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- [00:01]
A
Marjorie Taylor Greene finds one last way to screw Donald Trump on her way out. And I've got three interviews, podcast of America's Tommy Vitor, Puck journalist Peter Hamby, and the Democratic nominee for Tennessee's 7th congressional district, Afton Bain. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen, and you're listening to no Lie. So we have watched as the relationship between Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene has precipitously declined over the course of just weeks, culminating into a full break this past week and Greene ultimately announcing her resignation on Friday. But I don't think it goes unnoticed that Greene opted to resign instead of retire. Like, let's be clear, her decision to take that route undoubtedly screws Trump and Mike Johnson, because now the already razor slim margin in the House just got even smaller for the gop. And let's be clear, Greene absolutely could have chosen to just retire at the end of her term. That means Mike Johnson would have been able to maintain his current margins, slim though they may be, until Green left office in January of 2027. But instead of retiring, she resigned immediately, effective like January 5, 2026. Meaning that until her seat is filled, Mike Johnson watches the House majority shrink even more. And at a time when Republicans are finally starting to feel emboldened to do the unthinkable and defect from Trump, that is a headache that Mike Johnson didn't want, but now has. But I actually think this is all indicative of a much bigger and more pervasive problem in the gop, and that's that Green felt secure enough to even do this in the first place. Remember, the reason that Trump seems so powerful, or has seemed so powerful for all of this time is because he's been able to command total loyalty from his party that everybody is petrified of crossing him or uttering an ill word of him. But think about what's happened in just the last couple of weeks. Republicans get absolutely demolished in the off year elections, which are universally understood to be a referendum on him. Then Trump watches as 427 lawmakers and all senators vote for the release of the Epstein files, which he's fallen over himself trying to suppress. And now you've got someone who used to be his most loyal foot soldier. And I mean that honestly. Like, who is a bigger Trump fanatic than Marjorie Taylor Greene? You see her come out and trash him before ultimately just bailing on Congress altogether and leaving Trump's party with one less seat of cushion in a chamber where Republicans can only afford to lose a couple of seats if they wanna pass anything. The fact that all of this happened and happened so quickly is a very clear testament to the fact that even Republicans are are starting to view Donald Trump as a lame duck president. I mean, like even Ted Cruz, who, like Greene is a suck up, but unlike Green, doesn't have any populist appeal because Cruz is just a hanger on. Even Ted Cruz didn't say no when he was asked about a 2028 presidential run. Like that would have seemed unfathomable a month ago, right? That anybody would feel comfortable enough to even humor the idea. And yet now, given how weak Trump is becoming, the fact that Cruz could give a somewhat normal, cagey answer about running in 20 says a hell of a lot more about Trump than it does about Cruz. The problem for these Republicans is that at this point, they've spent all their political capital tying themselves to Trump. They've sat idly by while he cut Medicaid to 17 million Americans, while he'll send premiums for those with ACA coverage surging, while he cut food stamps to the tune of $186 billion, while his trade war sent the cost of everything skyrocketing, while inflation's risen every month since March. And all the while, no one offered a single syllable against his construction of a $350 million ballroom. Of encrusting the Oval Office in gold, of retrofitting a Qatari jet to the tune of a billion dollars, of buying a couple Gulfstream jets for Kristi Noem, hosting a Let Them eat Cake party at Mar? A Lago, of deciding that he was owed $230 million from the US treasury because he was investigated and indicted for crimes that he literally committed not a single word. They hitched their wagon to Trump because they were too chicken shit to speak out, and so now they get the privilege of owning everything that's happening. You don't get to distance yourself from the president who you've enabled and who you've emboldened just because you now recognize that his actions are politically inconvenient. That's a lesson that Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey and Georgia and Maine and California learned the hard way just a couple weeks ago. The punishment that's gonna be dealt by Americans over the next couple cycles will be the result of Trump. Yes, but. But will fall on the shoulders of the Republicans who enabled him. So look, now comes the delicate dance of not being complacent while still recognizing that there is an opening for Democrats to capitalize off of Trump's historic unpopularity. That means the left has to continue to be effective at showing that they are the party that will deliver affordability for Americans. Republicans will try and parrot the same thing, but it's going to fall flat because they already ran on it in 2024. They convinced the whole country that they would do it. And now look at us. Prices are higher for everything. Rent is more unaffordable than before. Housing is more unaffordable than before. Groceries are more unaffordable than before. And what's worse, there are no Democrats in power at the federal level to even serve as a scapegoat for Republicans. They don't get to say, oh well, it's the fault of the Democratic Party in the House. No, Democrats are in the minority everywhere, meaning Republicans own everything that happens, and that includes the rising prices and the failure to deliver on their campaign promises. So they've gotten their chance and they blew it. Now it's up to the Democrats to run the kind of campaigns that were successful in New York and New Jersey and Virginia and replicate them across the country. We're off to a good start, and Trump's evident weakness is helping things along. Next up are my interviews with Tommy Vitor, Peter Hamby and Afton Bain. No Lie is brought to you by Factor. We're now in the fall season that can kind of feel like a reset. There's a lot happening right now between back to school, between busy routines and shorter days on top of all of that, which means fun. Finding time to actually cook can be tough. That's why I love Factor. Their chef prepared dietitian approved meals can make it easy to stay on track and enjoy something comforting and delicious no matter how hectic the season gets. The reality is that with Factor there's more variety and more meals. You can choose from a wider selection of meal options each week, including premium seafood options like salmon and shrimp, and those come at no extra cost. Factor also helps you support your wellness goals because right now you can enjoy even more GLP1 friendly meals and the new Mediterranean diet options that are packed with protein and good for you fats. And you can enjoy global flavors because for the first time you have Asian inspired meals with bold flavors that are influenced by China, Thailand and more. Factor has more choices and better nutrition, which is why 97% of customers say that factor helped them live a healthier lifestyle. You can feel the difference no matter your routine and the reality is that for somebody like me, my routine doesn't allow me to cook and so I need to rely on Factor to make sure that I eat every day because if I didn't have factor, I would probably skip a lot more meals than I do right now. And the most important thing for me is that what I eat tastes good and that it's good for me. I'm very careful about what I put into my body factor. Make sure that that is completely taken care of. You can eat smart at factor meals.com/btc50off and use code BTC50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free breakfast for a year. That's code BTC50OFF@ Factor meals.com for 50% off your first box plus FREE breakfast for a year. Get delicious ready to eat meals delivered with factor offer only valid for new factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase. Joined now by the co host of Pod Save America, Tommy Vitor. Tommy, thanks for joining me.
