Trump SNAPS, drops SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT on Todd Blanche’s nomination

We have got a brand new temper tantrum. in the aftermath of Todd Blanch's. attorney general confirmation vote being. postponed. Trump just took to True. Social, writing, "Todd Blanch is a star. and everyone knows it. He has the. potential to go down as one of the. greatest attorney generals of all time. However, John Cornin of Texas and Tom. Tillis of North Carolina, both of whom I. refuse to endorse and whose political. careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this great. nominee who will remain in any event as. acting. Remember, both Corn and Natillis. voted for Merrick Garland and others too. numerous to mention. I have no objection.

to temporarily withdrawing Todd's name. if they do not do the right thing and. putting him back after Cornin and Tillis. are out of office. Now, two major points. here. First off, remember what this is. all about. Cornin and Tillis are. objecting to Todd Blanch because they. want in writing confirmation that. Trump's $ 1.8 billion slush fund won't. move forward, as well as immunity for. Trump and his family from IRS audits. Now, as for the slush fund, that. shouldn't be a heavy lift considering. Todd Blanch literally said that it.

wasn't moving forward while talking to. John Cornin, ironically enough, during. his confirmation hearing. >> But let's talk a little bit about the. set about the settlement agreement and. the release. Um, first of all, I believe. you have said that the weaponization. fund is a moot issue. Is that your. position? >> Yes, it is a moot issue. Meaning there. is no weaponization fund. The web. position fund is dead. It's not moving. forward. >> Well, I would refer you to the U.

settlement agreement. Do you have a copy. of that in front of you? >> I I do not. >> Okay. Well, you probably know what's. what's in it. >> I'm familiar with it. Yes, >> I'm sure you are. On page four, this. settlement agreement can be modified. only upon the written agreement of the. parties. Has there been a written. agreement of the parties to modify the. settlement fund? >> No, the settlement fund is just not. moving forward. There's no there's no. modification. It's just it never. started. No money went from the treasury. to any other account. There's no. commissioners. It's not moving forward.

Well, so the settlement agreement. remains as it was originally. Um but. you're I hear what you're saying. Um. is it in is the settlement agreement. enforceable as a contract by the. parties? >> Well, yes, it's an enforceable document. So, I suppose if if President Trump's. council sought to enforce it, um they. potentially could um. >> including including the weaponization. fund. >> Well, they could try to enforce the the.

contract. They can't force the. Department of Justice to move forward. with the weaponization fund. They could. potentially say that I suppose that we. breached by not moving forward. They. haven't done that and I'm I'm I'm not. aware that they're planning on doing. that. So, if Todd Blanch was being. honest that the slush fund was truly. dead, then why not offer that in. writing? And the answer is obvious. He. never intended to actually kill it. That. was just a thing that Todd Blanch would. tell the suckers who believed him during. his confirmation hearing. And the second. he gets confirmed, he would turn around.

and resurrect it. The very fund that he. swore was dead. And we all know it. Hell, even John Cornin knows it. Trump. and and all of the people around him. have zero credibility. They lie as. easily as they breathe. So, the written. confirmation is a bare minimum. And the. fact that Todd Blanch wouldn't give that. is all the proof you need as to what. their ultimate plan actually is. All of. which is a point that I made on CNN. >> Why not just put this anti-weaponization. fund thing in writing? >> Because they have no intention of not.

doing it. I mean, the if Todd Blanch and. Donald Trump are willing to put his very. confirmation at risk um for this whole. fund, it goes to show that, you know, when they say, "Oh, we're, you know, take our word for it. We definitely. totally don't have any intention of. pursuing this further, but they're not. willing to put it in writing. And even. if that means sinking Todd Blanch's. nomination for the time being, if that's. a risk they're willing to take, it goes. to show that they obviously have every. intention of the world of making sure. that he can dole out as much money as he.

wants to all of these people who engaged. in the insurrection. I mean, think about. what's actually happening here. Trump is. so hellbent on being able to pay out his. political allies with our taxpayer. dollars and to protect himself and his. family from IRS audits that he is. willing to withdraw Todd Blanch's. nomination for the time being rather. than give an inch on those personal. benefits to him. Like look at the. lengths that this guy is willing. to go to to make sure that he personally. is protected. This is all about him. This isn't about millions of Americans.

or thousands of Americans or hundreds of. Americans. It is about Donald Trump. wanting to make sure that Donald Trump. deres a personal financial benefit here. This presidency is truly intended to. help one person. But there's another. point that I think is important not to. gloss over. Trump says, quote, "I have. no objection to temporarily withdrawing. Todd's name if they do not do the right. thing and putting him back after Cornin. and Tillis are out of office." And that. might work unless Democrats control the.

