WHOA: Fox News drops BAD NEWS for Trump

I'm not sure Trump could have gotten. worse news with midterms just around the. corner. So, a whole spate of new polls. just dropped measuring Americans. responses on the generic congressional. ballot, meaning who they'd like to see. in charge of Congress. And here are the. responses. This is five different polls. Democrats are up six points, 7 points, 8. points, 9 points, and 11 points. And. that includes, I should add, a poll by. Fox News where Brett Bearer gives a. pretty bleak outlook for Republicans on. air. You look at our polls and you look. at the condition of the economy and this.

is the one for midterms we look at. closely and that is excellent or good. 24% only fair or poor 76%. And that has. got to have Republicans Senate and House. uh concerned. Uh, absolutely, Brett. And and the truth. is there's not much good news for. Republicans in this whole poll we did. You know, underwater on the economy, as. you showed, underwater on affordability. Uh, those two issues are front and.

center for sure. Republicans have a. little bit of a lead on national. security and I guess law enforcement. But everywhere you look, Republicans are. down. Now, there is one there is a bit. of good news. As you mentioned, the. redistricting will help them with seats. in the House, and they will probably. need every one of them they can get from. that. >> And Fox News's poll showing Democrats up. seven points on the generic. congressional ballot, 53 to 46, is the. biggest lead either party has had in. Fox's own polling since 1996. Like, Tomagotis weren't even invented.

yet. And of course, the usual caveats. apply here. Polling isn't a measure of. what will happen in the future. It's. just a snapshot of a specific moment in. time. But five polls all showing. Democrats up on average more than eight. points is a clear trend line and one. that does not bode well for Republicans. Now, unsurprisingly, what's driving. these numbers is the fact that Donald. Trump's approval is sitting at about 39%. on average with disapproval climbing to. 57%. voters trust Democrats over.

Republicans on income inequality, on. health care, on inflation, on the. economy. Just an issue after issue, a. disaster for Republicans. But in terms. of how we got here, it really isn't. complicated. The entire Republican party. made a conscious decision, a choice over. and over again to put their allegiance. to Donald Trump ahead of their own. voters on issue after issue after issue. And now the bill has come due. Like take. Epstein for example. Voters across the.

spectrum, not just Democrats, but. Republicans, independents, wanted those. files released. And what did we get? Months of stonewalling. We got a DOJ. that quote unquote accidentally left out. names of some of the most powerful. people connected to Epstein while the. survivors names were released. And. Republicans who spent that entire saga. either running interference for Trump or. getting punished by Trump for stepping. out of line. Nancy Mace said that her. push for the Epstein files bill cost her. Trump's own endorsement. Thomas Massie,

who led the bipartisan pu uh push to. force a vote, got primar. He's out in. the most expensive primary in American. history because Trump wanted him gone. Marjorie Taylor Green resigned from. Congress. And after that, guess how many. of other Republicans spoke out? None. Or. how about Iran? You know, this brand new. foreign war that Trump swore up and down. would never happen when he was on the. campaign trail. A Reuters Ipsos poll. found that just 27% of Americans. approved of the strikes. A Washington. Post poll found 52% opposed them.

outright. Even a Data for Progress poll. found that a majority of likely voters, 52%, believe Trump at least partly. launched the strikes to distract from. the Epstein scandal. A quarter of. Republicans agreed with that. Thomas. Massie himself said, quote, "Bombing a. country on the other side of the globe. won't make the Epstein files go away.". But did that stop the party from, of. course, falling in line? No. On. Thursday, Senate Republicans voted uh. against legislation that would end the.

war. They voted against it. They had an. off-ramp. They've had multiple offramps, multiple opportunities where they could. have said, "We work for our constituents. who are against this, not for one man's. continued political survival." And at. every single juncture, they chose him. And now here we are. The most democratic. lean generic ballot Fox News has. measured in 30 years. an 11point Emerson. deficit, the biggest deficit that. they've seen on their own polling. Trump's approval rating is underwater by. double digits. I got to ask these. Republicans, is it worth it? Is covering.

for Epstein worth it? Is marching lockep. into a war that most Americans oppose. worth it? Because here's the thing about. hitching your entire political identity. to one guy. When his numbers crater, so. do yours. You spent years telling your. voters that loyalty to Donald Trump, to. dear leader was the platform, that. questioning him was betrayal, that the. base would never forgive any. independence. And now those same voters. that you were so afraid of, are the ones. about to hand you a wave election, about. to usher Democrats into power. So maybe,

just maybe, this is the warning shot. every Republican in a competitive. district needs to actually listen to. Trump is a lame duck, not on the ballot. Again, he doesn't have to answer to. these numbers. you do. Every Republican. who chooses to protect him on Epstein, who chooses to rubber stamp a war that. the public doesn't want, who greenlights. a trade war that sent costs surging. about around the entire world is about. to find out that the voters they ignored. are the ones who are going to decide. whether they keep their jobs in. November. Because these Republicans.

might lie, but the numbers clearly. don't. You're watching the No Lie. podcast. Next up is my live discussion. in Los Angeles with John Love it. No lie. is brought to you by Select quote life. insurance. We all know we need it, but. we keep putting it off because we think. it's complicated or expensive or that. we'll live forever. Stop telling. yourself that you'll handle it later and. take care of it today with Select Quote. In 15 minutes, you could have coverage. that fits your life and budget. Here's. what makes Select Quote different. They're licensed insurance agents work.

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[applause]. [cheering]. >> Well, this is the weirdest thing he's. ever seen. >> Thank you all for coming. Appreciate it. >> Hi everybody. >> Thanks for being here. Brian, it's good. to see you. Uh, must be nice to be in. front of people as opposed to kind of. making content in your content cube for. the world. You hear in the world. >> just in in this isolation black blacked.

out room. Yeah, it can get uh it can. get, you know, well, we'll talk about. it. >> So, uh, let's start with the book. >> Let's start with the book. I'm not in. >> Oh, they want to know the dog's name. >> Oh, the dog is Aston. Yes, this is my 15-year-old dog and all of my. all of my mental health is riding on the. continued survival of this dog. So, what.

could go wrong? >> Well, speaking of the inevitable, one. day Donald Trump [laughter]. will no longer be here. I don't. [laughter] and there will be a day. after. And. uh what do you what is the goal of of of. the book and what would you like. Democrats or the people that yell at. Democrats to take away from it? So I.

started writing this because right now I. think that we have already in the. immediate aftermath of 2024 we have a. very disillusioned left and that's why. so many people started moving to the. right. We obviously saw a massive. realignment uh among every demographic. group, every age, every gender, every. race toward Republicans. Now we have a. disillusioned electorate on the right. because Donald Trump and Republicans. absolutely refuse to deliver on any of.

their promises. They promised that cost. would go down. They're going up. They. promised inflation would would sink. That's rising. They promised no new wars. in the Middle East. We have a new war in. the Middle East. They promised to. release the Epstein files. That's not. happening. So, you've got disillusioned. folks on the left and then disillusioned. folks on the right. I think that first. of all, I think the Democrats are going. to win in midterms, [cheering]. [applause]. but I think that we're going to have a. rare second bite of the apple here that. frankly we have no business having if.

not for the abject incompetence of these. MAGA Republicans. But when we get that. moment, we have to prove that it's. actually worth it for people to give. Democrats their votes. It can't just be. enough to have symbolic victories or get. caught trying. You actually have to. deliver for people. And the Democrats. have for so long been the party of. strongly worded letters. And that's not. good enough. So I think here what what. my goal with the book was was to push. forward right now while we have this.

opportunity the idea of not deferring to. norms or institutions or traditions or. processes or the filibuster or the. parliamentarian and just have it in our. minds that if and when we gain power. again that we use that time not to. impanel commissions or think about what. the best path forward is but to just get. done. >> [applause]. >> So, I I feel like you can think about.

what getting done looks like in. three buckets, and I want to take each. one at a time. Uh, but I'm going to tell. you what the buckets are in advance. Bucket one is delivering on people's. fundamental material concerns, whether. it's cost of housing, healthcare, college, etc. Uh the second is reforms, democratic reforms uh that uh uh protect. the right to vote, fight gerrymandering, uh defend against a right-wing court.

