That's Because You ARE Really Old

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "That's Because You ARE Really Old"
Date: August 25, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong with Joe Getty (remotely), guest analyst Gary Dietrich, and Congressman Kevin Kiley

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Main Theme / Purpose

This episode explores the ongoing political battle over redistricting in California and the broader national implications. It also touches on personalities in politics—particularly California Governor Gavin Newsom and his presidential ambitions—while serving up classic Armstrong & Getty banter, personal anecdotes (notably Jack’s sailing lesson disaster), and trademark irreverence. The show features extended analysis from political analyst Gary Dietrich and an interview with Congressman Kevin Kiley, along with some current event commentary and lighter moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The California Redistricting Fight

(00:28–04:08, 23:43–29:14)

• Background:
  Gary Dietrich outlines the "nationwide war over redistricting," highlighting Texas’s gain of seats (favorable to Republicans) and contrasting it with California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing for a ballot measure that could swing five seats back to Democrats.

  • "If Gavin gets his way, four of those will... be Republican. So nearly 40% of the people who vote in California vote Republican, but only 7% of the representation in the House." — Jack Armstrong [00:46]

• Democratic Opposition & Polling:

  • Gary references recent polling showing most Californians—even Democrats—oppose returning district line-drawing power to the legislature.
    • "Almost 60% of Democrats said that...a big headwind." — Gary Dietrich [03:14]

• National Implications:
  The conversation acknowledges that extreme gerrymandering is a bipartisan issue, with both major parties guilty over time.

2. Gavin Newsom’s National Ambitions and Public Image

(04:33–07:19, 09:22–11:14, 29:27–30:48)

• Running for President:
  Both Dietrich and Armstrong analyze Newsom’s efforts to become the Democratic "face of resistance" against the GOP and Trump, including his out-of-state campaigning, PAC fundraising, and national TV stunts.

  • "He's been auditioning for the White House here officially, unofficially, for the last year." — Gary Dietrich [04:55]
  • “He wants to be as close to...a presumptive as he can possibly get.” — Jack Armstrong [06:48]

• Polls, Odds, and Image:
  Dietrich notes Newsom recently overtook Kamala Harris as California Dems’ pick for 2028 and details how betting odds/national “feeling” can shift faster than polls.

  • “Odds take into account other things...fundraising look like? And Gavin Newsom has moved into the lead nationally in the odds for the 28 race..." — Gary Dietrich [06:07]

• National Perception vs. Local Reality:
  Both hosts and Kevin Kiley discuss how Newsom is viewed more favorably nationally than by those who have watched his political career in California:

  • “I feel like people...have a way higher opinion than of Gavin Newsom's talents than people who have known him longer in California.” — Jack Armstrong [08:55]
  • "Under the microscope of a presidential campaign, this will—his image will quickly fall apart once people start asking questions..." — Kevin Kiley [29:58]

3. Political Objectivity and Media Roles

(08:23–09:22)

• Dietrich reaffirms his nonpartisan stance, explaining his media philosophy and history working with both Fox and CBS.
  • "You know how it is, Jack, just like you said. I call them like I see him...Nobody scripts me. Nobody tells me what bent to take." — Gary Dietrich [08:55]

4. The Long History and Entrenchment of Gerrymandering

(04:08–04:33, 24:56–26:41)

• References to the earliest days of the Republic, with a brief history lesson weaving in James Madison and the origins of the term "gerrymander."

  • "In the early years of the Republic, 1797, around then, to gerrymander James Madison out of his seat..." — Kevin Kiley [24:56]

• Debate over the futility of fighting gerrymandering by partisan means, and the search for national solutions.

5. Fixes and Policy Proposals

(24:56–26:41, 28:00–29:27)

• Rep. Kevin Kiley’s View:
  • Suggests banning mid-decade redistricting, supports a national anti-gerrymandering law with a voter ID requirement for all states.
  • "Let's get rid of gerrymandering once and for all in all 50 states. And number two, let's establish voter ID once and for all in all 50 states." — Kevin Kiley [25:33]

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6. Personal Anecdotes: “The Old Man In The Sea” Sailing Disaster

(15:20–19:22; continued in 31:33–33:14)

• Jack Armstrong recounts his misadventure in a sailing class with “an 8,000-year-old man”—a classic, humorous saga of ego, miscommunication, and generational tension.

  • “I yelled at a guy. I yelled at an old man and even a small. I yelled at a small old man on my sailboat in my sailing lessons yesterday. And he deserved it.” — Jack Armstrong [14:06]
  • “At some point, I was getting so frustrated trying to hear the instructor tell me what to do...I said, sir, I'm trying to listen to the instructor right now.” — Jack Armstrong [18:25]
  • “I'm trying to listen to the instructor, sir. I don't know why the sir came out of my mouth like that.” — Jack Armstrong [18:47]
  • "I would never do this, but I think it would have been within my purview to have said, shut the f up." — Jack Armstrong [33:00]

• Joe Getty, ever the sidekick, supplies the deadpan:

  • “You should have just donkey kicked him right off there.” — Joe Getty [18:53]

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7. National Guard, Public Safety, and Trump Commentary

(20:25–22:36)

• Brief segment on Trump’s statement about “people wanting a dictator” and National Guard deployment in American cities.
• Rep. Kiley gives a pragmatic take:
  • “It’s especially embarrassing for our country when we have people coming from around the world and they see our capital city has lawlessness...” — Kevin Kiley [21:57]
  • Contrasts the president’s formal powers in D.C. with state-level authority elsewhere.
  • Notes Newsom used the National Guard in SF, but not effectively.

