Trump Losing Midterms as Billionaires Turn Against Him; Total Disaster For Him

Summary

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IHIP News: “Trump Losing Midterms as Billionaires Turn Against Him; Total Disaster For Him”

Host: Jennifer Welch
Guest: Tom Steyer
Date: June 24, 2026

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Overview

In this episode of IHIP News, Jennifer Welch sits down with progressive activist and former California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer. The conversation focuses on the seismic shifts happening in American politics: the enormous spending by corporate and billionaire interests, the role of progressive candidates in shaping the political future, and a critical look at Donald Trump’s declining influence as major billionaires turn away from him. Through a blend of humor and earnest critique, the episode examines how big money dominates campaigns, the importance of sustained grassroots activism, and the moral imperative to put people before profits.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Big Money in Politics — The PAC Offensive

(01:08 – 04:24)

• Jennifer raises Politico’s reporting on APAC’s (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) record political spending, questioning its influence on Steyer’s race and others.
• Tom clarifies APAC’s focus is on federal races, but details how $55 million in corporate PAC money was spent against him.
  • Steyer: “They basically do what these guys always do, which is they say you’re a bad person...always an ad hominem argument as opposed to an argument about the future.” (02:20)
• Discussion underscores a strategic shift: Attack ads are personal rather than rooted in debate over substantive policy.

Memorable Moment:

• Tom provides a concrete example involving PG&E, which spent millions attacking his character but “not a single dollar” justifying their power monopolies—revealing how corporate interests avoid issue-based politics.

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2. The Case (and Limits) of Self-Funded Campaigns

(04:24 – 05:39)

• Jennifer asks Tom to respond to critics claiming billionaires shouldn’t fund their own campaigns.
• Tom recognizes concerns about fairness but argues large sums are needed to compete with entrenched interests:
  • Steyer: “If someone isn’t willing to spend a lot of money to fight these corporations, they will always win.” (04:37)
• He stresses his campaign focused on making California livable, affordable, and equitable, and that the opposition never debated these essential points—just spent to discredit him personally.

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3. What’s Next for Tom Steyer? Push for Systemic Change from Outside

(05:39 – 07:46)

• Jennifer presses Tom about his future plans given his wealth and progressive values.
  • She commends him as a “class traitor”—a billionaire defying his own economic class, investing in the public good.
• Tom reaffirms a continued commitment to advocacy:
  • Steyer: “This race was not an anomaly in my life...I have been pushing on progressive policies for a very long time.” (06:26)
  • As a private citizen he will selectively engage, support key people, and focus on where he can make a difference.

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4. Moral Leadership and Racial Justice

(07:46 – 11:35)

• Jennifer points to failures of white allyship, linking it to emboldened authoritarianism and systemic injustice.
• Tom highlights the black community’s historic and ongoing moral leadership in America:
  • Steyer: “Partnering with [the black] community is something which I think is critical for anybody who wants to make a moral argument in the United States.” (08:19)
  • He cites Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s lone moral stand against the Iraq War as a recent example.
• There’s a lament over corporate leaders abandoning any sense of duty to the broader society, valuing only shareholders.

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5. Progressive Momentum Versus MAGA Extremism

(11:35 – 14:40)

• Jennifer contrasts rising left-wing progressivism with the radicalization of the right:
  • Jennifer: “On the right, they’re getting crazier and crazier...whatever comes after Trump...it’s going to be worse because that’s their trajectory.” (11:35)
• Tom points to the importance of candidates with a clear, values-driven vision.
  • He champions Ro Khanna as an extraordinary, practical progressive and credits Bernie Sanders for changing the political conversation nationwide.
  • Steyer: “That idea of every person for themselves, dog eat dog, no sense of community...that is a recipe for failure. And we’re seeing it.” (12:20)
  • He identifies Trump’s political failures as emblematic of this broken culture.

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6. Billionaire Accountability: Elon Musk, International Aid, and U.S. Hypocrisy

(14:40 – 18:13)

• Jennifer recaps her recent interview with Rep. Ro Khanna regarding Elon Musk’s controversial influence. She playfully mocks Musk’s “panties in a big wad...wound up like a cheap clock,” before zeroing in on Musk’s opposition to USAID.
• Tom stresses the moral bankruptcy of slashing humanitarian aid while ballooning military spending:
  • Steyer: “Trump is always saying, now they respect you. No, now they revile us. Now they look at us as untrustworthy, dishonest, selfish and corrupt. And they’re not wrong.” (16:04)
  • He calls for a fundamental values shift—real leadership means prioritizing human wellbeing over profit and ego.
• Both agree: Democrats regaining Congressional power must prioritize oversight and accountability for billionaire-corporate wrongdoing.

