No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Trump LOSES IT over midterm convention attendance

Episode Date: September 9, 2026

Trump does not react well when confronted about poor attendance at his midterm convention. Brian interviews the future governor of California Xavier Becerra and Pod Save America’s Tommy Vie...tor.SPONSORS:http://www.SimpliSafe.com/BTC https://www.factormeals.com/btc50off Code: btc50offWritten 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.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Trump does not react well when confronted about poor attendance at his midterm convention, and I'm joined by the future governor of California, Javier Bacera, and Pot Save America's Tommy Vitor. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. So Trump was asked about Republicans bailing on his big midterm convention. Here's how that went. And Mr. President, several Republicans in competitive races are not coming to the convention. Do you understand why they're deciding not to come? Everybody that's coming to the convention.
Starting point is 00:00:30 Everybody wants to come, but we all. only want and the people that are coming, by the way, we're going to be sold out tonight, just so you understand. Who are you with? ABC News, sir. ABC fake news. What are the worst? You are the worst of all, in my opinion. The reason that some people are not coming is because we don't have room for 500 politicians. We have room for the ones that have a close race if they're slightly behind or slightly ahead or tied. But we don't have rooms for people that are 35 points up and don't need to be there. We said, stay back in campaign. every politician that we've wanted to be there is there.
Starting point is 00:01:06 Seems like somebody struck a nerve. That's right. Everybody Trump wanted at this convention is going to be there and not a person extra because there's simply no room, as was evidenced by all of those videos with tons of empty seats. But anyway, back on Earth One, here is the reality. Political reported on this, turns out that out of the 70 Republican candidates and sitting members
Starting point is 00:01:27 who were specifically asked about attending, 45 either said no outright or that they were a consistent. considering, which translated from political speak, means no. AP covered this as well. By their count, more than 100 House Republicans were not expected to make the trip, with only about 100 planning to actually attend the full conference. Not great when attendance at rallies is kind of your thing. As for the reasons, first, there is the price tag.
Starting point is 00:01:51 Attendees were asked for a donation of $25,000 just for the privilege of walking in the door. Look, these aren't fundraising juggernauts. A lot of these Republican candidates have to scrape for, every single dollar. Trump, meanwhile, has half a billion dollars sitting in his account, and yet these candidates are expected to pay 25 grand while Trump hoards his cash, which sounds about right. Second, and more importantly, there is the electoral aspect of things. A lot of these Republicans are sitting in competitive districts, thanks to Trump, heading into a brutal midterm environment, and spending two days in Dallas at a Trump love
Starting point is 00:02:27 Fest means two days not knocking on doors, not doing local press, not doing the work to actually win tight races. When you are fighting for your political life in a swing district, a convention floor in Dallas is not where the votes are. But the biggest reason is that this convention was always going to be a Trump worship fest and Trump is dragging down anybody standing right next to him. Donald Trump's own RNC is not going to put on an event where it's anything other than that. So anybody who goes is basically telling their voters, signaling to their voters, this is where my allegiance lies. I am in Dallas, genuflecting at the altar of Trump instead of talking to you. You don't show up at Trump Fest and then get to show up in your district and try to distance yourself from that very guy.
Starting point is 00:03:09 You don't get to have it both ways. But of course, Trump doesn't care about any of that because it's not about anybody else. This is about him. And if you dare question him about who's not attending, then he'll lash out because at the end of the day, this is all about his ego. I mean, the guy went nuclear on an ABC news reporter for daring question him about that objective fact that Republicans aren't showing up to the convention,
Starting point is 00:03:32 which only further proves my point that this guy's ego is so overbearing the same way he can't handle that question, he also can't handle the prospect of anybody in his party not directly linking themselves back to him seven weeks before midterms. He may be an anchor around all their necks, but he is going to make damn sure they all feel the weight of it.
Starting point is 00:03:56 Next up are my interviews with Javier Bicera and Tommy Vitor. No Lie is brought to you by SimplySafe. When your home is under threat, you need more than a recording of a break-in. The video is all well and good, but I assume what's more important is preventing that break-in from happening in the first place.
