Lovett or Leave It - Commission Impossible

Episode Date: May 29, 2021

Scientists ask for a fact-based debate over the origins of the pandemic. Manchin and Sinema ask Republicans to be reasonable. Surprise! They were all very disappointed. Akilah Hughes is back to break down the week's news. Ashley Parker of the Washington Post stops by to talk about how the Biden White House works. And we quiz a listener on some of the most absurd scare tactics used by Fox News from red meat to mask mandates. A Grand Jury in New York? Terrific. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, please visit crooked.com/lovettorleaveit. For a transcript of this episode, please email [e-mail] and include the name of the podcast.

Welcome to Love It or Leave It, Vaxxed to the Future. The sun was shining brighter And I swear my teeth felt whiter I don't know how to stop worrying about my health Now it's two weeks later My face is free like a burger side of french fried potatoes And I've been aching for this feeling Ever since the world started reeling When I pictured the end, I didn't picture this Before it's always better, there's no time to reminisce We're going facts, facts, facts to the future

Facts, facts, facts to the future I'll still mask up in a crowded place I like to hide my frowny face When strangers are standing closer than my friends Normal's never coming back Not after a year like that But better beats bad 12 times out of 10 People will still get sick and die I mean, not after a year like that, but better beats bad, 12 times out of 10,

people will still get sick and die, I mean that's a given, people have been dying as long as they've been living, and I know nothing ever really ends, what something is depends upon when, rivers change courses and rocks turn to sand, I know, I know, I understand We're going facts, facts, facts to the future Facts, facts, facts to the future I'm lucky I live in a wealthy nation Built through waves of immigration Rising boats all lifted by the tide Cause the homes those hopeful people left Will have to live with extra death Long after my side effects subside As the corporations sit on their vaccines like a dragon on a pile of gold whose eyes are all green. As the virus continues to spread and change and its RNA proteins are rearranged into a pattern. It finally does the trick and conquers the vaccine and makes us all sick again.

We're going facts, facts, facts to the futureax, Vax, Vax to the future. Vax, Vax, Vax to the future. We're going Vax. That incredible song was by the Messy Jacksons. A great band name, by the way. Really like that, the Messy Jacksons. If you want to make a Vax to the future theme song, and they have been so good,

and I am so grateful for all these incredible songs across virtually all genres. Amazing. Please send it to us at leaveitatcrooked.com. Leaveitatcrooked.com. Before we get to the show, on the next episode of Pod Save America, we're celebrating 500 episodes. We'll play fun games, take questions from listeners, and swap old stories. A few no one's heard before. Join in by subscribing to Pod Save America wherever you listen. It's very fun. It's a very fun episode. On the show this week, we have Ashley Parker, a White House reporter for

The Washington Post, who joins to talk about where Biden stands on his overall agenda and what comes next. And we'll play a game with a listener examining the scare tactics used by Fox News. And they're, you know, ilk. But first, she's the co-host of Crooked's podcast, What a Day, an author whose book obviously is out now and a returning champion. Please welcome Akilah Hughes. Akilah, it's good to see you. It's so good to be back, John. You know I love doing this show. You know what? You make us beg you, and you're so busy. You never find... Thank you for making the time.

I love being here. I think that this is going to be so much fun. I can't wait to see what's been going on with you guys. You know, it's been months. The audience has been begging for me. And you're here. And you're here. Yes.

Let's get into it. I already have. What a week. Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, the two Democrats who refused to abolish the filibuster in the name of bipartisanship, this week issued a joint statement begging Republicans not to use the filibuster to block a bipartisan January 6th commission. Manchin and Sinema then walked over to the National Zoo, climbed into the tiger enclosure, and wrote the tigers a strongly worded letter explaining that eating them would be wrong. This would be so... They're the worst. I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to be at least a little kind, but come on. Manchin released a follow-up statement the next day saying there is no excuse for any Republican to vote against this commission since Democrats have agreed to everything they asked for.

Manchin went on to say, I'm starting to have serious doubts about their commitment to the system they tried to overthrow. You know, I'm not sympathetic in the sense that he deserves to be asked these questions endlessly. You know, he's not a professional tennis player. He needs to answer the questions. Exactly. There's no there's no values at not a professional tennis player. He needs to answer the questions. Exactly. There's no values at stake in professional tennis players saying, no press, thank you. But for Joe Manchin, he needs to answer the questions. But he's asked all the time, and he gave an answer, I think either today or, well, we're recording this Thursday, late Thursday, either today or yesterday, where he said, you know, I'm not going to change my mind. I'm not going to do this to the country. I'm not going to change my mind i'm not going to do this to the country i'm not going to destroy the country and it really reminded me of tommy lee jones in

no country for old men like there's this great scene and it's like you you if you looked at joe mansion's words you're like hold on joe joe hold on hold on joe joe just take it okay so you don't want to destroy the country. Agreed. We're all on the same page there. Yeah. This is a commission to try to understand the forces that try to overthrow our government, ipso facto, destroy the country.

Is there any lesson in that about how not investigating it in action might in some sense cause the kind of destruction that you're trying to avoid. And that in perhaps adhering to these kind of norms with a Republican opposition that is untethered from reality and the same norms you seek to defend might actually invite, no, not keeping up. And it really does remind me of like that moment in No Country for Old Men where Tommy Lee Jones,

I think he's at some sort of a greasy spoon in whatever part of the country that film takes place, Texas. And he has all the facts. He has all the information. But he can't wrap his mind around the darkness of the opposition. He can't truly understand what Javier Bardem is up to because he can't wrap his head around it. He can't allow it.

