The Young Turks - Part 3: Day 2 of 2020 RNC

Episode Date: October 7, 2020

Part 3: John Iadarola and Benjamin Dixon breakdown day 2 of the 2020 RNC.  Speakers: Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Rand Paul, Nicholas Sandmann, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 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. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. It is my great honor to present first lady Melania Trump. First lady Melania Trump officially kicking off her B-Best initiative. She is courageous. She's taking on a tough topic. Focused on the well-being of children, social media use, and opioid abuse. Let's join together in the commuting. help children dream big, think big, and do all they can to be best in everything they do. This is her showcasing what she brings to the position of First Lady.

She is smart, independent, and I think people have underestimated her big time. The First Lady was amazing. She was gracious, empathetic, and showed true compassion. First Lady Melania Trump stepping out onto the world stage. Her B-based campaign is now going international. She has the advantage of speech. speaking several languages. She can be a diplomat for our country. The sun was shining, she was greeted by children. This, of course, is her continuing to work on her B-Best campaign by shining a spotlight on successful programs that teach children tools and skills. She represents our country enormous warmth and elegance and grace. Throughout history, women have

made lasting impacts on society, and these women represent the strength of the female spirit. First Lady of the United States. I'm proud of what this country continues to do for women. We as women must continue using our great tool of empowerment, our voices. It was a very important moment from Lonnie Trump. This was a really prominent week for her. The iconic White House Rose Garden has been renovated for the first time in 60 years. When the history books are written, there should be a special chapter reserved for our first lady. She is an incredible first lady. an amazing mother, an incredible woman, First Lady, Melania Trump.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Melania Trump. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you. It seems like just yesterday that we were at our first convention, where my husband accepted the Republican nomination and then became our 40th president of the United States. Yet the energy and enthusiasm for who should lead this nation, it is real today as it was four years ago. I know I speak for my husband and the entire family. when I say we have not forgotten the incredible people who were willing to take a chance on the businessmen who had never worked in politics.

We know it was you who elected him to be commander-in-chief, and we know it is you who will carry us through again. We were humbled by the incredible support then, and we are still grateful today. I want to acknowledge the fact that since March, our lives have changed drastically. The invisible enemy COVID-19 swept across our beautiful country and impacted all of us. My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one, and my prayers are widows who are ill or suffering. I know many people are anxious and some feel helpless. I want you to know you're not alone. My husband's administration will not stop fighting until there is an effective treatment or vaccine available to everyone.

Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic. I want to extend my gratitude to all of the healthcare professionals, frontline workers and teachers who stepped up in these difficult times. Despite the risk to yourselves and your own families, you put our country first, and my husband and I are grateful. I have been moved by the way Americans have come together in such an unfamiliar, unfamiliar and often frightening situation. It is in times like this that we will look back and tell our grandchildren

that through kindness and compassion, strength and determination, we were able to restore the promise of our future. Businesses stepped up and volunteers stepped in. People were eager to share ideas, resources, and support of all kinds with neighbors and strangers alike. It has been inspiring to see what the people of our great nation will do for one another, especially when we are at our most fragile. Speaking of strength and determination, we recently celebrated the 100-year

anniversary of the passage of the 19 Amendment. Yesterday on the north lawn of the White House, we unveiled an exhibit dedicated to women's suffrage. The exhibit called on children from across the country to send art honoring the meaning of this important time in women's history. When I was judging the entries, I reflected on the impact of women's voices in our nation's story. and how proud I will be to cast my vote again for Donald this November. We must make sure that women are heard and that American dream continues to thrive. Growing up as a young child in Slovenia, which was under communist rule at the time, I always heard about an amazing place called America, a land that stood for freedom and opportunity.

As I grew older, it became my goal to move to the United States and follow my dream of working in the fashion industry. My parents worked very hard to ensure our family could not only live and prosper in America, but also contribute to a nation that allows for people to arrive with a dream and make it reality. I want to take the moment to thank my mother and father for all they have done for our family. It is because of you that I am standing here today. I arrived in the United States when I was 26 years old. Living and working in the land of opportunity was a dream come true. come true but I wanted more I wanted to be a citizen after 10 years of

paperwork and patience I studied for the test in 2006 and became an American citizen it is still one of the proudest moments in my life because with hard work and determination I was able to achieve my own American dream. As an immigrant and a very independent woman, I understand what a privilege it is to live here and to enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that we have. As first lady, I have been fortunate to see the American dream come through over and over again. I have met many inspiring women, children, parents and families who have have overcome life-changing issues that include addiction, homelessness, family members

who are ill or have passed away, abuse of all kinds, and many other challenges that would make most people give up. The past three and a half years have been unforgettable. There are no words to describe how honored, humbled and fortunate I am to serve our nation as your first lady. After many of the experiences I've had, I don't know if I can fully explain how many people I take home with me in my heart each day. From brave soldiers who give up so much so that we can be free, to children of all circumstances

who I have met around the world, thank you for inspiring me. It is my greatest honor to serve you. When I speak to members of the military, despite sacrificing time with their families, experience the fear of war or suffering loss, they have no regrets about serving our country. The same goes for their families and the families of first responders who often watch their loved ones walk out the door, not sure if or when they will come home. When I speak to families who have lost someone, the pain mixed with pride I hear in their

voices is something I think about often. So thank you to all who serve our country in the military and as first responders. And thank you to the families who wait for them. You are our heroes in your own right. I have also been moved by the many children and families have spent time with at hospitals, schools, and other locations around the world. Children who are dealing with pain or illness that would break even the strongest adult. Parents who are grateful to wake up every day and see that their child is still alive. These families are a testament to what faith and medicine, strength and science can do.