- [07:28]
B
Ryan, good to see you.
- [07:29]
A
So we've seen an unprecedented fracturing of Trump's coalition as a result of these Epstein files, the vote in the House, 427 to 1, unanimous in the Senate. And so I'm curious, as we move forward in Trump's administration, do you think that this is a permanent weakening? Does this make him look like more of a lame duck or is this just a momentary blip because the Epstein files are so different from everything else and Trump once again consolidates a all of his control and power over his over the Republican conference.
- [07:58]
B
Yeah, but it was a real nail biter in the House, huh? Pretty. Pretty remarkable. I mean, look, I think all of these members of Congress saw Donald Trump fighting tooth and nail to prevent this bill from getting passed and then saw him acquiesce on Sunday night. And then the entire Congress voted to do something that he didn't want them to do except for one person. So it's hard not to view this as the beginning of everyone starting to view Donald Trump as a lame duck. Now, that doesn't mean he doesn't have a lot of power, doesn't mean he can't tell the MAGA base what to do, doesn't mean he can't intervene in primaries in Republican districts. But you know, it's a chink in the armor and hopefully the first of many.
- [08:37]
A
Do you think that this devalues in some way the threats that he's been throwing at people? I mean, he un endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene and basically said, if I can field a primary opponent for her, let's do exactly that. Or didn't seem to have any impact. And in fact, she ended up being on the right side of this Epstein thing with virtually every other Republican in all of Congress. And so I'm just curious how you're thinking about that, about this idea that the biggest weapon Trump was able to wield beforehand was these threats that he would throw at these Republican lawmakers, Republican senators whose primary goal is just to keep their jobs. And now recognizing that, like, well, Marjorie did it and she got the full Trump treatment and nothing really happened to her. And so maybe this isn't as scary as I had presumed it would be.
- [09:23]
C
Yeah.
- [09:23]
B
I mean, he did the same thing to Thomas Massie.
- [09:25]
A
Right.
- [09:25]
B
And he's trying to raise money for an opponent and super PACs to go against Massie. Look, it certainly, I think courage begets courage. And Marjorie Taylor Greene, of all people, being able to tell Donald Trump, like, no, I am not with you. I'm on the side of the angels here. I'm standing with the victims. I think that's a big deal. And so, look, I think in this gerrymandered, hyper partisan world we live in, the primary threat to most Republican members of Congress is still gonna be a primary challenge from the right. And if Donald Trump dec. To endorse their opponent, you know, he can make life really hard for them, but he can't do it to all of them. You know what I mean? And at the end of the day, like, the entire Republican caucus, except for one dude, sided with Marjorie Taylor Greene and not Donald Trump. And I do think that does weaken his power to threaten these members going forward.
- [10:15]
A
What is going through Clay Hagan's mind? How do you. How are you the. Look, it would be one thing if he was. Look, it's one thing if any of these Republicans are going to vote to protect pedophiles because. Because they want to be on Trump's good side and protect Donald Trump, but for a vote, that's symbolic because it's gonna fail anyway. That's just for him. That's just so that he can go home at night and be like, well, you did it, Clay. You did your small part, symbolic though it may be, to make sure that you can protect pedophiles today. Like, what is going through that guy's mind, man?
- [10:45]
B
I read that statement and then I read it again, and I tried to understand what he was talking about. And it just. It makes absolutely no sense here. I don't know what he's doing. It's crazy. It seems like unbelievably politically damaging. It's not even going to help Trump. It just makes the whole story look ridiculous. It makes Trump seem odd, like, it's a mess. What an idiot.
- [11:03]
A
And by the way, it also deprives Mike Johnson of being able to say, well, we were, we were all 100% on board with this effort, too. It's not just the Democrats who want to get accountability for, for those who were involved in Epstein's crimes. It's us. But, like, you can't even say. I mean, first of all, that would be complete. So disingenuous that it would make your head hurt. But, but even just having the talking point, Clay Higgins precluded Mike Johnson from being able to have that.
- [11:28]
B
Yeah. And I also loved how Speaker Johnson is like, look, I don't love this bill either, but the place to fix it is over in the Senate. And I have some assurances that that's exactly what they're going to do. John Thune is like, not even. Nope. We're literally not even going to vote on the thing. We're just going to assume it's done. It was like, amazing. Thune wanted no part of this. He's like, this is your mess, Mike Johnson, not mine.
- [11:47]
A
You had mentioned gerrymandering before, and so I want your reaction to the fact that Trump had issued his clarion call to Greg Abbott to redraw Texas maps to give them five seats. California said, if you do this, we're gonna do it too, so don't do this. Texas went ahead with it anyway, redrew their maps. California redrew their maps. California's got challenged five times in court and beat back every single court challenge. Meanwhile, Texas maps get challenged and they lose in court. So now because of the process that by Trump and executed by Greg Abbott, they are down five seats compared to California.
- [12:24]
B
It is, yeah. It could be a big cell phone for Donald Trump here. I mean, look, I think this, you would know better than I do about sort of the legal path forward for the Texas maps. And it's probably not a done deal, but boy, would it be sweet if because of Donald Trump's absurd mid year intervention in trying to force Texas to redistrict if he fails and then fails in Indiana, and then Utah goes the Democrats way, all of a sudden, Democrats go into 2026 with wind in our sails because of redistricting. Like, this is not a scenario I ever would have imagined.
- [12:59]
A
It's also worth noting North Carolina's maps are being challenged as well. Missouri is maybe going to a referendum for voters to decide on. So both of those maps are also in jeopardy. And meanwhile, Maryland has announced a redistricting commission that the governor is going to lead. So we should expect one more seat in Maryland. He said, he told me in an interview that, that we are going to see our new maps in time for 2026. So, again, that that process may continue to play itself out as it relates specifically to Texas with this kind of three judge panel. It's appealed directly to the Supreme Court. So the Supreme Court is going to be the next group of people to weigh in on this. And so they could, they could, you know, we could have a whole range of different, of different rulings here where either the maps are, are left in place where they agree with the lower court panel and, or they want to hear this case fully on the merits, or they just rule on the shadow do. We don't know what's gonna happen, but still more to come. And at least we know, I mean, this ruling was handed down by, authored by a judge who Trump himself appointed. So it wouldn't be the craziest thing in the world for the Supreme Court to say, look, this is based on conservative jurisprudence. And so, you know, if we're abiding by conservative principles, which, you know, that, and 10 bucks will get you a foot long at Subway. But if we're abiding by conservative principles, then there is, you know, it wouldn't be out of the realm of ordinary for us to agree with this lower court ruling.
