Democrats Are Getting This One Thing Right With Alyssa Mastromonaco

Summary

American Fever Dream Episode Summary: "Democrats Are Getting This One Thing Right With Alyssa Mastromonaco"

Release Date: May 15, 2025
Host: Betches Media
Guest: Alyssa Mastromonaco

---

Introduction and Guest Background

In this episode of American Fever Dream, hosts V. Spehar and Sammy Sage welcome former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco. Alyssa brings her extensive experience from her tenure under President Barack Obama and her role as a podcast host to the discussion, providing insights into both political strategies and personal anecdotes.

Alyssa Mastromonaco: "I'm so excited to be here. I was going on and on before we started that. You are my comfort podcast."
(01:44)

Cooking with Emotion

The conversation kicks off with a light-hearted debate on cooking styles, reflecting how personal emotions can influence one's creativity in the kitchen.

V. Spehar: "Do you cook with love or do you cook with hate?"
(01:57)

Alyssa Mastromonaco: "Love."
(02:04)

V. Spehar: "I cook with hate. If I'm pissed, we're having good dinner."
(02:04)

Alyssa shares her unique culinary creation, apricot basil, a dish born out of a moment of sadness, highlighting how emotional states can lead to creative breakthroughs.

Alyssa Mastromonaco: "Now every summer, I make apricot basil, and it is delish. It is truly delicious."
(02:14)

Catholicism and Generational Shifts

A significant portion of the episode delves into the evolving landscape of Catholicism, particularly focusing on the impact of Vatican II and the rise of a new, more evangelical-influenced Gen Z Catholicism.

V. Spehar: "The core piece of Vatican II was the idea that the church must engage in dialogue with the world. ... not to conquer, but to serve."
(08:03)

Sammy Sage: "If you think about Vatican 2 being in the 60s, it really makes sense that they're kind of like, let's disregard this. ... And you don't have to have exponentially chaotic rhetoric to have people listen to you."
(08:44)

The hosts express concern over the current trend of Gen Z Catholics adopting a more aesthetic and less doctrinal approach, potentially undermining the inclusive and dialog-driven principles established by Vatican II.

Challenges in Democratic Communication

Transitioning to political discourse, the episode addresses the Democratic Party's struggles with communication strategies amidst a fragmented media landscape.

Alyssa Mastromonaco: "No one calls and asks my advice. ... I'm just saying anything I say is just of my own free."
(12:15)

Sammy Sage: "The algorithms and you end up with the right wing... it's really hard to break through, especially if you don't have someone who on the Democratic side can, like, really galvanize people."
(18:49)

Alyssa and Sammy discuss the absence of unified leadership within the Democratic Party, drawing parallels to the post-2000 era when Ed Rendell provided strong party direction. They highlight the challenge of maintaining consistent messaging in an age dominated by diverse media channels and individual political figures competing for attention.

"Delulu Girly of the Month" Segment

In a humorous and critical take, the hosts introduce their segment "Delulu Girly of the Month", spotlighting political figures they deem excessively delusional.

Sammy Sage: "Delulu Girly of the Month is a perennial Delulu Girly. It is none other than President Donald Trump."
(29:03)

The discussion critiques Trump's unwavering stance on tariffs, labeling it as a "spiritual faith" despite widespread economic criticism.

Sammy Sage: "The belief in tariffs is the closest thing this man holds to spiritual faith. ... he is destroying the global economy."
(29:03)

They also spotlight Natalie Hartzell, a figure portrayed as obsessively loyal to Trump, raising concerns about her influence and role within the administration.

Ideal Democratic Candidates: Dream Ticket

The episode shifts focus to envisioning an ideal Democratic ticket for the upcoming elections. Hosts and Alyssa propose candidates who embody effective communication and leadership.

Sammy Sage: "Our perfect ticket would be Pete and Jasmine Crockett."
(42:14)

Alyssa Mastromonaco emphasizes the qualities needed in Democratic candidates, citing effective communicators like Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Jasmine Crockett.

Alyssa Mastromonaco: "Mayor Pete... has the ability to explain issues the way Barack Obama did. ... they trust him."
(43:14)

The conversation underscores the importance of authenticity and clear messaging in political leadership, drawing comparisons to admired figures like Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders for their consistent and trustworthy communication styles.

Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, hosts and Alyssa reflect on the current political climate, emphasizing the need for unity and effective communication within the Democratic Party. They express hope that with the right leadership and strategies, the party can better engage and inspire the electorate.

Sammy Sage: "Why can't we all just get along?"
(46:09)

V. Spehar: "Maybe our pal Marianne Williamson will get back out there."
(46:14)

The episode concludes with a light-hearted farewell, encouraging listeners to stay engaged and informed.

V. Spehar: "Until next time, I'm V. Spear."
(47:07)

Sammy Sage: "Good night."
(47:11)

---

Notable Quotes:

• Alyssa Mastromonaco: "The core piece of Vatican II was the idea that the church must engage in dialogue with the world. ... not to conquer, but to serve."
  (08:03)

• Sammy Sage: "The belief in tariffs is the closest thing this man holds to spiritual faith. ... he is destroying the global economy."
  (29:03)

• Alyssa Mastromonaco: "Mayor Pete... has the ability to explain issues the way Barack Obama did. ... they trust him."
  (43:14)

• Sammy Sage: "Why can't we all just get along?"
  (46:09)

This episode provides a blend of political analysis, personal anecdotes, and candid discussions on current challenges within the Democratic Party, all wrapped in the hosts' signature humor and perspective.

Transcript

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[V Spear]

Rise and Shine, fever dreamers. Look alive, my friends. I'm Vspier.

[Sammy Sage]

And I'm Sammy Sage.

[V Spear]

And this is American Fever Dream, presented by Betches News, the show that continues.

[Sammy Sage]

To watch 19 year olds dismantle our government brick by brick so you don't have to. We are here today, joined by our favorite friend, host of the Hysteria podcast, the youngest and first female deputy chief of staff for operations, Deputy chief of staff for operations under Barack Obama and a championship jam maker. Look at that, Alyssa Master Monaco.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Thanks, guys.

[Sammy Sage]

And our dear friend.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I'm so excited to be here. I was going on and on before we started that. You are my comfort podcast.

[Sammy Sage]

You are my comfort person.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Oh, thank you.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah, thank you. We have fun here.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I love that for me.