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Starting point is 00:05:07 And when you order, please write in no lie in the How Did You Hear About Us section to let them know that we sent you. Don't forget, there's no safe like Simplysafe. We have a tacit admission here that Donald Trump's midterm convention is toxic. I'm joined now by the next. The ex-governor of California, Javier Becerra, can you talk about these California Republicans who've decided not to go to this midterm convention in Dallas? Ryan, I think California Republicans are finding where there is a place where they can go
Starting point is 00:05:37 because anywhere Trump goes is going to be toxic. And so at this stage, right now, I think they're probably the best place for them is some black hole underneath the ground. You know, there is also the added fact that Donald Trump is making these Republicans pay their way into this convention. And I just think it's ironic that a lot of these people have a little bit of trouble earning or raising money. Certainly can't get as much earned media as he can. He's sitting on half a billion dollars and yet is forcing these Republicans to pay anywhere between $25,000 to $100,000 just for the privilege of walking into that door so that he can tie themselves to them,
Starting point is 00:06:16 these candidates, you know, with his 33% approval rating just a few weeks before midterms. It's like wanting to be tied to an anchor right before you jump into the water, right? Yeah. To that, we'll put that to the side. But we actually do have some legitimate issues that we're contending with by these Trump-aligned Republicans right here in the state of California. So can you give a lay of the land of what Prop 39 is?
Starting point is 00:06:40 Because voters are going to have to contend with that as we head to the polls just a few weeks from now. Well, it goes along with what we just finished talking about, Brian. The fact that Donald Trump and his politics are toxic, his agenda is toxic. He's trying to go after all immigrant families. He's trying to make it harder for us to have access to health care. He's making it very difficult for us to feel like this is an inclusive society. All of that is forcing Republicans to make choices. Do they want to be with Trump or not?
Starting point is 00:07:08 And Trump is trying to make it so that they can win. The only way they can win is to not have us all vote because they know if we're all voting, we're not going to vote for that Trump agenda. So right now, there's an initiative, Prop 39, on the ballot that would make it tougher for Californians to vote. It would require you to identify one of your forms of identification, whether it's your driver's license, maybe it's your passport, maybe it's your student identification. Whatever you use to register to vote, you would have to now be able to put that identification number, at least the last digits of it, on your envelope when you go vote mail. And so for a lot of folks who are very concerned about privacy, about identity theft,
Starting point is 00:07:50 this is the last thing you want to be doing. At the same time, he's trying to intimidate all those new voters. So people like my mom, a naturalized citizen, he wants to make it so that you fear going to vote. He's going to try to intimidate you. So Prop 39 puts up all those those boogeymen out there telling people why you should not vote. And what we want to tell them is just the opposite. Please go out and vote, defeat measures like Prop 39 that Donald Trump depends on to keep you from exercising your Democratic right to vote. You know, this is all predicated on this idea that Republicans have been perpetuating for years, that there is rampant or widespread voter fraud.
Starting point is 00:08:26 Can you speak about the existence of actual widespread voter fraud that would supposedly warrant all of these steps? Well, we can't actually speak about widespread voter fraud because there's not widespread voter fraud. That's why Donald Trump has never been able to prove that the the 2020 election was a hoax that he really won. We all know what the votes showed. And unfortunately, Donald Trump has never admitted that. Republicans don't admit it.
Starting point is 00:08:56 And so what they're trying to do is make it very difficult for all of the rest of us to vote by saying that there's actual voter fraud. And so we just have to defeat that type of politics that tries to exclude, tries to intimidate. And if we can just get out and vote, vote against Prop 39, we will defeat. that type of agenda that Donald Trump has been espousing since he got into office. Well, you know, I think the ultimate irony of this is Republicans would not have to do this. They wouldn't have to put all of their chips in the, let's change the election rules basket, five minutes before an election, if they were actually able to run on their agenda.
