Democrats Race To Replace Platner; Is the Iran War Maxing Out the Pentagon’s Budget?

Summary

Here’s the Scoop — July 9, 2026

Democrats Race To Replace Platner; Is the Iran War Maxing Out the Pentagon’s Budget?

Brief Overview

Hosted by Yasmin Vossoughian, this episode of “Here’s the Scoop” dives into three hot topics: the urgent scramble among Maine Democrats to replace Senate candidate Graham Platner after a major scandal, the impact of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s continued hospitalization on Capitol Hill, and mounting tensions over U.S. military funding amid renewed conflict with Iran. The show also features a lively discussion on the controversy surrounding Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in the World Cup.

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1. The Maine Senate Race: Platner’s Exit and the Dems’ Challenge

With Yasmin Vossoughian and NBC News senior politics reporter Sahil Kapoor

Key Discussion Points:

• Graham Platner Suspends Campaign (00:09–01:12)
  • Platner, embroiled in sexual assault allegations (which he denies), has dropped out. The Maine Democratic Party was unable to force his exit, so he left voluntarily.
  • “We're not doing it because of the allegations. We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.” — Graham Platner [00:46]
• The High Stakes of Replacing Platner (01:12–03:48)
  • Maine Democrats face a tight deadline (July 27) to nominate a new Senate candidate.
  • The process: a nominating convention, with delegates voting for the replacement—details are still unclear.
  • Prominent rumored contenders:
    • Nirav Shah (ex-Maine CDC chief, primary runner-up)
    • Shanna Bellows (current Maine Secretary of State, likely to run)
    • Troy Jackson (state legislator popular with progressives)
    • “Patrick Dempsey is not interested in that race, but he seems to be the only one who isn't.” — Sahil Kapoor [02:41]
  • The challenge: Candidates need to win over Platner’s sizable anti-establishment base while distancing themselves from the scandal.
• Platner’s Framing of His Exit (03:48–04:39)
  • Platner blames “the establishment” rather than the allegations.
  • “He wants a candidate who is going to embrace his anti-establishment, lefty populist energy. Of course, it's not really up to him.” — Sahil Kapoor [04:39]
• Implications for the Senate Race (04:39–05:29)
  • Platner’s move might weaken Democrats’ prospects, especially since his outsider campaign energized many first-time voters.
  • The seat is crucial for controlling the Senate, traditionally held by Republican Susan Collins.

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2. Senator Mitch McConnell’s Absence and GOP Turmoil

With Yasmin Vossoughian and Sahil Kapoor

Key Insights:

• Uncertainty About McConnell’s Health (05:29–06:38)
  • McConnell, hospitalized since June 14, has missed 21 Senate votes. Details about his condition remain undisclosed.
  • Paramedics were dispatched to his home, but his office hasn’t confirmed key health facts.
• Senate Effect (06:38–07:31)
  • Republicans lose margin for error in Senate votes and lack a majority on the Appropriations Committee without McConnell, stalling progress on government funding bills ahead of a September deadline.
  • “Without McConnell, they don't have a majority in the Appropriations Committee and they can't pass anything without Democrats.” — Sahil Kapoor [07:10]

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3. Pentagon’s Budget at Breaking Point Amid Iran War

With Yasmin Vossoughian and senior national security correspondent Courtney Kube
Segment Begins: [09:38]

Main Points:

• Escalating U.S.-Iran Strikes and Strategy (10:18–11:54)
  • U.S. strikes in Iran are heavily focused on protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Each round of Iranian attacks on shipping triggers U.S. military responses, raising fears of escalation.
  • “We have seen this latest iteration escalate exponentially faster and wider... Is this the game changer that actually does lead the U.S. and Iran back into a state of major combat operations? We just don't know yet.” — Courtney Kube [11:31]
• Pentagon Stockpile and Defensives (12:23–13:29)
  • The U.S. can sustain weeks of bombing but is running down key defensive munitions (like PAC-3 Patriot missiles), which take years to replace.
  • “Their most advanced capable munitions are down by 50% from where they were before the war started.” — Courtney Kube [13:56]
• Budget Breakdown (13:29–15:15)
  • The official Pentagon budget is about $891 billion, with a supplemental $88 billion (of which $67 billion is for restocking after operations in Iran).
  • Actual costs likely far exceed what is publicly reported, possibly three to four times higher than the initial $25 billion figure.
• Political Gridlock and Funding Uncertainty (15:15–17:17)
  • McConnell’s absence complicates funding, but a bigger issue is congressional skepticism about Pentagon transparency.
  • Bipartisan frustration over lack of detail from Pentagon and the administration about war goals and costs.
  • “They have to take [money] from other accounts... training is suffering... they’re robbing Peter to pay Paul and it's starting to have a direct impact on the men and women in the military in the U.S. right now.” — Courtney Kube [16:58]

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4. World Cup VAR Controversy: Is Technology Ruining the Game?

