1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics, 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: where we discussed the top political headlines with some of 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: today's best minds. And Trump says the US should retake 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: the Panama Canal if they do not lower. 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 2: The transit fees. 6 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: It's nice to see him trying to build consensus. We 7 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,280 Speaker 1: have such a great show for you today, the Lincoln Projects. 8 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: Rick Wilson joins us to discuss Donald Trump getting his 9 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: own Donald Trump and. 10 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 2: Whatever that means. 11 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,639 Speaker 1: Then we'll talk to author Tim Wiener about what a 12 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: weaponized FBI could look like. 13 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:35,919 Speaker 2: But first the news Somali. 14 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,560 Speaker 3: This is one of those nightmare things that I don't 15 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 3: think every American thinks about. But I read a tool 16 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 3: Gawandhi's book on the World Health Organization years ago, the 17 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 3: Checklist Manifesto, and realized how important it is. They really 18 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 3: lower death, they really help us have a better world. 19 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 3: And yean day one, their Trump administration is going to 20 00:00:58,400 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 3: pull out of. 21 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: Who yeah, the World Health Organization. Look, they're going to 22 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: do all this stuff again. And by the way, the 23 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: last Trump administration and I don't think Trump could have 24 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: I think perhaps some of the things he could have 25 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: done would have lessened the death toll. But I'm not 26 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 1: sure that he would that any president would have been 27 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: able to avoid the pandemic. That said, you would think 28 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: that having just presidented through a pandemic, one might want 29 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: to not have another one and be more careful about 30 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:30,199 Speaker 1: such things. 31 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 2: But RFK Junior and. 32 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: The rest of the crew have decided that no, thank you. 33 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: Donald Trump's transition team is pushing to pull the United 34 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: States out of the World Health Organization on the first 35 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: day of the new administration, according to experts who warn 36 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: of the catastrophic impact it will have on global health. 37 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: Members of the Trump team told experts of their intention 38 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: to announce a withdrawal. I mean, by the way, this 39 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: is like Trump World, right, They're going to get out. 40 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: They're going to leave the World Health Organization. It will 41 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: damage the world's ability to respond to public health crisis 42 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: is such as the coronavirus pandemic. America is going to 43 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 1: leave a huge vacuum in the global health financing and leadership. 44 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: I see no one that is going to come in 45 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: and fill the breach. As anyone surprised by this, I 46 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: am not surprised by this, but you're going to see 47 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: a lot of this Trump World trying to get out 48 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: of things. 49 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 2: That are small. 50 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: By the way, a lot of these things are like 51 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,079 Speaker 1: a rounding error. It's not millions and zillions of dollars, 52 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: but it is, for whatever reason, something that Trump wants 53 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: to cut. And we're going to see more of that, 54 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: where they cut things that are absolutely not at all 55 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: not worth doing, but and the returns on it are 56 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: going to be. It's just very stupid. So I don't 57 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: think anyone could be surprised by this. 58 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, Trump, the Heritage Foundation, whoever it may be. So 59 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 3: In other not fun news, it seems people are getting 60 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 3: a little more urgency about getting rid of money in 61 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 3: our politics and super PACs because they're realizing with the 62 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,079 Speaker 3: richest men on earth now threatening the primary everyone via 63 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 3: tweet all the time, that things are not good. 64 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: I think this is a case of something that happened 65 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: too little, too late, right, I mean, the idea that 66 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: now is the moment for super path to be banned, 67 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: when in fact we have a whole crew of very 68 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: rich people trying to influence elections. And this has been 69 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: going on for some time, right, Like the right is 70 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 1: obsessed with George Soros and the Koch Brothers have been 71 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: doing this forever. But Elon is much more blatant, He's 72 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,119 Speaker 1: much more right. 73 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 2: Even. 74 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: I think Elon seems much more passionate in a way 75 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: that even the Koch brothers perhaps were able to hide 76 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: their zeal a little better. 77 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 3: One could argue Elon's expressing his passion with action, whereas 78 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 3: the Koch brothers they were just spending enough to keep 79 00:03:59,520 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 3: their taxt. 80 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, but they did a lot of bad stuff, like 81 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: right to work stuff. 82 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:04,839 Speaker 4: Absolutely. 83 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: But what I would say is, I do think all 84 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: of these ambitions are worthy. But the problem with with 85 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: any legislation like this is the Supreme Court is completely 86 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: in the tank for rich people. So good luck trying 87 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 1: to create legislation that would in any possible way try 88 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: to tamp down on the oligarchy. Because remember, you have 89 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: a six to three court, and six of those guys 90 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 1: are real, you know, I mean two of them are 91 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: like on and off Carlan Crowe's private jet every day. 92 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: I mean, there was reporting in the New York Times 93 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: this weekend. Justice Thomas didn't report is even more private 94 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: jet trips than he previously reported, and. 95 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 2: Well he was mad that they did get reported. 96 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: Democrats did an ethics investigation and found that he lied 97 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: about even getting even more stuff than he got from 98 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: Harlan Crow. So it's hard for me to imagine the 99 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: Supreme Court is going to do anything to stop billionaires 100 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: from just doing whatever they want. 101 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 3: Yeh, well, I find that disturbing. I remember that's in 102 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 3: the first Trump administration. Jared and I Vanka were disturbed 103 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 3: by a lot of things. 104 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: Yes, the moral compass of Trump World, which says a 105 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: lot about all parties. 106 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, so Molly I have news though, she'll be being 107 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 3: disturbed from a distance this time in the next administration. 108 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 2: Yes. 109 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:39,040 Speaker 1: For Avanka Trump's entire life, she worked for her father, 110 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: She was on his television show, she was very tall. 111 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,599 Speaker 1: But now she said she's absolutely not coming back. Ivanka 112 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: Trump is done with politics. 