And then the third would be ways of. holding. uh the Trump administration and people. who uh decided that all their friends. were jumping off the laws don't matter. bridge and they would do it too. and how. we look back and address and hold. accountable people for the crimes that. took place in this era. Uh let's take. Sure. So. let's start at the end. So what do you. what do you think it looks like? Because. I know there's going to be a bunch of. polls that come out that say if you ask.

voters, do you want people to look. backwards and go after Donald Trump for. mistakes and crimes or do you want to. look forward? The polls are going to say. people want to look forward. So uh I I'm. of the belief that we have a both an. obligation and like a moral obligation. and also practical obligation to make. sure we get to the bottom of what. happened. How do you make the best case. for that? So this was something that I. wrestled with while I was writing the. book itself because on one hand you have. to have a forward-looking agenda. You.

know there are people for whom the. political the minutia of. politics just doesn't matter. They don't care who hates who. They just. want to go home, be able to afford their. rent, be able to afford their groceries, be able to afford uh health care, and. move on. They don't want to turn on CNN. or MSNBC or Fox News and see who landed. the latest gotcha or or who's clapping. back to who. And so, I think for those. people um who don't have partisan. affiliations, who aren't driven by team.

loyalty, you just have to have a. forward-looking agenda, and that's going. to be on healthcare. that's going to be. on on doing the things that Trump said. that he was going to do when he was. doing his popular shtick about housing. and rent and all of those things. But at. the same time, I think for those of us. who are so unfortunate to be in this. world where we are steeped in the toxic. cesspool that is politics, we understand. that government can only work if people. actually have faith that we're going to. uphold the laws on both sides for.

Republicans and Democrats. and the the. rule of law matters. And frankly, it's. not even just a platitude. I mean, you're seeing right now the consequences. of. Joe Biden's uh um attorney general, Merrick Garland, refusing to wield the. law against Donald Trump in a timely. manner. They got this sense that they. can basically act with impunity because. where's the deterrent effect? There was. so much criminality in Trump 1.0 know.

that that Trump never faced any. accountability for because for Merrick. Garland it was more important to put the. optics of politicization aside and which. in effect politicize the DOJ even more. because now you know you can get away. with it as long as you have an R next to. your name. But right now we're in that. moment where there is corruption and. look at how that's taking precedence. over our own interests in this country. I mean Donald Trump is trading tariff. favors for foreign real estate deals. we're seeing uh a war in the Middle East. that we don't know why he's doing it.

other than to maybe look at the fact. that his kids are invested in drone. companies. And so so much of what's. going on right now is a direct response. to the corruption that this government. is engaged in. Um and and frankly so. that we don't end up in an even more. corrupt government moving forward, we. have to hold those people accountable. right now. So I think you have to walk. in shoe gum at the same time. There is. no reason not to do both. To both uh. embrace a proactive agenda where you can.

actually deliver things for people that. that they have been begging for delivery. on, but at the same time recognize that. you need a DOJ that's going to actually. restore some faith uh in Americans idea. that the government can actually operate. without being steeped in just abject. corruption. >> [applause]. >> So then continuing walking back towards. my first bucket, uh. let's talk about like what kinds of.

electoral reforms, democratic reforms. you think Democrats need to be talking. about. So, uh, uh, a lot of what. Democrats will want to do on a proactive. economic agenda may go into a buzzsaw of. a 63 Supreme Court that I guarantee will. rediscover the need to restrict. executive power in about, you know, 30. months or so. Uh, so, so what what are. you talking about? What what do you. think Democrats need to be calling for, whether it's the courts or in other kind. of pro-democracy changes? So I think the.

biggest thing that I call for um the. biggest structural change that I need. that we need to see is we need to expand. the court. So right now. there is a historical imperative and a. moral imperative. So first of all the. number of Supreme Court justices being. being nine Supreme Court justices is not. sacrianked. It's not in the. constitution. Uh we have seen throughout. history that the number of Supreme Court. justices has comported with the number.

of federal court circuits. In the 1800s. there were six federal court circuits, six Supreme Court justices. Eventually. that number went up to eight and then. nine. Now we have nine Supreme Court. justices. Since then we have 13 federal. court circuits and we still have nine. Supreme Court justices. It does not make. historical sense to have nine Supreme. Court justices. There's also been a. change in the number of Supreme Court. justices in modern times. Mitch. McConnell changed that number from 9 to. 8 when he was holding that seat open for. a year to prevent Merrick Garland from. being seated on the Supreme Court. So to.

pretend that that number nine is. sacrianked is to ignore what Mitch. McConnell just did a few years ago. But. there's also a moral imperative to do. so. And that is that if we do all of the. work that it takes to be in a position. where we can actually change something, which is to say elect Democrats to a. majority in the House, the Senate, and. the White House, a pretty herculean feat. unto itself, and then actually pass. progressive legislation, another. herculean feat unto itself. If we decide.

to make the conscious decision to leave. in place a Supreme Court, a 63. conservative court that can and will. strike down any and all progressive. legislation, then we're basically just. telling ourselves it's good enough to. notch that symbolic victory for as short. a time as it lasted. It's good enough to. just get caught trying. And the American. people are going to be fine with that. because hey, that's that's the. institution of government. That's just. how it works. For me, it's not good. enough to get caught trying. We actually. have to have some changes here that make.

it so that we can have meaningful. lasting change. And the only way to do. that, knowing that we're not going to. leave in place voluntarily uh a veto on. anything that happens in the federal. government, is to expand the Supreme. Court from 9 to 13 justices. [applause]. But what happens when they win and they. want 17 justices? Yes. What do we say. then? Brian Tyler Cohen. >> Look, I am of the mind that you don't.

prevent yourself from taking steps right. now for fear of the Republicans at some. untold point in the future, abusing. their power when they are abusing their. power right now. [applause]. >> Yeah, I see what I see what works here. >> [laughter]. >> It's a sort of like our blessed court. expansion, their depraved court packing. Yeah. Uh and look, it would be one thing. if if the court itself was actually.

acting in good faith, if these were. neutral arbiters of the law, but it's. not. I mean, we know what how this. Supreme Court operates. We know that. they will create out of whole cloth. provisions of the Constitution if it. helps them. Like, for example, this idea. that Trump can commit crimes with. impunity and nothing happens. That's not. in the Constitution. That's made up. But. on the other side, they ignore. provisions of the Constitution when it. doesn't serve their political party. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prevents. you from running for federal office. again if you've engaged in or given aid. or comfort to those who've engaged in.

insurrection. Donald Trump did that and. he was allowed to run for office again. This was even after the Colorado Supreme. Court ruled that he engaged in. insurrection. So, these are not neutral. arbittors of the law. they're not um. they're not acting in the best interest. or or uh in adherence to the. Constitution. They're just acting in. blind deference to their political. party. And so that's the difference. between just expanding the court because. you're salty and expanding the Supreme. Court because you know that these are. not fair arbiters of the law.

