The Unifying Message. Gary Dietrich Talks To A&G

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "The Unifying Message. Gary Dietrich Talks To A&G"

Date: September 19, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong
Guest: Gary Dietrich, CBS News Political Analyst

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the critical state of American political discourse, youth engagement in politics, and the dangers of rising political violence. Jack Armstrong welcomes long-time friend and CBS News political analyst Gary Dietrich to discuss youth voter turnout (notably influenced by figures like Charlie Kirk), California politics and Prop 50, and strategies for national unity in the face of divisive rhetoric and incidents.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gary Dietrich's Background and Scouting

• [03:19] Gary reveals he's an Eagle Scout, tying it into Jack's own family and wilderness plans.

  • Quote: “I am an Eagle Scout… My scouting experience was absolutely awesome. I highly recommend it to everybody.” (Gary Dietrich, 03:19)

• Offers tongue-in-cheek survival advice if Jack gets into trouble in the wild, but jokes he doesn’t do bear removal.

  • Quote: “I won’t be available for bear removal, so that’s that.” (Gary Dietrich, 04:04)

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2. The Impact of Charlie Kirk and Turning Point on Youth Voting

• [04:09–05:33]

  • Gary discusses Charlie Kirk’s influence on increasing youth and specifically young male voter turnout through the MAGA movement and organizations like Turning Point.

  • Explains that previously, youth engagement was in significant decline, but Turning Point helped reverse the trend.

  • Young male vote is now recognized as a key demographic in recent election outcomes.

  • Quote:
    "Charlie Kirk…I won't say single handedly, but certainly as part of the MAGA movement, really turned this around…Now if you look at the major demographic groups that many people attribute to Trump’s win…one of them was the youth vote, more specifically young males.” (Gary Dietrich, 04:33)

• Discusses challenges for Turning Point after the loss of such a charismatic founder.

  • Quote:
    “Whenever you lose a founder…not just a major spokesperson, it’s tough…especially tough in politics because so much…is personality and capability driven.” (Gary Dietrich, 05:41)

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3. California Prop 50, Redistricting, and Gavin Newsom

• [06:37–09:26]

  • Jack introduces Prop 50 debates: whether its potential failure dooms Governor Gavin Newsom’s national prospects.

  • Discussion of tactics being used, especially by Newsom, to equate the proposition with supporting or opposing Donald Trump, regardless of the issue's core nature (redistricting).

  • The importance of messaging: attempts to tap into Trump’s unpopularity in California; opposition using defense of independent redistricting.

  • Caution around relying on internal polling; public support for independent commission is strong, but it’s unclear how that transfers to the specific proposition.

  • Quote:
    “If we start acting like Trump, we’re going to become Trump. So let’s see who wins the day on that messaging.” (Gary Dietrich, paraphrasing Schwarzenegger, 07:34)
    “I never take internal polls seriously because when have you ever heard an internal poll that was bad for their side released?” (Gary Dietrich, 09:11)

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4. National and Political Implications if Prop 50 Fails

• [09:26–10:16]

  • Failure would “damage Gavin’s brand,” affecting fundraising, staff, and early donor support. Dietrich notes Newsom has time to recover before 2028, but this would be a significant narrative.

  • Quote:
    “There’s no question that it would damage Gavin’s brand. And certainly, you know, that affects things like early donors, fundraising, people jumping on board, staff wise, et cetera.” (Gary Dietrich, 09:33)

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5. The Threat of Political Violence and National Disunity

• [10:16–11:29]

  • Jack asks if America is becoming numb to escalating political violence, or if there will be a reckoning and move back towards unity.

  • Gary passionately calls for a unified disavowal of violence from all credible voices, regardless of ideology.

  • Expresses hope for a “day of reckoning”—but acknowledges uncertainty.

  • Quote:
    “Nobody should be killed over their politics…that needs to be the unified message.” (Gary Dietrich, 10:41)
    “I would hope there is a day of reckoning that’s coming. Is that the case? There’s a lot of people that have questions about whether that’s actually where we’re headed.” (Gary Dietrich, 11:06)

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6. Social Media, Extremes, and the "Silent Majority"

• [11:29–12:42]

  • Armstrong notes the overwhelming noise from extreme voices on social media versus real public consensus.

