Lending Credibility to a Jag-off. David Drucker Talks to A&G

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode Title: Lending Credibility to a Jag-off. David Drucker Talks to A&G
Release Date: July 10, 2026
Host: Armstrong (Armstrong & Getty)
Guest: David Drucker (Senior Writer, The Dispatch)
Producer/Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Armstrong welcomes senior political journalist David Drucker to discuss the recent victories of democratic socialist candidates in primary elections, the evolving priorities of progressive voters, and the broader anti-establishment sentiment shaping both the Democratic and Republican parties. The conversation delves into shifts in left-wing politics, the perceived rise of anti-Israel sentiment, generational discontent, and how political "outsiderism" is driving change across Western democracies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Rise of Democratic Socialists & Movement Leaders

[00:41 - 01:13]

• Armstrong plays a clip of New York City's mayor and identifies him as part of a broader democratic socialist movement gaining ground in primary elections nationwide.
• He raises questions about whether the main energy of these progressives has shifted—from sexuality and gender issues to Israel and alleged antisemitism.

Interpreting What’s Real: Twitter vs. America

[01:13 - 02:16]

• Armstrong asks Drucker: “How do you tell what’s actually happening in America versus what’s happening on Twitter?”
• Drucker explains that issues like affordability, political dysfunction, and public safety are top of mind nationwide, but solutions differ along party lines.

Notable Quote

• David Drucker [02:16]:

  "Voters are broadly concerned about the same things... affordability, being upset that Washington isn't working... The differences are how do you deal with that? Who are the right political leaders?"

Shared Problems, Divergent Solutions

[02:16 - 06:21]

• Drucker details how both progressive Democrats and populist Republicans blame special interests and money in politics for societal problems, though their policy prescriptions diverge dramatically.
• Specific example: The Michigan Democratic Senate primary, with candidates split on single-payer healthcare and Israel.

Notable Quotes

• David Drucker [04:16]:

  "It's Americans generally identifying the same problems but coming up with different solutions."

• On anti-Israel sentiment among progressives:

  "Dr. Al said is unapologetically and open about his opposition to Israel's existence as a Jewish state."
  —David Drucker [05:38]

Anti-Establishment Energy & Foreign Policy

[06:21 - 08:20]

• Armstrong and Drucker note the normalization of ideas once considered far outside the mainstream (e.g., questioning Israel’s right to exist).
• Drucker traces the through-line from Obama to Trump: both broke taboos on foreign engagement (Iran, North Korea), reflecting public appetite for alternatives to the status quo.

Notable Quotes

• Armstrong [06:21]:

  "That's something—to have a guy standing on a stage who says, ‘I don’t believe Israel should exist.’"

• David Drucker [07:26]:

  "You can't automatically say that some of these socialist or progressive candidates... are necessarily gonna be rejected by voters."

“Socialism” as a Political Brand

[08:20 - 11:44]

• Armstrong questions how, despite America’s skepticism toward “socialism,” such candidates are gaining traction.
• Drucker explains that "socialist" victories are driven by well-educated, middle or upper-middle-class white voters who feel shortchanged in the current economy.

Notable Quotes

• David Drucker [09:37]:

  "These are not destitute, down and out people... but they believe that their college education... should buy them more mobility and more financial independence. And they're unhappy."

• David Drucker [10:56]:

  "They don’t think they're voting to live in Eastern Europe. They think that this is how they're going to get the American dream that capitalism was supposed to give them."

Balkanization of Politics & Blue District Trends

[11:44 - 13:02]

• Armstrong and Drucker analyze why heavily progressive ideas only succeed in select districts, pointing to increased polarization and redistricting.
• Drucker likens the Democratic Party’s current moment to the Republican Tea Party rise—a fringe that can steer the major party.

Notable Quotes

• David Drucker [12:41]:

  "Our politics are balkanized... these people are in very blue districts... it's reminiscent of the Tea Party on the Republican side."

Closing Analysis & International Trends

[13:02 - 13:45]

• Armstrong summarizes: much of the socialist upsurge is “throw it at the wall and see what sticks” attitude, a general rejection of the current power structure.
• Macron (France) and Trump are referenced as products of similar anti-establishment energy.

Notable Quotes

• Armstrong [13:12]:

  "I’m worried about the embrace of socialism by young people, no doubt about it. But I think it’s driven by just—I don’t like the way things are. Throw it at the wall and see what sticks. Anti current power structure."

