Pencils & Dolls

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: Episode Summary – "Pencils & Dolls" Release Date: May 5, 2025

In the "Pencils & Dolls" episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into a myriad of pressing political and social issues, interwoven with their trademark humor and candid banter. The episode navigates through international conflicts, media criticism, political maneuvers, and personal anecdotes, providing listeners with a comprehensive exploration of current events and their broader implications.

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1. Israel's Decision to Occupy Gaza

The episode opens with a critical discussion on Israel's recent announcement to occupy Gaza and control aid distribution. Joe Getty expresses strong opinions on the matter:

"Israel having just announced a plan to occupy Gaza and control aid distribution themselves, bringing closer to fruition what I've been saying for quite some time, they're doing, not living side by side with anybody, they're taking it over."
— Joe Getty [02:11]

Jack Armstrong questions the inevitability of this decision:

"So they had a vote overnight and they're going to occupy Gaza? Run the place. Okay?"
— Jack Armstrong [02:25]

The hosts critique the Western media's portrayal of Hamas, accusing them of biased reporting that favors Hamas while neglecting accountability on their part.

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2. Critique of Western Media's Coverage of Hamas

Armstrong and Getty scrutinize the Western media for what they perceive as uncritical amplification of Hamas's narratives:

"I don't debate the suffering of the Palestinian people for a minute. And then through an offhand, you know, the monsters, the Israelis, they say they'll ease up and there can be peace if they give the hostages back."
— Joe Getty [03:59]

Jack Armstrong draws parallels with classic literature to illustrate media manipulation:

"It's like watching Oliver Twist. Please, sir, can I have some more? It was utterly designed to provoke sympathy and outrage at whoever was putting the children in that."
— Jack Armstrong [03:59]

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3. Trump's Reopening of Alcatraz

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to analyzing former President Donald Trump's unconventional decision to reopen Alcatraz as a functional prison:

"The best news story of the last 18 hours is obviously Trump reopening Alcatraz. That's the best story out there."
— Jack Armstrong [05:21]

Joe Getty expresses skepticism about the feasibility and seriousness of the move:

"How could he be so crazy? It would cost. We have an architect here to describe how expensive it would be to, you know, the whole thing."
— Joe Getty [07:37]

The hosts highlight the media's varied reactions, noting Fox's dismissal versus other outlets' sensational coverage.

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4. Trump’s Comments on Tariffs Affecting Consumer Goods

The conversation shifts to former President Trump's remarks on tariffs leading to reduced quantities of everyday items like pencils and dolls:

"I'm going to make you do less. Your kids are going to have less dolls, you're going to have less pencils."
— Donald Trump [22:10] (Referenced)

Jack Armstrong critiques the practicality and messaging behind such statements:

"You don't need 350 pencils. A couple of pencils is plenty."
— Jack Armstrong [24:10]

Joe Getty elaborates on the economic implications, discussing GDP and federal budget cuts:

"When you borrow money for the federal budget, that borrowed money increases the GDP. Paying down the debt doesn't help the GDP at all."
— Joe Getty [37:46]

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5. Resumption of College Loan Payments

The hosts address the reinstatement of college loan payments after a period of suspension:

"For the first time in four years, you got to make your college student loan payment. If you're behind, get caught up or you're going to be in real trouble."
— Jack Armstrong [15:58]

Joe Getty voices his frustration with the student loan system, labeling it a "scam" that burdens young Americans:

"I've got so much raging hostility against the college scam and those who perpetrated it and those who profit so mightily from it today."
— Joe Getty [16:19]

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6. Iranian-Backed Houthi Missile Attacks on Israel

A segment is dedicated to the geopolitical tensions involving Iranian-backed Houthi rebels launching ballistic missiles at Israel:

"According to the Israeli military, they knocked down about 95% of the missiles launched at them by the Houthis."
— Joe Getty [18:19]

The hosts discuss the immediate impacts, such as disruptions at Israel’s major airports, and the broader implications for Middle Eastern stability.

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7. Analyzing GDP Calculations and Federal Budget Cuts

Joe Getty delves into the intricacies of GDP measurements and the effects of federal budget adjustments:

"When you lower the federal budget, that too causes a reduction in the GDP calculation."
— Joe Getty [37:46]

Jack Armstrong humorously anticipates economic downturns linked to budget cuts:

"If it's down again, I'm taking that week off while you all argue about whether or not this is a recession."
— Jack Armstrong [38:46]

The hosts advocate for a new metric to better reflect economic health beyond traditional GDP calculations.

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8. Mailbag and Listener Interactions

In the Mailbag segment, Armstrong and Getty address listener questions and comments, ranging from humorous critiques of political narratives to reflections on economic policies. They share anecdotes related to sports betting, personal experiences, and listener feedback, maintaining an engaging and relatable tone.

