Um, thanks for joining us. Um, I know we have a little bit of technical difficulty, but before I jump into questions, I'd like you to introduce yourself to Iranian Americans. Tell us a little bit about yourself and who you are. Amazing. I'm Jenny Rearick. I'm a mom of three boys, 13, nine and six. They're excellent travelers and one of our goals is to visit a free Iran someday. >> Oh, nice. As a family, they've been traveling the world since they were little. My husband is South African. He's a US immigrant. Um, and uh, I am a businesswoman. I bought my first business when I was 31 years old. Um, I believe in, you know, free markets and opportunity. It's one of the reasons that I love America so much is because of the opportunity that I've been given in business. I started out my career as a consultant with Bain & Company. So, I worked with a lot of large companies. I worked with private equity companies. I understand investors' perspectives and what it requires both from a government and from a private sector perspective. Um, and I'm the director of Cal Do. So, in California, I'm running for Congress in the 47th District and I really got inspired to work on national issues because our money is flowing to so many crazy places and we need better communicators to explain to the American public why socialism is not the way to go, why we need a free enterprise in America, and why American strength overseas is valuable for us in our country. And I'm just watching a lot of people not make the case for that and it frustrated me. Uh, it frustrated me that we don't have great oversight for where our money is actually going to free us up for investing in things that matter a lot. So, um, I'm running for Congress. I live in Orange County, California, in Southern California. My district is the 47th District. So, if any of you watching are in the 47th, uh, you would love to meet you and and um, earn your support. But, but that's just a little bit about me, my background. Um, I've got a lot of wild stories, but we probably won't get into those today. We'll save those >> Yeah, well, yeah, hopefully not. Well, here's the thing. I'm going to ask you later on to explain where 47th District is, exactly what area is. I was I was in California a while ago. The fact is that tonight is just another campaign interview. California is home to one of the largest Iranian American communities in the United States, especially in Orange County. Yet, politically, the turnout for Iranians is very low. I was checking last midterm elections, only 4% of Iranian Americans voted, 4%, which is very >> you guys. That's too small. Yes, it is very small. So, a lot of them worry about Iran. It's again, the participation numbers are shockingly low. And but yet, Iranian Americans complain a lot about Washington. They worry about Iran. They talk everyday about the future of the homeland, but too often are absent when decisions are made. So, tonight, I want to do something practical, bring you as a candidate, and ask you directly where you stand on Iran, on Iranian people, and the role of Iranian Americans can play in the finally becoming politically active. So, clean and no fluff. So, Let's go. I was Yeah. I'm an outsider. Please talk. Right, good, fantastic. I was studying your bio, actually. You studied economics at University of Virginia, a school deeply connected to public policy, American institution, and the machinery of government. I'm curious, how much did did that experience shape your understanding of how Washington really works? Well, I had an opportunity to work in Washington, actually most through the media lens, interestingly. So, I I did an internship with Meet the Press when I was a student at the University of Virginia. I worked in Washington um for a public relations firm that worked for a lot of lobbying organizations as one of my internships when I was in school. And I had zero interest when I was in college in anything political. I took probably one government or poly sci class. I was really I was focused on two things. I actually wanted to become a doctor. I wanted to work in the developing world as a doctor who helped the poor. And so I planned to do that. I took organic chemistry and physics and you know, all of the kind of core pieces of the medical training. And then I also did my economics degree kind of as what I would call a fallback just in case medicine wasn't what I wanted to do or if I wanted to start my own practice in medicine. I want to understand the language of business. And so government was kind of this like necessary evil the way that I thought about it. And and the way that my parents raised me was not to be too active in government, but they they and this is one of my messages to the Iranian people in California and everywhere in America is that I believe that you gain more of a right to access your government when you vote. And so that's where it started for me. Voting for me was my ticket to complain. It was my activism. It was the way for me to say, "Look, I didn't stay out of this process. I'm a part of it. Maybe my vote wasn't where it didn't tip the scales in the favor of where I wanted, but ultimately it does. And this is what we see is it over time like we get involved with our government. We meet people who are in government. And and we're just people. Like I'm a I'm I you know, I hopefully in the next year I'm going to be a sitting congresswoman. I would love to have the input from Iranian people, but what I will do on Iran is comes from my conversations with people. Right. >> And and so if you don't vote in the first place and then if you don't participate in the political process, then