The Good Old Butter & Tug

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: The Good Old Butter & Tug
Date: February 26, 2026
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Armstrong & Getty dissect political absurdities on both sides of the aisle, with an initial focus on the 2028 Democratic nomination and Gavin Newsom’s political vulnerabilities. They branch out to address Democratic infighting, the rightward tilt in American political discourse, the evolving crisis with Iran, notable culture moments, strange shifts in America's drinking habits, and the recent developments in AI safety. As always, the hosts deliver biting commentary, blend in comedic impressions, and call out the parade of political theater with equal parts exasperation and humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Democratic "Clown Car" for 2028 Nomination

(00:16–02:29)

• Disarray in Democratic Leadership:
  The hosts mock the lack of a clear leader for the 2028 Democratic nomination, highlighting Gavin Newsom’s faltering prediction market odds (down from 37% to 28%).
  "This is just a downright clown car at this point on the Democratic side." – Joe Getty (00:16)

• Historical Comparison:
  For the first time in decades, no single Democratic candidate commands 25% or more in early polling—a stark contrast with previous cycles (Gore, Clinton, Biden).

• Newsom as an "Unproven Minor Leaguer":
  Getty analogizes Newsom’s political record with sports:
  "He’s never faced major league pitching and as soon as he does, he will be exposed for a minor leaguer." – Joe Getty (02:13)

2. Gavin Newsom’s Image & Privilege

(02:30–07:13)

• Newsom’s “I’m just like you” Gambit:
  The hosts play and parody Gavin Newsom's awkward attempts to downplay his privilege, including his “960 SAT score” interview and claims of relatability.

• Privilege Acknowledged, but Downplayed:
  Newsom grudgingly admits his privileged background:
  "I am here because of all of them and their shoulders… All the privileges of those relationships… with a work ethic from my mom." – Gavin Newsom (03:22)

• Satirical Comedian Bit:
  The hosts share a comedian’s take lampooning Newsom’s "I'm like you" narrative, mocking the implausibility.
  "I didn’t write it because I don’t know how to read or write, because I’m dumb, just like you." (06:27, comedian as Newsom)

3. Katie Porter & the Coarsening of Political Rhetoric

(08:02–09:25)

• Porter's Campaign Persona:
  Clips showcase Katie Porter’s brash style, including her viral command:
  "Get out of my effing shot." – Katie Porter (08:14)

• Escalating Vulgarity in Politics:
  Armstrong laments the “arms race” of brashness begun by Trump:
  "Pretty soon debates will be F you. No, F you. Oh yeah, F you for an hour and a half." – Jack Armstrong (09:04)

4. James Carville vs. Progressive “Squad”

(09:25–10:55)

• Carville rails against the party’s push to campaign against white male voters, calling for party unity and denouncing identity group antagonism.
  "We don’t believe we ought to be running against white men… anybody, any gender, any ethnic group, any race, any religion." – James Carville (10:25)

• Armstrong questions if Carville still holds sway over the left:
  "I think Carville's right, but I don't know if he has any heft with that crowd anymore." – Jack Armstrong (10:55)

5. Republican Opportunities & Warnings

(11:34–12:29)

• A Republican Layup?
  Getty asserts that Democrats’ dysfunction and “joke” leaders (Newsom, Kamala) grant the GOP a nearly foolproof chance in the midterms, but predicts they’ll squander it as usual:
  "There has never been an easier plucking of the fruit of victory off of the tree of elections than right now for the Republicans. But they're gonna screw it up." – Joe Getty (11:34)

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6. Olympic Unity & American Identity

(12:44–14:29)

• Olympic Hockey Moment:
  Coverage of the crowd’s unified celebration for US Olympians, even those on opposing NHL teams, serves as a metaphor for American unity.
  "We are much, much, much more unified as a country than the bastards in the media and academia tell you every single day." – Joe Getty (14:09)

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7. Changing American Drinking Habits

(14:29–15:33)

• Winery Closures:
  Multiple major California wineries, including Kendall Jackson and Gallo, are shutting down due to a steep drop in alcohol consumption.
• Rise of Hard Seltzers:
  Getty blames trendy seltzers (e.g., White Claw) for the shift in drinking culture.

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8. Savannah Guthrie Case – True Crime Segment

(15:33–16:55)

• The hosts recap ongoing speculation about Savannah Guthrie’s disappearance, hinting at criminal incompetence rather than genius, and expressing hope for eventual resolution.

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9. US–Iran Tensions: War Clouds Gathering

(16:55–25:04)

• Escalation & Military Readiness:
  Reports of US military build-up in the region and warnings from General Kaine regarding insufficient US force for sustained conflict.

• Allies vs. Solo Operation:
  Armstrong notes this potential war would lack the coalition seen in Iraq (18:18), increasing complexity and risk.

• Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions:
  The US intelligence community sees Iran trying to rebuild its nuclear program, with politicians—Rubio, Vance—demanding zero enrichment.

• Diplomatic Futility:
  The hosts are mystified at Iran’s refusal to negotiate, speculating that regime survival (internal weakness) trumps fears of US military action.

• Potential US Strategies:
  The Trump administration allegedly debates two plans:

  • A massive, regime-toppling strike,
  • A limited, targeted strike on military/nuclear assets.

  Getty proposes:
  "Tell them… every Tuesday at 4pm we’re gonna keep doing this every single week..." (23:17)

• Missed Media Attention (Epstein Joke):
  The hosts joke that only if the Ayatollah were named in the Epstein files would the media care.
  "If we could somehow convince people that the Ayatollah is in the Epstein files… then people would pay attention." – Jack Armstrong (24:15)

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10. US Munitions Shortages & Military Readiness

(25:04–26:44)

• Interview with Defense Expert:
  Christian Bros warns military stockpiles are low due to post-Cold War reductions and heavy support of Ukraine. Emphasizes the need for “dumb bombs” and bulk munitions, not just high-tech arms. "We will run out of munitions so fast, if we have to jump ugly with China, for instance, or Iran, for that matter." – Joe Getty (26:32)

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11. Trump’s Truth Social Posts as Performance Art

(27:02–31:56)

• Trump Impersonator Sean Farasch:
  Plays a reading of Trump’s unfiltered Truth Social rant post-State of the Union, featuring attacks on Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, De Niro, and Rosie O’Donnell, using characteristic hyperbole and insults.

  • Notable Trump quote:
    "They had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, lunatics, mentally deranged and sick…" – Impersonated Trump, (27:09 & 28:53)

• Hosts’ Reaction:
  Armstrong and Getty poke fun at Trump’s rhetoric and the absurdity of his celebrity insults.

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12. American Political Discourse: Decline of Decorum

(32:02–33:15)

• Markwayne Mullin vs. Bernie Sanders:
  Clip of contemporary political figures in a tense exchange, exemplifying the demise of grown-up discourse.

• Longing for Adulthood in Politics:
  Hosts express exasperation and pessimism about ever returning to mature governance. "Will we ever go back to being adults all the way around? Probably not." – Armstrong & Getty (32:50–32:57)

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13. The State of AI Ethics

(33:21–34:24)

• Anthropic Drops Safety Pledge:
  Discussion about AI company Anthropic abandoning its flagship safety pledge due to competitive pressures, paralleling broader concerns about AI regulation and the race to the bottom.

• AI Commercialization:
  Hosts predict this might foreshadow similar en masse moves to compromise on safety and add intrusive advertising in AI platforms.

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14. Cultural Ephemera & Wrap-up

(34:24–35:34)

• Streaming Monetization:
  Small discussion about the lucrative business of supplying background music for viral videos.

• Teaser:
  Next hour will cover the “stupid” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "This is just a downright clown car at this point on the Democratic side." – Joe Getty (00:16)
• "He’s never faced major league pitching and as soon as he does, he will be exposed for a minor leaguer." – Joe Getty on Newsom (02:13)
• "I didn’t write it because I don’t know how to read or write, because I’m dumb, just like you." – Comedian impersonating Newsom (06:29)
• "Pretty soon debates will be F you. No, F you. Oh yeah, F you for an hour and a half." – Jack Armstrong (09:04)
• "There has never been an easier plucking of the fruit of victory... But they're gonna screw it up." – Joe Getty, on GOP (11:34)
• "We are much, much, much more unified as a country than the bastards in the media and academia tell you." – Joe Getty (14:09)
• "We will run out of munitions so fast, if we have to jump ugly with China, for instance, or Iran." – Joe Getty (26:32)
• "If we could somehow convince people that the Ayatollah is in the Epstein files… then people would pay attention." – Jack Armstrong (24:15)
• "The good news is that America is now bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before, and it is driving them absolutely crazy." – Impersonated Trump (30:38)
• "Will we ever go back to being adults all the way around? Probably not." – Armstrong & Getty (32:50–32:57)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Democratic nomination analysis starts: 00:16
• Gavin Newsom “I’m like you” riff: 02:29–06:47
• Katie Porter brashness & vulgarity in politics: 08:02–09:25
• James Carville’s criticism of progressives: 09:25–10:55
• Republican midterm prospects: 11:34–12:29
• Olympic hockey and American unity: 12:44–14:29
• Winery closures and changing drinking habits: 14:29–15:33
• Savannah Guthrie disappearance: 15:33–16:55
• US-Iran tensions and war talk: 16:55–25:04
• Munitions shortage/defense policy: 25:04–26:44
• Trump Truth Social reading: 27:02–31:56
• Political decorum decline/Markwayne Mullin–Sanders spat: 32:02–33:15
• Anthropic's dropped AI safety pledge: 33:21–34:24

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Conclusion

This episode offered a whirlwind of political satire, policy angst, and pop culture commentary—skewering political leaders for both incompetence and performative relatability, worrying aloud about war and AI, and ending with a reminder that, for all the divisiveness in the headlines, Americans remain more united than the nightly news might suggest. Armstrong & Getty’s trademark blend of humor, skepticism, and media critique is on full display, making this episode rich with both laughs and thought-provoking moments.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast, guaranteed human

[B]

broadcasting.

