Boy, That Area Rug Stuff Was Interesting

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand - Episode: Boy, That Area Rug Stuff Was Interesting

Release Date: January 21, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Presidential Pardons Controversy

The episode kicks off with a heated discussion surrounding recent presidential pardons issued by both President Biden and former President Trump, emphasizing the contentious nature of these actions.

Biden’s Pardons:

• John Stewart highlights that President Biden pardoned his family members in the final moments of his presidency, stating, “[Biden] is pardoning his brothers, their wives, his sister, other family members” (00:24).
• Tim Carney criticizes Biden’s decision, questioning the timing and fairness: “Did you auto-schedule your pardons? And second of all, what the man? You're just pardoning your whole family. It's not a great look” (00:40).

Trump’s Pardons:

• The conversation shifts to Trump's pardoning of over 1,250 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol attack. John Stewart expresses his disapproval: “Trump could have picked a couple of protesters who were given too harsh a sentences, or maybe a lot of them. Instead, he decided to effectively declare the riot. Okay. And clear them all” (02:32).
• Jack Armstrong adds, “We have fashioned a system where if you are favored by the president, you can do anything or have done anything, which ain't the way the system's supposed to work” (01:51).

Key Insights:

• Both hosts agree that the blanket pardons undermine the rule of law and set dangerous precedents.
• They discuss the lack of accountability and the bipartisan abuse of the pardon system, suggesting the need for comprehensive reform.

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2. Oval Office Redecorating and Symbolism

A significant portion of the episode delves into the symbolic changes in the Oval Office following the transition from Biden to Trump.

Changes Under Biden:

• John Stewart mentions that Biden had progressive symbols such as portraits of FDR, Che Guevara, and Karl Marx: “Biden had progressive hero FDR's portrait up and various labor leaders statues on his” (17:33).

Trump’s Redecorating:

• Jack Armstrong details Trump’s redecoration efforts: “Trump reinstalled the flags of all of our military services in the Oval Office. Biden had had them removed” (18:32).
• The Resolute Desk was adjusted to accommodate a new, more neutral area rug, replacing Biden’s blue one. Armstrong notes, “The blue rug Biden had used was swapped out for a more neutral one that Trump had used previously in his Oval Office” (16:43).
• John Stewart humorously criticizes the new decor, particularly the presence of a Churchill bust and the removal of MLK Jr.'s bust: “Churchill bust, even though Tucker Carlson's take is Churchill caused World War II” (15:45).

Symbolic Interpretation:

• The hosts interpret these changes as Trump’s attempt to reinforce traditional American values and distance the administration from progressive symbols, while also mocking the often superficial nature of such alterations.

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3. Rule of Law and Pardon System Abuse

Armstrong and Getty engage in a robust debate about the erosion of the rule of law through the misuse of the presidential pardon power.

Bipartisan Critique:

• John Stewart and Jack Armstrong argue that both presidents have exploited pardon powers to favor their allies, eroding public trust in the justice system. Armstrong asserts, “Both of them [...] we have fashioned a system where if you are favored by the president, you can do anything or have done anything” (01:51).

Case-by-Case vs. Blanket Pardons:

• The hosts contrast selective pardons with the blanket approach taken by Trump: “He could have picked a couple of protesters who were given too harsh a sentences [...] Instead, he decided to effectively declare the riot. And clear them all” (02:32).

Need for Reform:

• Jack Armstrong emphasizes the necessity for a bipartisan effort to reform the pardon system, potentially requiring a constitutional amendment: “I think we have the beginnings of a bipartisan belief we need to reform our pardon system” (05:16).

Additional Critique:

• John Stewart points out inconsistencies in how different political groups handle criminal justice, mentioning that left-wing protests see lenient treatment for their members while similar actions on the right face severe repercussions: “It's a whole race to the bottom thing” (04:24).

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4. Reflections on Political Polarization and Public Perception

The hosts explore how political actions and leadership impact societal norms and contribute to increasing polarization.

Violence and Accountability:

• The discussion touches on the violent actions during the Capitol attack and the subsequent pardons, with Stewart questioning the rationale behind pardoning aggressors: “I just do not understand that argument” (05:16).

Public Reaction:

• Armstrong and Stewart express frustration over the lack of uniform accountability, suggesting that excuses for wrongdoing have become normalized: “They behave with such contempt for those norms for years and years” (06:41).

Long-term Consequences:

• John Stewart reminisces about attending a Trump rally in 2016, noting how initial enthusiasm gave way to violence and neglect from authorities: “We predicted that at the time and here we are” (09:27).
• The hosts warn of an impending “race to the bottom” in law enforcement and public policy, predicting dire societal outcomes if current trends continue.