Starting point is 00:09:33 And they've got full control of government. So presumably, with no Democrats to have gumbed up the works, they would be able to run on all of the things that they had campaigned on. because they have the House, the Senate, and the White House, and yet costs are higher. The Epstein files still aren't released. We have a brand new war in the Middle East. And so it kind of puts on full display that they were perfectly content to lie to their voters in the lead-up to the election. And now, because they know that they're going to be held accountable by those very voters,
Starting point is 00:10:02 knowing that they can't win on the merits, they have to just change the rules of the game to benefit themselves. Yeah, it's one of those situations where Donald Trump and Republicans understand that this is a referendum on their leadership. They understand that Donald Trump is on the ballot, and they don't want you to know that. And if they can't keep you from voting, they're going to force you not to vote with propositions like Prop 39, which would make it very difficult, much harder for you to vote. So they recognize that they are on the ballot, that Donald Trump is on the ballot, that this is a referendum on their leadership, and they know what the outcome will be. And so they're doing everything they can to keep people from voting. Right. And by the way, before anybody
Starting point is 00:10:40 sheds a tear for these Republicans, they have had years to distance themselves from him, to show that they're a co-weeker branch of government, to exercise their own autonomy. And every step of the way, they've contracted that autonomy over to the executive branch. And they did it when the trade war happened, didn't say a word. They did it when the Iran war happened, didn't say a word. They're still doing it to demand the release of the outstanding three million files in the Epstein files. So every step of the way, they've shown this president that they're not willing to act as a co-weekle branch of government.
Starting point is 00:11:12 And so now, when the election is a referendum on him and he's become so emboldened to just run away with his unpopular agenda, of course they're going to bear the consequences of that because they had the ability to step in and chose not to. They've resorted to scaring voters, intimidating voters, lying to voters,
Starting point is 00:11:34 trying to keep voters away from the polls because that's about the only way that they can get a vote that they want. And by keeping you from voting, it makes it so that if anyone that wants to vote for them becomes a more powerful vote, the more we get out and vote,
Starting point is 00:11:50 the more people who don't like this agenda of exclusion of lying, of recklessness, the chance that we're going to defeat that referendum, excuse me, that agenda that Donald Trump has put forward. So I would just encourage folks, get out there, exercise your vote, that's your power. We don't have the kind of money Donald Trump has. We don't have the recklessness and the law,
Starting point is 00:12:11 law-breaking nature that Donald Trump has. We can do this the right way. We can do it the authentic way by getting out and voting. And so we really encourage everyone to don't let the noise of Donald Trump. Don't let the attacks of Donald Trump keep you from exercising your power, your vote. And let's show him on November 3rd. We see exactly what he is, what he's done. And by the way, we see exactly who all his cronies,
Starting point is 00:12:37 his sycophants are who go with him and now are trying to avoid him desperately. Okay, so I want to finish off with one more issue. That is something I've been focused on for years and years and years. As you know, I'm coming to you from Los Angeles. I've lived here for 15 years, moved here for the film and TV industry, and I still advocate as much as I can for this industry. We are now facing the prospect of a nationwide TV and film tax credit. So can you speak about that issue and whether you'd like to see that happen and if you've been
Starting point is 00:13:14 a party to any of the conversations that are happening right now? Yeah, we've got to fight fire with fire. Right now, countries around the world are trying to steal our industry, our entertainment industry, TV and movie industry, because they know that it's lucrative. They're good paying jobs. It creates a ripple effect in the job market. Somebody's got to feed all those workers and actors. Someone's got to create all the costumes.
