Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar - 7/31/26: Trump Approval Worse Than J6, DSA vs Dems War, Haley Stevens Crashes Out, GOP Alleged Wife Beater

Episode Date: July 31, 2026

The Friday crew looks at Trump's approval ratings sinking to new historic lows and a new poll showing 1/3 of Democratic voters identify positively with DSA. Then we're joined by Michigan Chronicle rep...orter Sam Robinson to talk about what he's seeing on the ground in the primary between Haley Stevens and Abdul El Sayed. Finally, we look at the allegations that Rep. Max Miller assaulted his wife and toddler while the GOP continues backing his race. Sam Robinson: https://x.com/samueljrob   To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.com    Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. The Dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form. We're launching Podlandia, AEO, rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters,
Starting point is 00:00:20 and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Chrysler, the mayor, himself Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song. Well, I thought you were all going to write a song.
Starting point is 00:00:41 I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. A.O. Rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam J. And we're the host of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart women's sports. We're breaking down the biggest headlines. Naomi Osaka, showing out. Shout-houts to you, Naomi. The viral moments. I've been obsessed with Kashan Rocks, boxing journey.
Starting point is 00:01:09 She looks good. Her combos are swift. And the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's sports on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is Chelsea Hamler from Dear Chelsea. Every week, the news gets worse. The world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible, you're the problem. Do you know I just found out who Sidney Sweeney was? If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less so I don't have to do so much.
Starting point is 00:01:41 I'm Yamanika and I'm out. Listen to You're the Problem with Yamanika on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey guys, Saga 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, please go to breakingpoints.com, become a member today, and you'll get access to our full shows, unedited, ad-free, and all put together for you every morning in your inbox.
Starting point is 00:02:17 We need your help to build the future of independent news media, and we hope to see you at breaking points.com. Hello, everyone. It's Friday, July 31st. Welcome to your Breaking Points Friday show. We got Crystal. We got Emily, and we got a big show today. We're looking at Trump approval ratings. How popular is our president? We have some answers towards that. And how popular is the DSA? Because there's some new polling showing that a third of Democratic voters are now identifying or at least favorable of Democratic socialism.
Starting point is 00:02:51 Dun dun dun. And we've got Michigan reporter Sam Robinson going to join us at the 10 a.m. hour to talk about updates with the race between Abdul and Haley Stevens. The racism meter is getting turned up to 11, maybe 12. Against Haley Stevens. Against Haley Stevens. It's white racism. And so we'll get into all that and more with Sam Robinson.
Starting point is 00:03:16 And then potentially a little... Emily and I need to defend our people. That's right. That's right. Breaking points, so white. And then Max Miller, there's some dustups going there. Bernie Moreto's daughter, Emily Marino, just filed a lawsuit restraining order against Mac Miller for abuse. That's Representative Max Miller.
Starting point is 00:03:39 And we'll get all into that. And more here on Breaking Points Fridays. But Crystal, you were talking about how we all assume that Trump is unpopular, but just how unpopular is he? Well, we've got some new polling that I'll pull up right here. Why don't you read it off for us? Yeah. So, you know, we like to look at. a number of polls together rather than just one because one can be an outlier. But this week,
Starting point is 00:04:04 we had three high-quality polls come out that all have him, not just in the 30s, in the low 30s. So CNN has his approval at 34%. AP has it at 33%. Quinopeak has it at 32%. His overall disapproval rating has now, I think this is in the RCP average, has now topped 60%. He's been flirting with that for a while now he's reached this rather dismal milestone. And I was looking back just historically for some comparisons here. And, you know, everybody thinks about George Debbie Bush and how unpopular he was after people soured on the Iraq war. The real turning point for him with his approval rating was his abysmal handling of Katrina and how horrifying that was. After Katrina, his approval rating sunk to the high 30s. So in terms of Trump himself,
Starting point is 00:04:58 if you go back to the lowest ratings from the first term, which came right after January 6th, this is right in line or even a little bit lower than where he was at this point. So we've always been accustomed to Trump being very divisive. And for most of his political career, he has been underwater in terms of his approval rating. But I think it's worth noting that we are truly reaching new lows here as, you know, and I think the Iran War is really a big part of what is pushing him to this, historically low level, not only because people oppose the war, but because they opposed the impacts the war is having on their bank accounts day in and day out. There actually was a period,
Starting point is 00:05:38 Emily, where his approval rating ticked back up a little bit. And it was right during the time period after he'd signed the MOU, where there was a sense of like, okay, he's going to wrap this up. Okay, we're moving forward. The gas prices are going back down. And then when we went right back to war, guess what, the approval rating cratered to new lows that we're seeing from him today. Yeah, I think it's actually important to pause on these numbers because we have become numb to Trump being just a really polarizing politician. But if you go back to 2024, the time between that election and when he took office, his numbers were for a very polarized country and a very polarizing figure, actually pretty high. And he just wondered that. For him, it was record highs. He was a little bit, you know, a little bit net favorable. And that was really a first for him for his. political career. Right. And Republicans felt because of that, they had the wind at their back that they had just made like generational, uh, momentum inroads with young voters, inroads with black and Hispanic voters. Some of those might be sticky-ish, but the polling isn't showing that at all as of right now. He's lost inroads with just about all of the people he made inroads with. And for me, it's just like, what's the best way to put it? Amusing almost to go back to the time period because on the right, people were so confident. And and convinced that this was a sea change in American politics. And when you look at the numbers now, there's no way, there's no way that the energy and the euphoria they felt right there was durable
Starting point is 00:07:09 because it's gone. Like was it ever durable? Open question. But with the Iran war, it's the nail in the coffin of whether that was actually ever going to mark a real sea change. And we don't just have numbers, but we also have words. Now, Navigator did a word. cloud poll here for people who voted for Trump and are now feeling disappointed in that. Now, some of the words up here, the biggest one, war promises, economy, Iran, and then some smaller ones kind of outside the inner circle. We got a tiny little ice here at the bottom, middle class, even a racism in the bottom left. Wow.
Starting point is 00:07:53 We got 360 falling apart crime. Very interesting as well. And then some in the bottom right here it says buddies. I don't know what buddies refers to. Bronies probably. Maybe just like. Oh, yeah, that's what it is. Giving like favors to his buddies.
Starting point is 00:08:09 That's what it is. Oh, okay. Not like, I thought we were buddies. But if we look at the word crowd, promises economy and war all go together. They all go together. Because with a, and this is something that I think applies to populist type candidates across the board, if you are saying don't trust the other people, they are lying to you, which is what Trump did in every single election. And that is where some people who had lost faith in
Starting point is 00:08:37 our institutions, it is basically that record lows across the board institutional trust. They say, all right, well, I'm just going to take a bet on this guy who's telling me everybody else is lying to me. He's correct about that. So maybe he's correct, generally. And when you then say, I'm going to be different. And inflation is. like it's worse, it was worse the last couple of months than it was when he took office because it had been coming down over the last like year of the Biden administration. And then obviously gas prices and then obviously the fact that we're now around 20 dead Americans in Iran and in another stalemate right now at least, that's a disaster for
Starting point is 00:09:17 somebody who said over and over going on the campaign trail for 10 years, basically, that he was not going to be a George W. Bush, that he was not going to do. dumb wars. He said he was not going to do new wars. So all of that is just blowing up in his face. Affordability. He was going to take down inflation. I mean, it was just a like legendary turnabout. Yeah, I think there's been a lot going on with the rise of Trump and the return of Trump and the, you know, defeat of establishment Democrats. I think there are a lot of different factors that play into that. But you could be forgiven for looking at the entire Trump political trajectory and saying, you know, this was just about the economy.
Starting point is 00:09:58 You know, people coming out of the Barack Obama era post great recession, feeling that the gains are not flowing, evenly to people that they're being left behind, they're struggling. You've got the legacy of all of the blue-collar work and factories going away. Trump comes in as this brash businessman, and Americans just tend to assume that, oh, he's a billionaire, so he must know what he's doing.
Starting point is 00:10:22 He's probably going to be good for the economy. And then, lo and behold, during his first term in the – office, the economy, it was pretty good. So, you know, in spite of whatever else was going on that people may not have loved, they're like, you know what, but I was doing pretty well. Then you have COVID, which comes in at the end of Trump's term. Then you have, you know, the Biden era where you've got the hangover from COVID, the hangover from the lockdowns, all the supply chain disruptions, inflation comes in. And it's not just Biden slash Harris that loses that election. If you look around the world. Incumbents were tossed down in almost every nation in the entire world, either the incumbent or the
Starting point is 00:11:00 incumbent party, simply because of high inflation. And people looked back at the first term and they were like, you know, I was doing better then. So maybe if we bring this guy back, maybe he can recreate what I was feeling during that time period and not that it was amazing, but it's better than what we're dealing with now. So he comes in and people thought again, okay, he's a businessman, he's going to figure this out. And instead, we just get own goal after own goal. You know, it's the tariffs which immediately contribute to inflation and create problems for the economy. It's, it's Doge, which ends up doing nothing actually to shrink the deficit and also destroys a lot of jobs in the process. And then, of course, the war is the final straw here where, you know, it's the war which people oppose
Starting point is 00:11:46 and the amount of money that's being spent on that and the risk and all of the that that comes with it. But it's also the way the war directly impacts them where you can't blame someone else. This is all you're doing. When I'm going to the gas pump and I'm paying four bucks a gallon or more than that, that is directly because of the choices that you make. And then Trump has the audacity to come out and say, I don't think about Americans' financial situation at all. That's not a factor for me.
Starting point is 00:12:12 So, you know, if you just look at it through that lens, you can explain a lot of Trump's initial rise in politics, his return. And now how he's fallen off so hard because people do see it as a really fundamental broken promise. And it's not something you can bullshit them on because they have a personal sense, a personal reality that they're dealing with when it comes to the economy. Yeah. I think that's very true. And this is before any sort of potential ground troop invasion, collapse of the full collapse of the gas economy. Like this is before all that.