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9. Personal Anecdotes and Health Updates

Jack Armstrong candidly shares his recent health struggles, discussing starting a high dose of prednisone and experiencing sleeplessness:

"I started on prednisone on Friday. A pretty high dose, which amps you up."
— Jack Armstrong [04:26]

Joe Getty responds with concern and humor, suggesting Armstrong take a break:

"Should we just shut the whole thing down for a week and let you try to rest or something?"
— Joe Getty [05:01]

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10. Media Representations and Pop Culture Critique

The hosts critique how political biases infiltrate popular culture and media representations, using examples from movies and television:

"Like you were just saying, it's your identity, it's your life. You see every single thing through the lens of is this supporting Trump or not."
— Jack Armstrong [11:36]

They express frustration over perceived excessive politicization of entertainment media, arguing it fosters division and undermines unbiased storytelling.

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Conclusion

Throughout the "Pencils & Dolls" episode, Armstrong and Getty offer incisive commentary on international politics, media dynamics, economic policies, and cultural phenomena. Their blend of critical analysis and humor provides listeners with a thought-provoking examination of contemporary issues, encouraging discernment and informed discourse. Notably, their emphasis on accountability in media reporting and skepticism toward political rhetoric invites audiences to question prevailing narratives and seek deeper understanding.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "Israel having just announced a plan to occupy Gaza and control aid distribution themselves..."
  — Joe Getty [02:11]

• "I'm going to make you do less. Your kids are going to have less dolls, you're going to have less pencils."
  — Donald Trump [22:10] (Referenced)

• "When you lower the federal budget, that too causes a reduction in the GDP calculation."
  — Joe Getty [37:46]

• "I started on prednisone on Friday. A pretty high dose, which amps you up."
  — Jack Armstrong [04:26]

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This episode encapsulates Armstrong and Getty’s commitment to dissecting complex issues with clarity and wit, providing listeners with both information and entertainment.

Transcript

[Dutch Advertisement]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast. Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24,7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes comes to their vet care.

[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Live.

[Joe Getty]

From studio aoc Si, senor.

[Jack Armstrong]

A dimly lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. Brand new week. How about this boss At Cinco de Mayo, I wrote a burrow to work. I had to leave at 3:30 in the morning to get here because Burros.

[Joe Getty]

We appreciate your commitment, but today, you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Know, in honor of defeating the French so that Emperor Maximilian would be booted out or something.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, Hulu Zeus for Maximilian. Nobody boo.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, it's Monday, brand new week at Cinco de Mayo and today we're under the tutelage of our general manager, Benyamin Netanyahu.

[Joe Getty]

And Israel having just announced a plan to occupy Gaza and control aid distribution themselves, bringing closer to fruition what I've been saying for quite some time, they're doing, not living side by side with anybody, they're taking it over.

[Jack Armstrong]

So they had a vote overnight and they're going to occupy Gaza?

[Joe Getty]

Yes, sir.

[Jack Armstrong]

Run the place. Okay?

[Joe Getty]

Yes, sir.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't think they got any choice.

[Joe Getty]

Meanwhile, I'd like to discuss the Western media's just utter loyal sycophancy with Hamas.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I heard that.

[Joe Getty]

Amplify their talking points and video messages slavishly.

[Jack Armstrong]

I heard that on NPR this morning. Critics say Hamas should be given a chance to something or other or whatever. There is no, no talk of Hamas surrendering or giving back the hostages or anything. Not even mentioned.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, exactly. I may have heard that same report and I heard a similar one in which they described the suffering of the Palestinian people, which I don't debate for a minute. And then through an offhand, you know, the monsters, the Israelis, they say they'll ease up and there can be peace if they give the hostages back. But anyway, in other news, it's like, well, okay, so why don't they? Why haven't they? No, they never asked that question. And I was just. I was watching some of the coverage of, again, the undeniable suffering of some of the Palestinian people, including children, which the. The video of the poor kids clamoring for food was straight out of Hamas's video production facilities. I mean, they were like. It was like watching Oliver Twist. Please, sir, can I have some more? I mean, it was utterly designed to. To provoke sympathy and outrage at whoever was putting the children in that. The poor children in that position, which is Hamas, by the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Funny you'd mention Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens, who also wrote Christmas Carol, which features sickly little Tim, because that's what I've been thinking about over the last several days. I'm sickly. I am now a sickly character, Tiny Jack. I'm like, you know, I'm like sickly or weak. I'm like Fredo and the Godfather. I'm like the weak brother. I'm a sickly, weak human being. And so I'm just trying to embrace that role now that I can only.

