1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:05,880 Speaker 1: There Are No Girls on the Internet. As a production 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio and Unbossed Creative. I'm Bridget Todd, and this 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 1: is There Are No Girls on the Internet. As some 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: of you might know, I live in Washington, d C, 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: our nation's capital, and when I'm not making this podcast, 6 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: I also co host a podcast about local DC news 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: called city Cast DC. So this has been a pretty 8 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: difficult week for the country, but especially a difficult time 9 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: for my city because Trump announced his administration is taking 10 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: over DC's police force and deploying the National Guard. So 11 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: I wanted to talk a little bit about what that 12 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: means for DC from the perspective of someone who lives here. 13 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: There are obviously implications for the whole country from something 14 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: like this. Trump himself has even said that this is 15 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: just the beginning and he wants to do similar power 16 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: grabs in cities across the country. But I really want 17 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: to talk about it from my perspective as somebody who 18 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: lives in DC and is experiencing the impacts of these 19 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: recent changes. There are definitely some tech and media implications 20 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: for the kinds of issues that we cover on the show, 21 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: which I'll definitely get into, but mostly this just feels 22 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: like an attack on my hometown. So it's pretty personal 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: for me. By the way, if you hear sirens or 24 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: helicopters while I'm recording, that's just my new reality now, 25 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: So not much I can do about it, but I'll 26 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: do my best. So this feels personal because you know, 27 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: DC is my home. I've lived in other places. I've 28 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: lived in San Francisco and Brooklyn and a few other places, 29 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: but DC is really where I'm from. My late mother, 30 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: God Rest her soul, did her medical residency here at 31 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: Children's Hospital in DC. I taught English classes to undergraduates 32 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: at Howard University. I've made lifelong friends here. I've worked 33 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: one hundred different jobs here. I fell in love here, 34 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: had my heart broken here. DC is where I have 35 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: lived the longest and is where I will always return 36 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: to because it's my home. My situation is a little 37 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: bit unusual because d C has a reputation as a 38 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: transient city, the kind of place where people move for 39 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: a few years for a job or an internship. 40 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 2: Or school and then leave. 41 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: People move to DC and might not have a ton 42 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: of investment in the city long term, or they might 43 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: move here and have no idea about DC's very complex history, 44 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: which you really need to understand to truly understand what 45 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: if happening right now with Trump's threats to DC. 46 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 2: One weird quirk about DC is that people who aren't. 47 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: From here or don't live here, tend to really only 48 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: think about it as a seat of national power. They 49 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: sometimes forget that there's about seven hundred thousand or so 50 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: people who live here who under all of these national 51 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: political issues really playing out in our backyard, yet who 52 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: have less electoral power and less agency because we're not 53 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: a state, and it's a really big problem. So where 54 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: you live, if you're listening from the United States, assuming 55 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: you don't live in DC like I do, decisions about 56 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: how your state is run or how your local tax 57 00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: dollars are spent probably lie with your local and state leaders. 58 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: But that is not really the case for me and 59 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: other residents of DC. We have this weird hybrid situation 60 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: where there is some local control, but ultimately Congress has 61 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: authority over everything. That same Congress that could not even 62 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: be bothered to pass the city's budget before going on 63 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: a recess, causing chaos in every agency that has to 64 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: plan for picking up garbage or fixing potholes or keeping 65 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: the libraries and swimming pools open. 66 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 2: And all of this is. 67 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: Made worse by the fact that DC residents are essentially disenfranchised. 68 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: We don't have representatives who can vote in either the 69 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: House or the Senate, even though we pay taxes just 70 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: like every other American. We have less electoral power and 71 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: less agency because we're not a state. Our license plates 72 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: here in DC say taxation without representation, kind of Aalian 73 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: cheek reference to the Revolutionary War era rallying cry against 74 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: the British Parliament. A not so fun fact about DC 75 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: is that DC residents only got the right to vote 76 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: in presidential elections in nineteen sixty one. So when people 77 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: say things like call your representative or call your elected 78 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: official to oppose XYZ, here in. 79 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 2: D C we have no one to call. 80 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: Our congressional representative Eleanor Holmes Norton cannot vote on bills 81 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: being considered by the full House, so we don't really 82 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: have a say or a voice the same way that 83 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: folks in other parts of the country do. So all 84 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,840 Speaker 1: of this background matters for how Trump has been able 85 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: to threaten DC. Even before this week, he spent a 86 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: lot of this campaign and first administration really just talking 87 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: crap about my city. And finally, earlier this week he 88 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: announced big plans to take over DC. He really likes 89 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 1: to say that he has taken over DC, but you 90 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: know who's a serial liar, so no one should be 91 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: surprised to find out that that isn't actually true. The 92 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: background of this is a little bit complicated, but the 93 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: quick and dirty version is that d C has had 94 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: what's called home rule, or the ability for DC to 95 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: govern itself, since the nineteen seventies, thanks to the Home 96 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: Rule Act. So even though DC is not a state, 97 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: our local government and leaders can still make decisions about 98 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: what happens here in the district. When the Home Rule 99 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: Act passed, it was a win for local control and democracy, 100 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,480 Speaker 1: but it was also an acknowledgment by Congress that the 101 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: minutia of running a city is best left to the 102 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: folks who live there. So, to be clear, as of today, 103 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: home rule for d C still stands. It's still the 104 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: law of the land. So if you hear folks saying 105 