What The Frig Is Wrong With You, Dude??

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand
Episode Title: What The Frig Is Wrong With You, Dude??
Release Date: July 7, 2025
Host/Authors: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the July 7, 2025 episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty delve into a myriad of contemporary issues, blending humor with incisive commentary. From controversies in women's sports to the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and the political maneuvers of Elon Musk, the episode offers listeners a comprehensive exploration of current events.

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Leah Thomas and Title IX Controversy (00:14 - 02:24)

The episode opens with a heated discussion about Leah Thomas, a prominent figure in women's swimming. Joe Getty informs listeners that "Penny has stripped Leah Thomas of his titles in women's swimming and apologized to the ladies he defeated" (00:14). Michael Hanson chimes in, asserting, "Thomas hasn't complained, further proving he's not a woman" (00:38), highlighting the contentious nature of gender classifications in sports.

The conversation critiques the University of Pennsylvania's (initially confused with Penn State) decision to revoke Thomas's titles after years of allowing participation despite criticism. Michael Hanson emphasizes the institution's previous inaction, noting, "The same university who allowed this for several years in the face of criticism has now taken and browbeat and threatened any of the women who spoke out against it" (01:16). The hosts condemn the university’s vacillation, questioning its principles and consistency (01:34).

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New York Politics and Ben Mumdani (02:24 - 04:32)

Shifting focus, Joe Getty discusses emerging news about Ben Mumdani, a potential mayoral candidate in New York. He describes Mumdani as "the socialist Jew hating most likely to be mayor of New York" and references ongoing opposition research revealing Mumdani's background and controversial stance within the African American community (02:24).

Michael Hanson inquires about Mumdani's heritage, to which Joe Getty responds, "His dad was a white Ugandan and his mom was born in Syria" (03:58). The conversation underscores potential backlash against Mumdani's attempts to leverage his African American identity for political gain, suggesting it may not resonate authentically with constituents.

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The Rise of Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact (04:32 - 09:01)

The hosts transition to discussing technological advancements, particularly the integration of AI like ChatGPT in daily life. Joe Getty recounts his experience with an AI barista at Newark Airport, marveling at its efficiency: "It walked me through the whole process of getting to the train that took me wherever I needed to go. It was in a way that Google never could" (07:01). Michael Hanson echoes this sentiment but also expresses concern, stating, "It's scary too, in a way" (08:05).

They debate the implications of AI replacing human jobs, noting the potential negative impact on low-level employment. Joe Getty highlights Google's challenges with declining click rates due to AI's growing popularity, saying, "I used Chat GPT so much while on vacation, I haven't googled anything in weeks" (06:53).

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National Deficit, the Big Beautiful Bill, and CBO Critique (13:03 - 18:23)

The discussion shifts to economic policies, specifically the "big beautiful bill" and its projected impact on the national deficit. Joe Getty critiques the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), mentioning Kevin Hassett's skepticism about the CBO's accuracy: "He was on Face the Nation, and he was in this... he's making the point that the CBO has been wrong many times on some big things in recent years" (14:21).

Craig interjects, elaborating on the CBO's flawed predictions and advocating for the adoption of macroeconomic models by economists like Harvard's Jim Stock (14:49). Michael Hanson concurs, recalling past inaccuracies such as the CBO's projections on Obamacare and expressing frustration with the terminology and assumptions used by the CBO (16:32).

The hosts conclude that the CBO's unreliable forecasts contribute to public confusion and policy missteps, emphasizing the need for more robust economic modeling.

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Elon Musk's Political Aspirations and Tesla's Struggles in China (20:04 - 32:01)

Elon Musk becomes a focal point as the hosts discuss his potential for launching a new political party, dubbed the "American Party." Michael Hanson reports, "Elon Musk is going to create a new political party, the America Party" (19:43), questioning its viability and Elon’s commitment to the endeavor.

Joe Getty debates the practicality of third parties in the U.S. political system, highlighting historical challenges and the entrenched two-party dominance: "Third parties have never worked" (20:06). Michael Hanson counters by suggesting that third parties can pressure major parties to align more closely with specific voter bases, drawing analogies to successful third-party influences in other countries and historical contexts (20:30).

The conversation then delves into Tesla's declining market share in China amidst rising competition and strained relations with Chinese officials. Michael Hanson explains, "Tesla's market share has shriveled as other Chinese automakers have become more popular" (27:28), and discusses the potential repercussions of trade tensions and Elon’s political engagements on Tesla’s operations.

Joe Getty speculates on Elon’s motivations, suggesting that his activism and political ambitions may overshadow Tesla’s traditional business focuses: "I think he does really, really care about America" (30:07). The hosts ponder whether Elon’s political pursuits might lead to shifts in Tesla’s strategic direction, possibly transforming it into an AI-driven self-driving car company (31:12).

