Then They Started Putting Skirts On Quarterbacks

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "Then They Started Putting Skirts On Quarterbacks" – May 21, 2025

Hosted by Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty

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1. Opening Remarks and Political Updates (00:00 – 02:17)

The episode kicks off with Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delivering the latest political headlines. Armstrong announces, “[...] Speaker Johnson says the full bill may go to the full house for a vote tonight” (00:35), highlighting the ongoing legislative processes. Getty remarks, “Democracy at work” (00:45), reflecting on the procedural aspects of governance.

The hosts transition into a nostalgic discussion about past decades, reminiscing about the 1980s and 1990s as "better, simpler times" (01:12). They debate when society began to complicate, attributing changes to the rise of smartphones around 2007 and the increased emphasis on critical theory and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in education starting around 2000 (01:43).

2. Tax Policy and the SALT Deduction Debate (02:17 – 04:07)

Armstrong and Getty delve into the contentious topic of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction. Armstrong expresses strong opposition, stating, “What could be less conservative than red states paying the taxes of blue states” (03:05). They discuss a New York congressperson's push to raise the SALT cap to alleviate the state's high tax burden, with Armstrong questioning, “If only there were some other way for New York to lower their tax burden” (03:56).

Getty adds, “It's a betrayal of everything the Republican party claimed to have stood for” (04:18), criticizing the policy as contrary to conservative fiscal principles. The conversation underscores the partisan divide and fiscal implications of the proposed tax changes.

3. National Debt Concerns (04:07 – 05:03)

The hosts shift focus to the growing national debt, with Armstrong warning that passing the current bill could set “the record for the highest debt to GDP ratio that we've had since World War II” (04:46). Getty concurs, noting, “During prosperous times of a growing economy,” (04:50). They express concern over the sustainability of the nation’s finances, especially in the absence of major conflicts like World War II that previously spurred economic mobilization.

4. Personal Anecdotes and Societal Observations (05:03 – 07:37)

Armstrong and Getty share personal stories and humorous anecdotes to illustrate broader societal issues. Armstrong describes observing a neighbor's opulent yet unorthodox household setup, suggesting a stereotype of a "rich divorced guy" (06:08). This leads to a lighthearted discussion about the challenges and absurdities of modern family dynamics and personal lifestyles.

5. Media Critique and Scandal Discussions (17:25 – 28:39)

A significant portion of the episode critiques the American media’s handling of political scandals. Armstrong references Jake Tapper's book, highlighting what he deems “the biggest scandal in U.S. history” involving President Joe Biden and allegations of misinformation regarding Biden's health and the integrity of his administration (18:27).

Getty expands on this, stating, “It's a multi-layered, not only scandal, but opportunity” (18:28), suggesting that the media’s complicity offers a chance to expose systemic dishonesty. They discuss the perceived failures of the media to hold political figures accountable, citing examples like the Russian collusion narrative and Hunter Biden’s laptop controversy. Armstrong remarks, “They don’t have a zero percent approval rating” (19:48), emphasizing the loss of trust between the media and the public.

The hosts also explore internal Democratic Party strategies, speculating on the manipulation of polls to sustain Biden's presidency despite alleged shortcomings. Armstrong questions the rationale behind feeding false polls, asking, “So who. I mean that. First of all, why are you doing this?” (24:06), while Getty theorizes about the inner circle’s motives to maintain power irrespective of Biden's capabilities.

6. Listener Mailbag and Audience Engagement (29:45 – 35:02)

Engaging with their audience, Armstrong and Getty read and respond to listener emails. They acknowledge long-term listeners, such as Brian from Vancouver, congratulating Katie on her IVF struggles and success (33:20). The hosts humorously reward dedicated listeners with fictional perks like “protholders” and “three-night stays at Jack’s Place” (34:53).

They also address feedback on political frustrations, with listener Matthew from Idaho expressing disappointment in the Republican Congress’s handling of the national deficit (35:14). The hosts reinforce their stance on fiscal responsibility, critiquing the inability of deficit hawks to garner necessary support for their initiatives.

7. Closing Discussions on National Debt and Policies (35:02 – 36:44)

In the concluding segment, Armstrong and Getty revisit the national debt issue, lamenting the addition of $3 trillion to the deficit during peacetime. Armstrong states, “We do. I just hate for my kids to have to live through it” (36:33), underscoring the intergenerational impact of fiscal mismanagement. Getty echoes the sentiment, emphasizing the collective responsibility and the dire consequences of continued financial irresponsibility.

