In this episode of The Jenny Beth Show, CJ Pearson, a prominent young conservative political activist and social media influencer, shares his inspiring journey. Starting his political engagement as a second-grader during the 2008 presidential election, CJ discusses how a classroom exercise sparked his lifelong passion. He talks about the pivotal role his grandparents played in his life, and how he handled the viral fame and backlash from his early political commentary videos. CJ delves into his experience with PragerU, his candidacy for local office in Augusta, Georgia, and his mission to amplify young conservative voices. He emphasizes the importance of youth engagement in politics, criticizing progressive policies, and advocating for educational reform to counteract indoctrination. The discussion highlights the political dynamics in Georgia, the impact of Democratic policies on minority communities, and the necessity of reaching out to new voter demographics. CJ's insights underscore the potential for a political shift as more Americans seek effective leadership and conservative solutions.
In this episode of The Jenny Beth Show, CJ Pearson, a prominent young conservative political activist and social media influencer, shares his inspiring journey. Starting his political engagement as a second-grader during the 2008 presidential election, CJ discusses how a classroom exercise sparked his lifelong passion. He talks about the pivotal role his grandparents played in his life, and how he handled the viral fame and backlash from his early political commentary videos.
CJ delves into his experience with PragerU, his candidacy for local office in Augusta, Georgia, and his mission to amplify young conservative voices. He emphasizes the importance of youth engagement in politics, criticizing progressive policies, and advocating for educational reform to counteract indoctrination. The discussion highlights the political dynamics in Georgia, the impact of Democratic policies on minority communities, and the necessity of reaching out to new voter demographics. CJ's insights underscore the potential for a political shift as more Americans seek effective leadership and conservative solutions.
Twitter/X: @thecjpearson | @jennybethm
CJ Pearson (00:00):
So demoralizing. You're going to tell a black child that regardless of how hard they work, how hard they try, they just shouldn't because it doesn't matter. Because regardless of how hard they try the system, the so-called white man is going to hold them down. So why would they try? But that is the key to the left control over minority communities. They want us to be broke. They want us to be hopeless. They want us to live in this constant state of despair because they find us easier to control them.
Narrator (00:29):
Keeping our republic is on the line and it requires Patriots with great passion, dedication, and eternal vigilance to preserve our freedoms. Jenny Beth Martin is the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. She's an author, a filmmaker, and one of time magazine's most influential people in the world. But the title she's most proud of is Mom To Her Boy, girl Twins. She has been at the forefront fighting to protect America's core principles for more than a decade. Welcome to the Jenny Beth Show.
Jenny Beth Martin (01:01):
In this episode, my guest is a young conservative voice who has been making waves in the political landscape with his articulate and passionate viewpoints. He started his journey into politics at a remarkably young age and has since become a prominent figure in the conservative movement. CJ Pearson is a political activist, commentator, and social media personality who has captured the attention of millions with his insightful commentary and bold stance on key issues from supporting conservative values to advocating for policies that strengthen our nation. CJ's perspective is both refreshing and inspiring. We'll be diving into CJ's journey, discussing his views on the current political climate, and exploring what the future holds for the conservative movement. Now get ready for a compelling and thought provoking discussion that you won't want to miss. CJ Pearson, thank you so much for being with me
CJ Pearson (01:52):
Today. Thank you so much for having me. Jenny Beth,
Jenny Beth Martin (01:54):
You are a young activist right now at your current age, but you've been involved in politics now for almost, what, 10 years already?
CJ Pearson (02:04):
Yeah, almost a decade. You're making me feel old over here, but I got my start and I always make sure to attribute it to her whenever I'm asked that question. My second grade teacher, her name was Sharon Best, and during that time it was around the 2008 presidential election. And of course the candidates were John McCain and then Senator Barack Obama. And she wanted us to do what every good citizen in the country at the time was doing. She wanted us to research the candidates. Then at the end of that week, we were going to cast our vote in a mock election, and I'm going to date myself a little bit here, but I remember watching a presidential debate. It was Candy Crowley moderating. I was on the floor of my grandparents' bedroom listening to them go back and forth about things like healthcare policy, taxes, Iran, things that no six or 7-year-old boy knows anything about.
CJ Pearson (02:48):
But I knew that what they were talking about was really important. I wanted to learn more. And so after that, I digged really deep into both of their platforms, learned more about 'em, and I learned more about John McCain and his history of service and how he was a prisoner of war. My grandfather, he served 20 years in the military. I was surrounded by just so many symbols of his service growing up. It was something I respected a lot. And so ultimately I went and I cast my ballot for John McCain in that election. Don't know if I would do that today, but I did back then. And I remember coming home and telling my grandmother who I had voted for, I said, Hey, I voted for John McCain this week. And she said, wow, cj, you must think that you're white now. I had no idea what that meant or what that entailed.
CJ Pearson (03:32):
Of course, I was, again, a little kid I who had never heard anything about identity politics in any way whatsoever. But I was curious as to what she meant. And so it really led me down this path of self-discovery. I remember watching Fox News, M-S-N-B-C, something of which I still haven't recovered from a little bit of post-traumatic racial mad disorder. I've coined it. But I realized that the more I heard from conservatives, the more I heard about conservative values, the more I couldn't ignore the fact that those were the values that my grandparents had instilled within me ever since I was a little kid. They taught me the value of a dollar. They taught me to love this country. They taught me that in the United States of America, if you work hard and play by the rules that you can achieve anything. And fast forward a couple of years later, I was actually in the seventh grade and I had gotten a camcorder for Christmas.
