Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar - 3/5/25: Krystal and Saagar REACT To Trump State Of The Union

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

Krystal, Saagar, Ryan and Emily react to Trump's State Of The Union speech.   To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.br...eakingpoints.com   Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:01:48 Listen to VoiceOver on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, Sagar and Crystal here. Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election and we are so excited about what that means for the future of this show. This is the only place where you can find honest perspectives from the left and the right that simply does not exist anywhere else. So if that is something that's important to you,
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Starting point is 00:02:37 if it was a State of the Union, which can we all agree that it is, it would be the longest State of the Union ever delivered by an American president, beating significantly President Clinton's record in the year 2000, which was an hour and 28 minutes. This one, by my rough back of the napkin math, is roughly around an hour and 43. And yeah, it was long. It was long. Could have used an edit on that one, you know? Could have used a few more. Kind of reminded, remember, God, I'm trying to think of the first, one of the first ones we covered here where Biden was just like literally a laundry list.
Starting point is 00:03:10 I think we were all watching it. It's very common. It's very common, yeah. I mean, let's not say that they're- They all have their like constituencies they got to check the box on, whatever. But yeah, it needed a good edit. It was long. It was long.
Starting point is 00:03:19 And so that's, we're trying to call some of the best takeaways for all of you. I would say the biggest one was no new policy announcement on Ukraine. But there were some significant domestic policy events that are that definitely bear registration. But the thing is, is that we should probably start with the Democratic protests by Congressman Al Green, who opened the remarks. There was some initial booing that was happening from the Democratic side. Congressman Green was standing for the duration of the first couple of minutes before he was kicked out. Anyone want to say anything before we play the song? Before we make people, subject people to more clips from the very long speech that we just
Starting point is 00:03:59 wanted, let's just get some top of the, like, top of mind thoughts. I mean, to me, the big takeaways were the actually lack of new policy specifics with regard to tariffs in Ukraine in particular, where I think, you know, that's certainly where we perked up and we're listening. Like, is he going to say, are the tariffs on, are the tariffs off? Still don't know, which I think probably indicates that the signaling that they might be rolled back could be the case because he certainly wasn't touting the Canada and Mexico 25% across the board. He was focusing on, oh, we did this with China, with steel. Oh, we're looking at, we're doing these reciprocal tariffs. April 2nd. April 2nd down the road. He mentioned Canada and Mexico, but he did not specifically tout the tariffs that just went into effect, which, you know, if I'm reading in between the lines, I feel like, okay, well, that's probably an indication that it is, Lutnik was right. They are probably rolling back or diminished something.
Starting point is 00:04:57 Ukraine, I kind of feel the same way. You know, he talked about the letter that he got from Zelensky that we talked about earlier that is already public. He talked about the desire to make a deal and, you know, moving forward. So I think probably the reporting about them continuing to work on this rare earths mineral deal is also probably accurate. I mean, it seems like based on what he's saying, but he did not confirm any of those pieces. Yeah, it is actually kind of surprising that there was no new major initiative either on the tariffs, on Ukraine, especially because they were hyping that from news level. A lot of the speech was basically messaging. So I was clocking the time. So
Starting point is 00:05:34 statistically, most people turn off around 10 p.m., just they watch the first like 30 to 45 minutes. The first 30 to 45 minutes, this was basically just a campaign speech. It was like, we won the election, historic landslide, mandate. That's where the Al Green protests and all of that happened. There was a lot of culture war stuff there during that time period, a lot of DEI, trans, CRT, basically all the greatest hits from Trump. We eventually then started to get to the economy, doge, and Social Security, and we're going to play some of that for you. But any other thoughts? Why don't you guys give us your summary, too, before we play some of these clips.
Starting point is 00:06:07 On the tariffs front, at least he described why he was going to do them. Like with the Canada and Mexico ones, he's just been telling us they've been ripping us off and we subsidize Canada. And that's ridiculous. He was quite light on those, though. That was my thing. He went back to the old school. Because those tariffs. If you don't have steel, you don't have a country.
Starting point is 00:06:27 We're going to make steel. Right. And so we're going to do these targeted tariffs on steel and aluminum. So at least there was some ethos behind it. Like a vision. Back to the, oh, that's the thing about tariffs. You're trying to actually build up industry inside the country rather than we've been suffering through this like fiction about these tariffs being fentanyl related. I mean he did mention the fentanyl there too, though.
Starting point is 00:06:55 I don't know. Yeah, he did mention fentanyl. A minuscule amount comes from Canada. I can either agree with it or disagree with it. I'm sorry, Ryan. Sorry, you're going to live in the ambiguity for a while now. Emily? You know, I think we've spent almost a decade now always potentially anticipating,
Starting point is 00:07:11 I don't mean we so much as I mean the media more broadly, some new version of Donald Trump. Like he doesn't have to run for re-election now. He felt like he was coasting on these high approval ratings as his administration started. He's got Elon Musk by his side. And what he did was give a very, like, classic Trump. Rambling, riffing, very partisan. He ribbed Pocahontas in front of her face.
Starting point is 00:07:38 Like, Elizabeth Warren, he called her Pocahontas during the speech. Yeah, what did she do? She must have done something. Something about the war. No, but did she do she must have done something something about the war like no but did she hold something up like i'm saying what was the impetus the only i saw her like scrolling on her phone at one point but i didn't even see her like participating in the protests or whatever but i mean i don't know that she necessarily had to do it he just has like animus like you just you know whatever it's a thing He doesn't change. He doesn't change. Yes and no.
Starting point is 00:08:05 The style of the speech, yes, typical Trump, you know, going through his greatest hits in terms of his grand election victory and, you know, calling Democrats out to their family. You would never clap for me no matter what. You know, putting them on blast like that. It's so sad. It's so sad. No matter how I did, what I did, it wouldn't be enough for you people. And then, you know, at the end, of course, he goes back to retell the story of the assassination attempt and how he was saved by God to save the country, which makes me very uncomfortable when people start putting themselves in those sort of messianic terms. But, you know, again, classic Trump. Right.
Starting point is 00:08:39 Stop that. But, you know, on the economic policy front, as I'm just listening to the actual policies, I'm like, this is a freaking Paul Ryan speech. Like, we're talking about deregulation. We're talking about Social Security. We're talking about tax cuts. I mean, it was very, I was like, this is a Koch network policy agenda. Yeah, but with 25% tariffs.
