The Young Turks - G7 Becomes A Meme, Meeting Kim Jong-Un, This Is Your Brain On Trump

Episode Date: June 11, 2018

A portion of our Young Turks Main Show from May 14, 2018. For more go to http://www.tytnetwork.com/join.  Hour 1: Trump goes to the G7 summit, Historic US-NK Summit. Hour 2: Trump’s New ‘Say No To Drugs’ Campaign Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Thanks for watching. Welcome back, Anna Casparian, Brooke Thomas, and Mark Thompson with you. You guys kind of have like Brooke Thomas, Mark Thompson. Yeah, it feels, it feels lyrically right. I like it. I like it. There's a flow to it. Okay, some TYT lives for you.

Ruth Iverson tweets in writing, Trump is going to ruin this country's status in the world. Who knows how long it will take. to clean up his mess. Why can't we tell him you're fired? He sucks at his job. Yeah. I mean, I wish.

I wish. I'm just terrified about him getting reelected. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I, well, we're, I mean, we're in a lot of, we're in the middle of gerrymandering that is now going to another level with voters' rights. And so there are a lot of ways that, that he can get in besides just being popular enough, you know. Yeah.

Later in the hour, we will talk about the Supreme Court's decision on. on voting rights in Ohio, it turns out that who we elect as president really matters because Neil Gorsuch voted with the majority and the ruling is not good. So, Sean Fogel says he's not picking at random Trudeau was buddies with Obama. I think you're right about that. I think that's a really good point. Yeah, it is a really good point. I mean, he hates anything that Obama favored or succeeded at or accomplished during

his presidency. But I think, you know, Trump just has this undeniable pattern of attacking our longstanding allies. It's what he does. I think you could have ended that sentence with attacking. Attacking. Unless you're Putin or, you know. Unless you're a strong man.

I mean, Duterte and the Philippines and Erdogan and Turkey and so on, China and Russia. And yeah, you're right. And now Kim, this is a guy who has an affinity for. strongmen. That's right. So it's easier for him to pick on those that are allies. It's bizarre. It's an upside down world, but that's the world it is.

And I did one also quickly mention that one of the things that Trump attacked Angela Merkel and Germany for was their contribution, financial contribution to NATO. And with that attack, it seems as though Trump did get a bit of a concession from Germany. They have agreed that it might make sense to pay a little more into. or contribute more to NATO. So we'll see how that turns out. But look, that concession, I think, will speak volumes to the people who believe in this kind of rhetoric, in this type of strong-arming, this type of bullying.

And you might get some short-term wins, but you've got to think about what it does to the country long-term, because you need allies. You can get some of these things without flipping the bird to everybody and, you know, screaming out of the parking lot on your jet over to Kim a day and a half early. So, yes, these concessions can be reached through negotiation and through an accord where everybody would leave on better terms. Exactly. And I'm sure that pressure doesn't just come from the United States.

It comes from other allied countries that believe Germany can contribute more. If it was just Trump making that argument with all the other countries, you know, basically brushing him off, I don't know if Angela Merkel would concede. But who knows? Okay, let's move on to some other international news. Donald Trump is currently in Singapore with his, for his meeting with Kim Jong-un. This is an unprecedented and historical meeting. And even though there is some speculation about whether or not it will lead to any success

in getting North Korea to agree to denuclearizing, there are some worries that this meeting might legitimize North Korea, I like that he's taking a diplomatic route, but we'll get to that in just a second. Now, the White House said that discussions between the United States and North Korea have moved more quickly than expected while apparently removing the possibility for now that President Donald Trump's meeting with Kim Jong-un could extend into a second day. There were some questions about whether or not it would extend to a second day. And there's, of course, there's planning that goes into this, but on

On Trump's behalf, it seems as though, actually I know for a fact, that there's been very little to no preparation. He is now focusing on foreign policy from a gut instinct model rather than, hey, I just listened to my advisors, I got all these different perspectives, and this is how I'm going to proceed type model, which is historically how things have been done when it comes to these types of situations. Trump and Kim are expected to sit down in a one-on-one meeting accompanied only by transatlantic to be followed by a working lunch.