CJ Pearson (04:24):
This is probably the worst gift my grandparents ever got me. In hindsight for them, they bought me this camcorder for Christmas and Rudy Giuliani had gotten in a little bit of a hot water because he had said that President Obama didn't love America. Of course, the liberal media does what the liberal media does. They called him a racist, a bigot, all of these tired classic things that they call any conservative who dares to criticize anyone of any color. And I thought it was ridiculous. I thought it was ridiculous At 12 years old, I think it's ridiculous now at 21 years old, but I turn the camcorder on and I say, no, I agree with Rudy Giuliani, and if you think he's a racist, then you're going to have to think that I'm a racist because I think that President Obama has been an absolute failure as president. And the video went viral. I got 2 million views overnight, and it's been in history ever since and just been working super hard to elevate the voices of young people in our movement because I realized that if we don't fight for this country, our generation stands to have the most to lose. So it's been an honor to be in this fight, and I am super excited about what the future has to hold.
Jenny Beth Martin (05:27):
You had a video that went viral when you were 12 before going viral. People go viral now every five seconds on TikTok or something. But at that point it was something that was fairly new. And I'm sure you had a lot of love mail and a lot of hate mail. How did you deal with that emotionally as a young child or an older child?
CJ Pearson (05:49):
For me, I think I grew up in a home where my grandparents were very much about the ideas that if you believe in something, you ought to fight for it. But also too, we're all made uniquely and beautifully by God. And so when you have people on the internet who are wishing you harm because you said something that hurt their feelings, those people don't know you. And so I think I took the love and I saw the hate, but I didn't really regard it for much because those people didn't know me. And so I think that was a really interesting period of time in my life because as you said, going viral was a thing, but it wasn't really much of a thing back then. There was no such thing as an influencer or a content creator. I was still a vlogger, I guess back then, which no one says today.
CJ Pearson (06:36):
And it is just been an interesting, interesting journey. And what I will say is that it honestly worked out really, really well for me. I think it made me so resilient growing up. I think when I look at the sensitivities of so many people in my generation, I'm like, I was raised literally on the internet where people would say the most disgusting, despicable things about me. And so it's like someone says something that's a little insensitive to me now. I'm just like, who cares? So I think it definitely made me resilient and it made me definitely someone who realizes that if you're not pushing, if you're not getting pushback, then you're simply not pushing hard enough.
Jenny Beth Martin (07:12):
What did your grandparents think when that video went viral?
CJ Pearson (07:15):
Well, they didn't know I recorded the video, right? So they were very shocked to see that video. And the story behind it is actually hilarious. So my grandfather loved to hate watch Sean Hannity. So he would always have it playing in the background. And whenever Sean would say a particular point, he would pop off a little bit and say, Sean Hannity, that guy is so dumb. Whatever else. But this time on Sean Hannity, Sean was like, up next we have a 12-year-old from Augusta, Georgia with some sharp words for President Obama. And he was absolutely livid. And I remember him yelling my name from upstairs and saying, cj, get up here right now. So I run upstairs and he is like, you're going to delete this video. How dare you talk about the first black president like this, all of these things. And I said, okay.
CJ Pearson (07:59):
I said, what I believe, this is genuinely how I feel, but if you want me to delete the video, I will. Now, thankfully he's a little bit technologically challenged. So I told 'em I deleted the video, never deleted the video, and the video stayed up, kept making them many more would go on to go viral and have just really been able over the course of the past decade or so, to build a following of more than one and a half million people, young and old who cared genuinely about the future and direction of this country.
Jenny Beth Martin (08:26):
And you now do work or contract work, or you're an ambassador or whatever for Prager U. What do you do with that?
CJ Pearson (08:34):
Yeah, so my relationship with PragerU started almost a year and a half ago. I was at the University of Alabama Roll Tide, go dogs
Jenny Beth Martin (08:43):
From the UGA grad.
CJ Pearson (08:44):
I knew I was going to get away with it with you, but I had to try, try wearing
Jenny Beth Martin (08:48):
Red and black here.
CJ Pearson (08:49):
I know, I know. Should have worn my tide polo. But no, so I was at the University of Alabama and I enjoyed college there. I think it was a really great college experience. There were so many people on that campus who really do love our country, who are so supportive of me all the time, who would walk up to me, whether it was at a function or on campus, they would say, cj, we love your stuff. Thank you for what you're doing. All of those things. I didn't go to Princeton, but in hindsight, it looks like I made the better choice.
CJ Pearson (09:23):
During my junior year, it was the fall semester, there was an opportunity to opened up with PR U, and I had really felt like our country had reached a time where Reagan talks about it where he says, it's a time for choosing where we really have to determine which direction our nation will go. And I enjoyed being a regular college student. I had my fun, but I remembered why I first got involved in politics to begin with because I genuinely believe, again, that my generation stands to have the most to lose if we don't stand up and fight for the future of this country. And so when this opportunity with pr, you opened up and they said, Hey, we want you to join our team. And I've long admired their work and have been a long time supporter of theirs, but you got to move to LA to the belly of the beast.