[V Spear]

I love that for me the chef stuff is nice. I did chef stuff before. I think you have to. Do you cook with love or do you cook with hate?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Love.

[V Spear]

Okay. I cook with hate. If I'm pissed, we're having good dinner.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Well, I will say that when I am depressed, when I'm real sad, I come up with some of my best combinations.

[V Spear]

Like what?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

So like, I was really bummed out once and I was just in the kitchen and I was just like being quiet and smelling things and I was like, what is that? And it was the apricots next to the basil. So now every summer, I make apricot basil, and it is delish. It is truly delicious.

[Sammy Sage]

I know that sounds like something you get in Tuscany.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It's nice with a little fresh ricotta.

[Sammy Sage]

I would love to just share, like, a cheese plate with you. Oh, are you kidding, right?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

You guys, you know, one of the greatest things that ever happened to me is that Adam Platt reviewed my jam for. For New York magazine.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, my God. Where do we read this? Can we put that up on the screen?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Oh, I'll get you the. I'll get you the little art show notes. It was awesome. It was me and Josephine's feast, which is another delightful jam company.

[Sammy Sage]

You have a lot of, like, very random fun facts.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Thank you. Cause, like, what are you if you're not interesting?

[Sammy Sage]

You know what I mean? Boring.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I know, but I'm the kid who went to college, so I was a freshman at the University of Vermont, 1994. There was no online registration back then, and so I looked around, and I was like, oh, these lines are so long. And then there was this very handsome guy who I'm still friends with, who was on the Japanese line. You guys, I ended up a Japanese minor in college because I was like.

[Sammy Sage]

You just signed up, like, for your. For your minor? Just, like, you got all of that?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

No, I signed up to take the course, and then I was like, this is the coolest thing I've ever done. And, like, how many people could speak Japanese? And then, like, when I graduated college, I was a paralegal in the World Trade center, like, the original Twin Towers, and I would give directions to Japanese tourists all the time.

[Sammy Sage]

Wait, so I have to ask.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Do you speak Japanese?

[Sammy Sage]

Japanese now? Oh.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Watashi no nihongo eto mama des karone.

[V Spear]

What did you just say?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I said something close to My Japanese these days is really only so. So. Which is a. Which is actually even stretching it, but.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, you sounded, like, fluid to me.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Thank you. Oh, my gosh, you guys. We've covered so much territory in, like, three minutes.

[Sammy Sage]

Wow. We didn't even.

[V Spear]

And I actually wanted to start with, are you guys Cat? Well, I know Sammy's Jewish, but we don't.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I am not Catholic, but half of my family is, and I've met the Pope.

[V Spear]

Okay, right. We're gonna get to that next, because the Pope is hot stuff right now. I was raised Catholic, full, like, the 90s fun Catholic. Did the full thing.

[Sammy Sage]

That's where you ask, you know what I Mean.

[V Spear]

Well, it wasn't fun. Yeah. I say fun in, like, a dark way, you know? But I was, like, 90s Catholic, which I think is, like, a true Catholic upbringing. We went to church on Sundays, you know, you did your little CCD stuff. I had a confirmation name. All that business. This weekend, my whole for you page on TikTok is people who call themselves cradle Catholics, which I guess is what I would be fighting with this new Gen Z convert Catholic who.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, this is one of my favorite topics. I don't know why.

[V Spear]

They're like, who's the right kind of Catholic? And the argument was, if you're a cradle Catholic, you know that you have to have a sense of dark humor about the Catholic Church, because there's a lot there.

[Sammy Sage]

Right.

[V Spear]

And that's sort of how we deal with it. And you gotta have a little sense of humor about it. But these kids are showing up and they're like, I'm home. I'm like, we don't use that language. That's the evangelical language. And they're, like, getting confirmed as adults, but they're wearing, like, sundresses. I'm like, first of all, I didn't spend my entire youth kneeling and having nuns scream at you about the length of your skirt for some bitch to show up in a sundress and get confirmed. Okay. In a veil. And I'm like, we don't do veils. Vatican ii, Matthias Mantias.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Whoa.

[V Spear]

So it's crazy online right now with the new Catholics who are almost, like, evangelicalized.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Is it like the tradwife version of Catholicism?

[V Spear]

Yes, and I'm not standing for it.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I agree with you.

[Sammy Sage]

I agree with you totally. Not as a Catholic, but I do feel a kinship towards Catholics because I do think that the closest types of Christians to Jews are Catholics.

[V Spear]

Yeah.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

And, yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

It's like, you can't look if you're. If you don't have the Jewish mother and the.

[V Spear]

Like, the stuff, like, the guilt.

[Sammy Sage]

The guilt around, like, oh, you better not eat on yum. Like, the torture that the. The mem. Memories of, like, having to be in shul and, like. Like, just so bored. It's. There's a cultural piece to it that you can't add later in life.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

No.

[V Spear]

Also, they didn't like us, all these people who are coming from evangelical Christian to Catholic. I'm like, y' all used to make so much fun of us because we didn't have rock bands. Right. Because we were so dramatic. Now you come in and you see these gilded churches, right? And you're like, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna make this an aesthetic. And I'm like, the hell you are. I've never been so devout a Catholic as I have been since the Pope died. I'm, like, defending this shit. I don't even like it.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I know.

[Sammy Sage]

It's easy when there's no one.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

You got to put a little skin in the game. You don't get to cherry pick.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, you know what I think? I think people were, like, maybe evangelized, no pun intended, by Kourtney Kardashian's wedding. So they see. They're like, oh, the stained glass. Oh, the gorgeous. Oh, the. They're attracted to the drama.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

They, you know, the aesthetic.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes, it's an aesthetic. Maga's an aesthetic. Everything's an aesthetic.

[V Spear]

Okay? So for folks who may not know, the Catholics had a form of, like, a constitutional convention in 1965 where they gave, like, more rights to women. And they said, you don't have to wear veils anymore to church. And they actually were like, hey, we're gonna throw a couple Bibles out here for you guys to read. Instead of just waiting for the priest to tell you what it says. We're gonna let you do that. And the Vatican II is the reason why, like, your little aunt gets to be a reader at church and why they have, like, women singers and stuff now. So there's a lot of advancements for women.

[Sammy Sage]

What year was Vatican 2v.

[V Spear]

1965.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay.