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Notable Quotes / Memorable Moments

• Tom Steyer on Corporate Influence:
  “They wanted to try and smear me...never wanted to engage on the merits.” (03:43)
• Jennifer on American Political Trends:
  “On the left, we’re getting closer and closer to true progressive candidates...on the right, they’re getting crazier and crazier.” (11:35)
• Tom Steyer on Black Moral Leadership:
  “The black community has been the moral leader of the United States for longer than anyone’s been alive, and they continue to be.” (08:19)
• Tom Steyer on Trump & International Standing:
  “Trump is always saying, now they respect you. No, now they revile us...that is a value statement that has to be reversed.” (16:04)
• Jennifer’s Oklahoma zinger for Elon Musk:
  “He is just wound up like a cheap clock, as we say in Oklahoma.” (14:53)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:00 – Tom Steyer joins the episode
• 01:56 – PAC and APAC campaign spending
• 03:43 – Corporations attack candidates personally, not on policy
• 04:37 – Discussion of billionaire-funded campaigns
• 07:46 – Race, white allyship, and moral leadership
• 11:35 – Progressive vs. right-wing political trajectories
• 14:53 – Elon Musk and international aid controversy
• 16:04 – Steyer critiques Trump’s “respect” narrative & humanitarian priorities
• 18:13 – Episode wraps up with mutual encouragement

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Tone and Style

• Humorous, conversational, and emotionally charged
• Jennifer brings comedic, pointed commentary (e.g., “wound up like a cheap clock”)
• Tom Steyer is earnest, direct, and focused on systemic change with a tone of measured urgency

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Takeaways

• Corporate PACs avoid substantive debate, favoring personal attacks to derail progressive candidates.
• Progressive policy fights are long-haul endeavors, requiring persistence, money, and coalition-building.
• Moral clarity—especially partnership with the black community—is central to American progressive ambitions.
• The right’s increasing extremism intensifies the stakes for the left’s ongoing transformation.
• Holding billionaires and corporations accountable is a central mission for the next progressive wave.
• The future hinges on candidates with vision, integrity, and willingness to challenge both entrenched powers and dangerous narratives.

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This episode is a roadmap for progressives seeking both inspiration and practical insights in the face of outsized corporate influence and the ongoing Trumpian legacy.

Transcript

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[Jennifer]

All right. Joining me on IHIP News today is our friend Tom Steyer. Tom, how are you?

[Tom Steyer]

I'm great. Jennifer, how are you doing?

[Jennifer]

Great. Let's dive into this. So you just ran for governor of California, which I appreciate that progressive people that are standing up to corporations are running. And as Bernie Sanders has shown us, it might take two, three, four political cycles to finally charge through. And so I think that your efforts are not done in vain because it takes time to, to change the culture of an electorate. And speaking of the culture of an electorate, there's reporting from Politico. Pop this up. As APAC spending surges, it faces a big primary test. APAC is on pace to surpass its previous spending records. It's become an issue in Maryland and New York. Did APAC spend money against you?

[Tom Steyer]

They're not. I don't think APAC actually acts in state races directly that I believe they only act in federal races. So they'd act in Congress, they'd act in the presidency. But I don't believe they acted directly in state races.

[Jennifer]

But I think 55 million in corporate PAC money was spent against you.

[Tom Steyer]

It doesn't include what they spent on the other candidates. But yes, $55 million spent. Really not on debating any issues. Really not on saying that, you know, they didn't debate whether we should have single payer health care. They didn't debate whether we should build houses. They didn't debate whether we should break up the electric monopolies. Power. They basically do what, you know, what I believe these guys always do, which is they say you're a bad person. It's always an ad hominem argument as opposed to an argument about the future, about vision, about what we should do. It's always an argument about trying to disqualify the person.

[Jennifer]

Yeah, it always seems like they're trying to put a shiny object out for the electorate to chew on. And we all have kind of shortened attention spans from our phones and the way we are consuming information and news. But they put this shiny object out there, like Tom Steyer is all of these terrible things, or Zoran Mamdani is all of these terrible things. And they do that because they cannot deliver for the citizens in material ways where citizens are materially benefiting from their government.

[Tom Steyer]

Well, you know, and the perfect example, because it's just so clear, is PG&E. I mean, they spent over $13 million attacking me as a person, but they spent no dollars, zero dollars and zero cents saying we deserve to have a monopoly and charge you twice as much as everybody else in the United States of America. That was never brought up by them for a single second. It was just to try and avoid that argument. And that was pretty much true across the board, that the companies that were coming after me never wanted to engage on the merits. They wanted to try and smear me.