Senate after midterms, at which point. Blanch won't have the votes regardless. So, as if Trump raising prices wasn't. bad enough, surging inflation wasn't bad. enough, higher gas costs weren't bad. enough, starting a new Middle Eastern. war wasn't bad enough, suppressing the. Epstein files wasn't bad enough, now. voters can also go to the polls in. November with full knowledge that they. are voting on whether to allow Trump to. protect himself from IRS audits, and to. dole out millions of taxpayer dollars to. January 6 insurrectionists. if that's.

what he thinks this upcoming election. should be a referendum on. I don't think. you'll find a single Democrat objecting. to that. You're watching the No Lie. podcast. Next up are my interviews with. Governor Andy Basher, Governor Josh. Shapiro, and Congressman Jamie Rascin. No Lie is brought to you by Zach Do. Speaking from experience, I have a bad. habit of putting off making doctor's. appointments because I just know that. it's going to be endless phone tag only. to finally call and find out that the. next opening is months away. It is a sad. fact of life that certain doctors are. not available for a really long time,

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Wired. So go to helixleep.com/btc. for 27% off sitewide. That's. helixleep.com/btc. for 27% off sitewide. helixleep.com/btc. I'm joined now by the governor of. Kentucky, Andy Basher. Thanks so much. for joining me. >> Oh, glad to be on. Thanks for inviting. me. >> So, I want to get into a little bit of. the work that you and other Democratic. governors are doing across the country, but want to cover a little bit of. national news first, and that is the. situation with Mitch McConnell. So, do.

you have any update first and foremost. on Mitch McConnell's state? And if we. continue not to hear from him in advance. of this August 3rd deadline where there. would be a special election called, what. options are available to you in terms of. moving forward? >> So we do not, and by we, I don't just. mean me, but Kuckians and the American. people do not have a real update on. Mitch McConnell, which they deserve. Uh, this is basically someone that hasn't. shown up for work for six weeks. And.

everybody who who watches um or or. listens to you, if they're gone from. their job for six weeks, they got to. call their boss, >> right? >> They got to explain what it is and and. give a timetable for when they return. But Mitch McConnell won't do that to his. boss, which is the people of Kentucky. And it's a separate conversation, but it. tells you that people stay in Congress. way too long when they think that they. don't answer to to anybody. Uh, so what. I've done is is amped up the pressure.

and now called on Mitch McConnell to. verbally uh talk to the people of. Kentucky or America. If he can. supposedly talk to Scott Jennings for 17. minutes, he can talk to you for three. He can call into a news station for. three. For all I care, he can call to. Fox News and talk for three. But he. seems unwilling to do it. If he can't do. that, he needs to resign. His job. requires capacity and he needs to prove. that he has it. But it's not just him.

that I'm calling on to take action. It's. also John Thun who is the majority. leader of the Senate. See, you can only. have a vacancy where I can take action. if one of three things happens. A death, a resignation, or an expulsion vote from. the Senate. In other words, for that. vacancy to be recognized, the Senate has. to say you no longer have the ability to. serve. Which means Thun has an. obligation to make sure his individuals. can do that. And guess what? I'm in. Kentucky. John Thun's in Washington DC.

He can walk right down the street. >> Yeah. >> He can walk into that hospital because. Mitch McConnell is not going to tell him. no. He can evaluate his condition and. come out and tell the American people. And if there is not capacity there, he. needs to take action and do it now. But. you know what? Who else should do it is. Ran Paul. Ran Paul has said me calling. on Mitch McConnell to do this is just. grandstanding. Well, today Ran Paul. dragged an 85year-old Anthony Fouchy in.

front of Congress because he said he. needed to level with the American. people, but he won't do the same with. Mitch McConnell. I know they might not. like each other a lot, but this is the. fellow senator from Kentucky that has a. duty to his fellow Kuckians. Uh so for. for me um I'd first need that vacancy uh. declared by by the Senate and then. there's an argument under the law about. what could happen. So our state. legislature was so scared of me. potentially appointing that first they.

passed a statute saying I had to choose. from a list of three Republicans if it. was a Republican office holder. And then. they wanted to pass one that said. there's got to be a special election. But there is a section of the Kentucky. state constitution that says for. statewide vacancies a governor can. appoint. Now the question is does that. include federal offices? And that's. never been fully litigated. But I take. the Constitution at its word. There is. no deadline of in August for that.

potential appointment. And I'm telling. people I'd keep all options on the table. because look at what's happening to the. country right now. But I do want to. offer a flip side because I have heard. people say, "Well, if McConnell was in. your position, he'd be ruthless." But. you know what? He'd be ruthlessly uh he. he would he would look at the tactics. He would be ruthlessly tactical. And if. he was looking at a seat that Democrats. had held since 1992, he would say, "hm, it might be better if that stays vacant.

so there is one less vote on the other. side on all these different things." If. we hold a special election in Kentucky, a Democrat hasn't won it, any of those. since '92. So right now, we have one. less vote for the Save Act. We got one. less vote for a replacement of a. conservative justice. We have one less. vote for the war in Iran. We have one. less vote for a lot of dangerous things. And at least the concern on a special. election is most likely someone who is. more loyal to Trump than Mitch McConnell.

would fill that seat. So I am both doing. my job as governor saying Kuckians. deserve a US senator and a US senator. has just a basic responsibility to tell. people if he can do the job while at the. same point making sure that we are. tactical at a time when the country is. in such a difficult place that we're not. helping Trump by doing something that. feels good in the moment. >> I I appreciate that that really. thoughtful response. One last question. on this. When would you, if you do.

decide to do so, when would it be the. appropriate time to actually take action. and appoint someone and challenge the. law that's on the books against what the. Kentucky Constitution says? Like, what. is the impetus for further movement. here? >> Well, that impetus would be a vacancy. actually occurring to to be able to do. that. Um, and let me just throw in one. other piece. If if folks want me to call. a special election, I have a Republican. Secretary of State. >> who would run that uh election a little. more challenging in Kentucky. Yeah. And.

the Senate would have to be willing to. seat anybody I appointed or came out of. that special election. And that's why. one thing that I don't think people are. talking about enough is how broken the. Senate is. It's not just Mitch. McConnell, individual senator won't do. the right thing. It's that the body is. abdicating any responsibility to making. sure its members are actually capable of. serving and doing the job that under the. law is is theirs to to do. And kind of a. final piece is I want to make sure as we.

