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The Morning Meeting
Will Trump Hit Harder? U.S. and Iran Exchange Fire for Second Time in a Week as Talks Appear Stalled
01:07:39
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- [00:03]
A
Hello everybody. Welcome in. Some of us are dressed up, some of us dressed down. That's the two way way I always say this program is Come as you are, Kevin. Semi dressed. Where are you headed Kevin? Or where have you been? Why are you wearing a blazer?
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B
Yeah, I just settled.
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C
I was in a polo shirt. I was the only one in a polo shirt yesterday and I thought well this is kind of silly so I put on a blazer and then now you're in a. In a. We don't see, we don't coordinate our outfits.
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A
There's no coordination and Larry,
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C
Larry.
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B
I dress for my morning radio show because it's now simul cast on television across all platforms. Roku, Samsung tv, Amazon prime and you
- [00:40]
C
crack the Roku market. Hello. All right.
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A
As a boy. As a boy I dreamed of having a show on Roku and my dreams so far crushed. But I'm working on it. Welcome in everybody. This is the morning meeting. No, I don't laugh. Roku is a big platform. Welcome to the morning meeting. This is patterned on the network news division's morning meetings will run through the daybook, run through the news and then with the surprise O Henry twist we will take your questions, comments, concerns, suggestions or Nick's tickets. Please raise your hand if you're here in the platform and want to get it. If you're watching on YouTube rather than put smack in the chat, I dare you come over to two way. Come on our platform. Raise your hand, show us your face. Let us hear your natural voice. Maybe look at the background and we can send it to the FBI for clues about where you live. Don't anonymously.
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B
Well now it's not going to happen.
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A
Big brother. Big brother hovers.
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C
Double dog doing some reverse reverse psychology right there.
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B
Double dog there.
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A
I'm telling you, don't put smack in the chat. Peace, love and understanding the presence at the White House today and hello. Someone sent me a a breakdown of what he said in the cabinet meeting yesterday and it was like. I'm not sure it was true but they created a linear connection between everything he said in the cabinet meeting and everything we said here. Lending credence to the notion that executive time is code for get ready for and then watch the morning meeting. He's doing a pre taped interview at 10:00'.
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C
Clock.
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A
Larry, is that with you?
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B
Not this time.
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A
All right. Don't know who that's with. We're trying to find out.
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C
We don't know. I'm trying to find out too.
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A
Should it be pre taped interview? The Schedule says pre tape interview. Seems like it should be pre taped.
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B
What hasn't happened yet?
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A
Yeah, pre tape. Oh, I see. So it's a verb, not a adjective.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Then he's got signing time at 2 and posse meeting at 3:30. Both closed. Press in the oval also at 2. And so I doubt the signing time will happen at 2 because the President is going to want to watch this. Third cabinet member. I'm sorry? Third of senior official after the vice president and DeMarco Rubio to brief in the absence of Caroline Levitt. When is Caroline's maternity leave? She's famous for a very short maternity leave. Shouldn't she be back by now? I don't know. It seems like she's been gone forever normally.
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B
Have you ever had a baby, Mark?
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A
No, I haven't. And a normal length of attorney leave should be gone for much longer. I just. My recollection is her last maternity leave, it was like three days. Anyway, Scott Bessant will brief today at 2:00'. Clock. And that'll be interesting. We'll talk about that in a moment. The Vice President's on the road again.
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B
I appreciate you answering my question, sincerely. No, in fact, given birth to a baby.
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A
I have had two of the three most painful physical things a human being can have. I've had two of the three.
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C
Stones.
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B
Kidney.
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A
Kidney stones. Yeah. Cracked ribs. Cracked ribs. You're looking for cracked ribs. Anyway, I'll never have the third unless.
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C
But you have sciatica, though. That's.
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B
That's what we're grabbing, sciatica.
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A
I'll never have the third. And get ready to do me the. The rim shot. I'll never have the third unless. James Tall is correct.
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B
Yeah, there it is.
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A
Vice president's in Colorado. He's giving the commencement address at the Air Force Academy. He was supposed to have some political event, but we think that was canceled. As I said, best in Brisa too. House and Senate remain out because their jobs are easy. Mark Carney, my college classmate, is here in Gotham City today speaking at the Economic Club of New York at noon. Maybe I'll go to that if I can. Debate in the key Michigan Democratic Senate primary, still very heated. Three way. Stevens, McMorrow and El said and a few other candidates face off this afternoon on Mackinac Policy Conference. The Mackinac Island. No, no cars. All fudge at 2:30. Full coverage of that on two way tonight.
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B
Is it a mutual debate or is it one of those policy forums where they don't engage with you?
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A
I'm told it's a debate.
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C
It sounds like a debate in terms of how. Sounds like a debate.
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A
Man, that hotel, what's the name of the big hotels? It's called like the Mackinac Hotel with
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C
those pillars that are gorgeous.
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A
The rapper, man, I got to get back there. Governor Shapiro seems to have a busy schedule today. And remember, he's running for election and some say maybe running for president. He's already visited the Fort Washington Elementary School in Montgomery county where he distributed free breakfast to local students. I wonder what they got. Maybe those sausage wrapped by pancake. That's what I'm visualizing.
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C
He's a big uncrustable guy. Maybe that's his favorite food. Maybe he showed up with some uncrustables.
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A
Somebody put in the chat, which is my favorite Bill. Somebody complained to me yesterday on SiriusXM that we talk over each other too much. And, and I said, that's the whole show. If you don't want us talking to each other over. If you don't want hosts who talk over each other, watch something else then 10:30 exactly. Kevin, Kevin, Kevin. I'm calling on Kevin now. Then 10:30. Governor Shapiro joins local Philadelphia city and business leaders to announce a significant new investment in the lower South Philadelphia region. What do you think significant means, Kevin? How much would that be? 20 bucks? A million bucks?
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C
No, tens of millions of dollars. Tens of millions.
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A
All right. We'll track that. Full coverage on 2way tonight. The the North American free trade negotiations begin today between us and Mexico, leaving our friends to the north. Canada out. The White House continues to threaten that perhaps we'll strike a bilateral deal with Mexico before we let the Canadians in. And the inflation number that the Fed tracks closely came out this morning and it was not great. Let's see how I'm supposed to characterize this. Personal consumption expenditures accelerated 3.8% year over year. Highest level in three years. We'll talk about the economy in this in a moment. The lot of grimness in the economy currently. Not all. Not all grim. And you'll hear Scott Bezin say otherwise. But. But there's some grimness. And let's see, there was one other thing I was going to say. All right. That's it for now. All right. Quick word from a sponsor and then we'll hit. We'll hit it all. Or please raise your hand if you want to get in on the conversation. Our first sponsor, Cozy Earth. And as we sometimes say, cozy Earth is not only for humans. Here's the latest photos we've got. Larry, tell them what they're looking at.
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B
All right.
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A
Of this is four legged friends. Look at that.
- [06:45]
B
Oh, will you look at that. It took me a while to figure out what we were looking at.
- [06:48]
A
A lot of the people who buy the Cozy Earth bubble Cuddle blanket for their, for their, their dogs try to basically buy ones that match the dogs exactly. So it's both luxurious and camouflage. Anyway. 30% off bubble cuddle blankets, bubble cuddle pillows, everything you want. 30% off. Go to go to cozyearth.com use the promo code morning and you get 30% off. That includes the bubble cuddle blanket, the bubble cuddle pillow as well as the sheets. The bedding all comes with an extraordinary 100 day return policy and then a 10 year warranty to show you that it in fact is spectacularly good quality. So go to cozer.com use the promo code morning and get yourself 30% off everything on the site. That 30% off lasts you through June 1st, which is coming quick. So act now.
- [07:35]
C
Well, and Father's Day is just around the corner too. What is that?
- [07:37]
A
It is just around the corner.
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C
You know. Come on.
