Trump Pushes $200 Billion War Plan as Backlash Grows

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Mar 20, 2026 Pod Save America

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. CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS SIMPLISAFE: https://www.simplisafe.com/CROOKED GRAZA: https://www.graza.co CODE: CROOKED DOSE: https://www.dosedaily.co/CROOKED Code: CROOKED STRAWBERRY.ME: http://www.strawberry.me/Crooked 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 Join this channel to get access to perks like ad-free episodes and exclusive videos: / @podsaveamerica Subscribe to our channel! https://www.youtube.com/crookedmedia?... Photos courtesy of AP Photo Archive Crooked believes that we need a better conversation about politics, culture, and the world around us—one that doesn’t just focus on what’s broken, but what we can do to fix it. At a time when it’s increasingly easy to feel cynical or hopeless, former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor have created a place where people can have sane conversations that inform, entertain, and inspire action. In 2017 they started Crooked with Pod Save America—a no-bullshit conversation about politics. Since then, we continue to add shows, voices, and opportunities for activism, because it’s up to all of us to do our part to build a better world. That’s it. End of mission. Learn more about Crooked at http://www.crooked.com Follow the pod on Twitter / podsaveamerica Follow Crooked on Facebook / crookedmedia Follow Crooked on Instagram / crookedmedia

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Can you imagine a more unpopular vote than supporting $200 billion for a war that is currently making a bad economy

9 seconds

even worse? Welcome to Pods Save America. I'm John Favro. I'm Dan Feifer.

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 least

21 seconds

another $200 billion and whether Congress will actually approve that funding. The senior Trump official who just resigned over the war. the fight

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 on

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,

45 seconds

Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton,

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 so

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 Only

1 minute, 4 seconds

Friends. Other subscriberonly shows like Polar Coaster with this guy right here,

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 role

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 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 favorite crooked pods. You get access to all of

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our great Substack newsletters like Pods Save America Open Tabs. And you get to feel good about supporting an independent pro-democracy media company.

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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 to

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uh cricked.com/friend and uh and subscribe today. All right,

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 and

2 minutes, 3 seconds

triggered a global energy crisis that's quickly becoming a global economic crisis. On Wednesday, Israel bombed the

2 minutes, 11 seconds

largest natural gas reserve in the world, which Iran shares with Qatar.

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 a

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 said

2 minutes, 33 seconds

that if Iran keeps attacking energy infrastructure, he'll quote massively blow up the rest of their gas reserve.

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, oil

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 minutes, 57 seconds

the Fed decided to hold interest rates steady.

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 minutes, 6 seconds

Americans have been grappling, of course, with surging gas prices, up 86 cents a gallon since the Iran war began.

3 minutes, 14 seconds

It's almost the worst of both worlds. I guess stagflation would come close to describing the situation.

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 minutes, 28 seconds

Gas prices are up almost a dollar a gallon. Near-term measures of inflation expectations have risen in recent weeks,

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 what

3 minutes, 43 seconds

people are seeing on their screens. And uh here's the Trump White House, feeling people's pain.

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 be

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 far

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 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 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 minutes, 25 seconds

You are a worthless pile of And you voted for him how many times?

4 minutes, 31 seconds

Three times. That was my bad. Apparently I'm an idiot. Love that woman.

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 in

4 minutes, 48 seconds

gas prices, but just think of how high the gas prices are in Europe right now.

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 think

5 minutes

about them, but really that they're the last of our concerns right now."

5 minutes, 4 seconds

Kevin Hassid is possibly the worst spokesperson that any White House has put out. He at every opportunity steps

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. I

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 economic

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 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's

5 minutes, 48 seconds

procuring for the White House. how affordability is a hoax. And then yeah,

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we shouldn't we shouldn't let Trump off the hook there just being like, "Yeah,

5 minutes, 55 seconds

honestly, I thought it was going to be so much worse." It's not bad. It's not bad.

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Saying that near $4 a gallon gas is not bad is just a historic gaff.

6 minutes, 7 seconds

There's so many gaffs. There's so many.

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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.

