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- [00:00]
A
Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. One thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. And for decades, Angie's helped millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter, get all your jobs done well@angie.com.
- [00:21]
B
Welcome to IHIP News. We are joined by the true blue and, and I mean true blue warrior for the people, fierce defender of democracy, one of my favorite senators, Senator Elizabeth Warren. Welcome. I understand that you have made quite the speech today that prompted a telephone call from none other than the President of the United States. Please tell us what your speech was about.
- [00:47]
A
Okay, so I gave a speech about how Democrats win in November 2026, because it starts by talking about all the things that are going on right now. Invasion of Venezuela, shooting in Minnesota, and saying we must, must, must win in November and put some constraints on Donald Trump. So what I talked about is that Democrats got wiped out in 2024. We know we gotta build a big tent going forward. But there are two visions of the big tent. One vision is don't offend anybody, especially the billionaires who might actually finance the upcoming elections. So, you know, nibble around the edges of anything that might increase taxes for billionaires, you know, that might cause big corporations not to be able to merge and drive up prices. All those sorts of things just be people. I soften it all and nibble around the edges on making real economic change. The alternative is to say we recognize that American families all across this country are feeling a lot of financial stress and that Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. But the cost of groceries is up, the cost of utilities is up, the cost of housing is up, the cost of health care is up. He has not delivered. He's delivered policies along with the Republicans that have raised costs. So our job as Democrats is to call him out and to put our own proposals on the table, show the places where we can lower costs, and best of all, show that we are willing to get in there and fight for it. So that's what the speech was about.
- [02:41]
B
I really feel like you're touching upon something that is at the heart of where the Democratic Party is right now. You have the Democratic establishment that wants what you mentioned. They want their corporate donors. They want to govern incrementally. We can't make that much change. We can't do too much. We can't ruffle feathers. And then you have the group of the Democratic Party that says, enough. We cannot take money from the same group of people that fund these MAGA politicians and be earnest and be sincere and be honest. And I think that we have candidates who have shown us the way that this is possible to shed corporate money. But more than anything, I think that a lot of Americans feel like they've been lied to. Yeah, they feel like they've been lied to by Republicans. Wealth never trickled down. And they feel like the Democrats kind of skipped over them as well. And in the throes of what we have going on right now, just indescribable things happening simultaneously in the country. The ICE agent, the. All the shakedowns that the Trump regime is doing to universities, trying to censor speech. What in the immediate sense. I remember when Mitch McConnell was the minority Senate leader, he got so much crap done, it really pissed me off. Senator, what can you all do now? And even if you can't pass anything, we feel out here in the interwebs in America that there isn't a real unified fight against this guy.
- [04:22]
A
Yeah. So let's start with the North Star. The North Star is that our job as Democrats is to lower costs for American families. It's not about political credit. It's not about soothing our billionaire donors. It's lowering costs for American families. The game is rigged. And it's rigged to help the rich keep getting richer and everybody else to get left behind. We have a long history as Democrats. We are the ones who delivered Social Security in the 40 hour work week and union rights and overtime and Medicare and Medicaid and the Affordable Care act and housing for veterans and first time homebuyers. We're the ones who delivered all that against Republican opposition in every single case. And yet now we are called on again to be a party that shows aggressively we are willing to get in that fight and deliver. And let me give you a great example here. Cost of housing, I don't have to tell you, it's just through the roof. Everywhere, urban, rural, doesn't matter where you are. The cost of housing has gone up dramatically. What is the. One of the biggest ways we can bring down cost is to build more supply. We're about 3 million homes short of what we need in America. When I say supply, I mean homes for first time home buyers, homes for seniors, homes for people with disabilities, homes for renters. We need more. We need more, more, more rural America, urban America, more housing. So right after Trump was elected, Republicans took over. They're in the House and the Senate. They own them both. I started working on a housing bill and I started working with Tim Scott, Republican who is the chair of the Banking Committee. I'm the ranking Democrat. And we put together a bill that is an all supply bill. It's got about 40 parts to it and every one of manufactured housing, environmental regulations are all aimed at toward building more housing. Now you ready for this? I hope you're sitting down. We managed to get that bill not only through the committee but through the United States Senate unanimously. Everybody voted in favor of this. So we got something here that could start making its first step. It's not going to fix everything, but first step in the right direction. And right now the Republicans in the House are just holding it up. They've hung it up and can't make the thing move forward. All the Democrats are ready to go, but not the Republicans. And what has Donald Trump, who says he worries about housing costs, what has he done to lower costs for the American people, hasn't lifted a finger. So here's where I am and here's where I see it because I think this is reestablishing trust. If I can get that thing through what right now, today, I will do it and I get it. A lot of Democrats will take credit. A lot of Republicans will take credit for it doesn't matter. It's not about taking credit. It's about lowering costs for American families. I will fight for that today and tomorrow and the next day. And if we can get it through, I will celebrate then get right back to work on how we do step two to do more of it and more of it and more of it. But we got to have some Republican partners. And if the Republicans won't join us on this, then we hold them accountable in November 2026. We got to know why we're here. And why I'm here is to fight for working families, to fight for some economic security for people who've been busting their tails for years now and keep falling just a little further behind and a little further behind. That's what Democrats need to do in 2026 and all the years out from that.
