No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Beto O’Rourke on the long-awaited question of his next run

Episode Date: June 8, 2020

Republicans desperately try to pivot away from talking about the cause of the protests, Trump disgraces the memory of George Floyd with an unreal stunt, and Beto O’Rourke discusses Texas' role as what is now the most-watched state in the nation for the 2020 election with Trump and Biden TIED in polling—as well as answers the long-awaited question about his OWN political future.Written by Brian Tyler CohenProduced by Sam GraberMusic by WellsyRecorded in Los Angeles, CAhttps://www.briantylercohen.com/podcast/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we're going to be talking about the protests across the country, about Trump's bizarre attempt to will these protests out of existence, and my interview with Beto O'Rourke, where he'll reveal some major insight into the hottest state in the 2020 race, as well as his own future plans and running for office. This is Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. I want to talk about the protests bringing up across the country, and I actually wrestled a lot with how to speak about it, because you know, on one hand I'm white, I don't know that I need to be the spokesperson for a movement about police brutality against black people. But on the other hand, me refusing to speak out because I'm white is the very issue at the heart of this, right? There's a nationwide refusal to acknowledge something that's happening right in front of our eyes. So I ultimately decided to say something, but I'm going to do it within the framework of what I do, which is

debunking bad faith talking points about these protests from the right. And I do think that everybody has a responsibility to do what they can, how they can. And not every approach is going to be the same, but I think the point here is that we have to have an approach. So if you can go out and march, you march, if you donate, donate, if you can help organize, gather supplies, even talk to your family, whatever it is, the point here is to do something. So the talking point that's emerged from the right is that, well, we can't support rioters or looters, or that a retired police officer was killed, and why are we talking about that? Why is everyone on the left and the liberal media refusing to acknowledge these things?

It's not because we don't think it's wrong. It's obvious that murdering a police officer is wrong. Come on. It's because doing so is just a way to reframe the conversation, to further ignore this movement. A movement born out of the fact that people refuse to acknowledge the lives of black people. Reframing the conversation away from this movement is literally what this movement is about. America doesn't have a problem caring if a police officer is killed.

On the contrary, it's usually national news. But a national conversation is needed about police brutality and the indiscriminate killing of black people. That does not make national news. That doesn't make any news. And yet it happens all the time. So it's not that the left doesn't care about the death of a police officer or the death of anyone or doesn't think that looting or burning down a store is bad.

It is. That's simple. but qualifying police brutality against black people with Right, but there was looting. Right, but a police officer died. That just sends the message that you're not actually willing to address the underlying issue. It's not that those things don't matter. It's that there will always be something that happen that's going to serve as an excuse for people to ignore the root of the problem.

The irony being that until we stop ignoring it, it's going to continue. The fact is that we can go around in circles blaming the protesters and the cops and the looters and this person and that person, but until and unless we focus on the root of the problem, nothing is going to change. And the root of the problem is the fact that black people in this country are generally not treated like people by law enforcement. And until that changes, until there is systemic change, then this cycle will continue,

and there will be protests and protests will lead to riots, and riots are going to lead to looting. Looting is going to lead to police using excessive force, and everyone will blame everyone else and dig in their heels and will go around in circles. and that cycle will continue, just like it has for hundreds of years. Just like Ferguson in 2014 and L.A. in 92 and the King assassination riots in 68, and Tulsa, nearly 99 years ago to the day, May 31, 1921. The cycle continues because the root of the problem doesn't change. And the root of the problem is a failure to acknowledge the humanity of a subset of the population. The cities change, the people change, the methods change, the weapons change, but the foundation of the fight doesn't.

Okay, think about it like this. If your house is engulfed in flames, your first move isn't going to be to replace the furniture, it's going to be to put the fire out. If you get a new couch and stick it in a burning house, that shit's going to burn too. You put the fire out first. We have to put the fire out, because until we do, nothing is going to change. Until we do, the cycle just continues. And by the way, this is the same concept as Black Lives Matter versus all Lives Matter. The point isn't saying Black Lives Matter is at the exclusion of anyone else.