Starting point is 00:09:03 He did. It's a little different. But again, that he's like, I mean, we're not even clear on what that is. But the piece that he front loaded with was all the just like standard conventional Republican stuff that he ran so hard against and positioned himself so hard against back in 2015. Now, we all know the record of the actual Trump administration the first time around where their biggest accomplishment was a giant tax cut for the rich. But to me, that combined with he was, you know, trying to get applause lines on, oh, we're going to get rid of the budget deficit and then reading down the list of all the wasteful government programs.
Starting point is 00:09:39 The transgender mice. Like the transgender mice, you know, all of those things like that's Fox. I used to do a lot of Fox News hits back in the, you know, post to like 2011 time frame. That was the sweet spot. And yeah, it was every day. It was like, oh, my God, they spent ten dollars per muffin at this conference. Lobster dinners. They're always having lobster doodles. It was all, and so I'm like, oh, this is such a throwback to the Paul Ryan talking points just delivered through a Trump, you know, Trumpian panache.
Starting point is 00:10:11 All that chaos and all we get is like different lies about Social Security. Right, correct. He's out there saying that like 160-year-olds are getting Social Security. Even Fox News actually debunks that talking point. Okay, let's save that commentary. So do you want to just do the Social Security. Even Fox News actually debunks that talking point. Okay, let's save that commentary. So do you want to just do the Social Security thing now? Yeah, let's go ahead and queue up Social Security. Let me see, what number is this?
Starting point is 00:10:32 Number five. Number five, guys, if you can queue this up, where he starts talking about Social Security and he's reiterating the lies that Elon spread about the people who are supposedly 300 years old or whatever and still getting Social Security. We know none of this is true, but it doesn't matter. It's still in the president's speech. If we've got that, let's go ahead and roll it.
Starting point is 00:10:50 We're also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the social security program for our seniors and that our seniors and people that we love rely on. Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. I mean, make no mistake, when you're setting up, and this is why it was significant that Trump brought it up, when you were bringing this up, you were creating a pretext to cut the program. And again, totally counter to the way Trump has always positioned himself. And he'll use these lies about alleged fraud to justify the cuts.
Starting point is 00:11:37 And we already see, you know, Doge is gutting the Social Security Administration. There's actually a warning from Martin O'Malley, who was previously Social Security Administrator, that it cannot, the system cannot handle that level of cuts. And that people should start saving their money in anticipation that the program could face disruption just from not having enough staff. The hotline, you know, people who answer the hotlines are being cut. Offices across the country are being cut. So to me, when the word Social Security came out of his mouth in the context of like, oh, there's all this giant fraud, et cetera, et cetera, that is a huge indication of the direction he's going in. That was the most important political moment of the speech to me. I think I said that to you guys at the time. I was like, that is very important.
Starting point is 00:12:20 Not only is it Donald Trump endorsing the Elon strategy around that, but he's taking ownership of what is very likely to be extremely unpopular. And this gets to the way that this will all happen. So it's very unlikely to see a top line cross the board cut of social security, right? Passed by the Congress in the next tax bill, even in terms of entitlement reform or whatever. But there may be at least elements to chip away at the program or at the very least reduce its accessibility now currently. Regardless, I mean, you've got your hand basically right there on the rail of the most potent political weapon.
Starting point is 00:12:57 I mean, I remember being with the four of you guys talking when Biden had that moment where he's like, hey, he's like, okay, we are all agreeing we're not going to cut Social Security. So the problem that they have is even if they pursue no cuts is that even tampering with the program is going to have tremendous blowback from a lot of people. But last thing on this, they may be able to get around it because they also said during the speech that no tax on Social Security, which we all know will be extremely popular with a lot of seniors. I mean, how much, I'm thinking if you're 100% reliant on Social Security, which we all know will be extremely popular with a lot of seniors. I mean, how much? I'm thinking if you're 100% reliant on Social Security, that's probably what?
Starting point is 00:13:29 Almost 10%, 15%, 25% of your income that's going back to tax. I've said before, I think it's crazy. Like, why does the government give you money just to take it back? It actually is very inefficient. It doesn't make sense. The Reagan compromise brought that in. Which is what? To have income tax on Social Security?
Starting point is 00:13:43 Yeah. It didn't used to be taxed. Yeah, it makes no sense. It's like, why would you give you a lump sum of money and then take a portion of it back and expect you to file it and then we'll take it back 45 days later or whatever? It's ridiculous. There's only one interesting thing other than everything you guys have said that I noticed on this point is his line about Social Security as he started this conversation.
Starting point is 00:14:02 This is slightly new framing from the old Republican talking point. He says, quote, we are also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program our seniors rely on. Which is interesting because Republicans used to just demonize Social Security. And in this, he's trying to frame it as saying,
Starting point is 00:14:20 I'm saving our seniors from the fraud that is dragging down Social Security. To Ryan's point about you're just dressing up the same old talking points about Social Security in different language, that's basically the best example of it. He's saying all of this Tea Party talking points or all this Tea Party rhetoric, if you tweak it to say we're doing this to save the program. Paul Ryan, too, was saying he was going to save Social Security by privatizing it. He was like, we're going to raise a retirement age.
Starting point is 00:14:51 The way it's always framed is, oh my god, this program that I care so much about is going bankrupt and we have to save it. That's the way it's always framed. We've been trying to end since the 1930s. We really love so framed, and we have to save it. It's a program we've been trying to end since the 1930s that we love so much. Right, that we really love so much, but we're just really
Starting point is 00:15:07 interested in the best interest of this program. That's what these cuts are all about. But it is a little bit of a twist on that, but it's not that far from the way that it was portrayed in the Paul Ryan era. But it's not, yeah, I think that's the thing. Like, overall, it did sound like 2012. Yeah, I mean, look, at this
Starting point is 00:15:24 point, anyone who's surprised by that, like, I don't know what to say. It was like we had a whole first term, didn't we? Like where all of this went through. He said he won't touch Social Security or Medicare. He probably won't at the top line in the way that Paul Ryan and all those other folks will. This chipping away and all of that, like, I'm not yet sure how far they're going to go or if they're really that stupid. Like, are you really so stupid
Starting point is 00:15:48 that you would actually ask, what, 75% of the SSA offices or privatize it or whatever? It's like, good luck. See how it happened to George W. Bush in 2005. A project led by two billionaires. Yeah, that's right.
Starting point is 00:16:00 I mean, the optics of it would be insane, especially if it happened at the very same time that you passed a massive tax cut and extension for the rich, which they are all on record. They're going to do it. The only question is if they also include the no tax on tips. thing could potentially, I wouldn't say it saved them, but make it more of a wash than the last time. 2017 was just so naked in terms of what the actual policy was. But the tips thing, I mean, we all know it's going to be very popular and they're going to message the hell out of it. And same with the no tax on social security. I could see that being like some sort of counterbalance and all that. But I mean, look, they're playing with fire. They're playing with the same fire they're playing with under Rick Scott. Like it just never ends. I don't know why they're addicted.
