Trump's Versailles on the Potomac

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I'm Jon Favreau. And I'm Alex Wagner. In studio in LA. I came to cast my ballot. Just kidding. I'm here. We'll still take it. Still being counted. See you in 2027. How many do you want to drop off? [02:03] Just several, all for Heidi Montag. Just trying to get on the five. [02:09] It's good to see you. It's great to be here. I'm always so thrilled to be in person with you guys. I hear that we're doing this two weeks in a row. [02:16] Because Mr. Pfeiffer is out next Thursday as well.

[02:20] Wow. I know. I'm so glad that you're in control of the calendar. I had no idea. I just found that out yesterday. I'm sorry, everyone who wants Dan Pfeiffer on the show, which is probably most people. But sometimes Dan has to Dan. It's rare that Dan takes a break from anything. Well, I mean, I don't think he's contractually allowed to. Right. That is true. That is working in a gulag. Well, we're very happy to have you. And on today's show, we have lots to talk about whether the insurrectionist slush fund is really dead and why Republicans just refuse to kill it for good.

[02:50] We're also going to talk about Todd Blanche's promotion to Attorney General. Congratulations. Bill Pulte's promotion to America's Spy Chief. The latest results from Tuesday's primaries in Iowa and California. [03:02] Yet more Graham Plattner news, the meltdown at 60 Minutes, and finally, for the first time ever. [03:08] I will reveal a secret I've been keeping and tell the story of how I was invited, actually invited, [03:15] To the White House UFC fight. Oh, what a deep tease. Oh, yes. As they say in the TV industry, that is a deep tease.

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That's right. That's right. It's called 153 Minutes. That's the name of his podcast. That is quite long. com slash friends. Check it out. All right, Alex, the Republican Congress has been hard at work this week trying to shovel another 70 billion dollars of our money to Donald Trump so that ICE can keep rounding up immigrants and locking them away in barbaric detention camps. Trump wants even more, of course, a billion dollars for his ballroom and 1.8 billion [04:47] Capital. [04:48] on January 6th. Republicans denied him the ballroom money in this bill, but they did on Thursday block a Democratic amendment that would have killed...

[04:58] the J6 slush fund. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said this week that they wouldn't be moving forward with the slush fund, but... [05:06] When Trump was asked about that, [05:07] He gave an answer that surprised absolutely no one. I love it. [05:12] I think it's so important. On Thursday he did a clean coal event in the Oval Office where we all thought he'd elaborate. [05:19] on the future of the slush fund, but instead he dozed off several times in between his home renovation updates, which today included an announcement of yet another brand new construction project.

Let's listen. This is now open. You see the size of that compared to [05:36] Some of the biggest buildings in the country are actually the biggest. Hey, Peter. And we have it finished. The water is pouring in as we speak. This is from just a little while ago. Nice clean water. The Lincoln. [05:53] memorial, the front was supposed to be the back, the back was supposed to be the front, it never got built. [05:59] because they built two roadways behind it [06:01] after it was built [06:03] It shut off the [06:05] Gateway to the water.

[06:07] That was really going to be the main entry. [06:09] And we're going to be doing that. We're going to just go to the promenade. [06:13] Promenade. They want to call it the Trump Promenade, but I don't know if I want to do that. [06:18] What? [06:18] The fuck is happening? It's, um... [06:21] We really need to talk about how unwell this man is. Yeah. First of all, was there a penis also on that chart of big things that Trump's obsessed with? I don't know. This is not super important, but this is the second day now he has...

[06:38] led off an event in the Oval by holding up a chart to show that the reflecting pool is bigger than most buildings? Yes. [06:47] But like, it's not even something that he can brag about. Like he did it. He didn't lengthen the reflecting pool. It was built in 1920. Right. He just put in, he just painted it and renovated it. But now he's obsessed constantly with like holding up a billboard of how it's big. What the, what? It's a sort of, I mean, it's, it's legacy by way of phallic imagery.

I think it's just an obsession with size. [07:10] It is inversely proportional to his... [07:15] his approval ratings, right? So as he sinks in the polls, he needs to erect or claim the erection. I'm sorry, I keep saying these sort of penile vocabulary, but it is all, I mean, it's all intermingled. And it's the only way he believes he'll have a legacy is brick and mortar. And even if it's not his own brick and mortar, I mean, he's destroyed, he is destroying the country, he's lost the faith of maybe his even his own party in Congress or is losing it.

He has a colossal, [07:45] ahead of him in November, which is going to leave him even more castrated. And so what's his recourse? I guess reflecting pools and promenades. Yeah, big penis pool. And now we're doing a promenade around the Lincoln Memorial? I mean, are we, though? Are we going to get those Mar-a-Lago yellow umbrellas like we have in what used to be the Rose Garden P.? I... [08:08] I don't know that any of this is going to come to pass. I mean, truly, first of all, he's over budget and over time on all the projects that are already underway.

