Jack (Kennedy) Schlossberg & Jen Welch from I've had it Podcast - LIVE FROM NEW YORK

0:00 for doing that.

0:01 Broadcasting live from the heart of New York City.

0:03 This is a Jim Aosta Show special report.

0:11 All right, welcome everybody to the Jim Aosta Show.

0:13 It's about 187 days until the midterms.

0:16 A lot of time for a lot to go wrong between now and the upcoming elections.

0:20 Case in point, officials in Louisiana are postponing

0:23 a primary that was supposed to be held

0:25 next month after the Supreme Court decision striking

0:28 down a majority black district in that state.

0:31 Democrats though have high hopes that they

0:33 can take back the Congress from Republicans.

0:35 One Democrat who is running on hope uh is Jack Schllober.

0:39 He's running for Congress right here in New York City and he joins me now.

0:43 And oh, by the way, you're President JFK's grandson.

0:46 We should get that out of the way.

0:47 Just great to be here.

0:48 a disclosure here that nobody knew about, but great to have you here.

0:52 Thank you so much.

0:52 Great to be with you.

0:53 Big fan of the program.

0:54 Big fan of of of all you're doing and

0:57 and trying to I guess inject some hope into this congressional race.

1:02 Um, and I I guess first of all,

1:04 we should start off with some news and that is you

1:06 are running in the Democratic primary for this uh open seat.

1:10 Jerry Nadler, the congressman, is retiring.

1:13 And I I I guess it's it's a it's a ton of candidates who are running right now.

1:18 Endorsements matter.

1:19 And this is just coming out in the New York Times, I guess, in the last day,

1:23 uh, that you've picked up the endorsement

1:25 of the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

1:28 Um, and I guess, uh,

1:30 your thoughts on all of that and where the race stands right now.

1:33 Well, our slogan for our campaign is pretty dumb, but it's true.

1:39 It's, uh, believe in something.

1:40 Again, our country was built by people

1:42 who believe in something larger than themselves.

1:44 We're turning 250 years old.

1:46 New York City is turning 400 years old this year.

1:48 I think it's coming now for a reason.

1:51 Right now, we don't believe in anything.

1:52 We can't believe what the president says.

1:54 We can't believe what his cabinet secretaries say.

1:56 They lie to us.

1:57 We know it.

1:58 And it's a bad situation.

1:59 But I will never stop believing in politics.

2:01 That's why I'm running.

2:03 And Speaker Pelosi, I'm proud to have her endorsement.

2:05 And she believes.

2:06 She believes in our campaign.

2:08 She believes in politics.

2:09 And she has a magic that doesn't age, it wins.

2:13 Nobody knows how the house works better than she does.

2:16 So, I'm very, very proud to have her support.

2:18 And, you know, you said something that sounded

2:20 almost quaint coming from somebody pretty young.

2:22 You're 33 years old, right?

2:24 That's right.

2:24 Um, but it sounded very Kennedy-esque and it

2:27 sounds like something that that your grandfather

2:30 might have said or one of your great uncles might have said.

2:33 Um, that it is it is about time that we start believing in politics again.

2:37 Where did we go wrong?

2:39 Where did that stop happening?

2:41 I don't know the exact critical point,

2:43 but I know for the last 10 years since President Trump entered the scene.

2:48 We've been inundated with a form of propaganda that encourages

2:52 us to think the system is rigged against us.

2:54 I think a huge part of this is also started in 2010 with Citizens United.

2:59 Uh the influence of money on our politics is a huge reason why people are

3:03 so discouraged and think that their voice

3:04 doesn't count uh that their vote doesn't count.

3:07 I don't take money from super PACs, corporate packs,

3:11 APAC, AI, and big tech companies where my opponents do.

3:14 Millions of dollars being flooded into this primary.

3:17 And I'm doing that not because I could I it was

3:20 unavailable to me or because it's a moral thing to do.

3:24 It's because it forces you to have actually

3:26 meet the people that you're trying to represent.

3:28 If you don't have a super PAC with millions of dollars running ads all over TV,

3:32 then the only way to win is to shake hands.

3:34 And we're trying to shake 50,000 hands by the time of election day.

3:38 And I think the Democratic party needs to stop sucking up so much

3:43 to mega donors and get in touch with the people that they want to represent.

3:48 We are seen as out of touch.

3:50 We are seen as elitist.

3:51 We are seen as having turned our back on working families.

3:53 The only way to fix that is to go

3:55 listen to to those communities and build trust.

3:58 So that's what I'm trying to do.

4:00 And you know, you mentioned uh we

4:01 mentioned the the endorsement from Nancy Pelosi.

4:04 I think we have the ad.

4:05 Uh, this is always fun when we play stuff on the show.

4:08 Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not, and usually it's my fault.

4:11 Uh, but if we have the ad, let's play and we'll talk about the other side.

4:14 I'm of great consequence.

4:16 This moment calls for leaders who understand the stakes

4:19 and how to deliver for the people they serve.

4:21 Jack Schosberg is that kind of leader.

4:23 He has a deep sense of duty and loves New York City and the 12th

4:27 district where he grew up and where four of my five children were born.

4:31 Jack Schosberg is getting people something to believe in.

4:34 Again, he gives people hope and because

4:36 of that, his candidacy will help Democrats win across the country.

4:40 I'm proud to endorse Jack for Congress because I believe in him, too.

4:45 Now, in a way, you're you're running against the establishment.

4:48 You're running against the old system that's been in place for many, many years.

4:51 But you are touting that you have Nancy Pelosy's endorsement.

4:55 I there are probably a lot of viewers and subscribers right now who want

4:57 to hit me over the head for asking this, but how is that changed?

5:00 How is that bringing forth a new generation?

5:03 It might sound very uh ironic coming from me that I'm an outsider in this race

5:08 or that Speaker Pelosi is an outsider in the Democratic party, but it's true.

5:13 The reason why is Speaker Pelosi took

5:18 on President Trump better than anybody else.

5:20 She knows how to get stuff done in the House.

5:22 She knows she passed the Affordable Care Act.

5:24 No one has done more for progressive values and accomplished more than her.

5:28 and she understands political strategy extremely well.

5:32 I don't think she represents an establishment

5:34 insider riskaverse point of view at all.

5:36 I think she represents the opposite.

5:38 And I think that she understands that there

5:40 are local interests in this election here,

5:43 insiders who do not want to pick candidates simply

5:47 because they haven't worked for the right person yet,

5:50 regardless of who would be better fit to serve in this moment.

5:53 And I have a lot of respect for local government,

5:55 but I think in this race and in this moment in time,

5:59 the Democratic party doesn't need more of the same.

6:01 We need to change things up and invest in a new generation.

6:04 And I think Speaker Pelosi has proven

6:08 herself very very talented at picking winners.

6:12 Yeah.

6:12 And I I guess we've talked about the the overarching themes of your campaign.

6:16 What What do you want to get done?

6:17 What is it that you want to We know uh Mayor Manni uh you know

6:21 he took the the city by storm had

6:23 very specific policy proposals basically aimed at affordability.

6:26 Is that something that you want to do in the Congress or are there

6:30 other pieces of legislation?

6:32 What would you do you have something you want to introduce first?

6:34 There are two things that separate our campaign from the others.

6:37 One is the I just talked about my integrity

6:39 pledge with finance and the other is policy.

6:42 People ask me why are you running for Congress?

6:44 I'm like because I want to pass laws.

6:46 Why else would you run for Congress?

6:48 I think our party has done a bad job.

6:50 We speak in vague abstractions.

6:51 That's why I have released specific policies

6:53 to address the concerns of people who live here.

6:56 We have released more of them than any other c than any other campaign.

6:59 I'll start with our renters's deduction.

7:00 It's part of our housing fairness plan.

7:03 Deduct your rent from your taxes.

7:05 This is something that I am the first person to ever say

7:08 it or advocate for or propose it and I can't quite believe it.

7:11 If you own a home, borrow against it.

7:13 You can deduct your mortgage interest payments from your federal income taxes.

7:16 Rent is essentially the same thing.

7:18 And we need to build more housing in New York.

7:20 Yes.

7:20 What can we do right now for people who are struggling?

7:23 Half of this city is rent burdened.

7:25 Deduct your rent from your taxes.

