Lovett or Leave It - It's Not a Trick, It's Collusion

Episode Date: October 28, 2017

Flake jumps ship. Trump goes back to the Hillary well. FCC paves the way for right-wing local news. And you sheep didn't go see a great sci-fi movie which is why we can't have nice things. Jack Whitehall, Akilah Hughes, and Brian Babylon join Jon to break down the week and rant and also discuss badgers for some reason.

Hi guys! How's everybody doing? Still getting used to this setup. People in the front row. Very close. Very intimate. I don't hate it. JFK's still dead. No big surprise there.

Well, I'm bringing the energy down. That's probably a mistake. I don't know why I'm doing that. That's a shame. I see some hummus. Guys, just a couple things. November 3rd, Washington, D.C., at the Anthem. Pod Tours America.

The Pod Save America show is sold out. There's a few tickets left for Love It or Leave It, the late show. And, you know, why would you miss that? It'd be a huge mistake. Also, we have a new website, Crooked.com. And I want to thank Red Antler, the company that raced against the clock to put together a really awesome website. How many of you guys have been checking out Crooked.com? That's good because that's also the place where you can buy merch.

And last but not least, a reminder to follow us on Facebook. As you know, Love It or Leave It is locked in a kind of war of attrition with the baby boomer generation on Facebook. You know, millennials, we have the numbers, but they have the passion. And they were here first. They know the lay of the land. You guys ready for a great show? Very excited about our panel tonight. He is a Chicago actor

and comic. You've heard him on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Please welcome Brian Babylon. This is, when they talk about American ingenuity and get up and go and making shit happen, this is what you're talking about. You're talking about a policy podcast at the improv on a Thursday night. Yes.

You are like a little small business making things happen. Employing people. Taxes. Revenue. Hell yeah. Fuck that, man. You're doing it. You've seen her work on MTV, Spike TV, the site formerly

known as Fusion, which is like, I guess, the artist formerly known as Prince, which is like, I guess, the artist formerly known as Prince, all over the internet. What was that gasp? I'm just happy it happened. I'm letting it go. She's a writer, comedian, YouTuber, host of GK Now, and one of Crooked Media's newest contributors. Please welcome Akilah Hughes.

Akilah, how are you? Honestly I'm so jet lagged. If this sucks it's because of that. Where are you coming from? New York. I'm bringing the energy down. I see some hummus. He's a British comedian on Bounty Hunters. He has a show called Travels With My Father and a new stand-up special on Netflix. Please welcome Jack Whitehall. Good evening. American politics.

This could be a tricky night for me. I'm not going to lie. Cricket.com, I thought that was about the sport. That's why I joined up for this, and it's not. I've confused that. You know what's interesting? For us, this is all a real night that's happening, but you just woke up in a nightmare.

You're still asleep on that flight, because there's no way you just woke up in a nightmare you just you're still asleep on that flight because there's no way you would get off a plane and come immediately to a podcast in front of a live audience at a comedy club about the intricacies of american politics it just seems impossible no i normally do whenever i get off a plane i'm just desperate to talk about jim flake jeff jeff jeff jeff you know you Jack, I want to tell you something, Jack. I'm going to go. Good night. Thank you very much. No, no, no. Give me the hummus. I'm off.

Jack, I think that what just happened is a learning opportunity because here's the thing. Oh, fuck. Your Britishness and confidence gave you the chance to have all of us believe that you did that on purpose. Yeah. And I think, how many of you thought he was being funny about Jeff Flake's name?

I sure did. Thank you. Thank you. That's British. That's British humor. The baby boomer saw straight through me. British humor. Wise.

Brian thought it was British humor. British humor. I'm going to be using that excuse a lot this evening. Do we have any British people in the audience? Two guys. I'll be pitching this mainly to you two tonight. Did you come together and then just fall out? No.

Speaking of Jeff Flake. Good old Jeff. Good old Jim. Speaking of John Flake. The artist formerly known as Jim. Wait a minute. Isn't Bill is Will and Bob is Robert? Is Jeff Jim?

Jeff is never Jim. Jeff is neither Jim nor Jack. It's only Jeff. Oh. What a week. So as our friend from across the pond helpfully noted, Flake is not running for re-election. He did this with some fanfare. He gave a speech on the floor of the Senate where he decried. Passionate.

Passionate. Speech. It was a passionate speech where he decried not only the politics of the Trump administration, but those who are complicit in what the Trump administration does, clearly a message directed at his colleagues. He also said he's going to spend the next 14 months unafraid to stand up and speak out as if our country depends on it. He follows Bob Corker as the second conservative anti-Trump senator to announce retirement. Dub Corker as the second conservative anti-Trump senator to announce retirement. Last week, Senator John McCain denounced the half-baked spurious nationalism in politics, which was both correct and overwritten.

