The Chris Cuomo Project - Should Georgia’s D.A. Prosecuting Trump Be Disqualified? Controversy or Nontroversy?

Episode Date: March 7, 2024

Chris Cuomo delves into recent attention-grabbing headlines to determine whether they highlight real controversies or controversies, including attempts by the Trump campaign to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Georgia’s election interference case against the former president, 2024’s ongoing mass layoffs of journalists, and a new plan from Wendy’s to roll out dynamic pricing in 2025. Join Chris Ad-Free On Substack: http://thechriscuomoproject.substack.com 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh, there's so much going on out there. What's worth it? What's a real controversy? And what's a non-traversey? I'm Chris Cuomo joined by the redoubtable Gregoriot to look at what is a controversy and what is a non-traversey. And I'll tell you what will definitely be controversial, most of Greg's reactions to my notions. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"]

So, young man, dad to be, what do you believe is a controversy or a non-troversy? And may I agree or disagree? I would like to transport you right now to Fulton County, Georgia. I'm sure you've been there in real life at some point. Sure. A lot of activity going down there,

especially if you're watching a Curb Your Enthusiasm this season. Are you watching that? I am not, but I know what you're talking about. Yeah. We have Fannie Willis, the district attorney down there. She is embroiled in all this stuff that has come up about her relationship with another prosecutor. And I'm sure you can speak more to the entire case that's unraveling down there, or at least the investigation into her conduct with this man that she had a campaign from back then, or if this is a complete non-traverse and just completely invented to, you know, gum up the wheels of justice? I think Ms. Willis should have seen this coming and should have been more careful about how

she left herself exposed. But this falls squarely in the category of non-traverse to me. And the irony should not be lost on you, that the same people who are saying, but she had an affair, are people who support Trump. Oh, but it's not about the affair, it's just about, then it's about what? The conflict, this is not a conflict.

They are not on opposite sides. The man involved or Fonnie Willis, they don't have a role with another one that it would matter how they feel about one another. This is a made up issue. Now, it just happens to work because they got caught hiding the relationship. And it is feeding this idea that,

well, if they're hiding that, should they really be able to do this? I'm okay with that level of suspicion, but not from a Trump supporter, not from a Trump supporter. Why, he doesn't get a fair trial? No, because there's no indication this trial wouldn't be fair, and that hasn't been fair. You are applying a standard to Fawney Willis and what you want in the adjudication of this case,

that you do not apply to him. And that makes it a non-troversy and really just shows me again, another ugly aspect of the game. Now I'm not saying that my judgment matters on whether or not she should have had the relationship. By the way, they're both single, but whatever. But that this should have happened or shouldn't have happened.

That's easy to say, oh, it shouldn't have happened. Why? Because on the smell test, it created a problem. So if you look at the conflict test as the smell test, then okay, she's got a problem, but does it affect the case only because of the optics? And does it resonate with me that this was something that was offensive

to Trump supporters? No, because that's so hypocritical, so hypocritical. You don't judge him for any of the things that you're now judging this prosecutor. Can you speak more to how this is essentially being weaponized against somebody who is doing of an investigation that a lot of people believe actually has some legs to it that could actually land Trump

as a serious deputy? No, no, no, not actually had, actually has some legs to it, that could actually land Trumpets in serious jeopardy. No, no, no, no, not actually had, actually has. Oh, I meant has. This case is gonna go forward. I meant present tense. But it matters, because the Fani Willis stuff makes it seem like this one's dead in the water now. It's not dead in the water.

Even if they had to change the players, which I don't think they will, this is real. The former president said in an interview very recently, within, you know, very recently that have you listened to Truth the Vote or whatever that organization is called? They just admitted in open court that they have no proof that they have no proof of the allegations that were put forth. They just admitted in court that they have no proof of the allegations that were advanced in their name.

And Trump is still using them as proof of bad ballots in Georgia. Again, they just acknowledged in open court, and why did they? Because the lawyers for them were gonna be on the hook for not being able to make a profit, not being able to provide proof of the underlying assertion.

And that's what we're seeing with Trump too. You know how these cases came here? Sure, sure. There are multiple explanations. There's definitely political motivation more in certain ones than in others. The largest indicator, of course, should be Trump's own behavior,

his misfeasance or malfeasance, but intentional actions to be sure, words and deeds. But lawyers, lawyers are getting caught being on the hook for Trump and they are not gonna risk their license for him. They're not like these just pure political players that will say anything because it's their party. They got a profession to protect. They need their license.

Well, there's that old meme, what does Magistan for make attorneys get attorneys? That's very good. Yeah, I didn't make it, but I'll happily take that award. You got it. Oh, thanks. That's what's happening. Because in court, lying comes with a price tag.

