TRUMP IS BASICALLY PAYING RUSSIA TO TELL IRAN WHERE OUR TROOPS ARE - 3.9.26

Summary

Countdown with Keith Olbermann – Episode Summary

"TRUMP IS BASICALLY PAYING RUSSIA TO TELL IRAN WHERE OUR TROOPS ARE"

Date: March 9, 2026
Host: Keith Olbermann
Podcast: Countdown with Keith Olbermann by iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the international fallout from President Trump's latest Middle East policies, focusing on his administration's role in facilitating Russian oil sales that indirectly empower Russia to provide critical intelligence to Iran—America's adversary in an ongoing regional war. Keith Olbermann delivers a scathing analysis of what he unabashedly calls "treason," linking geopolitical strategy, domestic political incompetence, religious zealotry in the military, and the resulting chaos for American troops and credibility abroad. The episode also explores media blunders, running political feuds, and includes signature Olbermann satire.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Treason" of Trump’s Middle East Policy

(03:09 – 09:00)

• Oil Sanctions Loopholes: Olbermann details how Trump's Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant, has allowed India to resume purchases of embargoed Russian oil (04:49), with suggestions that more countries may soon be permitted to do the same.
  • “We are giving the Russians oil money...and the Russians are giving Iran the exact GPS readings on where our people and planes and ships are so we can kiss our assets goodbye.” (10:30)
• Russia-Iran Alliance: The Russian ambassador overtly declares Russian support for Iran in the conflict on Sky News (06:30). Olbermann drives home that Russia is not a neutral party:
  • “We are not neutral. We are supportive to Iran, of course.” (06:50)
• Intelligence Flow: Russia is reportedly handing over precise U.S. troop, ship, and plane locations to Iran. This, says Olbermann, means the U.S. is financing adversaries who are hunting American forces.

2. Political and Administrative Incompetence

(09:00 – 18:00)

• Lack of U.S. Strategy: Olbermann blasts the continued U.S. military presence in Iran, cataloguing the lack of achievable goals and the administration's denial of reality:
  • “We have no business being there, we’re not winning, we’re going to be there for years at this rate, or Trump is going to have to cut and run...” (05:20)
• Gaslighting the Public: He draws historical parallels to Germany post-WWI and WWII to argue that the Trump administration is misleading the public, insisting America is "winning" while events tell the opposite.
• Trump Delusions:
  • “There are moments in the final stage dementia or whatever it is that is killing him in which he thinks he's already won.” (15:40)
• Unconditional Surrender Delusions: Despite no evidence of Iranian government collapse, Trump and right-wing media claim imminent victory.

3. Iran’s Resolve and U.S. Military Risks

(18:00 – 26:00)

• No Iranian Defections: Citing Washington Post sources and European officials, Olbermann notes Iran’s regime remains fully intact:
  • “There’s not a single sign of anything in the system breaking or defecting. Nothing. Zero.” (20:52)
• Iran’s Threats of Retaliation:
  • “We won’t let Trump off the hook. He must pay the price. He's martyred our leader and our people. This isn’t a simple matter.” (22:24)
• Rising U.S. Vulnerability: Olbermann warns that Iran, now aided by Russian intelligence, is well-positioned to retaliate both overseas and domestically.

4. Religious Zealotry & the U.S. Military

(27:00 – 32:00)

• Bible Study Before Deployment: Whistleblowers expose 50+ military commanders holding emergency Bible study classes for troops, interpreting the war in apocalyptic terms and viewing Trump as “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon.” (28:40)
• Senator Kevin Cramer: On record with Code Pink, he asserts the U.S. has a “biblical responsibility” to Israel.
  • Olbermann scornfully highlights the dangers of religious fervor governing military strategy.
  • “This guy says we have a biblical responsibility to Israel. Kevin Kramer, Senator Kevin Kramer. What the f—.” (30:20)
• Democratic Response: Thirty Democrats, led by Jamie Raskin and Jared Huffman, push for a Pentagon inquiry into the increasing religious indoctrination within the ranks.

5. Moral Outrage and Atrocity Rationalizations

(32:00 – 35:00)

• School Bombing Justifications: Olbermann condemns Matt Schlapp, who shockingly claimed Iranian schoolgirls killed in American airstrikes are “better off dead” due to repression in Iranian society.
  • “The easiest way to maintain a clear conscience is to not have a conscience.” (34:00)
• Religious Extremism’s Fallout: He questions Trump-supporting Christians about the morality of mass civilian deaths in pursuit of biblical prophecy.

6. Administration Corruption and Miscellaneous Scandals

(35:00 – 38:30)

• Kristi Noem & Corruption: Reports allege ICE contracts were steered to handpicked vendors, and former staff threaten retaliation for internal pushback.
• Epstein Case Sidebar: Olbermann dismisses the latest conspiracy fodder regarding Epstein’s death, focusing on the absurdity rather than its credibility.

7. Satirical News and Worst Persons in the World

(38:54 – 49:00)

• Media Blunders:
  • Us Weekly mistakenly reports Martin Short’s death.
• MAGA Infighting: A “circular firing squad” emerges, with Tucker Carlson, Bill Ackman, Megyn Kelly, and others publicly feuding and accusing each other of anti-Semitism or worse.
  • “If we could just get them all to talk about themselves, there’d be no more MAGA. They will have destroyed themselves within hours.” (43:30)
• White House Logo Blooper: Caroline Levitt, addressing the press in front of the now-infamous “White House” logo, inadvertently blocks letters so the backdrop spells “White Hoe”—fuel for endless satire.

