6/22/26: Mythos AI Hacked NSA In Hours, Trump Reflecting Pool Meltdown, Zohran Vs AIPAC

Summary

Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar — June 22, 2026 Episode: Mythos AI Hacked NSA In Hours, Trump Reflecting Pool Meltdown, Zohran Vs AIPAC

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Episode Overview

In this jam-packed episode, Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti dissect three major stories shaping the intersection of politics, technology, and grassroots activism:

1. The Mythos AI Leak Scandal: How a powerful AI model developed by Anthropic reportedly hacked NSA systems within hours, resulting in heavy-handed government intervention and sparking debate over the power and regulation of AI models.
2. Trump’s Reflecting Pool “Meltdown”: President Trump’s controversial renovation of the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool turns into a political farce, complete with allegations of vandalism, ecological damage, and a full-blown PR disaster.
3. Zohran Mamdani vs. AIPAC & Dark Money in NYC Races: A detailed discussion featuring grassroots candidates Claire Valdez and Darieliza Avila Chevalier about the role of AIPAC, dark money, racism, and smear tactics during critical New York Democratic primaries, with unique insight into progressive organizing and the fraught politics of race and gentrification.

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Key Topic 1: The Mythos AI Hacked the NSA — Government Panic & AI Regulation

Background and Sequence of Events

• Trump de facto blocked Anthropic's “Fable 5” AI release after Amazon warned of security risks (02:29–04:42).
• Report surfaces via The Economist: Mythos, a more powerful Anthropic model, allegedly broke into most NSA classified systems “not in weeks, but in hours.”

In-depth Commentary

The Stakes and the Spin

• Krystal Ball: Summarizes the reporting, noting concerns over how potent Mythos really is, and critiques the lack of transparency and regulation around these systems. (04:42)

  • “The concern there was that Mythos was so powerful, it could easily identify all of these security glitches...and Fable 5 was supposedly the safe version.” (04:42)

• Donald Trump (clip): Claims cooperation from Anthropic’s CEO was swift because "it’s tremendous liability." Emphasizes US leadership over China in AI:

  • "We're beating China by a lot. Everyone thought that we didn't have the electricity. I came up with an idea. I thought of it myself..." (03:38)

• Saagar Enjeti: Notes skepticism from cybersecurity professionals, but emphasizes “never underestimate government incompetence.” (07:13)

  • “If this is true, then the NSA just has bad cybersecurity...Don’t underestimate government incompetence.” (07:13)

Concerns About AI Regulation and Industry Capture

• Saagar: Draws a parallel to unregulated spam and scams powered by AI, asks, "How can there be no regulation on that?" (09:23)

  • Highlights “woke” criticisms of Anthropic, suggesting if this had been Sam Altman or Elon Musk, the administration may have acted differently.

• Krystal: Raises deep concern about the near self-improving capabilities of these models and the lack of structural oversight.

  • “There has to be transparency, there has to be consistent scrutiny. It’s deeply disturbing seeing all these guys at the G7 being treated like literal heads of state.” (10:59)
  • Notes an Anthropic executive directly said, “This level of decision-making should not be in my hands.” (10:59)

Broader Ramifications

• Both hosts stress the urgency of public regulatory processes and fear of AI’s unchecked power.
  • Krystal: “The more that I see, the more that I am convinced this is just not like any other technological development.” (12:59)

Memorable Quotes

• Krystal Ball: "The fact that you already have models which are this powerful ... and are approaching recursive self improvement ... is all very concerning." (13:39)

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Key Topic 2: Tech Monopolies and the Chilling of Cultural Critique

Amazon Shelves OpenAI Film

Outline

• Amazon scraps release of a $40M film about OpenAI’s Sam Altman, following a $50B investment in OpenAI. (13:46–16:58)
• Highlights the trend of tech companies controlling which stories reach the public.

Analysis

• Saagar: Bemoans how tech monopolies can now “kill” movies unfavorable to their business interests.

  • “This is a real celebrated filmmaker ... and your movie can just get shelved because of corporate interests.” (16:11)

• Krystal: Explains that such moves make it “very difficult to tell stories that challenge oligarchy.”

  • “No, that’s uncomfortable for power. So we don’t want anything to do with it.” (17:04)

• Saagar: Argues art and film hold a mirror to new technologies; by blocking stories, monopolies block society’s reckoning with disruption.

Notable Moment

• Saagar: “One of the ways that society grapples with these things is through art, is through film… and you can’t even have that now.” (18:06)

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Key Topic 3: Reflecting Pool Meltdown – Vanity, Waste, and Scapegoating

Event Summary

• A costly Trump-led refurbishment of the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool turns into an ecological and PR disaster — blue sealant floating up, algal blooms, chemicals killing ducklings.
• Trump blames the situation on “vandalism,” and the National Guard gets involved to deter the public from grabbing “souvenirs.” (20:47–33:53)

Episode Highlights

• Trump (Truth Social post): Asserts “vandalism” is to blame, says the pool was perfect, blames 'terrible vandals.' (20:47)

  • “What these terrible vandals have done is a true affront to Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln...” (21:14)

• Krystal and Saagar: Offer biting satire of the incident.

  • Saagar: “The reflecting pool was a shithole… nobody cared… But by making such a big show about it, by spending all this money on it, it is now turned into a national story.” (25:03)
  • Krystal: “He has to go about it in the dumbest and most narcissistic way … and have the whole thing be about you, by the way.” (27:32)

The Contractors, the Rush, and Public Reaction

• Hasty work for Trump's birthday deadline, no-bid contracts, improper drying and prepping cited for the debacle.

  • “Brings in ‘my pool guy,’ no bid, astronomical price... it has to be done by his own birthday, so clearly the process was rushed.” (27:32)

• Arrest of an Olympic canoeist (David Hearn) who touched the pool’s failed sealant material becomes fodder for mocking the “authoritarian crackdown.” (31:46)

• Krystal: “Now we've got a crackdown, authoritarian crackdown at the reflecting pool. You can look but you cannot touch…” (32:01)

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Key Topic 4: NYC Democratic Primaries — Progressive Candidates vs. AIPAC & Machine Politics

Featured Guests: Claire Valdez and Darieliza Avila Chevalier (35:49–59:36)

Main Issues Raised

• Cost of housing, the genocide in Gaza, organizing against dark money, and the impact of AIPAC and right-wing lobbying in local Congressional races.

The AIPAC/“Monsters” Controversy

• Mayor Zoran Mamdani criticized for calling out “monsters” who move dark money (AIPAC); establishment figures allege antisemitism.
  • “The only thing more frightening to them than democracy is an end to genocide.” — Zohran Mamdani, rally clip (38:51)
• Candidates respond by situating the issue as one of dark money and undemocratic influence, not about religious identity.
  • Darieliza: “There is over $7 million in outside spending being spent to smear me and deeply racist rhetoric.” (41:46)

Hostile Tactics and Gentrification Politics

• Candidates discuss smear campaigns, personal attacks, and how machine-backed opponents have engaged in disinformation.

