Hi, I'm Molly John Fast and this is Fast Politics, where we discussed the top political headlines with some of today's best minds.

And Scott Besson says he's considering doubling the twenty billion dollars of aid to Argentina.

Okay, this is what happens when you have a cryptocer say we have such a great show for you.

Today, MSNBC's own Alex Wagner stops by to talk about Trump overplaying his hand on immigration.

Then we'll talk to Congressman Brendan Boyle about how the Republicans are losing the messaging war on the government jut down.

But first the news.

Somalia Duloitte has done a study.

They've taken the temperature on consumers and I'm going to shock you.

After all the stupid policies that Trump has been doing for a whole nine months, you know, we get the worst consumer confidence heading into the big hiring season of the holiday season, and the economies look at bet.

The consumers have no common confidence.

I don't know why that twenty or forty billion dollar bill out to Argentina should make everyone feel confident.

I really felt a lot of confidence as I last night, watched an interview with the farmer talking about how they're funding his competitors.

Yeah, I feel confident that this is going to be a fucking disaster.

So again, you remember, Donald Trump tends to fire anyone who tells him bad news.

So I don't know, maybe he'll never see this.

But consumers plan to spend about ten percent less than last year.

Seventy seven percent expect higher prices.

The other twenty three percent are magged out on crack.

Gen Z expects to spend thirty four percent less.

Well, millennials expect to cut thirteen percent, and boomers, those boomers who love Trump, those guys, they're going to spend about six percent less.

Yes, Generation X, they're bucking the trend by spending a little more.

President Trump's two reps are on everything because he is a lunatic, and so we're seeing, you know, rules on everything, apparel, holiday decorps, toys.

Remember when Donald Trump last year said you might only get two dollars instead of ten dollars.

Well, I'm thinking about when like let Nick, all of them were saying, just you wait and see in six months of or on March, and oh wait, it's been more than six months.

Oh fuck, they will lied to me again.

Wow, ninety deals in ninety days and that actually translated to none or three.

I don't know, maybe whatever.

It's all very lucy goosey here, except that everything costs a lot more.

But it's all so that Donald Trump can have a slush fund that he can use for whatever, because we have moved into a world with a government that no longer follows the law.

Thanks everyone, Smiley.

While I'm saying this next part, you may go is mine Bill Murray am I in the movie groundhog Day?

And I will say, no, you are not.

It's just that the same thing keeps happening because we have the most reckless, moronic government possible.

And yeah, the AHHS has now had to recall the wad Off health statistics staff that they fired in the Friday Night massacre last week, and the rehirings will continue until morale improves.

I want to point out part of when we looked at how Elon Mush was costing us all these tax dollars, this is why he was going to say this money because you're firing people and then you're rehiring them, so you have to pay for severns or you have to pay to retrain people, or you have to pay to re onboard them.

You'll remember Elon mush who fired like everyone in the world, and you fired people like the people who predict the hurricane, who do this, who do that?

So now we have AHHS.

I actually am happy that they're rehiring the statistics, the statistic staff, because I've seen Trump also fire people who know stuff and then never rehire them, like the Bureau of Labor and pharm Statistics or put in a trumper.

So at least they're rehiring the people.

But yeah, every time you fire someone because you're a Russ Vaught and you want to stick it to the libs, taxpayers have to pay for that.

By the way, in case you're wondering, we're paying as taxpayers.

We're paying for a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Baby, do you think this is a democratic agency?

The Health Statistics.

I just can't keep track of which one's a democratic agency.

Yeah, those are libtards right there, and the Bureau of Labors they're the lib tardiest.

Well, I do have interesting news on this front, because a judge has blocked mister Vaught from firing federal workers during the government shutdown for nap.

Yeah, that judge, he's going to alligate or alcatraz.

I heard Jack pisobiak say say something about that over the weekend.

Judge blocks Trump from firing federal workers during government shut down for now.

You know why because it's not legal.

So much of this is not legal.

San Francisco US District Court Judge, She's definitely going to the Hague or the She's going to Gizmo.

Jack pisobiac is going to send her to Getmo.

That's what he was saying over the weekend when he was rallying for the new Jersey governor candidate for the Republicans.

Yeah, should a rally.

So, look, I think it's important to remember that so much of this they're doing is illegal, im moral.

If you stick around long enough, all of this will ultimately be made illegal in court.

The question is when.

Yeah, so, Molly, I want to take you back in time.

I want to see how your long term memory is.

I going to say a name.

Do you remember this person?

Jack Smith?

