Loading summary
Transcript96 lines
- [00:01]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
Insurance isn't one size fits all, and shopping for it shouldn't feel like squeezing into something that just doesn't fit. That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressive's Name your price tool for years. With the Name your price tool, you tell them what you want to pay, and they show you options that fit your budget enough. Hunting for discounts, trying to calculate rates, and tinkering with coverages. Maybe you're picking out your very first policy, or maybe you're just looking for something that works better for you and your family. Either way, they make it simple to see your options. No guesswork, no surprises. Ready to see how easy and fun shopping for car insurance can be? Visit progressive.com and give the Name your price tool a try. Take the stress out of shopping and find coverage that fits your life on your terms. Progressive Casualty Insurance company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law
- [00:55]
Karen Friedman
Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money because behind every headline is a bottom line. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings. There's a money side to every story. And when you see the money side, you understand what others miss. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now@bloomberg.com
- [01:22]
Grow Therapy Announcer
we're almost halfway through the year and a lot of people are running on empty without fully realizing it. Grow Therapy helps you find care that's covered by insurance before burnout becomes the baseline. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. They connect you with thousands of independent, licensed therapists across the US Offering both virtual and in person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters like insurance, specialty, identity or availability and and get started in as little as two days. And if something comes up, you can Cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost. There are no subscriptions, no long term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com booknow to get started. That's growththerapy.com booknow growththerapy.com booknow availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.
- [02:37]
Michael Popak
You didn't start a business just to keep the lights on. You're here to sell more today than yesterday. You're here to win. Lucky for you Shopify built the best converting checkout on the planet like the just one tapping ridiculously fast acting sky high sales stacking champion at checkouts. That's the good stuff right there. So if your business is in it to win it, win with Shopify. Start your free trial today@shopify.com win Ryan
- [03:07]
Ryan Reynolds
Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do@mint
- [03:24]
Karen Friedman
mobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees, extra fee, full terms@mintmobile.com
- [03:38]
Michael Popak
it's the Legal AF podcast. It is because it's midweek, because it's Wednesday, because It's Karen Friedman, NickNiffalo and Michael Popak. And we're here with our audience that we love and get excited for and cover all the intersection of law and politics. News for Karen. I don't know if you saw this before we jump into our topics today, the Washington Post just did an analysis of all the social media posts that Donald Trump or people on his behalf have been doing over the last year. And Ben Mysellis knows this well, 8,800 posts. Sometimes he averages a couple of hundred posts a day. Okay. Most of which are coming not from Donald Trump. Everyone's all excited. Oh, it's 6am, it's 3am, it's 1am Trump, why isn't he sleeping? He is in bed at I'm sure lid is 9pm and then Natalie Harp, his executive assistant, she'll go down in the hall of infamy, takes over and starts posting at all hours the night and day. What they do, I don't know if you saw this, they print out hard copies of social media posts from right wingers and conspiracy theorists and anti Democrats, things like and I'm sure Russian trolls and North Korean and Iranian trolls, they, they, they print it out. They give him a stack of it during the day and he, Trump signs off on the ones that he likes. And she's the one that posted Michelle Obama and Barack Obama as apes and she's the one that posted Donald Trump as a Christ like figure or a pope or any of that. That's all coming from Natalie Harp. Okay. And she does it without any supervision whatsoever, according to the reporting. She doesn't let the press office know, she doesn't need. She doesn't let Stephen Chung, the communications director know. She doesn't let the White House Chief of staff, Susie Wiles know. She tells everybody she works for one person and his name is Donald Trump. So when everybody's all, my God, he was raving at 3 o' clock in the morning. That's not her, that's not him. That's her. Right? Meet the woman. Here it is. Meet the woman. Reportedly behind some of Trump's biggest and most controversial rants. And so that's how they can pump out, we, we pump out a fair amount of content on My Touch and Legal af. But you know, we have our own Natalie Harps, if you know what I mean, you know, you know, pumping. But this is their rapid response in order to distract from a failing administration. And the deeper they fail, the more they fail and the harder they fall, the more XI and the other gerbils are working overtime on the habit trail, cranking out all of these things to influence the news cycle, the micro news cycle. This and I mean, but what they never, what they never foresaw was the rise of independent media led by Midas Touch and Legal AF that we would be so focused with fighter jet pilot, you know, you know, 270 degree vision about what matters and to drill down on it and platform on it and keep at it. Not on one story and then move on, but follow up after follow up after follow up. Who's done more to platform the Epstein survivors and what's happened to them. And then Midas Touch and Legal af, who's done more to platform the corruption of Donald Trump and the rest than Legal AF and Midas Touch. And they never foresaw that there would be for every action, a reaction, for every out of control rapid response team, there would be the rise of a Midas Touch and illegal af. And I got to rub elbows at the Webby Awards with other people that do what we do. And they were, besides accepting the hugs and the back slaps from people in the room on behalf of our audience. I got to sit with the NAACP and we talked about how to get them onto the channel on a regular basis. I sat with vote.org and how to get them and everybody kind of united together on a regular basis. And I was just thinking about all of that as we came on the air today. So I wanted to share, but you ever hear about this woman, Natalie Harp.
- [08:24]
Karen Friedman
I have not. And I actually find it surprising that Trump has not thrown her under the bus because some of these same posts have backfired and we all know there's no loyalty there. He has no problem throwing anyone under the bus. That also tells me that he wants to get credit for these things. He wants to get credit for the scandals. He doesn't mind the backfiring. So that's, that's fascinating.
- [08:49]
Michael Popak
Yeah, I, I, it's, it's, it's a strange relationship. He obviously likes her a lot. We'll have to try to find a photo of her and find out what her background was before. But I was like, who is this mystery person? And, you know, I just, I just picture her, you know, like with a, with a, with a bottle of scotch or bourbon on, in some shabby DC bar at one o' clock in the morning after working with him and just posting there now. Why.
- [09:18]
Karen Friedman
Oh, she's the human printer.
- [09:20]
Michael Popak
Is she AI generated? Because that's exactly what I would have envisioned she would look like.
- [09:24]
Karen Friedman
Remember?
- [09:25]
Michael Popak
Why am I not.
- [09:25]
Karen Friedman
Remember the human printer that used to have to walk around with a printer during his trial and just print out positive news stories about him?
- [09:32]
Michael Popak
She might have been him. It might have been her.
- [09:33]
Karen Friedman
I'm sure it's the same person.
- [09:34]
Michael Popak
Why is she. And look what she looks like. She looks like again, the casting couch at Fox News.
- [09:39]
Karen Friedman
Yeah, well, yeah, exactly. She has that MAGA look for sure. You know, there's that MAGA producer says
- [09:45]
Michael Popak
she's the human printer.