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Notable Quotes

• Jack Armstrong (03:05): “What could be less conservative than red states paying the taxes of blue states.”

• Joe Getty (04:18): “It's a betrayal of everything the Republican party claimed to have stood for.”

• Jack Armstrong (19:48): “They don’t have a zero percent approval rating.”

• Joe Getty (18:28): “It's a multi-layered, not only scandal, but opportunity.”

• Jack Armstrong (24:06): “So who. I mean that. First of all, why are you doing this?”

• Jack Armstrong (36:33): “We do. I just hate for my kids to have to live through it.”

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Conclusion

In this episode of "Armstrong & Getty On Demand," the hosts navigate through a blend of political analysis, personal anecdotes, and media critique. They provide listeners with a critical perspective on current tax policies, national debt concerns, and the integrity of the media in portraying political scandals. Through engaging dialogue and relatable stories, Armstrong and Getty offer both humor and serious commentary, encouraging their audience to reflect on the complexities of modern governance and societal shifts.

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Timestamp Reference: Each timestamp corresponds to the approximate minute and second in the transcript where the quote or topic is discussed.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here, Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Breaking news. Speaker Johnson says the full bill may go to the. Or the bill may go to the full house for a vote tonight.

[Joe Getty]

There you go. Democracy at work.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was just reading print media that said, maybe this weekend that shows you why print media is dead. Tonight, live from studio C, you see.

[Joe Getty]

Senor, then it goes to the Senate where they come up with something completely different than the real work begins. Anyway. Hello.

[Jack Armstrong]

A dimly lit room deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. And today we're under the tutelage of our general manager.

[Joe Getty]

To heck with politics. I say. To heck with the. Our general manager today, the great George went Norm from Cheers, a sitcom that went off the air 32 years ago. It was a better, simpler time.

[Jack Armstrong]

The 80s. Yes, we're a better, simpler time.

[Joe Getty]

They were.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you think they actually were?

[Joe Getty]

Yes, I do. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

How about the 90s?

[Joe Getty]

Sociologically? 90s. Pretty solid.

[Jack Armstrong]

When did it. When. When did it stop being a better, simpler time? That'd be my question.

[Joe Getty]

A. The twin happenings of the rise of the smartphone, which has been both a blessing and a curse about 2007 for that and the rise of critical theory slash DEI in our nation's education systems, which I think really it was undercover, so you didn't know it, but it was really, I'd say 2000 on really gaining steam.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then they start putting skirts on the quarterbacks. Couldn't touch them.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly. Exactly. That too. That's a good point. We used to have been in this country.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Men like George went of Cheers.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then. Yeah, I don't want to talk about this either. It's just I'm so bothered by it so. Well, overnight. They claim anyway that the salt deduction thing is going to happen now.

[Joe Getty]

Oh yeah. It's going to be big and fast. That's the number now at a big high number.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. With another caveat that makes it even higher, which is just insane. Absolutely insane.

[Joe Getty]

So you're insane. Spending blue states. The poor denizens of those states will have giant tax deductions because they're being soaked by their blue state.

[Jack Armstrong]

What could be less conservative than red states paying the taxes of blue states.

[Joe Getty]

I know, it's obscene.

[Jack Armstrong]

So this congressperson from New York. And you can't blame him. He's representing his people. I don't think you can blame Him.

[Joe Getty]

No, he's got to be seen trying because people vote their self interests. They shouldn't if they're patriots, but they do.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's about. I might change my mind on that because like it's my self interest to have the SALT deduction would, would save me quite a bit of money, right? Like put more money in my kids pockets. Uh, but it's just so horrible. I can't, I can't. There's no way. If I, if I was king, I would not allow it to happen anyway. This representative from New York said New York has the highest tax burden of any state in the country. We need to raise the cap on SALT to deliver relief for middle class families.

[Joe Getty]

To which. Yeah, my ass.

[Jack Armstrong]

To which many people replied some version of why is that my fault? Or if.

[Joe Getty]

Why do I have to pick up the tab please?

[Jack Armstrong]

Or this. If only were there some other way for New York to lower their tax burden. As in, yeah, lower your own tax burden if you think your taxes are too high.

[Joe Getty]

Sarcasm right there. Yeah. That is so crazy it's repugnant. It's a betrayal of everything the Republican party claimed to have stood for. But it doesn't anymore, apparently.