go towards these elections and I don't. mind criticism. It comes with the job. It doesn't bother me at all. But if. Republicans are doing something bad, let's make sure we keep the spotlight on. the Republicans that are doing something. bad. the Democratic party. Often we want. to take all that attention and yell at a. Democrat that we think should do more to. stop the Republican from doing bad. And. and again, it's not the criticism, but. let's make sure we're not hurting each. other when we could be out there winning. elections because of these bad actions. of Republicans. So on that point of the.

bad actions of Republicans and and the. the point that you made about these. Republicans in the Senate abdicating. their responsibilities, I mean, one. example of that is that they offered up. a housing bill to the president to sign. That was something in accordance with. his own campaign promises that he. outright refused to sign because he. wanted to hold it hostage to pass the. Save America Act so that he could. basically enact a federal takeover of. state-run elections. That's just one. example. From the conversations that. you've had with folks across the. country, are they starting to recognize.

that this full control of government by. Republicans, House, Senate, White House, are are failing at their responsibility. to deliver on the very things that they. campaigned on? >> Absolutely. And I think what people are. starting to feel is betrayal. A. president that told them he'd make life. a little bit easier is making it a lot. harder. Let me give you the example of a. soybean farmer, and I don't know how. many soybean farmers tune in. Uh, but if. you're a soybean farmer, you voted for. Donald Trump. Now, I know a couple of. Democratic soybean farmers, but only a.

couple. Uh, and so Donald Trump comes. in. You think, "I'm going to do better. Farming's tough, but I'm going to do. better." And the first thing he does is. cuts US aid. And US A is a big client of. yours because um to to make other. countries like us better uh to create. soft power in the world, we keep people. from starving. We send excess soybeans. through that program. That's gone. Then. because Donald Trump doesn't like the US. Department of Education, they cut the. farm to cafeteria program and suddenly.

that's a second place you were selling. Then uh in his uh tariff happy policy, the worst economic policy of my. lifetime, he puts a specific tariff on. China and they say fine, we are the. largest purchaser of soybeans in the. world. We're not going to purchase from. the US anymore. We're going to go to. Argentina and we're going to go to. Brazil. >> Yeah. >> So they're hammered, but that's not the. end of the story. Then Trump starts this. war of choice in Iran. And [snorts] it's.

not just the price of gas that goes up. While you're driving past the next gas. station, look at the price of diesel. It's even worse. And all the farm. machinery runs on diesel. And then. [laughter] if that was an insult enough, a third of all the fertilizer in the. world travels through the straight of. Hormuse. >> Right. >> So this is what Donald Trump and. congressional Republicans are doing to. some of the most loyal voters that are. out there. And I'm speaking out not. because I think necessarily we can move. a huge amount of those voters, but they.

live in my state. It's important that. they can raise their family. Their crops. are rotting in the field. They're having. to declare bankruptcy over farms that. have been in their families for. generations. What this administration's. doing is is decimating the American. dream. Is making people give up and feel. like it's not even possible anymore. And. Democrats should be the exact opposite. that we can make the economy and the. government work again. >> So on that point, I mean, I I hear. everything you're saying and I also.

recognize that it should be difficult. for the Republicans to have any. plausible deniability here because. again, they control every branch of. government and all of these actions have. not either been created or exacerbated. by their leadership. At the same time, you know just as well as anybody how. strong the the the the ties of partisan. affiliation are. I mean, you know, you. defied major odds to become governor in. an otherwise red state. You mentioned. yourself that that Kentucky hasn't had a.

Democratic senator since 1992. I was I. was three at the time. And so there is. this this chasm between understanding. what Republican leadership brings about. but at the same time still overcoming a. huge obstacle which is that a lot of. people predicate their identity on their. partisan or political affiliation. And. so is that is that gap being bridged. right now where people both recognize. the problem but are also willing to buck. some major part of their identity? I'm.

living proof that yes, uh, we can. overcome that challenge. I've now won. three straight statewide elections in a. state that Donald Trump won by 31. points. I've beaten Mitch McConnell's. handpicked candidate and two Donald. Trump endorsed candidates before my. election in 2019. He came in and filled. up Rup Arena where UK plays the night. before and said it'd be an embarrassment. >> if I beat his guy. Yet, we we still did. And and what it's really about is.

proving to people that we are the party. that can make your life a little bit. easier, a little bit better. It's about. recognizing that most people don't wake. up thinking about elections. They wake. up thinking about their job, their next. doctor's appointment, the roads and. bridges they drive, the school they drop. their kids off at, and whether they feel. safe in their community. And when we can. show sometimes at the uh granular level. that we are improving people's lives, that we brought new jobs into a place. that hadn't seen them before, they will. change the way they vote because people.

love their family more than they love. any party that they belong to. And when. you can better someone's life, you can. earn their vote. A as head of the. Democratic Governor's Association, what. is your message to Americans about what. Democratic governors are doing right now. in contrast to the leadership or lack. thereof that they're getting from the. federal government? Oh, what you see in. Democratic governors are people who get. results that are focused on your. everyday life. At a time when we have a. housing crisis, our Democratic governors.

