A Cry For Help

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: A Cry For Help
Date: December 10, 2025
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

This episode of Armstrong & Getty centers on the state of American politics and culture, economics, and some uniquely “Armstrong & Getty” lighter moments. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty dissect recent political developments, the 2024 campaign landscape, economic anxieties (especially inflation), cultural phenomena, a quirky discussion on America's favorite dogs, and, with classic irreverence, touch on government inefficiency and bureaucracy.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Trump’s 2024 Rally Tour and the State of the Economy

• Trump’s Self-Evaluation: Trump is making the rounds with campaign rallies, giving himself an “A plus plus plus plus” on his economic record.
  • “That’s Trump’s grade of how well they’ve done on the economy so far this year in an interview. A plus plus, plus. Typical Trump salesmanship.” — Jack Armstrong (01:39)
• Disconnect Between DC and Public Perception: Hosts argue most Americans don’t share Trump’s rosy view, noting persistent economic malaise.
  • “The reason he’s doing that is because most Americans perception of the economy is definitely not a plus plus plus.” — Joe Getty (02:09)

2. Midterm Projections and Political Patterns

• Cyclical Power Swings: Discussion about the near inevitability of the president’s party losing the House during midterms, referencing historic trends since the 1990s.
  • “President wins and then the other party wins. Okay, so big deal. It doesn’t mean freaking anything.” — Jack Armstrong (03:40)
• Potential Aftermath: If the Democrats win the House, expectation is renewed impeachment attempts and increased gridlock.
• Realism Versus Media Narratives: Joe and Jack push back against hyped significance assigned to this cycle.

3. The ‘Democratic Tea Party’ Phenomenon

• Analysis of a piece by Gabe Fleischer arguing the Democratic Party is experiencing its own grassroots, anti-establishment transformation, comparable to the rise of the Tea Party in the GOP (circa 2010).
• Warning About Ideological Purity: Concern that ultra-passionate factions may nominate candidates who are unelectable in general elections.
  • “You try to say, wait, they have no chops. They say wacky stuff. They’re busted for shoplifting like two weeks ago, whatever. But because they’re the purest distillation of your movement, your movement says that's for us.” — Joe Getty (06:02)

4. Trump, ‘Affordability’, and Inflation

• Trump’s strategy of lampooning the Democrats' focus on “affordability” as the issue of the election.
  • “Going around mocking the word affordability is a terrible idea.” — Jack Armstrong (08:32)
• Hosts argue affordability is a “real problem” for voters that Trump would be ill-advised to minimize.
• The Federal Reserve is expected to lower interest rates, with the risk of reigniting inflation remaining a key concern.
• Political Stakes: Inflation’s resurgence could dictate the 2024 election.

5. Elon Musk’s Disillusionment and Government Waste

• Recap of a recent Musk interview about his failed attempts to cut government waste via the Department Of Government Efficiency (Doge).
• Musk admits shutting down even a fraction of waste led to strong political blowback and personal regret.
  • “If you stop money going to political corruption, they will lash out big time. They really want to keep the money flowing, he said ... I kind of wish I hadn’t gotten involved.” — Paraphrased from Jack Armstrong (17:10)
• Reflection on entrenched bureaucracy and “zombie programs” in federal spending.
• The futility of reform: “Profoundly discouraging, too.” — Joe Getty (20:23)

6. Lighter Segment: America’s Dog Obsession

• Presentation of the most popular dog breeds and names in America (report by Steve Kornacki).
  • French Bulldog is now #1, dethroning the long-dominant Labrador Retriever.
  • Top names by state include Luna, Bella, Cooper, Spot, and Daisy.
• Lively conversation on purebred vs. mixed breed dogs, the unpredictability of dog temperament, and the “in dog” phenomena.
  • “The purebred dog world talks about itself constantly ... the mutt world is like, yeah, I don’t have time for that. I just like dogs.” — Joe Getty (26:30)

7. Candace Owens, Turning Point USA & Online Conspiracies

• Quick, sardonic mention of accusations by Candace Owens claiming “the Jews have taken over Turning Point USA,” leading to hosts lampooning the hyperbole and absurdity of internet discourse.
  • “Oh, for God’s sake.” — Joe Getty (34:57)

