WEBVTT - McCain, Musk & MSNBC | The Schmidt Storm

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Schmid storm. You got questions, I

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<v Speaker 1>have answers. It's Thanksgiving weekend, the shopping is on, Let's

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<v Speaker 1>get to it. The question is, will Chuck Schumer step down?

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<v Speaker 1>Will he be forced to step down by colleagues? And

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<v Speaker 1>if he does, is there anyone better? Yes? I think

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<v Speaker 1>everyone is better. Almost in a democratic conference, Chuck Schumer

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<v Speaker 1>has to step down. I don't know of any other

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<v Speaker 1>way to say this, but the Democratic conference of the

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<v Speaker 1>US Senate should operate exactly like an NFL team, and

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck Schumer is like an old feeble quarterback who's not

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<v Speaker 1>good enough to play in the league anymore. And the

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<v Speaker 1>reality is, and I don't mean to be brutal about this,

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<v Speaker 1>but I don't care about his feelings. He can't do

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<v Speaker 1>the job. And if I was a United States Senator

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<v Speaker 1>and I was sitting in that conference meeting, I would

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<v Speaker 1>not be belligerent about it. I wouldn't be cruel about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Can't do the job. And there are some things more

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<v Speaker 1>important than Chuck Schumer's ego. So to my mind, we

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<v Speaker 1>have just gone on this giant encirclement of the Earth, really,

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<v Speaker 1>this giant journey, and part of it was pretending or

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<v Speaker 1>watching people pretend and then getting yelled at by those

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<v Speaker 1>people pretending when anybody dared to say the eighty two

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<v Speaker 1>year old president Joe Biden was not up for the race,

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<v Speaker 1>and he wasn't. And that egotism and that selfishness is

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<v Speaker 1>why we have Trump in the White House. And Schumer's

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<v Speaker 1>no different. He's a debacle because of his political strategy,

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<v Speaker 1>because of how he spent money, because of the chess

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<v Speaker 1>game he has lost. There are hard no Senate seats

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<v Speaker 1>really for Democrats to pick up in twenty twenty six.

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<v Speaker 1>Unless Trump craters to a profound degree, all of the

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<v Speaker 1>action will be in the House. So getting rid of

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck Schumer from the leadership of the party is really

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<v Speaker 1>important for the health of the Party of New York.

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<v Speaker 1>Voters want Chuck Schumer in there as their senator great,

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<v Speaker 1>But the idea that in a country where Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>holds immunities from the Supreme Court is the most powerful

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<v Speaker 1>president ever. They control the Senate, they control the House,

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<v Speaker 1>they control the Court, and the minority leader of what

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<v Speaker 1>was once the greatest delivered a body in the world

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<v Speaker 1>is Chuck Schumer. He's the guy that is not the

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<v Speaker 1>mark of a serious opposition, and what it will do

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<v Speaker 1>is demoralize voters, demoralize activists, and it will mean each

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<v Speaker 1>day that he's in that position that we can't get

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<v Speaker 1>a rope up from the pit to the surface. And

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<v Speaker 1>that sucks because it would be good to get out

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<v Speaker 1>of the pit. The question is, will Elon Musk buy MSNBC?

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<v Speaker 1>And if Elon Musk buys it, what will MSNBC look like?

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for the question. This is really important and I

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<v Speaker 1>predicted exactly what has transpired between Comcast and MSNBC before

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<v Speaker 1>the election, and let me just give you a brief

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<v Speaker 1>survey of what's happening. It has been announced that MSNBC,

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<v Speaker 1>the Golf Channel, and a couple of other Coast cable

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<v Speaker 1>assets are to be spun off, that they will be

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<v Speaker 1>placed under an umbrella called spin Co, and they will

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<v Speaker 1>be run by an executive named Mark Lazarus. Brian Selter,

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<v Speaker 1>the media reporter of CNN, has made the point in

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<v Speaker 1>his column that they are not really right now in

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<v Speaker 1>this moment for sale. Bullshit. They are for sale and

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<v Speaker 1>they will be sold. And I'm going to tell you

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<v Speaker 1>the reason why the price tag on the cable assets

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<v Speaker 1>is seven billion dollars. The value the market capitalization of

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<v Speaker 1>Comcast is one hundred and sixty four billion dollars. I

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<v Speaker 1>think sometimes it helps to be able to think about

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<v Speaker 1>size comparatively. What's one hundred and sixty four billion dollars

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<v Speaker 1>and what's seven billion? What does that look like? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred and sixty four billion dollars is proximate to

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<v Speaker 1>the value of the National Football League the NFL, and

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<v Speaker 1>seven billion, right, is the value of all of these companies.

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<v Speaker 1>So when you take out MSNBC, really what it's the

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<v Speaker 1>size of is the Italian Serie, a soccer league. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a professional sport, it's got great players, but it's worth billions,

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<v Speaker 1>not one hundreds of billions, and it's absolutely not the NFL.