[Jennifer]

And critics have pointed out that you spent over 200 million of your own money on your gubernatorial campaign. What do you say to people who think that billionaires shouldn't fund their own campaigns?

[Tom Steyer]

Look, I'm. I understand the idea about why that, that's unfair. But let me say this. If someone isn't willing to spend a lot of money to fight these corporations, they will always win. And so the real question is, and this was true in my race, they spend a record amount of money against me because I had a very clear message that the people of California should come first, that it should be a place that people can afford to live, working people can afford to live. It should be a place. We're such a rich state. Why do we have such a terrible education system? You know, it should be a place where people get health care as a right, at an affordable price. And so the stuff. No one ever came out and said, we should have a terrible education system. That's what we're for. They never came out and said, we're happy that people can't afford to health care. That's terrific. No one ever said that they spent a lot of money. And so for me to push back against that was very expensive.

[Jennifer]

So what, what are your plans now, Tom, to do you have a lot of wealth and you have a lot of ideas and you have integrity? I mean, so what, what is your plan? Because I think it's going to take. I've seen the most bravery in everyday citizens, in grand juries that refuse to sign an indictment. We all know grand juries would indict a ham sandwich, or so the saying goes, that refused to indict Letitia James. And you see Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes bravely stand up and say, salary be damned, I will not do this. So you see everyday American standing up to this regime more than the billionaire class, which is what you're in. So we could call you a class trader, which I commend you for. But what's the plan now?

[Tom Steyer]

Well, look, this, the plan is to continue going. Look, this race was not an anomaly in my life. This race reflected what I'd been doing before and it reflected what I'm going to continue to do. You know, I have been pushing on progressive policies for a very long time. And you know, we, I talked about that in my race, the things that we'd gotten done individually, the corporate interest that we'd taken on and beaten, getting free breakfast and lunch for school kids in California, all the stuff we'd done. And I'm going to continue to do that. The difference is this, Jennifer. It's as governor, you can do it all. You basically have a platform to address each one of what I would think of as the policy verticals. As a private citizen, you don't have that luxury. The question for me will be exactly where will I engage? Not whether I'll engage, but exactly where are the places where I feel like I can make a difference? Who are the people who I can support, who I think will make a difference? You know, how do we move the ball forward as a private citizen as opposed to an elected official?

[Jennifer]

And where do you feel called to do that? Like for me, if I had your kind of wealth, I see what the Supreme Court is doing with the Voting Rights Act. And I think that the lack of white allyship with our black community has been something that incubated this fascism. When we saw Renee Good get shot in the street, we were like, oh my God, they shot somebody. Well, in the black community they were like, we've been trying to tell you this for a long time, that our communities have been over policed. So that would be something that I would want to invest in.

[Tom Steyer]

Where do you think that is a great point, Jennifer? Let me say, I think that what you just said is a great point and that is this one of the things that I've said consistently and that I Said when I was running is, the black community has been the moral leader of the United States for longer than anyone's been alive, and they continue to be. And partnering with that community is something which I think is critical for anybody who wants to make a moral argument in the United States of America. And so I always say people look back a pretty long way to Dr. King and to the civil rights movement, but I don't think you need to look that far back at all. I mean, I always like to point out that the only congressperson who voted against the Iraq war on a moral issue was a black woman who's currently the mayor of Oakland, California. And so to a very large extent, that moral leadership is something which continues and is unbroken. And I think for anybody who wants to push a broad based, human based agenda, aligning with the black community, participating with the black community, partnering with the black community seems to me like a necessity. And I, you know, I think that's really true. I think it's true in California, I think it's true outside California. And I think to a large extent, what we're seeing in America is a failure of values. You know, the idea that people were fighting me about whether the people of California should be the biggest concern of the government of California, I mean, if you take a step back, that's insane. Of course the people of California should be the primary interest of the government of California. What else would it be? And so what we're seeing is a pullback from that. When you see corporate leaders say we have no response, some of them have said it explicitly, but their actions are all saying we have no responsibility to the community as a whole. We have a responsibility only to our shareholders and we'll do whatever it takes. That covers anything. The bottom line justifies anything that's legal. And that is not leadership. What we're really looking for is how do we reestablish the idea that people across the board, definitely political leaders, for goodness sakes, but also leaders in other parts of our society, see a responsibility to the greater society, see a responsibility and also a pride in the idea that we have a successful society with everyone participating in that success. And the idea that that was a strange idea or a controversial idea, that's very hard for me to fathom because that's the whole point.