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WNBA's Caitlin Clark Controversy (34:11 - 35:29)

In a surprising turn, Joe Getty highlights a conflict within the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) involving star player Caitlin Clark. He notes, "Caitlin Clark broke her record from last year among fan voting with a gazillion votes and finished in first place. She finished third in the media voting. With all the media, she finished ninth in player voting" (34:11).

Michael Hanson draws parallels to Tiger Woods, questioning why Clark faces animosity from fellow players despite her significant contributions to the league's popularity: "She is like her effect is similar to that of Tiger Woods back in the day" (35:29). The hosts explore the dichotomy between Clark's commercial success and her acceptance among peers, pondering the underlying causes of this friction.

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Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks (36:01 - 38:32)

The episode concludes with light-hearted final thoughts from the hosts. Michael Hanson shares his vacation woes, including a bout of intestinal illness, while Joe Getty reflects on the satisfaction of returning to work after a week's break. The hosts engage in humorous banter, reinforcing their camaraderie and rapport with the audience.

Joe Getty humorously addresses a fictional character, Henry, advising him to eliminate a gorilla threat, ending the episode on a playful note: "Get rid of the gorilla, Henry. On that high note. Bye bye." (38:12).

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Notable Quotes

• Joe Getty (00:14): "Penny has stripped Leah Thomas of his titles in women's swimming and apologized to the ladies he defeated."

• Michael Hanson (00:38): "Thomas hasn't complained, further proving he's not a woman."

• Michael Hanson (02:02): "They were under serious Title 9 threat from the Trump administration, which is good."

• Joe Getty (07:01): "Why would I ever Google anything ever again?"

• Michael Hanson (08:05): "It's scary too, in a way."

• Craig (14:21): "We put peer-reviewed academic stuff on the table, said we're going to get that 3% growth and then we got it right last time."

• Michael Hanson (16:46): "Sometimes terminologies and assumptions just don't make sense."

• Joe Getty (19:43): "Elon Musk is going to create a new political party, the America Party."

• Joe Getty (20:06): "Third parties have never worked."

• Michael Hanson (27:28): "Tesla's market share has shriveled as other Chinese automakers have become more popular."

• Joe Getty (34:11): "Caitlin Clark finished in first place in fan voting but ninth in player voting."

• Michael Hanson (35:29): "She is like her effect is similar to that of Tiger Woods back in the day."

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Conclusion

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand offers a rich tapestry of discussions, from gender controversies in sports and the intricacies of political party dynamics to the transformative impact of AI and the challenges faced by global corporations like Tesla. The hosts adeptly balance serious analysis with humor, providing listeners with both insightful commentary and entertaining banter.

For those who missed the episode, this summary encapsulates the key points and highlights the engaging dialogue between Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty, making it a valuable listen for enthusiasts of current affairs and pop culture.

Transcript

[Joe Getty]

This is an iHeart podcast broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. So you, Penny has stripped Leah Thomas of his titles in women's swimming and apologized to the ladies he defeated.

[Michael Hanson]

Thomas hasn't complained, further proving he's not a woman.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, I didn't see that joke coming. So. So Penn State took the mask.

[Michael Hanson]

University of Pennsylvania.

[Joe Getty]

That's what I thought it was. It says Penn State on our clip, so I got confused, but.

[Michael Hanson]

Bastards. Sorry, that was harsh. You folks, these are my friends and look. What. I can't. I'm so sorry. Michael Hanson. I'm Katie. I'm sorry.

[Joe Getty]

These are my friends, and I just.

[Michael Hanson]

I turned on them like some sort of crazed, you know, Wolverine. It hurt.

[Joe Getty]

But the. But the same university who allowed this for several years in the face of criticism has now taken and.

[Michael Hanson]

And browbeat and threatened any of the women who spoke out against it. Yes.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I guess I should be happy that it ended up where it should have. Should be. But how cowardly are you? I mean, do you have any principles at all? So when the wind was blowing your direction, you let this nonsense occur, and then when the wind shifted, you go 180 full degrees?

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, that's weak.

[Michael Hanson]

Well, they were under serious Title 9 threat from the Trump administration, which is good. It's absolutely 100% ironclad. Correct. If you let dudes into women's sports whoop up on them, you're not protecting women's rights. Oh, and letting the dudes into their private spaces too. It's. It's an outrage against Title ix.

