No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - The media fails in covering Afghanistan

Episode Date: August 22, 2021

The US pulls out of Afghanistan amid the country’s fall to the Taliban, the media drops the ball in its desperation to cry failure, and Fox News plays both sides of the coin. Brian interviews congressman Joaquin Castro from Texas and his brother, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, for an in-person interview in Texas about the infrastructure package, Governor Abbott’s COVID diagnosis, and their message to the Texas Democrats who fled the state for Washington, DC. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg also joins to discuss Governor Abbott’s restrictions on his city and what the locals are doing to push back, and the results delivered to the people of San Antonio thanks to the Biden administration.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 the U.S. pulling out of Afghanistan amid the country's fall to the Taliban, the media dropping the ball, and Fox News playing both sides of the coin. I interview Congressman Joaquin Castro from Texas and his brother, former housing and urban development secretary Julian Castro for my first in-person interview in Texas, where we talk about the infrastructure package, Governor Abbott's positive COVID results, and their message to the Texas Democrats who fled the state for Washington, D.C. Also joining me to chat in Texas is San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who spoke about Governor Abbott's restrictions on his city and what the locals are doing to push back and the results

delivered to the people of San Antonio thanks to the White House. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen and you're listening to No Lie. So in the last week, we watched as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, effectively ending our 20-year war in the country. And I think it's important to start with some context here because it seems like some people are trying really, really hard to will into existence this idea that this 20-year war somehow started. and ended in the seven months that Joe Biden became president. But what facilitated the Taliban's rise, or re-rise, is a so-called peace deal that was struck a few years ago.

Starting in 2018, the Trump administration began working out a peace deal with the Taliban, which wasn't so much an actual peace deal as it was a withdrawal agreement. It basically stipulated that we'd be out of Afghanistan in 14 months, and the Taliban would agree not to let the country become a haven for terrorists and to start peace talks with the Afghan government. The U.S. released 5,000 Taliban prisoners, one of whom was Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, put a pin in that name for a moment. But the thing about this deal is that it was couched in taking the Taliban at its word. In other words, we just trust that the Taliban won't harbor terrorists and it will implement a ceasefire with the Afghans,

and in exchange, we vacate the country. Only, we began vacating the country prior to any conditions of the deal being met, thereby showing the Taliban that the deal was effectively worthless because it wasn't actually conditional, upon anything. So cut to now, Biden takes office. Our troops in Afghanistan are dwindling. The Taliban is gaining control. Afghans see the writing on the wall. Plenty of them don't bother putting up a fight. And that culminates into the country falling into Taliban hands. And the presumed leader, a guy named Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, released from prison by the Trump administration. So you have Republicans and the media falling over themselves to pin this entire situation on Joe

Biden when everything that's happening right now is a culmination of events that started with a deal that only emboldened the Taliban and undermine the actual Afghan government. And by the way, Republicans are well aware of their own complicity here. The RNC's website, in June, bragged about Trump's historic agreement with the Taliban. When you try clicking that link now, you get a 404 error showing that they scrub the site. Why? Because they know that they are responsible for legitimizing the Taliban, for releasing its leader from prison, for negotiating with these people, for undermining the Afghan government, and for coordinating a withdrawal with no conditions whatsoever.

But that still hasn't stopped the GOP, and the media, by the way, from falling over themselves to take this opportunity to lay everything at the Biden administration's feet. And there are two issues at play here. There's the end of the war itself and the country falling into Taliban hands and the evacuation. And I think I've already explained how the Taliban taking control was inevitable for this administration and that the only alternative here was basically to send in more troops and ramp up the war to stave off the Taliban, which... No one other than Raytheon had an appetite for.

And then there's the evacuation, which, in fairness, left a lot to be desired. We'll remember those images of throngs of Afghans running next to a departing C-17 at the airport. You know, there are 86,000 Afghans who help the Americans, and we owe them, owe them safety. That that wasn't accounted for already does deserve criticism. But here's the part that I feel like no one's acknowledging here. This isn't over. Like, we're still in the middle of evacuating people. Every media figure is so hellbent on writing their obituaries before the thing's even dead.