[Joe Getty]

Assume that you're gonna turn coat and then like, turn us into the FCC for something.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know about that, but I am. I am sickly. I'm sickly and weak, and I hope. I don't know if. I don't know if I could listen to a radio show that has sickly and weak. I'm worse now than I was last week.

[Joe Getty]

Get yourself a little crutch and, and say vaguely affirming things like, God bless us, everyone.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what I'm endearing. That's what I'm doing. Yeah, exactly. I started on prednisone on Friday. A pretty high dose, which amps you up.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I didn't sleep one minute Friday night. Not a single minute. I don't know if I've ever done that in my life. Like even partying. I don't know if I've ever gone a whole night without one minute of sleep, without at least like a five minute cat nap or something. I stayed up the entire night. It was crazy.

[Joe Getty]

Should we just shut the whole thing down for a week and let you try to rest or something?

[Jack Armstrong]

So I don't get to be on the air the last week of my life because I'm probably dying.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Well, that's. That's the point being. That's not a static reality. Perhaps we could affect that. That would be my point.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway. That was crazy. I had another point. Oh. And the best. The best news story of the last 18 hours is obviously Trump reopening Alcatraz. That's the best story out there. How great is that?

[Joe Getty]

How do you define best exactly?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. Catches your eye and makes you want to know more. That caught my eye and made me want to know know more. Wow. He is the all time king troller, get people talking guy of all time. You know, he very well. This just popped into my head now. My, my addled, sickly head. He might have timed this with Netanyahu. He might have thought, oh, boy, I'm gonna have to answer this question all day. What would be open Alcatraz? Because that's what's leading everywhere. He might have just covered up the whole. Israel's gonna take over Gaza.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. You know, gosh dang it, you're right. I mean, the frenetic. I was gonna make the point that the frenetic pace of this just, it tends to wear people out over time. But yeah, if you were going to dodge talking about that. Yes. All right. What is so completely crazy? All right, say you're not sure if due process applies or if you have to uphold the Constitution and then say we ought to reopen Alcatraz and use it as a prison for the evilest, most violent people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I was thinking if it was old timey radio, we would call Alcatraz, like roughly now. Call them up and say, hey, have you heard about. Because it's a big tourist destination. I was just, I was just in San Francisco week before last with my son. I said, I can't believe I've never taken the Alcatraz, which I can't believe I haven't. And when I heard the news yesterday, I thought, oh, did I miss my window? I'd like to call him up and say, have you heard word one about this? Has anybody who works at Alcatraz ever heard in the ink, even the slightest inkling of opening it back up as a prison, ever?

[Joe Getty]

Anybody in the entire U.S. park Service, which is run Alcatraz for like, well, not 60 years. Been closed as a prison for 60 years, but it's been run by the Park Service for decades and decades.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's what's interesting and just typical of the whole Trump thing. So every news outlet taking it completely seriously, except for Fox, who dismissed it very quickly as obviously, he's not going to open Alcatraz, but he's making the point that we've got to lock these people up. I mean, they just threw it aside. Is obviously not going to happen. It's not Even worth discussing immediately. Yeah, but on every other channel, they're taking Breathless. How could he be so crazy? It would cost. We have an architect here to describe how expensive it would be to, you know, the whole thing.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, well. And both sides get what they want out of the story. You know, it's. It's a. It's a beautiful, confusing, idiotic symbiosis, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll bet that's it. It bumped Israel invading Gaza and taking it over off the front page, which was a. Was, you know, a no go as an option for mainstream media not too long ago and probably still is.

[Joe Getty]

But they're declaring a war on Disney. Mickey Mouse is an actual mouse, and he's plotting the overthrow of the country. We are going to hunt down this Mickey or Michael Mouse if it takes everything we've got and then pushes everything off the front page.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hantavirus. Gene Hackman's wife would still be alive if it weren't for Mickey Mouse.

[Joe Getty]

The great Gene Hackman. The late, great Gina. Oh, there he goes again. Yeah. So, okay, that's funny. Absolutely hilarious. Gonna reopen Alcatraz.

[Jack Armstrong]

Worked as a story. Let's start the show officially and then get us into a different conversation. Give me a chance to cough for a while. I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It is Cinco de Mayo. Both wearing sombreros. Big, giant sombreros. 20. We are Armstrong and getting. We approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Viva Mexico. All right, let's begin the show officially. Now, according to FCC rules regulation, the show starts at mark.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've also signed 147 executive orders.

[Donald Trump]

Everything from banning paper straws to defunding PBS.

[Jack Armstrong]

I understand Elmo has now been apprehended by ICE, brought to you by the letter L for El Salvador. He's not coming back.

