Trump falls into TRAP with FATAL MISTAKE

There was a trap laid at the State of. the Union that Trump 100% needed to. avoid and yet walked right into and it. was on display quite a bit. But here are. a few moments that sum it up quite. perfectly. >> Less than $1 trillion for four years. versus much more than $18 trillion for. one year. What a difference a president. makes. A short time ago, we were a dead. country. Now we are the hottest country. anywhere in the world. Bahadas,

our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really. don't know what to do about it. People. are asking me, "Please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used. to winning in our country. until you. came along. We're just always losing. But now we're winning too much. And I.

say, "No, no, no. You're going to win. again. You're going to win big. You're. going to win bigger than ever." Okay, so. let's go way back in time to the 2024. campaign, watching the Democrats insist. that the economy was the best it's ever. been, effectively managing to alienate. themselves in the eyes of the voters who. felt that that wasn't the case at all, and that people who were claiming. otherwise were out of touch. So it would. have been bad enough that Democrats were. presiding over a country where people. were hurting so much economically. But. it was the fact that those Democrats.

seemed proud of it that was the last. straw for so many Americans. And of. course, you know, we all saw what. happened in that 2024 election. Republicans took the House, the Senate, the White House. All pretty brutal. But. it was born out of that disconnect. between what a political party is saying. and how Americans are actually feeling. Which obviously brings me to right now. The reality is that that economic pain. that sent Republicans into power has not. subsided. In fact, it's gotten worse. Owed expressly to Trump in the GOP. His. tariffs have raised the cost of.

everything from food to electronics to. clothing. The one big beautiful bill. gutted healthcare and food assistance, making those things more expensive. And. inflation, which plagued Biden so much, is virtually the same as when he left. office, a few ten of a point lower. Meaning nothing has changed for. Americans. And in fact, things have. gotten worse for Americans. And Trump's. response is to pretend that everything. is great, that he's fixed it, we're in. the golden age, and that he's the white. knight who swooped in and saved us. So.

tell me, after watching what just. happened in 2024, what kind of position. does that put the rest of the Republican. party in with the American people? Because I I'll tell you what, you know, everybody heard. They heard Trump saying. that costs were down, that groceries are. cheaper, that utility bills cost less, when none of those things are true. And. Americans know they're not true because. we all have eyes and we all pay for. those things. All of which is bad. enough. But now we got to listen to. Trump gaslight us into believing that we. shouldn't believe our own eyes. And.

frankly, that's not a very effective. strategy. And it's not just going to. backfire on Trump. Now the rest of the. GOP has to go out and campaign for. midterms and either distance themselves. from Trump which could earn them the. hellfire of Trump's choose social. account or they could embrace Trump as. so many of them so often do and make. themselves seem just out of touch to. Americans as he is. So either way, not. great options. And the reality is that. Trump could have kept his promises, but. he wasn't interested in helping somebody. who wasn't himself. Which is why he is.

opting to build a ballroom and redoing. the rose garden and hosting crypto. dinners where he can casually launder. billions of dollars to himself and his. family and prosecuting his political. enemies. Trump had a clear runway to. keep his promise and focus on regular. Americans. And yet he chose himself. Trump first, America last. So, I'm sure. that Trump himself feels great after the. State of the Union because anytime he's. the center of attention and just saying. words, he feels like he's winning. But.

all he's done in effect was fall into. the most obvious trap ever. A trap he. benefited from in this last election. cycle. And the consequences for himself. and his party are going to be apparent. soon enough. You're watching No Lie with. Brian Tyler Cohen. Next up are my. interviews with Norm Eisen and Alex. Michaelelsson. No Lie is brought to you. by Hule. So, when do you usually realize. that you forgot to eat? For me, it's. sometime around 2 p.m., meaning I not. only forgot to eat breakfast, I also. forgot lunch. That's why Hule ready to. drink is a lifesaver for me. Not just.

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candy, stuffed animals, and of course, lots of talk about relationships and. dating. And no matter where you are, whether you're married or dating or. single or just focusing on you, you're. right on time. Therapy can help you find. your way and see more clearly where you. want to be. Therapy can also help you. identify what's weighing your. relationships down and find ways to. brighten them again. Whether it's for. individuals or couples, therapy is an. opportunity to identify what's getting. in the way and help remove any blockers. That's why I'm such a big fan of. BetterHelp. So, here's why BetterHelp is. such a great asset. First of all,

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therapy BetterHelp is the world's. largest online therapy platform, having. served over 6 million people globally. And it works with an average rating of. 4.9 out of five for a live session based. on over 1.7 million client reviews. Sign. up and get 10% off at. betterhelp.com/nolie. That's betterh elp.com/nolie. I'm joined now by the co-founder of. Democracy Defenders Action, Norm Eisen. Norm, I have been looking forward to. talking to you about this in particular. because as we all know, a few days ago, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling.