[applause]. Maybe we just maybe just it can be. looming and then that causes. Roberts and or and some combination of. Kavanaaugh and Barrett to kind of be. afraid to overturn some of the stuff uh. that the uh uh the Newsome Buddhaj. administration is doing. [laughter]. All right, calm down everybody. [laughter]. through the Yeah. Okay. Uh.

uh. All right. Well, 2028, boy. How do. we fight back after Trump? A champagne. problem for sure. We're about to have a. midterm. We're fighting like hell to try. to at the very least win the House. We. have a shot at taking the Senate. Uh. either way, there will be a presidential. veto for the next two years uh for. anything Democrats want to do. If we win. both houses, uh what would what does uh. what does the lessons that you're trying. to apply to the day after, how do you.

apply them from 2026 through before we. get to that election? >> So, like I said, I think that we are. going to be in control in certainly the. House, but hopefully the Senate, too. I'm bullish on the Senate. I think that. in this moment where we will have the. ability to show people that it's worth. it to vote for Democrats, but as you. mentioned, we're still going to have a. presidential veto and so we won't be. able to pass any proactive legislation. I mean, hell, Trump wouldn't even sign. his own housing bill, which he. campaigned on and his party passed. So, the notion that he's going to, you know,

be a champion for whatever other. populist issues the Democrats are going. to be able to pass, I think is uh is. probably not going to happen. But I. think in that moment um there's one. thing that we can do and that is. investigate the abject corruption that. we're contending with right now. [applause]. And. I mentioned before the extent to which. this corruption isn't just it's not just. investigating corruption because you. know in a theoretical sense corruption. is bad. It's investigate this corruption. because it's impeding on the.

government's ability to be able to act. in the best interests of its own people. We don't know why we're at war, but it's. definitely worth noting that the. president's family has uh interests in. companies that sell war stuff to the. military. So, um you know, there is so. much to dive into whether it is uh the. absolute um glut of crypto uh uh uh. funding that is going to Donald Trump. You know, there are foreign countries.

like UAE and Qatar that are investing. via World Liberty Financial with Trump. and his kids are involved in that go. right into his pocket and have resulted. in him tripling his net worth in a year. and a half. We have seen um we have seen. okay here we go. >> Uh we have seen. um uh yeah anyway uh all of the inst. that. >> we've seen a dog. >> we've seen a dog crawling onto laps. Um. so we have seen all of the the instances.

oh uh short sales that are happening. five minutes before some big. announcement where all of a sudden a a. stock pops or plummets and now we find. out that somebody had some insider. information and bought something or sold. something just before the announcement. happened. Donald Trump's uh teleprompter. operator is now under investigation for. for uh you know. >> Can I just say something about as a. former speech writer? I find it so. offensive that this teleprompter. operator was selling uh was like making. money on bets on what words Trump was.

going to say in the speeches because he. only made $100,000 and he should be. embarrassed. I mean, I'm I'm sorry, but. like you know where the ball is going to. go in the roulette wheel and you only. got a hundred grand. That's like shame on you. Like Donald. Trump is stealing billions of dollars. You're going down for 100K. >> What was it? Uh there was one somebody. kept making money thinking or betting on. the fact that Trump would say praise.

Allah in his in his truth social posts. Oddly specific and then it happened. twice. [laughter]. >> Unbelievable. [snorts]. >> I don't think these betting markets are. good, but that's for a different talk. Okay. >> Going back to going back to all of the. corruption that we're seeing right now. Look, it would be one thing if we just. investigated the corruption because it's. the right thing to do and it's illegal. But consider two the fact that this is a. Republican party that has groomed the. country into recognizing that corruption. at the hands of a president's family is. bad and disqualifying. It was bad when.

Hunter Biden was doing it for like. $50,000 paintings. Uh but then when the. Trump kids are making billions of. dollars in military defense contracts. and cryptocurrency, somehow that's not. okay. This is a country that has been. groomed to recognize that this stuff is. disqualifying. If this is investigated by Congress, that also lays the foundation for a. future DOJ to use that information, this. factf finding information uh to begin. prosecutions in the future. So, let's. not waste time. Let's actually do.

something because there's a moral. imperative to do it and a legal. imperative to do it. >> [applause]. >> I uh I went to a Hunter Biden art show. once. [laughter]. Surprising amount of POS. Uh. uh but moving on from that. Uh you know, I think sometimes one thing that I've. just been thinking about, especially in. the second Trump administration, and I. think it's something that is driving a. certain subset of liberals and.

progressives baddy, and I think with. good reason, which is. A lot of this is about strategizing, theorizing, plotting for how to use power in a. society that doesn't seem to care enough. or as much about corruption, basic. democratic values, treating people with. empathy and respect, not taking a. on Nancy Pelosy's desk. I'm not saying.

these things are popular. I'm not saying. there's a majority that cares about. them, but I think the part of the reason. we're in this mess, we like to talk. about the media, we talk about. Republicans, is this nation didn't care. enough about those crimes in order to. make a clear final decision on Donald. Trump. And so h how do you just think. about like stepping back from what we're. going to put on the Democrats or on the. media like as someone who is in the. content minds every single day? uh like. how do you think about that fundamental. disconnect?

>> That's in large part like the impetus. for the book. I think I think that there. is a continued insistence on thinking. that you need to compromise with those. people and these are people who don't. want to be compromised with and would. not reciprocate when they have power and. when we ask them to compromise. And so. for the people who have no empathy, who. don't care what happens to immigrants in. this country, who want to vilify people. in the LGBT community, the people who. are so depraved and and as such get so.

much of a spotlight in this country, in. our media ecosystem, online, I think. that the goal then is to get into office. and not say, how do we give everybody on. that side who's doing those things a. seat at the table? It's to say, look, for for lack of a better term, like it's. to say, that. let's just do what. we're going to do and not water down our. morals and our values and what we want. to see done in deference to a political. party and a movement that wants to see. you killed. And so I think in that sense.

in that sense you go in and you don't. say let's get 50%. You say let's wield. power like we're actually going to get. something done. And you know, the. difference between Republican governance. and Democratic governance is is like. Republicans platonic ideal of of. governance is is, you know, you have. Trump that decides that elections are. only valid if Republicans win. It's. cutting all the healthcare that they. can. It's privatizing social security. It is heaping money onto fossil fuel.