So Tim Miller, a Crooked contributor, wrote for Crooked.com a piece about Jeff Flake and his decision to retire. He said, I am loathe to compliment the president ever, but here I have to make an exception. As frustrating as his supporters' deflections were and are, on this point they're right. Trump was willing to fight where my side was not. And we need look no further than the ongoing unilateral surrender of GOP elected officials and donors to see that nothing has changed. He basically points out that Flake decided to retire with dignity instead of go down fighting. Like Titanic style? Like the guys

who were playing the instruments in Titanic? Does that what people want? Is that what's cool now? Wait, what does this metaphor does that mean the rest of them are like dressing up as women to get on the boat? Yeah.

And babies. Yeah. I do believe Marco Rubio put on a bustier and one of those old-fashioned life vests and just got on that boat and sat down and said, we will deal with this tomorrow. You live today, Marco. You figure out a way to explain this tomorrow. I feel like most of the Trump administration would be the people hurling women and children out of the life raft to make room for their luggage.

Real. Akilah, I'll start with you. So we've seen these retirements, but as Trump pointed out when he spoke to the Senate Republicans this week, he got a standing ovation. The vast majority of Republicans are still with him. Do we think that a standing?

Oh, you got a standing. Oh, well, it was a great set. And he did. He got a standing. Oh, he said he likes most of the people in the caucus. Mitch McConnell walked him in. You know, he walked him into like the to the Senate. They had a lunch.

They had a nice lunch. And they, you know, they spoke and there's to the senate they had a lunch they had a nice lunch and they you know they spoke and there's lots of applause and there was a standing ovation do you think that flake corker mccain that this represents some kind of a breaking point or is it retirees say their piece but the rest of them won't i gotta say like my existential dread is telling me that this is not a like I think people will do it and I think that maybe Jeff Flake is gearing up to run for president I think that it's not I don't

think that it's a greater commentary on like the Republican Party getting woke I think they're mostly just like yeah shit looks bad and the money's just not that good so you think it's nothing's changing no and like I told you guys upstairs full disclosure Jeff Flake is my friend jared flake is his friend yeah jerry no jeff flake is my friend jeff flake is your friend jeff flake is my friend he he did the wait wait don't tell me show with

us in arizona we chummed up then he's one of my one percent of friends in politics that can go to that makes me feel cool i'm his one one black friend, makes him feel cool. Shit, it's a nice symbiotic relationship. And I told him three years ago, I was like, yo, man, you can fucking be president, dude. And I cursed, too, because I was a little high. And I was like... He's like, I said, no, because you are the kind of white man

that doesn't creep minorities out. Like, because, you know, for me, and I have some friends in Arizona who might think different, but he's a Republican that you'd be like, nah, fuck it. He doesn't creep me out like a lot of those dudes. I mean, he's your average, uptight white guy, but he's cool.

I just posted it on Instagram. I showed you a picture. Like, we're buddies. And if you remember this about Jeff Flake, back when they had that shooting spree at the softball game, he was saving lives. So he a hero, cool with

minorities, in my opinion. Not bad looking. Like you say, he has a little Matthew McConaughey in the face. He could get it. You know? What is happening at this show? I'm sorry, what are we talking about?

I want to thank everyone here for coming to our Jeff Flake fundraiser. Give what you can. You can be a $200 Flakey, a $500 friend of Flake. For $1,000, you're a Panko breadcrumb.

I don't know what another kind of Flake is For $1,000 you're a panko breadcrumb. I don't know what another kind of Flake is. This took a turn. You're thinking about things different, man. I'm not. I'm thinking the same. I think. No, I've changed. You've changed me. So, but look, one of the criticisms of Jeff

Flake has been that for all his talk, he wrote a book and he went on a book tour to be anti-Trump. There was very little tangible effort on his part in the Senate to hold Trump accountable. And that now he faced a choice, which was basically lose

or retire. You think he would have lost? Yes. He has a very low approval rating in Arizona. It seems like he was unlikely to win the primary. And if he made it out of the primary, I think he would have faced a tough general election. I think that's the calculus. And I think a criticism of Jeff Flake, and I think it is fair to say, look, I disagree with Jeff Flake on policy grounds up and down the board when it comes to standing up to the temperamental

calamity that is Trump, the kind of character flaws that make him unsuitable for office. He has been good on that issue when so many others have completely failed and capitulated. But that being said, it shouldn't take deciding you're not going to face re-election to tell the truth. When would you have done it?

When would you have done it? When would I? When it would have gone against Trump, like, day one? No, no, I would have been a coward and waited. I definitely would. And I also wouldn't... He wrote a 17-minute speech, which is a lot of commitment

knowing that you'll get a tweet back. Like that's... Real. So beyond... Look, you're managing his presidential campaign and we didn't know that until we got here. But you know one thing I want to say is one thing I do like about the Brits

is Just the one thing. On one hand, I can name things, but this one is how springerish your politics get. You guys get really like, fuck you, no mate, fuck you, blah blah blah.