His life, his worldview, his experience won't give him, even though he has every piece of the puzzle, he just can't put those pieces together. And he's seen Javier's face before. How can you look at this man's face and not assume he's doing something messed up? He shows up in a movie,

he's the villain. You're not going to see him as everybody's hero. If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule? There, you heard it. That's a great question. I mean, you know, I also feel like Joe Manson is destroying the country,

so he can save it, quite frankly. you know, I also feel like Joe Manson is destroying the country. So like he can save it, quite frankly. You know, if I'm burning your house down, but I say I don't want to burn your house down. Does it really matter? To play the analogy out, he is standing outside of the fire with a fire hose asking the arsonists for permission to use the water. Yeah. When they say they don't want to, he thinks that's OK. That's OK. You know, I don't want to be the one's okay that's okay you know i don't want to be the one to destroy the house y'all can keep destroying the house i hate it here speaking of

insurrectionist marjorie taylor green a botched painting restoration that learned to do crossfit has spent the last several days repeatedly comparing mask and vaccine mandates to the holocaust house minority leader kevin m Kevin McCarthy finally scolded her in a statement. But what's he going to do, punish her? It's not like she said something crazy like Joe Biden won the election. That would have consequences. I like this one. I like this one, OK?

I like it. I think that Marjorie is just so embarrassing. It's also like very late in the game to be like, and everything is the Holocaust. I'm like, is this the right to be like, and everything is the Holocaust of like, is this the right answer to people saying everything is Hitler? Is that they're like, everything's actually the Holocaust. You weren't wrong. It wasn't hyperbole.

I just think that, you know, me wearing this gold star to get into a concert, that's what they were doing in the Holocaust. They were just giving people gold stars for that reason. They weren't doing it, you know any other in in nefarious reason it was all because people wanted to be safe at a concert and that is her understanding the school system in georgia is really really uh having a bad day i see that like reporters like go and they try to get her to clarify and like no she's. I don't want to hear more details from a stupid person, quite frankly. She's not, not on the level here. You know, there are smart, good people. There are

dumb, good people. There are smart, bad people, but there are also dumb, bad people. And you know, sometimes there's a reason to go back to a smart, bad person, your Ted Cruz, your Mike Pompeo, ask a follow up. Sometimes they do clarify. Sometimes they do. But Marjorie's Taylor Greene, they're not going to give you any kind of like reflection. I wouldn't worry about it. No need for follow ups. That's right.

I liked when Ted Cruz said, I understand why he said my wife was ugly and I stand by saying nothing. I think that it makes sense. And that's what that silence was about. Back to you. Back to you. All right. I'm about to,

this is going to be, what comes next is, I would say is questionable. All right. And I just want you to go into it with open eyes and open ears. I'll do my best. Okay. Meanwhile, Gladys Sicknick, the mother of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick,

requested a meeting with every single GOP senator to push them to support the commission. Think of what Republicans have put this woman through. No one should have to lose a son and then meet Ted Cruz. I don't think so. I don't know. You're not brave enough. I don't think so. You're not brave enough to leave it in. I don't know. Leave it in, John. It's true. Listen. Too glib, maybe. You know. What do you think? I think you should leave it in and here's why okay the people of Texas

some people froze to death this year and their families were offered a meeting with Ted Cruz it is a bad consolation for anything I never want to meet him

he's worse than death okay Akilah went on the record saying it so alright well you know send your comments to Akilah. I had to cut it.

We're leaving it in on her account. Also this week. I think you should leave the rating on Love It or Leave It Not on one day. No. Here's what I want. I want five stars on Love It or Leave It, and I want angry tweets at Akilah. That's the rule. That's what we're doing.

Fine. Fine. No angry tweets at Akilah. She gets plenty. All right? She knows how to stir the pot. All right? She doesn't need help.

Also this week, there has been renewed debate over hypothesis that COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan laboratory because a group of prominent virologists published a letter in the journal Science calling for it to be seriously examined. It's worth noting the letter does not say that the virus leaked from a lab. The letter asks for a dispassionate science-based discourse on this difficult but important issue, which is like, okay. Hey, scientists are like, hey, hey, Twitter, listen.

We're going to try something. You hear me? In the back, listen, Twitter, all of you, you animals. We're going to have a dispassionate, I said dispassionate science-based discourse. Dispassionate. No, no, no, no, no. No, that's not it.

No, that's not it. No. It's a difficult but important issue. Dispassionate. That's a snake emoji. I'm not saying dis is passionate. I'm saying dispassionate. I know that my last name is Fartsmith,

and no, I don't think these jokes are funny. It's Dr. Fartsmith. Oh, my God. Yeah, and while we're at it, you know, I think that we should have a very dispassionate discourse about Taika Waititi and Rita Ora, whoever that is. I don't think we should have conjecture or questions about the relationships,

the thruple, quadruple, or fuffuffle that is in the photos. I've let that tube in the lazy river go by. I'm on it. I'm on it waving. Take a single, y'all. Y'all got room for one more? They're dragging me down the river. Oh, wow. So I had actually meant just talking about it,

but you literally, you're like, let's get it. Call me. It has been a long pandemic. I will learn who Rita Ora is for this endeavor. I'm not saying I'm going to learn today, but I'll know by the end of the ride. She's the best agent in Hollywood. Wasn't she nominated for an Oscar?

Who is she? She could be in my house right now. And I feel like, excuse me, ma'am. I think you're lost. Who are you? What do you do? She's like, I'm Rita Ora. We've met several times.

Not only am I famous, you and I, Akilah, have met. I am Rita Ora, and we have met. We were on a bachelorette party together. We spent three days in Nashville together. I got nothing, Rita. You sound cool, I guess, in theory, but still couldn't point you out in the lineup. Anywho, this lab leak theory was dismissed by some

because then-President Trump and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both blamed the pandemic on the virus lab in Wuhan and neither offered any credible evidence as part of an effort to deflect blame from their mishandling of the pandemic. Trump even claimed he had a high degree of confidence that the virus came from the Wuhan lab, but proof never materialized. So you can understand everyone's reservations embracing this as a possibility. Like the old saying, a racist clock is right twice a day. No, that's not right. Yeah, I guess that's not right. That's not right. Hated that.