- [08:33]
B
So you mentioned the 2026 midterms, which will be fast approaching. And I think that this administration regime is going to throw everything they possibly can. We're only 12 days into this and pardon my language, Senator, but it's been an absolute shit show these 12 days. And I think it's just going to escalate. The nation released a story today and it says the basic contours of American polit shifted in 2016 and the 2026 midterms may well be the Democratic Party's last chance to let that recognition sink in. And then they say, despite themselves, Democrats look well positioned for the midterms. And there's a picture of Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer. And I have to have some real talk with you right now. There is a feeling in the Democratic base, and I'm not talking you have to be really super far left or you're a centrist. I'm talking the people who care about democracy, the people who see a mom shot in the face by an unhinged ICE agent. And they just need to know that somebody gives a damn, that somebody's fighting for them. And time and time again, there is a feeling, at least in our listenership, that Chuck Schumer is not that man, that we have better fighters in the Senate for this moment. Is he the guy? Is he going to stay in as this leadership position all the way to 2026? Because it is denigrating voter trust in the party. And there are people like you and Chris Murphy and Bernie Sanders and people that we trust, people that we know are not corporate shills. And I think that we're having a mini come to Jesus meeting within the party. And I wanted to know, I'm sure you've heard this. This isn't not telling you any new information, but I feel like we need to talk about it. We can't just put it in the corner and pretend like, oh, he's our guy, because look at what's happening to our country. So we have to talk about everything. Like a big family meeting.
- [10:38]
A
You know, it's interesting that you would frame it that, that particular way. Family meeting. I love that frame because in a sense, that's what I was trying to do this morning. Look, Chuck Schumer is the leader right now, but we got 47 senators that are Democrats, that are in the Senate. We got a whole bunch of folks in the House. We've all got to be on the front lines and we've got to be fighting the same battle in the same direction. And so my part of this family conversation is to talk about the crucial urgency of getting ourselves focused on, on costs for families, on how stressed families are, how Republicans have driven up costs and how Democrats are ready to stand and deliver. And I say this because, in a sense, it's democracy at work. Look, look back to a year ago. What was Donald Trump saying every single day? That he would lower costs on day one. Yeah, he said a lot of other hateful things, a lot of ugly things. But the thing he said most consistently is that he would lower costs on day one. He gets elected. First interview he gives, he's asked, so why did you win? And he said, because I said I would lower costs on day one. And yet costs are up for families across the board. Donald Trump has betrayed those families. If democracy really worked, costs would be going down for families. People would be seeing more and more policies, more things happening in Washington or in their state that are lowering costs for them, but they're not. So I think of this moment as when Democrats have the opportunity to say directly to the American people, we're going to focus on costs. We're going to focus on what you have told us is most important. And we're going to show something else, and it's relevant to what you are asking about. We're going to show we got the fight to deliver, that we're not going to be sidetracked by billionaire donors. We're not going to be sidetracked by people who say, oh, let's just do a little bit, let's listen, I make this too hard. None of that is going to sidetrack us. We are going to be in this fight, and we're going to be all the way in this fight. And to get this done, it's not one person who's going to deliver for us. It's got to be that all of the Democrats are getting ready, lined up, and we are in this fight. And that was the family conversation that I was trying to launch this morning.