[V Spear]

And it's been like, you know, and it did pretty good. Now I'm kind of like, okay, 2025. We can't have the Gen Z aesthetic Catholics trying to, like, bring us back into this super trad place. Okay? Right. Like, we were starting to move towards, like, you know, maybe gays could stay Catholic or, like, divorced people could get communion, you know?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

So the folks v. The folks who you see who are really trad. Wifing it, are they very conservative too?

[V Spear]

I think they're very aesthetically, maga is what it seems like. It's like the J.D. vance thing. Right? And we should do an episode on, like, what the Opus DEI version of Catholicism is and this new JD Vance kind of Catholicism, because it's very spooky. But the one thing I want folks to know from Vatican II is, like, the core piece of it was the idea that the church must engage in dialogue with the world. Quote, not to conquer, but to serve, not to despise, but to appreciate, not to condemn, but to comfort and save. And I don't feel like these kids really knew that part. And if you're gonna be Catholic, I need you to know that part.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay, well, if you think about Vatican 2 being in the 60s, it really makes sense that they're kind of like, let's disregard this. Because it comes along with all the stuff that we don't like that we kind of want to turn back anyway. So it's just kind of easy to be like, well, if you just skip over Vatican ii, you get the thing we want again. And you know what really gets me about all this stuff is that, like, the idea, like, we haven't mentioned God once in this conversation. Like, it's supposed to be about you and the God.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

No, that is. But have you guys. We actually talked about on Hysteria last week. Have you clocked the new. It's not new. It's pretty new. The conservative website, the Conservator. No, you guys, it is the one.

[V Spear]

With all the businesses.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yes, I did. For the right. For maga.

[Sammy Sage]

It's like Evie, but if it works. Chica.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yes. So Evie, I feel like, is very Cosmo glamour, and Conservator is feeling very vogue, but there's so much. Again, they're never talking about God, but it's like this woman of faith did da, da, da, da, da. And every. It's really wild. It's just. Just the face. Faith, Sammy. Just faith.

[Sammy Sage]

I have faith.

[V Spear]

See, that's evangelical, though. We can't do that. And then they want to come over here, and they're like, I talk directly to God. I was like, no, no, no. You got to go through your lineup of saints first and your guardian angels, and then maybe you can bother Jesus, mother, But you don't go straight to Jesus. You could go to Mary. It's kind of like, tops for you, you know?

[Sammy Sage]

When do you get to go to Mary?

[V Spear]

Well, if you're having a woman problem, certainly. Right. Women speak to Mary, right? Mary's very important, but you can go to her. You go to Jesus's mom for some help. You go to St. Anthony. If you go to St. Christopher. If you're traveling, you know, you got. You got different people for different things. You can't just come into the church with your shoulders and your knees showing and say, I'm talking directly to God. Like, that's not how we do it over here.

[Sammy Sage]

We got a lineup. Does it bother them that you go to these other figures? Like, do they consider that to be, like, polytheistic?

[V Spear]

Yeah, they think it's. Well, that's the problem, though, because that's the difference between Catholic and Pentecostal and all these other things is the Catholics do the saint lineup first. We got all these extra helpers. Right, Right. And they're like, well, I have a direct relationship with God. I was like, the hell you do. You got to go through the Trinity and you got to. You got to start at the beginning, Guys, who's your confirmation saint? How did you pick them? Did you just pick your grandmother's name like most of us? Did you actually research Vitus?

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yeah, it's great.

[Sammy Sage]

What was Vitus known for?

[V Spear]

Vitus was the patron saint of singers, dancers, and actors. You picked your confirmation Saint when you're 13.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

That's wonderful.

[V Spear]

Yes. I made it my legal name, which is.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yeah, yep.

[V Spear]

And he also liked dogs and left home at 13. And I was like, you know, an angsty 13 year old. And I was like, vitus, I'm picking it. And now it's a character in the Hunger Games. It was a very obscure saint when I picked it.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Wow.

[Sammy Sage]

Very cool.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

You made Vitus happen.

[V Spear]

I did. I made Vitus fetch. And now I feel like. I fear that my TikTok fame has brought these aesthetics to the Catholic Church. I feel like I may have been a gateway.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, you think you were like an influencer by accident?

[V Spear]

Yeah, I accidentally Catholic influenced the radicalized Gen Z.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, you should maybe like, be more overt about your saint obsession or something, cuz they might be like, ooh, I don't know. Okay, we are pivoting from the Pope and we are talking about Democratic comms. Everyone's favorite conversation.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Another thing being poorly litigated.

[Sammy Sage]

Here's the thing. No, no, no, no, no. You're here for a reason.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Because you know stuff to rake me over the coals.

[Sammy Sage]

No, definitely not.

[V Spear]

No.

[Sammy Sage]

You're going to do the raking, actually.

[V Spear]

Oh, well, this show is like show and tell. Okay. I just showed and telled about Catholic. Now we're going to show and tell about Democratic.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Let's do it. Okay.

[Sammy Sage]

Alyssa, so you've. You're very familiar with how things really work in the party. Like, fair enough. Yeah, yeah. The behind the scenes.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

But let's be clear. No one calls and asks my advice.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, that's their problem. Maybe that's the problem.

[V Spear]

Perhaps.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I'm just saying. I'm just saying anything I say is just of my own free. I. I have never spoken. I have spoken to anyone in years.

[Sammy Sage]

Well. Well, that's actually the problem. I think we're going to learn from this. And maybe. Maybe after this they'll put you in charge. I don't think they will because they are obsessed with being in charge themselves, but maybe they can be wrong. Okay, so let's talk about, like, technically, the party is failing in terms of its communication not going great. I think that can be widely agreed upon by the American public and most people who kind of exists on this.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Base, as evidenced by the fact Democrats have a lower approval rating than Republicans right now.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes. And even though Trump is losing. Losing points in his approval rating, it's not like those points are getting transferred over to the Democrats. He's just losing them. The Democrats aren't gaining it.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Everyone's. Everyone's in the toilet.

