No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Biden finally puts the "age" issue to rest

Episode Date: May 7, 2023

Let's talk about Joe Biden’s age and its implications for his re-election run. Brian interviews Chasten Buttigieg about his response to Fox’s attacks on him and Pete, whether he agrees with Pete’s decision to appear on that network, and his new book “I have Something to Tell You” and what it meant to release it in the middle of so many attacks against the LGBT community.Donate to the "Don't Be A Mitch" fund: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dontbeamitchShop merch: https://briantylercohen.com/shopYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/briantylercohenTwitter: https://twitter.com/briantylercohenFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/briantylercohenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/briantylercohenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/briantylercohenNewsletter: https://www.briantylercohen.com/sign-upWritten by Brian Tyler CohenProduced by Sam GraberRecorded in Los Angeles, CASee 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 talk about Joe Biden's age and his re-election run. And I interview Chaston Buttigieg about his response to Fox attacks on him and Pete, whether he agrees with Pete's decision to appear on that network and his new book, I have something to tell you and what it meant to release it in the middle of so many attacks against the LGBT community. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. All right, I'm entering the fray here. Let's talk about Joe Biden's age. So Biden is 80 right now. He would take office if he gets reelected again at 82. He would leave office at 86, not young.

And two things here. First, I think it's okay to acknowledge that because if we don't, then it looks like we're burying our heads in the sand, and it's not going to help anything if we're hurting our own credibility here. So that's the first thing. But second, I feel like the reason we feel like we can't talk about it is because we know it'll get weaponized by the right. And so if we say anything in good faith,

then the right can then use that, and it will be the right attacking Joe Biden and us attacking Joe Biden. And so instead, we all just have to keep quiet and pretend that we can't talk about it. But I don't think that's the case. So, let's talk about it. So my take is this. Is Joe Biden old? Yes.

Is he slower than he was when he was Obama's vice president? Yes. But has that impacted the way that he actually does his job? And this is the part where we don't have to like pontificate here. All we have to do is look right in front of us because he is literally president right now. And I would ask, what part of the job hasn't he been able to do by virtue of his age. And I mean that seriously. We've got more than two years of evidence to look at here. He's presided over the addition of 12.5 million jobs, 12.7 million jobs. That's the most jobs in a

single term of any president ever. And it's only been a little over two years. We're in a manufacturing renaissance right now. 800,000 manufacturing jobs have been added. We're in a clean energy revolution, all thanks to the Chips Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. We've had the quickest recovery from a recession in modern U.S. history. He actually got an infrastructure bill passed. He actually got a gun safety bill passed. He got climate funding passed. He got the governments negotiate lower drug prices, refunded the IRS to catch tax cheats. We got veteran health care. He forgave student loan debt, which, of course, Republicans are fighting in the courts. He's removing cannabis from the list of Schedule I drugs. So any way you cut this, if you're

looking at this from an economic perspective, a jobs perspective, or a progressive perspective, he is getting it done. Can he dunk a basketball? No. But we're not asking him to. His job is to govern and he is doing it. In fact, just a few days ago, MSNBC, Stephanie Rule, asked Biden about his age, point blank, and this is what he said. And it is fair to say that there's not a Fortune 500 company in the world looking to hire a CEO in his 80s.

So why would an 82-year-old Joe Biden be the right person for the most important job in the world? Because I've acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom. I know more than the vast majority of people on. more experience than anybody's ever run for the office. And I think I've proven myself to be honorable as well as also effective. And that's a good answer. And he is effective for literally all of the reasons that I spoke about before.

Like we're sitting here pretending that the jury's out on whether he'll be able to do the job as if he hasn't already done it and done it more effectively than most other presidents in American history, certainly more than any other president in my lifetime. And look, I'm all for criticizing someone when it's warranted. But the idea that Biden, like, endures these daily barrages of attacks against his mental acuity is, I think, really sad because he is sharp. Like, does he stumble on his words? Of course he does. But guess what?