With Yasmin Vossoughian and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay
Segment Begins: [19:22]

Main Points:

• VAR’s Role and Why It’s Contentious (20:27–21:11)
  • Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is intended to make calls more accurate but is accused of stripping the “humanity” out of the game.
  • “What it has done here is made chaos of many brilliant moments in the sport and taken, I think, a lot of the joy of why people enjoy loving this game.” — Jason Gay [20:48]
• High-Profile Controversies (21:11–23:18)
  • Misuse of VAR in key games: e.g., the reversal of an Egypt goal versus Argentina after a lengthy review, and Foularin Balogun’s debated red card in the USA vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina match.
    • “It felt like getting pulled over in Rhode Island for a speeding ticket in Oregon.” — Jason Gay [22:53]
• Debate Over VAR’s Real Impact (23:26–24:25)
  • Technology seeks fairness, but at what cost? Gay argues the quest for perfection undermines the lessons of human error inherent in sports.
  • “Are we striving for absolute perfection in a sport... played by imperfect humans and has been traditionally officiated by imperfect humans? … In the end, it kind of all does work out.” — Jason Gay [23:46]
• Broader Refereeing Trust Issues (24:25–25:23)
  • Human subjectivity (potential bias in ref appointments) stirs even more conspiracy theories, especially high-profile games.
  • “It wouldn't be 2026 without abundant conspiracy theorizing in almost every aspect of human life. Right?” — Jason Gay [24:48]
  • Technology is now so pervasive, parents at youth games are waving video clips at referees; off-the-shelf tech allows amateur review.
    • “You can now buy technology in which you can actually do the lines for your own tennis tournaments...” — Jason Gay [25:10]

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Selected Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Graham Platner (on his departure):
  "We're not doing it because of the allegations. We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power." [00:46]
• Sahil Kapoor (on the urgency in Maine):
  "They need to win over his supporters. They need to harness the movement, the outsider, anti-establishment populist energy that he very ably tapped into, but fully distance themselves from these horrific allegations." [03:20]
• Sahil Kapoor (on McConnell’s absence):
  “Without McConnell, they don't have a majority in the Appropriations Committee and they can't pass anything without Democrats.” [07:10]
• Courtney Kube (on U.S.-Iran escalation):
  “We have seen this latest iteration escalate exponentially faster and wider... Is this the game changer that actually does lead the U.S. and Iran back into a state of major combat operations? We just don't know yet.” [11:31]
• Courtney Kube (on Pentagon stockpiles):
  “Their most advanced capable munitions are down by 50% from where they were before the war started.” [13:56]
• Jason Gay (on VAR’s unintended effect):
  “It felt like getting pulled over in Rhode Island for a speeding ticket in Oregon.” [22:53]

---

Important Timestamps

• Maine Senate race and Platner fallout: [00:09]–[07:31]
• Senator McConnell’s health and political fallout: [05:29]–[07:31]
• Pentagon budget & Iran war discussion: [09:38]–[17:17]
• World Cup VAR debate: [19:22]–[25:23]

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Tone and Style

The episode is brisk, clear, and conversational—balancing deep policy analysis with accessible language, occasional humor, and sharply observed political realities.

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For listeners seeking context on the Democratic Party's turmoil in Maine, the Pentagon’s money crunch under war pressure, or the sports world’s latest technology-fueled controversy, this episode covers a lot of ground—and gives a sense of the stakes, the tension, and the personalities shaping today’s headlines.

Transcript

[A]

When you slow it down, it looks far more dramatic and perhaps intentional than it certainly was.

[B]

Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmina Sugin. So there is a World cup controversy over video assistant referees, and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay is saying they're taking humanity out of the game. Plus, with hundreds of strikes over the past few days, the war in Iran is fully back on. But could the Pentagon be running out of money and weapons? Up first, though. So Democrats in Maine now have to pick a new candidate for Senate because Graham Platner announced last night that he's suspending his campaign. It happened after a woman he dated accused him of sexual assault, which Platner denies.

[C]

We're not doing it because of the allegations. We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.