[Joe Getty]

A couple of different things. I'm going through my notes from being on vacation for a week, and just a lot of different things I took notes on. I didn't follow the news that closely in New York, though. I kept coming across a little stuff about Mumdani. Who? Ben, the socialist Jew hating most likely to be mayor of New York guy. Remember that story? The op Ed stuff? The oppo research stuff is starting to come out. Remember I mentioned this before we went on vacation, that Mark Halpern was shocked that the mainstream media did not do a better job of getting into the oppo research of this guy. And now some of it's starting to come out. Things that he tweeted and said and videos. He participated in this sort of stuff. But one of the things over the weekend was he had checked. He was accurate. He wasn't lying. But it's. He knew what he was doing. He had checked the box. African American. When he applied for college, his Ivy League application. He's from Uganda. But you know, the whole getting a leg up for being African American was not for white Ugandans was not the regional point. So there's a fair amount of blowback I guess in the African American community that he tried to get various breaks for being African American.

[Michael Hanson]

You see what, so what is his deal? Was his dad. His dad was a white Ugandan and his mom was what from? He was born in Syria. I can't even.

[Joe Getty]

Something like that. Yeah, he comes from. Yeah. Like humanities professors and artists parents, that sort of thing.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Getty]

But anyway, so the, the. I don't know if there's going to be enough damage. You got to have another candidate to beat him. So that's seems like the main problem. Although does Eric Adams end up being the guy? And they, they.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah, there are fever pitch meetings going on as we speak, trying to figure out who is the one candidate. Probably not old Gropi, probably not the half wit incumbent. They got to find somebody else.

[Joe Getty]

Not my circus, not my monkeys. So I'm not that concerned about it. I don't live in New York, but I think most people on the right think having this guy around as a punching bag would be awesome for quite a few years.

[Michael Hanson]

And it'll further my goal of enacting progressive policies so people see what miserable failures they are. You got Daniel Lurie, the mayor of San Francisco who's saying great stuff and doing great things and, and you know, as he said, I'm paraphrasing, but enough of the, the, the hippies and the wannabe do gooders and we need to work. What an amazing philosophy that is.

[Joe Getty]

Again, going through my notes from when I was gone, I came across this quote which I really liked. The big difference between me and Superman is Superman had supervision and I need supervision. That was funny. I. At one of the airports, I think it was LaGuardia, which man. I was at Newark, you know, where they've been having The Troubles and LaGuardia looked fantastic. I remember when Trump was president and he was complaining about why do our New York airports look so dingy and dirty and you go around the world and they're bright and they're, they're nice. Now it's like a really nice mall, both of them, if you haven't been there recently. So I don't know how much taxpayer money from where went into that, but that definitely got fixed. But one of the airports had an AI barista and there was a long line there. I didn't try it, but it must have worked pretty well. It was just a little shack thing with computer screens and you apparently typed in whatever you wanted for all kinds of different complicated coffee drinks and it was made there for you by the computer. I don't know how much AI was involved in it.

[Michael Hanson]

It's a good just about to ask, but good hook.

[Joe Getty]

But that is definitely going to be way, way more common as we go along of you get your coffee, you get your bagel, you get your parking tick pass for parking or whatever it is. It's all computerized, no human being involved, which is not good for a lot of low level employment. But as far as AI chat GPT, I used it so much while on vacation, I haven't googled anything in weeks and, and I've read about how Google clicks are down and they're really in a panic about that because, oh yeah, way down.

[Michael Hanson]

Revenue's dying.

[Joe Getty]

Well, how would it not be once you start using chat GPT? Why would I ever Google anything ever again?

[Michael Hanson]

It's just whatever AI system you prefer. But ye, I accidentally googled something out of habit on vacation. I was like, what the hell am I doing? As I sort through. Sponsored, sponsored, sponsored. Totally irrelevant. Sponsored, please.

[Joe Getty]

Including the fact that chat GPT, as I've talked about, keeps track of your conversations and like knows what you're doing. So that makes things handy. So landed at Newark and I asked Chip, what's the best way to get to the Knickerbocker Hotel and in Manhattan. And it said, thinking of this time of day with you landing now normally I would say take a Lyft or an Uber if you're willing to pay, but I think this time of day you're better off taking the ground transportation. So as soon as you walk out of your gate, take a left. And then it just walked me through the whole process of getting to the train that or bus that took me to the train that took me wherever I needed to go. It was in a way that Google never could. It was like having a really smart New Yorker explain to me exactly what to do.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, it's great.

[Joe Getty]

I think. And later, I mean it's, it's so complex. It's. I think later I asked some sort of question about something and it said since you've already walked by Penn Station, maybe go this route so you can see. You know, I just. It's amazing.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah, yeah, it's it's scary too, in a way.

[Joe Getty]

It is. It's very, very, very much so.