[Jack Armstrong]

And while you are correct that the House version, even if it does go to the full House tonight and gets passed, it goes to the Senate and then they'll have their changes and then it goes back. But it certainly directionally gives you an idea of where things are. Trump was in there yesterday, strong arming people this way or that to get this thing through. And if it passes in its current form, it will set the record for the highest debt to GDP ratio that we've had since World War II.

[Joe Getty]

So during prosperous times of a growing economy. That's correct.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Not at war with China, which will happen someday and will start the war in really bad financial position instead of World War II begins and then you get into financial trouble because you're dealing with the crisis well.

[Joe Getty]

And remember if there's some giant economic downturn, recession, depression, whatever, generally governments will go into debt stimulating their economy. But we're already weigh into debt.

[Jack Armstrong]

This, this is like so, I mean you're always using the family, you know, analogy of just like living as stretched as you can. You're, you're, you're paycheck to paycheck with a really nice house and really nice cars and you've already booked your vacation and everything like that with the assumption that mom or dad won't lose their job, nobody will have a medical problem, nothing will need the Air conditioner won't break down. If any of those things happen, you're screwed.

[Joe Getty]

And the kids have sat mom and down at the kitchen table and explained the situation to them. Unfortunately, dad's a coke fiend and mom's psychotic. So dad does a big line of blow and goes off to the Ferrari dealer. As the children sit at their kitchen table crying, crying over their future. Good morning. Welcome to the show. How are you? How are you feeling?

[Jack Armstrong]

The eight year old daughter says, but what if the air conditioner broke?

[Joe Getty]

I'm off to get another Ferrari. Says the government.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was walking my dog yesterday and I walked by his house. They had their garage door open. I've never walked by it before. He's got a. I couldn't tell if it was a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. I'm not. I don't know those kind of cars that well, but it was one of those. And some sort of super fancy little tiny sports Porsche car. Those are his two cars. And then in the living room, he's got a giant drum set set up. That's got to be a divorced guy, right? A rich divorced guy has to be a rich divorced guy. Two little sports cars and your drum set in the living room screams rich divorced guy to me.

[Joe Getty]

I can't imagine any lifestyle whatsoever. Well, rich tech guy who's never been married.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're right. That could be.

[Joe Getty]

There is no household in America that includes a female partner. That also includes a drum kit in the living room.

[Jack Armstrong]

Full setup like it's Phil Collins.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, it's. Yeah. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

My kids hit me the other night with. Actually, I said it first and then Sam said I was thinking the same thing. What did we eat? I can't remember. It was like macaroni and cheese and I steamed some vegetables or something like that. I said, wow, this is really a divorced dad meal right here. Sam said, I was thinking the same thing. Oh, well, what are you gonna do?

[Joe Getty]

The fact that you could laugh about it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, it's hilarious.

[Joe Getty]

Well, some laughs are different than other laughs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe we need laughs. We'll open the show with our clip. I'm Jeff Enough.

[Joe Getty]

Doom and despair. By God Y.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty on this. It is Wednesday, May 21, the year 2025. We are. Damn it. Whoop. We are Armstrong and Getty. And we approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

Whoop. There it is. All right, let's begin the show officially, according to FCC rules and regulations. Here we go at mark.

[Jack Armstrong]

Afternoon, everybody. How you doing? Arm what do you know? Had enough?

[Joe Getty]

Afternoon, everybody. Vietnam.

[Jack Armstrong]

Better give me a tall one in case I like it.

[Joe Getty]

How's life treating you, Norm?

[Jack Armstrong]

Like I just ran over its dog. What's up, Noam? My nipples.

[Joe Getty]

It's freezing out there for nog.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I am going to need something to kill time before my second beer. How about a first one?

[Joe Getty]

You got it.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good one. I like a really tall one in case I like it. That's pretty funny.

[Joe Getty]

Always liked.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's George Went, who died yesterday. He was a figure on a popular sitcom where he would walk in the bar every day and they would say something like, what you up to, Norman? He'd say, my ideal weight if I'm 7ft tall.

[Joe Getty]

That's like treating you, Norm, like a dog treats a bone.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was watching some video with Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld the other night, and the question was, how did Seinfeld become such a big hit? And he said Ted Danson got tired of doing Cheers because they moved into the Cheers time slot when time. When Ted Danson got tired of doing Cheers and Seinfeld had been on four different time slots and not caught on zero ratings and might have died a death as a cult favorite had it not been for that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. How interesting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Which is an interesting thing about life right there.

