WEBVTT - COULDN'T TRUMP'S DOCTORS INSTITUTIONALIZE HIM? - 10.22.26 0:00:04.785 --> 0:00:28.705 Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a production of iHeartRadio. They're 0:00:28.765 --> 0:00:31.205 not asking him the difference between a giraffe and a 0:00:31.265 --> 0:00:35.045 snake because he's fine. They're asking him the difference between 0:00:35.065 --> 0:00:37.725 a giraffe and a snake because they suspect he cannot 0:00:37.765 --> 0:00:41.485 tell the difference between a giraffe and a snake. Food 0:00:41.525 --> 0:00:46.125 for everyone. Food for everyone. Trump has gone back to 0:00:46.195 --> 0:00:50.315 bringing up these effing dementia tests every few minutes, it seems, 0:00:50.355 --> 0:00:54.355 certainly once per rally on his tour. not understanding that 0:00:54.375 --> 0:00:58.465 they are effing dementia tests, bringing it up constantly, presumably 0:00:58.525 --> 0:01:02.325 because this crowd of doctors that he travels with, that 0:01:02.365 --> 0:01:05.185 he boasts about, who would let you die because they're 0:01:05.205 --> 0:01:08.975 not allowed to leave his side, they see signs in 0:01:09.115 --> 0:01:13.175 private that we do not see in public that he 0:01:13.235 --> 0:01:16.355 has dementia or something like it, or is perhaps more 0:01:16.415 --> 0:01:22.065 colloquially effing crazy. If they keep giving him these tests, 0:01:22.125 --> 0:01:24.885 and judging by how often Trump brings them up, my 0:01:25.045 --> 0:01:27.265 estimate is they must give him one of these tests 0:01:27.585 --> 0:01:33.005 after every meal. Can't they do something about him? Aren't 0:01:33.045 --> 0:01:36.325 they doctors with the power to do something about him? 0:01:37.225 --> 0:01:40.285 Can't they institutionalize him? Can't they put him on a 0:01:40.325 --> 0:01:44.625 temporary mental hold? He is crazy or failing that, and 0:01:44.705 --> 0:01:48.395 I understand the odds against doing that. failing that, can't 0:01:48.595 --> 0:01:52.155 one of them, one of them risk everything for the 0:01:52.255 --> 0:01:56.805 sake of the nation and, you know, the world? Just one. 0:01:59.425 --> 0:02:04.125 I mean, Trump is crazy. That's not breaking news. It 0:02:04.165 --> 0:02:08.385 has not been breaking news since 2016. Ed Rollins confirmed 0:02:08.425 --> 0:02:10.405 it for me on a news set in 2016, and 0:02:11.305 --> 0:02:15.075 he didn't mean in a colloquial or ha-ha way. He said, 0:02:15.315 --> 0:02:21.005 you're right, Trump is crazy crazy. But, quote, the first 0:02:21.125 --> 0:02:23.515 one is they show you a lion, a bear, a snake, 0:02:23.555 --> 0:02:26.335 and a giraffe, and they say, which one is the giraffe? 0:02:27.115 --> 0:02:31.515 I got a perfect score. Holy crap, he sounds like 0:02:31.575 --> 0:02:35.645 a toddler boasting about his first success on a potty chair. 0:02:37.045 --> 0:02:39.645 A perfect score. He can tell the difference between a 0:02:39.705 --> 0:02:44.835 giraffe and a snake. It's a Robert Klein joke from 1975. 0:02:44.835 --> 0:02:47.795 The kind of test Robert Klein said he liked was 0:02:47.875 --> 0:02:52.645 multiple choice. You got an elephant and a mouse. Which 0:02:52.705 --> 0:02:56.525 is bigger? A. He can tell the difference between a 0:02:56.525 --> 0:02:59.465 giraffe and a snake, but he can't tell the difference 0:02:59.485 --> 0:03:03.085 between a giraffe and a Putin. Russia, frankly, has been 0:03:03.165 --> 0:03:06.565 fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much. He's crazy. 0:03:07.085 --> 0:03:09.975 He's now openly bribing not just voters to vote his way, 0:03:10.035 --> 0:03:12.895 violating federal law each time he does that. He's bribing 0:03:12.935 --> 0:03:15.955 voters in a specific state to vote one way, thus 0:03:16.095 --> 0:03:18.655 also violating state law every time he does that. He's 0:03:18.715 --> 0:03:22.445 also backing the Hitler of our time over the Poland 0:03:22.465 --> 0:03:26.645 of our time. He is boasting that his doctors keep 0:03:26.785 --> 0:03:30.795 testing his brain constantly. to be uncouth for signs that 0:03:30.835 --> 0:03:36.895 his brain doesn't work anymore. Doesn't work at all. That 0:03:36.925 --> 0:03:39.245 he is already at the stage or nearing it where 0:03:39.285 --> 0:03:41.545 he cannot tell the difference between a