are building. Uh, I'm moving people in. eastern Kentucky from the hollers, the. valleys that have been flooding, and I'm. building affordable housing on top of. abandoned coal mines with solar panels. on top. So, anything uh is is possible. Uh we're creating more jobs with better. wages. The average wage of a new job in. Kentucky last year was nearly $30 an. hour. We're expanding health care when. when DC is trying to contract it so that. you can see a doctor where you live. in. our largest African-American community. in Kentucky. We built the first hospital.

in 150 years. So when you see a. Democratic governor um you're not. wondering are they um the progressive or. are they the moderate. They are the. pragmatic get it done better your lives. um and people um who who candidly aren't. aren't standing up trying to sway one. vote this way and one vote that way, but. who are actually on the ground, no. excuses, no matter what their. legislature did, getting the results. that people need. And what I'd tell you.

about 2026 is not only are the. governor's races critical because they. impact people's lives in a state more so. than just about anything, but if you. care about the map for 2028, it's going. to be created by the governor's races in. 26. When Rob Sand wins in Iowa, and he. will, he is incredibly talented, um a. good guy, a campaign people should look. at, Iowa's going to be in play in 28. When Amy Actton wins in Ohio, where. we've got a really good chance, Ohio.

would be in play. But look at Katie. Hobbs in Arizona. Good Democratic. governor running against an election. denier. We do not win there. And Arizona. is off the map. Nevada and Georgia, two. great candidates in in Ford and and. Kesha Lance Bottoms. Th those are two. races where if and when we win, the. margin of error uh is a lot greater. So, if people aren't tuned in yet to. governor's races, you should be for a. lot of reasons. >> So, to that end, uh, Governor, for folks. who are either running as candidates or.

who are battleground governors right now. in this upcoming election, where can. viewers and listeners go to help those. people who are on the front lines right. now? >> Go to dimggovs.org. That's demgov.org. and it can show you how to get involved, how to contribute, uh how to connect to. different campaigns and volunteer in any. of these states that you're in. Contact. those campaigns directly because we have. great candidates uh running great. campaigns and know that your governor. impacts your daily life more than just.

about any other office. I promise you, if you take General Ford and make him. Governor Ford in Nevada, things are. going to get better. If you take uh. Mayor Kesha Lance Bottoms and make her. governor, things are going to get. better. Let me let me just close on this. one example. In Georgia, they have not. expanded Medicaid. So, there are. hundreds of thousands of citizens in. Georgia that cannot see a doctor when. they're sick. When she wins, they'll be. able to because she will use every bit. of leverage she can to make it happen.

It's the difference between being pro. and anti-healthcare is winning that race. in Georgia. >> Simple as that. Perfect place to leave. off. I'm going to put the link to that. website right here on the screen and. also in the post description of this. video for those who are watching and. listening. Again, to to echo uh what we. just heard. This is going to be where. the front lines are, especially with a. federal government that won't pass. anything. The states are going to be the. biggest bull work against overreach and. actually delivering for people. Governor. Basher, as always, I appreciate your. time. Thanks so much. >> I appreciate you.

>> I'm joined now by the governor of. Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. Governor. Shapiro, I want to jump into a little. bit of Pennsylvania news, but first. there is some national news that's. happening right now, and that is that. Todd Blanch's confirmation is in doubt. unless he decides to come forward and. put an put a permanent end to this $1.8. billion slush fund in writing. That's. the only way he's going to get John. Cornin and Tom Tillis to sign on to this. thing. Can I have your reaction to the. fact that we now have a Republican.

attorney general who is holding out on. his own permanent confirmation because. he seems hellbent on allowing the. president to have a slush fund from. which he could pay out insurrectionists. >> Look, I I always thought the slush fund. was dangerous, if not illegal. And so it. should not be hard to say they're not. going to pursue this slush fund. They're. not going to provide the president. access to 1.8 8 billion worth of. taxpayer money that he can just give out. to his buddies or for whatever he sees.

fit. That's a pretty low bar for anyone. who wants to be attorney general, anyone. who wants to be the chief legal officer. of the United States of America to to. get over. But similarly, there there's. other things that should be pretty easy, which is to give victims their proper. due when it comes to the Epstein files. and those who um who were wrong, those. who were abused, those whose abuse is. documented in those files. I mean, I.

think Blanch needs to decide if he wants. to be the attorney general of the United. States or he wants to be the president's. personal lawyer. If he wants to be his. lawyer, he can go do that. But being the. attorney general of the United States is. about standing up for the American. people, not working against them, uh, as. he seemingly is if he refuses, uh, to, you know, to do away with this slush. fund and refuses to be fully transparent. when it comes to who's in the Epstein. files. Do you think that Republicans.

would similarly have no problem if a. Democratic president decided to offer up. billions of dollars in a slush fund to. Democratic priorities, a slush fund to. the ACLU, the NAACP, Planned Parenthood? Do you think that Republicans would be. as accepting of a president being able. to just consolidate billions of dollars. of taxpayer money to give out to his. political allies as they are right now? >> Come on, Brian. You know the answer to. that question. They'd be freaking out. and they'd be on shows like yours on,

you know, on the other side. They'd be. on TV every day calling it out. They'd. call it lawlessness. Um they they'd. pretend to be law and order about the. whole thing. Of course, it's a total. double standard. And by the way, when I. talk to these guys privately, they know. it. They just don't have the courage to. speak up. And I think that that speaks. to their lack of character. On this. issue of the Epstein Files, what do you. make of the fact that all of these. people on the right had predicated their. support for the Republican party on this.