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5. Humorous and Lighthearted Segments

Interspersed with serious discussions, Armstrong and Getty provide moments of levity and humor, offering personal anecdotes and playful banter.

Gaming and Personal Life:

• John Stewart shares his struggles with losing at chess against his child, leading to humorous exchanges about parenting and competitiveness: “I realized this is not me encouraging the boy anymore. This is me fighting for my life” (13:07).

Oval Office Tidbits:

• The hosts joke about the supposed installation of a Diet Coke button in the Oval Office, playfully mocking the idea of presidential amenities: “The Diet Coke button is back, set up and ready to go” (14:19).

Technical Glitches:

• A segment where the hosts experience a technical malfunction during a playback of a speech, leading to comical frustration: “The clip died. I will try it again though. Let's see what happens” (19:42).

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6. Current Events and Political Appointments

Towards the latter part of the episode, Armstrong and Getty discuss recent political appointments and their implications.

Marco Rubio’s Appointment:

• Tim Carney reports on Marco Rubio’s unanimous approval by the Senate as Secretary of State, highlighting bipartisan support: “This guy, speaking for Trump, isn't just a MAGA guy. The whole Senate, half of which is Democrat, said, this is the guy we want” (33:55).

Rubio’s Foreign Policy Stance:

• Marco Rubio is quoted emphasizing an “America First” approach, prioritizing national strength, safety, and prosperity in foreign policy: “Does it make us stronger, does it make us safer? And does it make us more prosperous?” (35:02).
• The hosts dissect Rubio’s statements, arguing that foreign aid can be a strategic tool rather than mere charity: “Foreign aid is not charity, it's bribery if it's used correctly” (35:16).

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7. Audience Engagement and Closing Remarks

The episode concludes with interactions reflecting audience opinions and the hosts’ perspectives on political discourse.

Listener Feedback:

• Jack Armstrong shares an email from a listener expressing the desire to take a break from discussing Biden and Harris, to which he humorously agrees: “It's going to be a blank space in my life, a void for a while” (30:46).

Philosophical Musings:

• John Stewart quotes George Will, reflecting on the fleeting impact of political administrations on personal lives: “Most people realize around age 7 that the universe, under its current administration produces many disappointments” (27:16).

Final Thoughts:

• The hosts express concerns about the future of American politics, emphasizing the need for stability and the dangers of continued polarization and abuse of power: “If it continues to be a race to the bottom of lawlessness, it's going to end in a very, very ugly place” (08:57).

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Notable Quotes

• John Stewart ([00:24]): “From President Biden that he is pardoning his brothers, their wives, his sister, other family members. He says it's all just normal.”
• Tim Carney ([00:40]): “First of all, Biden, you're at the inauguration. Did you auto schedule your pardons? And second of all, what the man?”
• Jack Armstrong ([01:51]): “We have fashioned a system where if you are favored by the president, you can do anything or have done anything, which ain't the way the system's supposed to work.”
• John Stewart ([02:32]): “If you believe the videos, which I do, there are people beating on cops with sticks and clubs and stuff like that.”
• Marco Rubio ([35:02]): “Does it make us stronger, does it make us safer? And does it make us more prosperous?”

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Conclusion

In this episode, Armstrong and Getty navigate through the murky waters of presidential pardons, the symbolic gestures within the Oval Office, and the larger implications of political polarization on American society. Balancing serious critique with moments of humor, the hosts provide listeners with a comprehensive analysis of current events, urging for accountability and systemic reform. Their engaging dialogue, punctuated with notable quotes and personal anecdotes, offers both insight and entertainment for those seeking to understand the complexities of contemporary politics.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[John Stewart]

With just 20 minutes or so left.

[Jack Armstrong]

In his presidency, we've just gotten word.

[John Stewart]

From President Biden that he is pardoning.

[Jack Armstrong]

His brothers, their wives, his sister, other family members.

[John Stewart]

He says it's all just normal.

[Tim Carney]

First of all, Biden, you're at the inauguration. Did you auto schedule your pardons? And second of all, what the man? You're just pardoning your whole family. It's not a great look. Yeah, like any good captain as the ship is going down, Biden gave the order. That lifeboat is for my family. The rest of you can do just like a kind of Jack and rose thing. One on one off, 50, 50 shot. Biden, Audi.

[John Stewart]

John Stewart, not pleased with the Biden pardons. With the any criticized Trump's pardons, which we're about to talk about too, but just saying. So there's just no accountability for anybody, which is a little of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll withhold my, my umbrella comments until the discussion has gone, but I'd say between the two of them, we have fashioned a system where if you are favored by the president, you can do anything or have done anything, which ain't the way the system's supposed to work.

