Trump TRIGGERS Redistricting CHAOS as GOP PUSHES Power Grab Nationwide

0:04 Welcome to Raging Moderates.

0:05 I'm Jessica Tarlov.

0:06 And I'm Aaron Parnes

0:07 and this is Raging Moderates.

0:09 Let's talk about gerrymandering.

0:11 Louisiana is suspending their planned May congressional primaries despite

0:14 the fact that early voting was about to begin

0:16 because of this week's Supreme Court decision that undermined

0:19 a key plank of the Voting Rights Act.

0:21 The Republican controlled legislature will redraw the map.

0:24 President Trump thanks the state's governor for quote moving so quickly,

0:27 so not doing in Indiana.

0:29 And House Speaker Mike Johnson says southern states

0:31 should consider redistricting ahead of the midterms in November.

0:35 We should know that Speaker Johnson himself stands to gain

0:37 from the redrawn mass as a Republican incumbent in Louisiana.

0:41 Meanwhile, Democrats could be ramping up

0:42 retaliation in states like Illinois and Colorado

0:45 with House Minority Speaker Hakee Jeff saying all options are on the table.

0:49 I want to also note that um we've seen that Brian Kemp, the governor of Georgia,

0:54 has announced that he is not redrawing for the midterms.

0:57 I argued on the five.

0:58 This is a really uh big issue for 2028 and beyond the midterms.

1:02 It'll be like zero or one seats gain maximum three to four.

1:07 But what's your take on the gerrymandering wars right now?

1:10 Well, I've said it's from the beginning.

1:11 It's a race to the bottom.

1:12 And I don't like gerrymandering.

1:14 I don't think anyone likes gerrymandering.

1:15 It's why in 2021, Democrats put forth

1:18 a bill to end partisan gerrymandering nationwide.

1:21 And every Republican voted against it.

1:23 I mean, I I really even Republicans, many if you asked them,

1:25 "Do you support gerrymandering?" they would probably say no.

1:28 Your co-hosts on the five said they don't like gerrymandering.

1:31 So, I mean, like, we're we're in the situation

1:32 where we're in this race to the bottom, but I'm of the belief that, okay,

1:37 since they're going to do it, we should do it, too, right?

1:40 Like, screw it.

1:41 Why why fight with one hand tied behind our back.

1:44 Now, I will say what's dangerous to me

1:46 is the cancellation or suspension of elections,

1:49 the state of emergency declared in Louisiana.

1:51 That's scary to me because votes have already been submitted.

1:54 absentee ballots have already been tallied and so

1:57 you're essentially nullifying votes as an election's ongoing.

2:02 Could that be the Could could you set

2:03 the stage for the cancellation of for example

2:05 a November election if there is a hurricane

2:07 in Louisiana and you just want to redo it?

2:10 I mean like you never know where things go at this point.

2:12 So it's concerning.

2:14 It's a race to the bottom and I just I would like

2:17 to see national gerrymandering ban be passed

2:20 and and national independent redistricting committee established.

2:23 That's what I would like.

2:24 Yeah, that would be nice.

2:25 And I think um you know,

2:27 when people look at the breakdown and how many seats there

2:29 were to be gained in uh the states based on their partisanship,

2:35 you know, they see a lot of shiny toys like 52 seats in California,

2:38 for instance, if we did that 17 in Illinois, etc.

2:42 Um, but I'm curious as to how successful you think some of these southern

2:48 uh governors are going to be in actually getting these hairrained ideas through.

2:54 Like in Tennessee, for instance, it's already uh 8 to1.

2:59 There's only one Democratic seat in Memphis.

3:02 They want to get rid of that.

3:04 Um, South Carolina only has one Democratic seat.

3:06 It's Jim Klyber's seat.

3:08 They want to get rid of that.

3:09 I mean, do you everything will obviously get tied up in the courts,

3:12 but do you think that they are going to be successful with anything premidterms

3:17 in Louisiana potentially?

