It Could Happen Here - Trump vs. DC: Inside the Takeover You’re Not Hearing About feat. Bridget Todd

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

Just over 100 days into Trump’s second term, the damage in Washington, DC is already undeniable. From threatening local autonomy to J-6 insurrectionists getting off the hook, the nation's capital is under siege.  Guest co-host Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls On The Internet, joins Weird Little Guys’ Molly Conger to break down what’s happening in DC—and why the rest of the country can’t afford to look away.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart podcast. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I collect my roommates toenails and fingernails. Those were some callers from my call in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take phone calls from anonymous strangers as a fake gecko therapist and try to learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept,

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Well, John, luckily it's Mother May I Have a DNA Test Week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. And this wife writes, My husband received a Facebook message from a woman saying that he is the father of a five year old. At first he didn't remember her, but then he realized they had a one night stand right before we started dating.

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Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Call Zone Media. Welcome to another episode of It Could Happen Here. I am your guest co-host, Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls on the Internet. I'm joined by the lovely Molly, host of award-winning podcast on Cool Zone, Weird Little Guys. Molly, how you doing? Great, glad to be here, Bridget. Okay, so I wish we were here to talk about all the exciting stuff going on in your life,

but I wanted to bring this topic to the It Could Happen Here audience because I live in the district. I know you're a Virginia gal, so you might know a little bit more about how it works in the district than your average person, but I don't know that people really understand

what is happening to residents of the District of Columbia like myself. So I live in DC. I've lived here for most of my life. I have a lot of hometown pride. This is not just where I happen to live. It's like my city, my home. You know what I mean?

And you don't have representation. It's true, right? It's something that infuriates me. And so the first thing to know about DC is that it's not a state. So that means that what happens federally has a huge impact on the day-to-day minutiae of the life of people like me who live in the district. If you don't live in the district,

when it comes to decisions about how your local tax dollars are spent, that usually lies with your state and local leaders. That's not really the case for me and the other over half a million residents of the district. All of this is made worse by the fact that we are essentially disenfranchised, just like you said, right? All of this stuff is playing out in our home, like all of these big national conversations are happening in our own backyard, and we arguably have less electoral power and

agency because we aren't a state. Fun fact, DC residents only got the right to vote in 1961 in presidential elections. What? I know. I didn't know that. We have not been voting in presidential elections for very long when you think about it in the fullness of time. So when people are like,

oh, call your congressperson, call your elected official to oppose XYZ, we really have nobody to call. Our congressional representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, cannot vote on bills that are being considered by the full House, and so we really just like don't have a say. Whenever those big campaigns are going on,

I'm like, oh, it must be nice to have, even if that person ignores you, it must be nice to have someone you can call, who would know. It almost seems disrespectful to be like, oh yeah, you guys have a representative, but it doesn't do anything. Exactly.

It's just vibes. It's just vibes. So all of this matters for Trump's return to my hometown because as president, Trump has a lot more authority to dictate how things are run locally for DC residents like myself. We all know that the Trump administration is hell bent on making all of our lives worse. But imagine if Trump was also in charge of how your local police force in your city policed your city. Like, that would be horrible, right?

That sounds like a nightmare. And that is, that threat is like literally the reality that we are faced with here in D.C. So there's been some pretty big changes this time around in the Trump administration. During his first administration, I feel like Trump largely ignored D.C. Like, he would pick a fight every now and then, but he didn't really seem to meddle in how D.C. was run, like, locally. That does not mean that he was not, like, out in the district doing terrible things,

which he very much was. You might recall in 2020, during the racial justice uprisings in the wake of George Floyd's death, Trump cleared protesters using chemical agents so that he could go out in front of St. John's Church and like pose. With an upside down Bible. Upside down Bible, remember that?

Distressing. It was distressing. I was there that day and I'll say like, it was like genuinely very excessive. I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of it. But in the aftermath of that event, internal reports made it clear that like it wasn't exactly clear what happened and under what authority like was it DC's local police force, Metropolitan PD, was it federal park police? Like it really underscored the tensions of DC locally versus the federal government.

It doesn't help that there's half a dozen different police forces operating on any given block of DC. Oh my god, girl. You genuinely never know. When you see flashing blue and red lights, you genuinely, it's like, this could be federal aid. This could be federal. You never know. Have I just committed a federal traffic violation? Exactly. And so the New York Times actually described that event as, quote, a burst of violence

unlike any seen in the shadow of the White House in generations, and possibly one of the defining moments of the Trump presidency. And so I remember that as a moment that played out nationally, but also it felt very local. And I think it underscored how we really felt the impacts of how militarized the city could locally get during Trump's first administration. So that was like something that really sticks out to me. I mean, I,

I rarely visit DC because I'm afraid of traffic. Like just the act of driving to through Northern Virginia to get to DC is too frightening for me, so I try not to go. But I think people who don't live in the area don't think of DC as a place where people live. They don't think of it as anyone's home, right? It's like Congress lives there, the laws live there, but like, a lot of people live there, people who have nothing to do with the federal government, mostly a lot of black people, honestly.