giraffe and a 0:03:41.605 --> 0:03:44.005 snake is the only reason they give him a test 0:03:44.265 --> 0:03:45.905 in which he's asked to tell the difference between a 0:03:45.925 --> 0:03:48.465 giraffe and a snake. They don't ask you this as 0:03:48.505 --> 0:03:51.905 some sort of random survey nor IQ test. Why can't 0:03:51.945 --> 0:03:55.505 they commit him? Why can't they institutionalize him? He is, 0:03:55.705 --> 0:03:59.005 after all, manifestly crazy and a danger to those around 0:03:59.045 --> 0:04:03.075 him and perhaps to himself. I mean, if he starts 0:04:03.365 --> 0:04:07.145 atomic war tomorrow, he presumably would be one of the casualties. 0:04:07.485 --> 0:04:11.685 That's a danger to yourself. You only need two doctors 0:04:11.725 --> 0:04:15.105 to put the guy on hold for 48 hours. He 0:04:15.165 --> 0:04:18.425 claims he's got more doctors than general hospitals. Certainly there 0:04:18.465 --> 0:04:22.045 are two who recognize what's actually going on here. They 0:04:22.085 --> 0:04:25.505 follow him around like his sycophants on the golf courses. 0:04:27.335 --> 0:04:30.855 There's got to be his hallucinations guy, his electroshock guy, 0:04:31.135 --> 0:04:36.485 his lobotomy guy, his team Rorschach test, the gal with 0:04:36.525 --> 0:04:41.545 the trepanning tools for him, his drool cup carrier. Damn, 0:04:41.565 --> 0:04:43.145 there's got to be two of them ready to call 0:04:43.185 --> 0:04:47.515 their straitjacket expert in. That'd be a triple XL straitjacket, 0:04:47.535 --> 0:04:49.975 thank you. I know, I know, I know, I know. 0:04:50.375 --> 0:04:53.815 The idea of getting one doctor from Team Trump is 0:04:53.895 --> 0:04:57.075 really crazy to just throw it all to the wind, 0:04:57.095 --> 0:05:00.315 to call a news conference, to tell the world the 0:05:00.455 --> 0:05:04.675 truth that is still a billion to one shot, but 0:05:04.715 --> 0:05:08.045 it's closer to happening than having two of those doctors 0:05:08.105 --> 0:05:11.865 committing him. I mean, yes, Doc, you'd be ending your career, 0:05:13.205 --> 0:05:18.225 but think of the rewards. Whichever of his doctors... will 0:05:18.255 --> 0:05:24.405 confirm his insanity publicly. I'm a patriot. I love this country. Well, 0:05:24.565 --> 0:05:28.345 I'm a patriot. I love this country. You will make millions. 0:05:28.945 --> 0:05:32.125 I'll toss in a million. A million into the pot 0:05:32.205 --> 0:05:34.945 right now for the first Trump doctor who tells the 0:05:35.005 --> 0:05:40.775 truth about these tests. What the hell? And this note 0:05:40.835 --> 0:05:46.855 for doctor who... Your monetization of your time with Donald 0:05:46.935 --> 0:05:51.245 Trump could wind up being worth more to you than 0:05:51.505 --> 0:05:55.265 Alina Haba's monetization of her time with Trump and the 0:05:55.305 --> 0:05:59.085 reported $ 50 million involved in selling a pardon for Trump. 0:06:00.345 --> 0:06:02.045 And by the way, I would bet that if this 0:06:02.245 --> 0:06:05.885 really actually happened, if the doctor held a news conference, 0:06:06.105 --> 0:06:09.905 this would be the most widely watched and rewatched news 0:06:09.945 --> 0:06:16.505 conference in the history of the universe. Dr. Vinny Boombatz 0:06:17.145 --> 0:06:22.605 would be an instant worldwide celebrity. I'd also bet he 0:06:22.665 --> 0:06:26.145 could close this press conference off, having changed world history 0:06:26.565 --> 0:06:29.705 in less than an hour, by saying, oh, by the way, 0:06:29.745 --> 0:06:33.305 the stuff about him correctly identifying the giraffe, the SOB 0:06:33.365 --> 0:06:37.705 is even lying about that. He got the giraffe wrong too, MFers. 0:06:41.145 --> 0:06:45.355 I wrote a book about this nine years ago Now, 0:06:46.135 --> 0:06:48.615 I don't hawk it. I'm just showing it up as 0:06:48.815 --> 0:06:52.925 evidence in case you didn't know. It is not much 0:06:52.965 --> 0:06:56.185 of a book. I wrote it for a reason, and 0:06:56.225 --> 0:06:57.825 I wrote it the way I wrote it for a reason. 