The Young Turks - RFK Endorses Trump

Episode Date: August 24, 2024

Trump called into Fox News to rage about Kamala's speech, only to be cut off by Bret Baier. JD Vance teases possible RFK Jr. role in Trump administration. Appalachian influencer John Russell centers rural development in his pitch for Harris. NYT publishes what Harris donors thought of the DNC. Children are drinking from puddles and wading through sewage pools, as Israel pummels water systems in Gaza." HOST: Yasmin Khan (@YazzieK), Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl), Sharon Reed (@SharonReedLive) SUBSCRIBE on YOUTUBE: ☞ https://www.youtube.com/user/theyoungturks FACEBOOK: ☞ https://www.facebook.com/theyoungturks TWITTER: ☞ https://www.twitter.com/theyoungturks INSTAGRAM: ☞ https://www.instagram.com/theyoungturks TIKTOK: ☞ https://www.tiktok.com/@theyoungturks 👕 Merch: https://shoptyt.com ❤ Donate: http://www.tyt.com/go 🔗 Website: https://www.tyt.com 📱App: http://www.tyt.com/app 📬 Newsletters: https://www.tyt.com/newsletters/ If you want to watch more videos from TYT, consider subscribing to other channels in our network: The Watchlist https://www.youtube.com/watchlisttyt Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey https://www.youtube.com/indisputabletyt The Damage Report ▶ https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport TYT Sports ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytsports The Conversation ▶ https://www.youtube.com/tytconversation Rebel HQ ▶ https://www.youtube.com/rebelhq TYT Investigates ▶ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNJt9PYyN1uyw2XhNIQMMA 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. I'm so upset. Oh my God. Let's see how Earth responds to that. Begat! Live from the Polymarket Studio in L.A. It's the Young Turks.

Free Marting! Dreamartee! Free marching! Free marching! Free marching! Drop it like R.FK Jr.'s campaign. It's the Power Panel. Welcome. I'm joined by Yasmin Khan, Rebel HQ contributor and host of the Modern Context podcast. Sharon Reed also Rebel HQ contributor. I'm Jordan Yul also Rebel HQ contributor. If you're not watching Rebel HQ, what are you doing?

You're missing out. Yasmin, Sharon, how are you? How was your weeks? It's been good. It's good to be back home. I took a nice trip and I'm ready to do the show and get some rest after this. Yeah, I wasn't on a trip, but I'm doing it right. Yeah. Well, it's been it's been quite a busy week. We have lots of DNC coverage. But first, we have a big, big, huge story in the world of politics in the presidential election. Take a look at this. In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless systematic censorship and media control. So I cannot in good conscience ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours or ask my donors to keep giving when I cannot honestly tell them that I have a real path to the White House. Earlier today, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his campaign for president in an announcement. Now, he clarified that he doesn't mean he terminated his campaign and is still in the race technically. He explains that if he stayed in completely, he would likely hand the election over to Democrats. Take a look.

I want everyone to know that I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply simply. suspending it and not ending it. My name will remain on the ballot in most states. If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping President Trump or vice president Harris. And red states, the same will apply. I encourage you to vote for me. and if enough of you do vote for me and neither of the major party candidates

win 270 votes which is quite possible in fact today our polling shows them tying at 269 to 269 and I could conceivably still end up in the White House in a contingent election but in about 10 battleground

states where my presence would be as a spoiler I'm going to remove my name. And I've already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me. But in addition to suspending his campaign, RFK Jr. also threw his support behind Donald Trump. Take a look. Three great causes drove me to antithous race in the first place primarily. And these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party.

and run as an independent and now to throw my support to President Trump the causes were free speech a war in Ukraine and the war on our children President Trump says

that he will reopen negotiations with President Putin and end the war overnight as soon as he becomes president this alone would justify my support for his campaign And he discussed the potential of a cabinet position in a hypothetical Donald Trump administration. Take a look.

Last summer it looked like no candidate was willing to negotiate a quick end of the Ukraine war to tackle chronic disease epidemic, to protect free speech, our constitutional freedoms, to clean corporate influence out of our government, or to defy the neocons. agenda of endless military adventurism. But now one of the two candidates has adopted these issues, as his own, to the point where he has asked to enlist me in his administration.