113 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 2: Quote. I love my father very much, which is good. 114 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: I guess this time around, I choose to prioritize my 115 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: young children and the private life we are creating as 116 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: a family. Iami, I do not plan to be involved 117 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: in politics, she said in a twenty twenty two social 118 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: media post after her father announced his third run for presidency. Again, okay, 119 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: maybe maybe not. I mean, I don't take anything these 120 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 1: people say. 121 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 2: The bank. 122 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 3: We'll see yeah, so may I have to say this 123 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 3: is the one good thing I've seen. I recently watched 124 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 3: a video on how bad sports gambling addiction is. I 125 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 3: am continually disturbed when I see how much some of 126 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 3: my younger employees who don't work on this podcast are 127 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 3: addicted to it. And Congress is weighing actually getting involved 128 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 3: because it's that ugly. 129 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: I wait with baited breath for Congress to legislate, and 130 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: they're very good at legislating things where I don't want 131 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: to sound cynical here, okay, and someone who's sober since 132 00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 1: I was nineteen, I think of the many ways in 133 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: which Congress could help with the treatment of addiction when 134 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: it comes to drugs and alcohol, or even when it 135 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,839 Speaker 1: comes to the Internet. I mean, at every point Congress 136 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: has had opportunities to legislate technology, and every point Congress 137 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: has rejected those opportunities. The reason why sports betting and 138 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: also politics betting and betting betting is exploding right now 139 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: is because they've deregulated a lot of the betting markets, right. So, 140 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: this is what happens when you deregulate things, they get 141 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: out of control. You regulate them to put them in control. 142 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: I mean, this is not rocket science here, so hard 143 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: for me to imagine. First of all, it will be 144 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: a Republican Senate, a Republican has and Donald Trump as president. 145 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: So even if for some reason, and again, even if 146 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: for some reason some Republican decides that they're going to 147 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: make this work and they're going to pass the legislation, 148 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: the minute Donald Trump sits on an airplane next to 149 00:07:54,920 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: someone who likes gambling, or who owns gambling, or who 150 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: benefits from gambling in any way, they're going to say 151 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: to him, don't do that. That's a stupid thing, and 152 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: he's going to go okay. So like this is going 153 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: to be the problem for the next four years. Is 154 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: even if somehow you could get the legislation together, you 155 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: have Donald Trump, and if Donald Trump doesn't object to it, 156 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: you have Mini Trump. Elon, who's going to say, well, 157 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: you know, sports betting, I make a lot of money 158 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: off sports betting. It's based, it's based and red pilled, 159 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: and I want people to be able to do it 160 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: and lose all their money because it's good for whatever. 161 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: I mean, these people are so conflicted that, you know, 162 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: Donald Trump makes money on a lot of things. Elon 163 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: Musk makes money on gazillion things. 164 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 2: And these are the people. 165 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: Running our country now, so you know which unelected oligarch 166 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: or the elected oligark. They're never going to be able 167 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: to agree on anything. And it's too bad because the 168 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:53,679 Speaker 1: truth is, you know, gambling just like fent and all, 169 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: just like alcohol, just like drugs, just like any of 170 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: so many of these other things. 171 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 3: Really, you know, it's my one last consolation prize before 172 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 3: we head. 173 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 4: Off into it. 174 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 2: You've ruined Live. 175 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,679 Speaker 3: The holiday break. Last week on this very podcast, Rick 176 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 3: Wilson laid out the big struggle between Trump World versus 177 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 3: d Sanctimonius Fron de Santis World about who will be 178 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 3: Marco Rubio's successor as an appointment temporarily in the Senate 179 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 3: before Ron de Sanctimonius tries to jump into that seat. 180 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 3: And we saw some big moves on this yesterday. What'd 181 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 3: you see? 182 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: So the big moves are that Lara Trump. You will 183 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: remember her as being married to Eric. You know, someone 184 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: has to. 185 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 4: Be It's very easy to forget Eric. 186 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: Lara Trump has said she will not run for the 187 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: seat of Marco Rubio. Now here's what is happening. Marco 188 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: Rubio going to this Cannabi Secretary of State very likely. 189 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 1: Ron DeSantis probably wants that Senate seat. There was a 190 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: theory that if Pete Hegsets got knocked out of DoD 191 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: that Sanctimonius would. 192 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 2: Be the pick. 193 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:14,439 Speaker 1: Now I am not convinced that Sanctimonius will be the pick, 194 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: nor am I convinced that heg Sets will get DoD, 195 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: though it's certainly possible either way. The setup was that 196 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: you do something for me and I do something for you. 197 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 2: But looks like that may not happen. 198 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: Though again, with everything in Trump world, none of this 199 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: could happen or all of this could happen, and you 200 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: really do look foolish when you try to read the 201 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: tea leaves. Remember this is chaos theory. Everyone is just 202 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: doing chaotic things at all times. 203 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 3: And on that note, we have a great show today, 204 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 3: but from here on out we will be on vacation 205 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 3: with some really really great interviews, and we both want 206 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 3: to wish you some happy holidays. 207 00:10:53,160 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: We'll be back on January fourth. Rick well And is 208 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:01,959 Speaker 1: the founder of the Lincoln Project and the host of 209 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: the Enemy's List. Welcome back to our pre vacation episode 210 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: of Fast Politics with Brick Wilson. 211 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 4: Have a holly jolly Christmas, Molly junk fast. 212 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,480 Speaker 2: That's right, that radio voice we know and love. 213 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: The government did not get shut down, but perhaps this 214 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 1: is an indication of things to come and what the 215 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: Elon Musk presidency is going to look like. 216 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 4: Discuss it didn't get shut down, but only because Democrats 217 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 4: saved Mike Johnson's weird skinny ass again again. I think 218 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:45,959 Speaker 4: what we have here is a preview of an endless 219 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 4: stream of crises, one after another after another after another, 220 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 4: that we are going to watch unfold in the first 221 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 4: opening acts of the Trump administration. And then it's going 222 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 4: to get really bad. 223 00:11:57,640 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. 