8. Trump’s Rally & Energy Policy

• Trump’s closing message from his Pennsylvania rally: border secure, spirit restored, inflation stopped, prices down, America respected again.
  • Clip: “Our border is secure, our spirit is restored, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down, our nation is strong, America is respected again, and the United States is back.” — Donald Trump (36:05)
• Announcement: The Department of Energy will finance up to 10 new nuclear power plants to support the coming “AI energy boom.”
  • Debate over America’s historic resistance to nuclear power, and embrace nuclear as “very, very green.”
  • “You green people–yeah, go with nuclear power. That’s the answer, man.” — Jack Armstrong (38:32)
  • “The progressives of the 70s and 80s lectured us over and over again how we must stick with fossil fuels and don’t go with nuclear power, the only form of energy that contains its waste. Don’t do that. Yeah, it’s unbelievable.” — Joe Getty (38:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 01:39 | “That’s Trump’s grade ... A plus plus plus. Typical Trump sort of salesmanship.” | Jack Armstrong | | 02:09 | “Most Americans perception of the economy is definitely not a plus plus plus.” | Joe Getty | | 05:56 | “Because they’re the purest distillation of your movement, your movement says that’s the [candidate] for us.” | Joe Getty | | 07:54 | Trump mocking “affordability”: “But they use the word affordability and that’s their only word. They say affordability, and everyone says, oh, that must mean Trump has high prices. No, our prices are coming down tremendously now.” | Donald Trump | | 08:32 | “Donald Trump is a master at the rallies ... but going around mocking the word affordability is a terrible idea.” | Jack Armstrong | | 20:23 | "It's profoundly discouraging, too." | Joe Getty | | 26:30 | “The purebred dog world talks about itself constantly ... the mutt world is like, yeah, I don’t have time for that. I just like dogs.” | Joe Getty | | 36:05 | “After just 10 months, our border is secure, our spirit is restored, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down, our nation is strong, America is respected again, and the United States is back.” | Donald Trump (clip) | | 38:43 | "The progressives of the 70s and 80s lectured us over and over again ... don't go with nuclear power, the only form of energy that contains its waste. Don't do that. Yeah, it's unbelievable." | Joe Getty |

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• Trump’s Economic Self-Grade – 01:34–02:20
• Midterm Patterns & Expected Gridlock – 02:20–04:25
• Democratic ‘Tea Party’ and Candidate Quality – 04:35–07:29
• Trump Mocks ‘Affordability’/Inflation Talk – 07:54–09:07
• Fed and Inflation Worries – 09:45–11:31
• Musk on Government Waste and Disillusionment – 16:05–21:04
• Purebred Dogs vs. Mutts – 26:30–27:02
• Trump’s Rally Clips/Energy Policy – 36:05–39:21

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Tone and Style

• Conversational, irreverent, and unfiltered: The hosts frequently leap between critique, sarcasm, and wordplay, but always keep a deep skepticism of political spin and institutional dysfunction.
• Cultural commentary with a side of farce: Particularly in pet discussions and hogging on viral moments.
• Balanced cynicism: Moments of “cry for help” (despair over DC dysfunction) offset with playful banter and a constant search for pragmatic solutions.

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Summary Takeaways

If you missed this episode, you missed a lively rundown of how the nation’s economic mood, political churn, and even our pet preferences reflect deeper frustrations and oddities in America today. Armstrong & Getty remain at their best when musing—sometimes with exasperation, sometimes with humor—on what’s broken, why it stays broken, and the comically small places (like dog breeds and names) where we still manage to connect as Americans. Their “cry for help” is for sensibility, competence, and a little less tribal rage—though a dog or two wouldn’t hurt.

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For more deep dives and quirky conversations, listen to Armstrong & Getty On Demand, or subscribe for episode notifications.

Transcript

[iHeart Radio Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is Jim.

[iHeart Radio Announcer]

Hello.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jim started advertising with iHeartRadio way back.

[Joe Getty]

In April and now I have customers out the door.

[Jack Armstrong]

And this is Sarah.

[Joe Getty]

Hi.

[Jack Armstrong]

She started putting a portion of her marketing dollars in podcasting back in June.

[Joe Getty]

Business is booming. That's why I'm working on a Saturday.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wanna be like Jim and Sarah. It's easy. All you have to do is own or manage a business and reach out to iHeart. Get started today at iHeart or iHeartadvertising.com.

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[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty.

[Commercial Voice]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

But I do want to talk about the economy, sir, here at home. And I, I wonder what grade you would give.

[Joe Getty]

A plus, A plus. A plus plus plus plus plus.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's Trump's grade of how well they've done on the economy so far this year in an interview. A plus plus, plus. Typical Trump sort of salesmanship of just, you know.

Always spin everything the best direction. I suppose, why not? But so he did. He started traveling around the country at these rallies. He's going to do a bunch of them. And the White House said yesterday he's going to campaign this next year like it's 2024 for the presidential election, for the midterms.

[Joe Getty]

Well, it's worth pointing out the reason he's doing that is because most Americans perception of the economy is definitely not a plus plus plus.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. And.

I suppose you might as well try to win the House. I've never quite understood in the, in modern politics why we treat this the way we do. It's practically an axiom that you win the presidency and then the other party wins the House the next election. I mean, it practically happens every single time. So it's, you know, whenever they describe it. Will the Democrats take the House? Well, they're supposed to. That's the way it works. That's the way we do our politics for the past like 40 years. So, okay.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you want truthful and reasonable media.

[Jack Armstrong]

If they don't. It would be weird. So.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Them doing it doesn't mean anything. I always want the second sentence. The Democrats win the House, and that means what?