In politics, it's just like whatever, right? In court, it comes with a price tag. And if you're an officer of the court, if you're a lawyer, it comes with a real price tag. And nobody has that kind of deep commitment to Trump. I know certain voters do, and I understand that desperation and disaffection. I wish you had a better agent for your animus than Trump.

I really do because you deserve one. Because what you're upset about and scared of is real. And what you want to change is worthy. I wish you had a better change agent. But this Georgia case is a problem for Trump. This DC case is a problem for Trump. There is absolutely a straight path to illegality in both of those situations.

Oh, but free speech, listen, the government cannot make a law to abridge your free speech, okay? That is different than you saying go down there and blah, blah, blah, and then that happens. People get very confused about all this, and the law is a little confusing on it. It's also evolving, and interestingly, as our culture and our society, I would argue, gets more and more sensory, C-E-N-S-O-R dash Y. The law- Not people dropping assets.

That's right. The law is getting more expansive in terms of what it protects. Back in the days of Czaplinsky, if you look it up in the 1920s or 40s, it was people saying, you know, the First Amendment is not designed for you to say the worst shit you can think of.

And fighting words, hate speech, these were things. And they were like real bright lines. Now, much more of it is protected, increasingly so, which is interesting because then it's becoming less and less true in our culture. It's weird, right? Usually they work in lockstep, not here. And Trump saying things,

does that become incitement to riot? No, and he wasn't even charged with it. Why? Hard case to make. Was January 6th an insurrection? I say no. What? Did you see what happened?

Yeah, it was a riot. It was disgusting. It was embarrassing. And a lot of people went to jail for it. Too many, not enough, that's a matter of your opinion. But an insurrection is a legitimate attempt to overthrow the United States government and assume control.

Most of these guys weren't armed. In a country that easily could have a lot of people be armed. I don't think it checks the box of it. That doesn't mean it wasn't wrong. It doesn't mean that it wasn't punishable and contemptible and condemnable. I think all of those things are true. I just don't think it was an insurrection.

I don't think it was a legitimate attempt. Well, but they were trying to mess with that vote. Yeah, they were. And I think if they had gotten their hands on members of Congress, do I think some of them may have been hurt? Maybe you never know. People suck. But Trump has a problem in that case

because I do think that he can legally be connected to the motivations of that day. Do I think this is the right way to deal with it? No, I don't. And I know that that bothers people and I know that it makes it seem that even as a lawyer, I don't respect the law and that that's the underpinning of our society.

I get it. I get the criticism. And this is a controversy. And me thinking that prosecuting a former president who's now running to be president again is a bad look. I know that sounds like a trivial way to discuss it, but I think it is actually fairly serious with profound implications.

I think you have to be very careful about overreach of prosecuting your political opponents. And I think we've been way over the line. I think the impeachment of Trump on the Russia probe was political overreach because you were never gonna remove them. I think if you have no chance of removal, the idea of impeaching for historical precedent

is an intellectually dishonest proposition. It doesn't matter. There was nothing good that came out of impeaching Trump. It didn't set a standard for behavior. It didn't make people turn on him politically. You were never gonna remove him, either time, although the second impeachment made more sense, except that you were never gonna remove him.

Going after Biden, same thing. Voting to impeach Majorcus, same thing. These are bullshit moves that are being used as proxy for productive use of the agency that you gave these men and women. They're not in the problem fixing thing. They're in the screwing over of their opponents thing. And this is evidence of that.

So to wrap up the question about these cases, being a controversy or an controversy, do you actually, this is just a prediction, do you see any of these bigger cases like the DC one or the January 6th one actually getting settled by the election or do you think this stuff just gets kicked out, passed it with delay tactics, you know,

done in Florida or whatever? Settled? Or this is not, I'm not a lawyer, so. Right, settled is for civil. Okay, sorry. Criminal is not settled. Will they be adjudicated? Adjudicated, sorry. I would be shocked. Really? Now people say, well then Take it to a jury. Criminal is not settled. Will they be adjudicated? Adjudicated, sorry.

I would be shocked. Really? Now people say, well then prepare yourself to be shocked because Jack Smith wants to get this on. I think that his aggressive nature towards timing is suspicious since when are prosecutors interested in the timing of justice? Now, you should want no delay.

Justice delayed is justice denied. People shouldn't rot waiting, but that's not the situation here. Is his aggression towards timing a function of wanting to move with all celerity of dispatch, that he just wants to be efficient, or does it speak to a different motivation? I don't know.