It's that our focus right now at this current point in time needs to be with the ones who are in jeopardy. Again, doesn't mean white ones don't count. It's not at the exclusion of others. It's simply an effort to include their own. I'll use the same examples before. your house is on fire you call the fire department tell them to come immediately you say your house is engulfed in flames drop whatever you do and come help me could you imagine if they said well you know every house in this city matters too we can't just focus on your house all houses are important do you see the ridiculousness here so what do we do the point is to reform the system and and that's done in a few

different ways so the first is personal accountability it's that derrick chauvin who knelt on george floyd's neck for nine minutes was charged with second-degree murder, which is the right thing to do. It's that the other three officers involved were charged with aiding and abetting murder, which is the right thing to do. I'm sure a lot of you have seen the video of the officers in Buffalo, New York, who knocked over a 75-year-old man who started bleeding out of his ears while the officers walked away. Those two officers were charged with assault, which is the right thing to do.

And I just want to be clear, you shouldn't have immunity to commit crimes. if you're entrusted to uphold laws protecting against those crimes. That's all, this isn't hold them to an impossible standard, this is hold them to the same standard that everyone else abides by. What else? It's reforms at police departments, and we've already begun to see it on a small scale. The city of L.A. cut $100 to $150 million from the LAPD budget so that funds could be reinvested into communities of color.

Minneapolis has agreed to ban all chokeholds by police and require bystanding officers to intervene, which is incredible that these weren't in place before. Seattle is banning officers from using tear gas for the next 30 days, which, I mean, yeah, maybe let's not gas American citizens. Maybe we don't use a chemical warfare agent that was banned by the Geneva Convention. There's a group called Campaign Zero, which put together a campaign called Eight Can't Wait. It's eight policies that police departments could take immediately that have been shown to save lives,

and those include banning chokeholds and strangleholds, requiring exhausting all alternatives, before shooting, and requiring officers to intervene and stop excessive force used by other officers and to report these incidents immediately. And you can read more about that at 8 can't wait.org. Now, those reforms are at a local level. At a national level, we have the House Judiciary Committee holding a hearing this week that hopefully leads to sweeping civil rights legislation. And on top of all of that, vote.

Vote because when it comes to police brutality, we have a president whose position is this. I said, please don't be too nice. Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over. Like, don't hit their head and they've just killed somebody, don't hit their head. I said, you can take the hand away, okay? And so until he's out of office, until the leadership, the tone at the top changes, nothing will change. So come November, vote. Coming up next is my interview with former Texas congressman and Democratic candidate for president, Beto O'Rourke.

And I think it was especially lucky to be able to talk to him this week since we've had multiple polls release showing Biden within a point or even tied with Trump in Texas. And to be clear, we win Texas. It's over. There is zero path to victory for Trump or any Republican without Texas. And so there really is no one better to speak with than Beto, who's been on the forefront of this fight in his home state. All right. Thanks so much. We have Beto O'Rourke, the former congressman. and Democratic presidential candidate. Thanks so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it.

Yeah, it's a pleasure to be on with you. And thanks for having me. So let's jump into Texas. Texas is the ultimate prize, 38 electoral votes. We have brand new polling out from Quinnipiac that shows that Trump is leading Biden, 43 to 44.

So just one point in Texas. So how much of a reality is flipping this state? It's really ours to lose, in my opinion. And I'll give you a couple of a couple of reasons why. As you remember in 2018, I got within two and a half points to beating Ted Cruz, the sitting Republican U.S. Senator in a state that last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1988. We won more votes than any Democrat had won before we saw massive increases in voter turnout, especially amongst young people, 500% increase in early voting alone. But that's not the

