With His Wang & His Gun

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand – Episode: "With His Wang & His Gun"

Release Date: May 19, 2025

In this engaging episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand, hosts Jack Armstrong and Eden Alexander delve into a range of contemporary political and social issues, interspersed with sharp commentary and candid discussions. The episode covers topics from political rivalries and policy reversals to media scrutiny and healthcare controversies. Below is a detailed summary capturing the key points, notable quotes, and the overall flow of the conversation.

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1. Trump's Critique of Bruce Springsteen

The episode opens with a heated discussion about former President Donald Trump's recent remarks on rock legend Bruce Springsteen. Jack Armstrong expresses strong disapproval of Trump’s comments, highlighting the belittling nature of the accusations.

• Jack Armstrong ([02:00]): “I see that highly overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a foreign country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him. Never liked his music or his radical left politics.”

Armstrong continues to mock Trump's derogatory language, emphasizing the president's personal attacks:

• Jack Armstrong ([02:20]): “He's just a pushy, obnoxious jerk all caps, who fervently supported crooked Joe Biden and mentally incompetent fool in our worst ever president who came close to destroying our country.”

Eden Alexander challenges Armstrong’s amusement, questioning the appropriateness of Trump's remarks.

• Eden Alexander ([03:50]): “I just find that so bizarre. He's always been like screaming that Kareem Abdul Jabbar wasn't even tall. Right. That's just absurd.”

2. Reversing Energy Regulations Under Trump

The hosts transition to discussing the Trump administration's rollback of various energy regulations, positioning it as a victory for consumers and economic freedom.

• Eden Alexander ([05:46]): “Gone are rules banning a wide swath of gas stoves. Gone are the strict water standards governing dishwashers and shower heads... saving consumers more than $11 billion.”

Jack Armstrong adds a personal touch by sharing his frustrations with modern dishwashers affected by environmental regulations.

• Jack Armstrong ([06:43]): “As has been pointed out by many people, you practically have to wash the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher because they don't do what they used to do because of all these different environmental regulations.”

They critique the implications of these regulatory changes on everyday life and business operations, highlighting Biden-era policies being reversed.

3. US Credit Downgrade and Fiscal Responsibility

A significant portion of the conversation centers around the recent downgrade of the United States' credit rating by the New York Post, attributed to accumulated debt over multiple administrations.

• Jack Armstrong ([13:02]): “We got downgraded on our credit and U.S. stock. It's New York Post, headline is U.S. stocks fall on U.S. downgrade... This is not just a Trump thing, obviously, or a Democrat thing.”

Eden Alexander discusses the underlying causes, focusing on budget negotiations and fiscal irresponsibility.

• Eden Alexander ([13:29]): “The credit rating agencies were looking at the negotiations for the big giant budget bill and trying to see, all right, are they going to try to get their fiscal house in order? The answer is no. Let the party roll on.”

The hosts lament the bipartisan failure to address the national debt, contemplating potential solutions with a touch of dark humor.

• Jack Armstrong ([14:10]): “By finally collapsing. That's how you get out of this.”

4. Reflections on "Gilligan's Island" and Public Perception

Shifting gears, Armstrong and Alexander reflect on societal perceptions of intelligence, using the classic TV show "Gilligan's Island" as a reference point.

• Jack Armstrong ([16:16]): “Anybody who's seen the video? Man, I just saw one from a different angle. Oh, grizzly. There are a bunch of guys, Mexican sailors up in the riggings that got knocked down when they hit the Brooklyn Bridge.”

Eden Alexander relays a thought-provoking statistic shared by James Lindsay, highlighting public frustration with the ineffectiveness portrayed in the show.

• James Lindsay ([17:08]): “...the US Coast Guard received 2500 letters a week asking why the castaways hadn't been rescued yet.”

The discussion underscores the enduring public impatience and critiques societal expectations.

5. Joe Biden's Cancer Diagnosis Controversy

A contentious segment revolves around the revelation of President Joe Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis, sparking debate over timing and transparency.

• J.D. Vance ([21:11]): “We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job... This is serious stuff. This is the guy who carries around the nuclear football for the world's largest nuclear arsenal.”

Armstrong and Alexander express skepticism about the timing of the announcement, suggesting ulterior motives and potential media manipulation.

• Eden Alexander ([23:05]): “Stelter on CNN, Mark Halperin writing... completely a possibility that they let us know about the cancer now because of these books that are coming out because of the hurt report that came out on Friday.”