  • Claire Valdez: “Our campaign is about centering the needs of working people ... the politics of divide and conquer the working class, we've experienced these before.” (46:50)

• Darieliza: On abusive opposition tactics:

  • “We're facing a lot of verbal harassment every time we go out … our volunteers … have to think about how to be de-escalatory.” (48:55)
  • Addresses being hit over “ultra” tweets, openly regrets her language but stands by the heart of her criticism.

Stakes for the Democratic Party

• Claire Valdez: Emphasizes the movement’s durability and what “winning” would mean for the left in the national context.
  • “We are here to prove that the election of Zoran Mamdani was not some flash in the pan ... this is a movement ... When organized people come together, we win.” (57:04, 58:00)

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Timestamps at a Glance

• 02:29–04:42: Trump discusses Anthropic, Fable 5, and U.S.–China AI race.
• 04:42–07:12: Krystal and Saagar break down the Mythos hacking allegations.
• 07:13–10:59: Saagar connects AI security fears to broader problems of unregulated tech, spam, and oligarchic control.
• 13:46–17:38: Amazon kills OpenAI film; analysis of tech monopolies and art.
• 20:47–33:53: The great Reflecting Pool saga – renovation, meltdown, public reaction, mockery.
• 35:49–59:36: In-depth interviews with NYC progressive candidates; AIPAC, smear tactics, Democratic Party crossroads.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Saagar (AI risk skepticism): “Never underestimate government incompetence whenever it comes to this stuff.” (07:13)
• Krystal (critiquing AI power): “The more that I see, the more that I am convinced this is just not the case ... we actually, as a collective, need to slow down.” (13:39)
• Saagar (on art and monopoly): “You can’t even have that [reckoning through film] now, in this environment where these tech monopolies have so, so much power.” (18:06)
• Krystal (Trump’s Reflecting Pool): “It ties into the fact that he is not focused on your financial condition... It's all about this monument to himself.” (26:52)
• Claire Valdez (NY7 candidate): “What unites us as working people ... is we have to pay high rent, long commutes, stagnant wages. That affects everyone.” (46:50)
• Darieliza (on attacks): “I will apologize for [tweet language] as long as I have to for folks to understand how deeply regretful I am ... but where is my opponent's accountability?” (53:19–56:14)

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Tone and Language

• The hosts employ their signature style: pointed, irreverent, and occasionally sarcastic—challenging establishment narratives and injecting humor into weighty or absurd topics (“my pool guy,” “authoritarian crackdown at the reflecting pool”).
• Featured guests are earnest, focused on movement building and collective action, and speak directly to both the challenges and hopes of organizing against establishment power.

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Bottom Line

This episode offers a cross-section of American crisis in politics and technology: AI run amok and eluding oversight, government and corporate incompetence morphed into farce (and tragedy) at the nation's capital, and the continuing grassroots insurgency against corporate, right-wing, and oligarchic power in local politics.

Listeners are left with a potent mix of outrage, skepticism, humor, and resolve—anchored by the belief that transparency, organization, and public scrutiny are the only answers to unchecked elite power, whether in Silicon Valley, the White House, or City Hall.

Transcript

[Host or Narrator]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I turned off news altogether.

[Krystal Ball]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[Saagar Enjeti]

It's the rage bait.

[Krystal Ball]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Saagar Enjeti]

We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little.

[NBC News Anchor]

NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.

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[Claire Valdez]

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[Saagar Enjeti]

Hey guys, Sagar and Krystal here.

[Krystal Ball]

Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election and we are so excited about what that means for the future of this show.

[Saagar Enjeti]

This is the only place where you can find honest perspectives from the and the right that simply does not exist anywhere else.

[Krystal Ball]

So if that is something that's important to you, Please go to BreakingPoints.com, become a member today and you'll get access to our full shows unedited ad, free and all put together for you every morning in your inbox.

[Saagar Enjeti]

We need your help to build the future of independent news media and we hope to see [e-mail]

[Krystal Ball]

so you will recall we covered last week how Trump de facto blocked anthropic's latest release, Fable 5, as being too dangerous. He was asked about that in his relationship with Anthropic recently. Let's take a listen.

[Donald Trump]

We have a situation with Anthropic and we didn't like what they were doing. And so far, I think they behaved very responsibly to our request.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Do you view Anthropic and to a

[Interviewer or Narrator]

degree, its CEO Dario Amadei, as a

[Saagar Enjeti]

threat to national security?

[Donald Trump]

Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe. I was with him yesterday. He made a speech. I made a little speech. We were in the room on the G7 and seems like a nice guy, smart guy, but he responded to us very quickly because, you know, it's tremendous liability. People get put in prison immediately for that. You know, you can't play games with that. And he responded very responsibly. I thought, so far, I think he will.

[Interviewer or Narrator]

Do you have the power and the

[Saagar Enjeti]

inclination to shut them down or possibly take them down?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I don't want to do that because I'm somebody that, you know. We're beating China by a lot on AI. I was with President Xi. We talked about it. We're beating China by a lot. Everyone thought that we didn't have the electricity. I came up with an idea. I thought of it myself. I let them build their own electric plants when they're building their factories. That way they don't have to use an old grid and they actually sell back into the grid at a cheap price, excess electricity. They need massive amounts. It's amazing, Mark. They need double the amount of electricity that this country produces for everything to run it. So I had the idea. I said, I'm going to let them. I mean, we don't have that kind of electricity. Really. Nobody does. And they're building their plants and they're building the most incredible electric producing factories you've ever seen. So we're leading China by a lot. It's going to be for the good and watching for the bad.

[Interviewer or Moderator]

Is there.

[Donald Trump]

I think the good. Let me put it a different way. The good far outweighs the bad. We are going to find the bad and we're going to stop it.

[Krystal Ball]

So you'll recall the way that we got here is Anthropic developed Mythos and they restrained themselves from releasing it and partnered with the federal government, allowed access to a few sort of trusted large players. And the concern there was that Mythos was so powerful, it could easily identify all of these security glitches where it would make it very easy for nefarious actors to hack into various systems. Fable 5 was supposed to be Mythos with a lot of guardrails. So it was supposed to be sort of like the safe version of Mythos Then you have Amazon reportedly coming in and saying, hey, we found some problems with Fable 5. We don't think that this is tenable. We think that this is unsafe. The Trump administration reacts. They say, okay, no one, no foreign national can have access to this. This basically de facto makes it so Fable 5 has to be pulled. So all of that is a long way of saying we're now getting some more information about Mythos and just how powerful and potentially concerning it really was. Let's put this Economist excerpt up on the screen here. So they said here that on June 11, Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that General Joshua Rudd, who leads the National Security Agency and the Pentagon's Cyber Command, had told him Mythos broke into almost all of our classified systems, not in weeks, but in hours. In hours, Mythos was able to break into all of our most classified systems. The author of this article in the Economist chimed in to say, well, maybe I should have added some caveats here. This is from Shashank Yoshi. Is that how you say it? Shashank Yoshi? This now widely circulated claim is based on a line I wrote last week in an article, by the way, that was critical of the decision to pull Fable 5. I accurately quoted Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying the NSA chief had told him Mythos broken almost all of our classified systems not in weeks, but in hours. But it would be a mistake to read that literally. I think it surely depends on using Mythos alongside other tools under very particular conditions. I quoted it to give a sense of Mythos potency, but it was a mistake not to have added caveats. I don't really know what he's saying here that makes that assessment that they've broken all the systems. Maybe I'm not understanding, but I don't understand how this makes a difference, that it was like it was some particular circumstances and they had to use other tools. Well, are those tools available broadly or not?