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A
It is just around the corner. I've got some special stuff brewing for Father's Day. Don't tell either my father or my son, neither of whom watch the show, but stand by. Stand by for some special stuff. I'm Heath Pierce, former U.S. men's National Team player with stops in the Bundesliga, MLS, Denmark and Sweden. I'm the host of Orange Slices, sponsored by FanDuel Predicts. I've seen this game from every angle and I know that American soccer has a history most people haven't heard. Orange Slices is where we change that. And with the World cup coming to the US this summer, there has never been a better time to fall in love with this game. The show is about the people and the moments that don't always make the highlight reel, but help shape everything we
- [08:16]
B
love about this game.
- [08:17]
A
We're talking to current and former national team players, but also celebrities, creators and fans with a real personal connection to soccer. You'll hear behind the scenes stories, locker room moments, the kind of stuff people usually only talk about when the cameras are off. So whether you've been following the game for decades or you're just falling in love with it now, Orange Slices is your soccer. Hang on all summer long. Twice a week, we'll be publishing episodes to keep you up to date with all things World cup and more. Orange Slices, sponsored by FanDuel Predicts. Listen to Orange Slices wherever you get your podcasts. All right, gentlemen, the Iran thing is a mess. For, for a change, overnight there was attacks back and forth. 103, please. This is a Wall Street Journal headline. US Military Conducts New strikes on Iran. Strikes come after Iran launches drones and commercial ships. Iran says it's struck back in a US Base. That base seems to be in Kuwait. The Kuwaitis. The Kuwaitis are saying that they had to defend themselves. Oil jumped.105, please. In the wake of these strikes, here's Washington Post headline or sorry, cnbc. Oil Jumps after Fresh US Strikes and Iran Revives Strait of Hormuz Disruption Fears. Wall Street Journal has a story that runs counter to a lot of things. 107. It says that it suggests the Iranian economy is on its last legs, going back to a month ago when Scott Besant told us the Iranian economy was on its last legs. And it asked the musical question in the headline, how long can Iran withstand the economic pain of the US Blockade? And the story is filled with reporting from inside Iran, which we've rarely gotten during the conflict, which suggests people are hurting, business, small businesses are hurting, families are hurting, prices of things are really high, people are upset. And of course that would mean maybe rioting in the streets, protests in the streets. It could also mean that the Iranian government's more desperate for a deal than they otherwise seem. At the same time, very same newspaper we used to call this in the New Republic, Shot Chaser. So on the one hand, Journal says they may be on their last legs, but here's another Journal story. This is 106, please. A high seas black market that keeps Iran's illicit oil flowing. The Journal was, was able. I don't know how they did this reporting, but they watched two ships. Basically, they're these ships that have their markings covered over with like tarp and paint. And so they take a tanker and they move the oil from one ship to another with like a little straw and then they send this stuff to China. So the point is they're still exporting oil to China. Forget the sanctions, forget the blockade. Apparently they're still finding a way to send oil to China, which would suggest that the dire economic conditions are not quite as dire as the other Wall Street Journal stories says. In addition, and I'm sure this is pegged to, I would, I should say sure, likely pegged to Scott Bessant's briefing appearance last night. 108. The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran on the Iran Agency trying to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Whenever we put new sanctions on Iran or China or Russia. I always ask the same question, which is, why are we putting these on now? Shouldn't this have been put on at the beginning of the war? In any event, in addition, those thinking that that the strait is a problem for the deal, then Iran sends. There's text. It's not clear if it's true or not, but Iran sends texts which says nothing about nuclear and nothing about not controlling the strait. The president who previously has deemed such offers from Iran as garbage, would presumably think that was garbage, too. All of this leads to thinking, well, it's going to be very difficult to get a deal. I would say, with the exception of that one journal story saying Iran its economy is so bad. 110 lastly, this is another big problem for a deal. Israel's not going to stop battling with Hezbollah if Hezbollah keeps attacking them. And overnight, Israel struck and killed at least eight in Lebanon's fourth largest city ahead of Washington talks. I'm not going to ask either of you to name Lebanon's fourth largest city. All right, guys, with that big wind up, here's what I'm going to show you. This is Jonathan Martin. He writes for Politico. He used to write for the New York Times before he wrote for Politico. He was at Politico before he was against it. Now he's back in Politico and he speaks officially for the Gang of 500. This is Washington conventional wisdom at its finest. Although I believe he was in New York City today. He here's Jonathan Martin explaining his take on things. And guys, we'll play a little. I'll say stop. And Larry first, then Kevin agree or disagree with J Mart's points. And this is his analysis of where the president is on the conflict. Roll J Mart, please. 109.
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B
February 28th.
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C
Whoa.
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B
Was the start of this war. Even Trump seems fatigued by his own spin. Like he just stop.
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A
He's trying to sell it.
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B
We may have to build him up. He doesn't even believe it.
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A
Larry.
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B
Disagree.
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A
Disagree. Kevin.
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C
Agree, agree.
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A
Okay, play.
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C
President has this short attention span. He gets bored with this stuff.
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A
Okay, for sure. Play, play.
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B
He knows that we know that he's not going to restart this war and
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A
he's doing the threat.
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B
Disagree.
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A
Kevin.
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C
Agree, agree.
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A
All right, so far, you guys, Kevin agrees with J. Martin. Larry disagrees. Play again.
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B
But there's now this sort of rinse, wash, repeat system or sort of pattern to what he's saying and he knows that nobody's buying it anymore and he's even struggling to sell it now. Because it's the same spin as ever, which is, well, we're about to do a deal, but if we don't, we're gonna have to attack them again. And guess what? We don't do a deal and we don't attack them again. And Iran knows that, too. LARRY first of all, it's lather, rinse, repeat, if you're gonna try to make a pop culture reference, J Mart. And secondly, I disagree with that as well.
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A
Disagree, Kevin, Agree.
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C
We've seen it time and time again, Larry.
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A
I gotta say, that's a hard one to disagree with. That just seems factual. 90 days.
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C
Yeah, yeah.
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A
All right, play. Of course.
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B
Which is why they have all their social media from all over their embassies all over the world trolling Trump every day because they know he doesn't want to restart hostilities in any serious way because that would inflame gas prices. And you know, at the same time, when he's close to a deal, and I think he does want to get a deal, we know what happens, right? The Lindsey Graham's Mike Pompeo is now Ted Cruz is the world say you're going to be Obama, and once he hears the O word, the big O, he does not want to sign that deal and he walks back.
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A
Yeah, Larry, that is accurate. Accurate. Kevin.
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C
Yeah, agreed.
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A
Okay, so look, guys, anything can happen, but it doesn't seem like there's going to be a deal. I mean, let's be honest. Iran's proposing nothing on nuclear. If we open the strait Iran, all the pressure on Iran's economy comes off. The president can't open the strait. The president can't agree to a deal that gives Iran money. The President's worried about criticism from the right. There's no deal that Iran would accept, even a temporary deal. There's no temporary deal that Iran would accept that Ted Cruz would accept. There's just not. So there's not going to be a deal. And then I don't think the president. I agree with J. Martin. I don't think the President wants to strike. So is there is. Well, is there a scenario that doesn't involve a deal or a military strike? Larry?
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B
No, but I just want to say I don't think he wants to strike, but I think he is preparing to strike. If he's, if he, I don't think
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A
he's, I should rephrase. I don't think he's willing to strike again. That could be proven wrong. Maybe there'll be the deal. Maybe the President will be willing to pull the Trigger. But I'm asking a question now.
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B
Yeah.
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A
If I'm right, if I'm right, that both of those are off the table. Kevin. And am I missing a scenario? Is there another scenario? Do we just plod through like this forever? What's this?
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C
Yeah, I mean, maybe the status quo just continues until it becomes even more untenable. But, you know, there is no pressure point right now that would drive the negotiations driving back to Islamabad or somewhere else. Well, you know, we could talk about the economic issues, but the status quo just seemingly is the same.
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B
The pressure point is the blockade. The problem is a blockade is not an instantaneous kinetic adventure. It is a slow attrition. This is a patient waiting game. And I know the American political media is not used to that sort of
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A
thing, but Larry, the President doesn't seem eager to keep that going. Because on the table, and every version of every deal we hear about on the table is ending the blockade.