Starting point is 00:12:47 So Trump maybe maybe posting some unseen numbers. very soon. I did want to flag one word that is specifically mysteriously missing on this cloud and that's Epstein. I thought about that too, yeah. It's not on this list at all
Starting point is 00:13:04 and it's all about war. Well, it could be buddies. That's right. But I got to say, if it's all about war and there's no Epstein in this cloud, then I guess mission accomplished
Starting point is 00:13:13 for Trump. I mean, this isn't crazy. I mean, one of the most blatant, like, on its face, clumsy, stupid cover-ups of all time. And it's kind of gotten washed away with the news of this disastrous war.
Starting point is 00:13:29 So, sir, mission accomplished. I would argue that that may fall under, though, promises because I do think that there's a sense in which the betrayal on Epstein really felt like a, it was very brand damaging to Trump when it turned out like, oh, you actually aren't going to release these files. You aren't going to hold the pedophile cabal accountable. and, huh, your name is all over these files more than almost any other person. So, you know, it's always been the case that when pollsters ask people like, oh, what's your top issue? Epstein doesn't rank. But we know that how sort of culturally and in terms of vibe and in terms of damaging Trump's brand and people's sense of whether he's delivering for them or not, I think that Epstein has been really damaging. But no doubt about it, been pushed down to the headlines as we all look at, you know, what's the, where's the strategic petroleum reserve today?
Starting point is 00:14:16 how many ships are going through the Strait of Hormuz, et cetera. Yeah, it gets to the question of like, if everybody else is, if you're correctly telling me, everybody else is lying and everybody else is corrupt, and you come in and then you are just very flamboyantly lying and corrupt, that when it touches people's to Crystal's point, people's kitchen table questions, then it can explode.
Starting point is 00:14:42 And I feel like that's why promises is probably one of the bigger words. promises made promises TBD you've heard the chaos now you can see it oh my gosh watch all your favorite podcasts from start to finish right inside the free iHeard radio app catch every laugh and eye roll on shows like the Tom Green Farmcast
Starting point is 00:15:05 and park the bus now with full video we're building a ramp for Tony Hawk it's the same hosts and the same chemistry with all the hilarious moments you've been missing Right on your screen. Cheers. Open the free IHard Radio app. Search video podcasts and tap watch.
Starting point is 00:15:21 What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam J. And we're the host of everyone watches women's sports, a new podcast from Together and IHart Women's Sports. Because let's be real. Women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days.
Starting point is 00:15:35 So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo roer to go from California to Hawaii. My first thought is like, what's up with the snow? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire timeline. And the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep
Starting point is 00:15:54 going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports. Naomi Osaka, showing out, she beat Sabalinka. Shout out to you, Naomi. You get the palm, Naomi. You get the palm for that. Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking
Starting point is 00:16:10 about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watching Women's Sports on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. You know us, or rather you know them. Tony and Candice, Nina and Lance, Spike, and yes, The Chicken. We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as
Starting point is 00:16:34 ourselves to tell you about Podlandia, AEO rewatch, our brand new podcast. Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic. characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process. How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guestars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Chrysall, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully
Starting point is 00:17:12 improvised, not just words, but a song, a melody. Well, I thought he was going to write. I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. Ayo rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So that's going to end that polling segment, but we have some other polling going on here that Emily had to flag our sort of breaking points resident DSA tracker. No one is tracking the popularity of the DSA more than Emily Dishinsky. This CNN poll says a third of Democrats now identify.
Starting point is 00:17:49 as Democratic Socialists. About a third of Democrats and Democratic-Lean adults identify as a Democratic socialist according to a new CNN poll. There's some of the parties, staunches supporters, but many are also raring
Starting point is 00:18:02 for a party overhaul at a time when Dem Socialists are seeing new momentum building on New York City Mayor Osoramamonni's victory over Andrew Cuomo last year. Here's just some of the numbers I want you guys to react to.
Starting point is 00:18:15 It does tend to be younger, 59% are younger. are less likely to have a college degree, are more likely to say they are extremely motivated to vote this year, and are more positive towards the Democratic Party. They are more likely to hold favorable views of the Democratic Party and its congressional leaders and more likely to have negative views of the Republican Party
Starting point is 00:18:39 and its congressional leaders. Now, that last one to me kind of raises some questions on how they ask that question. Maybe it's like if you had to choose one kind of deal, but what do we make of this? Well, I think it's really important to political questions looking at that bullet point about being more energized to vote this year. We obviously had Francesca Hong on this week,
Starting point is 00:19:01 and there are Wisconsin Republicans looking at the poll that Crystal actually asked Francesa Hong about, showing she would be behind Tom Tiffany, where I think it was Mandela Barnes and Crowe would have been closer with Tom Tiffany in the, I think it was a Marquette poll. And it was close. But that's this question now for Republicans in Wisconsin is, okay, so are they better off with Francesca Hong as the nominee, which she is almost certain to be at this point than they would be with one of the more centrist candidates? And this number should give them some serious fear that if they are trying to boost Francesca Hong right now and there's some evidence that Republicans are because they believe they'd be better off with Francesca Hong, they may be very wrong. I would still give Tom Tiffany the edge in that race.
Starting point is 00:19:51 But when you're looking at these numbers of people who are specifically identifying as Democrat socialists, as Democratic socialists saying that they are more energized to vote, what that could look like is Bernie surprising Hillary Clinton in some of those primary victories. But I'm talking about that on a turnout level. Yeah, I'm talking about that, though, on a turnout level in November when you have this like energized grassroots of Democrats that aren't actually disillust. But because a bunch of money comes in to back Francesca Hong, Hong gets sort of mom-dani mentum and ends up just becoming a sort of Zoron on a state level, on a gubernatorial level. That is, those are the numbers showing Democratic socialists are more energized to vote than other Democrats. Those are the numbers that should concern Republicans or, well, yeah,
Starting point is 00:20:46 particularly Republicans, but also moderate Democrats who think like the DSA as a blip. The thing that people have not, and I mean Democratic leadership specifically, have not recognized about the Democratic base, is that whether or not they specifically identify as Democratic Socialists or not, they agree on policy with the Democratic Socialists. And what that has actually long been the case, like back when Bernie was running, even in 2016, if you ask people about Medicare for all, they supported Medicare for all. they supported Medicare for all over other public option or whatever other ideas were floated, but they were concerned about electability. And so now that the Democratic establishment has been credibility on this electability case has been destroyed by the reelection of Donald Trump, that has really opened things up for, you know, the Bernie wing or the Democratic Socialist wing or the left flank or whatever you want to call that part of the party. And you have the emergence of
Starting point is 00:21:44 Israel as this really clear dividing line of which side are you on. So those are some of the reasons why you have so much traction right now. Another piece is, I think, the media ecosystem changing so that now you have shows like ours. You have lots of, you know, DropSight was just profiled by the AP for their role in this new media ecosystem that allows candidates like Abdul al-Syad or other more DSA-aligned candidates to get their voices out and reach an audience and create a contrast. the establishment media has also lost credibility. And then I think the other thing is that people understand this is a good year for Democrats. Trump, as we just covered, is his ratings are in the toilet. People are disgusted with what Trump 2.0 has looked like. Democrats are
Starting point is 00:22:31 highly, highly motivated. And Republicans are kind of dispirited. So I think there's also a little bit of a sense of, okay, we can take a risk on candidates that we actually like and agree with versus trying to eat our vegetables with the candidates that the Democratic establishment are trying to shove down our throats, who were not that interested in. So not only if they lost credibility, but people are saying like, you know what, we need to do something different. It matters not just that you get Democrats in there. It matters what kind of Democrats. And this is the kind of year where we think we could take a bit of a risk and get someone in there that we really, really like. we're going to talk to this fantastic reporter Sam Robinson, who's been covering the race on the ground in Michigan really extensively.
Starting point is 00:23:14 If you've seen any clips of voters talking about that race, they've all come from Sam Robinson. And he's done a fantastic job. And we'll probably play this one when we can talk to him. He talked to this one guy. It was like, you know, you're voting for Abdul-Sayyad. Why? And he said, he said something to the effect of like, we need change.
Starting point is 00:23:32 Fuck it. Just like, look, we got to do something different. So what the, like, we got to try something. So fuck it. I'm voting for this guy, even though people are telling me I shouldn't do it. I think there's a lot of that in the Democratic base right now. So, you know, my big takeaway is even the people who don't technically identify as Democratic Socialists within the Democratic base, the vast majority of them agree with us.
Starting point is 00:23:55 Agree on health care for all. Agree certainly on totally changing our relationship with Israel. agree on being much more aggressive in fighting back against Trump and the Republicans and holding them accountable, agree on abolishing ICE, agree on wealth taxes and fighting the oligarchy. So all of those policy positions are the reason why there's so much momentum. And to Crystal's point about a different media environment, she flagged this on Twitter and I did want to pull this up. You know, the Democratic Party has also completely misunderstood or the dem establishment is completely misunderstood. Hassan Piker, who has been traveling the nation this year and endorsing people. So, Crystal, your tweet here says, on April 6th, Abdullah Syed had only a 27% chance of winning
Starting point is 00:24:43 the Democratic primary. On April 7th, he campaigned with Hassan the Hun. Look what happens to his odds of victory at that moment. So we've got it right up here. There is, for audio listeners, he is trailing underneath Mallory McMorrow, which is such a crazy timestamp to think about. back in April. And then there is a sharp line go up after Hassan Piker, is the TLDR here.
Starting point is 00:25:12 And they have spent a lot of their capital and Democrat establishment distancing or throwing shade at Hassan Piker, trying to make him to be a radical and someone that should be persona non grata, which seems like it has completely failed. But I also wanted y'all, yeah, please. Well, I just wanted to say I think it's one of the greatest political strategy misfires of all time, truly. And they should have known better because they tried the same thing with Cuomo and Zoran and did it work there. So they're like, let's do the same thing in Michigan and see how it goes. And it's not only Abdul that shoots up Mallory and McBorrow, to your point, falls off a cliff. And the reason is because she came out and did the whole, I wouldn't campaign with Hassan. And voters looked at that.
