Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 24 | The Reality Show Continues

Episode Date: July 31, 2018

I'll catch you up on the latest episode of the Trump reality show that contains all the ingredients of a wholesome tale of American greatness: porn stars, hush money and Russian spies. Then, another Thing I Just Don't Get.  Copyright CRTV. All rights reserved.

Hey guys, welcome to the podcast Relatable. It is me, Ali Stucky, always bringing you an honest take on culture, Bible matters, and political news. I try to do one newsday and one topical day per week. And that's what we're going to do this week. So today we're going to talk about this drama we keep hearing about between Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen and Trump's other lawyer and media spokesperson Rudy Giuliani. We are going to discuss the media as doomsday coverage of this stuff and what else is going on. Trump's presidency. We don't really talk about Trump all that much on this show, but today we're going to. And as is typical on this show, this news is like kind of a week old or it's been in the news for a week. But that's what we do. We kind of take our time and then we analyze things looking back. That's just how this podcast goes. Then Thursday, we're going to talk about democratic socialism, what it is exactly why young people are so attracted to it. And we will also dispel this stupid myth once again that Jesus was a socialist. But for today, Trump, playboy models, an affair, hush money, secret meetings with Russians, attorney Michael Cohen, tapes, the presidency,

and to top it all off, former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani. The makings of a wholesome story of American greatness, right? I mean, really. The past two or three years of our lives have been really nothing short of a reality show because of who Trump is, of course, as a former reality show star. So it's really no surprise that there's been this much drama surrounding him. And you kind of wonder if all of this is part of Trump's scheme to keep the focus on him. His approval ratings might not be that high, but the ratings that account for how many eyes are on the presidency to praise or to criticize is probably at an all-time high. Even the whole Russian collusion story, which Trump adamantly denies being a part of. Even that keeps the attention on Trump and it also offers him an opportunity

to be a victim of the so-called deep state, further solidifying his basis of support for him. But anyway, that's kind of down a rabbit hole. We only have time for one part of the drama today. And that is number one, the recent news about President Trump, his attorney Michael Cohen and a tape from 2016 months before the election where President Trump is recorded discussing hush money to Karen McDougal, a former playboy model and his alleged lover back in 2006 while Trump was married to Melania and just months after she had given birth to their son, Baron. Great stuff. And number two, the possibility of Trump knowing about the infamous Trump Tower meeting pre-election between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer who may or may not have promised dirt on Hillary Clinton.

If you don't know what any of that means, that is okay. I am here to guide you. And don't worry. we will break it down as simply as possible. So first, why does any of this matter? Well, actually, I don't think it matters all that much. As far as Trump's presidency and the 2018 and 2020 elections go. But I do think that it's worth talking about. I only talk about things that I think are worth talking about. And I do think it's worth talking about the breadth of this investigation,

the media is reporting. And also, we should talk about what's going on beneath the surface of all of this stuff. But first, just so we can understand the headlines that have been bombarding us about this for the past week, let's break down the current episode of the Trump soap opera. So I want to back up because most of you guys, I think, and I think I know my audience pretty well, you don't spend all day and night watching the news and following every second of the Trump presidency, which is normal. You guys have lives. You should not feel badly about that. You should feel really good about that. This is why when I talk about stories like this, though, I'd like to back all the way up and pretend that we're starting from zero.

So first, there is an investigation into Donald Trump and his presidential campaign led by special counsel Robert Mueller, Mueller, Mueller, who even knows, to find out whether or not Trump's campaign colluded with the Russians, whom the FBI tells us, definitely meddled in our elections somehow in order to win the presidency. but the investigation has gone much wider than its initial purpose. That is why some people say the investigation is a witch hunt led by the deep state because we're hearing about porn stars and payments and we're not hearing anything about evidence of Russian collusion. But supporters of the investigation and Mueller say, while the FBI has the responsibility to pursue crimes where they see them, so if in their routine investigative process they find crimes that don't have to do with Russian collusion but are still crimes, they have the obligation to uncover them.

