The Young Turks - Kimmel Gets Canceled - September 18, 2025

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/TYT and use code TYT and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Trump takes a victory lap after Jimmy Kimmel is suspended. Trump officials ask the Supreme Court to allow the firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook. The president designates Antifa as a terrorist organization. Kamala Harris reveals her first-choice pick for VP in 2024 would have been Pete Buttigieg. Rep. Van Hollen criticizes Democratic leaders for delaying their endorsement of Zohran Mamdani. Hosts: Sharon Reed, Michael Shure SUBSCRIBE on YOUTUBE ☞  https://www.youtube.com/@TheYoungTurks FOLLOW US ON: FACEBOOK  ☞   https://www.facebook.com/theyoungturks TWITTER  ☞       https://twitter.com/TheYoungTurks INSTAGRAM  ☞  https://www.instagram.com/theyoungturks TIKTOK  ☞          https://www.tiktok.com/@theyoungturks 👕MERCH  ☞      https:/www.shoptyt.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to The Young Turks, the online news show. Make sure to follow and rate our show with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five stars. You're awesome. Thank you. When you're with Annex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at amex.ca.com.

Did you lock the front door? Check. Close the garage door? Yep. Installed window sensors, smoke sensors, and HD cameras with night vision? No. And you set up credit card transaction alerts,

a secure VPN for a private connection, and continuous monitoring for our personal info on the dark web. Uh, I'm looking into it. stress less about security choose security solutions from tell us for peace of mind at home and online visit tellus.com slash total security to learn more conditions apply Hello, everyone, Michael, Sure, no Jenk, no Anna. They've earned a day off.

Besides, Jenk is all over the place, making the rounds, representing progressives in fine fashion. You've probably seen him. Where has he been TMZ? Well, he's just been all over. Michael, esteemed journalist, T.Y.T. contributor. It seems like we were just together. It does. We were together on Dr. Ritchie show. You know, when people don't show up, we do. So that's a nice thing. And as we speak, Jenk just texted me. So I would argue that he's not doing anything that's productive for progressives or anything. He's texting me, which is, you know. Okay, well, that means he's watching or something. And so I better behave myself.

And he's telling me about football, one of the other. Oh my goodness. He's not critiquing us. Okay, I'll be my same old cell. But we're going to begin with this one, free speech warriors. Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk. And Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings and they should have fired him a long time ago. So you can call that free speech or not, he was fired for lack of talent. Notice how everybody who disagrees or even criticizes the president has zero talent. It's just a coincidence.

Here's what's going on this morning. That was President Donald Trump stating that comedian Jimmy Kimmel's ratings were actually to blame for the suspension indefinitely of his show rather than the actions of his own government, as if he had nothing to do with it. And as if that wasn't enough, Kimmel is now being pressured to make a donation to turning point USA. We're going to get to that momentarily, but first, we have to rewind a little bit for you. Kimmel came under fire for comments he made on Monday about Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, the gentleman by the name of Tyler Robinson, who's now in custody, not talking still. We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to. score political points from it. Jimmy Kimmel hosting his show on Monday. So yesterday morning, FCC commissioner Brendan Carr suggested that Kimball's comments could lead to consequences

from the government. Here is one of his thinly veiled threats. A lot of these licensed broadcasters themselves push back on Comcast and Disney and say, listen, we are going to preempt. We're not going to run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out because we, we licensed broadcaster, are running the possibility of fines or license revocation from the FCC if we continue to run content that ends up being a pattern of news distortion. All right, there you have a head of the FCC, the commissioner Brendan Carr. Now, according to a report from Rolling Stone, those comments, absolutely terrified ABC executives. In the hours leading up to the decision to pull Kimmel, two sources familiar with them,

matter say, senior execs at ABC, its owner, Disney, and affiliates convened emergency meetings to figure out how to minimize the damage. Multiple execs felt Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line. The two sources say, but the threat of Trump and his administration, retaliation loomed large. ABC's decision to suspend Kimmel's show came shortly after Next Star, which Jones local television stations announced it would no longer air the show. And keep in mind that next star, you see, it's all related, just have to connect the dots, is seeking FCC approval for a multi-billion dollar merger with Tegna, its smaller rival. They need something from the Trump administration.

And Michael, we know that a la what, CBS, Paramount, other people who have disagreed or not towed the line, The administration is not going to just greenlight anything. It's quid pro quo oftentimes. Do you believe that Nextar just independently without having any intervention decided, that's egregious and we're not going to air Jimmy Kimmel anymore? Or do you think they had a little push behind the scenes? Well, I think both, actually. I think, you know, Next Star owns News Nation. They are a conservative leaning operation.

They are not Fox News, but they certainly, you know, lean to the right. And for full disclosure, I worked for News Nation, good people, but they're, the business side is what the business side is. The other part of it is that they were one of the companies rumored when ABC might be spun off by Disney. They're one of the companies that was rumored to be in the market to purchase ABC. And in purchasing ABC, you know, so you have the heads of ABC here, Bob Eiger, the head of Disney, Dana Walden, they're the ones that apparently made this decision on Jimmy Kimmel. Well, they also want to make sure that they're not upsetting anybody who might be in the business of buying them. I get it. Business is business. I'm not in it, but I get the people are in it to do well and have sales and make money.