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<v Speaker 1>So Comcast looks at the Trump error, sees the promises

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<v Speaker 1>of retribution and threats, and says, we have to dump

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<v Speaker 1>MSNBC because they're a pancreatic cancer gene. It can kill

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<v Speaker 1>us the whole thing. Because Comcast exists as a cable

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<v Speaker 1>company in a highly regulated space, and it's licensed to

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<v Speaker 1>operate needs, it cannot be at war with a vengeful

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<v Speaker 1>federal government that does not appreciate its cable news appendage

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<v Speaker 1>not being nice to Trump, because the access age is

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<v Speaker 1>giving way to the niceness age. The question of fairness

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<v Speaker 1>in American corporate media is singular. Now are you nice

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<v Speaker 1>to Trump? And so the CEO of Comcast isn't going

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<v Speaker 1>to risk it, and this will all be sold. And

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<v Speaker 1>the Hungarian model is one that Trump and his team

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<v Speaker 1>have talked openly about, know all about, and it calls

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<v Speaker 1>for people like Elon Musk to buy MSNBC. I want

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<v Speaker 1>to go through the economics of this. A lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people look at the amount of money that Elon Musk

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<v Speaker 1>spent one hundred and fifty million dollars on Donald Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>behalf and think he did it for Donald Trump. He

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<v Speaker 1>did not. He did it for Elon Musk and Elon

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<v Speaker 1>today after the election for a bunch of different factors.

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<v Speaker 1>That work goes up five billion dollars one day. That

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<v Speaker 1>covers the buy. And if Elon must buys MSNBC, he'll

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<v Speaker 1>do to it what he did to Twitter, which is record.

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<v Speaker 1>None of these shows will be on. Elon isn't going

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<v Speaker 1>to put the Rachel Mattow Show on air. There won't

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<v Speaker 1>be a Rachel Mattow Show not on MSNBC. It will

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<v Speaker 1>be over. It will be right wing hackery. And it's

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<v Speaker 1>important to appreciate that only a million or so people

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<v Speaker 1>watch most of these shows. The numbers are small. The

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<v Speaker 1>business is failing. The morning co hosts are capitulators who've

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<v Speaker 1>lost their credibility in the respect of their audience. When

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<v Speaker 1>the movie Newsreels died, journalism didn't die. And if MSNBC dies,

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<v Speaker 1>America doesn't die. Progressivism doesn't die, liberal political philosophy doesn't die.

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<v Speaker 1>Just MSNBC dies. The resiliency of the First Amendment is

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<v Speaker 1>what matters in this moment. The journalism that Trump will

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<v Speaker 1>have to deal with and that ultimately will stop him

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<v Speaker 1>and hurt him by holding him to account, is going

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<v Speaker 1>to be bottom up, not top down. Big corporations aren't

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<v Speaker 1>going to be in the business of going after the

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<v Speaker 1>most powerful person in the world who's vengeful, seeks retribution,

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<v Speaker 1>and has all the immunity he needs to deliver it.

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<v Speaker 1>So truth will have to be found somewhere besides corporate America.

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<v Speaker 1>The question is Donald Trump Junior has said that the

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<v Speaker 1>administration has given consideration to banning corporate media. Mainstream media

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<v Speaker 1>outlets like ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, from the

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<v Speaker 1>White House briefing room and giving their seats away to,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, representatives of the Joe Rogan Show. I think

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of things about this first within a year,

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<v Speaker 1>I think that there will be severe restrictions on the

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<v Speaker 1>media with regard to access to the White House. Will

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<v Speaker 1>be very hard for mainstream media organizations to ask questions

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<v Speaker 1>of Donald Trump. There will be outrages the White House

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<v Speaker 1>pool operations, all all of this stuff, And I think

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<v Speaker 1>they're going to lose out because Donald Trump's position is

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<v Speaker 1>going to be I'm gonna do whatever I want and

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<v Speaker 1>that ABC News doesn't have an entitlement in America that

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<v Speaker 1>stretches beyond the one that Joe Grogan has to ask

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<v Speaker 1>questions for the president. So I think he's going to

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<v Speaker 1>assemble a question asking menagerie, right, a whack pack, right,

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<v Speaker 1>that it's really some political version of what used to

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<v Speaker 1>surround Howard Stern, Right, you know, Donald Trump's whack pack,

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<v Speaker 1>or will be the people in the briefing room asking questions,

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<v Speaker 1>which doesn't mean, of course, the journalism dies. And honestly,

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<v Speaker 1>when is the last time an intelligent and insightful question

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<v Speaker 1>has been asked in the White House briefing room that

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<v Speaker 1>anybody in America out of all three hundred and thirty

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<v Speaker 1>million of us, should give a shit about when last month,

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<v Speaker 1>month before, how about in the last year, two, what

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<v Speaker 1>about one time in the last three years, four years?

