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The Morning Meeting
Fired CNN Star Don Lemon Arrested by Federal Agents for Disrupting Minnesota Church Service
01:07:19
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- [00:01]
Larry
This is it.
- [00:02]
Mark
The world as you know it is over.
- [00:04]
Don Lemon
Completely done.
- [00:06]
Larry
It's not about to be over.
- [00:08]
Don Lemon
It's over.
- [00:09]
Joe
Some of the scientists who helped build AI are now sounding the alarm.
- [00:14]
Mark
I was selling AI as a great.
- [00:18]
Larry
Thing for decades, and I was wrong. I was wrong.
- [00:22]
Mark
There's a longer term existential threat that.
- [00:25]
David
Will arise when we create digital beings that.
- [00:28]
Mark
That are more intelligent than ourselves.
- [00:30]
Don Lemon
We have no idea whether we can stay in control.
- [00:33]
Mark
While others say that AI will usher.
- [00:35]
Joe
In unfathomable abundance, I've always believed that.
- [00:38]
Mark
It'S going to be the most important invention that humanity will ever make.
- [00:41]
Kevin
This really will be a world of abundance.
- [00:44]
Joe
And among these fears and these fantasies.
- [00:47]
Mark
We seek the story of our future.
- [00:49]
Joe
Listen to the last invention on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:00]
James Patterson
I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zelvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon, and this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible people like Stacey Abrams. Yay. BJ Novak.
- [01:26]
Kevin
Yay.
- [01:27]
James Patterson
Kathy Bates, Dolly Parton, Josh Gad. And Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up. Hungry dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless, obsessive, compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- [02:00]
Mark
Question, ladies and gentlemen. Why is it Ukraine and not Ukraine? What should we lead with? Don Lemon or Warsh? Remember, this program is based on the Network News Division's morning meeting. So someday, mornings like this, I asked myself the Twitter poll that I did, the X Poll. More of you would like me to lead here with Don Lemon, but I said, what would they lead with in a morning meeting, a real morning meeting? And the answer is, they'd lead with Don Lemon and they'd review the facts, which is, Don Lemon was apparently arrested last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammys. Larry says he's probably at a party covering the Grammys. He's hired notable famed D.C. lawyer Abby Lowell to represent him. He'd already hired him, but Abby put out a statement this morning, and apparently he may have a court appearance today. This all pertains back to the church appearance that he made in Minnesota that was considered very, very controversial. Trying to use Neutral language. You'll recall that, that a, a magistrate, a federal magistrate declined to issue an arrest warrant last week when they wanted to arrest him. But somehow they went back, somehow and now they arrested him in la and of course, Donald turn all this into spectacular content. Do we know what the charges are? Does anybody know what the charges are?
- [03:15]
Kevin
Conspiracy. Conspiracy to deprive rights. In the.
- [03:18]
Mark
Conspiracy to deprive rights. If that's a crime, I love too much. Guys, initial thoughts. Initial. Here's the New York Times headline again. This is just breaking. There's comfort. Straight leg pain everywhere. But federal agents arrest Don Lemon over Minnesota church protest. Former CNN Anchorage has said he was not demonstrating, but reporting as a journalist during the interruption of his service. Inside the church, there are people saying this is going to make him a martyr. It's exactly what Don Lemon will love and he'll get a ton of content and more followers. But if it ends up with Don in prison, I don't think he'll like it as much. Kevin Just initial thoughts as we wait to learn more. We'll probably come back to this later in the program.
- [03:58]
Kevin
Yeah, I think nobody wants to be arrested. I think some reports are that he spent some time in a LA jail overnight after being arrested late last night in Beverly Hills. But again, this, to your point, Mark, fuels. This is what Don has. Don's life has become. You know, he, he kind of ran into one some of those congressional offices earlier last year, you know, kind of hoodwinking folks and kind of this man on the street element. So this is a great thing for him that all the leading networks, I'm watching them right now. Most of them are talking about this right now, leading off, at least on cnn, obviously.
- [04:32]
Mark
Surprisingly, Fox, Fox is the only one not covering it right now. I would think they'd be super into it. Cnn.
- [04:38]
Kevin
I'm sure they will. I'm sure they will.
- [04:39]
Mark
They will. Cnn very smartly. I'm jealous. Has a phoner with Allison Camerata, Don's fellow substacker and former morning show host. We'll have to eavesdrop on that.
- [04:48]
Kevin
Interviewed him right before this, too.
- [04:50]
Mark
She was just talking about that because.
- [04:51]
Larry
They couldn't get Jennifer Rubin.
- [04:53]
Mark
Larry, initial thoughts on the Lemon arrest?
- [04:56]
Larry
I'm surprised because I predicted this would not happen. And I'll just say no one is above the law. Then let's leave it. I'll add to that. I saw too many pro life conservatives who were arrested during the Biden administration for simply praying in front of a Planned Parenthood location. This could Very well be the same face law that has language about intruding and impeding people at their place of worship. And it is gratifying to see this law being applied in this way.
- [05:26]
Mark
It's interesting to. This case will be a spectacle because it involves Don and the President and Don will spar and again, Don's substack will explode. But, you know, there's this question of who is a journalist? You know, can you go do things that if you weren't a quote unquote journalist, you'd be arrested, but say, well, I'm a journalist. Because anybody with a Twitter account can say they're a journalist, you know, by some definition. So there are some substantive questions here. We'll come back to Don, I bet. And again, if people have questions. And as always on a morning like this, we love the community, help crowdsource. Send us the videos you see. Whatever information you see, put it in the chat or send it directly to me and we'll keep you everybody up to date. Kevin Warsh. The president went on Truth Social this morning, made it official that Warsh will be announced. It'd probably be an event at the White House around 11, I'm told, but it could slip. But the president has an event currently on his schedule at 11, but this could become that event. Mr. Warsh is extremely popular with, with lots of people. Okay. Lots of people are delighted by this. Condoleezza Rice on X, Very favorable statement. I've been getting emails all morning from people I know who I didn't even know knew Kevin Warsh, saying he was my intern. He's a great guy. We love Kevin Warsh. Okay, CNBC this morning here. Joe and Becky here was their reaction to the selection.
- [06:54]
Joe
I could argue a lot of different ways with Kevin Warsh. I would think long term he'd be really good for the stock market, but short term, we know what these traders like a lot of times. And he is a hawk. He maybe he has. You can dress up a hawk like a dove maybe to get the job a little bit. And he's been a big critic of the Fed and calling for regime change.
- [07:16]
Colleen
And Kevin Borsch has experienced Federal Reserve.
- [07:19]
Mark
He was there, I think, from 2006 maybe to 2011. He's got a lot of experience on Wall Street.
- [07:23]
Colleen
He's been working with Stan Druckenmiller at Duquesne ever since.
- [07:28]
Mark
Ever since he left the Fed.
- [07:29]
Colleen
And again, the idea of hoping that.
- [07:35]
Mark
Inflation doesn't get out of play, it.
- [07:37]
Colleen
May not feed into the President's immediate desire for affordability.
- [07:41]
David
But if inflation goes up, everybody will.
- [07:43]
Joe
And I'm gratified that, that he's picking Warsh at this point. It shows that when push comes to shove and you can, what was it was it said that Churchill said he was talking about the United States. We try everything else and then we finally, finally come to the right decision after we've tried everything else. But I think it's gratifying that President Trump probably knows sometimes, you know, the castor oil or whatever it is that you got to take to make things better, it's not always pleasant. It's not always.
- [08:16]
Mark
Can I, can I just add to this there was a little bit of force. We still don't know if even Kevin.
- [08:21]
Colleen
Warsh would be confirmed by the Senate.