But, you know, when you hear him say that there's a pattern of news distortion, but Jesse Waters and Sean Hannity don't get called out and they don't get boycotted and taken off the air. This is Jimmy Kimmel, a comedian who is objectively a funny comedian. It's not, you know, just because Donald Trump doesn't find him funny that he is not the last word clearly on what is funny. So I see so much going on here, so much at play. But the bottom line is it's censorship, right? And we are now protecting the Second Amendment and deciding the first one doesn't matter. Yeah. And if Kimball is your sense of human.

If you like to laugh, he's off the air indefinitely. I don't know, maybe he'll hit a comedy club. I'll tell you he's laughing big time, okay, belly laughs, okay, probably doubled over. Donald Trump, last night, Trump rejoiced over Kimmel's suspension. Here's what he wrote, great news for America. The ratings challenge, Jimmy Kimmel's show is canceled. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be. But it had to be done. Kimmel has zero talent, worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible.

That leaves Jimmy and Seth two total losers on fake news NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC, President Donald J. Trump. Like I said, he's barrel laughs. official white house rapid response account had a more concise message here's that they're doing their viewers a favor jimmy is a sick freak is it is this for real this morning car set down for an interview with cnbc about kimball suspension he stated that this story isn't about the government threatening media rather it's about media companies getting a permission structure to end shows with bad ratings. Listen. You think there's a much bigger shakeup that's underway right now.

I think people, again, try to focus narrowly on the specifics here, but if you just back up, I think ever since President Trump won the election, it's created a permission structure for markets, including the media market, to rationalize. And again, if you look at the ratings for late-night television, they've been in an absolute nose dive for years, but for some reason, these companies felt like they had to continue to subsidize it. I think that's ending. And again, I think your viewers get this, but think about the business side of this. You have the national programmers, Disney, that create this content, and you've got individualized licensed TV stations all across the country, and they're required,

they've been for years, required to respond to the needs of their local communities and viewers. I think it was those local communities and viewers that were saying, you know, we don't like this stuff anymore. This is all about ratings and local viewers, grassroots. Let's look at Kimmel's ratings. Annual Nielsen ratings compiled by industry site Late Nighter show Kimmel average 1.77 million total viewers per episode last year. It is down 2.3% from the year before, 2023, New York Posts with that.

According to monthly Nielsen figures, Jimmy Kimmel live drop. to just 1.1 million total viewers per episode, August 2025. That's down 43% from January's 1.95 million. During the Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's Legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute.

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With 800 points after registration, activation, and first purchase of a dollar or more. See the Tim's app for details at participating in restaurants in Canada for a limited time. Later, CNBC host, David Adp. Faber asked Carr, straight up, if the government is targeting shows that make fun of Donald Trump. And here's how that went. I do wonder, and I think many people do, whether you really are just targeting comedians who typically through the years of have made fun of political figures in a way that because the president simply is offended by it. No, no, look, again, broadcast TV is different. We're on a cable show right now. You don't have an FCC license. You don't have an obligation to serve.

the public interest. Podcasts don't either stand-up comedians, whether they're on lots of forms of communications don't, and Kimmel is free to do that. But if you have a broadcast TV license, that means that you have something that very few people have, and you're excluding other people from having access to that valuable public resource, and it comes with an obligation to serve the public interest. And again, over the years, there's been a rule in place at the FCC that local TV stations get to preempt programming that they don't think meets the needs of their communities. But recently these national programmers, ABC, Disney, Comcast, NBC, they've been exercising outsized control and power over those local TV stations, and there's been no pushback.

Something about the way he said outside, outside's control and power. Yeah. It's incredibly ironic. Just a little bit more, Michael. Yeah, just one thing here, just, just, you know, just a little bit ago, Donald Trump in the United Kingdom, said the federal regulators should revoke broadcast licenses over late night hosts who speak negatively about him, you know, right. So we all know that Johnny, what Johnny Carson did to Richard Nixon and to Jimmy Carter and to Gerald Ford, how they made fun of Ronald Reagan, that it's been fodder for late night hosts since the very beginning and that's all it is it's fodder but one one person has no sense of humor and all these other presidents apparently took a tongue in cheek maybe they were offended by it upset by chipman maybe

gerald ford was upset by Chevy chase you know falling down and coming in and saying live from new york imitating a stumbling president who by the way was the best athlete president we've ever had so so i i don't know this is this is about trump because trump is saying it's about trump It doesn't matter what Brendan Carr says. It matters what Donald Trump says because that's all that matters to Brendan Carr. Yeah. Sorry. My little sister.

