There Can't Be 2 Funny Guys!!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: "There Can't Be 2 Funny Guys!!"
Release Date: April 11, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the April 11, 2025 episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty dive into a blend of current events, political analysis, and personal anecdotes. The episode, titled "There Can't Be 2 Funny Guys!!", features insightful discussions with guest David Drucker from The Dispatch and Lon He Chen from the Hoover Institution, alongside humorous takes on bizarre news stories and reflections on the hosts' longstanding friendship.

Guest Interview: David Drucker on Trump Tax Cuts and Legislative Processes

David Drucker, a senior writer at The Dispatch, joins Jack and Joe to discuss the intricacies of the Trump tax cuts and the broader legislative landscape.

• Legislative Mechanics and Tax Cuts:
  Drucker provides a detailed breakdown of the reconciliation process in Congress, explaining its significance in passing budgets without the need for a Senate filibuster. He states, “In order to take advantage of this process called reconciliation... you have to get the House and the Senate to agree on what's called a budget resolution.” ([06:00])

• Economic Implications:
  The discussion delves into how Trump’s economic policies, including tax cuts, impact small businesses and the broader economy. Drucker emphasizes the interconnectedness of Wall Street and Main Street, noting, “When the markets have pain... small businesses end up having pain because Main street is inextricably linked with Wall Street.” ([08:00])

• Trump’s Policy Focus:
  Drucker critiques Trump’s focus on tariffs and reshaping global trade, arguing that these efforts have not panned out as intended and have adversely affected the markets. He remarks, “Trump... finds other ways to sideline what should be his best and biggest story.” ([09:00])

Lon He Chen Discusses Political Prospects of Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris

Lon He Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, engages in a conversation about the political trajectories of Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris.

• Gavin Newsom’s Presidential Ambitions:
  When asked if Gavin Newsom will run for president, Chen asserts, “Yes,” highlighting Newsom's attempts to moderate his image to appeal to a broader Democratic base. He comments, “...he's trying to make people forget how many times... he has been on the 20% side of the 80-20 issue.” ([33:30])

• Kamala Harris’s Future:
  Addressing Harris’s prospects, Chen states she is unlikely to run for president but may pursue the governorship of California. He explains, “She remains reasonably popular, because everyone knows who she is, and... it's a great political opportunity here.” ([34:00])

• Democratic Party Dynamics:
  The discussion touches on the challenges moderates like Newsom face within the Democratic Party, especially with shifting priorities post-midterm elections. Chen mentions, “If Democrats do reasonably well in the midterms... there will be less pressure to have a more extreme left candidate.” ([31:12])

NYC Subway Necrophilia: A Bizarre News Story

The hosts pivot to a bizarre news story reported by The New York Times about a man engaging in necrophilia on a Manhattan subway train.

• Incident Overview:
  Joe Getty narrates the incident, detailing how a man violated a corpse aboard an R train, with the act captured on surveillance cameras. He humorously adds, “Never trust somebody with a goatee.” ([20:00])

• Public Reaction and Implications:
  The conversation includes musings on the rarity of such events and their impact on the perception of New York’s subway system. Getty quips, “You wouldn't think there'd be a one in a million chance that this could happen,” highlighting the shocking nature of the incident. ([22:00])

Sanctuary Cities and Public Safety

Joe Getty introduces a segment on sanctuary cities, emphasizing the administration's stance on prioritizing public safety.

• Policy Stance:
  Getty asserts, “Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals,” and discusses the Trump administration’s efforts to cut federal funding for such municipalities. ([25:25])

• Supporting Expert Opinions:
  Lon He Chen supports this stance, stating, “Bottom line, that's who we're concentrating on,” reinforcing the focus on public and national security threats over undocumented immigrants. ([25:25])

Personal Anecdotes: The Bond Between Armstrong and Getty

In a heartfelt segment, Armstrong and Getty reminisce about their friendship and how they met.

• Origins of Friendship:
  Joe shares the story of meeting Jack at a trivia contest where Jack was the emcee, leading to a rivalry turned friendship over their shared love of golf. He recounts, “I thought, wow, that guy is really funny. And it kind of bothered me that a guy that worked at another radio station was funny.” ([44:07])

• Collaborative Beginnings:
  They discuss their early days competing at radio stations and eventually collaborating to create their own radio show, stating, “We started doing a fake radio show and recording it and sending out tapes to radio stations. That's how we started.” ([45:05])

• Changing Interests:
  Joe reflects on his waning interest in golf compared to Jack’s continued passion, illustrating the evolving nature of their personal interests over decades. ([46:06])

Humorous Takes and Lighthearted Banter

Throughout the episode, Armstrong and Getty intersperse humor into their discussions, particularly when addressing unusual news stories or personal anecdotes.

