In the complex landscape of American politics, few figures have stirred controversy quite like former President Donald Trump. The latest episode of “Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway” delves into the implications of Trump’s recent address to Congress, sparking a spirited discussion on the current state of the Democratic response—or lack thereof. As Swisher and Galloway analyze the effectiveness of the Democrats’ strategies in countering Trump’s narrative, they raise critical questions about why these efforts seem to be falling short. This blog post will dissect the key arguments presented in the episode, providing a thorough fact-check of their claims and insights. Join us as we navigate the intricate dynamics of political resistance and explore the challenges faced by the Democratic Party in a time of unprecedented polarization.

Find a fact check of this transcript on CheckForFacts

Transcript:

[00:00:00,000]: I didn’t want to see Mark Zuckerberg’s chest in any way and there it was

[00:00:09,260]: Hi everyone this is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network

[00:00:14,140]: I’m Kara Swisher and it’s tomorrow where I am Scott Galloway

[00:00:17,879]: Are you still in Australia

[00:00:19,459]: I am still in Australia

[00:00:20,680]: I am still in Australia

[00:00:21,760]: Wow

[00:00:22,020]: I know I’ve been here a while

[00:00:23,299]: I’ve been all over this amazing country

[00:00:26,780]: I was in I was in Brisbane

[00:00:28,180]: I was in Adelaide

[00:00:29,440]: I was in Sydney

[00:00:30,579]: And now I’m in Melbourne which I think is my favorite city

[00:00:33,200]: I hate to pick one because they’ll be all the Australians who love us will be mad at me

[00:00:36,680]: But it’s a great city

[00:00:38,099]: It’s a fantastic city

[00:00:39,580]: It’s a great city

[00:00:40,500]: Last time I was in Australia I traveled to New Zealand

[00:00:42,799]: Oh I was driving

[00:00:43,939]: I was driving along the side of the road and there was a guy fucking a sheep

[00:00:46,700]: And I said you know in Australia they shear them

[00:00:48,779]: And he said fuck you

[00:00:49,599]: I’m not sharing her with anybody

[00:00:53,479]: That’s good

[00:00:54,240]: Oh my God

[00:00:55,479]: Yeah it’s good

[00:00:56,279]: Oh I can’t believe you have a dirty Australian joke

[00:01:00,099]: I’ll take a PG 13

[00:01:01,560]: OK I’m going to Texas in a few days

[00:01:03,599]: Tomorrow

[00:01:04,260]: Yeah

[00:01:05,199]: Well I’m bringing yesterday to the day after tomorrow for you

[00:01:08,680]: But go ahead

[00:01:09,379]: Sorry

[00:01:09,699]: Yeah

[00:01:10,220]: I’m bringing cheese for us so we can handle any emergency

[00:01:14,879]: I’m calling it my Justin queso

[00:01:20,440]: Oh Scott

[00:01:21,480]: Oh Scott

[00:01:22,120]: I love you

[00:01:22,720]: OK

[00:01:23,239]: To ask me about Australia

[00:01:24,379]: I’ve been going on my book tour

[00:01:25,959]: I didn’t come here when my book came out last

[00:01:29,199]: I sell 11 books

[00:01:30,419]: No I Scott

[00:01:32,319]: We I literally you’re huge

[00:01:34,519]: We are huge

[00:01:35,879]: Everyone asks me about you

[00:01:37,099]: It’s really irritating

[00:01:38,940]: They’re like when are you and Scott coming

[00:01:40,940]: I have sold out like major venues here just by myself

[00:01:44,900]: We could sell out a stadium

[00:01:46,419]: We could sell out a stadium

[00:01:48,199]: I would like that

[00:01:49,199]: Yes they want us

[00:01:50,040]: Tomorrow belongs to me

[00:01:51,319]: They’re all upset that you talk about not wanting to come there

[00:01:54,040]: Everyone would live in Australia if it wasn’t so far

[00:01:57,040]: It’s a great country

[00:01:58,440]: I had one of the best nights of my life in Australia

[00:02:01,339]: It involved the ex girlfriend of the drummer in excess

[00:02:05,080]: I’m dating myself at I was at the W Hotel

[00:02:07,800]: I was out alone

[00:02:08,440]: And these two women came out to me and said hi you’re alone

[00:02:11,059]: And they took me out

[00:02:12,399]: They had a great time

[00:02:13,820]: I just I had the best time that the water taxis that polar place with the pool and the polar bear club whatever it’s called that I miss all that here

[00:02:22,520]: But I was I do a lot of walking

[00:02:24,679]: I do a lot of walking

[00:02:25,600]: And like that you know it’s such a it’s a it’s a weirdly diverse place

[00:02:32,199]: And you know there’s all kinds of different people from countries all over the world

[00:02:36,619]: And I kind of like that

[00:02:37,899]: It feels very even even the smaller cities like Adelaide just feel just they’re just really interesting

[00:02:44,899]: And maybe because it’s sort of a familiar environment yet it’s not

[00:02:49,199]: Anyway I love it

[00:02:50,360]: I went and saw the Sydney Opera House

[00:02:52,300]: I took walks

[00:02:53,679]: I did the whole thing

[00:02:54,779]: I did it

[00:02:55,160]: I love it here

[00:02:55,860]: I last time I was here I took my boys Louie and Alex and I were here

[00:02:59,899]: And I’m going next Christmas before our next holiday

[00:03:03,320]: I’m taking my boys before we head back to the US

[00:03:06,679]: It’s I mean it’s really a it’s it’s a tourism giant giant

[00:03:11,100]: And some of some of the best wine in the world

[00:03:13,979]: It’s got the more kangaroos than people

[00:03:16,860]: Yes I didn’t see any kangaroos this visit though

[00:03:19,119]: And they did something that I think we should do here

[00:03:21,000]: And that is well they’re very paternal and they take some of their mineral wealth and they invest in on behalf of people

[00:03:27,520]: And they have something called the Super Annuation Fund

[00:03:30,880]: And it’s essentially a pension program

[00:03:32,660]: And it has over three and a half trillion dollars under it making it one of the largest pension funds in the world

[00:03:37,740]: See you need to come here

[00:03:39,419]: You know a lot about Australia

[00:03:40,679]: This is great

[00:03:41,759]: Oh I love us

[00:03:42,479]: You know what else we could do besides going around in stadiums

[00:03:45,220]: You and I go to the Outback and only one of us comes back

[00:03:49,220]: What do you think

[00:03:50,600]: It’s not a vacation it’s survival

[00:03:51,960]: Yeah something like that

[00:03:52,880]: Why do why do your fantasies always involve something where I die

[00:03:56,259]: Because it’s really well because if two of us went out in the Outback only one of us would come

[00:04:00,419]: What do you who do you think would make it just

[00:04:02,300]: Well you always ask this question and it’s obvious

[00:04:03,960]: I would just just honorably kill myself

[00:04:06,720]: I would just find and I would eat several pros

[00:04:09,100]: Yeah

[00:04:09,500]: And a bunch of fentanyl and just say all right I’m out

[00:04:11,380]: Yeah

[00:04:11,639]: Game over

[00:04:12,179]: Yeah

[00:04:12,440]: By the way some bands from Australia ACDC

[00:04:16,839]: Yeah I love ACD in excess

[00:04:20,079]: Highway to help those people the highway to help people

[00:04:24,619]: That’s ACDC

[00:04:25,540]: Yeah

[00:04:25,899]: Just didn’t you have a childhood

[00:04:27,019]: No you really didn’t smoke

[00:04:28,260]: Anyways

[00:04:28,779]: Yeah

[00:04:29,119]: ACDC

[00:04:29,980]: Yeah that song

[00:04:31,279]: I know

[00:04:31,880]: They’re fantastic

[00:04:32,820]: Yeah

[00:04:32,920]: Midnight Oil hugely overrated band

[00:04:34,980]: And of course Men at Work Olivia Newton John

[00:04:39,179]: Olivia

[00:04:39,640]: Yeah I think Kylie Minogue’s from there

[00:04:43,000]: And one of the great actors one of the great actors not arguably a great guy Mel Gibson

[00:04:48,200]: Oh no

[00:04:50,940]: Yeah

[00:04:51,380]: Lost it there didn’t I

[00:04:52,619]: You did

[00:04:52,940]: Took it a little too far

[00:04:54,320]: You know and I could say I really like the only reason I want to do the Outback

[00:04:58,459]: I’ll come back and I’ll go

[00:05:00,079]: I dingo ate my Scotty

[00:05:02,839]: So yeah that’s Meryl Streep the best independent film to come out of Australia

[00:05:06,540]: This is a gorgeous little film that introduced Nicole Kidman and the most beautiful woman in the world is in the film Thandie Newton

[00:05:14,640]: It’s a movie called Flirting

[00:05:16,540]: And it’s about a boarding school in Australia

[00:05:20,119]: And it is so touching and so well done

[00:05:22,040]: It’s really a really wonderful film

[00:05:25,140]: Wow

[00:05:25,160]: It’s Thandie

[00:05:26,140]: It’s Thandie just so you know

[00:05:27,940]: Anyway back to Australia

[00:05:30,260]: We love Australia

[00:05:31,880]: We love Australia

[00:05:32,619]: And you you and I are coming here anyway

[00:05:35,619]: We’ve got a lot to get to

[00:05:37,239]: I spent a lot of time apologizing for us

[00:05:38,980]: Anyway we’ve got a lot to get to today including Trump’s tariff rollercoaster and how the Democrats resistant tactics keep falling flat

[00:05:46,660]: Kind of a mess

[00:05:47,559]: Oh we’ll talk about that

[00:05:48,380]: But first let’s talk about Jon Stewart and Elon Musk

[00:05:50,899]: When we get to see the two of them sit down for an interview after an ex user suggested that you should have a conversation Musk said he’d be up for it if quote the show airs unedited after Stewart accepted

[00:06:00,720]: And obviously the show is always unedited

[00:06:03,420]: Elon Musk proceeded to call him a propagandist saying he used to be more bipartisan and sort of backed away

[00:06:09,600]: Let’s listen to Stewart’s fantastic response

[00:06:12,260]: The guy who custom made his own dark MAGA hat that he wears to opine in the Oval Office with the president who he spent 270 million to elect thinks I’m just too partisan