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: that Trump has taken over DC, that's not exactly right, 106 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: and that distinction matters. Trump has taken over DC's police, 107 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: our local police force Metropolitan Police Department or MPD, but 108 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: not the city itself. But even still, Trump just taking 109 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: over MPD our police force is still very very bad. 110 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 1: So let's talk about exactly what's going on here in DC. 111 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: So here's the basics of what's going on. On Monday, 112 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: the Trump administration announced that they were federalizing DC's police force, 113 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,039 Speaker 1: the Metropolitan Police Department or MPD. They also announced that 114 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: the National Guard would be deployed in DC. Now, he 115 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: is in a state, but it does have a national 116 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: Guard that Trump, and only Trump has authority over. Trump 117 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: is also sending in National Guard from other states into DC. 118 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: To do this, Trump evokes Section seven forty of the 119 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: Home Rule Act, which allows for the president to take 120 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: over MPD for forty eight hours, with possible extensions to 121 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: thirty days during times of emergencies. To do it for 122 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: any longer than thirty days requires congressional approval, which, let's 123 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: be real, I honestly don't think would be difficult for 124 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: Trump to achieve. I cannot overstate how unprecedented this is. 125 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: No president has done this before ever. So all of 126 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,359 Speaker 1: this means that about eight hundred and fifty officers and 127 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: agents took part in what they called a massive law 128 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: enforcement surge across DC, with about one hundred to two 129 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: hundred soldiers expected to be out on the streets at 130 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: any given time. Why well, if you take Trump at 131 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: his word, he says, this whole thing is about crime. Honestly, 132 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: I don't even really like to give a lot of 133 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: credence to the claims about this whole thing being about crime, 134 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: because anyone paying attention can probably see that that is 135 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 1: not what this is about. So it is true that 136 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: DC did have a spike in crime in twenty twenty three, 137 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: but since then, crime has steadily gone down in DC. 138 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: But if you watched Trump's rambling, sprawling press conference where 139 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: he talked about everything from repaving DC streets to redoing 140 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: the ballroom in the White House to transuse in sports, 141 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 1: almost every stat that Trump through that about crime in 142 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 1: DC was a lie, misleading, or extremely cherry picked to 143 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: paint a portrait of crime being out of control in 144 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: DC when it simply isn't. It's almost not even worth 145 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: calling out all the different instances that he misled people. 146 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: But here's just defu to give you a sense. So 147 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: Trump said that crime was getting worse in DC, that's 148 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: a lie. A recent Department of Justice report shows that 149 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: violent crime is down thirty five percent in twenty twenty three, 150 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: returning to the previous trend of decreasing crime, that puts 151 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: the district's violent crime rate at its lowest in thirty years. 152 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: That report shows that when compared to the twenty twenty 153 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: three numbers, homicides are down thirty two percent, armed carjackings 154 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: are down fifty three percent, and assault with the dangerous 155 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 1: weapon are down twenty seven percent. He also said that 156 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: the murders in twenty twenty three in DC reached the 157 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: highest rate. This is me quoting him probably ever going 158 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: back twenty five years, but that they didn't know what 159 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 1: that means because the data just goes back twenty five years. 160 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: And so when I watched this press are in real time, 161 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: I was thinking, Oh, I guess he's trying to say that, 162 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: you know, we've only been collecting this data for the 163 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: last twenty five years. Before then, we don't really have records. 164 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: But then when I actually sat down to think about it, 165 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,719 Speaker 1: twenty five years ago was the year two thousand? Does 166 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: Trump think that crime data was not being collected in 167 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: the year two thousand? 168 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 2: It absolutely was. So that was just another lie. 169 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: And if people know one thing about DC is that 170 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: DC in the eighties and nineties crime was genuinely quite bad. 171 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: This was during the crack epidemic that hit DC very hard. 172 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: The city's own crime statistics, which we have from the 173 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies, eighties, and nineties, show that back then, when 174 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: the population of DC was smaller, there were much higher 175 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: numbers of homicides. So not only is that all a lie, 176 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: it's also a weird, obvious lie where when you hear 177 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: it you think, okay, sure, but then when you think 178 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: about it for just a couple of seconds, you realize 179 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: how strange and obvious. 180 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 2: And glaring of a lie that is. 181 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: I almost wonder if Trump really does think that crime 182 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: statistics were not being collected in the year two thousand 183 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: and just anecdotally. I've lived here more or less my 184 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,559 Speaker 1: entire adult life. Crime ebbs and flows, it is. 185 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 2: Part of city life. I understand that, however, crime in 186 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 2: DC right now is not out of control. It just isn't. 187 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: I go for walks by myself, I go out at night, 188 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: and I feel safe because this is where I live. 189 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 2: It feels safe to me. Let's take a quick break. 190 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: At her back. Now, I've heard a lot of people 191 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: say that this entire thing is a response to the 192 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 1: attack on Edward Chorstein, also known as the former staffer 193 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: in Elon Musk's doge department Big Balls. Big Balls was 194 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: allegedly attacked on the street in DC thanks to Elon Musk, 195 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: a one man misinformation super spreader. There has been a 196 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: lot of inaccurate information about the facts of what exactly 197 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: happened in that situation, so I'm not going to really 198 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: get into that. However, this image of big Balls bloodied 199 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: on the streets of DC created a very visceral image 200 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,199 Speaker 1: of crime in DC. I think this is the thing 201 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: about crime, which is that it doesn't really matter if 202 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 1: all of the stats, all of the data, and all 203 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: the evidence suggest oh, crime is going down. If you 204 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: have one visceral image of a bloody nineteen year old. 205 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 2: Or one video, one viral video of like a looted 206 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 2: out CVS. 207 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: This has actually caused a bit of a I don't know, 208 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: a personal crisis of confidence because as someone who has 209 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 1: spent my entire career advocating for the importance of truth 210 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 1: and facts and media, the whole thing just makes me 211 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: wonder if we truly are like beyond facts, if facts 212 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 1: simply do not matter anymore. The crime rate can be 213 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: going down by every measure, but people still have an 214 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: emotionally charged photo or a video, and whatever reality that 215 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: piece of media affirms is the only reality that matters. 