If I didn't edit my own videos and my own podcast, I would stumble all over the place, too. It doesn't mean I'm senile. But every time Biden stumbles over, like, a syllable, Republicans play it off like he doesn't know what year it is. And let's not pretend that that tactic doesn't work because it absolutely does. But it's always funny to notice the moments. when those attacks actually go away, because it is whenever Biden does some major event where everyone can actually watch, like the State of the Union or that speech in Ireland just a few weeks back, when people watch Biden with their own eyes and listen to him with

their own ears outside of the desperate right-wing ecosystem, it's those moments when it suddenly becomes really difficult for Republicans to claim that Biden can't remember his own name. I mean, hell, during the State of the Union, he literally got Republicans to applaud for his agenda of not cutting earned benefits on the fly. Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans. Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's a majority. Let me give you anybody who doubts it.

Contact my office. I'll give you a copy. I'll give you a copy of the proposal. That means Congress doesn't vote. Well, I'm glad to see you. I tell you, I enjoy. conversion. You know, it means if Congress doesn't keep the programs the way they are, they'd go away. Other Republicans say, I'm not saying it's a majority of you. I don't even think it's

even a significant, but it's being proposed by individuals. I'm not politely not naming them, but it's being proposed by some of you. Look, folks, the idea is that we're not going to be We're not going to be moved into being threatened to default on the debt if we don't respond. Folks. So, folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? They're not to be smart? All right. So if Biden is senile, I really don't know what it says about those Republicans who he showed up.

And not that my word really counts for anything, but I literally sat down with the guy for a half hour. Do you know how freaked out I would have been if the president of the United States, like, wasn't sharp? Here's a quick snippet from that interview. I ran for president, really and truly. And even my supporters were not critical of, but thought the reasons I exposed, I laid out why I was running. and maybe they weren't such a good idea. I said I was running for three reasons from the very beginning. One, to restore the soul of America,

his idea of decency, honor, treating people with respect, literally, literally treating people with respect. And second reason, rebuild the backbone of the country, which is a middle class, working class folks. This trickle-down theory of economic growth has left an awful lot of Americans out. And I've never seen the time when the middle class is doing well, that the wealthy don't do very well, and the poor have a way up.

And so that's why I focused on how to change the circumstances and opportunities for working class and middle class people. And the third reason was, which I got a lot of criticism for, was saying I had to unite the country. We can't be a divided country. We can't be sustained and do the things that have to be done if we remain divided based on ethnicity,

based on politics. It can't work. And so there are the three things. I hope my legacy is that I was able to restore some decency and honor to the office. I was able to bring the middle class back to a place where they had real opportunity, given an even chance to succeed.

And I was able to reconstruct our alliances which had been frayed so badly, internationally, and that I was able to bring people together. bring the politics of America together. And I think we're making slow progress on some of these things. But I think that's what we're moving. I hope my legacy is that I restored the soul of this country. I was able to give the middle class

and we were able to build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down. And they were able to unify the country again. So yeah, put that answer against the Trump response any day of the week. and then we can have a conversation about whose brain is actually mush. And here's the reason that I think is probably the most important. So sorry to bury the lead on this one. But this election is going to be a choice.

Biden himself says, don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative, which I think is a tacit acknowledgement that he is not perfect, but that elections aren't referendums on a single person. They are a choice between two. And at least at the moment, that choice is likely going to be Biden and Trump. So the idea that Joe Biden, who is old and sometimes stumbles on his words, is not better than a criminal defendant who is right now on trial in a rape case, who oversaw the worst jobs performance of any president in modern American history,

who destroyed our international standing, who coddled the world's dictators and autocrats, who emboldened a bunch of neo-Nazis, who presided over 20% of the world's COVID cases and deaths, despite the fact that we've got only 5% of the world's population, whose only major legislative achievement was giving himself a tax cut. The idea that that guy is preferable to Biden because Biden is old is a joke. Donald Trump is so unqualified and incompetent and extreme that Biden could be in a coma