invalidating Trump's tariffs. And the. question became, what about everybody. who paid for these tariffs? What legal. action is being taken um because we've. all spent all this money now uh buying. goods and those tariffs were. unconstitutional? You have an update. here. Can you bring that to us? >> Yes, Brian. It's so great to be back. with you and your viewers. This is. another major push back by a 63 vote at. the Supreme Court. And like uh the.

famous Sherlock Holine, uh Watson, what about the dog that. didn't bark in the night? The Supreme. Court left a complete blank slate for. everybody who has been wrongly assessed. these tariffs that over $150 billion. dollar worth of wrongly assessed tariffs. to go to court and get their money back. In a better world, the administration. would just say, "Sure, we'll pay you.

back." They're going to make people. fight for them. So at Democracy. Defenders Action, we've been very active. in this case. Uh we have represented. conservatives, every administration from Nixon to Trump. one saying these tariffs are illegal. And now we're very pleased to be working. with former New Jersey at Attorney. General Matt Platkin. And we're going to be working on uh.

getting those uh illegal tariffs uh back. for those who paid them, particularly. for small businesses, Brian. You know, they operate on such a tight profit. margin. These tens of thousands of. dollars, in some cases hundreds of. thousands of dollars that small. businesses paid in tariffs are uh the. difference between being profitable and. declaring bankruptcy. So, we're going to. fight for those small businesses. >> And so, how what is the structure of. these lawsuits? Is it going to be one. big class action lawsuit? Is there going.

to be a a whole deluge of individual. litigation on behalf of each individual. small business owner? Um well the uh exact form of the. litigation uh will be worked out in the. days ahead. Um but the easiest way to do. these cases is to have the individuals. file uh for um legal claim for what they. paid and then to centralize all of those.

claims. you know, if you have one small. business owner who's um paid $50 or. $100,000, it can be very tough to litigate that. kind of a case because it's so expensive. to go to court. But if you're. representing dozens, hundreds, thousands. of those business owners, then you can. go to court. And for the business. owners, it can be very much more. streamlined to get their money back uh.

if they're not going through a class. action mechanism, but instead they're. filing their individual cases and those. cases are being litigated in a. centralized way. Norm, is there some. hope that by virtue of the work that you. and your team are doing to help um. streamline this process for impacted. small business owners that that could. force the administration's hand so that. they're not just mired in these court. proceedings, which you know, if if these. small business owners start winning one. by one, then it's not just that they're.

spending money to to to make these small. business owners whole, they're also. paying the legal fees. And so it might. actually be more beneficial for the. White House to ultimately say, "Hey, if. we're going to lose this much, it's just. going to be worth it for us to figure. out a way to streamline this refund. process, this reimbursement process, so. that we're not getting killed twice, one. on the refunds and another on the legal. fees. Is that your hope for all of. this?". >> Um, it is. You know, we've learned in. litigating with these administration.

um figures and um between Democracy. Defenders Fund and Democracy Defenders. Action, uh we have over 260 legal cases. and matters. We've learned that um. asking politely is not always the way to. go, Brian. >> Yeah. Yeah. you need to in a more normal. circumstance, a major loss at the. Supreme Court like this, the. administration would say, "Hey, we'll. set up a system to pay everybody back.".

Here, we think it is important to file. those cases. Could be done, as you. asked, through class action. It can be. done through these individual claims. that are rolled up. We call that a mass. action where a bunch of individuals are. working together. There's strength in. numbers. there a uh a mass of uh claims. uh uh moving in synchronicity. The advantage of going to court is you. may be able to get a fast resolution,

get the cases uh get a test case, get it. resolved, get a court declaration that. then allows other speedy resolution. For. example, uh, Congress could say, "Hey, we don't want to make our small. businesses go through this process of. having to litigate, so we're going to. put something in a bill. We're going to. attach it to must pass spending uh, uh, legislation, and we're going to make our.

wonderful small businesses whole that. way." The Supreme Court has said very. unequivocally, this was illegal by a 63. uh, ruling. You had three liberals, three conservatives, different. reasoning, same result, illegal tariffs. And there's very strong case law that. when an illegal tariff is assessed, uh. you're entitled to get your money back. that you were uh forced to pay uh under. illegal uh circumstances. So perhaps.

Congress will respond to the litigation. I think the public should certainly. respond. It's not fair to these small. businesses. They are the drivers of our. economy. They uh are the job creators. Um they. create innovation and new products. So. uh Attorney General Planin knows a lot. about this, just left as the New Jersey. AG and is spearheading the effort uh.

with us at Democracy Defenders Action to. try to figure out a good resolution in. these matters. You know, Norm, a lot of. people are going to watch this and. certainly agree uh with you when you say. that these small businesses are the. drivers of the economy, but there are. also consumers who have been impacted. Consumers who have bought electronics. and clothing, food, h housing, equipment, whatever it may be, um who. had to pay more as the direct result of. these tariffs because often times the. companies will just pass on the cost.