[Michael Hanson]

But I. I. Let me be the first to welcome our new AI Overlords.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Michael Hanson]

I use it all the time now. And I look back at stuff I looked at before to refresh my memory and it's, It's. It's terrific.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Katie Green]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

In the past, I would have googled or tried to figure it out. We're headed to the Met. What's the best way? Subway station, Just to the left out of your hotel door. Take the one train and just.

[Michael Hanson]

And then follow ups too.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Michael Hanson]

You know, is everybody a capable walker or do you want a route that helps people who are older or whatever? Yeah, it's just amazing.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And like you said, it's amazing and cool and scary at the same time. I freaking think New York is fantastic. It's hard for me to not dislike New Yorkers and their pompous attitude, but the reason they have that we're better than everybody else attitude is New York is better than everyone else. It just is. It's just, just. It's the best. Everything, everything you'd ever want to do in the world is right there within a couple of blocks. It's just flipping fantastic. I can see how if you lived there and got to have that life, you would think that everybody else is living a lesser life. I sure as heck would want to raise kids there. I can't even imagine what that's like.

[Michael Hanson]

Oh yeah, there are substantial downsides, but, you know, if, you know, if you want to get out and do things like that and, you know, it's great. It's a great place. No doubt.

[Joe Getty]

I still hope to do one year of my life. I'd like to live in New York for one year. I still hope to do that at some point.

[Michael Hanson]

Oh, really?

[Joe Getty]

Just to experience everything, you know, it would have been better to do it when I was like 23, probably, but I could go to the museum every day and it would take you a lifetime to take a year or longer to see everything in the museums. I did have the museum experience that I always have where you've got about an hour in you of being amazed by things and then after that there is nothing that could possibly amaze you in our antenna after about an hour.

[Michael Hanson]

Well. And the other people at the museum start to annoy the hell out of you too. Or I will speak for myself. They annoy the hell out of me. Especially, you know, once you get past 1pm, get out museum you're talking about.

[Joe Getty]

We got there early and it was still crowded. I went to the Whitney at 9 o' clock at night. It was practically empty and it was absolutely fantastic. I asked this question last time, I.

[Michael Hanson]

Forget, what sort of museum is that? The. The Whitney?

[Joe Getty]

The Whitney is mostly American art and I'm a big Hopper fan. Edward Hopper fan. And that's where all your Edward Hopper is going to be. So that's what I was there for. My point was I'd been to museums a while back and talked about this. What percentage of people at a museum want to be there? And I think we should work on getting out the people who don't want to be there. I asked my kids this when we were leaving. My son said, maybe 50%. I said, I think it's lower than that. You take a couple, you look at the couple and it looks like either the dude or the chicks into it. And the other person is along to be nice. And then any family? None of the kids want to be there. So you got two parents and three kids. None of them want to be there. So I think it's maybe 30% of the people in the building want to be there. Why?

[Michael Hanson]

So why do we do you recommend, like video games center, an arcade for the kids and I don't know, big screen TVs for the fellows that don't want to be there.

[Joe Getty]

Leave them in the hotel and let them watch TV or something and then go on your own cells, holding cells.

[Michael Hanson]

I don't know, thinking out loud.

[Joe Getty]

I did see. Where did I see some of those rooms that you can like. They're kiosks with beds in them. We've talked about this before. I didn't use one. It seems so gross to me. I don't know, if I clean the shell out, they clean the sheets. But it was like a little hut.

[Michael Hanson]

Yes. Every time, every customer and you could.

[Joe Getty]

Pay money to go in there and take a little snooze, I guess.

[Michael Hanson]

Oh, I love that idea so much. I wish I could like have one carted around behind me on some sort of trailer. Just wherever I go, wherever I am, there's a nap module ready to be used. Just a little sleepy time. Just a little 20 minute cat.

[Joe Getty]

Now if it's my own private nap module, sure. But if it's public nap module where people like were shooting up and having sex in there, I find it hard.

[Michael Hanson]

You gotta go to a better module.

[Joe Getty]

I have trouble getting to sleep laying in other people's fluids. I'm just funny that way.

[Michael Hanson]

Oh, you're disgusting, Michael.

[Joe Getty]

That's disgusting.

[Michael Hanson]

Yes, well, that's because that's not how it works. Nobody does that. Nobody could make any money doing that. That's an absurd and disgusting distortion of reality and you need to stop. Nobody's in anybody else's fluids. Good Lord, man. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

I saw some of the people coming in and out. He said, I don't want to lay in there. Whatever.

[Michael Hanson]

Oh, yeah. I disavow. I disavow.

[Joe Getty]

We have some actual news. We need to catch up. How much is the big beautiful bill gonna add to our national deficit or debt? I keep getting those numbers mixed up.

[Michael Hanson]

And Elon Musk's new political party. We'll talk about that.

