In a series of telephone and email exchanges over the past two weeks, Independent Political Report conducted a follow-up to our 29 April interview with activist, author, artist, and 2024 national Constitution Party POTUS nominee, Randall Terry. A partial transcript follows this introduction.
Randall Allan Terry is the founder of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue. He has been arrested 49 times (so far) and has and spent more than one year of his life incarcerated in government jails and prisons. Mr. Terry has gained significant earned media coverage of the course of the past several decades including: Oprah, 60 Minutes, Meet the Press, Nightline, Hannity, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, 20/20, 48 Hours, ABC World News Tonight, CBS News, NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, US News & World Report, People Magazine, Roll Call, der Spiegel, Christianity Today and others.
See, for example, The Gospel According to Randall Terry in Rolling Stone, October 1989.
Mr. Terry is the author of the following books: Operation Rescue, (1988); Accessory to Murder: The Enemies, Allies, and Accomplices to the Death of Our Culture (1991); Why Does A Nice Guy Like Me Keep Getting Thrown In Jail? (1993); The Sword: The Blessing Of Righteous Government And The Overthrow Of Tyrants (1995); The Judgement of God: Terrorism, Flood, Droughts and Disasters (1995); A Humble Plea: To Bishops, Clergy, Laymen: Ending the Abortion Holocaust (2008); Divine Correction: How God Gets a Nation’s Attention (2023); and Is it HE? Or is it SHE? (2024). Additionally he is a musician, and a producer of documentary films, television commercials, and other videos.
In 2012, Mr. Terry was a candidate for POTUS in the Democratic Party primary in Oklahoma where he earned over 18 percent of the vote, and later that year also ran as an Independent for the U.S. House (Florida 20th) where he received over 12 percent. He is the father of seven children and resides in Tennessee with his wife and four teenage sons.
On Friday, 12 July 2024, Mr. Terry will be appearing on-stage in the Free and Equal Presidential debate with Dr. Jill Stein, and Chase Oliver at FreedomFest in Las Vegas, NV.
IPR: Thanks again for agreeing to a follow-up interview. How is the campaign going?
TERRY: Going great! We’re going to have an enormous impact on this election cycle, and most people still haven’t figured that out yet, which is funny to me.
IPR: That’s largely from running the video ads on TV?
TERRY: Of course. We are going to be the only campaign that makes the moral issues and the fear of God the center point of the campaign. You’ve seen the ads, right?
IPR: Yes, the ones you played at the national convention, and the ones on your campaign website.
TERRY: So we’ve got another 20 in production. I’ve got four more from Monsignor Victor Ciaramitaro and two more from Pastor Broden (see exemplar videos from each below).
IPR: What was your reaction to the recent CNN POTUS debate?
TERRY: Number one, that was a deliberate set up by Democratic Party insiders. They needed President Biden to fail. They wanted him to fail. Have you ever seen the two candidates debate prior to actually being the nominees? Of course not; that was deliberate. The Democrats needed time to replace Biden, and they knew the only way that they were going to get an uproar against him was to have him do a debate where he crashed and burned prior to the convention. So that’s number one.
Number two, now the pressure mounts. You saw CNN; they savaged him. It was brutal. They got permission to do that. So whoever is the guiding force behind this, the Obamas, wealthy Democrats, George Soros, I don’t know…but there are people, very powerful people, starting with Barack and Michelle Obama, who know that Biden will get his ass kicked by Trump if this is the state of his mental prowess. So they needed him to fail. He did what they wanted. Now here’s what’s going to happen. This is how this is going to play out:
They’re going to go to him privately and say, “Joe, you’re a hero. You took Trump out. It’s time to pass the baton.”
If he says no, they’re already talking to two or three people in his Cabinet that can implement the 25th Amendment. They’re saying to them, “Look, we’ll get you a five million dollar book deal, or a ten million dollar book deal, and a three year contract with MSNBC as a commentator. You’re going to be OK. Here’s your golden parachute.”
Because if you’re going to try and take out the king, you better be prepared to die.
IPR: Who do you see as the replacement?