directly to the consumer. And so what. can impacted consumers do who are. looking for some some way to get whole. given Trump's imposition of of illegal. tariffs? >> Well, um, we always say, Brian, we've. talked about it on your show many times, the importance of proceeding in the. court of law and in the court of public. opinion. And that's where these. consumers come in. In the court of law, we've been very proud. This is not a. partisan issue. It's a nonpartisan.

issue. We represented dozens of. conservatives from every Republican. presidential administration from Nixon. to Trump on saying, "Hey, uh we're supposed to be a free market. economy. These tariffs uh are illegal. and they're impinging the freedom of our. markets." Uh then, uh you have the court. of public opinion. That's where the. consumers come in in speaking out in. making their voices heard in supporting. our small businesses as in the court of.

law. Uh you have those who have legal. standing uh the businesses who've. actually paid the amounts. I think it's. beneficial for consumers if we can get. that $150 billion plus back into the. hands of these businesses just as the. prices went up under the tariffs. Uh. perhaps there'll be positive impacts on. affordability for all Americans. Certainly uh it makes a point about our. democracy. It's really a double bottom.

line here. Yes, there's the question of. u the people who've had to pay the. wrongful tariffs. But Brian, there's. also the question of everybody who steps. up to litigate this in the court of law. or to speak out in the court of public. opinion is also standing up for our rule. of law, for our democracy. So um the. American people uh are responding in a. very significant way. Uh it really was a.

landmark case and we were very proud to. start work for those conservatives and. now we're going to be moving over uh to. support uh small businesses if that's. possible depending on their. circumstances. >> So Norm, let's say I'm a small business. owner who is impacted by the imposition. of these tariffs, these unlawful. tariffs. What could I do if I was, you. know, listening to you speak and wanted. to be part of this whole process? Well, the first thing you need to do is to get.

information. Uh, email Attorney General. Blotkin. He set up an email address. Tariff refunds. T A R I F R E F U N Ds. at Platkin L P L A T K I N LP.com. And Brian will as always uh share that.

email address with you. >> I'm going to put that in I'm going to. put that in the I'm right here on the. screen and that's going to stay on the. screen for a while so folks can write it. down on their own. And I'm also going to. put that email address in the post. description of this video. >> Terrific. And then um um you can get. more information and of course legal. cases uh need to be assessed. every. individual their uh claims, their status. needs to be looked at. Uh if you email. him and uh and request more information,

uh the uh uh uh plot confirm will get. back to you. And uh you know, they're. looking at this through a a double. bottom line. They want to find ways to. help small businesses if possible, including in court. But Brian, they're. also fighting for democracy. They are a. public interest firm doing so many. wonderful things. The former AG instead. of joining big law, he left his AG post. and he's come out here to help all of us.

in fighting for democracy in the public. interest as well as analyzing whether. it's possible to get refunds back. Nor, we can all see how much this impact how. much this Supreme Court decision impacts. Trump. He was I rateate in the immediate. aftermath. He he called an emergency. press conference, imposed a 10% global. tariff under a different authority. The. next morning, stilling from this, he. upped that 10% global tariff to 15%, he. went on a a rampage against even the.

conservative justices and said that. their families should be ashamed. This. is obviously something that impacts him. And so, is there any concern from your. end? And I have a feeling I know what. the answer is going to be, but is there. any concern from your end that by giving. impacted Americans an outlet to get. whole um as the result of these illegal. tariffs that you're going to draw the. eyeire of Donald Trump who clearly takes. this issue personally? >> I uh. have long ago.

uh abandoned any concern that I have. about doing that. probably somewhere uh. around the hundth uh case or matter. against the Trump administration, Brian, and it's been such a privilege to come. on your show to share uh that uh journey. uh what a distance we've traveled. together uh with your wonderful viewers, listeners, uh over the past year plus. where you know I wrote for the New York.

Times uh as Donald Trump was coming into. office. Are we sleepwalking. into autocracy? But these legal cases. and matters, hundreds of them, and it's. not just us, it's it's many others. who've also litigated, they uh threw off. sparks that has become a fire of. justice. And you see public protests, political leaders dawning press. awareness and in particular results in.

public opinion polls and at polling. places uh repudiating authoritarianism. really in a bipartisan way, a big tent. coalition and the danger, death and. destruction has been vast. But that. atmosphere of impunity and uh uh and. fear has dissipated as people become. more and more courageous. I think. history will look back for example at. Minneapolis the way we talk about.