[Joe Getty]

It means a rejection of the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right. Yeah. Although if, you know, if an administration is kicking ass and doing great things, it doesn't, you know, necessarily lose the House, but it's much more likely. Yeah, we like gridlock.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think the country. Only time a new president hasn't lost the House in the last 30 or 40 years was after 9, 11. Right now, it ain't like back in the day. We're old, but Democrats held onto the House for like half a century. That's why when Newt and the Republicans took it back in 94, it was such a big deal because it hadn't been that way.

[Joe Getty]

But.

[Jack Armstrong]

But ever since then, President wins and then the other party wins. Okay, so big deal. It doesn't mean freaking anything.

[Joe Getty]

Quit.

[Jack Armstrong]

Quit. Predicting the history of America based on this one midterm election. So I don't find it very exciting. Trump's situation, though, is, and I don't know how much of it motivates him here, is that everybody believes if the Democrats take back the House, which they're supposed to, historically, they will impeach him and then he'll be dealing with that and that that'll muck up his last couple of years. It'll be hard to get anything done. In fact, Democrats take the House, almost gonna do nothing, I suppose. Executive orders here and there, but an impeachment. Oh, my God, I can't live through another impeachment. I just can't.

[Joe Getty]

You seem to be suggesting there will just be one.

How about two or three impeachments?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God. Probably right.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, you know, I came across a really interesting thought by Gabe Fleischer writes. Excuse me for the Free press is, has the Democratic Tea Party arrived? And he's describing how this moment for the Democratic Party is very, very much like the Tea Party. You got two thirds of Democrats say their own party makes them frustrated. They don't like the leadership anymore. All those numbers are really rising. Only 29% of Democrats say their party makes them proud. Then there's desire for the party to fight rather than compromise. Government shutdowns. There's even been some equivalent of the grassroots Tea Party protests and the no Kings protests down to the use of costumes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huh. Well, my takeaway on that would be, so Tea Party got going in 2010, and then five years later, Donald Trump becomes the nominee of the party. Does that mean we're a couple of years away from the Democrats nominating somebody really, really, really different in that they're just fed up with their own party?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, maybe. Definitely. They point out the flip side of that though was, and I remember this at the time, there are at least three 2010 campaigns that were seen as very winnable for Republicans until Tea Party wackadoos. And we're huge supporters of the Tea Party. Ok.

[Jack Armstrong]

These candidates though.

[Joe Getty]

Well, no, exactly. That's, that's the problem with like a super enthusiastic movement. Sometimes it's the person who's the most that, that everybody in that movement says that's our candidate. And you try to say, wait, they have no chops. They say wacky stuff. They're busted for shoplifting like two weeks ago, whatever. But because they're the purest distillation of your movement, your movement says that's the for us. And whether it's Christine o' Donnell in Delaware, Sharon Angle in Nevada and Ken Buck in Colorado, they beat the more conventional GOP people in primaries and, and then lost a winnable race. And they're, they're pointing out that the Democrats have got all sorts of wackadoodles like that, that Graham Platner guy in Maine with the Nazi tattoos and just.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did he win Kook.

[Joe Getty]

No, but he's running against the more establishment candidate and you got a handful of others of that ilk and you know, Jasmine Crockett for instance, they're never gonna win Texas anyway. But Jasmine Crockett, who is a con woman and a race baiter and an Instagram wackadoodle police blind, bad built Bush body says you, I don't think you can see right. Cause your big fake eyelashes are sagging your eyes or whatever. Marjorie. And everyone knows it and everyone knows it anyway. She's probably going to win against a more conventional candidate. So they may blow a bunch of winnable races just for the fervor of the woke left and the race bait and left.

[Jack Armstrong]

I want more of those kind of conversations. Real House members of Orange county sort of, I want more of that sort of stuff.

[Joe Getty]

You know, it's already half a joke. Let's just go all the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I did my big wind up and never got to my pitch. So Donald Trump traveling across the country doing all these rallies started last night in Pennsylvania. He's going to do it clear up to the election lots. Here's one of his big lines from last night.

[Donald Trump (clip)]

But they have a new word. You know, they always have a Hoax. The new word is affordability.

So they look at the camera and they say, this election is all about affordability. Now, they never talk about it. And I can't say affordability hoax, because I agree the prices were too high. So I can't go to hoax because they'll misconstrue that. But they use the word affordability and that's their only word. They say affordability, and everyone says, oh, that must mean Trump has high prices. No, our prices are coming down tremendously now.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think Donald Trump is a master at the rallies. He's one of the best, like, public politicians in the history of the country. But going around mocking the word affordability is a terrible idea.

[Joe Getty]

As opposed to pivoting immediately to the nature of inflation and how Biden oversaw the jacking up of the prices and they're trying to turn it around.

[Commercial Voice]

I just.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just can't believe he's going with that angle. That. Yeah, that word. That's a real word and it's a real problem. And I think about it every day.