[Boost Mobile Advertiser]

Right.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Well, remember that Mark Warner is the ranking Democrat or. Sorry, no. Yeah, he's the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and he's one of the most deeply national security embedded senators in all of Washington. If you wanna look for a mouth of the deep state here, I don't think it was an accident to say this is true. I did see a lot of cybersecurity professionals saying that this seemed unbelievable. And they're like, well, if this is true, then the NSA just has bad cybersecurity. I'm like, look, never underestimate government Incompetence whenever it comes. It also potentially. Don't underestimate here, Mythos and Claude. But look, I think what this demonstrates is the amount of questions and the problem with the lack of scrutiny on these models specifically, because if there is some basis to this and it's actually there, then obviously what the Trump administration did or even what Trump laid out there in that clip is correct. And it also just gets to the Democratic control, you know, here in Northern Virginia. I was watching this news story that was just the other day. I think it's in Sterling. So it's not that far here from Washington where a residential neighborhood was built or a data center was built right next to this residential neighborhood. And as is common, the data center had these huge generators. Now, the residents were told that the wine of the generators would only be on temporarily until the data center was hooked up to the electric grid. Well, what's happened is that they've been on for a year now. The wine is so loud that some of the residents install Plexiglas on their windows to keep the noise from coming in. Their property values are nuked. They literally cannot sell this home.

[Krystal Ball]

Insane.

[Saagar Enjeti]

It will drive you mad. Like somebody held up a decibel meter from the. It was like 70 or 80. So for context, I've learned I have a decibel meter now on my phone during the whole, like, newborn phase, you know, I was trying to calibrate white noise to what it's supposed to be. Yes, these are a newborn dad things that you end up doing. And the limit is 50. Well, this is like higher outside. Almost a mile, you know, like a mile or so away from the data center is so high, like, it would damage hearing long term for a newborn

[Krystal Ball]

baby and 24, 7.

[Saagar Enjeti]

How can you live? I would lose it. I would probably sell the house at a loss. And I'd rather declare bankruptcy than live something. Like, a lot of people don't have that option or don't wanna do something like that. But that just. What I'm linking the two is democratic control. These things get built. There's all these promises that are made. It'll be good for the community, et cetera. Your quality of life just gets ruined, and now you just have no recourse. You're just sitting around there with plexiglass taped and tin foil on your head. You know, it's like. It's maddening. And this is where with the. I mean, do you guys feel this with spam? Like, the amount of spam that is now currently coming to my phone. I think a lot about the original tweets that were coming around AI with a lot of these agents about the how easy it is now for many of these spam farms to use data brokers and AI to just mass call your phone. Mass text message phishing scams, mass like target email. This is the stuff where it's all happening with no regulation. And you know, it gets. I think we have that author soon coming on the inside. Ification guy. I think he is ultimately right. Like, you know, a phone was cool because you could call people. Like, I literally had to go to the carrier to enable new settings to block any. If I don't have your number, my phone's not ringing. Like, that's ultimately what I had to resort to. Just cause I'm getting 1825 calls. I know now, based upon some of the spam farm analysis I've seen, a lot of it is powered by these AI models. Like, how can there be no regulation on that? And they're like, oh, it's in India. Come on, we can figure it out.

[Krystal Ball]

I'm sure we can. Well, and that's the thing with the decision to effectively block Fable 5 is like, okay, maybe that's the right decision. We need a process. I mean, this all came about because Anthropic is seen as like, woke and stood up to the Department of War. And so they're. And some of their executives have pronouns in their bio. Whatever. You should have zero confidence that if this was Grok, if this was Sam Altman, who's done a great job sucking up to Trump and to the entire administration, who was the first to raise his hand when Anthropic stepped away and said, this is too far for us. I'll do it. Oh, don't worry, I'll do it. No worries. We're right there. So if it was one of them, I have zero confidence that they would make the same decision. So that's why these things. There has to be transparency, there has to be consistent scrutiny. There has to be a completely different paradigm than what we're doing now. And it's very disconcerting seeing all of these guys at the G7 being treated with DPUT, D4, being treated like they are literal heads of states, like sitting at the table with the G7 actual leaders acting and being treated like they are heads of state in a sense, given the power that they have amassed both in terms of wealth and ability apparently to shape the future of this country and the world, it makes sense. That should be deeply disturbing. To all of us. In fact, one of them, I can't remember which one even said, effectively, this level of decision making should not be in the hands of me. It should not be in the hands of any single one of these guys. And yet that de facto is exactly what we have right now. But I think the Mythos part, you know, is. Is very important to dwell on. And the fact that it was able to, you know, hack into some significant amount of NSA systems, I saw some analysts saying too, like, the most sensitive systems are gonna be air gap, meaning they're not even attached, you know, connected to a network, so you can't just hack into them. But certainly, I'm sure we have lots of sensitive things that are hackable and that Mythos was apparently able to get into. I don't know, the idea to me that this tech is just like no big deal and it's just gonna be like any other technological development. We don't need to really worry about it. The more that I see, the more that I am convinced that that is just not the case. Now is all of the most concerning elements of this. Are we going to destroy all of human labor? It's going to potentially destroy the entire human race. Is all of that going to come to pass? I don't know. But the fact that you already have models which are this powerful and that we're getting information from anthropic, that's saying, guys, we actually, as a collective need to slow down and name checking specifically that they are approaching recursive self improvement, which could lead to this explosion of intelligence. It's all very concerning.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah, of course. And look, should there be an investigation over all of this, let's also. I love this story. Let's put D5 up here on the screen. So Amazon, their movie arm, had this film in the works about OpenAI. I guess it was gonna be. It was titled Artificial. It was supposed to be kind of a social network style film about Sam Altman and quote, his rocky to becoming the chief executive of OpenAI. Amazon had announced currently recently plans to invest $50 billion in OpenAI this year. By the way, you should link that to what just happened with Claude, because if Amazon is investing in OpenAI, then Claude is their direct competitor. Just so you all know. Right. But zooming out from it at the same time, they said that their film, which they originally were set to finance, will now be better served if it were released by a different studio. Amazon's decision, quote, shocked the filmmakers, who were told on Tuesday the team at Amazon had Been supportive of the movie up until the $50 million or $50 billion investment in OpenAI and had already spent around $40 million on the project. The streaming giant had already tested the movie in four different markets and the team was working on determining a release date. The head of Prime Video and Amazon, MGM made the decision, allegedly. Now this comes on the heels of Amazon and MGM having been bought or MGM having been bought by Amazon. But it also demonstrates the huge problem with these like tech monopolies who are owning the means and distribution of entertainment. I mean think about this with Apple, right? Like Apple, Apple tv. One of the reasons they're investing a lot of money in this, they have a lot of prestige creators and there is because they want to have this entertainment arm which serves as a way to get people in the Apple ecosystem to get you on the iPhone, the MacBook, somebody like me, like one of these crazy Apple heads and it's working. But same with Amazon, like here with them you have their tech arm which is generating all the revenue, mgm. And all of this is kind of like cultural, a cultural footprint with which to use as influence for your own machine of what's actually being owned, like entertainment itself. I'm not going to be naive and say it's never been disconnected. But it's the same problem as corporate media where when you have Bloomberg, a financial, literally financial like platform that is sold for news, it's like, well, what do you think that you think it's going to represent the interest of Michael Bloomberg? I do.