224 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: So I'm not the person who cooked up this is 225 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: a Josh Marshall. But Josh Marshall had a really good point, 226 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: which is that Donald Trump now has a Trump. 227 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 4: That's a great construction, it really is. That's a great 228 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:13,679 Speaker 4: way of thinking about it, is that Trump now has 229 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,319 Speaker 4: a Trump. He has somebody who is a chaotic disruptor, 230 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 4: who does not care about any other social or political 231 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 4: or personal pressure or persuasion, as they say, and so 232 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 4: he will end up doing the maximum amount of chaotic 233 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 4: damage he can all the time. Because that's fun for him. 234 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,719 Speaker 2: My favorite part about Trump's Trump is. 235 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: That Trump actually now knows more about the federal government 236 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: and how it works than Elon does discuss. 237 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 4: Look, I mean, Donald Trump is arguably one of the 238 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 4: dumbest motherfuckers to walk on two legs on the planet Earth. 239 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 4: But he has now been exposed to certain things and 240 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 4: concepts that an ordinary president would be exposed to as 241 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:03,559 Speaker 4: they entered into, you know, discussions about government programs and services. 242 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 4: Elon thinks that this is all just like the rest 243 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 4: of his life, play money and absurd obeisance by people 244 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 4: who work for him or when we invest with him, 245 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 4: or or who make money off of him. That's not 246 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 4: how government works. That's not how it works even a little. 247 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 4: And now what you've got is a guy who is 248 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 4: going to act like an a hole to people, as 249 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 4: we know, and it's going to be it's going to 250 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 4: be very loud and very ugly. 251 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 1: In my view, Elon has this theory. I'm not entirely 252 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: sure if it's his theory. So many of the things 253 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: that Elon preaches are these theories that are sort of 254 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: long term Silicon Valley theories. So, for example, we are 255 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: the media. Now that's a Mark Andreas and that's a 256 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: meniscus mollbug. 257 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 4: You can call him by his real name is Otis Jarvin. 258 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: But you know, these are tropes that Silicon Valley has 259 00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: on trafficked in sure, and they're not new to Elon. 260 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: So trying to replace the media with a bunch of 261 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: far right guys, you know, with Jack Pisobiac is not new. 262 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 4: All these people, Molly, and this I think is something 263 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 4: really important to recognize as we go forward. All these 264 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 4: people have a deep seated insecurity about who they are 265 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 4: as humans. They are not confident in their actual ideas, 266 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 4: and so they've lived in this bubble in Silicon Valley 267 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 4: where they'll find something that pokes their little meme bubble 268 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 4: in some way and they're like, oh, this is the 269 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 4: coolest thing I've ever seen, and they adopt it as 270 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 4: their whole personality. You know, for a long time Elon 271 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 4: Musk was not a far right wing maga extremist dipshit. 272 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: Well, or he didn't transmit it. I mean, who knows 273 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: what he was If he had. 274 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,160 Speaker 4: That belief, he didn't admit it, but there was very 275 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 4: little reason to believe that was what he believed. Okay, 276 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 4: now we are in a much different era now, and 277 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 4: it feels an awful lot like Elon Musk does believe 278 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,160 Speaker 4: that shit, and it feels an awful lot like he's 279 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 4: embraced it. But these guys, they themselves up in this 280 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 4: pseudo intellectual Silicon Valley, can't and these dorm room philosophy 281 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 4: bullshit session ideas, and you're just like, grow the f up, 282 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 4: who are you? What do you think is actually happening 283 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 4: in this world that is amenable to the kind of 284 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 4: shit that they're trying to convince themselves of. 285 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 1: So one of the things that I think is really 286 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: interesting is that now Elon has sort of decided he's 287 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: going to play a government and he knows even less 288 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: about government than Donald Trump, which in itself, again I'm 289 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 1: not against the theory of disruption, like I think there's 290 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: certainly something to be said for the theory of the case. 291 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: But clearly what happened here last week, which I think 292 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: is important because I think we're going to see a 293 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: lot of this in the next four years of trump Ism, 294 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: which is Elon found out about a cr which, by 295 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: the way, has been the whole way that Mike Johnson 296 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 1: has been running this government. 297 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 2: This entire time CR. 298 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: Right, because he can't legislate his way out of a 299 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 1: bucking paper bag. So there's a huge, fatty CR filled 300 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: with stuff everything from moving the stadium right, this is 301 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: not what a CR supposed to look like at all, 302 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: to just a lot of shit in there and a 303 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: pay raise for members of Congress. And Elon gets furious 304 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 1: because he doesn't want the government spending any money on anything. 305 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 1: Irony abounds because Elon got rich on what government subsidies 306 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: for clean tech, right, but he doesn't want that government 307 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: money going to anyone but him. So he gets furious, 308 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: says everyone should vote against it. Trump never meant, you know, 309 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: a disruption. He doesn't want to get. 310 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 2: Involved in agrees. 311 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 1: Then Trump says, and also we should raise the debt 312 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: ceiling government money, but also yeah, and then that gets 313 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: the very few people who still have beliefs in the 314 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: on the right, which happens to be people like Chip Roy, 315 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: nobody's favorite but very much against government spending to engage. 316 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: Trump then wants to primary chip Roy. I mean, bring 317 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: it on the worst person you know could be. Right. 318 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 4: Here's the thing, and I think this is important to remember. 319 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,480 Speaker 4: Say what you will about Chip Roy at least and. 320 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 2: I will, yes, exactly, I mean that's right. 321 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: No, Chip Roy has more real beliefs than Nancy Mays. 322 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 4: Oh sure, I've seen enough of Nancy May's midlife crisis now. Honestly, 323 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 4: I mean it's really tiresome. 