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8. Race to the Bottom in Partisan Politics

(27:16–29:27)

• Kiley and Armstrong lament the “race to the bottom” as states engage in ever more aggressive tit-for-tat maneuvers.
  • “You fight fire with fire, the whole world burns.” — Kevin Kiley [28:12]

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9. Show Banter & Lighter Moments

• Reflections on show history:

  • “Our anniversary is...like in a week...And that will be 28 years. 27 years. Something like 27. 27 years.” — Jack Armstrong [07:32]
  • "You are really old, and so am I.” — Jack Armstrong [07:46]

• Pumpkin spice “bully spice” takes over fall coffee shops, to feigned frustration.

  • “Pumpkin spice is a bully spice that is trying to push all the other spices out of the way.” — Jack Armstrong quoting former producer [39:49]

• Travel & 9/11 anecdote while in England:

  • “I was a big black and tan guy back in the way. Oof...I was somewhat hungover...and I could tell. I knew something was happening because people were gathered around the television…” — Jack Armstrong [37:10–38:22]

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Memorable Quotes and Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |------------|-----------------|-------| | 00:46 | Jack Armstrong | “Nearly 40% of the people who vote in California vote Republican, but only 7% of the representation in the House. Well, that sounds fair. Whatever.” | | 03:14 | Gary Dietrich | “Almost 60% of Democrats said that. So that's a big headwind.” | | 04:55 | Gary Dietrich | “He's been auditioning for the White House here officially, unofficially, for the last year.” | | 06:07 | Gary Dietrich | “Odds take into account other things...what is fundraising look like? And Gavin Newsom has moved into the lead nationally in the odds for the '28 race of the Democratic nomination.” | | 07:46 | Jack Armstrong | “You are really old, and so am I.” | | 08:55 | Gary Dietrich | “Nobody scripts me. Nobody tells me what bent to take. I guarantee you that.” | | 14:06 | Jack Armstrong | “I yelled at a guy. I yelled at an old man...on my sailboat in my sailing lessons yesterday. And he deserved it.” | | 18:25 | Jack Armstrong | “Sir, I'm trying to listen to the instructor right now.” | | 28:12 | Kevin Kiley | “You fight fire with fire, the whole world burns. Right.” |

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Redistricting Battle and Polling: 00:28–04:08
• Newsom's Presidential Prospects: 04:33–07:19, 09:22–11:14
• Show’s History & Banter: 07:19–07:57
• Objective Political Analysis: 08:23–09:22
• Kiley Interview on Gerrymandering: 23:43–29:27
• Jack’s Sailing Saga: 15:20–19:22; 31:33–33:14
• National Guard & Trump Segment: 20:25–22:36
• Pumpkin Spice Banter: 39:23–40:30
• Reflections on 9/11 in England: 37:10–38:22

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Final Thoughts

This episode mixes timely political insight with the personal and comic energy Armstrong & Getty are known for. Key takeaways include the persistent, damaging role of gerrymandering in American electoral politics; the ongoing machinations and image management of Gavin Newsom as he considers a presidential run; and the importance—albeit rarity—of nonpartisan political analysis. Woven throughout are moments of self-deprecating humor and the hosts’ habitual skepticism toward political theater, making for a lively and informative listen even for newcomers to the show.

Transcript

[Gary Dietrich]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Commercial Announcer]

Broadcasting live.

[Jack Armstrong]

From the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at.

[Commercial Announcer]

The George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Kevin Kiley]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Gary Dietrich]

And in this nationwide war over redistricting, we've seen the two biggest states go first. The biggest red state, Texas. You mentioned those five additional seats.

[Jack Armstrong]

Look at all that red.

[Gary Dietrich]

Yeah, and there's not a lot of blue. They're squeezing that big time. Now, what we're seeing the opposite in California, where the Democrats under Gavin Newsom are putting a map on the ballot for voters this fall that could get them those five seats back. So that would make those extraordinary.

[Jack Armstrong]

Only four Republican seats, 48 for the Democrats. So we're standing up. This is not about parties. It's not about redistricting lines. It's about holding the line. It's about protecting all of us, regardless of political party. It's about power. At the end of the day, is it? Okay, so the math on that. There are 52 congressional seats in California. If Gavin gets his way, four of those will. Will be Republican. So Even though about 38% of Californians voted Republican last time around, they would only have 7% of the seats. So nearly 40% of the people who vote in California vote Republican, but only 7% of the representation in the House. Well, that sounds fair. Whatever. We welcome back to the Armstrong and Getty show, our old friend Gary Dietrich. How are you, Gary?

[Gary Dietrich]

Hey, Jack. Good to be with you. And one thing we know for sure, the scientific study has come out. Joe. Jack, there's been now more citations of redistricting in the last 30 days than in all of human history prior to that.