• Armstrong [13:46]:

  "You got a graduate degree at a fancy college that isn't worth anything and you feel like you should have a better life than you have. So you're voting for socialists—not fully understanding what is even going on there."

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Memorable Moments & Speaker Highlights

• Armstrong’s amazement at candidates bluntly denying Israel’s right to exist in debates: “That’s something—to have a guy standing on a stage who says, ‘I don’t believe Israel should exist.’” [06:21]
• Drucker’s frank analysis of the new left-wing coalition: “These are people that feel... their professional credentials should buy them more mobility... so you hear a candidate who says ‘Medicare for all,’ we’re going to give you a bunch of free stuff... and that's great.” [09:37]
• Both speakers draw a parallel between new left-wing energy and the Tea Party: not so much about ideology as it is about opposing the party establishment. [12:41]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:41] — Mayor's speech & rise of democratic socialism
• [01:13] — How online trends distort perceptions of real politics
• [02:16] — Common American concerns: affordability, political dysfunction
• [04:00] — Tensions over Israel in Democratic primaries
• [06:21] — Candidates openly questioning Israel’s existence
• [08:20] — Voters’ impulse to reject the status quo
• [09:06] — “Socialist” label and who is really voting for it
• [11:44] — Balkanized districts and comparison to Tea Party
• [13:02] — Summing up the anti-establishment energy

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Overall Tone

Conversational, analytical, and occasionally sardonic. The episode centers on social and political shifts, with both concern and curiosity about the implications, using real-world and relatable language.

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In Short:
This episode of Armstrong & Getty provides a lively and nuanced examination of the forces reshaping American party politics—illuminating the motivations of new-left activists, the persistence of populist grievances, the new divides over Israel, and the way politically frustrated professionals are fueling dramatic primary upsets. Drawing historical parallels and bringing in fresh reporting from the field, Armstrong and Drucker offer listeners an incisive read on why “status quo rejection” has gone mainstream—on both sides of the aisle.

Transcript

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[Armstrong]

The Armstrong and Getty show

[New York City Mayor]

we are told that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, more powerful than everyone else. The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because here, nothing is fixed into place. The frontier may be closed. We may have walked on the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, that work endures. And it belongs to us all. It belongs, too, to our newest Americans, those standing here with me today, all of whom were recently naturalized.

[Armstrong]

So that's the mayor of New York City. Maybe you've heard of him, this guy Mamdani, and he is a democratic socialist. And he is the leader of that movement, I guess. And they are on the march. And they've won a bunch of primaries, of course, across the country, including another one, what, last weekend in Colorado. And then you've got the issue of has the momentum of that crowd, the most progressive part of the Democratic Party, moved from the whole sexuality, gay, trans stuff to the Israel anti Semitic thing. Is that the driving force? These are all interesting questions for David Drucker, who's a senior writer with the Dispatch and follows this sort of stuff. How are you, David? How do you tell what's actually happening in America versus what's happening on Twitter? Because it's very easy to get misled by online stuff. And things seem bigger than they are or more people seem angrier than they are. How do you tell what's actually happening?

[David Drucker]