All I can tell you is I don't want to complain about Merrik Arlind, But since you've opened the door to this Joe Biden put someone in the job who was the worst possible person for the fucking job, and that person very cautious and lawyer guy.

Put another guy, we got Jacksmith from Public Integrity.

He was going to solve it.

Well, you know this.

Guy, one might say, the Mueller of his day.

The Mueller.

Yeah, another disappointing figure from American life.

So one of the difference between the Biden and Trump case is that the obstructive conduct in the case that I investigated.

To prove illegal possession of classified documents, you need to show this is like a Jacksmith quote.

Okay, you need to show that the defendant possessed the documents wilfully.

That means Trump knew what he was doing was wrong.

Smith said in a sit down at University College London, we had tons of evidence of wilfulness.

Oh really, you don't fucking say.

So let's spell this out though, for those who are not speaking that wonderful jargon of legal eese.

He's saying that mister Trump knowingly just took those documents, whereas Joe Biden, well.

My man knew what he was doing was illegal.

That's what we're saying here.

That's what we're saying, and you'll be shocked to hear that.

The speech comes as we're seeing that there's threats that mister Trump is going to do to Jack Smith what he has done to Leticia James, mister James comy, and he's going to go after him next.

I think that seems very likely.

But also that's and we're going to fight.

We're all going to fight, and he's going to fight.

But it's important to realize like Smith had proof of obstruction, he had proof that Trump knew what he was doing was illegal, and I think that is certainly important.

Yeah, that's important.

Alex Wagner is a senior political analyst and ms NBC and the host of Runaway Country on Crooket Media.

Hi, I'm excited to be joined by the host of the upcoming Runaway Country podcast from Crookeet Media.

Thank you, Molly.

It's a delight to be here with you.

Yeah.

Well, I'm happy to have you.

You're like back on the road, and that I mean ish ish I'm talking to people across the country.

Yeah, but I'm not traveling like I was for other projects I have engaged in the last year or two, four or five.

But it is like a pretty fucked up moment in the country in a way, because so my friend in Chicago, you know who's who is working in the legislature, sent me these these Instagram photos last night from the Chicago Sun Times, and she, you know she and I think she's very, very smart, and I have a lot of respect for she works in the Governor's office.

And so I'm always like, what's going on with you guys, And She's like, I can't say anything that explains more than these photos.

Yeah, so much of what's happening right now, for saw, there's so much chaos happening, and it's all unfolding in parallel and also in the abstract, right, Like we talk about masked ice agents, and sometimes a video goes viral and you see some violence or you see a confrontation, or we talk about you know, tariffs and like farmers sitting with a whole bunch of soybeans, like with no market to sell it at.

But like the actual lived experience of that is so radically different.

And I I, as a journalist, have I always like go talking to people in the center of the story, right, But I just feel like, particularly at this moment, there are these visceral, deeply emotional, riviting stories that we're missing because we're not getting at like the kind of the marrow of it all.

We're not talking to the people, we don't have characters, we're not thinking about the human the humanity.

Of it all.

Right, as all this insanity plays out, part of it is like we are digesting it also quickly that there hasn't been I think, like the time to do it.

But you know, on new podcast, the whole goal is to really give you characters and something you know that resonates in your heart and mind to hold on too when you think about when you read the next headline, right, and some of these people are going to be recurring, and we're talking to local journalists, we're expending our network of kind of people who are going to help report it out.

It's like it's very exciting and also daunting because they're so it's really hard to.

Know where to even begin.

And by the way, we're not just talking to victims of you know, Trump administration policies.

We're also talking to people who are maybe they're National Guard troops stationed at a blue city or you know, they're still Trump supporters in the middle of economic upheaval.

But the idea is to just kind of put some real like faces with these these words that we talk about a lot, and in the same way that your friend is like nothing captures it the same way this photo does.

Like we there's I think there's a collective numbness that's set in a little bit, and it's that we're trying to get back to the sort of visceral understanding of what we're going through as a country.

But when you look at these photos of like these National Guard troops with these kids, like yes, I'm sure you've seen these photos, like yes, you know, young black kid you know, looks like my cousin, you know, curly hair being like thrown on the ground.

Yeah, by this, you know, member of the National Guard who's probably not trained for this because Trump's paramilitary organization have you know, has been put together in like three months by Christy Nome, you know, noted dog killer Christie Nome, Like I just dog assassin, right.

I wonder like what the thing I think a lot about is like Trump believes, at least his administration believes these photos help him, Right, That's why they're traveling around with camera crews and lighting, et cetera.

Yeah, And Fritzker, who I think is very smart, believes that if you document everything, eventually the American people will see this and be like, this is not who we are.