[00:06:31,019]: I’m really not sure what he thinks bipartisan means but it’s generally not

[00:06:35,200]: I support Donald Trump and also Germany’s AFD party

[00:06:39,540]: That’s not bipartisan

[00:06:40,739]: That’s just the same shit

[00:06:42,260]: So I guess what I would say is this

[00:06:45,839]: Look Elon I do have some criticisms about Doge

[00:06:49,920]: I support in general the idea of efficiency and delivering better services to the American public in cheaper and more efficient ways

[00:06:57,779]: And if you want to come on and talk about it on the show great

[00:07:01,579]: If you don’t want to sure

[00:07:04,160]: But can we just drop the pretense that you won’t do it because I don’t measure up to the standards of neutral discourse that you demand and display at all times

[00:07:14,440]: Yeah that was good

[00:07:15,700]: That was good

[00:07:16,779]: You know who’s doing really well

[00:07:18,160]: I think comics have like Stuart and Bill Burr has been really funny

[00:07:23,480]: And Bill Maher has kind of been up to like Chelsea Handler all of them are really handling it really well I would say in a way that’s funny approachable and also very pointed

[00:07:35,579]: I find them I don’t know for some reason quite good

[00:07:40,019]: I don’t know if you do

[00:07:40,799]: Yeah they’ve been great but the most I would argue you know comedians have always played a pretty big role in culture and highlighting the injustices of culture

[00:07:48,739]: I would argue the most important in that group is Bill Burr because I think Bill has so much credibility across the conservative ecosystem

[00:07:56,260]: And he was constantly setting progressives hair on fire with very very funny provocative and you know whatever inappropriate to the above comedian

[00:08:07,000]: And he’s just gone off on Musk

[00:08:09,320]: And I think for me it represents sort of the Nadir of the Peak or whatever where the dialogue has really really flipped

[00:08:18,880]: And people are coming

[00:08:20,459]: I do think there’s sort of been a reveal

[00:08:23,299]: By the way I wonder if Elon’s going to bring one of his kids as a human shield to Jon Stewart

[00:08:27,619]: By the way I don’t think he’s going

[00:08:29,000]: No no he’s not going

[00:08:29,839]: He’s saying he’s too bipartisan

[00:08:31,220]: He’s such a chicken shit

[00:08:32,919]: Oh yeah

[00:08:33,380]: He’s such a chicken shit

[00:08:34,340]: I’ll fight you anywhere in jujitsu

[00:08:36,320]: Oh no never mind

[00:08:37,299]: Mike I have a herniated disc

[00:08:39,880]: There’s no way he’s going to go on that show

[00:08:41,539]: Yeah no way

[00:08:42,020]: No because he can’t keep up

[00:08:43,679]: Stewart’s too fast and too sharp for him

[00:08:45,580]: He’s not

[00:08:47,039]: I think people should realize I mean Elon’s not

[00:08:49,820]: He’s a very smart person

[00:08:51,119]: But in this regard he is not

[00:08:52,599]: And Stewart would run circles around him in a way that would be embarrassing

[00:08:57,219]: Anyway we’ll see

[00:08:59,099]: In other news

[00:08:59,799]: By the way just because you didn’t ask I’ve been in Barcelona Miami and New York in the last 40 hours

[00:09:04,500]: You’re not the only one who looks 110

[00:09:06,580]: I saw you were at Mobile World Congress

[00:09:09,380]: I haven’t been there in years

[00:09:10,400]: Unbelievable event

[00:09:11,219]: Huge event

[00:09:12,000]: Yeah I haven’t been there in years

[00:09:13,460]: I used to send reporters there

[00:09:14,739]: And what were you discussing

[00:09:16,299]: I saw you on the stage looking very comely by the way

[00:09:18,799]: You look very fit and trim

[00:09:20,780]: Oh thanks for saying that

[00:09:22,859]: Basically my rap now is a cowardice domino that is big tech

[00:09:27,640]: That these individuals don’t realize the damage they’re having

[00:09:30,440]: And they’re enabling you know they’re the mortar in the bricks of fascism

[00:09:35,320]: And because the biggest companies are there sponsoring it I’m like these individuals are playing a really key and terrible role in our march towards fascism

[00:09:45,320]: And that’s all we talked about

[00:09:46,940]: Oh wow

[00:09:47,140]: Yeah people are super

[00:09:50,940]: Everything is linked to tech right now of course which puts it in our wheelhouse in a lot of ways

[00:09:55,640]: And I think you know especially abroad they’re sort of absolutely confused by the whole thing

[00:10:00,119]: And they don’t know what to do because you know they endured Trump 1 0

[00:10:03,700]: But this is something far different for them

[00:10:06,640]: And even in our own country a group backed by Musk is spending millions in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election

[00:10:12,179]: Like what is he doing over there

[00:10:13,719]: Ads run by the group highlighting progressive values appear to be coming from supporters of a Democratic backed candidate but instead come from conservatives

[00:10:21,260]: Musk’s America PAC is the biggest outside spender in the race

[00:10:25,059]: The outcome of the election will have major implications in Wisconsin as the court is expected to face issues surrounding abortion voting rules and unions

[00:10:31,400]: Liberals gained a 4 3 majority two years ago if you remember that and after 15 years of conservative control

[00:10:38,859]: I heard from the people who are backing the

[00:10:41,679]: It’s a woman candidate for the judgeship who are working really hard who won the last time they had this fight

[00:10:50,780]: But the money from Musk is

[00:10:53,039]: This is where you’re going to see it all across the country

[00:10:55,679]: People that are against Trump in some way are going to

[00:10:58,460]: This money is going to move in like crazy

[00:11:03,799]: There’s a couple of reveals here or points

[00:11:06,219]: And that is one

[00:11:07,880]: And I’ve said this

[00:11:08,799]: This is one of my big themes for 2025

[00:11:11,880]: Democracy and rights have now become

[00:11:13,820]: The R is almost 1

[00:11:14,960]: They’re almost perfectly correlated with how much money you have

[00:11:17,400]: Because in almost every election in America it’s kind of 48 vote one way or 49 and 48 or 49 vote the other way and 1 or 2 swing the election

[00:11:27,380]: And lately because of gerrymandering it’s 0 1 that swing the election

[00:11:33,200]: And it’s pretty fairly obvious that Musk and his ad targeting and a third of a billion dollars in key states leveraged by a platform he probably decided who was president in the most

[00:11:48,059]: He’s probably decided the geopolitical priorities for the next four years globally

[00:11:52,979]: So if you don’t think that rights are directly correlated to money case in point Elon Musk

[00:11:58,479]: And then when you look at Doge and what he’s doing in Wisconsin there are people on the right and they are intellectually honest

[00:12:06,900]: It’s about politics for them

[00:12:07,979]: It’s about a belief system

[00:12:09,559]: Whether you agree with them or not you have to respect their ideals and they’re putting their money their time their treasure and talent behind those ideals

[00:12:15,979]: It has

[00:12:16,780]: I don’t think it has anything to do with it here

[00:12:18,440]: And that is if you look at Doge Doge isn’t about fraud and waste

[00:12:23,299]: The first thing they thought they identified on their wall of receipts at eight billion was eight million and numbers two three and four people can’t even verify

[00:12:31,760]: They seem to be false

[00:12:32,880]: But what they’ve managed to do really elegantly is remove regulators and autonomous driving

[00:12:38,659]: Yeah not just that all over the place yeah

[00:12:41,059]: This isn’t about ideology it’s about money

[00:12:43,020]: And by the way that judge that he is trying to get elected Wisconsin you need an exemption to directly own car dealerships

[00:12:53,299]: Like most states the regulators or the lobby for car dealerships have made it very difficult for car dealerships to be vertically owned by the manufacturer because there’s a lot of wealthy people and they think that it’s good for competition

[00:13:06,059]: You have to get an exemption in Wisconsin

[00:13:09,020]: He has been suing in Wisconsin for this exemption

[00:13:12,400]: And if he gets his guy on the Supreme Court there it’ll likely be overturned

[00:13:17,520]: Folks wake up

[00:13:18,580]: Money equals power full stop

[00:13:20,520]: And this guy it’s all about money

[00:13:22,099]: It has nothing to do with his views politically

[00:13:25,580]: This all reverse engineers to I want my cars put on the road regardless of safety standards

[00:13:32,760]: I want Verizon kicked out and then you get on

[00:13:35,119]: I’m behind in AI

[00:13:36,900]: I would like this to happen

[00:13:38,500]: I agree

[00:13:39,119]: I think people you know

[00:13:40,340]: I mean the Koch brothers have a lot more intellectual honesty than this guy

[00:13:44,239]: I think they actually believe some of their nonsense

[00:13:46,900]: Anyway speaking of which it’s not just unless Google is urging officials at Trump’s DOJ to back away from breaking the company up

[00:13:53,200]: Reps from the parent company Alphabet argue that breaking up the search engine could have national security repercussions

[00:13:58,539]: I’m sure of that not

[00:14:00,320]: As a reminder the Biden administration called for Google to sell off Chrome and make other business changes after the judge ruled the company to be an illegal online search monopoly

[00:14:08,159]: A federal judge is set to rule on what Google must change at a hearing next month

[00:14:13,419]: But it doesn’t the judge is going to decide this

[00:14:15,799]: But this is they put a donation to Trump’s inauguration

[00:14:19,000]: And you know these people have been running from regulation for decades two decades now

[00:14:24,419]: And here is what I consider a minor thing a minor change that other industries have not been able to get out of

[00:14:35,200]: And here they are doing the same thing

[00:14:36,679]: So it’s not just limited to Musk although he’s the most egregious example of it

[00:14:40,960]: But they’re all sort of pay to play kind of stuff going on

[00:14:44,239]: Yeah they’re doing what they’re doing

[00:14:45,500]: They’re trying to figure out a way not to be broken up

[00:14:48,179]: What’s counterintuitive is I think shareholder value would actually go up

[00:14:51,659]: You and I both sir

[00:14:53,359]: But the problem is the people in charge want to sit on the iron throne of all seven realms just not Westeros

[00:14:58,780]: And they get to decide

[00:15:01,099]: But Alphabet while having probably more maybe with the exception of Apple more separate independent 100 billion plus independent companies that you could spend they probably have four or five

[00:15:11,280]: They do have an existential crisis and that is their search share their share of search fell below 90 for the first time