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B
Well, of course, because that's what the other side needs. And so of course it's on the table.
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A
But then how could we expect Iran to negotiate in good faith on nuclear weapons, which currently they're not even putting in their offers if the blockade's over?
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B
That's why we haven't reached any even temporary deal with them other than the ceasefire that we're in the middle of right now.
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A
I'll say again, I know we're going to run in circles. Is there an out here, assuming I'm right, that there's never going to be a deal, at least not under these.
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B
I'm not accepting that premise. I think that there can be a deal. They just need to hurt that much more. Okay, Larry, if you want to give. When someone says, will there be a Republican mayor of la? Yeah, when things get that bad, will there be a deal in Iran? Yeah, when things get that bad.
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A
Okay, but. But not till after the mid terms
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B
because I don't know, I don't think they can last that long with this, really. Okay. If you looked at what the President said yesterday at his cabinet meeting, he said Iran thought that they could outweigh me. They thought that they could, you know, delay this thing. And he was looking at the primary results over the last 10 days saying I'm still pretty popular with my voters. I'm doing okay. They were wrong. I'm in a strong political position right now and I'm going to continue in following this path. And if we don't reach a deal, as he said to Pete Hegseth to his left, this guy on My left will finish the job. That's Kevin.
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A
I say, Kevin. I say this with no disrespect at all. Intentions of the President, but his words about, about Iran and his intentions at the Cabinet meeting on Truth Social are worth the same amount as a napkin I got yesterday at a $1 slice pizza place that I wiped my mouth with, I drooled all over and I threw in the trash. It's worth the same amount as that napkin because he says, he says everything, he says, Oman. Oman's gonna have to do what we say. He says they're gonna have to join the Abraham Accords. He says, you know, we're gonna bomb again. He says, we've got a deal. Then the next day, his words are meaningless. I, I'm, I'm, I'm sick of being asked to analyze the President's words.
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B
Will only a bombing run satisfy you? I mean, I, no, what would satisfy
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A
me is, is his, is his saying things and then sticking to them. These are.
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C
Caring about.
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A
These are big things.
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C
Yeah, I mean, yeah, Mark, I mean, the interesting factor that you brought up just now is the Oman comment from the Cabinet meeting and conversations that there's been obviously a lot of reporting that they're in conversations with the Iranians for some joint venture with this strait. Obviously the President threatened them. Oman is a key ally of ours in that area. And again, to your point, we'll see if the Omanis actually even react to a threat like that. But you know, let's go back to why we saw a little break in. The ceasefire was a few cargo ships attempting to evade the Iranians. They were fired upon, we responded, they launched a missile towards Kuwait. That's also the big fear too. And we've talked about this as well in terms of how the Iranians react with missiles to our bases, to our Gulf allies. And nothing seemingly is going to change on the ground in the next couple of days, weeks, even potentially months.
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A
Larry, just to be clear, I basically agree with you. I think the economic pressure is the key. But then I don't think we should be talking to Iran about taking off the blockade. Speaking of.
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C
And sanctions relief right from the get go too. They're demanding the 100 billion before we're
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B
putting in exchange for something tangible. That makes sense. That's how negotiations work.
- [19:50]
A
Yeah. Again, sometimes I create faux disagreement just for the sake of the theater.
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B
Oh, I know.
- [19:56]
A
Anyway, Scott Besant briefs it too. Yesterday in the Cabinet meeting. He was very bullish on the American economy, flying in the face of a lot of consumer sentiment, CEO sentiment and general feelings in the American public about how things are going and how the president's doing on the economy. Here's a preview of what I suspect Scott Besson's posture will be towards the fundamentals of the economy. Yesterday in the Cabinet meeting,
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B
we're entering the second half of our 250th anniversary year with renewed optimism and momentum. It has never been a better time to be an American, and as you said earlier, we have a record number of Americans working. The economy that you are building is not only strong, but secure and resilient and better positioned to compete globally. Real GDP has risen 2.7% over the past four quarters, something that many economists said couldn't be done in the first quarter of 2026, despite Iran conflict, GDP grew at a 2% annual rate. The Atlanta Fed GDP now is predicting 4.3% for this quarter. In terms of prices, I believe the prices are transitory. Oil will be lower than pre conflict levels when this ends. Natural gas is already down as you mentioned. Drug and pharmaceutical prices, they are plummeting and rent is down. We are more resilient to energy price fluctuations due to your energy dominance agenda deregulatory efforts and we have never sold so much energy to the rest of the world. Business investment rose at a 10.44% annual rate in the first quarter. Capital expenditures and business equipment rose more than 17%. And that is as a result of the tax bill and tariffs.
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A
All right, Kevin, happy days are here again. Or as we say in Jersey, that dog won't hunt.
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C
I don't think that dog will hunt. Notice all the economic indicators he talked about business, investments, gdp, all of those things. And again, take it from the guy who tried to sell Bidenomics for four years talking about the GDP of America leading the world. Nothing really was said by the Treasury Secretary when it came to what Americans are feeling, how they're investing, how their ability to sell and buy homes and make money off of that. Everything is frozen when it comes to the American people right now. Take it from the guy who's trying to sell his place in D.C. right now and move mostly full time to Charleston. You're seeing that dynamic play out and we'll see. The treasury secretary obviously briefs it too. He then goes on to the Reagan economic summit I think tomorrow to speak. But again, all of these statistics are great and powerful and shows a strong economy even though the Trump is throwing everything at it. But consumer confidence is at a low we haven't seen since the 1950s and what people are feeling is very different from what the economic indicators are right now.
- [22:54]
A
Larry, does. To what extent does the secretary run the risk of sounding out of touch?
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B
I think that he benefited from the fact that his face wasn't on camera as he was saying the things that he was saying.
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C
Even you made a noise when he said inflation was transitory.
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B
Well, if you notice, he didn't say inflation. He said prices were transitory, which I think was a very.
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C
We got a lot of grief. We got a lot of grief for that one choice of words.
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A
My, my obesity is transitory too.
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B
Yeah, I listen, y' all aren't wrong. Even though I, I sort of half jokingly say the fundamentals, the economy are sound. There are some really good indications, right?
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A
Absolutely.
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B
Especially considering the, you know, the, the giant aircraft carrier of an economy that sort of. It wasn't a U turn, but they took a significant turn in a new direction, what with tariffs and onshoring, manufacturing and a whole new approach to manufacturing and all the hiring not being government jobs as it was for the first four, the last four years under Biden, but actual private sector jobs. That takes a while and there's going to be some pain. That stuff's been put in place. It's energy costs. They got to get on top of this. They got to do something about it and they've got to come up with a solution on energy costs. Every single problem with the CPI and all the other things that people actually feel every single day I think is connected to gas and energy across the board. And they got to have a better story. That's the bottom line here.
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C
And to Larry's point too, I mean, there's some reporting out this morning that there's going to be huge issue when it comes to grocery prices come the fall, right when the midterms are hitting based on stuff out of the control of the president. Not just the energy factors, but weather, disease, things like that, to say nothing of fertilizer issues that this is all going to compound right in the fall when this is all coming to a head.
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B
That said, people in the economics team truly believe that it is everything is poised to just be on leash if
- [24:43]
A
they can end the war. If they can end the war. The world economy is under extraordinary pressure too. And a lot of places are suffering already. The kinds of impacts like on bad fertilizer and energy that people worry will hit the United States. And amongst those worrying, not just the American people, but Republicans who are on the ballot are people running campaigns. We could talk about the Texas Senate race every day for the entire show. Oh, yes, and I'll, and I'm going to talk about it on Next up at great length. But guys, it's so interesting. I still know people whose opinions I trust, both Texans and national folks who say 100% Paxton will win.
- [25:19]
B
How?
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A
RICO is too liberal. And then I've, and then I have had people who think it's 55, 45. So let's, before we look at some stuff, let's just set the baseline. Kevin, what, what are Talarico's odds of winning? What percentage chance?
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C
I, I say 55.
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A
45.
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C
Paxton at 55.
