BREAKING UPDATE amid MAJOR Supreme Court ruling

So, here's the headline that caught my. attention for all the wrong reasons. Just in, Judge Tawwani has lifted her. order blocking the USPS rule on mail and. ballots for the 2026 elections. Tawwani, clearly frustrated by the Scotas. decision, says she has no choice and. implies Supreme Court based on its. ruling on flawed premises. So, obviously, reading something like that. might instill some degree of fear that. Trump is succeeding in his bid to. eliminate mail and voting uh in. accordance with his executive order in. the leadup to the midterm elections. that is not the case. So, here's a quick.

refresher on how we got here. Back in. March, uh Donald Trump signed an. executive order directing the postal. service to only deliver mail ballots to. voters on his pre-approved government. list um to use new envelopes with. mandatory barcodes among other uh uh new. edicts. This immediately triggered a. wave of lawsuits, including one from a. coalition of pro- voting groups and. another from 23 Democratic led states. plus Washington DC led by California. A. federal judge in Massachusetts, Judge.

Talwani, issued a permanent injunction. blocking the order, Trump's order in the. California case. The administration. appealed that all the way up to the. Supreme Court. And on Monday, this week, the Supreme Court invalidated that. injunction. That was what what took over. as the bad news that everybody had read. about. Now, here's the part that matters. and the part that a lot of the panicked. coverage is glossing over. The Supreme. Court did not rule that Trump's. executive order is legal. It didn't.

touch the merits at all of the executive. order. What it said was purely. procedural, that Judge Tawwani moved too. fast, that the order was based on. speculation about what the USPS would. eventually do before USPS had actually. published that final rule. But since. then, the USPS has finalized the rule. So now the whole process can move. forward. But I think what's interesting. here is that the administration hasn't. even tried to defend this executive. order on the merits in any of those. lawsuits. They have spent the entire.

fight hiding behind procedural arguments. about standing and timing, an issue. called ripeness, because they know that. if court actually had to weigh in on. whether Trump has the constitutional. authority to dictate how mail ballots. are administered, they lose every time. And don't take my word for it, it is. literally in the Constitution. Article. 1, section 4 is about as clear as. constitutional text gets. The power to. regulate the time, place, and manner of. elections belongs to the states and to.

Congress, not the executive branch. Trump doesn't get a vote on how. Massachusetts or California or any other. state runs its own elections. He cannot. unilaterally rewrite the rules for. mail-in ballots any more than he could. unilaterally rewrite the rules for who. counts as American citizens. This isn't. even a close call on the merits. And. it's telling that Trump's own Justice. Department seems to know that because. again, they haven't even bothered making. the substantive legal case. Meanwhile, the Democratic le states didn't just sit.

around while this whole process was. playing out. They immediately filed a. new lawsuit on Wednesday that called for. a temporary restraining order on an. expedited schedule. And in a separate. case in DC on the same issue, Democratic. plaintiffs renewed their own bid to. block the order, arguing that now that. the final rule exists at the hands of. the USPS, the earlier procedural. objections don't apply anymore either. So now they can actually litigate this. thing on the merits. So in other words, the machinery of actually litigating.

whether this executive order is. constitutional is now fully underway on. multiple fronts. And this is a fight. that Donald Trump has to actually win on. the substance instead of hiding behind, well, you move too fast. Which brings me. to the timing question because this is. where I think people should actually. feel better about the outcome here, not. worse. There is a legal principle that. I've spoken about at length. It's called. the PCEL doctrine. It's basically the. idea that the courts have to be. reluctant to change election rules too. close to an election because it creates. confusion and chaos for voters and.

election administrators. It's usually. invoked by conservatives who are trying. to block lastminute changes that favor. Democrats. But now that same logic cuts. against the Republicans. So we're under. 3 months out from the midterms, roughly. 68 69 days litigating the actual. constitutionality of this executive. order, meaning full briefings, uh. potential appeals, likely another trip. up through the circuit courts. All of. that takes time, a lot of time. time.

that Donald Trump does not have if the. goal is to have this scheme fully. implemented before November. So, here's. where this actually leaves us. Trump won. a procedural skirmish about when courts. can intervene, not a substantive victory. about whether he has the authority to do. any of this in the first place. The real. fight, the fight about whether a. president can unilaterally dictate how. mail ballots are handled, that hasn't. even started yet. And it's a fight the. administration has spent months actively. avoiding because the Constitution is not.

on their side. And even in the best case. scenario for Trump where the courts do. move fast and everybody stays on an. expedited schedule, the practical runway. to actually stand up a functioning. nationwide system before November is. virtually impossible. And look, I know. that, you know, from a 30,000 foot view, news like this can feel desparing, especially when headlines make it sound. like Donald Trump just won some sweeping. victory to mess with how you vote. But I. want to be really clear about something. This is nowhere close to a done deal.

Democratic le states and voting rights. groups like the League of Women Voters. and election attorneys including Mark. Elias and Norm Eisen are fighting this. on multiple fronts simultaneously in. multiple courts right now. The moment. that USPS published its final rule, the. plaintiffs had new complaints filed. within hours. That is a sign of a legal. apparatus that is prepared and. coordinated and moving as fast as the. system allows. So, yes, it's worth. understanding the stakes here. Absolutely. But our elections are still.

going to be free and fair this November. because the people whose entire job is. defending that outcome in court are. there every single day making sure of. it. You're watching the No Lie podcast. Next up are my interviews with Troy. Jackson, Annie Andrews, and Norm Eisen. No lie is brought to you by Zachdoc. So, I am a procrastinator to the nth degree, and that includes making doctor's. appointments because I just know that. it's going to be a game of endless phone. tag only to finally call and find out. that the next opening is months away. It's a fact of life that certain doctors. are not available for a really long.