On my first international trip as First Lady, my husband and I visited places of great significance to the three major religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. One special memory from that trip is of a young boy. I had privilege of visiting while at Bambino-Jizu Hospital in Rome, Italy. while there I read a little boy a story and learned that he and his family had been waiting for a heart for a very long time and he had a green prognosis his situation brought my staff and me to tears and we spoke of a little else as we flew to Belgium for the next part of our trip upon landing just a few hours later we learned that a heart had been donated and would be going to the little one. I think about him often, along with so many amazing and strong young patients across our own country. More profound and sadly unavoidable examples of our country's strength and character

have a cure in the communities that have been impacted by natural disasters. Hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding may show the ugly side of mother nature, but in their aftermath they can show us a beautiful side of humanity. My husband and I have visited many places that have been affected by a natural disaster, and we are deeply moved by the strength of the people who have lost everything and the kindness of neighbors and communities. The common threat in all of these challenging situations is the unwavering resolve to help one another.

I recognize the stories I just told about people who survive extraordinary circumstances. But Donald and I are also inspired by the millions of Americans who wake up each day with a simple yet courageous goal of providing for their families and keeping them safe. You are the backbone of this country. You are the people who continue to make the United States of America what it is and who have the incredible responsibility

of preparing our future generations to leave everything even better than they found it. Just as you are fighting for your families, my husband, our families, husband, our family, and the people in this administration are here fighting for you. No matter the amount of negative or false media headlines or attacks from the other side, Donald Trump has not and will not lose focus on you. He loves this country and he knows how to get things done.

As you have learned over the past five years, he is not a traditional politician. He doesn't just speak words. He demands action and he gets results. The future of our country has always been very important to him. And it is something that I have always admired. In fact, it is to help ensure a better future for our next generation that I launched be best. My initiative to help children achieve their fullest potential. Be Best has one simple goal, teaching youth about the importance of their well-being, both mentally and physically.

This also includes understanding online safety and the dangers of opioid and drug abuse. Through Be Best, my office and I have been able to highlight people, programs and organizations that are doing extraordinary things in our country and around the world. I continue to believe that by shining a light on these positive examples, others across the country and globe will become inspired to dear a part for our next generation. Helping children is not a political goal. It is our moral imperative. When I think back to a defining moment of be best, my mind goes to a trip I take. took to Africa. On that vast and beautiful continent, I was able to visit the countries of Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt. One of those visits in particular had a profound impact on me. Ghana on the coast of West Africa was the first stop on my trip and I experienced

firsthand its warm people and their traditions. While there, I visited the Cape Coast Castle and learned more about the beginning of a cruel and often deadly journey in the era of the slave trade. I was horrified when I listened to the guide, tell me so many inhumane stories, and I gained new perspectives. This time in our history, we must never forget, so that we can ensure that it never happens again. Like all of you, I have reflected on the racial unrest in our country. It is a harsh reality that we are not proud of parts of our history. I encourage people to focus

on our future while still learning from our past. We must remember that today we are all one community comprised of many races, religions and ethnicities. Our diverse and storied history is what makes our country strong and yet we still have so much to learn from one another. With that in mind, I like to call

on the citizens of this country to take a moment, pause and look at things from all perspectives. I urge people to come together in a civil manner so far, we can work and live up to our standard American ideals. I also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name of justice and never make assumptions based on the color of a person's scheme.

Instead of tearing things down, let's reflect on our mistakes, be proud of our evolution and look to our way forward. Every day let us remember that we are one nation under God and we need to cherish one another. My husband's administration has worked to try and effect change when it comes to issues around race and religion in this country. He's the first president to address a special sensation of the United Nations General Assembly, to call upon countries across the world to end

religious prosecution and honor the right of every person to worship as they choose. He has made substantial investments in our historically black colleges and universities. This president also continues to fight for school choice, giving parents more options to have their children flourish. My husband knows how to make a real change. From the day that I met him, he has only wanted to make this country the best it can be. For many years I watched him grow concerned and frustrated and I'm so proud to see the many things he has done in such a short time. America is in his heart. So But while at times we only see the worst of people and politics on the evening news.

Let's remember how we come together in the most difficult times. And while debate reached on about issues of race, let's focus on the strides we have made and worked together for a better tomorrow for everyone. Our administration has also devoted historic resources and produced life-saving results by raising awareness around opioid addiction and drug abuse, especially for children. When so often the headlines are filled with gossip, I want to take this moment to encourage the media to focus even more on the nation's drug crisis. This disease is one that affects everybody. It pays no attention to race, age or socioeconomic status. Addiction has touched every part of our society in some way.

And now, more than ever, we have programs and medicine to combat it. We just need to talk about it openly. And you, the media, have the platforms to make that happen. To the media industry and as a country, I ask that we all commit to helping in our fights against drug addiction by talking about it even more. Especially as we battle the COVID pandemic, we need to remember that suicides are on the rise as people who are struggling with loneliness and addiction feel they have nowhere to turn. Parents, please talk to your children, teachers and caregivers, pay attention to signs of addiction.

Lawmakers, pass legislation that allows those who ask those who ask. for help to do so safely and without fear and to provide resources for organizations that help people impacted by addiction. When the stigma is removed, people will no longer be ashamed to ask for help and lives will be saved. And if you are struggling with addiction, there is no shame in your illness. Please seek help. You are worth it. In my next four years as First Lady, I will continue to build upon the best and work with individual states to pass legislation to take care of our most vulnerable. I plan to continue the work I have started with children in foster care, as well as the minority communities and tribal nations. I want to ensure children are being protected and communities have the resources needed.

to combat drug addiction and child neglect or abuse. Like my husband and the administration, I will continue to encourage education that supports a child's individual needs. It is vital that children are given the building blocks to succeed. I also look forward to continue my work to restore the people's house, which is a lasting symbol of pride for our nation. I believe this iconic home needs to be cared for and preserved so it can be enjoyed by the people of this country and visitor from around the world for years to come. I'm passionate about this beautiful house, the grounds and all they represent.