How do you declare the evacuations a failure when they're still evacuating people? And the fact that this is ongoing is something that Biden himself acknowledged. There'll be plenty of time to criticize the second guess when this operation is over. But now, now, I'm focused on getting this job done. I would ask every American to join me and praying for the women and men, risking their lives on the ground in the service of our nation. As events evolve over the coming days,

my team and I will continue to share the information and update the American people on exactly where things are. We'll use every resource necessary to carry out the mission at hand and bring to safety American citizens and our Afghan allies. If I had to venture a guest here, I'd just say that the media is so desperate to prove to everyone

meaning the right, that they're not the liberal media, and so they do what they always do and overcompensate at even the slightest bit of dysfunction, just like they did with Hillary's emails, just like they did with Benghazi. And so a messy situation revealed itself, and they all lunged at the opportunity to show everyone, see how unbiased we are?

We can criticize Joe Biden too. Worst foreign policy gaffe ever, never seen anything as bad in our lives. And of course, Republicans glommed on with their own bad faith attacks, because, you know, as we all know, Republicans have a stellar reputation when it comes to Afghanistan and definitely did not start the war 20 years ago or negotiate ourselves into a hole with the Taliban, definitely not the

Republican Party. And so what we're left with is media figures screeching about Afghanistan for some image rehab on themselves and Republicans screeching about Afghanistan because, you know, they're desperate for political ammunition. And no one is acknowledging the fact that getting the fuck out of Afghanistan is actually popular in this country. The majority of Americans, on both sides of the political spectrum, want out. An Ipsos-Royter's poll showed almost two-thirds of Americans who supported the withdrawal of U.S. troops

that didn't happen under Bush, it didn't happen under Obama, it didn't happen under Trump. And you would think that those three men were heroes, and that Joe Biden, who inherited 20 years of this thing, was some diabolical architect of the entire war by the narrative that the media is painting. Now, with that said, was it perfectly executed? Of course not. We still have Americans who need to be evacuated, but that process is moving quickly, and by the time you hear this, it's possible that we'll already have gotten the Americans out. And then, of course, we still have the Afghans who are trying to leave. You know, these are people who've helped the U.S. for decades.

We owe it to them to figure it out and get them out of that country. Criticism on failing those people is warranted. They should be our first, second, and third priority right now. And so that we're clear, they are our top priority, and the White House has acknowledged as much. But that's where the situation gets pretty ironic. because you also have Republicans and Fox who, at the same time, they're criticizing Biden for not getting the Afghans out, have already debuted their attacks against Biden for letting the Afghans in.

We will see many refugees from Afghanistan resettle in our country in coming months, probably in your neighborhood. And over the next decade, that number may swell to the millions. So first we invade and then we're invaded. It is always the same. And is it really our responsibility to welcome thousands of potential? unvetted refugees from Afghanistan. All day, we've heard phrases like, we promised them.

Well, who did? Did you? So, which is it? Did Biden fail by not getting the Afghans out? Or did Biden fail because he is getting them out? So you have Republicans and right-wing media running cover for these Trump administration officials who negotiated with the Taliban and held themselves as heroes for doing it, who are now decrying the Afghans who helped us during the 20-year war as if they're the terrorists.

You want to know what terror looks like? A white supremacist, fascist administration incapable of accepting defeat and seeking a mob of brainwashed idiots to storm the U.S. Capitol to assassinate political figures who didn't buy into the bullshit that Trump and a pillow salesman were selling. That's what terror looks like. It's an avowed Trump supporter only days ago driving his car to the U.S. Capitol with enough explosives to allegedly blow up two and a half city blocks calling on Joe Biden to resign. That's what terror looks like. not the interpreters who fought alongside our troops for years and years for what they believed was a noble cause. If anyone doesn't espouse the values that we purport to fight for, I can assure you that

between these far-right Trump supporters who keep trying to kill people and those Afghan interpreters who helped us for the last two decades, it is not the interpreters. Next step is a pair of interviews that I did in person in San Antonio, Texas, with the Castro brothers, Juliana and Joaquin, and the mayor of San Antonio, Ronne. Nirenberg, all part of the Build Back Better bus tour to ensure that people know what Democrats are doing with their majority and not allowing Republicans to rely on their messaging apparatus to undermine or take credit for those accomplishments. Now, just one quick note before we get into those interviews, since we were on location, I didn't have a ton of control over the sound,