8. “Things I Promise Not To Tell” – MSNBC Anecdote

(52:50 – 70:58)

• Hilarious retelling of network shenanigans under MSNBC president Rick Kaplan, including debates over the countdown format, office politics, and the time Kaplan mistook himself as the creator of a feature the staff actually dropped after one episode.
  • “For the presidency of Rick Kaplan at MSNBC, that might have been...the high water mark.” (53:39)
• Workplace dysfunction, the absurdity of TV news leadership, and comic relief from newsroom chaos.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Policy Treason:
  • “Trump is in effect paying Russia to help Iran attack Americans in this war. What’s that called again? ... Tree-surgery. Jackie Tree Horn. Tree...Fine, treason.” (04:10)
• On Trump’s Delusion:
  • “Knowing this idiot, he probably thinks it’s literally boots on the ground. We’re sending an air freighter full of footwear.” (24:44)
• On Religious Zealotry:
  • “They are using their governmental positions to force their religion on others or using their religion as cover to make money or to just blow up the world. That’s still a third rail in this country...” (31:24)
• On Internal Republican Turmoil:
  • “If we could just get them all to talk about themselves, there’d be no more MAGA. They will have destroyed themselves within hours.” (43:30)
• On Network Dysfunction:
  • “Gentlemen, we are in trouble here. For the presidency of Rick Kaplan at MSNBC, that might have been…the high water mark.” (53:39)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Main Commentary on Russia, Iran, and Treason: 03:09 – 18:00
• Iran War Realities/Intelligence Council Findings: 18:00 – 26:00
• Religious Zealotry & Military: 27:00 – 32:00
• Rationalizations for Atrocities: 32:00 – 35:00
• Worst Persons/Media Satire: 38:54 – 49:00
• MSNBC/“Things I Promise Not to Tell” Anecdote: 52:50 – 70:58

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Summary Style and Tone

Olbermann’s analysis is trenchant, caustic, and unapologetically partisan, using sharp humor and historical analogies to drive home the dangers of current policy. His language oscillates between biting sarcasm and grave warning, punctuated by wit and personal anecdote.

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This episode is essential listening for those interested in the intersection of U.S. foreign policy, media, and the escalating dysfunction of institutional leadership at home and abroad, all delivered with Olbermann's signature mix of outrage and comic relief.

Transcript

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[Keith Olbermann]