- [14:26]
B
It's amazing. I mean, if this boomerangs in Trump's face, I'll be so happy. And also, once again, shout out Gavin Newsom. You know, there's a lot of attention that's been paid to his tweets and the tone and the kind of the funny memes. But what Gavin Newsom really did here was use the power that he has as the governor of California to do something really meaningful for Democrats as we go into 2026 via Prop 50 in this redistricting plan. And I think that more than almost anything else is what Democrats, Democrats want from our elected officials. It's like, use the power you have to the greatest extent that you can, and we will be happy.
- [14:59]
A
So, speaking of Gavin Newsom, obviously a contender as we head toward 2028, there's been also some kind of angling on the Republican side. Ted Cruz was asked specifically if he was gonna run for president in 2028 and didn't give a no. And I feel like we've crossed some degree of a Rubicon here, because I feel like a month ago if you had asked any Republican if they were willing to run in 2028, they would have never said anything, or they would have just said no or done genuflecting at the altar of Donald Trump. But do you think that there's some relationship between the fact that Trump does seem weakened, especially in light of the whole Epstein situation, to the point where you can have someone like Ted Cruz be asked about a potential 2028 run and the immediate answer not be no or some genuflecting about how great Donald Trump is?
- [15:48]
B
Yeah, I mean, it's been pretty weird couple of months. I mean, look, if you had asked me this question three months ago, I would've been like, look, man, Trump's running for a third term. It's not constitutional. I'm not happy about it. I don't know what we can do. Then all of a sudden, Trump came out and said he doesn't think he could run again in 2028. And he's sort of like anointing both Rubio and J.D. vance. But, you know, Ted Cruz. Look, Ted Cruz is an operator. He's wanted to be president his whole life. He will run and run and run, even though nobody wants him. But the fact that he wasn't to just kind of cave to the wishes of Donald Trump and hand the reins over, at least rhetorically for now, to Rubio and Mark and to JD Vance is pretty interesting.
- [16:29]
A
With that said, going back to the Epstein thing for just a moment, you know, we did hear from Pam Bondi when she was at the podium at the DOJ speaking. She'd been asked specifically, is there anything that's going to. Gonna stop you from releasing, like, the full breadth of the files, including that announcement that she made just a few days back where she said that she's, like, acquiescing to Trump's demands to investigate a bunch of Democrats, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, JP Morgan Chase. Do you think that this is gonna be their last ditch Hail Mary pass so that even if Trump does sign the bill forcing the release of these files, that there's that caveat that says, oh, we can release almost all of the files, but not the ones that are involved in this ongoing investigation into a bunch of Democrats?
- [17:11]
B
Yeah, I mean, that's the big concern, right? I mean, this bill can pass, but we still then have to trust Trump's DOJ to actually release these files. And I don't have much confidence that his team would ever put out anything damaging to Donald Trump. And then there's the scenario you're talking about here, which is that they could claim that there are now ongoing investigations and anything that is a part of that investigation can't be released because they need to protect the files for, I don't know, law enforcement reasons. So that's another thing I think we have to watch. Mostly I just think, like, Pam Bondi is a moron and she's flailing. I mean, I think she said she recently learned new information that changed her mind about whether or not to release the Epstein files. I don't believe that for a second. So I don't know. I think what keeps happening with this Epstein issue is Donald Trump can't put it to bet, you know what I mean? Like, even if this bill passes, we will all still be waiting for them to actually release the documents. And then people will be combing through the documents to see what's missing. Like, there is a chance that this is a never ending damaging story for.
- [18:10]
A
Him in terms of Cash Patel and Dan Bongino one day trying to go back to a podcasting career. And how do you think their audience reacts to their return, to their valiant return after staking so much of their identity and brands on this idea that they're gonna be these fearless warriors to go after the people involved in Epstein's crimes. And instead they're 11 months into an administration that has only tried to cover it up, buddy.
- [18:38]
B
I'm like a close Cash Patel watcher because I think he is a uniquely dangerous and dishonest and unqualified individual in that job. So I pay a lot of attention to him and I also consume a lot of right wing media. And the right wing media is killing Cash Patel. Like Candace Owens was mocking him for his, like, whiny tweets about people being mean to his girlfriend. This right wing ex FBI agent is. Is going after him for constantly using the FBI's private jets to go visit his girlfriend. He flew to see her sing at some, like, low rent wrestling match in Pennsylvania. Cash Patel took the FBI jet to someplace called, I kid you not, the Boondoggle Ranch in Texas to go hunting.
- [19:21]
A
It's like the WR room is getting lazy.
- [19:23]
B
Yeah, yeah, it's like, it's crazy how bad of a job these guys are doing. So I think Cash Patel is largely seen as a joke among the, like, kind of far right circles that he was once trying to court. So, yeah, he can try to be a podcaster again and like, kind of like get back into that business, but these guys have just lost respect for him. And, you know, like, there's been a bunch of great reports recently. The Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker A few others, like, did deep dives into Cash Patel. Like, he's just not up for the job. He's not doing a good job. He is like, look, when you sign up to be FBI director, you're basically agreeing that for the duration of your term, you're not going to have a social life. You're not going to go to UFC fights, you're not going to go watch your girlfriend at a wrestling match, you're not going to hockey games with Wayne Gretzky. But he is treating the FBI job like a fantasy camp where he gets a G5 and to do whatever he wants. And it's like, it is. It is pissing people off.
- [20:13]
A
And Tommy, last thing here, you had texted me earlier today that you wanted me to let everybody know your nickname, Bubba. It says here.
- [20:20]
B
Yes, I like, I. Brian, I know you and I are. We're friends in real life. We're also just like, crazy political junkies that exchange texts about politics stuff all the time. Yeah, I heard from more normie, like, friends from college and high school about this story than I have in a long time. Was that the same for you? Like, what's up with this Bubba thing?
- [20:40]
A
Not only that. The best part is that the White House seemed to validate the criticism because the very first thing they posted the next day was a picture of Trump and Melania holding hands in the White House. And they wrote, power couple. It's like when you start, like, methinks you doth protest too much when you start having to compensate by posting pictures of your girlfriend to say, like, hey, man, he didn't suck Bill Clinton's dick.
- [21:04]
B
Power bottom. Yeah, I think he said something about blowing his stack. Later on there was. Listen, sometimes we just need the jokes, you know, like the J.D. vance couch thing. Sometimes you just need a joke.
- [21:15]
A
Yeah, we'll leave it there. For those who are not yet subscribed to pot save America's YouTube channel, please help grow this progressive media ecosystem. Doesn't cost anything to subscribe, so I'm gonna put that link right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video. Tommy, thanks, man.