Starting point is 00:16:46 There's also no guarantees that those policies make it in. I mean, it's not spelled out in the Republican budget. And actually, they don't want to do it. The numbers as they exist, you know, and what they have said that they're working with in terms of the amount that they've allocated for tax cuts would not be sufficient to include no tax on tips and no tax on... We know the $4 trillion tax cut, that part is locked in. The rest of it, and then you also have to throw in there the SALT tax situation. Yeah, they got to go to 20%. That's billions.
Starting point is 00:17:18 And that's, yeah, that's expensive. So there's also just like no guarantee that any of that actually happens. And like I said, it was not actually in the Republican budget that passed the House that Trump had backed. The ideal is we all just stop all this fakery on the debt and we just include all those things. It's like it actually puts some of the good stuff in there at the very least. Camp Shane, one of America's longest runningloss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results. Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left. In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution.
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Starting point is 00:20:49 So we talked about Social Security. We should definitely talk about Doge as well. Yeah. So we've got number four, guys, if you could cue that up. So Elon got a huge shout out from Donald Trump. Donald Trump may have slipped up a little bit here, though, because in this acknowledgement, he not only acknowledges Elon, he actually says Elon is the head of Doge, which is the opposite of what his government is currently arguing in court. But nonetheless, it was important because not only- Was Amy Gleeson there to get her round of applause as well?
Starting point is 00:21:17 No, she's in South America. She's in South America. She's the one they're claiming is in charge of Doge. She's 175 years old. No, she's a 326- six year old woman in South America. So Elon got a shout out. This was important just for I mean, look like MAGA is now like equals Elon. And you really see this where Trump acknowledges him. He gets the entire Republican Party. The optics of this are wild who are on the floor of the House of Representatives to look up and to clap at Elon as Elon stands.
Starting point is 00:21:48 He did wear a suit, though, so apparently the guy does owe one. Number four, guys, let's take a listen. And to that end, I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, GOJ. Perhaps you've heard of it, perhaps. Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight. So there you go. Not only a huge Elon shout-out, but then subsequently talking about there was a good, I would say, what do you guys think, like five, seven-minute period of just listing Doge stuff? That's where the transmised thing comes from. So that I thought was pretty important just in terms of not only not backing away from Doge, openly endorsing it, making Elon a central part of the State of the Union, talking here about the Social Security. So on the economic front,
Starting point is 00:22:51 this is the one where they don't yet seem to sense that they perceive any danger. I think the only sign of it maybe is on the egg price line that he did deliver. But that's all I really saw. How he kind of opened the economic piece. But yeah, I was just trying to look back up the tweet, but Portnoy had tweeted something about like, Trump had a line that was, you know, we'll no longer be ruled by unelected bureaucrats. And Portnoy really was like,
Starting point is 00:23:18 well, that's kind of a tough thing to make stick when Elon is out there running the entire government as co-president. So, you know, that is ruled by unelected bureaucrats. Yeah. You know why Dave's mad? It's because there's a crypto recession right now. He's got shit coins that he still needs to sell to the people. He's working through some things, but still interesting to see the Portnoy response there. That's true. I mean, listen, it's, this is the most significant difference between Trump 2.0 and Trump 1.0 is Elon.
Starting point is 00:23:47 And you see it in the way that Trump has shifted his ideology. I mean, always some of his populist rhetoric and approach was fakery given the commitment to tax cuts for the rich. But the austerity framing, like spending all of these minutes going through these quote-unquote wasteful programs, which they frame as fraud and that always irritates me because it's really just like spending that of these minutes going through these quote unquote wasteful programs, which they frame as fraud. And that always irritates me because it's really just like spending that you don't like. Ryan Grim here is the one who has found the most fraud of anyone. I did not get credit from the podium. I was outrageous.
Starting point is 00:24:18 I gave you credit. We're referring to. No, but I wanted it from Trump. Ryan, they're the ones that found the $400 million armored Tesla thing. That actually was, it looks like, they like cooked the books to be like, oh, we could flip this in and no one will notice.
Starting point is 00:24:31 Wrong, Ryan Grim will notice. So I think Jeremy Scahill called it the Department of Grim efficiency. That's pretty good. I like it. That's good. Department of Grim efficiency.
Starting point is 00:24:41 I doubt, that's a doge I could get behind. Absolutely. He should have been like, and $400 million? Yeah. Armored Teslas? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:48 Who needs an armored Tesla? It would go over a speed bump and lose an axle. He could have just said electric vehicles. Yeah, that's right. And then it would be like, you know,
Starting point is 00:24:56 very lip-coded. I like that. Get away with it. All right, we have the egg price, guys. Number three, can you cue that up? So this was an important line
Starting point is 00:25:03 for Trump. It's kind of how it began the economic section, but it was an acknowledgement of being elected with a mandate on inflation and trying to address it. So let's go ahead and put it up there on the screen and play it for everyone just to give everyone a taste. Joe Biden, especially let the price of eggs get out of control. The egg price is out of control. And we're working hard to get it back down. Secretary, do a good job on that. You inherited a total mess from the previous administration.
Starting point is 00:25:36 Do a good job. All right. So you could also see some of the Democrats that were leaving there with the resist T-shirts that were on. I think that was Jasmine Crocker. Yes, it was. Do we want to clown on some of the Democrats? What do you think? Well, first let me clown on the egg thing.
Starting point is 00:25:59 Well, it's just, I mean, hard to really make this case on a day when you announce 25 percent across the board tariffs with Canada and Mexico. And he has said that he does not really think that inflation is the reason that people voted for him. And that has certainly been reflective in the lack of any sort of an approach to dealing with inflation. And so to me, it was really noteworthy that this was kind of the first, he did a bunch of culture war stuff and a lot of like patting himself on the back for his election victory and trying to own the libs and the dems and whatever. And then the first economic piece he gets to is eggs. So it did indicate to me like, okay, the administration, whoever wrote the speech and Trump himself feel like they've got a bit of a problem here. And the polls have reflected that
Starting point is 00:26:44 if you ask people, do you feel like they are doing enough on prices? Pretty overwhelmingly, people are like, no, I do not feel like they're doing enough on prices. And that is one of the political challenges and warning signs for them. Also, as we played in that Harry Enten sot before we got into this, you know, his numbers, his economic numbers in terms of the approval of his handling of the economy are really low. And that's always been a strong suit for him. So I do feel like they were trying to play a little bit of cleanup on the egg prices thing, you know, blame it on Biden, say, well, I promise we're working really hard on it, et cetera. And that was noteworthy to me. Yeah, it could work for now. Like I said,
Starting point is 00:27:20 you have a little bit of runway, but after two, three months, like, you know, the runway is going to be over, especially if they feel all this Doge stuff. This is my greatest, I said, you have a little bit of runway, but after two, three months, the runway is going to be over, especially if they feel all this Doge stuff. This is my greatest – I mean I still can't get away from this. It's almost 50 days in to the Trump administration, almost halfway of the first 100 days, the most consequential part. And what? It's just been Doge, Elon. There's been almost nothing else. I haven't even seen deportation take – I saw – I think it was Joe Weisenthal said that.