That'll be Trump's first working lunch. Yeah, working lunch. With an expanded group of officials. So first, it's going to be a one-on-one thing with translators. Later, they'll expand the meeting with other individuals. Now, I keep talking about how Trump prepared for this, but I want you to hear from Trump himself. So let's hear from him. What did he do to prepare for this meeting with Kim Jong?

Lucky us. Yeah. How long do you think it'll take you to figure out whether he's serious about giving up? Good question. How long or take? I think within the first minute, I'll know. How? I just my touch, my feel. That's what, that's what I do. How long will it take to figure out whether or not they're serious? I said, maybe in the first minute. So he will know by his touch, his feel. It's what he does. He's meeting with Kim Jong-un. He is one of the most dictatorial, evil people on this planet.

And he's just going to base everything on gut instinct. Touch, his touch and his feel, because it's what I do. Well, the accord itself, if they can get to some kind of, first of all, a peace accord, you know, in a war that's essentially, it's an armistice, right? There hasn't been an official cessation of, there's a sense. of hostilities, but there hasn't been an end of the Korean conflict yet officially. I mean, so there are a lot of ways you can get to positives in all of this without getting a full denuclearization.

This is just a photo op. It's a one-day meeting with Kim. It's clearly a photo-op. In a sense, he doesn't need to prepare. If you can shake hands and sit down for lunch, you can get through this day. Coincidentally, he wouldn't prepare even if it were, you know, a two-week, eight-hour a day. session that he was going to have to be leading. He wouldn't prepare in that case either, but this really is just a superficial meeting. I mean, which is all Kim has wanted this whole

time over, this is why this meeting has not happened. It's not like this is some amazing feat. It's, they've, North Korea has wanted this meeting with prior presidents. And also, we're talking about his feel, his touch. That's how he knows if this is going to be a reliable negotiator. But history has shown us that this team is not. But I mean, I guess your touch, I mean, you know, of course it's a photo op. That's all they want. Just acknowledgement from the U.S. So he elaborates on how he plans on using his gut instincts in this next clip.

You know, the way they say that you know if you're going to like somebody in the first five seconds. You ever hear that one? Well, I think that very quickly I'll know whether or not something good is going to happen. I also think I'll know whether or not it will happen fast. May not, but I think I'll know pretty quickly whether or not, in my opinion, something positive will happen. Okay, so this, there's a lot to unpack here. There's a lot I want to say. First, I agree with you, Mark, that this is the first, possibly only meeting he's going to have with Kim

Zhong-un and it does feel a lot more like a photo op. With that said, I am happy that he's taking a more diplomatic route rather than tweeting insults at Kim Jong-un on Twitter, right? Like instead of talking about how big his button is and whatever, threatening nuclear war, that was a very bad time when it came to this whole North Korea nuclear weapons situation. Now another thing that I'm a little concerned about though is even if everything goes well, with this first meeting, even if there's a second meeting, and North Korea somehow agrees to denuclearize, would North Korea really trust the United States to uphold its side of the deal,

which would be to lift the sanctions and also, you know, end military operations with the South Koreans and the Japanese, which is one of the things that the North Korean government does not like. They want that to end immediately. I know that if I were Kim Jong-un, I would look at Trump and I would see how he reneges on all of these other deals. I would see how he constantly goes against allies, slap sanctions on people or increases tariffs or creates new tariffs. I would look at the way he treats allies and think to myself, I'm not an ally. I'm an enemy. I'm an adversary. We need to talk about a relatively new show called Un-Fitting the Rep. The Rep. Republic, or UNFTR.

As a young Turks fan, you already know that the government, the media, and corporations are constantly peddling lies that serve the interests of the rich and powerful. But now there's a podcast dedicated to unraveling those lies, debunking the conventional wisdom. In each episode of Un-B-The-Republic or UNFTR, the host delves into a different historical episode or topic that's generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called powers that be. Featuring in-depth research, razor-sharp commentary, and just the right amount of vulgarity, the UNFTR podcast takes a sledgehammer to what you thought you knew about

some of the nation's most sacred historical cows. But don't just take my word for it. The New York Times described UNFTR as consistently compelling and educational, aiming to challenge conventional and upend the historical narratives that were taught in school. For as the great philosopher Yoda once put it. You must unlearn what you have learned. And that's true whether you're in Jedi training or you're uprooting and exposing all the propaganda and disinformation you've been fed

over the course of your lifetime. So search for UNFDR in your podcast app today and get ready to get informed, angered, and entertained all at the same time. Why would I trust him? Of course, he could turn around and pull out of this deal at any moment. Those are the things that I'm considering and thinking about, and I'm curious if that goes through Kim Jong-un's mind or if, you know, Trump's advisors are worried about that.