Yeah.

And and Trump's wrong to think that he has American public support on this, right, which is why you have like Joe Rogan coming out and like you have Marjorie Taylor Green coming out.

Right.

People see this unfolding in their communities and it doesn't I mean, and his poll numbers on immigration are not good.

Right, he's there on.

The economy, right, and like this is not some I mean, it is a curiosity why Democrats have not felt like they can occupy the moral high ground on this more vociferously and aggressively, because people don't like this.

This is not what they ask for.

Although although the signs at the RNC were like mass deportations now, I do not think the American public truly comprehended or contemplated the notion that there would be as you say, Trump's paramilitary organization led by Christy Nome, would be terrorizing communities whether they're even there or not.

Right, Like, there's so much fear in black and brown communities.

My mother, who is a naturalized American citizen has been here for sixty years, is like, I don't feel comfortable driving by myself anymore.

She lives in a swing district, and it's like, this is like, this isn't what we bargained for when we signed up for America.

Right, No, but I think we all thought this is where this When I saw those signs, I was like, these people don't don't know what this is going to be, absolutely, but we know, like we know from history, Yes, what happens when you Mexicans.

That's what I was actually thinking about.

It always sweeps up the people who are citizens too.

Yes, because when you're just targeting people racially and you live in a racially diverse country, you're going to sweep up a bunch of people that are American citizens.

And I think the fact that they're doing so with the impromonte of the Supreme Court is like another level of nefarious, pernicious, like distressing developments that we could talk about at another time, but call them Kavanaugh stops.

Yeah, exactly, sorry, gone, yes.

Yes, Kavanaugh stops.

I mean I just yeah, I think I think there were and I think, you know, the videos that you talk about are made for the Trump administration is doing with you know, the ride alongs and doctor Phil and whatever the fuck else is, sorry, whatever the hell else is, But that stuff is made for the people with the mass deportation signs now mass people occasions now assign And the problem for Trump is that's those people are already fired up.

They've been fired up, Like racism is Warren proudly and as like a badge of honor, and like that's not also America, Like there is a part of his magabase that is really into this, but that is not the American public writ large.

And that's where you know they're in real trouble.

I think on this.

In addition, I mean.

But I also killing the economy.

I would also just say there is and this is where I would love to see more in terms of organization and engagement independent of Trump, Like we can't let this happen to our fellow citizens, Like this just can't be something we abide.

And you know, I think the organization there's like a big protest coming up this weekend, but it is a thing that you really have to keep talking about because people should be indignant about this that it's happening in our country.

Like, even setting aside whether it's going to strew Trump Trump or not, it's just like we can't live in this.

We are breaking the American social compact when we allow people who look a certain way to be targeted systematically by the government and terrorized.

Like that's what's happening.

Yeah, I think you have a really good point that it's politically horrifying, but it's also morally wrong, yes, And like we have to always say that because it's this is not just about politics.

This is about like the whole game.

Like this is why we.

Get out of bed in the morning, why we were proud to be in this country is because we were a diverse, accepting inclusive I mean, I mean inclusive in the most traditional sense rights of liberty style, and the rest of.

The world thinks we are.

I mean, it's not even laughing at us now.

It's like they feel bad for us there.

I mean, it's we have really beclowned ourselves.

Is such a good word, but we've fouled ourselves.

I mean I was in Hungary earlier this year.

And the Hungarians living under Orbon are like, holy shit, And.

You guys Okay, Yeah, this happened way faster for you than it did for us.

They're running this playbook in like the first quarter.

It's a football metaphor.

Can you even do that?

I don't know, I don't know, I don't who knows.

In the blend of the blind and one I'd ministering anyway, I'm just saying, like, you know, we talk about slide to word autocracy, like fascistic impulses, dictatorial, eplic this is what autocracy looks like.

Yeah, yeah, no, for sure.

I actually believe, like if we think about how much we've been in these rapid cycles of backlash.

I love this book Backlash by Susan Faludi, and I just realized, and you know, she talks about like how you know, you get progress and get backlash, and I think what we have is different because it moves so much more quickly.

But we're in like backlash to backlash, backlash, Like you know, you have George Floyd and then you have ten minutes later these people being like you know, Kavanaught stops right.

Yeah, so like you have to think about race as you know, an important parts as discrimination as being a huge part of American life.

Oh, no, you can discriminate on people because of the way they look, Like, I mean, this is wild within a couple you know, months, So I think it will turn back.

I'm almost scared for how violently it will turn well.