But like what's funny about like I find this like this whole conversation like very silly because I do think there were some people who are like it's misinformation. And then there were some people who said liberals can't handle that this is from a lab. And I think actually, most people were like, I don't fucking know. And honestly, right now, it doesn't really matter, because it's not in the Wuhan lab anymore. If that's where it came from, it's fucking everywhere. And you're calling it the China virus, not for any purpose of helping us understand our situation, but to deflect blame. And pardon me if there was some skepticism of a claim made by history's greatest liars. Like, yeah, I was suspicious of history's greatest liars.

Yeah. You know, it's not like they're investigating if it came out of Ted Cruz's mouth. I mean, I had to find out that that fly wasn't there. So, like, you know, it could have been from anybody's house, his mom's house. We don't know. Let us know when you know. That's where I'm at as a news person. When they find out, give me a ring.

Great. We don't know yet where the virus came from we now do know we have confirmed that the fly did not go into that's false that's misinformation that's left-wing propaganda yeah i don't know where covid came from but i know where it went i can point to several places it's been. So if you need me, I was a witness. Right. Fuck. Jeez. Anyway, speaking of searching for the facts, this is going to be a weak transition. Who cares? The criminal investigations into Trump and his associates are heating up, as they say. Federal prosecutors investigating Rudy Giuliani have seized more materials than were previously made public including messages and documents belonging to high-profile ukrainians

the reason we know about this akila is that the prosecutors fucked up the redactions no it's an accident we found out some information by mistake which i love because it's a legal fuck up. And as the saying goes, in order to catch a Giuliani, one must become a Giuliani. You have to think like Giuliani. You have to act like a Giuliani. What would Rudy Giuliani do in releasing this? We can't release it at the Four Seasons Landscaping.

That's tired. What we should do is have an unpaid intern highlight the wrong thing. He's like, you said leave all the names, I am? Is that what you said? Leave all the names? I heard all the names. I don't know. I actually don't know what the redaction error was. I would say a non-Giuliani type mistake would be to black it out, but then not have flattened the PDF so that it was still

findable like the text was still searchable but that's too cool that's too classy for Giuliani because if Giuliani fucked it up it would just be that he went too fast with the marker and you could still read the words underneath I don't know how level what level of sophistication the fuck up was tell Akilah in the comments yeah I think he would have been like i thought you could redact in yellow highlighter i didn't know it had to be black in any case don't read that part anyway yeah so rudy's on the hot seat but here's what manhattan district attorney cyrus fans and new york state attorney general tish james to say. You've taken care of the little fish. I will take care of the one that got away. Yes.

That's from Clear and Present Danger. That's not actually Tish James or Cyrus Vance. But Trump himself is now facing two ongoing investigations of his business practices in New York, including one by New York Attorney General Tish James. Both investigations in part stemming from testimony provided by Michael Cohen, which makes Cohen officially one of the good rats, like Pizza Rat or Master Splinter. And I think that's nice. Charles Entertainment Cheese is loving it.

Rats of NIMH. Yeah, Remy Ratatouille. Those diplomat mice from that Disney film before the- Oh, that's right. The Rescuers Down Under. Yeah, Remy Ratatouille. Those diplomat mice from that Disney film before the... Oh, that's right. The Rescuers Down Under. Yeah, but that's the sequel. Isn't that the sequel? Just the rescuers? The diplomats. What are those adorable

mice diplomats? Are they not the rescuers as the rescuers? They might be the rescuers. I just think the Rescuers Down Under is the sequel. That's how I'm getting at it. I think you're right. You know, you're right. Those mice were great. Well-dressed. They had a really nice relationship. Beautiful hats.

Regal mice. I like a movie where the mice are, they're not looking just for cheese. They're solving diplomatic problems. That's cool. Yeah, traveling the world, doing their little business. Anyway,

people close to the investigation say the probes are expansive, which is not surprising. Takes an expansive probe to deal with a huge asshole. Here for it. Here for it. You know what I mean? Do you get it? Yeah, I totally get it. You got it? Yeah. i mean do you get it yeah i totally get it you got it yeah

right there with you you got it pick it up what you're putting down no u.s president has ever been charged with a criminal offense after leaving office though george w bush's portraits are considered a crime against chiaroscuro true i i don't know why we pretend they're good i don't know why i don't're good. I don't know why. I don't like the shading. There's something there. They're just like, they're like, you know, mommy's first canvas sort of like toy. I think we have to admit, if we're, you know, honest and confident in our worldview, that they're better than they should be. Yeah, I mean, that's true.

I was expecting finger paint and it does seem like he didn't use his fingers for all of it. His portraits have some pathos, and it's time we face it. All right? It's time we face it. Well, he always wanted to go to art school anyway. It was his dad's dream for him to be president. Yeah, that's a trend. That's a fucking trend.

In response to the news that a grand jury had been convened, Trump posted to his blog on Tuesday that this was a quote, continuation of the greatest witch hunt in American history. And now we finally, finally get to see if he floats. Please. Let's find out. Alright, it's a witch hunt.

Let's see if he floats. East River or Hudson. It's a Manhattan event. It's a Manhattan event. It's a Manhattan issue. You can pick your river. Yeah. I have a question, though. How is it the greatest witch hunt if we still haven't found the witch?

I feel like the greatest one is still the one where it's like, there's the witch. It has to conclude, right? Right. Is the hunt really just the pursuit? I feel like, I mean, also, maybe they weren't real witches, but back then they thought they found some. So is he saying like, they almost got me. We're almost at the conclusion. Well, right.

