Breaking News from Pod Save America - Democrat SMACKS DOWN Republican After Ridiculous AI Ad

Episode Date: October 15, 2026

Tommy is joined by Rebecca Cooke to talk running for Congress against one of the worst slime balls in the Republican party. Join this channel to get access to perks like ad-free episodes and exclusive videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKRoXz3hHAu2XL_k3Ef4vJQ/join Head to CrookedCon.com for tickets, lineup announcements, and more! http://crookedcon.com/ For a transcript of an episode of Pod Save America, please email [e-mail]. Subscribe to our channel! https://www.youtube.com/crookedmedia?sub_confirmation=1 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 https://twitter.com/podsaveamerica Follow Crooked on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CrookedMedia/ Follow Crooked on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. My guest today is a sixth generation Wisconsinite. Do you say Wisconsinite? Wisconsin. I say Michigan. Sure. We're there in Michigan.

She's running against Derek Van Orden. He's one of the biggest creeps in Congress, maybe in Washington, maybe in the country, in my opinion. Rebecca Cook, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. It's great to meet you. It's great to talk to you on what's apparently is a bit of a cold and rainy Wisconsin Day. It's a cold, rainy fall day.

Fall is officially here. It was an unseasonably 80. degrees over the weekend. Very nice. It's 95. It's the canvassing weather. In L.A. We're sweating out here.

So I want to ask you all about yourself in your campaign, but I do have to start with something genuinely disturbing that I read about your opponent as I was preparing for this. The listeners probably know that the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegzeth, had proposed live streaming the execution of Nidalas on the Fort Hood shooter. Earlier today, we're talking on Thursday. Trump shut that idea down, probably because it would go. give al-Qaeda a massive propaganda win and also because last time I checked, we're not the Taliban or the United States government.

But your opponent, Congressman Van Orden literally volunteered to be part of the firing squad. He tweeted these radial, I think he meant radical, Islamist, singular, need to get the message. He later quote tweeted Hexeth saying, I volunteer, which he spelled V-O-L-L-E-N-T-E-E-R. Curious if he was a little tipsy. this was a post 10 p.m. Possibly. He's been known for that. What's wrong with this guy?

That's my first question. What is this? This is just how he is. This is his character. This is, I think, a radical representation of who he, like, actually is. I mean, and he's participated in January 6th insurrection. You know, he's gotten drunk in his official office and yelled at Senate pages. He's carried a loaded gun through TSA.

This is just another example of this. of person that's representing us in Wisconsin three who's out of touch and who I think is definitely a true believer and a true follower of President Trump in this administration and is ready to sign up for whatever. It's just like in this country, you know, we're like divided 50-50 on so many things. There was a poll out today where Americans opposed live streaming Hassan's execution by 80 to 18. and yet your opponent is so radical that he has to be part of the firing squad. That's crazy.

Let me just say he doesn't represent Wisconsin-Sercongruc congressional district. I think the vast majority of people here would also feel the same way about that. I think he represents this sort of fringe part of politics that people hate nowadays and this sort of radicalism that is taking over some of our country and is taking some of the soul of our country away. And I think that's part of why I decided to step up to run. He just does not represent who we are in this very rural, very agricultural, very working class district that I'm from. And it's just rubbing a lot of people the wrong way.

I mean, this is just a serious – to me, it's not surprising, which is kind of a horrible thing to say. But like, this is just how he behaves. Yeah, I mean, it is remarkable. I mean, it's like part of the pattern. You mentioned some of it. Like he flipped out and started yelling at a public library in 2021. because he saw a pride book display. Yeah.

Like, checked all the books. Like, that'll get them, you know. Yeah. That'll show those LGBTQ communities. Yeah. Try to bring a loaded gun onto an airplane.

As you said earlier, he like screamed at Senate pages, like literally teenagers in the Capitol. Yeah. Again, I know a lot of folks from Wisconsin. I've been to Wisconsin at countless times. It's not Midwest nice. That's for sure.