Yeah, I mean I'm working on this book which is about the sort of radicalization of the right through the lens of the Supreme Court in the nineteen eighties, and like what's really clear is I'm completely in complete agreement about the sign curve.

It's like it's fluctuating with like much in it's fluctuating to a greater degree in a much smaller amount of time.

But the outer boundaries in terms of what conservatives want to do and rewinding the clock on racial and.

Social sea yeah, it is.

We're back in the nineteen thirties.

Like this is like post reconstruction, like America that they want to not even public pre civil rights Like this is like, you know, this is a project that has been in the works for decades, and I just feel like the appetite for regression and you know, turning this country into really something unrecognizable this millennium, like we're talking early twentieth century, late.

Nineteenth Like that's not that's what they're looking for.

But I think I think the problem they're going to have is twofold one is I think the country is too big to do an authoritarian takeover.

I think that what you're going to end up having is a kind of dissolving of federalism, which, by the way, yeah, I'm not advocating because I think that's going to be a real fucking problem too, like a Brexit.

You know, you could see that happening.

Just really wants us to talk about that group chat, the Politico group chat, which showed all of these like normal quote unquote normal all of this sort of like you work for Stephanic and so you're supposed to be normal Republicans in their thirties and forties and twenties, but not kids saying things like you're going to get in the gas chamber.

Rapist's hilarious.

I love Hitler.

Racist, right, they're both.

Turns out this crew is racist, not surprising, anti Semitic.

I've been raised, I've been I've been saying, you guys like they're you know, as a Jew, I'm like, these are not are this crew?

I remember I'm old, and i I'm old enough to remember when there were like swastikas and like stars of David used in derogatory explicitly and semitic fashion in like twenty sixteen.

Yes, it's so long ago, right.

He may have brought peace and I use a lot of air quotes to the Middle East, but he is still that crew is still very much not on board.

Well, when you have the phrase I love Hitler Leek as part of your group texts, like, I think it's like the writings on the wall about where you stand.

Yeah, it's not a big mystery there.

Does that taint people like Stephonic, like Mike Lawler, there are swingy Republicans, I mean they bearing Biden distructs quote unquote, Yeah, I mean I think I don't know.

I mean this is one of those things, Molly, where you would think explicit racism and anti semitism would be.

A real problem.

You would think if you were an elected office and like you had staffers that were engaging in it.

It's important to note we laugh to keep from crying.

We're not laughing because this is fun, because it's in horror.

You have a vice president who's embraced the great replacement theory.

I do think whenever you invoke Hitler in a positive fashion, that's a problem for you.

I'm not going to say that this is nothing burger, but I keep hoping that there are some red lines that still exist.

I mean, I think it'll be a question about ultimately, it all comes down to whether people in the GOP can stomach it, or whether they have or whether they actually say this is a problem.

But so far they've been fine with it.

I mean, at this point, the people we have to look to are the people inside the party, because until and unless they do anything, it will be more outrage from all corners, but except among the sort of rank and file that prop up the entire project.

And until they decide they've had enough or a revolt or say this isn't okay, or this isn't who we are, we can't abide this, then I feel like it's a little bit of status quo that isn't to be defeatist.

And that's not to say that it shouldn't still be talked about and highlighted as unacceptable.

But you know, I am galled by the appetite for anti democratic, fascist, racist, misogynist rhetoric language behavior that has been embraced or just tolerated by the people and the like leadership and the party.

It's staggering, you know.

It's interesting to me that we find ourselves here in like there are some things that we in the normal world find disqualifying, but MAGA does not.

Right, Like those I love Hitler chats, they'll say they were kidding, whatever, they're young, whatever they can say.

But like Epstein files, explain us, explain that to us, because they care about.

Well, right, I mean, actually they kind of care about both, but in different ways.

So, like the idea that black and brown people are fundamentally somehow outside the American identity is like bedrock foundational conservative stuff, since the fucking mindy, since forever, really right exactly, Yeah, But they won't explicitly say you don't belong here, but look at what's happening, right, Like there's a clear sort of policy articulation of that xenophobia and racism.

So underneath all of that is it's belief that you're not really one of us.

You're not us.

And so people who are like live wires and go out there and say it in a group text and talk about black folks and watermelons or Hitler, like they're the extreme end of an ideology that the GOP's already embraced and is acting upon like in real time.

Okay, so in that way.

They actually like, that's that's that's that's like the most extreme part of their brethren, right.

Epsteine files get to a foundational belief in MAGA world that there is the elites are a secret, that the cabal of the elites is out there to fuck over the rest of the country slash just pornographically, illegally suck the lifeblood out of the innocence, right and and so the idea, I mean, first of all Epstein parts of it happened to be true, right, right, like, so we should all care about you know, sex trafficking and victims people.