And now I have a special message for the mothers of this country. This modern world is moving so fast and I'm always. Our children face challenges that seem to change every few months. Just like me, I know many of you watch how mean and manipulative social media can be. And just like me, I'm sure many of you are looking for answers, how to talk to your children about the downside of technology and their relationships with their peers. Like every parent in this country, I feel there are so many levels. to teach our son and responsibilities as his mother,

but they're just not enough hours in the day to do it all. I remind myself that I'm more fortunate than most and still have days that I look for wisdom and strength to the very best I can for him. To mothers and parents everywhere, you are warriors. In my husband, you have a president, You have a president who will not stop fighting for you and your families. I see how hard he works each day and night,

and despite the unprecedented attacks from the media and opposition, he will not give up. In fact, if you tell him he cannot be done, he just works harder. Donald is a husband who's a husband who's not. supports me in all that I do. He has built an administration with an unprecedented number of women in leadership roles and has fostered an environment where the American people are always the priority. He welcomes different points of view and encourage thinking outside of the box. I know I speak for my husband and the family when I say we are so grateful that you have trusted

him to be your president and we will be honored to serve this incredible country for four more years as you have heard this evening i don't want to use this precious time attacking the other side because as we saw last week that kind of talk only serves to divide the country further I'm here because we need my husband to be our president and commander-in-chief for four more years. He's what is best for our country. We all know Donald Trump makes no secrets about how he feels about things. Total honesty is what we as citizens deserve from our president. Whether you like it or not, you always know what he's thinking.

And that is because he's an authentic person who loves this country and its people and wants to continue to make it better. Donald wants to keep your family safe. He wants to help your family succeed. He wants nothing more than for this country to prosper and he doesn't waste time playing politics. Almost four years ago, we went into election day completely underestimated. Despite what is being said again this year, I know, just as you do, that Americans will go to the polls and vote on the behalf of their families, our economy, our national security and our children's future. To vote for those ideals is not a partisan vote. sense vote because those are goals and hopes that we all believe in. I believe

that we need my husband's leadership now more than ever in order to bring us back once again to the greatest economy and the strongest country ever known. God bless you all, your families, and God bless the United States of America. Okay, okay. Wow, there's a lot to talk about in terms of the different issues that she delved into. Do we want to start off with just an overall impression? You know, it's the wife of the president. She's going to give a speech. I don't I don't think that expectations were necessarily super high. I mean, she's not one of the, you know, the spouses that stays super high. involved in politics and everything, you know, be best to the side, I guess. What did you think overall of her speech? You know, I think she would have been better off plagiarizing again this year like she did four years ago because, man, that was one of the most painful experiences of the night. Like, honestly, I appreciate that it wasn't riddled with complete fabrications

and lies. But at this point, I would have taken some entertaining lies more than that 30, How long was it, by the way, it was? I think it was probably like 20 minutes or so, 22 minutes or so. Yeah, and I know I can see from our producers in the Slack, they were, yeah, it dragged a little bit in the middle, and I'm not going to lie. At the beginning and at the end. Yeah, I might have been browsing an auction that's coming up for some Jurassic Park filming memorabilia. But anyway, I did hear a lot of it. And so, look, I will say it was, It was obviously, I think it's fair to say, pretty incredibly boring, but I think it was probably

the best speech of the convention and probably will be the best speech of the convention. Because while everything about who Donald Trump is and what he cares about and all of that was obviously false, and not just it is false, she doesn't believe that stuff about him. I felt like this stuff, like she talked about a lot of topics that no other speaker has brought up nor likely will. I mean, she actually expressed empathy for those who have died during the pandemic and those who have lost people in the pandemic. That is something that Donald Trump has done maybe 15 seconds of since the pandemic began. And she did it in the first minute, basically. You know, she talked about the protests,

sort of. A lot of it was bad, but some of it maybe could be interpreted as understanding. Like she actually sort of seemed to acknowledge what was going on in America in a way that no other speaker has or is likely to. Yeah, no, I could see that. I can see that. I think maybe I just kind of tuned out there somewhere in the middle, and didn't get many of the specifics. But I just did get the general sensation that she was being authentic, right? I have to give her that. that she was being her true to herself. Some of those parts that you mentioned I did hear and I did wonder, did his team edit this? Because it did show a level of empathy that I haven't heard from anyone else in this convention.

So I'm really curious as to how much input their staff had on this particular speech. Yeah, I would have to assume quite a bit. And look, I think that everyone gets a lot of help in writing their speeches and someone who is only really known for plagiarizing speeches. I'm going to assume got a lot of help with the speech, but I know that like the family members, one of the things that typically traditionally they do in events like this is they seek to humanize and add a human element. Now they've decided not to do that with most of the speeches. Most of the speeches from Trump family members are, you know, take any random two minutes from a Fox News show and they're just reading those talking points. But I feel like she actually did try to do that.

Not only talking about him and trying to invent positive characteristics and say that he has them, but to literally stand in as a person that seems to care about things. Yeah, she hasn't done a great job of that necessarily throughout being first lady. But in comparison to Trump, she can imply that she cares that people have died and seems to care about it. You know, as long as you don't see that classic jacket of hers, they use that in the montage of her. I don't know if you noticed that, but they only shot it from the front. I'm just talking about how much she cares while wearing a jacket that says that she doesn't. Yeah, yeah.

Look, she acknowledged the pandemic. Yes, she did call it the invisible enemy, which is like the dumbest thing I think I've ever heard. But to be fair, that's Donald Trump. So she's going to support him in that. And she did speak about it in the past tense as others have who have mentioned it. So that's like the downside. But the fact that she would even admit, she acknowledged that people died. And that is not something that it's going to be common at this event. I mean, and you have a great point, but the fact that that is the, that's the bar, right? That really shows you how broken this entire thing is. But if you, when you mention the role of the family member who their role is to humanize the other person, then maybe immediately think

of Jill Biden, right? And comparing what we just suffered through for 20 minutes, to what Jill Biden did and how Jill, she really did humanize Joe Biden in a way that that really even cut through to my dead carcass of a soul. Like I really was like for a minute there, I felt some connection and empathy with Joe Biden because of how good Jill Biden's speech was. If you compare it to that, Melania really absolutely just kind of bombed on a level that is immeasurable because of how well Jill Biden actually did, specifically in that role that you said, humanizing the politician. And perhaps I think the problem really is, it's difficult to humanize somebody like Donald Trump. Yeah, I mean, that's about as hard as any possible

person I can see you trying to do that for. And look, let's acknowledge that. She had the advantage of the fact that she was speaking to a crowd because, of course, they didn't socially distance. They got a crowd together and like two people had masks. I think they thought they were social distancing though. You see how they had like, they had like two feet or three feet. I think they're going to say they social distanced. And look, it's outside. That's something, I guess. On the other hand, her delivery was obviously, you know, it was it was horrendous. But it's not her first language. So like she gets a lot of points for that.