- [25:35]
A
Larry, I'm telling you, Larry, a lot of, Larry, Larry, a lot of people are saying this now. You saw yesterday, Deirdre DeLisi said 100. Larry, what do you, what chance do you get? Talarico, 35 to 40. Well, Larry, that's not so far off from. Kevin.
- [25:49]
C
Hey, we'll take the, hey, we'll take that 20 point.
- [25:52]
B
No, I, I, I, 35. Well, only because, I mean, because potentially with a candidate like Paxton, there can always be another shoe to drop that isn't out there. So I'm giving him some opening.
- [26:02]
A
And the money he's raised, I know it's a false choice, but do you think Paxton's vulnerabilities involve more his bat, his, his personal issues or the, the environment and the president, which is a bigger factor that leads you to give Talarico a chance?
- [26:16]
B
I think the environment is a bigger factor than his issues.
- [26:19]
A
I do, I agree, too. I do, too. I think the media is obsessed with it, with the, the other. But, Larry, I'm really surprised to hear you say that. Here's Talarico. Yesterday, a Houston rally.
- [26:28]
B
You can't deny the money, and you can't deny the fact that the last two statewide Senate candidates against Ted Cruz actually came within 10 points.
- [26:35]
A
Yeah, three.
- [26:36]
C
I mean, it was just under three points.
- [26:38]
A
Here's, here's Talarico yesterday at a rally in Houston. 113. I ran for office not to be served, but to serve.
- [26:50]
B
And then there's Ken Paxton.
- [26:58]
A
I have a legislative record.
- [27:00]
B
Ken Paxton has a criminal record.
- [27:04]
A
Ken Paxton.
- [27:07]
B
Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician
- [27:12]
A
in America, and he belongs to nowhere close to the United States Senate.
- [27:20]
B
As Ann mentioned, three years ago today, Ken Paxton was impeached by his own
- [27:26]
A
party for using his public office, his position of public trust, to enrich himself and his donors at our expense.
- [27:38]
B
Ken Paxton is morally unfit for office.
- [27:42]
A
He, he has failed the character test. He'll lie to you with a straight
- [27:48]
B
face, he's the most corrupt attorney general in our lifetimes and he has put
- [27:53]
A
his own interests above the laws of Texas. Those are not my words. Those are the words of Ken Paxton's fellow Republicans. All right, we'll keep monitoring that. I want to move on because I'm conscious of the clock. There's a couple other stories I want to get to and hands are up polling in California. There's a poll that shows Becerra in the governor's race doing well. It's not the best poll in the world but I'm just going on record and revising and extending my confidence that Stire is going to make the finals. Styer's just with Hilton Mark, it's going to be. I'm back. I just want to go on record saying I'm back to saying it's Becerra Hilton.
- [28:32]
B
Wow, that was, that was one day.
- [28:35]
A
Well, it's one day but, but, but it just Styer spend so much money. Voters don't like to vote for Tom Stier. He's had his chance.
- [28:42]
B
Yeah, I, I, I don't see it going. I'm with you. I think it's specific.
- [28:46]
C
All right. Mayor Sarah Peach at the right time.
- [28:48]
A
Yes, exactly. And, and, and, and, and, and not to. Not too.
- [28:52]
C
And no one else was left really.
- [28:53]
A
And the clocks. Exactly. He's the default candidate. It'll probably be the governor. Okay, the mayor's race. Super interesting. Super interesting. Here's a poll from the LA Times. 117. Karen Bass headline. Bass, how do you pronounce that lady's name? Ramen Rahman. Rahman like the soup.
- [29:13]
B
No Ramen.
- [29:14]
A
I know Larry.
- [29:15]
B
Sorry.
- [29:17]
A
Three way race. Here's the, here the, here's the data. Next slide please. Now guys, it's all margin of error stuff. All three of them are bunched up. Bass, Ramon and Pratt. 26, 25 and 22, 10 undecided. Two other candidates getting 14 of the vote. First of all, Kevin, do we need to hold open the possibility that Spencer
- [29:37]
C
Pratt doesn't make the final two potentially again? He was just on Fox and Friends this morning in New York City. Interesting that he was on the ground in New York and not campaigning in these final throws money. Kevin, for sure, for sure. He said, you know, he thinks it's God's plan that he'll get over 50% in this.
- [29:57]
A
All right, let's listen to that. Kevin's teed up.
- [29:59]
C
This is pretty extraordinary.
- [30:01]
A
Let's listen to Spencer Pratt on the curvy couch. I plan On. I have a feeling God wants me
- [30:07]
C
just to win with 51% on June
- [30:10]
A
2nd and it's over. I believe it's a low turnout election
- [30:13]
C
and that's why again, I'm on this
- [30:15]
A
beautiful couch to remind everybody to get your ballots in today.
- [30:20]
C
Don't wait till June 2, because we
- [30:22]
A
will definitely win if everyone who's as angry as me in Los Angeles just goes and vote. Larry, does that poll.
- [30:31]
C
I feel like Mild demarco said the same thing. I feel like it's God's plan.
- [30:37]
A
Does that, does that poll, l. A Times poll inspire you, give you confidence or worry the heck out of you?
- [30:45]
B
Were the heck out of me as a. As a Pratt supporter.
- [30:47]
A
As a Pratt supporter, no, it doesn't
- [30:49]
B
worry the heck out of me at all. If they're that tightly grouped and all three of them are within the margin of error, I don't think anybody's going to get 51%. But I think the Pratt is in a good place right now because he's right. It's a low turnout kind of thing. If you're the incumbent at who are you inspiring to come out and vote?
- [31:03]
C
I mean, Bass's numbers are terrible.
- [31:04]
B
I mean, Bass's numbers are terrible, but probably overstated there. I think that. I think that Pratt's in a good place right now considering who he is and what his background is.
- [31:14]
A
If anybody in the race has a secret vote, it's going to be Ramon. I mean, it's going to be Pratt.
- [31:17]
B
Yeah, it's going to be.
- [31:18]
A
But. But I'm surprised at how high Ramon is in that poll, I gotta say. And it does not bode well for him unless God is. He's right about God. It does not bode well for him of winning a general election if. If the socialist candidates getting 25% of the vote. You know, that shows you. That shows you where the. At least the current electorate is at. But he might have a secret vote.
- [31:38]
B
He might. If it ends up being Pratt Bass. You know, you've got a significant anti Bass vote who didn't come out for Bass. How motivated are they to come out in the general election? Yeah, again, he's. He's counting on his people being uber motivated and Karen Bass's people being. Why bother?
- [31:53]
A
Yeah, one more development in that race. The governor of California, late in the game here, has just decided to endorse. Gavin Newsom today tells the LA Times he's supporting Karen Bass. Newsome endorses Bass days before LA Primary, mayoral primary. He'd said favorable things about her before. Not a huge surprise. All right, Mark, do you think, do
- [32:20]
C
you think, given this news, that he does weigh in on the governor's race?
- [32:24]
A
No.
- [32:24]
C
The final days, when he sees the polls, maybe the Sarah is going to walk away with it and just, I
- [32:29]
A
guess, maybe credit for it? I don't think so. The only reason that, the only reason he'd endorse, I think, is if it looked like the two Democrats were going to be, or two Republicans were going to be in the finals and he wanted to mobilize against. But I don't, I don't think he will. Maybe I'm wrong. All right, let me show you a couple polls again. I'll be talking about these on Next up at great length. These are two new EMERSON polls about 2028, and they're damn interesting and they're not inconsistent with other data we've seen. First, on the Republican side, 125. This is a mythical hypothetical matchup of potential presidential candidates for 2028. They tested.
- [33:05]
C
This was wild.
- [33:06]
A
Ron DeSantis, Rubio and Vance. Vance in February of this year was at 52 to Rubio's 20. And now it's 3635. Wow.
- [33:16]
C
One point. From 30 points to one point.
- [33:19]
A
Call that margin of error stuff. Larry, what do you think of that?
- [33:23]
B
What a bench.
- [33:25]
A
What a. Look at that. Okay, beautiful.
- [33:27]
B
And there's a lot of Republicans not even mentioned there in there. And Cruz and Larry, who's still behind Scott Walker at this point?