• Subway Incident Humor:
  Getty jokes about the victim’s attire, saying, “Dodgers fans, am I right?” and pokes fun at the suspect’s appearance, adding levity to the grim news story. ([21:20])

• Reflecting on Political Disagreements:
  The hosts engage in playful banter about political figures, with Getty quipping about commuting from Nevada to avoid California’s political landscape. ([35:39])

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Armstrong and Getty teasing upcoming segments and maintaining their signature blend of humor and insightful commentary. They invite listeners to stay tuned for more diverse topics in future hours, ensuring an engaging listen for both long-time fans and newcomers alike.

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Notable Quotes:

• David Drucker ([06:00]):
  “In order to take advantage of this process called reconciliation... you have to get the House and the Senate to agree on what's called a budget resolution.”

• David Drucker ([08:00]):
  “When the markets have pain... small businesses end up having pain because Main street is inextricably linked with Wall Street.”

• Joe Getty ([20:00]):
  “Never trust somebody with a goatee.”

• Lon He Chen ([25:25]):
  “Bottom line, that's who we're concentrating on.”

• Joe Getty ([44:07]):
  “That's how we started. But I didn't know that.”

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Conclusion:

The "There Can't Be 2 Funny Guys!!" episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand seamlessly blends political discourse, personal storytelling, and humor. With insightful guest contributions and the hosts' dynamic chemistry, the episode offers listeners a comprehensive and entertaining exploration of contemporary issues and the enduring bond between the hosts.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

Every day our world gets a little more connected, but a little further apart. But then there are moments that remind us to be more human.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

And feels like yay.

[Christina Quinn]

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[Colby Ekowitz]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Colby Ekowitz]

We've all done it. You see a headline but don't have time to read the whole story or there's so much news you're not sure what is worth your time. I'm Colby Ekowitz, co host of Post Reports, the weekday afternoon podcast from the Washington Post. Post Reports brings you what's relevant and revealing. Breaking stories, politics, wellness, culture. Each episode goes beyond a headline for the context you need. Find Post Reports now wherever you're listening.

[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[David Drucker]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[David Drucker]

And now here's Armstrong and Yeti. I do hope and believe that the vote today is a very strong signal to the markets, to investors, job creators, entrepreneurs, the people that make the economy run, that the Congress is going to get us on sound footing. And you can count on that. And you can bet on it. And you ought to, I think Today would be a great day to buy stocks.

[Joe Getty]

Speaker Johnson, Congress is going to get us on sound footing. Well, that would be something. We'd like to welcome to the Armstrong and Getty show our old friend David Drucker, who we've been talking to for years, who is now with the Dispatch. I hear him on a regular basis, senior writer at the Dispatch, on various TV appearances and Dispatch podcasts, which I hear weekly. It says here, David, when Drucker is not covering American politics for the Dispatch, he enjoys hanging out with his two boys. That's nice. That's what I do, too. And listening to his wife's excellent taste in music. Did you write this?

[Lon He Chen]

I did write it, but it's true.

[Joe Getty]

That's interesting that you. So she have a particularly good taste and you just sit in your. You sit down and listen to it and you're amazed.

[Lon He Chen]

Let's be clear. Even if she had bad taste, she was on the music in the family. I understand. But if she happens to have extremely good taste in music.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, cool. How old are your kids?

[Lon He Chen]

Our oldest turns 13 on Monday and our youngest, our other boy, will be 10 this July.

[Joe Getty]

I have two boys and they're 13 and 15. And I have just started into the whole teenage thing, which, like you've learned, as I learned with all of parenting, every phase is completely different and practically none of your skills from the last phase are of any use.

[Lon He Chen]

This is one of the first things that I realized some years ago was just when you figure out how to do it right, they change and you have to learn all over again.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I know how to handle a baby. Okay. I know how to handle a toddler. Okay. I know how to handle a four year old. But then they're not that anymore. And so. Yeah, yeah.

[Colby Ekowitz]

So.

[Joe Getty]

I think you probably said this last year. I know lots of pundits did. Man, Trump gets elected. The biggest story first year. Get ready for this. It's going to be all about the Trump tax cuts and whether they're renewed or not. This is gonna be the biggest political story in America. Everybody will be talking about it. Well, we haven't been talking about it because Trump has been doing so many different things. Doge and now tariffs and everything like that that get all the attention. We haven't been talking about this, but it's still been kind of burbling behind the scenes. Tell us where we are with all of this legislation.

[Lon He Chen]

Well, I mean, this gets kind of into the weeds, but in order to take advantage of this process called reconciliation, which is a limited legislative process in Congress that allows you to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. You have to get the House and the Senate to agree on what's called a budget resolution, which provides the contours of taxation and spending and spending cuts, but doesn't fill any of the blanks. But first you have to get the two chambers to agree on the top line numbers. All right, we're going to cut 105 trillion in spending, I think is what's in this budget resolution that finally passed the House. After passing the Senate, we're going to cut taxes of this much. I don't know all these numbers in my head. We're going to spend this much. And so then once you do that, then the committees, you know, the Ways and Means Committee, the Energy Commerce Committee or whatever, you know, in the Senate, the Finance Committee and whatever, all the committees of jurisdiction can then go about processing actual detailed legislation with all the numbers. And then, you know, the plan is, and this is how it's worked in the past, you know, you get to a point where the party that's running the reconciliation bill, because both parties have used this process, they agree and then they run votes, then the opposition cries foul and then it passes. Now, you know, one of the things about reconciliation is you can't just do anything, right? You can't, you can't just do any policy and have to have taxing and spending implications.