And you get a lot of It was like, fuck you. No, mate, fuck you. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he gets a lot of... It was like being back home. That actually raises a good... I actually wanted to ask you about this. We're watching kind of the infighting within the Republican Party in the US. There's been obviously debate in the UK over Brexit. How does our Republican nonsense

compare to conservative nonsense yeah I mean yours is far more of a circus now at the moment compared to ours and there's lots of infighting in the conservative party but it's all quite British

like Boris Johnson wants to get rid everyone wants to get rid of Theresa May but she's still there inexplicably and has been there for like I don't know how

she's still the prime minister but no one ever does anything or says anything publicly. It's all sort of behind closed doors and very British. Well, that sounds familiar. I have a question.

What about Lord Buckethead? Lord Buckethead? Yeah. Yeah, whatever happened to Lord Buckethead? Honestly, man, I... I'm unfamiliar with this country.

What is happening? Lord Buckethead. He was real. I actually wrote some speeches I don't know what happened to him what are we even talking about

Lord Buckethead he ran in the you were hurting him I don't know what you're talking about do you not know about Lord Buckethead Lord Buckethead

was a I don't know if he was a superhero I don't know if he was like a mutant gone wild but he ran for parliament he has a bucket

on his head and a cape. He's like Batman, but different. I mean, we're all like Batman. Am I making this up? No, he was a guy probably with some mental health issues who wore a bucket on his head and ran

for election. And he's probably more electable than your president. Well, I was going to say, I think he's winning the race for Senate in Alabama now. No, that's just a bucket with a head in it. Yeah, man. Things are crazy down in Dixie.

So Joe... Jordan Flake. Jordan? Jordan Flake. I'm going to have to get this show back on the rails. Let's get this. It's going good. It's going fabulous. Remember, we're having a great time up here.

I'm positive, man. Whilst we're in a good mood, should we have one of the other things you like about the British? Oh. That's too long. That's too long. When we come back, a segment called OK Stop.

Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. And we're back. Now for a segment called OK Stop. Here's how it works. We're going to watch a video, and when we feel the urge, we say OK Stop.

It stops and we talk about it. This week, there was a lot of news around uh the funding for a dossier i'm i just don't have the emotional strength to get into the nonsense but you all know the story there was this crazy dossier it referenced a lot of shenanigans and illegal dealings on the part of donald trump the current president it also made reference to a certain tape of the micturation variety. It's been known for quite some time that it was at first funded by Republican donors

when Trump was in the primary, then funded by Democrats. After Trump cinched the nomination, it came out this week that it was funded by the law firm that represented Hillary Clinton, and there was some consternation as to whether they were honest about that. Anyway, Donald Trump found this to be interesting. He also, and so he sat down with a man named Lou Dobbs,

and they talked about it. Let's watch the clip. Oh, wait, don't start the clip. Is that hissing? Brian? Yeah. Akilah? Yes. Jack? Yes. I've talked to them about the hissing. The hissing?

They hiss sometimes. Because of the film? Because of the nature of politics in 2017. Oh, I thought it was a reference to the film. The Trump film. I thought it was hiss reference to the film. The Trump film. I thought it was hissing like the sound. Oh, like peeing. Yeah.

You know. I thought they made that every time. They weren't hissing. They were pissing. You know what? Benefit of the doubt for all of you. That was improv. That was improv.

It was improv. It wasn't weird 1930s crowd shit. It was improv. That was improv. It was improv. It wasn't weird 1930s crowd shit. It was improv. But you know what? You know the origin of hissing? I don't. Well, hey, I feel like you do. Yeah.

I feel like we're going to learn today. Yes. Britain, 1854. In the vaudeville days. Number two. When an entertainer was stinky, the crowd would hiss because they would want him to get on the next train out. Like, the steam train out. Now, that was not true.

That was just acting. That was acting. I'm working on my acting chops. Let's get this clip started. You don't say get this clip started. That's good. You don't say when the clip rolls. I say when the clip rolls, Brian Babylon. I know, I know, I know.

I'm not Peter Sagal. Don't pull this shit with me. I know. Oh yeah, he let you slide. You're now questioning everything. Maybe there isn't a Lord Buckethead. Maybe I was in on it as well. Improv.

Tag team improv. Oh, the plot thickens. Tag team improv. He's never met Jim Flake. Akilah's. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Akilah.

You're going to listen to this podcast back. It'll be like the first time you watch The Sixth Sense. Okay. Looking for clues. Looking for clues. This is going to listen to this podcast back. It'll be like the first time you watch The Sixth Sense. Looking for clues. Looking for clues. This is going to be one of those things where you say,

wait until you listen the second time. As they say about a lot of news podcasts. Let's watch the clip. That's Lou Dobbs. Going forward, there's another wall. And there's a wall that's just fallen between the American public, the Democratic National Committee, and Hillary Clinton's campaign.

