The Young Turks - TYT Extended Clip - December 31st, 2019

Episode Date: January 1, 2020

Trump is escalating the US presence in Iraq. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian, hosts of The Young Turks, break it down. 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. Hey, guys, you've heard of the Young Turks podcast because you're listening to it right now. But make sure that you subscribe and give it a five star rating if you like it. Thank you for listening. All right, well, the Young Turks, Jake, Granite, and Casperian, the last show of 2019. Yeah.

So I don't know how I feel, in fact, oh my one thing, there's the last show of the decade. All right, so we will see you next year. We will see you next decade, except not tomorrow. I'm stealing your thunder there. But so tomorrow we do have a day off. Sorry. But today we're on, obviously. We're live and we have a ton of news, foreign policy news.

Of course, campaign news. Is Biden also going to name a Republican secretary of state and a secretary of defense? You never know, okay. So anyway, campaign news a little bit later in the program. And yeah, that's all I got, okay, fun for everybody. You know, the beginning of next year, apparently I had slightly more, and the beginning of next year will be, we will become adults. It'll be the Young Turks 18th anniversary in February.

Some of us will become adults. I know, some of us are grandchildren forever. We should restart up TYT University because Young Jersey is going to college. We're 18. Oh my God, can you imagine, though? Yeah. Like if we could just go back to college. Oh.

I just want to be a college student for the rest of my life. Oh, my God, that sounds so good. It sounds so good. You guys don't know how good you happen if you are a college student, except for the whole death thing. Except for the death thing in your screen. Yeah, that sucks. And your life is ruined.

But other than that, or we should be. You pull a Joe Biden, give me a break. You think you have it tough, give me a break. No, I, I, look, we're gonna talk about Joe Biden later in the show. I just wanna say one quick thing, and I didn't feel this way about Joe Biden before. Before I just disagreed with his politics, I have come to dislike him. No. I now dislike him.

You know, let's save it for later because I've also changed my mind on how I feel about Joe Biden, and it's sad. And let's also note for the record as we're finally going to do the news that Anna is sending off to 2010s in a lovely lavender sweater that she obviously borrowed from Ken Clippenstein. I was jealous that he was wearing such a lovely color all the time, so we're competing now. All right, there you go, my favorite color, by the way. All right, Ken knew that. All right, so let's talk a little bit about some foreign policy news.

Looks like Trump is looking to wage more war. So following the launch of U.S. airstrikes against an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq, Thousands of Iraqi protesters demonstrated at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Now, demonstrated might be a little bit of a euphemism, to be fair, because some of these protests actually became pretty violent, and one area of the compound was actually set ablaze. So some of the demonstrators allegedly attempted to break into the embassy, although that is being reported by mainstream media outlets, and take that with a grain of salt. However, we do have video evidence showing that some of these protesters did light the compound on fire.

Luckily, based on reports, no one was hurt. Now, the attacks are a response to U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia that formally sits under the control of Iraq's prime minister. The airstrikes have caused tensions with Baghdad where officials accused the U.S. of attacking without sufficient evidence, violating Iraqi sovereignty and threatening the country's security. Now, the Iranian Beck militia group is known as Qatayib Hezbollah, and it seems like the group is accepted by the Iraqi government. However, the Iraqi government does have an obligation to protect the U.S. embassy and U.S. workers within the country. Now, exactly how many U.S. workers are there in the country? Well, it's not clear how many people are inside the embassy, but it is the U.S.'s largest diplomatic mission in the world with around 16,000. staff, the compound covers around 100 acres around the same size as the Vatican City.

And in addition to that, you have about 5,000 active U.S. military members in Iraq as well. So there is growing frustration among Iraqis regarding U.S. presence in the country. They feel that they're, you know, the sovereign nature of their country is being jeopardized, that the US has absolutely no intentions of leaving. And it's understandable that they think that way because we have 16,000 people working in the embassy alone. That's insane. Yeah.

So let me start by giving just a little extra detail on or the current state of affairs. And then I want to back up and tell you how we got here. So you saw with the video that they lit a small part of the outside of the embassy on fire. There's a little fog of war here. Some outlets are reporting that they broke into the reception area of the embassy and set that ablaze as well. Others are saying that nothing was breached. But either way, guys, imagine you're in that situation. It is super scary. So you've got fires, you've got people throwing stones. And so this is not a normal protest. It's definitely a bit of a riot. And so you can

understand why we're very concerned about the folks that are in the embassy. Now, let's back up and how did this get to where it is today. And that's the important context. So first part of this was the Trump administration broke the deal that we had with Iran and all the other major powers in the world. So the major powers did not agree with us, they agreed with Iran, okay? So that's a very important context. We're the ones who broke the deal and for no apparent reason other than the fact that Obama signed it and we'd like to start another war in the Middle East.

So then Iran starts to retaliate in different ways. Now lately, I'm gonna fast forward to what started this particular, you know, I'll you know, uprising, if you will. So Iran backed groups, now I'm gonna get into the details of that because that's important too, according to us, attacked some of our bases, including one in Kirk Cook, and a defense contractor, an American defense contractor was killed and four U.S. troops are injured. Now, I don't want any percent of a chance of a war there, but at the same time, I actually do think you need a response for that.

But it's really, really important that that response be commensurate with what we suffered, okay? Why is it important? Because we're weak need liberals? No, it's really important that it be proportional, because otherwise things are going to spin out of control, like they are now, and more of our troops and our contractors and our embassy personnel are going to be in danger. Now that's exactly what's happening, and I think it's only going to get worse.

