WEBVTT - Leighton Smith Podcast #287 - June 4th 2025 - Patrick Basham 0:00:09.093 --> 0:00:11.973 You're listening to a podcast from news talks it B. 0:00:12.373 --> 0:00:16.173 Follow this and our wide range of podcast now on iHeartRadio. 0:00:16.693 --> 0:00:19.733 It's time for all the attitude, all the opinion, all 0:00:19.773 --> 0:00:24.813 the information, all the debates of the now, the Leyton 0:00:24.933 --> 0:00:27.653 Smith Podcast powered by news talks it B. 0:00:28.093 --> 0:00:31.533 Welcome to podcast two hundred and eighty seven for June fourth, 0:00:31.773 --> 0:00:37.653 twenty twenty five. Patrick Basham, founder of Democracy Institute, discusses 0:00:37.773 --> 0:00:40.973 their recent poll on whether Donald Trump is fixing the 0:00:41.013 --> 0:00:44.093 American economy or otherwise, and I have to say that 0:00:44.133 --> 0:00:48.613 some of the stats are somewhat interesting. We then engage 0:00:48.653 --> 0:00:51.413 in discussion on the most critical issues, while some of 0:00:51.453 --> 0:00:54.053 the most critical issues on the planet Iran and their 0:00:54.133 --> 0:01:00.053 nuclear developments, Ukraine's successful drone strike on Russia, the South 0:01:00.133 --> 0:01:03.253 Korean and Polish elections, and by the way, the amount 0:01:03.293 --> 0:01:09.173 of CCP Chinese Communist Party interference in South Korea and 0:01:09.253 --> 0:01:13.253 their election is well, it's almost terrifying. Then we have 0:01:13.373 --> 0:01:16.213 the mail room and at the back end of two 0:01:16.213 --> 0:01:22.133 eight seven some commentary on stupidity and net zero and 0:01:22.253 --> 0:01:24.853 yes they go very well together. But in a moment, 0:01:25.013 --> 0:01:36.653 Patrick Basham. Buccolan is a natural oral vaccine in a 0:01:36.653 --> 0:01:40.813 tablet form called bacterial licate. 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And remember Buckelan is not intended as an 0:02:16.933 --> 0:02:20.813 alternative to influenza vaccination, but may be used along with 0:02:20.853 --> 0:02:24.573 the flu vaccination for added protection. And keep in mind 0:02:24.613 --> 0:02:27.573 that millions of doses have been taken by Kiwi's for 0:02:27.653 --> 0:02:31.573 over fifty years. Only available from your pharmacist. Always read 0:02:31.573 --> 0:02:34.733 the label and users directed, and see your doctor if 0:02:34.733 --> 0:02:50.013 systems persist. Farmer Broker Auckland now from Democracy Institute in Washington, 0:02:50.133 --> 0:02:53.213 d C. Once again, Patrick Masham, it's great to talk 0:02:53.253 --> 0:02:53.693 to you. 0:02:53.733 --> 0:02:55.573 Great to be with you late in your fine audience. 0:02:55.613 --> 0:02:56.573 Always look forward to it. 0:02:57.253 --> 0:03:02.373 Indeed, Patrick, you a few days ago you released the 0:03:02.413 --> 0:03:09.133 results of a poll that you did on Trump's popularity. Yes, 0:03:09.293 --> 0:03:11.093 why did you do that? At this point? 0:03:11.933 --> 0:03:15.573 Are we episodically you know, test the waters in terms 0:03:15.653 --> 0:03:20.973 of the president's approval and the general sense of how 0:03:21.013 --> 0:03:22.533 things are going in the country. So you know, we 0:03:22.533 --> 0:03:26.013 did this episodically well Biden was president or Trump was 0:03:26.053 --> 0:03:29.013 in his first term. And it's something that most you know, 0:03:29.093 --> 0:03:33.333 most posters do and it's they don't usually they're not 0:03:33.413 --> 0:03:36.333 usually exciting figures, but when you look at the trends 0:03:36.333 --> 0:03:41.013 over time, it can be quite revealing. And historically even 0:03:41.013 --> 0:03:44.933 there's no perfect yardstick for how a president will do, 0:03:45.093 --> 0:03:49.373 say in the upcoming election, but generally a president's approval 0:03:49.453 --> 0:03:53.333 rating has been a pretty good guide. So, you know, 0:03:53.613 --> 0:03:57.013 crudely put, if a president is around or above fifty 0:03:57.013 --> 0:04:01.053 percent approval come nearing an