Starting point is 00:25:56 And this is not to take anything away from Hassan, who has a significant platform and I think has been very, impactful in his own right in all of these races. But because they created this Hassan dividing line, it was very clarifying for voters. Voters wanted to know. Okay, who they're saying, you know, Mallory McMorrah, she's trying to say these things. She says it's the genuf side, but she's kind of like watching her words, but she seems like she gets it. When they saw the way that she positioned herself vis-à-vis Hassan, it was a clarifying moment. Oh, you're not the type of politician we're looking for. You're the type who's trying to tell us what we want to hear. But when push comes to shove, you're not the right side of this. You don't have the moral clarity that we require on this issue that is
Starting point is 00:26:35 indicative of whether they're going to have moral clarity on a whole host of issues. So it's not an accident that that is truly the inflection point. And it's kind of wild because they thought this would be what would take Abdul out instead, helping to clarify the divisions in the race ultimately destroys Mallory McMorros' campaign and rockets Abdul into a really quite strong position. the polls that have come out have them up, you know, 10, 12, 15 points at this point. And that's with everybody throwing all the establishment, throwing everything they possibly can in for Haley Stevens. So, you know, I think his role in the media ecosystem is really important. But I also, and the way that he's used his political capital has been really important. But the key thing there
Starting point is 00:27:18 was how the establishment used him to serve as a clarifying dividing line. And they found out that, Oh, it turns out the vast majority of the Democratic base, they're going to be on the other side of that dividing line. They're with Hassan. They're with Abdul on this question. Yeah, and it reminds me to your point about Cuomo, actually, that they're going down the exact same or they're doubling down on the strategy that's blown up in their faces. And there's one person, everyone's going to laugh when I say this, who's kind of realized it and is trying like a different route unsuccessfully, but it's Ram Emanuel, who's like noticing. where the base is. He knows he's a centrist. He knows what his record is like. And he's experimenting with different ways to try to get around that if he were to make a presidential run. And instead of trying to do something like more innovative, then doubling down on the failed
Starting point is 00:28:11 strategy, Mallory McMorrow and Mallory McMorroro's consultants, probably a better way to put it, just went in completely the wrong direction politically, thinking that it would be the differentiator. But it actually just kind of makes you look weak to not even. And like if I'm just imagining how if Rahm Emanuel were running in this race, he would have said, oh, sure, I'll sit down with anybody. And then he would have sat down with a Hassan Pike. He did say that, actually. He was asked about that. And he said, I sit down with that. I'll talk to anybody. No problem. Right. And it makes you look weak to just be like, uh, no, I'm not going to talk to. You know, I just feel it. It just, it's, it doesn't work anymore because nobody trusts the gatekeepers. And so if you look like a gatekeeper, you look lame and untrustworthy. And Republican, like, if you're just trying to like toss out these Hassan Piker clips because he does have some spicy clips, it also shows that people don't really care that much about that. Oh, he said something distasteful about 9-11 or whatever. Like people can't fill up their gas. People can't buy a house. So people just really don't care about a spicy clip that you put on a mailer. That's not relevant to anyone here. Well, and not only that, but you're asking us to believe that saying something untoward about 9-11 is a more radical thing than supporting our tax tollers going to a literal genocide.
Starting point is 00:29:32 And I think people are looking at that through a very different moral lens than what the establishment is. And they're saying, no, your position is the one that is on a step. Your position is the one that's fringe. Your position is the one that's radical and has much graver real world moral abuse. like a horrifying moral implications than Hassan popping off on a podcast and saying something that is that is edgy or you know offensive or maybe both are radical and people just don't care anymore because people feel increasingly radical like it we're not talking about the entire country we're talking about the democratic base and there's a significant or not insignificant chunk of the democratic base that does feel more radical especially younger that shows up in polling over and over again so just saying that somebody is radical without offering. your own ideas for what the moral clarity of the party should look like in a way that actually feels grounded and rooted and not kind of cowardly and milk toast is a disaster for people like Mallory McMorro. I don't know why we're talking about Mallory McMorror.
Starting point is 00:30:33 You know, I just saw yesterday, Emily, somebody reposting the infamous, like her dancing with the marching band and the big like printouts of her face and whatever. It really brought me back to that particular moment in time. But one last thing I'm going to say about DSA and demographics because you really see, you know, as the establishment loses their grip, they're using a lot of really nasty, nasty dishonest tactics to try to beat back this rise of the left. And they're going to the old playback book of like racial resentment politics and weaponizing identity, et cetera. And one of their go-toes is like, oh, well, the DSA, it's just like wealthy white people that are tricking everybody into voting for these candidates, basically. And
Starting point is 00:31:17 So I think it's interesting to look at the demographics of who within the Democratic Party is actually identifying as a Democratic socialist. And they do tend to be, they're more likely to be white. Although the difference at this point, because the DSA coalition has expanded dramatically, is quite small. It's 57% to 49%. They tend to be younger. That's a huge dividing line. They're less likely to have a college degree. They're more likely to earn less than $100,000 a year.
Starting point is 00:31:46 So should this surprise anyone that young people, and we're using young people loosely here, we're talking about people younger than 45, so basically millennials and Gen Z, young people who came of age during the Great Recession or Zomers who are coming of age now, or we're seeing really dire economic prospects who are saying, you know, either I have a college degree and I'm just like saddled with debt and can't get a job that is going to be able to pay that debt off, or they're looking at the college and foregoing it all together because they see that landscape. but they don't have a lot of other good options, that those would be the sorts of people who would get involved in this politics. And so, you know, I think that is an important story, too, of who DSA is. And what you saw in the New York races, what you saw in the Denver race as well with Milakiros,
Starting point is 00:32:34 is that the previous somewhat accurate archetype of like the white Brooklyn leftist, that is really being left in the dust now. The coalition is expanding greatly. and especially in the biggest divide tends to be more generational than racial at this point. Yes, and I did want to just end this segment with one clip. You know, Crystal mentioned that picking the fight with Hassan Piker was a terrible political move for the establishment, but they continue to fight the battle against DSA, which I think will equally be disastrous for them.
Starting point is 00:33:09 We've got Jamie Harrison here being asked about it with Joy Reid. Let's take a quick listen. The other elephant in the room is, I know you're not. not a huge fan of DSA. I've seen your, I've seen your tweet. You laugh, but I've seen them. Do you view this, which is what a lot of progressives fear and South Carolina being able to effectively smother progressives that come in because the state is not, you know, sort of DSA-centered, is that one of the reasons that so many folks like yourself are happy about South Carolina being heard. No, no, Joy. I mean, anybody knows me. I think I represent sort of the
Starting point is 00:33:51 pragmatism that you got in South Carolina. This is a big tent party. You know, Democrats are a coalition, and in a coalition or in a family, you argue. And you're going to have some of your family members who feel a certain way about this and you got some who feel a certain way about that. I don't have any problems with folks from DSA. What I have problems with more of is that we got one party right now that is trying to fight back against fashion. And if we tear that party apart at this point, we're going to lose because there's no other party or no other entity that is strong enough to hold that back. Now, again, if you are trying to destroy the party, then you and I will have, we'll have issues because I just don't think that's the right way to go.
Starting point is 00:34:35 But that doesn't mean- I would argue that, I mean, not to interrupt you, but I think that this is the conversation I think we need to have. Because I don't. know if the idea is to destroy the party, but really rather to maybe tear down some of the systems that make the party ineffective. And so I think there are people who see a party that has potential, but that is holding back because of special interests that are saying, do less. Just have a little you just only keep the dime. You don't need the dollar. Yeah. But a lot of people need the dollar. Right now, people desperately need the whole dollar. It is quite something to see Jamie Harrison talking in this way at a time when, you know, I have former Biden-slash Jill Biden aide who's saying that if Abdul is the nominee, he will do everything that he possibly can to elect the Republican in that race.
Starting point is 00:35:24 We have Hillary Shulton, who is a Michigan representative who has said that she could never support Abdul because of his unspecified anti-American views that she claims he's pushing forward. a lot of centrists who would be in the sort of Jamie Harrison lane of politics suddenly abandoned vote blue no matter who when they saw these sort of progressive and lefty candidates who were rising to the top. So if anyone is tearing apart the Democratic Party right now, it's not the left. Everything I'm hearing from the left is, hey, we need a big tent. We need to join together to fight against the rise of fascism to accomplish goals that actually deliver for working people. That's what Francesca Hong told us in reference to Van Jones and his attention. on the left flank of the party. So I think maybe Mr. Harrison needs to take a look at his own part of the coalition to see who is trying to rip the Democratic Party apart at this point.
Starting point is 00:36:18 So you're not part of the liberal commentariat that's now uncommitted for Abdul? They're going to leave that space blank. It reminds me so much of Bill Crystal going from like arch Republican defender and strategist at the weekly standard to suddenly saying, I'm so disgusted by Trump voters, not just Trump, but Trump voters, that I will be working to elect Hillary Clinton or whatever else or whoever else came down afterwards. And he now calls himself like a feminist. So just wait. We're going to have former Biden staffers calling themselves America first pretty soon. Oh, that is absolutely. I do think there will be Democrats who leave the party specifically over Israel. I think that will be that will happen. And it's going to be mostly Democratic elected leadership is what I'm referring to here more than voters.
Starting point is 00:37:12 But that's going to be a thing. Fetterman. Keep your eyes open for that one. Fetterman. Bye, bye, sir. Fetterman, Dean Phillips, all of you guys. Hey, who knew the third party would come from the centrist Democrats and not from the far left? Canadian women are looking for more.
Starting point is 00:37:30 More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are out of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
Starting point is 00:37:53 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up y'all? It's your girl, Sam J. And we're the host of everyone watches women's sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart Women's Sports. Because let's be real.
Starting point is 00:38:10 Women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days. So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii. My first thought is like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments to take over your entire timeline. And the conversations that start during the game
Starting point is 00:38:31 and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports. Naomi Osaka showing out, she beat Sabalinka. Shout out to you, Naomi. You get the palm, Naomi. You get the palm for that. Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking about it.
Starting point is 00:38:49 Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's sports on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. You know us or rather you know them. Tony and Candid. Nina and Lance, Spike, and yes, The Chicken.
Starting point is 00:39:09 We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia, AEO rewatch, our brand new podcast. Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process. How did any of this get made?
Starting point is 00:39:32 Why do you think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Chryssel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song, a melody. Well, I thought he was going to write.
Starting point is 00:39:54 I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. Ayo, rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. But we've got a lot more democratic politics going on here. You know, the race that the entire nation is watching right now is the Democratic primary in Michigan. And we've got reporter and journalist Sam Robinson here on the show. He's been covering all of it on the ground.