[Sammy Sage]

Bad. Bad and deserved. But okay, how does, like, the actual comms infrastructure work in the party? Like, whose job is it to be determining what the Democratic comm strategy is and why are they not doing it?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Well, you know, I think it's always changing. Right. But I think one constant is that in times when we have, like, thrived, we had very strong vocal party leadership. Right. We had a leader in the party. There is no. I think it's hard to argue that there's a leader right now. You know, and I was thinking about this the other day, but the only time that feels as analogous is right after 2000 when Clinton was weakened because of impeachment, Gore had lost. We still, I think back then, Ed Rendell, who had been governor of Pennsylvania, I think he had been governor at that point, you know, was head of the party, very strong, like, like, almost like Tony Soprano, esque, Mafia, get in line. You know, that was always sort of the thing about Rendell. And, you know, I think that helps. Right. Even though we didn't. Even though then Clinton and Gore were both weakened, leaving the party sort of in a bit of a. In a bit of a spin, you had Rendell, who in within the party was such a strong figure.

[Sammy Sage]

What was he trying to get people in line for?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

So back then, you're getting people in line to raise money, you're getting people in line to take votes. You know, you're getting. You're unifying the party. He's the person. And again, far less, you know, mediums for media back then.

[Sammy Sage]

Right.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

But he would be the person on the nightly news, ultimately the cable news, which, you know, came just around that time. So that was different because he was speaking with one voice. Right. I think it will always be harder the further and further we go to have that kind of like, even though that was a I thought a weaker time because we didn't have either president or president or vice president as the leader. You still had. I thought Red Dell now. And you also had so few ways to communicate. So it was easier to get on tv, give the same message night after night, drive it home, pick the one good person who, who was your messenger. Now we have hundreds of elected officials who can get on Twitter and say whatever, whenever. Who or X whatever you want to call it Truth Social. Say whatever. Hopefully Democrats. Well, I don't know, maybe Democrats should be on Truth Social, but I think it is, it is harder now. And on top of that, you know, Speaker Pelosi and this is no knock on Hakeem Jeffries, but Pelosi had a sort of like Rendell effect. You know, she was the boss and I think that makes it a little easier. Was seen as the boss was at the time a good messenger on television for years and years. So now she has stepped back. Right.

[Sammy Sage]

Right.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It takes someone a minute to take the helm in a way that is as you know, we don't think of Pelosi. We didn't think of Pelosi 10 years ago as we kind of do now. Right. As someone who had that sort of hold on.

[Sammy Sage]

It's also different. Cuz I don't think her messaging is like the strike. Her strike.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

No, not now. But look, I feel comfortable saying this. I loved being White House Deputy Chief of staff. I knew when I was running out of gas and I left. Right. So I hold other people to the same standard and I don't feel bad about that. And so I think that the problem now is there. It's. So everybody's one. Everyone's kind of new at their jobs. Right. We have a new DNC chair. Hakeem Jeffries has been speaker for or leader for two.

[Sammy Sage]

Two years.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Two years. Right.

[V Spear]

And like has he. Pelosi still running so much behind the scenes.

[Sammy Sage]

But I think she's trying to help him.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I do think she wants. I 100 think she wants him to succeed.

[V Spear]

I think she does hate account on my side.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I know you be. I know you be. But hear me out. Hear me out. For any of us who have a position of leadership who have a. We have a stake in the person who comes up behind us doing sure. Well. It is a reflection on her if he, if he does not do well. I think, I think with her she.

[Sammy Sage]

Has a very particular set of skills and, and she. Part of why she was good at messaging on TV at the time was because she could actually Whip votes into a strategy. And now she had the caucus right now without. Look, we know that she's actually quite strategic. She did get Biden out of the race. Like, let's be clear, that was really. It was her. Like, she drove it with her. Sounds like she did. Like, and when you actually look at, like, what points were, like, inflection points of him getting out, it was because of her. Like, there was no one else who was pushing it. Like, she was where she. Like, he could have recovered and she was like, you off. And she still has it. It's just that she doesn't. She's functioning in a world that is no longer working like she is. And what you said about, like, they can go on TV and they can just, you know, back in the, you know, the 2000s, like, they could go on TV and it's like, there's a few channels for messages, so only a certain number of messages are going to get out.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Exactly.

[Sammy Sage]

But now they're competing with endless messages from everywhere, every week making messages, me making messages. Crooked media. Like, right, everybody. And then every elected official or not. And then I think what you end up with is, like, these algorithms and you end up with the right wing, which you look at any of those charts and bubbles, like, they have all of them, the impressions. And so it's really hard to break through, especially if you don't have someone who on the Democratic side can, like, really galvanize people.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Right.

[Sammy Sage]

And it's such a big tent and people are so mad at each other.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Everyone's. Everyone's. The family's fighting.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Right. The family's fighting. It's like the family stone. And we've brought it to real life. Oh, yes. And I think that for now, what would be great is if everyone could look to someone. I was really blown away. I was. I guess blown away is the right word. By Mayor Pete's. I always call him Mayor Pete.

[V Spear]

I think he's a cute.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

By Secretary Buttigieg's appearance on Andrew Schultz.

[Sammy Sage]

Still stick with Mayor Pete. It's like there's something about it.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

There's something about Mayor Pete that I think. I do think it works.

[Sammy Sage]

Good brand.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

But he was succinct. It was cause and effect. It was like, here is what Trump. Multiple things. Here is what this country needs. Spoken in the roads. You can get to work on a school that you can afford for your kid. I mean, like, very fundamental things. And he told you what Trump promised and how he was failing. And to me, it just needs to be like, That I thought that that was such an appealing message. I wanted everyone to listen to it, because if Democrats could say that people in every state will listen.

[V Spear]

Okay, so on that point of using influencers and podcasts and whatnot, there's been criticism of, like, Gavin Newsom and going on the right wing. Pete and going on the right wing. This one, and going on the right wing. And then there's what the Democrats have assembled as like the Democratic influencer class of people where they're bringing in creators, maybe TikTokers or YouTubers and they are getting access usually in some basement of the Senate building, and they are just round robin making content for like six hours with these tiktokers and folks like that. What do you think about that strategy for Democrats? Or is this another thing where it's like, oh, too many messengers.

[Sammy Sage]

No, no, no, no.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yes to that. Yes to that. It is the message everyone should be delivering on those platforms that I think needs to be clear, humble, basic, and also aspirational. Right. I think that's really what Mayor Pete laid out, which if everyone took a version of that in their own authentic language, I do not want Jasmine Crockett speaking like Mayor Pete. Right. But she does deliver a very similar message in her own way, which I also think she's a great messenger in the party because people want. You know what it's like, Vee? Like, I look at. I want everyone to talk to as many people as they can. But there was some, like, weird dance challenge.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, my. Oh, choose your fighter.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Choose your fighter. Okay. See, there are just certain people who shouldn't do that. Or if you're gonna do that, do it in a way that is like.