And by the way, the people in this it's like Trump's friends from Alan and also Bill Clinton and you know what, and Prince Andrew and take them all down.

I mean, I don't care like Bill richards you know, for Bill.

Richardson, I think I think they they can't let that go because it's central to the worldview that you know, it's about destroying institutions and the elites that run them.

And it's of a piece with their the large project of like gutting the federal bureaucracy, draining the swamp, et cetera, et cetera.

And so they're not going to let that one go in the same way that they'll sit down and shush up when you know, the racist texts emerge, because that's actually like in service of the larger project, which is to make the country wider, and.

The larger project, like that's how a lot of Republicans and a lot of Christians made their peace with Donald Trump, right.

You know, I was talking to a Christian momb the other day about Trump, and we were it was in the context of the social Safety Net, and I think, I think.

That rolling my eyes because it's so horrific.

Go on yet, Well, but.

I do think the abortion thing, right, and they really like that he overturned row, you know, like that is part of and like, you know, the one thing about pro life is like it's a very clear ideology, Like they don't they see life as life from conception, and they're unswerving about it.

There's no gray area, right, there's and there's actually and there's no there's no masquerading.

It is what it is, right, Yeah, And in that way.

It's a pretty clear cut ideology.

And so it's I think that that for example, this mom that I spoke with that was that was her bright line.

She was like, I am that is life matters above all else.

And I can actually understand how if that's your issue, that that's the guy that overturned mov Wade.

He's trying to get rid of Mith Pristowe in my prost in some ways, in some ways not you know, but he's going to further that agenda in the way that no one else can at the cost of you know, you know, women's health and bodyly autonomy.

And I don't know to go into all the counter.

For that argument.

But what I think is shocking to me in this moment is I, as of someone who is raised Catholic, so much of Christianity is about good works, is about community, is about and it's like, I get the life thing, I totally get it, but like everything else on the agenda is so like vehemently and like just is so in opposition to the most basic Christian foundations and ethics, and like how do you make your peace with that dissonance?

You know, how do you?

But that's I think what's happening.

Although you know, listen, never say never.

I mean, I do think we're reaching a point where you can't ignore the brutality of the agenda.

Right, it's really playing out in red states and blue states.

Yeah, we're gonna see you, right, I mean, yeah, we will.

I mean the Supreme Court doesn't allow like a massive that doesn't rip down the rest of the Voting Rights Act, and you know, gerrymandered house districts don't steal the election for TWEP and twenty twenty six.

We'll see, yes, that doesn't happen.

We laugh to keep from crying.

Thank you, Thank you, Molly, thanks for having me.

Congressman brand And Boyle represents Pennsylvania's second district.

Welcome to path politics, Congressman Boyle.

Great to be back with you, Molly.

And it's been too long.

We were just talking before this about sort of the moment we're in.

We have this shutdown.

I was nervous about this shutdown.

I thought Democrats did not have the paint tolerance too, because Republicans were like, we're just going to kill the whole federal government, because that's what we've always wanted to do.

But a lot of people in Democratic leadership told me they thought they were.

Bluffing, sorry, that they thought the Republicans were bluffing.

Well, Republicans were bluffing, and it seems like they sort of are and they sort of aren't.

Yeah.

So first on the idea of the shutdown, let's not forget.

Republicans control the House, they control the Senate, they control the White House.

This is the Republican shutdown.

I've supported this in March.

I even more so strongly support it now, not going along with giving up a yes vote when a metaphorical gun is pointed at your head.

The fear tactic on the other side that was used was that basically they said, the Democrats shut up, vote yes, or this bad situation will get even worse and will lay off more people.

Well they've been doing that for the last nine months.

Anyway, did you hear about dog?

So no, I refuse to go along.

I also think that coming off this summer, and I was very involved in this fight as ranking member of the Budget Committee, pushing back against what is a bill that's so deeply unpopular.

Trump is even abandoned calling it the Big Beautiful Bill because it's something like thirty points underwater.

Go figure.

It turns out throwing fifteen million people off their healthcare and making it more expensive for tens of millions of more people just to pay for tax cuts for the very rich, it turns out that.

Is deeply unpopular.

So I think that anything that we can do to make that front and center is both right on policy and write on politics.

You know, Lisa mckowski.

Was it Lisa mccowsky who said why should Democrat negotiate with Republicans?

Or was it Susan Collins?