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Trump is now letting Iran's ally Russia sell more of its embargoed oil, more Russian oil, to get more money so Russia can use that money to spend it on gathering information on where American forces are in the Middle east and take that information that we just essentially paid for and give it to Iran, which it reportedly is doing right now, helping Iran locate American forces in the Middle East. Planes, ships, personnel, Russians helping Iran hunt Americans. Trump is in effect paying Russia to help Iran attack Americans in this war. What's that called again? When you are fighting a war and people in your own government help a country that's helping the country you're fighting the war against. What's that called again? Tree surgery. Jackie Tree Horn. Tree. Tree. All right, Tree zone. Nevermind that. We have a no business being there, B we're not winning, C we're going to be there for years at this rate or D Trump is going to have to cut and run and E Trump is setting us up here for an Iranian revenge terror attack. There's the other problem with with the treason part. Iran. It is far worse than you think. We are paying for the oppo intelligence against American troops there. And in case you were wondering about this, Russia just reiterated it is on the side of Iran in this war. Whatever you think of this war, Russia is making it very clear, no, no, we're not an American ally in this and we're not neutral. This is Russia's ambassador to uk Andre Kalin on British television, on Sky News on Saturday. Is Russia going to be neutral in this? We are not neutral. No, we are neutral. We are supportive to Iran, of course. And we consider, as I have said, very negatively what is being done. Okay, are we clear on this? Because our UN Ambassador, Mike Waltz, an idiot, responds to this reminder that the Russians are on Iran's side and helping them with intel and that there are multiple reports that the Russians are giving the Iranians intel about where Americans are right now. He responds with this, one of the stupidest things said since we human beings crawled out of the primordial ooze. If they are providing anything, it certainly hasn't been very effective translation. So what if Putin is shooting at us? Putin's aim is only so. So. Moron. Effing moron. Mike Waltz, moron. It doesn't matter. They haven't hit us yet. Let me just go through this again. Absorb this. Trump is now letting Iran's ally Russia sell more oil to get more money. It's starting with a 30 window to let India buy some of the embargoed Russian oil. Right now there will be more windows, it appears. So Russia has new money to spend with which to gather more information on where American forces are, where the war is, satellites, live video, human intelligence, spies. Russia snoops, Americans are found, Iran finds out we help pay for it. Scott Besant, the Treasury Secretary who constantly looks like he's having trouble keeping his head from falling off and is just trying to balance it there and hoping you won't notice it's loose already. Unbanned India from buying and processing the embargoed Russian oil now says he may let other countries buy and process Russian oil. Russians are supporting Iran, Iran. You can hear the wheels in Scott Besant's empty head turning. Iran. Why? That's Iran's name. Also because oil production in the Gulf is slowing to a near total stop and the Strait of Hormuz is really slowing to a near total stop. The Russians are the only ones making money off this war because if there's no oil coming out of the Middle east, the price of the Russian oil will keep going up. So the Trump Doctrine, the Don Row dumbass doctrine. It's America first, America second, oil business first. Hey, idiot president, why don't you cut out the middleman here and just give our American troops to the Iranians directly in exchange for oil or cheaper oil or something. Lower gas prices, save time. So Russia is backing Iran. And whatever you think of this war, we are fighting Iran. We shouldn't be, but we, we are fighting Iran. And Americans have lost their lives and a bunch of Americans are going to hell for blowing up a girls school in Iran and for having Trump lie about it and blame the Iranians. And even Hegseth wouldn't back him up on that lie. And yet we're also giving Russia more money in which in theory they could give to Iran. That's treason. And if that's not enough treason for you, because the shark that is the international money flow and the gas flow, that shark was jumped long ago by this incorruptible because there's nothing left to corrupt American gangster government. There's the other part about helping Russia in any way. The details in report after report that the Russians have, from the time of the first bombing run two Saturdays ago, that the Russians have been giving Iran the locations of our warships and aircraft so it can attack them, or at least try to. Three officials, otherwise unidentified, gave this up to the now pro Trump Washington Post. We are giving the Russians oil money through one intermediary and soon probably more than one. And the Russians are giving Iran the exact GPS readings on where our people and planes and ships are so we can kiss our assets goodbye. The Post in fact did a nice job recognizing that the risk is actually ratcheted up a little bit further. The assistance signals that the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America's chief nuclear armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities. Exquisite intelligence, not a pairing of words you hear used about Trump or his government or our country anymore. And Trump thinks he's winning. There are moments in the final stage dementia or whatever it is that is killing him in which he thinks he's already won. We want them to have a good leader, he says, sounding like Donald Rumsfeld. We have some people who I think would do a good job. We have some people who think I would do a good job. That's a good idea. If you'll leave here and go there, Trump, I'll carry you to Tehran on my effing back. Good God, doesn't anybody realize we will be in Iran for years? Or Trump will convince himself he has won and they unconditionaled surrender. Did, did and and we've left Iran or will announce we've left Iran and we'll still be in Iran. For years. Or Trump will say, they haven't surrendered. They haven't surrendered because of disloyalty here and a plot somewhere and terrorists. And he has to do something to the midterms to protect himself. Sorry, to protect America. Nobody in MAGA realizes all this. I mean, you know the story. The whole thing about gaslighting in Germany in the Second World War, as was the case in Germany in the First World War. This is not a Nazi exclusive. The gaslighting of the German public in both world wars was that they were winning. The big surprise in post World War I Germany was, to their knowledge, they'd never lost any territory and they never really lost a major battle. How in the hell had they lost the war? Why were they expected to pay? They were told all along they were doing well. I didn't have any food in the country. We won. What's that all about? That's what MAGA thinks right now. It couldn't be going better because blow them up good. Blowed him up real good. He's already moving on to Cuba, even though our National Intelligence Council report completed less than a week before he fulfilled the Republican presidential prophecy. I am a Republican president, therefore I will start a war in the Middle East. I will get stuck there. I will crash our economy. I will lose the election. This consensus from our 18 intelligence agencies, at least three of which exist only to see what's going on in the other intelligence agencies. This consensus from the 18 intelligence agencies. The Intelligence Council report concluded nothing short of a massive invasion with US ground troops would do anything but change the nameplate on the holy bullshit Supreme Leader's front door. Their front door. Not, not our holy bullshit Supreme Leader's front door. If they still have a front door, we are going to be one way or the other in Iran for years. The window to get out closed over the weekend. And by the way, we, we have left their, their management structure in