- [33:36]
A
Larry, let's go. Larry, who's, who's the Republican?
- [33:38]
C
Mike Pence has the courage. Mike Pence has the courage. Scott Walker.
- [33:42]
A
Larry, who's the Republican nominee going to be in 2028?
- [33:44]
B
Tucker Carlson. No, I would say as of now, until things change. J.D. vance. It's his, it's his to. It's his to decline.
- [33:53]
A
How about that, Kevin? Marco Mentum.
- [33:57]
C
It's J.D. i'm, I'm with Larry. I don't cross much on Republican predictions.
- [34:02]
A
The Democratic poll from Emerson is, is, I'd say, equally interesting.
- [34:06]
C
He.
- [34:07]
A
Buttigieg is in first, 18%. He's gone. And they've polled August of 25, February of 26, May of 26. Consistent 16, 16, 18. Gavin Newsom has gone down from 25 to 16. AOC at 11. Josh Shapiro, 10. Kamala Harris, 10, Andy Beshear, 9.
- [34:26]
C
That's wild. That's wild.
- [34:28]
A
The Kamala 10, right.
- [34:29]
C
Yeah. The VPs.
- [34:31]
A
Yeah. Now, they're all bunched up. But I'm going to ask you, Kevin first, why has Gavin Newsom gone down?
- [34:38]
C
I think, honestly, because there was a lot of attention around the book tour. He was doing a ton of media. He's kind of fallen off in the last two months or so, I would say. And I'm interested to hear your latest state for 28, because I think the media interest has just died down around him, obviously, with the war going on that has captured our imagination and our attention as a country. And I think he's just fallen by the wayside, seemingly.
- [35:05]
A
Yeah. I gotta say, Larry. Yeah. Like, Buttigieg and Newsom are not juggernauts. They're not, you know, they're not like runaway frontrunners. Everybody who tells me that AOC and Kamala Harris have this fervent grassroots support. I mean, they're both barely in double digits. Like, I'm not saying they won't be the nominees, and I'm not saying they're not perfectly strong because again, separating first from. From fifth is, you know, less than 10 points. But shouldn't Harrison AOC name ID and grassroots enthusiasm? Shouldn't they be higher?
- [35:37]
B
I. Kamala, for sure, AOC has not. I mean, she's sort of hinted that she might run, but she's not acting like a candidate the way the other guys are.
- [35:46]
A
Almost as. I disagree. She's. She's. She's very.
- [35:49]
C
She's endorsing, she's raising money. She's trying to put her. I mean, she's trying to put her image on people.
- [35:54]
B
She's going to Iowa, New Hampshire. She doesn't have a book tour. She's.
- [35:59]
A
Nobody's. Nobody's going to Iowa, New Hampshire. I mean, except.
- [36:02]
C
Except Rahm Emanuel.
- [36:03]
A
Exactly. She's. She's perfectly active. And, and again, I'm just, I'm just struck by how low those two are given what every. What there's. What the people who, who are high on their prospects say to me when I do reporting for. Anyway, I have the pollster who did those.
- [36:17]
C
But Mark, is that. Mark, real quick. And you. Is that just name id, really? With the vice president? I think, you know, you know, mile wide, inch deep, you know. Yeah. The vice president. Yeah.
- [36:29]
A
I think it, I think it puts a lie to those who say she's. She's the, she's the front runner, you know.
- [36:34]
C
Yeah.
- [36:35]
A
People, I think, I think if this poll.
- [36:37]
C
She's a walk on favorite.
- [36:38]
A
If this, if this. Exactly. If this poll's true, it reinforces the view held by many that she had her chance. And voters are like, no, you had your Chance, we're not nominating something you again. It's because you know you didn't win.
- [36:50]
B
It's also the outrageous patriarchy of the Democratic Party. And I hope all of those protesters get dressed up in Handmaid's Tale outfits and protest whoever happens to be the nominee. If it's not a woman.
- [37:00]
A
Yes.
- [37:00]
B
All right.
- [37:01]
A
There's a no Kings event on the president's birthday, and Bruce Springsteen says everybody's coming back to D.C. for a big concert in October. Kevin, How. Kevin, how. Fired. Off.
- [37:16]
C
Okay. That imagery is not the best in terms of the proletariat.
- [37:22]
A
Kevin, Kevin, tell. Kevin, tell folks who are listening to the podcast version what that image is. I don't even know you have the words to describe it.
- [37:29]
C
Yeah, it's rather Bolshevik in its imagination in terms of the red, white. And.
- [37:35]
A
Kevin, Kevin, here's. Here's my question. If we go back to the year after row, the. The period after Roe was overturned and the grassroots fervency that there was on the left, and make that. Make that a 9 out of 10, where is the current progressive, liberal, Democratic grassroots intensity as Bruce and others are trying to tap into for these midterms right now? If that's a nine, where are we on zero to ten?
- [37:59]
C
I think it's like, around a six or seven. Not just six. Seven, but, like, literally, it's. It's not as fervent as we saw the day after his election with the first women's March. Previous King's marches. No King's Marches, but I think it's there, and I think it'll galvanize in the fall.
- [38:17]
A
Larry, I'll tip my hand and say, I think Kevin's exactly right with 6. 7. What do you think?
- [38:21]
B
I was too busy looking up the ticket prices. Everyone. If you want to sit on the People's Lawn, it's 125 bucks. The People's Pavilion is 225. If you want to get into the VIP bathrooms.
- [38:33]
C
It has bathrooms, though.
- [38:34]
B
Solidarity Circle there at Merriweather gets you 375. But then if you want.
- [38:39]
C
Is this real? Is this real? Are you actually looking?
- [38:41]
B
Are you actually 100% accurate?
- [38:43]
A
What is. Does it say what the money goes to? Tours.
- [38:45]
B
The Robin Hood package includes a VIP super suite, because, you know, Robin Hood and his merry men always had the super suite. That's $1,500 to steal from the rich and give to the poor. It does not say where the money goes. Yeah, it's just the Power to the People festival. They are. They're beyond parody.
- [39:05]
A
Amaz. All right, one more topic and then we'll go to your questions. Please raise your hands. Jill Biden has now said to CBS News as an interview, as part of her book that's coming out next week, that when she watched the debate, she thought her husband was having a stroke and that she never saw him act in that in that way either before the debate or after. Which means the Bidens don't have C Span AP headline Joe Biden says she feared Joe Biden was having a stroke during disastrous 2024 debate I have to say, if my spouse was on TV and I thought she was having a stroke after he got, she got off stage, I would rush her to the hospital.
- [39:44]
B
Yeah.
- [39:45]
A
Rather than going to a rally.
- [39:46]
B
But that went to a Waffle House.
- [39:48]
A
I'm not a medical doctor. Neither is Joe Biden. But whatever. Look, I want first of all, Kevin, will there be news in this book coming out next week? Is there news in two weeks? Two weeks, right. Or next week? Next.
- [40:02]
C
I mean, I think this was the first kind of tease from it. I think, you know, she talks about it in an interview, I think that's coming out this week on cbs. Yeah. Touting the book. I think it'll be, I think it'll be mostly score settling. I think to some degree, I think Joe Biden has been by his side and, and has a lot to say in terms of some of the personalities around him because I don't think he was well served by a lot of people.
- [40:24]
A
Interesting, she says by Nancy Pelosi. Larry, there's a Chris, Here's Chris Soliza's headline.
- [40:29]
B
Oh, boy.
- [40:30]
A
In reaction to 128 in reaction to the interview excerpt that was released with Rita Braver, Crystal is says the utter dishonesty of Jill Biden exposed. Now she tells us this has been the media's reaction to this as saying, well, she's not telling the truth because afterwards she said he did great and she didn't take him to the hospital. Larry, I just say this is not the issue. The issue is we should not do another round of covering the Bidens claiming that Joe, Joe Biden was forced out of the race, that he was fine, and that the media on the debate night had an epiphany that there was a problem the media should use and
- [41:09]
C
that he would have done better than Kamala Harris.