idea that the Epstein files would be. released only to now watch them get. further not only buried but buried at. the hands of somebody who is, as you. mentioned, in the position because he. was Donald Trump's personal criminal. defense attorney. And as we know, Trump. himself is now implicated in these. files. >> Yeah. I mean, look, I I I'll just say. what's what's in these files based on, you know, what we're generally aware of. publicly is really serious stuff. And. and Brian, I realize it's gotten.

politicized, but I'm I'm the former lead. prosecutor here in the Commonwealth of. Pennsylvania, the former attorney. general, former chief law enforcement. officer. I prosecuted pedophiles. I. prosecuted people that raped children, that ripped away the innocence. of our children here across our. Commonwealth. And the people who did. that are behind bars because I. prosecuted them. And for those that we.

couldn't prosecute because they were. outside the statute of limitations, their crimes were exposed. We need that in the United States of. America. We need to make sure that those. who engaged in these crimes against. children, those who enabled it, those who covered. it up are held accountable. This. shouldn't be some political football and. this shouldn't be uh, you know, sort of. a litmus test for some Republican. senator that they've got to, you know, curry favor with Trump, so they can't be.

for transparency. They can't be for. protecting our kids. Come on. These. people know better and there's serious, you know, lives that are at stake here. There are people who have been. victimized who deserve who deserve this. accountability and now's the time for. it. >> Well said. I want to switch topics here. now to your home state of Pennsylvania. You know, a lot of Democrats across the. country rightfully are talking about. affordability. you've had the chance to.

actually make good on that promise on. that slogan uh through this latest. budget that was just signed into law in. PA. So, can you talk about a little bit. of what that offers? >> Yeah, and just for your viewers and. listeners understand um I'm a governor. with a divided legislature. So, for me. to pass any of this stuff, I need. Republican votes and Democratic votes. And we've actually been able to come. together and cut taxes 10 different. times, including a massive tax cut for. seniors who are living on fixed income. And the first progressive tax reform in.

probably 50 years in Pennsylvania, something known as the working Pennians. tax credit, where if you're working, if. you're struggling to get by, we'll put. about 850 or so bucks back in your. pockets. And 940,000. Pennians qualified for that. That's real. money going back in their pockets. We. just passed a COLA, a cost of living um. adjustment or increase for former. firefighters, former cops, former.

teachers, and state workers. That's real. money back in people's pockets. The real. challenge we have is every time I cut. taxes, every time I cut costs and I put. a dollar into somebody's pocket here in. Pennsylvania, Donald Trump and his. enablers take two bucks out. Yeah. because everything costs more because of. their policies. Consider this. The. tariffs have driven up costs for farmers. and small businesses. Um, just drove. past a gas station here in Harrisburg. Gas is 419 a gallon because of Trump's.

wrong war in the Middle East that he got. into and has no idea how to get out of. And the American people are paying at. the pump along with paying in many other. ways. I just cite those as just two. examples of how Trump's economic. policies are costing Pennians at a time. where I'm trying to put money back in. their pockets. >> Are they recognizing that? I mean, even. Republicans and independent voters or. even disaffected Democrats who voted for. Trump. While you've been talking to.

Pennians, and that's a crucial state, and I think a really um accurate. bellweather of where the country stands, do people recognize that the issues that. they're contending with are the very. issues that Trump himself ran on in. 2024, but are now being exacerbated. expressly by his own policies. >> Yeah, I I think they see that. I mean, they heard a guy who said, "I'll never. touch Social Security, Medicare, or. Medicaid.". >> Yeah. >> First thing he does, he kicks 510,000.

Pennians off of their Medicaid and. healthcare. Said, "We're going to end. forever wars." And this guy is now. engaged in a war he doesn't know how to. get out of in um Iran. He said he's. going to bring down costs. Remember, he. kept pretending like he came up with the. word groceries. last time I went to the. grocery store, which I think was. yesterday, day before, things cost more. because of Donald Trump's policies. I I. think they see that um he's not only. swung and missed on everything, he's. made things way worse. And folks are.

rightly frustrated. They're frustrated. things cost more. They're frustrated. that we're in a war that he doesn't know. how to get out of. They're frustrated. that there's so much chaos and cruelty. and corruption um around and they. deserve relief from that. I I try as. governor of Pennsylvania to do my part. to provide the opposite of what Donald. Trump is doing. I think others are doing. that across the country. We need more of. that. And I think the way we stop a lot. of this chaos and cruelty and corruption.

is to have people show up in record. numbers this November for the midterms, whether you live here in Pennsylvania or. anywhere else. and and cast your vote in. a way that shows your dissatisfaction. with the way Trump is leading our. nation. >> You had mentioned that you passed this. budget with divided government. Um this. is one of the few states that that does. have divided government and so what were. some of the concessions on both sides? What did Republicans want that they. didn't get and what did Democrats want.

that they didn't get? >> Well, let me be clear. Compromise is the. name of the game in Pennsylvania. And. when you're a governor and you're trying. to work to bring both sides together, but I will never ever ever compromise my. principles. You know, Pennsylvania will. never be a right to work state. I will. never undermine a woman's right to. choose. In fact, I want to codify more. protections into law. I'll always. protect the rights of our LGBTQ. community. So, there's there's certain. things, those are just a few examples.

where you want to show up at the. bargaining table and try and negotiate. on that. I'm not doing that. But I'm. willing to trade when it comes to. allowing us to get things done. And so. you make some trades that's allowed us. to invest historic amounts in public. education and public safety and economic. development. Our economy is growing. faster than nearly any other state. We. grew at 5.4%. last year, which is just an. extraordinary um growth rate. Actually. created more jobs than all the two. states in the entire country. And so.