- [13:21]
B
I think it's a really important conversation. And I would say, do Democrats that currently take a lot of corporate money, are they credible messengers in this moment? Because I think we need credible messengers. Messengers. In many ways, Trump manipulated his voters to say, I'm so rich, nobody can buy me, I'm a credible messenger. Well, that's a part of his con. But me, as a person who used to kind of be an MSNBC Democrat, and now I've kind of really opened my eyes and started to become more critically thinking. And I'm really looking at the money in politics, and I'm looking at the people who are a little too quiet on certain issues, and then I follow the money, and then I think, well, they're not a credible messenger. And in a family, I'm far more disappointed in my family members that disappoint me than I am the neighbors down the block. And the neighbors down the block, in this metaphor, are the Republicans, because I have no expectation for them to do anything except for lie and Weaponize religion against their voters, lie to rule America and and transfer money to their donors. So I'm really disappointed in Democrats for playing in that game a little bit. And we've seen now in New York City that a man named Zoran Mandani was able to say, I'm not taking any money. He took on all the billionaires and he spoke about universal human rights, and everybody tried used bigoted attacks to call him a bigot. And it was a mess. But the earnestness and the honesty and the fact that he was a credible messenger drove the people out. So back to the initial part of my question. Some of these Democrats that take a lot of corporate money, Senator, don't you think they've diminished their ability to be credible messengers?
- [15:14]
A
Yep. In fact, let me just pick up on your theme and remind you I've so far, I've endorsed a candidate in Minnesota in a competitive primary, and her name is Peggy Flanagan. She's lieutenant governor in Minnesota. And I've endorsed her for two reasons. One is she is a ferocious fighter on behalf of working families. I've worked with her for 10 years and just seen her out there over and over. Help get paid family leave through the state legislature, help raise the minimum wage. She's out there for working families. She has the receipts. But the second reason, she takes no corporate PAC money. And to me, that gives me a lot of confidence that when Peggy Flanagan says she's working for your family, it's not just words. She really is walking the walk. She's really putting it all in for your family and not shifting her message in order to attract billionaire donors. And that was a big part of what my speech was about today is about in the Democratic Party. We cannot be a party that narrows up our agenda, that doesn't take on hard questions, that doesn't say, backs off from universal childcare because it might mean raising taxes on billionaires, doesn't back off so that we can continue to attract corporate money, so that we can continue to attract billionaires and CEOs of giant companies. This really is the moment we decide who we are as Democrats. And I believe we do that because it's right. But I also believe that we got to make clear that we are in this fight for families, not for our billionaire donors, because that's going to be the only way that we can win. You are right. It is a credibility issue. And Democrats, we know how we can prove our credibility, and that is let's get focused on families and not on corporate PAC money or satisfying billionaires okay, last question. Sure.
- [17:32]
B
I read on Twitter that the President called you after your speech, and I just want you to spill the tea. Couple of questions. Number one, what does he say? Number two, is it awkward? Because he's always bashing you, like when he's on the campaign trail. And so he's on the phone, he's just like, hey, Senator, how's it going? Like y' all are big buddies. Give us all the backstory. Tea on that.
- [17:51]
A
So I did this speech this morning and talked about costs. And in the back and forth in the Q and A, I got asked about Trump's credit card proposal, putting a cap on interest rates on credit cards. And I said, look, I've been arguing for that for years. And when Donald Trump ran for president, he said that was one of the things he wanted to do. And I said, great, let's do it. And what has he done since then? Not lifted a single finger. Right. And I just went on and added, he claims that he wants to reduce housing costs, but what have we heard from him? Nothing on this. So, anyway, I. I called the facts the way I see them while I was giving this speech, and then when it was over and I'm in the car driving back over here, I get a call from Doc Fr. And.
- [18:49]
B
So I know it's not funny, but it's. I just need to laugh right now, Senator.
- [18:56]
A
But here's the thing, and I really do mean this. I'll work with anybody, and, boy, this proves it. I will work with anyone to bring down costs for working families. I want to see a cap on interest rates on credit cards. I think that is a fabulous idea. Been arguing for it for a long time. And if the President of the United States is willing to twist some arms in the Republican Senate and the Republican House to get it done, it will help American families, and that's what matters to me. Same thing. While I had him on the phone, he called about the credit cards. I said, hey, while I've got you, what about this housing bill that we've gotten all the way through the Senate? Let's do it over in the House as well. Call those guys in the House and tell them to move this bill. The Republicans are the ones holding it up.
- [19:54]
B
What are you saying?
- [19:55]
A
And so we'll see what happens next. I just want to underscore this. It's not about words. It's about getting the job done. Families need us to deliver for them, and I'm ready to fight that fight right now. I'm ready to call out Donald Trump and the Republicans when they don't. But I'm also willing to work with them if they really are ready to move forward some legislation that would make a real difference for working families. That's why I'm here.
- [20:26]
B
Senator Warren, you are a dear person. Thank you for fighting for us. Thank you for fighting for working families. Thank you for fighting for the voiceless. And thank you for always continuing to be a credible messenger. It means so much to us. Good luck at your job. Let me know if you get any other random phone calls. My listeners would like the tea on that. And we hope you have a great, great week.
- [20:48]
A
You bet. Thank you. And stay in this fight.