[John Stewart]

Yeah, no kidding. So Trump did his inaugural address, then he goes into another room with a bunch of more Maggie people and a more freewheeling Trump rally ish sort of thing before he goes to an actual Trump rally over at the basketball arena. He did three giant speeches yesterday, then three balls last night, dancing to 1am He's 78 years old and fat. His energy is incredible.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I can't relate.

[John Stewart]

That is amazing. But anyway, he said this at the little gathering after the official address.

[Joe Getty]

And I was going to talk about the J6 hostages. But you'll be happy because you know, it's action, not words that count.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you're going to see a lot.

[Joe Getty]

Of action on the J6RC.

[John Stewart]

And it was shortly after that that he announced that he is pardoning 1250 plus people involved in January 6, including the full complete and unconditional pardons extend to people who were convicted of some of the worst crimes committed the day of the Capitol attack. The group includes individuals like, and maybe some know some of these names. This person who assaulted U.S. capitol Police officer later pled guilty to assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon. Another person who hit a police officer with a metal baton. Another person who attacked police with A fire extinguisher, wooden plank and a pole. Tim Carney, who we used to have on the show a lot, writes for the Washington examiner, tweeted that out. With this comment, Trump could have picked a couple of protesters who were given too harsh a sentences, or maybe a lot of them. Instead, he decided to effectively declare the riot. Okay. And clear them all. I. Do you have any idea why he didn't go with more selective, like the people that did the actual most violent violence, Leave them alone. Which is actually what JD Vance said on a number of Sunday talk shows leading up to the election, that they weren't going to pardon the violent people, but all the rest of the people were overcharged, which I have. We have a family friend who was there who I believe was overcharged.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah. That's completely defensible and probably justified, you know, case by case. And JD and other Trump officials, I can't remember if Trump said it himself, said that's what they were going to do. Look at it case by case. It is very. It's impossible to justify. It can't be justified just out and out pardoning people who were beating cops down in the name of penetrating the Capitol to do whatever they wanted to do. The people who wandered in, looked around. I don't want them charged with anything.

[John Stewart]

Now, I guess those of you who say it didn't happen and it's all made up, there's no point in trying to have a conversation. But if you believe the videos, which I do, there are people beating on cops with sticks and clubs and stuff like that. If they had killed them, which it looks like you're trying to do, would you pardon that? I just, I don't. Anyway, so. So I got into the comments on this particular Twitter conversation and I thought it was pretty interesting in a number of different ways. First of all, a lot of this. Were they given blanket pardons going back to 2014? That's one of the problems with our current race to the bottom that we've got going with both parties is that each party abuses standards, norms, goes outside the Constitution, whatever, which justifies the other party doing it whenever they decide to do it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. Not good. I think, as I indicated earlier, we've got the beginnings of a bipartisan belief we need to reform our pardon system. But to you, a fair trial was.

[John Stewart]

Not given to these people. Okay. They served enough time. Interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

In some cases, I would agree. Yeah.

[John Stewart]

But again, case by case, a lot of it's over. Find another hopeless cause. Yawn. A lot of that sort of thing over this. I, I did not yawn at this. I thought it was an extraordinary thing that Trump did. But then this stuff was pretty interesting. Andrew, that was the reporter that tweeted out this information. Do you know that some Portland protesters on the left who attacked police and shined lasers in their eye sockets in 2020 got pre trial diversion in 2021. No court whatsoever. You do know that, right? Again, it's this whole race to the bottom thing. There's more of this and then we can talk about that. Biden pardoned his whole family. They will all ba ba ba ba ba this. It's awesome. Finally patriots are released. I don't understand how you find somebody beating police officers to keep you from ransacking the Capitol. Is a patriot. I just do not understand that argument. Yawn. Okay. Cry more. The mob boss pardons his mob. There's nothing new under the sun. You all are crying. And then somebody said now do the George Floyd riots. That's pretty good.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, 100% and it's not a good argument. Well, we've got to excuse beating cops because they excused beating cops. No, but if you have an entire system that is based on the idea of equal justice under the law, that all men are created equal and you know, I could, I could go down the list of this is. This is like the fundamental precept that the United States of America functions on and you behave with such contempt for those norms for years and years. Now if people are angry for the right reason, we'll let them do friggin anything and then act all outraged when the quote unquote other side does it. You have lost all of your moral authority. All of it. That doesn't make it right. You could certainly make the argument that we need to, we need to call the fouls on both sides, accurately. That's what we've been saying for years. Not excuse these fouls cuz they excuse those other fouls. But you're not wrong. What happened in Portland we were screaming about for months, 112 days in a row. Whatever it was. There was violence against cops at federal facilities night after night after night and it was ignored and or excused because they were angry about the stuff that the left says it's okay to be angry about.