I don't know who exactly said it, but it's she probably did better than Jill Biden would have done in Slovenian, like if she tried to do that. So look, let's give her, let's give her that. But obviously just about the most brutal thing that you can imagine is when you stop for an applause line and it takes four seconds for everyone to realize that it's an applause line. That's the worst. Oh no, it's Jeb Bush all over again. Oh man. I get that feeling like when I start to watch Scott's tots, it's just like It's like, oh no, make it stop. But again, it's not her first language. So I don't want to be unfair. I just, you know, I'll be the bad guy here, John. I'll be the bad guy because the thing is,

is that Melania, that's her disposition. Like the jacket that she wore, where she said, I really don't care, that's her character. At least that's the character that she exudes, whether she tries to or not. That's what we see. That's how it comes off. And so, you know, whether it's her first language or not, she delivered that speech, in my opinion, the same way it matched her disposition that she really doesn't care. Yeah, and look, there's going to be a little bit of that is going to flow through into like, you know, when we're in the middle of this terrible pandemic, the worst, like a domestic crisis that, you know, God forbid that we will have for the rest of our life.

I don't want to hear about your stupid Rose Garden, honestly, like the fact that you spent money on that Are you crazy? And I've seen side by side shots. I'm not a botanist or anything, but no, the old one is better. But anyway, yeah, no, I don't want to hear about you renovating the building. Like, I don't give a damn about that. Like people are losing their homes, they're losing their businesses, they're losing their lives. So that, it's got strong, like, let them eat cake vibes to that. Yeah. But I do think while the delivery was poor in all of that, she's not a public speaker, she's not a politician. If a random person were to to tune in to any eight minute chunk of the convention tonight. If they tuned into hers,

it would feel the most like a regular American convention speech that you have someone who knows the person. And they seem to care about the supposed dignity of the office. None of it remains, but they're pretending that it does. You know, she's talking about the fact that we still face these crises, not just the ones that I've already mentioned, but she talked about the opioid crisis and all of that. Like she, she did her best to try to express empathy on a range of topics that people are still suffering from. And that is, again, the bar is so low, that is way beyond anything you got from Eric or Don Jr. or even Rand Paul. She seemed to actually care and she seemed to have a better understanding of what the experience of regular Americans is than every other

speaker tonight. You know, I'll give you that. I definitely would agree with that, that in a room for the sociopaths. She had the most empathy. Yeah. Now, you know, I was going to wait until the members only, because we're going to go for about 12, 13 more minutes, and then we're going to cut. We're going to go to just members only and provide a little bit more analysis about the night. Maybe I'll do my overview then. I just want to say one more thing about this. And look, hey, I've given her a lot of credit on things, right, everybody? So I can be a little I'm a mad, like, think about all that she knows as she's standing up there giving that speech. So I gave her credit for acknowledging the pandemic. She knows how much worse it was

than it needed to be, and she knows that it's her partner's fall. Like, you know, I'm married. I imagine if I knew that like my partner's callous indifference had led to 120,000 deaths that didn't need to happen. Like yeah, you know, you're pretty supposed to love your partner and to give him the benefit of the doubt. But she knows that. She knows that he was ignoring it before it hit. He was talking down the concerns as it was spreading across America. As more and more people started to die, he's talking about shoving lights inside of yourself and drinking bleach. And she had to see him every step of the way along that as the body count

piled up. Just imagine that. And she's still telling people you need to vote for him. So again, she provided empathy. Let's acknowledge that. She also thinks that the guy that didn't care as so many Americans died deserves a second term. And that is a massive indictment of her. I get that it's her husband. If my wife killed 120,000 people, I'm just going to say it, babe, I love you. I'm leaving you if you kill 120,000 plus people. And I'm assuming that 60,000 would have died. Maybe it would have been even less. What's the threshold, John? Where's the cutoff boy? How many can your wife get away with killing? 5,000. Maybe 5,000. You imagine like a really bad hurricane. Okay, okay. But no, like, and she knows. And she knows,

knows all of that. She was talking about like visiting like the kids and stuff. She knows about the cages. Like she's been there. Like she knows all of this stuff about him. And she's with him. And again, so I know that like people love the the idea that secretly like she's like gonna turn on him or she doesn't really love him. And I'm sure that she doesn't actually love him. But the idea that she disagrees them fundamentally, there is effectively no evidence of that. After literally years, there's no evidence that she is not lockstep with him on all of his worst excesses, his most murderous excesses. Yeah, no, I think that's absolutely the correct, right? So, so every step of the way she has been complicit. And let's not pretend like she doesn't

get a whole lot of out of this, right? She gets whatever she needs, whatever she wants, because like you said, she knows everything. And so there's nothing that Donald Trump won't do. And you see the rejection that she gives him, like she doesn't want to hold his hand. She doesn't He doesn't want any parts of them. So she's still there though for her own personal benefit and her own personal gain. So, and I only talk about this in context of a lot of some of the resistance liberals who try to make her out to be some type of heroin that is trapped and locked and you know, they had a hashtag rescue or free Melania.

