives to that policy
(33:02):
making peace, just getting folks out of office. And then
our foundation is more about the advocacy the lawmaking, talking
to members of Congress, members of all levels of government,
increasing penalties of a law and two I'm sorry, in
influence the lawmaking process. In addition, we want to support
(33:26):
members victims of violent crime through mental health services and
many other services. So that's where we're going with both organizations,
and we're already seeing success. We got involved with the
George Gascon race. Nathan and Hawkman reached out to us
and our infansy stage, we got on board. I did
(33:48):
radio ads from throughout Los Angeles County on behalf of
the institute. Uh and we you know, we paid for
that out of our own pockets, and we were happy
to see Nathan Hawkman win somebody who's about lawn order
safety and security and he ran as an independent.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
So, you know, we really.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Appreciate the fact that we can make a difference already,
and we're so young and in our organizational structure, but
thank god that there is an impact being made and
we look forward to making even more progress in this
coming year.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Well, I'm so proud of you, and I love you
and I can't wait. I can't wait to see what's
success it is and to celebrate, you know, sort of
this initial phase and the proudio and just looking forward
to continued cheering on and just thankful for your friendship.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
And I'm proud of you, my friend, and.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
I'm going to cheer you on. To Lisa Booth with the.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I don't know what I'll be doing, this thing is heading.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
Who knows You're already doing great. And I love the
name of your podcast.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Lisaause it rhymes yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
I'm glad that we can rhyme together. I'm glad we
talked about it.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
But I'm so excited and thankful and I look forward
to being with you soon.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
That was Gianno Caldwell.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
I appreciate his time, Appreciate everything he is doing. Appreciate
you guys let home for listening every Tuesday and Thursday now,
but of course.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
You can listen throughout the week.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Also want to thank John Casso and my producer for
putting the show together.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Until next time,
So I will be the master of ceremonies for an
upcoming gala for the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
You probably know.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Gianno Caldwell by now, you see him on Fox News.
But he lost his little brother, Christian to gun violence
in Chicago. He found out on June twenty fourth, twenty
twenty two, and has been fighting for justice ever since then,
which is why he started the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety.
Like many families around the country, he has still not
(00:31):
found justice. Unfortunately, his little brother was killed because of
the policies of the left, because of their soft on
crime policies that we saw under the Biden administration or
the Obama administration, embraced by so many left wing politicians
in cities across America.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So we'll talk to him about that. We'll talk to
him about.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
His little brother Christian, why he has been on this fight,
why he's been on this journey, and also what we've
seen already from the Trump administration. I mean, one of
the first actions from President Trump was an executive order
titled Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety. We've
already seen the determination of this administration and enforcing immigration policies,
(01:12):
So will that have a downstream effect on the rest
of the country in some of these cities where we've
seen soft on crime.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Also, should more Republicans.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Follow President Trump's example about going into the inner cities
and trying to win over these voters, going into blue cities,
going into blue states.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
We'll talk to Giano.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
About that as well, and what it was like growing
up in the South side of Chicago.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Why was he able to escape that when so many
people are unable to. Of course you know him.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Also, he's the author of Taken for Granted, where he
talks about his life story and why he's been able
to become the success that he has become. So we'll
get into all of that and more with one of
my closest friends. He is truly one of my best friends.
I love him like a brother. So we'll get into
that bigger discussion on all of these important issues.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Stay tuned for Giana Caldwell.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Well, Gianno Caldwell, it's so nice to have you on
my podcast.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
My friend, Well, I'm so excited to be invited.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
I know it took six years and you're very famous,
and you hit your first one with Donald Trump. So
you know, I'm glad you can finally get around to me.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Shut up.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
So for the folks at home, Gianno and I have
been very close friends. For I guess yours now, I
don't even Yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Yeah, I've been my bestie and you've been there with
me through a lot of ups and downs, and I've
been there with you, and I'm just so exceptionally grateful
that God brought us together.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
I really am.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
H You're one of my best friends. We really have
been through a lot together. A lot of fun times too. Yeah,
awesome going out, but we don't get into that. But
I'm so excited and just so proud of you because
(03:00):
I will be the MC at your upcomingy gala for
the Calbell Institute of Public Safety, and it is already
turning out to be such a big event. I'm just
so proud of you because you started this organization after
you lost your little brother Christian to gun violence in Chicago.