complete story that describes why Texas is in play. We also picked up two U.S. congressional seats defeating long-serving Republican incumbents, 12 state house seats. And in Harris County, which is home to Houston, Texas, 17 African American women were elected to judicial positions. And Brian, you know this. And your viewers and listeners know this as well. That was in a midterm. And midterms typically favor Republican turnout. And Democrats did so well in a year that was not supposed to be theirs. Now we're in a presidential election cycle, which tends to do better for Democrats than it does Republicans. And so if you look at that trajectory, not just in 2018, you can go back to Hillary Clinton's performance in Texas in 2016, which was the best by

a Democratic nominee for president in a very long time. Then you understand what so many of us and Texas believe, which is not only can we win the state house for the first time in 20 years, not only will we pick up new U.S. congressional seats, but for the first time since 1976, we might very well award these 38 electoral college votes to the Democratic nominee. And the reason, Brian, this is so important to me, beyond my pride as a Texan, is if this election is close, even if Joe Biden has lawfully won it, I am convinced that Donald Trump, who has shown absolutely no regard for rule of law and is monomaniacly focused on maintaining and increasing his hold on power. He'll exploit that margin in an attempt to steal this election.

Texas is the answer to that. If Joe Biden wins Texas, that will be seismic. The results will be resounding, uncontestable, unambiguous. And we will be able to, turn the page, start a new chapter, and be done with Donald Trump once and for all. So that's why Texas is important, in my opinion, and that's how we can win it by organizing the same way that we have done in years past, including in that Senate race in 2018. And so many of us across the state are doing that right now, five months out from this election. And I've said it's not just enough to beat Trump. You have to, you know, our goal here in this election is to repudiate Trumpism. That's right. So tell us a little bit about the work that you're doing specifically to flip

the Texas State House. So I mentioned that we picked up 12 seats in 2018. That leaves us only nine seats down from a majority for the first time in two decades. Here's why that majority is so important. Texas is the most racially gerrymandered, voter suppressed state in the Union. Prior to 2018, Texas ranked dead last, 50th in voter turnout. And that's not because we love our democracy less than you do in California or that folks do in Massachusetts or in other states. It's because we were literally drawn that way. Black and brown people drawn out, in fact, of their congressional districts or state senate, state rep jurisdictions to minimize the chance that they are going to vote, to diminish the power of.

of their vote when they go to the polls. So having a Democratic majority state house means that we have a seat at the table after this 2020 census is completed and new districts are drawn. That's huge. It's a fundamental civil rights and voting rights issue. And Texas can take the lead in it. But it also means that we make progress in issues like reducing gun violence or providing access to health care. We are the least insured state in the union. Or working on fundamental criminal justice reforms or so many of the other things that are important to so many people that have been unrealized for so long because people have been literally locked out of participating in their democracy. So we're nine seats down from achieving this victory.

The amazing thing is in 2018, in nine of the seats currently held by Republicans, I won more votes than did Ted Cruz. So not only is this possible, in some ways you could say we have done this before. Again, I think this is ours to lose. So we started an organization this year called Powered by People. And what we attempt to do is leverage all of that amazing energy and volunteer horsepower that we saw in 2018, more than 20,000 of my fellow Texans in that year picked up a clipboard and canvassed their neighbors and the folks in their communities, knocked on doors, and produced that record turnout that we saw. I'm still in touch with many those 20,000 former volunteers. And my goal is to engage them, to raise them into this effort

and to deploy them into these critically competitive state house races in Texas. So there will be other groups and individual candidates raising money. There will be others working on TV ads and all that other stuff. My heart and the real value that I see in my contribution is in person to person eyeball to eyeball or in this age, phone line to phone line connection with the voters who will decide the most important elections in our lifetime. So you had mentioned voters suppression efforts. And actually, that brings me to this. Texas has some of the strictest voter registration laws in the country. Volunteer deputy registrars could actually be criminally prosecuted for what basically amounts to administrative errors. But the Texas Democratic Party

has partnered with election officials for a pretty amazing workaround to conduct mass deputization. So can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, you're absolutely right, Brian. So not only is it more onerous to register to vote in Texas than in almost any other state, we also have the strictest, most suppressive voter ID laws in any state. We also, in Texas, I mentioned the racial gerrymandering, but we also, within given counties and political jurisdictions, the leaders in Texas have decided where early voting locations will be and where they won't be. And as you can probably guess, they are typically more convenient for white