The Republicans in Congress have gotten very fatigued of, I think, the ego and the vanity projects. And, you know, they're not giving him a billion for the ballroom. I just I think this is all, first of all, a distraction from what's really happening. And we should talk about what's unfolding in Congress right now. But, like, I don't know. How fast can you build a promenade? [08:38] pool isn't even fixing the leaks. It's going to be covered in mold in like a year or a couple months. And the arch, don't forget about the arch.

I don't know. I don't know. I just hope all of them become intake processing centers for newly arrived migrants. Like that's just the only good drain the pool and let me make it, you know, put bedding down, let people sleep there, like just make it something useful for this increasingly poor and destitute country that he's running into the ground. I absolutely loved the [09:03] John Ossoff line from over the weekend about all this, where he said, yeah, he's building all these monuments to himself because after he's gone, no one else will.

Yeah, that is absolutely devastating. That is an Ossoff has been so good on reinforcing the narrative that this is all kind of Louis XIV style corruption and self-service. Versailles and the Potomac. Exactly. I mean, it is. It's l'état c'est moi. That means the state, it's me. [09:33] It's a disaster of epic proportions in terms of one man's ego. But I am skeptical that it actually comes to fruition. The Trump promenade, at least. Let's hope so. What did you make of the dead or alive drama around the slush fund and the Republicans refusal slash failure?

[09:53] to kill it for good. [09:54] Because some tried today. They could not get their caucus on board. Some tried to save their own asses. Some, not all. I think, number one, it is important that there be specific written language passed by Congress that outlaws the slush fund. It is quite clear to me, especially based on Trump's suggestion that he loves, not explicit declaration that he loves the fund. Todd Blanche will do anything Donald Trump wants. [10:24] means by Wednesday the slush fund could be up and running. It is [10:27] imperative that [10:29] the legislative branch shut this thing down, right?

So I think the movement to attach an amendment to this reconciliation bill that's being voted on right now is essential. What is the point of Bill Cassidy? Bill Cassidy is a senator in his, he's the Republican who, upon which this, like the future of this slush fund in large part hinges, right? He was the holdout today. He delayed, delayed, delayed. People thought, oh my God, he's going to kill this thing. And then decided at the [10:59] you know what, I need this to be a Republican effort and not a Democratic effort.

Bill Cassidy gave the country a raccoon testicle obsessed health and human services director who is an anti-vaxxer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He, a Dr. Bill Cassidy, gave us a lunatic at HHS. He was the pivotal vote. This was the one chance Bill Cassidy had to redeem his reputation, his stature [11:29] mounting resistance for three hours and then saying on partisan grounds, I can't I can't accept this amendment. I need Republicans to author it. Yeah. So just to catch people up on what happened here. Democrats offered an amendment to say it's nice that Todd Blanche said that this we're not moving forward the fund, but we're going to kill it statutorily.

We're going to put it in law to make sure that it's gone for good. And Schumer offered the amendment and they got Collins and they got Dan Sullivan in Alaska, [11:59] falling where they may. And John Husted. Husted? Husted. Husted. Husted. Who knew? Exactly. Anyway, he's the guy that Sherrod Brown's running against in Ohio. A Fox News poll came out yesterday that shows him trailing Sherrod Brown by eight. Sherrod's best poll. Awesome. But anyway, those three, just coincidentally, voted... They're in common. They voted to kill it as Republicans. But, you're right, Cassidy and Tillis thought they would be cutesy and they decided not to vote for that amendment.

They introduced their own [12:29] the slush fund in the way that Trump wants to use it, it has to be used for the anti-fraud initiative that D. Vance is running, which is basically like, you know, robbing states of Medicaid funding if they find someone committing fraud somewhere. They're just sort of collective punishment for the rest of the people who are on Medicaid. So they introduced that amendment, and obviously Democrats weren't going to support that because it's crazy and the anti-fraud initiative is bullshit. So they got like, I don't know, seven, eight, nine Republicans on that one, but that one didn't pass either.

So now... [12:59] Where are we? Now we have no language. [13:01] We have no language to kill the fund. And I say this. It's like fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice. Shame on me. Fool me 17 times. I should stop talking. And that's how I feel about Republicans in Congress. It's like I can't believe I'm even still fucking entertaining the idea that they'll do the right thing on this, that they'll actually deliver on something they say they're so against, which is the slush fund. [13:31] Collins for whom there's a specific place.

And you know what? Like, [13:35] It doesn't count what Susan Collins and Sullivan did because if it really counted and they really didn't want the fund, they could vote against the final bill. They could vote against the final bill. They're all on their way out. Tom Tillis and Bill Cassidy are out. It's a joke. It's a fucking joke. At the same time, it's really important that this get done. I know. Because we cannot have a $2 billion taxpayer slush fund given to insurrectionists. Like, that is nuts. So someone, I mean, I don't know.

I don't know. So I'm outraged. I'm incensed by the existence of Bill Cassidy. [14:05] And I, you know, I look for redemption. I hope there is some for them. What's your level of concern that there hasn't been more drama around the ICE funding itself, which is sort of not even being talked about as much, partly because I think it was baked in that it was going to pass way back when, you know, the government shutdown happened or the DHS shutdown happened. I know you covered ICE detention centers on Runaway Country this week.