[Sammy Sage]

That's like.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It's like me when I dance. You know what I mean? I'm in on the joke. And I think that people just need to stick with what is authentic to them. That works.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah. And not use a trend from like.

[V Spear]

Here's where that fails, though. See, this is where I get a little jealous of the way that the Democrats will treat a right wing influencer versus, say, like a left wing or me influence. Like, when Pete went on that show, he did, he did not get to control any part of the conversation or what that. Or have to present questions ahead of time or have to clear when they bring Democratic influencers or creators in. It doesn't happen to me per se, but I've seen it happen down the line, especially with younger creators where they're like, well, what questions are you going to ask? Well, in what order? Well, what day is this coming out? Well, at what time? Because they're essentially just stacking their buzz talk points at these creators. And I wish that they would in some ways give the trust to the Democrat, to our side.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Right.

[V Spear]

That they give to the right side so that these people can be authentic and get into a conversation and then we don't end up with stuff like that.

[Sammy Sage]

They treat the demo creators like you're our megaphone and like we know that you have these, these values and these views. So therefore just give us the microphone.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

And I agree that's where it falls down. Because then the medium doesn't work. Right, right. The message doesn't work and the medium doesn't work because the people who come to it look at it and they're like, you fake ass bitch.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah. I think that the thing.

[V Spear]

Well, they almost become more impressed with the right wing stuff. Like, you'll see Pete on the right wing podcast got a ton of extra coverage where Pete on maybe like the Midas touch, it doesn't go as far. Why, why aren't they pushing it as far? Why aren't they as impressed?

[Sammy Sage]

Because he doesn't need to explain, explain anything revolutionary to the Midas touch, guys. It's just like, how fun is it to have be like, yeah, I agree with you. Yeah, I agree with you. Yeah, I agree with you.

[V Spear]

Right.

[Sammy Sage]

It's like, that's not interesting. You have to either like spill tea. And like I've said when people ask for like elected officials to come on here, I'm like, are they gonna make news? Like, unless it is someone like Jasmine Crockett who is an incredible, an incredible communicator. And I actually just and literally was.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

On both of our podcasts in the last month because she's terrific.

[Sammy Sage]

She can say anything. And I'm going to, I'm going to share. I actually was last week we had her on here, I interviewed her and then the next day I'm part of this, I'm part of this pack in in New York. Basically they help to get mostly like Women elect it is. They're looking for women to get elected on the national stage. They pick a few candidates and they have like a great win rate. So she came to like intro like meet these people and it's honestly like a bunch of 85 year olds on the upper side like, like a bunch of old Jewish grandpas and grandmas and like, you know, and the way that she was able to speak to this room as herself. Ex. Not missing a beat. No, no changing no, like code switching. Not that there would be anything wrong with it if she did, but there was like the way that she was able to embody herself and speak in the exact same way and like level with these 85 year olds. The same way that she could come in here and talk to us in the same way that she can sit on the Oversight committee and confront things like, she is the real deal.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

And there are people who, I think the most effective communicators are the people who have been. Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders has been speaking the same speak since I was an intern in 1994 and well, well before that. And it's because he doesn't waver. So people trust him, right? They don't hear different things in different venues. They don't hear a different affect. They don't, they don't hear that. So they trust him. Barack Obama. Yeah, Barack Obama. From the day I met that man. He, he does not speak differently to different groups of people. It is right, his, he speaks the way he speaks. And sometimes people would say, oh, you know, he's aloof. And it's like, no, that's just, he's just matter of fact just telling you.

[Sammy Sage]

How it is so frigging cool. Why do you think this became so important? Like, like, why do you think over everything what someone who speaks like themselves has become like, at least for me, and I think for a lot of the electorate, like this, this, this bellwether of like whether they're good enough because you.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It's interesting because, like, let's go back again to 2000, right? People liked how George Bush spoke. Now some of us have a beer with him. Unintelligible. It was to have a beer with him.

[Sammy Sage]

He sounds like.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

So then who is next up? Right. John Kerry. He did. He was not a good. He's a very smart man. I worked on that campaign. I have known him for a long time. He is a empathetic, smart man. He was not a good communicator. So think of the juxtaposition. He's the president, presidential nominee, 2004, and who gives the best speech of the convention? Barack Obama. In a time when Democrats were so hungry for someone who was really gonna inspire them in a way. And I think that Barack Obama sort of, you know, Jimmy Carter before him, but didn't have the same kind of platform. Right. Also was not a. He was a plain spoken, good communicator, but he wasn't a soaring orator in the way that Obama was. And so I think that he came along At a time when people were really hungry for that. And now people, of course, depends on how old you are. But people of a certain generation, when you want to feel good and confident and inspired, you still may look back to that 2004 speech. And so I think we're just looking for that next person who can speak in that way and get us inspired and inspired about things that mattered and are achievable. And, you know, you don't have to have exponentially chaotic rhetoric to have people listen to you. Right.

[Sammy Sage]

Right. Well, depends.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Well, if. Well, I guess it's true.

[V Spear]

I think Cory Booker's trying to be that person right now.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Right.

[V Spear]

I think. Well, it depends. Right. I think he hits with people who have the attention span to understand what he's doing. And the historic, monumental ness of something like beating Strom Thurmond's longest running speech on the floor and the importance of him sitting on the Capitol steps like two black men sitting on a stoop talking about how they're going to fix their neighborhood is important. And what he did with Hakeem Jeffries had a bigger meeting. I'm not sure always that it does really well with millennials and older. I see a lot still of them not getting the Gen Z folks to see it as important or connectable on the level that I think we need to, because Gen Z tends to be so quick to be like, that was performative. He's doing it for attention. And it's like, yes, of course we are bringing back a segment that we had a lot of folks want us to bring back known as Delulu Girly of the Month. And this is where we are going to talk about somebody who is so wildly delusional that they deserve an award and recognition, both as, you know, the cultural touchstone that they are and the cautionary tale that they'll become.