I'm speaking of course of Donald Trump. In a series of long, intense discussions, I was surprised to discover that we are aligned on many key issues. In those meetings, he suggested that we joined forces as a unity

party. We talked about Abraham Lincoln's team of rivals. That arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and fiercely, if need be, on issues over which we differ, while working together on the existential issues upon which we are in concordance. There's a lot there, Sharon, and yes. Do you think this is going to make a difference and if so, which candidate that remains in the race do you think it'll benefit more? Sharon, do you want to take a start? I don't think it matters one bit. I don't even know why he had this press conference today instead of, I don't know, tweeting it out or sending out a letter, snail mail. It's just not going to matter in my view. And I don't mean to be flipped,

but I mean, come on. He's not going to take away from Kamala Harris in my in my opinion. I don't even know if they actually fielded phone call or if they were going to meet with him at all. It's just, it's just silly. I think it's silly at this point and he has a very self-important ego, an inflated ego, if you will, but he's more unsurious than ever. We could have said that after the bear situation in Central Park. But this takes the cake. Thanks, but no thanks. Yeah, I feel similarly. I thought it was very funny whenever he said that he was going to address the American people, he's going to address the public.

And it's like, he could have just sent out a tweet. Everyone was expecting you to drop out. It was only ever a matter of time. Then there were all the rumors that he was, you know, courting both candidates, both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to see who he could maybe finagle a cabinet position out of. And then we very shortly later afterwards heard that he was going to be dropping out and supporting Donald Trump. So really none of this is surprising.

This whole thing ended in a way that so many of us thought it would with him trying to earn public influence without the public having granted that influence to him. And that's a popular path to follow. There are elected positions in government and there are appointed positions. And that inherently isn't a problem. But usually, for example, with Pete Buttigieg in the Biden administration, that made sense because he was still popular as a presidential candidate. His policy and his ideal still were very much in alignment with the Biden campaign.

And there was some commonality there. And there was a place where they could find some way to work together. But with Kennedy and Trump and Harris, really, he set himself up as an independent. He said, I'm not either of these parties. I don't like either of these parties. And now here he is courting, allegedly, both parties. Yeah. And previous polling before Biden dropped out showed that he was pulling significantly from Trump.

And then that problem got worse and was exacerbated after Biden dropped out. You saw more of the undecideds or even people in his camp go toward Harris. So what remains of his base will probably just end up in Trump's camp. It is marginal, but it could make a difference. We're talking about a president and a 2020 race that was decided by a very, very slim margin in a handful of swing states. So if he's off the race there, where those voters go will be interesting. And you'll see, you and I talked about this earlier on the damage report.

Harris should try to make a play for them. There's a case to be made. It might be difficult when dealing with those supporters, but we'll see. Now, it isn't exactly surprising that he endorsed Trump. You know, RFK Jr's son leaked a video a few weeks ago of both of them talking about a potential role in a Trump administration. And RFK's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also discussed the plan earlier this week while appearing on the Impact Theory podcast. Take a look.

Anyway, I would be, I would love you to do, sir. I think it would be so good for New York and so big for you. And we're going to win. Look at it. We're going to win. You know, there's two options that we're looking at. And one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walt's presidency because we draw votes from Trump or we draw somehow more votes from Trump or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump and, you know, we walk away from that and we explain to our base why we're making this decision. So Trump and his team have been very supportive of RFK Jr and the prospect of having him on their side. Now here's what Trump and Trump Jr. had to say. Take a look.

Reporting that RFK Jr. is getting ready to endorse you. What does he bring to you? What have your conversation has been like? What role would he have either with your campaign or in your administration? Well, I don't want to get too much into it because you're telling me something, I don't know, other than I've always been friendly with him. I've had a lot of respect for I think he respects me. We've had a good relationship for a long time. If he were going to endorse me, I would consider it a great honor. I think we're leading now in the polls.

We're leading in the swing states. We're leading in the polls. A couple of great polls came out just now. But I would love to have his endorsement. That'd be a great honor. That's despite all the things he said about vaccine, 9-11 conspiracies. Does that reflect on you if you put him in your administration? No, it doesn't mean administration, but certainly having his endorsement because things that he agrees on.

The endorsement from RFK, do you think that's coming? Listen, I hope so. You know, I think RFK, I think he's a smart guy. I think he's actually got very good views on certain things. I think there's a other things, you know, we're going to disagree with him on. But I think it shows sort of a unity. I love the idea. I love the idea of, you know, giving him, you know, some sort of role in some sort of, you know, major, you know, three-letter entity or whatever it may be and let him blow it up.

