Always Right with Bob Frantz: Blue Collar Candidate Jonah Schulz Plans to Continue the America First Movement

Thursday morning on Always Right with Bob Frantz, weekday mornings on AM 1420 The Answer, host Frantz welcomed America First congressional candidate Jonah Schulz to the show to discuss why he’s running and the need for an end to establishment Republicans.

Frantz: Let’s welcome to the program now, Jonah Schulz. It’s been a little bit since we have talked to the candidate for Congress. I won’t say which district because I still don’t know what district he’s going to be running in, but he’s still running for Congress. And he joins us now on 1420 The Answer. Hi, Jonah. Good morning.

Schulz: Morning, Bob. Always great to be on. It looks like we’re going to be in the 7th district with the Supreme Court letting the maps stand for this year. That looks to be the way it’s going.

Frantz: Is it confirmed yet, though? I mean, from what I understand, it was a modified version of the last map. They didn’t go back to the drawing board and start all over, but it was a modified version of the last map rejected by Maureen O’Connor, the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, and the Democrats she sided with. But is it official now?

Schulz: The Supreme Court has stated that they’re not going to be ruling on anything on the congressional maps until after the May 3rd primary so effectively leaving the congressional maps in place for 2022 at the least.

Frantz: Got it. You went from the 13th to the 7th, and then it was up in the air. You might be back on the 13th or the new one altogether. How do you feel about your spot now?

Because this isn’t originally why you ran. You originally ran to replace and remove Anthony Gonzalez. And so now you’re not in that fight. So tell me how you feel about this one.

Schulz: I love the new 7th district, the way it’s laid out. When I first launched this campaign in the 16th district against Anthony Involves, we knew what we were going for.

Frantz: The 16th. Thank you. I’m sorry. My mistake. Go ahead.

Schulz: And we knew that there was going to be some changing. But this 7th District keeps in place the large majority of those communities from the 16th district.

So it’s great to have 100 percent of Wayne County back in the mix. I spent a lot of time campaigning there over the summer. A lot of great conservative Republicans down in Wayne County.

We have 100 percent of Medina County, and we have southern and western Holmes as well. It’s great to have Klarna back in the new 7th district. A lot of these blue-collar, working-class conservatives.

A lot of these new America First Conservatives and Republicans who voted Democrat for a long time, but see now what they’ve seen for decades at this point, how the Democrats are really hollowing out American manufacturing and destroying the livelihoods of middle-class Americans.

So this district is full of people who are hungry for outsiders but who are hungry for working-class candidates. And that’s why I’m so optimistic about my chances, because I’m really the only working-class, blue-collar candidate currently in this race, and that’s what the people want.

We have this oligarchy that we are living under, these wealthy elitists, this kind of country-club politician. And that needs to be a thing of the past if we’re going to turn this around. So the new 7th district. I’m a big fan of it.

I’m excited for the next five weeks of being able to get out and campaign and do lots of things – attend gun shows and talk directly to voters as we look at it right now, there are a lot of strong conservatives in this district and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Frantz: Jonah, you said you’re the only working-class, blue-collar candidate in this race. Max Miller would probably disagree with that. How do you characterize him?

Schulz: Well, Max Miller, listen, we’re still waiting on it. We just launched a debate request again yesterday. We’re trying to put that together. So I believe everybody voter deserves a chance to see us on stage.

But with Max Miller, it can be difficult sometimes because he really doesn’t have a platform. It’s hard to differentiate ourselves specifically on the issues.

That’s why one reason I really want to have a debate. But Max Miller, to me is everything that is wrong with our politics right now where you have an individual who hasn’t lived in the district or in the state for many years until he buys a half a million-dollar house in Rocky River just to run this race.

And it’s not just me. It’s many voters. Every event that I go to, I have people coming up to me that say I never see your opposition. People have come to me and said that Max Miller to them is like a ghost because they can’t talk to him, they can’t reach them, and they have seen that there is not much work ethic, there is not much grit behind this campaign.

His campaign is just trying to coast off of the big money, $750,000 from out-of-state donors. The majority of what he’s raising coming from out of state, coming from PACs, coming from corporate donors. And we are seeing the same patterns over and over with all of these candidates who say they are something different.

They say they’re America First, but they are following the exact same template as people like Anthony Gonzalez and all of these Republicans who have stabbed us in the back in the past. I’m the only candidate who has laid out a America First candidate, who has stood on the front lines with nurses, teachers, tradesmen, workers fighting these unconstitutional mandates, while Max Miller called House Bill 248 a radical bill, and refused to sign the ballot initiative petition.

And I’m the only candidate funded 100 percent by individual contributions. If we’re going to change this country, if we’re going to change this district, we’re not going to be doing it by electing the same people who do the exact same thing, who regurgitate the exact same talking points that we hear over and over again. It has to be about action over words, and that’s what my campaign is about.

Frantz: Now, it’s going to be in the 7th district after the latest redrawing or modification of the maps, which apparently are not going to be challenged until after the May 3rd primary. So there will be a vote.