- [09:47]
Karen Friedman
There you go. I recognized her. She's the human printer. Good.
- [09:50]
Michael Popak
Guinness World Book of Records.
- [09:52]
Karen Friedman
Yeah, I recognized her from when Trump was on trial in the Manhattan DA's office and she was there carrying around stacks of positive news articles just to show him. Because otherwise he would like lose his mind if he didn't see good things about him. The other thing that's kind of strange,
- [10:07]
Michael Popak
before you go on, before you go on, because you and I try cases. So instead of reading binders of prep material or exhibits or documents.
- [10:15]
Karen Friedman
I know, I know.
- [10:16]
Michael Popak
To keep, oh, there's, look at these photos our guys coming up with.
- [10:19]
Karen Friedman
Yeah, now we know why he likes her.
- [10:23]
Michael Popak
I'll leave it at, well, leave. For those that are listening to the audio version, you can use your imagination. But to keep bingo happy, you know, to keep bingo happy in the cage, you know, they give him bananas and then they, if they feed him his, his favorable breast clippings, it's the, distract him from the fact that he's he's losing his. His. His criminal indictment.
- [10:44]
Karen Friedman
You know, the other thing that's really surprising about this is, I guess in my mind, I was thinking, okay, no wonder he falls asleep in every big meeting, in front of world leaders, on television, in front of hearings. I mean, everywhere you look, you see him falling asleep in some of what are the most important moments for our country. And I thought, well, it's because he doesn't sleep at night. He's up all night tweeting. We know that. So this is even more disturbing because if he is going to sleep early and, and we know he doesn't wake up early, we know he gets to. He likes to schedule meetings late, etc. And he falls asleep during the day. I think that just goes to show his age, frankly. You know, he's. He's really. Does not have the stamina that he wants people to think he has. And when we see it all the time with. Whether it's walking and meandering, he can't even walk in a straight line, whether it's some of the things that come out of his mouth, whether it's. He can't answer a simple question. I mean, we see so many. Ben likes to talk about it all the time, about his cognitive decline that we see. And I think the fact that the man, even with a full night's sleep, falls asleep on television in important meetings, can't keep his eyes open, you know, I think that says a lot about him.
- [11:54]
Michael Popak
But you're right, he was. And our producer says I should be crediting Hush Mommy for those photos, whatever that is. Not sure what that is, but I did say it out loud.
- [12:03]
Karen Friedman
The. I don't know that you were supposed to say that, but that's okay.
- [12:07]
Michael Popak
Okay. He'll cut it later.
- [12:08]
Karen Friedman
Hush money. Hush money. It's hush money.
- [12:10]
Michael Popak
I thought it was hush money, but you put two M's in it, so I thought, well, it can't be money because you would have spelled it right.
- [12:16]
Karen Friedman
The hush money trial.
- [12:18]
Michael Popak
Oh, all right.
- [12:19]
Karen Friedman
That's what he's saying. Human printer during the hush money trial.
- [12:22]
Michael Popak
It is funny.
- [12:23]
Karen Friedman
NDA's office. Yes, that is.
- [12:25]
Michael Popak
Leave it in the pod. Leave it in the pod. We're trying. You can see another fly. We're trying live television, everybody. All right, so salty.
- [12:32]
Karen Friedman
Salty is the best.
- [12:33]
Michael Popak
But. But you're right. He's trying to make people believe that he's one of the reasons he may be closing his eyes or what they said to what they fired back at Joe Scarborough. It's a blink. You moron. A 20 second blink is because it makes it look like he's working into the wee hours of the morning when he's really in bed by 4:00pm Look.
- [12:54]
Karen Friedman
Exactly.
- [12:55]
Michael Popak
And I had an, I had an aged mother. We're coming up on her one year anniversary of her death. I remember what her days were like and, and I know what normal, it's natural.
- [13:04]
Karen Friedman
That's why she president of the United States. You know, when you're in the state he's in, his hands are blue from whatever medical issues he has. His ankles are huge from whatever issues
- [13:13]
Michael Popak
he does down the Chinese the steps today coming out of the Air Force One.
- [13:18]
Karen Friedman
Yeah.
- [13:18]
Michael Popak
To meet not the president of China. Talk about another insult they keep giving him. People other than the president to meet him whenever he comes down Air Force One today it's a vice president and us, the American US Ambassador are meeting him. So they said he got, I don't know what's going on with him. He got like teary eyed because of 300 singing Chinese girls singing to him. And I'm like, oh my God, the Chinese are going to eat our lunch.
- [13:46]
Karen Friedman
Well, let's see, let's see which of these, these rituals he will then try to bring to the United States because we know he likes to young girls singing for him. Well, exactly. But we also know he loves these authoritarian regimes and that he loves to try to mimic these things.
- [14:04]
Michael Popak
Yeah, yeah. I mean, look, I mean the 250th, I mean it is a cruel twist of fate that the 250th anniversary of America's founding is falling on his presidency and his kidnapping and capturing, you know, capturing it for his own, his own purposes, his own, you know, celebrity and his own ego is, it's, it would have been better if it was like under a normal president like Biden or Obama or somebody. But no, it has to fall on Trump who thinks it's his destiny to have fallen there. Let's use that as a transition. Speaking of, of presidencies. And we've got this thing that's now back in the news, you know, the cat back to that Natalie Harp person. The categories are easy. It's all formulaic. It's conspiracy theories against Biden, Obama and Clinton. Why don't we go back to, to Nixon and Lincoln as long as we're
- [15:03]
Karen Friedman
covering presidents Barack Hussein Obama. Because he likes to throw that in as if somehow he's, you know, like that some kind of insult.
- [15:12]
Michael Popak
Well, Joe Biden isn't Joe Biden anymore. Joe Biden is Auto pen. They just refer to him as auto Pen. And Heritage foundation doesn't. Oh, Auto Pen wants this and Auto Pen wants that. So it's conspiracy theories, it's election denying theories. It's calls for indictments or prosecutions of his political enemies. I mean, these are the major categories that these 88,000 postings fall into. And tearing down the states, people of the Democratic Party and trying to throw the Democratic Party into the trash bin is part of that process. And the lower Donald Trump goes in the polls, the lower he's willing to go and everything else. So he's now down to, with the margin of error, 25% approval rating. Okay, so now he's got to come out with, I got to continue to go after Joe Biden and litigate whether Joe Biden was competent to be president or not. I'm like, okay, for what purpose? So that you can try to throw away his pardons.
- [16:15]
Karen Friedman
No, it's deflection. Deflection. See, I know you are, but what am I?