[Jack Armstrong]

No kidding? No kidding. Not a hot topic usually. Says here you are a CBS News political analyst now. Congratulations.

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, thank you, my friend. Yeah. You know, I've been based in the state capital of California for some time, but, you know, as things continue to grow and all the rest of the good stuff, you know, and I think they. Guess I make sense of them. I'm now doing national TV and radio for cbs.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's awesome. Of course, the reason we have you on today is to talk about the backlash against the Cracker Barrel remodel. Has everybody very angry.

[Gary Dietrich]

You know, I gotta tell you something that's so funny you mentioned this, Jack, I was thinking over the weekend, I have never in my lifetime seen a car brand flip politically in six months, a beer brand flip politically in 30 days, and a beloved pancake house and, I don't know, fried chicken, whatever. You know, do the same thing in about two hours. It's unbelievable.

[Jack Armstrong]

It really is. That's a very good point. We'll have to discuss that later. You gotta really watch your. Your PR currently as a big company. But anyway, we're gonna talk to you about redistricting, among other things. Um, first of all, what's the likelihood that this passes? Have you seen any polling on this in California?

[Gary Dietrich]

Yeah, in California. Here. Here's the problem for Democrats, that when the polling was done a couple weeks ago, just on the concept, would you like the Independent Citizens Commission, or do you want it to go the power to go back to the legislature? Jack, this remarkable to me, actually, two thirds of voters said, no, we don't want it going back to the legislature's control. We want it to stay in the hands. And that, by the way, wasn't just led by Republicans. And the large percentage, almost 25%. 20, 25% independents in California, but a vast majority, almost 60% of Democrats said that. So that's a big headwind. Now, when you start talking about this measure in specifics, people are just beginning to get polled on it. But right now, the most recent numbers I saw, Jack, had about 4,48% in support of it. There's a general rule of thumb in California about propositions. If you don't start your campaign with over 50% of the support, you got a big, big road to hoe.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, interesting. Well, that. That is. That's good to know. Going forward with this. Not to redo. We just had Congressman Tom McClintock on, and he kind of went through the history of gerrymandering, although he uses the correct pronunciation of gerrymandering.

[Gary Dietrich]

But, yeah, I want you to know I had nothing to do with that, though. It's a different spelling Gary than me. His. That's G E. So I did not have anything to do with the start of gerrymandering. I want you guys to know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Gotcha. But. So we won't go through the history of that again. But, like, people have been gerrymandering since the country started. There's lots of blue states that are all gerrymandered to heck, as we all know. And now it's just. But isn't Gavin's main goal if this gets shot down? Doesn't he want just to be the face of the resistance? Isn't that his main goal?

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, you know, I never tried to get inside a politician's head, but if you look at the sort of factual evidence of that in the last 12 to 18 months, Jack, you know very well. I mean, he's been in red states all over the country, raised $10 million in a PAC to do that, took up billboards in Florida and Texas, famously debated the governor of Florida on the Sean Hannity show, of all things. I mean, he has, you know, had his own podcast, you know, the story with Bannon on it and Charlie Kirk, I mean, he's been, he's been auditioning for the White House here officially, unofficially, for the last year.

[Jack Armstrong]

Plus, how do you like his chances?

[Gary Dietrich]

Oh, in 28.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, here's the deal. We have some recent numbers on that. This is really interesting. In California, his own home state, he has now surged ahead of Kamala Harris as California Democrats, 28 choice.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, I would hope Kamala Harris, I can't believe anybody's even talking about her still. Good Lord.

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, I'm just telling you the numbers, okay? California Democrats had her in the lead as their choice. And then just in the last 30 days, Gavin surged ahead. Now, nationally, there hasn't been a lot of good national polling on this in the last couple weeks. But what's interesting, Jack, is the movement on the so called odds, okay? Now why are odds, why would people care about that over polling? Because odds taken. And these are being watched, by the way, very carefully and reliably by many political sources in the US These days. Why? Because polling is one measurement, right? It's snapshot in time. It takes time to get a poll out in the field and then you get it back. Odds take into account other things like what have recent, what have recent news cycles shared, et cetera, et cetera. What is fundraising look like? And Gavin Newsom has moved into the lead nationally in the odds for the 28 race of the Democratic nomination.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's interesting. And that was his goal. He wants to be as close to, as a presumptive as he can possibly get heading into the whole thing, obviously. And, and again, the Democratic Party doesn't have a face. They don't have a person that is like the go to resistance to Trump and every, everything Trump and everything that's evil and Republican and he wants to be that. And he, and he's making some pretty good progress on that. But so are you still now you're working for CBS. How long we been doing this together, Gary? 20 years? 25 years?

[Gary Dietrich]

Okay, let me, let me remind you, I'll ask you the question because somebody asked me this over the weekend about you guys. When did you start your local show in Sacramento that's now ballooned into a galactic, you know, superstar radio program. Well, when did you guys start?

[Jack Armstrong]

Michael's usually on top of this. So our anniversary is like in a week. Couple days, actually. And that will be 28 years. 27 years. Something like 27. 27 years.

[Gary Dietrich]

Oh, my gosh, now you're making me feel really old.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know why that is? Because you are really old, and so am I. Oh, geez.