[Host or Narrator]

Right.

[Saagar Enjeti]

CNN being owned by Time Warner or any of the other holding companies. NBC being owned by Universal or you know, for any GE has always been seen as a tool of control, like a lost leader, which is good for brand purposes. But anyway, I just think it's really dangerous because it keeps us from getting even these types of films. And this is not some no name director. I'm not gonna try and pronounce the guy's name, but he had directed this movie which I love called Challengers, which was the tennis movie. I absolutely love this movie. And so this is a real celebrated filmmaker, knows how to make good movies. He also did Call Me by youy Name, which was a hit as far as I know. And Challengers as well. Big time agents, like not a nobody as a person. And your movie can just get shelved because of corporate interests.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, I mean it makes it very difficult to tell stories that challenge oligarchy.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah, exactly.

[Krystal Ball]

That's the bottom line. And all of these guys, they're all buddies a Bunch of them are, you know, in league with the Trump administration and Trump administration, very pro AI. They don't want these negative stories being told. So you can see how even it's a great film, tells an important story. My understanding is it's focused around the time period where I don't know if you guys remember this. Sam Altman was briefly fired. OpenAI very tumultuous period. Read Empire of AI to hear the inside scoop of how that all went down. But in any case, it's just. No, that's uncomfortable for power. So we don't want to have anything to do with it. So very, very troubling.

[Saagar Enjeti]

And, you know, I was just looking. Social Network was distributed by Sony at the time, but Sony had a real reputation for doing these, like, independent scripts and films. And it was 2010. Facebook was not yet the juggernaut that eventually became. But that's the thing about the crazy rise of these AI companies that become so powerful so quickly. They already have the capability, like with social. You know, they're making this new Social Network sequel and all that. I think it's going to be bad. Sorry. But, you know, I think the.

[Krystal Ball]

I didn't really love the original one.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Oh, really? Oh, I loved it. I loved it. I mean, I don't even care about the story. I think as a film, it was just. I mean, I don't care about the implication or societal thing. The script and the pacing and the director. It was such an incredible film, just in my opinion. But I don't think. I think the ability of that to get made was actually a statement at the time about this new rising piece of technology. The fact that something about AI cannot be made in the current moment because Amazon owns it, I think shows the real danger for the future. One of the ways that society grapples with these things is through art, is through film. And that can often be a good cultural check and make people have a reckoning or any of that unironically. Because the new one, I think, is called social reckoning. But you can't even have that, you know, in this environment where these tech monopolies have so, so much power. As you're watching this on a Google O platform. Okay, let's get to the reflecting pool.

[Host or Narrator]

I turned off news altogether.

[Krystal Ball]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[Saagar Enjeti]

It's the rage bait.

[Donald Trump]

Yep.

[Krystal Ball]

Feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Saagar Enjeti]

We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little.

[NBC News Anchor]

NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America, bro.

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[Saagar Enjeti]

Turning now to the Reflecting pool. The kind of story which Americans will know just as much about as the Iran war. But it is what it is so we're here to give you the coverage. Let's put E1 up here on the screen. A new Truth Social post yesterday from the President. Many additional people have been arrested having to do with the disgraceful vandalism of our beautiful reflecting pool. It hasn't looked or worked like this since 1922 when it was originally built. Even then it leake badly and it didn't work. Ours worked perfectly including the mirror like finish, perfectly reflecting the two great monuments which it had never had before. What these terrible vandals have done is a true affront to Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and should be dealt with accordingly. We met with contractors today. We will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but we'll have them done as quickly as possible. What they have damaged does not even include the earlier killing of a large amount, which was by far the least of it. I don't even know what he's talking about there. They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence and money to build and to complete. They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the pool. The reflecting pool was never so beautiful as it was just one week ago, even going back to 1922 when it opened. We are proud of what we have done with this magnificent structure. We will get it repaired quickly to an equal level of beauty. So here is Trump blaming vandalism for what's happened to the reflecting pool.

[Krystal Ball]

By the way, on the grass part, did you see what the UFC thing did to the grass at the Olympics?

[Claire Valdez]

Oh, yeah.

[Krystal Ball]

I mean, completely destroyed.

[Saagar Enjeti]

It cost millions. Yeah, they cost millions of dollars to replace the grass. I think that grass, I forget what that grass seed company is, is donated $2 million, whatever, you know, to, to rebuild the South Lawn. But, yes, you're absolutely right, it destroyed the grass here. So what has happened is many of you have probably seen that after the reflecting pool was, quote, finished, is that algae bloomed across the entire reflecting pool, requiring the pouring in of gallons and gallons and gallons of hydrogen peroxide and bleach. At the same time, chunks of floating pieces of the reflecting pool began to surface, and some of them were even being grabbed by individuals. We'll get to that here in a second. But in the interim, let's put E2 up here on the screen. The National Guard has now been deployed to the reflecting pool, which has now become actually, ironically, a tourist attraction because so many people are going to the reflecting pool to try and to grab pieces out of it. This is. Is that a pink dinosaur? I don't even know what that is. A pink dinosaur.

[Krystal Ball]

It's a pink frog.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah. Here we have. You can see some imagery of that piece, the sealant, the blue sealant, which had floated up to the surface. And now several people have been, or at least no one person has been arrested. Trump is claiming that several people have. Many people going down there, news organizations kind of sticking underwater cameras in. You could see the crew here pouring the hydrogen peroxide, the bleach, some of the chemicals you had guys in, like, you know, those. What are those, like waiter pants that, like, fly fishermen wear?

[Krystal Ball]

This baby died because of the chemicals.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yes.

[Krystal Ball]

Very sad.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah. A small duckling appears to have died as a result of all of this. Just a reminder about how Trump was talking about the reflecting pool earlier, about how strong it'll be. Let's take a listen.