I tend to agree with the latter. Now, do I think this investigation has gone on too long without evidence? Yes. But remember, the Kinstar investigation that led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton was not about Monica Lewinsky to begin with. It expanded to that point and ultimately Clinton was charged for perjury and obstruction of justice. And of course, later he was acquitted.

But that's besides the point. The point is that investigations often expand. that is, you know, sometimes a necessary part of delivering justice. Now, on to Michael Cohen. He is the longtime attorney and close friend of President Trump. He has been known as the keeper of Trump's secrets. Trump has no doubt made Cohen a very rich man, has likely trusted him with the darkest and most illicit parts of his life,

and has entrusted Cohen with the responsibility of keeping him out of hot water. Now, that is not unique to Trump. You could say, well, that makes Trump a sketchy guy. Maybe. there are other things that make Trump sketchy, but that's not really unique. This is what a lot of rich people in Hollywood do. Instead of staying out of trouble,

they get into trouble and then they pay someone to keep them from having to pay the consequences for the trouble that they've gotten themselves into. Cohen has been a fierce offender of Donald Trump. He's been called Trump's Pit Bull. Apparently people have referred to him as Tom, which is in reference to Tom Hagan of the Godfather movies who served as the mob family's lawyer.

Cohen told ABC News in 2011, It means that if, so the nickname Tom, I guess, it means that if somebody does something Mr. Trump doesn't like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr. Trump's benefit. If you do something wrong, I'm going to come at you, grab you by the neck, and I'm not going to let go until I'm finished. That is Michael Cohen. His closeness to Trump and his outspoken willingness to do whatever it takes to protect Trump, of course, made him a person of interest to special counsel Robert Mueller. Robert Mueller and his FBI team raided Cohen's office in April. According to the Washington Post in April, Cohen is, quote, now under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud, and campaign finance violations. Investigators took Cohen's computer as foam, personal financial records, including tax returns, communication between Trump and Cohen were also seized.

People were really upset about this when it happened back in April because this raid seemed to show, like we just addressed, a few seconds ago, how why the scope of Mueller's investigation had gone. It started out with investigating Russian collusion, and now he was raiding the office of Trump's personal lawyer and looking into hush money to porn stars. People were calling it a witch hunt. They also said that this violates attorney-client privilege between Cohen and Donald Trump, but attorney-client privilege does not apply if you're breaking the law. with your attorney. Attorney-client privilege doesn't put someone above the law. Critics also pointed out that the

FBI never treated Clinton, Hillary Clinton, the way or that way and that harsh of a manner, even though she deleted 33,000 emails from a private server. The FBI treated her and her lawyer, Cheryl Mills, much more softly, and that much is true. But we don't really have that much time to worry about that right now because we still want to know what's going on in the investigation of the president of the United States. So that was the raid that occurred in April by Robert Mueller, and we still don't know the contents and the nature of all of the materials that were seized in that raid. What we know they seized was a taped, sorry, a taped conversation between Chris Cuomo of CNN and Michael Cohen discussing the $130,000 paid as hush money in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels.

you guys know who she is, who also claims to have had sex with Trump a decade ago that Cohen claimed was a private transaction having nothing to do with Trump. Trump didn't know about it. He claims Trump had zero involvement whatsoever, zero knowledge. Prosecutors are still looking into whether or not Trump actually did know about it because Rudy Giuliani has said that Trump did know about it and reimbursed him. And so prosecutors are looking into whether or not this constitutes his campaign finance violation. Here's what the Wall Street Journal says. If Mr. Cohen did pay Ms. Clifford,

a.k.a. Stormy Daniels, to help the candidate's chances of being elected, he and the campaign may have violated campaign finance law by making an in-kind contribution, exceeding the legal limit, and by not disclosing the contribution. And if Trump knew about this, then that could be a big problem for him. But Stormy Daniels wasn't the only woman who claimed to have sex with Trump, who Cohen wanted to keep hushed. Another tape that was seized in the FBI raid and then aired on CNN last week was a recording of a conversation between Cohen and Trump that Cohen apparently secretly recorded in which Cohen suggested that they buy the rights to the story of Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says that she had a 10-month affair with Trump in 2006. She sold her story to the National Enquirer for $150,000. And now Trump and Cohen wanted to, and then Trump and Cohen wanted to, and then Trump and Cohen wanted to. buy the story from them. Cohen created a shelf company in Delaware in order to do this,