Carmen Sandiego's ran out of real estate to hide behind. Doesn't really make sense, right? Because like. What is a great witch hunt? Well, like a witch hunt is looking for a witch in response to evidence that you found like the crops died or there's not been any rain or the goats are sick or she can read and write or she can read those kinds of problems they're like we have we have dead goats reading women some something has to give who's responsible

let's hunt for the witch we know who trump is yeah we're looking at his actual files it's not just conjecture we're looking at literal things he's signed and written and falsified like that's just that's just facts it's not a witch hunt. Anyway, enough of that fucking guy. The point... Look, here's the thing, all right? We're going to cover Donald Trump's criminal malfeasance because it's interesting and because he's an ex-president and because he may run again. But it's worth noting just how far his star has already fallen. Not saying he can't come roaring back.

He's the leading candidate in the Republican primary already. At age 1,000. So he's not on Twitter, Akilah. All he has is his blog. How popular is it? Akilah, it's time for a lightning round quiz. Here's how it works. I'm going to name a website, and you have to say if it's more or less popular than DonaldJTrump.com.

Are you ready? Yeah. Board ready for this. Findagrave.com. 1,000%. Yeah. Bored, ready for this. Findagrave.com. A thousand percent, especially in the era we're living in. There's no doubt. There's no doubt. I know it's bleak.

Medieviltimes.com. Oh, yeah. People are going out to eat. Less popular. Less popular. Incorrect. Trump beats Medieval Times. Cirque du Soleil.com.

I'm going to say more popular. Less popular. Nobody wants that. Nobody wantsil dot com. I'm gonna say more popular. Less popular. Nobody wants that. Nobody wants fucking fancy circus. I don't know. The fancy circus has never made any sense to me. What's the Venn diagram of people who want fancy and people who want circus? I can have fancy and I can have circus, but I don't need fancy circus. Dilbert

dot com. Isn't that the same thing? Yeah, that just redirects to DonaldTrump.com. I mean, I don't know. People are searching out Dilbert. I don't know. Maybe they are. Yeah? Yeah, it's more popular.

Dilbert.com, more popular than Donald Trump's website. And finally, Mangafreak.net. Oh, definitely more popular, yeah? Way more popular. I actually don't know if it's way more popular, but it is more popular. Yeah. I mean, in this room. You've won the game, Akilah.

Any reaction? Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm so happy. I think it's great. Correct. You know, lots of websites are more popular than Trump. I actually wanted to tell you, I went to that Frank website, the one from the pillow guy, because he was yelling about how you have to put in your phone number or else it won't work.

So I put in 555-5555. That's enough. They don't tell you that's bad. And it's just a lot of posts about pillow sales, like $29.99, two pillows for $30. So weird that Trump didn't put his blog in. I can't believe that you went to that website. And, yeah, it didn't seem like 900 million people were on there. I just want to say.

It always really does take me out of a movie when they're like, oh, you can reach me at 555-1212. I hate that shit. Find a fake number. Yeah, just don't say a number. Let's get a real number going. Right. Yeah, buy the number. Buy the number, then make it like something ridiculous if somebody actually calls.

Like, Who cares? Timothée Chalamet will play Willy Wonka in a musical adaptation that finally gives us the origin story for which we have been clamoring. Alternate title. I'm very sorry for what I'm about to say. Twink invents Twinkies. I don't know. That's not anything.

I'm okay with it. I'm okay with it. I am not okay with him being Willy Wonka. I think if there was ever a shoe-in and a time for a progressive reboot, it should have been me. Yeah. I think that I, you know, I play both sides.

No one knows what I'm going to say. And if some kids eat my candy, they can die. Yeah, no. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. I do think that, Akilah, you do have the energy

of a benevolent capitalist who does kill kids that annoy you. Yeah. Thank you so much. I can see that. That's going to be my eulogy that you do for me. Oh, please. Oh, please. You'll bury me.

Don't worry. Thank you so much, Rob. You have a lot of faith in my body. Thank you so much, Rob. You have a lot of faith in my body. Amazon has agreed to buy MGM Studios for more than $8 billion, winning it 50% control of the James Bond franchise. That won't change the release date for the long-awaited next Bond film,

No Time to Die or Organize. No time to pee. No time to pee. No time to pee. No time to pee. It's just James Bond running out of a warehouse. Like, where is the bathroom? This place is a mile long. What do you?

Yeah, like James Bond. You're timing me? License to kill, but no license for more than 15 minutes for that break. Oh, man. No time to pee. James Bond in No Time to Pee. And finally, the El Paso Zoo

is pressing charges after a video posted on social media showed a woman entering an animal enclosure to feed two spider monkeys her hot Cheetos. Akilah, they caught her red-handed.

Oh, I love that. I love that joke. That's a great way to end on a real... I loved it. No, I think that that's right. Her fingers were red. I saw that one of the producers on my show, Sonia, likes to eat her Cheetos with chopsticks.

Innovative. Game changer. Oh, that's eat her Cheetos with chopsticks. Innovative. Game changer. That's cool. That's so sophisticated. Yeah, she should have done that to the spider monkeys, then maybe she wouldn't go to jail. Akilah, any final thoughts? I think that this was a week, for sure. And

looking forward to the holiday. Gonna eat some food. That's all I have to say about all of the news. Thank God there's not gonna be any over the weekend while i'm eating that food no news over the weekend all right yeah listen we worked pretty hard to get rid of uh the last guy who was a big fan of making news whenever the fuck he wanted because he didn't care about anybody but himself and honestly barely cares about himself really deep down yeah i mean he got COVID in the middle of the night. That was rude.

Do it in fucking work hours, Doug. Yeah, that's the one thing. Look, you can want to push Joe Biden to go harder and go faster. I'll tell you one thing. He gives us our weekends. Yeah, I love it. I love it. I love not knowing what's going on on the weekends because nothing's going on. It's just me and Mare and a bunch of food.