[Joe Getty]

I tell you what, that whole bit was really funny. All the executive orders Trump was signing, it was. It was just good, funny political humor.

[Jack Armstrong]

He's not coming back.

[Joe Getty]

You know what else For El Salvador. Oh, my.

[Jack Armstrong]

Not to get off on comedy, because it's not that important, I suppose. But I hate that there's a number of political, like, roundup newsletters I read every day, and the one I read on Sunday. Here are your Trump jokes from Saturday Night Live.

[Joe Getty]

And it just.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just hate that the rest of the show. The. Of the. Of the 90 minutes. The other 86 minutes are really good. Often of just sketch comedy. I hate that it's been distilled down for so much of America. As to what were the Trump jokes. All right, whatever.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it's, We've, we've talked about this more than once and I think it's pretty self evident to a lot of people. But the, the extent to which politics, you know, R versus D, Trump versus not Trump, whatever, has become people's identity and their hobby and their passion, their talking point. It's the modern. It looks like a clear day. Jim, you see what Trump did?

[Jack Armstrong]

Jim, I've got the best example, which I'm going to talk more about later, from going to the movies on Friday night. So I went to see Thunderbolts, the latest Marvel movie, and I had unfortunately seen a piece or two, including the one in the National Review, about how Thunderbolts, a disgusting attack on Trump in America through and through, transparent, the way it treats its audience. And I was like, what? Really? I went, you're insane. If you watch that movie and you're thinking that it's taking shots at Trump in America and that's what gets into your head, you're crazy. This is the whole woke right thing that's taken over. You're nuts. I remember the same thing with the movie Up. Oh. A transparent defending of climate change. And I didn't get that at all. Oh, don't look up, don't look up.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't get that at all.

[Jack Armstrong]

So everybody's gone nuts with this stuff where it's just, it's, it's your, it's like you were just saying, it's your identity, it's your life. You see every single thing through the, through the lens of is this supporting Trump or not, or my point of view or not? Every single tiny thing. Now it's, it's, it's a psychosis of some sort.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it's partly a psychosis. I think there's a hell of a lot of pop culture that is also joined in that fray. And so, no, it's not completely crazy to see that fray represented in pop culture. I must disagree with you. On the other hand, your specific example, I get.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, but this, I read this long article. I mean, where it was, it was pages long in.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, this guy is a. I know the guy who does that stuff for nr. He is a sophisticate, a brilliant man, a wordsmith.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I just think it's crazy. So we used to laugh at the left when they talk about cowboy movies. Of course the bad guys have black hats, the good guys have white hats because black people are bad. You still, the way you read into this crap, we used to all call crazy now the right does it exactly as stupidly, by the way, as egregiously stupidly in my opinion.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Folks, it's the steroids. He's got the roid rage going. He doesn't know what he's saying. He's out of control.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, if you, if you go to a movie like that and you see politics, there's something wrong with your brain. You've lost your ability to like live a normal life. And I think that's happening a lot. I don't know what we do about it. I don't know if there's any getting out of it.

[Joe Getty]

Again, I haven't seen the movie so it's impossible to judge. Well, we'll play his greatest. We'll milk his greatest hits, greatest rants for, I don't know, a few days. Yes. Yeah, just Hanson and I are planning on the air. It's probably gonna be, you know, new co host.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we don't have Katie here today.

[Joe Getty]

She's off.

[Jack Armstrong]

We don't have Michelangelo here today. So it's just Joe and I are some in our sombreros and Hanson in there who also wrote a burrow to work in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

[Joe Getty]

And you're sick as can be and don't drink. So I'm swigging down margaritas on my own drag.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. We've got more news for you coming up. We're probably not going to reopen Alcatraz, but Israel probably is going to take over Gaza and that's going to be quite the mess. And a bunch of other stuff that happened over the weekend, including some more tariff stuff that Trump talked about. You're needing less pencils.

[Joe Getty]

You can live without tariffs on movies, whatever that means.

[Jack Armstrong]

Your kids are going to have less dolls, you're going to have less pencils. That's the world you're going to live in.

[Joe Getty]

Shoot, I gotta start saving my pencils.

[Jack Armstrong]

And dol lot of stuff on the way. I hope you can stay here.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Dutch Advertisement]

Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 247 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.

[Jack Armstrong]

For the first time in four years, you got to make your college student loan payment. If you're behind, get caught up or you're going to be in real trouble. That starts today. According to it's all presented from a sympathetic that's horrible for you point of view from everything that is mainstream media as opposed to of course you have to start paying for was bizarre that.