So what did we do in retaliation that was not proportional? We launched massive missile strikes, killing 25 and injuring 51. Now here's another part of the problem. It turns out some are reporting, again, fog of war here, but some media outlets are reporting that Iraqi police and military were among the kill. Now the Iraqi government obviously is not going to like that. In fact, the Iraqi prime minister while saying, yeah, we'll protect the embassy. First of all, in the beginning, it doesn't look like they had a security permitor, so I'm

not sure they did protect the embassy, but also said that the people who were killed, all of the people who were killed by American airstrikes were, quote, martyrs. So now, not only have we gone after Iran in our minds, but we've significantly pissed off the Iraqi government, which is supposed to be our allies. Now, the very important part is something that Anna alluded to. The group that we bombed actually is recognized by the Iraqi government. And back in 2014, it was formed to fight ISIS, well, that's a good thing, right? And it should be on our side in a sense, right?

In 2016, two years later, the Iraqi government recognized it as a private, like is, private is not quite the right word, but an independent military unit, but that reports to the Iraqi government, not to the Iranian government, to the Iraqi government. So technically, legally and literally, we attacked the Iraqi government on Sunday. So that is, it was not proportional and it was potentially directed at not a great target. They might or might not have been the people who attacked us. So the Pentagon and State Department say they were, they don't have a great history of telling the truth.

But even if that were the case, that is why you have to be extraordinarily careful about how you strike back, because you're targeting a group. hide to the Iraqi government, a government that has to protect your embassy with 16,000 people inside of it. So that's why it was a terrible idea. Why did Trump do it? He said, we needed a very strong response. Oh, God, this is why you need a smart person in charge and not an idiot.

Well, I have some of his reaction in just a minute, but I actually want to respond to what you said, because you argue, well, there needs to be a response. If there is a U.S. contractor who is killed as a result of... of a militia group, well, then there needs to be appropriate action taken. But here's the thing, why are we in Iraq right now, right? The Iraqi people don't want us there, the Iraqi government increasingly doesn't want us there. They want us out. And the idea, like, look, this isn't something that happened on U.S. soil, this is something

that happened in a sovereign country, right? And so people want us out, but we're still there. So those two things are separate, though, Anna. I know they're separate? No, so if you're asking me, would I take out the 5,000 troops from Iraq? Yeah, yesterday, not literally yesterday, because I don't want to do something abrupt like Trump did in northern Syria, but careful, deliberate withdrawal, because all we have is those 5,000 troops sitting there as a sitting duck.

For what reason? To instigate a war in Iran? Well, I don't want a war in Iran, and by the way, it's not just us, Republican voters don't want a war with Iran, overwhelming majority of Americans don't want a war with Iran. So the only purpose of those 5,000 soldiers there, and ISIS, Trump said, that's a war, they says it's defeated, so we don't need them for ISIS. The Iraqi government doesn't really want them there, and so they're sitting there waiting to get killed so we can start a bigger conflict in the Middle East.

So I totally agree on removing the troops, and by the way, a large chunk of that embassy staff, it doesn't need to be that gigantic. Yeah, exactly, 16,000 people, that's not a joke. And look, all I'm saying is, like, think of the frustration of the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government, the way that you would feel if someone just broke into your house, and and refuse to leave, right? So if you retaliate against the person who refuses to leave, well, that's on the person who refuses to leave.

Like, and I'm not saying like the, I'm not saying the contractors deserved it. I'm saying we never think about the consequences of this war machine, right? And by the way, U.S. soldiers die all the time. And there isn't like this insane outrage in the State Department, because who cares? They're just our soldiers. We put them in all these unnecessary wars all the time, but there was a U.S. contractor that got killed, right? So we need to have a disproportionate response and do these air strikes, which I believe

purposely continues to fuel these wars abroad. So look, it's only going to get worse. So whether it's contractors or U.S. military personnel, why are they getting killed? Because they're there. Exactly. And whether it's Iraq or Afghanistan, bring them home, bring them home. They're sitting ducks. And there's no point other than to provoke more wars to get more of our troops killed.

So bring our guys home. Okay, now last thing, guys, as part of this is, at least from my perspective, I know we've got Trump's response to, but is what's next? Well, here we go. You know, we might have opened up a Pandora's box and there's no good way to get out of this. So Iraqi president, Barham Saleh, has called the U.S. actions harmful to Iraq and unacceptable. And guess who's back? Mokhtad al-Sutter. So he had won recent elections.

There was some sort of deal made so that he wouldn't be prime minister, but he is a very powerful force within Iraq, and he is now leading a campaign to expel U.S. forces by, quote, legal and political means. The last time he tried to expel U.S. forces, he did it by military means and killed tons of our troops. So Mukta al-Sutter in his brigade in the Iraq war was an unbelievable menace to us. And now he's back saying, hey, listen, man, I won the elections. You want a democracy.

You got a democracy. And now I'm telling you, you better get the hell out. Otherwise, things are going to get really ugly. And Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who, you know, Americans are scared by the title of Grand Ayatollah in any Muslim name. The Ayatollah is usually in Iraq, not in Iran, but in Iraq, a moderating force. And grand Iitol just basically means like Cardinal, you know, Callahan, and for you to begin to understand it.

So anyway, Granddad Tell Ali Sastani says that the US action was quote, sinful and without justification. So he's less harsh than the others, again, because he's a little bit of a moderating force in that country. But when you piss him off, he's the leading, he's like basically the pope of Iraq. So then everybody's mad. And now we've got all of Iraq, forget Iran, we've got all of Iraq mad at us. So what the hell are we doing there?

Exactly. There's no good way out of this other than get our troops. out of there and get as much of our embassy staff out as possible, because this is totally counterproductive. So I want to read a member comment, and this comes from Mayo Pete's 39th billionaire donor, that's the member's handle. I'd venture to say that invading Iraq was in the first place disproportionate to anything they as a nation state have done to the United States.