They critique the administration's handling of the revelation, questioning its authenticity and motive.

6. Medicaid Spending and Budget Deficits

Concluding the episode, the hosts delve into the complexities of Medicaid spending and its impact on the national budget.

• Eden Alexander ([33:05]): “Medicaid is the nation's most abused welfare program... Spending on Medicaid, IRS cash welfare payments and supplemental, the SNAP program, food stamps has grown in inflation adjusted dollars by 671%, 1463%, and 290% respectively since 19[00].”

Jack Armstrong highlights the disproportionate allocation of funds:

• Jack Armstrong ([37:36]): “So if you're living on, using my finger quotes, living on $28,000 a year, somehow they only count that for political purposes.”

The discussion emphasizes the inefficiencies and growing costs associated with Medicaid, advocating for systemic reforms.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Jack Armstrong ([02:20]): “This dried out prune of a rocker. His skin is all atrophied.”

• Eden Alexander ([05:53]): “They say that’s wrong, it’s racist and it no longer will guide any federal policy. Huge victory for common sense, for meritocracy.”

• J.D. Vance ([21:11]): “If you're not in good enough health to do the job, you shouldn't be doing the job.”

• Eden Alexander ([33:41]): “Medicaid absorbs seven times as much general revenue as Social Security.”

Conclusion

In this episode, Jack Armstrong and Eden Alexander provide a robust analysis of current political dynamics, policy changes, and societal issues. Their candid discussions, punctuated with sharp criticisms and insightful observations, offer listeners a comprehensive perspective on the multifaceted challenges facing the United States. Whether debating the implications of policy reversals or scrutinizing media narratives, Armstrong & Getty On Demand delivers thought-provoking content aimed at fostering informed discourse.

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For more insights and detailed discussions, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode of "With His Wang & His Gun" on iHeartPodcasts.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

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[Eden Alexander]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty. Well, we're very honored.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow. It's crazy. Just because of you, I'm here.

[J.D. Vance]

You're the only reason I'm here.

[Eden Alexander]

How was it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Are you free to talk a little bit? I'm on speaker and there's a bunch of cameras. That's Eden Alexander. He was a hostage of Hamas for three years. How long has it been?

[Eden Alexander]

450 days or something? I, I don't remember exactly. Since October of 23.

[Jack Armstrong]

He was on the phone with Trump yesterday saying, the only reason I'm here. You're the only reason I'm here. You saved my life. Trump negotiating with somebody in Hamas and bypassing Israel on that whole thing and getting the guy out. So that was a good story over the weekend. We mentioned on Friday how Bruce Springsteen had bad mouth Trump in the United States while he was kicking off his world tour in Great Britain. And we are annoyed by that. It was after we got off the air on Friday that Trump truth this out about Bruce Springsteen. I see that highly overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a foreign country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him. Never liked his music or his radical left politics. And importantly, he's not a talented guy. I love stuff like that. He's just a pushy, obnoxious jerk all caps, who fervently supported crooked Joe Biden and mentally incompetent fool in our worst ever president who came close to destroying our country. If I wasn't elected. It would have been gone by now. Sleepy Doe. Joe didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. But Springsteen is, quote, dumb as a rock, unquote. I like how he puts that in quotes. I don't even know exactly what that means. And couldn't see what was going on. Or could he? Which is even worse. This dried out prune of a rocker. Prune. Also in quotes. His skin is all atrophied. Trump. Right. Let me close with the sentence. I'll say it again because it's just too good. This dried out prune of a rocker. His skin is all atrophied. Ought to keep his mouth shut until he gets back into the country. That's just standard fare. Also in quotes. Then we'll see how it goes for him.

[Eden Alexander]

All right. I'm glad you find it so amusing. I just.

[Jack Armstrong]

I find it very amusing.

[Eden Alexander]

On what level? Help me understand.

[Jack Armstrong]

His skin is attributed. I think it's hilarious that the President of the United States is making fun.

[Eden Alexander]

Of an old rock and roller for.

[Jack Armstrong]

His having sexy skin. I just can't believe it's even happening.

[Eden Alexander]

Right. And we can't be held responsible for what we find amusing. That's fine. I just find it troubling. It's just weird. It's a hella weird. Yeah. So anyway. Although none of that's really of any consequence. And. And. And. And Bruce is obnoxious and a blow hard and a limousine liberal and ought to shut up and play his damn music. Anyway.