- [21:28]
B
Thanks, buddy. Subscribe to Brian's channel right now. Subscribe.
- [21:30]
C
Subscribe.
- [21:31]
B
Subscribe.
- [21:34]
A
No Lie is brought to you by Aura Frames. Now, the reason that I love Aura Frame so much is because it's personal to me. I gave my family an aura frame last year, and they've been able to stay on top of everything that I've been doing. If I've gone anywhere, they've been able to follow along. If I've met anybody, they've been able to see it. And they've also been able to stay on top of what's happening with my dog. And most of my pictures that are uploaded onto the aura frame are of my dog. And now you too can give your family and friends an aura frame and you can personalize that gift. You can add a message to the box before it arrives. You can also preload photos even before it ships so that there's nothing they have to do by the time they get it. You can share photos and videos effortlessly straight from your phone all year long. And there's a gift box included. So every frame comes packaged in a premium gift box with no price tag named number one by Wirecutter. You can save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com for a limited time. Listeners can get $20 off their best selling Carver mat frame with code Aura20. That's a U R A frames.com promo code Aura20. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. I'm joined now by the founding partner at Puck News and the host of Good Luck America at snap, Peter Hamby. Peter, thanks for joining me.
- [22:44]
C
Good to see you, buddy. How's the rain treating you in la?
- [22:47]
A
Oh, you know, it's. I actually love the LA rain and we all say the same thing as soon as it rains, which is, you know, the requisite we needed it. So I'm gonna jump on that train. Peter, you wrote a great piece in Puck that I think signals a lot of concern for not only Trump, but the right more broadly. And that is the movement of Gen Z men. So can you talk first and foremost about your findings from this cohort?
- [23:12]
C
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is a sort of beat that I've been covering going back to last year. You know, Brian, you and I are both white millennial dudes. We have seen how the Democratic Party just overall became less cool, I hate to say it, among not just young men, but a lot of young people. Part of that, by the way, is the Bernie left who, when Bernie ran for President 2016, on a real populist message, got a lot of currency with young people and also exposed, I think, a lot of the distrust with both parties among young people. So there's that. And then more recently, obviously, we've seen Trump make a lot of of cultural appeals to young men. This was happening when I was visiting college campuses last year for my Snapchat show. Good Luck America. Just interviewing voters under 30, college students about the election. And it was clear that there was going to be some shift from Biden to Trump last year. And it happened. Trump narrowly won young men in exit polls. And the Pew validated voter study after the election sort of proved this out that hadn't happened. I don't remember last time it would have happened. Maybe George W. Bush at some point, but a huge swing from Democrats to Donald Trump last year. Now in the off year elections last week, two weeks ago now, Brian, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, here in California, young men switch back, at least according to exit polls, which need to be revised and analyzed a little bit. But I'll read you the exit poll numbers. So in Virginia, Abigail Spamberger won men under 30 by 14 points. Mikey Sherrill in New Jersey won them by 10 points. Zoramdani obviously in New York won Gen z men by 40 point margin. And out here in California, where Gavin Newsom was running the Prop 50 campaign, young men voted yes on 50 by a 52 point margin. So those are big numbers. But the reason I wrote this piece that you referenced, I'm glad you wanted me on to talk about it, is that when things like this happen, these shifts among young people, I call up John Della Volpe, who I've known from the Kennedy School at Harvard for a very long time. He has a great substack that everyone should read called JDV on Gen Z. Just Google that. But he runs a tracking poll of young men, specifically with breakouts by race and gender, et cetera, and issue sets. Here's what's most important that he's found since Trump came into office. And I'll read these too, so hopefully it doesn't sound too boring. But in February, after Trump was inaugurated and sworn in, independent young men. So young men who identify as independents gave Trump a 50% approval rating. That's good. 34% disapprove. But that support has just been totally erased. Now, eight months later, Social Sphere John's poll found that only 31% of independent young men approve of Trump. That's a 36 point net shift. But here's what's really interesting about all of this. And this goes back to last year, the number one issue among young men. Yes, there's some cultural aspects to this. Yes, Trump goes to UFC fights. Yes, he talked about like Zinn on the campaign trail, crypto people like Trump. But it's really the economy. It's prices, it's cost of living, it's access to the economy. This is true for all young people. Housing, gas, Grocery prices, just the fundamentals. And so if you look at this poll, Trump's support has really collapsed, too, on this one question, Brian, do you expect Donald Trump's presidency to make a positive or negative difference in your life? So in January, 55% of young men, a healthy majority, said, yes, Trump was going to make a positive impact on our lives by October. Just a few weeks ago, only 24% of young men said the same thing. And so this isn't new, by the way. I can talk more in a second about how when this started to shift, and I think it was kind of around the tariffs back in March and April, but it's just very clear that young men trusted Trump last year, probably more than Biden, definitely more than Biden. And Kamala Harris gave him the benefit of the doubt. But that went away very quickly, very quickly. And the results of that were born out in the elections. Again, not totally emblematic of the rest of the country in these states and cities last week or two weeks ago, but still a huge and meaningful shift. Just proving that young men are a swing vote, kind of like Latinos. It doesn't mean Democrats have them back, which is what I'd like to hear your take on, Brian. But it's not like a proof point that they're back in the Democratic fold. But it does show that Democrats have some opportunity to make a pitch to young men again and be like, we can actually make a meaningfully positive difference in your lives, unlike Trump and his MAGA crew.
- [27:53]
A
No, I think that's exactly right. And I think when you look at how these kids came up, which is really in, in Joe Biden's economy in the aftermath of COVID or in the middle of COVID during Trump's presidency, the reality is the economy has never worked for any of these Gen Z men, never worked for Gen Z, never worked for any young people. And so it doesn't surprise me that when they heard Trump be the first president to make a truly populous pitch in an era where prices were so high and America was so unaffordable, of course they glommed onto it. Of course they believed him. What they didn't know, because maybe they were too young to remember his first term, where he also ran as a populist, promising a middle class tax cut that never materialized, an infrastructure law that never materialized, a jobs boom that never materialized, a manufacturing renaissance that never materialized, is that this is what Trump does. He promises the world, and then when he gets into office, he delivers a tax cut for millionaires and billionaires. But the reality is that they saw Trump make that appeal. They saw that the Democrats were in power. And it doesn't surprise me at all that they wouldn't believe the Democrats and that they would shift over to Trump. Now Democrats have the opportunity to exploit the fact that they recognize that Trump was not telling the truth, that he promised lower costs and cheaper housing and rent and groceries and eggs. And all he did was launch a trade war that sent the cost of everything skyrocketing, all the while surrounding himself with gold leafing in the Oval Office, buying himself a couple of Gulfstream jets, retrofitting Guitari jets to the tune of a billion dollars, building a $350 million ballroom, hosting great Gatsby parties. So the optics are really bad. But the question I have for you here is that this is all very much a referendum on Trump, as we would expect in a midterm cycle where you have a Republican president in power, that's who the subsequent elections are gonna be a referendum on. What kind of an impact do you think that this is gonna have among, yes, Gen Z men, but everybody more broadly in terms of Republicans, and not just Donald Trump. Cuz Trump's a lame duck president, or at least, you know, he should be a lame duck president. Who knows what he's gonna try and do? But what kind of lasting impact do you think this is gonna have on the GOP's brand? Or do you think they're gonna get a pass and any ire that's aimed at Republicans right now is just gonna fall in the lap of Trump?