The perception matters. I mean, he's also looking in the mirror saying, I wouldn't trust myself. And then it's easy to go back to this time where my button is bigger than your time. But also, remember where we were just two weeks ago? That was not polite. That letter was kind of nasty. It was all full of implied, hey, I'm cooler than you. It was weird.

We were good and we were bad. We're good. Now we're having this meeting. And honestly, I mean, Dennis Robbins there, though. Maybe he'll save it. It is true. This has been an on-again, off-again summit. And two points.

First of all, Brooke is right that Kim gets a lot out of this meeting. Just on the superficial one-day meet, it's a photo-off. This is what he's wanted. He's now on the world stage with the, quote, leader of the free world. All of a sudden, this is really what he wants, a place at the table to show the legitimacy of his regime. His regime is brutal. As you know, it's a gulag state. It's positively horrifying life in North Korea.

He's starving out his people to pay for weapons systems and so that he and his henchmen can live, you know, lavish lives. But all right, but there are a lot of bad people. Okay, you could say that. The point is he is now legitimized by this meeting with Trump. So there's that. But Anna may have the point, which is, look, how can you make a deal with Donald Trump knowing that he may flip on that deal in 18 months, especially if it's a deal for your survival? That's all Kim cares about.

He only cares about the survival of his regime. That's why I always thought there's really no threat of violence on the Korean Peninsula, because he doesn't want a war on the peninsula any more than we do. So I agree. The prospects of a legitimate agreement coming from this, I would think, are very small. But again, this one day meeting is just a photo-up. Right. And I think the best thing that could happen is that Kim Jong-un doesn't do anything that Trump

interprets as an insult because all it would take is one small misinterpretation or interpretation of an insult for Trump to lose it, right? And so I just hope that it ends peacefully. I do not believe that North Korea will denuclearize. And I think that even if North Korea agrees to do so, it's unlikely that they will uphold their portion of the deal. Because historically, they have not done so. And I find it hard to believe that, for instance, South Korea would give North Korea some

of the defectors back to the country, which is what North Korea wants. I mean, they're not going to give those defectors back. So we'll see how this all plays out. I'm just hoping that it ends peacefully. Listen, the last footnote I would say to you Trumpies out there is that, look, Pompeo got the release of some Americans from North Korea. That was a win. Talking with Kim is a win.

As Anna said, I'd rather have them talking than just trading insults. And we're all walking around thinking, oh, my God, is this guy he's crazy enough to launch? And we're talking about our president when we're talking about that. guy. So, so there is, there's something here that's, that could be a net positive. I don't want to, you know, lift my leg all over it just because it's Trump, even though I have no respect for the man, but what could come from all of this might be respectable. Yeah, well, we'll find out by tomorrow. We'll find out what the outcome of this meeting will be. Let's go back to the United States, and specifically back into the White House, there's some drama brewing. The New York Times

has reported that several White House aides and John Kelly himself are considering quitting their jobs because it's become a miserable place to work. According to the New York Times, several White House aides have considered leaving the Trump administration in the near future, including chief of staff John Kelly, who reportedly called the building a miserable place to work. He allegedly made those statements last week when he was meeting with senators. The Times is also reporting that Joe Hagan, one of Kelly's deputies, has also considered departing.

Now they are exhausted and they feel increasingly alienated in the Trump administration. Apparently Trump has no interest in working with them. He doesn't trust them, he's concerned and paranoid about leakers. And so when he seeks counsel, it's usually not from his advisors or from members of his cabinet. He seeks counsel from personal friends outside of the administration. Now, Steve Bannon says, this is the way things work with Trump, and it's working out handsomely. This is how he won. This is how he governs.