and he would be less dangerous than another Trump term. And we don't have to guess there because we've had four years of Trump so we already know. And finally, let's just think about this practically for a moment. First of all, you cannot doubt the advantage of the incumbency. Only 10 incumbent presidents have ever lost re-election and only five in the last 100 years with Trump being one of them. Like before Trump, it was George H.W. Bush in 1992, the power of the incumbency is a a monumental advantage. And the idea that Biden, with all of his achievements under his belt,

would just discard that is kind of absurd. And then there's the electability argument. And it's hard to suggest that Biden couldn't beat Trump when the guy quite literally beat Trump. And think about the environment that we'd be operating in now relative to 2020. Biden has the most accomplished record of any president, probably since FDR. He has the most jobs ever added. He has a thriving economy, blah, blah, blah, and Trump's not only a loser in 2020, but all of his America first swing state candidates for governor and secretary of state, literally all lost in midterms, and he is a criminal defendant, likely to be indicted in four, five, six cases by the time the election rolls around. So the idea that Joe Biden is not in a better position and that

Donald Trump is not in a worse position is to ignore the reality that we're living in. All of which is to say, we shouldn't be afraid to have this conversation because we should be proud of what the left has accomplished. Have we gotten everything? Of course not. Like, do I wish that Biden didn't approve the Willow Project? Do I wish that he moved faster on student loan cancellation? Do I wish that he used the bully pulpit of the presidency to call out Republican corruption and the corruption on the Supreme Court? Of course I do. But the idea that those things supersede everything that we did get is a little ridiculous. Like, we can't let perfect be the enemy of good here. And by all measures, where Democrats are in power in this country, where we've protected

abortion rights and passed gun safety reforms and bolstered union protections and raised wages and combated climate change. Those are records that we should be perfectly willing to run on. Next up is my interview with Chastin Buttigieg. Now we have New York Times bestselling author, author of the young adult memoir. I have something to tell you. And husband of Pete Buttigieg, Chastin Buttigieg. Thanks so much for taking the time. Hey, thanks for having me. Of course. So I do want to get into the book and we have a lot to talk about there. But first, just sticking with the news for a moment, Tucker Carlson's been fired from Fox News. Tucker mocked your husband, Pete, for taking paternity leave and also made some

off-color remarks about breastfeeding. What was the reaction that you guys had at home to Tucker using, you know, the biggest platform on the biggest conservative media outlet in the biggest primetime slot to say those things? And also, how did that impact you guys at home? Well, I mean, those things certainly are disappointing, and not just because they're directed at our family, but because they're directed at an entire community. What really bothers me is when people use that type of bigotry and that type of hate to go after already vulnerable people. You know, I'm a grown-up. I've learned to armor myself after, you know, years of being an outgay man, but it's especially young people that I worry about. And folks on that network who use their platform to spread hate, not only hate, misinformation, fear, certainly do a disservice to the country, do a disservice to journalism itself, and also to the ideas of freedom, you know.

The same idea is that they pride themselves on espousing, by the way. Sure, very, very slim, you know, narrow ideas of what that looks like for everybody. So, you know, I get it. We're a high-profile couple, or a high-profile LGBTQ couple. And so you can expect that kind of nonsense to come from, you know, places like that. But I guess we don't have to worry about it come from him anymore. That's fair enough. Well, I guess the second part of that is how did that impact you at home while it was happening?

Did it have any impact at all? Or, I mean, you know, this still is the biggest conservative media platform. Sure. I guess what impact did that have? Yeah, I mean, at the time, it didn't really have much of an impact because I know who I am. My husband knows who he is. We know why we wanted to become parents in the first place. You know, these are the people who say they support adoption, right? You know, we adopted two prematurely born twins. And, you know, in those early days, for anybody who is a parent, you know that it's no vacation and you're working really hard and not a lot of sleep. And so for the very slim, In time that you're on social media and you see something like that, it's just, you know, you know exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it and the good that comes out of being a really good family. You know, and that kind of stuff, especially Pete is very good at saying, you know, like, that doesn't need to come to the dinner table right now. Like, those people, those people don't have to be at our dinner table right now.