[B]

So now Maine Democrats have until July 27 to nominate a new Senate candidate, a candidate that could make or break the Democrats chances of taking control of the Senate in November. So for more on this, I want to bring in NBC News senior politics reporter Sahil Kapoor. Hey, Sahel.

[D]

Hey, Yasmin. What a race.

[B]

What a race. What a 24 hours. It's been 48 hours, really. So we have now Platner deciding to step aside, and the main Democrats were not able to kick him out, by the way. He had to drop out on his own. So then last night, the main Democratic Party said they're going to hold this nominating convention to help pick his replacement. Do we have any indication as to what that would look like, the process, how long it would take, and would voters have any say?

[D]

So first off, the details are very murky about what comes next. What they've chosen to do, it seems, is a nominating convention where they have a process of selecting delegates and people who would cast these votes and have the candidates try to vie for the support of those delegates. They have not announced when that is, although what I'm hearing from sources early on is that it's going to be probably as close to July 27 to that deadline as they can manage it because they already have so little time and they want to give these candidates the maximum amount of time as possible. You got a lot of them getting in already. And like I said, the details are murky, but there's a ton of interest from Maine Democrats in this nomination.

[B]

So let's talk about who potentially could be his replacement. And we know, for instance, that it is not Grey's Anatomy actor Patrick Dempsey Because I guess there were some rumors that possibly he was gonna be in the running. And then he came out and he said, I am not. McDreamy is not going to be running. So who in fact is gonna step in and potentially save the day for Democrats?

[D]

Yeah, Patrick Dempsey is not interested in that race, but he seems to be the only one who isn't. There are. There's so many main Democrats who are interested. First off, I think we can look to the runners up in the very crowded primary for governor. Nirav Shah is one of them. He worked for the Maine CDC in prior years. He was a runner up in the governor primary.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Shanna Bellows, I'm told the current Maine Secretary of State is interested in this race. Probably going to jump in. She was also a runner up in the governor primary. There's Troy Jackson, who's worked in the main state legislature. To some progressives, he's their preferred candidate. He was on Meet the Press now with our colleague Kristen Welker, and he was asked if he wants Grant Platner's endorsement. He said he didn't. But he's also walking a fine line because he wants to harness that movement, those supporters. More than 150,000 primary votes that Grant Platner got, which is a huge deal. I think that's a record for Maine Democrats. So that's the balance that they have to strike. They need to win over his supporters. They need to harness the movement, the outsider, anti establishment populist energy that he very ably tapped into, but fully distanced themselves from these horrific allegations, which Platner denies, that ultimately forced him out of the race.

[B]

So you know what I thought Sahil is interesting about what Graham Platner said in part of that statement that we just played, is that he said it's not because of the allegations that he's stepping down. He's placing the blame on really the quote, unquote establishment, the Democratic establishment, for taking the power away, the support away from him versus putting the blame on himself and the allegations that have been made against him. And I'm wondering by doing that if in fact he is weakening the chances of the next potential candidate to get the votes, the voters that were most devoted to Platner. Right. That are behind his. His type of movement that he was creating inside of Maine to ultimately beat Susan Collins, who has won over and over and over and over again. And this seat, as I mentioned, it's integral to Democrats winning power of the Senate.

[D]

Yeah, absolutely. So what Graham Platner said was interesting he denied the allegations again. He essentially said that because of the allegations he has no ability to run a campaign. He can't raise money anymore, he won't have access to voter data. And he said the movement that he's built, which he remains committed to from an ideological standpoint, that I think his words were the if the movement is to advance, if the movement is to thrive, it cannot be me. So that's him sort of signaling to main voters and whoever's involved in the process that comes after this that he wants a candidate who is going to embrace his anti establishment, lefty populist energy. Of course it's not really up to him. But does that make it more difficult? I think this entire situation complicates things for Democrats. That's just one of the complications they have to deal with.

[B]

So, okay, we're watching Maine and that's gonna progress over the next two weeks. But I wanna talk quickly about Mitch McConnell, cuz he's been missing for a little bit. He is obviously a Kentucky Senator. He's been hospitalized since June 14. Multiple Republicans said this week they have spoken to him, but we don't have a clear sense of how he's doing at the moment. Governor Andy Beshear wrote a letter to McConnell asking him to give a public update on his condition. What do we know about what's going on here?

