The Chris Cuomo Project - Chris Cuomo RIPS Trump’s DC Takeover as Political Theater

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

Donald Trump has declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., invoking federal power to take temporary control of the city’s police force. Chris Cuomo breaks down what this move really means — why it may resonate with voters who like a show of force, and why Democrats risk losing the argument if they frame it the wrong way. Chris explores whether deploying the National Guard and military-style policing actually reduces crime, the deeper social conditions fueling violence, and how the politics of “law and order” shape public perception. Is this about safety — or strategy? Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Join Chris Ad-Free On Substack: http://thechriscuomoproject.substack.com Support our sponsors: Visit http://FFRF.us/school or text CHRIS to 511511 Go to http://GetSoul.com and use the code CUOMO for 30% off Try Oracle Cloud Infrastructure for free at http://oracle.com/ccp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Long-bendy Twizzlers candy keeps the fun going. Everybody's upset about what's going. Everybody's upset about what's happening in Washington, D.C., but are they angry about the right reasons and the right things, or are we looking at it all wrong? I think that's the right bet, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm Chris Cuomo. Welcome to the Chris Cuomo project. I wanted to bring in the inimitable duo of Greg and Amrish to talk about not just how much they love producing this podcast with me.

But to discuss what's happening in D.C. and show how generationally, politically, personally, this issue lights people up. So what's happening? Donald Trump invoked a presidential power to declare an emergency in Washington, D.C., and take it over. Now, can he do this? Yes, if it qualifies as an emergency. Would a crime emergency qualify? Yes. Is there a crime emergency in Washington, D.C.? Look, I don't, it's, the answer is only yes in as much as it is in like 30 other, 50 other cities in America.

So Washington, D.C. doesn't rank really well, but I am making the mistake. That is why I wanted to bring you guys in today. Oh, great. That actually was a much better piece of bait than I thought it was going to be. Here's why. Congratulations. Here's why. And I'm going to flag this and I think you guys will still get caught up in this because I think everybody is. And I don't even know what they think about this.

We really haven't discussed it. Wait, I mean, that's one word. Go ahead. Please. I'm making it sound like I am not really in love with the idea of trying to address crime in Washington, D.C. And this is the problem that's being made in this, this, uh, this, uh, conflict or controversy right now over it, is that Donald Trump seems to be supporting the proposition of, I want to make it less dangerous in the capital city where I am.

That is a winning political, and you could argue, practical argument. And the mistake that I was, you know, half pretending to make is don't confuse the what with the why and the how don't come off like you are anti-america come off like you are at odds with the ideas of how to address whatever it is in america don't come off as if you think it's just fine in washington dc get into what he's doing and whether or not that would affect what's wrong in dc and that's the mistake that's being made mostly on the political left, that this is racist, this is wrong. It makes it seem like you're against trying to fix crime. What am I missing? How do you see it? I mean, don't you look at the, the Humvees and these

giant military vehicles parked outside of Union Station. And on the way here that I was watching this video of J.D. Vance walking through Union Station and they're yelling, hey, couch fucker, hey, pussy. Like, what are you doing? Like, he and Hegg Seth, they're not very popular. for doing this. And, you know, he's got that. Then you got this guy thrown a subway sandwich. And it seems to me like, yes, he's trying to address crime, but he's doing it in this, just like he did out in L.A., this grossly disproportionate response of, like, having military stuff on the ground when it's really like, okay, big balls got carjacked or whatever. It's like or mugged out, you know what I mean? Like, it does seem like the response that he's put out there

is way, way over the top, at least in my estimation. So, My tweak on this, Greg Amrish, is this. You lose disproportionate. Tell that to the mothers whose sons were shot. Tell that to the people who are afraid to use mass transit, to leave their homes, who've had their cars attacked. Disproportionate. They can't get enough. They love the show of force.

They love the feeling of safe. And you know who loves it the most? The people that the privilege say they're defending, which are those in socioeconomic, conditions where crime is high, they can't get enough good policing. And I just gave you the key word. It's not that it's disproportionate. It's whether or not it is part of the good is sending in National Guard who aren't from there, who can't arrest anyway, but can make a show of force and all these different federal agencies. Is this the way to reduce crime in Washington, D.C.? and I believe there's a hundred reasons to say, no, this is not the best way to do it.

It's not the best use of those resources. It's not even the best use of those resources in the states that are sending them. The states that are sending them are all red states, because that's what this is really about, right? Let's be honest. They have cities, Mississippi, Tennessee. Are you serious? Are you sending help to somewhere else when you have Jackson and Memphis? are you kidding me so it's about the how and the why but don't get tripped up making it about the what

which is yeah we don't want to deal with crime in dc leave it alone um that's the mistake but you're you're making it seem like the the argument i was trying to make was that it's disproportionate in the sense of like oh we don't we shouldn't go after this crime it's like no no no like obviously go after the crime but like i'm washington post i got this right here personnel typically in dc You got the Metropolitan Police Department, about 3,200 officers, the U.S. Capitol Police, 2,300 officers, Metro Transit Police, just under 500 officers, United States Park Police, 350 police. That's a lot of police officers in a city. So to effectively federalize the force of these 815 National Guard members that have been brought in, 500 from other federal agencies, it seems like they already have thousands of police officers. it seems like he has a problem

with the way in which it's being run but it doesn't seem like you need more boots on the ground or more cops on the street it seems like if he's so upset with this and again I don't think Mr. Trump is going over to Ollie's trolley he's like mining he's hanging out

in the White House he's got his little beast to get around it's not about his safety although that's not a bad patina right this is where the president is this is where the capital is and it's one of the less safe places in America I saw somebody tweet out today like