and it's something that I'll work on for next time, but we did try our best. So just something to keep in mind. Today we're joined by Julian and Joaquin Castro. Thanks so much for joining. Yeah, great to be with you. You know, we're here in San Antonio, Texas with the Build Back Better Bus Tour. What do you want to impress upon people with this tour? You know, I was born first, so I'll go first, even though he's the sitting Congress. I'll defer to him. Look, that in the eight months that, about eight months that President Biden has been in office,

Democrats have been in charge, they're delivering results for the American people, including so many people here in San Antonio, getting people back to work, getting small businesses back open, getting shots into the arms of people to keep them healthy, investing in reducing child poverty, all of those things that add up to a better economy and a better quality of life. And we felt it here in San Antonio. I mean, what we see out there between now and a year ago is a real difference. But, you know, and Americans chose Democrats in November, and it's paying off. We had four years of a president turning people against each other, fighting with different states, slow to address COVID and all those things.

And now you have a president and a Congress that are trying to figure out how to get Americans back to work, how to get people vaccinated so they're safe, and how to make sure people have opportunity in this country. And I think the best is yet to come. Now, we're here, you know, in San Antonio, you've been able to talk to the people who live here. What element of, you know, this entire build back, better agenda, either the American Rescue Plan, the American Jobs Plan, your families plan, both of which are forthcoming, should people know about, but don't? That's a great question, you know. I mean, look, this is my district, and this is a very hardworking community, a lot of humble people, people that are raising their families here. But, you know,

they're not spending all their time, you know, as some of us do, right, watching all the news stations all the time. And so, for example, even the expanded child tax credit, getting people familiar with that, the fact that more than 90% of people with kids are not. going to get more than $4,000 because of the actions of Democrats. And do you feel like, I mean, you know, having worked in the Obama administration, do you feel like this is kind of fixing an error, so to speak, in terms of messaging? You know, there was so much great things were accomplished during the Obama administration from the Recovery Act to obviously the ACA, and yet there was kind of a messaging void that

was filled by Republicans who just, you know, threw as much bullshit and disinformation and misinformation in there as they could. And so now, you know, a big part of this entire effort is not only doing the thing, but letting people know what's being done. Yeah, I think that the messaging is really building on both the successes and sometimes the shortcomings of the administration that I was a part of. I think also what makes a difference is that we saw how bad things were under the previous administration, under President Trump, and that the last few months have been focused on tangible results.

I mean, when somebody gets that vaccine, they know the difference, they feel safer, when they're able to go back to work, when that small business gets opened, it makes a difference. People feel that in their lives when that $300 monthly child tax credit hits their bank account or they get that check. They feel that. They understand what Democrats are doing on their behalf and their family's behalf. And so it's delivering results and then, you know, making sure that the messaging has been there. and it has. Well, and we spent years, you know, of Republicans saying that government couldn't do anything for people in their lives, that government was the problem. And I think people are seeing that, no, actually government can create opportunities for folks, can help vaccinate people so that they're safe. It can get its act together and actually do good things for the American people. I mean, you need a competent, effective government or else, you know, then basically we're not going to be as successful as a country as people. could be. Well, and I think about, you know, I, you see all these people in San Antonio in our community

that have gotten vaccinated. They're making sure their kids get vaccinated now, even despite a lot of the misinformation that's out there from Republicans and on the internet. And I think about like how it was so chaotic a year and a quarter ago under President Trump. And people were scrambling just to figure out where to get a COVID test. I mean, they didn't know where to get a COVID test in San Antonio, much less go get a shot to get vaccinated. And the big difference from that to now. I think that was by design, too. I mean, like when you have half the government, half of our elected representatives, you know, pushing talking points that this isn't a big deal so as to help themselves politically. I mean, it kind of fosters that exact confusion chaos that