I mean, DC used to be called Chocolate City for a reason. These days we're more like a latte city. But exactly, I can confirm that people don't think of the, you know, over half a million D.C. residents who have nothing to do with the federal government sometimes, who have nothing to do with politics, who just like live here and is our home. Like I was born in D.C. Like this is, I didn't just, didn't just move here to work in politics. My family can be traced back to our roots in the district through generations. And so

I have a bee in my bonnet about this because I feel very unseen. And I think the way that the Trump administration is playing out, I feel like the reporting really can sometimes overlook the way that this is playing out in the life of your average, you know, DC resident, who might have nothing to do with politics or, you know, the federal government. Like seventh graders trying to get to middle school. Exactly that, exactly that. So during Trump's first administration, after the incident at St. John's Church, our mayor, DC's mayor, Muriel Bowser. She's still the mayor? She's still the mayor. She's still the mayor. She's Church, our mayor, DC's mayor, Muriel Bowser. She's still the mayor?

She's still the mayor. She's still the mayor. She is an old and strong. She erected what became known as Black Lives Matter Plaza, where she wrote Black Lives Matter in like big yellow letters outside of the White House. You remember this? I've had some unpleasant experiences in that zone, yes.

Yes, you and me both. This could be a separate conversation. And so I will say when she did that, it was largely like a symbolic move. And a lot of DC activists thought the mayor was kind of co-opting a racial justice ethos that she didn't really embody in practice. But I do think that that really set the tone for the mayor's relationship with Trump during his first term.

Like, she was defiant. She was someone who was going to stand up to him publicly. that that really set the tone for the mayor's relationship with Trump during his first term. She was defiant. She was someone who was going to stand up to him publicly. And something to know about DC's mayor, Muriela Bowser, is that she kind of has two modes. Defiant, like the version of herself that painted Black Lives Matter outside of the Trump White House, and then sort of diplomatic, right?

Like somebody who wants to find common ground, which I think is the version of her that we're seeing this time around that is very different than how she was the last time around. She started Trump second term, sort of touting the goals they have in common. And she met with him even before he was in office. And so I have a lot of critiques about DC's marriage, just like anybody would have their political leader,

but I do think it is important that folks understand that she is navigating something that literally no other elected official in the United States has to because of DC's lack of statehood. Like our city is uniquely threatened by Trump, and she knows this and Trump knows this, and so she really has to like walk a tightrope greased in shit, if you will.

She's like navigating this public relationship with an unstable lying fascist and has to do so in a way that's going to end up with like what's best for the city. So you can say whatever you want about Mayor Bowser, like I certainly do, but this is a complicated thing to navigate. I do not advocate for anybody complying in advance with a fascist.

But in this situation, I do think it's fair to ask, like, well, would being defiant toward Trump make things worse for DC residents like myself? But it resulted in martial law in the city. Exactly. Exactly. So, like, I don't like it, but I get it. I guess if there was, like, a mantra for my feelings on this, it's like, I don't like it, but I get it. I guess if there was like a mantra for my feelings on this, it's like, I don't like it at all, but I get it. It's a no-win situation. It is a no-win situation.

And you know, Trump spent, even when he was on the campaign trail before he was president, he talked this time around about how he was planning to take over the city. And because DC is not a state, like, any president does have the authority to interfere with how DC is run. Like any president can take over the police department and the powers of the mayor and the DC city council. Any president has the power to federalize DC's local police force, Metropolitan Police, deputize the National Guard and give law enforcement powers in DC and activate the military and

federal law enforcement agencies such as the park police in D.C. So oh, I didn't even so like the governor of any state has control of their National Guard, but D.C. has its own National Guard, right? Correct. And they don't have a governor. So those are the president's National Guard. Correct. Oh, that's not great.

So it's not great. It's not great. And, you know, the prospect of of just like, let that sink in. The prospect of Trump having his own military and police force in the district, I cannot tell you how much this terrifies me. I cannot stress to listeners how much of a shit hitting the fan moment this would be for the city.

To give you a sense, I have a go-bag and a get the fuck out plan for that scenario playing out. Virginia's so close. We'll take you. I know. I mean, yeah. Honestly, anybody in the DMV, if you're in Maryland, Virginia, you should all be thinking about this. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I am talking to a felon right now, and I cannot decide if I like him or not.