216 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: And I've realized that I've really been trying to combat 217 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: the true siness. I know that's not a word, but 218 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,320 Speaker 1: allow me that of the emotions with actual facts, and 219 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: it's not working because those facts just don't work anymore. 220 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: It's been a whole thing I've been wrestling with. So anyway, 221 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:15,080 Speaker 1: back to Big Balls, so I totally get why people 222 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:17,559 Speaker 1: think that the attack on him is what sparked all 223 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: of this. I've seen this framing online a lot that 224 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 1: Big Balls got beat up by some girls and Elon 225 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: Musk had to ask Daddy Trump to take over DC 226 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: because of it. But I will say that Trump has 227 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: been talking about taking over MPD for a very long 228 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 1: time before Elon Musk was ever even in the White House. 229 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 1: He referenced it some during his first administration, but for 230 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 1: the most part back then he more or less ignored 231 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: DC's local issues. And then he really kicked it up 232 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: a notch during his second campaign. He actually started out 233 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: his second administration right when he was in office in 234 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,199 Speaker 1: January with threatening to take over DC and MPD or 235 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: Mayor Muriel Bowser did not make certain concessions which will 236 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:02,199 Speaker 1: get into it moment. He also threatened to take over 237 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: DC when another former Trump administration staffer, Mike Gill was 238 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: shot him killed during a carjacking Back in February, Trump 239 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: made those same threats of taking over MPD. So Big 240 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 1: Balls might have been a convenient timing or a good 241 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: excuse to actually move forward at a time when Trump 242 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: was eager to talk about anything other than his friendship 243 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,439 Speaker 1: with Jeffrey Epstein. But I guess I would say I 244 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: would push back a bit on narratives that suggest that 245 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 1: big Balls got attacked and that's why Trump is taking 246 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: over MPD, because I don't really think it paints the 247 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 1: full story of the fact that this has been a 248 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 1: long time coming to anybody paying attention to the conversation 249 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: that Trump is having about DC. So if it's not 250 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: really about crime, then what is it really about? Well, 251 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,440 Speaker 1: these are my opinions. First, I think with Trump, the 252 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: overarching theme is always punishment. Listen, nobody not votes for 253 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: Republicans like DC does not vote for Republicans. 254 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 2: Like if you've ever. 255 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: Seen that map of who voted for Ronald Reagan back 256 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty four, the entire map is just one 257 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: big blotch of full solid red, which is so unusual, 258 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 1: and there's just two splotches of blue where they voted 259 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: for Mondale and not Reagan. Minnesota and d C right, 260 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: and so rejecting Republicans has always been our thing in DC, 261 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: and especially so for Trump. 262 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 2: DC overwhelmingly did not vote for Trump. Trump did not 263 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 2: even win DC's Republican primary, Nikki Hayley did. We could 264 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 2: not be making it any more clear that we do 265 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 2: not like him here, and so I think that that's 266 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 2: one big reason why you have Trump taking such a 267 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 2: hostile stance against this city from day one, because we 268 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 2: didn't vote for him. We don't like him. 269 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: I think that that's also why you saw him start 270 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: out his administration with these horrible attacks on federal workers. 271 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: I think a class of people that he senses as 272 00:14:54,200 --> 00:15:00,080 Speaker 1: being overwhelmingly educated and also overwhelmingly not for him. I 273 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: think the first and foremost thing with Trump is always 274 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: going to be retribution. But I also think it is 275 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: clearly about mounting federal takeovers starting with Democrat run cities, 276 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: and also, let's be real cities with black and brown 277 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: political leadership and populations. The cities that he called out 278 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: by name during his rambling press conference on Monday as 279 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: places that he was looking to take over next were 280 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: cities like Baltimore, Chicago, you know, cities that have big, 281 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: booming black and brown populations and black mayors. It's just 282 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: incredibly clear what is going on here, and it's not crime. 283 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 1: It's black and brown leadership. Trump hates it and wants 284 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: to destroy it wherever he can. And unfortunately, because d 285 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: C is unlike any other place in the United States 286 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: and not being a state, Trump has a lot more 287 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: authority here in DC than he would anywhere else. 288 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 2: In the country. 289 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: How else do I know this is not about crime? Well, 290 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 1: the Trump administration recently made drastic cuts to DC security funding. 291 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: Famous Urban Security Fund cut funds for DC to twenty 292 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: five point two million from the fiscal year twenty twenty five. 293 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: Homeland Security Grant program, which is only a little more 294 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: than half of what DC received in twenty twenty four, 295 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: doesn't really seem like the behavior of an administration that 296 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 1: is super worried about the crime and the district to 297 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: almost have the amount of money that you spend on 298 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: preventing crime in the district. And also if you were 299 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: genuinely worried about effectively combating crime in the district and 300 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: not worried about, say, having big shows of military and 301 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: police forces and have it be a big flashy thing. 302 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: If you genuinely were caring about combating crime, you would 303 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: probably not be using federal agents who are trained to 304 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 1: combat things like organized crime and other kinds of federal concerns. 305 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: Those are not going to be the people who are 306 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: most useful as officers trying to stop the kind of 307 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 1: crime that DC has, like walking the streets as beat comps. 