324 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,119 Speaker 1: But also Nancy mayce, you know, she believes this. She 325 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: believes that, she believes whatever, whereas Chip Roy is like, 326 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 1: we are here to cut the government. We will not 327 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,880 Speaker 1: raise the deadly limit, even if our you know, God King, 328 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:50,520 Speaker 1: our Orange God King tells us too. 329 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 2: It was real disarray. 330 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: There was a lot of talk of primary every Republican member. 331 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 4: Oh yes, well, look that that idea that you're going 332 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 4: to primary anybody who opposes Elon at any time. I 333 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,640 Speaker 4: would like to remind people of, you know, one of 334 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 4: the most fundamental pieces of creative literary merit of our era, 335 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:12,639 Speaker 4: and that is the Trump poem The Snake. 336 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:19,360 Speaker 2: Oh yes, I know it, well, the snake is Elon? 337 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 2: Still tell you? 338 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 4: Do you not understand it yet? You people? It's fucking Elon? 339 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 2: Does you still tell this? 340 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: You got you gotta tell the snake story? 341 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 4: Okay. Trump does this piece of poetry at his rallies, 342 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:35,280 Speaker 4: and he loves doing this. He loves it so much. 343 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 4: And folks, I'm not going to read the whole thing 344 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 4: because it's just like, no, but Trump loves this piece 345 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 4: of poetry. And it's from like a sort of a 346 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 4: song in the nineteen thirties or something. Anyway, long story short, 347 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 4: it's about a woman who takes in a snake and 348 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 4: the snake is pretty and it says, oh, take me in, 349 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 4: dear woman, and blah blah blah. Well she takes it in. 350 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 4: The fucking snake bites her. Okay. Trump uses this as 351 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 4: a parable about immigration. Here's the thing, y'all. Elon Musk 352 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,160 Speaker 4: is the snake. They took him in and now he's 353 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:08,719 Speaker 4: biting them. These people are not in any capacity able 354 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 4: to say that Elon, no, fuck you, no, we won't 355 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 4: do that. Do you know why? Because they realize that 356 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 4: he has both a ton of money and that he 357 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 4: is insane, and that Trump and Elon have formed this 358 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 4: weird symbiotic partnership relationship however you whatever you want to 359 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 4: call it, and that nothing right now is going to 360 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 4: change in the way that Elon feels like he has 361 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 4: control over the government and control over the United States, 362 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:42,360 Speaker 4: all of our future decisions about how we govern the country. 363 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 4: Elon really thinks that's what he runs now. He believes 364 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 4: he now has control of the United States government. 365 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:50,399 Speaker 2: And let us pause for a minute. 366 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 1: You know what, sixty percent of the satellite enormous government 367 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: contracts top secret clearance. I mean, he runs the government 368 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,679 Speaker 1: as much as anyone who is completely on elected. 369 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,639 Speaker 4: And you know what, Elon Musk is an unelected bureaucrat 370 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 4: now and this is what he's doing. It is bureaucracy. 371 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 4: He's playing with nothing about the future for for the 372 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 4: Republicans is easy because he has now this capricious nature. 373 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,439 Speaker 4: He's always going to want control over everything. He's always 374 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 4: going to want to have his way on all these matters. 375 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,639 Speaker 4: And when they say, yeah, Elon, that's really tough for 376 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,399 Speaker 4: us to do because of X or Y, you know, 377 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 4: real world political factor. He doesn't feel bound by things 378 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 4: like trivial things like law and statute and the human 379 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,639 Speaker 4: impact of what he wants to do. You know, And 380 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:41,679 Speaker 4: I'm all, I think you know, you certainly noticed this 381 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 4: the other day that when they cut childhood cancer research 382 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 4: out of the budget and got called on it and 383 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,360 Speaker 4: got in trouble on it, all of a sudden Elon's 384 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:52,879 Speaker 4: trying to make it and do a meme and make 385 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 4: it funny and like ha ha haa cucks. Well that 386 00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:59,800 Speaker 4: didn't work. That scared the shit out of people. But 387 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 4: that's a sign of how utterly disconnected this guy is 388 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,240 Speaker 4: from the ordinary lives of real people. 389 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 2: Yes, I have just read about this theory. This is 390 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:10,320 Speaker 2: something I want to talk about before. 391 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: This theory of non playable characters that are characters. You know, 392 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: they're ancillary, they are objects, they're not people. 393 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 4: They're background characters in games. Yes, I know. I'm very 394 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 4: familiar with it. 395 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's a sense in which, you know, Elon 396 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,159 Speaker 1: sort of treats the people of the United States. 397 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,679 Speaker 2: Like that, right, they're not they have no impetus. 398 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,160 Speaker 4: Well, going back to that Silicon Valley culture, there are 399 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 4: a lot of people in Silicon Valley now who really 400 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 4: believe that they are a separate species of human being. 401 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,879 Speaker 4: This is why people like Curtis Jarvin and some of 402 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 4: these Dark Web idiots are arguing that the time for 403 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 4: a republic, and at the time for a democratically elected 404 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 4: government is passed and we need to just bow down 405 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 4: to a new monarchy of our tech overlords. 406 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: Right, oligarchy is sort of the play. Here we are 407 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,600 Speaker 1: in this sort of eline world. What I think is 408 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: interesting is he then was saying, well, this now, this 409 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: new CR is much lighter than the original legislation. The 410 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: idea that somehow legislation should not be long is pretty stupid. 411 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: And you know, there were a lot of things in 412 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,960 Speaker 1: that CR. It got very fatty, but there were a 413 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: lot of things in there that were actually important, and 414 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,200 Speaker 1: like there was a revenge porn thing in there. There 415 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,960 Speaker 1: were different sort of piece of legislation that kind of 416 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:35,520 Speaker 1: got lost. 417 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 2: You'd be shocked to hear. So he undid a lot 418 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 2: of work. 419 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: But what I wanted to bring up was this guy 420 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: is the polling on him is still He's not that popular. 421 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:49,480 Speaker 1: He's making Trump crazy. He's in ma a Lago, He's 422 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:54,399 Speaker 1: making Johnson crazy. Like do you think this unlikely friendship? 