- [08:25]
Mark
So there's all sorts of elements to the story. There's, we always try to be forward looking here. But there are some backward things we're going to talk about that speak to the President's decision making, to speak to what kind of Fed chair Warsh will be if he is confirmed. My, my, I said lots of people like him. Okay. His father in law, for instance, likes him quite a bit and is a friend of the President. And he has many friends, many people, including I believe David Bonson thinks of all the people who are considered Warsh as the best choice. But there are people in my life in finance who think he was the worst choice. And my bro chat group, my business bro chat group, they think this is a disaster. They look at what happened overnight in world markets and they say the reason it's not down even more is because there's stuff happening like the deal over ice that, that are buoying markets because there won't be a shutdown, probably. So with that prelude and with I have a million more things to say about this. David Bonson of the Bonson Group, our friend, and he and I have been in colloquy about the Fed pick for quite some time. This is a pick the president could have made three months ago when he said he wanted to make a pick. Warsh was on the table. David, is this the right pick for the president? Is it the right pick for the country? Thank you for being, thank you for being here.
- [09:38]
David
Well, thank you for having me, Mark. I believe on both counts it is. I'm disappointed you showed all the CNBC footage and didn't show their first guest this morning. Who is there to talk about Kevin Walsh. But what I said on Joe and Becky's show, I'll say to you all is first of all, my advocacy of Kevin Wash is based on him being a candidate. And if I had a magic wand and could make a list out of anything I wanted, I can think of a few people that were never going to be candidates that I may have liked. But I know who the serious candidates were. And Wash is to me far and away the most qualified, the most credible. And we have to remember this term is longer than President Trump's presidential term. So there's not only the immediate short term aspects, but longer term. I believe somebody who has the intellectual gravitas he had to point out so presciently what the downside to quantitative easing, to qe, to the fact that in our adult lifetimes we have watched the Fed's balance sheet go up by $7 trillion and that that could not be done without trade offs. Wash, there's another former Fed governor Tom Hoenigger used to call it out too. But other than that, they're the only ones. I respect Kevin a great deal. He was the economist at Morgan Stanley when I was managing director there for years. I do not believe that the markets have any problem with Kevin whatsoever. I don't believe there's any serious person saying that markets are going to respond negatively to Kevin Marsh. I think it's almost a laughable idea.
- [11:23]
Mark
Okay, this is a great 10 year bond yield.
- [11:25]
David
Up two basis points.
- [11:27]
Don Lemon
Yeah.
- [11:27]
Mark
Okay, I'm going to turn over to Larry for questions. I'll just say, David, with respect. I respect you, of course. I have serious people in my life who have said when Warsh's name was floated to the top of the rumor mill earlier in the process, they, they say markets took a hit. And they say in their world, in their world, traders and all sorts of people in finance, he's the worst possible pick. They just think he's got no credibility. They think, they don't think he's gonna do what needs to be done in the job. I'm just telling you I'm not gonna compare their seriousness as people to yours, but they're serious people. So as a layperson I'm just a little confused. But Larry's colloquy with you will clear this up, Larry, will it?
- [12:05]
Larry
Well, I'm interested in what I'm seeing from the crypto bros on social media apparently, and I don't know this first time, maybe you do. He's really open to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, currencies, which is not necessarily what we've seen from the Fed up until now. Do you Think that could have been a factor in this decision and how will it affect how he does his job?
- [12:28]
David
I don't think so. I do know what you're referring to and I don't say this as a dig on Kevin. I say it as a pragmatic comment about the moment. I think that people who have campaigned for this job have had to take a certain posture that would enable them to get the job. You know, Bitcoin's down over $1,000 this morning. Bitcoin is almost 95% correlation to tech stocks. And that has the entirety of what's going on now. You have Apple, Amazon down this morning. Microsoft was down 10% yesterday. Bitcoin is more correlated to speculative side. There's not much Kevin or the Fed, period could do to benefit that aspect. I think, Larry, your question is more will the Fed take a posture that has a more regulatory friendly environment with crypto? But I don't think that there's been anything hostile done to crypto all year and it's down 30% over the last several months. So the administration has a favorable viewpoint there. But no, I think that Kevin's view has more to do what the Fed's role in the economy is. When he talks about structural reform, he's not talking about this ridiculous stuff about the cost overruns on a building. He's talking about the fact that the Fed has taken a posture where they become a liquidity provider too quickly. And I think that that's the most important element long term for structural benefits to Fed, where that will fit into crypto and so forth. I think it's. It's tough to say.
- [14:02]
Mark
Kevin.
- [14:03]
Kevin
David, can you take us into the final weeks of this decision making again? Mark said his name was floated four or five months ago. Stock market took a little bit of a hit, but it seemed like in the last two weeks he really skyrocketed to the front of the line from a pressure campaign. I wonder how much you have insight into Scott Besant's role in this too. Obviously they have a shared connection with Drunken Miller as a protege. They're both of him. So I wonder how much this pressure campaign inside and outside of the administration actually sealed the deal for Kevin.
- [14:38]
David
There's some stuff I do know that I shouldn't say regarding the Secretary's involvement, but there's some stuff.
- [14:44]
Kevin
Well, it's just. It's just the four of us on two way. So just, you know, share whatever insight you have.
- [14:48]
David
That's right. I. Look, what I will say is that I believe it's public knowledge that Secretary Besson did not want to be the person who made the call that it was important to him to set this up in a way that the president owned the pick. And, you know, my own opinion is that the president has been a little unfair to Secretary Mnuchin about the pick of Jerome Powell, that President Trump made that pick and then regretted it. And everyone's allowed to regret a pick they make. But to put the blame on the former Treasury Secretary, I think is Monday morning quarterbacking. And I think that Secretary Bessen has done this in a way that President Trump owns this pick. And I think President Trump's going to be happy he owns this pick. My own personal opinion, I don't know that Mark will agree with me, but I feel very strongly about this for a variety of reasons. I think it is laughable that Rick Reeder was ever discussed as a serious candidate. I think that there was no point at which markets sold off at the idea of Kevin War. She wasn't even the first place candidate in prediction markets until the day that which is only a few weeks ago that President Trump said Kevin Hassett needs to stay at neck the sequence of events. As to President Trump saying in 2020, I should have picked you, Kevin, when he picked Powell and then, you know, the idea that he could have done a shadow Fed earlier, I just don't think I agree with my favorite political prognosticator and friend, Mark, that President Trump passed him up. I believe that what he did was pass up the strategy of having a shadow Fed that he thought that was going to end up being problematic. And I think he made the right decision. And I do think Secretary Besant was a part of that as well. But no, look, Secretary Besant did not pressure the president to pick Kevin Wash. But I do think he has done this in a way that he allowed President Trump to make that pick on his own.
- [16:45]
Mark
I agree with 70% of what David said and I'll do my best to say where I disagree, respectfully. But I need to read you two tweets coming from Team Trump about the arrest of Don Lemon. First, the Attorney General. Moments ago on X, at my direction, early this morning, federal agents arrested Don Lemon. And then she lists four other people who I haven't heard of, but assumes are the people in the church in connection with the coordinated attack on city's church in St. Paul, Minnesota. More details soon. So that tweet's pretty straightforward. Here's a more cryptic one. We'll put this up. This is from James Blair, the White House deputy Chief of staff. He basically runs politics for the White House. He's one. He's one tough hombre. James Blair. Here's what he tweeted. A federal grand jury indicted Don Lemon. He was not just magically arrested. A federal grand jury indicted Don Lemon. He was not just magically arrested. And then he writes the same thing again. If you're watching on the podcast, if you're listening on the podcast, I'm not repeating myself. James Blair is. His tweet is the same three sentences, pairs of sentences, over and over. A federal grand jury indicted Don Lemon. He was not just magically arrested. Pass it on, Larry. You're a Blair whisperer. Is he making the point that this was done through the normal channels of a grand jury and not political retribution of Pam Bondi and Donald Trump?