[Joe Getty]

I'm excited about this.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Craig]

But the thing that disappoints me is that if, if I put out a model and I say, hey, here's what's going to happen. We're going to get 3% growth and then it turns out it's 1 1/2% growth. Then as an academic economist, as a scientist, then it's my duty to say, what did I get wrong? What did my model miss? These people are doing that. And that's the thing that I find disappointing because we put, you know, peer reviewed academic stuff on the table, said we're going to get that 3% growth and then we got it right last time and we believe we're going to get it right this time.

[Joe Getty]

I thought that was interesting. Does Kevin Hassett, which of the people is he around? Trump? What is his deal? Is a what? I don't remember. Economic advisor, guru, whatever he is. He was on Face the Nation, and he was in this. You know, I'm not just trying to do a boosterism for the big beautiful bill, because I think it's based on the punditry of most of my favorite pundits, is in its total bad for the country. But I do think it is in keeping with the way we've been doing things in the United States now for several presidencies. So I don't think it's like an outlying horror either. It's just the way we do things now, unfortunately. But that guy's making the point that the CBO has been wrong many times on some big things in recent years, and nobody ever points that out. He used the example of what the CBO predicted the Trump tax cuts were going to do initially in 2017, and they were wrong by half in terms of economic growth and that they could be again. He goes on to talk more about that.

[Craig]

But if you think that 1.8% growth is what's going to happen over the next 10 years, that you should agree with the CBO number. But there's another part of the CBO number that you need to worry about, and that is that if we don't pass the bill, that it's the biggest tax hike in history. And with that big tax hike, that of course we would have a recession. The CEA says that we'd have about a 4% drop in GDP and lose 9 million jobs. If we had a 4% drop in GDP and we lost 9 billion jobs, what would happen to the deficit? And so I don't think that the CBO has a very strong record. I don't think these places have a very strong record. And what they need to do is get back to the basics of looking at macroeconomic models. There's a really famous macro economist at Harvard named Jim Stock. They should go back and read everything Jim Stock has written for the last 15 years and fold those into their models and then maybe we could talk.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So I want to play that stuff just so you realize there are smart people that disagree with data. Back it up on some of these CBO predictions that, that the media is not telling you about at all.

[Michael Hanson]

I remember at the dawn of Obamacare, our own Craig, the health care guru, was saying the CBO estimates, everybody's estimates, are wildly unrealistic. They're just wrong. And he turned out to be 100% correct. So, yeah, and there are all sorts of not only weird assumptions that they make, but the terminology they use and the baselines that they use. Like for instance, even though this has been the policy for many years now, the current tax rates, they consider it a tax cut to keep them the same. Therefore, that's going to affect the deficit by X trillion dollars.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Michael Hanson]

But that, that isn't what you do with expenditures just with taxes.

[Joe Getty]

It's just right.

[Michael Hanson]

It's, it's madness. It, it makes it really difficult for even a, like a, a person of goodwill and sure. Reasonable intellect to figure out what the hell is going on.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So you've got that what you just described. And then both parties obviously really shade their predictions or explanations in a direction that benefits them. So yeah, it's really, really tough to know.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah. For what it's worth, Kevin Hassett is the director of the National Economic Council.

[Joe Getty]

Good for him.

[Michael Hanson]

An important role, Jack. Yeah, one he and his parents should be proud of.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. For instance, he said that the CBO got Obamacare way wrong, as you were just alluding to, and he actually had the numbers in front of him and how, how wrong they were.

[Michael Hanson]

Well, to hell with the Republicans and Democrats. Elon Musk has started a new political party. Or has he? It's not clear. We'll talk about that next. Armstrong and Gettys.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

The WNBA has a problem I don't think any sports league has ever had where the players and the fans have such a disagreement about what is good for their existence. Anyway, we'll talk more about that next segment. I think it's interesting even if you know nothing about the wnba.

[Michael Hanson]

I saw the headline over the weekend that Elon Musk is going to create a new political party, the America Party. The current President of the United States. Good close friend. Wait, I'm being told by the control room no longer a friend with Elon Musk is commented on it. Mr. President.

[Joe Getty]

Starting a third party.

[Katie Green]

I think it's ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two party system. And I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked. So he can have fun with it. But I think it's ridiculous.

[Michael Hanson]

I'm not sure it's ridiculous for the same reason that I've never pooh poohed third party candidates. The Wall Street Journal points out that they never win, but they can siphon voters away. I've always said they can make it clear to the existing parties that they're not doing the job and if they don't come over here closer to where we are, they're going to lose.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And that's happened a number of times in our lifetime of just doing talk radio. Elon put it to a poll. It was after the big beautiful bill passed over the weekend. And he was so discouraged, as he had been saying for a while, that. What did he call it? Remember that? What was that phrase he used for.

