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- [00:03]
A
So are we supposed to start the podcast?
- [00:07]
B
Ready, 1, 2, 3, patriots, gay trio.
- [00:11]
A
They trio, black triots, Brown Trio. And anybody who still supports MAGA can do what pumps off with.
- [00:25]
B
Okay, what I've had it with is customer service. That is really not customer service. When I'm trying to figure out something and I can't figure it out on the Internet, which I know I'm not the best on the Internet, but I'm slightly competent, slightly above competent. So I call the customer service line, I explain what the problem is after waiting for, you know, hours on end, but whatever. And then they tell me, oh, I can't help you with that. You have to do that online or you have to do that through the app. I'm like, bitch, if I could do it through the app, we wouldn't be having this conversation. And I just think part of it I understand is me. But why not just have customer service that says, hello, this is customer service, we really can't help you, we only have AI to offer, so go to the app and if you can't do it, shove it up your ass. That would at least be honest. I could at least say, okay, well then I'm just, I have to call Kylie. But no, I go through all the rigmarole for them, the person to tell me the computer has to do it, I've had it.
- [01:39]
A
I completely agree and sadly punt. This is going to become more and more and more and more the norm to where I think the AI, AI robot based on the people who are funding them, like all of these assholes like Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, their bots are probably going to say work with me or go yourself. And again, you know, we're pretty tough broads. There's a little bit of that direct nature that we can appreciate, but the disconnectedness that we that's happening because of all of these modern technological advancements is just trickling into every facet of of our lives. And y' all know I recently moved from Oklahoma City to New York. Living in Oklahoma City, you live a very isolated life. You're in your house, you're at work or in your car. When you live in a big city, you're out among people a lot. So you feel kind of a connectedness to humanity. So I especially worry about these non walkable cities in the onslaught of AI, how isolated they're going to feel and detached from. If you can't even get somebody on the phone.
- [02:56]
B
Well, here's the deal. I've listened to my kids Try to talk on the phone before when they were younger, like in high school. And I was just like, you can't even talk on the phone. Like, my youngest was trying to order a pizza, and I was just like, you can't even talk to order a pizza. I want a pepperoni pizza, thin crust. That's it. It was painful. So the isolation, the lack of being able to talk to somebody is really like. Until I heard him in action trying to talk on the phone, I didn't realize how bad it had gotten.
- [03:37]
A
No, it's true. I think we've, we've done this before. Kylie's put this up before. The stats about the anxiety that Gen Z about, like calling to make a dental appointment like that. There's just anxiety regarding that because they. They're a complete online generation. And I'm not knocking Gen Z. You are a product of the world that you were raised in, and you were raised with these devices in your hand, and you can go online and just book something. And I can always tell when I'm dealing with a boomer or a Gen Xer, because if I send somebody a text and I need a response and the response is somewhat complicated, the Gen Xer or the boomer Boomer will immediately call and go, hey, got your text, right? It's too much. My response is too long to text back. Here's the gist of it. And you go through a formal conversation about the aforementioned question. If it's a millennial and especially a Gen Z, they've got all day. I mean, their thumbs are going to burn a thousand calories sorting through that problem. You know, so that generation might be more primed to, to communicate with the robots, but the underlying loss of connectedness, it's a. It's a real problem. And when you think about people that live in rural towns or suburban cities, because, you know, you live in suburbia, you go from wherever your office is, through your driveway, through your garage, in your house, and then back through your garage. There's hardly any interaction with human beings. And so I think it's something we have to. I don't know, we'll just add to the list, right?
- [05:16]
B
I mean, these would be problems if we weren't fighting fascism. This would be something that we could really speak. But they're connected.
- [05:23]
A
They're connected. But the oligarchs that are supporting Trump, that want to do away with democracy are the same AI guys who are. It's not the immigrants that are coming to take your jobs, America, it's the robots that's who's coming. Elon Musk, Sam Altman, neutered Scott Zuckerberg, et cetera. Okay, I have something I've got to share with you and Kylie that I've waited so that I could share it with you all so the listener could hear your reactions for the first time. Okay, Kylie, you can go ahead and come in early. There she is. We'll get to that. Introducing her and the America's Top DEI podcast momentarily. So in lieu of giving a grievance, I'm going to share with you all a story that happened to me about five days ago. So I was at Madison Square park in New York City. I was assaulted and robbed. What? Yeah. So I'm standing in the dog park of Madison Square park and I took my dog's leashes off so they could freely run. And we go on the big dog side because you have to be 30 pounds plus to go to the biggest dog side. Tubby's 31 pounds. Cha Cha is a little heavy right now. Heavier now than I think she would like. She's 33 pounds. So I'm standing in there and somebody comes and just pushes me on my back. And I keep trying to turn to see who it is, but I'm kind of like stuck. Finally, I get a glimpse and I'm being assaulted by a black Labrador retriever who has his eyes locked on my hood. I have a long, down, furry coat. Not for I've long down coat. The hood of the coat is the nylon puff, but it has a faux fur hood around it. This black lab has his jaws on the hood. And the reason I can't turn around is because his paws are mounted up on my hips like he's about to R a P right E. So he's kind of mounted up like that, but he's got his jaws on the hood and he's going like this, like, right, left, right, left, right, left. And I'm like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. My dogs are barking. My dogs are going crazy. And the dog, finally, he's so tenacious, he rips the hood off my jacket. You guys, it is freezing. I'm talking like teen, like maybe 12 degrees or something insane. So I'm all bundled up in this coat. Then this dog that just assaulted me and stole my hood goes on a 30 minute victory lap with my hood in his mouth. So proud of himself, parading around his thieving ways to everybody in the dog park. Everybody. Now I've got 10 people involved with trying to get the hood back right from the criminal black lab. And the dog owner is like, he's kind of like casual about it. He's like, I am sorry about that. And I'm like, he just screwed up my whole coat. Like, yeah, like, doesn't even. So finally we all hunt this dog down to get the hood back. And here's the cherry on the top. His dog took a. In the dog park and he did not even clean up his dog's what.
- [08:50]
B
He should be banned.
- [08:52]
A
He is a bad pet owner. And I put the majority of this not on the black lab, but on the pet owner. Because you need to be aware when you were going to the dog park. Is your dog a klepto? Is your dog a kleptomaniac? If he is, then maybe he needs training so he doesn't go crime in the dog park. Maybe we shouldn't have dogs that like to steal the hoods off of a woman's coat. Now granted, listen, I've got a really strong core, so I was able to take the assault.
- [09:25]
B
Yeah.
- [09:25]
A
And kind of lock in, you know, without getting knocked over because I bet the dog was probably 120 pounds. But with my tennis and pickleball athleticism, I was able to kind of take the assault and. And hold it. And then he ripped the hood off. And I was even chasing him down with the others, but it was. Is that not utterly insane? Lackluster apology.
- [09:52]
B
That is a whole conversation. But I just want to say one thing. I really hate to give it to you. I mean, this, this is painful for me. Like my insides are rotting. But the first thing I thought was, thank God she works out all the time. That she could withstand the assault where the brain goes. Yeah. I mean that. So anyway, I hate saying that. That was just like vinegar coming out of my.
- [10:18]
A
I know. Thanks, Captain Obvious.
- [10:24]
B
Those of you listening, I just gave her the bird. Okay. Did it rip your. Is that a snap on hood or did it ruin.
- [10:32]
C
Zip hood?
- [10:33]
A
So, you know, if you live in New York, you have to have degrees of coats like you could. So this was the. It has a hood, a faux fur, little thing around it, black, quilted down, all the way down to my ankles. Like this is the coldest of the cold. But being the pet owner that I am, you know, much like the United States Postal Service, through rain, snow, sleet or shine, those dogs were going to go to the dog park. Right.
- [11:03]
B
You're a method.
- [11:04]
A
So it's a zip on coat, which I'd never unzipped it because it's so cute. It has this little faux fur hood, it kind of makes the whole jacket because those jackets are not that cute because they're like big, giant trash bags. Right, Right. But the hood really gives it a little. Obviously, this black lab noticed how attractive the hood was. Notice the athleticism underneath the jacket. He. That I could withstand such an assault. And. But no, I was completely assaulted and robbed by a black lab.
- [11:32]
B
Okay, then there's the dog.