  • Dietrich compares this dynamic to the “silent majority” phrasing used by Nixon about the Vietnam era, stressing most Americans don’t participate in social media or talk radio but are presumed by their loudest elements.

  • Quote:
    “There’s a lot of people who never ever…go on social media. They don’t even have social media accounts. And yet what gets reported is so many people on social media are saying…” (Gary Dietrich, 11:48)

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7. Lighter Closing Moments – Disneyland & Personality Quirks

• [12:42–14:25]

  • Armstrong jokes about Gary being an overachiever (Eagle Scout, Harvard, “TV handsomeness”).

  • Gary lightheartedly admits to being a Disneyland fan (due to a tradition with his kids) but only goes with his children—defusing the adult Disneyland-goer stigma.

  • Quote:
    “You’re an Eagle Scout, you went to Harvard, and you’re handsome. It’s really easy to not like a person like that.” (Jack Armstrong, 12:42)
    “After every election cycle…just hang in there, because after November…we’re going to Disneyland. And we did that, like, about every other year when they were growing up.” (Gary Dietrich, 13:37)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I am an Eagle Scout…My scouting experience was absolutely awesome. I highly recommend it to everybody.” (Gary Dietrich, 03:19)
• “Charlie Kirk…really turned this around…one of them was the youth vote, more specifically young males.” (Gary Dietrich, 04:33)
• “If we start acting like Trump, we’re going to become Trump.” (Gary Dietrich, paraphrasing Schwarzenegger, 07:34)
• “Nobody should be killed over their politics…that needs to be the unified message.” (Gary Dietrich, 10:41)
• “There’s a lot of people who never ever…go on social media. They don’t even have social media accounts…” (Gary Dietrich, 11:48)
• Armstrong’s friendly ribbing: “You’re an Eagle Scout, you went to Harvard, and you’re handsome. It’s really easy to not like a person like that.” (Jack Armstrong, 12:42)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:19: Gary reveals his Eagle Scout background and connects over scouting
• 04:33: Charlie Kirk’s role in ramping youth political engagement
• 05:41: The challenge for Turning Point post-Kirk
• 06:37: California Prop 50, Newsom’s strategy, and media messaging
• 09:33: National implications for Newsom if Prop 50 fails
• 10:41: The imperative for a unified stand against political violence
• 11:48: “Silent majority” versus social media amplification
• 13:37: Personal stories – Disneyland post-election tradition

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Tone and Takeaway

The episode combines pressing political analysis with moments of banter and levity characteristic of Armstrong & Getty. Dietrich’s measured optimism and emphasis on unity theme the discussion, even as he details the challenges of polarization, media distortion, and leadership transitions in American politics. The closing notes of personal storytelling humanize the conversation, making the episode both informative and engaging for listeners seeking clarity amid political noise.

Transcript

[Gary Dietrich]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Jack Armstrong]

And Getty Show, Gary Dietrich, CBS News political analyst. Gary, welcome to the show.

[Gary Dietrich]

Hey, Jack, good to be with you. And by the way, my friend, it's been decades we've known each other, but I don't think this whole secret is slipped out on air. I am an Eagle Scout.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, are you?

[Gary Dietrich]

Cool.

[Jack Armstrong]

That doesn't surprise me. You seem like the kind of guy that would be an Eagle Scout. Good for you.

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, that's very kind of you. And I, I, I catch every once in a while you mention your son Henry and scouting and you've been singing the praise of scouting, man. My scouting experience was absolutely awesome. I highly recommend it to everybody. But I'm saying this particularly this morning, Jack, because I heard in your lead in segment to this that you're going to be out in the wilderness somewhere. And I just wanted to offer if you have cell service and get desperate, hide in the tent, text Gary and say what do I do now?

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll keep that in mind. I appreciate it.

[Gary Dietrich]

Hey, one thing though. I won't be available for bear removal, so that's that.

[Jack Armstrong]

So did you ever meet Charlie Kirk?

[Gary Dietrich]

I did not meet Charlie. It's just kind of one of those things where for some reason his path and mine never crossed. But you know, I don't, I don't know exactly what to say.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, speak to his, because I know you know about this. Speak to his impact with voting for young people across the country.