3:18 I think but but but what is success?

3:20 I don't know how you define success for a lot

3:22 of these Republican governors because Jeff Landry could suspend this election.

3:26 Let's say he gets it through.

3:27 But I'm already hearing that they're not

3:28 going to eliminate both black majority districts.

3:30 They're only actually going to eliminate one.

3:32 So,

3:32 the one the one So, if you're going to do this for just one district,

3:35 is that really a success when you have another one?

3:37 You theoretically could.

3:38 Are you going to go back next cycle and redistrict again before 2028?

3:42 I mean, and then in Georgia, like you said, they're not doing it.

3:46 I don't Tennessee says they're going to do it,

3:48 but saying it is a lot easier than actually getting it done.

3:51 We have 6 months until election day.

3:53 So, it is I mean, we're going to have to see.

3:56 I mean, I I don't know that ultimately they'll be that successful.

4:00 And also, I mean, when you talk about success,

4:03 just look at what Democrats have done compared

4:05 to what Republicans have done in this gerrymandering battle.

4:07 If anything, Democrats are out on top right now.

4:10 And so, okay, Tennessee goes through with it.

4:12 What?

4:12 Let's say Maryland and Governor Moore wants to do it tomorrow, too, right?

4:16 Like, it's this constant race to the bottom.

4:18 And ultimately, I just think you're going

4:19 to get out members of Congress that have been

4:22 established and just cycle in a new generation

4:24 of of members of Congress in these new districts.

4:27 But on the numbers game, I think it's relatively going to be a wash.

4:30 Well, I hope so.

4:31 And part of that definitely is due to the good work

4:33 that Democrats did in response in response to the Texas Jerry Mander.

4:36 um and asked voters what they wanted to do

4:39 in California and Virginia and picked up a lot of seats.

4:41 Two questions.

4:42 Uh do you think so?

4:43 It was a big deal when Indiana

4:45 the legislature rejected Trump's overtures for redistricting there.

4:50 Um there were a number of Republican members who ended up getting death threats,

4:54 got into very public tangos with the president over that.

4:57 Do you think any of the southern states are going

5:01 to I mean Brian Kemp with the 2026 thing, you know,

5:04 Brian Kemp has always been more of a normal human

5:08 being um than the average Republican in the Trump era,

5:12 but do you think any we'll see any push back like we did in Indiana or

5:18 generally speaking?

5:19 Okay.

5:20 I mean, I think they've learned their lesson in a way.

5:22 I don't think they want death threats.

5:23 And there even in Indiana, I mean, like, yeah,

5:25 you got the push back and they didn't do it,

5:27 but Indiana's still a ruby red state and if Trump told them to jump,

5:30 they'll say how high tomorrow.

5:32 So, I I really just I don't think we'll see it elsewhere.

5:35 And then this is a framing question that I have for you mostly.

5:39 I want you to do my work for me for when

5:42 I go back on the five and talk about it.

5:43 So there are two camps that I'm seeing in terms of how

5:50 to talk about the Supreme Court ruling and the gerrymandering fight.

5:54 So there is one camp that is all in on talking about the racial

5:57 dynamics of this and it is undoubtedly

6:00 an attack on black representation in the country.

6:02 Like there is no two ways about it.

6:05 Um Republicans have a very smooth way of framing

6:08 it that like it's us that's obsessed with race etc.

6:11 Even though they were crying racial fowl when

6:14 Virginia lost some rural representation, they were like,

6:18 "Well, what about the white people?" And I was like,

6:20 "This is the same conversation here, right?"

6:22 So, that's one way to talk about it.

6:23 And the other way to talk about it is

6:26 to talk about gerrymandering as a national plague on the nation,

6:31 the policy solution to it,

6:33 which is a gerrymandering ban that Democrats have been supporting

6:36 and the implications for elections without

6:38 really heavy emphasis on the racial component.