Birmingham or Selma as key inflection. points in the civil rights movement. Um, we've we've seen a the real birth of a. democracy movement that is stronger than. Donald Trump's authoritarianism. And I. think uh this tariffs case is a uh. declaration by the Supreme Court that. they're not going to have it at least in. this area. I by no means agree with. everything that they have done or will.

do, but they're not having it here. and. uh great lawyers like uh former AG. Platkin are fighting in court to do the. right thing as well. And the tariff case. provides another opportunity to um uh to. achieve that double bottom line. Uh. recovering wrongly paid tariffs for. small businesses. uh both for the sake of redress and. accountability, making them whole,

helping with affordability in our. economy, but also the other bottom line. of uh joining in to fight for our. democracy. Well, look, I I have said it. before and I'll say it again. Uh I am. always happy to elevate the fighters and. there's no better fighter than you. So, I appreciate the work that you're doing. alongside the former AG of New Jersey. And one last time, Norm, can you give. the email address so that folks who are. looking to participate can reach out? >> Tariff refunds. T A R I F F R E F U N Ds.

at Platkin L P L A T K I N LP.com. Email the former AG. Let him know uh. your interest. Again, no guarantees, of. course, uh but he's there to give you. more information, particularly if you're. a small business owner. Um those are the.

uh potential critical cases that can. make the difference in striking that. double bottom line, getting back the. tariff that you directly paid, but also. striking a another blow for our. democracy. >> Excellent. And again, that email address. is tariff refundsplotkin. pl a t k i nlp.com. And again, that link is going to be in. the post description of this video. Norm, as always, thanks for the work. you're doing. Thanks for taking the time.

today. >> Thanks, Brian. Great being with you as. always. >> I'm joined now by the host of The Story. Is on CNN, which airs 9 to 11 Pacific, Alex Michaelson. Alex, thanks for. joining me. >> Thanks, Brian. Great to be back with. you. So, Alex, you have been speaking to. a lot of people on both sides of the. aisle and especially uh about the. Epstein files because this is one of the. principal issues that everybody's. talking about right now. I'm curious, especially among your right-leaning. guests that you have on air, does there. seem to be a way for these people to. avoid talking about the Epstein files or.

does it seem like this is just an issue. that's going to dog them from now until. midterms and possibly even beyond? >> I think it depends. I mean, there are. some folks on the right, um, who are. really concerned about the Epstein files. and have called out President Trump for. it, and we've seen that on the air. Um, and there are other folks who, I think, find it in their professional uh, best. interest to defend President Trump no. matter what. Um, and they'll pretty much. say whatever he wants them to say. Uh.

now in terms of whether it will dog. President Trump, I think we don't know. that yet uh because we haven't seen all. the files. So based off of what has come. out so far, there is no smoking gun um. that you know implicates the president. and any sort of criminal conspiracy. There's sort of lots of things that. folks on the left are concerned about, but there's nothing big. Um I still. contend that the issue that is the. biggest potential problem for President. Trump is the economy, right? um and the.

cost of living. Um that is what most. people deal with on a day in dayout. basis. Um and that is an issue that. nobody Republican or Democrat can lie to. people about. Um because when they go to. the store and they see the prices, the. price is what the price is, not what. some politician tells you the price is. >> Well, on this issue of we don't know, you know, we don't know whether there's. any smoking gun. I mean, you you. obviously have covered Trump, you know, for the last decade. Uh, in fact, you've.

you've spoken with him personally. You've you've had the opportunity to. answer ask him questions when when he's. come to California to do press. conferences or whatever it may be. You. know that this guy would not voluntarily. subject himself to the news cycles that. he's subjecting himself to right now if. what was in these files wasn't worth. hiding. And so how do how do you think. about that aspect of it? Because he. knows the media better than any other, you know, president ever has. He knows. the media better than most people could.

could imagine. And so he understands. that if if you know if he is subjecting. himself voluntarily to this media. narrative, it has to be for a reason. >> Probably uh it's probably true, but we. don't we don't know that for sure. And. so, you know, based off of the way we do. things, we have to do it based off of. facts and things that you can prove. Um, we do know, for example, like there were. years of speculation on Russia stuff. Um, and there was not at the end a whole.

lot that was provable against him. Um, and so there are folks that are his. supporters who would say there's a lot. of media hysteria over things which. sometimes turn out to not be true. And. there's nuance when it comes to the. Epstein files, too. some people who just. are in some ways uh mentioned in emails. are not necessarily the same people um. who were having sex with underageed. women. Uh there's nuance to it as well. >> Yeah. And I know in in one of those. situations we're we're talking about uh.

Casey Wasserman who is in charge of the. Olympics uh here in Los Angeles in 2028. Can you speak on on that story a little. bit? So Casey Wasserman um is the head. of LA28 which means he is the the person. overseeing the Olympic Games coming to. Los Angeles which obviously is going to. be a huge world story. He helped uh. bring them here about 10 years ago. He's. been working on this project. Uh very. very influential in Los Angeles um as a. talent manager. He owns a a talent.

agency called Wasserman uh that does a. lot of folks in entertainment and in. sports. Um, so his name was invoked in. the Epstein files. Uh, he exchanged. flirty emails with Galain Maxwell, um, Jeffrey Epstein's girlfriend. Uh, and, uh, we don't have any evidence of him. exchanging emails even with Jeffrey. Epstein. We have no evidence at all of. him ever going to the island or doing. anything with anyone underage. Casey. Washerman was married at the time, so. kind of a scumbag thing for your wife to.