Starting point is 00:40:29 How you doing, Sam? I'm doing good. How are you guys? We're happy to have you here, Sam. Now let's start off with a big poll that just dropped last evening. here, the Michigan Senate Democratic primary poll with Abdul al-Sayed leading by, I'm not good at math, y'all. Is that double digits? We've got Abdul here at 56 percent and Haley Stevens at 39 percent. Of course, this is after over $74 million in spending for Haley Stevens. Sam, what are you
Starting point is 00:41:03 seeing on the ground in regards to this poll? Well, you know, I'm seeing a lot of my, neighbors. I'm on the east side of Detroit. You know, in the urban corps, Abdul's movement has not quite reached. What has reached are the ads, are the mailers like this,
Starting point is 00:41:23 specifically targeting black voters. I mean, you can see what the font and the color scheme used. You can see the photo with Obama is somewhere on the back here. And so, of course, Barack Obama has not weighed into this race. His office told Dave Weigel that specifically.
Starting point is 00:41:41 He has not weighed into this race. We haven't heard anything of a takedown on his part. I guess some people say, you know, if he was really that bothered by all of these ads, perhaps he would say something. He has not. And so a lot of my neighbors who tell me that they're voting for, Haley Stevens,
Starting point is 00:41:57 they talk about the ads. They'll talk about, early on, there was ads about ice. So I would hear that quite a bit. You know, she's going to take on ice. She's going to lower grocery costs. You know, it's really interesting. I do think that the reality is that Abdul Al-Sayyad is the frontrunner. He's been the front-runner for quite some time now.
Starting point is 00:42:22 I think as soon as Mallory dropped out, it became clear. And you work, people should know, for the Michigan Chronicle, it's the oldest black newspaper in the state. So you're covering the race and also specifically the African-American community is the beat that you focus on here. Griffin, can you queue up the, yes, this one exactly. I want to play this young 19-year-old supporter of Abdul Al-Sayed explaining the reason that he supports him. And then I'm curious on the other side of this, Sam, if you're seeing a generational divide here in your community as far as how voters are viewing this race, let's go ahead and take a listen to Brandon Young here.
Starting point is 00:43:02 Yes, and I just want to flag for audio-only listeners. He's also wearing a Dragon Ball Z t-shirt. So we're getting the young black Dragon Ball Z electorate now into Michigan race. Very specific slice of the electorate. Easy. She's like too much of a corporate in Israel shill. Like one of her most famous quotes is that Israel comes to her in her dreams. Fuck that.
Starting point is 00:43:23 I'm so sick of America like bending the knee and like getting on its knees for Israel. And Haley Stevens doesn't really seem to be against that. Abdul al-Sahed doesn't take like any question. corporate funding. He just has endorsements from the UAW and Bernie Sanders. Haley Stevens is basically like being groomed to be into the India Senate to make more favorable changes for Israel. And I'm not okay with that. I don't like, I already don't like indirectly supporting a genocide just by collecting a paycheck or by buying literally anything in the country because I know it's all going to eventually go upwards. And then outwards to Israel. And,
Starting point is 00:44:06 And if my, and if I can, like, say that my own state's responsible for that, I feel deeply ashamed. So I'm just going to vote for the guy that's not doing that. And let's get one last one here to cap this off. Somebody different. Yeah, you know what I mean? Instead of going, what did you know? And we need changes and shit, you know what I mean? Fuck it.
Starting point is 00:44:30 I think that is. We need changes and shit. Fuck it is such a great. That's a great tagline right there. I feel that my bones. So, Sam, is this, is this, you know, is this just a anecdotal video? Or is this something that you're seeing on the ground largely? There's a generational divide in this race.
Starting point is 00:44:51 I think the exit polls are going to show that clearly. You know, the talk of black voters are all going to vote for Haley Stevens is ridiculous. I mean, frankly, the talk of all Jewish voters, all Oakland County voters are going to vote for Haley Stevens, I think is a little bit ridiculous. When you go into those communities, you know, you'll really find all kinds of outliers, older black voters that are supporting Abdul al-Assad that are frankly worried about the direction of the Democratic Party, worried about their tax money going to foreign governments like Israel, worried about cuts to Medicare voting rights.
Starting point is 00:45:33 So it's interesting, you know, most of, My peers, you know, are in that Abdul Al-Sal-Said camp. It is kind of hard to find Haley Stevens supporters who are not, like, you know, either working for Haley Stevens. They're like in their 20s or, you know, I was at a Haley Stevens event at a Teamsters Union Hall in Detroit. And, you know, I would go up to people asking them where they're from, can I talk to them and include them in my story? and I was attempting to find young people at the event who wanted to share anything.
Starting point is 00:46:11 And I actually talked to three people, some like, you know, white guys with t-shirts on. They all worked for the campaign. They all couldn't talk to me because they're like, oh, I technically worked for the campaign. So, you know, it is kind of hard to find the younger Haley Stevens voter. Typically the ones that I've talked to are wealthier, are perhaps from Oakland County. So she's going to have to run up the score in her own district there. She represents Farmington Hills, Birmingham. It's Oakland County.
Starting point is 00:46:42 Certainly Wayne County is going to go to Abdul Al-Sayette, I would imagine. The city of Detroit, she's going to have to run up those numbers, too. We have 500,000 eligible voters here. Of course, you know, turnout's going to be like 18 to 25%. I've been hearing some people say that Abdul Al-Sayette has to kind of root for low turnout in Detroit. I frankly don't even know if that's going to matter based on what we've seen in these poll numbers. And Sam, I wanted to ask you about this interview you did with Farmington School Board member, Angie Smith, Griffin, if you could cue this one up. Because obviously, there are echoes of 2016 and even 2020 Bernie Sanders in South Carolina where you had Jim Clyburn, for example, basically organizing to get Joe Biden to be coronated.
Starting point is 00:47:27 sorry by orchestrating the dropout of Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar and consolidating around Joe Biden. And at the time, the reason that this kind of echoes is obviously because the idea is that the emergent socialist coalition is overly white and it is not appealing to black voters, which is, as we've been discussing so far, not a clean narrative in this particular race. But here's what Angie Smith, Farmington School Board member, told you, Sam, and we'll get to react on the backside. Yeah, and Sam, don't count yourself short. You found some supporters here.
Starting point is 00:48:02 Let's take a lesson. Oh, yeah. So we're here with Angie Smith. And you're from Farmington. Hi, I'm Angie Smith. I'm from Farmington Public Schools. Top vote getter for Farmington Public School Board and on the board 11 years. I am supporting Haley Stevens because she's that candidate.
Starting point is 00:48:21 We need someone that can represent all of us, not just one race, but all races. Haley has done great work in Firmative and in Firmerton Hills. She knows what she's doing. And any time you can go to a Democratic convention and be booed and walk from behind a podium and stand there while you're being booed and things thrown at you, that's our person. So let's vote August 4th for Haley students. Thank you. Thank you. When you say, you know, not just for one way, what do you mean by that?
Starting point is 00:48:53 Do you feel the other candidate is? The other candidate seems to be for, he doesn't work a room. You have to know how to work the room. Don't come out thinking only Arabic. Don't come out. With the Arabic music on, represent everyone. You know, my DNA is my D.N.I. Well, my D.I.
Starting point is 00:49:14 You know, I'm like mother of a lesbian. I'm Puerto Rican and Cherokee with a grandfather that was a white man from Ireland. Represent us all. don't just represent one ethnicity or one race. So Sam, can you confirm that Abdul is coming out speaking in Arabic and only playing Arabic music? Can you confirm that for us? You know, Angie Smith, she was talking about the Michigan Democratic Party Convention. You guys might remember, but to reframe for your viewers who are not in Michigan,
Starting point is 00:49:45 we have these university board regent positions, the board trustees, and there was a Muslim Arab man, Amir Mockled, who defeated a Jewish guy, Jordan Acker. When Amir Mokled's results were announced to the crowd of the Michigan Democratic Party convention, he did come out to Arabic music. Perhaps that's what Angie was referencing. You know, I did not ask her beyond that point.
Starting point is 00:50:15 That was at the end of that video was when I... You got enough. You got enough, yeah. And so she went on Fox 2 yesterday to apologize to Metro Detroit's Middle Eastern community, as she put it. She has Arabic tattoos. She has two Arabic tattoos. So, you know, she said what I think a lot of people think. Well, Sam, this is what I was going to ask you.
Starting point is 00:50:39 How widespread is that? You were just going to say she said what you think a lot of people might be thinking privately. Is that the sense that you get talking to particularly maybe black voters in the Detroit area? Yeah, I mean, it's a sentiment. by some older folks. You know, there is a longstanding tension between Detroit's majority black community
Starting point is 00:51:02 and its Arab Muslim neighbors. You can go to the west side, closer to Deerborn, Deerborn Heights, where they live together in the east side, off seven mile. There's a pretty fair Bengali community that lives door to door to African American families.
Starting point is 00:51:19 And so, yeah, it's been a long, thing in Metro Detroit. A lot has talked about Dearborn, but we live amongst each other in the same communities and there are moments when the tension bubbles up. I think Angie Smith's comments were one of those moments. Haley Stevens's campaign, of course, condemned the comments. I think the comment that she made last night at 10.30 p.m. on Twitter, accusing El-Said of blaming all of his problems on Jewish Americans. You know, I don't think that really helps when talking about this conversation of the tension between Detroit, Metro Detroit's Jewish and Muslim communities. You know, it's certainly an ongoing issue. Yeah. That post was pretty shocking because, like, it was a lengthy
Starting point is 00:52:13 post, but part of it, she said that as you quoted Abdullah Ayyad blames all of his problems on Jewish Americans, which is, you know, I mean, that's just a wild thing to say. I was, like, shocked. Like, we were getting all these text messages. People are calling me about a tweet, about a Haley Stevens tweet at 1030 p.m. I'm like, can you go away? What's the deal? And then I scroll down because it's like a 290 word tweet.