They funded something called the Trump dossier, which they ballyhooed for some time. We now know who paid for it. The DNC and Hillary Clinton and one as yet unnamed Republican. I wonder who that might be. Okay, stop. So two things about that. First of all, we knew already that the Democrats had funded after the Republicans did.

Second, Donald Trump wants it to be Jeb Bush so fucking bad. Desperately. He just so wants it to be Jeb. He's hard for Jeb to be. He wants Jeb to be the secret Republican? He wants it. He wants it.

I'm just curious how that interview went from border wall. That was the most clunkiest, horrible transition from topics. From that border wall. Yeah, the border wall. Mexicans. Hey, what about that dossier? That's what sounds good. And he tried with that smooth, like, another wall came down,

a wall of us not knowing something. Yeah, we're like, that's not great. Oh, it's a vibe segue. He's trying to do some clubbing material. And I got to tell you... That's the worst. That's an open mic stand-up level of segue. He's like, oh, what else, what else?

Oh, whoa. And then he was like, oh, man, man, life is crazy. And then he was like, oh man, life is crazy. That's what comics say when jokes don't work. Oh man, life is crazy. Let's keep rolling the clip. I think I know, but I'll let them find out. They're going to find out eventually.

It's okay, stop. It's got a name. One thing I do not like about Trump's interviews is his interview posture. His whole... Whatever shitty yoga pose that is that he's doing, in every interview, he's leaning forward with the hands and a diamond thing, like he's really listening and giving a fuck,

and then he just talks. Don't forget, Hillary Clinton totally denied this. She didn't know anything. She knew nothing. All of a sudden it found out. What I was amazed at, it's almost $6 million. Stop, please. Who the hell is he looking at?

What is he looking at? Someone behind. You saw that? Yeah, I saw that. Like his wife is back there like, tell that bitch something. Yeah. It's a very Trump move, right,

to say Hillary Clinton is, to accuse Hillary Clinton of lying. No one as of now has any evidence that Hillary Clinton lied about knowing where the dossier came from. There is a question as to whether the law firm was honest about where it came from, but no sign that anybody,

that Hillary Clinton was sort of actively pursuing this dossier and pretending otherwise for months. There's no evidence about that. And on top of that, it's really going to be damning when the P-tape comes out because he's the one who's denying everything. Like, he really can't lead with, she denied it.

Oh, wait, you think there is a P-tape? Oh, come on, you know it is. You don't think so, but I bet you when it comes out, you're going to have 100 gifs on your Twitter. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. Don't play.

Oh, man. Here's the thing. A Donald Trump pee tape sounds the worst. It is like the mixing of two worlds. Because it's like, where's that pee coming from? Because it's like little guts going to be coming over there. A Donald Trump pee tape is a 55 car pileup

on the other side of the highway and try as you might, you will not have the physical ability to keep your head from looking out that window and trying to find the carnage. Now, I will say that this has been a year of

incredible disappointments. And so I cannot allow myself to believe in the pee tape because I have been let down by this world too many times and I am grizzled and I am like one of those dogs in that experiment

where the shocks were randomized and at a certain point you just lie down and take them. Let's keep rolling the clip. it's totally discredited it's a total phony i called it fake news uh it's disgraceful so they spent if you think of it almost six million dollars on something like that and uh i think honestly i just think it's a disgrace suddenly the house Intelligence Committee the house Oversight Committee are turning to the Democratic Party and talking about not talking about but beginning the

investigation of something called collusion with the Russians okay I'm just gonna keep saying okay stop because I'm just like overwhelmed does anybody else like choking on the irony like why would you introduce the idea of collusion with Russians when that's like your entire thing you're trying to avoid I just feel like it's amateur hour at the Apollo I think it's

a little more sinister than that because he can't do anything about what he did and what's about to come out about him. But he can make it seem like it's something everybody did. And he's just par for the course. That basically, I mean, that has been what he did the whole, that is how he became president, right? He dragged our entire culture down to his level.

To a pee tape and shit. Right. Right. Everyone has a pee tape. Yeah. Don't you? Yeah. A pee tape. So what?

So what? Hillary Clinton pees. Yeah. Where's the coverage of that? Hillary pees. She pees every day. Do you think, like, in the espionage world, if there was a zip file with that, an MPEG of the peepe. That would be like some James Bond shit. Like, we must get the microfiche.

Remember back in the day, it was microfiche. Many Bothans died to bring us the information. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your thoughts? There was no collusion on my side, I can tell you that. Everybody knew it. You knew it. That looked like a lie.

Stop. That was a lie. Did you see him? That was like, have you seen a five-year-old? I didn't take the cookie. I didn't make that up. Did you see him? That was like, have you seen a five-year-old? I didn't take the cookie. I didn't make that up. Did you see that? That was classic kiddie life shit. I also would just like to add that the, is it Chiron or Chiron?

I've never heard that word said out loud. Chiron. There you go, Chiron. Immediately changed to Clinton collusion. Like, the person was like, oh, yeah, fuck you. Like, it's so stupid. Oh, the most rabid right-wing person in the country is the person who writes the chyrons for Fox News.