you know, just like just like me, I voted to complain for most of my life and then I got involved in a different way. There are different ways to get involved, but that's the first thing I would say is is make sure you vote because that's one of the tickets to our process and it's important that >> a great story. That's where most Iranians are not. They're they're right now in the complaining process. They're in the complaining [laughter] stage. Mostly they are Well, you have a lot to complain about, to be fair. No, but when they talk to me, like, "Why does not nobody does anything in Washington?" I'm like, "Have you ever voted? Have you ever tried to talk to them?" And the answer is no. >> Are you I I mean, come and talk to me. Come and have lunch with me, right? You know. So, again again, Jenny's running for for Congress in Orange County. A lot of Iranian Americans are there. And as you know, Iranian Americans are highly educated, Jenny. Very highly educated. Very much so. This is a segue my next question, that you later attended Columbia Business School. I did. And today Columbia has become a national symbol of campus radicalism. Students in Chafia, anti-Western chance, organize ideological activism. For many Iranian Americans, this is deeply disturbing because we have seen this movie before. After 1979 revolution, the Islamic regime systematically weaponized universities in Iran, and turning campuses from centers of education into factories of political indoctrination. Now, when you watch what is happening in Columbia and other elite campuses in America, do you see dangerous parallels? Absolutely. In fact, so I'm a alumni of a Columbia Business School. As you're an alum, you are a part of the institution from a funding perspective. And so they've called me and they said, "Hey, would you like to give money to Columbia?" And I said, "Honestly, not right now. Here's what I would give money to if you wanted to fund a center for conservative thought. If you wanted to have real political conversations on campus. But right now, this is just an ideological factory. And even when I was in business school, we talked as much about having social justice businesses as we did about having businesses that were successful, that transformed society through the way that we would actually build something. And I think business is the most powerful tool for good on the planet. and and you know a lot of that isn't happening at places. So here's one thing that I would encourage though and this is one thing I'm wrestling with. I've got a 13-year-old. We haven't thought about college quite yet but it's coming. It's coming faster than we know. And and you know, I'm one of the things that I had a conversation with a parent yesterday. She's a donor. She's a participant in my district and she said, you know, when I think about where to go to college for my kids, I think about where I want to fund later. And I think about that in two ways. One is as an alum of a school like Columbia and two is as the government. Where should our money go and what should we be investing in in order to really advance those conversations and we have to fight for free speech on these campuses. I've got in my district I have a big elite California University, the University of Irvine. Republicans haven't gone there. Iranians haven't gone there to express their point of view because seems like the ideology has been taken over. There are a lot of silent conservative students that are on those campuses that feel very alone. We have to back them up and we have to open those conversations. So So I'm very proud. I got a fantastic education at Columbia. I went in very clear-eyed about where I was, you know, politically but also I I think that we have to not run away from but really dive into conversations on these campuses. >> absolutely. Well, for many Iranians this is not just theoretical. We lost our universities to extremism decades ago. This is why this issue feels very personal. So let me move directly to Iran right now. Simply yes or no first and if you want 10-15 seconds to expand on it, I'm going to ask you a series of questions you're about your policy towards Islamic Republic. Yes or no. If elected, would you support a congressional policy whose clear objective is regime change in Tehran? Yes or no? Yes. Yes or no. Do you support restoring maximum pressure, meaning the toughest possible sanctions, financial isolation, and cutting off every revenue stream available to Islamic regime in Iran? I do. And let me explain those two together. Um I you know, my job as a congresswoman is to act in the American interest. And we have clear alignment with the Iranian people in this, which is that the Islamic regime has an a stated interest in defeating America, death to America, and also by proxy supporting people who believe in that same radical ideology. And so, there there to me, I don't understand where there is any tolerance for this. Um so, our our goal and objective internationally is never regime change alone. It's the preservation of American security. And one the the two of those happen to be completely entwined in this particular situation. And also, the people of Iran need to be free. Um but but you know, those those again, it's because it's in the national security interest of the United States that the people of Iran are free as well. So, I just want to make sure that that's very clear. Okay, still yes or no. Should Congress spend more money helping the Iranian people communicate during internet blackouts, satellite internet, anti-censorship tools, secure communications? Yes, no? So, I would say yes. I actually don't know how we only