election, he's usually re elected 0:04:01.293 --> 0:04:03.093 if he has that opportunity, and if he's you know, 0:04:03.573 --> 0:04:06.693 in the low forties or below, he's usually defeated. Obviously, 0:04:06.733 --> 0:04:09.493 in Trump's case, he doesn't have any more elections to come, 0:04:09.573 --> 0:04:14.653 but so that's that's why we do it, and we 0:04:14.733 --> 0:04:16.293 did it at a time when there's been a lot 0:04:16.333 --> 0:04:22.293 of discussion in America about Trump's approval because most of 0:04:22.333 --> 0:04:26.373 the legacy media pollsters have found in recent or had 0:04:26.413 --> 0:04:29.533 found in recent weeks and months that Trump's approval was 0:04:29.653 --> 0:04:35.573 quote unquote down. Most of those ourselves included, who were 0:04:35.973 --> 0:04:39.013 the more accurate ones in twenty twenty four, had and 0:04:39.173 --> 0:04:43.733 have found his approval is quite fine. So there's that 0:04:44.293 --> 0:04:48.653 there's that contrast that was in existence, you know, throughout 0:04:48.693 --> 0:04:51.733 much of the twenty twenty four campaign between within the 0:04:51.733 --> 0:04:52.653 polling community. 0:04:53.013 --> 0:04:56.213 All right, so let's look at the figures. Is Trump 0:04:56.293 --> 0:05:02.053 fixing or breaking America? Was the title of it? You've got, well, 0:05:02.053 --> 0:05:02.853 why don't you deliver? 0:05:04.093 --> 0:05:08.853 So it's it's memory Services fifty one saying that he 0:05:09.093 --> 0:05:14.693 is fixing and thirty seven saying he's breaking the country, 0:05:16.093 --> 0:05:21.253 with you know, a healthy number the remainder saying neither. 0:05:21.413 --> 0:05:23.493 Neither is the case. They don't really have a fixer 0:05:24.333 --> 0:05:27.053 upon that, they don't have a strong sense of whether 0:05:27.333 --> 0:05:29.853 he's making the country better or worse. It's a it's 0:05:29.893 --> 0:05:32.893 a sort of simple crude, but we think effective way 0:05:32.933 --> 0:05:39.133 of just capturing how people think he's doing overall, given 0:05:39.213 --> 0:05:43.813 that most people who voted last year, whoever they voted for, 0:05:44.573 --> 0:05:48.293 thought that things weren't as they should be. Now, you know, 0:05:48.853 --> 0:05:51.813 many of them blamed Biden and Harris, but a good 0:05:51.893 --> 0:05:56.693 number thought that the problems that America faced, particularly the 0:05:56.853 --> 0:06:01.173 sort of larger our problems, were because of Trump and 0:06:01.213 --> 0:06:04.373 his ilk, threatening democracy and all this kind of stuff. 0:06:04.653 --> 0:06:08.773 So most people thought there were there were the change 0:06:08.813 --> 0:06:12.173 was necessary, the country needed to be fixed. And so 0:06:12.213 --> 0:06:14.933 we asked whether Trump was how he was doing on that, 0:06:15.173 --> 0:06:18.053 and we found that, you know, by a fair distance, 0:06:18.373 --> 0:06:23.373 given how tightly divided American politics are, is that most 0:06:23.413 --> 0:06:28.013 people think, yeah, despite the media's best efforts to spin 0:06:28.133 --> 0:06:32.053 things otherwise, Trump is actually you know, making some progress, 0:06:32.093 --> 0:06:32.853 making some headway. 0:06:33.653 --> 0:06:36.453 I'm I'm intrigued with the with the next set, So 0:06:36.653 --> 0:06:39.213 just just running through that again, fifty one percent say 0:06:39.253 --> 0:06:44.093 that he is fixing the country or the economy, thirty 0:06:44.133 --> 0:06:47.413 seven percent say breaking twelve percent neither. Then you get 0:06:47.413 --> 0:06:53.173 to Trump's actual approval rating, and you've got fifty You've 0:06:53.213 --> 0:06:59.213 got fifty two percent approve. Disapprove is forty six. So 0:06:59.813 --> 0:07:01.413 it's a you can look at it two. 0:07:01.453 --> 0:07:05.813 It in isolation, one would say that's a very good number, 0:07:05.853 --> 0:07:08.853 and I believe it is, and it's it's on on 0:07:08.893 --> 0:07:12.453 a par with the other better numbers for Trump out 