And you know, a lot of people take tragic things
(03:20):
and you know it sets them back right and they
can't find their footing. And you know that's understandable, right,
because losing a brother is just so hard. And I
know I've seen you go through this, but you've really
used this as a motivating force in your life for
good and to try to make a difference and to
try to prevent other people like Christian from being killed
and being murdered. And so I'm just so proud of
(03:42):
you for doing that, and you know, having the determination
and the strength to turn something so negative into a positive.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
So I'm just so proud of you.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Well, thank you, Lisa.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
And you know I got to tell you I started
at the call Well Institute for Public Safety, and people
can go to Calboll Institute dot or to learn more.
But I started it because I honestly felt like I
had no choice. You and I were on television. We
work at Fox News Channel. We started off as colleagues there.
But what I came to realize quite quickly after this
(04:16):
happened to my brother is the source of a lot
of the crime that's happening in our country, the enabling
of it, I should say, and it comes from a
person named George Soros. And we know many of the
listeners here, I know they know all about George so Ros.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
They heard about him and the.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Money he's pumped into these district attorney races across the
country and for one reason I believe, and that's to
destroy America from within. And it's been a plan that
has been quite successful. We saw what happened in Chicago
with Ken Fox, We saw what happened in Los Angeles
with George Cascombe. We see what's happening in New York
with Alvin Bragg, we see what's going on in Philadelphia
(04:53):
with Larry Krausner, and many other places that don't have
as big of a name of the district attorney, but
the impact is just is great, and we had to
do something about it.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
We have to do something about it.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
And I started at the call Well Institute for Public
Safety just for that, to make sure these individuals are
ran out of office. So that's that's the admission of
our institute.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
What do you think motivates people like Sorows to show
that kind of chaos.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
The only thing, the only conclusion I can draw from
it is hatred. He hates the United States of America,
is my personal opinion. I can't imagine someone who would say, Okay,
let me fund this individual, who would let out somebody
who just murdered someone's niece or nephew or mother or father,
or sister or brother.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Let me let me finance a race for an individual
like that.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
You cannot love people, you cannot love the country.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
You cannot love law and order if you're going to
do something like that.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
And it's unfortunate that so many people took debate under
the ban of criminal justice reform and the BLN movement,
a lot of people took that bait, not knowing that
we were really disenfranchising our own citizens. People are dying
or have died at alarming rates under the guise of
(06:16):
Joe Biden and George sore. So it is a task
that is a major one, but it is one that
it certainly has helped me as I've suffered through the
loss of the tragic loss of my brother, is one
in which it's at least given me a little bit
a piece that I know that his legacy, even though
he was an innocent teenager when he was murdered, his
(06:38):
legacy will mean something. And that's what I'm honored to do.
I'm honored to serve in this role for that reason.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And he was eighteen.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
I'll never forget when he told me, I'll never forget
seeing him in the casket in Chicago you know, nothing
prepares you to see an eighteen year old in the
casket and to see the pain your eyes and see
the pan as you went through, just the suffering of
losing him.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
You know, tell us, tell us about Christian.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Christian unfortunately never knew his dad, so as his older brother,
I was the individual that stood in that role for him.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
I would take them the museums him and you know,
I got multiple other brothers who.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
I grew up with nine siblings or nine of us
in total, two sisters, the rest of us, you know, boys.
So I was the one that would take my youngest
siblings to places, museums, take them the nice places to eat.
