1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics, 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: where we discussed the top political headlines with some of 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: today's best minds. And for the sixth consecutive month in 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: a row, the United States has accepted only white refugees. 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: We have such a great show for you today. The 6 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: Lincoln Project's own Rick Wilson joined us to talk about 7 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: Trump melting down on Meet the Press. Then we'll talk 8 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: to Pro Publica's own Robert Baderucci about Trump's doom choice 9 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: for DNI build Bolty. 10 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 2: But first the news. 11 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 3: Smiley Axios has this interesting article on graph about how 12 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 3: hard it actually is that Republicans have made it for 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 3: the Democrats to get a majority. 14 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 4: This is an old thing. 15 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 3: We used to see in North Carolina that they would 16 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 3: need to get like sixty percent of the voats to 17 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 3: get half the House. And now we can see this 18 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,279 Speaker 3: in actual numbers, now that most of the dust has 19 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 3: settled on bunch of this redistricting fuckery they've been doing. 20 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, so basically Democrats have to overperform in order to 21 00:00:58,680 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: win the House. 22 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 2: We saw them again. 23 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: This is the point of gerrymandering is to make it 24 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,199 Speaker 1: so that it's harder for Democrats to flip the House 25 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: and this and look, remember this is a joint effort 26 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 1: between Republicans in the legislator, the legislature and Republicans in 27 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: the Supreme Court who stripped Section two of the Voting 28 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: Rights Act and made it so that basically disenfranchised all 29 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: of the many people who gave their lives for civil 30 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: rights in the nineteen sixties. And it is just totally disgusting. 31 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: Before the redistrict and push, Democrats only needed to outrun 32 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: Harris's margin by three point one vote points to win 33 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: a House majority. By the way, that's still not a democracy, 34 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: but whatever. Now they have to run four point nine 35 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: points ahead of Harris's margins in order to flip the 36 00:01:58,320 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: House of Representatives. 37 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 2: It'll probably work this year. 38 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: Because Democrats are running so ahead and Donald Trump is 39 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: doing so much unpopular stuff, but eventually this is going 40 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 1: to end, probably in twenty twenty eight, completely fuck over Democrats. 41 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: So it is really really, really just completely criminal on 42 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: the part of Republicans and anti democratic YEP. 43 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 3: So we have always seen that California is the slowest 44 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 3: state to count votes in America on a very regular basis. 45 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 3: It's a very big state, but particularly you can't believe 46 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 3: how late these come in. When we saw Hillary Clinton 47 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 3: win the popular vote, we saw that that number just 48 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 3: kept going up as California counted votes. 49 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 4: This has been going on for a long time. 50 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 3: Trump obviously had a meltdown about it on Meet the 51 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 3: Press today that you and Rick. 52 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 4: Wilson talked about in the next section. 53 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 3: But the DOJ is going in to investigate and waste 54 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 3: our tax dollars as they find out infrastructure is bad 55 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 3: and we haven't invested in that. 56 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 5: Yeah. 57 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: So basically this is so interesting for any number of reasons. 58 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: California just takes forever to count votes, should it. No, 59 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 1: we should have infrastructure, so this doesn't happen. Do we 60 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: have the infrastructure? No? Is this a failure of Republicans. No, 61 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: it's a failure on the part of Democrats. It's a 62 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: one party state, Democrats supermajority, and it's a failure on 63 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: the part of everyone. But the point is now Spencer Pratt, 64 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: who is a complete lunatic, is going to say that 65 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: the system was rigged against him, when in fact, what's 66 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: really interesting And if you're Karen Bass, you'd rather run 67 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: against Spencer Pratt than the more lefty Democrat, because I 68 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: think that the city of Los Angeles is, you know, 69 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: sixty five percent democratic. 70 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 4: The estimate I saw it was plus fifty square up. 71 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, so this is not a city where Spencer Pratt 72 00:03:55,520 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: should win as a lunatic who posts AI unless he's 73 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: trying to like appeal to moderates, and that I think 74 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: is a real I think what his people don't totally understand. 75 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: And remember also a lot of his people don't necessarily 76 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: live in Los Angeles. 77 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, they keep talking like this is their corner. And 78 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 3: when you spend any time in Los Angeles, like you 79 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 3: and I do often, you know damn well that it's 80 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 3: just like being where we live where it's pretty hard 81 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 3: to find somebody who's really into The guy who puts 82 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 3: crystals to his head tells Alex Jonesy's the greatest journalist 83 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 3: of all time and says that we're raping dogs in 84 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 3: the streets all day. 85 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: Yeah, it just shows a complete lack of understanding of 86 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: the district he's running in. That said, there's also counting 87 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: going on in other parts of this state. We are 88 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: stire fans, let's just be honest here, and everyone's mad 89 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: at us for being stire fans, which I guess I 90 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: don't know why, who knows, but you know, I think 91 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: stire is probably not going to catch up with Steve Hilton. 92 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: But there's a world in which it happens, right or 93 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: is it? I think it may be too late now. 94 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,239 Speaker 3: I think we're about cooked, but there's like a miracle. 95 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 3: I mean, listen that the ramin got a lot of 96 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 3: votes in the last dump that were a bit unexpected 97 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 3: and personally, I actually were the things I disagree with 98 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 3: you is I think Karen Bass would rather run against 99 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 3: her because she's you know, she's my politics. 100 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:15,799 Speaker 4: She's a terrible, terrible candidate. 101 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: Anyway, The point is either way, Spencer Pratt doesn't totally 102 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: understand what he's running, which makes a lot of sense. 103 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 1: He's also not living in an airstream but living in 104 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 1: the bel Air Hotel. As someone who is a huge 105 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: bel Air Hotel fan, I have to tell you it's 106 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: a very nice hotel. And yet this is why he 107 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: should probably not be mayor. 