be exchanging flirty emails with another. woman. Um, but that would not be a. fireable offense um if you owned a. company in terms of HR just because. somebody flirted with somebody else. Um, but uh his name is associated with. Jeffrey Epstein now because it's in this. trunch of emails. So, uh, the board who. hires and fires him so far have stood. with him. But some politicians have. slowly started to call for him to be. out, calling him a distraction. So much.

so that he decided to sell his talent. agency and say that he was a. distraction. So now there's an effort to. get him out of LA28. We'll see what ends. up happening with that or not, but it. it's sort of proof of a bigger thing. Like for example, there's a guy named. Steve Hilton who's running for governor. of California. And there's an email that. mentions him uh that says that he was. interested in setting up a meeting with. Woody Allen to talk to his boss at the.

time, David Cameron, but it was in the. trunch of email. So, some of the. Democrats that are running for uh. California governor have said Steve. Hilton is in the Epstein files. He. should drop out of the race. And when. you dig a little deeper, you're like. really? Uh so some of it I think the. name Epstein is is getting associated. with people and it's become like a. scarlet letter and a bunch of. politicians are reacting but not every. story is the same. And when you look at. the facts of somebody like Prince.

Andrew, a former Prince Andrew, what. he's involved with and accused of much. much much more serious. Or even you look. at somebody like Deepo Chopra, uh, who. has been a spiritual guru for so many. And you look at the emails and him. wanting Israeli young women and all the. rest of that is just really gross. Um, so I I don't think the it's it's one. sizefits-all when it comes to the the 3. million plus documents associated with. Jeffrey Epstein. But isn't it. interesting how how people's threshold.

for those who are involved in the. Epstein files is so sensitive um in and. in most cases as it should be and yet. this administration doesn't seem to be. carrying that burden like we're seeing. foreign governments basically like like. people who are engaged in in in the UK. government or or in Northern Europe. I. mean, this is having such a massive. effect on on those people who were in. any way implicated with Epstein and. they're all, you know, anybody who was.

involved is getting ousted from their. positions and we're seeing that all over. the world. And yet for this. administration, it doesn't seem to be. having any impact whatsoever. >> Well, in fact, the opposite. They seem. to be going out of their way not to not. to even address it. When Pam Bonnie's. had an opportunity to even look at. Epstein survivors during a testimony, uh, she chose not to do it. Um, yeah, it. is interesting seeing the way that the. world reacts to things. It was also. interesting, Brian, just this past week, um, I was anchoring live and, uh, in the. middle of our show, we went to, um, uh,

South Korea where there was a, uh, there. was an incident where the the former. president was convicted of inciting an. insurrection and potentially sentenced. to life in prison. Now, we know how that. went here. in America. They didn't even. charge him. And now they're potentially. investigating Jack Smith for. investigating President Trump. So, it is. interesting. They see around the world. there does seem to be a different. threshold when it comes to uh to the.

government and to and to going after. high-profile officials. I mean, to be to. go after the former president of a. country and convict him of something or. to go after Prince Andrew, I mean, the. king's brother, you know, no royal has. been prosecuted for a crime in hundreds. of years. uh and the fact that he's, you. know, now potentially going to face. justice is really something if you think. about it. >> Well, it's kind of it's kind of these. sto these two stories may seem. disperate, but but they're one and the. same. I mean, this is the same story of,

you know, our inability to hold this. criminal cabal of pedophiles to account. is not dissimilar to our inability to. hold the ruling class politicians to. account when they've done something. wrong. And ironically enough, it's. happening at the hands of the same. person. Like Trump has the ability right. now to release the Epstein files and his. DOJ has the ability to hold these. co-conspirators to account. And of. course Pam Bondi will say, "Oh, there's. we don't even know if there, you know, there are no co-conspirators." Which has. already been disproven. We've already.

seen pictures disproving as much. We. know that there are at least six. co-conspirators who Roana and Thomas. Massie have uncovered within, you know, two hours of just looking at some of. these files uh when they had the. opportunity to do so at at uh at at the. DOJ. And so, you know, that whole. talking point has fallen on its on its. face. But then Trump himself is the one. who was able to evade prosecution, you. know, in in all of these four cases. where he was indicted. And so, you know, this is somebody um who who has shown. whether it's, you know, pedophiles or.

the ruling class elites that Trump does. not value this idea of of holding a. certain trunch of people, a certain. elitist trunch of people to account. And. and that's sort of I do think actually. some of the political danger for Donald. Trump. Um because the way that the. Epstein files for the MAGA base has been. for years is this idea that there's a. different set of justice for people in. power. Um and the way that they're. seeing this play out kind of makes that.

point. I mean, you hear somebody like. Marjorie Taylor Green um who has now, you know, had a public break from. President Trump over this issue. articulating that point. And it also. goes back to the affordability issue. I. actually think those two things are tied. together as well because the argument. was you're going to fight for us. You're. not going to forget about us. You are. going to deliver for us. And if that's. not really happening and the prices. aren't really lower, but but they see.