0:06:59.275 --> 0:07:03.055 It underwrote the resistance videos, which I basically did for charity, 0:07:03.755 --> 0:07:07.875 and it put on the record... The fact that somebody 0:07:07.915 --> 0:07:10.675 had to say all that in 2017, that Trump is 0:07:10.835 --> 0:07:13.095 effing crazy and this is not some kind of joke. 0:07:13.335 --> 0:07:16.685 The book is essentially 350 pages of transcripts of those 0:07:16.725 --> 0:07:20.605 commentaries that I did in 2016 and 2017 because I 0:07:20.665 --> 0:07:23.325 knew someday it would happen, that the world would accept 0:07:23.365 --> 0:07:26.515 the reality that Trump was crazy. It would happen one 0:07:26.555 --> 0:07:29.715 way or the other, commitment or not. he'd start speaking 0:07:29.775 --> 0:07:33.465 in tongues live on TV, or a doctor would go 0:07:33.825 --> 0:07:37.005 forth and spread beauty and light and tell the truth. 0:07:38.365 --> 0:07:41.365 And I wanted it documented that we all knew it 0:07:41.485 --> 0:07:44.755 in 2016, and nobody but me was willing to put 0:07:44.815 --> 0:07:50.005 their name on it. I wanted it preserved for the 0:07:50.065 --> 0:07:53.445 record that he didn't go bad at some point, that 0:07:53.485 --> 0:07:56.115 he didn't deteriorate, that he wasn't better back in the 0:07:56.245 --> 0:07:59.635 old days, and perhaps it was age and that, no, 0:08:00.015 --> 0:08:04.155 we started where we ended with him. And I wanted 0:08:04.175 --> 0:08:06.195 to make sure people understood that it was not not 0:08:06.395 --> 0:08:10.295 obvious in 2016, that we all knew in 2016 that 0:08:10.515 --> 0:08:14.495 Trump is effing crazy. This is not a book as 0:08:14.555 --> 0:08:18.565 much as it is an artifact. an artifact that would 0:08:18.585 --> 0:08:21.585 cost you $ 6. 19 on Amazon. I don't think I'd get 0:08:21.625 --> 0:08:24.605 any money out of that. But as low as $ 3. 96 0:08:23.765 --> 0:08:28.745 on eBay, free shipping, and I know I don't get 0:08:28.805 --> 0:08:31.835 any of that money. I would hold out, though, until 0:08:31.995 --> 0:08:35.175 this gets down to a dollar. As I said, it's 0:08:35.215 --> 0:08:38.795 not a great book, but it's 100% correct. And it's 0:08:39.295 --> 0:08:44.155 an artifact. It just genuinely surprised me then, as it 0:08:44.195 --> 0:08:48.465 genuinely surprises me still, that whoever these doctors are who 0:08:48.525 --> 0:08:52.165 gave him these cognitive tests every, let's see, what time 0:08:52.185 --> 0:08:54.785 is it now? I started about eight minutes ago. He's 0:08:54.825 --> 0:08:57.845 due for another one. That not one of them is 0:08:57.985 --> 0:09:01.525 willing to trade a life that must be a living 0:09:01.625 --> 0:09:07.345 hell of guilt and responsibility for the immediate and eternal 0:09:07.415 --> 0:09:11.775 gratitude of a world that would respond in this trade 0:09:13.675 --> 0:09:15.515 A world that has been standing in front of a 0:09:15.835 --> 0:09:22.165 psychopath holding a knife against its throat since 2016. A 0:09:22.245 --> 0:09:25.305 world that has been saying, doesn't anybody else see that 0:09:25.365 --> 0:09:29.825 Trump is a psychopath and he's holding a knife? The 0:09:29.865 --> 0:09:32.725 doctor who trades the life of traveling around with a 0:09:32.755 --> 0:09:36.875 psychopath who he can't tell anybody else, he's a psychopath. 0:09:37.845 --> 0:09:39.985 trades that life for a life in which he announces 0:09:40.045 --> 0:09:45.625 it to the world, becomes eternally, immortally famous and rich. 0:09:49.025 --> 0:09:51.505 I don't understand why somebody doesn't make that trade. What 0:09:51.545 --> 0:09:55.465 is your training for? What are your oaths about? Confidentiality? 0:09:56.785 --> 0:10:00.445 Making some more money later? You can make more money now! 0:10:03.185 --> 0:10:05.395 Even if that's your only motivation, other than, you know, 0:10:05.635 --> 0:10:08.395 saving the world. I would think saving the world would 0:10:08.435 --> 0:10:10.875 be high on a doctor's list of priorities, but what 0:10:10.915 --> 0:10:13.655 do I know? I only know my own doctors, and 0:10:13.675 --> 0:10:17.615 I think they would all do this. Doctor Who, I 0:10:18.175 --> 0:10:22.945 am not actually asking you to institutionalize him. I understand 0:10:22.985 --> 0:10:26.545 that would be difficult. I understand nobody's tried that since 0:10:26.665 --> 0:10:33.155 King George III in 1788. The paperwork alone would be 0:10:33.875 --> 0:10:42.495 a J.D. Vance. But just go public. Spill the beans. 