The Chris Cuomo Project - Elon & Ron: What Could Go Wrong?

Episode Date: May 25, 2023

Chris Cuomo analyzes Ron DeSantis’ entrance into the 2024 presidential race by exploring the Florida governor’s desire for media control, the attribute DeSantis lacks that other great leaders possess, why Twitter may not help DeSantis reach a general election audience, Elon Musk’s desire for free speech and growing influence as a kingmaker, and much more. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You want to know what it means that Governor DeSantis announced on Twitter? Do you want to know why he did it and what it really means? Good. I'm Chris Cuomo, and this is a special for the Chris Cuomo Project podcast. Appreciate you subscribing and following and wearing your independence. Here's a clue to what I'm about to reveal to you. Wear your independence. Show you're a critical thinker. Be a free agent. Be an independent, okay? That's the cure for this poison party system that we're in. That takes me to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

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and I'm not surprised that he's talking to Elon Musk. You know why? Even though Musk keeps having this flagged for him, let's see how much of a frontal attack Musk does on Governor DeSantis about free speech, which matters so much to Elon, right? It's not just a marketing gimmick. It's not just trying to make Twitter worthy of some modicum of respect. He actually cares about this issue. He says he wants normal politicians, so he should expect normal answers and degrees of candor. I can tell you now, it's not going to happen. And by the way, I can also tell you now if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to say it. But this is not who Elon Musk is, and he's not going to put DeSantis' feet to the fire. One, he'll be the first to say it. But this is not who Elon Musk is, and he's not

going to put DeSantis' feet to the fire. One, he doesn't know how to. And two, because it's just a sell. And that's why DeSantis is doing this on Twitter, because he doesn't want to deal with what goes along with a usual announcement. It's easy to say I'm rejecting the media. Please, you're rejecting the media to go to one of the few places that are worse? Twitter is a toxic crucible without any accountability or guardrails. I mean, come on. Even the Twitter files, the Twitter files showed the problem with Twitter and with unchecked media, which is we don't even know what these guys were given. And look, I respect Schellenberger, Michael Schellenberger, okay? And I want to talk to him more

about what he did with his work for Elon Musk, but getting in bed with the guy and being given certain things and not everything being given to everybody, it just all smells bad. And I think that stench is going to continue with this. You're not going to see DeSantis tested and that's why he's doing it.

He's not coming with the regular media because he can't handle us. He doesn't have the skill set, and most importantly, he doesn't have what all great leaders must have. Male, female, north, south, red, blue, whatever designation or label you want to put on somebody. Tolerance. They have to learn to deal with the suck, with disagreement, with perfidy, with backstabbing, with disloyalty, with subterfuge and connivance. You have to find a way to be above. I know Trump has changed our understanding, but look how chaotic his tenure was. Look how little cooperation there was despite what was promised going into it. Now, look, he can point the finger of blame. That works great in a two-party system. I mean, it's the only dynamic where you just need the other side to be worse.

You don't have to be better anymore. And DeSantis, for all his intelligence and his acumen and his pedigree and the people he has around him, he's made the choice to double down on being destructive. That's why he's playing with the culture wars. He knows that that's not the best way forward for this country to attack Disney, to talk about being woke all the time when it's one of the lowest appreciable interests for regular voters. So Twitter is exactly where he belongs because he's playing to the fringe. He's feeding these fires of division that really exist more on social media than anywhere else. Harvard did that huge study on Democrats.

80% of Democrats identify as center-left. Why? Because in the main, even people who are in parties still want reasonable. They want progress. They're not set up to hate and to want others to go down and to constantly be steeped in scandal. That plays to our more prurient interests, not our virtues. And often we pick political leaders to enhance our virtues, to make us better. It's very new in our recent politics for us to seek out people who seem to play to what make us our worst. But that's what this Twitter play is about.

This isn't about the evolution of decentralization of media. This isn't about showing less control for the few. This is about more control for one, Governor DeSantis, where he's not going to have to have someone like me holding his feet to the fire about, what do you offer exactly? I know what you're against. What are you for? How do you make us better? How do you bridge this divide that you seem to be digging deeper and deeper and exposing every chance you get? Now, look, the big brains

will tell you, well, of course he is. He's gearing up for a primary. And if he can do that with these rabid righties who vote in the primaries, just like you have, you know, the more loony lefties, you know, to keep it alliterative, in the other party, don't both sides have to, because you've got the same reductive dynamic going on in both parties. Do I think it's worse on the right? I absolutely do. I think the GOP has been toxified in a way that the Democrats are not yet. Doesn't mean that they won't be. We don't fake the funk here. And here's the real talk. Over 40 years of age,

52% of us experience some kind of ED between the ages of 40 and 70. I know it's taboo, it's embarrassing, but it shouldn't be. Thankfully, we now have HIMS, and it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access to ED treatment, and it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access to ED treatment, and it's all online. HIMS is changing men's health care. Why? Because it's giving you access to

affordable and discreet sexual health treatments, and you do it right from your couch. HIMS provides access to clinically proven generic alternatives to Viagra or Cialis or whatever. And it's up to like 95% cheaper. And there are options as low as two bucks a dose. HIMS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. So if ED is getting you down, it's time to pick it up. Start your free online visit today at HIMS.com slash CCP. H-I-M-S.com slash CCP. And you will get personalized ED treatment options. HIMS.com slash CCP. Prescriptions,

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Look at the issue of Israel and support for it among Democrats. You know, when I grew up raised by a Democrat, and maybe it's because, you know, we're ethnics from Queens and New York, and, you York and Jews are part of the family that we choose. It's part of my bloodline. I mean, when I say the term mishpoka, I'm not just being sympathetic. I have Jews as family. Jewish people are family to me. Their blood is in my nieces. I have tremendous respect and love. This is the

family I choose. And the idea of being for Israel was synonymous with that. Is it complicated? Are there exigencies? Are there values on the Palestinian side? Of course, of course. Nothing is all 100% one way. Of course, it's a horrible situation. Of course, you see a desire for better on both sides. But all of a sudden, the Democrats are moving farther and farther away from Israel. Why? Because they're being co-opted by more of a sympathetic Islamic and suffrage set on the left fringe of that party. So fringe dynamics exist in both places. I just don't think it's as pronounced yet in the Democrats as it is in the Republicans.