108 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 3: Yep, giant liar and also like making JD Vance's bullshit 109 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 3: seem more rational with how far he's going. So Trump 110 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 3: says he wants his new acting Director of National Intelligence 111 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 3: to cut the office. 112 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: I mean sure, you know, I want to pause from 113 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: an intalkabout saying that we were told earlier on this 114 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: podcast last week, DNA, according to people in the Trump administration, 115 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: do not invite. So basically, the DNI has been so 116 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: sidelined and sidetracked that Tulsi did not get a ton 117 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: of a ton of airtime with Trump. Now, look, Donald 118 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: Trump has done all sorts of things that have made 119 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: us less safe, like his forays into Iran. 120 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 2: And if there ever. 121 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: Were a moment when we would want some really good 122 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: national security coordination, it would be now. The DNI is 123 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: just one more part of that. If we had a 124 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 1: normal DNI. No one thinks that Paulty will be a 125 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: good normal DNI. By the way, Paulty's not getting through 126 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: the Senate. He may even, you know, when he doesn't 127 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: have the national security It's written in the statute that 128 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: that person who takes that job is supposed to have 129 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 1: a national security background. So I'm very curious to see 130 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: if he can even get this guy across the even 131 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: acting finish line. Remember Tulsi's in there for other three weeks, 132 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: so I'll be very curious. I take everything that has 133 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: to do with Bill Baldi with a huge grain of salt, 134 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: and so should you. Because my man is so bad 135 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: at real estate that his own family doesn't want. 136 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 2: I'm involved in the family business. 137 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: Sounds like a perfect Trump pick to me. Perfect And 138 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: his haircut, what even is that hairtime? 139 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 4: Well, I will be honest with you, I didn't clock 140 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 4: the haircut. 141 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 2: I'll send it to you. It's unbelievable. 142 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 3: So after we get done taping on Friday, the Senate 143 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 3: continued its vote to palooza, and a big, big, big, 144 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 3: big piece of anxiety for many or of our listeners 145 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 3: and many on the Democratic side has been killed. The 146 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 3: Save Act was thwarted. 147 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, Senators voted forty eight to fifty against advancing an 148 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: amendment that would have incorporated Trump's top legislative priority, which 149 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: is basically into an immigration focus spending bill okay, I 150 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: think that sentence is the most curse sentence in American life. 151 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: They voted against advancing and amendment that incorporated Trump's leg 152 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: And by the way, Trump's legislative priority is fixing elections, 153 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: engagement wondering. It is an immigration focused spending villa. It 154 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: does not belong there, and it will not be there. 155 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: So it was against mail and voting, it was pro 156 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: voter ID, it was trying to make it very hard 157 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: for everyone to vote. And it's dead ding dong. Occasionally, 158 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: very very occasionally, the worst possible thing does not happen. 159 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: Rick Wilson is the founder of Lincoln Project and the 160 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: host of Lincoln Project podcast. 161 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 2: Welcome, Welcome, Rick Wilson. 162 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 6: Hey, Molly, how are you. 163 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: I'm good this interview that where we saw Donald Trump 164 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,959 Speaker 1: just completely melt down at Kristen Welker. 165 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 2: Is he too emotional to be president? 166 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 6: I'm worried that he might be in menopause or something 167 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 6: because he's very emotional. I mean, I'm just concerned that 168 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 6: his emotions are going to sweep him away and some 169 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 6: sort of some sort of ill considered decision at some point, Molly, 170 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,439 Speaker 6: if this had been a hypothetical president Hillary Clinton or 171 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:14,479 Speaker 6: hypothetical president Kamala Harris, Fox News would have double sirens 172 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 6: running on both sides of the screen and it would 173 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 6: be the largest meltdown in American right wing social media history. 174 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 6: But Donald Trump showed us today. Look, I think two 175 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 6: thirds of the interview was pretty much like her asking 176 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 6: questions him, rolling over her. The usually crap from Trump, 177 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 6: but the last few minutes where he loses his shit 178 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 6: and he looked maniacal. In the last few minutes, he 179 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 6: was sweating like a hog. He looked like he was 180 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 6: out of his damn gord. His eyes were Pachinko balls 181 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 6: in his head, and he he really got deeply triggered 182 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,960 Speaker 6: on that and went into a rant like you rarely 183 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 6: see in insane person. I mean to be like, we 184 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 6: got to take the keys Grandpa for most American families. 185 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 6: So yeah, that was something. 186 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: That's the thing that I was thinking about too, was 187 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,839 Speaker 1: this idea that here's a guy who's seventy nine years old, 188 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,680 Speaker 1: and what I keep getting struck by is that he 189 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: just like quiet piggy, remember when he said that, Like, 190 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: it just feels like he doesn't have the kind of 191 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,840 Speaker 1: restraint that a person even five years younger might. 192 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 6: No, he really has lost that ability to check his 193 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 6: internal monologue and not have it spew out all over 194 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 6: that you know, the airwaves. He doesn't like her, obviously, 195 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 6: you can. You can, you definitely con vibe that from 196 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,840 Speaker 6: the very beginning. But there was a long period of 197 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 6: that interview where he was trying to lock down his 198 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 6: message on Iran in particular, it didn't go very well 199 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 6: on either side. I didn't think in that, you know, 200 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 6: she kept asking the same sort of family of questions. 