So our members, for the most part, based on this comment, seem to understand and agree, We have no reason to be in that country at this point. If the government doesn't want us there, we should leave. We're not assisting them, we're just there fueling the war machine. Remember what the original excuse was, there was a couple of them, but one of them was, and Bush declared this when he started the war, the liberation of Iraq has begun, right? Yeah, right. Okay, well, great, they're liberated, and now they're telling us to get the hell out.

Okay, so we should listen to that because there's supposed to be a free democracy that we were so proud to set up. up. Is it real or is it not real? So let's make up our minds. But one more thing, of course, so we read members comments every once in a while throughout the show, t.t.com slash join to become a member, be part of the show. But our members are so much smarter than the rest of the media because the media says, oh my God, we got tricked in the Iraq war and they wring their hands, but do they ever learn any lessons? No, they don't learn any lessons. So right now, they, you know, have like untold praise over and over again for who? Joe Biden. who voted for what?

The Iraq war. I mean, disproportionate. I mean, Iraq didn't do anything to us. Iraq did not attack us on 9-11. It was al-Qaeda. Iraq hated al-Qaeda. So, I mean, if you're not smart and you don't know anything, okay, that's one thing, right? Didn't have weapons of mass destruction.

And they didn't have any of that. No, we picked them because they have oil. But the media will never, ever, ever admit that, even though it's the most obvious thing in the world. And by the way, Joe Biden doesn't admit that. So what are we in the middle of? This is not ancient history. The attacks are happening right now in Iraq, and we have a presidential candidate leading the Democratic field who was in favor of the Iraq war and has learned no lessons whatsoever.

So whether it's Trump or Biden, we might still be in the same exact mess in this situation. So now let's get to some of the reaction, both from the Iranian-backed militia group and also from Donald Trump. So the Iranian-back militia group has released a statement, and this is a statement from a spokesman for, again, Katayib Hezbollah. And he says the American administration should understand the following. The first step was to protest near the American embassy. We are waiting for their reactions to determine the second step.

He continues to say, first, close the doors of the evil embassy, which we consider a spy building and an operations room to administer and sabotage Iraq's well-being. We also call on the U.S. to withdraw their military forces, which are in Iraq, Legally, this protest was a stand against U.S. political dominance. Well, Trump has decided to continue threatening the militia group further. And so I want to give you a few of his tweets. In one of them, he writes, Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded and always will.

Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use his forces to protect the embassy and so notified. Okay, so I just want to note, look, Donald Trump made the disastrous decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, right? He's the one who started these provocations. That is the root of the issue here. And so he can't argue that, oh, the Iranians are the bad guys and look at what they're

doing and retaliating in all these different ways. Why are they retaliating because of your actions? You know, his actions escalated the situation in the Middle East. And so Jake is absolutely right. That led to Iran, you know, funding some of these militia groups. It also led to them no longer complying with the Iran nuclear deal because the US pulled out and slapped Iran with a bunch of insane sanctions that has completely destroyed their economy and made the people of Iran suffer.

So our government is saying some things that might or might not be true and some things that are definitely not true. So they say, well, this militia group is tied to Iran and get some of its funding from Iran. They've provided no public evidence of that, but it's possible to that. That's true. And so, you know, I have no reason to doubt that other than the fact that our government often lies on when it comes to these issues. And our media.

Right. Now, but when they say Iran did this, Iran did this, as if Iran is the only factor here, that is obviously not true. So again, this militia group is tied to the Iraqi government legally, not to the Iranian government. In 2016, Iraq passed the law, Iraq is supposed to be our allies, okay? They passed the law saying that this militia group reports to the Iraqi prime minister. So even if it's true that they get some funding from the Iranian government, you would say, okay, some ties to Iran, but also massive ties to the Iraqi government.

We obliterated one of their camps, killed 25 people, wounded 51, so the Iraqi government is super pissed at us, understandably so. And we go, oh yeah, Ron did it. No, not exactly. And so I hope, you know, the press does reported in the details of the story, but the big headlines are US versus Iran, and that's not really that accurate. Exactly. So let me give you some more reaction from Trump.

So in response to the protesters at the U.S. Embassy, Trump is bragging that his reaction is the quote, anti-Bengazi. In a tweet, all he wrote was the anti-Bengazi, with an exclamation mark. No, it's just for a second, now not having to do with this, the particulators of this story. What kind of a lunatic president do we have? The anti-Benghazi. That's it, that's it in the tweet. What the hell is that?

So he's trying to make himself out to be a hero in this case, and he's trying to juxtapose his response or his threatened response to the protesters with how the Obama administration responded to Benghazi. Pant child, speaking complete sentences, you're the president of the United States. And you might be in the middle of starting a disastrous war, don't just scream into the ether and what kind of a lunatic does that? Okay, can you spell out what the hell you're talking about? We might start a war based on your stupid tweets.

And in a different tweet, he writes, Iran will be held fully responsible for lost lives or damage incurred at any of our facilities. They will pay a very big price, this is not a warning, it is a threat, happy New Year. It's not a warning, it's a threat. Happy New Year, everybody, okay? So, the reason why I've warned a thousand times over that it's a terrible idea to have an unintelligent person in charge is because they don't understand the consequences of their actions, especially a child like Donald Trump, who has an IQ of 70 or lower.

So when he goes, oh, yeah, I'm going to have his drug response. Did you see mommy, right? Okay, but then Iran is going to have a response and then it's going to spiral. And if they kill our troops, then you're going to spiral at worse. And then, oh, we're in the middle of a war. And you claimed you didn't want a disastrous Middle East war. If you thought the Iraq war was bad and Trump says, oh, I warned against Iraq war. A strong warning.

So that wasn't true, but he has said that a million times. Well, Iran is four times the size of Iraq. So you're going to get us into a war four times. times the size of the Iraq war, which cost us a couple of trillion dollars and untold lives, thousands upon thousands of American lives, let alone the nearly million dead Iraqi citizens. That's because you don't understand the consequences of your actions. This buffoon cannot leave the Oval Office quickly enough.