[D]

Very little. The only things that we truly know are what his office has disclosed and that is not much. They have said since June 14, hours after he was hospitalized, that yes, he's in the hospital. They have said he's receiving excellent care. They have said he's recovering while he's in the hospital. What they have not said is the reason he was hospitalized. We have police scanner audio tracked to his house that paramedics conducted CPR on an unconscious individual at an address we know to belong to Mitch McConnell. They have not even said his office whether that individual was him. They have not said what his condition is, what the status of his recovery is. They've not said what the timeline is for him to return. He's missed, by my count, the last 21 votes in the Senate.

[B]

How big of a problem is it for the Republican agenda with McConnell missing right now?

[D]

Yeah, a couple of things. When it comes to floor votes, there are certain categories of things in the Senate that require only a simple majority. That is Judges, nominations. Maybe if they do another reconciliation bill, but I doubt it. Republicans have 53 senators. Without him they're down to 52, so they have a margin of error of two votes instead of three votes. That's the first part of it. The second is the biggest impact that Republicans are already feeling because of the loss of Mitch McConnell from in person work is the appropriations process. He's a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. There's a key deadline to fund the government or face a shutdown coming up at the end of September. And they have a one vote margin in the Appropriations Committee. Without McConnell, they don't have a, a majority in the Appropriations Committee and they can't pass anything without Democrats. So that's where they're feeling it the most. And it's an unfortunate time for that because they're coming up on a crucial moment for Appropriations.

[B]

Sahil Kapoor, thank you.

[D]

Thank you, Yasmin.

[B]

All right, Coming up, the Pentagon is asking Congress for more funds. You just heard one of the holdups. Senator Mitch McConnell. What could that mean for the war that's up next. And while you're waiting, why don't you just go ahead and scroll through your here's a scoop feedback, find one of your favorite episodes and then send it to a friend. You get to share a bonus episode and we get a new listener. We would really appreciate the help. I'll see you on the other side.

[C]

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[B]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So as you heard from Sahil, one of the reasons there is concern about Senator McConnell's condition is because he heads the Senate Appropriations panel and that panel actually controls the Pentagon's budget. Multiple sources have told NBC News that the Pentagon is now running out of money. So they're asking for more, $67 billion to be exact. Meanwhile, the war in Iran is back on. So is Congress going to give the Department of Defense money? And if not, how long is this going to go on? I want to bring in NBC News senior national security correspondent Courtney Kuby for this. Hey, Court.

[E]

Hi.

[B]

So the president has vowed as of this moment that the US Is going to keep striking Iran. What is from your understanding, from your reporting, from your digging the strategy here, and how has Iran reciprocated these strikes?

[E]

So this is all about the Strait of Hormuz at this point. So if Iran were to stop attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, I don't think the US Military would continue carrying out strikes inside Iran because we've had stretches here where there's been no back and forth fire. And it's always been when Iran has fired missiles or drones or whatever it is specifically at commercial ships that are in that southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, that's when the US Military responds. And it is a clear on both sides, a clear violation of the Memorandum of Understanding, which I don't know where that even stands at this point. So, but as long as there's going to be a threat to the Strait of Hormuzzi, the US Military will continue to target. I think the big question right now is we have seen this latest iteration escalate exponentially faster and wider than the previous times where the IRGC and the US Military have gone back and forth. So is this one the game changer that actually does lead the US And Iran back into a state of major combat operations? We just don't know yet at this point. We do know that every single day CENTCOM is providing more options for President Trump for even bigger strikes moving further inland. As we saw last night, they started going after infrastructure again. And the US Military's naval blockade is absolutely one of the options on the table that they are actively discussing right now.

[B]

So I think we can both agree that they are at an elevated state of conflict, the most elevated they've been since there was you know, this quote unquote ceasefire that was called. But then I think the question is, okay, what's the stockpile? What's the Pentagon operating on? And that refers me to your reporting that the Pentagon is actually running out of money. And we're gonna dig into kind of the money of it all in a moment. But are they running out of weapons right now? Is the US Running low?

[E]

So the stockpiles are lower than they have been in years? Yes. If President Trump were to say, right this second, I want you to restart combat operations, the military does have enough in their stockpile that they could restart and they could carry out weeks of bombing in Iran. They don't have as much as they as they would like, but they have enough to actually carry out a conflict. The biggest concern is the defensive piece. And that has been a concern for several years now. Back to last June when the US was involved in Midnight Hammer and then the 12 Day War, the US military expended a huge number of their PAC threes. So those are the missiles that are used in the Patriot systems for like long range shooting down or intercepting of ballistic missiles. They expended a huge number of those sorts of things and they take years to rebuild. And the number that the companies that build them right now, the number that they can build per year is way smaller than the deficit that the US has now. They're trying to build that up. Companies like Lockheed Martin are building these new facilities, they're trying to ramp up their production, but they are at such a deficit right now that it is concerning for military officials.

