Trump Pushes $200 Billion War Plan as Backlash Grows
Trump Pushes $200 Billion War Plan as Backlash Grows
The Pentagon requests an additional $200 billion in funding for Trump's war in Iran. Jon and Dan discuss how Democrats in Congress should respond to the request, the administration's insistence that rising gas prices are nothing to worry about, and the resignation of a high-ranking intelligence official, Joe Kent, over the administration's decision to go to war with Iran. Then, they talk about Tulsi Gabbard's and Markwayne Mullin's explosive hearings on the Hill, AIPAC's impact on Tuesday's Democratic primaries in Illinois, and Trump's latest money-making venture — putting himself on a commemorative gold coin. Then, Juliana Stratton, the new Democratic nominee for Senate in Illinois, talks to Dan about her simple, effective anti-Trump message.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 - Intro
1:56 - Iran War updates
19:26 - Trump wants more war money
29:27 - Ad break
32:02 - Joe Kent's resignation
40:46 - Mark Mullen hearing
49:55 - Corey Lewandowski bribes
52:00 - AIPAC spending
1:00:50 - Trump's grifts
1:07:36 - Ad break
1:09:52 - Juliana Stratton interview
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Transcript
Follow along using the transcript.
In this video
Chapter 1: Intro
0:00
Can you imagine a more unpopular vote than supporting $200 billion for a war that is currently making a bad economy0:09
9 seconds
even worse? Welcome to Pods Save America. I'm John Favro. I'm Dan Feifer.0:13
13 seconds
On
today's show, we're going to talk about how the war in Iran is turning
into a global economic crisis. Why the Pentagon thinks it'll cost us at
least0:21
21 seconds
another
$200 billion and whether Congress will actually approve that funding.
The senior Trump official who just resigned over the war. the fight0:29
29 seconds
over
confirming Trump's next Homeland Security Secretary that involves an
actual physical fight. The other actual physical fight that will take
place on0:37
37 seconds
the
White House lawn this summer, Apac's role in this week's Democratic
primaries in Illinois, and then the winner of one of those primaries
talks to Dan,0:45
45 seconds
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton,0:47
47 seconds
who's
on her way to becoming the next Democratic senator from the state of
Illinois. Also, please consider becoming a subscriber if you haven't
already so0:56
56 seconds
that
you don't miss out on any crooked content. Friend of the pod
subscribers get our new extra episode of Pod Save America called Pod
Save America Only1:04
1 minute, 4 seconds
Friends. Other subscriberonly shows like Polar Coaster with this guy right here,1:09
1 minute, 9 seconds
Dan
Feifer. I just You just recorded another one, right? Just I did. We
talked about the what happened in Illinois in in great detail, the role1:17
1 minute, 17 seconds
Apac
played in that race. And we got did a deep dive in the polling on the
Iran war and why this is not going so great for Donald Trump and the
Republicans.1:26
1 minute, 26 seconds
Never
miss Polocar Coaster. Never miss Pods Save America only. Friends, sign
up, become a subscriber. You also get ad free episodes of all your
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1 minute, 35 seconds
our
great Substack newsletters like Pods Save America Open Tabs. And you
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1 minute, 43 seconds
And
there aren't just many around these days, you know, that are that are
independent, pro-democracy, and beyond the reach of Brendan Carr. So So
head to1:52
1 minute, 52 seconds
uh cricked.com/friend and uh and subscribe today. All right,Chapter 2: Iran War updates
1:56
1 minute, 56 seconds
let's dive in. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu started a war in Iran that has now engulfed the Middle East and2:03
2 minutes, 3 seconds
triggered a global energy crisis that's quickly becoming a global economic crisis. On Wednesday, Israel bombed the2:11
2 minutes, 11 seconds
largest natural gas reserve in the world, which Iran shares with Qatar.2:16
2 minutes, 16 seconds
Iran
then retaliated with attacks on energy infrastructure across the Middle
East, including a hit on a Qatari natural gas complex that has wiped
out a2:25
2 minutes, 25 seconds
good chunk of its capacity for several years. Trump claimed Israel acted alone and won't do it again, but also said2:33
2 minutes, 33 seconds
that if Iran keeps attacking energy infrastructure, he'll quote massively blow up the rest of their gas reserve.2:40
2 minutes, 40 seconds
The
president is also reportedly considering sending in ground troops to
secure the straight of Hormuz, which remains closed. On Wednesday night,
oil2:48
2 minutes, 48 seconds
shot past $118 a barrel. Gas prices are approaching $4 a gallon. And after a worse thanex expected inflation report,2:57
2 minutes, 57 seconds
the Fed decided to hold interest rates steady.3:01
3 minutes, 1 second
Here's how this is all playing. If you uh turn on the TV, far worse news on prices than expected.3:06
3 minutes, 6 seconds
Americans have been grappling, of course, with surging gas prices, up 86 cents a gallon since the Iran war began.3:14
3 minutes, 14 seconds
It's almost the worst of both worlds. I guess stagflation would come close to describing the situation.3:20
3 minutes, 20 seconds
Since
the war began, the price at the pump has risen every day this month. I
would think that records could be set. People are already seeing gas
prices.3:28
3 minutes, 28 seconds
Gas prices are up almost a dollar a gallon. Near-term measures of inflation expectations have risen in recent weeks,3:34
3 minutes, 34 seconds
likely
reflecting the substantial rise in oil prices caused by the supply
disruptions in the Middle East. Tough stuff. Pretty scary. So, that's
what3:43
3 minutes, 43 seconds
people are seeing on their screens. And uh here's the Trump White House, feeling people's pain.3:49
3 minutes, 49 seconds
Oil
prices will go up, the economy will go down a little bit. I thought it
would be worse. Much worse, actually. I thought there was a chance it
could be3:57
3 minutes, 57 seconds
much
worse. It's not bad. As much as we've got we got to focus on on getting
these gas prices down, the reality is overseas they're they're feeling
it far4:06
4 minutes, 6 seconds
worse than we did. If it were to be extended, this it wouldn't really disrupt the US economy very much at all.4:12
4 minutes, 12 seconds
It
would hurt consumers and we'd have to think about, you know, if if that
continued, what we would have to do about that, but that's like really
the last of our concerns right now.4:20
4 minutes, 20 seconds
If you could say something to President Trump and he was going to hear you right now, what would it be?4:25
4 minutes, 25 seconds
You are a worthless pile of And you voted for him how many times?4:31
4 minutes, 31 seconds
Three times. That was my bad. Apparently I'm an idiot. Love that woman.4:40
4 minutes, 40 seconds
The best. I can't tell which of those clips is worse. Um like JD Vance being like, I I know you're paying a lot in4:48
4 minutes, 48 seconds
gas prices, but just think of how high the gas prices are in Europe right now.4:51
4 minutes, 51 seconds
At
least you're not Europe. or Kevin has it being like, "Yeah, if the war
is extended, we may have to, you know, may it's not going to really hurt
anything but consumers and we may have to think5:00
5 minutes
about them, but really that they're the last of our concerns right now."5:04
5 minutes, 4 seconds
Kevin Hassid is possibly the worst spokesperson that any White House has put out. He at every opportunity steps5:14
5 minutes, 14 seconds
on
a rake. Like it may it is pos it's very possible that somewhere there's
some Democratic super PAC that books him on TV and he just assumes the
White House is doing it because he's so bad. I5:22
5 minutes, 22 seconds
mean,
so is Scott Bessant. So is the Treasury Secretary. We could have we
could have included like five Scott Bessant clips in here, but we didn't
have time. Like the two chief economic5:30
5 minutes, 30 seconds
spokespeople
for the White House, Kevin Hasset and Scott Bessant, are the most
outofouch doofuses that I've ever seen talk for a White House.5:40
5 minutes, 40 seconds
They work for a president who spends all of his time during a era of high prices talking about the gold leaf that he's5:48
5 minutes, 48 seconds
procuring for the White House. how affordability is a hoax. And then yeah,5:52
5 minutes, 52 seconds
we shouldn't we shouldn't let Trump off the hook there just being like, "Yeah,5:55
5 minutes, 55 seconds
honestly, I thought it was going to be so much worse." It's not bad. It's not bad.5:58
5 minutes, 58 seconds
Saying that near $4 a gallon gas is not bad is just a historic gaff.6:07
6 minutes, 7 seconds
There's so many gaffs. There's so many.6:10
6 minutes, 10 seconds
The
whole thing is like it is all the gaff. The the the second Trump
administration has been one giant gaff. Boy, what a painful gaff it's
been.6:20
6 minutes, 20 seconds
Yeah, it's a tough gaff. Um, it seems like the chances are getting quite low uh that Iran will be a uh a quick6:28
6 minutes, 28 seconds
excursion as Trump calls it, not an incursion, an excursion. Um, that just causes uh short-term price hikes. What do you think?6:37
6 minutes, 37 seconds
I just I I've I've thought this for three weeks now. Calling the war with Iran that has put us on the cusp of a6:45
6 minutes, 45 seconds
global energy crisis a synonym for a pleasure cruise is a truly insane choice.6:51
6 minutes, 51 seconds
Well, especially especially when when the the center of the war is keeping a body of water closed.6:59
6 minutes, 59 seconds
Yeah. You know where you can't do an excursion? The shred of Hormuz, right?7:02
7 minutes, 2 seconds
Oh my god. I mean, this is such this really is the worst case scenario of7:09
7 minutes, 9 seconds
Trump.
When you have a president who has no idea what he's doing, who's
incredibly impulsive and is now surrounded by people who only tell him7:18
7 minutes, 18 seconds
what he wants to hear, you end up in this situation. And it is like he Trump got so lucky in his first term to avoid7:26
7 minutes, 26 seconds
things
like this. Maybe it was he had different people around him. Maybe he
just didn't have the confidence to actually push through on these
things,7:34
7 minutes, 34 seconds
but like he this is so stupid.7:38
7 minutes, 38 seconds
It
is like it's unfathomable. Like there was no point here. Like we're
going to talk about some of the later on this show. We're talking about
some of the testimony about the various imminent7:46
7 minutes, 46 seconds
threats
and everything else, but there was no reason to do this. There's no
plan for how to for how it was supposed to go. They didn't think beyond
the first bombs. They didn't consider that7:54
7 minutes, 54 seconds
the
straight of four moves might be blocked, which every person who's ever
studied a war with Iran said would happen. And they have no plan to get
us out of it. And they're just like8:02
8 minutes, 2 seconds
bumbling along the whole way. And it's like it's people like obviously there's been, you know, American troops8:10
8 minutes, 10 seconds
have
died. Civilians all across the Middle East have died. The girl school
in Iran was bombed. Americans are paying a higher price at the pump. The
economy,8:18
8 minutes, 18 seconds
there
are shocks in the economy. They're going to be felt for months, if not
longer. Even if Trump somehow wraps this thing up in a week, which seems
very8:25
8 minutes, 25 seconds
hard to fathom, but the the the damage to the economy is being done right now and for no reason. Well,8:33
8 minutes, 33 seconds
like it's insane.8:34
8 minutes, 34 seconds
And and that's an important point. Um because the no reason part.8:38
8 minutes, 38 seconds
The
no reason part. Yeah. Um I think there's a because you I've seen some
people compare it to uh the tariffs, right? And like remember8:46
8 minutes, 46 seconds
liberation day and in the weeks after liberation day we were like why like I've never seen a president inflict so8:54
8 minutes, 54 seconds
much uh damage political damage on himself for no good reason. And you know9:02
9 minutes, 2 seconds
it
turned out that on some of the tariffs Trump eventually backed off. You
know there's the whole taco thing. And but that situation was one9:11
9 minutes, 11 seconds
where if he decided to just stop imposing the tariffs or at least stop imposing certain tariffs then you know9:19
9 minutes, 19 seconds
the economic damage would uh be reduced right and it would go away a little bit.9:25
9 minutes, 25 seconds
This
is so much different because like you said if he he could this whole
thing could stop tomorrow which it's not going to but if it did um you
know Tracy9:34
9 minutes, 34 seconds
Aloway from um Bloomberg uh they had the great OddLots uh podcast with Joe Eisenthal um she wrote today each9:42
9 minutes, 42 seconds
successive
day of the Iran conflict now generates months of impact on the global
economy and the longer it takes the world to adapt to a new reality of9:49
9 minutes, 49 seconds
reduced Gulf oil flows the longer and deeper the pain. So what's happening now is even though gas prices are high right9:56
9 minutes, 56 seconds
now, the pain uh and the in the price increase that's coming from the oil disruption and the gas disruption in the10:05
10 minutes, 5 seconds
Middle East has not even worked its way through the economy just yet uh fully.10:12
10 minutes, 12 seconds
And you know, oil price experts told CNBC this week that right now we're very much in the $150 a barrel range for like10:19
10 minutes, 19 seconds
what oil will hit. He said, "But I don't think it's ridiculous at all to suggest $200. And even if the war ends right now,10:26
10 minutes, 26 seconds
it'll take a they think it'll take a long time for prices to come back down,10:30
10 minutes, 30 seconds
and
they probably won't come down to where they were before the war. And
that's not even the whole thing. It's not even just oil prices.10:37
10 minutes, 37 seconds
Fertilizer prices impact food prices.10:40
10 minutes, 40 seconds
Right now is planting season in much of farm country. and you were people were making decisions about what what crops10:47
10 minutes, 47 seconds
to
plant and how many acres to plant based on the price of fertilizer.
