No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Trump makes BOMBSHELL CONFESSION, leaves his own party FURIOUS

Episode Date: June 24, 2026

Trump shoots himself in the foot by torpedoing one piece of legislation that’s actually popular. Brian interviews ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia.Pre-order The Day After & get tour tickets: https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/thedayafterWritten 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.

Trump shoots himself in the foot by torpedoing one piece of legislation that is actually popular. And I interview ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to No Lie. To the very obvious dismay of his own party, Trump just made a public admission that's doing the GOP no favors. The housing bill that you didn't sign today. I said it. I don't know the housing bill. I want to see what happens.

We said, look, the housing bill is, I made billions of dollars with housing. I know housing better than anybody may be anywhere. It's all about the interest rate. Lower the interest rates, you can have all the housing you want. But you have to understand, I don't want to hurt people that own houses, too. These people, for the first time in their lives, they have valuable houses. They become rich. I don't want to hurt them either.

What you want to do is, what, good for everyone? Get the interest rates down. We have this numbs call that was the head of the Fed before. than he's a stupid person. And we call him too late because he was too late with the interest rates all the time. We need low interest rates. Low interest rates will solve everything. We'll solve that.

Now, despite that, we're doing well with housing. All right, so here's the deal. There was a big bipartisan housing bill that passed both chambers of Congress easily. The bill would increase our housing supply while lowering costs by reducing federal regulations and restrict corporations from both. buying up single-family homes. Good stuff all around. And most importantly, it is something that Trump himself campaigned on. We will open up new tracks of federal land for large-scale housing construction so that we can get housing on the market. Housing affordability crisis. It's too expensive to build

the homes and they're building them and they cost a fortune. So it's a no-brainer. This was your campaign promise. You've got a bill ready to be signed. And what does Trump do? He decides he's not signing it because he wants to use it as leverage to pass the Save America Act, which would give the federal government unprecedented control over elections, make it more difficult for people, particularly women, to vote, and so on. It is a bill that will never pass, need 60 votes, zero Democrats will vote for the Senate, meaning this whole effort is DOA. And Trump has zero leverage. So in effect, he is just tanking his own campaign promise on housing for a doomed effort at passing a separate bill that will never pass.

But that confession that he made really does give the game away because that soundbite shows the truth that yet again he had zero intention of ever seeing that legislation pass, ever seeing any reform on housing. And despite his countless promises about housing on the campaign trail, suddenly he just decided that the only way to bring down the cost of housing is to lower the interest rates. Only small problem, what happens when you lower interest rates?

Inflation goes up, which means prices rise. And given the fact that inflation is already 33% higher than when Biden left office, perhaps the reason that too late Jerome Powell isn't letting interest rates plummet is because he is actually focused on preventing the economy from heating up too fast and watching inflation surge, which, if my memory serves me correctly, is the one thing that Republicans exploited more than anything else to actually win the 2024 election. So inflation is apparently very bad when it happens at the hands of Democrats,

but very good when it happens at the hands of Republicans. And look, of course Republicans don't care about inflation now that they're in charge. Of course they don't care about housing now that they're in charge. Of course, they'll let every single one of their promises lapse now that they're in charge. Because they never actually cared about any of it. It was all just window dressing.

It was the glossy veneer of populism. He doesn't care about housing just like he doesn't care about lowering costs. That's why he launched a trade war that's then cost surging. Just like he doesn't care about making health care more affordable. that's why he gunned it for tens of millions of Americans, just like he doesn't care about releasing the Epstein files, which is why he's actively engaged in a cover-up, and the rest of his party lets him.

They are in office to serve him, not you. So at this point, like, the game is up. I don't know how a single Republican voter out there can believe that party when they are looking for any excuse not to deliver on their own promises, even when those opportunities are handed to them on a silver platter, as this housing bill was. Yet again, Trump is positioning himself squarely in the palm of his well.

wealthy donors who, as he says, don't want their property values to go down because of a scourge of lowly plebs who can suddenly afford to own a home, God forbid. Couldn't possibly have that. So yet again, he'll look out for the rich and leave working-class Americans twisting in the wind. That is your populous champion, proving yet again who he actually works for. Next up is my interview with Robert Garcia. But first, a quick reminder that my new book, the day after, is available for pre-order. So if you'd like to support my work, if you enjoy this podcast, the best way to support me is to pre-order this book.

I'll also be on tour. So if you live in New York, D.C. or L.A., I'd love to see you mid-July on the road. I'm going to put a link to order the book and to grab tour tickets in the show notes of this episode. It's the same link. Again, I'd really appreciate if you would support me in that way. Okay. Here's my interview with Robert Garcia.

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50% at selectquote.com slash BTC. Save more than 50% on term life. insurance at selectquote.com slash BTC today to get started. That's selectquote.com slash BTC. I'm joined now by the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia. Congressman, we have a major update now as far as the Oversight Committee is concerned in this new reflecting pool scandal that's kind of consumed the Trump administration over the last few days. Can you explain the letter that you just sent?

