Fauci Fallout, Zohran Mamdani's Grocery Store Plan & GOP Senate Poll

Summary

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Podcast Summary: 10 Minute Drill – "Fauci Fallout, Zohran Mamdani's Grocery Store Plan & GOP Senate Poll"

Host: Matt Whitlock
Date: July 30, 2026
Length: ~10 minutes
Main Theme:
A fast-paced breakdown of key political news, including analysis of the heated hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci, NYC councilor Zohran Mamdani’s government-run grocery plan and tax policy controversy, Democratic strategies around recent legislation, filibuster reform, new Senate polling data, and the ongoing influence—and missteps—of Senator Bernie Sanders.

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1. Fauci’s Explosive Hearing on Capitol Hill

Timestamps: 00:43 – 02:28

• Fireworks at the Hearing: Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights repeatedly—even on basic questions.
  • Quote (Dr. Fauci, 01:05):
    “Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right… to refrain from answering your questions.”
  • Rand Paul (Committee Chair) pressed Fauci:
    “That section makes it a crime for a witness appearing under subpoena to refuse to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry.” (01:36)
• Stonewalling Outlandish Questions:
  Rand Paul and others highlighted Fauci’s repetitive refusal—even on “What day of the week is it?” and “What color tie are you wearing?” (02:04 – 02:21)
• Host’s Analysis:
  • The diary revelations indicate Fauci’s “paternalistic” mistrust of the public to make their own healthcare decisions, fueling backlash that aided Trump’s return and led to ongoing skepticism about public health officials (02:28).
  • Emphasis on the legacy of pandemic-related school closures, church shutdowns, and censorship in “blue states”: “The impact continues to be felt today and you could see that in the animation in that hearing.” (02:28)

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2. Zohran Mamdani’s Tumultuous Week

Timestamps: 03:33 – 05:34

• Government Grocery Store Proposal:
  Mamdani announced his government-run, city grocery store initiative—a five-location pilot intended for launch in 2029, touting a 30% discount on goods.

  • Quote (Mamdani, 03:33):
    “Once a month, our five city run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices. No exceptions, no gimmicks.”
  • Host sharply criticized the plan as “essentially price fixing,” predicting poor economic viability based on grocery stores’ thin 1–3% profit margins.
    • Quote (Host, 03:44):
      “To promise a 30% discount below market rate that cannot be adjusted due to monthly market fluctuations is economically absurd… a quasi food bank where taxpayers subsidize the cost.”
  • Comparison to socialism/communism, concerns about unfair government competition, food spoilage, and chaotic “fire sales” on opening day.

• Doxxing Controversy:
  Mamdani publicized a list of New Yorkers potentially subject to his new “pied-à-terre” tax on the wealthy, including names and addresses.

  • Context: The list was riddled with errors, incorrectly including primary residences.
  • Host on Intent and Dangers (05:34):
    “...is he trying to put a target on the backs of these rich people? At the same time as the far left is cheering on things like assassinations of CEOs and more and more violent rhetoric about soaking the rich, Zoran appears to be just as dangerous a communist as we've always talked about.”

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3. Democrats Try to Take Credit for GOP Legislation

Timestamps: 05:34 – 07:35

• ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ & Working Families Tax Cuts:
  Host exposes Democrats who voted against major Republican tax cut legislation but then publicly celebrated aspects of the bill.

  • Examples:
    • Ruben Gallego introduced a “Trump accounts” rebrand after voting against them.
    • Cory Booker denounced the bill as a “moral obscenity” but praised provisions he supported (“baby bonds”).
    • House Members Nelly Powell, Emmanuel Cleaver, and Sharice Davids opposed the bill, but later claimed credit for security funding it provided.
  • Quote (Host, 07:35):
    “Rep. Cleaver, you weren't able to secure anything because you voted against the bill out of partisanship, so you should not get any credit for it.”

• Electoral Impact:
  Host underscores low Democratic approval ratings and lack of positive agenda as reasons for concern in the upcoming midterms.