So to be clear, you know, he was at Trump was asked by Garrett Hake about RFK's comments on vaccines and his stances on vaccines. Trump appointed RFK Jr. in 2017 to run a commission on vaccine safety and integrity. So there isn't really too much of a disagreement there between those two. But J.D. Vance was also supportive of RFK in an administrative role. Take a look. I think RFK really could do a lot for us on questions of, you know, we had 8,000 veterans, I believe, maybe more that we kicked out of the military because they refused to take a vaccine. I'd love for RFK to take a look at that, but I haven't talked to him. I don't know what he's interested in. I think the best signal that RFK can send is, look, the Kennedy Democratic Party has transformed into the open borders, high inflation, Kamala, Harris Democratic Party. And if you're like my grandparents, I mean, I was raised by blue dog

socially conservative Democrats, Glenn. If you're like my grandparents, the Kennedy Democrats are now going for Donald J. Trump and the Republicans. And I think that's a powerful message to send to the American people that the old Democratic Party was a great thing, a great institution. We didn't have to agree with it all the time, but they were patriotic people. They are no longer welcome in this crazy new thing that Kamala Harris is in charge of. Of course, the Kennedy Democrats getting behind Trump is a lie, all of RFK Jr's siblings put out a collective statement today denouncing this move. But yes, I want to bring you in here.

Trump's team is celebrating it. There are people who are obviously pointing out this comes with a lot of baggage. Will this have any negative impact on Trump or is his base just too far gone? I mean, I do think generally that his base is too far gone. They're just going to spin this as a victory. But really, how much is an RFK Jr. endorsement worth, especially, I know we were talking about this earlier, and Sharon also mentioned it just now, but RFK Jr. was never a serious presidential candidate. Yet he had a lot of opinions, and he liked to say them very loudly,

and he was an option for people to vote for, people who were disillusioned by both parties. And there are plenty of people who are currently disillusioned for a good reason with both parties. So now him abandoning that whole premise and joining forces with Donald Trump is not surprising, but it is going to be disappointing to the people who did support him to certain extent. And the idea that the Republicans are trying to sell this as, oh, the Kennedy Democrats are going for Trump. No, the Kennedy Democrats are not going for Trump. It's not a signal that the Republicans are trying to spin it as there's one in every family, right? RFK Jr is that one, he's the exception to the Kennedy dynasty, not the rule.

I mean, I may be the one in my family, but my sisters wouldn't hold a press conference saying don't do anything with her, okay? They might text it to each other, but they're not going to go and tell the world that. I just think it's silly at this point. His campaign, his candidacy, jumped the shark some time ago. And he proved himself to be ultimately unserious, even though he had some serious people who were considering him. At this point, to be this whole thing where Shanahan talks about joining forces, you have to be a force first. And he's not that right now. And I don't know if he will regain that. It seems unlikely. What would, what position would they do? You know, Junior talks about some three letter entities.

and then blowing it up. They could create a new one, you know, he could be the single cat ladies are or something and monitored these people throughout the country or say, you know, give him something to do. But it's just silly. I just find it very, very silly. Yeah, I mean, when that story came out that they were in negotiations about a position for RFK Jr., the topics and the portfolio of issues that were mentioned were health and human services. It was something like that. So if it is HHS, if it is the FDA, God forbid. I mean, there's certainly problems within our federal bureaucracy. Putting RFK Jr. in charge of

something like that and blowing it up, like you point out, Sharon, isn't the solution. It would only make matters worse. But RFK Jr. is not somebody who is seemingly sane or rational or well equipped to handle those challenges as complex as they are. So let's hope. He is not in a position of power. And one thing you've got to point out, when you're dealing with Trump, this is a man who famously goes back on his word, does not hold up his end of the bargain and has stiffed people before. So he could just be using RFK Jr. Time will tell. But speaking of time, we've got to take a break.

Stick around. We've got much more to come. You don't want to miss it. Welcome back Friday, our panel. I'm joined by Yasmin Khan and Sharon Reed. We've got some DNC recap. Let's take a look. It was a lot of complaining.

She didn't talk about China. She didn't talk about fracking. She didn't talk about crime. She didn't talk about 70% of our people are living in property. Mr. President, I'm on this. I'm live now. Say hello to my audience. Don't say anything that'll get you in trouble.

All right. I don't mind. You know, at this point, to what differences, we're doing well. We're leading in the polls. I personally thought it was a terrible speech. It was very nonspecific. It was also very short. She just wanted to get off the stage because her ideas are bad.

Look, she's a Marxist. Donald Trump went on a tirade last night after Kamala Harris's speech to close out the DNC. And he was posting nonstop. He live reacted to Harris's address posting 48 times during the speech. And the speech was 37 minutes, it was succinct, every talking point mattered. And it was also significantly shorter by almost an hour than his acceptance. speech at the RNC, which was famously panned as boring. So we can't go through all 48 of his truth social posts, but we did gather some of the more

unhinged ones starting with this. Too many thank yous. Too rapidly said, what's going on with her? Another one, Walls is an assistant coach, not a coach. Here's a good one. These prosecutions were all started by her and Biden against their political opponent, me. And really encapsulating his narcissistic spirit, is she talking about me? He also added this one this morning.

My administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights. Well, there you have it. If you were concerned about the guy who was responsible for overturning bro, he just told you. You have nothing to worry about. Now immediately after the speech, he called Fox News to rant, during which he seemed to be accidentally pressing buttons on his phone. He got agitated when Martha McCallum asked him about the fact that Kamala Harris is gaining ground against him with some demographics. Take a look.

She's trying to pull that the youth vote, the Hispanic vote, the black vote back in her direction. Polls show that she's having some success in that at this point. So what are you going to do? What's your strategy to rebuild the momentum that you had with those voters? Now, she's not having success. I'm having success. I'm doing great with the Hispanic voters. I'm doing great with black men.

I'm doing great with women because women want safety. They want safety. And they don't have safety when they have somebody allowing 20 million people into our country, many of them very dangerous people. No, it's only in your eyes if they have that, Bartha. We're doing very well in the polls. We're leading in most of the polls. So just a quick fact check, you know, he's usually very accurate, but he's not doing well with women. He's not doing great with women to be specific. An economist you gov poll taken this week found 51% of women said they support Harris, while 38% backed Trump. That's a 13 point lead.

Anyway, he went on so long that he was eventually cut off by Brett Bear and Martha McCallum while talking about RFK Jr. Take a look. Look, he was treated very unfairly by the Democrat. He would have beaten Joe Biden in a Democrat primary. I have no doubt about it. And they made it absolutely impossible for him. They made it. They you have to get 60, 70% of the vote just to get in. And you know what? In the end, the Democrats did the same thing to Joe Biden. They threw Joe Biden out of the party.

And that's why we saw a different night tonight. Mr. President, thank you so much for the time. We appreciate that live feedback. Appreciate the feedback. Yes. What do you think? How would you describe Trump's behavior after Harris's speech last night? And what fueled it?

I mean, it's entirely predictable, but I think you touched on it already. It's that narcissism. Everything is about him. And what was the one tweet in all capital letters? Is she talking about me? It's like weird like Dumbledore energy there. But he just can't fathom how anything can be not about him because the way that he understands politics is as a game, right?

He's playing a game. He's fighting against this other person and he has to win. And that's all it is for him. That's all it has ever been for him. He needs to get into the White House. That's his goal. Whoever gets there is a winner. And he's not a loser.

He hates losers. He can't be that guy. So whenever somebody like Kamala Harris is getting up there, she's talking about policies and she's talking to the people. And she's talking about things that people are interested in, things that people want to hear from her. He doesn't really understand it, can't compute what's actually going on. And he doesn't know how to respond to that, right?

He doesn't know how to respond to policy because he doesn't have any policies of its own. The only policy that he does have is Project 2025, and we know that he has famously been trying to distance himself from that. So he really has no platform that he can speak up. All he can say is things like women love me. I'm winning. She's not winning. And I'm going to be great for women's health care. And I'm a great president and all these things. And he has never had any kind of substance. And that is the Donald Trump that we know. That's the candidate, Trump that we know. He's never had a platform. He has never won anything by actually speaking to the issues and by speaking to real tangible solutions to things. This goes back to the first

time he was running for president. And he said he was just going to build a wall. And people said, how are you going to do that? How are you going to pay for it? And he just said, oh, Mexico will pay for it. And he had no way to explain any of it because none of his stuff is well thought out. But he got away with it because nobody really in his camp, none of his supporters really demanded to know why he was saying the things he was saying, how he was going to accomplish the things he wanted to accomplish. So he was able to get away with that. But up against someone like Kamala Harris, he really is going to have to step up his game. And I really just don't think he has it in him to do that. I mean, this was like, what's that S&L skit for

David Spade? Bye bye. And bye bye. I mean, that's what Brett Bear was turned into, an S&L skit. As They hurried him off the line. He posted an average of just about every 45 seconds on that garbage truth social. It is embarrassing even for him that this is where he is. It used to be, remember, mainstream media propped him up. Every time he opened his mouth, they were breaking in live coverage. And now he can't even stay on the line with Fox News. It's sad, sad.

It is. It is very sad. But it also is funny that he made the rounds. Like he called multiple hosts, multiple shows, just cold calling people while Greg Gutfeld was on the air. So to me, and we saw this happen a lot when he was president, he was sit in his bedroom or sit in his office, watch TV, and then just call in when he knew they were on air. So it seems like he was just sitting at home watching Greg Gutfeld, upset. And then saying, all right, well, I'm just going to call him and see if I can get some air time. Just really weird behavior from somebody who was running for president.

He's not on the trail. J.D. Vance is on the trail. Trump is nowhere to be found. He's at his golf club. He sometimes does a press conference. And that's it. J.D. Vance is the one going out there to donut shops or to restaurants, actually doing the retail campaigning.