0:10:43.775 --> 0:10:47.445 Tell the truth as the cliche goes. Let's talk about 0:10:47.485 --> 0:10:54.135 the elephant in the room. Or in this case... The giraffe. 0:11:09.485 --> 0:11:11.505 While we wait for the doctor to tell the truth 0:11:11.565 --> 0:11:16.725 about Trump, it's too early to get any reaction in 0:11:16.745 --> 0:11:19.765 terms of detrumpification from the suddenly shocked to discover there 0:11:19.805 --> 0:11:25.455 is gambling going on here, right-wing media. to the latest development, 0:11:25.475 --> 0:11:29.515 which would be Trump whore envoy Steve Witkoff calling Putin 0:11:29.875 --> 0:11:33.835 a humanitarian to Putin's face. And by the way, live 0:11:33.955 --> 0:11:37.545 on Russian state television, most of American media has left 0:11:37.625 --> 0:11:41.925 that small detail out of the equation. That was yesterday, 0:11:42.005 --> 0:11:44.905 so we have not seen, obviously, the Thursday papers yet, 0:11:44.965 --> 0:11:48.825 but the entire Ukraine picture continues to get slammed by 0:11:48.845 --> 0:11:54.165 the Wall Street Journal editorial board? To Russia with love, 0:11:54.305 --> 0:11:57.955 signed Donald. Trump waives sanctions and tariffs under the Lindsey 0:11:57.975 --> 0:12:01.015 Graham law. Trump's assistance to Vladimir Putin keeps growing by 0:12:01.055 --> 0:12:03.395 the day, and in the latest example, he stuck a 0:12:03.675 --> 0:12:06.675 shiv in the back of the legacy of the late 0:12:06.715 --> 0:12:11.365 Senator Lindsey Graham. Mr. Trump offered no explanation beyond a 0:12:11.385 --> 0:12:13.465 statement that the issuance of such a waiver at this 0:12:13.505 --> 0:12:16.305 time is in the national interests of the United States, 0:12:16.365 --> 0:12:19.635 the editorial board writes. The opposite is true, and Mr. 0:12:19.675 --> 0:12:24.555 Trump is now... Mr. Putin's best friend in the world 0:12:24.755 --> 0:12:29.455 after perhaps China. When the election is over, there needs 0:12:29.495 --> 0:12:32.775 to be a bipartisan reckoning for Mr. Trump's budding alliance 0:12:33.235 --> 0:12:38.695 with the Kremlin against Ukraine, Europe, and American interests. The 0:12:38.735 --> 0:12:42.475 Wall Street Journal editorial board. Not me. I would have 0:12:42.495 --> 0:12:49.065 written it a little bit less stridently. All right? Murdoch 0:12:49.185 --> 0:12:54.225 periodically needs to make himself look human. Maybe that explains this. 0:12:55.265 --> 0:12:57.605 I would suggest turning to the pages of the Washington 0:12:57.665 --> 0:13:01.135 Examiner that's never had any concern about looking human. Trump 0:13:01.295 --> 0:13:05.215 sold out Ukraine for a bad diesel deal. Every ally 0:13:05.335 --> 0:13:08.195 is watching. Quote, Ukraine has attacked a number of Russian 0:13:08.215 --> 0:13:10.765 refineries in an effort to put economic pressure on Putin. 0:13:11.125 --> 0:13:14.005 Trump apparently believes that these attacks have contributed to the 0:13:14.065 --> 0:13:18.245 diesel shortage and thus have played a part in raising prices. Trump, however, 0:13:18.365 --> 0:13:22.315 is wrong about this, writes the Washington Examiner. Diesel prices 0:13:22.355 --> 0:13:24.875 have risen mainly because of the dramatic reduction in the 0:13:24.915 --> 0:13:26.795 amount of oil that has been shipped from the Middle 0:13:26.875 --> 0:13:29.815 East since the war began. A chart prepared by the 0:13:29.875 --> 0:13:32.645 Institute for the Study of War shows that U.S. diesel 0:13:32.665 --> 0:13:36.005 prices rose dramatically when the war started, declined when it 0:13:36.045 --> 0:13:37.865 appeared Trump would make a deal to reopen the Strait 0:13:37.885 --> 0:13:41.585 of Hormuz. and rose even more sharply after that effort collapsed. 0:13:41.925 --> 0:13:47.525 Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, writes the Washington Bloody Examiner, 0:13:47.785 --> 0:13:51.605 had at most a marginal effect on those movements. In 0:13:51.675 --> 0:13:54.315 right-wing media, this is the equivalent of the doctor going 0:13:54.375 --> 0:13:58.615 public about how crazy Trump actually is. To resume, his 0:13:58.715 --> 0:14:01.715 betrayal of Ukraine then will have almost no effect on 0:14:01.735 --> 0:14:05.995 the midterm elections. Quote, it nonetheless has an important impact elsewhere. 0:14:06.295 --> 0:14:10.445 It reinforces the growing notion that America's word means nothing. 