- [17:57]
Larry
Correct. I suspect that he's responding to some commentary he's probably seeing on the usual suspect cable news shows right now who are saying that this is the Trump administration using the law, lawfare, going after political enemies. And I think he's responding, saying, this is. Isn't just an arrest of somebody we don't like. A grand jury indicted him. A grand jury indicted him. That's my hunch, yeah.
- [18:19]
Mark
All right, let me say a few things about worsh. I'll try to be brief. I'll probably do more of this online. I'm not saying this is a negative about warsh. And again, even as this program has been on the air and people have been listening to me talk about Warsh, I'm still getting messages from people about what a great guy this is, how much they like him. He knows so many people. He's so well connected, okay? And genius, youngest member of the Fed board ever, et cetera. I will tell you that he. Let's say quickly, let's say Hogan Gidley wants to be the permanent host of. Of this program. He could just come on and try to do a good job and see how it goes. Or he could start sending emails to me saying, hey, you know, Kevin is not that nice a guy, and, you know, Larry's got gambling debts and, and. And trying to run down the other people.
- [19:04]
Kevin
Or rather, foia, we got a foil this email.
- [19:07]
Mark
Yeah. Or rather than do it himself, and Kevin could. Or Hogan could say to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his friend, hey, call Mark Halpern. Or maybe Sarah by herself would say, hey, I really want Hogan to get this job. I am telling you, I am not a Fed reporter. I am not. I'm not an advisor to the President. But I was besieged by people who wanted Kevin Warsh to get the job, sending me negative information about the other candidates. Okay, now that's a turtle on a fence post, folks. This guy is an aggressive political operator. He is not a, he does not, he's, he is, he's scholarly. But, but there's a great story here about how he got the job, which speaks to his political sophistication. David, back to you in a second. Speaks to his political sophistication, his wide network and his living in the real world, right? He is not Jay Powell, Mr. Magoo. This guy said, I want to be Fed Chair. His friend said, we want him to be Fed Chair. We're going to get it for him. And if it looks like he's going to pick Kevin, the other Kevin, we're going to take that guy down. If it looks like he's going to pick Rick, we're going to take that guy down. That's the way the world works in the real world. But I'm telling you, these other people who wanted to be Fed Chair, they just acted like, well, I just need to go do a good interview with the President.
- [20:16]
David
David so last night I got a text from somebody who's very close with Kevin, who was economist in the Fed under a prior Fed governor. And that what you just shared, he told me specifically where it came from. Kevin War shared a story of him making the case to Ben Bernanke before QE about what the problems were and that there were going to be trade offs that we had not thought through and him being thoroughly convinced that he had convinced Bernanke not to go forward. Then they arrive at the meeting and Tim Geithner had called and made the case. And then Bernanke got 19 calls, much like you just described from different people, all touting for QE and the fix was in and Bernanke went forward. And Wash realized at that point I don't get to get what I want or make my case just with persuasion. There's a benefit to this pile on and creating a social network of persuasion. And so it's not a perfect comparison, Mark, but what you're describing I think was a learned behavior, 100%. I don't think Wash had to do a whole lot there. Now let me say the candidates that had to get taken down were not hard to take down.
- [21:30]
Mark
No, they weren't, but.
- [21:32]
Larry
No, they weren't.
- [21:32]
Mark
No, they weren't.
- [21:33]
David
Has been a closer friend of mine than Kevin Warsh for a long time. I've spoken with Kevin. We're colleagues together at National Review. Kevin Hassett has offended people like me and traditional conservatives, Reaganite conservatives, far more than he's a concern to the Democrats in the Senate, just in terms of his flip flopping around on trade and other issues. Yeah, but the other piece on market credibility, and I'm, you know, Mark, Mark, you have sources or people texting. I'm not, I mean, it is what it is. I'm just merely saying what markets have said and done. The concern about a Fed chair, if they thought he was like Joe Kernan said, he's hawkish, is he's opposed to qe. But does anyone think President Trump is really putting someone on who's going to be hawkish about short term interest rates? There's no possible way.
- [22:24]
Mark
No possible way. Agree with that. Okay.
- [22:26]
David
Longer term, I think it is about Fed reform and that is a big issue that markets will like.
- [22:32]
Mark
Yes. And again, it is not a turtle on the fence post that my Twitter feed is filled with famous and prominent people from politics and business saying what a great pick this is. That is not happening by accident, folks. Some of it might be organic, but I'm telling you, this guy is a very sophisticated operator. And it's part of why he got the job, but it's also part of why the president, I believe, had doubts about him and why he wasn't picked earlier.
- [22:54]
Larry
Larry David, can you maybe just sort of guess or predict what the Democrat opposition might be to this nomination during the confirmation process? What do you think they might hone in on?
- [23:09]
Mark
Great question.
- [23:10]
David
Yeah, it is a great question because I don't think they're going to have a lot. And more importantly, because the Republicans have the majority, I don't think The Tillises, Collins, McConnell's are going to have much either. Where I think that there are some candidates who would add a harder time. But I think the Democrats will just want to focus on are you independent? Have you made a commitment to President Trump to do what he will say and he'll answer it accordingly and say the right things and then candidly, I think he'll do the right things as well. What we have here is a coincidence of alignment that Kevin Wash does believe that the same thing right now that President Trump wants the rubber would hit the road if there was a difference, but there just isn't. But that's what the Dems are going to focus on is whether or not he has independence.
- [23:59]
Mark
All right, David, we're going to cover some other stuff. If you're able to stick around and take questions.
- [24:02]
Kevin
Can I ask David one more quick.
- [24:03]
Mark
Question before he gets. Of course. Yes, sir.
- [24:05]
Kevin
David, do you think Jerome Powell stays on to 2028?
- [24:09]
David
I don't and I really hope I'm right because I am reasonably defensive of Jay Powell. I think the way the White House has treated him is abominable. I definitely am critical of a lot of what he's done as Fed chair, but I don't, I think this pretextual lawfare stuff has been wrong and the bullying. But if he were to stay, it is such a violation of norms and traditions. It's not a violation of the law. But if something has gone a certain way since 1948, I'm still a conservative who believes in conserving traditions. I'd like to see Powell step aside the way most of his predecessors have since the 1940s. So, David, I hope he doesn't.
- [24:46]
Mark
I need to ask you one more question. I need to ask one more question. In the history of the modern Fed, what's been the closest working relationship between a Treasury secretary and a Fed chair?
- [24:56]
David
Oh, there's no question. It was Bernanke Paulson after the financial crisis.
- [25:01]
Mark
Right. But that was especially. That was a wartime. I'm talking about in peacetime.
- [25:04]
David
But then the problem is I would say Mnuchin and Powell are second close. And that was also wartime in the aftermath of COVID Right. In peacetime. Oh, it would be green. Oh, Greenspan and Reuben. Yeah.
- [25:18]
Mark
Okay. Well, for sure. So, so I think, Although, although a lot of their work was in the context of mini crises. Right. But, but I'm predicting, I'm predicting based on reporting that Besset and, and Warship Wash is confirmed are going to work very, very closely together and it's going to be a totally different, totally different institutional relationship.
- [25:40]
David
Yeah. Greenspan, Reuben and Warsh Besant is a good analogy. And you're right, you could say mini crisis. But I'm sorry, Mexican peso crisis now from the 90s in hindsight is small ball.