What can they afford to do? And so that's going to affect food supply
and food prices this fall when harvest happens.10:58
10 minutes, 58 seconds
Mortgage
rates have gone up for three weeks in a row because of the inflationary
impact of this war which is going to impact people willing to buy11:07
11 minutes, 7 seconds
houses
and sell houses. Affects the housing market. freezes capital and all of
these things are having an effect on an economy that was barely
chugging along to begin with.11:16
11 minutes, 16 seconds
And again, like we should talk about sort of options uh that Trump has right now to reopen the straight of Hormuz and11:24
11 minutes, 24 seconds
sort of end this crisis. So, he's considering sending in ground troops,11:29
11 minutes, 29 seconds
although
I I see that um he thinks there's a loophole where he can get around
calling it ground troops uh if he sends them to the islands around Iran.11:39
11 minutes, 39 seconds
uh in the straight of Hormuz. And so if he has them take Car Island, which is the island uh that they that that Trump11:45
11 minutes, 45 seconds
bombed
last week where I think uh Iran exports like 90% of its oil, but the
challenge with that is say you send a bunch of Marines in to take this
island.11:55
11 minutes, 55 seconds
Um, you think Iran is then going to stop shooting at the Marines or they're going to just allow the Straight of Hormuz to12:02
12 minutes, 2 seconds
be reopened? Because the idea is that if we take the island, then we can use it as a bargaining chip and that Iran will12:10
12 minutes, 10 seconds
say,
"Well, no, no, if if we're going to be hurt if you have control of this
island where all of our oil is exported from, so we'll reopen the
Straight of12:17
12 minutes, 17 seconds
Hormuz
in exchange for you giving us back the island." Like, they're not going
to do that. They are fighting for the survival of their regime at this12:25
12 minutes, 25 seconds
point. We're like killing off all of their leaders. They're becoming more radical as you go uh down the uh the org12:32
12 minutes, 32 seconds
chart
in the Iranian regime. And what's to stop and and great destroyed a
bunch of ballistic missiles. Uh great destroyed a bunch of their
leadership.12:42
12 minutes, 42 seconds
What's
to stop random IRGC guys from just blowing up boats? You don't need
ballistic missiles to shoot at boats in the street of Hormuz. All you
need are12:51
12 minutes, 51 seconds
mines
and and smaller guns and drones and all that And then they're just
going to keep doing that. Why would they stop doing that at this point?
Because even if Trump decides the war is over,13:00
13 minutes
Iran's
not going to think the war is over because Iran's pissed that they've
been humiliated like this. And so they're going to make life miserable
in the street of Hormuz for people who are13:08
13 minutes, 8 seconds
trying
to um pass oil through there for I don't know how long until they feel
like there's a settlement to end the war that they've negotiated.13:16
13 minutes, 16 seconds
Yeah.
And even in so there's when it comes to using ground there are three
options with ground troops as I understand it short of obviously13:23
13 minutes, 23 seconds
invading Iran. One is to put them along the Marines along the coast of Iran.13:27
13 minutes, 27 seconds
This
would violate the boots on the ground loophole to try to take out to
secure the places where they are firing the missiles and launching the
attacks13:35
13 minutes, 35 seconds
there.
That's one. The second is to take Car Island as you said which would
then be some sort of like monopolyesque uh you know le leverage piece
that we would13:44
13 minutes, 44 seconds
use. And by the way, there's there's there's a lot of experts too that are like um Iran's been building pipelines.13:49
13 minutes, 49 seconds
They've
been figuring out ways to get their oil out to market without Car
Island. And so if if the Americans took Car Island, it's not really even
going13:56
13 minutes, 56 seconds
to matter that much anyway. So there's some thought some thought that that might happen as well.14:00
14 minutes
The
third option is to take a bunch of the islands because it's not Car
Island is where the in the or the energy infrastructure is, but you have
a bunch of other islands, most notably one14:08
14 minutes, 8 seconds
called
like QM or something like that that's sort of at the entry point to the
straight. I really feel like Tommy or Ben here and I'm probably getting
this14:16
14 minutes, 16 seconds
wrong,
but where they where is where they launch a lot where where they have a
lot of their military equipment. They have a bunch of the missiles and
and their boats and their ships there and that these and there are
several other14:24
14 minutes, 24 seconds
islands. Some of the islands are completely abandoned and uninhabited and some of them are home to highly14:31
14 minutes, 31 seconds
fortified
Iranian naval and military installations. So that's not an easy thing
to do either. None of these are good options, which is once again why14:40
14 minutes, 40 seconds
over
the last, you know, nearly 50 years, we have decided not to go to war
with Iran despite all of our concerns about the regime.14:49
14 minutes, 49 seconds
And again, I feel like we're back debating the end of the war in Iraq.14:54
14 minutes, 54 seconds
Remember
when Iraq became a quagmire and then everyone would say for years and
years, there's no military solution to end this war. There must be a
political15:01
15 minutes, 1 second
solution.
But like that's going to be the same thing with Iran, right? Like you
can't just drop a bunch of bombs, kill a bunch of their leadership,15:10
15 minutes, 10 seconds
and then in a country of 90 million people who are now uh with with the regime still very much in place,15:16
15 minutes, 16 seconds
more
radical, angrier, more out for vengeance, more vengeful, um thinking
that like somehow they're just going to everyone's just going to pack up
and go home.15:26
15 minutes, 26 seconds
Yeah.
It's just it's even so different from Iraq. Iran's obviously a much
bigger country than Iraq. It's a much more geographically large in
population complexity there.15:35
15 minutes, 35 seconds
But also the original like for a lot of people in Iraq wanted Saddam Hussein gone. We went in to invade to remove15:45
15 minutes, 45 seconds
Saddam
Hussein. And theoretically for a lot of people thought particularly
when the you had a minority author authoritarian representative the
ethnic15:53
15 minutes, 53 seconds
minority.
And so there was a world in which you could have possibly if they had
not the Bush administration not it up so bad you know begun to15:59
15 minutes, 59 seconds
build a new uh you know democracy or or peaceful society with the majority16:07
16 minutes, 7 seconds
population.
That is not what's happening in Iran. Right? We didn't we didn't go in
to remove the people, the dictator everyone hated. We decided to bomb
the16:15
16 minutes, 15 seconds
out of the country and radicalize the population against us. I just I
remember reading someone say that there was a a lot of people in Iran.
There's16:23
16 minutes, 23 seconds
an entire generation people in Iran who did not grow up hating America,16:27
16 minutes, 27 seconds
right?
They're not part of they didn't they weren't around 1979. They didn't
believe any of that. They didn't maybe they didn't love us, but their
animating principle was not hate America. And then16:35
16 minutes, 35 seconds
we
blew up a girl's school in their country. So like what like we are way
worse off in our in with Iran than we were before this war.16:42
16 minutes, 42 seconds
And
the Israelis just bombed the their natural gas reserve. And I think
that like what happened this week with the Israelis hitting their
natural gas16:50
16 minutes, 50 seconds
reserve,
the Iranians retaliating by hitting energy infrastructure all across
the Gulf, but especially that Qatari natural gas hub is like you see you
see16:58
16 minutes, 58 seconds
how um the problem with like they call it like the ladder of escalation, right?17:02
17 minutes, 2 seconds
And
like one side escalates and the other side then escalates and there's a
lot of miscalculation and miscommunication and suddenly you've got17:09
17 minutes, 9 seconds
Trump saying like well this was very bad and I don't want Israel to do this again but if Iran keeps retaliating then I'll17:17
17 minutes, 17 seconds
blow
up the rest of its natural gas reserve completely which will only hurt
everything more hurt everyone more would hurt us more17:24
17 minutes, 24 seconds
would
hurt us more right like this is what happens and so you just like if
nothing else happens and the whole thing ends tomorrow. It's still going
to17:32
17 minutes, 32 seconds
be
incredibly hard to fix this and to put this back in the bottle. I don't
think you can. Um I don't know. Like how bad do you think the politics
on this could get for Trump and the Republicans?17:44
17 minutes, 44 seconds
Cuz right now it's bad, but like you know you see in the polls he's still like hanging around at upper 30s, low 40s.17:52
17 minutes, 52 seconds
I
don't know that it is going to the that Trump's approval rating will
change that much more. or I might come down a few points as the economic
consequences17:59
17 minutes, 59 seconds
get
worse for people. But Trump has a pretty high floor in his approval
rating. The problem for Republicans here is people do not like this war,
right?18:09
18 minutes, 9 seconds
They,
you know, they and they didn't like the war before their gas prices
started going up. They never understood why we're going into it. You
have polls that show in that twothirds of Americans18:17
18 minutes, 17 seconds
have
seen their gases price gas prices go up in two weeks. You have uh six
and 10 Americans who disapprove of how Trump is handling gas prices. And
the thing18:25
18 minutes, 25 seconds
that's interesting is you have the Republicans have not abandoned Trump on this, but you do have about 17% of18:33
18 minutes, 33 seconds
Republicans
in uh in a recent poll that who disapprove of Trump on Iran. You have
about a quarter of former Trump voter Trump voters, which includes18:41
18 minutes, 41 seconds
independents
and Democrats who disapprove of Trump on Iran. But I think the most
important number here is that in almost every poll, the number of18:49
18 minutes, 49 seconds
Americans
who disapprove who strongly disapprove of this war is two times the
number of Americans who strongly approve of this war. So Trump
supporters will18:57
18 minutes, 57 seconds
say
they approve of him for it, but they're not excited about this. They
don't think it's a good idea. They don't like it. It's reflexive
partisanship,19:04
19 minutes, 4 seconds
and that is very, very bad for turnout in a midterm. Right? There was just like this is not, you know, you you think19:11
19 minutes, 11 seconds
about maybe the Kavanaaugh confirmation in 2018, which fired up both sides.19:16
19 minutes, 16 seconds
This is not something or maybe even immigration could fire up both sides. This does not fire up the Republicans,19:22
19 minutes, 22 seconds
but it does fire up everyone else and and it infuriates independents.19:25
19 minutes, 25 seconds
Well,
here's something that could make it worse. Um, on top of higher gas
prices and higher inflation, uh, Trump and Pete Hegsathth are also
asking us toChapter 3: Trump wants more war money
19:33
19 minutes, 33 seconds
pay another $200 billion dollar for their war, uh, which is the price tag of the funding request the Pentagon will19:40
19 minutes, 40 seconds
soon
send to Congress. First reported by the Washington Post and then
confirmed by Hegath, uh, during his latest press conference on Thursday
morning, where he19:48
19 minutes, 48 seconds
once again kicked off his remarks with a series of angry war haikus. A dishonest and anti-Trump press will stop at19:56
19 minutes, 56 seconds
nothing. We know this at this point to downplay progress, amplify every cost,20:04
20 minutes, 4 seconds
and call into question every step.20:07
20 minutes, 7 seconds
Sadly, TDS is in their DNA. They want President Trump to fail. We hold the cards. We have objectives.20:17
20 minutes, 17 seconds
Those
objectives are clear. Uh we have allies pursuing objectives as well. Uh
and the truth speaks for itself. Iran is an energy rich country could
be should20:26
20 minutes, 26 seconds
be.
