Guests - Rodney Glassman, Nicole Tsai
Rodney Glassman: Taking on the Attorney General's Office with a Focus on Arizona
Rodney Glassman, attorney and Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force JAG Reserve, is running for Arizona Attorney General with a vision that stands in stark contrast to the current administration. Having served at multiple Air Force bases including Davis-Monthan in Tucson and Luke Air Force Base, Glassman brings both legal expertise and military service to his campaign.
Glassman's candidacy comes at a critical time for Arizona, particularly in light of recent controversies surrounding Governor Katie Hobbs' veto of Senate Bill 1109. The bill would have prohibited China from purchasing land near military bases and other strategic assets in Arizona.
"This is just another example where the liberals, in this case, it's Katie Hobbs...she's not advocating for protecting military operations," Glassman observed. "Military operations are a driving force for the Arizona economy."
While Glassman couldn't speak directly to the issue due to his current military position, he emphasized the importance of elected officials supporting military bases and protecting them from encroachment. He pointed to his early career involvement with organizations like DM-50 in Tucson and Fighter Country Partnership at Luke Air Force Base—business groups dedicated to advocating for military installations and their economic impact.
"Time and again, what we're seeing from Katie Hobbs, who I'm not running against, and her best buddy, Chris Mays, who I am running against, is liberals who put their own self-interest, their own campaigns, their own donors...ahead of the needs of Arizona, our economy," Glassman said.
Glassman's critique of current Attorney General Chris Mays forms the core of his campaign message. He accuses Mays of being more focused on national politics than Arizona's needs, citing over 20 lawsuits against the Trump administration that Glassman characterizes as "clickbait lawsuits."
"The reason I call the lawsuits that Chris Mays has against the Trump administration 'clickbait lawsuits' is because in addition to hating President Trump...she also uses the Trump administration as a way to fundraise for her own political goals," Glassman explained. He described a pattern: Mays files a lawsuit against the Trump administration, issues a press release, then sends fundraising emails to donors nationwide.
"Every time that Chris Mays sues the Trump administration, she gets lots of clicks. It's a fundraising ploy for her campaign dollars," Glassman asserted.
If elected, Glassman outlined three primary priorities: protecting law enforcement, protecting children, and protecting Arizona's prosperity.
On law enforcement, Glassman expressed concern about Mays' efforts to eliminate qualified immunity: "Qualified immunity is a state law that tells our first responders that as long as they follow the rules while they're protecting our homes, they don't have to worry about getting sued civilly." He emphasized his support from Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan and his service on the board of the 100 Club, which supports fallen police and firefighters.
Regarding children, Glassman criticized Mays' positions on transgender policies in schools: "We literally have an attorney general right now that thinks it's okay for a boy with a penis to wake up on a given day, decide he's a girl, and go compete against my daughter." He advocated for supporting schools, school choice, and focusing on core academic subjects rather than gender identities.
For Arizona's prosperity, Glassman highlighted his experience as a practicing attorney: "I'm the only person running, believe it or not, on the Democrat or the Republican side in my primary or my general, that has ever been paid by strangers to be their lawyer with their own money." This experience, he argued, makes him understand client service and responsiveness in ways his opponents don't.
Glassman promised that on day one as Attorney General, he would "rescind all those political indictments" and "withdraw Arizona" from lawsuits against the Trump administration. During the first hundred days, coinciding with the legislative session, he would work with the legislature to "kill the bad bills and to support the good bills" through non-binding legal opinions.
Consumer protection, particularly for seniors, is another priority Glassman identified: "I'm a big proponent when it comes to protecting our seniors from consumer fraud. They're the greatest victims right now in the whole country." He cited numerous scams targeting seniors, from phone and email fraud to fake roofing companies.
As Glassman sees it, Arizona needs "an attorney general that's a fighter" particularly with "a liberal governor in Katie Hobbs" and a legislature that's "on the verge of being taken over by the Democrats." He positions himself as the "independently elected official that's going to stand up and give independent advice and advocate independently to protect our cops, protect our kids, protect our jobs."