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4. Reader Mailbag: On the Filibuster

Timestamps: 07:35 – 09:10

• Restoring ‘Real’ Filibusters:
  • Bruce (Listener): Suggested requiring senators to physically hold the floor to maintain a filibuster.
    • Host shares personal connection to Senator Mike Lee (his former boss), agrees reform would "make people stand up and be counted."
  • Brandon Howard (Listener): Criticizes idea of ending the filibuster; Host concurs, noting hidden bipartisan support for preserving it.
    • “There’s reports… as many as nine or ten more Democrats who also didn’t want to vote to get rid of the filibuster.”
• Host’s Position:
  It would be a “bad idea” to end the filibuster, but rules should require more active participation. “People should have to stand there and do it.”

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5. Senate Polls & Why Democrats Struggle with Voters

Timestamps: 09:10 – 12:45

• Prediction Markets:
  Harry Anton reports Republican odds to retain the Senate are up to 56% (12:12).
  • Quote (Harry Anton, 12:12):
    “April 24th there was about a 50-50 shot. By July 24th... they're at a 56% chance.”
• Voter Sentiment:
  • 59% of Americans say Democratic policies either “hurt” or “wouldn’t change” their cost of living; only 41% say they “help.”
    • Quote (Host, 12:31):
      “People still have a bad taste in their mouth for what Democrats did between 2020 and 2022 and also 2024 when they had a lot more power, drove inflation up to 40-year highs...”
  • Host points to disaffection caused by focus on EV credits, student debt forgiveness, and green spending “that made life more expensive.”

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6. ‘You Can’t Make It Up’: Bernie Sanders’ Endorsement Missteps

Timestamps: 12:45 – End

• Bernie Sanders Under Pressure:
  CBS interviewer presses Sanders on failing to disown troubled candidate Graham Platner; Sanders expresses no regrets.
  • Quote (Sanders, 13:54):
    "No, I don't think so."
  • Host characterizes Bernie as the “crazy uncle” of politics whose operation hasn’t kept pace with his rising profile and influence.
    • “He goes off of vibes... it is leading to more and more problems because he's getting behind these terrible candidates like Graham Platner, Abdul Al Said and others who might agree with him on a few policy ideas but turn out to be terrible people.”
  • Sign-off: Host finds Bernie’s lack of regret “just a little bit funny.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Rand Paul v. Fauci: “Let the record record that the witness has refused to answer whether there's a folder in front of him.” (01:58)
• On Mamdani’s Plan: “If your grocery store is backed by taxpayers in the federal government and your competition is a business working in free markets... it's not a fair fight. But this is what communism looks like.” (04:10)
• On Dems and the Bill: “Democrats didn’t have a lot of reasons for voting against it, apart from one, hating President Trump...” (05:52)

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Key Takeaways

• Fauci’s refusal to answer questions at the Senate hearing reflects deep, ongoing divisions about public health and government trust.
• Zohran Mamdani’s government grocery plan is widely panned as economically unviable, and his controversial release of tax information drew bipartisan backlash.
• Democrats are criticized for trying to take credit for GOP-driven legislation they opposed, underscoring their struggles to establish a compelling agenda.
• Listener feedback drives discussion on the need to reform, but not end, the filibuster.
• Polls and prediction markets increasingly favor Republicans in the Senate; inflation and economic grievances are central voter concerns.
• Bernie Sanders’ relaxed endorsements continue to haunt progressives, with the host remarking on the quirks and pitfalls of Sanders’ vetting (or lack thereof).

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Summary prepared for listeners of 10 Minute Drill to catch up on the political whirlwind, fast.

Transcript

[Host]

Fireworks with Dr. Fauci. We break down the craziest moments of yesterday's hearing. We're going to talk about Zoran's bad week and two major faux pas. We're also going to go through some reader mail and some of the comments you guys had. All of that and so much more today on 10 Minute Drill. Everybody get up.

[Co-host]

Get up.