423 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: How long does the first body last? 424 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 4: This romance is doomed at some point, it's doomed because 425 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 4: you know, Trump is always there's not even like premas 426 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 4: Enter Parees. Trump has to be the main character in 427 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,520 Speaker 4: the drama. He has to be the one person that's 428 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 4: out there where everyone's paying attention to him. He has 429 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 4: to be the radical center of a major and constant drama. 430 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,120 Speaker 4: And that's fine. You know, there's a part of that 431 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 4: that is explicable in how we understand Trump. We get that, 432 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 4: we get we get Trump as we get who Trump is. Okay, 433 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 4: we all understand who Trump is. And because of that, 434 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 4: he's going to get angry. And the attention that Elon's 435 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 4: been getting has has been growing on the radar screen 436 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,680 Speaker 4: and you can start to see some of the leaks 437 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 4: coming out of trump Land, which is clearly Susie Wiles, 438 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 4: by the way, putting the knife in the guy as 439 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 4: she does. 440 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: You know, all of this chatter about trump World versus 441 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: the mainstream media. I was thinking about it today because 442 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: I was on a panel talking about it, and I'm 443 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: thinking myself, like the biggest leads in the entire world. 444 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:03,199 Speaker 2: Donald Tnald J. 445 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,880 Speaker 1: Trump, Right, So I'm thinking, you know, if you want 446 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: to shut down the mainstream media, instead of suing them, 447 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: you could just stop leaking to them. 448 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,479 Speaker 4: These people leak well. And I always say this is 449 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 4: one of my political rules that will someday go down 450 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:21,520 Speaker 4: in a book about my political rules. There are two 451 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 4: kinds of leaks, administrations and organizations that work well leaked 452 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:30,200 Speaker 4: deliberately for a purpose. The ones that work badly leak chaotically, 453 00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 4: and they leak just because they leak. Donald Trump leaks 454 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 4: constantly because he's a terrible manager. 455 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,000 Speaker 1: Well and also because everyone's trying to settle the score 456 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: in the mainstream media. 457 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,080 Speaker 4: Yeah. Well, and look, let's also be realistic. Our friends 458 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 4: of the mainstream media right now have a great difficulty 459 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,959 Speaker 4: in processing the fact that they don't work for Donald Trump, 460 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:52,160 Speaker 4: and a lot of them are scrambling in the wake 461 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 4: of the ABC decision all these things. But you know, 462 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 4: Trump is Trump's actually quite happy with the media right now. 463 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,120 Speaker 4: He's pretty delighted with the mainstream media right now. He 464 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,120 Speaker 4: likes where their behavior is at. He's even bragging about 465 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:06,439 Speaker 4: it to people. Oh they're nice to me these days. 466 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 2: Right. 467 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,159 Speaker 1: No, I know I saw that quid, But you know, 468 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:14,440 Speaker 1: I do think there is his complaints about media and 469 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:19,359 Speaker 1: his administration's ability to think that they can use media 470 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: to get rid of each one. 471 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 2: And you know, we see this all the time. I mean, 472 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 2: part of why. 473 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: It was so easy to write about Trump World was 474 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: because you would have you know, somebody would be in 475 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: there doing something and then all of a sudden we 476 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,919 Speaker 1: get pieces. You know, Corey's out, Corey is having an 477 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: a you know this kind of thing, right. 478 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, Look, the endless revenge battles inside that world 479 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 4: where a feature of the kind of behavior Trump encourages 480 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 4: in his people. He loves for them to fight with 481 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,439 Speaker 4: each other. He loves for them to be mad at 482 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 4: each other. That's that's a delight for him. 483 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 2: And it's proof of Fieldy, right. 484 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 4: Absolutely, they're always He's always looking to make sure somebody's 485 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 4: kissing his ass properly. He's always looking to make sure 486 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,679 Speaker 4: that somebody's gonna bend the knee publicly to him once again. 487 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 4: And that's why a lot of these people come and 488 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 4: go into Trump world. You know, Steve Bannon was the 489 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 4: rogue genius in the beginning of twenty sixteen. Then he 490 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 4: got thrown out of the White House by the beginning 491 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,879 Speaker 4: of twenty eighteen. You know, then he was scabby Steve. 492 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,480 Speaker 4: But now he's back again. These people always circle back through, 493 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,959 Speaker 4: they always come back around. And there's a reason Trump 494 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 4: likes to keep hitting them against one another. He likes 495 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 4: to keep making them fight with each other. It sounds 496 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:36,360 Speaker 4: immature and terrible and stupid. But that's Trump. He's immature 497 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 4: and terrible and stupid. So he's going to make his 498 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:44,560 Speaker 4: people behave like he behaves. Yeah, Rick Wilson, Muther, Jack Fast, 499 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 4: have a lovely Christmas and I will talk to you 500 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 4: again next time. 501 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: Tim Wiener is a New York Times correspondent and winner 502 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: of the Poolhit Serprise and the National Book Award. He 503 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: is the author of the Legis of Ashes and Enemies. 504 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: His new book, The Mission the CIA in the twenty 505 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: first Century. 506 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 2: Will be out in June. Welcome to Fast Politics him. 507 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 5: Thank you so much. 508 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 2: You've written two books on the FBI. Yeah. 509 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 6: Well, I've written one book on the NBI book and 510 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 6: history of the CIA, called Legacy of Ashes, right, and 511 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 6: there was plenty of FBI and CIA in book. 512 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 5: I wrote about my favorite president, Richard Nixon. 513 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: First, the Trump Nixon parallels seem really so striking. Explain 514 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 1: to us sort of the parallels between the two. 515 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:44,120 Speaker 5: Well, Trump is Nixon minus fifty points of IQ. He 516 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 5: is an inveterate liar, he is secretive and conspiratorial. But 517 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 5: Richard Nixon, bless his heart, had been vice president for 518 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 5: eight years and a senator and congressman before that and 519 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 5: had a fair amount of respect for the institutions of 520 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:04,879 Speaker 5: national security like the CI and the FBI, until he didn't. 521 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 5: And the moment of truth with Nixon and the FBI 522 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:14,359 Speaker 5: came in the summer of nineteen seventy. Nixon was convinced, 523 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 5: as Trump is today, that there is an enemy within 524 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,879 Speaker 5: this country, and the enemy was the left and the 525 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 5: more liberal elements of the Democratic Party. Nixon was already 526 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:28,120 Speaker 5: using the FBI and the CIA despy on emerics that 527 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 5: violated the CIA charter. The FBI does not have a chart. 