I interviewed Andy Kim on Tuesday's pod, senator from New Jersey, about the horrific conditions at the detention center in Newark. [14:35] I mean, this is one that has been, like, making me quietly sick every time I see more stories because it's like... [14:42] I'm very aware that we finished the episode of Trump's America where there was the Battle of Minneapolis and then Christine Ome was fired. And then they pulled back and Stephen Miller was sort of like, you know, had to go back in his cave for a little bit. And so everyone moved on and thinks, OK, now things are good and things are not good.

No, there may be fewer expenditures on expensive horse rental under Mark Wayne Mullen, the new DHS secretary. [15:12] As ever. Let's just I mean, just for people who have not paid attention to what's going on in terms of detentions. [15:19] Caitlin Dickerson, who we have on the show on Runaway Country this week, has been doing some essential reporting from on the ground. The idea of family separations is still happening. By her estimate, I think 200,000 parents have been deported and separated from their children, some of whom have ended up in jail.

[15:36] foster care, some of whom have ended up with other relatives or strangers. There's no tracking for that part. And they can't get their kids back. In many cases, they're in dangerous places where they have no home. They're facing threats of gang violence. Their children are locked in the United States. It is a devastating situation. So there's that reality. And then when you talk about what's happening inside the detention centers, I mean, there are, I think, 50 people have died in [16:06] in these detention centers is appalling. You're talking about medical concerns like people needing to see doctors for routine, small issues that...

[16:15] when they aren't treated, become life-threatening issues. The lawyer that we spoke to, Melissa Shepard, from Immigration Defenders, talked about someone who had a hangnail that was left untreated and couldn't see a nurse, couldn't see a doctor, and eventually was at risk of dying from sepsis because of this. Right. These are I mean, then you talk about just basic. [16:34] basic, basic, basic, basic levels of care, including clean water. They're being given moldy food or not enough food or contaminated water. The latrines aren't being cleaned. Detainees are volunteering to clean up and create shifts because nobody else is cleaning the facilities.

I mean, these are pregnant women, children, these are elderly people who need their medicine. These are people that have been living in the United States for like 20 years. [17:04] And that doesn't it doesn't make it easier. It doesn't make it better if they weren't those people. But they were integrated into American society. And even if they didn't have the paperwork, they were living like we are. And they have been shunted into a just dark and unimaginably depressing, devastating environment from which there seems like no escape. [17:34] administration is cherry picking executives and making them the new head of ice.

Tom Homan was a consultant to the GEO Group. G. Bondi back in 2019, another consultant to the GEO Group. It's a revolving door where, you know, the snake is eating its own tail. And as a result, there are, you know, GEO Group has made, I think, an 800 percent increase in profits between 2024 and 2025. It's really lucrative business to cram a bunch of people with no legal representation into subhuman [18:04] the government a lot of money for it. And that's what's happening. And now we're about to dump another $72 billion in ICE and CPB's lap.

[18:10] And like... [18:11] we've both interviewed people who've been caught up in this and people who probably like have more means and maybe they're like Canadians that got caught up in it, but right. And, [18:20] They will say, like, [18:22] it's not even like they're just deporting people, right? Like, that's what I think people have this image of, oh, Trump wants to deport people and he wants to deport, you know, the worst of the worst, or maybe just undocumented immigrants. And obviously it's gone beyond that, but it's beyond just deportation, which in some cases would be more humane than what they are doing to people in these detention centers.

Some people are like begging to be deported. Yes. Well, that's the point. I think one of the things they're doing is making the life so abominable that people just decide [18:52] They can't be in touch with their lawyers. They're shipped around from detention center to detention center. They're lost in the system and they give up hope. I mean, it's an incredibly emotionally traumatic thing to be snatched off the street. Kids. Children taken or children themselves. Imagine like kids our age, our kids age and like what happens after you spend time [19:11] a month in a detention center like that.

I mean, I mean, there's no oversight into any of this. And you see Andy Kim, who you had on. I mean, when you have congressional representatives who are, you know, tasked with oversight, trying to do their job, they are pepper sprayed, they are arrested, they are charged with crimes. I mean, and we have no idea what's happening in Dilley detention, which is where all the kids are. I will tell you, when I was talking to Andy Kim, [19:41] January 6th and he was in the Capitol picking up the trash. And, and like, I remember interviewing him after that and he was like, so still so like hopeful, even though that had happened because he was, and you know, when I interviewed him on Tuesday, he seemed like, [19:57] beat down.