[A]

Live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio

[B]

at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[C]

Armstrong and Getty.

[B]

And now here's Armstrong and Getty. This is just a downright clown car at this point on the Democratic side. I mean, just take a look here. Top choices for the 2028 Demrez nominee. You have a leader, but it's not really a clear leader. It's within the margin. It seems to me that Gavin Newsom is flailing a little bit, at least compared to where he was prior. Because just take a look here. Okay? Chance Newsom is the 2028 Democratic nominee three months ago, according to the cash prediction market. Look at that. It was a 37% chance. Now it's just a 28% down.

[A]

He goes, yeah, I thought that was pretty interesting. Their pollster there on CNN pointing out, and I hadn't heard anybody else point this out. I've got the information somewhere, but I kind of think I can remember it well enough.

[B]

Is there some law that requires pollsters to talk in that machine gun style?

[A]

That's kind of funny because they all do. I think that, that Steve Konecki or whatever from NBC, I think he invented it now, everybody. And he got so famous, he was one of the sexiest people alive and get all kinds of attention. I think everybody decided you gotta talk like that if you're doing the polls. And as you can see right here. And as you can see right, because that's, that was his style.

[B]

Move up to third district. Third district. Washington once laid his head, right.

[A]

Yeah. But the, the point of this guy was, okay, here it is. I found it. This is the first time going way, way, way, way, way, way back that you haven't had a clear leader. For the Democrats, that is well over 25% at this point. Gore in 2004, Clinton in 08 and 16, Biden in 20. This year, no. 1. So for all the. Gavin Newsom is getting all the attention and everything like that. He hasn't busted up even above 25%.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So people aren't that enthused.

[B]

And he is flailing because. And I finally came up with a way to briefly summarize this that both sports fans and non sports fans can enjoy together. He's never faced major league pitching and as soon as he does, he will be exposed for a minor leaguer.

[A]

So we played a lot and everybody played a lot. That thing where he was in front of an audience and said, hey, I'm just like You. I'm dumb. Whatever that, whatever that angle was supposed

[B]

to be a lot, a lot of black folks, black moderator. I'm just like, yeah, I'm an idiot.

[A]

But here's a little more of the follow up with Dana Bash on CNN about his. Gavin's privileged upbringing that he's trying to run away from now.

[D]

Entrepreneurialism has defined my life, but it was also defined in the relationship to the Getty family. And with that came this notion, well, it was handed to you, it was given to you, you inherited it. As opposed to the hard work and that grind that defined the lived experience.

[A]

Can it be both?

[B]

You have hard work and grind and you had doors open.

[D]

Yeah. Oh, no. And that's.

[B]

I mean, it's not just the Gettys. Your grandfather and your father were both very connected in San Francisco.

[D]

I am here because of all of them and their shoulders and 100%. And it's. And it was those two. So all those doors, all the privileges of those relationships, remarkable gifts, and they're deeply mined and discussed there. And then again with a work ethic from my mom. And so it's both. And, and so I was comfortable and uncomfortable in so many ways in both worlds. And I just navigated back and forth. If I was on a vacation, and we describe a number of interesting vacations overseas with my father and the family. These adventures. My mom was back home weren't just adventures.

[B]

You went on safaris, you took pictures from helicopters. Partying with Jack Nicholson.

[D]

Yeah, yeah, that's. I mean, we describe that in there. It was extraordinary.

[A]

He handled that well. He handled that well.

[B]

He does have a gift of. Oh, I just took a shotgun blast to the chest. But I'm going to pretend like. Yeah, it's all very interesting, isn't it? Yeah. Polar bears. Anyway, back to you. Acting as if he hasn't been scared.

[A]

Right, right, right. That she wasn't pointing out the things that he was leaving out. Right.

[B]

She was saying that must have been neat. No, that wasn't her point, Gabby.

[A]

Oh, my God. You know, pulled myself up, got out there, self made million. You used to party with Jack Nicholson. What? Helicopter rides, etc. What are you talking about here, dude? So this got a ton of attention. You remember this? The whole 960 score. Go ahead, Michael.

[D]

I'm not, you know, I'm not trying to impress you. I'm just trying to impress upon you. I'm like you. I'm no better than you. You know, I'm a 960sat guy and, you know, And I'm not trying to offend anyone. You know, trying to act all there if you got 940, but literally a 960sat guy.