voters and more likely to be Republican voters than they are for black and brown voters and more likely to be Democratic voters and the estimation of those in power right now. So how do we get around this? And you're right, there are really strict punitive criminal measures to try to deter people from registering to vote or voting, you probably read about a woman who was finishing the terms of her probation and erroneously voted, though she was not allowed to buy those terms of probation, I think ended up with a five-year sentence in jail. Another woman who was brought to this country at a very young age growing up in the United States, but was not a citizen, again, erroneously voted, I think had an eight-year term. So the signal is sent

to be very afraid about voting in Texas. So how do we overcome that? Well, I mentioned that we have partnered with a group that has sent out hundreds of thousands, will soon be over a million voter registration forms that we will not be the deputy voter registrars for, but we will send them to those unregistered, likely Democrats who they themselves will sign, put in the mail in the self-address stamped envelope that we provided. And then our volunteers will call them to make sure they received it, make sure they've signed it, and make sure that they have sent it in. So this is a way that we can kind of work around some of these very restrictive, punitive voter registration measures that the state has employed to keep the status quo, read Republican leadership

in power. And then you've got to hand it to those who, beyond any organized effort on my part or part of the Texas Democratic Party are transcending those barriers and obstacles and registering themselves and their neighbors or their classmates for their colleagues. Big shout out to Prairie View A&M. It's one of the all-star historically black colleges in Texas in the country, in a county that has worked so hard to suppress the vote there. And you've got these extraordinary badass student leaders who are going to overcome those barriers. years. And in one case where they did not allow for early voting at Prairie View, A&M, despite the large student population there, students led a six-mile march, six miles, to the polling

places and hundreds of students participated in those marches. So there is an amazing spirit alive in the state of Texas right now. And I think you'll see that brought to bear in the November elections. And I think something that we're seeing over and over again is that the more egregious the attempts to suppress the vote, the more it backfires on Republicans. I mean, the example that you just mentioned with those students right there, and you look in Wisconsin where they tried to close all but five polling locations in Milwaukee and what happened, you know, they elected a Democrat to the state Supreme Court. So it seems that people are finally waking up in these, and these, you know, blatant, egregious efforts to suppress the vote aren't working out

in Republicans' favor. That's right. And I'll tell you what, we've got to take as our inspiration, those voters in Wisconsin, those voters in Texas who have overcome efforts to stop them from voting. And also our heroes from history, El Paso boasts, an amazing civil rights hero name Lawrence Nixon. He was a medical doctor, started the first chapter of the NAACP here in Texas back in the 19th teens, tried to vote in 1924. but could not because in the preceding year, the Texas legislature, so it shows you that there's nothing new under the sun. This was 100 years ago. The Texas legislature essentially established the all-white democratic primary. If you were black, if you were Latino, you could not vote in the state of Texas. And so though he paid his poll tax, though he walked into his precinct polling location, he was turned away because of the color of his skin. He took his case to the United States Supreme Court twice, but it took him 20 years to integrate the Democratic Party

primary in the state of Texas. And as you know, in the former Confederacy, the Democratic Party in the 20th century was dominant. So if you could not vote in the Democratic primary, you might as well not vote at all. So due to this hero's courage, persistence, tenacity, intelligence, he was able to integrate the Democratic Party primary, but it took him 20 years. And then, of course, the state legislature and the governors in the state of Texas, by all means of cunning and entry, tried to continue to suppress the vote through other means. So I think about Dr. Lawrence Nixon and everything he had to do to be able to vote and understand that to some degree, we have inherited his service and sacrifice,