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Yeah, it's a tough gaff. Um, it seems like the chances are getting quite low uh that Iran will be a uh a quick

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?

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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 a

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global energy crisis a synonym for a pleasure cruise is a truly insane choice.

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Well, especially especially when when the the center of the war is keeping a body of water closed.

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Yeah. You know where you can't do an excursion? The shred of Hormuz, right?

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Oh my god. I mean, this is such this really is the worst case scenario of

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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 him

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 avoid

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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,

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but like he this is so stupid.

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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 imminent

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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 that

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 like

8 minutes, 2 seconds

bumbling along the whole way. And it's like it's people like obviously there's been, you know, American troops

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,

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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 very

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,

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like it's insane.

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And and that's an important point. Um because the no reason part.

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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 remember

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 so

8 minutes, 54 seconds

much uh damage political damage on himself for no good reason. And you know

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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 one

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where if he decided to just stop imposing the tariffs or at least stop imposing certain tariffs then you know

9 minutes, 19 seconds

the economic damage would uh be reduced right and it would go away a little bit.

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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 Tracy

9 minutes, 34 seconds

Aloway from um Bloomberg uh they had the great OddLots uh podcast with Joe Eisenthal um she wrote today each

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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 of

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reduced Gulf oil flows the longer and deeper the pain. So what's happening now is even though gas prices are high right

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 the

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Middle East has not even worked its way through the economy just yet uh fully.

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And you know, oil price experts told CNBC this week that right now we're very much in the $150 a barrel range for like

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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,

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it'll take a they think it'll take a long time for prices to come back down,

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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.

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Fertilizer prices impact food prices.

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Right now is planting season in much of farm country. and you were people were making decisions about what what crops

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 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 buy

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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.

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And again, like we should talk about sort of options uh that Trump has right now to reopen the straight of Hormuz and

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sort of end this crisis. So, he's considering sending in ground troops,

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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.

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uh in the straight of Hormuz. And so if he has them take Car Island, which is the island uh that they that that Trump

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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.

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Um, you think Iran is then going to stop shooting at the Marines or they're going to just allow the Straight of Hormuz to

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be reopened? Because the idea is that if we take the island, then we can use it as a bargaining chip and that Iran will

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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 of

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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 this

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point. We're like killing off all of their leaders. They're becoming more radical as you go uh down the uh the org

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 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 are

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,

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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 are

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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.

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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 obviously

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invading Iran. One is to put them along the Marines along the coast of Iran.

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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 attacks

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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 would

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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.

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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 going

13 minutes, 56 seconds

to matter that much anyway. So there's some thought some thought that that might happen as well.

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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 one

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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 this

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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 other

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islands. Some of the islands are completely abandoned and uninhabited and some of them are home to highly

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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 why

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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.

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And again, I feel like we're back debating the end of the war in Iraq.

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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 political

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,

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and then in a country of 90 million people who are now uh with with the regime still very much in place,

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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.

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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.

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But also the original like for a lot of people in Iraq wanted Saddam Hussein gone. We went in to invade to remove

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Saddam Hussein. And theoretically for a lot of people thought particularly when the you had a minority author authoritarian representative the ethnic

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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 to

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build a new uh you know democracy or or peaceful society with the majority

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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 the

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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's

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an entire generation people in Iran who did not grow up hating America,

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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 then

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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.

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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 gas

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reserve, the Iranians retaliating by hitting energy infrastructure all across the Gulf, but especially that Qatari natural gas hub is like you see you see

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how um the problem with like they call it like the ladder of escalation, right?

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And like one side escalates and the other side then escalates and there's a lot of miscalculation and miscommunication and suddenly you've got

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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'll

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blow up the rest of its natural gas reserve completely which will only hurt everything more hurt everyone more would hurt us more

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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 to

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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?

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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.

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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 consequences

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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?

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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 Americans

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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 thing

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that's interesting is you have the Republicans have not abandoned Trump on this, but you do have about 17% of

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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 includes

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 of

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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 will

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,

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and that is very, very bad for turnout in a midterm. Right? There was just like this is not, you know, you you think

19 minutes, 11 seconds

about maybe the Kavanaaugh confirmation in 2018, which fired up both sides.