[Host]

The story of America is the story of an adventure. I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you.

[Rand Paul]

We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.

[Host]

First off, today in Iran. President Trump tells Fox News about Iran. We are going to beat the effing s out of them.

[Harry Anton]

He went on to say.

[Host]

We'll be hitting them hard.

[Harry Anton]

They're going to get a beating.

[Host]

This happens as President Trump continues to try and find a path forward for peace and a way of ending further expanded conflict. We will continue to follow where this story goes into the weekend. Yesterday was a fireworks laden hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci.

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right to under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.

[Host]

As chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Rand Paul led this hearing and he had a lot to get off his chest.

[Rand Paul]

Your counsel has been provided a copy as well. That section makes it a crime for a witness appearing under subpoena to refuse to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry. Do you have that in front of you?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

[Rand Paul]

Let the record record that the witness has refused to answer whether there's a folder in front of him.

[Host]

But he wasn't the only one.

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

What day of the week is it today? On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

[Host]

What color tie are you wearing?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

[Host]

Now, Dr. Fauci did try and defend himself, but so much of what came out from his diary really was damning and revealing of the fact that he didn't really trust the American people to be able to make their own healthcare decisions. It was sort of the paternalistic view that really motivated so much backlash in the years to follow, and a lot of which even motivated this sort of pushback that eventually brought President Trump back to office. These sort of maha agenda of people who have serious questions for public health officials and things like that. So the damage done by Dr. Fauci and the sort of apparatus around him, everything from social media censorship around the conversation about public health during the pandemic and the sort of government crackdown and a lot of blue states in particular, where they kept schools shut down longer than they needed to, where they went after churches, things like that. The impact continues to be felt today and you could see that in the animation in that hearing. Zoran's very dumb week. He began the week again going back to his government run grocery store plan, announcing that it is coming to pass in 2029.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Here's how it will work. Once a month, our five city run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices. No exceptions, no gimmicks.

[Host]

This is going to be very interesting to watch. It's costing hundreds of millions of dollars for all of these stores together and they're planning on having them done by 2029. But the other gimmick in there, that was the 30% discount, which is essentially price fixing for grocery items. And a lot of people have questions about the economics of this. This from Jonathan Turley in the New York Post. The math simply does not add up for Mamdani. Most groceries have an average profit margin between 1% and 3%, one of the smallest margins in any industry. To promise a 30% discount below market rate that cannot be adjusted due to monthly market fluctuations is economically absurd. It is not a description of a competitive grocery, but a public charity. It a quasi food bank where taxpayers subsidize the cost. One thing that Xoron said is may the cheapest and best grocery store win. But if your grocery store is backed by taxpayers in the federal government and your competition is a business working in free markets, simply trying to survive at that 2 to 3% margin, it's not a fair fight. But this is what communism looks like. Seizing the means of production and government taking over industries, setting prices, setting controls that will box out and make it more difficult for the free market grocery stores to compete. But it also is hard to understand how Zoron's mom Domini marts are going to survive as well. When food goes bad, you have to throw things out. That's where those costs start to rise. And I also think it's going to be just a crazy fire sale when they first open these like any other food bank, not like a grocery store. But the other thing that Xeron did that I thought was just insane was doxing all of the people that he plans to target with his new taxes on the rich. Now a little bit of a reminder, a refresher here. Remember this video?

[Zoran Mamdani]

When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Well, today we're taxing the rich.