breeds this kind of crisis in the first place. You know, especially with the American Rescue Plan, I think something that we saw was Republicans starting to dip their toes into the waters of trying to take credit for a lot of those successes, despite zero of them having voted for it. There wasn't a single one of them, and I was on the House floor when we voted, obviously, not a single one of the Republicans that supported helping to bring back the economy and bring back the American people. So now, seeing those benefits play out, seeing people's lives being changed for the better, what's your message to those Republicans who might have tried to,

to take credit despite having all voted no. Well, to not pretend like they tried. Don't pretend like you tried to do something. Don't pretend like you tried to change things because they stood in the way, in fact. They argued very hard against the American Rescue Plan. They have a chance to correct their mistake. We got the American Jobs Plan,

you know, this infrastructure package, reconciliation budget. They still have time to change their ways and actually start working on behalf of American families and making sure that, that those investments that need to be made in health, in jobs, in education, in infrastructure are made. And by the way, the fact that we have a Republican Party that for at least the bipartisan infrastructure framework did vote to advance it, you know, with 19 defections through the Senate, is a testament to how successful the American Rescue Plan was. Because when you have a party like the Republicans who are so, you know, obstructionist as they are,

for them to defect in such large numbers is a testament to just how massively successful the first element of the billback agenda was. No, I think you're right. You're absolutely right. Look, they saw that this thing is working, that this is what Americans want from a president, from a Congress, from their government. And so finally now, in some respects, they're getting on board. There's still a lot of obstruction.

There's a lot of disinformation by these guys. but at least on the infrastructure bill in the Senate, a lot of them just had to admit this is what the American people want. Since Democrats took full control of government, we've seen 4 million jobs added. And in fact, in the last half century, I think Democrats have created double the amount of jobs that Republicans have. Even though Republicans continue to try to push this messaging

that they're the party of jobs or the party of blue-collar workers, and yet that's even despite the fact that the last administration just saw tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. And then when we offer a better financial situation for the working class, like you said, they were 100% opposed. Do you think that Americans are starting to acknowledge or recognize that when Democratic administrations, Democrats more broadly are in charge of government, that it's them who benefit on jobs, on the economy, on basically every indicator of, you know, the health of our country. Yeah, I hope so, because when it happens president after president after president in the same pattern where Republicans talk about tax cuts being the thing that's going to save everybody

and how they're working. It's a mistaken notion since the 80s that, like, trickle down economics that we should be like, you know, thanking God for the crumbs that we get that supposedly trickle down. And yet all the while, income inequality is just growing at an exponential rate. Well, and you point out a perfect contract. there because, look, under two successive presidents, a Republican president in Trump, when they had power, they passed a large tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, literally for the richest Americans in the country and big corporations. And when we were able to get power

after November, we got voted in by the American people, we passed a tax bill that benefited the middle class and the working class and folks of modest means. I think Americans get it more and more, which is if you want a strong economy, put a Democrat in the Oval Office and put Democrats in charge of Congress. In the last 15 years alone, I mean, we've seen a pattern, which is Republicans have used their power to give everything they can to the super wealthy and big corporations. And our economy has tanked. And Democrats have had to come and clean it up. And that's what Joe Biden is doing right now with the Democratic Congress. So I want to switch gears here to COVID. Governor Abbott,

tested positive for COVID. He's had his third shot. He's taking the regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment. So he's basically benefiting from every safety measure there is, all the while pushing back against enacting any safety measures for the people who he represents, you know, using his authority to block local mask mandates in schools and whatnot. You know, and that's even as the number of adults and children are being, you know, infected with coronavirus with this delta variant are being hospitalized at higher numbers.

So what's your message to Governor Abbott in light of his own infection? Well, unfortunately, Governor Abbott is turning Texas into the capital of COVID misery, and everybody wishes him well, hopes he gets better. But as President Biden said, either lead or get out of the way. And he's in the way right now of the science, not allowing schools to do everything they can, to protect children and at the same time he gets VIP treatment with the third booster shot with the regeneron treatment that everyday Texans would not have access to it must be nice of course he's not worried about COVID because you know when he got it after he acted irresponsibly

going to maskless events crowded indoor events he's able to avail himself of a very great health care that most Texans do not get well and you you know he's getting VIP treatment and but he's treating everybody else like punks. Really, he's treating the people of Texas like punks, helping to spread disinformation, not allowing school districts to do everything they can to protect the kids. And, you know, I've gotten so many calls and emails from folks,

parents who are nervous about the start of the school year, sending their kids to school. We've already seen school districts in Texas that are shutting down, shutting down because you have so many people that have to quarantine. Days into the school year. Yeah, days.