companies. It's denying the existence of. climate change. It's refusing to raise. any wages for any workers forever. And. and they do it. And when Democrats get. in office, it's okay. How can we change. laws so that we can get buyin from. Republicans? If I'm not mistaken, and. you can speak on this better, there. there was there was a lot of difference. when Obama got elected to how to make. the ACA, for example, more palatable for. Republicans and he made changes to it. and then none of them voted for it. And.

so I think that's instructive in saying. instead of seeking compromise and being. the only party seeking compromise, go in. and start wielding power in very much. the same way that Republicans do, but do. it for virtuous reasons, not for. self-enrichment, not for vanity. projects, but to help people. Yeah. [applause]. Yeah. on the Obama what's on the. Obamacare front. There was a long. process between uh the Democratic and. Republican chair of uh uh one of the. Senate committees that did come to.

nothing. Uh but in the end, the. challenge with that that process slowed. it down. But in the end, Obamacare was. weakened by Democrats. It was weakened. by uh Joe Lieberman who and actually Joe. Lieberman is often blamed for the. removal of the public option. Um, and he. is, but that was more of like a Murder. on the Orin Express situation where uh. like he like like sort of nine people. did it. Nine people killed it and every. they were pretty thrilled that Joe Joman. became the face of it. But what Joe.

Lieberman really personally killed, which is a bugaboo of mine that I bring. up too frequently given it is he's dead. uh [laughter] and we're alive is uh he. killed the Medicare buyin for people uh. uh below retirement age which would have. allow allowed the most expense the. people that have to buy the most. expensive insurance. I'm sure how many. people here are approaching Medicare age. and would have loved to buy into. Medicare a few years early. See see. these hands. Um. uh like that that hurt everybody because.

that would have made insurance for. everybody cheaper. It would have made. life better for retirees or people that. are approaching Medicare age and it. would have made insurance cheaper for. everybody else. Democrats killed that. which goes to a broader point that. you're making. But like when I So I'm. taking what you're saying and I I hear. you. I have a I have a theory, you know, whatever about what it looks like for a. Republican party that rationalizes in. some way. And what it looks like is you. have to beat them. You beat them. you. know, when when Mitt Romney loses, it's.

Marco Rubio leading an effort to create. a more cosmopolitan, diverse, pro-immigration GOP. It's one of the. reasons he didn't make it very far in. that primary because he didn't. understand the kind of um simmering rage. going on in the Republican base. But. regardless, their take on losing to. Obama twice uh was and failing to win. the popular vote so many times was we. need to figure out a new way to broad. broaden our coalition. Then Trump wins. and says we don't have to do that. you. know, he's sort of like, "Forget. everything you thought. We can be the. worst version of ourselves. We don't.

have to do that." Uh, so you have to. beat the Republicans that are so. cynical. There there are true believers. in Trump, but what is his coalition? It's a mix of true believers and people. that have forgotten what it is to be a. moral and righteous person, not. listening closely enough in church. Uh, whatever it is, there's a whole. collection of reasons why people make. deals with the devil. A lot of great. books about it. You should see the. Odyssey. Uh, it's been going on for a. long time. Uh, you know, you don't treat. your neighbor like you would want to be. treated. Oh no, there's a cyclops. That.

kind of thing. [laughter]. [snorts] I just came from the Odyssey. Uh, but I have less of a So I you beat those. people enough, the craven ones will. moderate because they want power and the. less craven ones will be a bit more. sheepish for a while. Fascism is a demon. in every heart. You fight it every 60. years. I understand that. Uh what I. understand less is not the dieards on. either side, but this big group of. people that determine the outcome of. every single election who just are.

cynical. They are not paying close. attention to the news. The news is not. as accessible to them because it used to. come to you passively. Now you must. actively seek it. Uh uh the the. degradations that we are watching are. quieter and less less salient in their. lives. How how do we begin building what. is I think at root what led us here. which is a culture that just doesn't. think enough care enough talk enough. about basic democratic and moral.

virtues. I think in large part that will come. from a government that seeks to deliver. on the things that it promised to do. You know I I think you know I think that. that is the difficult part. I mean that. that is why we see the the the. disillusionment that we see right now. I. mean people people told people told. Democrats that they wanted it in the. leadup to 2024. Um I think for example. the the Biden plan to lower drug prices.

is a good example of this because it's a. great idea. Obviously it the whole world. the whole industrialized world does it. We don't. We were finally going to be. able to do it. We find out that it is 10. drugs. Uh, and if I'm not mistaken, it. was going to be implemented uh 100 years. into the future. >> Yeah. No, it was it was going to be a be. drugs were going to be so affordable. after Haley's comic goes by [laughter]. >> and well well-meaning, well-intentioned. Absolutely. And and I do think, you.

know, it is sad that in large part a lot. of the um accomplishments of the Biden. era uh which which were great are going. to be forgotten because they've been. rolled back. But but there was. disillusionment as the result of that. because this is what Democrats do. It is. like the plotting bureaucratic um you. know implementation where it's done it. always seems to be done scheduled for a. time when the president or the party in. power will be out of office setting up. the opposition party to take all of the. credit for what the previous party has.

done but also done on such a small scale. that it's almost impossible to feel it. Meanwhile, if Trump is like able to take. a on the toilet in the morning, he'll send you out like a $17 check and. he'll put his face and his signature on. it. So, I think the disparity there is. so great between how one party takes. credit for its accomplishments and how. the other party takes credit for really. not accomplishing much at all. So, I. think that that can be can be. instructive, but but as I was saying, there is great disillusionment as the. result of a failure to deliver.

meaningful change. And now there's. disillusionment again with the right. because of their refusal to deliver on. meaningful change because the Trump. administration just wants to heap money, power, influence, and resources onto. themselves and their donors and their. families. And so I think if we are in a. position where again we get that second. bite of the apple, we use it to show. people that if you implement these. reforms in a real meaningful way, then. that's half of the battle. that does the. work for you in terms of making sure.

that people vote for you again and. recognize the importance of government. I actually think that it is it is the. inability even the Trump. administration's failure to deliver kind. of uh in yours to their benefit because. people become disaffected in politics, disaffected in in in outcomes and lose. their faith that government can work. And there's only one party that. advocates for government to be shrunk. and that's the Republicans. So in a. weird kind of perverse way, the. Republicans failing people kind of.

benefits redowns to the benefit of the. Republican party because people lose. full faith in government that it could. ever work and that's in Democrats and. Republicans. So I think we have a vested. interest in this rare moment that we. will have and I think it will happen um. to make sure that we actually deliver so. that we don't have this vacuum of civic. participation um a vacuum in which. autocracy thrives because there's only. one party that wants to embrace. autocracy and it's not the left.

>> Yeah. the uh I think about when I was a. speech writer uh and the level of. attention. that went into the words that the. president uses and you know we would. work on a speech with a policy team and. you had a lot of confidence that those. policy m makers uh were not betting on. the outcome. >> among other among other strengths. Uh. [laughter]. >> not the policy makers but have you. checked the teleprompter technicians? No, there I also I'm also curious. I I.

didn't dig into it because when I was in. the White House, uh the teleprompter. operators were White House military. officers. They were It was through that. I wonder if that has ch changed under. Trump that he has sort of his guy to it. Uh one of his. >> I think it's the guy who did the pool. >> Oh, it's the guy that. >> Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Green Water. Green Water and Teleprompter Solutions. Uh [laughter]. >> yeah, the problem with the teleprompter. is there was a 350 ft gash. >> Right. That's right. That's right. Or or.