Starting point is 00:27:46 He's like, the only thing that's really surprised me other than Doge is the fact that deportation has not taken such a center stage. Like they've had Tom Homan on. They've had a few like high profile ladies. Well, Christie's been out there in her jacket. They're trying to, you know, I was watching Fox News at home, not by choice because of the whole Ukraine thing. I was trying to watch it live. And I got an ad from Kirstie Noem telling illegal immigrants to go home. I'm like, are they watching Fox News at home, not by choice, because of the whole Ukraine thing. I was trying to watch it live. And I got an ad from Kirstie Noem telling illegal immigrants to go home. I'm like, are they watching Fox News?
Starting point is 00:28:09 I was like, what is this for? There's some waste that they cut. I was like, what is this? I was shocked by it. I was like, this is like the most inefficient use of money. These are a bunch of like 70-year-old white boomers who are watching this right now. During daytime Fox as well.
Starting point is 00:28:26 So, anyway. He did the Guantanamo thing because it's a spectacle. Yeah, but it was a spectacle. So he needs a spectacle. But that's my point on that. Is that even with that, I mean, as far as I know, all of that hasn't been, like, a particularly large number. They haven't necessarily been prioritizing criminals as opposed to, like like just whoever they happen to round up. There's never been any like transparency around it. They haven't released the daily figures
Starting point is 00:28:51 the way that they have. Instead, they're trying to make these flash like spectacle things like you guys are saying. But like empirically, I mean, you can just look at the number and you can say this is not impressive whatsoever. I mean, look, you know, give credit where due, I guess, on the border crossings, but that's not the same thing as opposed to kind of what was promised. So if you look at on the inflation and the immigration point, where the two things I would say he's probably the most responsible for getting him elected, you have not seen the vast majority of the energy getting focused on that. He is hoping, and this speech really did crystallize a lot of the Trump victory to me.
Starting point is 00:29:26 Look, I mean, if you listen to the first 45 minutes of this, which statistically most people are watching, what was it? It was culture war all day long, right? Gulf of America. He believes. It wasn't just that. But it was that too. Yeah, it was that. But it was like trans.
Starting point is 00:29:39 It was the greatest hits of all the Republican culture war importance. It was our country will be woke no longer. There It was, our country will be woke no longer. There you go. Our country will be woke no longer. Also, free speech is back on a day that he, you know, when they're announcing their crackdown on. That requires people to actually read the news. Interestingly, he went on vaccines as well. When?
Starting point is 00:29:57 Like, this was a lot of culture war talking points. He was actually talking about how, I can pull this up here. The autism book? Yeah. Well, he didn't say that. He didn't tie a drug on the vaccine. Bobby Kennedy's looking into it. We're going to find out why
Starting point is 00:30:09 and Bobby Kennedy's going to figure it out. Bobby Kennedy's looking into it. Well, maybe he should look into it. He said, this is the quote, he said, we have- That wasn't the end, though. That was not at the end, but that was much later on.
Starting point is 00:30:18 Right, but it's like the culture war thing. He said, since 1975, rates of child cancer have increased more than 40%. Reversing this trend is one of the top priorities of our new presidential commission to make America healthy again, chaired by a new secretary of HHS, RFK Jr. Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong. As an example, not long ago, 1 in 10,000 children had autism. Now it's one in 36. So the first part of that makes me so irritated because first of all,
Starting point is 00:30:46 obviously they just cut a bunch of funding for research, including into, you know, cancer. And in addition, they have spent the first period in office rolling back some of the restrictions on chemicals like PFAS. So yeah, it's just so, I don't know, to me, it's just so cynical. He ended that section of his speech by saying something is wrong and we're gonna find out what it is So I mean something is wrong. It's true Text of that is RFK juniors looking into the vaccines. I don't know. Yes, I did I didn't I mean I if you want it that if you want that you could take that from it But I don't know I I didn't see it necessarily. That was good signaling.
Starting point is 00:31:25 I mean, he was obviously signaling it if he like for the people who want to hear that. But it's also like on an empirical basis when people hear that. Oh, yeah. I'm not against that. Right. But it's what I mean. I mean, my point around it all was I was like, he believes that that is the most important reason why one to me. That's what there's no other reason why he would start 45 minutes of your speech
Starting point is 00:31:46 off this way. It's obvious. So he thinks that this alone is gonna be enough to coast him. And by the way, I think he could be right. I mean, there's a huge, the whole MAGA universe online and all this, all the transgender,
Starting point is 00:31:59 like the woman who's standing up who was hit by a woman by the volleyball thing. That's what they live for, right? That's the reason Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh always go in the audience. But it's also to get a contrast with Democrats not applauding those lines. It's very intentional. I know, and that's like the big— I think it's powerful with Peyton McNabb.
Starting point is 00:32:21 I read it a little different. You won't be surprised to hear. I mean, listen, it's the exact thing that Democrats do when they want to cover for their lack of an agenda that delivers for working class people. They fix it on identity and cultural issues. Yes. And it's the same shit. It's just from Trump. Because, you know, people aren't happy with how the economy is going. They feel that it's getting worse.