you know this president got shot at twice, you know, that, you know, blah, blah, like talking about his safety. He's like, look, this is not about his safety. And I get, I don't, I don't disagree with you that. Like, yeah, crime is something that wants to be taken care of in any city, any city in this country. But don't you come off like you are excusing the situation if you are pushing back on him trying to make it better. Bring Amherst in here. You need help. Yeah. So help. So what I, uh, first and foremost, before I even take, like, political stances or anything like that into consideration, the first thing that comes into my mind as someone just

of my generation, I think this is a test to see how far one could do this across the whole country. Because if you look at the violent statistics in D.C., it's actually at some of its lowest has been in a 30-year point. So taking that into consideration, sure, there's other types of crime that exists. But if you're trying to stop violence and you're using an example and you're using a place where the violence keeps getting better, well, not better, keeps mitigating lower and lower and lower and lower. And the only thing left to say is, well, what if we brought military into it and made it even lower?

I don't think that's the solution to that. I don't think anyone really thinks that's the solution to that. However, if you put it into practice and something good comes out of it, you now can make the case that you can do this anywhere, that there's any type of insurrection. And what would be wrong with doing that? I don't think there's anything particularly inherently wrong with being able to protect like your land, your people, the things that their property. I do think there's an issue, however, when that level of authority reaches into their

everyday life where they feel like, just like how you were talking about, people are scared to take public transportation, people are now going to be even more scared of law enforcement. Whenever there's a large group of law enforcement, it's no longer these people are here for me. It's these people are here to control me. Which people, and that is another layer of what this is. I choose to have faith in my life.

I'm flawed, I'm flailing, but I make that choice. That is my choice to make. It is your choice to make. It is not to be foisted upon you. And that is why I am happy to partner with FFRF, okay? Freedom from Religion Foundation. Why? because you are free to believe or not believe anything you want in America, and it has to stay that way.

Having the federal government mandate the Ten Commandments on the walls of public schools. Now, to a Christian, it's no big deal. To a Jewish person, it's no big deal. But what about people who don't have that faith? And what about the day when it comes, when those who right now, don't like it, outnumber those who do, and the rules change. I protect my right to believe or not believe whatever I want by protecting you from having to own my choices.

And I think it's really important, legally, ethically, culturally. The Freedom from Religion Foundation is fighting for this because the Constitution is not just a suggestion. It is the law. visit ffrr.us forward slash school or text Chris, my name, CHRIS, to 511-511, Chris 511-1-511. Message and data rates, of course, apply. But if you want freedom, you have to fight for it. TD Bank knows that running a small business is a journey, from startup to growing and managing your business.

That's why they have a dedicated small business advice hub on their website to provide tips and insights on business banking to entrepreneurs. No matter the stage of business you're in, visit td.com slash small business advice to find out more or to match with a TD small business banking account manager. I would suggest to you guys, do I understand where you're coming from on it? 100%.

100%. I get the libertarian perspective concern. I get the younger person perspective concern. Are you saying I'm the libertarian? No. Oh, thank God. No, no, no. Libertarians, a lot of people in this country, especially when they are of means, or at least supporting themselves well, and in the right places, get an immediate notion that they need as little government as possible. What I'm saying is this. One, the idea of Trump wants to do this everywhere plays into the Trump as a Nazi scumbag. I hate Trump. That has a very limited reach, right? Everybody who wants to believe this is about Trump trying to do something that makes him a despot, they're in already. They're all in the bus against Trump, all right? So is this that? I don't think it's the best example of

Trump being a despot. However, who likes police president? who likes seeing a lot of show of force and seeing this in their communities, people who are beset by crime. Now, is it more complicated than that? Yes, because people in high, but here's why. Don't let George Floyd or that image become everything in terms of understanding how people who are in high crime areas feel about police. That's not what I was going to say. No, but I'm saying, like, what I'm seeing in the responses to this, not just from YouTube bananas, but what I'm seeing on social media about this is this is why black people hate the police. I do not believe, and I know I can't talk about black people.

I'm not a black person. I understand. But really, if that were the rule, then you can't talk about anything unless that is what you are, which is a stupid rule, to be honest. And I've been covering this for almost 30 years, and it has never changed. and this has always been true, and you will hear it from black leaders to the extent that that population has to be made into a monolithic as if they were all exactly the same. But fine, you want to play that game, we'll play the game. You're wrong. They do not hate police.

They hate bad policing. And it doesn't matter if the cops are white or black or even from that neighborhood. It's how they do their job that winds up getting hackles up and rightly so. But at the same time, those same populations want and feel underserved by policing and presence, most of all. So when you say, you know, people are going to be more afraid of seeing all these people in the streets, it depends what people you're talking about. And Trump's voters are not those people. But I'm trying to make a decision. And maybe the majority is not those people.

Okay. Here in New York is a great example. When people are being pushed in front of the subway all the time, the more cops are seen on the platforms, on the subways. I understand that. Again, I don't know how useful that is necessarily. They're always playing on their phones or whatever, but... They're also not being pushed in front of trains all the time. I know, I know.

There's a big boogeyman effect about how bad the city is. No, no, the point I'm trying to make is like, okay, you had more of a regular, quote-unquote, police presence in the subway system. I was getting off the train in Boreham Hill or in Borough Hall a little while ago. And, you know, I saw, like, two military dudes with armed rifles or whatever. I don't know what they were doing there. I don't remember what this was, like, why they were stationed there. They make you think twice about mugging someone? Yeah, yeah, especially because it's like, you know, you pay me so well here.