- [41:12]
A
That's the thing. The Democratic Party would have been wiped on. Democratic Party would have been wiped out. That's a fact. But Larry, just focus on the media for a second what's the proper, what's the proper way to cover the media's reaction to what Jill Biden said yesterday
- [41:27]
B
to remind them of what they were saying contemporaneously at the time, a week before the debate, in fact, Chris Cillizza has a famous headline that people always like to repost, a screenshot of which is Republicans continue to try to make the president's mental state an issue of Joe Biden because it was an issue. And that was the same Chris Cilliza. I saw this interview, this moment, and I reached two amazing conclusions. Number one, we now know what kind of doctor Jill Biden isn't, clearly. And number two, I think I may have had a more intimate working knowledge of her husband's capabilities than she did during his presidency, which is.
- [42:02]
C
I will just say. I will just say that that debate was one of the worst nights of my life. I had a full night of Fox coverage. Carolyn Levitt and I were. She was the Republican, I was the Democrat after the debate, and we still commiserate about that night.
- [42:14]
B
Thank you for your service.
- [42:17]
A
I'm just saying to my colleagues, once again, please use this as an opportunity to come clean. This is not a story about what was secretly happening behind the scenes. It's not even the story about Jill Biden lying. It's a story about our failure for about, about seven years to not write and say the truth about what was obvious, which is Joe Biden's substantial decline was made him not only unfit to run for re election or really to run the first time, in all honesty, Covid allowed him to get away with it, but he was the commander in chief. And to this day, the media acts like Jill. The scandals about Jill Biden, it's really not.
- [42:55]
B
It's about media.
- [42:56]
A
You're right.
- [42:57]
B
But there's one other part of that in the media, if I may. From my perspective, some of us in the media were pointing it out, and I know we did in a sort of humorous and gratuitous way, but we were saying, this is not right. This is not normal. There's something wrong. And we got attacked.
- [43:10]
A
Yes.
- [43:10]
B
We were told that we were doctoring videos.
- [43:14]
A
Cheap fakes. Cheap fakes. Yeah, I was, I was saying it. I'm not in the conservative media. I'm just for the American people. And I was saying it starting in 2017. And I don't know, I don't know how, how it can be that to this day there's never been an accounting by the New York Times, the Washington Post of the biggest media scandal in American history. I just don't know how it can be. And then Jill Biden comes out and says this and there's no introspection. It's like, oh, how dare Jill Biden.
- [43:43]
C
And the idea too that she would double down. And I have great affection for the former. Firstly to say that she has not seen him since that debate night too. Not just previous.
- [43:53]
B
Yeah, but since.
- [43:55]
A
It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. I could go on the RNC Twitter account and I could show her a thousand instances of her husband behaving like that. The notion that the debate night was a revelation is a joke. And the notion that he had a stroke that night is a joke. That's not what happened. But what also is, also what happened is the press continues to pretend like for seven years they didn't in hostility to Donald Trump, pretend everything was fine with Joe Biden or allow themselves to be intimidated by the White House. I will say some of you have heard me talk about this about 20 times I talked about it last night. But I have to keep talking about it because the silence amongst my colleagues is, is compounding a seven year long scandal with no accountability. None. It's incredible.
- [44:41]
B
Mark, this is the trouble you get into when you want me to comment on the media, on things like this. Because if I may, it goes beyond that. This is why when people say, oh, why is Trump so obsessed with Russian collusion? And why is there a grand jury looking into John Brennan and James Comey? This is why. Why is Trump obsessed with what happened in the 2020 election? This is why. There are a lot of stories like this. This is the most obvious and blatant one. But there are a lot of stories that the media not only ignored, but they actively participated in the deception on the other side.
- [45:10]
C
But Larry, 2020 was the most free and secure election by run by the Trump administration. 100%. 100%. Three recounts and a hand recount in Georgia, all this kind of silliness going on. There is a difference in a decline in Joe Biden from Inauguration Day to the end of his term. That's separate from a free and fair election that Joe Biden won.
- [45:34]
B
Since this is a media discussion, with all due respect, the problem with that
- [45:37]
C
premise is that the very you brought up 2,020.
- [45:40]
B
I know. And the very same people who, who assure me that the 2020 election was the safest, most secure, most accurate election are the same ones who told me that Donald Trump was in bed with Vladimir Putin and the same ones who told me that there's nothing wrong with Joe Biden. So the core problem, well, that might be the people cannot trust the media.
- [45:58]
C
You need new friends. New friends? Yeah. No, not friends.
- [46:02]
B
I'm talking about every network, every major newspaper. The media itself is broken. They're part of the problem.
- [46:07]
A
Yes. All right, quick word from a sponsor.
- [46:09]
C
Thank God for town hall. Thank God for town hall, please.
- [46:11]
B
Exactly.
- [46:12]
A
Keeping them on it. Please keep raise your hand if you want to in the conversation right now. If you're launching something new, a business podcast, anything where you want to get the word out, I recommend you use Spotify. 10% of all E commerce in the United States is done on Shopify. It's an extraordinary platform that allows you to do it all from AI powered tools for inventory, payments, analytics, marketing and 24 hour customer support. And right now you can try Shopify for $1 a month. It's a trial offer available to members of the two way community. Go to shopify.com mark and try it out for a dollar a month. Again, it's easy to use. And what you don't want to do is start a business to not have people know about it or start a new show and not have people know it. And Shopify can solve that. Just go on shopify.com and take a look at it and you'll see how easy it is to get up and running with all they have to offer. If you want to turn your current hopes, dreams, vision, prospects for the future into cold hard cash like this,
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D
go
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A
to shopify.com mark today and again get $1 a month trial offer to get going with everything you need to get your business going.
- [47:18]
C
From the State House to the courthouse,
- [47:20]
B
in the emergency room and in the classroom, Americans are losing trust in their leaders. In a 2025 U.S. news and World Report survey, 85% of Americans said government leaders care more about their own power
- [47:35]
C
than the people they serve. 73% are disappointed in health care leaders,
- [47:39]
B
72% in business and 68% in education. But there are still leaders worth believing in. I'm Eric Gertler, CEO and executive chairman of U.S. news World Report. This is the best leaders podcast sponsored by the Noble Reach Foundation. On this show, we'll go deeper into the stories, challenges and lessons of extraordinary leaders across public service, business, healthcare and education. You can find the best Leaders podcast from U.S. news World Report on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [48:18]
A
Thank you for your attention to that matter. Thank you for being part of the two way community. Community And Ross, we start with you. Thank you for being here. Unmute. Tell folks who don't know where you are and what's on your mind for Kevin and for Larry.
- [48:31]
C
Hey, Ross. Good morning gentlemen. Good morning.
- [48:34]
A
How are you?
- [48:35]
C
I am coming in from the suburbs of Philadelphia and I just had a
- [48:39]
A
quick question regarding Iran. Apologies if this has been discussed before. But my question is if Venezuela never happened, if we never did anything in
- [48:49]
C
Venezuela, would we be in the same situation in Iran as we are now?
- [48:55]
A
That's my question.
- [48:56]
C
I'm curious your guys thoughts.
- [48:57]
A
Thank you, Kevin.
- [48:59]
C
That's a great question. Ross. That's a great question. I think the president was certainly heartened and we all were, I think pretty amazed at the success of that operation in terms of the technology element, the military element and the speed element of that. I think it certainly encouraged the administration that and there were references at the time that they could do something similar in terms of targeting the leadership of the regime in Tehran. And that's obviously certainly not the case with just how widespread and how state controlled the regime is. That wasn't just a figurehead in although the figurehead is incredibly powerful in terms of the ayatollah, but the network running the country is far different than the cult of personality around Maduro and the ability for that quick transition to the vice President there. RODRIGUEZ so I do think it is an interesting question that certainly I think, you know, the administration had its, you know, its chops up because of the success of Venezuela, but this is obviously a long standing goal of this administration and previous administrations on, on the nuclear front. But, but I do think there was some encouragement from just how successful Venezuela was.