TERRY: If I was them, I would be looking for a two-year senator, a freshman governor; somebody who has not had sex with anyone but his wife; someone who has not molested a child; someone who doesn’t have inappropriate pictures floating around out there. They need somebody who they can build, someone in whom they can create a legend. So you get somebody who’s mid 40s, handsome, articulate, and doesn’t have baggage.
They can create the, “12-year old boy who helped the woman across the street,” the “14-year old boy who saved the drowning puppy.” The advertising would be unbelievable. If he was a veteran, they could have the, “He saved me on the battlefield!” story. Their dream candidate is a candidate that nobody knows. Then they can create the legend, and within three days, make him a world-renown international hero. People will be applauding. And that person could actually defeat Trump.
IPR: And vice-president Kamala Harris? Do you see a role for her?
TERRY: There’s no chance that she will be the presidential nominee, none.
IPR: Stay on as the vice presidential candidate?
TERRY: Could be. That’s up to the party. Biden is not going to resign the presidency. If they threaten to 25th Amendment him, then he’ll stay. It will come in stages. Somebody will resign from the Cabinet in protest, saying, “I don’t believe the President can win and we’re concerned about his mental health.” All Biden has to do to tamp that down is to say, “I won’t run. Let me finish out the term. We’ve got good advisors, got good people around me.” I mean, I don’t think they’re good, but that’s what they’ll say . . . I think that they’re all from hell, but I digress . . . . That’s the way they can play it. They know Kamala Harris cannot be the first female President; her negatives are too high.
Their dream candidate could be Wes Moore, the new governor in Maryland. He checks all those boxes. Beautiful wife, beautiful children. A veteran. Or somebody like him.
IPR: The 25th Amendment could remove him as President, but it doesn’t stop him from running for reelection.
TERRY: No, but at that point, it would be hopeless unless something happens to Trump. Biden is already incapable and Trump seems robust by comparison.
IPR: How does this impact your advertising campaign? At the national conventions, the ads you screened were all very anti-Biden.
TERRY: Most of the new ads haven’t been produced yet, but they don’t use Biden’s name.
In other ads, like, “The Democrat Party used to be the party of the little guy; now they kill the little guy…” (see below), I don’t say Biden’s name. I own a television studio. So we just we pull the image of Biden out, and slip in the new villain.
IPR: Former President Trump has recently said that there is consensus in the USA for abortion rights in the first 100 days.
TERRY: He is wrong on that one, but he is not our target. I have a single mission, it is The 3-D Mission: Defend children; Defeat Biden; Destroy the Democrat Party.
IPR: How many states will you have ballot access in?
TERRY: We’re looking at between 18 and 22. There are some states where the Constitution Party has permanent access. There are other states where we have to get access every four years. So we just finished New Jersey. Same with Tennessee. It’s only 275 signatures. It all boils down to local people gathering signatures right now.
(NOTE: An email received by IPR from the national Constitution Party states, in part, “The Campaign’s goal is to be on the ballot in at least 20 states.”)
IPR: Is the campaign doing that, or is it up to the state Constitution Party chairs in those states, or is it your campaign?
TERRY: It’s a hybrid of the state parties, the national party, and us.
IPR: Have you been able to raise money for paid signature gatherers or are you doing it all through volunteers?
TERRY: Some are paid. The going rate has soared because Robert F. Kennedy’s out there. But we have people that have been party activists for decades who are helping us. So they’re not gouging us.
IPR: What about the state of North Carolina?
TERRY: We believe we will be on the ballot there. We will protest, in a variety of ways, against those who work to deny free and fair elections. Why do you think the average American citizen doesn’t trust the process anymore? Because look at what they are putting me, RFK Junior, and Cornell West through.
IPR: Will Joel Skousen be the Constitution Party candidate in some states?
TERRY: If he ends up being the guy in Utah, we’ll just come out and get our thousand signatures. Utah is really easy because of (the successful lawsuit threats by) RFK. Junior. Mr. Skousen is a cipher in this. Bless his little heart. Cipher. Archaic. A zero.
IPR: The Libertarian Party may be facing a similar revolt by some of their state parties whose leadership has declared that they will not put the national convention’s ticket on the ballot.
TERRY: We would like to earn that; we would like to be the nominees of those state Libertarian Parties. I am the Constitution Party candidate, but many of our positions would be considered “Theocentric Libertarian.” Now, I’m not speaking for every part of our platform, but a theocentric-Libertarian would say you may not murder your babies; and marriage is between a man and a woman.