CJ Pearson (10:06):
It was definitely something, I was a little hesitant about it first, but I saw it as an opportunity to do immense good in a time where there are so many negative forces trying to just brainwash, indoctrinate America's young people in every corner of the country. And I think that the only way that we can push back against this indoctrination is to realize the fundamental truth that education got us into this mess and education is going to get us out of it. And so joined Prager U got to really sharpen my chops and the belly of the beast in la, which certainly was quite the experience, and then ultimately had the opportunity to come back home to Georgia where I think Georgia's such an interesting situation, right? Because if you would've told me a couple years ago that my home state would have two Democrat US Senators, I would not have believed you. It wouldn't make any sense to me. But what we're seeing right now is that you have all of these people fleeing these blue states coming to states like Georgia, but somehow some way still thinking that they should vote the same way. People like President Trump, they talk about building a wall on the southern border. I think they should build one around Atlanta and maybe that would be a little helpful
Jenny Beth Martin (11:15):
To us or just if they would think, why did you come here and what is it that helped make Georgia where you want to be? Exactly. Vote that way. Exactly.
CJ Pearson (11:24):
You're a political refugee. Don't come to my state of Georgia and try to California, my Georgia or Illinois, my Georgia or
Jenny Beth Martin (11:30):
Go back there if that's what you want. I mean, not that I don't want people there, but if you want to turn it into California, you could see in California, exactly. And California has a much prettier
CJ Pearson (11:38):
Coast. Exactly. Unless humidity,
Jenny Beth Martin (11:40):
I love Savannah unless humidity in the coast in Georgia. But California's coasts are just amazing.
CJ Pearson (11:46):
They're unreal. And I think that's why it's actually so unfortunate what's happened in California, right? And how progressives have just completely, utterly destroyed the state. You go to California, it is so beautiful. The weather is so incredible. There are beaches, there are beautiful mountain ranges, all these things. And it's unreal. And I've always been so taken aback by just how beautiful the landscape is there. But as President Trump has often said, anything woke goes to, and I'll let you fill in the blank. And that's exactly what's happened in California unfortunately. And I think that if we're not vigilant, the reality that we have to actually really acknowledge here is that what they're doing in California in these blue states is a dry run for what they want to do all across the country. They want to export those very policies to every single corner of this nation. And if we allow them, we won't recognize America much anymore.
Jenny Beth Martin (12:41):
So now that Georgia has two Democrat senators and you're back in Georgia, you actually run for office.
CJ Pearson (12:48):
So that was one of those things I didn't expect to do it. I was fighting the good fight with pr. You was happy there, excited to be there. But again, it just goes back to why I got involved in the first place. I think again, we need young people to have a seat at the table because if we don't, number one, I think that oftentimes when you're telling other young people and they're hearing it from older people sometimes that this is why you should love America. This is why you should be a conservative. They take it as a lecturing. But I think when I sit down from people in my peer group and in Imagin generation, I say, Hey, at the end of the day, we deserve to have a future in this country. Progressive policies are not going to give it to us. And we sit there and we relate from a place of a similar standpoint.
CJ Pearson (13:32):
It's easier for them to contextualize these issues. And so when I had the opportunity, there was a special election in my hometown of Augusta to run for office, I took it and I was am so excited that I did, we were able to get through the primary. And while we faced some unlikely opposition, you would think that everyone would be excited to have a young person who is ambitious and eager to serve. There were some folks in the establishment who weren't too excited about our campaign. And while we fell short in the runoff, what it really showed me is that number one, not only do we have to defeat the left, but also two, there are a lot of controlled opposition within our own party, within our own movement who are just as detrimental to our cause of putting America first, putting Georgians first. And so I'm super excited to stay in the fight. I think that we need more and more young people to get into the fight because again, if we can save Georgia, we can save America. But if we lose Georgia, we lose America.
Jenny Beth Martin (14:37):
It is so true. And I think that both campaigns, both the Trump and the Biden campaign realize that and being in Georgia, we sense that. We see it, we see the signs, we see the organizing on both sides, both understand that Georgia is key to the White House this year.
CJ Pearson (14:57):
You're right, I think I saw today that Kamala Harris is going to Atlanta for the fourth time in the past. I think two or three months they realize that they're in trouble in Georgia because Georgia is not as blue as they like to make it seem. But I think also too, it's like when I go out in the community, when I go to black barbershops and black churches, which I did a lot during my campaign, I didn't change my message, I didn't switch up my talking points or anything like that. I just spoke about the issues that I always talked about in front of any other audience. And those people were excited. I think black Americans are starting to ask the question, what have the Democrats done for us lately? What has Joe Biden done for us lately? And it's not a damn thing. And I think once you realize that, it becomes a lot easier for them to say, we deserve more.