[Joe Getty]

Everybody else sick? Yeah.

Yeah. You know, we frequently clash slightly on this. The extent to which some aspects of Trump's personality and presentation are why he has been successful, or to my point of view, more often he has been successful in spite of them. And.

He'S much better at running against the idiocy of Democrats. And there's plenty, plenty to run against then to defend his own record. He's just not good at it.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the Fed is expected to lower interest rates today, but it's not going to be a unanimous vote of the 12 members. They think it's going to be like 8, 4 to lower interest rates, but the other four saying, hey, inflation was worse last month than a year ago. We don't want inflation to come back. Lowering interest rates is going to bring inflation back. I hope they're wrong because we are going to lower interest rates this afternoon.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy. We've got a audio of Wolf Blitzer and mtg.

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[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want the. The interest rate to go down and make inflation worse. If that's what happens.

[Joe Getty]

That.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is there anything I can do to stop that? Me as an individual, I really don't want that.

[Joe Getty]

I don't want to beaver pelts or something.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want it personally. I don't want to. I don't want what it's going to do for our politics if inflation becomes, like, noticeable again in a. In a daily conversation. I mean, only thing that's going to matter this next year.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Politically speaking, inflation eclipses everything else. God, I'd say, oh, what are we going to get into next? There's so much to say. Oh, Ayatollah Khamenei. Khomeini. Khamenei has started tweeting in favor of women's rights, criticizing the West. How funny is that? In many Western countries today, tweets, women are paid less than men for doing the same work. That's how they are today, which is totally unjust. This guy has women dragged off the street and beaten and raped for showing their hair.

And he's criticizing the west for the alleged gender gap. That's hilarious. More on that to come.

[Jack Armstrong]

Elon Musk did an interview yesterday. He was asked a lot about Doge and whether or not he thought it was a success. And his answers were both depressing and refreshingly honest. I thought. And we can get to that also coming up. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

What is that? You're wonder?

That's a bunch of idiots.

[Joe Getty]

It's a bunch of cliffs.

[Jack Armstrong]

A bunch of idiots that should be hurled off cliffs and make those noises. That's a bunch of idiots in Portland who get together every week and scream it out how much they hate Trump.

Have some kids and you won't have time for this crap.

[Joe Getty]

I don't even have the energy to respond to that. How Portland is that? Oh, and look how enlightened you are. You're screaming about Trump. Why? Because you don't like him. And you probably think, what, he's the new Hitler? That's intriguing. Good Lord, I don't even have the energy.

[Jack Armstrong]

So, Elon Musk did an interview yesterday and he was asked about Doge. He gets asked about lots of things because he does lots of things. As the world's richest man, he's no longer convinced his crusade to clean up government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency, better known as Doge, was worth the chaos it unleashed. I can see why he would think that. He's deeply unsure whether his high profile stint running Washington's most memeable agency actually worked, says the New York Post in a wide ranging and at times philosophical interview on some podcast I had never heard of. Um, he said there was like probably a hundred, maybe $200 billion worth of zombie payments per year. He said, noting, dud Doge shut down only a fraction of it. Those are their payments that are go out for things that either don't exist or shouldn't exist. And everybody knows they shouldn't exist. Haven't been closed down officially yet or whatever. And they got about a, you know, a tiny percentage of it shut down. He said cutting off even that much cash came with serious blowback. If you stop money going to political corruption, they will lash out big time. They really want to keep the money flowing, he said. He said, I wouldn't say I was super illusion to begin with. He was asked if he was disillusioned. I wouldn't say I was super illusion to begin with. He shrugged before launching into a blistering critique of government spending.

Despite the heavy political talk, the ex owner frequently veered into the personal. He confessed that AI nightmares still jolt him awake many days in a row.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, if you're 20% convinced that something you're building is going to destroy humankind, which he is, I could see why maybe you'd wake up worried about that.

[Joe Getty]

I have not had an AI nightmare as yet.

[Jack Armstrong]

I had a radio nightmare last night. What was it? Oh, trying to hook up some equipment or something like that. Trying to get the microphones to work on the show and I couldn't or whatever. What does that mean? I've got a lot of loose ends in my life right now. I'm having trouble getting to work the way I want them to work. Family structure and all these different sort of things. It was clearly that I just couldn't get a task accomplished. The frustration of this is not coming together the way I want it to. I think that was right.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or I Ate spicy food.

[Joe Getty]

There is more of gravy than the grave about you. That's a quote from A Christmas Carol.

And the nature of diet versus bad dreams.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's two things interesting, I thought, in that Elon Musk interview. One, the fact that he.

Like lots of people, like lots of normal people who touch Washington, D.C. and have other things to do in their lives, they realize there's no fixing this swamp. You know, there are other people that go there and think, I need to be part of this. That's how I'm going to become rich. And they do. Lots and lots of people. But he's already rich, so he doesn't.

[Steve Kornacki]

Need to do that.