place. In other words, we are losing this war that we shouldn't be doing. Unconditional surrender. This is day 10 of the original Four Day War. We are now beginning to sound like Putin in Ukraine. The only winner so far in Iran and the Middle east has been Russia. The Iranians will not surrender. They just plugged in new leaders. They've been waiting for this. Oh, we've been at war with them for 47 years. What do you think they've been doing if that's true, for 47 years, what do you think the Iranians have been doing for 47 years? We'll just sit around and not do anything and just expect evil America to come in and blow us up one day and then we'll go, damn it. No. They just plugged in. They got a lot of ayatollahs in the back. Like, we got a lot of Maga up. Kristi Noem burnt out. That's a shame. Left side melted completely. I don't know what the hell happened. Get the guy with the just for Just for men beard. Mark Kwan. Yay. Well, it's like them with ayatollahs. This is not Saddam Hussein and it sure isn't Venezuela. From the Washington Post. Quote, despite the intensity of the strikes and the broad nature of the destruction, so far there are no reports of significant defections within regime ranks or popular uprisings, according to European and Arab assessments. Quote, no signs of uprising or defections in the first days of the campaign, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing operation. Quoting. There's not a single sign of anything in the system breaking or defecting. Nothing. Zero, said a senior European official, quote, the control is complete. Iran has, in fact, picked its new leader smartly by them. It was initially kept a secret so he wouldn't get blowed up real good. A member of its National Security Council did, however, go on record to outline the plan as they see it from here. We won't let Trump off the hook. He must pay the price. He's martyred our leader and our people. This isn't a simple matter. We won't let it go until we retaliate in kind. Well, however could they retaliate against us? It's not like they know where all of our troops are in the O. So it's all going great. And yes, I apologize. I've been using multiple pronunciations. Iran. Iran. The next thing. Well, we almost got out of this Iran. Iran put out a kind of feeler de escalation bit on Saturday. That's what that apology to its neighbors was about. We apologize. Then you guys back down, give it a couple of hours, say something nice, make a big deal about not launching that big missile over there, and we have a way to save this. Trump, of course, immediately saw this and declared victory that he won. So much for the back down. And the next thing we saw was burning fuel storage tanks in Tehran so great that it was pitch black at nine. Now, for the ground troops, or as Trump has said, quote, I don't have the yips with respect to boots on the ground. Like every president says, there Will be no boots on the ground. I don't say it. Knowing this idiot, he probably thinks it's literally boots on the ground. We're sending an air freighter full of footwear. The foreign minister of Iran. Iran still in office because, and this might surprise Trump, no matter how many people he claims voted for him. Iran's population is larger, 92 million. There's a lot of people there. They can have a lot of foreign ministers. He said the foreign minister did that there will be no negotiations, that Iran will not ask for a ceasefire. Since, after all, last June it was Israel and the US that asked for the ceasefire after 12 days. Because Boots on the ground. Let's see him. No, we are waiting for them because we are confident that we can confront them. That would be a big disaster for them. I wonder which one of them gets to tell Trump it's not just shoes. Well, it's already a big disaster for us. Gas prices up, what, 11% in the first week on average. Between that and the job collapse, which is so bad that even Peter Baker of the New York Times noticed that. He noticed in his last 13 months, Biden created a million 400,000 jobs. In his first 13 months, Trump created less than 200,000 jobs. Even Peter Baker noticed that. Between those two things, Trump is not only losing a war, he's also losing midterms that don't start for another eight months yet. And we haven't yet seen the Iran retaliation. Not against American targets abroad, but American targets here. Should we be concerned about that? Are the rumors true that they are burying the reports suggesting that there are terrorists threats? Quote, I guess, said the President of the United States, like I said, some people will die. Or as it was phrased in Shrek, some of you may die, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make. Well, at least that's universal in this country. Which brings us back to the dignified transfer of Trump's first Iran war dead on Saturday. And Trump not realizing or caring or being in this plane of consciousness until it was too late that he was supposed to take his baseball cap off at the dignified transfer of, you know, dead soldiers because, well, he may have refused to take it off because he's afraid if he does take his hat off, his broken brain will fall out and hit the effing tarmac. Dignified transfer. Undignified president. Take your God damned hat off, you effing draft dodger. And by the way, Fox News responded to this by showing on Saturday and again on Sunday video not of him wearing the Stupid baseball cap or trucker cap, which is even more insulting. But video of Trump from a different dignified transfer, a different return home of those service personnel that he sent to their deaths on necessarily different video. They pretended it was from this past Saturday and then they apologized for their, quote, mistake unquote, after making this mistake, unquote for about 20 hours. And we all know their mistake at Fox was getting caught. And then there, of course is more on the Armageddon thinging, the deal I mentioned last time with the 200 service members whistleblowing on the 50 plus religious nut commanders in the US military who convened emergency Bible study classes for troops who were going to be deployed to the Middle East. And as one of the complaints quoted one of these psychos, Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon. If you had doubts about this story, even as it gradually got a little pickup in the mainstream media, North Dakota Senator Kevin Kramer, former North Dakota Tourism director Kevin Kramer, he brought this thing up again. He brought it up in an interview with, of all groups, Code Pink. I mean, this is at the end of a really calm series of answers he gave about Iran that included the standard Trump line about how we have to destroy those nuclear capabilities facilities, the ones Trump's been boasting he destroyed since last summer. Kramer is an original Trumper. So just remember this. It doesn't have to make sense and it doesn't have to be true and it doesn't even have to not suggest they are all stoned. But listen to this. He brings up to the Code Pink people, the whole Iran, Israel conversion, Armageddon, end times Bible bullshit. He brings it up. I mean, this even surprised the Code Pink interviewer and the Code Pink photographer. Just so you don't think you are mishearing it, I have left their post interview comments in Senator Kramer with matter of fact revelation of biblical proportions. The United States and Israel are ironclad partners. We need them in the Middle East. We need them to be strong. We have a biblical responsibility to them as well as an allied responsibility to Israel. We should never, we should never sever that relationship. This guy says we have a biblical responsibility to Israel. Kevin Kramer, Senator Kevin Kramer. What the f. The senator, not, not the woman. The senator co sponsored legislation to sanction China. Remember when it took over Hong Kong. Then he blocked his own legislation because Trump told him to cause business. And he's telling us what a Bible obligates us to do. But it underscores the reality of the Danger of religious zealotry. Real or faked, married to a political cult, real or faked. That is Trumpism going after not people's religion. But they are using their governmental positions to force their religion on others or using their religion