[B]

I cannot. You.

[D]

You've never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech. This may be the wrong business to be in.

[B]

He's so charming.

[A]

So Jonah Goldberg in the Dispatch was writing yesterday that overcoming something like dyslexia is something to present as a thing to be admired. The dyslexia itself is not to be admired, though. I mean, like, they just getting a bad score and all that sort of stuff is not the part that you're like, usually put out. There is. So I'm fantastic.

[D]

I'm a 960 SAT guy.

[A]

Yes. Katie, I. I can't give credit where it is due, but I read someone

[B]

made a joke saying, well, maybe that's where all the crazy policy in California came from. He can't read what he's signing. Yeah, could be. So anyway, a comedian got hold of this, as several have. This has been edited for both taste and length because it is pretty edgy, but funny.

[A]

You know, I'm not trying to impress you. I'm trying to impress upon you. I'm like you.

[B]

And that's why I titled my book

[A]

I'm like you because I'm like you. I didn't write it because I don't know how to read or write because I'm dumb, just like you.

[B]

No, I. I can read.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Atlanta.

[A]

I got a 40 on my SATs. I probably just spelled my name right because I'm just like you.

[B]

I actually got a 1270 on my SAT.

[A]

I'm like, like you. I FaceTime in places I shouldn't, like the grocery store or funerals or. Or. Or the movie theater. Republicans want us to show our birth certificates to vote. I don't know where the hell my birth certificate is. Huh. Just like I don't know where my father is. Just like you. You know what I'm saying? No, I. I actually know where my father is.

[B]

He's sitting right there.

[A]

Oh.

[D]

Oh, okay.

[B]

It goes further.

[A]

Oh, man.

[B]

Yeah. He has not faced major league pitching. He is going to be humiliated and set back to the bench to become a zillionaire in Napa Valley.

[A]

Yeah. Somebody said the other day, and I don't know if this is true or not, maybe he did poorly on the test. I never took an S. I T test, so I don't have the slightest idea what that score means. I'm just assuming from context that that's Fairly low. Yeah, like really, really low. Like you're a D student or like.

[B]

No, just average. I don't know. It's pretty low.

[A]

Anyhow, maybe the dyslexia caused that. Or not. But somebody texted the other day. You know, he was super rich and he knew his life was going to be fine, so he didn't care.

[B]

That might have a letter written by the Getty family to get him into the college he went to. He claimed to have been a baseball player. He never even showed up at a practice. It's ridiculous.

[A]

Let's just go through all these. So all running for governor of California to replace Gavin is Katie Porter. We all remember her. Get out of my effing shot. Get out of my shot. She said.

[B]

She is such a little princess.

[A]

Yeah, well, here's more of her being a princess. Trump. Together we're gonna kick Trump's in November. I'll stand up to Trump and his cronies just like I did in Congress, with or without my whiteboard.

[B]

Ah, the delicate flower of American womanhood, Katie Porter.

[A]

I don't like the fact that we've gone down this road and we continue to go down this road. So Trump got brash and cross lines, and then other people have to get brash and cross lines. And it keeps going back and forth and going further down the road where we're just all gonna. Pretty soon debates will be F you. No, F you. Oh, yeah, F you for an hour and a half.

[B]

F your mother.

[A]

And then at the end of the debate, we'll say, well, Katie porter got in third 130 fuse. Whereas Eric Swalwell only got in 128 fus. So I believe.

[B]

Who won the debate in your opinion,

[A]

Jim, you're out of my shot.

[B]

Oh, golly. Oh, speaking of brash, you want to run the James Carville audio?

[A]

As long as we're. I actually wanted to hear that.

[B]

Oh, okay, great.

[A]

Him talking about which of the.

[B]

Which of Ilhan Omar I do believe.

[A]

Right. Go ahead, lady.

[C]

Why don't you just get out the Democratic Party, honestly? Start your own movement. All right, let's do the simple math. And probably 69% down there. We could call Jim Garcia, Jeff Garrett. Roughly 69% of people going to vote in November, maybe more. Let's do 70 for just round Mayor. I'm going to be white. Of that 48%, maybe a little more are going to be male. So that's roughly. Let's just call it 33 and a third percent of the entire election. Well, let's Just run against them, because that's so damn smart. All right, so now we're going to have a campaign by the progressive left against white men who vote. About a third of everybody that votes in an election. Why don't you, lady, start your own party? And then when it's over, you want to caucus with the Democrats, fine. We agree with a lot of things that you do, but we don't believe we ought to be running against white men. In fact, we don't think we ought to be running against any gender, any ethnic group, any race, any religion or anything else. These people are just helpless. They cannot be helped. There's nothing you can do to help them. They don't want to be helped. And if they had any guts that start their own damn political party and get out of ours.