0:07:12.493 --> 0:07:16.813 there from other poles, and in start contrast to the 0:07:16.853 --> 0:07:19.653 polls that show him down five or ten points on 0:07:19.653 --> 0:07:24.973 the approval disapproval question instead underwater in negative territory. But 0:07:25.533 --> 0:07:27.933 if you're if you look at it next to or 0:07:28.013 --> 0:07:33.613 following the question we've just discussed, it begs then the question, well, 0:07:34.293 --> 0:07:38.813 why if only thirty seven percent think he's breaking it 0:07:38.853 --> 0:07:43.733 to forty six percent disapprove Exactly What that reveals is 0:07:43.773 --> 0:07:50.613 that when you ask people questions that either directly or indirectly, 0:07:50.653 --> 0:07:53.493 explicitly or implicitly get to the issue of issues of 0:07:54.093 --> 0:07:57.373 tangible change, and most people think of it interest They 0:07:57.373 --> 0:07:58.653 think of in terms of the country as a whole, 0:07:58.653 --> 0:08:02.093 but most people think first and foremost tangible change in 0:08:02.093 --> 0:08:06.613 their own lives, the lies of those around them. Then 0:08:06.653 --> 0:08:12.213 you get a less negative response because two thirds of them, 0:08:12.453 --> 0:08:15.013 you know, only a third of the country really thinks 0:08:15.053 --> 0:08:17.493 that things are not getting better, or at least they're 0:08:17.493 --> 0:08:22.693 not getting worse. But when you ask exclusively about Trump himself, 0:08:22.853 --> 0:08:29.933 as president. A president's you know, personal qualities or perceptions 0:08:29.933 --> 0:08:33.813 of his personal qualities are always going to affect that number, 0:08:33.813 --> 0:08:36.133 And of course Trump is the epitomizes how it can 0:08:36.213 --> 0:08:40.293 do in ways, you know, positive or negative. So when 0:08:40.333 --> 0:08:44.173 people are asked exclusively about Trump and not his policies, 0:08:44.693 --> 0:08:48.933 then you get a much more reflexive default response from 0:08:49.333 --> 0:08:51.613 you know, almost half the country, which is, well, I 0:08:51.613 --> 0:08:54.453 don't like Trump. I wish he wasn't president. So I'm 0:08:54.453 --> 0:08:57.893 going to say I disapprove of his presidency to this point, 0:08:58.093 --> 0:09:00.733 even though, as I say, a slice of that, a 0:09:00.813 --> 0:09:03.533 significant slice of those who disapprove of him as president 0:09:04.133 --> 0:09:08.293 actually recognize that he's not doing such a terrible job. 0:09:10.013 --> 0:09:12.653 Is there is there a strong possibility that a significant 0:09:12.733 --> 0:09:16.013 number would have voted for him as well those who disapprove. 0:09:17.093 --> 0:09:20.533 Uh, those that some some some, yeah, some would have 0:09:20.573 --> 0:09:23.733 been some some would have stayed home. You know, that 0:09:23.893 --> 0:09:26.773 was one of the problems that Democrats had if Harris 0:09:26.773 --> 0:09:32.013 didn't enthuse enough enough folks on that side. Uh. And 0:09:32.053 --> 0:09:34.453 where whereas Trump had the opposite effect. You know, he 0:09:34.453 --> 0:09:38.493 was able to squeeze out every every possible vote where 0:09:38.533 --> 0:09:41.533 Harris wasn't. And so yeah, you have people who didn't vote, 0:09:41.693 --> 0:09:43.893 who couldn't bring himself they would never vote for Trump vote, 0:09:43.893 --> 0:09:46.853 we may never vote for a Republican perhaps most likely 0:09:48.053 --> 0:09:50.613 they you know, they just sort of said, well, I just, 0:09:50.653 --> 0:09:52.453 you know, wake up on our election morning and I 0:09:52.453 --> 0:09:54.333 hope Harris is one, but you know, I just can't 0:09:54.333 --> 0:09:59.373 bring myself to actually vote for uh uh. And now 0:09:59.413 --> 0:10:02.453 that Trump's president, they wish he wasn't and they're willing 0:10:02.493 --> 0:10:06.693 to say so, but they're not moved sufficiently to say 0:10:06.693 --> 0:10:09.413 anything particularly enthusiastic about the other side. 0:10:10.293 --> 0:10:12.573 Let us take a side road just for a moment. 