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birchliving.com/btc. I'm joined now by the Democratic nominee. for the US Senate in Maine, Troy. Jackson. Thanks so much for joining me. >> Yeah, thanks for having me. I really. appreciate it. >> So, I want to dive right into something. that the vice president just said about. Bedford, Maine. There was an ICE killing. uh uh in that took place in Bedford. Here's what he had to say. when you have. a law enforcement action, when you have. somebody who is committing a crime in. the United States of America and you go. and arrest that person. Now, I believe. the person who was shot was not part of.

the underlying investigation, but when. the officers approached the person they. were trying to arrest, that person like. drove away from the scene. And what at. least the law enforcement officers argue. is that that person posed a danger to. the community. Again, I'm not going to. prejudge the case because I think. everybody is entitled to their their. case, not in the court of public. opinion, but a court trial by their. juries, an actual real investigation if. that's what ultimately happens. Um, we. have everybody is entitled to understand.

what's going on, whether what they're. being accused of is actually legitimate, and ultimately, of course, if there is a. criminal prosecution, then they're. entitled to a jury by their peers. But. when I look at that case, what I see is. inevitably a country that is trying to. enforce its laws and it hasn't for a. long time. And while Democrats get. extremely agitated about this case, again, we're investigating that case. They're being dishonest if they say that.

we're not investigating that case. But. what I see from Democrats is people who. are far more worried about a shooting. involving an illegal alien than they are. about the fact that tens of thousands of. mayors died from fentanyl overdoses by. that poison brought into our community. And so. and so my message to the Democrats who. are so worried about that situation is. to say have a little bit of perspective. We can absolutely investigate every.

shooting and we will, but we can also. secure our border and ensure that that. poison stops coming into our country and. that is our priority and that's our. emphasis. >> All right. So, that was again JD Vance. who seems to be defending ICE amid the. killing of a man from Maine. Can I have. your reaction to that comment? Well, I mean, uh, first and foremost, I. mean, uh, I mean, really, what I think. is like, what an I mean, uh,

you know, people didn't do anything. wrong. This young man, uh, you know, had. his papers, uh, had a social security. number, was going to work, he had a. three-year-old daughter, and and they. murdered him in the street of. Bitterford. U and, and the guy that did. it, um, you know, was a rent a cop. uh. not really even law enforcement and and. you know I mean that is not what we need. in this state and in this country. I. mean we need to be a welcome state. Uh.

this is not and I just think you know JD. is completely out of touch with what's. going on and that is the case. I mean. him and Susan Trump they're all out of. touch. They don't know what it's like. for everyday mayors and I can't believe. anyone would say that. I mean even ICE. said that this was not the guy they were. looking for. Yeah. And and they murdered. him. I mean, there's just no other way. to say it. >> And to that end, I mean, you had. mentioned Susan Collins being in lock. step with Donald Trump. She's voted with. him 96% of the time. So, can you please.

help me reconcile this chasm between how. Susan Collins likes to present herself, which is as this this moderating voice. in the Republican party when at the same. time she is she is as aligned with. Donald Trump as nearly you could. possibly get. >> Yeah. I mean, she's just a rubber stamp. for the foolishness that's going on in. this country, his agenda. The I mean, and and mayors are know now. I mean, they're watching how she plays this. weird little game of how she counts the.

votes and then throws people a bone 4%. of the time when they don't need her. Uh, but anytime that they need her, she's right there when the big beautiful. bill right there to get it out of. committee. I mean, that's something. that's killing healthcare in this state. and in this country. I mean, we're. really in in jeopardy of our health care. system crashing. Uh, you know, the. tariffs in Maine are are killing uh this. this state, you know, across border and. um you know, what's going on in Iran is.

uh you know, driving fuel prices. But. you know the other thing about getting. back I mean you know she went out and. told us that she got she used her power. to get ICE out of here back in February. and which was a lie because here this is. what happened uh in Bifford and then she. turned around and gave him $70 billion. more to go ahead and do more. I mean. it's just ridiculous the way that she. operates says that she has power uh but. she won't use that power to actually do. anything to check Trump. To that end, I. mean, talking about the the bait and.

switch that Susan Collins keeps pulling, she just did that with with Todd Blanch. um a couple of weeks ago where again she. made sure that she had the that her. party had the requisite number of votes. before she courageously announced that. she wasn't going to be voting in favor. of Todd Blanch. But doesn't it just. undermine the entire quote unquote brave. stance when 5 minutes later you have. just enough Republicans who also come. out and say that they're not going to. that that they are going to vote for. Todd Blanch that that'll mean he has.

enough support to get over the finish. line. >> Well, Senator Collins has been acting. like everyone here in Maine is stupid. and that we don't understand how these. things go. But, you know, the fact that. she's done this consistently, like you. said, count the votes and then turn. around and act like, you know, she's. standing up for, you know, whatever. But, but, uh, you know, the Republicans. have the votes to push people through, uh, push the policies through. I mean, people know better. Uh, they've watched. it too long too long and and and she's.

going to see uh, in November uh, how. people aren't stupid. They're they're. rejecting the foolishness that she's. trying to do. we're not dumb. We. understand it very well and and she's. going to feel that uh like I said. November. >> What have your conversations with voters. been like? And I asked that because. because Susan Collins has been able to. persevere. that that's the first point that Susan. Collins has been able to persevere even. in otherwise very blue cycles like 2018.

