0:08
Hey everybody, this is Mark Mitchell, head pollster of the Honest Poll, thehonestpoll.com. Make sure you go check out Grassroots Truthcast at grassrootstruthcast.com with Gene Valentino and subscribe while you’re there.
0:22
Relationships matter because people buy people. And that’s why I buy Eddie Zarrin Insurance of the Zarrin Insurance Agency in Pensacola, Florida—a family-owned business with over 50 years in the business, and they treat people the right way.
0:38
From homeowners insurance to contractor’s insurance, condo insurance, commercial insurance, all the different coverages that are out there, and of course, auto insurance, they’ve got you covered. They worry about you first.
0:54
You’re more than a policy number. You’re a person who they’re watching out for, not when the sun is shining, but after the hurricane has left.
1:03
If you want real service with real savings, contact Eddie Zarrin at the Eddie Zarrin Insurance Agency, www.zarrinsinsurance.com. Give them a call today. You’ll be glad you did when you do.
1:21
Jean Valentino, my good and dear friend from Pensacola, Florida—Gene, of course, a former county commissioner down in Escambia County and just a general all-around good guy. He does a lot of stuff now with some of the networks and all.
1:36
Jean, welcome in, and we’re glad to have you this morning. Of course, this will be the last time that you and I interact, at least on the air.
1:45
At least on the air. Michael, good morning to you. Good morning to the wonderful Pine Belt audience. Yeah, today’s the last day Michael and I get to engage in this fashion every Friday morning at 7:15 a.m. with Ted Tibbett.
1:59
It’s been a journey. For what is it, November 2019? What does that make it, seven years?
2:10
Well, almost seven years we’ve been doing this every Friday. Actually, we started—if you will remember—we started on Thursdays, and then we switched it to Fridays because, well, you were me.
2:25
Boy, you put all those crazy thoughts in my head! But no, the reflection has been great. This has been a wonderful experience for you and me, and a great experience for the audience.
2:38
I can reflect over the last seven years on how we might have impacted a truck driver, a school teacher, farmers, first responders, business owners, retirees, and most important of all that I began focusing on in the last three years, students—the future, and how it was going to be impacted by some of the craziness you and I have had to deal with in the news.
3:09
But listening was the key, Michael. I enjoyed coming on the show with you and listening to what you had to say, what Ted had to say.
3:19
Now, I wouldn’t call it a retirement. I would call it simply, for Michael, a change of uniform. He’s moving from one area of excitement to another. Do you want to describe where you’re going?
3:34
Well, yeah. I’m going to work for the United States Department of Agriculture. I have been appointed to the deputy director position for the state of Mississippi.
3:44
And that’s about all I want to say because here’s the thing: they’re going to do a press release and they have a press office, and I’m no longer going to be involved in the press side of that. So, we’ll let them handle that part. How about that?
3:58
That’s fine. Yeah, we’ll learn a lot more, I’m sure. You know what’s interesting to me, as I think back and reflect on this, look at what we’ve covered since we started, Michael.
4:12
We had the aftermath of COVID, the seriousness of inflation, the inception of the Biden administration, and the stresses we went through watching that administration ill-perform.
4:30
One of two presidential administrations… we watched international conflicts kick in, we looked at changes in energy prices, and of course, the Mississippi issues that were predominant, along with some historic elections nationally and locally.
4:59
Through it all, you gave the citizens of Mississippi good insight day-to-day on what was going on, and you should be congratulated for that. Like I said, you might be changing uniforms, but the beauty is the Mississippi folks still get the privilege of having you and your assets being employed for their benefit.
5:22
Well, I appreciate that. And here’s what I say about that: Donald Trump is President of the United States, and he is trying his best to get people into places across this country and throughout this humongous government bureaucracy that actually make the decisions and try to make our government work better for the people, and not just for the politicians in Washington.
5:48
And so that is kind of where I start this new position—being able to help Donald Trump. Because who have we talked about, who have we supported for the last… well, here on this radio station, Ted, I mean, we started this back when he came down the escalator. He was our guy, and we understood that this guy was the one that was going to make changes to this country—big changes that needed to be made to get this ship of the United States back on course.
6:20
He has done that throughout his history as being president, both in his first term—which was terrible because he trusted people, I guess, that he shouldn’t have trusted. He knows better now, and he is really making a huge difference and changing the direction of this country. I want to be a part of that, and I’m thankful that the president has given me the opportunity to do that.
6:47
Well, you’re right. The president gets in there and he’s relying on staff to give him good advice and counsel on the talent he should have around him. Look who is not around anymore: Kellyanne Conway, who ends up on Fox News, was an important advocate and counsel to the president.
7:10
Kellyanne Conway’s biggest problem was her husband, George Conway, who was very adversarial with the president. It put poor Kellyanne in a very difficult spot trying to be loyal to her boss and at the same time keep a marriage together with two or three children. It matters. It matters who you marry, I’m just going to tell you.
7:32
Yeah, absolutely. And look at the other people around Donald Trump back then, too. You and I were talking about a guy by the name of “Mad Dog” Mattis.
7:44
We were talking about Rex Tillerson. Secretary of State Rubio now has the position. “Mad Dog” Mattis at the Department of Defense at the time, now Department of War, Pete Hegseth. We were talking about Anthony Scaramucci.
8:05
He was scary, all right! He lasted less than a week. What’s that? Can he do the fandango?
8:14
I don’t think Trump allowed him to hang around long enough to find out.
8:20
Trump had him doing the fandango, I’ll tell you!
8:22
Yeah, less than two weeks on the job and he was out of there. The talent that… when Donald Trump got back into office, it was an era you and I then picked up on where we were talking about his wise choices of the people around him.