Starting point is 00:52:38 And I'm like, this is an Akman-style tweet right here. Yeah, she's an Ackman posting. Let me read some of this for the audience here in case you have not been tracking and putting notifications on for every Haley Stevens tweet. Like I have, Abdul, we were both on the ballot in 2018. I was capable of winning my competitive primary and general election. You lost. You lost by over 20 points to Gretchen Whitmer, and you will lose to Mike Rogers by talking like
Starting point is 00:53:05 this. Everyone in America understands you want to blame all your problems on Jewish Americans. Bro, I just want to work for Michigan. You know, I think everyone in America, I think the majority of Americans at this, this point do understand the difference between the criticisms of the Israeli government and of Jewish Americans, frankly. I mean, talking to Brandon Young about that after I took the camera off after, you know, we interviewed. He clarified, you know, so I have nothing. A guy, I have Jewish friends and neighbors even, he told me. And so, you know, I, I, this conversation, especially happening
Starting point is 00:53:45 in Michigan, as Haley Stevens knows, as a Democratic Party in Michigan, knows. that our Arab Muslim community feels so strongly about the APAC dollars flowing into this race, about American lawmakers' support for the state of Israel. It is a shame, really, that these things are conflated. Yeah. I was curious, too, Sam, your perspective on. We've had a few Michigan electeds who have either not said whether they would back Abdullah al-Syad if he is the nominee or overtly,
Starting point is 00:54:19 Hillary Shulton, representative, came out and said she could never stand alongside someone who was pushing what she described as anti-American views. And I think the Attorney General said that she would not go to the Democratic, the convention, the party convention in Michigan because she was fearful of her safety. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about that dynamic because, you know, Hillary Shulton, someone from the war sort of center swing of the party. This would have been someone very opposed to, for example, the uncommitted movement. But now when the shoe was on the other foot and she's being asked to support a nominee who shares some views that she does not share, she's unwilling to do so. And I'd also like to tack onto that question, Sam. One last thing to tack on to that question about establishment Michigan Democrats is Gretchen Whitmer came out recently and endorsed Haley Stevens. And we didn't see any bump from that.
Starting point is 00:55:14 In fact, there is new polling on Gretchen Whitmer that she is dropping in the polls. This is an Emerson poll where she holds a 62% approval rating, a 17-point drop since April when it was 79. So what does that say about? And that's among Democratic primary voters. So that's a significant swing. So we love your reaction to that as well. Yeah, you know, I think that, you know, is Gretchen Whitmer's popularity is going to decrease every time that she takes a picture with Sam Altman or. rejects legislation that that would have helped workers every time she puts a binder in front of her face.
Starting point is 00:55:53 I don't think she's ever going to do that again. Does this one? Yeah. Democratic voters did not like that. You know, most of the folks that I talk to, there is some split. You know, they'll say, hey, she's got to do what she's got to do. I actually kind of like that she has sort of, you know, done anything that Trump is asking her to do, which includes appearing in his impromptu press conferences
Starting point is 00:56:15 in which she has to pretend that she's not there. Gretchen Whitmer is still extremely popular in Michigan, but no, I don't think anybody's voting based on what she does or endorses as it relates to the conversation about if Abdul wins, will Haley Stephen supporters back him? You know, to be honest, I am hearing from more Abdul supporters that say, I'm only going to the polls to be, you know, for Abdul. So if he does not win, I will not show up in November.
Starting point is 00:56:49 I am hearing more from those folks that I am, the Haley Stevens people. But when you ask the Haley Stevens people who aren't supporting, don't want to support Abdul, don't want to commit to supporting Abdul, yeah, a lot of it gets into the conversation about Israel, the conversation about race and religion. And, you know, not a lot to do with Medicare for all. Helena Scott, she's a state rep who is, you know, on a Facebook tour smearing me, telling her Facebook audience that I somehow lied on her for reporting what she said to me. She told me that if Abdul wins, we're fucked, she told me.
Starting point is 00:57:27 And when I asked her, would she commit to supporting him if he is the nominee? She says, I can't know. I can't do that right now. And, you know, a few days later, she calls me to tell me that she actually called Abdul al-San. to tell him after receiving backlash online that she would be endorsing him and supporting him. If he is the nominee, Helena Scott, is in her own state legislative race in Ferndale against an insurgent DSA candidate named Chris Gilmer Hill. And so, yeah, there are folks that are on both sides of this kind of going to sit out in November.
Starting point is 00:58:06 No Democrat that I've talked to yet is going to vote for a. sit out and then vote for Mike Rogers. I am hearing some of that accusation from the Haley Stevens folks, this idea that if Abdul isn't the nominee, then there's going to be a large portion of Democratic primary voters that end up voting for Mike Rogers. I would not see that. I don't know. John James is on our ballot, though.
Starting point is 00:58:30 People can vote for black Republican John James for Michigan governor. Oh, good, good. That's good for Facebook. I just, I think that's really significant, though, that some people are also saying they will not vote if Abdul al-Said is not on the ballot because we just looked at a CNN poll earlier in today's show about how the people who are identifying in the Democratic Party, it's about a third, as Democratic Socialists, say they're more energized to vote. And I think that's a significant observation on your behalf, Sam, that you're also talking to people who say they're just not going to
Starting point is 00:59:00 show up because Democrats right now are running behind themselves on the generic congressional ballot compared with 2018 and 2006 big blue wave years. And it feels that. is like the one thing that could help that gap widen between now and November is actually these Democratic Socialist candidates who have injected a lot of energy. So I don't know if Sam, if you have anything to add to that, but just there's something that you see on the grassroots level, probably with the DSA aligned candidates, which Abdul is not. He called, he called himself a capitalist the other day. But, you know, he is Bernie support and that sort of thing. That it is really getting people excited, actually, about organizing and that sort of thing.
Starting point is 00:59:40 Yeah, and Democratic voters in Detroit have been desperate to get excited about something. You know, our voter turnout in the city all across the state is, you know, typically really, really low. When you ask clerk, you know, what are they doing wrong? How can we increase voter turnout? They'll say, well, it's about the candidate too. You know, I think that you talked to James Cotton at the Northwest Activity Center yesterday. You know, what he said was, we're ready. We need change.
Starting point is 01:00:05 We need somebody different. And I think that's the sentiment felt by a lot of Democratic voters. at the Michigan Democratic Party convention that Angie Smith was talking about, you saw progressives on the entire slate win. And so I do think that there's energy in Michigan. If Abdul does not win, does that electability conversation kind of flip, right? Because saw it in 24. If people aren't excited, they're just not going to go vote.
Starting point is 01:00:37 Yeah. One last one for you, Sam. I know it's a little bit outside. of your coverage area. But we had Will Lawrence on the show as well, and our audience was really interested in him and the way that he was standing against data centers. Polls seemed to show him up in that Democratic primary
Starting point is 01:00:51 in Michigan 7th congressional district. You have any sense of the dynamics there, how, you know, whether a strong showing for Abdul may help some other progressive candidates across the finish line, too. Well, you know, something that I've been seeing is that just the cross-canvassing going on between the aligned candidates. You mentioned that Abdul called himself a capitalist. Typically, in my experience, that's enough for the DSA folks to just completely abandon you and say to hell
Starting point is 01:01:20 with you. They have not done that with Abdul Al-Sayed. I am seeing candidates, you know, from the state House Senate level all cross-canvassing. I have not been to Lansing this cycle. I used to cover the state legislature, so I used to be over there to know what was going on. Jasmine Crockett and our former Michigan House Speaker, who was the first black house speaker, Joe Tate. He tried to run for mayor. That didn't work out. Tried to run for U.S. Senate in this race.
Starting point is 01:01:49 If anybody remembers that early on, that did not work out either. And so Jasmine Crockett and Joe are supporting one of Will Lawrence's opponents. He's got two, and they're mad at each other because they think that they're going to split the vote and hand it to Will Lawrence. I don't think it really matters.
Starting point is 01:02:06 Will Lawrence announced that the day before election, he's going to do a walk across Lansing like he's Zoron or something. And I don't know. It's going to be a pretty gray walk across Lansing, Michigan. Yeah, I do think that Will Lawrence is going to win that primary just based on the fact that, you know, no one else has really captured the attention of those folks there. When you talk to people in Lansing, you know, they're pretty, you know, looking already ahead to the general election.
Starting point is 01:02:37 Well, Sam, I really want to thank you for your time this morning. I also want to thank you for your coverage, you know, getting clips from real voters on the ground and hearing them talk in their own language about who they're supporting and why. Somebody trying to watch this race and follow it from the outside. It's truly been invaluable. I don't know why we don't see more coverage like this in all the races. You seem to be doing something unique here, but it seems so straightforward. No, I mean, that's literally what they tell you to do in the school, right? And you go to the general as well, interview people and have them say it in their own words.
Starting point is 01:03:07 I don't know. It's that hard for the fuck in their face. Name age? Why are you here? Well, Sam, tell people where they can follow your work so that they can see some more coverage here, heading into Election Day. Yeah, you can find me on Twitter at Samuel J. Rob.
Starting point is 01:03:25 My substack is called Detroit One Million, and my work is published in Michigan's oldest black newspaper. We're celebrating our 90th anniversary this year, Michigan Chronicle. So shout out to you guys. I appreciate it, Crystal. Thank you. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 01:03:41 Thank you so much. That'll do it for the Michigan Democratic primary. And let's take a quick look over at the Republican side where Representative Max Miller, a lawsuit, a restraining order, has been filed against him. Now, his wife, Emily Moreno, who's also the daughter of Senator Bernie Moreno, also Republican, alleges that Max Miller held a gun to. her head, pushed her against a wall, hit her head, and fractured their daughter's collarbone and bruised her shoulder. Emily, what do you know about these two, both the senator Bernie Moreno and
Starting point is 01:04:21 Max Miller? Well, Bernie Marino is a pretty popular new Republican senator, somebody who came in pretty recently in the Republican Party and is seen as, I mean, he was a considered one of the highlights of the Fauci hearings politically this week, and he's the one who asked Fauci, who the fuck do you think you are? So he's pretty well regarded. And this is an obviously stunning controversy to be playing out so close to him with, I would say, so little reaction. I don't know, Crystal, if that's the sense that you've gotten given the severity of the allegations against his son-in-law. And this is directly involving his daughter. And his granddaughter. There just seems to be, right, Yes, yes. And Crystal, you can probably break some of this down rather than I can because you've been following the story so closely. It's the level of these allegations versus the level of coverage that they're getting in the level of conversation that it's getting in Republican circles, unbelievably out of whack, given how severe the allegations are.