But on the other point that I want to. make is like for a lot of people and I. and I say this to to candidates who are. running against. elected officials in otherwise red. states or states that have consistently. voted for Republican politicians. It's. not always that easy to just pull. somebody off of their partisan. affiliation. It is it is intertwined. with with voters identity. And so for a. lot of people it's not just a matter of. saying I voted for Republican last I'm. going to vote for Democrat this time.

Like people view themselves as. Republican in the same way that they. view themselves as a as whatever their. their their geographic location is, as. whatever their socioeconomic status is, their their their their nationality, you. name it. And so for the folks who have. been long-standing Republicans or. long-standing Susan Collins voters, what. have some of those conversations been. like on the campaign trail? Well, I mean, I think again, uh, you. know, Collins has done it for too long, and now people know exactly what she's. about. Uh, and and the thing about.

Maine, I mean, yeah, you have people. that are hardcore Democrats, hardcore. Republicans, but there's a big slice of. 40 45% of people in the middle that that. do, uh, you know, cross lines, uh, you. know, vote for different things. I mean, uh, the last three presidential. elections I was on the ballot with. Donald Trump and and I won in my area. when he was winning the same thing. And. same thing with Collins. I mean, uh, Maine's pretty independent in that. regard that, you know, we will, uh, cross lines for people that we think are.

going to fight for us. And, and, you. know, I think there was a while that. people thought that with Susan, but they. don't believe that anymore because she's. right in lock step with Trump. And Trump. is way underwater here. I mean, two. years ago, uh, he did well in the second. CD, but he was talking about trying to. help people with housing, you know, affordability issues. Now, he doesn't. even know what affordability is. You. think that's a madeup word? I mean, it's. just a joke. Uh, so that they get more. money into the pockets of people like. Elon Musk and mayors know. I mean, they. they they they know and they're not.

they're not afraid to vote against their. own party if their own party is screwing. them. >> Uh, you you had mentioned um winning. your election. talk about your state. senate district because this is not um. this is not even really a swing. district. This is a district that. Republicans and Trump won before you. were able to take that seat. >> Uh well, I think my area uh of the state. and really a large part of the second CD.

that are looking for somebody to fight. for them. uh and and you know, Democrats. don't always stand up and talk about. economic issues uh like we should. Uh. that's something I've always done. That's that's what got me started into. politics was fighting for economics, trying to make people's lives better, and I've never forgotten that. And so I. think, you know, people know what my. background is, what my history is. Uh. you can go to jackforman.com and find it. there. I mean, I got a long history. I. know what my record is and I'm proud of. it. Um, you know, but what I haven't.

been fighting for is billionaires like. Susan has. Yeah. Uh, and that's what the. difference is going to be in this. election. I'm fighting for mayors. I. always have. I always will. She's. fighting for wealthy elitist from some. other part of the world. And uh, again, she's going to she's going to know what. a big mistake she's done. >> Can you talk about your time as as. president of the state senate in Maine. and what you were able to uh to pass for. the people of Maine? kind of inform a. little bit about how you would uh how.

you would act as a US senator. >> Well, I I mean, again, I think this is a. big part of the difference. I mean, when. Susan was putting Brett Kavanaaugh on. the Supreme Court knowing that they were. going to go after Ro versus Wade. I. mean, I I just I don't believe her at. all. Uh here in Maine, I was sponsoring. one of the most progressive bills to uh. make sure that people have access in. Maine. I made sure that lowincome uh. people had access under main care to. abortion services uh because I believe. it was in healthcare. I've been fighting.

for prescription drug coverage. I mean, I've had like six bills uh get passed. Uh some of them unfortunately our. governor vetoed, but saying that it was. a federal issue. Well, all right. I'm. happy to to, you know, take this to the. federal side and and go after big. pharma. Uh, you know, I've passed. universal school meals, uh, child care, uh, you know, and I passed those. bipartisanly with Republicans because I. was able to get through them that this. is something that is important to. everyone. You know, it's it's not a.

Republican Democrat issue. We need. workers. We need good child care. Uh, we. need kids to be able to go to school and. and learn uh, on a. full stomach, not the empty stomach. Yeah. And uh and then you know I I. passed a pile of uh labor uh you know. bills, workers rights bills that uh I. think we probably could have done more. on based off of um enforcement. Uh but. again that's why I'm going to the. federal government because um there's a.

lot of things that I believe needs to. get done in this country to help the. people that I care about and u and I. just don't see enough people fighting. for them. And so let's let's say for example, let's say we have Democratic control of. the House, the Senate, and ultimately. the White House. What would you like to. see done in the first 100 days of full. Democratic control? >> Uh Medicare for all. You know, I mean, that's been always my guiding thing. Um. I'm known as a labor person in Maine and.

I am, but healthc care is like the. number one problem for people uh that I. that I care about. Uh and it's getting. worse. Um, and so, you know, and I don't. see any reason. I mean, we got money for. bombs, we got money for wars in Iran, we. got money for ICE, we got money for. wealthy people, but we don't have money. for healthcare like every other. industrialized country in the world. Um, so that that's definitely going to be. um, you know, my number one goal, but I. mean I have a lot of things that I want.

to work on. uh you know, energy in in. Maine, um you know, getting um energy so. that we can you know, protect our. climate, uh workers rights. I mean, the. list is endless. But healthcare for all, >> you know, there are going to be. Republicans who come out of the woodwork. and say what they say every time a. Democrat mentions uh Medicare for all. and say there there's not going to be. any way to pay for it. Everybody's costs. are going to go up. And so what's going. to be your response to those folks who. inevitably try to push back against.