0:10:13.413 --> 0:10:16.533 You mentioned Harris. She was Did you know that she 0:10:16.613 --> 0:10:18.973 was down in Australia just last week? 0:10:19.773 --> 0:10:21.933 I did. Yes, It's got a little bit of play 0:10:22.093 --> 0:10:23.013 in this part of the world. 0:10:23.093 --> 0:10:26.493 That's more than that deserved. She was she was appearing 0:10:26.533 --> 0:10:31.053 at a real estate conference in Queensland. In Queensland, did 0:10:31.133 --> 0:10:32.453 you see any of her speech? 0:10:34.133 --> 0:10:36.493 Just literally just like a SoundBite or two. 0:10:37.773 --> 0:10:40.973 The well, let's put it this way, Sky News Australia 0:10:41.133 --> 0:10:44.493 just took the took the bat to her. Is she 0:10:45.213 --> 0:10:47.653 just what on earth was she doing there? Why on 0:10:47.693 --> 0:10:49.813 earth did she come? What did they get it down? 0:10:49.893 --> 0:10:52.573 For for heaven's sake, word salad all over again. 0:10:52.653 --> 0:10:54.333 Yeah yeah, oh yeah, yeah. 0:10:54.373 --> 0:10:56.693 It was just the same, just exactly the same same 0:10:56.733 --> 0:10:59.893 approach that she used just before. Nothing's changed. She's got 0:10:59.893 --> 0:11:02.013 no show of ever becoming president. 0:11:02.893 --> 0:11:07.893 No, no, she's incapable of learning, doesn't really want to learn. 0:11:08.893 --> 0:11:12.813 Still doesn't understand why she lost, expected to win, and 0:11:13.613 --> 0:11:17.373 you know, fair chance to run for governor of California, 0:11:17.933 --> 0:11:20.733 and if she does, she probably wins, because you know, 0:11:20.973 --> 0:11:25.493 someone like her wins in California and in her own head, 0:11:26.053 --> 0:11:29.373 the last presidential election will just be this inexplicable blip 0:11:30.373 --> 0:11:34.893 in her career. But yeah, it's you have been I mean, 0:11:34.933 --> 0:11:36.693 I say, I haven't didn't see the whole speech, but 0:11:37.093 --> 0:11:42.213 where you know, the exposure that she's had since so 0:11:42.413 --> 0:11:47.973 many people comment on how especially relieved they are how 0:11:47.973 --> 0:11:51.933 the election went when they are reminded of who would 0:11:51.973 --> 0:11:55.173 have been president if it had gone another way. Rights, 0:11:55.613 --> 0:12:01.093 it's something that is, you know, implicitly helping Trump. It's 0:12:01.133 --> 0:12:04.173 the contrast with Biden, but but with what Biden was. 0:12:04.853 --> 0:12:08.173 And there's also the contrast with what Harris would have been. 0:12:09.373 --> 0:12:12.373 And you know, sometimes you're very unlucky with your opponents 0:12:12.453 --> 0:12:16.813 or enemies, and sometimes you are quite lucky, and Job 0:12:16.933 --> 0:12:19.413 was quite lucky in the end that it was Biden. 0:12:19.413 --> 0:12:22.133 And then Harris, so. 0:12:22.693 --> 0:12:24.693 I think this is the first time we've spoken since 0:12:24.933 --> 0:12:30.733 since the election night. And and then we all, you know, 0:12:30.733 --> 0:12:32.253 in this part of the world, we went on holiday, 0:12:32.253 --> 0:12:36.013 and what have you. I'd like your personal opinion, not 0:12:36.093 --> 0:12:40.373 your official one, your personal opinion on how Trump is doing. 0:12:41.013 --> 0:12:43.493 How would you rate him? I don't care how you 0:12:43.933 --> 0:12:47.973 approach this on various matters, but overall, what do you say. 0:12:49.333 --> 0:12:52.373 Well, I'd give him. I give him an A plus 0:12:52.413 --> 0:12:54.853 for effort to this point, and I'd give him an 0:12:54.893 --> 0:12:59.293 a to anus in terms of outcomes. And as a 0:12:59.333 --> 0:13:02.813 sort of general statement, I based it on the fact 0:13:02.853 --> 0:13:11.093 that second terms, which of course this is usually underwhelming, 0:13:11.173 --> 0:13:14.693 maybe unkind, but they tend to be more of a 0:13:14.773 --> 0:13:17.853 victory lap or a legacy lap than anything else. And 0:13:18.013 --> 0:13:21.053 Trump could have taken his foot off the gas, as 0:13:21.053 --> 0:13:26.813 they say, you know, you know, vengeance or endorsement of 0:13:26.933 --> 0:13:29.773 him belatedly after what happened in twenty twenty. But no, 0:13:30.253 --> 0:13:34.493 he has approached his second term in a way that's 0:13:34.533 --> 0:13:38.173 even more impactful than he attempted in his first and 0:13:38.213 --> 0:13:41.933 more impactful and I think ultimately consequential. The most presidents 0:13:41.973 --> 0:13:45.693 do in their first terms, to say they blew out 0:13:45.733 --> 0:13:48.333 of the gate is putting it, you know, mildly. I mean, 0:13:48.373 --> 0:13:51.373 they were so prepared, They were so much better prepared 0:13:51.373 --> 0:13:54.213 this time. He and those around him clearly learned so 0:13:54.413 --> 0:14:00.173 many painful lessons from twenty seventeen eighteen especially, And while 0:14:01.053 --> 0:14:03.573 he hasn't got it all right in terms of personnel, 0:14:04.013 --> 0:14:06.733 and I don't think he's made all the right moves, 0:14:07.213 --> 0:14:10.013 I think most of the movie have been have been 0:14:10.133 --> 0:14:14.213 very positive. Most of the people that he has put 0:14:14.253 --> 0:14:17.813 around him are far superior than the one His team 0:14:17.893 --> 0:14:21.293 is far superior than the one he had in twenty seventeen. 0:14:22.653 --> 0:14:28.173 And the enormous number of areas that he's attempting to, 0:14:29.533 --> 0:14:34.693 you know, initiate really significant structural reform. You know, it's 0:14:34.693 --> 0:14:37.613 always said that, I mean prime ministers often don't have 0:14:37.693 --> 0:14:40.933 that in parliamentaris and have that much leeway and two 0:14:41.053 --> 0:14:43.693 or three issues may do it. But with presidents, especially 0:14:44.293 --> 0:14:46.333 American presidents, you know, two or three things you can 0:14:46.373 --> 0:14:48.933 focus on and hope to get a fair bit of 0:14:48.973 --> 0:14:51.813 what you're looking for in your first term. And Trump 0:14:51.933 --> 0:14:54.813 is just you know, throwing out that playbook, especially for 0:14:54.853 --> 0:14:57.533 a second term, and just going for it, you know, 0:14:57.973 --> 0:15:01.253 across the board. And this is this is I think 0:15:01.293 --> 0:15:05.573 it's two very strong positives politically out of this. One 0:15:05.693 --> 0:15:12.253 is it has really pleasantly surprised, impressed, reassured most of 0:15:12.253 --> 0:15:14.813 those who voted for him that he was serious about 0:15:14.813 --> 0:15:17.693 the things he was said he wanted to do. And secondly, 0:15:17.773 --> 0:15:22.893 it has totally depressed the opposition. It is because they 0:15:23.933 --> 0:15:26.333 one hoped he wasn't serious as they had hoped in 0:15:26.373 --> 0:15:29.293 his first term, but they would thinking, well, you know, 0:15:29.453 --> 0:15:31.893 first month, he'll try this, second or third month, he'll 0:15:31.893 --> 0:15:34.573 try that, and they'll be able to do their usual 0:15:35.053 --> 0:15:38.093 you know, pounce on it, go push back on it, 0:15:38.373 --> 0:15:41.653 media attacks, all of that. But of course he's been 0:15:41.733 --> 0:15:44.493 ann he was announcing this first hundred days, you know, 0:15:44.613 --> 0:15:47.093 new policies, not his every day, but every hour on 0:15:47.173 --> 0:15:49.533 a whole host of different issues. So they have just 0:15:49.733 --> 0:15:54.413 been completely bewildered, just spinning around like you know, tops 0:15:54.453 --> 0:15:58.293 out of control, which is meant that the it's been 0:15:58.453 --> 0:16:02.333 very very hard for the opposition, the criticism of any 0:16:02.373 --> 0:16:07.893 of these individual policies to get enough attention to even 0:16:07.893 --> 0:16:14.533 potentially stick. And it's really meant that the Twite House 0:16:14.573 --> 0:16:16.813 has been on the front foot. The Democrats have been 0:16:16.893 --> 0:16:19.053 very much on the back foot, and so it's I 0:16:19.053 --> 0:16:20.573 think it's just very very encouraging. 