0:14:13.125 --> 0:14:16.025 The New York Times has not said this about Donald Trump. 0:14:17.405 --> 0:14:21.695 A GOP moderate... That's in quotes. Running in the Colorado Third, 0:14:21.755 --> 0:14:25.035 Jeff Heard, I disagree with the administration's decision to waive 0:14:25.095 --> 0:14:28.575 new sanctions Congress passed to increase economic pressure on Russia. 0:14:28.755 --> 0:14:31.715 He'll be beaten severely for daring to disagree with Trump. 0:14:32.225 --> 0:14:35.165 Putin started this war. Russia continues its brutal attacks on 0:14:35.265 --> 0:14:37.865 Ukrainian civilians. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I hope the 0:14:37.905 --> 0:14:42.175 administration reconsiders. For a Republican member of Congress who is 0:14:42.205 --> 0:14:45.375 not retiring, this is a declaration of war on Trump. 0:14:47.525 --> 0:14:51.035 The German Friedrich Merz. My biggest concern is the underestimated 0:14:51.065 --> 0:14:54.615 Russian impact on our societies. Russia is on the way 0:14:54.655 --> 0:14:58.775 to destabilize the entire political order of our European continent. 0:14:58.975 --> 0:15:04.625 And this is obviously underestimated. You think? As to the 0:15:04.695 --> 0:15:08.125 Starlink slowdown and the betrayal of Ukraine and the other 0:15:08.165 --> 0:15:11.605 attempts to sabotage Ukraine's domestic air defense and to kill 0:15:11.665 --> 0:15:15.595 more Ukrainian infants. One set of sources says Trump did 0:15:15.635 --> 0:15:18.395 this directly. Another tells the Wall Street Journal it was 0:15:18.495 --> 0:15:21.375 Musk who did it directly. To quote Churchill, it really 0:15:21.415 --> 0:15:24.095 doesn't matter who was the organ grinder and who was 0:15:24.155 --> 0:15:29.055 the monkey. One explanation seems intuitively to me to make 0:15:29.125 --> 0:15:32.965 even more sense than either of those. Yes, Musk issued 0:15:33.005 --> 0:15:36.445 the order to bring down the military version of Starlink, 0:15:36.965 --> 0:15:41.415 but Trump ordered Musk to do that. And remember... If 0:15:41.475 --> 0:15:44.985 Musk or Trump can turn off missile defense information systems 0:15:45.365 --> 0:15:48.775 in Ukraine, Musk or Trump can turn them off here 0:15:48.835 --> 0:15:55.405 in the U.S. Another candidate, meanwhile, tried to de-Trumpify, tried 0:15:55.425 --> 0:15:59.945 a little bit too hard. Twitter Autumn noted this. Eric Pratt, 0:15:59.965 --> 0:16:04.175 Republican running for Angie Craig's open seat in the Minnesota Second, 0:16:04.535 --> 0:16:08.775 left the AI restating his prompt on his website. So 0:16:08.975 --> 0:16:16.425 the Pratt playbook here... reads pratt playbook affordability accountability safe 0:16:16.465 --> 0:16:20.365 community residents want everyday purchases to be affordable eric pratt 0:16:20.405 --> 0:16:23.135 writes or the ai did bad actors to be held 0:16:23.175 --> 0:16:26.255 accountable and their reps to lead with common sense the 0:16:26.295 --> 0:16:29.475 president is not popular so all messaging should be focused 0:16:29.755 --> 0:16:33.915 on local politics and needs try to remember when using 0:16:34.055 --> 0:16:39.355 ai to take ai's fingerprints off of it Of course, 0:16:39.375 --> 0:16:42.175 they are not all trying to de-Trumpify. Two years ago 0:16:42.215 --> 0:16:46.215 at this time, it was when Ohio went crazy with J.V. Vance, 0:16:46.235 --> 0:16:50.095 who is a Funko Pop in a suit, insisted that 0:16:50.175 --> 0:16:54.675 the Haitians in Columbus, Ohio, were eating the cats and dogs, 0:16:54.755 --> 0:16:58.295 and then Trump picked that up, eating the cats, as 0:16:58.395 --> 0:17:05.665 if J.D. Vance knew anything about eating cats. Think about it. Well, 0:17:05.715 --> 0:17:09.325 JV is back defending their Vivek Ramaswamy attack ad against 0:17:09.405 --> 0:17:12.165 Amy Acton, in which Vivek Ramaswamy came out on the 0:17:12.205 --> 0:17:16.685 side of stepfathers raping their 12-year-old stepdaughters and on the 0:17:16.705 --> 0:17:20.145 side of their mothers siding with the stepfather. That's the 0:17:20.225 --> 0:17:23.435 Amy Acton story that Vivek Ramaswamy has brought up by 0:17:23.565 --> 0:17:29.875 entering into this equation Amy Acton's deadbeat, reprehensible, going-to-hell mother. 