Medicare for all? >> Well, my first response is going to be. uh you bunch of hypocrites. Uh you know, there you are with government sponsored. healthcare and you're you're deciding. who else in this country is worthy of. government sponsored healthcare. I. believe everyone is. Uh but I just can't. I can't believe that anyone that is on. the the government's healthcare uh can. make that same argument. But I would say. uh that there's always money for all. these other things. There's monies for. tax cuts. There's money for wars in Iran.

that never end. There's money for u ICE. I mean, you know, we can we can do this. Uh and actually the studies all show us. that we're spending that money in the. economy already. We're spending way more. money already to provide um Medicare for. all. um what what's happening now is uh. people with power and influence are. keeping their monopoly system, making. sure that uh they're they're profiting. off of our healthcare system. And and. I'm sick of it.

>> And you know, it's also worth noting. that our our national debt is now. topping $40 trillion. And the biggest. payment that the government is going to. be making is interest on um on our debt. which has exploded under Trump because. he's felt completely unbburdened to. spend money on everything other than the. very America first agenda that he. himself ran on. So so just you know. wanted to wanted to add that in. Um. >> and slush funds for J6 people ballrooms. I mean I mean like that slush fund that.

he created that that could have built a. transmission line here in Maine to get a. lot of power out to the rest of New. England. I mean we could be helping. people have lower energy rates all. across uh New England and and clean. energy rates and the jobs it creates, but instead, you know, he's more. concerned about having slush funds for. his cohorts down there in January 6, right? >> Uh I mean, it's about priorities and and. they don't have the right ones. There. was a new Fox News poll that showed you. leading Susan Collins 48 to 46. What was. your reaction to seeing that that poll.

notwithstanding the fact that that it. appeared and was run conducted by Fox. News? >> Mhm. Yeah. I mean, all those things are. great, but and and you know, I mean, you. you check polling, but uh for me, this. race is something that's super. important. Um, you know, I don't want to. let my uh constituents down. And so, you. know, we're running u wide open all the. time to make sure that people across the. state know that um you know, I'm in this.

to win it. And and I don't care what the. polls actually show at the time. uh you. know I I I. know that uh you know we still have name. ID uh that we have to get up and um and. so making sure we do town halls making. sure that you know we get out and meet. people hear their concerns is really. what uh I think is going to win this. race for us because they're going to. know how sincere I am about fighting for. them and um you know the polling will. take care of itself then. To that end,

Troy, how can folks who are looking to. help your campaign do so? >> Yeah, I mean, like I said, we get into. this late. Um, you know, we got Elon. Musk up against us, so resources are. important. Jackson formain.com. Uh, 510. bucks is a big deal. >> Okay. Well, I'm going to put that link. to your website right here on the screen. and also in the post description of this. video. As Troy mentioned, um there is an. absolute influx of funding coming from. Elon Musk and other right-wing figures. into this race because they know uh that.

if Troy wins this race, if and when Troy. wins this race, that the US Senate will. go the way of Democrats as well. So, everything rides on what happens in. Maine. For those who are watching and. listening right now, if you have the. ability to donate a little bit of money, this is a race that absolutely can use. it. So, again, I'm going to put that. link right here on the screen and also. in the post description. If you're. listening on the podcast, I'm going to. throw throw it in the show notes. Uh, with that said, Troy, thank you so much. for taking the time today. Best of luck. in the campaign trail. >> Hey, thanks a lot. It's been great being. on here. My wife is going to be super. super impressed. >> Thanks.

>> Thank you, brother. >> We now have a massive gaff at the hands. of the official Republican nominee for. the US Senate in South Carolina, Darlene. Graham. Here's a clip of that moment. >> My parents worked long, hard hours to. make it make ends meet. We didn't take. vacations. if they were sick, they had. to get up and go to work because the. doors weren't open. We weren't making. money. My mother passed away when I was. 11 and my father just over a year later. For the past 30 years, I've worked hard. for the people of South Carolina and for.

the past seven years, I've led a state. agency and I understand the struggles. facing South Carolina families because. I've faced them, too. So, I'm joined now. by the Democratic nominee for the US. Senate in South Carolina, Dr. Annie. Andrews. Uh, Dr. Andrews, I I have to. ask first and foremost for your reaction. to this new idea being perpetuated by. Darlene Graham and I guess the right. more broadly that what we should aspire. to is that Americans will get so sick.

that they pass away before their kids. even reach 13 years old. And somehow. that is the the message of hope and. inspiration that we should have moving. forward. >> Yes. Well, thank you for having me. I. don't think Darlene intended to unroll. her healthcare plan on that uh stage. last night, but she certainly did, and. it seems to be what you just said, work. hard, even when you're sick and then. die. I believe that Darlene's parents. deserved better than they got. I believe. that healthcare is a human right. I. believe we need to work every single day.

to shift this profit motivated health. care system to a patient- centered. health care system. I've seen it. firsthand as a pediatrician. I've worked. in children's hospitals my entire 20. year career taking care of sick and. injured children. This isn't just a. policy paper for me. This is real life. or death. >> Well, to that end, it's not just Darlene. Graham who is kind of um offering up the. a disastrous health care plan in real. time. We've also seen the consequences. play out by Republicans who are actually. in power. Measles has now taken the.