Starting point is 01:05:24 Yeah. So in terms of the allegations, Griffin sum them up. And by the way, these are not the first allegations of domestic abuse or violence against a romantic. partner that Max Miller has faced. Stephanie Grisham, who was in the first Trump White House, also alleged that violent behavior by him. And, you know, this happened before Trump and all the rest of the Republicans backed him for this election. So there was some knowledge of this. There's a clip that's floating now around of him and George Santos fighting on the floor of the house where he calls George Santos, I don't know, a liar and a cheat or something that is highly accurate. And George Santos replies, you're a woman beater. So clearly there were things that have been known for a while, allegedly, about this guy. And so this all comes in the context of this, you know, his now ex-wife, Emily Moreno, who in an ugly divorce and custody hearings has been, this has not been like her making a political point. This is all being through court filings, you know, trying to get herself protected, her daughter protected custody of her child alleges this violent behavior. including suspicions that their two-year-old daughter had her collarbone broken by Max Miller.
Starting point is 01:06:38 And she told her mother, quote, Daddy's house is scary. So this is what, I mean, it's just the most heinous allegations that you can possibly imagine. And again, someone who has faced these sort of allegations before. The latest development here is a new restraining order that she has filed for where apparently Max Miller was unhinged towards her attorney. putting his hands on her attorney, where she had to say, hey, get your hands off my lawyer. He's apparently had unhinged behavior towards his attorney, her attorney before. So, you know, meanwhile, Republicans have been totally silent. You know, many of the same people who five seconds ago were moralizing about Graham Platner
Starting point is 01:07:22 and the allegations that he faced, which Democrats and leftists immediately came out and said this is unacceptable, you have to get out of the race. Suddenly, when we're talking about very credible allegations of, serious domestic violence, they've got nothing to say. There is a deadline. This is an Ohio seat that Trump won by, let's say, 11 points, although I think it is winnable for a Democrat. Bernie Moreno when he was running for Senate in this particular district. I think he only won the district by one point. So Trump performs particularly well. I think it is possible for a Democrat to be able to win the seat. There is an August 5th deadline to get Max Miller off the ballot,
Starting point is 01:07:59 kind of grand platinum style and get someone else in there that is rapidly approaching. And Republicans seem to be standing in lockstep with this guy, including Bernie Moreno, who, to your point, Griffin, let me put that up on the screen here. Yeah, this is his daughter and granddaughter, and he is not taking a public stand against the man that her daughter says is her and her child's abuser. So he says, Senator Moreno's top priorities, the safety and well-being. And this doesn't even come from him. It's from a staffer.
Starting point is 01:08:29 safety and well-being of his daughter and granddaughter, while he does not litigate these matters in the media respond to baseless public attacks, don't know what that means, he will do whatever it takes to ensure a just outcome for his family. So really just grotesque power preserving behavior all around here from the Republicans. And you certainly should never take them seriously. I mean, not that you should have any way given everything that they've accepted about Trump and, you know, his alleged crimes and treatment of women. But in any case, quite clear that they have no interest in, you know, any sort of moral red lines, even when it comes to violence against women here when they want to preserve their house majority. Yeah, he's such a big dog to beat up Dr. Fauci, 85-year-old Dr. Fauci, but when your own granddaughter's collarbone is broken, nothing to say there. Emily, were you going to say? Yeah, I mean, I don't know what's happening behind closed doors legally if there's something going on that they don't want to talk about. I have no idea, but it reminds me so much of what's been happening with Corey Mills over the last couple of years.
Starting point is 01:09:33 Corey Mills remains. You've heard the chaos. Now you can see it. Hello. My gosh. Watch all your favorite podcasts from start to finish, right inside the free I-Hard Radio app. Gets the blood going up. Catch every laugh and eye roll on shows like the Tom Green Farmcast and park the bus.
Starting point is 01:09:49 Now with full video. We're building a ramp for Tony Hawk. It's the same hosts and the same chemistry with all the hilarious moments you've been missing right on your screen. Open the free IHard Radio app. Search video podcasts and tap watch. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam J.
Starting point is 01:10:09 And we're the host of everyone watches women's sports, a new podcast from Together and IHart Women's Sports. Because let's be real. Women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days. So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo roer to go from California to Hawaii. My first thought is, like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating?
Starting point is 01:10:29 The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire timeline. And the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports. Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalinka.
Starting point is 01:10:46 Shout out to you, Naomi. You get the palm, Naomi. You get the palm for that. Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's sports. Sports on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 01:11:04 Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here. You know us, or rather, you know them. Tony and Candice, Nina and Lance, Spike, and yes, the chicken. We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia, AEO rewatch, our brand new podcast. Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters,
Starting point is 01:11:30 Revisiting the Portland locations you know and love and opening up about our creative process. How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guestores, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Chrysall, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song, a melody. Well, I thought he was going to write. I thought you were all going to write a song.
Starting point is 01:12:01 I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. Ayo rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A member of Congress and basically nobody talks about the serious allegations, very serious detailed allegations of domestic abuse that Corey Mills has faced. From multiple people, he's faced allegations of misconduct. So he's still sitting in Congress. he's still voting, he's still acting business as usual. And it's, you know, I think Nancy Mace filed a motion to expel Corey Mills back in the spring, probably like April. But it's just, it's a new era. It feels like it's a new era in politics that when the allegations are made publicly, maybe in years past, like decades past, things would be happening privately. And the boys would, you know, joke about it in the proverbial smoke-filled back rooms, which are, um, obviously very real, but now these are public allegations. And you just see people going about
Starting point is 01:13:05 business as usual. And it's deeply, deeply bizarre. And the Corey Mills example is one that I can never get out of my head. He just goes about life like business as usual on Capitol Hill. And the allegations against him are horrific and really credible. Yeah, that's absolutely right. And I think there's a media story here too. And then we can play this Jim Jordan clip because, you know, I think his handling of it. Jim Jordan represents a district in Ohio is quite emblematic. But he immediately starting to cover this more at this point, but you compare it to Grand Platner and it's night and day. And you can also, another example here is Ken Paxton, who was literally impeached by Republicans in Texas because of his misconduct. And, you know,
Starting point is 01:13:51 all sorts of personal messiness, we'll just call it, but intersecting with. abuse of his office in a corrupt manner. And, you know, that's, that's barely spoken of whatsoever in terms of the national campaign coverage. But let's go ahead and cue up Jim Jordan here, getting asked about this and just really refusing to respond to it at all. I also want to ask you about something a little closer to home. There is a colleague of yours in the Ohio delegation, Max Miller, who is facing allegations of abuse from an ex-wife of the wife and his then toddler daughter. Do you think that Max Miller, who denies this abuse, did he resign from Congress in light of the accusations?
Starting point is 01:14:40 Well, this is the family matter. I know Max is a good man. I was up campaigning for him. I hope he wins re-election. He's done a good job as a member of Congress, and we should all pray for his family. These are difficult times they're going through. We understand that. These kind of situations always are. But Max is a good member and a colleague, and hopefully he's going to win re-election. But ultimately, in the end, that's up for the voters in his district. But, yeah, we were up helping Max just a few weeks ago at a campaign event up in his district in the northern part of our state. So, I mean, it's just worth noting. I mean, the allegations include that Miller scalded his ex-wife's chest and stomach when he threw hot water at her,
Starting point is 01:15:17 that he held a gun into her head, that he pushed her against a wall and hit her in the head, that he fractured their daughter's collarbone and bruised her shoulder, that his two-year-old daughter reportedly pulled us X, Y, F, quote, Daddy to kill you. I want to play for you what you said when you were asked about Graham Platner, who faced allegations of abuse. Let's watch what you told, what you told Newsmax. I'm not heard all this. Well, it was in the New York Times.
Starting point is 01:15:40 It was in the New York Times. That's the list of allegations. It's been out there for a while. I just want to show you what you stole Newsmax when you saw that Graham Platner was facing these accusations. That's always been the case with Democrats. It's all about maintaining power. they will take any crazy position as long as it furthers their ability to win elections and get power,
Starting point is 01:16:02 and frankly to go against anyone that goes against President Trump. Why does that not apply here to Republicans who want to keep power in this state? Well, I don't know the context of the question I was asked about Mr. Platner, but my guess it was about all the ridiculous positions he's taken. The banner there says Platner's ex-girls, the Nazi tattoo, everything else. Yeah, well, I don't, I don't know. I didn't answer, I don't know that I answered that answer that question. I think I was dealing with just who he was as a candidate and the crazy anti-Semitic, anti-Israel pro-Nazi positions that he is taken, I think is
Starting point is 01:16:38 evidenced by the fact that he had a, what, a Nazi tattoo on his pet. All right. Congressman Jim Jordan. Thanks for you. When in doubt, Nazi tattoo, Nazi tattoo. Yeah, and also, oh, I don't know about those allegations. I mean, he literally said, I know Max, he's a good guy. He's a great colleague. I'm going to campaign for him. I was just campaigning with him. Yeah, I hope he gets reelected. Okay, well, you're saying he's a good guy. I mean, no one should believe that he hasn't taken a look at what the allegations are. It's just, you know, preposterous to imagine that he hasn't bothered to acquaint himself with the very serious, very serious allegations against someone that he not only serves with in Congress, but is helping campaign for and is a member of his home state delegation. It's the exact same. They always do this with Trump, too, when Trump does something or says something or some allegation against Trump. that they find too uncomfortable to defend. It's just, oh, I haven't seen that. I didn't read that. I didn't see the tweet. I haven't watched the clip. Next question. It wouldn't completely surprise me if Jim Jordan had just taken staff's word for it and said, like, brief me on it. And it's just a thing where people don't take this stuff seriously enough. And they know he's friends with Max Miller. They don't really want to rock the boat. So I genuinely have no idea. It does seem hard to believe, given that, as Casey Hunt pointed out, it was in the New York. times. The saga has been unfolding over many months, sadly. So it's clearly not being taken seriously enough. I don't know if Bernie Moreno has communicated something to other Republicans.