- [30:12]
C
The big picture here, and you flicked at this a little bit, Brian, is that any sitting president facing an economy that doesn't feel affordable enough for everyday people is going to have huge problems. I mean, it's always this goes back to Bill Clinton. It's the economy, stupid. But there was a recession when he won in 1992. It really hurt George H.W. bush at the time. When George W. Bush left office, yes, there was Iraq, yes, there was Katrina. But there was a worldwide financial collapse. And with Biden last year, we saw just how much the cost of living drove down his numbers. And inflation, too. It's very easy. The cliches. You campaign in poetry and you govern in prose. In other words, it's easy to say things on the campaign trail. It's easy to pull people by the heartstrings once you get in office. Much harder to govern. Just much more lassitude in government. It's clunky. And so Trump is just being very Quite obviously to me, punished for promising easy solutions to things that are very complicated. And by the way, speaking of young men, ending the wars was a big thing, too, with that demo. The wars are still going on. I know there's a ceasefire. I mean, look, there's wars going on.
- [31:29]
A
Releasing the Epstein files is another.
- [31:31]
C
Another one. And look, I think there's a lot to talk about when it comes to Republicans, as you asked, And I think the larger question is, can they carry forward without, like it or not, Trump's charisma, his sense of humor, his personality. You might not like it, but people think he's funny and interesting. He's a superstar. The rest of the people that are on these 20, 28 Republican polls, J.D. vance, Marco Rubio, you name them. Ted Cruz today, I guess, was telling Axios he's thinking about running for president again. Just look at the poll numbers. This isn't me being a yappy pundit. They're just less popular than he is among Republicans, but more importantly, less popular among independent voters, less popular in swing states. They're just not cool. I'm sorry. And it's not to say Democrats are cool, and cool isn't the only thing that matters. I don't think anyone's walking around saying that Abigail Spanberger is lighting the world on fire with her charisma. But I just think it's gonna be very difficult if Trump can't, you know, make things meaningfully cheaper for any other Republican to follow him and then win. Because Trump could always pivot. Can't always pivot to the showmanship. And going back to last year and why he won, this is a piece of the puzzle. It's that he used, obviously. There's been lots of talk about the bro podcasters, comedians, the Nelk boy types. He used sort of these cultural figures and cultural nodes, you know, Zinn, upper deckies, whatever, as an access point to then say, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have failed you. You know, they've made life more expensive. I'm the guy at McDonald's. I'm the guy hanging out with the cool podcasters. I'm the guy who knows football players and hangs out with Tom Brady or whatever, and that allowed him access to talk about those things. Here's something else I will say, though, Brian, about the electorate that I wanted to point out that you mentioned, and we can move on from it quickly. You said at the very beginning of your last comment that when these kids were coming up, and I think that's really important for people watching this who might be millennial or older. A lot of people who voted in last year's election for the first time probably would have been in elementary or middle school when Donald Trump came down the escalator. And so for me, my formative political years were George W. Bush into Obama. I remember that. I have a longer memory. They don't. And so the only Democrats they remember running for president are probably Bernie, Hillary, Biden, of those three, and they remember Obama probably. But of those three choices, Bernie was probably the most compelling to them. The rest are sort of old establishment Democrats and Trump. Again, I'm channeling young men here. I'm not channeling young women. Certainly they're much more liberal. But Trump was cool to them, and Trump was different. And Trump has been the only person they've ever known. But as you point out, they might not even remember the first term. 2016, 2017, 2018. It's about to be a decade ago. And a lot of these first time voters might have been 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old. And so coming into last year's election, when the choice was old guy Biden, who seems like he's made things more expensive, or Kamala Harris, who I don't really know that well, it made sense that the business guy was the one who made the most compelling appeal to that voting group.
- [35:09]
A
You know, the interesting part is, I think in previous election cycles, it felt like the elasticity of the electorate was, was close to zero. Like there was this tiny sliver every, everybody like, like both sides had become so calcified in their polarization, in their positions, in their political affiliation. And it felt like everybody was going after an increasingly small, really tranche of the electorate. In a few states, I mean, we were looking at like tens of thousands of people. And in a few elections, that's all that folks had relied on to win these elections, is that small tranche of people in Georgia, in Arizona, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, whatever it may be. Do you feel that based on, based on this new generation and the way that they've swung so wildly, whether it's Gen Z men, whether it's Latinos or minorities, whatever it may be, that the electorate right now is way swingier, way more elastic than what we'd seen in the past?
- [36:08]
C
So look at the exit polls again. There were, I think, 7% of Trump voters in Virginia in 2024 actually voted for Abigail Spamberger in Virginia. And Virginia's my home state.
- [36:21]
A
In 25. In 2025.