[Joe Getty]

You ever didn't right and turned out to be illegal and the extension of the original Covid plan was utterly without excuse or explanation. Yeah. At the same time, you know, I've got to admit, I've got so much raging hostility against the college scam and those who perpetrated it and those who profit so mightily from it today. You know, I could almost believe that Joe Biden was relieving the student debt or trying to because he was so guilt stricken. If he had a conscience over how badly screwed so many American young people are by that whole fraud. You've got to go to college to have a decent life or we will. All of culture will look down on you and call you names and think less of you. Oh, by the way, you're not gonna get an education. It's wildly artificially inflated in price because it's such a scam and a profit center for the and I just and.

[Jack Armstrong]

That'S supposed to ease my guilt by making the guy who decided I'm not going to college. It's a waste of time. Pay for it.

[Joe Getty]

No, I'm just saying there's, there's. It's not as. It's not a simple moral question. It's. Well, you know, you walk down the garden path of evil, you end up surrounded by evil. The old gpoe, all right? And the old and just there is a very few simple, clear solutions, I would say. Sorry, you got scammed. You know, you got to pay your loan.

[Jack Armstrong]

Buyer beware.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So a few headlines, because Katie's not here, but we'll go ahead and do something at least somewhat similar. You got your Iranian backed Houthi rebels. Rebels. So essentially, Iran lobbing a big old ballistic missile into Israel. They caught three of them. The fourth got through.

[Jack Armstrong]

You've seen any of the videos there? Because it was right by the airport. Yeah, lots of videos, man. You're in that airport and you hear the air raid sirens going off and then all of a sudden, a big kablooey right outside the terminal. Holy crap.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. According to the Israeli military, they knocked down about 95% of the missiles launched at them by the Houthis. But occasionally. Get through it stopped air traffic there at the biggest airport for like an hour. I think a little more than that. Heck. We got a rainstorm in Kentucky, right? The entire country for a week.

[Jack Armstrong]

It rains in Kentucky. You're not flying out of LAX today.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. What? Israeli army started calling up tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip. You got a judge knocking down one of Trump's executive orders targeting law firms that had gone up against them. That one was obvious. Sorry, it was silly. It was dumb. Well, it's over.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll get into the details in some of these big stories, but here's my favorite headline that I came across today. Surgeons attempt to medical first. Removing a spinal tumor through the patient's eye.

[Joe Getty]

I'm no expert on anatomy, but it seems to me, isn't that like, I don't know, going to. Speaking of Kentucky, I'm going to go to Lexington, Kentucky, through Olympia, Washington. Why? Surely there's a better route.

[Jack Armstrong]

More news of the day and we'll get you up to speed on a bunch of these stories that are real. That's for sure.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Dutch Advertisement]

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[Jack Armstrong]

What's next? All right, sir. This order would reduce the number of interracial couples in TV commercials. It's just too many, right? You see them in the kitchen together.

[Joe Getty]

Making meal from hellofresh.

[Jack Armstrong]

He's wearing loafers, she's got tight braids. You're like, like, where'd they meet? You know, what do they even talk about? It's insane. I thought that was pretty funny. What do they even talk about?

[Joe Getty]

You know, it's, it's a cartoon version of, you know, the culture war, blah, blah, blah. It's fine. We're all fine.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's funny.

[Joe Getty]

It's brought to you by hello Fresh.

[Jack Armstrong]

Where did they meet? Okay, so that's the fake Trump on Saturday Night Live. You got the real Trump, who's done his third interview with Christian Walker of Meet the Press in 100 Days.

[Joe Getty]

The overtly hostile, relentlessly negative, unfair, brutal, one sided Kristen Welker.

[Jack Armstrong]

Democrats get away with not doing very many interviews, period. And then when they do do them, they give them to mainstream media outlets. They're all on their side. Trump goes into hostile territory like every day answering questions.

[Joe Getty]

Let's review Joe Biden's last interview. Sir, your wonderfulness is a wonder to us all. How are you so wonderful?

[Jack Armstrong]

But so last week, a lot of tension was made talking about the tariff war and what it'll do and Trump saying, you know, kids can get by with fewer dolls. And I thought it meant under the tree. You thought it meant on the shelves.

[Joe Getty]

Well, it was a little ambiguous. That's what I thought.

[Jack Armstrong]

Still trying to figure out where that all is. So Kristen Welker brought that up with him on Meet the Press yesterday.

[Kristen Welker]

So I want to ask you about something you said this week. Got a lot of attention. You were at your cabinet meeting. You said, quote, I'm going to quote what you said. Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Kristen Welker]

And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally. Are you saying that your tariffs will cause some prices to go up?

[Donald Trump]

No, I think your tariffs are going to be great for us because it's going to make us rich.