CJ Pearson (15:48):
We're tired of settling for less. We want to settle for more. And I think that the more that we as conservatives go places that typically conservatives do not go, we will win those people over. Because I think a lot of people have this idea about the Democrat or the Republican party or about conservatives overall that isn't rooted in reality. And the reason it isn't rooted in reality is because they never met a conservative before. But the moment they meet them and they actually say, they ask them questions and they say, why do you believe what you believe? And we answer it when we give 'em a good answer, I think that's how we win 'em over. And I think if we're really going to take back our country, if we're going to take back the White House, if we're going to win in November, we can't just preach the choir. We've got to do the work to grow the congregation.
Jenny Beth Martin (16:28):
So it spanned the base, it spanned who we when to
CJ Pearson (16:33):
Over
Jenny Beth Martin (16:34):
To our cause.
CJ Pearson (16:34):
And I don't think it has ever been easier to do so. Right. And in large part because of the fact that if you look at what the left is doing, they've overplayed their hand. They've become so extremely radical. You look at them trying to trans children, suburban moms don't like that. Black mothers don't like that. That is a universally vile thing. You're looking at this idea of critical race theory that black people should see themselves as perpetual victims is just so demoralizing. You're going to tell a black child that regardless of how hard they work, how hard they try, they just shouldn't because it doesn't matter. Because regardless of how hard they try the system, the so-called white man is going to hold them down. So why would they try? Why would they try to be president? Why would they try to be governor or be an entrepreneur if they believe that regardless of how hard they work or how much they want it, they'll never actually be able to get it. But that is the key to the left control over minority communities. It is their key to control over young people. They want us to be broke, they want us to be hopeless. They want us to live in this constant state of despair because they find us easier to control them.
Jenny Beth Martin (17:49):
Well, it's easier to control, but the sad thing for the whole entire country is that you are more than likely suppressing greatness and you're suppressing the potential of people to be great because you're telling them that they can't. And often you become what people think you can become. And if you think that kids and a younger generation are capable of doing more and being better than even we are, they're going to go live up to that expectation. But if you tell them the best has already been and there's nothing better to come, what is the point? It's not very motivating.
CJ Pearson (18:26):
You're right. They're going to live up to the expectation you set. If you set incredibly high ones, which were set in my household, ideally you're going to live up to 'em. But if you tell them you don't have to try that hard, there's going to be a government safety net, there's going to be someone to catch you when you fall, then they're never going to actually want more. Right? And they're never going to want to break the cycle. And I think that that's exactly what we should be encouraging young people to do of all colors, is to break cycles, break generational curses, go and achieve what you can only uniquely achieve in the greatest nation in the world. And so I think that should be our message of hope. It should be the Democrats' message as well. I don't think it will be anytime soon, so we've got to carry a little bit of their weight as well. But I think that so many people though are starting to really open their eyes and realize that and really become privy to the game that the left is playing. And what that game is. It's a game of suppression of hope, suppression of dreams and pursuit of control.
Jenny Beth Martin (19:30):
And when you go and take that message into the black community as you were describing that you were doing, how did people respond to it?
CJ Pearson (19:36):
Yeah, really well, I think that right now in November, the Democrats are going to get a reckoning unlike they've ever seen before. We're seeing record highs in terms of black support for President Trump. We're seeing black men who are saying that we are tired of being occupants and tenants on the Democrat plantation. And I love to see it. And I think it's long overdue because when you look at the black community, we see a community of people that have supported Democrats almost more than 90% of the time every time. And what do we have to show for it? We have inner cities that look like third world countries. We have young single mothers who can't allow their children to go play on the sidewalk. They don't know if they're going to come home or not. That is not the way to live in the United States of America.
CJ Pearson (20:21):
And I think black voters deserve more. And I think that we have been used and abused for far too long by the Democrat establishment, but we've got to demand more for ourselves. The only way that Democrats are really going to get it through their heads that we are not just these people who are going to just go for whatever they toss us or whatever scraps they can find is if we vote differently. And I think that again, it's never been easier to do. So I was on Fox News the other week and they played this video and they were in a black barbershop, and the guy summed it up so well. He said, under Joe Biden we're broke under Trump. We weren't. And I think that's the biggest thing. And I think if this is a kitchen table issue election, we win just no reservation.
Jenny Beth Martin (21:14):
How were you personally under each president? Were you better with Trump as president or Biden as president? It's pretty simple. It's pretty clear. You can check all the personal issues that you have with each president. They both have their baggage. So who served you and your family and your household better?
CJ Pearson (21:34):
Yeah, exactly. And I think if you look at also too, what was the state of our world under these two different presidents under President Trump, we had damn near world peace. And under President Biden, we live in a world of disarray. And it's incredibly troubling to me. And I think that as a young person who at this time, a lot of friends who are graduating college right now, they're stepping into the workforce. They are worried, they're anxious, they have no idea if a recession is knocking on the door, they have no idea if they're going to be drafted to go fight some war that we have no business being involved in. That is the type of things that young people are being forced to think about in Joe Biden's America, which was never a thought, even an afterthought when President Trump was in office.
Jenny Beth Martin (22:19):
And it creates a lot of uncertainty. You don't know how much you're going to pay every time you go to the grocery store, so you don't know how much money to budget for your groceries each week, which means you don't know whether you can do the extra activity for your child or the summer vacation or whatever else it might be. You don't know if the country's going to go to the world is going to go to World War or not. It certainly seems like war is on the brink. There's just a lot of uncertainty and that makes people very uncomfortable.