0:16:22.333 --> 0:16:26.253 Would you say that the Democrats picking up the pieces 0:16:26.373 --> 0:16:29.933 and making progress in the direction they'd like to? 0:16:31.213 --> 0:16:36.573 No, I wouldn't. I don't they have been. I'm actually 0:16:36.613 --> 0:16:40.053 surprised at how poorly they've they've dealt with it. They 0:16:40.093 --> 0:16:44.373 are still clueless as to what happened. They now accept, 0:16:44.413 --> 0:16:47.933 they acknowledge now that you know that yes, a lot 0:16:47.973 --> 0:16:51.133 of young people voted for Trump, and that you know 0:16:51.173 --> 0:16:53.493 a lot of Hispanics did, and a surprising number of 0:16:53.533 --> 0:16:57.293 black people, particularly black men, and there's all these poor 0:16:57.293 --> 0:16:59.693 people who voted for Trump. They now accept that, which 0:16:59.733 --> 0:17:02.973 they always resisted in twenty sixteen, after twenty sixteen, and 0:17:02.973 --> 0:17:05.613 again after twenty twenty, But they don't have the first 0:17:05.733 --> 0:17:09.573 idea why. You're right, there's still very much of the 0:17:09.653 --> 0:17:13.693 mindset that Trump and Musk and the other mysterious figures, 0:17:13.933 --> 0:17:21.053 other nefarious figures, somehow we're able to conn all these uneducated, 0:17:21.453 --> 0:17:27.133 unsophisticated people to vote for him, and they the notion 0:17:27.333 --> 0:17:30.773 that their message was wrong, their candidates candidate was wrong 0:17:30.773 --> 0:17:33.933 about all of that, and they're having real trouble coming 0:17:33.933 --> 0:17:35.773 to terms. I mean, it's always difficult and you lose 0:17:36.013 --> 0:17:37.413 to actually look in the mirror and go, you know 0:17:37.533 --> 0:17:40.173 a lot of it was my fault. But they're not 0:17:40.213 --> 0:17:43.733 even close to doing that. So you know, that's you know, 0:17:43.773 --> 0:17:46.133 that's really good news for Trump and the Republicans. Of course, 0:17:46.573 --> 0:17:50.293 you know, come the mid terms, come the next presidential elections, 0:17:50.573 --> 0:17:53.373 as usual, it will probably be more about the incumbent 0:17:53.453 --> 0:17:55.733 party and the won't be the incumbent president, but you know, 0:17:55.813 --> 0:17:57.733 if it's the vice come and vice president, then it 0:17:57.733 --> 0:18:00.453 will be about the opposition. So if things have seemed 0:18:00.453 --> 0:18:02.573 to go poorly over the next two or three years, 0:18:03.093 --> 0:18:07.093 then even if they don't get their act together, they 0:18:07.173 --> 0:18:11.973 may slip in again, you know, because they're but like 0:18:12.013 --> 0:18:14.373 you know, the Labor Party did in England in the UK, 0:18:14.733 --> 0:18:19.293 because they're not the unpopular incumbent. But at the moment, 0:18:19.773 --> 0:18:22.293 it looks like things will really have to go off 0:18:22.333 --> 0:18:25.533 the rails for the Trump administration for the Democrats to 0:18:25.573 --> 0:18:28.693 have a good chance next time around. 0:18:28.493 --> 0:18:32.973 Depending depending on the media that you that you attend. Yeah, 0:18:33.333 --> 0:18:36.413 you could be forgiven for thinking that lots and lots 0:18:36.493 --> 0:18:39.093 is going wrong with the Trump adminstration. 0:18:40.053 --> 0:18:43.093 Oh my goodness. Yeah, I mean things the media tells us, 0:18:43.133 --> 0:18:45.613 has told us from day one. I mean it's incredible. 0:18:45.613 --> 0:18:48.413 I mean, inflation is up, the economy is crashing, the 0:18:48.413 --> 0:18:52.533 stock market's trashing. Trump is even more unpopular in his 0:18:52.573 --> 0:18:56.453 second term with foreign leaders and foreign electorates than he 0:18:56.613 --> 0:19:02.333 was in this term. He has really incompetent in people. Really, 0:19:02.493 --> 0:19:08.773 the visive cabinet secretaries. The policies aren't thought out, they're 0:19:08.933 --> 0:19:15.773 they're coldheartedly callously firing you know, wonderful government public service workers, 0:19:16.333 --> 0:19:19.533 willy