7:26 This is my plan that would save people thousands of dollars a year,

7:30 maybe even one one month of rent free every year.

7:33 I also propose and I can go on and on about our policies.

7:36 Our housing fairness plan second pillar is for home owners.

7:40 Repeal full repeal of the salt cap.

7:41 Trump wages war on blue states by punishing us economically.

7:45 We pay more into the federal government than we get out.

7:48 And it's not fair when you have

7:49 a president attacking us for our political views.

7:52 State and local taxes is how he does this.

7:54 I'm starting the negotiation at full repeal.

7:56 And finally, public housing is something that I care

7:59 a lot about and we need more of in this city.

8:01 Public housing in New York, NICHA, is often people are living in disrepair.

8:06 I propose starting something called the fix it now caucus which would

8:10 be specifically addressed uh specifically devoted

8:12 to addressing the backlog and repairs.

8:14 I'll also tell you about a policy you might be

8:16 interested in related to affordability and saving the city money.

8:19 So have you ever seen Trump Tower in Midtown?

8:22 Oh yeah, of course.

8:22 I've been there several times.

8:24 Well, it's in the heart of New York.

8:25 Not always wanted there, but I've been there.

8:27 Exactly.

8:27 Me neither.

8:28 Uh it's in the heart of New York 12

8:30 and there is a permanent police perimeter around Trump Tower.

8:32 Uh it costs New York City any idea how much?

8:35 $300 million a year.

8:37 Yeah, I was gonna say it's a lot.

8:38 New York City pays for it.

8:40 I think President Trump, who's made $4 billion so far as president,

8:44 I think he should pay for it.

8:46 So Jack's board of peace is my plan to have President Trump pay for that bill.

8:51 And with the 300 million a year in savings,

8:54 we will be giving a peace to cops, a piece to teachers, and a peace to transit.

8:58 And do the voters talk about the war?

9:01 What what are they saying about the war?

9:02 and and what what would you say to President Trump about this war?

9:06 I have fully opposed this war since day one and I'm the only

9:10 major candidate in this race who has had the courage to do so.

9:13 I think this war is not just a mistake

9:15 on procedural grounds because he didn't go to Congress.

9:17 I think it is both morally wrong and strategically wrong.

9:20 I have no sympathy for Iran.

9:22 I have no sympathy for the Iranian government and what they're

9:24 doing to their people and their sponsoring of terrorism around the world.

9:28 But going to war with no plan is

9:30 clearly based on the results not a good strategy.

9:33 So I have opposed this war.

9:34 That means opposing all funding for the war.

9:37 That means opposing um any weapon sales,

9:41 further weapon sales to the state of Israel,

9:44 including bombs and bulldozers for BB Netanyahu.

9:46 And I'm also the only candidate in this race

9:48 who's willing to say that and stand for it.

9:52 And and why do you think that is?

9:54 Why do you think you're the only candidate?

9:56 How how big of an issue is Israel?

9:57 I think in the you know anti-semitism is a extremely

10:03 potent concern for people who live here in this district.

10:06 That's why my first plan that I proposed Jack's

10:08 fasttrack plan is my proposal to double the funding

10:12 for something called the sec the nonprofit security grant

10:15 program which provides security upgrades for houses of worship.

10:19 And I take very seriously the rise in anti-semitism.

10:22 There is a you know that I have a I

10:25 have a little line which is I've got two grandfathers.

10:28 One was president of the United States.

10:29 The other was president of his temple uptown and uh which is now Park

10:34 Synagogue which has been subject to violent

10:36 attacks and protests here in New York.

10:38 So I think the Jewish community here uh is not

10:41 monolithic but people are certainly concerned about the rise of anti-semitism.

10:45 And I anyone who represents New York 12 has to understand and as I do

10:51 that this district has been a safe haven

10:53 for persecuted Jews around the world for centuries.

10:56 That's how my own family got here.

10:58 And it is um the Jewish community is vibrant here and should be supported.

11:03 M and I I do want to ask you about

11:06 um Donald Trump uh because he has been, you know,

11:11 I feel like he's been poking at the Kennedy family name,

11:14 poking at the the Kennedy legacy to some extent.

11:17 Obviously, we know about how he's put his name up in the Kennedy Center,

11:21 uh which I talk about on my show all the time.

11:23 It's a living memorial to John F.

11:24 Kennedy and in addition to being an amazing center for the performing arts.

11:29 And we have a little video.

11:30 I was there the day when they,

11:31 and you can't see this, but we're showing this to our viewers right now.

11:33 I was there the day that they, you know, unveiled the tarp and took it down.

11:37 You could see his name above your grandfather's name at the Kennedy Center.

11:41 What What did you think of that when you saw that?

11:44 Well, I'll give you a two-part answer.

11:48 Yeah.

11:47 The first is what he has done to President Kennedy's legacy,

11:51 the way he's attacked him.

11:52 He he's used the assassination files to drum up basically political coverage.

11:57 the Kennedy Center.

11:58 Um, of course, RFK Jr.

12:01 serving in his cabinet.

12:02 It's really, it's something that bothers me,

12:04 not because of my own family, but because of what it represents,

12:07 what he's doing to the progressive era that he is now trying to dismantle.

12:12 And my family alone did not accomplish that.

12:15 They would be the first people to tell you that that was a national project,

12:19 that generation sacrifice to for the hard-earned civil rights.

12:23 The Civil Rights Act was drafted in the Kennedy White House.

12:26 um what President Kennedy stood for and and progressive

12:29 values and the Democratic Party stood for, President

12:32 Trump is dismantling and he's dismantling and uh

12:35 and destroying the work that generations of Americans,

12:39 my family and many others work to build.

12:41 So, in that sense, it is emblematic of his larger mission.

12:45 Do you take it personally?

12:46 I I'd be lying if I didn't.

12:47 You know, I'm his I'm President Kennedy's only grandson,

12:50 and I will not sit back and let him attack

12:55 JFK when JFK is not here to give to fight back.

12:58 It and and let me also just say it's more than just about the Kennedy Center.

13:03 The Kennedy Center represents one part of President Kennedy's legacy,

13:05 and that's how he championed the arts.

13:07 the arts as a a form not just of free expression but as a as a powerful

13:13 tool in our battle against authoritarianism and for democracy around the world.

13:18 President Kennedy had a saying and it goes

13:20 something like it's a connection easy to feel

13:23 but hard to just but hard to identify

13:27 and between the arts and political leadership.

13:30 The era of Elizabeth the first was the era of Shakespeare.

13:33 the era of of Lorenzo Demetic was the era of Leonardo da Vinci.

13:37 And I hope that this era that we're in right now

13:40 where progressives take back the house and hold Trump accountable is

13:44 going to be is going to have consequences that are beneficial

13:47 for our society in ways we can't even imagine, including the arts.

13:51 So there's that specific part of the arts

13:54 legacy and what the Kennedy Center represents.

13:56 There's also the other things that President Trump has done.

13:59 As I mentioned, President Kennedy stood for civil rights.

14:01 He was the first president to call civil rights a moral issue.

14:04 He sent the National Guard in to desegregate the South.

14:07 He drafted the Civil Rights Act, which eventually became law.

14:11 And he himself was an outsider candidate, a Catholic,

14:15 elected at a time when there had never been one before.

14:18 President Trump made DEI illegal on his first day in office.

14:21 President Trump is restricting our civil rights

14:24 and the ability to vote all across this country.

14:27 So, not only that, President Kennedy sent a man to the moon.

14:31 He he solved the Cuban missile crisis without firing a shot.

14:34 President Trump just launched a full-scale war without a plan

14:38 and has defunded scientific research

14:40 and development at every level of government.

14:43 Yeah.

14:43 And you know the the other issue that I think Democrats are going to have

14:47 to confront when the new Congress comes

14:49 in and this is assuming Democrats take control.

14:52 We don't know that that's going to be the case.

14:54 Um and we should talk about what's what's happening in Louisiana and and all

14:58 the redrawing of the maps and so why don't we talk about that first?

15:00 I mean, do you think New York should just

15:01 go ahead and try to redraw the congressional map here?

15:05 Well, I mean, you saw what this what's happening with the Supreme Court.

15:09 Florida's now jumping in.

15:10 We saw Virginia a couple weeks ago.