[Joe Getty]

Is there a judge on this, like somebody or panel?

[Lon He Chen]

Well, there's a part, there's a parliamentarian in the House and a parliamentarian in the Senate. Of course, the House and the Senate can overrule their parliamentarian to some degree. You know, in 2009, when the Democrats lost their super majority in the Senate, their 60th vote, because Scott Brown was elected to replace Ted Kennedy who had passed away, it looked like Democrats may not be able to finish the process of passing the legislation that we call Obamacare. And instead they just basically stretched the limits of what reconciliation was able to do under Harry Reid's leadership. He was the majority leader and they passed it even though they didn't have 60 votes. And when you don't have 60 votes, all you need is 51 or a simple majority. However that works out, the Vice President can be the tie breaking vote. So listen, I've always thought that they would get the reconciliation bill one way or the other, especially given Trump's standing in the Republican Party. But Trump, as he likes to do, finds other ways to sideline what should be his best and biggest story. And that's by his ill fated attempt to reshape global trade, which was never going to work out the way he wanted it to. It still won't work out the way he wants it to. And it has caused the markets pain. But when the markets have pain, somebody who used to run a small business, I can tell you, small businesses end up having pain because Main street is inextricably linked with Wall Street. People may not think they're invested, but their pensions are and their 401s are, their retirement accounts are. And people have pensions, they have retirement accounts. It also impacts treasury bonds, meaning the price of debt that the U.S. government sells. And then that impacts interest rates. So even if you have no money in the market, but you want a car loan or a mortgage for a home, I mean, there's just no way around it, right? There's no protection from this stuff. So that's why we haven't been talking about this, because Trump decided he didn't want to talk about it.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Well, does he feel like it's to his advantage to not be talking about the whole renewing the taxes and all that sort of stuff?

[Lon He Chen]

Well, I don't know. But even for Trump, who sometimes seems illogical, but you know, he has his way. I mean, he was elected president twice and he's a really good politician talking about how he's gonna cut taxes for average Americans, which is what is in this bill, right? I mean, you know, everybody focuses on the income tax cuts. But you know, the funny thing about the tax bill, right? What they want to do is sort of make the Trump tax cuts from the first term, right, pre Biden permanent. And Democrats did a really good job of convincing people these were all tax cuts for the rich. But actually a lot of middle class and lower class Americans received tax benefits. Some people don't even pay income taxes anymore because of the first Trump tax bill and this new bill. No taxes on tips, no taxes on Social Security income. I believe you want to put a measure in there that says if you are financing an American made car, you can write off the interest. So there's all this stuff in there for regular people, so called. And people may complain about the capital gains cuts, but cutting capital gains is really good for investment, which means people can invest in things that result in more jobs and wealthy people buying products and things that middle class people are building. I don't see why Trump wouldn't want to be talking about this. But he has always liked tariffs. He has always believed, he doesn't believe many things, but he believes a few things. And this thing with trade, he's believed going back to the 1980s.

[Joe Getty]

Sure. Yeah. We've played the clips of him on Oprah or Letterman or wherever.

[Lon He Chen]

Yeah. And the thing is, you know, if anybody thought he wasn't going to do this, they were just silly because all you had to do is listen to what he said and understand that if he was going to be reelected after everything that went on at the end of the first term and in the middle of the first and second term, exactly why was he going to show up and feel hesitant to do what he wanted to do?

[Joe Getty]

Well, I wouldn't be if I was him. That's what I've been talking about my whole life.

[Lon He Chen]

Yeah, but that's common sense. But a lot of, you know, there are a lot of Republican donors and a lot of business people that supported him. And it makes sense. And I understand, you know, totally makes sense, him or eris, you know, on balance. But the idea that you didn't build in what he's done in the past couple of weeks or the past couple of months, really, that you didn't build into the price of admission, what this might cost you, I mean, that just shows you that even people with money aren't always that bright.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I was going to throw out as a trivia question earlier today just because it's extraordinary how much has been going on the last couple of months. How long has Trump been president? Today is day 82, 82 days he's been president. And it seems like it's been years of stories and reporting. David Drucker of the Dispatcher hey, you said you were, you were a small business owner. What was your business?