He's not showing how we usually are. Yeah, it's just, it's very strange. Okay. Let's talk about you and your campaign. You grew up on a dairy farm. You were the president of the 4-H club. You've been called a Bernie Dog Democrat because you've been endorsed by Senator Sanders,

but also the blue dog Democrats, which is like not a combination you always see. You've bucked the kind of Democratic Party orthodoxy on a bunch of issues. Tell us about your approach to politics. And like if you're elected, what do you want to do when you get to Washington? My approach is like very place-based and very from my lived experience. And I feel like you have so many people in D.C. that are there because they went to the right school or they have the sort of right resume. And I feel like you find a lot of people that are very out of touch with regular families,

with working families, with the places that they actually represent. And I'm very of and a part of this district. You know, I'm a sixth generation Wisconsinite. I grew up here in just outside of O'Clair on a dairy farm. Like you said, the first office I ever held was president of my 4-H club, which I think bears a lot of clout in a district like this. You know, and it's, I'm grounded and rooted here. I ran a small business here for a number of years, a retail store. We sold Made in America goods. It was called Reds Mercantile. That was my nickname growing up waitressing. But a waitress on and off my

whole life through college and high school. I'm waitressing now while I'm running for Congress at a restaurant called the Good Wives in O'Clair. And I'm proud of that. I'm proud of my background coming from hospitality, coming from small business, coming from. a dairy farm family and those unique lived experiences that I hope to bring to to legislate in D.C. And I think, you know, I've lived a lot of field policies. You know, there's a lot of things that D.C. career politicians don't understand when it comes to Main Street and what some of their legislation, you know, how it might impact small business owners. Because if you go through a lot of Western Wisconsin, you'll see a lot of Dollar Generals. And that's not what makes our community special. It's our Main Street businesses.

You know, you go throughout Western Wisconsin, you also see a lot of vacant barns. And you'll see a lot of what's been really difficult to see is a lot of our heritage that's not part of the landscape anymore. It's Birken Down Barnes. And our family has had a farm in the district for 150 years. So we sold our cattle when I was in high school, which was hard because it wasn't just selling parts of our land, but it was a part of our tradition and way of life. And so I'm bringing a lot of that of like who we are here in Western Wisconsin. and that spirit of hard work and grit and work ethic, you know, to hopefully lead people and make people's lives better. And I, you know, you ask about the endorsements that I have of being a

Bernie person and also being endorsed by the Blue Dogs. And, you know, it's not something like, calculated thinking about what to do. Bernie Sanders was somebody that I admired because he felt like the only politician that really has a spine that's really stood up to special interest. that doesn't speak out of both sides of his mouth and is like a real champion for the working class and the things that he wants to do I believe in. And he is an independent at the end of the day. And that's something I also try to remind people. He's not necessarily part of this big Democratic tent. He's an independent. And I think there's a through thread and a lot of the things he believes in that's anti-establishment that the Blue Dogs also believe and that the Blue Dogs

are all people that very much represent the communities. that they're from in a place-based way and think about policymaking of like what's best for where I'm from and recognizing the heritage of where we are from, right? And as a very pro-worker antitrust sort of caucus as well, which I think is something people forget about the blue dogs. So I think all of that kind of together, I mean, my ethos and the things that I'm running for, if I could narrow it down is like, I think we need more working class voices in Congress. that's uniquely who I am. And we need people that want to work across the aisle to get things done and pulling our party together to be able to do that.

And I hope that in, you know, the first hundred days of hopefully the Democrats winning back the House, like we can deliver on some good things that people feel on their bones and feel in their pocketbooks that when they vote for a Democrat, their lives improve, you know. Pod Save America Breaking News is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Let's be honest. ZipRecruiter is everywhere. Why? Because top talent is everywhere, too. Just like you, your ideal candidates are tuning into business, sports, and podcasts, just like this one. When these candidates hear all these ads, it increases the chances of them going to ZipRecruiter and responding to your job post.

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So I grew up outside of Boston. The 4-Hs there are like hockey, Hancock, Hancock, Havid, if you're a nerd. What is the 4-H club exactly for us? Yeah, I could do the pledge for you. Please. Do you want to know what the 4-H pledge is? I would love to know the 4-H pledge. I pledge my head to clear thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service,

and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world. Nice. I think that that's a pledge. I mean, man, if we could have a pledge that some politicians could take, that would be one of them. But, yeah, so 4-H is a community organization. City kids are in it. Country kids are in it. You know, I did 4-H projects at the fair.

Like I made a quilt. I did ceramics. I also showed cows. It's not just about, you know, the livestock portion of it. But it's about showcasing sort of the best of your community. It kind of culminates usually around a county fair every year. But we did all sorts of stuff. Hay rides, community service projects, those sorts of things.