[Jack Armstrong]

Having said that in quotes. Why do you think he puts word. Random words in quotes? What is that?

[Eden Alexander]

That happens a lot online. It's just a way to emphasize that word.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, it's a. It's an emphasis.

[Eden Alexander]

Like a cap. Cap full of capitalizing it. Or. Or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, gotcha. Okay. I didn't get you onto that. There you go.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah. And you know, Hunter Thompson used to do this way back in the day. And people do it online too. They capitalize a word.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Eden Alexander]

Like all caps, but just capitalize it to emphasize it.

[Jack Armstrong]

I do that. I've never used a quote. Okay.

[Eden Alexander]

As an amateur linguist, I think it's interesting how, you know, print language evolves to imitate speaking language. Anyway, so. Yeah. And the other thing Trump tweeted out. And for the record, I've got a couple of things that I've been wanting to talk about. How Trump. The Trump administration has essentially put out the word disparate impact. The theory of disparate impact, meaning if a lower percentage of black people get accepted to be cops. That's proof that the test is racist. They've said that's. That's wrong, it's racist and it no longer will guide any federal policy. Huge victory for common sense, for meritocracy. The rest of it. Nobody's talking about that move. It's incredibly important. I say well done. So the Trump's Energy Department.

[Jack Armstrong]

So this. So the Trump government said that. That that's the way they're going to look at it. Yeah.

[Eden Alexander]

The challenge.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because the Supreme Court unfortunately has said disparate impact is a thing.

[Eden Alexander]

Bring it up again. That was an obscene couple of rulings. Just idiotic. Indefensible. Anyway. And another thing, I love this headline. Free the gas stove. Trump's Energy Department has axed dozens of Biden appliances and regulations. Like a hundred thousand pages of phony green new scam regulations are gone.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, I heard a good one the other day because I have this last two dishwashers. I've had your modern dishwasher because of all the dumb regulations they you. As has been pointed out by many people, you practically have to wash the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher because they don't do what they used to do because of all these different environmental regulations.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah. So before I kick Trump, I just wanted to mention that, I mean, for instance, let's dig into this a little bit. Gone are rules banning a wide swath of gas stoves. Gone are the strict water standards governing dishwashers and shower heads. Do you want. Gone is the government wide effort to force electrification of the economy through appliance regulations. All part of a historic action the Trump administration announced today. Reversing dozens of energy regulations, saving consumers more than $11 billion and cutting more than 125,000 words from the United States code of regulations. Great stuff. Great, great, great. Save you money. Hallelujah. Amen. Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

I like when Trump says things like Bruce Princeton, he has no talent. What?

[Eden Alexander]

I just find that so bizarre. He's always been like screaming that Kareem Abdul Jabbar wasn't even tall. Right. That's just absurd. Anyway, so he was tweeting, truthing out a bunch of stuff the other day, including, and I'll just go ahead and shout the stuff that's in all caps. Walmart should stop trying to blame tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made billions of dollars last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart, Walmart and China, they should eat the tariffs and not charge valued customers anything. I'll be Watching and so will your customers. Well, many exclamation points, as usual.

[Jack Armstrong]

I agree with Bernie Sanders or disagree with Bernie Sanders. I don't like Bernie when he does this sort of thing. Oh, that was Trump, you say?

[Eden Alexander]

Yes, this was also Trump. After causing catastrophic inflation, Comrade Kamala announced that she wants to institute socialist price controls. Her plan is very dangerous because it may sound good politically. This is communist. This is Marxist. This is fascist. Yes, both statements by Donald Trump. Last year he blasted Kamala Harris's proposal for price controls on groceries. Now he's attacking Walmart for warning that it will have to raise prices in the wake of the tariffs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and you know, in claiming that Walmart would only raise prices to make more profit, you made, you made enough money last year, basically, is what he's saying. He made billions last year. Okay. When has this become a conservative thing? You tell companies you've made enough money.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah, I'll be going to play your golf courses for free, sir, because you made enough money last year. So, and, and the other part of it is, you know, it's, it's a rebuttal of what he's claimed himself for months. He said the foreign producers will pay the full cost of tariffs, but now he's admitting that Walmart and American retailer will have to eat some of the costs or pass them on to their customers. And Walmart's net profit margin is less than 3%. Now, it's an enormous company, so if you have 2.8% profit on, you know, a company of that size, that's a hell of a number. But it doesn't have a bunch of room to absorb the higher costs caused by tariffs. Retail competition is incredibly intense and Walmart's longtime comparative advantage has been lower prices. And what bothers me is, number one, Trump trying to tell Walmart how to run its business. And number two, like that vague threat of retribution.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, that's not cool.