[Gary Dietrich]

Come on, man. I, I, I started with you guys the first year you were on air locally in the state capital of California.

[Jack Armstrong]

Lord, we've been talking to each other for almost three decades. What are we doing?

[Gary Dietrich]

Yeah, we gotta stop. Okay, that's the end of that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's, let's do something else with our lives. Okay, so anyway, but since you're on right now for the last time, so you've always been staunchly nonpartisan. That's always been your thing, and I love that. That's one of the reasons we always liked having you on. You're really into just trying to relay the facts. I assume you're still doing that for cbs?

[Gary Dietrich]

Absolutely. That is a great question. Because people say, because remind, remember, this really blows people's minds. Prior to my contract with CBS, we started in what, 2018 or something? So that was what, seven years ago? I was with our local Fox affiliate, Fox 40 in Sacramento. So, you know, I, people say, did you flip loyalties? No, I've always been the same Gary Dietrich. You know how it is, Jack, Just like you said. I call them like I see him. I like that's very, very important role. That's why they have me on. Nobody scripts me. Nobody tells me what bent to take. I guarantee you that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, so this is of an opinion question, so I don't know how you want to handle that, but I, Joe and I take in a lot of national media and podcasts and all that sort of stuff. Of course we do for, for our line of work. I feel like people, pundits in the rest of the country have a way higher opinion than of Gavin Newsom's talents than people who have known him longer in California. Well, first of all, would you agree with that or not?

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, I do think that that is, how should we call it? A bias. That happens with literally almost every governor. Almost every governor, this happens. And Republicans and Democrats, you can go down the list. You go way back to Mike Dukakis in Massachusetts. I mean, the Massachusetts miracle. And when I went to, you know, I won't mention the name of the school because you guys like to make fun of my Grad school.

[Jack Armstrong]

Gary went Harvard. He went to Harvard at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. We all know. Glad we mentioned telling you this for 30 years. Go ahead, Gary.

[Gary Dietrich]

Okay. I'm hoping people forget. The reason I mentioned that is because when I was in Matt, when I was in Massachusetts, people would say, what is this fascination with our governor outside of our state? There's this wrong, this wrong, this wrong. That happens all the time.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I remember, you know, Rick Perry coming out of Texas or whoever it is. They, the local people often say, I don't know if he's as good as you think he is, but then sometimes you get a Clinton or a Bush who perform, you know, at that high level. But. So where do you think Gavin Newsom is currently as a political athlete?

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, I certainly think that, you know, you're onto the trend line right now, which is the Democratic base has been desperately seeking a true, in other words, fighter, quote, unquote. They want somebody to take on, as they call him, quote, unquote, the bully in the White House. And Gavin has filled that role. Now, interestingly, there's been a huge transformation, as you know, Jack, in the last eight months, because when the President showed up on the tarmac of LA International Airport right after the fires down south, you know, Gavin wanted to make nice, and he needs $40 billion, they say, to rebuild L A, et cetera, et cetera. But things turned sour quickly, as you know, they've gone from bad to worse. And I think Gavin has essentially given up on trying to woo Trump in the White House. And now it's full on. I'm going to be the face of the opposition.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't blame him. But, man, these early projections. Trump has only been President for what, nine months? In the talk about 28 that is out there, Hillary Clinton seemed like a lock for the nomination. 2008. I remember when Rudy Giuliani seemed like, who could possibly beat him? You know, we've seen this so many times. There's a lot of names that I've never even heard of. You've never. You've probably heard of them, but that I've never even heard of. That could emerge in the next couple of years, correct?

[Gary Dietrich]

Oh, yeah. I mean, look, a month is a long time in politics. I mean, nobody's even talking about a redistricting special election on November 4th in California 30 days ago. Now it's a reality.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good point.

[Gary Dietrich]

So the point is, Jack, we have a long, long ways to go. But if you look at the national oddsmaker polling right now, Just for who's going to win 28. And this is so far out, it's ridiculous. But JD Vance is the leader, followed about 10 points behind, more than that, 12 points by now, Gavin Newsom. And then the list goes down from there. So still Vance. And of course he's no lock for his own nomination. So we're a long ways away from 28.

[Jack Armstrong]

Although Elon saying he might throw 100 to 200 million dollars behind Vance is certainly a big deal.

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, you know what, he's got those kind of checks he could decide he wants tomorrow to put in 50 cents and the next week it might be 500 million. But you know, that proved, as you know, to be significant last time around. I mean, the battle for 28, that's going to make it really interesting, Jack, is that it's wide open. There won't be an incumbent on either side. And yes, you have a sitting vice president, but that's a real mixed bag of results for sitting vice presidents over the years.

[Jack Armstrong]

Gary Dietrich, CBS News political analyst. Let's do it for 30 more years, Gary.

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, how about we start with 30 days and go from there?

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, talk to you soon.