[Host]

I thought that video was pretty creepy. It reminded me a lot of the Joker from the Dark Knight. But again, it's a reminder that Zoran's goal isn't necessarily to bring in more revenue or bring in new tax dollars to fund something important. Taxing the rich is the goal in itself. Just to be able to say as communists and socialists here, we're taxing the rich. But he released the names and addresses of all the people who might end up having to pay under his new pied tax for the rich from the New York Post. Mamdani publishes names and addresses of all New York City property owners who could be hit with a new pied a terror tax. Not everyone was happy with this. It's a reckless and foolish move, especially considering there are potentially thousands of properties on that list that do not qualify as second homes or whose owners will successfully dispute their inclusion, council Minority Leader David Carr, whose own home appears on the list, told the Post Monday. There's already tons of reports of people being named and doxed whose homes don't qualify as their second homes. They're their primary residences. So it doesn't make sense that he would release this at all, let alone riddled with so many errors. But also makes you kind of wonder, is he trying to put a target on the backs of these rich people? At the same time as the far left is cheering on things like assassinations of CEOs and more and more violent rhetoric about soaking the rich, Zoran appears to be just as dangerous a communist as we've always talked about. One of my favorites of the genre, people who vote against a bill trying to take credit for it with their voters and constituents. This from Town Hall Democrats keep trying to take credit for the working families tax cuts. Now you'll remember every single Democrat voted against the one big beautiful bill, including massive tax cuts for Americans all over the place and a number of other good pro growth economic policies. Democrats didn't have a lot of reasons for voting against it, apart from one hating President Trump and two wanting to stick to their guns of this is a giveaway to the rich, even though what the data shows is these tax cuts actually helped everybody across the economic spectrum. But here's a few examples of Democrats trying to take credit for the thing they voted against. First off, Ruben Gallego. He introduced a bill that would make Trump accounts permanent but remove President Trump's name from them. He would call them American Dream accounts instead. He voted against the working Families tax cut, the One Big Beautiful bill, and the Trump accounts at the time they passed, but still would like to get a little bit of credit for the thought that counts. Cory Booker called the One Big Beautiful bill a moral obscenity and voted against it, but has said he always fought for baby bonds and called them a real foundation of wealth, again referring to the Trump accounts that came with the One Big Beautiful bill. Rep. Nelly Powell and Emmanuel Cleaver and Sharice Davids, all House members, opposed the One Big Beautiful bill. Yet after voting against it, they took turns bragging about how they got security funding for the World Cup. Security funding which came through the One Big Beautiful bill, cleaver said after joining with representatives from across the country to push for federal investments that will ensure a safe and orderly event. I'm happy that we were able to secure 625 million to support security efforts now note the wording there. After pushing for this, we were able to secure Now, Rep. Cleaver, you weren't able to secure anything because you voted against the bill out of partisanship, so you should not get any credit for it. What we're seeing in poll after poll and one of the reasons these midterms don't look like past midterms is the Democrat approval rating is so low, in part because they have no agenda and no accomplishments to actually run on besides opposition to President Trump. And when you see them trying to go back and sort of rewrite history to get a little bit of credit for things that Republicans and President Trump did, you can see how nervous they are about how this might impact them in the midterms. I love reader comments because they give me a little bit of an idea of things you'd like to hear more about, but also feedback to things that we're covering. And these two that I want to talk about today go along with our discussion of the filibuster earlier this week. Both come from Spotify. First from Bruce Couldn't Republicans in the Senate at least restore the requirement that a filibuster must take place on the floor of the Senate? The opposing senators must actually speak in debate. Seems like a common sense no brainer, which is probably why the idiots we elect don't do it that's a really good question from Bruce. And this is something that Mike Lee, my first boss out of college, I was his driver in the Senate and then a speechwriter for him and he we had a. We still have a great relationship. I'm a huge fan of his and this is something he talks about quite a bit. It has gotten too easy to filibuster without ever actually having to filibuster. And a lot of the long speeches you see on the Senate floor, like Cory Booker's and others, often aren't even filibusters. They're just long speeches that aren't actually opposing any piece of legislation. So I do agree with that. People should have to stand up and be counted. This from Brandon Howard. Getting rid of the filibuster is such an idiotic move. There's a reason why the Dems didn't do it during COVID when they had the chambers. No side wants to be the reason for removing it. I agree with Brandon. It would be dumb to get rid of the filibuster. And I think one point in that is the fact that while Cinema and Manchin were the two that were the face of preserving the filibuster, there were a reports at the time that there was as many as nine or ten more Democrats who also didn't want to vote to get rid of the filibuster. Now, I don't necessarily believe they have the courage that if the vote came up and they were the deciding votes, they would have voted to save it. But on the Republican side, there have been reports actually just this week that the White House policy team did their own whipping to see how many Republicans would actually vote to overthrow the filibuster. And I believe it was about 14 or 15 who were dead set on protecting the filibuster. So while there's a few who are especially vocal during this same slave act conversation, it is more likely that there's probably 12 to 15 who also aren't ready to sort of disarm the Senate and destroy it by getting rid of the filibuster. And so I do think getting rid of it would be a bad idea. But I also agree with our first point that there should be a more active approach to filibustering. It shouldn't be as simple as just, you know, raising your hand and saying no to something and walking off. And it's filibustered. The way that the cloture process works every single day. I do think it would be good if, as Democrats oppose everything that happens and use all their power to slow down the works of the Senate, they should have to stand there and do it. Now on that note of Democrats having no ideas or no constructive policies, Harry Anton had some new polling that highlighted two things that I want to cover. First, the prediction markets. Now I always want to make clear prediction markets are not polls. I think it's interesting because it's a gauge of public sentiment of what other people are thinking, whereas polls are what you think. But in this case, prediction markets are looking pretty positive for Republicans and keeping the Senate.