Starting point is 00:32:43 And it already wasn't great. Obviously, today, the stock market fell off a cliff and you've got, as we were saying before, the consumer sentiment, consumer spending down, and there's warnings in the manufacturing sector. You've got this warning from the Atlanta Fed. People are not satisfied with that direction. And he really isn't offering anything in the near term that you can point to. I mean, maybe no tax on tips, maybe. But so instead, what do you do? You usher in an agenda that's been really good for people like Elon Musk and other oligarchs by saying, oh, this is about DEI. This is about woke. Woke is over. Don't you feel great? So that's how I read the reason why it was front loaded with culture war. The same reason
Starting point is 00:33:20 that, you know, that Democrats who weren't delivering for working class people also would lead into culture war. I'm not disagreeing with the word you're saying. Yeah. I mean, I do think it's still obviously very politically powerful, unfortunately. I mean, this is the hold that Trump has. Oh, yeah. Guys, please remind me on a future show, a listener of our show who works for the DOD, who voted for Trump, sent me a very long email about why he voted for Republicans, even though he works within the DOD. And his reasoning, it reminds me of all this, because it was for cultural reasons, specifically talking about Doge. If you will recall, I made that comment. I was like, I don't know. I was like, anyone who voted for Trump and he worked for the federal government,
Starting point is 00:34:00 I was like, I don't really know what to tell you. I was like, you're kind of an idiot if you didn't think that something like this was going to happen to me. He sent me a very long justification for why he did it. I actually think it bears discussion with all of us, but that's a tease for the future. Does he regret it or now he's still like, yeah, I did the right thing? No, he does not regret it. He's voted for Trump for three times. He voted for Trump because Democrats could not define what a woman is, but he is upset about the Doge cuts. And in the logic of the email, it really hit home for me why I still think that this is very politically, very politically strong territory for Trump. Now, how long he can ride on it, I have no idea,
Starting point is 00:34:38 right? America, they'll give you the runway and this will, you know, this will keep people feeling as if things are very different. It's still, you's still only a month or so into the new administration, but how long until it gets old? And that's when I think it starts to become a problem. And this is what, I don't think Republicans are doing this on purpose, but I do think one of the big lessons for Democrats should be that if you're asked to choose
Starting point is 00:34:58 between Trump and Republicans' red meat culture warfare and Democrats, for many voters, Republicans still come out on top, even if they don't like the way that Donald Trump talks. He stands abortion 100 percent. Yeah. And yeah, exactly. And so that's where I know we're going to talk about Al Green. We tease it a little bit earlier and the like resist T-shirt walkout, the paddle signs that looked like as some people were joking fogo de chow bring me my meat signs it's the green you know yeah it was and so again for a lot of voters the democrats are like it's i get it like trump trump went for an hour and 40 minutes an extremely partisan speech and said some wild stuff and called the senator pocahontas to her
Starting point is 00:35:44 face but then they look at the Democrats, they're like, you guys deserve it. Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight loss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results. Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left. In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution. But behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children was a dark underworld of sinister secrets. Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits as the family that owned Shane turned a blind eye. Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror movie.
Starting point is 00:36:26 In this eight-episode series, we're unpacking and investigating stories of mistreatment and re-examining the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so long. You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad-free on iHeart True Crime Plus. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today. DNA test proves he is not the father. Now I'm taking the inheritance. Wait a minute, John. Who's not the father? Well, Sam, luckily it's your not the father week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This author writes, my father-in-law is trying to steal the family fortune worth millions from my son, even though it they going to do to get those millions back?
Starting point is 00:37:14 That's so unfair. Well, the author writes that her husband found out the truth from a DNA test they were gifted two years ago. Scandalous. But the kids kept their mom's secret that whole time. Oh my God. And the real kicker, the author wants to reveal this terrible secret, even if that means destroying her husband's family in the process. So do they get the millions of dollars back or does she keep the family's terrible secret? Well, to hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime
Starting point is 00:37:38 podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sober is about understanding yourself outside of sex and relationships. It's more than personal. It's political, it's societal, and at times it's far from what I originally intended it to be. These days, I'm interested in expanding what it means to be voiceover, to make it customizable for anyone who feels the need to explore their relationship to relationships. I'm talking to a lot of people who will help us think about how we love each other. It's a very, very normal experience to have times where a relationship is prioritizing other parts of that relationship that aren't being naked together. How we love our family. I've spent a lifetime trying to get my mother to love me, but the price is too high. And how we love ourselves. Singleness is not a waiting room. You are actually at the party
Starting point is 00:38:50 right now. Let me hear it. Listen to Voice Over on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So let's start with the Al Green thing. What is that, number one? So this was the first Democratic protest. I thought there were going to be a lot more, actually. I was surprised that there won't. They got off to a raucous start. Yeah, they got off to a very raucous start and then became extremely lame. So Al Green here being escorted out of the House chamber. He was literally shaking his cane.
Starting point is 00:39:20 Donald Trump, not since Charles Sumner, right, Ryan? Not since Charles Sumner has a cane so loudly been felt on the floor of the United States Congress. Let's take a listen. Finding that members continue to engage in willful and concerted disruption of proper decorum, the chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber. All right, so that was Al Green, congressman getting escorted out. He was shouting at him, you have no mandate to cut Medicaid. Let's also put number two. Oh, is that what he was saying?
Starting point is 00:40:02 Apparently. That is true. That's what he claims he was saying. Apparently people only heard you have no mandate. Let's also put number two. Oh, is that what he was saying? Apparently. That is true. That's what he claims he was saying. Apparently people only heard you have no mandate. Let's go to the number two, please, the screenshot. Can you guys put that up while I talk? This is the one that's going pretty viral when people are saying it's lame.
Starting point is 00:40:18 Some of the, what are these, like placards? What would you call it? They're being held up. Signs. Bingo signs. Small round bingo-like signs being held up by Democrats include Musk steals. That's a lie. That's from Rashida Tlaib.
Starting point is 00:40:30 She has a whiteboard. False, false, Musk steals. Save Medicaid, Musk steals, some false, and that going on. They should have all said save Medicaid. Seriously. Yeah, I agree. I was like, save Medicaid if that is probably the most powerful one. You, Crystal, sent this from The Daily Show. Fun fact, Democrats are wearing pink tonight as a symbolic protest against people who want them to do something meaningful.
Starting point is 00:40:52 So that is pretty damn funny. They were protesting me. Yeah. It's so personal. I mean, clearly, like, they are getting the message that people want them to do more, but they just have no idea what that actually looks like. I will say, I thought Ro Khanna and Tim Walz had a really good idea, which is all these Republicans are like, oh, we're not going to do town halls anymore. And they're like, OK, we'll come to your district and we'll do town halls. You know, that's smart.
Starting point is 00:41:20 And I think we'll play really well and, you know, put pressure on Republicans like, oh, shit, this guy's doing a town hall in my district. I guess I need to show up or at least it's sort of shameful to them to not show up. Bernie Sanders, obviously, he's also, I think, delivering a response along with Alyssa Slotkin. Yeah, she's speaking right now. Oh, they're missing this. She's speaking right now. The official deep state response. I'm monitoring the quotes.