We gotta take a break. When we come back, we're gonna lighten things up with a different State Department story. And it involves an investigation into who liked one of Chelsea Clinton's tweets back in 2017. Oh, no. That is very serious. We'll be right back. We need to talk about a relatively new show called Un-F-E-Bing the Republic, or UNFTR. As a Young Turks fan, you already know that the government, the media, and corporations are constantly peddling lies that serve the interests of the rich and powerful. But now there's a podcast dedicated to unraveling those lies, debunking the conventional wisdom.

In each episode of Un-B-The-Republic, or UNFTR, the host delves into a different historical episode or topic that's generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called powers that be. Featuring in-depth research, razor-sharp commentary, and just the right amount of vulgarity, the UNFTR podcast takes a sledgehammer to what you thought you knew about some of the nation's most sacred historical cows. But don't just take my word for it. The New York Times described UNFTR as consistently compelling and educational, aiming to challenge conventional wisdom and upend the historical narratives that were taught in school. For as the great philosopher Yoda once put it, you must not learn what you have learned. And that's true whether you're in Jedi training or you're uprooting

and exposing all the propaganda and disinformation you've been fed over the course of your lifetime. So search for UNFDR in your podcast app today, and get ready to get informed, angered, and entertained, all at the same time. All right, back on a young Turks, a couple of member comments for you guys. I bathe in a very stable geniuses, tears, right? Since TYT is turning 18, does that mean it's through with this rebellious phrase, phase? No, just getting started, brother. Just getting started.

Shannon M. writes in, I'm going to put on hostmates and paste champagne with Anna after this. Oh, yes. Ooh, I like it. Okay, I like it a lot. Eclectic miscellaneous says it's depressing that in 2019, TYT is one of the only outlets consistently pointing out that we didn't have any justification whatsoever for going into Iraq in the first place. Yet here it is 16 years later and we're still there. Come on, mainstream media. Do your damn job for once.

Don't hold your breath. Yeah, not gonna happen, okay, okay. A few announcements. First off, my favorite announcement of the day, if you missed out on that wonderful shop TYT sale where you got a fat discount on everything including those hoodies, it's okay, today's your lucky day. In fact, we're doing a sale of 25% off site wide, right? So whether it's the TYT hoodie that I absolutely love with a pocket within a pocket or a shirt

that you really like, all you need to do is go to shopty.com and use the promo code new year to get 25% off your order. Guys, there aren't gonna be discounts for a while, so this is the time to panic, okay? And also one of my favorite shows on the network, Happy Half Hour, is going to stream on Friday, January 3rd. Members can live stream a new episode of Happy Half Hour every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, 5 p.m. Pacific. Post game will air right after at 8.30, P.m. Eastern Time 5.30 Pacific. Sign up to become a member by going to t-y-t.com slash join. Then you can catch the shows whenever you want. That's how I watch the shows.

I keep an eye on you guys while I'm away. No, I know. Every once in a while, Anna will text me in the middle of the show. You know what you're getting wrong? Okay, well, I love that. So, and the app's a great way to watch wherever you are. All right, what's next to Anna? All right, so let's do a little bit of fun before we get back to the series stuff. The Daily Beast is reporting that the State Department actually launched a very serious investigation back in 2017 into who liked Chelsea Clinton's tweet, because that is what our State Department should waste its time on. So it has nothing to do with the whistleblower, Ukraine, again, this is back in 2017, and Rex

Tillerson's State Department, I mean, it feels like a long time ago, launched a furious probe to find out who dared to like Chelsea Clinton's tweet. This is after Donald Trump was criticized for sending Ivanka Trump to the G20 summit. And if you can remember, that G20 summit produced this wonderful video of world leaders ignoring Ivanka Trump while she tried to be a relevant part of the conversation. Take a look. Yes, but social justice. It's all, yeah.

As soon as you talk to that economic aspect of it, though, a lot of people start listening who wouldn't otherwise listen. And the same with the defense side of them in terms of the whole sort of business. It's been very male dominated. So that video, it's like it's both fun to watch but also super embarrassing because she represents us at the summit. No, no, that was one of the most wonderfully awkward videos of all time. And I'm just wondering if I become president, should I send pro or joy to one of these events? I think joy would be better received than Ivanka would. You should send Haas, I'm sure it'll go over well.

I'm sure it'll go over well. I could you imagine. No, I, well, I actually can and I don't want to. But anyway, let's move on to what happened afterwards. So as I mentioned, Donald Trump got a lot of pushback for sending Ivanka Trump there. And so he responded to the pushback in a tweet on July 10th, 2017. And it said, if Chelsea Clinton were asked to hold the seat for her mother, as her mother gave our country away, the fake news would say Chelsea for Prez.

And then Chelsea Clinton fired back and said, good morning, Mr. It would never have occurred to my mother or my father to ask me. Were you giving our country away, hoping not. And so it turns out that someone liked that tweet, to give you some specifics, it was the account for the US mission to the European Union. Someone for that account liked her tweet, and I don't know who decided to launch this investigation into who liked the tweet, but the investigation was launched. Yeah, by the way, remember at the time.

Rex Tillerson is the Secretary of State, and it's his office launching it. So later Rex Tillerson would infamously walk out of a meeting and declare that Donald Trump was an effing moron. But at the time, Tillerson, full loyalists to Donald Trump, go, oh my God, if Chelsea Clinton has besmirched the reputation of our dear president online, we must counterattack and found out this nefarious spy who might like Chelsea Clinton within our. mission at the European Union. This is what we're wasting taxpayer money. No, no, but like, think about how Donald Trump specifically, but the Trump administration, like they're constantly whining about wasted resources into, you know, the impeachment investigation, the Russia investigation, where there is actual criminality.