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This is not something or maybe even immigration could fire up both sides. This does not fire up the Republicans,

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but it does fire up everyone else and and it infuriates independents.

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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 to

19 minutes, 33 seconds

pay another $200 billion dollar for their war, uh, which is the price tag of the funding request the Pentagon will

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 he

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once again kicked off his remarks with a series of angry war haikus. A dishonest and anti-Trump press will stop at

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nothing. We know this at this point to downplay progress, amplify every cost,

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and call into question every step.

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Sadly, TDS is in their DNA. They want President Trump to fail. We hold the cards. We have objectives.

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 should

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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 in

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tunnels and they invested in missiles and they invested in launchers and UAVs.

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.

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Obviously uh it it takes uh it takes money to kill bad guys.

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So many other places where a government with driven by radical ideology invests

20 minutes, 58 seconds

instead of in its people in weapons and guns and bombs. Just horrible. I hate that.

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Just just seems I can't put my finger on it, but it seems familiar in some way, shape, or form.

21 minutes, 11 seconds

TDS is in their DNA. We have objectives.

21 minutes, 16 seconds

We hold cards. We read remarks in a weird tone.

21 minutes, 21 seconds

Who do you think the press criticism for is for in every one of these press conferences? Donald Trump.

21 minutes, 28 seconds

Is it I like it must be right. But it's so weak. It is so weak.

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're

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 he

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 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 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 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 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 unpopular

22 minutes, 28 seconds

vote than supporting $200 billion for a war that is currently making a bad economy even worse?

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 could

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 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 minutes, 3 seconds

I thought this was horrific when it was going to be $50 billion.

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 this

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 that

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 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. I

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 says

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 there

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 the

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 even

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 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 minutes, 25 seconds

Again, the uh under Donald Trump,

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 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 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 minutes, 50 seconds

Uh could restore Obamacare subsidies for 22 million Americans who just lost their subsidies in Obama and they're watching

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 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 community

25 minutes, 19 seconds

college free for everyone for two decades. Uh two decades.

25 minutes, 24 seconds

Two decades. 1.3 million affordable housing units. Food stamps for 42 million Americans for two full years.

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 and

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 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 uh

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 minutes, 7 seconds

which is not troops on the ground because it's troops on troops on the island. Yeah,

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 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 do

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 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 minutes, 40 seconds

But I'm curious how you would do that,

26 minutes, 42 seconds

but it's here nor there. Um let's just start with the House.

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 minutes, 52 seconds

Let's not John let's let's not put your entire future in your ability to participate in primaries in

27 minutes, 1 second

the hands of I can name 10 Democrats who make you nervous right now.

27 minutes, 5 seconds

I and they only need seven. They only need seven.

27 minutes, 8 seconds

Okay. Fedterman. So Fedman and six others.

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's

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 minutes, 25 seconds

okay, well, actually, this isn't new money for Iran. This is money to replenish our munitions and the stuff

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 them

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't

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 in

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 minutes, 5 seconds

So we have to give them and lives now apparently and lives. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure.

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 have

28 minutes, 18 seconds

so that we can reopen the street of Hormuz that was only closed because we started a war.

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 minutes, 32 seconds

you know, are captured by the military on some of these things. And of course,

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 minutes, 44 seconds

That's right. They're stuck there because we'll be for the boats.

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 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's

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 Donald

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 keep

29 minutes, 17 seconds

kept saying war is hell a million times in the briefing.

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.

29 minutes, 28 seconds

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32 minutes, 1 second

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 the

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, "Iran

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 very

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 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 not

32 minutes, 44 seconds

posing an imminent threat, uh, during her congressional testimony this week.

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 minutes, 57 seconds

Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. How did you reach that conclusion?

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 not

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 away

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 not

33 minutes, 25 seconds

exist. Was it the intelligence community's assessment that nevertheless,

33 minutes, 30 seconds

despite this obliteration, there was a quote imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime? Yes or no?