Those were some callers from my call in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show. I live with my boyfriend, and I found his piss jar in our apartment. I collect my roommates' toenails and fingernails.

I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they won't let me move out of their house. So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it. Hey, my name's Jay Shetty,

and I'm the host of On Purpose. And I'm excited for my next episode with Khloe Kardashian. God, I've been through so many things that at this point, I would rather not feel than feel because feeling is too much for me to handle. All right, we're ready. I am Khloe Kardashian. Khloe Kardashian, everybody. Khloe Kardashian.

No one understands how it's... I'm not just a TV show. There would be times that I was like, I don't even want to go out to the grocery store because I feel like I know what they're thinking about me. And that was scary to me because I've never been in a dark place for that long. You've always taken care of others. Have you discovered anything about why you've seen yourself

take on that role in so many relationships in your life? and you've always taken care of others. Have you discovered anything about why you've seen yourself take on that role in so many relationships in your life? How do you even find the courage to trust again? Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My husband has a secret son from a past partner. Hold up Sam, how do we know how we've done the DNA test?

Well John, luckily it's Mother May I Have a DNA Test Week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. And this wife writes, My husband received a Facebook message from a woman saying that he is the father of a five year old. Whoa! At first he didn't remember her, but then he realized they had a one night stand

right before we started dating. Wait, but do we have proof he's the dad? Well the author says there's no confirmation the kid is even his son, but the woman from Facebook has a meeting with her lawyer soon. I think she's going after our money. If the kid is actually my husband's, she would be entitled to it too. So what's the husband got to say about this?

This could be his kid. Well, apparently he broke down in the middle of the living room apologizing, but this is what scared me. His first instinct, if the kid is his son, is to pay the child support, but not be an active father in the kid's life because he only wants a family with me, his wife.

Oh, this is a mess. To hear the explosive finale, follow OK Storytime on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 1978, Roger Caron's first book was published, and he was unlike any first-time author Canada had ever seen. Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted.

Had spent 24 of those years in jail. 12 years in solitary. He went from an ex-con to a literary darling almost overnight. He was instantly a celebrity. He was an adrenaline junkie, and he was the star of the show. Go-Boy is the gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable. I had a knife go in my stomach, puncture my skin, break my ribs, I had my feps all in my hands. Only to find himself back where he started.

Roger's saying this, I've never heard anybody but myself. And I said, oh, you're so wrong. You're so wrong on that one, Rodger. From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to GoBoy on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. at your podcasts. The Trump has continued to like pressure the mayor and threatening to like take

over if she will not do the things that he says, things like clean up the city. Trump notified Mayor Bowser that she has to clean up all the unsightly homeless encampments in the district, especially around federal buildings. If she is not capable of doing so, we will be forced to do it for her, he said. And so far, her strategy has really been one of like quiet appeasement. So that Black Lives Matter Plaza that she erected in defiance during his first term,

that came down. Did it really? They painted over it? Yeah, I think they paint, they dismantled it. I think that they were like, oh, we're going to like, take it up so that it can go someplace else. But we're

removing it from this part of the city, if that makes sense. That's I mean, that's a symbolic moment, right? Just like pouring the asphalt over the words Black Lives Matter. Yeah, and I do really think it underscores this moment that

we're in right now where it does, I mean, I'm curious for your thoughts, it does sort of feel like a pendulum swing in some ways where all of these, like, largely symbolic gestures are now, like, being bulldozed over, oftentimes, like, voluntarily, like, without even really being pressured into doing so. Right, I guess it's hard, right,, right? Because painting Black Lives Matter on the sidewalk did nothing for black people, right? Did that help you? Did that material improve your life?

No, it was purely symbolic. But negating that symbolic gesture, I think, does a lot more harm than never having had it, right? Because that is an imposition of will over what was, again, a symbol that did nothing and accomplished nothing and didn't actually help anyone or change any situation. But taking the time out of your day to bulldoze that symbol sends a strong message. I feel the exact same way. And Republican Representative Andrew Clyde actually wants it to go further. He introduced a bill that would have amended the U.S. code to withhold certain

funds from D.C. unless Black Lives Matter was taken off the street and that area was renamed both Liberty Plaza and for the district to remove all Black Lives Matter Plaza references from city websites and official documents. So they want to like memory hole it and be like it never happened. That's such crybaby bullshit too for the like these free speech warriors, right? Like, oh, the facts don't care about your feelings. Free speech is the most important thing. Like the marketplace of ideas.