[Jack Armstrong]

He just. He just gave it a whirl and thought, man, people go nuts when you try to cut anything, including things that are completely worthless. He talks about how, you know, if I hadn't done that, people wouldn't be setting my cars on fire. So I. I kind of wish I hadn't gotten involved.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. You know, I think it's way more interesting than it seems or way more significant than it seems on the surface. That if I'm part of the swamp, profiting from it mightily and spreading out money, enhancing my own wealth and power.

Fiscal responsibility, even over there, it doesn't affect me directly. It's a zombie program. You know, whatever you're gonna fight. It reminds me of the Omni cause, where you got, you know, Native American lesbians standing up for Palestinian terrorists and whatever.

You can't let anybody cut anything ever.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, it's a. It's a.

[Joe Getty]

Or call for fiscal responsibility. I mean, that is the penicillin that would end your, you know, infection in D.C. sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's an example of. They came for the payouts to dead people, Social Security checks. And I said nothing.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the next thing you came for.

[Joe Getty]

The Department of the Interior, whatever that does. And I said nothing. Exactly. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then they came for my scam, and there was no one left to fight for me.

[Joe Getty]

It's profoundly discouraging, too.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, it is. And, oh, and I forgot to mention this. So I saw this portrayed in a couple of different mainstream organizations is kind of like a. Huh.

[Joe Getty]

Huh.

[Jack Armstrong]

He got his kind of. Kind of.

[Joe Getty]

We showed him.

[Jack Armstrong]

Exactly. We showed him. Dare try to step in and cut anything out of the government. What is wrong with you?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that's another interesting question. When tribalism leads people to defend the indefensible. I mean, literally indefensible, you cannot, with a straight face, be in favor of government waste.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't understand how being a progressive fits in with making sure dead people get their Social Security checks. I don't get it.

[Joe Getty]

It's a knee jerk tribalism like I was talking about. You know, I've got a really, really good, thorough, interesting, thought provoking description of what's going on with the whole Obamacare subsidy debate right now. And. And it's the sort of coverage you won't get anywhere else. And part of me doesn't want to even bother.

[Jack Armstrong]

Once again, Michael, it's number two cry for help. Second cry for help in one show.

[Joe Getty]

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Cry for I'm through with this crap.

[Jack Armstrong]

I think we got to do a wellness check.

[Joe Getty]

I'm gonna call someone during the break. Yeah, call anybody you want. Who gives a crap.

It's all for not. We'll all be dead soon. Wait, what? Nah. More to come. The most popular dogs in America has changed. Stay with us Armstrong and Getty.

[Steve Kornacki]

Manhattan Federal Judge Paul Engelmeier approved the release of all sealed grand jury transcripts and evidence related to the indictment and eventual conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell. He warns anyone hoping for new bombshells will be disappointed.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the judge that is seen the as yet unseen Maxwell document says there ain't nothing to see here.

[Joe Getty]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

But they're out. So pour through them. And then hit me with some of that great stuff like those pictures from Epstein island that came out last week in which.

Colin Jost joke was I remember being nicer than that.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Wow.

Ron DeSantis just designated CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations irreconcilable with foundational American principles. That's what we were talking about yesterday. At length Is Islam digestible for the West? Certainly there are some Muslim people who are, but Islam is a totalizing philosophy of life. Does it? Can it meld with Western civilization? An intriguing question. You want to hear more on that? Grab Yesterday's podcast. But DeSantis executive order said the Muslim Brotherhood's Islamist ideology is irreconcilable with foundational American principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness reflected in the Declaration of Independence of the United States Constitution. And the United States Constitution.

Goes into some detail. What do you say about care?

Care and it's Florida chapter vowed to pursue legal action against the state arguing that DeSantis order is defamatory and unconstitutional.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sounds like an Islamophobe to me.

[Joe Getty]

That's ridiculous. DeSantis move allows law enforcement investigate both organizations activities in the state and undertake all lawful measures to prevent Unlawful activities in Florida by the terrorist organization. I think that's probably because he's responding to the Free Beacon report. I mentioned yesterday that CAIR's political advocacy arm is operating without the proper licenses. It's violating the law in the 22 states it operates, raising money. That lack of legal authority could mean it's guilty of wire fraud, deceptive solicitation, false statements to the irs, and many other things. That should be interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can I.

[Joe Getty]

Their exec, their executive director, by the way, after October 7, said he was happy to see the massacre. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can I guess on the most popular dog you're about to tell us about?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I'll bet you'll get it because you're. You've got your finger on the pulse of American culture.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know about that. I just. I just know a number of people from a certain age group that have golden doodles.

[Joe Getty]

That's an excellent guess. An excellent guess. I. I think everybody I know with.

[Jack Armstrong]

A golden doodle says it's out of control, but.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, see, getting the hot dog, not. Not a hot dog, which is a delicious sausage treat.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

Hot dogs are dogs. Anyway, getting the hot dog. You are stepping into the lion's den. Too many animals in this metaphor.