8:39
In my words, you’re only as good as the people around you. Look at what’s going on at light speed right now. As you mentioned a minute ago, the transformation of issues overseas… some Americans criticize and say we shouldn’t be part of it, but it was absolutely essential we address the adversarial bad behavior overseas.
9:05
Chew gum and walk at the same time! While in the United States, you and I complained quite a bit about the bad actors—the perpetrators of wrongdoing that were in your neighborhood and my neighborhood—and the deep state initiative of the George Soros crowd trying to take us down.
9:29
And DOGE—let’s talk about DOGE, too. That was such a very important thing that happened in the United States of America to find those agencies that were just taking money, running it through there, and sending it back here to Democrat politicians.
9:50
Have you noticed something funny? The Democrats don’t have any money. Wonder why that is?
9:56
I noticed something else. Starting with President Donald Trump, starting with Elon Musk, you just mentioned half the people around him, Senator Rick Scott over here in Florida, Michael Paul with WMXI, Jean Valentino in business… we are all businessmen first.
10:20
We came out of business environments. We knew how to manage a checkbook. We don’t spend money we don’t have, and as a result, we succeeded. Maybe not as quickly as we wanted, but that’s indicative of business. We were working within our means to get to where we had to be.
10:48
It was all because we managed our ways, managed ourselves along the way. And I commend you for that. WMXI and all the affiliate stations around you have been a great springboard for you, Michael, and it’s given you the ability now to jump up, move on, and do some other great things.
11:10
My only regret is that you and I didn’t become Hannity and Colmes with a point-counterpoint off to Fox News or some other notoriety on the national level. But who knows, maybe that chapter is still out there to happen!
11:28
Can I tell you that I’ve had my fill of the media? Okay, I’ve had my fill of this. I’ve done this now for a long time, and I’m happy to be moving on to another chapter. Not that I don’t love what I do, and I told Ted this morning I’m kind of sad. This is my last show, this is my last interaction with you. But at the same time, it’s going to be great to have a 9:00 a.m. start in the morning versus 4:30.
11:55
I get it, I get it! I was telling my wife, I said, “Michael is moving on to other pastures.” And she says to me, “Does that mean you get to sleep a little late on Friday morning?” Well, honey, yeah!
12:11
Well, you know, Ted’s going to be calling on you now to come and join him, and I don’t know, you and him will have to work that out.
12:17
Okay, I’d love to! Sure, everything is…
12:22
We can’t pay you no more than you’re making right now, by the way.
12:26
Well, I’ll take a 10% raise over what you paid me last week. Let me leave it there!
12:34
Go ahead, Gene, we’ve got a couple of minutes left.
12:38
Well, you know, it’s just great. You know you’re making an impact when you hear from Michael Paul that one of the listeners just called and decided to label me “The Velvet Hammer.”
12:55
Yeah! Well, yeah, and he just texted me. By the way, you keep calling me “Pole”—it’s Paul. Paul.
13:03
I’ll call you whatever you want on the end of my name!
13:08
Well, it’s Paul. Okay. So anyway, I appreciate you, Jean. You have been a great friend. Before we ever did any of this, you were a friend of mine. You and I got to know each other when I was at the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
13:22
I was a former county commissioner here in Mississippi—I was on the Board of Supervisors—so you and I have known each other for a long, long time. We both have been involved in politics, and now in the media.
13:38
You do a lot of hits with Newsmax, and you’ve become good friends with that bunch, which by the way, I wouldn’t mind meeting some of those high-falutin’ media folks sometimes when you get the chance.
13:50
I sure look forward to that, sure! And that’s very possible. The industry… you know, it’s funny you mentioned that. People, even at the network level, move up and move on. I see a lot of programming changes or institutional focuses changing even at the network level.
14:16
They’re trying to respond to societal changes and changes in the economy, so sometimes… it used to be a point where I was on three to five times a week. Now I’m on once a week, and then next week it might be five times, and then the week after.
14:35
They’re looking for commentary from subject matter experts that’s more germane to the issue of the day. I can’t fault them for that—it’s what they should be doing. The real issue is how we’ve transformed as a nation in the seven years you and I have worked together.
14:50
Look at the things… I have a whole library, folks, at www.jeanvalentino.com. Please go to the website, please subscribe!
15:01
We are out of time, and this is it for us, you and I. I wanted to take this time to thank you, Jean, for what you’ve done for us here. Great content, you’re always fun to talk to, and I think Ted wanted to say something, too.
15:15
Yeah, look forward to talking to you next week. We’ll have some fun, too!
15:19
Oh, we’ll put on our big boy pants and have a little party. Sip my coffee, smoke my cigar, pretend I’m important.
15:28
There you go! Look forward to it, brother.
15:30
Thank you so much, Jean. We’ll talk to you soon.
15:33
Well wishes, Michael Paul.
15:37
Relationships matter because people buy people. And that’s why I buy Eddie Zarrin Insurance of the Zarrin Insurance Agency in Pensacola, Florida—a family-owned business with over 50 years in the business, and they treat people the right way.
15:56
From homeowners insurance to contractor’s insurance, condo insurance, commercial insurance, all the different coverages that are out there, and of course, auto insurance, they’ve got you covered. They worry about you first.
16:07
You’re more than a policy number. You’re a person who they’re watching out for, not when the sun is shining, but after the hurricane has left.
16:21
If you want real service with real savings, contact Eddie Zarrin at the Eddie Zarrin Insurance Agency, www.zarrinsinsurance.com. Give them a call today. You’ll be glad you did when you do.