[Donald Trump]

This will last for at least 50 years. And you'll never have a leak. It's very strong. You couldn't if you had a knife. I don't want to give anybody ideas. If you had a knife, you can't even cut it. So strong, so powerful. Powerful rubber. It is beautiful sealed. And I looked at just one of the little pieces that they did to finish. It's like a piece of glass. Beautiful color, beautiful everything. You could never get any.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Anything like this beautiful piece of glass. You can't even cut it.

[Krystal Ball]

So strong, so powerful. Even if you had a knife, you couldn't cut it.

[Saagar Enjeti]

So powerful. You know, the funny thing is, I've lived here for 16 years. The reflecting pool was a shithole. My entire time here in Washington. Nobody cared. Nobody. It was full of duck shit. It was awful. Idiot college students like yours truly would sometimes go down there and, you know, do bad things to their fucking pool at night. It is what it. I hope there's a statute of.

[Krystal Ball]

What did you do to the reflecting pool?

[Saagar Enjeti]

Do you remember that Mentos Diet Coke challenge thing? Yeah, back. So that was very popular when I was a freshman in college. We would do that all the time down there. This is this type of stupidity that we would get up to while we were.

[Krystal Ball]

It's very insane, actually.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Oh, yeah. I mean, I was 18 years old.

[Donald Trump]

All right.

[Saagar Enjeti]

You know, there might be a few cigarettes that were thrown around there. That's about it. But, yeah, that's what we would do when we were in college again, I hope there's a statute of limitations. It's on damage to the reflecting pool. I think it was like National Guards. It's been a while, but you're done. 16 years. I hope there's a statute of limitations. Anyway. So anyway, it's been a dump. Nobody particularly cared. Trump made a huge show about redoing the reflecting pool. I was like, okay, sure, the reflecting pools always suck. That's fine. Fine with me. And then, of course, he put the blue sealant. I was very skeptical as it was, but I was like, okay, the finished product. Yeah, it looks good. Great. And then the problem is, there had been, you know, the reflecting pool had been green many times. There's always been, you know, duck crap, whatever, and all that. Again, nobody thought two seconds about it. But by making such a big show about it, by spending all this money on it, it is now turned into a national story in which you have to spend, what is it, $13 million, then drain the pool and the bleach. And now everybody's, like, showing photos of the little duckling that Died in the reflection, which is tragic. It's true. It is deeply tragic. But, you know, nobody would have cared about this if he had just not touched it in the first place. And so that is ultimately, I think, one of the stories of Valentine.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, and it's also. It's always very interesting to think about why something touches a cultural nerve, because, like, the ballroom definitely did. And I understand why. It's because it's such a monument to his ego and narcissism.

[Saagar Enjeti]

And it's also turning the president's house into his own personal.

[Krystal Ball]

Yes. Monument. He's obsessed with it. It also, you know, so it ties into the fact that he is not focused on. On your financial condition, as he told you outright. He's focused on this big monument to himself. There's all kinds of, oh, we're going to get the donors in. No, actually, the taxpayer is going to have to fund it. So it becomes this emblem of who he is and the way he operates. And there is a little bit of that with the reflecting pool, too. It's like, okay, he identifies this thing. Yeah, it'd be great if the reflecting pool was nice. Sure. I'm for beautification of the Capitol. I think it would be. I think that's lovely. But then he has to go about it in the dumbest and most narcissistic way. Right. He hires this contractor. We can put this up on the screen. I mean, Sager thought this was AI. This is.

[Saagar Enjeti]

No, I actually thought it was AI.

[Krystal Ball]

Griffin said this looks like a Soprano season five.

[Saagar Enjeti]

No, literally.

[Krystal Ball]

Character. Literally does. This is the guy. You called him my pool guy. Okay. Brings him in. No bid, contract, astronomical price. 13, $14 million. To do this job, he has to have it done by his own birthday. So I think what clearly happened here is the process was rushed. Did not consult with any experts. Apparently the color that he wanted it to be was a problem because it's darker and algae that attracts more warmth. And of course, the algae loves that. So it has to be a rush job. The sealant itself, now, obviously, is like, peeling off and people are grabbing pieces of it, et cetera. Very likely because it wasn't. They didn't take the time to properly dry the whole thing out. It has to be completely dry. Has to. Has to be primed and cleaned extensively before you can do this. But since it had to be done by a certain time, they rushed it, and now it's a complete disaster. So you take something that's real. Okay. It'd be nice if the Capitol was More beautiful. And we could be more proud of this than that. Sure. Take something and then do it in the worst, dumbest, most corrupt way and make everything way, way worse and have the whole thing be about you, by the way. And now, Sara, to your point, all these right wingers are trying to gaslight because it is funny. You have all of these national reporters who are going down with underwater cameras and doing.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I mean, it's literally investigated a mile away. I haven't been down to the National Mall in like a decade. But you know, when you live here and you know, people come from out of town, they're like, I want to see the mall. Go for it.

[Donald Trump]

Okay.

[Krystal Ball]

But now I am kind of like, I do kind of go down there and see what's going on.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Maybe it's time for a trip. But take the old stroller down.

[Krystal Ball]

All of these right wingers are like, are like, you guys care so much about this versus whatever other. You know, their hobby horse of the day is. You're spending so much more time on this. It's like Trump is the one who made this a thing. Okay. You were happy to talk all about, spend all types of time talking about it, thinking about it, that what's his name, Braylon Hollihan, went down and did a whole thing about. Here's the beautiful reflecting pool. Only Donald Trump the Magnificent could make this happen. So you people are the ones who made this a thing. And now that it has gone sideways, you no longer wanna talk about it.

[Saagar Enjeti]

You know, that's the thing. Capital beautification, I would love. I actually think we should have city beautification. Like there should be a national fund, for example.

[Krystal Ball]

I agree.

[Claire Valdez]

This type of stuff.

[Krystal Ball]

I absolutely agree.

[Saagar Enjeti]

The only problem is you can't fully. Have you seen the GWOP memorial? What happen like a Mobius strip of glass for the global war on terror. It's beyond hideous. So my only thing is, I don't fully trust these architectural review boards or these people who end up creating said memorials.

[Krystal Ball]

We gotta try things. We gotta try things.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah, but it's like with the mlk. Remember that MLK statue that came out a few years ago? Yeah. We all know it's funny, never forget. And the GWA thing, I don't really trust the experts, but we also, we should all agree, yes, with capital, not just capital beautification, with beautifully beautification of all of our national cities. I think that would be a great use of funds, actually, because it would make it so that our flagship cities are awesome places to live. And to visit. I'm totally cool with that. What I'm not cool with, you know, is even the current way it's going about, I'm not sure if you've seen is Meridian Hill park and this is very Washington, which is, you know, here I think it's also called like Malcolm X Park has this big fountain which had not worked for, you know, several years. Trump got the fountain to work and again, everyone's like, oh my God, the fountain is working. It's awesome and it is beautiful. But you know, I found out the way that they're doing it is by siphoning those national park entries entrance fees. It's not been appropriated by Congress. So I'm like, hey, no, like, you know, I went to a park recently, you know, you have to pay 20 bucks or whatever to get in. They're using that. They're siphoning fees off from the National Park Service for capital beautification, which, okay, like I wouldn't care necessarily. But in the way that the budget works, it actually shorts some of the budget for some of the other national parks which, you know, I don't want to short those. Those are awesome as well. You know, just as a Washington, you know, I'd rather, honestly, I'd rather have Yosemite than whether the park, the fountain works or whatever in, in Malcolm X Park or Meridian, Meridian Hill park here in Washington. That just shows you that, you know, the slap shot kind of way this is all going down. But yeah, nonetheless, like, you know, no one, no one would have cared about this if it wasn't for you. And so when you do a shitty job. Yeah, it's gonna turn it into a national story.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah. And the last thing put E4 up. They actually arrested this dude, David Hearn, he's a former Olympian.