His heart's not in it. And it is so fun to watch. Yeah, absolutely. I think this is like what we've all been waiting. for 10 long years and finally we're seeing everything kind of implode upon itself. So I'm here for it. Take a look at this. A billionaire says that he'll take on the elites. But then he promises handouts to big oil.

And he punches down at anyone with the guts to be different. But populism, populism that insists we are too different to get along is just divide and conquer by a different name. Brady Vance has tried to claim the Appalachian mantle during this campaign cycle, but last night at the DNC, somebody actually from Appalachia had the mic. We showed you at the top, some of John Russell's speech. Now, here is the rest of it. Take a look. They called us rednecks back in the 1920s, because striking workers from all different races, wore red bandanas around their necks as they fought and died for respect and a living wage. Their fight yesterday is our fight right now. Right now. It is our choice to build on this progress and to create a political home for the mass of working Americans fighting for control over their

government, their workplaces, and their planet. And it is our moment to live up to. Now, Russell, who is a reporter with more perfect union, is from Wheeling, West Virginia in the heart of Appalachia. And he used that time to push back against Trump's phony populism. J.D. Vance, meanwhile, is from these suburbs in Ohio. And despite trying to say he's from Appalachia or the son of Appalachia, the New York Times recently issued a rule, a style book update to the report. warning them to be careful with how they describe him. Let's please be careful with our references to the background of Trump's running mate. It's natural to think that someone who wrote a memoir entitled Hillbilly Elegy is from Appalachia.

But there's an official government definition of Appalachia and it's quite expansive, running all the way from counties in Mississippi to counties in New York State. And even by that expansive definition, Middletown, Ohio, where Vance grew up, is not in Appalachia. Middle town is mostly in Butler County. There's a sliver in Warren County, but, I'm sorry, both are in the southwestern corner of Ohio and neither are among the counties included in the Appalachian Regional Commission. Vance's grandparents moved to that area from Appalachia and he spent some time in summers with relatives in eastern Kentucky as a youth, So it's fine to say he has family ties to Appalachia or he has roots in Appalachia or that he spent

time with relatives in Appalachia or some such. But let's avoid anything that suggests he grew up there or is a son of Appalachia. So quite a mouthful there. But what do you, so there's a couple of things here. Sharon, I want to bring you in. You have the speech last night pushing back against Trump's phony populism and Vance's Appalachian roots, him also trying to lean into that. So first, what do you think of that speech? But also, what do you think of J.D. Vance trying to claim this title, claim this background that he doesn't actually have? I think it's on brand for him. He's the master of the pivot. He could have sooner written a book about Silicon Valley and his time there, okay, the friendships that he's had with people from all

walks of life that don't align now with his party. He's someone who just kind of changes the mass depending on the company he keeps. When I hope if this campaign is not successful for Trump Vance, he'll go ahead and morph into something else. So I think it was right on message, it was right to paint a picture for people who already know or learning that he's a phony. this just kind of cement it for some people who were tuning in for the first time. Yeah, I think this guy is J.D. Bance's worst nightmare. And that's the thing. If you're going to be a poser, you have to be prepared for the possibility that someone authentic will rise up and challenge who you say you are. And personal identity is so crucial in the realm of identity politics. But

when you have a ticket with two white men, they're desperate for the appearance of diversity and specialization. And on top of that, when you have two elite white men, a billionaire and someone backed by a billionaire, they're desperate to code switch in an effort to appeal to actual voters in middle America. And I've always said that something remarkable that Trump has been able to do is to be this billionaire who is born into this incredible immense wealth and somehow appeal to people in middle America and tell them, I'm just like you, I'm one of you, just because he's not a politician. He's a business person, just like you, right? Everybody can relate to being a business owner or a business person working in a business, working

American people. And Trump was able to do that. J.D. Vance is trying to do that, and he's really, really struggling with it. I know that we saw that video of him at the donut shop, and he was really struggling just to make small talk with just regular American workers. So it's all a struggle, and they're going to continue struggling with this because they're inauthentic people. They're simply just running a campaign trying to say and do the right things, but none of it is coming from anywhere real, and people can pick up on that. Yeah. He, look, we can think about where our grandparents grew up if it's different than where we were raised, and you can identify easily. All right, this isn't my experience. I might be informed by their experience or their

upbringing, and that maybe I have some connection to the area, but it certainly doesn't shape me uniquely. And I think what he's trying to do is do what a lot of politicians do. And it's funny that he's doing this at the same time. He's accusing Tim Walls of stealing Baller. But just take up something else. Rebrand yourself. Pretend to be someone you're not to be more appealing. They want to lean into middle America, the forgotten man and woman, the forgotten person. And you could just see right through because as soon as he got out of Yale, He went out to Silicon Valley and started working with venture capitalists, you know, that really relatable Appalachian experience, working with Peter Thiel. So he comes from big money.