Nicole Tsai: Exposing the CCP's Threats to American Security
Nicole Tsai, a Chinese American who participated in the Tiananmen Square protests as a student and has since become an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), offered insights on various threats posed by the CCP to American security and values.
The conversation began with a discussion of a recent case involving two Chinese nationals charged with smuggling a potential bioweapon into the United States. The couple, a 33-year-old woman who was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan and her 34-year-old boyfriend, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud for bringing a fungus classified as a potential terrorism weapon into the country.
"Imagine these two people, young Chinese nationals doing research at University of Michigan, one of the premier U.S. higher education institutions. Imagine the CCP is asking these two young couple to bring deadly, fatal virus or fungus actually to the campus," Tsai said. "It's very, very disturbing."
She highlighted the potential impact of the fungus: "These deadly fungus are capable of causing billions of dollars in U.S. agricultural loss and disease in both human life and also livestock."
Tsai advocated for stricter measures regarding Chinese students in American universities: "U.S. should revoke the Chinese students of visas and exercising much tighter scrutiny against the background of the Chinese students seeking to, for higher education or research at U.S. colleges and universities."
The conversation shifted to the influence of the CCP on American college campuses, with Tsai noting that Harvard recently selected a commencement speaker with CCP ties: "For the first ever in Harvard history, select a CCP tied...she's actually the daughter of a CCP government official."
According to Tsai, this reflects a deeper problem with Harvard, particularly its Kennedy School: "Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Diplomacy, called the Kennedy School, is considered a party school by the Chinese government officials...all of the top CCP government officials and policymakers, they must be trained at Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Diplomacy."
She added bluntly: "This school no longer represents the American people's interest. They represent the CCP's interest. It's called the party school. And Harvard, it's not American college. It's a CCP training camp for communists."
Tsai also discussed the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), an organization present on over 150 U.S. campuses: "These student organizations were controlled by the CCP's embassy and consulates. They usually pressure the student-run organizations on U.S. campus to promote the CCP propaganda and sponsored the state-organized event."
The CSSA creates problems for free speech on campus, according to Tsai: "If you're inviting Dalai Lama or inviting a Falun Gong group to talk about CCP's human rights atrocity, then these students organization will organize a protest...against the Tibetans, the pro-Taiwan activist or the Falun Gong practitioners." This leads to "self-censorship among the Chinese American student" and makes the organizations "a CCP's propaganda tool on U.S. campus."
Reflecting on the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Sy shared her personal experience: "36 years ago, I was a Tiananmen student in Beijing. I was a student at the Peking University, which is the cradle of that student-led movement for democracy."
She described the scale of the protests: "All of my classmates from the entire campuses were empty. Students were all out in the streets, including the civilians. This was like a massive peaceful pro-democracy movement."
The government's response was brutal: "The CCP government responded with tanks and killed tens of thousands of civilians, including many college students."
Tsai connected this history to American values and the Second Amendment: "Imagine if China has the Second Amendment, if civilians have the guns, then they could not have been killed. So we should be thankful to our founding fathers, the framers, who actually protect this country from the inception against any form of government tyranny and power abuse."
She also critiqued American policy following the massacre: "Instead of sanctioning China for its brutal crackdown on the peaceful protest, the U.S. actually wanted to bring China into the WTO and end up giving the CCP permanent normal trade status." This, she argued, was "the beginning of the globalization and offshoring the U.S. manufacturing jobs back to China using the CCP's slave labor."
Returning to Governor Hobbs' veto of the bill preventing Chinese land purchases near military installations, Sy expressed alarm: "This is so disturbing. As a governor, any governor should take the responsibility seriously of protecting the U.S. national security."
She pointed out that similar legislation had been enacted elsewhere: "Arkansas, the governor of Arkansas is the first one to enact a law that prohibits the CCP from owning any farmland within certain mile radius of the U.S. military installation."