[Gary Dietrich]

Okay, buddy.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Gary Dietrich]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

So I take this beginner sailing class at this little local lake next to me and it's two days, two hours each day, and you get a certificate. That's not a lot of sailing. I'll begin with the fact that I'm terrible at it. I don't know if I have the ability to ever get any good at it or if I'll ever even try it again. But it was, it was fun. It was. But it's way, way more complicated than I thought it was. And there's five adults in the class on the first day. There's only five of us in the instructor. I'm the youngest one there's. And right away I had pegged this one dude who appeared to be about 8,000 years old as a, as a, as a bit of a know it all. I live in a university town and one thing I've learned living in a university town is people who have a really high education. I think this guy had a PhD. People with PhDs think they know everything about everything. That has just been my experience because you have a tremendous amount of knowledge about a tiny subject that you got your PhD in. You think you know everything about everything. This guy apparently had sailed before or something. I don't know this 1,8,000-year-old man who was in my class and your beginner's class. But why are you in the beginner sailing class if you're okay? So when the instructor was trying to teach us stuff before he even got on the boats, he's got the big chart up and everything like that, and he's showing his parts of the boat. The. The instructor would be showing you, and, you know, here's. And here's the halyard. And you do. And. And the. The old genius would have to shout out, and that's what you're going to want to watch the jib main liner throughout some of the term terminology. And the instructor would say, yeah, we'll get to that in a second. But he had just had to let the whole class know that he knew some of the terms already. Okay, so he's not on my boat. The first day. We just. We have two boats. He's not on my boat. I told some various people about this old man, know it all who's in my class was kind of annoying. I was just trying to stay away from him. Day two, only two of us return for the class. Only two of us. And it's me and the old man.

[Joe Getty]

Are the only time right there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Of course it is. Of course it is. And. And the instructor makes it clear that we're going out on the boat alone, just me and the old man. The instructor will be on a motorboat kind of near us shouting out instructions. And I thought, okay, this is going to be a growth opportunity for me to. I already got, like, kind of a beef against this guy and a growth opportunity to just, you know, accept him for who he is or whatever. So we get out on the water and he keeps telling me what to do. He can't stop telling me what to do with everything you need to do. A little further left. A little further up. Pull that in. That's too loose. It's too tight. And the problem was the actual instructor, who has years of experience of actual sailing, is telling me what to do. But the old man doesn't know because his hearing shot. So he has no idea that the instructor is telling me what to do. And at some point, I was getting so frustrated trying to hear the instructor tell me what to do because I almost flipped the boat. Once you make a mistake, you can. You can end up. You can end up in the water really easy. I'm trying to listen to the instructor while the old man is in my other ear telling me what to do. At one point I said, sir, I'm trying to listen to the instructor right now. Well, I can't hear him. I can't hear a thing he's saying. I mean, it was just exactly like that.

[Joe Getty]

And there went Jack's growth exercise.

[Jack Armstrong]

My God. Yeah. And it got, it only got worse from there. I just, I could not. And I had to several times. I'm trying to listen to the instructor, sir. I don't know. I don't know why the sir came out of my mouth like that. I'm not exactly sure that was some.

[Joe Getty]

Form of respect you were still showing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Was I was trying to have respect for an 8,000 year old man telling me what to do.

[Joe Getty]

I'm still with Michael. You should have just donkey kicked him right off there.

[Jack Armstrong]

I could have so easily just stood up, hip, checked him a tiny bit and he'd have been in the sea. But I have more to that story I have to get to later. Oh, I was so annoying and so hot and under so much stress. It was stressful enough if I'd have been with somebody I liked, let alone with this guy. Oh my God. We got more on the way. I hope you can stay with us. If you missed a segment, get the podcast. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

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[Donald Trump]

As you all know, Chicago is a killing field right now and they don't acknowledge it. And they say we don't need him. Freedom. Freedom. He's a dictator. He's a dictator. A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator. I don't like a dictator. I'm not a dictator. I'm a man with great common sense and I'm a smart person. And when I see what's happening to our cities and then you send in troops instead of being praised, they're saying, you're trying to take over the republic. These people are sick.

[Jack Armstrong]

The other thing, the old man in the sea, the old man on my boat when we took our break from sailing, he was telling me all the things he doesn't like about Trump. It's one of my favorite things as far as a personality goes. Just lay into me with your political opinions. Uh, anyway, that's Trump just a few moments ago saying a lot of people like a dictator, which of course will get headlines all day long. But that was on the topic of sending National Guard troops into cities, among things we might talk about with Kevin Kiley, who joins us now on the Armstrong and Getty Show. He's a California congressperson in our House of Representatives representing the 3rd district of California will actually be gerrymandered out if Gavin Newsom gets his way. How are you this morning, Kevin Kiley?

[Kevin Kiley]

Doing well, thanks for having me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, before we get to the whole redistricting thing, which would eliminate your position, what are your thoughts on sending National Guard troops into various US Cities? For that or against it?

[Kevin Kiley]

Well, I think certainly in D.C. we've seen results, right. We've got a significant improvement in public safety over the last week, more than a week. And D.C. has had out of control crime for a long time. And it's, no one deserves to live in those conditions. But it's especially embarrassing for our country when we have people coming from around the world and they see our capital city has lawlessness, has rampant homelessness, has, you know, you go to, it's like Sacramento or places in California, you go to CVS and they have the shampoo and conditioner under lock and key. So I think that there's a lot of people who are like, finally someone actually cares that our cities are unsafe for folks to live in. And hopefully this will catalyze a renewed interest in public safety across the country.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, of course, though the big difference being there is a constitutional way that the president can take over problems in Washington, D.C. that he does not have for Chicago and some of the other cities he's throwing out.