[Joe Getty]

It really is. That's why you just keep grinding. You never know when the Ted Danson of fate is going to duck out of the time slot of reality.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, Exactly.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. In the TV schedule of your dreams.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I got one. I got one question before we take a break. So a hallmark of the Armstrong and Getty show, there are several hallmarks, but one hallmark is the media not answering the obvious question.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And we know we've the one that.

[Joe Getty]

Pops into everybody's mind but professional reporters.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I think that's happening today, where I've heard six times, probably the Republicans met at 1am or still wrangling over the bill. The Rules committee began at 1:00am why did they start at 1:00 clock in the morning? You can't just throw that out there. Isn't that the obvious question? Why the hell did you start at one in the morning? When did that become a thing? Is that a thing?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, did they start at 1?

[Jack Armstrong]

They started at 1am they're like eight hours in. They started at 1am, as I said yesterday, but I haven't heard anybody say why isn't that. Isn't it. Isn't that an obvious. Why'd they start at 1 in the morning. Who does that? Who says, be here in your suit and tie and hard shoes, park, get in here and be in your seat at 1am because. Do you have any idea why?

[Joe Getty]

Probably because they. They were working until roughly midnight to get to a place to have that committee meeting, I guess.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Seems like an odd way to do business to me.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. I feel like I'm not.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm not suggesting anything untoward or anything. It just seems odd.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. At the risk of returning to the mood of two and a half minutes ago, I feel like I'm observing, you know, a couple of, you know, like, I don't know, I'm in a Chinese prison camp and the two guys are discussing exactly how they're going to torture me. And I'm. I'm listening to the process and absorbing it. The whole thing is so disappointing and disgusting to me. I just want to pretend it's not happening.

[Jack Armstrong]

If you are. If you are in a Chinese prison camp, you've got to get the maintenance worker to figure out a way to let you out. We've got more on that story.

[Joe Getty]

Genius, huh?

[Jack Armstrong]

Among other things on the way. Katie's headlines next. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about how you can make money streaming. That's what I need to do. I need to be. Guy just like opens boxes. That's. That's big box opening, boxing stream, unboxing streamer. That's what I'll become. I'm gonna open up these shoes. My son was watching one of these the other day. Just got the shoes. Gonna open it. Ooh, lift off the lid. Look at this. Some nice crepe paper.

[Joe Getty]

I am so mystified by this guy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Had like 80 million followers.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, I was. You know, I try not to poo poo something before I at least a little understand it. Maybe I could kill a couple of birds with one stone. Katie, what do you think of this? Let me just try that. You're young and hip garage cleaning videos.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, well, sure. That could get.

[Joe Getty]

Why, where will I put this rake? Let me think. And then people would be watching, thinking, you could put it up on that rake rack. I don't. I don't know.

[C]

It would work.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then you cut to Judy. Her saying, if I see that rake leaning up against the car one more time, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Then back to you with the rake dilemma.

[C]

There's this whole guy that's got. He's got millions of followers and He. He does yard work.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is he hot?

[C]

No. The f. He just goes through and he finds. He finds houses that have completely let their front yards go, and he fixes them for them and videos it and puts it up. And this guy, he's making so much money that he. His niche now is he goes around and does it for free for people.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've never watched that, but I have watched things before, and this is. Might be my least favorite emotion. I've watched things before where I'm several minutes into it. Sometimes way too many minutes into it, I think, what am I doing? Is this how I want to spend my life?

[C]

Agreed.

[Joe Getty]

Right. It's like you on your deathbed is whispering to you. Are you serious with this? This is how you're spending our time? I'm thinking my garage cleaning videos would be great. I think Judy and I could work on a little, I don't know, Honeymooners style, bickering, sitcom style. I told you I'd pick up the rake. You haven't picked up the rake. You know, just that sort of thing.

[C]

Money pit. Do it.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. All right, let's figure out who's reporting what. It's the lead story with Katie Green.

[C]

Starting with the Free Beacon quote. It could be 12 to 18 months. Former White House doctor says Biden cancer prognosis is grim.

[Jack Armstrong]

Really? He might have that long to live.

[C]

12 to 18 months? According to the free vegan.

[Joe Getty]

If he was 100, healthy, given, you know, the look of him, wouldn't be super long anyway.

[C]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. But God bless him. He's our fellow human being.

[Jack Armstrong]

God bless him. He's a liar. I don't wish he had cancer, but he's a freaking liar top to bottom. And everything you hear out of them about their cancer diagnosis is probably a lie. So where do you place your sympathy since they're lying about everything?