Even I remember when Christian called me. I was, you know,
flying him and my other little brother, Matthew, out to
(07:46):
Los Angeles, which is where I was living at the time,
and he begged me.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
He said, I want to go on a college tour.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
I want to go to UCLA, I want to go
look at some colleges. He was just sixteen years old
at that time, but he really wanted it. And I'm like, man,
we got to figure it out. Let me put it together.
But I was so like, really thankful that he was
considering those kind of options as such.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
You know, a young age sixteen.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
How many kids saying I want to go on a
college tour at sixteen, But that's what he wanted. So
he was an individual that made people laugh all the time.
He was very much into sports, and he was pretty
good at basketball because he would always play against the
older kids versus the ones that are his age, so he,
you know, built those kind of relationships.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
And he was a loving kid.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
He loved my grandmother, by our family, and you know,
I'm just just even talking about it, it's still very
difficult for me. Even though it's been two years since
then June twenty four, twenty twenty two, we're going on
the three years here soon. So it's it's it is
something that I got to say that I'm unfortunately experienced.
(08:53):
But my hope is that we're going to save lives
because of it.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And we know that he was not the intended target
of the shooting. I know it's been frustrating for you
to try to find justice. Why do you think it's
been so hard for the police to do their job
and to find his killer? And I imagine there are
a lot of families in places like Chicago who are
going through the same thing and that same frustration of
(09:18):
not getting the justice that they deserve.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
You're absolutely right, there are a tremendous amount of families
that are having that same experience.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
And this happened on a Friday morning.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
And when I talked to the detective on the case
two days later that Sunday, I said to him, I
know that it's very early in an investigation, but do
you have any leads? And then he began to tell
me about all the other cases that came in since then,
and I felt like it was a little bit of
a blowout. He said, oh, we got all these new
cases in since then, and you know, he just got.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Off the phone with me.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
And it wasn't until he saw me on television and
read about it in the news that he said, oh, yeah, yeah,
we're on it.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
We're on top of it.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
We saw you on with Sean Hannity, we saw you
on Fox and Friends, we saw you on Fox thirty two,
a local Fox affiliate in Chicago.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
And I said, well, I hope that we're going to
be able to solve this.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
So I felt good in the fact that maybe a
little notoriety me working at Fox with push this propelled
this case forward. We get it solved to get justice
from my family, but that wasn't the case. The detective
dropped off multiple times. And you know me, I love
the police, I support the police. I even was the
spokesperson for a police organization. But police officers are overwhelmed
(10:33):
in Chicago, and some don't want to do the job
anymore because they get demonized from the leadership, the mayor
and other folks within leadership there.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
So people don't want to do the jobs there.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
But it's unfortunate that victims are paying the price for
the politics, if you will, in Chicago, and that goes
for the progressives that run to the council, the mayor,
the county prosecuted there under Kim Fox. They have a
new prosecutor who was supposed to be a bit more
tough on crime. But this is unfortunate that people are
(11:05):
paying that price. And that's not just going on in Chicago,
is going in many places, going on in many places
across the country.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Well, why do you think so many of our cities
you have such high homicide in crime rates.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Well, we've seen it.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
We've seen it in Chicago for a number of years,
we've seen the soft on crime policies. We've seen it
with Lori liifeat before Brandon Johnson, where people like Lori
Liife had created this no chase policy, or police officers
have to call into their supervisors in order to pursue
a suspect on.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
Foot or in car.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
They got to get approval, so the suspect's gone at
that point. If you got a call and wait for
someone to answer and maybe even call you back because
they're busy, and other places around the country, we saw
upticking violent crime after the George Floyd riots. We know
that we know what being BLM cost. We know that
we saw a crazy upticking crime, and we know that
(12:00):
the FBI data many many cities were withholding their data
from the FBI, ensuring that Americans didn't know what the
real picture was when it comes to crime. And if
you remember quite famously Trump and his debate with Kamala Harris,
he was saying, the crime is high, crime is out
of control, and the moderator, I believe that was from
(12:21):
ABC News.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Said no, it isn't that's not true. That's not true.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
And then what happened days later, the FBI sent out
revised data. Crime is actually up, so we know where
it came from. In many of these places, it started
with BLM, and a lot of cities have embraced these policies.