lives of two people in Pennsylvania. Can. I have your reaction to the fact that we. have our nation's health apparatus which. is being led by an avowed antivaxer and. the consequences of that are as. predictable as you could imagine. >> Exactly. Because science is going to. science no matter if you believe in it. or not. The day RFK Jr. was nominated to. lead HHS was the day that I really. started to seriously consider getting in. this race for the US Senate because as a. pediatrician, he's been my professional. arch nemesis for decades. He's nothing.

more than a grifter and a conspiracy. theorist who's been pedalling an. antivaccine conspiracy theories for. decades while simultaneously enriching. himself. Over my 20-year career, I've. watched as rates of vaccine refusal and. vaccine hesitancy climb and climb and. climb because of the disinformation that. RFK Jr. has injected into our public. health system. And of course, now he is. leading the department of HHS. And. because of this disinformation campaign. of his, we've seen outbreaks of. preventable infectious diseases. You.

know, we also had an outbreak of the. measles in South Carolina. In. Spartanberg County, we had we had nearly. a thousand cases of documented measles. And it's not going to stop at the. measles. We're going to have increased. cases of flu and RSV of whooping cough, polio, tetanus, and one that I think a. lot of people don't hear a lot about, bacterial menitis. Because we give two. really effective vaccines to prevent. bacterial menitis to infants at 2, four, and six months of age that has. drastically reduced the incidence of. this devastatingly often fatal.

condition. So, we need to win in. November so that we can get RFK Jr. out. of his current position as secretary of. HHS. And it it is going to take us. decades to recover from the level of. disinformation he's injected into our. public health system. >> Well, I think that's that's in in large. part what makes Darlene Graham so so. dangerous in this moment is because. she's shown that she's not particularly. competent or or um qualified for this. job. And so the reason that she's there. is is expressly not because she has.

anything to bring to the Senate seat, but rather because she would be. completely obsequious and and pandering. to Trump and RFK. And so when they want. to put forward some idea, dangerous. though it may be, she's going to be. there to rubber stamp them because she. doesn't actually have any qualifications. of her own to back up some informed. decisions. >> Yeah, that's exactly right. And I think. that's why the entire Republican. Washington machine got behind Darlene. Graham. They spent millions and millions. and millions of dollars. You know, Trump. came to Myrtle Beach to rally for her.

They really leaned into this because. exactly what you said. I think they. believe they can control her. I think. she's being told what to say. She has. explicitly said she supports 100% of. Donald Trump's agenda. She will be a. rubber stamp for this administration. You know, she has completely forgotten. the fact that Congress is meant to. provide checks and balances over the. executive branch. I've been talking to. voters in South Carolina for over a. year. I know they deserve better. I know. they want better than this. We don't. want a rubber stamp for any president or. any political party in this Senate seat.

We want a thinking person who will work. hard every day to solve the problems. South Carolinians are facing. And that's. what I'm offering them on the ballot in. November. Well, >> to kind of um hammer down that point. even further, here's a quick clip that. went pretty viral from uh from Darlene. Graham's debate, primary debate against. her Republican opponent, Ralph Norman. on the national security question as. well. Um, Senator, are Taiwan and the. South China Sea national security issues. for the United States? If so, why?

>> Um, I'm sorry, could you repeat the. question? >> If are Taiwan and the South China Sea. national security issues for the United. States, and if so, why or how? >> I'm just going to be honest here. I'm. not on national security that I'm not. that informed on national security. So, But I do support the military. My. brother was in the Air Force for 33. years. So I will do everything I can to. support the military.

>> So right there you can see that she's. again not coming with any qualifications. or or knowledge about what it is she's. going to be uh litigating and writing. laws about, presumably writing laws. about. She's just there to kind of be a. rubber stamp for this administration. What what was your reaction to seeing. that moment in particular right there. where she just kind of gave the game. away and and offered up, you know, I I. don't actually know anything about. foreign policy, but but here's a here's. a boilerplate platitude. I love the. troops.

>> Yeah. I mean, it was just it was. embarrassing, honestly. And it just. shows how deeply unprepared she is. And. being new to politics is not an excuse. to being unprepared. I'm a pediatrician. If I showed up to work unprepared, a. child could die. This is a very serious. job she's applying for and a job she. actually has right now. So, if she. doesn't know the answers, I suggest she. maybe like schedules some study. sessions, maybe pulls an all-nighter, does the hard work to get prepared for. the very important job she has and the. job that she's asking South Carolina.

voters to give her for six more years. >> Why is it important that there is an. actual health care professional um in. Congress at this particular moment? You. know, we're witnessing a truly. unprecedented coordinated attack on. every aspect of America's health care. system. Whether it's the impending. Medicaid budget cuts, the threats to. Medicare allowing the Medicare Part D. tax subsidies to expire, the ACA tax. subsidies to expire, you know, whether. it's what RFK Jr. has done to totally.

dismantle the routine childhood. immunization schedule, the defunding of. the CDC or the NIH, all of the foodborne. illnesses we've seen across the country. Like, there's never been a more urgent. time to elect physicians to all levels. of office, but in particular in this. race, I would be the first ever. pediatrician senator. I can go. toe-to-toe with RFK Jr. and hold him. accountable for the lies that he's been. spreading and the disruption that he's. wre havoc on our federal department of. health and human services. I won't just.

be a yes vote for healthc care reform. I. will bring my lived experience from. working within our broken health care. system to these conversations. I can. lead these conversations. And to me, again, it's not just about policy. It's. not just about the bullet points in the. bill. This is life or death. This is. very, very real life. Every American. should be able to afford to see a. doctor. Every American should be able to. afford their prescription medications. A. trip to the emergency department should. not send you into bankruptcy. We are the. only developed country in the world who.