Because.

[Jack Armstrong]

Very confusing.

[Joe Getty]

The disruptor. Got a whole damn zoo going on here. The disruptible breeders of America, all they pay attention to is, what is the hot dog? Then they crank them out as fast as they can. Never mind dad was a psychopathic poodle. And, you know, whatever, mom couldn't control her bowels. They just crank out these dogs as fast as they can.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, but I just. I've never understood getting like the in dog. I mean, it just.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know, I just think, you see it, neighbor has it, or on the street, and you think, oh, my God, that's a cool looking dog. And particularly if it's friendly or whatever. Yeah, it just. It catches on. It's like clothes.

[Jack Armstrong]

What is your dog, Katie? It's a.

[Katie's Partner]

He's a Havanese.

[Jack Armstrong]

A Havanese.

[Katie's Partner]

But I can confirm that most doodles, the mixes are psychos.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Because poodles are kind of psychos.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Can be.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. I don't. I don't know. I've.

What percentage of people, like, would never have a.

Mutt or crossbred dog and.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no. And why?

[Jack Armstrong]

And why?

[Joe Getty]

Well, it's funny because the purebred dog world talks about itself constantly and has shows the mutt World is like, yeah, I don't have time for that. I just like dogs.

[Jack Armstrong]

H. That's interesting.

[Joe Getty]

We don't dress up in fancy clothes and trot around rings in Manhattan. Anyway, the reason this came up is Steve Kornacki, a cheerful fella on NBC, is talking about the most popular breeds of dogs. Michael, can we start, please, with clip number 12?

[Steve Kornacki]

All right, so the judges have their favorites at the dog show. What about Americans at their homes all across the country? The most popular breed. We check onto this every year. What's the rankings for the most popular dog breed in the country? And look at this. Third straight year now it is the French bulldog clocking in at number one. This was a big change a couple years ago. They dethroned the Labrador retrievers, who had held that number one position for 31 years. But now it's the French Bulldog. This top five, golden retrievers, German shepherds, and the standard poodle. That top five is the same as last year.

[Jack Armstrong]

The standard poodle. I don't see those very often. You see those other dogs I see all over the place, but I don't see many standard poodles.

[Joe Getty]

No, that's the big poodle.

[Jack Armstrong]

I almost never see one of those. I see people walking their dogs at the airport, in the hotels all the time.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I'm racking my memory. We've got a lot of folks walk dogs in my neighborhood, but I don't recall seeing a standard poodle.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, number five, they said, must be in somebody. Must be in, like, Manhattan apartments or something like that.

[Joe Getty]

So, like, rappers and singers are big with the French bulldogs. Right? Didn't. Isn't that what Lady Gaga got kidnapped?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, French bulldogs. I see those every day.

[Joe Getty]

Those are very popular French bulldogs. They want 15 weeks a year off. They're constantly striking.

[Jack Armstrong]

They don't bathe.

[Joe Getty]

Right, exactly. There's more to the dog thing.

[Steve Kornacki]

Here's what I was looking forward to showing you. It's the names. And how about this? Not just the names. Who doesn't love a good map here? This is the most popular dog name by state and some interesting things here. First of all, a lot of dogs named Luna and Bella. I don't want to trip over our friend right here, but you could see here, the west coast, Luna, and a little bit on the east coast, too, down to Florida, most popular name, and then a ton of this dark green that is Bella. And then there are some states that are outliers. What is South Dakota the most popular dog name? It's winter. What do North Dakota and Delaware have in common. Not much, except a lot of dogs named Cooper. How about this? You know, Wisconsin. You think of Wisconsin as Dairyland. A lot of cows named Daisy. They also name a lot of dogs Daisy.

[Joe Getty]

There some outliers.

[Steve Kornacki]

Buddy in Hawaii, Spot in Alaska.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. You know, it occurs to me Steve Kornacki is the anti Joe Getty. We've got these really important topics that I've got all sorts of information, and they just. I'm so disgusted, I have no interest in talking about it. Steve Kornacki's beside himself with excitement, telling you which dog names are most popular in North Dakota. He can't wait to tell you that.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Spot hangs on as the most.

[Joe Getty]

Popular dog name in Alaska. Way to go, Alaska. Yes. Buddy in Hawaii.

[Jack Armstrong]

Buddy's a good name for a dog.

[Joe Getty]

Cooper. Our neighbor's dog is named Cooper. Cute little fellow. Bichon. Freeze, I believe.

You know what's interesting is he does not give a damn. He is the most apathetic dog I've ever met. You gonna come up and say hello? He doesn't care. I'll give you a nice. A couple of nice pets. Pet me or don't, I don't care. He says he is the most apathetic. That poor dog has serious ennui. My dog is like, hey, there's people.

[Jack Armstrong]

There's people.

[Joe Getty]

You want to go talk to those people? Let's go talk to those people. I'll bet those people want to pet me. That'd be great.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's go talk to those people.