Daryl Castle has been involved in speaking at different Libertarian Party events. Human life must be protected.
IPR: At FreedomFest next week, you are scheduled to be on stage with the Libertarian nominee who is a declared, proud, Christian gay man. Are you going to raise that as a theocratic issue in the debate?
TERRY: Let’s see what questions are asked. My goal is to do a great job in that debate. To honor God, our Founders, the Constitution, and the Constitution Party. I can play nice with people, even when we clearly do not agree.
One thing that is going to be critical to our campaign, whether I run three million dollars’ worth of ads or thirty-three million dollars worth of ads, is going to depend upon the pro-life establishment. The question is, which pro-life groups will step up to the plate and use this campaign as a vehicle to tell their fellow Americans the truth about the killing of unborn babies? It is a powerful message. We are asking all the major groups to help us – LifeSiteNews, Students for Life, 40 Days for Life, Live Action, Priests for Life, Americans United for Life, and more. They can all help us raise money. Heck, they can even be in television ads if they want. I just have to say at the end or beginning, “I’m Randal Terry, and I approve this message,” and they can be in a nationally televised ad. That would be cool.
This campaign can be a means for pro-life leaders to have their voice and message heard. I guess we’ll know by November who helped and who didn’t.
IPR: Thank you.
Campaign video by Monsignor Ciaramitaro
Campaign video by vice-presidential running mate, Pastor Stephen Broden
Additional campaign videos, including the three above, can be found HERE.
@Curious; re: Why not Terry?
In so far as I am aware, Mr. Terry, once he obtained an independent printed ballot access in Idaho, was disinterested in obtaining the state party’s nomination. In any case, he is on the ballot as an independent.
Further, I believe (but do not know for certain) that he was invited to the state convention, and to campaign like all others for th state party’s nomination. But he declined the invite.
Lastly, as for treachery per the article, that really does not apply to CP-Idaho. We are a separate (disaffiliated) state party.
“Skousen, however, will be present and, from my read of the state party, I suspect Skousen will win the nomination. Is that the preferred outcome? No. I would prefer Dr. Cummings.”
Why not Terry?
*day – not hour, obviously
Dear mister Terry,
It seem that our Werhmacht jackboots have designated Operation Rescue a terrorist organization:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/leaked-us-army-briefing-slide-calls-pro-life-organizations-terrorist-groups/
So I guess that makes you a Randall Terry-rist now 😀 (sorry, I couldn’t resist). But in all seriousness, congratulations on such a great honor!
I look forward to hearing you tear the other candidates to shreds in an hour, with that most dangerous weapon of all: Truth.
God speed.
Dan Cummings and Sheila Tittle are also competing for the Idaho nomination. As I understand it, they will not be present. So an alternative taped presentation of 15 or 20 minutes has been offered them. As for Terry, because he is already on Idaho’s ballot as an independent, he could care less.
Skousen, however, will be present at convention and, from my read of the state party, I suspect he will win the state party nomination. Is that the preferred outcome? No. Given the choices, my preference is for Dr. Cummings. But to remind, I am only one voice among many. Affiliated CP-Idaho voters total 4,295.
@Curious; re: Will the Idaho party ask about these alleged claims in helping you make your decision?
Dan Cummings and Sheila Tittle are also competing for the Idaho nomination. But as I understand it they will not be present. An alternative presentation of 15 or 20 minutes taped has been offered.
Skousen, however, will be present and, from my read of the state party, I suspect Skousen will win the nomination. Is that the preferred outcome? No. I would prefer Dr. Cummings. But as a reminder, I am only one voice among many. As of July this year, affiliated CP-Idaho voters total 4,295.
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2024/04/constitution-party-convention-eight-candidates-vie-for-nomination/
360 million illegals in the past 3 and 1/2 years; 260 million are adults; 160 million have registered to vote. (NOTE: It would appear Mr. Skousen had intended to say: 36 million, 26 million, and 16 million.)
=====
I don’t recall that note being there previously. Hopefully,that’s what he intended to say. Will you ask him, and would it matter?