No, my little sister, we do something, you know, maybe getting the candy jar weren't supposed to. And she just, can you just keep the story straight when the parents come asking? And she, he won't even keep the story straight. Yeah. He's just, he's giddy. You won, dude. You don't like Jimmy. And you can't even keep the story straight.

straight. The locals did it. Nope, it wasn't about you. Right. There's even more Michael. CNBC host, Jim Kramer, brought up the fact that Kimmel, and I think we need to do some kind of check, I want to make sure he's not disappeared. Is he okay? Just off the air? Kimmel's now being pressured to donate to Turning Point USA. Watch what Carr had to say about that. According to the New York Times, late Wednesday, I'm just quoting here, Sinclair, another owner of many local TV stations, said that it would also suspend Mr. Kimball's program and call to Mr. Kimball to apologize and make a meaningful personal donation to Mr. Kirk's family, the activist political loop, turning point USA. Do you think that's an appropriate remedy of the situation? I think Sinclair is every right to call for that. Again, you know, Sinclair affiliates with Disney. They take Disney contract, they have a contractual relationship with Disney,

and that's between the two of them to figure out, you know, what's going to make sense to make both of them comfortable with the relationship going forward. That's just it. I'm not sure it was just between the two of them, Sinclair and ABC Disney. Let's end with Trump, who has continued to comment on. Kimmel throughout the day. Here's what he said during a press gaggle. Look, he was fired. He had no talent. He's a whack job, but he had no talent. And more importantly, the talent he had no, because a lot of people don't know how talented, they get ratings.

But he had no ratings. His ratings were worse than Colbert, I think. They got rid of Colbert, which was a good thing to do. Look, that's something that should be talking about for licensing, do. When you have a network and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump. That's all they do. If you go back, I guess they haven't had a conservative going in years or something. Let me say it. But when you go back and take a look, all they do is they're licensed. They're not allowed to do that. They're an arm of the Democrat parties. By the way, how is Gaza doing that horrific conflict where so many people have died? And Ukraine, Russia, what's going on there?

It's ironic that the leader of the free world, who was just with the King of England, who don't they roast the royal family all the time over there? I think it's ironic that the King of England hasn't tried to, I mean, listen, the Royals and the whole. arm that's behind them put out narratives. But now it's an American free speech president who says you can do anything you want that I tell you. And by the way, you can't criticize me. I mean, it's just, well, I guess it's the new American way, Michael. Well, apparently. And, you know, and what are they doing now? What are the ABC and Sinclair stations doing tonight? They're putting a one hour tribute to Charlie Kirk in place for these, for the hour that would have showed. the Jimmy Kimmel show. Jimmy Kimmel is hysterically funny. I'm not just saying that. I'm saying

that because nearly two million people at a time where everyone is cutting the chord still tune in to watch Jimmy Kimmel each night. And that is an important and huge number for broadcast television. The president is wrong. Jimmy Kimball's ratings are superb considering the climate of television right now and how late night television is not what it was 10, 20, 30 years ago. It just simply is not and that's okay that's that's how things have changed and people get their their their entertainment elsewhere and in very divided and less segmented ways the fact here is that donald trump doesn't like being made fun of he has people who will kow to everything he says and i should say that many presidents do they just don't have this kind of adherence nor do they

make the kinds of demands that trump makes so that's a little different i mean presidents surround themselves by with yes people right all the time it's it's why team of rivals and in talking about lincoln's cabinet was so unique because he had people there who were different than he was but you surround yourself by yes people uh when you're the president generally speaking Donald trump does it in a way that these people have this and not only are they are they so devoted um and so loyal to a fault to this guy and curiously to so many of us but he demands more of them in regards to loyalty than any other president has. And that's the difference right there. And this is what you're seeing now with Kimmel getting canceled. Here's what Donald Trump has

assured us of, though, that the highest rated television show that will ever be broadcast will be when Jimmy Kimmel returns to the airwaves whenever that will be. He didn't think that far ahead. I think you're exactly right. I think you're exactly right. And I think it's even more this cult-like insulation that he's built around him, these yes people who he's not loyal to at all. This whole situation where Nixon toyed with it, right? He wanted the FCC to go after his detractors, but there apparently weren't enough people around him who said, yeah, let's do this thing. He found resistance, not anymore. He's telling us how to feel, what to think, what to say, what to do. It's, I'm more mad at, because I expect this from

Trump, Michael. And I'll give you the last word. I'm more mad at ABC, the law firms. Everyone who capitulated, it's just, it's eroded so much. I don't know how we get it back. Yeah, the universities, everybody. The only person who hasn't capitulated is Jeline Maxwell. And that is, that's what we should be talking about, is Jeffrey Epstein. That's where Trump's loyalty lay. Yeah. Well, good reporter with a British accent, asked him about that across the pond. Much more to come. Stay with us. Oh, hi, buddy. Who's the best you are? I wish I could spend all day with you instead.