No, but she's there by her own free will and she's getting plenty of material benefits from it. Yeah, she could have, if she wanted to leave him, she could have left him. She was given perfect opportunities for plausible deniability, you know, after picking a adult film star. Well, after one of those, she could have left him. And everybody would have been very understanding, but she chose not to. So yeah, I get the idea because it's kind of like Schaude that he's involved in a loveless marriage. And again, I do, I do probably think that it is, but that does not mean that she's against him. I mean,

remember, as I'm sure a lot of people are tweeting right now, she was a birther through and through. Back before, back before like Trump, it's one thing to defend your husband, the president, it's another to go on national TV and say, oh yeah, all of his racist conspiracy theories, sign me up for those against the current president. Yeah, yeah, that's her role. That's how she's been facilitating that role and she's satisfied in it, man. She's like, you notice one thing that really stood out, she said, and in the next four years, this first lady, like she said it with a level of competence, like she's entitled

to it. And later on, she kind of backtracked and said, we'd be proud to serve, right? She kind of said it in a questioning kind of tone. But when she first said it, she was like, hey, I'm getting it the next four years, I'm going to be your first lady. And so that shows you that she has an expressed interest in that. And I'm sure her interest in that supersedes any interest she has in Donald Trump personally. Yeah, I mean, really, like, if you think about it, whatever it was transactionally that she was going to get out of marrying Donald Trump, this is just a bigger,

more public version of that. It's very similar. It's a money thing, it's a housing thing. It's a notoriety thing and you can go on cool trips that she talked about and you can, you know, see things in Africa and stuff like that. It's a very cool thing to be able to do, I guess. So a lot of people would find that to be very difficult to turn down, I think, given given the chance and having lived in it for a few years already. Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, I think that's the fairest assessment. Like it is, it is appealing, it is glitzy, it is glamorous on another level that even Donald Trump couldn't provide by himself.

So I think I wonder how many people would be able to turn it down. And then really the question is how many bodies have to pile up before people walk away from it? Yeah, well, I mean, it's looking like at least 200,000. Maybe we'll check in at 300,000 and see what she thinks about that. Let's see, okay, so a couple other quick things. She talked about how while Donald Trump obviously doesn't do things like other presidents, he brings total honesty. I mean, has anyone lied as much? I don't think so.

I seriously don't think so. And she also said, you know, she doesn't want to attack the Dems. And look, to be fair, she did not spend a lot of the speech attacking the Democrats. And I mean that in two ways. She didn't like specifically attack Biden a whole bunch. But she also didn't make the speech about the fact that the Democrats are coming to drag you out of your suburban home and make you stop worshiping Christ or whatever. Like she didn't do either of those things. But she also seems to have not been paying attention to the RNC so far because that's all that we've gotten, including from members of her family. So there's a weird disconnect on that topic, I think. Yeah, well, I mean, but it kind of fits, right? So the key word, and what you just said

was a disconnect from her family. I think she's disconnected from the Trump family anyway. I think she's like an island unto herself, her and Baron. Yeah. Yeah, which, yeah, and that's clearly a thing that she cares about. It's difficult to know for sure, even after seeing this speech, what it is that she really values, but by all accounts, supposedly, that is one thing. Okay, so I think that's pretty much what I had to say about her speech. And I wonder to what extent, like anyone criticizing her speech, how is that going to be approached? Is the media going to freak out if somebody pointed out that there's clearly some issues there and she has this history of supporting these terrible things? What's your prediction? Are people going to lose that?

I think there's so many other things that are problematic from tonight. I think most, I think when we cut on the news later on tonight or first thing in the morning, I think most people are going to forget about her speech because it was, you know, not to just insult her, but it was rather forgettable, especially on the backdrop of all the hatch violations that we saw, the Hatch Act violations we saw tonight. And all of the red meat from the Trump family and Rand Paul, like there's so many other things that were problematic about tonight. I don't think a lot of the media is going to, attention is going to cover her or the fact

that we have some mild criticisms on it. Yeah. You know, why don't we just briefly touch on that? Because I think we've made a few like sort of offhand comments during some of these appearances. But this is obviously a much bigger part of night two than it was of night one that they were filming key events on government property, including on the White House. You had Mike Pompeo delivering an address from Jerusalem, I believe, when look, he's theoretically based on the traditions not supposed to be engaging in any of this, let alone while on a diplomatic mission. He had specifically sent out a memo to other members of the State Department, other diplomats

saying you can't take part in these conventions and then he does it. And of course, I mean, she's giving an address in the Rose Garden. Right. Do you think that any of this matters? Is this, you know, a sort of needless attachment to these norms that are being shredded? Or does it actually matter that he is, he's doing this in a way that even like, you know, like, George W. Bush didn't do this. Yeah. Yeah, I think it has to matter. I don't think it's going to matter, but I think we have to make a fuss about it because if we don't, then it just, it really just adds on to the pile of things that Donald Trump can get away with. And what Donald Trump is a master of is just throwing so much mud at the wall that nothing sticks. Like he's just, it's a deluge of just nonstop violations every single day and it's hard to keep up with. But if we as journalists and media personalities, if we don't grab hold to something and hold on to it, then we'll always be chasing the idea that he has been criminal without actually digging into the substance of his criminality.

So I wanted to just very quickly see a little bit of the reactions of, especially hers, but possibly some of the others. So Mark Levin said she was fabulous, so he liked it. So Fox News's take on it is First Lady urges Americans to unite to solve problems, reject looting and violence. And so I don't know if we meant if we really specifically talked about that part of it. So she really, I think, tried to have it both ways on that. Like she did the thing she's supposed to do, which is talk about how there's violence and all that. But she would occasionally make a comment about how we shouldn't judge people based on their skin. Some people were saying that she had a line that sort of implies that cops that kill people

should be arrested. I didn't catch that line. What did you think about her comment on the protests? Yeah, it was she wanted both ways, right? She wanted to sound like she was at the great conciliatory speaker. And really what that does though, it draws false equivalences between what people are protesting, why they're protesting, and what caused them to be out there in the first place. And so I mean, I heard it, I recognize it. I saw the olive branch, but the olive branch was immediately snatched away when she tried to equate it with, um, uh, you know, equated with violence and, uh, and with what the pro, what police officers did to cause that violence. So yeah, it was a non-starter for me. And just a couple of the comments

about the immediate reactions to her speech in particular. I see CNN is going with first lady offers sympathies to those affected by COVID-19. And the thing is like man, is it crazy that that actually stands out, but that it does because you've got it. Yeah, no, you called it. And Jake Tapper apparently brought up the fact that she was a the birther. I don't know how much, like we point that out because it's true and it seems to matter to us. Obviously Trump voters don't, it's not like they're gonna have a lesser opinion of her as a result of that. No, I think her opinion, their opinion of her will go higher, right? They still buy into the birtherism. So it is, that's what that's the world they live in.