In this case, it's all about hurt feelings and bruised egos, right? So what did the investigation look like? At least 10 people were interviewed about whether they, as administrators of the account, had mistakenly or deliberately pressed the like button. All of them denied any wrongdoing. One individual familiar with the exchanges said the Secretary of State's top managers in Washington wanted blood and called Brussels numerous times demanding the name of the culprit. A bunch of shoulders.

No, but I'm greatly amused by this scenario. They put on the big spotlights, you're under the lights, you're sweating. And they're like, did you or did you not press that like button? Really? This is the conversation we're having. So the Russian investigation was actually not about Trump. Mueller was charged with finding out whether the Russians interfered in a presidential election that the United States was having.

He concluded that they did. Trump thought, that's a waste of money. Who cares if another country is interfering in our presidential elections? Somebody like Chelsea Clinton's tweet, oh my God, spend as much money. is you need to do. Okay, we gotta get this person who press the like button on Twitter. So look, to be fair to Trump, we don't know if he's the one who demanded the investigation. We don't even know if he was aware of it, right?

But we do know he's a very thin-skinned person. And he does, yeah, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised. But nonetheless, the investigation happened and it's mind-blowing to me. Yeah, look, so now, to be doubly fair to Donald Trump, and I'm gonna tell you that there is some logic in it. What? Why? Okay?

Now, does it make sense to waste taxpayer money? Of course not. And by the way, if you were concerned about the deep state liking Chilson Clinton's tweets, maybe you do one call. Hey guys, do you know who president like button? What the hell? Don't do that, right? Because that's against the president and you're working for the president, don't do that.

I think that's fair, okay? Doing a giant investigation where you're interrogating 10 different staffers. stupid. On what they did on Twitter's preposterous. But now, so why is it logical? Because you know what it does? It scares the hell out of everybody and sends a message. If you ever cross the president in even the smallest way, we will come for you and try to

end your career. Sounds like a great democracy to live in. Yeah, well, but that's who Donald Trump is. And so that's why he says about North Korea, oh, no, no, Kim Jong-un is great. When he says something, everybody stands up to attention. I wish it was like that here. Well, if, you know why if they stand up to attention? Because if they don't, they'll be executed.

Kim Jong-un once executed one of his uncles, according to the press, with not a howitzer. I think they fired a missile at him and blew him to smithereens. Okay, that's why they stand to attention. So Trump was like, wow, I mean, if anyone did the slightest offense at me, we can't use missiles. All right, but do an investigation to try to ruin their lives, okay? And it scared everyone into compliance. And if you're looking to do a fascist takeover of the government and you don't want people to follow the rule of law, you just want them to follow your orders and your orders unquestioningly, that's what you would do.

You would intimidate everybody into compliance. And so they started that right in the beginning, as you can tell here, and have been doing it ever since. And what do we have, by the way? Not just compliance within the Trump administration, but the entire Republican Party all bowing their heads and saying, nope, truth doesn't matter. logic doesn't matter, we will defend the president because we do not want to be obliterated like justin Amash or the person who press the like button or Kim Jong-un's uncle. All right, so let's move on to Democratic primary related news because this one is a doozy. Former New York City mayor, Mike Bloomberg, was at a campaign stop and he was asked an

uncomfortable question about the Central Park 5. What was even more uncomfortable than the question was the way he handled it. Take a look. about race and a subject that's come up a lot is the Central Part 5. And when you were mayor of New York, you defended the city and the police department's handling of the Central Part 5 case. You argue that they both acted in good faith. Do you still believe that today? And do you think that the city? I really have no idea. I've read in the paper. I've been away from government for a long time. So apparently the courts have ruled that they did not commit a crime. And that's the final

word, and we just have to accept that. But it isn't a question of what anybody believes. At the time, you did not believe that. And so I'm saying, have you changed your stance on that? I think there was an awful lot of evidence presented at that time that they were involved. There's been questions since then

about the quality of that evidence. And so I, you know, it's, I've been away from it for so long. I just really can't, can't respond because I just don't remember. But there's been plenty written about it, and I'd suggest you go and, and read some of that.

So before we get to the subsequent response from Bloomberg's campaign, and he is running in the Democratic primary, I do want to just note that he mentions the fact that he has been away from government for a long time as an excuse for not having a solid opinion on how that case was handled. But DNA evidence exonerated the Central Part 5, okay? They were wrongfully convicted and they lost years of their lives, serving time in prison for a crime they did not commit. I don't work in government, and I know that.

And he is running for president of the United States, he should know that. The fact of the matter is, the way he handled that question made it abundantly clear that the lives of those individuals don't matter to him. He doesn't think about it, he doesn't stay awake at night, thinking about how they lost years of their lives, serving time in prison for a crime they didn't commit. It doesn't matter to him, because they're just throwaways of society to him. That's it. And he has no business even thinking that he should serve as president of the United States, period.

So funny enough, I actually think you're being too kind to him. So he knows. Oh, I mean, I'm into this response. Go for it, Jake. Yeah, so look, let me give you details on why he knows. So the chain of events is this, the Central Park Five are arrested for the rape of this and murder of this poor woman. And so at the time- I don't think she was murdered.

Oh, sorry. She was raped and she was beaten. Yeah, my bad guys. She was severely beaten. And the reason I made that mistake for a second, because I was just about to tell you is that Donald Trump then took out an ad in the New York Times saying that they should all be executed, okay? So there it is, bring back the death penalty, bring back our police.

Trump wrote back when, decades before he ever ran for office. But he was a vengeful prick back then and he is today. And he was wrong back then and he is today. So those guys got arrested, they used duress to get false confessions out of them. Now, how do we know it's false? Because in 2002, we caught the real guy, Mateus Reyes, he's a convicted murderer and serial rapist, he confessed to the crime, and his DNA matched the DNA on the crime scene. Over 100%.