308 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: One of the points that are Mayor Muriel Bowser has 309 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: made is that Trump bringing in federal officers and military 310 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 1: personnel who don't know DC law, because why would they 311 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: They don't work here and are not trained in DC's 312 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:13,480 Speaker 1: community policing protocols. He's also bringing in military personnel. They 313 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: are not meant to be dealing with civilians and walking 314 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: a beat on the streets of DC. But that is 315 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: exactly what they are doing right outside my apartment. 316 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 2: Right now. 317 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: I mentioned our mayor, Mriel Bowser. I feel like I 318 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: should talk a bit about her. If you don't live 319 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,879 Speaker 1: in DC, you're probably like, who is this person? This 320 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: is not a name that I recognize. I have been 321 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: low key kind of defending the mayor. If you heard 322 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: me on the Cool Zone podcast, it could happen here. 323 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: I've actually taken a little bit of heat for some 324 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: of my defenses of our mayor. Listen, I have a 325 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: lot of critiques about DC's mayor, just like anybody would 326 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: of their political leaders. 327 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 2: If you want to know my thoughts on Meriel Bowser, 328 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:52,920 Speaker 2: I'll be happy to tell you. 329 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: However, the point that I have been making for the 330 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: last few months is that Mayor Bowser is in a 331 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: position that no other elected official in the country is in. 332 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 1: She is navigating something that no other elected official in 333 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: the United States has to navigate. Because she's mayor of 334 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: a city that is not a state. She essentially has 335 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: to navigate this public relationship with an unstable, lying, racist, 336 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: fascist in such a way that it will hopefully end 337 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: with what is best for our city taking place, which, 338 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,719 Speaker 1: in my defenses of her, I guess I basically just 339 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,919 Speaker 1: feel that we should own that that is a reality, right, 340 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: and that's a complicated thing to have to navigate. During 341 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: Trump's first administration, Bowser was really taking a defiant stance. 342 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 1: She did things like painting Black Lives Matter outside of 343 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 1: the White House, for instance. But this time around we 344 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: saw a very different public positioning from the mayor. She 345 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:55,040 Speaker 1: took this stance of appeasement and contrition with Trump very early. 346 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 1: I suspect in the hope that they could play nice 347 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,400 Speaker 1: and Trump would just sort of ignore sees local issues. 348 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: When Trump returned to office in January, two of the 349 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: early things that he demanded our mayor do was tear 350 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: up Black Lives Matter Plaza Boulevard outside of the White 351 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: House and remove encampments of unhoused people at Trump's direction. 352 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 2: Which she did very quickly. 353 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: But none of that, none of that whole song and 354 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: dance that she did of appeasing Trump and doing what 355 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: he wanted her to do, avoided the outcome that we 356 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,200 Speaker 1: are seeing this week of Trump federalizing the police force. 357 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,920 Speaker 1: She had this strategy of appeasement and making concessions in 358 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 1: an attempt to avoid this outcome. Although to be clear 359 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: DC still has home Rool for now, so that horrible, 360 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,159 Speaker 1: horrible outcome has not yet come to fruition. But I 361 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,399 Speaker 1: think it's a good example of why appeasing a fascist 362 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 1: doesn't work, and it's disappointing that we have to keep 363 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 1: learning that lesson over and over and over again. And 364 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 1: I have to say I've been a little disappointed with 365 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: the way that the mayor is responding to the takeover 366 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: of MPD. She basically has been on record as saying 367 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:00,919 Speaker 1: this might be a good sing for the city to 368 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: have more police and have military personnel walking around. This 369 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 1: could be a good thing. Something to really note is 370 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,600 Speaker 1: that the first messages out of our Mayor's office when 371 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:11,920 Speaker 1: this went down was that they were saying they were 372 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,640 Speaker 1: not going to be mounting any kind of legal challenge 373 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 1: to what the Trump administration is doing in DC because 374 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: they did not think they would be able to legally 375 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:25,160 Speaker 1: challenge anything because the Trump administration did everything buy the book. 376 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,679 Speaker 1: That is pretty different from what we saw from Trump's 377 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: actions earlier in the administration, when it seemed like they 378 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 1: were just throwing stuff at the wall to see what 379 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: would stick and what would be challenged in court. He 380 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: did this takeover of DC's police force legally to the 381 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: lecture to the point where it was not able to 382 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: be challenged at all legally, which is pretty telling. It 383 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 1: wasn't until I think yesterday, on some kind of a 384 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: webinar about these changes, that the mayor said anything really 385 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: critical about what was happening. She called it a quote 386 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: authoritarian push, but really barely mentioned Trump by name in 387 00:20:58,920 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: any of. 388 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 2: Her public comments. 389 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:03,479 Speaker 1: Now it's possible that she might just be trying to 390 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,360 Speaker 1: further appease Trump to stave off further threats on DC's 391 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 1: home rule, which I don't know, maybe is a strategy, 392 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,120 Speaker 1: but in my heart, the way that this is coming 393 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 1: off to me, it just feels like we don't have 394 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: a voice championing us, and in a moment of crisis, 395 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: that's really what you want, whether that person can actually 396 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 1: do anything, you do want someone who seems to be 397 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:30,639 Speaker 1: like there, they have your back and they're advocating for you. 398 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 2: And personally, I have not felt like that at all 399 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 2: right now. 400 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: The only thing I feel like we have is ourselves 401 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 1: as each other is organizers. I feel like our elected 402 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: officials have kind of abandoned us, both the mayor and 403 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:47,160 Speaker 1: the city Council have been pretty quiet on any criticism 404 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: of this takeover. Our congressional Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton has 405 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:51,919 Speaker 1: also kind of stayed out of it. 406 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 2: She has a. 407 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,920 Speaker 1: Long history of being a civil rights activist going back 408 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:02,880 Speaker 1: decades who has really thought hard and champion DC's autonomy. However, 409 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,879 Speaker 1: she is also the second oldest member of Congress, and 410 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: so there's lots of questions about whether or not we 411 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: actually have the leadership that can support DC at a 412 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,919 Speaker 1: time when we clearly need the support and the backbone. 