There's big debates over which state has the best state fair. Where's Wisconsin Rankin in there? The Minnesotans go nuts on this. Number one. Number one. And I've been to both. Like I worked at a beer stand in college. that my friend's dad had at the Minnesota State Fair.

So I got to see that fair up close, but I stayed in the dorms down at the Wisconsin State Fair for a week. So I really saw that up close when I was showing cows there. And I would say it's very, very high. We've got some incredible cream puffs. Nice. And sometimes there is an entire cow made of butter, which is also a fun thing. Yes.

Yes. Yes. We got our state fair, but then we also have all these great county fairs, which is what I've spent most of my summer going around. I have a 19 county district. here. It's very large, very agricultural. So the last Connie Fair here was in September, and

we went to the livestock auction and bought a pig. Nice. Team did. Yeah, from a young four-her and then donated the meat back to area food pantries. Visit BetMGM Casino and check out the newest exclusive. The Price is Right

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So you have a lot of farmers in your district. They are getting hit pretty hard right now because the price of diesel is through the roof thanks to the Iran war. What are you hearing from them? Like a lot of rural communities have been pretty rock-solid in support of Trump. I'm wondering if that will remain the case because we're just so polarized as a country or whether these economic hardships that people are going through. I mean, I was talking to a friend in Iowa the other day who said, like, they could lose 20% of their farmers before, you know, the harvest because it's just like it's not worth the cost to actually harvest this year because of the price of diesel. So what are you hearing from folks and do you think it's actually like changing political affiliation? It is.

It's absolutely changing hearts and minds because of how deeply it's impacting people's pocketbooks. And, you know, I've been hosting roundtables with farmers for the last couple of weeks here on the third congressional district. So I've been hearing these things really up close in a big way. I was actually held a roundtable in a gas station with a number of area farmers in Vernon County, a rural part of my district. And they are just getting hammered. I mean, between the impact that reciprocal tariffs have also had on our soybean producers, our cranberry producers. now this trade war with Canada. And then you look at the impact the war in Iran has had on diesel prices, on fertilizer prices.

People are getting squeezed. And, you know, it's not just those pieces to it, right? There's also the failure to expand the ACA tax credit premium. You know, when I was growing up, we didn't have health care unless my mom could get a good job in town. And so when the ACA was passed, a lot of folks got better insurance and farmers, small business owners. and now people are seeing their premiums go up from $400 to $1,800 a month. And so folks uniquely are getting squeezed.

And, you know, I brought Senator John Hester out to the district last Friday, and we had another roundtable up actually at my parents' farm in the Chippewa Valley. And it's sort of the same thing, any group that you gather. And some of those people were probably more bigger supporters of me. But also when I'm out, you know, just knocking doors, doing some rural canvassing. I just knocked Melrose population 524 a couple of weeks ago. That's what I'm hearing from people that said, look, I voted for Van Orden twice, but I did not vote for this war in Iran.

And there's a lot of people that voted for President Trump because of his America First Agenda and is promised for no more foreign forever wars. And this is the opposite of that. And it's not just farmers. Everybody's getting squeezed, right? It costs more to get goods to the grocery store, so you're seeing prices increase at the supermarket. And, you know, so I just think as, as we look forward and people are like, you know, what's one of the biggest thing that we can do to bring down prices? I was like, end this war

that nobody voted for. And then, and there's people that have said, you know, they're two-time Van Orm voters and they're voting for me. And I'm welcome them into this Democratic tent. A lot of people have been asking me, too. You know, we talked about some of the inner party support that I have. Big tent to me means bringing people back in. This district is a district that went for Obama before it went for Trump. And so we need to give people who maybe used to vote for Democrats a soft landing space back here. And not shame people, too. It's like nobody could foresee what was going to happen with tariffs, with this war in Iran when they passed their votes in 2024. And so we welcome those people in for sure. Yeah. And they were lied to, by the way, right? Trump said he would not start.

Yeah, Trump said no more wars. He started another war. Right. I mean, yeah, shaming someone for their previous vote. And it's just like continuing to go on, you know, and that's, that's, that's, that's, the thing. So your opponent seemed a touch desperate. He released an AI deep fake video showing you saying things you didn't say. He suggested you owned a luxury lakefront property, a claim that fell apart pretty quickly when you released a video giving a tour of your home. I want to play a bit of that your crib. I want to play a bit of your crib's crib, your crib video. Let's watch. Welcome to my crib on Tainer Lake. You might have seen Derek Van Orden has been talking about the lavish lakefront property that I have on Tainer Lake. This is actually the house that I live in.