Understandable, and I’m presuming then you don’t know regarding the questions I asked about Nevada and Utah – maybe someone else is willing and able to answer those, then?
That leaves:
Will the Idaho party ask about these alleged claims in helping you make your decision? Do those numbers sound realistic to you? Do you think it’s important whether he made this claim? Does it sound in touch with reality? Is being in touch with reality an attribute the Idaho CP consider to be important in a presidential nominee?
You don’t have to have been at the national convention to ask him about that, or to answer those other questions which are for you. Reporting at this site was that he made this claim. I can find and post a link, but it’s live blogging from the national convention.
@Curious; re: When does Idaho decide? August 3rd.
Regarding your other questions pertaining to illegal immigrants …I cannot speak for Mr. Skousen nor for what was said and done at national convention. Idaho disaffiliated in 2018 and is an independent state party since that time.
Richard Winger has said the Nevada petition is very difficult and that he doesn’t expect Terry to be on in Nevada. Do you have information contradicting this?
Utah is much easier, but I’m wondering why Richard Winger said earlier that Terry already did Utah as an independent, and now Terry says that still needs to be done. Do you know?
When does Idaho decide?
Is it true that, as Dr. Buchman reported in a previous article, Skousen said at your national convention that 360 million illegals came in under Biden and 180 million are already on the US voter rolls? Will the Idaho party ask about these alleged claims in helping you make your decision? Do those numbers sound realistic to you? Do you think it’s important whether he made this claim? Does it sound in touch with reality? Is being in touch with reality an attribute the Idaho CP consider to be important in a presidential nominee?
Projected vote yield bracket for Terry in 2024, where x = 9 iterations since inception, is: y = 95349e0.0446x (curvi-linear estimate) or y = 4010.8x + 114,005 (linear estimate). So, from 142,443 to 150,102 votes. This may be very generous, however.
Since the Blankenship 2020 results dynamited the trend estimate model estimates are difficult this election. One could truncate the 2020 result as an outlier perhaps. But Skousen is now running as the 2024 nominee in Utah and Nevada, and this will materially affect vote yields. Following the apparent national CP schism, Terry will be on the ballot as an independent, in at least Utah and Nevada. He will be running against Skousen (the state party nominee in those two states) in competed voting. Idaho has yet to decide.
Anyhow, I put the estimate up for what it’s worth.
Thank you for taking the time to respond here, mister Terry.
As you say, we disagree about things: the necessity and propriety of allying with Stalin, who so recently still had been Hitler’s ally, in order to defeat Hitler as quickly as possible; the desirability and prudence of accepting blood money from those who cannot brook Trump’s treacheries being called out; the objectionability of standing alone against the world with Truth on ones side, like the Man from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”; etc.
Nonetheless, I am grateful for all your work with Operation Rescue, and am glad that you defeated the russophobic quack Skousen for our party’s nomination.
Ironically, as a result of your choice of “proportionality” tactics, I am unlikely to donate to your campaign but will likely give you my vote you didn’t even ask for 🙂
May the Lord God bless you and father Broden, keep you safe and guide you.
“The idea that Stalin was a lesser evil than Hitler is what is least debatable there, in my inadequately humble opinion.”
I got that completely backwards. MOST debatable was what I meant.
Hi Randall, thanks for your reply. I wish I could say I wouldn’t get enmeshed in back and forth here if I was you. And if I read them, I’d at the least feel tempted to reply, and much more likely than not give in. But being me, I hope you see follow ups. There’s a reason you’re you, far more accomplished and in a position to run for president, albeit on a minor party ticket, and I’m me, having put myself in a position to make it counterproductive to even use the name my parents gave me and the family name for public comments.
You say:
“I am convinced that the Democrat Party – and all the leaders therein – are evil; the Party is a fortress of malice, in league with hell. For that reason, that institution, and the Biden (or whoever) candidacy is the target. You may disagree with the strategy of the WWII allies, but it worked.”
The idea that Stalin was a lesser evil than Hitler is what is least debatable there, in my inadequately humble opinion.