[Lon He Chen]

Yeah, this goes back 30 years ago, but my, my family owned a sales and marketing firm and we also manufactured window coverings like vertical blinds and shades and things like that. And I was a part owner along with them. It was a very small firm. We didn't have a lot of investment capital, but we didn't really have any investment capital. I wasn't really very, I made so many mistakes that after about seven years of doing it and not doing that well, I finally figured out how to not make mistakes anymore. And then I started to think about whether I wanted to do that thing for the next 40 years. And I decided I did not. My parents side of the business was always the very successful side. My side was the manufacturing side, light manufacturing, distribution, things like that. And, but, but I, because of that, I understand the impact of government regulations. I understand inventory and waste and competition from overseas and competition, domestic competition, you know, all of that. And, you know, it helps inform, I think.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sure. I'm amazed by. I've always had so much respect and awe for people who start a small business and then run it and make a success out of it and everything you got to pour into it. It's just amazing.

[Lon He Chen]

It is. It really is. And those are probably the people I still admire most, are people that do that. I love to read about how they went from nothing to something. And, you know, I, you know, especially people, you know, that are not. And this, by the way, there's a. There. Every kind of success, I think, is a great success, but people that. That just didn't have any investment capital because the industry, you know, was too competitive or it's just not the kind of industry that creates that sort of feed. And you have to, you know, beg, borrow and steal to get it started. And there's such a talent to running a business. There's a talent to managing people. And you can take all the business classes in the world. And it really does help to at least understand profit and loss and. And all of that. But this other stuff, it's like an art form.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I'm amazingly impressed. And that's cool that you did that. I understand now where you're coming from on some of the things you talk about and write about. Hey, we gotta take. We gotta be done because we're up against our break. But just as quickly as you can. Do you think most of the Trump tax cuts from the first term do become permanent?

[Lon He Chen]

Yeah, I do. I mean, I think they'll get reconciliation done one way or the other. They might have to. It may not work out exactly the way they want, but they'll figure it out.

[Joe Getty]

Cool. Well, thank you, David Drucker. Enjoy those boys and your wife's music.

[Lon He Chen]

Thank you.

[Joe Getty]

We got a lot more on the way. Of different stripes. I want to get back to the New York Times story that I brought you last hour. If. If you don't know what it is, stick around. I can't tell you a short version of it because it's too disgusting and that would be unfair. But that's on the way, among other things. Stay right here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettys at Ameca Insurance. We know it's more than just a house. It's your home. The place that's filled with memories. The early days of figuring it out to the later years of still figuring.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Colby Ekowitz]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Christina Quinn]

Okay, real talk, we're all kind of hooked on our phones. It's full of shiny apps designed to keep your attention captive forever. But there's real life stuff to do other than scrolling, and I'm here to help. I'm Christina Quinn, the host of Try this, a podcast from the Washington Post. The show explores solutions for life's common problems. And this season we're learning to tame the dopamine beast and reclaim our attention in this noisy and distracting world. So let's tame the beast together. Find Try this from the Washington Post.

[Joe Getty]

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[Lon He Chen]

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[Joe Getty]

Uber this week released our annual list of items customers left behind in their cars. And there's some incredible stuff. Some of the belongings passengers left in their Ubers include a mannequin head, a. A chainsaw, a ghost trap from Ghostbusters, Shrek ears, a urinal. Someone left a bottle of fresh breast milk, which I have two questions for that. How do they know it was breast milk? And more concerningly, how did they know it was fresh? A chainsaw, a mannequin head, Maybe those two things went together. Not sure. So I started into this story last hour. Didn't have time to get a few more of the details, so I'm gonna try to do that now. And as Byron York said in the Washington examiner, this is a story from the New York Times. The New York Times seems to be worried that subway necrophilia will make the city look bad. Um, necrophilia, of course, is people who, for some reason like the idea of this is not for the kids or the squeamish. Nope. Having sex with a dead body. Which I'm not as concerned about my corpse being defiled as some people are. Once I'm dead, do whatever you want with me. I don't care. I mean, it's up to you, but I don't feel like it has anything to do with my life anyhow. It's weird to want to do that. The. The living person is the focus. That's where my concern is. Yeah, exactly. I'm about to sneeze.

[Lon He Chen]

Oh, bird flu.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no. Okay, it went away. Police seek man who they say violated a corpse on a. On the R train. And it's got a picture of the subway. So you know what the subway looks like. New York subways have been the subject of debate with politicians using them to paint the city as out of control and dangerous to residents and visitors. And then you have this story. The police were searching on Thursday for a man investigators believe violated a dead man Wednesday night on a train in a Manhattan subway station. According to an internal police document, the person who died, I guess you can die anywhere. But this guy got on the r train at 8:00 at night. According to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter, he had watched the videos. Cause they got cameras and all the subways. It was unclear when or how the Person died. A man entered the same empty train car at around 11. Within 45 minutes, the man saw the dead man, then began to rummage through his pockets. Then the man began to have sex with the body. According to the video and the official documents, the sex, the sexual acts were captured on surveillance cameras inside the train car. Soon after, the man got off the train and fled. Well, that was good luck for me, wasn't it? He thought, and got off the train. The police on Thursday released images of the man. He had a goatee. Oh, man. Never trust somebody with a goatee.

[Lon He Chen]

Oh, boy.