Like I guess you can't compete in the marketplace of ideas, bucko. Exactly. Clyde said, quote, it's time for our nation to leave this failed agenda behind. Starting with the removal of BLM Plaza from America's Capitol. Trump is 100% right. We must clean up DC for the American people. I believe that removing BLM Plaza must be part of this critical effort. After all, BLM is a radical, defund the police organization, but we are not a defund the police nation. So I know this, you know, clean up the city rhetoric is sort of fascist in and of itself,

right? That that's scary rhetoric, regardless. But pairing it with like back to back in the same breath, like we have to clean up the city, we have to get rid of BLM Plaza. Like, are you saying being reminded that black people have civil liberties is dirty to you, that that's what's making the city dirty? Is the black people? I would argue that's exactly what he's saying. But DC is like getting upset about black people.

It's like going to the beach and getting upset when they're sand, right? It's like we can have a conversation about DC's demographics, but like we are a black city. Like that is what makes DC what it is. It's like why I continue to live here. Right? It's like I think that's exactly what he's saying is we don't want our nation's capital to be one that honors the, you know, agency of black people, black bodies and black lives.

Right? Like I think that's like what he's saying. Then move the White House to South Boston, I guess. Exactly. I don't know what to tell you. So the mayor pretty quickly relented, and BLM Plaza is no more. She basically said, we've got bigger fish to fry,

like focusing on DC's autonomy and budget. And to be honest, a lot of residents agreed with her that it probably was not worth the fight. That's kind of that's kind of the theme here is that all of these little things that individually are probably not worth the fight, but then collectively you're like, well, who is sort of in charge of the city, you know? And if none of these little things are worth the fight, are you fighting? That's a great question. Are you fighting if nothing is worth the fight? Are you fighting? And I feel like that's kind of, I don't know,

on a larger scale, sort of the National Democratic Party's line has always been, we gotta keep our powder dry. We gotta keep our powder dry. Keep it dry for fucking what, dog? Right. Like, you're gonna end the war, you know, with a pile of bodies and a bunch of dry powder. Exactly.

So the next demand that Trump made of Bowser was the need to clear homeless encampments near the White House, saying that if Bowser didn't do it, he will be forced to do it for her. So within hours of Trump's call to Bowser, DC city crews arrived at these encampments to tell residents they had to be out the next day. It's not great.

To be clear, it is not like our mayor does not clear encampments in DC. In fact, her administration said they have been planning to clear the encampment in question, but just doing so in like a more planned, rolled out way. So it's not like she's like someone who is not, you know, down with clearing encampments. The Washington Post spoke to some of the people

who were residents of those encampments when they were cleared. Shelley Byers is someone they spoke to who has been chronically homeless in DC for three years. She was living in an encampment that was cleared in 2023 before winding up at the one that Trump wanted cleared. And she said they were basically given no notice that they needed to vacate. She said, now we have only less than 24 hours to get out as she threw her clothing out of

her tent. I liked it here. They keep shoving us off from place to place, making it so we don't have anywhere to go. The Post also spoke to the president of Miriam's Kitchen, which is a big nonprofit here in DC that provides services for the homeless. And he said that it wasn't even clear, like he wasn't even sure if the city followed proper protocols with this hasty encampment clearing at Trump's direction. Encampment residents are meant to be given two weeks notice, but people who were cleared said that they only learned about that action within 24 hours.

And so I think that's part of the issue here. DC, like any city, has issues like crime and homelessness, but like hitting people housed takes time. Like just wanting to quickly move people who might not have anywhere else to go because they look, as Trump said, unseemly or unsightly is not solving the problem. What you're actually doing is just traumatizing people who are already vulnerable and then forcing them to go elsewhere exactly like that woman told the Post. Right, like even in the best case scenario, even the most organized clearing of an encampment

is, I mean, it's violent and it's inhumane and it doesn't really serve a greater purpose other than, I don't know, so that people don't have to think about homelessness on their way to work. But there is a way to do it that is, at least theoretically could result in something that is not monstrous. You know what I mean? Like I said, there's no good way to clear an encampment

unless you're giving everyone an apartment. But right, like you're giving people two weeks notice, let social services get involved, let's them go tent to tent for those two weeks, talking to people about where they could go, giving them options, connecting them with services, if that's what they choose. Like, but if you're just rolling up overnight and throwing people's shit away, you're not, you're not solving a problem. You're not even trying to solve a problem. You're even pretending that you're trying to solve a problem. But I think that's exactly how Trump

thinks about this issue. It's just like, looks bad and unseemly to him. So I don't care where they go, I don't care how you do it. Just, I don't wanna be looking at them. Right, because for him, it's not about getting these people connected to services so that they might eventually find stable housing. It's about, I don't wanna fucking see these people because they're gross.