- [11:33]
A
He was a big boy.
- [11:35]
B
Don't they have the bags at the dog?
- [11:37]
A
Yes.
- [11:38]
D
Okay.
- [11:38]
B
That's what I thought.
- [11:40]
A
Okay.
- [11:40]
B
So that, like, the other day, I took my dogs in separate instead of all together, and I forgot a bag with Blaze. And of course, he's ginormous. So it was this ginormous. So I had to walk home and then walk back to pick it up. So it's just inexcusable that they left. The guy left the dog shit. I mean, that's.
- [12:02]
A
Do you want to hear the worst part?
- [12:04]
B
What?
- [12:05]
A
So the dog is assaulting me, and I'm like, hey, hey. My little. My dogs are like, you know, they're protective. I'm like, hey, hey. And I'm looking around, and then finally, I see the owner, and he's on his phone, and I'm like, dude, your dog just stole my hood. Did you have to tell him that I'll call? Yes. And then the dog. So this dog park has these, like, hills with, like, astroturf, Right. And in the. There's a small dog side and a big dog side. On the big dog side, the hill is really big. So this dog was so proud of his acquisition, the. His kleptomania, that he runs to the top of the hill, and he just runs. Keeps running back and forth. And a human. Like, it's pretty steep.
- [12:50]
B
Like the Lion King.
- [12:52]
D
Yes.
- [12:52]
A
It's like. It's like a really steep hill that there's, like, a plateau at the top, and it's probably about 20ft long or maybe 15ft long, and he's just going, like, back and forth and all of these people. So. So in the throes of all this, he runs down at one point, drops the poop, and then runs right back up. Like, it was such a. I was so impressed at the poop. It was like, down, drop right back up on the hill.
- [13:17]
B
Right.
- [13:17]
A
But I know who did it. Yeah, so do we.
- [13:20]
B
Are we giving the owner credit that maybe didn't see it?
- [13:23]
A
No, absolutely not. That owner is getting zero credit. Number one, motherfucker.
- [13:29]
B
I would have. First of all, we all know I have problems with Ollie that he has had to go to several trainers. And he just got back from trainer boarding school. It's doing so well, by the way. But I cannot imagine that I would have not been like, oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Is your jacket okay? Offered to Venmo to pay for the jacket. I cannot believe the guy was sitting on his phone. I would be so pissed. That would have pissed me off worse than the dog.
- [14:02]
A
Finally, this other guy that's at the dog park, whose dog was very well behaved, was not a kleptomaniac. Get. Retrieves the hood. And so he gives it to me, and I can tell that the zipper is completely blown. And he goes, here. I go, oh, dang it. The zipper's completely blown. I'll have. I guess I can take it to a tailor or something, get it fixed. It's not something you want to go. It's not a fun purchase. You know, the Arctic all over down puffer.
- [14:27]
C
Right.
- [14:27]
A
It's not. Something's like, oh, great, I get to go get a new trash bag puffer that hides, you know, any cute outfit you have on or anything. And so he goes, it broke. And I go, did you not see your dog rip it off? Like, I mean, the dog was like. Like the dog thought it was some sort of rat or squirrel or, you know, like, toy. That's neglected.
- [14:51]
B
That's neglect on the parents part, I think.
- [14:55]
A
I mean, not noticing.
- [14:57]
D
I have a confession to make to you and the listener. I do not clean up Judy's poop ever. I don't.
- [15:07]
A
In New York City. Yeah, you can't do that.
- [15:11]
D
You can't.
- [15:12]
A
Why? Did you get a ticket?
- [15:14]
D
A ticket? Well, there's, like, these two park, like, small squares with a tree right where it's like grass.
- [15:21]
B
Right.
- [15:21]
D
And if someone's walking by, I kind of just hide her behind the tree and let her do it. Right there.
- [15:28]
A
That's what I said. And you leave the. You leave the poop?
- [15:32]
D
Yeah. My girlfriend's looking at me so mad that I'm admitting this right now.
- [15:36]
A
Why? Why do you do that?
- [15:38]
D
I'm not used to having to clean it up. I never have a bag.
- [15:42]
A
Bad.
- [15:43]
D
I mean, is that just Bad citizenry? Yeah.
- [15:46]
B
Yeah.
- [15:48]
A
It's indefensible. Yeah, it's indefensible. I think that you and the owner of the black Lab could start a group. Negligent parent, negligent pet owner group.
- [16:04]
D
Yeah.
- [16:04]
B
You don't want to get Judy to get a reputation as the dog in the neighborhood that shits everywhere. Because people will blame Judy when it's your fault. And not having a bag is not an excuse. Then just carry Kleenex if it's so tiny.
- [16:17]
A
Kylie, it's inexcusable. You need to go buy a dog bag thing. You can put it on your leash. You need to clean up. It doesn't matter if anybody sees it, doesn't matter where. You have to do that because you care about your dog, yourself, public spaces, and other people. It's just an inexcusable situation. Do not edit this out. I will watch this episode to make sure this is in here. Welcome to I've had It. I'm Jennifer.
- [16:44]
B
I'm Angie.
- [16:46]
A
And that's Kylie. The person who allows her dog to just. All over New York City and doesn't clean it up.
- [16:54]
B
Yeah, I mean, worse that. It's New York City, I think.
- [16:58]
A
All right. Welcome to America's top DEI podcast. Kylie, quit going out of the room, right?
- [17:03]
B
Why are you hiding? Are you embarrassed?
- [17:05]
A
She's embarrassed about the poop situation. Kylie, what's going on on the World Wide Web?
- [17:09]
D
Okay, I've got a news story that some listeners have been sharing with me that I think you guys are really going to like. It says, this man is going viral for teaching crows how to attack MAGA hats. And if you dig into the article, it says a man's unusual form of political protest has taken the Internet by storm. After months of patience, peanuts, and persistence, one crow enthusiast claims he successfully trained local crows to target MAGA hats. The project was documented online. It sparked praise, outrage, and ethical debate in equal measure. And then this is a quote from him. His name is Dave, and the headline says, why did Dave say centrism was no longer a moral option? And says Dave was candid about the motivation behind his actions. I tried to be a centrist for a long time, but I no longer believe that it is a moral option. He admitted. That shift in mindset, he said, pushed him toward what he described as this form of absurd resistance.
- [18:10]
B
Five stars for Dave. That's brilliant.
- [18:14]
A
The turn, the. The training the crows is fantastic. But the turn to have the political depth, to identify centrism as such a cancer of incrementality in this country is, wow, like, because that's really the great awakening that's happening right now in this country is people are realizing these are not political differences. These are moral differences. When somebody says they're a MAGA supporter, I don't see anything. Any of our disagreements is political. For me, they are Moral. We're morally different people. They're morally bankrupt. And I'm trying to fight for the marginalized, to try to use my white socioeconomic positioning for good, to fight for a better country, to fight for my children, to have a better place, but most importantly, to fight for the kids that nobody fights for.
- [19:10]
B
Right.
- [19:11]
A
And MAGA wants to bully those. Those people, and they like it. They like recreational cruelty.
- [19:18]
B
Yeah, I. I completely agree with that. And I do think that when you've got a guy that is so persistent in teaching a crow to attack a red MAGA hat, I mean, obviously, just red hats, but I think maybe Trump's craziness is awakening people in ways that we haven't even seen. I mean, people are starting to really be frustrated with both sides for the both side isms. And this is just kind of a brilliant move, I think.
- [19:51]
A
Yeah. And I would argue there aren't both sides. I would. Yeah. That. That there is the side that is anti democracy, pro death. Right. Pro the erosion of civil liberties, and then there's the side that is for democracy, for the Constitution, for civil liberties. But the fact that he pinpoints centrism as being such a culprit, such a dark passenger with fascism is so spot on, because that's the message that I've been trying to beat on here as I've had my own political awakening, that centrism is complacency. Centrism is appeasement. You either believe in supporting LGBTQ plus people and you believe in it wholeheartedly, or you believe in supporting anti racism and are black Americans and you believe it wholeheartedly, and you're not. I just feel like both sides are so extreme off. One side wants pronouns. The other side wants to shoot lesbians.
- [20:51]
B
Right.