351 foot caches. But uh you would work. on these speeches with the smartest and. best policy people. Then it would go. through a research process and they. would check every word and the lawyers. would look at it and the the the. political people would look at and. legislative affairs would look at it and. go through round and round and round and. it was annoying. Uh. >> can I can I butt in and ask you a. question here? >> What was the best joke that you ever. wrote for for the president? >> Oh, you know what's funny? I don't it. doesn't seem to fit my personality, but.

I don't really remember to take credit. Uh but I do remember one that we cut. I. don't that uh there was there's a lot of. jokes we cut. We used to when we. >> other other than Pokemon Go to the. polls. >> Pokemon Go to the Polls was for Hillary. And again, I did not write that but. believe it was a great line. Uh but uh so I'll tell so I remember I. was traveling with President Obama and. he had to go to a fundraiser with Whoopi. Goldberg that was going to take place at.

after Sister Act the musical. So they. were all all these big donors were to. watch Sister Act the Musical and they. were going to hear from President Obama. and I was on the trip doing some un it. was a bunch of economic speech. It was. sort of a trip that was somewhat. political and then also had official. parts to it. But he saw me say, "Oh, do. you have a joke for me?" And I, forgetting myself, I just like, "Well, let's pitch. I'm a comedy writer. I'll. pitch." Should have just said, "Let me. think about that, sir." Nope. I just. opened my big stupid mouth. [laughter].

You know, I've gone far, but man, a lot. of. [laughter] a lot of things I flinch. about walking down the street. You know, you have those things that you flinch. about walking down the street. That's. the price of being me. I have a lot of. them. So, uh, I said, "Now that you've seen Sister. Act," again, just going to address the. elephant in the room. I'm a a Jewish. guy, the president of United States, first African-American president in. American history. And I said, "Now that. you've seen Sister Act, I have my. brother act. It sucks.".

Brutal, right? Brutal thing to say out. loud. [laughter]. Bad. Stupid. I confess. I say it. I. reveal this to you. I know. I He looks at me like, [laughter]. [applause]. "Oh, I and you you haven't disappeared. You still seem to think you belong. here." [laughter]. And he said, "No. Uh,

think of something else." And so then I. I full body sweat sweat through my suit. completely. Just wet. just a wet Jew. wandering around. Everyone's eating, chilling because the. it's like we're and I'm freaking out. And so finally like I need something. that's gonna kill that it's going to. like it's got to work. It's got to work. And so I was like, well co, you know. what? What a dad of teenagers convent. All right, I got it. And so the joke I. gave him was I have it, sir. All right,

right. And he looked at me like this. You better. a lot of people want to sit in the. chair. You're on. And uh I'll forget. you. Uh. I said uh I'm so glad I could be here. with all of you uh to see Sister Direct. the Musical. It's a wonderful. opportunity for all of us to be together. to raise money. Also, I'm doing research. on the convent I want to send Sasha and. Malia after high school. I would say the politics of that joke. are iffy at best, but it's a right in.

the strike zone for a dad of. teenage women, you know? And so he like. gave me a fist bump. He went out there. did the joke and I redeemed myself. And. so that [cheering]. [applause]. that's that story. But. to the serious point, those processes are annoying. They are. invisible, but they're important. And. they're important because they they are. from an institutional. they respect that. the president's words have meaning and. that it may be slow and stodgy, a bit. technical, a bit lawyerly, but a society.

in which people respect that is a is a. society that maybe moves slowly but it. moves well. And I struggle with the. balance because I know Brian, you're not. advocating that we do what Donald Trump. does, but at the same time, it is easy. to say we have to learn the lesson of. Trump and not be so bogged down by the. rules when part of what we're trying to. do is not just beat them in a game, but. prove that the game is great, right? Like we're trying to win a g they. they're not they're cheating, you know, they're they're double dribbling. I.

don't know. Uh but we're trying to say. no, like basketball is not just we're. not just going to win this game. we're. going to make you remember how much you. love basketball. And so, how do you. think about that? I think about that in. terms of look, we have we have those institutions in. place and look at the position that. we're in. And so, clearly something. isn't working. And and I think it's okay. to both have respect for the the. institution that is government while. also reworking the processes that.

prevent government from actually. delivering. And so I think that that's. what we need to look for. I mean, it's. okay to not have blind adherence to the. filibuster if it means that we can. actually deliver on climate, on. healthcare, on the minimum wage, on all. of the things that are actually. preventing us from doing those things. Right now, there feels like there was a. moment, you know, I I I know that. everybody remembers the the Kirstson. Cinema uh uh you know, uh um her and I.

think it was one other person. Who? Mansion. Yes. Refusal to eliminate the. filibuster and like we would have the. Freedom to Vote Act right now, which. first of all bans partisan. gerrymandering nationwide, so we. wouldn't be in this race to the bottom. uh to redraw the maps. It makes election. day a national holiday. Uh it would it. would um deliver on so many of the. reforms that we need to make sure the. foundations of government actually work. And we don't have that. And now we're. watching the Voting Rights Act get.

gutted. We're watching every black. representative in the South get drawn. out of their seats. Uh we're watching. voter suppression bills take path. We're. watching the administration officials. refuse to rule out the prospect of ICE. uh appearing at the polls. We're. watching Donald Trump try to ban mail-in. voting, try and usher through the. Freedom to Vote Act, which would. basically amount to a federal uh uh. takeover of state-run elections. And so. that's with the system in place. And so. obviously I I understand how you know in.

theory it makes sense to say we need we. need these institutions in place as they. are but the institutions are in place in. practice and look at the position that. we find ourselves in. >> Yeah, I think that's right. I also. there's something else that I think is. underlies a lot of this which is. yes it's about these specific places. where we can make changes but it's also. I think uh and I think that's part of. the the reason people are so receptive. to this is you kind of want Democrats.

that just have a fire in their belly. like there's a dec there is there has. been a decadence in how Democrats. approach using power in part I think. because of success right I think one. reason we've seen a this rising forget. the like the mag base but kind. intellectual. right-wing authoritarianism take hold is. because they were sick of losing, right? They they view it as a group. Look, I I. don't think it does a lot when American. Airlines makes their symbol a rainbow. over pride, right? But there were they.

they felt as though they lost for a very. long time. And we won elections, we lost. elections, they they took the Supreme. Court, but gay marriage is legal. the. social welfare state, Obamacare is in. place. They felt that they were losing. for a long time. And so when they took. power, there was a fire in their belly. And I think some there's something with. Democrats where it's like whether it's. wanting to hold hearings on crypto scams. in the next Congress or taking power and. being like, we have 100 days to get a.

bunch of stuff done that people will. feel. Yes, it's about changing rules, but it's like a it's a un it's a kind of. like a a mode of being that we look for. ways to to to to describe in policy, but. in reality, we know it when we see it. And then when you have people like Janet. Mills or or Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeff. or some of these more establishment. figures and they're trying to figure out. how to connect with the base and they're. looking for specific ways to do it at. root, I think there's some feeling of.