the rich folks who clearly did something. wrong getting pardoned because they know. the president or they're they're rich. That doesn't play great. Uh it doesn't. look great. um that you're saying we're. going after Venezuelan drug boats and. other things because they're concerned. about narcotics and then you pardon a. former leader who has a bunch of. criminal con convictions for drug. offenses. You know, some of this stuff.

doesn't look great and and I do think. that there's a danger in that. >> And of course, the midterms coming up in. November are going to be a referendum in. large part on exactly that point. And. you know, we we can talk about the. broader midterms, but I think while I. have you and while I have this. opportunity, it's worth talking about. the California gubanatorial race because. this is something that you've been. especially focused on as uh as somebody. who's obviously been the principal. reporter out here in California. So, how. is the California gubernatorial race. looking? Because from my vantage, it.

seems like a lot of Democrats have. jumped in. No one's really caught fire. and uh and in fact there is some risk. that because of the way jungle our. jungle primary system works we could see. not one but two Republicans advance to. the to the general election. >> Yeah. I mean the primary is kind of. nuts. I mean if you think about it. So. this weekend there was a convention in. San Francisco. All of the Democrats were. there. Matt Mayan, the mayor of San. Jose, got in too late to be considered.

for the endorsement. To get the party's. endorsement, you need to get 60% of the. state delegates to be behind you. Eric. Swallwell was closest to 60%. At 23%. >> Yeah. Not too Not too close to 60%. >> So So that that gives you a sense of the. party leaders. They're not ready to. coalesce behind somebody. There are a. bunch of people running that are all. sort of crowded up against each other. We are starting to see some trend lines. in the race. Eric Swallwell seems to be.

doing pretty well. Um especially with a. lot of the anti-Trump people. Tommy. Styer, the billionaire who ran for. president. A lot of people remember him. Climate change activist. Spent a lot of. money to try to impeach Donald Trump. He's is spending a lot of money. Uh he's. already put in $27 million of his own. money. He's kind of the only person with. ads on TV. And it is starting to work. You're starting to see him pick up some. steam. He is interestingly going as the. billionaire who's going for the. workingclass person. So he's trying to.

be the populist candidate and going. after labor unions which traditionally. have a lot of power in California. Katie. Porter who a lot of your audience is. going to be familiar with of course um. she's been struggling since those videos. of her came out. You start to see her. down in the polls a little bit. But. there is this phenomenon of potentially. two Republicans. It's unlikely. Yeah. uh. the top data status uh scientist in in. the state who who runs simulations of. this and and kind of is the go-to said.

it's about a 12% chance um based off of. where the polls are right now. Um but. 12%'s not 1%. I mean that's that's an. insignificant thing. And if you think. about the potential result of that, um, that California then would have a. Republican governor and there wouldn't. even be a Democrat to vote for on the. general election, which could have a. huge impact down ballot, right, on all. these close congressional races and and. other statewide office races as well.

Well, to that point, I mean, have have. these candidates been asked. at a certain point when it becomes clear. that you're not going to be in the top. two or three, are you willing to drop. out so that we don't end up in a. situation where we've got one or even. two Republicans at the top of the. ticket? >> I guess the question is who asked them, though? Uh I mean uh the that yes, I. think I think I think we will get to. that point. I'm not sure when we will. get to that point, but a lot of these. folks don't really have anything to. lose, so they may not listen, right? Um,

and we'll see. Um, there really has not. been a lot of advertising so far. That's. going to come. We're still a bit of a. ways away from it. You know, the primary. in June, so we have a little bit of. time, but um, but who knows? I mean, it. stranger things have happened. There's a. lot of egos in that race. >> I'm curious on the Katie Porter front. It feels like we're in a political. environment thanks to Trump that nothing. sticks to anyone ever. Like everything. that feels like it would have been a. career-ending scandal, you know, five. ten years ago just comes and goes like a.

fart in a hurricane right now. And so. why do you think that in a situation. where Katie Porter uh was was. extraordinarily rude to uh to her um to. one of her staffers, which again in in. in like the before times would have been. a big scandal, but now we're in the. Trump era. Why do you think that that's. stuck? >> Uh well, I mean, the worst thing in. politics can be a visualization of. something that people already think. about you. Um, and so Katie Porter has.

never been the most popular person in. the Democratic party in California. I. mean, she uh got into major fights with. Nancy Pelosi when she was in Washington. She uh when she ran for US Senate. against Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee, you. know, there's. 40 plus members of the of the. congressional delegation. One of them. endorsed her. One. >> Wow. I actually didn't know that. That. is not a lot. >> Yeah. Robert Garcia was was the only one. who did. Yeah. >> So, she didn't have a lot of friends to.

back her up to begin with. Um, and that. was part of the issue when she ran for. Senate statewide. She didn't do that. well. Uh, I mean, she finished, you. know, a distant third, not as well as as. was expected. So, maybe there wasn't a. huge base there, but there's still time, you know. I mean, uh, she's a a really. smart and effective messenger, and she. could end up being the one. Who knows? Uh she though tried to get attention at. the convention this past weekend. She. took out her famous whiteboard and she.