[Michael Hanson]

The big beautiful bill? I loved it, but I can never remember it.

[Joe Getty]

And unambiguous pile of crap or whatever it was.

[Michael Hanson]

Close enough.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Because we are going to spend ourselves into ruin. And that's absolutely clear. And this was a step that direction. And why did you even attempt to have Doge if you're going to do this? I mean, it all makes sense from Elon's standpoint. So he put it to a poll on his Twitter, not surprisingly, because if you follow Elon, you probably like him. More than 2 to 1 people agreed we need a third party. So Elon said, okay, the American party, you asked for it, we got it. The question is how much of his political weight. And he does have quite a bit. And money, which he's got more than anybody else on earth. Does he throw behind the effort of the third party? That's the question, right?

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah. And his organizational, you know, minions who could work on that sort of thing. I thought what he wrote on Twitter, I refuse to say X. Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame and they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this earth.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, he got that committed once before for Trump, and he made a huge difference. I think he certainly spent a lot of money. And if he were to individually fund rivals for House seats and Senate seats, I think he. I think he could make a big ripple. The problem is, like you have already alluded to, people look at this whole third party thing just the wrong way. They look at, like it's going to be a party that emerges on the scene all of a sudden and wins elections. And that has never happened. Has it ever happened? It happened in France. That happened with Macron. I mean, it was a party that didn't exist until they formed around him.

[Michael Hanson]

And it actually happened in 1860.

[Joe Getty]

It beat the other two parties. Yeah. And it's happened in 1860. But in, in the modern world, no, it has not happened. But the getting one party's attention for a while at least that. You better get your act together if you want my support. Yes, it has happened many times.

[Michael Hanson]

Well, it's, it's funny because they, they act like the forming of the party is upstream of the, like the philosophy that it has when, when it's the opposite. People are highly dissatisfied. They're highly troubled by what the two parties are offering them. And they say, all right, we're going to start a third party. And yeah, it. In recent history, it ends up being gobbled up by one of the other parties, those voters. But generally, because they come closer to where those people are, it gets gobbled up. Perfectly healthy.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, it gets gobbled up in that you have now changed one of the two dominant parties to be closer to what you want them to be. How's that a failure. I've never understood how you portray that as a failure.

[Michael Hanson]

Right now. It probably wouldn't work, say, within a marriage. If you're dissatisfied with the way your wife is treating you, just dating another gal, move in with her until she says, all right, I'll cook three nights a week, you know, whatever this. Right.

[Joe Getty]

The, the problem, the biggest problem with the whole third party thing. Well, two. Two things that are worth repeating. One, the two major parties have gone out of their way to make it incredibly difficult for a third party to ever have any success on any level.

[Michael Hanson]

Which in a way that is utterly undemocratic.

[Joe Getty]

No.

[Michael Hanson]

For all they're crying about democracy.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Ain't cool at all, because they got a good game going right here where all the money flows to them and they want to keep it that way. So that sucks. So that's one reason to really support third parties. In my mind. The biggest flaw with the third party thing is whatever the issue is, you almost. Well, not almost always in recent memory, you always help the opposite the party you hate the most and hurt the party that you like. It's just, you know, the math works that way.

[Michael Hanson]

Well, you got to be cruel to be kind. The Republican Party cannot rediscover its roots as a fiscal conservative party. Then you screw them and let the Democrats win, and then they come closer to you. You know, it helps being older and seeing bunches of election cycles go by. You know what turns out the whatever 1996 election wasn't the most important one of our lifetime. That midterm was. Yeah, it's fine. Things went a little sideways for a minute and then they got back on track.

[Joe Getty]

And you know, I was about to use the example, repeat like, I think like the Green Party and some of that stuff on the left has worked. It would seem to pull the Democratic Party closer to their side by. By caring so much about their issues. I don't know that that's happened with the Tea Party or any of the fiscal conservatism stuff. You had the Romney ryan ticket in 2012 that got beaten pretty badly and the Tea Party and all that, but man, they've completely abandoned fiscal conservatism, so.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah, yeah, doesn't work forever. Worth mentioning that Trump clapped back not only the clip we played, but he said no more rocket launches, satellites or electric car production and our country would save a fortune. Perhaps we should have Doge take a good hard look at this. Big money to be saved. Fine.

[Joe Getty]

That ain't good.

[Michael Hanson]

He's sad to see Elon go off the rails. We'll see what happens if he's serious about it. There's another Elon related story I wanted to touch on. Or is there something you're hot to.

[Joe Getty]

Try to get to before we move to that? What do you think Elon's serious about this.

[Michael Hanson]

Today? Yes. Will he hang in there and. And then put the work in? I don't know, man.