[00:15:18,559]: And AI is just starting to eat away at their share

[00:15:24,000]: And it is the ultimate example of the innovator’s dilemma where they essentially invented much of the original IP yet they sat on their hands

[00:15:31,859]: And as a result Alphabet’s Gemini their LLM is vastly beaten by OpenAI Anthropic and even DeepSeek

[00:15:40,200]: And it’s just they got to be really kicking themselves

[00:15:42,700]: How did we let everyone get out ahead of us

[00:15:45,820]: In their latest earnings report the stock tumbled by nearly 9

[00:15:50,679]: And their revenue growth has slowed since this time last year

[00:15:58,479]: So they’re facing their own issues

[00:15:59,979]: You see Sergey Brin was talking about everyone back to the office and we got to hardcore it

[00:16:05,359]: One of the founders was talking about the need to do that in order to prevail in AI

[00:16:10,799]: He even was sounding the alarms

[00:16:13,460]: Well this is I mean it really is this company is but here’s the thing

[00:16:19,119]: The argument they will make when they get in front of judges on earnings calls they will say temporary lag look at this everything’s great we’re amazing the power here is unprecedented

[00:16:27,460]: When they get in front of a judge next week they’re going to be like oh my God things are so terrible

[00:16:30,880]: You can’t break us up right now

[00:16:32,840]: We’re we’re really And there’s some security implications

[00:16:35,000]: I mean they they It’s just they come up with something every time

[00:16:39,072]: Like we must have strong national champions

[00:16:42,252]: It sounds so I don’t know Chinese Russian

[00:16:46,272]: I mean just a quick definition

[00:16:48,692]: People throw around the term fascist a lot

[00:16:50,412]: They use it to describe Carter Obama

[00:16:52,412]: People incorrectly use it to describe certain aspects of the Trump administration

[00:16:56,192]: Fascism is extreme nationalism

[00:16:59,012]: It’s a belief that someone you elect who for whatever reason his view of what’s good for the nation should supersede the other party any governance any checks and balances even the courts even you don’t you refuse to condemn violence against your enemies you condemn immigrants that is fascism

[00:17:18,832]: It literally this kind of the current administration and their current policies are literally the textbook definition of fascism

[00:17:27,232]: So it’s a word that’s become overused but it’s absolutely appropriate here

[00:17:33,212]: One of the things that I was saying someone referred to one of the questions and they said what bothers you the most

[00:17:38,412]: I said well a lot of times they competed

[00:17:41,332]: I was you know as I go look back on I’m talking about my book and stuff like that

[00:17:44,972]: Like they compete like Steve Jobs competed on product right or tried to compete on the actual product

[00:17:50,872]: There’s so many bad products

[00:17:53,152]: Like Tesla has not innovated

[00:17:54,912]: I said I’m offended by Elon because of Elon but the car hasn’t innovated right very much

[00:18:00,512]: And there’s and that’s why he’s losing

[00:18:02,112]: Or Google search hasn’t innovated

[00:18:05,332]: And all kinds of products aren’t better right

[00:18:08,452]: There are a couple of them are doing a better job

[00:18:10,972]: I think Apple has come up with several new interesting products over the past 10 years for example AirPods the watch things like that

[00:18:19,132]: But right now they’re competing on oligarchy and access and proximity

[00:18:25,152]: And none of it’s about the actual product

[00:18:27,892]: And that makes me I don’t know I was like vaguely like it was irritating that they can’t that this is the way they’re going to get an advantage

[00:18:35,472]: And I get that’s why but it feels that’s late stage

[00:18:38,532]: And it’s a real turn for them that they can’t compete on actual things

[00:18:42,652]: They have to get whatever angle they can in order to stay in business

[00:18:48,152]: Like Starlink I wanna be close friends so I can get whatever I want

[00:18:53,712]: Although Canada just kicked him out

[00:18:55,432]: That Justin Trudeau has gotten a dose of backbone

[00:18:58,492]: Have you noticed that

[00:18:59,172]: He’s extra adorable recently I have to say

[00:19:02,412]: There is a real void that people are stepping into

[00:19:07,112]: I would say Trudeau

[00:19:07,712]: I’d also say Macron is really stepping

[00:19:09,972]: Yeah they’re looking very handsome

[00:19:12,052]: They’re looking very handsome

[00:19:13,772]: You’re drawn to these individuals

[00:19:15,552]: Well they are

[00:19:16,192]: They’re acting like leaders

[00:19:17,552]: They’re not not just because I like what they say but like Power is an aphrodisiac

[00:19:20,652]: I get it

[00:19:21,652]: They’re being clear and crisp and you know

[00:19:25,032]: The real estate are you hot for Starmer yet

[00:19:27,372]: Keir Starmer who assembled I love him

[00:19:28,932]: I think he’s adorable

[00:19:30,392]: Who assembled the world leaders

[00:19:31,732]: Yeah he passed a head up your ass and I don’t think 10 000 millionaires have left the UK in the last three months

[00:19:36,412]: But other than that he looks like a leader

[00:19:38,312]: He’s got big shoulders and good hair

[00:19:40,192]: Yeah the rich people like this stuff

[00:19:42,092]: There are people stepping into the void

[00:19:47,672]: You know the leader of Denmark the leader of Finland

[00:19:50,252]: There are people making really powerful speeches

[00:19:54,412]: It’s bringing them together too

[00:19:55,292]: It’s bringing them together

[00:19:56,152]: And I’ll say more about it later but I do think the EU and it’s a silver lining here is stepping into the morass here or the crevice or the void

[00:20:04,612]: The crevice

[00:20:05,232]: Yes it’s the crevice

[00:20:06,992]: Also there’s a lovely video of Justin Trudeau making a maple milkshake

[00:20:12,852]: Making out with macarons

[00:20:13,652]: I’m sorry go ahead

[00:20:14,432]: Oh that would be hot

[00:20:15,672]: Anyway all right Scott let’s go on a quick break

[00:20:17,712]: When we come back Trump’s address to Congress the Democrats defied response with boasters that they think were unimpressed by

[00:20:23,872]: Also John Fetterman was unimpressed

[00:20:25,912]: Scott we’re back with our first big story

[00:20:27,412]: President Trump delivered a joint address to Congress this week and for those watching it felt like yet another campaign rally

[00:20:32,872]: He has gotta get some new material

[00:20:35,132]: Over the course of one hour and 40 minutes very long Trump touted his accomplishments revisited old grievances and repeated lies

[00:20:41,452]: It was a good version of what he does

[00:20:44,612]: He praised Elon Musk and Doge mocked Democrats and wokeness

[00:20:48,192]: He didn’t unveil any future policies or plans

[00:20:51,012]: It was a greatest hits and it was a good version of greatest hits

[00:20:54,052]: We’ll get to the Democrats in a bit

[00:20:55,932]: What did you think about the speech

[00:20:58,772]: And I’ll just note Trump also noted in the speech that he’s working to end the war in Ukraine

[00:21:03,612]: I’ll also say the letter he got from Ukraine’s President Zelensky apparently now is ready to come to the negotiating table

[00:21:09,472]: He’s had to get the lesson in how to suck up to Trump which is unfortunate

[00:21:14,732]: It follows this explosive meeting between Trump Zelensky and J D

[00:21:18,032]: Vance in the Oval Office last week

[00:21:20,212]: The second most interesting thing J D

[00:21:22,532]: Vance has done on a couch according to the American people

[00:21:25,912]: Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine earlier this week and he’s cut off intelligence sharing as well which is probably even more devastating

[00:21:33,492]: First talk about what you thought of his speech and then the Oval Office situation

[00:21:41,412]: Well putting truth aside and I’m gonna circle back to truth

[00:21:45,212]: I thought it was a win for him and I thought it was a loss for Democrats

[00:21:48,532]: I thought he came across as resolute as strong

[00:21:53,272]: I thought he looked good

[00:21:54,212]: I thought he was forceful

[00:21:55,272]: I thought he was articulate

[00:21:56,912]: And I don’t wanna be one of those nations that digresses into a total fucking food fight in our addresses

[00:22:05,532]: I think that it reflects poorly on the United States

[00:22:08,492]: Well get to the Democrats in a minute

[00:22:09,472]: Talk about him

[00:22:10,112]: Why do you think I agree with you

[00:22:11,732]: Why do you think he did well even though it was the greatest hits

[00:22:15,512]: He did the greatest hits well is what I thought

[00:22:18,812]: Well he was just he came across as forceful and we are now in a situation where I have friends who have become who put out reels and just adopt every talking point no matter how outrageous it is

[00:22:31,412]: But just a little bit of an economic reality check he could declare that America is back

[00:22:36,752]: Meanwhile markets are tanking and the economy’s stumbling

[00:22:39,192]: I know

[00:22:39,812]: GDP

[00:22:40,212]: I know

[00:22:40,592]: The U S economy the U S economy is contracting at the fastest rate right now since the COVID lockdowns

[00:22:48,232]: The Atlanta Fed has something called a GDP Now model which estimates annualized growth

[00:22:53,432]: And it’s gone from 4 up which was remarkable to negative 2 8 in the last month

[00:23:01,412]: Consumer confidence has had its greatest drop since COVID

[00:23:04,572]: Retail spending is down

[00:23:05,872]: Eggs up

[00:23:06,812]: Trump take egg

[00:23:07,872]: The markets are not in free fall but definitely declining

[00:23:10,652]: The Nasdaq has lost 9 in 10 days

[00:23:14,572]: All of the gains since the Trump bump have disappeared

[00:23:18,512]: He has the greatest levels of disapproval of any president except one other at this time in his presidency

[00:23:25,852]: And that other was Trump’s first term 52 saying he’s ignoring the country’s biggest problems

[00:23:31,992]: And just a little word search fun here

[00:23:34,012]: He mentioned Greenland three times more than affordable housing veterans or prescription drug costs

[00:23:40,192]: Zero mentions of health care zero mentions of veterans or prescription drug costs five mentions of tax cuts for billionaires five mentions of illegal aliens six mentions of the Panama Canal 13 mentions of Joe Biden and three mentions of annexing Greenland

[00:23:57,692]: Panama don’t forget Panama

[00:23:59,632]: It is just and my favorite was the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over while Elon Musk sat in the audience