[Eden Alexander]

I'm, I'm, I'm against that no matter who's the president. Sorry if you're just a hardcore, you know, Trump fan or you figure if admitting anything is wrong, that'll weaken the case and Democrats will win and the rest of it. You know, I see your point, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just can't stand this very, very Bernie aoc. You could imagine either one of shouting that on the no Oligarchs tour.

[Eden Alexander]

Right? Yeah, Walmart, plenty of money. They have too much profit.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll hold the Walmart accountable if they raise prices. That's a very Bernie Sanders thing to say.

[Eden Alexander]

And as always, my real concern and the reason I bring this up is the dumb stuff Trump does might derail the fabulous stuff he does. And that would kill me.

[Jack Armstrong]

Do you mean dumb politically or for the way conservatism ought to work politically? I think the Republicans, you know, going for this big beautiful bill that gives perfectly healthy working age men free health care might be a good idea. That's what bothers me.

[Eden Alexander]

Right, right. I think, yeah. The saying what he said about Walmart and the rest of it I don't think is going to make much political difference at all. I think the whole tariff thing will, though. It'll mess up the economy either a little or a lot.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't even know where we are in terms of politics and the parties and stuff. It's very difficult for me to figure out. There are probably, to the extent that they saw it, many, many, many, many would consider themselves Republican voters who said, yeah, screw Walmart trying to raise prices on us.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah, well, these are weird times. There are no political parties as we were discussing earlier. So a quick word from our friends at Simply Safe Home Security. The moment you arm your system, you know your family and everything you've protected step out for the day when most burglaries occur or settle in for the night. And that setting of the alarm means peace of mind.

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Eden Alexander]

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[Jack Armstrong]

We got downgraded on our, on our credit and U.S. stock. It's New York Post, headline is U.S. stocks fall on U.S. downgrade. That news came out Friday, I think after the markets closed over the Weekend, but. So this is new news to the markets, but we got downgraded because of the debt we've built up over many administrations. This is not just a Trump thing, obviously, or a Democrat thing, but.

[Eden Alexander]

Sure. But the credit raging agencies were looking at the negotiations for the big giant budget bill and trying to see, all right, are they going to try to get their fiscal house in order? The answer is no. Let the party roll on.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know, Trump would probably make the argument. So Biden wasn't going to take the hit George Bush didn't want? No, nobody, nobody, Republican or Democrat, wants to take that. You want me to take the political hit for finally, like cutting services or raising taxes.

[Eden Alexander]

Right. Why me and all the Congress people say what he said.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. I don't know how you get out of this.

[Eden Alexander]

I suppose by monarchy.

[Jack Armstrong]

By finally collapsing. That's how you get out of this.

[Eden Alexander]

Or a wise and benevolent philosopher king.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, you, you.

[Eden Alexander]

Who's.

[Jack Armstrong]

Who's picking that person?

[Eden Alexander]

I'll go ahead if you'd like.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is it you?

[Eden Alexander]

I got a few names in mind. Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay. We got a lot on the way. Stay here.

[Eden Alexander]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Rolling as a ship strikes the Brooklyn Bridge.

[Eden Alexander]

What are you doing?

[Jack Armstrong]

Why is the Mexican Navy attacking our bridges? And why have we not fired back?

[Eden Alexander]

Well, they're not very good at it. Great Scott. Anybody who's seen the video? Man, I just saw one from a different angle. Oh, grizzly. There are a bunch of guys, Mexican sailors up in the riggings that got knocked down when they hit the Brooklyn Bridge. Oy vey.

[Jack Armstrong]

So it was a really tall ship. So as they were heading toward it, weren't there people? Weren't there? Weren't the people up there saying, well, that looks like that's about eye level.

[Eden Alexander]

I'm getting the hell down. I don't care if I got ordered to or not.

[Jack Armstrong]

Have we thought this through? Because that looks like we're not gonna fit under there.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah, I think they lost power or something like that. I've just heard sketchy reports There's a lot like when that cargo ship bashed into the the bridge in Baltimore.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaking of boats, are you familiar with the premise of the television show Gilligan's island from the 60s? Because some of you might not be. There's a bunch of helpfully laid out.