It's a property that I bought back in 2019 and have renovated it. I rented it out for a few years to recoup the cost that I put into it. And it's not luxurious or lavish by any means. Let's go down to the water and see the boat and the dock that I don't have. Welcome to the inside of my house. My home is heated by wood. This is my wood stove. I've got some small little heaters. bathroom and in the bedroom, but primarily it's heated by wood. Was it, uh, was it expensive to put in. Yeah. Yeah.

The fire looks really quite cozy. Um, was it expensive to put in though that, that, that other house just for your jet skis? Oh, yeah, totally. You know, um, no, it's, it's to me, um, amusing, I think the attacks, like the AI ads. Um, and it's frustrating. Like, I'm always going to stand up for my character and who I am and when people try to push But I think it's ludicrous to say that I'm living some lavish lifestyle when I'm certainly not. And I think anybody that knows me knows where I come from, knows where I live, knows who I am.

But it's been, I think it sort of represents everything that's wrong with politics these days, you know. He's been making these AI slop videos about me and lying about who I am and lying about my record. And it's like, if he's willing to lie this much about me, all of his ads on TV right now are are just a tech ads. There's not a single one that talks about his platform. And that's because they haven't gotten anything done. You know, they haven't, there isn't anything to show for the last couple of years under this administration and Mike Johnson's leadership in Congress. And so all they can do is just slop shit together.

And it's like, people aren't buying that here. And I talk to a lot of folks, you know, we actually go out and talk to voters. He's never held an in-person town hall. So when we're out in communities, we're hearing directly from people like, well, we know that that's not. you. But we sent him a cease and desist anyways and press him back on that. So suggest a touch of fear and insecurity about the state of the race, frankly. Certainly. So final, last question for you. You worked on a dairy farm. You've waited tables. You've run for Congress. Let's rank those in order of difficulty. Oh, number one would be the farm. I mean, when you grew up on a farm,

there are no days off. It's 365 days a year. It's seven days a week. You don't get to stop when you're tired. You stop when the work is done, right? And I think that that's where I get a lot of the tenacity and perseverance that I bring to everything that I do. And the way that I was raised. On my first race, we still had cattle on our farm and I was unthawing drinking cups when it was like 20 below while my parents were out of town because that's what you got to do. You have to show up and do those things. And that's, I think, what I want to bring. And that's, I to office is you don't get to pick and choose. Like, this is, this is the job. You have to work to represent people on the left and on the right when you're a representative. You have to have

tough conversations. And I'd say farming, number one, I'd say waitressing number two. And I'd say running for Congress number three. So are there more jerks waiting tables or running for Congress? More jerks running for Congress, for sure. At least people keep some, you know, politeness. But the customer is always right. And that's something you always have to remember for sure on the restaurant floor. Fewer tips in Congress, too, unless you're a member of the Trump family. Unless you're getting, you know, unless you're getting, yeah, tax tips on insider training. That's why I believe in banning stock trading remembers of Congress. There you go, that excellent pivot. Yeah, or, you know, you're selling your crypto company to the Emirates or maybe a Russian oligarchs paying for your wedding. There's lots of ways to

get paid these days in politics if you are a Trump. If folks listening to this, Like the cut of your jib, they want to support your campaign. Where can they go? What can they do? You can go to cookfor Wisconsin.com. I need your support. They are dumping tons of money into this race. Ten different cabinet officials have come out here.

The president himself, two million bucks just got dumped into the race this week. And so we need to push back on these lies on TV. I'm going to shake everybody's hand that I can. But we have to communicate across 19 counties. So if you can ship in $5, $20, $25 to cookfor Wisconsin.com, I'd appreciate it. Rebecca Cook. I think we have a great opportunity to win your race and also win a lot of races in Wisconsin this year. I hope that people will think about investing because we could win the governor's race.

You could win a trifecta in the state legislature if we do things right. We could win a bunch of important congressional seats. So there's just a huge opportunity. I hope we don't leave anything on the table here. So thank you for doing the show. All both rights together. Some of those really competitive state assembly and state senate races are within my district. And we're doing a hell of a lot to try to make sure that we can win majorities up and down the ticket.

So supporting me, help support them. as well. Amen.