413 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: And again, I get that some of this might be 414 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,920 Speaker 1: good strategy. I'm sure somebody out there listening is like, oh, 415 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 1: maybe they're you know, this is all part of their strategy. 416 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,160 Speaker 2: But if I'm being honest, it just feels really shitty. 417 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 1: Part of this might be my own emotionality, because this 418 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: week has been a doozy. It is a doozy to 419 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: walk around your city and see military personnel harassing people. 420 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 1: It's a doozy to feel like you don't have a 421 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,000 Speaker 1: say and what's happening on your own streets and your 422 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: own block, on your own city, And so I want 423 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 1: to own that like this this could be just my 424 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: own emotionality of the situation. I do think that even 425 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,399 Speaker 1: if it's meaningless postering, I would have liked to have 426 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: seen elected officials in DC who at least made me 427 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,880 Speaker 1: feel like they were standing up to Trump, if even 428 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 1: if in reality there wasn't much they could do, if 429 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,640 Speaker 1: it was just words. It really made me realize, even 430 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,360 Speaker 1: if words are just words. 431 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 2: Sometimes you want to hear the words. 432 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,159 Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe it sounds silly, but I was 433 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,239 Speaker 1: a little bit disappointed, like you are looking for a 434 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: message of strength and leadership, like somebody's got this, and 435 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:23,919 Speaker 1: then just. 436 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 2: Hearing crickets doesn't feel great. And I do also want 437 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 2: to own that. 438 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,120 Speaker 1: Unfortunately, the reality is that the mayor of DC has 439 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: a lot less power and protection than someone like Gavin Newsom, 440 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: who has two stanators behind him when he took a 441 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:43,439 Speaker 1: defiant stance against Trump, when Trump deployed the National Guard 442 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: in LA earlier this summer. 443 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 2: Even folks like JB. 444 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,719 Speaker 1: Pritzker or Wes Moore, they're all governors of states and 445 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,120 Speaker 1: that statehood gives them a lot more protection and autonomy, 446 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 1: and here in DZ we simply do not have that. 447 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: And I think when we talk about the importance of 448 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 1: stuff like statehood. It is so easy to just get 449 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:03,920 Speaker 1: caught up and talking about it as a civil rights 450 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: issue or a racial justice issue or a democracy issue, 451 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: which it absolutely is. But statehood also really matters for 452 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 1: how we are able to combat this kind of chaos 453 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: and hostility. Otherwise DC residents like me end up feeling 454 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: like we were being held hostage by a madman. More 455 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 1: after a quick break, let's get right back into it. 456 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 1: All of this just goes to show that DC needed 457 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: full statehood yesterday. We needed full statehood before this, ever, 458 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: before Trump was ever even in the White House. We 459 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,679 Speaker 1: needed it since forever. And we don't have that. And 460 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,680 Speaker 1: until we have that, this kind of chaos that Trump 461 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:55,120 Speaker 1: has been able to unleash on our city is not 462 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: going to end. 463 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:57,920 Speaker 2: And I want to talk a bit. 464 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: About what I'm seeing as a DC resident here on 465 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:05,400 Speaker 1: the ground, because things in DC are chaotic and grim. 466 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,880 Speaker 1: We've seen Order Patrol, Ice, DA, FBI, and the National 467 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:14,000 Speaker 1: Guard walking the streets of DC. Anecdotally, I can say 468 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,680 Speaker 1: I have seen them in places that to me really 469 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: don't make a ton of sense, like patrolling the super 470 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: safe Georgetown neighborhood at ten o'clock at night when it's 471 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:27,120 Speaker 1: essentially a ghost town, or patrolling the National Mall at 472 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:30,080 Speaker 1: two pm on a weekday. There was also an ICE 473 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: rate at the Home Depot out of Northeast This week too, 474 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,439 Speaker 1: the DC Police put out an executive order saying that 475 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: the DC Police were now going to be coordinating with 476 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,879 Speaker 1: ICE so that even if they stop somebody and that 477 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: stop does not end with an arrest or anybody in custody, 478 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: they would still be allowed to alert ICE about that 479 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 1: person and their whereabouts, which I think gives you a 480 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: sense of the kind of coordination they're building into all 481 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: of this. Last night, there was a huge display of 482 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: force and arrests right on my block, which is essentially residential. 483 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:03,040 Speaker 1: I counted over a dozen police vehicles, including unmarked SUVs 484 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: and Border Patrol pickup trucks. They arrested people who were 485 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,200 Speaker 1: just coming out of a grocery store at a lot 486 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,960 Speaker 1: of these big shows of force have been around arrests 487 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: for very low level offenses, things like people smoking weed 488 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 1: in public which here in DC possession of marijuana is decriminalized, 489 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: or open containers like drinking in parks, or fair evasions 490 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:28,439 Speaker 1: on buses. The kinds of offenses that it makes absolutely 491 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: no sense to have FBI agents arresting people for It 492 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: seems like we now have a bit more information about 493 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: the category of arrests that were made, and they can 494 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 1: kind of make sense of some of the facts and 495 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: figures and stats coming out of the White House about 496 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,199 Speaker 1: what they've been doing in DC this week. You know, 497 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: they've been putting out these big statistics about all of 498 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: these arrests that they've come into the city and been 499 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: able to make this week. So far, according to my sources, 500 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: in total, since this went down on Monday, they have 501 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: made about one hundred arrests. However, that is about average 502 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:00,960 Speaker 1: for the amount of arrest that DC would have made 503 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: without the Trump administration being in charge. 