The Rick Smith Show

The Trump administration is now at war with the courts and is ignoring court orders, throwing our entire system of democracy into question. It's pretty safe to say that while many people voted for Trump, no one wanted this to happen, and people are starting to wake up and see the authoritarian for what he is. Professor John Logan of San Diego State University and Lynn Rhinehart of The Economic...

While tariffs are a necessary tool we use to balance trade relations around the globe, Trump undisciplined use of them as a cudgel simply isn't going to work, and he knows it. That's why he adds them and removes them seemingly at random, and his lack of understanding is leading us toward a financial meltdown that everyone but him can see coming. Our guests today are Will Ragland of The Cen...

There's one thing many are overlooking when they cover the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case - most are ignoring the fact that he is a union apprentice, making his kidnapping not only an attack on our laws and system of justice, but also a direct attack on working people and their organizations. Add this to the recent attacks on the NLRB, and we have the making of an all-out assault on American workin...

The Constitutional crisis has arrived, my fellow Americans. Trump has now defied a court order in the Garcia case, and in doing so, he has challenged the legitimacy of the court, and its ability to rule on his actions. Buckle up, folks - things are going to accelerate from here. Our guest today are Lori Wallach of Rethink Trade, and Rich Ojeda, veteran and host of "Ojeda Live." Don’t miss...

It's Tax Day, America! Time for all of us to step up and kick in so the billionaires don't have to. Time to buy them yachts with our tax dollars, and time to finance their celebrity space tourism by grinding away at our jobs and paying more and more of our wages to the people who care less and less about whether or not we can get by. Our guests today are Trade expert Emily de La Bruyere or...

Trump is doing what he said he would do, and the result is exactly what we thought it would be - chaos. As the world reacts to Trump's attack on the world economy, we sit down with some of the working people who will be most affected by the coming economic disaster. Pam Galpern of CWA and Julie Hedrick of The Association of Flight Attendants (APFA) are our guests. Don’t miss our daily TV show...

Trump hasn't even been in office for 90 days yet, and he has already launched an all-out assault on working families. And our Supreme Court, which is supposed to be non-partisan, isn't. The combination promises perhaps the worst four year for American working families since the days of the robber barons and the Lochner court. Scott Paul of The Alliance for American Manufacturing and David...

We have an authoritarian in charge. That much is clear, and we can do something about it. But when the authoritarian in charge has an illegitimate Supreme Court rubber stamping his attacks on the American way of life, we are in real trouble. Today our guests are Mike Williams of The Center for American Progress and Alex Lawson of Social Security Works. Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free Speech T...

Trump's tariffs have thrown US and world markets into total chaos, and so far, Trump has been on the golf course for 21 out of the 75 days he's been in office. It goes without saying that he isn't taking the job seriously, and when he is asked about the chaos, he simply says that Americans have to "take their medicine." Economist Matias Vernengo and Journalist Sarah Burris are...

The economy is falling apart, and Trump is golfing. The rest of us are not quite so relaxed.. Our guests today are U.S. Congressman Chris Deluzio, and former OSHA Deputy. Asst. Secretary Jordan Barab. Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free Speech TV:  www.freespeech.org Find us on: ·       DirecTV (Channel 348) ·       Dish (Channel 269) ·       Sling ·       Roku ·       Apple TV ·       Amazon Fir...

Trump and the DOGE teenagers are now targeting our voting systems using the same false fraud charges they used to destroy several other parts of the American government. Greta Bedekovics of The Center for American Progress joins us to discuss the massive overreach and what it means for working folks, and then Bruce Lesley of First Focus on Children joins us to discuss the affects this overreach wi...

After weeks of screaming at Democratic member of Congress to "do something" it looks like someone finally did. Senator Cory Booker just completed a 25+ hour filibuster speech, breaking the record for longest speech on the Senate floor - a record previously held by segregationist senator Strom Thurmond, who once argued against Civil Rights for just over 24 hours. We will discuss this and mo...