Starting point is 00:13:42 Someone has to build the sets. The entertainment industry creates a lot of economic activity, a lot of good-paying jobs, and there are countries who are doing everything they can to steal that industry from us. I'm trying to undercut us in terms of what the cost would be for a production. And so we have to fight back. And the best way to fight back is to make sure nationally we do exactly what the other other countries are doing. If they're going to try to say, well, we'll give you a break to, if you come and shoot here, we're going to say, no, we're going to make sure that you can match
Starting point is 00:14:15 whatever they're trying to do so we can be competitive and keep Hollywood in Hollywood, Hollywooding in America, and make sure that the production that people around the world are anxious to see and enjoy originates in the U.S. and here, of course, in Los Angeles, in Hollywood. Well, I want to take you on on the second part of that. As I said, you're going to be the of California, you made the case that I was going to make to you, which is, you know, all of the ripple effects that it'll have. Look, the entertainment industry here in Los Angeles is the economic engine of the state. And we have watched as we have lost this industry to New Jersey, to New York, to Georgia, to New Mexico, to New Orleans in Louisiana. And so all
Starting point is 00:15:03 across the country, they've been able to offer better film and TV. tax credits than California has. Finally, California offered $750 million, which is certainly a step up from where we were before, but it's not good enough. And we're still losing jobs to other states. If I'm not mistaken, Georgia still has a better tax credit. And so something I've been advocating for is an uncapped tax credit. Again, I don't have to make the argument to you because you just made it to the audience about all of the virtues that a thriving film industry is going to have and the downstream effects that it has on the economy. We also know that for every dollar of of tax credit that's offered, it brings in more than a dollar into the local economy. And so is there a world
Starting point is 00:15:46 where you would be supportive of an uncapped tax credit when you become governor of California? There could be such a world, Brian, because we have to go punch for punch, punch, punch, counterpunch, make sure that when we step into the ring to fight for our entertainment industry that we're fighting to keep it, not just in America, but to your point. in California, in Los Angeles, because, as you said, the competition, the folks who are trying to steal that industry, but we know it's around the world, it's also in America. And maybe it's a little friendlier competition with our friends in Georgia or New Jersey, but it's still competition.
Starting point is 00:16:20 And we want to keep Hollywood in Hollywood. So we will go punch for punch. We'll make sure that Californians understand why it's so important to keep this industry here, because it's not just jobs, but it's also iconic to have Hollywood. in Hollywood. So what would you be looking for in terms of a commitment for an uncapped tax credit so that that could become a reality? It's got to make it work.
Starting point is 00:16:44 I got to see the numbers. We have to make sure that what we're doing is beneficial to not just the industry to the Californians as well because what we're asking Californians to do is give us a chance to our taxpayer dollars to make sure our industry is competitive. And so we just got to make sure that we can pencil it all out. We can do the math. And what we're doing is not just protecting an industry, but we're creating, we're generating economic activity in California. That will benefit our taxpayers.
Starting point is 00:17:11 All right. Well, we will, of course, continue this conversation because as Governor Newsom can tell you and every other California official, I have been and will continue to be a bug up the ass of everybody in a position of power in California that can make this happen. So we'll leave it there. Thank you so much for taking the time for folks who are looking to donate to your campaign. I'm going to put a link in the show notes of this episode. And again, thank you for taking the time today. Brian, good to be with you again. No Lie is brought to you by Factor.
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Starting point is 00:19:02 That's code BTC. 50 off at factor meals.com. BTC 50 off at factor meals.com. I don't know that we could have worse news for Trump and Republicans ahead of this big midterm convention. Take a look at this clip. You know, this idea is so ill-conceived. You can just see it by the fact that they're doing it
Starting point is 00:19:20 when the football season is starting. Who does that? My God. 60% of Democrats are extremely motivated to vote. 59% of that hardcore Trump-based mega-Republicans, 59% of them, the same as the Demms. The ones who are not. not motivated to vote are the non-Mag Republicans, the people who are far less likely to approve
Starting point is 00:19:38 of Donald Trump, the people who think that Donald Trump's Republican Party probably this should be the end of it. That's where the problem is. It's like, oh, let's focus in on Donald Trump. But in fact, the people who are the least motivated to vote are the folks who are the most likely within the Republican Party to disapprove of Donald Trump. So no, it is not, in fact, the hardcore Republican base that needs that motivation. It is other folks that this convention simply won't be reaching because they'll probably be watching football like most Americans. All right. So Tommy, that was Harry Anton laying out a litany of reasons as to why this is not such a great idea to do as we head into this midterm cycle, least among them, because Donald Trump's
Starting point is 00:20:16 big Trump worship fest is going to be going up against the NFL, which one would think as a marketing genius he would know better than to do. Why do you think it was so important for him to do this regardless, knowing that he's going up against the NFL season opener. Patriots versus Seattle, okay? The New England Patriots, not just the NFL, the New England Patriots. Thank you. Yeah. Continuing.