[Eden Alexander]

In the theme song every week. If you needed a reminder back in.

[Jack Armstrong]

The old days, they would.

[Eden Alexander]

I don't remember why these people were on that. What circumstances caused them to be so stranded.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. Back in the old days, they would lay out the premise of the show every week in the song for you. That was very, very handy. You take the take, you good, you take the bad, the facts of life, whatever the show was, they would tell you.

[Eden Alexander]

But anyway, here's the story of a man named Brady.

[Jack Armstrong]

Exactly. But so you got, you got this boat that ran into an island and they got stuck there. And the whole show was about they're stuck on this island and dealing with each other and, and, and you got.

[Eden Alexander]

Cannibals and they're disconcertingly ineffective efforts to leave.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, I thought this was really good from James Lindsay, who we're big intellectual fans of, on Twitter, he said, I think we often overestimate how much worse some things are now than they were in the past. And he linked this story about Gilligan's island, which says at the height of Gilligan's island popularity, which was 1966, the US Coast Guard received 2500 letters a week asking why the castaways hadn't been rescued yet. Oh, wow. With James Lindsay's point being, see, we've always been a bunch of morons or had a lot of morons.

[Eden Alexander]

I've got to take a moment to absorb that. And I assume they mean sincere letters, not like trolling by mail.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't think trolling was a thing back then. Certainly you wouldn't take the time by making mail 2500 a week, a week asking the Coast Guard why they hadn't rescued Gilligan, the skipper and well, in particular, if I'm a Coast Guard male, a young 22 year old, the Coast Guard. I'm, I'm rescuing Marianne and Ginger right off the bat.

[Eden Alexander]

Sure. Women and children first.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or is that guy from that 70? What's that, that Twitter feed. Everybody likes the 70s something or oh.

[Eden Alexander]

Oh, Super 70 sports. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

He said, as you get older, you look at Mrs. Howell and realize there's a third viable option on that alley.

[Eden Alexander]

She was a, an attractive woman. Yeah, absolutely.

[Jack Armstrong]

In her 50s. Yeah, exactly.

[Eden Alexander]

Well. And so many questions. How was the skipper? Still obese after being stranded on an island for years? What's going on there? Metabolism problem.

[Jack Armstrong]

But so he did some wegovy. The ultimate point being, and I think James Lindsay makes a good point, we do overestimate the. The percentage of people that are dumb or don't pay attention or. Or whatever. It's not like Everybody in the 60s or the 1850s or whenever we're learning.

[Eden Alexander]

Latin and studying the Constitution like Thomas Jefferson. Yeah, right, right. Yeah, yeah. So true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Dear Coast Guard, why haven't you rescued Gilligan? Signed.

[Eden Alexander]

Poor people are desperate and desperately incompetent. They can't even build a raft.

[Jack Armstrong]

What is my tax money going? So you thought every TV show you were watching was a reality show in.

[Eden Alexander]

The 60s and they didn't, like, ask, why don't the camera people rescue them? That didn't even occur to them.

[Jack Armstrong]

No kidding.

[Eden Alexander]

Boy, that is really dumb.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or the orchestra playing the music when you come back from commercials. They could have helped, couldn't they?

[Eden Alexander]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Jack Armstrong]

New research shows that too much sitting could damage your brain, which explains why Stephen Hawking was such a dumbass. Wow.

[Eden Alexander]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know how I feel about that.

[Eden Alexander]

A little uncomfortable with that one.

[Jack Armstrong]

Too much sitting can damage your brain. So the big story of the day is not exactly what I thought it was originally when I heard it. By the way, my son has whooping cough now.

[Eden Alexander]

Oh, no. I was afraid of that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Took him to urgent care yesterday, though. Got him on some medicine. So we'll wait it out. Wasn't obvious to me right away when the news broke that Joe Biden has not just prostate cancer, which is the most curable of all the cancers out there that we regularly talk about, but just that he's got a pretty bad version of it. And all the timing around this, that hadn't occurred to me. But before we get to that, here is J.D. vance. I guess he was asked a question about the breaking story and Joe Biden's health today. Here's what he had to say.