Uh, Dave, you're off mute. Hey, happens to the best of us. Enjoy some goldfish cheddar crackers. Goldfish have short memories. Be like goldfish. Bank more oncores when you switch to a Scotia Bank banking package. Learn more at scotiabank.com slash banking packages. Conditions apply. Scotia Bank, you're richer than you think. Welcome back, Sharon Reed, Michael Scher.

And one other thing we should mention, you know, You know what Jimmy Kimmel did in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder? He posted something very beautiful online. And I'm not trying to give him over credit for this, above average credit, but it was decent. And what he said was, this man should be here. Can we just pause for one moment and say no matter what you believe in, this gun violence is just disgusting, paraphrasing. And he wished the Kirk family well. He sent love and prayers from his family to theirs.

So this was before all this, before he was canceled for saying, well, we're still, what did he say that was, like you said, so bad? But this is the climate we're in. The next one we're calling Cookt. Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court now to let it fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. If the court greenlights this, it would be another extraordinary move that could reshape the Fed's independence and, of course, expand the president's power even more over the economy. Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed the emergency request, arguing Trump had four cause to remove Cook under the law governing the central bank. The administration points to allegations of mortgage fraud, charges Cook denies, and that remain

under Justice Department investigation with no indictments filed. The reporting shows documents, though, that appear to contradict the administration's claims. And let's pause here, Michael. I want to get your prediction. What are the odds that Donald Trump's captured Supreme Court and his buddies on it hear the case? Well, I think the divided appeals court leads me to think that they will hear the case because it was two to one. It was two appointees from, I don't know if they were Biden or Obama appointees, but they were appointed by a Democratic president and one appointee who was was a Trump appointee, who divided on the issue of whether or not there was cause for this.

My tendency is that they are, in listening to what Sonia Sotomayor has said recently, is they are tired of this emergency docket on the court, and all of these fall under emergency docket cases. That said, it's a divided court. It's a 6-3 court. And the chief justice seems to be okay with it. That's some of the other justices, even in the majority, who aren't, whether or not they take the case, I'm terrible at predicting the court. I'm not a lawyer.

On its surface, it seems like this is the kind of thing that should wait until it has been litigated before it is ruled upon. And that's what the courts have said, the lower courts have said, including this one, it was a majority. And the Supreme Court, generally when these lower courts say these things, things. If there has not been litigation, they turn it back to the lower court. But because the president has had such success doing this, they're taking it to the high court. I'm going to say, just so we have something about which to be optimistic, that I don't think they're going

to take the case. Okay. I hope you're right. But, and again, but do you see what happens when you capitulate time and time again? The dog wants another treat. The child won't take a nap. You've got a monster on your hands. So he keeps doing this. You would think that with Donald Trump, you're going to get it either way if you don't do what he wants. But I would think it would be slightly less if you just, on whatever ground, say, this isn't our protocol. We're not going to hear this one. It's not, you know, in best interest overall or something. We're not going to do it. But that's not what happened. These are people that don't need to count out to the president, right? They have lifetime appointments. They are above reproach.

They are insulated from any kind of inaction. As a matter of fact, that was a huge problem with Samuel Alito and the flag that was flown and some remarks his wife made to a reporter is that there's no oversight for the Supreme Court. The Congress before it changed over was going to take that up as an issue, right? That there should be some kind of, you know, recourse that you have against the Supreme Court for misconduct. But these are the kinds of people that do not need to remain loyal to Donald Trump. There's nothing, there's no better job that they can have and they have this one until they don't want it. And that's what's so curious about this fealty that even these justices are experiencing. Yeah, it feels like everyone's spineless. What is it? You can't take

the wrath. You know, and I'm not saying you watch something like January 6th that they can't really have a go at you. But it's somebody has to do something here to quote a Atlanta housewife. Who going to check me, boo? That's basically what Trump is saying every time you want something. I was just about to use that same quote. Shiree Whitfield, I think, season seven. Noted. Cook, one of seven members of the Fed Board just voted in favor of lowering interest rates during a two-day meeting earlier this week.

Trump has long, of course, pressed for deeper cuts. Cook argues her removal is a pretext to stack the board with loyalists who will bow to the White House's pressure. Federal appeals court temporarily blocked. Trump's effort on Monday, Rulini violated Cook's rights by failing to provide notice of the allegations or a chance to respond. You're dead on with this one, Michael. The judges Bradley Garcia, J. Michelle Childs, both Biden appointees sided with Cook. Trump appointed Judge Gregory Ketzis dissented, saying he had no right.

She, rather, Lisa Cook had no right to due process. Supreme Court could rule within days if it agrees to hear the case, it will join two other high-stakes disputes, testing presidential authority, Trump's sweeping tariffs, his effort to freeze billions in foreign aid approved by Congress. Federal Reserve, nation's most powerful economic policymaker, now the latest independent agency Trump wants control of. And, you know, I heard one analyst today say, Michael, that it's like the bully who demands a dollar on the first day. And if you just give the bully the dollar, the next day it's going to be five. And it's just going to keep going up. And even within the Federal Reserve, why won't the chairman say anything? I really keep pointing to cowardice.