[Kristen Welker]

But you said some dolls are going to cost more. Isn't that an acknowledgement that some prices will go up.

[Donald Trump]

I don't think a beautiful baby girl needs. That's 11 years old, needs to have 30 dolls. I think they can have three dolls or four dolls because what we were doing with China was just unbelievable. We had a trade deficit of hundreds of billions of dollars with China.

[Kristen Welker]

When you say they could have three dolls instead of $30, are you saying.

[Donald Trump]

You'Re saying they don't need to have.

[Kristen Welker]

Americans could see empty store shelves.

[Donald Trump]

No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying they don't need to have $30. They can have three, they don't need to have 200, they can have five.

[Kristen Welker]

You're basically saying there could be some supply shortages because of the tax waste.

[Donald Trump]

Money on a trade deficit with China for things we don't need, for junk that we don't need.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now, Ian Bremmer called that the most anti American thing I've ever heard a US President say.

[Joe Getty]

It's a bit strong.

[Jack Armstrong]

I agree it's a bit strong. But it sure sounds like he means under the tree. Like you just. Your kids can deal with less toys and you've got too many pencils, by the way. What a weird example to use.

[Joe Getty]

And. And they're gonna cost more.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, listen, you don't need 350 pencils. Good Lord.

[Joe Getty]

I, I would hope at this point we have earned a reputation for fairness that you can trust us. We calls them as we seize them. I found that to be, as political pitches go, one of the more amazing ones. There's going to be less to choose from and it will cost more, but it will protect our industry and our manufacturing jobs and we will all be better off for it was his, the second half of the sentence that he never really spoke.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, yeah. So here we are, as usual, as people often are, trying to fill in the stuff he doesn't say. Right.

[Joe Getty]

As if he's not a native English speaker.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. Because the argument that it's gonna be painful for a while, that's the way tariff wars work. But it's gonna turn out in our favor. I don't know if that's true or not, but at least you can make that argument. It's a theory. The whole you have too much stuff, I'll determine how much stuff you need to be happy is not something people are going to enjoy.

[Joe Getty]

No, that is, that's frankly, that's awful political messaging. If one is just going to be completely cynical about it. It's not good.

[Jack Armstrong]

Your kids have too many toys. I'm just telling you.

[Joe Getty]

No, no. My kids will have as many toys as I think they ought to have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nobody wants anybody to tell them that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I don't need that sort of value judgment if it was coming from a Democrat, folks.

[Jack Armstrong]

Friends. Yeah, no kidding. Be honest with yourself.

[Joe Getty]

You would be going nuts if Obama.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or Biden had said, your kids don't need that many dolls for Christmas. Yeah, you'd be going crazy over that.

[Joe Getty]

Interestingly enough, Scott Besant, who is the cool head, I think, in the administration when it comes to trade and tariffs and that sort of thing, has a piece in the Wall Street Journal published yesterday. I guess it was Trump's Three Steps to Economic Growth. And he doesn't state it explicitly, but it seems really clear that, yeah, the tariffs are a means of negotiating better trade deals. Don't worry, we won't have high tariffs going forward.

[Jack Armstrong]

But.

[Joe Getty]

But then Trump goes on, you know, Kristen Welker's awful show and implies otherwise because that is necessary for the negotiations. I guess that we're going to be, you know, doll less and have few pencils.

[Jack Armstrong]

Pencils.

[Joe Getty]

I think he was just trying to pick a kind of anonymous, you know, generic. Good. You know, I feel amply penciled myself.

[Jack Armstrong]

You don't need 250 pencils. A couple of pencils is plenty.

[Joe Getty]

Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, you got me on that one.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. We mostly use the mechanical ones around my house. So they, you know, last a lifetime anyway, so that was just odd. His. His mystifying strategic chaos or strategic ambiguity in negotiations. That was it. Lutnick, one of his guys, was talking about, hey, this is how he does it. Yeah, we know. Nobody knows where this is going. That's the point. Okay, I'm not sure I love that, but I think I understand it.

[Jack Armstrong]

What do you use a pencil for? What are you writing in pencil for? You have a second grade paper due?

[Joe Getty]

No, I don't. I don't use them much, honestly. You'd have to ask my wife if maybe you're doing math or things you need to erase. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

What do you use a pencil for? We do a lot of drafting in our house. Busy drafting. Lots of drafts. Yeah, I feel like I use a pencil maybe to mark the kid's height up against the wall.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

About the only thing I can think of off the top of my head.