[A]

Well, I know I've got to guess the response from the Ilhan Omar crowd or a lot of the AOC crowd. Those sort of people would say, hey, shut up, 80 year old who got a Democrat elected 40 years ago. Not really interested, I imagine, is their take. I think Carville's right, but I don't know if he has any heft with that crowd anymore. That's what's gonna. That's gonna be the big thing for 28. Who's gonna win that battle in the Democratic Party? Is it gonna be the new young white people are evil woke crowd thing and all that goes with it, or is it going to be like Carville, who wants to get everybody on board in the working class, etc.

[B]

I am more than familiar with the history of the first midterm after a presidential election, how that party in power tends to lose Congress. There has never been an easier plucking of the fruit of victory off of the tree of elections than right now for the Republicans. But they're gonna screw it up. The Democratic Party is horrible. Their policies stink. Nobody likes them. The woke crowd is still in charge. They're openly pitching socialism, communism. They have no leader. Their alleged leaders are all jokes. Gavin newsman, Kamala Harris. Aha ha ha. The Republicans ought to win this midterm, but they're screwing it up. Which is, you know, disappointing but unsurprising to those of us who've been trying to help them get their acts together for a very long time.

[A]

We do need to check in on where we are with headed toward war with Iran at some point, NATO with some announcements about Russia yesterday I found very, very troubling and a lot of stuff on the way. I hope you can stay here.

[B]

Armstrong And Getty, he had seven points in six and scored the golden goal in overtime that secured the United States its first men's hockey goal medal since 1980. Davos fans, let's hear it for number 86, Jack Hur.

[A]

Then chants of USA there is. I don't know if everybody realizes this. Here it goes. The roar was deafening.

[B]

It's great.

[A]

So I don't know if everybody realizes, but the NHL hockey season is in the, you know, in the middle of the season and they stopped for the Olympics. And now the players on our team or professionals have gone back to their teams and there's. So there's the big gold medal star, winning shot star Jack Hughes there. He gets introduced at the home crowd, but one of his teammates is on the opposing team, and so everybody's cheering him. And he didn't think that was cool. And he. And you know, I like that he's. He thought you did. Cheering me. Another one of the guys is right over there. He went over there and got one of the guys from the other team and brought him Sabres.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And everybody cheered like crazy for the two Olympians from opposing teams as they skated around a little bit. That was very, very cool.

[B]

It was so great and so American, and I just absolutely love it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

All the New Jersey fans going crazy cheering the guy from the opposing team because he was an Olympian, because of course they did. Because we are much, much, much more unified as a country than the bastards in the media and academia you. Every single day. Most people are proud to be Americans. They love this country.

[A]

Another big winery shutting down in California Jackson announced yesterday. I did what I could of Kendall Jackson and other wines. And that follows. They're the sixth biggest winery in their shutting down in California. And Gallo, the number one, announced last week. And then there's a whole bunch of others that are expected to follow. All about the major drinking habit changes that have occurred where people just aren't drinking. I can't believe it's. People are drinking so much less that beer makers, wineries, booze makers of all different kinds are being affected to this level. But they are. It's just what brought this on all of a sudden.

[B]

Yeah, we've talked about it. It's hard to nail down. It's not drinking. And a lot of people are drinking those damn seltzer water things, too. Those who are seeking a buzz and trying to make other people more interested.

[A]

So, like, White Claw drove Gallo out of business. Yeah.

[B]

There are a hundred of them now. Yeah.

[A]

I don't know anything about that. I do know something about this. The FBI has pulled practically everybody out of Tucson back to Phoenix where their office is and say they're going to continue to investigate the Guthrie Deer disappearance. But I think that move shows where things are.

[B]

Yeah, it's an increasingly cold case.

[A]

Kind of at the end of the road and see if anything happens. That's rough. Wonder if they'll ever know. Savannah Guthrie is not expected to return to the Today show ever.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I don't know how you could.

[B]

I suspect they will solve the crime at some point because the. The guy involved is no master criminal. He just got really lucky or unlike

[A]

evidence, depending on how you look at it.

[B]

Yeah, sure. Yeah.

[A]

You think it was a robbery gone wrong? Is that your current theory?

[B]

No, no.

[A]

It's.

[B]

It was probably some half wit who thought he would abduct the old lady for money and she died. And in fact, maybe she just collapsed and he didn't know what to do and left her in the desert. God knows. I just think it was an idiotic attempt at a master crime gone wrong.

[A]

What a horrible story. Yeah.

[B]

Sad.

[A]

We're going to war with Iran here one of these days.

[B]

Mellow.

[A]

We keep adding more and more stuff in the region. We've got the latest.

[B]

That's why everybody's constantly talking about it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's a year and off.

[A]

That's why you hear the endless debates about whether or not we should go to war.