0:17:31.705 --> 0:17:35.295 Vance is very concerned about this advertisement, about the fact 0:17:35.315 --> 0:17:37.655 that anybody has had the nerve to criticize it, that is. 0:17:37.715 --> 0:17:40.255 Quoting Vance, well, I'll be honest with you, whether the 0:17:40.315 --> 0:17:42.355 ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern. 0:17:42.595 --> 0:17:44.685 My concern is who's going to govern. I have to 0:17:44.745 --> 0:17:47.925 admit I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans 0:17:47.945 --> 0:17:50.485 who are whining more about that ad than they are 0:17:50.525 --> 0:17:55.025 about what the Democrats want to do. J.D. Vance is garbage. 0:17:55.665 --> 0:17:59.905 His reputation as a seducer of couches is the nicest 0:17:59.965 --> 0:18:02.645 thing anybody has ever said about him relative to who 0:18:02.685 --> 0:18:06.595 he really is. He is scum, vermin, slime, and I 0:18:06.635 --> 0:18:13.315 apologize to scum, vermin, and slime. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy is worse. 0:18:14.515 --> 0:18:17.245 Ramaswamy had almost slid off the screen. It's hard to 0:18:17.285 --> 0:18:21.555 remember he is running for office in Ohio. Then he 0:18:21.615 --> 0:18:25.255 said something like this. And when we face our founding 0:18:25.315 --> 0:18:30.475 fathers in the afterlife and they ask us, what sacrifice 0:18:30.555 --> 0:18:34.795 did you make for your country? We better have a 0:18:34.815 --> 0:18:37.955 damn good answer for them and we will. So you're 0:18:37.975 --> 0:18:41.015 going to meet the founding fathers in the afterlife and 0:18:41.075 --> 0:18:44.285 have to talk to them, Vivek? You expect the founding 0:18:44.345 --> 0:18:47.195 fathers like George Washington and Ben Franklin to be in 0:18:47.255 --> 0:19:01.135 hell with you, Vivek? Also of interest here, the midterms 0:19:01.295 --> 0:19:05.055 and the early forecast has now changed to a Democratic 0:19:05.095 --> 0:19:09.445 generic lead in the House of double digits. And if 0:19:09.505 --> 0:19:12.425 you can imagine the idea of dinner at the White 0:19:12.465 --> 0:19:18.645 House with Trump and Stephen A. Smith and Bill Maher, 0:19:19.205 --> 0:19:22.465 you will understand that Kid Rock was there to give 0:19:22.505 --> 0:19:27.715 it a slight intellectual improvement. That's next. This is Countdown. 0:19:29.505 --> 0:19:37.125 This is Countdown with Keith Olbermann. For the big finish, 0:19:37.165 --> 0:19:39.645 let's look at what the actual impact on the ground, 0:19:40.205 --> 0:19:43.485 what the predictions about the midterms are, something curious about 0:19:43.505 --> 0:19:47.745 these midterms from Axios. This is not about Trump bribing 0:19:47.805 --> 0:19:52.225 farmers or Trump bribing Kansans or Trump bribing poisoned servicemen, 0:19:52.305 --> 0:19:53.905 all of which he has done in the last few days. 0:19:54.245 --> 0:19:57.665 This is from Axios. Quote, Trump threatened Wednesday to fire 0:19:57.745 --> 0:20:00.365 two of his top political consultants if he finds a 0:20:00.495 --> 0:20:05.095 conflict after reports that they had advised a Russia-aligned government 0:20:05.415 --> 0:20:10.175 ahead of local elections there. That's there is Bosnia Herzegovina. 0:20:10.855 --> 0:20:15.235 Why it matters, as Axios asks after every other paragraph, 0:20:15.295 --> 0:20:18.755 because it writes for political audiences and political people who 0:20:18.815 --> 0:20:21.845 really can't focus their attention for longer than two sentences. 0:20:22.125 --> 0:20:26.405 Why it matters, Chris LaCivita and James Blair are leading Republicans' 0:20:26.565 --> 0:20:30.545 midterm election strategy, putting their foreign consulting work in tension 0:20:30.765 --> 0:20:36.295 with their prominent roles in transphobic... Wait. The issue here 0:20:36.375 --> 0:20:38.795 is not the fact that there is a conflict of interest. 0:20:39.075 --> 0:20:42.025 The Trump administration is built on conflicts of interest. That's 0:20:42.105 --> 0:20:45.385 what it's there for. Or them making money on the side, 0:20:45.485 --> 0:20:49.005 using their reputations, using their status connected to the U.S. government. 