So, you know, the other thing about him is like, I guess it's not the bigotry that brought him down, though. You know, in the end, it's all about money. So it's not like Fox finally stood up and said, you know, we've been to me. Maybe it's time to, maybe it's time to be on the right side of history. It's all about the pocketbook. So it's not that it's not what he was saying. You know, to that point, there was a recent moment where I believe it was Marjorie Taylor Green during, and sorry to like trudge in the bowels of all the toxicity of the right,

but there was a moment where Marjor Taylor Green came forward and derided a guest during a hearing who said that she was basically the stepmother to her partner's child, and she castigated her and suggested that she wasn't a real mother. Did that have like a similar, that strike a similar chord? You know, and maybe it's because we have been conditioned to just expect this kind of hatred and small-mindedness from them. Yeah. The first thing I thought when I saw that was I reached out to Randy Weingarten,

you know, and said that, you know, those are bogus comments. The second thing I was thinking was, like, keep running your mouth. Like, please keep talking. Because the party that says they're the party of family values continuously goes after families. Families that, you know, are outside of what they expect to be the norm, right? They have made so many poor choices over the last couple years. And I think about families back home in Michigan, families who aren't spending all day on Twitter, who aren't on social media all day,

who are just trying to go to work, raise their kids, you know, do a good job raising their family, and they're not focusing on the 24-7 news cycle. And somebody swings in and says, you know, this high-profile Republican says that adoptive parents aren't real parents.

You know, how do you think that's actually going to resonate with voters? When we had a baby formula shortage in this country, one party stood up, put a bill on the floor to make it easy, to get baby formula in this country, and the Republicans voted against it. The child tax credit lifted millions of kids out of poverty. The Republicans voted against it.

So if you can keep saying you're the party of family values, you don't have much to show for it. When every time you are given an opportunity to show that you actually support American families, you go in the opposite direction. Yeah, I think that's perfectly put. And I especially resonate with what you were saying in terms of just for someone like that, and these other extremists within the Republican Party, of which there are, more and more to keep doing it and not to look at us to not to to basically sanitize that party by by ignoring them for example it's like if they want to make these people the faces of that party

these known extremists these people who who push away everybody that's not part of that you know 29% of their base then then far be it from me to help them by ignoring her like if she wants to come out and say these things if the lauren boberts and the matt gates and jim jordan's all these all these characters want to come out and continue doing what they do and just pushing, you know, saying things that would push the vast majority of Americans away, then, you know, I'll continue to broadcast it because I think it's important for people to know when they cast their ballots who they're empowering by virtue of doing it. Like it's, you know, like if Republicans want to make Marjorie Telle Green in the face of that party,

then even when you cast a ballot for some self-proclaimed moderate in that party, it's not going to be the moderates who have the power there. It's going to be the people who Kevin McCarthy himself has empowered like Marjorie Telle Green. Well, I think it's really important to note that nobody in Republican leadership has denounced any of the bigotry that comes out of their mouths. So, you know, there's a difference between saying, hey, that's not who we are. That's not what we support. And so the thing for me, thinking about, you know, young families, teachers, you know, maybe people who are swing voters and who are just looking for a party and wondering where they belong and who's going to stick up for them right now as a former teacher myself, as a young dad, as somebody who believes in public education, who believes. in supporting families, who believes in lifting people out of poverty, who believes in making

life easier and not harder for people. I know what party believes in those things and what party fights for those things. And on the other side, you see a party who has given the reins of control over to these really radical voices. And I think they're making a really big mistake. And so, yes, it is hurtful. Yes, it's oftentimes vile, especially when you're when they're directed at already vulnerable people. But, you know, they clearly didn't learn anything from the midterms. And so from a strictly political standpoint, keep talking. Keep talking.