[Gary Dietrich]

Oh, it's, you know, Jack, it's nearly impossible to overstate. I mean, the reality is this, if you look at all the studies that have been done over the last decade too, including, I'm not going to mention it, at a place that has an institute for youth, et cetera, involvement, the involvement of youth, especially their voting rates. And you know this, Jack, have been on the decline substantially and people had thought this was inexorable. I mean, this is just sort of. Ow. What are we going to do now? You know, our kids are never going to be part of democracy. Well, Charlie Kirk I won't say single handedly, but certainly as part of the MAGA movement, as you know, really turned this around. And so of course, now if you look at the major demographic groups that many people attribute to Trump's win and Harris's loss last fall, one of them was the youth vote, more specifically young males, which of course is basically the target audience for much of Turning Point's efforts.

[Jack Armstrong]

And do you think without him, because he was a unique character with a hell of a big brain, do you think without him they can continue their trajectory?

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, that's of course the gigantic question. I mean, whenever you lose a founder, not just a major spokesperson, it's tough. I mean, it's tough in anything, in business endeavors, anything else, but especially tough in politics. Politics, because so much of politics, as you know, Jack, is personality and capability driven. I mean, just go down lists of people that we know actually change trajectories of politics. Ronald Reagan's a good example. Barack Obama, you know, even jfk. And those in many people's minds are sort of singular individuals that are unique, at least to their generation. So I know the Turning Point folks are ramping things up. I know there's already been significant donations to assist in that. I know there's already been reportedly many, many requests for new Turning Point chapters on college campuses and even high school campuses. So we'll see.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I'll lay it out this way. So the Wall Street Journal had an article the other day, one of their opinion guys thought that Prop 50 in California going down, that's Gavin Newsom's effort to match Texas's redistricting. You know, we're going to fight, we're going to fight their dirty tricks with our dirty tricks going to redistrict in California. And the Wall Street Journal opinion guy thought that's going to go down and it's going to doom Gavin Newsom. Okay, that's, that's one topic. The other is, I remember asking you about it a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about the polling on how like 2/3 of Californians are a no on it. 60% of Democrats were no on it yesterday. Gary, we had Lon He Chen on it and he thinks it's going to be close because he says by the time we get elect to election Day, they're going to have successfully turned it into a are you for Trump or against him? It'll be a yes or no on Trump as opposed to a yes or no on a redistricting thing. What do you think?

[Gary Dietrich]

Yeah, well, let's break those out real quick. Jack, a couple of things. First off, let's take that last one. That is that that line of thought is the messaging for yes on 50. And Gavin Newsom made that clear at the very beginning. They now have are running commercials in California, Senator Elizabeth Warren in the first 10 seconds. She makes that point very clear. So because of Trump's standing in California, you know, he didn't carry the state and he's underwater polling here. No surprise to people. That's why that messaging has been front and center for the Newsom campaign, countering that people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the governor when this was put into place. And I mean, our Independent Citizens Commission was put into place and he is saying, no, this assault on democracy, we can't set aside democracy for three election cycles and then bring it back. And also his other big line and when he spoke on Monday about this was, hey, listen, if we start acting like Trump, we're going to become Trump. So let's see who wins the day on that messaging. But that's kind of the key one thing about that polling you mentioned, Jack. This is key. The numbers you're talking about, 70% of Californians support the Independent Citizens Commission, including, as you well note, a big majority of Democrats. That's different from this particular ballot measure. So we're trying to get solid numbers on that. The initial poll, the internal poll that came out this week, Axios or somebody reported Politico, said, oh, we're ahead by 10 points. I never take political, I mean, internal polls seriously because when have you ever heard an internal poll that was bad for their side released?

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, right.

[Gary Dietrich]

Doesn't happen. But there was a poll that said 48% of Californians currently supported it. But that's not a great working on propositions in a state the size of California, you always want to start well above 50%, knowing you're likely historically to get a drop off.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then how about the if it goes down, it will really damage Gavin Newsom nationally?

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, there's no question that, you know, right now this is his big claim to political fame. It's what's getting him all the headlines. You know, there will be if it fails, there will certainly be a spin of, well, we see there were so many MAGA dollars spent against it. I mean, that whole line of thinking. And he certainly has time to rec. I mean, we're three and a half years away from 2028 now. Realistically, realistically, I would say after the midterms, you're going to See, and even as early as next year, you're already seeing a lot of prospective candidates out there. There's no question that it would damage Gavin's brand. And certainly, you know, that affects things like early donors, fundraising, people jumping on board, staff wise, et cetera.