- [16:19]
Michael Popak
It's that, except when you go through the record and you see there's two dozen Heritage foundation led lawsuits that he's promoted in order to get records about Joe Biden and Obama and all of this, there's also this simultaneous attempt to undermine his pardon power so they can go after Donald Trump's political enemies like Dr. Fauci and others. Because if the auto pen was invalid, I got news for these guys, that's not how the pardon power works. Okay? He was not removed from office. He was not impeached and removed. He was not removed on the 25th Amendment. And until you're not president, you're president and you have all the powers of the presidency. And there's no requirement that the pardon even be memorialized in writing. Doesn't have to have a wax seal and a feather pen and a powdered wig. It just needs to be a pardon. And so they're a constant attack on auto pen. Joe Biden reached its new height in the last month or so in a lawsuit that Joe Biden had to intervene in. Karen. About 70 hours of almost deleted recordings between Joe Biden's personal biographer, Mark as Oneitzer, and Biden that led to a memoir called Promise Me dad that Biden got $8 million for. And in it, according to Robert her, the special counsel, Biden would take one of his. You and I covered this back in the day. He kept these very copious diary notes in longhand volumes of them from a public service life that spanned from him being one of the youngest senators, to him being the oldest president and everything in between. He had a volume for like every month of his political career, his public service, so he would dictate. But some of the stuff that he had in his book, according to Robert her or his diaries, were top secret and classified. Like discussed with Obama today whether we were going to bomb, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And apparently he dictated some of that to Zwanitzer. At least that was the charge by the special counsel. Zwanetzer decided he should delete the tapes and got caught deleting them and then almost got indicted himself for obstruction. Why don't you bring it forward from there? Biden's intervention in the case, and I want to contrast this with the same Department of Justice that's trying to rush out these audio tapes in order to embarrass the legacy of Joe Biden with the same Department of Justice that put into a permanent sealed tomb Mar A Lago Volume 2 of Jack Smith about espionage and obstruction of justice related to top secret classified documents.
- [19:07]
Karen Friedman
Look, these recordings, the purpose to release them is for no other reason than to try to embarrass Joe Biden. They want to show that he was cognitively, you know, cognitively impaired, that there was a cognitive decline. If you recall her, who was the special counsel investigating the possession of classified documents. One of the things he put in his report was, yeah, I think he possess them. He shouldn't have had them, but his memory is so poor and he's so old and frail and all these other sort of gratuitous things that really, I don't think had any place in there because of that, I don't think a jury would ever convict him. And therefore I'm not going to bring the case. And the Heritage foundation sued under the Freedom of Information act trying to get these recordings so that they can release them to do nothing other than what we were talking about before, undo half the things Biden did and further tarnish his legacy, hurt the Democrats, et cetera, et cetera. And they're suing to get these records. And it is in federal court. And the judge is going to give Biden until I think it's June 15, in order to intervene, if that's what he wants to do. I think he signaled that that's what he is intending to do, to not release these tapes that were frankly meant to remain private. Right. These were his personal tapes that were recorded for his memoirs. These were never meant to be public. And clearly that's what they're trying to do. There's no reason for this. There's no reason for this now. There's no legitimate purpose for this. This is purely political and just another attempt to try to get more negative information out there on the Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. I think this just shows more their desperation. Right. They're going back in time and they just want to, they have these talking points that I guess they think did well for them electing Donald Trump to be president. And they're just gonna keep pounding on them and talking about things like this. I mean, I wish Congress would focus on, for example, the Epstein files and talk to the Epstein survivors and hold actual public hearings where people speak in public, like things that people really care about, who are the people who they're covering so that they don't actually get prosecuted. But instead we're going to try to get his memoir, his, his audio recordings that were done for his memoirs for a book that's already been released for no legitimate purpose. So it's a waste of time, it's a violation and it's political and it should be called out for as such, in my opinion.
- [21:47]
Michael Popak
Yeah. And Joe Biden has rightly intervened in the case and he's trying to block it. And there's lots of doctrines that I think it can be blocked under. The report is in the public domain. There's 330 pages or so of a Robert her report in which he concludes we'll never get over his famous, one of his famous concluding lines that Joe Biden was a sympathetic, well meaning elderly man with a poor memory. I mean, that was a bumper sticker that led to Joe Biden after the debate deciding that he was going to head for the exits. So that's been done. We read the report. We got the report. Why do I have to read any of the underlying, why am I entitled to any of the underlying source material used by the special counsel to prepare and, and decline the indictment? Why do we get to tar and feather somebody in public using information the special counsel developed? I didn't get the source material from Jack Smith's Volume One, nor do I think I'm entitled to it in the public. So why is the Heritage foundation and the Department of Justice, of course, willingly complicit in all of it? It's really just a Donald Trump masquerade. So we'll continue to follow that. It just shows you how out of gas the Trump administration is.25% approval rating, same approval rating related to the economy. Got terrible inflation numbers, the worst consumer confidence numbers in the history of consumer confidence numbers. The worst approval rating for Donald Trump ever. Even after January 6th. On January 7th, you've got all of that, which is a signal to the American people that we know that this is a failed at Trump administration. We don't have to stay any longer. It's like going to a terrible movie or player show, you know, before the first act is over. This is terrible. And you leave and you go get, you know, early Chinese food or whatever, but so we don't have to see more. And this is the reaction. Right. And what it does is it tends to signal to Donald Trump that he's got to be crazier and cook your and do crazier things and let's paint the reflecting pond blue and. And let's put my name over here. Are you. Did you go. I just did a report on it too. And so did Katie Feig. Have you gone to the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room in tribeca?
- [24:14]
Karen Friedman
No, I have not.
- [24:14]
Michael Popak
Oh, you got to sign up and do a report from there. It is a. They print a group printed all 3 million pages and bound them in about 3200 volumes and made a library reading room a pop up with, you know, Trump likes to put his name on everything. At the Lincoln Memorial. You got the Jefferson Memorial. So it's a Donald J. Trump Memorial reading room. And Katie took in a survivor and the power of it, sort of. I compared it to going to a Holocaust museum. You can hear about the Holocaust, you can read about the Holocaust. But when you go to a Holocaust museum and you see it for yourself, it has a different power and weight than just talking about it. And for this Epstein survivor to see like 3 million pages, they pulled out things, found her name and it was like a whole thing. But anyway, it's there till the 20th of May. And you can sign up online for that in Tribeca. Anyway, I thought I. Public service.
- [25:11]
Karen Friedman
No, that's amazing. Thank you for that.
- [25:12]
Michael Popak
And that should end up in other places that should go from city to city. And then I think I made a comment Barack Obama or some presidential library that needs a permanent house, that needs a permanent home, you know, and it shouldn't disappear when the pop up is over. And I'm so. I want to platform that for us here. So then we hear about so many problems under RFK Jr. Vaccines. And he fires all the scientists and he fires all the doctors and he replaces them with science deniers and vaccine deniers and then we have the hat of virus, whatever. The thing is on the ship, which shows we're not prepared for the next pandemic at all. And then we've got everybody telling RFK Jr. In the Trump administration to shut the F up because you're screwing up our administration. So he starts to shrink from view. But now Donald Trump has decided what this country needs to run the Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for one quarter of the nation's economy in terms of pharmaceuticals and food, agricultural. The FDA is a 38 year old turkey hunting buddy of Don Jr. Who's not in science or medicine or a doctor. What do you think about that?