Yeah. Like when you see something like that, it's like and he's not the type of he's not the type of politician who's like hair on fire, partisan, this, that. He just he saw something. And you can tell he can't even believe what he saw. You can't unsee it or unlearn it. And I have to say one of the one of the advantages of the way the government is handling deportations right now is it's happening in large part behind the worst parts of it are happening behind closed doors. Yes. When Alex Peretti and Renee Nicole Good were killed, it alarmed the entire country

[20:27] And now the abuse and dehumanization of people is just happening behind closed doors. And they're brown people and they have fewer rights and there's less mainstream media coverage. And the federal government makes it very difficult to get information. Nonetheless, I mean, you know, this is happening in our name. And we are doing this to people who were once integrated members of our society who contribute to our economy and to the fabric of our democracy. And I just think, you know, it's devastating for anybody that works on it. But we should be I mean, we should be all more publicly devastated by it.

[20:57] of this funding. [20:58] you know, these jabronis in Congress doing whatever they're doing, we shouldn't forget that the essential fight here, the reason this bill is happening through reconciliation is, [21:08] is because [21:09] Democrats didn't want to fucking fund ICE and CPB without reforms because what they're doing is an abuse of power. It is not constitutional. And that should always be the sort of end note for any discussion about whatever Congress ends up doing on reconciliation. Did you – one more thing on this. Did you see on Wednesday – [21:25] Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen refused to rule out his crazy-ass plan to basically shut down, not basically, it would, shut down international travel at airports in sanctuary cities by removing Customs and Border Patrol officers.

So... [21:41] here, LA. I mean, the first threat was Newark because there were the protests outside the Delaney detention facility. And, um, [21:50] That is like... [21:51] I don't know whether to be like, that is completely insane and scary. And what are we going to do? Or like, go for it. Touch the stove. Shut down international travel in this economy to the United States. That's going to work. Yeah. No Republicans fly, though, right? They only they travel by pony. What the fuck? Can you imagine the hit to the economy? It would be so bad.

It's such an example of this idiot ass administration cutting off its nose to spite its face. I mean, good job, guys. Like make gas a trillion dollars a gallon and then shut down air travel. Way to make America great again. [22:21] I mean, and Mark Wayne Mullen in his notes on this plan suggested that it's something they've been cooking up for a while and they're ready to execute on it until and unless ICE officers are respected. Well, you know, on some level, I have to say, John, maybe doing that, I mean, taking the setting aside the hit to the economy.

It's like at least people would be reminded. I know. This is an ongoing fight. I know. It's a it's a touch and stove moment. [22:51] Yeah. [22:53] This podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all-in-one website platform designed to elevate your online presence and drive your success. [23:01] Squarespace provides all the tools you need to promote and get paid for your services in one platform. Whether you offer consultations, events, or other experiences, Squarespace can help you grow your business. Squarespace offers a complete library of professionally designed and award-winning website templates with options for every use in every category.

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Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. [25:21] So, good news for the brains behind the J6 slush fund. Trump announced this week that he intends to officially promote acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to permanent Attorney General Todd Blanche. The president's former personal defense lawyer has been on a roll since he took over for Pam Bondi. In addition to coming up with the slush fund, Blanche has brought a second indictment against Jim Comey for his seashell art picture. And he's also stepped up an investigation into John Brennan.

[25:49] John Cornyn and Tom Tillis. Are we going to be stuck with Todd Blanche for as long as we're stuck with Donald Trump? Well, first of all, I mean, no matter what Tom Tillis intends on doing, there is the reality that Todd Blanche can stay acting AG and... [26:04] Till Trump is out of office. And I don't know if this is a time to mention the Julie Sue situation. But under Biden in 2022, he could not get his acting or his deputy labor secretary confirmed to be labor secretary, in large part because of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

We'll set that aside for a rainy day. [26:34] a secretary can become acting secretary for a largely indefinite period of time, assuming that the sort of paperwork around that is taken care of every year. And Republicans are looking at that, or the Trump administration, I would assume, is looking at that and saying, well, if you could do that with your Labor Secretary, Julie Su, we can do that with our wannabe AG, ring kisser extraordinaire, Todd Lynch. I mean, it's been the law forever, and it's sort of like the Vacancies [27:04] on this, yes.

If you are [27:06] confirmed to be a deputy something something at a cabinet agency it and you're going to be acting it is pretty easy to just restart the clock every year every year we're now we're withdrawing the nomination we're doing it again they're going to get a vote they didn't get a vote now we're going to take you know so like you can just play with the paperwork and and todd lynch can serve forever thank god for as long as we have done i don't know i guess good job todd you like what what how [27:36] No, he's got it.

That's for sure. And yet he's not the worst, I think, of the nominees that have been proposed this week. Well, here we go. I'm picking it up for you, John. The Blanche News did briefly overshadow. [27:47] The appointment of Bill Pulte. Yes, the same Bill Pulte who's been using his perch atop the Federal Housing Finance Administration to manufacture mortgage fraud allegations against people on Trump's enemies list. Don't worry, he apparently still gets to keep that job too. [28:01] Is he doing such a good job? Good, yeah. Can he be the viceroy of Venezuela as well?