allow the Iranian people and not the IRGC to to do that though, so maybe you can help me understand the nuance between the two of those because sometimes blackouts are also also key for military operations. Um so, so uh I I I understand that there's maybe some nuance in there, but yes, I do support the help on communications. Well, just to give you an example, like today one of my fans on YouTube was talking to me, and he was saying there's no internet, there's nothing. People have started listening to shortwave radios, like World War II. So, wow. It has gone that back that backwards. But, even a shortwave is one way, but it's still a string of hope. If we can support a shortwave, if Congress has a lot of money it spends on internet freedom, you know, works on censorship tools, spend money on that. So, would you be in favor of spending more money to tackle censorship of the regime's censorship and give Iranians a way to communicate with each other? Yes, do you have I mean, do you have a plan? And this is part of why I'm here. It's not just to share my ideas, but to receive input on how we can do that without empowering the regime. Correct. I worked I worked on two projects that that we were awarded nearly $8 million by the State Department way back ago, 10 years ago, to provide internet circumvention tools to Iranian people. And I can share with you the expert experience and what we got. We got fantastic results and numbers. But, we can off the record after this interview, I would be happy to share them with you. >> Educate me. Okay, good. Please do. >> So, here's the thing. Millions of Iranians inside and outside Iran openly support Shahzadeh Reza Pahlavi, the prince, as a transitional national figure. If the Iranian people themselves move in that direction, would you be comfortable publicly engaging with the movement in Congress? Uh absolutely. Again, I don't think this is something that the US can impose, and it is not our fight, and it is really the Iranian people's fight. But, as a national security interest, we would certainly rather have someone who is a democratically elected or a you know, people appointed person, depending on what kind of government was set up, rather than the IRGC. I think it's I think it's no question that it would be better for America's interests around the world, and also better for the people of Iran. Um, there's this this belief among the Iranians that although Republicans, when they you ask them about Shah Reza Pahlavi, the prince, they're very receptive. They think, "Oh, okay, this is the guy who was educated here in the United States. He went to school here. He went to a military base. He's a fighter pilot." So, they know him. But, at the same time, the Republican Party is kind of cautious of what the approach should be because this might be a person who might become the monarch in the future of Iran. Do you Do you see a conflict of interest here between a monarchy and democracy? Well, um, so we are a, you know, constitutional republic in the United States, and obviously we favor constitutional republics, but we have allies that operate with very different governments all around the world. What matters to us, again, just to reinforce, is national security, and I think we have a very clear alignment with the prince in this particular situation. >> Okay. Good. So, to me, um, so so to me, the form of government, um, matters a lot less than whether or not we have a cooperative ally or whether we have an antagonist. Right now, we have not just an antagonist, but the antagonist in the world against America in Iran. And so, you know, so so to me, um, it seems like we would have a significant improvement. I I would love to meet him. I would love to meet him, and I would be able to offer a little bit more One other major myth and a cause of worry for Iranians. There's this myth that Israel and the United States are going to cut Iran apart. Okay? They One major fear among Iranian Americans is chaos after the Islamic Republic is gone. Civil war, militias, foreign interference, territorial breakup. Do you agree that US policy should support democratic change in Iran while preserving Iran's territorial unity as one country? So, is that what the Iranian people want? One country? Yeah. Who would get the other piece? What other piece? There's only Iran. There's [laughter] one Iran. This is what I'm saying, right? You know, I think we have to be very plainspoken when we think about these things. >> Yes, but it's nonetheless a lot of people in Iran are worried because if the regime falls, if there's civil war, and if there's uncertainty in Washington who to back up, then there will be a vacuum for other groups, and we've seen that in Syria, in Iraq, and Afghanistan. Do you think Congress has a has a responsibility here to support the preserving the Iranian unity as form of one nation? Yeah. Again, I think I think the key issue is US interest. One Iran is easier to deal with rather than two Irans. One friendly Iran is better than one friendly and and a second unfriendly Iran, right? So, if we just think about it very, very plainly from a US interest, yes, supporting a united Iran seems to make sense. Um and again, you know, I I have more work, of course, to do on this issue, but that's exactly where I I want to explain my framework for how I think about these things because >> Okay. sometimes we get into the weeds instead of thinking at the at the biggest level, what is good for the US? Right. Yes, if a united Iran is good for the US, then yes, I support a united Iran. Everything that you said it leads me to believe that that would be true. Yeah, he's totally the United States