[Katie's Partner]

My buddy had a dog named Cooper, and he was the exact same way. That's so weird.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Katie's Partner]

We used to call him Coop, and he would just sit there and look at us like, what?

[Joe Getty]

Katie, your dog's Frank, right? Frank?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[iHeart Radio Announcer]

Frankie.

[Joe Getty]

I like that.

[Katie's Partner]

Franklin when he's in trouble.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, of course.

[Jack Armstrong]

Our dog. We have many dogs out at the farm, but Big Z, who is an Australian shepherd.

He'S. He's slowed way down. I think he didn't. Doesn't have that much longer. He's been around for over a decade. But anyway, if every dog was like him, everyone would have a dog.

[Joe Getty]

Everyone.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, he's the greatest dog that's ever been. Then I've had other dogs that if every dog was like that, that no one would have a dog.

[Joe Getty]

Nobody.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nobody would want this.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right. Let's not get into your various dog philosophies, because this has been a lovely conversation until now. But you're right. Highly controversial.

[Jack Armstrong]

And perfectly makes sense.

[Katie's Partner]

No, no, no.

Not again.

[Jack Armstrong]

But so I remember when we got Biggsy.

Dozen years ago or whatever Australian shepherd, brew healer and oh, you're gonna hate that dog.

[Joe Getty]

It's gonna be horrible because they're high energy.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've found because I've had so many damn dogs with not only is every, you know, breed different within the breeds, dogs have such different personalities.

[Joe Getty]

So you can 100, you know, you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can have several that are horrible and several that are great. So I don't know, I don't know how you figure that out ahead of time. You just get hope to get lucky, I guess.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. When I made the idiotic miscalculation of getting two dogs from the same litter a number of years ago, it was wild to different Onyx and Ace were.

[Jack Armstrong]

One went to college, the other one life of crime.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right. It's terrible side I think about him. He's in Leavenworth right now. So a word from Omaha Steaks. Oh my gosh, what a great sale is going on right now. And the reason you care is this. You got somebody you care about. You really want to get them a nice Christmas gift. But they don't eat stuff. And so you paw through the Internet or look through stores, nothing stuff do they eat? You get with the yes, they eat. That's why you go to Omaha steaks.com especially during their sizzle all the way sale. You can get 50% off site wide at Omaha steaks.com sizzle all the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

50 off site wide. Holy cow. That's quite the deal. Plus our listeners get an extra 35 off with the promo code Armstrong at checkout.

[Joe Getty]

Awesome. Yep, it's terrific. Again, you'll need that code at checkout, but the quality of these steaks and burgers and everything that they have at Omaha Steaks is so good. It really is terrific. Say big on gourmet gifts and more holiday favorites with Omaha so much to choose from. Visit Omaha steaks.com for 50 off site wide during the sizzle all the way sale. And for an extra 35 off use that promo code Armstrong at checkout Terms apply C site for details. That's Omaha Steaks.com code Armstrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've always liked big dogs. My whole life I've leaned big dogs but since ended up with a pug sort of long story. There's a benefit to like a 10 pound dog. It's like barking at the a pest guy that was here the other day. You just pick him up, take him somewhere else. Anyway, you're going, we're going over here.

[Joe Getty]

You know, it's probably partly my manly self image is I make lumberjacks look like ballet dancers. I mean, I'm just. Just a manly, manly man. I've always liked big dogs too. You know, you're hunting type dogs and stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

You only have those. Like, what are those? One kind of pit bulls. They wear chains around their neck. You, you do that also?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, I walk down the street with like six of them. Yeah.

But you remember Allen, our old program director? Years and years and years ago, he would once in a while bring in his little. What was that dog? Little white fur ball, Shih Tzu.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just like saying it.

[Joe Getty]

Oh boy, everybody does. It might have been a Peking, I can't remember. But it was. It was the sweetest little dog. I mean, it was incredibly endearing. Sometimes he'd have it in his office and I got to admit, I thought, whoa, I've got to question everything I've held dear.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know if I'd use it to protect my meth lab, but its own way.

[Joe Getty]

No, indeed. No indeed. But I tell you what, I've. You know, they say big house, big bills, which is something you learn is perhaps you gain a bit of financial comfort in your life. Big dog, big bills and big problems. Like when you're traveling and looking for somewhere, someone to take care of it and that sort of thing too. So the idea of a little dog I could tuck away and you know, that, that seems kind of nice. But anyway, love dogs, love dogs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Moving along, it looks like the Jews have taken over Turning Point usa.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, for God's sake.

[Jack Armstrong]

According to a number of people, including Candace Owens.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, God, it's really, really, really. Unplug the Internet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Turning Point usa.

[Joe Getty]

I will miss searching for things. I will miss shopping online.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was Charlie Kirk's, you know, motivate young people Christian thingy has been hijacked by state actors under the guise of faith to infiltrate the evangelical church and push a US Zionist centered agenda.