hasn't figured out how to build a health. care system that actually meets the. needs of everyone in the country. >> Are you in service uh in favor of. Medicare for all? >> I'm a pragmatic person. I believe we. need a health care system that meets the. needs of everyone in this country. I. believe with every cell in my body that. healthcare is a human right. But I'm a. person who lives and is running in South. Carolina. And I know that this country. is not politically ready for a shift. from this deeply profit-driven health. care system we have to a universal. health care system. What my plan is,

number one, stop the impending Medicaid. budget cuts. Number two, reinstate the. tax subsidies. Use the negotiating power. of this country to lower prescription. drug prices broadly. But then take a. really important pragmatic step towards. developing a healthare system that. actually serves everybody. And that is a. public option. Because if we offer a. public option and people like me who. don't have employer-based health. insurance can choose to purchase a. health care plan from the federal. government, that removes the profit. motivation from that transaction. The. people who purchase that plan will look. around and say, you know what, this is.

actually way better than the plan I was. paying for that so much of my money was. just going to pad private insurance. company shareholders pockets. And so. there will be a domino effect. more and. more Americans will choose this public. option and then we can have a productive. bipartisan conversation about te taking. the next step to to the ultimate goal. But again, I don't think we need to let. perfect be the enemy of good. We all. recognize the system we have now is. failing miserably and we need to talk to. each other, compromise, work across the.

aisle to move the ball down the field. >> What does the latest polling show in. South Carolina in terms of uh in terms. of this race? We have some really. exciting polling that we just released. today that shows that I'm tied with. Darlene right out of the gates. It's 41. to 41. And on the informed ballot, I go. up five points. And the informed ballot. is just neutral information about me and. neutral information about Darlene. Importantly, I'm um plus 33 with. independence. Darlene, even though most. people didn't know who she was 6 weeks.

ago, is deeply underwater. Her net. favorability rating is minus something. double digits. It's not good. Um, so we. have a real path to victory here. You. know, this was an unexpected. circumstance. I've been in this race for. over a year. I never anticipated I would. be running against Lindsey Graham's. sister, but here we are. She's a really. bad candidate. She's a weak candidate. She's unprepared. She's not doing the. work. We have a national political. environment that is very favorable to. Democrats. And then in me, we have a not. your average Democratic candidate. you.

know, I'm overperforming a generic. Democrat in South Carolina by 25 points. with independents and 19 points with non. MAGA Republicans. So, that creates a. real path to victory in an environment. like this. >> You know, I'm sure in campaigning in. South Carolina, you've had plenty of. conversations with independents and. Republicans or at least Republican. voters. What has been the one issue on. which those voters are are seeing their. confidence fall in their own party and.

instead are showing support for you? >> The one issue I mean honestly it the war. really tipped a lot of people sort of. over at the deep end. People who were. already growing really frustrated just. by the rhetoric in Washington DC how. broken it is you know seeing you know. the behavior out of Donald Trump. But. this entry into this war really flew in. the face of everything the hardcore MAGA. Republicans in South Carolina thought. that Donald Trump stood for. And so that. turned them off. And then meanwhile, there's a lot of Mitt Romney, John.

McCain style Republicans on the center. right in South Carolina. Republicans. like my own dad who are just so deeply. disgusted by the level of corruption and. dysfunction in Washington DC. They're. embarrassed by what their party has. become. They're looking for another. option like me. And that is what I am. offering them. But I think it's the. whole wide range of issues that Trump. campaigned on, failed to deliver on. You. know, you cannot be simultaneously, pardon my language, an and also. have a bad economy and expect to win an. election. And that's the situation we're. in. The economy is not meeting the needs.

of your average American. Income. inequality, wealth in inequality. continues to grow and grow and grow. And. we have politicians in DC who spend. their days enriching themselves, >> right? I mean, it would be bad enough. having this economic environment, but. for a a party that had campaigned. expressly on bringing down costs only to. see those costs surge, a party that had. campaigned expressly on releasing the. Epstein files only to suppress those. files, a party, as you said, that had. campaigned expressly on no new foreign. wars that's now engaged in a brand new.

foreign war in the Middle East that's. cost over $130 billion that should be. going to domestic priorities. I mean, it's not the Democrats who pushed this. idea of America first. That was Trump's. campaign slogan. And now watching. billions and billions and billions of. dollars either go overseas or into his. own pocket, I think, is sending a. message loud and clear to his voters uh. that it's not the forgotten guy that's. getting the attention in this. administration. It is the it's the polar. opposite. It's the very elites who. Donald Trump and Republicans had railed.

against during the entire campaign. >> Yeah. And I think there's a lot of signs. that everything you just said is exactly. right because yes, Donald Trump, you. know, supported Darlene, spent millions. of dollars in this race. Darlene barely. won last night. She only won by five. points. She lost in the upstate. Ralph. Norman's supporters are talking online. about a riding campaign. They're talking. about staying home. They're talking. about voting for me. We have a really. divided Republican party. Also, I got. more votes on my primary night on June. 9th than Darlene got last night after. millions of dollars were spent on her.

behalf. So, the Republican party is not. this, they don't have this stronghold, this strangle hold on South Carolina. anymore because they've lost sight of. what they used to be. And we need a. healthy two-party system in this country. if we really ever want to make any. progress because the people on the far. left are never going to convince. everybody on the far right to think like. them and vice versa. We have to remember. that there's, you know, way more that. unites us than divides us. If we ever. want to make progress in this country, we need to talk to each other, work. across the aisle, and move the move the. ball down the field. For those who are.