528 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 5: It does whatever the Attorney General and the President Teltive do. 529 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 5: And what Nixon did was to call in the head 530 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 5: of the A, the head of the National Security Agency, 531 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 5: and the head of the FBI, who was of course 532 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 5: Jaedgar Hoover. And at that point Hoover had been running 533 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 5: the FBI for forty six. 534 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 2: Years, right, it's a very long time. 535 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 5: And he basically said, I want you to spy more 536 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 5: on Americans. I want you to subvert through espionage and 537 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 5: sabotage the institutions of the left. I want you to 538 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 5: step up wire tapping, bugging, burglaries, black bag jobs, and 539 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 5: I want you to crush the left, and for the 540 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,840 Speaker 5: first time in his life, Hooper said, no, he didn't 541 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 5: want to sign a document. He didn't want to put 542 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 5: his name to this plan because he was convinced that 543 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 5: the FBI would get caught and that his great rule 544 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 5: was don't embarrass the FBI. Every agent in the bureau 545 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 5: knew that. So what did Nixon do. He set up 546 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 5: his own bucket shop of retired CIA and retired FBI people, 547 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 5: and two years later they broke into the Democratic National 548 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 5: Committee headquarters at Watergate. The way Nixon fell was that 549 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 5: he then ordered the head of the CIA, Richard Helms, 550 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 5: a man I got to know quite well later, to 551 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 5: call off the FBI investigation of the break in on 552 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 5: grounds of national security. And that was the smoking Gum tape. 553 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:02,040 Speaker 5: And that was how Nixon fell. The difference today, more 554 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 5: than fifty years later, is that cass Paatel will never 555 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 5: say no to Donald Trump. He will do anything Trump 556 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 5: tells him to do, no matter how illegal, immoral, or crazy. 557 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 5: Why do you say that, because he has a track 558 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 5: record of doing crazy things for Donald Trump, and I 559 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 5: will cite a few examples. So, in the last year 560 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,959 Speaker 5: of Trump's presidency, to the horror of the Attorney General 561 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 5: Bill Barr. Trump tried to make Patel the deputy director 562 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 5: of the NBI, and Barr wrote in his memoir the 563 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 5: very idea of moving Patel into a role like this 564 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 5: showed a stocking detachment from reality on Trump's part, and 565 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,520 Speaker 5: he vowed that the appointment would happen, and I quote 566 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 5: over my dead thought. So instead, Trump installed Patel as 567 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 5: the top assistant to his new Director of National Intelligence. 568 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 5: That's the bureaucracy that overseees the THEIA, the FBI, and 569 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 5: sixteen other American intelligence agencies. That National Intelligence Director was 570 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 5: John Radcliffe, his present nominee to run CIA, and what 571 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 5: Radcliffe and Patel set out to do, on orders from 572 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:19,920 Speaker 5: Trump was to rans fact the tox secret files with 573 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 5: the CIA and other intelligence agencies for anything that might 574 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:28,760 Speaker 5: fulfill Trump's desire to deny that he was Putin's chosen candidate, 575 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 5: anything that would undermine what Trump called the Russia hoax, 576 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 5: which was the incredibly well founded investigation of the FBI 577 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 5: into connections between teen Trump and team Puten and Patel 578 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 5: mounted an attack on THEIA, as you know, the headquarters 579 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,719 Speaker 5: of the deep state conspiracy, and both men tried to 580 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 5: find fragments of raw intelligence in a flailing attempt to 581 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:02,120 Speaker 5: score political points for the president's re election campaign. After 582 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 5: he lost the twenty twenty election, Trump fired the Secretary 583 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,760 Speaker 5: of Defense and made Patel Chief of Staff at depending 584 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 5: on it affect the shadows Secretary of Defense. When that happened, 585 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 5: the CI director told the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs 586 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 5: General Milly and I quote, we are on the way 587 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 5: to a reglink coup. She saw it before it was happening. Then, 588 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:27,240 Speaker 5: in the final month of Trump's first term, he attempted 589 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,680 Speaker 5: to install Patel at the top of the CIA, and 590 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:35,320 Speaker 5: he planned to fire Chris Ray after decapitating the CIA. Haspell, 591 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 5: the CIA director got Win to this plot and let 592 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,080 Speaker 5: Trump know that if she were going down, all the 593 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 5: leaders with the American intelligence community would go down with her. 594 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 5: A mass resignation and protest Trump back down to five 595 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 5: days later, he summoned his supporters to Washington. 596 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 1: Do you think this is a factocomplete? What do you 597 00:32:55,720 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: think senators could do? I mean, it seems like Patel 598 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: would be hoover ask I mean, do you think that 599 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:06,800 Speaker 1: I'm being hyperbolic? What do you think? 600 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 5: Well again, Jay Edgar Hoover minus fifty IQ points. Under Hoover, 601 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:14,600 Speaker 5: the FBI took aim at the enemy within and on 602 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 5: orders from President Eisenhower, Kennedy Johnson, Nixon and their attorney general, 603 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 5: he conducted wardless wire taps, black bag jobs, political harassment 604 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 5: of everybody, from Martin Luther King to the anti war movement, 605 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,440 Speaker 5: to journalists and to National Security Council stoffers. Under Nixon 606 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 5: who were suspected of leaking to the press, among the 607 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,800 Speaker 5: principal members of the enemy with him, according to Patel 608 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,240 Speaker 5: and Trump are the press. Is the left in so 609 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,520 Speaker 5: far as there is such a thing in the United 610 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:48,560 Speaker 5: States body politic today, it's people who oppose Trump, and 611 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 5: like Nixon and Hoover, Patel and Trump have an extensive 612 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 5: enemies list. Patel has published one on the question of 613 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 5: will the Senate confirm a man like Cash Battel or 614 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,520 Speaker 5: equally crazy and dangerous people like Chelsea Gabbert for the 615 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:09,680 Speaker 5: Director of the National Defense Pete Hedson for Secretary of Defense. 616 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 5: I think they will roll right over and do it. 617 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 1: It strikes me that Pete Hegseth is not the same 618 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:20,520 Speaker 1: as Cash Battel. Well, Pete Hegseth may have problems, and 619 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: he may very likely. Again, I don't want to diagnose anyone, 620 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,880 Speaker 1: but he's clearly got a lot of real problems. Cash 621 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 1: Battell has a sort of plan that strikes me as 622 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:39,440 Speaker 1: and the FBI is used against Americans when. 623 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:41,239 Speaker 2: It is at its worst. I mean, isn't that sort 624 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 2: of what's happening here? 625 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,320 Speaker 5: You know, you have to take Trump's and his people 626 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,320 Speaker 5: at their word. Patel published last year in his book 627 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:53,520 Speaker 5: Government Gangsters, the people he wanted to see investigated and 628 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:57,200 Speaker 5: indicted his enemies list, and that list includes Joe Biden, 629 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:01,440 Speaker 5: Kamala Harris, Hillary Quinton, John Brennan, former director of the CIA, 630 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:06,200 Speaker 5: Merrick Garland, Bob Muller, General Mark Melly, and Chris Right Right. 