[Joe Getty]

Bad sign. Carrying a black backpack and wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt, a black puffer jacket and a blue Dodgers baseball cap. Dodgers fans, am I right? Yeah, I. See. I shouldn't say that. I know a couple of Dodgers fans who would punch me in the face for that joke. The. This is the part I like. The episode occurred as New York City subways have become the subject of national debate about poor governance. Blah, blah, blah, blah. So, again, the New York Times seems to think that people dying on the train. If you die on the train by accident, somebody's gonna sex up your dead body. They think that's a bad look for the subway system, and they're concerned about that.

[Lon He Chen]

It's the ripple effect.

[Joe Getty]

You know, it's just copycat crimes. Yeah, exactly. Oh, my God. What are the chances? You wouldn't think there'd be a one in a million chance that this could happen? That you would come across a human being who wouldn't think, oh, my God, Is that person okay? You know, go try to wake them up, figure out they're dead immediately call 911 or first stop. You're screaming to the. You know, some official, though I've got a deadbeat. No, you think? All right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

This guy sprinted in the opposite direction from what you just described. Wow. I hope they catch a guy and interview him. That's so crazy. And he gotta. You gotta lock him up for. Well, I was gonna say lock him up forever, but. Well, they've made contact with his brother, so they're on their way. They figured out who his brother is?

[Lon He Chen]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Apparently this guy's identifying the. Did his brother know that his sibling was a corpse? Blanket story thickens. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. Every day, our world gets a little more connected, but a little further apart. But then there are moments that remind us to be more human.

[Joe Getty]

Thank you for calling Ameca Insurance. Hey, I was just in an accident. Don't worry. We'll get you taken care of at.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ameca we understand that looking out for each other isn't new or groundbreaking. It's human. Ameca Empathy is our best policy.

[Christina Quinn]

Okay, Real talk. We're all kind of hooked on our phones. It's full of shiny apps designed to keep your attention captive forever. But there's real life stuff to do other than scrolling, and I'm here to help. I'm Christina Quint, the host of Try this, a podcast from the Washington Post. The show explores solutions for life's common problems, and this season we're learning to tame the dopamine beast and reclaim our attention in this noisy and distracting world. So let's tame the beast together. Find Try this from the Washington Post Wherever you listen hello, it is Ryan.

[Joe Getty]

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[Lon He Chen]

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[Joe Getty]

Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals.

[Lon He Chen]

Bottom line, that's who we're concentrating on.

[Joe Getty]

Arresting the priority is public safety threats and national security threats. For any elected official to tell his police officers not to help us remove public safety threats from his community, which he's responsible for, is just sickening. So we're going to keep doing it. You probably recognize the voice of Tom Holman there talking about sanctuary cities. Trump had a tweet or truth that he put out yesterday that he's coming after sanctuary cities, going to cut the federal funding. I'm sure that will be challenged. It'll get to the Supreme Court finally, I hope. But it's another one of those issues that, that the Democratic Party Party seems to be on the wrong side of a 80, 20 or 70, 30 issue. Which brings me to wanting to talk to Lon He Chen. He's a David and Diane Steffey Fellow at American Public Policy Study Studies at the Hoover Institution and the Director of Domestic Policy Studies at Stanford University. Lon, he got more Republican votes couple cycles ago when he ran for comptroller in California than any Republican in the entire country, including Ron DeSantis, which is amazing. Lonhi, welcome back to the Armstrong and Getty Show.

[David Drucker]

Hey, Jack, thanks for having me again.

[Joe Getty]

And speaking of DeSantis, and this is where I want to go with Gavin Newsom's prospects for running for president. And my main question that I've had for quite a while now, and you might be the perfect person to answer it, but this headline right now, florida Teacher is First to be Fired for Using Students Preferred Name Without Parents consent in Florida. In Florida, where they have a law, the teacher can't call Jimmy Jane in class just because the student wants that without talking to the parents about it. The opposite of what the law is in California where the schools are not allowed to contact the parents. And I was just wondering, do you think Gavin Newsom can run for president being on the 20 side of an 8020 issue like this and many others. This is just one example.

[David Drucker]

It is just one example. You're right. I think what will be interesting is Gavin Newsom's effort to reinvent himself. And the reason I say that is because if I don't know, Jack, have you, have you listened to the guy's podcast or have you, I mean, all of this sort of effort to make himself into reasonably minded, more moderate Democrat is interesting. It's politically expedient given the fact that the Democratic Party remains really without leadership. If you look at the structure as well as the nature of the different things that Democrats are saying, there really isn't a national leader. So you can't blame Gavin Newsom for trying to step into that vacuum. You know, I said recently on television that politics abhors a vacuum. And I think what you're seeing now are efforts on the part of different Democrats to try and take that leadership mantle. Now, I don't know, frankly, how effective it will be. To me, it comes off as very disingenuous and somewhat comical, the degree to which Gavin Newsom is trying to remake himself. Now, that having been said, there is room for a more moderate Democrat, somebody who's governed experience and he's trying to fit that mold. Now, the question is whether his reinvention will be successful. But I think that's what he's trying to do and he's trying to make people forget how many times, to your point precisely, he has been on the 20% side of the 8020 issue. And it's not just on this one, Jack. There's a whole bunch of ways, whether it's on extreme environmental policies, extreme policies to dampen business creation and job creation, policies to put in place socialist healthcare, all of these ways.