Yeah. Okay, so before we, before we close out the public version of this and switch over to the members only. I do want to do a little bit of acknowledging a few different aspects of what our audience has been up to. Okay, so new YouTube members. I want to mention a few of you, Ritchie Herbert, thank you, David Cole, Maria Kali, Sarah Hufford, Karina Barley and Batcha, both upgraded, thank you for that. Kerry Denerysian, Muhammad Khatib, Lakisa, Barnwell, Jermaine Gill, Bruce Franklin, Jesse Ross, Vicious C, that's cool. Jenny King, Loco Hammerhead, Yasser Lam Saugar, Samantha Faun, S. Thompson, Stephen Belgard, Brandy Haskins, Gary McDonald, Tammy Hoffman, Eugene Martin, Robbie Jacobs, Emmanuel Avila Cortez,

Massimo Mazio, Crudidon M, Abriana Holliday, and Joseph Ibrahim. Thank you for becoming members of TYT on YouTube. Definitely appreciate that. Okay, let's see. Okay, on Twitch, Erica gifted 10 subs to the channel. Thank you so much for that, Erica. Really appreciate it. Deadly Virus Evo sub with Prime, a new sub. Thank you for that. Feisty fan in the super chat sent us in a super chat saying, I cannot, my eyes and ears are bleeding, make it stop. I'm not sure which speech that was for. I imagine it probably wasn't for Melania. That's exactly who it was for. You think? So I will see. Okay, we're going to read some of the members' comments once we switch over.

Anyway, the time has come. Thank you to everybody who publicly joined us for night two of the coverage. And thank you so much, Ben. It was a lot easier to get through having you here with me. I was thinking the same thing. Thank you for being here with me as well, because it was a journey. Thank you. And to the members, we are going to be doing just a little bit more analysis. We're gonna look back over the night as a whole, talk a little bit about how effective it might have been, give you some predictions for the nights to come, and that is available for our members in the normal fashion. So we're gonna take a break for just a couple of minutes and be back with that. We'll see in a few. Welcome back, everyone, or at least the members. Welcome back to a little bit more coverage, a look back on the night as a whole. I ran out for a minute as soon as we broke and I come back and I realized that Ben had the perfect idea, it's just the members now.

We can loosen our ties. We can relax a little bit. I'm definitely going to do that. Okay, so throughout the next like 15 minutes or so, we're going to give you our opinions about the night as a whole. We're going to read some of your comments, talk a little bit about how the media is responding to things. I mean, I guess so overall, Ben, what would you say, night two? Comparison to night one. Did it accomplish its goals? Let's start off with, what were the themes? Oh man, I feel like that was a pop quiz question, because it was so all over the place. I think they try to weave. Honestly, the theme was throw everything at the board and see what sticks, especially with the Trump kids. Their speeches were all over the place, especially because they

try to make their speeches political. Rand Paul obviously had the anti-war speech, but the evening didn't have an anti-war bent. And then, of course, there was the, I think it was David Cameron, I don't know if I have his right name, the Attorney General from Kentucky, who his role was really to facilitate white supremacy on behalf of Donald Trump in black skin. So they were really all over the place. I couldn't really discern violations of the Hatch Act. That was a theme. That was a theme and the Trump family is all they've got. That's the theme. Yeah, and Daniel, Daniel Cameron, but you were very close. So I think, look, I think that cancel culture ended up being a massive theme.

So we continue our societal hyper focus on that and pretending that that's the only problem that faces the American people. That was a very common thing. I thought that the anti-war thing would be more common. I expect that that will be picked up in future days. I do think that that will end up being, while one of the most dishonest speeches and a short one, I think that that was probably among the most effective for accomplishing their goal, like if they actually want to bring anyone new to voting for them and not just have Trump

DeVote's vote for them, that was I think one of the only ones that even had a chance that even seemed to care about doing that. Yeah. Yeah, really, especially, Ram Paul is somehow presenting himself on the national stage as I'm really independent, But he's a diehard Republican through and through. And so he was speaking to the independent audience that actually thinks that he's independent using the language of anti-war, even though he's a Republican through and through who supports war. Yeah, exactly. So in terms of other themes, you know, cities are burning, and that's somehow what you can expect from Biden,

even though it's happening now when Biden is the president. And they're definitely coming for you, there was a lot of that. Basically, they're coming for you. They're coming for your bodies, they're coming for your home, and they're coming for your mind, and they're going to take away your thoughts or something. So, you know, it was like a normal night on Fox News, except this was the convention. Yeah. And then you had a little bit of a sprinkling of the religious stuff, the anti-abortion stuff. There was some of that as well. They really, they really kind, with those two speeches, they really went hard with the anti-abortion religious rhetoric. And I think those two speeches were

enough, right? I think they put them there specifically so everyone else wouldn't have to talk about it. But the two individuals, they really went as hard as they possibly could to stir up the evangelical vote, which is fine, I guess. But the evangelical vote is in lockstep with Donald Trump. They always have been. So maybe that's why they only gave them two spots versus multiple spots. Yeah, maybe. And honestly, other than Melania, I almost said Ivanka. Weird how I mixed that up. That seemed the most like what you would have had at any other Republican convention. Like those two individuals, I feel like could have spoken for McCain or Romney or whoever. Yeah.