15:12 I think that we should insist upon

15:14 independent nonpartisan gerrymandering legislation as a first

15:18 order of business uh uh when when Democrats do take back the House.

15:22 I think that in California and Virginia where

15:25 the it was put to a vote by the people that to me gives a lot of confidence

15:30 in the legitimacy of the redistricting scheme here in New York.

15:34 Our state constitution prevents redrawing the maps until 2028.

15:38 While I do think we have no choice other

15:40 than to fight back what the Republicans are doing,

15:43 we've got to make sure that we get the public's buy in as well.

15:47 And for that reason, if New Yorkers voted on it,

15:50 I think that that is definitely something I would support.

15:53 And and what what happens when if and when

15:56 the Democrats take over the House uh come come January?

15:59 Uh there's a lot of talk about whether Donald Trump should be impeached.

16:03 Is that something that you would like to see happen?

16:05 Is

16:05 Well, first I just want to say I'm not taking

16:08 anything for granted and I think we're getting ahead of ourselves.

16:11 I I will answer your question,

16:12 but first I want to say I don't think President Trump

16:15 is going to allow this election to be free or fair.

16:18 He's already trying to interfere

16:20 to the extent to which I don't know his plans,

16:22 but I would not put it past him to send ICE agents to ballot boxes.

16:26 I would not put it past him to try

16:28 to rig the election in some way, shape, or form.

16:30 And then what happens at that point if that Well, it depends on our it depends

16:35 on what the Democratic party is willing to do.

16:37 I think we can't afford to let that happen.

16:39 I also think the primary contests that Democrats are

16:44 having right now are going to determine what happens next.

16:47 Are you going to elect candidates like myself who are willing to fight Trump,

16:51 who are willing to hold him accountable,

16:53 who are willing to stand up to this, or are you going to get

16:56 people who are going to fold as Democrats have been doing in large part?

17:00 That's a difference between me and the other candidates running in this race.

17:03 I will not fold to President Trump.

17:05 I will not be fooled into thinking that he's not going to try

17:08 to steal this election when so I think it really matters who we

17:13 nominate and that's why I hope New Yorkers will nominate myself somebody who

17:18 will hold President Trump accountable is the most progressive in this race and

17:21 people want people in the Democratic party want fighters right now I I you

17:24 know I do this show every day we see the chats coming in we see

17:27 the instant responses that come in and and people are you know they've had it

17:32 up to here with the Democratic leadership

17:33 in Congress uh they they they want fighters.

17:36 They want people to go in there and and start maybe not physically uh brawling,

17:40 but legislatively brawling uh with the Republicans.

17:43 Are you that kind of Democrat?

17:44 Well, I the best thing about me is I know how to fight and how to dance.

17:49 And we got to be able to do both right now.

17:51 We've seen the videos.

17:52 We've seen there's a lot of Instagram video out there.

17:54 Yes, you got to.

17:55 And yes, fighting back, we don't have a choice.

17:59 We also need to make the entire process fun.

18:02 I think that's something that we're missing

18:04 these days at this Democratic party is excitement,

18:07 cheer, people being ready to jump into politics,

18:10 not because they're so scared,

18:11 but because they think they can make a difference,

18:13 because they believe in something.

18:14 And that's what I represent.

18:16 And uh am I going to cause any family trouble if I bring up RFK Jr.

18:21 HHS Secretary?

18:22 You have you have weighed in from time to time on Secretary K.

18:26 Isn't he doing a great job?

18:27 Really?

18:28 There was something I think a week ago

18:29 about cutting off a body part of a raccoon.

18:33 Yeah.

18:33 Was he always this strange growing up?

18:34 Do you remember any of this?

18:36 I have memories of him as a kid.

18:37 I didn't spend all that much time with him growing up.

18:40 Uh but

18:42 look, I was the first in my family to really take him

18:45 on and speak out against him because I know him to be a dangerous person.

18:48 And I know you think he's dangerous.

18:50 Well, he is dangerous.

18:51 Measel's cases are higher than they've been in 40 years.

18:53 He just cut funding for life-saving mRNA vaccine research.

18:57 I don't know.

18:58 He fired all the scientists on the vaccine panel.

19:00 All he's really done is flipped the food pyramid upside down,

19:04 which if you look at it, doesn't really make a lot of sense.

19:08 He is systematically indoctrinating people with false information

19:12 about vaccines and not to trust their doctors.

19:15 They're also taking away health care from people at a time

19:18 when many Americans can be bankrupt by their hospital bills.

19:22 So, he is in fact a dangerous person.

19:24 I warned and spoke out about him before he was uh in the position he's

19:30 in now because I knew what he represented and now we have his record to go on.

19:34 And I'll also say he represents what I think is the most

19:41 serious problem that the Democratic party faces and that Trump represents,

19:45 which is they run a propaganda machine that is

19:48 indoctrinating Americans every single day across this country.

19:52 And there's a whole generation of people who will

19:55 never believe anything other than the narrative that they've been

19:58 told that are going to question science and medicine

20:00 and doctors and vaccines probably for the rest of their lives.

20:04 And the Democratic Party has to fight back there, too.

20:06 Legislatively, yes.

20:08 But we also all need to part of the job

20:10 of a representative now is it's still legislating policy.

20:14 You also have to run your own little mini production company.

20:16 You also have to make videos and get your message out there because we are being

20:20 beat and we're going to be behind for some

20:22 time if we don't start being more persuasive.

20:26 Yeah.

20:27 And is that is that I mean that sounds like

20:29 an area where where the Democrats are behind the curve.

20:31 I mean, Republican% 100%.

20:34 And you've been out there putting these memes out there.

20:36 I mean, you've been doing this for quite some time.

20:39 Um, where did that come from?

20:40 You I think you were you were in a van at one point.

20:43 You were crossing the country or I remember seeing the videos.

20:45 Yes.

20:45 Well,

20:46 I was like, I hope Jack's going to be okay.

20:47 Yeah.

20:48 Uh, I uh I'm the last person other than

20:50 my mom probably who thought I'd be a content creator.

20:53 You know, I Me, too.

20:54 Yeah.

20:54 Exactly.

20:55 So, I mean, I worked at the State Department.

20:57 I worked at a Japanese company.

20:59 I got a law degree, a business degree.

21:01 I was I passed the bar already to be a lawyer, but in 2023,

21:05 I saw a problem and that was a huge loss for our party.

21:08 So, I decided to go work for the Biden campaign, do something about it.

21:13 Long story short, we didn't see eye to eye

21:14 on what kind of content we should be making.

21:17 But, I knew that someone had to get out

21:18 there and and wave the flag for for our party.

21:22 So, I started making my own videos and it

21:25 went viral in a way I had never expected.

21:27 And it built me a giant fan base.

21:29 I didn't I didn't I wasn't born with, you know,

21:31 I was born into a family that's notable, but I didn't have fans myself.

21:34 I was not recognized.

21:35 I showed up at the DNC with people so excited about what I

21:39 was saying and it was just sticking up for what I believe in.

21:42 And it taught me that this is a really powerful tool

21:44 and also taught me and why which is a reason I think

21:49 I'm a strong candidate here and why I'm running here that the insiders

21:52 who you want to believe know what they're doing sometimes don't.

21:55 And the answer that's scarier is that it might have to come from myself,

22:00 whoever's the listeners here, all of us have to come up with the answer

22:03 for how to fight Trump because we actually don't have one yet.

22:06 And that was my contribution and it taught me

22:09 a lot about how to break through and also

22:12 just how ready people are to be engaged

22:14 and do something and and be involved in politics now.

22:18 Yeah.

22:18 And what did that mean?

22:19 I forgive me when you said the we couldn't agree the Biden campaign.

22:22 Oh, yeah.

22:23 Was it just they were a little They are very riskaverse.

22:26 I mean, I have a lot of respect for them, but you know, think about it.

22:29 Back in 2023, like, put yourself back there.

22:31 RFK Junior is still a Democrat.

22:33 Um, not sort of.

22:35 You know, there's not very many members of Congress,

22:38 Senate or House, who have Instagram videos.

22:40 They're definitely not making selfie videos casually talking about policy.

22:44 AOC was kind of the only one.

22:45 She was showing everybody.