Starting point is 01:18:08 That's exactly what Jim Jordan started by saying. It's a family matter and we're praying for them. And, you know, that's all going to be dealt with privately. Like, I don't know if that's what they're getting from Moreno. It seems to me like that would be maybe one of the reasons that they would try to just close the case and move on, but they're not going to be able to. They're clearly not going to be able to. So it's just, I don't know, it's, I think everybody's used to this by now, but it's kind of sad to be numb to. The Democratic opponent in the district, you know, I don't know a lot about him, but he seems relatively strong. He is a union iron worker, elected local official seems to sort of model his policy positions after like a shared Brown sort of a populist
Starting point is 01:18:55 candidate. The district, I know the area relatively well. It's like an outside of Cleveland, kind of suburban Ohio district. So, you know, I think, I think if Max Miller remains on the ballot, he'll probably have a shot at this thing. I'm actually interested in interviewing him, learning a little bit more about him, given that this race is getting so much national attention now. So in any case, I don't know, if they're going to be. goal is just to like maintain their grip on power here. I'm not sure that they're even making the right pragmatic decision because I'm not sure that Mr. alleged wife eater is probably their strongest candidate going into the general election here. I believe the vague Ramoswamy got
Starting point is 01:19:32 boot off stage over his position on data centers recently. And I bring that up just to say on a political level, what's happening in Ohio is so underappreciated right now. This is a state that went solidly red during the Trump era, and I think is actually really, really on the map for Democrats. I think as of right now, Sherrod Brown is more likely to win than to lose, and things can change. It looks like with the Iran War, things are only going to get worse for Republicans. They're going to hope to tie everybody from Sherrod Brown to Abdel Al-Said to the DSA, and, you know, they think that's going to be helpful, and they can squeeze some juice out of it and motivate Republican voters and scare off kind of independent-type voters. and that might, you know, carry some water, but it's going to be tough in a place like Ohio where people want to talk about kitchen table stuff, like data centers that are popping up all over the state. The problem is that people that pay that was more in the taxes. I'll tell you this.
Starting point is 01:20:35 We've got, I'll tell you guys, we'll sit in the same data centers for a second. We want to run out. We want to go. We want to do it. Between winners and whiners. Between those who want America to win and those who want America to whine. Okay, so that's out of Young Americans for Liberty. That's out of Young Americans for Liberty convention.
Starting point is 01:21:01 So that's not like Ohio voters, just to be clear. But that's conservative. Probably does even worse. Yeah, that actually was in Ohio, it looks like. Maybe he's talking about the whining from the data center. They're making all the noise. And young Americans for Liberty, what's their, like, are they, like, more libertarian? Like, are they, like, small as massy, like, what's their deal?
Starting point is 01:21:25 Yeah, no, they're libertarian. So that's, they would be, like, Massey types or Ron Paul types. But also, I'm sure there are plenty of accelerationists in there. So it probably was, you know, a handful of people who are massy-pilled, who are horrified by, like, the crony capitalism element of the data centers. So fascinating. And Ohio's really on the table. Yeah, you would think data centers, they would actually be like, you know, oh, the free market wants data centers. So deal with it, homeowner, you know?
Starting point is 01:21:57 I mean, that would be kind of the traditional libertarian position. And so it just shows you the political cross currents of the data center issue. There was another moment when I think he actually did get booed off stage where he said something like, look, guys, the truth of the matter is my generation is going to be fine. And they were like, fuck you, get on the stage. They were, he was not reading the room that well in this speech, I would say. And the polling that I've seen in the Ohio governor's race, his Democratic opponent is Amy Acton, has been very close. I've seen him with like a one or two point edge, but that it's really been on kind of a knife's edge, which, to your point, Emily, I mean, this should be a state that Republicans just have done and dusted. It reminds a bit of what's going on in Iowa, too, where I think Democrats have a very solid chance of winning both the.
Starting point is 01:22:45 Senate and the governor's mansion. These are states that have been hard hit by Trump's policies. And Ohio, I used to live in Ohio. And it is the epicenter of the Trump phenomenon. Like the districts, the counties that shifted the hardest to the right and voted, you know, the most overwhelmingly for Trump. They were places like Youngstown in Ohio. Those are the districts that have made the most dramatic shift to the right. Obama places. Exactly. Yes, exactly right. And so, you know, to see some bubbling discontent there and sense that, like, we did not get what we were promised and this didn't work out the way that we were told it would work out. I think that's a really fascinating political development. Yeah, I totally agree with that. It's places where you have Obama, Trump, Biden, Trump voters or Obama Trump, then maybe Sherrod Brown voters. Yeah. Okay, well, GOP, finger on the pulse.
Starting point is 01:23:47 As always, let's get to the AMA. Well, hey, it's that time of the week where we read some of your written, submitted questions from the AMA, which you can do, of course, if you become a member at breakingpoints.com, and the place to write a question is in every daily show email. Why don't we start, for one, address to the amazing Emily. Is there a behind-the-scenes Trump World Competition? No, not going to read this one yet. I got that one the other day.
Starting point is 01:24:18 I know exactly what it is to be the new Lindsey Graham. To become the new Lindsey Graham, Trump needs a person who can reinsure his war decision and talk about musicals. So it can't just be a war monger. They also have to be, you know, a little bit of a dandy with it. Isn't he friends with Pavarotti? I don't know how Pavarotti feels about war. Who's that?
Starting point is 01:24:45 The singer. Yeah. Is that the Pavarotti? That reminds me of that saying about the clown that goes to the doctor. Pagliacci. Who's Pavarati? Oh, he passed in 2007. This is the worst AMA ever.
Starting point is 01:25:04 This is the worst AMA ever. It's bad. So we need another. We need another preferably clause. but we need we need we need we need we need we need we need new lindsay graham who is waiting in the wings who will be the next one out there to you know ride or die for this and any war i mean surely there's a general consensus about republicans but just the skill and the you know the theatricalness will we never see anyone like it no there's there will be nobody uh like lindsay graham that's
Starting point is 01:25:38 that's i don't want to live in this world Can we say while we're talking about Lindsay Graham, the interview we did this week with the documentarian, he spent four and a half years following Lindsay Graham around. When I was talking to him, the question that I asked about, people might remember this when I said something like, so presumably Netanyahu was being told, hey, you know, because he was with Lindsey Graham filming this. And so he would have heard Lindsey Graham saying, just a heads up, I have a documentary crew with me.
Starting point is 01:26:06 Or he would have seen Lindsay Graham shooting a text to the Netanyahu comms people or Netanyahu Yahoo himself. I don't know. He told us that he does not believe. He thinks it was more than likely that Netanyahu in all of this footage that we're going to see the documentary and that we saw on the show the other day did not know that he was on camera. That is the level of diva it takes to pull that off with the prime minister of Israel. I love that he didn't even tell Netanyahu he's filming. He's just like, oh yeah, sure, let's ring him up. Let's ring him up. Real Housewives level. It's incredible. It was good stuff. So yeah, I mean, I guess user, it's irreplaceable and unforgettable.
Starting point is 01:26:50 That's just who you are. All right. Carmen, I'm going to slaughter this last name, Yaya Mujanis. Can someone address the DSA platform that was recently updated? I support many of the DSA candidates that you have interviewed, but nonetheless, the platform is some extreme language that's quite concerning. All right, Emily, let's get to work. Example. This is a great question for you, Griffin. For the working class to govern, we need a new political system and political corruption, legalized bribery, get rid of lobbyists, okay, all that stuff I guess they agree with. Okay, abolish the electoral college, replace the president and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.
Starting point is 01:27:34 Congress will be at the highest and abolish the president and the Supreme Court. Just do away with the three branches of government. We've seen socialist ideas go down a bad path, Nicaragua and Ortega. And just to help us out with this AMA question, we have the DSA Supreme Leader. Crystal Ball here. Please no one assassinate me. She is not a pay. She manifested.
Starting point is 01:28:06 And she's not a pay, dues paying member. I'll have that on the record. Her ears were ringing. She was like, packed the courts. It's time to log on. The question is,
Starting point is 01:28:15 Crystal, that this user is very scared of some, she likes the DSA candidates we have on, but she's scared of some of the DSA's, I guess, national platform, something that Francesca Hong recently spoke about in her latest debate. And I think specifically on,
Starting point is 01:28:30 reordering the branches of government. Do you have any feelings about? Oh, that part I have no qualms about. I mean, who can look at this and say, this is going great. Yeah, the Senate working amazing, loving that Supreme Court. That part I have absolutely no qualms about. And, you know, on the, like, defund the police and prison abolition and that stuff gets brought up a lot. I'm going to steal a term here from my brilliant, amazing husband, which is law and order leftism, which is how I identify at this point. because, in my opinion, we need to be building more prisons to lock up all of the Trump regime criminals and the ICE thugs. And I think that I can't speak for everyone, but I think I speak for where a lot of the left is at this point on that one. More prisons.
Starting point is 01:29:14 Yes. Yeah. Specifically for, you know, the people who, the elites who need to be held accountable for their crimes during this era. Public prisons, mandatory Howard Zinn reading. Free education camps I'm Yeah we have to keep I'm keeping
Starting point is 01:29:34 Alligator Alcatraz warm for future uses But Did you guys It would be in Brooklyn though Yeah it would be It would be yeah Emily
Starting point is 01:29:46 Talk to me more about this Because there are some things You say that you agree With some of the DSA stuff But then some of it Obviously I believe Like probably police In prison
Starting point is 01:29:56 Go too far But let's focus just on what this user is talking about with these branches of government. How do you feel about that? These branches of government. Well, I totally support abolishing the filibuster. 100% of support abolishing the filibuster. I definitely don't support packing the court. I think the system is intentionally difficult.