It feels like everyone's afraid because there's not like backup. up, people will always bend to Trump. Yeah, I mean, obviously that's true. I don't know, though, that it's the place of the chairman of the Fed to, to stand up for a member of the Fed. I don't know that it's not either. I just, I, so I don't, but I don't criticize the chairman for not speaking up here because these people are all appointed and they all serve independently.

And I think that when you start protecting the group, it takes away a little bit of the kind of independence of each member of the board. And so I'm not going to put him in with the spineless others here. I'm going to question how an appeals court judge can say that someone doesn't have the right to due process. And that's their reason for voting against it. And if the Supreme Court is dealing with something to do a due process and they're denying this woman her due process, then it seems to me as a non-lawyer that something there is broken. You don't surrender your right to due process just because you think that you're right and they think you're wrong. There is a process that happens. It's a litigation.

And until that's resolved, there's no reason that you should suspend this person from or terminate this person from the board. But I don't, I don't see it the same way with, you know, should the head of the Fed be responsible. I think that it's a different dynamic that exists there. Yeah, I hear you. I guess I just meant, I wish you would stand up for the, ironically, independence of the Fed. You know, whether I agree with my neighbor to the right or the left, they have a right to be here unless proven otherwise or something. But listen, all that's true. Everyone should get due process unless they're, I guess, the old school king.

a dictator authoritarian right and so that's or the new school president right anointed by his friends uh one travels in a gifted winnebago i believe or on a yacht gifted private tours and things it's just wonderful wonderful um but hey that's where we are um any final thoughts on where we go from here because he really is taking over it seems attempting to and being successful in more ways than one, these independent agencies. And do you think that them lowering the rates after we're independent, they bucked, they did what they felt was right. Most people would argue. But now they have cut the rates. Do you think it had anything to do with Trump and the constant badgering?

I don't. I mean, I think that this is a fiercely independent, as you were saying, he should stand up perhaps and say that we're an independent branch. But I think that he does so by not lowering them when he doesn't lower them. And by lowering them, you know, when he feels and their board votes for that they feel that it's appropriate. So I don't think that I think they're the ones that, you know, that that are the most independent, the most standing up to, you know, Powell's like, you know, fire me, right? Fire me if you want. But this is the job I was sworn to do and I'm doing it. And I think they're lowering rates and they're forecasting, lowering them again, maybe even two more times before the end of the year. That's what the Fed chair does, right? That's why there may be

problems with the Fed, and that's a totally different conversation. But I don't think that their independence is challenged, and I don't think this is a question of being back on their heels or afraid of the president. I think it's one area where we're not seeing that happen. I don't even know that the Supreme Court is doing it out of fear. I think that they're doing it because they're all strict conservatives, those six, and who fall off of the conservative wagon once in a while. But I don't think it's about fealty to the man as much as it is to the notion of conservatism. Conservatism that does not seem to hold the ideals of that document. What's it called?

No, no, yeah, right. The Constitution was Constitution Day. On Tuesday or Wednesday, it was Constitution Day in this country. What happened to the Constitution? Maybe he's going to rename that, too. right now I'll call it um antifa given with all the uh what's going on for charlie turks assassination and the left wing uh violence going on do you plan on designating antifa finally a domestic terror organization well it's uh something i would do yeah if i have support from the people back here i think would start with pam i think but i would if you give me uh i would do that a 100% and others also, by the way.

I'm disgusted when reporters give him ideas. It's just he was going in another direction, another direction. Just one day after being asked by reporter if he would consider designating Antifa as a domestic terror organization, President Donald Trump did just that. He moves quickly. There's not even a committee or let me run this by my advisors. I am pleased to inform our many USA patriots that I am designating Antip. TIPA, a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster as a major terrorist organization. I will also be strongly recommended that those funding Antifa be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. He offered no other details on how this would be carried out. There are multiple problems here, of course. First of all, Antifa is not one group with a leader. They have no organizational structure. That, I mean, that's by definition, kind of what they are. Mark Bray, historian, author of Antifa, the anti-fascist handbook, describes it like this. It is essentially a kind of coalition politics of all kinds of radicals from different

kinds of socialists to communists, anarchists, more independent radicals. Sometimes I compare it to feminism. There are feminist groups, but feminism itself is not a group. There are Antifa groups, but Antifa itself is not a group. Historiate at Rutgers University, author of Antifa, the anti-fascist. Trump's own former FBI director Christopher Ray. Here's how he described Antifa. a movement or an ideology, not an organization with a clearly defined hierarchy that would facilitate

a terror designation by the government. Second of all, there's no legal mechanism in the United States for labeling purely domestic organizations as terrorist groups. For Trump to follow through on his social media declaration, his administration would need to create such a mechanism. So again, they've given him an idea. And that's a question. exactly probably what will happen next. 2023, the Congressional Research Service wrote a report about the federal government's role in combating domestic terrorism. They explain that the U.S. doesn't provide public explanations of groups it considers to be

domestic terrorist organizations because listing groups in this way may infringe on First Amendment protected speech or the act of belonging to an ideological group, which in and of itself is not a crime in the United States. For now, maybe. So now, there is concern that designating Antifa as a terrorist group will be used to justify further crackdowns on the left. Here's David Axelrod explaining. What it means is he will define, just as they will define the public interest, they will define what is Antifa. And they will go after everyone and everything that they put under that umbrella, even though it isn't an organization.