Probably. We only have a couple people to do all the jobs now. No one else wants to work there. This is also the same Bill Pulte who Scott Besson threatened to punch in his fucking face. And it does seem like even Republicans and other Trump administration colleagues may not be super thrilled with making this doofus America's top spy chief. Let's listen. Do you think that Bill Pulte has the experience to be the acting DNI? I'll defer to the chairman on that. [28:31] speak to that. We have four more weeks with Director Dabbard as the DNI, and I look forward to implementing last year's Intelligence Authorization Act with her.

I have no observations on the matter. Have you ever, specifically in the context of the intelligence community, heard the name Bill Pulte? [28:52] In the context of intelligence? That's what I said. Did he mean like the intelligence community or just intelligence generally? That's my question. Tom Cotton saying, I have no observations on the matter. I know. That is all we got. Oh, Tom, you speak for all of us. Trump was asked about this one in the Oval when he was giving us his renovation updates. And here's his explanation. Why do you think, Mr.

President, he's the best person for the job? Well, he's very smart. [29:22] A person who's got high integrity and it's an acting position. It's not a problem. He's not going to be permanent because, you know, I don't think he'd want to be permanent. And he may find out some things about the rigged elections, et cetera, et cetera. Does he have a necessary, in your view, Mr. President, a necessary national security experience to take on that position? Well, I do. And I think he does, actually, because he's smart. That's it. [29:45] Trump says you're smart.

You have all the experience. What's your level of concern on this one? Hi. Very high. Hi, hi, hi. I think even and especially the fact that he's just serving for a specific window to find election interference right ahead of the midterm elections. What could go wrong? I will draw everybody's attention. Like as if you didn't give us enough examples of this person be clowning himself in life. Will Summer at the board. I'm so glad you brought this up. Oh, my God. It's such a good story. It's such a good story.

Everyone go read it. [30:15] like much of 2023 trying like as a meme stock investor trying to get people to invest in like worthless shares of bed bath and beyond yes and as part of that this was his sole mission yeah that's all he did and like he basically they will will talks about how he organizes an event in december of 2023 at a florida hangar i guess like an airplane hangar that was dedicated to the [30:45] Pulte sitting on stage, one promoter slapped a grateful supporter in the face with a green dildo, which was apparently a powerful symbol in their inscrutable online subculture.

He uncovers what that inscrutable dildo symbolism means, and it's just as heinous as you would imagine it to be. This is the person that Trump wants to put in charge of our intelligence infrastructure. Do you see what he got at that event? So he was sitting there while the dildo incident occurred. [31:15] And then Palti was given a little trophy with a T-Rex on it, and it said... [31:20] Um, it said, Pulte only fucks the young. Well, okay. I think they were on two, it was two different sides of the trophy, but yes, if you put all the sentence together, that's what it would Oh, Pulte fucks only the it's yeah.

It's only the young and he fucks. It's just, but they did it as a joke. He fucks is on one side and I believe only the young fact, the crackerjack fact checking. [31:50] to the phallic obsession of this administration, it is all just about dick swinging. And like, he proved himself to be both at once willing to be castrated by Donald Trump, but having some kind of dick to swing around at some point, or at least a dildo. I'm sorry that this has gotten so lewd. I know it's a family program.

I mean, it's not our fault. It's not. It's the new acting director of national intelligence's fault. Who reportedly gave Trump the you are the you are Jesus JPEG. Yes. The guy, he's the original. Praying behind AI Jesus. And the 50 year mortgage boondoggle. [32:20] No. [32:21] We're really talking about this guy. I mean, not only does he have, I mean, it's almost like the fact that he has zero qualifications for the job or an afterthought. He is completely morally and like, I would say ethically corrupt. He's a joke. And I think.

[32:36] I would hope that Trump's suggestion that he'll only be in the office temporarily is some kind of hat tip to the fact that he knows that he's a joke. But that should not calm anybody's fears, because as you know, it's quite obvious. I mean, he's being put in there for one reason only, and that is to help Trump find a reason to say that the results of the 2020 election were fraudulent and potentially to say that the results of the 2026 midterms should not give Democrats the gavel. [33:06] challenging to, um, prevent the president from putting someone in a temporary position and, um, for, you know, for as long as he wants.

Um, [33:17] Section 702 Warrantless Wiretapping Authority is up for renewal. That old chestnut. And both parties have negotiated, surprisingly, an agreeable solution to that. So they were going to put that up for a vote. But now Democrats are saying... [33:32] We're not going to reauthorize that if the person in charge of it is this fucking doofus. And they're wondering if enough anti-Pulte Republicans would join along, try to use that as leverage. I think I saw... [33:47] maybe Collins, Murkowski and Tillis voted for an amendment that would prevent Pulte from being a DNI chair that they added.

But I don't think any of the other Republicans voted for it. I don't think it passed. Can I just say that? [33:59] I can't believe you have to bait them. I know. You have to sweeten it. Like, we know he's a clown. We know he's a maniac. We know he's completely untrustworthy and could do crazy damage to the democracy. But if that's not enough, we're going to hold 702 FISA wiretapping reauthorization hostage. Like, it's insane to me that Democrats have to add a sweetener to attract more Republicans when this person is so categorically unqualified for this job.