That person is lost-tos. Lost-ity. Not in vogue, but I always said, and I had no idea how right I was because I didn't realize it would be to this extent, but I always said this was an excuse for losing the election put out by the Democrats. And that's what it was. Man, he's so petty.

That last part's pretty true. Just kidding. I'm sort of kidding. I mean, it is. It's both true and an excuse. Oh, you don't like it, do you? I mean. You don't like it.

I just want you to elaborate. The pee tape? Wait, paying for the pee tape is why we lost? No, just... I just want to be clear when people ask. No, no, no. Why did you lose? It is certainly true.

We spent all of our money on a pee tape. It is certainly true that along with all the other... Yeah. That we... The massive effort on the part on the part of russia to help donald trump became president is certainly on the list of reasons we rightfully cite that that hillary lost that's all i mean i don't know why i need to end with that point bring the whole crowd down i've lost them all right this is like hummus really this. This anti-Hillary pro-flake event is not what you expected.

Hold on. So you're saying... I mean, worse for me. Do you really believe, everybody here, do you really believe Facebook really pushed it? I mean, yeah, that's the data. I think that over the course of a long campaign, the soup of bullshit from Russia, from the hacked emails that were stolen and then drip, drip, drip, the Comey letter, the efforts by the Mercers through Clinton Cash, everything that was happening at Infowars and Breitbart, it was a massive disinformation campaign. And the thing about disinformation is you don't really need to coordinate that much. Your fake bullshit and somebody else's

fake bullshit doesn't need to match to confuse people. It was just a... We were conducting this election in a cloud of just steaming bullshit. Okay, fair and balanced. And for all the...

And that includes Fox News too. And so because it was so close, of course it was responsible. But do you think fair and balanced. And for all the... Yes, and that includes Fox News, too. And so because it was so close, of course it was responsible. But do you think fair and balanced... I have to say that before I say this. Don't you think grabbing it by the pussy was worse than all that bullshit? I mean, Trump himself and grabbing it by the pussy... In America, though? Come on. So you mean you're average person in, let's think somewhere,

like where people... Kentucky. Kentucky, North Dakota like that they saw a Facebook post like but I knew it. I think that there is a I think there is a complicated relationship between how information affects us and how and how we choose the information we see and we choose what we want to believe. we choose the information we see and we choose what we want to believe. I think saying that fake news and disinformation sort of pulled the wool over the eyes of a lot of voters, I think is too simple. That a more nuanced view has to take into account the fact that people do read what they want to read, believe what they want to believe, look for the evidence that confirms their biases, gives them permission. We all do it. We do it too. It's not something specific to Trump voters. Well, can I just say on behalf of the British, a huge thank you.

Because after Brexit, we were like, we're going to be the most ridiculed nation on the planet. And then America just went, hold my beer. USA! Here's the thing. And what really screwed you guys is Brexit happened, and it should have scared the shit out of us. But we don't pay attention to that country. And so we missed the signs

but then You thought that was a new meal. Right. I thought it was a boy band. I thought it was like a 5.99 deal at a KFC. We thought Brexit was a box that had

three tacos, Doritos and a soda for five dollars. But Trump did scare did have an impact on other countries that woke up to the threat a bit more of the nationalist French. Well, this took a turn at the end there. That's fine.

Should we have some adverts from the pants? When we come back. A new game. Don't go anywhere. This is Love It or Leave It. And there's more on the way. And we're back! Now for a new game.

It is called Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Next month, the FCC will be eliminating or scaling back long-standing limits on local ownership of TV stations. The order will, among other changes, get rid of the requirement that a television or radio broadcast station use a main studio in close proximity to its city of license and eliminate the requirement that stations have staff members available at that local studio. It will allow for large TV and radio conglomerates to control more of local markets and get rid of local news presence.

Very serious. Yeah, boo all you want. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2016, five companies owned 37% of all full-power local television stations. That's companies like Sinclair, Gray, Nexstar, Tegna, and Tribune. One of those stations, Sinclair,

is in the process of acquiring Tribune Media, which means it will cover 72% of U.S. homes across 108 markets, including 39 of the top 50. This is a conservative, pro-Trump company, and we are going to play a quiz to see how much everyone here knows about

Sinclair and what their growing presence will mean for the country. Would anyone out there like to play Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy? Hi, what's your name? Sandra. Hi, Sandra. Hi. Good evening.

Thank you for getting a Love It or Leave It shirt. Thank you for having them. You look great. Thank you. I feel great. All right, good. Have you been following the news about Sinclair and what they've been doing? Yes. They're kind of quiet growth, and they're under they're under the surface propaganda in the homes of millions of Americans? All right.

Well, then I think you're ready for this quiz. Here's how it's going to work. I'm going to read a question and it's going to be multiple choice and each of our panelists will read you an option

and it will be up to you to choose the correct answer. If you get all of the questions right, you will win the parachute gift card. Yay! Woo-hoo!