- [20:52]
A
Murder them. The. There's. That's a false equivalency to try to claim that somebody puts a pronouns in their. Instagram led you to feel like it's okay for lesbians to get shot and then called a in Minnesota.
- [21:09]
B
Yeah, no, it's inexcusable. The both sides. I. I feel like it's part of the decline that nobody would call out from the beginning. Like, we. We should have never gotten here. I mean, there's a million factors. I'm not pinpointing on that, but it's like there's not both sides to banning books. You know, separation of church and state. These are. These are black and white issues.
- [21:35]
A
All right, Kylie, do we have time for one more before our guest?
- [21:39]
D
I've got one more.
- [21:40]
A
Okay. This says cruise line Offers no go ahead.
- [21:47]
D
Cruise line offers four year trip for Americans that want to skip Trump's term and it goes on to say some people are choosing the ocean over four years of politics. A Florida based cruise company called Villa V Residences is offering a four year global voyage aimed at Americans who want to live abroad during a potential second Trump presidency which we are in now. The program allows passengers to reside on the cruise ship while traveling to hundreds of ports around the world and they get to skip the four years that.
- [22:18]
A
We'Re currently living in right now. I thought when I first saw that picture up that it was a mega cruise. That's why I spoiled so badly. I just thought could you imagine like as a non religious person if somebody were to say describe like hell on earth. I think it would be a cruise right where everybody on it is MAGA with like really horrible cover bands, all you can eat buffets, lots of group activities, lots of MAGA hats, lots of MAGA coated merch with the eagles and grenades. And I'm a big boy and I wear big boy grenade T shirts and Charlie Kirk type stuff. And then at night they were dressed like Erica Kirk, AKA Tammy Faye Baker. For those of you that remember what she was like, that would be hell. I don't think I could it and you're out at sea with these people.
- [23:15]
B
There's nowhere to go.
- [23:16]
A
I think I would just go right to the front of the boat and I would do the most gorgeous swan dive. I mean gorgeous. And I would just end it right there. That would be the end for me.
- [23:28]
B
That would be a hostage situation. If, if you found out I was on a cruise ship, it would be hostage situation MAGA or not. I just, I don't like that many people that I can't get away from. Like I'd have to jump off to get away from people. No thanks.
- [23:44]
A
Okay. We have a great guest today. Pumps and I met him at the dnc. This man is every bit as lovely off camera and personable and conversational as he is on camera. He is the real deal we are proud to have on. I've had it again. The guy, the 43rd governor of Illinois, Governor J.B. pritzker. A Christmas miracle has taken place. So we decided to go do a live show in Atlanta on January 31st. And we were for sure like the ticket sales are going to be lackluster. Nobody's going to become. I'll be damned if it didn't sell out in like a couple of days. So the organizer was like, you should do another day And I'm like, that's a pretty big. Pretty big ass, Pretty big ass for two old broads like us, right? So we added an additional day. Ticket sales were getting about close to halfway. February 1st, center stage in Atlanta. And it is also a matinee because we are going to normalize matinees. We are going to normalize a reasonable start time. We're not going to start a show at 8 or 9pm no, it's bedtime. Wake up the next day feeling hungover, strung out. Why did I hang out with all of these radical leftists, Anti fascists. We're not going to do that because we're pro matinee, we're pro democracy, we're anti maga, and we're anti fascist.
- [25:09]
B
Come see us. It's going to be so fun. I love getting together at a live show with all of the people. It's such a community.
- [25:17]
A
This episode of I've had it is brought to you by Booking.com listener. Booking.com offers a wide variety and array of hotels and vacation rentals across the US So you can find exactly what you're booking for. There's something for everyone, even those who are impossible to please. Let me give you a prime example of this. My family, my husband, my two sons. I do not want to share a bathroom with them when I travel with them. We recently went to Los Angeles and I was looking for two hotel rooms where the boys have two beds and their own bathroom. My husband and I have our own bedroom, one bed with a bathroom and then an additional powder bath because I just don't want to share space with messy boys. Because. Because booking.com is so easy to navigate and so easy to use, I found exactly what I was booking for. Whether you're booking for yourself, your partner, your picky teens, your sleep light rise early mom, or your high maintenance group chat, you can find exactly what you're booking for. Find exactly what you're booking for. Booking.com booking. Yeah. Book today on the site or in the app. It's America's favorite. Governor, J.B. pritzker.
- [26:38]
C
You guys are America's favorite. I'm just lucky to be here.
- [26:41]
B
No, we're so excited to have you. We've been dying to have you back. We had so much fun with you at the dnc. I mean, this is a fun, fun dude. Everybody needs to know.
- [26:49]
A
Well, governor, how are you today?
- [26:51]
C
Very kind. You know what? I really, I'm. How am I? You know, people have asked me that, like every day is a blessing is all. I can think of to say it's, you know, it's been challenging. I' been asked, is this like, Covid, you know, the moment that we're in, is it like every day, you know, the, the, the challenges that we face? And the answer is, I, I think it's maybe slightly worse than Covid, even though obviously people were dying in the United States in droves because of what Donald Trump was doing with regard to Covid. But it's a really challenging moment. But anyway, that's a longer answer you were looking for. I'm personally fine. My family seems healthy and, you know, but the question is, what more can we do to protect people?
- [27:42]
A
All right, Governor, what have you had it with?
- [27:45]
C
Oh, well, so many things. Jennifer, let's start with I don't know about you, but I, I, you know, I do like, a Google search for something. I just, you know, don't know. I'm looking for something. Recently. It was the Packers Bears game, and I was looking for a cheese grater hat, so I did a search on Google, and now I'm being delivered all kinds of ads selling me cheese graters.
- [28:10]
B
Yeah.
- [28:10]
C
And, like, I'm so sick of that happening. And I guess the other thing that's been bothering me is I don't know how many streaming services you're paying for, but it feels like I'm paying for about 47 of them, and I still can't find content.
- [28:25]
B
Right.
- [28:26]
C
So that's annoying the heck out of me. So that I've had it with that.
- [28:30]
A
Those are both excellent grievances.
- [28:32]
B
Yeah. The streaming deal, I don't know if it's just we've become so spoiled, but I'll watch a show for one or two episodes that I, you know, 10 years ago, I would have pushed through till the end, but I'm like, I don't really like it. So I think we, we have over saturation, and I have all these channels, and so I've never can really commit to anything.
- [28:52]
C
All I can say is I'm now going back and looking at stuff that came out 10 and 15 years ago to find content that I just missed back then. And, and I'm finding it, I have to say, occasionally. But I must say, I, I feel like every time I'm paying my bills and I've got, you know, another $6.99 or $14 a month, you know, and it's. It feels like cable was a lot cheaper.
- [29:19]
B
Yeah.
- [29:19]
C
So I almost want to go back.
- [29:21]
A
Convenient. Your story about targeted ads reminds me of one of my favorite MAGA influencer stories. And we're going to just gossip politically with you a little bit, because it's Trump's second term. Who cares, right? So Benny Johnson, big MAGA warrior. Right. He is a big podcaster. I mean, whatever Trump says, you know, he's a part of that MAGA hive mind. Well, he screenshots one day that he was being targeted by gay cruises. A targeted ad. And he screenshots it like, the gays are after me everywhere. And then people were like, hey, bro, that's a targeted ad based off of your Google searches. So he self owned, which is such the perfect story that encapsulates the, the faux masculinity of this MAGA movement.
- [30:17]
C
Absolutely. And, you know, I remember many years ago, and I worked in Congress. I was a kid in my 20s, and I remember there was a congressman who was railing against the LGBTQ community on the floor of the House, and it was day in and day out and, you know, calling it evil and, you know, just really going after people. And then a few months later, it turned out, oh, no, he's gay.
- [30:43]
B
Right, right.
- [30:44]
C
You know, so that, that reminds me that whenever you hear anybody really loudly condemning something, this is very true of Donald Trump, I might add. It is often the case that when he is attacking somebody on some basis, it's usually because what he's saying is really about him.
- [31:01]
B
Right?
- [31:01]
A
Totally. Okay, Governor, let's, let's just, I'm going to ask you, do you think you might run for president?
- [31:09]
C
Oh, you went right at it, Jennifer.
- [31:11]
A
Let's just go. Let's get right to the knockout.