You and Rita and the director of, I think, Thor Ragnarok. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Yes, the director of Thor Ragnarok and Tessa Thompson, who just was hot and happy to be there. Yeah. Akilah Hughes, thank you so much. When we come back, Rita or, oh, no.

Who booked her? She's in this Zoom. Sorry, Rita. Who booked her? She's in this Zoom. Fuck. Sorry, Rita. Sorry. Also nominated for an Oscar, I believe. Wild. Thank you so much to Akilah Hughes for joining.

When we come back, we play a game about right-wing scare tactics. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. And we're back. Scare tactics. A tool as old as time. Recently, red meat was under attack. How could liberals take away an American staple like hamburgers? Biden was going to limit us to one burger per month in the name of climate change. It was completely fabricated. But Texas's own Greg Abbott jumped on Twitter to let us know it wasn't going to happen in Texas because it wasn't going to happen anywhere. It was bullshit. Because some of these scare tactics

are so ridiculous, we don't believe you'll be able to tell what they've really said from what we've made up in a game we're calling With Fox and Friends Like These. Here to play is Chase. Hi, Chase. Hey, John. How are you? I'm great. How are you doing, Chase? I'm doing great. It's great to be here in Austin. You're in Texas. I could tell because your shirt says Texas. I had to rep my hook and horns. Hook and horns. How is Austin doing? I cannot wait for all these legislators to leave our city to stop making the really dumb

laws that they have just cannot stop passing. It's just an endless stupidity parade that is happening around the corner from my apartment, and I am ready for them to leave. It's very frustrating that Austin, this bastion of progressivism, of weirdness, of people who are not right-wing lunatics, has the Capitol where they're making all these laws and that Austin itself has been gerrymandered so that Austin is carved up into little bits and they have to vote for all these Republican members. It's weird. I actually went and visited DC a couple of years ago and I called Lloyd Doggett to let him know that I was a constituent. And he said, no, I wasn't. And I was like, well, not him, his staff. And I'm like, no, I am. I live two blocks away from

a different district and his map and his office was incorrect. Wow. Interesting. Yeah, no, that's just how bad it is. So Chase, I'm going to read a scare tactic and you have to decide whether it is made up by us or something Fox or one of its, you know, similar things really used. Are you ready? Yes. Suggested that a fist bump between Barack and Michelle Obama could be interpreted as a terrorist fist jab.

I definitely remember fist bumps being something, but I want to say that's false. It's true. Play the clip. A fist bump, a pound, a terrorist fist jab. That's right. They really said it was a terrorist fist jab. Next scare tactic. They claim that in Joe Biden's America, children would be jailed for running unlicensed lemonade stands. I mean, that's going to have to be true because I feel like I have heard people talk about that all the time, that

there is these city bureaucrats ready to get every unlicensed lemonade stand. You know what? I think you're probably right. We didn't find evidence of it, but I'm sure it's happened. I'm giving it to you, even though we're calling it false. Next, they straight up lied that the reason Obama didn't meet with Israel was because he was busy meeting with a man dressed as a pirate. You know, that's going to be true.

That has to be true. That is true. Roll the clip. The White House doesn't even have time to meet with Israel, but the president got a private sit down with a pirate yesterday in the Oval Office. Sorry, BB.

So here's what you need to know, Chase. I mean, it wasn't Halloween, was it? I was there for the taking of that photo. It was first of all, they tweeted an old picture as a joke. That photo was not taken when he claimed when Fox News claimed it was taken. It was taken as part of a joke photo for the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2009. as part of a joke photo for the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2009.

And the man playing the pirate was future chief White House speechwriter Cody Keenan, who did a great job being a pirate that day. Next scare tactic. They told Americans that we should be afraid because Greta Thunberg is tween Hitler. I mean, that has to be true. False. I made it up. You made that? No. I made is Tween Hitler. I mean, that has to be true. False. I made it up.

You made that? No. I made up Tween Hitler. There's so many right-wing trolls who have taken her and put those little, like, mustaches on Twitter, and I thought for sure one of those would have made their way because that's the kind of fact-checking they're doing there. Alright, well, you know what? I understand your logic. Incorrect. Next

scare tactic. They suggested that wearing two masks deprives the body of oxygen, leading to hypercapnia. I mean, I'm pretty sure they were saying that about one mask. I don't know what hypercapnia is. So maybe that is the false part. No, you got it. You got it. It's true.

I mean, there's no downside to wearing two masks. What about oxygen or hypercapnia from getting too much carbon dioxide in your blood? Tucker was worried about hypercapnia, whatever that is. Next scare tactic. They declare that Elmo is a tool of the homosexual agenda. I mean, I hear about the Sesame Street

and the Bernie, so I'm going to go with true. False. We made it up. Made it up, Chase. Next. If Batman was alive today, liberals would defund him. They're not wrong if that is true. I don't think that vigilante justice is something that we should be encouraging.

You know, it's actually a good point. They would think that vigilante justice is a good thing, which is ridiculous. We shouldn't be doing it. So I would defund Batman and say it's true. And one of the few times they're correct. They should claim it So I would defund Batman. I guess it's true. And one of the few times they're correct. They should claim it because we would defund Batman. I don't want some billionaire out there pummeling people. I also want to do a wealth tax.

So like, is that defunding him? I'm all good with that as well. Bruce Wayne has too much money. I don't want one rich guy to have a fucking flying machine. I want everybody to have enough. I'd rather like tax him and then have enough social workers to actually respond to the stuff that the cops do. Like defund Bruce Wayne, fund everything else. It's the right belief. Defund Bruce Wayne. Chase, we're going to have to. I just think that that is a T-shirt that has to probably happen now. I'm not even kidding.