[B]

So I want to get into the ask from the Pentagon, but let's first talk about operating costs now because a few months ago, back in April, Trump administration officials said they had spent $25 billion in the war with Iran so far, which felt low at the time. Do we know how much more they have spent since then? Because the Pentagon budget right now is operating at $891 billion, close to a trillion dollars.

[E]

And they have an even bigger request now. So it's confusing. There's these sort of three big buckets and they are enormous buckets. One is this roughly trillion dollar Pentagon budget request. Then there is this supplemental that was about $88 billion and about $67 billion of that was is specifically supposed to go to rebuilding or resupplying what was what happened during the war in Iran. Some of that actually is to go to the State Department for fixing damage to bases and or embassies around the world. But we know there has been extensive damage to US Military facilities all over that region. We know that their stockpile has been greatly depleted. Some of their. Their munitions, their most advanced capable munitions are down by 50 from where they were before the war started. So that $67 billion. The best we can understand, because this process has been extremely opaque, is that that is literally to rebuild what was broken down during the 40 days or so of the war. What's not clear if that includes the continuing costs that we're seeing right now, which is two dozen ships that are hanging out south of the Strait of Hormuz right now that could be called back into the blockade. Every day that they're operating out there is costing money. So the $25 billion or so, that was several weeks ago, you gotta assume that it's gotta be three or four times that at this point.

[B]

Okay, so now they're asking for the $67 billion more. Is there any possibility they're gonna get this? Especially with what I started with, that is Senator Mitch McConnell, who has been out, I think Sile said he's been out for 21 votes by his count at this point. He's head of Senate Appropriations Committee. Can they do it?

[E]

So I think the McConnell factor is definitely put a wrench in this and make it difficult. But even bigger is we are hearing increasingly from both sides of the aisle that the Pentagon and the administration have not been honest with them and transparent about what has been happening in this war. They've not been transparent about the munition stockpiles, about the overall strategic goals. And as long as they don't have that transparency, I don't see members of Congress being willing to write that giant check. And remember, there has been this back and for. It's almost right along partisan lines, but there has been a back and forth over whether the Congress could even tell President Trump, you're not allowed to continue with war. You're not allowed to restart major combat operations. But that is the biggest impediment to this right now. You talk to these members one on one, and they say, look, of course we want the military to have everything they need, but we need the administration. We're supposed to be the oversight of this. And we don't have the information that we need to conduct adequate oversight of tens of billion dollars of taxpayer money. And that's. That's not even including the additional money that the Hill is talking about right now. This $350 billion in reconciliation, a significant chunk of that would also likely go to the Pentagon. So how this is manifesting right now is all of this money, these billions of dollars that have been spent on the war in Iran, the overall operating costs, they have to take it from other accounts. So things like training is suffering, things like travel, the things that are not seen as critical to continuing operations. Right now, they're robbing Peter to pay Paul and it's starting to have a direct impact on the men and women in the military in the US Right now.

[B]

Courtney Kuby, as always, thank you.

[E]

Thanks. Yes.

[B]

All right. We are going to take a very quick break, but when we come back, you love it. You hate it. It is the video assistant referee system at the World cup why the officiating has become so controversial at some of the tournaments biggest matches. That's next. July means you're halfway through the year, but there's still time to reach your 2026 wellness goals with half off an annual subscription to the Start Today app. Hi, everyone. I'm Joy Bauer, the Today show's nutrition expert. And as part of the Start TODAY family, we offer easy to follow meal and fitness plans. And we support you with simple, realistic tools that keep you in inspired to reach your goals. Go to today.comstart and download now because it's never too late to start today.

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[B]

And we're back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So the World cup is in the midst of the quarterfinals right now, but if you are an Egypt fan, it's still really tough to get over that 32 loss to Argentina in the round of 16. That includes new York City Mayor Zohar Madani, who even found a way to work it into a press conference about faster buses.

[A]

With my extra six minutes, I would probably just watch the replays of Egypt getting robbed again and again yesterday. You know, just gotta got to throw up the var.

[B]

So var, it stands for Video Assistant Referee. It's this technology that the refs use to overturn one of Egypt's goals on Tuesday. And Mamdani, by the way, is not the only person that is pissed about this. The Egyptian Football association has filed an official complaint with FIFA about what it's calling an improper use of var. And also some, like Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay, are now calling for an end to to VAR entirely. And he's joining me now to make the case. Hi, Jason.