504 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 2: So that means after all of. 505 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: This, they are not even really getting more lawbreakers off 506 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 1: the streets. So again, if this whole thing is meant 507 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: to be about crime, which Trump says it is, what 508 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: exactly is the point. As I'm recording this tonight, I've 509 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,200 Speaker 1: been reading up on updates about a checkpoints they set 510 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,679 Speaker 1: up on fourteenth and U Street, which is kind of 511 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,399 Speaker 1: a busy corridor with lots of bars and restaurants and 512 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: chops where they've apparently been stopping every car just trying 513 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: to drive by. I don't know what they're looking for, 514 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: and honestly, they probably don't even either, as did an 515 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,199 Speaker 1: interview with a local reporter from the Washington Post who 516 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: told me that the majority of the stops were for 517 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: things like folks not wearing seatbelts, or broken tail lights, 518 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: or having expired tags, you know, real violent crime. 519 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 2: It just feels like a good old fashioned dragnet, which 520 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,040 Speaker 2: is meant to be illegal. 521 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: And I think that tonight Wednesday night, was really the 522 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,880 Speaker 1: first look into what all of this is actually going 523 00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: to look like in DC, things like checkpoints, disruption, and 524 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 1: a real general fear in citizens. 525 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 2: I als also an image. 526 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 1: Of a block totally blocked off by about six police cars, 527 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:12,919 Speaker 1: all trying to make an arrest of one person. And 528 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 1: oftentimes you have these intergovernmental federal level military personnel really 529 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,879 Speaker 1: just standing around. I think they're meant to be I 530 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:26,119 Speaker 1: don't know, intimidating or something. They're just standing there. I 531 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 1: always wonder, like, how much money are we paying to 532 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: pay these people to stand around in an empty neighborhood 533 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,119 Speaker 1: at ten o'clock at night. I think the point of 534 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: all of this is really to inflame tensions and have 535 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 1: there be chaos on the streets now for nothing. But 536 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: we're also in the middle of a pretty bad heat 537 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 1: wave here in DC, so tempers are already hot. Now 538 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: you've got law enforcement, law enforcement that are not necessarily 539 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:53,480 Speaker 1: trained on DC's protocols, some of whom are military and 540 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: thus not even really trained on dealing with civilians. And 541 00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 1: my biggest worry is that all of this is going 542 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: to have result in some doing something stupid and the 543 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: whole thing will turn into a powder keg. And I 544 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 1: have to imagine that that is the outcome that Trump 545 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:06,960 Speaker 1: wants as well. 546 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 2: I think that is the point of all of this. 547 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,400 Speaker 1: This is also a direct attack on the unhoused community 548 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 1: here in DC. We've already seen horrible footage of unhoused 549 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: people being taken away by police I'm not even sure 550 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: to wear. Yesterday, the White House said that they were 551 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 1: going to start forcibly removing unhoused people and forcing them 552 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: to go to either shelters, hospitals, or jail or face fines, 553 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: which I don't know how finding somebody who is living on. 554 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:33,320 Speaker 2: The streets works. 555 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: But Okay, the issue is DC does not have a 556 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: ton of shelter beds, and not every unhoused person is 557 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: going to want to go to a shelter. Does it 558 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 1: make sense for every unhoused person to go to a shelter. 559 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 1: I get that this has been an issue long before 560 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: Trump ever got involved, but his solution is just a 561 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: brute force removal of people. He doesn't really have a 562 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 1: clear plan for where these people will go. My guess 563 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,200 Speaker 1: is that quite a few will end up in jail, 564 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: a strategy that is not only incredibly expensive as a 565 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 1: strategy that has been proven over and over again to 566 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: also be ineffective. And I think that is a big 567 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,959 Speaker 1: part of the issue here. DC is a city, and 568 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: in any city you're going to have issues like homelessness 569 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 1: and crime, and it's just the reality of life in 570 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: the city. Getting people housed takes time, It is a process. 571 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,680 Speaker 1: Just wanting to quickly move people who might not have 572 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,480 Speaker 1: anywhere else to go because they look unseemly, as Trump said, 573 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 1: is not solving the problem. All you are doing is 574 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: traumatizing people who are already extremely vulnerable and forcing them 575 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:34,840 Speaker 1: to move someplace without a clear plan. And the sad 576 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: thing is with the money that we're paying to have 577 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 1: federal agents take away unhoused people. We could probably house 578 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 1: every unhoused person in DC. But again, it is not 579 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 1: really about any of that. It is not about actually 580 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: solving problems. It's about the show, the posturing. Okay, so 581 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 1: that is my rant. If you're listening and you're not 582 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 1: in BC, you might be thinking what can people do? 583 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 1: What can I do? You're thinking of that because you're 584 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,400 Speaker 1: a good person. You're listening to podcast. I appreciate it. So, 585 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: as I have made clear, we do not have meaningful 586 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:10,200 Speaker 1: congressional representation in DC. So we need people who don't 587 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 1: live in DC to be our voice to advocate on 588 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:18,080 Speaker 1: our behalf. So contact your representatives and advocate for full 589 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: statehood for DC. Republicans like Mike Lee from Utah have 590 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 1: introduced the Bowser Act YEP, an act disparagingly named after 591 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: DC's mayor that would strip DC of home rule. I 592 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,320 Speaker 1: don't have anyone that I can call to make my 593 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: opinions known about how bad that is. So if you 594 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 1: are listening, call your representative and advocate for the self 595 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:47,440 Speaker 1: determination of folks in DC. Also follow local organizations like 596 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 1: Free DC. Free DC is an advocacy organization that is 597 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,160 Speaker 1: advocating for self determination for folks in DC. They've been 598 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 1: around it since the sixties, so very long history of 599 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: doing good work in DC. I did an interview for 600 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: Citycast DC with an organizer from Free DC and they 601 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: told me they were very prepared for this outcome. They 602 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 1: had a census was coming and they've been preparing for 603 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,320 Speaker 1: it for a while. And what they're focused on right 604 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 1: now is really making sure that DC residents know their rights, 605 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: know that they do not have to consent to certain 606 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,800 Speaker 1: interactions with police, and running trainings on things like cop watching. 