- [25:53]
Mark
Is small ball. But at the time it seemed like a big deal. David, if you can stay for questions later. Okay, great. So we'll mute David, we'll talk about some other stuff and he'll be available to answer questions from folks when we get to the Let me do a quick word from a sponsor and then we're going to go back to some other topics. Right now, pajamas should be on your mind because Cozy Earth is making an extraordinary availability to viewers of this program or listeners to the podcast buy One get one free of their pajama set. The bamboo pajama set. It's one of their best selling items. It's a classic and it sold out over the holidays. But they're back in stock and right now with the promo code 2WMMOGO. Buy one, get one. You can get a second pair of the bamboo pajamas set for free right now. Two for the price of one. Show a little extra love this Valentine's Day. Give somebody pajamas, flowers, chocolates. No pajamas from Cozy Earth. And as I said, if you've never bought anything from Cozy Earth and you don't recognize why so many members of our community come on here and talk about how revolutionary the towels, the sheets, the bubble cuddle blanket are, here's an opportunity to buy something and try out Cozy Earth for the first time. Go to cozyearth.com promo code 2wmmogo. Buy one get one free. Two of the bamboo pajama sets right now. Go to cozyearth dot com and buy them. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
- [27:06]
James Patterson
I'm James Patterson. I write way too many books. Welcome to Hungry Dogs. The title comes from my maternal grandmother, Isabel Zalvis Morris. Nan used to always say, hungry dogs run faster, James. And I've been running fast ever since. Here's what will be coming your way soon. And this is a really terrific list. I think you'll hear from some incredible people like Stacey Abrams.
- [27:30]
Mark
Yay.
- [27:31]
James Patterson
BJ Novak.
- [27:32]
Kevin
Yay.
- [27:33]
James Patterson
Kathy Bates, Dolly Parton, Josh Gad. And Pope Leo. Okay, maybe not Pope Leo, but who knows? Maybe he'll show up. Hungry dogs run faster. Thank you, Grandma, for turning me into a hopeless obsessive compulsive. Listen to Hungry Dogs with James Patterson. That'd be me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- [28:02]
Mark
All right, gentlemen, we have so many other topics to get to. I'm still looking for Don Lemon updates, but as of this moment, I don't see anything new. So let's move on to a new topic. And this is a complicated one because although there is an agreement between the Schumer Democrats and the White House and John Thune about how to proceed on two week continuing resolution to give them a fortnight to try to work out what changes the Democrats are going to force on the Republicans regarding how ICE operates, they still have to get it through the Senate and then they got to figure out what the House is going to do. People assume the President can muscle it through the House, but this is not a done deal. So, and, and, and, and, and it's interesting if you listen to Republicans reacting to the Democrats who have the whip hand right now to say they're going to be some changes. ICE is going to have to change its ways. Some Republicans have said, I've heard them say, and some said to me, you can't make them take off their masks. They have to wear a mask because of doxing. Lindsey Graham, I saw said, well, of course we can have them take off their mask. So my point is there's going to be a big fight over this. Kevin, how do you, how do you see the next two weeks playing out? Assuming will they get to a continuing resolution and then who will be at the table negotiating the ICE changes? Because the White House cares and House and Senate members of both parties care. So how will that, how will this all proceed?
- [29:19]
Kevin
Yeah, it's a good question and it's anyone's guess what those two weeks will look at. You mentioned Lindsey Graham, who threw a little something in the ointment yesterday. There's going to have a procedural vote again this morning. He's obviously upset about provisions, about the wiretapping. I think he wants 500k out of this from our government, which would be the ceiling in terms of what he can recoup. But Mark, you make a good point in terms of what then happens in the House. You know, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said, you know, he's not providing any votes at this point. The Republicans got to do it on their own. It will be a question as to how much the president engages on that, obviously at the behest of Speaker Johnson to get his caucus across the line when it comes to this, again, a caucus that now has a one vote threshold following the special coming out of Houston, Texas over the weekend. I think, you know, Senator Britt, to your point, in terms of who's going to be a point person is the chair of the subcommittee on all this when it comes to ICE and Homeland Security funding for this particular agency. So she's going to be the point person. I think John Fetterman is likely involved. He's the ranking member on our side in the Senate. He has shown a willingness to really cross party lines, especially at this, getting a lot of grief from the left of my party for some of the stances that he has staked out, especially in the wake of the two shootings out of Minnesota. But again, two weeks is not a lot of time to figure out, you know, some kind of semblance of a way to move forward. There is 20 million more dollars for body cams as part of this negotiation that has already been agreed upon. But I think, you know, masks and the warrant question, to Larry's point earlier this week, are going to be the main stumbling blocks between a judicial warrant or an administrative warrant.
- [31:02]
Mark
Yeah, Larry, the, the left is already criticizing Chuck Schumer even though the negotiations haven't started, saying that he's giving in. And of course, of course many House Republicans will not accept any, any, anything. So how does this negotiation work? Is it, is it. Schumer and Trump make another deal and then they just try to jam the House?
- [31:21]
Larry
Maybe, but try, try jam in this House. I mean, with the margins that Kevin was just talking about. I don't, I don't know. I mean, Kevin, excuse me, Speaker Johnson's been pretty impressive with being able to push things through.
- [31:34]
Kevin
We get mixed up all the time, me and Speaker Johnson.
- [31:36]
Larry
Exactly. Well, there's too many Kevins in the news today. That's the problem. He just, I don't think he's Superman. I don't think he can do that. First of all, there's two different steps here, right? We were right yesterday that the secret sauce is breaking off DHS and getting these other five appropriations bills passed. Lindsey Graham, as Kevin just mentioned, it's funny, this provision that senators can sue if they're surveilled is carving out this little niche, protective, self serving group of senators where you and I don't have that same power. It's what House Republicans objected to. It's why they removed it. And here's Lindsey Graham basically playing right into the type, acting like this, stopping everything for it. I think that's gonna go away. I think Thune's gonna, and Trump will get on him. So the other five will go through. The way the DHS negotiation goes, I think is really gonna be the, the toughest part as we're discussing. And I think what they'll end up doing is agreeing to body cams, agreeing to perhaps some cosmetic change in how they go about their business, but they can't hamper law enforcement.
- [32:38]
Mark
Democrats, Democrats will never agree to that. Well, they'll never agree to that.
- [32:43]
Kevin
I mean it's been, it has been amazing just to see how well they've stuck together coming out of their caucus lunch this week.
- [32:52]
Mark
How well they stuck together. But also, but also how that solidarity and the atmospherics and the polling have caused the White House and Thune to cave. Thune caved. Thune didn't wanna break off the funding for DHS two days ago, and now he agreed to it. And it's clear that for the first time this year, I believe Chuck Schumer has the whip hand. He's got it over the White House and he's got over Thune, and he's got over Johnson right now. He does.
- [33:18]
Larry
Kevin, does Ossoff vote to. To remove the mask from ICE agents?
- [33:23]
Mark
Yes, I.
- [33:24]
Kevin
Yes, 100%.
- [33:27]
Mark
Larry. That guy's to the left of AOC.
- [33:29]
Larry
Yeah, but he's not running that way this year.
- [33:30]
Kevin
I'm not agreeing to that. We gotta, we gotta keep that seat.
- [33:33]
Mark
I'm.
- [33:35]
Larry
This year he's running like a, you know, like nun Georgian is what he's doing.
- [33:39]
Kevin
Look at Rashida. Here comes John also.