[Jennifer]

So each election cycle, I feel like on the left, we're getting closer and closer to true progressive candidates that are not beholden to corporations. And on the right, they're getting crazier and crazier. I mean, they're just off the rocker, right? You know, like whatever comes after Trump on that side, you know, it's going to be worse because that's their trajectory. How important is it that we keep putting up progressive candidates and keep pushing the. You spoke a little bit about the culture, the culture of our country in valuing human beings over money. It's really, really a cultural sickness. And you see that played out in the politicians that. So what are your thoughts about that?

[Tom Steyer]

I think, Jennifer, I think you put your finger on something that's really critical. We're not changing this without people who can understand and explain a vision to citizens, to voters. And so when we look at it, I mean, one of the people who I met, I'd met before, but who I got to know much better in this campaign was Ro Connor. And I believe him. He, I believe he's extraordinary and I think he's extraordinary, clear eyed in what's needed. Very, very practical, but moving the ball down the field and you know, to take a broader view for a second. There's no question that Bernie Sanders has changed the conversation in the United States of America. There's just no question. And you know, he did it originally where he felt like, I've got to run to make this point. And I think when you look now, when I look. So I don't want to speak for everybody, but when I look at candidates, my question is, okay, where are we trying to go? What is the vision? What are the changes that you see we need to make and what are the values behind those changes? But until that just seems to me incredibly obvious because as this country leaves so many people behind, leaves behind its own sense of community and shared progress, that is not the America that I grew up in. That's not the California that I want to live in. And I think that it's a recipe for failure. And that's what we're seeing is that idea of every person for themselves, dog eat dog, no sense of community, just focused on them. That is a recipe for failure. And we're seeing it happen. And I think Donald Trump's failure as a president, which we can go into, but it's very clear, is a reflection of that kind of extremely shortsighted, self interested way of thinking about life, which does not lead to success in any meaningful way and is really in my mind a contradiction to the spirit of, you know, freedom, community, equality, shared progress.

[Jennifer]

All right, last question. So you mentioned Congressman Ro Khanna, and he was on my podcast over the weekend. He was, yeah, we were talking About Elon Musk.

[Tom Steyer]

I did not realize that was on your podcast.

[Jennifer]

That was on my podcast.

[Tom Steyer]

I read about kind of that back and forth.

[Jennifer]

Elon Musk panties are in a big wad and he is just wound up like a cheap clock, as we say in Oklahoma. He is so mad at Ro Khanna because he is saying that there is a UCLA report that shows that the pulling of USAID can cause deaths. And I think we all knew this. So he's going bananas. And so I had row on again last night and I said, okay, if you, if Hakeem Jeffries gets the hammer and listener don't go bananas, we could have another podcast about who should be speaker. But if we, you know, that's just the way it's going to be for right now. What will you do on day one? Are you intimidated by Elon Musk? He said no on day one. We will launch an investigation of oversight into what he did at Doge. How important do you think holding these wealthy people, which, by the way, get a lot of government subsidies, which, by the way, he's also an immigrant, which I don't have a problem with, but according to maga, that's their big thing. How important is it the Democrats when they get the hammer back in the House or if they get the Senate, how important is that we hammer down on accountability and fight back?

[Tom Steyer]

Look, I think that we have to change the narrative about what's going on in the United States and the idea that we should have cut out aid around the world to people who are starving, sick and especially kids, which because this is overwhelmingly kids, that we should do that. And that's a smart savings of money when we're spending. They want to spend a trillion and a half dollars on armaments, on guns. Seems to me to be an absolute description of how this administration and that party has gone so wildly off the rails. And the result of it is, if you look at the United States around the world, Trump is always saying, now they respect you. No, now they revile us. Now they look at us as untrustworthy, dishonest, selfish and corrupt. And they're not wrong. So to me, showing the world that someone who is all about money and is willing to kill children in the millions or to be fair, to take the money away that would save children in the millions, that is a value statement that has to be reversed. Because if that's what the United States stands for, we are going to scare you. We are going to bomb you if you don't do what we want. And it's all about our bottom line and our power and our, you know, sense of overweening pride and arrogance. That is a absolutely opposed to my idea of the Republic that started 250 years ago about the citizens and about equality and about freedom. That is the exact opposite. That is a bunch of people whose egos have gone massively insane and they've lost any touch with what I think are basic American values.

[Jennifer]

Tom Steer thank you. Let's keep fighting the fight together. I always love having you on.

[Tom Steyer]

Right on. Jennifer. It's so great to see you.

[Jennifer]

Bye Bye.

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