as covered to make money or to just blow up the world. That's still a third rail in this country and I do not know how we get around that fact. He said something negative about the Bible. God is forgiveness and love. Kill him. But at least when the military Religious Freedom foundation and my former senior producer Jonathan Larson from Countdown broke the story about the especially dangerous and apocalyptic religious component to the Iran war, some of the saner politicians stepped up. Thirty Democrats, led by Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Jared Huffman of California have already asked the top watchdog at the Pentagon to investigate the religious infection. I'm just hoping he's not out at Bible class. By the way, I have two questions about this religious stuff and the US Military. The blowing up of the girls school and the John Bolton rationale that. Well, that'll show you that's why you shouldn't put schools near military targets when this country has what, at least one school on every one of its military bases for, you know, the families of the military, older human shields. No, we, we know. No, that's, it's, it's so the bus ride isn't seven hours to school. This country has dozens of schools actually on its military bases. Then the other rationale, Matt Schlapp, still the head of cpac and remember the C stands for closet. Matt Schlapp goes on TV and basically says the schoolgirls we murdered in Iran are better off dead. Quote, it's hypocritical to say that these attacks harmed women and children when those women and children, the young girls that you reference, would live a life in a barbaric, unequal society behind a burqa with no ability to make career choices. So it's not a big deal because they lived in a repressive society. So what if they were blown to bits by America? The easiest way to maintain a clear conscience is to not have a conscience. But my question, Matt, and to all you other Christians, even the ones who actually deserve that as a compliment, when we do the Book of Revelation thing and you guys get all the Jews to Israel and you convert them and Jesus says, okay, now, and there's Armageddon and the good guys get raptured, you are the guys who just blew up 160 schoolgirls. Exactly. Where do you think Trumpists will be going when everybody gets raptured. Hey, President Trump, it's warmer here than I expected. And by the way, have you noticed that since Trump and Hegseth have been trying to fuzz up whether it's a war or not, because sometimes they need the public to think it is a war and sometimes that's the last thing they need Congress to think. Since they've decided to reintroduce the gray area, Hegseth's publicity has largely referred to him as Secretary of Defense. Conservatives are using that term again. Secretary of Defense, Hegseth said today. I think that may have something to do with the sudden discovery that the acronym for Secretary of war is sow. As to the new SOSs, Secretary of Homeland Security Marquhaney Mullen, the senator, and Nepo Plumber, the guy who probably thinks Homeland Security is a two year contract covering all bathroom fixtures and internal piping, but not the lines to the main street sewers. He might be the biggest dolt ever to serve in the Senate. I mean, Tuberville looks at him and goes, you stupid or something? Boy, I was a coach. They dug up this exchange with Marquion from January on cnn. Kaitlyn Collins, quote, you just said you are for regime change here. I said I'm for the strikes. Kaitlin Collins, quote, you said before that you're for taking out the regime. Marquis Mullen Absolutely. That's different from regime change. Okay, so now we have to make sure we don't fund a DHS with idiot number two in charge. Akeem Jeffries hinted yesterday that is still the plan. No change in the plan, no DHS funding. Certainly something like that. Mild but detailed 10 point straightjacket at the minimum. And we still have to see if Kristi Noem can still be impeached, which will keep her out of office. And if she can be prosecuted for lying to Congress and prosecuted for all the financial stuff. That was a $220 million commercial. And the horse you rode in on was the horse made out of gold or something? You get the sense Republicans want her and Corey Lewandowski prosecuted, seriously prosecuted. They'd be happy to see them go to jail for life. And her former deputy chief of staff, Madison Shahn, who is now running for Congress in Ohio. I'll quote NBC's report here. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Obviously this is out of date. Slightly handpicked contractors to lead a $100 million campaign to recruit Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers instead of allowing competitive bidding for the jobs, according to three administration officials and internal Communications reviewed by NBC News in August. Then ICE Deputy Chief of Staff Madison Cheyenne, who resigned in January and is now seeking, as I said, that Republican nomination for a seat from Ohio and has, I'm sorry, really bad hair, threatened the job of an ICE employee for suggesting that the agency consider other contractors, according to internal communications. Sheyhan said the contract award was a decision made by the secretary, according to internal communications. Sheyhan then called the employee to her office, where he was yelled at for overriding Nome by suggesting the contract go to a company that was offering to do the work for a cheaper price, said an administration official who heard the conversation. Noem will now become special envoy for the Slowman's shield or the panty shield or something until sentencing. And then one note about Epstein. The latest excuse for why they didn't release the Trump part of the paperwork, you know, the child raping, penis biting part, was that it had been erroneously marked as a stack of duplicates. No, no, no, no, no. That's called recidivism. There is one story, huge play over the weekend. It is utterly meaningless. I'm sorry. And of course it is from the New York Post the idea that a guard deposited $5,000 in her bank account, the last in a series of a dozen deposits that had begun nearly 18 months before Epstein died and she was a guard right next to his cell. Also, she googled Epstein in the hour before he died. The part they are leaving out was noted BY One of CNN's fact checkers who pointed out that she googled like all of the inmates in the prison that night. Now I'm just speculating here, but that's probably because it was 5 o' clock in the freaking morning. Have you ever been at a job at 5 o' clock in the morning or at an airport or on a train or waiting for somebody with nothing to do and you have to stay there and all you have is the Internet. Look, there may be something there with Epstein's death. There may be a lot there. There may be a whole different kind of scandal that's important but, you know, not really relevant to who needs to be prosecuted here for being associated with him. There may be something there, but, but, but this guard, googling his name, a hundred other Google searches in a short period of time and getting a bunch of deposits that reached nearly five figures. If there is something about Epstein's death, this ain't it. Also of interest here. Here it says what? On the wall behind Caroline Levitt in the White House press room, the words in the White House logo on the wall spell. What if she stands in just the right spot at the podium and nobody has noticed and nobody told her? It's a shame I'm going to tell her. But apparently if I don't tell her, you don't get to enjoy the joke. And you know where my priorities lie. That's next. This is Countdown. Most people think their insurance will cover them when disaster strikes. The truth? Many are wrong. You pay premiums and assume you're protected until the fine print hits exclusions, limits, loopholes. Suddenly that coverage isn't coverage at all. My policy advocate reviews your policies, home, auto, life and breaks them down in plain English. They show what's really covered and what isn't. It costs just $0.27 a less than a cup of coffee. For peace of mind before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com you might be shocked at what you find. Mypolicyadvocate.com no one knows what the future