[J.D. Vance]

We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job. And that's no. You know, you can separate the desire for him to have the right health outcome with a recognition that whether it was doctors or whether there were staffers around the former president, I don't think he was able to do a good job for the American people. And that's not politics. That's not because I disagreed with him on policy. That's because I don't think that he was in good enough health. In some ways, I blame him less than I blame the people around him. And why didn't the American people have a better sense of his health picture? Why didn't the American people have more accurate information about what he was actually dealing with? This is serious stuff. This is the guy who carries around the nuclear football for the world's largest nuclear arsenal. This is not child's play. And we can pray for good health, but also recognize that if you're not in good enough health to do the job, you shouldn't be doing the job.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know. That seems you're not going to run against Joe Biden again. But I am interested, I am interested in this angle of. Oh, well, I'll read what Mark Halperin wrote. Among other people that are saying this today, including Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe this morning, Stelter on cnn, Mark Halpern writing, if the intention was to make it if the intention of this medical reveal was to make it less likely that the Bidens would be accused of lying, engaging in a coverup built on falsehoods during a presidency, well, the impact may be 180 degrees of that. He's suggesting it's completely a possibility that they let us know about the cancer now because of these books that are coming out because of the hurt report that came out on Friday, the actual audio. That's a heck of an accusation. And it's coming out of mainstream media.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah. Including even msnbc, who are saying essentially, wait a minute. Given the quality of medical care that the president gets, only now at a very, very late stage, he's become aware that he has prostate cancer.

[Jack Armstrong]

He's probably had this for 10 years, according to the doctor on Morning Joe today.

[Eden Alexander]

Right. Yeah. Come on. It's just. No, it's not. It's not. So it hadn't even occurred to me either that this was some sort of bizarre misdirect. Look over here. Look over here. So people wouldn't be talking about how Biden and Jill Biden and everybody around them knew how senile he was and still tried to trot him out for election 24. They're just trying to distract. It's shameful.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, like I, like I said, nobody's running against Joe Biden again. So I don't know. Is there a point in showing how, because I'm interested in the media thing. That continues to be a story.

[Eden Alexander]

Media and everybody who's still in politics who is lying to us so egregious.

[Jack Armstrong]

Both of those things are worth it. It the just like talking about, I blame Joe Biden.

[Eden Alexander]

Eh.

[Jack Armstrong]

How about all the people around him who knew his brain didn't work? How about the media? All that. That. That still matters. But if the Bidens, and I think you mostly have to talk about Jill. Cause he can't blame Joe. His brain doesn't work. If the Bidens hung on to a cancer diagnosis until it was most opportune for them, they are a whole nother level, even beyond what I thought of. Just like I don't even know what you call that.

[Eden Alexander]

Well, you're being too charitable apparently, because they're capable of everything you thought and.

[Jack Armstrong]

Much more so on Friday, the day the her tape finally comes out. And they probably been dreading this for a long time. Jill and Hunter have been dreading this for a long time. We played some earlier. It's exactly as it was described years ago. He's a. The lost old man who, who would be very sympathetic to a jury because he clearly has no idea what he's talking about. They probably been dreading this coming out forever. The day it comes out Friday.

[Eden Alexander]

Oh my God.

[Jack Armstrong]

We got a cancer diagnosis for cancer that's been around for 10 years. We should all really remember cancer touches every family, blah, blah, blah, which Joe Biden is saying today and others.

[Eden Alexander]

And it's time to stop talking about the past and help this poor fellow healing. Right. Yeah, that. Yeah, the timing's ridiculous.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, that is some serious Machiavellian stuff.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah. But again, if you contemplate Dr. Jill and her unhinged, you know, power lust and inability to recognize reality, or unless she, she wants to come out and say, yeah, the plan was to get him to win the election and then we'd replace him with Kamala Harris.

[Jack Armstrong]

I agree that Mark Halpern saying that it's going 180 degrees. If within. When did the story break? Last night? I think it was last night on my phone. I was getting the alerts.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah, I think so.

[Jack Armstrong]

So if within a dozen hours Joe Scarborough and that dude on CNN are both questioning the timing of this, you're in trouble.

[Eden Alexander]

Well, it's a Joe Scarborough joining in. I mean, talk about a rat fleeing a sinking ship. I mean, he was sailing the ship, at least in terms of the media covering up for the senility. So that's a little tough to take. But yeah, it does absolutely indicate the fact that everybody's saying the same thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, this might be one of the ultimate backfires. If it goes the Direction it looks like it's going. We're in the early hours of this. Somebody gets some inside reporting on how long he's known about this cancer diagnosis, and it becomes completely evident that it was just, you know, a look over here story. Whoa, that's rough.