[Joe Getty]

Well, and the reason, the reason I played the sanctuary city clip, to see not to combine those two things, the transition, sanctuary city thing, he's way out of line with the American people.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. And I mean, I think, you know, in politics, one of the things you can be sure of is that people will be made, your opponents will make people aware of your record. And I think that he can trial. He wants to rebuild himself and re architect himself. But, you know, he is who he is. And it goes back to having been mayor of San Francisco all the time. He's been governor until the last six months or last three months when he's trying to cozy up to President Trump and to do various other things that make him seem more moderate to me at least I think it won't work. But I've seen weirder things before in politics I've never seen ever. I guess.

[Joe Getty]

So you're the perfect person to ask this because you've been involved in campaigns, Mitt Romney's campaign, and he got the nomination, Marco Rubio's campaign, and he didn't get the nomination. You have to get the nomination first. And that's what I have to keep reminding myself, is that, you know, you got the general election play, but you got to get the nomination in a party that there's you. You saw how everybody came after Gavin when in that first episode of his podcast, he kind. He didn't even make a bold statement. He just kind of Hinted that maybe he wasn't all in on dudes participating in girls sports. And he got killed by the left.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, he. He did get killed by the left and he got killed by a lot of activist groups on the left as well as members of the left who make up a disproportionate percentage of participants in Democratic primaries. When we begin to get to the voting around 2028, obviously a long time between now and the start of 2028, so a lot can change. But I do think that this is always the challenge in American politics is how do you navigate between getting through a primary and winning a general election. To your point, the dynamics are really different in one electorate versus another.

[Joe Getty]

Can he get the. So all the polling shows Democrats are crying out for like a moderate candidate, you know, a left of center Democrat. Can, can you get the nomination in the current Democratic Party as that person just, you know, kind of like not having a name attached to it?

[David Drucker]

Yeah, that's the million dollar question. I mean, can, can basically, can you repeat what Joe Biden did? Because let's remember Joe Biden was sort of the moderate Democrat when he had.

[Joe Getty]

To write to remember now.

[David Drucker]

Hard to remember. I mean, it's like ancient history. Right. Even though it was just five years ago. I don't know. I think some of it's going to depend on how the midterms go in 26 and the degree to which there continues to be this overarching. If the overarching narrative in the Democratic Party continues to be. Let's define our success by opposition to Donald Trump. I have a tough time seeing how moderates do well in that setting. The reason I bring up the midterm elections is because I think if Democrats do reasonably well in the midterms and let's say reasonably well or better than expected, that might relieve some of the pressure there will be to have a more extreme left candidate. I think if they don't do well for some reason in the midterms, it is going to force. This is a little bit ironic and this might be counterintuitive. I think it's going to force the Democrat base even further left. And that is going to be a problem if people are trying to run the gamut by going through the middle. So I mean, these dynamics, I think there's a lot of things in play, a lot of things are very, very fluid between now and then. But these are some of the things I would watch out for. I'd watch out for the midterm performance. I'd watch out for how much of that Democrat messaging continues to be anti Trump. And then I would look and see what other politicians are doing. Look at Gretchen Whitmer. I don't know if you guys talked about Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan who found herself in the Oval Office earlier this week. And Donald Trump actually praised her and she actually had some nice things to say about him. That might tell you a little bit about where the party is headed and the degree to which its leaders believe they have to be more moderate.

[Joe Getty]

Can I do three yes, no questions? And then I'll ask you like an essay question out of the yes, no question. First one, Gavin Newsom going to run for president, yes or no?

[David Drucker]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

Okay. Kamala Harris going to run for president, yes or no?

[David Drucker]

No.

[Joe Getty]

Kamala Harris going to run for governor, yes or no?

[David Drucker]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

Okay. So she's going to run for governor in California. New York Times had a story the other day that wasn't the greatest for Kamala Harris because it mentioned, for instance, that big Wisconsin vote a week ago for the Supreme Court justice, the state supreme Court justice. They Wisconsin Democrats didn't want her in the state in an election they had to win. That's painful. Where does that leave her?

[David Drucker]

Well, it leaves her in California. And that's why I think that she still has, first of all, in politics, the greatest gift you can have is that people recognize your name. And we've seen that over and over again. And regardless of how people feel about Kamala Harris, people recognize her name certainly in California. So she starts off with a huge intrinsic advantage in that respect. I think the other question is, when you are a sort of, you know, washed up candidate, what do you do? Right? I mean, it's not like she's got some deep well of private sector experience where she can go back to life and career in the private sector. Naturally, the sort of thinking gravitates toward politics. And so I would think that as she looks at California, she sees a tremendous political opportunity here. A, because she remains reasonably popular, B, because everyone knows who she is, and C, because can you name any of the other Democrats who are running in that primary for governor? I mean, you can probably do it, Jack. Many of your listeners can probably do it. But I'll tell you something. If you go around California and you just show up at the Safeway and you ask people, hey, Eleni Kunalakis, they may say, hey, do I find her on aisle five? You know, it's just. It's just not one of those things where people have a huge amount of recognition so she can step into that contest. God, I just instantly be competitive.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know if I can live in a state where Kamala Harris is a governor and Adam Schiffs one of the senators. I just don't know if I can handle that. I might have to start commuting in from Nevada.