He is deeply connected to the tech Silicon Valley venture capital world. He's detached from that upbringing. And again, he came from the suburbs. So it is very strange to see him try to claim this kind of poverty upbringing to score political points when it's just totally inauthentic. So funny to see him get disproven, debunked like that. And as somebody who I've known John Russell for a little bit was also surprising just to see him come out on the stage. It was surprising enough to see that ad being played a video that they played before that. Very cool to see more perfect union represented at the DNC. Even more surprising to see him walk out there and give a killer speech. So great job, John.

We've got to take a break. We'll be right back after this. For a limited time at McDonald's, enjoy the tasty breakfast trio. Your choice of chicken or sausage McMuffin or McGrittles with a hash brown and a small iced coffee for five bucks plus tax. Available until 11 a.m. at participating McDonald's restaurants. Price excludes flavored iced coffee and delivery. Welcome back. Power panel, Sharon Reed, Yasmin Khan. Thanks for sticking with us.

Got an interesting one here. Take a look at this. As the saying goes, if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. So Gen Z, let's take our seat in our democracy and cast our ballots this November. for Kamala Harris and Tim Walls. If you're not at the table, you're on the menu. Okay, how much does it cost to get a seat at the table? According to the DNC, at least $100,000, and that gets you two passes to the honored guest super suite.

As you can see here, the sponsor tiers go all the way up to $5 million. seems like a pretty expensive seat at this table. Now, organizers for the DNC told the New York Times that they raised a record 95 million, largely from high-profile donors for this year's convention. But they're not just donating, of course. They're looking for access, and they're certainly looking for influence. But over what specifically? Donors said they wanted specifics for Kamala Harris's economic policies.

These supporters are especially eager to hear more about whether she would continue President Biden's aggressive antitrust policy, her position on the capital gains tax given that the White House wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and whether she would adopt a globalist as opposed to nationalist approach to trade. As for the cabinet, Wall Street donors are especially interested in who becomes Treasury Secretary. One popular candidate was Gina Ramondo, the Commerce Secretary. Other possibilities emerged, notably Jamie Diamond of J.P. Morgan Chase. Still, some donors wondered whether Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts would ever let a banker sit in that role.

Now, the Harris campaign will need to navigate a landscape while trying to appease their base and keep their donors happy. And mind you, these are the same donors that are responsible in part for pushing Biden out of the race to begin with. Now, Sharon, what do you think of some of these prices to get access and to get into these suites at the DNC? And does this set of policies that they're really interested in worry you at all? Worry me a great deal because obviously I and most Americans are not in that tier. It is an exclusive club. And by printing that menu that goes up to $5 million, it tells us that while there's so much hope and enthusiasm about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the ticket, there should be, well, a reality for us that in, This way, the parties are very similar.

Yeah, absolutely. This is part of what people are talking about when they say that both parties are the same. Both are beholden to big money donors, both are up for purchase. There is this illusion of democracy where every vote counts the same as the next. But we know that influence doesn't quite work the same way in Washington. And I mentioned this before a while ago, that AOC mentioned this back when you first got into Congress. As soon as she had her office set up, the lobbyists were banging down her door. And how difficult is it for them to decline the money and the perks that they're

offered in exchange for potentially pushing forth their agendas and making good on some of their promises? And it's easy to see how quickly that can become corrupting to a new young congressperson or even a season one. And it is really distressing because we like to think that we live in a democracy and that we all get a say in the way things are run and the way our government works and the way that the United States operates not just here at home but also around the world domestically and foreign policy. But it's difficult and it's very disheartening and it encourages people to kind of step outside of the realms of democracy, not participate in it as much because it is discouraging. Yeah, absolutely. It turns a lot of people cynical, turns a lot of

of people off of the political process when you see that a corporation or a lobbying group can just fork over 100,000 or a million or five million for access to these suites. Do you think that the major power brokers and the Democratic Party are hanging out in the bleachers and the nosebleeds with delegates or attendees? No, they're going to these suites and these people are going to get their ears. So while we see popular support for policies that would benefit a vast majority of Americans, whether it's economic policy or health care policy or policies that people support like ending the war in Gaza, if there's a financial stake in prolonging some of this suffering or making sure some of these problems continue so companies can profit

off of them, that's who they're going to listen to. And it's like you've said, It's a problem in both parties, certainly, and at a time where we saw a campaign framed around joy and freedom, it's disconcerting to see these companies do this, to see these lobbying groups and special interests do this again and again and again. So this idea that if you're not at the table, you're on the menu, while obviously cannibalistic, is very bizarre. I can't afford to sit at the table. How do I get my opinion included? It's just, it's frustrating. And it's, it's frustrating. It turns a lot of people off of this system, this process, participating, volunteering, donating when there's somebody with a much larger bank account who would have outsized influence relative to me. So I don't know if either of you two have anything else to add, but this just really rub me