- [36:23]
C
In 25. Right. And so you also saw in this, this Caused a lot of tweets and a lot of headlines. I think it was 8, 9, 10% of Trump voters in New York City in 2024. It went to Zoron in 2025. You saw some shift there in New Jersey as well. Virginia and New Jersey. I speak for Virginia. That's my home state. I grew up there in Richmond. There are more sort of swingy voters. Of all the states and places that voted last week, Virginia looks the most like the national electorate. And so they do exist. I want people watching this to know, like, swing voters do exist. And there's two kinds of voters that really helped Trump win last year. There were these swing voters, and in my mind, this is just me, but I see a mom and dad in suburban Philadelphia who maybe they think they paid too much taxes or whatever. The typical person that would have been a Republican before Trump. Those people feel swingy. Those are the kind of people in Virginia four years ago, like the suburban moms and dads who have college degrees who flipped and went for Glenn Youngkin in Virginia and helped him win in 2021. The other voter is the drop off voter, the people that don't really pay close attention to politics, who tend to be minority voters, black and Latino in whatever states, and they either didn't show up for Biden last time, or they came off the couch, as we said, during that race, and voted for Donald Trump. And this gets to a larger point about last week's elections and the limitations of what we can say and why and why Democrats shouldn't be just taking victory laps. So the elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and California last week, these are off your elections in the Trump era. The people that tend to show up for off your elections in special elections, you know, for like a state House seat in Florida or whatever, they tend to be Democrats. They tend to be highly engaged voters with college degrees. And that's what the electorates look like last week. So I pulled this up before getting on here. Last year in the presidential race, 43% of voters in the country had a college degree and 57% did not. That's pretty reflective of the national electorate. In swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, like 36% of people have a college degree. People who went to college in this country are a minority people who didn't make up a majority of the people who vote. But last week In New Jersey, 55% of people had a college degree, 52% of people in Virginia had a college degree last week. So the highly engaged voters who showed up last week and we saw turnout pop on college campuses, Virginia Tech, William and Mary Uva at Virginia Tech. I reported this in my Puck piece. Like, turnout outpaced 2024. Turnout for comma, like, young people were showing up. The question is the people showing up were tend to be the people who vote Democratic. And so that's why we can't extrapolate too much from last week's exit polls. It's because it was a different kind of electorate than the one that shows up in a presidential year, which includes a lot more voters without degrees, more voters of color. And that's just a different looking electorate. And that's the electorate that Trump was able to tap into, the people who are just paying attention. Because it's a presidential race, it feels really high stakes. I quoted a funny tweet in my article. A lot of the voters who voted last year in 2024 had no idea there was even an election last week or two weeks ago in these states. So that's just something to keep in mind that the voters who showed up in 2025 tended to have a college degree, tended to care more, and of course, they were reacting to Donald Trump. And that's also very important and also why it might be, there might be some limitations to us being able to slice and dice the electorate between Latinos and young men and young women and older voters. Because it felt like a wave election this year. Like, like it was just Trump just got swamped, Republicans got swamped. And so, you know, yes, young men tipped in that direction, but so did everybody else. It's still meaningful. But like, I think we should, you know, pump the brakes in terms of, you know, drawing any huge conclusions from.
- [40:48]
A
These four about, about what 2028 might look like, for example. Although I would, I would Note that.
- [40:53]
C
No, 2028, I mean, I think it's good, I want to say good trajectory for Democrats, like they are sailing into the midterms, winning on the generic ballot in a way they weren't even a few months ago. Yeah, I think this all bodes well for 2028. I was getting ahead of myself, Brian, thinking about the next presidential race, maybe because you mentioned.
- [41:11]
A
No, but I, I think on that point too, it's important to note that the very people who turned out expressly because Trump was on the ballot because he has a certain appeal that certainly no other Republicans have. I mean, Trump will be able to invariably to turn out people that Ted Cruz will not be able to turn out just because, you know, of the, of his charisma. And charm. And granted, this is, you know, for folks watching who say he's not charismatic or charming, not to you, not to me, but certainly to a huge portion of the electorate. That's why he's been so successful. But I think by virtue of him not being on the ballot in 2028, there might also be a depressive effect that the same Republican electorate that we've seen come out and vote for the last decade won't be as activated to turn out. Because when Trump's not on the ballot, that's the only thing driving a lot of these people to the polls as well. And so when you add that to the fact that Democrats are overperforming, have the opportunity to redefine themselves, and, frankly, what I hope to see is run a lot of people who are gonna take out the folks who've been there for 20, 30, 40 years, who are right now in their 70s and 80s. You know, when we talk about the Democratic brand, the brand isn't gonna be fixed when you have an 80 year old suddenly sit down and do a podcast. The brand is reflective of the people who are in these positions of power. So the brand gets fixed when all of a sudden some of these older establishment Democrats, centrist Democrats who've been there forever, leave office and are replaced by people who are. Who can better relate to the electorate that they're there to serve.
- [42:45]
C
Actually, Brian, let me interview you real quick, because I know you interview Democratic officials, elected officials all the time, and it's really. I talked to you after the election last year, and I know that it's really ramped up and also ramped up for a lot of other progressive creators. I think people on the Hill and governors are finally understanding, yeah, you can't win an election just by doing a podcast. You have to have something to say when you go on those podcasts. And. But at least they're trying. And I know you've met privately with some senators and congressmen. Is it your sense that the older cohort there, like the geriatric set on Capitol Hill, are they capable of doing this in a way that moves the needle? Have you been impressed by some old person who's other than Bernie, who's embraced new media, or is it just time to get people in there who grew up with smartphones in their pockets once and for all?
- [43:42]
A
My goal in having gone up to Capitol Hill and talked to elected officials in the immediate aftermath of the election was to get the Democratic Party more broadly, to get them to understand the importance of independent Media, this is a caucus of people for whom CNN and MSNBC was the only, you know, and New York Times, Washington Post, like these, these old school legacy outlets were the only people, only anchors, only reporters worth talking to. And my gripe with them, you know, for years prior to that was that you have to start, you have to start focusing on independent media. You have to start focusing on digital creators. This is not only where voters are, but this is where persuadable voters are. I mean, the notion that you're gonna go on MSNBC and change any hearts and minds is just completely backwards. You know, obviously love the MSNBC audience, but like they're 99% Democrats. And so what's your job here? Is it going on TV and getting, getting, you know, pats on the head, or is it actually going to talk to voters who may be persuadable, you know, who don't have any political affiliation? And so that, that was really my, my goal in going up there in terms of, you know, answering your question. You can make an uphill climb and try and teach some of these older members of Congress or senators how to use social media. I think there is a ceiling to how well they're gonna be able to break through. Like, it's just when you have somebody like Zoran Mamdani, 34 years old, grew up, you know, is a millennial, grew up in the digital age, the ceiling is astronomically higher when you compare ZORAN to any 70 or 80 year old senator or lawmaker. I mean, there's just, there's just no question that somebody who's grown up in this era will be, will have like a more dynamic approach, is going to be able to understand the kind of language that works better online. So like, you know, you know, you.
- [45:37]
C
Know, it's an interesting point, something I've thought about the last couple of weeks, both with Zoran's campaign, but also I'm seeing it more and more from younger politicians. Aftab Pureval, the mayor of Cincinnati, did this before the election is the man on the street format where you just go up to people with a microphone. And in Aftab's case, he went up to Cincinnati Bearcats tailgate. My dad went to Cincinnati. Go Bearcats and was just like asking people about the city, what they like that he's done. And then Zoran, obviously for almost a year was just talking to people and not just for him personally, picking up texture about what voters care about, showing the viewer that, oh, this person's out there talking with regular people. And by the Way, don't underestimate the one person that he interviewed in the street. You know, going out and asking for somebody's vote is very important. Like, that's a kind of format.