but the deal ended up falling through and they never actually bought the rights to the story. So people on the left and those who don't like Trump are saying that this could have also been a campaign finance violation if Trump knew why this transaction was happening. Well, the thing about that is that one, it didn't actually end up happening. And number two, it's not clear from the tape that Trump did know about the details of all this. The real drama in all of that isn't the tape itself. We already knew about Karen McDougal. She had a long CNN interview in March in which she was crying.

She apologized to Melania for sleeping with her husband. So that wasn't really news. And the whole buying the rights to the story isn't really news either because it didn't end up happening. And not a single person, not a single person on Earth is surprised to learn that Donald Trump had affairs with porn stars and playmates, okay? The big drama is that Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime lawyer, and Trump himself, are not getting along. After the tape was aired on CNN, Trump tweeted this.

This is last week. What kind of lawyer would tape a client? So sad. Is this at first? Never heard of it before? Question mark. Why was the tape so abruptly terminated, parentheses cut, while I was presumably saying positive things? I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped.

Can this be so too bad? So I think Trump is right to be upset about this. It's pretty sketchy, but it's not illegal. It's not against the law. New York, like Texas, where I am from, is a one-party consent state when it comes to recordings. And Cohen actually made a habit of recording conversations, apparently. On Sunday, Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's current attorney said on CBS's Face the Nation that there are 183 unique conversations recorded by Cohen that he has been able to be

able to listen to that he hopes the nation gets to hear. He is pushing for the nation to get to hear these as he believes these recordings will vindicate Donald Trump. Juliani, the famous mayor who helped rebuild New York City, particularly during and after 9-11, whom I have also met myself and worked with once in my life in a PR capacity. He is making the media rounds as he usually does when there are accusations out about the president. And he is going after Michael Cohen as a liar. And that's not just because Cohen somewhat surreptitiously recorded conversations between him and Trump, but because, according to CNN, Cohen said that Trump knew beforehand about the infamous Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer who apparently promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, and reports say that Cohen is going to tell this to Mueller in an effort to relieve some of the pressure on him.

Giuliani says, that is a lie. that's not true. Trump and Trump Jr. have denied that Trump knew anything about this. But Cohen says he was there when Trump Jr. told Trump Sr. about the meeting. Giuliani says no way. Here is Giuliani on Fox News Sunday calling Cohen a liar. Cohen's latest so-called revelation is that he reportedly is prepared to tell the special counsel, the Robert Mueller, that he was witnessed to a conversation which President Trump knew in advance about the Trump Tower meeting that Don Jr. and Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, we're going to meet with a Russian lawyer. That contradicts what President Trump told the New York

Times last summer. Take a look. Did you know the time that they had to be done? No, I didn't know anything about them. But you know, this must have been a very important, must have been a very unimportant meeting because I never even heard about it. Now, the president repeated this week. He did not know in advance of the Trump Tower meeting. But let's explore this for a moment. If, I repeat, if he did know, if in fact he did lie to the New York Times last summer when he said he didn't know, is there anything wrong with that? Well, yeah, I guess there's something wrong with it on an ethical moral basis. If you got prosecuted for lying to the newspapers of the press, my God, I mean, Cohen should go to jail

for a thousand years. His tapes are filled with lies, including the most basic of all. He wasn't recording it. But no, he didn't lie to them. Cohen is reported, this is a leak now, so I don't, he may change it. Cohen, you have to pick the day to figure out the story. So Cohen said that he was president at two different meetings. He's president in a meeting with Donald Jr., Jared, a group of other people, in which they talked about the meeting two days later with the Russians. Then he says he was president in meeting the day of the meeting in the president's office

in which either Donald Jr., Jared or a few people came in and told the president. every other participant in both those meetings say it is not true there was no such meeting in advance there was no such interruption if he taped everything else why the heck didn't he tape this it's not on tape okay and juliani raises a good question uh Cohen apparently recorded lots of conversations between him and Trump uh him and reporters I wonder why he didn't record that meeting if it really happened so what does all of this mean well not much yet it matters is not because of what we know, but because of what we don't know.