Social Security is the greatest anti-poverty program ever created. If it goes away, roughly 37% of America's adult population will immediately fall below the poverty line, millions will suffer, and many of those who suffer will die. It's just that simple. And Trump, Musk, and the DOGE teenagers are going to make it happen unless we stop them. Today's guests are Scott Paul of The Allian...

Trump is going to try to kill labor in America. We wish that was an April Fools joke, but it isn't. He's removing collective bargaining from federal workers, and the ripple effect of this action will land hard on every working family in America, and especially on those who voted for Trump. Our guests are journalist Sarah Burris and former GOP Congressman Bob Ney. Don’t miss our daily TV sh...

As the DOGE team takes a wrecking ball to our government in search of "waste, fraud, & abuse" they are finding out again and again that our government operate quite a bit more efficiently than the conspiracy theorists say it does. That's not going to stop them, but it will stop you from receiving any of the benefits they promised. No magical DOGE checks for the masses, and once aga...

The Trump administration response to the Signal leak has been many things, but none of them are surprising. Once again, on every right-wing channel available, we are hearing the words "witch hunt." These guys are nothing if not predictable. No accountability. No transparency (at least not on purpose). Our guests today are law professor Eric Fink and Scott Paul of the Alliance for American...

While the Trump administration fumes about "DEI Hires" and other nonsense, he is staffing the US government with perhaps the most unqualified leadership group ever assembled ... and they're living up to their descriptions by failing at just about everything. From. Social Security to National Security, this bunch of fenceposts simply can't get anything right. Our guests are Brent Bo...

In a move too bone-headed to be real (but it is real) apparently our new Secretary of Defense and known binge-drinker Pete Hegseth thought it would be a good idea to discuss military operations, including attack plans, on a commercial messaging app group chat ... and then he accidentally invited a journalist to the group. I swear, if anything saves America, it will be right-wing stupidity. Our gue...

In yet another embarrassment to the people of the United States, Trump has decided to seek corporate sponsorship for the White House Easter Egg Roll. While this is just one disgraceful act, it is just a symptom of the rampant corruption of this administration, and we're still less than 90 days in. Fromer US Congressman Bob Ney is our guest. Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free Speech TV:  www....

The Trump administration and the DOGE teenagers are doing everything they can to wreck the US economy, calling it "an adjustment period." What he means is, he expects us to adjust to no longer being free Americans, and it is now up tp us to figure out if we're going to fight back. Our guest today is Michael Sainato, Labor Reporter at The Guardian. Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free S...

Of all the things we have lost in the last several years, the loss of reliable information may be the thing that affects us the most. Right wing media is so dominant today that legacy media of all kinds is simply quitting on us and bending the knee rather than tell us true things that powerful people may not like. Everyone feels the pressure, and most can't stand up to it. So we get what we ha...

Americans aren't very happy with Democrats today, and frankly, they have good reason. After Democratic Senators helped Trump pass a CR to avoid a government shutdown, their constituents are calling for heads to roll. And Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate, is the first head they want. We discuss this and more with Brent Booker of LiUNA, and Craig Harrington of Media Matters. Don’...

Well, it looks like Chuck Schumer has gone and done something no one thought possible - he's stealing headlines from Trump. And all it took was complete subservience to the GOP thieves stealing our futures. We discuss this and more with Phil Glover of AFGE and Dave Madland of The Center for American Progress. Don’t miss our daily TV show on Free Speech TV:  www.freespeech.org Find us on: ·    ...

Trump and his kind are taking a wrecking ball to the US economy. The market is dropping by huge numbers each day, and the response from this administration is to fire lifelong public servants by the tens of thousands, and pretend the loss of these family sustaining jobs will have no effect on the larger economy. They're wrong; they don't care that they're wrong, and just like in every...

During the campaign, Trump and every GOP member running for office swore up and down that the GOP had no plans to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. They lied, and it is nothing new. They lie about these things in every election, and in every election ,they never seem to have to pay a price for their lies, current or past. We discuss this and more with Economics Professor Matias Vernengo...