like like why aren't you guys forget the. strategy, why aren't you so angry you. can't stop yourself? Like why aren't you. so upset and enthusiastic and engaged in. this that like that you uh is it the the. hearing on on the Trump crimes doesn't. pull well? I don't give a We got. to get to the bottom of this, right? Like that's the thing I think is. sometimes missing in a deeper way. [applause]. >> And by the way, on that point, I know that people talk. about like the brand of the Democratic. party. I I I I don't think that the that.

the solution to that is taking the. existing slate of people who I don't. know maybe it's because they have DC. brain rot that that and you know they. their kids go to school with the. Republicans kids and they work out at. the same Senate gym that they don't. really feel that urgency. They're. certainly you know wealthy enough that. that they're going to be um protected. from from the impacts of all of this. stuff. But I I don't think that the. solution here is just to kind of teach. an old dog new tricks. I think the.

solution is for those people in large. part to make way for a new generation of. politicians who are younger, who are. more dynamic, more techsavvy, uh who are more progressive and and can. actually communicate with people in a. way that people appreciate and can. relate to. And finally, you know, who. who who consume information in a way. that those people grew up consuming. information and not trying to stick a. tiny microphone in Chuck Schumer's hand,

hoping that like that will fix all of. our problems. Chuck Schumer here, fam. Uh, did you see that Chuck Schumer farted? Can I tell you something? I mean this sincerely. First of all, did. you see that he farted while giving a. speech about Iran? Uh, and this is seen. as embarrassing. I actually. fundamentally don't understand that. everybody farts. And it's a funny part. of our culture that if you fart in the. wrong place at the wrong time, humiliation as if like what everybody. poops. I.

>> You guys don't know, but love it has. just been ripping it up here. >> No, I I understand where the. embarrassment and shame comes from, I. guess, on some level, but I I feel like. Schumer used to be the guy that was like. at the gas station every Sunday to do a. press conference. That was his thing. He. was like relentless when he was first in. the Senate in the House. And I feel like. I want a Senate majority leader that. calls a press conference based around. the FART and saying we need to talk. about the real gas crisis. [laughter]. Like, and I know that sounds like a joke, but.

I'm not joking. And I know I'm wrong. because I don't I know what I just said. is stupid, but is it? Brian, you brought up. >> Did you see Zor Mani was giving uh was. giving an interview to the New York. Times and he had like a coughing fit in. the middle of his interview and uh he. took a drink of water and said, "Sorry, I have a I have a bad cold and this is. why we need Medicare for all.". >> You know what? >> Like that is how you stay relentlessly.

on message. >> Good for him. What's so funny is, you. know, that if like if Schumer Schumer. farts, the whole world's like that. goober. [snorts]. Mom Donnie farts, it's like, is farting. the new cool thing? [laughter]. Everybody's farting these days. >> If farting is cool, consider me Miles. Davis. Guys, get your heads out of the. gutter. Is a book event. Brian, you brought up the way people are. consuming information. Uh, I often. lovingly refer to you as YouTube's best. boy. You're in the content trenches. You.

you are trying to figure out how to get. good information to more people mediated. by algorithms that are based around. engagement. uh uh endorphins. How first of all, are. you okay? And then second of all, what. are some of the lessons you take away. from what you've been doing by building. this huge audience on YouTube? So I. think in terms of like the mental health. implications, uh what I do to keep.

myself okay is uh 5 milligs of Lexapro, 25 milligrams of Xanax, and then a. relentless stream of weed every day. >> Wow. [applause]. >> Okay. >> And that's just breakfast. >> Yeah. [laughter]. >> And then he clocks in. >> Yeah. Then then I clock in. Um, no, I. mean I I appreciate you asking that and. uh and you know that is the I used to be. really good at compartmentalizing and I. remember when I first started doing this.

work in 2017 I started doing video. content full-time at the end of 2018, beginning of 2019 and it it used to be. easier and uh and I think slowly as this. stuff got more and more kind of. entrenched and and and real and started. impacting people's lives and and it's, you know, it's impossible to look at, you know, everything from the the. immigrant detention centers that were. happening in Trump 1.0 to the ICE. killings that are happening now in Trump.

2.0. It's impossible to look at that. stuff and not have it slowly chip away. at you and and your mental health. And. so, you know, that that part is. difficult, but but in a way, you know, the. I think it underscores the need for for. human connection um in a big way. You. know, the the reason that my my podcast. is um is hosted with with you guys at at. Crooked Media. And uh and the reason.

that I did that, it actually wasn't it. wasn't like the the the most it wasn't. the the best business deal for me, but. but for me to be able to have community. with with John John and Tommy and the. whole team at Crooked Media, that meant. a lot to me. And so I wanted that. community and that was far more. important than finding the best deal for. my podcast. and so signed with Crooked. Media and made and and uh and now I get. to spend time at their studio and spend. time with these guys who in large part.

uh informed inform how I do my politics. and and who I listen to before I even. had a show. I mean the you know you and. you and the guys were a huge inspiration. in terms of in terms of my own politics. So So first off, thank you for for for. doing that. [applause]. But it does underscore the need for for. community and that's why I'm so grateful. that everybody, you know, left their. house and in the middle of the summer uh. in the middle of the day at the same. time as the World Cup to be here and and.

you know uh partake in this. conversation. Um I think especially as. people go online more and more, it feels. like it it almost feels like that's a. replacement for real community, but it's. not. And and I think that um a lot of. the extremism that we're seeing right. now is because um you know that's what. obviously proliferates online, but if. there was more in-person community, people wouldn't feel the need to to. supplement uh supplement this stuff by.

by engaging in, you know, online hate. speech or whatever it may be. So I think. you know that's I think uh what even for. somebody who works online 12 to 14 hours. a day um my goal is to try and make sure. that I can you know if not seek out that. in-person community um at least force. myself to get it and plan stuff so that. I'm forced to be pulled away from my. computer and I have you know a group of. my my friends here that are that are at. this show and uh and you know tell them. to come over even though I'm working and.

it forces me out of my room and uh and I. think that kind of stuff is important. Um, but what do you think? Like how have. you contended with being immersed in a. space that is not only, you know, toxic, but almost engineered to be toxic? I. mean, the algorithms are not there to. amplify moderation or measured. responses. They're there to amplify or. even give an instructive um uh uh an. incentive for you to be as as extreme as. you can.