And this is his superpower, drama, action, emotional power. Basically treating the U.S. government as one giant reality show, you know, a giant soap opera. When in reality, we have real problems with real American suffering. And unfortunately, we just have this dysfunctional environment in the White House. I mean, just, even this coming from junk, it's like a song on repeat. Because not only did you make the decision to work for this administration, but the person before you in this exact same position, I feel like this was the same article with different names.

Yeah, no, you're right. I've been here before. Yeah, the turnover is astonishing. It's definitely the same situation. Oh, it's miserable. He doesn't listen to me. This has happened before. So we didn't need, I mean, we never need Steve Bannon's words, but we didn't need them this time because we already knew this.

But he's finding, I think, don't you see in Trump a little bit that he's kind of feeling it now? He feels his power. He feels empowered. He doesn't need to listen to anybody. And when you're there to offer advice and even counsel that might not always agree with his initial instinct, that's got to be a pretty lonely place to be. because you know the president, A, doesn't want to hear from you if you don't agree with him. And B, you're seeing him pursue policies that are ludicrous in the view of most of these White House staffers. Now, remember, the people that he surrounds himself with in the White House, including John Kelly, are supposed to be experienced professionals who can advise him, who can help him, who can give him much-needed perspective, considering the fact that he doesn't have any experience in politics.

Trump does not come from politics. He doesn't seem to even understand how our system of government works. Right. He doesn't come from governance. He doesn't know anything about administering this. And so, look, I understand this rejection that Americans feel toward career politicians. I totally get that. But at the same time, you need people who understand the inner workings of governance, as you mentioned, Mark.

And Trump doesn't understand that. And he has this obsession with pursuing things, you know, unilaterally and only surrounding himself or receiving advice from people who agree with him. So let's just quickly go to who he talks to and who he's getting his advice from. According to the New York Times, rather than trusting the people around him, Trump has taken to working the phones more aggressively to seek counsel from Corey Lewandowski and his longtime friend David Bossie. I mean, those are the people who are in Trump's ear, advising him on important issues like national security, the meeting with Kim Jong-un, what to do about our economic situation. It's terrifying.

These are not people who have any experience or any knowledge in how our system of government works and how to run a country. Plus, he needs a balancing element there. He's way out on a limb on most things. and you need some balance in that White House. Increasingly, there is none. And so you have the people fleeing the White House. I mean, really, that's what's happened.

He's run through most everybody. And now, as Anna says, you've got Kelly looking at the exit and Kelly's assistant looking at the exit. And then it'll be all new people and a threadbare staff. This is not everybody who's left hasn't been replaced. And you have an isolated president. He increasingly will be like. But he loves it.

He loves being isolated. He really does. It's not Nixonian. And, you know, at the end of Nixon's administration, he was isolated, but he was isolated in depression and isolated as he felt attacked and he saw the end of his presidency. Trump doesn't see that. He sees all these people who are getting my way are now out of my way. And I think you're right. He's feeling it. He likes it.

I mean, we, something that you mentioned, like, yes, we have people heading towards the exit well before we've had enough people walk through the entrance. Yeah, it's a great point. That's scary. And that's particularly true of, you know, key. national security positions. So again, he is not only isolating himself within the White House, he's isolating the United States from its own allies. And that is a scary thing to put into the context of, you know, a national security component of, you know, the federal government that is still flimsy to say the least because he hasn't appointed enough people

yet. And a lot of the people that have been appointed have, their history has nothing to do with what they're doing now. I know. Yeah. I mean, oh, I mean, his government and cabinet is populated by people who have, you know, who couldn't find the men's room for the first couple of months. I mean, it's true. Cori Lewandowski wasn't smart enough to tell a New Yorker reporter that what his phone call with him is off the record. And he went out, that's the reason why Cory Lewandowski was booted from the White House. At TYT, we frequently talked. We frequently talk about all the ways that big tech companies are taking control of our online lives, constantly monitoring us and storing and selling our data. But that doesn't mean we have to

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That's EXP-R-E-S-S-V-P-N dot com slash T-YT. Check it out today. I mean, the guy's a clown and he's advising the president. That is devastating and terrifying. Just keep that all in mind. Trump really missed Lewandowski. He's one of the guys that Trump, he's kind of a guy's guy sort of that. And so Trump liked him and he liked the way he ran the White House. And as a result, I'm not surprised in a way that he's still in touch with Lewandowski. I am. I am a little. I was like, wait, what? I did at some point think that this guy has embarrassed him and this was over.