[John Stewart]

Yeah. So another response in this line. Andy, this name of the reporter that tweeted out the information about the pardons. I think you are a reasonable and fair minded guy. Would you please do a long file on all the violent criminals that progressive left wing prosecutors all around this country let out on bail or gave pathetically weak sentences so they could offend again. Yeah. And so I look at this politically, not rule of law. Rule of law, you commit a crime, you gotta take the punishment, full punishment.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you don't get out.

[John Stewart]

But politically, surely you can understand how there's a big chunk of the country that sees their side being prosecuted for these crimes and the other side not being prosecuted for crimes so is not bothered when their side gets pardoned. Surely you can understand that there are.

[Jack Armstrong]

Precincts of the left in some of our major cities where you will not be prosecuted for assaulting a police officer preemptively. They just won't charge you. And so, yeah, we, we need to get a grip, folks, because if it continues to be a race to the bottom in terms of lawlessness, and you know, you can cast the blame where you want, it's, it's, it's really immaterial to my point. If we want to continue a race to the bottom of lawlessness, it's going to end in a very, very ugly place. Absolutely, Unspeakably ugly.

[John Stewart]

Absolutely. God, this goes way back. Speaking of Trump, I took my kids to a Trump rally early 2016. Gladys, this was before things had gotten ugly, back when it was still seemed like just kind of a fun, like going to the county fair when I. Cause my kids were young at the time. We went to the Trump rally in Sacramento, California at the airport. His plane flew in. It was so cool, everything like that. The next day he did a rally in San Jose and Trump supporters were beaten on the street, which is why I would have not taken my kids to a rally after that. Trump supporters were beaten on the street merely for having Trump swag on. And nothing happened. There were no, no, there were no. There was no outcry. There was no. Oh my God, we're not, this is not us. This is not our country. It was just okay to beat Trump supporters in the street. How do you think that's gonna turn out? If you allow that sort of thing, you end up going further down the road of outrage, of no rule of law. It just seems so obvious to me. We predicted that at the time and here we are.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[John Stewart]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

You are truly reaping what you have sown. It's not good. It's not good at all on either side. I don't like it.

[John Stewart]

So I wish any of these conversations, cnn, Fox is not talking about it as much, although I just saw him up there doing it. Abc, NBC, everybody leading with it, everything like that. I Wish you would at least throw that into your conversation because yeah, you can easily be outraged over some of these people getting pardoned by Trump, but if you don't include all the businesses that were destroyed and those people didn't get in charge with anything. As a matter of fact, your candidate for president did a GoFundMe to raise money to make sure they wouldn't be in trouble. I mean, what are you talking about? You got to include that, right? Yep. Yeah. We're not going down a good road with this. This is not a good run. And then both, both presidential sets of pardons yesterday, really a bad precedent.

[Jack Armstrong]

We're going to see pardon reform. I think these twin moves and. Fine, good. Let's talk about it. It's going to take probably a constitutional amendment, but we'll see. On a more positive note, the Buckeyes of Ohio winning the national championship last night. The NFL continues their fabulous playoff action and it's now or never. The best place to win cash while watching the playoffs is our friends and SP at prize picks. You can now end up to a thousand times your money on prize picks.

[John Stewart]

What was Ohio State the eight seed and they trounced everybody?

[Jack Armstrong]

Something like that, yeah.

[John Stewart]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Yep. It's quick, it's easy. You just pick more or less on at least two player stat projections and go from there. They've invented the flex plate Prize picks you can still cash out even if your lineup is not perfect. So download the app today and use the Code Armstrong to get $50 instantly. When you play your first $5 lineup, you don't need to win. You just play $5. You get the $50 bonus to play around with again. It is the prize picks app you want to download. Then remember the Code Armstrong to get that $50 bonus. Prize picks run your game.

[John Stewart]

We have much less heavy fare than that conversation to come about the news of the day and all kinds of different things. I hope you can stick around Armstrong and Getty. I can no longer beat my 13. I don't. I don't know what to do about it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Chess. It's not chess, actually. It's actually not. Michael, don't we all wish for our children to be more successful than us?

[John Stewart]

That's the great thing. I was explaining to a friend of mine if I was losing to, you know, my neighbor, I would Hate it.

[Jack Armstrong]

My kid, for instance, that's a different thing.

[John Stewart]

But, you know, it's the. I want to win, but I love the fact that he's better at it than I am. That's fantastic.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, you got up your game to up his game.

[John Stewart]

Yes, I do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[John Stewart]

It's not like when I'm playing tennis and I'm like, I'm taking it easy because I want the game to continue. I want him to like it. I don't want to discourage him. That's not what's happening here. He's gonna discourage me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I remember vividly the day that my son beat me at the great game of golf. And I realized this is not me encouraging the boy anymore. This is me fighting for my life. I gotta play as hard as I can.