Absolutely, a few days in. and a lot of schools haven't even started yet. My kids are five and seven. They start next Monday. And, yeah, and so. But I have a six and a 12-year-old that go to public school. We already get a note after four days about folks who tested COVID-positive. Parents are getting those letters all across the state,

and it's causing a lot of anxiety and a lot of anger toward Governor Abbott and toward Republicans. Now, you know, you do speak about being able to speak to these text. And, you know, while you're focusing on Texans, you know, you have Governor Abbott, who's basically pandering to the Fox News audience and getting his, you know, getting his cable hits in every night. And that's clearly the audience that he's, that he's pandering to right now. But in terms of, of masks and vaccines, what do Texans more broadly want? You know, because for me, coming from a place like California, a lot of what I get is just national news. And you just kind of feel, put everybody into this, into this bucket of just, assuming that like when you have somebody like Governor Abbott who, you know, does his fox hit, that that's kind of representative of the population more broadly. But is it? Really, some of the people that aren't getting vaccinated, there is a group of folks that are listening to the Greg Abbott's, to the DeSantis of Florida, to Donald Trump before, people that are just ideologically, they don't want to get the vaccine, they don't want to wear a mask.

But there's also a lot of Americans who are just not familiar with this issue and people that are trying to figure out what's the real deal. They're just trying to figure out what's the real deal. Maybe they do have medical history, and then they go on Facebook and they read some article about how people that were pregnant six months ago now, the vaccine could put them in danger. And so they're not ideological people. They're just trying to sort out what's the truth.

You can't necessarily blame people who are following the advice that they're given. Don't get me wrong. There's plenty of people that are being disingenuous and spreading disinformation and causing harm. But there's also a lot of Americans for whom this is not a person. political issue. They're just trying to get to the bottom of what's best for them and their family. About three days ago, we saw the first polling of how Texans feel, for instance, about whether school should be allowed to require masks in class. 72% of Texans said, yes, schools should

be able to require masks. That's even as the governor has staunchly said, no, no, no, you can't do that to keep kids safe. So Greg Abbott and the Republican leadership is totally, a step with how everyday Texans feel when it comes to protecting our children and making sure that Texans are healthy. Well, unfortunately, Texas is not 72% Democrat, so you've got a lot of Democrats, but you have a big chunk of Republicans in Texas. When it comes to these, especially these kids in classrooms, it goes beyond whether somebody's a Democrat or independent Republican.

Let's talk about the Texas Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C. As of this recording, those Texas Democrats from the State House have not given Republicans the quorum needed to pass their voter suppression bill. Now, some are saying that it's delaying the inevitable. Some are saying that it's massively helpful that this is a last stand to prevent, you know, a vile voter suppression bill from passing. Where do you stand and what would you say to those House Democrats, you know, as they continue to avoid the legislature, even under threat of arrest?

I'm proud of them. They took a stand. They prevented voter suppression legislation from becoming law here in Texas so far. So far, so good. There's still no quorum. This is the second special session. The longer this goes, the more pressure this puts on the governor, the Republican speaker, the lieutenant governor to explain to Texans why in the world they're so focused on this issue

when they can't identify any voter fraud. And more importantly, why are they so focused on this issue when record number of Texans are getting the coronavirus. We have so many hospitalizations that there are only 320 ICU beds left in the state in a state of 29 million people, and we have more pediatric ICU beds being used up than any other state in the country.

How bad the priorities of Republicans in this state are. So I'm proud of the Democrats that have stood up, and I hope that they continue to. I'm proud of them. I was part of a group of Democrats that left the state for Oklahoma for several days in 2003 to try to stop re-redistricting, Tom DeLay at the time. And I just appreciate their courage, their commitment.