>> Absolutely. I so my what I do is I step. outside of it and I tr I have like a. sort of not an ironclad rule but a a. rule of thumb which is like I am always. reading something that is out of the. present in one way or another. It can be. a novel, it can be science fiction, it. can be a history book, but I am always. consuming. in my time outside of Crooked. Something where I am really invested in.

a story that's from another era. And I. find that very, very helpful. And I. think more people should be doing that. Uh, now, >> yay, books. >> Yeah, books. [laughter]. >> Books. [applause]. >> Uh, and so you reading a lot of history. and it's just helpful to be in history. Uh the other part of it too is I I think. about it in terms of what we do at. Crooked. When we started I went we we've. almost been around 10 years now which is. wild but uh you didn't get me a thing. Uh [laughter].

but when we sure when we started when we. started I we worked on a mission. statement for what we were trying to do. and and we really defined ourselves. against the mainstream media in the. sense that we felt like there's a lot of. great journalism but also a lot of. pretty empty analysis that treated. politics like a game. And there were a. lot of people that were hungry for uh. people that talked about politics more. honestly, more open about their point of. view and that was yes serious and. understood the stakes but didn't take. itself as seriously and we defined.

ourselves against what we saw the. punditry on television to a large. degree. And now all of these years later. uh I feel much more like because the. stakes have become about the future of. democracy. It is much more about. figuring out ways to build a coalition. and get everybody to understand their. role in it. And that does actually. include a lot of mainstream journalism. that part of is is is and and I do think. a lot of mainstream outlets have come to. see their role as they are not refs in a. war between Democrats and Republicans.

but in fact are com are players on the. side of democracy and I think reminding. people of that is very important. >> What what happens to a free press if you. have if you slide into autocracy where. there is no difference to a free press, >> right? Like you're not a ref. or if you are a ref, did you notice that. you were just punched in the face by one. of the other players? But then also. modeling what it looks like to talk. about politics and think about politics. when what the internet wants you to do. is become the worst version of yourself.

Like that is what the internet wants. It. wants you to become the absolute worst. version of you. Not a different person. And I think that's part of what makes it. so um tantalizing to hate people on the. internet because it's not not them. It's. just the worst version of them. And I. don't think it is a coincidence that. Donald Trump's great skill is making the. worst thing about people more true about. them. And the internet's great skill is. making you uh uh the worst version of. yourself that those things happened at. the same time. And so like my way of.

thinking about it is remembering is. trying my best and I do not succeed. to. keep that in mind and understand that. yes, we're covering politics and we're. trying to give people good information. and we're trying to find the help people. get a spotlight on the most important. races, but also I think part of it is. like trying especially for a younger. generation of pundits or or thinkers or. influencers or creators, whatever, like. showing them that there's a way to that. like long-term like there's a I'm sorry, a siren song uh [laughter].

uh that you need to fight against. Um, and that is something that I think gives. me a little bit of a sense of purpose. And also like the Hulk, I'm angry all. the time. The whole time. I'm angry right now. [laughter]. The uh all the time. And the weed helps. >> The weed does help. Yes. No, I I I I. think that's right. And I think um you. know, I I think in large part um you. know, it's helpful to It's uh Yeah. No,

that that's all I got on that. That's. all I got on the mental on the mental. health stuff. I I uh I I'm looking. forward to a point um where uh where I. think I view my role as like not taking. not taking time off, which is not great. Not taking time off until we've achieved. some semblance of uh solution to what. we're doing. >> cuz we need you on that wall. >> You're [laughter]. right. you that this wall you you sleep. soundly in your beds protected by Brian.

on the content wall. [applause]. >> He uses words like honor. These words. are a joke to you. >> Yeah, that's what I got in the on the. mental health front. So, but but onto. the actual like what like how do you. think about trying to sustainably give. people good information when one aspect. of what it means to get information to. more people? Like if you go to some of. the more kind of like I [snorts] don't. know the the the the clout chasing kind.

of algorithm chasing outlets if you go. to their website right now it's like. Trump on the verge of total collapse. The end is near for Trump. Can you. believe it? It's over. over and over and. over again. And that, you know, you. know, hitting people with that cattle. produces the numbers, but over time, you're trying to build something that. people can trust. >> So, in large part, I mean, I think. there's also a separation between the. packaging that gets people in the door. and the content that they actually. consume. There's no doubt that with the.

way that the internet is constructed. right now, you need to have a certain. degree of um saucy packaging. uh that. the thumbnail or the title has to be. enough to lure people in because you're. going up against other content that does. it. And so you can be as measured as you. want, but you do it to your own. detriment because somebody else who has. better packaging, more uh inflammatory. packaging is going to win. And so I. think you have to you have to both be.

savvy in this digital media environment. to know how to get people to tune into. your content, but then I think that the. onus is on the content creator. the onus. is on you and me uh to make sure that. once people are in the door that you. give them stuff worth staying for and uh. and and and that's the hard part. You. know, I think that that um in large part. for some people it's enough to just do. one or the other, but it's but it's not. I mean, that's that's how to really I. think succeed in this media environment, which is a little bit like behind the. curtains, behind the scenes for like.

what you have to do to make sure that. people tune in. The other part of this too is you said. uh you're working 12 to 14 hours a day. and you're not taking vacation, which is. roughly the schedule uh uh the the. routine of um a clothing maker in uh uh. uh early 20th century lower Manhattan. Uh. uh how do you like long term, you know, we've we go through these cycles, right?

First things were being kind of rolled. up into these giant media conglomerates. Now we have a Substack. We have people. like you working independently. Do you see a like. is that a good outcome? Would you like. to see some of the like is is it a. better style of gathering news and media. if a lot of these substackers all worked. together for one outlet and then it was. they had editors that worked on it. together and published it pretty. frequently, but it had oversight and a. kind of a collective view kind of a. thing. Yeah. So, like we it's it's funny.

because like I mean you just advocate. for a return to like a newsroom and then. we can do that. Everybody works. together. It'd be brilliant. I think we. should do it. Um look, I I will it go in. cycles. I don't know. I I learned to. stop trying to predict what the future. would look like. Interestingly enough, when I first started political content. online, my goal was to be on TV. I. wanted my own show uh probably on MSNBC. because I don't know where else I would.

be able to go and uh and that that was. the goal and you know I did my YouTube. videos um at the foot of my bed and uh. and you know to an audience of tens and. and you know 20s of people and uh and. just kept my head down kept kept doing. the work and eventually it reached. critical mass but um that was my goal. initially and then the media landscape. changed. so much and we start seeing all. of these MS hosts and CNN hosts or CNN. expats and MS expats and and legacy.

media expats desperately trying to get. onto YouTube. I mean, hell, we see. existing MSNBC or MS Now shows and and. hosts and what and anchors try to get on. to YouTube and into the digital media. space. And so, it felt kind of weird. because you know those pictures where. there's a hurricane and everybody's. trying to drive out of Florida and then. there's like one lunatic who's driving. in. I I felt like the lunatic and and so. I I had a a contributor contract with MS. for 18 months and uh and when it came.

time to reup I was just like it just. doesn't feel like it's the right thing. to do. Um I also don't like having. having a boss or anybody to tell me what. to say specifically the word allegedly. 100 times for a script. [laughter]. I would get like I would submit my. scripts for I I would do uh some digital. content for them. and you have to submit. your scripts to make sure they pass. legal muster because now it's not just. you're not just some punk kid on you. YouTube, you're representing MSNBC and. it would come back with like the word. allegedly put into put into these. scripts 150 times.