[Joe Getty]

You know, if you want the honest truth, and it's a probing question, I appreciate it. I only use a pencil because I picked it up thinking it was because we use mechanical pencils around my house. Yeah. Okay, I admit it. So that got a fair amount of attention and honestly, I think it's silly and indefensible and an odd thing to say. I. I get the idea of instead of a society of wildly cheap, astonishing abundance that is good for corporations but bad for the American worker, we're going to go back to a little more traditional American economic system, blah blah blah. My problem with that? It's defensible. You know, in some ways I get it, but I despise Central Planet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right?

[Joe Getty]

It's a horror. It's a horror. I could go on and on without pausing for breath for two and a half hours if you would like me to, about how incredibly stupid and flawed central planning is and how it is a miserable failure every single time it's tried. And this smacks of central planning. Except that I just think it's a means to the end of the trade negotiations.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I have a thought on that right after this. I watched the warriors game last night. I'm a Warriors fan. Like to see them go as far as they can. They won Game seven against Houston. Man, I don't know what you were thinking was going to happen there if you got involved with prize picks because man, there were some, some players that really went off. Turn your sports opinions into cash with prize picks. You should don't download the app today.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Do you first of all, we got this stuff about him. Ask whether or not he's going to follow the Constitution. Do you want to get next hour when we got time to really flesh it out.

[Joe Getty]

I was, I was all ready to go right now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right now. Do you understand the whole movie tariff thing that has just been announced on foreign movies.

[Joe Getty]

Well, that's, that's why I wanted to do the Constitution stuff now because I, I don't honestly think. Well, I would like to point out where I think Trump is being criticized unjustifiably on a big one, the constitutional stuff. I'm here to defend him on that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay.

[Joe Getty]

Believe it or not. Cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good one. That's a hot one. You and all pencils.

[Joe Getty]

I don't care. I don't know. We can do it now or do it. Let's kick off next hour with it. I will give you the very, very short version. I did not love his answer, but I've said since Trump was running in 2015, 2016, that his, his grasp of, and his love for the Constitution is less than I would like. On the other hand, the constant abuse of the Constitution by, you know, your Bidens and Obamas and, and company are, are certainly more than I would like. But having said that, he was obviously in an environment with a person who is trying desperately to trap him to get the big juicy news quote. And there is subtlety and complexity to anything but the very, very simplest answer to those questions. Now, he could have given the very, very simplest answer, but he knew she was trying to trap him and so he was engaging in ambivalence. So I get it. And we'll play you the clips.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I think it's amazing that the Trump people are willing to troll to the level they troll. I mean, two things. One thing she asked about on Meet the Press yesterday, you sell Trump 2028 hats. I mean, so that's some serious trolling. They actually sell Trump 2028 hats.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

And they put out on their own one of their own feeds over the weekend, put out the picture of him as pope.

[Joe Getty]

And also him as a roided up muscle freak action hero.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good lord.

[Joe Getty]

With a machine gun. Or so I can't remember.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I want to talk about two movies I saw over the weekend. Since I'm sick. I saw more movies than usual. I saw the new Marvel Comics movie, which had a really interesting message, I thought, and my son thought was the best deprail, deep portrayal of depression he's ever seen in any TV or movie ever.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, really?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Which I find interesting. It's a very adult movie. It wasn't like any other Marvel movie I've ever seen by far. I actually, people clapped at the end, including me. It was really something.

[Joe Getty]

You know, many, including me, have kicked Marvel absolutely stupid for foisting increasingly dopey Idiotic. Oh these, these idiots will watch anything. No movies for the longest time. So you know, they're smart people.

[Jack Armstrong]

They got it. And then. Oh, the other movie I watched, I watched. So we're at the 80 year anniversary of the fall of Berlin and I watched a movie I'd never seen before with Anthony Hopkins as Hitler. The Bunker. Have you ever seen that? I'd never even heard of it. It's the best Hitler movie I've ever seen. I didn't. Never even heard of it.

[Joe Getty]

I feel like I have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh my God. It was good. But I want to talk about that later. And some things around that. Among other stuff. We got Mailbag on the way. I hope you can stick around Armstrong and get.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Will the tryouts for Jack's replacement start before or after I die? Asking for a friend. Will there be a hot link for resume sub submissions?