I don't have any reason to suspect him the way others do, but it's a bad look. And I think it's easy to slow things down, especially with big legal teams, especially when judges have to deal with the implications of having it go on at the same time as an election. So I would not be surprised if they are delayed and that they are not adjudicated. Now I think the first couple of cases to come up are also convenient for Trump. These BRAG cases are weak ass cases.

I don't think it's, oh, by the way, I don't even respect my own basis of analysis here because one of the reasons that the first case is a weak ass case is that a lot of guys cook books in business and the banks weren't hurt. This is the fraud one that just, yeah. The 300 million, whatever thing. A lot of guys do that.

And the one coming up is the Stormy Daniels one, the Hush Money stuff. Right, the Hush Money, the Stormy Daniels and the other one. And we know that happened. I got the tape of that. I broke some of the most important reporting on that, where just the recording that Michael Cohen made

of him describing to Trump what was gonna happen in the transaction. The idea that Trump didn't know is demonstrably false, which is rare in the law to prove the non-existence of effect, but The reason that it's kind of a fugazi case the money one is because we allow these rich developer guys and Corporate types to get away with things that others can't But two things could be true at once that's a shitty standard

But it is kind of the standard. And you are punishing Trump for something that you don't punish a lot of other guys for. And that makes it smack of politics and selective justice and prosecution. I think that's a problem. And I don't think it's been impressive to people. And that's why his numbers perversely went up

when word of the case came out, which is not usually how people respond to people doing bad things. The second case, the hush money thing, I mean, even if they convict him on that because of the way the law is worded, an improper campaign contribution. That's what you're going to hook a former president for, who is the nominee presumptively of one of two political parties. I think it looks like weak tea.

It looks like a political prosecution and I think it helps them. And I think it hurts the more legitimate cases that are waiting for those. But I do think what you just said is kind of controversial from your own end of questioning whether this stuff should be resolved in a timely manner before the election,

considering they pertain directly to the previous election. Like, don't you think that a case that involves election fraud or fake electors that come from the candidate who is not only running for president in this current election, but also announced his reelection campaign almost immediately after he got into office, to claim like, oh, it's election interference. This man started running for president again, almost within a day of him taking office. Don't you think the impetus for these to be resolved is to give the voters their chance to actually say, hey, this guy was found guilty or not in a court?

I just happen to think that like in a circumstance like this that is not a, that is a very unique circumstance, you know, wouldn't you want this to be settled before? Yes, I see the argument. I think there are competing arguments here and there are competing policies here. And it is not an easy call. And it is easier to argue your position

because you can say, well, but this is the way the system is supposed to work and no one's above the law. And you do have this added policy kicker of it being the central question of whether or not this man wants to undermine the exact institution of our democracy that he is now part of.

So that's a pretty compelling policy argument. But I do think there are competing arguments. And I think that keeping him off ballots, even the 14th Amendment, section three, that we were doing here as kind of like a throwaway argument long before anybody else was talking about it. Very good YouTube video did very good numbers for us, very early to the argument too.

Yeah, you did that before a lot of other people were talking about this. So please subscribe. But just because you can doesn't mean you should. Just because you have the right to do something or say something, should you say it? Is it right to say it? Is it right to do it?

And I think it's complicated. And I get that that's really frustrating to people. No, it's not complicated. No one's above the law. This is about law and order. Well, then why has nobody, but there's also prosecutorial discretion and it means something that nobody

of his status has ever been done this. But we've never had a piece of shit like this before. People will say, that's true too. There are things on each side of the scale. I get it, I get it. And I am not some fence sitter. I'm not an ambivalent person, nor do I have an ambivalent disposition.

But these are complicated things. And I think one, you gotta be slow about having a quick and easy answer to something that's complicated. And second, I am about the greatest good for the most people. And I believe the clean kill Second, I am about the greatest good for the most people, and I believe the clean kill of beating someone's ass in an election is better than keeping them off a ballot or beating them at court.

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gold. Visit allamericanassets.com or go and text goldgld to 1 888 390 25 22. Hey, I'm Tom power. I'm the host of the CBC podcast Q with Tom power. I get to talk to artists from all over the world, writers, musicians, actors, directors, all kinds of creative people. And we try to have the conversations you have with really, really good friends. The conversations you have when you share a love of something, about ideas, when you want to hear about everything. I feel really lucky to have these conversations. Q with Tom Powell, available now on Spotify.