Am I crazy? To hear a little bit that they never really broke up. Was Lewandowski with Hope Hicks? Also, was Lewandowski and Hope Hicks were they a thing? I don't, I don't remember. I don't remember, so I don't want to.

Anyway, I think there's a part of Lewandowski, which is sort of that aggressive male drive that Trump likes as well. Anyway, I think they're bonding on that level. Well, that's just some food for thought. Well, we go to break.

Last thing I would say, just because we mentioned Lewandowski, most of Trump's counsel, I think now is coming from the outside. Yes. Maybe Pompeo is an exception. These are people with security clearance. These are not people who are employed by the federal government. These are informal advisors who knows what he's sharing with these people. And they're not, I don't think they're to be trusted.

But I also don't trust the president. So we'll see. We'll see how this all plays out. We gotta take a quick break. When we come back, we'll give you that story about what's happening with voting rights in Ohio. Thanks for listening to this podcast. You're only halfway through. So hold, hold, stay right here.

Just want to remind you if you want to get all five segments of the Young Turks commercial free. These are just two of them. Every day we do it. So go to t-y-tnetwork.com slash join, and you'll get the whole five segments, two hours. Add free. Do it now. I love when Bart brings us in with, like, this very pleasant, like, elevator music. It's like the world's falling apart.

I know it's elevator music, I don't know, but I agree. It's kind of that loungey or whatever. Let's just all go out dancing. It's very light and fluffy. Light and fluffy, yes. And there's really nothing about that in the world right now, sometimes it seems. Exactly. Well, we have heard from our audience, and I love hearing from our audience.

So let's read some TYT lives. Rita Ann says, what this administration is doing to children is the same thing they do. in the fictional Handmaid's Tale. So I haven't seen season two. I'm not in the right headspace for it. I feel like it's a good show to watch when you don't have a political situation that could quickly turn into that dystopian future, right?

Yeah, I'll watch it. Kind of for a very similar but also different reason where I watch it, I'm like, well, it could be worse. You know, I look around like that. Could be worse. Probably real fertile, but I don't want to find it. find out. So that's good to know. Well, when Giuliani was attacking Stormy Daniels and saying that she's, he was just shaming her, saying that she's not a woman of substance and, you know,

she exploits her body for money. Like just, it reminded me of Handmaid's Tale. I mean, that type of language. And I don't know, maybe I'm going overboard in my commentary there, but it's just not something that I would expect from any other administration. First of all, that whole issue wouldn't come up, right? Paying off a porn star days before the election so she doesn't share her affair with the world. Like, it's, anyway. All right, by the way, Mitch McConnell was bragging about how, like, oh, you know, this president has really brought forth family value. Really, family values? Yeah, they'll say anything. If it'll, they'll throw everything out there to see what sticks. But yeah. Yeah. Abel says the internet will now be for the elite. Yep,

We're certainly headed in that direction. It's pay to play, for sure. Speaking of internet and things you can get over it, there's a new episode of my podcast going up just a few hours. Yeah, there is. It's called The Edge with Mark Thompson. Grace has been on it, and Anna's going to be on it. Yes.

And Michael Shore visits at the beginning. We talk politics and then some other stuff. So if you haven't had a chance yet, edge dash show.com, and it's on all the platforms. I'm going on this old school tear right now. I'm listening to all these old, old school. podcast, and I had just listened to one with you and Malcolm Fleshner, you, Malcolm, and Jank. Oh, yeah.