Tsai suggested there might be CCP influence behind the decision: "We really have to find out who are the ones lobbying on behalf of the CCP to influence your current governor...We need to find out are they paid by the CCP and just follow the money."
The Falun Gong Protection Act and CCP Human Rights Abuses
The conversation turned to the Falun Gong Protection Act, introduced by Representative Scott Perry and Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation aims to address the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including forced organ harvesting.
Tsai explained that the bill "would require sanctions on those responsible or complicit in the involuntary harvesting of organs and also require the Secretary of State to report to Congress on organ transplant policies and practices of the CCP."
She described Falun Gong as "a peaceful meditation that has been practiced by over 100 million people from around the world" that "promotes health wellness. It's like a slow motion, yoga-like exercise with meditation."
The CCP's crackdown on Falun Gong began in 1999, according to Sy, because "it became so popular in the 90s that it caught the attention of the CCP leader. They were scared to know that there are more people practicing this peaceful meditation Falun Gong than the party membership."
This crackdown has included "arresting people, incarceration, torturing and even killing people until this day," including "killing healthy, young Falun Gong practitioners just for their organs to be used for the most profitable transplant surgery."
Tsai noted that China has "the world's largest number of transplant surgery" despite having "no donor system," indicating that organs are being harvested from prisoners of conscience.
The persecution of Falun Gong has been portrayed in performances by Shen Yun, a performing arts company that the CCP has tried to suppress worldwide. "Shen Yun is not allowed in China, not even in Hong Kong," Tsai said, because "it truly invites a spiritual heritage and cultural traditional value that CCP seeks to destroy."
The CCP's efforts to stop Shen Yun extend beyond China's borders: "In the United States of America, the CCP embassies and consulates have sent letters to members of the U.S. Congress and senators to say if you ever come to this show, you are threatening a mutually beneficial U.S.-China relationship."
Tsai described Shen Yun as promoting values "aligned with my personal belief and the conservative value. They're definitely against the DEI. They're not woke culture. It's a traditional culture. It's about family and loyalty, compassion, truthfulness, honesty."
More broadly, she argued that Shen Yun "challenges the CCP's legitimacy as a representation of the Chinese people" by showcasing China's "pre-existing thousands of years of history before communists took over."
Looking to the future, Tsai suggested that Shen Yun "shows people that after CCP is down, what kind of society can we expect from the Chinese people. That will be a peaceful, benevolent society and people who share the universal values and common interests with American value, conservative value, believing God, spiritual heritage."
Chinese Influence Operations and National Security Concerns
The discussion also touched on specific cases of potential CCP influence in American politics, including questions about Lindy Lee, a political figure who has raised concerns due to her connections to the CCP.
According to information shared during the conversation, Lee was a Democrat before 2024, then an independent from 2024 to 2025, before suddenly becoming a Republican in 2025. She had previously appeared on NBC during the election campaign to criticize President Trump, but after Trump won, she began positioning herself as a MAGA Republican.
Tsai noted that Lee has connections to Diane Feinstein, whose husband helped elevate her from "nobody to a prominent political activist." She also mentioned photographic evidence of Lee participating in "CCP sponsored events to promote participation in the U.S. election" and "CCP's boot camp to be a new leader for American Congress."
Other concerning elements in Lee's background included hiring "a CCP tide person to be his campaign manager during her run for Congress" and having "her picture taken with the CCP Deputy Counsel General Shang Lee of New York" despite claiming that "CCP murdered her great grandfather" and that her "family escaped CCP tyranny."
Tsai also questioned how Lee, as "a new immigrant to America" with "no political family background," became "a top Democratic fundraiser for Biden's campaign" who "raises tens of millions of dollars."
Throughout the conversation, Tsai emphasized the need for vigilance regarding CCP influence operations in the United States, while also expressing hope for the future of China after the eventual fall of the CCP. She pointed to growing awareness of CCP threats in the U.S. and praised the Trump administration's approach to China policy, saying, "As a Chinese American citizen, I can never feel prouder of living in this time under President Trump."