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[Public Investing Advertiser]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your project prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment, recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures hi, it's Kristen

[Kristen Davis]

Davis from Are you a Charlotte Podcast? I just had the most epic girls day cruising around LA with my friend Heather Graham and thanks to Hyundai we even recorded a special episode for you. Yes, I have a good 90s story of Fred Siegel.

[Keith Olbermann]

What?

[Kristen Davis]

I saw Alanis Morissette there one time.

[Keith Olbermann]

It was so exciting.

[Kristen Davis]

I was with my girlfriend.

[Keith Olbermann]

She saw you so that's like good.

[Kristen Davis]

She was very, it was like the height of Alanis time and she was with this beautiful man and I had a golden retriever puppy and the beautiful man wanted to say hi to the golden retriever puppy. We were eating at that little cafe there at the Santa Monica one and Alanis hung back in a way that made me wonder what was happening. Like who wouldn't want to pet this beautiful puppy. I was like, oh my God, it's Alanis. And then I was like, try to breathe, try to breathe, try to breathe because I love her so much. My new episode is out now presented by the all new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid make every day Epic Kids Pets Life.

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[Keith Olbermann]

By the way, somebody has to pay tribute to my friend Letterman's perpetual, perpetually funny joke. As I mentioned earlier, Iran has chosen its new Ayatollah. He's the son of the assassinated one, George W. Ayatollah. This is Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Still ahead on this edition of countdown, I happened to tell this story to somebody the other day, so now you get to hear it. I'll just say in teasing this that it's about a bunch of MSNBC hosts in a men's room 20 years ago talking about how many inches there were. Inches tall. Inches tall. Actually, the other conversation probably would have been a lot less weird. Our conversation was about how the new president of our network was 6 foot 4, but he claimed to be taller than that, which led all of us who were taller than him to ask the unanswerable question. Who that tall would ever feel the need to lie about their height? A game of inches next in things I promise not to tell first. However, we always have more new idiots to talk about. The roundup of the miscreants Morons and Dunning Kruger effect specimens who constitute today's other worst persons in the world. The Bronze. Worse. The MAGA Circular Firing squad. Oh, this is. This is really fun. I think I have this in the right chronological order, but it's hard to tell. I mean it's a firing squad. Tucker Carlson attacking Shabad. Bill Ackman attacking Tucker Carlson. Megyn Kelly attacking Bill Ackman. Buckley Carlson. That's Nepo baby. Tucker's own Nepo baby. So Buckley is a grand Nepo baby attacking everybody. Let me read you some of this. It's like the old far left organizations of the 60s and 70s attacking each other. It's wonderful. Bill Ackman at Tucker Carlson has reached a level of absurdity that is going to get someone killed. He needs to stop this now. Someone who knows him well needs to intervene or he will have blood on his hands. Megyn Kelly retweets that and adds, you literally retweeted someone who goes by Alpha C T. Only she didn't write C dash dash T cause she's a class lady calling me a effing B word. Only she didn't say effing or B yesterday. So please spare us your above it all tisk Tisking on dialogue. Bill, by the way, of all the words in that, the only one that Megyn Kelly changed in any way was please. She wrote please as pls. Anywho, to continue, Bill Ackman was in fact retweeting somebody called Joel Mowbray. Exclusive. Tucker Carlson claims that a sect of Judaism called Shabad is ultimately behind the military strikes on Iran. Bill Ackman answering Megan Carlson and Buckley Carlson. I haven't labeled anyone libeled anyone. But you, Buckley Carlson are clearly doing so here. Charlie Kirk was a friend and his death was a grave loss for all humanity. Somebody actually thinks that. I don't care who they are. Somebody thinks it was a grave loss for all humanity. Wow. You alleging that I had anything to do with his death is about the. Where are they in this? I mean I know there is an investigation going on by. I believe it is Candace Owens who now claims that some of the key female figures on the right wing side, including Charlie Kirk's widow, may be transgendered. I mean it's it's wonderful. If we could just get them all to talk about themselves, there'd be no more maga. They will have destroyed themselves within hours. I left out Buckley, Carlson actually. Bill Ackman. The blood is on your hands in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, the wider region in US units and most likely even from Charlie Stop libeling as anti Semites, Nazis and Jew haters those who oppose war and love America and Americans. Cc Gould's Josh Hammer, Laura Loomer, Mark Levinshau and Joel Mowbray. I mean this is just about everybody except Jesse Waters. Jesse Waters not involved here because he doesn't know how to type with, you know, hooves rather than fingers. The runner up Us Weekly this is a little lighter than that, I think. In one sense it's not political. It's a little darker in a different sense. There are typos and then there are typos that kill Us Weekly Selena Gomez and there's a picture of her with Martin Short has spoken out following the death of Only Murders in the building. Co star Martin Short. No, you didn't miss some sad news. Martin Short is alive and well. Unfortunately, it's Martin Short's daughter who died. And for like a day this tweet was up there advertising a story that they had written about Selena Gomez showing support for Martin Short after and the article read only Murders in the Building Co star Martin Short was dead, which would come as a big surprise to him. But the winner, the worst, whoever designed the White House press room for our St. Pauli girl, our Eva Braun. Caroline Levitt's White House press Room yes, in a sense I am defending Caroline Levitt this. I don't think it's her fault, although she may have been too stupid to realize it or stop it or look at anything in the picture besides how lovely she looks. She must have signed off on this. Or if somebody tells her now that this is a problem and she doesn't get it fixed, then it's her fault or God's will or Hilter's fault. You remember she's the one who got got Hitler's name wrong. For photographers and cameras shooting Caroline Levitt from positions on the left side of the White House press room. Their left. The left. As you look at the podium, something very unfortunate happens as Levitt moves from side to side, rocking behind the podium the way people who are lying often do. They can't hold, you know, the way when Hegseth gets in front of the podium and starts to talk and it's like he can't hold still. It's a bad sign. It's a bad sign often indicates lying. There's also an actual bad sign involved. There's a big bad sign behind Levitt. It is a graphic representation, a drawing of the White House before Trump destroyed it, leveled it, replaced it with a. A giant, I don't know, golf club and. Or mausoleum for his ex wives. Anyway, beneath it, roughly even with Leavitt, when she's standing on her podium behind her lectern, just above eye level with her and she's five foot four, are the words White House and beneath it, Washington. Well, what's wrong with that? It's been there for years. I think the exact same logo dates to the Clinton presidency, maybe earlier than that. And they are at the White House. They're in Washington. So when it says White House, Washington, that's one of the few things you can count on she's not lying about. And whether or not she's a congenital liar who should be the subject of a special prosecutor, given how her husband may have capitalized on her position. So what? There's nothing wrong with the sign, except they need to move the sign or they need to move her, because the words White House are in fact, exactly level for photographers and videographers. Exactly level with her forehead. And when she moves all the way to her left, that is camera right. We get moments like we did at the latest press briefing, when for very long stretches of time, she blocks out the last three letters of the two word name, White House. W H I T E, H O U S E. And what you see then is Caroline Levitt standing to the right of a sign that reads white Hoe. You heard me. White Hoe. Blocking out use. Perhaps they'd like to change that. I would. Just a piece of advice. Just a professional's piece of advice to another professional in the media field. Also, I once played softball in center field or two, so I feel kinship with her, even though she's not a human being. Caroline Levitt reporting to you from Washington, from the White Hoe, today's other worst person in the world. Most people think their insurance will cover them when disaster strikes. The truth, many are wrong. You pay premiums and assume you're protected until the fine print hits, exclusions, limits, loopholes. Suddenly that coverage isn't coverage at all. My policy advocate reviews your policies, home, auto, life, and breaks them down in plain English. They show what's really covered and what isn't. It costs just 27 cents a day less than a cup of coffee for peace of mind. Before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com you might be shocked at what you find. Mypolicyadvocate.com no one knows what the future

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[Public Investing Advertiser]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, operations, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite pump possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures hi, it's Kristen

[Kristen Davis]

Davis from Are youe a Charlotte Podcast. I just had the most epic girls day cruising around LA with my friend Heather Graham and thanks to Hyundai we even recorded a special episode for you. Yes, I have a good 90s story of Fred Siegel. What I saw Alanis Morissette there one time.

[Keith Olbermann]

It was so exciting.

[Kristen Davis]

I was with my girlfriend.

[Keith Olbermann]

She saw you so that's like good.

[Kristen Davis]

She was very it was like the height of Alanis time and she was with this beautiful man and I had a golden retriever puppy and the beautiful man wanted to say hi to the golden fever puppy. We were eating at that little cafe there at the Santa Monica one and Alanis hung back in a way that made me wonder what was happening. Like who wouldn't want to pet this beautiful puppy. I was like oh my God, it's Alanis. And then I was like try to breathe, try to breathe, try to breathe because I love her so much. My new episode is out now presented by the all new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid

[Washable Sofas Advertiser]

make every day Epic Kids Pets Life. Your sofa sees it all. But with a washable sofa, stains don't stand a chance. All of our sofa collections come with fully machine washable covers and cushions, making cleanup effortless. Liquid and stain resistant fabrics provide extra protection against everyday messes. Plus, with modular designs, you can rearrange your sofa however you like. Perfect for growing families and changing spaces. Starting at just $699, it's time to upgrade to a stress free mess proof sofa. Visit washablesofas.com today and save offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Keith Olbermann]