- [33:41]
Mark
No, no, let me just do that. Let me do the daybook real quick, because I didn't. And then, and then I'll tell you how we're gonna spend the rest of our time together. Today, the present schedule again. He's got a closed press event scheduled now for 11 sign executive orders. But I'm told that may become the slot in which he announces Warsh at the White House. If you're not familiar with what Warsh looks like, he's got hella good hair. President, in a statement this morning, said he's from central casting and it's going to be interesting to see what he says. Moments ago, Senator Tillis, who previously had said he would block any Fed nominee until the Powell legal matters cleared up, reaffirmed that's his position. After praising Warsh in a tweet, he said, I'm still not moving forward with him until the Powell thing's cleared up. But I think all that's going to happen is Piro is going to come out and say the Powell thing's cleared up. President too, has a policy meeting. Closed press, as far as we can tell, staying in town this week despite the cold, or maybe because of it. No idea what the vice president's doing. Tulsi Gabbard's at the winter gathering of the national association of Secretaries of State amid continuing confusion about her involvement in the Georgia investigation of the 2020 election. The House remains out and the Senate continues to grapple with what they're grappling. My friend Ann Seltzer is in court today at 10. I don't know if she'll be there, but her case in Iowa State Court when the president's lawsuit against her for doing a bad poll, one of the most extraordinary of Donald Trump's lawsuits ever, has a hearing today. Mangione is in court here in New York. Luigi Mangione at 11, Governor Shapiro at 11 is doing an economic development event. And I would say that's about it. So, ladies and gentlemen, here's what we're going to do. We're going to throw some topics off the sled because I want to get to your questions because I know folks have a lot. And we've got Kevin and Larry and David here to answer any Fed questions. So let's do a few more topics. Iran, the president continues to talk tough and there continues to be assets in the region. Guys, just taking your daily temperature, do you think we'll see a strike in the next 72 hours before we reconvene?
- [35:38]
Larry
Larry, 72 hours?
- [35:40]
Mark
No, no, Kevin, Strike before Monday, potentially.
- [35:44]
Kevin
Again with the amount of hardware that's moving in there, 30, 30 to 40,000 troops. You know, all the aircraft that struck those nuclear sites earlier is actually now carrier based in the Indian Ocean.
- [35:57]
Mark
So, so here's the New York Times headline, trump Weighs new military options against Iran. The plans being weighed by the president go beyond those he considered weeks ago amid widespread protest against Iran's government. This story, which has David Sanger's byline on it, which always is a flag to me to take it very seriously, says two things. One is that the strikes or whatever action might be taken is intended both to degrade the nuclear capability and to encourage protesters. Now, it seems nuts to me that the US Would think that doing some bombing or whatever it is could get the protesters back in the street. And if they say that as a goal and that doesn't happen, that doesn't seem to me to be good optics. But it also says that the Pentagon has suggested ground operations. Now, that's probably just the Pentagon making suggestions. I can't imagine that'll happen. But that seems kind of extraordinary. On Ukraine talks this weekend in the Middle East, Washington Post is a very important story. Remember, the two big issues pending are what security guarantees the west will give Ukraine and what land Ukraine will cede to Russia. Yesterday the Washington Post covered this. I didn't see very many other places. Russia's top diplomat. This is the Post headline, Russia Rejects key part of deal to end War with Ukraine. Rubio and Zelenskyy have both publicly said this week basically the security guaranteed portion is done. The Russians are basically saying no. And they've said this in the past, that a security guarantee is unlikely to ensure lasting peace. The Russians are against anything that bolsters Ukraine defense with Western troops, with American forces or European forces. So this goes to the notion that not only is Zelensky going to be hard line on the outs, what the west considers the outstanding piece, which is territory, but that he's also going to be hard line on this. And if he is hard line on both, there will be no deal. Other thing that says in the Post story, which I didn't know, is that according to the story, the Russians are sending very junior people to this weekend's negotiations and this deal is going to have to be done by heads of government eventually, but it's got to be teed up by more senior people. So, Larry, bullish or bearish today in the wake of the Russian foreign minister's statements about a possible deal, I'm back to bearish. Yeah.
- [38:04]
Larry
And by the way, also, didn't that article also say that they're demanding Zelensky step down, they need new leadership and.
- [38:10]
Mark
That'S something else that they are. Yes, absolutely. I'm back to bearish, too.
- [38:15]
Kevin
Kevin, same. I was bearish yesterday. You were talking about this week. You know, Putin's not going to agree to anything. I mean, they got this this week long cease fire against, you know, energy facilities. And as soon as he goes back to bombing them, because that expires on Sunday, according to Dmitry Peskov, you know, Trump is going to be pissed again because again, he hates to see when innocent people are targeted, especially when it's 2 degrees or negative.
- [38:40]
Mark
Yeah. Well, would be interesting to see if, if Putin really lives up to what the president says he promised him, which is a week of no bombing in the wake of the extreme cold if he does. And I heard no reports of bombing yesterday. Maybe there were and I missed it, but were there, was there bombing, Andre?
- [38:56]
Larry
Yeah, there was a report there was of a drone strike and a missile strike.
- [38:59]
Mark
Okay. So he's already violated that. So forget that. Okay, we'll do winners and losers of the week and what to look for and drop the other topics, at least for now. Then take your questions. And again, if you want to ask questions about the Fed pick, David will be here to help answer. So with that, Kevin, winner of the week.
- [39:16]
Kevin
So my winner, speaking as a Democrat, was Doug Collins. He's an old friend of mine, sparring buddy. He's the head of the Veterans Administration.
- [39:25]
Mark
Really good guy.
- [39:26]
Kevin
He testified before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, fielded a lot of questions from Democrats on abortion policy and the rollout of reforms. This is a guy that has, you know, he's an 06. He's a former colonel in the Air Force and I believe strongly in terms of what he's doing. I might get grief from the, from the Democrats, but a lot of people promised to reform the VA and he's actually doing it and had a hell of a hearing Again. We talked about Marco Rubio and how great he was before Senate relations, but I think Doug, Secretary Collins really won the day this past week.
- [39:59]
Mark
It's impossible not to like Doug Collins. Impossible like likable man. Larry, Winner of the week. Great choice.
- [40:06]
Larry
Former podcast host too, by the way. I love it when podcast host I.
- [40:09]
Kevin
Was on his podcast. It was a great, great show.
- [40:11]
Mark
Yeah.
- [40:12]
Larry
My winner is Tom Holman. Tom Holman came in and just took charge of everything in Minneapolis and really turned that narrative around by about 180 degrees. And it's kind of funny considering a couple of months ago he was vilified by Democrats, but now they're even sort of embracing his presence in Minneapolis in that press conference.
- [40:30]
Don Lemon
I also want to deliver yesterday.
- [40:32]
Larry
Take a look at this, this part in.
- [40:37]
Mark
Where were they the last four.
- [40:38]
Don Lemon
Years when the number of women, children, sex trafficking went at an all time high? Where were they when a quarter million Americans died from fentanyl come across the border? Where were they when women and children are dying making that journey? Where were they where over 4,000 aliens.
- [41:01]
Mark
Making that journey died?
- [41:02]
Don Lemon
Historic record. Where were they? Not a word.
- [41:07]
Mark
Now we're just trying to respond to.
- [41:08]
Don Lemon
What happened last four years and keep this country safe.
- [41:12]
Larry
It was such a mess in resetting this narrative back to the original problem here, which was the four years under Alejandro Mayorkas. And also he brings this level of empathy to caring for the people who are victimized by open borders, those people who are exploiting during by coyotes and during that horrific crash, A masterful performance. He's hands down the winner and I.
- [41:36]
Kevin
Will say too, he made concessions that they don't get everything right all the time too. I think that conciliatory approach to Larry's point was really important as well.
- [41:45]
Mark
I agree. He's my winner as well. Kevin Loser of the week.