[Sammy Sage]

All right, I guess I'll start my dulu. Girly of the Month is a perennial Delulu Girly. It is none other than President Donald Trump. And there's always a new reason why he's Delulu. But the reason I'm choosing this month is the tariffs. And what I've realized is that the belief in tariffs is the closest thing this man holds to spiritual faith. And he has, like, you know, this is the only thing that he has, like, solidly just continue to believe in for as long as he's been speaking. Like everything else, he has flip flopped on. Not the tariffs, though, not the tariffs. So despite the fact that everybody, every economist, every, you know, anyone with a Calculator can tell you that this is a bad idea what he is doing. And he is destroying the global economy and are standing on the world stage. Yet he is continuing because he is Delulu and he thinks that this is going to help.

[V Spear]

Although he's adding them.

[Sammy Sage]

Although, let's be real. Oh, right, we just got one on the movies last night. But let's be real. This is because they want to set up a parallel economy. So they don't care if they weaken the United States economy. They want their sovereign wealth fund.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Right.

[Sammy Sage]

And their external. External revenue service and the crypto reserve. That's going to be the new economy, the new maga economy. So, yeah.

[V Spear]

Do you think it'll stay though, Alyssa, or do you think that that will crash? Like, should I buy some meme coin or is this just gonna bankrupt the magazine?

[Sammy Sage]

How'd the Reichsmark do?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I feel like it's gonna go tits up at some point.

[V Spear]

Tits up in the butter.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

That's. I mean, honestly, I just, I have a hard time seeing anything that like Don Jr. Is loosely in charge of going super well, maintaining. Yeah, yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

It's all like a Ponzi.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Well, and it's also not even Ponzi. No, but it is. It's like they. Bunch of dope people, they tipped him off. Trump announces it. Like it's. It is. It's like buried right V. Didn't they announce it? They announced the crypto coin on like Inauguration day or whatever. So it was buried in the news. People didn't pay attention the night before. And then the crypto ball they all sold after all these poor Americans who, who, you know, voted for him for the price of eggs, they go and buy the coin because he tells them they're going to get rich. And then he tipped the. Then somehow there's a mass sell off event and a bunch of people make hundreds of millions of dollars and other people lose all that money. Like, it just feels like fool me.

[Sammy Sage]

Once, fool me 85 times. The thing has been doing it. I know, but since he has lived on this earth as an adult.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I know, but you know, every time somebody gives money, you hope that, you know, this is. People probably lost more money on this than a Trump steak, Trump vodka, Trump University.

[V Spear]

We got to find these people, right, who are willing to tell the story of like losing their money on the Trump coin because it just continues to be a thing. I mean, people bought the hawk to a coin and did better than the Trump coin.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Wow.

[Sammy Sage]

It's a rug pole. It's a Rug pull. Alyssa, Who. Who is your. Who is your dulu? Girly of the month, you guys?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Do you know? Wait, what's her name even? I just know. Human printer girl. Natalie Hart.

[V Spear]

Natalie Harvey.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, we know her. We've been wanting to talk about her for a while.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

You guys, what on earth is wrong? Okay, Human printer. This came out in several articles and in Michael Wolf's book, I think, over the past year. But she is known to carry a printer so that she can print out, which by the way, was found out because apparently she's not that good at her job. And she dropped her papers all over the plane once, and the reporters saw what she had printed out, which was like old fan blogs, memes of Trump, like out of date articles. Just like, total fan. A fan blog. Basically, she prints out a fan blog for him. Him. And. But I'm like, okay, well, what's her real deal? Because all of these articles were written because she was going to work in the White House. She had joined. She had been an OANN news anchor who then joined the Trump campaign and wanted to be so close to him that when they decamped to Bedminster, she stayed in the locker room because she wanted to be close. And when that wasn't close enough, she bartered her way into a maid's car. Quarter in the main, or she barter her printer, I have no idea. But she's. She's considered a threat by the Secret Service because she wants to be so close to him all the time. They tried, but here was my thing. I'm like, okay, well, all these articles. Well, all these articles were written because she worked in the White House, but I couldn't figure out what job she had in the White House. So I dug you guys. Do you remember in the west wing, Mrs. Lanningham, remember where Mrs. Lanningham sat? Yeah, that's where Natalie Hartzell sits, right outside the Oval Office. She's in what is called the outer oval, which means she has walk in privileges to the oval. There was a whole shtick about how people that Trump wanted to see, who he didn't want other people to know he was seeing, would text her. Now, this made me so upset because.

[Sammy Sage]

You guys, how is the Secret Service letting this happen?

[V Spear]

So all that, he tells them to let her stay?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I think, yeah, he's the one who's like. And they have eyes on her.

[Sammy Sage]

He thinks she's.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

But he's like, keep her here. But she is obsessed. Like, apparently they went to some NCAA wrestling tournament and he was like, oh, look at these guys. She was with him and he's like, oh, these guys are very handsome. And she, according to reporting, turned to him and was like, no, they're not. There is nothing about them that is handsome to me. Like, what?

[V Spear]

She's whack.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yeah.

[V Spear]

Her father. Her daddy's Christian. Yeah, no, her daddy's a big Christian real estate agent, and she's got an.

[Sammy Sage]

MP Christian real estate agent. What makes the real estate Christian?

[V Spear]

I don't know. That's just.

[Sammy Sage]

They come with. They come with a crucifix hanging already.

[V Spear]

And she has an MBA from Liberty University, so she's deep in the cult. She's deep.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Oh, and in the most do Lulu of all, in one anecdote, Melania Trump reportedly, quote, stumbled upon harp late at night in Trump's private quarters at Mar a Lago, an area that was typically off limits to those outside Trump's family.

[Sammy Sage]

Do you think she's like a hoe pixing it?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

But Hope was better at her own messaging. I think Hope is much smarter.

[Sammy Sage]

Hope had, like, a real job.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Hope had a real job.

[Sammy Sage]

Right? And this is.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Hope had a real job. But. But it was the same sort of closeness that feels uncomfortable to people looking.

[Sammy Sage]

You know what it is? It's limerence. Do you know what limerence is? Does everyone know what limerence is?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

What is limerence?

[Sammy Sage]

Oh. Oh, my God. Wow. I'm gonna. Okay, so limerence is like. Okay, how do I describe it? It's sort of like an addiction to a person. It's like a. Like more than a crush.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Okay.