First, what a complete disaster on Donald Trump's part. I mean, he's so obsessed with creating vanity projects for himself. And it's not just a reflecting pool, right? It's the ballroom. It's this arch. It's what he did, try to do at the Kennedy Center. So the pool is just the latest example of, quite frankly, not just how Donald Trump views himself and monuments he wants to create to himself, but also corruption.

And as it relates to the pool, it's a complete, complete fuckup. You have a pool right now, which we spend about $14 million. There were two businesses that got contracts with no bid, basically. Trump is we handed the contracts. One of those is a huge Trump donor, by the way. And now you look at the work and the whole pool is falling apart. Algae's out of control. Wildlife is being hurt.

The paint job is completely ruined. They reclosed the reflecting pool. National Guard are arresting people around the pool. It's another example of Trump. Anything he touches, he just destroys. And so we want to know. What happened? We want to understand from these two contractors, like, how did they get the contract?

What did the White House communicate to them? What was the expectation? And so there's clearly something here, and it's another example, and we want to bring light to them. The American people care about it. If the oversight committee was led by somebody who was actually interested in upholding the law, is it lawful for Trump to have awarded these no-bid contracts, basically not only to his pals, but his pals who were clearly...

grossly unqualified for this job? Well, look, the president does have some ability to award certain contracts, but you've got to go through a process that awards the best person for the job. Yeah. And that just does not seem to be the case here. I mean, who were these companies vetted? Clearly, one is the Trump donor? Clearly, neither could do the job.

One of the companies had only done one other federal contract in their entire business career. I mean, it's completely ridiculous that friends of the president are getting these massive multi-million dollar deals and Trump's directing what he wants. And then these projects are falling apart. And this is all part of Donald Trump trying to leave some type of legacy in D.C. The only legacy he's leaving is complete disaster. And so oversight's going to be investigating. Look, we're already investigating in the ballroom.

We're looking at obviously the pool. there's a lot more here. And I think folks are going to hear in the days and weeks ahead, we are planning really a major review of all of these monuments and all of these actions that are really, I think, damaging D.C. and really just sidestepping the responsibility of Congress to approve and oversee these projects. Is there any buy-in from James Comer or Republicans or as far as they can, as far as they're concerned, Donald Trump can do no wrong? Yeah, they don't care about oversight. They care about a rubber stamping whatever Donald Trump wants to do.

I mean, Donald Trump is completely, I mean, in my opinion, is like he's falling asleep at meetings. He's saying weird stuff all the time. He's more focused on fixing the reflecting pool than the cost of people's groceries going up, the cost of gas. And I think that's why this reflecting pool issue is really like, I think, hit the American public a certain way. And the reason why everyone's talking about it is because people realize that why is the

government spending so much time and energy and resources on the pool when it was perfectly fine when prices are going up, when people can't afford the rent, when health care is being rolled back. And so the priorities here are just completely off. We're going to war and a war that nobody wants. We're spending money on fixing up monuments while people can't afford child care and food on the table. And that's, I think, the big issue. Well, you know, the Republicans in right-wing media will say that, you know, as if they're born yesterday, they'll just say, oh, this is the Democrats' fault for focusing on all of this. And it's a reflection of the Democrats' priorities. And so what would you say to that? It's not our priority. We're not the ones trying to direct money

for vanity projects. We're not the one trying to destroy a memorial to President Kennedy. We're not the one that raised part of the White House with no oversight and then try to get permission after the fact. This has all been directed by Donald Trump. And I think for us, we're trying to hold Trump and his administration accountable for all the wrong, whether it's the Qatari plane he's about to get, whether it's stealing billions of dollars, whether it's enriching his family, for God knows how much money with his crypto scheme, selling pardon, selling access to the White House. These are serious, in our opinion, really, really serious possible crimes. But things like the pool, those they also matter because these are national

treasures. I mean, these are things that people know. And where I talk to folks and talking to folks here in D.C., they view it as corruption. You're giving contracts to friends. And if it's going to happen at the pool, it's certainly happening at the Pentagon and it's happening everywhere else. Right. Right. I mean, Don Jr.'s $620 million contract for a startup that he was a part of is a testament to exactly that. Congressman, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it's It seems to me like you may not be on board with the whole elusive vandals coming under the cloak of darkness to cut a football field length gash in the pool lining. I mean, that is like the biggest bullshit of all time. I mean, Donald Trump obviously is a liar.

But he's this guy is the biggest liar, the history of American politics. I mean, the gaslighting to actually tell the American people and the press that, you know, someone somehow, somehow someone went by. and slashed the bottom of the pool and that were vandalism somehow is what created all the algae. Give me a break. We're all seeing, we all have eyes. Yeah. Like we're all seeing what's going on with the pool. We're all seeing the paint come up to the top.