[Joe Getty]

He got serious about getting Trump elected.

[Michael Hanson]

One of the things.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, great, great financial and. And cultural risk to himself, which is.

[Michael Hanson]

Not escape the attention of the shareholders and board members of his various corporations who are being employed by Trump and company to remind him of his fiscal responsibility to them and that maybe he ought to focus on his job, his day job. A. Yeah, that, that. And that will hold sway at some point. I mean, it's got to. He's Got to fulfill his fiscal responsibility to his shareholders. Theoretically.

[Joe Getty]

Chainsaw.

[Michael Hanson]

Chainsaw. Oh, that reminds me. I was going to talk about that. So he had a bunch of wind and we had a big branch fall down and wiped out our American flag a couple of days ago.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Symbolism.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah. Communist tree chainsaw coming for that tree.

[Joe Getty]

You got a chainsaw?

[Michael Hanson]

You got to have any damn America hating tree in my yard.

[Joe Getty]

Way to plant a woke tree.

[Michael Hanson]

I didn't plan it. I did. It was there when I moved in. But anyway, yeah, that. That tree will not last. They got a flag on my watch. Anyway, one more note on Elon Musk that I found very, very interesting. He is in trouble in China. Not, not literally in trouble with the Communist Party, but he was the toast of Beijing for a very long time because Tesla was the hottest car on Chinese roads. Tesla was a huge success in China. For a while, government officials showered the company with incentives, part of a concerted strategy to turbocharge the Chinese EV industry by injecting Tesla know how into the country. There are no spurring competition, blah, blah, blah.

[Joe Getty]

There aren't any turbochargers on an electric vehicle.

[Michael Hanson]

It's a metaphor.

[Joe Getty]

Getting probably an unfortunate air into the engine doesn't do you any good.

[Michael Hanson]

But now Tesla's market share has shriveled as other Chinese automakers have become more popular. And Musk's reputation as a partner for Beijing and Washington. An insider who can talk to Trump is taking a beating as his relationship with Trump sours.

[Joe Getty]

Man, are there a lot less Teslas on the east coast than I'm used to seeing as a Californian. As a Californian, you come to a four way stop, three out of the four cars are a Tesla. You get to Florida or New York? No, not so much.

[Michael Hanson]

Right, Right. So Tesla is hurting bad as a brand in China. And Elon as an influencer is seeing his, well, influence decline precipitously. And as trade tensions with the US Heated up this year, Chinese Premier, whatever that means. Lee Kwang made it clear that Tesla's local operation.

[Joe Getty]

Could.

[Michael Hanson]

He said it wouldn't be targeted for retaliatory measures. But that's a hint, isn't it? Wait a minute. Who's.

[Joe Getty]

Who's talking about.

[Michael Hanson]

Wait a minute. Why did you just say that? Okay.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder what Elon cares about the most. I don't. I don't know how important it is to. For him to be the world's richest man. He doesn't seem to care about material possessions the way Jeff Bezos does. God, I followed that whole ridiculous wedding for a while. What the freak is wrong with you dude? You and your wife. I mean it's one thing that you're rich and you like nice stuff but the needing to parade it in front of people for your gratitude.

[Michael Hanson]

I totally tuned out of that during vacation. Was it? It's just horrible.

[Joe Getty]

Is the worst conspicuous consumption since Louis xvi. Again the behind closed doors. I kind of get it. You're rich so you like nice stuff but the needing to have everybody cheer as you walk out and all this stuff like nine different times in three days. There's something seriously flawed with you. But I don't get the sense that Elon cares about the yacht giant diamond stuff. I think as an immigrant who came to this country and really made a go of it and a lot of his friends, I think he does really, really care about America. I could see him going down with the ship on that. Taking a huge hit.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah. Tesla is going to become an AI driven self driving car company. Auto driving, taxes, taxis and that sort of thing. I think what he's most interested in is what he's most interested in at any given moment, day, week or month.

[Joe Getty]

And we should be fun.

[Michael Hanson]

I don't think it's Tesla anymore or at least not as a traditional car company like we've been thinking of. Well, not traditional but you know what I mean. SpaceX is probably still pretty intriguing to him but it could be this really seizes his attention. Having stepped into the the pool of of national politics and found it A really interesting and b exciting and important. This could be his new Tesla.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. Well and he'd be running against the against Republicans. So maybe that brings and trying to out sync some. Yeah, maybe that brings back a lot of those new to Elon. Hating people that didn't like Trump gets them back in the fold of Elon. I have no idea.

[Michael Hanson]

So what will the sticker on their car say now? I bought this before Elon went crazy but kept it until he's now cool again.

[Joe Getty]

I parked it in the garage for nine months and now I drive it again.