[Saagar Enjeti]

They're cleaning, canoeing, which I didn't know was a thing, but.

[Krystal Ball]

What's that?

[Saagar Enjeti]

I didn't even know Olympic canoeing was a thing.

[Krystal Ball]

Oh, you didn't?

[Saagar Enjeti]

No. He's a three time canoe canoeing and

[Krystal Ball]

he was on a bike ride. So very physically fit gentleman. Apparently 67 years old, representing the US in three summer Olympics. Accused of intentionally vandalizing the reflecting pool. Was seen reaching into the reflecting pool. He denies vandalizing it. I'm a curious citizen, he told the apartment. I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery. So now we've got a crackdown, authoritarian crackdown at the reflecting pool. You can look but you cannot touch. If you put your hand into this thing that is supposed to be public monument that we should have full access to. Then you may well be arrested like this individual or blasted from Trump on truth, social, et cetera. I love that he's come up with some antifa plot to destroy the reflecting pool or whatever is what's going on here. Instead of his own foolish narcissistic incompetence and frustration.

[Saagar Enjeti]

This will be the new sandwich guy. Oh, sorry, E5. I do have to show everybody this one, too. This was a Tweet from the U.S. interior Department. This was several days ago, June 17th. Five days ago, the advanced nanobubbler technology very effectively killed the algae that has plagued every reflecting pool reopening, most infamously, Obama's reopening since 1922. Again, I've lived here for a long time. I do not remember the, quote, reopening of Obama of the reflective pool. The reflecting pool water is crystal clear. Our National Park Service team is now vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of the reflecting pool, just like the destroyed Iranian resting on the bottom of the Persian Gulf lot going on here five days later, by the way, five days later, Donald Trump announced, I must drain the reflecting pool. So by the way, when they drain it, then we're all gonna see the amount of sealant and other stuff which is broken up. I hate that I'm invested in this, but I am. I guess it's like the ballroom. I just gotta surrender. I'm into it. I'm into it. I'm gonna have to go. I'm taking the fam.

[Krystal Ball]

Look, we did the responsible thing. We put it towards the end of the show. I know. Okay. We led with the important stuff.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I hate to say it, honestly. I'm in. I'm in, guys. You got me. I'm into this. Okay, Ryan's coming in. They're gonna do some candidate interviews.

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[Saagar Enjeti]

Let's get to it.

[Host or Narrator]

I turned off news altogether.

[Krystal Ball]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[Saagar Enjeti]

It's the rage bait.

[Krystal Ball]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Saagar Enjeti]

We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little.

[NBC News Anchor]

NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News, reporting for America.

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[Krystal Ball]

There are a bunch of big primary contests in New York City that is happening tomorrow. Zora Momdani, the mayor of course of that city, endorsed a slate of candidates and two of those candidates who have garnered his endorsement join us now. We have Claire Valdez who is running in a Brooklyn and Queens center district. And we also have Darieliza Avila Chevalier who is running in Northern Manhattan district where I actually used to live. So know the area quite well. Great to see you ladies.

[Host or Narrator]

Good to see you. Thanks for having us.

[Claire Valdez]

Thank you so much.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, of course. So Claire, let me start with you. And then Darielizia, Darieliza, just also get your response. You know, how are you feeling going into election day? What do you see as the key issues coming down the stretch year?

[Claire Valdez]

You know, I'm very excited. It's been a long campaign but you know, I think the stakes are really high tomorrow. The stakes are high for the entire working class. We have the chance to elect some really amazing congress members who will be out in front standing for the working class, fighting for a free Palestine, fighting for an affordable New York and really doing incredible organizing in Congress but on the, on the ground here in New York City. So I'm excited. You know, people are talking a lot about the cost of housing. This my district in New York 7, it's Brooklyn and Queens. It's overwhelmingly a tenant district and people are really feeling the crunch of rising rents. People are also outraged by the continuing genocide in Gaza. And so there are a lot of issues motivating people right now to go to the polls, and we'll see what happens tomorrow.

[Krystal Ball]

Darieliza, how about for you?

[Host or Narrator]

Also feeling just incredible energy here on the ground. And it's just been just such a privilege and an honor to be able to build a campaign that is responsive to the working people of this district. I've had people thank us for running because this is the first time that they have felt in over 90 years that someone was fighting to actually represent the interests of the working people who live here. And I think for so many of us, we have been told that a politics of cynicism was all that was that could exist. And to be able to present a vision where we're fighting for housing for all that is actually deeply affordable and dignified for the people who live here. Making sure that we're fighting to abolish ICE so that we don't have to live under the terror of this institution, and to make sure that we are using our resources to invest our tax money in our babies here at home instead of on bombs abroad that are destroying communities. We need to be able to build affordable affordability here in the city. And we do that by making sure that our children can lead dignified lives, making sure that we can have dignified homes, and making sure that we have pathways to citizenship for so many in this community who are just very fearful right now.

[Interviewer or Moderator]

Both of you, as well as Brad Lander, who's running the New York Tempest, are kind of running on a. On a Mayor Mamdani backed slate in the city. And Mamdani is currently getting a lot of criticism for some comments that he made at a rally where he hit AIPAC for moving dark money into races behind vehicles that don't have kind of AIPAC's name on that. I want to play that those comments then kind of get your reaction to it. Let's roll. Zoram Hamdani, for whom the only thing

[Zoran Mamdani]

more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide. Netanyahu's war force. They move millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal, to preserve their power so that they can turn us against one another instead of our leaders turning towards the moral change we all know to be necessary in a politics that for too long has asked working people to lower their expectations, to settle for less, to become satisfied with small victories while our wages grow even smaller and our costs grow even larger. To resign ourselves to resignation, to accept the unacceptable in the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world. We need not live in fear of

[Interviewer or Moderator]

monsters any Longer and for the context there, he started that clip clip by referring to that famous gramsy line where they say the old world, where he says the old world is dying, the new has yet to be born. In the middle is the time of monsters. And so the critic criticism has been that he's calling AIPAC and and then replacing APAC with Jewish New Yorkers monsters who are moving dark money around. What, you know, how has that affected the campaign? And what, and can, can we get you each to respond to that criticism?