Exactly, and he is encroaching on how our city is run. And so if that is the ethos that you have, I don't wanna see these gross people, I don't care where they like, if that is the ethos that you have, I don't want to see these gross people, I don't care where they go. This is not an ethos that responsibly is able to run a city. Like that is really like- It's disruptive. Yeah, it's absolutely disruptive.

Because they'll go somewhere else. They'll go somewhere else and now their lives have been uprooted. They don't have, maybe the documents got thrown away and it's going to be even harder for them to find stability. Like you have not addressed the problem. Exactly. And I think that's what, that's like the name of the game

with the way that Trump has already been meddling in the way that DC runs its local affairs. This next example, I gotta say it really gets to me. So DC's Attorney General, Brian Schwalb, recently dropped a lawsuit against the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for their behavior during January sit. So the suit was initially filed by the former DC Attorney General, Carl A. Racine. It initially marked the first effort by a government agency to hold the individuals

and organizations civilly liable for violence at the Capitol on January 6th. But a federal judge in DC grantedC. granted the district's request to dismiss that case. The suit was fashioned after a modern version of the 1871 law known as the Ku Klux Klan Act that was enacted after the Civil War to safeguard government officials carrying out their duties to protect civil rights.

This was actually a similar challenge that prevailed against groups involved in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, which Molly, I know you might know a thing or two about. Let's just say, I'm very familiar with Klan Act lawsuits. And they are effective. They're effective. It's one of the only things that we still have

from reconstruction that hasn't been taken away from us is this civil remedy for civil rights violations. And it works. It works, but like you have to carry it out. And basically the city decided that it wasn't worth it given all of the threats to DC's autonomy by the Trump administration So it's extortion. I mean, yeah, like that's exactly what it feels like. I mean, this is extortion They're being prevented. They're being prevented from seeking a viable civil remedy through the courts out of fear of Retaliation that seems very bad. It's like I mean

out of fear of retaliation. That seems very bad. It's like, I mean, I'm glad that you used the word extortion because it really does feel like, if you've seen one of my favorite movies, Goodfellas, it feels like what Henry Hill, the mobster calls real grease ball shit, right? Like, ooh, great city you have here. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it.

Like, extortion! Right. God, but usually, I mean, sometimes you get something out of a protection racket. DC's not even fucking getting anything out of this. I guess you could argue that they are like not raising the ire further of the Trump administration and that like that might lead to DC having more autonomy

and like DC, you know, like Trump officials not meddling in DC's affairs. I mean, I don't know if any of these people have read a book. But appeasing a fascist has historically not resulted in you getting what you want. No. And I gotta be honest, girl, this one fucking stung like, it sucks hearing people like the proud boys leader Enrique Theriot basically brag about having this case dropped.

The Oath Keepers founder Stuart Rhodes, his attorney said, we are very pleased to see the District of Columbia has come to the same conclusion that the American public and President Trump have. The narrative that January 6th was some sort of armed insurrection to overthrow the government was false from the very beginning. Enrique Theriot posted after the district requested to dismiss this lawsuit saying,

another exoneration, if God is with us, who can be against us? Like, it just chaps my ass to hear this shit. Like, God didn't do this, baby. God didn't do this. You also have DC's Metro Police investigating the vandalization of Teslas as a hate crime. This, again, like like it really makes me wonder like as far as I know, Trump is not in charge of our metropolitan police department, but stuff like this makes me wonder,

we're like, is he kind of in charge? I mean, pressure is clearly being exerted. Correct. Basically somebody wrote quote, political hate speech on a Tesla, the statement from the metropolitan police department said they were investigating these offenses as being motivated by hate or bias.

To be clear, Mayor Bowser was like, I didn't tell them to do this. She was like, I have nothing to do with the police department's decision making on this. That's them. Hate crime typically implicates a protected class, like race, gender, religion, national origin. What is the protected class of being a Tesla owner?

Is being a big loser a protected class now? Unclear. And they wouldn't even say, like, what was the nature of what was written on this car that made it a potential hate crime? We don't even know. Which is so funny, because these guys never believed in hate crimes before.