nilly. Uh, it's just I mean just taking a 0:19:19.573 --> 0:19:23.053 wrecking ball to important programs. I mean, this is you know, 0:19:23.133 --> 0:19:28.853 this has been the word from day one, and that 0:19:29.093 --> 0:19:32.213 there's two problems with that in terms of getting an 0:19:32.253 --> 0:19:34.653 audience or getting an audience, you know, a sort of 0:19:34.693 --> 0:19:39.333 majority audience, critical mass to to go with that. One 0:19:39.373 --> 0:19:42.693 is when any of any of those claims or at 0:19:42.693 --> 0:19:50.093 tax or investigator that they're demonstrably untrue or you know, inaccurate. Uh. 0:19:50.133 --> 0:19:54.653 And also the media, you know, is even less trusted 0:19:55.013 --> 0:19:57.573 than it was four years ago, uh, you know, the 0:19:57.573 --> 0:20:00.813 trend line continues down is the legacy media is just 0:20:01.653 --> 0:20:03.853 you know, the first thing a lot of people think 0:20:03.893 --> 0:20:05.893 when they see a CNN headline or a New York 0:20:05.893 --> 0:20:09.773 Times headline, they think, oh my, be the opposite then, right, 0:20:09.893 --> 0:20:13.373 I mean, it's just they've just cried wolf, told too 0:20:13.373 --> 0:20:19.333 many lies too many times. So at the moment, it's 0:20:19.373 --> 0:20:21.373 it's just not paying off. But as I say, you know, 0:20:21.773 --> 0:20:25.813 things turn you know, figuratively south in terms of policy outcomes, 0:20:25.853 --> 0:20:29.613 then more people will think the media is onto something. 0:20:29.693 --> 0:20:33.453 But you know, most people know the media is going 0:20:33.493 --> 0:20:36.293 to attempt to destroy Trump's second term the way they 0:20:36.293 --> 0:20:38.493 it is. First, I mean, there was a statistic I 0:20:38.573 --> 0:20:42.413 just earlier today from the Media Research Center on you know, 0:20:42.413 --> 0:20:46.173 they regularly update the nature of the coverage of any 0:20:46.213 --> 0:20:50.013 given president, and Trump's coverage so far in his second 0:20:50.093 --> 0:20:53.413 term is something like ninety one or ninety two percent negative, 0:20:54.133 --> 0:20:57.893 whereas Biden's was something like sixty five seventy percent positive. 0:20:59.413 --> 0:21:02.133 And you know, it's you know, that's just the way 0:21:02.333 --> 0:21:07.773 it is in America. Fortunately, as I say, increasingly people 0:21:07.773 --> 0:21:11.813 don't believe legacy media, and also the independent alternative media 0:21:12.453 --> 0:21:18.493 is thriving. And so there are other sources more generally 0:21:18.533 --> 0:21:21.773 more reliable, and certainly contrasting that more and more people 0:21:22.133 --> 0:21:24.053 actually pay more and more attention to. 0:21:24.293 --> 0:21:27.573 If I want to suggest that the situation that the 0:21:27.573 --> 0:21:30.533 Democrats find themselves in has a great deal to do 0:21:30.653 --> 0:21:35.733 with their collective low IQ, you would say. 0:21:35.653 --> 0:21:39.413 Well, I would say I personally, I pretended to say yes, 0:21:39.493 --> 0:21:45.093 I mean professionally, I would say they are incredibly, almost 0:21:45.173 --> 0:21:50.373 unbelievably uninformed and ill informed. It's to the point where, 0:21:50.693 --> 0:21:54.453 in terms of the politicians, you have to ask yourself, 0:21:54.733 --> 0:21:57.453 do they actually believe what they're saying or is it 0:21:57.613 --> 0:22:01.533 simply a con right? You know? Is it just a 0:22:01.613 --> 0:22:04.973 means to an end when it comes to ordinary folk 0:22:05.333 --> 0:22:09.093 who loyally vote for them and will tell you how 0:22:09.173 --> 0:22:12.613 terrible Trump is and all the rest of it, a 0:22:12.653 --> 0:22:14.053 lot of it is. I think it's just it's just 0:22:14.173 --> 0:22:19.973 lack of quality information. But you you know, I would 0:22:20.013 --> 0:22:22.653 I would. I would say the IQ of the iriage 0:22:22.653 --> 0:22:25.413 democratic voter is probably quite a bit higher than the 0:22:25.413 --> 0:22:29.053 IQ of the ariage