201 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,199 Speaker 6: He kept lying about it. But at the end when 202 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 6: he became uncontrolled, and I'm so irate, he couldn't couldn't 203 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 6: manage his own emotions. I mean, there was a part 204 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 6: of that where I wish she had said, we're done, 205 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:10,960 Speaker 6: shut the mic off, We're done. I would love to 206 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 6: see that happen to him one time, one time. But 207 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 6: I mean, he jumps up, he throws the mic on 208 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 6: the ground, he stepped on the mic on his way 209 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 6: out of the interview. I think this was not a 210 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 6: great look for Trump. There will be some people on 211 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:29,359 Speaker 6: the right, the bright barterers are gonna go Trump flat firebombs, 212 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 6: lib TRD interview or whatever. But everybody who watches that 213 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:35,599 Speaker 6: in the in their in their in the comfort of 214 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 6: their own home is going to go. Even his supporters 215 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 6: would be like, dude, that's a lot, that's a little 216 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 6: much there, don a little a little too cuckoo. And 217 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,559 Speaker 6: if you're a foreign power or a foreign leader, holy crap, Molly. 218 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 6: He showed them once again he cannot regulate his emotional state. 219 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 6: He cannot manage his emotional state. They can poke him, 220 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 6: they can prod him, they can flatter him, they can 221 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 6: insult him, they can make him fly off the handle. 222 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 6: And let's go back to the words and wisdom of 223 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 6: Hillary Clinton. We do not need a president who can 224 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 6: be provoked by a tweet, and yet we have one. 225 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,439 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that is really scary. But I also 226 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:15,199 Speaker 1: do think like one of the things that he has 227 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: benefited from so much is his ability to just go 228 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: through people. Right. He's so skilled at doing interviews, he's 229 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: so skilled at being in the media that he tends 230 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: to be able to run roughshow over people and just 231 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: keep going. But he's doing these interviews because he needs 232 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 1: to win over the middle. 233 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 6: This entire interview really was fascinating to me in that regard, 234 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 6: because he made arguments like, the economy is better than 235 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 6: it's ever been, everybody's doing so great, We're going to 236 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 6: cut interest rates any minute now. The farmers all love me. 237 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:01,080 Speaker 6: This catalog of stuff he was saying, none of it's 238 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 6: true outside of his brain, and nobody's out in this 239 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 6: in the country right now saying, Wow, the economy could 240 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 6: just not be better. It is amazing how great the 241 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 6: economy is. Everybody's petrified. He may not have noticed it. 242 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 6: On Friday, the stock market took a massive nose day. 243 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 6: And call me crazy, but all of this I think 244 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 6: adds up to more even of his own supporters, like 245 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 6: he's not getting it, he doesn't understand it. I mean, 246 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,200 Speaker 6: I was really shocked he didn't like divert into the 247 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:33,840 Speaker 6: ballroom and the and the and the reflecting pond and 248 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 6: all that other stuff. But he doesn't. He doesn't even 249 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 6: know how disconnected he sounds now. 250 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,440 Speaker 1: But he is doing this because he knows that they're 251 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: pushing him to do these interviews, because they are hoping 252 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: that he can get himself in a better position for 253 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: the midroom. 254 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,199 Speaker 6: Yes, he doesn't want to do these interviews. He does 255 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,839 Speaker 6: not want to be out there. He clearly would prefer to. 256 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 2: Be golfing right right, or at Don Junior's. 257 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 6: Tell about Trump. He was sitting at that thing he 258 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 6: did at the John Deere at the farm rally this week. 259 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 6: I also noticed, and my wife was pointing out, like 260 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 6: what is wrong with his damn feet? Why he was 261 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 6: If you look at a picture of this of this interview, 262 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 6: first off, he's sweaty as hell. His eyes are almost 263 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 6: completely squinty, closed shot, and something is wrong with his 264 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 6: legs and feet. Something is weird about it. 265 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: So let's talk about that, because we try not to 266 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: talk about that because whatever, we're not doctors. But my 267 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: man certainly has bruises all down his hands. 268 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 6: Like inside the wrists now, and some of these photographs were. 269 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 2: Seen and he looks fairy swollen too. 270 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 6: He does. And his eyes are so swollen. He looks 271 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 6: like he's been you know, it looks like there's a 272 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 6: white house fight club. You know. His eyes are like 273 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 6: like completely piggied up. There's like big puffs underneath both eyes. 274 00:14:55,320 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 6: But again, as you said, we're not doctors, but some right. 275 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: I also think that what I see here is that 276 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 1: he benefits from looking so terrible like that he can 277 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: he sort of continues on this way, and so it 278 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: means that people don't ask questions like think so much 279 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: about Biden. Right, Biden has been out of the spotlight. 280 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: He gave he went and spoke in South Dakota, or 281 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: I think I think South Dakota. He was on the 282 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: was he was talking to a group this weekend, and 283 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: because he had been out of spotlight for such a 284 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: long time. Obviously he's not president anymore, but you know, 285 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: when he was president, he was not so often in 286 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: the spotlight, and he was not so often talking to 287 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 1: the press, and so every time he did he got 288 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: so much scrutiny, whereas Donald Trump is out there all 289 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: the time. 290 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, look, it's sort of like a medical 291 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 6: overton window. It's sort of like, he looks terrible. So 292 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 6: the next time you see him looking terrible, he you know, 293 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 6: he looks about as terrible as he did the last time. 294 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 6: But if you look at even from the fall of 295 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 6: twenty four to right now, this guy is in a 296 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 6: different physical world than he was even in the fall 297 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 6: of twenty four now much less in the fall of sixteen. 298 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 6: When you go back and look at that stuff, you know, 299 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 6: he looks like a guy who it looks like a 300 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 6: relatively healthy guy in the sixteen videos. 301 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 5: But now I think you're right. 302 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 6: I think people will sort of like they see it 303 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 6: so much. He's so omnipresent in our media that it 304 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 6: doesn't shock people as much as it would if they'd 305 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 6: just seen him for the first time in six months. 