22:46 Now, everybody's doing it.

22:47 And so, I think at that time, people thought, let's ride it out.

22:50 Don't engage with the social media craziness that Trump does.

22:53 Um, like be kind of the the adult in the room.

22:57 Meanwhile, we just kind of seated these platforms to right-wing content.

23:03 Yeah.

23:04 And Yeah.

23:04 What do you think about that?

23:05 I mean, people like Nick Fuentes and Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson.

23:12 Yeah.

23:12 Massively influential.

23:13 They're amazing at what they do.

23:14 I think they are incredible performers.

23:17 They are incredible entertainers and they get how to slightly dangerous.

23:23 Oh yeah, of course.

23:25 Incredibly dangerous.

23:25 Nick Fentes rhetoric is un is is deeply frightening.

23:29 Joe Rogan's Joe Rogan is, you know,

23:33 they're also making a ton of money on what they're doing and they're

23:36 being paid for by whether it's supplement brands or we don't even know.

23:40 And they no journalistic ethics,

23:42 no uh they don't feel the need to be consistent or hold anyone accountable.

23:48 You either they go on their show,

23:49 they say things that no one fact checks and assert that they're true,

23:52 and then they they use a bot armies

23:54 to to send these clips out all over the internet.

23:57 And people act like the internet is uh what you see on the internet

24:01 is some is it's all equal and the good stuff comes to you or not.

24:05 No, there are mechanisms, networks, machines that are pumping out information

24:09 and it's not regulated by our government,

24:12 but it is regulated by bad actors who are trying to spread certain messages.

24:17 And we've got to fight back by being more entertaining than the other side,

24:20 more captivating than the other side,

24:22 more in touch with what people think than the other side.

24:24 That's the only way.

24:25 So, does that mean Jack Schllober will be a congressman and a content creator?

24:30 You'll be doing a little bit.

24:31 I mean, Ted Cruz has a podcast.

24:33 I mean, I think he's more of a podcaster than a senator.

24:35 I mean, look at Trump who runs all three branches of government.

24:38 His his what he spends his time doing.

24:41 He's a content creator and he governs what if he has time.

24:44 And uh everybody

24:46 he's up in the middle.

24:46 You're not gonna be up at three in the morning, are you tweeting?

24:48 No way.

24:48 Okay.

24:49 No.

24:49 I mean, he represents a a twisted,

24:51 dark way of engaging with this stuff when it doesn't have to be that way.

24:55 The internet doesn't have to be polluted with bad information.

24:58 It's a toxic environment,

24:59 but I know how to breathe in that environment with my own sense of humor.

25:04 My wit, my uh education has taught me how to make arguments and penetrate.

25:09 I think that'd be a great strength.

25:10 I think there are some people in the party who do a good job,

25:13 but we've all got to do a better job together.

25:16 And a lot of the reason I think our leadership is so unpopular

25:19 with so many people is in part because they don't have any backup.

25:23 They have nobody there to help them get

25:25 the message out in a way that might resonate.

25:28 And they're people who have been in Congress for however long

25:30 and now all of a sudden they've got to make selfie videos.

25:33 And that's a tough transition.

25:35 Yeah.

25:35 Some are good, some are not so good.

25:37 I don't want to be harsh.

25:38 We won't name any names,

25:39 but um but I guess that brings me to a couple of questions.

25:43 one is on the Democratic leadership.

25:46 I you know as a fellow New Yorker Hakee Jeff should be

25:49 the leader should be the speaker of the house in your view.

25:52 What do you think?

25:53 Yeah, you know election were today I would support speaker Jeff absolutely but

25:57 even if that means you get a lot of mad

26:00 at you a lot of Democrats progressives mad at you.

26:03 Part of the job is taking heat and I got thick skin

26:07 and I'm doesn't bother me because I know what I believe in and you

26:11 know we're talking a lot about communications and messaging right now which

26:13 is really important but I don't want to give the wrong impression.

26:16 I think again policy is the reason that I want to do this.

26:19 Policy is the reason why I think I would be good at this.

26:22 I want to make the plans that I put forward actually come true.

26:26 I want to make sure that we pass our actor act

26:30 which is gonna it's artist commission tax opportunity relief program which is

26:35 going to make actors it's going to rewrite the tax code

26:37 to f to make performing artists have more uh life more affordable.

26:42 It's also going to make sure that benefits

26:43 for gig workers last throughout the year.

26:46 I want to make sure that we make sure

26:47 that AI companies are not using unfair trade practices to squeeze

26:52 consumers and that we pass my AI hurts bill

26:55 which is uh you know you know the company Hertz uh the car rental

26:59 yeah so they use uh they use AI now to scan cars for microscopic

27:05 chips that are invisible to the human eye and then they charge you for it.

27:08 So, I've called for an investigation and proposed legislation that would

27:12 require the FTC to investigate practices like this, issue guidelines,

27:15 and make sure that you have a human being

27:17 that you can dispute any automated AI generated charges.

27:21 And there's a lot of things that we got to get done.

27:24 Are you worried about AI or do you think it's a good

27:28 I'm worried about AI companies that are buying

27:30 elections and uh the and and the fact

27:34 that they are not regulated now that there will likely be one or two

27:38 major winners here that will own and have ownership over information in a way

27:44 that will be a huge disadvantage to the public interest that will not be served.

27:49 I think we shouldn't be scared of new technology

27:52 in general and America has never had that approach.

27:55 The things that have made us a great country

27:57 is we've embraced science and technology and modernity in general.

28:01 So I don't think we should we should throw

28:04 up our hands and say AI is a bad thing.

28:06 But I do think we need to protect our kids,

28:09 protect jobs, protect American national

28:11 security and consumer financial products.

28:14 I have a uh I have a a moniker that I think is a useful guide.

28:20 It's JACK, jobs, American national security,

28:23 consumer financial products, and kits.

28:26 Yeah.

28:26 I mean, Washington can't even figure out content creation.

28:30 How are they going to figure out AI right now?

28:32 Um they're behind the curve on that, too.

28:34 I guess finally, and I and I I will confess, and this, you know, people say,

28:38 "Oh, Jim, why are you saying this?" I have always been a fan of the Kennedys.

28:43 And you know, that doesn't mean I'm a fan of Jack Schllober,

28:45 although I think we get along.

28:47 Okay.

28:47 Um, I grew up idolizing JFK.

28:51 I grew up idolizing RFK.

28:53 I thought Ted Kennedy was a tremendous senator.

28:56 Nobody's perfect.

28:57 You know, people can say what they will,

28:58 but I always, and maybe it's because of my immigrant roots.

29:02 I'm half Cuban, part Irish, and I think the immigrant story is a good story.

29:07 It's it's the New York story.

29:08 It's the Statue of Liberty.

29:10 Um, do you think that the American people are are sort

29:14 of losing sight of the example that was set by the Kennedy family,

29:18 the story of the Kennedy family?

29:21 You know, their TV shows and and stuff online and now you have RFK Jr.

29:26 as the HHS secretary.

29:27 I worry to some extent that people are losing sight

29:30 of what you were saying earlier about your grandfather, the president.

29:34 Um, what do you think about that?

29:36 Is that is there any truth to that?

29:37 Do you think do you worry about that at all?

29:39 On the one hand, I know in my heart and from my life

29:43 experience that no one could possibly change what JFK represents,

29:49 RFK, my uncle Teddy, that the influence that they've had in people's lives,

29:54 people will always remember that and they always

29:56 remember what they stand for and that they are

29:59 their words and their and their legacy is evergreen

30:03 and that we have so much to learn from it.

30:04 And I think what you're saying, you know, our family,

30:07 my family's been there's a lot more people talking about it,

30:13 making shows about it.

30:14 President Trump is obsessed with it.

30:16 And I think that speaks to the enduring

30:18 relevance that that President Kennedy especially has.

30:21 At the same time, I do think our culture

30:24 is been polluted with misinformation and has been

30:28 and our politics is cap captured by corporate interests

30:32 and the idea that politics is a noble profession,

30:36 that public service is the highest calling, that government is there to help,

30:40 that the US should lead the world on human rights and democracy,

30:44 that we should uh embrace our responsibility

30:47 to help out other countries who are impoverished,

30:49 that we need to demand and full civil rights protections for every American.