Because you're losing voters, left and right. Yeah. I think people are just exhausted with that. Exhausted with the noise, people want to know that they belong. People want to know that people are going to Washington to fight for them. And instead, Washington has just become this, like, content farm for them you know i realize that's ironic talking about on a podcast but some of these people probably make more money on their podcasts than they do oh for sure you know in the senate or the house

so they go to their committees they say something wow so they can go talk about their podcast they can talk about on late night tv right their jobs are just in service of their personas that they have of their content yeah yeah not the american people right because they're already sorry i got on my soapbox tonight no no they're so like they're so out of touch with the american people are out of touch with their own party. Yeah. Every time we have the gun debate, you know,

it's like a vast majority of Republicans want us to do something about, yeah, about gun safety in this country. And here we are talking about beer bottles and drag queens. Right, right.

A major reason why those, why those cultural issues are propped up, again, is because of Fox. And I know that there's been some debate in terms of when Pete would go on Fox. And on one side,

people would say, well, any appearance on a network like Fox News is bad because it validates that network it legitimizes that network by virtue of him going on on the flip side people say well people are there anyway and uh you know it would benefit us to have somebody who at least does a good job when he does go on and there's no doubt objectively regardless of whether you're on the right or left that pete uh does a hell of a good job when he does go on so where do you stand on that and was that

ever a conversation that you all had at home oh yeah we have that conversation all the time especially when he goes on there you know the last time or one of the last times he was on there they had come up with some wild, uh, wild story about when I joined Pete on a presidential delegation. Was that Brett Baer? Yeah. Who asked about that? Yes.

So, uh, and he had a, a pretty kick-ass answer about how, you know, it's never been an issue prior to that. Right. Yeah. So they, you know, I appreciate him going on there and setting the record straight because there are people who like it or not, probably tune into Fox News in good faith. Uh, and you got to meet them where they're at, show them that there's a better way. And I certainly appreciate, you know, as his spouse when he sticks up for me too.

But, you know, there's a reason why they focus so much on our family. But yeah, it's a valid argument, but I think I'm a pretty good cheerleader in his corner when he goes on there and sets the record straight. So your book tour for this book starts on May 10th. The book itself comes out on the 16th, but the tour starts on the 10th. You'll be going to a number of places where LGBT book bans, are currently in place. So I guess how was that decision in terms of deciding to go to these places? And do you anticipate any hostility there? Super easy decision. I knew that it mattered to go to these places where a tour might not show up, go to these places where people might

feel overlooked, and go to places where we need to be part of the conversation. That's why I'm excited to go to places like Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah. I wish I could go to more cities, but It can't be away from the kids that long. But I think it's a really important time in our community to go out there and have these conversations about what teachers are doing, what real family rights are, and how asinine book bands are. So, you know, we'll go to the, you know, your standard book tour stops. I'm really excited to have an event back home in Michigan.

Especially because I know some of the people that are going to be in that room or the people that I was running away from, you know, 16, 17 years ago. To celebrate that progress and to celebrate community. And I hope that that is what we feel across the country, you know, that at least for an hour we can all come together, celebrate community and celebrate doing the right thing. I want to read an excerpt from the book. Uh-oh. So, no, it was a good one. Running for president is hard work. Beyond the brutal schedule on high stakes,

I wasn't prepared for what having to exist in public would do to me, the stress it would put on my family and friends, or the weight that being everything for everyone all the time would have on my mental health. I didn't know just how terrible and invasive people could be on the internet, and I especially wasn't prepared for the threats of violence. When you're on the national stage, it can feel as if everything you do, everywhere you go, and everything you say is being examined through a magnifying glass.