[Michael Hanson]

Why don't you just buy the car you want and quit with your bumper stickers.

[Joe Getty]

Weirdos.

[Michael Hanson]

Yeah, hippies.

[Joe Getty]

The WNBA has a serious Caitlin Clark problem even though it's the best thing that ever happened to him. Explain that. It's kind of interesting. Next.

[Michael Hanson]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Bob Costas]

I was smart enough when I was 10 years old to realize if I was ever going to get into Yankee Stadium without buying a ticket, it was going to be to be in the booth, not to be wearing pinstripes out there on the field. But you know, you were in high school and I wasn't half bad. I was good enough to be the but I knew I wasn't going to be the star of the team. And it was just amusing that the baseball coach actually said to me when he cut me. He said something to the effect of, you're not bad with the glove and you can run a little bit, but I don't think you can hit your weight and I don't think you weigh 130, which might have been true when I was 16 years old. And then he said, have you ever thought about broadcasting? And I said, that's pretty much all I think about. And he was a wry guy and he said, good, try that.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Bob Costas, Speaking of sports, the WNBA has a problem. I don't remember any professional sports league ever happening. Their most popular player who's been the best thing that ever happened to them in league history, is not liked by the other players on the other teams so much. So they just had the All Star voting for the wnba. Caitlin Clark broke her record from last year among fan voting with a gazillion votes and finished in first place. She finished third in the media voting. With all the media. She finished ninth in player voting.

[Michael Hanson]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

For guards. As in she wouldn't be on the team. So yeah, so that is a problem. And then the stats. The league commissioner said, caitlin Clark's not only our most popular player, she's the most popular athlete in America. Which she probably is. She her games garner 200% more viewership than the average WNBA game. She's responsible for almost 30% of all WNBA economic activity and all merchandise sales have risen 600% since she entered the league.

[Michael Hanson]

Holy crap.

[Joe Getty]

I mean she is so dominant in terms of making that league relevant. Yeah. But finished ninth and other player voting for the all Star roster.

[Michael Hanson]

Wow. She is like her effect is similar to that of Tiger woods back in the day.

[Joe Getty]

But daughter players didn't hate Tiger Woods. No.

[Michael Hanson]

They might have resented getting whooped up on every tournament, but no.

[Joe Getty]

That's interesting.

[Craig]

It's Final thoughts.

[Michael Hanson]

Get ready with Katie Green and Michael Angelo. It's final thoughts.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Here's your host for final thoughts, Joe Getty.

[Michael Hanson]

I kind of wish we had more time to talk about that. It's a really interesting phenomenon revolving around race and all sorts of stuff.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, let's get a sexuality.

[Michael Hanson]

Oh yeah, yeah. Let's get a final thought from every and how lefties hate everybody who doesn't march to their drummer. Yeah, he says, trying to start the feature. One more time. Let's get a final thought from everybody. Michael, lead us off. I loved hearing about Jack's vacation. My favorite part though was him shaming his kids about them not being in shape. This is great, Jack, you're very great. Yes. Shut up. In March, Katie Greener, esteemed news woman, has a final thought. Katie, it is wonderful to have time off, but I completely lose track of days, times, all of it. So it's nice to have some normalcy again. Jack, final thought for us.

[Joe Getty]

May you have a job you look forward to coming back to. I feel very fortunate that I was excited to come back to work today after a week's vacation.

[Michael Hanson]

My final thought is my vacation. I should have talked about this. Started off terribly logistics and errands on Monday, then Tuesday into Wednesday. An intestinal illness that was like I swig down 5 gallons of frijoles and wash them down with some local pond water in Tijuana.

[Joe Getty]

Oh my God.

[Michael Hanson]

Oh, the cramps. The cramps. But it all went away and we finished strong, which is kind of the key.

[Joe Getty]

So if you did those things, your stomach would be upset so that.

[Michael Hanson]

Yes, and I would not be able to stray far from the accommodation room.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.

[Michael Hanson]

So many people. Thanks. A little time. Go to armstronggetty.com grab yourself some swag, huh? Drop us a Note [e-mail] subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

[Joe Getty]

We will see you tomorrow. God bless America. Armstrong and Getty.

[Michael Hanson]

Unbelievable.

[Katie Green]

Match made in heaven.

[Michael Hanson]

We're all better off and we're working together.

[Joe Getty]

No. Joe and everyone next.

[Michael Hanson]

So let's go out with a bang.

[Joe Getty]

No. Henry. Henry, that is wrong. What is the biggest threat, Henry? The gorilla. That's right. The gorilla is the biggest threat. So do you see where my queen is right now? That is your biggest threat. Get rid of the gorilla, Henry. On that high note. Bye bye.

[Michael Hanson]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

This is an I Heart pod.