We don't know what other recorded conversations Cohen has that now the FBI has. We don't know what information Cohen has on Trump since he and Trump are now at odds. But unless Trump is actually found guilty of a crime, none of this is going to have an effect on the midterm elections coming up and probably not on 2020 either. Now, a lot could happen in a few months and definitely before 2020. but the media's exaggeration of all of this is right now just misguided. They are, per usual, acting as if this is the end of the Trump presidency, as they have been since the FBI raided Michael Cohen's office and probably before that.

But there's no evidence going, there's no evidence that is actually going in that direction yet. But this is all, this is really all that the media wants to talk about because if they don't, they might have to actually report on the good things that Donald Trump is doing for the country because the truth is Trump's approval rating, despite all of his negative coverage, is going up instead of down. MSNBC actually reported that his approval rating is at 45%, which is not good in general, but is good for him.

And among Republicans, it's at 88%, which is the highest that it's ever been among Republicans. He's had a lot to brag about this week, last week. GDP growth is the highest that it's been in four years. 4.1%. It looks like Trump's tariffs might actually be successful in scuriting a trade war and accomplishing the fair trade that he's been harping on. Even the New York Times is reported that the economy has hit a high note. Also, the remains of 55 Americans who died in the Korean War were returned to the U.S. from North Korea. So policy-wise, actual tangible things wise, it's going pretty well for Trump. And I think that's what his supporters really care about. I think most of America

has stopped listening when it comes to the Russian investigation and Robert Mueller because, one, they don't trust the media and for good reason, because many of the media have proven themselves to be anti-Trump activists rather than truth tellers. And number two, they believe that the investigation is a witch hunt and so immediately disbelieve anything they hear from Mueller's investigation and especially from the media via Mueller's investigation. Plus, everyone who supports Trump and everyone who doesn't knows that Trump isn't a saint. So none of this is any surprise to us. People didn't vote for him because they thought he was a good person.

They voted for him because they felt that Trump was going to protect their values much more than Hillary Clinton would. That's why, for example, evangelical Christians in general still support Trump. Now, I know that there are some prominent evangelicals who seem to have completely sold out to the Trump train, but I think in general Christians who support Trump do so, not because they're in love with him, but because he represents or kind of represents our values. Not really. It's because he protects our values, way more than because he represents them. Or he protects our freedom to hold these values, rather than actively demonize them and target them the way that Christians felt the Obama administration did,

like through the IRS Lois Learner scandal, for example. Now, I personally, as I have spoken to, about on this podcast believe that morality does matter when it comes to leadership and that decency does matter that you can't just say over and over again forever that all that matters is policy. Would you really elect a serial killer just because this person believes in securing the border? Of course not. Hopefully not. But with Trump, I think it's very difficult to look at what Trump has done for the economy

and boosting the judiciary with solid judges and not be willing to overlook his personal flaws in order to vote for him again. Now, if he were ever found guilty of rushing collusion, which I don't think that he will be, but if he ever were, then of course, that would be traitorous and unforgivable, and it wouldn't matter what he did to lower taxes, at least to me. But as far as the sexual stuff goes, as far as his tactless tweets, his personal life, I think it's pretty easy for most of his supporters to say, meh, we're not really that surprise to learn about these affairs anyway.

and he's doing good things for us. So who really cares? I do think, though, that like I've said, as a Christian, that even though I like a lot of what Trump has done, my position should always be one of skepticism and never one of complacency regarding Trump's morality. I don't have to pretend that sleeping around is suddenly good or excusable. I don't want to make excuses for Trump. I'm not going to pretend like some Trump supporters do.