>> Good good lawyering. That's good luring. >> So, so um you know eventually I I I. bailed on that and and I have nothing. but but love and respect for for the. folks who I think do great work at at. MS. But you know, I don't know what the. media landscape is going to look like a. few years from now. I don't know if. there's going to if we're going to have, you know, a um a consortium of. independent media creators who get. together and basically do what you do, which is reconstitute legacy media, but. it's independent legacy media. So, you.

know, I I've learned that the that this. whole landscape moves so quickly that. it's impossible to predict what anything. is going to look like. I've already seen. the the transition from short from long-. form content to primarily short form. content and uh and and you know people. people are watching more on Tik Tok and. Instagram and YouTube shorts than even. the 8 minute videos that I was doing on. average on on YouTube much less the hour. and a half videos that that were you. know um that were big a few years ago.

when podcasting and RSS feeds were all. the rage. So things are moving so. quickly I I I'm not sure what things are. going to look like. I'm curious what. your thoughts are on that. >> I just think eventually we'll get to the. point where it's like, you know, people. do not have the attention span for these. YouTube shorts. So, we've introduced a. new format. It's just you get one. syllable. It's just a guttural. It's a. guttural screen and you just scroll. through and like, you know, in the same. way like right now on TikTok, you'll. watch like a recipe and then a joke and. then a murder. Uh,

>> you'll get like happy scream, sad. And. that's just one video. >> Yeah, there's one video. It's a happy. scream, sad scream. Oh, a lot of angry. screams today. must something must have. happened. [laughter]. Yeah. I don't know what's going to. happen. And I think sometimes again like. I I I struggle with it because. it's. how do we get like underneath all of. this, right? It's like it is obviously. not good for us that we have are addling. our attention spans. It's so seductive. It's so enjoyable. Tik Tok is a it's a.

dream. It's a pleasure to watch. It can. eat a whole, you know, an hour without. blinking. Uh but it's. >> on that point of like of like I actually. I mean there is there is absolutely like. a biological component to consuming this. content and the time that I realize it. is um if I if I do smoke weed and I. start to go through Instagram reels or. YouTube shorts or Tik Tok, I find myself. incapable of of putting my phone down.

And so I realize like a lot of the. reason I'm able to put my phone down. during the day is I have some. discipline. But when you when you have. when you have these um you know if if. you have something that's going to. inhibit uh your discipline like you know. uh just smoking then you realize like at. a biological level this stuff makes you. tune in and it's hard to put it away. >> It's a it's it's a little bit like when. you've had an edible and you're in a. really gluttonous mindset. You'll, let's. say, you'll have like a bag of chips and.

Oreos in front of you and you'll have an. Oreo and then you'll have a potato chip. and you'll be like, "Wait, I have an. idea." [laughter]. And then you'll put two together and. you'll be like, "That is excellent. You've done it again. What about two. chips, two Oreos, or two chips, one Oreo. with more frosting, whatever." and. you're trying to build some imaginary. perfect bite that's going to be the. ultimate satiating bite of food, but. you're only hungrier once you've had the.

next one. And I sometimes feel with. those like when when are you going to. stop scrolling? It's like after you've. gotten to that perfect thing, that. perfect feeling. But of course, there's. no such thing. And so you just sort of. eventually kind of like put the phone. down and like squeeze your eyes shut. >> and then wonder why your dreams are. weird. [laughter]. Uh, >> does anybody else have the have the. child uh the child timers on their apps. that they just click ignore for today. over and over on a on a daily basis?

>> Just me. >> I have. >> Well, well, that must explain all of the. Lexa Pro. So, >> yeah. And yeah, no great shout out. Shout out Lexapro. >> Shout out big pharma. So before we go, before we wrap up this. wonderful conversation, uh obviously. it's a dark time. I joke about being. angry all the time, I guess. Uh but like. I think a lot of people do feel um. anxiety and and a kind of sense of. uncertainty about whether any of this.

effort is worth it. How do you keep. yourself motivated? Like how do you keep. yourself believing that there is value. to what we're doing? I think in large. part in this moment there are a million. reasons to check out. And you know it's. not just despair. It's it's it's. engineered despair. I mean Steve Bannon. says that his strategy is to flood the. zone with And and that is to make. us feel um like we are completely. helpless. Like the only option here is.

to throw up our hands. And there's no. way that we would be able to contend. with the behemoth that is not only the. federal government but a federal. government unmed by by any again norms, traditions, laws, the constitution, you. name it. But I think even in spite of. that, whether we have moments like the. no king protest or moments like this. right here where in the middle of the. summer you can get a group a group of. people together who are still willing to. fight for the future of this country.

Um, I think that is in large part that. even in front of the worst of. conditions, um, in what I think might be. one of the darkest moments in our. history, the fact that we can have so. many people still willing to fight for. what's right, I think that is in large. part what gives me hope in in this. moment. [applause]. So, you want to take it? Yeah. the it's I often feel too like the.

how do we get people to. like kind of uh like clock back in and. like re-engage even espec like like I. think because of a lot of our audience. they've been knocking on doors they've. been doing this for a very long time and. part of it to me you know uh often we'll. go on the road and we'll be doing a show. in you know Madison Wisconsin or we'll. be in whatever Minneapolis and somebody. will have a question and I'll say oh. where are you from and they'll be like, "Oh, I'm from Ohio." And the audience.

will boo the ever loving out of. that person. >> There's nothing wrong with Ohio. >> No, there's nothing wrong with Ohio. There's nothing wrong with Ohio. Because what I'm getting at is there's. an ICE agent in every heart. Uh, [laughter]. oh, you don't like to hear it. you don't. like to hear it, but that we are like we. are we are as a culture, we've like. removed a lot of the moral language and. a lot of the values language. And maybe.

it is because I'm I I try to step out of. this a lot to try to kind of get my head. into something a little bit more. longerlasting. Like part of I think what. makes this moment hard is we all what is. I think compels people to be involved is. a it's a moral it's a moral compulsion. It's a it's a values thing. That's. that's the reason you're here. And I've. come to appreciate the value that came. from inspiration in politics when I was. never motivated by that. As I've said, I'm motivated by rage. Uh but that if. Trump appeals to the worst in people,

like inspiration. calls on people to make the better parts. of themselves more true. And those. aspects have won out just as many times. as they have lost. And when things feel. dark, I remember that that at root we. are in a battle against people that are. appealing to their worst instincts. But. people have good instincts too. Even. people who feel we may feel have been. lost. And as long as we don't forget. that and put that in the context of a. long history in which we have made a lot. of progress, I think uh in the end we'll.

be okay. >> Yeah. Brian Tyler Conn. Everybody, [applause and cheering]. you should buy the book because. honestly, one way in which we beat. right-wing media is by proving that that. there is an audience for progressive. news, progressive coverage that putting. this book up on the bestseller list. against the right-wing books and all the. uh people that bought Joe Biden's book. uh I think would be a helpful thing to. do. Sorry to bring it down at the end.

Brian Tyler Cohen, >> thank you. [applause]. I want to thank a big thank you to the. team at Writer Block including Andrea. A. big thank you to John Love it and his. whole team at Crooked Media and a huge. thank you to everybody here again who. took time out of your busy busy. schedules to be here and to be part of. the fight. We are going to win midterms. We're going to get the House and the. Senate and it's in large part owed to. this kind of participation. So, thank. you. To listen to the audio version of. this episode, click the link right here. on the screen and make sure to. subscribe. And of course, to see more.

video content, that subscribe button's. on the screen as well. [music].