- [46:29]
A
Yeah.
- [46:29]
C
That younger people can do. You mentioned the word dynamic. That feels like a dynamic kind of format that we're going to see more of. You know, it's harder for Elizabeth Warren to do that kind of thing. And I get that they're senators. I get that they have security. So, you know, props to them for being able to do the selfie video now. But it's just harder for people of that generation to experiment. I think that's important.
- [46:54]
A
Yeah, you're gonna be swimming against the tide for sure. And I mean, again, like, there is a ceiling. And look, there's also a thirst for folks in the Democratic. I think that we have seen Ruth Bader Ginsburg die on the Supreme Court, Gerry Connolly die in office, Joe Biden obviously get too old to be able to effectively prosecute the case against Trump. And so this issue has been bubbling beneath the surface for a long time. You know, I remember, like, 10 years ago when I was watching politics and the Democrats were much cooler than they are now. All of those people are still there, like, they. They're not gonna get younger. Like, they are only gonna continue to age. And so if they're not replaced by younger people, the party is just gonna get older and older and older. And it has. And there's also all the incentive structure for senior Democrats to stay in office, because that's how they get their chairmanships on committees. And so. So all of the incentives, I think, are backwards. And when we had a great opportunity to have AOC at the top of oversight, and instead, Gerry Connolly, who would die just a few months later of throat cancer, ran against her. And the party rallied behind Gerry Connolly. You know, I think that that's a testament to exactly that. And, you know, have they learned their lesson? I don't know, but probably not. And I think that the only way they're gonna learn their lesson is when is by virtue of being primaried by people who understand this media environment, who are able to more closely relate to the constituents that they seek to serve and who are younger. So, you know, a lot to be seen in terms of what happens in the upcoming 2026 midterm cycle. But, you know, if I had to guess, I would see that we're gonna. I would think that we're gonna see something akin to a Democratic Tea Party moving forward. So with that said, Peter thank you so much for the time. Where can folks who are watching right now hear more from you?
- [48:43]
C
Oh, thanks for the shout out. Yeah, check me out on Snapchat on Good Luck America. It's our political show on snap. It's really fun. Check it out there. I also host the Powers that Be podcast over at Puck and I write about politics and media and these topics specifically at our newsletter, the Best and the Brightest. So check that out at Puck News. Brian, good to see you, buddy.
- [49:06]
A
You too. Thanks so much. I'm joined now by the Democratic nominee for Tennessee's 7th congressional district, Afton Bain. Thanks so much for joining me.
- [49:15]
D
Happy to be here.
- [49:16]
A
So this is a race that is fast approaching. We just found out from the New York Times that Donald Trump's super PAC MAGA Inc. War Room, has begun spending money for your Republican opponent in Tennessee's 7th congressional district in this race. This is a race that Trump himself won in 2024 by 22 points. And so what does it say that the president's super PAC now feels the need to start spending money on this race?
- [49:42]
D
It means we're out organizing them. I mean, this is a 22 point race, as you said, we have narrowed the margin to six points. We are about four points down. It's a testament to the grassroots energy, the organizing muscle that we've built the past decade and of course, having a exciting candidate at the top of the ticket.
- [49:59]
A
So in terms of running in a deep red district, how are you thinking about that in terms of turning out people who obviously otherwise wouldn't have normally voted for Democrats? How is that whole process going? And for people watching who kind of don't have faith that Democrats could win in a district that Trump won by 22 points, what do you say to them?
- [50:17]
D
The key is organizing. I had the highest total voter turnout of any Democratic state representative in Tennessee in the 24 cycles. So I know how to mobilize the base, which is very important. It's a mobilization race, especially with the truncated timeline of a special election. Two is message we have been running on, the message of affordability, make living affordable again, and the fact that you have a candidate who believes deeply in addressing the cost of living. And as I've said on the campaign trail, we are building a coalition of the disenchanted, those that feel that politics aren't working for them. And if you're upset with the cost of living and the chaos in Washington, then I am the candidate.
- [50:57]
A
Have you gotten a sense that the people who had voted For Trump in 2024 on this pretense that they would be voting for lower costs, cheaper rent, cheaper housing, cheaper groceries, cheaper eggs. And instead, what they got was a trade war that increased the cost of everything. Medicaid stripped away ACA premiums, set to double, triple, quadruple. Is there some opportunity to get those people who believed Trump when he was offering up this populist message, only to then get into office and basically focus on building himself a ballroom?
- [51:29]
D
Absolutely. And I can provide an anecdote. I received an email from a lifelong Republican living in Clarksville, which is in the purple County, Montgomery county of the district, and lifelong Republican said that he receives health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. He pays around $57 for his family of four. And without those subsidies, he would. His premiums would increase to around $500. And he said, if I vote for you, if I vote for the first Democrat ever in my life, you have to commit to ensuring these subsidies. Farmers are saying we are experiencing a farmageddon in Tennessee. Our soybean farmers have been hit incredibly hard. And I said on the campaign trail and as the Democratic candidate, that I would work to roll back tariffs that are bankrupting our Tennessee farmers.
- [52:16]
A
What has been kind of the breakdown of people who are coming to see you when you do talks or rallies or whatever?
- [52:21]
D
It may be a lot of people, a lot of voters who've been disillusioned with our politics. Tennessee is a tough state. It is. You know, it's not. I don't think it's a democracy at all. And our voices are silenced. And so to have a candidate and a campaign that is nationalized, where our voters are receiving postcards from across the country, it just feels like something really exciting is happening here, and folks just want to be part of it. I joined a large canvas. The DNC came down, Ken Martin, the new chair, to launch a canvas, and There were probably 200 people there. I asked how many of you have ever knocked a door before? And about 50 of them raised their hand. And so that is the type of energy we're seeing. People that want to be part of their democracy, they want to participate. It's not a spectator sport. And I've just been so delighted to see the grassroots energy around this race, and hopefully it'll lead us to a win on December 2.
- [53:23]
A
We have seen kind of a whole raft of different candidates across the political spectrum, whether it's Zoran Mamdani in New York or Abigail Spanberger and Mikey Sherrill in New Jersey and Virginia, kind of all come together under a collective belief that life should be affordable for all Americans. And so how are you thinking about that in light of the fact that normally when you have Democratic candidates, it's where do you lie on the ideological spectrum? Are you super progressive? Are you more moderate? This doesn't seem to be the case anymore. It seems to be kind of a relentless focus on just making sure that Americans live with some basic standard of decency.