[B]

What.

[A]

What we're going to get out of it. What, what our. What our interests are. All that sort of.

[B]

Can we convince people Jeffrey Epstein was Iranian, get them to pay attention.

[A]

No kidding. We've got the latest coming up.

[B]

Armstrong and Getty. We have this enormous military force that's poised to take action. Our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Kaine has been warning, every major newspaper has carried versions of the warnings he's been given, giving to President Trump that we may not have enough force or the right force to carry out a sustained campaign against Iran. He's worried that without key allies in Europe and others, this may be a very difficult military mission for the US

[A]

Boy, that there's so little conversation about this. Even a guy like me who's interested in the story is like not up to speed on the fact that when we went to war with Iraq, we had lots of allies involved.

[B]

This resolution after resolution for what, you know, that matters.

[A]

This sounds like just a completely US Operation. Yeah. That is a different thing.

[B]

That story reminded me. I've seen a number of headlines in the mainstream media that General Kane is worried about this mission. Of course he is. That's what he's paid to do. That's what being concerned and worried and thinking about every possible thing that could go wrong. Yes, that's his job description.

[A]

It would be tough to be as a commander in chief because I'm sure every commander, general, whoever you've got in charge of an operation, always wants more. Why wouldn't you always want more? At what point do you decide they've got enough? I don't know. The big headline to me yesterday was this Reuters and lots of other people reporting it, but this was Reuters. The United States has seen evidence that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program. This is after the strikes back in June. J.D. vance said the principle is very simple. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Marco Rubio also said that Iran must negotiate on its missile program. This is a day after Trump said Tehran's working on rockets. It could hit the United States. Is that true? I would say that the Iranian insistence on not disgusting ballistic missiles at all is a big, big problem. Rubio told reporters.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, we're making maximalist demands and offering minimal sanctions relief, for instance. I think intentionally, we're doing the due diligence of showing the world. Look, we're trying to go through diplomatic channels, but it's not going to work. There's too much space between the two countries.

[A]

I don't understand why they don't give in. I really don't. Unless they think Trump will taco, and he's not going to. Why do you want to get completely obliterated? What good does that do you?

[B]

I read that Think piece the other day that said the ayatollahs and, you know, their minions think it's riskier to capitulate to the US than it is to take the whacking.

[A]

That's the only thing that explains it.

[B]

Well, I found myself wanting more. I still don't get it. Maybe I'm not very bright, but why?

[A]

How?

[B]

The internal politics, the support of the people. They don't have any. I don't. Yeah, I don't know. I'm mystified by the whole thing. I suspect, you know, the more I think about it, Iran's great strategy that they followed is killing time, stretching things out, waiting for the next administration, whatever. And they may have calculated if we go into the U.S. if we give into the U.S. we're gonna be very, very weak, and we will look weak, and nobody will be afraid of us anymore. If they whack us, they're gonna whack us hard. They're gonna set us back in a number of years. But Trump's only in office for another couple of years. And then we get right back to building a nuke for Allah.

[A]

Right. This is David Sanger of the New York Times, who always has really good sources on these stories.

[E]

One of the big questions is, is

[A]

there a space between the American demand that there be zero enrichment going on, in other words, zero purification of uranium

[E]

that can be used as fuel, versus

[A]

the Iranian argument that while they're willing to suspend some of that for a

[E]

while, they will not give up their

[A]

right to enrich under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. I suppose I can understand why they're holding out because the history of this sort of thing is presidents, you know, hitting them with sanctions, letting them skirt around the rules and letting them slide on inspections and all this sort of stuff. It's always worked in the past.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I think the hardliners have the year of the president in a way they never have, though. I mean, like Lindsey Graham, they're talking about how much they can enrich uranium. And Lindsey said, if there is a consideration of allowing Iran to have a very small enrichment of uranium for face saving purposes, screw that. Just wants to put the screws to him. Of course, Lindsey would tell you, look, we got to take him out. Now's the time to take him out. Let's take him out. But what's next? Nobody knows.

[A]

So according to the New York Times, the Trump administration has debated two different plans. One would be a major strike aimed at hitting a huge number of targets over a sustained period of time. Critically, it would also try to decapitate the government by forcing the Supreme Leader from power. But Trump seems to be favoring the other plan that they're debating. A targeted limited strike on the missile and nuclear sites. The purpose, in addition to damaging missile stocks and production, would be to force the Iranians to negotiate. Hey, I'm serious, all right? American officials have not said that if. American officials have said that if Iran did not accept their demands after a targeted strike, Trump would then consider a larger strike as a follow on mission. I'll bet that is what he does.