It's sort of almost like a weird throwback, like a focus on that part of the party, like the explicitly like evangelical part of the party rather than like- It's like an afterthought kind of. It's almost like, oh yeah, by the way, here's something for you evangelical so that you keep voting for me. Exactly. And we've got a little bit of Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem. they'll like that. I didn't actually end up getting to the specifics on this, but the woman,

what was her name? It was Abby Johnson. So she was talking about the, her work for Planned Parenthood. So she had tweeted about unpopular opinions. She said, here's another one. I would support bringing back household voting. How anti-feminist of me, she tweeted. But it is though. Like you're joking as if that's not actually what it is, but it is. And so someone asked her, But what happens? So the idea, by the way, is that only the head of household would vote. So hypothetically, that could be a man or a woman, right? She doesn't think so. But so someone asked her, but what happens when the husband is a Republican and the wife is a Democrat or vice versa? And she responded, and all of this is publicly available, then they would have to decide

on one vote. In a godly household, the husband would get the final say. I like to think I'm in a godly household because I'm religious and all that, but I wouldn't even try my wife with that on any given. You know, my wife, when she disagrees with me, you know, that's a, the foolishness that comes out of evangelicals actually supersedes any other ridiculousness that you find in religion. They, they go above and beyond. I just, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a Republican woman saying that at the end of the day, Republican women shouldn't necessarily be allowed to vote. And I tweeted because Malani, she talked about a lot of things. One things she talked about was the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. You

know, women's suffrage, what a great thing. Oh, by the way, earlier tonight we had a woman speak who doesn't think that you should be allowed to vote. And like, that's not even that that uncommon for Republicans. Anne Colter, she loves to joke about how she doesn't think that women should be allowed to vote. Anyway, so that was weird. How much do you think they actually believe this like Ann Coulter at least like I think I don't think she tonight she really believed at the speaker but not Ann Coulter though I agree I would go the same way in both of those so she spoke now there was going to be one other crazy I don't I don't ever I think it might have been Marianne Mendoza I apologize if I'm

mistaking that I don't believe that she ended up speaking let me see is that one who tweeted something anti-semitic yep so Marianne Mendoza was pulled just hours before for the convention because she started a tweet thread about the protocols of the elders of Zion and all of this ancient conspiratorial stuff about Jewish people trying to take over the world and rule your bodies and your mind. No, man, you didn't get it. At the convention, you're supposed to just say that the left is going to do that. You can mean the same thing. But so she was blocked. Globalist, that's the new word, right? They'll say globalist and say all of those same things, but the globalist is now the dog whistle for anti-Semitism.

Exactly. And so they actually blocked her. I was surprised, you know, I'm still waiting to see, like, are they going to allow that Q&ON, Congresswoman to speak? Like, do you think that someone on the right might be a little bit frustrated and how, think about it, they're told by every speaker, we shouldn't be restricted in what we're allowed to think and say, Like all thoughts are equal and all that. And yet at the convention, they've mostly blocked all of the new QAnon infusion into the Republican Party. Yeah, that's actually a good question. I think they probably are going to eventually get frustrated with it. But the thing is, is that QAnon is in service of Donald Trump. So the masterminds, and I use that in jest,

The masterminds behind Q and 9, they will find a way to make it pro-Trump, the fact that Q&9 speakers didn't get a chance to speak, because everything they do is in service to Donald Trump. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so just really fast, a couple notes, things I've written down, and we had to constantly like jump back in. So Eric Trump, Monica Alba, a journalist, tweeted a photo of her with Eric Trump earlier today saying earlier today, I ran into Eric and Lara Trump at the Melina auditorium, asked him if he was going to pre-record his speech, as Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle did yesterday. He said, no, that he was just there practicing. Well, for the R&C, his remarks tonight were not live. So he lied to a journalist

about how he was going to give his speech live. And of course, because they've been criticizing, like trying to imply that Biden's speech was pre-recorded that it had to be, because he wouldn't be able to get through it otherwise. Meanwhile, all the Trumps apparently, other than maybe Tiffany, are doing it pre-recorded. So I hate to be that guy. But with Melania Trump, I could hear the edits. Because the person who edited it did not keep a consistent cricket sound going. And so every now and then, you can hear the crickets just die out. And I thought for a minute, like maybe it was a noise gate. I'm sorry to get in the end. But, but you could tell that the gate, there was no noise gate on it. So they were chopping up Melania's Trump,

I think her speech just as much as the young boy with the Maga, Make America Great Again hat, but they had the luxury of a lot of different, you know, crawl spades and everything to make it. But long story short, all of this was pre-edited, recorded to the maximum degree because I mean, come on, these people are not really the most talented speakers in the country. See, I didn't pick up on that with Malani. I assumed that that was live. No, man, the crickets, the crickets were telling the story. Like, you care, and then stop, and then and then it just cuts out completely. I got to listen back. The reason I know that's the case is because when she stopped talking and they waited for an applause, you know, the four seconds

you were talking about, you could still hear the crickets. So it wasn't a noise gate cutting out the crickets. It was edits and they just missed it. Okay, sorry, I don't mean I didn't mean to get, you know, but it was just really bothering me. You're the cricket whisper. So let's assume that you're right, that they were editing it. Why didn't they cut out those gaps then? Wouldn't that be the first thing you do? Like, that's throwing you're under the bus by leaving those in, I feel like. But you, but you realize they made the mistake of the crickets. So maybe they just weren't really the best editors, right? I mean, because I'm not even, I'm not even a master editor by any, by any measure. I just know, you know, audio,

And so I mean, maybe we're giving them too much credit to think that they would think that was a bad thing. Maybe they felt that like that was natural. Let's keep that in there. But you and me, we were like, no, no, let's cut at least two seconds out of that dead air. I would have. And man, if they had left that in for me, I would have been so mad. Oh, yeah. Okay, so overall, though, is this convention helping him? Is this what he wanted? Is this what he needed? Did tonight help raise the odds that Donald Trump gets reelected? And if not, could anything have? I think honestly, I think the Rand Paul speech probably was a big help to him because he already had a lead in some polling, the CBS poll, like you mentioned, with independence. I think if you

had a problem seeing Donald Trump as the president, that's why they had so many Hatch Act violations because you could see him doing his job as president. But the thing is, I don't know that those are the deciding factors for anyone who's still undecided, right? I am really curious to figure out what the undecided voters really are thinking. But I think most people, their votes have been baked in for some time. Yeah, I think for the vast majority. I mean, I think we're talking about significantly less than 10% that are really actually likely to vote and yet have not decided. I think that that's a small amount. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, they really do seem to have landed on a strategy of we're going to activate our base and get them so terrified of what Joe Biden

would be like that they'll go out and vote. And maybe that's the right strategy. I mean, I would love to see the Democratic Party give a damn about whether their base actually gets out in votes rather than trying futilely to get like John Kasich's cousin to vote for them once or something. Did you see that poll this morning where only 5% of Republicans are talking about voting for, um, voting for Joe Biden? So I mean, what you're you just said is that much more important now that you see that Republicans, there are enough never trump Republicans to actually win this race. And the 5% is less than some other Democrats have gotten.