[John Stewart]

Interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, but it's fun. It's fun. It's great. So the Oval Office has been redecorated. The new guy gets obviously what he wants on the walls and shelves and the rest of it. The Diet Coke button is back, set up and ready to go. Trump with a buzzer. And he's evidently got a lackey at the other end of it when he needs a Diet Coke, an orderly. We need orderlies around here, Michael, you like a little side hustle as an orderly? I don't even know what that means.

[John Stewart]

Is my only job. Is there somebody whose only job is to wait for that thing to buzz and take a Diet Coke out of the fridge and walk it in there?

[Jack Armstrong]

I certainly hope not. Picture a guy sitting there, his legs crossed, flipping through a magazine. Must not be thirsty today. Well, he says to his co worker.

[John Stewart]

Well, the story is he drinks about a dozen a day, so of course he works 18 hours a day. So you'd, you'd have a lot of sitting around.

[Jack Armstrong]

President Trump's redecorated Oval Office once again includes a portrait of Benjamin Franklin and a fresh Andrew Jackson painting.

[John Stewart]

The late great Benjamin Franklin.

[Jack Armstrong]

A tray of pens was ready on the Resolute desk for Trump to sign executive orders. The Diet Coke button back ready to go like four years ago. A portrait of George Washington now hangs over the fireplace, flanked by Alex Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. The bus to Churchill is back, having been removed by the weasel Joe Biden Bust of MLK Jr. Remains the Winston.

[John Stewart]

Churchill bust, even though Tucker Carlson's take is Churchill caused World War II.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, he had some faux historian on claiming it. It was silly. But anyway, the Oval Office, the most iconic setting in the White House, blah, blah, blah. He added a couple of silver Eagles. I don't know, Jack. Reminiscent of Nazi civil.

[John Stewart]

Come on.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, that reminds me. We. We already talked about the hilariously idiotic Elon Trump did a Nazi salute. Fake controversy. Oh, my. It's. It's actually become great. They are so beclowning themselves with that silly stuff on the left and in the media. They're doing our work for us.

[Tim Carney]

Have you been a good little Nazi?

[John Stewart]

That was Elon Musk there right before he did the salute.

[Jack Armstrong]

Redecorating the Oval Office occurs in a few hours. Jack Staff began making the changes while Biden was still in the building.

[John Stewart]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now fans of area rugs will be interested to know that the blue rug Biden had used was swapped out for a more neutral one that Trump had used previously in his Oval Office. Pieces of the Resolute desk had to be disassembled so the rug could be placed under it.

[John Stewart]

That puts the trivial trivia back in trivial.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, it does.

[John Stewart]

Actually.

[Jack Armstrong]

I did find out, or was reminded for, like, the 27th time, and I'll forget it by tomorrow, that the Resolute desk was a gift from the Queen of England. It was made of white oak and mahogany timbers from the HMS Resolute, a British naval ship used for Arctic exploration.

[John Stewart]

As was true in 2017 when Trump went in. It's a unique situation where you're so wealthy that you're probably moving into a lesser house than the one you live in.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, 100.

[John Stewart]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. The White House is famously, like, old and drafty and. And badly in need of a.

[John Stewart]

But even though. But even the whole size of it and that, you know, the kitchen, you can eat whatever you want. I'm sure that's Trump's lifestyle already. I'm sure he has. Somebody gets him a Diet Coke whenever he wants already, and then he can have any food he wants at any time already. So none of that would be very new to him.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now, Biden had progressive hero FDR's portrait up and various labor leaders statues on his. His desk.

[John Stewart]

Che Guevara, Karl Marx.

[Jack Armstrong]

Had to do.

[John Stewart]

Had to move the Karl Marx bust out.

[Jack Armstrong]

Long gone, baby. Get out. Well, that area rug stuff was interesting, wasn't it?

[John Stewart]

Oh, the way they had to move.

[Jack Armstrong]

The desk to get the cause they changed the rug. All right, coming up, more highlights and lowlights from yester yesterday. Montage of media explaining how pardons are bad right before Biden did it. So much good stuff.

[John Stewart]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[John Stewart]

That historic moment in front of the Capitol. Now, former President Biden, six months after Dropping his own re election run, exiting Washington, ending a 50 year political career. Yeah, I'm not sure anybody should have a 50 year political career in D.C.

[Jack Armstrong]

Go get George Washington had the decency to go back to his farm. Oh, speaking of which, I was describing the changes in the decor of the Oval Office. If you missed it, it was fascinating. But you know what I didn't mention I should have was that Trump reinstalled the flags of all of our military services in the Oval Office. Biden had had them removed. What? In favor of the, you know, probably the NEIU and whatever other unions.