They called them criminal justice reform, when in fact it
was justice for the criminal. And now we're leaving, we're
(12:46):
being left to deal with the results of it.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Well.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Also, like a lot of these crime rates, we don't
even know how accurate there are. If police aren't arresting
people right like that, it's another thing.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Yeah, you know, exactly right, exactly right, And that's another
you know, crime victims a lot of times if you
live in these very poor crime written areas and if
police are slow to respond to you, you may not
even call you just say forget about it. And just
to your point, which is an excellent one, the rest
(13:17):
rates have gone down in many of these cities. The
conviction rates are really terrible, especially with George Soros funded prosecutors,
because they let so many folks out.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
They dropped so many cases.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
I remember early in Kim Fox's term and it was
reported that I think about sixty seventy thousand cases she dropped,
including rape and murder. Like this is stuff that you
just can't make up. So how can you expect people
to have any hope in a system that's not protecting them?
(13:48):
And like I mentioned before, progressives and these major cities
are causing that erosion of trust between communities and police
and the.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Ability that have crime those held accountable.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
You know, why do you think these people keep getting
re elected or you know, elected and re elected Because
it's like you would think, and you know, I used
to live in New York City and I look at
LA you look at you would think people would be like, Okay,
you know, I'm tired of this crime. You know, I'm
tired of the high taxes. I'm hired, I'm tired of
things not working. Yet they keep electing left wing politicians.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Why do you think that is?
Speaker 5 (14:25):
I mean, I think I think Democrats have been very
skillful in making Republicans the boogeyman. Now you noticed that
no matter who the Republican is, they're just a racist.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
That's what they call them.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
Immediately that that particular dog was so if you will,
because now for folks like Mitt Romney and others who
kind of embraced the left, they stop calling him that
when they can, When when he can serve a purpose
for them, and that's that's pretty much how it goes.
So when you see these a lot of these different cities,
the Democrats they are telling them, oh, this policy is
(14:56):
good for a calls, it's good for black folks, when
most of the time that is absolutely not true. It's
a complete lie. They say it's good for this group,
it's good for that group. Republicans are bad, they're racist,
So why even you know, support them or even listen
to them. But I honestly believe, Lisa, that those times
are changing. I really believe that. And I think Donald
(15:17):
Trump's decisive win and his messaging to communities all over black, white,
Hispanic agent, I want to work with you, the things
that you've said, the policies he's passed in his first term,
I think we're seeing a turning of the tie with that.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
It's little by little.
Speaker 5 (15:35):
I think, you know, we saw it in twenty sixteen
a little bit, we saw it more in twenty twenty,
and then we saw it again in this most recent election.
If it's people like Donald Trump leading the charge, I
think we're breaking the backs of the Democratic Party.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
I really do you know, I guess have you had
I imagine you've had a lot of families and you know,
people reach out to you with sort of like a
similar experience and having lost a loved one.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You know, tell me a little bit about that and
what has the response been like. As you you know,
fight for justice and also fight for some of these
changes in law.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
You know, it's been a quite a humbling experience, to.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
Be honest with you, you know, fighting for these families.
And then the support that I received when we launched
the Callwell Institute for Public Safety at Callwell Institute dot org.
I had on board people like Pam Bondi, who serves
on our advisory board, who's been with us. I was
with her in the Oval office when she was sworn in.
(16:39):
People like doctor Drew Pinsky on mental health, who's been
incredibly helpful with me and my personal journey. But of
course for other folks as well, many other people who've
reached out to me sharing experiences that they've had, what
they've done, and I unfortunately had to have, you know,
quite similar experiences, whether it be navigating the police department,
(17:02):
the judicial system, or even when we got Congress from
Burgess On who sits on our board, even reaching out
to him to say, hey, I'm looking to get the
FBI involved and I want to get a bipartisan letter.