[00:24:10,332]: And oh my second favorite

[00:24:12,992]: Oh transgender mice

[00:24:14,532]: Oh I’ll go there

[00:24:15,652]: Free speech it’s back

[00:24:17,752]: Forgetting that on a social media post he said he would ban illegal protests at universities and that he has barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office

[00:24:25,332]: So unfortunately our leadership and our politics and even our truth have become just who can lie the most with the most confidence

[00:24:33,732]: He was an effective liar

[00:24:34,392]: That’s what I thought

[00:24:35,132]: I’m like he’s lying excellently here

[00:24:37,352]: And it was like so it was easily proven lies

[00:24:40,472]: The transgender mice thing was insane because it’s transgenic mice and they put DNA

[00:24:47,232]: It’s not what he was describing it as but of course he wins the day because it’s like transgender mice

[00:24:53,452]: It’s ridiculous

[00:24:55,392]: It’s ridiculous

[00:24:55,712]: And you know what was just just when you thought the guy couldn’t get any more craven the emotional manipulation of that girl who had her face her nose broken and got a concussion because of a spike from a transgender volleyball player

[00:25:13,232]: I just want to remind everybody before they clutch their progressive pearls

[00:25:16,272]: A couple of years ago on this show I said that transgender women should not be allowed to be in sports whether it’s money or scholarships on the line

[00:25:23,352]: I said that early and often much to the disappointment of many of my progressive colleagues

[00:25:30,772]: I have said that early and often at the same time demonizing a transgender girl and emotionally manipulating and using as a prop another teenage girl to try and look at her

[00:25:44,532]: Isn’t she beautiful

[00:25:44,952]: And she’s a beautiful little girl and she had a concussion

[00:25:47,152]: And by the way I played high school sports

[00:25:51,212]: The sport that has the greatest level of injury in the world is high school football

[00:25:55,772]: And high school sports are chock full of injuries

[00:25:59,332]: And again see above I do not think transgender women should be allowed to play in collegiate level

[00:26:05,192]: You can’t have a 6 4 swimmer showing up and saying I present as a woman to take every medal

[00:26:10,932]: My point is that was just craven to create that sort of emotional manipulation and to demonize

[00:26:19,752]: You don’t think that transgender girl who was the one who spiked the ball is probably getting fucking death threats right now

[00:26:26,812]: Nobody no it’s I No one wants to hurt someone else

[00:26:30,792]: You don’t use kids as props like that

[00:26:33,272]: It was a cheap shot it was a cheap shot as they say

[00:26:34,832]: Anyway what did you think of the Zelinsky thing

[00:26:36,932]: Speaking of beating up on someone and planning a ridiculous attack

[00:26:41,112]: Purely orchestrated by Putin

[00:26:42,912]: Yeah

[00:26:43,392]: Purely orchestrated by Putin

[00:26:45,472]: I mean just that was planned

[00:26:49,152]: Vance who doesn’t have I mean the only thing that gave me any sort of joy there was watching literally Senator Rubio lose all of his last Bits of soul

[00:26:58,192]: Final specks of soul and respect for himself

[00:27:01,312]: And then he defended it

[00:27:02,792]: Then he defended it

[00:27:03,472]: Knowing that TikTok would come up with every time he’s presented himself as a cold warrior and he just sat there literally melting Him and Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham

[00:27:13,352]: I can’t believe it I can’t believe it

[00:27:15,792]: Listen foghorn leghorn closeted foghorn leghorn just go back to your closet

[00:27:21,152]: That reminds me what’s the difference between a garbanzo bean and a chickpea

[00:27:24,472]: What

[00:27:26,132]: I’m not gonna pay 50 bucks for a garbanzo to bean on my face

[00:27:30,852]: I don’t even know what that means

[00:27:33,092]: Think about it

[00:27:33,972]: Think about it

[00:27:37,192]: Oh I still don’t get it

[00:27:39,372]: Don’t explain

[00:27:40,232]: I’d pay 50 bucks for a chick to bean on my face

[00:27:43,212]: Oh oh oh oh okay

[00:27:44,532]: There you go we’ll get you there

[00:27:46,932]: We’ll get you there

[00:27:48,032]: I’m very simple baby

[00:27:49,072]: That’s good

[00:27:49,812]: Yes it was depressing

[00:27:51,052]: And the whole thing around the outfit I don’t think very many of us are that person

[00:27:53,292]: Let’s go back to Zelensky

[00:27:54,052]: The outfit which Musk was there they just have no irony

[00:27:58,372]: They had Musk there looking like a lesbian from the 1980s a badly dressed lesbian from the 1980s

[00:28:03,972]: And then they’re insulting guys wearing a military uniform his country’s military uniform

[00:28:09,452]: We treated representatives of the Viet Cong with more respect

[00:28:12,312]: I know it’s true

[00:28:13,752]: Negotiations around the peace

[00:28:14,932]: You don’t provide a world leader and then ambush them

[00:28:17,852]: It’s just bad manners and you lose credibility

[00:28:19,852]: His people are like good job

[00:28:21,712]: Like good job that they went after him

[00:28:24,392]: And like go go fella

[00:28:26,112]: It’s so ridiculous

[00:28:27,692]: Ooh God it was so that was really and then of course Zelensky’s had to like walk it back because and say it was unfortunate

[00:28:35,752]: And you know when I re watched it I was like was he that difficult

[00:28:39,312]: And I just to make sure and I was like no

[00:28:41,812]: They really egged him on

[00:28:42,992]: You could see it happening in real time

[00:28:44,812]: He certainly got a no show

[00:28:46,312]: You should have shown up with a big medal

[00:28:47,172]: Yeah

[00:28:47,392]: We were giving you the nation’s highest honor

[00:28:49,712]: Here you and here’s a here’s a statue made out of six karat gold

[00:28:56,792]: Yes yeah

[00:28:57,232]: It’s a picture

[00:28:57,712]: Look how fit and trim you are

[00:28:59,412]: And we’re giving you an honorary gold medal just for being awesome

[00:29:03,632]: I know

[00:29:03,892]: Oh it’s so gross

[00:29:05,472]: It’s so gross

[00:29:05,832]: And by the way just a few facts about Zelensky

[00:29:08,732]: His grandfather fought in World War II

[00:29:10,932]: He lost people in the Holocaust

[00:29:13,092]: He’s Jewish

[00:29:14,252]: They complain about a lack of free press

[00:29:16,432]: Britain didn’t allow he has not banned any other press unless it’s Russian propaganda just as the UK did

[00:29:23,392]: They wouldn’t allow fascist papers to run pro Hitler ads while they were getting the shit bombed out of them

[00:29:28,912]: This guy the greatest ROI the greatest venture investment in history is America’s mild modest 60 billion 70 of which is spent in the U S mostly red states that has done the following

[00:29:41,412]: It’s taken out a third of the kinetic power of Russia

[00:29:46,032]: It has given China pause recognizing a small motivated army that’s technically literate and backed by the West

[00:29:52,152]: Think twice before you do it

[00:29:53,772]: And it is the best thing about all of this is that it is unifying

[00:29:57,272]: He is unifying Europe and he is saying to people around the world and by the way just a quick tangent

[00:30:03,712]: I heard from this kid

[00:30:05,092]: Okay go ahead

[00:30:05,852]: I apologize

[00:30:06,492]: I apologize

[00:30:07,132]: I gotta get something out of this

[00:30:08,572]: Go for it go for it

[00:30:09,272]: I’m on a roll

[00:30:09,912]: No this is just personal privilege

[00:30:11,792]: There was this lovely young man in my fraternity at UCLA named Greg Townsend

[00:30:15,392]: Just everybody liked this guy

[00:30:16,752]: We used to call him Towny

[00:30:18,212]: We went to the same high school

[00:30:19,172]: He was a year younger than me

[00:30:20,692]: Out of the blue I get a message out from him saying I have a friend who’s a human rights lawyer

[00:30:25,012]: I’d love for her to come on the pod

[00:30:26,412]: Every day people are calling us with ideas about who they think is fascinating and should come on the pod right

[00:30:30,492]: And I say what are you up to

[00:30:32,112]: And he goes well I went to law school and for the last 20 years I’ve been working for the U N tracking down and prosecuting war criminals

[00:30:37,772]: I mean what I remember about Greg was drinking a lot of beer and listening to Led Zeppelin

[00:30:41,972]: He’s fucking hunting down war criminals and prosecuting them through You have impressive friends

[00:30:49,032]: This guy I was so moved

[00:30:51,792]: I’m like okay

[00:30:52,532]: I immediately went off and said how can I party in St

[00:30:55,012]: Barts and make as much fucking money as possible

[00:30:57,112]: And he decided to go to Switzerland and get a law degree and then work with other good people to try and ensure All right now we’re gonna knit this together

[00:31:05,712]: Knit it together

[00:31:06,572]: And try and ensure that the incentive system is that think twice before you start murdering children and raping women under the context of war

[00:31:13,892]: And he tracks these people down and he prosecutes them

[00:31:17,412]: And then the cherry on top is that funding for his entire group has been stopped

[00:31:21,992]: Yep

[00:31:22,492]: And so he’s not sure what he’s gonna do next

[00:31:24,312]: And you know what

[00:31:24,712]: The majority of him and his colleagues are continuing to work

[00:31:28,232]: Anyways Greg Townsend good for you my brother

[00:31:30,852]: Very impressive

[00:31:31,572]: The beating up of this guy is crazy but they think it’s like sport

[00:31:36,512]: And then the language that the Republicans use people like Lindsey Graham and Rubio who were very much supportive of this have literally lost every bit of credibility

[00:31:48,632]: It’s embarrassing not to be

[00:31:50,272]: And so they can say they were so mean to Trump

[00:31:53,092]: They weren’t mean to Trump

[00:31:54,512]: They just wasn’t it wasn’t

[00:31:55,712]: But that they think this is a win is pathetic

[00:31:58,092]: Anyway speaking of pathetic let’s talk about the Democrats who tried all sorts of tactics during Trump’s speech none of which worked

[00:32:05,352]: Congressman Al Green was removed from the chamber after interrupting the speech shaking his cane and shouting to Trump no mandate to cut Medicaid

[00:32:11,272]: I didn’t mind him as much

[00:32:12,732]: That’s fine

[00:32:13,492]: And other forms of protest

[00:32:14,772]: Some Democrats wore pink some held up auction style paddles that said false and musk steals