Unless it's against, like, Elon Musk and people who like him. That's the best I can figure. But I've heard full-throated arguments against the existence of the category of hate crime. And now suddenly they're very important. Yeah. Now they're very important. And I do think, I mean, when I heard about this,

it really made me think about how different categories of crime and legislation around it is very well intended and well meaning. And I understand who hate crime legislation is meant to protect. But then you also have the ways that it can be sort of like perverted to protect a protected class that is not a protected class, right? Like it's the same as the language around terrorism, right? That like terrorism wasn't something that we were talking about or charging. It's not even very well defined in the law, to be honest, but it's something that became part of the conversation when America became very afraid of Muslims, became very afraid of Middle Eastern people,

right? So terrorism had that implication for a very long time. And then there was this brief window in the last couple of years where they were using it against domestic white extremists. And now they're not doing that anymore. And they're just going to charge you with terrorism for looking sideways at a Tesla. Exactly. Here's how my co-host and friend, Michael Schaeffer, who writes the Capital Cities column for Politico put it. He says, Now the White House is beating the drums

about Tesla vandalism, creating another incentive for locals to play ball. The FBI director called Tesla vandalism domestic terrorism. The president suggested sending vandals to jail in El Salvador. If likening the run of the mill political graffiti to criminal bigotry is what it takes to keep the feds from padlocking City Hall, the logic goes, maybe it's worth it. No, it's not. I would say it's not.

No, it's not. Maybe they want to do extraordinary rendition to vandals, but maybe it's worth it. No, it's not worth it. It's not worth it. You're not holding back the tide of fascism if you allow fascism to happen. Unlike local governments in Cleveland or Boston, DC is really stuck between a rock and a hard place. And I mean, like, I understand why city officials are taking this, like, appeasement angle. But like, I guess, as you said, like, I don't know how you can make the argument that it's, like,

worth it. Like, what are we getting make the argument that it's worth it. What are we getting? If every single day it's going to be a new threat to DC's autonomy, a new threat to DC, a new EO from the Trump administration, what are we really getting by playing ball in this way? Right. And if you're saying you're saving your energy for the big fight, it's like, well, what do you think the big fight is going to be if it's not the slow erosion of the safety and

civil liberties of everyone who lives here? Exactly. What is the big fight is going to be if it's not the slow erosion of the safety and civil liberties of everyone who lives here. Exactly. What is the big fight? I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I am talking to a felon right now and I cannot decide if I like him or not. Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls

from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show. I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show.

I live with my boyfriend, and I found his pizzeria in our apartment. I collect my roommates' toenails and fingernails. I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they won't let me move out of their house. So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for

Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it. Hey, my name is Jay Shetty and I'm the host of On Purpose and I'm excited for my next episode with Khloe Kardashian. God, I've been through so many things that at this point I would rather not feel than feel because feeling is too much for me to handle. All right, we're ready. I am Khloe Kardashian. Khloe Kardashian, everybody.

Khloe Kardashian. No one understands how it's, I'm not just a TV show. There would be times that I was like, I don't even want to go out to the grocery store because I feel like I know what they're thinking about me. And that was scary to me because I've never been in a dark place for that long. You've always taken care of others. Have you discovered anything about why you've seen yourself take on that role in so many relationships in your life? How do you even find the courage to trust again? Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty

on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My husband has a secret son from a past partner. Hold up Sam, how do we know how we done the DNA test? Well, John, luckily it's mother may have a DNA test week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. And this wife writes, my husband received a Facebook message from a woman saying

that he is the father of a five-year-old. Whoa! At first he didn't remember her, but then he realized they had a one night stand right before we started dating. Wait, but do we have proof he's a dad? Well, the author says there's no confirmation the kid is even his son,

but the woman from Facebook has a meeting with her lawyer soon. I think she's going after our money. If the kid is actually my husband's, she would be entitled to it too. So what's a husband got to say about this? This could be his kid. Well, apparently he broke down in the middle of the living room, apologizing. But this is what scared me.

His first instinct, if the kid is his son, is to pay the child support, but not be an active father in the kid's life because he only wants a family with me, his wife. Oh, this is a mess. To hear the explosive finale, follow OK Storytime on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 1978, Roger Caron's first book was published and he was unlike any first time author Canada had ever seen.

Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted. Has spent 24 of those years in jail. 12 years in solitary. He went from an ex-con to a literary darling almost overnight. He was instantly a celebrity. He was an adrenaline junkie and he was the star of the show. Go-Boy is the gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable. I had a knife go in my stomach, puncture my spleen, break my ribs, I had my feps all in my hands.

Only to find himself back where he started. Rodger's saying this, I've never hurt anybody but myself. And I said, oh, you're so wrong. You're so wrong on that one. From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to GoBoy on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, some might say the big fight is DC's tense budget showdown, which is ongoing. It's a little in the weedsy, so I'm not going to get too, too into it, but I'll try to give you the quick and dirty version of what's going on.