When I saw that, it puts you in a different state of mind. When you see a man in fatigues, full military gear and a weapon like that, like this isn't like a Chipotle in the South. This is just like a normal subway station here in New York. And I think the same thing in D.C., which is a pretty urban area when I used to work out there. I took the metro there all the time. I never thought, I actually liked the stations there. I think it's a pretty good system, but I haven't been there in a while.

It's very different when you see, I just, the state of mind, when you see someone with, who's in the military with a weapon, that's very different than I think than an armed police officer. I think it is different, but it can also convey the same message in context. Now, and again, I totally understand why you feel the way you do. But, and by the way, I may well feel the same way, but I believe that if you want to play to the majority of Americans, the idea of having, when they see military, the majority of Americans, they see a good thing. They feel comforted.

I don't know. On U.S. soil, what do you think, Amher? It's there's a level of comfort, I would say, with certain groups of people. But I'd like to say more young people than anything, when they encounter. like a large group of anything. It doesn't need to be cops. It could be a large group of a single race. It could be a large group of doctors. It could be a large group of penguins even. It's just they get weird about being in a circle that is all but not them. So it's just there's a large group of people. I'm not associated with them. I have nothing to do with them, but they have a job. And that

job supersedes a lot of the things that I can do as a person if they deem it wrong. And while these thoughts are not realistic in the sense of like these people aren't really breaking laws, they're not anything to upset these officers or anything of the sort, there is this kind of like imagination that goes because the imagery creates this type of stimulus. And that's enough for a lot of people to start becoming hyperbolic on the internet, which is, I think, what you were commenting before when people say like these one-liners or like they go to a specific event to try and make it a reference point when in reality it's not, it's one of many. And you're left with this, well, who do I believe? Who's telling the truth? And the thing is, they're all kind of telling

the truth in their own way. It's just, it's not being laid out in a direct manner. And everyone's kind of just making layers of assumptions. And with those assumptions, they're just living their life. And you just see it with young people. They just don't trust authority. Can I give you a strange example? I used to work on cruise ships and at the comedy shows and the cruise ships. I'm sure they were very funny. People are still laughing about that to this day. We were porting in Jamaica. And I remember the ship pulled up and all these nice, fun American tourists are getting off to go to their little beach to go to the senior frogs or whatever. And there were these armed guards with automatic weapons coming off the gangway all the way down this little tourist thing to get to

your little senior frog or Margaritaville or whatever. The state of mind, that put me in and the other people I was working with, and I'm sure some of the vacationers are like, wait a second, I thought this is a safe place. Well, presumably it is a safe place because look at these men, look at these giant guns they have. But for this relaxation, this like recreation, I'm going on vacation. It just sikes me out. I'm like, wait a second. I thought, do I, why are these guys with guns here? And DC, a place where there are excellent parks, there are excellent museums. It's a very family friendly place, at least in the national mall from my experience there. The idea that now you're having outside of, you know, all of these monuments and stuff, you got the guys. Tourists are taking

pictures in front of the vehicles. And it's like, it seems so over the top that I, I don't, I think I don't agree that it's like that it is putting people in like a good, oh, it must be safe. It's like, no, it's like things are out of control, but it looks like it's out of control because these guys are here. I think it is, of course, about perspective, but I am very unconvinced that it doesn't play better with the majority than it does with young people, anti-establishment people, people lefty, far lefty, I get why they're all upset. I just don't think Trump cares about them. And I think that's why he picked D.C. I also think he picked D.C. because that's where he is. Yeah. But I think that the place is known as a crime den. Is that fair? No, they do pretty lousy in crime per capita. I think they've got like, I don't know, 600,000 people, something in D.C. I mean, it's bigger. But, you know, the counting is all weird because a lot of

of it doesn't count as just people living there because it's the federal government. But their per capita crime rates are not great, but they're not top. I don't think they're top 10 in homicides. I don't think they're top 20, really, in any of the main metrics that matter. Not that they shouldn't be better and there aren't crime problems there. I don't want to be part of the weak argument that I'm suggesting. But I don't think you picked it because of the data. That's what I'm saying. I don't think that's. the reason that you picked D.C. I think it was proximity.

I think it was metaphor. And I don't know how much of it is this. I think that there's some ugly politics at play also. Because look at the states that are sending the stuff. Right. The states that are sending it are the states that seem to think that blue places are dangerous and blue places with black people in them are dangerous. I mean, I have family members who come to New York City and they're like, hey, is this

where this thing happened? And it's like, no, man, this is a huge city. Like, what you see on a show like, you know, whatever they're airing on Fox, is a very selected image. And it's not exactly the reality. And so I agree about the red states. But they select it because it works. Well, right. No, it's, I'm not saying it's smart.

And, you know, it's really interesting. When I was doing my homework for this, one of the states that's sending National Guard or offering to or whatever, who wants to get in on it. Okay. And again, I am suspicious of the motives when it's all red states. And I don't think that's because red states care about fighting crime. And blue states don't because red states have plenty of crime, including the ones that are offering to send this stuff. And one of them is Ohio. And interestingly, Columbus is the capital city in Ohio, right?

Is crime is on the decrease there. Why? Because of a part of this story that is inconvenient and therefore not mentioned anywhere, okay, which is. The mayor there is, they have a weird system there where they have a non-partisan mayoral thing. But the guy who's there as a Democrat, he's known as a Democrat, he's in the party. And his policies reflect a different form of policing that's a lot more than just catching them doing it wrong, which obviously matters in policing, that Democratic mayors have been putting into play across the country with very good success. Is this the kind of thing where they have like specialized units that dispatch for, yeah, yeah, and what it needs. You know what I mean, as opposed to just, you know, a single factor.