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<v Speaker 1>It's theatrics. It's a low rated conflict show. It's probably

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<v Speaker 1>the most batal houred American life is the White House

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<v Speaker 1>news briefing. And so Donald Trump's gonna do what he wants.

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<v Speaker 1>He's gonna surround himself with friendly press. And I do

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<v Speaker 1>think that Donald Trump Junior is previewing in form and

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<v Speaker 1>fashion pretty close to what's going to happen. Question is

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<v Speaker 1>what would John McCain think about all of this? What

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<v Speaker 1>would he have said about all of this? And did

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<v Speaker 1>his death and his absence create the conditions necessary for

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<v Speaker 1>MAGA to rise. John McCain would have fought Donald Trump

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<v Speaker 1>NonStop every step of the way on the basis of

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<v Speaker 1>the rottenness of his character and his degradations and indignities

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<v Speaker 1>towards the thing that Caine revered the most, which was

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<v Speaker 1>the code of conduct of the Armed Forces of the

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<v Speaker 1>United States, the traditions, the legacy of valor. He would

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<v Speaker 1>have been deeply fronted and easily offended by everything that's

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<v Speaker 1>gone on, he would have gone ballistic, a super nova

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<v Speaker 1>of rage and indignation at the nomination of fools like

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<v Speaker 1>Pete Hagsath and Tulsey Gabbard. He would have stopped them.

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<v Speaker 1>He would have done everything he could to stop them,

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<v Speaker 1>would have rallied support. And I don't think that they're

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily going to make it into their offices, but for

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<v Speaker 1>sure they would not have if John McCain was still alive.

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<v Speaker 1>But beyond that, and this is not going to be

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<v Speaker 1>politically correct, and I'm going to get in trouble, but

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to give an answer to the question through

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<v Speaker 1>the pre of who I am, which is a fifty

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<v Speaker 1>four year old dude board in New Jersey in nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy who has a particular level of contempt for the

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<v Speaker 1>softness and the weakness and the utter lack of principle

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<v Speaker 1>by people like Lindsay Graham. So there's a word that

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<v Speaker 1>guys use when they talk to each other. That's not

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<v Speaker 1>a nice word. It's one that precedes cat and it

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<v Speaker 1>starts with P and it's a cutting and degrading word.

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<v Speaker 1>Toxic masculinity is sometimes used as the phrase to describe

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<v Speaker 1>its use and all of this. And I think one

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<v Speaker 1>of the things in this election that men, Hispanic men,

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<v Speaker 1>black men, white men have tried to communicate to people

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<v Speaker 1>across the country is stop with the lecturing and stop

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<v Speaker 1>with the hectoring, and stop telling us what word we

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<v Speaker 1>can say and can't say. But nearly all of the Republicans,

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<v Speaker 1>all of the sycophants around Trump, not only deserves to

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<v Speaker 1>be called that word, they deserve to have it tattooed

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<v Speaker 1>across their chest in a version of the Yellowstone brand.

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<v Speaker 1>And most importantly, the person who would have been the

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<v Speaker 1>one to most partially bestow it on them and place

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<v Speaker 1>the brand into their chest would have been John McCain,

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<v Speaker 1>who was many many things, but the P word was

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<v Speaker 1>not one of them. So the truth is a watch

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<v Speaker 1>Morning Joe with Bob Woodward. What you're seeing is uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And though you can't call him a he is and

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<v Speaker 1>in the world of the Trump can trample everything in

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<v Speaker 1>his say. And John McCain was very offended by people

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<v Speaker 1>who are who let bullies like Trump trample over everything

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<v Speaker 1>that they care about. And so the thing that John

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<v Speaker 1>McCain would have thought about and the moment before he

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<v Speaker 1>stood up to address his colleagues, castigate them, shame them,

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<v Speaker 1>and call them out. Is what a bunch of they were,

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<v Speaker 1>starting with his friend Lindsey Graham, who he would have mocked, derided, shamed,

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<v Speaker 1>laughed at, scorned, and humiliated at a level that is

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<v Speaker 1>beyond my comprehension, that is beyond my ability to articulate,

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<v Speaker 1>because he would have stood up in front of all

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<v Speaker 1>the senators, ended his friendship. If Lindsey Graham acted like

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<v Speaker 1>this and he would have said, lindsay you're a it

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<v Speaker 1>would have fit the whole country. We would have understood it.

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<v Speaker 1>But tragically we can't say that word out loud anymore,

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<v Speaker 1>and we needed it in some ways, we need it

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<v Speaker 1>more than ever. I'm Steve Schmidt. This is the warning

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<v Speaker 1>and I invite you to join. Subscribe on our substack,

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<v Speaker 1>on our YouTube channel, follow us. Welcome to the community.