Starting point is 00:41:40 Yeah, the deep state is responding by Alyssa Slotkin. She currently says Reagan is rolling in his grave. Is she wearing pink? Affirmatively talking about Reagan. Let's see what else here. But I also think, you know, the Bernie Sanders oligarchy tour going to specifically swing Republican districts where, you know, the Republican House, they need every single vote to be able to do anything. And so he's recognized that as a pressure point. I think that's also very intelligent. But yeah, I mean, these things
Starting point is 00:42:09 just read as like sort of the only indication that Democrats would be getting the message would be if they'd have said, you know what, Bernie, you do the response. Yes. Because that would at least be surprising to people. So instead, they picked a CIA spook from Michigan who actually says, no guardrails on what they do. We need more efficient government. You want to cut waste? I'll help you do it. But does, but change doesn't need to be chaotic or make us less safe. Yeah. I mean, she's one of the ones that she's voted for a bunch of Trump picks. She voted for the Lincoln Riley act. Like, you know, she's, that's who she is. And it also speaks to, okay, not just would it indicate they're getting it
Starting point is 00:42:49 from a sort of like policy perspective if they had Bernie Sanders respond, but people would actually watch. Right, yeah. Bernie is racking up- And it would go viral. Tens of millions of views on everything he does. I mean, he is an absolute TikTok sensation.
Starting point is 00:43:04 And these town halls were getting insane views. Like everything he says and does is going viral. So why wouldn't you be like, maybe that guy should be the one. Or Roe. You know, or Roe. Or listen, the whole thing about giving the oversight ranking committee member
Starting point is 00:43:22 to Jerry Connolly instead of AOC. Like, what are you thinking? One of these people knows how to communicate and understands the attention economy and is on it and understands the online, like, attention ecosystem. But the other one earned it, Crystal. And the other one, he's been waiting for this. He's in line. Follow the rules.
Starting point is 00:43:41 It's just total insanity. If the Dems get a Tea Party, how big was a Tea Party blowout in 2010? It was like 55 seats? They picked up like 60-some seats. It was genuine. If that happened to the Dems, would that happen?
Starting point is 00:43:56 Like the Jerry Connolly stuff still happen? Would Hakeem get to keep his seat? Oh, Hakeem is... Oh, bro. That is the latest guy I've ever seen. If the Democrats, if they get a Republican-style Oh, bro. That is the lamest guy I've ever seen. If the Democrats, if they get a Republican-style Tea Party blowout win
Starting point is 00:44:08 in the House of Representatives... And Democrats take control? And Democrats take control. Oh, then definitely. I mean, Hakeem is... So you think he'll stay even though they don't like him? Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:44:16 I don't know. It depends on... Because remember, the Tea Party got rid of Bama. Yeah, it depends on the kind of characters who win. And it depends on
Starting point is 00:44:23 if that dumb Tea Party also consists of not just winning in Republican seats, but primarying people that they're, you know, disgusted with. Oh, that's good. And I've mentioned this before, but I went back and looked at the Tea Party era polling for Republican-based voters, how they felt about Republican congressional leaders. And it is very similar to the way that Democratic voters feel right now about Democratic leadership. Democratic leaders are underwater by like nine points in the last poll that we saw. This is so different from 2016. You guys know Pelosi's shift, like they felt, oh, these people are doing the thing we want them to do. These are our heroes,
Starting point is 00:44:58 et cetera. It is not like that anymore. And so, you know, if you had some of these people who have been the most disappointing getting primaried and you have a more sort of like forceful, radical group that comes in that doesn't owe their seats to the party establishment, then you could end up with some different dynamics. And I think the other thing that opens up that possibility is that liberals are also completely disenchanted with their media outlets. And so that creates a really different dynamic as well. So there's a lot of ifs here about how this will all go down. But I will say I think the indications are very much in the direction of you're probably going to have a blowout year, blue wave year for Democrats. Just, you know, if you look at history and backlash to parties that have complete
Starting point is 00:45:45 power, if you look at we're so early and there's already this level of sentiment and Republicans who are hiding and worried and Elon is just doing his thing and they're going after Social Security and the economy is on the brink, I think you could be setting up quite a catastrophe for the Republicans in terms of midterms. I mean, it could phase out because the Tea Party peaked in what, 2009, right around nine months in? That's when the Obamacare stuff was really happened. And then it especially was right there at the tail of 2009 into 10 and then going into the midterm elections.
Starting point is 00:46:19 Well, I guess, I mean, I would say maybe, honestly, I would put it through the Senate, what did Obama call it, the route or whatever he said in 2014. The shellacking. Yeah, the shellacking in 2014. I would I would extend it through that. Yeah, no, no, no. Absolutely. I was just thinking in terms of timing. So if the Democratic whatever.
Starting point is 00:46:36 Oh, I see what you mean. Oh, the coffee party peaks like 30 days in because to the Trump administration, it could still, you know, it still like, it could still actually phase out or, you know, who knows? So much depends on what Trump's policies do to the economy, I think. Yeah, I think you're right. Because, you know, he could back off. He could say, you know, it's just kidding on these tariffs. Federal workers are allowed back in. There's a federal judge.
Starting point is 00:47:04 And then he could say, we're going to fire them all in September. And then he doesn't actually fire them in September because things are struggling then. And you get a little downturn and then it comes back up. Right. Or you could get this full-on Trump thing where he's like, no, we're doing some major transition. Like in his speech tonight, he's alluding to real difficulties ahead. Yeah. He said to the farmers, he said,
Starting point is 00:47:26 there'll be a little bit of adjustment. But we're okay with that. Which, you know, Elon also promised like hardship, temporary hardship on the campaign trail. He's trying to do a thing that politicians have done many times over the generations, which is bring people together in times of hardships that we collectively can then get to a better place. Except he also wants to do it while dismissing, attacking, and calling the other half the country a bunch of traitors and losers. So FDR had, you know, 60-plus seats in the Senate and one massive mandate so he could say, all right. We're all doing this together.
Starting point is 00:48:03 We're all doing this together. We're rowing together. Right. And it's just the bankers that are against us. Trump's like, we're all in this together, except like half the country, the universities, the doctors, every federal government worker, every federal, someone's got to stand up for the universities, all the teachers, the Capitol police, like, but everyone else, yeah, we're in it. So I don't know how you do both of those things because he wants to ask for shared sacrifice without sharing any common value. Or sharing the sacrifice among people like Elon Musk who are getting, you know, just hand down after hand. Musk wants to be joyful about what he's doing to people rather than, like than read people in and say this is why we're doing it.
Starting point is 00:48:45 I think your point, though, about if they back off after a catastrophic three months or not even catastrophic, bad three months, I mean that's a long enough time. That's almost what several months to go to the midterms. You could at least see some sort of change. The problem is that right now we have no indication that that's going to happen. He's going to get his – Elon is getting his shout out at the State of the Union. Doge is getting lists getting read off. You've got the Social Security fraud thing, and we're going whole hog on the tariffs.