It's shameful. I wonder what John Ratcliffe thinks, who is the CIA director and, like, not my cup of tea, but... [34:29] Like a professional. Yeah. And, you know, I know that the org chart there is a little loosey-goosey, but he still has to, like... [34:37] Like this is the director of national intelligence. Maybe they just cut him. I bet they cut him out of all the important stuff. And then when Trump wants really bad shit done, then Pulte gets access to everything, which is what he's already digging up. You know, he's rummaging around mortgage files, trying to find fraudulent mortgage applications so that he can tag Letitia James and and Jim Comey.

I mean, he this is all so utterly embarrassing. And yet what's crazy is we don't know what happened. [35:07] I don't know if the FISA reauthorization is going to be sufficient enough to get Trump's party to shut down the nomination of someone who could do grave damage, not just to the democracy, but even to them. You know what I mean? Once you cross Trump. [35:23] Once you're no longer in office... [35:26] anything's fair game. Like, they're in peril as much as anybody else. You know, there's a lot that, if Democrats take Congress, that they can't achieve in two years with Donald Trump as president because he's still got veto power.

But... [35:37] These are the kinds of things, especially Pulte, where if Democrats have control of Congress, you haul this guy in for questioning. You send subpoenas, not just for him, but for documents. You can make stuff happen if you control Congress with appointments this horrendous, for sure. It makes Tulsi Gabbard look like J. Edgar Hoover. Doesn't it? It does. I guess in the best possible way. [36:07] Pod Save America is brought to you by Wild Alaskan Company. The difference between low and high quality seafood is enormous, but it's also one of those things that's tough to accurately assess for yourself in the grocery store.

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That's com slash crooked for $35 off your first order. Thanks to Wild Alaskan Company for sponsoring this episode. [37:32] Pod Save America is brought to you by Helix. Sleep, it's so important. A good night's rest sets you up for a great next day. [37:38] I have trouble sleeping. I've had trouble sleeping in the past, usually because of thoughts in my brain or I could fall asleep and not wake up or I had caffeine too late or the room was too hot or the [37:48] you know, [37:49] the many different things you didn't finish that day that you said you were going to do.

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Helix offers a 120-night sleep trial and a limited lifetime warranty. I have the Dawn Lux, super comfortable. Really glad I have it. [38:26] and has been better than other mattresses I've gotten in the past, so I recommend it. com slash Crooked for 20% off site-wide. That's com slash Crooked for 20% off site-wide. com slash Crooked. [38:40] One more congressional development of note before we leave Capitol Hill. Four House Republicans, including Thomas Massey, joined Democrats on Wednesday in passing a War Powers Resolution directing the president to end military operations in Iran.

Democrats and Republicans in the Senate advanced a similar measure a few weeks ago. [38:58] This is all largely symbolic, however, because Trump can just veto the resolution, which he's not too happy with. He responded on Thursday by calling the war powers vote unpatriotic. The Republicans who voted for it, grandstanders. And the Democrats, Democrats, which seems to be his new nickname of choice. We haven't played a clip yet of this on this program, but he has said now multiple times. He tells this story. He's like, no, a lot of people don't know that dumb has a B at the end.

This is what he's been saying. And like straight face. And he's like, I call them the Democrats. [39:28] It tolls for thee. [39:31] People don't know all this time. You know, there's a B at the end of dumb. [39:37] Meanwhile, there seems to have been zero progress this week in actually ending the war in Iran, which Trump said Wednesday is, quote, not a big thing. Not a big thing for the S. It's a detour. I'd like to read you some rave reviews about the Iran war in the Wall Street Journal today, Thursday.

Quote, it has achieved enough to produce a far better Middle East. [39:58] no deal is fine and quote, this is a new day in the Middle East. [40:02] Care to guess the author? I'm going to say, who, John, who loves ill-conceived regime change more than someone from the George W. Bush administration? Could it be... [40:16] Condoleezza Rice? It's Condoleezza Rice! Pops her head up to... [40:20] Just give a ringing endorsement of our progress on Iran. Which is less welcome, the Jill Biden memoir or the Condoleezza Rice op-ed? Honestly, the Jill Biden memoir.

[40:33] That's saying something. But only because the Condoleezza Rice one is like, what is this going to do? Also, what are you doing? What are you doing? [40:43] Let me burnish my reputation by defending a failing president in a wildly misguided war. That is commitment to the bit. She is a true, true neocon. [40:55] Till till the end. I read this and I was like, are you kidding, lady? The war. First of all, she writes about it in the past tense. And I'm like, wait a second. It drew America, Israel and Arab states closer through defense cooperation and intelligence.

[41:10] What? It didn't draw the region closer. It also showed that although Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz, that leverage is limited. Is it? What? [41:20] It doesn't seem like it. His approval rating is like negative one million right now. And he's about to hemorrhage any leverage he has in Congress. Like, what in the fuck are you talking about? Also, and she's like, and do we need the enriched uranium? Sure. But that can be a tomorrow problem. Yeah. Yes, John, there are large stockpiles of highly enriched uranium somewhere in Iran.