It is in many ways mythology, but it gives them, you know, a pretext to go after their political enemies. This is going to be a major effort to try and defund any opposition in this country by doing it under this rubric of Antifa and the radical left. Michael, isn't that really what it's about? I mean, there's never been a more successful, can we call MAGA, an organization? I don't know, this got the one dictator, but anyway, of defining. Trump has defined what's American, what's patriotic, what's evil, what's good, and now Antifa. Yeah, and you also, I mean, going back to the stage and area where this question was asked, this is a handpicked White House press pool. So the notion that they would be giving ideas to Trump rather than the opposite is actually very, very questionable.

So you also have to look at who was asking that question, who was right behind him, Brian Glenn, Marjorie Taylor Green's boyfriend, who is the head of right side or, you know, I don't even know what it's called, right side broadcasting network or America's real America's voice, something like that. And he asked a question just after or perhaps just before, asked a question of Trump if we, you know, a lot of people feel threatened by the LGBTQ flags that are lining DC. Should we be taking them down? And the president says it's not a bad idea, but I would be probably sued on all that free speech stuff. Okay. So that's who's in this crowd asking these questions, right? They want to put this in front of the president so that it gets legs. But they've been told to do that. in many cases themselves that's that this is part of the agenda that's going on here so as absurd as it is and to have a foe you know how can you fight a foe so deadly when you don't even know it's there i mean it doesn't exist this is a diffuse group of people um and and ideas and there's no organization behind it but having this kind of boogeyman is exactly what they want to do and it gives them an opportunity to be more dictatorial which is what they want to do is as well. Yeah, and thank you. I feel so silly for the reminder of what much of the press

core following this president has become infused with these ideologues and yes, people. I guess I was thinking, oh, of that other era, pre-Trump era of these journalists. Remember Sam Donaldson? Yeah, of course. Shouting. I mean, oh, my goodness. Hold on, Mr. President. Hold on, Mr. president, yeah. And I loved it. Sharon Reed, Michael Scher, much more to come, and including Kamala Harris, that new book, and, well, what's going on with deep stakes? We're right back. Welcome back, Sharon Reed, Michael Scher. Let's continue with Veepe Stakes. To his former high school football players, he was coach.

And in 91 days, the nation will know coach. false by another name, Vice President of the United States. You know, when they write these books after performing like that and having people believe them, why would I ever believe them again? Here's what's going on. In her upcoming book, Kamala Harris, reveals that Minnesota Governor Tim Wals was not her first choice for running mate, but ultimately she went with Tim because he was a safer option. Her first choice, former Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Buttigieg would have been an ideal partner if I were a straight white man, but we were already asking a lot of America to accept a woman, a black woman, a black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, screw it, let's just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk. And I think Pete also knew that to our mutual sadness. Harris goes on to explain how close the two were stating he was, quote, a sincere public servant with the rare talent of being able to frame liberal arguments

in a way that makes it possible for conservatives to hear them, especially during the pandemic. Buttigieg did become sort of a household name and spokesperson for the Democratic Party You going on right wing networks like Fox News to tell Biden and his agenda. After Biden dropped out of the race, Buttigieg was suggested as a possible running mate by allies who touted his high name recognition and ability to act as an attack dog. They also noted his age, just 42, would help Harris make the race about generational change and distance herself from an 81-year-old Biden. Harris wrote about how her life was upended when she became Biden's running mate in 2020 and her awareness that she was about to cause the same sudden swerve in someone else's life.

But yet she ultimately went with walls. Minnesota governor had burst onto the national stage weeks earlier with a series of buzzing national cable interviews. And Harris has said that she liked his mix of Midwest folksiness and progressive bona fides. But after a well-received convention, address Walsh became something of a non-entity on the campaign trail and turned into a middling performance in his one debate with J.D. Vans. Buttigieg did seem to be a favorite among voters, according to ABC News. Ipsos poll released in July of last year. Buttigieg was viewed favorably by 29% of respondents with Mark Kelly coming in second at 22%. Following them, Governor Gavin Newsom, California, 21 percent, and Governor Whitmer, 20 percent.

Shapiro came in at 17 percent. Timul's only had 6 percent favorability. Regardless, when things have been different, if she'd chosen, Buttigieg over walls. Probably not, according to some Democrats. ahead of the 2020 election, Harris moved to the left, along with most presidential hopefuls, many primary voters, a shift that included an embrace of progressive policies on issues such as policing and immigration. The party debated gender politics, such as pronouns, transgender rights, and there was a heavy focus on the backgrounds and identities of its candidates. By 2024, Democrats seemed out of step with a country that appeared more focused on kitchen table issues. the Atlantic filling in some of the details on this one.