Like it's one poll, maybe it'll change, but like that's not, for you to give the middle finger to the future of your party, like if you're lucky the future of your party, to get these Democrats, to get these Republicans, and you can't get 10%, you can't, 3% of you can't, 3% of Democrats in that poll were going to vote for Trump. Right. He was like less than the margin of error more than the crossover vote in the opposite direction. And this is Rahm Emanuel's grand strategy, right? This is really the entire Democratic establishment's grand strategy. They're risking the future of civilization on never Trumpers. And right now it looks like that's maybe 5% of the Republican Party. If, you know, I saw Rahm Emanuel's tweeting about how Joe Biden

and should make sure that Medicare for all and the greenhood, you'll never get anywhere near him. If Joe Biden brings Rahm Emanuel on his team, that is gonna be so disheartening and only a little bit surprising. Imagine like Obama without Ram Emanuel. That would have been like 9% better. I have the book back here, Confidence Men, and I would never forget the chapter that I read, that everything that Obama ran on, particularly with breaking up the banks, is what he tried to do on day one. And Rahm Emanuel made sure he told everyone in the room as soon as Obama left, we will not do this. So yeah, like absolutely correct. Okay, so we don't have much more time, but I do want to read a few more members' comments that we can possibly respond to.

Austin says, hi everyone. I just became a member last night. Thank you, Austin. Welcome. Hope you enjoy the rest of the coverage. The math magician says, John, please stop. The woman is Lady Macbethon Heels. I live in fear, these people are going to skip off scot-free, which has a more than 50-50 likelihood. If that happens, Biden's administration will absolutely do the exact same crimes, just being far more polite about it. What do you think? I think they won't commit the crimes that are a direct threat to our institutions. I think more than anything else, Democrats worship the institutions of America. Not to say they won't commit crimes, but I don't think that they would like openly violate the Hatch Act right in front

of us. And I don't think that they would do all the different things that Donald Trump has done to undermine every single institution in our country. But I agree. I think they will try to get away with as much as they can. Yeah, I mean like Democrats typically personally profit in the ways that are unfortunately still legal. You know, they'll give speeches afterwards. They'll get massive donations to their foundation. They'll do all that stuff. If they're a senator or representative, they'll become a lobbyist. They do all of that. Trump and the Republicans are doing that. They're just also doing the actually illegal stuff. It's up to each individual to decide how much worse that is, and both are terrible. Okay, Amber Jack O'9 says, I have no sympathy for her.

She may not have known she would end up in the White House when she married Trump, but she damn well knew that he was a horrible racist, abusive, cheater, garbage person, and she chose to marry him anyway. Sometimes being a gold digger has hidden costs. Amberjack has absolutely no sympathy for her. Nothing to add to that. Yeah, hard to disagree with much of it. Okay, Cousin Vinnie, there were a couple of comments that came in during that naturalization ceremony. So cousin Vinnie said basically his message to immigrants, as long as you're obedient, docile, and don't get uppity, you're good. Yeah, yep. That's his message. That is their message to America, right? And not only to immigrants, but also to black people, anybody,

white folks for that matter. So long as you do not get out of line and actually challenge America, you're our type of American. Yeah. Okay, there was one other member comment I want to read from Pale Blue Dot that said, it's my birthday today. Thanks to COVID, I'm stuck here watching RNC coverage on TYT. Oh, who am I kidding? I am a liberal nerd. I would be doing this anyway, especially with John and Benjamin. That's awesome. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, pale blue dot. And there was one more super chat I wanted to read. Crystal Flores gave us a good size super chat saying supporting Ben and his passionate hot mic. That's the most genuine passion I've heard this week that wasn't fueled by cocaine. It was fueled by Earl Gray hot.

Nice. I had a little bit of Earl gray this morning. Yeah, on the damage report this morning, Jordan Yule had a hot mic moment too. I guess I just bring it out of you. I don't know. Or maybe the Republicans do. I'm so embarrassed. I'm sorry, TYT, please have me back. I didn't mean to drop the MF on our life. We're gonna, don't worry. Okay, well, everybody, I hope that you enjoyed our coverage of the second night of the RNC, even if you might not have enjoyed the second night of the RNC. Tomorrow, we are going to have more coverage. I believe that it might be Anna and Jake. Can anyone confirm that, Asher? What do you got? You type it to me? Anna and Emma. Anna and Emma? Oh, come on, you can't miss Anna and Emma. That's going to be

awesome. They did the main show together today. They're going to be breaking down the speech tomorrow. It's the day before the end. So I'm assuming maybe we'll get a little bit more Mike Pence. I don't No, maybe there's a few more Trumps they can dredge up. But anyway, Ben, thank you again. Awesome to have you here. Anytime we can do a show together, I'm always down to do it. Hey, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for having me. Thank you. And to the members, thank you for being members and making it possible for us to do this. We're going to get through the RNC together. We're going to hopefully get through the election of the pandemic together. Thank you for keeping us afloat. Hope that we were able

to entertain just a little bit in these dark times. And we'll see you soon. Thanks for listening to the full episode of the Young Turks. Support our work, listen ad-free, access members-only bonus content, and more by subscribing to Apple Podcasts at apple.com slash t-y-t. I'm your host, Shank Huger, and I'll see you soon.