Like Trump has some amazing Messiah-like figure with only good. intentions. I just don't think that's true. And I guess that's okay. I don't even know if the guy is truly a born-again Christian. Maybe he is. I truly hope that he is. I really do. But it's not necessarily readily apparent. So the people who are claiming so boldly on the right that he is, that he is a born-again Christian, awesome, probably need to slow their role just a little bit. but with all of this in mind as Christians, it is our responsibility to, one, pray for Trump, no matter what we think of him, pray that if he's not a Christian, that he becomes one, that God would give him wisdom and success.

And two, to acknowledge immorality when it's there, but to be able to be clear-headed when it comes to the effectiveness of his policies, weigh the good with the bad. I haven't taken a poll, but I would wager, that's how a lot of Christian Trump supporters feel and maybe non-Christian Trump supporters too. His administration has overseen the defeat of ISIS engaged in peace talks with North Korea. Kind of. You can go and listen to my previous podcast on that subject to hear my critical thoughts on that. Hopefully he is in the midst of lowering tariffs with China and Europe accomplished tax reform. Like I said earlier, appointed several solid judges to the judiciary, achieved 4.1% growth, the highest in four years.

He's at least rhetorically pushed to secure the border. The list goes on. all of that, and he's waged a culture war that many conservatives feel needed to be waged. He has glorified patriotism again after it had been villainized under Obama. He's challenged political correctness, which many people felt was ruining our country. And really just overall, he has pushed back on the progressive revolution that was absolutely dominating society while Obama was president. Conservatives and conservative Christians felt like they had to be quiet and apologetic under Obama. And Trump in office makes the...

them feel like they have a voice again, that they matter. Jeff Sessions just announced on Monday a religious liberty task force. The Washington Times says this. In October, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a directive outlining a broad interpretation of religious freedom protections. It provided support for employers making hiring decisions based on their faith or objecting to providing health insurance for birth control. The task force will follow up on that directive. Mr. Sessions said on Monday. will facilitate Justice Department compliance with the memo, facilitate coordination with it across government agencies, and reach out to religious organizations for feedback and develop

new policies and strategies to protect religious freedoms. I think that this is a big deal for Christians who might still have qualms with Trump personally. They feel that he is fighting for them. Now, I believe that all Trump, now, I believe that all Trump needs to do, really, in order to make it almost impossible, impossible for a conservative, especially conservative Christian, not to vote for him in 2020 is number one, to secure the border. People really care about that. And number two, to defund Planned Parenthood. I think most conservatives will probably vote for Trump regardless because he's turned out to be a lot better than any of us thought. And most Republicans are concerned with the economy. But immigration is a top issue. And defunding Planned Parenthood

would really, I think, just be the nail in the coffin of any possibility of voting for anyone than Trump? Because with the defunding of Planned Parenthood, it becomes a very moral dilemma for conservatives who would otherwise not vote for Trump based on conscience. Then, even if you don't like Trump's indecency, it would be like, are you really going to prioritize Trump's decade-old sexual promiscuity over the potential saving of unborn baby's lives? Like, do you really care more about Trump's sex life than you do about defunding the number one abortion provider in the country? I think this would be an issue that would secure the votes of some Trump's skeptical Christians. These are the things that are going to matter.

We can talk about tapes and porn stars and these things could end up having significance if they implicate the president, if they show that somewhere along the way Trump has broken the law. But until something substantial has actually brought forward against Trump by Mueller's team, I guarantee you most of the country does not care. I bet 80, I bet, I bet this. saying this to my husband last night. I bet 85% of the country has no idea who Robert Mueller is. So you guys are way ahead of the curb and will sound very informed when your CNN loving boss brings up the Russia probe at your next employee outing. Okay, moving on to our ending segment

that has nothing to do with Donald Trump. I've heard from a lot of you guys that your favorite segment is things I just don't get. So I am happy to oblige. Although I think I kind of ruined this segment for my podcast because I typically think of something I don't get and then rant about it on my Instagram story. So you might just get it twice. But maybe you don't even follow me on Instagram. I don't know. Regardless, today's thing I don't get is the feminist, people who claim to be feminist, who pose naked or almost naked for pictures in the name of female empowerment slash feminism. This is not going to be a popular opinion. I understand that. I understand that. I'm I'm probably going to get hate from all sides.