democratic politician. It appears if ifyone 0:22:29.093 --> 0:22:32.213 takes them at their word, that they are well intentioned, 0:22:32.373 --> 0:22:36.533 well meaning, and you know, genuine people I'm. 0:22:36.413 --> 0:22:41.893 Just wondering about your your reference to information, getting bad information, 0:22:42.013 --> 0:22:45.253 wrong information, et cetera. And if you and if you 0:22:45.333 --> 0:22:48.093 equate that to IQ, surely the two go hand in hand. 0:22:48.333 --> 0:22:51.013 In most cases, if you've got a low IQ, you 0:22:51.093 --> 0:22:54.333 don't even know you're getting bad information or or or 0:22:54.373 --> 0:22:58.413 you or you're treating it as a weapon even even 0:22:58.453 --> 0:23:01.973 though you recognize it. So you're you're not only not 0:23:02.013 --> 0:23:05.613 only trying to fool your voting public, but you're actually 0:23:06.493 --> 0:23:08.773 having yourself on a bit as well. 0:23:08.973 --> 0:23:11.013 Yeah, no, there's say something of that. And I think 0:23:11.013 --> 0:23:14.293 another thing that plays into this in America. I mean 0:23:14.373 --> 0:23:15.893 very a lot of the West, but America is the 0:23:15.893 --> 0:23:20.653 probably the best example, is there are so many well educated, 0:23:21.093 --> 0:23:25.053 formally well educated, very well educated people who are actually 0:23:25.173 --> 0:23:28.533 actually know very little about things. Right there, we become 0:23:28.573 --> 0:23:32.173 such a credentialed society. This is this is This is 0:23:32.213 --> 0:23:35.293 across the board, but it's especially on the left. Right, 0:23:35.373 --> 0:23:41.973 you have so many people and it scus excus female 0:23:42.053 --> 0:23:46.533 and excus minorities. There's something like sixty five seventy percent 0:23:46.853 --> 0:23:50.693 of black women in Black American women with degrees work 0:23:50.773 --> 0:23:53.573 for the government. Right, and what that means if you 0:23:53.653 --> 0:23:56.853 drill down is they work in human resources and communications 0:23:56.893 --> 0:24:01.733 and this, et cetera, et cetera, and they've been educated 0:24:01.773 --> 0:24:05.933 in a way that is not helpful to learning how 0:24:05.933 --> 0:24:10.173 the world really works. And you know, they continue along 0:24:10.173 --> 0:24:14.853 that path in their careers and in their voting habits. 0:24:14.853 --> 0:24:18.013 So it's you know, you have a lot of people. 0:24:18.093 --> 0:24:20.253 I'm not saying this to counter what you said late, 0:24:20.373 --> 0:24:22.013 but just to sort of flesh it out a bit 0:24:22.093 --> 0:24:23.773 from my end, I think you have a lot of 0:24:23.813 --> 0:24:27.973 people on the left who believe that they are very 0:24:27.973 --> 0:24:31.533 bright because they have never been they never been, never 0:24:31.573 --> 0:24:34.293 failed anything, because they've been allowed to fail. They've always 0:24:34.333 --> 0:24:38.493 been passed, pushed on, passed through. And they think that 0:24:38.573 --> 0:24:42.853 their degrees and certificates on the wall and their business 0:24:42.853 --> 0:24:47.733 cards entitle them to be really good judges, to have 0:24:47.813 --> 0:24:49.613 very good judgment when it comes to what's good and 0:24:49.653 --> 0:24:52.653 bad information, when in fact it's the opposite. You know, 0:24:52.693 --> 0:24:56.693 they they are they are so deferential when it comes 0:24:56.733 --> 0:25:03.373 to the experts, that is, the approved experts, that they're unquestioning. 0:25:03.413 --> 0:25:05.293 And of course this is what you want. If you 0:25:05.453 --> 0:25:09.213 want a controlling, top down kind of ideology, take route 0:25:09.613 --> 0:25:12.813 which it has you know, massive parts of the country. 0:25:13.773 --> 0:25:17.053 And so it's whether there is it that they're really 0:25:17.053 --> 0:25:20.013 not very bright, or is it just that they're poorly educated, 0:25:20.093 --> 0:25:24.813 or is it some combination of the two self deceit. Yeah, 0:25:24.853 --> 0:25:27.133