- [31:14]
C
Look, I, I, I'm flattered. I am. And that people have talked about it, and I honestly have not been able to answer that question because I, I don't know. I'm running for reelection as governor, and it's an unusual thing because in Illinois anyway, even though we have no limits on the number of terms that you can serve, it's very unusual for anybody to run for a third term as governor. I think I would be the second person ever to do that. So I'm focused on winning reelection for that. But, you know, I don't want to give too many words around it except to say that I am deeply concerned about what's happening to the country, and I'm doing everything I can with the platform that I have to speak out about it. You know, indeed, I, I would say that, that, you know, a lot of. Maybe you heard about a year ago, I think it got a lot of national play when I talked about defending Illinois and the fact that we're living in a world that looks a whole lot like the early 30s in Germany.
- [32:19]
A
Yeah.
- [32:20]
C
And, you know, people on the right, you know, attacked me and said, how dare you? How dare you. People on the left were quiet and didn't back it up. Now what do you know, 12 months later? Well, a lot more people, anyway, among Democrats are saying, yeah, this feels like Germany in the 1930s, and of course, Republicans just won't own it. But look, I'm about defending my state and defending the country and doing everything that I can in my power. I grew up believing that that's an obligation that we all have, defending democracy, defending this country, and especially defending it against attacks on civil rights and human rights.
- [33:04]
B
Let me ask you a question. You were one of the first people that I saw in a prominent position to go after Trump's cognitive decline and his cognitive health. And as we sit here and we see that he's still blubbering about the Nobel Peace Prize and is willing to sacrifice alliances, you know, NATO alliances.
- [33:30]
D
Do.
- [33:30]
B
You think that speaks to his cognitive decline or is it just his rabid narcissism, in your opinion?
- [33:39]
C
Well, it is hard to separate all those things. I mean, you know, dementia. Don was, was on all on, on Twitter all last night, attacking on the subject of Greenland, everybody that he could think of. And, and of course he's, what is his obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize? He's never going to win it because honestly, although he says he stopped all these wars, he started more wars and made tensions in the world much worse than they were. So, but I guess he's just desperate to be recognized for, for something. And, but I do think there is something wrong with him. I mean, I, I think it's clear when he attacks people, it's like eighth grade, you know, it's a, you know, the bully is attacking others for, you know, what, what they themselves are weak about. And that's who Donald Trump is. So, I don't know, it's hard to separate narcissism from his dementia. And, and then I, I, you know, he has all these people around him who won't stop him from saying these things or acting upon them. And, you know, I remember thinking, I Wonder back in 2020 if Michael Flynn is unusual, you know, in having somebody around him who's encouraging to do all these terrible anti Democratic things. But now it seems like he's just filled his entire White House and cabinet with totally.
- [35:03]
A
Yeah, I think we can say that he is A malignant narcissist with dementia surrounded by sycophants. And that would just be the best thesis sentence for what we're experiencing. But I say this a lot on our podcast, that what they're doing, what Mag is doing, I expect it, I do not expect them to stand up for the rule of law. They are the party of crime and disorder, as shown by the pardons from the January 6th insurrection. The, it's a, it's not a meritocracy like they claim. It is a shakedown to end all shakedowns. They are eroding every pillar of democracy that we have. So that's going to happen all day, every day until either he drops dead or, you know, the Democrats win the midterms or 2028. So that's, we could, we could talk about that ad nauseam. But what we can change and what we can talk about is our party and the resistance. And I think it's more productive to talk about that right now. And I feel like governors have really led the resistance. You have really been in an executive position where you have really gone after him with the, with the things that I think are required, you know, rule of law type talk, but also some personal INS insults, which is what I kind of call Dark woke. Not this snowflake woke anymore, but dark Woke. And you really have encapsulated that. But moving forward. And I know you don't know if you're going to run for 28 or not. I think that's fair. Because who knows what they're going to do Tomorrow, much less 2028 with this, you know, with this guy. We could be at war with Greenland tomorrow, but I think there's a conversation about our party that we need to have. And this is a long question, but bear with me. I've noticed that the base of the party is undergoing an awakening where they are very upset with corporate Dems that are beholden by the same corporations that these MAGA politicians are beholden to. And I feel like the establishment governing class hasn't clued into that or is in denial about it. And so I want to ask you what your thoughts are on that. And then I want to ask you about three questions that I think are going to be central to whoever the nominee is or any primaries or any campaigns going on in the future. So what are your thoughts about the base of the party with the governing class? Not you. You're an exception and you're doing a great job.
- [37:35]
C
I, I, I want to start by saying that although we have things to sort out within our party for sure that I also want us all to recognize that we've always had a spectrum of folks within the Democratic coalition and as part of the party. So I just want to forgive a little people who have slightly different views on one thing or another. I don't think there's going to be one doctrine that everybody's grabbing onto having. I really believe that, you know, we live in a world right now where people have to make a decision about who they are. I worked with Holocaust survivors to build a Holocaust museum, and they would remind me over and over again about, you know, there are really like four types of people in the world. There are collaborators, there are bystanders, there are rescuers, and there are upstanders. And the difference between a rescuer and upstanders, upstanders willing to stand up, speak out, and put themselves right up front in taking the blows that come from fighting against authoritarianism, fighting against what Donald Trump is about, fighting against the tide that could be dangerous to the person speaking out. I believe that we have to be a party of upstanders. Like there is no room anymore for being anything less bystanders. No. And I've seen too much of it. I, I, I'm, I'm sick and tired, honestly, of the people in our party who've been quiet, hoping that if they just keep their heads down that maybe they won't get affected by, they can survive the next three years and, and not be, you know, negatively affected. Same thing, by the way, for law firms and universities and corporations. You know, what happened in the early 30s in Germany, just to be clear, is the elites backed the leader of the Nazi party and they backed the Nazis. And, you know, many of them ended up either not surviving or being tossed aside. And that's precise, you know, so people ought to remember that for anybody who's being quiet right now, every day that goes by that you let this guy continue to amass power and we don't push back is a day when we are weaker and he is stronger. So eventually we won't be able to push back. If we are not right now in 2026, fighting back against the his election interference, which is going on every day, every day, that we are losing and could lose in 2026. That's why I've been calling this out consistently. Everybody's got to recognize, stand up, speak out, the, you know, the, the upstanders in the world and, you know, back to who we are as a party. We have to be about telling the Truth. And I mean, really bluntly, it's one of the things. By the way, both of you, Jennifer and, and Angie, can I call you Pumps?
- [40:40]
B
Yes, always.
- [40:42]
C
I mean, you really, you guys are so good at it. So good at it. And, and we just, we need more of it. I. This is the type of platform for it. Maybe they're not doing it on cnn, they're not doing it on MSNBC enough. This is where I think people should be speaking. And so just back to your point. Our party has to recognize that the system is rigged. Donald Trump kept saying it, you know, when he was running, and he wasn't wrong. The system is rigged. It's just, he was just saying it for effect. He wants to rig the system, right?
- [41:16]
A
Totally.
- [41:16]
C
We need to be the ones who are standing up against, well, corporate elite who are trying to take advantage of people who are poor and working class and middle class. We need to be the party that's saying that the wealthiest people in the country should step up and pay more than your average nurse or someone who's working at McDonald's. I mean, we, we need to be the party that's, that's, that's forcing a discussion about universal healthcare. Why are we not. You know, this is upsetting. I'm sorry to go on and on, but.
- [41:45]
A
No, I love it.
- [41:46]
C
Getting on here is, you know, I was upset in 2024. 2. Two things really upset me, a lot of things, actually. But I remember, I remember particular moments for this in, in January, you may recall, I think it was in January of 2024. Joe Biden did a speech at Valley Forge about democracy. And I remember I got invited as a Democrat, as a governor, to go to Valley Forge for him to give that speech because he was trying to make it the theme of his, of his campaign. Now, you know that I believe in fighting for democracy, but that is not what wins you an election. You need democracy so we can have the election.
- [42:28]
A
Right.