Police thing has gotten very sophisticated. And it always has been somewhat sophisticated, but it really is now. And it's interesting that other than, you know, Ohio with Columbus, every one of the places that's sending it, they have a place that has a good argument, if not a better argument, if not a better argument, than Washington, D.C. to have this happening there. But it isn't. Why? Part of it, I believe, is innocuous. I think this is where Trump is. D.C. is a great metaphor effect. but it's why it's a metaphor effect that gets us into dicey territory on this issue,

and I think it matters. If, if you focus on it the way I am and the way I'm having this conversation, which is I'm not going to have the conversation about whether or not I like crime or whether I'm complacent about doing anything about crime or whether I'd rather reward people for committing crime than punishing them, or that I'm actually a phony and I don't like these brown people that I say I advocate for by saying

don't make this a police state and I'm okay with them getting hurt and killed and robbed more than I am because I don't really care it's just a political position. All of those are pitfalls in this and I do believe the left and their leaders are falling in a lot of these pitfalls

where it seems like oh, I don't like the men with the guns. Oh, you see. don't you soft lefty i'm not a soft let no i this is not a banana republic like having these guys on the street and this is this is not america i don't think having a bunch of troops on the ground effectively doing local police work is a the best use of federal resources or you know however he's calling this up like i i think i don't want to live in that country i don't like that country what if that country gets described as the one in which crime has fallen in

D.C. since the troops are there. I think that would depend entirely on the manner by which it was conducted. Like, right, okay, so let me... So you're okay with more crime in certain instances. I love, I'm advocating for crime. For all the viewers out there, more more murder, more robberies.

Don't do what brings down the murders. I am going to rob that guy when I get to the subway platform later on today, okay? I'm going to do what brings down the murders. Is that what I hear you saying? No, I'm going to get one of those, those wallets we've been promoting. What is it? The metallic?

But that's what it sounds like. It sounds like you're against what's making it safer. I am against the haphazard manner by which Mr. Trump and his ilk are conducting this, much like he did out in Los Angeles, having this giant force descend on something, which is effectively a local issue. Why is he concerned with a local issue when he should, he has other, this is, I thought we had like, this is a federal district. There are states. I thought the whole point of this stuff was for everybody to deal. with their own problems. Because Amrish, I'll answer it, and you can be the judge, because this president likes to fix things and get things done. And you guys make excuses for everything and why government

can't do anything. And it's all about how people feel and being more sympathetic to the people do the bad things and the people being victimized by those doing the bad things. And this guy likes to fix it where he sees it. And he happens to be living in D.C. right now. And everyone around him is telling him how bad DC is and he can fix it by using the people who stop the bad people with the guns by being the good people with the guns and it's working the crimes the arrests there are all these indicia that it's going the right way amrish so where is the bad in this if you want to talk about the bad the bad is actually a logical situation that's a little bit outside of even what's happening so if we take the context of all of these events and we put

anything to it. It could be literally anything. It doesn't need to be this. What you're left with is something you had to do and then you questioned Greg about is you had to answer like five questions that weren't related to what you were talking about to make sure you cleared your point so that when someone's listening to you, they don't think, oh, this guy is saying this. Oh, this guy is saying that. And that is a big problem. Left, right, center. Doesn't matter. All of us are having this issue because we all want to be right. And because we all want to be right, we're making points. And those points don't cover the full, you know, synopsis of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the situation. We're cherry-picking the little bits and pieces that we see as like good and bad

and using that based on our like personal preferences, whether we, you know, like it or don't like it. And that's the majority of this whole conversation. That's almost all of it, to be honest with you. So now when you take that logic and you put back the situation, it's like, yeah, sure, violence is going down, but would it have gone down on its own without this intervention? We don't know because that reality doesn't exist. Let's say it wouldn't. It still leaves you in the same position, which I think is, you know, to play with the metaphor, the battle to have, the ground to stand and fight on, the hill to die on, is the how.

And I see this everywhere. Support comes from Seoul, and I am here for it. Booze does not work for me. I'll have an occasional drink very, very rarely more than one, and I don't miss it. The way I wake up, the way I process it. the decision-making, when I'm under the influence of it, it doesn't work, okay? So now souls out-of-office gummies are absolutely part of my regular regimen. I'm still trying to figure out the munchies thing, okay?

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GetSol.com code Cuomo 30% off. Okay, and the Democrats keep making this mistake. And this idea that I say the Democratic Party is dead, yeah, I do, because you keep making the same mistakes. And you're killing the ideology that made the Democratic Party great in the first place, okay, which is what? You are pro-immigration and pro-law enforcement of immigration laws. They misplayed it, made it look like they were okay having just anybody come in because they want the people who come in right or wrong to be treated a certain way. But they didn't focus on the how. They focused on the what.

and they wound up having an open border policy fundamentally, and it killed them, okay? Now, why? Because that's not what America is. America wants law in order. It likes how it sounds. It likes how it feels. And it likes that laws are enforced because if the laws aren't enforced, then you're not safe. And they care about safety, especially when they're paying for it in the form of taxes to government. So they misplayed it. This situation here, they are again misplaying it the way they misplayed trans. Why? Because you got caught in the what? Should a guy my size play against my high school daughter in volleyball? No. No, that's never okay.

Oh, yeah, but you can't say but. That can't happen. What you say is, how often does that happen? Well, like there's two, three cases across the country. Okay, those were wrong, but it doesn't make trans wrong. It doesn't make their participation wrong. It's the how and the why, not the what. Should a guy my size play against?

