OMG: Trump caught quietly pulling BIGGEST SCAM YET
We now arguably have the single most. overtly corrupt instance of Donald. Trump's entire second term. He's. currently in talks to settle a $10. billion lawsuit. Pretty normal, right? Trump is always suing somebody or some. entity for some exorbitant amount of. money. Only this one's a little bit. different because this lawsuit is. against the IRS, his own IRS, the agency. he oversees as president of the United. States. So, here's the backstory. A. former IRS contractor named Charles. Littlejohn leaked Trump's tax returns to.
media outlets back in 2019 and 2020. You. might remember those returns revealed. that Trump paid little to no federal. income taxes in many of those years. Littlejohn pleaded guilty and was. sentenced to 5 years in prison. So, yes, the leaker was caught, prosecuted, and. punished. The system worked. But Trump. decided that that wasn't enough. He. decided $10 billion of your money wasn't. enough to leave on the table. So, his. lawyers have argued that even though. Littlejohn was technically a contractor, he acted as a joint employee of the IRS,
and therefore, the government is on the. hook for his actions. And by government. being on the hook, that means taxpayer. funds, your money, my money, the same. money that Republicans tell us on a. daily basis we can't spend on housing or. healthcare or veterans because we have. to worry about the deficit. But here's. where it goes from outrageous to just. outright corrupt. Trump is negotiating. this settlement with his own government. The Department of Justice lawyers who. represent the IRS, they report to him.
The IRS itself, part of the executive. branch, which he runs. He is both the. plaintiff and effectively the defendant. And even Trump himself has acknowledged. how absurd all of this is. He literally. said the words, "I'm supposed to work. out a settlement with myself.". In a Friday filing in Miami federal. court, both sides asked the judge to. pause the case for 90 days to quote, "Avoid protracted litigation." Which is. another way of saying that they want to. wrap this thing up quickly and quietly. out of the public eye before anyone can.
really scrutinize it too hard. After. all, why subject yourself to public. litigation when you can just negotiate. quietly with yourself and award yourself. billions. Now, Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth. Warren have made it explicit saying. Congress designed the relevant law to. provide compensation for proven harm, not to confer $10 billion windfalls to a. president seeking to line his own. pockets at taxpayer expense. And. Democratic lawmakers have now introduced. a bill that would ban the president and.
the vice president and their families. from collecting lawsuit settlement. payments from the government altogether, which is apparently a thing that needs. to be done now. Thanks to a president. whose battle cry upon taking office was. that we have to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. A president who told us every. dollar of government spending needs to. be scrutinized. A president who created. an entire department, DOJ, supposedly. dedicated to stopping government waste. These are the people who slashed. Medicaid and food stamps and education. funding and cancer research, all in the.
name of fiscal responsibility. And now, everyone on the right is conspicuously. silent as Trump pilfers the US Treasury. to line his pockets to the tune of. billions. Something that, by the way, would have given these people a. collective aneurysm if 1/100 of it was. done at the hands of a Democrat. And. rightfully so. But because it's Trump, they're fine with it. Because it was. never about the money, it was always. about whose money and whose pocket it. ends up in. So, when J.D. Vance says. this, Look, I I think people don't have. any idea how bad the corruption is in.
Washington, D.C. Now you know exactly. who he's talking about. You're watching. the No Lie podcast. Next up are my. interviews with Jared Moskowitz, Alex. Wagner, and Rob Bonta. No Lie is brought. to you by Helix. So, I was a personal. trainer for about a decade before I got. into politics, and I would tell people. every day how to be healthy, how to. exercise, how to lift properly, but. nothing was more important than rest. It's actually the time off that delivers. the most results, and that starts with a. good night's sleep, and that starts with. a good mattress. So, I have the Helix. Midnight Elite. I'm getting. uninterrupted 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
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ZBiotics is backed with 100% money-back. guarantee, so if you're unsatisfied for. any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to. zbiotics.com/btc. and use the code BTC at checkout for 15%. off. I'm joined now by Congressman Jared. Moskowitz. Congressman, thanks for. joining me. Hey Brian, how's it going? So, we have uh an update here as it. relates to Pam Bondi's scheduled. deposition that was supposed to take. place. >> Oh, tell me what's the update. Supposed. to have taken place April 14th. Obviously, that date came and went like.
a fart in a hurricane. She didn't show. up. So, is uh is Congress going to. relinquish its uh desire to have her. come and testify now that she's no. longer AG? Well, first let me say, you know, this. was the scenario that many Democrats, myself included, were concerned about, which is, you know, the Republicans. threatening to hold the Clintons in. contempt if they didn't show up. Would. they hold that same standard uh if it. were Pam Bondi or or a Republican uh. that uh was subpoenaed? And now we're. finding out it's unclear. Uh if the same.
people that subpoenaed Pam Bondi are are. willing to hold her in contempt. To be. clear, she has to show up. The subpoena. has nothing to do with her being. attorney general. It's her. She has to. go. And so, you know, she didn't show up. at the current date. They're. renegotiating maybe for a second date, but if she does not show, if she's. unwilling to come, then she needs to be. held in contempt. The committee needs to. hold her in contempt, and then Congress. will need to hold her in contempt. That's how this needs to work, or you. know what, congressional subpoenas uh no. longer matter. Also, this will get. resolved because Robert Garcia most.
likely will be chair of that committee. in January. So, really, it if she's not. held in contempt for the next in the. next 5 or 6 months, she'll be held in. contempt immediately in January for for. for not showing up. Uh That being said, the flip side of that is, I mean, look, can you blame her? I mean, who wants to. spend 4 hours with James Comer? Right? I. mean, I I don't blame her for not. wanting to go and be in a basement with. James for 4 hours. So, you know, in that. respect, I side. side with the former attorney general. Well, look, I I think I think that that.
was a. an an astute point about the fact that. they had such harsh words for the. Clintons. The prospect of Hillary. Clinton not coming in, even though she. had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein, and yet and and James Comer and these. other Republicans were perfectly content. to threaten contempt, and yet now you. have the attorney general who has a a. lawfully issued subpoena, was supposed. to be there on on April 14th. That date. came and went, and and now we haven't. heard, you know, we haven't heard James. Comer utter a single word about Pam.
Bondi. >> got real questions for the former. attorney general. I mean, first of all, why did you give out the binders. uh to the influencers uh at the. beginning of this? Then why did you say. the list was on your desk? Then why was. there Why did you say there was no list? Why did the administration say tell all. the Republicans this was a Democratic. hoax and Maga for falling for the. Democratic hoax? Were you instructed to. to make to not release any of the files. by the president uh or uh the White. House? Why did the White House say that.
this was a hostile act for anyone who. wanted to sign up, any Republican who. wanted to sign up for the discharge. petition? When uh we brought when. Republicans started signing that. discharge petition, why did you bring. some of those Republicans into the. situation room? You know, the place. where we where the president goes when. we're at a time of war. Why did you tell. Republicans that if they got their name. off the discharge petition, you would. put stuff in the budget for them, or you. might primary them if they don't take. their name off the discharge of. protection. Pam Bondi was supposedly in. the situation room. Why did Cash Patel.
under Pam Bondi under oath say that. Jeffrey Epstein only trafficked girls to. himself when we know obviously. there were co-conspirators whose names. were redacted. Why were those names. redacted? Why were victims names. released? Why did Cash Patel say Trump's. name is only in there less than 100. times when it was in there obviously. more times than Harry Potter's name was. in the books about Harry Potter. These. are legitimate questions that she should. answer under oath in in a deposition. And so this is going to happen one way.
or another. Hopefully the Republicans hold. themselves to the same standards that. they were holding themselves to them a. couple months ago when it came to a. former president and a former Secretary. of State, people who were out of office. obviously. Do you think it was a. coincidence that Pam Bondi was was. unceremoniously fired from her job just. 2 weeks before she was supposed to. appear for this sworn deposition? Look, I don't know the answer to that. My guess it's a totality of things. Same. thing would happen with Kristi Noem. I. think it was a totality of things. But I. don't think the committee hearings for.
either Kristi Noem. who you know couldn't say on the record. whether she was you know having an. affair with Corey Lewandowski and you. know obviously blamed the president for. her ad in which she gave a no-bid. contract to her friends to a company. that was 11 days old. and you know spent you know $30,000 on. horses. You know the same thing with Pam Bondi, right? I mean obviously the Epstein. debacle that she was in charge of. And. you know and then that congressional. hearing was I mean maybe one of the.
worst of the last 2 years. And so you. know there were other things my guess. that were involved but. I don't think the president fired her to. get her out of the depo. I my guess is. is that there was a lot of stuff that we. saw some stuff that we didn't. So there is a a moment where Donald. Trump was asked today if he believes. that there should be a public hearing. for for the Epstein survivors and his. response was I'm okay with that but I. understand the women didn't want to go. under oath. That's what I heard that the. victims or whatever they refused to go. under oath. Your reaction to that quote.
Well, that's not true. I mean they're. showing up to the hearings, right? They're very a lot of them are being. very public of who they are. And by the way they don't have to come. If we have an open invitation in a. hearing and some survivors want to come. and some survivors don't it's their. option. But we should provide them that. opportunity. It's not mandated. We're. not going to subpoena the witnesses, right? We'd invite them and if they want. to come they they can come and speak. And so if he supports them. of us having a hearing to give them a. time to talk to the American people.
that's fantastic. It only took him 18. months to get there. You know but look I. hope that happens. I I think that they. deserve that the least. Congress could could offer them. Last. question on Pam Bondi. Um. you know there is a world where even if. and when Robert Garcia takes the. chairmanship of the Oversight Committee. and Pam Bondi is again subpoenaed to. appear before the committee that even if. she defies her congressional subpoena.
she would just kind of. leave it in the hands of Todd Blanche. whoever the Attorney General is and. Donald Trump to actually prosecute her. to to to move that forward. It's not. like Congress has. >> she can lose her bar but but she can. lose her bar license. Okay. You know so you know yes you know. if if the committee were then hold her. in contempt and then Congress would hold. her in contempt obviously you would need. the Department of Justice to decide to. move on that but it it would start. causing her problems in her private. private world. You know she would lose. she would lose her bar license. So it's.
not without significant repercussions to. her. And I also hope we don't get there. I mean a former Attorney General, right? Deciding not to come and and testify in. a deposition to defy a subpoena of. Congress. You know. again I hope it doesn't get there. I. hope she does the right thing just like. the Clintons did. I hope she comes and. understands the Article 1 we are Article. 1 legislative authority that we have and. complies with that subpoena. I want to. change to a different topic here and.
that's the feud that's exploding between. Donald Trump and the Pope. And so the. Pope. issued a statement this morning where he. said. um. "Woe to those who manipulate religion in. the very name of God for their own. military, economic, or political gain. dragging that which is sacred into. darkness and filth." Do you think that. is a a sub-tweet on somebody? Well, first of all it's weird to see. Jesus and the Pope fighting. Okay. You. know I mean that that's weird. >> All right. Well, first of all you might.
be referring to that picture of Donald. Trump as a doctor. So I want to be I. want to be totally fair here. This is. this is him as a medical professional. Right. It was him just taking the. Hippocratic oath. You're you're correct. I I apologize for my misrepresentation. By the way do you think this was like. workshopped in the White House or like. he's just he's just riffing? Like do you. think they were like okay we need to. figure out how to change the subject. flood the zone the thing that they do. and they were like who who could we. start a fight with? They're like I don't. know I don't know about the Pope. That'll really that'll really appeal to. Catholics if we start.
a fight with the Vatican. We have seen. so many distractions from distractions. When you have Melania coming coming out. and and issuing a statement on Epstein. because the Iran war which was a. distraction from Epstein is all getting. so out of control and you have just like. distractions from the distractions from. the distractions. I think that's a. testament to how things are going in. this White House. Yeah, something tells. me this is not this is not what. the president's people want him to be. doing just like you know maybe you know. we know the president has always. considered himself Jesus. Yeah. But.
maybe like the imagery. was not was not the right way for him to. go. But you know look he wants to change. the subject. He doesn't want to talk. about the economy. He doesn't want to. talk about the Iran war. So you know. here's here's a distraction. But you. know. I can't believe I'm going to quote Laura. Ingraham but it was actually a a good. quote. She said to the president you. don't have to swing at every pitch Mr. President. And and he should probably he should. have left this one alone. But I mean. look he he does. That's who he is. I. mean there there is no there is there. like he never lets sleeping dogs lie.
There is never a moment where he doesn't. feel like he needs to. >> down triple down, right? The reason why. I I think the reason why he's doubling. and tripling down now on the Pope is. that's really a double and triple down. on the image he deleted. Okay? They're. connected. Okay? I mean don't tell me. like he he's fighting with the Pope. within 24 hours of the photo of of him. as a doctor. Okay? So Yeah. Yeah. The. this is they're connected. This is his. doubling and tripling down on that you.
know without talking about it. You know. so you know everyone's like stop. fighting with the Pope and you know you. double your triple down it's offense all. the time. And and and that might work. nine nine nine times out of 10. It's not. going to work here. Do you think that. this has some some impact on the. margins? And I ask this because look we. have all seen these instances where. Donald Trump you know picks a fight with. somebody. picks a fight with some sacred figure. He he's done it a million times and and. you know like we see this and we're like. oh that's going to that's going to hurt. him with whatever group you know that.
person represents. And ultimately folks. come back home to Trump. And so I'm just. curious in this instance you know given. the position that that the Pope holds if. you think that this is going to have. some impact on the margins for him as he. continues to escalate this fight. So. this is not happening in a vacuum, right? This is happening in the totality. of things. So do do I think you know if. he were just fighting with the Pope 10. months ago would it really matter? Right? No, it wouldn't matter as much. then as it will now when gas is $5,
right? And you know you know we had we. had two Americans shot in the streets. while folks are roaming the streets. wearing masks, right? You know like you. add all of this stuff in totality. And. and so the people who would have given. him grace in the past I just think maybe. they stay home. Maybe they don't vote. The independents who you know maybe went. his way. 18 months ago now decide not to go his. way. And so it just it adds. It. constantly piles up. And and that's why. I do think it matters. I think his his.
his room for major mistakes now. I think is not the same as it was call. it 10 12 months ago. Last question here. I don't want to go. to a a little bit of a different topic. and that is. Ron DeSantis will be calling a special. legislative session in your home state. of Florida at the end of April. >> Tell me tell me what's going on Brian. What's going on with him? I got two. questions here. One is is it a mistake. for DeSantis to try and move forward. with yet another gerrymander especially.
in light of the swings that we're seeing. right now. And so if he draws these. districts where he has to dilute. Republicans from safer red districts to. put them in these blue districts to get. them to flip and we're seeing you know. 12 14 16 20 point swings to the left he. may actually draw a dummy mander which. leaves more democratic democratic seats. in in place as we had you know in the. aftermath of midterms. So that's my. first question. Is it a mistake for. DeSantis to do this? And second is your.
seat one that he would be that you would. presume he would be targeting? Well, let me say this. You know right. now I think you just it just was. announced that the governor moved the. session a week later. My guess is. they're monitoring what happens in. Virginia. If Virginia. if that passes and they wind up doing. redistricting in Virginia I think. there's a three or four seat seat swing. there. Florida probably will look to to. even that out which is you know why this. should never have started in the first. place with Texas doing what they did.
California then had to even it out. This. is bad for everybody. It's bad for the. American people. It you know it's creating more. partisanship. It means that Congress. won't be able to function and you know. there'll be 15 or 20 seats that we fight. about nationally and races are going to. cost 30 40 million dollars as there's. less and less seats. for. for you know that that are swing seats. Right. >> number one. Number two is. you know, listen, I you just listen to. my Republican colleagues, they're. worried about redistricting. They're the.
ones who are going on record. saying that they think this is a mistake. for 26. The governor drew the current districts. The current districts we're in he drew. And so, the idea that there was a. problem with them when he drew them, I. don't think. This is obviously all about. redistricting. It's going to you know, be a problem in the courts. In Florida, we don't have a statute that prohibits. this. We have we have constitutional. language that prohibits it. The voters. put this in the Florida constitution. barring political gerrymandering,
barring targeting incumbents. >> But I mean that that provision existed. in the constitution before and Ron. DeSantis was able to get the existing. gerrymander through. So, it's not like. it doesn't seem to me like these Florida. Supreme Court justices are are sticklers. for originalism. >> that's what happens when you get to a. point six of the seven justices. currently on the court. So, look, I I'd. rather be him than us in the way the. dynamics are are set up. My seat, which. was your second question, my seat's the. closest seat in the state. It's a D plus.
two. So, the idea that it's not going to. be targeted my my seat will be targeted. because it's just it's just the math. So, we're going to have to see what they. do. It's unclear. My guess is that there are probably. multiple versions and we're going to. figure out which one they go with. publicly when we see the map. There. won't be a process in the legislature. The governor will draw the map. It'll go. to a committee in the house. It'll go to. a committee in the Senate. They'll pass. it. It'll go to Florida. They'll pass. it. This is probably done in three three. or four days, which is different than. we've seen in some of these other. other states. Right. Right. Including.
the existing. fight that's taking place in Virginia. right now where just like California, it's going to go to people to actually. decide what happens here. If this were. to go to the voter, my guess is if this. were to go to the voters in Florida, they would turn this down. What will what will you do? What are. your options here in front of you? Well, I got to see what the district. looks like. Okay. You know, obviously I'm running for re-election. right now. I'm committed to that. process. But, you know, I'm. I also know math, right? So, I think in. 20 I think in 26,
you know, Democrats are well positioned. I usually you know, perform five points. better than the Democratic candidate at. the top of the ticket in my district. You know, plus if the generic Democratic. balloting is up, you know, I'm in a I'm. in a very good position to win even in. you know, a decent Republican seat. But, we have to see what they do. And then. depending upon how far they go, Brian, how far they really challenge what's. called fair districts, which is what the. voters put in the constitution, we'll. have to see obviously what the what the. court does as well. Right. Okay. Well, we will of course stay on top of this. Congressman, thanks so much for taking. the time today. I appreciate it. Thanks,
Brian. I'm joined now by the host of. runaway country, Alex Wagner. Alex, thanks for joining me. Thank you for. having me, my friend. It's great to be. here. So, we have just watched as the. Republicans finally had the ability to. rein in Trump in Congress with this. unpopular war, something that's been. weighing not just Trump's approval. ratings down, but the rest of the. party's approval ratings down with this. war powers resolution and instead of. using their own autonomy to rein him in, they decided to give him control and and. block this vote. And so, I'm just.
curious what your thoughts are as we as. we watch the Republicans kind of say, you know what, we we could have used our. authority to rein Trump in, but instead. we decided to to give him full full rein. here. And so, we own this as much as he. does. I just you know, I got to say. the inner the the what is it? The. gelding? That's the term I've been. using. The castration of Republican. power really to me reached its apex in. and around this because this is also the. same week that the Cook Political Report.
moved four key Senate races towards the. Democratic side of the ledger. And you. could argue that the only reason. Republicans pledge undying fealty and. loyalty to Donald Trump is because. they're concerned that he's the reason. they remain in power. But literally. everything Trump is doing right now is. endangering their prospects of getting. reelected to say nothing of control of. Congress, right? Like if you see I mean, forget about the moral question, right? Like should we even be engaged in. slaughtering thousands of Iranians and.
Lebanese? Like should we should we be. doing this all in America's name with no. particular achievements. viable at the end of all of this. Tactically and strategically, the gas. prices that are not going to come down. for at least several weeks if not months. could energy shortages, the fuel. shortages that are affecting almost. every sector of the global economy. All. this is not good news for any Republican. strategically. They were given an. opportunity to say. no, we don't agree with this and they.
didn't take it. Like to me that that to. me that distills the essence of the. modern day Republican party. It's not. simply the naked pursuit of power. It's. a cowardice that knows no basement, right? Like they are so terrified of him. that they'll seed not only their. independent governing. they will seed their election prospects. and the ability to remain in power just. so that Trump doesn't get mad at them. That is some wild Brian. It it is.
and it and it the part that doesn't make. sense to me is like okay and and you. brought and you had just alluded to this. was. the reason that they're so eager to hug. him is because they don't want, you. know, a mean tweet God forbid or a. primary challenger God forbid to emerge. from his ire. But, if hugging Trump in. and of itself is what's dragging them. down, then then then like what is the. rationale for continuing to do it? I don't know. I mean, I think [laughter]. like I think did someone I actually keep.
meaning to look this up, but like when. is the last Republican primary for 2028? Because I I guess. the thinking is they got to get through. primary season and once they do that, maybe they can have a little more they. can establish a little bit more daylight. between them and the executive branch. But I am I'm like don't hold your breath. on that. Right. And it's and it's also. so transparent what they would be trying. to do. Okay. So, you get through the. entire primary process where you become. the general election nominee and only. then do you suddenly realize that hey,
maybe the maybe the war that I helped. green light wasn't a good idea. Maybe. the gas prices that surged as the result. of me contracting every ounce of my. autonomy over to Trump isn't a good. idea. I mean like everything you can. trace back to their own unwillingness to. speak up when they actually had the. opportunity to do so. >> Totally. I mean, I think that they think. they're going to like they have I mean, I will say they have managed to wipe. their hands of any of the sort of or. they have tried to wipe their hands and. wipe their feet as it were of any of the. most negative stinky that this. Trump administration has thrown at the.
American public. I don't think they can. do this on on on the war in Iran. I. really don't. And I and I mean that. because you know, again, I'm not a CNBC. analyst and I don't follow the market. and nor am I petroleum engineer. But it. seems to me that the effects of this war. are going to be long-lasting and the. ultimate idiocy with which Trump has. conducted himself, we're going to end up. with a harder line regime in place than. it there was at the beginning. Iran is. going to retain some control of a body. of water that it had no claim to before. the start of this war. And in the.
meantime, you know, the Philippines is. on a four-day work week. Like people jet. fuel prices are rising. Gas is going to. be over $4 in a barrel a gallon for the. next at least into Memorial Day. Like. those are tangible effects of this that. the American public is not I think. easily going to forget. In addition to. the moral stain. I mean, I just go back. to the bombing of that girl school and. like God, I hope when Congress like gets. its balls back, we can have some real. investigation into the war crimes.
perpetrated in our name by Hegseth and. his minions. On that point, do you think the. Democrats have a willingness to do that? And I ask because like first of all, we. saw Biden come into office kind of with. this idea that that his presidency would. be a return to normalcy and it was. enough to get him elected, but clearly. not enough to keep him in office. I. mean, that gave you know, gave rise to. to Trump 2.0, which was even more. lawless than before and I think a lot of. that lawlessness was born out of the. fact that that there were no.
repercussions for anything that these. Republicans had done. I mean, even Trump. himself for inciting an insurrection, Merrick Garland wasn't even willing to. look into that for two years and only. only then did he deign to appoint a. special counsel. at which point Trump had enough time to. to kind of wiggle out of any you know, any. charges because there was just enough. delay tactics to to get him to the. presidency. >> and announce he was running for office. again. So, it became impossible actually. really follow anyway. But look, I think.
we have seen there is some evidence that. Democrats have much more of much more. gumption this time around. Number one, I. think the government shutdowns are. indicative of a party that's like we're. going to use every lever we have to. stand on principle. And so far those two. principles those two principles are are. real ones, right? The cost of health. care, which affects 23 of the cost of. Obamacare. I know you cover this. Like. 23 million Americans know what it's like. to have health care costs skyrocket. I. interviewed someone on my show whose. health care costs were going from $100 a. month to $860 a month. I mean, that's.
just not tenable. >> Wild. Yeah. >> Right? Wild wild fluctuations, right? And then the other piece was ICE. You. know, I I do think we talk about signal. moments in administrations and at the. same time we also talk about the way in. which there's so many controversies and. there's so many bad sagas in the Trump. years that it it becomes, you know, blurred together. But I do think the. slaughter the murder of Alex Pretty and. Renee Nicole good sticks in the mind of. people. And the fact that Democrats took. a stand and said we are not going to.
fund the Department of Homeland. Security, which remains unfunded until. we see some significant meaningful. reforms to ICE. That's that's. the American public we all lived through. that moment. And we all saw the. senseless killing of of Americans on the. streets by a group of militarized, you. know, I ICE goons and CPB goons. That's going to come back up. Like. that's They They may have figured out a. way to make these arrests and. deportations less public, but there are.
still horrible stuff happening in these. detention centers. ICE is still doing. something very wicked to the American. public. And I think that Democrats, the. fact that they took a principled stand. and were ready to pay a political cost. in the name of reform is indicative of a. party that is going to fight differently. if and when they get power back. I also. think like the minute you trot a Trump. administration official onto the hill. and ask some tough questions of him or. her, I see you Kristi Noem, they're like. out. You know what I mean? Like bring.
Pete Hegseth If when the Democrats have. control of the oversight committee, like. bring Pete Hegseth in and ask him to. explain why he needed to explode. fishermen in the Caribbean. Yeah, I. mean, that's where we got the the. infamous uh the Dow is at 50,000 moment. from Pam Bondi. Like these people crack. under It It really show I mean, it shows. why they were why they were hired. It's. not because of their competence, it's. because they were going to, you know, heap um heap undying fealty onto Donald.
Trump. Like that's why they're there. And so. >> say about the Dow when they were being. asked about ICE arrests. I mean, it's. just the level of mendacity is but it's. just it's it's artless mendacity. It's. so transparent. And the You're right. The minute they have to open their. mouths and answer tough question, not. only do they embarrass themselves, they. embarrass Trump. And so what I think you. could see in the interim between 2026. and 2028 is a real the heat applied to. the cabinet in a way that it certainly. isn't being right now. You know, the. really jaded part of me.
um sees a lot of this stuff happening. and and in the moment it feels like, okay, nobody could ever um look away. from or forget what just happened here. as it relates to ICE, as it relates to. these immigrant deportations, as it. relates to um the suspension of habeas. corpus. Like every moment. of the Trump era, like every month has. its thing, right? And it all feels like. like there is no way he can he can. escape accountability for all of this. People are so angry about all of this. And and so like the really jaded part of. me is like, well, you know, with the.
speed with which this news cycle moves. I do worry that people are going to. forget about what happened with ICE, uh. going to forget what happened with the. Epstein files, what happened with the Iran war, just. because like, you know, days pass and. there's a reversion to the mean and and. you know, and and their their. media ecosystem is such a well-oiled. machine of just being able to spew out. propaganda. So like, I'm just curious. what your thoughts are on that. Do you.
think a lot of this stuff um sticks or. do you think that there is a reversion. to the mean where where, you know, what. felt like. uh. like a hurricane in one moment, you. know, kind of just filters away into. nothing the next. So I We began this week with a victory. um. a or an election in Hungary that I think. was instructive. I mean, Hungary is the. size of New Jersey, so like let's not. draw too many parallels, but Viktor. Orbán's an autocrat who's ruled with.
like a very interesting grip on the. country's media and its economy, its. healthcare system, and has done a. job. And for a long time, you know, he. This was a 16-year reign. He could get. away with it. Um but what happened was his stewardship. of the economy and the education system. and the healthcare system in Hungary was. so abysmal. that people who would have stuck with. him and let the other traumas and. degradations of democracy slide by began. to get restive. And they began to get. angry. And that I think is.
And they voted him out of office. It was. a perfect storm of years of corruption, years of mismanagement, and and and then. a a practical lived reality that was so. subpar that his time was up. And I think. you're seeing a faster evolution on that. front here in the United States, right? Trump has grossly mismanaged the. economy. The affordability question has. gotten worse, not better, since he's. gotten into office. And then on top of. that, you lay on the Iraq the war in. Iran, you lay you lay the deaths and the.
chaos sown by ICE. I do think on their own each one of. these things wouldn't necessarily be. enough, but I think the lived experience. of Americans right now is so tangibly. not better. That's why you're seeing. this hemorrhaging among Latino men, among the white working class. You know, these are These are coalitions that were. essential in bringing Trump back into. office, and they are not with him. Even. the stuff with Pope Leo, you saw. Catholic bishops standing up to Trump. You saw Christian podcasters standing up.
to Trump. That's not just cuz they were. outraged by him picking a war with the. Catholic Church, it's because Trump's. weak. It's because he hasn't made their. lives better. And now every sort of one. of these things is the straw that has a. potential to break the camel's back. So. I think, you know, in in in in If if we. were talking about singular kind of. events, yeah, maybe it wouldn't be. enough. Maybe it would be we would. revert to the mean, but I do think. because you're talking about an everyday. experience in the lives of Americans.
that is worse under Trump, that these. things hit harder and they have the. potential to really move people that. otherwise would not be in consideration. for either staying home or voting for a. Democrat. You know, what's really. striking is watching these right-wing. podcasters. And these are people who've. built their identities around their. blind fealty to Trump. And even those. people are speaking out. I mean, we had. a pretty um pretty obvious example just. about a week and a half ago. where Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, Megyn. Kelly, um.
uh. I know I'm forgetting one more, but in. any case, we had a bunch of people who. had come out um who had come out against. Trump. And, you know, I'm I wonder if. there's something instructive in there. because these podcasters are obviously. going to their careers are going to. outlast Trump's presidency. And I wonder. if they're now seeing the writing on the. wall in terms of how I don't know, like. like how much of a failed experiment. MAGA was. And they're kind of skating to. where the puck is going as opposed to. where it is right now and recognizing.
that like, okay, if they want to have. some survival beyond the Trump years, they're going to have to go toward the. people are. And if And if they're seeing. that people are upset because Trump's. lied about everything he promised when. he was coming to office, whether it was. lowering costs or no new foreign wars or. releasing the Epstein files or bringing. inflation down or protecting earned. benefits, whatever it may be, that he's. failed on all of those things, it's. inevitable that he's going to continue. purging his own supporters, that these. people um want to make sure that they're. there to pick up those right-wing.
audiences even in the aftermath of. Trump. Like it's actually the people who. are just blind devotees to Trump who are. going to not have much of a half-life. because, you know, once Trump is out and. he's remembered for it being as poor a. leader as he is right now, like those. people are are going to look pretty. ridiculous in the aftermath of Trump. 2.0. Yeah, well, it's it's. I There's an interview that John Allen. from NBC News did with a woman at a gas.
station and she's like, I voted for him. three times. I'm an You know. what I'm talking about, right? >> I'm the idiot. I'm the idiot. Sorry, she. said idiot, not My Did I I I. actually can Now Now I can I know I I. actually do She said. >> I mean, you're right. You're right. Well, whatever, yeah. Uh. First of all, I think we, you know, it's. much like um. when you get try and get someone out of. a cult, it's very hard to You people. have to come to it on their own. Yeah. And like I think part of the reason the. polling has been sort of. un un up until now, Trump's been very.
resilient in the polls, is because. you ask a MAGA supporter, Claire. McCaskill told me this and I fully. believe this. You ask a MAGA supporter. if they still support Trump, and it's an. indictment of their own choice. And so. there's a natural reluctance to say, yeah, I I don't support him anymore. because you're implicated. But we're. we're getting beyond that point. People. are really, I think, just like this. woman at the gas station, she's like, yep, I'm a idiot, but it's a. it's a it's the same way that like. there's a tacit understanding that there. is going to be a life beyond Trump and.
that and a tacit understanding that if. you can save your like if you can save. your rep now, try to. A, I think Tucker Carlson might be. running for president or some higher. office at some point, which should send. chills down everybody's spine, but I. think that could have partially. something to do with it. I think Megyn. Kelly likes to insert herself as. relevant by being sort of counter to the. prevailing White House narrative. I. think she likes I think she thinks she. exerts some extra power, so I think that. there's a personal gain for her in in.
that criticism, but I genuinely also. think both of those two people are um. undying and unyielding opportunists who. understand exactly the thing that you. say, which is we are going to need to. carry this audience with us after Trump. And the best way of doing that is a. separating ourselves from Trump and what. we see as quite obviously his worst. mistakes and retaining credibility as. conservative voices. So yeah, I think. that's a huge calculation in all of. this. And and by the way, like it's not.
just them who see the writing on the. wall. You can tell that Vance does, too, because Vance keeps planting these. stories. He did it in Politico first, then he did it in the New York Times. just about a week ago where he keeps. where he and his team keep leaking like. a faucet this idea that he is the lone. skeptic in the room as it relates to. Iran. They're engaged in this Iran war. right now. And so when you have the vice. president, the number two in this. administration, leaking to these. reporters that he is against the war. that the administration is right now.
fighting, like that that's the writing. on the wall. That shows how how deeply. unpopular this thing is, that he's. already running away from the thing that. is happening in real time. But the. problem for Vance, of course, is going. to be. you know, heat like those headlines, Vance lone skeptic in the room, those. headlines are not going to be enough to. give him the plausibility plausible. deniability that he needs, especially. when you have somebody like Tucker. Carlson who right now can see the. writing on the wall. He's not in the. situation room. He's not plagued by by.
the albatross around his neck that is, you know, being the vice president of an. administration that's fighting this war. And by the way, not not you know, he. doesn't have the ability to run away. from Trump because Trump will just. destroy him. Tucker Carlson can. And so. if there is a situation in 2028 where, you know, Tucker Carlson, God forbid, decides that he's going to run for. president. Like that's a leg up that he. has on J.D. Vance because he's going to. be. and Marco Rubio. We need to hammer these. people. You're so right about the leaks.
Like the New York Times had like an. inside the situation room when Trump. made the decision to go to war with. Iran. And the two people that come out. as like the skeptics in all this, the. kind of semi-reasonable minds in the. room are Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance, which is like the biggest tell that the. the information that was leaked to the. press came from J.D. Vance and Marco. Rubio who are, as you say, conspicuously. mum on this war or at least have more. complicated contorted positions on it. cuz they know they're going to have to. run on it. But you're right. Like I just.
First of all, I think Trump's going to. issue blanket pardons for anybody that. was in the administration because many. of them could be tried for war crimes or. criminal. criminal corruption. But B, like washing. yourself of the stink is going to be. really hard. I mean, the the the the the. poor choices, the corruption, and the. criminality is so profound. It really. makes Trump one look like child's play. And I think Democrats are going to be. way more tenacious than they were the. first time around. And I would assume.
that any Democrat who gets a nomination. in 2028 is going to assure the American. public that there will be a full. accounting of what was done in the. previous four years. Well, you know, the interesting thing. about about that is like. as it relates to poor choices and you. have you have J.D. Vance who is not able. to distance himself from Trump. Like. there was a moment where a reporter even. asked about about his past comments on. on foreign adventurism and and like how. can you how can you how can you have. that position in the past but then hold.
hold you know, be part of an. administration that's engaging in. exactly that behavior right now. And he. was like, I see what you're trying to. do. This is just another gotcha by by. the media. And so he's falling into this. trap that that by the way. Kamala Harris fell into, you know, on. The View when they asked, "What would. you what would you do to how would you. differentiate yourself from Biden? What. would you do differently?" And she. wasn't able to answer that question. And. that was such a bad moment for her. during this past campaign. And and now. J.D. Vance is doing the exact same. thing. And it's so interesting because.
like all of we we have so many instances. where where everything that kind of. caught up the Democrats in the lead up. to 2024 is what the Republicans are. contending with right now. And and and. they should know better because they. exploited it. They have or worse. I. mean, like we we have the we have the. the high prices. Now prices are. obviously surging under this. administration. We have. we have an inability of the government. to recognize what like economic pain. people are contending with by pointing.
to these macroeconomic metrics like the. stock market. I mean, like this is. exactly what Trump exploited in the lead. up to the 2024 election. And they're. just doing it. They've learned no. lessons. No. Well, but they, you know, like let. me just say, you know, it is complicated to criticize the. president whom you serve for any vice. president, right? Who's currently in. office. And that was certainly part of. Kamala Harris's problem. But J.D. Vance. is like literally on a leash. I mean, like the strange patriarchal dynamic.
between him and Trump is like pretty. unique in American politics. And now. they call him daddy. >> [laughter]. >> They call him daddy. They call him daddy. This is not an Alex. Cooper plug. They call him daddy. You. know, like the and so you would imagine. and I think the same is true for Marco. Rubio. They both I'm sure part of the. deal to get them in the cabinet was to. promise them that they would be the. inheritor of the MAGA throne. Now they. have to have a succession style battle. to figure out who's going to get Trump's.
endorsement in 2028. But you know, these. are two people who are both terrified. and intrigued by the president they. serve. And even more so than most. administration officials. So their. inability to answer and distance. themselves from the policies that. they've helped enact is going to be a. massive liability for them as they. launch presidential campaigns in 2028. I. mean, I will relish the question and. answer process on all of it because. there are no good answers. They are the. worst apologists for the worst, most.
corrupt administration in American. history. And and that's like the the part that I. actually can't wrap my head around is. like you have all of these people who. are, you know, you would assume that. they're political animals, right? Like. these members of Congress, these. administration officials, these. senators, they all know what they're. doing. They all can see the writing on. the wall. And I I mean, this brings us. back to the very first topic that we. were talking about here. But that that. is the part that I have trouble. reconciling is like you all. everything that you do is for your own. political survival. And yet you are. right now tying your hitching your wagon.
to an administration that is only. dimming your own electoral prospects, especially like even in these seats that. would otherwise be safe. I mean, we were. talking about the the 2026 midterms that. are coming up. I mean, the Democrats. have have a better according to the. prediction markets, have a better chance. of taking the Senate than even the. Republicans do. And that means. inherently that Democrats. right are favored to win in like Ohio. and Alaska and Texas and and.
North Carolina. I mean, it's it's just. like this is. and so to see these things happening in. real time, to see Mar-a-Lago now. represented by a Democrat in the state. legislature, to see these swings in in. you know, South South Texas among Latino. communities by like 40 to 50 points is. should be a blinking red light to people. whose vision you know, is otherwise. clouded by their blind allegiance to to. the god king.
The sun king. Yeah, I think, you know, being part of Trump's Republican Party. requires some certain suspension of. disbelief, right? You don't have you. have to believe that the laws of. political gravity don't apply to him, which is why he can get away with most. the that he has done or promised. And so I think that's at play here, right? Like oh, this would hurt anyone. else but it's not going to hurt Trump. and therefore it's not going to hurt us. But the miscalculation they're making I. think is the American people see through. it. I think the the the the lived. reality for Americans is way worse now.
than it was eight years ago. And Trump is weaker and more adult as a. character and people see that. You know, the American public sees this person who. does not really look to be in command of. the country that he's supposed to be. leading. And I think that that has. really eroded confidence and given an. opportunity for people who would. otherwise not be critical of him, who. are not in politics to say, "This guy is. up." So I think the pressure. points are much more significant for. these Republicans. I think their earlier. calculations about Trump's ability to.
withstand a certain amount of political. chaos that would otherwise fell anyone. else. I think that calculation is wrong. And I think. the time for comeuppance is now. And. like they really underestimate they look. at what happened in 2022 and the fact. that Republicans came back, Trump came. back from those midterms and won in 2024. and they assume the same is going to be. true that these special elections, off-year elections are not harbingers of. what's to come but one-offs and. anomalies.
And I think that's the wrong calculation. to make. I think what we're seeing to. your point is uniform disavowal of what. the. Republican brand has to offer. And I. think that it's going to be very. pronounced in November. Well, that is. the perfect place to leave off. For. everybody who is watching and listening. right now, highly highly highly. recommend that you subscribe to Runaway. Country both anywhere you get your. podcast as well as on YouTube. So I'm. going to put those links right here on. the screen and also in the post. description. If you're listening on the. podcast, I'll throw it into the show. notes. Alex, as always, it is a pleasure.
talking to. >> Brian, you're the best. Thanks for. having me on the pod. Thanks for the. plug. Please come back to Runaway. Country whenever your schedule allows, my friend. I'm joined now by California. Attorney General Rob Bonta. Thanks so. much for joining me. My pleasure, Brian. Good to see you. again. So we have a huge win here not. just on behalf of the people of. California but really a bipartisan. coalition. Can you explain the win that. you just notched in court? Yeah, we have been in court in the. Southern District of New York. We've been multiple states across the.
country, a bipartisan group of states. suing Ticketmaster Live Nation for. anti-competitive conduct, conduct that. violates antitrust law. And today the. verdict came in and. the jury found for us on every. item that that was presented to them. It. was yes down the line on the verdict. form, 11 pages of yeses. holding Ticketmaster Live Nation. accountable. holding them liable for illegal conduct. So for for folks who.
sat at a computer and tried to buy a. ticket to a concert and. thought that the price was too high or. something was fishy and you know, decided to to purchase it anyway but. weren't weren't happy or decided maybe. to take a pass. It wasn't just fishy. what was happening. It was illegal. And. so this was unlawful conduct on the on. the part of Ticketmaster Live Nation. that hurt our economy, that hurt fans. and consumers, that hurt performers, that hurt other businesses. And it wasn't.
Ticketmaster Live Nation acting because. they were better. they had a better product or a better. design. It's cuz they cheated. They. acted unlawfully. They acted illegally. And that's what the jury found today. So, a really important moment. And some. of the backdrop is the United States. Department of Justice was part of this. case. until they weren't. They dropped out of. the case right before trial. They. settled with Ticketmaster Live Nation on. very weak terms. This US DOJ, this federal government. is soft on corporations that act.
illegally to raise prices. And this is. another example of it. But the states. continued in our case. We went all the. way through trial. We made our case to the jury and justice. was done today. And Ticketmaster Live. Nation is being held accountable. Well, look, I know that there's a lot of. people out there who have bought tickets. or been forced, I should say, to buy. tickets because of the monopolistic. behavior of these of these entities. Been forced to buy tickets on. Ticketmaster Live Nation. Paid exorbitant fees. Recognizing that. this conduct is now illegal. What kind.
of remedy is there for people who have. been impacted? That's the next step. So, this was the. liability stage where a jury decided. that Ticketmaster Live Nation was liable. all across the board on all the. questions presented to them. Next is the. remedy phase where a judge will decide. what happens next, what remedies will. match the liability found by the jury. It could take a lot of different forms. It could be money damages. It could be. behavioral conditions. It could be a. breakup of the monopoly like a breakup.
of an we call it a divestiture of. rolling off as a separate entity of. Ticketmaster, for example. That's. something that that we have asked for. It could be some combination of those. things. It could be something else as. well. So, we will find out in the coming. weeks what the remedy is. There could be the potential for. restitution for victims as well, money. back in pockets. And but all that is TBD. still to be determined in the weeks. ahead. Now, interestingly, this case was.
initially being spearheaded by the. Department of Justice, if I'm not. mistaken. This started in the Biden Department of. Justice under Okay. So, this this this. initially, you know, launched from the Biden DOJ. Trump's team We'll talk about what. Trump's team opted to do and why the. onus ultimately fell to you and a. bipartisan coalition of attorneys. general. Yeah, you know, it's been unfortunately the brand of. this United States Department of Justice.
and the Federal Trade Commission, the. two entities in the federal government. that do antitrust work, to depart and. to retreat from the typical traditional. role of those entities to do, you know, fair, firm, objective antitrust. enforcement. That's been what multiple. administrations, both Republican and. Democrat, have done over many, many. decades. But this. administration is is different. not. enforcing antitrust law. They are. picking winners and losers. They're. trying to.
allow deals to go through when it helps. their friends, their favorites. There's. a specific case, HP Juniper, where we. think there was improper, corrupt. lobbying. and other behavior that was that was. involved. So, here the United States DOJ. on the eve of trial decided to settle. They settled on terms that we thought. were weak. It was a combination of. monetary damages and some behavioral. changes. And we thought it was just. wasn't acceptable. That it wasn't close. to what Ticketmaster Live Nation should. be required to do. And so, we decided to.
forge ahead, go to trial. Now we have. this historical. groundbreaking jury verdict. And and. next we'll have to get the remedy that. matches that liability. You know, you had mentioned that this was a. bipartisan coalition of attorneys. general. What does it say that even some. of these, you know, die-hard right-wing. AGs decided to join in on this case even. when, you know, when Trump's DOJ. wouldn't? What does that say about where. this DOJ is trying to put itself?
And look, you know, to that point, some. of these Republican AGs, we became aware that they were under. pressure from the White House, you know, from Trump to to not continue with the. case. But to your point, they continued. anyway despite the political pressure. because they thought that it was so. clear, it was so egregious, the illegal conduct. was was so reprehensible that. Ticketmaster Live Nation was involved in. that. They had a they had to continue on. in the case. And and not many things are. unfortunately bipartisan these days. I.
wish more were. We are bipartisan with. our Republican colleagues when it comes. to the mental health harms of social. media platforms. And then and we still. are in some of the antitrust cases, not. all. This is one of them. So, I'm I'm. glad. we were able to work together. But, you. know, this is a case in which. Ticketmaster Live Nation executives were. literally laughing at consumers saying. that they were robbing them blind and. that these people are so stupid as they. jacked up their prices and. um really deteriorated their the quality.
in their experience. And, you know, they. took people's money to the bank. They. they acted illegally. Took advantage of. them. They ripped people off. It was big. corporations ripping people off, doing. it unlawfully. It was wrong. They. deserve to be held accountable. And. today they were. What could the. punishment for. Ticketmaster Live Nation look like? And. I'm not talking about a remedy for the. consumers. I'm talking about like, you. know, we've heard about the prospect of. breaking this company up. What You know, it might be too soon for you to answer.
this question or you might not be able. to do it because, you know, this is. still all ongoing. litigation and prosecution. But but in. this kind of a scenario, what could be. on the table? A couple different things. And so, the. the Ticketmaster Live Nation business. model involves. um. promoting performers, representing. venues, and then also selling tickets. through Ticketmaster. And they generally. try to tie all those things together and.
and leverage one with the other. >> just basically become completely. vertically integrated. Absolutely. And. so, if you're. a performer, they'll say you have to use us to. promote you if you want access to all. these great venues that we have. Or if. you're a venue, they say if you want. this, you know, class A highly. sought-after performer, we'll get you that performer, but then. you got to use Ticketmaster. Yeah. Um we. could part of the remedy can be they. cannot require that anymore. They can't. have those tying arrangements, those.
conditions, those requirements in their. business dealings. It could also be a. breakup having Ticketmaster. roll roll off of the Ticketmaster Live. Nation business entity and be a separate. entity. There could be non-exclusive. arrangements where, you know, not just. Ticketmaster is selling tickets for a. concert, but others are as well. You. know, SeatGeek and others can can. compete and. and be part of this the ticket sales so. that, you know, everyday people aren't. forced to pay these sky-high prices.
with really. terrible experiences. And there's the. monetary damages as well. So, a whole. sort of menu of options that we're going. to put before the judge. We think some combination of those, maybe all of those, are are appropriate. You know, it based on what Ticketmaster. Live Nation decided to do in terms of. their illegal conduct. Okay, so we have, and I'm going to finish off with this. We have this ruling here by a judge. At. the same time, you know, we have seen. during the Trump administration. a ton of consolidation. Right now, we're.
in the midst of watching even more. consolidation. in the entertainment industry. Does this. feel like a watershed moment in terms of. antitrust? Do you think that we might. not have gotten there yet as the Trump. administration continues to green-light. projects where. financially or ideologically it benefits. them? Like where where does this What. does this moment say to you in terms of. antitrust more broadly? And I ask that. because. I understand that. antitrust isn't always the sexiest.
topic, but the reality is that. affordability is and this directly. impacts that. So, I presume that that the way people's. eyes glaze glaze over when we've spoken. about antitrust in the in the past isn't. going to isn't going to be that way. moving forward because, you know, people. are tired of getting over by by. the Ticketmaster Live Nations of the. world. They're tired of getting. over by monopolistic entities in grocery. chains or healthcare companies or. pharmaceutical companies as or or.
entertainment companies as we see more. and more consolidation in this space. And so, does this moment feel like a. watershed moment or do you think that. there's still more work to do as we as. we move, you know, deeper into the Trump. administration? You got it 100% right, Brian. Antitrust. enforcement promotes affordability. Antitrust enforcement is affordability. So, you know, it affects people's. pocketbooks, their ability to afford. their lives. And so, it seems like. something, you know, complicated and confusing and. and hard to access. But in the end, it's.
about making sure that the world. is affordable for for people. And. people, you know, channeling your your. anger, Brian. They're angry. They should. be. They don't want to get over. by corporations. They deserve better. They deserve fairness. They don't They. deserve corporations that don't cheat. and don't act illegally. And that's why. this is a watershed shed moment. This is. a historical moment. This is momentous. because the US DOJ and the FTC, the. federal government, has typically played. this role. They're not playing it. anymore to to do traditional, firm, fair.
antitrust enforcement. And now states. states have stepped into the breach. And. people wondered, what can states do? Do. they have the resources? Do they have. the talent? I'm used to the federal government doing. it. I don't even know if states have the. authority. We showed today all those. things, the answer is yes. We have the. resources. We have the talent. We have. the legal authority. We did it. We held. a monopoly accountable for being an. illegal monopoly, for screwing over. consumers. We held them accountable. today. And so, and we're we're we're in the midst of.
doing the same, when it comes to Nexstar Tegna, that. merger for broadcast television. That will raise people's. satellite prices and their cable prices. if that goes through. We're moving to. block that. We're looking at Paramount. Warner Brothers. We're challenging the HP Juniper case. States are because the federal. government will not. And so we showed. today. the the the muscularity of our work, the.
power and potency of our actions, the. ability to get an. critical important result on behalf of. Americans, on behalf of consumers, on. behalf of fans in this case, when the. federal government. will not. Well, I appreciate, you know, I speak on behalf of myself and. everybody watching. I appreciate you got. you stepping up and and doing the work. where where on behalf of consumers where. Donald Trump was perfectly content to. let him walk with a slap on the wrist. You know, showing in effect that it's. people like you. who are who are actually delivering the.
affordability agenda that Trump ran on, which we now recognize was basically. just window dressing at this point. So. with that said, Attorney General Bonta, thanks so much for taking the time for. the work you're doing. Grateful for the opportunity. Thanks, Brian. Good to see you. 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. >> [music].