30:53 Those ideas now sound quaint and maybe even

30:58 naive because of the reality that we live in.

31:01 But I again believe in something again.

31:04 There's no reason that it has to be this way.

31:06 And I know that and I'll never stop believing in politics because

31:11 but young people, young Jenzers,

31:13 I don't get the sense and I'm the father of Jenzers,

31:16 so I I say this with some authority, but they'll probably be like, "Oh, dad,

31:19 whatever." But I feel like I there's there's um there's deep skepticism totally

31:24 about this vibe that you're talking about.

31:27 Yeah, there should be.

31:28 They've been given every reason to think that their vote doesn't count,

31:30 that their voice doesn't matter, and that an older generation is leaving

31:34 them with with holding the bag economically, environmentally,

31:38 in terms of the rule of law in this country,

31:40 that they're inheriting something that is a mess.

31:42 So, they've got a lot of reasons to think

31:44 that, but I I think that more than any other generation,

31:48 they're willing to suspend their dis their their disillusionment and believe

31:52 in something because everyone wants to think things can get better.

31:57 They just haven't been g been given a vessel, someone who speaks their language,

32:02 uh any re any evidence that their voice

32:05 can be heard and they could influence an election.

32:07 And that's what I'm trying to do here in this in New York.

32:10 Well, uh, Jack Schllober, wish you luck.

32:13 Thanks for coming by.

32:14 Really appreciate.

32:14 We came up to New York to see you.

32:16 I hope so.

32:16 Thank you so much.

32:18 And I hope we can do this again.

32:19 And and we're in sort of a a, you know,

32:21 very well lit and aironditioned podcast studio.

32:25 I think the next time we do,

32:26 we should go out like on the street and do something crazy

32:29 and witness your content creation skills

32:31 because now that you're running for Congress, you might be a little rusty.

32:33 That's right.

32:34 I don't know if you know, I know it's I got to pick up the phone again.

32:36 Yeah.

32:36 But seriously, it's it's great to sit down with you and talk

32:39 to you and and we did a sort of a stilted interview,

32:41 but I I really think that what you're talking about is important

32:44 that people do need to believe in politics again and and believe

32:47 in this country again because we're in a scary place right now

32:50 where people I I think have a real problem with what's happening.

32:54 And I think what you're trying to do is inject some

32:56 of that um potential for what we can be into this campaign.

33:01 And I'm sure others are as well.

33:02 But appreciate your time very much.

33:04 Thank you.

33:05 Uh, best of luck in the race and hope we can do it again soon.

33:07 Thank you.

33:08 Thank you, Jack.

33:08 Really appreciate it.

33:09 And I I do want to pick up on something

33:11 that Jack was talking about a few moments ago,

33:14 whether or not we're even going to have a midterm election cycle.

33:17 Uh, is Donald Trump going to try to rig uh the midterms?

33:20 Is he going to try to meddle with people

33:22 voting and going to the polls this fall?

33:24 Uh earlier today, you might have seen this, the defense secretary,

33:27 he calls himself the secretary of war.

33:28 Pete Hexath was testifying and Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan,

33:33 Democrat, asked Secretary Hexath,

33:35 whether or not we're going to see soldiers,

33:38 US troops at the polls, uh, come this November.

33:42 And he didn't exactly give a straight answer.

33:44 Take a look.

33:46 He said in the State of the Union that, the president has been very clear.

33:50 He said in the State of the Union that essentially if his side doesn't win,

33:53 then the election was rigged.

33:55 He said that before the 2020 election.

33:58 He's asked for voter roles for 29 different states.

34:01 He just asked for Detroit's votes um or ballots.

34:05 Um and we know that in 2020 he wrote an executive order that he

34:10 didn't sign um that said um to the US military to the Secretary of Defense,

34:16 you should go and seize ballots and voting machines.

34:20 A few months ago, he said that he regretted

34:22 that he ever that he didn't sign that executive order.

34:26 So, the US military has never been deployed.

34:30 You miscorrectly uh incorrectly said yesterday

34:33 that they were deployed during different elections.

34:35 Governors deployed them under their authorities,

34:38 but the federal um government has never put the uniform

34:42 military at our polls during World War II, right after 911.

34:47 Um we've never had to do that.

34:48 So, Secretary Hegsth, if the president,

34:51 who regrets not signing that executive order to the then SEC defaf in 2020,

34:56 asks you to seize ballots or voting machines in states during the 2026 election,

35:03 will you stand up for the Constitution and say no,

35:06 or will you salute and do his bidding?

35:10 Um, Senator, I didn't get a chance to answer

35:13 the front part of your question, which uh, you know,

35:15 there was a lot of deferred maintenance

35:16 under the Biden administration that needed to be

35:18 addressed because the world was in chaos

35:20 when President Trump address the election issue.

35:22 Please.

35:23 Well, again, that's the most important thing.

35:25 It's what's happening.

35:26 It's yet another gotcha hypothetical, which is your special.

35:30 It's not We have executive order.

35:35 It's not a hypothetical.

35:36 I refuse to accept.

35:37 You give that answer all the time.

35:38 You and I have done this dance before.

35:40 Get over it.

35:41 Okay.

35:42 In 2020, he he's the president, your boss,

35:44 the guy you're performing for right now,

35:47 told the journalists this year that he wished

35:50 he signed that executive order to your predecessor.

35:53 And your predecessor said publicly, "Thank God.

35:55 We didn't actually go forward with it." What are you going to do?

35:58 You're the guy here in the seat.

36:00 It's not hypothetical.

36:01 Tell the American people, will you deploy the uniform military

36:05 to our polls to collect voter roles or machines?

36:09 Are are you accusing me of performing

36:10 because you're performing for cable news right now?

36:13 But Mr.

36:14 Secretary, we have

36:15 it's a hypothetical by the way in 2024

36:18 under the Biden administration 15 states did deploy

36:20 under their governor's authority when their governors

36:23 asked what did Joe Biden say?

36:24 That's fundamentally I don't think anything because he

36:26 needed them for cyber security and for COVID.

36:29 Trump did it too under Trump.

36:31 But it was not the federal decision.

36:33 It was those governors of the states under their authorities.

36:36 Okay.

36:37 It's never been done in our history.

36:38 Please stand up for the Constitution.

36:41 Do not send uniform military to our polls.

36:45 Do do you have a resp.

36:49 Yeah.

36:49 Well, back.

36:50 Um, and I I just want to say that, you know,

36:54 if Pete Hexath can't assure the American people that US

36:57 troops will not be at the polls this November,

36:59 we got some real problems in this country.

37:01 So, we're going to keep our eyes on that.

37:03 Uh, but joining me now, my second guest here in this live show in New York.

37:06 I I I should have made a big deal that I'm live in New York right now.

37:10 It's a big deal.

37:10 It It's a big deal.

37:11 Now, joining me is Jennifer Welch.

37:13 Jen, as I like to call her, from the I've Had it podcast sensation.

37:17 You're a viral sensation right now.

37:19 I was on with you the other day and it got

37:21 a gazillion views and that had nothing to do with me.

37:24 It's because you're I think it's the chemistry.

37:26 It's the chemistry.

37:27 Yeah.

37:27 I think we are uh gold star MAGA Bashers together

37:31 and I think people enjoy that right now.

37:32 It feels therapeutic.

37:33 Thanks for having me.

37:34 You're the queen.

37:35 And if I were cooler, I would say yes queen,

37:37 but I I shouldn't say things like that because that that's

37:40 when my kids cringe when I do things like that.

37:42 But it's great to see you.

37:44 And I mean, Heg Seth, this whole thing about putting troops,

37:48 you usually start your show or you do.

37:50 I've had it.

37:50 This is what I've had it with.

37:51 I've had it with with Pete Hexath.

37:53 I call him Secretary Axe body spray.

37:56 You know, he wears the little American flag pocket square.

37:59 He thinks he's Captain Captain America, but he's really he's really not.

38:03 He's far from it.

38:04 And that's kind of scary that they can't rule this out that they're saying,

38:08 "Oh, well, what's what's the big deal?

38:10 troops at the polls, you know,

38:11 like like countries in other parts of the world do it all the time.

38:15 What's what's the deal?

38:16 So, I think Pete Hag said, number one, he is a crazy like Christian nationalist.