[Kevin Kiley]

Well, you know, interestingly enough, Gavin Newsom himself deployed the National Guard to San Francisco, I think it was last year, might have been the year before, saying the open air drug market are out of control. We need the Guard there in order to help Our law enforcement and Brandon Newsom, of course, did it in a halfway token sort of way. So it didn't really make an impact. But you would hope that the president would have willing partners in mayors and governors across the country to ask, okay, where do you need help? How can we cooperate to actually protect your citizens?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, everything Gavin Newsom does, as we've talked about a lot, you have to run through the filter of he's trying to run for president. That's his main goal. So almost everything he does is, how is this gonna look nationally of me trying to get the nomination and run for president, as opposed to what's going to be good for any various California town? So am I right that if Gavin gets his way on the whole gerrymandering California, it'll eliminate your seat?

[Kevin Kiley]

That's certainly his goal, but it was also his goal to defeat me last year under the current district lines. He had his own staff member who came and ran against me, and I ended up winning by 46,000 votes. So even though he's tried as hard as he possibly can to gerrymander my district, it looks like an elephant. Ironically, the trunk sort of extends into the Sacramento area to collect the sort of voters that he wants. I still think one way or another, we will beat him again. But ultimately, we need to make sure that the redistricting sham does not go through. It is one of the worst things that could happen to democracy and representative governments in our state. And it's an attempt, it is an explicit attempt to overturn the will of voters, blow up our state constitution, and deprive many people of their representatives.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was reading something, I think it was in the Washington Post over the weekend. This idea of making the country look like a checkerboard where everything is equal sized square. You know, just draw the lines and whoever lives in it, lives in it and make it that way. Do you have any fixes for this? Because gerrymandering's been going on since the beginning of the country. There doesn't seem to be any way to stop it from happening. Voters hate it. Do you have any ideas?

[Kevin Kiley]

Yeah. In fact, there was an attempt in the early years of the Republic, 1797, around then, to gerrymander James Madison out of his seat in Congress.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Kevin Kiley]

Of course, the term comes from 1812, when Eldridge Gerry, the governor of Massachusetts, wrote a district in the shape of a salamander. So gerrymander. But you're right, it is not a good thing for our country, whichever party does it, to be honest with you. It's bad for representative government. It disempowers voters and empowers politicians. So what I proposed is, number one, we shouldn't be redrawing lines in the middle of the decade like Gavin Newsom is trying to do. I've introduced a bill to that effect in the House that I'm trying to get past as quickly as possible. And then ultimately, come the time of the next census, when you're actually supposed to be doing redistricting, I want to see a fix for. To make elections fairer in our country. So I think that it consists of two things that we could reach a deal on. Number one, let's get rid of gerrymandering once and for all in all 50 states. And number two, let's establish voter ID once and for all in all 50 states. I think that if we can do those two things, then we'll have a lot fairer elections in this country, and our representative government will work a lot better.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I forget what the numbers were I heard the other day. I think it was about Massachusetts, where they don't have a single Republican in the House, but they get a pretty decent percentage of the vote every single time around if Gavin gets his way. In California, Republicans in the last election made up about 30%, 38% of the votes. Dang near 40% of the votes, but would have 7% of the representation in the House. Obviously, that's not good. And I would say the same thing if it was flipped Republican and Democrat, is would the goal be to have roughly the same representation in the House as the way people vote, would that be like, in a perfect world?

[Kevin Kiley]

Yeah, I think that's a pretty good metric. Right? Like, everyone should have the chance to get a representative of their choice. The party should be represented about an equal measure of the support they have in the population. This idea that, you know, you control 55% of the state at the state level, therefore you should get 100% of the representatives in Congress. It just makes no sense. And like you said, I think the typical person, whether they're Democrat, Republican, independent, Green Party, what have you, they look at a map that says, okay, we're going to be, you know, four Republicans and 48 Democrats. I think most people would say that's just a little too out of balance. That's really not the way things are supposed to work.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, this disturbs me. I feel like on a whole bunch of different issues, we've got a bit of a race to the bottom going on. I mean, what Texas is doing is to try to compensate one for a census that wasn't very representative of reality. But the fact that, you know, Illinois, and of course, it's hilarious that Texas Democrats ran to Illinois, one of the most gerrymandered states in the entire country. But Illinois had done it long time ago. California did it back in the day. There's not a single Republican north of New York in the entire, in the entire House. But each, you know, every. Everybody's always reacting to what the other party did and saying, well, we've got to fight. We've got to fight fire with fire. They play hardball. We're gonna. And how do we avoid this race to the bottom?

[Kevin Kiley]

Great question. This whole fight fire with fire thing is just a ridiculous slogan. I mean, it's rhetoric and, you know, it's easily rhetorically defeated as a slogan as well. You fight fire with fire, the whole world burns. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good one.