Moving on, this is something completely different but pertains to your expertise and the industry at large here. This is a headline from Politico. Over 500 journalists were laid off in January 2024 alone. Now that is before the news of vice getting shut down. And I'm talking about, you know, the messenger that start up getting killed right away. All of these journalists and news outlets laying people off left and right, you yourself work in a news startup. I work for a production company, but I've been working on the news for some time. I'm bringing this up as a controversy, not traversing,

not from like, is it controversial to be laying off journalists? I mean, from the perspective of so many companies are doing massive amounts of layoffs right now. And every company is different. The numbers, obviously, are gonna be different from the messenger to Facebook or something. But I wanna know if you could speak to generally, like is it a controversy, non-traversey, to the extent to which companies are doing these layoffs

in what is, based on the data, actually a pretty decent economy, I wonder if you speak to controversy, non-traversey journalists getting laid off left and right and the state of layoffs at large in our bigger economy. It's about the marketplace. It is a non-traversey, but it matters. And not because they're journalists. This is not an effort to cleanse society of people who test power. It's actually the opposite. It's that you've had such an explosion of outlets

with social media and digital media. And I do believe that as a mechanism, a modality streaming is here to stay and is going to be an equal, if not greater, participant in the distribution of information. I think that the reason that these people are shutting down and they're sweating, one is that the economy is uneven, okay?

It's an investor's economy, not necessarily a service provider's economy. There is contraction in that market. There is also a change in the advertising space. There are so many places to advertise now that that's going to affect rates. And there are too many people who tried to get into and make money off of the cottage industry

of fringe communications. Not everybody is going to be able to do what Ben Shapiro did, which is to get a deep pocket to fund his fringe outlet and make movies and all these other things that are all propaganda vehicles for his right fringe political leanings. And that market can only sustain so many people. And the idea of all, but we're an independent media source.

Independent doesn't necessarily mean competent, does not mean solvent, and does not necessarily mean that it's better. Well, I don't want corporate media. Okay, but do you want media with layers of accountability and standards and a track record and an ability to be called out and vetted in a way that they will care about?

Cause a lot of independent outlets don't have that. You know, you have people now who are just shopping for provocation and controversy and they're making millions and millions of dollars off it. But that's because they're doing it through a subscriber model, not advertisers. Your big shot's on the right, like even a Tucker Carlson, okay?

Fox News, Megan Kelly. These are people who don't have tons of brand partners. They have subscribers, they have followers, almost exclusively on the right fringe. Rachel Maddow got a huge deal, not for television. Really, it was a podcast deal. When is the last time you heard about what happened on Rachel Maddow's podcast

or what she said on her podcast? Rachel Maddow, respect, smart. The professor, I used to call her when I was going up against her, when I was at CNN, smart, academic studies, researches, delivers very compelling pablum for the left to feel good about how they want to feel about issues and people. I get it, I get her success, tough going against her. But not killing it in this space. I don't know what her numbers are. I'm just saying they may be great.

She ain't poppin' like $30 million would suggest you should be poppin', okay? Why? It's a crowded space. And that cohesiveness is almost exclusively on the political right. Now I know that Bill O'Reilly and other people on the right always say it's the left who's cohesive. That is called gaslighting, okay? The idea that they're playing themselves as underdogs in the collective strength game on the right versus the left is laughable. And the proof is in the profits.

Why is it that Fox News and Newsmax has these crazy retention rates of how long people will watch? Meaning they watch all day long no matter who it is. Why? Because it's a pack animal in a way that the left is not. And I don't mean this better or worse, I don't. If anything, I've got a lot of dog in me.

I'm a loyalty guy. So I would get that kind of mindset of, these are my people, this is my place. I get it, I understand it. But that doesn't exist on the left. They eat their own all the time. The idea that it's the right that eats their own, they let Santos stay in.

The biggest embarrassment to American politics that I can think of recently, Marjorie Taylor Greene, all these jackasses, and they'll point, well, what about the squad? Look, the left has its own problems, but they're not as open and obnoxious as these people. And look, I don't even like the comparison game. See, I'm playing the game now. I'm letting them co-opt my independent critical thinking for the purposes of their own battle, the bottom of this dumpster fire of this two-party system.

I'm doing it. That's how seductive it is. That's how, you know, it sucks you in because it's the only game in town. I hate it. Oosh, oosh. So what is the point ultimately at bottom? It's that you're seeing businesses shut down

because there were too many entering this space in a contracting ad market. Advertisers are not putting out the money because they're not getting the returns because it's such a stratified market. And when it was just three channels, okay? It was one thing. And social media has been a little bit of a revenue force.

Oh yeah. From the beginning. Yeah, the whole pivot to video. The way to make money in the media is a devotional model. It's a subscriber model. That's the way to do it. Is to have people, DTC, direct to consumer, and have them pay for what you do,

and not do advertising. That is the best way to do it if you're good enough. What do you say to the people who are suggesting that you have some sort of a different publicly funded model that isn't necessarily PBS, but and not necessarily BBC where it's taken out of everybody's you know, bill or whatever or taxes or whatever. But like, you know, there's all these like benevolent

billionaires who are going like buying up Time Magazine or the Atlantic or whatever. Do you think there's room for some other model that isn't Greg paying for the Chris Cuomo project or Greg paying cable television? Is there another model by which that this could work? Sure, look, I think they can all work. And I think that they should all be in play.