And if you want more than that, you can go to Candace Owens Twitter feed.

[Joe Getty]

Get some shame, you charlatan. I'm serious. I'm ready. Either send me catalogs, all my favorite products that I buy online on a regular basis, or I will just write to you. Dear sirs, I am inquiring to see as to the possibility of getting your protein bars delivered. Delivered to my home. Enclosed find a check for, you know, whatever it takes. Unplug the damn Internet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, we got more on the way. Next.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Donald Trump (clip)]

After just 10 months, our border is secure, our spirit is restored, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down, our nation is strong, America is respected again, and the United States is back.

[Joe Getty]

That's Donald J. Trump toward the end of his big speech last night in small town Pennsylvania. It's part of the whole yes, we care about your kitchen table affordability stuff tour. We're critical of the length of it and the rambling lack of message coherence. But there was some really good stuff in there, I think. Play 64 for us, Michael.

[Donald Trump (clip)]

And now, after just 10 months in office, I'm pleased to report that America is winning again. Pennsylvania is prospering again, and I will not rest until this commonwealth is wealthier and stronger than ever before.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I thought he might have mentioned energy in that clip. He didn't. But the stuff on energy was really, really good and smart and practical and, you know, not just fossil fuels that are going to continue to be a huge part of everybody's economy until we have better green technology. It's just not ready. But the other thing I thought was interesting is the Department of Energy is just announced that they're preparing to finance up to 10, 10 nuclear power plants in an effort to usher in nuclear energy renaissance, according to the fabulous Energy secretary Chris Wright.

[Jack Armstrong]

10 new nuclear power plants.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah, I seriously think Chris Wright is a great.

Secretary of energy. But the agency will use its rebranded Office of Energy Dominance Financing. How trumpy is that? To provide low interest loans for reactors. It's going to be a nudge to an industry that struggled for decades to get new projects up and running because there's a lot of initial costs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do we know where the 10 are going to be?

[Joe Getty]

No, I don't think they mention any specific sites.

No, no, they mentioned AI and its voracious needs for power.

[Jack Armstrong]

The town of Glowing Yellow, Oklahoma, or.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, listen to you. What are you, Jackson Brown over here? Are you Bruce Springsteen?

[Jack Armstrong]

Have a baby with Six Arms Nevada?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, for God's sake. Why, why would you traffic in that foolishness?

[Jack Armstrong]

I can't believe it won. It won out. The whole rock stars against nuclear power thing won out. And we have been, we could, we could have adopted that many, many decades ago. And you green people, you work like fossil fuels perfected. Yeah, yeah, go with, go with nuclear power. That's the answer, man.

[Joe Getty]

The progressives of the 70s and 80s lectured us over and over again how we must stick with fossil fuels and don't go with nuclear power, the only form of energy that contains its waste. Don't do that. Yeah, it's Unbelievable. You just look, I like musicians and poets and dreamers. I really do. Throughout my whole life, I have. But I don't want you in charge. I really don't want you in charge. You're simply swayed by your emotions from moment to moment. So, anyway, I think this is a great program. I think nuclear power is an answer to a lot of our problems.

[Jack Armstrong]

Heck, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And it's very, very green. So, yeah, build them, bring them. You could paint the. The big stacks, the. The cooling towers. Maybe like pleasant murals or something like that. High school kids do a mural.

[Jack Armstrong]

Make them like the. The sphere in Vegas or like an eyeball or something.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, yeah. You know, these days you could cover them with really cheap LEDs. Right, right. Like they did with. It was at the Bay Bridge in San Francisco for a while. Was covered with LEDs, and they have different patterns and colors and stuff. Like, it was kind of fun, honestly.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, that reminds me, there's a house down the street in my neighborhood, Christmas house, that went huge this year. You can see it from blocks away. It's like the sun's coming up and it's mostly those LED kind of lights.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I don't know what it costs, but anyway, they've got it programmed to music, and it tells you which radio station to tune to. And you tune to the Christmas music station and then you can see that it's. That's flashing to the beat of whatever song you're listening to. But, man, it was so bright and just so much going on. I mean, I'm not epileptic, but I felt like I was gonna bite my tongue off or something. And it's just a little much. And I thought, what would be like to live here with all that all the time? I'd have my shades drawn.

[Joe Getty]

All the. Yeah, yeah, no kidding. The curtains drawn. Yeah. That's interesting that they would, like, promote a radio station brought to you by Q106 or whatever the heck.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's a common thing to do if you really go big. Have it tied into the local Christmas station so your music's people turn it on their cars as they drive by and you see that it's moving to the beat. Very cool. So Jesus loves that sort of thing.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, absolutely. That's known. It's right in the Bible. We do four hours. If you don't get next hour, grab it via podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand. Heck, you ought to subscribe.

Armstrong and Getty.

[iHeart Radio Announcer]

This is an I heart podcast, guaranteed human.