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 that

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 threats

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 for

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 the

34 minutes, 8 seconds

DNI to a Republican president who started a war with Iran.

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, law

34 minutes, 22 seconds

enforcement sources maintain that the investigation was opened before he resigned uh because they clearly don't

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, so

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 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 on

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 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 he

35 minutes, 10 seconds

here his head of counterterrorism resigned because he said the war was a mistake. There was no imminent threat.

35 minutes, 18 seconds

And if you listen to the whole Tucker Carlson interview, there's a lot of wacky stuff in there.

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 sounds

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 his

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 to

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 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 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 big

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 minutes, 17 seconds

This time that debate did not happen.

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 right

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 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 view

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 the

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't

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 clearly

37 minutes, 6 seconds

he and Tucker believe that and this is where their argument falls flat because they can't bring themselves to just

37 minutes, 14 seconds

admit that Donald Trump is a easily persuaded by anyone he talks to. So yes, BB Netanyahu and

37 minutes, 24 seconds

Israeli intelligence may have persuaded Trump to bomb Iran and to join this war,

37 minutes, 29 seconds

but also Trump could have been just as easily persuaded by watching a segment on Hannity with Mark Levan.

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 that

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 thing

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 and

38 minutes, 2 seconds

do this forever. and he was very open about it just the other week and said,

38 minutes, 5 seconds

"I've wanted to do this for 40 years and now now the Americans are doing it with me."

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 or

38 minutes, 17 seconds

alleged like really dabbles in anti-semitic tropes like that is that is very clear.

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 same

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 into

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 his

38 minutes, 50 seconds

voice heard because his caution, his warning and cautions would not be heard in the administration. So he had to

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 minutes, 6 seconds

Yeah. Sit down.

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 reach

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 Marco

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 would

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 in

39 minutes, 42 seconds

the administration has been able to refute, including Tulsi Gabbard under oath in Congress this week.

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 a

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 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're

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 intelligence

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, they

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 is

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 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.

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 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 calling

41 minutes, 10 seconds

in sick. Democrats uh keep trying to fund TSA and all of the non-immigration related parts of DHS, but Republicans

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 warrants

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'd

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 have

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 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 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 Patrol

42 minutes, 8 seconds

agents. You supported the felonious violent attack on me from behind.

42 minutes, 13 seconds

I did not say I supported it. I said I understood it.

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 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 with

42 minutes, 33 seconds

two consenting adults is still there. Uh I was pointing out what is been illegal for 170 years. There's no

42 minutes, 41 seconds

precedent for legal dueling. Even then they fled the country.

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 minutes, 53 seconds

Uh bring peace of mind and secure the and secure the confidence of the American people.

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 minutes, 8 seconds

things of that nature. I actually have a lot of friends that work for them.

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 minutes, 18 seconds

that was the open of the hearing. That was in just the first few minutes. Dan. Um,

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 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 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 the

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 minutes, 56 seconds

And the clip is really worth watching because then Bernie Sanders is like,

43 minutes, 58 seconds

"Sit down. You're you're a United States senator."

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 voted

44 minutes, 11 seconds

out of committee because of a yes vote from John Federman. How about that? Not surprising.

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 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 minutes, 30 seconds

Like, I called on him to be fired and blah blah. It's like, come on, man. Like,

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 done

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 does

44 minutes, 49 seconds

what like he was just mumbling through that answer. The guy's been in Congress.

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 of

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 to

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 of

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 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 DHS

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 the

45 minutes, 37 seconds

Um and you know I still think it it is hard for Republicans to explain why a

45 minutes, 44 seconds

fight over ICE has to hold up the funding of the rest of the department.

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, I

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. Um

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 no

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. the

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 more

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 be

46 minutes, 40 seconds

realistic about what you can actually achieve.

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 and

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 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 another

47 minutes, 11 seconds

10 months uh with ICE operating without these reforms,

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 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 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 have

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 minutes, 44 seconds

I think that's fair. I think that yeah,

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 minutes, 56 seconds

which is just you know. Um,

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 egregious

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 that

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 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 on

48 minutes, 28 seconds

his way to visit his new baby in the ICU um and his wife and ICE picked him up

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 was

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 him

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 that

49 minutes

ICE, you know, no reforms to ICE right now would change that horrific practice.