And it's now incumbent upon us to do everything within our power to live up to his example. So yes, if they're going to throw all this at us, we've got to be bigger and better and stronger than all that. And I'm convinced that the people of Texas will come through. So Republicans are reportedly recruiting up to 50,000 volunteers to, quote, watch the polls. What is the point of this? Because it sounds to me like it could end up being a lot like voter intimidation. I bet you can guarantee that this is going to be voter intimidation. Again, there's a long history of this throughout the country and certainly in the state of Texas

and in the states of the former Confederacy, which ever since the end of the Civil War and certainly since the end of Reconstruction, I've done everything in their power to subjugate black Americans in every way, economically, through access to health care, and certainly through the franchise and access to the ballot box. I'll tell you this, in the days leading up to the midterm elections in 2018, you probably remember this, Donald Trump was raving about an invasion of the United States from, you know, poor, sick, tired, and scared asylum seekers from Central America. He tried to whip up a frenzy of paranoia and anxiety because he was worried about his prospects or his party's prospects at the ballot box.

But in El Paso on Election Day, and here was, you know, a candidate from El Paso who had a very good chance of defeating Donald Trump's stalwart Ted Cruz in Texas. His customs and border protection, the Border Patrol component of that was organizing crowd control exercise. in an 85% Mexican-American city where you have many mixed immigration status families. Now, why the fuck would he be doing that? Why? And I've lived in El Paso almost all of my 47 years. I was born and raised here.

I've never seen Border Patrol crowd control exercises. There's no need for Border Patrol crowd control exercises. Why in the world would you have Border Patrol crowd control exercises on election day? Well, for one reason and one reason only, and that is to try to suppress voter turnout in this community. Now, thankfully, members of the press caught wind of this, exposed it, reported it, and they ended up not holding these exercises.

But I think much of the damage was done, much of that fear was sent through this community of immigrants. If you have the courage to go to the polls, we're going to make you pay for it. So, yeah, Brian, I'm clear-eyed about what this means. and the intent is voter intimidation and voter suppression. We've got to be bigger than that. And we as Democrats have to make sure that we have our own poll watchers out there. And we also have to acknowledge that many of those poll watchers in years past were older Americans, precisely the demographic that probably shouldn't be outside and around other people right now.

So we need a lot of young people to step up and volunteer to be those observers and poll watchers and election officials to make sure that we can have free and fair elections in Texas and throughout the United States. So let's switch gears a little bit. I want to talk about social issues and what's happening around the country right now. One of the biggest moments on the campaign trail for your Senate race happened when someone asked if you agreed with NFL players taking a knee. And your answer, I don't know how to say this without being gushy.

It was a perfect answer. It was Tammy Taylor on Friday Night Lights. It was perfect. I'm going to play a little bit of it here and can't. anyone hadn't heard it. I kind of wanted to know how you personally felt about how disrespectful it is. I think you had the NFL players kneeling during the national anthems. I wanted to know if you found that disrespectful to our country, to our veterans, and anybody related to that. It's just, I find it incredibly frustrating that people seem to be okay with that. Thank you. Thanks for a great question.

Again, on a really tough issue that if we don't talk about is not going to get better. And the question is, how do you feel about NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem? And is it disrespectful to this country, to the flag, to service members who are right there tonight, where it is tonight in Afghanistan, and those former service members, retirees, and veterans who are here with us today. Thank you each for your service. My short answer is no. I don't think it's disrespectful. Here's my longer answer, but I'm not quite a peaceful, nonviolent, proverbs. test, including taking a knee at a football game to point out that black men unarmed,

black teenagers, unarmed, and black children unarmed, are being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement without accountability and without justice. And this problem, as grave as it is, is not going to fix itself. And they're frustrated, frankly, with people like me. And those in positions of public trust. and power who have been unable to resolve this or bring justice for what has been done and to stop it from continuing to happen in this country. And so non-violently, peacefully, while the eyes of this country are watching these games, they take a knee to bring our attention and our focus to this problem to ensure that we fix it.