[Eden Alexander]

Well, right, yeah, absolutely. But come on. The Brian Stelters of the world and the Joe's Scarborough and the Jake's Tapper. There's got to be an extra hot place in hell for them now to be saying, look at this. I believe he was upset. He was senile, and this is just to cover it up. And Dr. Jill is crazy. And that. No, no, no, no, no, you are not welcome on our side. Start your tape right now because I'm.

[Jack Armstrong]

About to tell you the truth and F you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever. Oh, my God.

[Eden Alexander]

We don't want you in our team. You're not welcome here.

[Jack Armstrong]

That was after the Wall Street Journal story came out. Who now Jake Tapper calls heroes those reporters. It's also hard to believe. So your anger toward them I perfectly get. But if Joe Biden and Jill Biden are playing upon people's sympathies, Cancer, oh, my God. And all the death he's had, his family. You talk about a special hot place in hell. I mean, that is not cool.

[Eden Alexander]

Shocking, yet unsurprising. They. Come on, come on. I sound like Joe Biden. Come on, come on. Anyway, anyway, this is. This is the Biden crime family. The family of Hunter Biden with his wang and his gun crack and his Uncle Jim and the profits and plausible deniability, my dear boy. Plausible deniability. His wang and his gun and just the whole package. And running a senile guy for president, shouting, you did it, Joe. You answered all the questions. I mean, this is not surprising. This is completely in character.

[Jack Armstrong]

You answered all the questions, Joe.

[Eden Alexander]

You did such a great job. You answered every question.

[Jack Armstrong]

You knew all the facts.

[Eden Alexander]

I realize there's an extra depth of depravity to trotting out a cancer diagnosis as a, you know, a shield, but it's like finding out that Diddy was rude to a waitress. I mean, it's. Well, yes, sure. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you gotta remember the reporting that they're broke. That's what makes you desperate enough to do crazy stuff. Being broke.

[Eden Alexander]

Yes. Yeah, yeah. What a cesspool. So, speaking of political cesspools, I, Joe, am completely embittered by the political process. I have abandoned The Republican Party. I'm going to try to start a third party again. I was trying to decide whether to call them Angritarians. Us Angritarians. Enough is enough. Oh, Crats. Or F y' all Akins, which is seems to be the crowd favorite.

[Jack Armstrong]

Would look good on a T shirt.

[Eden Alexander]

F y' all anyway. And I'll explain why and prove my point. Next segment. And then something I'm really excited about for hour four. And you might not get our four. That's fine. You can grab it later. Follow us wherever you get. Podcasts Armstrong and Yeti on demand. But Jack, when we have through the years discussed becoming a cryptocurrency zillionaire. Okay. And the only way you can get access to your account is with your fingerprint. And do you remember we predicted what would start happening if bad people really.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wanted your account cut off your finger?

[Eden Alexander]

It's happening.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh really?

[Eden Alexander]

Cryptocurrency home run hitters are now running, hiding for their lives.

[Jack Armstrong]

Keep your hands in your pockets.

[Eden Alexander]

Yeah, I'd say. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Holy.

[Eden Alexander]

So anyway, that crazy story, hour four, okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

And probably a Diddy trial update too. So stick around.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Rand Paul]

The middle class is about the same as it was 70 years ago. The one segment of our economy that has grown is those making over $100,000 a year and that has tripled. So most of the middle class, if the middle class shrunk at all, actually went to an upper class. If you say upper class begins at $100,000. So most of this is just fallacy. We have gotten rich, rich, rich off of trade all Americans and it is lifting all boats and we are richer than we have ever been in any time in our history. But it's not easy to convince people of that because there are short term problems where you have inflation like during the last four years where the middle class actually did lose purchasing power and did get poor.

[Jack Armstrong]

Rand Paul yesterday talking about both about the tariff war and the big beautiful bill that's going through. He's of course as a senator, not going to be a fan of anything that increases the debt.

[Eden Alexander]

Right? Right. So before we get to that, just one final note on the the Biden cancer thing. I was just reading a well known cancer doctor saying it is inconceivable that that diagnosis managed to go undetected for so long given his medical care and the state of medicine. He said it's impossible. So anyway, they're lying. Back to the big beautiful bill. I have announced my departure not only from the Republican Party, but all Politics. I've given up, thrown up my hands. I will be moving to Uruguay or Paraguay, I can never remember which one. Get it right because I have forgotten. Yeah, well, because I've given up. But I found this very, very interesting. Part of my, my despair is that the Republican Party has abandoned any pretense at taming the budget, reducing the deficit, reducing the debt, reigning in wildly out of control entitlement programs. And so, you know, I, I've got no home. I'm a, I'm a homeless man. I have no port in which to pull my little boat to safety. But I found this really, really interesting and this is the reason why, you know, you ought to be on my side. The Trump administration recently promised that it will not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Now I'm going to quote Phil Graham.