Yeah, well, look, I mean, I think sometimes, you know, we make the mistake of saying it's only about this or only about that, when in truth, you know, these, it can be about everything. And these answers can be, you know, complex, which of course is really annoying to people. You know, what I will say, you know, in covering campaigns and traveling the country, I mean, voters are broadly concerned about the same things, and they usually are always concerned about the same things. In this case, it's affordability. It's a sense of, you know, being upset that Washington isn't working in the way they want it to work, political volatility, and there are some concerns about public safety depending on the community you're in. The differences are how do you deal with that? How do you fix these problems? Who are the right political leaders in the right, you know, what party, right? So when I'm in Indiana and Kentucky, they're talking about the affordability issue and they're talking about, you know, the sense that Washington isn't working properly. But their answer generally is, you know, people should follow the lead of President Donald Trump more and stop fighting with him if you're a Republican. And the problem are the Democrats. Right now I'm in Michigan, I'm covering the Democratic Senate primaries. I'm talking to Democratic voters and affordability is top of mind for everybody. The real problem from their perspective, President Donald Trump and the Republicans. And you know, one of the reasons why El said, Dr. Abdul El said, who's the progressive candidate in this primary, he says he's not a socialist, but he's a progressive. His big message, and he just says it over and over again, is, you know, take money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all, right? And if you look at the rise of Donald Trump and the Republican populace, where they agree, as they would constantly talk about special interests and money and politics as being the problem is causing all of the corruption. And so again, it's Americans generally identifying the same problems but coming up with different solutions. Because obviously if you're a Republican, the idea of single payer nationalized health care is anathema and there are all sorts of problems with it. And then finally we get to this issue of Israel and I think there's no doubt that there is a strain of anti Semitism on the left that's stronger than the strain of anti Semitism on the right. But they exist on both the right and the left. No doubt the strain of being against Israel is much stronger on the left than, you know, some of the online voices we see in that regard on the right. But for some voters, and we don't know yet because the polling can be really complex and most Jewish voters in every state in America are Democrats is for some voters, I think the idea of demonizing AIPAC and being anti Israel is code for I'm against the status quo and the establishment right. For other voters, it's just a case of Jew hate and being against Israel and giving no agency to the Palestinians who committed atrocities. On October 7, Palestinians in southern Lebanon who are threatening Israel's security and agency to the Iranians who are paying for all of this and themselves threatening Israel's existence. And so it can be an amalgam of all this. I will tell you. Dr. Al said is unapologetically and open about his opposition to Israel's existence as a Jewish state. And Haley Stevens, who is the establishment candidate in this race in a cycle where it's not good to be an establishment Democratic candidate in a Democratic primary, says, the key difference between us is that I support Israel's rights exist and he doesn't, and he doesn't try and weasel out of that.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, I saw the clip from the debate last night, and I mean, that's something to have a guy standing on a stage who says, I don't believe Israel should exist.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. And there are a lot of Democratic candidates like that in some form or another. I think that's very concerning. You know, if you're an American Jew or you're an American Christian or an American atheist who cares about Israel's security and thinks the US Israel alliance is good for American national security, all of this should be very concerning. But aside from that, this to me, is very part and parcel of what we've seen over the past 20 years. I remember in 08, Barack Obama, as a candidate for president, saying that he would talk to the ayatollahs in Iran and people that were a part of the foreign policy been flipped out. You can't put American prestige at risk by talking to these murderers. And then we saw President Trump as a candidate talk about, you know, his willingness to talk to Iran and do deals, and then being willing to meet with Kim Jong Un, one of the biggest rogue, you know, murdering leaders in the world and lending American credibility to this jagoff. And the foreign policy establishment flip, you know, flipped out, but he went and did it. And there are many American voters who, after 9, 11 and the war in Iraq and the Great Recession, felt like all the things we were doing that we were supposed to do weren't working. And so maybe these things we're not supposed to do won't work, but it's time to try these things. And in that regard, I don't think you can automatically say that some of these socialist or progressive candidates that have these, you know, sort of weird views, you know, from certain perspectives anyway, are necessarily gonna be rejected by voters.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, I think you're onto something with this idea that it's people who just don't like the status quo, and so they get lumped into socialist or whatever category. Sometimes there are some, there are actual socialists out there, no doubt. But you know, like we saw with the rise of Macron or Trump himself or whatever, it's, it just, I want something different. So I'm willing, trying to, willing to try something wildly different because on the socialist front, unless things have changed a ton my whole life of following politics, when, when Gallup would pull all kinds of different qualities about candidates, socialist would always finish dead last among like every other possible thing you could be with, socialist would finish last. So how's this fit?

[David Drucker]

Well, look, I think first of all, you know, we have to try to understand what Americans think when they hear socialists. A lot of this is coming from upwardly mobile, upward sort. Well, let me back up here because I'm using the wrong terminology. A lot of this that we have seen in these House districts, with the rise of self professed socialists and Democratic socialists of America affiliated candidates, they're winning these elections because of educated white voters, many of whom came from financially well off or at least, you know, very solid middle class families. These are not destitute, down and out people, but they're people that believe that their college education and their, their professional credentials should buy them more mobility and more financial independence. And they're unhappy. And so, you know, you hear a candidate who says Medicare for all, we're going to give you a bunch of free stuff. And they, they think it's all free and that's great. Other people know we're going to tax the rich, tax the billionaires, take their wealth. So these are not people that are for higher taxes, therefore higher taxes on other people.