[C]

From the New York Post, Hunter Biden told Jake Tapper to go F himself after CNN hosts pestered him during his brother's last days.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I heard they almost got into a fight at some point.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know that story.

[C]

Yeah, Tapper was asking him about Beau and Hunter flipped.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Hunter's a crackhead. They flip about a lot of things. I don't. If you ever see him on the corner yelling at fire hydrants from cnn.

[C]

Trump details planned to build Golden Dome missile shield by the end of his term.

[Joe Getty]

Love this story.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know how doable it is.

[Joe Getty]

They've got to develop the technology at Notre Dame University. Obviously, the Golden Domers and Did Trump just go with that name because he likes gold so much?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, maybe. I mean, I mean, the Golden Plated dome. Israel has the Iron Dome, so it's not a huge stretch, I guess. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

How about titanium? Gold is a soft metal. It's useless as a dome.

[C]

From NBC. 21 year old man charged with giving alcohol to 20 year old who fell two stories at the Pirates game.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, you're 21 and you slipped beer to your 20 year old friend and you're in trouble.

[C]

Bought him two beers.

[Joe Getty]

Thank goodness none of my friends or I have ever done that during our college days.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, God, that only happens always.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Come on.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, Darwin, try not to flip out of your seat onto the field and break your neck.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, I realize the law's a law, but it's not the same as like a 50 year old buying beer for 12 year olds.

[Joe Getty]

Right, Right.

[C]

From the Financial Times. Google offers AI mode in total reimaging of search. So they're trying to. Yeah, go ahead. No, it's just they're trying to keep up with the chat bots and all of that nonsense.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I was just reading about Google's challenges with AI and then competing and how it's changing the landscape of search especially. So much.

[Jack Armstrong]

But Google is doomed unless they really revamp it. I'm. I'm full chat GPT for my searches now.

[C]

Mm.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, Google's got some interesting stuff in the works. I wouldn't give up on them yet. In fact, I was tempted to buy.

[C]

Some stock from the Babylon be alarming. Thanks to public school funding cuts, this five year old student doesn't know all the varied sexual lusts adults adults can have.

[Joe Getty]

Because of funding cuts, we've had to cut our teaching perversion to kindergarteners program.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm afraid we've got some more news of the day for you. And there's a lot. As always, if you missed a segment, get the podcast. Armstrong and Yeti on demand.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State. I yield back and I respond, you may sit.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, first of all, your regret for voting for me confirms I'm doing a good job. Booyah.

[Joe Getty]

Because you're a dumb ass.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then he took a drink of water because he's so thirsty.

[Joe Getty]

Marco's too classy to throw in the dumbass part, but that's precisely what he meant. If I found myself in agreement with you, I'd be humiliated, you dumbass.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, that was fun. So I I'll speak for myself. Joe then can put in his opinion on this. I, I, I, I'm, I'm feeling maybe people getting tired of the, hey, we get it. Joe Biden was ancient and they're covering it up. On the other hand, at the risk of wearing people out on this, it is. Well, I'm looking at David Harsani's tweet. He echoes what a lot of people that I like are saying. It's the biggest, it's one of the biggest scandals in U.S. history.

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

It could potentially be the biggest scandal in U.S. history.

[Joe Getty]

Right. And for a number of reasons. It's a multi layered, not only scandal, but opportunity, I think, and I'm sure we'll miss it as a country. But the opportunity is to, to blow the lid off of the unbelievable dishonesty of and dysfunction of the American media system. Used to claim to be one thing while clearly behaving as another.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. So it depends on how you define the scandal. If the scandal is the Biden cover up, like within themselves, and then the media going along with it for whatever reason, that's a very, very giant scandal. Just the media's coverage in the era of Trump. The Wall Street Journal lays it out today. And when you put it in order like this, their failure to admit that Russian collusion was a lie, followed by claiming Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian intelligence when they knew it wasn't, then four to eight years of pretending Joe Biden wasn't senile. You put all three of those together, it's amazing. They don't have a zero percent approval rating. I mean, that is incredible. Oh, and as they point out in the Wall Street Journal, all the while trying to claim Trump was Hitler and you should be afraid. Very afraid.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Yeah. Which brings us back to the incredible hilarious lack of self awareness that Jake Tapper displays with his whole look what I uncovered saying the media after each of those major betrayals of their listeners, readers, et cetera, said nothing is here. Let's talk about the next thing. Thinking people didn't notice. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I watch you every night and you told me something that wasn't true. 237 consecutive nights. Well, okay, I guess I'll keep watching. And then another one and another one occurs and then they have no trust left in the American or the American people have no trust left in them and they're completely mystified as to why. It's really strange.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't, well, they clearly don't realize as was laid out by the Wall Street Journal there how much damage they've done to themselves.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. That's what I'm saying. They are spectacularly unselfaware. Speaking of which, I said to the guys in the pre show meeting today, this is as if I created it with AI Hawoopy Goldberg commenting on the scandal du jour trust issue.