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 know

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 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 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 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 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 minutes, 50 seconds

maybe something else that be willing to take that now.

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,

50 minutes

Christine Gnome fuckboy Cory Luwendowski told a um alleged boy. Alleged boy. Sorry,

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 win

50 minutes, 14 seconds

more government contracts, Luwendowski would need to get paid a success fee.

50 minutes, 21 seconds

Special government employee Cory Luwendowski getting paid a success fee.

50 minutes, 26 seconds

After the company declined to pay Luwendowski, the company's federal contracts with DHS shrank because,

50 minutes, 32 seconds

according to a senior DHS official to talk to NBC, Luwendowski told officials not to award any more contracts to the

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 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 Security

50 minutes, 55 seconds

Secretary to become the gatekeeper and the person who made all the decisions?

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 a

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 was

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 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 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 Trump

51 minutes, 39 seconds

gives him the pardon. Just just hold off till Trump gets out.

51 minutes, 42 seconds

He might be the one guy who doesn't get the pardon.

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 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, Lieutenant

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 Apac

52 minutes, 7 seconds

played in several House primaries, where affiliated super PACs with Apac spent $22 million.

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 activist

52 minutes, 23 seconds

and longtime crooked contributor Cat Abuazale. Uh the catch is Apac directed most of their spending in that race

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. But

52 minutes, 38 seconds

because he advocated for conditioning aid to Israel, Apac spent $7 million to defeat him and they failed and their

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 and

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 the

53 minutes, 4 seconds

USIsrael relationship. Other Democrats outside of Illinois are also re-evaluating their relationship with the organization. Arizona Senator Ruben

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 the

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 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 minutes, 35 seconds

Yesterday,

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 minutes, 40 seconds

it's been Today is uh today is Jack's fifth birthday. So, we have been Happy birthday, Jack.

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 a

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 minutes, 3 seconds

Um, I think that the what happened in the ninth district of Illinois is just the classic example of how asinine and

54 minutes, 12 seconds

counterproductive Apac political strategy has been. Because Daniel Bis would have been a potential ally, not a

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 to

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 is

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 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 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 chosen

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 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 handpick

55 minutes, 21 seconds

Democrats and that has polarized Democrats against them and hurt their cause. There will be less people in

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 is

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's

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 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 that

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 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% support

56 minutes, 17 seconds

of your agenda. And like the way that they have operated is like very bad for their cause. it is uh

56 minutes, 26 seconds

you know stretching you know sort of exploiting every loophole in campaign finance and is essentially they're

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 like

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 is

56 minutes, 47 seconds

executed with abject incompetence which as a former political operative does bother me as well here's the problem with Apac

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 an

57 minutes, 3 seconds

organization that promotes Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Israel. Apac is an organization that supports

57 minutes, 10 seconds

spending our tax dollars uh to fund the Israeli military uh a with no conditions. APAC is an organization that

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 dangerous

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 Israel

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 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 minutes, 55 seconds

then it would spend its considerable resources making the case to voters in support of those policies. The ads that

58 minutes, 3 seconds

Apac ran would be about the policies that Apac supports and the policies it demands the people who run for office

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 tweet

58 minutes, 20 seconds

about their policies in the Twitter world, but when it comes to running ads,

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 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 minutes, 39 seconds

other other super PACs do that, too."

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 minutes, 48 seconds

Yeah. So good. Yeah. No. So you're Yeah.

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 you

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 using

59 minutes, 5 seconds

their tax dollars to fund BB Netanyahu's destruction of the Middle East,

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, then

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 this

59 minutes, 27 seconds

And it is because all they do is go around and hide their true intentions and hide

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 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 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 you

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 hour, 13 seconds

I'm just giving you advice. Yeah.

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 like

1 hour, 23 seconds

if you through the primary and you're the Democratic nominee Yeah. then I will support you.