wrote simply Trump uh and held that. up and tried to lead a chant of. Trump because apparently the f-word has. become the rallying cry for the. Democratic party. Um and uh she tried to. capitalize on that moment um to try to. give herself something that would. potentially go viral. >> Now another California politician. obviously is Gavin Newsome. you know, we. we have seen um him pretty much dominate. the conversation as far as 2028 is. concerned. I'm curious like as we look. at at this process play out. He I I've.

seen the es and flows online where at. first, you know, thanks to not just him. but also his uh governor's office. account on Twitter. Um basically, you. know, they he says holding up a mirror. to what Trump is doing by tweeting like. him. Um you know, that caught a lot of. attention. It was it was celebrated by a. lot of folks on the left for finally, you know, pushing back on Trump and. being being willing to fight back. against Trump. And of course, Prop 50. was an actual instance of him fighting. back and winning against Trump. And.

then, you know, there were more. progressives who came out and uh and. they have taken up this cause of of. trying to ensure that Nuome doesn't. become the nominee in deference to a. more progressive nominee. How are you. thinking about this? Do you think that. Nuome has peaked too early by having so. much of the attention on him right now? How how are you thinking about Nuome's. inevitable uh presidential run? >> Well, it was interesting. He was on with. Dana Bash this weekend um and he said. that his son doesn't want him to run for. president and that's weighing on him um.

and said, "We're too young. We want to. spend more time with you." So, that was. the first time he at least publicly. expressed um some concern from his. family, potentially gave himself a way. out. Uh we'll see if he's able to. convince his son uh going forward. Um I. I don't look did he has he peaked too. early? >> Who knows? Uh we don't even know who's. going to be in the field, >> right? I mean, we're so far away from. from that primary process um that um you. know, we don't know. Is it better to.

have grown a base and to have raised a. ton of money and to have your name ID. really high and to have people. describing you as a frontr runner than. the opposite? Sure. I mean, who wants to. be the the other position? So, do I. think Gavin Newsome, you know, really. helped himself in the last year? He's. going to be kind of everywhere in the. next week or two um on his book tour in. cities interacting with people. A lot of. the book tour cities just happen to be. primary states. It's interesting how. that works. Uh he's going to be on stage. with a lot of folks doing, you know,

podcasts like this one. Um and basically. every single Democratic place you could. have. His message is going to be in the. next two weeks probably to what 150. million people. I mean if you think. about all the different shows and add. them all up and he's doing you and he's. doing Midas he's doing all these other. places and it'll be on all the the. network shows. I mean it's going to be. Gavin Newsome all Gavin Newsome all the. time and and I don't know how many. governors even the governors that are. thinking about running for president. would be that in demand right.

>> I mean is there that much demand for. Josh Shapiro when he's on his book tour? Yeah, >> the same level right now probably. I. mean, there's gonna be a lot of demand. and I hope to talk to Josh Shapiro and I. think it'd be interesting to learn more. about him and all that, but I mean Gavin. Newsome is is. >> a bonafide political celebrity at a time. in our culture where people really like. celebrities. Um, and he does seem to, at. least right now, um, have that sort of. alpha energy that I think a lot of.

people are are hoping to see in the. Democratic side. >> Well, you you rightly pointed out the. fact that he's at the top of these these. polls, but often times he's number two. and it's just behind Kla Harris. You. know, you've obviously spoken to her. quite a bit. you've covered her for the. entirety of her career. Um, and watched. this election as we all did uh where she. obviously lost to Trump, but but now. there's this open question as to whether. she's going to run again. Given what. you've seen, is there any indication one. way or the other whether you think that.

she's going to throw her hat in the. ring? And I asked because look, she. obviously decided against running for. governor of California. Um, and she, you. know, there is a particular. I I I I don't know how to say it other. than to say like a stink attached to you. when you've run for president once and. then lost. And, uh, especially. especially in this last election cycle. where I think people view the. politicians that enabled Trump's rise. um, through a particular lens, whether. that's going to have some impact on. their decision to run again or or more.

importantly on Americans decision to. vote for them again. So what are you. thinking as far as Kla Harris is. concerned? >> Well, she named her book 107 days for a. reason. Um, in some ways that's like an. excuse in itself, >> right? This idea that I didn't get to do. a full run. And if I would have done a. full run, I would have done it. differently and so don't blame me for. this loss. Blame the old guy. Right? I. mean that. So there's some of the. rationale to say don't think of me like. the other Democratic nominees who lost.

Democratic party doesn't like to go back. to losers. Republicans traditionally. have far more often um and given people. a second chance um that have run or or. even gone for the nomination and given. them in the in the Democrats really. don't do that. I mean I don't think the. Democrats have renominated somebody. since Adly Stevenson who lost and that. was before the era of television really. Um so you know that's the the the rub. against her. positive for Kla Harris is. she's, you know, politics is about name.