when it came time to hammering down a. deal, look, I wish I could have gotten. more money for building more housing in. our Commonwealth. I wish I could have. gotten more money for um uh for mass. transit. I wish that I was able to raise. the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Those. are things that the Republicans wouldn't. go along with. But we got a ton of wins. Um and I'm going to keep coming after. all those other things and working hard. to find common ground so we can get more. stuff done here. You know, I I mentioned.

that PA was a good bellweather for the. rest of the country, and you said that. you wanted to to be able to secure more. funds for housing. You know, one of the. issues that Trump ran and campaigned on. was this idea that housing was too. expensive. He talked about housing and. rent uh in addition to that elusive. old-fashioned word that of uh of. groceries, but he wouldn't even sign his. own housing bill. And so what did you. make of the fact that something that he. campaigned on that was handed to him on. a silver platter that the Republicans. were prepared to do a big celebratory.

signing ceremony on, he wouldn't even. give them that win because he was so. hellbent on trying to use that as a. hostage to pass the Save America Act. >> I mean, it's just more petulence from. Donald Trump. And you you know why he. didn't sign it? Because he actually. doesn't give a damn about people having. affordable housing or people being able. to put a roof over their head. He. literally doesn't care. He only cares. about himself. He cares about enriching. himself and the people around him. He. cares about being in the news and just.

constantly in people's faces. And he. cares about lying about our elections, which is what his whole campaign behind. the Save Act is. So, it's not a shock to. me that after seemingly a pretty good. bipartisan consensus came together in. the Congress of the United States, um he. wouldn't sign it because he actually. doesn't give a damn about the people. that he was elected to serve. >> Last topic here, and this one hurts. because I'm coming to you from Los.

Angeles and uh and you guys got LeBron. >> and uh on. >> Yeah, we should take some time on this. one here. Go. >> ahead. So, and and by the way, this is. coming from somebody who is also a. Giants fan, a long a lifelong New York. New York football Giants fan. So, already watched Saquon Barkley go from. the New York Giants to the Philadelphia. Eagles. So, >> by the way, by the way, just for. nothing. You guys got nothing for that. So, >> yeah,

>> to all you New York Giants fans out. there, thank you for Saquon. >> Well, look, we'll we'll see what this. year brings. We got we got a young. squad. So, uh and and hopefully a. healthy squad between uh between. Scataboo, between Jackson Dart, and uh. and uh great coach, too. >> A great coach. So, so we'll see what. happens on that front. But. >> to what extent did, you know, there was. some some reporting, I think Peter Hamby. did some reporting in Puck about you. >> uh um kind of uh trying to trying to.

nudge LeBron out to PA. So to what. extent do you think that that your. politicking with him had some impact on. his decision to move out to. Philadelphia? >> Well, first off, let me just say this. was LeBron and LeBron's decision only. And he made it for all the reasons that. he said for his family, his desire to. win a championship, period. I will just. tell you when I had the opportunity, I. guess this is now close to two weeks. ago, um to engage with him, I made I.

shot my shot. I I made my pitch as to. why Philly would be a great place for. him to play, a great team to play with. that can win a championship, particularly after we uh flee Jaylen. Brown from the Boston Celtics, which was. pretty cool. Um, and I think it's also. important to note that LeBron is one of. the great philanthropists, not in. basketball, but in our country. I mean, he's doing extraordinary work, and that. Philly is a great place for him to do. his philanthropy. So, I made my pitch.

I'm thrilled he picked Philly, but I'm. not here to claim any ownership of that. decision. It was LeBron's and the Bronze. only. >> Were you surprised when he made that. decision? >> I was thrilled when he made that. decision. And I'm so excited for him to. play in Philly. And and by the way, if. if you miss him and you want to come to. a game in Philly, I' I'd love to host. [laughter] him. >> Thanks. All right, last question here as. we come up on on football season then. What is your prediction for the NFC. East? Who wins the NFC East? Well, look,

I I do agree uh that New York is better. Um I think you saw something with. Scataboo uh and with Jackson Dart last. year. Obviously, they had injuries, neighbors had an injury. There's. something unique about that offense. So, if they can stay healthy, particularly. with a good coach, they're going to be. better than last year. Um obviously, the. the Commanders were totally beat up last. year. Um, if they're healthy, Jaden. Daniels is a hell of a quarterback. They're going to be better this year.

Um, but obviously my money is still on. the birds. I mean, we we had some issues. at offensive coordinator. Howie Roseman, our our great GM, fixed that. Um, he was. able to sign uh some wide receivers that. I think are really going to improve our. wide receiving core. We just locked up. Jaylen Carter for I think till 2031 if. I'm not mistaken. And so our defense is. just strengthened um in in a big way and. how we'll tinker right up until the. deadline and put the birds in a position.

where we can win a Super Bowl again this. year. Um I'm not claiming we will, but. we're going to be in a position to do. it. And I I still think we are um. definitively the team to beat uh in the. NFC East. And I think Dallas's streak of. I think it's been 30 years uh without an. NFC championship. I think that that. graphic is going to change to 31. >> Give me your definitive rankings top uh. of the four teams in the NFC East. How. does the season end?