6:43 What What do you think is the most effective way?

6:45 Because I I've done it both ways.

6:47 I I think both, you know, have their resonant points.

6:51 Um, but it does feel like we can sometimes

6:54 get lost in having like a hyperbolic fight and you

6:58 know there are a lot of people out there talking

7:01 about you know this is a Jim Crow redux etc.

7:04 And maybe it's just my perch in conservative media

7:07 that I find those battles much tougher to wage and win.

7:11 But I'm curious what you think.

7:13 Well, I think I have a nuanced response to this and it's kind of splitting

7:16 the hair a little bit and I think

7:18 it depends on which audience you're talking to.

7:20 If you're talking to a majority conservative audience,

7:22 the racial argument won't play on the five.

7:24 The racial argument won't play.

7:26 But at the same time,

7:27 you can't just eliminate an argument just because it won't play.

7:29 And I think that a lot of people when talking

7:31 about gerrymandering forget that black

7:34 Americans fought for representation for decades.

7:38 And this is a Jim Crow redux in a lot of ways

7:41 in terms of trying to roll back the Voting Rights Act.

7:43 Now, they didn't eliminate section two, but they did anything.

7:46 I mean, pretty much eliminating it without eliminating it.

7:49 That's kind of where we got and you have

7:51 to recognize that in any argument you put forth.

7:54 Now at the same time I think it all goes to a larger argument which to me

8:00 is the electoral college and just the way

8:03 aortionment works in the United States of America.

8:05 The this the system that we kind of operate in.

8:08 I think it is generally a a problematic system when

8:13 a majority vote getter doesn't become president of the United States.

8:17 um this idea of this that electoral college system where you aortion

8:20 votes based on how big the population is and then you aortion congressional

8:24 seats based on population it almost seems very archaic and yet when

8:31 you're having these arguments about national

8:33 gerrymandering ban or anything I don't think

8:34 you can have those arguments without bringing up race and I also don't

8:38 think you can have those arguments without talking about well is the system

8:41 really working the way it was intended to work and I would

8:44 say it's not uh now that's a constitutional convention and all that jazz.

8:48 And I would love to have a constitutional

8:50 convention tomorrow on a whole host of issues.

8:53 But I think there needs to be a bigger argument,

8:55 a bigger conversation here about our electoral system

8:58 and the way kind of gerrymandering plays into it.

9:01 You can go into campaign finance, all this stuff.

9:03 And I also think you need to have a conversation about is the Supreme Court,

9:07 this modern day Supreme Court too powerful in the sense

9:11 that it it is actively from Citizens United to today,

9:15 it is actively changing the electoral system as we know it

9:20 and there is nothing Congress or the president even can do about it.

9:24 No, I think the president would say that he did a lot about it since he

9:29 sure

9:28 picked a bunch of folks who are big part of it.

9:31 Um Thomas's concurrence was like bone chilling actually to I mean

9:37 right and yesterday everyone was like oh I think

9:39 it was Kaye McNini she printed it out was like reading it like it was you know

9:45 the most beautiful poem she'd ever heard in her life

9:47 and I was like this is batshit what we're

9:50 hearing now I just wanted to add I thought

9:51 it was very cool uh James Tarico our fave

9:54 in Texas posted that the first bill that he's

9:57 going to bring if he wins in November

9:59 is a nationwide Jerry mandering ban and I think

10:02 it is going to go in the conversation

10:04 with corruption and the us versus them and like you're

10:08 getting a raw deal um and will be

10:11 used rhetorically by a lot of Democratic candidates um

10:14 and probably some Republicans who will then ignore the fact

10:16 that they could have voted for it and didn't.

10:18 Just to note that the Cali markets currently have

10:20 the likelihood of redistricting before the midterms at 83% in Florida,

10:24 which is strange because it's a violation

10:26 of their state constitution that's in court.