[Kevin Kiley]

Some other other state is doing something that we don't like. That means California voters should pay the price. Our people should be punished for it. Our voters should be deprived of the right to fair representation, should have their actual votes from the past overturned. It just makes no sense. But I do think, you know, like you said, like, you know, some people point to Texas, others will point to Illinois. And so, you know, there's a lot of debate of who really started. The truth is it goes back a long, long time to the beginning of the republic like we were talking about. But that's why I think we need to have some sort of national solution to this. And that's my, that's the point of my bill is saying, look, enough is enough. Why don't we get back to the issues that actually matter to people. And by the way, I happen to think that if we have fair elections, then our party, Republicans will do well. In fact, we just did win the election at the House in 2024 with the masses they are now. And look at the issues right now. I mean, we have an absolute standstill at the border. We've delivered major tax relief to the American people. We've gotten rid of a lot of this woke insanity. And the Democrats, meanwhile, have never been more unpopular and have embraced socialism in New York City. So let's focus on the issues. Let's move past these redistricting games, and let's certainly do everything we can to make sure that Gavin Newsom does not succeed in blowing up our Constitution and attacking democracy in our state.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaking of Gavin and I mentioned that he has obviously presidential ambitions. The national punditry that doesn't live in California seems to be pretty high on Gavin and his abilities and his chances of being the next president. I feel like those of us who have watched him more closely, like all the way from back when he was mayor of San Francisco and through, I think they're misreading his talents. Well, where are you on that?

[Kevin Kiley]

I agree 100%. I think that under the microscope of a presidential campaign, this will. His image will quickly fall apart once people start asking questions like, why is it that California has the highest homelessness in the country?

[Jack Armstrong]

Half the homeless in the entire country live in this state.

[Kevin Kiley]

Exactly half the unshelter homeless in the entire country. Why do we have the highest unemployment first out of 50 states? Why is it that we have the highest poverty rate in this country first out of 50 in California? And, you know, as you know, we could go on and on and on and on. Right. So those questions are ones that he simply will not be able to answer. I don't think that, you know, progressives or conservatives want to live in a world that has the sort of outcomes that Gavin Newsom's politics do. So I think that, you know, under the scrutiny, which he's really never had to deal with an election process of a national campaign, that truth will be unmistakable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you know how much you can bench press? That Communist mayor candidate in New York tried to bench press 135 over the weekend at a gym, and he couldn't. And I don't know why he laid. I don't know why he laid down on the bench to do that. And I don't care. I don't think we should judge our politicians based on how much lead they can move around. I don't think James Madison probably bench press very much, but I just thought it was funny that he went to.

[Kevin Kiley]

The gym back in the game here. So, you know, he.

[Jack Armstrong]

What's that?

[Kevin Kiley]

Schwarzenegger is going to be back in.

[Jack Armstrong]

The spotlight here if we judge everything on that. Hey, thanks for coming on today. And we'll be following this redistricting, you know, vote and see how the voters feel about it. Obviously, if that would eliminate you, that would be a bad thing for us. Congressman Kevin Kiley, the third district. Thanks for your time.

[Kevin Kiley]

You bet. Thanks for having me.

[Jack Armstrong]

The thing with Mom Donnie is it's just so funny. So he visited one of those outside gyms where the super big, usually roided up dudes lift weights outside, where everybody can see him there in New York and say, yeah, he's in his suit and tie. I laid down on the bench, and. And he. He. He could not. They had to help him get 135 pounds off his chest. And again, I'm not knocking him for his. What he can bench. I can. I can lift that much, but who cares? But why would you lay down on a bench underneath some weights if you know you're a weedy, weak guy? That just seems like an odd thing to do to me anyhow. Yes. Arnold says yes. One more thing on the old man on the boat. At one point, he's telling me what to do as we're trying to come into the dock. And you can really cause a problem coming into the dock on a sailboat because you got no motor, and you could, like, really wreck the boat and cause a lot of damage. Everything like. Anyway, I'm coming in the dock feeling a lot of pressure. Everything like that. The instructor is yelling one thing to me, and the old man in the sea was yelling a different thing to me. And in this particular case, it wasn't that I couldn't hear him. It was that he was telling me the opposite. I said, sir, the instructor is telling me the exact opposite. I'm gonna listen to the teach. Oh, I really lost my composure.

[Joe Getty]

It sounds like he gave you every reason to. Yeah, From. From yelling at you to talking politics. Enough.

[Jack Armstrong]

I could. I mean, yeah, I would never do this, but I think it would have been within my purview to have said, shut the f up.

[Gary Dietrich]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or I'm flipping this boat.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, you're about to go swimming, sir.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right, we got. We got more on the way in a second. I want to tell you about this. We're really excited to be teaming up with Webroot. Gotta do this. Cybercrime is a huge problem. Lots of people getting fished or scammed or somehow online, and you can avoid that. The cyber crime with Webroot total protection. It scans lightning fast, installs in minutes, and takes way less space than a lot of those bloated competitors are out there. Webroot's been protecting people for over 25 years with 90% customer retention rate. Families love it, too. You get VPN coverage in 65 countries, unlimited cloud backup, and identity protection for up to 10 people. So that obviously me and my kids. Maybe I can get my parents on there, too. Also, if identity theft does strike, you're covered up with up to a million dollars in reimbursement. Get 50% off webroot total protection or Webroot essentials. Right [e-mail] Armstrong get 50 off web root total Protection, Protection and Webroot essentials [e-mail] Armstrong Protect what matters most before it's too late. More on the way.