But if he's gearing up for a primary, then Twitter makes sense because you have more fringe people there, more likely to vote in primaries because you have the most, let's say, enthusiastic to be nice, but overzealous to be more accurate in primaries where they're not open, right? Which is one of the scams of the party system. Why do the parties control the primary system? Well, because the people in power have done it state by state to allow them to, but it's not in our constitution. So DeSantis being on Twitter is a ploy. And by the way, here's something you're not hearing. Bravo, Governor DeSantis.

Worked well. I haven't seen a planned announcement for someone that we all knew was going to be in the race and really putatively is already in the race. Get this kind of attention. You wipe Senator Tim Scott right off the board. You know why? Hype it worked genius no are you're playing to the weakness of the media and the love of the shiny object and the new and the now god forbid we talk about real things that people

don't find as tantalizing as this but this is a business news. It's not an oxymoron. It's something that we have to balance. And this is shiny, so we're going to do it. Oh, Elon is going to be a kingmaker now. Very good for Elon Musk. This is very good for him. Very good for Twitter. Gives this toxic crucible a modicum of value, of worth. What if others do this? We got Tucker Carlson doing his show there. See if others do shows there. See if they get the warm embrace of Musk. That's got to help, right? Who knows what kind of games he's going to play with the algorithms to help those he likes. I don't mean to be cynical, but is that cynical? Is that not something that would be within his reach? Why wouldn't it? He owns it, right? So I reach why wouldn't it he owns it right so

i understand why desantis is doing it but i think it plays to his weaknesses as much as it does to any perceived strength and this idea that well after he gets through the primary and beats trump which i don't see at this point he's been uh exposed to the voters there for a while he's getting spanked and against such a weakened trump it It's bizarre how badly he's beaten his ass. And then you think he's going to move from the general? From attacking everything about diversity that he can, literally trying to take it out of schools as even an area of recognition? Why? Because he's convinced a lot of white people, of recognition. Why? Because he's convinced a lot of white people, mainly, who believe that they're being erased from our culture, that that is really what's happening, and that if you talk about diversity, if you talk about the sins of this nation, if you talk about inequality, that you're

making your kids feel bad about themselves as if it's all their fault? Really? You don't think we can finesse that a little bit? Here's a hint. I don't feel that way. And my family wasn't even here when a lot of these horrible things happened. And certainly we've never been in positions of power when that was until my dad and can say a lot of bad things about anybody you want. It's kind of hard to pin a label on Mario Cuomo

as being anti-minority. And I would say the same for my brother. And I would say the same for my brother. And I would say the same for the work that I've done for 25 years. But you can feel however you want. The point is, the idea that someone's going to go from trying to magnify all the minuses to somehow being a conciliator, I don't see it. I don't see how you can move that way in a general. And I think that he's making his play.

And Twitter is the perfect proving ground for somebody who wants to double down on division because this, Twitter, is a nasty place. And Elon Musk is the perfect choice. It works for Musk and it works for DeSantis because he's not going to be tested. And I'm telling you, I know that Piers Morgan says

that he did find DeSantis to be, he didn't test DeSantis. That's not disrespect to Piers. It wasn't that kind of interview. And I think Piers Morgan is a great interviewer, by the way. Oh, I don't like Piers Morgan. I don't care if you like him or not. I'm just giving you my assessment.

But his inability to deal with what he doesn't like is at odds with being a leader in America. And this will be exploited and it will be harped on and he will keep getting pushed to prove it wrong. And the bar will become higher and higher when he eventually chooses to do so if he can. But that's what this Twitter move is about. when he eventually chooses to do so, if he can. But that's what this Twitter move is about. This is a stunt. And I think it worked in terms of PR and hype.

And that's all there can be, because we're only in these little windows, these little compressed frames of intensity, because then we move on. Next, next, next, next, next. That's what the media is now. You couldn't even remember what was a story a week ago. How many of you even remember who watched me every night that I was at the border? Like a week ago, two days ago.

Even I had to think about it. You see what I'm saying? So in the short term, it shows a win. It's got people talking. What does he do with this opportunity? I'm telling you now, he's not going to put out a message of showing how he makes us better and what we're about. He's going to say that he's a fighter and he's going after all the things that are making America worse and putting us in danger because that's easy. And it works in

our current state of politics where this binary party system is all about which side is worse. And that's why you focus on the negative and he's doing it in a negative place and he's doing it with a negative face and Elon Musk. But good for Musk for getting on the radar of the major media in a major way. Good for DeSantis for getting the attention of the media. It matters in a political race, but let's see how he uses that attention. I'm telling you, this is a stunt that's going to show as much of a weakness in DeSantis as it does any perceived strength. Let's get after it.

Am I right? Am I wrong? You tell me. Love the comments, love to respond to them. And I'll be doing it on News Nation, 8 and 11 P Eastern. Please join me there every weekday night. Thank you for subscribing and following. I believe in getting after it, but that begins with taking care of yourself and taking care of the people you care about. Be well.