Instead, like so many other places driven by a radical ideology,
they've spent that money. Instead of investing in their people, they
invested in20:34
20 minutes, 34 seconds
tunnels and they invested in missiles and they invested in launchers and UAVs.20:38
20 minutes, 38 seconds
And
we are destroying and degrading that, degrading that in historic
proportions. As far as uh $200 billion, I think that number could move.20:46
20 minutes, 46 seconds
Obviously uh it it takes uh it takes money to kill bad guys.20:51
20 minutes, 51 seconds
So many other places where a government with driven by radical ideology invests20:58
20 minutes, 58 seconds
instead of in its people in weapons and guns and bombs. Just horrible. I hate that.21:05
21 minutes, 5 seconds
Just just seems I can't put my finger on it, but it seems familiar in some way, shape, or form.21:11
21 minutes, 11 seconds
TDS is in their DNA. We have objectives.21:16
21 minutes, 16 seconds
We hold cards. We read remarks in a weird tone.21:21
21 minutes, 21 seconds
Who do you think the press criticism for is for in every one of these press conferences? Donald Trump.21:28
21 minutes, 28 seconds
Is it I like it must be right. But it's so weak. It is so weak.21:35
21 minutes, 35 seconds
It's
just they're they they're just so angry every day. They think that
they're like I don't know if it's if they've just convinced themselves
that they're21:42
21 minutes, 42 seconds
they're
doing great and things are going well and so they're just shocked that
anyone would report otherwise. Um but I mean clearly they have thin skin
and he21:51
21 minutes, 51 seconds
doesn't like the press which is why he kicked most of them out of the briefing room and banned them from the Pentagon.21:56
21 minutes, 56 seconds
Doesn't like the press. What What did he do pre before this? Was he was healed high ranking defense official?22:02
22 minutes, 2 seconds
He
talked about cable news punditry in that briefing today. He like mocked
cable news punditry. The the Fox weekend understudy, Pete Hegsath.22:11
22 minutes, 11 seconds
Yes. Yes. The guy whose primary responsibility was to answer the phone if if uh Steve Ducey got the flu during the week.22:19
22 minutes, 19 seconds
Anyway,
once we got through all the war haikus, um the the $200 billion, which
he said it might come up or down. We'll see. Can you imagine a more
unpopular22:28
22 minutes, 28 seconds
vote than supporting $200 billion for a war that is currently making a bad economy even worse?22:37
22 minutes, 37 seconds
No, I cannot. I think it it would be I mean we like we asked this question about the big beautiful bill like could22:46
22 minutes, 46 seconds
you
imagine a bill that cut Medicaid and food stamps and then took that
money and gave it to uh millionaires and billionaires for tax cuts? Can
you imagine something worse than that? Yes,22:54
22 minutes, 54 seconds
we
can, John. A $200 billion dollars for a an agency that has a$1 trillion
dollar budget for a war no one wants and is raising your gas prices.
That would actually be a worse vote.23:03
23 minutes, 3 seconds
I thought this was horrific when it was going to be $50 billion.23:07
23 minutes, 7 seconds
Yes.
Yes. If they came in with 15 billion, I would think it would be a bad
vote. In in fact, part of me thinks, and I don't know, they're probably
not this23:16
23 minutes, 16 seconds
smart,
but part of me thinks that they they leaked 200 billion so that they
could go down to 100 billion or 50 billion and be like, "See, it's not
that23:23
23 minutes, 23 seconds
bad
after all. We compromised. We looked around and we cut some corners and
we felt like we could we can do it for 50. We don't need 200."23:30
23 minutes, 30 seconds
I
I think I think this number will come down because I think Congress is
not going to want to do 200. I know that I don't think there are votes
for $200 billion, but we can talk about that. I23:38
23 minutes, 38 seconds
think
this is the Pentagon leaking this ahead of the White House getting the
number to try to lock them into 200 billion. So, it's like the military
says23:47
23 minutes, 47 seconds
this
is what we need because this is something that the military is sort of
notorious for in their appropriations is to make like put the number out
there23:56
23 minutes, 56 seconds
because
they think if it comes from the military, it's more likely to be passed
before the White House tries to dumb it down. The White House certainly
wouldn't want to be caught uh reducing the24:04
24 minutes, 4 seconds
number,
but you can see a role. I just I think this is a smaller number when it
goes to Congress just because there's a reality of trying to pass it.
But even24:12
24 minutes, 12 seconds
still, I don't care if they come down at 100. I don't care if they come at 50.24:15
24 minutes, 15 seconds
This
is a horrendous vote. It's something that every Democrat should vote
against. It is uh voting for this would be insane in my mind. Insane.24:25
24 minutes, 25 seconds
Again, the uh under Donald Trump,24:27
24 minutes, 27 seconds
Congress
approved about a trillion dollars. Yes. For the Pentagon. Trillion
dollar. Where' that money go, John? Where'd that money go? $200 billion.24:35
24 minutes, 35 seconds
Again,
these are like big numbers, sort of hard to get your head around them.
Uh I did this with the $50 billion when we thought it was going to be
$50 billion.24:43
24 minutes, 43 seconds
Here's what here's what $200 billion could do if for the this is what the government could do with $200 billion.24:50
24 minutes, 50 seconds
Uh could restore Obamacare subsidies for 22 million Americans who just lost their subsidies in Obama and they're watching24:58
24 minutes, 58 seconds
their
premiums go up. It could restore those subsidies for six years for 22
million people. uh could eliminate nearly all medical debt in America.25:10
25 minutes, 10 seconds
All
the medical debt that's out there in America. We could we could do that
instead of uh $200 billion so we could drop more bombs on Iran. Uh
community25:19
25 minutes, 19 seconds
college free for everyone for two decades. Uh two decades.25:24
25 minutes, 24 seconds
Two decades. 1.3 million affordable housing units. Food stamps for 42 million Americans for two full years.25:32
25 minutes, 32 seconds
free school lunches uh for every kid in America for five years. Um and uh wick fully fund Wick which is women and25:40
25 minutes, 40 seconds
infant children uh program for pregnant mothers and infants uh food assistance and med medicine for them for 24 years.25:49
25 minutes, 49 seconds
$200
billion. Pick pick one of those things that we could do with $200
billion. But instead, we are using $200 billion to drop more bombs on
Iran to uh25:59
25 minutes, 59 seconds
intercept missiles from Iran. Uh and to I don't know what the else we're doing there. Just to send troops to take Car Island,26:07
26 minutes, 7 seconds
which is not troops on the ground because it's troops on troops on the island. Yeah,26:11
26 minutes, 11 seconds
it's true. Not troops on the ground. Um I don't know. Like do you think this will pass Congress?26:18
26 minutes, 18 seconds
It's hard right now to see. They'll do it as a reconciliation bill. So, they will do it um in the Senate. They'll do26:26
26 minutes, 26 seconds
I
I think I think I read they were going to try this as a reconciliation
bill because I don't think they can get 60 in the Senate. But yeah, they
have to do it, right? There's no way you get 60 votes.26:32
26 minutes, 32 seconds
I'm
trying to think like I'm not saying my not my knowledge of the bird
rule is was great at the time or is really sustained over the last 15
years.26:40
26 minutes, 40 seconds
But I'm curious how you would do that,26:42
26 minutes, 42 seconds
but it's here nor there. Um let's just start with the House.26:46
26 minutes, 46 seconds
If
I see if I see 10 if it's a 60 vote threshold and I see that many
Democrats vote for it, I will leave the Democratic party at this point. I
will that's done.26:52
26 minutes, 52 seconds
Let's not John let's let's not put your entire future in your ability to participate in primaries in27:01
27 minutes, 1 second
the hands of I can name 10 Democrats who make you nervous right now.27:05
27 minutes, 5 seconds
I and they only need seven. They only need seven.27:08
27 minutes, 8 seconds
Okay. Fedterman. So Fedman and six others.27:12
27 minutes, 12 seconds
Well,
it's the people who open the government. Now, if you really look at
that list, I don't that list doesn't vote for this cuz like Tim Kaine, I
think, was on that list and Tim Kane's27:20
27 minutes, 20 seconds
not voting. I mean, I'm really trying to think of what what the arguments that they would make, right? Which is, um,27:25
27 minutes, 25 seconds
okay, well, actually, this isn't new money for Iran. This is money to replenish our munitions and the stuff27:32
27 minutes, 32 seconds
that
we've used in Iran and it's actually over the last five or six or seven
years, we've sort of running low on all these supplies and because we
used a bunch, we now have to refill them27:41
27 minutes, 41 seconds
because
it's about our defense and for the next war and what if we get attacked
and so like, isn't that the arguments that they would be making? I
think the argument they will make is we wouldn't27:49
27 minutes, 49 seconds
have
gone we wouldn't have gone to this war ourselves but we're in it now.
We have a lot of our troops who are in harm's way either at military
installations in the Gulf or you know in27:57
27 minutes, 57 seconds
the
Navy uh the biggest armada ever whatever Trump called it uh there and
we have to get the straight of Hormuz opened and that's going to take
money.28:05
28 minutes, 5 seconds
So we have to give them and lives now apparently and lives. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure.28:10
28 minutes, 10 seconds
We
need to we need to need to send some troops to their death and we need
to spend a lot of money billions and billions of dollars that we don't
have28:18
28 minutes, 18 seconds
so that we can reopen the street of Hormuz that was only closed because we started a war.28:23
28 minutes, 23 seconds
Yeah.
I mean it is I think it it's it's twisted logic for sure. Um, but you
know, a lot of the people on the Armed Services Committee and other
parts of,28:32
28 minutes, 32 seconds
you know, are captured by the military on some of these things. And of course,28:37
28 minutes, 37 seconds
and
of course, if if we don't if they don't vote for the funding and the
funding doesn't go through, uh, you you can't bring the troops home. You
just must leave them there.28:44
28 minutes, 44 seconds
That's right. They're stuck there because we'll be for the boats.28:47
28 minutes, 47 seconds
We
can't just We can't just get on the boats and come home. We must leave
the troops there. That's what else are we supposed to do?28:52
28 minutes, 52 seconds
Here's
the thing is Donald Trump did not ask for authorization for this war.
This is a war. This is not an excursion. It is a war. Troops have died.
It's29:01
29 minutes, 1 second
obviously
cost $200 million. It has rattled the uh it's created a spiraling
conflict in the Middle East. This is a war. We know it's a war because
Donald29:10
29 minutes, 10 seconds
Trump
keeps calling it a war when he doesn't call it an excursion. He refers
to it as the war. And as does this defense secretary who keep29:17
29 minutes, 17 seconds
kept saying war is hell a million times in the briefing.29:21
29 minutes, 21 seconds
And so to vote for this is to de facto vote to authorize this war. And no Democrat should do that.Chapter 4: Ad break
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So
uh we've talked a lot about the MAGA media stars who've turned on Trump
over Iran, but uh this week we got the first actual defection from
within theChapter 5: Joe Kent's resignation
32:09
32 minutes, 9 seconds
administration.