306 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: I also think because he gets away with so much, 307 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: and there's such a you know, a partisan framing about 308 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: him that if you criticize him, you must be you 309 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: must have trumped derangement. That that's a real thing when 310 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 1: you talk about Scott Pelley and CBS sixty minutes. God, 311 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: So basically the entire week. Pelly was fired after this 312 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: heated confrontation with a guy called Nick Bilton, who has 313 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: no experience with television. I know him from and I 314 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: know him from Bannie Fair. He was a blogger at 315 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: the Times than he was a writer at Fannie Fair. 316 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 2: No TV experience has been brought in. 317 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:06,439 Speaker 6: He's not I mean, I've read his stuff. He's not 318 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 6: a terrible writer. But running a television news magazine like 319 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 6: sixty minutes is a very narrow skill set and it's 320 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:16,440 Speaker 6: not you and I are good writers. That does not 321 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 6: mean we could run sixty more right. 322 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 2: And it's also. 323 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: Sixty minutes is hugely successful, wildly popular and has really 324 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: good numbers. So Scott Pelly did this interview today with 325 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 1: Lulu Garcia Navarro for The New York Times, and in 326 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: it he showed where Barry Wise had gone in and 327 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: said that you got to make the protesters look more 328 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: violent he said, not verbatim, but so talk to me, 329 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 1: and she said. 330 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 6: You need to make it look like she was that 331 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 6: renee Good was driving the car into the officers. And 332 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 6: here's the thing I think that's really important about that, Molly. 333 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:58,160 Speaker 6: As Pelly recounted this story, one very very interesting detail 334 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:02,440 Speaker 6: about it that he said, it was in an email 335 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 6: to Tanya Simon, who was running who is Pelly's boss 336 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,120 Speaker 6: at sixty Pelly's not going to make that up. He's 337 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 6: a straight guy. He's a He's a straight up guy. 338 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 6: He's not going to make up an email. That means 339 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 6: that email has been sent by Barry Weiss, seen by 340 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 6: other people, probably at least ten people, and that thing 341 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 6: now exists. It exists in the world. Barry Weiss is 342 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 6: is going to be in a really tough spot because 343 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 6: when it comes out that she did that, it blows 344 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 6: up the whole Barry Weiss idea. Oh, I'm a I'm 345 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 6: an iconoclastic truth teller. I don't want to have the 346 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 6: old legacy media putting their thumb on the scale, whereas 347 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 6: here we see she's putting her thumb on the scale 348 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 6: for the Trump White House, putting her thumb on the scale. 349 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,119 Speaker 6: For Donald Trump. Barry Weiss has carefully crafted this brand 350 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 6: from the moment she got in got sideways with the 351 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:58,719 Speaker 6: New York Times and when she created the Free Press, 352 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 6: that she's the icon conoclastic truth teller. She's the intellectual 353 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 6: dark Web queen who's not gonna who's not going to 354 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 6: pretend the old system of liberal journalism where they manipulate 355 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 6: the news is well, she's now the one playing the 356 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,719 Speaker 6: role as so many times these Republicans are like the 357 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,680 Speaker 6: projection is that is all they've got, And that's what 358 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 6: she's when we found out that all of our stuff 359 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 6: before you know, before CBS. 360 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 2: Was just projection, right, and it know is also like 361 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 2: you do see, this is. 362 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 1: A woman who has worked really hard to pain herself 363 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: as someone who. 364 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,439 Speaker 2: Is like for truth and for free speech. 365 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: I mean remember these people were all like free speech absolutist. 366 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 6: Oh I remember that era. And now it's it's Scott Pelly. 367 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 6: You dared to criticize me in a private meeting. Fuck 368 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,920 Speaker 6: you you're fired. Yeah, can I ask you one question. 369 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 6: I'm curious about something. Don't you think that at some 370 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,159 Speaker 6: point as CBS is going to start a I mean, 371 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 6: they're they're they're killing the golden goose of safety, which 372 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 6: makes over two or fifty million dollars a year for 373 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 6: the network. Net Yeah, profit, it's bang up numbers on digital, right, 374 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:12,880 Speaker 6: the sixty does amazing numbers, he said. 375 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: Scott Pelly said it does billions of imprints on digital, 376 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: which I thought was I thought, can't possibly be righty right? 377 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 6: But don't you think, I mean, don't you think the 378 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 6: crowning irony is going to be here eventually, that the 379 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,399 Speaker 6: Ellisons are going to have their own shareholders, Like you 380 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 6: can't kill the money making machine and they're gonna throw 381 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 6: Berry Weiss over the side in the end. 382 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: Well, that's I mean, that is the real question. And 383 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: remember there are all these people work at CNN who 384 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 1: are like in mortal panic. The Berry is going to 385 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: go in there, and you know, I mean, look, I 386 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 1: think it's important to pull back and realize that CNN 387 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: has already gone very conservative because you'll remember Chris Lick 388 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 1: came in and he basically tried really hard to I 389 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,679 Speaker 1: mean that was where Scott he sort of discovered Scott 390 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,880 Speaker 1: Jennings and elevated him so and then he got fired 391 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: because of this insane profile in the Atlantic where he 392 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: worked out with his trainer. 393 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 2: Despite being on ozembic. 394 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: I mean, just an incredible profile, one of the great profiles. 395 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 1: Go back and read it, just so well done. Yeah 396 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: it and it does absolutely prove the Janet Malcolm theory 397 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: of the case, which is everyone always betrays themselves sooner 398 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 1: or later. 399 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,360 Speaker 2: To a journalist. But I do think, like when you look. 400 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:38,400 Speaker 1: At this, CBS has a problem, which is they are 401 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,119 Speaker 1: so know, they have such a good reputation, or at 402 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,399 Speaker 1: least they had such a good reputation for being so 403 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: straight down the middle, and once you do one thing 404 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: to start to move it, to start to show that 405 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: you've got somebody with a finger on their skin on 406 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,879 Speaker 1: the scale, you can never you can. 407 00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 6: You can't hurt, you can't unring that bell ever, you know. 408 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 6: And I also think that the Ellisons and Barry Weiss 409 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,120 Speaker 6: have a one of two scenarios obtains. One is they 410 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 6: really want to burn it down completely. They don't care 411 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:09,359 Speaker 6: what the cost is. 412 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 2: That's one thing, and that's a disaster for shareholders, disaster. 