And they have really, they really, you know, people were talking about voting rights, of course. It was a priority for Democrats in Congress. But they raised the issue and highlighted and spotlighted the issue even more. And so, you know, I just give them a lot of credit. Well, that seems like a good place to leave off. So, Leon and Joaquin, thank you so much for joining. I appreciate it. Thank you. Good to be with you.

Thanks again to the Castro brothers. Now I'm joined by the mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nirenberg. Thanks so much for coming to join me here. Good to join you, right. So first off, you know, we're in Texas. This is a COVID hotspot. So the first question I want to ask is, you know, how are you, the people around you and your constituents doing? Well, we're working very hard. You know, our, our mode of operation here is to make sure that our public has access to the medical professionals, the information data that they need. to protect themselves and their families, and, you know, we are working very hard to continue to vaccinate as many people as possible and encourage and mandate mask wearing, particularly

in schools, where we've had a little bit of a challenge with our governor and the state government challenging us on our ability to do that. Yeah, and speaking of that, you know, what specifically has Governor Abbott done to, you know, prevent your efforts to keep people safe? Well, we argue that he's used his emergency powers unconstitutionally to find the hands of local government officials, school districts, public health authorities from doing what they need to do to mitigate this disaster in accordance with the CDC protocols and guidelines that we know will help save lives and protect communities. So we're fighting them in court at the same time. We're putting out the information and guidance that people need to protect themselves. Obviously, a big part of this effort, you know, pushing back against these Republican governors has taken place at the school district level. So what has the San Antonio Independent School District been able to accomplish, you know, in terms of doing what they can to keep their students safe?

Well, I applaud the San Antonio Independent School District. They have recently become one of the first school districts and certainly one of the largest to mandate mask wearing, but also vaccines. for their staff, and they've put in place a mandatory mask requirement for all student, staff, and teachers as well. So they are taking the leadership position. The challenge here in San Antonio is that we have 17 large school districts. So the authority of our public health professionals by virtue of directives that they can put in place for all schools is extremely important, and that's why we're in court. And does it look like those efforts are going to ultimately play out in your favor? Does it seem like Governor Abbott is going to try to continue to.

you to push back against them or does he seem to be kind of relenting when it comes to at least the school districts? Well, he's not, he's not relenting, unfortunately, but we have one, now two favorable court rulings that have put a stop to his orders. They are appealing through the state courts. But right now we have a directive in place that is lawful, that has the weight of the law. And we also know recently that actually as of yesterday, There was a federal court case filed on behalf of disabled students in Texas to help also prevent the governor from binding the hands of local health authorities and teachers from doing the right thing. And obviously we saw in Paris, Texas, their independent school district had kind of found a loophole to institute the mask policy as part of their dress code. And they've been successful with that as well.

So, I mean, it's good to see these, you know, staff and faculty members kind of pushing back against. the politicization of this entire process and focusing on what's important, which has somehow escaped us throughout this thing, which is just keeping people alive. In confusion and chaos is the enemy of this pandemic response, but the truth is the science has not changed. Masks work, vaccines work, that's why people need to use them if they want to put an end to this pandemic. All the legal battles and the mixed messaging that's coming from some elected officials, we need to keep in mind with the public. Health Authority has been saying all along has not changed, mask up, backstop.

Well said. I do want to talk about the ICU bed situation. How does that look in San Antonio? You know, we are like every other community in Texas struggling because our hospital system, our medical system has reached the point where it's beyond its limits. And so we have been asking for supplementary nurse contingents, which are now coming into the state of Texas. But we have reached a point where this COVID surge with the Delta variant, it has accelerated far faster than our medical system is capable of handling. And so we've got to do everything we can to slow that down. And that means for people who are vaccinated who may potentially carry the virus and not get sick, we've got to make sure that they're aware of this as well and have a role to play in terms of masking up. So it's a difficult situation.

ICUs is where we see it redlined the most. but we've got to make sure that we have medical capacity available, not just for COVID, but for all of the myriad reasons that our medical community is able to protect people. Now, obviously, some more grim element of this is that we're seeing a rise in hospitalizations for children. Amid this surge, have you seen any type of a softening of Republican rhetoric when it comes to the virus now that kids are at risk, which was something that wasn't happening prior to the Delta variant coming into being? You know, there are some leaders who exhibit tremendous courage in the face of their partisan expectations, and we've seen that.