[Joe Getty]

You know, as a man who's played in a number of rock and roll bands through the years, sometimes there's a weak link and you need to get rid of them. And you don't you just say yeah, we can't practice this Tuesday and but everybody knows but that person you are practicing on Tuesday but with the like drummer you're auditioning. So that's what we've been doing. Anyway, Hanson and I get together and and do a show on Saturdays with with Billy Young Billy who's. Who's the new co host. Anyway, here's your freedom loving quote of the day. Got a great one for Thursday. By the way. Jack, you brought up VE day in World War II. Got a wonderful VE Day related quote but today's from Ben Franklin. I love this because of its brevity. Here comes the orator with his flood of words and his drop of reason. Man, how many political speeches have you heard that are a flood of words and a drop of reason? I like it. Old Ben Pithy mailbag.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did you go with basically late great Ben Franklin?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, late great Ben Franklin. That's right. You can drop us a note mailbagarmstrongygetty.com let's start light and move, you know, towards more pithy or more important, JT and Livermore. On the topic of weighing obese people, guys, you don't need to take them to the zoo. Well, I would agree. There are a couple of cases of people needing to be weighed and they didn't have the proper scale at any medical facility for them because of their, their heavy, heavy weight.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you take them where you weigh hippopotamuses.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. Which is hurtful all around. Anyway, he says you only need two traditional bathroom scales with a board between them. And assuming the scales are accurate to 250 pounds, the two scales can weigh individuals up to 500 pounds.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's what we did. We did this, that on the Armstrong and Getty show. We figured that out years ago. We used to give away tickets to heavy people. Sacramento Kings were in the playoffs and we gave away tickets to the biggest Kings fan by weight. And we didn't have a 500 pound scale. So we had two regular scales. They would put one foot on each and it worked fine.

[Joe Getty]

That was in earlier and more idiotic days on the show. We've moved beyond that sort of foolishness.

[Jack Armstrong]

What, weighing giant people and giving them prices.

[Joe Getty]

Then he says you don't need a super executive expensive elephant scale for your doctor's office. The scales can be put away in a cabinet when weighing traditional patient. No, J.T. no. It's much simpler to just have the big scale. Oh, better bring out another. No, two more scales. Come on. Anyway, you are right. Did you watch the Kentucky Derby?

[Jack Armstrong]

I did not.

[Joe Getty]

Saturday I did. And fueled by. What do you make gin out of? Rice? Juniper berries? Fueled by whatever's in gin. I threw down a couple of ill advised dollars on various nags which failed to, to. To cross the finish line.

[Jack Armstrong]

He didn't choose the winner.

[Joe Getty]

I did not. Well, I never, I never go with favorites. I mean, what's the point anyway? Let's see. This is from Kevin. It seems appropriate that a horse named Sovereignty should defeat a horse named journalism in this Saturday's Kentucky Derby during a time that our country is taking back sovereignty at the southern border and exposing fake journalism. That's finding more meaning from the horse names than I did. Kevin. But you're right, that is kind of funny. Let's see. How about Ryan reacting to the president on Meet the Press with his you don't need 200 pencils or whatever he said, uh, dear big Freedom Cyber Jack, was President Trump telling me I should do with less. The man who drapes everything in gold, builds luxury resorts and hotels that I can't afford to Google much less go to and at the cost of taxpayer dollars shows up to whatever sports event he wants, is telling me to do more with or do with less. Please, elected officials don't tell me I could do with less. When you have grown fat and rich off the American people. That's Ryan from Houston who is a solid conservative lad. I don't know. Yeah, it's. I don't think it's very good political messaging. Anyway, moving along, totally different topic. JT writes one thing to look ahead when you lower the federal. Oh, he, he wrote a multi point email about GDP measurements which were much in the news at the end of last week. And he said one more thing. When you lower the federal budget, that too causes a reduction in the GDP calculation. That's right. Cuz it's consumer spending plus investment plus government spending minus, you know, imports, blah blah blah. Which is just an accounting reality. It's not that imports hurt the gdp, you just don't want to double count that money. Anyway, when you borrow money for the federal budget, that borrowed money increases the gdp. Paying down the debt doesn't help the GDP at all. It won't. So if Trump and Doge were actually able to find a trillion dollars to cut from the federal budget, the GDP of the country would go down by a trillion dollars, all other things being equal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, in three months when the quarterly report comes out, if it's down again, I'm taking that week off while you all argue about whether or not this is a recession.

[Joe Getty]

I can't wait. It'll be fascinating. JT rolls on though, and I think this is great. Here's another example of how screwed up the GDP calculation is. And I would add how silly it is to spend a lot of time beating our heads over it. To Jack's point, If Biden borrows $2 trillion for his green energy schemes and then Trump comes in and balances the budget, the GDP will take 2 trillion dollar hit year over year from that act of financial sanity. This has been one of my many, many jihads. That is so esoteric. Nobody cares about, but I believe we really need a new GDP like metric. That GDP like metric that better measures the health of the economy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that'll be a fun argument. Is This a recession? 2 down quarters in a row, blah blah. Everybody will switch sides from the last time we argued about it. Oh, it'll be a good time.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I'll just read passages from my favorite Dickens novels.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you missed a segment, get the.

[Joe Getty]

Podcast Armstrong and Getty.

[Dutch Advertisement]

Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 247 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.