Starting point is 00:49:14 So it's like, okay, well, that's all we can really go off right now. And the tax cut. The tax cut, that's the thing. The tax cut is in a separate category. That's going to happen. That's not changing at all. Oh, I see. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:49:23 The other stuff might change, but the tax cut is happening. You add on top of that likely Medicaid cuts, you know, and- In the same way that Social Security would be, yes. If they actually do flub some Social Security checks, like- Oh, people will lose it. I agree with you. Yeah. And they should lose it. That's crazy. They're flirting with that. I mean, flirting with that, they're flirting with another plane crash that really can be laid at their feet. Oh, I left that out.
Starting point is 00:49:47 You're exactly right, which is that if there's a major natural disaster, if there's a major hurricane after they've been cutting all these NOAA things, and they can't properly call a Category 4 or a Category 5, and some people die, even if it's not their fault, doesn't matter. You're getting the blame. Or they've gutted FEMA, and they can't properly respond. Yeah, anything like that. Which, you know, responding to a natural disaster, even with the best of government funding levels, is difficult. They've gutted FEMA and they can't properly respond. Yeah. Anything like that would be a disaster. Responding to a natural disaster, even with the best of government funding levels, is difficult. You've got a potential shutdown coming up.
Starting point is 00:50:11 I mean, there's just disaster around every corner and an economy that's already starting to turn south. So I think, you know, it would take a lot at this point to recover from the trajectory that they've already set things on. And, you know, to see Elon there, it's just, this is the part that I could not have predicted is how much of the presidency he would see to Elon. Like, I just could not have seen that coming. Oh, nobody would have. And it's, the thing is, is it goes against everything that we know about Donald Trump. Exactly. Why would he ever cede? I still don't understand it. Why would you ever cede so much? Not control.
Starting point is 00:50:49 What does Trump care about? Attention. Media. Every probably American at this point who's even tangentially aware of the Trump news could tell you about Elon. Could be a good thing. Could be a bad thing. Why would you want that? Why would you want your presidency to be defined by this guy with 15 kids and all this other baggage and weird shit that he does all the time?
Starting point is 00:51:09 He's really tied his brand to one of the most eccentric and polarizing people in the world. And he could actually be having Russ vote, like out there doing Doge. You know what I mean? It would not even be a headline. First of all, it would be done properly. Second of all, it would be done, or at the very least, like, legally. Or, you know, in terms of, it would be much more within the line of, like, traditional Washington process. And they could fight it out in the institutions and the norms.
Starting point is 00:51:39 And, I mean, it seems to me, that seems why Vivek ultimately ultimately left Osh was really over beefs on something like this. His white people tweet aside. But, yeah, just putting it together, I mean, that's just the most shocking part about all of this is, like, he's playing with fire. And I think that's a theme that I've really come away from this State of the Union. I think there was a ton of red meat. If you're MAGA, you'll love it.
Starting point is 00:52:01 Of course you're going to love it. You're going to love anything the guy says. There's lots of culture war stuff and all that. But for us, when we look at the dangers of natural disaster, social security, economic problems, and then just chaotic nature, people feeling as if things are not in control. Those are all very, very dangerous places to be. I also think that the amount of gutting of, like, white-collar police that they've done is a risk. It's like gutting the CFPB. That's a risk. And gutting the SEC enforcement.
Starting point is 00:52:34 I mean, you've just got such, like, outright corruption. You guys see this story about people paying a million or five million dollars to have— Yeah, five million. Five million dollars. To have a one-on-one dinner with Trump. With Trump. Yeah. That's another thing. He doesn't even need the money for it's it's for a campaign coin no but it's for no it's not personal it's a it's to a campaign fund why do you need five million
Starting point is 00:52:53 dollars for a campaign i mean you've got that you've got the crypto dude who um gave him you know 75 million dollars into his meme coin and And then, oh, SEC dropped enforcement. And so when you put all of these together, it's like, this is just like Elon and his billionaire buddies, like they're just robbing and plundering the government. I mean, the picture adds up. It doesn't take a genius political messenger. Even this lame ass Democratic Party can put those pieces together to say, like, this administration is about the rich. And but, you know, to go back to the Trump and Elon point, like even just to see the spotlight of his State of the Union address. I know.
Starting point is 00:53:37 For standing ovation to Elon. I don't think any of us could have anticipated that. And it really does ask some questions about, like, what the hell is going on here? Does he care? Is there some sort of a deal? What has made it so that he has just really ceded his previous ideological positioning to Elon and the most prominent, most public parts of his entire government administration to Elon? And to your point about immigration, like, I'm glad he's not making good on those particular promises. Yeah, but it'd be nice. The deportation levels are the same as Joe, but are actually lower than Joe Biden. Or this golden visa. And that was the part that,
Starting point is 00:54:13 you know, in terms of one of the promises to working class people, again, I don't, this isn't accurate in my view, and I don't think that a mass deportation would help. I think that would further hurt the economy. But that was like the pledge to working class people was that this is the thing that's really going to help you. And because it's not a priority of Elon, it's the part that's actually not really getting done. Again, I'm glad about that, but it is noteworthy to me that the part that has been so central to Trump, but is not really particularly a priority to Elon outside of him currying favor with MAGA, that part is kind of fallen by the wayside. Right. On top of the Golden Visa thing, which is like a Silicon Valley wet dream where they get to just buy their citizenship.
Starting point is 00:54:49 Yeah. And H-1B, which he sided with Elon on. Yeah. And he even mentioned that in this. He's actually trying to fuse Golden Visa with the H-1B program, if you heard there. It's like, at any of these universities, Facebook can pay $5 million. It's like, yeah, Facebook can pay $5 million for a cod million. It's like, yeah, Facebook is going to pay $5 million for a coder. Or they'll just keep the H-1B system.
Starting point is 00:55:12 That's like that made you think meme. Anyway, we've been talking for long enough. You guys got any last things you want to say? Yeah, actually, all I was going to say is Democrats were sitting there with their stupid paddle signs. And so, I mean, I don't disagree with everything that we've all said. I just think the big takeaway to the extent that Americans pay attention to this, I think Donald Trump successfully baited Democrats into a complete public relations disaster for themselves. A disaster.
Starting point is 00:55:41 They're not the center of the show here. They're voters wanting to do something. I wouldn't say it's a disaster. I don't here. They're voters wanting to do something. Waving a cane. I wouldn't say it's a disaster. I don't know. I think I disagree on that. Nicole Wallace is already saying that little kid DJ was like the highlight. Human, Republicans, Democrats all find a good human story in every state of the union.