It was very good. You guys made me laugh a lot. Old school is always a lot of fun. It's so much fun. I love that show. All right, and also, we have some good news for you in case you hadn't heard. The Young Turks is now offering full audio of all of our shows, all of our shows. So if you are interested in listening to the audio versions of our programs, you can now

do so. All you need to do is go to t-y-t.com slash audio. Simple. We actually went out of the way to create a URL that wouldn't be difficult or complicated. Sometimes we haven't done that in the past, but this time we did it. TYT.com slash audio. I'm very proud of us. Also, we have a brand new show that will be hosted by Nina Turner, which I'm super excited about,

former Ohio State Senator. The name of the show is We the People. So make sure you check that out. It's definitely a pleasure and honor to have Nina Turner as part of our network. All right. All right. So, I have some news from the Trump administration that's wacky and weird and sad. Weird. The Trump administration has rolled out their anti-opioid epidemic commercials, and they're getting mixed reviews.

Let's first take a look at one of these ads. First time I tried Viking, and it was laying around my mom's house. And I kept taking them whenever I could get them. I didn't know they'd be this addicted. I didn't know how far it'd go to get more. Opioid dependence can happen after just five days. Know the truth, spread the truth. So there was that.

There was at least one big fan of the rollout. That's President Trump himself, who said this of the ads. Let's take a look at this clip. I've been very strongly in favor of. spending a lot of money on great commercials showing how bad it is, so that kids seeing those commercials during the right shows on television or wherever, the internet, when they see these commercials, they, I don't want any part of it. That's the least expensive thing we can do where you scare them from ending up like the people in the commercials.

And they are truly graphic and scary. There are four ads that they're rolling out. And in each of these For ads, they depict the true story of someone hurting themselves to get more pain medication, a little bit more on just the backstory of these ads. The White House Office of a National Drug Control Policy partnered with two non-profits, the Truth Initiative, and the Ad Council, in order to create the advertisements. That ad space will cost $30 million, according to an official with the Ad Council. And the White House told reporters on Thursday they will only spend $384,000 on the campaign. The rest will be aided by donations.

Organizers reportedly tested over 150 different images before. We're settling on the four advertisements chosen. No, Trump obviously really liked them, but there are a lot of other people that are saying that these are not effective advertisements. Who does not know at this moment, after 22 years of an epidemic, that these drugs are addictive, said Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford University and former senior policy advisor for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. They don't give information.

They are just trying to terrify everyone, and I think people are already terrified. This is reminiscent of the Just Say No campaigns, and I think that there has been enough evidence to show that that actually really backfired. And a lot of experts are saying that these White House ads are going to do the same. You guys have seen the ads, or at least one of them that we just played. What is your response to this? I mean, this isn't even a Band-Aid on a gushing wound. The ad that we did watch completely misleads people into, I mean, it shows that this administration does not understand. they fundamentally misunderstand, maybe purposely so, how this epidemic came about in the first

place. Oh, Trump, with his big talk about how he's going to be this tough guy on the pharmaceutical companies, this is a problem that emerged from pharmaceutical companies that pushed doctors to overprescribe incredibly addictive opioids. And people would get prescribed these drugs for legitimate reasons, for legitimate pain that they were suffering from an invasive surgery or an injury and they would get addicted because that's what happens with opioids. They get addicted. And so it doesn't happen because there's some black guy who's stealing drugs from his mom and then he gets addicted that way.

No, no, no. That is not indicative of the trend that the country experienced with opioids. And by the way, in case you didn't know, this is a problem that has disproportionately impacted poor white communities. Just want to put that out there. saw the black guy, I had the very, that same thought that Anna just articulated was, wow, really? I mean, statistically, it's a white problem. I mean, that's not to say that that guy, I mean, who they are depicting dramatically, wasn't an African American. I'm just saying

that it was an odd choice. Now, maybe the other ones do. Yeah, the other ones do depict more varied demographic, but in the one that I showed, yes. So maybe, to be fair, jumping on the wrong thing. But, but of course, opioids are out there in such great numbers because of the pharmaceuticals and their stranglehold on our culture. The real answer to this isn't, isn't ads. Look, I'm not against those ads. I'm not, it's like, oh, you know, it's a total waste of time. I don't know.

