The Chris Stigall Show

From the February 24, 2025, edition of The Chris Stigall Show

CHRIS STIGALL (HOST): I will say this: I have had quite a bit of outreach from you federal workers. Now listen, I feel I have to call a truce or something. I feel I'm going to have to start the week careful, because I thought I made this clear last week, but apparently, I didn't do a good enough job. So I'll try it again, because I got a lot of email, disappointed email, admonishing email. 

In fact, maybe I should just read one to you now. I didn't intend to do this, but maybe I should just read one now because I want you — I'm going to withhold the name. But this individual, we'll call her Kim. ... She says, “When Bill Bennett retired from morning radio, I was sad, and I wanted to love his replacement. And I've enjoyed Hugh Hewitt, and now you're replacing Hugh. And I really want to grow and love your show too."

Now you knew that was a setup to “I can't stand you right now." So I read on. “You have so much promise. Yet it's difficult to get beyond your disrespect and disregard for federal employees." Now, Kim, I'm calling her, is not the only one of these that I got on both X and in email.

But Kim said, “I am an attorney, and I believe that ensuring the federal law is correctly and consistently interpreted and applied is a high service to our nation. From our new Attorney General Pam Bondi to every attorney across every department, this is what we must strive for or the rule of law is meaningless. When I went to law school, we were encouraged to offer part of our career to public service. Working for the government was a major part of public service options. So I will strive for the highest ideals in serving the public and upholding U.S. law. I have always had a strong work ethic, and my current and prior federal government positions have been no exception." 

Kim, and you know who you are if you sent that email to me. Let me say again, and I actually responded to this person, and I said, if you are listening to this show with regularity, we've been at it about a month, then you should know something about me. And it is, if you're listening to this show, odds are you're probably not one of the people most of the American taxpayers have trouble with, because you're conscientious and you're informed and you work hard. And if you're up at this hour, I guarantee you probably do.

So I just — I want to start by saying, I am not going to war with every person that works in the federal government, and I don't believe Elon or Trump is going to war with every person that works in the federal government. But, folks, I'm going to talk to you like an adult here for a minute. Grow up. Grow up. If you work for the federal government, you need to grow up, respectfully.

And if you don't understand why the American taxpayer is pretty sick and tired and fed up with the dysfunction of government and it's not serving as well, and the fact that we, every April, have to get our taxes in and we pay out the nose. We're $36 trillion in debt. We got a government for the last four years that's been weaponized against us that we're funding. Now we're uncovering all of this waste, fraud, and abuse. 

If you want to internalize that and take that personally, that Elon is now asking everyone in an email over the weekend, respond to this email, to show us what you've been doing this week or else.

If you want to take exception with that, that's on you. If you're feeling sensitive about this conversation, that's on you. If you're feeling worried, welcome. Welcome to what every single one of us who work in the private sector, every man who provides for his family and works in the private sector, welcome to what every one of us feels like every week.