That is why they are doing it. And I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up or take a knee for your rights, any time, anywhere, any place. So thank you very much for asking the question. I appreciate it. But the question was asked by a man who felt that it was disrespectful to kneel. And so if the issue becomes that people will find a way to discount peaceful protest, and if they find a way to discount when black people take to the streets

and what has been a louder protest, then apparently no form of protest is okay. So what's the answer here? I think much in the same way that protesters and civil rights leaders in the 1950s and the 1960s captured the consciousness of this country and shocked us out of our complacency and changed the political calculation and the will of legislators so that you got the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. I think those protesters in Minneapolis, the protesters that we joined in El Paso last Sunday, protesters across the country, including those who were charged by mounted law enforcement for the president to be able to have a photo op across the street from the White House.

You can have the president and Republican leadership and the cynical class of this country discount those protests or try to make us think that they are dominated by. riots and lawlessness. But my faith is in the wisdom and judgment of the American people. And I believe they see clear-eyed what is happening in this country. And literally, they saw what happened to George Floyd. They saw that police officer with his knee on George Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, looking straight at the cell phone camera, which he had to understand was broadcasting his action, and looking at it in a way, as if to say, I can do this because I am white and he is black.

The entire country saw that. And I've got to think that that video and the protests that followed have changed us in some fundamental way for the better. Black Lives Matter and the civil rights leaders of this moment are doing justice to those who led the marches and the efforts who risked their lives and as we know lost their lives throughout the 20th century, fighting white supremacy and being able to make progress legislatively, not enough, no mission accomplished banner hanging behind anybody, but making progress and giving us some cause for optimism and hope right now. It would be naive to think that this is going to roll forward of its own accord. We have to fight with it, fight for it, with everything that we've got to our dying breath if necessary. That's the only way that change is going to be obtained in this country.

So let's not allow Republicans, the president, cynics to dissuade us or to change what we're seeing with our own eyes, which should make us proud in terms of how this country is responding. Yeah, and I think we do often fall into the trap of allowing Republicans who are operating in bad faith to dictate the terms of the conversation. And I think that's something that we have to take an active approach at not doing. Yeah, and Brian, I got to say this. I was listening to an interview with George Will this morning, you know, one of the most insightful commentators on public life that we have,

someone who I very often disagree with because he's a very conservative, insightful commentator on American public life. But you may have read his column recently in The Washington Post, where he calls for the wholesale removal and replacement of Republican leadership in this country, including every Republican member of Congress. And I was listening to an interview on NPR, and the interviewer asks, you know, how can you say this and what's the logic behind it?

And he says, when you have a political party, like the Republican Party, who supports this president at a rate of 90%, I've seen approval ratings within the Republican Party as high as 94%. They are essentially enabling and complicit in this president's crimes and actions, which runs so counter to the Constitution, to our way of life, to the promises and potential that we've always held out to ourselves and to this

country. Now, George Will didn't say this, but I'm going to say this. The Republican Party has become a cult, a cult of personality devoted to Donald Trump. And so in years past, I think the Republican Party is a party that we could have negotiated with, or we could could have worked with in good faith. We may see things a little bit differently. We may see a different path to the same common goal, but there's common ground from which to work. That doesn't exist anymore. There is no common ground with anyone who supports this president and his lawlessness and his willful undermining of the republic and our democracy. The shit that we're seeing right now, charging into protesters to provide that photo opportunity, quoting white nationalist

segregationists when the looting starts, the shooting starts, all of his racist comments and his white nationalist signaling, which in part led to the mass murder in El Paso, Texas on August 3rd of 2019, where 23 people were killed. If you are part of that, you are part of the problem. And there's no common ground that exists between us. And that's been hard for me to arrive at because I've always prided myself on a bipartisanship. But I think after Trump, it was a bipartisanship that I was in part blinded by. And it really took the worst of this administration, the worst of Donald Trump, and then the slavish devotion to him by the Republican Party to realize there is no bipartisanship anymore,

at least not while he's in office and not while he enjoys the kind of dogish. support from the Republican Party. And you did mention looting. I want to focus on that for a second. So a major right-wing Fox News talking point actually focuses solely on the looting here. And we rarely hear about the underlying issue at the heart of this, not a little word about police brutality or the rampant killing of black people. We don't hear about any of that.