- [26:36]
Karen Friedman
Yeah, I didn't understand it when he was brought in as the number two to begin with. Right. His name is Kyle Diamantas. He has no experience regulating anything relating to food or anything like that. And that was a head scratcher again when they made him number two. And now that he's going to be elevated to the head of the fda. I mean, he's a lawyer. Right. Does that mean I could be the head of the fda? Although I do think I could do a better job.
- [27:03]
Michael Popak
You do better.
- [27:04]
Karen Friedman
But he's not a physician, he's not a scientist. He's a former corporate attorney, very young, not a lot of experience. And you know, other than being close friends with Don Jr. What qualifies him for this job? It's nothing.
- [27:18]
Michael Popak
Yeah, he's not even old. He's barely old enough to be a partner in a law firm.
- [27:21]
Karen Friedman
Exactly.
- [27:22]
Michael Popak
You know, let alone the Food and Drug Administration head, you know, it's like,
- [27:27]
Karen Friedman
listen, he's in charge of every single thing we put in our body.
- [27:30]
Michael Popak
Literally, it's one quarter of the nation's economy. Putting aside the science and the impact on health. And it's not like he can be weak because we've got a very strong science minded medicine doctor type at the top of the food chain, no pun intended, with RFK Jr. He's a lawyer. He's at best, he's a failed environmental lawyer. That is, I don't know how that qualifies him to be the top public health official. Then the surgeon general is going to be some other Fox and Friends medical, you know, one of those medical analysts that shows up for Fox and Friends because she's cute. I mean, I don't think she's cute, but is that why, I mean, I don't. This is the team that Donald Trump has put to protect the nation's health. Like as you said, things that we put in our body.
- [28:21]
Karen Friedman
Yeah, it's a total head scratcher. I mean, it doesn't even pass the MAGA test of qualification.
- [28:28]
Michael Popak
Yeah, yeah. And speaking of barely qualify, or at least barely getting confirmed right on time with two days to spare. Kevin Warsh is your new Federal Reserve Chair. It's the slimmest margin of confirmation. Only one Democrat voted for him, of course. The, the lululemon, sweatpant wearing.
- [28:51]
Karen Friedman
Yeah, Fetterman.
- [28:52]
Michael Popak
Right, John Fetterman.
- [28:53]
Karen Friedman
Had to be. Yeah. That was a guess. By the way.
- [28:55]
Michael Popak
He's never quite recovered from whatever his medical condition was. He's the only one. Everything else was party lines. Shows you the importance of getting the Democrats to control the Senate. He got. Barely got in. And, and I got news for those. Before we take our first break. I got news for those who think Kevin Warsh is gonna be able to do Donald Trump's bidding as the head of the Federal Reserve. First of all, because of Donald Trump's constant bashing and demeaning of Jay Powell, Jay Powell, who would normally bow out gracefully even though his term on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is longer than his chairmanship, his term ends when Trump's term ends, if you will. He would normally depart to allow the sitting president who nominated him and confirmed him the first time to have a new pick. But because Trump has been trying to get control of the Board of Governors and therefore the Federal Open Markets Committee to control interest rates, Jay Powell is like, I got my patriotic duty to do here. I'm staying until the bitter end, blocking Donald Trump's ability to control the Federal Open Markets Committee. So Kevin Warsh, for all of his. I'm going to be a sock puppet. Well, he didn't actually say that. That was actually an attack on him, on sock puppet for the president. He. And I'm a hawk and I'm going to lower interest rates and I'm a this and I'm a that. He's not going to be able to do jack shit. That's a legal term because he's one vote. Okay. And they don't have superpowers. You don't get more than one vote because you're the chairperson. You don't get to set the agenda. The agenda is set by the economy and the data that is coming out. And you need, in order to control interest rates, out of a 12 person committee, you need seven votes. He's one. Okay, add in the other two Trumpers. Right. Add in Bowman and add in the last one. That'll come to me in a minute. That's three. That's three votes. Maybe you get one More. That's four. You need seven. So if Donald Trump thinks that Kevin Warsh is going to do a better job in his view of lowering interest rates than the, than Jay Powell did, with Jay Powell still there as effectively the chairman emeritus who everybody's going to look to, he's got another thing coming. It's four to three, four non Trumpers and three Trumpers on a Federal Reserve, which makes. Let me just touch on one thing before we leave. This makes the Lisa Cook Supreme Court decision really important that we haven't received yet, because if Donald Trump is able to fire Lisa Cook for cause, for mortgage fraud made up by his head of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then he'll get control of the Federal Reserve, he'll get the fourth vote, he'll be able to control the Federal Open Markets Committee, and all bets are off. So now what I was. And based on oral argument, I don't think he's going to be able to at least now. But could he restart something and do a proper investigation that the Supreme Court supports and a proper due process and a proper procedure and get her off before the end of his term? What do you think, Karen?
- [32:10]
Karen Friedman
Well, a. I think we have to protect Jay Powell with all costs. You know, that man is a saint and a true public servant that he wants to see stay on just to protect the economy and give it some objectivity. And he clearly sees what's happening, what every American feels in their pocketbook, right? Everybody. It's not just at the gas pumps, it's everybody everywhere else. Right? The fact that the Trump administration is touting the fact that people are using credit cards more than ever, that shows the economy is strong. That is ridiculous logic. That means people don't have money and are going into credit card debt in order to just survive. But that being said, we need someone who's going to look at things objectively and hopefully try to protect our economy so that it doesn't tank even worse than it already is. As for Lisa Cook, do you think the Supreme Court is going to have their decision by the end of this term?
- [33:06]
Michael Popak
Yeah. Oh, 1,000%.
- [33:08]
Karen Friedman
Yeah. So that's soon.
- [33:09]
Michael Popak
That's, that's, yeah, we're waiting on it. It'll be the next 30 days.
- [33:13]
Karen Friedman
Yeah, that's a big deal. That's gonna be a big ruling. And I think it's going to, you know, it's one of those things. Look, I think she's gonna be safe because as much as the Supreme Court likes to tell, everybody likes to say that Trump can fire whoever he wants. He does treat the Federal Reserve differently. Whether they will rule that this was for cause or not will be. Let's see. Right, let's, let's see. It seems like a very thin for cause. If this is for cause, then I think anything is for cause. You just have to make up any possible reason. But I think this one might even be a bridge too far for the Supreme Court.