10:29 um and Louisiana and the odds rising quickly in New York and Alabama.

10:32 Kathy Hokll is raring to go.

10:36 So, you were doing some great reporting

10:37 on the attempts to control elections this fall.

10:40 You already mentioned this a little bit.

10:41 In the last few weeks, the DOJ demanded Wayne County,

10:44 Michigan to turn over ballots from the 2024 election

10:46 and are now also asking for the full-on redacted voter roles.

10:51 What's going on there?

10:53 Yeah, I mean, it's kind of they're trying to relitigate the past.

10:56 The DOJ demanded voter roles, all ballots,

11:00 anything from Wayne County, which is Detroit,

11:03 um a majority black minority um area that is highly Democratic,

11:08 voted against Donald Trump significantly.

11:11 Um and so they're trying to, in my opinion at least,

11:14 influence the upcoming midterm elections by scaring off pole workers,

11:18 by scaring off election officials, by trying to purge voter roles.

11:22 It's not just in Wayne County.

11:24 They've requested it from 48 states in the District of Columbia.

11:27 So, it's I mean they're trying to do even Republicans are saying no.

11:32 Yeah.

11:31 From my understanding

11:33 because because I the it is actually such an unrepublican concept

11:37 to have the federal government play a role in state elections.

11:41 Republicans, the parties of states rights, they love states rights.

11:44 They loved it for Roi Wade.

11:45 Now they love it.

11:46 Now, now they don't like it when it comes to elections, right?

11:48 Like, let Wayne County administer its elections.

11:51 Let Michigan administer its elections.

11:53 keep the federal government's paws out of states.

11:56 Uh, and that's how it should be.

11:58 That's how it's been done.

11:59 But this Trump administration that wants to buy a stake in Spirit Airlines

12:03 and buy a stake in uh big tech companies and do all this stuff.

12:08 I mean, it it's a it's they're moving

12:10 towards socialism even if they don't like socialism.

12:13 Totally.

12:13 State-run capitalism is what we call which is,

12:15 you know, what the Chinese uh do essentially.

12:19 It was interesting to see this move

12:21 for 2024 roles because we know that they're obsessed

12:24 with 2020 and you know Tulsi Gabbard hanging out

12:26 in Fulton County like hiding in the corner there.

12:29 And when I s saw this headline come in, I was like, "Oh,

12:34 like it's every election now that they think that there was fraud in." Um,

12:39 and someone I think he was Mitch McConnell's general counsel.

12:43 He wrote a piece, I think it was in the National Review about, to your point,

12:47 how this is such anma to being

12:50 a Republican that you would try to federalize elections.

12:53 Um, but

12:53 for sure, I don't know what that means, but yes, I agree with you.

12:57 the opposite of, right?

12:58 Like, okay, thank you.

12:59 I I didn't take the SAT, so I I I don't like SAT words

13:02 because you took the ACT or like you were just

13:05 No, I just I I skipped a few years.

13:08 Okay.

13:08 Uh Trump also spoke out yesterday about the filibuster,

13:11 saying Republicans need to get rid of it.

13:13 Uh let's take a look.

13:14 There will be very little voting cheating if we do the Save America Act.

13:19 And the way they're going to do that is to terminate the filibuster.

13:23 So, I thought he'd forgotten um about the Save America Act, frankly.

13:28 I I'm not sure what joged his memory.

13:31 Also, Greta Cestin looked really unhappy.

13:34 Um which is generally how her face looks at this point.

13:37 But where do you think the Save America Act situation stands?

13:41 Obviously, Ken Paxton, um who's still leading in the polls,

13:45 uh for the nomination in Texas for Senate, uh that's like his big thing.

13:50 And I think he's said that if Trump gets it through,

13:53 then he'll drop out and let Cornin be the nominee.

13:57 Uh but what's your take?

13:58 Yeah, I mean I think the Save Act is still dead on arrival.