All right. Yes. Sinclair has something called Must-runs, short video segments that are produced by the company that station managers around the country are directed to play on the air. Which of the following is not one of those segments?

Brian, we'll start with you. The bottom line with Boris Epstein, former Trump surrogate, where he repeats Trump talking points. On a Sinclair panel show called Town Hall, Your Voice, Your Future, Trump TV surrogate Seb Gorka, fuck him, with a segment about black African gun crime. Literally, fuck him.

Do you curse on this podcast? Whenever you want. Great. I shan't. One C. Point Counterpoint hosted by Sean Hannity. Oh, I have heard of him. He is a fucker. He's not a very...

a real shit. And Sean Hannity in a mustache. That's not how I normally stay in a mustache. That's a joke. That's a joke one.

This is an easy first question. Yeah. So which one is not real? Yes. His is not real. Sean Hannity.

You nailed it. Can I say one thing about Sean Hannity? Please. Outside that I hate him. I've always even back when he was with the Combs, Sean Hannity looks like baby Fred Flintstone. Do you remember the Flintstone kids?

Oh, my God. Look at little Fred Flintstone. That's correct. And look at Sean Hannity's face. Very square heads. Very square heads. Very punchable. Very.

Right in the face. And both have prehistoric views. Oh, very good. That's a bad joke. That's called an alley-oop. All right. Alley-oop. That was an alley-oop.

You're doing sports now. Let's run this clip again just to give people a taste of what happens during the Borscht Epstein. I will tell you firsthand, the president is authentically, truly bothered when our flag, anthem, military, or country are disrespected. Standing up for our national symbols will be immensely helpful to the president and the Republican Party as a whole this year and next year's midterm elections and all the way to 2020. I love the clip. Why is his voice like that?

Where is he from? Sounds like he swallowed some bees. That's how white people who are Republicans sound. He has the worst... It's such a funny... Oh, right, that's fascism. No. He has a, he has the worst, it's such a funny, it's like,

oh right, that's fascism, right? He's not there because he was like the most talented guy who came in for the interview. He's just a marble mouth dummy that Donald Trump likes.

Marble mouth. Ten points, man. That's good. I'm spitting all over the stage. I love it. Alcohol's great. Sandra. Yes.

You are sort of one for one. Okay. But we're giving it to you. I'm here. Alcohol's great. Sandra. Yes. You are sort of one for one. Okay. But we're giving it to you. I'm here. Good. I'm here. Question number two. A well-known media personality is reportedly in negotiations to host a new show across

Sinclair Stations despite widespread reports of misconduct. Which of the following shows could potentially be coming to Sinclair Stations very soon? The No Spin Zone with Bill O'Reilly. Gross. Boo. Ew. The Beltway with Mark Halperin. Real boo. Literal boos.

Fuck. Beat the Markets with Martin Shkreli. Sandra has chosen The No Spin Zone with Bill O'Reilly seriously they are in apparent talks for him to go to Sinclair uh yes through all you want yeah yeah Sinclair fascinating diplomacy is a complicated multifaceted undertaking. The fact that the president and secretary of state are sending a mixture of messages is a good thing. It says to North Korea that the United States will stand strong in the face of any aggression, but is also open to finding a way to diffuse tensions.

It's like the biggest, the dumbest jock from your high school somehow made it. And he's on TV. You could literally tell me he was from any country and I'd be like, yep. But how is that guy not on local news? That is. No. That's the new local news. They take that clip and they make every local station.

That shit comes on people's local news. They're unsuspecting local news, between weather and sports. And then you get this weird Marble Mouth propaganda. Marble Mouth, because you can assume he's from where you're from. He's a shapeshifter. Yes, and this is how dystopian

futures start, with shit like that. Oh, yeah. I think it starts with Donald Trump becoming president of the United States. Honestly. If this is Sinclair, I'm from Chicago, where Tribune Media is from. So our superstation, Channel 9, WGN, this place, the Cubs, and Bozo the Clown, if you guys remember that. Unfortunately. That's going to replace Bozo the Clown and the Cubs.

WGN is one of the stations that could be the new home of a Bill O'Reilly program. All local news is so... Oh, we're Chicago's not standing for that shit. Chi-Town ain't going for that bullshit. Yeah, let's see. Let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. All our local news is absolutely lovely.

It's always about badgers. Sometimes sad stories like a badger with a tricky pregnancy, but it always comes true in the end. You know, just badger-based news. It's wonderful. There's no political bias. So badgers are from... Oh, we're big on badgers.

One of the biggest controversies of last year was the badger cull. There's a car full of badgers? No, not a car. A cull. They were going to cull the badgers. What word are you saying? There was no badger. Cull? No. Brian May from Queen didn't want them to kill the badgers. A culling.

A culling. Like, finning out. Culling. I'm sorry. Once you have a National Health Service, you turn to issues like too many badgers. Too many badgers. Honestly, the badgers are very annoying. No, seriously.