413 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 6: And opening the Ellison's up for shareholder lawsuits for eternity. 414 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 6: The other scenario is that they're working off of false 415 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,360 Speaker 6: predicate and that is that Barry Weiss can turn CBS 416 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:31,879 Speaker 6: into respectable Fox and pull a big Republican audience, and 417 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,639 Speaker 6: you turn it into diet Fox. But my theory, the 418 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 6: case has always been Fox viewers want all the fat, 419 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:43,199 Speaker 6: all the sugar, all the caffeine of full Fox. They 420 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,879 Speaker 6: don't care. They don't want a lesser alternative. That's a mistake. 421 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 6: CNN is mad. I think a lot of the opinion shows. 422 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 6: I think it's a mistake that Weiss is probably laboring 423 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 6: under because as dark as I am, I don't think 424 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 6: that they that the Ellisons are like, let's buy this 425 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 6: and burn it the ground. We don't want to ever 426 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 6: make money. 427 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: Well, and also this is right, and this is a 428 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: very expensive asset, you know, with a lot of debt 429 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: that has to be serviced. So if they're doing this 430 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 1: to burn it down, it doesn't make a ton of sense, 431 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,639 Speaker 1: whereas like an Elon Musk that might make sense. I 432 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:18,880 Speaker 1: think that your case is proven by Joe Rogan. So 433 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: Joe Rogan has picked up a lot of the Fox 434 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: News audience. And he hasn't done it because he's respectable Fox. 435 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 1: He's done it because he's Fox with the sort of 436 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:32,879 Speaker 1: culture stuff. And he's also not he's both Fox and 437 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 1: not Fox right. He's this sort of populisty, you know, hell. 438 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 6: Right with a little more welcoming on the conspiracy theory 439 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,119 Speaker 6: stuff that that some of that Fox audience does not 440 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,399 Speaker 6: get as much from the network because. 441 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 2: They can't, right, because it's because they don't want. 442 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,480 Speaker 6: To be so lose defamation suits for eight hundred million 443 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 6: dollars if they feed them the garbage. 444 00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 2: Correct. 445 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,359 Speaker 1: And I think that part of it is that Barry 446 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:04,120 Speaker 1: has done something brilliant and she continues to reap success 447 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 1: from it, but is not it's not something that you 448 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: can move to some other place, which is she did 449 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: this newsletter that every rich guy in the world loved. 450 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: And I knew this because like two years ago, I 451 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,680 Speaker 1: was talking to a friend and she said, well, this 452 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: one and that billionaire and this billionaire and that billionaire 453 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: reads the Free Press. 454 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 2: And I said. 455 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: Really, and she said, oh, yes, this one and that one. 456 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 1: Because she was this very thin political view which was Zionist, 457 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 1: very very very zionist, but also anti tax. 458 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 6: And anti tax, anti cancel culture. 459 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:49,439 Speaker 1: Right, whatever that means, because they're pro right, the anti tax, 460 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,919 Speaker 1: anti quote unquote cancel culture, from the left but not 461 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 1: from the right, and also sort of socially liberal ish 462 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: but anti trans right, and that very rich guys love that. 463 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 6: Yeah, there is a subculture of rich guys in both 464 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:12,119 Speaker 6: private equity and in Silicon Valley and hedge funds and 465 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 6: hedge funds who think that the biggest problem in the 466 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 6: world today is their HR department and that they can't 467 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:20,840 Speaker 6: say the N word or the R word. We Hunt 468 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,639 Speaker 6: and Barry Weiss made them feel better about themselves. 469 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: Mark Andreasen said that he was very excited about AI 470 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: because I never calls the chart department. 471 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 6: Yeah. 472 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:37,159 Speaker 1: Yeah, AI is going to be really expensive, so he oh, yes, And. 473 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,800 Speaker 6: I will tell you I'm putting a lot of markers 474 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 6: down on the table on this. AI will be the 475 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,440 Speaker 6: biggest political issue in twenty twenty eight by an order 476 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:46,199 Speaker 6: of magnitude. 477 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 2: This is the biggest. 478 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: I mean, I wrote this piece for The Times this 479 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 1: weekend about the commencement speeches, and people hate AI and 480 00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 1: hate AI, and I don't it, And you know, I 481 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: don't know what. Maybe billionaires can convince people that being 482 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:12,480 Speaker 1: replaced by these chat but well, but also by electricity sucking, 483 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: water sucking giant many acre largely. 484 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 6: Here, here's a good stat there's a data center in 485 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 6: North Florida that's being proposed right now that is the 486 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 6: size of fifty walmarts. 487 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:31,440 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, it's so large. 488 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 6: It will require internal to the to the plant something 489 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,520 Speaker 6: like the equivalent of three counties worth of electricity around. 490 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 6: Oh yeah, how do they do it? It's just not 491 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 6: the whole thing is we are not grappling with this 492 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,800 Speaker 6: politically yet at at at the right stace. 493 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, before we end, are you going into Florida politics now, sir? 494 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 6: Well, you know I'm not going into into Florida politics. Well, 495 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 6: some friends and I have whipped up a little firm. 496 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 6: We're going to do some work on uh on David 497 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:09,120 Speaker 6: Jolly's external David Jolly's campaign, on a state super pac 498 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 6: for that. But I've been getting beaten around the head 499 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,679 Speaker 6: and shoulders for the last several years by Democratic candidates 500 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,680 Speaker 6: who like, can you help us on the outside, can 501 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 6: you give us, can you make ads for us? And 502 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 6: the answer has been like, well, we don't really have 503 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 6: a vehicle for that. We're at the Lincoln Project. Lincoln 504 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 6: Project is still going, but we've opened a new strategic 505 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 6: consulting firm that does media that you know, it's my 506 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 6: team from the Lincoln Project and we're super excited about 507 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 6: it and announced it a couple of days ago and 508 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:36,840 Speaker 6: the phone is not stopp bringing, so we're pretty happy 509 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 6: about it. It's called black portal strategies to reference the 510 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:40,639 Speaker 6: famous parties. 511 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,920 Speaker 1: Are you doing this because you think that the Florida 512 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: governorship can be flipped? 513 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 6: I do think that one hundred percent. 