[B]

Or you just tell him, look, the first strike is, I don't know what day is today? Thursday. It's next Tuesday at 4pm Eastern Time. You tell them every Tuesday at 4pm eastern time. We're gonna keep doing this every single week. We don't want anybody to get hurt. So, you know, you evacuate your people. But we're Gonna figure out where your missiles are and where you're enriching uranium and we're gonna take it out every

[A]

Tuesday at 4:00pm why wouldn't you do that? Second plan of hit them pretty hard, just the nuclear sites, missile sites, and then say okay, you see, I'm serious. Got a lot more. You want to negotiate now or not? Why wouldn't you do that? Just because it allows them time to defend themselves better.

[B]

No, I, I hear what you're hinting at and I think I agree with you. Yeah, you can always up the ante, you know, you can make the argument. Well, they'll know then that you're serious and they'll further fortify their blah blah blah. I think they've done all the fortifying they can do at this point.

[A]

I think is a brilliant idea you came up with though, since nobody's talking about this story or seems to have any interest. If we could somehow convince people that the Ayatollah is in the Epstein files.

[B]

Yeah. Then people would pay.

[A]

Then we could talk about it. Say a document has just emerged. The Ayatollah has been tied to Jeffrey Epstein. The Ayatollah today said, quote, sure, I got massages, but they were all of age as far as I could tell.

[B]

Oh boy. I took beard treatments from a few 19 year olds. Beard treatments from another beard butter, the, the beard oil, that sort of thing. Yeah. All right. On a somewhat more serious beard tugged upon.

[A]

But I'm almost certain she was a college girl.

[B]

Ah, the old butter and tug. Yes. Ah, this there was a really good piece I came across.

[A]

There it is.

[B]

Oddly enough. I found it by Christian Bros, who's a. He's a president, chief strategy officer of Blah blah blah, visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. He studies defense things. And he was making the point that our military has so little ordinance at this point, we're gonna run out of bullets in a big hurry.

[C]

Why?

[B]

Well, because A, we just, we got away from producing them during the peace dividend, the fall of the Soviet Union, blah blah blah. And our defense industries kind of dried up. Secondly, we've given a hell of a lot to the Ukrainians or sold it to them. And thirdly, and his point, which I found very, very interesting is that as a country we've become obsessed with these super sophisticated weapons systems, missiles that can do anything. Swiss army knife missiles. And he said those are really useful for a lot of things. But we need a lot more dumb bombs. We need a lot more just bulk munitions that aren't so tricked up they can do 140 miles per hour off road while the stereo is cranking, you know, to compare it to a motor, a car, or an suv. We have an enormous amount invested in very, very expensive arms that we have a very limited number of. We're like a family that. The big giant blizzard is coming up in the mountains and we have food for a meal and a half. Hmm. We will run out of munitions so fast, if we have to jump ugly with China, for instance, or Iran, for that matter. That's not good. Need to get on a war footing, Jack.

[A]

Here's something I want to hear a little of before we take a break. So this is two minutes long, so we're not gonna play the whole thing here, but this is Sean Farage who's, like, one of the best Trump impersonators out there in this case. All he did was read one of Trump's truth posts. It's not his comedy stylings.

[B]

Oh, boy.

[A]

Where he makes it up. He's just flat out reading one of Trump's posts and will play me just a little bit of it. That's why you watch.

[E]

Low iq. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union. Such an important and beautiful event. They had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people.

[A]

Okay, that is a good tease. That made me want to hear more.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

Made me want to hear more of that. We'll have that when we come back.

[B]

Armstrong and Getty.

[A]

Hillary Clinton testifying in the whole Epstein case today. What's that all about? We'll talk about that in hour four. Clinton. Clinton's. The Clinton's.

[C]

Clint.

[A]

Clint in, as we heard.

[B]

Clinton.

[A]

Clinton. Clinton. Clinton's. The Clinton's, as the reporter said on a. Whatever that show is. I can't even remember it on News Nation. Hillary Clinton. That's the way young people say it now. Clinton, for some reason. That'll be an hour for. I don't know. Is Sean Farasch making a lot of money off the fact that he does one of the best Trump impersonations in the world? His writing is usually good, really good on his comedy bits. This is not a comedy bit, though.

[B]

You know, it's funny you should bring that up. I almost forgot. Next hour. I was just reading about how much money people are making who write those obnoxious things, music, backgrounds that are in, like, every viral video. Okay, there's zillions of dollars in that.

[A]

I want to hear about that. But so Sean Fresh this time is not doing one of his comedy bits, really. He's just reading Trump's truth Social post from the other night after, after the State of the Union address and Trump was mad at the two congresswomen that were getting in his face.

[B]

Here's how it goes when you watch

[E]

low IQ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib as they screamed uncontroll night at the very elegant State of the Union. Such an important and beautiful event. They had the bulging bloodshot eyes of crazy people, lunatics, mentally deranged and sick, who frankly look like they should be institutionalized. When people can behave like that and knowing that they are crooked and corrupt politicians so bad for our country, we should send them back from where they came as fast as possible.