We're all seeing the massive amounts of algae. We're all seeing the workers dumping in chemicals try to fix the problem. And we're all seeing the wildlife that, of course, it's just sad. The whole thing is upsetting and sad. And I think that on top of that, that's where Donald Trump's attention is. He holds these huge press conferences in the Oval Office to talk about the ballroom or talk about the arch. And give me a break. Hold a press conference to talk about lowering gas prices or ending this war that costs us over a billion dollars a day.

This is just, again, why the hell are we as anyone supporting Donald Trump anymore at this point? The guy's lost it. He's lost it. And it's time for the Republican Party to honestly grow a pair and take him on. It's just not happening. No lie is brought to you by Hymns. So you've got weight loss goals, but hitting them is another story. Enter Weight Loss by Hymns.

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BTC. HIMS.com slash BTC. Weight loss by HIMS is not available in all 50 states. Willgovi is the registered trademark of Novo Nordisk AS. To get started and learn more, including important safety information, Wagovi clinical study information and restrictions, visit Hymns.com. Well, in terms of holding a press conference about lowering costs, that was literally on the docket for today. We're recording this on Wednesday. Republicans were supposed to have this big bill signing ceremony for the housing bill,

a bipartisan achievement that would for once actually show that Donald Trump was holding true to one small aspect of his agenda, and even that was canceled. And so can I get your reaction to the fact that Donald Trump decided that it was more important to hold the housing bill hostage so that he can try

and rig future elections than actually deliver some semblance of affordability to Americans? I mean, crazy that, for once Congress was able to get together and do something that my partisan way.

It's a massive housing bill. People have been working on this. Pieces of this for years, by the way. And everyone agrees, I mean, whether from Elizabeth Warren, or aren't some of the more conservative members in the senator in the House that this could actually help lower costs. It could accelerate building. It could really help people get finance. All those things are possible. And it's passed the Senate and the House. Donald Trump has a

signing ceremony ready in the Capitol. And it chooses to not attend and cancel the ceremony as it was about to start because he's interested in passing this idiotic save act. that all that does is basically make it harder for people to vote, especially for women or people that have recently moved. I mean, it's crazy. And it's going to get nowhere in the Senate. So Donald Trump just does not care about people. He cares about himself, his pet projects, and Reagan elections.

I just don't understand. Maybe you can help shine a light on this. What Trump has to gain from this. The Save Act, as you said, is going nowhere. It requires 60 votes. That means you need Democrats to cross over and support this. thing. You're not going to have any Democrats who are going to support this thing. So recognizing that there is no avenue for the Save Act to move forward, why hold his own

achievement hostage for something that is DOA? Because he doesn't really care about it. Right. He just doesn't care about things that actually are going to make life more affordable for a working family. He doesn't care. And I think that's pretty clear. What he does care about is building himself a new ballroom and he cares about giving

his friends' contracts, he cares about enriching his family and his sons. You know, Donald Trump has become infinitely wealthier. His friends have gotten a bunch of tax cuts. Companies that he's invested in are now growing. I mean, it's happening. I mean, this is a corrupt president and a corrupt administration. And I think we have to be those of us on the left and those of us, whether it's Democrats or progressives, we've got to be louder. push stronger because the American people are with us. We've just got to be more aggressive. In terms of what the mechanics are of next steps here, if Donald Trump's not going to sign this, can you speak about what different avenues can take place for this to either get vetoed, pocket

vetoed become law, just give like a kind of a process update? I mean, he could still become law, obviously, you know, Donald Trump could just allow it to become to become law. He could do a, I think he's going to do a signing ceremony. I think the pressure amongst Republican senators, I think he's going to be pressured into doing the right thing. And the American public, including his base, should push that. But now we don't know. I mean, he's holding the House hostage as well. If we were going to have a series of votes, that's off the table.

Republicans can't get their act together to get basic votes onto the floor. And we're now waiting for what's going to happen on this big housing bill. It's basically just Republican dysfunction. And I think it's time for a big change. And I hope the American public is ready. We need to turn the page on the Trump era. This has been the worst moments in modern American history. And you have this corrupt president who's clearly not interested in helping anybody but himself

and his family. And my guess is at some point he's going to sign his housing bill. I mean, he has to. But the fact that he's holding the country hostage, I think is really unfortunate. Yeah. And again, like you said, puts his own priorities on full display. Because this was an opportunity for him to take a bipartisan win. and actually hold true to his own agenda,

and he cares so little about this that he wasn't even willing to do exactly bad. With that said, Congressman, thank you so much for taking the time. Appreciate it. Thanks so much. Thanks again to Robert Garcia. 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.

And as always, you can find me at Brian Tyler, Cohen on all of my other channels, or you can go to bryantaylorcoen.com to learn more.