- [42:29]
C
You know, what wins the election, though, is fighting for people to be able to pay their bills, for God's sakes, to make enough money so that, you know, they can afford their electricity, they can afford their housing. And we Democrats don't talk enough about why it is that we became Democrats in the first place. What the Democratic Party is, We're the party. I hate to say, maybe you want to pick somebody else, but I would say we're the party of Franklin Roosevelt. That this is fundamentally, even though I was born in 1965, fundamentally, we are the party of Franklin Roosevelt. You know, adding with that, you know, very strong focus on civil rights and human rights. And we aren't. We didn't live up to that. So the second thing. So fighting for democracy was kind of a moment when I was like, okay, I'm for fighting for democracy, but that's not the theme. Also, to Your point, in 2024, where was everybody talking about, we have a 7.25 minimum wage in this country? No, I mean, Jesus, you. You can't.
- [43:29]
A
Crazy.
- [43:30]
C
You can't survive on two jobs at $7.25. If you're holding down two jobs, you can't survive on that. That's $28,000 a year. You can't feed your family on that, let alone one job. Why are we, as a party, not out there fighting for, you know, the things that we really believe in, that, you know, so I, you know, I've had it for people forgetting about. About, you know, people forgetting about what our party is really all about, what. Why we exist as a party. Civil rights, human rights, fighting for people to be able to pay their bills. The working class and the most vulnerable people. These are the fundamentals of what we are as a. You know, we're the ones who created Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, the Civil Rights act, the Voting Rights Act. Why are people quiet when Donald Trump is ripping those things apart?
- [44:23]
A
I think that the answer is to that. Like, I think we're all kind of going through this great awakening right now. And for me, personally, I was always a good MSNBCB ABC liberal, and I watched Morning Joe, and I went through the opinion channels. And then when we lost this last time to an absolute effing a convicted felon at this point who had a Nazi rally at msg. And you're spot on for calling it what it is. We all. We all heard the language that they were using and the propaganda that they use. And then it's like I started looking for the resistance. Like, in 2016, there was a really succinct resistance. Right. Well, everybody's bending the knee. All the industry titans, you were standing up. A few other governors were standing up. Then I was looking at some people in our party, in Congress that weren't. And then I started really researching, like, why are they not standing up about this? And there's this whole argument that, oh, the base wants everybody to be pure, and we have these purity tests. And I think that's a defense mechanism for somebody that's trying to provide cover for something that they're compromised on in the party. And so there is a A huge thought that Kamala ignored. The. A lot of people in the base, particularly younger people, very upset about the war between Israel and Palestine. And at the dnc, she did not have any Palestinian voices. Just kind of like went right over. You were there, we were there. You couldn't walk in. It was in your state. You did such a great job organizing those protesters too. We walked in every day. There was peaceful pro Palestine protesters. On your way in and on your way out. You never felt unsafe around them. You allowed them to assemble all of those things. What is your position as the facts start coming in on this, on the situation? Because I lived in Oklahoma, I'm an ethnocentric American. I was like, okay, whatever's going on in the Middle east, whatevs. Now finding out that hundreds of thousands of kids under the age of five have been killed really pisses me off that we're part of that and funding that. What is your take on that and to the base of the party and people that care about humanity and human rights?
- [46:42]
C
Well, let me start by saying these are particularly challenging, hard questions when you're asking somebody who's Jewish like me, because I, you know, remember that Israel in many ways was created as a safe haven for people who were escaping anti Semitism and indeed the Holocaust. And so just, just so it's, I'm just expressing to you and as somebody who grew up in a home where being Jewish meant fighting for social justice and economic justice, you know, and believing in the fundamental values of, you know, I guess I'll say Niemoller's First They Came poem. You know that when you have somebody like Benjamin Netanyahu who gets elected in Israel and leads that country to commit atrocities, starving children, starving innocent people, as a matter of warfare, as an example, these are all things that are, I mean, you know, I have to step back and wonder what has happened? What has happened fundamentally?
- [48:01]
A
Do you feel betrayed?
- [48:03]
C
Benjamin Netanyahu, honestly, it's like he moved. I'm not suggesting I was ever a big fan, but I mean, way, way back, Benjamin Netanyahu was just sort of like a reg, I guess I'd say, was like a never Trumper type of, you know, conservative. And then he just slowly but surely, because he thought it would get him elected, and it did, over and over again, he became this right wing zealot about what to do with Gaza and the West Bank. And so the betrayal, I think, is that the leadership of the country, because there are a lot of really great people who live in Israel and You cannot against the people of Israel, what the leadership decided to do.
- [48:48]
A
You.
- [48:48]
C
Let's also recognize, I don't want to overlook the fact. And again, you know, I remember when Hamas attacked and killed and raped innocent people on October 7th. I mean, that's also an atrocity. And so I don't want to forget that or forgive that. But to your point, we as a party and, you know, I know you, I want to say we have to recognize when atrocities have occurred, and then we, as a important carrier of values in the world, need to do what we need to do in order to squash the atrocities and stand up for those who are innocent and being killed, as they were in Gaza. Now, the question is, with Donald Trump as leader of the United States, inviting somebody like Vladimir Putin, as he did, as I understand last night, to serve on a kind of peace board to decide what's going to happen in Gaza, right? He's putting together, he's going to have Benjamin Netanyahu and an enemy of ours, Putin, making decisions about what's good for the innocent people who live in the Gaza territory, you know, what kind of a country you live in. So we have to make sure that we're speaking truth to power. And also, just as a Jew, I have to, you know, in my commitment to my faith, understand that these values of mine, right, of fighting for social justice and, and people's freedom, that I have to apply that equally to the state of Israel as I do to other countries that have committed atrocities.
- [50:44]
A
I appreciate your answer, and I certainly understand the sensitivity surrounding your being Jewish and having to answer, you know, questions like this. But I feel like there is an atonement, a national atonement that we need to have for funding this and Benjamin Netanyahu and the blank check that he has in the democratic duplicity from a lot of our politicians that take money from aipac, and AIPAC donated, like, the same amount that Elon Musk did to Donald Trump. And so then I think there's a condescension with Democratic leaders if they say, oh, it wasn't that much. There's a condescension to the electorate when you're not saying, okay, look, and I understand the thing I tell you want to jump in? I'll let you jump in.
- [51:36]
C
Yeah. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.
- [51:37]
A
No, no, I want you to go.
- [51:38]
C
You made me think of something really important. I mentioned Niemoller's poem. I think it's really important for us to remind everybody, you know, first they came first they came for the trade unionists. I wasn't a trade unionist. And so I did nothing. And you know, when they goes through that list, I mean, innocent Palestinians are just the same, you know, just the same as innocent Jews, innocent Israelis. And we, that's why so much of what I've been fighting for anyway is, is founded on that idea, you know, that, that they're coming for me. They're coming for you. I think I heard you say, Jennifer, that, you know, you're a white woman who's, you know, mostly immune from the, you know, and don't have to do anything, but they're coming from, for you and they're coming for me. So if they're coming for, you know, they're also coming for the Palestinians. And so that's why I think that the support that we should be talking about right now is support for rebuilding Gaza, for creating a zone that is literally lifting up human rights and protecting the innocent people of the Gaza Strip. I, I'm shocked that we have a government in the United States which always, you know, has tried to play a bit of a broker role, right, has now gone completely anti Palestinian. That's what our government is currently doing. And it's like, you can't hold the innocent people of a country or a territory. You can't hold them responsible for what leaders, whether we're talking about Benjamin Netanyahu or Hamas, have done. We have to now stand up for the people who are most innocent and most put upon. So I think that's what it is to be a Democrat too, FYI. And so it's a, it's a challenging, this is, this is a really challenging moment.
- [53:40]
A
I think you're right to have the conversation because we, we, we during the 2024 election. The. And I like Kamala, I voted for Kamala, but she stuck her head in the sand about it or did double speak. Which here's a big issue that I think talk about right now that really links with this. You say you cannot hold innocent people for what their government does. So put us in that situation right now, Americans, look what our government's doing. Shooting people in the face. Ice. There's been conversations about maybe they need more training, maybe they need body cams. And the guy that shot Renee Good is a veteran of ICE and an instructor, a trainer, a 10 year vet, and he was filming it to make sure, because Kristi Noem wants to make sure they get the propaganda. Do you think that ISIS FUBAR fucked up beyond all repair and that we need to abolish ice?