38:21 Insane.

38:21 I don't know if you've ever heard any of his preacher that he trots around.

38:24 His pastor wants to uh remove the vote for women.

38:29 And the reason they're so fixated on the polls

38:33 is because his boss's approval rating is 30%.

38:37 and they are governing right now as though they

38:40 will never face accountability and they're so impulsive and short-sighted.

38:44 Now the midterms are coming into focus.

38:47 They're rigging uh gerrymandering.

38:50 The Supreme Court is giving them assist an assist.

38:52 So they are going to intimidate people

38:55 at the polls via using ICE and the military.

38:58 The whole exercise in Minneapolis in my opinion

39:01 was to prime the public to get ready.

39:03 You're going to live in a military state.

39:05 We are in charge of you.

39:06 We are the boss of you.

39:07 We have all of these low tea Fox News narcissists that are

39:11 running the government and we get to do what we want.

39:13 Tough titties if you don't like it.

39:15 That's what they're trying to tell the American public.

39:17 Yeah.

39:17 And and it's in line with I I just read this like

39:20 incredibly disturbing story in the Atlantic today and I I mean

39:23 we can show maybe a little bit of this or I

39:25 can talk about a little bit of this with with the viewers.

39:27 I guess Donald Trump he's given up on trying

39:29 to be like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.

39:31 He now thinks he's like Napoleon or Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great.

39:36 This is in the Atlantic today.

39:38 And you know, I will tell you that this is not a huge shocker to me.

39:41 I used to hear this stuff during the first term, but um this is what it says.

39:45 Uh he's been talking recently about how he

39:48 is the most powerful person to ever live.

39:51 A confident told the Atlantic.

39:53 This is a quote coming from the Atlantic.

39:54 A great story from my friend Ashley Parker and some other folks there.

39:57 But I mean, this is this is some nutty[ __] Yeah.

40:01 I and and it's getting nuttier.

40:03 Trump Trump is doing just crazy stuff every day now.

40:06 Yeah.

40:06 And he's putting his face on passports.

40:09 He's putting his face at the DOJ.

40:11 He's everywhere.

40:12 His arch, his uh ballroom.

40:15 And I'm going to say that the Democrats need to run on a message that is

40:20 something offers the American public something other than Trumpism,

40:23 something other than MAGA, which is not going to be that hard to do,

40:26 just providing government services and a functional um sane government.

40:30 But also, we need a candidate that will run

40:32 on every single thing that this MFR touch I'm taking down.

40:36 Every bit of gold, every arch,

40:39 all of the uh branding where he oval office with an arrow for him,

40:43 you know, where he knows where he is.

40:45 All of this stuff needs to be taken down.

40:47 This man has delusions of grandeur, malignant narcissism.

40:50 He talks about insane asylums all the time, right?

40:53 and the insane asylums are going to be full hopefully as soon

40:58 as we have this blue wave with all of the people

41:00 that are going to get called in front of congressional hearings

41:03 and then they're going to have a shrink next to them.

41:05 This person is clinically insane.

41:07 And I don't know that there's a big argument against that, right?

41:10 No, I I agree with you and and I think that I mean, you know,

41:13 all of the gold[ __] everywhere that's just going to have to be powerwashed off.

41:16 I mean, I think you're going to need I'm

41:18 I'm thinking of it as a service pro uh candidacy,

41:21 you know, like those commercial service pro like it never even happened.

41:24 You know what I mean?

41:25 Like you need you need a cleanup crew to go in there

41:26 and the White House is going to need like sand blasting cuz he's

41:29 put that gold that gold[ __] is everywhere and it's got to be

41:33 like harmful if you if you h if you huff those fumes.

41:36 Yeah, I would think.

41:37 I don't know if that's causing some of what he's going through right now, but

41:40 I think he was probably born broken and he has been trying to fix this empty

41:45 void in his life for so long and he has failed forward his whole life

41:50 and he is setting up this last chapter of his life.

41:54 That's why I think he's so laser focused on his ballroom.

41:57 He is going to put an imprint

41:59 and his fingerprints on everything that he possibly can.

42:02 But all of that gold stuff, I just as a comment,

42:04 before I was a podcaster, I was an interior designer.

42:07 And all of those gold applications, there's no rhyme nor reason to them.

42:11 They're just arbitrarily put up around things and they are placed on molding

42:16 where a lot of times the applique is wider than the molding that comes out.

42:21 Just from a design aesthetic, it's horrible.

42:23 And I do not believe it's the real gold leaf.

42:26 No, it's not.

42:27 He has said that.

42:28 He I think he claimed that to uh Laura Ingram on Fox.

42:31 Of course, it's real gold.

42:32 There's just no way that all of that.

42:33 There's some staffer in the parking lot with the cans spray on.

42:36 God damn it, I got to keep spraying these things.

42:38 So, they he keeps wanting more gold[ __]

42:40 I just got to just keep spraying this stuff.

42:44 Yeah, it's just non-stop.

42:44 But that he wants to be Napoleon or Caesar.

42:48 I mean, this is number one, I'm surprised he knows who these people are.

42:53 Let's just start there.

42:53 He's seen the movie, but he for him it's like he believes, okay, in his mind,

43:00 he looks in the mirror and he thinks,

43:01 "You're the best president we've ever had." Yeah.

43:04 Why stop there?

43:05 Let's talk about, you know, world domination.

43:09 That's how delusional he is.

43:10 We have a mentally ill senior citizen toddler as a president

43:15 and a and I understand a crazy person in solitude.

43:19 We all do.

43:19 We all know crazy people.

43:21 The amount of MAGA people that excuse this and support

43:26 this and allow this is really the biggest cancer in the country.

43:30 Little Moses Mike Johnson has all of this power.

43:35 And Trump literally has his little microscopic balls

43:38 in the top drawer of the Resolute Desk.

43:41 He does nothing.

43:42 He's worthless.

43:43 An absolutely worthless politician who will not

43:46 shut up about how religious he is.

43:49 Yet he helps this president cover up pedophilia.

43:53 They're talking now about uh pardoning Gilang Maxwell.

43:56 Are you kidding me?

43:58 The Jesus family values Christian party.

44:01 I say this on my podcast and I'm going to say it to your audience.

44:05 MAGA is an anti-family pro pedophilia death cult.

44:09 All of their policies lead to death.

44:11 Look at Elon Musk.

44:12 the richest man in the world has killed hundreds of thousands

44:15 of people currently because of the dismantling of uh USA ID.

44:20 Well, and and the other thing too is I mean, you know,

44:22 they go out there indict Comey for the second time over seashells

44:26 and they they have they arrested one pedophile as a result of pardoning them.

44:32 He pardons a lot of these January 6 insurrectionists

44:34 that he pardoned have recommitted and guess what crimes they've recommitted?

44:40 Child sex abuse.

44:41 You're right.

44:42 That's right.

44:42 The January Sixers, I think it's more than one

44:45 handful that have now been charged with abusing children.

44:50 It's seems to be a feature, not a bug, of MAGA men online that post all

44:56 of these photoshopped images of Donald Trump where

44:59 he has pectoral muscles and the six-pack and he's my, you know, he's my guy.

45:05 Very incel.

45:06 It's very

45:06 It's really And then and then they're like, you know, the the Democrats,

45:10 the demon rats are groomers and all of this stuff and we hate drag queens.

45:14 And then you find out these guys are

45:16 huge pedto and then they're getting charged with crimes.

45:18 But you know what?

45:19 We live in such crazy times.

45:21 He'll probably double pardon them again.

45:23 Yeah.

45:23 It's all projection.

45:24 And you know, Jen, you and I have talked about

45:25 this too and I was talking about with Schlassber a little.

45:28 He did say that he would support Hakeem Jeff for speaker.

45:32 And I know you probably have a problem with that, but we

45:34 did see uh an establishment figure in the Democratic party go down today.

45:38 Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, she dropped her bid for the US uh Senate.

45:42 That means Graham Platner is almost certainly going

45:45 to be the Democratic nominee in the Senate race there.

45:48 Is that the kind of thing that you want to see in the Democratic party?

45:50 More of these young upand cominging rising stars kind of out

45:54 of nowhere and knocking these more establishment folks out of the way.

45:57 Yeah, I want to see progressive candidates come through and win.