Joe Kent, Trump's handpicked director of the National Counterterrorism
Center, resigned in a letter where he said that, quote, "Iran32:17
32 minutes, 17 seconds
posed
no imminent threat to our nation and that quote, "We started this war
due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby." Uh, Kent
was a very32:26
32 minutes, 26 seconds
far-right,
extremely Trumpy politician before taking this job. He's also a former
CIA officer and retired Green Beret who served 11 combat tours. Um,32:36
32 minutes, 36 seconds
regardless
of who he is, uh, his now former boss, director of national
intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, didn't refute what he said about Iran not32:44
32 minutes, 44 seconds
posing an imminent threat, uh, during her congressional testimony this week.32:48
32 minutes, 48 seconds
Here's
Kent talking about why he resigned on Tucker Carlson show and then
gabbed uh, in front of Congress in an exchange with uh, John Oaf.32:57
32 minutes, 57 seconds
Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. How did you reach that conclusion?33:01
33 minutes, 1 second
I
think this is this is key. I mean this would be more challenging to
explain had the secretary of state, the president and the speaker of
house the house not33:09
33 minutes, 9 seconds
come out and said that we conducted this attack at this time because the Israelis were about to do so. So that takes away33:17
33 minutes, 17 seconds
the argument that there was an imminent threat as in Iran was planning to attack us immediately. That just simply did not33:25
33 minutes, 25 seconds
exist. Was it the intelligence community's assessment that nevertheless,33:30
33 minutes, 30 seconds
despite this obliteration, there was a quote imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime? Yes or no?33:36
33 minutes, 36 seconds
It
is not the intelligence community's responsibility to determine what is
and is not an imminent threat. That is up to based on a volume. It is
precisely that33:45
33 minutes, 45 seconds
he
receives. It is precisely your responsibility to determine what
constitutes a threat to the United States. This is the worldwide threats33:54
33 minutes, 54 seconds
hearing. This is uh that's Tulsi Gabbard who actually sold No War with Iran t-shirts uh when she was running for34:02
34 minutes, 2 seconds
president. Uh and there she as a Democrat as a Democrat and and what a journey she has taken to be the34:08
34 minutes, 8 seconds
DNI to a Republican president who started a war with Iran.34:13
34 minutes, 13 seconds
Uh
what do you make of Kent's resignation? We should also say that now
Kent is under investigation for leaking classified information. Uh the
FBI, law34:22
34 minutes, 22 seconds
enforcement sources maintain that the investigation was opened before he resigned uh because they clearly don't34:30
34 minutes, 30 seconds
want
it to seem like this is any kind of retribution. Who knows if they're
telling the truth or not. They don't tell the truth about many things,
so34:38
34 minutes, 38 seconds
it's hard to believe them. When Kent first resigned, there was a bunch of Democrats who went out and said, "Whoa,34:44
34 minutes, 44 seconds
whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa. This guy is a extremist who believes in conspiracy
theories. Do not get on his get on his don't don't endorse this. Don't
get on34:52
34 minutes, 52 seconds
his
side. Tell me the person in the Trump administration who could resign
in protest over something who would not be an extremist who believes in
conspiracy theories.35:01
35 minutes, 1 second
I know. It's like name one of them. It's like it's such a weird people take the win, right? Like he35:10
35 minutes, 10 seconds
here his head of counterterrorism resigned because he said the war was a mistake. There was no imminent threat.35:18
35 minutes, 18 seconds
And if you listen to the whole Tucker Carlson interview, there's a lot of wacky stuff in there.35:23
35 minutes, 23 seconds
Well, it it actually it gets so much wackier at the end. It start it starts off like and I will say Tucker sounds35:30
35 minutes, 30 seconds
way
wackier than Joe Kent. Even though I know and we look, we covered his
race against Marie Glucen Camp Perez. Like he is he's a psycho. Like a
lot of his35:38
35 minutes, 38 seconds
beliefs
are crazy. But he the many of the things he said in Ter Carlson's
interview, you don't have to um believe that Joe Kent is a wonderful
person to35:46
35 minutes, 46 seconds
believe them. All you have to do is line them up with other facts and other things that people have said.35:52
35 minutes, 52 seconds
And
one of the most important things he says is one of the reasons we're at
war is that the people who have contrary views to the president on many
matters,36:00
36 minutes
but
particularly the matter of war with Iran is we're not allowed to see
the president that those views were kept from him. That has been one of
the big36:09
36 minutes, 9 seconds
problems
with this administration. And this is actually a change. He said under
Operation Midnight Hammer there was a large debate within the
administration about the pros and cons of doing that.36:17
36 minutes, 17 seconds
This time that debate did not happen.36:20
36 minutes, 20 seconds
And so that like what he is saying put aside all of his other crazy views. The argument he is making here is the right36:28
36 minutes, 28 seconds
argument about how we got here. And it is notable that someone this high up in his administration has resigned over it.36:35
36 minutes, 35 seconds
Like
that is a big deal. And we can't be like so precious about all of his
views. Like it really like I don't want to hammer on this but if the
view36:43
36 minutes, 43 seconds
if the idea is that we will accept no whistleblowers who are kind of wacky we will accept no whistleblowers to the36:51
36 minutes, 51 seconds
Trump
administration like from who are political appointees that cannot
happen just like if you want point out the parts of his argument that
you don't36:59
36 minutes, 59 seconds
like
that are wacky right like so you know he leans pretty heavily into it's
like the Israel lobby got us into the war and they convinced Trump and
clearly37:06
37 minutes, 6 seconds
he and Tucker believe that and this is where their argument falls flat because they can't bring themselves to just37:14
37 minutes, 14 seconds
admit that Donald Trump is a easily persuaded by anyone he talks to. So yes, BB Netanyahu and37:24
37 minutes, 24 seconds
Israeli intelligence may have persuaded Trump to bomb Iran and to join this war,37:29
37 minutes, 29 seconds
but also Trump could have been just as easily persuaded by watching a segment on Hannity with Mark Levan.37:37
37 minutes, 37 seconds
Like
it doesn't like you don't it doesn't it doesn't matter whether it's
Israel, whether it's Fox, whether it's someone on Twitter, whether it's
some jack off in his administration that37:46
37 minutes, 46 seconds
that
persuades him. Like Donald Trump is an easily persuadable Tucker can't
see that. Or maybe he can't. He doesn't want to admit it. Same thing37:54
37 minutes, 54 seconds
with Joe Kent. And so they do the Israel thing. But like it is clear that BB Netanyahu has wanted to invade Iran and38:02
38 minutes, 2 seconds
do this forever. and he was very open about it just the other week and said,38:05
38 minutes, 5 seconds
"I've wanted to do this for 40 years and now now the Americans are doing it with me."38:10
38 minutes, 10 seconds
Look, I mean Joe Kent both in this interview and then in previous um parts of his life as have been reported or38:17
38 minutes, 17 seconds
alleged like really dabbles in anti-semitic tropes like that is that is very clear.38:24
38 minutes, 24 seconds
Put
that aside even if you don't want to have the Israel discussion. Even
though as Joe Ken says in that clip, Marco Rubio and Mike Johnson said
the same38:34
38 minutes, 34 seconds
thing
in public as to why we we attacked Iran. Then the point he is saying is
there was no threat and the decision-making process that got us into38:41
38 minutes, 41 seconds
this
war was up and the people with descending views were not allowed near
the president. So now we're in a bad war. So he has to quit to have his38:50
38 minutes, 50 seconds
voice heard because his caution, his warning and cautions would not be heard in the administration. So he had to38:57
38 minutes, 57 seconds
quit.
That is like I'm just so annoyed at all of these especially these
former Biden national security goobers who are on here like lecturing us
about the dangers of Joe Kent.39:06
39 minutes, 6 seconds
Yeah. Sit down.39:09
39 minutes, 9 seconds
So we don't like Iran was not close to getting a nuclear weapon. Uh it did not have ballistic missiles that could reach39:17
39 minutes, 17 seconds
the
United States and wouldn't for 10 years and wouldn't for 10 years. It
was not an imminent threat to the United States or to US interests. And
according to Marco39:26
39 minutes, 26 seconds
Rubio,
the Israelis decided that they were going to strike and we joined them
according to Marco Rubio because if the Israelis struck, then Iran would39:34
39 minutes, 34 seconds
retaliate against us and so we wanted to go first. These are just these are just the facts on the table that no one in39:42
39 minutes, 42 seconds
the administration has been able to refute, including Tulsi Gabbard under oath in Congress this week.39:48
39 minutes, 48 seconds
Just
you have to take a step back and think about this for a second, which
is we're in a war. The president of United States has said repeatedly
that he had a39:55
39 minutes, 55 seconds
feeling
that they were about to attack us in his and then in his bones. He's
gonna he's gonna he's going to end this war when he feels it in his
bones.40:05
40 minutes, 5 seconds
But
just millions of Americans woke up on a Saturday morning and we're like
we're at war with Iran. And then the president goes out and tells you
the reason we're40:12
40 minutes, 12 seconds
at
war with Iran is because he thought Iran was about to attack us that it
was an imminent threat. And now you have two of the highest ranking
intelligence40:20
40 minutes, 20 seconds
officials
in the country saying that is not true. Like that is a scandal of epic
proportions. But because Donald Trump's a doofus and everyone treats
him, they40:27
40 minutes, 27 seconds
grade
him like a doofus on a curve. Then we don't take that seriously. But
that's the story he's telling the American people. That's what he told
the American people why we're at war. And that is40:35
40 minutes, 35 seconds
being
contradicted and we can't because he just says dumb all the time. He
shouldn't avoid it being held held accountable for lying to the country
about why we're in a war.40:44
40 minutes, 44 seconds
Yeah.
Most of the government says dumb That's also crazy. Um, speaking of
dumb the other big congressional hearing this week was about confirming
Trump's pick to run the Department of Homeland Security, Mark Wayne
Mullen.Chapter 6: Mark Mullen hearing
40:54
40 minutes, 54 seconds
Uh,
the Oklahoma senator took questions from his colleagues while the
department he hopes to lead remains shut down over Republicans refusal
to reform ICE.41:03
41 minutes, 3 seconds
People
are waiting hours in airport security lines right now because so many
TSA agents who've been working without pay because of the shutdown are
calling41:10
41 minutes, 10 seconds
in sick. Democrats uh keep trying to fund TSA and all of the non-immigration related parts of DHS, but Republicans41:18
41 minutes, 18 seconds
keep
refusing, and the White House still won't concede to Democrats demands
that ICE officers do things like stop wearing masks and obtain judicial
warrants41:27
41 minutes, 27 seconds
before
arresting people. Uh during his confirmation hearing, Mullen wouldn't
promise these concessions either, nor did he offer any reassurances that
he'd41:35
41 minutes, 35 seconds
run
DHS much differently than Christine Gnome. But he did spend a good
amount of time arguing with fellow Republican Ran Paul about whether he
deserved to have41:43
41 minutes, 43 seconds
the kicked out of him and whether two consenting senators should still be able to settle their differences with a duel.41:50
41 minutes, 50 seconds
Tell
the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have
six ribs broken and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I
deserved it.42:00
42 minutes
And
while you're at it, explain to the American public why they should
trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and
Border Patrol42:08
42 minutes, 8 seconds
agents. You supported the felonious violent attack on me from behind.42:13
42 minutes, 13 seconds
I did not say I supported it. I said I understood it.42:16
42 minutes, 16 seconds
Is
it today your opinion that the caning of Charles Sumner was not only
justified but argues still for resolving our political differences with
violence?42:26
42 minutes, 26 seconds
What I was simply pointing out is some of the rules that still apply to this body. Uh for instance, uh dueling with42:33
42 minutes, 33 seconds
two consenting adults is still there. Uh I was pointing out what is been illegal for 170 years. There's no42:41
42 minutes, 41 seconds
precedent for legal dueling. Even then they fled the country.42:45
42 minutes, 45 seconds
I'm
not going to be the smartest guy in any room I walk into. What is the
primary mission of homeland security investigations? As I said, that's
protect the homeland. Sure.42:53
42 minutes, 53 seconds
Uh bring peace of mind and secure the and secure the confidence of the American people.42:59
42 minutes, 59 seconds
HSI
specifically is very important because they specialize in dealing with
human trafficking, human smuggling, uh you know, counterfeit uh bank
fraud,43:08
43 minutes, 8 seconds
things of that nature. I actually have a lot of friends that work for them.43:11
43 minutes, 11 seconds
I just just want you to know that uh the whole thing about the dueling and and Rand Paul getting attacked from behind,43:18
43 minutes, 18 seconds
that was the open of the hearing. That was in just the first few minutes. Dan. Um,43:25
43 minutes, 25 seconds
his
use of two consenting adults is very funny there because in the the
viral clip when he tried to fight the guy from the team service, he also
used the term two consenting adults. Yes. He said,43:33
43 minutes, 33 seconds
"We're
two consenting adults. We can finish this manto man and then told him
to stand up and go outside so they could fight outside this hearing
room."43:39
43 minutes, 39 seconds
Yeah.
For people who missed that um and and Rand Paul brought it up. Mark
Wayne Melon did um before a hearing threatened to to fight uh Sean
O'Brien of the43:47
43 minutes, 47 seconds
Teamsters
um physically fight. So this this, you know, it wasn't just about he
stood up. He started to take his wedding ring off. So I didn't want to
damage it by punching Shawn O'Brien in the face.43:56
43 minutes, 56 seconds
And the clip is really worth watching because then Bernie Sanders is like,43:58
43 minutes, 58 seconds
"Sit down. You're you're a United States senator."44:02
44 minutes, 2 seconds
Bernie's
going to break up the fight. Um uh so you'll be shocked to learn that
Ran Paul voted against Mullen's confirmation. Uh but he still got voted44:11
44 minutes, 11 seconds
out of committee because of a yes vote from John Federman. How about that? Not surprising.44:18
44 minutes, 18 seconds
It should be surprising. I mean, it's not surprising. It should be enraging to people. What do you like,44:22
44 minutes, 22 seconds
what John Fenman's like, I called him my friend and and I'm glad that uh uh that Donald Trump fired Christine Gnome.44:30
44 minutes, 30 seconds
Like, I called on him to be fired and blah blah. It's like, come on, man. Like,44:34
44 minutes, 34 seconds
just
he just trolls now. That's also the guy like I mean the the funny clip
was the Rand Paul thing but the GGO thing which we could have gone and
and done44:41
44 minutes, 41 seconds
more of that like he has no idea like like a what a large segment of the Department of Homeland Security is does44:49
44 minutes, 49 seconds
what like he was just mumbling through that answer. The guy's been in Congress.44:53
44 minutes, 53 seconds
He's
been in the Senate for a couple years. He's been in the House for even
before that. The guy's been in Congress for many years now. Many years.