- [54:38]
C
Yeah, we've got to abolish what Donald Trump has done to. Ice, has made it so that we have to abolish it now. You can't go without some kind of, you know, immigration control. You just can't. We have to have that. And so the question is not ice, not this. Well, that's. To your point about fubar, I really think you may have said it exactly right. I haven't used that term to describe, but that's what Donald Trump is saying. It's become his personal police force. These are like secret police running around, you know, Donald Trump's secret police running around and, you know, with no badges on, with no identification, wearing masks and attacking people, as you said, shooting mothers in the face. How do you reform an organization like that? I just don't know. I don't know how we, you know, we. I don't know what the, you know, the replacement is, but it can't be. What they're doing today is okay with us, and we'll just figure out if we can reform what they're doing. I mean, they're spending a whole lot of money shooting people in the face, attacking US Citizens, people here illegally, and just human beings. That money, by the way, could be, like, about providing health care for people. It could be about providing housing for people. It could be. But instead, it's Donald Trump's personal secret police.
- [56:08]
A
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- [58:03]
C
Well, that's why we have to stop. We have to. Honestly, I believe you are right. Incrementalism. That's why I think, you know, know, whatever we want to call it, Project 2029. I'll use that term because everybody knows what 2025 was. I mean, that we have to have our own and. And that it is no longer acceptable for us to just do it in increments.
- [58:23]
A
Does that include taxing billionaires?
- [58:25]
C
Project 2029, it means. Listen, I. In my state.
- [58:28]
A
And you're a billionaire.
- [58:30]
C
I am. And I said all along, you know, when I was running in 2017, 2018, and I've said it ever since, that I'm trying to, you know, I'm trying to lower taxes on the working class, on the middle class, and raise taxes on people like me. And I spent. Just so, you know, not only did I campaign on that and win in 2018, but I spent. You know, it's very hard. We have to have a constitutional amendment in Illinois because we have a flat tax in our constitution. I spent $55 million of my own money fighting for referendum to. To on the ballot to. To get a graduated income tax. Oh, by the way, on the other side of that, writing A similarly large check, 50 plus million dollars, was Ken Griffin. You know, that. And, and people on the far right, these are like hedge fund, you know, right wingers and who, who, by the way, defeated it. And so we cannot be apologetic anymore. I mean, we cannot. I mean, I. I've gone great guns. You wealthiest people in the country are paying more than, like I said, you know, than a secretary or than a firefighter. But we get. We got to stop pussyfooting around.
- [59:45]
A
I agree. All right, Pumps, jump in.
- [59:48]
B
Okay, so I love your mayor of Chicago, Mayor John Johnson. I just think he's a fighter. And I saw that you two, on behalf of the state of Illinois, have filed a lawsuit against I. Saying that Trump is way outside the Constitution. What I get so sick of. And what I've had it with is all these MAGA are like, we're so patriotic. You know, we. And it's like you don't believe in the Constitution. So what would be your message to people in MAGA that say, oh, we're part of the Constitution, how we communicate that with them? Because I think you're pretty eloquent on this issue.
- [60:26]
C
Well, maybe I'll go back to what I've had it with. I've had it with people who say they love America but seem to hate America. Yes. And that is, that is what we're talking about. That's what Donald Trump is doing. It's like they talk on the right and in MAGA land as if they are the patriots. We're the ones upholding democracy and constitutional law, not them. It's like 1984. It's just that they have, you know, louder loudspeakers seemingly, and people get drowned out about this. But do they really think it's okay to shoot people in the face who are US Citizens? Do they think that's okay? I don't think they do. Now, again, I do want to separate. Like, I think there are a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump who are not MAGA Republicans, but they voted for him because they thought he was better than Kamala Harris or better than Hillary Clinton or whatever. But they, but I'm not forgiving them. Exactly. Except to say they, it wasn't as if they're in the cult. It's as if they've convinced themselves that this is just a bunch of issues that they're deciding between, you know, decision on these sets of issues versus deciding on the other side of those issues. And I, I, I do, I want to recognize that we have to be the ones who stand up and tell the truth about, you know, what we stand for and what it is we're fighting for and, and, and people's human rights and civil rights. I keep saying those words, but recognize that they, it is a lot of BS when they say they are the patriots, when they go, when Donald Trump.
- [62:06]
A
Hugs the it's such it is or grifters that run on all this faux Christianity and this pumped up patriotism and they prove they're hypocrites when they run and provide cover to protect a pedophile ring. It shows how complicit they are. They don't believe in anything, not anything.
- [62:30]
C
And, and the hypocrisy that you talked about earlier, remember, you know, they call themselves the party of law and order. The head of their party, the President of the United States, is a convicted felon, right?
- [62:39]
D
Totally.
- [62:40]
A
It's a party of crime and disorder and corruption.
- [62:43]
C
And trust me when I tell you that we should be talking about that issue much more. Because you know what pisses off working class people as much as anything? It's corruption in government. And that is precisely. Donald Trump is getting richer and richer, his family's getting richer and richer because he's removing regulations on crypto on AI and his family is in those businesses. He's accepting large gifts, he's demanding gifts to his organizations in order for people to get some political power. I mean, this is, is. This is the kind of thing that leads to a revolution, for God's sakes. We. We need to be standing up and pushing back on the corruption that he has brought to the US Government. I'm not suggesting, by the way, that it's like everything was sweetness and light before he got there, but this is now just happening on a daily basis. People see it, but nobody is really lifting it up and highlighting it so that people. Because people should be aware of it. And I believe when they hear about it, they're angry about it.
- [63:48]
A
It.
- [63:48]
B
Yeah. Where's the Venezuelan oil money going? Qatar.
- [63:52]
C
And.
- [63:53]
A
And then this one billion dollar shakedown for his peace thing. He's going to monitor the money. This guy is a crook. He's always been a crook. He's jealous of everybody. He is in his Marie Antoinette, dementia narcissistic era, and nobody's coming to save us but us. And we're going to have to keep organizing, going on podcasts, you know, lifting up voices, because this turnout. And you, I know that you're the one who keeps calling that they're going to be up to a lot of on the midterm election day, and our turnout has to be too big to rig, and we have to make sure people are not scared and make sure that Democratic governors in bluish purplish states hold the line and don't let these. You know, it's like a mo. It's like a mafia. An incompetent, horrible, dorky mafia is what this regime is like. Because at the end of the day, they're dorks. They're not even cool. All right, Governor, do you remember when we met you in Illinois at the DNC and we played had it or Hit It. Do you remember that game? Okay, we're gonna play it again. Oh, my God. Welcome to had it or Hit It. I would hit it. I hit it every day, sometimes twice a day. All right. Had it or hit it, Christy? No.
- [65:10]
C
Oh, God, I've had it.
- [65:13]
A
What about her costume changes on top of just what a psychopath she is that shot her dog and has a goon squad? The costume changes?
- [65:21]
C
Yeah, yeah. I. Can I tell you, I beat my. My opponent in 2018 was the governor, Republican governor. And he used to put on a costume everywhere he went. This guy's a wealthy private equity guy, and he used to put on a Carhartt jacket everywhere and sort of pretend to be a down farmer when he's actually from Winnetka. I love Winnetka, by the way, but it's a wealthy suburb of Chicago. And, you know, and so the costumes. And I find. And also he rode a motorcycle and he would put on a vest with lots of, you know, stickers or, or pins on it, you know, and something that said governor, like, he's got to remind you he's governor. And, and so, yeah, Kristi Noman's precisely like that, by the way. I mean, I, I think her brain and head are shrinking because the hats are getting bigger.
- [66:09]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [66:11]
C
And. And she's just so unprepared for the job that she's got. It's all about being a sycophant for Donald Trump.
- [66:17]
B
Yeah. Talk about corruption. You just hear more stories about how she's funneling all this money to her buddies and all that.
- [66:23]
C
Right? Corey Lewandowski.
- [66:26]
A
Yeah.
- [66:26]
B
Funneling more than money.
- [66:27]
A
Christian family values. Moving along. Had it or hit it, Maha.