[Jack Armstrong]

The great Phil Graham was quoting last week.

[Eden Alexander]

Fiscal conservative slash sane guy of the past. Anyway, the determination not to reform retirement benefit entitlements is politically understandable. Third rail, blah, blah, blah. But there is no reason to include Medicaid, the nation's most abused welfare program, in that pledge. Means tested welfare or welfare tied to a person's income level or means is the main driver of the budget deficit. It is not Social Security, which is almost 90% self funded by its dedicated payroll tax.

[Jack Armstrong]

Interesting.

[Eden Alexander]

Almost 90% self funded. Or Medicare, which is 50% funded by premiums and payroll taxes. Spending on Medicaid, IRS cash welfare payments and supplemental, the SNAP program, food stamps has grown in inflation adjusted dollars. Those three things, spending on Medicaid, cash welfare payments, that's a refundable tax. Credits and SNAP have grown, inflation adjusted by 671%, 14, 63% and 290% respectively since 19. By contrast, total real Medicare, Social Security and defense expenditures have grown by 383, 186% and 38% respectively. Medicaid. Those numbers are horrifying. Yeah, they are actually. But Medicaid absorbs seven times as much general revenue as Social Security.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Eden Alexander]

More than Social Security and Medicare combined.

[Jack Armstrong]

I did not know that.

[Eden Alexander]

I know. Nobody's talking about this. Medicaid is this gigantic monster. It's like Frankenstein. If it was the sight of Godzilla, you know, just stomping across the countryside, crushing entire villages.

[Jack Armstrong]

So when we talk about people, you know, able bodied people leeching off US taxpayers, this is the program where they're.

[Eden Alexander]

Doing a lot of it, correct? Yeah, correct. And it has to do. And I, you know, part of me wishes we had time. Part of me is Glad that we don't. To explain the bizarre. States intentionally tax hospitals and doctors so then they can spend more than they can bill the federal government more for Medicaid than the federal government gives them more money for Medicaid, which they then give back to the doctors and hospitals and the stupid, stupid federal taxpayer pays for all of it. It's just this giant scam scheme.

[Jack Armstrong]

We actually have the great Craig Gotwell's on tomorrow to probably explain some of this.

[Eden Alexander]

Oh yeah, he did. Yeah, he's a perfect guy to ask about this, but it all has to do with Obamacare and the Medicaid expansion. Do you remember that? And a lot of red states said, no, we don't want this money. And they were criticized, how dare you deny medical care to pay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Eden Alexander]

And the blue states accepted it. Well now, as has been discussed at least somewhat lately, federal taxpayers pay for 90% of the bills of healthy working age men who get Medicaid. Poor pregnant ladies get. I think it's a third. It's so perverse and upside down. One final point, and this is actually the main point of Phil Graham's article, which I found really interesting. The title is the Census defines the Poverty Rate Up. And Jack, this is something you have hit many times through the years. But during the War on Poverty, the government adopted a common sense definition of poverty having resources that are not enough to meet basic needs. The problem is they didn't scale a lot of this to inflation. Some of it they did, but they've begun not counting government transfers. 88% of government transfers that poor, quote unquote, poor people get are not counted. When you ask, all right, is this person poor? Do they need more stuff, more aid, that sort of thing? They pretend that all the rest of the government aid hadn't happened.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. So if you're living on, using my finger quotes, living on $28,000 a year, somehow they only count that for political purposes. When they're making arguments, they don't count the. Maybe another $80,000 you might be getting in all kinds of transfer payments, all kinds of different stuff. Housing subsidies, food help, medical help, all kinds of stuff doesn't count.

[Eden Alexander]

And adjusted for inflation, now those classified as poor have almost 20 times the purchasing power they had when the war on poverty began. Yet they're still called poor people for the purposes of growing these programs.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, we have talked about this for years. That needs to be straightened out. That would be a huge change in our politics if we could let more people know that if you missed a segment. Get the podcast.

[Eden Alexander]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're listening to an I Heart podcast.