And you don't know what the Department of45:00
45 minutes
Homeland
You don't know the different functions of the Department of Homeland
Security. He's never worked on these issues in any way, shape, or form.
Like he he went from just being a guy to45:08
45 minutes, 8 seconds
being like two was like two weeks ago and now he's having his hearing like I mean um do you think it's time to first of45:17
45 minutes, 17 seconds
all he's probably going to get confirmed, right? Because Federman's a yes. That's my that would be my assumption. Yeah.45:21
45 minutes, 21 seconds
Great.
Wonderful. So now we got Mark Wayne Mullen and maybe he's going to
bring back dueling at DHS. Do you think um what do you think about
whether DHS45:29
45 minutes, 29 seconds
ever
gets opened again and these TSA lines and the airports and it feels
like it's it's it's getting to the point where the public's like what
the45:37
45 minutes, 37 seconds
Um and you know I still think it it is hard for Republicans to explain why a45:44
45 minutes, 44 seconds
fight over ICE has to hold up the funding of the rest of the department.45:49
45 minutes, 49 seconds
There
are some reports where the TSA lines have been uh you know like out the
door just like taking forever. I've seen, you know, footage from Texas,
I45:57
45 minutes, 57 seconds
think
Austin at the end of South by Southwest where the line was like
unbelievable and took incredibly long time. Other reports where that's
not happening. Um46:05
46 minutes, 5 seconds
I I think that Democrats should take bring two ideas into this decision-m process. One is they are really under no46:15
46 minutes, 15 seconds
political
pressure to give in here. No one knows what this fight is about. They
don't know that Dem this is a about a Democratic shutdown over ICE. the46:23
46 minutes, 23 seconds
Republicans
not be able to tell anyone that because Donald Trump launched a war
that is dominating attention and so when people see long lines they're
more46:30
46 minutes, 30 seconds
likely
to blame the incumbent party than the Democratic party in this. So I
just I would not feel political pressure to cave here. I think you also
have to be46:40
46 minutes, 40 seconds
realistic about what you can actually achieve.46:43
46 minutes, 43 seconds
And so is there some real reforms that you can get that are maybe short of everything you want but are real and46:51
46 minutes, 51 seconds
make
a real difference people's lives now and then recognize that you're
most likely going to have the House and maybe the Senate next year and
have even more leverage to demand even stronger reform.47:02
47 minutes, 2 seconds
So, like what you don't want to do, I think, is be so stubborn now that you're going to have another47:11
47 minutes, 11 seconds
10 months uh with ICE operating without these reforms,47:16
47 minutes, 16 seconds
you
know, because you you're making the perfect the enemy of the good. So,
if there's something some real things here and the White House wants a
deal,47:21
47 minutes, 21 seconds
they're
sending a I read in uh Punch Bowl this afternoon, they're sending
another counter offer back. So, they sent an offer, the Democrats
rejected,47:27
47 minutes, 27 seconds
they're
sending a counter offer. There seems to be some momentum to try to get
something done here. So like set up, you know, what are the things where
you think you really absolutely have to have47:36
47 minutes, 36 seconds
it
won't be everything and then prepare for a much bigger battle next year
when you control which bill gets to the floor of the house.47:44
47 minutes, 44 seconds
I think that's fair. I think that yeah,47:46
47 minutes, 46 seconds
the
the offer that the White House sent uh this year that's not the offer
was basically like we'll do all the things that are in the law that we
haven't been doing,47:56
47 minutes, 56 seconds
which is just you know. Um,47:58
47 minutes, 58 seconds
and
so you've got to have you do got to have some kind of real reform
there. It is I think what's what's most difficult is right now some of
the most egregious48:07
48 minutes, 7 seconds
things that ICE and DHS are doing are not going to be fixed by reforming ICS's practices. Like, you know, I I saw that48:15
48 minutes, 15 seconds
I was tweeted about this, but I saw that story this week that like a a man who's been in this country um his whole life,48:22
48 minutes, 22 seconds
he's a DACA recipient. He was brought here as a young child. He works. He pays taxes. He's got a family and he was on48:28
48 minutes, 28 seconds
his way to visit his new baby in the ICU um and his wife and ICE picked him up48:36
48 minutes, 36 seconds
and arrested him and is now trying to deport him even though he was a DACA recipient protected by DACA is apply was48:44
48 minutes, 44 seconds
was
already applying to renew his DACA status and the Trump administration
just decided not to renew it just dragged their feet on it and so they
scooped him48:53
48 minutes, 53 seconds
up and now they're going to try to try to deport him And it's like nothing that Democrats are asking for or nothing that49:00
49 minutes
ICE, you know, no reforms to ICE right now would change that horrific practice.49:05
49 minutes, 5 seconds
And
so you're you're right that like you have to be honest about what you
can achieve through these reforms. And I do think like getting you know49:12
49 minutes, 12 seconds
forcing
them to obtain judicial warrants and getting the masks off um are are
two really important things. But I I agree that you have to be you have
to you have to be honest about what you can achieve.49:22
49 minutes, 22 seconds
And but I also think you're right that like the political pressure is not on Democrats as much as it's on Republicans right now.49:28
49 minutes, 28 seconds
Yeah.
I think right like just as I'd say the your motivating factor should be
we have 10 months or so until we are in charge of the House if we win
the House.49:37
49 minutes, 37 seconds
Right.
But you're that's what you're you're planning for. What can you do that
improves people's lives and improves the conduct of ICE over the next
10 months that is actually achievable and would make a difference?49:46
49 minutes, 46 seconds
And if you can find something that would make a difference and improve the process, maybe it's just a warrants,49:50
49 minutes, 50 seconds
maybe something else that be willing to take that now.49:54
49 minutes, 54 seconds
Yeah. Uh before we move on from this, I should also mention that um NBC News reported on Thursday that a year ago,Chapter 7: Corey Lewandowski bribes
50:00
50 minutes
Christine Gnome fuckboy Cory Luwendowski told a um alleged boy. Alleged boy. Sorry,50:05
50 minutes, 5 seconds
the lawyers got in my ear and said um told a DHS private prison contractor that in order for his company to win50:14
50 minutes, 14 seconds
more government contracts, Luwendowski would need to get paid a success fee.50:21
50 minutes, 21 seconds
Special government employee Cory Luwendowski getting paid a success fee.50:26
50 minutes, 26 seconds
After the company declined to pay Luwendowski, the company's federal contracts with DHS shrank because,50:32
50 minutes, 32 seconds
according to a senior DHS official to talk to NBC, Luwendowski told officials not to award any more contracts to the50:40
50 minutes, 40 seconds
company.
What do you think? Is that normal to uh solicit bribes from your uh
private prison contractor when you're in government?50:48
50 minutes, 48 seconds
There's
not a lot normal going on with this whole Cory Luendowski thing. Is it
normal for the alleged lover of the married Department of Homeland
Security50:55
50 minutes, 55 seconds
Secretary to become the gatekeeper and the person who made all the decisions?50:59
50 minutes, 59 seconds
No. Is it normal for a random employee to demand a badge and a gun? No. Is it normal for someone to take on a51:06
51 minutes, 6 seconds
temporary
role that allowed them to only work whatever it is 120 days, then work
much longer by going in the building without swiping their badge, which
was51:15
51 minutes, 15 seconds
in
that Wall Street Journal story back then. So, it wouldn't count on his
days of service. So, no, not too normal. But it may be normal in the
Trump administration. So that we don't know.51:23
51 minutes, 23 seconds
We're
not. And this isn't just like like there's a a million things we talk
about that are corrupt and unethical. This is just like illegal. It's
just a bribe.51:31
51 minutes, 31 seconds
This
is just soliciting bribes. And Cory Luwendowski. I mean, this is I
almost like don't want Democrats to start investigating it now because
then Trump51:39
51 minutes, 39 seconds
gives him the pardon. Just just hold off till Trump gets out.51:42
51 minutes, 42 seconds
He might be the one guy who doesn't get the pardon.51:44
51 minutes, 44 seconds
I
was going to say just just just well everyone be quiet about Cory
Luwendowski. Let's wait for Trump to leave office and then then people
can jump in.51:50
51 minutes, 50 seconds
Um,
all right. Let's talk Democratic politics. Uh, we got some primary
results on Tuesday in Illinois. JB Pritzkar's chosen candidate,
Lieutenant51:58
51 minutes, 58 seconds
Governor
Juliana Stratton, who you'll hear Dan talk to in a moment, will be the
Democratic nominee for Senate. But the big story of the night was the
role that pro-Israel advocacy group ApacChapter 8: AIPAC spending
52:07
52 minutes, 7 seconds
played in several House primaries, where affiliated super PACs with Apac spent $22 million.52:14
52 minutes, 14 seconds
At
least seven million of that $22 million was spent just in the ninth
district primary where Evston Mayor Daniel Bis beat out progressive
activist52:23
52 minutes, 23 seconds
and longtime crooked contributor Cat Abuazale. Uh the catch is Apac directed most of their spending in that race52:30
52 minutes, 30 seconds
against Bis even though he has an Israeli mother and has refused to call what's happened in Gaza a genocide. But52:38
52 minutes, 38 seconds
because he advocated for conditioning aid to Israel, Apac spent $7 million to defeat him and they failed and their52:47
52 minutes, 47 seconds
candidate
in the Illinois 7th lost as well. Though Apac backed House candidates
Donna Miller and Melissa Bean won their primary. So Apac went two and52:56
52 minutes, 56 seconds
two.