- [66:33]
C
Oh, okay. Well. Well, obviously had it. I mean, let's be clear. He's not making people healthier, he's making people sicker. Look what's on the measles front across the country. I mean, in South Carolina, I mean, they have a full blown. I mean, it's like a pandemic almost. That's happening. But I mean, people are getting sick right and left, and it's because they're, you know, the Maha movement and people who are following it in state government are not pushing people to get vaccinated for measles. In fact, they're saying, oh, no, it's bad for you. And now you're going to. We've already seen one death. Death, and a lot of kids sick. And we've just. I mean, yeah, this Maha movement is. Is insane. And, And Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is. Well, he's literally making our children sick.
- [67:22]
A
You just brought up South Carolina, and this is just something I want to say to you. You see, Lindsey Graham, you know, he's over in Lady Graham is what I call him. He's over in Israel. I mean, like, it's Trump's America. We're way past all the pleasantries in politics right now. So he's over in ISRA taking pictures with Mossad agents, Benjamin Netanyahu, blah, blah. Because anti Semitism is real and it is a bigotry that if you've studied it at all, will leave an imprint on your soul, especially you being Jewish, I'm sure it's like a cloud that follows you everywhere. The history of that. There are grifters in the political movement like Marjorie Taylor Greene, like Tucker Carlson, that are using this very simple language, America First. We shouldn't, we shouldn't do anything with Israel at all. And there's an argument to be made for sure, 100% our money should not fund what Benjamin Netanyahu did. There's no question about it. But in the MAGA movement, Governor, is where I believe real anti, anti Semitism is boiling, healing. You have people far right, hardline Israel, people that have gone to seek refuge in the heart of Christian nationalism. And they're going to f around and find out these people are not going to protect you and you're not the magic Jewish person. You're not going to be safe. But this message and you know, from rural Illinois, if a Marjorie Taylor Greener, Tucker Carlson, says MAGA was, wasn't America first anymore. We got away from that Israel. They, they make these statements, israel has free health care. Israel has free education. I support them having that. For the record, I don't besmirch them for having that. But to the rural or suburban person in Illinois or Oklahoma that hears that very simple language without any context to feeds a type of tribalism and nativism that is a part of the inception of all of very fearful what MAG is incubating right now and what's to come. Which is why I think you're such a very important voice right now politically, because anti Semitism is being weaponized right now by some very bad actors. And I think that we need moral clarity, incredible messengers to guide us through this and to very simply state like, like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson don't give a about Palestinian babies. You know how we know that? Because they don't give a about immigrant babies in the United States of America. So don't buy their. A very simple response to that, I think is going to be required.
- [70:15]
C
So remember that the America first movement which was prominent in the 1930s in the United States, was the pro Nazi. Anti the United States getting involved in protecting the UK or Europe and letting the Nazis do what they were going to do in Europe. So I just want to remind you that history, they use that America first name because it has a history that fits with the philosophy. And Marjorie Taylor Greene is, she's, I don't care, care how. You know, you saw that she started separating from the, the MAGA movement when, or separating herself from everybody else. I think she thinks she's maga, but, but she started separating herself when her kids were getting cut off of health care because of what MAGA was doing in the obba, the Big Ugly Bill. Literally. Go, go back and listen to the interviews she started. You know, that's, she started separating herself. But she has the same Tucker Carlson and she, they're anti Semites. I mean, it's total, total. You can separate, let me, let me be clear. You can separate your feelings about the foreign policy or actions of the state of Israel from your feelings about Jews in the United States or anywhere in the world. You should in fact, separate those to. But they don't. They, they, you know, the language they use intermixes their views about, you know, what's happening with regard to Israel and the United States relationship with Israel and Jews. And so I, it's very upsetting to me. To your point, Oath keepers, proud boys. Look at the, I mean, the really, you know, the skinheads that are on the right, guys that are racist and anti Semitic, you know, and they're like a firmly part of the base of maga.
- [72:19]
A
Totally.
- [72:20]
C
And I, again, I, I do want to say, and we all need to recognize that, you know, for us to win elections, there are, we have to remember, we Democrats have to remember that there are a bunch of people who voted for Donald Trump who do not believe in those things. They, they have convinced themselves that they're not voting for that, that. And we need to make sure that we're addressing the things that really do matter to them. And like I said it before, you know, to them, you know, if I knocked and I've knocked on a lot of doors in my life as a candidate or for other people. And if you knock on a hundred doors and tell people like the most important issue is democracy, fighting for democracy, five people will agree with you out of a hundred, you know, what people really want to hear is, how are you going to make my life easier? How are you going to make it easier for me to send my kid to college or retire or make more money or pay for health care or Housing. And I know you're, you know, I've drifted from the, from anti Semitism. But recognize that they win the right. I'm talking about the anti Semitic racist right wins when the middle can't tell the difference. They don't see those things on the right. And all they see is, well, they're talking about lowering prices. Donald Trump has not lowered any prices. No, Donald Trump has raised prices for people. He's made life more difficult, not less. And you're seeing it now in the polls. We are winning on every single issue. It doesn't mean we're going to win in 2026. So anybody that say, well, I can just sit back and it'll all just happen. It'll all be good.
- [73:56]
A
Good.
- [73:56]
C
Nuh, we, we can't. We have to get out there and make sure we're registering people to vote and get them to the polls. But we have to recognize that we got a lot of work to do to make sure that we're winning in the. Among those people who thought they were voting for Donald Trump because it would be good for their daily lives. And they've gotten the opposite of that and anti Semitism and racism right there in the core of the right wing movement. Movement.
- [74:24]
A
I always say it's a big tent of racists. You have the Islamophobes, the anti Semites, the homophobes, the, you know, just anti immigrant bigotry. Just the straight up racist. That N word, hard R. It's just a big tent of bigotry. Maga the matter.
- [74:38]
C
Can I remind you. Let me remind you one other thing because again, I built a Holocaust museum. When you get to a certain point in the history of what was happening in Germany, there were, you know, economic challenges people were reacting to when they voted for the Nazis and so on. That there is a point at which the Nazis are talking about, yeah, you know what our real problem is the immigrants. That is actually what they said before they were going full on. Let's, you know, let's round up the Jews. They were talking about people in Germany who weren't, you know, basically white and, and blonde. Right. Aryan, and. But they called them immigrants like Jews or, or Catholics or other people who maybe weren't originally from Germany but have only been there for two generations or one generation. You know, that's what they were. They were kind of throwing everybody else in with this idea of we've got to push the immigrants out, they're causing our problems. And that, frankly, is the trigger for me early on when Donald Trump was going after immigrants was. I started to recognize that he's throwing in basically black and brown people who are US Citizens, many of whom have been here for generations. And by the way, taking away the human rights of people who are immigrants. My family is an immigrant family. We learned early on my family, you know, my great grandfather arrived here with nothing and literally, you know, fought for everything, that they were the most patriotic family in the world because we recognize what a great country this is and the great opportunity that got provided to. To us. But he wrote a book when he was 70 years old, my great grandfather, about his life. We hand it down in my family, when we turn 13 years old, it becomes, you know, something that I get. You get a copy of. I've read it many times in my life. But it reminds me who we are. First of all, we're a nation of immigrants, right? And the values that we brought here. It's true.
- [76:45]
A
I mean, this is cool. You know, that's what, that's our culture is that we have multiculturalism. That's, that's the shtick. That's the part they're trying to dismantle. The coolest part about us is the part that they hate.
- [76:59]
C
And it's an economic advantage. It's an economic advantage that. Think about what's happening. Read all the stories about. I don't know if you just saw in China. You know, their population is declining now. This is happening in a lot of developed nations. And what are, what is our advantage in a world where population is declining? We're the nation of immigrants. We don't have to decline. We actually, people want to come here if we make them welcome, and we want people to. The most entrepreneurial people in the nation are immigrants. That 50%. Remember this, and I hope you'll cite it, 50% of the Fortune 500 companies in this country, the biggest companies in this United States, were founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants. Think about it.
- [77:47]
A
50 cool. With the exception of Elon Musk being in that, I'm a hundred percent right. Okay.
- [77:53]
C
I didn't say they were all great.
- [77:56]
A
Right?
- [77:56]
B
Here's the really bad one.
- [77:58]
A
Two more and then we'll. And then we'll call it. And you can go back to being the badass governor of Illinois. Okay. Had it or hit it. Zoran Mamdani.