0:20:49.265 --> 0:20:51.505 That's what it's there for. Or the fact that these 0:20:51.545 --> 0:20:54.625 guys are probably stealing money from taxpayers, like everybody else 0:20:54.645 --> 0:21:00.425 in this administration. That's what it's there for. The issue 0:21:00.465 --> 0:21:04.845 here about Blair and this eternal sleaze la savita is... 0:21:05.455 --> 0:21:09.535 Leading Republicans' midterm election strategy, but two weeks plus before 0:21:09.575 --> 0:21:14.975 the midterms, they are in Bosnia? And Trump leaking that 0:21:15.015 --> 0:21:16.855 he might fire them to make it look like he's 0:21:16.935 --> 0:21:20.325 upset somehow, or he didn't know that they were in Bosnia? 0:21:20.645 --> 0:21:25.565 Russian-aligned Bosnia? If only there were some way for Lasavita 0:21:25.625 --> 0:21:30.225 and Blair to be working in Bosnia on our midterms. 0:21:31.625 --> 0:21:37.225 Messing with the elections remotely? Really? Were the 2024 Russian-targeted 0:21:37.285 --> 0:21:40.965 attacks on voting places in the South, were those just practice? 0:21:43.365 --> 0:21:49.235 Is that why Blair and Lasavita are in Bosnia? Russian-aligned Bosnia? 0:21:50.835 --> 0:21:57.135 Aligned with Putin the humanitarian, Mr. Witkoff? Nothing would surprise me. However, 0:21:57.235 --> 0:22:01.545 if the elections are conducted fairly, or even 50% fairly, 0:22:01.805 --> 0:22:07.565 the Republicans are going to drown. Metaphorically speaking, Vivek Ramaswamy 0:22:07.605 --> 0:22:12.215 may meet the afterlife much sooner than he's anticipating. Elliott 0:22:12.235 --> 0:22:18.315 Morris at numbers, Verisite and 50 plus one and strengthen numbers. 0:22:18.815 --> 0:22:23.375 The Democratic margin for all House races in the polling 0:22:23.475 --> 0:22:28.955 alone is now 10.4. Democrats, the generic Democrats leads the 0:22:29.115 --> 0:22:32.695 generic Republicans. and there are no generic Republicans, they're all 0:22:32.755 --> 0:22:38.825 con men, by 10.4 points. It's in double digits. To quote, 0:22:39.565 --> 0:22:42.425 among registered voters, 52% said they would vote for the 0:22:42.465 --> 0:22:45.065 Democratic candidate for the House in their district, and 41% 0:22:45.065 --> 0:22:49.545 for the Republicans. That is a margin of 10.4. The edges, 0:22:49.645 --> 0:22:51.895 or that edge has passed our previous high of 10.1 0:22:51.895 --> 0:22:57.215 in February. Among likely voters, Democrats lead 54 to 42, 0:22:57.215 --> 0:23:01.335 a 12-point margin, also a high for this series. I 0:23:01.375 --> 0:23:05.655 like this series. I'll stream this series. The Republican Party's 41% 0:23:05.655 --> 0:23:08.975 among registered voters is the lowest share it has ever 0:23:09.035 --> 0:23:12.345 received in our poll. What about the Senate and G. 0:23:12.405 --> 0:23:15.585 Eliot Morris? What types of election results are possible for 0:23:15.625 --> 0:23:19.045 both parties given just a small normal polling error favoring 0:23:19.145 --> 0:23:24.665 either party, he asks. In the 50plus1. com news forecast, a 0:23:24.755 --> 0:23:29.635 normal miss in Republicans' favor leaves Democrats stuck at 50 seats, 0:23:29.995 --> 0:23:33.675 and a miss in Democrats' favor puts 54 or more 0:23:33.775 --> 0:23:36.345 on the table. He's saying that if the margin of 0:23:36.485 --> 0:23:41.065 error falls entirely towards Democratic Senate votes... the Democrats will 0:23:41.105 --> 0:23:43.635 have 54 or more seats in the Senate. But if 0:23:43.675 --> 0:23:46.715 we use, he continues, just the polling average instead of 0:23:46.755 --> 0:23:50.535 the full prediction model, and consider that at 18 days 0:23:50.595 --> 0:23:52.935 when he did this, before the election, the polls could 0:23:52.955 --> 0:23:56.035 still shift in either direction, the map expands even more. 0:23:56.375 --> 0:24:00.295 A typical miss, 3.7 percentage points on average across the country, 0:24:00.335 --> 0:24:05.005 plus individual state-level noise in either direction takes Democrats anywhere 0:24:05.325 --> 0:24:12.265 from 47 to 56 seats. In averages at 50 plus one, 0:24:12.305 --> 0:24:15.265 he reassures you, Democrats lead in enough races to give 0:24:15.285 --> 0:24:18.925 them 54 seats in the Senate. If you shift it 0:24:18.925 --> 0:24:22.405 3.7 towards the Republicans, it's 47 for the Democrats. If 0:24:22.425 --> 0:24:27.855 you go 3.7 towards the Democrats, it's 56, including South 0:24:27.895 --> 0:24:34.675 Carolina and Nebraska. So the predictions are still vague. It 0:24:34.715 --> 0:24:37.515 is still a blue wave only in... Are we sure 0:24:37.555 --> 0:24:41.235 that's a blue wave? but it's looking more likely every day, 0:24:41.295 --> 0:24:46.635 and that perhaps is why Chris LaCivita is in Bosnia. Now, 0:24:46.655 --> 0:24:49.455 a quick media roundup of the unwashed and the unloved. 