WEBVTT - PAY UP: How Trump's Campaign Kickbacks Could Turn U.S. into a Russian-Style Oligarchy

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<v Speaker 1>Trump is a lot like John Gottie. He has a

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<v Speaker 1>cult of personality, he has fans that are cheering for him.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, Gotti and Trump are both mob bosses,

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<v Speaker 1>and the way their business functions is they get a

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<v Speaker 1>cut of the action up top. And so it should

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<v Speaker 1>be no surprise whatsoever that the astounding grift that is

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<v Speaker 1>the Trump political operation would attach a new vic for

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<v Speaker 1>every maga Republican candidate out across the country who dares

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<v Speaker 1>to use the Donald's name. Pay Trump, Pay Trump, pay Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>It's gangsterism. It is the eighteenth of April. There are

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred and one days remaining until the American people

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<v Speaker 1>will decide who, between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, will

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<v Speaker 1>be the most powerful person in the world, the American

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<v Speaker 1>commander in chief. This is the morning. Donald Trump has

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<v Speaker 1>been America's dominant cultural figure for almost ten years. It's

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<v Speaker 1>been nine years since he descended the escalator into the

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<v Speaker 1>bowels of Trump Tower, proclaiming that Mexicans are all rapists

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<v Speaker 1>and murderers. Is the country better off today than it

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<v Speaker 1>was before Trump's escalator descent? The answer is obviously no.

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<v Speaker 1>But Donald Trump has managed over the last decade to

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<v Speaker 1>build and enduring cult of personality that will persist so

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<v Speaker 1>long as there is any question about his defeat, repudiation,

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<v Speaker 1>and rejection at the hands of the American people. The

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<v Speaker 1>power of his lie is grounded in his refusal to

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<v Speaker 1>ever make a session to fact, to reality, or to

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<v Speaker 1>what is plainly in front of him. For most Americans,

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump got super famous during The Apprentice. That's how

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<v Speaker 1>the American people got to know the Donald. I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>one of those people because I grew up in the

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<v Speaker 1>state of New Jersey. And if you grew up in

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<v Speaker 1>a small geography that includes parts of southern Connecticut, Queens

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<v Speaker 1>Long Island, Staten Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Northern New Jersey,

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump has been famous, super famous since at least

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<v Speaker 1>the mid nineteen seventies. I wouldn't bet a lot of money,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm pretty sure I got the art of the

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<v Speaker 1>deal board game in nineteen eighty two. I was eleven.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are from that part of the country, then

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<v Speaker 1>you are familiar with a certain type of well, let's

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<v Speaker 1>call them an asshole that Trump perfectly represents. And dealing

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<v Speaker 1>with this type of let's call that asshole Trump is

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<v Speaker 1>an important skill if you live in that part of

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<v Speaker 1>the country, to simply be able to survive and navigate life,

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<v Speaker 1>going to the store, going to the gas station. It

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<v Speaker 1>is an aggressive culture. But for anybody who was alive

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<v Speaker 1>in that geography, the most densely populated in the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>it remains and will always remain the most astounding feature

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<v Speaker 1>of our age that Donald Trump could conceivably ever be

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<v Speaker 1>elected president of the United States, and further that the

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<v Speaker 1>foundation of his election would be the con that he's

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<v Speaker 1>a successful billionaire businessman. Now, personally, I don't have a

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<v Speaker 1>Harvard MBA, but I can tell you this. It is

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly difficult to go bankrupt running a casino, but Donald

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<v Speaker 1>Trump has managed to do it multiple times. While doing it,

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<v Speaker 1>he ripped off every small business guy and woman that

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<v Speaker 1>you could shake a stick at all of them. There

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<v Speaker 1>is no little guy contractor that Donald Trump didn't screw,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't rip off. This is a man Trump who ran

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<v Speaker 1>a fake and fraudulent university. Think about that, he ran

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<v Speaker 1>a fake and fraudulent university. Now, in order to truly

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<v Speaker 1>understand Donald Trump, one must have an appreciation from another

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<v Speaker 1>resident of the Queens, New York, this one from Ozone

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<v Speaker 1>Park his name was John Gotti, the teflon Don. John

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<v Speaker 1>Gotti was a thug, a scumbag, and a murderer of

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<v Speaker 1>the highest conceivable degree. But over and over again he

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<v Speaker 1>got off, and when he did there would be fireworks

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<v Speaker 1>celebrations in Ozone Park. Trump is a lot like John Gotti.

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<v Speaker 1>He has a cult of personality, he has fans that

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<v Speaker 1>are cheering for him. There has always been a strain

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<v Speaker 1>of Americanism that is grounded in the philosophy of fuck youism,

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<v Speaker 1>and Trump is one of history's great philosophers of fuck Youism.