[Jack Armstrong]

Back to the hot topic of the country, political violence. How do you feel about our trajectory on that? Did we reach a. A point where it got everybody's attention, where we think, well, we've gone too far, we need to get this under control, or are we going to continue the tit for tat, both sides believing the other side is worse and, you know, we're headed the wrong way?

[Gary Dietrich]

Yeah. You know me, Jack. I would certainly, certainly hope it's the latter. I mean, it was a sad week for Nation in the last week. I don't care what your politics are, what your ideology is. I just. Nobody should be killed over their politics. I mean, I don't know how to say that more unequivocally. And I think that's the credible voices out there, regardless of where they are on the political spectrum or the ideological spectrum that needs to be the unified message. Now, being, you know, looking into the crystal ball, where is this going? I don't know. I mean, you know, you also know me, Jack. I tend to want to be pretty optimistic about things. Not naive, but optimistic. So I would hope there is a day of reckoning that's coming. Is that the case? There's a lot of people that have questions about whether that's actually where we're headed.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, that whatever the percentage is of people that are on social media, that are the extremes of both parties, and I don't know if it's 3% or 8% or what it is, but it looks like and sounds like a lot of people, if you spend time on social media, they sure control a lot of the conversation.

[Gary Dietrich]

Yeah, well, you are. You have hit that dead center. I mean, and I think this is the challenge. I mean, you know, the person whose mouth this came out of, Richard Nixon, you know, many people have question marks about politically, but the silent majority, that was what he kept talking about. Look it, there's people on both sides of the Vietnam War, but the silent majority, he would say, and I do think there is a resonance in that verbiage in today's political world. There's a lot of people who never ever, as you know, go on social media. They don't even have social media accounts. And yet what gets reported is so many people on social media are saying, well, it's sort of like, you know, the old verbiage about talk radio. Less than 1% of people, all the research shows, ever call into a talk radio program, and yet people say, well, listen, everybody's saying this. Well, no, everybody may not be saying that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good point. It's exactly the same as talk radio callers back in the day when that really mattered. That's a good point. So it's amazing that I like you. You're a good guy, but you're. You're an Eagle Scout, you went to Harvard, and you're handsome. It's really easy to not like a person like that.

[Gary Dietrich]

Well, listen, you know. You know, I've got plenty of flaws somewhere, and who knows what they are? I know it's. I'll let others decide that. You can get flooded with emails. You get flooded with emails and texts and say, I hate Dietrich for these six reasons. And then you can share that with me. But. But I know it can't be Kansas, because we share that deep in our hearts as well. I don't know. But I'm sure there's all kinds of things. Let's see, I can't say, like, George Bush Senior, I hate broccoli, because broccoli's kind of okay, but maybe it's. I am a Disneyland fan now. That's gonna really infuriate half your audience.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a little weird. That's a little weird. You're a grown man.

[Gary Dietrich]

Okay. No, no. Only because my kids and I. I never told you guys this. I never told you guys this. You know, the old super bowl added, you know, win the super bowl, and they go up the quarterback and he goes, I'm going to Disneyland. No joke. My kids and I had this thing where after every election cycle, because they were so onerous, so all consuming, I said, kids, just hang in there, because after November, whatever it was going to be, we're going to Disneyland. And we did that, like, about every other year when they were growing up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you ride the rugs?

[Gary Dietrich]

That was it. Do I like the rides?

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you ride the rides?

[Gary Dietrich]

Anything that. I ride the rides. But anything that drops quickly or turns me upside down is absolutely.

[Jack Armstrong]

Here's the main question. This is the deal breaker. Do you. Have you ever gone without kids?

[Gary Dietrich]

No.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. There you go. Okay. You're in the range of normal, then. That's perfectly good. CBS News political analyst Gary Dietrich, appreciate your time today.

[Gary Dietrich]

Okay, buddy. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Eagle Scout. And he went to Harvard, and he's got TV handsomeness again. It's easy to not like somebody like that, but I like him. Gary's a good dude.

[Gary Dietrich]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Gary Dietrich]

This is an iHeart podcast.