And then we were able to do that after I
lobbied multiple committee chairmen in Congress to get that done,
and then they finally opened up and called me. And
(17:26):
mind you, I called the FBI multiple times, they never
called me back.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
I got on television asking the FBI to call me.
They never called me back.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
I had former FBI agents call current ones in the
Chicago Field office.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
They never called me back.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
And then when we pulled the levers of Congress, finally
I got a call from the Specialation in charge of
the Chicago Field Office. But no family should have to
go through that. No families should have to lobby Congress
to try to get help, or have to go on
television and do all these different things.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
But that's what we are as a country unfortunately.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
So as we share information, as I talk to numerous
families about their losses and how I can be supportive
from an organizational standpoint or even a personal one. It's
been a journey, and it's only a journey that I
can see expanding and hopefully from the work we're doing
at the Carbell Institute for Public Safety is going to
ensure that justice is served for.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
So many people, and that's why it's so important.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
Elections have consequences, and we know that that terminology very well, Lisa,
and hopefully these next upcoming elections in New York and
other places like Philadelphia, those folks that are currently in
office werea can have it through their policymaking or lack
of enforcement. Hopefully those the tie will turn and continue
(18:46):
to change in the better men of families all over
the country.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
We've got more with Gianno Caldwell, but first, after more
than a year of war, terror and pain in Israel,
there's still a great demand for basic humanitarian aid. Their
National Fellowship of Christians and Jews is support it and
continues to support those in the Holy Land still facing
the lingering horrors of war and those who are in
desperate need right now. Your gift today will provide critically
(19:11):
needed aid to communities in the North and the South
devastated by the ongoing war. Your generous donation will deliver
help to those in need, including evacuees and refugees from
war torn areas, also the first responders and volunteers. The
wounded soldiers, elderly Holocaust survivors, and also families who have
just lost everything, and so many more. You can give
(19:33):
hope during a time of great uncertainty. Give a gift
to bless Israel and her people by visiting SUPPORTIFCJ dot org.
That's one word support, IFCJ dot org. Or call eight
a eight fur a eight IFCJ that's eight eight eight
four a eight IFCJ eight eight eight four a eight
(19:53):
four three two five.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
You know, we're warred, is saying.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
This administration and you know, like it did during its
first term, President Trump taking action on tough on crime.
You know, he issued an executive order right after taking
office to restore the death penalty and to protect public safety,
you know, talking about the importance of capital punishment as
a deterrent.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Noting that, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
The moratorium on federal executions that the Buyo administration did,
or the fact that he commuted sentences of you know,
thirty seven of forty of the most vile and statistic rapists,
child molesters, and murderous murderers on federal death row. We've
also seen a tough on crime stance from an immigration standpoint.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Already as well. Do you think that will have.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
A downstream impact on you know, you had mentioned some
of these local elections that are coming up, like in
New York City. Do you think that'll have a downstream
effect on the rest of the country.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Yeah, it has to.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
And to that point, like even talking about the border,
we see the border cross the numbers went down.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
What was it like ninety percent or something like that.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
It was, Yeah, it was like ninety three for the Gadawez. Yeah,
pretty remarkable. Like all read hits like where were you
in the last four years?
Speaker 5 (21:04):
He was almost like a week or two before that.
Those again turn the Todd It's just like terrorists. Terrorists
didn't fear Joe Biden, but they certainly fear President Donald Trump.