“One point made above that bears elaboration: The ads at our web site will only be run with money. Period. Sadly, Christian, Pro-life, Conservative voters are SO FRANTIC to get Biden out, that they will not brook one syllable of criticism to Trump or the GOP. An they are the ones that are funding the ads. So, the equation is simple. I – as a man, a spokesman, a husband, a father, a friend – am not required to say everything to everyone at every moment. If I want to criticize all the players on the field, I can, and then I will be alone. Maybe I will be correct, but I will be alone, and our ads will not be seen. I am employing the concept of “proportionality” in my efforts and my messaging. ”
I actually agree with this logic.
My question was more – why you apparently changed somewhat away from this strategy and then back, rather than sticking with it consistently. As I said, I didn’t expect an answer. Some things are not for public consumption. Nevertheless, I remain interested. I can make any number of guesses, but I won’t.
Thank you for participating here.
Hi All, Randall here. Good comments and questions. I disagree with almost all of what was said in disagreement with me, but it was well said!
I am convinced that the Democrat Party – and all the leaders therein – are evil; the Party is a fortress of malice, in league with hell. For that reason, that institution, and the Biden (or whoever) candidacy is the target. You may disagree with the strategy of the WWII allies, but it worked.
Read “Allies at War,” the book about Churchill and DeGaul. Truly instructive for the times in which we live.
One point made above that bears elaboration: The ads at our web site will only be run with money. Period. Sadly, Christian, Pro-life, Conservative voters are SO FRANTIC to get Biden out, that they will not brook one syllable of criticism to Trump or the GOP. An they are the ones that are funding the ads. So, the equation is simple. I – as a man, a spokesman, a husband, a father, a friend – am not required to say everything to everyone at every moment. If I want to criticize all the players on the field, I can, and then I will be alone. Maybe I will be correct, but I will be alone, and our ads will not be seen. I am employing the concept of “proportionality” in my efforts and my messaging. If Biden (or whoever) loses, by default, Trump wins. If Trump wins, we can continue the war to destroy the Democrat Party, continue the war inside the GOP to pass laws to protect babies, and herald the principles of the Constitution Party as the legitimate, ethical path to restoring the Republic.
Thanks to all for reading the article, and to those who have commented. Make sure to watch the debate on Friday, July 12th at 8 P.M Eastern on C-Span, Rumble, Scripps, and other platforms. http://www.FreeAndEqual.org
Sorry, that was unclear. I meant to ask why that back and forth change happened.
My other question was about Utah.
https://ballot-access.org/2024/05/28/nevada-and-utah-constitution-parties-nominate-joel-skousen-for-president/
“Terry has already obtained ballot access in Utah as an independent candidate, so both he and Skousen will be on in Utah. ..”
Now he says that still needs to be done?
Good job with the questions. Have you invited him here in case he decides to respond to follow-up questions from readers? I’m not saying that’s the best use of his campaign time, but that’s his decision to make, or should be.
I’m curious about the back and forth changes on his site / faq about to what extent he would target Trump as well as Biden or not. It changed in the direction of targeting both somewhat, then changed back. I’m not particularly expecting an answer.
“TERRY: If he ends up being the guy in Utah, we’ll just come out and get our thousand signatures. Utah is really easy because of (the successful lawsuit threats by) RFK. Junior.”
What happened? I thought Richard Winger said they already did this?
” Mr. Skousen is a cipher in this. Bless his little heart. Cipher. Archaic. A zero.”
Agreed.
IPR: Former President Trump has recently said that there is consensus in the USA for abortion rights in the first 100 days.
X: He’s obviously wrong, but I think he knows that’s not literally true. He exaggerates for effect a lot. It’s approximately true that the abortion issue since Dobbs cuts more in the Democrats favor, and while things were close, that mattered. I think its trumped by other issues this year, far more than in 2022, as explained in the last comment.
Trump’s top priority is to win. He’ll pay lip service to whatever sides of whatever issues he needs to in order to win. If he does win, which I expect he will, it will be better for the antiabortion side than if a Democrat wins.
Depending on how much play Terry’s ads end up getting, it might change how the abortion issue cuts in the election. It seems unlikely that he can raise the kind of money to compete with the barrage of D and R ads, but earned coverage and going viral on social media could elevate and level up their impact.