14:00 I don't I don't think it's going anywhere.

14:02 You still need a filibuster proof majority to pass it.

14:05 You don't have enough Republican support to to eliminate the filibuster.

14:09 And Thun has said he won't get rid of the filibuster.

14:12 So this is just posturing.

14:14 It's just posturing.

14:15 But I will say this, if they do somehow eliminate the filibuster,

14:18 like I think you're going to see a blue wave of epic proportion.

14:21 Like I really do.

14:21 I don't think buyer beware here for them.

14:24 You think eliminating the filibuster is

14:27 a story that resonates with average Americans?

14:32 Okay.

14:32 It's not the eliminating the filibuster story that it resonate.

14:35 It resonates.

14:36 It's the breaking down of congressional norms

14:38 that I think resonates of like you're

14:40 passing Save Act and whatever while we we're paying a record amount for gas.

14:45 Um but I don't know.

14:46 I feel like we're so past it.

14:48 It's almost laughable like how far in the dust we have left

14:53 all of the norms uh that I worry that anything really resonates.

14:58 Like when you look at obviously Trump's support

15:00 and Republican support has been eroding over time,

15:04 but the real jolt to it was like going to a war, right, that no one wanted.

15:10 It wasn't because you didn't ask Congress to go to the war.

15:12 It was just like this thing is happening.

15:14 And I feel like everyone has kind of accepted the fact

15:17 that we live in a system with no checks and balances.

15:20 Like King Charles, good on you for that line.

15:23 But in general, I don't know what really resonates

15:26 with people anymore besides huge blunt actions and their grocery bill.

15:32 Well, speaking of price increases, we're back to tariffs again.

15:35 A minute ago, we're putting tariffs on the EU again.

15:38 Breaking news.

15:39 Breaking news.

15:39 Your breaking news on raging moderates.

15:42 Trump says he's pleased to announce that he's going to be announcing 25% tariffs

15:47 on cars and trucks coming from Europe because

15:49 Europe is not complying with our trade deal.

15:51 So, we're back to tariffs.

15:54 Buy your cars now.

15:55 But also illegal.

15:57 The Supreme Court said illegal.

16:00 I do love how King Charles got the exemption uh the exemption for scotch

16:05 and whiskey because he wasn't totally shitty to Trump when he was visiting.

16:10 It's insane.

16:11 I mean, the like we live in a complete VE episode every single day.

16:15 I know.

16:16 Um but I was excited to be here live for an Aaron Peris breaking news situation.

16:19 We'll have to clip that up uh to make sure to get it out right away.

16:22 And your regular viewers will be like,

16:24 "Why is there a weird woman uh in the frame as Aaron is breaking?"

16:27 Not a weird woman, the author of I Disagree,

16:30 which you should all go pre pre-order right now.

16:33 Look at that middle of the show plug.

16:34 Let's take a quick break.

16:35 Stay with us.

16:39 Welcome back.

16:40 The DHS shutdown is finally done.

16:42 75 days long.

16:44 Uh Trump signed the measure into law yesterday.

16:46 Speaker Johnson initially rejected the bill that came

16:48 to the House from the Senate as a joke,

16:50 but an internal memo from the White House saying it would be unable to pay

16:53 DHS personnel starting in May if the House didn't act helped grease the wheels.

16:58 Here's Speaker Johnson speaking after the bill was passed.

17:02 Don't doubt the House Republican majority.

17:04 We always deliver for the American people.

17:06 We did it again in spite of the challenges and we continue to do that.

17:10 He's so dishonest though because

17:14 he doesn't mention that they jammed through

17:16 the ICE and CBP funding through reconciliation.

17:19 So it's not like it makes it sound like the Democrats caved.

17:23 They did not.

17:24 They still voted for a clean bill.

17:26 It came from the Senate, right?

17:27 It had no funding for ICE in it.

17:29 So if you're feeling let down by Democrats, don't.