It is February 17, 2004. At one of those moronic corporate speak town halls, the bosses have just introduced Rick Kaplan as the new president of the network. Kaplan speaks for an hour without interruption or breath. He does not mention that he was the president of CNN when its 19 year streak at number one in the cable news ratings came to a crashing end. He does, however, mention that he is 6ft 7 inches tall. But he does not seem to be 6ft 7 inches tall. As this nonsense ends, I rush into the men's room and find to my amusement Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews, Jesse Ventura, Lester Holt, and one unoccupied urinal. As I move to occupy it, it dawns on me that Ventura, the former professional wrestler, is the shortest man in the bathroom at 6ft 2. All five of us are silent. Finally Matthews says it how in hell can he say he's six foot seven? He's barely taller than I am and I'm six' four. Overman, are you slightly taller than me or slightly shorter than me? How is he 6 7? Everybody keeps looking forward, of course, into the wall in front of us. I'm six three and a half. Lester, he's your height. I saw you standing with him. You two are even. What are you, 6 5? Lester says. Uh huh. And flushes. Scarborough chimes in, I'm just over six' four. We're almost eye to eye. He's not six' seven. Finally, Ventura speaks. I've been thrown around a ring by guys who are six seven. This guy's not six' seven. From the sink, Wester Holt now says, have any of you Known anybody our height who lies and says they are taller. Matthews again. Who lies about their height? I flush. This guy does. Gentlemen, we are in trouble here. For the presidency of Rick Camplin at msnbc, that might have been. Sorry, I can't resist it. The high water mark. Later on Friday, March 5, 2004, Kaplan, who had been there three weeks, assembled the hosts and producers of the primetime shows on the network. That would have been me, Scarborough, Dan Abrams, our staffs, the New Jersey staff of Chris Matthews show. And he told us that the next day was going to be Monday. Somebody from Scarborough staff helpfully corrected him. Mr. Kaplan, I'm sorry, tomorrow is Saturday. Kaplan sternly explained he was now president of this network and we all sucked. And if he said today was Friday and tomorrow was Monday, then today was Friday and tomorrow was Monday. He wanted to see us react to sudden changes in our plans. We were being told we were being called into work a sixth day tomorrow for no reason. Kaplan then started yelling at us. You guys don't get it. You're all working tomorrow. Anybody who doesn't come in is fired. We're gonna do the whole pro primetime lineup. Your breaking news is today's breaking news. The guilty verdict in the Martha Stewart case. Start booking your guests because tomorrow is Monday, not Saturday, just on my staff. Saturday was supposed to be my reporters engagement party, a surprise party thrown by one of my producers for his wife's birthday and the day another producer was closing on buying a house. I have a vague memory of what we put on the air. I have a stronger memory of the new president of MSNBC losing the staffs of all four of his primetime shows on his fifth day on the job and never ever getting them back. Kaplan then went to a corkboard on our office wall on which our show rundown was displayed. He ordered producers to move segments around and he berated me for not having anticipated his whims. And at one point he screamed, stop. What the hell are you doing? And he got up and he grabbed the pushpin which held up an index card bearing the name of a guest. You don't use green pins with yellow index cards. You use yellow pins with yellow index cards. What kind of a newsman are you? Can't imagine how this guy choked away CNN's monopoly on cable news ratings. I was reminded recently that later, on December 8, 2005, 17 years ago tomorrow, he did one of the most unintentionally funniest things I have ever witnessed. A plane slid off the Runway at Midway Airport in Chicago. Nothing Funny about that, obviously. But Kaplan called into our control room demanding we change something about our live coverage that he didn't like. We promptly the change. He was right. Five minutes later, he called in and started swearing at one of our producers. I told you to change that. F you, you're fired. And the producer said, we changed it five minutes ago when you called in silence. Rick, are you watching the network on some sort of delay? Are you watching on TiVo or something? Silence again. Finally he said, okay, good work. See you tomorrow. And hungry up. He didn't know he was watching it on a delay. Kaplan was also one of these. Forget the mean thing I said yesterday. God knows I have kind of guys. By Monday, he had heard people laughing at some of my on air jokes, and his frontrunner instincts took over. He called me and the producer in for a meeting. I have only one criticism of your show. The which of these stories will you be talking about Thing is genius. The fifth story, the fourth story, then the third story. It's original and fresh. I hesitated. I almost said to him, yeah, this whole counting thing, we just invented that. The music is genius, the graphics are genius, you're genius. But you're missing something obvious, something genius. After each one of these stories, after you thank your guest, you should do a list of the things you didn't tell us about those stories. So, like, after the fifth story, you should say, now, here are the other five things we didn't tell you about the fifth story. Get it? A full screen graphic and you telling people. And then four things for the fourth story and, and, and three for the third. I thought for a moment and I said, okay, but what happens if we make those graphics up and then a minute beforehand the guest brings up one of those things we claim we didn't tell you when he just told you? We had lost Rick Caplan's attention by that point. Hmm. He grunted. For a second I thought his eyes were pointing outwards in different directions, but he snapped himself back into this reality. Huh. Could happen. You'll figure it out anyway. Too late to do it today. Figure it out and do it tomorrow. Thanks. The producer and I had to then explain to the staff of Countdown that from now on, for every story, they had to deliberately leave out one or two or three or four or five facts or details. Something interesting enough to be made into a full screen graphic, but not interesting enough to be included in their scripts or the interviews with the guests. Suddenly I thought a lot of people's eyes were pointing outwards in different directions. The line producer Greg Kordick, who was in charge not of content but of timing things and making sure things like graphics got made, said matter of factly, this will add five hours to everybody's workday. And so it did after the next day's show, when we listed the top five things we didn't tell you about today's fifth story, and the top four things we didn't tell you about today's fourth story, et cetera. And we had to shorten all the scripts and shorten each interview just to make room for all of this extraneous crap. Greg the producer, said, people here will be quitting by Thursday and dying by Monday. And I said, you're right. Plus, it ruins the interviews and it weakens the show. Don't do it tomorrow. If Kaplan yells, I'll take the so now it's Wednesday, and not only don't I hear anything from Kaplan about the Tuesday show and his the top five things we didn't tell you about today's fifth story. Jazz. But after the Wednesday show, when we don't do it, I'm sitting there waiting for an enraged phone call. Because we didn't Thursday morning at home, I'm waiting for an enraged email. Thursday afternoon, I'm waiting for an enraged Kaplan in person. Nothing. Nothing. He never said a word. A week passes. Nothing. A month, two months, it's summer. Nothing. The rest of 2004 flies by. Nothing. We did it once, we never did it again. And then he