Starting point is 01:30:18 It's obviously not working right now. And I think probably the biggest way to deal with that is to get money the fuck out of the system. And then it would function in a way that's. it's still slow. It would still be slow. It's intentionally supposed to be slow because it's not direct democracy. And that's a lot of the complaints about the Supreme Court. Like, you know, see DSA people going on, or the Electoral College, I should say, see DSA people going on Fox News. And they're saying it's anti-democratic, for example. It is anti-democratic because we don't live in a direct democracy. And I'm more comfortable with some of that stuff than probably others are. But I think it was functioning much better when we didn't have the Post Citizens United system. And yeah, it's just been totally bought and paid for by special interests at this point. It will be interesting to see where DSA is in five years from now, especially if they have a lot more elected in office, because a lot of these policies have been spoken about in very small rooms with a very small groups of people that are now being litigated nationally. I mean, some of the votes for some of these resolutions, you know, are like a 50 to 100 vote, you know, win on some of the. these policy proposals. So it's like sometimes groups of like three to 500 people making decisions
Starting point is 01:31:34 on these on these platforms. And it'll be interesting to see as it grows, is it going to grow in a more liberal direction? Like are more liberals going to flood into DSA? And will there all of a moderation on these national policies? It'll be very interesting to see. The one other thing that I'll say is this kind of came out in my interview with Adam Smith because he was making a lot of the the DSA platform. And so I wanted to pin him down on, okay, well, tell me about the specific candidates and the policies that they've been pushing forward and acknowledging that, like, you know, Dari Elisa in particular has said some things that I think are genuinely radical. But, you know, just as it's unfair to say every DSA aligned candidate supports exactly the
Starting point is 01:32:16 same things. And by the way, some of the candidates were talking about like Abdul is not even a DSA guy. But, you know, I said, well, do you agree with every word of the Democratic Party platform. He's like, no. He's like, okay, well, what are we doing here then? But the whole point is, you know, I think people will engage a lot more with the actual candidates themselves and the way that they comport themselves and the policies that they push forward versus, you know, what is theoretically on the DSA policy platform. And Zoran has been, you know, really important in that because there was a lot, oh my God, there's going to be breadlines. Oh, my God, there's going to be, you know, it's communism. It's Sharia law. There's all the women are going to be forced into their homes and wearing a jet, like all sorts of crazy stuff.
Starting point is 01:33:03 And turns out he's just more and more popular. The longer the time goes on, he is not a scary guy. The policies he's pushing are really, really popular and people seem to like them. So I think the more that you have examples of what socialist governance looks like in reality, not the scary caricature of it. the better served these candidates in the movement will be. Yes. And as life becomes shittier for anyone under 40, listen, if you want to keep the president, buy me a house. That's what my advice to people scare the USA.
Starting point is 01:33:38 Buy me a house. Yeah. I think that's all right. All right. So this one's from Christian J. Chikas, Emily and Griffin. Were you politically engaged during the 2016 primaries? And if so, who would have you supported among the Republicans running? in the primary.
Starting point is 01:33:55 Griffin, why are we interested in who Griffin would have supported in the Republican primary? I'm a member of the young Republicans. I'm also a gamer for Doge. So this is, this makes sense. I got to look back at that list. I can't even remember who all was running at that point. So you obviously got Jeb.
Starting point is 01:34:12 Marco. O. Kisik. Kisik. Lindsay Graham. Lindsay. Lindsay. I got to go Lindsay, I think. Yeah. I worked at a nonprofit at the time.
Starting point is 01:34:20 That was like, it couldn't be political. So I would have to go on Fox News. news and they would be like, so, you know, isn't this person better than this person? And I would have to be like, well, blah, blah, blah. I sent Rubio like 60 bucks, I think, of 2016. Nice. I think I was definitely. I forgot about that.
Starting point is 01:34:37 Benz, wow. I think I was definitely libed out enough to think that like, oh, yeah, yeah. Rand Paul. The best Ben Carson moment. Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie. Oh, man. Jim Gilmore and Rick Santorum. If I could take it back, it would be Rand.
Starting point is 01:34:54 I would go back. But I just don't support politicians anymore, like not a single one of them. I'm just, I'm done. Hold on. I have to finish this list because there's some more bangers in here. You ready for this one? George Pataki. Yeah, who I remember there was an incident where somebody was like following his campaign to do a piece on him.
Starting point is 01:35:15 They went to some event where literally no one showed up, like maybe like one person. That was it. Bobby Jindle. your guy Jim Gilmore Scott Walker and Rick Perry Bobby Jindal he was the great hope he was the great hope of the Republican Party
Starting point is 01:35:32 for years destroyed it all with that State of the Union response where he was just like sort of like cartoonish do you guys remember my favorite moment was when Ben Carson didn't walk out on stage and he caused a huge pile up oh yeah
Starting point is 01:35:47 I did have him like Lindsey Graham's casket there's a huge part The huge pile up occurred. And then the only person that was like, fuck it, Trump just said, fuck it. And he just like walked around the line and he went out. So, yeah, incredible stuff. I liked Christie. And I do think in 2016, I was libed out enough to be like, if Trump is the nominee, we're going to waltz in there or whatever.
Starting point is 01:36:12 Like, I didn't fully understand his power levels yet. You were reading a lot of Jonathan Shate at that point. He was making of why liberals should be in favor of a Trump. Well, I mean, we all kind of were cheering for him because it. It was just so fun to watch him like skewer, Marco Rube, Little Marco, and Jeb Bush. And it was a delight to watch it until it wasn't. There was a fun factor. In fairness, Griffin, I had, we just had graduated, I graduated in May of 2015.
Starting point is 01:36:40 So literally, like, weeks after he descended the elevator. And then I got into journalism like a year and a half after that. So in our defense, Griffin, we were young and naive. Yes. Yes. And I was a college dropout. So come on. That's right.
Starting point is 01:36:54 That's right. So next one. Even worse. Even worse. So next one comes from Charles Fish. What is up with New Yorkers trying to exclude Mayor Mamm Dony from this year's 9-11 event? What do you guys think? So this is apparently just like basically a hoax.
Starting point is 01:37:10 You haven't followed this, Emily? No. Okay. New York Post wrote this whole article about how there's this petition signed on to by some 300 9-11 families that are saying, Zoran is anti-American and sides with terrorists. I don't know that they said it exactly like that. But that was basically the gist. And they don't want him at the 9-11 memorial ceremonies.
Starting point is 01:37:34 And so this was like a big thing. I'm surprised this seems like something would be more in your right-wing ecosystem than in mine, quite frankly. And I wish I could tell you who the journalist was off the top of my head. But somebody actually reached out to this guy with this alleged petition and was like, okay, well, tell me who are the families? Like, how are you getting this count? And it turns out he's just like, well, that's my estimate based on my understanding of how this petition circulated.
Starting point is 01:38:02 So it wasn't even like he'd specifically identified 9-11 families that hate Zoron and don't want him at these things. He just was sort of like, well, like a thousand people signed on to this. And I'm going to say roughly maybe a third of them are probably 9-11 families. So New York Post didn't do any of this background research, didn't test it because, of course, they're just like constantly looking for. some way to have an anti-MMMDani headline. But effectively, they got basically hoaxed with this thing, and it's not a real story. Certainly, you know, the exact numbers are not correct whatsoever. They're just one dude who hates Sauron's estimate of what he thinks the sentiment would be. That's terrible. That's such a crazy. It's just a terrible thing to do the 9-11 families.
Starting point is 01:38:46 Completely. Yeah, putting words in their mouth and, you know, using this like weaponizing this as some sort of a political, um, political plot. Yeah, it's pretty disgusting. So anyway, that's what's going on there. Stealing valor from the 9-11 families. I felt like we were all family after 9-11. Um, and I will say to their point in point in their favor, mom, Donnie doesn't really have an alibi for where he was that day. Um, he was, I think like three and a half years old. Um, but no, he would have been like 12. Really? Oh, yeah, you're right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Because I remember watching it in fourth grade.
Starting point is 01:39:27 And Emily, where were you? According to Israel, that's military age. That's a military age male right there. So immediately suspect. Emily, where were you? Because I have this distinct memory of everyone, like kind of our generation. Like the teachers in my school just wheeled out a TV like on a cart and they just put it on with no context. They're just like, just like, just figure it.
Starting point is 01:39:52 out. And I hear that's a, at least on Twitter, that was a lot of people's experiences. Because how old were you, Griven? I was in, I was in third or fourth grade. Yeah, I was in third grade. That's a crazy thing to just unfiltered put up in front of kids. Yeah. And, you know, it had just happened. It had already, like, both towers had been hit because we were on the West Coast. So my parents turned it on and then took me to school and the teacher just wheeled it out on a cart and just kind of like left was like, you guys figure it out. And then school was over. We just watched it for a couple of and left. That's crazy. That is crazy.
Starting point is 01:40:26 That seems wildly inappropriate. Yeah, completely. Yeah. Okay. And then let's do one more here. Crystal, why is your dog's name stinky? Her name is not stinky. Her name is Phoebe.
Starting point is 01:40:42 That is Kyle's. That is Kyle's nickname for her because sometimes she's a little stinky. But we love her anyway. All right. is Kyle is a big, he's a big animal guy. He's like huge soft spot for any sort of animal. And he's always making up like little songs for the, each of the pets have like different little songs that he sings to them and different little nicknames and stuff. Yeah, it's very cute. All right. Well, I think that covered all the most important topics in the AMA here. That's going
Starting point is 01:41:16 to do it for this Friday show. Thank you all for supporting the program. If you want to submit a question for next Friday, that link is in every daily show email. Thank you for enjoying the newsletter. And we'll be around this weekend if anything bad happens. But if not, we will see you on Monday. Bye bye. Hey, Portlandia fans. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.
Starting point is 01:41:39 The Dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form. We're launching Podlandia, AEO rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together. Breaking down sketches, going deep. on our iconic characters and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made. And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators and friends, including director Jonathan Chrysall, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more. Kyle is going for it here.
Starting point is 01:42:08 You fully improvised, not just words, but a song. Well, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia. A.O. Rewatch on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers.
Starting point is 01:42:26 Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam J. And we're the host of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart Women's Sports. We're breaking down the biggest headlines. Naomi Osaka, showing out. Shout to you, Naomi. The viral moments.
Starting point is 01:42:38 I've been obsessed with Kashan Rock's boxing journey. She looks good. Her combos are swift. And the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's sports. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jake Brennan, and on the Disgraceland podcast,
Starting point is 01:42:57 I explore the wild lives of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history. These are the stories you haven't heard, the kind you'll end up telling someone else. Like the time Paul McCartney spent in a notorious prison or the bizarre crime Lady Gaga is accused of, or that time Blondie's Debbie Harry escaped Ted Bundy. Listen to disgrace land on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.
Starting point is 01:43:28 Guaranteed human.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.