46:02 What's going to be interesting about

46:03 the Graham Platner situation is there's a bit

46:06 of a civilized civil war going on within the Democratic party right now.

46:10 You have centrist corporate Dems versus progressive populist Dems.

46:15 And the centrist argument is vote blue no matter who.

46:18 So now they're going to have Graham Platner versus Susan Collins.

46:22 So are they going to vote blue no matter who?

46:25 because there is a huge push and there's

46:28 some stuff in Graham Platner's background that's problematic.

46:33 Yeah.

46:31 Um the the tattoo and um I was in a conversation with

46:36 young guys do a lot of stupid stuff.

46:37 They put they they tattoo themselves with stupid stuff.

46:40 I will just say this as a young guy.

46:42 I didn't do it myself and and and I could prove it but I won't do it right now.

46:46 When Platiner speaks I like everything he says

46:49 and I like the movement that he has.

46:52 I like the how he can galvanize voters around delivering for people.

46:56 I like every single thing that he says and he's going

46:59 to be the candidate and Susan Collins has been an abject failure.

47:03 She is the president.

47:04 She is the senator that did this nonsense where

47:07 she said I think Trump has learned his lesson now.

47:11 And that was such a dangerous um little tidbit to put

47:15 into the public domain because I read this New York Times focus group.

47:19 I read the entire article and I saw it once and again and again and again.

47:24 I voted for him again because I thought he learned his lesson and I thought,

47:27 "Is the bar so low in the elector that we're

47:30 voting for people that we project a fifth grade standard on?

47:34 You need to learn your lesson and not make C's next year." She's concerned.

47:39 She's the worst.

47:40 She is the worst.

47:42 She is useless and worthless and she masquerades

47:45 as a moderate and she's anything but that.

47:47 And apparently she's a vicious campaigner.

47:49 So Grant Platiner better watch out.

47:51 And I mean we do have to get to um a guest

47:55 uh uh I think that you've always dreamed of having on your show

47:58 on the I've had a podcast and that is Jesse Waters of Fox.

48:02 Oh my god.

48:02 I know you would love to have her.

48:04 I would love to have Miss Press.

48:06 I would love nothing more.

48:08 Okay, we have to talk about this because I one of the things that pisses

48:12 me off more than anything else is that Trump wants to get rid of Jimmy Kimmel.

48:15 In in part because I love Jimmy Kimmel.

48:16 I think he's phenomenal.

48:18 But also, it just shows you how small of a human being Donald Trump is.

48:21 Like, you why?

48:22 Why do you care about late night talk show host?

48:24 But apparently, this is according to Jesse Waters himself.

48:28 He was escorted away from King Charles III and Queen Camila after joking

48:32 with the queen about gun violence

48:33 at the state dinner welcoming the royal couple.

48:36 Um, I guess Waters mentioned that he had this phauxpaw.

48:40 I think we have a little bit of Do we have a little bit of video of this?

48:43 Do we want to play some of this?

48:45 I don't know if we want to give Jesse the air time,

48:47 but if we have it, we can play it.

48:49 I think he he mentions that he did this and if we have it, we can play it.

48:53 If not, we can just talk about it.

48:54 We don't have it.

48:55 We don't have that video,

48:56 but he basically he basically says during this segment that he

49:01 was shaking hands with them and then after talking to the queen,

49:06 he said something, you know,

49:07 they were talking about beehives and bees and uh he said it was very,

49:10 you know, no one got stung and I guess

49:14 she said something back and then he goes, "Well,

49:16 if the in DC if the bees don't get you,

49:18 the guns will." This is what he says to the Queen of England.

49:21 He's talking about gun violence in Washington.

49:24 Why would you ever say that?

49:25 And shouldn't he shouldn't his ass get fired?

49:28 Stupid[ __] like that.

49:29 He's getting escorted away from the queen.

49:32 Yeah, his ass should be fired.

49:33 And also, you will remember his colleague in the Fox

49:37 morning hour said that we should euthanize homeless people, you know.

49:40 So, this is just And they never he didn't get fired.

49:42 No.

49:43 Brian Kilme.

49:44 Oh, God.

49:44 No.

49:45 Of course they wouldn't do that.

49:46 And so, Jesse Waters, the fact that he self-reported that is pretty phenomenal.

49:52 You know, you would think that you would just be like,

49:53 "Oh my god, I was so nervous." I think whatever makes him viral or in the news

49:58 or people talking about him that day, he it doesn't matter.

50:00 He'll he'll he'll say it.

50:01 Yeah.

50:02 I Jesse Waters and that whole group at the five.

50:05 I mean, I love that Jessarov.

50:07 She's a queen.

50:08 She is always spitting facts and she does an incredible service

50:12 for people to hear just a little ounce of the truth.

50:15 But Jesse Waters is just an interesting case study.

50:18 Like he's always on there talking about men all the time,

50:22 what's masculine, what isn't.

50:24 It's the weirdest.

50:26 It's really bizarre.

50:29 Yeah, Jim.

50:28 It the the homosocial nature of MAGA where they have to socialize and they're so

50:33 fixated on men and man's stuff and what is masculine and what is a man.

50:40 It is really bizarre to me.

50:42 It's and I have a lot of theories about it.

50:44 Well, and and the state dinner was chock full of Fox hosts, Fox personalities.

50:49 It was, you know, the Supreme Court, all these figures from the far right.

50:53 And I and I'm thinking to myself, my god, is this who we are right now.

50:57 It's like Jesse Waters and Greg Godfeld at a state dinner.

51:01 Yeah.

51:01 You know, it's humiliating.

51:02 It It's not good.

51:04 No, it's humiliating.

51:05 And the Supreme Court is just really atrocious right now.

51:10 the uh voting rights act and what

51:13 they have done and institutionalized racism yet again

51:17 with the history that we have and surprisingly

51:20 Clarence Thomas who is hellbent on dismantling any

51:25 legislation that helped him ascend to where he

51:28 could be bought and purchased by I think

51:30 his name's Harlon Crow this billionaire in Dallas

51:32 that collects Nazi China as a side hustle.

51:35 It's we'll leave all of that to the psychiatrist, right?

51:39 But the whole MAGA Trump has as he arrived at Trump 2.0 after January 6.

51:47 Think about how broken you'd have to be to say,

51:49 "Yeah, I'm going to go work for him." Yeah.

51:51 Think about how broken all these billionaires are that have all of this money,

51:54 bank accounts that could choke a bull, and they thought, "You know what?

51:58 I have a choice.

51:59 I can ride this out for four years, be quiet,

52:02 sit my billions over here, and just mind my business.

52:05 Or I can go humiliate myself." Yeah.

52:07 at these meetings and make participation trophies and hand

52:10 them out and Trump then brags about it.

52:13 Tim Cook, I can call the uh CEO of Apple

52:17 and make him kiss my ass and they still do it.

52:20 You know who was at the dinner last night?

52:23 Tim Cook after Trump humiliated him online.

52:27 It's unbelievable.

52:28 I mean, could you imagine have that kind of money, that[ __] you money,

52:32 and not saying[ __] you, I'm not going to your dinner.

52:34 No.

52:34 Exactly.

52:35 And and I mean, you know,

52:37 the king of England is there and he's got to be looking around and saying,

52:40 "Where where the[ __] did we go wrong?"

52:43 Well, he's he's going to be okay after you.

52:46 He lectured them, but they are all too stupid to understand.

52:49 He was speaking about the Magna Carta.

52:51 He was he dropped all of these

52:54 Trump doesn't Trump thinks that's a credit card, the Magna Carta.

52:56 Yeah.

52:56 He dropped all of these veiled references.

52:59 And then immediately after that, he goes to New York.

53:02 The king meets with mom Donnie and you know I don't think it's any surprise

53:07 at all that the rest of the world looks at Trump and sees exactly what we see.

53:13 Yeah.

53:13 Yeah.

53:14 He's the king and Trump's Burger King.

53:15 I mean that's basically I saw that meme and I

53:18 was like yeah that's pretty that's pretty much dead on.

53:20 Yeah.