- [78:08]
C
Hit it. But let me be clear about what it is. He, he, he zoned in on precisely the thing that most people are suffering from, which is unaffordability. And he hit it over and over and over again. And, and it didn't matter. You can call him whatever you wanted. And he calls himself a democratic socialist. And if you don't like that, fine. But you know what he talked to people about? He talked about making their lives easier every day. And that was it. It was like almost nothing else got talked about in that election. We should take a note. You know, he won in what I think was a kind of a tough election.
- [78:44]
A
I do too. And he took on the billionaire class. He took on a lot of Islamophobia. We talk a lot about anti Semitism, but Islamophobia is something that's just so normalized. And the Islamophobic attacks on him hurt me just as much when I hear somebody say anti Semitic things because I think all of these human rights have to be connected always. As to the political poem that you referenced a couple of times, and I thought he very beautifully reminded us that all of these human rights are connected, but they're also connected to affordability. Because if we're all equal, the economics, the economics of it need to be applied equally to everybody, whether you're Muslim, Jewish, gay, trans, whatever. And he didn't throw anybody under the bus. And I just, just thought, God, I mean, what great timing to show the Democrats this can be done. And I agree with you. Do you call him a democratic socialist? Sometimes I think Americans don't understand what socialism means. Should we say we're for highly regulated capitalism, you know, more safety style capitalism? I don't know. You know, when you run your 2028 campaign, I'll sit down with you and help you sort out all the language on that.
- [79:57]
C
Remember Mikey, Cheryl and Abigail, Abigail Spanberger, Mikey, Cheryl and Abigail Spanberger ran at the same time that yeah. Was running. And they all ran on the same message and they all won big. And, and that's the message, frankly, you know, to, to back to a question you asked up front. You know, I think, you know, because let's be honest, like Mikey Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger at a different place in the Democratic Party than, than Mandani. But we all agree that we ought to be fighting for the working class and, and the, and, and the most vulnerable in our society, in the middle class. And that's what all of those three big candidates ran and won on. And that ought to be our message for 2026 and 2028.
- [80:39]
A
All right, last one. Had it or hit it. The United States of America.
- [80:45]
C
Oh my gosh. Hit it. I love our nation. I mean, I, I, I know we are led by A madman. I know there's a lot to say. It's depressed, but I love this country. And I do believe, even though the institutions of our country are under attack right now, look at how people have stood up. I mean, it's taken too many elected officials too long to stand up. But average folks out there peacefully protesting, showing up at no Kings, but not just that. Showing up every week or every day whenever they can. I'll tell you a quick story. There's a woman In Edwardsville, Illinois, 28,000 people in Edwardsville in Southern Illinois. She, right after Trump was elected, and she realized what was happening. She, you know, didn't know what to do. She wanted to protest. So she made a sign and she went and stood at the crossroads of two, you know, state highways and held up a sign by herself. And somebody with a dog, you know, walked by and said, what are you doing? And she explained she's fed up and can't believe that Donald Trump is our president.
- [81:52]
A
And.
- [81:52]
C
And that person stood there with her and with the dog that day. The people heard about it, and the next day, six of their friends showed up. And then over the course of the next month or two, 300 people started showing up every Friday to protest. I give that as an example. This is in Edwardsville, Illinois, right? And I give that as the example because this is happening everywhere when the suburban, you know, moms, you know, are coming out with their whistles to protect people in neighborhoods that they don't even. They've never lived in or protect their own neighbors because they see that they're being attacked by ice, that, you know, this is the. The country that is. We're taking this country back. We're taking back this nation from, you know, from what Donald Trump is trying to do to it and, and preserving our. Our institutions. And I guess, you know, I'm reminded because we just had Martin Luther King Day. Martin Luther King said, you know, that the, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. And I, I'll just say, humbly, a small amendment to that that I think we're all learning. It doesn't just naturally bend toward justice. We have to bend it toward justice.
- [83:14]
A
Justice.
- [83:15]
C
And that is the moment that we're in. And I think it takes, yes, it takes elected leaders, but it also takes all of us showing up and proving that we're just not going to. We're not going to put up with it. We're going to take our country back.
- [83:27]
A
Governor Pritzker, you're cool. I like you You're a badass. I thank you so much. So many of us look to elected officials to know are they fighting them? Oh, God. Thank God. They're saying they're fighting them. And it just means so much to, like, the ladies you were talking about in Illino to our listeners. So thank you for coming on. I really appreciate it. Keep fighting the good fight.
- [83:52]
C
Thanks, Jennifer. Thanks. Pumps.
- [83:54]
A
Yeah. All right. Bye, Governor. He's cool.
- [83:59]
B
Yeah, I, I really, really like him.
- [84:02]
A
I do, too. I really like, I kind of, I feel like he answered a lot of these questions really well.
- [84:07]
B
Yeah.
- [84:08]
A
That are going to be in the. First of all, he's likable and relatable, very charismatic. I, I just, I remember when we met him in Chicago, I just thought we just kind of started shooting the, with him before the cameras when I was super easy to talk to. But his position on affordability, his position on taxing billionaires, his position on abolishing ICE, and his position on blank check to some, to Israel and somebody like Benjamin Netanyahu. I think this is a much better candidate than Gavin News Newsom. I, I do. I just think this is a much better candidate right now, who we have right now to start lifting up. Now. He's got a, he's got a race to run for governor. Who knows if he'll run for president. But to me, all the places that Nome has fumbled and I, and I like, again, I like Newsom's fight, but he's turned out to be just this corporate Democrat that's so offputting to so much of the electorate. I feel like Pritzker doesn't do that. And I feel like Pritzker is less narcissistic than Newsome. And we already, we just had a narcissistic. We have a narcissist.
- [85:16]
B
Got to go the other way. But I also think, like, if people that are running for office, like Gavin Newsom with the billionaires and like the youth, just from my experience and the people around me, everybody's tired of the billionaires getting richer and richer and richer. Like the, the wealth inequality, it's come to people's attention and they don't like it.
- [85:37]
A
It. And as a billionaire and, and Gavin Newsome letting Ben Shapiro dog walk him about Israel and dog walk him about so many issues. It's just I'm tired of Democrats allowing the most fleabag bottom feeders of MAGA dog walk them. I really am. I just, I just, there's. And listen, I'm not super choosy right now, but who's fighting the fight. But in order for us to win and have an impactful administration right now, of the names that are out there, I'm going, J.B. pritzker, a billionaire that's willing to say, tax me more. A credible messenger on Israel, which I think we need, because that is just such a hot, hot topic right now. And you're going to have really bad actors that come and use that in the, in the brewing anti Semitism on the right wing. But also somebody who links anti Semitism to Islamophobia and to, you know, anti black racism and really says, hey, listen, none of us are free until all of us are free. We need to link all of these things together. So I don't know, I'm, I'm, I'm an evolving person. But right now, I've always liked Pritzker in this interview, I think he answered those questions that I think are going to be very important to the electorate and the base. I think he answered those very well.
- [87:04]
B
Yeah, I did too. I, I really appreciated how he was not scared to say this reminds me of 1930s Germany. Like, he was not scared to say that. And so many people are.
- [87:15]
A
Yep. All right, listen, thank you for joining us. Leave us your thoughts in the comment section. Who is your front runner for 2028? I know we have a lot of time to go three years, but we should start having these questions. We need to, need to get these, we need to get these ready. You guys, we got it. I mean, seriously, it's going to take a village. And we've got to get, we have got to groom and make a great candidate that can go and, and win and make massive, massive change and accountability in this country. All right, Pumps, tell them we will.
- [87:48]
B
See you next Tuesday and Thursday.
- [87:53]
A
Tell you what I've had it with. Let's hear it. I've had it with that. Listen up, patriots, gaytriots and natriots. We have a new podcast that has dropped. It's called IHIP News. It's Monday through Friday. Every day, 15 to 20 minute hot takes on the political landscape of the United States of America. Always served with a side of petty grievances.
- [88:18]
B
We are on all the available platforms. Apple, Spotify, Google, whatever you get, your podcasts and YouTube.
- [88:25]
A
Please go, rate, subscribe and review so that we will chart upwards with America's greatest legal mind. Pumps. Pumps. What does an eagle say? Caca. A little bit more enthusiasm.
- [88:37]
D
Caca.
- [88:38]
A
That's it. That's. That's caca. That's the patriotism that this country needs right there.