- [41:49]
Kevin
Loser of the week are Republicans in Minnesota. They were all on a high with Tim Wall saying he wasn't going to run again. Numbers were plummeting with that crisis of corruption in St. Paul. But here comes Amy Klobo, you know, released a four minute announcement video. She's going to, she's going to rule the day, win by double digits in that state and keep it blue for team Blue.
- [42:16]
Larry
Larry Loser of the week, Dick Durbin, he took to the Senate floor to grandstand over the shooting of Alex Preddy and try to make political hay for it. And I understand all things are fair in politics, but. But he put up this picture that has been widely ridiculed all week and was discovered easily as an AI generated photograph because look at one of the Border Patrol agents. He literally doesn't have a head. And he used that picture as an example of how horrible Border Patrol is. And it was a complete and total fake and fraud. And only a loser would do something like that.
- [42:53]
Mark
My loser of the week is Guardians of the Status Quo on having the Real World effect policy. So many people just want to use Minnesota for political gain, to raise money to get on cable news, etc. And I think what's happened now is that we're going to have a serious debate about what ICE policy and practice should be. And serious people are discussing it and there's still politics involved. But those who want to just use this for politics, I think have lost. Okay, Kevin, what to look for this weekend?
- [43:24]
Kevin
So this is a little Inside Baseball. It's D.C. mardi Gras week going on right now. My voice is a little hoarse already from activities. There's a big party on Saturday and it'll be interesting to see the delegation at play. Now, since Julia Ludlow announced that she's going to challenge Bill Cassidy, the senior senator from Louisiana, she's got the backing of President Trump. So it'll be interesting. The dynamics at play While everyone is throwing beads and masked up at the Washington Hilton, I will report back some of the dynamics that I see.
- [44:00]
Larry
Larry, Interesting. Yes. I'm not allowed to say the snow, but I am looking to see no weather.
- [44:07]
Kevin
No weather, no weather.
- [44:10]
Larry
So instead I'm still watching the funding fight. It's going to go down to the wire on how this thing happens, whether Graham caves or not, and whether they reach a larger deal before on the DHS stuff. Being a D.C. person, that's what I'm watching.
- [44:24]
Mark
Okay, put up my picture. This is, as best I can tell, the last time George W. Bush and Donald Trump were at the same event together. At least, at least known. This is at H.W. bush's funeral at National Cathedral this weekend at the alfalfa dinner Donald Trump attends for the first time. And I'm told Bush 43 is supposed to be there as well. My only regret is that Barbara Bush won't be there because the Secret Service would probably have to hold her back. Anyway, I look forward to hearing about. I'm not going to the dinner, but I look forward to hearing about Whatever interactions there are between those two men who don't see eye to eye on everything. All right, quick word from a sponsor and then to your questions again. Raise your hand if you're here on the platform. No smack in the chat. Thank you for your attention to that matter. Right now, if you're having trouble sleeping, here's an opportunity to do something 2 million Americans have done. Bought the products from CB Distillery, helped you sleep better, maybe deal with pain or mood issues. For so many, this works. It's 100% money back guarantee. So why not try it? If you don't like it, you'll send it back. Wake up. Refresh. 50% of adults say they'd feel better if they got more sleep. I'm surprised it's only 50%. The products of CB Distillery, Natural Solution to allow you to sleep better. Premium quality, third party tested and free from artificial dyes and fillers. Right now, go to cbdistillery.com use the promo code 2WMM for 25%. That's a full 1/4 off your entire order. Go to cbdistillery.com if you're looking for a way to relax better, sleep better, feel better. Again, over 2 million customers. Go to CBDistillery.com promo code 2WMM for 25% off CBDistillery promo code 2WMM. Ladies and gentlemen, time for your questions. If you've got questions about the Fed, we're going to bring David right back in to help answer them. But let's start with what I'm sure will be a Ukraine question from Andre. Andre, welcome in. Thank you for being here. What's on your mind?
- [46:19]
Andre
I thought I was going to talk about, but sure, you can.
- [46:21]
Mark
Up to you.
- [46:24]
Andre
Clarify on the hit. So right before President Trump's Cabinet meeting where he announced that thing where he called Putin, there was a strike on Zelensky's hometown of Krivi Reef, where two people died. After the attack, there was a, after the announcement, there was a. Literally within the hour, there was a drone attack on Zaporizhzhia. And then today or within the last 12 hours, there was an attack on a Philip Morris facility in Kharkil. So notably, that's the kind of thing you can target and make send the message. It was an empty facility, but it's something to say, yeah, we're doing this pause, but we can still hit an American company if we want to. It's kind of what every time that Putin talks to Trump, he always hits something just to show him that he can do it. I'm planning to cross over into Ukraine, Mark, a week from today when the temperature is going to get to a balmy 16. The announcement by Russia and Trump is that we're going to pause until Sunday. Sunday the temperature drops to negative 10. That's not wind chill, that's Fahrenheit negative 10. And that's when the pause is supposed to stop. So generally most Ukrainians are like, well, of course you're going to pause until then. That's when you were going to strike Ukraine anyway. So things are kind of nasty and we're probably going to anticipate another strike. What I want to bring up is what, thanks to Professor Kenney on the after show, we got a chance to talk about all the companies that are being mentioned. You know, all this Argyl Bargle about Europe buying Russian oil. There's also American companies that are helping out. So Joe Wilson, good representative, sent a letter to the Rogers Corporation in Arizona that their technology, their laminate computer chips are being used by Russian drones. There was a big report about ubiquity that ends in an I a corporation that is set sending their satellite technology dishes that you can purchase online and they are not afraid of sending that to Russia. And Russian soldiers are using that to help communicate on the front line. And then third, that's owned by the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, that corporation. And then thirdly, there is a report that at the beginning of the war, we all may have remembered that, sorry, Elon Musk was against Starlink being used by Ukrainians for attacks on Russian locations. It's being done in reverse now. And the government of Ukraine is in talks with Elon Musk right now about this to try to stop this, where Russians are actually figured out a way of using Starlink through VPNs and using that to guide their drones on Ukrainian locations. So kind of this, you know, we're complaining about Europe and buying the oil. American corporations are actively helping. And I'm wondering what the response to that is from our distinguished guests about what Congress can do about it. Are we going to hear anything from Trump about this? About, listen, I'm trying to end this war. Why are you guys doing this?
- [49:22]
Mark
Larry, great question.
- [49:24]
Larry
And I think, listen, if he is embarrassed like this and if it's true that right after the announcement Putin went ahead and did this, yeah, it's going to piss him off even more. We've seen that. I mean, it seems like his escalating rhetoric on Putin always is in connection to him either being devastated over seeing images of people dying and. Or him being pissed off about being humiliated or sort of taunted on the world stage. So I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened. Unless somebody talked him off the ledge and said, no, we're still talking.
- [49:57]
Mark
We're still talking, Larry.
- [49:59]
Kevin
I mean, Kevin, Andre, great questions. One comment and one favor. Let's also not forget the sanctions bill in the Senate. Right. That is still on the back burner. We'll see what happens. If, you know, I'm obviously in total support of it, and maybe with Lindsey Graham at the center of this funding situation, maybe he works something out to get some action on that front. The favor I'd ask is while you're on the ground in Ukraine, if you could send some of their plows. We've sent a lot of resources to that great country. Could help us in DC by sending some of those snow plows back to us. That would be great because they understand actually how to deal with snow and ice.
- [50:37]
Mark
Do that, do that. But also, please stay safe. And also, please file for us.
- [50:41]
Kevin
Exactly right.
- [50:41]
Mark
Call. Call in anytime. Grateful to you. What's the time difference now?
- [50:46]
Andre
Seven hours.
- [50:46]
Mark
Seven hours. All right, so before you sit down.