[John Stewart]

You had a BLM flag, right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Exactly. A rainbow flag. In this house we believe in science or whatever. No, now the service flags are back in the Oval Office. Way to go, Mr. President. But speaking of the old guy who is senile and lying, back slapping, relative pardoning buffoon, soon to be ranked the worst U.S. president of all time, probably had a bit of a ceremony as his cousin as his traditional Andrews Air Force and Andrews Air Force Base as he left the office and in the city. And it sounded there. Where is it? There it is. We'll start, Michael with 71. Let you know how it sounded.

[Joe Getty]

You heard me say before, no president gets to choose the moment day in our history, but they get to choose the team they enter history with. And we chose the best damn team in the world.

[Jack Armstrong]

Thank you.

[John Stewart]

That last part.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got this. United Bates of Padera.

[John Stewart]

Jack, listen.

[Jack Armstrong]

Bow well come for the incoherence and stay for the incomprehensible. 72. Michael, I only hope to look, look.

[Joe Getty]

Back in these years. Hope you look back on them the same pride I have of all you've done. You know, I'm proud, I'm proud of. Is that you did it upholding the core values of honesty, decency and integrity. I mean no scandal. I mean it's incredible what you did.

[John Stewart]

For him to stand there on the day of pardoning his family and say no scandal.

[Jack Armstrong]

I feel like we ought to pause for five to 10 seconds to let every single human being gathered here respond in their own accustomed way with are you blanking kidding me or F you, you crank or you should be in jail. Whatever you prefer, folks, it's up to you.

[John Stewart]

Or just the scandal of 85% of America thought you couldn't pull off a second term because your brain didn't work. And everybody pretending you were like, you know, out running laps around the White House. We can barely keep up with them. That seems like quite a scandal.

[Jack Armstrong]

The scandal of opening the border and Allowing foreign gang members to set up shop in the United States. The hasty Afghan evacuation.

[John Stewart]

Well, you know, one of my favorites because it's recent. It didn't get enough attention. How about your people yelling at Mark Zuckerberg to take down facts or you're gonna put them out of business. That seems like a scandal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Spending trillions of dollars and stealing money out of the pockets of working class Americans to the point that they are panic stricken every single trip to the grocery store. But luckily, no scandals, you senile old coot, get. Oh, we're not sorry. Thank you, Mr. President. Roll on, Michael.

[Joe Getty]

You know, but the point I want to make today is it made clear my favorite address as we all do have more to a lot more to do. What you heard the inaugural address to them today. You know, we got a lot more to do. I love how many is excited experience. They're up and down. But we have to stay with it four more years.

[Jack Armstrong]

Four more years.

[John Stewart]

I got the perfect capstone paragraph. When we're done with this, don't let.

[Jack Armstrong]

Me forget perfect fans of gibberish. This one will delight you.

[Joe Getty]

I've been doing this for 50 years to the best group of people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Why?

[Joe Getty]

It's hard to say. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. And I tell you what.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did everybody hear that or have I been suddenly struck deaf? I was just getting to the good part too. We've had a technical malfunction. Is there a test pattern on the radio?

[John Stewart]

Yeah, it just died. That's unfortunate.

[Jack Armstrong]

The clip died.

[John Stewart]

I will try it again though. Let's see what happens.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, this is the digital age. I don't know what happen. Nobody does.

[Joe Getty]

I've been doing this for 50 years for the best group of people. Hard to say. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. And I tell you what a greater honor is being able to serve with all of you. You're incredible. You really are. You really are. Mark my words. Fish is going to judge what you've done as one of the most significant contributions has been made by all of America.

[John Stewart]

All right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. That was worth the wait.

[John Stewart]

I don't understand. Cheering 50 years of being in Washington D.C. i'm not a term limits guy. I've been argued out of that for a variety of reasons. George Will wrote a book for term limits, then wrote a book against term limits when he changed his mind. But it just doesn't work the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

You think it's going to. Anyway, back to you.

[John Stewart]

And I'm about to quote George Will as the capstone paragraph to this whole discussion. But why. Why do you cheer that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yay.

[John Stewart]

You hung around way too long to the point that your brain didn't work. You got wealthy on a. On a government salary, somehow managed to buy multiple houses and support an entire extended family on a lavish, rich lifestyle.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yay.

[John Stewart]

I just don't get it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, it's disgusting. We need the. The shortened version of that clip, please. I would like to play it repeatedly every time his name comes up for the rest of my life and his. I'm hoping mine is longer than his. And then finally, this looks a little long, but I'm told it's. If you've got an old man who's way past his prime and he's. And he's not gibbering away incomprehensibly, he's probably, what, shouting angrily? Let's hear it.