514 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:49,639 Speaker 2: Believe that Rick Wells ed. 515 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 6: It is fun and funny. All right, Thank you, molic. 516 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 6: Look forward to seeing you next time. 517 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,920 Speaker 1: Robert Fatorucci is investigative, a reporter for Pope Publica. 518 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,879 Speaker 2: And the host of the Paper for Hell podcast. Welcome, Welcome, Robert, 519 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,760 Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. Bill Poldy is in the news. 520 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:12,200 Speaker 1: He is the guy who might be DNI perhaps explain 521 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: to us what these mortgage frauds are and how they're used, etc. 522 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:22,200 Speaker 7: Yeah, so he has set a really low bar for 523 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 7: what constitutes mortgage fraud. He led the charge on this 524 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,680 Speaker 7: idea that if you have two principal residents mortgages, that 525 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,199 Speaker 7: inherently is fraud and evidence of a crime. And he 526 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 7: has used that as a tool to go after specifically 527 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 7: people who are political enemies of President Donald Trump. He 528 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 7: has denied that his motivations are partisan, but when you 529 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,480 Speaker 7: look at who he has gone after and who he 530 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 7: has not gone after, it seems to suggest that he 531 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 7: is only going after Democrats, and he is specifically going 532 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 7: after demomocrats who in some way stand in the way 533 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 7: of President Trump. 534 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 5: So you know Tiss. 535 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 7: James, the New York ag who has gone after Trump's businesses, 536 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:12,600 Speaker 7: or one of the Fed governors who did not agree 537 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 7: with President Trump about lowering interest rates, so you know 538 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 7: very specifically those kinds of people. So again, this is 539 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 7: a really low bar. And experts say that this alone 540 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 7: is not evidence. 541 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,960 Speaker 1: Of a crime, right, And the idea is, if you 542 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 1: have multiple houses, you may have multiple mortgages. 543 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 7: Yeah, and if you're going to do this correctly, the 544 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 7: way to do it is to not list your second 545 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 7: home as your principal residence, like you can list it 546 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:45,320 Speaker 7: as a rental property, or as a secondary home, or 547 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 7: as like a vacation home. There are other ways you 548 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 7: can do these mortgages. But again, this alone is not 549 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:55,760 Speaker 7: evidence that you have committed a crime definitively. But he 550 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 7: has set this really low bar, and so we have 551 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 7: this idea to look at Trump's cabinet to see if 552 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 7: anyone else had done this thing that Bill Polti has 553 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 7: said as a crime. And we found, you know, in 554 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 7: his cabinet alone, three heads of federal agencies who had 555 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 7: done the exact same thing, have two principal residence mortgages. 556 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 7: And then sort of more amazingly, and I'm embarrassed to say, 557 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 7: we didn't catch this on our first pass through, but 558 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 7: we did a few months later. We found that President 559 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 7: Trump had actually done exactly the same thing. He had 560 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,120 Speaker 7: purchased two homes right by mar Lago. 561 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 5: You know. 562 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,720 Speaker 7: Our reporting found that he had never used them as 563 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 7: homes for himself, that they were investment properties. And we 564 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 7: found the mortgages for both and in both cases and 565 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 7: these were purchased within weeks of each other, in both 566 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 7: cases listed them as principal residence mortgages, which obviously he 567 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:54,160 Speaker 7: didn't abide by it. 568 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: So that he should have lived there in order for 569 00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: them to be there to be principal residences. 570 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 7: Yeah, if you look at the language of the mortgage, 571 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 7: it says that I forget within what short time span, 572 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 7: But within a relatively short time span. The deal is 573 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 7: you are going to move in and make it your 574 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 7: principal residence. And the whole point of this right is 575 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 7: that when a lender is lending you money, if they 576 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,400 Speaker 7: are lending you money for your principal residence, the odds 577 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 7: are higher that you are going to pay the mortgage 578 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:26,880 Speaker 7: right because you don't want to be kicked out of 579 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 7: your house. Whereas an investment property and things go sideways 580 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 7: for you, you're probably going to stop paying that before you 581 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 7: stop paying the mortgage for your own home. 582 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 5: So you got you got a lower interest rate. 583 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 1: So does that mean Trump is doing fraud according to 584 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:45,080 Speaker 1: this definition by Bill Poulty? 585 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:50,160 Speaker 7: Yes, the crucial phrase you used by Bill Poulty's definition, Yeah, 586 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 7: committed fraud by the real definition, it's questionable, all right. 587 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:55,400 Speaker 2: So go on. 588 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: So but you are he So Dondrum is not the 589 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: only one who buy Bill poulty definition was doing fraud. 590 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 7: Yeah, we found three other cabinet secretaries who did this, 591 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 7: the thing that Bill Poulty is describing as fraud. And 592 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 7: again Pulty has denied that this is, you know, motivated 593 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,600 Speaker 7: by politics. But there's no indication that he has gone 594 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:18,600 Speaker 7: after any of those three cabinet secretaries, even though this 595 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 7: was sort of his main thing for a while. He 596 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,440 Speaker 7: was tweeting about it constantly. He absolutely is not gone 597 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,480 Speaker 7: after President Trump on this either. 598 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,680 Speaker 2: Really, I'm shocked. 599 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 1: So he went after Lisa Cook and Sean Duffy and 600 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: Lorie Chabas Dreamer, yes. 601 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 5: Who is no longer in the cabinet, but was at 602 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:40,440 Speaker 5: the time we did this story. 603 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: Let's pull back for a minute and talk about why 604 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,959 Speaker 1: this is relevant. If you think about it, why, like 605 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 1: Bill Pulty doing this and now being moved to d 606 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: and I maybe is relevant. You know. 607 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,640 Speaker 7: So, typically the kind of person that both parties have 608 00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 7: wanted in this kind of role that has oversight over 609 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 7: the intel community in this way, you want someone who 610 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:06,240 Speaker 7: is not partisan, who is going to give you the 611 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:09,840 Speaker 7: intel straight. Our national security sort of depends on it. 612 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 7: And like you said, a lot of people for good reason, 613 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 7: sort of pegged Bill Pulty as a very partisan actor. 