Starting point is 00:55:59 This was the one from that. He's already saying. Bush's spokesperson. Nicole Wallace? Yeah, Nicole Wallace. What is she saying? She's already out on the MSNBC airwave saying, I hope he has a long life as a law enforcement officer, but I hope he never has to defend the United
Starting point is 00:56:09 States Capitol against Donald Trump supporters. And if he does, I hope he isn't one of the six who loses his life to suicide. I don't know. I just, you know, it's like, I don't disagree that it's cringe, but I wouldn't call it a relations disaster. They're not the, I mean... The memes are... They're not the center of the evening. Yeah, I think... That's the main reason. I don't know. I mean, they're just, the memes are, they're not the center of the evening. Yeah,
Starting point is 00:56:25 I think, I mean, that's the main reason. I don't know. I think it was so bad that those, I think those, I think those optics
Starting point is 00:56:32 were so bad with them with the paddle signs. They were just like perfect meme fodder. I think that was so, so bad. That idea was so bad. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:56:40 Al Green waving the cane and the paddle signs. I think it was so bad that it will, a lot of people will see that. I think you could be right. I see a lot of right-wing like, oh, they didn't even clap for this and this. That I'm not concerned about.
Starting point is 00:56:52 I'm like, are people really watching this clapping? No, they aren't. I just don't think so. No, they aren't. And also, it was a 100-minute speech. It's long. Yeah, I don't think any of this. How many people would watch this?
Starting point is 00:57:01 Here's one of the things that I would point to, Emily, is I was looking at some of the polling around this. And the approval rating of, like, Democrats and the Democratic Party and congressional Democrats is in the tank. Yes. And yet when you ask people who do you prefer on a generic congressional ballot, Democrats. What's the – The Republicans. Because the latest one was by five, which is significant.
Starting point is 00:57:24 Yeah, that's a good deal. to politics, but also Republicans are truly enacting an agenda, and Trump in particular, that is really unpopular. I mean, the Greenland stuff is unpopular. Gaza is unpopular. Even the Gulf of America thing, which I thought people might eat up, even that's unpopular. Yeah, it has been. A lot of these pieces, and Doge is unpopular, and Elon's unpopular, and cutting Social Security, and cutting Medicaid, and giving're like all of these things are really, really unpopular. And so when you put that together and it's like, hey, do you want maybe a check on that? Even if these people are kind of lame, they're like, yeah, probably. Not to mention Democrats have the benefit now of the coalition that previously used to benefit Republicans in midterms, which is their people freaking show up.
Starting point is 00:58:21 Yeah, that's true. And the midterm election, that matters a lot. So that's why I listen to Lackinab between now and then, blah, blah, blah, caveats, et cetera. But I would, I think we're probably headed
Starting point is 00:58:31 in the direction of a major political correction, even if the Democrats continue to be freaking lame. If Trump does blow things up, then people will remember, oh yeah, they shook the cane at him. They didn't like...
Starting point is 00:58:40 They're like, you know what they were right about with those paddles. They were right. They were vindicated. I genuinely think that state of the unionists don't make a big difference. I should have prefaced it with that anyway in terms of, like, electoral outcomes. Although, again, I don't know why.
Starting point is 00:58:56 People love the State of the Union. Like, people watch it. It's always the only political event in the top 100 newscast or broadcast in the entire country. I think it really, honestly, it's boring. No, yeah. People like us who watch politics,
Starting point is 00:59:10 like the debates are way more important, you know, stuff like that. And they're fun and they're spiteful. Oh, obviously they're fun. Even just a regular
Starting point is 00:59:16 old Trump press are like a lot more. Oh, yeah. There's way more shit. A lot more riz than that. It's actually going to happen. People like the show,
Starting point is 00:59:24 so whatever. for this being a country, right? Actually gonna happen. Riz! All right, people like the show, so whatever. It's an aspiration for this being a country, right? That's true. It's an aspiration for this being a real country. Oh. This is a serious thing, I need to tune in and hear what my president has to say. You're right, I should take my scolding away.
Starting point is 00:59:36 Everyone should keep watching. If nonetheless, just because we always cover it. Rituals are important. It's a fun thing that we enjoy doing here. It's an annual tradition. Ryan and I will be doing a special show for everybody tomorrow that will be dropping somewhere around midday. And then Crystal and I will be back for a normal show on Thursday. So we will see you guys.
Starting point is 00:59:55 We're also going to have, by the way, Adam Hamilway very briefly. He was Bonnie Watson Coleman's guest at the State of the Union. She'll join as well. She's a Democrat from New Jersey. He's the doctor who saved Tammy Duckworth's life and was then stuck in Gaza twice. So he was in the audience. See what he thought about that. Awesome.
Starting point is 01:00:15 Not a lot. He's on before you get on. Not a lot on the Middle East. Looking forward to it. Really? Yeah, zero. Just the hostages. He's tirelessly working.
Starting point is 01:00:24 Working tirelessly. Yeah, working tirelessly. Working tirelessly. We'll working. Working tirelessly. Yeah, working tirelessly. Working tirelessly. Working tirelessly. We need to retire that one from Washington. All right. We'll see you guys later. DNA test proves he is not the father. Now I'm taking the inheritance. Wait a minute, John. Who is not the father.
Starting point is 01:00:45 Now I'm taking the inheritance. Wait a minute, John. Who's not the father? Well, Sam, luckily it's your not the father week on the OK Storytime podcast. So we'll find out soon. This author writes, my father-in-law is trying to steal the family fortune worth millions from my son, even though it was promised to us. He's trying to give it to his irresponsible son. But I have DNA proof that could get the money back.
Starting point is 01:01:03 Hold up. They could lose their family and millions of dollars? Yep. Find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight loss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results. But there were some dark truths behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children.
Starting point is 01:01:26 Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror movie. Enter Camp Shame, an eight-part series examining the rise and fall of Camp Shane and the culture that fueled its decades-long success. You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad-free on iHeart True Crime Plus. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today. Have you ever thought about going voiceover? I'm Hope Woodard, a comedian, creator, and seeker of male validation. I'm also the girl behind Boy Sober,
Starting point is 01:02:07 the movement that exploded in 2024. You might hear that term and think it's about celibacy, but to me, Boy Sober is about understanding yourself outside of sex and relationships. It's flexible, it's customizable, and it's a personal process. Singleness is not a waiting room. You are actually at the party right now. Let me hear it.
Starting point is 01:02:27 Listen to VoiceOver on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.

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