53:20 I I you know my my concern is and just to get serious for a second

53:25 and this goes back I was talk you know

53:26 Jack Schlober brought this I guess it's on everybody's mind

53:29 especially with the Supreme Court decision is that they

53:31 have made such a mess of things now

53:33 and they've let Donald Trump run wild with the immunity

53:37 decision and he doesn't want to get beat.

53:40 He doesn't want the Republicans to get beat because he

53:42 knows what's coming if the Democrats take control of Congress.

53:45 What in the hell do we do as a country if they do[ __] with these midterms?

53:51 If they are putting troops at polling places,

53:53 if they are sticking ICE outside of election sites?

53:57 If they are, you know, screwing with these maps so much the Supreme Court,

54:00 you know, all these cases go to the Supreme Court and they're like,

54:02 "We don't know what to do." I I I guess

54:05 are folks just going to have to take to the streets.

54:07 I don't want to.

54:07 Last time you and I, one of the last times you and I got together,

54:10 we we got uh Elon Musk whipped up into a frenzy.

54:13 Let's do that again because I do think

54:15 it will take people taking it to the streets.

54:17 People need to send the message to Donald Trump,

54:19 you cannot steal our democracy and I think

54:21 that's the direction he's pushing us right now.

54:23 He wants to steal it.

54:24 I think there's one final component to this that will change some

54:29 things and it is the economy and right now the stock market is

54:33 being propped up by what are called the magnificent seven which are

54:36 all of these AI billionaires that bend

54:38 over and make Trump participation trophies.

54:40 They are trading trillions of dollars to to uphold the S&P 500

54:45 and the Dow with what's going on at the straight of horm.

54:49 It's imminent.

54:50 Republicans always tank the stock market and the economy.

54:53 He just Trump has just done it a lot quicker.

54:56 And so that's going to happen.

54:58 And that's where the country club Republicans right now they're fine

55:01 because they look at the 401ks and they're like, "I'm good.

55:04 That's[ __] up.

55:04 That's[ __] up.

55:05 But my money's still there.

55:06 I'm fine." That's when industry tightens.

55:09 when their stock starts tanking, we'll call senators and congress people because

55:14 money is what Americans worship beyond anything else.

55:17 They don't care if people take to the streets.

55:19 Look at the disdain in the way these billionaires treat their customers.

55:24 Look at the way MAGA treats their electorate.

55:27 So when that happens,

55:29 that's when you will see all of a sudden balls are growing all over

55:33 Congress and and it will enough is enough and we're going to reign him in.

55:38 And the same for the Supreme Court.

55:39 The Supreme Court is not delivering wins for Donald Trump.

55:43 The Supreme Court is uh delivering

55:45 wins for corporate America, for the oligarchy.

55:49 They have been primed to do that.

55:51 This isn't like, oh, we're going to do this for Trump.

55:53 They're doing it for corporate America.

55:56 It's a long game.

55:58 Yeah, it's a long game.

55:59 Uh Jennifer Walsh, great to see you as always.

56:01 We appreciate it.

56:02 Thank you so much.

56:03 And you may have to sit here as I do my closing monologue because we

56:06 don't do commercial breaks on the show

56:07 or at least we haven't figured that out yet.

56:09 Um on the Substack on the YouTube they

56:10 in they inject the commercials in and so on.

56:13 But I'm just going to say because you know Jen and I were just talking about

56:15 this a few moments ago just just to offer up a Jim's take before we go.

56:19 We were talking about the king of England coming over here.

56:22 King Charles as it were.

56:24 And you know I just I I have something to say about that.

56:26 It's pretty sad when we need uh the king of England to come

56:29 to America to emphasize the importance

56:32 of the fight for democracy on the world stage.

56:34 And yet here we are uh the king of England talking

56:38 to Congress speaking at that state dinner about the importance of Ukraine

56:42 beating the Russians and maintaining their sovereignty

56:45 and and being on the forefront

56:47 on the front lines in the battle for democracy against autocracy.

56:52 And then Donald Trump this week calls Vladimir Putin,

56:54 his old buddy Vladimir Putin.

56:56 and then tweets out how he might pull US troops from Germany.

57:00 It sounds like Donald Trump once again proving himself to be Putin's puppet.

57:05 I I don't know how that plays over in England,

57:07 but it doesn't play well over here.

57:09 It's the king who sounds like an American patriot and the president

57:13 who sounds like the mad king who wants to build a giant arch.

57:17 Have you seen this?

57:18 The New York Times had this fantastic uh animation today,

57:23 if we can play it for the viewers.

57:24 And I just, you know, this to me, this this shows you,

57:27 it's that the article is how Trump's proposed arch would change DC.

57:31 And they they deliver in this article uh on the New

57:35 York Times website just how large and massive Trump's arch,

57:38 which of course is a monument to himself,

57:41 would stand it would stand outside of Arlington National Cemetery.

57:44 It would dwarf Arlington National Cemetery and many of the uh monuments,

57:48 the important uh memorials that we have around DC,

57:51 many of the federal buildings around DC.

57:53 But it folks, it's worse than that.

57:55 Donald Trump sounds like a traitor to American values.

57:58 He is strongarmming governors as we speak to redraw their congressional maps.

58:03 His defense secretary just today would not

58:05 rule out putting troops at election sites.

58:08 His administration is trying to force Jimmy Kimmel off the air.

58:11 Put Jim Comey behind bars.

58:14 It reminds me of something a close ally

58:16 of Donald Trump told me during the first term.

58:19 Trump has always dreamed of being a monarch,

58:23 which is perfectly in line with what the Atlantic is

58:25 reporting today that Trump sees himself in the category of Napoleon,

58:29 Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar.

58:32 I it makes you wonder who would be Brutus in all of this and to brute.

58:38 Um but a piece from the New York Times

58:40 editorial board underlines a major problem for this country.

58:44 Trump has exposed the US military's vulnerabilities.

58:48 That is what happens when you put a mad

58:50 king in office as president of the United States.

58:53 And I I just I'll just read a little bit from this.

58:56 The New York Times editorial board put this out today.

58:58 On paper, the war in Iran should not be much of a contest.

59:01 The United States spends around 1 trillion a year on its military,

59:04 more than 100 times as much as Iran.

59:06 That money buys a vastly larger air force and navy,

59:09 as well as advanced weapons technologies

59:12 that Iranian generals can only dream about.

59:14 In the early days of the war, the mismatch played out as one might expect.

59:18 American forces destroyed much of the Iranian military.

59:21 Now, however, the contest looks less one-sided.

59:24 Iran is taking control of the straight of Hormuz,

59:27 and its missiles and drones still threaten America's allies in the region.

59:30 While President Trump seems eager for a negotiated truce, Iran's leaders do not.

59:37 Somehow, the weaker nation is in the stronger negotiating position.

59:42 that editorial today from the House editorial,

59:44 the editorial board of the New York Times.

59:46 And it and it makes you think I I hope I hope everyone at home

59:51 is thinking deeply about what happens when you

59:55 have a president who thinks he's a king.

59:58 Not a real king, but who thinks he's a king, a wannabe king.

1:00:03 It makes you wonder, can we somehow capture that spirit of 1776?

1:00:08 If Trump thinks he can just send the troops out to the election sites,

1:00:12 send ICE to polling places, what are we,

1:00:14 the people, supposed to do at that point, I hope we respond as patriots because

1:00:19 that's what this country should be all about.

1:00:22 My thanks to Jack Schlober for joining me today.

1:00:25 He's running for Congress here in New York City.

1:00:27 My thanks to the wonderful Jennifer Welch.

1:00:29 We were live in New York.

1:00:30 I I I don't I we're not even close to Saturday Night Live.

1:00:33 We're Thursday afternoon,

1:00:35 but we we did the best we could with our little mighty band of rebels.

1:00:38 But uh appreciate everybody tuning in and uh supporting us.

1:00:42 And as always, as I like to say, please support independent media.

1:00:45 It matters.

1:00:46 Uh when you like, subscribe, support this program.

1:00:49 Yes, all the Substack folks out there who support the show, we love you.

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1:00:56 go to these other platforms and send support if you can.

1:00:59 It all makes this possible.

1:01:01 But in the meantime, still reporting this time from New York, I'm Jim Acasta.

1:01:05 I'll see you next time.

1:01:07 Broadcasting live from the heart of New York City,

1:01:09 this has been a Jim Aosta show.

1:01:12 Special.