[Harry Anton]

April 24th there was about a 5050 shot by July 24th, look at that, the Republican chances. Now we put it all together, they're at a 56% chance.

[Host]

Now the other part of Harry's presentation here that I want to get into is the why voters are still very sour on Democrats and their policies and the impact that they might have.

[Harry Anton]

It's apathy, not believing that Democrats can change anything because the impacts of Democratics Democratic policies on your cost of living. Only 41% say help, hurt or wouldn't change it. The clear majority, nearly 3 in 5,

[Host]

59%, only 41% think Democrats ideas will help them. And a strong majority think that they will hurt them or stay the same. That's for two reasons. One, Democrats don't have any ideas. They're not talking about any kind of agenda to lower costs. But the other thing is people still have a bad taste in their mouth for what Democrats did between 2020 and 2022 and also 2024 when they had a lot more power, drove inflation up to 40 year highs in service of things like electric vehicle tax credits for rich people, canceling student debt that disproportionately went to doctors and lawyers and all the green energy tax credits that again made life more expensive for them through inflation and did almost nothing to actually help them. For our you can't make it up segment today, I want to talk about Bernie Sanders. Now on Sunday he was on CBS on a Sunday show to talk about everything he's focused on. He's all over the place. He's endorsing candidates left and right and he was pressed on if he had any regrets about Graham Platner.

[Co-host]

Do you regret not acting earlier to call for him to drop out? Given the warning signs, would that have given you a leg up here with Jackson?

[Dr. Anthony Fauci]

No, I don't think so.

[Host]

Bernie has no regrets. And part of the reason that Bernie has no regrets is he spent his like 95 year political career essentially as the sort of crackpot, you know, your crazy uncle who says things and nobody really pays attention to them. But in the last few years, he's actually risen to a position of more power and more visibility because he's got acolytes who are following him into office. And so he's getting more scrutiny than he's ever gotten before. And his political operation hasn't really caught up with it. They don't have the professionalization of vetting people. He goes off of vibes and I haven't seen if there's an official checklist, but I would guess he basically says, okay, do you support Medicare for all, banning private health insurance? Do you support raising taxes on billionaires, not millionaires? Because that would affect Bernie. But it is sort of a quirky system there and it is leading to more and more problems because he's getting behind these terrible candidates like Graham Platner, Abdul Al Said and others who might agree with him on a few policy ideas but turn out to be terrible people. And Bernie has no regrets. And that is, to me, just a little bit funny. That is all the time we have today. Thank you for joining us on 10 Minute Drill. Please, like subscribe, leave us a review, tell your friends and we will see you for our wrap up weekend tomorrow.