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 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 what

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 um

1 hour, 54 seconds

Trump's not going to let a little war get in the way of making money. Um,

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 gold

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 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 hour, 1 minute, 22 seconds

It's also like, but it's Donald Trump himself.

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 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 gold

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 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 hour, 1 minute, 54 seconds

"Rear Trump sneakers listed for $180,000 at Sneaker Con in Riad."

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 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 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 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 rising

1 hour, 2 minutes, 36 seconds

gas prices at home, the president seems downright giddy. What's he giddy about?

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 ticket

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'm

1 hour, 2 minutes, 57 seconds

called He talks to Axios three to four times a day as far as I can tell.

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 hour, 3 minutes, 7 seconds

uh, personally fielding ticket requests for the UFC fight on the South Lawn. Um,

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 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 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 going

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 there

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, you

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 hour, 4 minutes

Yes. And he can be in a smaller seat for all the obvious reasons, right?

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 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 hour, 4 minutes, 18 seconds

What a I can't I can't wait to go. UFC.

1 hour, 4 minutes, 22 seconds

I've heard they don't want to sit you next to Stephen Miller. Of course.

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 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 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 hour, 4 minutes, 47 seconds

Okay. Well, get gone from my mind now.

1 hour, 4 minutes, 50 seconds

growth. I like to see that growth here at the end of the podcast. Um, finally,

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 maybe

1 hour, 5 minutes, 2 seconds

maybe bet which member of the Iranian regime uh, Israel will assassinate next,

1 hour, 5 minutes, 7 seconds

look no further than the Poly Market Bar. The Poly Market Bar, which is set to open this

1 hour, 5 minutes, 15 seconds

Friday in Washington, DC. The bar is named the situation room and it will essentially be a prediction market

1 hour, 5 minutes, 23 seconds

sports bar and on all the screens everywhere, you know, like a sports bar,

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 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 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 hour, 5 minutes, 50 seconds

I assume it's not. No, it's real. Hey, could you just imagine being like,

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 hour, 5 minutes, 59 seconds

Now, I can imagine some people thinking that I would like that.

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 hour, 6 minutes, 11 seconds

Well, here's the thing. I can be double. I can be drinking.

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 hour, 6 minutes, 23 seconds

the Buffalo Wild Wings. You're more of a player in the Twitter games.

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 betting

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 betting

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 hour, 6 minutes, 51 seconds

what that city? Anyway, I don't miss it. I don't miss it.

1 hour, 6 minutes, 55 seconds

Let's They're part Let's not bismerch the whole city.

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 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 anymore

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 hour, 7 minutes, 21 seconds

Yeah. No, the days of old glory are gone in Georgetown.

1 hour, 7 minutes, 25 seconds

That that was those were your days of glory. I'll tell you that.

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. Positive America

1 hour, 7 minutes, 37 seconds

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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 hour, 10 minutes, 2 seconds

Thank you for having me.

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 exciting

1 hour, 10 minutes, 12 seconds

night. How you feeling a couple days after your win?

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 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 the

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 one

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'm

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 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 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, but

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 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 this

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 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 unquote

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 that

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 just

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 wanted

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 new

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 it

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 to

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 hour, 12 minutes, 31 seconds

but rather take what they were telling me and craft my messaging around that.

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 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 some

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 you

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 hour, 13 minutes, 12 seconds

suburban areas, exurban areas.

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 in

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 as

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 issues

1 hour, 13 minutes, 38 seconds

that are important. But when I think about the messaging, uh, these are things that everybody wants, access to

1 hour, 13 minutes, 46 seconds

affordable health care, which is why I'm fighting for Medicare for all,

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 raise

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 with

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 of

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's

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 family

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's

1 hour, 14 minutes, 37 seconds

important to think about all of the different uh diverse communities that this message resonated with. I noticed

1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds

that too many people think small around what we can accomplish in Washington.

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 very

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big. We should have a big vision for what's possible and fight for it. And I think because that was my message,

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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 Washington

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are, you know, get there and forget who they represent. Can you talk a little bit about the role,

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your views on ICE and how you talked about and how that played down state as well?