17:32 um they stuck to their proverbial guns for as long as they could and forced them

17:37 into a reconciliation process to get that what

17:39 is it 75 billion that they got through.

17:42 But uh what do you think the upshot of any of this is?

17:44 Or it's much of a muchness.

17:46 Much of a muchness.

17:47 I mean what upshot?

17:48 Like I it's just like who cares at this point anymore?

17:51 Like seriously like who does this what average American is going

17:55 to be like oh my god we're out of a government shutdown?

17:56 Mo most people don't even know we're in a government

17:58 shutdown because Trump just found money about the filibuster.

18:01 Yeah.

18:01 Well, yeah, but it does have or it

18:04 could potentially have implications for immigration enforcement.

18:07 This is the part that I was a little bit afraid

18:08 of because it has felt like they've taken a real break from it.

18:12 Um, that Mark Wayne Mullen understands that what Christy Gnome and Geino was

18:18 doing is not going to be acceptable to a wide swath of Americans,

18:22 even more moderate Republicans.

18:24 Uh, Tom Hman has kept a very low profile since Minnesota, right?

18:29 Like I I think I've literally not seen Tom Hman since ICE left Minnesota.

18:35 I did see him in the green room at Fox once, but I have

18:37 He was attacking the Pope.

18:39 Oh, did he see that?

18:40 Yeah.

18:41 He said that the Pope he should the Pope

18:42 should go on an immigration raid with him.

18:45 Yeah, that's going to happen.

18:46 Yeah, that's what he said.

18:47 Like this pope who uh just appointed a a new bishop in West

18:53 Virginia who was an illegal immigrant who tried crossing the border three times.

18:56 like that pope is going to go on an immigration raid with you.

19:00 But do you think that they're going to ramp back up the deportations?

19:04 Because I have seen some swirl online from prominent voices saying that Mullen

19:11 doesn't understand the assignment and that people

19:13 did want these mass deportations.

19:14 They just don't want, you know, public killings like Alex Prey and Renee Good.

19:20 I think they will after November, not before November.

19:24 I think they're going to wait until after the midterms.

19:26 I think they know that if they start back up before the midterms,

19:29 it's not bad news bears.

19:31 Bad news bears.

19:32 Okay.

19:33 I I love that.

19:34 I know millennial talking points.

19:36 Don't make me feel so old as because

19:38 I've said bad news bears on previous episodes.

19:40 I'm sure it's incredible to me how far

19:43 down the list of topic priorities Iran has gotten.

19:48 Like yesterday on the five, we didn't even talk about the war.

19:51 Um but today is the 60 days.

19:54 uh deadline for the conflict.

19:56 No congressional approval in sight.

19:57 I didn't even understand what happened last night.

20:00 Like they tried to reclassify it in such a way

20:02 so that it wouldn't be subject to a war powers vote.

20:06 I don't it feels like Republicans are actually

20:10 legitimately angry about this um at this point.

20:13 But let's listen to Pete Hex and then I want to get your your take on Iran.

20:18 Uh ultimately I would I would defer

20:20 to the White House and White House council on that.

20:21 However, we are in a ceasefire right now,

20:24 which our understanding means uh the 60-day

20:26 clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire.

20:29 So, they're not in that's it's our understanding, just so you know.

20:32 Okay.

20:32 Well, I I do not believe the statute would support that.

20:35 I think the 60 days runs maybe tomorrow and it's going

20:38 to pose a really important legal question for the administration there.

20:43 We have serious constitutional concerns and we don't

20:46 want to layer those with additional statutory concerns.

20:49 I yield back.

20:50 That was it.

20:50 that because we're in a ceasefire, they should get those two weeks back.

20:54 Um, do you think that argument is going to carry

20:56 any weight with folks who are expecting to vote on this?

21:00 It shouldn't.

21:00 I mean, we're not in a ceasefire.