The district is overseen by Congress thanks to a provision in the Constitution. So this means that DC is occasionally treated like a federal agency rather than like a city or a local government under various laws. This used to mean that DC's budget was regularly delayed because of this. The city had to wait for Congress to approve DC's local budget alongside other federal agencies, which Congress just like almost never does on time. So pretty much everybody agreed like this was a problem. So in the early 2000s they changed it so that if Congress was behind schedule, DC could just keep spending at its current budget levels

without disruption until Congress is able to formally approve a new budget. But in March, that all changed because the language was omitted from a new funding bill that Congress passed in March that would basically force DC to omit $1 billion from its budget. Just to be clear, like, if DC were to omit $1 billion from the budget, we basically could not function as a city.

The things that you need to run a city, schools, garbage collection, all of that, would be cut to the point of not being viable. I'm not even sure what that would mean for the city to make that deep of a cut. And the worst part is, nobody really knows why Congress did this. In my capacity as co-host for a local DC podcast, City Cast DC, I've spoken to a lot of people in DC government

and reporters. And the best I can come up with is that Congress just really does not understand what they have done. A reporter that I spoke to said that there seemed to be confusion with lawmakers that we were talking about DC's local tax money and not federal money. And so this was happening in March with lawmakers that we're talking about DC's local tax money and not federal money and so this was happening in March during the height of like doge

efficiency I'm putting efficiency in like heavy scare quotes it was at the height of that and so the best I could think was that lawmakers thought like oh this will we'll be able to like say that you know making DC cut a billion dollars from the budget will be a big show of federal tax dollar savings, but we're not talking about federal money. We're talking about local tax money, not federal money. It doesn't save anybody any federal money. And so I think that from what I've heard, it sounds like people like Mike Johnson just maybe like did not really have a good understanding of that.

It is a little bit complicated, but like if're a lawmaker, come on, dude. But again, because you have no representative who is really involved in this process, there's nobody in that room going to bat for DC. There's nobody in that room whose constituency is DC who understands what it means to run DC. Exactly. And what's funny is that for all the talk

about how we're not a defund the police nation, this bill would kind of defund DC police. It would mean... Who defund everything? Yeah, it would mean like $67 million cut from the DC police budget along with cutting funding for DC public schools and the Department of Human Services which serves the city's poorest residents, right? So like, it would defund everything including the police. So it's like funny to be like, we're not down with defund the police, but we are down with this bill that kind of does it?

Who do you think is going to fill the potholes? Who's going to mow the grass? Like, nothing will get done. The city will fall apart. Well, so our mayor has really been doing her diplomacy thing and appealing to exactly that, right? Trump has been really clear about all these goals he has for the district, like beautifying DC and cracking down on crime and homelessness.

There is no way to do that if you are slashing the budgets of these departments that are meant to work on those things by tens of millions of dollars. Who's going to prune the cherry trees, Donald? Yeah. I mean, who's going to prune them? Almost as if Trump doesn't really care about doing any of this stuff. He's just like talking big and doesn't give a shit about how it actually plays out. He doesn't know how anything works.

Yeah, I mean, that's really the bottom line for me is that when you have Trump really loudly talking about the ways that he is meddling and the way that DC is run, he's not someone who is good at efficiently governing. And so like, you know, same with you all about DC, we have a functioning local government, a functioning city, putting somebody like Trump in charge of how things get done, what happens to encampments, what happens to education, what happens to crime,

like, like that's just a terrible, terrible move for the city. I mean, it's like, you know, at a shitty retail job, you get a new assistant store manager and they try to change the way the schedule gets made just so they can look like they're doing something so they can feel like they're in charge and it's like yeah dog that's just not how things work at this store like it won't function if the key holder doesn't open. I wish I could tell Trump that like I'm taken back to my days of working retail at the mall where you could just be like actually Greg that's not how it works here at this Claire's.

I used to work at Claire's. It just won't work like that. Like, I know you're very important and you're in charge here, but it's just like, it won't work. It won't work. So yeah, I mean, as of today, there has not been a vote on DC's budget. Trump actually signaled that he is on board for a fix

that would prevent this billion dollar cut, and he urged the Senate to vote for it. He posted, the house should take up the DC funding fix that the senate passed and get it done immediately all caps but everybody's on recess and so in the meantime like it's not clear what's going to happen and the city did announce that they're looking at making cuts and furloughing staff because it's not clear what's going to happen. So you know. So it's not it's not that the city doesn't have them It's not like the city is broke like the city has the money. They're just not allowed to budget it Yes, exactly that and for no reason

It's a fake problem fake problem But again, I don't know that people like Mike Johnson understand that there are people who live here who you know Just want to have their trash taken out It's want to be able to educate their kids just just want to be able to live our lives in the city. And I think I said this on, it could happen here before, but I have to feel like it's punitive, right? Like DC, nobody didn't vote for Trump like DC didn't vote for Trump.