The, no. But how do you do this? You don't do this by demonizing people for identifying, feeling, existing in a way that is outside of your own experience. That's not the way you do it. That's the way we wound up allowing it to be done. Why? Because we got caught in the wrong position of defending what you shouldn't defend. Don't defend stopping crime.

stopping crime good okay stopping people from being afraid good doing it in a heavy-handed way that is disproportionate may be okay if it's the best way same thing with affordability affordability democrats stop saying you know centrist democrats Republicans stop saying oh this affordability thing same mistake the left made with maga the right is now making with the reaction to MAGA on the left, whatever they decide to call it. Affordability, real. What you guys are talking about in terms of how younger people feel about how we're doing things here and how frightening it is to them as an overreach, as kind of almost Orwellian,

real. Don't fuck with why they're upset. Fuck with what to do about it. Socialism's not the answer. Defund the police isn't the answer. get into those fights in D.C., the fight to have is the how. National Guardsmen are not going to bring down crime anywhere, let alone in Washington, D.C., because that's not why the crime exists.

And the key to the whole conversation was in the first thing that Greg brought up. There is a tremendous policing presence in this metropolitan area. So then why is their crime? Because there's poverty, because there aren't opportunities and avenues to dignity, because there is a cultural impression of failure, that if you are certain types of people in certain places, in certain situations, you'll never get to a better place. That's why there is crime there. Not because there aren't enough boots on the ground.

Have the right fucking fight. Don't say to Trump, you're wrong. for being this guy and bring in in all these people and lowering crime. Be the person who says that's not what it's about. You're just picking on it

because you are playing to people who are afraid of people like those who live in D.C. No, I'm picking on it because... Not you. I'm saying that's the dynamic. No, because the poverty thing is correct.

And what he's doing, when you watch him, he's turning his Twitter feed or whatever the White House Twitter feed has become, into an episode of cops where they're doing these ride-alongs and they're turning the sandwich guy getting arrested into a little funny social

media clip, when in reality, if you want to address the poverty issue, well, guess what? That giant bill he just passed is going to throw all these people off of their health care and such or make it way more expensive. And so this isn't even getting close to addressing the root cause that you're talking about, to borrow a phrase from Putin. Like, it's not actually doing what you think he should be doing, because I agree with you. Like that, there are systemic issues that need to be gone after. But playing, you know, playing policemen, having Mayor McChese descend on this thing and cast his spell over the city, I just think is way over the top. But see, way over the top isn't the problem. But I think you lose by attacking the degree. You have to attack. And I'm not

making this a game, okay? I'm not making this just about tactics. I'm making it about philosophy, Okay. Saying he did too much to fix a problem, you lose. He wins. Saying he didn't really give a fuck about the problem because what he did will never really fix it. What did he fix out in California? Here's what he fixed. The public perception of lawlessness. I don't agree with that. Well, of course. You can take the other side of it. So could I. But I'm saying you want me to answer the question. That's the question. That's the answer. And I've got to tell you something. His poll numbers. And again, I don't have to like it, all right, to see it. His poll numbers reflect that that move worked, that having people run around is one of these cultural suggestions we have about California specifically, may even actually apply even in New York, but certainly to California, which is what? People running around, destroying cars, shitting on the street, doing drugs, and attacking government and society. It's really more of a public toilet problem, but go on.

So that's how that place is portrayed. Is it unfair? Of course it's fucking unfair overall. But selectively, to Amrish's point, you have data points that you can expose this way. And that's what he was addressing. Same thing in D.C. When they were protesting him for being authoritarian, he then became even more authoritarian. And it worked for him politically.

Why? The majority in America is okay if it makes them feel safe. And especially when it's not being done where they are. So when I watch somebody keeping you in your cage, it may make me feel safe in a way I would not feel as safe if they weren't letting me out of my cage. But I'm not worried about me and my cage. I'm worried about you and your cage. I mean, it's a 700 square foot apartment. I wouldn't call it a cage.

Well, your wife would, and that's why you better step it up. We're trying to find a co-op. So that's what I think is wrong with this situation right now, is that the needle, again, to Amrish's point, this is why I wanted to bring these guys in this. They wind up pointing out a lot of things that I wouldn't have. The needle stays here. Why?

You should use your finger as a needle. The needle still. Oh, actually, I don't have to use this at all. You have a needle on you? No, I have a, yeah, it's called calci. Oh, there we go. I see how you guys, look, I got a problem with sports betting in my son's generation. Okay, my daughter's generation also, but the boys, I'm worried about it, okay?

It is taken them with this gaming vibe in a way that I haven't seen before with gambling. And gambling's always been an issue. I've seen it in my lifetime and ones before mine. But I haven't had multiple lifetimes. I'm saying all generations have been beset by different problems with wagering, but not like this. That said, I do believe that the monetization of opinion has been really fucking interesting so far. And what I think is interesting about Kalshi and their competitors is that you get a real sense of how when you've got to put your money where your mouth is, it's a little bit different than me saying, oh, well, I think he's going to fail. I think that guy sucks.

Oh, yeah, you want to put 20 bucks on it? Well, I don't know if I want to put 20 bucks on it. Why not? Well, because, I mean, he could win. Oh, all right, you were just saying he can't win. So I think it's very interesting how when people have to bet on what it's going to be, sure, it can still fuel different cynical tendencies and ideas about what's going to happen. But I do think it's interesting in the same way that when you look at the score line, the money line on games,

that when guys are in the business of winning or losing money on the whether or not they're right about who's going to win, they get pretty damn close. And I think that we're going to see a trend in our politics where the betting markets wind up being as relevant as any other measure. So what does Kalshi tell us? What do people give a shiznit about when it comes to this and how so? Well, there's a couple of relevant ones. Will Trump's federal takeover of D.C. be extended? Because if I'm not mistaken, you would be more up on this.