Maybe it gets through on some level. It's a waste of money. No, it doesn't. It doesn't. So, like, I wonder. But it's certainly not the answer is my, it's not a real, it's not really addressing the problem. I mean, it's, it's again to what you're saying, Anna, that it's not even a Band-Aid. I mean, the problem, the intervention that's required, the things that have to happen to really

begin to stem this tide are far more substantial than even all the ads you want to produce from now until the end of time. If I were someone who were addicted to opioids and I saw those commercials, I would be insulted because it makes you seem as though you're this irresponsible person, you're just an addict who can't take control of your own life and that you'll go to extreme measures just to get your hands on this drug to get your fix. That is not what happened to the vast majority of Americans who are addicted to prescription painkillers, it happened because of a lack of regulation, pharmaceutical companies that have run amok, and what these people need is not to be demonized, okay? I don't care what the race is. That doesn't matter at all.

They need treatment. They need help. And that is not what they're getting here. Fear mongering is not going to help anything. I went through the DARE program throughout grade school. And guess what? I did drugs. I didn't do drugs throughout school, but I ended up trying marijuana. That didn't stop me, and there was all sorts of fear-mongering about marijuana. The DARE program was a giant waste of federal resources. And that is exactly what we're seeing here. It is not even a band-aid for this gushing wound. It is nothing more than Trump making it appear that he cares about the situation.

He doesn't care. If he genuinely did, he would create treatment programs that really help these people in addition to pushing for regulation. Yeah, I think that's just, that's a great point, Anna. Something that I keep being reminded of is who does this ad play well to, and it plays well to people in Congress over the age of 50 who have probably never firsthand experienced any sort of opioid addiction or dependence in their lifetime. And they would watch them be like, oh, yeah, that would really scare me. I'm never going to touch Percocet. So who worked on me, so that's probably good.

But when you look at the experts who have been extensively interviewed, they say this absolutely has the adverse effect. And again, pointing to the Just Say No program, that's never, saying no has never been really the core. or problem that we're here to talk about. So just say no to who, the doctor who's prescribing you this medication for the extreme pain that you're feeling? Is that who you say no to? I mean, and remember, there were studies recently that showed that these opioids were no better at treating pain compared to other over-the-counter non-addictive pain medications.

Look, there are serious issues of the pharmaceutical companies. Trump said that he would hold their feet to the fire. Again, his tough guy language never really gets implemented when it comes to those in positions of power. It never gets implemented when it comes to corporations. And the people that he gave Hillary Clinton crap for, you know, the same corporations that he felt were controlling Hillary Clinton. They're controlling you, Homeboy.

So, okay, so my final question for you guys, a tone-deaf ad like this that just really, I think we can agree misses the mark. Is this intentional or is it ignorant? Is it his intent to just sort of smoke and mirrors away from big pharma as we've talked about? Or is it just ignorant in that the advisors surrounding him are not giving him the information he needs to make an informed decision on a problem that he says he deeply cares about. I think the evidence is pretty clear as to what's needed. I mean, you know, this has been a problem that has been talked about and reviewed and statistically analyzed in many, many different ways through the past administration. just happen when Trump took office.

We're awash in these opioids for the reasons that have been articulated here already, that Big Pharma has got a stranglehold on everybody. And so the answers here, I, so whether or not Trump is willfully in denial of the answers, I don't think he cares. I really don't think he cares. Bring me something to show that we, let's get on top of this, come on, bring me some. I think he's completely surface on this. He has no clue, nor does he have any.

he's not anxious to get a clue on it. Interesting. All right, let's move on. Another Trump story, sorry. So, you may have seen hashtag two dictators trending on Twitter. That had to do with Fox and Friends weekend host, Abby Huntsman, who put her foot in her mouth. Let's take a look at this clip. As we await this historic summit with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

Anthony, talk to us about this moment. I mean, this is history. We are living, regardless of what happens in that meeting between the two dictators, what we are seeing right now, this is history. Did you catch it? She said the two dictators. That's not the thing to say. Was it inaccurate?

She did come back following the break, even though her co-host at the time Anthony Scaramucci did not seem to pick up what she put down. She picked it up and she apologized. Let's take a look at this. And I do want to point out that earlier, as you know on live TV, sometimes you don't always say things perfectly. I called both President Trump and Kim Jong, when a dictator did not mean to say that, my mistake.