[00:32:19,732]: A few walked out during the speech

[00:32:21,712]: One lady was wandering around

[00:32:23,032]: This is not normal behind Trump

[00:32:24,612]: It was juvenile

[00:32:26,372]: It was so oh they were trying to make fetch hacking like completely the whole thing

[00:32:31,952]: If you call someone Hitler wearing pink is not the response people

[00:32:37,332]: I’m sorry it’s just not

[00:32:40,052]: The only person I did think was a good job was Senator Elissa Slotkin gave a Democratic response after the speech where she talked about the dangers of Elon and Doge

[00:32:49,912]: I thought she did an excellent job

[00:32:52,132]: Let’s just listen to her and then I want your response of what you thought

[00:32:55,372]: While we’re on the subject of Elon Musk is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20 year olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns your health information and your bank accounts

[00:33:07,872]: No oversight no protections against cyber attack no guardrails on what they do with your private data

[00:33:15,653]: We need a more efficient government

[00:33:17,853]: You want to cut waste

[00:33:18,833]: I’ll help you do it

[00:33:20,253]: But change doesn’t need to be chaotic or make us less safe

[00:33:24,193]: I thought she was great

[00:33:24,933]: That was the only high point is a really nice response and a very clear centrist very very focused on the audience which is the American people

[00:33:36,113]: So what tell me what you thought about this and what would have been an effective strategy here

[00:33:44,573]: Look one of the most powerful things about the presidency is they get the bully pulpit and they get to stand up in front of the vice president and the speaker and the cameras the music and the majesty

[00:33:55,393]: And they get to they get to win every time they do it

[00:33:58,493]: And I think the whole thing reflected really poorly on Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic leadership because they clearly have no control over their constituents and their messaging is awful

[00:34:09,973]: We looked terrible Kara

[00:34:12,493]: We looked we looked reckless immature beside ourselves

[00:34:17,113]: You don’t think that emboldens Republicans when they see us acting this way

[00:34:21,593]: What could they do

[00:34:22,773]: The bottom line is there’s not a lot to do

[00:34:24,793]: You sit there

[00:34:25,733]: You’re polite

[00:34:27,113]: There’s probably a couple of things you can clap for when they welcome whatever a war veteran

[00:34:31,473]: You stand up and applaud

[00:34:32,653]: And other than that you just sit there

[00:34:34,593]: You don’t go or you don’t go

[00:34:36,393]: Right

[00:34:36,793]: You can find

[00:34:37,733]: Yeah I don’t even think that’s a good idea because I don’t

[00:34:40,473]: Eventually we’re going to digress to only half the chamber shows up for every presidential address

[00:34:44,753]: I think there’s a certain level

[00:34:47,113]: There’s a certain level of decorum

[00:34:48,733]: But they this is again the Democrats have consistently feckless

[00:34:55,353]: They do not have discipline and they do not have leadership and they do not have good messaging right now

[00:35:02,593]: They haven’t gotten their shit together

[00:35:04,393]: I was like oh this is not going to be a viral moment

[00:35:08,293]: This is so it disgusted me when one of the squad put up this the sign saying genocide when Netanyahu spoke whether they you just don’t you don’t show up

[00:35:17,693]: It’s not the place for it

[00:35:18,353]: It’s not the place for it

[00:35:19,653]: Anyway I like a good test

[00:35:21,373]: Let me just that was a loss for us

[00:35:23,093]: So what would you what would be effective in the strategy

[00:35:25,513]: Just sit there quietly

[00:35:26,653]: Or is there is there an effective strategy

[00:35:29,053]: I mean obviously some people are doing things

[00:35:31,353]: Pete Buttigieg is appearing everywhere it seems like

[00:35:35,833]: What would be an effective strategy from your perspective

[00:35:39,433]: Judge Carville saying do nothing play for dead for right now because you’re not going to win anything

[00:35:44,173]: You look stupid

[00:35:45,173]: That was well there’s tactical and then the strategic on the tactical

[00:35:48,613]: You just show up

[00:35:49,753]: You’re polite

[00:35:50,473]: You’re the adults in the room

[00:35:51,813]: You nod

[00:35:52,833]: You get someone fantastic as we did to give the response

[00:35:55,753]: The response is a thankless job because you just can’t command the majesty of the lighting and the camera angles

[00:36:00,893]: She did a competent slash good job

[00:36:03,853]: You sit there

[00:36:04,493]: You’re polite

[00:36:05,053]: You have more respect for the flag in the rotunda than you do your your tribal censors

[00:36:09,873]: And we did not do that

[00:36:10,913]: We showed that we were reckless and were like a kid coming home who is polite all day and then just vomits his or her emotions

[00:36:18,393]: Speaking for a friend who’s a parent and give mom and give and give mom and dad just who is this terrorist

[00:36:25,593]: Yeah walk through the door

[00:36:26,693]: And by the way in the parent teachers conference everyone’s just such a good

[00:36:30,053]: I literally said that to Saul the other day

[00:36:31,593]: He was like run in terror at the house

[00:36:33,073]: I was like do you do this at school

[00:36:34,373]: He goes no

[00:36:35,573]: And I was like well let me know

[00:36:37,793]: Yeah

[00:36:38,193]: And then you read all these child books and it’s because they trust and love you

[00:36:40,933]: Well I wish they trusted and love me a little bit

[00:36:42,993]: I agree on a strategic level

[00:36:45,973]: You’re you’re you pick one or two issues

[00:36:47,993]: Don’t go after all these ridiculous D I

[00:36:51,813]: transgender Greenland Panama

[00:36:53,473]: You go after a small set of issues a surrender to the American brand now means surrender measles and inflation

[00:37:01,333]: And I would focus on those three things

[00:37:02,953]: I’d bring in experts

[00:37:03,873]: I’d be thoughtful

[00:37:04,733]: I’d be data driven

[00:37:05,793]: And then I would fucking shut down the government

[00:37:08,573]: I would go upstream of Elon Musk and saying no we’re not raising the debt limit

[00:37:13,173]: No we are shutting down the government

[00:37:14,733]: I want to play hardball

[00:37:16,293]: Fine

[00:37:16,733]: That’s what the Republicans would do

[00:37:18,393]: That’s what the Republicans did

[00:37:19,613]: And they did

[00:37:20,153]: You know that’s what they do

[00:37:21,353]: I agree with you

[00:37:22,193]: I thought it was embarrassing

[00:37:23,853]: I thought they’re trying to create a viral moment

[00:37:26,733]: It was sort of like hey kids look what we’re going to do

[00:37:29,693]: And and people should be relentlessly critical of this of what they’re doing

[00:37:35,853]: It doesn’t have any discipline

[00:37:37,313]: I mean in a weird way they kept shooting to Nancy Pelosi who did sit there quietly by the way

[00:37:42,253]: Did you notice that she was she understands the decorum

[00:37:45,273]: She was she looked sour definitely

[00:37:47,393]: But I have to say I was thinking this wouldn’t happen under Nancy Pelosi

[00:37:51,513]: I’ll tell you that she was distracted

[00:37:53,853]: She was trading options on Robin

[00:37:55,233]: Oh stop it

[00:37:56,053]: I’m just saying she ran that place with the Democrats very tight

[00:37:59,993]: Like she had them tightly organized

[00:38:02,333]: You know what the the Republicans have that we don’t have

[00:38:06,313]: They have synchronicity

[00:38:06,933]: Synchronicity between think tanks between between the meat their their their media and their leadership and their talking points

[00:38:16,193]: They are a well machined

[00:38:18,033]: They are

[00:38:18,333]: They get more

[00:38:19,553]: We are flailing around

[00:38:22,513]: We are you know we define the term seizure

[00:38:27,073]: We’re just out of control

[00:38:28,973]: Our limbs flailing in different directions and have no control of ourselves

[00:38:33,053]: And you watch it

[00:38:34,033]: You watch what’s going on our response

[00:38:35,733]: And it’s just sort of uncomfortable

[00:38:38,133]: It’s OK

[00:38:38,773]: We got to be able to do better than this

[00:38:40,473]: Yep

[00:38:40,733]: I agree

[00:38:41,133]: I had a really interesting backwards with Mike for Bigley over this because I sent him Fetterman slams Dems unhinged protest during Trump’s speech

[00:38:49,853]: And we were going back and forth

[00:38:51,153]: But it’s what Mike was pointing out when we were going back and forth is they’re not they’re not thinking of the audience

[00:38:57,553]: Right

[00:38:58,093]: They aren’t thinking for some reason that Democrats do not think of the audience of like what the audience is hearing and seeing

[00:39:06,333]: And they were they they just weren’t thinking of you know how to hit back in a way that’s effective in some fashion that shows they feel so non genuine and it feels so it’s such a weak and sad you know response

[00:39:21,793]: I don’t know

[00:39:22,253]: I just but you’re you’re your analysis is right one

[00:39:25,113]: And that is who is our target audience and the people is Mike

[00:39:28,853]: So Mike we’re big people like a 70 something year old congressman from Texas waving his cane and walking and go yeah people we already have those people

[00:39:38,793]: They’re voting Democratic

[00:39:39,533]: Those aren’t the people we need

[00:39:41,473]: Who we need is the person who voted for Trump and is now having second thoughts

[00:39:47,013]: And you need to be thoughtful and you need to be measured and you need to show we’re the adults in the room

[00:39:51,773]: Do you want measles

[00:39:53,273]: Do you want these hacker kids fucking with you

[00:39:56,153]: Do you like paying more for eggs

[00:39:58,593]: You know Trump

[00:39:59,733]: We’re we’re adults

[00:40:01,593]: We’re reasonable

[00:40:02,053]: We’re going to lay out the facts

[00:40:03,253]: We’re not going to have an emotional response

[00:40:05,073]: We have emotional control because the people that loved and will applaud for this type of who are saying you know stand up walk out yell I’m good for you

[00:40:16,873]: Those people are on board with Democratic policies

[00:40:19,753]: They don’t need that

[00:40:21,073]: We don’t need to convince those people of anything

[00:40:23,393]: They definitely we got to go after the people who voted and be ubiquitous with the messaging

[00:40:28,033]: I mean it was interesting

[00:40:29,153]: I have an idea for I have an idea for Kamala Harris for a podcast