Like without question, criminals fear Donald Trump. They know this
is a law and order president. And when you consider
even UH considerations with the border. We know that Finnel
comes across, We know that mini terrorists, and he also
(21:27):
labeled the cartels or a terrorist organization, so we we
recognized that a lot of crime and violence comes from
across the border, Findel starting in China, UH being transported
through Mexico.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
So that's going to have an impact.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
The fact that people like Pam Bondi, my friend who
I really appreciate, who's you know, served us quite well
at the Cabal Institute of Public Safety. She I was
in the office with her. After she got sworn in,
we went over to the DJ where I saw her
sign numerous executive orders withdrawing funding from sanctuary cities. So
(22:03):
sanctuary cities, obviously they're not following federal law, so why
would they have federal funding?
Speaker 4 (22:10):
And places who aren't just enforcing their laws.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
These are necessary tools to force many of these politicians
to get on board and help save lives.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
It shouldn't be that.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
Hard, honestly, for politicians, these Democrats.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
To say, look, I'm going to do what's right.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Twenty plus years ago, this used to be a no
brainer for both parties. It was a no brainer. It
wouldn't be that oh, because I'm for law and order,
then I must be a Republican and if I'm not,
then I'm a Democrat. It used to be all parties
supported law and order. All parties said that our immigration
systems shouldn't be abused and people should come through the
front door. That was the case, But the Democratic Party
(22:51):
today has become extraordinarily extreme. They're very extreme, and the
unfortunate reality for the American people is lives being lost
as a result of it.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
And that's unfortunate and it must come to an.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
End, you know.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
And I think one of the things that President Trump
did so well, and I think it's a good lesson
for the Republican Party is like going into some of
these cities and trying to win over these voters, and
going into blue states and trying to win over blue
state voters and really sending the message that every American
matters and every vote counts, and we care, you know,
as a political party.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
And to that vein, you know, what was it like
growing up in the South side of Chicago?
Speaker 4 (23:35):
So two respond to that first place. Yeah, I'll tell
you about Chicago. One.
Speaker 5 (23:40):
I've been calling for the Republican Party to do this
for years. I've been a Republican for two decades plus.
No one in my family was a Republican. But I
found out this year that my little brother Matthew, who's
actually you know, he's someone who's going to be spending
a whole lot more time with me and Miami. He
vo for Trump and he called me so excitedly to say, Hey,
(24:03):
I just wanted you to know I voted for Donald Trump,
and I told all of my friends to vote for
him too. No, seriously, So, Donald Trump is a cultural figure.
He's someone that's been beloved I mean since he hit
the scene in what the seventies, eighties or even before that.
He's someone that celebrities wanted to attach themselves to.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
But the culture never really forgot him.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
I know there were certain people who said negative things
about him, but there was still a respect.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Within the culture. And I'm talking about this culture.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Of influenced hip hop and all these other things. People
still liked them and respected him. They may not have
liked that he was a Republican, but I can assure
you that if he ran as a Democrat, the Democrats
would have celebrated him and supported him. I think that
Republicans should take great note to what Donald Trump has
been doing, and we should continue that work because we
(24:54):
need to expand our party one hundred percent. We need
to ensure that Democrats no longer get a foothold in
our inner cities. We need to ensure that law and
order is the rule of the day, safety and security,
and prosperity for every American citizen. Those are things that
we need to focus on. So I'm thankful for that,
and I think I'm thankful that he has blazed the
(25:15):
trail to the Republican Party to see that these things
actually work. Now, what happened with me growing up in Chicago?
I grew up extremely poor. Lights and guests and water
off at the same time on occasion. Mom and dad
were never married, but I was blessed to see my
dad every weekend. He would take me to my grandparents'
(25:36):
house on the South Side of Chicago, which is where
I lived on the South Side, and my grandfather we
would do catfish and spaghetti on Fridays TGIF Fridays. If
you remember those Family Matters and all those shows from
the ABC line up, good wholesome, non woke.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Nowadays, you can't even let.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
Your kids watch this stuff anymore. You gotta go to then.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Now you can't even watch it Disney now, Yeah, you never.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
Know what they may show, like I gotta watch it today,
and you can watch it.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
I need to. Yeah, it's okay for you.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
It's probably not even good for us.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Yeah, I know, as I'm telling you.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
I watched this stuff and then I see one of
those like really crazy weird.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Things and I just turn it off. I stopped watching it.