CJ Pearson (22:49):
Yeah, I know it does. And I think again, under President Trump, we didn't have to deal with that type of uncertainty. I think that we had record highs in the stock market. We had record low black unemployment record, low Latino unemployment. Everyone was thriving. People didn't have to worry about going to the grocery store and having to take things out of their shopping carts because they couldn't afford it. And I think again, it just shows the stark reality of living in Trump's America between living in Joe Biden's America. And I hope that voters keep that front and center in their minds as they go to the polls in November.
Jenny Beth Martin (23:25):
You talk about the younger generation, the Gen Z generation. Do they have hope for the future or where are they at?
CJ Pearson (23:37):
I think Gen Z is coming back our way. And I think the reason that that is happening is because the left has literally lost their mind. You have them advocating for biological men playing women's sports, which is the most insane thing. I think if you talk to even a young progressive girl on campus about this issue, she would say that's absolutely crazy. To have biological men competing against them, robbing them of a sport that many college athletes have dedicated their entire lives to and for them in their accomplishment to be discarded is absolutely insane. Riley Gaines is a great friend of mine, and what we often talk about is the fact that it's unfortunate she even has to do what she does. It's unthinkable that she has to literally fight so hard to just get Democrats to follow the science, which is so insane because we're called science deniers, every single opportunity they get.
CJ Pearson (24:29):
But they are sitting here trying to use science to justify biological men and being able to strip away earned accomplishments from women, which I thought they were against the patriarchy, but apparently not in that case. And so I think you look at that issue, I think that if you look at the issue of CRT again, where you're telling young white children that they're responsible for sins, that they themselves were not allowed alive to commit, you're telling black children, they're perpetual victims when the reality of it is is that no one alive today was a slave and no one alive today was a slave owner. So what are we sitting here talking about? Let's talk about the future. Let's talk about how we're going to put people in positions to win. And that's not happening from the Democrats. You just see these woke people who want to cancel everyone who doesn't carry their water. And I think that's another thing. My generation is tired of, cancel culture. We just want to be frank. We want to have just common sense discussions and conversations. We want to just get to the meat of the issues without having to be worried about every other word that we say or whether or not we were respect your pronouns. All of these things are just delirious. And what's so insane to me is that how quickly it's all happened. I remember I was in high school, I'm getting old four years ago, right? You are
Jenny Beth Martin (25:47):
So old.
CJ Pearson (25:50):
So four years ago, and there were no furries, there was none of this stuff going on. And now I talk to my little cousins and they're like, yeah, no, this kid at school, there is a furry and they have the little dog bowls that they bring to school. And I'm just like, this is absolutely crazy. But this is exactly what happens when we allow the inmates to run the asylum. And I think also too, it's what happens when we become complacent as conservatives. I think for a long time we've allowed this entire idea that we are the silent majority to really force us to muzzle ourselves when the left has taken that as a license to absolutely commit absolute terror with every institution across our country, whether it's the weaponization of our justice system, whether or not it's the biological men and women's sports issue, or whether or not it's biological men now winning beauty pageants. I miss the days when beauty queens didn't have penises. It's an odd thing. That is where we are at today,
Jenny Beth Martin (26:48):
Right? It's crazy that we have to say
CJ Pearson (26:49):
This. We are living in odd times. We're living and they're only getting otter. It's insane. It
Jenny Beth Martin (26:56):
Is. And I think one other thing that the younger generation is tired of, at some point we have to remember that we can agree to disagree and still get along with the things where we do agree. And maybe the only things we agree on right now is the sky can be blue and grass can be green. But we've got to find a way to get back as a society to understanding that just because someone doesn't agree with me on every single issue does not mean that I can't treat them kind as a fellow American, the cancel culture. It happens online with social media oftentimes. That's what people think of it. But what I think that maybe people who are older than me don't understand is that people in your generation, they'll get canceled by their friends. Their friends will just quit following them and just stop having anything to do with them. And that has happened in different ways throughout history, especially with high schoolers and middle schoolers. But it is much worse, I think when it's happening on social media and kids are judging themselves by how many likes they have and how many friends or followers they have.
CJ Pearson (28:13):
No, you're exactly right. And it's something that I'm grateful that I didn't really have to contend with as much growing up because I got certain politics so young. So it's like where you're getting into when you're friends with me, I'm a walking MAGA hat. So it's one of those things where thankfully I didn't have to deal with that. But when I talk to a lot of friends who did have to deal with that, who lost friends because they were supportive of Trump or because they are conservative or they didn't post a black box when BLM was burning down half of America and they lost friends because of it, it was something that really did affect them a lot, which is why I think it's so important for conservatives to be vocal because I think that oftentimes the reason that so many young people go with the flow or ride with the herd is because they believe that there's community there.