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<v Speaker 1>When John Gotti was acquitted, it was an fu. When

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<v Speaker 1>Trump sticks his middle finger up to the Constitution, to

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<v Speaker 1>the Congress, to anybody, it delights people. But in the end,

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<v Speaker 1>Gotti and Trump are both mob bosses, and the way

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<v Speaker 1>their business functions is they get a cut of the

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<v Speaker 1>action up top. And so it should be no surprise

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<v Speaker 1>whatsoever that the astounding grift that is the Trump political

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<v Speaker 1>operation would attach a new vic for every maga Republican

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<v Speaker 1>candidate out across the country who dares to use the Donaldson.

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<v Speaker 1>The campaign wants a minimum of five percent, but will

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<v Speaker 1>look favorably at the highest levels, perhaps even at the

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<v Speaker 1>CAPO ranks, all the way up to the capo to

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<v Speaker 1>two D Capo himself, the boss of bosses, Donald Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>If you raise money for a mayor's race, of congressional

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<v Speaker 1>raise and Senate raise and you use the name the Donald, well,

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<v Speaker 1>then of course ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent of

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<v Speaker 1>all the money you raise should go to well, you

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<v Speaker 1>guessed it, Donald Trump's campaign, to his legal defense funds,

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<v Speaker 1>to pay the lawyers. Now, personally, I'm all for this.

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<v Speaker 1>I believe fools and their money should be separated, and

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<v Speaker 1>I definitely look at any candidate who uses Trump's name

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<v Speaker 1>from my perspective, should be fined. And so the only

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<v Speaker 1>deficiency in this plan is that the fine goes to Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>The good news with that is it will soon be wasted.

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<v Speaker 1>But putting that aside, the political situation for Trump is

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<v Speaker 1>dire because he's on track to be outspent by three

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and fifty million dollars in the general election. Now, again,

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<v Speaker 1>understand the rules. If you're a candidate and you say

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<v Speaker 1>Trump's name, he wants five percent. He won't be happy

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<v Speaker 1>with that. That's the minimum expectation. If you want to

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<v Speaker 1>please him, pleasure him titilate. The census number has to

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<v Speaker 1>be higher ten percent, fifteen percent, maybe fifty percent. Who knows.

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<v Speaker 1>But this is important to understand because when you look

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<v Speaker 1>at Donald Trump's plans for the government, this is how

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<v Speaker 1>oligarchy functions. This is how the corruption will work. You

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<v Speaker 1>want to contract, pay the pride, you want to get

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<v Speaker 1>something done, pay Trump. You want to make an invention,

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<v Speaker 1>get approval at the government, Pay Trump, pay Trump, pay Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>It's gangsterism. It's how Russia functions. To a degree, it's

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<v Speaker 1>how China functions. And it's how Donald Trump wants to

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<v Speaker 1>make America function because he has a fantasy that America

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<v Speaker 1>functions like the corrupt real estate world he dealt with

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<v Speaker 1>in Manhattan, where he can oil the system, where he

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<v Speaker 1>can grease it with a little cash in an envelope.

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump is a grifter who is more fantastically corrupt

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<v Speaker 1>then the accumulated corruptions of all of America's previous presidents

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<v Speaker 1>put together times ten to the exponent of a million,

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<v Speaker 1>which is to say, a lot more. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>harbinger of things to come, of the degeneracy that will

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<v Speaker 1>flow from Donald Trump atop the American government. He will

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<v Speaker 1>turn it into a giant pay for play system. The

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<v Speaker 1>United States government will become an open till a cash

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<v Speaker 1>register with every Trump's greedy little pause in it all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. Jared Kushner two billion dollars in Saudi money

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<v Speaker 1>six months after walking out of the Oval Office having

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<v Speaker 1>access to the President's daily brief two billions. The corruption

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<v Speaker 1>is fantastical, and the danger it represents city American people

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<v Speaker 1>even more so. The campaign story isn't that big a

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<v Speaker 1>deal because it's so predictable. But even though it's predictable,

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<v Speaker 1>it's still shocking. It's shocking not because it's unexpected, but

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<v Speaker 1>because for nine long years, a great nation of three

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and thirty million people have allowed this to happen,

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<v Speaker 1>have allowed this degeneracy to fester, to grow, and this

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<v Speaker 1>degenerate to dominate our society. Isn't it time to bring

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<v Speaker 1>this wretched show to an end? Thank you for listening

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<v Speaker 1>to my political commentary. If you like what you heard today,

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