But he has 30 days. He can do whatever the subarmacy is. The answer is going to be yes. Calshe says, as of right now, there's a 15% chance. That it's extended? Yes. Let's bet. Next. The next one, similar, will Trump restore local control of D.C. police before October. Oh, okay. Wait a minute. See, this is good. See, this is why it's good. They tricked me with the question. And these are two separate bets. These are two. Yeah. And here, how did they, I'm not saying they tricked me. I'm saying I had to think a little bit more than I did. Why?

The second one informs that I should have been slower about the first, which is why I was wrong about the percentage. Why would it only be 15% extending it when Amherst when I were like, yeah, no, wait, because of the second bet, which tells you what, well, wait a minute, maybe he's not going to extend. Maybe he is going to keep the forces in place if the people running D.C. want them, but they'll give it back because he doesn't want to run D.C. He just wanted to help them with the crime. So, yeah, you can run D.C. and they're going to sue him, which, by the way, works in his favor politically. But they may sue or threaten to sue if he doesn't give back the city to the people who have been duly elected. And so that first bet is, I get why it's at 15%. And I do believe he's going to give it back to them. So if legislation that extends federal takeover of D.C. police beyond 30-day limit becomes law before October 1, 2025.

The market resolves to yes. That's the 15%. I think what he's going to want to say is, look, I'm not overturning your democratic leadership. I'm just giving you more resources. If you don't want, I'm fine. But if you do, then I'll keep them with you. And that's not what they're making the wager about. And that's why it's so interesting to me is that on their terms, I think you do have to,

the money's right to stay away from it and say only 15%. Because it is less likely that he wants to keep running D.C. because it's a bad look going into elections. Support for the project comes from Oracle. You know, in business, they say you can have better, cheaper, or faster, but you only get to pick two, okay? So Oracle is saying, well, maybe that's not the way it is anymore. Maybe you can have all three at the same time.

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Imagine finding your great-grandfather's R-CMP records or discovering your ancestors' name in the UK and Ireland Nursing Register. Don't miss out. Free access ends August 24th. Visit Ancestry.ca for more details. Terms apply. Well, here's another one that's pretty relevant. What will be the 51st state? Puerto Rico, 7% chance, any part of Canada, 6% chance, D.C., 4% chance, any part of Greenland, 3% chance. So there's less of a chance that D.C. would become a state than Saskatchewan or, you know, any, any province. First of all, the reason why to use a different app, D.C. is not going to become a state is because there's absolutely no momentum for it. to because it's already a constitutionally devised and federally authorized district.

I thought the trick would be you take like all the, like the White House and the monuments and you shrink the district and you make everything else the state. But why? Two more senators? How many people would you have in the state? 400,000? Okay, but 400,000 is also what, less than what? One of the Dakotas, you know what I mean?

Like, I think it's to balance that out a little bit. If you had 400,000 people, let's give them 500. If you had 500,000 people, where'd that rank you as a state? D.C. is 49th. So 51st is Wyoming, 50th is Vermont, 49th District of Columbia, 48th, Alaska, 47. How many people live in North Dakota? 783,000? Yeah, this thing says 796, 568.

That's about 700,000 more than I was expected. So, beautiful place, by the way. But the... Bismarck. Montana has how many? Let's see. Montana, 43. 1.1 million.

So, I mean, there's just one more reason. It's not going to be a state. But I think this is really interesting, especially, is there anything in there about the midterms yet? Will Mitch McConnell resign before the midterms? 18% chance. Who will visit the White House for January? Jeff Bezos, 55%. Of course, all the big business guys.

Oh, Patrick Bet David had a great idea while we're talking about what matters and moves the needle in politics. He put out an idea that Apple should have a phone that they charge $500 more for. But it's made in America and says that on the packaging, like that the phone is called the made in America, the MIA. And they'd sell, what, five of those? I don't know. I think I'm Patrick's right. I think that you would sell a million of it. I don't know.

There was a study I saw once that pretty recently about it was like a kind of a blind test online. And it was like, hey, here's this like article of clothing or lamp or whatever. We're going to give you the options right now. do you want to buy this this made in China one or do you want to buy this made in America one? And they go over. And just so you know, it's employing these people. It's going to cost this much. It's still.

Over what, like 99% of the people. Go with price. 100%. This is a different value proposition. This is not about the cheapest. It's about, look, why does somebody buy in a BMW when you can get a Kia now that it'll last for 500 years because of the status? This is a status buy. then I think that there are a lot of people

who would like to hold the... But by the way, what am I fucking around for? I would buy it. If the phones... Because I'm not price sensitive for the phone. The phone, let's say, is $1,100 instead of $500. Whatever, okay? I mean, the phone is $1,100.

But I'm... Well, that's unless you're transferring plans and all that stuff. If it's just a basic... All right, it's fine. I'll give it to you. He used to work in the Apple store. Let's say it's $1,000.

It isn't. But let's say it's $1,000. You can't turn in your phone. It's not staying with the carrier. There's no incentives. it's $1,000,000. I would pay $1,500. No doubt about it. And by the way, oh, it's because you're rich. There are a lot of rich people in America, okay? And there are a lot of people who have the money to spend $1,500 versus $1,000, and would do it on that basis, whereas no, I wouldn't maybe make the same decision about this, you know, and this is $9.00 if I get it because it's made in Bangladesh, and it's $90 if it's going to be made in America. D. I'm going with the nine. Why? Because any other suggestion is bullshit because all politics is personal at the end of the day. And you're going to bet with your pocketbook in those kinds of situations unless the choice is not sensitive to you economically as much as it is a value play. And now I think it's a great idea. And it plays into what moves the needle in our politics. And that's why I wanted to ask about the midterms and how they're

phrasing, this is why I like Kalshi, this is how they're helping me. It's not the numbers. I don't care that it's 15% he's going to keep control of D.C. It's how they ask the questions that shows you what the real proposition is that's in play. Trump versus local authority and being perceived the way Amrish is afraid of him being perceived, right, with I'm going to reach everywhere, I'm going to take rights everywhere I can. I don't think he likes that look. I don't think that's a MAGA look. So, or the perceived MAGA look. I have a lot of problems with MAGA is what it is versus what it says it is. But that's why I like it. So how do they put it? Which party will win the U.S. Senate next year? 71% Republican, 29% Democratic.