[D]

There has always been a mass trust issue because politicians, media, nobody does what they're supposed to do. Now, I say for me, listen, he's 83, so he's a little stumbly, he's a little rumbly. I can't point to anything that he's done as president that he did.

[Jack Armstrong]

No running for his next four years.

[D]

But, but I'm saying I want, not you, but I want somebody to tell me, well, when did you know it was bad? If you knew, why did you wait?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, so he said that it was.

[Jack Armstrong]

After he moderated the debate.

[D]

Yes, but that's not. I'm sorry, baby, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about if you, if you're telling me that hundreds of people knew that he was not able to do his job, then where the hell was he?

[Jack Armstrong]

Everybody did his job. No, it's more like 100 million people knew, Whoopi. Two thirds of Americans knew. How are they not aware of this?

[Joe Getty]

The bubble syndrome. It's got to be they are as bubbled as we suspected when we were at our most cynical. That's clearly true. So again, this scandal has so many different layers to it. One of them is just you, us, all of us, as we observe humanity, have learned something about how delusional people can be.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. That, that, that quote from Orwell that Jake Tapper put in the beginning of the book that he, he thought he was making about people around Biden was actually about himself. But it is really, really good about how difficult it is for human beings sometimes to recognize the truth if it's not what they want it to be.

[Joe Getty]

It takes a constant effort. Yeah, yeah. And it exists, you know, all over the spectrum. I know some folks, I haven't talked to him for a little while, but it was in the wake of one of Trump's, you know, just inexplicable missteps. And they denied as a couple up and down that he had made any mistakes or miscalculations at all. And they thought I was nuts to say he had. And I thought, wow, okay, well, we can, okay, let's talk about the weather.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I've got So I'm still reading the Jake Tapper book and making my way through it. But the one thing that he doesn't seem to have the answer on, that I wonder if history will dig up. But he suspects strongly, and this clearly seems to be the case. Somebody close to Biden. And I don't think this could be Jill. This had to be some of his handlers. They were feeding Biden fake polls. You know, the various interviews where he went on and said, no, no, I'm leading the polls. That's because he was being fed phony polls. As has been pointed out many, many times. There were no internal Democratic Party polls that ever showed him being ahead or Kamala Harris being ahead ever. Once.

[Joe Getty]

Right, so.

[Jack Armstrong]

So who. I mean that. First of all, why are you doing this? And secondly, what. What makes you think that's a good idea to make up a poll for an old senile man to make him think he's ahead?

[Joe Getty]

Right. Well, and that. That is probably the headline because it's practically become a cliche in American politics. George Bush doesn't want runaway house. He's a puppet. Dick Cheney's in charge, blah, blah, blah. Just every president. This was an actual example of a senile old man unable to function at some times and not function very at a very at others, being completely controlled and gaslit in the classic sense from the original movie by his inner circle, including his wife, that he was doing great and the poor doddering old fool believed it. And, oh, by the way, he was the leader of the free world at the time.

[Jack Armstrong]

But why would.

[Joe Getty]

The enormity of that story cannot be overstated.

[Jack Armstrong]

But why were they bringing in polls showing him ahead when he wasn't? For what reason?

[Joe Getty]

To keep him in it. Because they thought only he could beat Trump. They shared that decision, apparently.

[Jack Armstrong]

But that's not the way. Usually you do the opposite. Like, look, our internal polls show us behind, so we need to change our messaging here or we need to go to these states or whatever to help your strategy. What's the point of telling the guy he's winning?

[Joe Getty]

Well, I think they had that low an opinion of his abilities to. To do anything about it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So you think they were running the campaign based on the real polls that they knew?

[Joe Getty]

Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

He. He wasn't capable of doing anything. He wasn't going to do anything. So it doesn't matter. Let's just keep him happy. He can eat his jello, he can watch prices. Right. And go to bed.

[Joe Getty]

Well, if I were to. To use a football metaphor. Oh, the tush push soon to be outlawed. Jack.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yes.