Whatever. I don't really care. You guys know that. This trend is just hilarious to me. Like in the wake of the Me Too movement, which I've discussed the pros and cons of in the past, I feel like there's been a push for this kind of unreserved immodesty among women, even in Christian circles. It's like, I'm so confident and I love myself so much that I am willing to put my

naked self out there. Look at me, except don't look at me. Except do look at me because I think that sexuality is a beautiful thing, but I don't want to be sexualized, but I want you to see my soul in my heart. But here's a picture of me and a thong on the beach. But don't look at my body. Look at my soul. Of course, in Christian circles, it's like, I'm confident in the body that God gave me and Jesus loves my body. Blah, gross. Now, people have been sexualizing themselves for money and attention forever, but I'm not sure it's ever been presented as virtuously as it is now. It's like moral or something to just love yourself

so much that you're willing to show off your body. And these people also argue, these same people argue that guys should not be looking at them and objectifying them, that they don't want to be seen as sexual objects, that they want to be known for who they are as a person, for their mind and their spirit. Okay, great. Then maybe don't post pictures of your boobs on Instagram. because if you do, you're going to be objectified by men. You are. Now, I'm not saying that it's right of men to objectify women. It's not.

It's gross. But a man's sin of objectifying a woman doesn't negate the woman's responsibility to present herself in a way that is respectable. Now, these women say, well, guys shouldn't be looking. L.O.L. Okay, that's what I have to say to that. It's super cute to think that we're going to change millennia of biology by saying guys shouldn't look.

If the new thing is to post pictures of yourself naked or close to naked in the name of empowerment, then feminism is the greatest gift anyone could have ever given to the so-called patriarchy. Great. Now guys don't have to go looking for porn because they can just scroll on Instagram and they know that girls are going to post naked pictures of themselves and claim that they're doing so virtuously. And look, I think that most of the time women can't help it and we can't always concern ourselves. with guys looking because guys are gross and it really doesn't matter what a girl is wearing. A guy might still objectify you.

That's not a girl's fault, obviously. But if you are posting naked or close to naked pictures of yourself, you are going to be drolled over. And here's my theory. Here's the even hotter take. I really don't think that these women who say guys shouldn't be looking and objectifying me actually want guys to not look. I think the women who are posting naked pictures of themselves in the name of empowerment are still probably seeking affirmation for men. If feminism is about posting naked pictures of yourself and saying, I'm confident in my sexuality, God made this body, so I'm just going to show it off.

Thank you, congratulations, feminist. You have truly played yourself. In the name of empowerment, you have made it easier for every gross guy in America to objectify you. Awesome, awesome job. You guys know that I'm not some legalistic prude. I'm not talking about wearing a potato sack. Loose fitting dresses, for example, don't work for TV, which is why all of my dresses are fitted. Heck, I have had old woman message me on Facebook and tell me my shirts are too low.

And I also believe that leggings or pants despite what my mom says. But I am talking about having some common sense when it comes to how we present ourselves based on what we want people to think of us. And you can say all you want to. people judge me, that's their fault. Sure. But why not have how you present yourself be reflective of how you want people to see you? And specifically for the Christian woman, we always have to remind ourselves that our body is for God and or our husband. Really radical view nowadays. No one else. When God says that our body is a temple, he means it's holy. We should be treating it

as such, presenting it as such. You guys already know my peep of girls who post-skirts, scandalous pictures of themselves with the Bible verse is the caption. But as Christians, the great and liberating truth is that our confidence comes from Christ, that we are beautiful because he says that we are and we don't need Instagram affirmation or attention to make us feel valuable. Now, you may be thinking, Allie, I can do what I want to. Yes, you can. You absolutely can. And I will love you no matter what because I am your friend. But just a reminder that how we present ourselves to the world does actually matter. Okay, that's it for today. I hope you guys enjoyed this. I love you guys. Follow me on social media. If you so desire Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,

please leave me a positive five-star review on this podcast if you want to. Don't forget to subscribe to CRTV so that you can watch my face as I'm giving you this podcast if you would like. And I hope everyone has a great day. See you on Thursday.