- [33:51]
Michael Popak
But yeah, my fear is that they give a roadmap on how to remove her. Yeah, they say this isn't it, what you did with a social media post and then she didn't respond to it. You think that's due process? That's not due process. She has a due process right on the Fifth Amendment. Here's how you do it. And then he's got two and a half years to figure out how to do it or less because he's got to get rid of her. Otherwise, if everything stays the same as you said, we got to protect J. Paul. If everything stays the same, he won't get the Federal Reserve. He won't get the interest rates that he wanted. But yeah. All right. So that's kind of a good wrap up of where we are voting. Maps are in the news. Everybody's head is spinning. I'm not sure it's as dire as people think. If you think about the wave election that's coming, the change election that's coming, but we need to cover it. And then we all want to talk about ballrooms and swimming pools and detention centers and all sorts of things that are going against Donald Trump in his last gasp effort to hold on to power. And there's so many great ways to support what we do here. If you like what we do. Early voting is opened on Midas Touch. Illegal af. Vote for Legal AF by subscribing to Midas Touch, becoming a subscriber of Legal AF, the YouTube channel where we do a dozen videos a day. And I'm like I said, we've got some fantastic collaborators over there. I got the aclu, Democracy Forward, the Court of History. Our resident historians Sean Wallentz and Sidney Blumenthal used to be in the Clinton White House as a special counsel. We've got Shan Wu and Dave Aronberg, Dina Dahl and Lisa Graves. I mean, just a tremendous collection of people who are providing you with independent analysis. Got Scott McFarland is going to programming note. I got Scott McFarland who's going to be on with me later, I think on Friday. Our, our Washington bureau chief. I've got an interview tomorrow with A.G. banta, the Attorney General of California, about what J.D. vance just announced today in trying to cut off the supply line of money to Medicare and Medicaid in California of all places. And what I know the response is going to be, but I want to hear it from the horse's mouth with AG Bonta Today up on Legal af, got a video of an interview I just did today with Attorney General Phil Weiser, who's the leading candidate for governor of Colorado, about the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division bringing a case against Colorado to try to undermine and throw out its assault weapon and high capacity magazine ban. Yes, that's what your Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division is doing with your taxpayer dollars. So we talk about that. Governor Shapiro, well from Pennsylvania, will be joining me in the next few days to talk about a new lawsuit related to artificial intelligence that he is leading. If you like all that kind of content and other commentary, hit the subscribe button over on Legal AF YouTube and then Legal AF substack. Wow. Rocketing up the charts consistently in the top five and rising of politics. US politics sub stocks, sometimes even number one and usually in the top 30 of all US politics substacks that are out there. Find out what substack's all about. Join now. 40% discount. Oh yeah, you heard me right. Our steepest discount yet. Trying to get over a certain threshold of paid subscribers and encourage you to do it right there. I do a live report every day around lunchtime and I do a talk back session with people who are paid subscribers who join. It's a lot of fun. Glad you're there. And then of course, we've got our pro democracy sponsors that Jordi and I and Karen Curate Bed does too. We support and more importantly, they support us. So if you want to help Legal AF and Midas, you know, if you got some spare change, which is getting increasingly difficult in this economy, but this is a way to do it and support what we do by supporting our sponsors. So now here's our first break. I am so excited to tell you about our sponsor, Avocado Green Mattress. Their certified organic mattresses are specifically designed to relieve pressure points, support your body the way it needs, and help you actually get the deep restorative sleep you've been missing. Every mattress is made with thoughtfully sourced materials and built with real care. Avocado focuses on thoughtful craftsmanship, creating products that feel intentionally made rather than mass produced. Their mattresses are designed to provide both comfort and proper support, helping your body stay aligned while still feeling cozy. Avocado products are made, not manufactured, and thoughtfully crafted with real materials to deliver lasting comfort and support. Go to avocadogreenmattress.com legalaf to check out their mattress and furniture sale. That's avocadogreenmattpress.com legalaf avocadogreenmattrush.com/legal a f Here's a little something most people aren't told about their credit score. It's not just whether you pay your credit cards, it's when you pay them. Yeah, most people, me included, don't realize that, but smart credits data experts understand how credit bureaus operate. So they created something called the best paid down date, built around how credit reporting is actually works. So instead of guessing, you get a personalized strategy that shows you what to do and when to do it to help you maximize your score. And that matters because better credit can mean lower payments and more money in your pocket. And this is where it gets interesting. You can see your full credit picture in one place, your score, what's affecting it. And if something needs attention, you can take care of it right there. So before you apply for anything, a car, apartment, refinance, it makes sense to start with smart credit. Go to smartcredit.com legal af and try it for just $1. You may be surprised to see how many points Smart Credit estimates you can gain that smartcredit.com legalif results vary. Cancel anytime. Welcome back to Legal AF. At the midweek, everybody's talking about Karen voting maps, ringing their hands over it. And the Republicans are trying to map and remap and remap and remap their way to victory. And I compared it to, it's like a company that has no revenue and it, and it thinks if it just cuts enough expenses that it'll survive. But you need new revenue and in this context, you need new voters. And Trump's not making any new voters anymore. That machine has been shut. In fact, he's losing existing customers, existing voters. And so you can keep remapping and map everyone's all, all. For me, all this is done. Alabama just eliminated its only black representative. Missouri, Mississippi, they're all trying to one up them. They're all trying to one up themselves in the race to the literally win a race to the bottom to get rid of black people and destroy black power. And for me, it's a failed strategy because what is the end game? You cannot win the midterms by grabbing an additional eight seats and look at the damage you've done to your Brand by. By being so openly racist. I'm waiting for it to come back to me. There we are. Was I doing something that we're trying to cover up being so openly racist? So for me, it has. It'd be one thing if this was a strategy like, you know, you're playing football like a Hail Mary. Okay, here's what we're going to do. We're going to flood the end zone with everybody, and I'm going to go back to path, I'm going to throw it in the end zone, and you catch it. We win the game. Yeah. This doesn't win the game. All this does is reveal that you are a demented, depraved, racist party and may not everybody in it. I'm not here to malign people that voted for him because many of them are regretful of having done so. But it does. It's not a winning. It's not like they're going to be able to grab the 40 seats that. To counteract the amount of seats that the Democrats are projected to obtain. But the Democrats are projected. If everybody votes in their interest, we're talking about a 240, 250 seat. You only need 218 to govern in the house. So, yes, eight is interesting. Okay. And remapping. So you get rid of the only civil rights icon, Jim Clyburn from South Carolina. Sure. You want to do that. Go ahead. You know, you want to go attend a public KKK meeting and televise it. Sure, I'm sure you could do it. But I just don't understand, Karen, what is the strategy here for the party and for the future of the party? You can't win doing it. So what's the purpose?