Um in his victory speech, Bis called out the group by name and
criticized it quote supporting the idea that we can't accept nuance in
the53:04
53 minutes, 4 seconds
USIsrael
relationship. Other Democrats outside of Illinois are also
re-evaluating their relationship with the organization. Arizona Senator
Ruben53:11
53 minutes, 11 seconds
Ggo, a 2028 hopeful, told Politico this week that he wouldn't take any Apac money and called settler violence in the53:18
53 minutes, 18 seconds
West
Bank, quote, "Disgusting." Um, what do you make of the role Apac played
in Illinois and just the role they're playing in Democratic primaries
overall?53:27
53 minutes, 27 seconds
I know you have a a great piece about this in the message box today. Is it today? Today. It came out today, Thursday.53:35
53 minutes, 35 seconds
Yesterday,53:36
53 minutes, 36 seconds
honestly, I read it this morning and I felt like it was already yesterday. God, it's been a long day. Anyway,53:40
53 minutes, 40 seconds
it's been Today is uh today is Jack's fifth birthday. So, we have been Happy birthday, Jack.53:46
53 minutes, 46 seconds
Yes,
he woke He woke up at about 5:20 this morning, which was awesome. He
was very excited, but he also woke up at 5 yesterday because he thought
yesterday was his birthday. So, uh it's been a53:54
53 minutes, 54 seconds
very
busy day in our house. Um, and if you want that message box or any
other ones, you can sub subscribe at crooked.com/yweedan for a 20%
discount. End of organic plug.54:03
54 minutes, 3 seconds
Um, I think that the what happened in the ninth district of Illinois is just the classic example of how asinine and54:12
54 minutes, 12 seconds
counterproductive Apac political strategy has been. Because Daniel Bis would have been a potential ally, not a54:22
54 minutes, 22 seconds
ardent
supporter of everything Apac stands for, but someone that they could
engage with in good faith. Instead, they spent millions of dollars
trying to54:29
54 minutes, 29 seconds
defeat him. And now they've created an adversary. And you're seeing that across the board. And the problem for Apac is54:37
54 minutes, 37 seconds
getting
going on in races. They don't run any ad. Now, important thing to know
here is they don't run any ads about the US Israeli relationship. They
only run ads about other things. In New Jersey,54:47
54 minutes, 47 seconds
when
they uh were trying to defeat Tom Malinowski and accidentally elected
the uh progressive opponent instead, they spent $2 million attacking him
on ICE funding.54:57
54 minutes, 57 seconds
In
this race, when they switched their funding to try to beat Cat, they
and try to suppress her vote at the end to maybe help Laura find their
their chosen55:05
55 minutes, 5 seconds
candidate, they through a group that was called like Elect Chicago Women, they ran ads accusing her of being a fake progressive.55:13
55 minutes, 13 seconds
And
so they they operate in the with these shadowy groups running ads that
had nothing to do with their stated purpose as an organization to
handpick55:21
55 minutes, 21 seconds
Democrats and that has polarized Democrats against them and hurt their cause. There will be less people in55:29
55 minutes, 29 seconds
Congress
willing to deal less Democrats in Congress willing to deal with Apac
because of the way they are acting in these primaries. And the the thing
is is55:36
55 minutes, 36 seconds
that
they refuse to acknowledge the reality of how Democrats perception and
really the country's perception of Israel has changed. Everyone there's55:44
55 minutes, 44 seconds
been
a dramatic shift among Democrats who approve of of the US-Israeli
relationship among dramatic shift among Americans who whether they
sympathize more with Israelis or the Palestinians.55:54
55 minutes, 54 seconds
People
attribute that to being a dramatic shift among being primarily about a
shift among Democrats. But it's not. It is but yes that is true. It's
mostly among Democrats. But even that56:02
56 minutes, 2 seconds
independents,
the number of independents who approve of the US-Israeli relationship
is down 19 points since since the aftermath of October 7th.56:09
56 minutes, 9 seconds
Among Republicans, it's down nine points. And so you can't go in there and try to bludgeon people into 100% support56:17
56 minutes, 17 seconds
of your agenda. And like the way that they have operated is like very bad for their cause. it is uh56:26
56 minutes, 26 seconds
you know stretching you know sort of exploiting every loophole in campaign finance and is essentially they're56:33
56 minutes, 33 seconds
operating just in a way that Democrats should have want to have nothing to do with them like it it is a it is like56:40
56 minutes, 40 seconds
it's it's it is such bad faith cynical politics and what makes it even worse is it's bad faith cynical politics that is56:47
56 minutes, 47 seconds
executed with abject incompetence which as a former political operative does bother me as well here's the problem with Apac56:55
56 minutes, 55 seconds
Uh,
Apac wants you to think they are a pro-Jewish organization. They want
you to think they are a pro-Israel organization. In reality, Apac is an57:03
57 minutes, 3 seconds
organization that promotes Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Israel. Apac is an organization that supports57:10
57 minutes, 10 seconds
spending our tax dollars uh to fund the Israeli military uh a with no conditions. APAC is an organization that57:19
57 minutes, 19 seconds
supports the Iran war that we have just spent most of the pod talking about uh how how badly it's going, how dangerous57:27
57 minutes, 27 seconds
it is, how many lives it's taken, how much money it's costing. Um Apac is an organization that supports Israel57:34
57 minutes, 34 seconds
fighting
in Lebanon, uh which is starting to look like the war they fought in
Gaza, which has led to thousands and thousands and thousands of
civilians dying, most of them children.57:46
57 minutes, 46 seconds
That is what Apac supports. There's there's the policies Apac supports. If Apac truly believed that those policies are popular,57:55
57 minutes, 55 seconds
then it would spend its considerable resources making the case to voters in support of those policies. The ads that58:03
58 minutes, 3 seconds
Apac ran would be about the policies that Apac supports and the policies it demands the people who run for office58:12
58 minutes, 12 seconds
that it supports also support. APAC doesn't do that. Apac's too scared to run on their policies. Apac will tweet58:20
58 minutes, 20 seconds
about their policies in the Twitter world, but when it comes to running ads,58:23
58 minutes, 23 seconds
when it comes to actually presenting a case to voters, Apac hides behind uh random super PACs, shady super PACs,58:31
58 minutes, 31 seconds
different
names, concerned women for Chicago or Illinois, right? Whatever they
called themselves in Illinois and New Jersey. And they do it all over
the place. And they say, "Oh,58:39
58 minutes, 39 seconds
other other super PACs do that, too."58:41
58 minutes, 41 seconds
Yeah,
sure they do. That doesn't make them any better. But the other ones who
do that are primarily AI industry in the crypto industry.58:48
58 minutes, 48 seconds
Yeah. So good. Yeah. No. So you're Yeah.58:50
58 minutes, 50 seconds
Okay. You're all the same then. Um and so if you believe in your policies, then go have that debate. But you58:58
58 minutes, 58 seconds
don't
want to have that debate because you know your policies are unpopular
because you know if you told a bunch of Americans that um you support
using59:05
59 minutes, 5 seconds
their tax dollars to fund BB Netanyahu's destruction of the Middle East,59:10
59 minutes, 10 seconds
then
they would tell you to go yourself. That's what Apac is. And what they
have done this by being like, if you're if you're against Apac, then59:19
59 minutes, 19 seconds
you're
anti-Israel and and sometimes you're anti-semitic and you're promoting
anti-semitism and you're promoting anti-Israel sentiment and all this59:27
59 minutes, 27 seconds
And it is because all they do is go around and hide their true intentions and hide59:35
59 minutes, 35 seconds
behind
these super PACs and just like attack people for they attack people
from the left. They attack candidates from the left for things that they
don't even believe just to try to win these races. It is pathetic. It
is pathetic.59:46
59 minutes, 46 seconds
And
I really hope that like 2028 candidate like I if I were 20 28
candidate, if I were advising a 2028 candidate, I would not none of them
should take a dime from Apac.59:56
59 minutes, 56 seconds
Yeah,
it would that would be a truly idiotic decision if you wanted to be
president of United States. And now when you say now when you say this
then you1:00:04
1 hour, 4 seconds
get
because we've gotten this before then everyone's like oh you guys are
doing a litmus test and now you're saying that people who take from Apex
shouldn't be in the party. No be in the party. Run all you want.1:00:13
1 hour, 13 seconds
I'm just giving you advice. Yeah.1:00:16
1 hour, 16 seconds
Yeah.
I'm not going to I I won't support you. Like I mean you know may maybe
if it's between you and Donald Trump I'll support you but like1:00:23
1 hour, 23 seconds
if you through the primary and you're the Democratic nominee Yeah. then I will support you.1:00:29
1 hour, 29 seconds
Of
course. Of course. But like I I'm not I'm not I'm not support I'm not
putting my money behind a candidate that that does that. I just don't
want to do that.1:00:37
1 hour, 37 seconds
It's
ridiculous. There's the we're t like thousands and thousands of lives
are at stake right now and there's zero self-reflection from Apac um
about what1:00:46
1 hour, 46 seconds
the
Israeli government has done. It's crazy. Um all right, before we get to
Dan's interview, uh we just want to touch on a few stories that show umChapter 9: Trump's grifts
1:00:54
1 hour, 54 seconds
Trump's not going to let a little war get in the way of making money. Um,1:00:58
1 hour, 58 seconds
literally,
uh, in the in this first instance, uh, on Thursday, Trump's handpicked
arts commission voted to approve a commemorative 24 karat gold1:01:07
1 hour, 1 minute, 7 seconds
coin featuring Donald Trump. We're not having No, we're Oh, yeah. You didn't know this?1:01:14
1 hour, 1 minute, 14 seconds
I
can't. I just would have assumed it would have been a historic figure
of some kind. Maybe a pioneer in civil rights or a suffragist or some of
the other things that Donald Trump cares passionately about.1:01:22
1 hour, 1 minute, 22 seconds
It's also like, but it's Donald Trump himself.1:01:24
1 hour, 1 minute, 24 seconds
We should like put it up on the screen for people who are watching. didn't ask for this, right? Someone just they did it.1:01:29
1 hour, 1 minute, 29 seconds
It's
him with like a like a menacing like scowl like holding a desk. It's
very weird. It's now going to be a U. It's going to be a gold1:01:37
1 hour, 1 minute, 37 seconds
commemorative
gold coin that the mint creates or something. Is that I don't know how
it works. Right. Um that same day, the same day today, Thursday,1:01:46
1 hour, 1 minute, 46 seconds
uh as we're recording this, Trump posted an image of gold shoes uh on Truth Social um with the caption,1:01:54
1 hour, 1 minute, 54 seconds
"Rear Trump sneakers listed for $180,000 at Sneaker Con in Riad."1:02:02
1 hour, 2 minutes, 2 seconds
Hey
Dan, you think they're having a good time at Sneaker Con in Riad as the
ballistic missiles from Iran are flying overhead and hitting their
refineries?1:02:11
1 hour, 2 minutes, 11 seconds
You
think they're all excited to buy the $180,000 Trump shoes? Glad Trump
let us know about that on there is in the middle of this war.1:02:21
1 hour, 2 minutes, 21 seconds
Some
person who wants a deal with the government or a pardon is going to buy
those shoes, put them on and post them Instagrams and start DMing them
to White House officials.1:02:29
1 hour, 2 minutes, 29 seconds
Um, and uh, finally, this is from an Axios piece today. Quote, "While Trump deals with the war in Iran and rising1:02:36
1 hour, 2 minutes, 36 seconds
gas prices at home, the president seems downright giddy. What's he giddy about?1:02:42
1 hour, 2 minutes, 42 seconds
The UFC fight he'll be holding on the White House lawn this summer, which he told Axios is quote the hottest ticket1:02:49
1 hour, 2 minutes, 49 seconds
he's ever seen. Why Donald Trump spoke to Axios about this fight on the south lawn remains a mystery to me. I'm1:02:57
1 hour, 2 minutes, 57 seconds
called He talks to Axios three to four times a day as far as I can tell.1:03:00
1 hour, 3 minutes
You know, he picks up he picks up their calls. He hasn't picked up Tommy's call yet. Um, uh, Trump has apparently been,1:03:07
1 hour, 3 minutes, 7 seconds
uh, personally fielding ticket requests for the UFC fight on the South Lawn. Um,1:03:13
1 hour, 3 minutes, 13 seconds
which will go to people who've donated to his super PAC, his inaugural, and of course, of course, his ballroom.1:03:22
1 hour, 3 minutes, 22 seconds
What do you think, Dan? Where would you like to begin? This is what's this is what's going on.1:03:25
1 hour, 3 minutes, 25 seconds
Let's
start with the UFC. Let's start with the UFC, right? Donald Trump is a
really busy guy. He didn't really have the uh time and energy to dig
into the war he started in Iran, but he is going1:03:34
1 hour, 3 minutes, 34 seconds
to spend I would willing to bet hours on the friends and family list for the UFC fight. He's I see he's going to be there1:03:42
1 hour, 3 minutes, 42 seconds
there
is going to be it's going to be like putting together wedding wedding
seating with a seating chart and he's like moving people around. He's
like, you1:03:50
1 hour, 3 minutes, 50 seconds
know,
I can't put Jake Paul and Logan Paul on other sides of the arena. They
got to be together. Megan Kelly can't sit next to Mark Levvin.1:04:00
1 hour, 4 minutes
Yes. And he can be in a smaller seat for all the obvious reasons, right?1:04:03
1 hour, 4 minutes, 3 seconds
Cory
Lewendowski can't sit next to Christine Gnome because the husband's
coming. These are like a big problems. Yeah. Big problems.1:04:10
1 hour, 4 minutes, 10 seconds
Yeah.