You know, it's just it's just too much. It's way
too much.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
But my grandfather's on Saturdays would wake me up very
early in the morning, seven am and he would, you know,
get me prep to go to work with him, small
business owner plumbing construction, and he would pay me ten
dollars a day.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
To hold the flash like hand tools.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
And it taught me personal responsibility at such a young age.
I started doing this at seven eight years old, going
to job sites with him, and he would want me
to see how he earned money. He would also want
me to see when he has this big wile to cash. Okay,
we go from a job site, then we go to
the bank cash to check and you get the money.
(27:05):
This is how it works. So it gave me a
desire to want to work. And when I got a
little older, fourteen years old during the summers, I would
stay with him during the summers and work and he
would charge me room and board and I would say, Granddad,
you have all this money, why am I paying room
and board? And he said, you'll understand when you get older,
and sure enough, it taught me personal responsibility. It taught
(27:28):
me to want to work, It taught me to want
to pay bills. It taught me to want to have
a future that was only led by two things, God
and myself. And I'm exceptionally grateful for that. And to
that point that you asked, you know, my life in Chicago,
and you know, kind of how did I get to
the place of where I am today is because of
(27:49):
my grandfather. Largely he taught me about politics when I
was fourteen, and that encouraged me to go volunteer for
my local aldermen every day after school like it was
a job. Then at sixteen, I'm sorry if I'm in
long winded, but so funny. At sixteen I started working
for the federal government part time. At nineteen, I bought
a multi unit apartment building with Alan you family assistance
helper knowledge, and then did so many things after that,
(28:11):
concluding working on the presidential going to DC, starting to
affirm and doing television. So it's you know, it's the
honor of a lifetime that I had that experience with
my grandfather who's still with us, and it is something
that if I'm blessed to ever have children. I will
do the same for my kids, no matter how much
money I have. It has to be I have to
do it the same way. And I really appreciate that
(28:34):
meaningful learning opportunity that served me well for years.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Well, you'll be a great dit. You know I've told
you that a billion times.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Do you think that a great? Great mom? Lisa?
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Thank you. I appreciate that a lot, honestly, thank you.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Do you think that personal responsibility that you learned is
why you were able to get out of the South
side of Chicago? Because you know, as you pointed out,
you know you don't just do the fox thing. You know,
you're an author, you started this institute, you're a businessman.
I mean, you do so many things behind the scenes,
and you know just reached a lot of tremendous success
on your own. Did you think kind of learning that
(29:09):
lesson early about personal responsibility is why you're able to
kind of escape poverty and get out and be so successful.
Speaker 5 (29:17):
I think that if I can point to any one
or two things, I would say one faith in God,
tremendously helpful pastor, Doctor Bill Winston is my pastor in Chicago,
still to this day.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
I started going there when I was eighteen and.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
He would say, was he the one that I met
at the funeral?
Speaker 5 (29:35):
Yes, that was the pastor yeah, yeah, that's my spiritual father. Yes, absolutely,
and he was the one I would go to that
church and he would say, you know, the government shouldn't
be taking care.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Of you, it should be God taking care of you.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
He'll give you ideas, he'll give you meaningful connections, He'll
connect you to resources, those kinds of things. Him and
my grandfather two of the strongest men I know today.
Those individuals had served me so well in my years
growing up, Starting with my grandfather and having that experience
(30:07):
with him and then going to past in Winston's Church
when I was eighteen years old.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
That took me to the next level, and that took.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Me in a belief that was beyond just my human
ability and it went from what I can do just
in myself to what God can do.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
So those are my two pieces there.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Hi, I love that.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
And do you know where can people go find out
more about the Caldwell Institute and then also buy tickets
to the event, So the.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
Callwell Institute, please go to our website.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Caldwell Institute dot org and you can also follow me
on Instagram, x, Facebook, TikTok At, Giano Caldwell, Gia, n
N Caldwell, c A L.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
D W E L L and Lisa. The tickets have oversold.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
That's so great.