614 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 7: He was essentially on this crusade that was disconnected from 615 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:26,120 Speaker 7: what actually amounts to mortgage fraud in using his own definition, 616 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,600 Speaker 7: specifically to go after Democrats. It was seen as an 617 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:34,880 Speaker 7: extremely partisan act, and so to have him potentially in 618 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:37,520 Speaker 7: this role that you really want to not be a 619 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 7: partisan one has created obvious concerns. Then there's the secondary element, 620 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:46,400 Speaker 7: which is he has no known intel experience of any 621 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 7: sort of significant value. So there's just sort of there's 622 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:51,960 Speaker 7: been a question about whether he's up for the job 623 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 7: in that way. 624 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,840 Speaker 1: Well, and also the way it works is there's some 625 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: legal language that says that you have to have intelligence 626 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,320 Speaker 1: experience to be a DN I right that as well, 627 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 1: so and he has just real estating experience, which is 628 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:12,239 Speaker 1: not the same. Let's talk about another piece you did, 629 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:16,520 Speaker 1: which I think is really was like a big scandal 630 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,760 Speaker 1: last week, but has been sort of a big scandal 631 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:22,399 Speaker 1: sort of brewing since you reported on it in May. 632 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 1: So the Trump kids have been involved in making money 633 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:33,240 Speaker 1: every which way, and the Pentagon announced plans lend money 634 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:35,120 Speaker 1: to this drone company. 635 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 2: Explain this story here. 636 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,719 Speaker 7: The Pentagon has two hundred billion dollars of lending authority, 637 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,560 Speaker 7: and what they're supposed to use it on is something 638 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,320 Speaker 7: that both parties have agreed is really important. Currently, China 639 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:54,080 Speaker 7: controls the vast majority of the critical mineral supply chain, 640 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 7: and we need those materials for all sorts of commercial products, 641 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:04,360 Speaker 7: but more significant for all sorts of weapons and military tech, 642 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,280 Speaker 7: and so Essentially, like China has a kill switch on stuff, 643 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:11,600 Speaker 7: we need to wage war. So the idea was that 644 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:16,160 Speaker 7: we were going to lend money or invest in companies, 645 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:20,680 Speaker 7: private companies that could rest control of that supply chain 646 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:24,200 Speaker 7: back to the US. You know, last year, one of 647 00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:28,200 Speaker 7: the companies that got a record setting loans, so six 648 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:32,080 Speaker 7: hundred and twenty million dollars was a small North Carolina 649 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 7: startup fewer than fifty employees called Vulcan Elements. Three months 650 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:41,439 Speaker 7: before that was announced, Donald Trump Junior's venture capital firm 651 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:46,040 Speaker 7: seventeen eighty nine invested in that very company, and this 652 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,080 Speaker 7: was incredible news for the company and incredible news for 653 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 7: its investors. Between the time that Donald Trump Junior's firm 654 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:58,560 Speaker 7: invested and you know, at the period shortly after this 655 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:02,480 Speaker 7: massive government law, the estimates of the valuation of this 656 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:07,480 Speaker 7: company rose tenfold, so incredible return, incredibly quickly. What we 657 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:11,799 Speaker 7: found is that the idea to lend the money to 658 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,759 Speaker 7: this company did not come from within Pentagon staff. It 659 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,319 Speaker 7: was Peter Navarro, who is a close close friend of 660 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:23,040 Speaker 7: Donald Trump Junior and a close aid of the president, 661 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:28,040 Speaker 7: who made this directive, and Pentagon staff after this directive 662 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:31,840 Speaker 7: came from the White House were expected to move unusually quickly. 663 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,799 Speaker 7: Usually these companies are vetted for months and months. In 664 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,040 Speaker 7: this case, it was done in a matter of weeks. 665 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 7: There was incredible pressure. A Pentagon official who was involved 666 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,360 Speaker 7: told us, you know, the call came from the White House. 667 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:45,160 Speaker 5: We have to get this done. 668 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:49,480 Speaker 7: And so there's a real question here of whether this 669 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:53,239 Speaker 7: was handled any differently because of this connection. The other 670 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:56,960 Speaker 7: thing our reporting found is that of the dozens upon 671 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 7: dozens of companies that the Pentagon was concent considering for 672 00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,840 Speaker 7: this kind of investment, a top aid to the President 673 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 7: only intervened and pushed for one of these companies, you know, 674 00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:11,719 Speaker 7: originally pushed for one of these companies, and that was 675 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:15,239 Speaker 7: this company that Don Junior's firm had just invested in. 676 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,960 Speaker 2: That sounds like pretty unusual. 677 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:18,920 Speaker 1: Is it. 678 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,000 Speaker 5: Yeah, it is unusual. 679 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 7: We have had a ton of lawmakers who have been 680 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,880 Speaker 7: you know, expressed real concerns about this, have written to 681 00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:30,480 Speaker 7: the White House to try to get answers about what 682 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:33,520 Speaker 7: happened here. You know, we're not talking about like a 683 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,839 Speaker 7: twenty million dollar drone parts contract or you know which 684 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:39,480 Speaker 7: things like that have also raised concerns. We're talking about 685 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:42,200 Speaker 7: a record setting six hundred and twenty million dollar loan, 686 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,920 Speaker 7: and the timing and the White House involvement, all of 687 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:47,919 Speaker 7: that has created real concerns here. 688 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,960 Speaker 1: What do you think is happening? I mean, you do 689 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,000 Speaker 1: a lot of reporting here on stuff like this. Do 690 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:58,240 Speaker 1: you see a broader level of corruption when it comes 691 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:02,200 Speaker 1: to the president's kids and their businesses or just like 692 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:06,120 Speaker 1: the president's family writ large or the president stock I mean, 693 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,239 Speaker 1: like just sort of pull back and give me the 694 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 1: fifty thousand foot view. 695 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,480 Speaker 7: So I think anyone who tells you that the president's 696 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:18,160 Speaker 7: family cashing in on the name, if anyone tells you 697 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,080 Speaker 7: that that began with the Trumps, they would be lying, right. 698 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:24,600 Speaker 7: So obviously we saw that with the Clinton family, with 699 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,840 Speaker 7: Hunter Biden, you have seen this kind of thing before. 700 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,760 Speaker 5: What's different here is a couple of things. 