So I apologize for that. And she apologized again on Twitter. She said, apologize on the show. I'll never claim to be a perfect human being. We all have slip-ups in life. I have many, smiley face. Now, let's all move on to things that actually matter. Well, clearly she was savage for it.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have that response, right? Well, you can't criticize Trump in any way or refer to him as something that, you know, might be interpreted as a criticism on Fox News. You never offend our dear. Dear leader. But I think it was a slip of the tongue. Yes. I don't think that she intended to do that.

But it is kind of funny because just last week, another woman who is part of Trump's administration also had a little bit of a slippy slip, right? Yes, she did. Am I right? Yeah. Do we want to take a look at that? Yes, I do. Okay.

And the problem with the President of the United States and the Commander of Chief expressing that opinion. Yeah, the Commander of Chief. I've seen that before. before, but it really is entertaining, just because I wish we did have a Commander of Cheese. Oh, Commander of Cheese, if that position existed, that would be my dream job. Yeah, I mean, it's just, can you just imagine, Commander, this is my, this is my Cheese Army, I would tell them what to do. I ultimately, I think this was- Bring my Commander of Cheese in here right away.

Commander of Cheese is just such a great way. And then they wear one of those Green Bay Packer hats, you know, the Cheese Head. Okay, okay, but I think, I think Abby Huntsman did genuinely slip. I don't think she intent. But with Kellyanne Conway, I don't know, look, this is outrageous speculation. But remember, Conway's husband has been pretty openly critical of Trump on Twitter. And I feel like there's some pillow talk going on where, you know, Kelly Ann Conway is a little more open about how she really feels about Trump. Maybe she does, you know, secretly refer to him as commander of cheese. And then it just kind of slipped on, again, or wild speculation.

I like to believe that she lost a bet, and one of her friends, like, you have to slip in, Commander of Cheese. Do it on CNN. You can't do any wrong. They'll still bring you back. Fake news. She didn't really say that fake news. CNN's fake news.

But I love how the host keeps a straight face, by the way. That takes talent. I mean, it probably was a slip. I love the idea that it's some kind of bar bet. That's a great take on it, you know. But look, they're, I think both. Both of these are a slip. And by the way, the first slip, to be fair, he's a wannabe dictator.

He's not a dictator yet, Trump I'm talking about. So he acts like a dictator, but he's not quite there yet. He's not quite there yet. But remember, we spoke about this story earlier in the show, Grace. Trump is increasingly alienating his advisors. He's not taking their advice. He's making decisions unilaterally and completely ignoring them. That is what a dictator does.

A dictator does not want anyone to question their decisions, their skills, their ability. Trump is also very thin-skinned, can't handle criticism. Story we didn't get to today, but I just want to quickly mention it. Apparently, when he comes across memos or news articles that he doesn't like about himself, he rips them up, and they used to have an aide come in and tape those memos and articles back together because they're supposed to keep them for presidential records. Right. So there's literally someone assigned to tape back together those things that he tears up. Because having the aid come in and tape them back up is much easier than asking him to not rip those memos and articles up in the first place.

I mean, and again, just to draw the distinction, you're dealing with a dictator in Kim who can have somebody taken out and shot. He could shoot Mueller, for example, as opposed to just fire Mueller. Trump can't even fire Mueller. I mean, I guess he could, but my point is he can't in the dictator way. So he's a wannabe dictator. He wants that ability to, hey, go rough up that guy from the Washington Post. You know, I think, and the war, just because I mentioned, the war on journalists has begun. Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely. And you're right. Of course, it hasn't gotten that bad yet. But I think that if he had his way, I don't know if he would order for, you know, people to be murder. The execution, yeah. Yeah, I don't, I mean, I think that does go too far, I think. But, you know, he has the characteristics of someone who wants unmitigated power.

Yeah. Agreed. So do we have time for one more story? Should we go to break? We have to go to break. Okay. So let's do that. Remember to tweet to us using the hashtag TYT live and we'll be right back.

Thanks for watching what I hope was a lovely edition of the Young Turks. Now, you know that that is two of the five segments that we do because that's free. We want to have you support independent media and come watch the whole show that we do every day. That's five segments overall, no ads at all. That's at t-y-tnetwork.com slash join. Come become a member. Thanks for watching either way. Thanks for listening to the full episode of the Young Turks.

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