Starting point is 00:20:43 Knowing that he's going up against the season opener of a couple of low-rate teams, well, no, the Seahawks are there, knowing that a lot of Republicans want to distance themselves from this guy as we head into midterms and he's got a 30-some-odd percent approval rating, Why was it so important for him to engage in this anyway? Because he is the world's biggest narcissist. By the way, it's nice to see you with a shirt on. It's been a while.
Starting point is 00:21:05 Yeah. I hope things are well. We'll get to that in a minute. We'll get to that later. He's the world's biggest narcissist. Brian, yesterday he did an event that was about 9-11 and honoring the victims, and he was telling a story about this guy named Wells Crowther, who saved 18 people in the South Tower on Ground Zero.
Starting point is 00:21:26 And Trump couldn't just talk about his heroism. He had to make a quip about how Wells is more famous than him, and that makes Trump mad. He makes everything about himself. He's a narcissist. It's a pathological thing. So it's knowing that his approval rating is in the toilet, he has to hold a midterm convention anyway. Knowing that his approval rating is in the toilet, all of the ads are apparently going to feature Donald Trump and just be about his accomplishments. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:52 The guy's sitting on, what, $400 million in his super PAC? He's not going to spend a penny. because that money doesn't really benefit him. I think, like, Trump just doesn't care about the Republican Party. He doesn't care about elections. He cares about, I guess, like, you know, interior design. Yeah, apparently stone, stone work. I mean, no, there is some legitimacy to that very idea.
Starting point is 00:22:12 I think, I actually think if and when Republicans have a bad midterm showing, it's going to be, it's going to give him the ability to point to that and say, look, you need me. This is what happens when I'm not on the ballot. Like, I'm the one everybody likes. And in fact, when you all lose, it's going to be because you're not me. Like, I'm the only one who can continue to win. And so I think in a way, he's looking forward to other people losing because it's going to just
Starting point is 00:22:37 underscore the fact that when he wins, he's better than all of these people. Yeah, everything is about him. Heads I win, tails you lose. He will be an anchor around their necks. And then he will blame these Republicans when they don't win their elections. I think it's worth noting here. Politico is reporting ahead of today that, quote, many of Trump's fellow Republicans are hoping he doesn't make it all about him.
Starting point is 00:22:58 What do you think, Tommy? Is this going to be, are you anticipating a new tone by President Trump? That is incredible reporting. What a waste of time to write down those quotes. The other thing I laughed so hard at today, Brian, was there was an axiost story about how Republicans have given up on trying to talk Trump out of bad ideas. It's like, I'm sorry, you're just reporting this now? Have you been around for the last decade?
Starting point is 00:23:23 Well, here's what I think is. is so interesting about all of this is like, these people made their beds years ago. Like they've decided to contract every fucking ounce of their autonomy over to Trump. They're a co-weeker branch of government. At any point, they could have stepped in. They could have stepped in when he launched this trade war that was unpopular and undermined his central campaign promise to bring costs down.
Starting point is 00:23:43 They could have jumped in multiple times with the Iran war. Congress has the unilateral authority to declare war. And of course, this administration will dance around the word war and just call it an operation. They've been at war for like seven months now. They could have stepped in to demand the release of the outstanding 3 million documents in the Epstein files. They could have stopped him from gutting food assistance and health care. I mean, you name it, but they haven't done anything.
Starting point is 00:24:05 And so now when they're faced with the prospect of a Trump worship fest, less than two months out before midterms, where you've got a president who has a sub 40 approval rating, 33%, 35%, depending on the poll. And their pictures are going to be plastered next to him at the top. time when they most need to distance themselves from him and they can't do anything to stop it. It's like they have only themselves to blame because they have encouraged and emboldened this guy for years and years and years to think that the legislative branch doesn't even exist. And even to this day, you've got Mike Johnson and John Thune contracting every fucking ounce of autonomy over to the executive branch so they don't get to act surprised or upset when suddenly
Starting point is 00:24:49 you know, his malignant narcissism is an anchor around their necks before midterms. Yeah, and then like, that story is so funny because, like, they're not surprised. No one actually thinks he's not going to make it about himself. They all know what's going to happen. They're just all big, a bunch of weenies. And, you know, it's like the, what's the movie where it's like, thank you, sir, we have another, you know, kids getting paddled with the frat pledge. Like, not only, look, here's a couple things you could do if you're a member in a targeted district.