[Joe Getty]

Look, folks, you know, let me close that poem. You hear me quote before Jamus Haney wrote, once in a lifetime, the long for tidal wave of justice will rise up and hope and. Mr. Rhyme, you made it rhyme louder.

[Jack Armstrong]

Than it's rhymed in a long time.

[Joe Getty]

I really mean it. We're on the cusp of real change, so let's make open Mr. Rhyme. I love you all. I keeping you too long.

[Jack Armstrong]

Four more years.

[Joe Getty]

Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Four more years. Four more years.

[Joe Getty]

Thank you. Walk this way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaking of a capstone, do I go out this way? He says into the microphone.

[John Stewart]

They. They. They did have the sense to chant thank you, Joe. As opposed to four more years. Oh, my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm louder than. Except not kid. Kidding, Serious. Not kidding. Jack. No malarkey. What?

[John Stewart]

Maybe Belarus. Not me. Malarkey. I don't know what you said.

[Jack Armstrong]

You having a good time, Joe?

[John Stewart]

Oh, my God. Marco's being asked the new Secretary of state about the January 6th pardons. Of course they are. They're trying to put him in an embarrassing position. See if he can grab that answer. Hansen. I'm kind of interested in what he's going to say rather here.

[Jack Armstrong]

One of the inconveniences of the move is that every Trump appointee is going to be asked about that now.

[John Stewart]

Yep, yep, yep, yep. Here's the. The paragraph that I wanted to get from George Will that I thought was really good about the whole thing. Whether you're excited about Trump, whether you're angry about Trump or Vice, either of those two about Biden, whatever. Most people realize around age 7 that the universe, under its current administration Produces many disappointments. Then they shrug and get on with their lives. Today, many emotionally dilapidated obsessives experience either despair or euphoria about the inaugurations of presidents who come and go. Both groups should rethink what they expect from politics and why they do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's well said.

[John Stewart]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's undermining the fairly significantly sized industry of talk radio and online opinion and that sort of thing that insists otherwise.

[John Stewart]

Is that making people happier. The idea that it's all about who's president at your life comes and goes with administrations. You. You look back over your life and you think, I was happy from 2008 to 2016, then I was unhappy from 16 to 20, then I was happy again. What way of looking at the world is this?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, obviously that's an unhealthy way to look at life. And secondly, if that were true. It's not. But if it were, then you ought to join with us as a real zealot for reducing the power of the presidency.

[John Stewart]

So they couldn't possibly have that effect on your life.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Yeah. When your party's in power, you fall in love, you raise beautiful children, you get ahead work, and then if you lose your election, it all goes to hell. I'm tired of being married to you. You get divorced, you disown your children, you quit your job, you live under a bridge, you grow your hair long and let lice crawl all over your body until your guy gets elected. Then off with the lice. Honey, I miss you.

[John Stewart]

It's all good.

[Jack Armstrong]

Again, please. Holy cow. That's no way to live your life.

[John Stewart]

No kidding.

[Joe Getty]

You made it rhyme louder than it's rhyme.

[Jack Armstrong]

In a long time.

[John Stewart]

That might be. That was a perfect capstone to his career.

[Jack Armstrong]

And again, please get me the end of 74. Gotta have it.

[Joe Getty]

Mark my words. Fish is gonna judge what you've done as one of the most significant contributions has been made by all of America.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, that was good.

[John Stewart]

What do we think about. And this is a long conversation, but just part of the reason people get so euphoric or down is the president comes in Congress. It's not Congress, it's the president sitting down with a pen and a whole bunch of executive orders. And they last as long as that person's president. Then the new person comes in from the other party and wipes them all out and goes the other direction. Congress is supposed to make laws that slowly happen and then are slowly undone.

[Jack Armstrong]

And there used to be a consensus, for better or worse at times, that if we whipsaw back and forth on domestic policy, foreign policy, energy policy. It's gonna be bad for everybody.

[John Stewart]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

That doesn't make things better. You've gotta have at least some sort of continuity. But you know, the counterargument to that, obviously. Well, the last guy was a crank. I mean, with the Green New Deal and the trillions of dollars of handing out the money to cr, We've got to correct that. I get that. Yeah.

[John Stewart]

No, I'm happy about that. Trump wiped out most of the new Green deal. Thank God. Billions and billions, tens of billions of dollars spent to build charging stations around the country. What did they end up with a total of? They had none up until a couple of months ago. And now I think they had 18 or something charging stations they built in the entire country for tens of billions of dollars.

[Jack Armstrong]

If it were 18 in your town, you'd think that's a pretty good start.

[John Stewart]

Starting about the cost, but anyway. Right, yeah, yeah. So I'm happy about the corrections. It's just not the best way to run a railroad in general.