She may have said that, but Steve Woomack, a pretty conservative Republican from Arkansas who's on the Appropriations Committee, outright said that on the record, why would Democrats vote yes if the very next day the White House and russ vote can announce their rescinding what we just voted yes to.

So that is another part of this debate that probably hasn't gotten as much public attention as the healthcare fight, and understandably so, but it's really important.

Part of Democrats writ large problem is explaining that some of this complicated stuff to voters because they just don't have a ton of civic education.

So explain what pocket recisions are and why they've sort of undermined the power of the purse.

Yeah, so, Molly, first, one of the reason why I love talking to you is you're always so optimistic and positive.

So I can help give you some therapy here.

Yes, good, Let me explain recisions.

Suppose, Molly, you and I make an agreement and you're going to get X.

I'm going to get why.

Okay, we shake hands, you give me your vote.

Deal.

The very next day, I say, yeah, that X you were getting screw off, You're not getting it.

I'm taking it back.

That's recisions.

That's what the White House is doing.

Basically votes for money that we had appropriated from Congress and was signed into law by President the very next day, taken back from the White House.

So what they've been doing on recisions is illegal.

There actually is, and this really gets into the weeds.

There is a process they could follow that would make it legal, but they basically refuse to do So why would that?

Yeah, why would they?

I mean they basically have to put it up for a congressional vote within forty five days.

But what pocket recisions are is they just wait until under forty five days left in the fiscal year and they run out the clock.

So it's really important in this appropriation fight, this budget fight, that we get a permanent change to ensure that the White House actually followed the law as it relates to recisions, because what they're really doing is taking away the power of the purse, which is the most important thing Congress has.

And when you look at the way they've stacked the courts, when you look at the way they have tried to go around the courts, if you're able to give one stiff arm to Congress and you're able to give another stiff arm to the judicial branch, then what do you have?

An all powerful executive?

And it's the end of checks and balances.

So that's why what seems like a really inside DC baseball fight over recisions, pocket recisions, Empowerman, actually is a really important fight about whether or not we're going to have a completely all powerful, unchecked executive.

And that's a real question.

I mean, I think that's the goal of Project twenty twenty five.

Right, Yeah, we're pretty explicit about I mean, Russ Vote, the Omb director, wrote most of Project twenty twenty five.

The reality is this has.

Been a fever dream for people like Russ Vote and Steven Miller and some others for really a couple decades now, and they actually have Donald Trump who is willing and able to go along.

With their fever dream.

It's very, very dangerous.

That's why this fight we're in right now again is much bigger than any of the specific line items that we're talking about.

One of the things about this moment that is so incredibly disappearting is that we've been doing this for like a decade of our lives.

Right, Trump one point zero, This is not who we are.

Trump two point zero.

This is kind of who we are.

You're trying to like do stuff in Congress.

You've got Mike Johnson, he won't swear in the newest Democratic congresswoman.

There's this Epstein petition.

If Badalva Grihava is ever sworn in, they'll sign the discharge petition.

Eventually it will get voted down in the Senate.

What's it like to just deal with these people like Mike Johnson?

People like him.

He seems like a reasonable guy.

That said.

He's on television today saying he doesn't want to talk about Corey Mills's second set of domestic violence charges because he only wants to focus on serious stuff.

First.

The last decade can be exhausting.

I forget sometimes that my first two years here we're back in the normal era when Barack Obama was president and it was the pre Maga era.

So I know that people can be exhausted about all of this.

I get it.

But I would point out even in the last decade, we also did have successes along the way.

Twenty eighteen, we flipped forty House seats, won back the House, held it in twenty twenty.

In fact, won a Democratic trifecta in twenty twenty.

With the House, the Senate and the White House, we're able to pass a lot of good and meaningful pieces of legislation in twenty twenty one and twenty twenty two.

Not the Voting Right Tact though.

No, unfortunately not.

You know, when you have a Senate majority of fifty to fifty and you need every single Senate Democrat to go along, that, unfortunately is just one can prevent you from it.

And we had two Kristen Cinema and sorry, gone, yes, yeah.

But my point is though that twenty eighteen, twenty twenty, even twenty twenty two, at a lot of levels governors races state legislative races was not the typical midterm election.

Republicans were able to flip the House, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

Part of their dysfunction today is because they only have a three seat majority.

So my point is, it's not like the last ten years has been all maga uninterrupted.

Instead, it's been.

This really kind of very close, constant fight where the margins are absurdly small.

I mean, the look at my state of Pennsylvania.

You know, we're talking about under one percentage point in twenty sixteen, Trump wins, one point two percent.

In twenty twenty, Joe Biden wins one point seven percent twenty twenty four, Trump comes back.