[Sammy Sage]

Like, because people are. Can be limerent for someone they don't really know. Like, you could be limerent for someone you know very well. It could be limerent for, like, your own partner, but it's like they're addicted to the person and they. The attention they get from the person where it's like. Do you ever see, like, Notes on a Scandal, like, with Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, maybe. Okay. I'm trying to think of, like, other limerence movies like Bunny Boiling stuff like Fatal Attraction. Fatal Attraction.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

She was compared to Glenn Close by some in the Trump universe.

[V Spear]

It's like, it's like female.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes. Single white female. But it's like, it doesn't have to necessarily be, like, sexual. Like, a limerent relationship can exist between just like, someone in, like, the cashier at their who works at a grocery store. Like, you know what I mean?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

She is delulu for a lot of reasons, but mostly because I think that she must believe Her. The epilogue to her story will be different than everybody else's. I mean, he will. Ultimately, she will be the fall person for something.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, you know what she did do, it's on her Wikipedia. She is the one who. Remember when he posted a video that referenced the Unified Reich? She was the one who was responsible for posting that.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I saw that.

[Sammy Sage]

And yeah, and then also, she. She is quite obsessed with him, I think, because he instituted something called, like, a right to try law where people could try experimental.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

This is the craziest part.

[Sammy Sage]

And she says that without him, she'd have died. Like, he say she thinks he saved her life, which maybe he did, but.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Now he's defunding all that. That's my point. How could she. How could she stand. Like, that's maybe what makes her the most delulu. Is that this cancer trial that she got to try was. Was because of this law. Like, all of the things it was. It had not been FDA approved. Like, and she got to do it. And this is what they are defunding and taking away from everybody right now.

[Sammy Sage]

Experimental drugs for me, but not for thee.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It is outrageous.

[V Spear]

Caroline, I can't Vy. Who's your. Where is Laura Loomer come into all of this?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

She texts. So according there, yes, Lohmer will text Natalie when she wants to see Trump.

[Sammy Sage]

And. And she. And Natalie's like, yeah, you can see her.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

She comes in outside. She must come in outside. The Susie Weil, right.

[Sammy Sage]

Susie Wilde official channel, where we're like, the real meetings happen.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

No. Or is it. Or is it. The real meetings happen through Natalie. Laura Lohmer comes in, and Mike Waltz is suddenly usun.

[Sammy Sage]

Right. Right. I mean, they chase Peter Navarro out of the room. Peter, you unpackage so terrible. Yeah.

[V Spear]

I watched that Tara Palmeri interview of Laura Loomer. I think everybody should watch it. It's very unnerving when you get a long clip of these people because we usually see them just, you know, in little sound bites. When you watch her for, like, I think it's like, 40 minutes on Tara Palmeri's substack, it was like, that's funny.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

V. You and I get the same. We got fed the same emails this weekend because that one is bookmarked for me, too.

[V Spear]

It's really good. But it's like where your chest is tight the whole time. Like, you're afraid that somebody's gonna jump, scare you the whole time she's on the screen. It's sort of how I feel about Marjorie Taylor Greene in person.

[Sammy Sage]

She's Very like, who's your dulu girly of the month?

[V Spear]

V. It's Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio is mine. 1. Because I, you know when you, like, think that you're making a good decision about somebody that you should trust to be friends with and you're like, no, they'll be okay. They should be able to hang with the group. I was like that about Marco Rubio being sex Secretary of State or whatever. I was like, of all the choices, he'll be like, at least. The least bad of the choices. Maybe this will be an okay thing. And I was very wrong. This man is like full, drinking the Kool Aid and like fully participating in what's going on and now has like 19 jobs. Trump has made him little Marco a big part of his.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

But you know why I think that is?

[V Spear]

V. Do tell.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Now Marco Rubio will never be fucking president. Well, they have hung so many albatross around his neck. It is. I'm telling you. I think it's all just J.D. vance telling Trump what Marco should do. And Trump's being like, okay. They're all saying he's doing a good job. Because then Trump will be like, okay, he'll take it. But to me, this is a giant scheme to make sure he is never president.

[V Spear]

He'll fail. I mean, Trump yesterday said that he sees J.D. vance or Marco Rubio as his successor. So maybe, you know, he's got them WWE style fight back rooms.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

There's gonna be a pile driver somewhere down the line.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, I guess my question is like, yes, except who else would get that job? Like, who else could. Could viably do it?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

The National Security Advisor.

[Sammy Sage]

Who?

[V Spear]

Who?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It's easy.

[Sammy Sage]

He got fired.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

No, no, no. I know, but it's not a Senate confirmed position. They just have to appoint somebody.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, maybe there's no one who. Look, they have to vet that person for like, like loyalty to the. The crazy shit.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Right. And it's not that easy to Totally.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah, but, but, but it's not that easy, I think, to find people like, you know what I mean?

[V Spear]

They have.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

That. They were thinking of it being Stephen Miller. Oh, I had seen that on the Internet somewhere.

[Sammy Sage]

Isn't Stephen Miller kind of like already doing everything like that?

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yes.

[V Spear]

I don't know.

[Sammy Sage]

My belief is that he's kind of the orchestra. Orchestra. Orchestrator.

[V Spear]

He's. I should.

[Sammy Sage]

He's a conductor.

[V Spear]

He's the conductor. I might want to change my pick. I don't know. Maybe I want to change my pick to Mike Johnson, who's living with his preacher. There's so many to choose from. The Trump administration. I'll stick with Marco Rubio. But there's. When I think about. It's like give a mouse a cookie. Once we talk about one of them, then I remember a crazy thing about another one and a crazy thing about another one, and I can, like, never stop. And these people are running the country.

[Sammy Sage]

So who do we think should win this week's. This month?

[V Spear]

You didn't even mention with Trump that he did a photo of himself as the Pope. Speaking of Dula, you only did the tariffs.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

You know what that Trump wins the dululu.

[V Spear]

The Pope got away.

[Sammy Sage]

Pope is whoever's running that White House account.

[V Spear]

Who is it? How do we find out? I want to interview them so bad.

[Sammy Sage]

Oh, my God. Should we try to figure it out?

[V Spear]

What if it is Stephen Miller?

[Sammy Sage]

It's not. He. He doesn't Instagram.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Is it Dan Scavino? Is that.

[Sammy Sage]

I think it's a kid. It's a kid.