CJ Pearson (28:59):
And so when they see that all these leftist young people are, they're not afraid to post BLM, they're not afraid to put their pronouns in their bio, but yet we're afraid to be vocal about common sense issues and common sense things. And it makes it seem as if there is no one who believes what we believe. And so I think one thing that I often tell college conservatives and they reach out to me and they message me is that have the audacity to just raise your hand. If you're in a lecture hall and your leftist professor is saying something that you genuinely disagree with, have the courage and the audacity to raise your hand and push back because courage is infectious. If you have the ability to push back on what your professor is saying, then tomorrow another person will, and the next day that other person will.
CJ Pearson (29:49):
And that is how we slowly take back these institutions. That's how we slowly get more young people to be more bold in their truth. And I think that's exactly what we need right now. We can't, for a long time we were silent. There are a lot of people who were silent during the pandemic and we saw what that cost us. And so I think it is time for us to move past being the silent majority. I think it's time for us to be the rowdy majority and do all that we can to take back our country as vocally as we need to be.
Jenny Beth Martin (30:21):
And it's important to do that because if we continue down the path that we're going right now, we continue with that uncertainty. We continue with inflation, we continue with a very unstable world situation and America's standing in the world and all of those things, plus the CRT and the woke and the lack of actual education with much more indoctrination going on, all of this combined and even more, it isn't good for our country. It's not good for where our country will wind up going if we don't stand up for where it should be going or where it can be going.
CJ Pearson (30:57):
No, you're exactly right. And I think that also too, my generation deserves to live in a country as great as the one that my grandparents grew up in. And I think that the less vision for this country is anything but that they want to refashion our country and to the very countries that people are fleeing to come make a life here. And so I think that is something we've got to be incredibly just vigilant and clear-eyed about, I don't want to live in AOCs America. I don't want to live in Nancy Pelosi's America. I want to live in Reagan's America. I don't live in Trump's America. And I think that a lot of people my age do. And I think in some ways I think that the election of Biden is a little bit bittersweet. I think sometimes I think it was a lesson that a lot of people needed to learn because I think there were a lot of people who just believed that America was just on autopilot during the Trump years, that America was just great for no reason or just somehow some way.
CJ Pearson (31:51):
But I think now they're actually going through real struggle and they're like, wait, this is what happens when we have a vegetable driving the boat who has no idea what's actually happening at any given time, much less his name. And so I think that's one of those things where we actually really, this creates an opportunity unlike ever before, which is why I always, I think it's so important for conservative to seize it. We need to talk to every young person than we can. We need to talk to every black person. We need to talk to every single demographic of people that we previously have ignored or not put resources towards and go actually do it because I don't think it's going to get any worse than this. And I think we can't allow people to forget just how bad these years have been and just how much worse it can get if Joe Biden is reelected in November.
Jenny Beth Martin (32:39):
That is exactly right. We have to go out and speak to people and make sure that they understand what's at stake and what the future can be. What are you doing to make a difference with them?
CJ Pearson (32:51):
Yeah. So one thing that I'm super passionate about right now and then I've seen a lot of is the fact that the DNC has invested a lot of money into basically inflating these content creators online, these talkers and all of these things. And basically what they're trying to do is indoctrinate all of these young people online. And I think that we can either hate on that strategy or we as conservatives can figure out a way to do it better. I think some of your listeners might be familiar with the stories of Harry Sissen and another kid named Chris Mallory who is literally bankrolled by the DNC to just pump actual, just completely just garbage about and distortions about Biden his record online to young people and just gaslight our generation. So what I'm really passionate about is how do we train up this next generation of content creators, this next generation of influencers, and how do we actually help them build up their followings to counteract what the left is doing online?
CJ Pearson (33:51):
And it's something that's kind of feel uniquely called to do because I started off being so young and I've been doing it for so long, I've been able to see how the movements evolve and change, and I've learned a lot. And so it's kind of put me in a position where now as younger people are getting started and they're starting to make content online, I can say, Hey, this is a great way for you to do this. This is a great way for you to honestly fight for your country as simply as making a video and being vocal. Because again, courage is contagious. The more young people that other young people see, being bold, being vocal and saying, you will no longer muzzle me, it's going to be contagious and we're going to see a revolution ever before.
Jenny Beth Martin (34:34):
A minute ago, you were talking about Biden, and I want to go back to that. You were saying that people kind of became complacent when Trump was president and thought this is just sort of the way the country works and now they see what Biden, that it's not the way that it works. One of the things that I noticed is that before Trump was elected in 2016, people were very active and including throughout from 2009 all the way until he was elected. So for the eight years of Obama's administration, they were active, they were fighting against the growth of government, the expansion of government socialized healthcare. Then Trump got elected and a lot of 'em, I think thought, okay, we're done. We're done. Trump can handle it from here. And if we are lucky enough as a country to be able to reelect Trump, we can't do that to him again. We can't just go, okay, you got it from here. We have to continue to be involved and make sure that we are advocating for his policies, making the calls to Congress, keeping those calls going, writing op-eds, writing letters to the editor, talking to our friends and family about policy that needs to pass so that it actually can pass so he can accomplish what he needs to be able to accomplish.
CJ Pearson (35:49):
No, you're exactly right. And it's been a frustration ever since I was even just a little kid observing this. I think Republicans have always been better at being an opposition party than a governing party, unfortunately. And I think we saw it even when we controlled all three branches of government, we failed to repeal Obamacare. Yeah, it's
Jenny Beth Martin (36:08):
So frustrating.