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Well, I made it very clear that I want to abolish ICE. Uh you know that here in Illinois and the city of Chicago and

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surrounding areas, we were uh you know terrorized quite frankly by Operation Midway Blitz. We saw our neighbors being

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snatched off the streets by masked agents, stuffed into unmarked vehicles and no due process, no warrants, and uh

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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 snatched

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off the street. We saw uh people working in daycare uh centers and uh you know I think this is just an example of you

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know why you know I was out there protesting and doing everything that I could uh helping students get from

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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 our

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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 the

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people and that was really important and I can also say that the trauma of operation midway blitz continues. It

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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.

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This trauma is continuing and Governor Pritsker and I launched what's called the Illinois Accountability Commission because this president is not always

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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 because

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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's

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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?

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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 looking

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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 I

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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 should

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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's

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unacceptable. It's unacceptable and Democrats need to hold firm.

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Yeah, there was obviously a lot of super PAC activity in Illinois, both in your race and in the four key House races.

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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 the

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polls towards the end there. Talk to me a little about the role they played,

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your views on crypto and how you think we should deal with this sort of uh special interest money in politics.

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Well, I need I'm talk all the time about how I need to fight for campaign finance finance reform and we need to end

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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 of

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the crypto super PAC industry industry super PACs. uh the number one target this election cycle uh number one in the

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nation and it uh they came at me with attack ads in the amount of $10 million

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plus and I think about that and uh you know I think it was really important that we made a statement that when you

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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 very

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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.

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We saw all of this uh outside money pouring into these campaigns. And uh I think it's really important when I get

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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 this

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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 the

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crypto industry come after you so directly?

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I don't think it was about policy positions in per se and certainly not about crypto per se. Uh but I think it

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was I made it very clear that I was here to stand up for everyday working people.

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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 going

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to stand up to a president who is to me a wannabe dictator who does not have the best interest of the American people at

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heart. And uh they knew that I was someone that you know this industry has made Donald Trump rich and uh they

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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 as

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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 see

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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.

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They knew that as a candidate, I was not going to be someone who would go along with the status quo in Washington.

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The other uh interest group that played a huge role in this Tuesday's primaries,

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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 through

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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 not

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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 you

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have any takeaways about the role Apac played in the relationship with Apac going forward for the Democratic party?

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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.

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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 fight

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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 in

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Illinois. And uh and it it it impacts you know can impact as we see as we've seen the outcomes of these elections.

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And so that's something that again uh you know I want to make sure that people know who's funding these campaigns.

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That's important. And uh those are the kinds of things that I'm going to fight for when I get to Washington.

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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 in

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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 to

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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 here

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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 their

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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 names

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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 right

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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 it

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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 packs

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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.

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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 March

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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.

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Uh for those who don't know, um the ad featured a number of Chicagoans saying Trump. Um and ended with Governor

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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 blowback

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from it? Um so I'm just very curious about this. It was very interesting ad.

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Well, we knew we needed to. I mean, so much noise. You know that in any election cycle, there's so much noise.

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And honestly, uh, the amount of noise with the chaos that's coming out of Washington DC, people just felt like,

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what do I pay attention to? And so, we there needed to be a real way to break through the noise and capture what

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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 were

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frustrated with Washington, really angry of at feeling like look at this president and what he's doing and who is

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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 30

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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 have

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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.

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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 be

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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 the

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campaign. In the process of making the ad, did you at any point consider bleeping the and the Trump part?

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Well, it was bleeped for for broadcast,

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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-

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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.

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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 the

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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 you

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were getting massively outspent and and just it's hard to get attention anyway.

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And so a very uh visible viral way of getting attention uh in Illinois and and

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it was a very Chicago ad like it felt very uh very it was a great Chicago Dan South.

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Yeah. No, I know. I know that is it is it is authentic I would say. Yes.

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Yeah. And and I think that one way or the other people were talking about it.

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Yeah. No politics talking about it and uh I'm I'm happy it turned out the way it did.

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Yeah. Well, whether you know whether it's causation or cor or or correlation,

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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 very

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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.

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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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Friday, March 20, 2026