[Joe Getty]

It's a perversion. It's, it's, it's, it's un American.

[Jack Armstrong]

What, What? It's against the law to have a big ass.

[Joe Getty]

I thought this is the ass. That's the operative factory.

[Jack Armstrong]

This was America.

[Joe Getty]

All right, so where was it? Oh, to use a football metaphor. So the campaign is thinking, all right, can we jazz up our offense? Meaning can we use our candidate more effectively? Can we alter our strategies, become more aggressive, whatever. And they looked at the senile old mummy and said, no, we cannot. So they went entirely. And this may ring a bell on defense. Trump is Hitler. Trump is evil. Trump is coming for gay people, for, for black people. He will come into your home and beat your children down.

[Jack Armstrong]

I still think there's a missing element to this somewhere that I don't quite understand what their end goal was. They did. There's no way they thought that Biden could be president for another four years.

[Joe Getty]

No. They just wanted him to beat Trump and then they would continue to be the puppet masters, get a new puppet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because there's a lot, There's a fair amount of suspicion and well earned suspicion that they were as scared of Kamala Harris being president as you are.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And so that, that, that, I mean, if, if, if Al Gore had been the vice president, problem solved. We, we make it clear the guy's got to go and Al Gore's president and we run him because he's a good politician and he would win that. That's what they would have done. But they didn't have that in their, in their. As a backup. But that doesn't make sense. So you want to get Biden to win, so then he has to step down after he gets elected because of his brain in Kamala Harris's president. That's. Is that what they wanted?

[Joe Getty]

I still don't understand. I would argue that. And whether it was the super cynical version of this or the fairly cynical version, I don't know. But they either thought, we will continue to be the behind the scenes puppet masters with all this enormous power when we install Kamala Harris, making it clear that we engineered her rise.

[Jack Armstrong]

Trump is more. You did it again yesterday. He's more leaning more into the whole, who was running the auto pen? Who was running the auto pen. And that's not a crazy conspiracy, given the way things have played out over the last couple of months at all.

[Joe Getty]

Or the slightly less cynical version of my theory is that they actually believe Trump is the H man and that they had to save the country by keeping him out of office. And Joe Biden was his best, their best bet. But either way, it was quite literally a cabal of insiders controlling a senile old man to their purposes.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've got a nugget that might help explain it. From Jake Tapper's book right after this.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Special AI technology that can detect a scumbag ooching. It's true. I love driving away from my house every day with the Simply Safe sign in the yard alerting to people that I've got all the sensors on the windows and the cameras and all that different sort of stuff. Makes you feel good.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. It starts around a dollar a day. Are you kidding? That's so much better than traditional security systems. Visit SimpliSafe.com Armstrong get 50% off a new system with a professional monitoring plan. Get your first month free just because we're buddies. That's simply safe.com Armstrong there's no safe like Simply Safe.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mentioned this last week. Sometimes with politicians we act like they don't have the same needs that every other human being has for employment or having their kids in school or all those different sorts of things and make all these things, I should have resigned. Or you should quit if you don't believe whatever. Or you know, you should be honest about this or that. Whoever you works for loses the next election.

[Joe Getty]

You gotta move.

[Jack Armstrong]

Probably you're picking up your. Your wife and kids or husband and kids and moving and putting them in a different school. And now you gotta figure out how to get a job. And you know, it's not easy. And it might not just be you. This is what I got from Jake Tapper's book last night. They're talking about the inner circle, the very inner circle that he calls the politburo in the Jake Tapper book. The people around Biden that were protect him in the most. The people that were lying to like Chuck Schumer and saying no, no, he's fine. Behind closed doors, the inner circle, their immediately family members worked at the White House too. This one person's daughter was Biden's day schedule. Or this other person, Donlins, his niece worked at the National Security Council. Rachetti's children would find found jobs in the White House social office, the State Department, and the Treasury Department and the Department of Transportation. So it's not just you. You and your entire family would lose their livelihoods.

[Joe Getty]

First of all, how is that okay?

[Jack Armstrong]

First of all, how is that okay? The Democratic party was always worried about equity inequality and people shut up. You know, patriarchy and all this different sort of crap. You get a job in the White House and you get all your kids different jobs in the federal government. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah. And this. Jack, I'm going to read your mind here. In case anybody's wondering. You're not making excuses. You're helping people understand how incredibly hollow and hilariously fake the notion of public servant. Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

Please, it's the gig. And my gosh, that what an interesting illustration. All of those different family members. Yeah, you're gonna keep the mummy in power if you possibly can. Because if Kamala gets in there, who knows, maybe she cleans out.