He definitely did it, it was not the Central Park 5. So then the Central Park 5, having spent years upon years in jail, then sue the city of New York. Makes sense. That's what anybody would do is a very logical thing to do, okay? And so Mike Bloomberg at that point is now the mayor. And so Bloomberg was mayor from 2002 to 2013. He fought it all the way.

Yes. All the way spent untold amount of money fighting the case saying, no, we are not gonna give any justice or money to the Central Park Five. So hey, no, no, no, no, no, no, so Mike, if I can call you that, and I don't give a damn that you're a billionaire, so I can and will call you. that. I'm sure everybody else around you kisses your ass because of your money. Okay, you know who those people are. You're the one that spent all that money, taxpayer money, try to make sure they never got justice. So don't pretend that you don't know them. You're the racist prick

who didn't want to give them any money in the first place. Why? Oh, no, no, my beloved cops, they could do no wrong. Stop and frisk all Latinos and blacks, okay? Later, when I'm running for president, pretending to be a Democrat, I'll apologize for it. Oh, Central Park Five and how I tried to ruin their lives. I'll pretend I don't even know who they are. Did you see what he said to the reporter then? I suggest you read up on that. No, I suggest you read up on that, Mike, because you're the one who did it. You're the one who denied them justice.

You know when they finally got it? After Bloomberg left office, Bill de Blasio settled the case. Right. Because Bloomberg was wrong. He was 100% wrong and he knows it. So I just wanted to, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I agree with everything you're saying. I just wanted to provide some detail to give you a sense of how aggressively Bloomberg

fought against that civil right suit. So the Bloomberg administration spent nearly six million dollars fighting that case over a decade, arguing that the authorities at the time had good cause and acted in good faith. So six million dollars over the course of a decade. And so he knows, you're right, he knows the details, and you're right in saying that I wasn't aggressive enough, but that's because I didn't get to all the details yet. Okay, so I hear you, but look guys, even if you were to take the hypothesis that Anna started with, that he's, then you would have to agree that Bloomberg's a bumbling fool.

Oh, we spent $6 million of taxpayer money trying to help racist. Oh, I don't know that. Oh, that's a national case that everybody knows about. But I'm the mayor of New York, and I'm the one who spent the money, and I don't know anything about it. Okay, then you obviously shouldn't be the manager of a goddamn thing, right? So you know how to make money off of Wall Street? I got that part.

Okay, but do you know how to run a government? You just told me you don't, that you're a bumbling idiot that didn't have, Any idea what was happening when you were mayor of New York? Oh, golly, gee, did stop and frisk target 94% Latinos and blacks? I guess it did. What do I know? I know I'm an idiot. Oh, did I target the Central Park Five just like Donald Trump?

Oh, I guess I didn't know that. You're a liar. You did know that. Listen to what he said there. He said, you saw it in the clip. So apparently the courts have ruled that they did not commit a crime. Apparently, we knew that back in 2002. You knew that back in 2002.

Mike Bloomberg is 100% lying about this. By the way, you want to know something else? This guy spent $120 million in TV ads over the last three weeks, right? He's now in fifth place. He skipped like, he jumped from like 20 candidates. He's in fifth place because you could just deceive people. You could just buy ad after ad pretending to be a Democrat. And, oh, don't you see?

I care a lot about African Americans. I have a couple people standing behind me. Oh, my record is abysmal, but it doesn't matter because I'm just gonna buy a whole bunch of ads. I'm gonna pay off the media, they're gonna be great to me except that one reporter was awesome. Thank you for asking that question, okay? And so, and since I'm paying money into all those media organizations, they're gonna keep writing about Bloomberg, Bloomberg, that'll give me more free media, and all of a sudden,

I'm a little bit in the ball game, but my record, oh, golly, gee, I'd never know about my record. So look, guys, we're not biased. So when Bloomberg fights against, you know, the rampant, out of control guns we have in this country, and he fights for gun control, I agree and support him. When he fights to do something about climate change, that's great. But he also has a terrible record. He made all of his money off of Wall Street. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for Wall Street.

He has kissed their ass a million times over. If he's president, Wall Street's in charge, 100%. And his record on minorities is abysmal. And he knows it. So this trying to play a bumbling fool here as he's sitting on $54 billion is the most disingenuous thing I've ever seen. When we come back from the break, Nura Tandon and David Sorota, who is Bernie Sanders speechwriter, go at it on Twitter.

And I just love it. You don't want to miss this story and more. At TYT, we frequently talk about all the ways that big tech companies are taking control of our online lives, constantly monitoring us and storing our data. that doesn't mean we have to let them. It's possible to stay anonymous online and hide your data from the prying eyes of big tech. And one of the best ways is with ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN hides your IP address, making your active ID more difficult to trace and sell the advertisers. ExpressVPN also encrypts 100% of your network data to protect you from eavesdroppers and cyber criminals. And it's also easy to install. A single mouse click protects all your devices. But listen, guys, this is important. ExpressVPN is rated number one by CNET and Wired magazine. So, take back control of your life online and secure your data with a top VPN solution available, ExpressVPN.com slash TYT, you can get three extra months for free with this exclusive link just for TYT fans. That's EXP-R-E-S-V-P-N dot com slash T-YT. Check it out today.

We hope you're enjoying this free clip from The Young Turks. If you want to get the whole show and more exclusive content while supporting independent media become a member at t yt dot com slash join today in the meantime enjoy this free segment all right back on a young turks gerrits and happy new year 2020 from germany and germany it's already the year 2020 all right well zergoot i'm glad you mock schnell into the new year what does mock schnell mean like make it fast and they made it fast into the new year before we did You know, that's the little bit of einbysian Deutsche I have. Look at that.