But this is a problem for the future. Not today. Really? [41:50] Like, anyway, their ways of enriching it are probably dismantled or destroyed. Trust me. What? I don't, like... [41:57] Hindsight is negative 2020. The whole thing is just like we have learned everything. [42:03] I mean, I just the hubris, the foolishness. Anyway, I delighted in it, actually. It was a nice break. It was a palate cleanser. I was trying to figure out what it was. And buried in there is her saying, like, you know, no deal is fine. And that's better than a bad deal.

And she said, under no circumstances can we be lifting any sanctions and giving the money. And so she is doing the classic anti-anti-Trump Republican thing of being like, I think we can play him. [42:33] the war went great, but what we really don't want is pellets of cash to Iran. And they don't want a deal where we unfreeze sanctions and unfreeze funds for them in exchange for getting rid of the nuclear material, which was the whole reason that we started the war in the first place, ostensibly, and opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open at the beginning of the war.

[42:55] And so she's like, yeah, I understand all that, but things aren't that bad. And so what she really wants is a deal to open the strait. [43:02] no money to Iran and then just cut and run. Right. I don't know how you negotiate that deal. And nobody seems to be able to. But like, I guess. Nice try, Condi. You're totally right that it's like we will stroke. The dog will come running at us with saliva foaming at its mouth. And we will stroke the dog right between the eyes, right between the eyes.

And we will calm the dog down. And then we will get it into the cage. And I was like, no, that dog's going to fucking bite you. It's going to bite you. That dog is rabid. All right. Let's talk about the big [43:32] beat Zach Wallace to become the Democratic Senate candidate. He'll be squaring off against Ashley Hinson in November in a race that Cook Political Report has now shifted from likely Republican [43:42] to lean Republican. So, Iowa Senate in play. In Montana, a Bernie AOC-backed smokejumper and union leader named Sam Forsag beat two moderate Democrats to become the nominee in the state's first congressional district, which Republican Ryan Zinke is vacating.

Hot fireman dude. [43:59] Smoke jumpers. We need more fucking smoke jumpers. I'm sorry to curse them. We need more smoke jumpers. Please delete the fucking. We need more smoke jumpers. Smoke jumpers. I just look at what a smoke jumper was. I did. I actually just assumed it was fire related. It is fire related. I'm glad that it's not some acrobatics that I was unaware of. Like parkour for fire. No, it's like it's definitely fire related. And here in California, we're still counting votes as we will be potentially for another week or two.

So embarrassing. I know it is embarrassing. [44:29] The governor's race shows Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Javier Becerra in lead, though there's a small chance that Democrat Tom Steyer could catch Becerra as more ballots are counted. He's currently about 6% behind. In the mayor's race, Karen Bass is headed to the runoff in November, and currently Republican reality TV douche Spencer Pratt is in second. But there's also a chance that progressive challenger Nithya Rahman could catch him. She's currently 7% behind. Election analysts say that in the past the ballots got bluer the later they were counted, [44:59] especially true in this election, since a lot of undecided Democrats held their ballots until the very end.

Like the people who usually sit at this table. Like the people who usually sit at this table. And me, I mean, I... [45:10] I decided late before these guys, but I turned it in on Monday. Yeah, that's still considered late in my book. That's pretty late. Yeah, I dropped it in a box on Monday, so who knows when it finally got to the... May not have. Yeah. While we have you here in LA, what have you made of our California primaries? You guys need to fucking count your bones a lot faster.

I know. There are machines that will help you. [45:32] I am... [45:33] We focused actually on both Texas and California in last week's Runaway Country, and we had the inimitable Daniel Pfeiffer on. [45:41] And it worries me. [45:42] As someone who would like to see a changing of the guard in 2028 about what this could portend for the Democratic Party writ large. It's a good point. Just because there's I mean, I think the gubernatorial race is a little different. It was hit with obviously the Swalwell revelations or accusations or whatever we're calling them.

And that upended, I guess, the race. But there's a real lack of enthusiasm, no coalescing. [46:12] the most important state in the union. I'm a New Yorker, so I can't really give you that. But, you know, there's no clear agenda. There's a lack of enthusiasm. There's a sense that everyone's votes are very scattered and it's based on strategy. And that's not how you win a national election. And I worry that some of that can trickle down to what is going to be a very crowded primary field and where I think the order of the day is going to be electability, which is so what the [46:38] I mean, I guess it makes super important, super hard to define.

Exactly. Very subjective and self-determined. Not totally subjective, though. You want to be like, well, you can't dismiss it totally and be like, well, it's all subjective. No one knows electability. [46:51] Yeah, you can kind of tell, but it's also not perfectly objective either. Yeah, and the mayoral race really worries me. In many ways, the gubernatorial race, I will set aside to like sort of strange dynamics. But the mayoral race seems like an area where Democrats are having a really hard time articulating a message that is addressing people's deep seated concerns, so much so that a know nothing reality TV star sounds familiar, has somehow vaulted to the like the head of the pack.