never said anything. It is now January 2005, and he still hasn't said anything. And I'm told by Phil Griffin, my first producer in television sports and 16 years my later, my first producer in television news, who has since become the vice president of msnbc, that Kaplan wants to see us in his office. It's not a big deal. Phil says he's in a good mood. He just wants to make us feel like we have input into his decisions. This is a what do you think? Meeting. Now I have to ask you to carefully picture the layout of Rick Kaplan's office at MSNBC in the year 2005. Envision a long, narrow room. Baseball's MLB Network now operates there, and they have cleverly turned Kaplan's office into a wardrobe room. Perfect, since it was really just a long closet. Anyways, Rick Kaplan, who was 6 foot 5 but lied and said he was 6 foot 7, sat at the very back of this room. So you come in the front door, you turn to your right, and maybe 30, 35, 40ft away from you in the farthest corner facing his computer on his desk, flush against the left hand wall is of msnbc. A few feet into the room is where you sit. Halfway between these two points against the right hand wall is where another executive can sit. So Phil Griffin sits there. I'm just inside the door. He is 15ft ahead of me to the right. Rick Kaplan is 30ft or 40ft ahead of me to the left. Picture this carefully, the way these chairs and desks are arranged. If you're me and Phil Griffin is looking at you, Rick Kaplan can only see the back of Phil Griffin's head and not his face. If they are both looking at you, they cannot see each other. Weird, seemingly trivial, turned out to be essential. We begin this meaningless meeting and talk about guests and graphics fonts and Kaplan talks about how much the ratings have gone up in his year as president. And finally I say, I do have one suggestion. I think the show is going to be very successful and I think if we want to make any change, we should make them now before it becomes successful. And I say, I have never heard anybody say they like the fifth story, fourth story, third story stuff. If you want to continue the name countdown because people know it by now, that's great, I guess. But the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 numbering is a conceit and it's a lot of extra work for everybody and I think we should kill it now. Kaplan is aghast. He is pale, he is not angry, he is just stunned. But you can't do that. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 is is part of the reasons the ratings went up. The ratings went up when I came up with the idea of the top five things we didn't tell you about today's top five stories and the top four things we didn't tell you about today's number four story, et cetera. We can't stop that. That's why people watch my idea. Took me a split second to even remember what the hell it was he was talking about. I had forgotten the whole five things we didn't tell you albatross weeks after the one show we did it. And then the staff rebelled and I said, screw it and I'll take the heat. And I was about to say this out loud when I suddenly realized that Phil Griffin, 15ft away on the right, his face turned to me and thus invisible to Kaplan, 30ft away on, was making his eyes as wide as possible and Phil was looking right at me and silently mouthing the word no, no, no, no, no, all the while keeping his head completely still. So Kaplan didn't know he was talking to me silently. I got Phil's message. I dropped the subject. I didn't say it. The meeting ended maybe two minutes later with Kaplan saying, keep up the good work and ushering us out by saying, and keep up with the top five things we didn't tell you about. Today's fifth story that making it really cook. When we were out of earshot of Rick Kaplan, Griffin thanked me for being able to read his panicked lips. I used an oath to liven up my question, what the blank was that all about? And Griffin said, now you know what every day of my life has become. It's not worth it to try to correct him. He believes what he believes and. And he won't be checked or contradicted. And I said, we only did the five things we didn't tell you thing once. Only once. It's like a year later. How in the hell could he possibly think we're still doing it? Griffin laughed like a soldier on a World War I battlefield who has just run out of bullets. See, that's the problem, buddy. He only watches MSNBC here in the office. The place he's rented, hunting, it doesn't have cable. President of MSNBC doesn't have cable at home. On June 6, 2006, they fired Rick Kaplan as the president of MSNBC. They let him resign. They also let him keep his secret, the darkest of secrets, for him and for msnbc, that for his two years on the throne, the president of an all news cable channel did not have cable. Ah, yes, Rick Kaplan. Rick Kaplan, who once tried to run me down and kill me because he thought I was deliberately making references to Blood after surgery so that all the viewers would stop watching the first edition of the Rita Cosby show on msnbc. Because the geniuses at MSNBC once thought what America needed was a worse version of Fox News featuring all the people who could not make it on Fox News. When in fact we found out like that what America apparently wanted, at least some of them did, was a White House that was made up of all the people who could not get good jobs on Fox News. Okay, I've done all the damage I can do here. Thank you for listening. Our musical directors here at Countdown are John Phillip Chenale, who does the keyboards and handles the orchestration, and Brian Ray, who plays guitar, bass, drums, and of course is in charge of the whole vibe of the thing. And their work is produced by TKO Brothers. Nancy Foust, the best baseball stadium organist ever, is responsible for our satirical and pithy musical comments whenever we play sports music. It's the old theme from the old OLLERMAN show from ESPN2 and it was written by Mitch Warren Davis and it appears courtesy of ESPN Inc. Other music arranged and performed by the group no horns allowed. And in the spirit of the ESPN theme, my announcer today was my friend Tony Kornheiser. Notice I didn't call him old. This program was produced by Ted. Everything else was, as always, my fault. That's Countdown for today. Day 414 of America held hostage again, but just 1,057 days until the scheduled end of his lame duck and lame brained terminate unless he is removed sooner by, let's see, the White House Correspondents Association. Jeffrey Epstein. There's still time. White House Correspondents Association. You know, if you got a mentalist out there, you could swap them out at the last minute and bring in as your entertainment a Jeffrey Epstein impersonator. How about this? Whca. I know how things are going there. I'll give you $1,000 in addition to whatever the Jeffrey Epstein impersonator costs. You don't have to do anything about Epstein. He just has to look exactly like Epstein. You following me on this? You're not following me on this. I tried. The next scheduled countdown is Thursday. Bulletins as the news merits. Until the next one. I'm Keith Olbermann. Good morning, good afternoon, good night and good luck. Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Most people think their insurance will cover them when disaster strikes. The truth? Many are wrong. You pay premiums and assume you're protected until the fine print hits. Exclusions, limits, loopholes. Suddenly that coverage isn't coverage at all. My policy advocate reviews your policies, Home, Auto, Life, and breaks them down in plain English. They show what's really covered and what isn't. It costs just 27 cents a day, less than a cup of coffee. For peace of mind, before you assume you're covered, go to mypolicyadvocate.com you might be shocked at what you find. Mypolicyadvocate.com no one knows what the future

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[Keith Olbermann]

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