[David Drucker]

I was gonna say you.

[Lon He Chen]

You're. You're.

[David Drucker]

Believe me, you're not the only one that's wrong. I just. I just think that there is a. I mean, let's be clear about this. The pathway for her to become governor of California, I think, is a lot more reasonable and sort of easy to define than any other political pathway she might have in the near future. So we just have to be aware of the fact that in the reality of politics, this is a great opportunity for her.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I know. Do you. I. You're not the kind of person that would answer this question, really, but do you think she's dumb?

[David Drucker]

I mean, look, I'm not.

[Joe Getty]

Okay. That's more than I expected.

[David Drucker]

I don't.

[Lon He Chen]

I don't.

[David Drucker]

I don't think it's. I don't think it's. You know, look, people have. People are smart in different ways.

[Joe Getty]

There you go.

[David Drucker]

And. And I think that she has had a reasonably successful political career, given what I believe to be relatively few accomplishments. And that's not a reflection of your question. I understand that you're asking a different question. I think it's ultimately up for voters to assess that. And by the way.

[Joe Getty]

Well, they did in the presidential election, I feel like. But.

[David Drucker]

Well, I was gonna say, I'm not sure how much it really matters whether one's intelligence in the grand scheme of. Of politics. I mean, we got a lot of people who are. Who are out there who are doing public sector jobs.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[David Drucker]

Particularly elected officials who, you know. Yeah, we've seen some sharper tools.

[Joe Getty]

The thing that angered me the most with her and, you know, we're rehashing what is now ancient history. I guess when she didn't take a stand in those final days on, do you think we should start locking up criminals in California? That. That, you know, what do you call them? What's the word? When we go out and vote on an issue in California, they don't have a nervous prop. She wouldn't even take a stand on one of our initiatives about locking people up when it was polling. It was gonna win by, you know, many, many, many points, and it did. And she wouldn't take a stand on that. I thought, oh, my God.

[David Drucker]

Well, Jack, that's a different issue. That, that, that speaks to the fact that I think, and this was a problem that I think her campaign had generally is, I think they, they, they tried to triangulate too much, right? They tried to be, they tried to thread too many, they tried to.

[Joe Getty]

You gotta take a, take a position.

[David Drucker]

Listen, and by the way, the American people agreed with you because they did not, they didn't particularly find her campaign to be all that compelling. And I think one of the reasons why is precisely because she would not take a stand on even issues like should we criminalize crime again in California? And if you can't even take a stand on an issue like that, you know you're going to have some problems politically.

[Joe Getty]

And I think, I would say, I would say, man, the opposite of a profile in courage. Lon He Chen, we always like your time. You're a smart guy and you've got a lot of experience at Lon He Chen. If you want to follow him on the Twitter. Thanks, Alani.

[David Drucker]

Hey, thanks, Jack.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that was, it's not like I was, you know, a big Kamala Harris fan before that, but to me that was the end of it. You don't have what it takes to be a politician. I mean, if you can't take a stand on, on a position like that that in your own state is going to pass by. What did it win by, like 20 points? Anyway, we got more stuff on the way. If you ever drive away from your home with just a little bit of a feel, little concern that somebody might break into your house because you know, you saw next door that somebody in your neighborhood got broken into last week or whatever. That's when you want the Simplisafe with the outgore, the active guard outdoor protection. I love the Simply Safe sign I got right in front of my door letting people know, hey, I got the cameras inside and out. I got the sensors on the windows and the doors. AI powered cameras backed by live professional monitoring agents monitoring my property to detect suspicious activity. No long term contracts because Simplisafe is proud of the product and they believe you're going to stick with it, which you will. No cancellation fees. Hey, there's a 60 day satisfaction guarantee, your money back. So there's no harm in trying it at all. Visit simplisafe.comarmstrong to claim 50 off a new system with a professional monitoring plan and get your first month free. That's simplisafe.com Armstrong there's no safe like Simply Safe. We got more on the way. Stay here.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Colby Ekowitz]

We've all done it. You see a headline but don't have time to read the whole story or there's so much news you're not sure what is worth your time. I'm Colby Ekowicz, co host of Post Reports, the weekday afternoon podcast from the Washington Post. Post Reports brings you what's relevant and revealing breaking stories, politics, wellness, culture. Each episode goes beyond a headline for the context you need. Find Post Reports now wherever you're listening.