[00:40:32,593]: So I think she should do a podcast called Recently Unemployed with Kamala Harris and go around and talk to people about the economy go to places she’s not welcome and make herself a nuisance like in that regard like talk to them and go around

[00:40:45,073]: But I was thinking all of them have to feel like they’re listening to the American people right that they’re listening and they’re present and they’re responding and listening

[00:40:55,693]: I know it sounds like Bill Clinton really listened felt like he was listening

[00:40:59,913]: I don’t know

[00:41:00,653]: That’s

[00:41:01,313]: Yeah

[00:41:01,733]: My recommendation around what she should do is is nothing

[00:41:06,873]: She’s a reminder of how badly we fucked up

[00:41:09,553]: It would be bad

[00:41:11,593]: I’m sorry

[00:41:13,373]: And by the way I saw Secretary Clinton last night at Shea Margo in New York

[00:41:18,873]: She’s out of nowhere

[00:41:19,633]: I’m like I know that woman

[00:41:20,553]: I want to go up and say I love you

[00:41:22,173]: Did you say hi

[00:41:22,633]: Say hi to her

[00:41:23,373]: Say I’m Kara’s friend

[00:41:24,733]: Say I’m Kara’s friend

[00:41:26,393]: I was doing my favorite thing

[00:41:27,493]: I was at the bar alone

[00:41:28,773]: No joke

[00:41:29,193]: Oh my God

[00:41:29,653]: Next time you’re going up to her

[00:41:30,933]: I thought that her Secret Service people were going to attack like that tall weird looking dude

[00:41:34,613]: He’s alone drinking anyways

[00:41:36,753]: But when you lose you take a break for a while because all she’s going to do is remind people quite frankly of why we lost

[00:41:45,033]: And this is what Vice President Harris should do

[00:41:47,633]: Absolutely nothing until we have a Democratic president who appoints her to the Supreme Court

[00:41:52,493]: She’s just not from from a from a quite frankly no mercy no malice brand perspective

[00:41:57,153]: She should do nothing

[00:41:58,973]: I don’t agree with you

[00:41:59,913]: I think she was she was just beginning to be she improved a lot

[00:42:03,273]: I don’t think she did that bad a job compared

[00:42:05,753]: I think Biden was agreed that she did

[00:42:08,973]: Everything you’re saying is true

[00:42:10,213]: And the reality is she’s a reminder of the policies and reasons we lost

[00:42:14,953]: And she should just stay out of the line in terms of just what’s good for Democrats right now

[00:42:20,053]: She should she should quite frankly just a Democrat has to step up and feel ubiquitous in the very least you know and feel like they’re speaking to speaking to Americans

[00:42:30,113]: Right

[00:42:30,853]: Again I think that’s Mark Cuban

[00:42:32,573]: You know who’s having a moment and you were right on this and I was wrong is your guy Fetterman

[00:42:36,313]: Fetterman

[00:42:36,613]: Fetterman is Fetterman is not everything that he’s doing

[00:42:40,253]: I like but yes he is

[00:42:41,433]: Well then he’s let we vote him off the island

[00:42:44,393]: He doesn’t align perfectly with my idea

[00:42:47,053]: No I sometimes he can be obnoxious

[00:42:48,933]: I like something

[00:42:49,613]: He could be a little nicer

[00:42:51,053]: That’s all I’m saying

[00:42:52,053]: All right Scott let’s go on a quick break

[00:42:53,613]: When we come back we’ll discuss the latest on Trump’s trade war

[00:42:57,293]: Scott we’re back with our second big story

[00:42:59,493]: U S automakers got a one month break from Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico

[00:43:04,953]: The tariffs went into effect on Tuesday roiling markets and creating headaches for companies in the U S and around the world

[00:43:10,473]: Canada quickly announced retaliatory tariffs with the very handsome Justin Trudeau doing it

[00:43:15,793]: Mexico is announcing countermeasures

[00:43:17,433]: She’s also fantastic

[00:43:18,673]: The president of Mexico this week

[00:43:21,333]: China is also taking action after Trump added 10 percent to existing tariffs

[00:43:24,653]: Trump acknowledged his address to Congress that there would be a little disturbance from these tariffs but he’s OK with that

[00:43:29,873]: But then he he turned it around which means he only wants to sort of threaten American companies

[00:43:36,593]: It felt like he’s trying to like let certain people in and pay homage to him and this and that

[00:43:42,353]: So stocks have been on a roller coaster as you noted over the last few days with Dow falling almost 700 points on Tuesday

[00:43:47,073]: The markets rebounded on Wednesday and the news said automakers were getting the exemption

[00:43:51,253]: It’s such a fucking game

[00:43:52,513]: It feels so deep state and manipulative

[00:43:54,833]: And anyway we’ll see more exemptions

[00:43:58,053]: And if you’re a CEO right now it would be very hard to know what to do with Target and Best Buy

[00:44:03,133]: He was already warning about price increases

[00:44:06,173]: And is the rest of the world just going to start doing business without the U S if these tariffs continue

[00:44:11,913]: Warren Buffett looks like he’s sick to his fucking stomach

[00:44:14,453]: He does

[00:44:14,833]: The first time he didn’t respond he said tariffs were ridiculous and that it’s a tax on on the little guy

[00:44:22,833]: But then when someone asked him about the economy he’s like I’m not going to comment which is bad news because Warren Buffett always gives the straight scoop on things

[00:44:31,853]: What do you think

[00:44:32,713]: Put the moral arguments aside we have established amazing economic trade relationships and trust in rule of law and reciprocal

[00:44:42,693]: When when I’m in the Gulf I have a speaking gig in the Gulf

[00:44:47,933]: And then October the 7th happens and I make some comments that they don’t they they find disagreeable and they cancel the speaking contract

[00:44:57,573]: We have a contract and nowhere in that contract did it say you’re not allowed to say certain things

[00:45:02,313]: And then we point it out and they say you’re right we respect rule of law

[00:45:05,973]: We’ve got a great trading relationship

[00:45:07,833]: We’re going to come to a settlement

[00:45:10,013]: We have established really strong economic relationships with the world’s largest economies over the last 80 years that benefits them and benefits us

[00:45:18,813]: And one of the key tenets of American capitalism democracy is we believe in lifting up people all around the world that economic prosperity if it’s shared we all do just much better

[00:45:30,613]: And we have amazing trading relationships with the world’s largest economies

[00:45:37,853]: And we are taking them and saying to those economies figure out alliances and relationships and trade routes and supply chains and legal agreements with each other and go around us and exclude us and be less inclined to trade with us moving forward

[00:45:53,973]: Because even if he drops these tariffs they can’t trust us

[00:45:58,213]: They can’t go

[00:45:59,913]: They can’t all Jack Daniels off of all shelves and figuring out how on earth are they going to reconfigure the supply chain of cars

[00:46:08,773]: By the way with these tariffs cars are going to cost of these tariffs hold an additional twelve thousand dollars each car

[00:46:17,813]: People don’t realize cars General Motors cars those big American trucks the parts go back and forth across the Mexican and Canadian borders numerous times

[00:46:28,493]: So you’re talking about another another twelve thousand dollars

[00:46:31,753]: More than half of America’s produce comes from Mexico

[00:46:34,453]: Everything’s about ninety nine percent of shoes in America are imported

[00:46:37,993]: You’re going to see this everywhere

[00:46:39,433]: There was what was it

[00:46:40,513]: Sledgehammers

[00:46:41,253]: It was like a bunch of like something else that was so strange and I was I had no idea it was made in Canada besides maple syrup

[00:46:48,933]: I got that the average U S household is going to see prices go up by twelve hundred dollars each year

[00:46:55,053]: And when you’re the average household makes was it sixty eight or seventy thousand dollars

[00:46:58,913]: Call it fifty five after taxes

[00:47:00,953]: That’s a difference between being able to go on vacation or not

[00:47:04,153]: Yeah

[00:47:04,673]: So this is when I was

[00:47:06,813]: What about these exemptions

[00:47:08,593]: Because a lot of people feel that he is he is sort of trying to get companies in line with him like make sure you’re on my boss

[00:47:15,993]: My boss

[00:47:16,873]: That’s what it feels like

[00:47:17,873]: State my boss like hey you know you pay me

[00:47:22,213]: And by the way it started with Tim Cook who kissed his ass and all of a sudden the iPhone was exempt from certain tariffs

[00:47:28,593]: And so basically what he’s doing is saying OK who’s willing to give me money

[00:47:32,753]: Who’s willing to kiss my ass

[00:47:33,993]: And then I’ll figure out a workaround for you

[00:47:36,253]: This is this is what a whole thing is

[00:47:38,973]: This is corruption not innovation again not innovation not making better cars or making better anything

[00:47:45,233]: It’s this ridiculous bullshit

[00:47:47,673]: I mean the face of Buffett really haunted me when he when he was talking about it like he’s not a young man

[00:47:53,613]: And he’s like it was like are you fucking kidding me

[00:47:56,473]: I’m 100 years old and you’re pulling this shit

[00:47:58,993]: It’s just like I was a graduate student instructor in macro economics for Professor Christina Romer at Berkeley back in the 90s

[00:48:06,753]: And we used to talk about tariffs is like an obvious example of just how stupid we were

[00:48:12,893]: We bring up tariffs in the early part of the century

[00:48:15,993]: And we and we all it was just so funny

[00:48:17,993]: This is we would kind of laugh at like OK this is wait hold on kids

[00:48:21,853]: This is what they decided to do

[00:48:23,473]: This is like a little economy professor joking as if we had gone

[00:48:28,773]: It was like we literally tariffs were the economic equivalent of in the world of medicine of leeches

[00:48:35,173]: Like can you believe they did this

[00:48:36,473]: Can you believe they thought this would work

[00:48:39,273]: And here we are again

[00:48:40,693]: Makes absolute fucking little

[00:48:41,633]: You know you know what’s going viral is from Ferris Bueller

[00:48:45,453]: You know they have the Smoot Hawley section

[00:48:48,153]: Anybody anybody

[00:48:49,533]: Anyway there’s a great scene that’s going around where he talks about Smoot Hawley

[00:48:53,733]: And it was a disaster

[00:48:55,753]: And this is going to be a disaster

[00:48:57,153]: And then they’re going to do exemptions and then it doesn’t matter