That’s good. Jonah, I noticed you say America First a lot, but you don’t say Trump hardly ever, unless I’m missing it. You talk in a lot of places and I can’t be everywhere, but from what I’ve noticed, you haven’t talked about Trump a lot.

It seems like most of the people running for office in Washington right now and even for the governor of Ohio, there’s a lot of “I want Trump’s endorsement.” Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. I don’t hear you saying his name much, but you do talk about America First. Am I mistaken there? And if not, why is that the case?

Schulz: I’m a Trump supporter, and I’ll make no bones about that. But the one thing that I often say to folks, is that Trump began a movement, this America First movement that is bigger than any one individual.

And I think we need to look at America First as generations into the future. It’s not going to begin and end with Trump. And for me, I want to put myself out there as much as I possibly can as an individual. These are my ideas.

This is what I believe. I’m not trying to ride anybody’s coattails. I support Trump. I support the America First agenda. But we need to talk about what America First means. When we talk about America First immigration policy, it means putting the people first. It means building a wall.

It means securing our people. It means ending this massive legal immigration that’s dragging down workers or wages, that is diluting our culture and is making it impossible for us to have a cohesive language and society.

When we talk about America First energy policy, it means not depending on Russia, and Iran, and Saudi Arabia, and all these countries that hate us, to get energy. It means drilling here at home. It means expanding energy choices and affordability for Americans here at home.

When you look at everything that we need to accomplish, America First, to me, really defines it all. Because what we are trying to do, what I’m trying to do when I get to D.C., is to push the power out of the federal government and return it to our families, return it to individuals, and return it to the states.

That’s what America First means. Because if we are able to prioritize workers, families, and children, we’re going to live in a great country. And so my belief is that Trump started a great movement that we all need to take up.

And whether he runs for re-election or not, whether he wins or not, he’s one guy. And we need people who understand these same principles and can stand on their own two feet without just trying to staple themselves to Trump, and can prioritize these things for the American people.

Because I’m one of 435. Of elected senators, I’m one of 100. The President cannot do this on their own. We need a massive movement, what I call and many others call the America First movement. And so for me, Trump started a fire that we need to move forward.

Frantz: Jonah, you said at the beginning that you’ve been failing to come to an agreement or, what did you mean when you said you couldn’t get a debate schedule with him? What’s the holdup?

Schulz: We’ve been pushing for a debate with Max Miller for about 10 months now. The excuse has been for a long time waiting on the redistricting. Now we’re five weeks away from Election Day. The 7th district is all but officially intact.

It’s time to stand in front of the people. We issued, and directly and sent to the campaigns of Bob Gibbons and Max Miller, a debate request that will work with them to organize a fair and honest debate. For me, this is a prerequisite for serving the people.

If you want to represent the people and be a public servant, you need to stand in front of them and answer questions and show why you are the best candidate to serve them.

And quite honestly, we have a lot of candidates, Max Miller included, that will say, “I’m going to stand up to Nancy Pelosi, I’m going to stand up to the Swamp.” Well, if you don’t stand up to Jonah Schulz first, I don’t believe that you should get that opportunity.

That’s why we’re pushing so hard for a debate because for me, it’s a prerequisite. And it shows that at the very least, you’re willing to put yourself in the line of fire in front of the people and show that you’re willing to work for them.

Frantz: Jonah, the last question is going to be about Bob Gibbons, because, again, I referenced Max Miller first, because that’s how this whole thing started. You were both Republicans vying for an open seat, which was going to be Anthony Gonzalez, because he is not running for re-election.

And of course, now that everything got changed, you do have an incumbent there. So I asked you about Miller. Let me ask you about Gibbs now. How do you separate yourself?

Schulz: Well, you know Bob Gibbs, unfortunately, even in his district, and most of this is not an area that he’s ever represented, but he’s not known even known by most of his constituents. He’s one of the Chamber of Commerce Republicans.

He’s actually received a U.S. Chamber of Commerce award every year he’s been in office. And he called them tireless advocates for pro-growth policies.

And we know the Chamber of Commerce is doing everything at hand to drag down American wages and open our borders. And the vast majority of his funding comes from taxes and corporations. And so, Bob Gibbs, he is just a representation of more of the same.

And people will hike up the rhetoric. They’ll do more things when it comes time for an election, but then they’ll shrink back into the shadows. Like I said last time I was on, we need to go boldly forward.

If we continue to allow the same Republicans who have steered the ship, really off a cliff for us, to maintain their grip on the levers of power, we’re going to wind up in the same situation having the same conversations in two, four, six years.

America does not have that kind of time. We need to start turning things around now. So for me, you have an individual like Bob Gibbs who isn’t out on the front lines, who isn’t working on so many of these major issues, and who aligns himself with corporate interest.

And that’s just not acceptable anymore when so much is on the line, when the American people, the average everyday working-class person, are seeing their livelihood put at risk or completely taken away from them, whether it’s through mandates, whether it’s through our disastrous energy policy, whether it’s through this massive immigration that is stealing our jobs and lowering our wages, all of this is happening.

And it’s happened under Democrat and establishment-Republican watch. And if we don’t have a changing of the guard, we can expect more of the same.

Listen to the full interview here:

 

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