- [43:17]
Karen Friedman
You know, it just seems like a lot of people are afraid to defy Donald Trump, and a lot of this is being driven by Donald Trump. And we know this because people have reported that he makes personal phone calls. Right. To various state leaders to try to convince them to cancel elections that are already undergoing or. Or don't allow mail in ballots or whatever it is that he's trying to do. He's trying to make it so it's harder and harder and harder for certain people to vote. You should have proof of citizenship, voter id, all the things that he's trying to do to make it harder and to try to disenfranchise a lot of people. He's also seizing ballot boxes right. In Georgia and elsewhere to try to learn how is it that I want. He says, oh, I want to see. Make sure the election wasn't stolen. I think it's much, far more nefarious than that. I think they want that information to try to figure out how to disenfranchise Democrats and how to try and literally steal this next election. And the redistricting is just part of this multiple pronged attempt to try to maximize Republican votes and minimize Democrat and black and anyone who they view will not vote for them. But as you said, I think they're looking at the small picture. I don't think they're looking at the big picture, which is this is going to backfire. It's not like people don't know what they're doing. It's not like people don't realize what they're doing. And hopefully this is going to drive more people out to vote and make people who might see a long line at a polling place and turn around and say it's not worth it, say, you know what, I'm going to stand in line and I'm going to wait and they're not going to make this harder for me. Normally I would send my ballot in by mail. I'm going to show up in person. I have a hard time making it there, so I'm going to make sure I have a ride there. Whatever it is, I think this is going to empower more and more people to go out and vote. And we see it from the turnout in the no Kings rallies and all the other places that people are mobilizing, we see it in just how many people are interested in pro democracy information, right? The Midas Touch network, Legal af, all the places that people are coming to really consume information and news and really figure out how they can get involved, how they can help and how they can drive and get other people to vote in this next election. Because everybody sees what's happening with the help of the Supreme Court of the United States and the President of the United States and Congress. And hopefully the people are going to fight back and fight back hard and they're going to lose and they're going to lose in a really big way. And so I think it's very shortsighted of them. But that's what I think they're trying to do. I think this is all just part of a massive campaign, multi front campaign to try and, and frankly steal as many votes as they can.
- [46:28]
Michael Popak
But you put your finger on the right button, which is there is a tremendous enthusiasm gap between the two parties. Democrats are champing at the bit and independents and those that voted for Trump the first time but regret it, are champion at the bit to get in and vote and mobilize the vote at a midterm, which is not a general election, it usually doesn't have quite the same turnout. But because it's life or death or existential for our democracy, the Democrats and those that, that, that believe that it's time for checks and balance and it's time to, to have a counterbalance to a corrupt presidency. And the only one there is is to take away his toys. His toys being the House and the Senate. You got to take away the toys and send them to his room. And people understand that and they realize it. So there's a tremendous gap for the Republicans. That's why he does all these things to, like, jazz up the base to increase enthusiasm, you know, oh, failing poll numbers about the economy. Oh, I'll blurt out in front of Marine One on the way to China. Oh, I don't care about the Americans in their economy. I don't care about their pocketbooks at all. You know, with terrible, terrible economic numbers that would. That spell certain defeat at the midterms. Oh, I'll bring a lawsuit to allow AR15s to roam wild in states instead of letting the NRA do it or whatever. I mean, just his response to the data is burying his head in the sand is just remarkable. But the Democrats are fired up. And the more you go after our black Americans, our brown Americans, our Asian Americans, our Muslim Americans, immigrants of any stripe, the more it fires, it just puts the fire in the belly. And that's, There's a huge gap, you know, and people have, it's, it's been picked up in polling, you know, the people that have said, I'm 88% ready to vote, and I know I'm going to vote for. That's all against Trump. And the others are like, man. So it's not that the Democrats and the other party have to make new Democrats. See, that's, that's the dirty little secret that Trump knows. We don't have to make new Democrats. We just have to make people who voted for him the first time stay home. Because they're like, oh, God, I don't. They're not right. They're not enthusiastic for him. There's a cover, I don't have it here. The New Yorker magazine cover came out today, I guess, about the. I guess we're coming to Memorial Day. I don't know what it is. It's like George Washington or a founding father on the COVID and he's just got a Martini one. And he's just like, just, you know, exasperated. Exasperated. I saw a guy on the. I was traveling recently. I saw a guy with a, with a toddler and his wife, and he had a tattoo that I was admiring the art of. And it was a statue, was the close up of the Statue of Liberty. And she just had her hand over her face, like in embarrassment or like, just. I, like that's a perfect representation of where we are right now. But I, I totally agree with you. I think that this is. If this was. I'd be more worried and, and, you know, more doom scrolling, if you will. If this was a winning strategy, like, oh, they're gonna steal these eight. And the difference between winning and losing the house is eight. And they got the eight. I'm like, okay. It's like losing by 40 points. It's like watching the Knicks take on somebody in the playoffs. And it's like, oh, they didn't, they didn't beat him by 40. They beat him by 32. It's still a shellacking. Yeah, look what you gave up. Look what you sacrificed in terms of your reputation, your brand as a party in order to lose by 32 instead of 40. I just don't get it. I mean, I do get it because they're being led by a demented person. So. Yeah, totally true. So what's. What's going on? Virginia, Just a quickie. Virginia brought their case to the United States Supreme Court to try to convince them that taking away the will of 3 million people who voted who want new maps, it shouldn't be allowed. We'll see. Sometimes they like voter empowerment at the Supreme Court and sometimes they don't. Usually when it's a Democrat, they don't. A Democratic initiative, but we will see. I'm going to have Jay Jones, the Attorney General from Virginia on soon to update us on that. There's a remapping has already happened in Alabama. They're trying it in Missouri and the like. But I think the bigger picture is what you and I started with. And I didn't want people to lose sight of that at all. So many ways to support what we do. Become a subscriber on legal AFU YouTube channel. We're going to hit 1.2 million subscribers. We're close. With your help, we will get there. Think about it. Now come over and hit that button. Legal AF