[00:48:59,253]: And then they’re mad at us

[00:49:00,513]: And it doesn’t matter

[00:49:01,773]: The whole thing is just it just it just is so embarrassing

[00:49:05,893]: It’s just embarrassing

[00:49:07,493]: Right

[00:49:07,873]: So I mean it’s going to this is where speaking of rubber meets the road when these prices go up it’s going to be problematic

[00:49:14,633]: And again Democrats need to focus on that

[00:49:17,093]: Guess who did this

[00:49:18,273]: Donald Trump

[00:49:19,033]: Guess why eggs are more expensive

[00:49:20,273]: He tried to put the eggs on Biden but he gets the eggs

[00:49:23,453]: Trump take egg is the other meme by the way the viral meme around thing

[00:49:28,513]: Anyway the world will move on without us is what they’ll do

[00:49:33,673]: Jack Jack Zang I think it’s Zang

[00:49:36,293]: He’s a professor at the University of Kansas

[00:49:38,293]: Summarize it perfectly with respect to beat Trump

[00:49:40,833]: Tariffs are essentially yet again another regressive tax because lower middle income households spend 100 of their paycheck on these products

[00:49:50,673]: So again they’re the ones that get hurt the most

[00:49:52,813]: And he summarized it perfectly

[00:49:54,433]: He said it’s a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight

[00:49:58,933]: These tariffs yet again really target lower and middle class homes

[00:50:05,033]: It is a regressive tax

[00:50:07,733]: Low income Americans spend all of their money on these

[00:50:11,813]: Think about this produce saving for a car eggs

[00:50:16,293]: I mean these are the people that get hit the hardest

[00:50:19,573]: Cherry tomatoes apparently

[00:50:20,633]: There was a whole bunch of really interesting that I had no idea to learn about

[00:50:24,633]: Anyway it’s a bad idea

[00:50:25,733]: We think it’s a bad idea

[00:50:27,153]: And Aswath I had Aswath on talking the same thing

[00:50:29,393]: Every smart person I know is like this is

[00:50:32,033]: And now it’s being run badly

[00:50:33,493]: The tariffs are even being run badly letting people out putting people in

[00:50:37,933]: And that means you don’t have any credibility about it

[00:50:40,473]: It’s a stupid negotiating tactic and you think it’ll work

[00:50:43,893]: And same thing happened with Zelensky where he threatened him and now Zelensky has to apologize

[00:50:49,313]: That’s not a good outcome

[00:50:50,793]: It doesn’t matter that Zelensky folded

[00:50:52,953]: The fact that he had to fold is pathetic

[00:50:55,053]: The same thing here the fact that they put them out and then take some back it’s not a good tactic

[00:51:00,833]: Moving to facts all right

[00:51:02,593]: We get outraged

[00:51:03,653]: It’s extortion that we’re demanding rare earth minerals from Ukraine

[00:51:08,213]: Okay I get it

[00:51:08,893]: But now let’s quickly pivot to facts

[00:51:12,433]: Trump has said he wants 500 billion worth of rare earth minerals from Ukraine in exchange for continued military and political support

[00:51:19,653]: All right let’s just a couple of facts

[00:51:21,713]: The entire global market for rare earth minerals is 10 to 14 billion

[00:51:26,313]: A rare earth mineral mine takes at least 10 years to spin up

[00:51:31,753]: So let’s just look at okay well you’re right

[00:51:35,713]: It’s extortion let’s get angry

[00:51:37,373]: But let’s look at the actual data and show just how ridiculous this is

[00:51:42,253]: This makes no sense

[00:51:44,073]: You know getting back to that thing a lot of his points during that thing were things that sound good in concept but aren’t ever gonna happen

[00:51:52,033]: And it’s lies ultimately

[00:51:55,073]: Anyway it’s time for last week’s poll results

[00:51:58,013]: By the way we asked each of you which of our hosts would end up dead on a season of White Lotus

[00:52:03,753]: Oh this is gonna be a shocker

[00:52:05,133]: I know

[00:52:05,833]: This is gonna be a shocker

[00:52:07,373]: I’m just saying

[00:52:07,793]: By the way did you see my did you hear my appearance

[00:52:10,193]: I did I watched it on a plane

[00:52:11,813]: I was very pleased

[00:52:12,773]: I was very proud of you

[00:52:13,773]: I was very like I was very proud

[00:52:15,713]: You did a great job

[00:52:17,153]: And you’re reading thank God Jason helped you on that one

[00:52:20,553]: Thank God

[00:52:20,973]: Thank God

[00:52:21,713]: But the answer was 56 of you said Scott would end up dead on a season of White Lotus

[00:52:27,913]: 33 of you said both of us and only 11 of you said me

[00:52:34,173]: No surprise there

[00:52:35,993]: Moving along it’s time for this week’s threads poll

[00:52:38,913]: Do you guys in the audience think Elon will end up doing an interview with Jon Stewart

[00:52:44,233]: He should

[00:52:45,313]: We think you should Elon

[00:52:46,373]: Go ahead go into that go into that lion’s den

[00:52:49,473]: It’ll be just fine

[00:52:50,313]: Anyway if you’ve got a question of your own you’d like answered send it our way

[00:52:53,273]: Go to nymag com

[00:52:54,253]: slash pivot to submit a question for the show or call 855 51 PIVOT

[00:52:58,493]: All right Scott one more quick break

[00:53:00,033]: We’ll be back for wins and fails

[00:53:02,653]: Okay Scott let’s hear some wins and fails

[00:53:04,793]: I shall go first

[00:53:07,193]: I’m gonna say I was gonna talk about there’s a really great column by Mike Masnick and Tech Dirt talking about how he writes about tech a lot of the time

[00:53:17,313]: And he’s written a wonderful piece about how he’s now a democracy blog

[00:53:22,013]: And he was talking about the importance of tech reporters to really explain what’s happening

[00:53:26,413]: And I agree with that

[00:53:27,173]: I think Wired’s doing a great job

[00:53:28,593]: I think the Wall Street Journal has done a great job and New York Times has and a lot of publications big and small

[00:53:35,233]: So I think that’s the thing

[00:53:36,013]: But actually I’m going to actually something I watched on the plane I binged watched it

[00:53:40,493]: It’s called Running Point

[00:53:41,733]: Our friend Justin Theroux is in it he’s fantastic

[00:53:44,273]: But the star is Kate Hudson and this most astonishing group of very funny people

[00:53:48,613]: It’s about basketball

[00:53:49,593]: Essentially it’s about it’s a group called the LA Waves

[00:53:53,073]: It’s about a basketball owner and it’s kind of like silly and stupid and a bit of an ad for how good sports is kind of a feel good comedy

[00:54:02,153]: And critics don’t like it because it’s not mean and how terrible it is

[00:54:06,013]: But I loved it

[00:54:07,033]: And I think Kate Hudson is the most adorable person ever

[00:54:09,793]: And it’s very very very funny to me

[00:54:12,013]: I love this show

[00:54:13,773]: It’s on Netflix again

[00:54:15,013]: And I get it

[00:54:15,773]: I get why critics don’t like it because they’re snotty bitches

[00:54:18,573]: But I had a great time at watching it

[00:54:21,653]: And I binge watched the whole thing

[00:54:23,273]: And again Justin is amazing in it among the many actors in it who are amazing

[00:54:27,913]: Every single person is

[00:54:29,553]: But he wears a I wrote him I said your scarf work is excellent

[00:54:33,853]: He plays a basketball owner basketball team owner

[00:54:38,553]: Anyway I love it

[00:54:39,313]: It’s really fun

[00:54:41,673]: My negative I’m trying to go between I try not to talk about people’s outfits but it’s very hard this week

[00:54:47,773]: I’m trying to go between Elon’s new haircut which is again a very lesbian level haircut of from the eighties

[00:54:55,413]: And Zuckerberg wearing Benson Boone’s powder blue jumpsuit for his wife Priscilla’s birthday party

[00:55:02,173]: I try Scott but they need to stop

[00:55:05,293]: These people need to stop because I can’t contain myself

[00:55:08,233]: I think it was so performative

[00:55:10,433]: Everything is so performative with these people

[00:55:12,333]: And I want them to go away like go away from us and stop posting themselves doing wacky crazy things

[00:55:19,793]: And it feels a lot like Rome is burning and they’re fiddling

[00:55:24,173]: So that’s why I think it offends me in so many ways

[00:55:26,493]: Besides being so awkward it’s painful

[00:55:29,193]: I didn’t want to see Mark Zuckerberg’s chest in any way

[00:55:32,213]: And there it was

[00:55:33,493]: And it was hard to avoid

[00:55:34,653]: Anyway yours go for it

[00:55:37,313]: I just have a win

[00:55:39,613]: I’m trying just because I’m such a glass half empty kind of guy I’m trying to focus on or having some discipline around

[00:55:45,553]: If you look at the world actually the world over the medium and long term despite some severe hiccups in the short term the world gets better

[00:55:53,693]: And so your default setting should be or you should always have in the back of your mind what could go right

[00:56:01,973]: Because generally speaking over time the world has gotten better

[00:56:05,053]: And I’m trying to think looking at this mess and how upsetting it is what could go right

[00:56:10,613]: And I think what could go right here is that I do believe a real silver lining the size of the cloud here is I do think that Europe is threatening to be an actual union

[00:56:21,853]: And if you look at most recently the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen I think it was

[00:56:28,973]: I like how you say that go ahead

[00:56:31,293]: She unveiled a historic 840 billion plan to increase EU defense spending

[00:56:37,793]: And they’re now looking at going past the 2 number

[00:56:41,333]: They’re looking at coordinating

[00:56:43,133]: And what they’ve decided is that and this is kind of the unintended consequence of recognizing they can no longer depend upon American consistency in the military umbrella

[00:56:55,313]: It really doesn’t make any sense that Europe would and they’re recognizing this that they would need to back down to Russia

[00:57:04,313]: Because Russia’s GDP is about two trillion

[00:57:08,093]: The combined member states of the EU is 19 trillion

[00:57:12,433]: You know Germany France and England all have bigger economies

[00:57:17,613]: Russia’s just barely ahead of Spain

[00:57:20,193]: It’s smaller than Canada

[00:57:22,793]: Both Britain and France have nuclear arsenals

[00:57:25,693]: They have very sophisticated manufacturing and intellectual property