25th amendment will not happen. It would require a majority of the cabinet, the veep, and 2/3 of each house of congress. Not two or three cabinet members alone:
“If he says no, they’re already talking to two or three people in his Cabinet that can implement the 25th Amendment. They’re saying to them, “Look, we’ll get you a five million dollar book deal, or a ten million dollar book deal, and a three year contract with MSNBC as a commentator. You’re going to be OK. Here’s your golden parachute.”;
And his argument that a man can jump over Kamala Harris to head the ticket is wrong. Many black women, and many others who are not but take identity politics seriously, will not stand for it. Some might vote for other tickets. Others wouldn’t turn out to vote at all. Some might write in or leave president blank. Some would still vote for this man, but withhold or scale back their volunteer time and financial donations.
If Biden does resign from the campaign and/or presidency, they still have this problem. Kamala Harris is still even less popular than Biden. Michelle Obama still has a much better life not running for or holding office – the indignities and stresses of that are underappreciated by those who haven’t done it. This basic set of facts has not changed. It’s why Biden has been propped up this long. There’s no real plan B, other than the abortion pill, and it’s not qualified to run for president, not being human.
There’s also Biden’s ego – that’s there, no matter how bad dementia gets – and his family’s greed, lust for attention and power, and fear of criminal prosecution.
The 25th amendment will not save them.
Their most fundamental problem is that their policies are unpopular. They will lose with Biden, Harris, or Obama. They will not have any male-identified candidate except Biden. It won’t happen.
And if it did happen, this is sweet anachronism:
“somebody who has not had sex with anyone but his wife; someone who has not molested a child; someone who doesn’t have inappropriate pictures floating around out there. They need somebody who they can build, someone in whom they can create a legend. So you get somebody who’s mid 40s, handsome, articulate, and doesn’t have baggage.”
Most voters got over presidents screwing around on their wives around the time Bill Clinton was president or earlier. At this point, that doesn’t matter. After the Trump and Biden presidencies, voters are far more concerned with having a president who won’t send unemployment and/or inflation through the roof, won’t start a world war, and will maintain some baseline of law and order.
Any heroic personal stories about a replacement candidate won’t address these basic concerns, just like no amount of publicly demonstrated Biden dementia or any other issues will overcome the obsession some people have with abortion being legal so they and others can have all the recreational sex they want and not worry about pregnancy or child support.
Overall, economy, immigration and crime Trumps abortion…thus Trump wins. It won’t be close enough to plausibly cheat out of without starting civil war.
“IPR: Former President Trump has recently said that there is consensus in the USA for abortion rights in the first 100 days.
TERRY: He is wrong on that one, but he is not our target.”
No. “He is wrong. Full stop.” The anti-libertarian, Fauci endorsing, DeSantis libeling, J6 betraying, log cabin RINO Donald Trump is wrong about a great many things. And calling him out whenever he is wrong, is not incompatible with your 3D mission.
A few months ago terry2024.com/faqs used to say:
“Q. Won’t this campaign hurt Trump?
A. That is not our concern. Trump has hurt Trump by waffling on his pro-life position. Terry/Broden are the only pro-life candidates in this race. Biden is running ON abortion, Trump is running FROM abortion and we are AT abortion…to END child killing!”
And that was the correct position to take. The fact that this was removed from your site, presumably to appease your Republican endorsers like Tom DeLay, demonstrates a fickleness that does not exactly inspire much confidence.
“IPR: At FreedomFest next week, you are scheduled to be on stage with the Libertarian nominee who is a declared, proud, Christian gay man. Are you going to raise that as a theocratic issue in the debate?
TERRY: Let’s see what questions are asked. My goal is to do a great job in that debate. To honor God, our Founders, the Constitution, and the Constitution Party. I can play nice with people, even when we clearly do not agree.”
Again, don’t fall into that trap of fickleness. Chase Oliver is not just a gay man, but one pretending to be Christian. Slap him around the ears with that oxymoron, in perfect imitation of Christ overturning the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves in the Temple!
“When a gentle word of persuasion has no effect, when people are so steeped in evil that they do not yield to any admonishment and continue doing evil, a Christian cannot and should not take refuge in this teaching of the forgiveness of all […] Every type of evil should be immediately thwarted with the most decisive measures,”
– His Grace the Most Reverend Archbishop Averky of Syracuse, of blessed memory