I think I learned something. I didn't realize, Michael, how close she and Buttigieg were. But as I was chronicling that for the audience, I started thinking about something, just the way my mind works. Do you think there's a possibility that she didn't go with Buttigieg, regardless of what's written here? because when you're picking a vice president, maybe it's geography, but it's also, I don't want you to upstage me. I don't want that.

Do you think possibility of what could have also been behind this? And when you are a sitting vice president, anyone you select because of the sort of nothing image of that job as vice president, anyone you select, you run the risk of being upstaged. When Al Gore, a vice president, because the nature of that job is so dull, he selected Joe Lieberman. That was, even Joe Lieberman was electric compared to Al Gore at the time. So, you know, when Walter Mondale selected Geraldine Ferraro, the same thing happened. You're actually looking for someone to upstage you in a way because your position is so dull that you do want something. The same thing. George H.W. Bush selected Dan Quail because Dan Quail was young and handsome and much more vibrant and vital, it would seem. So I don't think that. And I think this is kind of a nothing story, which is not to disparage us talking about it or selecting it because it's an interesting conversation nonetheless. There are 25, 30 people that Kamala Harris could have selected to run with when she was vice president. And each one of them knew that the other could be selected. I would imagine the governor walls knew that Secretary Buttigieg. could have been selected. It may have been the first choice. The calculation you make when you

are doing this is that it's your first decision. It's the first thing you do. And if there's anyone in America who thinks that Kamala Harris lost the presidency because she selected Tim Walls, they don't know enough about politics. It doesn't matter. People don't vote for the vice president. He was perfectly acceptable to a lot of the the progressives in the party. She lost because of what you just talked about, which was kitchen table issues and the ability of Donald Trump to say your gas prices are going to come down and your egg prices are going to come down and all they care about are gays and lesbians and transgender people. He said it, they bought it, and that was that. He may have, you know, it may have been different. We'll never know had

had President Biden bowed out earlier. Perhaps it would have been, perhaps it would have made no difference. Perhaps it would have made the loss even more devastating if they went through a primary, selected a candidate in the traditional ways, and that candidate also lost, who knows, at least the Democrats can say, well, we had a truncated election here. We weren't able to get our ideas around. Let's try and do it again next time. So I don't, that's why I think this is a nothing story. I don't think ever that the vice president matters unless they totally screw up. Had John Edwards, had we known about John Edwards that he had a family out of wedlock, that would have been a bad choice, right? When, you know, those sorts of things.

But I don't see this at all in that way. We're going to move on. But quickly, do you believe that, you know, why is she writing the book besides the money, perhaps relevancy? Will the book do enough to distance her from what she knew about an aging president, competency? I don't know. What's a reason for doing? I think what's interesting about it is the 107 days. It was a unique presidential campaign.

I'll read anything by a former candidate. I think that there's some candor here most likely. She lost and she's a vice president. I don't think she will be president. I don't think that she's a viable candidate because of the fact she's from California and Gavin Newsom is from California and they go to the same places to get money and those people have already given to Vice President Harris. And I think now they're going to give to Governor Newsom.

But look, I think it's interesting. I think it's part of political history. And as someone who likes politics and likes history, I'm interesting. it, but it's nothing more than that to me. Yeah, I love it. I do. We need to start now shaping the future. It means supporting our Democratic nominee in New York City. mayoral race, Zoran Mandami. Yet many Democratic members of the Senate and House representing

New York have stayed on the sidelines. That kind of spineless politics is what people are sick of. They need to get behind him and get behind him now. Direct shots fired. Senator Chris Van Hollen is taking those shots at Democratic leadership for refusing to endorse New York City mayoral nominee, Zoran Mandami. Now, other Democratic lawmakers are sharing their frustrations as well. Unsurprisingly, that got under the skin of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his team. And Holland made the comments at the Polk County steak fry in Iowa over the weekend. They came after months of Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, repeatedly refusing to get behind the Democratic nominee in the New York mayoral race.

Here are just a few times they've dodged questions about endorsing him. The DNC posted in support of Zohan Mondani's campaign, you've met with him twice and stay tuned, you know, decline to endorse him. Are you out of step with your party on this issue? I don't know. I guess people are going to have to figure that out. It's pretty unusual for a high-ranking Democrat like yourself to withhold the endorsement of your party's nominee for candidate for New York City Mayor. I don't think we've withheld an endorsement. We are engaging in a conversation about the future of New York City.

Why are you not endorsing the guy that won the Democratic primary in a contested election in your backyard? Well, I look forward to sitting down and talking to him. I didn't get involved in that primary election, and I don't know him well. What do you say to people like Alexandria Ocasia, say that it's time for leaders like you to get the behind so on Mongolia risk losing mayor. We met yesterday, we had a good meeting, we know each other well, and we're going to keep talking. So what you're saying is you're not going to endorse him, okay? Just be honest about it.