It's it's it's it's going to be hard to to do this, but he is the man
for the job. He will do the seating arrangements properly.1:04:18
1 hour, 4 minutes, 18 seconds
What a I can't I can't wait to go. UFC.1:04:22
1 hour, 4 minutes, 22 seconds
I've heard they don't want to sit you next to Stephen Miller. Of course.1:04:27
1 hour, 4 minutes, 27 seconds
Yeah. I mean, it's gonna be But they also can't put me next to JD Vance or Megan Kelly.1:04:32
1 hour, 4 minutes, 32 seconds
Megan
Kelly. Look, we're on the Even though Mclofflin has never responded and
never acknowledged her existence. They want to put you near her either.1:04:39
1 hour, 4 minutes, 39 seconds
See,
here's a good here's a good example. I unfollowed Trish Mclofflin
because you know what? She's gone. Not in the White House anymore. I
don't need to see what Trish what lies Trish Mclofflin's pedaling
anymore.1:04:47
1 hour, 4 minutes, 47 seconds
Okay. Well, get gone from my mind now.1:04:50
1 hour, 4 minutes, 50 seconds
growth. I like to see that growth here at the end of the podcast. Um, finally,1:04:54
1 hour, 4 minutes, 54 seconds
Dan,
if uh if you're looking for a pl if you're in DC, if you happen to be
in DC and you're looking for a place to follow the news, catch a drink,
um, and maybe1:05:02
1 hour, 5 minutes, 2 seconds
maybe bet which member of the Iranian regime uh, Israel will assassinate next,1:05:07
1 hour, 5 minutes, 7 seconds
look no further than the Poly Market Bar. The Poly Market Bar, which is set to open this1:05:15
1 hour, 5 minutes, 15 seconds
Friday in Washington, DC. The bar is named the situation room and it will essentially be a prediction market1:05:23
1 hour, 5 minutes, 23 seconds
sports bar and on all the screens everywhere, you know, like a sports bar,1:05:28
1 hour, 5 minutes, 28 seconds
they got all the games on all the screens. Well, this has got live Twitter feeds. Bloom X feeds as if they're X feeds.1:05:35
1 hour, 5 minutes, 35 seconds
Bloomberg feeds and of course Poly Market feeds. All the bets that you could imagine and flight radar that's in there too.1:05:42
1 hour, 5 minutes, 42 seconds
You can track flights. Bunch of losers. losing. I assume I assume this was a prank. Not a prank.1:05:50
1 hour, 5 minutes, 50 seconds
I assume it's not. No, it's real. Hey, could you just imagine being like,1:05:54
1 hour, 5 minutes, 54 seconds
you know what I would like with my Twitter feed? A big screen and a picture of beer.1:05:59
1 hour, 5 minutes, 59 seconds
Now, I can imagine some people thinking that I would like that.1:06:03
1 hour, 6 minutes, 3 seconds
Yeah, that's actually Are you all of a sudden reconsidering it? Then I don't have to hold the phone. Then I can just sit there.1:06:11
1 hour, 6 minutes, 11 seconds
Well, here's the thing. I can be double. I can be drinking.1:06:14
1 hour, 6 minutes, 14 seconds
You're
in it for the tweeting, not the reading of tweets. So, yeah, you're
like in there's a world of people who play in the games, people who
watch the games,1:06:23
1 hour, 6 minutes, 23 seconds
the Buffalo Wild Wings. You're more of a player in the Twitter games.1:06:26
1 hour, 6 minutes, 26 seconds
I
just can't think of anything more. I mean, I actually I shouldn't say
anything because everything is more dystopian, but I can't think of many
things more dystopian than like betting1:06:34
1 hour, 6 minutes, 34 seconds
on, you know, when will the US bomb Iran next at a bar while you're watching this live feed of a map and betting1:06:42
1 hour, 6 minutes, 42 seconds
with Polymart. I mean, what you're just waiting for that OS int tweet to come through with the latest data. God,1:06:51
1 hour, 6 minutes, 51 seconds
what that city? Anyway, I don't miss it. I don't miss it.1:06:55
1 hour, 6 minutes, 55 seconds
Let's They're part Let's not bismerch the whole city.1:06:58
1 hour, 6 minutes, 58 seconds
I when I I meant uh more in the more in the Mark Leovich vein of Yes. of the town. Yes. Not the town, right?1:07:04
1 hour, 7 minutes, 4 seconds
The
Yes. The town loves the Poly Market Bar. plenty of other great bars
that I guess I guess that probably no one goes to anymore1:07:12
1 hour, 7 minutes, 12 seconds
because
we're old and that we those bars aren't around anymore in China. The
ones we went to those are long gone. Those they're new bars I assume
that don't have large Twitter feeds.1:07:21
1 hour, 7 minutes, 21 seconds
Yeah. No, the days of old glory are gone in Georgetown.1:07:25
1 hour, 7 minutes, 25 seconds
That that was those were your days of glory. I'll tell you that.1:07:29
1 hour, 7 minutes, 29 seconds
All
right, Dan. When we come back, uh everyone will hear Dan's interview
with Juliana Stratton, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Illinois.
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That's strawberry.me/crooked. It's like therapy for your career.Chapter 11: Juliana Stratton interview
1:09:53
1 hour, 9 minutes, 53 seconds
Joining
me today is Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julian Estretton who just
became the Democratic nominee for Senate. Lieutenant Governor, welcome
to Pot Save America.1:10:02
1 hour, 10 minutes, 2 seconds
Thank you for having me.1:10:04
1 hour, 10 minutes, 4 seconds
So,
you were a, you know, an underdog for most of the race. You trailed by
some pretty big margins up until the very end. Um, it was a very
exciting1:10:12
1 hour, 10 minutes, 12 seconds
night. How you feeling a couple days after your win?1:10:16
1 hour, 10 minutes, 16 seconds
Well, I'm feeling great. Certainly on the outside. the inside still might be taking a nap right now, but I, you know,1:10:22
1 hour, 10 minutes, 22 seconds
I'm
really excited about uh the fact that we got our message out. We always
knew that this was a campaign where we wanted to center the voices of
the1:10:30
1 hour, 10 minutes, 30 seconds
people of Illinois and I spent time crisscrossing the state. Uh we certainly were outspent I think by a 4 to one1:10:38
1 hour, 10 minutes, 38 seconds
margin
and but we knew that we had a message that would resonate with voters
and we did the work and uh we came out on top and I'm very grateful and
now I'm1:10:47
1 hour, 10 minutes, 47 seconds
going to work for the next eight months to make sure that we can win this uh general election in November.1:10:53
1 hour, 10 minutes, 53 seconds
I
would say if we don't win the general election in November in Illinois,
I'm going to be very concerned. Uh but I recognize you don't want to
count your chickens before they're hatched here. No, you're going to
take it seriously,1:11:01
1 hour, 11 minutes, 1 second
right?
As you should. Uh, but I don't want I don't want our listeners to panic
here. You know, your race, interestingly enough, I'm sure it felt like
to you like it got a ton of attention, but1:11:09
1 hour, 11 minutes, 9 seconds
nationally, uh, you know, less attention some of these other primaries in these, you know, states like Maine, Michigan,1:11:16
1 hour, 11 minutes, 16 seconds
um,
you know, Texas, particularly the Texas and Maine where, you know,
we're trying to figure out like which Democrat is the best one to take
to flip this1:11:23
1 hour, 11 minutes, 23 seconds
Republican
seat. But so for our listeners who weren't, you know, who maybe who
didn't watch it, you said your me you wanted your message worked. Tell
us what your message was.1:11:31
1 hour, 11 minutes, 31 seconds
Yeah.
Well, first of all, let me just say to what you just pointed out that
I've always said that even though Illinois is considered a quote unquote1:11:39
1 hour, 11 minutes, 39 seconds
safe blue state and this was a safe blue seat, uh I think that, you know, it's it was important to get out to voters that1:11:47
1 hour, 11 minutes, 47 seconds
it
matters who's in the seat, especially in the moment that we're living
in right now, that we can't take anything for granted and it's not just
let's just1:11:55
1 hour, 11 minutes, 55 seconds
elect
a Democrat. We needed someone who was going to fight for the people.
And that was what I was hearing uh from voters across the state that
they wanted1:12:03
1 hour, 12 minutes, 3 seconds
someone who was going to go to the Met fighting for them and stand up to this president. They were looking for uh new1:12:09
1 hour, 12 minutes, 9 seconds
energy, new voices, um just new perspectives and people who were going to meet this moment. And I think that it1:12:16
1 hour, 12 minutes, 16 seconds
also
was it wasn't just about what we were fighting against, but what we
were fighting for. And so, uh, I developed that message of what we I was
going to1:12:24
1 hour, 12 minutes, 24 seconds
fight for, uh, in Washington by listening to people and not trying to tell people what they should care about,1:12:31
1 hour, 12 minutes, 31 seconds
but rather take what they were telling me and craft my messaging around that.1:12:36
1 hour, 12 minutes, 36 seconds
I
think as people looked at this race who maybe uh, you know, maybe had
at least a passing understanding of Illinois politics, you know, this is
an oversimplification, so I'll admit this,1:12:44
1 hour, 12 minutes, 44 seconds
but
you know, you have a potentially slightly more moderate candidate in
your opponent. you have um you know yourself you ran really as
progressive with some1:12:53
1 hour, 12 minutes, 53 seconds
very
progressive positions. The expectation is that you would crush in
Chicago that your opponent would do very well downstate in the BBS but
you1:13:01
1 hour, 13 minutes, 1 second
actually
won 44 or 50 wards. Um talk a little bit about you know what what
lessons you take from that about the ability of a progressive message to
work in um you know in the in rural areas,1:13:12
1 hour, 13 minutes, 12 seconds
suburban areas, exurban areas.1:13:14
1 hour, 13 minutes, 14 seconds
Yeah.
And I do want to point out that we were pleasantly surprised to see how
many downstate counties we also won. I mean, we got Chicago. We did
great in1:13:23
1 hour, 13 minutes, 23 seconds
some
of the collar counties, but also downstate. And as the only candidate
that has represented the entire state of Illinois for the last seven
years as1:13:30
1 hour, 13 minutes, 30 seconds
lieutenant
governor, uh I always knew that there were uh unique parts of the
state. Each part of the state has its different character, different
issues1:13:38
1 hour, 13 minutes, 38 seconds
that are important. But when I think about the messaging, uh, these are things that everybody wants, access to1:13:46
1 hour, 13 minutes, 46 seconds
affordable health care, which is why I'm fighting for Medicare for all,1:13:50
1 hour, 13 minutes, 50 seconds
especially
at a time that we see a president and an administration that's
stripping millions of people of their health care. Uh, I'm fighting to
raise1:13:57
1 hour, 13 minutes, 57 seconds
wages,
and I personally want to fight for a $25 minimum wage at the federal
level. I don't see it as minimum. I see it as a livable wage because
with1:14:06
1 hour, 14 minutes, 6 seconds
everything
getting so expensive and we're certainly seeing that uh it's important
that we recognize that $7.25 is not enough for anyone to take care of1:14:15
1 hour, 14 minutes, 15 seconds
themselves, let alone a family. And even with what we've done in Illinois, with a $15 an hour minimum wage, uh it's1:14:22
1 hour, 14 minutes, 22 seconds
important that we recognize that's only $31,000 a year, that's not enough to take care of yourself or your family1:14:30
1 hour, 14 minutes, 30 seconds
either.