[Gary Dietrich]

Stay here Armstrong and Getty.

[Commercial Announcer]

This Labor Day, say goodbye to spills, stains and overpriced furniture with washablesofas.com featuring Anabe, the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly pricing. Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Annabe's pet friendly, stain resistant and interchangeable slipcovers are made with high performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud like comfort of hypoallergenic, high resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time with modular pieces you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your life. Now through Labor Day, get up to 60% off site [e-mail] Every order comes with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees, every penny back. Shop [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Jack Armstrong]

Kamala Harris announced she will kick off a 15 city tour to promote her new memoir. It was supposed to be one city until she found out she could drink on the bus. Wow, he really leans on the Kamala Harris is a drunk a lot. Greg Guffel all right, so coming up in our four Donald Trump is in the midst of one of his really, really long impromptu press conferences. Like they're having a meeting but the press is there and he starts taking questions and he's been talking for like an hour and he said a whole bunch of interesting things. So we'll get some of those to you in our four along with Joe Getty will be joining the Armstrong and Getty Show. He is in England on hello. He is in England on vacation right now.

[Joe Getty]

I hope he already has the accent.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's a bit of a payback me working while he's in Great Britain because we did this one other time 24 years ago. I was in England on vacation over 9 11. I was walking around the countryside of Great Britain on 911 and Joe was nearby with his when his kids were young and he came back into work and worked all that week while I stayed on vacation. I couldn't have left if I wanted to because if you remember, there were no flights for a week the first day Heathrow opened up. I flew back, but. So we'll hear from him from England. I'm looking forward to that. That'll be a lot of fun. First of all, I can't believe 911 is 24 years ago. I just did that math in my head. That's shocking if you're of a certain age. I was so drunk the day of 9 11. I was on vacation. I was walking around.

[Gary Dietrich]

I had.

[Jack Armstrong]

I had gotten a pub map, rural pubs of England, and I was hiking around rural England, going from pub to pub through these fields. It was awesome. You'd walk through these fields and they had, like, steps built where the fences were to keep the cattle or sheep or. I don't remember if I saw any livestock, but they'd have these little steps where you could walk up the steps over the fence and down the other side and walk through these fields. And then there'd be a pub kind of in the middle of nowhere. Might be a castle over there. Pub over there. Pub had been there for 300 years. Go in there, drink a little bit, move on to the next pub. Anyway, I was kind of hammered and drunk. I'm walking around from pub to pub and I could tell. I knew something was happening because people were gathered around. The television in the lot of the pubs didn't have TVs, but some of them that did. People were gathered around and there was something going on. I was on vacation. I'm in the news business. There's always something going on I didn't catch on to.

[Joe Getty]

You were turning it off for the trip?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. I didn't catch on to those. One of the biggest stories of my entire lifetime was happening until the next day. I was. I was a day behind on reacting to 911 and then it was somewhat hungover from the. I was a big black and tan guy back in the way. Oof.

[Joe Getty]

No, like, those are delicious. But you'll be feeling that the next day for sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

Especially if you drink, like 20 of them. That's. That's. The top half is Guinness. The bottom half is Bass Ale. That's the way it works. The other way around doesn't matter.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I think the bottom is Guinness.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway. That's kind of rough. That was a rough day. So anyway, Joe. Joe Getty live from Great Britain coming up in just a few minutes. And also Trump's press conference that he's doing right now.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder if Joe saw any of those protests over the weekend. The immigration protests that were, like, all over London.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, really? I didn't realize that. Okay. He certainly would be aware of it because I know he's taken in some of the local news. This is news, obviously. Breaking news. Starbucks has brought and Broughton brought back the pumpkin spice latte and other autumn inspired treats available starting tomorrow. I don't know where what it's like where you live, but it's 103 degrees here.

[Gary Dietrich]

Bust out the Uggs.

[Joe Getty]

Get a pumpkin spice latte.

[Jack Armstrong]

Put a scarf around your neck. Get all cozy, maybe some sort of stocking cap.

[Joe Getty]

Find a nice fireplace.

[Jack Armstrong]

Your Uggs, right? And your pumpkin spice latte and other autumnal inspired treats, which would be your, like, your pumpkin spice scone and all that sort of stuff.

[Joe Getty]

Didn't you just see pumpkin spice, like, Frosted Flakes somewhere or something?

[Jack Armstrong]

I did, yes.

[Joe Getty]

They need to stop.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. As our old producer Sean used to call it. Pumpkin spice is a bully spice that is trying to push all the other spices out of the way. And we should fight back against this because it's not cool. We do four hours of this darn show every single day. We're contractually obligated to do that many segments. If you don't get them all or you miss a segment or an hour, you can get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand. Look forward to talking to Joe and see what it's been like being in England, which he'd never been to before. Plus, I didn't know about all the protests and stuff over the weekend. And he's big on the whole immigration problems in England. Anyway, I know that's one of his big stories, so look forward to talking about that in hour four on the Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Gary Dietrich]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.