[Host or Narrator]

You know, I personally think it's, it's bigger than just aipac. I think it's also a lot of money that's coming from corporations and right wing lobbies that are having an outsized impact on our democracy and one where the only tool that we have as working people is to out organize it. In my race in particular, There is over $7 million in outside spending being spent to smear me and deeply racist rhetoric. And my oppone has had folks, surrogates go do media tours in the Dominican Republic to engage in a disinformation campaign that is not only just so deeply divisive and racist, but also one that has really continued more of the politics of cynicism that we are fighting against. Where instead of talking about the fact that housing is unaffordable in this district, that they're talking about, you know, just disinformation about my identity and about where my family comes from, rather than talking about how we need to abolish ice, how we need to invest our tax dollars in our children here where we have a childhood poverty rate of over 40%. They're forcing our volunteers to have to engage in de escalation because their camp is getting aggressive with folks. And I think it really is,

[Claire Valdez]

it's

[Host or Narrator]

really hard to see how so many people have come into this campaign because they're building a politics that invests in hope and invests in life and see them wanting to focus on that, but then having to question can I stay on this corner and continue to canvas safely? And I think we're seeing a lot of what's appalling to me, a lot of MAGA style tactics coming from a Democratic incumbent that has been not only concerning for the safety of our volunteers, for the conversation that we're supposed to be having right now around affordability in the city, but also seeing the way that money is coming into this campaign to prevent folks from talking about the issues that actually impact the day to day lives that they lead here.

[Krystal Ball]

Claire, let me get your reaction To Josh Gottheimer, if we can put F3 up on the screen. This is the flavor of criticism that Zoran quote, received. He says, monster quote, dark money, a hidden hand turning us against one another. Swap a PAC for Jews. And it's the oldest anti Semitic conspiracy theory in the books. That's not criticizing a lobby that's laundering antisemitism from your podium as mayor of a city with more than a million Jews. This bullshit is dangerous. Did you have any issue with the comments that Zoron made at that rally? And what is your response to Representative Gottheimer here?

[Claire Valdez]

You know what the mayor is talking about is super PACs cropping up at the 11th hour to dump millions and millions of dollars in not just these races, but in races across the country. That's what we're taking on right now. We're taking on corporate greed. We're taking on a lobby that has been upholding and supporting a genocide in Gaza now for two and a half years that has kept so many Democrats silent because they're worried about a donor base rather than worrying about human liberation and the dignity of human lives here in our communities and abroad. The mayor is calling that out, and I think we have to. What we, and I know, Dariel and I have both experienced this is a profoundly undemocratic system in which the very wealthiest people, the most powerful corporations, can dump money into these elections, smear candidates who are running grassroots campaigns like we are are, and turn the issues away from, again, the things that people really care about in these districts, housing good union jobs, fighting for a Green New Deal, the things that really matter to people's lives and instead turn these into campaigns that are about who has the most money. We're running really grassroots campaigns. My campaign has now knocked 300,000 doors across New York, seven with 4,000 volunteers. And we have to kind of take on these corporate interests that have derailed these campaigns and made them about things that are not relevant to our districts and really fight and censure the working class again.

[Host or Narrator]

And, sorry, can I also just add, I think something that gets lost often is that AIPAC is a right wing lobby. It backs Republicans, it backs Donald Trump, it is pushing us towards war that nobody in this country wants. And to have, have Democrats accept money from a right wing lobby is deeply concerning because how are we supposed to fight back against the fascism of Trump when we have a right wing lobby that is also funding Democrats and incumbents? And I think, you know, if, if we are serious about taking our democracy back if we're serious about creating a Democratic party that the working class can actually identify with, again, then we have to call out the way that right wing lobbies are putting money into this election. And these, and again, these are values that most Jewish New Yorkers here actually vehemently disagree with.

[Krystal Ball]

That's a great point.

[Interviewer or Moderator]

And just to be clear for the viewers, gottheimer there is talking about AIPAC moving dark money. And particularly in Darielisa's district, Adriano Espiat, his supporters set up a PAC called Bold America Pack Pack. Which appeared to be linked to kind of Bald Pack, which is related to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which he shares. But then a PAC's super PAC sent millions of dollars into that pack and then it's spent as if it was this other pack. So they are actively engaging in the politics of dark money and then objecting when it's called dark money. The other, the other fissure that has really hit this campaign is around kind of race and gentrification. I'm curious for both of you, your reaction to this particular. You know, Antonio Renoso your opponent, Claire, has been saying, you know, he doesn't even feel comfortable at DSA meetings because these are, it's not representative of, of the district. And ESPAD has been gone. Gone. His supporters have gone kind of way over the top compared to even that. But Claire, I'm just curious for take how, what, what is the, what is kind of, what is your reaction to this claim that your support is really just organized around kind of gentrifier?

[Claire Valdez]

I mean, I think this movement is about bringing as many people as possible together to fight against bad landlords, against our corporate oligarchy. And what unites us as working people in New York City is the fact that we have to pay high rent. We have long commutes, our hours are long, our wages are stagnant. And that affects everyone. No matter if you were born and raised here, if your family was raised here, or if you just arrived. And you know, this politics of kind of divide and conquer the working class. We, we've experienced these before. You know, this is like boss 101. Our campaign is about centering the needs of working people in New York 7 who right now are really feeling the squeeze from, from all sides. That's why I'm not taking any money from real estate developers, for example, who have pushed so many people of our, of our communities out, have raised our rents, have displaced so many. Because I want to fight for tenants. I want to fight for the people who call These neighborhoods, our home. And again, the difference that we're seeing right now is not like if you got here 40 years ago, if you just arrived. The difference is, can you afford to live in these neighborhoods? And for so many people right now, the answer is just, is no. So this campaign is, again, we're building a movement within this campaign to unite people across Brooklyn, Queens to fight for an affordable New York, to fight for peace and security and dignity for the entire working class, whether you live in Ridgewood or Rafa. And that's something I'm incredibly proud of.

[Krystal Ball]

And so, just for the audience to understand the race dynamics a little bit more, Claire's running in a district. It's an open seat. Nydia Velasquez is retiring. Her main opponent is Antonio Reynosa, who was endorsed by Nydia Velasquez. So that's an open seat for Darieliza. She's challenging a Democratic incumbent. His name is Adriano Espaillat. And you've referenced a couple of times, Darieliza, how he's using these sort of MAGA tactics. Tactics making some ugly claims about your identity and your family. Can you just explain the dynamics there and your response to what he's been up to and what his campaign has been pushing?