- [50:49]
Andre
My morning hits in Ukraine. Nine o'. Clock. I know. Is there or 4pm Broadcast.
- [50:54]
Mark
Right. Thank you.
- [50:54]
Larry
Sir, if you were going there on a covert mission to assassinate a top Russian general, would you tell us?
- [51:01]
Mark
There'd be body language. There'd be.
- [51:03]
Larry
He's gone.
- [51:04]
Mark
Eye blinks.
- [51:04]
Larry
Yeah, he just disappeared on that.
- [51:07]
Mark
No, I took him in. I took him in. All right. I'm just making sure. I want to show you one thing we skipped over, but I just want to show it. There's this big thing today of people protesting around Minnesota, around the country, protesting ice. This is the second one they've done. You're supposed to walk out. I just want to show you. A bunch of people are promoting. Pearl Jam's promoting it. Code Pink's promoted. Here's Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, promoting today's event. 118, please. Hey, everyone. Tomorrow, January 30th, is a national day of action in opposition to ICE, in.
- [51:46]
Kevin
Support of the people of Minneapolis. Here in Maine, there are a couple.
- [51:50]
Mark
Opportunities to get involved.
- [51:51]
Don Lemon
I hope those of you that can, can join your fellow Mainers in displaying solidarity with everyone across the country who is resisting ice.
- [52:04]
Mark
Kevin, thoughts on that?
- [52:05]
Kevin
He's gonna raise a lot more money, obviously. I think he's raised already $5 million as part of this Janet Mills is actually working on this and was able to secure some agreements with the administration and get ICE out of Maine along with Susan Collins. But again, it's good politics for. For Graham there, at least in a primary.
- [52:25]
Larry
It was a better video in the original German when he delivered it. But sure, that's a terrific. Here's the thing about this. When you look at that and you scroll all of those Instagram videos and TikTok videos, all using the same script, all calling for the same thing, it reinforces the fact that none of this really seems organic. It seems organized, it seems funded, it seems planned, and it seems like a political operation which people on my side of the equation get angry and at the very least skeptical about whether we should take it serious. It's just the latest outrage that's now been turned into Democratic politics. Good.
- [52:59]
Mark
Good for them for being organized. I'm told now by one person who's close to the situation that there won't be an awash Trump event at the White House today, that the announcement the president said he'd announced today will simply be what the president put on Truth Social. So for those of you interested in Kevin's hella good hair, you'll have to go on YouTube and watch some old.
- [53:18]
Kevin
Just stay on this program. Right.
- [53:20]
Mark
Or just stay right here for other Kevin hella good hair. Anyway, there's that. All right, More questions now.
- [53:25]
Larry
Out of it, shall we?
- [53:26]
Mark
More questions now. Colleen, welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind for Kevin and for Larry.
- [53:32]
Larry
And Colleen also has great hair.
- [53:34]
Kevin
Thank you.
- [53:35]
Colleen
Hi, guys. Good morning. Hi, Mark.
- [53:36]
Kevin
And a great scarf.
- [53:37]
Colleen
Colleen from Long Island, I was just thinking, I mean, I'm a Democrat, but I'm a more moderate Democrat. And I think the Democrats are overplaying their hand with ice. It's just, you know, when I hear commentators saying, oh, you know, ICE was using the child as bait, everybody knows. I mean, most people realize that's not true. And demonizing ice, like Amy Klobuchar telling them to get out of Minnesota and Hakeem Jeffries, in my opinion, comes across as weak. It's just, I think, you know, they should continue to focus on what the American people want and stop, you know, they're escalating this on purpose. As we were saying, they're politicizing it and it's going to backfire. And it's not what overall, I just can't believe I'm a Democrat and I sympathize with the victims. But I also sympathize with the ICE agents. It's a hard job what they're doing. And, you know, I mean, I have law enforcement in my family, and I know most law enforcement people do not wake up every morning thinking I want to kill someone today or I want to cause harm or, you know, it's just I think it's going to backfire. And I wish they would grow up the Democrats and start focusing on an agenda and a policy and what they're going to do for the people. They're just this is just it's kind of embarrassing, in my opinion.
- [54:54]
Mark
COLLEEN thank you for that, Larry, then. KEVIN thank you.
- [54:56]
Larry
Colleen I agree with Colleen. I do think that this is sort of where the power and momentum and fundraising for the party has been for 10 years now, from outrage to outrage to outrage. But even David Axelrod yesterday said that this whole defund, dismantle and eliminate ICE narrative is just as damaging and will hurt them just as much as when it was defund the police. Police. I don't know if they're listening, though. That's a question for Kevin.
- [55:21]
Mark
Yeah. Kevin yeah.
- [55:22]
Kevin
Colleen it's a great point that you make. I had that fear, too, of this kind of overplaying. I always keep an eye on the general right. General elections, and this obviously isn't going to maybe it's helpful in some people's primaries and and Mark just played the video from Graham in Maine, but certainly not helpful come November. I would encourage everyone to watch Governor Josh Shapiro's appearance with Brett Baer last night, where he threaded the needle really well on this and spoke out very clearly against the local DA on the ground in Philly that has been over the top with his rhetoric, comparing folks to Nazis and the Gestapo and things like that. And he can point to actually actual, real results, working with law enforcement to tackle violent crime, not demonizing people on either side, the protesters or our law enforcement.
- [56:13]
Mark
I agree with Kevin. Shapiro has been at his very best on this topic, and there's some research that suggests his approach is the one that's most resonant. Colleen, thank you. Let me get in a quick one last sponsor, and then we'll go back to you. All this is from our friends at Ethos. If you don't have life insurance, if you're the big breadwinner in your family and you don't currently have life insurance, you need it. Ethos is a online platform that allows you to get life insurance and you can do it in minutes. Ethos makes it easy, doesn't require any Medical exam. Just answer a few health questions and a few other questions. In as little as 10 minutes, you can get a quote for up to $3 million of coverage. Get a free quote by going to ethos.commarc ethos.com mark and fill out the application. This will protect your family in the event of tragedy, allow you to make sure that they can pay their bills, their mortgage, their rent, college tuition, other major expenses. Again, if you're the breadwinner and you haven't done this, you need to. This is not a complicated process. It can take as little as 10 minutes to get three up to $3 million in coverage. Go to ethos.com mark to get your free quote today. Ethos.com mark thank you for your attention to this matter. Mike. Welcome in. Tell folks who don't know where you are and what's on your mind. For Kevin and for Larry, Good morning.
- [57:28]
Don Lemon
Am I unmuted?
- [57:29]
Mark
Yes, sir.
- [57:30]
Don Lemon
Okay, Mr. Walling, I am on Team Kevin for the permanent slot, but you pushed a button for me.
- [57:37]
Kevin
Check is in the mail. Mike. Check is in the mail.
- [57:40]
Don Lemon
I'm looking for it. You pushed a button for me on Wednesday when you're, you were on with, with Hogan that I'd like to talk to you about. 40% of Americans still can't afford a 500 unexpected bill. So that gap is still real. Does that sound like you?
- [57:58]
Kevin
Yes, that's what I said.
- [57:59]
Don Lemon
Yeah.
- [57:59]
Larry
Yeah.
- [58:00]
Don Lemon
Okay. It's, it's not, it's not real. It's hands up, don't shoot. Not real. The source is, is the annual Federal Reserve survey of economic well being of U.S. households. The question that was, that is in the survey reads, suppose that you have an emergency expense that costs $400 based on your current financial situation. How would you pay for this expense? Not could you afford it, how would you pay for it? Of the available answers, 43% answered cash. 38% said they would use a card and then pay it off at the end of the month. That brings us to 81%. Another 15% said they'd use a card and finance it. So that brings us to 96%. The reason you end up with over 100% is because they allowed multiple choice answers. The one answer that, that reads I wouldn't be able to pay the expense right now is 13. The answers were 13%.