>> Birds, Giants, Reds, not Reds, Commanders, Cowboys. >> Mine is identical, but flip birds and. Giants. So, we'll see how it goes. This. might just be wish casting, but we'll. come back to this. So, Gov, I appreciate. your time. Thanks for the work you're. doing. Congratulations on passing that. budget and thanks uh thanks again for. taking the time today. >> Great to be with you. Thanks. >> I'm joined now by Congressman Jamie. Raskin. Congressman, you have some. interesting news here as it relates to.

something that the entire world watched. and got pretty pissed off about, which. is Donald Trump's decision to interfere. in this latest FIFA World Cup match. So, can you explain what this news is? >> Well, the problem goes a lot deeper than. that, Brian. Um the Department of. Justice itself uncovered a sprawling. decadesl long pattern of corruption at. FIFA where they identified uh at least. 30 people from 20 different countries. involved in soccer who spread around.

$200 million worth of bribes and payoffs. and kickbacks in order to get extremely. valuable and lucrative uh TV rights in. their own countries. Um, but all of it. was a pola system. These people were. convicted uh in criminal court and DOJ. uh had uh secured convictions of several. of them and then after like a very cozy.

relationship developed between FIFA and. President Trump and the Trump. administration, those charges were. dropped. Those prosecutions were dropped. even though the criminal convictions had. already been obtained in federal. district court and upheld in the second. circuit court of appeals. And these are. convictions for uh racketeering, wire. fraud, and all of these, you know, related corruption offenses. But you'll. recall that they they fabricated a new. FIFA peace prize which uh they gave to.

Donald Trump and then they uh rented. space at the Trump Tower for the you. know 40 45day period around the World. Cup but they paid for um apparently this. suite for an entire year. and they. haven't revealed how much, but um it's. been estimated by uh various reporters. that that could have been as much as. $600,000. So, they're just a whole series of.

relationships like that. And it's like. everything else we're seeing with the. Trump administration. It's just a series. of quidd proquo adding up to a huge. unprecedented swamp in Washington. You. know, I feel like we are in a position. where all of this stuff has been so. normalized by virtue of just how. prevalent it is in this administration. Can you talk about if we were back on. Earth One, what what this would look.

like in terms of in terms of DOJ. enforcement? >> Well, DOJ had brought these prosecutions. and obviously saw this as very serious. corruption when you've got um people. from all over the world bribing FIFA in. order to obtain these lucrative TV. contracts and rights for uh for their. country. But instead uh you know the. prosecutions are dropped after the. convictions are obtained um and.

everything's extremely cozy between uh. FIFA and its president and uh our. President Donald Trump. And you're. right, it's been normalized. And so it's. going to be a contest between them uh. working to normalize quid proquo. corruption and then each American. citizens sense of what is normal for us, what really is morality, what is the. rule of law. And that's the struggle. right now because you know there's such.

a barrage of corruption and scandals. that a lot of people are getting worn. down by it. But we've only got 99 days. to go before the November elections. And. we think it's important to be blowing. the whistle on every one of these. episodes of corruption, bribery, and so. on. >> So obviously FIFA has a vested interest. in doing whatever it can do to um curry. favor with the DOJ so that they can do. exactly what they did do, which is to. abandon uh these these prosecutions.

What does it say that it is this easy. for an entity like FIFA to figure out. how to game Donald Trump? I mean, the. FIFA Peace Prize. I mean, it's it's it's. a joke on one hand, but on the other. hand, this is an actual tool where the. consequences were in part that a lot of. criminals were able to walk free because. that's all it took for FIFA to curry. favor with a guy who was just so. desperate to to have, you know, his his.

uh his ego stroked. >> You know, it's not just about the past. It's also about the future and the. present because um that you know anybody. who tried to get tickets or paid for. tickets to go to the World Cup found out. what a racket it was. I mean the the. tickets were supposed to top out at. something like $1,500 or $1,600 and a. lot of them were going for up to $30,000. $33,000. uh some of them. And so the Department. of Justice should be looking out for.

antitrust violations and uh consumer. ripoffs and predatory pricing, but is. instead uh just the best buds with this. private entity. And you know, everybody, well, not everybody, but most people. love soccer. It is the beautiful game. It really is an remarkable, beautiful. game. And they've just drenched it in. all of the ugliness and sortedness of. this corruption. Does it surprise you. that an institution as notorious for.

engaging in corruption like FIFA would. find a kindred spirit in the Trump. administration? >> No. I mean, look, the uh President Trump. called them up to get Fuller's red card. overturned. The president of the United. States interfering in an internal. disciplinary process uh within the. soccer game. And you know, in in the. same way that the Knicks fans knew that. they were going to lose that game where. Donald Trump showed up, you know, all of. the USA Soccer fans knew it was over. once Donald Trump decided to put his.

fingerprints on the Enterprise. Nobody. needs the president of the United States. interfering in American sports in, you. know, his hamfisted way like a. sledgehammer. We know he's good at one. thing, which is getting as much money uh. as possible out of the government, out. of the taxpayers, and you know, in. various rotten business deals from all. over the world, whether we're talking. about Saudi Arabia or Qatar or China, you name it. >> I have to ask on the heels of this line.

of questioning, Congressman, is the. Trump curse real? And I asked this in. the aftermath of him interfering with uh. with Balagan's red card, in the. aftermath of going to Madison Square. Garden, snapping the Knicks win streak. Um and there is a long history of him. going to other games. He went in into a. Josh Harris, who's the Commanders owner, into his box on a day that the Lions. were were facing off against the. Commanders and the Lions and beating the. Commanders 44 to22. I mean, there are.