607 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 1: You know how to film and how to watch police 608 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 1: out in the streets. Also, please make sure that you're 609 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:30,760 Speaker 1: sharing good, accurate information. This is a little bit tricky 610 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:35,880 Speaker 1: because I get the impetus for wanting to share things 611 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: when you see them, if they scratch a part of 612 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: your brain, whether they're true or not, I. 613 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:42,440 Speaker 2: Totally get it. 614 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 1: However, I think in times of crisis, what people need 615 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: is facts. What people need is confirmation. And I've just 616 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:51,840 Speaker 1: seen a lot of people, people that I trust, people 617 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: that I respect, plan a little fast and plan a 618 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 1: little loose with the kind of information that they are amplifying. 619 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: Right now, So I think it is incredibly important to 620 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: be precise right now in this time of chaos and 621 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 1: confusion and change. I have seen so much misinformation floating 622 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 1: around about what is actually happening in DC right now, 623 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:12,960 Speaker 1: and I guess I would say that what is happening 624 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: in DC right now is very bad. It is bad 625 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 1: enough on its own, but Trump has not taken over DC. 626 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:25,320 Speaker 1: Trump has specifically taken over DC's police. There is certainly 627 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: a threat of Trump taking over DC because we are 628 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: not a state, but that has not happened. I think 629 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:33,360 Speaker 1: it is important, especially during times of confusion and crisis, 630 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 1: to amplify good information and resources, not rumors. Trump and 631 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: its fascist enablers they want us scared, they want us confused, 632 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: they want us to not know what the truth is, 633 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 1: and we don't have to help add to that kind 634 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,080 Speaker 1: of a climate for them. One of the narratives I've 635 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:54,000 Speaker 1: seen floated a lot is that Trump is going to 636 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:58,560 Speaker 1: essentially give DC to billionaire Peter Teel. So the idea 637 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: here is that Trump would sell or give DC to 638 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,280 Speaker 1: Peter Thiel to create a deregulated so called Freedom City, 639 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 1: which is a very constant talking point of people like 640 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 1: Curtis Jarvin, who is this far right pro authoritarian voice 641 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,600 Speaker 1: who is very cozy with the Trump administration. I have 642 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:20,239 Speaker 1: seen this claim all over the internet. I will just 643 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:25,000 Speaker 1: say this, telling people that you believe this is going 644 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:26,759 Speaker 1: to happen is not a resource. 645 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,479 Speaker 2: What people need right now is. 646 00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:33,600 Speaker 1: Facts and verified, substantiated information, And I just don't think 647 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,320 Speaker 1: it helps people to get on the internet and potentially 648 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:40,040 Speaker 1: spread panic about something that just is not happening today 649 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: when we are in a time of change and confusion 650 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:47,479 Speaker 1: and chaos already. I don't think that there's never any 651 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,560 Speaker 1: value in speculating about what's next. I think we should 652 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,239 Speaker 1: be keeping an eye on the future. But I have 653 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,240 Speaker 1: seen this thing where I think people are really keen 654 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:02,480 Speaker 1: to be the first to amplify narrative or a claim 655 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:05,240 Speaker 1: that they think is going to get lots of engagement 656 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:09,120 Speaker 1: that feel sexy and flashy, and I completely get that. However, 657 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,359 Speaker 1: people also need facts and resources, and I understand that 658 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: that's a lot less sexy and a lot less flashy, 659 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:16,920 Speaker 1: but that's what actually was going to help people right now, 660 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:19,640 Speaker 1: and that's what people should be amplifying. So let's talk 661 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:22,440 Speaker 1: about that. Let's talk about what could be next what 662 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,960 Speaker 1: could be coming down the line? So, first, can Trump 663 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:29,319 Speaker 1: take over DC? Trump has said time and time again 664 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: that he wants to revoke DC's home Rule and have 665 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:35,680 Speaker 1: the federal government dictate how DC is run as a city. 666 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,120 Speaker 1: This would mean that DC would have no mayor, no 667 00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:41,359 Speaker 1: city council, and the only people who would decide how 668 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:44,799 Speaker 1: DC is run are Trump and a small handful of 669 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 1: commissioners that Trump personally appoints. I think the last time 670 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:50,720 Speaker 1: that DC did not have home rule, it was three people. 671 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: None of those people lived in DC. In fact, the 672 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:57,719 Speaker 1: only person who lived in DC who could even potentially 673 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,920 Speaker 1: see the impact of their of their leadership was the. 674 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:02,640 Speaker 2: President, who lived in the White House. 675 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,440 Speaker 1: So this would mean that all of DC's services, public schools, 676 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,759 Speaker 1: social services, trash pickup, road services, DC, public health, all 677 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:15,600 Speaker 1: of it would be run by Trump personally. To even 678 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:19,960 Speaker 1: get a road repaved in DC would require Congressional oversight. 679 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,960 Speaker 1: And we have been through this once before. The last 680 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:26,239 Speaker 1: time that DC did not have home rule and it 681 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,200 Speaker 1: was run by the President and Congress, it turned out 682 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,000 Speaker 1: that nobody actually wanted to be in control of the 683 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,840 Speaker 1: minutia and everyday issues of running a city. 684 00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:36,160 Speaker 2: So guess what. 685 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,360 Speaker 1: They basically didn't, and DC was deeply neglected. It was 686 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 1: not a good time for the city, and that is 687 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,920 Speaker 1: what Trump has been saying he wants to do. And 688 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:50,359 Speaker 1: the thing is, Trump hates cities, yet here he is 689 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: clamoring to run one. And I think that is my 690 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:56,480 Speaker 1: big issue with all of this. I hate how people 691 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,400 Speaker 1: on the left, myself very much included, are kind of 692 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:03,520 Speaker 1: playing to Trump's narratives about cities and crime. I find 693 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:08,000 Speaker 1: myself being so reactive combating all of the different lies 694 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:11,399 Speaker 1: that Trump tells about our city being this bombed out, 695 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:16,480 Speaker 1: crime infested hellhole that it's like he pulls me into 696 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,080 Speaker 1: playing his game where the only thing I can do 697 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:21,680 Speaker 1: is combat all of these lies. And I'm not actually 698 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,759 Speaker 1: telling the truth of the reality that I know to 699 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:28,279 Speaker 1: be true about my own city. Our cities are not 700 00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:34,600 Speaker 1: crime infested hellholes. Our cities are great. Our cities are awesome. Washington, 701 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,640 Speaker 1: d C. Is a great place to live. People want 702 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:40,080 Speaker 1: to live in cities. If DC was not a good 703 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:42,719 Speaker 1: place to live, my rent would not be so expensive. 