I don't have any problem with anything. Well, public is interesting to me because people shit on PBS all the time for good and bad. But it's like PBS produces very, down the middle, I think like almost milk toast content sometimes, even though some of the reporting is fantastic. The children's programming is fantastic. Yeah, I think the children's programming

is the strong suit of it. Or PBS NewsHour, I think is pretty... Yeah, I mean, I think it's fine. I think that there is criticism that attends to break left. My point is though, media in a way is designed to break what is called left. Why? Because it was designed to be a voice for the voiceless

and to check power. You ever hear that expression that I don't love, by the way? We are here to empower the afflicted and afflict the powerful. I don't like that because I don't love, by the way? We are here to empower the afflicted and afflict the powerful. I don't like that because I don't think the job of the media is to punish the powerful, but it is to test them and to check them and to hold them to account.

If you are doing that enterprise and going after the powerful to see how they are supporting or undermining the efforts of those without power, well, that kind is lefty. Now, it's also kind of shifting because those people are now becoming more and more right-leaning. Why? I have my own theory about it. These used to be my father's people in the Democratic Party. Sure, new immigrants, because he was emblematic of them, but a lot of white union guys. And unions used to be homes for the Democratic Party.

They are still, but they're just not as powerful. They were, although they were on the comeback in a lot of places. And because it's a binary system, I just believe it's pendular. And these people have nowhere else to go. So they just get swapped from one side to the other. And I hate the system. But PBS is fine. I do think there is something to competition.

I do think there's even something to profit-driven. I think there's something to subscription model. And I'm fine with all of it. I really do believe that let it all go and the best will survive. I'm fine with that. You know, News Nation is the fastest growing cable news operation in the country. And I think that's because of exactly what you're saying. I think

there's an appetite for different and to get away from the game. And I'm banking on it, literally. Stelina and Italian Fine Dining Restaurant last year. You have unique goals. We're always inspired to keep creating and I've been thinking about opening a Stelina sister restaurant. And need unique business banking tools to help you get there. With BMO's Cashback Business Mastercard, get more cashback on my restaurant expenses. So then I can invest more on what's next for Stelina.

Be ready for your next step with the BMO Cashback Business Mastercard and get 10% cashback on business expenses for the first three months terms and conditions apply We have one more story that Amar should I were talking about this before you got here I was working on a story about this last night for something else There's pricing that Wendy's is looking at rolling out for its menu starting next year So they have these dynamic displays at the drive-through where the price might fluctuate throughout the day, controversy or non-traversey?

Non-traversey, let the market decide. One, there's a lot of places you can get shit food if that's what you wanna eat. So it's not like they have a monopoly on it. Wendy's is shit food. I got the spicy chicken nuggets. You got the baconator. I'm not saying it's not tasty.

I'm not saying it's not tasty. It's not healthy. But let me tell you something. They have a triple nacho cheeseburger that's like 1300 calories. And for an extra $10, you can add on $10 worth of bacon. That's a lot of bacon. To the triple nacho cheeseburger.

That's a lot of bacon, by the way. It's a lot of bacon. $10. God, I remember when $10 would have bought all three of us enough McDonald's to fart up in a 3000 square foot home. Well, thank God we are not in this. Oh, I mean, but it's such garbage. I gotta tell you, I have become so painfully aware of processed food and what it has done

in terms of compromising my recovery from COVID. This shit that I'm doing on Substack with Dr. Robin Rose is some of the most infuriating stuff I've ever done in my life. One, my blood work came back so frightening to me because like, I was so shocked at how much indication there is in my blood of infection from COVID and disruption from spike proteins

that may come from the vaccine. And I only had two doses of vaccine. I never got boosted because I kept getting sick with the new variants and my doctors were like, you know, I don't know, you know, you already should have the antibodies, whatever. But diet is obviously important. Duh.

But the danger of processed food is so fucking real. And Eve and I, I mean, I knew it, but I don't live it, okay? Like I can eat anything in the moment, not just like if I'm high, like, you know, just like I can eat clean or I can eat shitty. And, but this stuff is so bad for you. It is so bad for you.

Fast food is so bad for you. Oh, don't put it all in the same basket. It is so bad for you. Oh, don't put it all in the same basket. It is so bad for you. So, non-troversy because let the market decide. I never have a problem with pricing unless it is gouging. That's different. Well, there are studies that's like surveys

that have found that people consider this type of dynamic pricing to be price gouging in effect. But then don't buy it. Again, we're talking about Wendy's. We're not talking about the price of milk, which was a really interesting antitrust case in American jurisprudential history. This is not a necessity that there is

a controlled marketplace of supply. There is a lot of shit food out there if you want it. If you don't like what Wendy's is doing, don't buy at Wendy's. I mean, get the frosty, I'm just saying. I think it's very tasty. And I've always considered Wendy's the top of the shit food chain.

Yeah. Like, you know, that's like- The top of the pecking order. Absolutely. You got Wendy, what's your fast food ranking? So you got Wendy, then below that, probably Burger King, right? and then probably below that McDonald's I think that that might be the traditional space. Yeah, and then you have white castle. Oh, that's like on the floor

But that's just tasty too. That's like no white white castle. Stasty. My mom once found a recipe for White castle stuffing and she did this for Thanksgiving I don't know why she did this, but she took frozen white castle burgers and mashed them up to put them inside of the turkey. And so we get this like delicious Thanksgiving turkey and inside of it are these shit white castle hamburgers that I mentioned. It was the most sodium laced.

It was disgusting. People didn't need it. People wolfed it down. They love it. Very did. Not me though. I was like, come on, get this out of the bird. You're desecrating this delicious animal.

Well, first of all, let's, hold on. Let's not go too big on turkey, okay? Turkey's great. You know, I know you don't like turkey. I like turkey. Listen, I like turkeys because they eat ticks, okay? And I like how they fuck up my dogs because I think it's so funny that the dogs run down

and think they're gonna take on these turkeys and the turkeys don't even, they barely even put their wings up. The toms like, see these? Hey, hey, how you doing? And I like watching it because it's a good lesson to your dog. But I mean, it is, you know, it's not a tasty fucking thing.

But the, here's what I'm saying. It's about the sides. Let the market decide, okay? You don't have a monopoly or a control issue here. There are plenty of places to get your, you know, corn syrup, fat, and salt. It is shit food and you shouldn't eat it. Now, what is the fair response?

Well, the grocery is choking me to death and food prices are out of control. And this is all we can afford. As a function of money and time and willpower, because I'm so tired of working so hard that the idea of coming home and having to cook. And I know you sponsor these meals, but I can't meet that price point.

And for $5, $7, $9 for 50 bucks, I can feed everybody. I get it, I totally get it. And I get how somebody could say, oh, well, look what I bought and I did meal prep for three days. That comes to time and willpower. And a lot of people don't have the time and they're exhausted. So I get it, okay?

And I don't mean to make light and I care about the need, but it's also poison. And I believe that in the marrow of my diseased bones. And now I've had to change my diet, and I'll tell you what, you wanna hear the truth? The truth? I'm not getting it done. I'm not changing my diet

the way the doctors have told me to change it. I'm not drinking, which is something for me. I like booze, okay? But I am not changing my diet as fast and as well as I have been told to because of my blood work, okay? I'm taking all these pills, changing how I'm exercising to try to help my cells clean themselves out of these spike proteins.

Why? Go to the sub stack, it's all laid out there. But I'm not changing the food, why? Because I'm addicted. I'm addicted to the easy. And I live with a wife who owns a wellness company and eats the right way 95% of the time and I'm still not getting it done and my house is filled with the right things

Well, what are you eating? That's so bad. It depends Today I was with a buddy. I got lunch. I had a slice of his pizza. Sounds good to me. It was delicious. But there's a lot of processed ingredients in that. And yeah, and the bread. Cheese. The cheese depends on it, right? And then we went across the street and got a coffee.

All right, it's not bad. Depends on where the coffee is sourced from, of course, and all the insecticides and all that shit, but whatever. Starbucks gets theirs from ashtrays, I think. Right, but whatever it is, but then we split a piece of cake. Was it exactly what I'm not supposed to be eating?

Exactly what I'm not supposed to be eating. It is poison. The fake sugar, the flour, and how it's grown. It's all poison. And I ate it, why? Because it tastes good and it's easy, and I'm addicted to it. And that's the truth.

That's the truth. It tastes better and I want it. And it's really hard. And this is me, and I am like a disciplined guy, and I'm like a control guy and I'm like a control guy. I'm a vain guy. I'm a workout guy and I'm telling you, I'm getting it wrong whenever for meals.

And so you don't think it's controversial for? Having this conversation makes me want to have Chinese food. Hey, order Pig Heaven. I love Pig Heaven. I love it too. We get some of that, those ribs. Oh man, Pig Heaven, if you come to the Upper East Side of New York, go to pig heaven.

It's poison. Their menu is great because they're like, we were voted like one of the best restaurants of like 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, and it just stops. But it's still really good. Those ribs were great. I've probably eaten 200 of them. Okay.

But that sauce that they put on those things Pig heaven, man. Is poison. And I want it. And it really is depressing to me that I will sweat to the oldies for 45 minutes and do this zone two cardio and. Hey, controversy, non-troversey.

Pauli Shore being put in that Richard Simmons short film without Richard Simmons' permission. Non-troversey, he's great. He was pretty good, but the film wasn't great. And by the way, good segue for two reasons. One, Pauli Shore, How Can You Lose. Richard Simmons was really ahead on the accommodation principle of diet, where I know you're gonna eat bad shit, but ration it and plan it out so you don't overdo it.

That's what Deal-A-Meal was, and of course he was in that 80s, you know, aerobics craze also of movement, which is really important, but I gotta tell you something. Wendy's, it should be upsetting that we eat it the way we do. And it is probably the worst export of America that has become so contagious internationally.

For all the stupid reasons that extreme Islamists hate us, the one box that I don't push back on as much as, look at this shit food that they're sending all over the world. I wasn't expecting like Dave Thomas to be roped into this. And again, look, I don't sweat success. If you make something and people want it, good for you.

But this stuff is poison. Just one piece of pushback on the shit food thing. I had a friend, I have a friend. Again, the hat and the hat thing. Yeah, a friend, he's gone now. When we were in better contact, we were college roommates. He is diabetic and I had to memorize his order because he would send me to Wendy's

to get healthy food for him in our little college town. This would be his order. He would get the baked potato, he would get the broccoli, a little side of cheddar cheese, a thing of milk, and that would be it. So that seems pretty healthy to me, baked potato, got a little bit of cheese, milk. He's hurting on protein.

Broccoli, you know. There, I'd have to see what was in the milk. It's like a snack for him to get his energy up or whatever. Look, I think that is a highly atypical Wendy's order. I've placed him many times. And even then. Get his blood sugar up. How they grow their potatoes.

What is that cheese really? Milk is probably milk, although people have a lot of problems with that also. But I'm just saying, and I am not an extremist, okay? I'm not composting or any stuff like that. Oh, that's not true. I don't really compost,

but I am big into how I condition the soil from my garden. And my wife went bad on me about fertilizers and soil conditioners. So now I got to do it myself. Does the athletic greens make any regular and all that? There's no shame in my poop. I know, I'm a big fan of it. I have used some dog dung,

but I use mostly the fish racks. I bury fish racks, you know, the bones of the fish, that's the rack, in the bottom layer of the soil. And that is a great soil conditioner. Does it make your vegetables taste fishy? No, you're dope. But, so I'm not an extremist, but I know we're talking about pricing.

The pricing doesn't bother me. The demand bothers me and I'm part of it. This shit is poison and we are making ourselves fat, weak and stupid. You heard her hear first, Wendy's fat, weak and stupid. It's not about Wendy's, it's about all of it. It's about all of it. No,'t stupid. It's about all of it. No, I hear you, I hear you.

I mean, you are what you eat. And I am an example of not getting it done. I'm supposed to be 10 pounds lighter than I am right now by this point. And I'm not because of my choices and I'm not even drinking. Perfect example, perfect example. These buddies of mine brought me a Carvel ice cream cake.

It was a funny one. It's in the shape of a car and it says, good for long hauls, because I have long COVID. Funny. No, I put it away. I should have thrown it out immediately. Oh. But I didn't.

Yeah, be very rude. We got you a customer. Okay, thank you. I put it in the trash. Right in the trash. I then, the guys like, oh, let me cut up a slice of the thing. I said, I don't want that shit.

And we look it up and like, they're like a gazillion chemical. Look up ingredients in carvel ice cream like fudgy the whale or whatever you know it was like the chocolate with the cookie crumbs and then the vanilla and then the icing on top and the sprinkles and the windows were made of some kind of fondant like thing and the list of chemicals and ingredients was daunting. But what did the moment do? The moment left it in the freezer.

And the moment came where I was stressed out, pissed off. I took that thing out of the freezer and in one phone call with the person who was pissing me off, I ate a third of it. Who knows how many grams of garbage of poison I put in myself? And it is the worst of all things. And this is no disrespect to Carvel.

I grew up on Carvel. A lot of my great memories with Carvel generated. But, and even then, you do these things in moderation, okay, but it's still bad shit in small quantities. That's all, you just have to know that. And I know it and I still do it. And it makes me one more reason for myself loathing. You know, I didn't like when Michael Bloomberg was mayor of New York City,

and he wanted to ban big gulps. Yeah, the giant sodas. Because I believe that you should be able to make your own bad choices. Like the suicide, when you take every different flavor and you put it under the fountain, that's a very bad choice. I don't recommend that.

Stick to, you know, stick to Sprite. Dr. Pepper is a decent soda. I don't drink soda. Stick to, you know, stick to Sprite. Dr. Pepper is a decent soda. I don't drink soda, but those are two good options. It's all the same stuff, by the way. Well, no, you mix up the lemonade with the cherry coke. But it tastes different. But it's all just corn syrup and ascorbic acid

and citric acid, it's just all shit. Yeah, like the freestyle machines where it has like 50 options and just like printer ink. But it is an interesting question of controversy and controversy. I didn't like that he wanted to ban the size. It's up to me to do it. I feel the same way about all vice.

And I don't like people conflating THC with nicotine. You show me that marijuana causes cancer the way nicotine does. But this food is poison. In small amounts and in large amounts, it's poison. And yet it's dominant in so many sectors of our society. Should we not allow it? Everything in me says no except part of my brain, which is like, but it's Everything in me says no except part of my brain, which is like, but it's all bad for you. Well, okay, but so what are we gonna do next?

Eggs, what are we gonna do next? Meat, and I don't know. I don't know, I mean, I guess I go caveat emptor, let the buyer beware, let the marketplace decide, and people should make the choices that they wanna make. But it is amazing how much we encourage things that are bad for us. It was zero exaggeration in that description.

And I didn't like that Bloomberg wanted to tell me what size soda I can have. I remember people being pissed at my father for passing one of the nation's first statewide seatbelt laws. It has saved tens of thousands of lives. I've seen some great archive video of people responding when they were like first rolled out in like the 70s or whatever.

And they're going, it's the same kind of arguments you hear today about all sorts of like, almost libertarian freedoms of like, it's my right to drive. I can't believe I'm being policed in my own car. And it's like, it's an interesting argument because well, it's probably gonna save drive. I can't believe I'm being policed in my own car. And it's like, it's an interesting argument because well, it's probably to save your life, you know? I get it, but why should you be able to tell me what to do for my own safety

if I'm not hurting anybody else? I get that too. Motorcycle helmet laws. I mean, you know, there are a few arguments that are easier to make than it's better for you to wear a helmet. But I understand why guys say, but I don't want to wear one. And if I hit a bug, I hit a bug.

If I crash and I'm dead and I crash and I'm dead, I like the experience of this, my life is my choice. I want to smoke, I want to drink, I want to do whatever it is, I want to eat sugar. I get it and yet there is something kind of crazy about it because so much of our culture has become tilted towards unhealthy habits. And yet at the same time,

it's also become tilted towards a huge increase in healthy habits. More people go to the gym, more obesity, more fit people. It's really weird how we're like exploding in all directions and dimensions at once. What? I just have a big heaven on the brain.

I haven't had that in a while. I got everything on that menu. I haven't had that in a while. I got everything on that menu. I've had like that whole pork section. It is really, really good. And I watched this thing online the other day. I love swine. It is my favorite meat. It's not a contest.

Okay. Wow. And I am like a total, like I can eat anything. Like I don't have strong appetites, which is another reason it's so pathetic that I make bad food choices. This guy put pork underneath the microscope compared to other meats and the ratio of bugs

that are moving around in pork. Oh, man. Versus the other ones. That's why they have you cook it to a certain thing. It's not just trickin' osis. And I eat it anyway. I had barbecue the next day after I saw it. I mean, how pathetic does somebody need to,

I mean, I am, you know, people say to me, hey, you know, I heard you say that you struggle with self-loathing. Of course I do. I do stupid things that are bad for me and others all the time. Well, you just write big hell for me, so I'm not very interested in eating pork in 10 minutes.

Because of your description of this disgusting microscope with the bugs. Look, we gotta wrap this up. People want your opinion on all this stuff. A lot of non-triversies today. I didn't all the stuff. A lot of non-triversies today. Didn't hear much controversy. A lot of non-triversies today. Yes.

We were heavy on non-triversy. Sorry. And that's good because I don't like to fake the funk. And I think a lot of things are hyped up for you guys in the interest of making money in the tight advertising market that we were discussing within the media landscape. But I appreciate you joining me and the smart,

if not diet savvy, Greg Ott. I bet you won't let us kid eat that stuff. Mm-hmm. She wants to go to Wendy's, she's going to Wendy's. Go to Wendy's too, man. I'll name her Wendy. My mom said my name was gonna be Gwendolyn. Wait till mom weighs it.

["Wendy's Theme Song"] Thank you for joining us here ways it. measly five dollars. You can only get half of a 90 gram of fat and salt burger for that amount of money. We'll see you again soon. Let's get after fit. Wow.