has always backed backed the United Iran. President Harry Truman threatened Soviet Union in after World War II to remove their troops from Iran because he wanted a united Iran. He threatened them with nuclear power. He said, "We We're going to drop nuclear bombs on Soviet Union if you don't remove your forces." So, there is a historical precedent for that. You know, President Truman got has done it. President Trump has kind of you know, he's been he's been very careful about his language. So, one of the things is that there are hundreds of thousands of Iranians American Americans in California, but politically many remain disengaged. What is your message tonight to Iranian Americans in Orange County? That's where you're running for Congress, who care deeply about Iran, but rarely step into American politics. This is actually a very easy situation because the man that I'm running against, the current sitting Democrat Congressman has been in office for a year and a half. He is not He's very adamantly opposed to foreign intervention specifically in Iran. He wants to ban funding for Israel. He wants to ban funding for this war. He does not support the people of Iran in this situation, and he is behaving against your interests. And so, you have a very clear choice. If you're silent, you are effectively voting for him. And if you want to engage, I need your support. I need these kinds of conversations so that I understand more deeply the issues. If you are silent, I have nothing to go on. I have no one to talk to. I cannot represent you, but with both my voice and my votes, I can do a lot for the Iranian people. I just need to have your support and your engagement in this process. So, that would be my exhortation to the people, especially in Orange County. So, for Iranian Americans watching tonight who want to meet you, volunteer, support, donate, or simply begin a conversation, where can they find you? What upcoming events do you want them to show up to? Fantastic. Yeah, we have a fundraiser in Orange County in Laguna Niguel next Wednesday night. That would be a wonderful place to meet with me. Um and we have tickets for that on my website, jennyrayca, or you can just send me a message. I also am you know, yesterday we sent text messages out to 40,000 people over the weekend. And when people wrote me back, I called every single person that had a question for me. And so, we are a very active, engaged campaign. If you write me on Instagram and say, "Hey, I have an idea for how we can support your campaign. I would love to get you in front of more people. Um I would love your your your questions or answers about this. Let me help you figure this out. I I'm I'm all ears." So, you can also just directly reach out to me on Instagram or through our campaign website. So, um everyone, meet Jenny Reya. Um she's running for Congress from California, from the great state of California. She's running against that Democrat opponent who's opposing the war with Iran, who wants to tie President Trump's hands. I've asked him tough questions about what his her vision is about the future of America, but also about the future of Iran. And I'm sure you can use um translation after this live if you don't speak English and you're still in um Orange County and you want to vote for her. So, thank you so much for your time Jenny. Um uh God bless you. God bless America. And hope to talk to you soon. Thank you. I just want to say one quick thing. Um there were some people that said, "Hey, we're in Los Angeles. What about us?" Meet me. Come and talk to me. I'm in Los I'll be in Los Angeles tomorrow. Um there are not a lot of advocates for the Iranian people, and we need your stories. We need to go to the American public, which is what we're doing with fraud and dough, and we need to say, "Hey, like this is what's actually going on." We need to make this a very human story because people are they will get invested in a different way, and I would love to help do that for you. So, um >> thing that I'd like to mention is that me and a group of friends, Iranian-Americans, I tried to put together a group of Iranians who want to help the President Trump, and who want to help Republican Party, especially after this war, you know, President Trump and Republican Party lost a lot of political capital. Mhm. And they need help in the midterm >> We are taking a risk defending our future because, you know, there's a very big difference between responding to a threat that you already see and responding to a threat that the American people don't feel. Yeah, I see. And and it is the right decision. It it was the right decision. It was calculated, you know, months in advance. I have a very good friends, one who just returned from deployment, one who is there. >> Yes. Like we under we have I've done my work on the backstory, on the the assessment process, but the American people don't know this. They feel a pinch at the pump. It's very real. So, we have to explain to them the correctness of this action and this war over and over again. It is our job right now to make sure that we understand what we are working to accomplish for a generation, not just Iranians, but also Americans. So, we're trying to to put together a group nice and wide all over the United States to help as many Republicans as we can to get elected in the midterms. And there are millions of Iranians who don't vote. You never vote. So, vote So, hopefully you are the first one who's kicking the door in for the rest of them to come in. Thank you so much for your time, and I hope to see you again. Good luck again. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye, everyone. Bye-bye.