[A]

Hi, how are you?

[B]

So for folks that don't know, that haven't been glued to their TVs watching the world cup and don't know what VAR is and how it works, tell us.

[A]

You know, it's effectively a screen that is observing all the action on the field for potential review. I mean, you have individuals who are watching the technology. There's actually technology to determine things like offsides. There's technology in the ball which allows us to figure out if there there was contact made with a player. It's basically, you know, the eye in the sky. And what it has done here is made chaos of many brilliant moments in the sport and taken, I think a lot of the joy of why people enjoy loving this game.

[B]

There were two instances that you outlined in your piece in which VAR was used that a bad call was made. First was US and Bosnia Herzegovina and then most recently it was Egypt and Argentina. Right.

[A]

Well, let's take them piece by piece. In the United States situation, we're talking about the call that was made to give Fowler and Baligan a red card. You know, the big disputed red card that ended up getting suspended and allowing him to play. Yeah, that was a case where he made contact with a player. And when you put it into sort of granular context, when you slow it down, it looks far more dramatic and perhaps intentional than it certainly was. And the kinds of things that happen in real time, often right in front of the referee, they don't get called. And when you put them through again that sort of granular slow motion review, it leaves the potential for reversals that kind of go against the spirit of the way the game is supposed to be interpreted. And that's really what people are arguing about with regard to contact and red reviews and things like that. In the Egypt, Argentina case, that was a case where you had this epic second half game defining, possibly, you know, legendary goal being scored by Egypt, where they go the entire length of the pitch, pass the ball between four players, make this brilliant goal to go up two to nothing, and then the whole thing gets just spun back. Almost like time travel, you know, like two minutes later.

[B]

Like two minutes later.

[A]

Not. Not a full two minutes, but 20 seconds, which felt like two minutes. I mean, absolutely. It was an. It was a play that felt several plays prior in which a player for Egypt made contact with an Argentinian player. And obviously, I'm being a little bit hyperbolic here, but it felt like getting pulled over in Rhode island for a speeding ticket in Oregon. You know, it just. It really felt like a perversion of what VAR and instant replay is supposed to be about. And by the way, soccer's not alone here. I mean, every sport is now wrestling with this, these interruptions that we're constantly getting from these reviews.

[B]

To play devil's advocate here, right? Isn't VR technology actually supposed to make the games and the calls more fair?

[A]

That is the idea. No question about it. The idea is accuracy, right at the end of the day. But I think that one thing we should explore here is what is this supposed to be all about anyway, with sports? Are we striving for absolute perfection in a sport which is played by imperfect humans and has been traditionally officiated by imperfect humans and isn't part of what sports is, is learning the process through which life is sometimes unfair and yet goes on. Many of us have watched many, many sporting events from the, you know, ages. We were playing them and realized that in the end, it kind of all does work out. And what does it, though, if you lose?

[B]

It doesn't for sure.

[A]

No question about it. And there are many, many people who remember, you know, the 1985 World Series or blown calls or anything like that and will say, thank goodness for instant replay. However, I think the net effect here has been to strip a lot of the human joy out of these games.

[B]

It seems, though, also like humans in general are more susceptible to, for instance, taking sides. And I only say that because if we're looking at today's game, right, France and Morocco, all of the refs are Argentinian, so you would think that those refs would go into this thing, you know, it'd probably be better if Argentina was up against Morocco versus up against France. And have it be like a whole remake of the last World Cup.

[A]

Well, it wouldn't be 2026 without abundant conspiracy theorizing in almost every aspect of human life. Right. So I'm not.

[B]

Especially when it comes to FIFA.

[A]

Yeah. Especially when it comes to something like FIFA. But I'm telling you, we have really, really gone over the edge here. I go to youth soccer games now where you see parents holding up their phones, waving them around to the referee, saying like, I got it. I got it on tape here, come look at this. You can now buy technology in which you can actually do the lines for your own tennis tournaments, for your own, you know, playing in the backyard. It's absurd to the which people have

[B]

taken this Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay. Thank you.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

All right. That's going to do it for us. Here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasim Vesugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcast. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid [e-mail].

[C]

This week on a special edition of Meet the Press, America's 250, a look at our nation's founding and future. Kristen Welker sits down with Ken Burns. Doris Kearns Goodwin plus, Lonnie Bunch previews a new Smithsonian exhibit this week on MEET THE Press. Listen to the full episode now. Wherever you get your podcasts.