701 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:34,799 Speaker 7: One the dollar amount that we're talking like how much 702 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:39,120 Speaker 7: the Trump family has enriched themselves in large part because 703 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,239 Speaker 7: he was either running for president or became president. And 704 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 7: then secondly, what's really different here is you know, like 705 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:50,239 Speaker 7: with Hunter Biden, for example, we saw him essentially trading 706 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:53,080 Speaker 7: on the family name, and he probably got some of 707 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:57,719 Speaker 7: these positions because there was a hope or expectation that 708 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:01,200 Speaker 7: he had connections he could use to help employers. In 709 00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:04,799 Speaker 7: this case, what we're seeing is the Trump administration, in 710 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:11,040 Speaker 7: multiple instances, taking actions itself that greatly enrich the Trump family. 711 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:15,399 Speaker 7: So it's more of a direct tie to government action. 712 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,759 Speaker 7: And it's also just the dollar amounts. We're looking at 713 00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:22,960 Speaker 7: Eclipse other instances, and you know, honestly, the Eclipse, even 714 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:27,200 Speaker 7: the first Trump term, there's a lot of concerns about 715 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,720 Speaker 7: you know, foreign governments and political groups spending money at 716 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:34,000 Speaker 7: Trump hotels, and I forget the number, but like we're 717 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,799 Speaker 7: talking about millions that were made in that instance. If 718 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:41,440 Speaker 7: you combine what's been done this time around with crypto 719 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,920 Speaker 7: and Trump media and all of that, the dollar amount 720 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 7: we're talking about is many multiples. 721 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I think it's the difference between sort 722 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:53,440 Speaker 1: of low level, like you know, it's a difference in 723 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:59,000 Speaker 1: hiring somebody's kid because you want preferable treatment and writing 724 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:03,080 Speaker 1: a check to somebody's kid because you want preferable treatment, right, 725 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:04,520 Speaker 1: I mean for nothing. 726 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:08,680 Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean again, I think like specifically, though the 727 00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:14,239 Speaker 7: Trump administration is taking actions that make the Trump family wealthier, 728 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:17,320 Speaker 7: it's more of a direct cause. 729 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:19,359 Speaker 5: And effect here than we have seen before. 730 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:23,200 Speaker 1: For sure, And I also wonder it just seems like 731 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:28,560 Speaker 1: there's a lot of companies that Don Junior's venture fund has. 732 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:30,759 Speaker 2: Invested in, absolutely yes. 733 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:34,400 Speaker 1: That are getting serviced by Don Junior's dad's government or 734 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:35,680 Speaker 1: using Right. 735 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,840 Speaker 7: There have been several instances of businesses that the Trump 736 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:42,719 Speaker 7: family has stakes and benefiting from Trump administration actions. To 737 00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,880 Speaker 7: be clear, there's sort of a go to explanation for 738 00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:50,040 Speaker 7: the story I did and other similar stories. It has 739 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:53,640 Speaker 7: been that Donald Trump Junior does not communicate with the 740 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:57,120 Speaker 7: federal government in any way about companies that he is 741 00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:01,000 Speaker 7: invested in. They deny that he is out there advocating 742 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:02,560 Speaker 7: for his companies in any way. 743 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,120 Speaker 2: Right, Okay, it's just a coincidence that this keeps happening. 744 00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:09,919 Speaker 1: I'm just curious, like, right now pro Public is sort 745 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:14,440 Speaker 1: of doing the really important reporting on kind of like 746 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:18,920 Speaker 1: the documents and the sort of conflicts of interest when 747 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:23,760 Speaker 1: it comes to trump Ism and to the Trump family's corruption. 748 00:41:24,239 --> 00:41:28,640 Speaker 1: Do you get the sense that Democrats are following this stuff? 749 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:33,600 Speaker 1: Like another good example is, you know, they're just clearly 750 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:37,920 Speaker 1: there's like a ledger and we see lawmakers wanted answers 751 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,080 Speaker 1: about this loan tied to Don Junior, like, do you 752 00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:43,759 Speaker 1: think that they're sort of following along with description? Do 753 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:46,439 Speaker 1: you get the sense that they're on it. 754 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:49,480 Speaker 7: It depends on the story. We have done stories in 755 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,440 Speaker 7: the past several years that you know would have been 756 00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:55,480 Speaker 7: the kinds of stories that another era would have gone 757 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,160 Speaker 7: weeks or months of attention, that barely make a blip 758 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,360 Speaker 7: during the day they published. Then in other instances, stories 759 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:04,879 Speaker 7: really do break through, like the story we did again 760 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:07,919 Speaker 7: last week about the six hundred and twenty million dollar loan, 761 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:11,200 Speaker 7: it did seem to break through. I think it depends 762 00:42:11,239 --> 00:42:13,280 Speaker 7: on what else is going on in the news cycle 763 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:18,440 Speaker 7: and how distracted people are. I guess I would say sometimes. 764 00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:23,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, sometimes that's so depressing. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Robert, 765 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:23,879 Speaker 1: thank you. 766 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:24,319 Speaker 5: For having me. 767 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:28,840 Speaker 6: No moment time. 768 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:32,480 Speaker 2: Wick Wilson, Hey, Molly, what is your moment of fuck? 769 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:32,719 Speaker 1: Ray? 770 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:34,880 Speaker 6: My moment of fucker is that Pete Hexeth went to 771 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,359 Speaker 6: D Day, the eighty third celebration of that great and 772 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,440 Speaker 6: terrible moment where America turned the tide of darkness in 773 00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:44,920 Speaker 6: the universe, and gave a speech where he essentially sided 774 00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:47,879 Speaker 6: with the perspective of the Nazis when you read it, 775 00:42:48,120 --> 00:42:50,319 Speaker 6: all you can hear in it is that he would 776 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,399 Speaker 6: have been up in one of those machine gun nests 777 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,719 Speaker 6: with an MG forty two, not backing the young men 778 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:58,680 Speaker 6: who came up from over from America, from every every 779 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:02,800 Speaker 6: walk of life, and every creed and every socioeconomic class 780 00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:06,480 Speaker 6: to run up that beach and get killed. He analogized 781 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:13,040 Speaker 6: that to immigrants invading America was disgusting, it was unpatriotic. 782 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:16,480 Speaker 6: It was as shitty as I could have imagined. And 783 00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:19,960 Speaker 6: I wish Peterexeth could go back in time because those 784 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:23,239 Speaker 6: kids who's from that beach, average age was about nineteen. 785 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:25,680 Speaker 6: Of those kids coming up that beach that day, they 786 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:28,000 Speaker 6: would punch him in the fucking mouth because it was 787 00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:30,120 Speaker 6: so outrageous. That is my moment of fuckery. 788 00:43:30,239 --> 00:43:32,320 Speaker 2: Rick Wilson, Thank you. 789 00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:32,440 Speaker 4: You got Jesse. 790 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:33,120 Speaker 2: Next time. 791 00:43:33,719 --> 00:43:38,040 Speaker 1: That's it for this episode of Fast Politics. Tune in 792 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:43,840 Speaker 1: every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday to hear the best 793 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:46,080 Speaker 1: minds and politics make sense of. 794 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:47,799 Speaker 2: All this chaos. 795 00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:50,920 Speaker 1: If you enjoy this podcast, please send it to a 796 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:53,360 Speaker 1: friend and keep the conversation going. 797 00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:54,960 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening.