The MeidasTouch Podcast - Exclusive Interview with New DNC Chair Ken Martin

Episode Date: February 9, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports how even Fox News is puzzled that Trump has broken key campaign promises and Meiselas interviews new DNC Chair Ken Martin about what Democrats can do fight back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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getting lower housing is not getting more affordable there's not peace in Ukraine in 24 hours. It seems that every day Donald Trump breaks another 20 promises. And this is hurting Americans, hurting Americans in the pocketbook, hurting America's standing internationally. Folks, even Fox is turning against Trump on some of their more newsy segments. I get here. Watch what they said earlier in the day. Let's play it. A lot of people in the country are talking about eggs

and the lack thereof right now. I have a sister who lives in Austin, Texas. They said they can't find eggs anywhere, Costco and beyond. Although I went and looked for, you can go about 30 minutes and you can find eggs on the shelf. But egg prices are, there's no doubt, they are way up. I know anybody who does the grocery shopping that's listening to this is going, they're crazy. In fact, I mean, the prices that we have here, that's an average.

I feel like most people are going, the eggs I see on my shelf are way more expensive. And I enjoy my eggs too. So this is certainly. And it's not just egg prices. It's all prices in general. You're seeing MAGA people are sending us messages as well like this right here, you know, saying what's going on with these egg prices. It's all prices in general. You're seeing MAGA people are sending us messages as well, like this right here, you know, saying what's going on with these egg prices and they're complaining. And then you even have MAGA Republican Congress members who are going on and they're

talking about their priorities and they're saying Americans need to experience pain, pain for Elon Musk, for Donald Trump. The budget's going to be filled with pain. Here, play this clip. See a menu of options that will come out in March and it will be littered with a collection of ideas, some of which Americans are going to really not be for. But hey, if we don't sacrifice, if we don't understand that this is going to be a painful process, nothing's going to change. I'm joined by the newly elected chair of the DNC, Ken Martin. You got your handful, Mr. Martin. What do you say in response to all of that?

Well, look, it's only been three weeks and Elon Musk has already shown that he's the worst president that the U.S. has ever had. And so in all honesty, I mean, this is the guy that was put in charge to bring efficiency to our government. The last thing he cares about is actually helping improve people's lives. Him and Donald Trump, basically, you have this government now that's been bought by the billionaires. The billionaires have one thing in mind, which is to make the most amount of profit they can off the backs of hardworking men and women in this country. You know, I don't know how in the hell changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America is going to help anyone in this country right now. I don't know how, you know, eliminating the free tax filing system is going to help, you know, middle class Americans and working class Americans who file their taxes for free right now.

It's only going to help the billionaires who own TurboTax as an example, right? middle-class Americans and working-class Americans who file their taxes for free right now. It's only going to help the billionaires who own TurboTax as an example, right? You know, Elon Musk now controls all of our social security number, has access to almost all of our private data. What do you think he's going to do with that? As a tech pirate, he's going to take that data and he's going to sell it to the highest bidder. I mean, this is what our country has become. You know, this billionaire cabinet is worth $460 billion. Not the top 1%, by the way, it's the top 100th of 1% has now bought our federal government and they could give a damn about actually helping work of people in this country. And clearly the last three weeks have proven that. You know, you can tell that it's even permeating the Fox bubble, their echo chamber, where they had to discuss it.

And then, you know, the pivot is we got to feel pain. Like if you're paid, this is what they're saying on the magazine. If you're a patriot, you got to you got to sacrifice for Donald Trump and and Elon Musk. Americans, I mean, didn't Donald Trump say he was going to lower prices on day one that there was going to be more jobs, so much jobs you weren't even going to know what to do with all of these jobs? Didn't he say there was going to be peace in Ukraine in 24 hours? So what do you say to all of these Americans who are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what, what? You're talking about, I think Trump was talking about on Friday,

plastic straws, the big one. Everybody thinks about how much we need plastic straws. What do you say to the American public? Well, again, I mean, look, he said he was going to bring down the cost of goods on day one. He hasn't done that. In fact, cost of eggs have increased dramatically. He's done nothing at all in the first three weeks, either him or

his co-president, Elon Musk, to actually bring down the cost of goods in this country and to help everyday Americans who are working their asses off to get ahead in life. You know, he made a lot of promises. At this point, he hasn't delivered on any one of them. He seems to be focused on anything but helping the American people at this point, only trying to help his billionaire friends make as much money as they can. And as you said, and you heard from those clips, inflict as much pain on the American people as possible, only so they can make off with as much money as they can at the expense of all of us. That's what this is really about. And I've said for the last few weeks here, you know,

whose side are we really on? Whose side is Donald Trump on, right? I know which side he's on. He's on the side of these modern day robber barons who are essentially trying to pilfer the U.S. government, make as much money as they can and do nothing, absolutely nothing to make a difference in my life or your life. So, Ken, you're in the hot seat now, one of the most important jobs, DNC chair, also sometimes one of the most thankless jobs as the DNC chair, but incredibly important. And, you know, so the question I get asked, and I know the question I'm sure you're hearing right away and you were hearing as you were running for DNC chair is, where are the Democrats? What are the Democrats going to do? When are we going to see them fighting? And people don't just want to hear, well, Republicans control the House and the Senate and the Supreme Court. I think we need to educate people that that's the reality.

But I think people want to see fighters. They want to see people out there. What do you say to people when they say, Ken, congratulations? What are you going to do for me now? Well, as I said just a couple of days ago, right after I was elected, they asked me, what's your message for Donald Trump? And my message is we're coming. We're taking the gloves off. We're going to throw a punch and we're going to land a punch.

That's what I'm bringing to this. At the end of the day, we need everyone to stand up. Right now, when the stakes are so high for the American people, if people around this country don't see us standing up and fighting back, fighting back and pushing back hard, how in the hell are they going to believe that when they put us back in power that we're going to fight for their lives then, right? And so it's incumbent upon us right now at this moment to stand up to the excesses and extremes of this administration that are not only shattering lives of people throughout this country, but they're

destroying communities. So look, we have to resist, but we can do both at the same time. We can walk and chew gum at the same time, which is we can also define ourselves while we're also resisting Donald Trump. And that was one of the lessons of the last election, frankly, in my opinion, is we didn't do a good enough job of giving people in this country a sense of who we are as Democrats, what we're fighting for and why. So we've got to do both. But let me tell you right now,

what we've seen these last few weeks should incense all Americans. And it's incumbent upon Democrats to get themselves off the mat, dust themselves off and get themselves in the fight. This is the fight of our life right now. And people across the country are watching. They're watching us closely. They want to see us fight. In 2016, someone said to me, the Republicans are shameless, but the Democrats are spineless. It's time that the Democratic Party grows a spine

and starts throwing a punch. Let's talk about how you would define the Democratic Party in 2025. You know, one of the things that I've been saying, I've been saying a few things. One, ABC, always be campaigning, and DBD, Democrats be Democrats. And you don't need to chase being, in my view, Republican-lite or just a form of being a Republican. Stand up for workers. Be proud of what your principles and values are. Because if you actually look at the polling, most Americans actually align. But I think one of the weaknesses is like, I don't know, Democrats get psyched out by all the right wing disinformation. They let Fox set the narrative. And then somehow we're chasing that

and we're like a lighter version of some of their stuff. I'm like, just stand for workers, stand up. So you talk about defining Democrats right now. We need to go on the offense. How would you how would you define what you want to see the Democratic Party be in 2025 moving forward under your leadership? Well, look, I think it has to be fiercely focused on a working class agenda, giving people a sense that we recognize that they can't afford their groceries, right? And we're going to help bring down costs as Democrats. We're going to make sure that working class people can not just get by, but can get ahead, can actually retire with dignity, can actually save a few more pennies to maybe afford a vacation, right? Have access to good quality education, of course, access to healthcare, right? You can go down the list of all the things that

people struggle with on a daily basis, those kitchen table issues that so many Americans are feeling like the U.S. government and politicians don't give a damn about anymore. And so that's what we have to be fiercely focused on. I will tell you this, that there was research that came out last spring that showed that for the first time ever, the two perceptions of the two political parties has switched. The majority of Americans now believe that the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democratic Party is the party of the wealthy and the elites. That is a damning indictment on our party.

That's not who we are at all. So we've got to get back to basics. We've got to show people who are working so hard, who still believe in the American dream that if they work hard, they can climb the economic ladder and achieve success, that it's still possible. And that has to be our message.

We have to focus on those kitchen table issues, those struggles, everyday struggles with child care costs, with rising home costs, with not being able to afford groceries or gas. These are all things that create economic anxiety. And that's where the Democratic Party has to be focused. may have been fighting for workers or firefighters or first responders, Donald Trump would show up to the fire station with that six-hour cold pizza and stand with them and then get people to vote against their own interests. And I've always said, Democrats, ABC, always be campaign. Go to the fire department. Hang out with the fired workers. Hang out with the workers. Be there because your values actually align as well. But you got to look people in the eyes and you hang out with the workers, be there because your values actually align as well. But you got to look people in the eyes and you got to say to people, people want to hear it. I'm with you. I feel your struggle. Let me shake your hand. Let me give you the final word, Ken,

about what you want to say to people about the beginning of your tenure, any message you want to give to the people. Well, I just want to reflect on what you said about the ABC, always be campaigning, right? That's part of what I campaigned on for this position, which is we need a permanent campaign right now. That's not just showing up four months before an election and starting a conversation with a voter, right? But doing exactly what you're talking about, showing up in the union halls, right? Showing up at the shift changes, showing up in community well before an election and building a durable relationship with the voter around their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations, and not just asking them to vote for our party or our candidate. That also means having a

communications infrastructure that is always campaigning all the time. Unfortunately, we don't live in this conventional wisdom of people just paying attention in the last five months of an election. Unfortunately, we live in a perpetual wisdom of people just paying attention in the last five months of an election. Unfortunately, we live in a perpetual campaign, which means our party needs to be always campaigning, which is why I am going to stand up a permanent campaign at the DNC. We're going to get out there, talk to voters, and most importantly, we're going to get back to organizing and building relationships with voters around shared values and about their hopes and dreams. Look, we've got a lot of work to do with very little time.

But you know what? We've all got to roll up our sleeves, get ourselves in this fight, and realize that American people are relying on us to stand up and fight for them because they feel forgotten, they feel left behind, they feel downtrodden, and they feel like no one gives a damn. I give a damn. I know our party gives a damn. And we've got to get back in this fight. And Martin, newly elected chair of the DNC, excited to see what you

do next. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much. Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 4 million subscribers by the end of this weekend. Thanks for watching. Can't get enough Midas? Check out the Midas Plus sub stack for ad-free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, and more. Sign up for free now at MidasPlus.com.