Like, Nikki Haley won DC's Republican primary, not even Trump, right? So like we have made it very clear that we don't like him and we don't want him here. And I guess I just have to say the only thing that makes sense as to why Congress would do this is punitive. It's to be like, fuck DC and the progressive hippie dippy, educated people who live there. Like, it just feels like a punitive attack on the district. But again, just like shooting themselves in the dick. Because like, if the city falls

apart, like you still work here, you still have to drive on the streets here. Well, I mean, if Trump gets his way and DC just becomes like a, instead of a city, like a military compound that is controlled by like his goons. Right, like a Trump Vatican city where he's the king of this little tiny country.

That is my ultimate biggest fear about what is on the horizon for DC. That is like the ultimate ultimate like negative fear that I have. And I guess bottom line is like, this is why DC needs statehood. Like we are facing such unique threats from the Trump administration that no other place in the United States faces. There are a million reasons for DC to become a state, but this is, I think that the way that Trump is acting toward our city, toward our mayor, toward our council, with regards to our budget, it all just makes so much sense that our residents should not be at the behest

of somebody like Trump to have our city run the way that we want it to be run. And yeah. It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. The city should be able to make its own budget. There's no reason for it to function like this. There is no reason for it.

So from your lips to God's ears, hey ho ho. Yeah. So like, I guess what should people look for? Like what's the next step in this process? Like when's the next vote on this? So when lawmakers are back in session, we should have some sense of what's going on with DC's budget.

The thing I would end with is like, give a shit about DC. Like, don't be somebody who perpetuates the idea that the only thing happening in DC is national politics and where national conversations are happening. Because there are 600,000 people who live here and we want to be able to control our city and control our our tax money. Like I pay taxes just like anybody else and it's ridiculous that I get less of a say than everybody else. So if you don't live in DC and you hear about Congress or the Senate voting on stuff that

impacts DC residents, like you might hear about them voting on the DC budget fix bill, you can call your representatives and advocate on our behalf and kind of be our voice because we don't really get one. Hopefully this all gives you a sense of what's at stake for us. So please give a shit about DC. Give a shit about DC and hopefully you guys still have garbage services. We'll see. Molly, thank you for running through all of this with me. You're such a good co-host. Yeah, this was fun.

Yeah, I listened to Bridget's podcast, There Are No Girls on the Internet. Listen to Weird Little Guys. A Webby award-winning podcast. Yes, so deserved. Are you keeping your wedding secret? Is that something I can talk about? Well, I did tell the listeners

just because there's gonna be some reruns coming up and I'm getting married soon. So I will be out of town for a little bit. But yeah, so I got a lot going on. I got my weird little guys. I got my weird little wedding. Well, congratulations. I was telling you off mic that like,

I love it when women who do work in the like extremism, right wing space have happy, thriving personal lives. So it brings me a lot of joy, deeply congratulations. Thank you. Yeah, I am experiencing a lot of joy. You deserve it. Thank you. It Could Happen Here is a production of Cool Zone Media.

For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, coolzonemedMedia.com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can now find sources for It Could Happen here listed directly in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I collect my roommates' toenails and fingernails.

Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take phone calls from anonymous strangers as a fake gecko therapist and try to learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept but I promise it's very interesting. Check it out for yourself by searching for Therapy Gecko on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I want you to ask yourself right now, how am I actually doing? Because it's a question that we rarely ask ourselves.

All of May is actually Mental Health Awareness Month and on the psychology of your 20s, we are taking a vulnerable look at why mental health is so hard to talk about. Prepare for our conversations to go deep. I spent the majority of my teenage years and my 20s just feeling absolutely terrified. I had a panic attack on a conference call. Knowing that she had six months to live, I was no longer pretending that this was my best friend. So this Mental Health Awareness Month, take that extra bit of care of your wellbeing.

Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My husband has a secret son from a past partner. Hold up Sam, how do we know how we've done the DNA test? Well, John, luckily it's Mother May I Have a DNA test week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. And this wife writes, My husband received a Facebook message from a woman saying that he is the father of a five-year-old.

Whoa! At first he didn't remember her, but then he realized they had a one night stand right before we started dating. Wait, but do we have proof he's a dad? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, and I'm the host of the On Purpose podcast. And I'm excited for my next episode with Khloe Kardashian. God, I've been through so many things that at this point I would rather not feel than feel because feeling is too much for me to handle. I am Khloe Kardashian. Khloe Kardashian, everybody.

Khloe Kardashian. No one understands how it's... I'm not just a TV show. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.