[00:57:29,613]: They have decent AI

[00:57:31,393]: They have fantastic communications technology

[00:57:33,953]: And I believe and this is kind of links to investments

[00:57:40,213]: If you look at European stocks European value stocks on a scale of one to 100 one being the cheapest they’ve ever been 100 being the most expensive U S growth stocks are at 98

[00:57:51,353]: And that is only 2 in history only 2 of time have they been more expensive than they are now

[00:57:58,233]: European value stocks big companies like Mercedes L Oreal are at 2

[00:58:04,193]: Meaning 98 of time they’ve been more expensive

[00:58:07,813]: I think that Europe is finally saying okay we believe it

[00:58:12,393]: We can’t count on our rich crazy uncle

[00:58:14,233]: He’s gone just fucking insane

[00:58:15,653]: We can’t count on him

[00:58:17,033]: But we as siblings are actually very strong when we coordinate

[00:58:20,913]: And we’re a bigger economy

[00:58:22,653]: We have fantastic technology

[00:58:24,713]: And they have already stepped up

[00:58:26,813]: They immediately called a meeting in the UK

[00:58:31,293]: They’re about to call another one in Brussels

[00:58:33,933]: And Europe is really stepping up

[00:58:36,293]: This really goes to not only my win but my prediction

[00:58:39,133]: And that is I think you’re gonna see the European economy and European stocks rip

[00:58:44,773]: Because if you look at military spending there really is some spillover in terms of technology

[00:58:49,793]: The most valuable companies in the world Cara are basically thick layers of innovation on top of technologies developed in the military

[00:58:57,473]: Apple is a function of a Cold War technology where we wanted to make sure we could put a missile in someone’s pocket in terms of GPS accuracy

[00:59:06,693]: All of the internet was the Americans trying to figure out a nodeless or hubless communications network post a nuclear attack from Russia

[00:59:14,453]: The drone technology coming out of Ukraine could have unbelievable applications in the consumer economy as could AI

[00:59:22,153]: Anyways my win is that Europe is finally becoming a union commanding the space it occupies

[00:59:28,433]: They’re gonna massively increase their coordination and their military budget

[00:59:31,373]: And I believe the stimulus of that spending and the new technologies it’ll spend over to the consumer economy are about to set European markets on a tear

[00:59:41,393]: And it’s already happened

[00:59:42,793]: They’re up 12 this year largely on the back of European defense contractors that their stocks have accelerated while the US is flat

[00:59:52,393]: So I think we’re about to see my win is that Europe is finally a union and that I think it’s gonna have huge economic benefits both stimulated and in terms of technology spillover

[01:00:05,173]: All right

[01:00:06,253]: And

[01:00:07,533]: That’s it

[01:00:08,313]: That’s all I got

[01:00:08,733]: That’s good that’s good

[01:00:09,793]: Just in case

[01:00:10,393]: All right okay all right

[01:00:11,473]: Very good

[01:00:12,133]: In case oh my God

[01:00:13,573]: Are we gonna

[01:00:14,473]: We’re going to Austin

[01:00:15,373]: We’re going to Austin

[01:00:16,313]: Are we gonna have a good time

[01:00:17,133]: That’s my win

[01:00:18,593]: You and me in Austin

[01:00:19,633]: I miss you

[01:00:20,093]: There we go

[01:00:20,633]: We’re gonna have fun

[01:00:21,793]: We’re having fun

[01:00:22,493]: We’re gonna hang out there’s a party

[01:00:24,013]: We’re gonna do a live pivot

[01:00:25,273]: I have to also interview Chelsea Handler who is the number one book in the country right now and Elizabeth Warren

[01:00:31,993]: Yeah I’m doing two live things there

[01:00:34,933]: That’s two great cases I didn’t see going together

[01:00:37,453]: They’re not going together they’re separate

[01:00:38,533]: Although I could put them together couldn’t I

[01:00:40,633]: No I’m not gonna do them and do them separate

[01:00:42,133]: Anyway elsewhere in the Scott and Kara universe this week this week in ProfG Conversations Scott spoke with Dr Anna Lembke professor of psychiatry at Stanford and author of Dopamine Nation

[01:00:53,193]: Let’s listen

[01:00:53,653]: Drugs in all their forms are the great human replacement

[01:00:59,193]: Addiction is a disease of loneliness

[01:01:02,513]: Even if we have a lot of great people in our lives if we get addicted we will isolate and we will use our drug to replace that human connection

[01:01:13,853]: So and I say that because we sometimes talk about loneliness as the cause of addiction but more often than not what I see is that the addiction causes the loneliness

[01:01:25,693]: Oh I like that

[01:01:26,753]: That sounds fascinating

[01:01:27,113]: She was saying can I go to Ben around here

[01:01:30,253]: I’ve been thinking about this a lot that a lot of people came up to me at Mobile World Conference to talk about this

[01:01:38,393]: And there’s a specific addiction that I haven’t spent much time thinking about because there’s not a lot of good research on it

[01:01:44,753]: And in the last two weeks I’ve had three men two young men one older man and the most recent was at Mobile World Conference this kid came up to me a kid who’s like 34 he’s killing it great family married two kids just killing it professionally

[01:02:01,093]: And he said would you mentor me

[01:02:02,573]: And I’m like boss I don’t mentor people who have their shit going well

[01:02:05,993]: The kids I mentor are really struggling and really need it

[01:02:08,313]: You don’t need it

[01:02:08,793]: And he’s like well I have an addiction problem

[01:02:10,913]: And three men have said the same thing to me

[01:02:13,273]: And I said what’s your addiction

[01:02:14,873]: And he said porn

[01:02:17,053]: And it’s really interesting

[01:02:19,193]: Porn is probably the least studied addiction because there’s very little peer review or academic research because very few people want to be known as a porn professor

[01:02:29,433]: You could do that

[01:02:30,873]: You could fill that space but go ahead

[01:02:32,313]: I’m not sure that’s a good idea

[01:02:34,613]: I am doing a lot of research

[01:02:36,913]: It’s on brand go ahead

[01:02:38,413]: But it really is something that we don’t talk about a lot

[01:02:42,113]: And I could see all three of these men when they said it to me there was real shame in their voice

[01:02:46,273]: And it’s like there’s much more shame

[01:02:48,233]: If you say I have an addiction to alcohol it’s kind of like okay if you say you have an addiction to porn people are a little bit scared of you

[01:02:55,173]: They’re like keep their kids away from you

[01:02:58,553]: Anyways and I’ve been thinking a lot about young men and where I go to around this is I think that and this is more advice is that I think the best thing in life hands down economic security relevance that’s all important but it’s a means to an ends

[01:03:15,633]: And the ends in my view are finding someone and having kids and having a loving prosperous family

[01:03:22,913]: That is the whole shooting match

[01:03:25,273]: And that starts with in my view for a lot of men with wanting to have sex

[01:03:31,833]: And I think that’s a wonderful thing

[01:03:33,993]: And I think we’ve pathologized it

[01:03:35,753]: I was thinking I wouldn’t have graduated from UCLA if I didn’t think there was a non zero probability I might meet someone on campus and eventually have sex with them

[01:03:44,153]: And I know that sounds crass but it was the truth

[01:03:46,173]: It was a big motivator for me to get out of the house take risks endure rejection

[01:03:51,553]: If I’d had porn on my phone and on my computer I’m not sure I would have gone on campus every day

[01:03:57,633]: And that’s what young men are dealing with

[01:04:01,233]: And that is a total loss or a near total loss of mojo and risk taking to develop the skills they need

[01:04:08,573]: Here’s the problem

[01:04:09,673]: You don’t know

[01:04:10,313]: What you know is that your son and young men and some older men aren’t getting out of the house as much aren’t taking risks aren’t developing skills humor kindness demonstrating excellence

[01:04:21,313]: And as a result it’s this low risk low entry means of a reasonable facsimile of a relationship called porn

[01:04:30,073]: And it creates unreasonable expectations on women

[01:04:32,933]: It creates an illusory vision of what a relationship actually is

[01:04:37,533]: And I think about it

[01:04:39,553]: I spent so much time enduring rejection from women and developing skills such that occasionally I could get lucky and taking risks

[01:04:47,853]: And guess what

[01:04:48,353]: Those skills have served me well my entire life

[01:04:50,693]: It’s also you know it is

[01:04:52,153]: And it’s another thing I’ve been talking about here

[01:04:53,993]: It’s frictionless right

[01:04:55,313]: It creates a lack of friction and friction is good for and tech people constantly talk about frictionless experience

[01:05:02,493]: They want everything frictionless so that you just sit there and don’t go anywhere

[01:05:07,673]: And it creates growth for them

[01:05:09,413]: And it creates friction is the best thing that can happen to people

[01:05:13,493]: Problems friction mistakes and stuff

[01:05:15,633]: So anyway that’s go ahead

[01:05:17,233]: Just speaking of Kate Hudson the reason romantic comedies are two hours and not 15 minutes is this shit is hard and it’s worth it

[01:05:23,993]: And where I end up with is where I tell young men modulate I can’t tell young men not to engage in porn but modulate it such that you have the fire to develop the mojo the effort the skills and willingness such that you can make your own bad porn

[01:05:37,773]: That’s the key

[01:05:39,113]: Porn is great as long as you’re involved with another being

[01:05:41,753]: Is it great

[01:05:43,273]: Well you know what I mean sex

[01:05:45,113]: And we have to a certain extent we’ve sort of demonized or chastised or pathologized young men wanting to have sex

[01:05:53,633]: That’s a great thing

[01:05:54,873]: They want sex

[01:05:56,353]: I’d rather have them have sex than have porn

[01:05:58,233]: That is absolutely true

[01:05:59,653]: Anyway here we are

[01:06:00,853]: Anyway and Kate Hudson’s adorable

[01:06:02,353]: She really is

[01:06:03,433]: She is adorable

[01:06:03,753]: Okay Scott that’s the show

[01:06:04,953]: Thanks for listening to Pivot

[01:06:05,853]: Be sure to like and subscribe to our channel

[01:06:08,493]: We’ll be back next week

[01:06:14,173]: Thanks for listening to Pivot

[01:06:14,373]: We’ll be back next week

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