Somebody somebody make a note. I'll remember it. Next scare tactic. They claim that COVID restrictions were really about conditioning the public to accept draconian climate change lockdowns. You know, I'm going to say that that is probably true. You got it. Let's roll the clip. Urban design can reduce the average city dwellers carbon footprint by shaping lifestyle choices and influencing day-to-day behavior. In other words, a lockdown of another kind, this time in the name of climate. Wow. You got it. That is some wild shit. And finally, Chase, they said that an inclusive rainbow-colored Lego playset was in fact racist and the opposite of Martin Luther King's dream for America.

I'm going to go with false because I don't even think they're that dumb to see the rainbow and think racism. They would go straight to the homophobia, but I am prepared to be proved very wrong. In fact, you are wrong, Chase. You're right. You're wrong. Let's roll the clip. This is Lego's newest line of diversity toys. Chase, you're right, you're wrong. Let's roll the clip.

This is Lego's newest line of diversity toys. This separation to color coding, living up to every stereotype from hairstyle to skin color, looks like it could have been designed by David Duke. This is the opposite of Martin Luther King's dream for America. Chase is shaking his head. There's just a lot of leaps in logic there

that I hope they did some stretching because I've never and it's been bad for me. So I don't know what they're up to. Great. Well, Chase, you've won the game. Great job. Thank you. Thank you to Chase for joining. When we come back, I talk to Ashley Parker about her reporting on the Biden White House and where we stand on the Biden agenda. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. And we're back. She is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and White House reporter for The

Washington Post. Please welcome Ashley Parker. Ashley, it's good to see you. Yeah, good to see you too. So you recently reported on Joe Biden's typical day, which obviously involves much less Twitter and Fox News than the previous occupant of his house and job. But did anything strike you as interesting or noteworthy about a typical Biden day? Yeah, a couple of things. I mean, one, and this is not, as you well know, this is not specific to Biden necessarily, you well know this is not specific to Biden necessarily, but just how scripted the day of any president is that, you know, we get the public schedule. And the thing that made me kind of think

to do this story was that President Biden, he was holding up a note card that he carries with him that tracks the number of COVID deaths. And on the back, he inadvertently flashed a glimpse of his private schedule. And there was nothing scandalous about it. But it was still fascinating to see that basically from when he wakes up in the morning to when he returns in the residence, every moment is scripted down to, you know, hold time for a meeting with your chief of staff, tape a video with your wife. So that's what kind of made me want to look into the story. Crush your lats. Basically. Yeah.

And he does. We did learn he does lift weights. Crush your lats. Basically. Yeah. And he does. We did learn he does lift weights. So there is that. And then also how much and again, this is not not unique to him, but how much of a president's life is in a bubble. And it is doubly in a bubble for someone like Joe Biden, who became president during a deadly pandemic and is respecting basic public health protocols. So that was all interesting. And then sort of the more fun stuff that was interesting to me, I mean, I don't know, it's not particularly meaningful or significant, but, you know, he likes orange Gatorade.

As a fan of blue Gatorade myself, that was just interesting. And also that he's kind of an Apple News guy and a car and driver guy, especially the Apple News I thought was fascinating and that he's always kind of plying aids with these little tidbits you pick up on Apple News. Like this is the oldest woman in Japan, I thought was just kind of a fun detail compared to Trump's reading habits and frankly, Obama's reading habits. That's just nonpolitical grandpa stuff. Sending a sending an Apple News link for the oldest person in Japan. That's grandpa stuff. It does feel like it's obviously different than Barack Obama's way of doing things, different than George W. Bush's way of doing things.

But it is just going back to how presidents do a day, right? It's pretty well scripted. Meetings are very short. The time of the president is incredibly valuable. But what's interesting in just reading the piece is, you know, what you describe is like a really steady White House, even a bit boring in how the day to day operates. But it's also the most ambitious agenda of any administration in modern American history that he sort of has gotten back to like, let's not, you know, it's no late night news, the lid comes early, things are predictable. And yet,

at the core of it is this incredible ambition. How do you see that playing out in the day-to-day workings of this White House? It's both like politics is boring again, and yet the goals are anything but. Oh, that's so far, at least, that's one of his superpowers, right, is that he is pursuing what many Democrats and progressives did not expect him to do as a candidate and were quite upset about, a bold, progressive, ambitious agenda. So far, he's been quite successful. But because and this has nothing to do with his day, but because sort of in tone and demeanor and just kind of core muscle memory of who he is, a creature of the Senate and a dealmaker and someone who really values across the aisle relationships. values across the aisle relationships, he doesn't come off as any of that. And you've seen Republicans really struggle to paint him as a socialist and a radical. And it just doesn't hold right. Ted Cruz at one point, I think tweeted it wasn't catchy. So it died off. But you know, he's boring,

but radical. But Joe Biden does have this sort of like, friendly socialist next door vibe that makes it very hard, much to their chagrin, for Republicans to successfully demonize him. I also just I found it really nice that he just sometimes offers Chris Coons a ride home to Delaware. Just like, hey, I'm heading north if you want to hop in to Marine One. It was yeah, it was so sweet. And I also felt sad that it like didn't actually work out. So maybe Coons will get that another time. In the piece, you talk about the ways in which he keeps touch with a lot of his Senate colleagues with his family, with just like he likes to have a personal connection to people.