[A]

Wow.

[E]

They can only damage the United States of America. They can do nothing to help it. They should actually get on a boat with Trump. Deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with, I believe an extremely low IQ who has absolutely no idea what he is doing is saying, some of which is seriously criminal. When I watched him break down in tears last night, much like a child would do, I realized that he may be even sicker than crazy Rosie o', Donnell, who is right now in Ireland. I got a bingo to figure out how to come back into our beautiful United States. The only difference between De Niro and Rosie is that she is probably somewhat smarter than him, which isn't saying much. The good news is that America is now bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before, and it is driving them absolutely crazy. President Donald J. Trump, thank you for your attention to this matter.

[A]

So I read it as he talked straight from the truth social, that is word for word what Donald Trump truthed out the other night. Howie, I didn't catch the Robert De Niro thing, so Trump alerted me to that. So De Niro must have been on some TV show crying, I guess. Wow, he might even be sicker than crazy Rosie o'. Donnell. I don't know why he brought her in for a kicking out of nowhere.

[B]

Also, if somebody had stopped that and said, okay, he's going to name check two celebrities in this. You got to predict who they are. I would have gotten Rosie. I would have missed on De Niro.

[A]

What a funny time to be alive. He is right that Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar looked crazy. They looked like lunatics, like deranged lunatics.

[B]

Unhinged. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Like, like a lot of the women were always talking about on college campuses or in the streets of Minneapolis or whatever. They look like crazy people. Yeah.

[B]

Wild eyes, spittle flying from their mouths, veins straining in their necks. Yeah. The Somali pirate and the congresswoman from Hamas, as I like to call them.

[A]

The Somali pirate. We should send them back where they came from. Michigan, right? Exactly.

[B]

Oh, now I know what he means.

[A]

Yeah, that is something.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

We talked about this. Go ahead. You have something?

[B]

I was just gonna say. What do you got? There are a couple more politics clips that I really like the sound of. Like our friend Mark Wayne Mullen and Bernie Sanders scrapping.

[A]

I haven't heard that.

[B]

Want to do that? Let's do 87, Michael. Anyways, I ranted too long. Let's talk about some. Yes, you did. I'm sorry. I didn't ask your opinion on that. And if I cared about you, I would ask you. But I don't care about your opinion. You're part of the system. You're part of the problem. You've been sitting here longer than I've even been alive. This is your problem. You should have fixed this a long time ago.

[A]

You've been rel on it so long. What have you decided?

[B]

Not to run for Surgeon General. You're the nominee.

[D]

I've decided that.

[B]

Nominee.

[A]

That is definitely something we would never accept.

[B]

My colleague, the gentleman from Vermont is out of order.

[A]

Oh, my God. Will we ever go back to being adults all the way around?

[B]

Probably not. Both parties always said, world War pandemic. We tried a pandemic. Didn't work. Made it worse.

[A]

Did make it worse.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's hard to imagine where we'd ever get back to being grown ups, man.

[B]

I don't know. Eliminate all fundraising from politics.

[A]

That would help.

[B]

Impossible.

[A]

By the way, this came up yesterday on the show. I just saw it retweeted somewhere. The article, exclusive Anthropic drops flagship safety pledge. So Anthropic, which is the AI chatbot. Claude, which I use on a regular basis. He was Dario, the guy who runs it. Was committed to safety rails to try to keep AI on track and really trying to sound the alarm. That'd be really easy for these things to go off on their own. And who knows what's going to happen? And we need to have some rules around that. But he recognized that all his competitors are not worried about that and apparently gaining some advantages by not being worried about that.

[B]

That's only the brakes.

[A]

That's the only way I can interpret it is because they're not worried about where AI goes. They're beating him at the contest for being the best AI out there. So Anthropic dropped their safety pledge, said we're now in it to win it like everybody else.

[B]

Yeah, they're go ahead.

[A]

Ian Bremmer tweeted that out and said understandable but not good.

[B]

Yeah, I would agree both on both points. Their their Claude is excellent but their platform that writes code for you that people are using now to write their own apps and agents and have their multiple agents work with each other, which is a concept I grasp like a 4 year old grasps jet propulsion. I see it happening and I think I get it anyway. Yes, super super advanced and I don't blame them. Nobody else is applying the brakes and they're going to beat us.

[A]

I wonder if they'll do the same thing with ads. They're committed to no ads. Whereas Chat GPT has ads now. For instance, Gemini has ads now. I might fall by the wayside also, I don't know the zillions of dollars

[B]

made by making stupid music for viral videos. And speaking of music, the world's stupidest hall of fame, the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, announcing its Stupid stupid nominees next hour. If you can't Jo, join us. Grab it via podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand Armstrong and Getty.

[A]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.