So that really stuck out at me because, you know, I think that nobody really has the capacity to imagine what it would be like until you're in the thick of it. It's like being the, you know, the main character on the internet for a moment. And I think that it's pretty universally accepted that that is a terrible thing if you land there. So can you just kind of expand on that if there were any moments that especially stuck out at you while you were writing something like that? I know not everything was positive there, but, you know, while you were writing that, what really came to mind first? You know, I wanted to share my story authentically, and I wanted to be vulnerable because I think when we are vulnerable, we show people, you know, a little peek behind the curtain

that it's not always easy being in the public spotlight. Also, for me, you know, I never anticipated being in this seat in life ever. And I wanted people to understand what it was like, you know, on that campaign, but also just in life, one of the most important things about this book is having an honest conversation with young people and hopefully teachers and parents about what it would have meant to grow up in an accepting and welcoming environment, but also reflecting on some of those experiences from being such a publicly known person and how I actually learned more about myself reflecting on my youth and how I leaned into those things that I thought made me, you know,

embarrassing when I was young, actually helped me when I was helping my husband run for president and now just being this known person, I guess. But I think, especially in this season of politics, there's so much artifice around politics and power and celebrity and like we were talking about the content farm of Washington, D.C. I wanted to have a really honest conversation with the reader about all of that and also how we're not necessarily defined by the opinions of other people, our surroundings, and how you might look on television or on social media

and you might see the world one way. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can be part of the change. We can make, we can make, like, direct change in our communities by choosing not to embrace that, but by choosing a different path. So there's so much in there about mental health and politics.

And for me, certainly, I wanted to reflect authentically and truthfully about where I'm at in life right now, where I was at when I was younger and where I hope that we can all go together. But I certainly didn't feel like I could do that by just pretending that, you know, I grew up, I did it all the right way,

everything was perfect, and now I'm famous, I guess, you know? Yeah. I think we see, I think we get to feel less alone and feel like we belong when we see someone use their platform like that and say like, hey, there were a lot of bumps in my road too. And I didn't have it all figured out. And certainly more people know my name than I ever thought they would,

but it doesn't mean that I, you know, have it all figured out or have stopped learning or growing, you know. Was there anybody that you encountered, you know, since you've written this book or your other book, that maybe it impacted or changed their way of thinking and maybe if, you know, if they had somebody in their family who, who, you know, was a gay kid or something like that, that it changed how they viewed other people? One of the really unique things personally that I've seen with the book, I'll start over. Something that has meant a lot to me after writing this book is just how many more conversations I've had with my parents. My mom called me a couple weeks ago

after she had finished the book and she said I just wish I could have saved you from all that pain. That has certainly meant something to me to know that this book meant something to her that she's learned more about me as a person, but the conversations that we've had about some of that trauma and some of that pain

and how remarkable it is that we're still in one another's lives. I hope parents will benefit from this book. I wrote it for young people, but I really do hope that parents will read it because I think it will help them understand maybe what their young person might be going through, whether they're LGBTQ or not, just a young person who feels like a fish out of water, it feels different. It feels like they, you know, can't find their way or their group or any of that, just that very, very, very, very special bond with my parents. And then the people in my community in Traverse City who have rallied around this book in our event, had people come forward and donate seats so that like area youth can come for free and get a free copy of the book. And from some

people that, like I said, I was running away from them. I thought I was going to have to leave Traverse City and never look back. And now I'm going home to do this big event, you know, coming home. It's really incredible. Outside of that, I've met so many people along the way who have thanked me. Sometimes it's at the grocery store. It's at Target and it comes out of nowhere and they say, you know, I've got a gay son or my daughter recently came out and I read your book and it just means the world to me. And that is like, you know, it sort of ruins your day because then you get really emotional

and you're like thinking about it. It doesn't ruin the day. It just sidelines the day, right? Where you're like, yeah, I did write that book. And it is out there. And it's just weird that people approach you. And it's just, it's really, really special to know that even one person read it made a difference.

Yeah. What does it mean that this book, or I guess to what extent did the first, fact that we're contending with this onslaught of attacks against the LGBT community right now? Did that play in writing this book? Well, I started writing the book over two years ago and certainly did not see the book coming out in this season of politics. And that's how fast our politics changes, right? And the topic du jour is LGBTQ people. Again, and had no idea that the book would be coming out

amidst hundreds and hundreds of anti-LGBQ laws, book bans. Yeah, you really hit the holy grail of a censored, of like forbidden content here. Yeah, I, that's why when we were planning the tour was like, I guess we're going to expand the tour and we're going to go have those conversations in some areas where folks really need us to show up.