Yeah, that's pretty straight. Which party will win the House next year? Sixty-nine percent Democratic, 31% Republican. Interesting. And that's been oscillating in April. It was 83% Democratic, 17 Republican. So that's dropped quite a bit. Wow. Now, you know what's really interesting about that to me is I have a piece for you coming out on this. You know, we're not a democracy, right? You know that, right? We're a form of democracy, but we are not an absolute democracy, right? We're not a mobocracy, right? This isn't where 50 plus one gets you whatever you want. It's a constitutional republic, which is different than a direct democracy. Okay, direct democracy is we're going to vote right. now and whoever has two wins every fucking time. Now, what happens in our representative democracy

because of the fixed in representation standards is you have about, and you guys can check this with me, although your research skills to this point have been lackluster. I was chat. GPT. It's not my fault. Well, I'm just telling you. Less than 40% of the population has 50% of the power. Less than 40%. It may even been lower than that. Okay. And we did this. This is a the piece has yeah but it was weeks ago has no it's not out you just said it's not out yet well it's not out yet but it doesn't

mean I don't say it when it happens I said anyway I don't look it up you can just watch the video when it comes out you look it up tell me what I'm watch the people to watch the video that's coming out I'm trying to help the YouTube channel this is why we did the video is our system I'm not saying the system

sucks I mean that's our mistake that's the mistake in D.C is trying to fix a perceived crime problem is a problem no it's not a problem And you have a system right now where, and by the way, this all winds up going together, okay, so you have half the representation is less than 40% of the population, all right? You have a 95% retention rate for incumbents when they are below three and ten of us

approving of how they do the job. Why? Because the system is rigged in certain ways, and that doesn't mean corrupt, but it does enforce mandate a certain amount of representation. And this is in the president's mind, as it is in all politicians' minds, but maybe more so in his, in making certain determinations about what works for him. And the people who are spooked about the guys with guns, the people who are spooked about the overreach, a lot of them are in MAGA, unless the overreach is in favor of what they like,

which is one of the craziest things to me, which is why I must reject MAGA, and I must reject its fringe left opposite, because these people are violating their own principles out of some really perverse sense of pragmatism. So you're against the state because of what they did with COVID, but when it comes to you doing what you like the state doing, then it can overreach just as much or more by having almost a posse comitatis infringement, a constitutional rights so old and embedded, we still refer to it in Latin, he may overreach on that. And you're okay with that because you're okay with who he's doing it to. But with a vaccine that he said was the best vaccine in the world ever, and you all clap like

this, as soon as that got sold to you as something you were being forced to do, you didn't like it because you're not the person you want to see forced to do anything. But when it's the people in D.C., who you may not have the same affinity with or two, then you're okay with it. my problem with these movements is that they're exaggerated and they don't stick to what they're supposed to be about. But the midterms are absolutely what the DC play is about. And by the way, great distraction from the economy. Great distraction. I am worried about the economy. I called my guys today. What guys? The two guys at Wells Fargo where all my checking accounts are and all that stuff.

I believe the pressure on prices is real. I believe the Fed's ability to fuck with rates to mid-offset that is not enough. Because, why? Because there's so much fake money in the system already. There's so much inflationary pressure in the city. Well, but inflation's not that high. That's the rate of increase of inflation. There is already so much money in the system.

that we are in a very sensitive spot, and I'm worried about it. So is the president of the United States. And this issue is a great get it done, promises made, promises kept, and it's a great distraction from ICE, even though it's somewhat related, from, you know, from the perspectives that we've been here and here. It's kind of the same kind of messaging. But it's a distraction from that. We're not talking about ICE.

We're talking about bad guys in Washington, D.C., that all the people are. people in D.C. say they won't gone. That's the added element that we don't have in the ice conversation. What you don't have in the ice conversation are people in these communities saying, we want more people with masks coming in here and taking people that we love and need in our communities. You don't have that. You have this group of people who don't have those people in their communities until you realize that you do and you're going to lose them and you're not going to like it. This doesn't have that. This is a better issue for Trump. Why? Who's pro crime, these guys. But most people are not pro-crime. And anything you can do to be anti-crime is a good

thing. If you make the mistake of arguing the what, that basic premise, so you pro-crime or anti-crime, like who's pro-crime, it's about the how. And that's tedious. It's not as mean friendly. It's not as gotcha friendly. But it's where you make a difference, not just rhetorically. but electorally. Oh, that's good. Not just rhetorically, but electorally. I have better solutions to our common concerns. I'm not going to lie to you about the concerns.

I'm not going to exaggerate the concerns. I'm going to fix the concerns. And here is how. That is the most fertile ground in fighting MAGA, fighting the left-the-opposite of it. Same thing. Any exaggerated movement, populist, you know, gets this fake polish. on it. Oh, it's popular. So it must be for the people. Which? Which people? You see what I'm saying?

So, thank you, Kalshi, for helping us figure out how to frame some of these questions and giving us a different feel for what they're about in terms of how the outcomes will be affected. Very cool, even if I'm going to lose a lot of money. And I appreciate you two for giving me a very informed and lived reaction to this. And I'm glad you're thinking about it because we could be next. Well, hey, we're the pro crime people. So, yeah, well, let's hope so.