looking to help your campaign, where can. they go? >> Dr. annieandrews.com. They can chip in. what they can. Obviously, there's going. to be a ton of money poured into this. race. Once Republicans catch wind of the. fact that we're tied, once they settle, you know, come to terms with the fact. that they have propped up an incredibly. weak, unprepared candidate and that we. have a really strong Democrat running in. this state. So, I need people all across. the country to support my campaign, chip. in what they can, follow along on social. media, and you know, this is a way we. can expand the Senate map that people. weren't really considering just a few. weeks ago. And it's really exciting for.

me to be a part of that, for me to help. deliver a Senate majority in November so. that we can actually do the work of. governing on behalf of Americans. everywhere. >> Well, I'm going to put a link to your. website right here on the screen and. also in the post description. For those. who are listening on the podcast, I'm. going to put it in the show notes. Um if. Democrats are able to win this race, Democrats have the US Senate. So this. race is monumentally important. Also. just as like a point of personal. privilege. I am the child of of two. healthcare workers and if ever there was. a desperate need to have a pediatrician.

in the US Senate. It's right now also I. I went to my pediatrician until I was. like 23 years old. So I never actually. >> I never had like an internist or a. general practitioner. I just kept going. to my pediatrician. So, I am a a big fan. of uh of that space. So, with that said, thank you uh so much for taking the time. today and best luck in the campaign. trail. >> Thank you so much for having me. >> We have some breaking news right here. that shows the depths that Donald Trump. will go to to protect his own ego. I'm. going to put some reporting on the.

screen right here. According to CNN, the. Trump administration is threatening to. demolish the Kennedy Center if. renovations aren't allowed. The lead-in. paragraph says, "Kenned Center may need. to be demolished and replaced with an. open air performance space if its. current building cannot undergo. extensive renovations, lawyers for the. venue said in court papers on Monday.". I'm now joined by Norm Eisen, who is the. founder of Democracy Defenders Fund. You. have been litigating against Donald. Trump's efforts to rename the Kennedy. Center uh uh after himself. Norm, can I.

have your reaction first and foremost to. this new news that if Donald Trump can't. get his precious name etched onto the. building that he's going to do the the. the adult temper tantrum version of. taking his ball and going home and. instead just demolishing it? >> YOU LITERALLY READ MY MIND. I WAS GONNA. SAY it's like the KID WHO DOESN'T WANT. TO PLAY BY THE RULES. I'M TAKING MY BALL. AND GOING HOME. YEAH, >> this is um an example,

Brian, of why Donald Trump is so corrupt. and he's lost in court. so often and he's lost in the court of. public opinion where he has historically. low uh unpopularity ratings approaching. only Nixon at the depths of his. corruption crisis. There is no need to destroy the Kennedy. Center. The whole point of this legal fight is.

uh Donald Trump can't put his name ON. IT. SO NOW BECAUSE THE COURT HAS SAID. YOUR NAME HAS TO COME OFF. HE SAYS I'M. GOING TO DESTROY THE WHOLE THING. Uh it everybody sees through this. Um. it's corrupt to use government resources. in this fashion to destroy a building in. a fit of peak. Um it's going to cost the. American c taxpayers money. The court.

will not allow him to do it. We will. stop destruction of the Kennedy Center. in court uh if he dares to try it. I. think it is just a red flag. You know, he wants he wants TO GET EVERYBODY ALL. WOUND UP. SO, WE, you know, we need to. um we need to call it out. And as Barack. Obama used to say, judo flip. This is. why Donald Trump is hated. It's a sick.

joke. And we won't allow it to happen. Don't worry, folks. The Kennedy Center. is not going to be demolished. It's. going to be repaired. It can be repaired while being left. open. We've done that before. It is not. the disa. THEY JUST HAD A MOVIE premiere. a COUPLE MONTHS AGO FOR MELANIA'S MOVIE. in there. It was a the Kennedy Center. Honors. The The thing is is it's not a.

dilapidated wreck. It needs repairs. It's going to get the repairs. We're in. court. We got this. And I don't think. the judge uh will permit the demolition. of the Kennedy Center. >> Norm, can you speak about the status of. the lawsuit against Donald Trump's kind. of second iteration of this attack, which is, okay, I can't plaster my name. onto the building by renaming it the. Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy uh. um uh Memorial Performance Center, but.

but he did want to kind of take credit. by etching his name into the building. for renovating the space. Can you speak. about the status of that lawsuit? >> For heaven's sake, we won the lawsuit. I. argued the naming issue myself. Congress has said it can be named the. Kennedy Center. and the Kennedy Center only. The. statutes are very clear. It's it's not. one law. It's a whole section of the.

United States Code. AND THEY ALL THE. STATUTES MAKE clear that's how it's got. to be. And now he's coming back. He. says, "Oh, essentially, here's what he's. saying. Brian, oh no, judge, you just. said my name can't go be before on top. of John F. KENNEDY'S ON THE BUILDING, SO. I'LL PUT IT below John F. Kennedy's name. twice." No, it doesn't work that way. You can't uh rearrange. It's not like. Scrabble where you move the tiles.

around. You can't put your name on the. building. Donald, we've stopped it. We're going to stop it again. Our. client, Congresswoman Joyce Batty, uh. has been very brave in speaking out. about this. She's been bold. Democracy. Defenders and our co-consel Nathaniel. Zalinsky and the wonderful folks at the. Washington Litigation Group are fighting. this going to be back in court again. this week. And you know uh this is truly.

it's like the it reminds me uh you know. of a a toddler who wants to hurt his. parents so he he beats his own head. against the wall. I mean, uh, it's so. ridiculous. It's so juvenile. You you. you just have to laugh. If he weren't. wasting taxpayer dollars ON THE. LITIGATION, WHY DOESN'T HE GET BACK, BRIAN, WHY DOESN'T HE GET BACK to. reducing costs for Americans, to having.

a competent government, uh, to, um, the things he said he would. do. instead gas is more expensive, healthc care is more expensive, there's. a housing affordability crisis, and he's. having tantrums about putting his name. on the Kennedy Center and demolishing. it. Maybe it's a fantasy because, you. know, uh he's demolished the East Wing. He's building that hideous ballroom. Uh.

but we're litigating there. We're. litigating here. And here we won. and. his name's not going on the building and. he's not going to demolish it. >> Well, you know, two things on that. point. One, in a way, he's giving an. interesting playbook to Democrats who, I. don't know, may or may not want to. rename the Donald J. Trump ballroom the. second he leaves office. So, if Donald. Trump is proving himself uh to be, you. know, the the the person who establishes.

precedent for renaming structures that. were otherwise named by previous. presidents. I am so excited to hear what. he thinks about the subsequent. Democratic president renaming his. precious ballroom. Uh I assume he'll be. in full favor of it given the fact that. he is falling over himself to rename uh. John F. Kennedy's uh um uh structure. >> We should Yeah. >> But the second point, >> save the money. Save the money from. demolishing the Kennedy Center. Put it. in escrow and use it to tear down that.

idiot ballroom. >> 100%. And so the second point I wanted. to make though is that when Donald Trump. has has a desire to do something, he's. showing that he'll stop at nothing to do. it. Like we are on month I don't know I. don't know what of this saga to try and. get his name on the Kennedy Center. So. when it's something that's his priority, he stops at nothing to get it done. He. won't let the court stop him. He won't. let prosecutors. He won't let judges. He. won't let attorneys. He won't let other. branches of government. >> We've stopped him hundreds of times.

Look at look at the democracy defenders. We have over 300 legal cases and. matters. Birthright citizenship. We. stopped him. The firing uh of Dr. Lisa. Cook. We won that in the United States. Supreme Court. His $1.7 billion slush. fund. It was an endowment for. insurrectionist. 35 federal judges went. to court. We represented them. We. stopped that. The the Kennedy Center. naming has been stopped. it's going to.

be stopped again. It's like all the. other cases. They said, uh, oh, the. reflecting pool, we got that case thrown. out. Uh, he's pushing the Paramount. Warner merger, so we got that case. Uh, supported the AGs in getting that case. They said, "We're going to close the. merger." No, they've got to wait for a. year and on and on and on. He doesn't. get everything he wants. But I I think. the the point that I want to make on on. that is that when something is his.

priority, he'll stop at nothing to try. and see it through. Which goes to show. that when he doesn't do something, when. he doesn't lower costs, when he doesn't. release the Epstein files, when he. doesn't bring gas prices down, when he. doesn't end foreign wars in the Middle. East, it's not because he can't. It's. because he doesn't care. Because when he. does care, he's broadcasting the lengths. that he'll go to to get those things. done. So when people are hurting in this. country, it's only because Donald Trump. doesn't have any care in the world to.

actually lift a finger to help you. >> He should be focusing all of this energy. on helping people with the cost of. living crisis, the competence driven by. a competence and a corruption and a. chaos crisis. Instead, he's bogged us. down with a a can't win war, a morass in. Iran, driven gas prices up, cost. hundreds of Americans lives or. casualties.

Um he's um driving prices up with his. nutty tariffs like Canada, you know, these huge tariffs going to make life. more expensive for Americans. He's. alienating our allies. is a mess at home. with these corrupt vanity projects all. over DC squandering the money that. should be helping the American people. And it's so counterproductive because. every time he does this, Brian, he just.

deepens the hatred that the American. people have for him. Record low. popularity for an American president. uh. approaching Nixonian, modern American. president, approaching Nixonian lows. Uh. it it's it's uh self-destructive. >> Yeah. >> He's helping nobody, including himself, by threatening to destroy the Kennedy. Center. Absurd. >> Yeah. Putting on full display what his. priorities actually are. Norm, as.

always, um I want to promote the. Democracy Defenders Fund, uh which has. been doing invaluable work with. countless lawsuits across the country to. make sure that this administration is. held to account for what they're doing. Um so that link for those who are. looking to support that work is right. here on the screen and also in the post. description of this video. The. inddehaticable Norm Eisen, thanks for. taking the time today and uh thank you. as always for the work that you continue. to do. Ryan, I'm going to get off our. visit and I'm going to file our brief.

just like birthright citizenship. Remember the Supreme Court said on a. procedural issue, rejected the first birthright case, we. brought the second birthright case and. we won. We're about to bring a case with. wonderful partners. We're on this USPS. executive order. We're going to go to. court and we're going to win, including. working side by side uh with others in. parallel state AGs, our friend Mark. Elias, and many others. So, I'm going to.

go get back to it. Maybe you'll have me. on next time to talk about how that case. is going. >> Done deal. Norm, as always, thanks so. much. >> Thanks, Brian. >> To listen to the audio version of this. episode, click the link right here on. the screen and make sure to subscribe. And of course, to see more video. content, that subscribe button's on the. screen as well.