- [50:11]
B
Yeah, I think I'd mostly agree there. I think that if anything what it did was it gave the President and his team more confidence that when his military leaders say listen, this is our plan, this is our objective, this is how we think it'll go down. Here are the risks, but this is what we think we can achieve. And by all accounts, Venezuela was like to the letter exactly as was predicted. It was extraordinary. It'll give the President more confidence to trust his military advisors with a very, very different operation with a very different objective that we saw in Iran. I think that's kind of where the similarities end, except for this. I think that our reaction and our sort of everyday watching the clock tick away until it gets resolved over in the Middle east and getting impatient. We, the American people and the media and political observers, we I think are informed by how quick and expedient Venezuela was. That it's sort of clouding our best judgment when it comes to how we get a resolution in the Middle East.
- [51:06]
A
Ross, thank you. Great question. Thank you for being part of two Way. What are you liking about two Way this these days? Love the new permanent co hosts. Aren't they adorable?
- [51:17]
C
They're adorable. Mark, I do have to thank you.
- [51:22]
A
Watching this program has cured me of my tds. I had very bad case of TDS
- [51:28]
C
in the first term and I can
- [51:30]
A
now breathe a little bit easier, look
- [51:33]
C
at things objectively, appreciate nuance. So thank you for that. Appreciate it.
- [51:39]
A
Russ, thank you for that. That's one of our big goals here. And you're going right in the promo. So thank you, sir.
- [51:43]
B
Music to our ears, Ross.
- [51:45]
C
Add it right to the real.
- [51:46]
A
Have a great day.
- [51:46]
C
Thank you, Ross.
- [51:47]
A
Just dub that right in. Ryan, welcome in. Thank you for being here. Tell folks who don't know where you are and what's on your mind for Go Tigers.
- [51:54]
C
Go Tigers.
- [51:56]
A
Our adorable permanent co host.
- [52:01]
C
Hey.
- [52:02]
D
Yeah, I'm Ryan. I just wanted to, to comment on something Larry said at the end of the show and I've heard a lot.
- [52:09]
A
Yes, sir.
- [52:10]
D
It's about the, the shutting in of production being like a major, major Trump cord in Iran. Right. If they have to shut in all the, the production.
- [52:24]
C
Oh. Like capping the oil and stuff like that.
- [52:28]
B
Now they're dump tankers and actually dumping it in the sea. And if they get the environmental wackos against them, then they're really going to see some problems.
- [52:36]
D
Yeah, I've seen some of that too, but just, I work in, in oil production. I work in IT for a long time.
- [52:45]
A
Tell us what you know.
- [52:47]
D
Okay, so, so I mean, shutting in oil wells and gas wells is very common. Shutting them in and getting them back online for maintenance and, and, and work, shutting fields in for entire fields into to do upgrades and things like that. I mean, in fact, a lot of times what happens is you shut the well in and the, the reservoir pressure increases and you get higher production after. And you can see that the field offshore California, that was shut in for 10 years, it, it came back higher than before. I mean, I can see some, some challenges they would have like, like during the Arab Spring, like Libya, Syria were shut in for quite some time. And I mean, they, they got their walls back eventually, but they had a lot of corrosion issues and things like that, which is money and time.
- [53:44]
C
Yeah. Right.
- [53:45]
A
When you speak.
- [53:46]
C
Yeah. To the time element. If, if they do. Cat, if they do have to shut down, what's the timeline for getting those back operational and I know it depends on how long they're down for them.
- [53:55]
D
Yeah, I mean, I mean, but
- [53:59]
A
I
- [53:59]
D
mean what you let me just hold up pin. You inject gas on, on the outside and it goes into the tube and you produce it out to restart wells. And what I have seen is that one of the strikes on South Paris, it actually targeted the, the infrastructure that was feeding their oil fields. They, they inject gas in their reservoir and, and they use it for field restarts. You need gas for field restarts until
- [54:26]
B
you get the oil flowing.
- [54:27]
D
So like I said, I can see, I can see like complications and, and you know, time and money, but I, I don't see like major catastrophe. I mean, I've never seen a well exploded when you shut it and I'm seeing it thousands of times.
- [54:45]
B
Well, there is a, so what I've been told, and obviously I don't, I take this from my sources who, you know, are experts on this stuff, is that shutting down temporarily to do maintenance on the well can be very advantageous. And that's part of a regular, you know, regimen and that sort of thing. And it's timed out. If you're shutting down without the intention of doing maintenance and you don't actually provide that maintenance, which also costs capital, which they don't have, you're just shutting it down because you're stuck and you have nowhere else to put the oil that actually puts you in a tougher position and your yields will be much degraded if you don't do those upgrades that you were hoping to achieve. So if in fact they restart these, these pumps, the way you're describing, it's actually going to take a whole reinvestment of capital that they, they don't have at the moment because they're not selling any of their product. Is that, is that the act?
- [55:33]
D
I guess that was my question because I mean normally when you have a shut in, like, like I gave the, the example of California, the field that was shut in for 10 years, that yeah, they're reopening, it's, you know, I mean, it's flowing like gangbusters, right? I mean you do, you do stuff to plan for shut ins where you preserve equipment and stuff like that. So I guess, I mean, have you guys seen any reporting that, you know, the military has or whatever assets we have over there has hit supply chains and things like that?
- [56:04]
B
Do they know that's what I asked last night? I said what is. And they said the supply chain. So again, these are people who are communicating with the administration. I'll leave it at that. And they said that they're seeing huge disruptions in supply chain and that it's reaching a critical problem for Iran. It's in so much as I said they're like taking old oil tankers. And I think this goes from the
- [56:28]
C
six like 50s and 60s.
- [56:30]
A
Right.
- [56:30]
B
You know, filling those up.
- [56:31]
D
Yeah, I mean they keep their wells formed. Obviously you don't want to shut them in. Right. People. I mean it's a, it can be a pain and take time and stuff like that to get them back.
- [56:39]
B
That's what I'm hearing.
- [56:40]
D
But as far as like total catastrophe, I just don't see.
- [56:43]
B
Okay, yeah.
- [56:44]
A
Ryan, really interesting. Thank you for sharing all that, Ryan.
- [56:46]
C
Thank you very much.
- [56:48]
A
Thanks for telling LSU's looking. Yeah, yeah.
- [56:55]
B
Never understood why they mark the 5 yard line as well as the 10 yard line on that stadium.
- [57:01]
C
Yeah, you know, it's a great stadium. You know who built that stadium, Mark?
- [57:06]
A
I have no idea who built the Kingfish.
- [57:09]
C
He got all the federal money for it.
- [57:11]
A
He did. Did not know that. That's interesting. Jack, welcome. Tell folks who don't know where you are what's on your mind. For Kevin and Larry, Good morning. I'm in San Antonio, Texas and I,
- [57:23]
B
I just can't understand what the media and, and Jill Biden herself, some of this nonsense they're spouting. I mean have they never met anybody that's suffering from dementia or brain damage? The President was showing all of these things well in advance and I just think of two incidents that typified it. One was he was in Europe and there was a demonstration of, from parachutists and he was wandering off in the
- [57:56]
C
back at the G7 people.
- [57:59]
A
The so called classic video. Yeah, that's a good one. What's your other one, Jack?
- [58:05]
B
And the other one was there was a Juneteenth party. All of these, the key black politicians of the time were up there dancing. Well and the President was just kind of floundering around, didn't know quite what he was doing. But once again it's classic dementia behavior.
- [58:28]
A
Very sad.
- [58:29]
B
Yeah, but trying to, trying to paint it as anything otherwise is just ridiculous.
- [58:35]
A
Yeah, Jack, those are two good examples. There are countless others. And, and as I said, I, I saw him do a public event in 2017 where he couldn't keep a train of thought. And I just, I don't get the whole thing. And, and like I said, I'm, I, I get why the Democrats are doing it because they're paid to do it. The media is not paid to do it. The media is not paid to cover up for a politician's decline. The media is not paid to be intimidated by White House officials who call and say, we'll exclude you from covering events if you write or talk about the president's mental decline. The media is not paid to try to stop Donald Trump by allowing someone to stay as commander in chief who is not up to doing the job. That's not the media's role. And yet that's exactly what most of my colleagues did.