So what do you say to the Fox News watching uncle who tells you that he can't support this cause because we need law and order because. Looting isn't the way forward. I'd suggest that that person look at the bigger picture, or at least the entire picture. All of the hundreds of thousands, millions now of Americans peacefully marching for a better country, peacefully demonstrating to change the status quo, which has resulted in the murder and death of so many African-American men and women. at the hands of those who were sworn to serve and to protect them. Not violence, not looting, not lawlessness, peaceful, democratic demonstration in a free

republic where we are able to choose the leaders who represent us and the course and direction that this country takes. These marches are in the best tradition of this country. And the looting that has taken place has been in the scope and relevant. in the scale of and scope of these protests and relative to the number of people, been very minimal. And I think there are some open questions about who is doing the looting. And by and large, from what I see and understand, it is not the leaders of these protests. It is certainly not black protesters, by and large. There are people who have infiltrated these protests. There are

people who are using these protests for their own ulterior purposes and motives. And so I'd want to make sure that that Fox viewer gets the whole picture. And that's probably an evergreen comment for that Fox viewer, whether they're looking at these protests, whether they're looking at the NFL, whether they're looking at the Trump presidency, please see the bigger picture and find yourself some other contrasting or complementary sources of news so that you understand fully what's happening. in this country. I often say that, that, you know, when when young people go home to their parents' house

for the holidays, you might want to consider blocking Fox News on the parental controls, just an option. That's always available to us. So let's talk about you for a sec. Are we going to see a rematch for the Senate against Ted Cruz? I think the whole world wants to know. I don't know. And right now, I don't think so.

I'm really enjoying being in El Paso and living with my family full time, which I haven't done in, you know, eight or nine years. I was in Congress for six years, which entailed flying out of El Paso to D.C. at the beginning of every week and then flying home at the end of every week, spending a few days here. I spent two years traveling to 254 counties of Texas. I was never at home. And in a full year, traveling the country running for the Democratic. nomination for president. And so to be back with my kids who are now 13, 11, and 9, to be with my wife, Amy, to fully be engaged in their lives. And our life as a family has just been fucking awesome. It's been amazing. And I really missed that. And I'm really grateful for my time here. Yeah, you know, from our point of view out here, you know, it was great for us. You

you inspired a lot of people and your words live on from the video that we, you know, just heard a few minutes ago to plenty of others. So appreciate your, you know, your contribution to the party and the race. And actually with that said, how can my viewers and listeners help now with what's going on in Texas? I know that you mentioned powered by people. I know that you spoke about having poll watchers. What can we do? Yeah, I hope that I've made the case to you and to reviewers that Texas holds an outsized opportunity for all of us. If we do well in Texas, it's not just good for those of us who live here. It is great for the country. Donald Trump can't just be beaten. He must be destroyed. The result must be unambiguous, unequivocal, decisive, and seismic

in its nature. And only Texas with its 38 electoral college votes can deliver. that outcome. So if you are in Texas or if you are in another state, you have an opportunity, and I would argue given what's at stake and what's on the line, a responsibility to get involved. There are a number of ways through the Texas Democratic Party, through the House Democratic Campaign Committee here in Texas that helps to elect the state legislature. But if you are interested in grassroots organizing, that's where my passion is, then we invite you to join us empowered by people. You can be anywhere in the United States and make phone calls to unregister likely Democratic voters and help get them into this next election, help them to make the decision

that will decide the fate, the fortune, and the future of this country. And we welcome you to join us. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time. That was Beto O'Rourke. Thank you, Brian. It was an honor to be with you. And wish you the best with this new series. We'll be listening and watching. Thanks again to Beto O'Rourke, and you can check out Powered by People at poweredxpeople.org. Now, I do want to focus on one more issue this week, and that was during a speech Trump made on the day the jobs report came out. Here's the clip. Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying, there's a great thing that's happening for our country. There's a great day for him. It's a great day for everybody. This is a great day for

everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality. It's really what our Constitution requires, and it's what our country is all about. I just want to finish by saying, to save the economy, we pass several pieces of critical legislation. So what happened here is that Trump invoked George Floyd's name during a self-congratulatory speech about the unemployment rate dropping from 14.7% to 13.3%. Right. If there's one thing George Floyd would be doing, it's smiling down in America because the jobs report. I mean, holy shit. So aside from the glaring tone deafness of deciding that a press briefing touting the jobs report as propaganda would be a good time to invoke George Floyd's name,

a few other things here. First off, don't look now, but Donald Trump, the king of the economy, is celebrating an unemployment rate second only to the Great Depression. I'm not saying that the goalposts have moved. Yeah, no, you know what? That's exactly what I'm saying. 13.3% unemployment and the dude is unfurling a mission-accomplished banner. Nothing shows mediocrity of Republican presidents like their ability to throw themselves parades for their own failures. Second, that it was that high to begin with is the direct result of Trump's own failed response of coronavirus.

If he didn't waste 70 days from January to March, if he didn't pretend it was contained or that cases would soon be down to zero, or that it would go away with the heat or whatever other bananas excuses he cooked up, If he didn't allow the virus to spread uninhibited, if he bothered to coordinate a nationwide testing and contact tracing system, if he focused more on producing PPE when we needed it, we wouldn't be in a situation where a deadly virus swept across the country completely uninhibited. We wouldn't be in a situation where no one felt safe going outside, where the economy would have to shut down for months because the same virus that Republicans pretended wasn't real went on to kill 110,000 Americans. So I just want to make sure that whatever bullshit press conference Trump holds to congratulate himself on the recovery, that we remember the recovery is only necessary because of his own incompetence. Don't forget that.

But here's the part I really want to focus on. And that is Trump on a dime deciding everything's great. Right? That's the narrative now. He literally said it's a great day for our country. As if anything happened. Nothing happened. Nothing's changed.

Here's what happened. Trump erected a two-mile fence around the White House and he said, hit out in his bunker. I'm sorry, inspected the bunker. And then still tweeted out a bunch of racist shit. Nothing changed. Racism in America isn't gone. Police brutality hasn't stopped. All that's happened is that Trump just arbitrarily decided that everything's fine now. Because Friday, I don't know. And the reason I think that is so insane is because we've seen this exact same tactic before with coronavirus. This reality-denying rose-colored glasses thing where the guy just paints a pretty picture that in no way resembles the real world.

Imagine, just imagine, having come off of a pandemic response so botched because you spent the first 70 days of the outbreak, pretending everything was fine to protect the economy, and then immediately pivoting into another national crisis where you stand up at the podium and pretend everything is fine while once again touting the economy. At some point, even his supporters have to get tired of the constant gaslighting. And I get it. This whole presidency is based on marketing. Trump cooks up some idea out of thin air and then just tries to will it into existence.

He's tried to will complete and total exoneration into existence. He's tried to will dangerous migrant caravans into existence. And now, because he's got an election coming up and his poll numbers are plummeting because of his handling of the protests, he's just arbitrarily decided that everything is wonderful. George Floyd is smiling. It's a great day for America. And I hereby decree that this issue is over. We can all move on because my polling is bad.

He'd say it that way, too. I hear by decree. Trump sounds like what a 12-year-old thinks a president sounds like after spending the day at medieval times. So I think at this point, Republicans need to decide if they're going to continue supporting someone whose only tactic is to make up whatever reality fits his reelection strategy. Because so far, with over 100,000 lives lost, with unemployment at its highest point in 80 years, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets, it's really not looking like Trump's strategy is working. That's it for this episode.

Thank you all for listening. Talk to you next week. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen. Produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesie, and recorded in Los Angeles, California. If you like what you hear, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app and check out Brian Tyler Cohen.com for links to all of my other channels.