But he's also evolved even since being a candidate and how he talks about his relationship to Republicans. I remember early on, we were critical of him, you know, on Pots of America, Crooked, around saying that Republicans would have an epiphany, that they'd wake up. And he does seem to have come to a different version of bipartisanship, which is one, which is where he kind of tends to say, he said this when he got ice cream the other day, he says it all the time, rather than saying they're gonna wake up, he says, I don't understand them. I don't understand them. They don't make sense to me. But I'm going to define bipartisanship as what the country wants, broad support in the country. How does that work in terms of his person to person relationship to

Republicans in the Senate? Does he still talk to them? Like on infrastructure, for example, like how involved is he? How much is he tending those relationships? Yeah. And just briefly, one thing you mentioned in what we did a story on was sort of, again, this really creative way of redefining bipartisanship, right? That it's not actually lawmakers, you know, senators and House Republicans, bipartisanship. You know, the Biden people say that the American Rescue Plan, which passed with not a single Republican vote, is a huge bipartisan success because Republican mayors like it, Republican governors like it, some Republican

voters like it, right? Local Republican officials like it. That is their definition. I talked to Anita Dunn, a senior Biden administration official, who basically said, when you open up the dictionary next to bipartisan, you know, it doesn't say, you know, two Republican senators, which is technically true, but that is how most people, at least in Washington, conceived of bipartisanship. And the way in which it's changed, I mean, you see, it's interesting because he still, again, is a creature of the Senate, is someone who does believe in relationships and does believe you can't question a person's motives or impugn them, he and his team are still reaching out to Republican lawmakers. But sort of like the rub is they are operating very much on parallel tracks. So even with the COVID relief package, they were talking to Republicans, reaching out to them, all while simultaneously setting the stage to pass it through reconciliation with no Republican votes. They've been very clear that

they're very much doing that on infrastructure as well. They're going to have the conversations. They're going to talk about pay for it. They're going to talk about hard infrastructure like road and bridges. And then they're totally prepared to try to push it through if they can't get traditional bipartisan support with no Republican votes. And going back to what we talked about before, how he is sort of just so friendly and affable and grandpa like it's interesting to hear Republicans talk about this because you have Republicans, none of them. And this is much to the frustration of their staffs, but a lot of them can't believe that the Joe Biden they know and they worked with in the Senate would ever do this. Right. So you have them saying, like, we had a great meeting with the president and now it seems

like he's just being led astray by his staff. And, you know, there is sort of like a political smartness to that because it gets into who's really in control, who's wagging the dog, all of that. They also realize they can't demonize Joe Biden, but maybe they can demonize... Right, it's an admission. It's an admission. Yeah, like the horrible socialists around him. But it genuinely, but all that said, it genuinely also seems born from a place of like Senator Susan Collins cannot imagine a world in which Joe Biden does not take her concerns seriously. Right. And just will not accept that version of Joe Biden, which is how he's behaving right now.

You know, you brought up infrastructure and obviously the idea of doing it without Republicans means total unanimity amongst the Democrats. As somebody on the outside, we are vexed by Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. It is, you know, Democrats worked incredibly hard to win both the House and the Senate and to win the White House. And now 48 Democrats can want something. It doesn't matter. It's incredibly frustrating. What is the inside game on Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema?

Like, what are the carrots? What are the sticks? Like, what is that dynamic like between the White House and those two filibuster holdouts? It's tricky. And some people when you especially report, you know, congressional reporters, when they try to figure out what is Joe Manchin's endgame, right? It often doesn't feel like what people always attribute to Schumer McConnell of like five dimensional chess, right? It's like, he's answering a question in that moment or has a position in that moment that doesn't then sort of like tick through all the other factors and inputs and what it means, right? So it's like he has said on the Voting Rights Act, he's not necessarily a supporter

because he thinks something like that should require bipartisan support. Right. So so he's a no technically, basically. But but then the next question that doesn't seem to have a clear answer yet, right, is a what gets him to a yes. But also, well, what happens if it's very clear for whatever reasons that there never will be bipartisan support? Right. Or there may be Joe Biden definition of bipartisan support out in the country, but there's certainly not going to be any Republican votes for it. Then what? Are you still a no or do you change your position? And it's incredibly maddening, I think, for fellow Democrats, and also sometimes for the congressional reporters who cover him. Yeah, it's funny. I do see there's often this effort to, I think, like put narratives on top

of Joe Manchin. Like you see this, I think, amongst certain pundits like, oh, this is the game Joe Manchin is playing to ultimately get to yes on infrastructure or to limiting the filibuster in some way as if like as if there's like a three act structure here as if like the filibuster reform is like Che it's both frustrating, but also in some ways reassuring that like, yeah, there's ego. Yes, there's politics, but there does seem to be, I think he's reasoning through it poorly, but like real philosophical reasoning, real genuine concerns there that aren't receptive to traditional political pressure that are actually about like persuasion. Like, do you feel that like some of this is just about genuine persuasion to the two of them? I think it's all of that. I think some of it is that, as you said, it's not this like, well thought out play in three acts. I think it's also like, especially for Manchin, the state he represents, right? I don't have the numbers on my fingertips, but I think Trump won it by like 40 points, right? I mean, it's not a state that welcomes a liberal Democrat.

Some of it is, you know, about a belief in bipartisanship or about a belief in the sort of more philosophical existential things he's grappling with of like, should you do something as big as voting rights with just one party? Right. Or what does it actually mean? And he's not the first senator to grapple with this. What does it actually mean to totally blow up the filibuster? And I do think you see him work through some of that in real time as well. Before I let you go, you know, I think you pointed out that I think progressives have been pleasantly surprised by some of the ways in which Joe Biden has been aggressive and progressive, though there are plenty of critics on, you know, some of his moves on immigration

and other issues. Putting that surprise aside, what has surprised you in your coverage of the Biden White House? Like, what have you sort of like, oh, I didn't expect it to go this way? I mean, after covering four years of Trump and almost all of the Trump campaign, it just felt like I personally kind of had to realign myself in my expectations, right? And like, there would be days when my workday would end and I was not like sprinting out of the newsroom to try to get home to get my toddler right before like the child care clock ticked over. And I had to kind of remind myself that like there's not actually anything wrong with that, right? Like in a normal world,