[Armstrong]

Right.

[David Drucker]

These are people that feel, and by the way, this is, you know, separately, this is a public policy question that should be addressed. When people feel immobile, when people feel like they can't get ahead, we can brown beat them. But this is an issue that needs to be addressed. But aside from that, I don't think they're looking at this as a system or as a set of policies that are going to reduce their freedoms and make it harder for them to get ahead. They think it's going to make it easier for them to order $7 lattes and have a nice loft in Brooklyn. And I mean that it sounds like I'm, you know, being flippant, but I'm not because these are people. When you look at a lot of these House districts, it's not the non white voters that are turning out establishments and traditional Democratic incumbents of candidates. It's a lot of these college educated, graduate, degree educated, PhD educated white voters who don't feel like they're being adequately compensated for all the work they put in. So it's a public policy question, but it also suggests that they don't think they're voting to live in Eastern Europe. They think that this is how they're going to get the American dream that capitalism was supposed to give them.

[Armstrong]

How are there enough of those people though, you know, graduate degree white, over educated in degrees where you can't actually make a living. How is there enough of those people to have this much effect on one of the major parties?

[David Drucker]

Well, look, our politics is very balkanized. So you're talking a few House districts, but a few, you know, it's the old rule of journalism freeze the trend. But you know, we're seeing as what I mean, Denver's first district. Let's just get out of New York for a minute. It's a very, very blue district. Right. And you have, you know, multiple candidates in some cases, other cases it's a, it's a head to head. But you know, our politics are balkanized. These people are in very blue districts. We further redistricted on both sides and so it's very easy to end up with candidates like this. It's very, to me reminiscent of Tea Party on the Republican side.

[Armstrong]

Absolutely.

[David Drucker]

Where you get these anti establishment conservative populists and you know, and they were running a smaller government and lower taxes and I'm sure they, tangentially, I'm sure they believe that but really it was all about fighting the establishment, beating up the established Republican Party. And you know, we saw the effect on the GOP for a few years that led us to President Trump.

[Armstrong]

David Drucker's senior writer with the Dispatch. I think you're right about all that stuff, David. And I don't always think you're always right about everything, but I think you're right about everything you said today. And I appreciate your time.

[David Drucker]

Anytime, thank you.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, I absolutely think that, I mean I'm worried about the embrace of socialism by young people, no doubt about it. But I think it's driven by just a. I don't like the way things, the way things are. Throw it at the wall and see what sticks. Anti current power structure. I think that there's just a ton of that energy all over the place, all over the Western civilization as we've seen all kinds of governments brought down. Macron's such a good example of that. But we don't have time to get into that.

[David Drucker]

Now.

[Armstrong]

And I love that. Yeah. So these are people that they already have a great life. You, you grew up middle, middle upper class or upper class. You got a graduate degree at a fancy college that isn't worth anything and you feel like you should have a better life than you have. And so you're voting for socialists. Not fully understanding what is even going on there. I like the idea of a guy says, I'm not a socialist, but I want Medicare for all. That's hilarious. There are actual Marxists out there, there's no doubt about that, who want to slip all this in through the back door or front door or however they can get it going. But man, these are interesting times to live through. Of all for all western democracies, really. I'm sure we'll be talking about that more in the coming days. That, that race up in Michigan is super interesting. We got a clip from their debate last night. We'll play a little bit later. Do you get a lot of phone calls? You don't recognize the numbers, you don't answer them and then they don't leave a message and it's clearly a spam sort of phone call or a scam sort of phone call. I get texts, phone calls, emails, just like you do. Or I don't get near as many as I did. Thank goodness. Thanks to Incogni. The way you get those is somebody found you your phone number sitting on a data broker site somewhere. So is your home address, your email, your age, names of your kids. It's all searchable. It's for all for sale. People are selling it around out there. Every scam starts with one thing. Your personal info being available to the wrong person. So you need Incogni to disappear. This is what they do. They contract hundreds of data brokers. Legally. Legally, they've got the law on their side to force them these places to remove your information. We're using Incogni and it's working great right now. You can 60% off with an exclusive [e-mail] Armstrong that's I n C O G N. I like incognito, but only part of the word. Go to incogni.com Armstrong and take back your privacy. That's incogni.com Armstrong. I promised you this new science on how you don't actually need eight hours of sleep. It's super interesting. Among other things on the way.

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