substack, same thing. Help us on substack. Stay at the top of the charts and we will reward you with dozens of pieces of content every day. I do a couple of essays a day. I do live reporting. So do our other contributors. We post all of our legal filings that we use as source material for our videos, all on Substack. Now's the time to find out about substack with a 40% off sale for legal AF. And then of course, we've got our pro Democracy sponsors and here is a word from them. Oh, I'm very excited to tell you about the world's number one expanding garden hose and their brand new product, the Pocket Hose Ballistic. I used to have to buy a new hose every year due to kinks and tangles, but the Pocket Hose Ballistic is the upgrade I've been looking for for my entire life. It's the toughest pocket hose ever built. Reinforced with a liquid crystal polymer used in bulletproof vest, Pocket hose is the number one expandable hose in the world. Super lightweight, easy to manage, easy to store. Turn the water on and it grows. Turn the water off and it shrinks back to pocket size. Comes with the pocket pivot, which gives you total freedom of movement at the spigot with 360 degree rotation. You move it, it follows and the water flows. And now for a limited time, when you purchase a new pocket Hose ballistic, you'll get a free 360 degree rotating pocket pivot and a free thumb drive nozzle. Just text legal to 64,000. That's L E G A L to 64,000 for your two free gifts with purchase. Text legal to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. I realized my morning routine was basically just survival mode. You know, alarm, coffee, panic, repeat. So I started paying more attention to what I was actually putting in my body every day. And coffee was the one thing I never questioned. That's why I started trying Mud Water. Their original blend combines cacao, chai, turmeric and functional mushrooms for a more focused, steady boost without the jitters or crash. And if you still love coffee, their new low calf blend has only 445 milligrams of caffeine, so you still feel like you get the rich coffee flavor without feeling totally wired. Ready to make the switch to cleaner Energy? Head to mudwater.com and grab your starter kit today. Right now, our listeners get an exclusive deal. Up to 43% off starter kits plus free shipping and a free rechargeable frother when you use code legal AF. That's right up to 43% off with code legal AF at M U D W T R. And after the purchase, they'll ask you how you found them. Please show your support and let them know we sent you. Welcome back to Legal af. We are in the home stretch, Karen. Ballrooms, pools and detention centers are all in the news all over again. So on the ballroom side, it looks like the Republicans are aghast and against Donald Trump and trying to grab a billion dollars for a It's free Ballroom. I thought the ballroom was free, Karen. It was like, don't. Who would look a gift horse in the mouth? It's like the free Qatari Air Force One that's been donated, totally free, except for the billion dollars of retrofitting and the. And the maintenance of it, which gives us two Air Force ones because there's already one being built. So that's not free ballroom. Ballroom's free. $400 million. I raised it. Except for the billion dollars that I've asked Congress for. It's not going for the building, though. It's going for the security around the building. That was a bridge too far for many Republicans. The House has already said out loud the quiet part, out loud. They're hoping, they know that the Senate is not going to approve the billion dollars. One Senate leader for the Republicans is quoted as saying, Karen, that at a time when gas prices coming into the summer season have almost doubled, now is not the time to be talking about a billion dollars for a Golden Ballroom. And so while that's all happening, politically, it's not doing any better in the courtroom. We got a briefing schedule. We got filings. Did you catch the filing that Trump made and the response that Greg Craig made to Judge Leon about this request for indicative ruling? Did you catch that?
- [56:06]
Karen Friedman
I haven't had a chance to look at it.
- [56:07]
Michael Popak
All right, that one. I cover that quick.
- [56:09]
Karen Friedman
So really, I've been busy, Pop.
- [56:13]
Michael Popak
I'm sure. How do I not doubt you've been busy? So the Trump administration DOJ files some bullshit piece of paper called a request for an indicative ruling under Rule 62.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. You know, Judge, if you had the case now, even though you don't have jurisdiction because it's on appeal, you would overturn your injunction, wouldn't you? And here's five reasons why. And so the Obama administration officials. I'm sorry, Greg Craig, who used to be in the Obama administration, writes back, there are five major lies this piece of paper filed in your court. One, we were not shown top secret plans for the military installation and hospital installation under the ballroom in advance of filing the lawsuit. One, that's a lie. Two, we were not we were not asked to not file the lawsuit because of those top secret plans. That's a lie. Three, it's not a top secret security reason that you're building the ballroom. You've held state dinners there since Trump lives in the White House, seems to have no problem with a giant hole, you know, where the east wing used to be. And nothing has stopped in the construction of the ballroom because the injunction has been blocked by the appellate court. So it's shovels are still in the dirt. And lastly, the claim that the plaintiff is nothing but a woman who walks her dog near the White House is also another ad hominem attack. That's false. My favorite part of the filing, Karen, is they did it in four pages. Nothing says that is a piece of shit. Like I'm only going to file four pages of a response. Right. I'm sure, I'm sure you've told your team, I don't want to see a 20 page response and give it any more credence than it's entitled to. I want to see two pages. I've told my team that I want to see three pages. That's it. That's like when you and I are in court and they do a cross examination that, you know, has not hurt you in front of a jury. What do you say? No, no further. No question.
- [58:17]
Karen Friedman
Exactly. I was going to redirect. I was actually going to go the other way, which is there's nothing like knowing, having the confidence to do a short cross because all you need to do is go in and out. Right. And you don't need to go on and on forever. It's a, it's a pretty powerful strategic.
- [58:35]
Michael Popak
Yeah, same thing, same thing. Redirect. No redirect. I was not hurt by that at all. And you sit down. So you got ballroom problem, ball problems for Trump again. Detention centers. Yeah. You know, you go out, you spend billions of dollars buying warehouses to warehouse people. Kristi Noem's got a problem again. The inspector general for the Homeland Security is on the case and probing whether this $38 billion program to make put humans in storage units was done properly through competitive bidding or otherwise. We know she effed up the couple hundred million dollar ad campaign money and so now they're on her case for that. And we'll get a report issued. I think this is the Trump administration trying to make, you know, it's dump on Kristi Noem. It's almost like the empty chair at a trial because she's not there anymore. And so they're Trying to distract and give Mark Wayne Mullen, whatever his name is, kind of a free ride and just, just dump on her for her past administration. Right?