Jeffrey's team deeply offended by Chris Van Hollen calling them out. Justin Chermal, one of his spokesmen responded with this. Leader Hakeem Jeffries will have more to say about the general election. the general election well in advance of November 4th. Meanwhile, confused New Yorkers are asking themselves the question. Chris Van Hoo? So cutesy. Adding to their bitterness is likely the fact that during the same speech, Van Hollen called out the Democratic Party for being weak and easily corrupted.

Democratic Party we've drifted. Too often we have come under the sway, a powerful moneyed interest at the expense of working people. And we become a party that too often trims at sales, too cautious, to rudderless, too attached to pole washed and pundit-rinsed and donor-dried messages. What comes out of the wash is all bleached and blow-dried. We also need to stop diluting ourselves that the problem is all about messaging or volume or style. We don't just need to fight. We need to fight for something.

We must be ready as FDR was to directly take on powerful special interests, whether they be big oil, big pharma, big tech, big AI, big banks, Wall Street, or other powerful interests who are calling too many of the shots in Washington. Polls show lots of Democratic voters agree with him. July AP Norke poll, as respondents, to share the first word on, or phrase rather, that came to mind when they thought of the Republican and Democratic parties. And here's what came out of it. Overall, roughly one-third of Democrats described their party negatively in the open-ended question. 15% described it using words like weak, apathetic. Well, an additional 10% believe it's broadly ineffective or disorganized. Again, Van Hollen is not the only Democrat fed up with leaderships. unwillingness to endorse Mandani.

Axis spoke to multiple progressive members of Congress who are growing increasingly agitated at Hakeem Jeffries for not yet endorsing him. I think there's frustration said a senior house progressive who told Axios, the issue came up multiple times during the Congressional Progressive Caucus, PAC retreat. Another member had this to say, we just can't keep saying we have to stand

with our Democratic nominees and then make exceptions when we think they're left of us. It's just inconsistent, hypocritical. Make some of us wonder, is this a leader that truly represents me or will this leader discard me when people think I'm too progressive? Jeffrey claims no member of Congress has expressed frustration to him about the mayoral race. But that's not true. According to the progressives who spoke to Axios, one said,

There's a number of them that are talking directly to leadership saying, you don't get to say you're a leader and not lead. Look, this stuff seems very simple here. And the answer is yes, they will discard you if you're too progressive, right? They want to keep control over the party, Michael. I like what Ben Holland said there. It was like he was running through the forest, naked, unafraid, saying whatever he wanted. And ironically, it was just saying what the actual people who consider themselves traditional Democrats are already saying.

Yeah, I mean, first of all, it's taken a lot of people to a minute to warm to Mamdani in New York. The other part of the conversation is that you have a Democrat in the race still in Andrew Cuomo. And you also, he's a Queens Democrat. Hakeem Jeffries comes from Queens. So too does Greg Meeks in Congress. Grace Meng in Congress. None of them have endorsed Mamdani. So there is some belief that a lot of these people didn't get to where they were without the help of Cuomo's, which is about as big a name in Queens politics as there can be right now or ever, and that will fade. Certainly should he lose.

So I think a lot of that has to do with local politics. The other part of it is that Kim Jeffries would be that loyal pick the Democrat all the time if it were a House race. defending Jeffries here, but it's not as important for him. It's not as devastating for him not to endorse in a mayoral race, and he has the cover for Cuomo. As far as Chris Van Hollen is concerned, Chris Van Hollen on this is a great voice. He was the head of the Democratic Senate campaign committee when I guess it was 2018 when they actually made some inroads. He is well liked. He is running for something here. And I would imagine he's running to be the next majority leader or minority leader in the Senate, putting his name in there, not seeding it just to Chris Murphy,

who a lot of people think would get it when Schumer leaves. But the other side of it, the best thing that can happen to you in politics is to have somebody put who after your name, because then everybody wants to know. There was a famous Time magazine cover that said Jimmy Who with a picture of Jimmy Carter, and within months he was the nominee. That is really, really good for a politician. He's also taking some of the mantle of what Bernie Sanders would do. Holland, Van Hollins, probably in his mid to late 60s. He's a younger version of a senator who could be firebrand when he wants to be. And you're seeing it on display here.

So people look for the void and they try and fill it. As far as Mamdani, I think Kathy Hochel, the governor, gave a lot of people cover. Eventually they're going to come around to it, especially if Cuomo's numbers don't get better in that race as it gets closer. You really think that the cover, Jimmy Hu, took him from a peanut farm to the presidency. Well, it certainly helped because it got people's attention, right? Yeah. They put it on buttons after it was on. They put it on hats and T-shirts and everything.

So Jimmy Who was a big part of getting him national attention. Wow, I love it. All right, that's going to do it for the first hour. Michael Shore, we appreciate you. Continue to follow your great work until we meet again. They're up next. I'm going to be Buhn't know

Bhop Buhn't Bhop Thank you.