631 00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:11,680 Speaker 5: The FBI does not have a charter limiting its legal powers. 632 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,000 Speaker 5: The FBI does with the Attorney General and the President 633 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 5: tell it to do. And if, for example, the FBI 634 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:24,600 Speaker 5: wants to launch an investigation against people Trump has publicly 635 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:30,400 Speaker 5: charged with treason, a crime punishable with death, those targets 636 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:34,800 Speaker 5: include Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and the former CIA director 637 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:39,040 Speaker 5: John Brenton. He accused them of spying on him, spying 638 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 5: on his campaign and I quote the biggest single political 639 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,800 Speaker 5: crime in the history of our country. Interesting choice of words. 640 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:51,120 Speaker 5: A political crime, thought crime. If you will you start 641 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:55,040 Speaker 5: prosecuting people for their political beliefs, you're down the road 642 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:56,680 Speaker 5: to dictatorship of far peace. 643 00:35:57,080 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I know what I know. 644 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:04,120 Speaker 1: Oh and my grandfather's jailed by the FBI, Herbert. 645 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:07,800 Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, Well your grandfather was persecuted for his writings, 646 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:08,440 Speaker 5: Are I correct? 647 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:13,399 Speaker 1: Actually he was persecuted because it was brought up by 648 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:17,160 Speaker 1: the House on American Activities for his refusal to name 649 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,080 Speaker 1: the people who he was involved with in a fundraiser 650 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,360 Speaker 1: for post Spanish Civil War orphans. 651 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:26,520 Speaker 5: Was he a card carrying member of the Communist Party. 652 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,759 Speaker 1: Yes, he was, but that wasn't why he was I mean, 653 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:33,840 Speaker 1: theoretically he was jailed that he was sent to jail 654 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 1: on contempt of Congress, But he was targeted because he 655 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 1: was a communist. 656 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 5: All right, So what is the favorite thing that House 657 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:46,480 Speaker 5: Republicans and some Senate Republicans liked to do. They like 658 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:50,680 Speaker 5: to hold hearings for clips on Fox News. They and 659 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:55,560 Speaker 5: Patel as a member of the incoming Fox News cabinet, 660 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:59,520 Speaker 5: will gin up political theater. At a minimum are they 661 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:03,480 Speaker 5: going to aren't arresting people for their political beliefs? Well, 662 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 5: I mean, let's hope not. But that is what Trump 663 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:12,200 Speaker 5: and Patel have threatened to investigate, indict, and put in 664 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:18,000 Speaker 5: prison people for their political beliefs. Now, of course, Trump 665 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:19,920 Speaker 5: also said he was going to build a wall in 666 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:22,279 Speaker 5: Mexico pay for it. So some of this may deep 667 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 5: blustering rhetoric. But people were right to be afraid of 668 00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 5: this guy. 669 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:31,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a real terrifying reality. So now, if you 670 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:35,920 Speaker 1: could just talk us through what Cash Patel has at 671 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,920 Speaker 1: his disposal, if he is able to become head of 672 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:40,360 Speaker 1: the FBI, if. 673 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,560 Speaker 5: Cash Bateel is confirmed by the Senate, and if am 674 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:48,080 Speaker 5: Bundy is confirmed as the Attorney General, they have at 675 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:54,560 Speaker 5: their disposal thirty five thousand FBI agents and federal prosecutors 676 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:58,080 Speaker 5: appointed by Trump because all the federal prosecutors in every 677 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,880 Speaker 5: jurisdiction have to resign when the government changes hands to 678 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:08,000 Speaker 5: go after their enemies to investigate. First of all, if 679 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:12,080 Speaker 5: you are targeted by an FBI investigation, even if you 680 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:14,680 Speaker 5: have done nothing wrong, you are in a world of pain. 681 00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:19,799 Speaker 5: You've got a lawyer up, You'll have to open up. 682 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:24,400 Speaker 5: If there's a warrant against you, your computer, your telephone. 683 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:29,880 Speaker 5: Just the harassment power alone, given the immense power of 684 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:34,719 Speaker 5: the prosecutor under American law, is enough to destroy people's lives. 685 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 2: Well, that was what happened to my grandfather and his people. 686 00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:43,680 Speaker 5: Sure, and that's just the beginning. If they are indeed 687 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,840 Speaker 5: helping on proving Trump's quaint that the President of the 688 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:52,920 Speaker 5: United States, Barack Obama and as Vice President Joe Biden, 689 00:38:53,239 --> 00:38:56,680 Speaker 5: and the directors of the CIA and the FBI under 690 00:38:56,880 --> 00:39:02,360 Speaker 5: Obama illegally spied on him, which is, in Trump's words, treason, 691 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:07,319 Speaker 5: they can not only rip apart those people's lives, but 692 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:10,239 Speaker 5: they can rip apart the CIA and the FBI. You know, 693 00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:13,080 Speaker 5: the CIA is my wheelhouse. I have written a book 694 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:18,440 Speaker 5: about the FBI. But people are going to be confronted 695 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:21,640 Speaker 5: with a real moral choice. That is, the agents of 696 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:25,319 Speaker 5: the FBI and the officers of the CIA, will I 697 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:30,480 Speaker 5: obey an illegal order from the FBI director, attorney general 698 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:34,760 Speaker 5: or the president. You know, things could get very weird 699 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:40,439 Speaker 5: because the Supreme Court ruled in July that presidents can 700 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:45,719 Speaker 5: commit crimes in office without fear of prosecution, and it 701 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:52,440 Speaker 5: preemptively authorizes illegal searches and seizures and violation of the 702 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:56,600 Speaker 5: Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Writing in dissent from 703 00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:03,200 Speaker 5: that decision, Justice Sotomayr wrote, quote a hypothetical president who 704 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:08,120 Speaker 5: admits to having ordered the assassinations of his political rivals 705 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,320 Speaker 5: or critics as a fair shot at getting immunity. 706 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:15,200 Speaker 1: Right, that's the Seal Team six scenario. Right, Could a 707 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,800 Speaker 1: president and hire Seal Team six to kill his political enemies? 708 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:19,360 Speaker 4: Yeah? 709 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,600 Speaker 5: But if this president should choose to declare a political 710 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:27,759 Speaker 5: rival guilty of treason and deploy a paramilitary group on 711 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:33,719 Speaker 5: the CIA, from the FBI, from Seal Teams to assassinate 712 00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:36,440 Speaker 5: that rival, and direct the Attorney General to sign a 713 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,920 Speaker 5: document saying this is cool, that death was necessary for 714 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,040 Speaker 5: the securing of liberty. That would be an official act 715 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 5: for which the president is immut from presidentship. That's just 716 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:47,560 Speaker 5: the fact. 717 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,239 Speaker 1: So, I mean, do we think there's a moment when 718 00:40:50,239 --> 00:40:52,560 Speaker 1: the Supreme Court, and again, I mean, I guess there's 719 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:54,960 Speaker 1: no way to know what the Supreme Court will go 720 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:57,799 Speaker 1: along with, right, because we've seen them go along with 721 00:40:57,880 --> 00:40:58,760 Speaker 1: quite a lot of staff. 