The margins that we're talking about are frustratingly, maddeningly close, but we can't give up.

The alternative is just too awful to contemplate.

Yeah, no, no, I mean, there are no choices, and none of this is popular, though it has managed to capture Like when you think about it, none of this is popular, but there is no lane for normal Republicans right pretty much.

No, I mean the Senate you occasionally have some, but the thing that is pretty clear in this era is that the overwhelming majority of congressional Republicans absolutely refuse to stand up to Donald Trump, even when they know better, because they are so deathly afraid of their dear leader weighing in against them in a Republican primary.

That's why I have to say I give her a lot of credit.

I really respect the way Marjorie Taylor Green has recently been speaking out, because she's one of the precious few who is on not just one issue on the Republican side, who is actually speaking out against her own party's leadership, including the White House.

And so even though I think she's an extreme figure and agree with her on very little, I at least give her credit.

But there are very few Republican members of the House and Senate who are willing to stand up and vote against this president.

That's why it's so desperately important that Democrats take back the House next November.

Marjorie Taylor Green, Thomas Massey, Ran Paul Make that makes it.

I mean, I guess Libertarians are used to making everyone mad, so they don't care.

Yeah, there's also something in the water, I guess in Kentucky that explained Thomas Massey and Ram Paul.

But otherwise, you know, so far.

At least especially this term, Trump has had ninety nine percent of Congressional Republicans going with him.

As we get closer to next election and they see there in real trouble, maybe that will change.

But again, the shortest way of ending this nightmare is at the very least taking back the House in twenty twenty six and getting ready for twenty twenty eight.

How worried are you about the redistricting.

I'm very concerned about it.

Look, I applaud what Gavin Newsom is doing.

Gavin, as a friend of you, known each other a long time.

He has shown real courage and real leadership in this moment.

I am sick and tired of those on my side who embrace unilateral disarmament.

I'm glad that more people on my side are starting to wake up and realize that era has to end.

We cannot have commissions in blue states and yet get her teeth kicked in in red states.

I believe we should ban jerrymandering nationwide.

I actually voted for that four years ago, and a bill that was called HR one had a lot of good government reforms, including a ban on jerrymander.

You would have independent, nonpartisan commissions in all fifty states.

But until we have a national solution, we cannot have Blue states unilaterally disarming.

And I would encourage other Blue state governors to learn from the leadership of Gavin Newsom and follow it accordingly.

Because we see what Republicans have already done in Texas and Missouri, they are trying desperately to do the same thing in Indiana, and in North Carolina and a number of other states.

North Carolina already has a deeply jerrymandered map, but Republicans are so in love with jerrymandering they're going back to read jerrymander the state they just jerrymandered only last election.

Yeah, if Republicans are able to keep the House to jerrymandering, it's hard to imagine things don't end really badly for everything.

Well, that's a possibility that I don't discount.

I would point out that the average midterm election over the last one hundred and fifty years is a pickup of on average, twenty three seats.

Just the last twenty years, we've seen a higher figure than that in terms of the average, and the best estimate, you know, Republicans have a three seat majority.

Now if California, if that initiative passes, it's so important that proposition passes that would basically cancel out the Republican gains in Texas through their new map.

Even if you account for all the others, and even if you.

Say that Democrats refuse the follow suit in Maryland and Illinois, then it looks like Republicans would net about a five seat increase from all of this jerry manderin you add to do you add that to the.

Three seat majority they already have.

Basically they would be at high single digits instead of low single digits.

Yeah, that's enough.

They could still hold on.

But if we do what we need to do on our side, we should be picking up a hell of a lot more than eight seats next election.

Well, I mean, it is very unpopular what he's doing now two.

To one, but we say it's unpopular.

Their agenda that they passed of the biggest tax cuts in American history, paid for it through the biggest loss of healthcare in American history and the biggest cuts to other programs such as new nutrition assistance, student loan repayment programs, et cetera.

Most polls show that is more than twenty points underwater.

Some even show two to one disapproval over approval.

According to one professor who is quoted by CNN who has tracked polling date over the last fifty years, he said he has never seen any other piece of legislation as deeply unpopular as the Republican tax bill.

Yeah, because a minute's insane.

It's the largest transfer of wealth wealth right poor to the ruge.

So you're in leadership.

Democrats have had a little bit of trouble getting their feet, sort of finding their feet.

I listened to this Belt White podcast that I hate.

That makes me so depressed.

That is like all of them like being like, you know, I always say, like they put the fun in fascism, and they're like, you know, oh, look at that tank, it's so shiny.

