BUCK: We’re joined now by Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin. Senator Johnson, thanks for being here.

SEN. JOHNSON: Well, guys, hope you’re doing well.

BUCK: Senator, you know, the border is a total mess. It’s an area of policy that you’ve been focusing in on. You’ve been trying to tell the American people about what’s happening there. The vice president, formerly the border czar, apparently no longer — I don’t think there was an official announcement about that — Kamala Harris, was on TV this morning talking about the border issue. I wanted our audience to hear it and let you react to it.

HARRIS: Well, it’s not gonna be overnight. We can’t just flip a switch and make it better. Um, the reality is that we inherited a system, an immigration system that was deeply broken, and it’s requiring us to actually put it back together in terms of creating a fair, umm, process that is effective and efficient. But on the root-causes piece, what we are looking at is that, you know, frankly, people don’t want to leave home, George. And when they do, it’s one of two reasons. They’re fleeing some kind of harm, or to stay at home they simply cannot satisfy the basic needs of their family.

BUCK: What do you say on that, Senator?

SEN. JOHNSON: Well, the root cause is the Biden administration — President Biden, Kamala Harris — and they did flip a switch. Their first couple days in office they completely dismantled the successful policies of the Trump administration. They ended return-to-Mexico policy. They ended the agreements we had with Mexico and Central America.

They stopped doing the fence. But we’d pretty well stopped the flow of unaccompanied children and families exploiting our asylum laws. We were gonna complete the fence and we were very close to having pretty good control over the border and they blew it all up, day one. By the way, they knew what would happen. Kamala Harris was on my committee when I held over 30-some hearings on the border security and some aspects of the immigration system we have, “the broken immigration system,” and just come in and ask nasty questions.

That’s when she accused ICE of basically being like the Ku Klux Klan. So, I mean, she sat in hearings when we were getting testimony that they were selling children for $81. She understands the human depredations of human trafficking, the sex trafficking, the flow of deadly drugs. Now we have a hundred thousand overdoses last year.

No, this administration knew full well what the results are gonna be of their disastrous policies. But I guess they just had to reverse whatever President Trump did. So they flipped the switch. They caused this crisis. It is true it’s gonna be pretty hard to put this genie back in the bottle, but they caused it. They are the root cause.

CLAY: Senator Johnson, speaking of root cause, there is a mess right now as the jury continues to deliberate in Kenosha, Wisconsin. MSNBC evidently caught chasing the jurors, and they’ve now been banned from the courthouse. Got National Guard, state guard calling out — the governor calling out support there. How concerned are you about the situation in Kenosha and what might happen whenever a verdict comes down?

SEN. JOHNSON: I’m highly concerned. I think the governor might have learned his lesson. Both he and the lieutenant governor in August of 2020 when we had the riots incited the riots. They refused to take President Trump up on his offer to bring in more National Guard troops! They just ignored it. They incited the riots.

So I guess now they’re at least having 500 National Guard troops stand by, which is better than nothing. But from my standpoint, one thing we have to point out is I don’t think we’re overall concerned about riots if Kyle’s contradicted, right? We’re concerned about riots if he’s found not guilty.

CLAY: That’s right.

SEN. JOHNSON: And the fact of the matter is the violence that we fear, by and large comes from the left. Not universally so, but, by and large. That’s something the mainstream media will never admit. They didn’t board up torching in major metropolitan areas prior to the November 2020 election in case Joe Biden won.

CLAY: Right.

SEN. JOHNSON: Once he was declared the victor, the boarding could come down. So let’s be honest about this. You know, I condemn January 6th. It was repugnant, it was repulsive, the violence, the racial slurs. But that’s an aberration coming from Trump supporters, ’cause most Trump supporters are God-fearing. They love this country, they respect law enforcement, they wouldn’t even think about even think about breaking the law or rioting.

The rioting, by and large, comes from the left. And we’ve got proof. Over 570 riots in the summer, one to $2 billion property damage, couple thousand law enforcement officers injured during summer riots. Couple dozen people died in some way, shape, or form. But that’s all swept under the rug, and the left and the media — which are the same thing — they only focus on January 6th. We need to be honest and realistic about where the real threat of violence is coming from. It’s coming from the left.

BUCK: Speaking to Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Senator, it looks like Pelosi is promising to get the Build Back Better bill through the House side. What are you…? What do you think when you’re hearing the administration and the Democrats all together making claims like, “This is all paid for, there won’t be any tax raises on anyone making less than 400 grand, and it won’t make inflation worse”?

SEN. JOHNSON: You know, the general problem with liberals is they just deny reality. You know, what general human nature is” You pay people not to work, guess what? They don’t work. Now the fact that they’re saying, well, the way to fix inflation — which is too many dollars chasing too few goods — is let’s spend more money, let’s create more debt and depth of spending, let’s mortgage our children’s future further.

Let’s even have more dollars chasing too few goods. They live in a fantasy world. But again, I have to point this out: The mainstream media props them up. They cover for them. They are complicit in this. It’s mainstream media that got Joe Biden elected by covering up my and Chuck Grassley’s report on Hunter Biden. Nothing to see there.

Don’t worry those foreign financial entanglements with China and Russia and 13 other countries! Don’t take a look at that. We’re gonna make sure we elect this moderate, grandfatherly like figure and he’ll heal and unify this nation. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s a radical leftist and he’s surrounding himself with open-border, radical left, socialist-Marxists. That’s what he’s doing.

CLAY: Senator Johnson, I don’t follow through on this very often, but I said earlier in the week — and I don’t know if you heard it or anybody on your staff might have heard it — we really need for you to run for reelection in Wisconsin. You’re a truth-teller. I don’t know who might replace you, but I’m a hundred percent confident they won’t be as honest and good at their job as you are. I’m giving you my endorsement. I don’t even know if I’m supposed to do that. Obviously, I don’t live in Wisconsin so I can’t vote for you, but will you please run for reelection?

SEN. JOHNSON: Well, listen. I appreciate those kind words. I am gonna be making my decision the next week few weeks — and I will tell you, that kind of encouragement, it is impactful. I have to admit, as I’ve traveled around Wisconsin, I’m getting all kinds of encouragement, and so I appreciate that. I really do.

CLAY: We need you. We need you ’cause you’re willing to fight and so few people are willing to fight and you’re willing to fight with facts, in particular with covid. Did you read the Fifth Circuit opinion? Thank God they stood up and actually stood up for the Constitution. But so few people are willing to do that. We need you there. What did you think of the Fifth Circuit?

SEN. JOHNSON: Well, I breathed a sigh of relief. These mandates are gonna be so destructive. I mean, forcing people into just gut wrenches, life-altering decisions, for no reason! Listen, if the vaccine were a hundred percent effective and safe, I could understand it, but they’re unfortunately not. And, of course, by saying that I’m gonna get censored by YouTube because I’m telling the truth.

CLAY: Of course.

SEN. JOHNSON: If I do run, it would literally be a contest between the media, the social media, and the truth. And it would be a knock-down, drag-out. Let’s face it. They’ve got a lot of power. They’ll never admit they’re wrong, and they have the power to pretty well guarantee they’re never proven wrong. So I will need a lot of help and support if I do run.

BUCK: Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin. Sir, we always appreciate you swinging by the Clay and Buck show. Thanks for being here with us.

SEN. JOHNSON: Have a great day.

CLAY: When you announce your run and you can come back on, we need you, sir.

SEN. JOHNSON: All right. I hear you. Take care.

BUCK: Not committing quite yet.

CLAY: I gotta make my pitch.

BUCK: Mrs. Johnson probably gets a say in this one, Clay, so we’ll have to see.