And I certainly am excited to use the platform and continue talking about how there's a better way, how our politics can be more inclusive and accepting and speaking up for teachers and parents and families, but did not anticipate this at all. Yeah. You spoke about being accepted into a program in Germany, and you mentioned the language barrier while you were discussing that. Do you have any stories that stick out in terms of just like abject, humiliating? because of that language barrier? Oh, man. Well, I had two host families at the end of my year who didn't really speak English. So those months were basically just all horror.

You know, you're just trying to say something really basic and they look mortified and then you realize that you've said something off color. I mean, that was such a formative chapter in my life. That's why I chose to write about it. But I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I do remember often the expression of confusion and terror on my host parents' faces when I would come into the kitchen or something and ask a question.

And I don't think you're saying what you mean to say. I lived in France for two years after I graduated college. And I went in like super, I mean, I had taken French in school for years. And I went in super confident. And I had a few of those moments. I remember one time I asked for, I wanted like, I guess, I guess it was some type of strawberry, like, applesauce or something, or like jam. And it's compote is apples, like, jam.

Oh, no. And then fréz is strawberry. And I think I wanted a compote fréz, and instead I asked for a capote frreze, which is a capote is condom. So I basically asked for a strawberry flavored condom instead of jam. And where was this? I actually, that was to a stewardess on a plane. She's like, sorry, so we don't have those on board. On my, yeah, she's like, she's like, yeah.

Well, I grew up in Traverse City, Michigan, Cherry Capital of the World, and the word for church and cherry are very similar in German. So I believe it's Kyrshire and Kyrhehe. And so I remember early on telling people like, I come from the Cherry Capital of the world, but I believe multiple times I would say, like, I come from the church capital of the world. This kid's not from the Vatican.

You're like, here I am. Yeah. I had another one where the difference between Monté and Montre which is to mount and to show and so I think like one time I was like I bought something at the store today

I'm gonna and I wanted to say like I'm gonna show you now instead I was like I'm gonna mount you now so yeah there was there was a lot of those there was definitely a lot of those but yeah that's why I figured I would stick to an English speaking podcast okay so let's end with this where do you and Pete see yourself

in five years. Oh, man. I don't know. I'm craving family time. It's been tough, like with the kids and stuff. He works so much. He's really good at being home, like, 6.30 on the dot, like, comes home, takes off the suit. He'll, like, put a pair of gym shorts on so he can start bath time because bath time with twins

is just, like, it's like splash stuff. Yeah. But, you know, like, we have fast breakfast in the morning and we have bath time at night. Yeah. And I'm really craving more time as a family. And I'm conscious of the fact that I selfishly want to, like, drag him away from Washington as fast as I can. And then I'm aware that... The flip side of that, which is, of course, a lot of people...

You see democracy to people, you know. who make a mockery of it. So I'm grateful for his service. I obviously think he's brilliant and selfishly. I'm just kind of focused on being a good dad and hoping that we have more time together as a family. Myself, personally, I'm really excited for this and then I've been working on a children's book.

So try not to put the cart before the horse. But I have really enjoyed writing. And now that I'm reading to my kids, like multiple books a day. I've started noticing this like massive gap in children's lit where stories just don't reflect, families like ours. So hopefully there'll be a little bit of that and more time in the woods up in Michigan. But who knows, man, it's like, like I said, writing this two years ago, I had no idea this is what politics would be like. So I'll just stay in the good fight and see what happens. That's it. Well, we'll leave it there. Again,

the book is I have something to tell you that goes on sale May 16th. Chastin, thank you. you so much for taking the time. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Thanks again to Chastin. That's it for this episode. Talk to you next week. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen. Produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellsey, interviews captured and edited for YouTube and Facebook by Nicholas Nicotera, and recorded in Los Angeles, California. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app. Feel free to leave a five-star rating and a review, and check out Brian Tyler Cohen.com for links to all of my other channels. Thank you.