[Jack Armstrong]

Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Xumo to stream music from iHeart 90s radio is easy. Or play I heart country or hip hop beats. Your choice. All for free. Stream Easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. This April binge these classics the Whole Nine Yards starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry adaptation with Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep and the Fisher King with Robin Williams. All streaming free on Xumo play go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard. Zumo is easy.

[Unknown]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Favorite Rory McIlroy racing his 4 year.

[Lon He Chen]

Old daughter Poppy to the green.

[Joe Getty]

Poppy, who was just four on the ninth hole there, attempting a difficult 25.

[Lon He Chen]

Foot putt downhill.

[Joe Getty]

And she makes it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The crowd cheering hugging dad Rory McIlroy.

[Lon He Chen]

Calling the contest always one of the.

[Joe Getty]

Best days of the year yeah, that's the Masters golf tournament, which is the biggest tournament they have every year in the world of golf, if you're into that. I'm not, but a lot of people are. And that's where Joe is actually. He's at the Masters golf tournament. And that was a 4 year old making a 25 year yard putt, which if you're a golfer probably, I don't know if that makes you happy or sick to your stomach. I don't know if you've. One of the most, not one of the most, by far the most common question Joe and I ever get. If we're ever meeting new anybody. How did you guys meet? I don't know why that question is so prevalent, but it is. Anyway, what we started doing to get. We worked at competing radio stations. We started playing golf together because we were both golf fanatics and we were 25 years old. Geez, that's a long time ago. And we played golf all the time. And then we decided to put a radio show together and we started doing a fake radio show and recording it and sending out tapes to radio stations. That's how we started. But I didn't know that. Oh, you didn't know that? No. I feel like I've told that story so many times that it is boring to tell. I haven't told it in the last couple years because that's really.

[David Drucker]

I had no idea.

[Joe Getty]

That's awesome.

[Lon He Chen]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

We worked at different radio stations. We were both on in the morning. I was on a music station, he was on a. He. Well, we were both on music stations, but he was on the news music station and I was on just like a young person's music station. We're 25 years old and they were dead end jobs. Very low paying. Dead end jobs? Yeah, I mean very low paying. And we. The first time I. Since you've never heard this story, I'll tell it again. The first time I ever heard him all my life I was at a bar for a trivia contest at night and he was the emcee for the trivia contest one. I think he did it for extra money or free beer or something because we were poor people. Okay. And, and, and he would say funny things when he was doing the trivia contest. And I thought, wow, that guy is really funny. And it kind of bothered me that a guy that worked at another radio station was funny because I thought I was the funny guy in town. And the fact that there was a different funny guy in town was bothersome to me. Cannot be Too funny, guys.

[Ryan Seacrest]

No.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, so I met him and I mean like immediately that we found out we like to play golf, we started playing golf together and that's. We came up with the idea. We both liked a lot of the same radio shows that we grew up listening to out of Chicago. Even though he lived in Chicago, I didn't. But a very famous AM Chicago station, wls, you could hear all over the Midwest. And we listened to the same radio shows and so we had the same, same style. And then we would go into my radio station at night because you'd get fired for doing this. You can't do this. You're looking for another job and you're using the station's equipment to record it. So we would wait until after 5:00 and keep driving around the block until we seen. We had seen everybody's cars leave the radio station. Okay, the general manager charger is gone. Now we can go in. So we'd go into my radio station and we'd spend an hour pretending to a radio show with the songs and everything, weather, just the whole thing. And then we would cut up tapes and send them out. And that's how we got hired for a job that way. I love everything about that.

[Unknown]

That is so cool.

[Joe Getty]

I was actually going to talk about the golf thing because I was obsessed with golf as a young man and at some. And this is the only time this has ever happened to me in my life. I don't know if this has ever happened to anybody else. Were you like really into something and then all of a sudden you're not. I don't know if anybody's ever done that. I loved golf, obsessed with it. Then at some point I just decided, I don't like this anymore and stopped. I don't know if anybody's ever done that with cooking or playing a musical instrument or I don't know what, but I just lost interest. And so Joe continues to be a golf avid golf fanatic. And I haven't had any interest in golf in decades. For some reason, I don't even know why. We got a lot more in hour three on a bunch of different news topics that we should hit. Hope you can stick around for that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Colby Ekowitz]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Colby Ekowitz]

There's an efficient way to get caught up on a lot of news. It's called the seven from the Washington Post. It's a newsletter and podcast. Whether you're reading or hit play, you get seven stories you need to know and you can consume it all in just a few minutes. The 7 is out every weekday morning by 7:00am Eastern. I'm Hannah Jewell, I'm one of the writers and I host the show. Find the seven podcast wherever you're listening. The newsletter link is waiting for you in the show notes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Xumo to stream music from iHeart 90s radio is easy. Or play iHeart country or hip hop beats your choice. All for free. Stream Easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. This April binge these classics the Whole Nine Yards starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry, adaptation with Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep and the Fisher King with Robin Williams. All streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard. Zumo is easy.

[Unknown]

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