0:24:49.475 --> 0:24:51.745 The latest from CBS, this will double as the worst 0:24:51.795 --> 0:24:55.065 persons in the world. Jan Crawford and Barry Weiss tying 0:24:55.105 --> 0:24:58.585 at number three. Jan Crawford's tweet that thanked the son 0:24:58.665 --> 0:25:02.675 of a paid Republican agitator says, this gotcha moment that 0:25:02.775 --> 0:25:08.205 failed to gotcha El-Sayed in Michigan. Zetio's Justin Barragona, quote, 0:25:08.225 --> 0:25:11.475 hearing from my sources that this over-the-top tweet is being 0:25:11.515 --> 0:25:14.545 discussed internally at CBS. At the same time as those 0:25:14.585 --> 0:25:18.865 same sources noted, Jan Crawford, the legal correspondent, still there 0:25:18.925 --> 0:25:21.805 for CBS, not fired yet, even though she must be. 0:25:22.105 --> 0:25:24.905 Jan is protected by Barry, also somebody who's going to 0:25:24.925 --> 0:25:26.645 get fired at the end of this, and has been 0:25:26.685 --> 0:25:30.465 a very vocal acolyte of Weiss. She just can't help herself, 0:25:30.585 --> 0:25:34.975 one network insider said. From semaphore about this disaster at 0:25:35.015 --> 0:25:38.435 CBS News, Weiss has been pushing her newsroom to pursue 0:25:38.595 --> 0:25:41.555 numerous stories related to the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, 0:25:41.595 --> 0:25:45.635 Abdul El-Sayed. and his purported familial links to the Muslim Brotherhood. 0:25:45.895 --> 0:25:49.955 She has discussed the topic on editorial calls, tasked CBS News' 0:25:50.015 --> 0:25:53.595 investigative unit with combing through Al-Sayed's background for a potential 0:25:53.655 --> 0:25:56.535 link to the organization, and was directly involved in a 0:25:56.575 --> 0:26:01.025 controversial story about his previous posts comparing the COVID-19 death 0:26:01.075 --> 0:26:04.185 toll to 9-11. In short, Barry Weiss wants CBS News 0:26:04.445 --> 0:26:06.945 to make up a story linking Al-Sayed to the Muslim 0:26:06.965 --> 0:26:11.665 Brotherhood because Barry Weiss is a dishonest person running a 0:26:11.725 --> 0:26:14.985 national news organization and should be drummed out of that immediately. 0:26:15.405 --> 0:26:18.925 To again quote Semaphore, quote, Barry's ideas routinely come from 0:26:19.005 --> 0:26:24.145 social media influencers. It's a compliment to call them Barry's ideas. 0:26:24.365 --> 0:26:27.765 She's also an idiot. Barry's ideas routinely come from social 0:26:27.825 --> 0:26:31.225 media influencers or from opposition research that's been placed in 0:26:31.245 --> 0:26:35.405 conservative outlets. And these stories usually leave out important context 0:26:36.045 --> 0:26:40.025 and facts. one CBS News staffer in New York told Semaphore. 0:26:40.285 --> 0:26:43.705 She seems more suited to editing at publications like City Journal, 0:26:43.985 --> 0:26:46.945 The Free Press, or The Free Beacon, which take a 0:26:47.005 --> 0:26:52.265 clear side on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and match her views. Weiss, 0:26:52.385 --> 0:26:54.625 it goes on, has taken a particularly hands-on approach to 0:26:54.645 --> 0:26:58.915 the Michigan Senate race. which campaign rhetoric has revolved around 0:26:58.995 --> 0:27:01.895 al-Sayed's Muslim faith and whether he can win over Jewish 0:27:01.955 --> 0:27:05.115 voters in the state. The Hollywood Reporter reported last month 0:27:05.415 --> 0:27:08.925 that Weiss faced criticism internally for overseeing an article that 0:27:09.025 --> 0:27:13.665 critics say falsely insinuated Michigan's Democratic Senate candidate al-Sayed had 0:27:13.715 --> 0:27:17.865 ties to the September 11th attacks. Some CBS News staff 0:27:18.225 --> 0:27:21.425 have privately grumbled that Weiss is particularly focused on pursuing 0:27:21.465 --> 0:27:25.685 theories about high-profile progressive candidates that bubble up on X 0:27:25.845 --> 0:27:29.865 or in right-leaning news outlets. Weiss also tasked staff with 0:27:29.925 --> 0:27:33.845