CJ Pearson (36:09):
Basic conservative policies that we've been running on since 2014, the first campaign I worked on knocking on doors, making phone calls. We have still not figured out a way to pass term limits. It's all of these things that people have been running on for a decade now, and it still has not happened, which is beyond me. But I think you're right. A lot of these efforts that are necessary in our country right now are not just election year efforts. They need to be around the clock 24 7 every year until the issue is resolved. The election issue is one of them. The alarm was being sounded during the 2020 election about mail-in ballots. Everyone was just kind of like, oh, well, it's we'll just work itself out. Well, it worked itself out and we see how it worked out. And so I think that's the thing. It's like we can't be complacent, not just the people who are apolitical and apathetic and they're just like, okay, well, it doesn't really matter who I vote for. Everything's just going to be the same. But as conservatives, like you said, people who are locked in paying attention, they have even less of an excuse to be apathetic because they should realize where that apathy gets us and where that apathy has gotten us and that apathy has led us to where we are right now as a country.
Jenny Beth Martin (37:20):
And if they don't know how to get involved, we can sit back and go, oh, they should have, could have, would've, but we can't change the past. What we can do is learn from the past. And one of the things that we have to make sure is that we're training people on how to be active when it comes to policy and how to be advocates when it comes to policy. So you're that voice online and then you're taking all that passion and love for this country that you have and turning it into action and continuing to turn it into action because success begets success. And so we have to be able to have success and then to build on it, and when we don't learn from the mistakes or the loss so that we can have success again in the future.
CJ Pearson (38:05):
And that's one thing, the way I kind of phrase is that we've got to figure out a way to transform influence into impact, right? Yeah. We have so many
Jenny Beth Martin (38:12):
Influencers. I say passion to action because I'm thinking of the grassroots energy and you're thinking of it from the influencer side,
CJ Pearson (38:19):
But it is very much the same thing. And I think also too, it's like when you look at, I was at a speaking engagement recently at a rally. It was an immigration one, and one of the speakers said something so great. He was, don't let this be where this ends for you. You came in the rally, you got energy out, you got to scream and shout. We got to really release a synergy that because what's happening on our border is a disgrace. It's an evasion that is being enabled by this administration. You have every right to be angry about it, but it shouldn't stop here. You should be writing your legislators. You should be following this issue. You should be demanding more after you leave here. I think sometimes people think that they fire off a tweet, they're done, or they post a video, they're done, or they go to a rally, they're done.
CJ Pearson (39:04):
It's like, no, if you're going to Trump rallies, you need to be bringing three friends with you. And also too, on election day, you need to have your entire car full of people who are low propensity voters who may not be inclined to vote. They need to know just how important and impactful this election is going to be. And I think the thing is, and you're the OG at it, so I'll leave, I'll defer to you at it. Anyone can be an activist, right? That's right. I think anyone's energy can be channeled into impactful change. They just have to see within themselves. And I think there's so many examples of it, especially now, you look at the Moms for Liberty, they saw a problem. They saw what was seeping into our schools, and these are just everyday moms who decided, we're going to start an organization.
CJ Pearson (39:47):
We're going to organize all the mama bears all across the country, and we're going to fight back for our children. And I think that girl dads that are watching and listening to this should be thinking the same. These people want transgender men to use the bathrooms of your daughters. They want them to play the sports with your daughters. That is not normal or something that you as a father of a female child should be okay with doing. And I think there are so many of these issues now where you can really just coalition build and really build community with people who are just as upset, just as angry, but being angry isn't enough, right? We've got to figure out a way to translate that anger into actual action.
Jenny Beth Martin (40:29):
The college campuses, you have spent time on college campuses in the recent years. You just graduated four years ago. What is it like on college campuses today?
CJ Pearson (40:41):
I think that what's interesting is that it depends on where you go, of course, right? If you look at the state of these elite institutions right now, just look at the news. You
Jenny Beth Martin (40:51):
See elite with air
CJ Pearson (40:52):
Quotes, right? It's interesting. It's probably more lucrative or a better value to get a degree from ITT Tech, Princeton University these days, which by the way, I teach went bankrupt. But so I think that is a telling sign of really the dearth of actual intellectual diversity that we're seeing on these campuses. They are diverse in everything but ideas and beliefs. And it's interesting to me because oftentimes you have these elitist who would talk bad about UGA, they would talk bad about Alabama or all these SEC schools, but we didn't allow terrorists to take over our campus. We didn't allow people to chant death to America on our campus. What we did do is we actually had people counter protesting and outnumbering those people and said that your hate is not actually welcome on this campus, and we love America, and if you have a problem with that, then you can leave.
CJ Pearson (41:45):
And I was so proud of those videos that we saw, whether it was at Ole Miss, whether it was at Alabama, whether it was at a lot of these different other schools kind of scattered throughout the south because it showed the courage that I think is again, starting to become contagious on these campuses because people are just fed up with these folks. You're sitting here in America living as comfortable as can be and deciding that you just apparently love Gaza. Oh, so much. Well, if you love Gaza, then go visit there, then go study abroad there. None of these kids want to study abroad in Gaza. They want to go to Ibiza, they want to go to Menos, they want to go to all of these luxurious places in Europe, but I guarantee they don't want to go to Gaza. And the gaze for Gaza don't even, let's not even get started there.