there's a lot of instances of that. So, so the question posed to you is, is the. Trump curse real? >> Well, um, you you you pose a tough. question. Uh, you you challenge my. rationalism here because it certainly. feels right. You know, my favorite story. about superstition uh is about the. physicist Neils Boore. And some people. were over at his house for dinner. And. on the way out, a woman spotted a.

horseshoe above the doorway. And she. said, "Neils Boore, here you are, the. greatest physicist of the 20th century, and you've got a horseshoe above your. door. I never took you to be the. superstitious type." And he said, "Well, no, I'm not superstitious. They say it. works whether or not you believe in it.". So, uh, I I think there are enough. people, enough sports fans and sports. owners around the country who don't want. Donald Trump coming anywhere near their. teams or their games, uh, to suggest. there might be something there. Um, and.

you know, we we can see what's happened. to our country since he's been. president. And that's in the realm of. actual public policy. I mean ruinous. illegal unconstitutional wars like the. catastrophe in Iran with the closure of. the straight of Hormuz and um you know. so many lost service men and women from. the American armed forces. So many. people uh have died in Iran, the ruinous. illegal unconstitutional tariffs he. imposed to launch a trade war against. the rest of the world and you know all.

of the terrible effects these things. have had on our economy. Um, you know, it really is time for us to bring on. some new leadership in America. >> To that end, you know, it's it's. increasingly difficult for Trump and. Republicans to run any legitimate. campaign on any platform because their. platform is so aggressively unpopular. I. mean, this is what it looks like with. full unbridled, unapologetic Republican. governance. There there are no Democrats.

in control of the House, the Senate, or. the White House. And yet we're in a. situation where costs have gone higher. not down. Where healthcare is less. accessible not more, where food. assistance has been gutted, where gas. prices are rising, where inflation is up. since Joe Biden left office, where we're. engaged in a brand new foreign war in. the Middle East, and the Epstein files. haven't been released. So what do you. run on when that is your platform, which. raises the obvious point that. Republicans and led by Trump are trying. to rig the rules of the game in their. favor by trying to pass the Save America. Act. So, in your estimation, is there.

any realistic possibility that the Save. America Act can advance? Um, and is. there an appetite from Republicans to do. so? >> Well, first of all, the the elections. are not that far away. They're just over. 3 months away. And um you know everybody. at least used to believe in Congress in. the states and in the courts you would. never make fundamental changes in an an. election system 3 months before the.

elections start. I mean early voting is. not far away in some of the states maybe. you know two months away seven or eight. weeks something like that. Um but um it. does go to show your original point. Brian which is they've got nothing else. to run on. I mean, foreign policy is a. complete debacle. Economic policies a. debacle. Inflation is skyhigh. Um, gasoline is going for more than $100 a. barrel. He's gotten us into this. escalation trap uh with the Iranian.

government, which is playing him like a. fiddle. Um, and they've got no program. for the country. Where's their plan to. give everybody health care that they. promised 10 years ago? Where's their. plan to bring down inflation? I mean, there's literally nothing there. They're. spending, you know, their time on uh the. reflecting pool, which we call the. straight of warm ooze. Uh and what color. is it going to be tomorrow? It's an. algae farm. Um and they're they're.

spending their time on, you know, billion-dollar golden ballrooms. You. know, we've been out campaigning on the. Eastern Shore, which is like probably. the reddest part of Maryland. Um over. the weekend we had more than a hundred. democracy summer fellows with us out. there and not only were people so. excited to see the democracy summer. fellows and and you know people who are. not registered to vote getting. registered to vote people who didn't. know that uh Andy Harris the head of the. freedom caucus from the first district. has an opponent and he's got a great.

opponent in Dan Schwarz whose campaign. is surging now but we didn't see any. Republicans anywhere. We saw no red. hats, no MAGA hats anywhere. And I'm. getting the same reports from Democracy. Summer people all over America that. they're just not seeing Republicans. anywhere. Now, the good news is uh you. know, his support is collapsing. Um it's. just melting away. On the other hand, they don't seem that upset about it, which suggests he is going to be trying. to do things like move the Save Act and.

who knows what other kinds of ambushes. against the electoral process. And so. that's what we have to be vigilant and. steadfast in making sure we're. protecting the election easy even as. we're going out to mobilize a landslide. But I don't think the SAVE act can get. through the Senate. I don't think. there's any way. >> Last question here on that. Is there a. world where the parliamentarian would. allow the Save America Act to pass. through reconciliation so that it only. requires a simple majority to pass? I. mean, it's clearly policymaking, so.

there's no way it should be added in uh. the budget process um at this point, but. we never say never. And we're being as. vigilant as possible to try to stop. these things. I mean, because I'm. superstitious, I will never say that. could not happen. You know, people say, "Well, what if Donald Trump takes over. the uh elections?" And I say, "Well, look, there's no role for the president. to do that in the Constitution. The. president simply has no functional role. in administration of elections at all.

and by design. He's off to the side. He's got nothing to do with it. It's up. to the states and Congress can vote to. regulate it. But uh I would never say. no. He would never try and do that. So. we're just going to have to stay. vigilant to everyone of their antics and. ambushes against the election process. >> Well, I appreciate as always you. speaking out on this stuff and uh thanks. for taking the time tonight. >> Great to see you, Brian. To listen to. the audio version of this episode, click. the link right here on the screen. And. please make sure to subscribe. And to. see more video content, that subscribe.

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