Like, I'm, come on, Mora. You heard him say. What are those things they hit people over the head with? Not a club. It looks like a baton, comma. You know what I mean? It's like a rubber thing. A shaleli?

Is that what it is? A shalali? Well, that's what the Irish would call. Yeah, I guess. It's not a club. It looks in old mobster movies. Who is doing this? It was, it looks like a, a,

rubber thing. It's like black. Oh, it's in cartoons. It was a nightstick. No, it's not a nightstick. It looks like it's like rubber. I don't know. I don't know where you hang out. What I'm trying to tell you is, I heard you say people are getting thrown in front of the subway all the time.

People are not getting thrown in front of the subway all the time. Okay? I get that that's the perception. And that's exactly why Trump is doing what he's doing. Because people who don't live there or who do live there and are afraid of something, whether it's real or not, like that kind of response. And even if it doesn't work the way you think it does or it's not even done why you think it is, that's politics. Perception is reality. And this DC move is everything.

It is everything we're dealing with in our politics right now, except what matters most. Are we doing the best we can to make things better? Are we doing the best we can to make things better? Trump is trying to make the argument, look how busy I am, look how much stuff I'm doing. That can be compelling. I look at it in a little bit of a lot bit of a more subtle and philosophical way and I have problems with a lot of it. But that's also why I'm not an elected office and why I'm not that popular with my takes about a lot of these things because I'm not picking aside. I want solutions.

I want progressivism. Yes. What does that mean? I want us to have policies that advance our society that make it more the realization of the dream than we are at this point. and I want those things to be pragmatic, guided by the principle of I want to form more perfect union, sure, let's stick with the Constitution, why not? But that's not the conversation we have in this country, and we're not even having it in D.C. It's called a blackjack. Oh, yes, of course.

The rubber threw me off. Yeah, yeah, but it's a piece of leather with a piece of metal at the end of it to create momentum. Yeah, I'm not actually, I'm not really a pro-crime guy, so I've actually never held one of these, but they seem effective. You think if you haven't held a blackjack, maybe you are pro-crime because cops hold those. What are you trying to tell us, great? Oh, really? No, I've never seen a couple. It's always a mugger.

It's always the mugger. You've seen a mugger with a blackjack? In cartoons, the guy with the dark mask around his eyes. I thought you're talking about the guy from McDonald's. No, that's the hamburger. Yeah, he's a bad guy. And he's back. Have you seen the McDonald's land? McDonald's back big time.

You haven't seen him in D.C. since they brought the military down there, right? Well, they got Bertie flying around doing surveillance. She's the one of chicken nuggets. Chicken Megnuggets. What are you? Anti-surveillance? No, I'm anti-McDonnell. I thought you were anti-McDonnell.

I am. It's fucking garbage. I got to tell you something. I'll tell you what. We got to go. I'll tell you this last thing. We'll leave it on this. Just in terms of like the difference between perception and reality, right?

Yes, this is what my wife does for a living. Okay. She runs a wellness business, purists. So I'm hearing about this stuff a lot more than me. But we're all moving in this direction anyway. Our food is shit. And you so. quickly get to a place of where you can't eat anything. You literally can't eat or drink anything.

It is all garbage. You've had three coffee. You have three coffees in front of you. And here's the problem. Show the show that you have three. You're only showing a plastic. The plastic in this, where's it coming from, how dirty it was when I originally put it into my coffee? What's in this? What is it off gassing into me? What is in this water? What is in the ice? What is the coffee? Where is it grown? What do they do to the beans? How do they fertilize it? How do they process it? Everything is so crazy that today, when I was trying to figure out a snack, I'm walking around. Like the guy thought I was casing the joint. I could find nothing to eat in the deli that I was in. So I wound up buying a, you know, the basic guideline is what? Fewer ingredients better, right?

I bought a trail mix, 56 ingredients. 56 and not different kinds of nuts and fruits you should get a that's it have you ever seen a that's it it's like it's like a type of bar it's called it's like a that's it bar and it's just apple and sugar that's it like that's it's called that's it i like that rx does that um where it's dates this that but even that when you look at the back you know they got to keep it alive on the shelf yeah right how do they do that additives you know what i'm saying like you Have you seen the ones where they put the burger? Yeah, those ads where it's like the McDonald's burger melts over time and it's like

barely. Yeah. Like the meat is still there. Like the bun kind of slowly degrades. Anyway, one of the good things to use a podcast for is to help you think and be a critical thinker. The reason I went through this today about D.C. Is that it's easy for me to say, this is good. This is bad about D.C.

It's why we're living it in the first place and what it's really about. and the mistakes that are being made in the interest of advantage. And I hope you got the benefit of it from these two fellows because I know I certainly see it a little differently now based on where they're coming from. I want to go with Greg on the subway and see where all these people are. Well, no, go to D.C. give all the citizens free blackjacks. It's probably cheaper than it was deploying all the trip. Maybe you do it like the preseason football games, like instead of like a Ravens shirt. Yeah, or Baltimore.

Their crime data is just as bad or worse than D.C. They should be next. The wire is called... And then go to Memphis. Okay? Oh, and by the way, you know, the guy was running this for the president comes from Miami. Last time I checked, Miami proper's got a pretty good property damage problem also. Maybe they should be next.

You know, if you do it on the basis of the crime statistics, D.C. would not be your first choice. So why was it? Was it just proximity? Or was it proximity to the message that he wants to deliver? What do you think? Thank you for subscribing and following. Thank you for checking me out on News Nation, 8 p and 11P every week, day, night. Be an independent.

Don't pick one of these two toxic teams. Be a critical thinker, okay? And that's what we're here for, and I'm glad you're here with me for that. So let's get after it. Thank you.