21:02 I don't know what BS they're spewing.

21:04 We have a naval blockade right now on Iran.

21:06 That's an act of war.

21:08 Under every international law of war, we are not in a ceasefire.

21:11 Are you as fascinated though as I am with the fact that the blockade

21:14 isn't actually working and how the Iranians are just sneaking their oil out?

21:20 They're putting like a banner on the vessel

21:22 that says we're Iraqi and just going about their business.

21:27 And I don't know, I don't have the numbers

21:29 on exactly how much crude oil is getting out.

21:33 Um, but I feel like the fact that we're hearing less about folks who depend

21:38 on that oil being really upset means that there

21:42 must be some decent amount getting out the door.

21:44 Yeah, 100%.

21:45 I mean, but at the end of the day,

21:47 like the administration is going to violate the law again.

21:50 They should pull out US forces

21:52 today if they don't get congressional authorization.

21:55 That is the law.

21:56 A ceasefire does not mean that hostilities have ended.

21:59 It means that hostilities have ceased temporarily.

22:03 A you need a permanent agreement to end the war.

22:05 I mean, I don't know because it's like any

22:08 What's any Are they going to listen to a court?

22:11 Are they going to listen to Congress?

22:12 Like, who do they have to listen to at this point?

22:13 I don't even know.

22:14 Me.

22:15 and you basically good luck.

22:19 Yeah.

22:19 What's the deal with the Epstein suicide note situation?

22:24 I would love to know.

22:25 Apparently, there's a suicide note that they found in the coffers

22:28 of a New York City courthouse and it was found

22:31 by a cellmate of Epstein's when Epstein died and it's just been

22:37 sitting in this vault and we don't know what what it says.

22:40 I'm very suspect of it.

22:42 I don't think Epste took his own life.

22:44 So that's kind of where I'm at.

22:45 But you don't think he took his own life?

22:47 Like how far do you go in the conspiracy?

22:50 I guess like do you think that somebody and I shouldn't even call it conspiracy?

22:53 Like Julie K.

22:54 Brown doesn't think that Epstein killed himself.

22:56 Um and I don't think anyone has spent more time steeped in Epstein than Julie K.

23:01 Brown.

23:02 But do you think that this is a note that he

23:05 was coerced into writing or someone wrote for him or Let me reframe what I said.

23:11 I don't think the investigation was thorough enough

23:14 to determine conclusively that Epstein took his own life.

23:17 That's where I'm at.

23:18 How about that?

23:19 It's not that I don't know.

23:21 I I ultimately don't know what happened.

23:22 He may have taken his own life.

23:24 He may have not.

23:24 But I think that the fact

23:26 that the inspector general of the DOJ that investigated

23:30 Epstein's death didn't look at this note tells me everything I need to know.

23:34 Do you think that they secretly have read it and ingested it

23:39 and had conversations about what the implications are and then were like,

23:42 "It would be really better if this was in a box at the bottom."

23:46 That's a ton of speculation that I don't have an answer to.

23:48 I have no idea.

23:50 Oh, right.

23:50 You're no fun today.

23:52 Um, lastly, Senate voted unanimously to ban senators and their staff

23:56 from participating in prediction markets

23:58 like polyarket and kshi effective immediately.

24:00 Chuck Schumer is urging the House to pass a similar measure,

24:03 which I imagine that they will.

24:05 What do you think is going to happen

24:06 with the regulation of these prediction markets?

24:10 I mean, I hope they're highly regulated, especially Poly Market.

24:13 Kelshi is a little different, but Poly Market's not even a US-based company.

24:16 Doesn't have it's not regulated by the CFTC

24:19 to conduct business in the United States, I believe.

24:22 So, that's a that's a whole different conversation.

24:25 I think this prediction market rise is one of the most dangerous things that's

24:29 happening inside the United States of America

24:31 right now because it is so unregulated.

24:34 I don't like for example if there was a prediction bet

24:37 about how long this episode would go I can I can

24:39 filibuster it on my own and make a ton of money

24:41 off of it and there is nothing stopping that from happening really.

24:44 I mean you have these insider trading regulations so so

24:48 but it's it's very it's not regulated like the stock market is.

24:52 It's not like like indicting someone for insider trading.

24:55 It's interesting that soldier that was indicted in the Southern

24:59 District of New York for betting on the Maduro raid.

25:01 He wasn't indicted for insider trading.

25:03 He was indicted for the use of classified information.

25:06 I don't know that you can even indict someone

25:08 on insider trading charges because of how unregulated the market is.

25:12 And also, I don't even know that is it gambling, is it a prediction market,

25:15 is it something like a stock, or is it something like sports betting?

25:18 No court's answered that clearly enough for me yet.

25:20 the Supreme Court hasn't weighed in.

25:22 So I think there needs to be a lot more regulation

25:24 and a lot more conversation especially as it relates to people in power.

25:29 Yeah.

25:29 I mean life always moves too quickly

25:31 for the courts especially when technologies involved.

25:34 Um I agree with you the difference like Khi doesn't allow

25:37 bets on war for instance and things like that which I think

25:41 um is important since there's an argument that you know people

25:45 have been making a ton of money off of war and which

25:48 is American lives lost Iranian lives lost Lebanese lives lost Israeli

25:53 lives lost all of it and that there were inside information potentially

25:57 there was a big story about someone on Pete he's team

26:00 um and then we also you know know things like Don Jr.

26:04 and Eric Trump are making a ton of money off of the war.

26:07 So, what's the difference, right?

26:08 Like, at this point, I don't even know.

26:10 I actually, and I could just go on and be like,

26:11 I could do a whole episode listing uh all the ways that they're making money.

26:16 Um, final thing that I just wanted to note, it's not even a topic.

26:19 I just want to say that Trump's net worth has nearly tripled in his second term.

26:22 It's up to $6.5 billion.

26:25 That is not happening without cheating.

26:28 It's not happening without Yeah,

26:30 but I was doing like a soapbox thing for the audience.

26:33 Go ahead.

26:34 Go ahead.

26:34 I mean, I'm basically done.

26:35 like they're a bunch of criminals

26:37 and it's just astounding like the cognitive dissonance

26:42 or the willingness to just completely ignore

26:44 the fact that the coffers crypto and live like

26:49 in your hands are just open to the highest biders and the whole world knows

26:54 that you can just put a token in and then you're going to get what you want.

26:58 And this links to everything.

26:59 I mean, I couldn't it was frustrating on a number of levels.

27:02 You know, we had Senator Ran Paul on earlier this week and he has a bill about,

27:06 you know, making sure that the ballroom goes

27:08 through the normal approval processes and private privately funded.

27:11 And I asked him like, well, what are people getting for this money?

27:15 He's like, well, I don't know if we have laws that are

27:18 going to make it so that we could find that out.

27:20 You're the guy to make the laws.

27:22 Like you now have somebody who has taken every norm and shattered them,

27:25 who has bent every rule that we ever thought that we needed to have

27:30 a a sane and functioning society and you don't want to do anything about it.

27:36 It's I know it's like clip that.

27:38 Clip that.

27:39 Good.

27:40 Clip it.

27:40 That's great.

27:41 Yeah.

27:42 Once I got on my soap box.

27:43 Before we go, a reminder that Raging Moderates is on Substack.

27:46 Subscribers get those ad free episodes that everyone's desperate to have.

27:50 Our newsletter is there, the Monday rage.

27:52 It's very good.

27:53 My mom told me that we're going to be doing more live streams.

27:56 Scott is massively into live streams, which should be very exciting.

28:00 You can find us at ragingmodderates.profymedia.com.

28:03 That's all for this episode.

28:04 Thank you so much for joining us today.

28:05 Bye.