ID and she's got like a 100% name ID. Yeah. People know who she is. Um the. other big thing we don't know, Brian, is. we don't know what the order of the. primary states are going to be yet. The. Democratic Party is still trying to. figure that out. And if say South. Carolina goes first, that's a huge boost. to Kla Harris. Um where black women are. the most important part of that voting. block. Um, so if it's like Nevada going. first or North Carolina going first or. Michigan going first or that could.

really change up the the game for her. And what are they going to do about New. Hampshire, which might be a state that. doesn't do as well. So, um, I think. those are open questions. In terms of. her not running for governor, she didn't. run for governor because she doesn't. want to be governor. But you know what. she does want to be? She wants to be. president, which is why she ran for. president. uh and then she ran for vice. president and then she ran for president. again because she wants to be president. So do I think that knowing Kla Harris if.

she sees a clear path or even a almost. clear path to run, will she run? Yes. If. she really doesn't see a path, uh is. there a possibility where she says, "I. don't want to be embarrassed and I don't. need that and she steps out,". that's also very much a real. possibility. Well, it'll be interesting. to see uh what happens over these next. few months as we head toward midterms. Then of course, >> but it's interesting also, Brian, that. this week, you know, Gavin Newsome is. going to be on the road doing this book. tour as we just mentioned. You know who.

else is on the road this week? Kla. Harris uh is going to be doing speaking. engagements and and stuff on stage with. different people in different states all. around the country all week, which she. timed just in time for Gavin Newsome's. book book launch. >> Yeah. So, we're going to see a lot of. like uh it's going be a lot of people. trying to counterprogram a lot of other. people um as they jockey for position. right now um both in 26 and 28. Uh I. know that you're covering all of it. So, for folks who are watching and listening. right now, where can they see and hear. more from you? >> Yeah, so you can watch our new show, The.

Story is on CNN. Uh it's 9 to 11:00 p.m. on the West Coast, midnight to 2:00 a.m. on the East Coast. You can also check. out youtube.com/elixichkelsson. Um, that's where a lot of my videos are. We have a really interesting interview. recently with Bernie Sanders. We had an. interesting interview with Bill Maher. that got a lot of attention. And best of. all, our recent debates featuring Brian. Tyler Cohen and our conversation about. his amazing interview with Barack Obama, which was the biggest interview of the. year. So, congratulations to you on.

that. >> Well, I appreciate it. I'm going to. throw the link to your YouTube channel. right here on the screen. For everybody. who's watching and listening right now, highly, highly, highly recommend that. you subscribe to Alex's YouTube channel. Um, this way you can catch all of those. interviews, whether it's with Bernie. Sanders or any other candidates, both. left and right. Uh, you're one of the. few people that's able to to speak to. everybody, which is why I think the show. is particularly interesting. So, >> well, thank you. And so, people can. check out, we did an interview about. your Obama interview, which people can. watch there. The other thing they can. watch is this recent debate you did with.

Katie Zachariah, which got a lot of. attention all over the world. And. interestingly, after that debate, Katie. Zachariah was named as the new. spokesperson for the Department of. Homeland Security. So, you can get a. sense of who's coming uh to that. department as well if you if you check. that out. >> What was particularly interesting about. that was I remember during the show like. asking her I think were we having a. debate about uh about about ICE? Was. that what it was about where she was. defending uh defending what happened. with these ICE agents? Was that what it.

was? I think that was the previous. debate that we had. But yes, we've. talked about that with her. >> There there was a point where I asked. her like or maybe it was Epstein, I'm. not sure. I asked Obama ape video. >> That's what it was. That's what it was. It was the Obama ape video. And I asked. her like why like you don't have to do. this. Like you don't have to debase. yourself like this for Donald Trump. But. apparently she did. And apparently it. worked. It worked out because she got a. job as spokesperson person for DHS, which I I would imagine seems like the. single most politically toxic job on.

earth right now. But lo and behold, they. they clearly like what they saw. When I. asked her when I asked her why, you. know, why she was doing this, inherent. in that was the was the fact that, you. know, a job was waiting for her on the. other side. And uh and so I guess uh I. guess that's why she. >> we didn't know that. She's a very very. nice person. She is very sweet to to. both of us. So congratulations to her. Obviously, that's a big deal uh for her. to be in that in that position, but um. it was interesting to see to see that. And now she's going to be in a big a big. powerful role as were you. And then a.

week later after we debate Obama's apes, you're interviewing Obama talking to him. about that video and then the the the. video that goes around the world about. the aliens which you've now made a. thing. So when the X-Files are released, it's all going to be because of you. >> Yeah. Well, you know, just uh it's just. one one more thing. I'm I'm joking here. Just just uh just. >> there's nothing more important than the. No Live podcast. Changing the world, not. only this planet, but beyond. >> That's it. Perfectly put. We'll leave it. there. Again, I'm going to put the link. to Alex's YouTube channel right here on.

the screen and also in the post. description. If you're not yet. subscribed, please go ahead and hit the. subscribe button. Alex, as always, thanks for the time. >> Thanks, Brian. >> To listen to the audio version of this. episode, click that 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.