[V Spear]

It's someone who knows, but somebody younger.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Whoever. The person.

[Sammy Sage]

But the boss is just saying, good job. Go get him, kid.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Let me tell you something. Official accounts, retweeting political accounts. You guys, it's all. It's. It's daggers in my soul in so many different ways.

[Sammy Sage]

You know, it actually was supposed to warm my soul. If it had gone a different way, this would have been great.

[V Spear]

I know.

[Sammy Sage]

Just gonna say that he's.

[V Spear]

He's wild.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay. So that is Delulu girly of the month. It's Trump. May his Delulu never come true.

[V Spear]

Lulu. Yes.

[Sammy Sage]

Last thing we want to just talk about. I know we didn't get into this in the comms. Alyssa and I were talking about our sort of dream ticket. As of this moment, we don't know.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Just us being having a good time.

[Sammy Sage]

Let's say the election. If the 2020 election were somehow today.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Yeah.

[Sammy Sage]

We were saying that we think the perfect ticket would be Pete and Jasmine Crockett.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Amen.

[Sammy Sage]

What do you think?

[V Spear]

Ooh, I love it. I do love it. Straight off. What about. So AOC for Secretary of State? Like, no, she waits.

[Sammy Sage]

She's too. She's only going to be 38 during this election. I think too young. And I think that her message. Like, I don't think she has enough time to sell herself.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I think she thinks she's a great messenger, like, as she is now. There's the Senate in New York. There's governor in New York coming up. I feel like there are other opportunities for her to do Even more and be more visible if she wants to.

[V Spear]

True, true.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah, I think so.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It's not a Holding her back.

[V Spear]

I might challenge your ticket with. With a. With a J.B. pritzker presidency. I wanted to say Gretchen Whitmer, but obviously it can't be both of them. Why?

[Sammy Sage]

I don't know.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I love JB though, too. These are all.

[Sammy Sage]

You know what I think, jb, Chris.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

We'Re picking all people who we like to listen to.

[V Spear]

That's true.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

We love.

[V Spear]

And I like that he dressed up.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes.

[V Spear]

For the Star wars day.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes. I think, I think Jamie Pritzker would be very, very good. I think that, like, I wonder if he has the. It. Like, I think he's great, but does he have.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Mayor Pete, to me, has the ability to explain issues the way Barack Obama did?

[Sammy Sage]

Yes.

[V Spear]

Yeah.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Thoroughly, thoughtfully. You may not agree with him at the end, but you trust him. You've trust him.

[Sammy Sage]

I think what it is, is like, he. Okay. My belief is that America, the Americans, when you're in like a kind of 5050 situation, which we have been for a long time, the things they want to hear are competence and they want. They. They want liberalism without the intense social war.

[V Spear]

Like.

[Sammy Sage]

Like, they want the freedom of liberalism that let live and let live vibe. But they don't want, like to have it in their faces. Like, they don't. You know, I think it's like the wokeness in people's faces was more offensive to them than like, whether the actual policies of quote, unquote, wokeness were going to be enacted.

[V Spear]

Like, if you didn't talk does then. Right. Because Pete Buttigieg comes with Chasten. And that could, that could go. That could go either way. Sometimes Chasten. Chastain or Chasten. Sometimes Chastain gets in there, you know, in. In fights and different stuff. And it could. I don't know. Is Chastain the new Jill Biden? I don't know.

[Sammy Sage]

Well, people might like that. Like, people might find that, like, I think that there's something very.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It's authentic.

[Sammy Sage]

I don't know. You can see both. Like, I can see them being more like likable as a couple than like, who you just said. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[V Spear]

We'd have to see. Yeah.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I don't know. Good choices. Yeah, right.

[Sammy Sage]

You know what?

[V Spear]

We could be a ways away. We'll see.

[Sammy Sage]

We are a ways away. We are. We have like three years. There could be a totally new person.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Oh, no, no, no. Someone's going to announce somebody.

[V Spear]

We know.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Someone's going to announce in a year.

[Sammy Sage]

Somebody we don't know. I'm saying, yeah, someone will announce in a year.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Someone will announce in a year.

[Sammy Sage]

Is that I. I've sort of.

[V Spear]

I've. I've also kind of, like, pulled away from the Democratic Party overall. I now work with the Working Families Party, which of course caucuses with the Democrats and whatnot. But I've just enjoyed being in that group more than, like, the DNC group. You know, DNC is kind of messy. Working Part Families Party is, like, a little bit cooler. So maybe we could get them a bigger platform and folks would like their candidates.

[Sammy Sage]

My thing is that I pulled away from all parties and everyone can go fuck themselves. Sorry.

[V Spear]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

And I just want to make everyone love each other.

[Sammy Sage]

Yes, exactly.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Right.

[Sammy Sage]

Why can't we all just get along?

[V Spear]

Maybe our pal Marianne Williamson will get back out there. I mean, she was fascinating.

[Sammy Sage]

Yeah. But, you know, not for president.

[V Spear]

Now, this is.

[Sammy Sage]

Again, people need to stop looking for.

[V Spear]

Like, a final secretary job.

[Sammy Sage]

President.

[V Spear]

I know. I'd give Marian Williamson, like, secretary of something.

[Sammy Sage]

She's.

[V Spear]

She's got what now? Look at who we have now. I mean, I put her in charge of a lot of different. I think she's pretty interesting lady. I'd put her on something.

[Sammy Sage]

Put her on, like, the arts. She'd be Arts Council.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

I mean, guys, fundamentally, she'd be better at HHS than rfk.

[V Spear]

That's what I'm saying. She's at least. Yeah, she's at least knows how to organize around it. She's met sick people before. He's guys roadkill. And had his sister lobotomized. Like, I'm not trying to. You know, again.

[Sammy Sage]

I will never understand going to Brooklyn for Peter Lugers and then back to Central park and then Back to J. LaGuardia.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

Or J.

[Sammy Sage]

Okay. It doesn't make any sense.

[Alyssa Mastromonaco]

It doesn't make any sense.

[Sammy Sage]

Anyway, shall we?

[V Spear]

All right, well, until next time, I'm V. Spear.

[Sammy Sage]

And I'm Sammy Sage.

[V Spear]

And this is American Fever Dream.

[Sammy Sage]

Good night.

[V Spear]

Betches.