So I think we need a live livable wage. And I I'll tell you one of the
things that was really surprising to me on this trail, which is why it's1:14:37
1 hour, 14 minutes, 37 seconds
important to think about all of the different uh diverse communities that this message resonated with. I noticed1:14:44
1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds
that too many people think small around what we can accomplish in Washington.1:14:49
1 hour, 14 minutes, 49 seconds
And
then it's oh well that's going to be too hard and I'm not sure what
people will think about it. But why should we think that way? We should
think very1:14:57
1 hour, 14 minutes, 57 seconds
big. We should have a big vision for what's possible and fight for it. And I think because that was my message,1:15:04
1 hour, 15 minutes, 4 seconds
people
really uh just thought, you know what, she's going to be someone who's
going to try to make my life better and they feel like too many in
Washington1:15:11
1 hour, 15 minutes, 11 seconds
are, you know, get there and forget who they represent. Can you talk a little bit about the role,1:15:17
1 hour, 15 minutes, 17 seconds
your views on ICE and how you talked about and how that played down state as well?1:15:22
1 hour, 15 minutes, 22 seconds
Well, I made it very clear that I want to abolish ICE. Uh you know that here in Illinois and the city of Chicago and1:15:29
1 hour, 15 minutes, 29 seconds
surrounding areas, we were uh you know terrorized quite frankly by Operation Midway Blitz. We saw our neighbors being1:15:38
1 hour, 15 minutes, 38 seconds
snatched off the streets by masked agents, stuffed into unmarked vehicles and no due process, no warrants, and uh1:15:46
1 hour, 15 minutes, 46 seconds
a
president who said he was going after the worst of the worst. And
that's not what happened. We saw tamalei vendors and we saw uh you know
being snatched1:15:54
1 hour, 15 minutes, 54 seconds
off the street. We saw uh people working in daycare uh centers and uh you know I think this is just an example of you1:16:03
1 hour, 16 minutes, 3 seconds
know why you know I was out there protesting and doing everything that I could uh helping students get from1:16:10
1 hour, 16 minutes, 10 seconds
school
and have safe passage. I was on rapid response. uh it was important to
be present and I think one of the things that certainly as Democrats
that our1:16:18
1 hour, 16 minutes, 18 seconds
party
is looking for is people who are going to be there in community showing
up and being leaders not just in an office somewhere but being amongst
the1:16:27
1 hour, 16 minutes, 27 seconds
people and that was really important and I can also say that the trauma of operation midway blitz continues. It1:16:34
1 hour, 16 minutes, 34 seconds
wasn't
just while they were in full force here in the city of Chicago or
surrounding areas and you know our sub suburban areas um and even
downstate.1:16:43
1 hour, 16 minutes, 43 seconds
This
trauma is continuing and Governor Pritsker and I launched what's called
the Illinois Accountability Commission because this president is not
always1:16:51
1 hour, 16 minutes, 51 seconds
going
to be president and we're going to hold him accountable and we're
collecting data and stories and narratives and photos and videos because1:16:58
1 hour, 16 minutes, 58 seconds
we
want to make sure that we're capturing what has happened and the harm
that he has caused and we're going to be ready to hope to bring some
real accountability. And by the way, that's1:17:07
1 hour, 17 minutes, 7 seconds
what
voters and the people of Illinois want. They want this president to be
held accountable. What's the vehicle for that accountability? Is that
potential criminal charges down the line?1:17:16
1 hour, 17 minutes, 16 seconds
Well,
yes. We want to see anything that will hold them accountable. And I've
said very clearly, even as it relates to federal agents and what we're
looking1:17:22
1 hour, 17 minutes, 22 seconds
for uh when it comes to DHS and this this funding uh question, I I mean, I wouldn't vote to fund any agency that I1:17:31
1 hour, 17 minutes, 31 seconds
want
to see abolished, but we certainly need to make sure that federal
agents are held accountable and should be if they've committed crimes,
there should be a full investigation and they should1:17:40
1 hour, 17 minutes, 40 seconds
be
prosecuted. And we should also make sure there's no total immunity for
these individuals. Um, you know, people have have been killed now. And
uh it's it's1:17:48
1 hour, 17 minutes, 48 seconds
unacceptable. It's unacceptable and Democrats need to hold firm.1:17:52
1 hour, 17 minutes, 52 seconds
Yeah, there was obviously a lot of super PAC activity in Illinois, both in your race and in the four key House races.1:17:58
1 hour, 17 minutes, 58 seconds
You
know, one group that put a lot of money into the race against you was
the crypto industry. Uh I believe they put in several million dollars,
especially right after you started to surge in the1:18:06
1 hour, 18 minutes, 6 seconds
polls towards the end there. Talk to me a little about the role they played,1:18:09
1 hour, 18 minutes, 9 seconds
your views on crypto and how you think we should deal with this sort of uh special interest money in politics.1:18:15
1 hour, 18 minutes, 15 seconds
Well, I need I'm talk all the time about how I need to fight for campaign finance finance reform and we need to end1:18:22
1 hour, 18 minutes, 22 seconds
Citizens United. I mean, I think I was I I don't want to quote exactly, but I believe I was the number one target of1:18:31
1 hour, 18 minutes, 31 seconds
the crypto super PAC industry industry super PACs. uh the number one target this election cycle uh number one in the1:18:39
1 hour, 18 minutes, 39 seconds
nation and it uh they came at me with attack ads in the amount of $10 million1:18:46
1 hour, 18 minutes, 46 seconds
plus and I think about that and uh you know I think it was really important that we made a statement that when you1:18:53
1 hour, 18 minutes, 53 seconds
continue
to be the kind of candidate that's going to speak in a way that's going
to resonate with voters when you're going to stand up and talk very1:19:01
1 hour, 19 minutes, 1 second
you
know clearly about your bold vision uh we were successful uh but we
need to do more to level the playing field and allow good candidates to
run for office.1:19:09
1 hour, 19 minutes, 9 seconds
We saw all of this uh outside money pouring into these campaigns. And uh I think it's really important when I get1:19:17
1 hour, 19 minutes, 17 seconds
there,
I'm proud to be endorsed by in Citizens United because I'm taking a
stance of the kind of campaign finance reform that we need to see in in
this1:19:26
1 hour, 19 minutes, 26 seconds
country
and it starts number one with ending Citizens United. What what
particularly is was it about your record or your policy positions that
made the1:19:33
1 hour, 19 minutes, 33 seconds
crypto industry come after you so directly?1:19:36
1 hour, 19 minutes, 36 seconds
I don't think it was about policy positions in per se and certainly not about crypto per se. Uh but I think it1:19:43
1 hour, 19 minutes, 43 seconds
was I made it very clear that I was here to stand up for everyday working people.1:19:49
1 hour, 19 minutes, 49 seconds
That's
what we should be focused on. How to make sure people can you know have
a little more money in their pockets. how we can make sure that they
can have access to healthcare and how we're going1:19:57
1 hour, 19 minutes, 57 seconds
to stand up to a president who is to me a wannabe dictator who does not have the best interest of the American people at1:20:04
1 hour, 20 minutes, 4 seconds
heart. And uh they knew that I was someone that you know this industry has made Donald Trump rich and uh they1:20:12
1 hour, 20 minutes, 12 seconds
didn't
want anybody who was going to stand up to him or fight back against him
or hold him accountable. Uh they want to just keep going with business
as1:20:19
1 hour, 20 minutes, 19 seconds
usual.
And by the way, that's what I've heard from people that they are so fed
up with in Washington. They don't want business as usual. They want to
see1:20:27
1 hour, 20 minutes, 27 seconds
somebody who's going to come in and really deliver for them. And uh and I think that that's what they didn't want.1:20:32
1 hour, 20 minutes, 32 seconds
They knew that as a candidate, I was not going to be someone who would go along with the status quo in Washington.1:20:39
1 hour, 20 minutes, 39 seconds
The other uh interest group that played a huge role in this Tuesday's primaries,1:20:44
1 hour, 20 minutes, 44 seconds
not in your race per se, but in the four house races was Apac. um you know they they camp spent a lot of money through1:20:51
1 hour, 20 minutes, 51 seconds
sort
of shadowy groups to try to you know defeat some candidates like some
other candidates. Do you have and although I I recognize that they did
not1:20:59
1 hour, 20 minutes, 59 seconds
I
believe get super involved in your race. Um just but I know it was a
huge topic of discussion uh in Illinois over the last couple of months
here. Do you1:21:07
1 hour, 21 minutes, 7 seconds
have any takeaways about the role Apac played in the relationship with Apac going forward for the Democratic party?1:21:12
1 hour, 21 minutes, 12 seconds
We
now have candidates like Ruben Ggo and Gavin Newsome who say that they
will not take Apac money. were they to run for pre going forward or if
they were to run for president.1:21:20
1 hour, 21 minutes, 20 seconds
Yeah. I I mean again I think we need to get big money out of politics and that's why as I said before we need to fight1:21:27
1 hour, 21 minutes, 27 seconds
for
campaign finance reform. We need to do something different. I mean we
saw millions of dollars flowing in um from so many different sources
here in1:21:36
1 hour, 21 minutes, 36 seconds
Illinois. And uh and it it it impacts you know can impact as we see as we've seen the outcomes of these elections.1:21:44
1 hour, 21 minutes, 44 seconds
And so that's something that again uh you know I want to make sure that people know who's funding these campaigns.1:21:50
1 hour, 21 minutes, 50 seconds
That's important. And uh those are the kinds of things that I'm going to fight for when I get to Washington.1:21:56
1 hour, 21 minutes, 56 seconds
Anything
specific of anything about APAC specifically and how you think about
them or Well, look, I've always made my position clear about what I want
to see in1:22:03
1 hour, 22 minutes, 3 seconds
general
in terms of, you know, working towards, you know, lasting peace and a
two-state solution. But I think more importantly, you know, when it
comes to1:22:12
1 hour, 22 minutes, 12 seconds
these
elections, uh I know they, you know, I have not accepted any money from
the pack, but I know that in these elections, we saw a lot of activity
here1:22:19
1 hour, 22 minutes, 19 seconds
in
Illinois. And again, uh the goal for me is to make sure that we can
really level the playing field, allow people to get out there, campaign,
make their1:22:27
1 hour, 22 minutes, 27 seconds
messages
heard, you know, raise from whomever they have to raise from. But the
idea of what we've seen just sort of coming in with these different
names1:22:36
1 hour, 22 minutes, 36 seconds
like
the crypto industry in my race for example you'll see all of these
terms I I don't even remember the exact name like the fair shake pack or
something something like that right1:22:44
1 hour, 22 minutes, 44 seconds
fair
shake even you know I think people might have there was one that was
like Illinois progressive something you know but it was the crypto
industry and so it1:22:52
1 hour, 22 minutes, 52 seconds
it
it gives people paid for by the progressive whatever and that's not ex
not what it was a lot of these packs were MAGA aligned packs1:23:01
1 hour, 23 minutes, 1 second
And
so that kind of thing does not, you know, it's really meant to sort of
uh give voters uh it's it's deceptive for voters. That let's just put it
that way.1:23:12
1 hour, 23 minutes, 12 seconds
Yep. Yep. Okay. You ran what I think may end up being the most memorable ad of this cycle. And I'm saying that in March1:23:20
1 hour, 23 minutes, 20 seconds
of
the cycle with, you know, about $3 billion of ads to come. It got a ton
of attention. Some people have pointed that as a pivot point for in
your race when you sort of maybe started to take off.1:23:31
1 hour, 23 minutes, 31 seconds
Uh for those who don't know, um the ad featured a number of Chicagoans saying Trump. Um and ended with Governor1:23:38
1 hour, 23 minutes, 38 seconds
Pritzkar
who had endorsed you uh making the case for you. Um talk to me about
the decision to run that ad, what the reaction was. Did you get some
blowback1:23:46
1 hour, 23 minutes, 46 seconds
from it? Um so I'm just very curious about this. It was very interesting ad.1:23:50
1 hour, 23 minutes, 50 seconds
Well, we knew we needed to. I mean, so much noise. You know that in any election cycle, there's so much noise.1:23:57
1 hour, 23 minutes, 57 seconds
And honestly, uh, the amount of noise with the chaos that's coming out of Washington DC, people just felt like,1:24:05
1 hour, 24 minutes, 5 seconds
what do I pay attention to? And so, we there needed to be a real way to break through the noise and capture what1:24:12
1 hour, 24 minutes, 12 seconds
people
were feeling. And when I would go around the state, I talked about
previously that people were looking for a fighter. They want they were1:24:19
1 hour, 24 minutes, 19 seconds
frustrated with Washington, really angry of at feeling like look at this president and what he's doing and who is1:24:26
1 hour, 24 minutes, 26 seconds
standing up to fight and who's going to go toe-to-toe with him. And the ad just captured it so perfectly uh in 301:24:35
1 hour, 24 minutes, 35 seconds
seconds
to just say this is what the American people are feeling. This is what
Illinoisans are feeling. And uh that they don't want to just have1:24:43
1 hour, 24 minutes, 43 seconds
business
as usual for somebody who's a wannabe dictator. Why are we acting like
this is normal? It's not. And and I think that, you know, I'm just
really proud that the ad uh just broke through.1:24:55
1 hour, 24 minutes, 55 seconds
And
what I mostly heard was people saying things like, "How come you didn't
ask me to be in the ad? How come I couldn't how come how come I
couldn't be1:25:04
1 hour, 25 minutes, 4 seconds
a
part of that?" And I just thought that's when I knew that it was just
really um a turning point. One of the ways that it was a turning point
in the1:25:11
1 hour, 25 minutes, 11 seconds
campaign. In the process of making the ad, did you at any point consider bleeping the and the Trump part?1:25:19
1 hour, 25 minutes, 19 seconds
Well, it was bleeped for for broadcast,1:25:22
1 hour, 25 minutes, 22 seconds
but I think that uh I'm not sure the bleep, you know, quite got all of you know, I I I support the non-1:25:30
1 hour, 25 minutes, 30 seconds
bleeping
decision, but I many people have asked that because the non bleeping
group like there's a non-bleeping caucus, I think, and I think that many
people are a part of it.1:25:39
1 hour, 25 minutes, 39 seconds
when
uh when the ad when you the ad first came out, one of your supporters
in Chicago, a good supporter versus who's an old friend of mine from the1:25:45
1 hour, 25 minutes, 45 seconds
Obama
days uh texted me the ad to ask my thoughts about it. And I my view was
I thought it was the right move for the reasons you just said, which
was you1:25:54
1 hour, 25 minutes, 54 seconds
were getting massively outspent and and just it's hard to get attention anyway.1:25:58
1 hour, 25 minutes, 58 seconds
And so a very uh visible viral way of getting attention uh in Illinois and and1:26:05
1 hour, 26 minutes, 5 seconds
it was a very Chicago ad like it felt very uh very it was a great Chicago Dan South.1:26:11
1 hour, 26 minutes, 11 seconds
Yeah. No, I know. I know that is it is it is authentic I would say. Yes.1:26:16
1 hour, 26 minutes, 16 seconds
Yeah. And and I think that one way or the other people were talking about it.1:26:21
1 hour, 26 minutes, 21 seconds
Yeah. No politics talking about it and uh I'm I'm happy it turned out the way it did.1:26:26
1 hour, 26 minutes, 26 seconds
Yeah. Well, whether you know whether it's causation or cor or or correlation,1:26:31
1 hour, 26 minutes, 31 seconds
you
ran the ad. You won. Uh we're very excited for you. We excited. I know
you're not counting your chickens where they're hatched. You still have a
general election coming, but we're very1:26:40
1 hour, 26 minutes, 40 seconds
excited
to see you in the Senate starting in 2027. Lieutenant Governor
Stratton, thank you for joining us on Pod Save America. Thanks for
having me, Dan.1:26:48
1 hour, 26 minutes, 48 seconds
That's our show for today. Dan will be back in your feed on Sunday with a new episode of Pods Save America Sunday.
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