- [59:46]
Karen Friedman
Yeah. The one thing that excites me so much about the possibility of winning the midterms and having Congress are all the hearings, the congressional oversight hearings that can be done, right? I mean, think about it. In addition to Epstein hearings and real Epstein hearings, think about what they can do about all this waste, fraud and abuse that the Trump administration, which is they are the biggest projectors of all. Like, you know how when you, it's like, I know you are, but what am I kind of thing, you know, when like someone protests too much about something or calls someone too many names, they're just projecting about themselves, you know, this whole Doge thing, this whole waste, fraud and abuse thing, that was just a way of trying to make people think that that's what they care about, is waste, fraud and abuse so that when they actual. Then there's actual waste, fraud and abuse, like we have seen in this administration over and over and over again. Like the ballroom, right? Oh, it's only going to be, what was it, $200 million that, that's just going to be paid for by donors and then it goes up to 400 million. And now it's the billion dollars, as you said, that suddenly is necessary. Or whether it's the reflecting pond or the reflecting pool, I should say, and painting it and the no bid contract there to a Trump contractor, whether it's the money that they're spending on the Arc de Trump or the fountains, just the amount of money that is being spent, spent on things that nobody cares about. It's taxpayer dollars. And yet we are paying for it. And we're seeing it right, whether it's in the grocery store, the gas pumps, the economy is just in such a terrible place. And all of our taxpayer dollars, I mean, I saw a chart about where the national debt is and that we have reached a point, the highest point ever of our national debt. It's shocking what he is doing to this economy and what he is doing to this country. And I just think that these are public examples of it. These are things we're seeing and these are things that we can call out. But when there's actual congressional hearings that have subpoena power, that can call people to have to testify on camera, under oath and to have to answer for these things, that is what is so missing and necessary. Because going in with the chainsaw that Elon Musk did with Doge, oh, I'm getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse, when really they're just hacking away at whatever things that Elon Musk didn't like or Trump claims he didn't like. At the same time using that as a distraction to go and spend way more money than they ever saved. And wasteful money on things that nobody really wants, has asked for or cared about is just unbelievable to me. And the checks and balances, I think, are a problem, and they're having. The fact that there aren't any are just impacting the American people and the economy everywhere you look. I don't think anyone, whether you like him or not, even if his approval rating is 25% and those people still like him, I think if you would ask them about the economy and how they're doing, other than the billionaires, I don't think that's going to go over very well. I don't think anyone is going to be saying, yeah, I do think it's better. What they say is, well, give it time. You know, you have to give it time. I trust him. He knows what he, what, what he's doing. Nobody thinks the economy is doing well right now. And these are just the most recent, obvious examples of it.
- [63:31]
Michael Popak
Absolutely. I think you've, you've summarized it well. I was only, you know, I just wanted to say. Ballrooms, attention centers. Attention. Swimming pools. Oh, my. Exactly. Exactly. Oh, my. So I, I think one of the takeaways from, from this week at the intersection of law and politics is that not only has the public and the voting public gotten wise to what a failed administration looks and smells like, but even Trump knows he's, he's in a failed administration. Don't be fooled by his whistling past the graveyard. This is the best economy, the best first year, the best cabinet, the best. He doesn't believe that. He can't. If he does, he, then he's certifiably insane. If he really believes his own bullshit, if he's getting high in his own supply, so to speak, then, then he should be removed immediately for complete, completely being severed from reality. But he doesn't really believe that. He just thinks that the war that he talks about it, you know, it's like a guy standing in front of a house that's it's on fire, saying, oh, everything's going great, don't you think? You know, it's not going, look behind you, you know, but, you know, this is a strategy that he thinks has worked for him in the past. Lord knows he's been in the Shadow of the Valley of Death more than any other president. I don't just mean he's been shot out any more than any other president. I mean, all his criminal prosecutions and he has survived them. I mean, give, I mean, talk about how many lives does this cat have? It's remarkable how many, how many political crises and criminal cases and civil cases and sex assault and sex abuse and fraud cases, this guy has survived. So in his mind, they said, I was done before and I rose up and there's a Trump. We're talking about Trump, too. We're in Trump, too. So he's. So, you know, you got to give him some credit for that. But I think he's underestimating. You can tell by the way, even Karen, his press people talk about it, that the press people are still using, like, an old playbook. That just sounds like they're completely out of touch. Like they said the other, like in the last day, they said, well, the American people elected Donald Trump. Like, you're now 17 months into your administration, your coalition of Hispanic voters and black voters and voters under 30 are gone, double digits gone and not coming back. And so you can't keep talking about the mandate that was never a mandate, or the, or the red, everybody turned red, or they, you know, you got a, you know, you got elected to get rid of immigrants and migrants and chase them through schools and Home Depots. Forget all of that. The American people have already turned that page and they're, they're living in. You may not be living in a reality, but the American people, our audience, are living in your nightmare creation every minute of every day. And that's what the polls say. I knew it would take a minute to kind of seep into the water supply, but it has poisoned the water supply, the Trump administration policies, and there's no turning back. He's not going to be able to turn this battleship around in time because he won't grow a brain or morals or ethics or leadership or character between now and the midterms. We all know that that's why we got to be here. Bound, knitted together, vibrating on the same frequency. That frequency that channel Midas Touch, legal, af. Follow everything that we do. And, and, and just as importantly, make friends. Come join the chats, the live chats, the streams that I do on Substack with an audience. People make friends out of this group. I can see it. I can see, hey, I'll be. I can see them making those connections. And also it gives you a sense that you are not alone. I can't tell you, Karen, how many times I'm sure this happens to you. When I bump into a legal AF person. Six, seven times a week, they tell me with prayer hands that this show is important to them because it makes them feel like they are not alone. And they together can make a difference and. And return sanity to America. And that is our. The greatest gift that you and I could ever give to our audience and to ourselves is that gift of hope. Right. And. And we appreciate each and every one of you being here. Karen, final words.
- [68:37]
Karen Friedman
Yeah. You know, as you say that about hope and our audience and our community, I have to say I get as much out of them, if not more than they get from us. When you get stopped on the street and people hug you and say those things to you, it gives me hope and it makes me feel okay. There's a reason we're doing this. We need to do this. And frankly, I know there's a lot of hope out there. I still love this country. Believe in it. Believe in our democracy. I love the history. There's this great Broadway show on PBS right now, the capture of the play Suffs that was on Broadway about women's suffrage. And it's incredible, and everyone should watch it. And it just shows you sort of what this. Some of the things that this. This country has been through and what we've gone through and where we are right now. It's a moment in time, and we will get through this. Right. We've gotten through some of the worst things that could ever happen. Right. We've gone through slavery. We've gotten through civil rights. I mean, we're not over any of those things, but we've gotten through some really, really difficult, dark times. And I think that there's a lot of hope and there's a lot of reason for hope, and it's really because of the American people. And so I love being here every week with you, Popak, and I appreciate all the people who tune in and listen to us every week. And, you know, the. Of all the Webbies. Of the Webbies that we got. Of the two Webbies, we got the one. The. The People's Voice. The People's Choice Award was the one that really meant a lot, so it was great.
- [70:16]
Michael Popak
And thank you all for being here. Shout out to. To Midas Mighty and the legal afers,
- [70:30]
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month. Plan that. I've been enjoying it's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Middle Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do@mintmobile.com
- [70:48]
Karen Friedman
Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees, extra fee full terms@mintmobile.com
- [71:00]
Carvana Announcer
this podcast is brought to you by Carvana. Selling your car should feel like one less thing on your list. Not one more. With Carvana it is just go to Carvana.com Enter your license plate or VIN and get a real offer. Down to the penny. No back and forth, no surprises. Just an experience you can trust. Like your offer. Accept it. Schedule pickup and we'll come to you with a check in hand. Your car, your timeline, your terms. Visit Carvana.com to sell your car today. Delivery fees and terms may apply with verbo care.
- [71:32]
Grow Therapy Announcer
Help is always ready before, during and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists so
- [71:39]
Michael Popak
support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind.