Trump faces NIGHTMARE SCENARIO in DEEP RED STATE

I'm joined now by the Democratic nominee. for the US Senate in Iowa, Josh Turick. Josh, when we think about Iowa, I think. most people don't think of this as a. swing state. And so, you know, as we. look toward uh midterm elections, as we. look toward where folks are going to. allocate resources, why is Iowa in play. right now? >> Yeah, thanks for having me. I would say. that. uh for a variety of reasons. First and. foremost, Iowa is in play because we are. a state that has really bottomed out. We. are dead last for economic growth. I.

mean, 50th out of all 50 states. We are. 48th for personal income growth. We are. one of two states already in economic. decline. Uh we're basically dead last. for every single healthcare metric, OBGYNs, uh rural hospital quality, mental health. providers, mental health supports. We're. a state that we've closed 250 more. healthcare clinics than we've opened in. the last 15 years. Uh we're the only. state with a growing cancer rate, second. highest rates behind only Kentucky. And. now we're leading the nation in farm. foreclosures because of the Trump.

tariffs. Then you add that into the fact. that there's no power of incumbency. This is the first time since 1968, uh. you've got an open Senate seat together. with an open governor's race and two. open congressional races. And this is a. a state in Iowa where in Trump's first. midterm, we won three of the four congressional. races. We are three points away from. winning all four. Uh you know, a state. that uh twice voted for Obama, three. times for Trump. We have more. Obama-Trump counties than any other.

state in the union. And in our last. midterm, 2022, which was not a good year for. Democrats, we were only 1.5% away from. having three of our six statewide. officials being Democrats. So, that. means your average Iowa voter went to. the polls and voted for three Rs and. three Ds. Uh you add that into as well. Uh you've got great candidates like. myself and I think our gubernatorial. candidate, Rob Sand, with proven results. of being able to win in red areas and. win over independents and moderate. Republicans. And then lastly, I would.

say you look at what they've done with. federal policy, what people like Ashley. Hinson had voted for. 110,000 Iowans to lose their health. care, thousands more to lose their food. assistance just to give tax breaks to. billionaires. A 119,000 Iowans seeing. their health care premiums double or. triple. Hinson voted four times in favor. of the tariffs, which have decimated our. rural communities and let us to leading. the nation in farm foreclosures. And uh. she's somebody that is a. multi-millionaire that's 10 times more. wealthy in her time in DC in only 6.

years. Initially didn't support uh a ban. on on members of Congress owning and. trading stock. She has not looked out. for Iowan Iowans and uh Iowans are ready. for change in a real way. >> And so what differentiates Iowa from a. raft of other states that that also have. um poor metrics? I mean, we look at the. South for example. Uh a state like. Mississippi is ranked either 49th or. 50th in almost every metric there is. There's full Republican control and yet.

that state very often continues to just. vote Republicans in statewide. And so. and so I think a lot of people kind of. just get used to the fact that once. there is kind of some prescribed. political affiliation in a state, it it. stays that way regardless of the. outcomes. And so why is Iowa different. from these other states that have poor. metrics but keep electing Republicans. regardless? >> Two reasons. I I I would say again, uh. we have completely hit the bottom and I. think often times you really have to hit.

the bottom. A state like Kansas for. example, where you finally hit the. bottom and people are willing to wake. up. I also would say that uh you know, the Trump tariffs uh have really hurt. Iowa the most, even this war in Iran. >> Yeah. >> You I mean, we are upside down on. commodities prices. You go into these rural communities and. you talk to farmers, the word that we. hear the most is betrayal. Uh the Trump administration gives $20. billion to Argentina. Meanwhile, our. Iowa soybean farmers are upside down. Uh you look at uh the war in Iran, Iowans paying huge price for this.

conflict. We've already had three Iowans. lose their life. We're spending a. billion dollars a day uh over there. And. uh meanwhile, we're closing schools and. hospitals here in Iowa. And and and then. uh what we were already were having. issues with with input prices because. we've done nothing to address vertical. integration. And what we're seeing with monopolies on. input prices, then the the the war in. Iran is making it even more difficult uh. for for farmers to be able to afford. fertilizer.

And uh so these are issues that like. really really really affect Iowans. And. then lastly, I I just think that. you know, Iowa hasn't fundamentally. shifted. We're We're We're an older. state. Uh we're a state that at our. essence, I mean, we're the third state. to legalize gay marriage, one of the the. very first states to uh to desegregate. our schools. We're We're We're a state. that, you know, in Trump's last midterm. had three of the four congressional. races being Democrats. 30 years had. Senator Harkin, the father of the. American with Disabilities Act. I think.

we have a long history of of electing. the better candidates. And and so we're. not one of these deeply red states. Uh. we have a long history of being uh a a. blue state, a purple state, and at times. a red state. And that's why I say uh. we're not a red state, we're a common. sense state that has masqueraded more. red. And Iowans are ready for change now. in a real way. >> In your conversations with voters, I'm. I'm particularly uh interested in. conversations that you've had with with. lifelong Republicans or independents,

people who wouldn't normally uh vote for. Democrats. Has there been any any. instances, anecdotal though they may be, that kind of. serve as a good microcosm for the. broader environment? >> Yeah, lots of them. Uh the I am the. Democrat that represents the reddest. district that was won on election day. Um, and so the two communities that I. represent, uh, Carter Lake, Trump won by. 18 points. In my hometown and community. of Council Bluffs, he won by 10 points. I was able to win my district, uh, by.

nearly six points. And I won that every. single by every single day going out. rain or shine, hot or cold, and dragging. my wheelchair upstairs to have. conversations with people. And I would. go there and and I would hear over and. over and over people telling me, uh, you know, I I can't afford, uh, my. grocery prices. I can't afford to keep. gas in the tank. And I don't feel like. people in Washington, uh, feel this. issue or or looking out for me. And I. would tell them, "Look, I'm I'm one of. you. I understand what you're feeling.

economically.". I'm someone that, uh, comes from a a. family where we went to the Goodwill. We. shared clothes, had the wrong color. lunch tickets, went to the free summer. lunch programs. Gone through enormous. amount of of health care adversity. 21. surgeries before I was 12 years old. So, I want to go up here not for the. prestige in the position, but because we. need more folks that are actually going. to go up there and work for the working. class, for the middle class that's being. hollowed out. And I would hear over and. over and over from. Republicans that would say, "I'm not. going to vote for every single Democrat,

uh, but I like your version of Democrat. This Democrat that is focusing on cost, corruption, on kitchen table issues.". And uh, and that's our way forward. I. fundamentally believe in a state like. Iowa, it is on common sense bread. populism. >> And and that's what I want to dig into. here. What is it that you actually want. to achieve in Washington? What would you. like to see, um, Democrats make their. priority once they get there? I mean, we've spent a lot of time talking about. the viability of a Democrat being able. to win in this environment. But but once.

you're there, I mean, the ability for. people to continue voting for you relies. upon you actually holding true to your. promises. We're seeing that happen in. kind of the opposite way right now where. Trump came into office promising to. lower costs and protect health care and. bring down inflation and release the. Epstein files and really have an America. first agenda. He's on the polar. opposite. He's cut health care, cut food. assistance, sent the cost of everything surging. thanks to his trade war, engaged in war. that he swore he would never engage in.

and that's raised the price of gas for. everybody around the country and of. course there's a a systematic cover-up. of those same Epstein files. So, people. can clearly see that those promises. aren't being. aren't being. met, but what is it that you want to do. once you get to Washington? >> I want to fight for a livable wage. I. want to want to raise the minimum wage. First bill I want to sponsor is a. dignity in work. That's going to be to. to raise the minimum wage federally. Here in Iowa it's 7.25. We can recognize. it's not a livable wage. Second would be. to do away with 14C certificates. That's.

the ability for a for-profit business. [snorts]. to pay someone just due to a. disability a sub minimum wage and also. to bring collective bargaining rights. back to every single one of our workers. I want to fight to get private equity. out of housing because I think that's. the only way we can achieve the American. dream. Average age of a first-time home. buyer now in this country is 41 years. old. There's no way that you or I or. anyone in the middle class can. certainly compete with BlackRock and. Vanguard and. Wall Street. I want to fight to get. private equity out of health care. I.

want to fight to make sure that doctors. are deciding care not insurance. companies. I want to fight I believe. health [clears throat] care is a human. right. So, I want to fight for a public. option to be in place for people. I want to fight for our public schools, to address our cancer rates here in. Iowa, to make sure that we've got. drinkable water, but also to address the. corruption that we're seeing in DC. I want to see fundamental campaign. finance reform because I say we can have. oligarchy here, we can have democracy, but we cannot have both and what we have. right now.

is we have outsized influence from. billionaires and large corporations that. are paying off the our politicians and. buying off our elections and I want to. fight to pass the Disclose Act to make. sure that every dollar that's donated to. a campaign, to a PAC, or super PAC is. accounted for. Also, do everything we. can to overturn Citizens United. But then also fight to make sure we've. got ethics reforms, both to members of. Congress and in Supreme Court. I'm in. favor of term limits, banning of members. of Congress and their family from owning. and trading stocks. And I would like to. mandate every single member of Congress.

has to host at least one annual town. hall to be accountable to their. constituents. I think if we focus on. these issues, the issues that apply to. 3.2 million Iowans, cost, corruption, kitchen table issues, that's the way forward in a state like. Iowa. >> In terms of your conversations with. folks, what has been the biggest. disappointment that they've seen with. with the [snorts] people that they voted. in right now? Like the the the governing. party right now. What what seems to have. been the straw that's broken the camel's. back for people who are defecting and.

may have voted for Trump or Republicans. before and are now uh supporting your. campaign? >> Um you know, as I've been traveling the. state, I I I would hear. from from from from lots of folks. Uh. you know, here here's why I'm supporting. Trump because he's going to bring down. our gas prices. He's going to bring down. our gas prices. He's going to bring down. the the car He's going to make sure that. the American dream uh continues for me. And when I'm out there in these in these. red communities, I say, "I don't vilify. these folks." I say, "Look, I understand. why you voted for Trump. He accurately.

identified that the status quo was not. working for you, was not working for the. middle class, was not working for rural. communities or small family farms.". Problem has been every single one of his. policies have been faux populism. >> Yeah. >> From Trump tax cuts, 85% going to the. wealthiest Americans. Uh the most. egregious example, the big beautiful. bill, uh where here in Iowa. we have 110,000 Iowans losing their. health care, thousands more losing food. assistance just to give tax breaks to. billionaires. I really think it is that.

uh we Iowans feel like their. representatives are only looking out for. billionaires, large corporations, lobbyists, and donors. And we've moved. into the second Gilded Age where the. have and have-nots. And I think that the. problem with DC is we've got. millionaires like Ashley Hinson who. become 10 times more wealthy in her time. in DC. We got 73 millionaires in the. United States Senate. And and we need. more individuals that are going to go up. there with lived experience. that are going to go up there and.

actually fight for the people. >> Why do you presume that that the GOP. more broadly is willing to stomach so. much of this overt corruption right now? I mean, like. you mentioned the Gilded Age and and I. think that's the perfect that's the. perfect encapsulation of of what we're. living through right now. Like, you. know, the encrusting the Oval Office in. gold, the redoing of the reflecting. pool, building a a Trump arch, this. ballroom that of course no regular. Americans will ever step foot into.

Uh, you know, we have a. Qatari jet that's being retrofitted to. the tune of a billion dollars paid for. by by taxpayers. Not only is this happening at the hands. of somebody who purports to be this. populist champion, but the rest of the. GOP is is allowing this. They're they're. perfectly content to allow all of this. to move forward. Maybe we'll have some. modicum of pushback you know, a few. months before an election. They they. deign to actually admit that hey, maybe. a $2 billion. slush fund for insurrectionists who are.

seeking to kill cops on January 6th. might not be that great political. optics. But why do you why do you. presume the rest of them are allowing. this to move forward. recognizing how unpopular it is and how. bad the optics are. >> I think they're afraid of of political. retribution because they've they've. they've seen what happens when. when they lose Trump's endorsement. Yeah, mean, you look at uh know, Thomas. Massie, for example. >> Thomas Massie, Bill Cassidy, John.

Cornyn. >> On and on. And I mean, unfortunately, we've we've moved into an imperial. executive branch where we have seated. all the power that should be in the. legislature. And I mean, that's the problem with. these uh overt tribalists that that that. we have up there. Is they've got to kiss. the ring and they've got to fall in. line. And this is again why we need more. individuals like myself that are going. to go up there and actually say, "I don't care about political party. I. never have. I really don't care if it's. a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. I want to go up there and actually fight.

for bipartisan solutions to people's. problems. And my political North Star is. not going to have anything to do with. leadership. It's exclusively going to be. what is going to help the middle class, what is going to help our workers, what. is going to help Iowa and Iowans. And I. think if we had more individuals going. up there with that mentality in DC, we. could fundamentally change DC, and we we. would have a government that was working. for the people again, not just for the. billionaires.". >> Well, I think it's clear why your. campaign is succeeding. Uh Josh, for. those who are looking to help you out as.

we head toward uh toward the general. election in November, where can they go? >> Yeah, they can go to Turek, T U R E K, the number four Iowa, turek4iowa.com. And really do believe, you know, I'm not. taking any corporate PAC money in this. And so, we're relying on individual. donors, but really believe that this is. a once-in-a-generational opportunity. that we've got here in Iowa to be able. to win Senator Harkin's seat back that. we had for 30 years. I'm only here. because of his work on the Americans. with Disabilities Act. And that we can. once again from Iowa have a senator that.

is fighting for the people, fighting for. the middle class, fighting for social. and economic justice, and fighting for. these social safety nets like Medicare. and Medicaid and Social Security that. we're seeing hollowed out, uh not just. someone that's out there looking out for. the billionaires and the large. corporations. We've got enough. millionaires up in DC. We need people. with real experience, lived experience. of struggle both on the economic and the. health care side. Because when you've. experienced it, you'll have a different. level of empathy and a different level. of fight, and this is what we need up in. D.C. Fighters for the people, and that's. what I'll be in the U.S. Senate.

>> And I just want to underscore like how. big of an opportunity we have right now. As Josh mentioned, there is no power of. incumbency right now. These are all open. seats. We have an amazing slate of. candidates between you, Josh, and Rob. Sand running for governor. Um and and if we're able to win here and. deliver for people um in subsequent. elections, we'll own that power of. incumbency, but this is the perfect. election cycle to be able to do that. So. um. I'm going to put the link to your. website right here on the screen and. also in the post description of this.

video. For those who are listening on. the podcast, I'm going to throw it into. the show notes. For those who are. looking to donate, your money goes far. in Iowa. Uh this is not an expensive uh. market in the same way that New York and. L.A. and those other states are. And uh. and this is a great opportunity to flip. some seats that um that that could. really make a massive difference moving. forward. So with that said, Josh, thanks. for taking the time today, and best of. luck in the campaign trail. >> Hey, thank you for doing this. I've. always been a big fan, and so this was a. real pleasure for me to to join you. today. Thank you. >> Thank you.