[47:21] real desperation inside, you know, one of the bluest cities and the bluest states in the country. So what does that mean for the country where it's not as blue and it's not as concentrated? I worry. I don't like what I'm seeing here. And I genuinely love this state. I have been like... [47:36] grumbling about this to anyone who listened, but... [47:39] all the Democrats running in California in these primaries, mayor and. [47:44] Governor. [47:45] Um, [47:46] Who's the really inspiring communicator? Yeah. [47:48] Who's really good? Who gets who's good at getting attention?

Um, [47:52] Bye. [47:53] Just talking and not spending. [47:55] $200 billion, $200 million, like Tom Steyer did. [47:59] Not a lot of them. And then you have someone, Katie Porter is a good example. Here's someone who in 2018, rising star, great communicator, policy wonk, but also someone who was like, explain it in an accessible way, had the whiteboard. And then she has a [48:11] personal character issue, right? With staff. So then you got that. And that becomes a theme in the Democratic Party as well now, right? So you got that kind of person.

You got your Nithya's like this, and a lot of other folks we're running to who are, like, good at the job. You can tell they're going to be good at the job, and they're brilliant people, but, like, [48:31] Were they born to be campaigners? [48:33] Not really. We've had a lot of that in the Democratic Party. Yeah. Right. And then you have [48:38] The Becerras. [48:40] the Karen Bass's, who their claim to fame is just sticking around long enough and just hanging around Democratic politics and being part of the establishment and making enough connections in the establishment that suddenly people are ready to rally behind you.

[48:55] Do you have good intentions? Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure Karen Bass had great intentions when she took the job. And same with I assume that of Javier Becerra because I like to always assume well about people. [49:05] Karen Bass didn't adequately communicate in the last couple of years on this job. She didn't show the kind of urgency you need to show to be mayor of a city this large, even though it's a weak mayor. That actually means you have to work even harder to communicate in a weak mayor system.

And, you know, I don't that doesn't surprise me because. [49:26] in Congress, as a member of Congress, which he was for so long, you can just kind of hang around in Congress and take your votes. [49:31] But like... [49:33] We need leaders. We need people to like stand up and and point somewhere and say, this is where we're going and this is how we get there and get behind me. We're going to get excited. And it's like, where is that? Well, and the party by nature doesn't lend. It's sort of antithetical to be standing up and guiding everything in the Democratic Party, which is much more of a consensus oriented group of people.

Right. And it's much more inclusive and expansive and thought and agenda and all the rest. [50:03] leadership. Yes. And it bums me out to say it because [50:06] First of all, it is really hard to run for office. It's a lot of sacrifice, and especially in this environment. It's like, why does anyone want to go through that? Right. And there are so many people who are going through it right now who are wonderful candidates who people will maybe never hear about because they're just putting their head down and trying to win their races.

And they're not as flashy as some of the other candidates we talk about. And like, God bless them. But. [50:27] When we get to president, [50:28] This is going to be the challenge. Yeah, this is why it's spooking me. Because you can do that in a congressional race. You can do that... [50:36] probably even in the Senate race, [50:37] As you get to Governor... [50:39] in the state or as you get to a mayor or now, especially when you get to president, it's going to be a lot tougher to do that.

Just sort of fake it. Yeah. You need the real talent there. It's true. I know that talent's come from California. JK, JK. It's a great state. It is a great state. A lot of great people here. A lot of great people. Favreau 2028. Yeah, right. Okay. [50:57] Right as we were preparing to record this, the much-rumored second New York Times story on Graham Plattner's problematic behavior dropped. This one talks about his relationships with his past girlfriends. Several of them spoke of him fondly. Three others the Times spoke to described, quote, toxic relationships that were unsettling.

I'm going to try to quote as much as I can here because it's a lot to untangle in this piece. [51:27] longtime conservative activist. He dated between 2013 and 2015. So I guess this is when he was in C. And she said that while Plattner, quote, never hit me, he once yanked her out of a cab by her wrist and also during one argument, twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and told her to remain there until she was calm. Plattner strongly disputes any claims of physical [51:53] This is all according to the Times.

Seems like every time you're on the show, there's a big turn in the Plattner story. So welcome back. Coincidence or not? What did you think of this one? I feel like I get the Graham Plattner hot potato landing. You really do. I really do. And there's not even Dan here to create some levity around the absurdity of all of this. Dan never gets it, by the way. [52:23] Like Platinum Mills. I, um... [52:28] I will say... [52:30] there's another part of the piece again, again, [52:33] quoted a quote or retold by this conservative activist, former girlfriend, where she says that Plattner had what she described as a warrior ethos and would fantasize about killing people he deemed a threat.

She said that he told her that rape was about power. It was something that stuck with her through the years, she said. He said this a lot. If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them, she recalled, saying that he added it would not be in a sexual way, not in a gay way. He was