- [59:16]
B
Yep. Yeah. I mean, for me, the final tipping point, Jack, was the Jackie Walarski moment where Congresswoman Walarski, who had previously died a couple of months before and Joe Biden was doing an event and mentioned Jackie Walarski and says, where is Jackie Jaw? She couldn't make it.
- [59:34]
A
He's dead. Larry do you remember the excerpt from the Jake Tapper book where he writes about the congressman?
- [59:41]
B
You know what? I think I may have skimmed over that part.
- [59:43]
A
Yeah, not in the book. Not in the book. An entire book about President Trump's Biden's mental decline and the COVID up and failed to mention both the Joe Biden speaking to a dead congresswoman at an event meant to honor her and CNN's own failure to cover it. And when the White House press secretary was asked why did the president speak to a dead congressman at an event meant to honor her, the immortal answer was she was top of mind for the president. Top of mind for the president speaking.
- [60:12]
C
I'm really excited for your new Next up episode that drops today. Mark.
- [60:16]
A
Yeah, I'm jumping over right now.
- [60:18]
B
Are you rushing Mark off of the show?
- [60:20]
A
Kevin? Oh, never.
- [60:21]
C
Kevin.
- [60:22]
A
I have to say, because Joe Biden's book's coming and she'll be writing about this topic, I will have more to say in the coming week about all of this. Anyway, I'm jumping over to the second hour of the morning meeting right now and two on a serious exemption, a 111. Please join me there. We won't have much time for calls, to be honest, because we went quite long here. Larry, please, when you're plugging what's coming up, mention both both my guests on Next up because we're going to have lots to say and my reporter monologue will be separating fact from fiction in the Texas Senate race. Gentlemen, see you tomorrow for winners of the races of the week and what to look for out of a Dirtia Medica.
- [60:56]
C
Thank you, Mark. There it was. That'll be great next up. I'm excited for that.
- [60:59]
B
He went by on us there through a little bilingual election there.
- [61:02]
C
How about it, America?
- [61:06]
B
I didn't get to chime in on this, but that it is an interesting decision and it's clearly a conscious decision the Talarico campaign is making that they, it's like, oh, okay, you're gonna get personal on me and use my words about, you know, binary God and all that stuff against me. I'm gonna go personal on Paxton. I think it's a trap. I think he'd be better served to just say, listen, all these things that Ken Paxton is saying about me, it doesn't make your life better. At the end of the day. It doesn't change the price of eggs for you. It doesn't let. I don't mind him attacking me, but I'm going to stick to the issues and I'm going to be talking about how I'm going to make your life better. I'm shocked that they didn't do that.
- [61:38]
C
I think he's, yeah, I think he's doing it. I think he's acknowledged some of that. His past statements were not very clear and some were problematic. And but they're also leaning into, you know, they're selling T shirts now on the campaign website called Talafrico. Did you see that? So I think they're trying to, they're kind of lean in, you know. You know, spoiler alert, stay on offense. I guess that's what you're getting for your birthday, Kevin. Hey, look at that. I'm a child size medium.
- [62:07]
B
I think clearly if we have a friendly bet sometime this year, either over basketball or football or baseball, the loser's gonna have to wear that on the show.
- [62:18]
C
Deal?
- [62:18]
A
Deal. I love that.
- [62:20]
B
Next up, today's next up, one of the country's most respected professional handicappers, Steve Maltepis. Malteps. Maltepas. Maltepes.
- [62:28]
C
Maltepe. Yep, you got it right. Maltepas.
- [62:31]
B
Jordan. Mark to explain the difference between betting and prediction markets and what they may be telling us about some of the biggest races and stories ahead. Also, CNBC energy reporter Spencer Kimball joining the conversation to help unpack the volatility rattling the energy markets and what it could mean for the economy moving forward. Energy, energy, energy is what it's all about.
- [62:51]
C
And Mark's of course, reported monologue with that on Texas with more kind of a his reporting from the Lone Star State. So you don't want to miss out on that for sure.
- [62:59]
B
You also don't want to miss out on the group chat live today at 4pm have you done the group chat?
- [63:05]
C
I'm not. I'm not. But there's a bunch of favorites right there in terms of Emma, Joe, Nina, Robbie and Steve.
- [63:13]
B
You know who the conservative is in
- [63:15]
C
that group, I think. Right. Well, Robbie's a libertarian.
- [63:18]
B
Not the conservative in that.
- [63:19]
C
Yeah, he's more libertarian. So.
- [63:21]
B
Yes, I'll say.
- [63:22]
D
Yeah.
- [63:23]
B
Yeah.
- [63:24]
C
And then two favorites, of course, joining. Yeah, it's a headshot.
- [63:29]
B
Okay, thank you.
- [63:30]
A
That's right.
- [63:30]
C
And then two fan favorites. And two of our favorites, Elizabeth Pipko and Melissa Derosa will join Mark at five o', clock, analyzing Scott Besant behind the podium. JD Vance's speech at the Air Force Academy, which has the most beautiful chapel ever. You like that Springs? It's beautiful. Yeah, it's kind of modern. You know, I love the name of modern.
- [63:54]
B
Very chapel in terms of the history.
- [63:56]
C
But it is beautiful against the landscape of Colorado Springs in terms of the. The mountains and stuff like that.
- [64:01]
B
It's very modern looking. I. I prefer the Naval Academy chapel with John Paul Jones's crypt down below and all that marble. Don't give up the ship dome and all that stuff.
- [64:10]
A
But you're right.
- [64:10]
B
Any. I can't. I can't criticize any of the academies at all. Absolutely.
- [64:14]
C
No, me neither. But then Race to Win.
- [64:17]
B
Race to.
- [64:18]
C
Which is super cool. Have you. You got to do that. I know. It's almost past your bedtime at 9pm tonight.
- [64:23]
B
Yeah, it's live at 9 tonight. I could do it, but my brain won't function past that. The witching I did a few days
- [64:30]
C
a few weeks ago. It is the coolest thing. You gotta sign up so you can sign up at 2A TV backslash. Game shows. I registered yesterday. You sign up, put your information in and it's gonna be super cool.
- [64:43]
B
I'm told that you have to show up just to see what Nicole Rios will be wearing.
- [64:48]
C
Yeah.
- [64:48]
A
How about it?
- [64:49]
B
I was told. I don't know what to tell you.
- [64:50]
C
That's just what I was told. And then join Mark right now over on Sirius. And then of course, the official after show, our fan favorite Deborah Knox is hosting along with another fan favorite, Alan C. So that kicks off at 11. And then tomorrow we'll be back here, same time, same place.
- [65:09]
A
We'll be back.
- [65:09]
C
See what Haley. We'll see what Haley brings us for our pop culture minute.
- [65:13]
B
Oh my gosh, it's tomorrow. Friday already. Oh, because it's a short week.
- [65:16]
C
Look at short week. Yeah. So we'll have winners and losers. And our forever winner, Haley, will be joining us there as well.
- [65:22]
B
I'll be coming up at noon with my show should my power stay on. I lost my power in the middle of my streaming show yesterday at noon.
- [65:29]
C
What happened?
- [65:30]
B
A tree fell down and took a wire down down the street. I love tree came down, took out the power.
- [65:36]
C
Did the backup generator immediately kick in the town hall?
- [65:41]
B
Sound like Meredith. Meredith is such a prepper. She wants me to dig a bunker in the backyard. She wants all the prepper meals, she wants the generator. She wants all that stuff you gotta buy.
- [65:49]
C
You gotta just buy everything that's advertised on Fox News, you know, in terms of flashlights and generators and everything like that.
- [65:56]
B
When Fox News starts paying my bills, I'll start buying the stuff that they put there.
- [65:59]
C
There you go.
- [66:01]
B
All right, guys. Thanks for watching.
- [66:02]
C
We'll see everybody bright and early tomorrow morning, Same time, same place.
- [66:05]
B
I sneezed.
- [66:06]
C
I apologize.
- [66:07]
B
We'll be back tomorrow.
- [66:08]
A
See you.