704 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,719 Speaker 1: People obviously want to be here. New York City is 705 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:48,200 Speaker 1: a great place to live. People want to live there. 706 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 2: That's why the rent is expensive. 707 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:54,440 Speaker 1: Public transport subways, buses, the Metro are safe and good, 708 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:57,080 Speaker 1: and people use them and rely on them because they 709 00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 1: make our lives better. 710 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,799 Speaker 2: Chicago is a great place to live. People go to 711 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:03,799 Speaker 2: these cities. People who don't. 712 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,239 Speaker 1: Live in these cities get on planes and get in 713 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 1: cars and get on buses to visit these cities because 714 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:12,120 Speaker 1: they want to see them, because those cities are good. 715 00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:15,840 Speaker 1: Millions of people choose to live in these cities every 716 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,720 Speaker 1: single day and keep moving there despite sky high rent, 717 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,880 Speaker 1: despite things like crime being a reality of living in 718 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,640 Speaker 1: a city, because they want to live there. If you 719 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:28,480 Speaker 1: are an old racist fuck like Trump or a scared 720 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,160 Speaker 1: little boy like these pundits on Fox News who make 721 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:34,040 Speaker 1: a living talking about how terrified they are when they 722 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,960 Speaker 1: step onto the asphalt in a city, I can understand 723 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,120 Speaker 1: why being in a city might be unfamiliar and scary. 724 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:42,399 Speaker 1: But those of us who live in cities, and those 725 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:44,160 Speaker 1: of us who like cities, and those of us who 726 00:38:44,239 --> 00:38:47,480 Speaker 1: respect cities see and understand how. 727 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:48,000 Speaker 2: Silly that is. 728 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:52,240 Speaker 1: Right Wing lawmakers and right link influencers from red States 729 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:54,720 Speaker 1: get on TV or get on the internet and talk. 730 00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,040 Speaker 2: About how terrified they are to walk. 731 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,560 Speaker 1: Down the streets of DC, a city where me and 732 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: the kinds of people that they would probably denigrate as 733 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:05,239 Speaker 1: my blue haired, queer, soy boy art school. 734 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,319 Speaker 2: Friends navigate every single day. 735 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:09,320 Speaker 1: Like I thought to I was supposed to be tough guys, 736 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:13,120 Speaker 1: so tough that you completely fall apart with fear when 737 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:16,200 Speaker 1: you step outside in the city that I navigate every. 738 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 2: Single day of my life. We live in cities because 739 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:19,560 Speaker 2: we love culture. 740 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:23,120 Speaker 1: We love the strangeness of strangers, We love walking, we 741 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:24,880 Speaker 1: love the rush of trying to make it in a 742 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:28,080 Speaker 1: place that is hard. Yes, crime happens in cities, but 743 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:31,640 Speaker 1: crime happens everywhere. And I refuse to be drawn into 744 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:35,319 Speaker 1: a debate that begins and ends about arguing crime statistics, 745 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,640 Speaker 1: because this whole thing has never been about crime. It 746 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:42,000 Speaker 1: is and always has been about Trump denigrating cities as 747 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:43,279 Speaker 1: somehow un American. 748 00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 2: But our country was founded in cities, cities. 749 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:51,040 Speaker 1: Like Philadelphia, New York and Boston by people who loved cities. 750 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:52,280 Speaker 2: Cities are good. 751 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,279 Speaker 1: Cities are part of how we understand America, and how 752 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:58,920 Speaker 1: we have always understood America. How many movies, books and 753 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,640 Speaker 1: songs are about people heading out to the city in 754 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:04,960 Speaker 1: search of something good and something better. In that velvet 755 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:07,799 Speaker 1: underground song rock and Roll, it is a New York 756 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:11,080 Speaker 1: station that saves Jenny's life with the power of rock 757 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,600 Speaker 1: and roll from her town where nothing is happening at all. Like, 758 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:16,920 Speaker 1: I'm not going to sit here and let Trump rewrite 759 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:19,720 Speaker 1: the narrative that cities are bad. Women know that cities 760 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,439 Speaker 1: are good and have always been good, no matter how 761 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,960 Speaker 1: many times Republicans want to how that they don't. If 762 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,319 Speaker 1: you need any evidence of that, just look at real 763 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:34,040 Speaker 1: estate prices. So that is my rant about this whole thing. Honestly, 764 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:36,520 Speaker 1: it has been a fucking week here in DC. I've 765 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:40,680 Speaker 1: barely slept. Things are not great here, but I love 766 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:43,279 Speaker 1: my city, even in a time where I feel like 767 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,479 Speaker 1: it is tough. I don't know what's next for DC, 768 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:48,600 Speaker 1: but this is still always going to be my home, 769 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,439 Speaker 1: and I know that I will outlast Trump here. 770 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:53,920 Speaker 2: You know. I know that. 771 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:57,640 Speaker 1: And I just think that even at a time where 772 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:02,080 Speaker 1: it feels like our political leaders and elected officials maybe 773 00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:04,840 Speaker 1: don't have our backs in the way that we would 774 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:06,719 Speaker 1: like them to have. The one thing I do know 775 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,960 Speaker 1: is that I believe in us. I believe in the 776 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,320 Speaker 1: power of people. You know, I was telling you about 777 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:16,919 Speaker 1: how on Fourteenth Street they were had a checkpoints set 778 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,640 Speaker 1: up of military personnel taking people out of cars. They 779 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:23,520 Speaker 1: also had lines of DC residents lined up that self 780 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:26,359 Speaker 1: organized to stand around and booth those people and make 781 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:29,240 Speaker 1: their displeasure known. I believe in the power of people 782 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,640 Speaker 1: like that. And you know, I know that things are 783 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,440 Speaker 1: weird and tough right now, but sometimes that's really all 784 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,960 Speaker 1: you have. All we have is each other, and so yeah, 785 00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:47,960 Speaker 1: times are tough, but cities are forever, cities forever. Got 786 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:49,960 Speaker 1: a story about an interesting thing in tech. I just 787 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:51,959 Speaker 1: want to say hi. You can read just at Hello 788 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,520 Speaker 1: at tegody dot com. You can also find transcripts for 789 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:57,280 Speaker 1: today's episode at tengody dot com. There Are No Girls 790 00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:59,600 Speaker 1: on the Internet was created by me Bridge Toad. It's 791 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:02,880 Speaker 1: a production I'm the iHeartRadio, an unbossed creative. Jonathan Strickland 792 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:05,640 Speaker 1: is our executive producer. Tari Harrison is our producer and 793 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:09,480 Speaker 1: sound engineer. Michael Almato is our contributing producer. Edited by 794 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:13,120 Speaker 1: Joey pat I'm your host, Bridget Todd. If you want 795 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:14,919 Speaker 1: to help us grow, rate and review us on Apple 796 00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:19,120 Speaker 1: Podcasts for more podcasts from iHeartRadio check out the iHeartRadio app, 797 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:29,920 Speaker 1: Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.