Speaker 6 (31:00):
We're over sold, so you know when I still make
donations if they like, but certainly, uh, you know, I'm
excited about being there and I'm excited about having you MC.
Speaker 4 (31:14):
We got a great lineup.
Speaker 5 (31:16):
We got you, we got John Walsh, we got Congressman
Burgess Owens is going to be there. We got Savannah
Christie who's gonna be there. She's gonna speak. We got
Joe Piscopo. We have such an exciting group of people
who are going to be in an audience, very big,
heavy hitters. People are extraordinarily successful and very well known
across the country and even the world. So I'm so
(31:38):
honored that my very first public event, and this organization
has been around for six months now.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
We're doing it big.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
We're doing it tomorrow Lago and I have my best
Sie with me, who's gonna help bring in so much
exposure to what we're doing.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
And we'll raise a lot of money and help a
lot of family.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
So I'm really excited and so thankful and honored that
you answered the call Lisa to help us out.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Well, of course, but can be honest, I didn't realize
it was going to be such a big thing.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
When you asked.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
I honestly didn't realize.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
No.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
I just like immediately said yes because you're such a
you know, a dear friend of mine.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
And I was like, so proud of you.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
And excited for it, and so I was like, of course.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
And then now it's like this huge, like a little
nervous No, it'll go right, We'll be great. Its like,
and then before we go, what do you hope to
accomplish with the institute?
Speaker 5 (32:32):
Well, two things, Uh one, we have the Institute and
then we have the Carbell Foundation for Public Safety.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
That's our five oh one C three.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
The instituts are five oh one CE four. Two things
I want to read the country of George Soros funded prosecutors.
I think we're gonna, you know, pretty soon jump into
races where progressives are those are the major extremes of
the Democratic Party. So we'll get involved in that as well.
So we want to help save lives to that policy
(33:02):
making peace, just getting folks out of office. And then
our foundation is more about the advocacy the lawmaking, talking
to members of Congress, members of all levels of government,
increasing penalties of a law and two I'm sorry, in
influence the lawmaking process. In addition, we want to support
(33:26):
members victims of violent crime through mental health services and
many other services. So that's where we're going with both organizations,
and we're already seeing success. We got involved with the
George Gascon race. Nathan and Hawkman reached out to us
and our infansy stage, we got on board. I did
(33:48):
radio ads from throughout Los Angeles County on behalf of
the institute. Uh and we you know, we paid for
that out of our own pockets, and we were happy
to see Nathan Hawkman win somebody who's about lawn order
safety and security and he ran as an independent.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
So, you know, we really.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Appreciate the fact that we can make a difference already,
and we're so young and in our organizational structure, but
thank god that there is an impact being made and
we look forward to making even more progress in this
coming year.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Well, I'm so proud of you, and I love you
and I can't wait. I can't wait to see what's
success it is and to celebrate, you know, sort of
this initial phase and the proudio and just looking forward
to continued cheering on and just thankful for your friendship.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
And I'm proud of you, my friend, and.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
I'm going to cheer you on. To Lisa Booth with the.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I don't know what I'll be doing, this thing is heading.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
Who knows You're already doing great. And I love the
name of your podcast.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Lisaause it rhymes yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
I'm glad that we can rhyme together. I'm glad we
talked about it.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
But I'm so excited and thankful and I look forward
to being with you soon.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
That was Gianno Caldwell.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
I appreciate his time, Appreciate everything he is doing. Appreciate
you guys let home for listening every Tuesday and Thursday now,
but of course.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
You can listen throughout the week.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
Also want to thank John Casso and my producer for
putting the show together.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Until next time,
Host
Lisa Boothe
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