you're maybe not working 19 hours a day and waking up at 5 a.m. to file off of tweets, right? Like in a normal world, you're maybe not working 19 hours a day and waking up at 5am to file off of tweets, right? And blowing up like every dinner and every family moment and like standing on the side of a soccer game, like calling Pence's chief of staff to try to understand what's going on. And even like I get text messages and calls from my mom, because she doesn't see me on the front page every day, right? Because like, I don't know, everything Trump did was a huge front page story. And like the rhythms of a Biden White House are just different. So I had to kind of readjust to the fact that a normal human work life balance is actually something that's like totally acceptable for me and maybe even aspirational and I should embrace. And then also, I have been impressed so far by how much this is not to say the Biden White House has done everything perfectly at all. But his instincts, again, in getting the covid relief package full on a lot of his big priorities on holding together a Democratic conference caucus that really does represent like a very robust progressive wing and people like Joe Manchin and even, you know, pleasing active like Black Lives

Matters activists and George Floyd's family when nothing has happened on that legislation so far. He has been pretty good at pleasing a lot of disparate groups through both his actions and his words and kind of like his story and who he is. And I don't know how much longer that will last. But I feel like often White Houses encounter bigger crises than he has so far. Well, that's certainly famous last words. But we also he did come into an ongoing pandemic that he has been desperately trying to get us out of. But I see what you mean about sort of new new crises.

Yeah, COVID notwithstanding. COVID notwithstanding. Present crisis excluded. Yes. Did you find that when all of a sudden, you weren't stuck in the kind of doom loop of Trump time, and nonsense and chaos that there was like a hole that you didn't know how to fill a kind of a dead quiet that made you actually feel really uncomfortable, like a place you actually feel with noise so that you can't hear the quiet? Just just like sheer loneliness and existential angst.

I mean, luckily, I have a toddler and a 10-year-old stepdaughter. So that is a way to eat up all of my free time so I don't have to grapple with the cosmic nature of existence. But yes, it's a totally fair question. Ashley Parker, so good to see you. Thanks for talking to us. Good to see you too. When we come back, we'll end on a high note.

And we're back because we all need it this week. Here it is, the high note. Hi, John Lovett. This is Janine from Western Massachusetts. My high note this week was finding out that my 17-year-old daughter would be allowed to attend her boyfriend's senior prom next week. She's a junior, and originally COVID restrictions limited the prom to just the senior class.

But with the successful vaccine rollout and Pfizer getting approval for teens, they lifted the restriction and she can go. We had a blast dressing around looking for a dress and accessories. She's missed so much this past year, and I'm so happy that she won't be missing this too. Vax to the future, baby. Hi, love it. This is Roberta from Jersey City, and I'm really hoarse because last night I spent the evening at Marie's Crisis, which is the piano bar, the sing-along, show-tune piano bar in the West Village.

And this week, they took down all the plastic barriers and dispensed with the masks for people who are fully vaccinated. And I was in a crowded bar singing and generally debauching, of us singing like one day more together and then like me and my friends looking at each other and bursting into tears we've all been waiting for this for this moment for so long to just be together and sing together and to have this room filled with everybody who's vaccinated just to see how many people are doing that. It was beautiful on hundreds of levels. Thanks for everything you do. I love it.

My name is John, and I'm calling from Nashville, Tennessee. I would like to leave two high notes for you. First, several years ago before COVID, I came out as gay. And listening to your podcast and traveling to your shows before COVID with my mom really helped us bond. And you've been a nice role model for me. And I thank you for everything that you've done every week. Second, as you may have heard in the news, there's been a lot of horrible anti-LGBT, in particular anti-trans legislation coming out of our state legislature in Tennessee. And I emailed my state legislator about it. And although many of these bills have passed, which is horrible, my state legislator sent me the nicest note saying that as an LGBT person, I matter and I care. And he's heard me and heard my message.

And so to anyone listening from Tennessee right now, there are some really good folks still in our state legislature who are trying hard to fight and just wanted to pass that along that even in these horrible red state legislators, there are some really good folks. So thanks again for all you do. Take care and appreciate everything. Bye. I love it.

My name is Amanda. I am from Lansing, Michigan, and I just wanted to call and say that my high note for this week is that after a divorce and losing my home and then the pandemic, I am finally moving myself and my five-year-old son into a home of our own. We lived with my sister for a while, and then we moved into an apartment for a while. And now, this upcoming weekend, we get to live in a house that's just for the two of us. And I could not be more excited and more proud of myself for getting through everything. And I did that because of your show and because of all the shows, actually, at Crooked Media. I love listening to everyone.

And thank you so much to you and to everyone for making me smile and keeping me informed and helping me figure out how to get involved and do the things that I want to do to help make this world a better place for my five-year-old son. Thanks, Lovett, and I hope you have a good one. Hi, John. This is Joan from Salt Lake City. My high note this week is that after 38 years in practice as an anesthesiologist, I am retiring

on Friday. After 38 years in practice as an anesthesiologist, I am retiring on Friday. And on a higher note, my daughter, Sarah, graduates from medical school at OHSU next weekend. So it's kind of a sunrise, sunset moment for me. The world is going to be a better place with her as a physician because she's awesome. You and everyone at Crooked Media have kept me going through some dark times this past year with COVID. Thanks for all you do. Thanks to everybody who called in.

If you want to leave us a message about something that gave you hope, please call us at 213-262-4427. Thank you to Akilah Hughes, Ashley Parker, and everyone who called in. There are 528 days until the 2022 midterm election. Have a great three-day weekend. Love It or Leave It is a Crooked Media production. It is written and produced by me, John Lovett, Ryan Woodruff, and Lee Eisenberg. Jocelyn Kaufman, Poulavi Ganalan, and Peter Miller are our writers.

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