722 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:02,160 Speaker 5: You know, you and me and everybody else we know 723 00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:05,439 Speaker 5: and all your listeners have been thinking all along, Well, 724 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:08,000 Speaker 5: the courts will think they will not. Oh, the law 725 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:12,439 Speaker 5: will state it will not. Okay, not now. And all 726 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:18,080 Speaker 5: of this flows from the conspiratorial belief of Troupe and 727 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:21,200 Speaker 5: Cash but Tel and the rest of the MAGA crowd 728 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:24,920 Speaker 5: that there is a deep state. The deep state is 729 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:31,760 Speaker 5: conspiracy of unelected soldiers and spies and diplomats and government 730 00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:35,960 Speaker 5: officials who are secretly pulling the strings of the United 731 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:40,520 Speaker 5: States and usurping the power of the president. And they 732 00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:45,880 Speaker 5: have made no bones about attacking and dismantling the deep state, 733 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:50,320 Speaker 5: which is in fact the state. And if they succeed, 734 00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:54,600 Speaker 5: even marginally, what they will create is a shallow state 735 00:41:55,239 --> 00:42:00,160 Speaker 5: in which institutions of government cannot perform their functions. They 736 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:05,120 Speaker 5: will follow out the government of the United States, agency 737 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:05,840 Speaker 5: by agency. 738 00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:10,080 Speaker 1: That I think is the ultimate goal, but it is 739 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:12,280 Speaker 1: just so scary. 740 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:14,840 Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tim. 741 00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:16,120 Speaker 5: You are more than well. 742 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:25,520 Speaker 4: No, no moment, Rick Wilson, Molly John Fast. 743 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:27,040 Speaker 2: Who is your moment of fuckery? 744 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:30,200 Speaker 4: You know? My moment of fuckery this week is the 745 00:42:30,239 --> 00:42:33,400 Speaker 4: story of the Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger down in Texas. 746 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:35,600 Speaker 4: And I want to say this first off, folks, I'm 747 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:38,200 Speaker 4: not being facetious when I talk about this, but Kay 748 00:42:38,239 --> 00:42:41,719 Speaker 4: Granger has been in a memory care facility for some 749 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:45,600 Speaker 4: time now, since July. Now, that is not in and 750 00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:49,120 Speaker 4: of itself something that is that is unexpected in America. 751 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,799 Speaker 4: Many millions of Americans have as they grow older, they 752 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,040 Speaker 4: have memory issues, they have Alzheimer's, they have they have 753 00:42:55,200 --> 00:42:58,040 Speaker 4: various forms of dementia, et cetera. And it is more 754 00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:02,600 Speaker 4: tragic than but the fact that we have had a 755 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:06,760 Speaker 4: Republican Party dedicated to saying that Joe Biden is senile 756 00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:12,319 Speaker 4: and is broken and is a dottery old man who 757 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:15,520 Speaker 4: knows nothing and is senile, blah blah blah, while you 758 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:18,880 Speaker 4: have a member of Congress in a memory care facility 759 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:22,120 Speaker 4: who was apparently trotted out for several votes that she 760 00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:26,120 Speaker 4: had no idea what she was voting on. It's kind 761 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:29,080 Speaker 4: of uncool. I gotta be real here, It's kind of sick. 762 00:43:29,480 --> 00:43:31,359 Speaker 4: And I think that this is one of those things 763 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:33,880 Speaker 4: where if you don't think term limits or should be 764 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:36,800 Speaker 4: a thing, get your head examined. There is an upper 765 00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:39,520 Speaker 4: boundary I think that we should really be looking at 766 00:43:39,719 --> 00:43:43,080 Speaker 4: for service in the in federal offices, and this is 767 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,920 Speaker 4: one of them. It is sad, it is tragic, but 768 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:49,000 Speaker 4: it is real. And they lied about it. Her staff 769 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:50,680 Speaker 4: lied about it. Look, this is the same thing was 770 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:53,040 Speaker 4: happening with die Fi back in the day. Her staff 771 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:56,480 Speaker 4: lied about it. It's unacceptable in my mind, but here 772 00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:56,799 Speaker 4: we are. 773 00:43:57,200 --> 00:43:57,799 Speaker 2: The only thing I. 774 00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:00,840 Speaker 1: Would say, I would just add is that Kay Granger 775 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:03,200 Speaker 1: is not the only one who's doing stuff like this, 776 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:06,520 Speaker 1: and Republicans do not have a lock on this, because 777 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:09,680 Speaker 1: I know for sure that there are Democrats who nobody 778 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:13,920 Speaker 1: has seen in the House. So the world that is 779 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:18,440 Speaker 1: creating this is a big fucking problem. And it's a 780 00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:20,759 Speaker 1: really good case for term limits. It's a really good 781 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:23,600 Speaker 1: case for not being allowed to miss votes. It's a 782 00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:26,200 Speaker 1: really good case for this is not how any of 783 00:44:26,239 --> 00:44:27,000 Speaker 1: this should work. 784 00:44:27,239 --> 00:44:29,359 Speaker 2: That's it. Fuck them, Yeah. 785 00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:32,319 Speaker 4: Mollie, you and I both have older parents, and this 786 00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:35,040 Speaker 4: is a real thing. It's a sad thing that this 787 00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:38,440 Speaker 4: is something that has been for political advantage in a 788 00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:43,160 Speaker 4: tightly divided House of representatives. They've been keeping this ghost 789 00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:46,239 Speaker 4: in the situation that she's in. And I find it. 790 00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:48,840 Speaker 4: I think it's a moral Honestly, I really do. I 791 00:44:48,880 --> 00:44:50,120 Speaker 4: find it. I think it's a moral. 792 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:53,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really bad, but it's happening on both sides, 793 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:56,160 Speaker 1: and there should be term limits and members should not 794 00:44:56,200 --> 00:44:57,480 Speaker 1: be allowed to trade stocks. 795 00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:00,520 Speaker 4: Look honest to God. If Elon muscle to clean up 796 00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:03,200 Speaker 4: the processes in Congress, I could think of a dozen 797 00:45:03,239 --> 00:45:08,800 Speaker 4: other ways than being a diletant dipshit trying to rewrite 798 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:11,600 Speaker 4: a cr You want to improve Congress, you want to 799 00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:14,520 Speaker 4: make it work better, okay, Go for non partisan redistricting, 800 00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:16,520 Speaker 4: you want to make it work better. Go for termal limits, 801 00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:18,200 Speaker 4: you want to make it work better. Go for actual 802 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:21,480 Speaker 4: ethics reform. Those things would be I think great for 803 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:24,520 Speaker 4: the country. But that's no fun. It's not truly enough, 804 00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:26,640 Speaker 4: and it doesn't cause enough people to get upset, and 805 00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:30,279 Speaker 4: it doesn't take cancer money away from kids. So you 806 00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:34,040 Speaker 4: know here we are, Rick Wilson, my John Fast. I 807 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:36,400 Speaker 4: will see you on the flip side of a holiday. 808 00:45:36,719 --> 00:45:37,200 Speaker 2: Thank you. 809 00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:42,959 Speaker 1: That's it for this episode of Fast Politics. Tune in 810 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:48,720 Speaker 1: every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday to hear the best 811 00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:53,120 Speaker 1: minds and politics make sense of all this chaos. If 812 00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:56,200 Speaker 1: you enjoy this podcast, please send it to a friend 813 00:45:56,640 --> 00:45:58,240 Speaker 1: and keep the conversation going. 814 00:45:58,719 --> 00:45:59,840 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening. 815 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:02,960 Speaker 6: H