- [54:01]
D
Yeah. I mean, I don't know if I can attribute it to James Tall Rico who said, it's not about left versus right, it's about top versus bottom. And that could not be more true in a state of Tennessee that has been bought and sold to the highest bidder. My opponent is a puppet to the puppet masters of the universe and special interests, and he's not going to answer for the district and the issue of affordability. I've been fighting in the state legislature to eliminate our sales tax on groceries. We are one of not only nine states that still taxes food. And I've been organizing around that for the past three years and have built a bipartisan coalition who say, let's do this. And what I think is most striking about this moment in time is you have an economic agenda that is not delivered to address the concerns and needs of working people in the state. And their political project is fragmented and fracturing because of that. And so I'm offering them a ramp, an entry point. Right. You may not agree with everything that I say, but I promise to fight for you as your next congresswoman, and I promise to make life more affordable.
- [55:06]
A
How are you looking at your candidacy in light of what I think is a very desperate need to build a bridge to the next generation within the Democratic Party, which is looking more and more like just a gerontocracy.
- [55:19]
D
Well, I'm a millennial, so I'll be 36 next Monday. And I think we're hungry for new leadership. In the south, we've been under the heel of a Republican super majority. I mean, it's. They rule with an iron fist. And those of us that have organized through the past decades in this state and across this country, we have the scrappiness. We're hungry. We want to be in leadership positions. And I hope that my candidacy, especially in the south, will inspire more young people to step up. I hope that conta. That courage is contagious to see young people step up and say, we want to reclaim the party. We want to reclaim our state. We want to reclaim our country.
- [56:02]
A
What would be the priority of Your Republican opponent, Matt Van Epps, if he's elected.
- [56:07]
D
I was about to say Matt Van Epstein. So sorry, that's what I've. We've coined him on the campaign trail. But, you know, he, he has switched his tone. So it's indicative of where things are. Prior to the general in the primary, he was Trump endorsed. Could not say Trump enough. Stand the president. Trump.
- [56:22]
A
Trump. Trump.
- [56:23]
B
Trump.
- [56:23]
C
Trump.
- [56:24]
D
Now, his commercials are all about affordability. So it just shows how what is the front of mind of so many voters, and what I haven't heard from him is how he plans to tackle the cost of, of living. And it's a lot of platitudes, it's a lot of lip service. And I just haven't heard direct solutions as to how, what policies he would implement to ensure that those. That the cost of living was addressed.
- [56:48]
A
Well, the irony of that, of course, is that all of these Republicans would love to parrot the word affordability over and over and over again, but they've got full control of government right now. They've got the House, they've got the Senate, they've got the White House. And so there is no impediment by those evil communist Marxist Democrats to stop the Republicans, quote, unquote, affordability agenda. And yet all we've seen is prices go up, health care get cut, food assistance get cut, Medicaid get cut, earned benefits on the chopping block. And so how does someone like Matt Van Epps have a leg to stand on when he comes forward and says he's gonna deliver on an affordability agenda when he is part of a party that has carte blanche, a clear Runway right now to be able to deliver on exactly that, exactly that agenda. And yet prices are not going down, they're going up.
- [57:34]
D
Yep, that's exactly right. They have no answer, they have no solution. And they retreat to scapegoating, to terrorizing, to slander, and there's no substance behind it. And yet you have a candidate like me who spent her entire career organizing to make health care more affordable in Tennessee, trying to expand Medicaid, trying to preserve the subsidies in the Affordable Care act, ensuring that rural hospitals keep their doors open. And in contrast, you have a candidate who is rubber stamped by the administration and the billionaire boys club. And the contrast could not be more clear in this race. And I hope that Tennessee voters, as they head to the polls and are going to the polls, will realize that the choice is clear.
- [58:16]
A
I'm curious what the voters, aside from affordability, which I think is universally understood Right now to be the principal issue, what are voters in Tennessee primarily focused on in that race in particular?
- [58:29]
D
I feel like a broken record. But affordability, I mean, the biggest issue right now that we're facing, the Tennessee Valley Authority, is how we get power in the South. It is a brainchild of the New Deal. And right now, the Trump administration is trying to privatize it via installing syncopants. So I have been working with the local trade unions to push back on this, but it's important because our utility rates are the lowest in the country right now because of the Tennessee Valley Authority being a quasi public entity. If that goes away, our utility rates triple and it forces more people into poverty and more people will have to turn their, their water and lights off. And that's not what they signed up for. So it just goes to show that this is, you know, endemic across the country, but the privatization of public goods and the wealthy selling out workers to make a buck and then to scapegoat our communities and place blame so that we place blame on each other and we're saying no more.
- [59:27]
A
And that's underscored by the fact that already in the first 10 months of Republican control of government, we've seen energy prices across the country soar 11%. And again, this is on the back of a party and a president who promised to bring the cost of everything down instead to just deliver higher prices for everything. But this is really indicative of what they do. They want everything privatized so that somebody in the middle can make a buck off of everybody else and charge as much as humanly possible afton. With that said, what do folks need to know in terms of the race when voting starts, ends? What can you tell us?
- [60:02]
D
So voting has started. Early voting. We have early voting in Tennessee and that will last until November 26th. The election is December 2nd. So the type of energy that was placed on the races in Virginia and New Jersey, I wholeheartedly accept and welcome that participation from across the country. This is the final last congressional special election. That is the last flippable seat in the entire country. It would slim the margin in the House. It would absolutely be the most, probably the most profound political upset in recent history. And it would send a direct message to the federal administration that people are fed up and we've had enough.
- [60:40]
A
And by the way, it would give a ton of momentum to Democrats as they head toward 2026 and what we certainly hope is going to be a way of election. And so, again, for those who are watching right now, if you live in Tennessee. If you have friends, family, coworkers, whatever it may be who live in Tennessee, please make sure that they know about this race. I'm going to put the link to Afton's website right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video. Happy birthday, early birthday and best of luck on this race.
- [61:06]
D
Big fan so thank you so much for having me.
- [61:09]
A
Thanks again to Tommy Vitor, Peter Hamby and Afton Bain. That's it for this episode. Talk to you next week.
- [61:14]
C
Week.
- [61:16]
A
You'Ve been listening to no Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen produced by Sam Graeber, music by Wellesley and interviews edited for YouTube by Nicholas Nicotera. If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app and leave a five star rating and a review. And as always you can find me Ryan Tyler Cohen on all of my other channels. Or you can go to briantylercohen.com to learn more.