It was a problem. You can say they're badgering. We were thinking of building a wall. A culling. The vice president and director of Sinclair Broadcasting, Frederick G. Smith, sent a contribution to a candidate the day after that candidate was charged

with what crime? Hunting deer out of season with a M4A1 assault rifle. Body slamming a journalist after the journalist asked him a question about health care. Building a vacation home on protected federal marshland

after draining a section of Everglades National Park resulting in the death of thousands of native North American badgers. Tough break, Jack. That is weird. Very weird. Word for weird. Very weird.

Word for word. So weird. Guys, that is spooky. Halloween is coming, guys. That was spooky. That was. Sandra. Number two.

You are correct. After smacking down the reporter. I've never been so happy to be number two. Yes. It was the body slamming by Gianforte of a reporter. One final clip from Sinclair coming soon to your home. They are the anomaly. You do not make legislation out of outliers.

Our big issue is black African gun crime against black Africans. It is a tragedy. Go to Chicago. Go to the cities run by Democrats for 40 years. Black young men are murdering each other by the bushel. This is a social issue. The motherfucking bushel? I mean... Legislation will not save lives. I assume what he's talking about is African-Americans.

Yeah. Black Africans. African-Americans. Who says black Africans like that? A racist who's a member of a Hungarian Nazi group is the most likely candidate. Because you know what? When you say black Africans to Trump people, that sounds double scary. Black and Africans?

Yeah, right? That sounds double terrifying. I just... Anyway. Sinclair is... Sinclair is terrible. Keep your wits about you. Yeah, I mean mean here's my question

for like the must runs do you think it's like possible for the people who work there like I'm thinking of Chicago specifically for the anchors to be like that was some bullshit

next up Badgers I hope so I hope some of the this is fine don't listen to that guy he's a Nazi coming up Badgers I hope so. I hope some of the... This is fine. Don't listen to that guy. He's a Nazi.

Coming up, badgers. I hope that that's exactly what happens. That's a hopeful note. When we come back, the rant wheel. Oh, and Sandra, you won the game. You won the game. Guys, give it up for Sandra. She's going to get the gift card.

She did a great job. She's wearing the merch. Thank you. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love It or Leave It coming up. And we're back. Woo! Now for a segment called the rant wheel. Here's how it works.

We spin the wheel wherever it lands. We rant on the topic at hand. This week, we have Bill O'Reilly blaming God for the sexual harassment allegations against him. We have Trump's obsession with golf. The show Lucifer. allegations against him. We have Trump's obsession with golf, the show Lucifer, quote-unquote support dogs, Trump's fake Renoir, Blade Runner 2049, Brexit, and Dwayne the Rock Johnson being a Republican. I don't know. I don't know. Let's spin the wheel. You like the wheel?

Brian digs the wheel. It has landed on Trump's obsession with golf, which I believe was an Akilah suggestion. Honestly, I read the best tweet this week. It was Cameron Esposito. She's amazing. Friend of the pod.

And she tweeted that, you know, at this point, golf is complicit. I'm just so sick of all of the updates of every week. And it's like, his country is burning to the ground. Trump's killing it on the golf course. Like, honestly, I just, I can't. I don't think he's killing it either. Yeah, he's like, he's got those friends he's like, his golf swing is the worst. I believe that his friends are those friends

that are like, hold on one man, and he didn't even look, and it's just like in the fucking waterway. No, you know that that golf caddy who turned into his social media manager runs ahead like Smithers and Mr. Burns and just is like, kicked it in.

Kicked it in. It was like, wow, I can't believe it. You beat Jack Nicholas's record. I just hate Donald Trump. And I feel like golfing's already bad. How can you make something that's bad already worse? He's like, make golf good again.

Make golf tolerable again. I think his only contribution to golf that would be a positive one is an obstacle in a crazy golf course don't you think he'd be amazing like in putt putt and just the hair flopping up and down

and you've got to get it in before it's basically him just sort of hinges at the middle and he builds the wall and then he comes back up he builds the wall and he builds the wall. And then he comes back up. He builds the wall. We could do a whole course. And he comes back up.

I would love to build a Donald Trump putt-putt course with you. That is a wonderful idea. That could be your next event, bro. Those are technically easy to make. I remember for Comic-Con, Comedy Central made a mini putt-putt golf course in the middle of this bar. And you could do a pop-up, some beers and shit. I'll be front of house. I'm just sort of greeting people, ushering them in.

I could dress up as a butler. I would buy that. You have a very Remains of the Day vibe. Thank you, yes. Repressed, bury it deep. Thank you. Yes. Repressed. Bury it deep. Lock myself in my room. Have a little cry.

It's fine. Don't let the world see. Yo, you could do that. There's a darkness inside. Don't let the mask slip. Don't let the mask slip. You're happy. I think I'm in love with this.

That sounds great. Him doing that. I think we fell in love with this. I was brought up by nannies. That sounds great. Him doing that. I think we fell in love just now. Did you guys feel it? We're in love. We're both very sad. Oh.

It has landed. We don't want to talk about the Brexit again. We want you to tell us about Brexit. No, because you're all bored of Brexit. We're all bored of Brexit. I mean, you don't care about Brexit, do you? No one's paying any attention to Brexit. I have a few questions.

Okay. So, you know, I just got back from Europe like a month ago. So I kind of, is that like you guys have to wait in the passport line with me now at the airport? You know how all the Eurozone people are like, fuck you. And then now you're in the long ass line with us. I have friends who voted on that basis. That the non-EU passport queue was a lot shorter than the EU passport queue. And that's how they voted on Brexit.

Like people were, no one, because it was such a stupid thing. It was never going to happen. And now what's happened is it plays into that British stubbornness. And my analogy for it is it's like when there's two lines for an ATM, hole in the wall cash machine,

and you commit to one queue and then you see the other queue going down and down and down. But because we're British, we will not join that queue. Even though it will be far quicker and easier, we have made our bed and we will line it

and we will remain in the queue that we have committed to even though the reason it's not moving is because the hole in the wall has run out of money. You know what? I think that's also how you lost India. Yeah. You know what? In Europe, that's one thing I do not do is go to ATMs in the side of buildings

because I'm fearful that that's how the mob use those skimmers to get show. Oh, yeah. What? Yeah. That could be a random ass pop-up ATM. They take information, and then you overseas broke as fuck. You put your thing. You take your card out.

And they have all your information. You walk away, and then the guy in the ATM suit pops out. It's that English humor I don't get. The multiples. Why are you a machine? I have a question. Is breakfast still happening, or are you guys just eating popcorn watching our bullshit?

I think we're waiting, hoping that maybe it won't have to happen, but it's going to happen. You think they're going to forget? Yeah. Just sort of waiting them out? Just get me back out of it. All right, let's put it again.

It has landed on Blade Runner 2049. And now here's what I want to say. Now, this is not a rant at Blade Runner 2049. This is a rant at all of you people that didn't go out and see Blade Runner 2049. How many of you on a daily basis at your cafes and your quick serve restaurants with their dog grooming places your ride share application

locations whatever you do in this god forsaken economy have complained about how movies are so stupid and they're just for kids Blade Runner 2049 comes out and where the fuck are you? You're on your phones at home

like animals. It didn't do well enough. And it's a smart, cool sci-fi movie and I want more of them. And I can't have them because it's America in 2017 and we can't have nice things. Guys,

we had a lot of fun tonight. We learned a lot about badgers. The rest is a blur. Give it up for our awesome panel. Brian Babylon, Akilah Hughes, Jack Whitehall. Have a great night, guys.

Hi, what's your name? I'm Daniel. Hey, Daniel. How's it going? Are you from Arkansas or do you just love Arkansas? I'm from Arkansas, born and raised in the capital city. Cool. Yeah.

Great. My question to you is, what can us in the redistricted southern states that are just in a complete and utter stranglehold do? That's a great question. I think it's a, it's a, we get that question a lot. We get it from people in, and I don't want to move to California. I love my state. Well, I think that's good. We need you to stay in Arkansas. I think that's a great question. We get that question a lot, both from people in deep red places like Arkansas where you're represented like people like Tom Cotton,

who is among the worst members of the Senate and just really a kind of disgraceful figure. And we hear it from people from places like California, which, you know, if my congressperson is on the right side of the issues, you know, what am I supposed to do? I would say that first of all, I'd say two things. One, local politics is local politics and it isn't beholden to the same partisanship and polarization and kind of built-in biases that we have at the national level.

Things would be very hard to win a Senate seat, but it's much different to fight for a city council seat or in a mayor's race where you could actually make a really big difference. I mean, you look at Trump pulling out of Paris and you say, oh, well, that's a disaster for the country. But then not just states and not just cities, but businesses, colleges, municipalities, they step up and they make changes at the local level. And, you know, what do you do for a living? So you work for a medium-sized science center in Little Rock, Arkansas. I mean, that is a place that has a lot of influence in Little Rock where you do kids come to to check. Is it a science? Is it kids come? So so I mean, 120,000 kids come every year. So, I mean, that's a place where you're making a huge difference and talking to kids every single day about the importance of science. And so I would say that like politics is a lot more than Donald Trump and it's a lot more than Tom Cotton.

And I think you can make a difference there every single day. And beyond that, things are changing and things change fast. Bill Clinton is from a place called Hope. Doug Jones has a real chance in Alabama. Things turn on a dime that that Donald Trump broke a lot of rules that weren't actually rules. And so a lot of the things weren't actually rules and so a lot of the things we think are unbreakable unchangeable all of a sudden will be different one day so you know keep up the fight and I think that that's a place to leave it thank you guys all so much for

coming out great show have a good night night