But what I think is interesting is they even said like Republicans are not able to stay on message the way Democrats are when it comes this shutdown.

And I've seen people like Hassan Piker, who's this wildly popular YouTuber.

I'm sure you know who he is.

She has been really hard on leadership probably you know, maybe a little bit even I mean as hard as anyone, and he saw Jeffries fighting with Mike Lawler and was like, hell, yeah, what do you think that?

What are the lessons here?

I welcome this fight, as you know, Molly argued for it, both internally and externally.

I think we have to be caught trying people get that we want to save the healthcare of the American people.

I think we're on strong ground and firm ground, both substantively and politically.

And I think in this moment, I would point out that even Donald Trump, much of the frustration, it turns out of Mike Johnson and John Thune.

Even Donald Trump, sitting in the Oval Office, when asked about the shutdown, said well, it's about healthcare.

Yeah, that that was the success of what we've been saying.

This shutdown is about healthcare.

It's about the fact that Republicans just passed the tax bill that will throw fifteen million Americans off their health insurance according to the CBO, and will increase premiums for tens and tens of millions more beginning literally.

By the wayrus today in Idaho.

The very first state to send out their letters of the premium increases.

In my own state, I've talked about how close Pennsylvania is, biggest battleground state in the country.

On the Obamacare exchanges, it is estimated the average premium increase will be a one hundred to two percent increase.

That is stagers, if you're used to paying five hundred dollars a month overnight, you're paying one thousand dollars a month.

So that's what Democrats are fighting to prevent, and Republicans are so hell bent on pushing through with this, they're willing to shut down the government in order to make sure it happens.

ComRes mcboil, will you come back always?

I'm happy to do it.

No more perfectly.

Jesse Cannon Smiley, I am kind of obsessed with this idea of the Trump administration trying to make Antifa into a thing that is a real thing that's running around America.

But really, we all know that this is a way that they can make a designation to start to round up their enemies and pretend that people with signs that rallies are a real threat to them.

Yeah, so this is this thing where Trump really really wants to prosecute Democrats and he can't think of a way to do that, so BONDI has made up something called Antifa, which is not real.

She says, it's no different than MS thirteen.

That is not true.

That is like, it's not it's not true.

It's like what is more not true than not true?

Like what is it's not even like anywhere near true.

It's like it's not even close.

It's just not even any uh uh net know not true.

And she uses as proof the most reliable people in the world, mega influencers, perhaps some who are paid by foreign governments.

She would like people to talk to those mega influencers because they know the truth about the danger of democrats.

I'm sorry, but like, I guess there's someone who believes this, But I feel like even the most trumpy of Trumpers has to know this is ridiculous, right or am I wrong?

No?

I mean largely what we saw at the White House the other week was a bunch of losers whose brand was built on when Antifo was active five years ago, they were covering them.

Now they're doing brand recovery, trying to make themselves relevant again, and they went to the White House and they're pretending this is the thing because there's now political expiency.

One of the most telling things we saw this week was Glenn Beck did his usual thing where he was ranting and raving and seeing things he doesn't know what he's talking about about Antifa, and he had to kind of go on air and be like, so funny thing happened.

Cash Hotel sent the FBI to my house to hear about my evidence about Antifa existing, because he's that giddy to find Antifa, and you'll be shocked to your glad dad to kind of walk back as usual bullshit that he didn't really have much evidence of Antifa existing.

Yeah, this is like with everything, this is just bullshit.

It's worth realizing.

Like I want to just point out one other thing that's happening here, which is we're seeing like a lot almost all the journalists who cover the Pentagon, including Fox News, including everyone with the exception of Oam giving up their Pentagon passes because Pete Hegsas made this crazy oh that none of them would sign.

And I just want to point out I just want to go back to this for one more second, because I feel like this is the way you do it if you are university solidarity.

Everybody says they won't make the deal as opposed to You can't just fight one at a time.

Got to do this as a group.

That's the only way to do any of this.

And I just I want to point that out again because you know, Antifa may not be real, but when they come after universities and media outlets and everything else like that, Senators, Republican senators, everyone needs to stand up because if it's just one person, it's much easier to ruin them, but if it's many, then it's much harder for them.

I can I talk to you about the real terrorist threat I'm concerned about.

Yes, these women who pick up boulders on glass bridges that collapse, the Golden Retrievers get the kids very scared about this.

I've seen videos alike.

And everyone needs to block the AI slum.

Yes, I agree, AI is not your friend.

Block Allsora, block the slum.

That's what all I care about.

Block this lap baby.

That's it for this episode of Fast Politics.

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