the wrong way. Yeah, I think that overall, there is a push to get money out of politics. I realistically don't know how or when that's even going to happen because the people who are benefiting from all this money. in politics are the ones who are going to make that decision for the American people. We can just do our best to elect better people into Congress, into positions of authority where they can make those decisions for us. But my goodness, it is difficult to find even one candidate who is not liable to becoming corrupt in that kind of way. We have Tim Walts now,

and he seems he seems promising, so maybe he can do something there. Can the last words, Sharon? Yeah, I mean, I agree with yes. I was just thinking as you were both talking, I wonder if at some point his core, his background, the way he's lived his life, a man who does not covet money and has just real down-to-earth values where he'll fit in. I mean, obviously he's a governor, but he had some policies that People like Jamie Diamond just in his state would despise. So you have Kamala Harris who's running on. I took on the big banks and that whole thing.

And I just think she's right. People don't want to participate unless they know, you're saying we got a chance. And with all this money, the fact that Kamala Harris was able to raise $300 million in a matter of days or $95 million throughout the week at the DNC. tells the story of what's terribly wrong with our political system. Gaza are struggling to get their basic water needs. We stand in long queues for hours hoping to get some clean water. My little girl and I are waiting in these long lines under the heat of the sun. We appeal to the whole world to help us at least get some clean water.

The destruction of infrastructure in Gaza has left millions with out water and desperate for clean water, so desperate that some of these people are now reportedly drinking from puddles while others are forced to wade through pools of sewage. A CNN investigation confirmed that Israeli soldiers have intentionally targeted water facilities, a blatant violation of humanitarian law. In July, for example, Ryan Grimm's drop site news, discovered a video posted on Instagram by an Israeli soldier showing them wiring explosives and then blowing up the Canada water reservoir in Rafa. Take a look. The soldier wrote that blowing up the reservoir was in honor of Shabbat.

CNN geolocated the video and confirmed it was legitimate. Satellite imagery also clearly shows that the reservoir was damaged. You can see there on the left July 18th and on the right, July 30th and had been destroyed along with the surrounding area. Now that reservoir provided water for 150,000 people prior to October 7th. When asked about the incident captured on camera, the IDF told CNN that its troops had been operating in the Tall Al Salton area for several weeks to dismantle terrorist infrastructures and eliminate terrorists whilst taking feasible measures in order to mitigate damage to civilian structures. And they claim that the incident was

under review. Human rights experts say this is illegal behavior. The destruction of the Canada water reservoir is certainly a breach of international humanitarian law, Mark Zatouin, Director general of the Geneva Water Hub, a Swiss Institute specializing in hydro diplomacy, told CNN, IHL is meant to protect against indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population or the objects they depend on for survival, he said. Unfortunately, the destruction of the Rafa reservoir doesn't seem to be an isolated incident. Around 70% of all water and sanitation facilities in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged. Due to damaged facilities and fuel shortages, no water systems are operating at full capacity. More than 2 million people in the strip now

primarily rely on pumped water from wells operating at around 15% capacity, as well as water supplied by Israel's water company, Mekirot via three pipelines. The amount of water available in in Gaza works out at just 4.74 liters of water, one gallon per person per day. Oxfam reported in July, adding that this is just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies and less than a single toilet flush. The international nonprofit has accused Israel of using water as a weapon of war, saying Palestinians in Gaza have almost no water to drink, let alone to bathe, cook, are clean. The ramifications of that have already begun to continue to get worse. More than 1.7 million cases of infectious diseases have been recorded in Gaza,

according to the Ministry of Health there. Traces of highly infectious poliovirus transmitted through feces and contaminated water or food were found in a 10-month-old child in the central Ghazan city of Diyah, earlier this month, the child was later paralyzed due to the disease, the UN said on August 23rd. Other refugees are also suffering from skin infections, while expectant mothers face a heightened risk of stillbirth. Humanitarian workers and government officials have said Israeli officials were repeatedly rejecting aid, including water purification system at entry and accusation is real denies. Yes, how do you wrap your head around this story if you even can?