- [59:10]
Mark
Okay, so Mike, let me stop you there. Let me stop you there. First of all, Kevin is not the only one who uses this statistic.
- [59:15]
Don Lemon
Right.
- [59:16]
Larry
That's the point.
- [59:17]
Mark
But, but, but Mike, how like Kevin, you probably don't know where it comes from, and I wouldn't blame you for not knowing because it is so widely repeated, but do you have a, A different source for that statistic, Kevin?
- [59:27]
Kevin
No, Mike, I appreciate you doing the research on that. I would just say, you know, what, what, the percentage that you share to folks that could pay cash right in that immediate moment, I think. What's, what's, what percentage was that?
- [59:42]
Don Lemon
43.
- [59:43]
Kevin
43. So then the rest of it has. Have to finance whether it be on a credit card.
- [59:47]
Don Lemon
No, no, no, no, no, Kevin, that's not the question.
- [59:51]
Mark
Yeah, understand they say they pay it off.
- [59:53]
Don Lemon
Not. Can you.
- [59:54]
Mark
How would you. Yeah. Mike, how do you know that that's. That, that people are using that data set as opposed to some other.
- [60:01]
Don Lemon
Because if you, because if you go back to some of the, to the various news stories that, that are written up about this, they will refer to, they will refer to the Fed Federal Reserve study, and it's, and they do it every year. They use the same question.
- [60:16]
Mark
And Mike, do you have a, do you have a theory or have you seen anybody explain why this mistake was made initially?
- [60:24]
Don Lemon
I mean, if you, if you listen to people like Dominic Pino or Scott Lincecombe, you know, people from aei, they, this comes up. This is not an unknown thing. Yeah, but yeah, as you said, Martin, Yemen has used the same thing.
- [60:41]
Mark
Yeah. Larry, Larry, Larry, do you know about this or have a theory?
- [60:44]
Kevin
I took it from Yemen. Then let's. I'm gonna blame my friend.
- [60:47]
Larry
He heard it from Yemeni. Well, no, I, I think the secret in Mike's explanation here is that it's not used as a mistake because he compared it to Hands up, don't shoot, where very early on in the game in, in Ferguson, we knew that Hands up, don't shoot had not happened that. But. But it gets continued to repeat it over and over and over again becomes part of the lexicon of political activists because it's a effective. And so that it's, it's not a mistake.
- [61:18]
Mark
It's.
- [61:19]
Larry
It's.
- [61:20]
Mark
Well, it is a mistake. It's a mistake. It is a mistake for some.
- [61:23]
Larry
No, no, what I mean, you said what. Who originally used this as a mistake? When it's originally put out, it is used to these kind of stats and these kind of talking points are used deceptively in my opinion.
- [61:35]
Mark
I hear, I hear you. But I do wonder how it started, right? Because. Because if somebody wants to do this as a fake, it's a weird thing to say. Well, we're just going to look at this data, make up what it says and start to cite it. That seems like a bad con job, right?
- [61:48]
Larry
Well, I mean, only if. Only if people like Mike go in and research it and get to the bottom of it. But sadly it becomes. Again, it gets repeated over and over.
- [61:55]
Mark
Again in the media. That part, I guess I get, the repeated part. I don't get the eight.
- [61:59]
Don Lemon
There are eight possible answers, and you can go through and cherry pick your percentages to match. Basically what Kevin.
- [62:08]
Kevin
And.
- [62:08]
Don Lemon
And Yemeni.
- [62:09]
Kevin
And Yemeni got it from Yemen.
- [62:12]
Mark
Mike, what year was this? What year was the study?
- [62:15]
Don Lemon
They do it every year. They do it. They do it every year. There was a. So the numbers that I just gave you are from last year's analysis? Yeah, there was a 20. There's a 2019 Cato analysis that. That said that the totals came up to 143.
- [62:34]
Mark
Right?
- [62:34]
Don Lemon
Not 100%.
- [62:36]
Mark
Did you debunk this yourself or you got this from Cato or somebody else?
- [62:40]
Don Lemon
It's. I've heard this. I've heard this again through conservative sources, economic sources. If. If. I don't know if bouncing is still on, but I'd love it if he. If. If he popped in because I'm sure he's aware of this.
- [62:54]
Mark
David, are you aware of this brouhaha?
- [62:58]
David
I certainly am, but he already said the names that are most important here. When you start talking about Dominic, Pino and SC Pointing it out, you have as credible and authoritative sources as we have, and they've done yeoman's work on this. So, yes, Dominic is extremely bright. Scott's written about it as well. Great resources.
- [63:21]
Mark
Mike, thank you. Thank you for bringing it up. And a great example of something that is kind of inexplicable. David, thank you for being here. I'm assuming we had no Fed questions because you explained it perfectly at the top. Grateful to you. Thank you, David, and thanks to Kevin and Larry for being here.
- [63:35]
Larry
Looking forward, by the way, to Jerome Powell's new substack crossover he's going to do with Don Lemon. This is going to be amazing.
- [63:41]
Kevin
A lot of play in the chat. Getting a lot of play in the.
- [63:44]
Mark
Chat tonight at 5 Eastern time. There's no live episode of Two Way Tonight, but an episode we recorded yesterday with Amy Parnes and Alex Castellano and Nomi. Somebody will tell me Nomi's last name.
- [63:58]
Kevin
Blanking on it starts with a K. Right? Nomi Kunst.
- [64:02]
Mark
Kunz. Thank you. Nomi Kunst. Thank you again. Don't take it personally. I can't remember names at my age. Anyway, the four of us talked about the 2028 presidential campaign a lot. Deep dive on JD Vance and his public image and his connection to people in the party as well as whether Gavin Newsom and Governor Shapiro are still the front runners and remarkably down on Governor Shapiro I was really interested in and the power they think that the issue of Israel will have for him in the context of the nomination. So I recommend that episode to you. 5:00 clock Eastern Time if you haven't yet listened to. Next up, my conversations with Rich Lowry and Debbie Dingle that's also available to you now on YouTube and as a podcast. Michael Moynihan Tonight, 7 Eastern Time, the Moynihan Report. His guest is the great Kobe hall, the founding editor of Media. I joined Michael and colby tonight at 7:00 o' clock live. Yeah, friend. A friend of yours and way back with Colby. And I had something else I wanted to talk to you guys about even though we're well over time. Anybody think of what it is? I don't know.
- [65:02]
Larry
Anyway, a second hour just on Don Lemon.
- [65:05]
Mark
Yes. And now we roll into it now, second hour of Don Lemon. Grateful to Larry and Kevin for being here again. And we will see you Monday morning.
- [65:15]
Kevin
I'm joining Professor Kenny and folks.
- [65:17]
Mark
Oh, that's right. That's right.
- [65:18]
Kevin
So the conversation continues.
- [65:20]
Mark
The conversation does continue over there. We're delaying that. Kevin is joining the as long as.
- [65:25]
Kevin
Mike doesn't and fact check me correctly again as he did so.
- [65:28]
Mark
Well, probably, probably be safe.
- [65:30]
Larry
Y fault.
- [65:31]
Mark
Yeah.
- [65:31]
Kevin
Anyway, exactly right.
- [65:32]
Mark
Thanks you guys. Thanks to you all for being part of the two way community again. Watch the episode tonight and back live as news warrants with breaking two ways. But also Monday morning, 9am Eastern time. Thanks everybody. Have a good day, a good weekend.
- [65:45]
Kevin
Have a great.