Starting point is 00:25:16 Don't go. Don't attend the race or don't attend the midterm convention. You could put some distance between yourself. and Trump on policy, like, I don't know, the Iran war. And to your point earlier, like they also could have voted to not confirm Pete Hegseth, at least the Senate could have, who would have thought that putting a Fox News weekend anchor in charge of a war with Iran would end badly. But instead, what they're doing is a lot of these members of Congress are not only going to attend the mid-year convention, but they're going to pay like $25,000 to $100,000 for the honor of attending.
Starting point is 00:25:49 That's crazy. Which is crazy because, look, to Trump's credit, he's able to raise a money like nobody else. I mean, he's got, he's sitting on like, like half a billion dollars right now. He won't spend a dime of it. But he's forcing these other members who have to scratch and claw for every dollar they can get because they can't garner earned media like he can. And to force them to pay 25,000 to 100,000 of this hard fought and won money while he like zealously guards his hundreds of millions is so, I mean, first of all, it's just embarrassing for these Republicans, but it is also just such a perfect microcosm for the GOP today, that he is, that he is getting these people who have no money, bilking them so that he can consolidate more, and he won't
Starting point is 00:26:37 spend a dollar of the money that he has in excess. Tells you everything you need to do about him, which we've known for decades now. Yeah. On that point of Donald Trump's money, he has managed to spend a little bit of money, not on these Republican members of Congress, but on people who are much more near and dear to his heart. Oh, howly cool. Like Natalie Harp. Who?
Starting point is 00:26:58 Natalie. You know, Natalie. Oh, yeah. From the plane. From the plane. From the defenseless flying palace? That's right. Natalie from the palace.
Starting point is 00:27:06 The cart from the, uh... Oh, Natalie from the drink cart. The beverage cart. Catering cart. Catering cart. So Tommy, bring us up to speed on what this story is where Donald Trump actually did manage to open his not just his wallet, but his heart. His heart.
Starting point is 00:27:23 Yeah, the Washington Post broke this news. They found that Trump gave Natalie Harp, remember, she's a 35-year-old staffer who is called the human printer by the other aides in the White House because she follows Trump around with the printer and prints out positive news for him about him. Trump gave her $45,000,
Starting point is 00:27:39 which she listed as cash gift for holidays. He also gave $45 grand to a 31-year-old communications advisor named Margo Martin, another young female aide, 26-year-old named Chamberlain Harris, his executive assistant, and then Walt Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations, got 20 grand. So he took a little bit of a haircut.
Starting point is 00:27:58 But he was also the co-defendant in the classified documents case in Marlago. The only guy who knows for all the skeletons are buried gets a little bit of money too. A little on the side. So, you know, I find it a touch odd that very young women in his office are getting $45,000 holiday bonuses. I mean, just like imagine that you're at a workplace and you learn that this happened and you're just like, Stephen Chung or Stephen Miller or one of these other like close aides who've been around forever. They're like, why am I not getting the kickback? Yeah, not nearly as cute.
Starting point is 00:28:30 Nope. Although you have said Stephen Chung is cute. I'd, yeah. You have a special affinity for him. I like him. I like the cut of his jib. I do. I think it's probably not so surprising considering I think the first thing Trump did before he even became president was pay $130,000 to Stormy Daniels.
Starting point is 00:28:49 True. So this guy has a proclivity to pay young females to basically buy them off, which isn't to say that there's something untoward happening with Natalie Harp or Margo. What's her last name? Martin. Margo Martin or Walt Nauta. But look, it wouldn't be the most surprising thing in the world. And it certainly isn't the first time that Trump, again, has cut a check for some young woman.
Starting point is 00:29:14 It's just weird. It's just really weird. And it's another thing we don't understand that we're just asking questions about. Nobody understands how Natalie Harp like became all of a sudden the person who was with Trump at all times. We also know from some great reporting, I think it was also in the post that she doesn't have a security clearance, but we'll sit in like the most sensitive national security meetings. Well, there might be a compliment to print out from Twitter.