And what is the best response here? What should the U.S. government be doing? I mean, who cares, right? There are blatant humanitarian violations, but who cares? Is anybody going to do anything about it? Probably not. They're just going to wag their fingers at Israel, scold them and tell them, know, that's not really how we do things around here. But without any real consequences,

Israel is going to keep doing what Israel has been doing for the past 10 months and longer. Of course, they're going to continue to escalate their attack. Of course, they're going to get more and more bold in their violations of humanitarian law. It doesn't mean anything to them. The UN cannot challenge the United States. And as long as Israel has the US on its side, it is free to do whatever it wants without consequence. And this is exactly why there's an an uncommitted movement because people are tired of having to just settle and vote for people who aren't going to do the things that people voting for them want them to do. We're told that one party is better than the other, but at the end of the day, if we're still

sending weapons to people who are using them to kill innocent people, then what is the tangible difference? So it's understandable that people are rebelling against that. It's not only understandable, but it should be expected. It should be expected that people will withhold their votes in November regarding this issue. And you mentioned it earlier on the damage report, Jordan, that you now have a trigger response to seeing these types of things. And that's something that I think many people can relate to. It's not normal.

We're not used to seeing these horrific images the way that we're seeing them now on social media. We're being live streamed at genocide while being told that Harris and Biden are working very hard to stop it. Let me tell you, paying taxes this year was very difficult and casting a vote this November in an election that should feel victorious and historic will be tainted by the deaths of these innocent Palestinians. I couldn't agree more. And, you know, for us to shield Israel from any real accountability here while participating, as you said, is it's just immoral. And might I say this, kudos to CNN for the reporting, the extensive reporting, investigative reporting here, the satellite images, the whole way they pursued the story. But we're still, thank goodness for social media, we're still not getting these stories in the raw form other than this network. Thank goodness for TYT. We're not getting enough of these stories that are so painful. The nitty gritty of them, it's a whitewash, if you will, throughout most of the mainstream media. And I think she's right, too. This is why people are desperate to hold, withhold their vote until we get just an inch or two. more, and I just think it's shameful.

Yeah, uncommitted voters are not asking for a lot. They're not asking for the entire platform to be rewritten. They're asking for the Biden and Harris administration to use the leverage that it has right now, currently, to stop this war. Without U.S. arms shipments, Israel would not be able to do this. This war would end swiftly. Netanyahu is just taking the U.S. and doing whatever he pleases. We're continuing to give him weapons as he deliberately and knowingly obstructs a ceasefire

deal that the Biden and Harris administration purportedly support. And members of Netanyahu's own government are calling him out for doing this because they know if he gets a deal, he'll lose a couple key members of his government and their part and the people that support them. And he'll be out of power. The new election will be gone. It's purely self-serving. And as a result, millions of people are suffering. Think about the scale here. What was it? 1.7 million cases of infectious diseases. This isn't just an isolated incident. This isn't a couple people. Think about the scale of the suffering here that we are fueling, the intentional rigging up with explosives of a water reservoir, for what? None of this

is self-defense, and I think that was so upsetting for a lot of people hearing that in Harris's speech last night, framing all of this as Israel's rate to defend itself. October 7th was one day almost a year ago. There has not been anything close to the scale or size of that attack in response since yet 40,000 plus, and that is a conservative estimate of people have died as a result of this war. There are many more trapped under rebel. It's hard to imagine what the actual death toll is in Gaza. This is not self-defense. These are war crimes and this is a genocide and they are trying to eliminate all of Gaza. It has been abundantly clear from the first week what was going to happen. And the U.S., our government, our leaders are pretending like it's

some evenly matched war. The framing of a war alone is a slap in the face. So that's all they're asking for, and that they couldn't even give a Palestinian, a Palestinian American last night, two minutes to go up there, endorse Harris, and talk about what it means to be a Palestinian American in a moment like this is just truly repugnant. Yeah, they had to let the Republicans speak. So there just wasn't enough time. Yeah. And you know, Jordan, we don't have a department of war.

We have a department of defense. It's all a matter of framing. It's all a matter of propaganda. It's all a matter of selling something to the public that is unsavory in a way that feels safe than a way that feels comforting even, right? It's defense, right? Defense is a lot more cozy than an offensive strategy that is rigging up water towers and bombing them so that people don't have access to water to drink. How long can people survive without water? It really is unfathomable. And the bigger the numbers

get, the less our brains can comprehend them. And you know, that's actually something smart that the Republicans did at the RNC is they brought out individual stories of, oh, this person was harmed by one immigrant, right? People can actually relate to those stories a lot better than hearing these numbers of however many tens of thousands of people have died and however many millions more people are suffering. That's very hard to wrap your head around. Well, just, I hope it ends soon just for the people there. It's the, it's the smart political choice and even more importantly, it is the right moral and ethical choice. So Sharon Reed, Yasmin Khan, You can check them both out on Rebel HQ.

It was a pleasure doing the show with you. That last story, maybe not included. A bit of a heartbreaker to end on, but thank you so much. Got to take a break. Much more to come. See you on the other side.