I can say a little bit in many languages. Speaking of different places, on YouTube super chat, Perth Theron writes in, Happy New Year, love from Sweden. Oh, love you guys, watching all over the world. Peter Hamby writes, progressive democracy is still our resolution, even in 2020. Together, let's push for our voices to deafen the money and corruption out of politics for good. Here, here on that, Peter. All these folks are using YouTube super chat and we appreciate it. Netakins says super last thing guys, happy new year and a new decade to TYT fam.

You're the only network I watch who's reporting is critical, logical and honest, which is why I started to pay attention to politics in 2016. Please keep this up for the next decade. Thank you guys. And then last one is funny enough, back to the member section. A person with the handle, super last thing. And that person writes in, thank you, Jank. While I was watching the Bloomberg video, I was yelling at the screen, you liar, you fought

against the settlement the entire time, you know, that's right. I knew they were yelling for you. That's my main job. Okay. Oh, by the way, so t-y-t.com slash climate, okay, that's, we're trying to raise money to get a climate reporter, but very specifically to report on the money, the fossil fuel industry, giving money to Republicans and Democrats, and those folks, how do they vote? When did they get the money?

How much money did they get? Who do they get it from? How did they vote? Are they for the Green New Deal, against the Green New Deal? Because the money is everything. Remember, three quarters of Americas believe that climate change is real and we should take action on it. It isn't a matter of convincing people.

It's a matter of actually convincing the legislators. And the way that you do that is put public pressure on them with good reporting. So we're almost at the $200,000. In fact, can I see the thermometer? Look at that, wonderful, 177 and a half. We started re-raising the money just a couple of days ago and we were at around 160, now we're at 177. Let's please try to finish it up by the end of the year and get 200,000 a week, you get busy

hiring folks. TYT.com slash climate, thank you guys. All right, let's get to some more news. Mira Tandon, the head of the neoliberal think tank, Center for American Progress, has found herself in a Twitter feud with Bernie Sanders' speechwriter, David Serota. Now, David Serota was just minding his own business, just providing some commentary on Twitter in regard to Joe Biden and how he recently said that he wouldn't be against choosing a Republican as his VP pick.

And so in his tweet, he wrote, dear fellow Democrats, Joe Biden has been repeatedly trying to tell us something, when someone tries this hard to make clear exactly who they are and what their values are, we should listen. And then he provides all those headlines that indicate that Joe Biden is Republican-like, to say the least. And the headlines are all things that Joe Biden actually said about how he looks forward to working with the Republicans, believe the Republicans are going to be reasonable, and of course recently saying that he would even consider picking a Republican as his vice president.

And so now, to be fair, sort of is not really minding his own business, he's working for Bernie Sanders, and he's making the case against Joe Biden. To be fair to Sarota, Joe Biden has made it exceedingly simple. Yeah, but when I say minding his own business, he's not like acting as some Twitter troll who's trying to provoke near a Tandon, right? Yeah, no, no, he didn't start a fight with her, he's just making a point for his candidate. And by the way, I'll give you guys, you know, a note here to make sure that everybody knows. David Seroto used to be a contributor around TYT, okay?

So, but the reason he was is because he's really progressive, we're home of progressives. It's not surprising that he was here, it's not surprising that he works for Bernie Sanders. But yes, he's putting on a message not only for his candidate, but one that is actually very, very true, backed up by all of those mainstream media headlines. How are you gonna argue with it? It is the mainstream media, and even they had to acknowledge, that's true. Joe Biden loves Republicans. So in response, Neera Tandon tweets, fellow what?

Now remember, David Serota's tweet starts with fellow Democrats, and then she follows that tweet with, glad that political party is important now. And she's trying to make a point about how Bernie Sanders is an independent senator in the state of Vermont. And this is an old tired line that we keep hearing from establishment corporatist Democrats like Nira Tandon who don't actually represent Democratic voters, but they certainly do represent private interests, special interests, the corporate world in America doesn't care at all about ensuring that American voters have the proper health care or the proper protections against corporatism here in the United States. But anyway, let's just stop for a second and acknowledge the fact that Nira Tandon

in her response to David Sorota is defending Joe Biden, who says that he's, He is open to choosing a Republican as his VP. Yeah. Like they're so, they're much more friendly to Republicans as opposed to progressives. Let's just keep it real about that. So this idea that Bernie Sanders is not a real Democrat because he's independent. That is an incredibly dumb point. It's not to say that near a tendon is unintelligent because she, that's not the case

at all. She's very smart. So it makes it more curious as to why she would make a point that is obviously misleading. So why do I call it a dumb point? Guys, everybody knows Bernie Sanders is challenging the Democratic Party from the left. So he's more progressive, and the Democratic Party is supposed to be the progressive party. So, and certainly the more progressive party. No one disputes that.

In fact, they attack Bernie Sanders 24-7 for being too far left and too progressive, right? And what Paul Wellstone used to say is he represents the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. And not only that, Bernie Sanders is actually in Senate leadership. forget that, but he's part of Senate leadership, Chuck Schubert picked him for the Democrats. Not only does he caucus with the Democrats, he's part of the leadership for the Democrats, okay? So the idea that he's not democratic enough, what it says is if it's not stupid, then there's only one defense of it, which is that in the view of people like near 10, Democratic Party

is not the party that is on the left. It is the party of corporations. And so Bernie Sanders is a threat to the Democratic Party, because the Democratic Party's job is to sell out to corporations. And so since Bernie's not doing that, they're like, he's not a real Democrat. Real Democrats would take corporate money and serve corporate interests. That is the only intelligible reason why you would make the argument that Bernie is not democratic enough.