Starting point is 00:29:37 You might have to go to choose social, find something nice about the boss, make them happy. Why is it important that these White House officials not take outside income? Like, I've just kind of for posterity here because it's against the law for this to happen. Yeah, I mean, like, there's just a law against supplementing the income of federal employees with outside sources, presumably so that some, you know, entity can't buy your favor. You know what I mean? Like, imagine if I was working in the White House and the embassy staff and I was also like a consultant for Raytheon. Yeah. That might influence, you know, decision making or something.
Starting point is 00:30:13 Yeah. Well, I think all of this kind of overt lawlessness underscores the need as we head toward midterms to think outside the box here and figure out ways that we can make sure to protect our democracy, which is why, and you alluded to this earlier, did a little campaign this weekend where I stripped down a little bit. Sure did. Showed some skin. Yep. You know. Yep. Oh, I saw.
Starting point is 00:30:40 Took some buttons unbuttoned a little bit. Anyway, I'm in a competition with Brian Tyler Cohen to see who can recruit the most poll workers. I want to win. I want to win this competition, but mainly I want to win these midterms. I saw Good Troubles video, and frankly, I'm disturbed by the growing trend of objectification in politics. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to recruit 5,000 poll workers without resorting to any cheap gimmicks. So if you want to make sure that our elections run smoothly and securely and get paid while doing it,
Starting point is 00:31:12 Click the link in my bio or go to power the polls.org slash BTC. And together, we can show people like good trouble that we can save democracy without stooping to his level. And we were able to recruit 27,000 poll workers. That's a lot of people. Through this scantily clad thirst trap campaign for poll workers. So for anybody who's watching right now, we're going to have Tommy get up on this poll right. here. Oh, I'm doing some pole dancing now. That's right. So I'm going to just set this up. What I liked about your videos is you did a little pole dancing at a club and then you
Starting point is 00:31:53 hopped out of the pool and I saw some more pole dancing. You know what I mean? Go on Tommy. Here's the poll for you. How many people that were a part of this campaign making content for it? So we had about 125 content creators. Oh wow. Okay. Because I only saw you getting yelled out by people on Twitter. Yes. Yes. There was one person who decided to be a hall monitor and say that this was problematic because, of course, it's not problematic when you've got, when you figure out a way to get attention and consenting adults, show a little skin and get 27,000 people to sign up to be poll workers at a time where we desperately need it.
Starting point is 00:32:34 Yeah. It's like, so silly. Anyway, no, that's amazing. Like, truly good for you guys. That's a, that's a tough job to recruit for it too. Yeah. No one knows what it means. Totally.
Starting point is 00:32:45 It's very important. For anybody who's looking to sign up, power the polls.org, I'm going to put that link in the post description of this video and also in the show notes. If you want to do something, and there are a lot of people who want to do something as we head toward this election cycle, who are being made to feel despairing and helpless, this is something that everybody can do. And especially as you've got Trump and Republicans recruiting poll monitors and sending a thousand poll monitors from the DOJ into the states so they can act as Trump's henchmen where people are actually casting their ballots. It is so important to have people who are there who are willing to do the right things and make
Starting point is 00:33:22 sure our elections are safe and secure. So again, make sure if you are looking for something or do that you sign up to be a poll worker. It will have a big impact. Also, another thing you can do is make sure to support independent progressive media. I'm going to put a link to Pod Save America's channel right here on the screen and also in the post description. If you're listening on the podcast, I'm going to throw it in the show notes. And of course, subscribe to this channel so that you could see more episodes with me and Tommy. And more of Brian's poll. That's right.
Starting point is 00:33:49 Thanks again to Javier Bacera and Tommy Vitor. That's it for this episode. Talk to you on Sunday. You've been listening to No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen. Produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesie, and interviews edited for YouTube by Nicholas Nicotera. If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app and leave a five-star rating in a review.
Starting point is 00:34:08 And as always, you can find me at Brian Tyler Cohen on all of my other channels, or you can go to Brian Tyler Cohen.com to learn more. hour. You know,

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