[Host or Narrator]

Yeah, absolutely. We know that he has surrogates engaging in these smear campaigns in the Dominican Republic, spreading disinformation and just sowing deep division in this community. And to this question of this gentrification question, where he is complaining about the changing demographics in this district without acknowledging that he has been in power, in political power for over nine years in Congress, but almost 30 years, first in the state legislature and then in the federal government. And so I think it's very rich, actually, to hear someone who has held political power for this long then complain about the impact of his policies on the changing demographics in this district and the electorate. And I think what we're seeing seeing right now is that citywide, people are struggling to afford to be able to stay here. And that is part of why I think the demographics are changing. And rather than addressing his record and his role in that change, he is now engaging in a smear campaign that's attacking not any policy that I have proposed, not my platform, but me as an individual, as a human being, where now we have. My team and I were dealing with an onslaught of degrading and dehumanizing rhetoric under all of my social media. We are facing a lot of verbal harassment every time we go out. And our volunteers, who are just here to be part of their democracy are also having to think about how to be de escalatory. And I think it's just such a deep affront to our democracy to see that kind of MAGA style politics to discourage people from being part of their own election. Right. And, and make them fearful. You know, that is the antithesis of what a democracy is supposed to be.

[Interviewer or Moderator]

Dariel Lisa, the thing that your opponent has really been hitting you on is digging up some of your kind of older, more aggressive ultra tweets, and you've sort of apologized for some of them, explained some other ones. And I'm curious if, as you're running for office now, your politics are roughly the same as they were were then, but you kind of regret some of the, the phrasing that was that in a decontextualized space is difficult for people who aren't as online to understand what's going on. Or if you, or if your politics have evolved a bit over the past few years, like, how would you, how would you describe yourself compared to your kind of previous self to voters?

[Host or Narrator]

You know, my values have always been around human dignity, around justice, around accountability. And, and I think what's changed is that I've just grown, I've matured my nuance and the number of these things has deepened, but my values are at their core still there. And I think the frustration that I felt when I said a lot of those things is something that is reflective of a failure of our larger systems where so many people just feel deeply unheard and powerless to engage with our political system. And one of the things that I've been thinking a lot through this campaign is how his tactic has been to one, decontextualize a lot of what I said, but also smear my character and myself as a person, rather than focusing on his record and what he has done to this community and failed to do for this community. And it's more of that politics of distraction because he knows that he cannot answer to the very basic question that I have posed and I've had the audacity to ask for this campaign, which is what has improved for the lives of New Yorkers here in New York 13 in the nine years that he has been in Congress, because he can't answer that.

[Krystal Ball]

Darieliza we have one of the images of one of the mailers that's going around that is based on one of those tweets we can design. This is F4 guys who can put this up on the screen. It has a picture of you, it Says F. Kamala Harris. A real quote from a tweet that she deleted. You were mentioning you felt that some of these sentiments were decontextualized. What was the context when you tweeted this, and how do you feel about that in retrospect? And did you vote for Kamala Harris? How did you think about the dynamics of this past election?

[Host or Narrator]

I did. Despite my criticisms, I'm one of those folks who has had to save the Democratic Party from itself. One of the many black and brown people, black and brown women in particular, who have deep criticisms of these social systems and yet have to come out and vote to save the Democratic Party from this fascism that we're facing with Trump. If I remember correctly, in that context, I was critical of the language that Vice President Harris was using to tell immigrants to not come into this country. Country. And as someone who's been organizing for immigration justice for most of my adult life, I just find it troubling when folks in power tell some of the most disempowered people in our society planet that they should not be working towards or not be fighting to lead dignified lives for them and their children. And I do, regardless, regret the tweet, and I regret the language. I think especially running this campaign and seeing the type of language that people feel so comfortable using against me and against folks who are supporting me, I think we need to make sure that we are engaging and using language that people can actually hear and receive, particularly when we have strong criticisms, particularly when the stakes are so high. And as an organizer, it's deeply important to me that we are using language that is unifying, that people can feel that they can be brought into, even when they have to face the hard music of accountability and knowing that our actions sometimes fall short. But that is what it means to be accountable, is to be able to hear the criticism and move differently and be responsive to community. And one of the things that has really been coming to mind a lot throughout this campaign is the focus on these tweets. And I will apologize for them as long as I have to for folks to understand how deeply regretful I am. And I also have to ask, why is it that my opponent, whose policies, whose votes, whose record has harmed so much of our community, still goes, why his accountability hasn't come? Why is it that he has not answered any of the questions that have been posed to him about his record on arming a country, committing a genocide, on making sure that. Or lacking the ability to make sure that our tax dollars actually come back home? To address childhood poverty. The fact that he has taken hundreds of thousands from the corporate real estate developers that are pricing us out while our living conditions are deeply undignified in this district. And so this question of accountability is deeply important to me because we deserve leadership that is accountable to the community here.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, I know one of the tweets had to do with you responding to, I think it was Mike Huckabee's encouragement of using corn cobs for toilet paper. And I personally think you should stand by that one. That one I would recommend. No apologies needed. Claire, last question to you here. You started off talking about the stakes of this election day, not only in your district, but in other districts in New York City. And I think really election season across the country. But, you know, Zoran did sort of put his political capital here on the line for the two of you and for Brad Lander. We all know what, you know, sort of mainstream Democrats and establishment types will say if you all are not successful. So just underscore, what do you think are the stakes here and what has it meant to your campaign that Zoran decided to get behind, behind you?

[Claire Valdez]

Absolutely. Well, you know, I think we know that the kind of media establishment is going to say after this election, win or lose, this will be some referendum on Zoran. But the stakes are high for the working class. You know, these races are about, are we going to be able to set the tone for the Democratic Party in the years going forward? Are we going to be able to elect, you know, organizers who will stand up against indigenous genocide as it's happening, will call for the end of US complicity in that genocide? We'll fight for the working people in our communities who are struggling against an affordability crisis, are struggling against ice, are struggling to lead lives of dignity under a fascist administration. Can we change the direction of the Democratic Party and can we win back the working class of this country? That's really what's at stake in this election. We are here to prove that the election of Zoran Mamdani was not some flash in the pan. It wasn't a fluke. This is a movement. It is a strong and durable movement of working people who are tired of being told to wait, who are tired of being told that Democrats are fighting for us when they're just not. We're going to set the tone for the Democratic Party. And we know that people are watching these races very closely all over the country. They're watching these races, races to see if they can pour dark money into other progressive against other progressive candidates. They're watching these races to see if standing up against a genocide is a winning message or a losing message. And they will take that to heart. So what's at stake right now is incredibly important. If you believe in these races, if you want to see us succeed, if you want to see this movement succeed, there are a lot of opportunities, opportunities to come out to volunteer phone bank It's a rainy day in New York City. People are going to be at home. Now is the perfect time to call them and ask for their vote plans. And we have a world to win. It doesn't end on June 23rd. It continues long after. But these races are an essential part of organizing working class people in New York City to demand exactly what we're owed from the bosses and the billionaires who are trying to rain on our parade right now. And when organized people come together, we win.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, we will put both of your campaign info in the description so people can get involved here in the final days if they are so interested and really appreciate both of you taking some time out. I know how busy you must be today. So thank you so much for making some time for us.

[Host or Narrator]

Thank you both. It was great being here.

[Claire Valdez]

Thank you again.

[Krystal Ball]

All right, that does it for us today. Jam packed show as usual. We'll have another one for you tomorrow, me and Sagar in studio. See you then.

[Interviewer or Narrator]

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[Host or Narrator]

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