But even if you were to say, Cenk, no, no, no, we don't care about left and it's not that we're pro-corporate, we just care about the title, the label, we just love the word Democrat, and we don't really care about any policies, and you'd have to confess that. We don't care about any principles, we just care about the title. Well, if you do, presumably you're against the Republican Party that has the opposite title. Right. Okay, so when a leading Democratic candidate says, I might pick a Republican as a VP, Well, you should be hair on fire angry.

Near attendance should be livid. She can't stand people who aren't Democrats, right? Not only are they not Democrats, they're to the right wing Republicans are, and they're the opposite party. So do you understand that if Biden picks a Republican as a VP, first of all, that means he probably, not probably, definitely picked a monster. There are no non-monsters left in the Republican Party on the national level, okay, in terms of the politicians. Number two, it means Biden, who's 78 years old, would put a Republican, a heartbeat away from regaining the government. The Republican Party, regaining the entire government.

Oh, my God, it's disqualifying. That word is used too often, but it is appropriate here. To consider putting the Republicans back in charge when we elected Democrat is insanity defined, okay? But not only that, there's also the fact that that person would gain a lot of leverage to who run for president after Biden. Not only that, if there's a tie in the Senate, the vice president breaks the tie and the Republicans would win the tie.

I can't get it. No, look, with what the Democratic establishment is today, it is embarrassing to identify as a Democrat. I'm just keeping it real. That label has been tainted by the likes of Neera Tandon. And the lengths that they will go to just to smear candidates, not just presidential candidates, but congressional candidates that threaten their precious establishment, threaten their precious profits and their corporatism.

I mean, it is disgusting how they will bury people with smears if they challenge the establishment Democrats and corporatism in the United States. So look, I gotta be honest, after seeing just how insanely disgusting their behavior is, I hate that I'm a registered Democrat. But I have to be a registered Democrat in order to vote in the primaries for the candidate that I prefer, who happens to be Bernie Sanders? Democrat doesn't mean what it used to mean, right? It has been tainted by people like Neera Tandon.

Because the fact of the matter is, when push comes to shove, she is the same. People like her are the same as the Republican Party, right? Look, they might seem marginally better when it comes to some social justice issues, but really they pretend to care about those. things in order to smear other candidates, right? They pretend to care about the identity politics. They pretend to care about the LGBT community, they pretend to care about the LGBT community, they pretend to care about people of color when they can use those issues in order to smear candidates that they don't like.

When push comes to shove, are they really gonna fight for those more marginalized groups of people? Of course not. When have they? So I have a slightly different take on it. Look, we have the American flag in the background because the right wing doesn't own that. It's ours. It stands for equality, liberty, all the things that progressives fight for, inclusion of more

people into having the rights that we're supposed to have as Americans. So I can go on and on about that. And then in terms of the Democratic Party, no, the corporatists don't own the Democratic Party, and it's our job to root them out. They are the corrupt. No, I know right now they do. Right now they do, wrong as MLK said, wrong forever on the throne, truth forever on the scaffold, but that scaffold sways the future.

And we're in the middle of swaying that future. And so if we give up on it, then we're in the wilderness and it's hopeless. And then there's two corporate parties, one that is monstrous on social issues and the one that is acceptable on social issues, but monstrous on every other economic issue, including ones that affect our lives like our healthcare, our well-being, not just our livelihood, but literally our lives. Okay, so I do not accept that as a reality. And right now we have a historic opportunity to elect a Democrat who is the most progressive

politician of our lifetimes. So the corporatists don't own the Democratic Party. Our job, as I said, on the night of Trump's victory, is to take the Democratic Party back, back from these corrupt people who run it. And they celebrate their corruption. They're like, progressives, they're not Democrats, wonderful corporate people like Joe Biden and Buttigieg who conduct their campaigns from our wine cave, who kiss the ass of the donor class.

Who turned their backs on Democratic voters. And who say that we'll work with Republicans enthusiastically to help the same donors that we have and might pick one as VP. They're real Democrats. No, no, okay. No, that's why we fight. And so when we fight back, and you're right, in this case, Neera started the fight, right? And then they get all agreed to like, unity, you bow your heads.

No, no, we're not bowing our heads. Bernie Sanders is gonna win. And when he wins, my guess is Neera Tan is not gonna bow her head. He's not gonna say like, oh no, okay, the progressive wing of the party is one, now we're all progressives. No, she's gonna look to undermine him in every way imaginable, is my guess, okay? She's not gonna get a job in Bernie Sanders' administration. Oh my God, that's right.

There's no financial benefit to Neera Tandon and people like Neera Tandon in a Bernie Sanders administration. That's what this really boils down to. And so, go ahead. So look, Neera Tandon was on a short list apparently for Hillary Clinton's chief of staff. So I would have wanted her to be chief of staff because I didn't want Trump to win, okay? And I made that very, very clear. But will they return the favor of Bernie Sanders is the nominee?

I don't know of a lot of these corporate Democrats. I don't think they'll vote for Trump, but maybe I'm being naive. But will they stay home? Well, because can they get themselves to vote for Bernie Sanders? They're like, oh, he's an actual progressive, he undermines all of our corruption. God, it drives them nuts. All right, last thing. So I ask this in social media, I'll ask it right now.

So near Tandon, a serious question. Who do you think is the better Democrat? Someone who challenges Democratic Party from the left, or someone who says they would pick a Republican as their vice president or considering picking a Republican as a vice president. It's a serious question. And I asked it on social media, she hasn't answered it yet. But we know the answer. The answer is she'd rather have the one supporting Republicans.

And that is devastating. And it proves exactly what we've been saying all these years. They don't actually care about any of the policies or the principles. All they care about is the money, the money, the money. All right, we've got to take a break. We'll be right back. Thanks for listening to the full episode of the Young Turks. Support our work.

Listen ad free. Access members only bonus content. more by subscribing to Apple Podcasts at apple.co slash t-y-t. I'm your host, Shank Huger, and I'll see you soon.