[Jack Armstrong]

We got an email from. You know, I've got it handy here. I'll make this quick. I'm sorry. There it is. Oh, Robert. No, Somebody, one of our beloved listeners said, hey, we're never going to talk about Biden or Harris again. Right. I need a break. And I'm like, yeah, to some extent. Obviously it'll be a great deal less, but I feel like I'm. I'm giving up drinking or my favorite pastime or giving up TV for Lent or something. Not being able to kick Biden and the half wit Kamala Harris anymore. There's going to be a blank space in my life, a void for a while.

[John Stewart]

You're the reverse of MSNBC and cnn. They're like, oh, my God, it's back, back. Oh, I missed it so much.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, true.

[John Stewart]

Yeah. I had one more thing to say. No, I don't remember what it was. Darn it. This is why I lose at chess.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll be back in a moment.

[John Stewart]

That's chest thoughts. Flip out of my head. Flip out of my head.

[Jack Armstrong]

So quick stop.

[John Stewart]

We got much more on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

You made it rhyme louder and it's rhyme.

[Jack Armstrong]

In a long time, Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Tim Carney]

And America's illustrious senators like Amy Klobuchar and Deb Fisher and of course Hakeem Jeffries were there and Fetterman was.

[Jack Armstrong]

Are you.

[John Stewart]

Come on.

[Tim Carney]

Fetterman?

[John Stewart]

Really?

[Tim Carney]

Shorts? It's not even an inaugural decorum thing. It's freezing out there, it's a hell. Fetterman is literally America's teenage son. It's your grandma's funeral. I told you, I don't like long pants.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's beautiful. And if you have not seen the pictures, it's not like he was wearing tailored golf shorts and some sort of quarter zip. No, he looked like he was leaving the gym on a chilly day with, like, loose fitting, short sweatshirts.

[John Stewart]

I don't dig that. I definitely don't dig that. And I'm not a decorum guy mostly, but what is that? What is it? What is he. What is his message? Regular guy? Is that what he's trying to be? I don't know regular guys. I know lots of regular guys. Very regular guys. Very working class regular guys. And you know what they do at nice things? They dress up. They wear nice clothes to indicate the.

[Jack Armstrong]

Seriousness that they're taking it with.

[John Stewart]

Yeah, they go to weddings and funerals and graduations and stuff wearing like khaki pants and a real shirt because they're. No, they're at something important. They don't dress like that. So I don't. I don't know who he's playing to. Slobs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Look, I'm kind of pleased that I don't need to throw on a sport coat to have a stake in most parts of the country. But mix in some buttons. Fetterman.

[John Stewart]

Oh, my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

Even a zipper somewhere. Just no drawstrings. Can we just say that? All right, much more serious topic. Senator Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, unanimously approved by the Senate.

[John Stewart]

Which is great. That's a great message to the world. This guy, speaking for Trump, isn't just a MAGA guy. The whole Senate, half of which is Democrat, said, this is the guy we want.

[Jack Armstrong]

One of the most intriguing questions about the Trump administration to me is how does his no new wars, America first, let's avoid foreign entanglements jibe with his We've gotta be very, very strong and project American power in smart ways. How is that balance gonna be struck? Some clues from Marco Rubio here.

[Marco Rubio]

President Trump was elected to keep promises, and he's gonna keep those promises. And his primary promise when it comes to foreign policy is that the priority of the United States Department of State will be the United States. It will be furthering the national interest of this country. And he's given us a very clear mandate. President Trump's made it very clear everything we do, and this is true in government, but especially at the Department of State, everything we do must be justified by the answer to one of three questions. Does it make us stronger, does it make us safer? And does it make us more prosperous? If it doesn't do one of those three things, we will not do it.

[John Stewart]

The problem being that because I know a lot of you and the MAGA crowd hate every dollar that goes to Ukraine, Marco Rubio would make the argument, I happen to agree with him, that sending money to Ukraine does make us stronger and wealthier and safer.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? Yeah, Michael, don't worry about it. We won't use the second clip. He's talking in our ears lovingly. I would also point out there's a lot of misunderstanding in populist politics of foreign aid. There are three ways to get friends on Earth as a government. You can scare them into it or beat them into it. That's kind of one of your choices. Secondly, it's just automatically in their best interests. I mean, Canada has no reason to be hostile to the United States. We're their biggest trading partner, et cetera. So that's an easy one. The third way you get friends is bribe them. And sometimes you need friends that you have to bribe cuz the evildoers, China for instance, is trying to bribe them onto their side, which would make our lives less safe, less prosperous. All those things Marco Rubio said. So foreign aid is not charity, it's bribery if it's used correctly. I wish I had more time to expound on that thought, but. Mullets through. We'll talk about it. You know, down the road.

[John Stewart]

There is now something called Elon Musk Derangement Syndrome. We'll talk about that next hour.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.