[Jack Armstrong]

She probably will pro would because she's got her own family members and staff to get in there. Got mailbag on the way. Stay here.

[C]

Armstrong and Getty, I do want you.

[Jack Armstrong]

To explain that if the NFL is going to make the tush push illegal, that's a pretty big deal. It won them the super bowl, right?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, they're just going back to the old rule.

[Jack Armstrong]

Need an asterisk. The Chiefs won. As a Chiefs fan, Chiefs should get the trophy.

[Joe Getty]

Boy, it puts the ass back in asterisk, doesn't it? The tush push. I get it. Okay? Freedom loving. Quote of the day from the Marquis de Lafayette. Frenchman. Soldier, fighting man, leader helped us win the revolution. By golly. Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country instead of the United States. It's beautiful. It gives me chills just to read it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country. Hey, friends, let's try not to screw it up. Mailbag, drop us a note. Mailbagarmstrongetti.com you want short emails? Here you go, writes Brian in Vancouver. Kudos to Katie that was very brave to share with her family what she and her husband are going through to bring a sweet child into the world. Our oldest daughter and her husband had been worked trying with IVF unsuccessfully as yet, but Katie was was talking to us about that at fair length. That process during the Armstrong and Getty One More thing podcast dated May 20th.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you plan to share more of that?

[C]

Katie yeah, I'll share as it goes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. Why not? Your choice.

[Joe Getty]

Let's see. Brian and family wish you Andrew. Success. Success. Look forward to hearing about the results listeners since day one of the show.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good Lord. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Oh thanks Brian. Good to hear from you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, thank you.

[Joe Getty]

Frequent correspondent Paolo Guys, budget frustration. It's tempting to give up on the national debt, but politicians attitudes and actions just keep getting worse. Please keep harping on this stuff. Then he sends a quote from the New York Times. Has he got the votes? Is the title of the story. About three dozen Republicans deficit hawks have been strategizing in a group text and at the Capitol Hill home of one of the members, most of them signed a letter earlier this year saying they would not vote for a bill that adds to the federal deficit. The bill's current version would add 3.3 trillion over the next decade. All these hawks are talking about is controlling the deficit and they can't even muster up support for that. Have you seen the great, you know, outcry and and groundswell in conservative media for how we cannot possibly grow the deficit one more dime. No you have not.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, the the country doesn't care. Oh, getting back to that last emailer who's been listening to us since day one. That's 27 years ago. Is that right?

[Joe Getty]

20. That is 27 years.

[Jack Armstrong]

You've been listening for 27 years, Brian. Have you tried anything else?

[Joe Getty]

You know what you've earned? You've already earned the Armstrong and Yeti potholders. Right?

[Jack Armstrong]

Oven mitts.

[Joe Getty]

Oven mitts. The bumper stickers, the frame to signed autographed poster.

[Jack Armstrong]

We came to your end.

[Joe Getty]

Autographed.

[Jack Armstrong]

We came to your house one Thanksgiving.

[Joe Getty]

And cooked dinner and now you've earned yourself a three night stay at Jack's Place. That's the 27 year premium. So check in anytime.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's going to be hot. The air conditioner doesn't work right now.

[Joe Getty]

No early check ins. Matthew, Idaho farmhand on a similar topic writes Guys, excellent takedown of the big beautiful crap sandwich making its way through this Republican Congress. Joe, my wife and I had already said done this past election cycle when it became undeniable that the R stands for little else other than expediency and a means to power. The parties do indeed shift chameleon like to match whatever their standard bearer of the month is. We're independent conservatives. Although the F y' all I can party certainly appeals.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. What do we have, Michael? We about out of time?

[Jack Armstrong]

About one minute. I think Trump is reading the room correctly, though. The country doesn't care. They should. And leaders should lead people into caring.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Well, yeah, they should vote their conscience, not pander to the, you know, greedy simpletons who vote for them. But good luck getting them to do that. I'd like to talk more about the salt deduction and salt penalty for people in blue states. Um, maybe a little bonus mailbag a little bit later on in the show.

[Jack Armstrong]

If we add $3 trillion to the deficit.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. During prosperous peace time. Yes. We as a country deserve what's coming.

[Jack Armstrong]

We do. We do. I just hate for my kids to have to live through it.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

You'Re listening to an iHeart podcast.