Unfortunately, it's a rare example. And, you know, someone said the other day there's a reason why the book profiles and courage in the short book. We wish we had more examples of Republicans standing up and saying, you know what, enough and is enough. Our goal should be united regardless of party, and that is to protect the health and safety. the lives of our community members. Unfortunately, in the case of, you know, state leaders in Texas, such as our governor, our attorney general, their rhetoric has only gotten harder and more divisive. And that's why we're, again, putting it out there that what the science is telling us has not changed, mask up, backs up, this should not be a political issue. Listen to medical authorities.

Listen to the public health authorities. And let's protect each other and save our own life. Yeah. It's a testament to what happens, you know, when your elected officials are pandering more toward, you know, a Fox News audience as opposed to the health and safety of, you know, their own constituents, really. So I do want to switch gears here and talk about the Build Back Better agenda. Obviously, that's why I'm here in San Antonio. We have the Build Back Better bus tour happening. So with the American Rescue Plan and now soon with the American Jobs and Families Plan, getting ready to make their way through Congress and get signed into law, What kind of a tangible impact will that have in a place like San Antonio? Well, we are excited about prospects because the buildback better plan is about investing in communities. It's about restoring infrastructure. It's about creating access to jobs. It's about removing barriers that exist for people to achieve their potential in this community and across the country. And for us, it's fundamental.

And we recognize the fact that when this pandemic began and you saw the images of the food bank line, thousands of people lined up for assistance. Those images were coming from San Antonio, but they represented the entire country. At that point, we dedicated ourselves not to going back to normal, because that was the condition for millions of American families prior to the pandemic.

What we had to do was come back stronger, more equitable, more resilient, and that's what the build back their agenda is all about. The infrastructure plan, the jobs plan, and now the family's plan, which is going to be doubling down on ensuring people have access to economic mobility. That's what we're doing here in San Antonio and will help us to advance our efforts and expand it community-wide.

Now, prior to this reconciliation bill passing, which will be the basis for the American Families Plan, soft infrastructure, we already have the hard infrastructure plan that's passed to the Senate. That was the biggest hurdle. It's a done deal, basically. What does that look like in, you know, in San Antonio? Well, we know that for, you know, 30 years, perhaps, you know, an infrastructure plan, investments in American infrastructure and local communities was almost a running joke in Congress. So the vision to actually deliver the local communities at a crisis moment was very important.

So that means improved bridges, roads, public transportation infrastructure, the opportunity to invest in parks and a community that needs access to recreation and green space. All these things now will be enabled because we are leveraging our local dollars in our ability to work on these things with an investment from our partners of the Federal League. I guess that would suggest that Infrastructure Week was reduced to a punchline. Is that what you're implying here?

Infrastructure Week was our favorite week, but we're finally going to see that come to fruition. Great. Well, I'll end with this. The point of this tour is kind of learning from our past mistakes in terms of messaging, obviously, during the Obama administration. A lot was done, and a lot was done, legislatively, but not so much on the messaging front. And that kind of allowed Republicans

to fill that vacuum with disinformation and misinformation. So if there's one final message that you want to impart to people watching and listening about, you know, the entirety of the Build Back Better Agenda, American Rescue Plan, Jobs Plan, a Families Plan, what would that be? The Build Back Better Plan, the agenda to create a stronger nation is one that is about every American and ensure that we have opportunity for every family in this country. And I would ask folks to remember what we felt when we saw the images of the pandemic first play out in across the pages of America's newspapers and the fact that we dedicated ourselves and committed ourselves then to come back from this stronger, that we can't go back to the same old normal, that we would build a nation that is stronger, more equitable, and more resilient. That's what the build back agenda is all about. That's what our vision for America is all about.

It's uniting every city in this country. Great. Well said. Well, Mayor Nirenberg, thank you so much for sitting down and talking. I appreciate it. Thanks again to Mayor Nirenberg. 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 Wellesie, 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.