CJ Pearson (42:28):
It's like chickens for KFC. It's just the most insane thing in the world. But it's one of those things where it also is a reminder of how great America is. The reason these pampered children feel so comfortable going out there and saying all these terrible things about America, all these great things about Gaza is because their lives are so easy. So they have to actually create problems for themselves. They have to create this victimhood mentality because it's so easy to live in America. And again, I wish they would just go and see for themselves how Palestinians treat all of these people that they claim to care so much about. It was ironic. I saw video from this past pro-Palestine protest in DC and there was someone holding a trans flag and a Palestinian flag, and I was just like, the math isn't matting here. I don't know what's going on.
Jenny Beth Martin (43:26):
When you were saying go to Gaza, am I correct? Did I hear you're going to be going to Israel?
CJ Pearson (43:33):
Yes. So I'll be in Israel later this month and it will be my second trip going. And when
Jenny Beth Martin (43:37):
Did you go the first time?
CJ Pearson (43:38):
So the first time I went, it was Preoc October 7th. I went last summer and it was such a beautiful experience, and as a Christian having the opportunity to walk where Jesus walked to see just so many people of so many different religions and face and also ethnicities living together in harmony, it painted a picture of me that's very different than you see being painted by a lot of these people who are pro Hamas. And it reminds me a lot of how the left talks about America. Oftentimes they'll paint these horror stories about America and they'll tell these lies about America, which are completely unlike the America that I know, the America that I've lived in and the America that I've experienced. And I'm like, what are the similarities here? I think the same people that are lying about America are also lying about Israel. And I know that because I went there. And so later this month, I'm excited to go back and see for myself what's going on there and how things are on the ground. But it's a beautiful place and I think they deserve our full support as a country in defending themselves and their people. And
Jenny Beth Martin (44:46):
We both were at the rally for Israel in November, shortly after the attacks on October 7th. I met people that day who were in Israel on October 7th, I met someone who, and I met people whose that same week or maybe the week sometime in the month of October, people whose family members were being held hostage. And I think that these people who are out there chanting and rallying around Hamas, it just blows my mind. I don't think that they even, they're not paying attention. They're just simply not paying attention. They're not informed, and they're not trying to be informed.
CJ Pearson (45:24):
No, they have no idea. And what I like to call is just, they just have TikTok brain. They see these videos on TikTok and they believe that they go out there, they scream and they shout. They think they're the reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi when they're not doing anything, all they're doing is just ignorantly shouting about issues they know nothing about. Also, too, they're failing to remember that they are American hostages as well still. And then for some reason, the media doesn't talk about much anymore. Joe Biden's not talking about it, but there are Americans there. And so I think it's incredibly troubling to me to see what is happening on our college campuses, but it's also not surprising, right? This anti-American sentiment has been baked into them by their professors and allowed and enabled by their administrators. And so it's just simply transformed into them. Now, unfortunately, deciding to publicly side with a terrorist organization,
Jenny Beth Martin (46:21):
It's terrible. And it's why, it's part of the reason why it's so important that we are taking action and that we're making a difference. As we head into November as we close out, what is the most important advice you can give to people right now in the summer of 2024? I think
CJ Pearson (46:36):
Right now we've got to be vigilant and we've got to stay energetic. We've got to be hopeful. I think the left is going to do everything they can to depress our spirits. I think we've seen it right now with this 34 count guilty verdict of President Trump. They want to lock him away, but not just him. They want to lock away Steve Bannon. They want to lock away as many effective conservatives as they can because they want to destroy our spirit. They want to destroy our will to fight. We don't have the luxury of laying down our swords. We don't have the luxury of being downtrodden. I think this is going to be a make or break election for our country. And I've got to tell you, I care for a little bit of a selfish reason. It's because I intend to raise my children in this country, and I want them to be able to raise their children in this country that, again, is just as great as the one that my grandparents grew up in.
CJ Pearson (47:26):
And this election will be a key factor in whether or not that is still a possibility. And so that's my biggest advice is stay energetic and go spread the good news. I think we need to be evangelical about our ideas and our approach to this election. We need to reach people who don't care and we need to say, Hey, this is why you need to care. The low propensity voter is going to be the key to us winning in November. And for some people, that's your uncle, that's your cousin, that's your sister, that's your best friend that you gossip with every single day. Make sure they're all voting, dragging to the polls and taking to a nice center after if that's what you need to do. But I think that's going to be really critical to us winning in November. But also too, the older folks watching, listening as well, don't lose hope in the future of America. There is hope to be had, but so many of folks, of the folks in my generation we're depending on you, not only to fight for us, but to fight alongside us.
Jenny Beth Martin (48:28):
Cj, thank you so much for joining me today.
CJ Pearson (48:31):
Thank you for having me.
Narrator (48:31):
The Jenny Beth Show is hosted by Jenny Beth Martin, produced by Kevin Han and directed by Luke Livingston. The Jenny Beth Show is a production of Tea Party Patriots action. For more information, visit tea party patriots.org.
Jenny Beth Martin (48:51):
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